A Sea of Cinders by Adam Bishop

Author:Adam Bishop [Bishop, Adam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-06-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Off the Beaten Path

The hollow thud of an arrow striking a tree trunk brought a smile to William’s face. He’d been practicing everything Baldric had taught him over the past few days, and he was finally beginning to notice an improvement.

“You’re starting to get pretty good at that,” Baldric said as he approached, ducking under a low-hanging tree branch.

William nodded. “Well, I have a good teacher. At least I think I do,” he said with a smirk.

“The best Cellagor has ever seen!” Baldric boasted.

“Oh yes, I’m sure even the Elves couldn’t best you,” William shot back. He knew Baldric was joking, but sometimes it was hard to tell how greatly his ego actually swayed his beliefs. Surely he couldn’t think himself better than the Elves, could he?

His cocksure friend then answered his question, as if reading William’s mind ...

“Even the best of the Elves would bow to me, my friend,” Baldric replied in a laughing manner. “In all seriousness, you should gather your arrows. Noon is approaching, and we should be on our way if we plan on reaching the Viridian Vale before winter catches up with us.”

“Right,” William agreed. He handed the Elven bow to Baldric and began collecting his arrows.

***

After the two novice travellers finished packing up the rest of their things, they continued on the path they had been following since entering the rocky lands of Colt. Colt sat in between the lush grasslands of Dale and the dense maze of cliffs and forests that made up Larin. Few inhabited the lands of Colt, as it was lacking in vegetation and its dry, rough terrain was unsuitable for farming. This made the possibility of hunting for game bleak during their stay. If not for William’s fishing skills, the two would’ve most likely felt their pants hanging a tad looser around the waist.

Being in such an open area didn’t sit well with William. He worried they were too exposed to outsiders. He was anxious to reach the wooded hills sitting in the distance. He knew there would be more predators patrolling the hillside, but he favoured the thought of being out of sight. He still feared the possibility of being captured by the Braxi, no matter how unlikely it seemed. Baldric had assured him that the Braxi were long gone by now—if someone had discovered their escape, they would already be dead. Nevertheless, William still worried. His eyes were always on the lookout.

“We should reach the forest just before nightfall,” said Baldric. “But we need to quicken our pace if we mean to have a fire tonight.”

William quickened his stride. He never walked at a slow pace, but his legs were much shorter than Baldric’s and he often found himself falling behind. “That’s easier said than done when your legs are long and slender like a lass,” William huffed as he caught up in a steady jog.

Baldric grinned. “Well thank you, Will. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

They continued down the road until Baldric came to a halt.

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