They began the last road through the hills of Brannock. Baran led the way, followed by Nessa, Keirian, Sanchen, Bale, Carson and Tirius at the rear. The first day went easily. They made a good distance down the path. They went almost directly south and had planned to turn west once they had entered the low hills.
"We hold a store of supplies and boats at the Forks of the river," Baran told the others, "We can set off from there to search the jungle."
They wandered through the highlands for two days. Keirian looked over the lands from the tops of the hill intently. Soon he would be leaving this land of Brannock. He would always stand on the hilltops, falling behind the group, breathing in the air and taking in the last moments of that country.
They all enjoyed the tents that night, as it was quite windy during the later hours. The first day seemed to be an easy day of hiking, despite the long distance they made. Baran seemed to know the paths well, as there were no more roads where they were going. Baran talked about the tales of some of the battles that occurred in the old days of Brannock, in places very close to where they were walking.
As the end of the second day came Keirian realized they were soon at the end of the Brannock highlands. He had been in Brannock since the seventh day of the journey. It was now the thirtieth day. As they set up camp, Keirian and Carson finally approached Nessa about her father.
"How on earth did you get him to let you come?" Keirian asked as they sat off to the side while the others were setting up a fire.
"It took a lot," she said, "But I think it was more Lord Valian who convinced him more than I did. Masedelo still holds a lot of authority over the other cities."
"So your father just gave in?"
Nessa snickered. "Not exactly. There was a lot of arguing, let me tell you. Tempers were high, as were voices. But in the end my father agreed."
"I'm surprised he didn't change his mind and take you home before we left," Carson said.
"So am I," replied Nessa, "Yet I think my father knew I would never forgive him if he didn't let me go."
"I seriously thought he was going to have us hanged!" Keirian admitted.
Nessa laughed. "So did I."
The next day Baran let them sleep a little later, as they were already covering a lot of ground. They cooked a large breakfast, as the last few days had seen quite scant meals. Yet soon they were on their way again, to finish the last of the highlands. As they continued, dark clouds began to close in, and soon the rain fell. It rained almost the entire day, off and on, changing from hard, fast rain to slow big rain, from sprinkles to downpours. They endured this weather as they left the highlands and returned to the large, low, rolling hills at the southern end of Brannock, which Keirian, Carson and Sanchen had first seen over three weeks ago.
They continued the hard trek as best they could, but the weather was making it difficult. Yet now they were out on the open hills, with no where to escape. So they decided to keep moving for as long as possible. Soon it became dark, as more black clouds rolled in. Soon Keirian heard a loud clap in the sky. He looked around him and saw a huge blaze of yellow light. Soon after, another clap of thunder followed. They kept marching over the hills as the lightning jumped up around them. They walked through the storm, seven small silhouettes against a background of great flashes of light in great forks reaching to the earth. The storm intensified throughout the evening. Eventually the lightning became unceasing. They were surrounded by constant flashes every few seconds, with the loud, rolling thunder following closely behind.
"How far away do you think it is?!" Tirius yelled ahead to Baran.
"It's hard to tell which clap comes from which fork!" he yelled back, "But it must be pretty close!"
