Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 59

Raindrops fell on The Forgotten Forest, falling between the tightly packed branches and gathering on the many new leaves that had still to reach their full form, collecting until the leaf became overburdened and gratefully dropped their burdens. One such leaf gathered its water and then proceeded to let the fresh rain water fall directly onto Marcie's upturned sleeping face.

She woke with a start and a splutter, huddling under her furs for a few more precious moments before leaping to her feet and hurriedly shoving her bed roll and furs into her pack before they got soaked by the heavy drops of rain that fell through the canopy, she wriggled into her leathers, hastily tying her hair back in a messy braid and pulled up her hood. She let the rain dampen the few smouldering coals that was all that remained of her fire and sent her mind out for Dara, as was her habit. Then she remembered sending him away and felt him in the distance, too far away to talk too properly but hopefully near or in the cave to recuperate.

Her heart heavy she made her way to the camp and hung back again as everyone hurried around trying to keep their own things out of the rain.

Breen shouted orders and hoods were raised, bows at the ready and packs shouldered.

Farsighted Damnion scouted ahead, while Breen and Six fingered freddie took the front, and each pair spread out from them, with Marcie at the rear, alone. Each pair walked within sight of each other and within ear shot of the rest of the group. It allowed more ground to be covered, however, the rain made everyone huddle together more tightly as the sound of the rain drops masked their light footsteps.

Marcie was able to hear very well and she heard all their footsteps and their quiet breathing, her eyes picked out their forms through the early morning gloom and the rain seemed to heighten the smells of the forest before everything became so sodden that all smells were masked.

Her stomach growled and she was reminded that she had not eaten since the previous morning. In years past she ate and slept with the men in their camp and so had not thought to provide her own food.

She sighed and hung further back from the group to hunt. She found a couple of fat juicy rabbits hiding in a burrow and lucked upon a lean and tough wild cat who hissed at her before she put an arrow through its throat. She hung her kills on her pack and drank deeply from her water skin to stave off her hunger following the tracks of the men at a steady run until she had caught back up with them.

Finally evening came, Breen pushed them as far as they could go in the dwindling light until Far Sighted Damnion told him even he could no longer see well enough to continue. So they made camp and Marcie gratefully found shelter under the large branches of a old sagging oak, she draped a large sheet of cloth over one of the lowest branches and pegged it to the ground to create a nice dry place to sleep and dug a small pit for a fire. She quickly skinned a rabbit and spitted it over the flames to roast then went off to make water while she waited.

As she was pulling her leggings back up she heard a twig snap and turned to see, not Freddie, who she had almost expected because of his rude gestures from the day before but no, instead it was Noal. She wondered how long he had been watching and her face heated.

He stood there, leaning against a tree, munching on a spitted rodent of some sort, watching her.

She did not have many dealings with Noal, he was friendly to everyone except her but not much more than that, he had a good arm and was known to smuggle some ale along on hunting trips in a water skin. By the looks of him, he may have been at his secret ale already, his cheeks, under his fuzzy beard, which showed a hint of red that the hair on his head did not share, was flushed and his eyes were beady, he continued to munch on the rodent, juices dripping into his beard.