362 Possibilities

Vyrena had closed her eyes to rest for a while but immediately woken up when she heard Mara sitting up. 

"Morning," she greeted Mara. 

"Morning," Mara reciprocated, followed by a yawn. 

She stretched her arms out and slowly stood up, stretching her entire body as she did. Lucky for them, they've had a relatively peaceful night. Vyrena's enhanced senses allowed her to hear clearly for miles around them. 

Though there were patrols, lucky for them none came close to their campsite. Mara came over and sat opposite Vyrena next to the fire pit. All that was left of the burning twigs were ashes and a smouldering fire. 

The morning air was cool, accompanied by a soft breeze. Vyrena reached into her bag and took out two pieces of fruit. She handed one of them to Mara. 

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned," she joked. 

Mara did not make any attempts to humour either. She took the fruit from Vyrena and muttered a word of thanks before biting down on it. The two of them sat and ate in silence for a while before Vyrena decided to break the ice. 

"We're headed back towards the city. You are free to join us if you like," 

"Are you getting rid of me already?" Mara arched an eyebrow. 

Vyrena was taken aback. What did she say that gave Mara that idea?

"No. Given our previous encounters, I reckon you might not enjoy our company as much. You are free to do as you please," Vyrena quickly explained. 

Mara bit her lip as she looked towards the side. She hated being in such a position in front of Vyrena. Indeed their previous encounters should have made Vyrena angry, and vengeful even. 

But she saved her life. That was the undeniable truth. 

"Thank you for saving my life," Mara said through gritted teeth while chewing her piece of fruit. 

Vyrena grinned, "Sorry, did you say something?"

"I said, thank you for saving my life," Mara said in annoyance in a louder tone of voice. 

Vyrena kept her smile, "You're welcome. I am sorry about the loss of the rest."

She knew bringing it up was not ideal, but it had to be said. Mara remained silent for quite some time. 

"I let them down," Mara muttered to herself as she tightened her fist till her knuckles turned white. 

Her hands were trembling. Her eyes were filled with rage and anguish. Vyrena and Sorren were not there to witness the horrors in person. But she could smell it in the air the moment she stepped foot in the hog stables. 

The pungent smell of death that hung in the air was unmistakable. In fact, it was that lingering scent that first attracted Vyrena's attention. 

Mara turned to look at Vyrena. She wished Vyrena was lying to her to make her feel better about herself. But she could see the look in her eyes. Vyrena was telling the truth. 

Trying to divert the topic to something less depressing, Mara asked some of the questions she's had on her mind. 

"Where are the rest?"

Vyrena explained how they had been travelling together, before splitting. She explained to Mara the reason why she was headed back to the city. 

"And you believe whatever this Pigeon told you?"

Mara was understandably sceptical. Any normal person would be. 

"I won't know for certain until we give it a shot. And it definitely seems worth it."

"What if this magical typewriter named Pigeon was lying to you the whole time?" She argued mockingly. 

Vyrena laughed, "That is entirely possible."

But if Pigeon was lying to her, she and the rest would have already been dead by now. It would have sold them out a long time ago. Switching topics, Mara asked another question she's had on her mind. 

"That hog, just miraculously fell to the ground, as if it had fallen asleep. How was that possible? The same for those guards… Was that you?" 

She shook her head in response, "That was all Sorren."

Sorren's ability to control and manipulate mushroom and fungi proved to be extremely handy. Not only was he able to identify poisonous fungi from those that were safe to eat, but he was also able to manipulate the many properties they possess. 

This allowed him to gain the ability to spread spores that could selectively knock out any form of creature. Mara was surprised that Sorren had such abilities. It also reminded her that she was now miraculously able to understand him. 

Though Vyrena was originally a little hesitant to tell Mara about Marble Hall, she explained it to her anyways. 

"So it lifted the curse he's had?"

Vyrena nodded, "That's right."

Sorren soon stirred awake. He was a little surprised to find both of his companions already awake before him. 

"Good morning sleepyhead," Vy joked with a smile. 

"Morning," he replied with a grin that evolved into a yawn. 

All three of them got ready and to leave for the day. However, the large box of weapons they had taken was too huge for them to carry around; at least while Vyrena was still in her human form. 

As such, they decided to bury it in a marked spot and return to retrieve it once they were done with their errand in the city. 

"So, do you want to travel with us? If not, I could always direct you back to where El and the others are if you like," Vyrena offered. 

Ultimately, she decided to follow them to the city. After Fendrif's untimely departure, she was not sure how El would react upon meeting her again. Within a couple of hours, they were within the city area. 

The tall buildings cast down huge shadows upon them, effectively blocking out the sunlight for them. They looked around cautiously for the highest vantage point they could find. 

"There, that one seems taller than the rest," Sorren mentioned as he squinted and pointed far up ahead. 

Vyrena and Mara both looked in the direction he was pointing that. They noticed a tall building that stood taller than the rest. 

"Climbing up there is going to take forever," Sorren sighed as he looked as high as he could without the sun blinding him. 

"Maybe we don't have to climb it."

Mara and Sorren looked at her in disbelief. 

"If we don't climb up it, how do you reckon we get up there? Fly?" Mara dissed. 

Vyrena smiled, her mouth widening into a big smile. 

"But your raven form ain't big enough for the two of us to ride. Plus…" Sorren said worriedly, "What if we get spotted? A giant black bird could easily be posted from everywhere."

"We can fly up there in the night and wait for sunrise. We can set up camp on the ground first and wait it out."