The Tales of Miriela: Shadowborn

Chapter 7: Tallion

A cool breeze lifted off the Eastern seafront and rolled over the Mildrin Hills, which toppled one over the other, just South of Oaksguard. The crisp air was filled with the salty sent of the Midsea, so strong that a deep breath seemed to sting the lungs. The sun had fallen and the moon had risen to her peak. The night was still, as were the Mildrin Hills. They were a rough terrain, difficult for any caravan to travel. There was one road, however, which ran below the tall cliffs and hills.

This road provided a way for Lord Siln's caravans to travel between Oaksguard and the Southern city of Cranst. It was the only way to travel between the two cities, unless the Mildrin Hills were surpassed to the West, a route which followed the Valendale. The Valendale was the land of central Miriela, which separated the East from the West. It was unsettled and dangerous, filled with beasts and thieves alike. The Valendale River ran from North to South, all the way across Miriela. A single bridge, the Redbridge, was the only way to cross it.

The moonlight reached down through the twisted branches of old dying trees, as weeds below grew like a rolling storm. Anticipation began to swirl through the Mildrin Hills, joining the salty sea breeze. A loud crunch, the snap of a branch, the sound broke the tranquility of the night. All of the land was alert, and the night's peace was replaced with tension. A group of wagons sat just off the road, the caravan's tradesmen resting for the night.

"What was that? Hey, you hear that noise? Sounded like it was over there, just beyond that pile of rock. Maybe near that oak over there. What ya think, hey?" Said a young tradesman of the caravan. A caravan of four wagons was making its way through the Mildrin Hills, on its way North to Oaksguard.

Nervously, the guardsman whispered to his captain, who lay sleeping in the back of the wagon. "Sir, did you hear me? Wake up, Sir," The young tradesman said again.

The caravan wagons all flew Ferenor's banner, the yellow serpent. Weapons and armor forged at the Grounds of Ferenor, sent from the hand of Lord Thomas Siln. Supplies had run from Ferenor to Kessex, then Highland, across the Redbridge and to Cranst. And from Cranst, they went North to reach Oaksguard. Each kingdom had its own set of tradesmen who lead the wagons along the route.

The tradesmen were guards, trained in combat, sent to defend the wagons from highwaymen and thieves. Back and forth they would ride, from kingdom to kingdom. Unfortunately for the tradesmen and guards of Cranst, the Mildrin Hills had become one of the most dangerous trade routes in Miriela.

"What are ya waking me for boy? It's the dead of night, now let me rest," The Captain of the caravan said.

"I've been a huntsman all my life, this may be my first caravan but I know the sound of a deer or an elk or a bear wondering' about. That sound was different, that was no animal. I hear the other tradesmen talk in the taverns, they say a group of highwaymen, just three men, walk the Mildrin Road during the night. They move with the trees, sway with the breeze, can't been seen, can't be heard either. Some of the caravans don't come back, and the highwaymen," The young tradesmen was cut off.

"Would ya shut the hell up, boy? The caravans don't make it back because of weather, famine, or sickness. It's happened for years, the Mildrin Road ain't no walk through the fields. I've seen men die on this route with my own eyes, frozen in the cold, or eaten alive by a beast. If you don't keep your wits about ya, this land will swallow you whole, boy. Damn ramblin', we stopped for the night to sleep. You're on guard for the night, but a deer walkin' about don't call for ya wakin' me," Said the Captain. The other tradesmen, hearing the talk from the nearby wagons, awoke as well.

The boy sat shaking, looking out the back of the open wagon. He looked nervous, and he reeked of fear. They always did. Tallion kept low towards the ground, as he continued to watch and listen from afar.