Chapter 18

Koa finished wiping his sword and sheathed it. He then checked the arrows and the string on the bow before strapping his quiver to his back. Finally he placed his two long knives in the sheath attached to his quiver. Koa stood up, kicked the dirt to cover the hole and turned back to Adamend and the girl.

The girl, Alex, was obviously trying to convince the stupid wizard to let her go. He could hear her pathetic pleading. Koa decided to put an end to their pointless talk and approached the pair, "... someone you don't want to anger."

'Give up, girl. I don't like this situation either. ' Koa thought as he met the girl's glare.

"We can't let you go, you'll be killed in a matter of hours. Get up. " Koa turned away from the girl and glanced at Adamend. Adamend had begun gathering the binding crystals.

"What do you mean I'll be killed. What the heck is going to kill me here? A rabbit? " The girl scrambled to her feet and stepped in front of Koa. He looked down at her wondering if she was really this simple. Mind you, he reminded himself, she was only human.

"Look around you. You are no longer in your homeland. This forest is vast and dangerous. There are creatures that would think nothing of making a meal out of such easy prey. " Koa moved passed Alex toward the edge of the ruins.

"Let's go, there is half a day's light left."

They had been walking for a few hours. Koa leading the way through the forest, followed by Alex, then Adamend pulling the rear. The journey was uneventful thus far and the path was easy. Koa had decided to follow the river for the first two days. It would make the journey longer but easier. Besides, it provided fresh water. He had completed his mission ahead of schedule so an extra day or two would not matter.

Koa led the group to a small clearing dropped his pack.

"We'll camp here for the night." Koa half expected the girl to complain, but she simply found a large rock and plopped down. Taking the canteens, Koa walked toward the river and emptied them. He then filled them with fresh water before returning them.

"Why are you doing that?" The girl asked. She sounded less angry, though that could have been due to exhaustion.

"Hey, elf boy, what is your problem?" The girl got up from her rock, her angry beginning to return. Koa stopped and looked at her. He kept his expression blank, though he was confused by her sudden change in attitude.

"Why are you ignoring me? You know I'm stuck here because of you, right? " He wasn't ignoring her, per say. He just didn't have anything to say. Also, he had expected Adamend to answer her questions. Adamend was much better at the being friendly thing.

"Look, I'm trying to..." Koa watched with surprise as the girl walking toward him suddenly tripped over herself. The book she held in her hands flew up into the air toward the river.

'No, no, no, no," Koa's stomach dropped as the only thing that gave the Alliance hope of ending the Dark Wars in victory dropped with a splash into the rushing waters.