----("I agree with Luo, let's go to the castle.")----("I agree with Sean, let's go to the town.")----
"I agree with Luo, let's head to the castle."
"Really? I think the town is a better option for us."
"The way you described it made it sound hella sketchy. It just rubs me the wrong way, and I think the castle is a better option. Plus, having some familiar ground to work with will be good for us, AND I know how to get to Canterlot from there. We can get on the edge of these woods, and walk along the edge of them until we find the base camp where Shining should be."
"But if you're with the guards, shouldn't Shining be looking for you out here?"
"Yes, but I bet they have a way to talk to each other through their magic. If we show up, and he's not there, they'll probably tell Shining that I'm okay."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Nope, but it's the best we got."
"Why not just go to the town?"
"Because it's sketchy as fuck, like I just said. No way I'm going there."
"Luo, you need to heal. And that means rest."
"And I will, but I'm not going to that town. If what David said is true, going to the castle is better."
Sean, seeing he was outnumbered two to one, gives in. "Okay... we'll go to the castle."
"We should get moving then. It's a long walk there, and we still don't know what's out here." I announce.
Nodding their heads in agreement, we all start walking to the ruins of the castle.
But what we didn't see, were the eyes watching us as we departed.
We reach the castle with a little daylight left, which is good as well as bad. Good because we have some light to work with, and bad because we don't have that much left, and I don't know if anything as come by and made a home since I was here.
I walk up the small set of stairs that leads up to the front door. It's been a long ass time since I was here. I wonder if anything has changed in the past two and a half months.
Once we're all at the doors, I push them open as quietly as I can.
"Why are you being so careful? I thought you said you lived here before." Sean asked me.
"Because its been almost, if not already, three months since i've been here. There's a chance that something else could've made a home here while I was gone."
"... I now realize that was a stupid question."
You think?
Finishing that thought, I push the doors open enough that I can peek inside.
Not surprising, the stairs are still missing.
But what IS surprising, is that my vine that I put at the top of the wall that used to have the stairs is still there.
"Well damn, my vine is still here."
"Your vine?"
"That vine you see right there? I tied it to the top when I first got here so I could scale the wall easier."
"How did you climb at first?"
"I just normally climbed up with my pick, but since it's been awhile since I've been here, and I don't know how strong that vine is now, I don't really think I sh-"
"Are you kidding? That bug didn't have a chance to begin with."
That wasn't Luo or Sean...
I immediately crouched down and signaled for Luo and Sean do be quiet as I listened in on the hunter's conversation.
"I dunno. Seemed like it had some fight left in it."
"They always end up dead anyway."
"True... hey, what do you think happened to that weird one we saw?"
"The one on two legs? No clue. If that timber wolf ate him, I would be sad that we didn't get the pleasure of doing it ourselves."
Wow. Sick fucks...
I motion Sean and Luo closer to me to avoid talking too loud.
"Okay, new plan. We get the hell out of here."
"What? We need this place to rest." Luo argued.
"Just because we hear two of them doesn't mean there aren't anymore up there. It could be a whole camp."
"What do you suppose we do then?" Sean asks.
"I think the be-"
"HEY! THE WEIRD ONE'S HERE!"
Motherfu-
An arrow lands next to my foot. I can also hear commotion from up above. Probably the others getting their weapons.
Maybe coming here was a bad idea...
"Fuck! New plan! Run!" I shout as I raise my rifle and take a shot at the hunter that spotted us, which hits home.
"What the hell is it using!?" I hear a hunter yell as his buddy's head explodes in a mist of red.
"Just shoot the bastard!"
I run as fast as I can while reloading my rifle. I can hear the sound of arrows hitting the ground behind me.
Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit.
I open the front doors to the castle and stand there while Luo and Sean run through before closing it.
"That could've gone better..." Sean commented.
"We're not safe yet. We need to put as much distance between them and us as possible."
"What about this place? We need somewhere to rest!" Luo protests.
"Fuck this place! I'm not fighting who knows how many hunters just to spend the night here for a few days. We can find a cave or somewhere secure... actually I know exactly where we can go."
"Where's that?"
"There's a cave not far from here. The entrance is well hidden, so I doubt they know about it. It only has one entrance, so nothing could sneak up on us."
"How do you know about it?" Sean questions.
"Back when I was with Thorax, he spotted it when I was about to walk right past it. It's not far."
"Is it really a good idea? From what you say about it being close, won't the hunters here come looking for us?" Luo says concerned.
"Like I said, it's well hidden. There's only one entrance they can get in from, so if push does come to shove, it's easily defendable."
Sean and Luo look at each other, before nodding their heads at me.
"It's a plan then."