by Tony Johnson
“I’m sure I won’t,” Ty said, making it seem like it wouldn’t be a problem at all. “But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have killed a squirrel or rabbit instead!”
The farther they walked, the hungrier they became. The apples and corn had only served to whet their appetites.
The traveling was slightly easier now because they were finally walking on the dirt path to Serendale rather than through the uneven terrain of the woods. Even though they had a better sense of where they were and the progress they’d made, each of the three was fatigued.
Ty and Kari were breathing heavily from the hike, but it was Steve’s breathing that was most alarming. His inhales and exhales were abnormally shallow and his face was a ghostly shade of pale. Once again, he was lagging behind the other two.
The limp in his leg is getting worse with every step. He can’t go on much longer, Kari noticed, looking back to check on the warrior.
“He’s not looking so good,” she whispered to Ty.
“I know,” he said softly, readjusting the deer on his aching shoulders.
“Then why aren’t we stopping?” Kari wanted to scream, but she continued to keep her voice down.
“Earlier we said we were continuing on until it got dark. It’s not dark yet. He’s not going to want to stop.”
Angry with the attitude of the Elf, Kari’s eyes turned into slits. He’s stating the obvious, that there’s still daylight left; what does he think I can’t see the sun hasn’t gone down yet?
“Sometimes plans must change,” she said bitterly.
“Fine,” Ty spat, ending the hostile conversation. “If you can convince him to stop, we’ll stop, but I’m telling you, you won’t be able to.”
“We’re not stopping,” Steve argued before Kari could even get a word out. “I don’t like when people hide things from me because they think they’re protecting my feelings. I know you were talking to Ty about me.”
Kari didn’t like the fact both the men she was traveling with were in such crabby moods. Maybe it’s because he’s still mad about me whistling in the tree. Or maybe we’re all tired, sore, hungry, and grumpy, and really do need a break.
“Have you looked at yourself?” her annoyance was evident in her rising voice. Even Ty could hear her and he was twenty feet ahead of them. The Elven warrior had stopped walking and watched the two of them, knowing an argument was at hand. “You look like you fought an entire army of monsters and barely escaped with your life,” Kari continued. “Who knows how much internal bleeding you’re suffering from with the way you’ve been coughing up blood since before we even entered Whitebark!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve been through worse than this before.” Steve played it off, knowing it was a blatant lie and then immediately entered a fit of coughs.
“What are you trying to prove? You’re injured. You know it. I know it. Ty knows it. You don’t have to prove anything to us. You’ve pushed yourself too far, beyond what you’re capable of. It’s clear you can’t go on. I know your heart is in it, but your body needs its rest.”
Now it was Steve’s voice slightly rising. “I’m not trying to prove anything. We said we’d keep traveling until it got dark. That was our goal. If we don’t achieve it that means we fail. Tomorrow we’ll have to walk even further than we initially planned if we stop right now. If you’re going to travel with me, then you need to know I will always push myself as far as I can to do what needs to be done.”
“Okay,” Kari stormed off, picking up the pace again. She continued speaking to Steve even though she was walking away from him, a tactic she often used in arguments to get the final word in. “Just remember that you pushing yourself so hard not to be a failure is the exact reason why you will be a failure. One day, you’re going to push yourself past your limits, and I don’t want to be around when that happens!”
Steve didn’t care that Kari was walking away, he yelled out, “That’s a risk I’m willing to take! It’s not your choice, so it’s nothing you need to worry about!”
Ty shrugged his shoulders as Kari briskly walked past him with a snarl. Then, even knowing there was a possibility that he would get an arrow sent through his mouth, he dared to call out, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”
With tears forming in Kari’s eyes that she willfully commanded not to fall, she let the Elf’s snide remark go and told him, making sure she was talking loud enough so Steve could hear, “He’s too stubborn to realize he’s pushing himself to his death.”
The miserable group marched on for a couple more hours with the Halfling leading, a deer-toting Elf behind her, and the limping Human in the back. They were in a single file line, but there was no less than thirty feet between each of them.
