Shadow of Hope 36
Rôhn nodded, a glimmer of fierce determination in his stony gray eyes, and strides forward, muttering on the word “Rôhn,” with some emphasis, as he passed Kurn.
Cheskith pushed aside his debate as to the horse as the tension rocketed skyward with some unknown discovery in the bushes and Borlak’s odd reaction. A battle seemed imminent, and whomever was out there – assuming that this wasn’t all some horrendously false alarm – wasn’t likely to give him the time to work his words more subtly and dissuade them from their course.
He whispered words to himself, bringing power to the fore in preparation for its next unleashing, then paused; if there were indeed people or creatures hiding amidst the underbrush, then surely they were not entirely beyond detection.
A fervent but silent waving of Borlak’s left arm, dispelled the notion that the man was being held against his will, and though it clearly carried the signal that he was calling for silence, the message was conveyed too late to stop Kurn’s words from ringing clearly throughout the area.
Now understanding that a threat was still imminent, a tense quiet descended over the party as each member waited through the painful seconds to see if anything untoward stirred. Even the horses, having been somewhat skittish, seemed to sense the necessity for silence as they settled a degree.
Several additional heartbeats passed, some more rapidly than others, and the wind began to blow again with considerably less gusto. Without changing his facing, Borlak retraced his steps toward the road, treading carefully and pausing from time to time to gauge his surroundings. As he finally reached the broken trail, he held up a hand to indicate that the group should remain where they were as he moved toward them with large strides, saber still in hand.
Rôhn stopped in his tracks, hammer and shield at the ready, less than a half a dozen paces past the rest of the party, and awaited Borlak.
Cheskith kept his peace for the moment. He was certainly interested in what Borlak might have to say, but his attention remained directed toward picking out sounds that ought not be in their surroundings.
Borlak quickly covered the ground between himself and the party. Although the look on his face was grim, it betrayed no agitation. As he approached he looked at the group and stated, “Now is as good a time as any to start learning to work together as a team.”
The large man positioned himself so that he could keep an eye on the area from which he had just returned. His eyes resting on the spot beside the trail, he continued on in a quiet, stern voice, “I do not think that shouting out here is a very good idea. It can be heard for a long distance and may bring more trouble than we might already have.”
He gave a slight but hard glance at Kurn and continued on saying, “I believe there is some kind of nest there. Of what exactly, I am unsure.” Glancing at each member of the party in turn, finally resting his intelligent, dark eyes on Erellia, he said, “I have smelled nests before, though. Creatures that lair up, they all have a smell. The smell is old. Like mold and rotten meat. I smell that here.”
More concerned for what Borlak had found than any dispute Borlak may have with methods — as Borlak had stated himself, it remained to be seen how the party’s methods would unify — Kurn regarded the area Borlak had been investigating as Borlak related what he had found.
“I do not know how we would like to handle this but, I wanted to make each of you aware of what we face.”
His dark eyes turned swiftly to the group and back again to the place of carnage. “Later, as we get to know one another better, we will be able to act in unison, to know one another’s thoughts with a good idea of that person’s probable actions.”
The barbarian’s voice never rose above his normal quiet tone as he continued, “Until then, if we can discuss things before we act upon them we may just make it.” Borlak shook his head once as if to end an unwanted thought.
Leaving the thought unfinished, he turned toward the group. The barbarian leveled his steady gaze on Erellia and said, “When I am on point I will not lead us into battle unless we discuss it and agree, or it is unavoidable.”
He swept the group with his stony eyes. “I am not fond of creatures that live in lairs and prey on humans. I would gladly hunt this nest to extermination, but I will let it pass if the group decides it must be so.”
“Not happily, though!” the barbarian stated emphatically, turning back to stare, once again, at the area containing the alleged nest.
Rôhn shrugged and looked up at Erellia.
“Though I have gathered this company together,” Erellia said, “My role as guiding force does not equate to matriarch as well. The decision here must be made by other than myself.”
The Elven woman turned her delicate features toward the bodies in the undergrowth. A few moments passed as she looked for unseen indicators before continuing.
“I do not sense any direct fated ties to our journey here,” she said, “Though all events are woven together eventually no matter how distant.”
Zulian nudged her mount a little more closely to the discussion to overhear what all had to say.
“We should be making camp soon,” she said, surveying the fading light, “Whatever lairs here may hunt us while we sleep depending on its range. Given the choice, I would be hunter over hunted.”
“What wounds on the corpses?” was all Kurn asked of Borlak.
As the group continued its discussion regarding the potential threat of the nest, Zulian caught sight of the Lizardman’s attention being focused on something other than the conversation. Working Selamar around the group, she repositioned herself near Cheskith and his horse.
“Anything?” she asked, understanding the skill of one trained in his craft and hoping that the Lizardman’s trained or biological hearing might exceed her own ability to detect that which lurked nearby.
“If something is there, then very quiet it is,” Cheskith replied in low tones, sweeping the trees with his gaze even as he continued to work his ears at the task. “No sounds, I hear.”
“Yes,” she concurred, hissing the word in disgust, “That’s what disturbs me most, the lack of noise. This beast seems to be absent, extremely patient…or moving by some other means.”
Her eyes turned skyward at this last utterance, scanning the treetops and the murky skies beyond. She pulled away from Cheskith and moved back down the trail, searching for any sign of passage other than that made by the company.
While Zulian looked up, Cheskith looked down – subterranean living had left him all too aware of how many creatures could burrow through stone and especially through earth. Though he kept his ears open for any sounds of approach, his eyes also sought any telltale signs of movement in or under the ground.