Revolt of Blood and Stone: A Stone War Chronicles Novella

Chapter 10 - Sanctuary

Sebastian dragged his feet. Their group had walked for almost three days straight, reluctant to stop and rest anywhere without elevated and solid ground away from the dirt.

Many of them were in bad shape, the constant lack of food the biggest problem. Small animals had not often been spotted, though they did manage to bring down a large buck from one of the ridges they had followed. It was a feast, but with many mouths to feed it was also gone before they knew it.

"We have to slow down," said Svetka. "We've got stragglers spreading us out too thin. If we don't allow them to rest, we're going to start losing people again."

Jarod looked behind at the trail of people following them on their exodus.

"Should we not keep moving until we reach the coast? Find a way to cross the ocean?" said Sebastian. "What if the soldiers find us here?"

"That's highly unlikely," said Svetka. "We've not seen any soldiers since we entered this forest. I don't think they're following us anymore."

"I have to agree with Svetka on this," said Jarod. "Let's follow this valley for the day and look for a good place to camp higher up the mountain. We can stay for a few days—gather our strength again before we continue."

Frustration flared up inside Sebastian. He wanted nothing more than to go home, so the last thing they needed was to stop moving. He stumbled over a half-buried rock as if the earth called him to order. He sighed. He had to admit he felt the toll their trip had taken on him, and he was one of the fittest amongst them. Perhaps a few days of rest would do them all some good.

So they continued, and as the sun started its descent, they slowly snaked their way up the hill of the valley. By nightfall they had located a secluded cove that offered shelter from the elements and would shield their fires from the rest of the world. It was not large enough to hold all of them, but at least the ground was solid bedrock, so they had nothing to fear from sand devils.

The men and women who were able started gathering branches and leaves to improvise some beds; the stones were often very cold and unforgiving to sleep on. A stream further down the valley provided them with fresh water and a few of the more experienced hunters successfully caught a dozen small fish. The few pots they had—stolen from the kitchen during their escape—were certainly some of the group's most precious possessions. They allowed them to create soups or stews, making it easier to feed everyone, even if there was not much to start with. After all, warm flavored water with small pieces of fish was better than nothing at all to fill your belly.

Sebastian was climbing up the hill after a water run when he ran into Niora—the woman from the kitchen—in a narrow passage between two boulders. She was on her way down and slipped just as they passed each other. In reaction, Sebastian grabbed her arm, helping her to find her footing again. She gave a brief smile.

"Thank you."

He had known she was in their group. In fact, he had spotted her on the third day of their escape, but given the last time they saw each other she had walked away with one of the guards, he had not really known what to say to her. Now, he stared at her and felt his cheeks flush. He did not know if it was because of his embarrassment back in the mine, or the fact he registered very late that he was still holding her hand. He quickly let go.

"No problem," he managed to say. "How are you?"

She was a few years older than him, perhaps just past her twenties. Her brown hair was tangled in knots from their days of walking and—like all of them—she had smears of dirt across her face and arms. Her feet were nearly black from the weeks of walking, but even that did not make her any less attractive in Sebastian's opinion.