Skyler looked over to Caleb who already stood. She followed him into the trees. They heard another snap.
Caleb turned into a dragon.
Skyler surveyed the surrounding landscape and Caleb ran ahead. 
         Suddenly, she heard Caleb call, "I got it." Skyler raced through the brush to reach him and found him standing near the paralyzed figure of Arianna. 
         "Is that Arianna?" Skyler asked.
         "Yes. Or at least it looks like Arianna." Caleb replied, "She startled me. That's why she's paralyzed."
         "Well, we may as well get her back to camp," Skyler resolved suspiciously, "I want to make sure it's really her this time." 
         When they entered the camp, dragging Arianna along behind them, they bound her hands and feet as best they could and waited. Arianna began to move. She whirled around then slowly turned back to face the others a look of disbelief on her face. 
         "Skyler! Caleb!" she cried, "I'm so glad I found you!" She moved to embrace them but was restrained by the ropes. "Why am I tied up?"         
"We want to be sure it's you and not some sort of shape-shifter." Caleb explained. 
         "What?" Arianna tried to move again.
         "We had an incident a few days ago." Skyler told her, "A shrouder was pretending to be you."
         "If you're genuine then you will be able answer our questions," Caleb said.
"Alright," Arianna agreed, "ask away." They asked her questions for probably an hour before they were satisfied.
Skyler hugged her so tight she could've suffocated her.
         "I can't believe it's really you," Skyler sobbed.
         "I missed you too," Arianna mumbled, her voice muffled by Skyler's shoulder.
When Caleb and Skyler had finished welcoming Arianna back, she said, "So, what happened while I was gone? You mentioned an imposter."
They took turns exchanging stories of what had happened since their separation.
         They finished and Arianna turned to Caleb. "So, a dragon disguised as a human."
         "I hadn't meant for you two to find out like this," Caleb admitted.
         "It's fine," Skyler assured, "I just wish you would've told us when we first met. It's not like you could've hidden it from us."
         "I know," he answered, "I was afraid that you wouldn't help me if you knew what I really was." 
         "Of course we would have helped." Arianna replied. "Did you really think we wouldn't?"
         "I didn't want to risk it," he confessed.
         "Well, I'm glad we know now," Skyler tried to comfort Caleb.
         "We should get some sleep," Arianna suggested, "It's late."
         The next morning, they had traveled for about an hour and a half when Skyler asked, "Are you sure it's alright that I let Shakeira come with us?"
         "Yes Skyler," Arianna sighed in slight annoyance, "I told you five times already."
         "Sorry," she apologized, "I just ... Wait. What's that?" She pointed at a large section of the sky that was black with clouds.
         "I'm not sure," Caleb responded, "but keep a look out for shelter. I don't want to be caught out in a storm." So they watched for any sign of shelter in the forest. 
         "Is it natural for a cloud to stay that still?" Skyler asked. It was true, the cloud hadn't moved since they first noticed it. 
         "We'll find out soon enough," Caleb stated, staring up at the ominous darkness. 
         Soon after, they set up camp in a cluster of tall pines. Skyler sat by the fire, hugging her knees, staring up at the mysterious blackness. She yawned, suddenly realizing how tired she really was. She laid her head on Arianna's shoulder as she sat next to her and dozed off. Arianna gently set Skyler on the grass.
         Caleb and Skyler lay asleep and Arianna was just beginning to doze, when she saw something move. Instinct told her to stay down. There was the soft sound of a knife or a sword being unsheathed. Still Arianna lay motionless. Glancing as far up as possible, she glimpsed a blade held over her.
With a swift kick, Arianna threw the legs out from under her assailant. She sat up and looked to see Shakeira lying on the ground, a knife in her hand. 
         "What are you doing?" Arianna kicked the knife away as Shakeira reached for it. 
         "Keeping a watch." She sat up. "Be more careful. You scared me half to death."
         "Why were you holding that knife over me?" The confrontation woke up Skyler and Caleb. 
