Chapter 7: ACT I, SCENE 3.5

ACT I, SCENE 3.5Day 130 Minutes Since the Ash FellCathedral — CryptOn the brink of exhaustion, both physical and mental, Vespar gets to work. Safety. A defensible corner. From his pack, Vespar removes several precious scraps of Gloom-Oak.“Loosing that arrow was the hardest thing I have ever done.”After a long pause and no response from Kendra, Vespar motions for her to sit beside the kindling as it begins to plume its signature blue heat. Finally, some warmth. As the fire warms them, Vespar notices the blue of Kendra’s fingers shift back toward the colour of skin. He pulls out his bandages.“I have no idea what is happening, Kendra, but I think you know as well as I do that, no matter how much it hurts, Ansel, your father, is gone. He was gone before I fired a shot. Whatever took hold of him took over, and what was left was not him. I felt the pain he was in. I am truly sorry, but he is gone.”“You are still here, and I am going to do everything in my power to make sure it stays that way.”Vespar wraps Kendra’s hands and arms in bandages, covering the injuries left by their escape and the frozen grate. One careful layer at a time.