HIDEOUS beasts in the Faladrine mountains he'd been able to deal with, but the small eeries called pecks, most of them no bigger than his arm, made his stomach turn. He'd never seen one before as there were no places for creatures made of wood to hide in his desert land. Their size wasn't much to fear, but Kyden knew that size was often irrelevant with eeries. These ones didn't look as harmless as the others said they were, with their beady black eyes blinking under bark-covered lids. If they had wanted to, they could have led him off a cliff to his death; they were hardly trustworthy, he thought.

"Where are the men you got these from?" Killi demanded to know of the longer, thinner peck. The eerie kept its mouth shut, sneering at the broad tattoo-swirled man. Kyden sighed; they were getting nowhere with their interrogation, despite the burning spear that Killi held up to the pecks.

Mounting his horse, Kyden took the smaller club-shaped peck from Leif and set them atop Tygo's head. After pulling Leif up onto the horse, he fixed the peck with a look that made the eerie squirm.

"Gwree, is it? We will not hurt you, despite my friend's misguided attempt at making you talk."

Annoyed, Killi snuffed the flame at the end of the spear and hopped on Frix, leaving the other peck to Tavis. Tightly holding the back of their neck, as if he were avoiding a repeat of the bite he'd already received, Tavis clambered onto Wella. He tucked the peck gently under the leather strap at the back of Wella's bridle before trotting her between the other two horses.

"You don't like us!" Kyden didn't know how he understood the words; they resembled language he could identify but were riddled with percussive noises and the high-pitched sounds of beetles boring into wood. Listening to the pecks would take some getting used to.

Careful of his words, he attempted not to offend the creature. "I have never seen your kind before—I admit, I find you a bit different to look at. But I do believe you pecks left me in a lapsa's web, so I think a little bit of dislike is understandable. Still, I wouldn't say I don't like you, more that I am weary."

Kyden felt Leif tense at hearing about the web, but he'd thankfully chosen to hold his tongue. His outburst would only have solidified Gwree's notion, especially when the eerie nodded at Leif and pointed at their companion, saying accusingly, "That one throwed Bwillok!"

"Really, Leif? No matter. I'm sure at the time it was warranted," Kyden reasoned, noting that Gwree hadn't acknowledged luring him away to steal his things. "Rough beginnings aside, I need to know where you got these."

Gwree watched as Kyden carefully picked up a silk butterfly.

"These came from the dress of Princess Leyva of Aradanas, and we seek to rescue her from the men who stole her."

Gwree's tiny wooden arm lashed out for the butterfly that Kyden held just out of reach. "Give it back, and I tell you." The creature's command, despite their small size, was endearing and Kyden smiled, feeling the peck's appearance growing on him, and he handed back the bit of silk.

Gwree joyfully cuddled it, before reverently replacing it into a crevice in their tunic. "Beautiful thing. What is it?"

"A butterfly. You've never seen one before?"

Gwree's head shook and eyes widened as Leif pulled more from the pack on his thigh and offered them to both pecks. Bwillok eyed Leif suspiciously, but eventually decided to take the offering, "What you want to know of other travellers?"

"Which way are they headed? Is the Princess well? How far ahead of us are they?"

Bwillok smoothed a crinkled butterfly out, tracing the details with tiny twiggy fingers. "Headed to White Wood, I say. You too, Gwree?"

Gwree was in a reverie with the armful of butterflies they held, so no answer was given. Bwillok's head shook. "You think Gwree can help you. Gwree has head of dust!"

"The Princess sleeps," Gwree said suddenly, eyeing Bwillok with a childish frown. "Sad but sleepy. Yes, the White Wood, I say; same way you go. How far, Bwillok?"

"Not far. Can't be far. We pecks waste their time!"

Tavis chuckled as Bwillok attempted to stand proudly on the moving horse. "How many of them are there?"

It was a minute before the peck held up a three fingered hand.

"Only three?" Killi asked. "There should have been five."

Holding the butterfly tighter, and out of Tavis and Killi's reach, Bwillok mumbled over their shoulder, "Three, yes, three. Other two not come out of Spinner rushes."

A violent shudder tore through Kyden's body, causing Leif to grip his arms hard; he shouldn't have escaped the lapsa rushes either. The thought of being free to follow the bewitching song that had saved him only because the lapsas were busy devouring the Loricai, wasn't comforting. Swallowing down his nausea, he focused on Leif's hand rubbing his left arm and his breath on the back of his neck as he talked.

"I suppose we must thank you then, Bwillok and Gwree, even though we very nearly met the same fate."

Something Leif said caused Gwree to giggle behind twiggy fingers, a twinkle in his dark beady eyes. Kyden didn't miss it, despite listening to Bwillok babble that they would ride with them till the edge of the croton belt. Along with all the other things he already thought and felt about Leif, that look nested itself deep in Kyden's mind. The time for examining his thoughts would be reserved for when they made camp again and he was left with himself.

Eyes and mind back to the task of hunting out the enemy, Kyden pulled a map from his belt. As he opened it, Leif marvelled at it, and dug one from his own pouch as if he'd forgotten it was there.

"You have a map of my land and the Wilds?"

"I travelled for the ball on my own," Kyden reasoned. "This map was somewhat essential to me getting there."

Leif snatched the vellum from him and examined it against his own, using Kyden's back as a surface. "Yours is older, it seems, which is understandable since it likely came from Loricus. See there's only one road from the Themian mountains, and the Wilds aren't marked in as much detail."

He folded his map and handed it to Killi. "Here. You should have this in case we get lost; no sense in both maps being in one place."

"Fair plan, in case the Wilds separate us again. Stay together, you two." Kyden felt his words were a joke given Killi and Tavis were fairly attached as it was. Taking the vellum back, he held it out to Bwillok, hoping for the quickest way to the enemy camp.

"Through Bandy trees and 'cross the river, I say." The river was prominently marked on the vellum, but the direction of the Bandy trees eluded Kyden. "That way there!"

"Bwillok, show me your hands!"

Kyden wondered at why Leif would slow them down over something Bwillok held, but his tone had not left space to question. Bwillok awkwardly held their plum-sized palms out for Leif to inspect.

"Flames! What happened?" Tavis, shocked into doing so, stopped his horse to examine Bwillok's burned appendages closely. "Is this a symbol? Did someone brand you?"

"You tried to steal a charm, didn't you?"

"Pretty thing it was," Bwillok affirmed to Leif. "Burned so when I touched it. Throwed me halfway to the river! Strong magic, I say."

Despite the heat that made their clothes stick uncomfortably to their bodies, they felt only a terrible chill at Bwillok's words.

"We ride through the Bandy trees then," Leif uttered, his voice as icy as their veins felt. "We must stop them before they get to Loricus. Feyrie knows what help they have there."