Even as Ryson tried to block out every imaginable horror that was not simply an exaggerated fear but a stark reality, he could not ignore the underlying implications of Linda's movements. It was not the path of someone trying to reach a certain destination, like home. It was the path of someone trying to escape, and one question crystallized in the delver's mind.
Why would she choose a path away from Burbon?
The answer opened a gouging pain in his abdomen. He began to understand that she wasn't just running away from Burbon… she was running away from him!
He shook off the crushing thought, considered it nothing more than panic driven nonsense. He would only discover the truth when he found her, and he was determined to do so. He moved with greater speed born of desperation. Concentrating on Linda's trail, he shut out the rest of the forest, but not completely, and in that, he found even greater turmoil for his raging emotions.
Ryson could not help but notice the fresh tracks of several small goblin packs. He didn't wish to acknowledge them, tried to convince himself they were unrelated to his own concerns, but how could he escape the truth? There were as many goblins in the forest as there were trees. They would notice the careless movements of his wife. How could they not? And they were not creatures of benevolence that would help a lost human find her way.
He tried to avoid following the goblin tracks with his gaze, but his delver mind forced him to uncover the truth. He expected to see them intercept the trail of his wife, but for some reason, they never did. From their movements, Ryson knew the goblins were aware of Linda's presence, but rather than confront her, each pack clearly avoided any encounter.
While the information he gleaned from the trails relieved him, the rationale for such behavior puzzled him as much as Linda's bizarre path. There was no plausible reason for the goblins to make such a determined effort to flee from a human, especially one so vulnerable. Such a target should have made the goblins gleeful with anticipation.
But the tracks of the goblins were just as clear as those of Linda. Packs of the vicious monsters consciously and consistently altered their routes to elude his wife, as if they had discovered a mountain lion, a shag or a rock beetle in their path.
As the delver pressed onward, he found another set of tracks that brought him both delight and possibly an explanation. The prints in the ground were clearly those of a cliff behemoth. A single giant had come from the north, intercepted Linda's trail, and then followed. Even a goblin horde might run from a lone cliff behemoth.
But as Ryson examined the footprints, the theory did not hold. Many of the goblins had turned back long before the cliff behemoth would have been noticed. Some of the goblins had even turned north to avoid Linda, and probably inadvertently stumbled near the titan. As he placed the trails in their proper sequence, the delver knew it was not the cliff behemoth that the goblins chose to avoid, but instead, they had turned away from Linda specifically.
Examining the tracks brought yet another question to his delver mind. Why would a cliff behemoth come from the north and then follow the trail of his wife? It didn't make sense.
His curiosity had still not matched his concern for his wife's safety, but it was growing. The situation, however, had turned and there was actually cause for optimism. The delver knew a cliff behemoth would do Linda no harm.
He swelled with emotions of confusion, concern and even hope. He had clear facts before him. He knew what was happening, he just couldn't understand why.
The last set of tracks he came upon were the most confusing of all. He found the trail of a shag converging on Linda's path. At first, the finding ripped a hole through his budding hope as the monster and his wife had clearly come face to face. The thought of such an encounter was difficult to envision, but the signs on the ground revealed a perplexing outcome.
She should have died. There was no other plausible conclusion. The cliff behemoth had not reached her in time. The shag was there first, and yet, no such horrible confrontation had occurred. After a brief encounter, the shag had retreated. Linda was still very much alive and had actually departed the area with the cliff behemoth in tow. The signs were as undeniable as they were incomprehensible.
He also realized that he was closing in on her. He cleared his mind of his confusion and anxiety. After checking the direction of the wind, he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He caught Linda's scent, not from the ground or the brush, but from her person.
He tilted his head as he lifted one ear higher than the other. He could hear the cliff behemoth pushing through the forest. It also brought Ryson more than hope, it finally brushed away his suffocating fears.
Linda was alive!
He was sure of it. She was moving through the forest and the cliff behemoth was following her.
Racing at near top speed, leaping over any thick brush in great bounds and dodging around tree trunks, Ryson quickly caught sight of the behemoth's back. As he closed on the cliff dweller, he was certain he recognized the giant. He could not possibly determine how or why Dzeb was there, but even his delver curiosity could not overcome his desire to be with his wife. He dashed passed the giant in a blur of motion and caught up with Linda.
He cut off her path and came to a stop directly in front of her, forcing her to come to a halt. He was thrilled to see her, until he noticed her expression. When he looked into her eyes, he almost didn't recognize her. He didn't see joyful acknowledgment, he saw furious disgust.
"Why did you come here?!" she hissed.
Ryson almost couldn't respond. All of the relief at finding her drained out of him in an instant.
"I was looking for you," he was able to say just above a whisper, but he was almost in shock at her hostility.
"Looking for me? Looking for me?!!!" Her shout then dropped to an icy snarl. "Why would you bother looking for me?"
All Ryson could do was point out the obvious.
"You weren't home. I was worried. They told me…"
"They? Who is they?" she demanded.
"Linda, what's wrong? You know I'd come looking for you."
"Answer me! Who told you?"
Stunned, Ryson blurted out the truth.
"The guards saw you. Sy told me."
"So you're talking to Sy again? Good for you."
Ryson couldn't believe it. He expected her to be overjoyed, but she seemed angry over absurd details. Completely confused, he pressed for some kind of explanation.
"Why did you come out here?"
Linda's eyes widened and she shook visibly, but only for a moment. As she stared into Ryson's face, she seemed to be able to see his thoughts, and her response was chilling.
"You know why," she responded in another hiss. And then she nodded her head as if punctuating her accusation. "Yes, you do. Deep down you know exactly why I'm here… to get away from you."
"Don't," Ryson whispered.
"Don't what? Go ahead! Tell me what it is that I'm not supposed to do. Is there something you don't want to hear? That's what you're really saying! You can't figure out what's going on, can you? What should I do… am I supposed to throw my arms around you? Is that what you want? Don't stand there looking all confused. Don't be a fool. I understand what's going on. You want me to be thrilled to see you, but you can't understand why I'm not."
He couldn't believe what she was saying, knew there was something wrong with her. She was sick. She had to be. That's what Ryson grasped at, but even holding to that thought, it still hurt. He tried to reason with her, assert the full truth and not simply accept her wild reasoning.