The Journey: Chapter 3

A week later I was leaving the cottage in the woods behind. I looked back, riding on Swift, Danicio's horse, behind Danicio. I hadn't talked much, since the day Gramama died. All of my friends comforted me, and they all made vows to look after me. It made me feel better.
             The first couple of days was easy-going. We were traveling through wooded places. The first day of riding behind Danicio on Swift, I fell off a couple times, and when we made camp for that night, I tumbled off of Swift and was barely able to move.
             I groaned, lying there on the grass. Silverleaf chuckled. “Don't worry. You'll get your riding legs soon.”
             “I don't know if it's worth it,” I muttered, kneading my sore legs.
             Talut raised his hands. “Finally! Someone who understands!”
             Danicio laughed quietly. To me he explained, “Talut is a dwarf, and dwarves usually spend most of their lives underground, mining. They usually don't ride horses.”
             I laid back with a sigh. “Where are we going?”
             Danicio was hitching Swift, Ridge (Talut's pony), and Rain (Silverleaf's horse) to something called 'picket lines', so the horses wouldn't run away. “We're going to the main city of Gil'ana,” he replied. “I'm due in a war council.”
             I blinked. I knew through my history books that only high-ranking people were involved in war councils. “War council?”
             “Yes,” Danicio replied.
             “Are you high-ranking then?” I asked.

             Danicio hesitated, but then Silverleaf called, “Tyra, could you help me start the fire?”

             I was distracted as I helped Silverleaf build a suitable fire, and helped make the supper. Talut had been gone while this was happening and soon gleefully returned with a large pheasant and another animal I couldn't identify. “Meat, meat, meat!” he rumbled.

             I didn't know how to cook this 'meat', so Talut took over, while I prepared the greens. While Silverleaf and I had only berries, roots, and leaves, Danicio had both meat and greens. Talut declined the natural stuff, and gorged himself on meat, sighing in content.

             I sat staring into the fire after our supper, while Silverleaf and Danicio and Talut argued about which road best to take. I tuned them out, and concentrated on the flickering tongues of fire. The fire seemed almost friendly, and the orange and red flames danced before my eyes.

            The next second everything is quiet and the fire is gone. I blink open my eyes and sit up, not realizing I fell asleep. Danicio instantly has a hand over my mouth. I blink and see in the pale light that he urgently put a finger to his lips. I grow still.

            There was loud, raucous laughter. A group of large ogre-like creatures could be seen lumbering through the trees, talking in a harsh, gutteral language. A rank smell reached my nose, and I gagged silently.

            They soon disappeared. Danicio waited for a couple minutes, then took his hand off of my mouth, and turned to Silverleaf, who had been with the horses. “We need to leave. Now,” he whispered.

            We silently cleaned up camp and rode away in the opposite direction. This time I sat in front of Danicio, and soon fell asleep again to the smooth, steady gait of the horse underneath me.