Well, here you are. Things will get more interesting (and the chapters will get longer...), I promise.
All four were on edge. The horses kept spooking every few hundred paces and the brothers weren't much calmer.
Jake swore and checked the map. An entire trail and a small valley weren't even on the damn thing! He stuffed it back into his satchel and ran a hand through his mare's rain-slicked mane.
"There's a good girl," he murmured. He glanced up at the sky, then twisted to face his brother.
"Will! We should stop soon. I don't like the look of the sky," he called.
"I don't like the look of the whole damn place!" Will shot back. "Someone's playing tricks here. We should keep going."
"Be that as it may, it looks like a storm. We can't afford to have to horses injured."
Will snarled a curse and raked his hair with his fingers. He scanned the sky, then the trees.
"All right," he agreed grudgingly. "But let's get past these firs, at least."
They managed to ride to the edge of the patch of trees before they sky opened up again and rain bucketed down.
The horses managed to slog through another hundred paces before Falada stumbled. Jake brought her to a halt and Will reigned in his horse as well.
"Welcome to camp, I suppose," said Jake sourly. "I just hope Falada can still walk."
They dismounted and walked the horses to a large tree with spreading, silver-leafed branches. Jake rigged up a canvas tent under its cover while Will unloaded the food and tied up the horses. They couldn't find enough dry wood to make a fire, so they sat inside the tent with their supper of cold bread and cheese.
"So. Let's talk strategy," Will began through a mouthful of dairy product. He swallowed. "Where are we looking, what do we do if we find Hilde or one of the kids, what do we do if we find any of the so-called elves, what do we do if we don't find anything?"
"I think it's more likely we'll meet elves," said Jake thoughtfully. "And I'm not sure how to plan for that. If we do come across Hilde or one of the children, then we simply take them back to the village." Will nodded.
"Which leaves the question of where to search, and how long for," Will said, offering Jake the rest of the portion of bread. "She was taken three years ago. Does two weeks sound good?"
Will stopped and leaned near the canvas wall, listening. Jake shot him a questioning look, but he was already shaking his head and leaning back. With a quick glance at the roof of the tent, he half-shuttered the lantern.
"I suppose," said Jake. He was a little unnerved. Neither the dim light nor his brother's odd behaviour were abating his nerves.
"Well, if we can't find anything, we'll either go back and say they're dead or follow the road on the other side of the mountains and go on to the next little town," Will added, tracing the path with his finger.
Jake pulled the map closer to the lantern. "Now, I think we should try a systematic search. If we start looking here--"
Will started. He clapped a hand over his brother's mouth as he shuttered the lantern all the way.
"Someone's out there!" he hissed quietly. "I'm sure of it now."
Jake shifted to face the hanging tent flap. They hadn't bothered to close it after they'd gotten in. If he strained, his weak vision could just make out a few wispy shapes in the rain. There was a heavy groan that seemed to come from all around.
That night, Will slept clutching the hilt of his knife and a loaded pistol by his other hand. Rather than his pistol, Jake opted for the spare tent stake--a foot-long spike of heavy iron.
They slept fitfully, waking often. When they did sleep, they heard eerie laughter and dreamt of figures dancing in a swirling coloured mist at a banquet hall of fog and rain.
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