Chapter 24: The Long Walk Out of the Marsh
The path narrowed as they left the ruined clearing behind. The fog thinned in loose sheets, drifting across the trail like torn curtains. Damp wind pressed against them, carrying the smell of crushed reeds, old stone, and the distant tang of pine.
Aiden walked with the pup at his heel, Myra on his left, Nellie on his right. Captain Rhosyn and two of his riders took point. The rest split around the caravan, silent shadows on horseback.
Even without the Hollow collapsing behind them, the marsh felt wrong.
Too quiet. Too still. Too watchful.
Aiden kept glancing over his shoulder, expecting the fog to swallow up behind them the way jaws sealed around prey. The storm inside him buzzed faintly, a restless warning—not violent, not flaring, but awake.
The pup kept its nose raised, sniffing the air as if tasting every shift in the wind.
Myra noticed. "Still on edge?"
Aiden shook his head. "It's… alert. Not scared."
"That's worse," she muttered.
Nellie hugged her satchel tighter. She'd washed her hands with a riders' canteen, but her curls were still caked with dust and Hollow grit. She looked small beside the armored riders—small even by gnome standards.
Aiden wasn't the only one who noticed.
One of the rear riders kept staring at her.
At first, Aiden thought it was simple curiosity. Then the man squinted, eyes focusing downward as if finally registering her height relative to the rest of the caravan.
Quietly, he murmured to the woman beside him, "Is that… a gnome?"
The woman whispered back, "Haven't seen one in years. Thought most stayed north after—"
Her voice lowered too much to catch the end.
Nellie shrank slightly, shoulders bunching inward like she wanted to disappear beneath her cloak.
Aiden slowed enough to brush his arm against hers. "Hey," he whispered. "Nothing wrong with being noticed."
She gave a small, wobbly smile. "I… know. I'm just nervous. What if the Academy doesn't want someone like—"
"Someone like what?" Myra cut in sharply. "Someone talented? Someone who saved half a caravan? Someone who didn't run when everything was falling apart?"
Nellie's eyes widened. "I… I didn't do that much…"
"You did," Aiden said. "You matter."
The pup yipped, like it agreed.
Nellie's cheeks flamed pink. "Okay… maybe a little…"
Ahead, Captain Rhosyn slowed his horse and glanced back at them. "Gnome or not, the Academy admits those who earn it. And your healer instincts will serve you well."
Nellie blinked. "Y-you knew I was a healer?"
"Your satchel reeks of marsh antiseptics," Rhosyn replied calmly. "Either you're a healer… or very bad at hiding contraband."
Myra snorted. "Definitely a healer."
Nellie squeaked.
The group continued in guarded silence for a while, following the narrow rising path carved between leaning pines and gnarled marshwillows. As they ascended, the fog peeled away layer by layer. The air brightened. A faint light filtered down through the treetops—weak, gray, but real.
Aiden exhaled slowly, shoulders unclenching.
They were leaving the marsh.
Finally.
Even the riders' horses seemed relieved, their steps less tense, their ears flicking in looser patterns.
"My legs hurt," Nellie whispered.
"My everything hurts," Myra muttered.
Aiden's legs burned from supporting himself and the pup's weight earlier, but he forced a grin. "We'll get warm beds soon."
Nellie brightened. "Really? At the Academy?"
"They have temporary boarding for arrivals," Rhosyn called from ahead without looking back. "Spare cots. Blankets. Walls that don't fall on your head."
"Sold," Myra said.
They climbed higher, the marsh fading behind them. The forest thickened, old and deep, roots like ribs pressing out of the earth. Strange runes glowed faintly on lantern posts that marked the path—ethereal symbols drifting in and out like soft embers.
Myra reached out toward one. "Pretty…"
"Don't touch," Rhosyn warned immediately.
She jerked her hand back. "Why?"
"They're ward-lanterns. They repel certain kinds of creatures."
Nellie asked, "What kind?"
"Hungry ones."
A beat of silence.
"Right," Myra said faintly. "Not touching."
Aiden kept scanning the trees.
He didn't know what he expected to see—another Aberration claw, more fog shifting wrong, the figure in the mist—but everything stayed still. Normal. Ordinary.
Almost too ordinary.
His storm sense was low, just a gentle hum under his ribs. But it hadn't gone silent. It felt… cautious.
The pup let out a soft growl toward the trees.
Rhosyn lifted a hand. The riders halted immediately.
"What is it?" a rider whispered.
Rhosyn didn't answer.
He looked at the pup.
The tiny beast's fur bristled, sparks dancing faintly between its ears, but it didn't face the marsh behind them this time.
It stared into the forest ahead.
Aiden swallowed. "You feel that too?"
Rhosyn edged his horse forward, his posture a perfect blend of caution and practiced readiness. "Something is near. Not hostile… but present."
Myra frowned. "A beast?"
"No," Rhosyn said softly. "A watcher."
Even the fog seemed to pause.
Myra leaned closer to Aiden. "I don't like that."
