The Warden | A For Honor Fanfiction

The Next Step

It was already getting darker when Stone and I had started taking stock of the bandit's' stolen goods. Knee high crates contained several pounds of dried fruits and meats wrapped in delicate looking paper. Others carried what looked like blankets and furs, each of them well made and carefully folded. A desk greeted us as we entered, atop of which was a lit candle, and what looked like several six inch long bars of pure steel. Seven of them, if I was counting right. And yet, what I noticed most was a small wooden box, just by the window sill. It seemed to catch my attention more than any of the other items, and I found myself gently walking towards it as Stone dropped an empty satchel he had taken from one of the bandits on the table in front of the office.

I gingerly lifted the small box, it was light, weighing barely anything at all. Curious, I found the seam along the well crafted pieces of wood, and opened it. Inside I found a small, well crafted pendant in the shape of two intertwined doves, wings outstretched. The diamond crafted doves faced one another, their beaks touching tenderly at the tips. A small ring that I assumed was silver connected them, a delicate looking chain resting just below it. Stone hadn't seemed to pay it mind, stuffing packs of dried meats and fruits into the satchel alongside the bars of steel...

...the memories of its discovery played over and over in my mind, the high sun of midday causing the pendant to sparkle in the box as I held it. It was a pendant made for a woman's neck, I could tell that much. Aside from that, I was practically clueless. I wasn't sure what about it captured my attention so intensely, only that it felt important somehow. As if looking at a vision, whether from the past or from events beyond me.

"Liam? Are you hearing me?" Stone's voice snapped me out of my trance, I shook my head as I looked up towards him. His flail hung secure on his hip, his hand instead carrying the unrolled map he had brought with him.

"Sorry, I was thinking over something." I said, closing the box. Stone walked towards me without comment, I'm not sure if he understood, or simply didn't care. Either way, I slipped the box into a small pouch at my side as Stone adjusted his shield to hang off his forearm, grabbing the map with both hands. I stepped closer and observed, seeing that he had marked the fort with a black "X", with small dotted lines showing the path we had taken back to Herongale, just visible from the distance.

"I'm trying to think of a symbol to put here, something for the villagers to watch out for. Any ideas?" He asked. Stone had already sketched two other 'landmarks' on the map, a circle in reference to a twisted tree, and a small slope to reference the valley just before reaching the fort. With Herongale within eyesight of the hill we were standing on, I hoped this would be the last one.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" I asked, turning to better face him. Stone turned away for a moment and tilted his head to the side, tapping his foot as he seemed to become lost in his own thoughts. After a moment he looked to the sky and groaned in frustration.

"I don't know, there's nothing up here! It's just a plain old hill with a bunch of trees on it! The heck am I supposed to do with that? The whole place is surrounded by trees!" He practically shouted, one of his hands released the map, allowing it to dangle and scrape across the snow. Stone seemed to realize this and muttered a curse as he scrambled to pick it back up. A couple of shakes produced a small flurry as he tried to blow on the map. I stifled a chuckle and looked around us, trying to figure out how to help. That's when I noticed something rather obvious.

"Stone." I called. I didn't turn to face him as I looked behind us, only to have my suspicions confirmed.

"Yeah?" He asked, his tone clearly agitated.

"Isn't this the tallest hill by the hamlet?" I pointed out, turning back to him. Indeed, the hill stood several stories higher than any others in the hamlet's immediate surroundings. While the dense tree line blocked such a view from below, once you stood so high up and saw a sea of green, it became obvious to see. Stone stared at me for a moment before he began looking to see for himself. His shoulders slumped as he seemed to realize what I was saying, followed by him shaking his head and sighing as he began to scribble something on the map.