The kDira's World Anthology by K R McClellan

Author:K R McClellan [McClellan, K R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-05-12T06:00:00+00:00

It was a few hours before sunset when successful shots by both Ari and kDira solidified the decision to make camp for the evening. The two male warriors gathered wood and prepared a fire while kDira and Ari dressed out the two chideer and rigged up a spit to cook them on. Noske was a fish-out-of-water in the woods and occupied himself by gathering light firewood and clearing a space of branches and rocks to help make sleeping easier.

“Tomorrow we will head up the Ocheebee Pass to where the Karn Keep stood. There is a passage there that we can take up and out of the pass.”

“What if the Karn have come back to rebuild the Keep?” Bracken asked.

“Several patrols have scouted that area over the years, and as recently as two months ago. All have reported that nothing has been done to the keep since we destroyed it. I think it will be safe enough to approach.”

“Besides, as soon as they see kDira, they will run away in terror,” Ari said with a chuckle.

“Hardly, but they should be worried that Ari is with us,” said kDira. “She could shoot a fly off the back of a rock-goat at one hundred paces.”

“Two hundred, but they get the idea,” Ari said with a wink.

As the chideer cooked over the fire, the smoky, meaty fragrance filled the forest surrounding the party. Ari produced a pouch of seasonings that consisted of salt, garlic, and ground pepper that she sprinkled lovingly over the roasting chideer.

“The only good thing that ever came from the Midlanders,” Ari said with a smile, “besides me, of course, is their spices.”

As the sun began to go down in the sky, the sizzle and the delicious aroma of the cooked venison became too much to bear, so Bracken took it upon himself to slice off generous portions and pass them out to everyone.

The travelers gorged themselves as the night grew darker and the stories grew taller. Each had tales to share of patrols or hunts, and kDira even told of some of the battles she had faced with the Karn, but she held back the stories that included Hayden. As the conversations went on, she wondered where Malak might be. Suddenly she became quiet and a little uneasy.

“What is wrong, kDira?” Ari asked, noticing that kDira had gone silent.

“Um… oh, it is nothing, I have grown tired, that is all. I think I will curl up in my bedroll for the night. Ari, see that we have a watch set for the night, please.”

“I do not think we really need a watch our here. This is a pretty safe part of the woods.”

“Ari, please. I just need to know a watch is set tonight. Humor me, okay?”

“Yes, my Queen.”

Ari arranged for three watches to go through the night, taking the first watch herself. In three hours, she would wake Bracken, and three hours later, he would wake Lyren to finish out the watch. Because Noske had no warrior skills, he would not be standing watch.

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