The next morning was the chilliest yet, though that might be because the group started going uphill at some point without noticing.

While everyone else is handling it just fine, Ollie is the one who's the least prepared for the change in the weather. He's never dealt with it that well. He shivers every now and then, rubbing his hands together, until Luke walks up behind him and delivers a powerful hug. It's like a big pile of fluff just wrapped around him. Ollie appreciates it a lot.

A ways up ahead, Claire and Umbra are busy plotting their next move. They've just learned about what the boys saw last night.

"Up north, he said..." Claire murmurs while she keeps her feet on the trail. "But we've simply been going east this whole time... I hope we didn't accidentally end up taking a different path. Umbra, what do you think?"

Umbra has kept herself busy checking and double-checking the maps. "Nah, we've followed everything like it says here, and just as Luke's friend told us. But we haven't seen any clue that the village is near. I bet something's up."

Looking back up, though, Umbra notices that Claire is already starting to wander off, turning her eyes towards any unusual spots in the thick maze of grass and trees. "Claire?"

"We're going north," the jaguar says firmly. "Ollie! Luke! Come along now!" She calls to her friends.

The two run up to the girls in a hurry, still warming each other up.

Claire airs out her proposal. "You said the creature you saw last night was howling from the north, right? If that's the case, then let's all go check that out right now!"

"Fine by me," Luke says.

"Same here," Ollie adds. "Wherever we go, we go together! Even if I have no idea how it'll turn out..."

Claire makes sure to ease their worries. "Relax, we have maps and stuff. If there's nothing over here but more dirt and trees, we'll just hit the trail again and keep heading east. But first, we'll take a detour and see what's up."

With those words, the group leave the path they've so closely followed throughout their trip, and take the turn north. A mostly blind road with few landmarks lies ahead, so their maps and compass will be their only guide.

The sounds of crunching leaves beneath their feet follow them for a good while, to the point where the grass below is seen less and less. There's little changes in their route aside from encounters with steep hills and fallen logs.

For a brief moment, it appears that these northern parts of the woods are nothing out of the ordinary.

But before they know it, fog has started to settle in around them. The group quickly grows restless.

"Everyone stay together, now," Claire asserts to her friends. "It's just a little fog. It gets like this back home all the time, remember?"

Something springs into her mind right away. "Actually, here, one second..."

She pulls her staff out of Luke's bag, and with a slow, waving motion, makes it glow an eye-catching shade of green.

"We won't be getting lost now," she says, although the light itself is fairly dim -- weak, even. It seems last night's meeting with Umbra might be taking its toll right now.

To make matters worse, the fog is becoming overwhelmingly dense. The group has trouble seeing what's in front of them, and, well, in every direction, for that matter. They stay bundled together right behind Claire, with their hands gripping her shoulders, while she leads the way.

The four stubbornly continue their way north for a distressing amount of time. The pace they had when they were on the trail has certainly slowed down now thanks to the dire situation. At this point, above everything else, they're just hoping to make it through the fog.

All of this is a little too much for the young jaguar to take, as both the prolonged use of magic and her own frail body start to take a toll. A bad headache settles in at the worst possible time. Claire drops her staff and stumbles down on one knee with a pained whimper.

"Claire!" Umbra jumps to her side immediately. "It's okay. Just don't strain yourself, okay? Here, lemme help..."

As the bat tries to get her back on her feet, Claire appears to be visibly strained. "Ah, no, I need to..." At this point, her feet can't help much, and she can't do anything else but lay down and ride out the pain.

"Crap, crap, crap... Luke, herbs! Come on!" Umbra yells, panicked, with Claire at her feet. Luke swiftly hands her some herbs, and she wastes no time rubbing some on the jaguar's forehead. Her heavy breathing calms down a bit.

"You okay?" Umbra asks.

Claire nods weakly. "Tired," she mumbles.

The bat sighs in relief. Though their situation's still frightening, the worst seems to be over. "You two hurry on ahead," Umbra tells the boys. "I'll stay here and..." she trails off, turning her eyes to the north again.

A green-ish glow can be seen in the distance, growing stronger as it appears to get closer.

"Is anyone there?" Umbra calls out to them. "We could use some help!"

Suddenly, the source of the light wanders in front of the group. Wearing a frilly dress, and wielding a long, wooden staff, the figure appears to be a familiar-looking wolf.

"Oh hey, you're the one from last night!" Luke says to her with a surprised look. "How'd you find us out here?"

The wolf greets them with a little handwave as she approaches Claire. "I live around here. Sorry, can't chitchat. I'll take care of your friend right away."

She sits in front of Claire, who keeps her eyes wide open when she sees the mage in front of her. "You... you also... do magic?" She asks, still tired.

The wolf nods. "Yup, sure do," she says, sporting a warm smile. She grips her staff with both hands, and its glow becomes stronger. "I do some serious magic."