Two days later, Aaspaelwin stood and shook his legs after crouching by another stone. This was the fourth marker, and hopefully the last one.

'You done?' Sir Hapow asked.

Aspen ignored him as he rolled up the parchment and placed it in the scroll-holder, then he pulled out the map. Making a map on the go at the same time as you were looking for magical markers was a time-consuming task. He stared at the crude map. It annoyed him that he'd had to rush it. He liked making them as precise as possible. He measured the space between the stone markers on the map. There had to be another one. Gods be damned. Still, it gave him a clue as to its whereabouts. It looked like the last one.

'Hey! I'm talking to you, ghost!'

Aaspaelwin jumped at the tone and looked up, only to meet the angry, bloodshot glare of Sir Hapow.

'Uh, yeah. I'm done,' he mumbled and stuffed the map back down.

'About time. Let's move. How far to the next one?'

About the same as the last one, I assume.'

'Figures. Move it. It will be dark again before we get there.'

Aaspaelwin glanced to the sky, or what little of it he could see, ignoring the man. The trees swayed back and forth, obscuring the pale blue with their dark boughs. The sun had already sunken below the treeline. He shuddered. Still, they hadn't seen or heard anything from the monster the entire time. Maybe it had just been a freak accident that time? He hoped so. Still, he attempted to stay outside of the circle. Just in case. But it was hard when traversing a thick, hilly forest. He shouldered his pack. Better start moving before Sir Hapow decided to help him along. His legs hurt from the intense walking and the dry, dying underbrush's scratching and stinging. Sighing, he pushed some branches out of his way, glancing sideways at the guard.

Descending a small hill, Aaspaelwin spotted a small flat stone, balanced on two others, like an altar. He stopped.

The guards halted right behind him.

'What's that?' Sir Hapow muttered after a while, panting.

Watching their surroundings for a while, Aspen ventured closer to inspect it. Old carvings adorned the sides and flat top of the altar. A few red flakes told him they had once been filled in with paint. Some polished round rocks and a small metal saucer stood to the left side of the flat top. The saucer looked suspiciously clean. Who'd put it there? Was it recently used? Leaning in, he sniffed at it. An odd but pleasant smell lingered by it. Some oil perhaps? With tree sap or some root in it for the scent? Was it an offering of some kind? And in that case, to whom?

Sir Hapow peered suspiciously at it, then at Aaspaelwin. 'I asked you a question, pipsqueak.'

'I don't know. Some altar.' He had to rein in his temper. Retorting wasn't a good strategy against the big guard.

'Could be an offering to Naarg,' Hiaashaqwi unexpectedly pointed out.

Aspen blinked. 'Naa–' He stopped himself. If it was a deity, he shouldn't say the name aloud. At least not before he knew what type of deity it was. 'Who's that?'

Hiaashaqwi shrugged, his scales glinting gold in the fading light. 'Some dark one, I think.' The samandar moved up to the altar and watched the inscriptions, ember eyes narrowed. 'There.' He pointed to some symbols. 'I think that's the god's name. But it's been too long since I read about it.'

'Does this mean there's people living nearby?' Sir Hapow asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

'It's possible,' Hiaashaqwi said. 'If it's still in use. Some smaller people worship him sometimes.'

'Could be,' Aspen agreed. He wasn't sure what to think about it. Maybe the people who had summoned the monster were still here and active? He rubbed his hands, suddenly cold despite the hot weather. Looking forward, two yellow points glinted from a shadow. He blinked. Nothing. Had he imagined it?

'Hey?' Sir Hapow stepped up beside him and looked in the same direction. 'What are you staring at? You saw something?'

'I think... probably nothing.' He shrugged and set off again. No time to linger.

'Well, tell us if there is. Could be dangerous.'

'I know.' He tossed his head in annoyance, his hood falling back from his raven hair. The sun didn't burn him anymore and it was nice to get some air through his hair. Soon it'd be cooler, and swarming with insects. Something always had to ruin the day. At least here, the underbrush grew more sparse and they could keep up a good pace.

'I don't want to deal with surprise attacks for your sake, half-breed,' Sir Hapow grunted behind him.

Aspen glanced back. What was up with him anyway? His mood hadn't exactly been great to begin with, but the last two days had seen a definite increase in jibes and angry remarks.

They spent the night in the dead quiet forest, taking turns to keep watch. Aaspaelwin awoke from a kick in his side and groaned.

'Sssh! Wake up, twig,' a voice hissed.

Anger clouded Aspen's thoughts as he sat up and rubbed his side. The kick had landed on his sore ribs. 'You can wake me with words, you know,' he muttered.

'I'm sorry? Didn't hear you there,' Sir Hapow whispered. He didn't even try to hide his mirth.

Aaspaelwin considered drawing his knife or punching the man in his grinning face. But he tossed the idea aside as soon as it entered his thoughts. He wouldn't be able to win a fight against the human anyway, and he didn't want to kill him. Threatening him would only make things worse. Grinding his teeth, he clambered onto his feet, letting the cool air soothe his burning anger a fraction.

