Chosen

Chapter 3: Absalom

     Birds sang in the early morning light and the air smelled of soil after a rain.  The sun had not yet appeared over the distant mountain tops, casting a dim light over the camp. 

     Embers from the small fires burned faintly, the last traces of the red heat ebbing away slowly. Men slept in their small tents as the pots and bowls from last night law strewn on the ground. 

     Annora woke inside her tent, sat up and stretched. She gathered and folded her many tattered blankets, finding in between the cloths her sturdy leather boots and black cloak. Once she had dressed, light was seeping through the walls of her tent and the voices of the drowsy group stirred the morning air.

     She ducked outside her tent to the men gathering their things, the clangs and clatters of objects being loaded onto the carts drifting through the air. Galtem stepped out of the tent next to Annora, his graying brown hair tousled and beard unkempt.

     "Where are we going now Papa?" Annora asked, mirroring her father's actions in rolling up their tents.

     "To Absalom. It's a small village a couple hours travel from here. We'll just ask them if they know of any creatures near their area that need to be gone and we'll clear the place. Nothing new, Annora." He said, brow creased in concentration as he expertly rolled the canvas into a tight bundle. 

     Annora nodded and tossed her belongings onto one of the carts. The men saddled their horses and untied the ropes from the trees. They mounted their steeds and prepared to depart. Galtem walked over to a tall tree with low hanging branches and rough dark bark, untying to ropes and leading the horses to Annora. He handed one of the ropes to Annora and mounted a large dark brown steed. Annora hopped on Iren,  a dappled light gray horse whose muzzle and legs were darkened by a deep gray.

     Galtem looked at her expectantly, the light shining off his glossy horse. "Are you ready?" He asked, already turning his steed towards the path.

     Annora nodded and led Iren towards the traveling group, kicking the animal into a steady trot to catch up. The wind blew her thick hair back, allowing the ribbons to dance gracefully behind her. She caught up with the group and let her horse match the pace of Wynnone's patched steed. 

     They walked along the trail for a while, the sun's journey now halfway in the sky. The landscape slowly changing from a flat land forest to a mountain wood. Rivers and streams winded their way through the trees, creating impossibly intricate patterns of vegetation and landmarks. Moss covered every rock and fallen leaves almost covered the narrow path. 

     The village came into view after a particularly sharp turn around a rising mountain base. In the distance, only around a hundred crooked buildings clumped together in the small valley, with small patches of crops growing haphazardly. Thin trails of smoke rose up from the carious chimneys and small ants of people scurried around the village. 

     The band gingerly followed the twisted path down to the village, taking great care not to trip on any snagging roots or loose stones. As they neared the town, two men dressed in patched farming clothes walked up to them, waving their hands in welcome.  

     "Hello there!" The younger of the men yelled cheerfully. "What brings you travelers to our humble home?" The men stopped and let the front of the troop reach them. Galtem dismounted his horse and approached, standing a head's length above the tallest of the two.

     "We're sorry to be an inconvenience to you or your people, but we have a couple questions we'd like to ask you." 

     "Oh of course! We don't have many visitors here, please, let us entertain you." The older man said, his warm brown eyes twinkling. They turned towards the village and strolled towards the center of the town.