The Moon Ring

Chapter 5

[A.N. - Dedicated to my father, for reading my work without me needing to ask, for giving me feedback that helps me grow as a writer and for helping me find my way back to my passion, after I'd lost faith in my skill, despite the distance that seperates us.  I love you, Dad. Xo]

Laoch leapt to the next tree.  The sun was barely peeking over the horizon but everything already glowed with a faint golden light.  He had been travelling through Sult Forest for six nights and he was already beginning to feel weary.  As a Guardian he was used to keeping strange hours, to working for long hours and getting very little sleep, but he was used to sturdy walkways and little to no baggage. Jumping from tree to tree as he was, with the burden of his knapsack and weapons (for of course he had packed his bow, sword and hunting knife), was arduous.  The unchanging scenery was also starting to have a wearing effect on his mind.

Laoch checked the sun and stars regularly, always making sure he was heading in the right direction, and he knew it was still a few days before he reached the river, but the pessimistic side of him couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t just hopelessly lost.

He pulled out the map again.  From the Far North of Ashlenair, due West was Tolok River; from the border it was about ten days walk.  He had four more days walk until he reached the river, but it felt as if he might never find it.  Everything in Sult Forest, outside Ashlenair, looked exactly the same.  He would be lying to say he didn’t feel slightly downhearted.

Laoch had been awake for a few hours already.  He had been getting by on only a few hours’ sleep every night, during the darkest hours.  Now that the sun was finally starting its slow ascent, Laoch could break his fast.  He never ate at night, even after he’d woken up, preferring to keep moving as much as possible, stopping to sleep only when he could no longer see and slowing down under the safety of the sun’s rays.

He stopped now, lowering himself to the branch he was on and swinging his legs out below him as he pulled his satchel from his back.  He pulled from it a pack of food.  He had packed all the non-perishable food he’d had in his house; it would last him about two weeks.  If he hunted and ate what wild berries he could find, he estimated he could make his food last an extra week.  Just enough time to get to Depkir and buy more.  He made breakfast of a few apples, and then packed everything away, careful not to spill any of the food, slung his pack back over his shoulders and continued on his way.

A few hours later, the sun was well on its way to its zenith.  Laoch’s back was beginning to ache.  The trees this far from Ashlenair were a lot thicker; Laoch had to crouch as he stumbled from branch to branch, lest he get hit in the head by a higher limb.  He considered just jumping back to the ground and continuing from there, but he worried that would make him too vulnerable to any nearby Dwarves, even though he hadn’t heard even whisper of Dwarves since Dreasa’s death.

A flash of red caught his attention below.  Berries!  He stilled his body and watched.  These berries were unfamiliar to him and he had learnt from his father that eating strange berries, no matter how hungry you were, was foolish and dangerous.  He hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long.  He didn’t want to delay his journey – the forest was starting to irk him – and the longer he took, the higher the risk he would run out of food.  Thankfully, after only a few minutes, he saw a squirrel run out and steal a few of the berries from the bush, before turning to flee.  Laoch didn’t even have time to consider whether to hunt him or not before he had disappeared back into the underbrush.