“Thank goodness you’re okay,” she blurted out. “I thought maybe something awful might have happened. You are okay, aren’t you? You look…” Olivia broke off as her nose wrinkled up. “What’s that smell?” she asked, taking a step back.
Daniel burst out laughing. “Wet bear. Nasty isn’t it?”
Aidan frowned. “Shut up. I can’t help it. I’ll wash later. Let’s go get Lilly, and then I’ll worry about taking a bath.”
“Now that you mention it, where is Lilly?” Olivia asked, her eyes darting to Daniel.
“When the dragon was chasing us, I took her and ran her to a safe place just north of here. Then I came back for you two.”
“Safe? Where is safe?” Olivia inquired, looking back and forth between Daniel and Aidan.
“It’s a little cave by a tributary that feeds the Styx River,” Daniel replied. “I figured the safest place to be is in water. This place is about as close as you can get without actually swimming. It’s a bit of a hike. We should be able to get there soon enough though.” Daniel’s stomach rumbled. Embarrassed, he looked to Olivia. “I know now isn’t the time to stop and eat, but may I have some of your food? I’m starving.”
Aidan gently grabbed Olivia’s arm and turned her around. Digging into her pack, he pulled out a handful of dried meat. “Ask and ye shall receive,” he said. He handed them to his brother who immediately shoved an entire strip into his mouth.
The three set out swiftly along the path, letting Aidan lead the way lest he tire from his adventures in the river. It wasn’t long before they came to his shredded pants littering the side of the path. Aidan scooped them up and shoved them in his pack, but not before untying the small pouch from one of the belt loops and transferring it to the pair he was wearing.
“What’s that nasty odor?” Daniel complained.
“I don’t smell anything,” Olivia replied quickly, shooting a pleading look at Aidan.
“I don’t smell it either,” Aidan offered. Olivia let out a sigh of relief. “Let’s get moving.”
“Let’s!” Daniel agreed. “It stinks. It’s worse than Aidan. It smells like someone threw up. I can’t believe neither of you smells that,” he remarked. He pushed past Olivia and Aidan. “Between that and wet bear, I think I’ll take the lead. Yuck!”
“Thank you,” Olivia mouthed at Aidan as she fell in behind Daniel. Aidan gave her a small bow and smile as she passed.
“How long until we get there?” Aidan called from the back of the line.
“About an hour, maybe two,” Daniel hollered back over his shoulder. “We can sit down for lunch when we get there, and then start moving south again. Unless you’ve had enough for one day and just want to stay there and move out tomorrow. It’s up to you three.”
“I think I’ve had about enough for today if everyone else is okay with that,” Aidan grumbled.
“I agree,” Olivia added. “Let’s just get there, set up camp, and relax. Almost being blown up by a dragon is more than enough excitement for one day.”
Daniel kept a quick and steady pace, and they arrived ahead of schedule back at the cave where Daniel had left Lilly. When they rounded the corner and entered the cave, Lilly jumped up from where she was sitting next to a campfire. She stumbled and bumped her way across the cave to her sister and gave her a big hug before turning and finding Aidan to give him a quick squeeze as well.
“I was so worried about you two,” Lilly exclaimed. “Daniel snatched me out of there so fast I didn’t know where you two went. What happened?” Lilly’s nose twitched. “And what stinks?”
“That’s it,” Aidan answered. “You three can set up things in here. I’m going out to take a bath and wash my clothes out.” Dumping his bag on the floor near the fire, Aidan opened it up, dug out a fresh set of clothes and left the cave. “I’ll be back in a little bit,” he hollered back over his shoulder as he stormed out.
“What was that all about?” Lilly asked, confused by Aidan’s outburst.
“He stinks,” Daniel replied with a laugh. “Having you point it out again I guess was the last straw.”
“That was him that smelled like that?” Lilly gasped. “He get sprayed by a skunk or something?”
“That’s wet bear smell,” Daniel replied.
“Wet bear?”
