It is the crux of midnight, and Birger finds them face to face with a shadowy figure with piercing red eyes. Unable to see for himself, Izzimar tries to sniff the air to see if he can sense something. He wrinkles his nose as a pungent smell of roses and rotting flesh hit his nostrils.

Before the younger elf can speak, Birger snatches him up and bolts inside the cabin, slamming the door shut. After he drops Izzimar on the floor, Birger began to grab any piece of furniture not nailed down and push it towards the door.

"By the light, not now!", Birger exclaims as he pushes the dining table in front of the door. Izzimar sat there on the floor confused about what's going on when a suffocating feeling washes over the cabin. Whispers can be heard around them as the air gets freezing cold and a gust of wind blows into the cabin from the open window.

"Izzimar, go to Arjana! Quickly!" Birger yells in a panic as he races into his room.

Izzimar stumbles to his feet, the air is heavy, making him struggle to breathe as he makes his way to their room. He feels along the walls until he touches the wood frame of the door. Izzimar pulls the door open and trudges into the room, but stumbles and falls to the floor. Without his cane, he had to maneuver towards the wall to pull himself up. Upon touching the wall, a wet substance is felt coating his hand. Unable to see, Izzimar ignores this, supposing it was sap from the wood of the cabin. He makes his way towards Arjana's sleeping figure and feels her neck for any sign of life.

Cold. No pulse. No breathing. Nothing.

Izzimar panics and grabs Arjana from the bed to bring to Birger. Upon making it into the hallway, Birger steps out of his room to meet him, but when he sees Arjana, his heart stops. In Izzimar's arms, Arjana is as pale as death, and his robe is covered in blood.

Birger quickly grabs Arjana and brings her into his room.

"Is she dead!?", Izzimar asks worriedly as Birger places the poor girl in the middle of a ritual circle.

"Just barricade the door! Quickly!"

Izzimar quickly begins pushing objects in front of Birger's door as the wind outside begins to howl loudly. It was as if they had been caught in the middle of a tornado. Objects were hitting against the house, the night swallowed everything, leaving them in pitch black. 

"Dammit, I can't see a thing!", Birger curses as he slows his movements to avoid knocking things over.

Izzimar, feeling the night suffocating them, casts a small fire spell to illuminate the space. To Birger's horror, blood was seeping from the walls, hardening and forming sharp spikes that protruded out towards them. The whispers start to become audible as they echo throughout the room.

"Mine..."

"Mine....."

The whispers get louder as Birger mumbles a prayer. The ritual circle glows white, causing runes to circle Arjana before latching itself onto her skin.

"O' patron God, Lumineon, I ask that you purge the darkness from this child's veins! Remove its claws from the confines of her blood!", Birger chants before cutting his hand and dripping his blood into the circle.

His blood reacts with the circle, and a flash of light engulfs the room. This causes Arjana's unconscious body to finally react as she screams in pain. Birger watches as the light strips a pitch-black substance from Arjana's old wounds and suspends it in the air. As the substance is extracted, Birger's expression turns into horror as he witnesses the substance turn into a living wriggling creature screeching as it burns in the light. The abomination had legs like a centipede, and a haunting skull face as a visage. It writhed in pain and flailed about above them as the light intensified. Izzimar extinguished his flame to cover his ears as the creatures scream became piercing. Birger covered his eyes as the light became so bright, it rivaled that of the sun. The creature burned and regenerated, causing the spell to become dangerously intense to destroy it.

Such power was required to burn the creature, that when the creature was finally destroyed, the whole cabin is rocked with shockwaves. Things getting knocked aside and objects being thrown back as if a cannon blew through there.

When things settle, the whole room is quiet, except the soft breathing of Arjana. Izzimar, who was blasted back against the wall was dazed, but he could finally breath with the atmosphere now returned to normal. Pushing some debris aside, Izzimar felt his way to Arjana's side, grabbing her hand and giving it a little squeeze.

"Arjana...?", he whimpers before moving to cradle her. 

She's still not conscious but is breathing normally as life returns to her. 'Seeing' his new friend like this, fills him with a sadness he hasn't felt since leaving home. Ashamed that Arjana is in this predicament because of him, he holds her close and whispers, "I'm sorry."

In the corner was Birger, the blast had struck him the worst as he was close to the epicenter. Moving aside a board that came from the ceiling, Birger stood up and examined the damage to his room. All of his components were thrown about; his bed was upturned. Books were scattered with some of the pages on the floor from the blast. The ritual circle left a singed stain in the middle of the floor where Izzimar and Arjana sit. Looking at the walls, the blood spikes began to crumble, erasing any evidence of their presence. Whatever ailed Arjana was more than just a simple illness.

