The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 12

The caravan thundered northwards along the outer edge of the forest. They needed to stay clear of the trees to keep their speed up, but didn't want to stray too far from the river. Alex was sat in the back of Rain's wagon as he handled the reigns. The horses here weren't like those she was used to in Serpensbane. Their fur was much longer yet thinner and coarser, and she didn't think it was anything to do with grooming.

She pulled the canvas to one side and peered out the back of the cart. She could see at least half a dozen other wagons accompanying them, and knew that Thorn's and a couple of others were up front. The bulk of the tribe remained in the forest to await their return and carry out their jobs in the surrounding area. Thorn had picked the groups he wanted to join them on their quest, and they had ended up with a broad range of skills that would hopefully come in useful. It was a surprise that Rose had agreed to accompany them, but that was probably to be with Rain rather than to help Alex. She recognised another wagon from sometime she met at the feast. It belonged to Githa and her partner, apparently a pair of quite formidable warriors. Although she knew little about them and even less about the remaining souls accompanying them, Rain and Thorn reassured her that they were all trusted friends of theirs.

When she had left Serpensbane Alex had had no idea how long her mission would have taken her, or if she would even survive it at all. But as she looked out across the tribe she realised that success was all but guaranteed, and would take a fraction of the time as on foot. To think that this all resulted from her being attacked was unbelievable, almost comical in a peculiar way. But that did raise an uncomfortable dilemma that had been surfacing from the back of her mind.

"Rain," she said quietly as she climbed towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention "You know why Thorn first came to find me, right? About the two... 'scouts'?"

She felt his muscles tense slightly as she spoke, though she wouldn't have known it just by looking. He hid feelings well, she thought.

"Yeah, most of us heard..." he said awkwardly. "Look, I'd never support that, not just against you but to anybody. I wasn't part of it and never would be."

"I know, relax, that's not really what I'm getting at. Where did they go? The scouts I mean? I didn't see them at the feast at all..."

"Oh," Rain relaxed a little when he realised she didn't hold anything against him "I'm not sure. I asked dad if there'd be an issue with that after we found you, but be said he'd spoken to them and it wouldn't be a problem."

"He asked them not to go?"

"Or they might have decided to avoid the embarrassment on their own." Rain shrugged. He didn't seem to know or even care, apparently it was good enough for him that they didn't make an appearance. She felt the same, she decided.

It was almost nightfall when the group finally came to a halt for some respite. They had traveled almost continuously for the entire day, a fact that Alex was grateful for. She wanted this quest to be over as quickly as possible.

"We have made excellent time. We will be reaching the bridge tomorrow, I expect." Thorn said, gesturing to the map unfurled upon his desk. According to the map the River of Life had grown much wider at this point, although she hadn't seen it since she left the forest. It might have been possible to get the wagons across at an earlier point, but that would have required them to travel through the forest. As well as being much slower, there were hidden dangers behind every tree and every shrub.

"If memory serves the path should take us straight to the sea... all being well, we should reach our destination within the week."

"A week? Seriously?" Alex's jaw dropped and her eyes widened at this revelation. She had known things would be quicker with her new friends, but this was almost beyond belief. She was increasingly glad she had found them with every passing day.