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Fendrick and Tristan had made their way to the edge of Fandelran forest, their troop setting up camp just outside of where Holiwier’s wards could reach. A week’s travel from Pen-y-lyn in the North, across fairly uninteresting backdrops and with very little resistance. A group of six cloaked figures walking through Inarell turned heads but wasn’t such a spectacle that it alerted any of the country’s authorities.
“Tomorrow is the day men. Fenerra provided this,” Fendrick lifted a small stone from around his neck, glowing a pulsating blue, “- it detects warding magic. When it turns off – whenever it turns off – we march.” The group were sat around a smouldering fire, its light flickering in the darkness that surrounded them. Fendrick let the rock sit back on his neck, exposed for all to see. Tristan wiped mead from his lips and walked behind one of the others in the group.
“That means, you, Gabriel, will be first on stone watch tonight. You’ll be making sure that as soon as that stone stops glowing, we’re all awake.” Tristan clasped his hands on the man’s shoulders, covering most of Gabriel’s torso.
“Aye aye, sir.”
“And then you’re up, Dai.” Tristan lifted one of his hands and pointed to the leathery elf sat opposite Gabriel. His skin was loose and unusually textured; Tristan’s eyes didn’t linger on his malformed face long before pointing to the next watchman, “Then it’s you, Raffi.” Raffi nodded in acknowledgement, flicking his dagger between his fingers idly. “Then me,” Tristan pointed at his own face, before settling his finger on a similarly large figure with a crooked nose and scarred eye, “you, Welk, and finally, our leader, Fendrick, gets to be the early riser.” Welk grunted, lifting a skewered rat off of the fire and biting into its dried flesh.
“Thank you, Tristan.” Fendrick took the necklace holding the stone off his neck and tossed it to Gabriel. “If all goes to plan, the only thing stopping us from taking over the Well will be Holiwier himself.”
“Fucking Treant bastard,” muttered Dai under his breath, before spitting on the floor beside him.
“We should all get some sleep, besides you, Gabe – lights out and into your tents men.” Tristan clapped above Gabriel’s head, eliciting a pained wince as Gabriel covered his ears to protect them from further damage.
“Aye aye, sir.” The men sounded off in unison, and Raffi poured some liquid out of a nearby iron pot onto the fire.
“Fuck sake!” Welk stood up and grabbed Raffi by the scruff of his neck. “There was still meat on that fire, now its soaked in fucking piss.”
Raffi struggled as Welk lifted him from the ground. “Sorry, Welk,” Raffi pawed impotently at Welk’s hands, “– I didn’t check.”
“Calm it down, lads. Look – Welk, you can have my last rat. I got it out of the fire before Raffi fucked it.” Tristan offered a stick to Welk, who begrudgingly dropped Raffi to the ground before snatching the gift from Tristan’s grasp.
“You’re lucky, Raffi.” Welk stomped off and entered his tent, the sounds of bones popping in his mouth becoming muffled as the cloth entrance closed behind him.
“I know. I know.” Raffi dusted himself off, grabbed his dagger off of the ground, and headed to his own tent. “Night all,” he sputtered out, shaken.
“Night, Raffi.” Fendrick tried to hide a smile as Tristan came up alongside him – the cinders of the fire barely illuminating his figure.
“I see that smirk, son,” Tristan chuckled and patted Fendrick on the back. “Right, to bed.” Tristan stepped off into his own tent and the rest of the group followed suit – leaving Gabriel sat near the now completely extinguished firepit. The stone glowed dimly in his hands. His Fey eyes allowed him to survey the darkness; a skill that was shared by all in the team but Fendrick, permitting the group to camp in some less than savoury locations on their way to Fandelran. Settling in for the next few hours, Gabriel took to pacing around the encampment – and before long he was relieved from his watch.
***
“Sir, the stone!” Raffi grasped at the stone around his neck and stumbled over to Tristan. The afternoon sun shone warmly above the group, just barely dipping beneath the treeline to the west.
“Men! Grab your things and torch the camp – we make our move now. Fendrick, we await your command.” Tristan held the stone in his hand well above his head, high enough for all of the men to see.
“Dai – you’ll lead us, you know the landscape best. Raffi, dismantle the camp and then follow us in – until Raffi joins us, Gabe will be at our six. Welk, you cover Gabe, and Tristan you and I will cover Dai.” Fendrick collected his sword and shield from the nearby wooden weapon rack, strapping them to his back. The rest of the group followed suit, and Dai gestured to them to follow as he stepped into the forest, over a small stream on the north side of their camp.
“Keep up, lads,” rasped Dai – his body covered in a sleek black leather suit, with a cloth mask covering his mouth. His tall ears poked through the hood over his head, their surface as bumpy and leathery as the rest of his skin. The rest of them continued behind him, struggling to match his pace as he dipped and dove through the forest flora.
“Always useful to have one of the Sevari with us, but you lot are damned fast,” wheezed Tristan, nearly sprinting to catch up.
Dai hissed, “Don’t call me that. I’m not worthy of being called a Sevari; not after letting that tree bastard take my family from me.”
“Sorry, Dai.” Fendrick apologised on Tristan’s behalf, as the trio sped through the forest, Welk and Gabe trailing far behind. “Maybe we should slow down, Welk is barely able to manoeuvre through this overgrown mess. At least until the way opens up?”
“It won’t, I’m afraid. Welk will just have to keep an eye out for our tracks if we get too far ahead.” Dai hopped over a felled tree without breaking stride, and Tristan and Fendrick attempted to follow suit, before having to clamber over and sprint to catch up. “Shhh-tsch” Dai lifted his right hand, and Tristan and Fendrick slowed to a stop. Stepping behind a large oak tree, Dai pointed out other hiding spots before peering out into the forest. He could make out hooves – at least two horses worth, about 300 feet away, riding at a brisk pace. And voices. Human, he presumed. Welk had just about caught up, with Gabe in tow, and Dai pressed his finger to his lips as the branches crunched under Welk’s enormous feet. Dai’s ears twitched; metal against leather. Are they armed? Or was that Jewellery? The bounding hooves fast approached, and Dai could see the large silver blade sticking out behind one of the rider’s back. A man, and a woman – the former had striking white hair, and the other brown. Dai could smell the wetness before seeing the girl wring the water out of her ponytail. Were they just at Denthir Lake? Are they the ones we were waiting for?
The horses turned about 20 feet away from Dai, who was still breathlessly watching them from the overgrowth. As their backs turned to him, he let out a light sigh. Dai’s heart sank; the young man’s ears pricked, and he turned to face the tree concealing Dai.
“Did you hear that, Mari?” the young man tugged at his horse’s reins, pulling it to a stop.
“No – come on, we’ll be late for dinner if we’re not back soon.” The girl’s horse didn’t break its canter. Ten harrowing heartbeats later, the man dug his heel lightly into his horse’s side to get it to follow – a frown painting his face as he turned away from Dai.
Dai signalled to the rest of the troop, pointing them north, away from the pair of humans, “Fenerra’s lap dogs. Who knows how she got them to remove the wards, but let’s not stick around to find out.” Turning to Fendrick, Dai remarked, “It seems she has a thing for human pets.” Fendrick ignored him, waiting for Dai to take the lead again instead of rising to the bait. Dai smirked to himself, before walking ahead of the pack and breaking out into a renewed sprint.
