They sat in a loose circle around the cave, and Raith wondered if he looked as miserable as he felt. They were all caked in mud from the climb up the river banks, and the discussion had not gone well thus far. He was hoping they could just head out as soon as Tolliver got back from speaking to his family, and have a long day of travel to let everyone calm down.

  “What if it had been your dad who we killed on that boat? Or Derry?”

  Thea wasn’t finished with him yet. That last verbal blow hurt badly, and the wince on his face showed it.

  Silas stared into the distance with a look of shock

  “They were kingsmen?”

  Periodically repeating that question was the only thing Silas had said since the news. He’d killed at least two, put an arrow in many more, and was understandably not taking this well.

  Nyhm sat close to his brother in support, but hadn’t really said much. Not that anyone had a chance over Thea’s stream of yelling.

  “I sincerely thought guard duty just meant protection from monsters or pirates. It never once occurred to me that we might be fighting the law.”

  “It was a Thieves Guild [Quest] you boneheaded hob’s ass.”

  Raith held up a hand.

  “I swear I will not take another [Quest] without running it by the team first.”

  Silas looked towards Raith in confusion and despair.

  “They were kingsmen?”

  Tolliver ducked into the cave, saving Raith from another round of well deserved abuse.

  “I spoke to my father through our messaging stone. The attack was reported, but all blame has been laid at the feet of Captain Rayne and his smugglers. No one is aware of the involvement of our team.”

  Raith let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and from the looks of it so did everyone else. Even Silas seemed to come back to himself a bit.

  “That is awesome news. Thank you, Tolliver.”

  “You are welcome. And I will thank you to take more care to avoid besmirching my family name in the future.”

  “So you’re planning on having a future with us?”

  The [Mage] looked awkwardly at the ground and frowned, glancing behind him as though looking for a way out of answering the question.

  “Yes, well. We are a team, after all. Mistakes will be made, won’t they?”

  Raith had been certain the noble would fly straight home after finding out he’d inadvertently pitted them against the river patrol, but was relieved to find him being strangely reasonable about all this.

  “Why are you so clean?” Thea asked suspiciously.

  Now that she mentioned it, the [Mage] had somehow returned looking as though he’d had a shower and his robes laundered. Tolliver turned up his nose at the question.

  “I have a Sonic Cleanse spell, which I took a moment to utilize whilst contacting my father.”

  “Why didn’t you mention this spell earlier?”

  Tolliver looked affronted at the question.

  “It is hardly relevant to the combat tactics of our adventuring team. Furthermore, I am not your maid.”

  Thea’s jaw set and she stomped over to a few inches from Tolliver, glaring up at his face. He leaned away from her and blanched.

  “It has been an incredibly shitty day, which would be very slightly improved if we got all of this mud off. Do you understand?”

  The [Mage] nodded and sputtered.

  “Yes, well I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble. For the sake of the team, you know.”

  He proceed to cast his spell on everyone. Raith felt a very odd sensation as the vibrations washed over him with a quiet hum, all the mud and dirt shaking off to fall on the stone floor. The result of being clean was a bigger morale improvement than he’d anticipated.

  That’s a very useful spell.

  “Alright, there’s a lot of forest between us and civilization. I propose we head south along the river until we get to the next crossing. The road on the other side should be an easy walk to the closest city. We can plan and reset once we’ve found a hot meal and a soft bed.”

  There were nods of agreement, even from Thea and Silas which Raith found encouraging. They headed out in silence, each lost in their own thoughts processing the previous day’s events.

  The wildlands were hot and humid following the rain, and the insects were out in force. They didn’t bother Nyhm and Raith, but the flies and mosquitoes were testing the others’ already thin patience. To make matters worse, following the river was not as straightforward as Raith had imagined it to be.

  The hardwood forest periodically transitioned into vast swaths of impassable cypress swamp they had to navigate around. Progress was much slower than they’d hoped, and the occasional alligator and bog beast attack didn’t help speed things up.

