Jack rose slowly from where he crouched after jumping down onto the pebbles to meet them. His immense bulk shone clearly through his clothes as he began to tower over them. He was a monster of a man!
"Thou cannot begrudge me yet still," Tristan protested as he backed up a step, hands half raised in passive surrender, "'Twas my manly duty enjoy such a beautiful sight."
'What?!? Why would you even say that right now???' Ava hissed nervously.
She was still painfully aware of the dull ringing in her head from the last blow that they'd received from that mammoth.
"As was my duty as their brother to protect them from prying eyes," Jack replied as he tossed Tristan's water skin towards him instead of rushing over to take him down with a tackle.
Ava became vaguely aware that they'd just uttered some sort of unfathomably stupid bro code. Instead of resuming the fight they now simply stood staring at each other speculatively for a moment.
"You are a soldier?" Jack asked, eyeing the sword at Tristava's hip and the handful of old scars on his torso.
"A knight," Tristan replied, "But think nought of it. Thy was within thy rights."
The sudden trepidation that had appeared on Jack's face dissipated slowly while Tristan turned to fill up his water skin.
Ava tried to make out Tristan's reflection in the water, but it was moving too swiftly and it was churning over the rocks in the river bed in that shallow section of shore.
'Not all men are the sum total of their physical appearance,' Tristan chided her playfully as he corked the water skin and retrieved his wet shirt and tunic from the ground to wring it out.
'Neither are women,' Ava harrumphed in retaliation.
Tristan grinned to himself as he approached Jack.
"Woodsman?" he guessed, eyeing the man's ridiculous musculature.
The physically difficult work of felling and carting lumber would certainly account for much of the man's brawn, but some freak of birth had to be responsible for his immensely large frame. He would have made a most formidable fighter.
Jack nodded that he was, indeed, a woodsman.
"My name be Tristan," Tristan offered by way of introduction.
"Jack," Jack replied as he took the hand of greeting offered to him.
"Well then, Jack, my friend and I have a good fire going not far from here," Tristan informed the man as he buried his frozen hands under his slightly less frozen armpits and hugged his body for warmth, "Let me make amends by inviting thee to bring thy sisters to warm up at it a little ere thee journey home. It would be best not to let them catch a chill," Tristan suggested affably.
Jack's eyes fell upon the metal bracelet on Tristan's arm wearily.
"The result of an unfortunate misunderstanding," Tristan explained awkwardly as he shifted the wet clothing draped over his arm to hide it. "It shall be gone ere I have dispatched that which plagues Hamley Forest."
"You... you be going to Hamley?" Jack noted with alarm.
"'Tis my quest," Tristan replied honestly, though he didn't much appreciate the affect that the name seemed to always have on people.
"But... you are still a relatively a young man!" Jack reasoned.
"I be very much still in my prime and good with the sword," Tristan shot back with mild annoyance.
Ava giggled at his annoyance in her head.
"It is always young men that are taken first," Jack informed him. "Were you older you might yet have a chance of success."
Tristan's eyes narrowed. How and why would a source of evil have such a specific preference? Though if it was mainly young men that vanished, that would explain what had been said about enlistments in the area diminishing...
"Why, what is it that hides in Hamley?" Ava asked, curious.
"I cannot say exactly," Jack told her honestly. "None that have encountered the evil have returned to tell of it."
A little chill sang out through Travista's body. Ava was pretty sure it had come from Tristan. For herself, she tried to think of more scientific reasons for the strange phenomenon.
'Science and reason are two very good facets of life,' Tristan told her, 'but not all can explain the mysteries of the world.'
'I beg to differ. Sometimes it is just that we only have a part of a picture that we will only see for what it is when it is whole,' Ava replied stubbornly.
'That is well, but then how doth thee explain thy presence in mine head or our journey to this world?' Tristan shot back.
Ava went quiet. He had a point. Even if she could explain away the ogre as being some strange animal or abomination, she couldn't explain either of those two things – and she couldn't think of scientific principles that could remotely govern those factors. A chill ran through them again, from her this time.
'Perhaps it is time to ask Rowan about Hamley?' Ava suggested guardedly.
'Perhaps 'tis indeed time for that,' Tristan agreed.
