[Farael]

By the time Fionn was back from the river, things seemed to have settled down at the camp. Meghan and Eostre were not talking to each other, but then no one was talking at all. Osmod seemed preoccupied with his drawing and looked up, startled, when Fionn returned his water skin. Standing up slowly, as if he were very tired, Osmod said that they should get going, seemingly to no one. He could hear the beginning of a reply somewhere to his side but he went on, feeling more confident as he decided on a plan. There might be times in which they would be forced to spend days without lighting a fire for warmth or food, he reasoned. He did not want to light two fires this side of the river, it would not do to alert anyone of their quest so soon, yet he was willing to light a fire that night. The smoke would be harder to see from the distance and it would keep them warm if the weather got colder. The others seemed to agree with, or at least accept, his reasoning and so the group packed their belongings and set off yet again.

Each of the riders was lost in their own thoughts and there was very little they wanted to share with the others. Osmod was the first to take the lead, riding ahead of the group to scout for unexpected inconveniences. Not only orcs could slow them down, he figured, but a pack of wolves could be just as disrupting. In any case, by the time he rejoined the group nothing had happened. He suggested Eostre for second lead and so she went ahead, her horse seemingly as proud as herself. When she met up with the rest, Fionn volunteered for the next lead. The sun was close to the horizon and so Osmod asked Fionn to look for a place to rest for the night as well. It was not long after when Fionn waved to them from afar. He was at the edge of yet another small forest. They had passed by many of those small islands of trees in an otherwise barren landscape. During spring, green blades of grass might have been seen all the way to the horizon, but as fall wore on and winter got closer, everything seemed dull, even dead.

As soon as they got off their horses, Osmod started detailing the tasks for the night. The water skins needed to be refilled and the horses had to be looked after. They would need to set up watches during the night and be sure to have an early breakfast the following morning. “Breakfast is good,” interrupted Eostre “but we have not had dinner yet and all those things can wait until we have eaten. And don’t forget the fire you promised us tonight.” Osmod flinched. While he had not forgotten dinner, he thought they could all have some of their dried meat and biscuits as they had had for lunch while doing other tasks. Soon he realized that both Meghan and Fionn agreed with Eostre, even if not her tone of voice. With a sigh he shook his head “Of course I have not forgotten Miss Eostre, but with time pressing on I had other plans. Yet you are right, we better save our dried food for times in which we can’t find fresh food.”

At Osmod’s request, Fionn stayed behind and prepared a fire with pine cones and branches he could find nearby. He’d be in charge of looking after the soon-to-be camp and the horses while the others were gone. Osmod slung his bow over one shoulder and his quiver over the other, then he smiled at the women. “I don’t know what we may find, but I’d like to be sure I can get it for dinner. Let’s all stay together; it will not do loosing one of us now that night is nearing.” Then, after Meghan and Eostre were ready, the group set off into the woods, hoping to find something good for their meal.