Surmounting Evil

For the moment before they stopped.. the feeling of his hand on her arm was a comfort.. at least at this moment she wasn't alone.

"I don't think anyone will be comfortable." She agreed as she untied her pack from Eneth. In the Weald, she always used to lay out under the start, but what was there to really harm her there? Nothing.. nothing at all. Yeah, there were bugs that had lethal bites, but that was only during certain seasons. With a sigh she leaned against her horse and thought of home.. the rich forest filled with the songs of birds and voices of her people.. why did she leave? Now, she wasn't so certain it was the greatest of ideas.

"If you want.. I can take the first shift. Allow you to sleep first." Gracefully, she sat on the ground close the fire. She closed her eyes when she felt the warmth of the flame warm her fair skin. "Those people on the street earlier. I doubt that will be the last time we see something of the sort.."
 
Izlamis's face closed as he looked into the fire and wondered what he would do if those things they had seen had come any closer. He wasn't the best in a fight; as a monk, he had forsworn fighting and worked more toward healing. But these were dark forces at work and they would do whatever they could to stir up trouble. Trouble was something Izlamis would rather avoid, diplomatically. He was sure there was a way to change and fight against the darkness without needing the dagger he kept on his person, but perhaps when they got into the dwarven city he would trade for a bow and arrow. Dark times called for dark measures.

He closed his eyes a moment. He had assumed he would keep watch first, by virtue of having more knowledge of travel than she had. Still, it would not be too bad to let her take the first shift. They had already avoided one encounter. Certainly there wouldn't be that much more yet. "Yes," he said softly, face stilled and eyes closed. "I'll sleep first, then. Wake me in a few hours, Alodel. I don't want you sitting up all night."

Izlamis looked at the fire again. "Don't let it burn all night," he cautioned, then moved on to answer her question. "What other kind of beings do you think we could encounter? I've only heard vague rumors of armies being built up, but you seem to have more concrete information." He paused for a moment. Was he going with her just because he wanted an adventure? Izlamis hoped not. "What else do you know?"

He pulled out his sleeping sack and laid down, sleeping as soon as she gave him a response.
 
Alodel still had her eyes closed as she began to speak. "I do no know what any of the others look like. I just know there names from the stories of the soldiers. I have a feeling we will come across Revenants and possibly grotto humans." Those two seemed to be the things that had frightened the soldiers the most; she never knew why. The soldiers never spoke of what their enemies looked like. They felt it was best to leave things in the past and move on.. only names last in history. "That is the extent of my knowledge. The soldiers do not like to spread fear in the Weald. They only speak of what they came across, and the archives are cut off from the rest of the people."

After having answered his questions, she heard his breathing change.. he was asleep. With a sigh, she looked around their small camping area. She had made it this far.. what surprised her was the fact that she hadn't seen anyone following her. One would think that by now her parents would have noticed her absence. Part of her wanted them to.. the other part wished they would leave her alone.

There was a crack in the darkness. Alodel startled. It felt as if seconds stretched into minutes. She couldn't see into the blackness but soon the outline of Eneth could be seen. She laughed lightly and shook her head.
 
Revenants? Grotto humans? Izlamis shook his head in dismay. Those were legends and stories, not real things for them to have to deal with now. But it also wasn't the first time he'd heard whispers of dark things from the past. Something was stirring in the land, if a young elf heard these rumors and knew so deeply in her heart that they were true that she went off by herself to rescue the country from them. Izlamis made himself think of something else, breathe deeply for a few breaths, then fall asleep.

A few hours later he awoke, a bit cold and cramped, as he was used to when he travelled. He pulled himself up off the ground and stretched. "Just a moment," he said, then jogged away from the camp and came back. He needed the moment to wake up. "All right, Alodel. You sleep for a few hours and I'll tend the fire." He patted the horses. "Seems like a nice, quiet night to me."
 
The hours that she had to stay up seemed to go by slowly. Every so often her head would droop as sleep beckoned her. Alodel was never a night person, only staying up for an hour or so after the bedtime she set for herself... so staying up to keep camp safe was a challenge.. but a necessary one. Maybe this would help her toughen up through out the whole thing. Soon, she just stared into the fire, sleep dazing her eyes. Alodel was listening to her surroundings but probably not being as vigilant as she should be...

Izlamis woke up. His voice startling her slightly, but it was welcome since it meant she could go to sleep. When he told her she could sleep, she just nodded.. not going to argue with him about it. Alodel curled up on her side, tucking her arms under her head and was our... she hoped morning wouldn't come so soon, but it most likely would.
 
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