The Eye of Elicion: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol 1 (32 page)

They walked uphill, still following the compass. Lucy was surprised that they had not come upon anything unusual yet, but then, maybe the obstacles were closer to the goal. Lucy was glad that all the training they did put them in such good shape. They might not be moving terribly fast, but they hadn’t stopped to take a break yet either. Lucy hoped that would work to their advantage. Around midday, they dug in their packs to eat some lunch, but they continued to walk as they ate. It was Gavin’s well-honed senses that got them past the first obstacle. Lucy was swallowing her last bite of roll, when Gavin shouted.

“Arrows! Duck!” With that, he threw himself on the ground.

Everyone else followed suit. Justin threw a shield over the group as the arrows struck bouncing off hard air. They lay still for a minute waiting for a second volley. Justin threw Gavin an inquiring glance.

“I heard crossbow triggers,” he said. “They make a click just before firing an arrow.”

Justin nodded, but did not move, nor did he release the shields. “Lucy, can you backtrack the arrows and find out how many people we are up against?”

Lucy nodded, closed her eyes and concentrated. She sent her senses in the direction the arrows had come from and searched. Puzzled, she searched some more. Then she let her senses return.

“I can’t find anyone. I can’t sense any people in that direction. Let me take over the shield and you can look for yourself,” Lucy suggested.

Justin agreed and his face looked blank as he searched. He came back with the same response.

“A booby trap of sorts then?” asked Gavin. “It would have been easy to set up crossbows to fire.”

“That sounds dangerous,” said Maya.

“No one said this was going to be easy,” said Justin. “I’d also be willing to bet that any booby trap that could hurt anyone is carefully monitored. Had any of us been hit, I’m sure a professor would have been here almost immediately to heal us. I’m also sure that accepting that healing would be the equivalent of holding up a white flag.”

“That makes sense,” replied Maya.

They decided it was safe to proceed, and Lucy released the shields. They stood up and continued to follow Maya. After that they were swarmed by mosquitoes and gnats. Annoying, but bearable. Justin was able to encourage them to find better food elsewhere. They hadn’t gone much further when vines from a tree they were passing under snaked out and wrapped around them. Gavin wrestled himself free and helped the others. The vines were looking for easy victims and were not willing to put up that much of a fight.

Despite the adrenaline accompanying the higher sense of alertness, it gave them hope to think they were on the right track and getting closer. Justin periodically sent his senses out ahead a little to see if he could find anything amiss. It didn’t help with obstacles like the attacking vine, but they were able to skirt a pit covered with leaves. It was only a few feet deep. Deep enough to cost groups time if members fell into it, but not so deep as to seriously hurt anyone.

Once it got dark, they did stop to eat some more and discuss their options.

“I don’t think anyone has found it yet,” said Maya.

“I agree,” said Lucy. “I don’t think they would let everyone wander around in the dark if someone had brought it back already.” She bit into her apple.

“Can you see the compass in the dark?” asked Gavin.

“Normally, no, but I can put a simple glow spell on it. I might not be as adept as Justin or Lucy, but I can do some simple things.”

“I don’t like the idea of trying to sleep out here,” said Lucy.

“I don’t either,” agreed Maya. “In fact, I don’t think I could sleep. I’m not tired.

“I think we should keep moving then, at least until some of us are tired enough that we might sleep. I don’t know if other groups will try to camp or keep going. I’d imagine they would keep going, especially if our guess is right that no one else thought to pack food,” said Justin.

“It is very dark though. I suggest tying ourselves together or something like that so we don’t accidentally get separated,” said Gavin.

“Fabulous idea,” said Justin. “Anyone have any rope?”

“Why is it that with all the stories you hear about people needing rope, people still forget to bring it?” asked Maya.

Everyone chuckled.

“In the future, let’s make it a point to remember rope on all outdoor adventures,” suggested Lucy.

“I second the motion. In the meantime, we could hold hands,” said Maya.

“Why don’t we use Maya’s compass trick and make ourselves glow?” suggested Lucy.

