A Painful Memory

Somewhere in the forest….

The late afternoon sun shone weakly through the forest trees, casting light in scattered patches on the soft, damp ground. Aiden walked beside Meilin, his boots crunching against the fallen leaves. He glanced at her as they moved, noting the tight grip she had on her staff and the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "Are you thirsty?" he asked gently. "We can stop for a moment if you need to take a drink."

Meilin shook her head without looking at him. "I'm fine," she said curtly, brushing him off. "We don't have time to waste."

Ahead of them, the Archmage shuffled along, muttering under his breath as he held up a glowing blue orb.

"Can you two stop talking?" the Archmage snapped suddenly, his voice sharper than his usual cheerful tone. "You're distracting me. Tracking Malgorgor isn't exactly easy, you know."