  Silas’s value as a scout really shined, as he found the easiest paths on game trails through the thick forest while skirting the worst of the mucky swamp. Raith was amazed how the man always seemed to lead them on the best path through areas he found completely indistinguishable. Having never spent much time in the woods outside the city, the art of scouting was even more mysterious to see in action than it was in his storybooks.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  For his part, their [Ranger] pushed them hard and didn’t say much, mostly communicating with hand signals and grunts. Dripping with sweat and face a serious mask, he stood from examining the ground and gestured for the team to follow him a few degrees off from the direction they’d been traveling.

  At least he’s not practically comatose anymore. I thought we’d have to carry him for a minute there.

  Raith looked down as he passed the spot where Silas had crouched, unable to see anything different about that patch of dirt from all the other dirt they’d trodden over in the last several hours.

  Tolliver spent most of the journey in bat form, circling to check the area for nearby monsters periodically. This strategy worked well, and handily prevented them from wandering into the middle of a troll nest. They would probably be fine against one or two of the massive creatures, but did not have the levels to survive stumbling into a dozen at once.

  When Raith found himself nearly tripping on a root, he realized the tiredness he was feeling might soon have consequences worse than being slightly miserable.

  “I need to take a break soon.”

  It was embarrassing to be the first to ask for a rest, especially as the party leader. He took small comfort that he was probably the only one who didn’t have [Enhanced Endurance]. Well, except Tolliver. But he could fly so didn’t count.

  Silas looked back and nodded, then increased the pace. Raith was pretty sure it was a small bit of revenge, but he was equally sure he deserved it, so didn’t complain. It wasn’t long before they came to a clearing edged by a recently downed tree that made for a spectacular back rest.

  Tolliver alighted next to the team and resumed his thin, pale form to look down his nose at his seated companions.

  “There are no monsters nearby at the moment. We should be reasonably secure for the next fifteen minutes.”

  “Thanks, Tolliver. I really appreciate the incredible job you and Silas are doing.”

  Silas looked over at the mention of his name, but didn’t comment.

  Raith offered the [Mage] a drink from his canteen, and the man recoiled in disgust.

  “No thank you. I have my own.”

  He shrugged and took a long drink before putting it away.

  The break felt much shorter than fifteen minutes. Raith wasn’t sure if he was just worn out or Silas cut it short on purpose, but either way they soon found themselves trudging south through the thick woods once again. A short while in, Silas stopped to inspect the ground again.

  “Tolliver, can you check the area. I’ve got more troll sign over here.”

  With a nod, a bat appeared where the [Mage] had been standing and he shot up into the air. As he ascended, an owl the size of a pony swooped out of nowhere and snatched him from the air with a giant claw.

  Silas had an arrow nocked in the blink of an eye but Nyhm held up a hand and shouted out.

  “Wait!”

  As the owl landed, they could see that a leather clad halfling clung to its back.

  Oh, shit. The Owlriders of Donnrey.

  Raith had heard legends of the fearsome halfling tribe that roamed the wildlands, and the tales usually didn’t bode well for the outsiders who encountered them.

  Five more owls silently descended to encircle the party, while several more alighted in nearby trees. The halflings looked wild and fierce, with feathers, bones and bits of colored string braided into their topknots. The bows and spears were crude, but appeared plenty deadly in their capable hands.

  The team looked around, weapons drawn and unwilling to make the first move. With a smooth motion, the one who had grabbed Tolliver dismounted and took a step forward.

  His matted brown hair resembled a lion’s mane, and though the leathers he wore looked primitive they bore the scars of many battles. The wiry cords of muscle that played up the halfling’s slender arms reminded Raith of his brother. A quiver on his back contained a handful of javelins, and one was held casually in his hand.

  He looked directly at Nyhm and spoke in the halfling tongue.

  Nyhm looked to Raith, not comfortable speaking for the group. He hadn’t been around halflings since he was a small child, and wasn’t sure he should be the one navigating this delicate situation. Raith shrugged.

  “You’re the only one who speaks halfling.”

  “He asked why we’re trespassing on their lands.”

  “I think this would be easier if you just spoke for us instead of trying to play translator.”

  At this, the Owl Rider stepped forward and spoke in broken Tethian.

