Friday, November 25, 2005

   Chapter 17: Pen's Herd (part 4)
Pen left Lucifer and Raine with the girls and wandered around the Caravan. He silently told all of the Letheans to awaken their children as he strode past them, heading to the far end of the camp. There, the elf-soldier with blue hair sat, watching the kids as he chewed absentmindedly on his berries. Behind him, in the shadows of the wood, stood the largest Lethean doe of the entire herd.
“Hi,” Pen said as he drew closer. “Is she faring okay?”
The elf nodded. “The Letheans seem to be surprisingly skilled with the care of our people,” he said. “It’s hard to doubt the fact that we used to be close allies in the past.”
“Are you content with the way this is turning out so far?” Pen asked, almost carefully. “I’m sorry if you find it… sketchy to be entrusting them with some of our greatest warriors.”
“No, it’s quite alright. I don’t find it sketchy at all. Just look at the way they’re taking care of the Caravan! We couldn’t have asked for anything better in the circumstances.”
There was a short moment of silence.
“May I borrow your Lethean for the day?” Pen questioned him, gazing at the creature in the shadows.
“Certainly, assuming that we will not be riding them. What for?”
“There’s an arrangement I need to make,” he answered. “I believe that she will be able to help me. Actually, I’m sure of it.”
“Are you leaving the Caravan?”
“Got to. But I’ll be back soon, of course. There’s no time to loose.” With those words, Pen trotted to the Lethean, laid a gentle hand on her chin, and together they walked off into the still-dark forest.

Only minutes later, Chella broke through the clouds over the western mountains, shining her warm rays across the trees. The Caravan gathered together everything they had left—clothes, the occasional item that was saved from the river, and the kids themselves—and prepared to leave.
Raine’s Lethean—the one with the broken horn—was the oldest of them all. She led the way into the forest, closely followed by Ed, Tari, Yatii, Tory, and their Letheans. Lucifer also walked amongst them, carrying Aurora in his arms. He refused to let anyone else do it, human or beast; he didn’t want her to leave his sight.
The Caravan did not question Raine’s lead. He and his Lethean steered the way up rocky inclines and huge boulders until the trees thinned at the summit. Then, they worked their way down again, carefully avoiding the big drop-offs, fast and dangerous streams, and the highest peaks. In that fashion, they cut straight across the bend in the river, meeting up with it again by nightfall.
They camped among the trees at the top of a cliff overlooking the water. Here, the river was so narrow that they would have had to travel in a single file, and the current was as swift as ever. The Letheans showed them edible mushrooms, berries, roots, and ferns, which they washed in a small, glacier-fed stream that fell into the Lethe. Some of them they ate for dinner; others, they saved for the morning.
There was still no sign of Pen.
Comments (0)