Rowan woke at the first signs of light. He gently shook Rika by the shoulder.
"C'mon sis it's time to go."
"Yes. Let's go brother," She yawned.
They gathered their supplies some weapons and a small-wheeled cart. The two made their way into the woods in silence.
~
Astraea couldn't sleep. She was too worried about Seph being involved in a raid. She knew he could handle himself, but a sense of foreboding crept into her mind. Seeing everyone asleep and Rowan and Rika gone she decided to head out. Finding a bow and quiver full of arrows and taking her sword, she slipped away into the early morning.
~
As they made their way deeper into the woods, Rowan couldn't help but feel that they were being watched. His encounter with the Spirit of the Wood still haunted him.
"Let's stop here for a minute and go over the plan." He said when they were halfway there.
Satisfied that they knew what to do they made their way to the edge of the camp.
Rika looked around the camp. "No one is here. So far so good," she whispered.
Rowan pulled out the map and studied it for a minute. "According to Seph's map the eggs are being kept near the center of the camp. Let's stick together."
"Right," Rika nodded, "Be careful of traps."
Rowan and Rika made their way deeper into the camp. As carefully as possible. They came to a tent with crates and barrels stack outside of it.
"I think this is tent. Seph said the eggs were inside in an ornate chest," Rowan recalled.
"Let's scurry like mice, and get them quick. We can't go up against them." Rika suggested.
Rowan opened the tent flap and stood there in awe. Never before had he seen so much gold. He quickly spotted a dark wooden box with gold in lays. He opened the lid and grinned.
"This is it!" he said excitedly trying to stay as quiet as possible. He lifted the chest and heard a click. He had set off a trap. A solid metal cage door slammed shut. He was trapped.
"Rowan!" Rika screamed.
"I'm ok Rika, I am just trapped in here," Rowan assured her.
"How do we get you out," Rika asked her panic setting in.
"See if you can find a way to reset the trap. It looks like there is some kind of pressure mechanism that was released when I lifted the box." Rowan offered. "I will try to match the weight of the eggs inside the chest."
"Right," She said. She looked for something heavy, frantically searching.
Rowan gently removed the eggs from the chest and replaced them with bags of gold that seemed to weigh about the same.
"Anything?" he asked.
Rowan waited for his sister to return. Inspecting the trap.
Rika came back with a very heavy chest. "Will this do Rowan?"
Rowan looked at the chest puzzled.
"See if you can find a latch or a lever. Something that will open the gate."
Rika put the chest down, looked around the tent for a latch or a lever. She found a lever hidden behind a stack of barrels. "Rowan I found a lever!" She exclaimed.
"Good. Pull the lever, but be careful."
Rika pulled the lever, there was a small whirring noise followed by a click opening the door of the trap, letting her brother out.
"Thanks sis. Let's empty that chest and get these eggs home safe," Rowan said. He had had enough adventure for one day.
"You're welcome." She said wrapping her arms around him. She started to say something, but thought better of it. She didn't know how to say that she been abused in school. She worried that it would spark his temper. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. The two of them sat in silence for a moment.
Rowan looked at his sister for a moment. What was she trying to say? He didn't press her, she would tell him in time.
The two unloaded the chest that Rika had found and carefully wrapped the eggs in canvas. Satisfied that the eggs were secure they made their way back to The Aviary.
