19 Chapter 19: Making Camp

Saffron felt the drums before she heard them; the ground beneath them thudding in time to the beat. It was unsettling how quickly it took them to reach the front; only a handful of days’ travel. The rain hadn’t ceased. The harvest had ended furiously, sweeping the countryside with torrents of icy rain. This did not bode well for winter. It would be a wet, harsh season. Saffron needed to gather herbs as soon as they got there. The collection she had at the apothecary, which was now at the castle, was thinner than she would like this close to winter’s doorstep.

Tents rose from the mists as the carriage made its way into the valley, the horses’ hooves sinking and squelching into the deep muddy ruts. Saffron studied the sodden landscape. Tents stretched as far as the eye could see and beyond them, the cliffs of Udril. She turned her eyes to Elric.

“Is it wise to be this close to their border?” she asked, her stomach trembling with nerves. He scoffed.