Chapter 4 Part 9

Samson was pulling watch duty. They had marched for three days before reaching the foothills of the Orkon Mountain range. Because Regalus' maps had been true to life, Avery had led them quickly through the forest along a seldom used path. Regalus had told them that since the mines had run out of silver, few cared to use the pass through the mountains any more.

Samson reflected as he was pulling the last watch before dawn. The coming day would see them moving into the mountains. So far, travel had been quite easy for the most part with the only exception being that of Norwind waking up to find a skunk in his bedroll one morning. He had been forced to ride downwind for a day and a half.

Samson watched Marlena sleep. She had taken to wearing her robe very loosely to hide her pregnancy. He was certain that she had told some of the others; one or both of the healers assuredly. He suspected that everyone else had some idea about the upcoming event, but none were speaking out on the subject. She had assured him in private that it was just an unfortunate, but not unheard of, occurrence that happens to female druids on rare occasions. She had told him that usually the infant was stillborn or badly malformed due to a forced genetic combination that otherwise would not be possible.

Samson stirred the fire and chewed on a piece of smoked rabbit meat. He watched as the first of the two suns rose in the east. The others would be rising soon so he put a pot of water on the fire and took a stroll around the perimeter of the camp to check for unwanted wildlife.

When Samson returned to the campfire, he found Armegon and Ultrecht talking quietly. Armegon had prepared some gruel and they offered some in greeting as he approached. He returned the greeting and ate some of the hot food, then packed his supplies.

Within an hour, the motley crew was back on the trail moving upward into the mountain pass. The path was narrow with rocky ground, but easily visible due to countless ore shipments.

By sunset, they were camped beneath an overhang. The sky had become quite cloudy and threatened to rain. There was very little wood for fuel, so they spent the night bundled up around a small fire. A few hours later, a drizzle began and made comfort a thing unknown. They made little conversation. Most of them simply wanted to go to sleep and pass the dreary night as quickly as possible.

The next morning, everyone awoke to a sunless sky and a weary day. They barely took time to warm up by what pitiful fire they could make before they were back on the trail. No one was cheerful and no one felt like travel, but they all pressed onward as they had done many times before.

As they marched along, Keeneye walked near the rear of the party. He, like most of the others, had dismounted and was leading his mount to prevent tiring it out as best he could while at the same time it helped him to keep warm. He was looking at the rock surface they were walking on, which showed very few traces of their passage. Although somewhat desirable that they should pass unseen, it bothered him. He noticed the deep groves in the rock and the rounded edges of the outcroppings. He realized that this was due to high energy erosion. That meant flash floods! Keeneye gave his mount's reigns to Tyson and made his way up front. There he found Avery.

"Have you noticed the erosion marks in the rock?" he asked. Avery looked at him puzzled then down at the rock trail. "We are in a mountain pass," Keeneye prompted, "between two sharply sloping ridges. There is no loose soil under our feet, and the only markings of any significance is the evidence of..."

"Flash floods," Avery stammered. "And in this weather . . ." It was obvious to Keeneye that the ranger had missed the clues. But true to form, Avery immediately picked up the ball. "We need to get to shelter. Watch for a cavern or recess above us with easy access."

"We may not get the luxury of easy access if this weather worsens."

"Hey, what is the hold up?!" Samson's voice sounded irritated as he approached the rest of the company.

"We need to find some kind of shelter as soon as we can," Keeneye said. "This trail shows evidence of flash flooding."

"Well, get on with it then," Samson retorted.

Avery turned to continue on when Keeneye caught his shoulder.
"You okay?"

Avery smiled. "Sorry I was not paying attention. Yes, I'll be okay."

Keeneye was returning to the rear when a drop of water hit him on the head. He looked up and prayed that the rains did not start until they found shelter.