(238) Hunters – 4

They rode for the better part of the day with very little time or opportunity to talk amongst themselves.  The path through the forest was barely wide enough for a single rider and Kre had to constantly watch for branches whipping back towards his face from the rider in front of him.  The horse that he rode wasn’t Maple, the horse that they had originally lent him, but was instead a more spirited stallion.  Maple was a few spots ahead, being towed riderless behind Beleg and carrying some of the extra saddle packs.

The horses were well trained, at least judging by Kre’s amateurish eye.  He figured that he was pulling up the rear of the train, although every now and again he spotted Kersath, Talimar, and even Ras popping in behind him for a while before melting back into the trees.  He wasn’t certain if that was something they normally did or if they were just keeping an eye on their newest probationary member.  Either way, Kre kept the company’s pace well enough, though that was admittedly more thanks to the training of the stallion than any skill of Kre’s as a rider.

The pace they kept was relatively light, meaning they didn’t need to stop to rest the horses until shortly after noon.  Even then, it was less to rest the horses and more of a reason for the group to discuss their observations during the ride.

“Some large wildlife moving through, mostly headed west,” Kre heard one of them reporting as he walked his horse up to the assembled group.  “It’s not the normal hunting migration, so it could mean something pushing them out this way.”

“I concur,” Kersath murmured.  He caught Kre’s eye and inclined his head towards the newest member of the company.  “What says our newest fledgling cardinal?”

All eyes turned towards Kre, and his mind went blank.  ‘What was the question again?’ he asked himself as he wracked his brain trying to replay Kersath’s words in his mind.  “Cardinal?” he asked, knowing that it wasn’t the right thing to say, but he had no other words to offer to those waiting for his input.

“Red bird,” Dain, with a mouth half-full of bread, responded with an exasperated sigh, probably at Kre’s lack of putting two and two together by himself.  “They have red feathers,” he added helpfully when Kre didn’t acknowledge his understanding.

“I know what a cardinal is,” Kre snapped, slightly upset at being on the receiving end of Dain’s unnecessary explanation.  “I just… I don’t know… what’s going on here again?”

Talimar chuckled and set a gentle hand on Kre’s shoulder.  “I apologize.  We tend to forget that you are not used to our way of doing business.  We do this little exercise where we exchange observations, both to ensure that those of our company are being observant, and to see if there are any patterns of note that might pop up from multiple observations.”

He waved a hand over at his dark elf colleague, “Kersath was merely ensuring that your voice was heard as well, if you have anything to share.”

Kre shrugged, “Not really.”  He figured honesty was the best policy here lest they be tempted to test him further.  “I was too busy remembering what it was like to ride like this.  It’s been a while.”

Talimar nodded and Kersath waved the knife he was using to cut an apple into edible slivers.  “Pay attention next time,” he said solemnly, “you have the company to consider now, and this is a dangerous area to be in.”

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