The Glass Unicorn, Part 10 (Quest Wars)

Chapter 55 The Lycanthroids

We started up the mountain again, wary and watching. Thornhold and I took the front because my eyesight was better than any of the others. As we slogged our way along the chiseled path of compounded snow and ice, it occurred to me that I’d rather be doing just about anything else than this.

“Sometimes, I really miss being home,” I said, keeping my voice low.

Thornhold, who was managing better than any of us because of his lower center of gravity and his muscle, nodded.

“I understand. As the days go on, it’s becoming more obvious that this is it — that we’re here for good.

I’ll admit, I don’t have a lot of hope left for getting out.

I think that the rest of our lives will be spent roaming this world.

” He gave me a wistful look, then shot his glance at the ascending path in front of us.

I worried my lip, silent. For the first couple of weeks, I had tried to keep my focus on the present.

And, given all we had already come through, it’d been easy to avert my gaze from the future.

But now, on these long stretches of traveling, we spent more time in silence than in conversation.

For one thing, it saved energy. For another, there was only so much to talk about as the hours stretched into days.

Back home, I hadn’t been focused on what was to come.

It seemed set, at least for the foreseeable future.

I loved my job, even with all the problems, and I was relatively happy.

I wasn’t in a relationship, but I hadn’t been looking for one.

I had my friends, my hobbies, and all in all, a comfortable life.

Now, though, it was as if fate had picked up a snow globe in which I’d been living and given it a good shake. The pieces of my life swirled around me, and I had no idea what things would look like when the storm passed.

If we were stuck here, I didn’t want to keep wandering around the world.

But where would I settle? And what would I do?

Would I chance starting a family without knowing whether we might ever leave the game?

And if I did find someone to settle down with, if I did have kids, what happened if the game devs ever fixed the game?

I wouldn’t be able to leave my family behind, and yet I knew they wouldn’t be able to come with me.

In fact, once we were done with destroying the curse and we went home to Liesel, the only sure thing I knew was that Star would be waiting for me.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Thornhold said.

I just shook my head. “A thousand pennies, you mean? I’m thinking about the future and what it might look like.”

“Don’t let me get you down,” he said, lowering his voice. “You know I’ve always been a pragmatist, but even I know you have to have some hope in life.”

“Oh, don’t worry yourself —” I paused, looking ahead.

We stood at a curve in the path, and we couldn’t see the trail ahead until we rounded the bend. But I was positive that I heard something around the curve, though I couldn’t pinpoint what the noise was. I held up my hand and turned.

“I hear something,” I said in a low voice.

We all listened for a moment, then Reggie nodded.

“I hear it too,” he said. “Like voices caught up in the wind.”

“I suggest we ready ourselves for anything.” I withdrew my silver sword, wondering if it was wise to charge in, looking as if we were ready for battle. If they were friendly, it might scare them into attacking. On the other hand, if they were spoiling for a fight, we’d be ready.

I lowered my sword, but kept it unsheathed. The others armed up. Without another word, Thornhold and I started to climb again, rounding the bend to see who—or what—was waiting for us.

Up ahead, to one side of the path, a campfire crackled, sitting atop a thin but wide stone slab. A wagon sat on the shoulder next to the rock wall, with two horses deep in their feedbags.

Two men and two women gathered around the fire, which had a kettle hanging over it. Something delicious bubbled within, smelling so good that my stomach rumbled. A fifth person—another man—draped blankets over the horses to keep them warm. They were dressed for the weather in leather and fur.

There was a different look to them, not quite human, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on exactly what I was sensing. All five had jet-black hair, and their skin was a shade darker than tan. The older woman, who was stirring the cauldron, slowly set down the spoon.

She straightened, drawing a short sword from its scabbard. The blade glowed with a pale lavender light. The others waited as she circled to the front of the camp, where she stood waiting, tapping the flat of the blade on her other hand.

“Stop where you are,” she said. “Identify yourselves.”

I took a deep breath, then I took one step forward and stopped. “I’m Erenye. These are my companions. We aren’t looking for a fight. We’re just traveling over the pass.”

The woman — who looked to be in her late 40s or early 50s — hesitated. She glanced at her blade, which was still glowing with the pale lavender light, and seemed to relax.

“Who are your companions?” she asked.

It seemed a bit rude that she didn’t introduce herself first, but I decided to take no offense. It wasn’t worth a fight.

“The dwarf is Thornhold,” I said, then pointed to Reggie. “This is Reggie, that’s Ray, and Brynn. Your turn. To whom am I talking?”

She paused another moment, then said, “Magdala. I’m the mother of my clan, the Ossaylas. We’re heading home. These are my sons, Aisling and Rupert. My daughter Alina and her husband, Sean.” They each waved as she introduced them.

“Will you allow us to pass?” I asked. “We want no trouble.”

Magdala studied my face for a moment. Then, she re-sheathed her dagger and motioned to the campfire. “We have enough food if you would care to join us and rest yourselves for a bit. It’s a long hike to the next rest stop, and you look frazzled. Did you encounter the goblins earlier?”

I let out a long breath, relieved. My sense was correct. They weren’t out to hurt us. I glanced back at the others, and they nodded. Turning back to Magdala, I sheathed my sword.

“Thank you. We appreciate the offer, and if you truly mean it, we’ll take you up on it.

We don’t know the way through the pass. Maybe you can offer us some suggestions?

” I asked. Then, because it seemed only appropriate, I added, “Would you like a loaf of bread or two to go with the stew? We don’t want to deprive you of your foodstuffs. ”

Everybody visibly relaxed, and we joined them at the campfire. Rupert was sorting through a pile of sticks to stoke the fire.

Thornhold joined him, offering a couple of the sticks of wood that we were carrying. Rupert accepted with a smile. I motioned for Reggie and Ray to spread out a couple of our tarps for everyone to sit on.

“We have plenty of food, and we don’t live far from here. Keep what you have. If you’re traveling through the mountains, you’ll need it. So, you aren’t mountain folk?” Magdala asked.

“No, we aren’t,” I said. “We started out from Dusmaria.” It seemed easier to say that than to try to explain everything that happened. “We’re headed toward the Summer Kingdom.”

“You have quite a journey ahead of you,” Aisling said, his eyes flickering to Brynn. He was openly staring at her, but it didn’t feel creepy. At least not in a stalkerish sort of way.

“Do you know how far we have left to go? We’re forging ahead using directions that were given to us. None of us have ever traveled this way.” I said.

“Oh, you’ve got a couple of weeks left ahead of you, and the going is rough.

But you are, indeed, headed toward the Summer Kingdom.

There are other passes that lead to other places, but this is the pass that leads into the Valley of the Sun.

” Aisling moved to help Magdala, who was ladling stew into mugs.

“Do you have utensils of your own?” Magdala asked. “I’m afraid we don’t have enough mugs for everybody, although there’s plenty of food.”

“We can supply our own,” Thornhold said, as he and Brynn began sorting through their packs, pulling out mugs and spoons.

I handed the cups to Magdala. She filled them and then handed them back to me.

When everyone had a cup of the hearty stew and a chunk of what smelled like sourdough bread, we gathered near the fire, sitting on the tarps, and the conversation lapsed as we dug into the rich, thick tomato-beef base.

The snow fell silently around us as we ate, and for the moment, a quiet peace fell over the camp.

I relaxed for the first time in a while.