  “I will speak the human tongue, if I must.”

  “Our boat was destroyed, and we’ve been stranded in the wildlands. We seek only to pass through on our way back to civilization.” He looked down at the bat, still frozen with fear in the owl’s claws. “Will you release our friend?”

  The Owl Rider looked back to Nyhm.

  “Does this human speak the truth?”

  “He does.”

  “The word of a fortune bringer will suffice. Neither squirrel nor turkey shall you hunt, for those are our sacred prey. Any other bounty of the forest is yours for the taking.”

  “Understood.”

  The halfling looked to his mount and made a sharp whistle. It immediately let go, and Tolliver wasted no time transforming and hurrying over to join his party. As the wild looking halfling climbed back up on the enormous owl, a female voice called down in their language from one of the owl riders perched above.

  The leader grimaced and shot a dirty look at the speaker. Raith didn’t know what she said, but she was looking at Nyhm with undisguised interest and the elfling shifted and blushed at the attention.

  She returned the leader’s glare a thousand fold. He eventually looked down in defeat, then at the elfling.

  “Do you wish to join our tribe.?”

  Nyhm shook his head and bowed.

  “I am honored by your request, but must decline.”

  “Very well. Tomorrow afternoon you should approach the Farmer’s lands. My daughter has insisted I warn you of his many traps. He is likely to lend assistance if you are polite. Before you choose to offer this man harm, consider that he survives alone in the wildlands.” The halfing’s voice grew grim. “And if you do manage to kill him, we will avenge his death. The Farmer is not our kin, but he is proven a friend to our tribe.”

  Nyhm nodded solemnly.

  “Thank you for your counsel.”

  The leader let out another whistle, and the owls all took to the air with barely a whisper. Raith let out a long breath.

  “That was decidedly unpleasant,” Tolliver said as he plopped to the ground, finally letting his knees give out.

  Thea came over and put a hand on his shoulder in support.

  “Aye. The good news is, we can look forward to a roof over our heads and a hot meal tomorrow.”

  Silas walked up and offered Tolliver a hand.

  “And the Owlriders are certain to have cleared the monsters from this area. Should be relatively easy going, although we’ll still need to keep an eye out.”

  Tolliver accepted the hand and was pulled to his feet. Thea and the [Ranger] gave him a clap on the back, and the party continued on their way. Adrenaline from the close encounter gave Raith renewed strength to keep up with Silas’s grueling pace, but every bit of it was spent by the time they finally broke to camp for the night.

  Tolliver and Nyhm gathered wood while Silas started a fire. Raith dug the bedrolls out of his satchel and brought one over to Thea. She accepted it with a grunt that sounded vaguely similar to ‘thanks’.

  It was progress.

  Raith approached Silas, who was crouched down carefully shredding twigs into very fine kindling beneath a pyramid of sticks.

  “Where do you want me to set this?”

  Silas glanced over his shoulder, then nodded at the ground next to him.

  “Just put it there.”

  After setting the bedroll down, Raith stood there awkwardly for a minute. The [Ranger] studiously ignored him.

  He’s not going to make this easy for me.

  Just as Raith was about to open his mouth, Silas spoke without looking up.

  “I’m leaving the team as soon as we get back to a civilization.”

  Pausing to process that statement, Raith resisted the kneejerk urge to protest or argue. That wasn’t going to help anything at the moment.

  “I understand and respect your decision.” He crouched down to be at eye level with the [Ranger], who finally looked at him. “I just want to make sure you know that it was sincerely a mistake. A stupid, boneheaded, idiotic mistake and I absolutely should have known better. But it was an accident and I’m sorry. It would suck for you to leave, thinking I mislead you on purpose.”

  Raith held out a hand, and Silas met his eyes, leaving the hand out there for a long moment. As Raith sighed and prepared to withdraw, Silas reached out and grasped his hand firmly.

  “I believe you. Thank you for saying that.”

  Raith breathed another long sigh, this time one of relief. Thea was right. He needed to slow down and think. Whether or not Silas changed his mind, this sort of thing couldn’t happen again.