The two allocated days passed in a flash, and fortunately without any incident.

The group got ready to leave, over the two days Tavena had gotten better as Orivin predicted, although she still clung tightly to him.

Serif glanced at her, noticing his gaze she shuffled to Orivin's back, like a child hiding from a scary adult.

He sighed at the sight, Well it's better than curling up in a corner, she was good enough to use her energy sensing, although she only agreed to tell Orivin, most especially if Serif was around.

Serif's gaze moved to Orivin who nodded in acknowledgement, his mind drifting back to their conversation.

It ticked him off, but apparently anytime he left the cave, Tavena became more free, at least she wasn't constantly hiding behind Orivin. But as soon as he returned, it was like a switch was turned back on as her tone got lower, she would shrink back, avoiding him.

These past two days he had observed Orivin, seeing what really attracted her to him, why Jake was so carefree around him.

He concluded it was either age or his jokes, but he couldn't see himself joking around so now it's all up to age.

Serif looked on, scanning the team, Orivin hoisting his bag and shield, Zhadra adjusting her buckles, while Jake nocked an arrow on his bow.

The group finally left the false safety of the cave, with the hope of finding an escape from the dreadful Netherveil, but first they had to leave the dark jungle.

Zhadra was in front, the reason being she had been to the edge of the forest more often, observing for the dragon, she was more familiar with the way out.

After her was Jake, his head darting side to side, bow ready for action, he had not left the cave once after all, the environment was strange to him. Not to mention he was still scarred by the black flames and that feeling he felt.

Serif frowned, that black flame was one of the reasons he was eager to leave, it sounded familiar, but he did not know from where, but one thing he was certain of was it was nothing good.

He looked at his distorted reflection on Orivin's massive shield, that's right, he was last in line.

His white hair was the most obvious feature, but as he looked on his breath caught, he noticed two distinct red lights on the shield.

Serif's head snapped back, his eyes darting around, but there was nothing, just the cave left behind, trees surrounding it.

He frowned, the trees around the cave, they were a lot more than he remembered, there was no way he had made a mistake, the trees had increased.

The way back to the cave would take a little more effort now, than before.

Something was terribly wrong, Serif turned around, a bad feeling knawing at him, not to mention he could feel something staring, but he couldn't pinpoint from where.

"You okay," Orivin's voice came from front.

"Yeah," Serif nodded, noticing he had stopped moving, "let's go." He muttered dismissively.

But that feeling was still there, a sinking feeling in his stomach, his hair standing, heart rate increasing, something he hadn't felt for a while, the feeling of a prey being stalked.

His entire attention was on the environment around him, he felt if he faltered for a second, he might die.

That's why he didn't notice when Orivin stopped, and his face almost slammed into the cold surface of the shield.

The group turned to face him, "you okay?" Ovirin asked, his eyes widening.

"You sure you're okay?" He repeated the question, before Serif could answer.

"Yeah," Serif answered with a questioning expression, wondering why everyone was looking at him with wide eyes.

"You sure you don't want to take off that shirt?" Orivin asked.

Serif's eyes narrowed, "no, what's wrong."

"Well it's just you're sweating buckets," he answered, causing Serif to frown.

He touched his forehead, feeling it wet, he frowned, something was terribly wrong, they had to get out of here.

"Why did you stop?" He asked, looking at Zhadra.

"We're lost," she muttered, her brows knitted in confusion.

What's that supposed to mean, his face twisted in confusion, even with the chain marks.

"You followed the chain marks?" He asked.

She took a deep breath, "we've been following the marks for up to an hour now, without end." A look of frustration flashing in her eyes.

Before he could answer, he paled, the chains already extending, lashing out.

Jake's eye widened as Serif's chains approached him, then from the side of his eye, he noticed something approaching his neck at breakneck speed, too fast for him to react

Snap, the chain lashed at the arrow, snapping it a few inches away from Jake's neck, splinters piercing his skin.

Zhadra quickly drew her bow, in one fluid movement an arrow was nocked in, and fired in the next second.

The arrow tore a red streak through the air, towards where the wooden arrow had approached.

Then boom, an explosion rocked the forest, as the arrow made impact, illuminating the area for a brief instant.

She quickly nocked another arrow, it's tip glowing red.

Orivin's shield dropped with a loud thump, he effortlessly lifted it, the next second, he swerved around pointing it to the opposite direction from where the first arrow came from.

Smack, another wooden arrow snapped to pieces as it hit the surface of the shield.

Zhadra fire an arrow towards the location, another explosion illuminated the forest again.

"Huddle together," Serif ordered, his chains extending, "Jake can you see anything."

"Barely…" he answered, "the darkness is obscuring my sight…" he finished.

"Tavena?"

"She says there are multiple energy signatures," Orivin answered, pushing her body behind him.

"Where?" Zhadra asked, urgency in her voice, an arrow already locked in.

"You should take out your hammer," Orivin muttered with a grim expression, "they're all around us."

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