Think about what you are doing

Dark raindrops splattered on the forest floor, turning the dirt into mud. It was the middle of the night during a particularly rainy summer. Three dark cloaked shapes moved towards a secret cave in more of a haphazard way than they liked.

“Gah! Why must it rain on tonight of all nights?” said a rather gruff voice. The rest of the group just mumbled about the weather and cursed their bad luck in response. It seemed as if the fates were against them.

The small group broke through the last of the rain soaked forest traveled up the steep and rocky mountainside in silence. They were almost at their destination.

The youngest of the group, a boy named Thildred, slipped along the path and sent a cascade of rocks down the mountain. He barely got up when a harsh voice called out: “Halt! Who goes there?” The group stiffened and pressed themselves into the shadows of a small cleft in the mountain’s side. If they were caught by the guards now all would be lost. Shuffling footsteps could be heard as the two guards searched the mountain path for intruders.

After a while the younger guard mumbled, “I guess we were just hearing things,” and trudged back to his post.

Thildred and the others waited a few more moments just to be sure they were alone then quietly began moving again, more cautiously this time. They carefully picked their way up the mountainside, helping each other over the larger boulders and small cliffs until they reached a small ledge where an even smaller hole was.

“Thildred, you first,” whispered the same gruff voice from before.

~To be continued