Farilane was first to hear the whispering. Voices spilled out of the dark, out of the woods on the far side of the trail. She was certain they were speaking words, but too faint, too drowned out by the noise of a waterlogged forest to make out. A conversation was underway deep in the dark, a discourse between several, and Farilane suspected the discussion was about them.

“Is that . . .” Sheldon began. “Do I hear . . . whispering?”

“Think so,” Farilane said, shaking out a blanket she’d wrung hard and hung on a branch, hoping against the odds that it might dry before she was forced to crawl into her sodden tent. Sleeping soaked had to be the worst part of travel. At least it used to be. After an all-day hike through rough terrain with only a bit of cheese to eat and no water at all, she faced an introduction to a whole new category of worsts.

“Shouldn’t we be concerned?” Sheldon asked. The carpenter sat in front of his colorful tent with his knees-up, watching the darkness.

“About voices whispering in the darkness? In this place?” She almost laughed. “I should think so.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“Well, there are three of us. Kile does have his stick, and I have these little fellows.” She brandished her switch and the knife she was using to trim it. “Meaning we have nearly nothing in the way of offensive power or defensive ability. We are also tired and short on food. So, unless either of you has something clever to suggest, I’m thinking we sit here and hope nothing eats us.”

“That’s not much of a plan.”

“It’s not like I’m bragging.”

“What’s that?” Kile pointed.

They all looked and discovered a faint light deep in the trees.

“Is it moving?” Sheldon asked. “I think it’s moving.”

“Yes, but left to right, not at us,” Farilane concluded and stood up. She slipped her knife away, and holding her switch low at her side, she moved toward the trees.

“Where are you going now?” Kile asked.

“We could use some help.”

“Have you considered what type of person wanders this forest at night? And I’m not certain person is even the right word.”

“So far, this forest hasn’t offered many opportunities. Don’t think we can ignore one when it arrives carrying a light.”

Kile stood up.

“And where are you going?” she asked.

He looked at her, surprised. “Best not to get separated. Traveling alone in the dark in this forest is pretty much a guarantee we’ll never see each other again.”

Sheldon jumped up. “I’m not staying here alone. Should we take the tents?”

Farilane looked back. “Why? It’s not like we’ll lose them. We can’t get free of this spot no matter how hard we try.”