Rae and Zott both knew how to track wild game. While they had never stalked a monkey before, it was a simple thing to discern the creature’s tracks and follow the path of destruction it had left behind.

  Sebi explained how he had been travelling when a monkey had taken an interest in his medicine bag.

  “It swiped it right out of my hands!”

  “Zott, that must be what it hit you with!” Rae said.

  Zott scowled.

  “What were you keeping in there, for it to be so heavy?”

  “There are medical supplies and herbs that are quite rare,”

  “If they’re so precious, why are you carrying them around? Fool, ”

  Sebi shook his head, his gaze unwavering, “I’m a healer. That should be explanation enough,”

  Months ago, when Rae had first arrived in the Shak’s camp, he had seen Sebi rummaging through that bag of his. Green glass jars, long thin blades and needles, packets of dried herbs, gauze and thread… and many other tools that Rae couldn’t make head nor tale of.

  His own head stung a little at the thought of it.

  After that exchange, the trio fell silent. They were close now, leaves were rustling. Zott crept ahead and signalled for them to wait.

  Rae and Sebi shared a look. Zott moved through the trees, head swivelling silently as he searched for their prey. At last, he froze, eyes locked on something high above.

  After a few seconds, Rae and his eyes met.

  Rae mouthed, “Don’t move,” to Sebi, before creeping to where Zott was. In the undergrowth, there were thorns, and Rae was sure they would draw blood. But his people were at one with the mountains, and that could wait.

  A grey figure was high in the tree. It was hard to make out the dark silhouette of Sebi’s bag, but the creature was unmistakably swinging something around.

  Rae took out his bow, and nocked an arrow, without making a sound.

  The target was distant but Rae had hit further before. He breathed, feeling the strain in his muscles as he drew the bow.

  He let go, and he knew it wouldn’t hit the mark.

  “Drat,”

  The arrow embedded itself in the tree. In less than a second, the monkey screeched and launched itself from branch to branch, soon vanishing from view.

  “It’s alright,” Zott said.

  Rae needed to squint to see what Zott was referring to. The monkey had dropped the bag as it fled. It now hung, its strap caught somehow, swinging like a pendulum.

  “You can get it?”

  Zott was already smirking.

  “Of course, I can,”

  There was a chattering around the forest as Zott climbed the tree. Monkeys, birds, insects, and spirits wailing, buzzing, whooshing, and hollering.

  Sebi huffed as he stopped beside Rae.

  “He looks like a monkey, himself,” Sebi said. Rae exhaled but couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

  Like a monkey.

  Monkeys could match Zott’s speed easily. His precision and noiselessness, too. But not his grace. Monkey’s muscles didn’t bulge like that when they hauled themselves up, branch by branch.

  Monkeys didn’t have silky, ink-black ponytails whipping in the wind as they climbed. Didn’t have such graceful, snow-like hands to grip firmly with.

  As if the sun was emerging from cloud, amber eyes gazed down at Rae. In Zott’s pale hand, was now the medicine bag.

  “What are you making that face for?” Zott called down.

  Fire was licking at Rae’s brain. Sebi’s gaze felt like a blade.

  “Be careful!” Rae called back.

  Anxiety. That’s what he was feeling, what he was trying to project.

  Zott wordlessly swung the bag over his shoulder and started to lower himself. Rae’s eyes were fixed on him, doing anything he could to avoid Sebi’s.

  The cacophony of the woods had fallen quiet for a moment, at least in Rae’s mind. Zott was about three-quarters of the way down when a beastly, ear-piercing screech cut through the calm.

  Zot fumbled his grip, and a foot slipped, his body teetered.

  Slowly, like snow, he fell.

  Rae was shocked to stillness at the sight. At the thud.

  When he had his wits back, Sebi was by Zott’s side. Sebi asked a question and Zott grumbled a response. On shaky legs, that sound drew Rae closer.

  “Zott,” he said.

  “Mmph…” Zott said, as Sebi snatched the medical bag out of his hands and started rifling through it, “…fine…”

  “Where does it hurt?” Sebi asked.

  Rae watched Zott grumble a response and watched Sebi check his arms one by one, then his head. After a few minutes of Sebi’s prodding, Zott scrambled into a sitting position.

  “Don’t move recklessly! There might be internal injuries,”

  “Stop panicking, I landed fine,”

  “Not from our perspective,”

  Zott glowered at Sebi and tried to stand. His left leg held fine, if a little shaky, but when he tried to walk, he buckled forward and let out an enraged grunt.

  Rae, whose veins had filled with lead when he saw Zott on the ground, leapt forward to catch him.

  “What did I just say?!” Sebi snapped.

  Zott’s fall hadn’t been as bad as it looked. He had sprained his ankle and had a few scrapes and bruises elsewhere. Otherwise, within a few hours, he seemed perfectly fine.

  “Are you going to thank me yet?” he sneered at Sebi.

  “Whatever for?”

  “If it weren’t for me, you would never have gotten your bag back,”

  “And nearly killed yourself in the process,” Sebi snapped as he bandaged Zott’s ankle, “sit still for now. If you rest, it should be fine,”

  By the time Zott had allowed them to tend to his injury, it was well past noon. Rather than attempt to progress further east, they set up camp where they were.

  Rae went to catch something to eat, still ashamed of his failed shot. When he returned, bearing fresh rabbit, he found Sebi had built a fire and was smearing a thick, dark substance on Zott’s leg.

  “What’s that?” Rae asked.

  “Powdered pine needles, nightleaf stems, and ginger. Pounded to a pulp and gently warmed,” Sebi said. Rae didn’t ask anything else.

  Zott had bundled his pack, containing Rae’s prized furs, into a pillow, and leaned back his head. He looked up at the treetops, without acknowledging either of them.

  Rae sat beside him, watching him closely. Zott’s brow furrowed and his gaze was sharp, if directed at nothing in particular.

  Ah. His pride…

  Rae prepped the meat, and Sebi donated some herbs he had gathered. As the rich scents of cooking drifted about their camp, Rae and Sebi made conversation, and Zott remained obstinately silent.

  “You never told us,” Rae began, “where exactly are you heading to?”

  “Camp Ashem. Duke Ashem requested Bejuk come at once, but he’s occupied,”

  “Ah,” weighing his words, “that’s where we are going, too. Duke Ashem… He’s facing threats from all over right now. There’s disease, and the plains-people are causing trouble as well…”

  “I’ve heard as much. And it’s not just Duke Ashem, my lord also sent some healers to assist Duke Kaolin. Even out here, alone in the forest, I can sense some ominous presence. Like a spirit, stalking us. It feels like a very dangerous time,”

  “…”

  Rae didn’t know what to say.

  “I thought you were a healer, not a mystic,” Zott said.

  “Those arts are more similar than most know,” Sebi said.

  “Oh yeah? Did you divine that some mangy beast would snatch your bag? Seems like you need to study more,”

  Sebi lips were pressed together. His nose wrinkled as he glared at Zott. It only lasted for a moment, before he turned his gaze back to the fire. Despite the embers still glowing, the camp suddenly felt very cold.

  Rae cleared his throat.

  “My friends, please don’t be at odds. You both threw punches at each other today -both literal and verbal! But we’re all travelling in the same direction, for the same noble goals. Let’s try our best to get along,”

  Rae thought things were tense enough when it was just him and Zott. If he was caught between two warring and stubborn companions for the entire trip, he didn’t know if they’d make it in one piece!

  “What say you, my friends?” Rae glanced between them pleadingly.

  Zott was the first to speak.

  “As you wish,”

  Sebi nodded too, “since we’re travelling in the same direction, we should try to cooperate,”