Moyasu, having been rudely awakened from her slumber in the trees, glared down the path two horsemen were now following. One who dressed as one of the Mikomi tribe seemed to be chasing the other, and although she couldn’t distinguish the latter’s clothing, she could tell they were heading towards the Sendo village. Her eyes narrowed and she stood tall on that limb, drawing her bow tight and aiming carefully for the one who awoke the greatest anger within her. The Sendo scout.

Her red stone glowed, her eyesight was immediately heightened, and just like a dragon she zoomed in on the Sendo scout, aiming straight for his heart. Shoom. Snick. Her bowstring hummed even as the horseman fell. She smiled slightly as she reached back to her quiver to pull another arrow, but when she found none, and noticed the Mikomi warrior was looking in her direction, she jumped from her branch and landed softly on the ground as if it wasn’t thirty feet up. She then hid herself from his view, planning on following him to see where he went.

Moyasu cursed herself for having forgotten her other two arrows broke while hunting. Finding just the right wood for good arrows was difficult, especially for a young girl like herself. In any case, she lurked in the shadows and followed the trail left by Zesshou’s horse to reach the lake. She stayed hidden and listened to the conversations between the Mikomi that were there. She was surprised when Zesshou didn’t take credit for having killed the Sendo scout. She also felt very curious as to what was going on in that strange little building where she understood more Mikomi were.

Having no way to get to that building and investigate for herself, Moyasu stalked around the forests rimming the lake, carving arrows and attaching the small arrowheads she always salvaged from her broken ones. It took her hours, but was worth it. In the end she had twenty-three sturdy arrows, finding enough feathers lying around to tip the ends of only fifteen though. And losing that arrowhead to a Sendo scout’s chest cavity didn’t seem to bother her as much as the lack of feathers.

Moyasu climbed a tree nearby Zesshou and the other Mikomi, and awaited the return of the others. She didn’t want to kill them until she was sure how many there were and what they were after. Somehow she felt a strong urge to wait and see what they would bring with them, but she didn’t know where the source of this urge came from.

---------------

Meanwhile, Wevli sat with his back against the boulder as he listened to the sounds of Hitori’s footfalls slowly become inaudible as she moved further away from him. Worried she might not find him again in this maze, he unclipped his sword from his belt and tapped the sheath on the wall. The sound reverberated beautifully, and Wevli decided if he heard even the faintest of footsteps, he’d tap on the wall to lead them to him.
Suddenly, Wevli heard something that sounded like a giggle. He looked around, but couldn’t see anything different in the dim lighting. He decided it must have been in his head. But as soon as he’d relaxed again, pondering his situation, he heard another childish laugh coming from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at the same time. There wasn’t even an echo to it.

“What is this?” Wevli questioned, knowing he must be going mad, “Where. Who’s there!” he commanded from the darkness, but only his echo and a troubling silence followed. No answer came. “I’m going insane, aren’t I.” he asked of himself, filled with melancholy.

“You’re not going insane.” a voice called out from what seemed like within himself. Wevli looked to a wall and a small child was somehow standing there. It was hard to make out any distinguishable features, but it was definitely a child.
“What the? How did you get in here?” he asked, standing.
“That’s not the point.” the child retorted playfully.
“What is the point, then?” Wevli asked.
“To get you back to your friends.” the child replied, pointing at him with one small hand.
“I can’t. Besides, I know I’m going crazy. You weren’t here before, so you must be in my mind.” Wevli said with a nod of assurance. He couldn’t believe he was talking to her now, much less that she was a real person.
“Oh? Then I should show you that I’m not your imagination.” the child smirked, snapping her fingers once.

As suddenly as she appeared, the child was gone. Wevli was relieved and wiped his forehead with a hand. But when he looked back at the wall where the little girl had stood, there was now a passageway. Blinking away disbelief, Wevli hurriedly went through, though his sword was now unsheathed in case danger appeared just like the passageway.