Chapter 5

I was glad to get off of the rocky ground and onto the grassy plains. My feet hurt from walking and it still bugs me that we are being tailed by someone and I don't know who it is. I have a feeling that whoever it is knows me. Could it by my father? Has he come looking for me after all these years of hiding? No matter! I want to know who it is so I tell Tosta and Yomon that I'm going hunting. Yomon hands me the wooden spear on his back. Out of the other things I've learned to fight with, the spear is a close second. I still prefer a sword over a spear no matter how far the spear can strike. I'm getting better with the spear and nail a deer on my first try. It's a massive buck. There's enough meat on it to last us the rest of the trip and back again. I pull out my makeshift dagger and gut the deer. By the time I'm finished gutting it, I'm covered in blood. A nice wash in a stream will clean this up.

I hear rustling above me and I thought it was the wind, but when I threw the spear, their wasn't any wind at all. Maybe the wind picked up and I haven't noticed it. Maybe it's the person who's been tailing us and he wants something to eat. A thought came to my mind and I got stuff ready for a fire. I'll just lure them out with my great cooking. Before running away from my father, my mother taught me how to cook a myriad way to cook food. I get a fire going and wait for Yomon and Tosta to get here before I get cooking in case our spy wants to ambush me.

I get the fire going with the small magic I remember. I hate using magic, but it does have its uses. Maybe one day I'll train more with magic. Being a skilled magician and swordsman will be a valuable asset during a fight. I put the meat in a pan that Yomon always carries around in his pack. It starts sizzling right away and the delicious smell of meat fills the air. Yomon has that crazy look on his face like he want to push me out of the way and grab the meat for himself. He may be a big guy, but he always jokes about himself and is lighthearted when people joke about him. He's just a happy go lucky person without a care in the world. Well all except food. I laugh at the thought.

I hear a branch creaking above and snapping. I hear thudding as something seems like it hits every branch coming down. A person lands with a thud in the brush. We run up to the person. It's a man, probably my age, but wisdom covers his face. He's probably training to be a magician. No matter! This person was following us without us knowing! He starts to groan and sits up. He rubs his head.

"Who a'e you an' what do ya want?" Yomon grabs the man by the collar of his shirt.

"I'm Thoron." the man says calmly, "I'm the main tactician for the Iceltic army. I'm only here on Vizion's orders. He wanted me to see how you guys are doing. I swear that's all."

"Were you the one who made the clothes that I'm wearing?" I ask walking up to Yomon.

"Yes." Thoron says looking around frantically, "I saw how cold you were. The thread in those clothes are made of special plant fibers from the Ice Berry bushes. It'll keep you warm in the cold and cool in the heat."

"So what made you fall then?" Tosta says, "Surely you can't be that clumsy to follow us all the way here and fall out of a simple tree."

"You see I'm starving." Thoron says laughing, "I can't hunt well and when I smelled Rias's cooking, I leaned to far off the branch and fell off. You mind not telling Vizion of this little accident."

"Since you were a good sport and told us what you were doing," Tosta starts walking back to the fire, "we won't tell Vizion. Come sit and eat. There's plenty to go around."

Thoron shakes himself free of Yomon's grasp and rushes over to the food. He grabs himself a few handfuls of meat and sits on a stump. When he was full, he starts telling us about himself. He's a magician in training, but has extraordinary tactics that have won countless battles. He's specifically training to be a fire magician, but he has to do it in secret since fire magic is outlawed in Iceltic. He knows a little ice magic, but it's not as strong as his fire magic. He wants us to keep that from Vizion as well. Dusk begins to fall and I decide to head out to find a stream so I can wash off the blood from my clothes and body. I find a stream after the moon is high in the sky. Thank the Goddess that the moon is out because I wouldn't have found the stream without it. I take off my clothes and throw them into the steam and jump in. After vigorously rubbing off what blood I can from my clothes, I throw them up onto the shore and soak in the cold stream. After a while, I check to see if my clothes are dry and thankfully they are. I put them back on and head back to the campsite. I can't wait to head back to Icelia and show the treasures we've found to Vizion. I just hope that we can get back by tomorrow. It all just depends on what happens between here and Icelia. Bandits, wild animals, and Argostia troops can try to stop us along the way. Only the Goddess can tell if we make back home safely. And only we can tell if we make the right choices along the path.