Olivia could see the bewilderment in Lilly’s face. “Aidan turned into a bear in the woods when we were trying to escape the dragon. I couldn’t run any longer, and he changed so he could carry me. We came to a river and started to follow it when the dragon found us. It blew a fireball, knocking me into the woods and Aidan fell into the river. Wet bear.”
“Gross,” Lilly replied, scrunching up her nose. The girls burst into a fit of giggles. The sound of their mirth put a smile on Daniel’s face as he unpacked some food from his pack and sat down on a rock near the fire.
“Sorry it’s kind of damp and cold in here,” Daniel offered as he took a bite of jerky. “Comes with being in a cave on the river I guess. Hopefully the fire will help dry it out at least a little bit. We can all sleep around the fire tonight and not get too wet.”
“It’ll be fine,” Olivia answered and sat down next to him. “I’ll go collect some more wood so we can make the fire bigger. The more heat we have in here, the better.”
“I’ll go grab it,” Daniel answered. He stood up. “Aidan’s still out there bathing, so he’ll probably be a little less uncomfortable if I stumble across him.”
Olivia nodded. “Anything we can do here while you’re gone?”
“Nothing I can think of. I guess get some rest. It’s going to be a cold night, and we’ve got a long hike ahead of us tomorrow if we’re going to find Argyle’s men.”
It took a while to find dry wood, but finally Daniel returned with an armload that would last until nightfall. He’d make another trip later with Aidan to get more for overnight. Entering the cave, Daniel saw that Aidan had returned, his wet clothes draped over the rocks closest to the fire. Sitting on the ground and leaning back against a boulder, Aidan smiled as Daniel dropped the wood.
“I feel like a new man,” Aidan announced. “Nothing like a good scrub and some fresh clothes.”
Daniel piled some of the wood on the fire, stoking it as he went. The girls announced they were going to go bathe as well and disappeared with their bags. When the flame was high enough, Daniel sat down next to Aidan. Aidan closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the blaze before him. When he opened them again, he glanced over at Daniel. Sitting cross-legged, Daniel’s gaze seemed far away, as if lost in another time or place. He fidgeted with his ear unconsciously.
“What’s wrong?” Aidan inquired, leaning forward and grabbing his pack. He pulled out a sewing kit and began mending his torn pants, every now and then glancing toward his brother.
Daniel started and turned his eyes to Aidan. “I was just thinking about this afternoon, when we saw the dragon. I don’t know a whole lot about dragons, but how did he hear you? He was still pretty far away when you shouted. His reaction was like you’d screamed right into his ear.”
“I guess it heard me more with its mind than with its ears,” Aidan answered. He poked himself with the needle. “Ouch!” He shoved the tip of his finger into his mouth and sucked on it.
“You’re mind can connect with it?”
Aidan shrugged and went back to sewing. “Not like I can other animals,” Aidan responded. “It’s strange. I could feel it, but I couldn’t control it, connect with it. I think it felt me when I shouted and that’s what scared it. I get the feeling it doesn’t like to be scared,” he said with a smile.
“Do you think you could make a connection with it? Is it possible?” Daniel pressed, ignoring Aidan’s attempt at humor for the moment.
Aidan cocked his head to one side and glanced at the ceiling. “Who knows? I guess maybe. Not the unicorn though. I couldn’t really get anything from it. I guess it’s kind of like werewolves, just the opposite.”
“Makes sense I g
uess. As much sense as it can when talking about controlling an animal’s mind I mean,” Daniel joked.
“Funny.”
Daniel stood up and started digging through his pack. “When the girls get back, let’s go get some more firewood. We need to get some water too.” He pulled a small pot from his pack along with his water pouch and set them on top. Aidan pushed himself up to a standing position and dropped the pants he was mending on a nearby rock. The two brothers paced back and forth in the cave, anxious for the girls to get back so they could leave. Aidan collected his own flask and flung it over his shoulder. When they finally heard the sisters’ voices as they approached the mouth of the cave, Daniel grabbed the pot and pouch and the two boys headed out.
“We’re going to grab some water to heat up for dinner and some more firewood. I want to make sure we burn the fire hot all night,” Daniel said.
