Chapter 21: Onward and Forward

She continued to study the sky for a few moments and I continued to watch her silently, no matter creepy it felt. I wanted to know what she would do next. After she had sat there for a couple of minutes, she begun rubbing her eyes. From where I sat I couldn't tell what she was doing or why she was rubbing her eyes like that. But then she dropped her arms, and I saw her cheeks and the corners of her eyes glistening with the trails and tears she was shedding silently. Deep in my chest, I had a pull showing just much I wanted to comfort her but I knew doing so would give me away. So instead, I sat still on my rock, watching her quietly until she seemed to calm down. Her face hardened again, and her eyes cleared showing she was back to the Isilnyor that I knew. She stood and strode away from the stream as silent as she had come. I decided now was a good time to get out and dressed and head back to camp. I did so and headed back, going straight for my tent. Laying on my bed, I fell asleep the moment my head was laid down.

I awoke before dawn the next morning, ready for the day's movement towards our final destination. This included packing up all of the equipment and cleaning up any mess left behind in the clearing. But as I finished getting ready, I heard the tell tale whistle of the general summoning me. I left my tent and belongings to be broke down and packed by the soldiers whom the job was assigned to and begun to walk across camp.

Stopping by the food section of camp, I grabbed an apple and a slice of deer sausage and filled my canteen with fresh water. I ate as I walked, studying my surroundings and the people in them. I acknowledged subconsciously that I was likely searching for Isilnyor. As I finished my breakfast and rinsed it down, I came to a stop in front of the General and none other than the individual I had been silently looking for. They both looked in my direction, the General raising a hand signaling me. As soon as my feet stopped, the General began speaking.

"Rune. You will be scouting ahead with Isilnyor. We are nearing the border and should be there by nightfall. I need you two to scout us a place to settle and regroup nearby Mikarthen before pressing into their territory. Make a thorough search as we will likely be within distance of any border patrols. We will stop at the beginning of Aravindal Pass.You will double back and report to me when you have it settled. That is all." With a quick flick of his hand, he dismissed us from his tent, leaving us to figure out how we were going to scope out the area ahead of us. I turned to Isilnyor, waiting for her decision knowing she was my superior. She merely shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll do what you decide is the best. I didn't come here to teach how to do what your own job is. I got my own to worry about."

With that she walked away from me, leaving me to myself and my thoughts. Now alone, my thoughts focused on the mission ahead of me. I returned to where my bags sat packed where my tent had once stood and extracted multiple things from the collection of gear. Afterwards, I walked into the nearby treeline and changed from my uniform to my entirely black, hand crafted stealth clothes. With a few, quick movements, I had my assorted weapons strapped to my body and was ready to go through with my mission. I returned to the camp in search of Isilnyor, with the intention of debriefing her. But no matter where I looked in the camp, I saw no hide nor hair of the my supposed partner. With no other choice, I referred to the General's lead guard Laine, who pointed me in the direction of the camp that held the only space in the shrubbery and trees that allowed a slight view of the road that ran along side the camp. I approached the edge of the clearing, only to have a slight movement in one of the tree's luscious leaves to catch my eyes. Sitting on a branch, sat Isilnyor, who watched me closely. I waved her down and waited for her to return to ground level once again before walking in the direction which Aravindal Pass sat. I didn't bother turning around because I knew she was following me without having to check. I began to speak, knowing she was listening.

" I've already decided the best course of action. We'll will end up both entering the Aravindal Pass as though we are normal travellers. From there, we will scope out the lay of the town of Mikarthen itself. Can't be too careful since the town literally sits on the border of the Gunningap and the only entrance to Niflheim that exists. Afterwards, we will on to the surrounding forest, looking for a clearing for the squad to set up the new camp. It will have to be a good enough clearing that it will support the camp for an unspecified amount of time until we figure out what exactly we are doing. Upon figuring out a satisfactory clearing, we will double back to the Aravindal Pass. One of us will return by traveling off the main path, searching the surrounding trees and the other will return by the main path so that we can double check that the main path is entirely safe and clear. Do you understand Isilnyor?"

She nodded her head in silent agreement and we begun walking. I figured I would leave the choice up to her.

"Would you rather be the one to check the trees surrounding Aravindal Pass or would you rather the main path?"

She answered quickly saying she was taking the main path leaving the surrounding area to me to search. With that decided, we enjoyed the rest of the trip to Mikarthen in silence. As we arrived in the town of Mikarthen, very little seemed amiss about the area around me. The townsfolk acted normally, I saw no suspicious people and no malicious spells were detectable. I looked to see Isilnyor steering away from the main path, where she came to halt at a shop's window. It held a variety of children's toys, clothes and books. I watched as her eyes dropped to a pair of black, blue and grey sneakers in the size of a middle aged child. Her eyes portrayed a change in her emotions as the softened considerably. She began to speak quietly, as though she had yet to realize I stood behind her.

"Those would look amazing on Lyon. They're about his size too. I'll have to buy him a pair of of shoes just like that when we're together again"

At that point, she realized that I stood behind her and she jumped ever so slightly. Masking it with a glare, she walked away.

"Why did you stand there like that? Talk about being a creeper."

I apologized swiftly and after waiting for a few moments, I asked her who Lyon was. She looked at me and mumbled a quick statement about someone back at her old camp. With that, she walked away. We finished the search of the town and the surrounding area with nothing in particular having caught our eyes. We ventured a short way out of the town to search for the clearing we needed for camp and not far from the town, we found an ideal space. Isilnyor and I immediately turned around and began heading for the Aravindal Pass once again. Once we come upon the entrance to the Pass, Isilnyor headed straight for the path, without acknowledging me. I turned away from her and headed into the nearby foliage, scanning the bushes, trees and high grass all while keeping a constant eye on Isilnyor down below me in the Pass in case something were to arise. But we both reconvened at the end of the pass, both deciding the path was perfectly clear. We headed back to where the horses were neighing in the nearby bushes and upon finding the unit, we reported to the General and led them through the pass and directly to clearing that we had already staked out. And so began the set up of the camp that would serve as our home base for the next few days.