The days had gone quickly as the sun rose, passed over them, and began to set far on the horizon. There was no sign of any pursuit and Carthus was relieved. He and Oro were good fighters, some of the best of the Maeli in their entire clan, but Jeden on the other hand was not a fighter and Carthus was sure that the Nadaens would send a large party after them. Two against the whole of the Nadaen band were not odds he wanted to test.
The cliffs and rock strewn hills soon rolled into a flattened plane as far as the eye could see. There was almost no water to be found save for the dew on the morning grass and the occasional stream that barely split the land. The party had gone nearly a week, heading north through the wild lands of Voldis and their food was running low. Having to flee so quickly from home, none had time to pack enough rations for the road. Each night, Carthus and Oro took turns to hunt for rabbit or whatever fowl they found before bed and Jeden used his knowledge of herbs to find edible plants, however sparse they were amidst the dry land all around.
Now, Carthus and the others walked along the ridge of a long hill that barely gave them any vantage over the rest the fields. Clear skies hovered overhead allowing the moonlight to shine down as the sun disappeared slowly. This night didn't bring the usual chill with it. Still nothing moved to the south and there was no sign of pursuit from the south, but, there was a distant glow to the north.
"What do you think it is? Caravan?" Oro asked.
"There are no roads anywhere nearby, it can't be merchants... someone decided to tread the wilds" Jeden replied.
"Some Dwarf king's scouts patrolling the lands or some band of beasts, who knows," Carthus added, "best to avoid them".
"What if they are friends?" Jeden asked, "we can all use some rest in a tent and some hot food".
"I like the sound of that" Oro smiled.
"I say we scout them out..." Jeden looked at Carthus hopefully.
"Fine, we get only as close as we need to" Carthus nodded.
They went on quietly and the closer they got to the distant glow, the quieter they stepped. The glow soon became a cluster of visible campfires spread throughout the tents of the encampment. There was a murmur of voices coming from within and eventually, they could see the men moving amidst the dancing shadows. They had the look of soldiers about them as most were armed and armored. Carthus shook his head and motioned back the way they came.
"Do you smell that?" Oro whispered, inhaling deeply.
"Smells like fresh cooked stew" Jeden said with a smile
"We should avoid the camp," Carthus shook his head, "let's go".
"Halt!" suddenly a torchlight appeared at their flank as a small group of soldiers rushed towards them with spears and shields.
"Don't fight," Carthus lowered his own weapon as he stood from the grass. There were too many of them and they had no quarrel, "we are not enemies!".
"Drop your weapons!" one of the men commanded. He raised a horn to his lips and blew it twice.
They were all grabbed, disarmed, and taken into the camp where they were paraded before the eager eyes of the men sitting around their fires. Carthus followed along quietly but Oro shoved back when he was shoved or prodded. When they got the to the center of the camp, the group stopped outside a large tent and one of the men went inside.
"Spies?" a tall but young man stepped out of the tent with the first man at his heels. The tall man seemed unnaturally thin in the face and carried himself upright with his chest puffed out. His dark eyes and light hair made him look even stranger. Carthus had never seen anyone like him.
"We found them hiding in the grass outside the camp Prince Cadan" the captain reported.
"Who are you three?" Cadan asked. He was resting a hand on the jeweled hilt of his bronze sword.
"Hunters" Carthus replied.
"Hunters out this late in the middle of nowhere?" Cadan smirked.
"We wounded a large mountain goat in the hills and have been tracking it for days" Carthus lied.
"For days you say" Cadan glanced from one to the next.
"It didn't seem to want to die" Carthus nodded.
"You lot are mountain men, of the Maad peoples are you not?" the young prince asked smuggly.
"We are" Carthus nodded.
"Then why are the men doing the hunting? I heard that the women, or rather horse maidens do the hunting... is that not the Maad custom?" Cadan smiled having caught Carthus in his lie.
"Not all the clans, prince" Jeden spoke up. Cadan glanced at him sideways.
"Ah, I always thought it a strange custom, I take it that you agree" the young noble smiled.
"Yes, we do" Jeden went on.
"They looked to be spying when we came across them, hiding in the grass... skulking in the dark" the captain said suddenly.
"Why were Maad hunters skulking outside of my camp?" the prince asked.
"As we said, hunting... we lost the beasts tracks and came upon the camp" Carthus said.
"We were seeing if we should enter the camp or keep moving, it is said amongst our people that these flat lands are full of bandits and we knew not whose camp this was" Jeden replied.
"Ah, of course you now see that we are not bandits" the prince said. His smile was beginning to irritate Carthus. It was almost a mocking grin.
"What is an armed host of men doing so deep in Dwarven lands? You are but a few days away from Morside" Carthus said.
"A day away to be exact, and we were hired by the Dwarf king of Morside to fight for him, not that it's any of your concern... unless Captain Utha was right about you lot being spies," Cadan's smile disappeared, "no doubt you've heard of us before, I am Prince Cadan and this is my host of Rytari from the great Obel Port of Espal".
"I don't believe we've heard of you" Carthus replied.
"Strange, but I guess you don't get to leave your mountains much" the prince nodded.
"What is to become of us Prince Cadan?" Jeden asked.
"You will stay here, rest for the night and we shall speak again tomorrow... with the king of Morside" Prince Cadan replied. He turned away and disappeared back into his tent.