Dawn of Twilights Past

Chapter II

“Not hungry.” Saeran gave a flick of her hand and dozens of servants suddenly appeared like ants out of a hill trying to protect their home, scurrying about: One to pick the plates up here, one to collect the food over there, and then to depart as quickly and quietly as possible, leaving the three companions to revel in old stories and new journeys.

Each woman shot each other an appreciative glance and then settled down around a simple outdoor table with three chairs to discuss the route they would take in order to reach the Toubot. Now, returning would be a different challenge, one that required armed professional men and light wagons attached to fast horses.

“Valia, remember the boy who removed every last Aegis from your possession in record time in Toubot? He was talking to you the whole time and you were clueless,” giggled Saeran, settling into her chair, looking across the table at Karish and winking. Karish popped back a smirk.
Valia, turning light pink across the bridge of her nose, “That… was not completely true! I had two stones left and he had a companion. You know they have sleight of hand as crafty as our own. Remember he walked off with your money sash not two minutes after he walked off with my stones,” stated Valia, trying to regain her composure.

“And I got them both back,” said Karish in a boisterous voice. “Now let’s get down to business before I have to say something to really embarrass you two. Here is the plan: Two years ago we went through the Wildwood slightly North of the Tumbling River along the Travelers Path. If I remember right, we ran into a band of cutthroat thieves, quickly dispatched, of course. On top of that, we almost didn’t come home with any of our wares due to that nasty, unsavory group of wanderers. They appeared harmless, but practically stripped us of every last item of value in the caravan. These guys were almost as bad as Gypsies.” Intently looking over at her two companions, she paused to let what she had said get digested. “I suggest we cross over the Tumbling River and take Wanderers Path running out the east side of town. It’s the shortest route through the forest and we may be able to avoid a couple of the unsavory,” Karish finished with a flourish of her hand in the direction of the Travelers Path.

“Karish, have you heard the rumors about Wanderers Path? A lot of traders in town have made mention of large shadows off in the woods that appear on the side of the trail and then disappear moments later,” said Valia with a slight edginess to her voice. “They say they are being followed by demons, because no wolf has ever been seen that is that large. What about going farther north, up to Analan Path?”

“Too far out of our way,” stated Karish matter of factly. “I want to return before the night of the full moon in the year of the Fox. I can’t do that if we add on an extra week. Besides, we would have to backtrack down the Gray Mountains and there are far more dangerous things down that path than large shadows. Has anyone been attacked down Wanderers Path? If no one has been attacked by the animal, it’s probably just superstition or someone trying to scare a peasant for wronging him in a game of cards at the pub.”

Saeran, straightening up in her chair, listening intently for the last few moments, “I say we take Wanderers Path, shorter trail, fewer peasants, fewer bandits; and animals will not be a problem. That fits Karish’s plans and mine, Valia. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the big bad wolf doesn’t eat you.”

“Fine, we’ll take the Wanderers Path. Doesn’t matter to me either way,” Valia said nonchalantly.
All three women stood up. The decision made, Saeran grabbed her cloak, which was the same color as her outrageous outfit. She had a cloak for every outfit she owned and not two outfits were the same. She made her way to Paladine, saddled and waiting patiently next to Whispering Wind and Gray Ghost. They mounted and were on their way, mounts dancing excitedly under saddle and leg, out the vine-covered, heavy, intricately carved metal gate, three abreast they left.

Exiting the east side of the small town brought about a completely different view of life: Fields littered with small farms, animals and children playing with not a care. They hear no rumors and have no concern for the runnings of the inner city. Life is the cow needing to be milked and the golden setting of the sun indicating the day is at an end. Just outside the east side of the city, the three travelers selected a path skirting a small farm with chickens scratching the dirt for seed left over from the morning’s feeding and the bark of a small dog playing take the stick away from the children.

Valia’s eyes smoothly took in the scene. They had just reached the Wanderers Path. Light scattered in every direction through the canopy, building a mural of light-colored shaped leaves on the forest floor. Wildflowers littered the ground in an array of color wherever the light hit, birds sang, animals skipping about here and there collecting food for their young. Movement and the noise of life was everywhere.

“We need to move quickly through Wildwood and make camp tonight about a mile out from the Gray Mountains, that will allow us to take the mountains at midday, avoiding our little animal friends who like to hunt in the morning and evening. Valia, take point, keep your eyes pealed for anything out of the ordinary. Saeran, take up rear guard. We should reach a place to camp by nightfall,” said Karish breaking the silence.
Valia took a deep breath of fresh air laden with the scent of flowers, pine, moss, and decaying leaves from the previous fall. She felt euphoric around nature, “Isn’t this just absolutely beautiful?”

“Don’t let the beauty mislead you. This place can be dangerous,” said Karish in a light voice moving toward the path.

