Chapter 4
The longest night
Amber and Marisa had stopped laughing about two hours ago, which was not long before they had started
setting up there camp. Well I don't know that you could call it setting up so much as a temping to set it up.
You see it didn't take them long to set the tent up not the first time, the second or even the third, what took
them long was the fact that once they had it up they saw a better place to put it one with less rocks or more
covering. Once they had the tent up it was starting to get dark so they gathered some wood and started making
their fire, which they had far better luck with then the tent because Marisa was able to light it with her gift
(for which they were both grateful).
The next thing they started was to dig the hole for those times when nature calls, (thankfully they put
it far enough a way on the first time). And now they were staring at each other from their spots in front of the
fire as if saying, "Do we really want to try hunting?"
Finely Amber broke the silence by saying, "I think that we should try, I mean yes I know that this isn't
going to be easy, but well I'm thinking we should just do it. I mean I would hate to have someone come by while
were trying to hunt, wouldn't you?"
Marisa thought about it for a moment then agreed that she would not like that, "Alright then were do we
start?"
"I don't know I was hoping that you would have a clue."
"No, well then how should we start this, we can't even see all that far in front of us?"
"I'm thinking, I don't know, maybe we should just kind of sneak out there a ways and when we see
something move we shoot at it."
"We're not going to get anything are we?" Marisa asked in a matter of fact tone.
"Must likely," Amber said in the same tone.
"But that's not going to stop us form trying," Marisa yelled with energy, then they both started laughing.
"Think we'll get much sleep tonight?"
"Not likely."
"Are you thinking like I'm thinking and maybe we should get two horses in the next village."
"Yes, if we want to get any where any time soon. Now how should we start hunting?"
Amber looked at the bows thinking for a minute, "I'm thinking maybe we should string these things,"
she held up the bow in her hand as she said this. With a little bit of time and effort and a lot of swearing they
managed to get their bows strung in about ten minutes, they also managed several welts on their hands and legs.
"We're still going to keep at this, right?" she asked in a way that said, "please reassure me".
"Yep we're going to do this if it kills us."
"That's what I thought."
They really were a good pair; one of them seemed to always be determined to see it threw (even if it seemed
to switch a lot). Once they had their bows strung they looked at each other, then Amber asked, "So what should we
do now?"
"I think this is the part where we have to leave the camp and find what it is we're hunting."
"Right, out there," Amber pointed toward the surrounding woods, "umm, a, after you."
"Oh no, you can go out there first."
"Why me," then it hit her, "let's go out there at the same time."
"Ok, the more I think about this the more I realize that if we can't make it out there tonight, we can't
really expect to make it all the way to Corus."
"I guess your right, so let do this." They both stood up and started to make there way toward the woods,
about half way there a thought suddenly hit Amber, "Why are we afraid to go in there? I'm not afraid of things like that."
"I think it has to do with what is in the woods, I'm the same way, I think that there might be immortals
near by. You know the kind you want to look out for." Marisa whispered as they got closer to the woods.
"If that is the case then we really do need to learn how to use these and fast."
They set an arrow in their bows readying it to fire, as they both started to get the feeling that they were
no long going to be trying to hunt food. They had arrows strapped to there back and they still wore there dress even
though they had bought other clothing making each step they took have to be chosen with care. They were at the edge now
straining their eyes to see into the trees in front of them, neither said a word but were thinking the same thing, "it's
out there."
Then they heard it the in defining silence that had been driving them nuts they only just now realized was broke
by the sound of movement in a tree to there right about eight hundred yards a way. Marisa swallowed hard fighting the
raising fear that seemed to be working it's way threw her system, both knew even with out seeing it or any real signs
of it that it was a spidren.
Then it came the that yellow green rope like stuff that the spidrens shot out both girls jump to the side just
as it hit where they had been standing. Amber rolling to the right and Marisa rolling to the left, they both had a knack
for the things that went into keeping them alive. Once she had rolled to her feet Amber aimed at the spot where the rope
like stuff had come from; her aim not being very good see missed where she had. Lucky for her though the spidren was no
longer where it had been and her shot managed to graze it on it's ugly human like neck causing it to shriek out giving
Marisa something to aim at.
Marisa's shot flew far straighter then Amber's had but still it only managed to lodge itself into the chest of
its spider like body. It dropped from the trees and moved quickly for Marisa ready to pay her back for the arrow in its
chest. Amber moved faster then she ever thought was possible as she strung the arrow on the bow and aimed it. Then she
let it go; the spidren dropped dead only feet from Marisa (who was screaming her head off). Amber's arrow had gone strait
through its human head; she let out a sigh of relief then walked over to Marisa.
"Are you all right, Marisa? None of that stuff hit you did it?"
"I'm fine," Marisa answered shakily. "Maybe we should take up camp and just keep moving, I don't feel like staying
out here any more tonight." Her face was white as a ghost and she was shaking like crazy she could hardly even stand, Amber
had to hold her up to keep her from falling over.
"Yeah you might have a point there," Amber replied as the two of them started to walk back to their camp leaning
against each other for support. About thirty minutes later they were out walking on the road again color coming back to
Marisa's face. It was dark, the only light coming from the moon, from her guess Amber put the time somewhere between two
and three in the morning.
They hadn't spoken since they had left the campsite, Amber yawned it didn't look like she was going to be getting
sleep any time soon.
* * * * * *
It was long after dawn before they arrived at the fist village on the map they had been walking for hours, and
had come about, forty miles. And they were more or less dead on their feet as they made their way to the inn. Once there,
they were to tired to do anything other then get a room, once in their room they both drop down on the bed and fell a
sleep as soon as their heads hit the bed. They didn't crawl in they just dropped on either side of the bed on top of the
bed's blankets, to tired to even dream.
