Highland Dream (Book 1)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Camdyn’s mood had dropped from waking up cold and achy to wanting to kill the next man to complain about this journey. If he had to hear one more comment or question about what they were going to eat, when they were going to rest…did he know when the rain would stop? How the hell was he supposed to know when the rain would stop? It had got to the point when most of his strongest warriors were shivering now. That was a bad sign. He had to get them out of this deluge, or they were all going to die and it would not be because of a victorious battle where they would be heralded heroes.

They had been travelling all day by this point. The rain was now making their vision limited to just in front of their horses’ nose making travelling both dangerous and time consuming. Whereas he knew if he told his men to ride they would, mostly, make it back safely due to their training. The cargo they carried meant they had to go at the speed of those wagons. And those wagons were in the habit of every hundred yards or so losing a wheel, or getting stuck in the swamp that had been made of the ground. Wasting more time that would have made them at least a little closer to home.

Unfortunately, as the day was coming to a close. Tempers were fraying, stomachs were rumbling and Camdyn was having to be careful of the interactions between the men. In case some decided the best way to deal with this situation was a brawl.

He was now waiting for Aonghus and Artair to return from scouting. They were the best he had, but even Camdyn was questioning what they would be able to see in this weather. The twins were rarely seen apart, which made distinguishing between them almost impossible. But Camdyn was one of the few who could. After growing up together Camdyn knew Artair had a tiny half-moon shaped scar cutting into his left eyebrow. But it could only be seen if you knew what you were looking for. That was why Camdyn knew it was Aonghus that returned alone when he pulled up beside him in a shower of mud and leaned in, in order to be heard over the pounding rain.

“Cam, we think we found shelter! The caves we used to use as hideout when we were boys, they are just up ahead.” Although Camdyn knew Aonghus was shouting he heard it as if it was a whisper. He nodded and made a signal for Aonghus to send the news back along the company. He was glad to have shelter soon. But disappointment ate at him. Where these caves were located meant they had not got as far as he had hoped today. If they carried on with this speed it would take close to a week to return home, and that would not be acceptable.

Close to an hour later Camdyn saw a glow in the forest, soft at first as though lit by the Faeries themselves. But Camdyn didn’t believe in the Faeries hadn’t for a long time now. He knew somehow Artair had managed to get a fire started, though how with all this sodden wood around, he had no idea. But this made things look a little better now, at least they would have a chance to try and dry off and possibly start to warm up, depending on how much dry wood had managed to be found.

He knew they would find a nook in the boulders up ahead where they could store the wagons for the night. Speeding up slightly to try and reach that enticing light quicker, they managed to get there just under a half hour later. As they unsaddled and hobbled the horses at the entrance to the cave, with the hope they would create a barrier from the worst of the weather, a decision was made to use the last of the fare they hunted the previous day, just before this tempest started.