The Trogen’s sharp eyes watched carefully for any hints of movement beneath the canopy, but nothing stirred. No signals arose from any of his riders either during the broad search.
Light would be fading soon, and Dragol could not deny the fact that no creature on foot could outdistance the considerable area that they had covered through the sky. Frustration now boiled within him, his patience wearing steadily thinner with the approach of the sun’s descent.
One of his riders abruptly cried out.
The tensions vanished instantly, adrenaline sparking within him as the cry reached his triangular-shaped ears. Without hesitation, Dragol deftly maneuvered his Harrak to the left and dug in his heels, spurring the quickly responsive creature to accelerate to full speed.
As a unit, the other riders were doing likewise as they honed in upon the area signaled by their comrade.
LEE
An arduous day’s march had ended mercifully, one in which the group had decided to turn inward and continue deeper into the forest. The primary motive was to take themselves farther away from the edge of the woodlands, before they searched out their next camp site.
Lee’s argument had won out over the option of continuing along the boundary of the woods. He had reasoned that the horse riders were limited to the open land, as his group had not come across any significant trails leading into the woods. Furthermore, if the bestial warriors were at war with the horse riders then they would also be concentrating on the territory where the horse riders were most likely to be found.
The others found the rationale to be sound, and around mid-day they had headed due east, pushing into the depths of the forest. By the cusp of evening, the energy regained during the previous night’s rest was utterly spent.
The hike had gone largely without incident, the greatest surprise coming when Lynn had suddenly given Lee a pinch on the arm. Looking over at her with a startled expression, Lee had followed her gesture to where a black and white plumaged bird with a long tail appeared to be regarding them from a tree branch.
“I heard about these birds once before,” Lynn said. “One magpie’s supposed to be bad luck, unless you do one of a couple remedies. Can’t remember the rest, but pinching a companion was one I remembered.”
Lee shook his head and grinned, “Just my luck, that you didn’t remember something a little less stinging.”
“Don’t want bad luck now, do you?” Lynn retorted with a chuckle. Though she was visibly tired, Lee was gladdened to see the sparkle in her.
Lee had raised his eyebrow, and looked over at Ryan and Erin. “Don’t forget to pinch each other. We don’t need any more bad luck than we’ve had already.”
“I’m not superstitious,” Erin had replied in a disinterested tone.
“I’m not too worried either,” Ryan had added.
“I think you can salute them too, or at least I think I remember that from the same source I got the other information,” Lynn had then said.
“Salute the bird, you say?” Ryan responded with an impish timbre. “Well, why didn’t you say so first?”
He had then proceeded to stare at the bird with a mischievous glint in his eyes. A grin had spread upon his face, as he then raised his right hand and prominently directed a vulgar gesture towards the magpie.
The magpie might well have been insulted, as it had emitted a few rather brusque cries in the wake of Ryan’s disrespectful acknowledgement. The timing was uncanny.
“There, a single-finger salute for the damn bird, delivered in classic New York style, just in case the pinch didn’t work,” Ryan had added, chortling. “Thanks for the advice on that, Lynn! That’ll make sure we don’t’ saddle you all with more bad luck.”
“You should take issues of bad luck more seriously,” Lynn had chided him lightheartedly. She then laughed aloud, “But there’s no denying you saluted the bird… or flipped that bird the bird, you could say.”
“I figured I could be creative. We’re already immersed in bad luck,” Ryan had retorted in dismissive fashion, as his waves of self-amused laughter simmered down.
“See? None of the precautions were really necessary, either of yours. I prefer Ryan’s version. It was a little less painful,” Lee had said to Lynn and Ryan, rubbing his arm where she had pinched him and evoking a little more laughter from the both of them.
He was grateful for the momentary levity. Yet in truth, Lee had felt unsettled all through the day, from the break of dawn until the woodland shadows had begun to grow and deepen.
Lee still felt the unease deep inside him as they finally drew to a halt, taking seats on the great roots of an immense, old oak tree. He took note of some primrose that was spreading within the vicinity of the ancient, mighty oak.
Nearby, high in the branches of another tree, was a large nest belonging to a sharp-beaked bird, whose graceful flight was a joy to watch above the forest’s ceiling. The sizeable bird’s thin call carried far, its long tail twisting as it changed course in the upper heights.
The four conversed amongst themselves for some time, fatigue doing nothing to dull Erin’s sharp attitude, or Ryan’s temper. Lynn and Lee had to nurse the overall harmony of the group along as they discussed their frustrations and condition, and took account of their current situation.
Before very long, Lee was fighting back the overwhelming urge to doze, summoning every ounce of his will to remain focused. He knew that the group would have no choice but to muster enough energy to set up a new shelter for the coming night. Day was starting to fade, and there would not be much more strong light left to work by.
Lee was about to get up to his feet, when he was startled abruptly by a forceful outcry that shattered the relative tranquility.
The invasive shouts hurtled down upon them from the sky, from just above the tops of the trees, as a large shadow flitted across the ground. Lee was unable to tell who or what it was, though his heart caught in his throat. The cry evoked the raw memories of the brutal scene that they had witnessed at the edge of the woodlands, but Lee could not be for certain. The form of the flying entity passing overhead was thoroughly distorted by the overlying mesh of tree branches.
Lee cast a glance towards the others.
Lynn jumped up quickly from her place of repose, her eyes wide with fear. Ryan reached quickly for the bow at his side, fumbling with it clumsily in his urgency and frayed anxiety.
Erin was no longer keeping her moody distance from the other three. She stumbled in her maddened haste, crawling on hands and knees to get near the others.
They all looked frantically along the top of the treeline. Even without seeing its form, Lee knew that there was little chance of mistaking the outcry that had come from such a close proximity. Each small patch of unbroken sky was watched assiduously, as they all became statues of flesh and bone.
It only took a few more moments to confirm the nature of what flew above them.
Just visible through a small opening in the treeline, one of the flying steeds passed into view with a rider on its back. There was no urgency in the movements of the creature, as it glided upon the air currents in a circuitous route around their position.
Lee’s heart sank as he watched the non-human rider gazing down upon them from its lofty perch. There was little mistaking its intention. It was marking their position for others.
Lee and Lynn frantically grabbed weapons, Lee taking up one of the remaining bows and Lynn grabbing the hilt of the sword that she had claimed. Though very afraid, Lee kept his hands steady and his countenance cool, as he drew long breaths and notched an arrow to the bowstring.
Lynn floundered a little with her sword, in her frenetic confusion about where to position herself, nearly dropping the weapon in the process. She was far from comfortable with the blade, and Lee knew that if it came to fighting on the ground, Lynn would be in great trouble.