Borne of Fire

Chapter 5

L'non sat beside the fire, relaxed with his legs crossed before him, Braxter on his left and Randyl to the right. Ja'aris sat further away from the flames muttering to himself occasionally in a language neither boy could understand. He seemed disgruntled by the fact that the fish had to be cooked before he was permitted to eat them, an idea originated by the boys and seconded by L'non.

Randyl was about to start making conversation in order to break the silence when L'non beat him to it. "I know you have many questions and I will attempt to answer some but do not expect all I say to be to your liking." The boys simply nodded, both eager for the older man to continue, which he did with a soft deep voice. "When we met yesterday in the woods I had been following the pack of wargs for two days as I mentioned to you last night Randyl. I had picked up their trail in a canyon to the north, past the village of Rethan." The boys had heard of this place and knew it to be far enough away to know little else about it. L'non continued: "Wild as they are, they were restless even by their own standards, in-fighting constantly and then on the move again. They did not seem to be following any true path as they would tend to do when hunting prey, instead they changed course frequently and seemingly at random. Indeed, more than once I picked up the scent of another animal but they would not be distracted from whatever agenda they were following. Only when they reached the woods did they seem to be at their journeys end and then you - Randyl Jeroll - drew their attention and you know the rest of the tale." He paused then, adjusting his pack which he rested on, making himself more comfortable. His voice was not without emotion but had a detached manner of someone simply recalling a list of facts.

Randyl and Braxter glanced at one another, both still nervous about being in the company of the two strangers.

"So where are they now?" Randyl asked tentatively.

"Relax boy," Ja'aris laughed cruelly, "they're not going to eat you in your cot!"

Randyl felt his cheeks start to redden, partly from being mocked but partly from anger. And not such a little part. He had taken a severe disliking to Ja'aris and his condescending remarks and his temper was only being held in check by his fear which he felt just as severely.

"After you returned to your village another pack joined them, coming from the West. My Brother-Watcher Ja'aris," L'non gestured with a wave of his hand and Ja'aris cocked his head and smiled with an unnecessary amount of enthusiasm in return to this acknowledgment, "had been following this other pack much as I had been following the original one. It is not unheard of for two packs to merge in order to complete a kill or to feed if prey is plentiful or enough of a threat, but thankfully it is a rarity. Nevertheless they now number more than thirty and are holed up underground beneath a circle of ancient Redwoods North of here."

"That's got to be Red Ronso's Redwoods!" Braxter almost shouted in his excitement. "Near the centre of the forest, six Redwoods standing in a circle?" he blurted with a grin, pleased with his contribution to the conversation however slight. L'non nodded his confirmation of this.

Randyl was deeply concerned about the proximity of so many fell creatures to his village, knowing many of the villagers - many of his friends - used the forest for a number of things every day. He clenched his jaw, determined to assuage his nerves with positive action. He jumped to his feet, noticing Ja'aris drop his hand smoothly and silently to his hip as he did, and knowing that's where he kept his blade.

"We have to go to Brookdale at once!" Randyl blurted. "We must inform the council. There could be lives in danger, we must warn them!" He quickly started throwing his belongings into his pack. Braxter followed suit, his grin quickly fading.

"Calm Randyl, your council knows that danger is close" L'non had not moved but his voice was as level and commanding as ever, even from his relaxed position. "Did nobody warn you about anything before you left this morning?"

Jonathon Jeroll's words ran through Randyls head and yes, he had been warned but at the time it seemed like nothing different to any number of warnings he had been given on any other day. Now after hearing about the wargs, he wondered how much his father had known but hadn't said. Images of his father kneeling with his sword stretched out before him sprung to mind.

Was that coincidence or something else?

"Besides," it was Ja'aris speaking now, his voice lingering slightly on the "ess" sounds of his words once again and reminding Randyl of something reptilian this time, "it's not necessarily the wargs you should be concerned about." He let this statement hang ominously in the air around the group as he walked slowly to the fire, his knife out of his belt and in his hand in a quick, well practised move. He stopped in front of Braxter for a second before looking over at Randyl. Quick as a viper he dropped and skewered the fish which had been cooking on the spit over the fire and flicked it into his mouth, chewing and chuckling once again at his ability to make the boys jump.

Braxter was repulsed as he watched juices running from between the sharp white teeth and down the chin of the watcher but managed to stutter "W-why? What else is out there?"

"Ignore him Brax, he's just trying to scare us." Randyl said quickly eliciting a simple shrug of apathy from Ja'aris by way of response. The watcher moved to stand squarely in front of Randyl. "Ask yourself," lingering on the "ess" noises again "what were the dogs doing last night - were they running to......or from something?"

The two friends looked at each other in silence, both at a loss for words but full of ideas.

"Master L'non, what does he mean sire? What are you holding back from us?" Randyl appealed to the friendlier of the two watchers. L'non had closed his eyes and when no answer was forthcoming, Randyl began to think he had fallen asleep. He crouched beside him and raised his hand to L'nons shoulder about to rouse him before asking the question once more but there was no need. L'non fixed his blackened eyes on Randyl. "Nothing I could say with any certainty," he said quietly, almost at a whisper, letting out a long slow sigh. "But things may be about to become clearer."

Suddenly the group, and the whole world around them, was engulfed in an explosion of noise as if the land itself had been cracked in two.