Part III

The cold water lapped at Aenon’s stomach as he wadded across the stream.  The moon was high and bright, giving him enough light to see by without a torch.   The cold had come in quickly over the last few hours.  At dinner he and his Brothers had fought and laughed over who had snuck into the girls tents the most.  Luka, who was only a year younger than Aenon, had boasted to the others that he had done it seven times and had never gotten caught.

“Luka, you liar.  You’ve never broken curfew and you never will,” said Reid.  “Although, one time I got within ten feet of their tents before I saw the guard coming.  I had to turn back, ya know?”

  This broke out into further argument.

Aenon and Jax, one of the oldest among them, sat at the end of the table shaking their heads.  Aenon scooped another spoonful of flavorless stew into his mouth.

            The other side of the stream was full of rocks and weeds, making it harder to navigate through the water.  Aenon found the familiar rocky ledge and pulled himself up, careful not to make too much noise. 

They wouldn’t even believe them if I told them where I was now.

Standing up, he started to make his way into the black woods.  The canopy was so dense the moonlight was all but lost in here.

100 yards west, then 20 feet south. 

He had gone this way many times now, but had to recite the directions in his head every time.  It was easy to get lost in here where the woods went on forever.  The trees with their voices could lure you into a placid wander.  You would grow old and not even know it, thinking that only moments had passed since you few set foot within the trees.  That is, if you didn’t know where you were going.  He was coming up on a clearing.  It wasn’t really a clearing, but more of a structure that must have been a temple thousands of years ago.  The roof was long gone and all but one of the walls had completely crumpled, leaving only the cracked floor underneath the damp foliage.   The small sack was already there.  Aenon picked it up and turned back the way he came.  

20 feet north, 100 yards east and I’ll be back to the stream.

By the time he got back to barracks he had gotten soaked and dried off again.  The sky was beginning to turn a brighter shade of blue.  Aenon walked right through the front door avoiding the plank on the right that squeaks.  As he lay down to catch the last bit of sleep before dawn he tucked the sack under his bunk.

That’s eleven, four to go.

 

As Aenon drifted off to sleep, across the room Luka lay with his hands behind his head, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. 

 

 

Reviews

[jjwilbourne]

Wording is very nice. It feels a little empty however. I could see you using this to do more thanit is already.

[Lonely Scorpio Girl]

This is very good, the writing takes me into the story's realm. I would love to read more.

[speckledbyrd]

Thanks! part IV is up, too. It's not finished, but still..

[NoelHC]

Interesting tale, I personally feel you might want to expand on some of the descriptions of the scenes, to help the reader picture the world you are building for our enjoyment, but I am interested to see where this is going to end up.

[speckledbyrd]

Thanks again! I'll see what I can do to revise it

[Woody]

a good continuation. I feel there's more to it. am I right? is there a Part IV?
a good narrative anyway. well done.

[speckledbyrd]

More is on the way! Thanks for taking the time

[Woody]

you're most welcome.

[KlineXcreed]

Aww, I like the ending, it's very cute. I like the use of the words you use in the story, it gives it nice flow and it isn't too flowery like some writers.

[speckledbyrd]

Thanks, I appreciate it!