Blood Isle

Part Three: Revelation

Morgan stepped out of her tent, having slept through the day. She had slept through most of the day, and recovered most of her strength. Donavan had awakened earlier, and left without waking her. The day was still hot, but it felt like it was trying to cool off, sunset was perhaps four hours away.

Soldiers responsible for remaining on duty during the day had buried the dead, and disposed most of the debris. The men had regained most of their courage, you could see it in their eyes.

Emec trotted towards her, his manner immediately caught her attention. Something was up, he was summoning her with his hands.

"Donovan has been waiting for you to awaken, he wants you join him at the new command tent. The old command tent was destroyed during the attack last night," Emec informed her.

Morgan had seen the cold look in Donovan's eyes, and knew the attack last night would not go unanswered. She began to follow Emec, running at his side towards a tent where Maska, Changa, Donovan, Girard, and Sir Alfred stood.

"Morgan, glad you could join us. Right now we are essentially blind, we need to know what we are facing. I propose that we send out four scouting parties of four each," Donovan informed her. "We need our best people on these parties, I want you to scout for any sign of the enemy, do not engage with them unless you have no other joice."
Morgan, I want you, Changa, Emec, and Girard to make up one scouting party. Get something to eat, and whatever you do, be careful and good luck."

Morgan turned and walked away, with a multitude of ideas swimming through her mind. It was obvious that Donovan was relying on her prowess with a bow. He was expected that they would make contact, and was giving them the best chance of survival. Right now, he was picking the other teams.

Morgan walked over to a large steaming kettle, and was promptly handed a wooden bowl full of stew. She was then handed two flatbreads. Grateful, she sat down on a tarp, and began to eat. She was famished, and the stew was delicious.

Girard sat next to her, and began eating also. Changa and Emec joined them, and began filling their bellies. Salsworth, the cook handed her a mug of tea, and she nodded thanks.

"You know something tells me, we are going to be in it, for sure. Donovan vitally needs to know where the enemy is, or he would never send us. We need to be extra careful, we can not afford to make any mistakes," Changa said as he tore a flatbread in two.

"I could not agree with you more. We need to know what we are facing, to prevent attacks like last night. Our stealth will be key," Girard commented.

An hour later, Mogan retrieved Fenore, while Girard retrieved his mount. Then they silently entered the forest, pausing when they waited for the forest to adjust to their entering the wood. Darters and birds gradually returned to their daily routines, their reds, blues, and greens glinted in the air like so many gems.

Slowly they advanced, peering through the greenery ahead, searching for any sign of the enemy. The heat appeared to be giving them a reprieve, it was slowly beginning to cool off. A breeze softly brushed Morgan's face, they were currently upwind of any dangers ahead of them. Quietly as possible, they entered a glen, and abruptly stopped.

Ahead of them, a large gray carnivore on two legs was crashing through the underbrush ahead of them. It was hunting for prey. Morgan and the others silently watched as it roared, and suddenly gave chase to some other creature.

As silently as possible they began to give the beast a wide berth, slowly the forest began to quiet. As Morgan waited for the wood to return to its normal level of activity, she scanned the leaves, underbrush, and grasses for telltale signs of the enemy. The sun was beginning to set, if the growing shadows were any indicator.