“Give me your water pouches,” Aidan added. The two girls dug into their packs and handed them over.
“Bring the water back first,” Lilly called back over her shoulder as the boys headed off. “Maybe we can put something together for dinner while you’re out.”
The boys did as they were told and were met with a warm meal upon their return with the firewood. They all dug in, talking about the events of the day as they ate. When dinner was finished, Daniel ran the bowls down to the river for a quick rinse. Aidan found his clothes, the mending finished, and shoved them back inside his pack with the sewing kit.
“Thank you to whichever one of you finished mending my clothes,” he said to the girls. “The pants were a mess, but I guess the shirt needed a bit of work too.”
“It’s the least I could do for saving me,” Olivia replied. “Looks like it wasn’t the first time that you’ve had to change forms while still dressed. Your shirt was more stitching than actual fabric,” she giggled.
“Yeah, it seems like that’s happening more and more these days,” Aidan answered with a smirk.
Daniel returned and Olivia rekindled the fire, sure to put enough wood on to keep it burning for a few hours while the others set up their beds in a circle around the blaze. Darkness came quickly outside, a deep chill creeping its way slowly into the mouth of the cave as the night wore on, only to be turned back when Aidan, who was sleeping closest to the exit, tossed the remainder of the wood on the fire and drifted back into a peaceful slumber.
The morning arrived unnoticed by the four youngsters because the mouth of the cave faced west, so the rising sun failed to rouse them. It was midmorning by the time Olivia awoke, shivering. She sat up slowly and rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm her flesh. Seeing the embers burning dully in the pit, she grabbed the few twigs that Aidan had missed and tossed them in. Her rustling awoke the others though Lilly merely pulled her blanket tighter around her and rolled away from them.
“I’ll get up when the fire’s going again,” she grunted.
Olivia walked outside into the crisp morning air, pausing as she went to stretch. She spent the next few moments grabbing what little dry wood she could find before returning to her friends. Once the fire was restored, they boiled some water for coffee. The heat and smell finally roused Lilly from her slumber, and she sat up to sip from the cup Aidan handed her, still wrapped in her blanket.
“What does today have in store for us?” Lilly wondered aloud.
“Just another long hike I hope,” Daniel offered. “We didn’t get as far yesterday as I thought we would due to our little encounter. It’s not like we’re in a big rush though. We’ll close in on Argyle’s men as fast as we can do it safely. Once we catch them, we’ll attack when we can find a good spot. Doesn’t really matter to me if that’s two days from now or three.” Olivia nodded her agreement.
“Sure wouldn’t mind running into them today though,” Aidan mumbled. He thrust a branch into the fire as if it were a sword and the flames a servant of Argyle.
“We’ll have our hands full with them soon enough,” Daniel answered. “No need to rush into it.”
With their meager breakfast finished, they packed up and set out. There were no unicorns or dragons on this day to break up the dullness of the walk. What little chatter there had been that morning died out as the weight of the packs and their quick pace began to take their toll. They stopped only once for lunch, pressing south toward where Lilly felt Argyle’s men to be. All four slept well that night before setting out for another day’s journey. The morning was uneventful, but around noon things started to liven up.
“We’re getting close,” Lilly announced as they crested a small hill. The others stopped and gathered around her.
“How close?” Aidan inquired.
“I can’t tell you exactly,” she answered, “but I’ve got a really strong attraction to them now.” She pointed down the hill, and the others followed the direction of her finger to a small road that ran southwest and disappeared in the distance. “If we keep heading that way, we’ll run into them.”
“I’m going to go take a look,” Daniel announced, handing his quiver, bow, and pack to Aidan. “You wait here. I’ll be right back.” A slight breeze blew back Lilly’s hair as Daniel flew past.
“I guess we’ll wait here then,” Aidan joked as he dropped Daniel’s belongings on the ground at his feet before sitting down. “Let’s eat as long as we’re stopping.”
