Nothing happened. Zeke, still frozen, glanced to Narda to see if she could see or hear anything he could not, or if she sensed anything different. When nothing continued to happen, Narda joined him in running the swords through the runes, erasing them from their place on the earth. Each time he destroyed one, he glanced up nervously. 
"I never had a grasp for this stuff." Zeke admitted. "Ruli and Envy are naval deep in it, but its like trying to understand a foreign dance routine when you don't even have legs." He shook his head. While he didn't have the same outlook as Narda did on the subject, being stranded here when he knew nothing about what they were involved in didn't help his mood. 

As she mentioned it was a lot less dark, Zeke glanced up, turning to look through the canopy of trees. "Smells different, too." He pointed out, then he spotted the wolf. Inhaling, Zeke lowered himself into a defensive position, ready, but seconds of watching the creature told him there was little danger. 
He relaxed, but only slightly. Just because one lost its coordination didn't mean all of them would. "Maybe the magic ... turned off." Zeke ran his fingers through his hair, knowing how stupid that sounded. "They might. Aera gave me a pin that will mark us as friend, and I'm sure she'd allow us a bed and bath." [i]Bath[/i] was what he hoped for, presently, the unnatural blood sticky on his hands and face. "Or, maybe they'd give us a tent. I'd be slightly more comfortable in the woods on a bedroll where I can hunt and eat meat."

Zeke started up the hill. "We're ... at least three thousand miles from the cliffside city. Nearly two days walk from Ziad. Nearly seven from the mountains where we'd been living. There's really little chance of us getting anywhere on our own without some sort of help." Zeke calculated out loud as he dug his fingers into the reeking soil to hoist himself up. 

~

"Much worse than my way." Ysaryn grumbled, slowly standing upright. She tucked her hair behind her pointed ears, then pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Amria. Ysaryn made some guttural noise. She could deal with the shock of being in an entirely different world later. Ed knew where they were. They could find help. Find Kire and Ruli. And go home. 
When he pointed toward the mountains, explaining that he knew their faces well, the elf lowered her hands to glare at them, her eyes narrowed slightly. As if everything here was an enemy and it was an insult for her to look at. 
Except Ed. Who turned and pointed, explained his theories like some giddy child in a sweets shop, listing his plan to get the most out of his trip. He seemed confident the others would be nearby, and casually began walking in a decided direction. 

Exhaling, Ysaryn wordlessly followed, her head aching with each step. She listened to him list his thoughts, her fuchsia gaze shifting to his blond hair and blue eyes. "Do not insult me." Ysaryn growled at him, walking beside him at a steady pace, albeit a slower one.
"So, you say we are either safe or not safe. I, a magic holding elf from a different world. And you, the cousin to the chieftess our enemy made to unseat, who look very much like her. Possibly in Gem-en-ai hold?" She pursed her lips at him. "Gem-en-ai, who use magic holders for blood spells, and will kill Wyvern blood on sight?" She clicked her tongue at him. "If you get me killed in this world, I will find a way to claim revenge." The elf threatened him again, her hands at once flexing to rest on the hilts of her blades. She sighed once more when she remembered they were missing. She couldn't decide if they lost in the clearing from when she went down, or if someone had grabbed them for her. Not that it mattered; they weren't presently [i]here.[/i]

As they walked, Ysaryn reached up to pull at one of her severed strands, frowning at the dark black colouring at the end. Like her hair had been devoured by the shadows she used to travel so easily. She'd heard Ruli mention the catastrophe of Walking incorrectly. Your body leaving to travel quickly away when parts of you remained, caught or pulled by something less willing to move. She'd heard of severed limbs, open skulls, bodies split in two. 
She hadn't pinned her hair correctly, and a seconds delay, or a slightly more firm tug from the wolf. "[i]I'm lucky to be alive.[/i]" Ysaryn commented idly, tossing her strand over her shoulder with the same flick of the wrist meant for her longer hair. The much shorter strands just fell back around her face, unwilling to remain behind her shoulders. 

~

Ruli froze, hearing the voices, his eyes wide as he listened. He couldn't understand a word of what they said, but it sounded vaguely familiar. Was it the language Narda and Kire spoke? Ruli's gaze shifted through the trees. Could be. Didn't sound anything like the dramatic language of their new neighbours by the sea. Nor did it sound like the choppy language of the northerners. 
If it was her strange language, what did that mean about his location?

Female voices though. Ruli thought about it for a moment, considering he couldn't even [i]attempt[/i] to be charming, here. The fact that he didn't speak the language was a large problem. 
However, Kire, Narda, and Ed all speak the common language. Maybe there was a chance.

He didn't get to debate it for long. More raised voices, and the sound of footsteps approaching cut his internal debates short. Ruli raised his hands, eyes trained on where the sound was coming from, studying the face of the woman who emerged. Then another, flanking him, their body language declaring they were not only capable of a fight but prepared for one. 
"I don't speak your language." Ruli said slowly, looking from face to face. Beyond, he caught a glimpse of two men, likewise flanked by the women who were dressed to blend into their surroundings. Even if he didn't speak the language, he knew what that sort of dress was for. Hunting. "I don't know if you speak mine. But I have no desire to be captured, today. Sorry."

A shift of his foot and Ruli disappeared, stepping into the shadows, the crispness of it here in what he presumed to be Amria slightly different. Thinner.
He reemerged in the same spot he'd been at when he fell from the gate. Ruli's feet hit the ground and he bolted, running through the woods toward the west, now. It was one of the things he recalled Zeke mentioning in case his men ever got lost. North or west if you're in the woods. Downhill if you're in the mountains. Since hunters, slavers, kidnappers, who knows, were downhill...

He ducked beneath a low hanging branch, tearing through the trees as quick as he can to put distance between himself and the others.