The Unfated Wanderers Canto 31
Billet Stormstone and Vilerend Skymarch, the Unfated Wanderers, departed from the Inverted Tower with worry weighing on their weary minds. They feared that their very good friend, Tong Shatterbone, had not survived the blending of the Realm of Terrors with the Living World. Unbe’s advice to avoid areas of altercation between People and Darklings was adhered.
The wilderness was weaponized against them by the Realm of Terrors. Flora misbehaved and fauna was scarce. Strange, new creatures roamed the land, walking as humans, brandishing weapons in lizard claws, scaly skin burdened by armor, with violence in their hearts and wickedness in their brains. The Unfated Wanderers actively avoided confrontation but were inevitably accosted by these roving Terrors.
Three days into their journey, the Wanderers witnessed a covered wagon wending its way westward. The wagon was escorted by eighteen people. With the aid of their rings, they saw two Darkling Fomenters swoop from the sky and effortlessly eviscerate the people on foot. Several minutes after the slaughter had ended, two people emerged from the wagon and ran northward, panic powering their flight. The Darklings laughed at their terror and flew away, their work done: bring the People low and terrify the survivors. Vilerend and Billet were not able to reach the group in time to save them. They wept as they walked, their mission driving them forth.
For seven more days, they flitted and fled from tree to tree, rock to rock, dell to dale and from shadow to shadow. Night was their friend and Terror their enemy. They followed the Foghammer Slopes west to the Fierce River, which led them north to the Catfeather Heights that curved westward again towards Shatterbone.