He was flicking in and out of unconsciousness. Bereth was quite sure of that. He was pretty sure that Merlina was asking him at some point if he could hear her — he did not remember responding — and chatter around him. There was something under his arm at some point.

Thanks to magic, Bereth made it through the daytime heat. They were… about halfway there, was what Nedyom said a little while ago? Bereth was not sure; he was just focused on keeping himself going forward.

The moment the heat outside hit him in the face in full, Bereth knew it had been a mistake to push himself to leave.

To say that walking was excruciating was… well, not an understatement, but it felt a bit too mild for Bereth.

"So," Scarlet said, cocking her eyebrow, "you're telling me that we, as in all three of us," she gestured at the trio in the room, "must cross this ravine filled with murder vines so that Jaden can get this 'magnificent' pegasus for your breeding program?"

The next day, it turned out that Bereth's injuries were graver than first expected; even though he had some of his strength back, his legs refused to work properly.

The first time Nedyom left Bereth's side was at nightfall when he took Odlanya and Xyr with him to find food. Merlina remained with Bereth, joining him in healing his injured back further.