A Sacrifice for Varkanah (On Indefinite Hold)

A Sacrifice for Varkanah Chapter 4

Chapter IV

        The cold, white rays of moonlight  streamed through the Saeran’s spotless window and pooled in his twinkling brown eyes. He stuffed a woolen coat into a leather travel-bag, trying to muffle the sound of it as much as he could, so as to not wake Drennan.

        With every shirt, coat, or pair of breeches forced into the bag, Saeran grew closer to preparedness. He had to leave Rosehollow Village tonight if he wanted to have any hope of discovering what happened to his family. He could not allow himself to be distracted by farewells to his friends. That would only slow him down.

        His bag was almost full as he pushed a single, dull brown replacement cloak into it. He buttoned the bag shut, then slung it over his shoulder, over the light blue cloak he was already wearing.

        Saeran walked quietly across the cluttered room and over to the door. He flinched as his leather boot crunched on something—he was not sure what—that had been left on the floor long ago.

        Drennan stirred in his sleep, but did not wake. Saeran sighed with relief, then slowly opened the door, being careful not to let it creak. He stepped outside into the chill morning air and silently shut the door.

He’d completed the hardest part of his escape, getting away from Drennan, who was a notoriously light sleeper. He felt bad leaving his young cousin all alone in this strange place, but he’d made arrangements with Cuthric the innkeeper to inform Drennan of what had happened. Drennan was going to stay with Cuthric and help out at the tavern until Saeran returned.

Leaning against the doorway of his little house was a long, wooden walking stick. Saeran took it in his hands and took a step onto the dirty cobbles of the roads, the first step in what he was sure would be the longest, most difficult journey of his life. He knew that there was to be trouble along the way, sorrows and struggles that he would have to deal with. But he wanted to know what happened to his family in Valdi. He needed to know.

He continued walking, covering ground at a steady pace. His staff struck the stones as he walked, and Saeran hoped that the noise would not be enough to wake the rest of the village. All the houses were still dark, not a single light was in a window. From the light of the moon, though, Saeran had no troubles seeing the road.

At his side rested his plain, unadorned short sword. It had been a gift from his father for his fifteenth birthday, the day before his father died in the woods. But that is another story.

Rosehollow Village was a small town, so it did not take long at all for Saeran to be out of it. At the outer edge of the little village, the cobbled roads ended and made way for hard-packed dirt. The Narrow Road between Rosehollow Village and Heyterhill Village was seldom traveled. Most folk in that area preferred to live peaceful, uneventful lives, spending all their time in one place. The road was only traveled when necessary.

Saeran moved down the road quickly and to the sound of only crickets chirping in the forests around. The road was merely a safe path through the Darkmeadow Forest, where the tall trees had been cut down to make a trail.

Having walked this trail many times before, whether it was only to go to the other villages outside of the Darkmeadow Woods, or it was to travel all the way to Valdi as he was doing now. Because of this, he knew the dirt road well, and even in the dark could cover ground quickly and safely. It did not seem like long at all until the sun was rising, casting light onto the little dirt path.

Saeran yawned. He knew that he must’ve covered many miles during the night, as he had left shortly after midnight and walked ‘til dawn, without a single stop. He figured that it was time for a break. Looking around for a place to sit, he walked a little ways into the forest, always keeping close enough to see the road. With all the frightening stories of the dark things that lurked in these trees, he wanted to be where he could get to a safe place quickly.