The Farmer's Wife #022

The journey out of the forest seemed shorter than the journey in. A dull grey light began to seep through the treetops as they walked. Not long after that, they found the remains of their campfire, the ground around the ash still slightly warm to the touch.

The light grew steadily brighter as they walked, and soon - in no time at all, it seemed - they had reached the brink of the forest.

As Matthias stepped out of the treeline and towards the loggers' cabin in the distance, it felt as though a weight was lifting from his shoulders. His ears, grown accustomed to the fell silence of the forest, rejoiced simply at the sound of the breeze.

It was almost sunset; the shadows of the trees followed them almost all the way to the cabin.

It was only when Matthias laid the child gently down on the cabin's floor and sat down himself that he felt the tired ache of his muscles and the pangs of hunger in his stomach.

Anat and Anya pooled the food they carried with them and, once the fire was lit, Anya set about cooking a simple stew over it. She worked at the fire, and the three clergymen were discussing matters of great ecclesiastical import, beyond Matthias' knowledge and station. Only he was left alone.

He walked outside into the twilight. The sun had set, and dusk was drawing near. The twilight had that eerie, alien feel to it, like the world was not quite itself.

He felt a soft, cold breeze spring up and brush gently against him. The chill felt good against his skin; it was a welcome touch of reality after the dark forest. He stood for a while, not really thinking at all, simply being.

After a while, he knelt in the cold earth, and poured his heart out to his god. His mother had taught him to do it; she had never explained why he should, when no answer ever came. But he had done it, and often since.

When he eventually opened his eyes, it was dark. He stood slowly, his legs stiff with the cold, and went inside.

The fire burned brightly in the firepit. Someone - Anya, he thought - had moved the child closer to it, and he sat propped against the remains of a bed, staring blankly into the flames.

Matthias shivered.

The others were just beginning to eat; Anya gestured to the small pot above the fire, and Matthias ladled some half-hearted stew into a small wooden bowl and sat down to eat.

They ate in silence. When Valdis had finished, he spoke. "We go to the village tomorrow, and spend the night at the inn there. If there is a shadow as powerful as this in these lands, there will be more talk of darkness. We will here what we can, and continue from there."

"And the boy?" said Anat. "He is not fit to travel far himself, and we cannot have Matthias carrying him wherever we go."

"We will see what can be done for him in the morning, I think. For now, we should sleep. It has been a hard day."

All of them, even Thanos, nodded in agreement. They spread out on the floor in front of the fire and slowly drifted off to sleep.