{"id":186,"date":"2010-03-05T13:29:04","date_gmt":"2010-03-05T20:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atfmb.com\/Evermist\/?p=186"},"modified":"2010-03-05T13:29:56","modified_gmt":"2010-03-05T20:29:56","slug":"chapter-twenty-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/atfmb.com\/Evermist\/2010\/03\/chapter-twenty-three\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Twenty-Three"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2010, Patrick Hester.\u00a0 All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n

Chapter Twenty-Three<\/h1>\n

“You look nervous. Are you nervous? I’m nervous,” Narut asked.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Eli tried to smile at Narut, but he couldn’t quite manage it.\u00a0 He did feel as nervous as his friend, more so thanks to a night filled with strange dreams and little rest.\u00a0 His head throbbed just thinking about that.<\/p>\n

To take his mind off it, he started rechecking his horse and gear.\u00a0 It seemed a fine animal, better than he thought he would get; a bay dun that frisked while he checked the straps for the fourth time since saddling her, almost as if to say to him, ‘Leave it, already’.\u00a0 Honestly, he was simply looking for something to do with his hands.\u00a0 Forget the Wall for a moment, he was nervous about riding, as he’d never done a lot of it before, and most of that as a child.\u00a0 During training, he’d gotten a refresher course, and then it was only enough to keep him from falling out of the saddle.\u00a0 It seemed a silly thing to worry about now, yet he did.<\/p>\n

He had his saddlebags in place, stuffed with extra clothes to layer on as they made their ascent.\u00a0 For now, the sun was warm enough that he had only his uniform jacket on with his shirt unbuttoned.\u00a0 His sheepskin gloves were tucked just under the saddle near the pommel where he could grab them quickly if he needed them and his bedroll and water skins were behind the saddle, tied to his duffel.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There were a lot of nervous looks shared between the squad members he knew, and knowing glances between the ones who had been here for a while and were only present to see the rest safely up to the Keep.\u00a0 He rechecked that his saddle was good and tight, realizing that he’d just done that a second ago.\u00a0 The horse gave him another look.\u00a0 Blushing, he looked around to see if anyone had noticed…<\/p>\n

“FORM UP!” Sergent Klen shouted.\u00a0 “This is your first ascent up the Wall, so stick close to the veterans and don’t do anything stupid.\u00a0 Everyone keep your eyes and ears open – an attack can come at any time, even here.\u00a0 If you even think something is wrong, speak up!\u00a0 It’ll take the better part of the day to make the keep.\u00a0 Now, mount up!”<\/p>\n

Elias swung up into his saddle, the dun frisking again before he reined her in.\u00a0 Klen, followed by another, familiar man, approached.<\/p>\n

“Elias, have you met Jaycn?”<\/p>\n

“We’ve met,” answered the older man.<\/p>\n

Elias nodded to the man riding beside Klen.\u00a0 In the light of day, he was no less grim than he’d been the night before.\u00a0 Eli noted two rifles in holsters on his saddle along with the saber on his belt.\u00a0 Eli’s own rifle rested in a saddle holster and his saber was on his belt, suddenly feeling heavier.<\/p>\n

“Like you, he wears the Marksman’s patch – that makes you both my scouts,” Klen smiled tightly.\u00a0 “This man will teach and you will listen.\u00a0 Like him, you will ride ahead of us and you will do whatever he tells you without question, clear?”<\/p>\n

“Yessir,” Elias replied.\u00a0 As Klen moved off, Jaycn moved closer.\u00a0 “About last night-”<\/p>\n

“You’ll do fine,” Jaycn talked over him.\u00a0 “Being a scout, it’s up to us to protect the squad.\u00a0 We look for anything that might be coming before it comes.\u00a0 He didn’t tell you before this, did he?”\u00a0 Elias shook his head.\u00a0 “Didn’t think so.\u00a0 Didn’t tell me your name, only that I was getting a new recruit.\u00a0 Here, I got this for you,” Jaycn handed him a leather case with a strap.<\/p>\n

“What’s this?” he asked, opening the case.<\/p>\n

“Scope.\u00a0 Let’s you see farther than normal – ever used one?”<\/p>\n

“No.”\u00a0 Elias gingerly took the scope from the case – it looked like a cylinder about the length of his hand with glass on one end and a tiny hole in the other.\u00a0 It was very worn; the leather cracking in some places with areas that were stained and darkened spattered here and there.\u00a0 Looking closely, he decided that those could be spots of blood.\u00a0 Fumbling with it, he nearly dropped it.<\/p>\n

“Like this,” Jaycn said, snatching it away from Eli.\u00a0 With a quick motion, the older man pulled on the ends to extend it another hands length or more.\u00a0 “Look through the small end.”<\/p>\n

Elias took it back and did as instructed.\u00a0 Sure enough, everything far away appeared closer now.\u00a0 Turning, he swept it across the Wall.\u00a0 From here, the top looked like it was just a few cubits away.\u00a0 Amazing<\/em>, he thought.\u00a0 He could actually see the road they would be taking up, hidden though it was against the dark stone.\u00a0 It snaked back and forth at a steady incline.<\/p>\n

“Scouts!\u00a0 Head out!\u00a0 Company, fall in at the base of the ramp!”<\/p>\n

“Let’s go,” Jaycn said as he clicked his tongue and reined his horse around.\u00a0 Elias put the scope back in the case as quickly as he could manage, then tried to be as smooth with his own horse, clicking his tongue and tugging on the reins.\u00a0 She just looked at him and ‘whuffed’.\u00a0 “Please?” he whispered, and she started off after Jaycn.\u00a0 If he didn’t know better, he would have sworn she chuckled first, but that had to be his imagination.<\/p>\n

With Jaycn in the lead, the pair headed towards the ramp he couldn’t see from the pier.\u00a0 Squinting, he followed the subtle line of it, zig zagging higher and higher, back and forth until it crested the Wall where he would get his first glimpse of the interior of the island.<\/p>\n

That thought sent his stomach churning.\u00a0 He thought he might vomit.<\/p>\n

Tell your friends:<\/em>
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\u00a9 2010, Patrick Hester.\u00a0 All Rights Reserved Chapter Twenty-Three “You look nervous. Are you nervous? I’m nervous,” Narut asked.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Eli tried to smile at Narut, but he couldn’t quite manage it.\u00a0 He did feel as nervous as his friend, more so thanks to a night filled with strange dreams and little rest.\u00a0 His head throbbed […]<\/p>\n

Tell your friends:<\/em>
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