The Sage's Vow

19.3 || Separation

The group kept close together as they crept through the forest. Kaitlyn kept closer to the center, Gamal's dagger drawn. Mateo found himself drifting further from the others, claiming it for more expansive scouting purposes, but it was really just to get a much-needed reprieve from the emotions. The cloud had thinned, but it still hung, seeping into his pores like a poisonous mist.

Any creatures they passed were no more magical than those they would see in the Soul Realm. Josh watched a few small squirrels scurry past. "At least we don't have to rely on dates this time," he mused.

It took an hour's worth of walking before they found a satisfactory spot. A large rock jutted out from atop another one, creating a makeshift ceiling. Cale cast two quick spells to crafts walls on either side, and although their front was massively open, the other three sides were all guarded. It provided a large camping space, and just in time. They had just set their packs down when rain began to pour outside.

Cale stood at the opening while the others settled down, arms crossed and emotions darkening.

"Did you spot something?" Mateo asked.

"We have to switch our mindsets while in here," Cale said. Lightning flashed, illuminating his silhouette. "Every part of this dimension is constructed by the temple guardians to meet some end."

"Meaning this isn't just rain then." The temperature hadn't changed, but Mara rubbed her arms as if it had chilled. "It's bound to have some purpose."

Josh came up to stand beside Cale. He placed a hand over his eyes as he leaned out into the deluge, peering at their surroundings. When he returned to the cover of their little sanctuary, he shook out his now-wet hair. "Well, it feels like normal water, and I don't see anything. What kind of other purpose could rain have?"

Mara flicked a wet strand of his hair. "Its purpose is death by a cold if that's how you're going to test things, you goof."

"Did you guys notice we were walking up an incline?"

Mateo hadn't noticed Kaitlyn move, but she now crouched at the wall furthest from the others and studied the rain. He joined her there and mimicked her frown as he thought back.

"The trek was pretty flat," he said.

"That's what I thought, but the rain is flowing downward." She pointed, but it wasn't necessary. Rivulets cut through the grass, heading in the same directly they had come. Even now, the ground looked flat, but there had to be a slight incline for gravity to pull the water down.

Cale's words repeated in Mateo's head, and his frown deepened. Gravity only mattered if Gamal or the other temple guardian made it matter to this rain. If they'd lifted it to cause the water to pool in a specific direction, what did it mean?

"We should see if we can wait this out, and then I'll sense things out again," Cale said. "I don't like anything about the rain, so I don't think we should charge out in it if we don't have to."

"And the others?" Mara asked.

They had learned from Kaitlyn's dragon Odema that the other group had found themselves in another part of the temple. More swampy terrain than forest. Mateo could only hope they'd found higher ground if it was storming for them as well.

"Can you have your dragon check how things are for them?" Cale asked Kaitlyn.

She now sat with her back pressed against the far wall, head tilted to watch the rain fall. At her name, she glanced Cale's way. "I can do that, yeah."