I turn with a frown towards Golem. “You’ll have to return, Golem. I’ll give you an update when I can.”
Golem assess the group with a face that tells me he’s come to the same conclusion. He starts walking off into the thin woods as Keane eyes him in his departure, the Prince’s brown gaze flicking to mine before he moves Ash front and center.
“We all know the plan,” he addresses the group.
There’s a formidable presence about him, one that commands everyone’s attention.
“Lord Daniel, Cal, Lady Alexis,” his continues, looking between the three of us, “you’ll ride at the rear. Remember yourselves.”
Remember your agreement, he means.
Lord Daniel and Cal both give him a nod and direct their horses towards Millie. I reach my hand out to the girl and stroke her neck, feeling Stormfall nuzzle against me. The Bird of Ash is completely oblivious to the situation around him.
“Let’s ride,” Keane flicks his reins.
The rest of our group follows quickly behind him, our lot bounding into the never-ending plains of dried and dead yellow.
We’ve been riding for what seems like forever. We completely discarded the Great Road that we followed to Pyre, the brothers instead leading us through the yellow plains in the general direction of east. We stopped briefly for the horses to give them a small rest and water, but the break was short lived and unmemorable due to the hastiness that shrouded the group. Eventually Keane and Desmond slowed their horses when we neared a small hill and directed everyone to the bottom of it in the same fashion as before.
“Barnes,” Prince Keane commands atop Ash.
The Discerni Warrior promptly dismounts and hands his reins to Claymore.
“Lord Daniel,” the Prince orders again.
Daniel dismounts and hands his reins to Alanna, looking at our group around him.
“Closer, please,” he beckons.
We all move our horses towards the large undying fire that Barnes is preparing. Lord Daniel nods and angles his palms to the ground, the earth immediately rumbling beneath our feet as boulders begin to cut through the dead grass.
Ancients, it’s a sight to see.
Massive stones of gray are piercing through the yellow ground around us, forming an even tighter circle than the first night we spent in the Plains. They jut up towards the sky and surround our group, the tight barrier ensuring that no one will be able to get through unannounced.
Not a single person attempts to set up their tent, and instead, we all tether our horses together and pull out our bedrolls, situating them closely next to eachother around the fire. Conversations remain at a minimum as the overall atmosphere of the early evening turns quiet and tense.
Cal and Lord Daniel never leave my side, and I don’t even bother uncorking Golem from my bag in case we need to make a hasty exit. I stare at the fire and watch as no one is able to sleep, either. We all just eat a bit and let our horses and bodies rest as we wait for the sun to set.
When the rays finally dip below the horizon and the night sky around us turns a dark red and orange, Barnes stands and approaches the fire, putting an end to it. His hands reach out to calm the flames as the tendrils of red obey his summoning and sink low into the ground.
Desmond stands as well and watches the last of the smoke leave the air before he makes his way to Keane. The Prince is already readying his horse, his cool eyes finding the Master Informer’s as they bow their heads and begin a quiet conversation.
I stretch out my legs in front of me and watch with a frown as Desmond tilts his chin in a direction over the boulders. Keane scowls and looks in the same direction, then turns to Cal and Lord Daniel with another hard look on his face. The Prince silently beckons Daniel to join him, with the Lord promptly standing from his seat and making his way over without a word.
“I don’t like this,” I whisper to my friend.
“They know what they’re doing,” Cal replies quietly, his own features hard.
It’s rare to see him in a serious state, so rare that I nearly do a double take. I glance across the campsite and take in the rest of the group, noting that everyone has the same look of resolute about them.
“There’s a group of Riverland riders south of us,” Keane announces as he approaches the now dead fire, “they are scouting the main road at our east. We’ll continue to avoid the road but will break up the group…”
I shift on the ground and move closer to Cal with a grimace.
“The majority of us will travel as we did before and ride due east. Lord Daniel, Cal and Lady Alexis will travel north and then east to put more space between them and the Great Road.”
The news makes me outright scowl.