Darkness cloaked the forest, every tree and shrub a black silhouette against the deep blue sky. Stars glittered above, cold and distant. Only the wind whispered in the silence. No howls or screeches or padding of many feet disturbed the land. Aspen swallowed. He couldn't allow his thoughts to wander to the monster. He glanced at the others. The samandar slept by the small fire pit they'd made in the evening, though the fire had long since died. Sir Hapow sat on the other side of the pit, watching him.

'What?' Aaspaelwin asked under his breath.

'Don't fall asleep. Wake us if something happens.'

He sighed. 'We've done this several times already. I know.'

'There might be people nearby. We didn't think so before. Keep your eyes and ears open.'

He nodded. Aggravating as he was, Sir Hapow wasn't stupid. Aspen wandered a small distance away from them, climbed up on a wide rock, and sat on it, crossing his legs. He let his eyes wander back and forth, listening intently. A crack to his right made his heart leap. A rustle behind him made him certain something sneaked on him. Groaning to the left. Just a branch creaking. Right? As time passed, Aaspaelwin tensed more and more, his heart thrumming and his ears buzzing. Adrenaline shot through his system at the slightest noise from the wind and the trees. Sitting alone and watching shadows did things to your imagination, he decided.

A rustle on the other side of the camp made his back straighten. He peered into the dark, the shadows darker now than before against the slowly brightening sky. Did something move? He rose to his feet, slowly so as to not make a sound. Another rustle drew his eyes to the right. Was there something? For what felt like ages, he stared, barely breathing. Nothing.

'By the fires of Yhori,' he muttered, calling on the sun god's Astra, as he often did in stressed situations. He wished the sun would climb faster so they could get going. At least moving felt productive. Sighing he resumed his seat on the rock.

'Don't move,' a harsh voice hissed in his ear.

Aaspaelwin jumped and something sharp poked his back. The hairs on his neck and arms prickled. He raised his empty hands and resisted the urge to look back, afraid he'd get stabbed.

'Who's you? What doing here?'

Whoever it was, clearly wasn't used to speak their language, he noted. 'We're just travelling through,' he whispered.

'Lie!' The sharp object poked harder against his back. 'Grashko kek.'

What was that language? Aspen dared to glance sideways, moving his head a fraction.

'No move! Answer.' The tone shifted, became more high-pitched.

'Listen,' Aaspaelwin said as calmly as he could, keeping his voice low. 'We're looking for stones. Just moving through here. We're not a threat to anyone. We...'

'I saw you by the holy... the... '

'Altar?' Aspen asked.

'Yes. You no touch. Not allowed. It protects.'

'Against what?' He turned his head and received another poke in the back. But not before he'd caught a glimpse of the stranger. Hooded and with a bow sticking up behind its back he couldn't tell much about it. Small and skinny, the creature seemed barely more than a child. Hadn't Hiaashaqwi said something about ”the small people” worshipping the god? Who were the small people? Dwarves? Surely not. He didn't think they lived in this area.

'The Seeing One. The Many Eyes. Make it angry, you will. Bawa.'

The many eyes? He shuddered. 'The monster?'

'You leave!' Another prod in his back. The sharp sting told him whatever weapon was used, had pushed through his tunic. 'Leave, or I kill!'

'Wait! We're here to make it go away,' he hissed.

The creature hesitated, the prodding in his back ceased. Then a hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, something cold placed against his throat. Aspen tensed, his mouth dry. Holy good gods, have mercy.

'Lie! You want it.'

'No, wait. Please! Listen. Listen!'

Nothing happened. Sweating, Aspen looked up and met two golden orbs, glinting with reflected light. Yellow reflecting eyes, small, big ears. Goblin. The realization made him jerk sideways, but the goblin's grip on his hair was strong enough to keep him in place, and he only ended up pulling his hair. His eyes watered, but he managed to stay quiet. He didn't want the guards to wake up. They'd scare the goblin, and maybe he'd end up dead as a result. By the gods.

'I listen,' the goblin hissed. 'But wrong move, and you lose head.'

He almost nodded. Bad move. The knife's edge scraped against his throat. 'All right. Can you please let go of my hair? I'd like to be able to speak without breaking my neck.'

Sharp teeth flashed, but to his surprise, it let him go and removed the knife.

'Thanks.'

'You scared. Weak.'

He snorted. As if he needed a tiny goblin to tell him he was weak on top of all the others. 'Whatever. Look, we're here to stop the monster. It almost killed us a few weeks ago. But now we know how to get rid of it.'

'I listen.'

He told the goblin their plan in hushed whispers, hoping to placate it, but also faintly hoping it'd know something and be able to help. At least it didn't seem to be out for his blood.

'What in the abyss are you doing, you treacherous little bastard!'

Aspen reeled back from the loud roar, nearly falling off the stone in his fright. The goblin gave a frightened squeak. This was it. He was going to die.