“I don’t know about that,” said Gavin. “It makes us easy targets for anything out there.”

“I see your point. What if we made only the bottom half of our boots glow? That should help us keep track of each other, and at the same time anything close enough to see the glow can probably hear us anyways,” said Lucy.

They all agreed to that plan of action, at least until it proved other than reliable. They finished up what they were eating and made the bottom half of their boots glow. Maya checked the compass, and they continued onward again. The obstacles they started to face were less obvious than the ones they had faced during the day. They were designed to make you stop and ask, ‘what was that?’ They heard rustling in the bushes. Gavin thought he heard steps behind him. Every time they paused, Lucy or Justin would send out their senses to see what, if anything, was there.

Maya turned the group left and they entered an area that was highly populated by owls. It was unnerving to feel birds swooping close to your head. Lucy was glad she was not alone. About the time the feathers brushed the top of her head would have been the end of her resolve had she been alone. Gavin breathed a sigh of relief when they were clear of the owls. Lucy smiled, thinking of Gavin being uncomfortable, but agreed with him wholeheartedly.

It was then that the howling started. The first one was so faint that Lucy wasn’t sure if she really heard it or imagined it. The darkness did have a way of playing with one’s imagination. The second howl was louder than the first. Lucy was certain it was not her imagination. The third howl came from their right. That was unsettling. Multiple howls meant multiple predators. The fourth howl came from behind them.

“Ok, I have to know,” said Maya, “Justin, are we being surrounded and stalked by wolves, or is it an illusion?”

“I can’t tell,” replied Justin.

“What do you mean you can’t tell?” asked Maya sounding worried. She jumped as a howl came from the left. “It’s official. We are surrounded. Justin what are we surrounded by?”

“I’m not sure,” said Justin again.

“Explain,” demanded Gavin as a howl came from behind them sounding closer.

“I searched each direction to be sure. I sense that there is something there, but I can’t sense what. I’m sure I would be able to identify most animals. I can tell you there is a bat flying to our left and a squirrel three trees ahead of us, but I can’t tell what is howling.”

“Ok, what does that mean?” asked Lucy. “Could it be an animal you’ve never come across before?”

“I doubt it. I would still be able to sense that it was an animal even if I couldn’t identify it,” said Justin.

“Could it be a suggestion, or could we have tripped a ward?” asked Lucy.

“How so?” asked Maya, as a howl sounded in front of them, the closest one yet.

“We planted wards to make people tired. Someone could have planted wards that would make us hear wolves. The professors know some of the groups have the ability to sense around them. Could they have made the ward sophisticated enough to make you think you sensed something? Not knowing what you sensed could increase the fear and anxiety of the howling.”

“Lucy has a good point,” said Justin. “I think it should be possible. We are shielded from suggestions, but we could still trip wards. Let’s stay close, move a little slower, but continue on. If it’s a ward, we’ll be clear of the affected area eventually. If it really is a pack of wolves that is going to attack us, we can’t do much other than be alert and ready until they attack. Staying here and waiting for them isn’t going to do us much good.”

Maya rechecked the compass, and they started off again as another howl came from behind them. They kept walking. The howling was definitely unnerving. Each howl sounded closer. Lucy felt her heart beating faster. She too periodically sent out her senses in case things changed. Like Justin said, it felt like there was something there, but she couldn’t be certain. The closer the howls came, the closer they walked to each other and the jumpier they became. Lucy accidentally tread on the back of Maya’s heel just as a howl sounded behind them, and Maya jumped half a foot in the air. If they weren’t so scared, it would have been comical. Maya took a minute to recover, checked the compass, took a deep breath, and pressed onward.

Every time they heard a howl, they waited to hear the accompanying sounds that an animal moving through the forest should make. The howls were almost right next to them, but still no attack came. Eventually, they began to notice that they were not hearing any more howls in front of them. Lucy wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Part of her felt like they were being herded. However, it didn’t make sense to surround your prey and then herd it. Soon there were no more howls from the sides either. The farther they walked the farther behind them the howls sounded. Once the howls were fainter, they relaxed a little and spread out so they stopped bumping into each other.

