Let No Man, nor Beasts, nor Gods

Chapter Seventeen: Jaws of Life

That evening, Kor slumped on the edge of his bed at Moorside Inn, his eyes downcast, his spirit seemingly extinguished.

Dahni knelt before him, his hand enveloping Kor's with a gentle, comforting touch.

"Kor, you've done tremendous and thorough work combing every inch you can," he spoke gently, "...but... but it's time to confront...the possibility... that Aphid might not be out there."

Tephelle sat beside Kor, wrapping a motherly arm around his little shoulders, while Dahni held his hand, his grip an anchor, bracing.

They had expected another fight, that Kor would immediately outburst and scream and yell, very likely even hit again, and demand that they keep combing over and over and over, but instead...

Kor simply sat still and quiet.

His eyes drifted further downwards and he looked a boy who had no fight left within him.

It was more heartbreaking to see than all the fights he had put them through.

So much so, that Dahni did not intend to persuade Kor into thinking this meant Aphid was gone. No, just not where they've been looking.

"There's another small village to the west," Dahni explained, "A hamlet, really. Our guard friend said it's a bit out of the way, but not impossible to stumble upon, especially if you went straight through the marshes from our lost village. I don't think it impossible that Aphid may have ventured even further out than we did, when he was looking for you, and perhaps he's gotten hurt, just as we did. These people are known for their medicinal interests, they're potion makers. I think there is a possibility that Aphid may simply be recuperating somewhere, and maybe this is that somewhere."

In truth, Dahni still suspected that "somewhere" to very likely be the grave they buried that corpse in, but he also wasn't ready to give up hope for this little boy. Not yet. They would scope all of Hjaalmarch before he will bring himself to suggest again that Kor's beloved big brother could possibly be dead.

Kor's eyes slowly lifted, his gaze meeting Dahni's.

The spark of hope rekindled...slightly, Dahni could see it, though Kor's enthusiasm, those leaps to immediate action he had once had, was tempered by the weight of his dread.

The boy simply nodded, a nod that held no expectation, though Dahni's smile offered a warm embrace, his eye shining with encouragement as he drew the boy into his arms.

"Don't give up hope just yet, little one. Let's leave the disappearing without a trace to the Dwemer."

Under the gaze of the moons, Aphid traversed onward, his senses heightened as he paralleled the road, still wary of what he had seen done to the villagers that had walked boldly on the cobble. He tread cautiously, too, next to the thickets. His eyes darting between the road and the dark wilds that flanked him, very aware the dangers that any path could hand him.

Yet, despite the dangers that lurked anywhere one could step, Aphid's heart drove him forward, fueled by a gut feeling that Morthal was still a possibility for finding Kor, despite the bandits' blockade that should have told him otherwise.

His footsteps grew lighter, his heart beating with an excitement that seemed to harmonize with the gentle breeze at his back, as if the Gods themselves were urging him forward.

But his reverie was shattered by a faint rustling in the underbrush. He froze, his senses on high alert, as he scanned the darkness for any sign of movement.

At first, there was nothing.

Then, a fleeting, eerie glint caught his eye, followed by an unsettling stillness that seemed to hold its breath in anticipation.