Olivia, Lilly, and Aidan sat around, chewing slowly on their jerky and rinsing it down with water from their pouches. A cool breeze dried the sweat on their brows, and Olivia closed her eyes and raised her face to the warm sunshine. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the smells of the grass and trees that surrounded them. The pine scents were strong in the late autumn air.
Daniel’s voice intruded on her tranquility. “It looks like we might have a chance to test out our skills this evening,” She started at his voice, always flustered at how he could get so close before she knew he was even there. He stood, hands on his hips, taking a few deep breaths. After a minute he continued. “There’s a group of men coming north about an hour ahead of us on this road, just as Lilly felt. They don’t seem to be more heavily armored than the last group we encountered, nor does there seem to be any more of them. It looks like they may be on their way back to the castle.”
“Maybe they’re a group that was already out when you attacked the other group. They haven’t had a chance to hear about us yet,” Lilly offered.
“I think you’re right. There were at least ten kids with them, chained together. We’ll have to try and draw the men away from them so they don’t get hurt.”
“I can take care of that,” Aidan interjected. The other three looked at him expectantly. “Not the nicest way to do it, but I can try to scare them off. We’re not going to have time to chat with them,” Aidan said defensively when he saw the frown on Lilly’s face. “It’ll get them to move and move quickly. I’ll apologize for saving their lives later.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Daniel replied. “They’ve almost reached the woods again. If we hurry, there’s a place where the trail slips out of the trees and runs along the base of the mountains. I saw it when I circled back to get a better look at their group. We can set up there, get the girls up in the boulders while Aidan and I attack from the trees. It looks like a good spot for our ambush, at least the best place I could find in a hurry. It should work though. We’ll have to move quickly to get there ahead of them and still have time to set up.”
The girls and Aidan jumped up and threw on their packs. Aidan handed Daniel the rest of the meat he’d been eating as well as a few small pieces of fruit he’d grabbed during their morning hike. “You need this more than I do, especially if you’re going to keep it up during the fight.”
“Here’s the rest of mine too,” Olivia said. She handed a strip to Daniel.
Lilly shrugged and blushed. “Sorry, I finished mine.”
“Thanks, this should be enough. Give me a second to eat, and then we’ll go. I’ll carry Lilly so we can move faster. Aidan,
can you carry her pack?”
“Sure thing,” the younger boy replied. He helped Lilly remove her pack and threw it over his shoulder.
With that, the four set out, moving swiftly along the path before peeling off to the west to try and pass the soldiers unseen. While not fast, the four traveled quite a bit quicker than their quarry, and they arrived at the ambush point well ahead of them. Scrambling up the mountainside while trying to avoid starting an avalanche, the girls soon found a nice perch that provided Olivia a view of the path through the trees, and clear, uninterrupted sight as it ran past them. Cover was provided by a small earthen rim that had been formed by water runoff. The shallow ditch completely concealed the girls when they lay flat, and even when squatting only revealed their heads. Lilly loaded one gun while Olivia took care of the other.
Aidan spent the time scouring the nearby forest, searching for as many animals as he could find. Given the circumstances, he recruited the big and small, figuring the larger the numbers, the more advantage they would have in the attack. Soon the forest was alive with the scurrying and plodding of hooves and paws.
“Reminds me of the night I met the boys,” Olivia whispered to Lilly.
“It’s kind of spooky,” her sister replied.
“It was. Just wait until they get quiet. It’s creepy now knowing they’re all lurking in there, but when it’s silent, it’s even worse.”
As if on cue, the forest below them fell mute. All that could be heard was the rustling of leaves and the occasional clatter of a rock down the mountainside. After a few minutes, the low murmur of voices could be heard. The volume grew steadily as the group approached. Raucous laughter and angry shouts announced the arrival of the gathering party. Olivia peeked up over the lip of the ridge, watching the first of the men appear. She shifted her weight slightly to try and steady herself for a better shot, but her foot slipped out from under her. A pile of rocks was dislodged and went tumbling down the cliff. Ducking back down, Olivia cursed silently under her breath. Both sisters could hear the shouts below and the sounds of someone climbing toward them.
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