All three companions slowly spread out, picking up their positions shortly into the forest, enjoying the mid-afternoon breeze. Hours later and well into the forest the three took a respite to rest the horses, themselves, and to grab a bite to eat. Karish jumped down in one smooth motion, pulling a blanket from behind her saddle and grabbing the bag of savory beef and cheese packed by Crystal earlier that day. Valia, pulling up short, grabbed a brown bag packed to the rim with flat bread and wine produced from her family’s own orchards. Saeran, on the other hand, slowly lowered herself to the ground, making all efforts to avoid touching her traveling cloak to Paladine or the ground. Once dismounted, she daintily pulled a small bag off the saddle containing fruit and nuts.

The three women sat down on the blanket at the side of the trail, trying to avoid any wayfarer coming quickly down the path. Keeping close enough to the horses to be able to grab their items and be gone in a moment’s notice, the horses were tied near a particularly nice patch of grass also enjoying the respite of being ridden.

The meal was enjoyed silently as each woman sat entertaining her own thoughts about what she planned on accomplishing over the next few weeks. Karish’s mind wandered down the medium-sized trail they were taking, tallying how much time was required to reach their end point for the day, supplies required to make it through the mountains. She had to make sure nothing fell through; routes needed to be measured for distance and dangers; stops planned to make sure no one made mistakes because they were too tired to understand what was going on around them.
Valia was thinking about her meal and the beauty around her. Her eyes wondered around their location. They sat in a small opening, trees running parallel to the trail, branches and leaves extending high into the sky, almost completely cutting the sunlight off from the ground. She could feel the life of the earth beneath her hand, which rested lightly on the ground next to her. The earth felt warm to her type, alive, fluid and watchful.

Saeran kept her eyes to the sky, watching the flight of colorful birds in the trees and wondering where she could obtain an outfit of the same color. Always feeling astounded at the color of nature and how none had the capability to capture the vision in a wearable style, maybe she would be a seamstress some day, making her own clothing in any style that fit her fancy.

Karish finished off the bright red fluid in her small intricately carved metal cup. She had consumed as much as she needed to be comfortably full and was ready to pick up and move. She knew time was limited like it always was. If they didn’t pick up soon they may not reach camp before nightfall. “Are you guys almost done yet? We need to get moving before it gets too late.”

Valia and Saeran picked their items up silently and were moving, nothing more needed to be said. They were packed in moments, mounts moving in the direction of the path, picking up their previous formation. Several hours later, almost through the forest, the setting sun in the east caused the shadows to lengthen like fingers of gray paint dripping off a canvas through the trees across the trail and onto the forest floor.

Saeran’s eyes scanned the path beside and behind her periodically, always the fun part of taking up rear guard. Suddenly she noticed something odd, “Hey, guys, does it seem quiet to you?”

Karish and Valia looked back at the sound of Saeran’s voice. “What?” they chimed together.

“Listen, there is no sound, no birds, no animals, no movement. Not even the air is moving. The only thing I hear is the jangle of harnesses, the sound of hooves, and the occasional snort from our own horses. I hear nothing else,” stated Saeran.

Karish and Valia stopped, quickly scanned the area, and verified just that: no noise, no movement, nothing. It was quiet. Valia extended her senses into the ground; she felt warmed as the earth responded back. Nothing amiss except life. But animals are the first to react to danger and those who watch and track animal movement are given timely warnings. Karish quickly scanned into the forest as far as her eyes would penetrate. Nothing human was trying to sneak up on them, maybe an ambush further up the road. “Valia, can you feel anything amiss?”

“Negative, I don’t feel any other presence except animals safely concealed. They seem to feel upset though, and I don’t think its anything human that’s causing it. Probably a predator,” said Valia, looking up the road intently as well.

“Let’s keep moving. Saeran, keep your eyes pealed behind for anything out of place. Valia, up front utilize your senses for any advance warning. It’s just a few miles and we are out of the forest.”

Karish quickly moved her hand to a knife concealed in her boot and another at her belt; they were exactly where she had put them earlier that day.

Not moments later Paladine’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and with one quick jolt he bolted past Whispering Wind and Gray Ghost in utter terror. The other two mounts, reacting to Paladine’s fear without knowing why, were in a flat-out run several moments later. All three expert horsewomen lowered their bodies to flow with that of their mounts, working their mount’s head and mouth for control to no avail.

Riding low over Whispering Wind’s back, Valia sensed a change in the forest. It was still warm in her senses but something black and cold was creeping in, something that was not there before, something that terrified her mount and her alike, something that should probably be avoided. She had never felt a presence like this. She sensed the creature, and it was not alive, not in the way her senses normally perceived things. Looking back over her shoulder she thought she saw movement in the forest traveling quickly, but the more she strained her eyes to see through the lengthening shadows and whipping wind, the more her eyes blurred uncontrollably. She could only guess that what she had seen was just shadows.

