Jerdren’s lips tightened and his color was high.
“Look, Brother,” Blorys continued. “Eddis is right, and so’s Mead. You’re just being stubborn, and this isn’t the time or place for it You didn’t know what was going to happen tonight, and no one’s blaming you for picking this hill for our camp. Take a deep breath, relax, and let’s pack up.”
Jerdren turned to Mead. “What chance you’d be aware of that animal if it came sneaking up on us?”
The mage shrugged. “I cannot be certain, but the creatures are territorial. It fled north, so the farther south we go, the less likely it is to follow us.”
“But if it’s under some madman’s control…”
“It is still a territorial animal, and the farther the lion moves from its master, the weaker the spell becomes, until it loses its power entirely.”
“Oh.” Jerdren scratched his head. “Didn’t think of that.”
“So, we should go now, and with lights,” Mead went on. “Because Willow and I can see well enough to avoid trees and pitfalls, but you cannot. I have a spell that should turn aside any small band of orcs or robbers, if we stay close together.”
Jerdren looked at Eddis inquiringly, his lips still tight. For a moment, she thought he was going to argue again, but he finally shrugged and turned to stuff the orc’s purse in his pack.
“We’ll do it then.”
“Thanks,” she replied. “M’Baddah, you and M’Whan keep watch, and the rest of you pack up. Leave those orcs where they are and break out a couple of lanterns. You men, we’ll need the light. Move it!” She cast a sour glance at Jerdren’s back. Stubborn, difficult man. She should have known he’d be like this. Just now she was sorely tempted to thump him one. She turned away and caught Blorys’ rueful smile. Poor Blor, how did he manage?
M’Baddah had finished sorting his arrows and slung the red-and-black-painted case over his shoulder. Eddis left her bow strung as well, hooking it onto her quiver and freeing up her short sword. Their cook poured sand around the edges of the burning wood, leaving only one thick branch aflame for light. All around, men worked quickly, gathering up their belongings and settling their packs.
It was still very dark out, and the trees seemed to loom over them. Eddis’ hands were trembling once more, making it hard to get her lantern lit.
I’d forgotten how much I dislike woods at night, she thought. Sensible people don’t belong out here. I’ll fight just about anything that comes at me, but it helps if I can see it coming!
Lantern in one hand, sword in the other, she drew a deep breath and tried to relax. Too much had happened in too short a span. Still, she’d made a fool of herself just now, snapping at Jerdren. Good leaders weren’t supposed to act that way, and these Keep men didn’t know either her or Jers well. No doubt they’d both lost face.
They moved out moments later. It was slow going at first, even with the lanterns and the elves’ keen eyes to lead them around trees and snags. Near the base of the hill, they came across a game trail heading roughly southeast. Jerdren wanted to follow it, but Eddis was firmly against using it, and both Blorys and M’Baddah backed her up.
“If deer use it,” Eddis said flatly, “so do the things that hunt them.”
They went on through the woods, but she could hear her co-captain grumbling to himself for some time after.
The moon rose just as they came back into the area of reasonably flat ground and wide-spaced trees. Willow set a better pace here, and before long, the moon rose. Eddis could tell by the shadows that they were heading east and a little south.
Mead once asked a for brief halt so he and Willow could check their back-trail.
“There is no hint of anything or anyone following us,” the mage said as he came back. “And there is no one anywhere near us just now.”
“Good,” Jerdren said. “Then, if no one objects, we’ll find a clearing and set up camp for what’s left of the night.”
No one objected.
Eddis bit back a sharp retort. “I agree. Let’s go.” Fortunately for her temper, they found a decent clearing a very short distance on. She took first watch, and by the time she’d made a full circuit of the camp, Jerdren was rolled in his blanket and presumably asleep.
Morning came cool and cloudy, with a stiff breeze that blew smoke and ash everywhere. Eddis woke to the smell of burned porridge and the sounds of men moving quietly about. Nearby, M’Baddah and his son were talking quietly. She yawned, stretched and sat up, shoving loose hair out of her eyes and behind her ears.
“There’s Eddis!” Jerdren’s cheerful voice smote her ears. “Pleasant dreams last night? No lions?”
She gave him a cold look from under her lashes, finally shook her head. “What about your watch?”
“Dead quiet the whole time,” he replied. “Mead didn’t sleep at all, and he said the brute wasn’t anywhere about.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Eddis said. She took porridge and a mug of hot tea from the cook as her co-captain moved on. Thanks to the wind, the honey-sweetened porridge was covered with fine ash. She shrugged, stirred it in, and began to eat.
“We need to talk, you and I,” Jerdren was back, map in hand. “Not while you’re eating. I know.”
“Thank you.”
“I think we need to move out as soon as we can, Eddis. Maybe even cross the road and keep going south, since it doesn’t seem that—”
“We need to talk,” Eddis said levelly, “but not while I’m eating. Not unless there’s an emergency. Finding that camp of robbers is important but not an emergency.”
“But, I—”
“You’re still talking. Go away, Jerdren,” she said and bent over her bowl.
Silence. The man sighed and went away. M’Baddah came over to sit next to her. She gave him a smile and went back to her breakfast. M’Whan and one of the guards came in with an armful of dry branches and went out for more. Eddis finished her food while it was still warm and sat, eyes closed. She could hear branches snapping off to her left and M’Whan’s low voice, then the Keep man’s response. They were too far away for her to hear what they said. Somewhere closer, she could hear Blorys talking to Jerdren. He sounded rather exasperated.
“Jers, relax, can’t you? The last watch needs to eat still, and we need the fire because that mush won’t be edible if it isn’t kept hot, you know that. We can’t break camp yet, anyway. Mead needs a little quiet time to devote to his spellbook, remember? So there’s no use you prodding Eddis this early.”
Jerdren sighed heavily. “I know that, but if we don’t—”
“It’ll all get done, trust me. Meantime, there’s a couple men here who can probably help you figure out where we are better than Eddis can. Remember what someone said a while ago about lizard men and boggy ground? We don’t want to stumble headlong into fens and monsters. And you don’t really want to fight lizard men again, do you?”
“I remember someone talking about lizard men, Brother, but I don’t remember anything about bogs.”
“Maybe that was something I heard back in the Keep, then,” Blorys broke in. “I don’t remember. Doesn’t matter. Not finding lizard men is important to me. You and I are the only ones here who’ve fought them before. We were part of a full company, with experienced officers, and it was still a nasty battle! That’s not why we’re out here, anyway. We’re supposed to find bandits, and deal with them. Remember?”
Silence. Eddis sipped her tea, eyes closed, aware of M’Baddah at her elbow. She wondered briefly if Blorys meant her to overhear their conversation, then decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.
M’Whan’s warning shout brought her to her feet, the empty bowl sliding from her lap, her empty cup going the other way.
“Yrik!” he bellowed in his own tongue.
The Keep man’s voice topped the outland youth’s. “Orcs, coming right at us. Between us and the camp. Twenty or more!”