Rising Moon

~Chapter Six~

The night air was cold. Wind howled through the rocks. Even at the base of the mountain it was cold. There weren't very many trees nor was there a large number of man-made structures. All of the mining towns were built into the rock further up the mountains. There were really only one or two settlements at the base of the Mendiak mountains, and they were very, very small, having a population of no more than eighty people each. This had been all the luckier for Hector and the others.

Since the night of the tragic attack on the palace eight days prior, Edmund had led the group through the nearby mountains of Mendiak. It had taken several days to get to the mountains on foot, but once they were there, the group had stayed well hidden. The last thing they needed was for the Insurrectionists to find them while they were weak, injured, and tired. It would be all too easy for them to pick the Brotherhood off, torture the king, and take the prince as their "honored guest".

For the past eight days, the group had been hunting using what weapons they had and trying to find any suitable vegetation. However, due to the temperature in Mendiak, there wasn't much greenery to be found. It was hard to split up the small amount of food among the group of eight, especially since there were the animals to account for as well. The creatures found it almost unbearable to keep going through the rough mountains without having anything to eat. They were weak and couldn't carry anyone most of the time. Everyone in the group had grown increasingly hungry throughout the week. The snow made sure that they didn't grow thirsty, and yet they were still weary. They were all also very, very tired. There hadn't been a comfortable place to sleep anywhere, and they could never sleep for more than an hour or two at a time for fear of being found by the Insurrectionists.

Everyone was positive that the Insurrectionists were looking for them everywhere. They were the reason that this had all started. They were the most wanted people in the entire Dark Kingdom. As for the Dark Kingdom itself, no one in the party of eight had been in contact with anyone else for eight days, so they had no idea of how the nation was faring or what the Insurrectionists had done. Who was in power, and who was dead?

All eight of them had no idea what was going on or who would be after them and when. They were hungry, exhausted, and scared. The animals were too tired to get their riders out of the mountains. The group didn't have any supplies with them, and scavenging could only get them so far, especially in the mountains of Mendiak. They needed to find a proper place to eat and rest.

Quirin carried Hector on his back like he had been all day. Hector was still weakened, and constantly hiking through the mountains wasn't helping. But this also slowed Quirin, and therefore the whole party, down.

Adira walked in the front of the group, her sword drawn. A fine king's sword had been forged for her upon her arrival back in the Dark Kingdom, since her Shadow Blade was destroyed along with all other black rocks when the Sundrop and the Moonstone came into connection.

The warrior stalked slowly up to the door of a tiny farmhouse while the others stayed back. The group had been forced to take a huge risk with finding a household that would take them in. For all they knew, anyone could be an Insurrectionist family or at least be under control of the terrorist group. They could be captured, handed off to the Insurrectionists, or killed in their sleep. But all eight of them needed proper rest and food or else they wouldn't survive long. They had to take their chances.

When Adira reached the doorstep of the farmhouse, she did her best to straighten up and to hide her blade behind her. She knocked three times on the simple oak wood door. Then, she waited.

She didn't expect someone to open the door as quickly as they did considering that it was the middle of the night. And yet, the warrior only had to wait a few seconds before someone unlocked and opened the door.