Mad Dash

Collyn leaned forward and grasped the formerly flying orb in his meaty fist.

"Be glad I had already knocked you to the ground," he said to Millard, "Or that ball might have hit something actually important."

The thin man groaned as he sat up. "Hey, now!" He kicked at the ground with his foot, and sent dirt spraying across his companions.

These interactions had drawn Alaron's undivided attention, causing him to move closer to them. By the time the small whirring ball came rushing towards the group, he was nearly on top of them.

The Guardian found it strange that no one seemed surprised by the entrance of the tiny menace except the man who had caught it with his head. Obviously they had seen such a thing before. It made him want an even closer look. But now he was too close, and he was unprepared for the spray of dirt that came his way from Millard. Some of it flew into his eyes, causing him to flinch.

The sudden motion caught the attention of the woman next to Collyn. Having deflected the dirt with her shawl, she noticed a shadow shift behind them. Her head turned to identify what caused the movement.

Collyn threw a fistful of dirt back at Millard before noticing the woman's anxious stare. "What is it, Sile?"

Sile stared a moment longer. "I saw something behind us move," the woman continued looking where she had seen the blur, but Alaron thought quickly. He grabbed the lowest branch of the tree which they all shared and lightly pulled himself into it.

The autumn leaves were crispy and crunched against each other as the branch swung slightly. The two men shifted their gaze upwards as the disturbance continued overhead. Yet, the Guardian had not been trying to be stealthy.

From the branch, four perfectly white birds flew and took flight, cooing as they went. The two men relaxed.

"Just some birds," Millard teased. "You think anything could get by me?"

"Let's not use that as our benchmark or safety." Collyn rolled his eyes. "You should check it out anyway."

Millard grunted in dissatisfaction. "First, I want to see what the message is. Open the contraption."

Collyn held the ball in both hands. From above, Alaron could better see the rounded globe as he inched overhead. It was brown and somewhat shiny like copper and resembled the message balls of the elves closely enough that Alaron almost thought they might be different sizes of the same object. However, whereas the elves' ball moved by magic, this one had a very different method of propulsion.

In the outer skin of the ball were two holes out of which two birdlike wings extended. Countless tiny gears surrounded the base of the wings, helping them to flap as the ball flew. As Collyn held the mechanical ball, he pushed a pin and the wings retracted.

Gripping it firmly with both hands, the man twisted each half in a series of different directions as he shifted the orb in a half circle while he worked. With each turn, the metallic orb clicked until it released the note inside. This was quite different from the verbal messages the elves could send.

The note was much larger than what the messenger birds could carry, and so it was far superior in that regard. Collyn scanned the paper until he smirked. "Looks like Her Majesty went out on parade today. If we had known we could have joined in the celebration. She is now safely back at the palace, so we will have to try our luck another time."

The others within earshot nodded. They seemed pleased with the news, but not in a way dutiful citizens should.

"I will send this on to the boss. He will want to know." Collyn wrapped up the paper and shut the ball.

"You mean...Could that change when we--? " Millard's voice dropped off as Collyn leaned forward and clamped his mouth.

"I don't want your barrage of questions. We shall see. But for now we stick to the plan." Releasing the thin man, Collyn pulled a small metal key from a pouch at his belt and inserted it into the tiny hole in the mechanism. As he wound the key, the wings popped out of the sides and hummed with excitement. "Hand me the map."

Sile passed over a map of the terrain. Collyn leaned over and examined it before tinkering with the ball's outer workings.

"I don't know how you remember all that," Millard stretched out on the ground and placed his hands behind his head. "It is beyond me."

Collyn scoffed at the man's laziness. "It's called paying attention and having half a brain. If you paid more than minimal attention, you could learn it too."

"Too much work when I have you around," Millard shrugged. "I'm more a man of action."

"You want some action? Go scout the perimeter and see if you can find whatever Sile saw!" Collyn kicked idly at Millard.

"I'll go when I'm good and ready!" The thin man huffed.

At last man with the mismatched eyes finished his task and released the ball. It flew directly above their heads through the thick of the fall leaves, sending a flurry of them to the ground.

Millard idly traced the path of the ball as it ascended. His eyes grew wide. "I have an idea of what Sile saw. It was a man in a black cloak."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Collyn asked. From his angle, it looked like the other man was merely daydreaming.

It wasn't until the thin man leapt to his feet and drew his sword that the other paid him any attention. "Because," Millard yelled to sound the alarm, "he's above our heads!"

Alaron had felt the whirring ball rush past his face; the tip of one wing actually brushed against his hood. He had tried to stay still, but the speeding orb coming straight at his nose caused him to shift quickly to one side. The mess of falling leaves revealed too much of his body, and that is why Millard had been able to spot him in his expert hiding spot.

"Drat. Bad luck." Alaron stood on the branch and ran along it as quickly as he could. By the time Collyn and Sile looked up, the cloaked figure was gone, but his trail was easy to follow from the falling debris.

Reaching the point at which the branch could no longer hold him, Alaron leapt to the next with his arms fully extended. But he chose poorly. The next tree had no leaves, not because of the coming winter, but because it was dead. Grabbing onto the upper branches of the tree, the Guardian felt them crack and break beneath the strain of his weight.

"You've got to be kidding." He began to plummet to the ground, reaching for any and every branch that he thought might support him. One broke beneath his back as he fell, causing him to cry out. 'That's going to hurt for a while...if I make it that long.'

Just as he was about to reach the ground, one last stalwart branch gave his arms purchase for him to stop his fall. He redirected his energy and swung sideways grabbing hold of the branch of a different, more healthy oak tree.

Brachiating with his arms, the man used three more branches to slow his descent before dropping to the ground. Behind him, he could hear the mysterious band of people rallying to follow them. He needed to quickly come to a decision.

Should he try to disappear and hope they did not find him or should he make a break for it to warn his sister and the others? If the men fanned out too much, they would quickly reach the river and discover the other three in his group.

Eira was a great fighter, Mairwen would be able to defend herself with a bow, and even Renat was a passable swordsman.

However three against two dozen was too bad of odds, and the Guardian could not risk it. Alaron would do his best to reach them and get them across the river before it was too late.

Steeling his resolve, the Guardian ducked into the shadows of the shade trees, mingling with darkness and light like little more than a ghost. Normally stealth was his greatest weapon, but speed was far more necessary. The group behind him would be pursuing him at any moment. Alaron rushed, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the others as he could.

Shouting erupted in the small camp. The Guardian could hear orders being given at a rapid pace. Collyn, the one who he could hear giving the orders, was well trained. After a moment everything behind him went silent.

Alaron was tempted to peek over his shoulder, but he knew better than to give up even a moment of his time. Time was not a luxury he had. Then breaking the silence, he heard the sound that nearly made his heart stop.

It was the sound of horses' hooves coming straight for him.