The Legend of Cambria Book One-Dawn of the Guardians

Chapter 6-Black Kettle

Legend had to cover his mouth to hold in a gasp. As he moved, wisps of the camouflage floated off his skin until he was just Legend again. Beads of sweat sprung to the surface of his skin. His head was reeling and he had to take several deep breaths to keep himself from losing his balance and falling out of the tree.

He had almost abandoned his best friend. He had nearly left Will to face certain doom alone, in favor of his own safety.

Legend's mind was racing with thoughts, stitching together his best guess as to how Will came to be a captive of the trolls. There could only be one reason. Will had come after him. And Legend had almost let him be led off to face who knows what fate. Legend felt sick inside.

The captain surveyed Will from head to toe.

"Don't know what the master sees in these types," he said, disgusted. "They's ugly, no doubt there." The other trolls snorted in agreement. "But beyond that, they's not built for anything useful," he lifted Will's arm, which had previously seemed quite strong and able compared to Legend's own scrawny arms. But compared to the troll's huge, knobby hand, Will's arm looked like the frail kindling twigs they gathered in the Cambria hills.

The troll let go of the arm and Will jerked it back to his side.

"Keep a sharp eye out boys," the captain ordered, scanning the surroundings again. "Anyone who spots 'im and nabs 'im gets the goat's tongue for 'is own." There was a nodding of heads and a grumble of excitement from the trolls.

The captain put the burlap bag back over Will's head and the crew took the signal to march on. They formed their lines and gradually found the steady left, right, left, right cadence of their captain. Will stumbled forward, shuffling blindly along.

Legend waited for the troop to make their way northward along the road until he was sure it was safe to climb down. While he waited, he formulated his next move. As he didn't know their plans or destination, the only choice was to follow and hope a plan would present itself. He let them get far enough ahead that he couldn't see them, but he still knew their direction—the road didn't seem to break off to any side roads. Thus far, it just ambled along, following the remains of The Great River, which was now on the left down a steep embankment.

Legend moved carefully, stopping to listen every so often. He noticed that the wind was blowing in his face, from the northeast, which meant that hopefully the troll captain's keen sense of smell would only detect what was up ahead of him and not what was creeping from behind.

Of course, Legend realized, there might be a who or what coming along behind him, but he forced the thought to the back of his mind.

"Stay focused, Legend," he reminded himself out loud. He hardly noticed the trees growing taller and thicker, the air warming as the sun rose overhead. He barely heard the chirping and buzzing and whirring of the day creatures in their wooded homes.

There were no breaks, no stops, not even a moment to take a sip of water. But his discomfort paled, he knew, compared to Will's. So Legend pressed on.

As the sun began to descend, the shadows lengthened from the west. The trees on Legend's left seemed to reach towards him, their shade an unwelcome cover of dim coldness.

Legend tiptoed along, searching the shadowy road ahead. Around early evening, the road took a quick turn to the right and when Legend rounded the corner, he realized that the troop had finally taken a rest. He had almost caught up with them, and if not for the shadows and the stiff wind that still blew in his face, he'd likely have been detected.

Legend retraced his way to the south and veered off to his left. He stepped off the road and crouched down, just out of sight, but where he could catch brief glimpses of the troop and faintly hear the captain's gruff commands.