Very Useful Skill

Silence put everyone off. Before this, the group had managed to hear the distant beasts. Their calls or the flap of wings in the canopy above was enough. It let them know that there were not major predators or any reasons why they should be on edge for greater dangers. Yet, now, there was silence. 

This alone put them all on a greater edge than before. Their worries only multiplied with the fact that Jerold could not find anything on the ground that could be called a beast track. Not a single bush was flattened or a single tree scratched. It was as if the beasts kept this entire area empty for some reason. 

Ella had stopped talking and examining Crim. She had been sure that as they moved forward she had to remain silent. Every step that the group took needed to carry their weight without alerting anything.