The Fires of Cerran

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The screams were horrendous. Blood-curdling, high pitched yelps that rang across the forest and flew through the mid-morning breeze. Lenren pulled the reigns of his ride tightly, coming to a stop just ahead of a small fork in the road. He turned to face the East, tuning his ears to the sounds. Behind him, the rest of the archers came forward to meet him, and they too listened.

'What is that?' Asked Melran, shifting her gaze from one side of the road to the other.

'A man, for sure. No beast makes a sound like that, and there's no poachers around here.' Ramon returned; his eyes fixed to where they had come from and a strange sense of an unseen foe continued to play in his mind.

The screaming died; a sudden burst of sound followed by uneasy quiet. Lenren dismounted his ride and made for the edge of the road. He unsheathed his blade and for a moment stood in complete quiet at the edge of the forest. Astriel was the next to dismount, unsheathing her daggers she stood in between the young girl and Lenren, her eyes scanning the forest.

'What is it?' She whispered to Lenren.

Unmoving, with his sword at his side, the man whispered back. 'A feeling, all of you stay here.'

And with that he parted the thick foliage and low branches and was consumed by the forest. His footsteps became inaudible after no more than a few steps, replaced instead by the distant songs of the birds and insects that flew through this dense façade of nature.

To all that knew this place, it had no common name. There were few forests that were given the luxury of any meaningful title. There was the White Wood in the North, and Blackridge was home to the Grey Woods, but otherwise there were little other than local titles used to distinguish these thickets of redwood and pine. These were places that worried Astriel, and though her youth had been spent riding and training within the woods about Ceraborn, she still suffered from grave anxiety and fear whenever she found herself within them. Too many places to hide, too many sounds and illusions, she thought as she listened for Lenren's familiar steps.

Time seemed to slow as they waited, and every call or tweet from an unseen thrush or hawk seemed all too familiar to them. Like a ballad played by a bard that for those not yet drunk enough to realise it, would play over and over again. Ramon stayed on his mare, silent but constantly shifting his gaze from behind the party to in front. Every so often, he would grunt or grumble, murmuring unheard words to himself. Melran, tired and weary, sat quietly watching the same spot the man had entered the forest.

'I don't like this.' Astriel whispered. 'It's too quiet.'

No one answered, instead each listened keenly as the sound of light footsteps came toward the roadside just behind them. A moment later and Lenren returned, chopping, and hacking at the leaves and branches, sweating and panting for breath.

'Dear Gods man! What on earth happened?' Ramon asked, turning his mare to face his friend. The beast pulled at his reins but he quickly regained control.

'There is a camp site beyond those trees, and a looted caravan.' Lenren returned, brushing leaves and twig from his cloak.

'Bandits?' Astriel replied.

'Quite, and all are dead.' Lenren returned, his voice low and sombre. He sheathed his blade again and sighed heavily before glancing up and down the road. Again, all was quiet.

'Ties the horses to the gate post at the fork, let them eat and drink. We need to look at this.' Lenren ordered, walking down towards his mare and patting her gently.

'We cannot leave the horses, what if whoever killed them is still here?' Astriel replied, her voice still a nervous whisper.

'Not likely.' Lenren answered, shifting a worried glance towards Ramon. The two met one another and silently both narrowed their gaze towards the young girl. Keep her safe, Lenren told Ramon with only his gaze. Ramon nodded dutifully.