The rustling and other night noises continued, but they seemed much less frightening after the howling. Still, Lucy and Justin took turns casting out their senses at each noise to make sure it was either an illusion or something small like a harmless rodent rather than assume nothing was out there. An occasional wildcat snarl did cause Maya to jump, but she kept moving forward through the trees, checking the compass regularly.

Lucy began to wonder how the other groups were doing. They hadn’t seen anyone for hours. Who else was left? Were they in front of Lucy’s group or behind them? Was everyone walking through the night or did some of them stop to rest? Lucy couldn’t help but wonder how Darren’s group was doing. She wished them the best, but she also knew they were horribly outclassed for this kind of competition. They were very talented, that wasn’t the issue. Lucy was simply sure that they hadn’t learned enough to handle some of the challenges they were up against. Lucy continued to walk.

It started to get light again, and Maya began to visibly relax. They took a minute to stop and rest. They ate some more of their dwindling food supplies and removed the glow spell from their boots. Everyone was looking disheveled and tired.

“I feel better knowing that if something is close enough for me to hear it, I can probably see it,” announced Maya rubbing her eyes.

“I agree,” said Lucy, stifling a yawn.

“Don’t start that,” said Maya, “or we’ll all be doing it.”

“Don’t wimp out on us now,” teased Gavin. “This is nothing compared to Orin’s day of physical endurance.”

“Isn’t that a day though? This is longer even if it isn’t as physically challenging, and there have been some mental challenges as well,” said Lucy.

“It is a day. However, the day ends when there is no one left competing. I participated in last year’s, and it ran about 38 hours before everyone either wore out or dropped out. Who’s up for that?” asked Gavin.

“No thanks,” said Maya.

“I prefer to watch and smile because I’m not the one putting my body through that kind of pain under the delusion of personal pride,” said Justin with a smile.

“I think I’ll be more interested if you ask me after I’ve had some sleep,” said Lucy. She began to stretch. It felt good to move some muscles that hadn’t been used with all the walking. “Anyone have any idea how much farther we have to go?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t think it would be too much farther because we still have to get out again once we find whatever it is,” said Justin. “Shall we continue?”

“I’d almost suggest running, to use some different muscles and help wake us up, but I think we are going to want to do that on our way back, and I’m not sure I’d care to do it twice,” said Lucy.

That got some smiles from people. Maya stood up and checked the compass. The rest rose and followed. They hadn’t walked for very long before Maya turned. They took a step, and she turned again and one more time. They were standing on a rocky area in between some trees. They all looked around, and then at each other.

“According to the compass, this is where we are supposed to be,” said Maya.

“Do we have to dig?” asked Gavin.

“I’m not sure,” murmured Justin.

“Could something be magically cloaked or hidden?” asked Lucy.

“It could be,” said Justin. He sat down cross-legged on the ground to be closer to the spot. “Lucy, sit and then study. Tell me what you sense.”

Lucy sat and relaxed. She breathed in deeply, closed her eyes, and tried to sense what was there without drifting off. She heard Maya and Gavin sitting down. They probably decided that if they weren’t going to be walking for a little while, they might as well sit down and rest. Lucy opened her eyes and looked at Justin. His eyes were still closed.

“I only feel rock. I don’t think there is anything buried here. I don’t think there is anything magically hidden. I don’t think there is anything here other than rock. What if we aren’t the first ones here? Could it have been sitting right here out in the open and another group already left with it?”

“If they did, I think what ever it was, was a decoy,” replied Justin.

“A decoy?” asked Maya.

“Yes, I could see them putting something here that a group would take, but it wouldn’t be the object we were after. I was expecting there to be multiple objects and we would have to pick.”

“You think it’s a rock,” said Lucy suddenly.

“I think it’s a rock,” agreed Justin.

Gavin looked around them with wide eyes, “Which rock?”

“That’s what Lucy and I are going to try to figure out. See if any of them feel different to you for any reason. We’ll separate out the ones that feel different and then pick.”