The Matriarch's Daughter

Chapter Eight: A Failure of Leadership

The journey took a turn for the worse after their subsequential teleportation and impromptu battle. The team spent a few minutes recovering and tried to figure out what had happened. Rory theorized that the spell recognized too many entities on the platform, forcing them into different locations instead of their intended one. The incident left them mixed up with a group of hobgoblins, and Bidant found himself teleported twenty feet off the ground. Fortunately, he managed to land on his feet thanks to catlike reflexes, but he still twisted his ankle in the process. As it was, Rory had to heal him.

Despite the setback, they pressed on and made their way through the canyon towards the mountain pass. Frustrations were high, and by nightfall, Thepa noticed it. To ease the tension, she took a two-hour watch by herself while dividing up the remaining shifts in pairs. The other members of the team nodded in agreement, but as she awoke in the morning, she found Lily and Will asleep at their posts.

The second day was dedicated to picking up the hobgoblin trail, which proved challenging. The weather had turned, making it difficult to find any traces of their passage. Thepa searched most of the day, starting with small footprints that eventually led to large groups of hobgoblins heading towards the western side of the mountain range. However, the drifts in the snow constantly covered the tracks leading them on a wild goose chase. When they came across a split in the path, she decided to set up shelter for the night having accomplished nothing.

Thinking of the incident from the night before, Thepa changed the watch order. She put Lily and Will on the first watch, hoping they would be able to stay up long enough to wake the next pair, then prayed to a deity she didn't believe existed that nothing would go wrong. Exhausted, she went to bed only to spend a restless night of shivering in the frigid temperatures.

She awoke that morning to find Rory sitting at the foot of her bed roll. Curious to what was happening, she watched as Rory's hand moved in a somatic motion while she muttered a short chant. A warm feeling filled her and for the first time since they had entered the mountain pass, she finally shook the cold she had inadequately prepared for.

"Thanks," she muttered as she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

Rory nodded in response, while Thepa took stock of the rest of the camp. Bidant and Will were having a heated argument, Lily was asleep at her post, Claudia and Sister Vivian were nowhere to be seen, and she was just now getting up.

Did I sleep through my watch?" she asked Rory.

"No," Rory answered.

Thepa frowned and tried not to assume the worst in her teammates. It was only the third day and she wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, but her experience was quickly telling her at this rate, things would continue to go poorly. Already knowing the answer, she asked Rory another question, "Did someone cover my watch?"

Sympathetically, Rory shook her head.

Thepa groaned. "This is getting ridiculous. We're lucky we haven't been attacked again."

Rory nodded in agreement. "I know. Everyone is tired and stressed. We just need to keep pushing through and hope for the best."

Thepa let out a heavy sigh as she rolled out of her bedroll and began packing up her belongings. She mulled over the steps that needed to be taken to keep Will and Lily from falling asleep.

"I'll have to split them up," she informed Rory, gesturing towards the heated argument between Will and Bidant. "Can you keep watch with Lily? I'll have Claudia keep an eye on Will. Somehow, I don't think it's a good idea to put those two together."

The exhaustion etched on Rory's face didn't go unnoticed. "Only if you promise to get more rest tonight," she replied.

"I will," she answered before continuing, "You're a good friend."