Book 4 Chapter 3

Tirr let out a yawn, his eyes lazily sweeping over the mountain cliffs around them. Besides him Maria and Sera followed along, Garm held in the younger girl's arms. Behind them, the rest of the escort moved at a steady, though tired, pace. Exhausted after days spent in the mountains.

After another hour of travel with no end in sight, Doron moved to the front, looking for Tirr as he rubbed his shoulders against the mountain’s chilled breeze. “We’ve been up here for days…” Doron started looking back at the others behind them.

Just a glance was enough to notice that the journey had started to wear on the honor guard. Even some of the other Blessed, unable to access the Life Blessing’s endless energy, were feeling the wear and stress on their bodies.

“Are they going to meet us or not?” Doron continued, “They didn’t mention a place or time right? How are we supposed to find these people?”

“The letter just said to come here and they would find us…” Maria answered, understanding where Doron was coming from. Being one of Tirr’s oldest followers yet seeming more normal, she was sure that many would ask him things that they wouldn’t dare ask Tirr or herself.

“The Blessed are holding up for now but the other guards are struggling. They want to know when this pace will let up, It's hard for them to keep going when they don’t know if there's even an end…”

Didn’t those countries force them on me to begin with?” Tirr asked carelessly. Being followed around like this just made him miss the times it would be just him Maria and Garm…

“Yeah, I get that you didn’t want them to begin with. But they’re here now and that makes you their leader. A good leader doesn’t just disregard the people following him.”

The word leader made Tirr stop and he straightened up a little bit coughing lightly as he looked back over the rest of his escort. “Well tell them not to worry about it. It won’t be long now.

Doron frowned, “How do you know? Are we really just waiting for these tribespeople to find us?”

“They already found us...” Tirr said plainly, shocking both Doron and Maria. Sera was the only one who didn’t seem to react, continuing to hold onto Garm as they kept moving.

“They already found us?” Maria asked uncertainly.

“Yeah, they’ve been watching us since yesterday. I figured we must still be going in the right direction since they haven’t come down to say anything.

“Wha… Doron started looking up towards the cliffs around them. At almost the same time a horn sounded in the distance from the cliffs. The sudden noise startled Doron and the group behind them, many of the guards drew their weapons or readied their Blessings. The leaders of the Blessed groups ran to Tirr. Iesa of the Fire Blessing and Nerida’s second, called Lin, took defensive positions around him immediately.

“Have they arrived?” Iesa asked as she looked around, confused. Figures started to appear over the cliffs, looking down at them while holding their own weapons at the ready. As Tirr’s escort circled up against the sudden ambush, they found numerous spears and bows pointed at them.

From the cliffside, a younger man appeared dressed lightly against the cold mountain air. His voice called down filled with anger and detest. “Outsiders! Leave this place now or you’ll be buried here!”

Doron clicked his tongue in response. “This doesn't seem like a friendly welcome…” The old soldier mentioned, getting ready to raise his barrier as needed.

“It's fine…” Tirr said with a bored expression, They weren’t the only ones watching us…”

A sudden sound of fighting arose on the cliff. Yells were quickly followed by bodies being flung downwards, rolling against the harsh slope before landing in a clump beside the path. As Tirr and his group watched, the mercenary Dun appeared grabbing the previous man by the neck. “You don’t own these mountains Mali, now scram before I feed you to the goats…”

Tirr watched impatiently as Dun threw the smaller man away. He scrambled back, hurling insults towards the larger mercenary as he went. Dun just ignored the fool, turning back to them with a friendly grin… “Sorry about the wait, didn’t expect Krawl Clan to move in while I was needed elsewhere…”

“Not a good way to ask for help…” Tirr said even as he motioned for the others in his group to calm down… “You send that strange letter and then show up late letting after letting the riffraff bother us?”

Dun just laughed, “Sorry, Sorry, but you've come at a good time, The Tribe needs saving, even if the other clans need to be dragged through it kicking and screaming… I can explain more at the camp, for now, keep moving down this pass..”

Tirr didn’t reply but motioned towards Drrorn who reluctantly gave the orders to start moving again. Tirr looked up again at the giant man, still somewhat angry over their first encounter in the Confederation, though the mercenary had lent a hand to Maria not long afterward.

The group started moving again, guided by Dun’s people as they continued upwards. Eventually, they came to a deep valley where numerous people could be seen moving and working around simple buildings and tents. Dun jumped down with a crash looking with pride over the large camp. “Welcome to my home!” He started with mixed emotions, “Now I just pray you’ll be able to save it…”