Nido yawned so hard he nearly walked into a tree.
“Remind me again,” he said, dragging his feet through the mossy path, “why it’s just the two of us wandering through monster-infested woods looking for a person who may or may not exist?”
General Au marched ahead without looking back. “A full battalion would draw attention. Loki’s eyes are everywhere. If he suspects we’re searching for the fourth Rune-marked, he’ll send giants to intercept.”
“And trust me,” Heiminbrand piped up from Nido’s belt, “you don’t want to end your quest as a very heroic pancake.”
“See, that’s what I’m saying,” Nido muttered. “No one survives being stepped on dramatically.”
They continued deeper into the forest, the air growing cooler, the trees thicker. Soon the path forked in two.
General Au stopped. “The Voice of Rune shall guide us from here.”
Nido blinked. “Voice of what now?”
“You have the sword,” Au said, arms crossed like he was waiting for a punchline. “Ask it.”
Nido unhooked Heiminbrand and held him up. “Hey, uhh… Heiminbrand… which way?”
“Did I ever say I knew where the fourth one is?” Heiminbrand replied casually. “Because I don’t.”
“Wait—what?!” Nido spun to General Au. “He says he doesn’t know!”
“Then follow where the sword wants to go,” Au said, stone-faced.
“Well in that case…” Heiminbrand hummed, “Let’s go… right! Yep. Definitely right. Probably. Ish.”
“That didn’t sound confident.”
“Confidence is overrated. Mystery is sexier.”
They went right. Then another split. Then another.
Each time, Heiminbrand chose—left, then right, then “that one with the funky-looking bush.”
Eventually, they reached a cliff.
A dead end.
Nido threw his arms up. “Amazing. We’ve found the legendary End of the Road.”
General Au stared at the drop below. “We are lost.”
“Correction,” Heiminbrand said. “You are lost. I just really liked that bush back there.”
“You’re a sword! How do you even get lost?!”
“Because someone keeps swinging me around like a salad tong on sugar rush—”
Suddenly, a gust of wind slammed into them.
Nido stumbled, squinting upward. “That from you?”
“Nope. Not guilty this time.”
A roar echoed from the sky. A shadow swooped overhead.
From the clouds above, a dragon burst into view—massive, crimson, wings slicing the wind. It opened its maw.
FWOOSH!
Flames exploded toward them.
General Au stepped forward, shield raised. “Behind me!”
But the edge of the cliff crumbled.
All three of them fell.
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End of Chapter 5.
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and then Add to home screen.