         "Arianna what are you doing." Skyler rubbed her eyes.
         "This two-faced wretch was trying to kill me."
         "I was not." 
         "Then how do you explain this?" Caleb picked the knife up off the ground.
Shakeira's eyes shifted rapidly then focused on Arianna, an angry fire in their expression.
She lunged and tackled Arianna to the ground. "You weren't supposed to be here."
           "Get off of her!" Skyler dove into the fray, attempting to pry Shakeira off Arianna. Her effort came to no avail. Shakeira was thrashing too wildly. "Caleb paralyze her!" 
         "I can't risk it. Arianna is too close." The skirmish continued neither Skyler nor Caleb could stop it for fear of hitting Arianna.
Finally, Arianna managed to throw Shakeira off and Caleb instantly froze her. 
         "What do we do with her?" Skyler lightly kicked the motionless sprite. 
         "She's one of Ronan's spies. We need to get rid of her." Arianna drew her sword.
Skyler looked away and Caleb wrapped his arm around her as Arianna finished Shakeira. They didn't sleep much that night. Skyler managed to fall asleep late in the night, but Caleb and Arianna lay awake until morning.
————
         The next morning, they set out towards the foreboding darkness. As they pressed on there was a subtle drop in temperature, but they continued regardless.
Stopping abruptly, they found themselves face-to-face with a forest cloaked in shadows and made up of trees that resembled wilting flowers. Their bark was black as if they had been burned and the sky was overcast and dark. The Forest was so sickly it looked like the trees would topple over. The forest spanned as far as one could see in either direction.
         "It looks like we go through," Caleb strained to see.
         "I guess so," Arianna agreed hesitantly.
         "Well, let's go before we talk ourselves out of it." Skyler warily took the lead. They crept into the dark woods, prepared for anything.
         They had traveled for only a short time when they started to hear rustling in the dead grey brush around them.
Slowly, Arianna pulled the end of a knocked arrow to her cheek and both Caleb and Skyler drew their swords.
All of a sudden, about twenty imps dropped from the trees and leaped from the foliage teeth bared. The six-inch creatures didn't appear to be a threat but their claws and fangs practically dripped with deadly poison. Their skeletal wings hung limply down their backs.
Positioned to strike, the imps growled in an unintelligible dialect then lunged toward the three intruders.
Arianna shot one out of the air then drew her sword. There was little use for her bow, which she dropped. She slashed at the miniscule menace but size worked to the imps advantage. They danced around the swords and attacked the traveler's legs.
In the end, the imps' determination prevailed and they managed to cut Skyler across the upper calf.
Howling in pain, Skyler toppled to the ground clutching her leg.
Caleb transformed into a dragon and spewed forth a vaporous spray that settled over any imps that didn't manage to flee in time, freezing them where they stood. Swiftly killing them, Caleb returned to human form, his clothes in tatters, and joined Arianna as she crouched by Skyler.
Arianna placed Skyler's head on her lap and gently brushed stray strands of hair from her face, heart breaking as she gazed into the pained expression plastered on Skyler's face. Caleb rolled up the pant leg to examine the lacerations on Skyler's lower leg.
Looking on in horror, Caleb watched the nearly black blood flow from the open wounds that crossed her leg in ugly slashes. The veins surrounding the wounds were becoming increasingly blue.
         "She needs a healer." Caleb looked at Arianna with a worry stricken expression. "Now!" Urgency edged his voice.
         "Let's move." Arianna wrapped Skyler's leg in a tattered cloth. She looped Skyler's arm around her neck and stood. Holding her other arm, Caleb helped Arianna continue through the dark woods.
All through that day they tried as best they could to avoid another hostile and perilous encounter with fallen creatures, which seemed to flourish here. They came to call the foreboding woods the Fallen Forest.
         Two days past and they were still in the forest. Skyler was becoming less responsive with every passing hour. Now, their hope of ever emerging from that dismal grove began to fade.