Chapter 10 Coming Home
Raver was watching from a tree when he saw the caravan of guards coming from the south. They wouldn't let him leave camp so this was the most privacy he could get, sometimes he missed the slate roof when he wanted to think.
These days he felt a hundred years older than he had been last month. He didn't feel like a boy anymore, he had seen too much. He rubbed his face thinking of his wish for some excitement. He laughed to himself, he'd had enough excitement now to last a lifetime, and he didn't think it would get any calmer soon.
He had a wisp of a vision of a man with blond hair and grey eyes. But it faded before he really had time to see. Things like that had been happening a lot lately. It seemed the more he used his gift the more sensitive it became, he smiled as he thought, at least I don't have to reach to know the weather anymore.
He was glad the guard had arrived now, it would rain really hard tonight and they would need every strong arm and back to get up the shelters they had been working on.
They had picked a spot in the forest after a long search with Raver. For some reason, spots that seemed to be perfect gave off a strong sense of danger. He didn't know what the danger was , he just felt fear so strongly he got sick. In fact, this site was within sight of one of those danger spots. Whatever the danger was, it couldn't be that of discovery.
He shrugged and slid down the tree when the men came near enough to see him. "Raver" his cousin Garen cried. "You're a sight for sore eyes".
He grinned and looked up at Garen where he sat on his horse "I knew you would be one of those who came" he said still grinning.
"Raver, what are you doing out here away from camp" his brother Gherin said frowning down at him.
"I know when it's safe, besides, it's my turn to watch" he said "come follow me, you'll never recognize the camp". They followed Raver as he ran up the path. Soon they came to a steeper rise and the horses caught up to him. He stopped and pointed, it's down here he said.
The path dropped sharply after that and the men were able to look down on the new clearing in the forest. "Is that safe, having your camp in a hollow, shouldn't you be having it on a rise instead" the lead guardsman asked with a frown.
"Raver shook his head "Our best defense is to never be found, if they see us, we could never defend ourselves anyway, this way we could have a bonfire and they wouldn't see it".
The guardsman nodded "Makes sense".
"What's that" one of the guardsmen asked, pointing at the rags fluttering from branches halfway up the opposite hill.
"That's to warn off people, we have to stay out of that area, it's dangerous, or at least it will be" Raver said with a shiver.
"What's wrong with the area" the guardsman shook his head confused.
"I don't know exactly, but it makes chills run down my spine to stand in there".
"I'd trust Raver's instinct's" Garen said "If something makes him react that strongly I wouldn't want to get near it".
One of the other local guardsmen nodded "I remember a couple of years ago he kept warning everyone away from one spot on the riverbank, it was before we knew about his gift, so no one would listen, One day the Gadfrey boy fell to his death when it collapsed, I think that's when we realized he had a gift".
They could see people looking and pointing towards them as the neared the camp. "That's another reason to camp here" Raver said. "We can see anyone coming before they get to us".
By the time they made it to the camp, a crowd was waiting for them.