They ran. Hard. Jake's legs were burning, his breath ragged. Gareth's feet pounded the ground in giant leaps. "Don't worry, boy, we're close now." They arrived at a river. The mentor stopped and looked around. "It should be near. There's the boulder, the oak… yes, there." He moved aside and broke some small trees, revealing a small wooden boat with a pair of oars. "Come on, help me," said the warrior. Jake didn't need more explanations, and soon after, they were sailing down the current.
Gareth was using the oars. Jake sat in front of him, watching the water go by. The silence was heavy. As time went by and they gained distance from the threat, the mood remained tense. With a deep sigh, the mentor said softly, "I understand how you feel. You killed a man. It's always hard the first time." Jake didn't look up. He let his hand dip in the water and felt the current drag it gently. Then he said with a croaky voice, "It was not the first time."
Gareth nodded and let the silence breathe. "Of course, you had a hard life. You had to defend yourself to survive." Jake took his hand out of the water and looked at it, trying to wipe the water away with his other hand. He opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head. Gareth waited. Finally, Jake's haunted eyes locked with his. "It was not always to defend myself either."
The silence was suffocating. Jake looked away. The lump in his throat was painful. Gareth kept silent. He had a tense frown and nodded from time to time. Like he was talking with ghosts. Jake knew he had lost him, and he couldn't do anything about it. His mentor took a sucking breath through his teeth. "You won't get any judgment from me, boy. You're doing that to yourself enough already." Then it was his turn to have a haunted look. "Believe me when I tell you that I know that when you choose a dark path, you don't get to say when the violence stops." Jake shuddered and cried silent tears as the boat glided away.
The gentle rocking of the boat lulled Jake, and he surrendered gladly to the void of sleep.
When he woke up, the sun was high in the sky. A tired-looking Gareth was still propelling the boat forward. When he saw the young man had woken up, he gave a small smile. "Time to switch." Jake nodded and took the oars as Gareth curled up on the boat floor. The young man enjoyed watching the scenery go by. It was like his thoughts drifted away with the changing view before they could torture him. Sometimes he shivered at a strange feeling. He thought it was hunters and was ready to wake up Gareth. But it was different. After a while, he realized what it was. They were moving in the real world, and they crossed places where the pink mist was thicker, which made his body react. The jewel flared with pride at its human's intelligence.
The sun was setting when Gareth woke up. He looked around and looked pensive. "I'm not sure where we are. Did we pass any settlements?" Jake shook his head. "We have to continue a bit further then. Give me the oars," Jake looked at him with determination. "No, you're in no state to do that. It's night, the corruption will spread. You need to be in the mist to survive." His mentor shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous, and you know it." His apprentice smiled, "I've thought about it, yes, it is dangerous, but we can make it work." The warrior crossed his arms and locked eyes with the young man, "I'm listening." Jake told his plan, "We sleep first, then we bring you into the mist for a couple of hours, then we run straight away. They will track us, but not our exact position." Gareth shook his head, "And I thought I was the reckless one."
While Jake kept rowing, Gareth was studying a map. "What are you looking at?" His mentor did look up, his fingers tracing invisible lines on the paper. "I'm checking how to apply your foolish plan." They both chuckled a bit. And Gareth added. "We can't move in a straight line, it will be too predictable. So we need to head toward our destination, zigzagging on the map to keep the hunter confused.
Jake brought the oars into the boat. "Then you'd better give me that map. I'm not sure you can be trusted with an intelligence-based task." Gareth looked at him in surprise. "What the hell did you say to me?" The apprentice gave a cute roar and slashed at the air with his hand, "Grrr." He didn't see the warning as the brawler slowly tucked his chin. A strong palm hit Jake's chest. He flew backward and landed in the water. "What the hell did you do that for?" He yelled. The warrior gave him a lazy smile and said, "It looked like this hot head of yours needed to cool down."
The boat was on the shore. Two men looked at a map. "Three stops and we're there," said Jake. Gareth nodded, "Better get some sleep while we can." As they prepared their camp, Jake added, "I still don't know who we're going to see." His mentor smiled with all his teeth. "No, you don't, but you're going to love him." Then he swung a quick combo of punches in the air and added, "And this time I'll beat him."