Heirs of Avaline: The Journey Begins

Chapter Six: Too Late to Turn Back

The 7th of Yaesoot, 1428

Peter

I should have stopped and rested. I was nearly to the river, but I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. Several times I drifted off to sleep and woke up farther along the trail than I was before. At least Duke knew where he was going. Soon I made it to the river. The water wasn't too deep, and I was sure I could make it across on horseback, but if something happened, I didn't know if I could recover in my drowsy state. "Here goes nothing," I said. I patted Duke's shoulder and went off to cross the river. I quickly noticed that I had misjudged the depth of the waters. We weren't even halfway across when the water level reached up to my shins, which may not seem like a lot, but the perspective shifts when on horseback. Suddenly I saw something floating through the water, something skinny and black. I thought it was driftwood, but then Duke started rearing in fright. I used all my strength to hold on. I wasn't too fond of water and didn't want to fall in. I had nearly regained control of Duke when the rush of the river knocked him off balance. Now both of us were at the mercy of the water. I grabbed onto the saddle and held on for dear life. I tried my best to climb back on, but the water made that closely impossible. I grabbed the reins and tried to steer Duke toward the bank. He was standing and pushing against the water with all his might. Finally, I felt the ground beneath my feet. I stood and leaned against Duke as we made our way onto the bank. Once we made it, I fell to the ground and tried to catch my breath. 

"Thanks, buddy," I said breathlessly. 

Duke snorted, he seemed unaffected by the near-death experience we just had. 

The water was cold, and I was freezing, but the saddle blanket and all the warm clothes I had were soaked. I contemplated stopping altogether and starting a fire, but Clairwood was only a short ride from the river's edge. I climbed back on Duke and headed toward the city. No matter how I shivered, I could make it. I took a look at the water before leaving to see what it was that scared my horse. All I could see was the water, no signs of anything else. 

I pulled the compass from my pocket and navigated which way the town would be. The needle at once pointed toward the north which was to my right, and I needed to head west. I mounted  began heading toward the town. Hopefully, I would be there before something else happened.

~*****~

Daniel

The next morning came quickly. I was saddling my horse when Nate finally woke up and noticed Jane was still there. He grunted and then silently went to saddle his horse. I had just mounted when Jane approached me. "Doc said I wouldn't be able to ride along with him today, so do you mind if I share your horse?" She asked.

I nodded. "Hop on." I held my hand out for her and pulled her up. She gripped the saddle as we began heading out.

We had made it to the forest and were traveling down the path for hours. It was nearly dusk, yet we were still in the forest and there were no signs we would be getting out anytime soon. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Jane kept looking around at the forest, then at the map, then back at the forest again with a concerned look on her face. "Is something wrong?" I asked her quietly to not alert the others.

"I'm not sure, but according to this map we should have hit a clearing long back," she said.

I began looking around, there was no sign of a clearing anywhere nearby. "How far back?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm not sure, at least two furlongs," she sounded concerned.

"Are you sure you're navigating right? Maybe it's a mistake?" I said in hope.

"I've read it over and over and it still comes up the same," she said.

I pulled on the reins to stop. We would have to sort this out before going any further. "It's getting dark anyway. We can set up camp here." I dismounted and pulled my horse off of the trail.