Rei pushed past all the people trying to greet her and went straight to the shelter that Alex still laid in.
Alex's tunic was off, in the pile of his belongings at the edge of his bed. Rei stared at him for a minute, wondering if it was too late. There were beads of sweat running down his forehead and he rocked his head back and forth, as if he were in a nightmare.
"What happened to him?!?" Rei demanded from the nurse.
"He broke into a fever after you left him to find the berries," she explained calmly. "Did you get them?"
"I got…" Rei remembered what Glenn had told her about them and replied. "I found one berry. Was all I could get." She looked into her pouch and grabbed a single berry. As she held it up, the nurse grabbed it and dropped it into a bowl.
"Hey! What are you doing?!?" Rei questioned.
"I am putting it into a mixture," the nurse replied, "The berry can heal the body, but my solution will heal his mind."
"His…mind?" Rei was confused.
"Let me finish this and you can talk to your friends," answered the nurse.
Outside, Rei found Glenn kneeling beside a bed pallet with Dryden in it. She walked up and sat quietly beside him. Glenn didn't even notice she was there.
"She needs…some lilac root…" he muttered to himself. A rabbit hopped out of the forest just then, and dropped a plant three feet away.
"Thanks," he whispered to the forest as he stood up and fetched it.
"What's that used for?" said a voice near him. He nearly jumped when it had spoke, but was relieved when he found out the owner of the voice was Rei.
"It's… something I learned from mother," he replied without much thought. He placed the root on Dryden's head and within minutes, she was recovering.
"Wow, I feel like I had a hang over while being smashed into the windshield of a truck!" Dryden said as she smiled painfully.
"Well, more likely being blinded the thrown off a temple, by Glenn here, to be caught by trees!" exclaimed her friend.
"That too!" Dryden gave a small grin.
"If you're ready, your friend is ready for visitors!" called the nurse from the shelter. Rei ran to the door, with Dryden making her way behind, and Glenn walking slowly behind, in case Dryden fell.
Inside, Alex was sitting up, and flexing his arm to make sure it still worked. His look of concentration melted when he took sight of Rei. She ran over to his bed and crouched beside it, to look up at him. Moments later, Dryden appeared, and they told him of their heroic battle.
When Glenn entered, Alex's face went white, and he reached to where his sword should have been. The sword was not there though, for it had been moved so he wouldn't hurt himself. The two boys stared at each other coldly for a moment. Rei had to shake Alex to get his attention so she could tell him about Glenn and the legend they might be able to fulfill.
"Perhaps you might find that person on Han Wavel," the nurse interjected at the mention of the last person they were to look for. "It's a big city on the planet of Filgaria, but it has one of the best Finding Persons Program. But you should wait until tomorrow to leave. Then you could go south of here, some of the survivor say there are the remains of an airport that you could possibly find a radio."
"Hmm… Sounds like a good idea," Dryden replied. They slept the night there and Dryden awoke to Alex practicing his sword with one of the men. She woke up Rei and they spent awhile watching him, trying to hold back giggles whenever Alex, the better of the two swordsmen, would make the man commit silly acts whenever he lost.
After Glenn woke up, they ate breakfast, packed some supplies, and were off on horses that had been caught by the man Alex had been practicing with.
They traveled the full day, for it was a two-day trip. And didn't leave the actual forest until after they had stopped for lunch. That night they built camp in the middle of a plain, with only a single tree off in the distance.
A few hours before sunup, Rei woke to the sound of a snap. As she turned, she spotted three wolves. Slowly she crept over and shook Dryden, who almost screamed at the sight of their visitors. They moved over and tried to wake up their male companions. But Glenn slept on.
Alex got to his feet and glances at the sky. It was too dark to see clouds, he wouldn't be able to call forth lightning. Instead he ripped out his sword and charged at the closest wolf. Dryden pulled out her poison dart and shot one at the next wolf. Having hit it, the wolf got mad and started to chase her. She ran to the tree and climbed up it.
Rei was still standing near the camp, staring at her wolf. It growled as she started to pull out her dagger. Then it lunged at her. Fear gripped her as she just stood there, watching in slow motion as the wolf's claws headed straight for her.
At the last moment, a strong arm pushed her out of the way. But not soon enough to save it’s owner.
Three drops of blood splattered to the ground…
--- End of Part 8---