(BEST VIEWED FULL SIZE!) Aranée bit down on a curse and pulled Kuila closer to quiet him. She had broken camp and bade farewell to Galen at sunrise, returned to Melius to retrieve her gear and some supplies, and was well on her way to the pass by midday. In the early afternoon a cold wind blew in low brooding clouds and a miserable light rain settled onto the Aeritan. Following the healer's directions, she traced a faint forgotten road to the northeast and arrived, wet and miserable, a little before dusk. What she saw couldn't have been more discouraging. A sprawling Greener camp lay at the base of the mountains, at the very entrance to the pass itself. Counting the campfires, tents and men she could see, she estimated more than fifty men in the camp itself. At least a dozen more roamed the periphery in deadly three-man patrols. Men were constructing light cabins or wooden floors for their tents, clearly preparing to settle in for the winter. She patiently waited until well after dark before circling around to try to gain entrance to the pass. Twice she and Kuila had barely gotten under cover in time to avoid a passing patrol. They hadn't been so lucky the third time. A thunderstorm now raged and the sodden ground and rock were treacherous. She lost her footing and hit the ground with an audible thump just as a patrol rounded an outcropping. The Greeners froze into statues, listening intently. At some unseen signal, they silently split up, searching in different directions in ever-widening circles around their original position. Now she and Kuila huddled and watched as a burly no-nonsense Greener searched dangerously close by, weapon ready, crouching and alert. She lay quietly as she could but eased her hand onto the hilt of the Elvish sword, silently drawing it. Just when she thought he couldn't possibly miss them, a loud shout and laugh from one of the men caused the big man to turn and bolt to the sound. She slowly exhaled and realized that she had been holding her breath. After a short while, it became obvious what had saved her: One of the sentries had found a hapless goat that had wandered into camp. She owed her life to a creature destined to be on a spit or in a cook pot within the hour. Carefully moving away from the camp, at length she finally felt safe enough to stop and take stock. She felt a sudden twinge from her back and shoulder and winced a bit. Healer Amikas would be very angry with her - her bandages were saturated with rain and mud. A cold wind blew and she pulled her cloak around her. Looking up into the rain towards the unseen mountaintops, she decided this must be the first cold weather storm of the season - snow likely was already falling in the highest elevations. The lion cub nervously paced around her a few times before sitting, leaning against her, nervously fidgeting while alertly looking into the darkness in the direction of the camp. Hefting the Elvish sword in her hands, she idly fingered the intricate inlay, lost in thought. After a short while, she had made her decision. "Come on Kuila, let's go see if Galen's offer is still on the table." --- TO BE CONTINUED! The story will make the most sense if you view the episodes in sequence. PLEASE leave a comment, good or bad, it really means a lot to me! Image and story © 2009 Larry Hodge