Chapter 101
They ran until Arran lost track of the days and nights, crossing so many hills and forests that he thought they should be several hundreds of miles from the border, if not more .
Snowcloud's potion kept them awake while they ran, but as the days progressed, it began to exact a toll well beyond its disgusting taste .
As the days passed, Arran's coordination seemed to weaken gradually, and he would fall regularly, tripping over roots and rocks that he normally would have seen a hundred paces away . It seemed that although the potion kept him from feeling tired, it did little to cure the actual effects of his lack of sleep .
In those rare moments when they weren't running, Arran's vision would sometimes randomly turn blurry, as if the world was still moving around him . Worse still was that at times, he would see shadowy figures at the edges of his vision that vanished the moment he tried to look at them .
At first, he feared they were being followed, but when he told Snowcloud about it, she informed him that it was a side-effect of the potion — one that would grow worse the longer they used the potion to stay awake .
Arran was beginning to fear that he would be driven to madness, when finally, Snowcloud stopped .
"We've gone far enough," she said .
When Arran looked at her, he was shocked at her appearance . Her eyes had dark rings around them, and her face looked gaunt and even more pale than usual . Had he not known better, he would have thought her on the verge of death .
"Are you alright?" he asked, feeling some worry . "You look terrible . "
"You should see yourself," she replied with a weary laugh . "But I think it's time we find a place to sleep — neither of us can go any further, and this deep in the wilderness, there should be no risk of meeting other novices . "
They found shelter in a small hillside cave among the trees . Although it could hardly be called comfortable, it was dry and concealed, and right now, that was more than enough .
As they entered, Arran took a thick blanket from one of his void bags and wrapped it around himself as he lay down on the floor of the cave . Although his void bags contained supplies that might allow for a more comfortable rest, he did not bother with them — right now, all he could think about was resting .
Within moments of lying down, he was vast asleep .
Arran's sleep was deep and dreamless, and when he finally awoke, it took him some moments to remember where he was . The previous days were like a blur in his mind, and he almost thought it had all been a dream .
Yet as his mind slowly cleared, he found that he was still in the cave, lying on the rock floor and wrapped in a blanket . Ignoring the soreness of his body, he shook off the blanket and sat up . When he did, he saw Snowcloud sitting next to a fire at the entrance of the cave, roasting what appeared to be several haunches of meat .
"So you're finally awake," she said without looking at him . "I've made you some food — it should help you recover a little faster . "
"How long was I asleep?" he asked .
"No idea," she replied . "I only woke up a few hours ago myself . But I think we probably slept for a day or two, if not more . "
Arran got up, then sat down next to her . Wordlessly, she handed him a piece of roasted meat, which he devoured in moments . A second piece disappeared almost as quickly, and it wasn't long before Arran began to feel slightly better .
"Do you have any idea where we are?" he asked when he was done eating .
As he spoke, he began to use Darkfire's Body Refinement technique, to heal and restore his body after the grueling journey . Although he had not noticed it while they were running, he could now feel that his body was covered in bruises, and there wasn't a muscle he had that wasn't sore from the days of endless exertion .
"We should be a few hundred miles southwest of the Valley's entrance," she said . "But I'll get a better idea of where we are once I explore the area . "
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