Returning Thoughts

There was a feeling of unease as the group began the journey back out of the Nether. Anell had been the first to notice this after the appearance of the Lord of the Nether himself. Sure, he had felt a bit frightened at times by the other Equos Infernalis, but those Equos tried to attack him or Misty or Ren when they had gotten separated from the group. Nether, despite his lack of actions, sent a deep unnerving feeling in Anell the moment he laid eyes on the seemingly eyeless Equos. As everyone in Mar’s group turned back to where they came, Anell made sure to stay behind Misty and Ren, resisting the urge to give Nether another glance. The Lord of the Nether’s words of a fragile peace didn’t erase any discomfort felt in the Nimare.

Ren, on the other hand, was more than curious about Nether. His talks of a “fragile peace” almost sounded like something a Skyborn would say. At least, it sounded like it would be based off of what she had always heard about them. She contemplated asking him to elaborate on what he had meant by the phrase during the conversation between him and Mar, but Anell pulled her aside and told her not to interrupt. They had noticed the normally stern expression on Anell’s face showed more worry than they were accustomed to and obliged. Despite not feeling as threatened by Nether as Anell seemed to be, Ren felt incredibly suspicious of his intentions. Who’s to say what his form of guidance would entail, after all? However, she also questioned why nobody wanted to attack. Sure, there was an unusual air once Nether had made his appearance and he did appear to be quite strong, but he was only one Equos. Their group seemed to be large enough to be able to take down a singular Equos like him. As they walked back though, they began to notice shadows among the desolate rocks that surrounded them. At first, they assumed it was a simple trick of the light from the flickering of lanterns and flames that others had on their person. However as she continued to watch, she began to notice the silhouettes of Equos Infernalis silently watching them and began to understand why nobody seemed willing to attack.

Misty hadn’t paid attention to anything going on with Nether, instead being preoccupied the whole time. Earlier in her expedition through the Nether, the three of them had encountered a couple of ambushes by some Equos Infernalis. During their defense, Misty had taken a swing at one of the antagonizing Equos with her ax and was able to slice off a bit of their horn, causing the group to retreat. Nobody else knew she had the horn piece with her and she intended to keep it that way while they were still in the Nether. It was the one time she didn’t have both hands off the ax since they were asked to help defend Velarune, with one hand now closely guarding the horn piece to ensure that it stayed in her pocket. As they traveled onward, she began to wonder what she would do with the horn piece. Maybe she’d ask Anell if he had any wire and something to pierce a hole into the horn so she could make a necklace out of it. For now though, she’d keep it a secret.