The Tribes of K'haren - Completed

Chapter 22.1

'What happened?' Tarlequin's words dropped to the ground like silent raindrops.

'Don't worry, you'll be alright.' Nume's voice was hard and cold but comforting nonetheless.

'Where's ...'

'Don't speak, you have to rest.' She ordered, putting her hand over his mouth.

'How can you be so fine with all this?' It was Kran's voice.

'I'm not. But there are more important things at hand. We have to help Tarlequin and ...' Tarlequin couldn't hear Nume anymore because loud wind blew in his ears. He felt shaky and thought it was just his mind until he opened his eyes and saw the dark grey scales above him.

'Are you alright in there, little ones?' When Zar'gno's head appeared in mid-air, Tarlequin passed out again.

Many a night later, Tarlequin finally felt strong enough to get up and step outside the tent he was being kept in. He had to wait until the person watching him went away to get some food because he knew Nume had prohibited him getting up. When he stepped into the bright sunlight, he blinked a few times and grabbed a passing man's shoulder, standing on shaky legs.

'You alright mate?' the man asked, looking at the Faun with worried eyes. Then his sideward eyelids blinked and he walked on, leaving Tarlequin behind rather confused.

'Ah, Tarlequin, finally!' Somebody shouted, it took a moment for him to recognise Kran's voice. 'Come over here, have a seat, before Nume catches you.'

'What's going on?' Tarlequin finally managed to ask when he sat down next to Kran on a fallen tree. He was in the middle of a camp, there were two tents, some carts and a few houses made of branches and grass.

There were some Phraio, a big group of Frago, two Dwarves, Feyn the Harpyie and some snake-people like the man who had passed Tarlequin in front of the tent. He could also see Luthi lying nearby, dozing in the sunlight, but Bay was nowhere to be seen. However, the sight that by far surprised Tarlequin the most was a grey dragon with cyan wings sitting right next to the camp, bowing his head low in order to speak with some other creatures.

'Tell them I'll be right with them, we'll certainly find some nice spot for them, just give me a moment for my friend here.' Kran said to a young woman who nodded and quickly ran away. 'So, you've been passed out for quite a while. Where do I start...' Kran then said to Tarlequin.

'Where's Raf?' The bard's voice was cold. He stared into Kran's eyes, knowing the answer already.

'He's gone. I can't say he's dead, we didn't find his corpse. Something happened during the battle, we all seemed to pass out at the same time and when we woke up again, Raf was just gone. Vanished without a trace. And it was so cold. You didn't wake up, at first, we thought you might be dead.' Kran explained but he stopped once he realised Tarlequin had trouble keeping up.

'So she really did get him then...' he muttered.

'Who did?' Kran asked, but he didn't get an answer. 'Anyway, Nume should be right back, she went over there to talk to our friend Zar'gno about something. He was there, too, and he helped us bring you back. We were all lost there, Bay ran away, refusing to let any of us touch her once Raf was gone. And without her, there seemed to be no way for us to return back to the others. Luckily, Zar'gno pitied us, he carried all of us away, well, Nume, you and me, Feyn flew on her own. Some of the soldiers were still alive at the time, but he said there was no way for them to survive once the others arrived. He rescued us but refused to tell us why and who the others were.' Kran spoke slowly and calmly, yet his voice made Tarlequin's head hurt more and more.

'And how did all of this happen?' Tarlequin asked, waving at the scene around them.

'Well, that's a long story for another day, let's just say our tribe has grown.' Kran said, watching Nume run towards them. 'So, if you'll excuse me now, there's a family waiting for me.' He excused himself once Nume arrived.

'You, back to bed!' she shouted at Tarlequin, causing the Faun to sigh and moan while Kran couldn't help laughing.

'I'm fine, I don't need to sleep anymore...' Tarlequin whispered, unable to speak any louder than that due to his increasing headache. Nume eyed him up critically before hugging him tightly.

'I'm so glad you're better!' She purposely shouted right into his ear, proving to him that he certainly wasn't fine yet. At the same time, a worried Phraio man appeared, trying to get her attention.

'Yes, I know he's walked away, take him back to bed and this time, make sure he doesn't leave. I'll have the next shift, I just have to discuss something with Kran first, alright?' Nume said to the man who gladly nodded and led Tarlequin away. The Faun was too weak to fight back and so he soon fell back asleep, not even waking up once Nume entered his tent.

'He's still feverish...' Nume said worriedly to Kran.

'But he's much better already.' He replied.

'I know, I just...' She stopped abruptly.

'I know. I couldn't bear losing him either.' Kran said, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

They had gone for a short walk to talk without anybody eavesdropping. While Kran was used to receiving so much attention, Nume certainly wasn't and neither of them particularly liked it. It was hard to keep the balance between giving orders so everything would be organized and being just a part of a group, not some kind of a Leader. Despite them having kept the title, they had no intention on using the power that usually came with it.

Still they were the head of the camp, newly joining people always came up to them to ask for where they could stay and how they could help first. Somehow, everybody just seemed to accept them as some kind of an authority, despite them fighting it all the time. But at the same time, they knew that the group needed something to believe in, and if the Outcast was what they had decided to believe in, that was fine.

'So,' Kran said cheerfully in an attempt to change the topic. 'Did you get anything out of Zar'gno?'

'Not really. He says he can't betray his king, despite having joined us which I think would have to be treason... But he doesn't want to tell us anything about the battle nor the relationship between dragons and Phraio tribes. However, he did let slip that he had been against it from the beginning because he liked his cave up in the mountains a lot. I assume that means the plan involved him leaving the mountains, whatever that might mean.' Nume slowly explained.

'We'll figure it out.' Kran said, still cheerful.

'Why are you so happy?' she asked.

'I'm not. I'm trying to be. Really, I'm just following your example. I mean, things are going alright at the moment but it's still so much responsibility...' he admitted, finally looking at her eyes. Nume didn't reply, instead, she hugged him, sighing loudly.

// So, I finally made it, a bit later but still today (at least in my time zone...) Don't forget to leave a vote and a comment, thanks!