After finally making it to solid ground, Liam forced himself to put more distance between himself and the edge of the swamp. He didn’t stop immediately, even though his body urged him to. The damp, unstable terrain behind him wasn’t something he wanted to linger near, not after everything that had just happened.

With Smoke’s help, he managed to locate a somewhat concealed hollow at the base of one of the larger trees. The opening wasn’t obvious at first glance, partially hidden behind thick roots and low-hanging growth, but it was enough to serve as temporary cover.

Making his way there, Liam finally allowed himself to rest properly after more than an hour of movement on an injured leg.

Lowering himself into the hollow, he leaned back against the inner curve of the tree, letting his body settle for the first time since leaving the swamp. The tension in his muscles eased slightly, though the ache in his thigh remained constant.

Without wasting time, he turned his attention back to the puncture wound.

Carefully, he reached down and undid the cloth wrapped around his thigh, peeling it back slowly to inspect the condition of the injury.

The sight was... mixed.

The wound wasn’t getting worse, but it wasn’t improving either.

The bleeding had stopped, thanks to the pressure and the crude treatment he had applied earlier, but now a faint greenish fluid seeped from the puncture. It wasn’t excessive, but it was noticeable, likely a result of the plant mixture he had used interacting with the damaged tissue. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Liam studied it quietly.

’Should I just burn it shut?’ he wondered.

It wasn’t a bad option.

In fact, it was practical.

Cauterizing the wound would seal it completely, prevent infection, and allow him slightly better movement without the constant risk of reopening it. But at the same time, he knew the limitations of that approach.

Burning it shut wouldn’t fix the internal damage.

The torn muscle fibers, the disrupted tissue; they would remain exactly as they were. The pain wouldn’t go away. If anything, it might worsen under strain. It would only be a surface-level solution.

And right now, he needed more than that.

He needed proper recovery.

Or at the very least, something close to it.

Liam exhaled quietly and continued to examine the wound, his expression remaining calm despite the irritation beginning to build within him.

’Now is not the time to be annoyed,’ he reminded himself.

His gaze hardened slightly.

’If I had thought this through properly, none of this would have happened.’

His thoughts drifted back to before the assessment began.

Back to when he had been preparing.

He had considered storing all his supplies in his Void Storage, keeping everything within his shadow where it would be safe, accessible, and impossible to lose.

But he had chosen not to.

Because of Myst consumption.

Dark magic, compared to his fire magic, demanded more. Even the simplest applications required a noticeably higher amount of Myst. Where fire magic allowed for efficient usage, dark magic always took more than it seemed necessary.

At the time, it had made sense.

Why waste Myst retrieving simple items when he could just carry them?

But now, now that decision felt short-sighted.

If he had placed his supplies in his shadow, he wouldn’t have lost them. He wouldn’t be forced into this situation. Even if it had cost him more Myst in the short term, he would have avoided the injury, avoided the delay, avoided the need to compensate for mistakes.

He would have been ahead.

Instead, he was here, injured, under-equipped, and forced to recover on the move.

Liam exhaled slowly, pushing the irritation down before it could grow further.

Dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything.

He shifted slightly and began cleaning the outer portion of the wound again, using what little he had available. He cleared away the excess fluid, wiping carefully to avoid reopening the deeper section.

Once it looked manageable, if not ideal, he reached for the torn strip of cloth and wrapped it back around his thigh.

He pulled it tight, secured the knot and gave it one final check before leaning back slightly.

’Now that I’ve made it to solid ground,’ he thought calmly, ’I can look for more effective plants to treat this properly.’

His eyes shifted toward the opening of the tree hollow.

’But before that... I need a safer place to stay.’

His gaze hardened slightly.

’This place isn’t it.’

The hollow offered cover, but not security.

If something came looking, this wouldn’t hold.

With that in mind, Liam forced himself to move again.

He pushed himself up and stepped out of the tree hollow, ignoring the slight pull in his injured thigh as he did so.

Once outside, he allowed himself to properly take in his surroundings.

The difference from the swamp was immediate.

The trees here were still massive, towering structures that rose high into the canopy, but their roots were grounded, not submerged. The soil beneath them was firm, layered with dry leaves and exposed roots that spread out like natural pathways.

Between them stood trees of more ordinary size, along with clusters of smaller plants and low vegetation.

Some of those plants caught his attention immediately.

Subtle variations in leaf shape, color differences, and the faint presence of Myst within them.

All these held potential and possibility to help him.

Standing still for a moment, Liam took a slow breath and sniffed the air in a deliberate way.

As a dark mage, his senses weren’t limited to sight and sound. He could perceive Myst through scent, detecting the presence of living beings, magical fluctuations, and disturbances within the environment.

He scanned, carefully and thoroughly, but found nothing.

There was no immediate presence, no lurking creatures, and no hidden threats.

Even after linking briefly with Smoke’s senses to extend his awareness further into the surrounding forest, the result remained the same.

Nothing.

And while that should have been reassuring...

It wasn’t.

If anything, it made him more cautious.

"I might as well get moving," he muttered under his breath as he began to walk.

But the moment he took his first few steps...

He stopped.

His nose caught onto something.

Something faint and subtle, but distinct.

Liam inhaled again. Once. Twice.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Water?"

He sniffed the air again, more focused this time.

Then he realized, it wasn’t his own senses picking it up.

It was Smoke.

He linked more fully with his summon. And immediately, he heard it.

The steady, distant sound of flowing water.

Not stagnant like the swamp.

Moving with a clean scent to it.

Liam’s focus sharpened instantly.

Without hesitation, he adjusted his direction and quickened his pace slightly.

"Smoke," he called quietly.

In the next moment, from the shadows at his feet, the wolf-like entity emerged, reforming from darkness as it returned from its scouting position.

Liam didn’t delay.

He allowed the summon to fully manifest.

Smoke expanded beside him, its body growing into its full size, large and imposing, easily the height of a horse, its spiked fur shifting subtly like hardened shadow.

Liam stepped forward and mounted without a word.

The moment he settled onto its back, Smoke moved.

It dashed forward through the forest, weaving between trees and roots with controlled speed, heading directly toward the source of the water.

And Liam held on, his eyes forward, his focus sharp.

Because right now... water meant opportunity.

The sound grew clearer the further Liam and Smoke pushed through the forest.

At first, it had only been a faint murmur, barely distinguishable from the natural whispers of wind brushing against leaves. But now, it was unmistakable. A steady, continuous flow of water.

Smoke slowed slightly as the terrain shifted beneath its paws, the ground becoming more uneven, layered with exposed roots and loose stone. The trees here were spaced just enough to allow clearer passage, their trunks rising tall but no longer suffocating the space between them.

Liam leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he listened.

The sound wasn’t just ahead anymore, it was close. Very close.

They pushed through one last stretch of undergrowth, low branches and dense shrubs brushing against Smoke’s sides as it moved, and then the forest opened.

There it was.

A narrow stream cut through the earth, its water running clear as it flowed over smooth stones and shallow dips in the ground. Sunlight filtered through the canopy above, breaking into scattered beams that reflected off the moving surface, giving it a faint shimmer.

The contrast from the swamp was immediate.

The water here wasn’t murky or thick, it was clean. Fresh.

Liam slowly slid off Smoke’s back, his boots landing firmly on the damp soil near the stream’s edge. For a moment, he said nothing. His eyes traced the flow of the water as it wound its way deeper into the forest, steady and uninterrupted.

Then he crouched slightly, reaching out as he dipped his fingers into the stream.

The sensation was cool, and real.

For the first time since entering Nalim, Liam had found something that didn’t feel hostile.