Yuragwyn: Yours

---Chapter 19

∞Kaitra∞

Morning twilight finds us picking our way towards Entel. Maxen chatters the whole way, but the rest of us are quiet, a product, I guess, of the unfamiliarity we have with this wasteland. Upon Maxen's insistence, we stop for lunch for the first time in ages. My mouth is dry as I try to force the nourishment in me. The idea of eating three meals in one day is staggering, foreign.

The haze is beginning to get hazier when we stumble into the small clearing before an impassable wall, ten feet tall, miles long, yards thick.

"Come, come," Maxen says beckoning us over.

He pulls a brick out of the wall and grasps the handle inside. A section of wall pops open, and we slip through into Entel.

"Welcome home!" Maxen says, extending his arms and spinning slowly, a grin stretching from ear to ear.

I stare at my surroundings. A dozen graying buildings are scattered across the dirt enclosure. Centaurs stroll about, here, there, carrying food or wood in from the outside. The opening in the canopy allows in the only sunlight I have seen in a week, and I have to squint to see.

"It's not much, but you are the only women to have stepped foot inside our walls. Not many people make the journey through Abyss. There is only one road, and it is watched by the creatures of this wood. No one has ever gone overland to our colony in many years. I marvel that you are all alive and unharmed. The bogs are a key hideout for all sorts of harmful animals.

"But no matter- you are here now. Follow me."

We follow him to one of the wooden houses. He indicates a corner for our packs and three cots for us girls. He takes Traugott with him to another building.

Briallen scrutinizes the one room, lit by one window, with a single lantern. "It will do."

Calanthe flops down on the nearest cot, "It isn't the ground in the open country. I am happy."

I lie down and clench my teeth as my joints fall back into place. It feels so strange, lying on a cot. It is a luxury for us now, though a far cry from where we have come. Would I have been willing to come if I had known what I was up against?

After a moment of rest, Calanthe grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. "Let's go exploring! Imagine the girls' faces when we tell them we've been to Entel!"

I follow her out of the house and into the courtyard. There are no roads here. The encampment is no larger than Lord Cadfael and Lady Carys's house and yard. Gruff-looking centaurs and a handful of men are the only inhabitants. I begin to feel a bit uncomfortable under their gaze, but Calanthe hardly notices as we whisk around. We stop by the only storehouse, the game hut, and the gambling hall for moments each before we realize those are the only public buildings. Calanthe complains good-naturedly about the lack of dress shops. I smile politely through her chatter, more self-conscious of my disheveled appearance than interested in a tour.

"Hello, girls," A rather young looking centaur calls. He clops towards us. "From where do you come?"

Calanthe smiles back prettily, "Lax and Cordina."

The centaur's tail swishes a bit, "Do you happen to know Hiltraud?"

"We do, in fact!" Calanthe replies. "He is Lord Cadfael's aide and is fighting alongside him as we speak."