Larry and Jorg stalked through the forest. Their steps crushed the leaves below them, sending a rustling sound into the night. Where the rays of moonlight could penetrate the canopy, they illuminated spider webs and tiny drops of water with silver light. It was quiet. Larry could hear his heart pulse in his chest, and the concentrated breaths of Jorg.

“How do we know we aren’t going deeper into the forest?” Larry whispered.

“We don’t.” answered Jorg. “But staying in the same place won’t help either.”

“Right.”

Larry moved aside a branch that had been in this way.

“So, what’s the plan,” he said.

“We walk until we find a road. Not much else we can do.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until day for that, I can barely see where I’m going.”

“We don’t wanna stay in the same place for too long. Bad Meaning. In this forest, that’s a surefire way to get killed.”

The bush next to Larry rattled. A shadow crawled out of it, slithering towards Larry. He could feel his heartbeat shoot up, turning into more of an vibration. Jorg’s hand landed on his shoulder.

“Calm down, it’s just a black slime,” he said. “Nothing dangerous.”

Jorg held his hand towards the slime, and it crawled up his arm, along his neck and shoulder, an ended up sitting comfortably on his head. It wobbled happily.

“These things are practically unkillable,” Jorg said. “So they never developed and any sense of fear. No matter how hard you attack them, one small part will escape and reform over time.”

“Should you really let that thing sit on your head like that?” Larry asked.

“They are pretty dumb and mostly eat small bugs and grass. For them, we are just warm, walking trees.”

Larry poked the smile with his finger, sending tiny shockwaves over its body. He pushed a little harder, and his finger entered the slime without any problems. He lost the feeling in his finger. He quickly pulled it out, wiping of the film of black goo that sticked to it. The feeling returned. Jorg laughed with his hands covering his mouth, trying to suppress the sound. He put the slime back on the ground and it slithered away.

“You should be a little bit more careful with your finger. You only have five left.”

“Funny,” Larry said. It was not funny. Being reminded of the arm just caused the phantom pain to return. A numb pressure moved along the stump, extending beyond his actual body, to where his arm used to be. It was somewhat surreal to feel pain outside of your body. Losing his arm hadn’t been easy, but at least he had traded it for a friend.

“Hold on,” Jorg said. “I think I see a light.”

Larry saw it too. I slither of light fought itself through the leaves and bushed. As they snuck closer to it, they realized what it was.

“It’s a campfire,” Larry said.

“Breath of the mountain, you are right! Come on let’s talk to them.”

Larry hesitated.

“They might be bandits,”Larry said. “Why else would someone camp in this forest.”

“You’re too scared. You killed the beast, but it has planted doubt into your chest”

“I’m just careful.”

“Have it your way,” Jorg said.

They crept up to the fire, carefully staying in the shadows. When they reached the clearing where the campfire was, they saw two figures sit around it, warming their hands.

“Maybe a frog’s tongue. How should I know?” the first figure said, the voice sounding female.

“Not a frog’s tongue, but a dog’s” the other answered. Male. “Frog’s don’t have enough meat on them.”

“I’ll just use more frog’s then. I refuse to kill a dog just for a stupid ritual.”

“You literally skinned two puppies alive yesterday. I clearly remember you laughing while doing so. You skinned them, and then you drowned them.”

“Yesterday barely counts. It was the last day of the small circle. Everything is allowed on that day.”

“Or so you say,” the man said, throwing a twig towards the fire. The twig landed next to the fire. The woman snickered. The man casually made a gesture with his hand and the twig moved by itself, finally entering the campfire. Jorg pulled Larry back.

“This is bad,” Jorg whispered. “Those guys are rogue mages. We gotta get out of here. Fast.”

They took a step backwards, never taking their eyes of the mages. Larry could guess why these two mages scared Jorg so much. If he had learned one thing from his fight with the beast, it was just how dangerous magic could be. He had no idea what he was doing, and he still wiped out an enemy that should have killed him easily. What were actual mages able to do, then? The female mage snickered.

“By the way,” she said. “Who are those two worms creeping in the shadows?”

“I believe,” the man said. “We won’t have to kill dogs for our next ritual. We found something much better.”

The female pointed her hand towards Larry and Jorg. Flames danced across her palm and fingers.

“Indeed.”

----

Mattlean walked through the hidden paths of his castle. A small sphere of light hovered above him, just slightly behind his head, so as not to blind him, It filled the otherwise dark corridors with unnatural, white light. He noticed a spider crawl along the walls. With the flick of his fingers he produced a small bolt of lighting. It cut through the air and blasted the spider, evaporating the liquids inside its body before it even realized what had happened. Mattlean took in the smell of burned life. It was quite enjoyable, once one had acquired a taste for it.

He walked passed the doors of abandoned torture chamber and dusty libraries, and the path he was on seemingly stretched indefinitely. It was fine that way, as he did not walk towards a goal. He traveled these corridors for their Meaning. A long time ago, his father had wandered these paths and returned a different man. One that had radiated power. This was why every day, Mattlean walked here for hours on end, waiting for a change to happen. But it never did. No whispers of forbidden knowledge, no weapons smithed in dragonfire, no calls to glories battles. He muted his light, and left the pathways.

One day, he thought. One day I will find my Meaning, and it will carry me beyond every fear and limit.