Undestined: Fight your Fate

Chapter Eight: An Unexpected Encounter Pt. 3

Silay woke up early the next morning and made her way out of the tent, careful not to wake Riya, who probably needed sleep more than any of them. Jarlen was already up, sitting by a small fire. Next to him, Talis was scowling and making a show of rubbing his wrists where Jarlen had bound him.

Jarlen stood as Silay approached. "Want to train?" He held out the sword Aibas had given them since their others had been stolen. Silay had borrowed it the night before when going to get water. Now she shook her head.

"Why bother? Every time I've had a chance to use it, I just stood there."

"Because it's not about using the sword. It's about using your feet."

Silay glared at Talis. "Who asked you?"

He shrugged. "I saw you draw your sword when we attacked you. You handle it fine. You just don't know how to move."

"And you do?"

"Hero training, remember?"

"He might be right," Jarlen cut in before Silay could respond. "And if so, it's my fault. I'm hardly a sword-master, and I've never tried to teach someone before. Starting with the weapon seemed to make the most sense, given the limited training time we had."

Talis had started shaking his head before Jarlen finished talking. "I spent a year learning footwork before I started to seriously use a weapon."

Silay hesitated, pride arguing with reason. "Show me."

Talis stood and stretched out, then looked pointedly at the sword in Jarlen's hand.

He raised his eyebrows. "You're the one who said she had to learn footwork. You can teach that without a sword."

Talis grinned. "Worth a try." He turned to Silay. "Let's see what you know."

***

They had gotten a later start than they had planned to, and the moon was already beginning to show herself when they finally arrived in Turvew. The thought of an inn, with beds and warm food, was about the only thing that had kept Silay slogging forward along the road as she tried to keep up with Jarlen's long strides. Now he had stopped just outside the town's gate. Silay peered around him and saw the door was wide open.

"That's odd. I thought everyone had closed off their towns to travelers."

"They should have." Riya joined Silay. The journey had been harder on her than on the others, and though her face was lined with pain, she was trying not to show it.

Jarlen took a step back. "Something is wrong."

"We should investigate."

The group turned and stared at Talis, who had spoken. "What? Isn't that what you all are supposed to be doing? Figuring out what's wrong, and fixing it?"

Silay glared at him. "Last time we investigated something, we were ambushed."

"All right then." Before anyone could stop him, Talis stepped through the gate. There was a silence before he spoke again. "So...there doesn't seem to be an ambush, but I do think you all should come see this."

Jarlen and Riya glanced to Silay, who shuffled her feet, uncomfortable with the looks and knowing what they meant. They wanted her to make a decision again. She took a deep breath, and turned towards the gate. Jarlen and Riya followed her, and they all joined Talis, who was staring at the sight.

"Gods." Riya swore under her breath. "It looks like...."

"Sojan." Jarlen finished her thought. "After you-after they lost their Wardstone."