I drag myself onto the shore. My clothes are soaked in water. I'm freezing cold. It's very warm here and I'm grateful for that. Marina's ship sunk not too long ago. We had to swim all the way here. The town of StarLight is only a little ways away.

"I'm cold," Flynn whines.

"You're cold? Just wait until we get further into the trip. After this city is a freezing arctic region. We have to get some warmer apparel in the town," I reply.

"Okay, with what money?" He asks.
Here comes the answer I know no one will like.

"We will have to sell some things. It's our only option," I say.

"I'm sure the rich kid has some good things we could pawn," Hazel says.

Flynn unclasps a coin purse from his belt and tosses it to me. I open it up. All kinds of gold and silver jewelry lay inside the bag.

"Sell it, keep it, do whatever you want with it. I kind of took it from my parent's house before I left," he says to me.

"You've been hiding it this whole time? Why?" I ask.

"I wanted to save it for something important. It seems that now is the right time to let go of that garbage," he replies.

"Thanks, Flynn," Valor says to him.

I'm surprised he did that. I push forward. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of changing clothes and eating. The town is quite small. All of the houses are quite similar. Plain-looking cottages with flowers planted out front.

A store that sells jewelry and gemstones is the first place I enter. Bookshelves line the walls. At the back is a counter with all kinds of gems displayed inside. The owner is a troll. Her horns and tusks are much smaller than Valor's. Her eyes are bright yellow. I put the coin purse on the counter.

"How much will you give us for all of this?" I ask.

"Straight to the point, I see," she says as she dumps the contents of the bag on the table next to her. She carefully inspects every piece.

"Some of these are fake. I'm not taking those," she says.

I tap my foot on the ground impatiently. What is taking so long? I guess her taking a while might be good. She comes back over.

"You have some good pieces here. I'll give you two thousand coins for everything," she replies.

Not bad. I would have liked a bit more though.

"Don't play hardball with me! I know what I've got here. This is worth at least five thousand and I won't settle for anything less. You trolls know nothing!" Flynn yells at the lady.

"Excuse me? You can take your gems somewhere else," the lady says.

Valor drags Flynn outside. I can hear Valor yelling at him.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. He's...an awful person," I say.

She hands me a pouch.

"There's your coins. Now get out," she says.

I step outside. Valor is still screaming at Flynn.

"Let's move. People are starting to stare," Marina says.

We spend the next two hours picking out clothes, getting food, and preparing for the next section of the journey. Afterwards, we are back on the road yet again.

As the five of us continue on the path, the weather gets colder and colder. I put on one of the coats I bought. It's a long black cape with fur on the collar and sleeves. A frozen lake is a few feet ahead. Flynn is the first to step onto the ice.

"Come on guys! It's fine," he says.

"If you fall in I am not helping you out," Marina warns him.

I follow him. I cautiously step forward. The sound of crackling ice makes me stop dead in my tracks. I turn to where the sound is coming from. Something breaks through the ice. The noise scares me. I slip and fall back.

The creature climbs onto the ice. It has long antlers like a goat's. The monster is covered in white fur. It's a yeti. I crawl back as it advances towards me.

"What the hell is that thing?" Flynn yells.

Valor leaps into action. He charges at the yeti and knocks him down. The ice around the creature cracks.

"Luna, run!" He yells to me.

I jump up and move out of the way. Thank you, Valor! Thank you for always having my back. I couldn't have asked for a better friend. I take a quick glance back. I don't see the yeti.

"Help!" Flynn yells.

The creature is holding Flynn by his neck. I draw my sword. I rush up to the yeti before slicing him in the abdomen. It drops Flynn. I deliver the final blow by stabbing it in the heart. The yeti falls back. The weight suddenly crashing into the ice sends cracks in all different directions.

"Stay where you are for right now. Don't make any movements," Valor says.

"We can't sit here all day though," Hazel says.

"I'm the heaviest. I will stay back until the rest of you make it to land," Valor says.

I go first. Slowly and carefully I make my way to land. The others do the same. Eventually, Valor is the only one left. Please make it! Please! He steps onto land. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one," Marina says.

"We should find a place to rest tonight," I say.

We head into the forest. This wouldn't be such a bad place to stay. Hazel volunteers to set up a fire. Valor drags a fallen tree over so we can sit on it. Hazel gets the fire going in no time. We all sit around it.

"How far are we into this journey?" Flynn asks.

"Around a quarter of the way there. It's going to get a lot harsher. There will be days where we won't eat, where we can't sleep. It will get worse. This is nothing compared to what we will face. I'm asking all of you to rest tonight, prepare for tomorrow, and try to not get yourselves killed," I reply.

"Sheesh, that's awfully morbid," he says.

"It's just the truth," I say as I lean back.