Chapter 30: The Woods That Whisper

Jake and Mimi walked on even after the sun had set, choosing to walk into the woods beyond the town borders in favour of the quiet it exuded. They had both had their fill of people.

“We change the location of the entrance every month,” Mimi told Jake about her own little village he had visited one time, “Guards are posted their throughout the entire day.”

“Couldn’t the beasts just jump over the walls that aren’t near the entrance?”

Mimi shook her head, “No, the walls were laced with athelim ash, it’s a ward of sorts against the beasts, and they can’t cross it for some reason.”

“They can’t?” Jake asked, “Why not?” His question only received a shrug from Mimi’s shoulders as she picked a flower from one of the lower hanging branches of a tree. Going over her words, Jake started and spoke again, “You called it athelim.”

“That is what it’s called?”