Eternal Beasts

Close Encounter

With the denai war leaders against the cliff and the pathfinders on the road's edge to use their darker clothing to somewhat mask the armor, the small company warily began the descent. Thankfully the road's builders had crafted it to handle heavy loads both down onto, and up out of the valley. That translated into a mild slope which, while lengthening the trip, enabled them to move as slowly as they needed to without slipping on a steep grade.

With their eyes scanning both the downward slope in front of them and the forest spreading out from the escarpment, the small company carefully made their way to the valley floor. It made for a tension-filled descent, not knowing if they would come under attack at any moment. So not a few of them unconsciously sighed in relief when they finally reached the bottom and were back in the trees.

"I'm glad we just have to do that once," Jeremiah muttered as the pathfinders scanned the overgrown road that ran towards the city.

"Aye," Bithra agreed with a grimace, her voice equally low. "I would hate having to fight our way up that slope!"

With a gesture, Seth silently indicated that the denai follow them. Then he, Phineas and Mordecai were gliding forward.

In mute testimony of the ancient Tuathan skill in building, the road, which would've been a true highway bustling with travelers and merchant caravans at the height of its power, was still recognizable as such. That in spite of thousands of years spent under a bog.

Still, the years had allowed the forest to heavily encroach on the road's borders. What was once a clear, level space on either side to allow wagons to be pulled off the highway for repairs or a rest break, was now completely grown over. And that brought fairly large trees right up to the road's edge, the space just above the road filled with overhanging branches.

That meant there were plenty of places for an opposing force to hide in ambush. If they knew the Lightling force was there, that is. Especially if they were aware of their purpose. It wasn't a stretch to think the Harbingers would extend their forces into the Tara Srath in an effort to stop them from rescuing the secret aerie from stasis in Tara Hill's Master Library. Especially when they already had a significant presence here despite the mysterious thaumaturge cleansing the valley of the bog.

With that in mind, the company carefully made its way down the highway instead of running at full speed, eyes searching every shadow. There was an excellent chance any force they ran into would significantly outnumber them. And none of them wanted to run headlong into that!

The first of Ethaeron's three dwarf suns was slipping behind the horizon when Seth called a halt to their journey along the highway. For good reason: with the light starting to fail, it was getting harder to see into the shadows, even with unusually sharp tuathan vision. Unable to penetrate the shadows meant they could miss spotting an ambush. It was better to halt and make camp than run the risk. Not to mention, the tension they were experiencing moving with stealth through enemy-held territory was tiring. They needed the rest.

So, the small company slid off the road into a relatively sheltered clearing, meaning to make camp. Only to draw up short at finding the clearing had been recently occupied.

"That's a cholim field fire pit," Mordecai grimly identified, the veteran pathfinder using his vast experience fighting Harbinger forces for most of his life in the north to recognize the pit's configuration.

"And I have tent peg marks over here," Phineas reported from a few paces further in. "Matching a cholim standard setup."

"Torith garbage pit here," Ezekiel grimly noted from several paces on the opposite side of the fire pit. "At least a dozen individuals, if I know my torith squats at all."