The path eventually ushered them into the Evergreen Forest. The change in scenery was instantaneous. A simple blink would’ve caused them to miss it. They said goodbye to the white-barked trees with the fire-colored leaves behind them as they entered a large forest with brown-barked trunks and leaves with dozens of shades of green. There was a wide array of maple, pine, and evergreen trees, among others. The soil they walked on was darker and richer. The temperature was cool since the dense canopy of the trees overhead blocked out a lot more of the sun than that of Whitebark Woods.
After fifteen minutes of walking in the forest, they noticed the dirt path they were on winded more, in addition to rising into hills and dipping into valleys. The high and low terrain stemmed out from the Mount Valpyrio range in the east like a branch or an arm.
Our legs are already aching from walking all day. There’s no way we can continue along this terrain without resting first.
With the sun setting, Kari turned around and with a bit of sassiness asked, “Is it okay to stop now or should we continue pressing on?”
Steve sighed, feeling responsible for putting everyone in a bad mood because he was the one slowing them down. “We did what we set out to do. Plus, we made it into the Evergreen. Let’s call it a day. We’ll get off this path and find a good spot to set up camp. I’m sure you can’t wait to cook that deer, Ty.”
“Yeah, this better be the best-tasting venison I’ve ever had. It’s certainly the most effort I’ve put in just to have a meal.”
“There’s a valley over there,” Kari pointed. “It’s better to be lower than higher. We don’t know what the smoke from our fire will attract if seen.”
“Sounds good to me. Alright, let’s collect as much dry wood as we can carry and head down there.”
Being close together while they talked, Ty could tell Steve looked far worse than he was only a couple hours prior. “You look way uglier than your usual self,” he joked. It was hard for him to see his brother in such an injured state. “Why don’t you head down and pick out a good spot for the campsite?”
“You can collect some rocks and make a pit for the fire,” Kari added. Maybe if we give him a task to do it’ll make him feel like he’s helping and he won’t feel the need to argue.
“Okay, let me take the deer down with me so you can pick up more sticks,” Steve said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” he added after seeing Ty and Kari exchange nervous glances. “It’s a short walk. I can manage the extra weight.”
He’s right. It’s probably only five minutes to the valley floor. It shouldn’t be a problem. Ty put the deer on Steve’s shoulders for him.
“You good?” he asked after Steve swayed a bit under the added weight and wince at the pressure put on his injured shoulder.
“Yep, fine,” Steve nodded, readjusting the weight on his shoulders and walking away before they could stop him.
Turning to Kari, Ty said, “The sooner we get this fire started, the sooner we eat.” The two split up, figuring it was better to get firewood from opposite directions so they weren’t fighting over the same kindle.
Moseying around by herself, Kari picked up a twig here, a branch there. She made sure to take the leaves off everything she grabbed, knowing
that burning them would cause smoke and they needed to create as little of it as possible.
There’s no telling what lurks out here. Whitebark is one thing. All I ever saw there was deer, rabbits, foxes, and squirrels, but here: I’ve heard rumors that there are powerful monsters in the deepest, darkest groves of this forest.
Although she remained on guard, Kari enjoyed the quietness by herself for the first time since the siege. She began thinking about the Elf and Human she traveled with. I know I had those brief arguments with them, but other than those minor hiccups, I haven’t once regretted that they are here. I’m glad they’re decent and trustworthy guys.
I like both of them. Steve, although he is stubborn at times, is honorable. He doesn’t ever give up and always puts other people first. Ty can be silly, but the way he cared for Cassandra and Lucan shows how much he loves his family. I can also tell he cares for his brothers too. His emotional response to Darren’s death and risking his life to ride through the crowd in the courtyard to save Steve took guts.
Why couldn’t I have met them in Celestial under normal circumstances? I can see myself becoming close friends with either one of them, maybe even more than that.
