whole again.”
Conner looked from Steven to the forest. The bandits were out there somewhere, roaming free and without care. They were probably laughing about the death that was slowly coming to Conner.
“They already know you survived, and it’s been three days. We haven’t seen any signs of them. They are probably off in some other place, terrorizing some other poor traveler. But as long as we stay to the deep forest, they won’t find us.”
Laurin walked into the clearing, a smile on her face. “Sir Conner! How do you feel after eating?”
Conner touched his chest, feeling the squishiness of the salve under his tunic. “No longer famished. Thank you again for a fine meal.”
“You keep touching your wound, is it sore?” Laurin asked.
“A little uncomfortable. Not really painful.”
“It will be for a few days. But a strong knight like yourself, you must be used to combat and wounds!”
Conner smiled and chuckled, not sure what to say. This was truly the first injury that he’d ever experienced. He hoped it was his last.
“Conner is going to stay with us to Iseron,” Steven announced.
Laurin’s smile grew even wide. “Great! It will be good to travel with a third. We are all packed and ready to go. Do you feel strong enough, Sir Conner?”
Conner nodded, still uncomfortable at being addressed with the title, as he knew he didn’t deserve it. But he had to admit to himself that he liked how it rang in his ears.
***
It was slow going through the forest. Not only because of the underbrush that they had to continually skirt, but because Laurin did not have the same stamina as the men. She did not complain or make any excuses, she simply trudged on. But Conner found himself constantly looking back at her, waiting for her to catch up.
Steven kept them moving in a generally southwest direction. Although he had never been to Iseron himself, he knew where it was. All roads in this part of the empire led towards that city, so as long as they found themselves on a road, they could just follow it into the city. But they did stay away from any roads or paths that they came across. They certainly did not want to run into Harmack and his band of outlaws.
Although they spent much of their travels in the trees, they tried to stay within sight of the edge of the forest or a road. This allowed them to keep moving in the right direction without getting lost, but maintain the cover of safety. Several times through the day, voices carried to them and they hunkered down and let travelers pass them by. None seemed to be a threat, but there was no sense in pushing their luck. As long as the baby stayed inside Laurin, there was no real hurry to make it to Iseron. Safe and slow would get them there alive.
As the sun started to make its fall from the height of the day, Steven looked back at Laurin and realized that it was time to rest. They had been on the move since morning, and even Conner was starting to get a bit fatigued.
“We’ll push a bit deeper into the forest,” Conner said. “The underbrush should clear up and we’ll be able to find a nice clearing to rest.”
“If we go far enough in, we should be able to make a fire for hot food.”
Conner wrinkled his nose. Although the vegetable stew that Laurin had made was tasty, his stomach was aching for something with a bit more meat.
“Enough of her stew, huh?”
Conner simply
Conner looked from Steven to the forest. The bandits were out there somewhere, roaming free and without care. They were probably laughing about the death that was slowly coming to Conner.
“They already know you survived, and it’s been three days. We haven’t seen any signs of them. They are probably off in some other place, terrorizing some other poor traveler. But as long as we stay to the deep forest, they won’t find us.”
Laurin walked into the clearing, a smile on her face. “Sir Conner! How do you feel after eating?”
Conner touched his chest, feeling the squishiness of the salve under his tunic. “No longer famished. Thank you again for a fine meal.”
“You keep touching your wound, is it sore?” Laurin asked.
“A little uncomfortable. Not really painful.”
“It will be for a few days. But a strong knight like yourself, you must be used to combat and wounds!”
Conner smiled and chuckled, not sure what to say. This was truly the first injury that he’d ever experienced. He hoped it was his last.
“Conner is going to stay with us to Iseron,” Steven announced.
Laurin’s smile grew even wide. “Great! It will be good to travel with a third. We are all packed and ready to go. Do you feel strong enough, Sir Conner?”
Conner nodded, still uncomfortable at being addressed with the title, as he knew he didn’t deserve it. But he had to admit to himself that he liked how it rang in his ears.
***
It was slow going through the forest. Not only because of the underbrush that they had to continually skirt, but because Laurin did not have the same stamina as the men. She did not complain or make any excuses, she simply trudged on. But Conner found himself constantly looking back at her, waiting for her to catch up.
Steven kept them moving in a generally southwest direction. Although he had never been to Iseron himself, he knew where it was. All roads in this part of the empire led towards that city, so as long as they found themselves on a road, they could just follow it into the city. But they did stay away from any roads or paths that they came across. They certainly did not want to run into Harmack and his band of outlaws.
Although they spent much of their travels in the trees, they tried to stay within sight of the edge of the forest or a road. This allowed them to keep moving in the right direction without getting lost, but maintain the cover of safety. Several times through the day, voices carried to them and they hunkered down and let travelers pass them by. None seemed to be a threat, but there was no sense in pushing their luck. As long as the baby stayed inside Laurin, there was no real hurry to make it to Iseron. Safe and slow would get them there alive.
As the sun started to make its fall from the height of the day, Steven looked back at Laurin and realized that it was time to rest. They had been on the move since morning, and even Conner was starting to get a bit fatigued.
“We’ll push a bit deeper into the forest,” Conner said. “The underbrush should clear up and we’ll be able to find a nice clearing to rest.”
“If we go far enough in, we should be able to make a fire for hot food.”
Conner wrinkled his nose. Although the vegetable stew that Laurin had made was tasty, his stomach was aching for something with a bit more meat.
“Enough of her stew, huh?”
Conner simply
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