The horses were running at breakneck speed, effortlessly in terror, the trees blurred past in a myriad of green, shadows seemed but dreams out of a nightmare. The end of the forest was near. They would be out in the open heading towards the Gray Mountains in moments and capable of confronting whatever it was in the open. Saeran’s mount broke through first, followed by Karish’s and then Valia’s, each sweating profusely, lungs bellowing with the effort to keep enough oxygen in them. With a click into Paladine’s ear and a short deft movement of the hand, Saeran’s mount slowed into a trot, followed by Whispering Wind and Gray Ghost, lungs pumping, muscles twitching, eyes rolling. Each woman took up a defensive position, making sure to cover each other’s back, weapons drawn, eyes searching the forest for the creature that had so frightened their mounts. Valia swept her senses down and out. The cold was gone. All she felt was warmth and the movement of small animals skittering around the forest again.

“It’s gone,” was all Valia said, wiping grime and sweat from her face. She was almost as tired as her mount.

“We make camp further up the road, guard starting at midnight,” Karish stated, moving up the path toward their mountainous campsite as she wiped sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her cloak. She was just as curious as anyone else as to what it was that would cause three fully trained warhorses to bolt in abject terror and completely ignore their masters. She would have to ask Valia later when they had a chance to set up camp for the night. The look on her face when they had brought their mounts under control spoke volumes.

Not much later they were setting up camp. A splash of grass flecked with yellow wildflowers sat next to whitewater rapids with a hundred-foot sheer rock cliff wall at their back. With rock at their back and water on their left, they would only have to watch the way in. The mounts were taken care of first, halters and saddles removed, a quick rubdown with fresh grass and tethered where each animal would be able to consume as much grass as it could possibly eat. With an appreciative nicker, each animal went to town.

A fire was quickly built for warmth, and fruit, nuts, meat, bread, and wine pulled out for consumption. Each woman sat quietly, daintily picking at the food that had been placed out. Food was a second thought only to the day’s events. Long moments later Karish was relaxed. Thinking about what had happened, she would wait till Valia was done before she asked, no use interrupting her meal. Valia was sensitive to the ways of nature and what was only physical to them was physical and mental to her, requiring twice the energy. Saeran was occupied with getting the last of the dust and dirt off her face, hands and clothing. She was always perfectly arrayed no matter what the situation. To her, food was only a third thought.

“Valia,” Karish spoke her name quietly, “what did you sense was out there?”

There was a few moments silence. “Cold, just an abnormal cold presence. I tried to look for it but all I saw was moving shadows. I never saw what it was, things were moving by so quickly. When we exited the forest it was gone, like it had never been there in the first place,” said Valia quietly over her drink, eyes looking haunted in the fire.

Karish tossed this over in her mind. It was a done issue. They needed to move on, get some sleep and be ready for tomorrow’s ride through the mountains. Hopefully tomorrow would be a little less eventful. “Let’s get some sleep and work any issues tomorrow at first light. Valia first watch, Saeran second, and I will take last watch.”

Sleep came quickly to the two women. Valia looked over at her companions with slight envy over their capability to handle any situation calmly and then get a good night’s sleep when it was all over. This one touch of cold would haunt her memories for a long time to come.

Valia got up from the fire and moved out to the perimeter near Gray Ghost. She patted his neck, leaned over and whispered into his ear. He understood her as if she were another horse, whickered back and went back to eating. She moved past Gray Ghost and picked a spot in the grass placing her back against a large square boulder, if anyone had looked into the camp from outside the perimeter they would have never seen her. Valia blended into her surroundings like she was another natural display of nature.

Saeran woke up suddenly, Valia tapping her shoulder with a stick. It was her time to take watch. Valia turned and walked over to her blanket. Never looking back, she curled up and was asleep in moments.

Saeran crawled out from under her blanket, cold wind against her skin. She grabbed her cloak, placed it around her shoulders and walked over to the water to wash the sleep out of her eyes. She had split guard, almost as much fun as bringing up the rear. She knew she would get over it. After a quick wash in what felt like ice water, she walked over to Paladine to make sure he was okay. He was lying down in the grass, head lowered, sleeping. Upon feeling his mistress’s footsteps, he raised his head and nickered quietly. Saeran rubbed his forelock and moved on to her position. This would be a long night.

Just before daybreak Saeran tapped Karish’s foot to awaken her for final watch. Saeran knew that when Valia and herself woke up in another three hours, just after daybreak, Karish would have the fire stoked and breakfast ready. Saeran had a deep appreciation for that woman. She had a good head on her shoulders and she took good care of them. Saeran wandered back over to the water to clean up after her watch. She had to be clean. She felt she could do nothing properly if she were not perfect for the situation and this last situation almost broke her rhythm. Saeran finished cleaning, walked back over to her blanket, removed her cloak and curled back up to get just a few more hours of sleep. In moments she was asleep, dreaming about fashion.
Several hours later, Karish whistled to herself as she placed water over the fire to boil. She had brought honey lemon spice tea from her own special stash, if this didn’t wake these two lazy butts up, nothing would.