[quote=@c3p-0h]Excitement thrummed under her annoyance and she sped up after Spook. She slowed when she was a step behind him and a bit to the side. Meryn didn't bother to hide the way she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye, a question on her face.[/quote]

Spook loped on ahead for awhile, slightly hunched under the mediocre weight of his bag, completely oblivious the screams and shouts and surprised murmurs that erupted at the rear of the company. He might as well be a thousand miles away, as much as he ignored the existence of his volunteers.

Up close, the bit of skin that showed between his sleeve and glove appeared ghostly pale. Runes had been drawn on his inner arms.

Eventually Spook turned his head a fraction toward Meryn's steady stare.

[b]"Hm? What?"[/b] His slightly muffled voice still held that quality of smiling behind the mask. [b]"Look at the scenery. You've never been outside, have you? Though I guess this looks nothing different from Enn's forest. Weeds aren't that exciting when you've seen them before. The outside of the wall, on the other hand -- that's a novelty, isn't it?"[/b]

As if on cue, the gates of Enn rumbled, clacked, and began to swing shut.