Kari imagined what it would be like to be with each of the warriors in a romantic relationship. Catching herself daydreaming, she thought, Why do I always do this? Whenever I have a crush on someone, I picture how the entire relationship will play out even if I barely know the guy. I did the same thing with Steve while watching him joust.
Looking down, the Halfling realized some amount of time had passed and in her arms rested a bundle of branches. At the very least I can look forward to getting to know them both more. I’m glad I have their company and that I’m not in this alone.
Heading back towards the valley, she stopped and stood on the sharp descent of the hill that took her down to their campsite. Peering closely, she saw the deer on the ground and Steve lying face down next to it.
“Steve!” she yelled, dropping everything in her hands to run as fast as she could to check on his motionless body.
She rolled him over so that he was face up. “Steve! Steve!” she yelled, shaking his unconscious body.
“TY!!!” she screamed out for help.
Chapter 41
Fourteen torches were lit in the night. The horse-mounted men first rode to the side of Hunters’ Den and examined the tracks around the stable. The blood and remains of the six dead horses stank vigorously.
“I thought Commander Krause said there were eight horses?” Captain Doyle asked. “And that Saven Briako fellow took one of them. What happened to the other one?”
“It escaped,” said a warrior archer named Galvus.
He was one of the three warriors who rode in with Saven, Grizz observed.
“When Saven first told us what happened, he mentioned that as soon as he had untied one of the horses, it had bolted away, terrified of all the death,” Galvus explained. “Luckily, he managed to ease the only one left.”
“Look at these prints!” Captain Westfield remarked from a couple feet away. He tilted his torch down towards the ground, illuminating a giant paw print.
“It’s huge!” exclaimed many of the warriors at the same time.
Captain Griegan stared down at the print and spoke to his men, “Captain Doyle, I want you, Willis, Galvus, and you two with me,” he pointed to a couple of the younger warriors. “The rest of you,” he pointed to Callan, Copper, Dart’s cousin, and four other veteran warriors, “are under the command of Captain Westfield. Blacksmith, you can come with me, I guess,” he added reluctantly.
“Wait! You’re splitting us up?” Grizz questioned. Everyone could tell by the tone of his voice he was accusing Captain Griegan of making the wrong decision.
“Yes, we’re splitting up. Two teams, six warriors on one, seven on the other, and then you’re on my team,” Griegan said, purposely mentioning Grizz apart to remind him he wasn’t a warrior. “We’ll double our ground coverage by separating.”
“We don’t know what we’re facing,” Grizz mentioned, looking down at the paw print. “Whatever this is, it’s bigger than anything you’ve ever fought before.”
“What we’re facing is most likely an overgrown direwolf or direboar,” Captain Griegan stated, echoing Commander Krause’s words from earlier. Then, making eye contact directly with Grizz, he said, “I have purposely put archers on both teams as well as warriors with heavy weapons. We can weaken the beast from afar and then finish it off easily. I know how to manage my men. Do not criticize my strategy.”
Grizz angrily considered heading into the Den for the night, but part of his deal for getting Dart to his parents was volunteering to fight alongside the warriors. In his life, before he was married and settled down, Grizz did not care about breaking a promise, but he was not that kind of person anymore. I’m a man of my word. I will hold up my end of the bargain.
“There is a reason big game hunters come to Evergreen,” Griegan said. “Be on the lookout for large spiders and other dangerous monsters. This forest is large and full of beasts, not to mention bears and regular animals that can be just as savage if threatened. Speed, strength, and safety to you all,” he said, a motto Serendale warriors often used.
As the warriors headed in opposite directions and reentered the depths of the Evergreen Forest, Captain Westfield called out, “If our team kills this beast first, your team buys us drinks when we’re back at the Den.”
“Deal!” Commander Griegan shouted back. “The same goes for you if we win.”
“Not gonna happen!” Westfield yelled. Spurring on his horse, he hurried into the forest with his men, thinking speed would give them a better chance of finding the monster.
