Calm Before the Storm

“We could stay here tonight,” Roukan declared.

The group sighed in unison, followed by the sound of their bags falling on the floor. But no one was about to relax just yet.

Like a well-trained troupe, they went on with their tasks. The man with grey hair they called Ulric climbed up the stone walls to fix the roof. Lupe and Ylva went outside to gather some firewood while Canagan sat on the floor, taking out his bags of herbs and his mortar and pestle.

Friedolf gently set Ren next to her. He gave her a small nod before he left to help Ulric. She unpacked her own bag and put her blanket on Ren. She rolled her sleeping canvas and placed it under his head.

She looked around her, trying to figure out what she could do to help, and she decided to just sit there and try not to get in anybody’s way. Rahil sat by the window, constantly looking outside.

“Do you think it’s wise to stay in the middle of an infested forest?” Rahil asked.

“They’re dangerous, but they can be good protection,” Roukan replied as he changed his shirt. His body looked strong and seasoned, covered in bruises and scars. He grinned when he caught her staring. She merely looked away and listened to the rain.

“The demons destroy everything, even the Shadow Army,” Roukan continued. “If we keep quiet, we’ll be okay.”

Rahil’s jaw clenched at his nonchalance. She shared his uneasiness, but she was also grateful to be sitting down and protected from the storm.

“Hey,” Conri said to Roukan. “I want to go out and hunt.”

“You can’t track in this weather,” Roukan replied. “We’ll have to make do with our supply.”

Conri cursed and swept back his braided raven hair. His big brown eyes caught hers. Panicking, she averted her gaze and hugged her knees close.

To her surprise, Conri sat next to her, grunting as he flopped down on the floor.

“I wanted fresh meat,” he explained like he was talking to an old friend. His voice was welcoming and kind. “Sometimes animals wander inside this forest. We’ve been eating stale bread for days, I think my teeth will fall off.”

Her heart bumped into excitement. “Does that mean we’re close to the edge of the forest?” she tried her best to sound as calm as possible.

Conri smiled. “Yes, we are.”

His honesty caught her off guard. She would’ve thought he would withhold any information that would give away where they were.

She wanted to ask him more questions, get him to spill anything that would help them. But Fenris joined them, rummaging through his bag. He then pulled out a handful of herbs and mushrooms and handed them to Conri. His face lit up like he was handed gold coins.

“Nice! When did you get these?” he asked as he smelled each herb.

“Found them when I was scouting,” he simply said. He then looked at Elswyth from head to toe. His passive expression made her nervous. Did he figure out what she was trying to do with Conri?

Fenris raised his hand. Elswyth instinctively closed her eyes, but then she felt a damp towel fall on her head. She looked up and saw Fenris’s brown eyes gently gazing down on her.

“Thank you,” was all she could say, completely taken aback by the sudden kind gesture. With his face unchanged, he patted her head and walked away.

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Conri chuckled. “He’s the epitome of action speaks louder than words,” he said lowly to her. “He’s a quiet one, but he’s probably the kindest, most genuine man you’ll ever meet.”

“I’m Conri,” he said pointing at himself.

‘This kid is too honest,’ the thought made her smile.

“Elswyth,” she replied as she mimicked his actions. It was easy to be around Conri, she realized.

“Hey Lupe!” Conri yelled.

The petit young woman who was making fire looked up at them. Her round golden brown eyes were wide with anticipation. She happily hopped towards them, face covered in ash. Her thick curly brown hair dripping wet and her full lips almost blue from the cold. Yet despite her pitiful state, she moved very lively and gave a short squeal when she saw what was in Conri’s hand.

“Think you can cook us something warm tonight?” Conri asked sweetly.

“I can try,” she answered as she checked the herbs one by one. “But we’ll have to wait. Cannagan is brewing his potions.”

Conri groaned as he sluggishly got up to talk to Cannagan. Lupe on the other hand stood still. Her amber eyes wide, like two crystals scanning her from head to toe. Ellie was about to say hi, when, without a warning, she rushed back to where she was, pulled a dry set of clothes and gave them to her.

“You and Ylva are about the same size,” she said thrusting the clothes to her. “You can wear this while I dry your clothes.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said pushing the clothes back to her. She didn’t know Ylva well, but she doubted she was okay with sharing clothes with a stranger.

“Don’t be silly,” Lupe insisted. “You’ll get sick if you don’t get warm.”

She thought about saying the same thing to her. The poor kid’s basically shaking. Lupe placed the dry clothes on her lap, and walked to Ylva. She whispered something to her and Ylvas’s jade eyes landed on her. She gave her a warm smile and nodded.

Conri returned, his shoulders hunched, and eyebrows knitted in disappointment.

“There’s no reasoning to that kid once he starts brewing,” he sighed. “He’ll hog that fire until he’s done.”

“I should at least prepare these,” he mumbled to himself. “It’s not a lot, but at least it will keep us warm through the storm.”

“I can help,” she said as she reached out her hand, asking for something to do.

Conri took one look at her and said “It’s fine. Rest,” he said. “No offense but you look like you could use a break.”

“Oh,” was all she could reply. She didn’t mean to sound so dejected. Conri looked up at her, surprised.

He hummed and said “Why don’t you get changed first? You can help after.”

His kind response surprised her. Rahil would’ve dismissed her disappointment. He would often call her a child for being upset over trivial things. She got so used to it, that a simple kind response felt new and warm.

The storm grew stronger as the day went by. The wind is howling and every now and then, claps of thunder would echo through the sky. This will be followed by rustling of trees. She shared this anxiousness with the rest of the group. None of them was truly at ease—except for Roukan who sat in the corner with his eyes closed.

The day grew colder as the sun began to set. Soon, the food was ready. Lupe made a pot of soup with wild mushrooms. They also gave her stale bread and mulled wine. It must be the weariness, but her food tasted like nothing. It was warm though, which was comforting.

The smell of bonfire and the sound of rain pattering on the roof reminded her of stormy nights in Faeldic. Cassia would make a hearty soup and bread and they eat it by the fire with a blanket over her shoulders.

‘They would’ve seen her by now,’ she thought to herself.

If anyone saw her in that forest today, people would accuse her of murdering her own mother. She wondered if Aster would. She’s seen her after all.

‘But you did hurt her,’ she scolded herself. ‘So why does it matter?’

Her self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted by a low groan coming for behind her. Ren was stirring, eyebrows knitted as he massaged his temple.

“Must he always be so loud?” Ulric grunted, his brilliant blue eyes rolling.

“Ren,” she said whispered as she gently stopped him from getting up.

His face grimaced and his hands were clutching his temples. He tried to open his eyes, only to moan in pain, and shut them tight again.

“Ellie?” he finally said. “When did you get back?”

He covered his eyes, as if the low light from the bonfire burned his eyes. “Ugh my head feels like an anvil, and someone’s mercilessly pounding on it. I must’ve drunk too much at Old Ilan’s tavern. I shouldn’t have drink any of his new concoctions.”

“Stay still,” she whispered.

“I dreamt about you,” he said smiling. “And now here you are.”

Her lips turned into a sad smile. “You have to keep your voice down,” she said.

This made him chuckle. “You said the same thing to me in my dreams. And you were fighting a demon tree.”

“It wasn’t a dream, mister.”

Ren froze at the sound of Cannagan’s voice.

"Who is that?"

Elswyth bit her lips, afraid he might start fighting her off with a branch again.