Thought I'd try something a little different.
Please comment on the story, I'm curious to learn what you think.
Chapter 3: On the Road.
Come morning, Ashunara shared a breakfast of porridge, bacon, eggs, hot coffee, warm fresh bread and a few slices of tart but sweet autumn apples with the blacksmith. Why she had kept him in her chamber of a night was beyond her. Mayhap, she felt that if she at least treated this one human man as something other than simple chattel then perhaps it might assuage the black mood that threatened her of late, though probably not. Either way, he was fair company and, she mused, 'tis the thought that counts.
He had spent the whole of the previous evening working in his forge, making iron spears for her orcs and strengthening their hide shields with bands of metal, and she had sat near the kiln, enjoying the warmth and watching him wielding the hammer. The man had stripped away his shirt and donned a thick apron of leather to protect him from the flying sparks as he worked the steel, and she had sat there watching the muscles of his back as she drank a flagon of cider.
"Tell me, human, why do you help us?"
"The metal is here, it would just go to waste otherwise, and I could not abide that. Goibniu would curse me for allowing it to just rust and rot away. This way, it will at least be put to use, and besides," he shrugged, "I like the work. I find the rhythm of the hammer eases a troubled mind."
Settling back to stare into the glowing coals of the forge, she thought of the many times in her youth when some supposed slight had provoked the volatile temper that had always seemed to lurk just beneath the surface, and she had taken to furiously practising with a blade to ease the anger that threatened to provoke a homicidal response. Maybe it was simply the warmth of the place or the way the orange glow of the flames lit his face, but she found watching the man toil and listening to the percussion beat of hammer and anvil to be somehow relaxing, stretching lazily like a cat, she nodded, "I can understand that."
She chuckled at the memory. All told, she'd definitely had worse evenings.
The previous night had passed without incident, and when she made her rounds, she had been gratified to find all the sentries in place and alert. It was Elsadore's turn to watch things that night, and the tough veteran brooked no shirking on her watch.
Wandering about the perimeter, Ashunara had found herself near the gate when a prickling sensation ran its fingers over her senses, and she halted. Her hand moved to the hilt of her sword as she peered into the shadows that lurked about the place.
There was no sound, no movement, nothing to betray her presence when Azure slipped from the gloom not five feet from her. There was a pale gleam as the moonlight reflected in her eyes and a flash of teeth when she smiled at how her Captain had almost failed to stifle a cry of surprise. She stalked forward with a fluid, predatory grace that was more than just a little unnerving, and Ashunara blew out a breath, "Gods, woman! You near scared me half to death. I swear, one day, you're going to inspire an apoplexy. Keep tormenting me so, and I'll have you wear a bell round your neck."
The woman chuckled, but even as she did, the Captain could see how her eyes were always moving, never still, as they searched the shadowy nooks and crannies for possible threats, "You knew I was near, Captain."
"I knew something was close by."
The scout tilted her head, and Ashunara felt those cold, unblinking eyes focus on her, "How?"
She sniffed, "I don't know, I just felt something was watching me. Perhaps 'tis a symptom of the life I lead."
The scout's smile broadened, "Impressive."
Ashunara groaned, "Oh Hells, you're just going to sneak up on me more often now, aren't you?"
"As if I would do such a thing."
"Too bloody right you would. Be warned, girl, if I catch you skulking in my tent watching me sleep or some similarly creepy thing, I'll have you digging latrines till payday."
Proffering a more sinister than sweet smile, Azure gave a playful half-curtsy, "Well, Captain, if you catch me, I'd doubtless deserve it."
With a snort, Ashunara shook her head, "Very well then, doubtless you will do as you will. Now, my scout, do you have a report for me?"
"Indeed, Captain. I have prowled about the surroundings as you instructed and surveyed the road. This is a lonely place, with few enough travellers. I saw some lamps burning in the nearby glen. They appeared to be from lowly crofts and the like but no sizeable settlement or encampment. The nearest fortification looks to be an old keep some distance," she pointed towards the hills, "in yon direction. It is a day's travel away, at least. There were no lights upon the walls, and I took it for a ruin, but I suppose someone could be living there."
Nodding, Ashunara considered the woman's words and then paused. Something about her poised stance suggested she had more to offer, "You would speak further?"
Azure looked out into the darkness, her eyes hooded, "I came across a barrow. It was in the hills overlooking the glen where I saw the lights of those crofts. It stood near a few tumbled stones, probably the remains of some long-abandoned hamlet. From my inspection, I would say that the barrow was recently disturbed."
