Seraphine gripped the reins she was given and attempted to follow, but the horse shied away from her with wide eyes and reared up. Seraphine was pulled forward and barely escaped the horses hooves as they came back down.
Vician was suddenly beside her, exchanging reins with her. Grabbing the bridle of the scared and misbehaving horse, he stared it down until it snorted and calmed down.
“I’ll take this one,” Vician said starting down the path.
The other horse was skittish around Seraphine but let her lead it along the path after Vician. When they reached the road, Vician showed her how to mount and handle the reins. It took a few tries and a couple of falls before Seraphine got the hang of riding but after an hour of practice she had the basics well enough for them to get underway.
They rode hard through the day and into the evening, stopping only to eat and rest the horses. Vician helped to pass the time and to distract Seraphine from her discomfort in the saddle by answering as many questions as he could about the woods they were traveling through, as well as telling her some a little about his childhood. Even so, by the time they finally steered their mounts off the road into a campsite, Seraphine had become reacquainted with muscles she had forgotten she had and was so stiff Vician had to help her down.
They tied the horses up to a pair of trees and removed the saddles and packs. Vician fed and brushed down the horses while Seraphine gathered wood and used a spell to light a fire and set some water on to boil. The two of them spread out their bedrolls and shared a dinner of tea and trail rations.
“Where are we going?” Seraphine asked between bites of reheated bread smothered in cheese.
“I’m not entirely sure, yet,” Vician admitted. “I was thinking either of heading east to study some of the powerful magics in the powerful kingdoms there or to one of the trading posts along the border with the Orc kingdom in the north where we could make a fortune selling potions and enchantments. Before we decide, I want to meet with some contacts and find out what news they have of the areas.”
Seraphine nodded and rubbed her thighs. “How far east or north would we have to travel?”
Vician shrugged. “Several weeks if not months.”
Serpahine groaned.
Vician smiled. “Don’t worry; the town where I intend to meet up with my contacts is only a few days ride from here.”
Seraphine sighed theatrically. “I don’t think I will have a backside left after this journey.”
The mage merely chuckled then let out a large yawn.
Seraphine volunteered for first watch and leaned back against a tree watching Vician as he turned in. It wasn’t long before he was snoring. As he slept, she could not help but think how innocent and handsome he looked curled up in his blanket.
A sound brought her out of her thoughts and she looked around. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw movement in the trees, but she could not see anything there. She felt an edge of fright, not her own, on the verge of her awareness, but could not pinpoint it. Still she could not shake the feeling that someone was out there and they were being watched. She still had that feeling when she woke Vician hours later and climbed into her own bedroll to sleep.
The rest of the night passed without incident and Vician let her sleep in the next morning. The day passed without incident, however, Seraphine would catch herself staring into the woods looking for hidden eyes that she felt upon her.
That night as Seraphine bedded down, she still had that anxious feeling. If anything it intensified, and though she fell asleep almost instantly, her dreams were of running though the woods toward a light while in the distance someone called her name. It was almost a relief when Vician woke her for her turn to take watch shortly after midnight.
The first two hours passed quietly, but then a startled scream pierced the night. Seraphine came to her feet instantly, drawing her dagger. Vician came awake instantly, reaching for his boots and belt quickly pulling on the boots and buckling the belt around his waist.
Another scream pierced the night, and Vician looked around trying to figure out where it came from. “That way,” Serpahine whispered and pointed toward a spot deeper into the woods. Vician nodded and they set out as quietly as they could, which was not quietly enough for Seraphine’s taste. Every step they took was accompanied by the sounds of rustling leaves or snapped twigs which Seraphine knew could announce their presence to anything or anyone out there.
She needn't have worried. The two of them came upon a clearing so small it barely could claim the name. On one side stood several armed men numbering somewhere between half and a full dozen. On the other side, a huge silver wolf stood guard over a fallen cloaked woman, blood dripping from its muzzle.
At first, Seraphine thought the wolf was attacking the woman, but then as it turned to face Seraphine and Vician, Seraphine saw one of the men let fly an arrow that struck the wolf, and the woman cried out “Elora!” as the wolf crumpled and fell.
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