his elbow looking at his friend with concern. “What about?” asked Fil, with no hint of mockery.
“I don’t know,” Jonas answered. “Things have changed so fast. What are we going to do? Neither one of us has even been out of the Tundren Mountains. Now we have no home, no family, and we are heading to Finarth, a city we have only heard people talk about. And this symbol on my chest scares me. What does it mean?”
Fil sat all the way up and looked at Jonas seriously. “I’m scared too. Everything has happened so fast that it is just now beginning to sink in. The symbol on your chest is obviously Shyann’s mark, which means she has chosen you for something. I have no idea what her plan is, or why she marked you, but you must have faith that she will unveil her reason to you.” Fil reached out and gave Jonas a brotherly pat on his shoulder. “We’ll be okay.”
Jonas looked up and smiled at his friend. “Yeah, I know, and Fil,” Jonas paused, looking up into his friends eyes. “Thanks for not leaving me before, at the village.”
“No problem, we are family now, meant to be together. Our destinies are entwined. I can feel it. Now let’s get some sleep. I’ll take first watch,” Fil said smiling.
Four
New Friends
Jonas awoke to a gentle nudge on his shoulder. Fil was kneeling next to him, his finger to his mouth warning Jonas to be silent. Jonas’s sleepiness vanished quickly as he saw Fil’s worried expression.
“What is it?” whispered Jonas, quietly sitting up.
“A caravan just came up to the crossroads and set up camp,” whispered Fil.
“A caravan? How long have I been asleep?” Jonas asked.
“Not long,” replied Fil. “What do you want to do?”
Jonas got up and buckled on his belt and hunting knife. “Let’s go take a look, see if they appear friendly. Did you get a good look at them?” he asked as he grabbed his bow.
“No, but it looks like a merchant caravan,” responded Fil who also buckled on his sword belt and retrieved his bow.
They crept silently through the woods until they neared the crossroads. It was dark, but the clear sky and the bright stars lit the road well. They hid in the trees, blanketed by the shadows of the night, trying to get a good look at the newcomers.
The caravan consisted of twenty wagons pulled by oxen. In the center of the crossroads was a huge fire surrounded by at least a dozen men. Their caravan was large and the only open space available was the road itself, besides, these roads were seldom traveled this time of the year so it was unlikely that they would come across any other travelers that night.
Fil and Jonas moved a little closer to get a better look. One large fire burned in the middle and they saw several smaller fires that were spread out on the road. There were about fifteen men at arms, wearing armor and swords, and equally that number of horses tied to the wagons. Spying on the group they saw a handful of men who wore traveling clothes of high quality and carried no weapons. They did indeed look like traders.
“You’re right, looks like a merchant caravan,” Jonas whispered in Fil’s ear.
“I agree. What do you want to do? Should we ask them if we can join their fire?” asked Fil.
“Let’s get a little closer to one of the smaller fires,” suggested Jonas.
Fil nodded his head in acknowledgement and they crept silently around the big fire to one of the smaller fires that was separated from the rest of the men. Nearing the glowing blaze they noticed that there was only one figure there, huddling close to the fire, sharpening a thin hunting knife. His face was hooded and they couldn’t make out the features underneath. It was dark, but they could see that he had a small, thin frame, and he wore a green traveling cloak, light green tunic, and huntsman boots laced up to the knee.
Suddenly the figure stopped sharpening the blade and lifted his head as if he heard something. Fil and Jonas stopped moving and looked on with interest. The pause was brief, and he started sharpening the blade again. They got to the edge of the wood line, about fifteen paces away, and studied the lone figure some more. He kept sharpening his thin curved blade, but after a few moments, without lifting his head, he spoke.