Chapter 271 More Than Remnants (1/2)
Arran awoke at the first light of dawn, ht before He had only , and even in those few short hours, he had woken up at least half a dozen tiht about the Essence Remnant, the more it bothered him And it wasn't the creature's power that unsettled him Rather, it was that the beast — if it could be called that — seehtmare that had taken a physical forhtblade appeared not to have slept at all She was still in the exact sa both paths to the plateau with focused eyes
”Any sign of Reht?” Arran asked
”None,” she replied ”But then, they usually stay down in the valleys This far up, there's no real risk of running into the, they would have beena careful watch As it was, Arran could not help but think that any risk real enough to keep Brightblade aas one worth fearing
But that was only part of the concern he felt Another — larger — part was his memory of the creature
”That creature yesterday,” he began ”The Essence Reht words to voice his concern
Yet Brightblade nodded, a look of understanding in her eyes ”They're disconcerting, aren't they? As if they shouldn't exist — Essence coainst you”
Arran frowned, his expression uncertain ”When I saw it… I couldn't tell whether the beast had absorbed the Essence, or the Essence had absorbed the beast”
Brightblade gave hiht realize, and soht discuss in the future But for nohatout of here as quickly as possible So eat sohtfall”
He did as she said, and after a short er to leave behind both thetheht see its appearance truly was
Fortunately, however, theythe mountains' narrow paths The Remnant had forced them to take a more difficult route, but neither of the the harsh terrain, and they moved with the drive of people keen to be elsewhere
Still, neither their swift pace nor the tranquil surroundings brought Arran n of any more Remnants, he felt like they could stu the alien creatures' power up close
While his body could easily handle the effort of running through rough terrain, his constant wariness lad when the day cahtblade set up camp — almost, because even if rest elcome, the same wasn't true for another day spent in the e of the htblade said ”There's another foret soht”
Despite Brightblade's advice and his own exhaustion, Arran barely slept that night The memory of the Essence Remnant was still too fresh in his mind for that — especially in a place where one of the creatures could easily stumble upon them while he slept
But once more, Arran was relieved to find that his worries had been for naught No Reht, and in the y Just another half-day of travel, and they would be clear of thepassed uneventfully, and by an to return Just a few more hours, and they'd reach the relative safety of the borderlands
They crossed a green, wide valley unhindered, then followed a steep path that led to a pass up on thecloser
But as they reached the pass, Brightblade came to a sudden halt
”Son of a whore!” she spat ”Demons!”
Arran was only paces behind, and as she finished the last word, he came to a halt beside her I, broad pass lay in the distance ahead of the Yet within the pass stood numerous human-like shapes, and even from this distance, Arran could see that these were no people