Begin Again

Chapter 21

(TORIN)

Torin and Jack had scouted ahead of the group to see if they could catch up to the men they were pursuing. They had been led to a large open field and found signs that people had stayed there. Torin followed the tracks and saw that they led to the edge of the trees. He had been confused when he saw the direction of the tracks. 

"Gareth is in that direction," Jack said pointing behind them. 

Torin nodded his reply as they followed the footprints. At the edge of the trees there was a man lying face down in the dirt. He was filthy and appeared to have been there for a day or two. Torin was surprised that the animals hadn't gotten to him yet. The man's back was dark with dried blood and there was an arrow discarded at his side. Torin picked up the arrow and ran his finger over the feathers at the back. The feathers had been died a deep green with dark blue at the tips of the feathers. 

"Where do you think it came from?" Jack asked.

"I have no idea," Torin replied as he stood up with the arrow in his had. "We should get back to the men and let them know what we found," Torin said and Jack nodded in agreement. The two men turned around and started the jog back to Rollo and the rest of the men.  

Torin was out of breath as he held out the arrow to Rollo. Rollo looked at him with wide eyes and Torin shook his head to let him know that arrow hadn't come from Anna. Rollo spun the arrow around and looked at the fletching. He ran his fingers over the feathers and looked at Torin with a confused look on his face.

"This make no sense," He said.

"Do you know where it came from?"

"From an old friend."

"Where are we going now?" 

"We are going to Chedix," Rollo replied.  

After Torin and Jack had time to catch their breath, the men started out again. The ran for most of the day taking occasional breaks when the men were about to fall over. They could all feel that they were getting close. As the sun was beginning to set the group spotted a large castle up in the distance. They went towards the structure and crouched down in the bushes when they noticed the movement up in front of them. 

Torin lifted his head high enough that he could see while still remain hidden. There were a lot of men around the castle and they were looking for a way in. Torin watched as they found an entrance and slowly all of the men filed in. After about a half hour Torin saw a slight light illuminate one of the rooms inside. The light was quickly snuffed out and Torin wondered about the fate of the foolish man who had carried the light into the room without realizing that there was a window.

Torin looked over at Rollo who was smiling. 

"What?" Torin whispered to him.

"I didn't see Anna or Ryah," He said and Torin waited for him to continue. "They don't have them. They're in Chedix."

Rollo slowly eased out of the bushes and waited for all of the other men to follow. They were all tired and filthy after their days of travel. Once all of the men were standing Rollo motioned for them to follow him. Not one man complained as they started off at a run again. They picked up their weapons and started to jog. 

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(RYAH)

Peter and I made our way towards the stream that the twins had run off to. I didn't have to say anything to him to get him to continue talking. He told me jokes and the heroic stories from his past where he always seemed to end up the hero.