Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 35

Despite the slow progress due to the horses and the three men's inexperience. Marcie informed them, after much hard travelling, that they were not three days from the village.

This surprised the men as they had expected it to take much longer and for there to be more resistance to their journey, as they had experienced at the beginning.

However there were no unnatural occurrences or fearful things hidden out of sight watching them.

The presence Aldren had felt since the day they fatefully entered the forest's depths, had disappeared.

He still found himself jerking awake in the middle of the night, his hand reaching for his sword, but it always seemed to be merely the tail end of a dream, the forest almost peaceful, mocking him for his fear and the lives of those companions it had taken in the course of their journey.

It was in these moments he glanced over at the woman, Marcie. And thought it could be her presence that calmed the trees and the wind. The weather had lightened considerable since their encounter and even the horses seemed to be making the terrain with less difficulty. It was as thought she was considered a part of the forest and those she took under her wing were no longer perceived as a threat, invaders, or interlopers in this sanctuary of land forgotten by time, that was talked about in hushed whispers and ominous fireside tales. The light that struggled through the canopy of the trees fell upon her differently then it did he and his companions, somehow it was ...respectful.

Sebastian, ever watchful Sebastian, saw the signs as well. He watched her with increasing caution as they came closer and closer to the end of their journey. She gave no indication that she was aware of the affinity she so clearly showed with the the forest but there were moments where she pointed out pitfalls and fateful holes in the ground, that they had otherwise not seen, she placed her finger tips on tree trunks and traced lines they could not see, placed her feet carefully and precisely with her head tilted to one side, her eyes unfocused, fingers on her bow, her whole body tensed, senses stretched, waiting for something, then she would double back on her tracks or take them to one side and wait in a hollow or a small valley until whatever it was she had sensed was gone. This happened so many times and each time her, Sebastian and Jin would strain to see what she saw but they never saw anything to justify her caution.

She and Jin hunted as they went.

Jin taking up the rear, padding quietly further back and following the groups trail when he lost sight of them. When they turned in for the night, they would compare their picking, usually small creatures that remained active during the winter months. It became a competition to see who could get the most kills.

"Not bad" Marcie remarked as she looked over the animals spread before her,

"How is it you can collect a lot of these"- she waved her hand at the kills, -"but cannot get a buck ten times the size"

Jin lounged on his bedroll,

"Does it not show my supreme skill?" he asked, "for surely I must be a mighty hunter to be so precise"

"Maybe Sir Mighty hunter would think about taking on some wolves also, since he is so sure of himself" Marcie said,

"You show me a wolf and I will serve it up for supper" he declared with a boastful smile,

"It would be as revenge for our dear Trader" Sabastian said,

They all fell silent in remembrance.

Marcie frowned,

"Seek no revenge of predators, they need to survive just as we do, and no doubt you wandered onto their territory without knowing and they considered you fair game" she said,

Sebastian sat up straight and regarded her coldly,

"We are not beasts" he said, "They would have been the death of us had they not had their fill"

"Are they to be blamed then?" Marcie asked, raising her eyebrow, "They kill only to survive and yet you would kill them merely to satisfy your own sense of pride. Would you even know if it was the same wolves who got your inexperienced Guide or would you kill them simply because you despise every single one of them regardless of whether they have individually done you wrong or not."

Furious silence reigned.

"Wars have been fought for less" Aldren said quietly, after a few moments.

Marcie snorted, "A war is being fought"

"You know nothing" Sebastian said, turning away from the fire and gazing out at the surrounding trees,

"You are closeted from the rest of the world by this forest, you cannot possible comprehend what the war has done to us"

Marcie turned her whole body towards him,

"Do you hate me?" she asked, "Do you despise my lack of suffering in your war?"

He looked away.

Aldren studied her, chewing thoughtfully on a scrap of meat.

"What do you know of the war?" he asked

Marcie shrugged,

"Nothing much, the traders bring stories every spring" she raised her eyebrow at him, "Telling of mighty battles and fierce warriors, of glory and honour".

Jin snorted, he had stayed silent as the discussion grew heated but this was a topic close to his heart. Being of low birth he was denied the right to fight in the imperial army and had long ago forgotten his disappointment and instead had been disillusioned with the whole practice.

"There has not been a battle for several years, few are old enough to remember the last one now. All that exists at the moment is small skirmishes, along the border areas when the enemy wanders too close. Instead of a battle  it is a.." he frowned and cast around for a word to describe the situation at the moment,

"Stand off" Aldren supplied and Jin nodded at him,

"A stand off over where the lands separate"

Marcie frowned, intrigued.

"Why would they dispute the borders?" she asked, she thought back to the maps she had seen of the outside lands.

"Have they not been unchanged for hundreds of years?"

Jin seemed at a loss, so Aldren took over.

"The borders have always been disputed" he explained, "As you say, they have been in place for hundreds of years and yet in all that time there has not been a moment where the enemy has not tried to take more territory"

"Why?" Marcie asked, "Pride?"

Sebastian laughed, a short bark of derision that made Marcie jump,

"Pride undoubtedly has something to do with it. However the kingdom is undeniable the larger of the two and we also control the fire pools in the east and the sacred moon fields in the south which we believe they also hold precious to their...religion"

"So it is merely a land dispute?" Marcie wondered, thinking of when an upset had been caused by Henri moving his fence two yards into Old Man Drake's field.

"Land disputes do not take lives. They do not cause mothers to miss their sons who are drafted into the army at a young age or cause them to mourn those who do not return" Sebastian, stared at her, barely concealing his dislike, "This war is not merely a simple land dispute"