A long stretch of time filled with Nari’s agony, Lina tries to help her but Nari pleads with her to stay away. Lina feeling awful for what she has done goes to prepare a meal at least.

  Meanwhile Ashen goes to make sure Nari won’t die from her lingering effects. He tries asking for where it hurts most but Nari only keeps crying in pain.

  He won’t get any answers or help unless she stops crying. Ashen gently reaches down and places a hand on her head.

  “Her soul is trembling” Ashen says as he tries calming her down. Ashen tries calming her soul but can’t grab it. Instead Ashen just eases Nari’s pain by helping stabilize her body and uses a healing potion.

  Days pass as Nari’s pain fades to be much more manageable, there is a burn scar around her neck as parts of her flesh try to cling to the metal collar as if they were fused together by the heat.

  Lina and Nari have not spoken since the incident as Ashen still angry yet returned he to being calm. An unbearable silence fills the camp as it has for the days prior. Lina nervously glances towards Nari every so often while Nari can never meet her gaze.

  As Nari shakily eats some of the rabbit stew that Lina made with their reserves, Lina just sits on the other side of the small camp overwhelmed with guilt.

  Lina didn’t mean to hurt Nari but she was so caught up in removing that stupid collar that she ignored what would happen to Nari. Lina looks to her own hands scarred from her sinful journey thus far as she mumbles to herself,

  ”I can’t heal scars, and now I just gave Nari one.”

  Ashen moves over to sit by Lina after Nari is able to eat on her own. An awkward silence follows until Ashen finally says,

  ”Why did you try removing her collar?”

  Lina considers telling him that she was just trying to help, or it was for Nari, but they all know those aren’t true. Lina starts speaking without thinking,

  “I thought I could make a difference, I thought I could change things.”

  Ashen seems to relax a little at her answer as he says,

  ”At least you’re being honest, but if slave collars were so easy to remove from some new attuned then that market would have collapsed long ago.”

  Lina gets annoyed, this way of speaking makes it seem like he doesn’t care or won’t even try to make a difference, she responds equal parts guilt and annoyance,

  ”So we just give up? Leave the collar on her? Leave the world in chaos?”

  Ashen places his hand on her shoulder with more force than necessary as he coldly states,

  ”We are not gods, we aren’t even high priests yet. There is only so much we can do, but that doesn’t mean to ignore what we can do.”

  Lina asks him confused,

  ”What do you mean?”

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  Ashen looks over to Nari, scarred from betrayal, then back to Lina shaking with guilt as he states,

  ”We can’t save the world with determination and ideals alone, why don’t you start by doing what you can?”

  Ashen nods to Nari who needs proper healing.

  Lina wants to back out, worried her being there would only make it worse, but she knows that’s just the guilt speaking.

  Lina quietly sets down her bowl of stew and walks over to Nari, Nari trembles and doesn’t face Lina as she approaches.

  Lina gets on her knees a few feet from Nari, tears in her eyes as she stares at the trembling child, Lina bows her head and pleads saying,

  ”Please Nari, You don’t have to forgive me but please let me heal you, you don’t deserve to feel all this pain.”

  Nari is quiet for a while, then says in a trembling voice,

  ”Why didn’t you stop when I asked you to? You said you respected my will, was that just a lie?”

  Lina looks up and is surprised to see Nari crying in sadness not pain. Lina gets up and rushes to Nari, Nari closes her eyes in fear until 2 warm arms envelop her in a hug.

  Nari slowly opens her eyes to see Lina trembling and crying too, Lina then says with her voice filled with sorrow and regret,

  ”No it wasn’t, I’m so sorry Nari, I promise I’ll make up for this, please don’t doubt us.”

  Nari shakily raises her arms up to accept the hug, but lowers them again, she isn’t able to forgive Lina yet.

  Later they have to cut Nari’s flesh that has been fused to the collar using Ashen’s knife. Afterwards Lina uses her blessing to help mend the scarred flesh revealed underneath. It becomes a delicate surgery with the metal collar being in the way not making it any easier.

  They have to do this over the course of a few days to give it time to heal in one area before adjusting the collar to pressure another as it doesn’t give much leeway.

  Eventually as they walk further into the northern part of the rocky wilds, they see the stone laid path towards the Everlasting Dwarven kingdom.

  Lina glances at Nari who is not doing so hot, Nari’s neck is super itchy as the new flesh tries to mend despite the collar. Her bow recently broke as she wasn’t paying attention during a hunt, and she feels betrayed by Lina.

  Their team is in shambles when they are only a days walk from the land of the dwarves.

  Ashen notices a messenger bird fly above their heads, sure it’s nothing peculiar though he feels something is wrong as he tells Lina,

  ”That’s the third messenger bird in only the past week.”

  Lina doesn’t see the issue, messenger birds are quite common as she responds with,

  ”So what?”

  Ashen continues,

  ”We have been avoiding cities since we declared ourselves the Heretics, why would messenger birds consistently fly over us when we aren’t on the normal path?”

  Lina admits that’s a fair point but they can’t do much about that so move on.

  They do not notice Nari looking upset for a different reason as she stares at the bird. Nari falls behind the others as she walks slower, there aren’t any trees around so she can’t do her usual method. Instead she pretends to inspect her boots as she leans down while discreetly placing a folded paper under a rock.

  Lina turns back and sees Nari falling behind and calls out to her,

  ”Nari you okay? We could slow down if your injury is acting up.”

  Nari shakes her head and runs ahead to catch up, as they go further ahead the messenger bird flies down and grabs the folded paper Nari left behind before flying away with it.

  Lina and Nari are ahead as Ashen falls behind, they know Nari was sent to spy on them, with no tree cover this is how she’s been communicating with whomever owns her.

  Ashen looks towards Lina and Nari both guilty in their own rights before he says to himself,

  ”This won’t end well, Yakumaga, my curse of misfortune, I wonder who will die this time.”

  Ashen moves towards the large Stone Mountain in their sights as the messenger bird flies away.

  The bird flies over many areas before stopping only a few days walk from the party of Heretics.

  The bird lands on an outstretched pale arm peaking out from a familiar black cloak. He grabs the letter with his other hand then reads aloud in a familiar dark voice,

  ”They will be staying in the Dwarven kingdom for new gear.”

  Then the man pauses and smiles as he reads the next section,

  ”They tried removing my collar but couldn’t, but the energy was pure, I believe they are both attuned.”

  Hurine smiles from beneath his cloak as he says to himself,

  ”Fascinating, I wonder what kind of boon I’ll get for consuming the souls of the attuned, maybe I’ll become one as well.”

  Hurine places a hand on his new sword, polished yet still stained red from frequent kills.

  ”A demon’s got to eat after all.”