chapter 14: A wound exposed
The ancient beacons had failed. Without their light, beaming into the sky, undead crawled out from the deepest crevices and dared venture out in daylight to terrorize the people. Panic set in, and a solution had to be found.
The beacons must be lit again. Wels, a knight who recently returned to service, took the job onto himself. The journey, however, would be more taxing than he could have ever anticipated.
The desert lay behind them and the road toward the jungle beckoned. This journey away from the desert temple and to their next campsite was tense. None of them really spoke with one another. They set up the camp in silence. Gem went to make the fire, while Wels and Pearl set up the tents. Gem tended to the fire while Pearl cooked their dinner.
Watching the women do some work, Wels ought to be taking some of the work off of their hands. Yet, his mind was too occupied to even do anything but stare off into the distance. He held a small pebble in his hand, rubbing his thumb over it. Perhaps to have something sensory to focus on while his mind fought back against what Impulse had said.
The soldier had been desperate. His mind must’ve been turned to mush, his judgment clouded by whatever had happened to him. Perhaps that moss had made him insane, and perhaps the same happened to Skizz. It would explain why Skizz ignored them and why Impulse had said what he said.
He fought against the urge to cover his ears to block out phantom words. It wouldn’t help. He just needed not to take those words too seriously. Still, they gnawed at him and he didn’ like it.
