The First Take

The Abandoned Realm, Scene 24B, Take 1, was what was written in chalk on the clapperboard. Like the sharp edge of a pulled and primed guillotine, it plunged close with a mighty crack. A loud call of "Action!" rippled onto a stifling silence, and quickly the board was whisked from the wide shot. 

This was it. This was what everything was building up to. And frankly, speaking as both outsider and in-character, there really wasn't much present to anticipate. 

Here we were. Taking respite in a clearing a long journey through the forest. Together, a group, but not companions. Allies but not friends. Working towards a solidary goal that no one was actively striving to save for a solitary one. Leonardo was the glue holding this party together and definitely not in the complimentary sense of the phrase.