Closed for the Holiday

Leo woke to the sounds of Clark swearing at the camp cooks.

Alexis had made arrangements for the party to serve as caravan guards, meeting the caravan master, Clark, a mile outside the city gates. A large, gruff man, with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes, only one word came to mind when describing Clark. Big.

Over 6'4, with the build of a grizzly bear, the man's boisterous and loud personality was intimidating to the orphan. It didn't help that the third evening of traveling together, Leo personally witnessed Clark crush a wolf's head with a casual backhand when it approached too close to the food by the fire.

The man was overly friendly with Alexis, yet quick with his crop on any caravan workers or animals he believed to be shirking their duties. Leo, noticing his strength and quick temper, decided immediately to stay far away from the man as his duties would permit.

Alice spent most of her time treating the injuries of the driver who broke a wheel axle on rough ground through negligence, as Clark had decided to give the driver a matching right leg. Some few others of the twenty some-odd travelers often came to her with minor injuries or sicknesses, hoping for her to grant basic healing and cures normally unavailable to the lower classes.

Ren hit it off with the regular guards easily, like a duck to a pond. His years of arms training and practice showed in his stance, and the casual grace with which he carried himself. He kept a keen eye on the lead of the caravan, and every evening his tall, slim form could be seen going through practice motions with his zweihander, wielding it with quick and brutal efficiency.

Alexis rarely left the covered wagon in which he ensconced himself at the beginning of the trip. All Leo saw of him were the rare moments during dinner when the curtain was drawn back, and he could be seen sitting with a beautiful elven woman, her face palely illuminated by the evenings dim light.

After two weeks of travel with the caravan, Clark immediately called everyone to a halt at noon day.

"As y'all know, it's mid-simm'r solst'ce todai," he called out in his thick accent. "We be settin' up kahmp for te rest o' te dai, n' be hostin' a feast tonigh'. Bles't, ye'll be settin' up a perimt'r n wardin' te site for te rest ov us."

Leo shook his head, attempting to make out the words that seemed to make less sense than a drunks ramblings to his ears. Alice leaned over, giggling quietly at his confusion and said, "He said we're setting up the perimeter and wards to protect the camp while the others prepare and celebrate." Her brown eyes sparkled and danced with amusement. Pulling back her hood, her short black hair dusty from the travel seemed to shimmer faintly as she shook her head. "I'll set up the wards, you and Ren can set up perimeter alarms and patrol. Sound fair?"

"Making plans for me already, little rosebud?" Ren spoke quietly from behind her. His affectionate nickname for Alice spoke of years of personal experiences, and he addressed her as one would a younger sister.

"You can't be surprised at that. I've been telling you what to do for years," she replied glibly, sticking her tongue out at him. "Besides, do you really think either of you are really capable of setting wards as well as I can?" Leo's face stiffened slightly at these words, and he was reminded yet again that he was truly unskilled and weak in comparison to the others.

Having received their "assignments" from Alice, Ren and Leo began stringing up small tripwires and alarms around the planned celebration area. After a few hours of work, the two returned to find Alice sitting in the center of the campgrounds, meditating and chanting quietly under her breath. Her raven black hair was shimmering and sparkling with inner light as she wove her enchantment. In front of her, a large jar of oil was glowing with arcane light as she performed her light magic chant, blessing it to ward away incorporeal entities and protect those celebrants of the festivities from misfortune.

As she finished her prayer to her deity, she smiled faintly at the warmth suffusing her. Opening her eyes, she turned to the guards nearby, instructing them to spread the oil in a wide circle around the camp, and to ensure no one crossed the line during the night. "A ward is only useful if people remain inside it," she admonished them lightly, with a gentle smile. Everyone was reminded of the incident with the cookfire having been set outside the wards one night, resulting in Clark having to kill a wolf who had approached.

The camp was bustling with activity as everyone prepared for the feast that evening, and everyone was excited. Midsummer marked the day where the commoners grew a year older, exchanging gifts between friends and family. To Leo, it was simply a reminder that his father was gone, dead another year.

He was looking forward to being one step closer to his age of majority, but as for feasting and drinking with strangers, he chose to volunteer for extra guard duty instead. He thought guarding the wagons of the higher ranked travelers a better use of his time.

As the sun set, the caravan's feast began.