Hours into the search, Captain Griegan’s team had yet to find any clues leading to the location of the great beast. The only thing they found was the dead carcass of the escaped horse. It had been eaten, but by what was unclear.
The night was quiet except for the sound of crickets and wolves in the far distance howling at the bright red moon.
Grizz lagged at the back of the group with the Elven warrior, Willis, and the Giant, Captain Doyle.
“Tell me, why does one of Serendale’s blacksmiths have a perfect-fitting set of armor and a customized weapon waiting for him at a moment’s notice?” Willis asked the Dwarf.
“You can never be too prepared,” Grizz answered with a grin behind his thick, black beard.
“Oh, come on, give us more than that,” Captain Doyle begged. “Did you use to be a warrior somewhere?”
“No,” said Grizz flatly.
“Did you craft them yourself?” Willis asked.
Grizz didn’t answer them directly. “You ask more questions than my apprentice.”
Willis and Captain Doyle laughed. “We just want to know more about the man behind the blacksmithing apron,” Doyle said. “You have no idea some of the rumors that float around Serendale regarding you.”
“Oh, I’ve heard a couple of them.”
“Are any of them true?” Willis asked.
“Possibly,” Grizz answered cryptically.
“But, of course, you won’t tell us which one,” Willis realized disappointedly.
“I’ve had a rough life,” Grizz explained. “It’s something I don’t talk about often. I made mistakes and I paid the consequences. After settling down in Serendale, I met Juliana, and things have been fine ever since.”
“Your wife’s pregnant again, isn’t she?” asked Doyle.
“Yes, she’s due in four more months.”
“Another boy to carry on the Grindstone name?” Willis asked.
“We’ll see. Whatever it is, I’ll be happy.”
Ahead of them, Captain Griegan raised his hand, signaling for them to halt. “Movement to the right!” he whispered loud enough so Grizz, Willis, and Captain Doyle could hear him in the back. The seven men stared into the brush on the side of the narrow dirt pa
th.
In the shadows was a four-legged monster lurking back and forth. Shockingly, the attack came from the left, the opposite side of the path where no one was focused on. In front of Grizz, a direwolf lunged and bit into the gauntleted arm of Galvus. With a twist of its neck, the monster pulled the warrior off his saddle, ripping him into the ground.
Grizz drew Skullcleaver and charged his horse forward. Swinging the weapon’s axe-blade side, the sharp metal sunk into the shoulder blades of the direwolf. Seeing the beast was still alive, Grizz then used Skullcrusher to flatten the monster’s head.
Galvus was rolling around on the ground, clutching his arm in pain. The direwolf’s sharp teeth had bitten through the armor and pierced the skin, but the warrior’s main injury was that his arm had been badly broken when he hit the ground. A shard of bone was sticking out from his forearm.
Willis jumped off his horse and drew his sword from its scabbard. Another direwolf jumped out of the darkness to attack the injured Galvus, but the Elf’s perfectly-timed swing cut the beast’s snout.
“Archers! To the south of us!” yelled Griegan. Captain Doyle and a younger warrior in the group strung their bows. Galvus was the third archer, but he was rendered useless because of his injury.
“The one on the left first!” Doyle yelled. It took five shots before one entered through the monster’s head. The other direwolf ducked under a missed swing by Captain Griegan and launched itself at the leg of the younger archer’s horse. Its savage bite broke the leg, causing the horse to buck off its rider.
Grizz watched helplessly as the archer’s helmetless head smashed into a rock on the ground. As soon as he hit it, he was knocked unconscious. Two direwolves killed him before anyone could move to save him.
Captain Doyle abandoned his bow and drew his sword to attack from atop his horse alongside Captain Griegan. Meanwhile, Grizz turned his attention towards Willis, who was on the ground, having been tackled by a direwolf while trying to protect Galvus.
With the hammer side of his weapon, he smashed it down onto the monster’s rump, snapping both of its hind legs. Willis managed to finish it off by thrusting his sword up through the direwolf’s neck, showering himself with blood.
