The soft glow of the clouded sky above was eclipsed by Markus's standing form. She opened her eyes blearily and saw him looking down at her. He looked at her and suppressed a sigh or a curse. He was cutthroat, but he wasn't heartless. This was hard on both of them, and he knew they were walking into death anyway. But still, he wasn't going to have Emmaline keep him from that. 

"I would pick you up, but since we have almost no food I'll need to save my strength, so let's go." He said, his voice strong and leaving no room for argument. She still whined a bit, and gave a curse again. He knelt down and grabbed her, but it was gentler than she might have expected. Slowly he pulled her upright, and when she had steadily sat up and didn't wobble, he wiped her blonde hair out of her face and looked at her. 

He gave her a kiss. A lingering kiss that said more than he would, and then stood to his feet, holding out a hand. She took it, and once he hauled her up they started walking. Markus had returned to his aloof, grim self. Emmaline followed as best she could, only falling onto her face again once. Mercifully, they were both on more solid ground the next mile, with soft grass and warm wind. A large forest covered the horizon, the trees tall and ominous. 

"Where are we going?" She asked. 

"The elves went north, so we'll head north." He told her, stepping over a large patch of coastal reeds. Something furry skittered away, but Markus didn't pay it any mind. The wind whistled, but other than two birds riding the currents over the sea and the small critter, the land looked barren. It was hard to say if the quiet was the silence of an empty place or that of a lurking predator, and Markus wasn't sure which was more unsettling. 

"Once we find good cover, I'll start a fire. We might can catch something to eat for dinner." He told her, and glanced back to see she was still close on his heels. 

"I wish we could just head south back to skeggi, but..." She said, and he knew she was almost as loathe to leave the ship and the crew as he was. Neither of them were charitable souls or self-sacrificial priests, but Emmaline had a conscience despite her swindling and Markus was too bound by the Captain's responsibility to just let them die. Plus, they did not want to be separated. He also figured that to the south were the Lizardmen, and even though dark elves were known for slow torture, they were still closer to human. There was something about the man-reptiles of Lustria that was so unsettling. The cold intelligence behind eyes that shouldn't have it. The magics that could shatter ships, and the huge lizard warriors that would devour you if given the command. 

Better to move north for now.