Star of Silvaria: XIV: Icelight

Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash

We made camp two hours after the blanket of stars had fallen overhead. A high, curving bank of clay and stone formed a fortress of protection as it bounded against the forest on one end, and the open plains on the other.

While there had been no other attack, we had the unsettling feeling that there had been eyes along our path, and all of us watched the shadows uneasily. All of us, save Rolf, who could have heard anything within at least a mile.

Rolf and Raphael set about gathering wood for a fire, while Gabriel set out a ring of stones to encircle the flame, leaving me standing in the shadows, staring mindlessly.

This was one day. One day, and there were rivers of aches running from my shoulderblades through all my limbs, rooting me like a tree. Yet, I was running in mental energy that wouldn’t rest, through the narrow gap the bank left peering out on the forest-plain border.