"Grave robbers, you think?"
The woman shook her head, "No, 'twas more out than in if you catch my drift."
"Ah."
"From the tracks I found emanating from within, I would say there is some ghoulish thing on the prowl. Probably back there, in the woods."
"Do you think it presents a danger to us?"
"Not to us, no."
Ashunara's eyes narrowed, "Yet, you wish to hunt the thing?"
"Aye."
Sighing, the Captain scratched the tip of one delicately pointed ear, "Forgive me, but how does this ghoul trespass into our concerns? You just claimed it was unlikely to trouble us, did you not?"
"I did. We are too many and too well-armed a Company for such a craven thing to hazard. But the folk in that glen? It would hunt them hungrily enough. And human or no, it would not sit well with me if some poor shepherd's lad were devoured because I'd declined to set arrow to bow. Besides," she shrugged, "the blame for such a thing would doubtless have lain at the feet of the Sidhe Fae, and if I am to be accused of fel deeds, I'd rather they were ones of my own making."
Pursing her lips, the Captain considered, "This is not sentiment, is it?"
The woman was far too wily to allow her motives to be so easily read, and so she looked her Captain squarely in the eye without apparent guile as she answered, "For shame, Captain, to think so little of me. 'Tis a diversion is all."
Despite her protest and the display of innocence, Ashunara was no dunce and sensed the lie. She knew Azure had no great fondness for people, and being effectively trapped with a pack of helpless captives would grate on her. Still, the woman was thoroughly canny and as good a scout as she'd ever seen. If she felt the need to distance herself, even a little, from the immediate business at hand with this diversion, then it was a small price to pay for her continued good humour. She nodded thoughtfully, "Will you be back come morning, for I have no wish to tarry any longer here?"
"Hmm, probably not before you leave, Captain, but the tracks I saw were easily followed. I doubt I will be overly delayed by this. I should catch up with you quickly enough, and it offers an opportunity for me to cast an eye in your wake as I do and watch for pursuit."
"Do you want company?"
The scout shook her head, "I move quicker and quieter alone."
Ashunara sniffed, "So be it then. But no dallying, see to your business and return to us forthwith. We cannot safely traverse this land without someone scouting the way ahead. Varoona will take up your duties in the meantime, but she does not yet have your skill."
"I'll be swift, and Captain?"
"Aye?"
"Thank you."
She waved the woman off with a grin before turning to wander back towards the lights of the inn.
...
The remainder of the night passed quietly enough, save for the occasional crying of the newborn bairn that demanded feeding at hours both regular and inconvenient. Still, from the volume of its cries, the squalling creature seemed healthy enough to be sure, and for that, Ashunara was not entirely ungrateful. It was strange, she mused, how the arrival of such a helpless little thing sometimes turned even the hardest heart to mush, and not even dark elves could claim immunity to this wyrd power. For she had seen Lashelle slyly looking about before surreptitiously pushing a silver coin into the wee one's hand, for luck, of course. She was sure Nyx had seen the act also, for the canny woman missed little, but she had merely sniffed and looked to her tankard.
Now, she sat at the small table within the commandeered chamber she had staked as her own and watched as the hulking man opposite ate enough for four dark elves. He was an odd one, she mused. Despite his size and strength, he seemed to possess a kindly enough heart, and that was something she was entirely unused to, and viewing the buckle he had made, she knew that, gruff or no, there was something of the artist about him, and that thought tickled her. He had slept by the fire, lying on a rug like some great hound, while she took her rest upon the bed. Prudence alone meant she should have at least kept him secured with some sturdy chain, lest he attempt murder in the night, but the thought that he would do her harm as she slept had not even intruded into her mind. Foolishly perhaps, she had taken no precaution save to sleep with a dagger under her pillow, as was her wont anyway. Mind you, the day a clumsy human could sneak upon her would be the day she retired from this life, probably permanently.
She chuckled as he mopped his plate with a chunk of bread, "Worked up a hunger, I see."
The man blushed but grinned, "I've had worse breakfasts, and in my youth, there were mornings enough where I had to do without to make me enjoy this one. Besides, I'd rather eat hearty than risk a skelp on the lug from the cook for taking her labours for granted."
She refilled his tankard, chuckling as she imagined the portly woman having at this bear of a man with her wooden spoon, "That seems wise."
Finishing her repast and having dressed and armed herself, she left the room only to find Sergeant Nyx lounging in the hallway outside her door. The grizzled veteran grinned at her as she munched an apple, and the Captain nodded in amiable greeting, "Sergeant, you look... rested. A good night?"
