The Journal of Dreams (The Tales of Tahana - Book One)

Chapter 22: In the Shadows

29-2-2-4012 DM, Takyanan Forest, Telama, Hilaraya

The Takyanan Forest was still restless despite the late hour of night. Wild beasts and birds called out to each other in despair and in anger at the loss of their guardian. Even the trees seemed menacing, casting fierce shadows on the forest floor despite the weak light coming from the waning moon. Jienri knew that he had to be more cautious that night if he wanted to live to see the light of the sun on the morrow. He had always been quite talented at keeping himself unseen if he wanted to, but the beasts who lived in the forest could see better in the darkness than he could. It would have been safer if he had brought a torch with him. Animals shunned fire and a torch would have allowed him to navigate his way through the trees with better ease and with less chances of being attacked. But he could not risk being seen by anyone, however unlikely it was to encounter anyone deep in the forest. He must reach the meeting place without being seen, so he must take all the precaution needed, even if he had to forego the safety of fire. The scenario would have been different if the forest's guardian didn't perish that morning. He knew of that occurrence from the conversations of a group of travellers from Janang, an unusual threesome travelling along the pedani road around midday. Of course, they didn't see him hiding behind thick branches of a whitewood tree just a few arms away from them.

Jienri carefully made his way through the trees under the light of the moon's final quarter. He dodged a pack of hunting fire wolves, a sounder of huge bickering water boars, and a large congress of chattering moon monkeys. After what seemed like hours, he finally found himself at the edge of a clearing. A collection of thick and tall blackwood trees loomed around the clearing like tall overbearing sentinels. As if on cue, the quarter moon, which was suspended almost at the sky's zenith, hid behind thick dark clouds, making Jienri invisible in his black cloak and clothes. He crouched behind a boulder between the massive trunk of a blackwood tree and some wild fire berry bushes at the edge of the clearing and waited patiently.

A chilly draught suddenly blew from the west and Jienri muffled a curse at the sudden cold. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself to keep the chill out. He looked at the cloudy sky above and reckoned that it must be close to the tenth hour of darkness. He was drained from the effort of travelling through this dangerous forest. He silently hoped that this meeting, whatever it was about, would be brief, so he could go back to his hiding place and rest for the remainder of the evening. He wasn't looking forward to this meeting at all. In fact, he had been feeling a sense of dread since that despicable Jinara came to his hiding place that afternoon. It was difficult enough to understand the adaradu given his limited knowledge of the old tongue, but when he finally deciphered the message, he felt like running away. The Mistress of Fire had called for a meeting with him in the middle of the night for reasons that the Jinara would not tell him. Or perhaps she did but he just didn't understand what she said. In any case, he would rather face a pack of hungry fire wolves without a weapon than stand face-to-face with Avarna, but he had to come when summoned. He didn't have a choice but to obey. He didn't do anything wrong as far as he knew, so there shouldn't be a reason to fear her. At least, that's what he hoped.

When the wind had finally ceased, Jienri looked around him for signs of movement. He didn't want to be caught off his guard, not by Avarna. It was almost pitch darkness but he could still make out the shapes of the trees and the shrubs around the clearing. He knew he wouldn't be waiting too long for her. She was never tardy. He continued to scan the gloom around him until he saw something move across him at the northern side of the clearing behind a tall blackwood tree. A dark hooded figure suddenly emerged from the shadows. The figure was no taller than he was and it moved as if gliding through the forest's floor without any effort. The figure continued in its sly grace and stopped at the middle of the clearing.