Drumwe Isles

chapter 31

While they were wandering about a part of the forest to the east of the singing caves, Kieran and Cael heard an inquiry from their companions.

"Hey, come look at this."

The men moved over to where the women had been scouting. Enid was crouched down beside a set of tracks, studying them closely. Lynet turned to the men.

"We're pretty sure that they're human, whoever they are."

Cael nodded, looking at the footsteps.

"Maybe they're another unit sent to find the tree."

Lynet looked wearily at the footsteps.

"How many do you reckon there are?"

"No more than three."

Enid was quick to answer, not looking up from the tracks.

"Should we follow them?"

Three heads shot up at Lynet.

"I'm not sure..."

Enid sounded weary.

"They're wearing heavy boots, meaning they're well equipped."

"Certainly we outnumber them though."

"True, but they might know the forests better than we."

"Meaning they could know exactly where the tree is."

Enid sighed, Kieran had a point there.

"Which of you thinks we follow them?"

Lynet and Kieran hesitantly raised their arms.

"You think it's a bad idea?"

Enid shrugged, not protesting one way or the other.

"Alright, then we'll follow them. Perhaps they'll lead us to the tree, and we can't be sure they are hostile yet. If we get the slightest idea that things are amiss, we'll turn heel and find the tree on our own."

None of the group seemed to have any sort of problem with the idea though they were all tense with apprehension at the idea of bumping into whoever they would be following. When you are a warrior in a foreign land searching for something which might or might not be real, the last thing you needed was the complication of happening upon a group with conflicting goals. Still, Cael had spoken a plan into action and they all were content enough with it to go along.

So they lumbered on, following the trail, each with a different disposition. Cael leading the way, shoulders wide and head high with assurance. Kieran followed with a strange and elegant sway due to his predicament, eyes mistrusting and careful. Enid was next, sort of flippant and careless in her walk. Last was Lynet, who looked about with faraway eyes but her weapon at the ready was something to disturb her fantasies. This was the comfortable sort of motion they'd settled into.

The tracks grew fresher and fresher as they followed along, Cael had noticed this but opted not to tell his companions. They were tense enough and he didn't want to risk unsettling them.

They drew upon an open meadow and a large ashen tree in the middle of Fallburne's forest then, each drawing their weapons upon realising the area was not a formless one. There sat at the base of the tree, an Elven woman in a meditative position, doing an old magic of some kind.

Her eyes were alight with the glow mentioned in stories of seers in Euridayl and a glowing orb rested just above the crown of her head, swirling and shifting about. The orb was whispering in a language that none of the travellers recognised, it was completely unearthly as far as they could tell. 

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