Stunned, Birger left the room abruptly to gather his thoughts. Once he stumbles into the hallway, he sees scratch marks all over the cabin, and blood spattered about as if there had been a fight. After surveying the damage, he goes into the kitchen and rummages through the cabinets, grabbing a pouch filled with wine. Moving slowly and quietly, he sets a flipped chair back up and sits down, exhausted and stressed out. With a heavy sigh, he takes a large gulp of wine before sitting in silence.

******The next day***

The following morning arrived with a gentle breeze and the sun ascending to grace the day with its warmth. Birger had composed himself enough to return to his chambers and tend to the children. Pushing aside some disarrayed furniture, he re-entered his room to find Arjana finally awake, yet frozen like a startled deer. Izzimar cradled her in his arms, gently stroking her hair, hoping to elicit a response. 

 "What are you doing, boy?" Birger inquired, settling on the floor beside them. 

 "She opened her eyes; I thought maybe stroking her hair might make her speak?" he responded, hopeful. Recognizing the girl's silence, Birger attempted to reach out.

 "Youngin', can you hear me? Can you speak?" he whispered to her. Arjana glanced at him but remained silent, before nestling back into Izzimar's comforting hold. 

Birger surveyed her delicate form, noting her exhaustion from the previous day's events. Her eyes were slightly sunken but appeared to be returning to normal. Color was also returning to her, and he could feel the warmth emanating off of her once more. She seemed only capable of moving her eyes and breathing at the moment. Perhaps she wasn't fully conscious yet, only time will tell. 

 "What the hell happened yesterday!? What was that all about!?" Izzimar pressed, his questions cascading over Birger. "I sensed something evil here! What did you see?!" 

 "ENOUGH, IZZIMAR!" Birger's voice thundered, the room quivering. 

"Don't fucking yell at me! I have every right to know, I'm blind remember!"

Despite his annoyance taking ahold, Birger reigned himself in. Arguing with Izzimar will not help their predicament. The cabin was damaged from the ordeal, unless they repair it before nightfall, whatever was out there could reach them. He has to think of a plan, and fast or else they would not make it through the next night. Taking a deep breath, Birger paced, muttering to himself, wondering about what to do next.

 Izzimar exhaled sharply, refocusing on Arjana, silent yet consoling. As color crept back into her cheeks, a sign of recovery from her near demise, Izzimar embraced her firmly. 

 "Arjana... I... I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to get sick. I... I just wanted to show you the city," he murmured into her ear. Birger paused, overhearing Izzimar's confession. 

 "You were so excited about visiting a nearby town," he continued, his voice breaking. "I... I just wanted to see you happy. If you—"

A small chuckle escapes Birger, jolting Izzimar from his sorrowful reverie. 

 "What are you laughing at, you old bastard!?" Izzimar snaps. Recognizing the inappropriateness of the moment, Birger raises his hands in surrender and averts his gaze. 

 "Nothin', nothin'. However, I do have a... solution to our dilemma." 

 "And what might that be?"

 "We must leave the cabin; it's no longer safe here." 

 "What!? We can't leave the cabin!" the young elf protests. "Do you realize how long it took to find a haven away from people?" 

 "Izzimar, don't be naive! Didn't you sense what was lurking outside?" Birger exclaims. Izzimar falls silent, casting a glance at Arjana, then shudders. "If that creature is what I suspect, then we are in danger here." Birger exhales deeply.

 Izzimar whimpers, carefully placing Arjana down, then slouches on the floor feeling for his cane. After he gripped it, he slowly rises, and shuffles towards Birger's voice. 

 "Collect our belongings while we still have daylight." 

 "You didn't even tell me where we're going...." Izzimar murmurs. "Or what you saw last night..." 

 "Enough with the complaints; gather our possessions! I have an idea of where we'll head, but for now, hurry up!" Birger insists. In spite of his frustration of Birger's secrecy, Izzimar goes to his room to pack. Alone with Arjana, Birger takes a book from the shelf now leaning against the wall and flips through it. He sits beside Arjana, sighing with relief that she survived the night, and tenderly strokes her hair. 

 "There's some good news... your illness should see significant improvement now," he whispers to her, still unsure if she can hear him. "Yet, I fear we're still not safe.," Birger adds, looking at a golden rune, knocked to the floor during the ritual, glowing brightly in the morning sun.

"It's time for you to go home, youngin'."