I fall into the river below. I can't fight its strong current. I'm swept away by it. The water is ice cold. I don't see the others. My head is forced under the water. I can't reach the surface no matter how hard I try. Arms wrap around me and pull me out. I lay on my back. Kala and Faye look down at me.

"Are you alright?" Faye asks.

I sit up.

"I think so," I reply.

I shiver from the cold. Faye helps me to my feet. A cavern stands in front of us. Kala makes a torch and holds it towards the opening. It's the only path we have to take.

I enter the cave. The torch provides barely any light. A roar echoes through the cavern making it shake. I see what caused it. It's a Steelskin. A large lizard like creature with hard plating on its back.

It locks eyes with me. It's glowing orange eyes stare at me. It charges. I move out of the way. Kala shoots an arrow at it. The arrow bounces off its skin. Faye hits the lizard with her sword. The sword shatters. Faye backs up.

"How are we supposed to defeat this thing if none of us can successfully land a hit on it?" she asks.

"It has hard plating on its back. Can you slide under it and stab it in the heart?" I say.

"I can try," she says.

It swings its long tail and knocks me off my feet. Faye manages to slide underneath it. She stabs it like I told her to. She appears next to me. The lizard is dead.

"Well, that wasn't easy," she says.

"Come on. I think I see a light ahead," Kala says.

I follow her. I can feel a draft so an exit must be close. We navigate the dark cave until we see an opening. I walk out of the cavern and into the forest. A small settlement in the distance is our next stop.

Stopping and getting some sleep is my first priority now. There are a few vacant houses for visitors. I enter one of them. The beds look extremely uncomfortable. What other choice do we have though? 

"I thought we weren't supposed to be stopping," Kala says.

"It's only for a few hours," I reply.

I lay on one of the beds. It feels like I'm laying on the ground. A draft comes inside from under the door. I miss sleeping in my cottage. It was the only home I have ever known. I grew up there. It had so many memories and now its gone. I fall asleep a few moments later.

Faye shakes me awake at dawn. I quickly get ready. I wait outside for the others. Once they join me, we walk down the road. The road leads into the forest. I stop. I hear rustling leaves and twigs snapping.

"We're not alone," I whisper.

Two elves and a human come out from behind a tree. Archers stand in the trees. Their bows are pointed at us. The human approaches me. He has several scars across his face.

"You're in our territory," he says.

"This isn't yours. You don't own the forest," I say.

The archers let the arrows fly. I put my hands up. The motion creates a barrier around us. The arrows deflect off it. I unsheathe my sword. The barrier falls. Faye vanishes. She takes care of the archers in the trees.

I swing my sword. The man blocks the attack with his sword. Kala shoots the two elves down with her arrows. The man swings his sword. I back away. More of his people emerge.

I put my sword away and switch to my staff. I use my magic to turn invisible. I scale one of the trees. They don't know where I am. Kala disappeared, too. I see Faye in the tree next to me. She leaps out of the tree and slashes the leader's arm.

An arrow burrows itself in my arm. I fall from the branch. Blood pours onto the ground. They have Kala and Faye at knifepoint. My shoulder is killing me. I try my hardest to get a spell started. Fire starts from my fingertip and burns rapidly. The fire burns out.

That wasn't what I wanted. I pull myself up. Fire starts at my feet and rises. I draw my sword. An elf charges at me. I stab her through the stomach. She falls to the ground. Faye and Kala break free. They finish off the last few people. I drop to the ground. Faye helps me up. She sits me on a tree stump.

"I need to pull the arrow out, okay?" Faye says.

"No, please no," I say.

"Azura, you don't have a choice," Kala tells me.

Faye wraps her hand around the arrow. Kala holds my hand. Faye yanks the arrow out. I scream in pain. Blood gushes out from the wound. I pass out from blood loss and the pain.