They left Sylvarin at dawn.
Mist clung low to the forest floor, wrapping around tree roots like pale fingers unwilling to let go. Reeve walked a few steps behind Lunareth, careful where he placed his feet. Every snapped twig made his shoulders tense.
"So," he said after a while, breaking the silence, "are you going to tell me where we're going, or is this one of those 'you'll find out when you're not dead' situations?"
Lunareth didn't slow down.
"We're heading to Ironridge Fortress."
"Ironridge," Reeve repeated. "Sounds… sturdy."
"It is," she replied. "Stone walls, trained soldiers, and people who ask fewer questions than most."
"That sounds suspiciously convenient."
She glanced back at him, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "You don't trust me already? That hurts."
Reeve sighed. "I woke up in a forest that shouldn't exist, met a masked stranger, passed out, and now I'm walking toward a fortress I've never heard of. Trust isn't exactly my default setting."
"Good," Lunareth said lightly. "Blind trust gets people killed."
That earned a pause from him.
"…You say things like that very casually."
She chuckled. "You'll get used to it."
The forest began to thin as they moved forward. Trees gave way to rocky terrain, the ground rising gradually. In the distance, mountains loomed—jagged silhouettes cutting into the sky.
Reeve squinted. "So Ironridge is… in the mountains?"
"At their edge," Lunareth replied. "It guards the passes. Merchants, travelers, mercenaries—everyone passes through Ironridge eventually."
"And people like me?"
She stopped walking.
Reeve almost bumped into her.
She turned slowly, eyes sharp. "People like you don't usually exist."
A cold knot twisted in his stomach.
"…You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Then, just as suddenly, her expression softened. She flicked his forehead.
"But relax. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be bleeding."
"…That's comforting in a very disturbing way."
She laughed. "You're going to survive just fine, Reeve. You just don't know why yet."
As they climbed higher, Lunareth handed him a short blade.
"Hold this."
Reeve stared at it. "You want me to what—look intimidating?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You want to reach Ironridge alive, don't you?"
"…Fair point."
She demonstrated basic movements—footwork, stance, balance. Simple. Efficient. No wasted motion.