Sweet creaminess masked a slightly bitter but not unwelcome undertone. The morsel melted on his tongue almost immediately and he wished he had more of it to keep the magical taste dancing around. All too soon, the remnants melted away and he could feel his body feel much more at ease. Muscles that he hadn’t known he had been keeping tensed were now relaxed. He raised a hand to thank Kersath for sharing the treat but couldn’t spot him in the darkness of the camp. No doubt the living shadow had found another vantage point to sit the remainder of the watch from.
Figuring that he wouldn’t find the Ylveryan unless he wanted to be found, Kre trudged over to his sleeping area near the horses. As he passed by the others, he noted that not a one of them were passed out from exhaustion, but rather were semi-conscious and keenly tried to be as quiet as possible, yet he noted that heads turned slightly and eyes half-opened to keep track of his movements. Each and every one of them seemed more than aware of every little disturbance around them. He also noted that hands were lightly touching if not fully gripping small weapons. Truly, this company was preparing for war, and he shuddered to wonder what might happen if one of them mistook him for a foe sneaking through their camp.
Though the treat that Kersath gave him helped him to relax, he could not sleep. His thoughts wandered to worries over Ortho and Gnore, as well as concerns about this deadly new foe. He assumed these were the same thoughts keeping the others in a state of restlessness, but he doubted that anyone would admit it to him.
He was only barely conscious of the small shuffles of movement that indicated a change of watch and all too soon, a hand touched his shoulder and gave a light shake. No words needed to be spoken, Kre knew that it was time to go. He unclenched his hand from the hilt of his blade, though he never recalled gripping it so, and got to his feet. They packed in relative silence and even the horses seemed somber as they loaded up and rode out. They repeated this cycle twice more with slightly shorter active sessions to help ease the exhaustion.
As they started out the latest run, Talimar called for everyone to stop and be ready. Even as Talimar’s hand went up with the sign, half of the group had already melted into the underbrush, horses and all. Only Talimar, Beleg, Kre and Snagger stayed on the path, weapons at the ready. He hadn’t seen them leave, but Kre knew that both Kersath and Ras had gone in opposite directions to scout the immediate area in hopes of identifying whatever it was that had Talimar concerned.
It took no more than a minute for the two to give their indicated all clear signal, but that was time enough for Kre to realize he had been holding his breath the entire time. He gasped loudly, drawing a critical glare from their leader. He felt that he would likely have been scolded had it not been for Kersath riding up quickly with a sinister looking grin on his face.
“Tracks,” he said happily. “Day old or so, and Ortho’s boot print is clear.”