The dragon candles still shone in the mist, illuminating the landscape Bastian had only felt until that day. Trees of all kinds, birch, oak, and maple, reached up toward the sky. Lichens meandered up and around trees, crawling from branch to branch, connecting the trees to each other in an intricate dance of life. Centipedes scurried, their legs scuttling faster than a hummingbird's wings in flight.
The mist clung to everything, a shawl enveloping the forest in its protective embrace. At least this time Bastian could see it all instead of worrying his deepest fears lurked in its depths. He knew its secrets intimately. He'd defeated the beast. The woman in the trees, and her two companions on the other edges of the forest, only seemed to care if something, or someone, was entering the forest. He finally felt he had been given a blessing to leave.
Adam nudged Bastian with his elbow as he slipped up next to him. "All the wounded have been cared for or taken back to the village. There are about fifty of us left for the next battle."
The woman in the tree. She was Bastian's next target. It would be tricky. The upper branches of the tree wouldn't hold the weight of all of his warriors. He needed the strongest and the most clever. The ones who could think quickly and act accordingly.
It would be impossible to sneak up on her. Climbing the trees would take a few minutes and it was unlikely they could do it quietly enough to surprise her. If noise even mattered. Her body was tied to the tree in some magical fashion. It was likely she knew their every move on the way up. The rest of the men would remain on the ground, to catch them if they fell like Bastian did the first time, or climb up and attack if their comrades fell.
"Those numbers are good. More than I expected," Bastian said.
Adam raised an eyebrow. "You fought well today. So did the others, considering their lack of experience."
"You think we were lucky." It wasn't a question. They both knew it.
Adam nodded. He looked back at the candle bearer. The boy made no indication he was listening to them. "The beasts were frightened and disoriented by the light. It weakened them."
"Their advantage lay in the darkness of the mist, I know." Bastian shuddered as he remembered the trouble they had caused him. Of the lives lost.
"And in their size."
Bastian laughed. "In some ways that worked against them too." He looked up at the trees, knowing they were getting ever closer to the edge of the forest and their next target. His words dried up, sober.
"What do we need to know about her?" Adam asked. He switched his pack of medical supplies from one shoulder to the other. Bastian noticed it wasn't as full as when they left Hutton's Bridge.
"She has great magic, for one. Beyond that, I do not know. Her heart appears to be fed by the tree sap. Or maybe she gives life to the tree. I wish I knew more about how her magic worked before we climbed up. Sophia’s book didn't tell me much."
"We're just lucky Carrac discovered the power of dragon tallow." Adam pointed at the lantern. "Without it, I'm not sure we would have beaten the beasts."
Bastian nodded. "There is so much we don't know. I saw things beyond the forest that I don't understand. Children there know more than we do."
"We'll learn soon enough. I, for one, cannot wait." Adam rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Finding new medicines to save lives. New procedures. I have to believe they're farther advanced than I am."
"They are." Bastian remembered the doctor who'd claimed he could save Connor before he'd been stolen from the infirmary. "I have a feeling you'll have more to learn than you can in your lifetime."
"That's fine with me. I've been ready to leave Hutton's Bridge for years."
"Then why didn't you ever volunteer to go into the fog?" Bastian asked. His uncle hadn't ever shown interest in leaving before.
Adam sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I promised Sophia I'd stick around and keep an eye on you and Tressa. She implied there was something special about the two of you." He rolled his eyes. "Just an old woman's rantings, but I didn't want to worry her. I wanted to leave, but it didn't mean I was willing to commit suicide in the fog. When you came back, it was nothing short of a miracle."
Bastian hung his head. He'd brushed death too many times over the last few months. He didn't believe in miracles, especially after seeing his mother and Tressa's father living in a hidden settlement in the forest. He wasn't special. He was persistent.
"I wouldn't have followed anyone into the fog," Adam said. "Though it never occurred to me to follow my nephew. I should have gone with you the first time you left. I never should have let Connor go. He had a wife he loved. Children. No one would have missed me."