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Night had fallen heavy over their heads as the three made their way to the spot Arken told them about; Jesper was the only one who hadn't yet shown up, though none were least surprised as Shan who knew he would be from the very second Kaz sent him off alone with a stack of kruge.
Kaz walked ahead stoically, a cloudy expression on his face as he carried the goat under his arm, inpatient with it's little legs and habit of veering off to nibble at the tall grass.
And despite the fact he was saving Shan the torture of the job, she couldn't help but feel guilty for his sudden closed off behaviour.
He hadn't said nearly a word to the girls who walked with linked arms a few paces behind him.
Shan had a soft frown on her face as she stared at Kaz's back, stomach twisting as she thought over what she had said to make him so cold to her. Inej noticed her abnormal quietness but didn't push it, opting to walk at her side.
When they all made it to the very edge of town, a bright yellow warning sign stopped them in their tracks. Arken continued on casually as though it wasn't there, but the minute the others all read it their feet cemented to the floor.
It had a black skull painted on it, a warning beneath for landmines.
"We'll wait here," Kaz told Arken when he glanced over his shoulder expectantly. "Follow the path you carve."
He glanced sideways at the sign as though only just remembering its existence and waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, that was my idea to keep people away." He revealed calmly. "Can't be too careful. We're fine, come on."
They all watched him continue his path across the empty field, the looming presence of the wall of darkness ahead of them looming like a ghost, waiting for them.
There was nothing in the back of her mind screaming at her to stop and so she slipped her arm free of Inej's and moved around Kaz, following Arken's steps.
The other two hesitated at her confidence.
They waited for a long moment, watching her scrutinising the muddy path she was treading on, occasionally looking back up to see where Arken was stepping. She looked as though she was walking through any other field on a normal day, taking a stroll.
It took Inej three seconds to trust her judgement and start walking.
Kaz responded a second later but warily.
They approached the gigantic wall of eerie darkness that rolled with a strange energy, thunder rumbling from the inside. A warning to all that dared approach.
Shan clutched her shawl tighter around her shoulders, unable to tear her eyes away. It was a deeper shade of black than the sky above, an impossibly pitch black colour that made the Dekappel painting in Kaz's office look like a child's drawing.