The longest night
Amber and Marisa had stopped laughing about two hours ago, which was not long before they had started
setting up there camp. Well I don't know that you could call it setting up so much as a temping to set it up.
You see it didn't take them long to set the tent up not the first time, the second or even the third, what took
them long was the fact that once they had it up they saw a better place to put it one with less rocks or more
covering. Once they had the tent up it was starting to get dark so they gathered some wood and started making
their fire, which they had far better luck with then the tent because Marisa was able to light it with her gift
(for which they were both grateful).
The next thing they started was to dig the hole for those times when nature calls, (thankfully they put
it far enough a way on the first time). And now they were staring at each other from their spots in front of the
fire as if saying, "Do we really want to try hunting?"
Finely Amber broke the silence by saying, "I think that we should try, I mean yes I know that this isn't
going to be easy, but well I'm thinking we should just do it. I mean I would hate to have someone come by while
were trying to hunt, wouldn't you?"
Marisa thought about it for a moment then agreed that she would not like that, "Alright then were do we
start?"
"I don't know I was hoping that you would have a clue."
"No, well then how should we start this, we can't even see all that far in front of us?"
"I'm thinking, I don't know, maybe we should just kind of sneak out there a ways and when we see
something move we shoot at it."
"We're not going to get anything are we?" Marisa asked in a matter of fact tone.
"Must likely," Amber said in the same tone.
"But that's not going to stop us form trying," Marisa yelled with energy, then they both started laughing.
"Think we'll get much sleep tonight?"
"Not likely."
"Are you thinking like I'm thinking and maybe we should get two horses in the next village."
"Yes, if we want to get any where any time soon. Now how should we start hunting?"
Amber looked at the bows thinking for a minute, "I'm thinking maybe we should string these things,"
she held up the bow in her hand as she said this. With a little bit of time and effort and a lot of swearing they
managed to get their bows strung in about ten minutes, they also managed several welts on their hands and legs.
"We're still going to keep at this, right?" she asked in a way that said, "please reassure me".
"Yep we're going to do this if it kills us."
"That's what I thought."
They really were a good pair; one of them seemed to always be determined to see it threw (even if it seemed
to switch a lot). Once they had their bows strung they looked at each other, then Amber asked, "So what should we
do now?"
"I think this is the part where we have to leave the camp and find what it is we're hunting."
"Right, out there," Amber pointed toward the surrounding woods, "umm, a, after you."
"Oh no, you can go out there first."
"Why me," then it hit her, "let's go out there at the same time."
"Ok, the more I think about this the more I realize that if we can't make it out there tonight, we can't
really expect to make it all the way to Corus."
"I guess your right, so let do this." They both stood up and started to make there way toward the woods,
about half way there a thought suddenly hit Amber, "Why are we afraid to go in there? I'm not afraid of things like that."
"I think it has to do with what is in the woods, I'm the same way, I think that there might be immortals
near by. You know the kind you want to look out for." Marisa whispered as they got closer to the woods.
"If that is the case then we really do need to learn how to use these and fast."
They set an arrow in their bows readying it to fire, as they both started to get the feeling that they were
no long going to be trying to hunt food. They had arrows strapped to there back and they still wore there dress even
though they had bought other clothing making each step they took have to be chosen with care. They were at the edge now
straining their eyes to see into the trees in front of them, neither said a word but were thinking the same thing, "it's
out there."
Then they heard it the in defining silence that had been driving them nuts they only just now realized was broke
by the sound of movement in a tree to there right about eight hundred yards a way. Marisa swallowed hard fighting the
raising fear that seemed to be working it's way threw her system, both knew even with out seeing it or any real signs
of it that it was a spidren.
Then it came the that yellow green rope like stuff that the spidrens shot out both girls jump to the side just
as it hit where they had been standing. Amber rolling to the right and Marisa rolling to the left, they both had a knack
for the things that went into keeping them alive. Once she had rolled to her feet Amber aimed at the spot where the rope
like stuff had come from; her aim not being very good see missed where she had. Lucky for her though the spidren was no
longer where it had been and her shot managed to graze it on it's ugly human like neck causing it to shriek out giving
Marisa something to aim at.
Marisa's shot flew far straighter then Amber's had but still it only managed to lodge itself into the chest of
its spider like body. It dropped from the trees and moved quickly for Marisa ready to pay her back for the arrow in its
chest. Amber moved faster then she ever thought was possible as she strung the arrow on the bow and aimed it. Then she
let it go; the spidren dropped dead only feet from Marisa (who was screaming her head off). Amber's arrow had gone strait
through its human head; she let out a sigh of relief then walked over to Marisa.
"Are you all right, Marisa? None of that stuff hit you did it?"
"I'm fine," Marisa answered shakily. "Maybe we should take up camp and just keep moving, I don't feel like staying
out here any more tonight." Her face was white as a ghost and she was shaking like crazy she could hardly even stand, Amber
had to hold her up to keep her from falling over.
"Yeah you might have a point there," Amber replied as the two of them started to walk back to their camp leaning
against each other for support. About thirty minutes later they were out walking on the road again color coming back to
Marisa's face. It was dark, the only light coming from the moon, from her guess Amber put the time somewhere between two
and three in the morning.
They hadn't spoken since they had left the campsite, Amber yawned it didn't look like she was going to be getting
sleep any time soon.
* * * * * *
It was long after dawn before they arrived at the fist village on the map they had been walking for hours, and
had come about, forty miles. And they were more or less dead on their feet as they made their way to the inn. Once there,
they were to tired to do anything other then get a room, once in their room they both drop down on the bed and fell a
sleep as soon as their heads hit the bed. They didn't crawl in they just dropped on either side of the bed on top of the
bed's blankets, to tired to even dream.