Hothan's hair prickled on the back of his neck as he turned to face Penim. "The spiders? You're right, I do have packs stashed all over the forest, for emergencies," Hothan went on. "But I didn't know there were spiders there. Do you know how many years it's been since I passed through that part of the forest? Since I left my cabin? The chasm was there, but the spiders I think had only been recent."
But Thorn agreed with Penim, suspicions suddenly raised. It didn't make much sense for Hothan to lead them through there if he knew the forest as well as he implied. But it also would explain his intense reaction when he found the pile of skulls and bones the mist to be more than he could handle and he had to flee. Yet, he wondered where he'd gone off to. In the moment, perhaps it was too much to ask.
"How recent is recent?" Thorn said, eyes narrowed, gauging him.
"Hmm," Hothan said, paling as he realized just how long it'd been since he'd seen real sunlight. "About ten years." He sighed and looked down, walking on.
Thorn stayed behind with Penim, looking at her. "Ten years, huh..."