Ero Skill Tree

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Three: Last Stretch

The part stopped before we reached the edge. The plain was just about visible through the thinning trees, but we were well enough hidden in the lengthening shadows inside.

"We'll take a short break, until night fall. Then we'll push across the plain." Serin said as we looked to her for direction.

Liz had already pulled her map out of her gear and had joined Serin to plan our next move.

"Aetherin and Enna, you should probably look too. We can plan the fastest route, but you know the area better than we do." She said as she unfolded the map.

The four of them peered over the map while the rest of us sat and waited to hear the next move. On the way in, it took us two days to cross the plain and reach the forest. We had stopped the night in the village with Aetherin then, but heading back there this time was out of the question. Even if the demon forces hadn't managed to put two and two together, that place would still likely be under observation. We either needed to find a spot where, we could find cover during the day for our crossing or, work out a way to make it across in a single night. Neither of those things were going to be easy. We already knew there was next to zero cover on the plain. After some time, the four of them seemed to come to decision.

"What's the plan then?" Altria asked seeing Liz was putting her map away.

"We're going to try and make it to the foothills west of here. It will mean we have further to travel once we're back in the realm, but it's the quickest path across the plain. It also takes us farthest away from the wood and the village. Hopefully leaving far from where we entered will help to throw anyone following us off our trail."

"Right, I suppose that means we have more hillwalking ahead of us, but it'll be worth it to get away from here."

"I hope so."

While the four girls had been planning the route, it had become almost completely dark. It was the perfect time for us to leave. Altria and Enna went up ahead again, Enna spreading her wings and taking to the sky once she was in the open. The rest of us followed behind on foot, soon clearing the edges of the forest. The weather wasn't as clear as it had been for the last few days. So, despite the moon being out the night was dark enough to hide our crossing.

"Are we really going to be able to make it across in one night?" I asked Serin as we walked.

Even if we were heading towards the nearest point, it just didn't seem possible to me.

"It's going to be tight... Even if we don't, we'll be close to foothills by the time dawn comes."

"Is there anything there?"

"It's a small strip of land that protrudes into the plain on either side. It's sparsely populated, but there are few minor towns. We might be able to find transport back, if we're lucky."

"Will that be safe?"

"Yes... It was historically part of the ancient catkin realm. I don't think we'll have anything to worry about there."

"That's a relief. How have they managed to hold out there? The rest of the lands were pretty baren between here and the kingdoms."

"Set in the hills and mountains, most of the towns there are virtually natural fortresses. It also probably helps that they're small and of little tactical significance."

As we talked a whistle broke the relative silence around us. The sound had originated from Altria, and she was already heading back to the rest of the group.

"What is it?" Serin asked as she joined us

"There's something out there... In the air."

"And you're sure it's not Enna."