Tristan pointed out the way to their camp to Jack, and then started back towards it. Dusk was now descending on them and the day's heat was fast dissipating. By the time they arrived at the fire it was barely smoldering and Tristava was shivering. Tristan ignored Rowan's inquiring look and quickly set about building the fire up again to bring about some warmth. Then he pulled his sleeping roll out, wrapped the blanket around himself, and pulled off his wet pants underneath it. A short while later his clothes were laid out to dry around the fire while he warmed himself up next to it.
"We may have some company shortly," he told Rowan.
He'd barely finished saying the words when soft chatter greeted their ears.
"I met some people by the river and invited them to warm themselves ere they continue home."
Rowan nodded his agreement and got to his feet to greet the visitors. After a short bout of introductions, the girls nervously seated themselves in a cluster on the side of the fire furthest from Tristan and Rowan. It was a poorly chosen position, since it meant that Tristan could see more easily that Elena was naked beneath the cloak that was now wrapped around her body wherever it peeled aside in the creases. He was naked – she was naked... He felt a familiar dance of excitement below his navel in response to the many ideas that image conjured in his head.
'Tristan... you really need to get a grip!' Ava scolded as she pulled the blanket closed even tighter around them in an attempt to hide the upright sausage between their thighs.
Tristan grinned mischievously to himself and tried to divert his focus from the little bits of flesh that he could only just spy across the fire. Rowan was asking Jack about a village to the south, and the girls whispered quietly amongst themselves. It was an almost impossible task not to look. Finally, Ava decided to distract his eyes. She got up to see how dry their clothes were. Their blanket slipped a bit and Jack caught sight of enough to make him uncomfortable.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but I think it best we be going," he announced as he stood.
He glared at Tristan meaningfully.
Tristan smiled like a moron and shrugged his unintentional arousal apologetically.
'I wouldn't say it was entirely unintentional,' Ava scolded.
Jack clenched his jaw with begrudging acceptance, and went to make sure that Elena was properly covered as she got to her feet. The sight of the massive man hulking over her protectively dampened Tristan's mood a little. He was not willing to attempt to overcome that wall of bone and muscle to get to the pretty prize beyond it. Instead he shook hands congenially with Jack, and doffed his head politely to the womenfolk as they made their departure.
"Twas a pleasant change to have some light company," Tristan told Jack affably.
"I thank you for your hospitality, but I be sure you will understand when I say I hope we do not meet again soon," Jack told him honestly.
Tristan nodded his understanding and the group made away.
"And now I understand all," Rowan chuckled as his eyes danced over Tristan's appearance and his slowly bruising face.
The older man lay back and made himself comfortable. Tristan checked his clothes again, and then settled down against a fallen tree stump.
"Rowan... what lies in Hamley Forest?" he mused after a while.
"In truth, I cannot tell you," Sir Rowan replied. "Not much is known. Young men go in or travel past, and they never return to their homes."
"All men?" Ava asked.
"No, not all. There are those lucky enough to pass by unaffected," Rowan replied thoughtfully.
"What of parties? Hath thee sent parties forth into these woods?" Tristan asked.
"We have," Rowan replied honestly, "Often they return unscathed and none-the-wiser. Sometimes they return short one man, and no one can tell what caused the disappearance."
The mystery was growing. How could he fight something that could not be seen?
'There's no reason to assume it's some sort of man-eating mist,' Ava reasoned. 'After all, something like that would consume more than one man at a time. If it prefers to take just one man at a time, it must not be strong enough or ethereal enough to take more,' she pondered.
Tristan found her reasoning to be reassuring, even if her mention of a man-eating mist was terrifying. If he was going to succeed where others had failed, he needed to be able to fight whatever it was that they were about to face.
"I have a feeling you may succeed where others have failed," Rowan reassured him.
Tristan threw him an inquiring glance.
"There is something at odds within you – the sort of thing that might confuse a spirit creature. Failing that, you are truly a formidable opponent with a sword. Either way, it be best not to fret too much over it. We shall arrive at my barracks at the edge of Manan County late tomorrow. From there it is but a two hours ride to Hamley Forest. You should take this night to rest fitfully so that your senses may be rejuvenated for the task."
Tristan didn't find his words especially reassuring, but the man had noted a truth: there was no point worrying over something he could not control. A good night's sleep might prove to be the best remedy. He settled down close to the fire and tried to doze. After a long while spent tossing and turning, sleep finally came to them.