269 Next Step

One. 

Survive till sunrise and continue their journey. 

Two. 

Move swiftly and get to their destination as soon as possible while fighting off the incoming spectral shrouds. 

Aether would have asked Vy to abandon the werewolves so that they could get out of here. But that would be heartless and cruel. The werewolves were dedicated to their mission to protect Vy. They could have simply left them here to die. 

But they did not. 

Surviving till sunrise seemed like their only option. Looking back at Vy working tirelessly to treat Darric's wound, Aether knew what he had to do. But how was he going to keep them safe through the night? 

He turned to Lycster. 

"I am ready to help, no matter what it might be," Lycster said with determination to Aether, the boy had read his mind. 

Aether looked at the ankh that hung around Lycster's neck. Pharaoh Netiri had given it to him as a gift. He tried to recall what the Pharaoh had said when she gave it to the boy. 

This is the symbol of life. The Pharaoh said. 

Symbol of life. 

The ankh could be used to repel the ghostly spectres. While it would be useful, it was simply too small to protect all of them. He needed a different plan. But the spectral beings were already closing in on them, they were running out of time. 

-Vy, the shrouds of the forest are coming for us.-

"What?" Vy exclaimed in shock as she looked around them. 

She had been so focused on treating Darric's wound that she did not keep a close eye on her surroundings. Vy turned to the werewolves and asked if they might have a solution to keep them safe from the shrouds. 

"If you've got the moon silk net, don't you have something else that could keep them at bay?"

Bertuf shook his head, "No we don't. We only have weapons to fight them off." 

Bertuf showed them the weapons they had which were covered in moonstone dust to be effective against fighting shrouds and other ghostly enemies. Right now, that was not an option. They were not only outnumbered, but chances are this was a hydra situation. Killing one would just attract more of them to appear. 

"We just need something to cleanse the surrounding area… but what?" Vy muttered to herself. 

As she looked around the forest in the cover of darkness, she noticed a certain fragrance wafting in the air. When she traced its source, it had come from a nearby plant that had caught fire from her blue flames. 

The burning plant was emitting a fragrance into the air. 

"Take care of them," Vy instructed Aether as she went over to the plant to take a closer look. 

"This is not the time to be looking at plants!" Bertuf exclaimed anxiously. 

Then, it clicked in her mind. She had seen and smelt the plant before. She had seen it in a book about herbs. This was sage! Vy plucked a whole bundle of them and went back over to where the rest of them were. 

-Aether, could you confirm for me. Is this sage?-

Aether took a look at it and sniffed. 

-Yes it is.- 

It clicked in Aether's mind too. Vy put the leaves together, rolling them up together. Using her blue flames, she quickly absorbed all of the moisture from the leaves. Then, she lit the bundle of dried sage. 

As Vy prepared the herbs, Aether took over the task of keeping them safe alongside Lycster. He noticed that amongst the weapon supplies the werewolves had brought was a bundle of arrows with tips made of moonstone. 

He picked them up and loaded them into his bow. Some of the shrouds were closing in on them. Lycster released his arrows upon them, keeping them at bay. When Vy was finally ready with the dried sage, she lit it up with her flame. White smoke spews forth from the bundle of dried sage. 

Aether controlled a gust of wind and allowed the white smoke from the sage to cover their surroundings, creating a protective barrier around them. With this barrier in place, the shrouds could no longer come near them. 

Vy handed the bundle she had made to Lycster while she went to get more sage leaves just in case it was not enough. For the remainder of the night, Vy tended to the werewolves' wounds. She placed ointment and herb paste on Bertuf's leg before wrapping it up. 

"It would have been a lot easier if we had some moonlight," Vy sighed as she wrapped the bandage around his wound, "But this would have to do for now."

"Thank you for your help, Vyrena," Alpha Darric expressed his gratitude. 

"We should be the ones protecting you, your brother and your Familiar. Not the other way around."

Aether grinned, "So modest, Alpha Darric. You've already protected our lives for the past few days. We're even."

Vy was confused by Aether's statement. 

"Is there something I should know?" she probed as she turned to look at the Alpha, then at her Familiar. 

Darric was surprised too, he looked at Aether and asked, "You knew?"

"You were spying on us?" Bertuf butted into the conversation. 

"I merely chanced upon your work," Aether replied.

Aether explained to Vy how he had seen the werewolves fighting off the shrouds that came a little too close to camp during some of the nights before. Putting two and two together, Vy finally understood why some of them looked so lethargic in the morning.

"You should have told me! I can help with that."

"So could I!" Lycster exclaimed. 

"Well, in any case, thank you. Thank you for keeping us safe." Vy thanked them, "Now it's our turn to return the favour."