Nellie whispered, "What's a watcher?"
Before Rhosyn could answer—
A shadow shifted between two oaks ahead.
Not large. Not threatening.
But moving with deliberate, careful awareness.
Aiden's breath caught.
An animal? Another rider? Another monster?
The pup didn't growl this time.
It whined.
Softly. Questioningly.
Rhosyn raised a hand sharply—halt.
The riders stirred, tension rippling like a wave.
Then—
A figure stepped out onto the path.
A girl.
A short one.
Compact, muscular, wrapped in thick leathers with iron-plated bracers. Her hair was braided into a single heavy rope that hung down her back. Her boots were carved with runic knotwork. Her expression was unimpressed, her posture stubborn, her brows knit in confusion and annoyance.
A dwarf.
She raised one brow at the caravan and said, voice rough like gravel dipped in honey:
"…You're late."
Nellie froze.
Blink.
Blink.
Aiden saw her mouth drop open, one hand rising to her chest as if her heart had suddenly forgotten how to beat.
Myra whispered, "Oh. Oh no. Nellie is broken."
The dwarf crossed her arms. "Well? Are you coming through or not? I've been waiting half an hour for the blasted fog to stop screaming."
Aiden stared at her, then at Nellie.
Nellie's entire face was crimson.
And that was the moment Aiden realized…
This wasn't just any dwarf.
This was her.
Runa Ironjaw.
Not yet a friend. Not yet a teammate.
But already— already—
her presence tugged Nellie toward her like gravity.
Rhosyn exhaled. "Ironjaw. You weren't expected."
Runa shrugged. "Instructors sent me to redirect arrivals. Trials prep is eating half the staff."
Her gaze fell on the trio.
Her eyes landed on Nellie.
Paused.
Softened.
"Hey," she said, far gentler.
Nellie made a small sound that wasn't quite a greeting and wasn't quite oxygen.
Myra elbowed Aiden. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
Rhosyn cleared his throat. "We're escorting these three directly to the Academy for immediate processing. Aberration incident."
Runa's expression sharpened. "That rumble earlier… that was the Hollow, wasn't it?"
Aiden nodded once.
Her jaw tightened. "Right. Then get moving. Forest's still twitching."
Rhosyn gestured the caravan forward again. Riders returned to motion. Runa stepped aside, her boots scraping over roots.
As Aiden passed her, the dwarf gave him a curt nod.
To Myra, a narrowed eyebrow of amused challenge.
To Nellie—
A small smile.
Nellie nearly tripped over her own feet.
Aiden moved quickly to catch her elbow. "Easy."
"I—I'm fine," she squeaked, not fine at all.
Runa didn't comment, but her eyes lingered on Nellie for a heartbeat longer before she fell into step beside them.
"I'll lead," she said gruffly. "Forest paths can be tricky. And… you three look like someone beat you with a tree."
Myra scoffed. "It was actually a monster, but thanks."
Runa blinked at her. "That was a joke, right?"
"…Maybe," Myra mumbled.
Aiden almost laughed despite the exhaustion.
The pup sniffed at Runa's boots. Sparks flicked up its fur.
Runa stared down at it. "Is that a lightning cub?"
Aiden braced for judgment.
Instead—
Runa knelt, holding out a gloved hand.
"Hey, little spark," she murmured.
The pup sniffed once—
—and headbutted her knuckles approvingly.
Myra's jaw dropped. "It likes her?!"
Aiden blinked. "That's… rare."
Runa shrugged. "Animals usually do."
Nellie hugged her satchel tighter, eyes never leaving Runa's face.
The forest opened up slowly ahead, the fog thinning to wisps as the path began to rise toward the distant ridge.
Runa pointed with her chin. "Academy gates are less than a mile."
Myra sighed with relief. "Finally."
Aiden nodded.
The pup barked once.
Nellie whispered, "We actually made it…"
They walked forward—
But behind them, deep in the marsh fog, the ground trembled one last time.
Just enough for Aiden to feel it in his bones.
Just enough for Rhosyn to look back, jaw clenched.
Just enough for Runa to mutter, "That's not settling stone…"
Aiden swallowed hard.
The Academy gates were close.
But something behind them— something old, something hungry, something marked—
wasn't finished.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Alright, real talk for a second.
WebNovel rejected Reborn with the Beastbinder System.
Yeah. They said it "wouldn't make money."
So now it's up to us to prove them wrong.
If you're enjoying the story even a little—Aiden, the lightning pup, the worldbuilding, the fights—
then please help this book climb:
⭐ Power Stones → they matter way more than people realize
📚 Add to Collection → boosts the book in the algorithms
💬 Leave a Comment → even "nice chapter" helps more than you think
Right now, every push tells the system,
"Hey, this story actually can compete."
If you want to support the journey even more (never required), my Patreon is here:
My patreon is CB GodSent
(Early chapters, and it helps me keep writing.)
Thank you for reading.
Seriously.
Let's show them what this story can do.