The Wizard's Misery The Chronicles of the Midlands Book One

Chapter Sixteen

They had been walking quietly for a little more than an hour when off in the distance, they could hear dogs baying. Brandon motioned for her to stop and they stood there for a few moments listening. "They're on the path but they're not chasing anything," he whispered. They sounded like they were off to the southeast heading northward towards the main path. They both looked over in that direction but couldn't see anything through the trees.

"How far away is the path?" Celine whispered softly.

"It's just through the trees over there, about five hundred paces. Let's just wait quietly until they pass," he said and crouched down, motioning for her to do the same. As they crouched there on the bank of the creek, they could hear the barking dogs getting closer.

Soon the dogs could be heard directly off to their right and Celine felt like holding her breath. She peered through the underbrush, trying to see if she could spot them and soon they came into view being led by some soldiers who were on foot. Following after them were three soldiers riding horses and they were leading two more mounts behind them as Celine and Brandon crouched, tense and ready to run if they were spotted.

The soldiers were talking to each other as they slowly made their way down the path but Celine couldn't make out what they were saying as they continued to walk along. She watched as they conversed and she hoped that they would pass by without seeing them. She was on edge as one of the mounted soldiers seemed to look directly towards them but then he continued on and she slowly let out her breath. She was very glad that she and Brandon were wearing brown cloaks and she hoped that they were blending into the underbrush.

Finally, the dogs disappeared down the path and the last of the horses soon followed and Celine took a deep breath. But, Brandon motioned for her to stay down and so she did. They could hear the dogs baying ahead of them in the distance and she guessed that he wanted to wait until they could no longer hear them before moving on. Then having squatted a long time, Celine's legs started aching so she quietly sat down to wait as the sound of the dogs grew fainter.

Finally, Brandon rose up and offered her his hand, helping her to stand. "Thank you," she whispered and he nodded his head in answer.

"The path starts getting closer to the creek from here so we're going to have to be careful. Later we'll make camp on the other side where it's safer," he explained in a soft whisper.

Brandon looked to where the sun was angling through the trees to the west and knew it would soon be getting dark. "Let's get going and walk a little further," he whispered to her as he turned and started making his way down the bank. Celine followed after him, trying to make as little noise as possible.

As they continued to walk, the sun began to set and they could hear the sound of the dogs not too far ahead of them. "They must be on the main path. Let's cross over," Brandon said and he started hopping from rock to rock through the shallow water. Celine waited for him to cross and then she followed along the route he had taken and soon she was standing beside him and he turned and walked through the underbrush.

Celine followed after him and as they made their way through, he held the larger branches so that they wouldn't strike her as she passed by and once the brush had thinned out, they stopped next to big tree. "This is a good spot," he said as he sat down. Celine sat down beside him and they rested a few moments before they both opened their packs.

Celine took out her light blue cloak and then stood up and spread it on the ground. Then she sat back down on it and placed the small blanket she was carrying beside her. Brandon took out the bag of food and offered her a sandwich which she gladly accepted. "Thank you," she murmured as she reached for her water skin and then took a sip.