Serpent Lake I'm sorry, I didn't mean any of it; I just got too lonely, lonely woah

Darkness fell like black smoke settling over the wilds. He didn't slow his flight even as the shadows grew longer and more threatening, even as he ceased to recognize his surroundings under cover of night. He knew it should be familiar; he'd passed through only days ago. But the land wore a stranger's face in the moonlight, and he was frightened.

When the moon was high, he finally halted to call out for Kemal. But in the next instant, his luck turned. A faint rustling by his feet was the only warning he received before a white-hot pinprick of pain lanced through one hind leg. Snake. In an instant he lashed out, catching it by the skull and dispatching it with a sickening crunch. He dropped the limp body and twisted to inspect his leg, cursing to himself. The world seemed determined to off him one way or another, he couldn't help but think.