Fear on the Road

**ERICKSON'S POV**

We left the city that afternoon. It was no surprise to Arthur and me that we needed to stop for the night, but it seemed that Boberre hadn't expected that it would end up taking this long.

"How much farther will it be?" He asked as the sun started to go down. "I do not want to be out here when the moon is up."

"I..I..I'm sorry, Mr. Boberre, Sir. But it will take until tomorrow afternoon to reach our village." The intensity in his eyes had actually scared me when I saw it and I could tell, by the quivering in Arthur's voice as he told the man this fact, that he was scared as well. This was a man that not only had the right to kill us on a whim, but also the strength.

"Hnghnghngh!" The sound that was coming from this now very menacing looking man was savage and bestial. The growl that he was emanating was primal and hungry, it spoke of power that I couldn't even begin to fathom.

"M..M..M..Mr. Boberre, a..a..a..a..are you O..O..OK?" My voice shook and I felt weak next to this man that I knew was slowly losing his sanity.

"I will be fine." He growled the words and emphasized the first letter of the last word like he had to force himself to be calm just so he could say it.

"I..I am sorry that we did not explain it all to you b..b..before we l..left." Arthur did his best to contain the nerves and fear he was feeling.

Seeing the frightened look on Arthur's face must have helped him to see that he was out of control for a moment. He shook his head and sighed long and loud.

"It is fine. I should have asked in advance. I am just glad that I thought of packing some clothing for myself just in case. However, I ask that we camp someplace where I can set up a tent. I will require privacy for the evening."

"Y..yes. Yes, of course." I was nodding at him. "It will be dark in about another hour, would you like to stop now or go for a little while longer?"

I thought about it and if we were to stop now and restart early the next morning then we would get home a little after lunch tomorrow. That would probably make Helen worry since it will be later than when we arrived home from our normal trips, but this isn't a normal trip now is it. This was a special trip that we made for Addie's sake.

"Stop now, I need time to prepare my camp." Mr. Boberre was firm in that answer, so we chose a nice spot off the road.

We were just past the bridge that crossed the only river between the city and our village. All the streams that flowed into the villages were fed by this river. With this as our stopping point for the night, we wouldn't have to worry about someone coming up behind us, that would make night watch duty a little bit easier.

Our new associate went right to work on setting up his tent and preparing to retire for the night. He seemed like someone that was used to sleeping out in nature like this, so that made things a lot easier on him.

"M..Mr. Boberre, I hope you don't mind me asking, b..but what is it that you do? I..I..I mean, for your job inside the city." I quickly clarified my question as soon as it was out of my mouth and saw that he paused in his effort of drawing water and preparing to make his dinner.

"I am what they call a Feller. In other words, I am a wood cutter."

That explained a lot about his appearance. Despite his effort to look clean and put together, he had a wild and rough air to him that just didn't seem to go with his well cut clothes and proper way he was talking.

"So, does that mean that you spend quite a lot of time away from the city?" He had answered the first question easily so I thought that I would keep going while the chicken I had bought in the city earlier today was cooked.

"That's right. I travel quite often and collect lumber to return to the city. It is also my job to replant the trees that I take and report the locations of them so that the mages can cause their growth to increase exponentially."

"That sounds so fascinating, Mr. Boberre." Arthur seemed enthralled now that there didn't seem to be any danger in the situation.

"It is a job and nothing more." Mr. Boberre shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone in the city needs wood at some point. Either for furniture or for their fireplaces, wood is an essential and irreplaceable resource for us all." He was not wrong, it was something that every household made sure that they had on hand, no matter what.

"I am sure that your family is very proud of your work. You are a vital part of the city's central function." I was smiling at him, showing him that I was sincere in my words, and I knew that he had understood what I meant.

"I have no fam-." Whatever it was that he was about to say ended up being cut off halfway through as he clutched his head in what looked to be severe pain.

"Mr. Boberre?" Arthur rose to his feet like he was about to go and check on the man, but I stopped him with a hand on his elbow when I heard a loud, menacing growl come from him.

This growl was louder, more animalistic and savage sounding than the one a little bit ago.

"Arthur, get in the wagon." I told him to move so that he was safer than he was now. This wasn't a situation that either of us should be in.