Wake Up

"So, what's with that mark on your arm?" Dorin spoke between bites. Morah had already finished her portion, and seemed to be staring at the fire. 

"Same as yours. Egos manifest in different ways, especially so the stronger they become." 

Dorin grabbed the last morsel. "So why can't you use it if you still have the mark?"

"You don't want to know the answer to that." Morah looked up. "Speaking of egos, yours is interesting. Most only need one of something to recreate it. The fruit must have been low quality, but still." 

Dorin looked at the mark on his left hand, he wondered about the person in the book. He had looked furious, as if staring at someone in hatred. 

"You and that fiasco of an ego are the only hope we have." Morah put out the fire, and buried the burnt ends in the dirt. "I'll stay up, sleep while you can."

. . .

"Any bites?" 

Dorin pulled as hard as he could on his fishing rod, and it creaked and stretched as if there were something on the other end. "I don't know."

"Maybe it's the boss of the lake, immovable like a stone." Rae said. 

"Doubtful."

The tall figure protecting them from the sun with his shadow turned around. "Doubt is the first step towards failure."

"It seems like stones are all I've been able to catch lately."

Taol and Rae laughed as they joined hands with Dorin on his fishing rod. They dug their feet in the grooves of the wooden dock and pulled as hard as they could. Dorin ran out of breath quickly, and just as he was about to give up the line rose to the surface. A giant fish the size of Rae and Dorin combined jumped out of the water, its scales glinting in the evening sun. 

"Woo-hoo!" Taol shouted, whipping the rod behind all of them as the fish was pulled in their direction. After a few rounds with Taol it flopped up and down on the dock. 

"Tonight, we feast." Taol dragged the fish behind him as he left the two of them on the dock. 

Dorin turned to follow him but felt a push from behind, tossing him into the water. He couldn't seem to move his limbs as he drifted further into the deep. He watched as the garbled image of Rae looked over him from the dock. 

'Wake up.' Dorin's head pounded as he heard those words. 'Wake up.'

Dorin took a sudden breath and opened his eyes to see Morah shaking him from above. 

"We need to leave, right now." 

Dorin saw a dim light past the tree line, and the smell of smoke far beyond the remnants of their fire. 

"Summon your ego, we'll need it."

Dorin tried, but there was no connection like before, the taste of poultry was still on his tongue. "I can't."

A rustling in the brush caught their attention, and a familiar set of curls jumped out at the two of them and onto the ground.

"Rae?"

His old friend gasped for air, and it took him a moment before he looked up. "You need to get out of here, Lonn is burning everything down."

They heard a loud cracking, followed by a set of booms from falling trees in the distance. 

"He couldn't control his ego, and I took the chance to run."

Dorin wanted to ask him about everything that had happened, but it wasn't the right time. He picked Rae up, and he saw that there were burns all over his arms and legs. He tried his best not to touch them, but as Rae winced he knew that there was probably more underneath his clothes. 

"Leave me. I-," Rae had tears falling down his cheeks. "I don't want to live like this. A slave and a traitor to my friend."

"What do you mean?"

"They branded me."

Dorin looked at Morah, who turned away.

"It'll be okay. Just come with us." Dorin tried his best to reason with Rae, but he had lost consciousness before his response.

Morah stood on her stump, jumping to get a better viewpoint. "I know where it's coming from, follow me."

Dorin put Rae on his back, unworried about his injuries since he could no longer feel them. They traveled in the darkness as the fire caught up to them. They eventually reached the river as the blaze nipped at their heels, and Morah started walking into the water. 

"Hold on, how am I supposed to bring him across?"

"You can't." Morah said without turning back.