Photo by Sue Vincent

Note – this is the fourteenth exciting episode of The Mad Quest!  You can start at the beginning, go to the previous chapter or to the table of contents.

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After breakfast I could still not shake the sleep from my eyes.  I walked to a field at the edge of camp and sat down.  My mind was as close to blank as I ever let it get.  I stared at the weeds and wildflowers around me, not comprehending what was happening.  I knew there was movement as the camp got ready for breakfast and glanced nervously at the armies on either side of us, but it didn’t register.

What did get through were the wings.  I didn’t really see them, just felt them, or guessed as the shadows passed.  There were more birds than just Soe-Ar, many more.  And though they were all big, not all were eagles.  I frowned at the flowers in front of me, but the wings still filled my mind.  They were ever present in the background.

“We are late,” a voice said.  I turned.  Warph had been sitting with me the entire time, yet I just became aware.

“So we are, my friend.”  I got up and went to the center of camp.

Merla was already in the middle of a speech.  It was odd.  She was able to shape her voice so all in our camp could hear, yet it didn’t carry beyond. I began to concentrate on the words.

“That is correct, we hope to win without lifting a weapon.  Not only are we far outnumbered, but do we really want to kill our foes?”

There were murmurs of “snow demons” and “the evil of Slore”.  Merla just shook her head, then held out a hand.

Continue reading at Trent’s World