The Hall of Heroes

9. - Taking care of business

As the first rays of the waking sun creeped over the mountains, only Crefar was still sleeping. He growled and opened his eyes to see Horden in the very same position as when he last saw him the evening before. Sitting up, his eyes open, gazing in front of him with no hint whether he was awake or in some kind of trance. Crefar looked about and saw Honza trying to tend to the dying fire. Duzz was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm." Crefar growled, wiping his eyes. "Where'd the tramp hop off to?"

"Duzz is in the woods. She didn't say where she was going. I guess she thought she would wake me if she did."

"Wouldn't she?" Crefar noted.

Horden turned his head to him. It was the very first motion he'd made since the evening. Honza still found this man to be the scariest of the bunch.

"In my tradition, we savor sleep as a little death." Horden said in a preaching tone. "There are more kinds of sleep that we learn and the one I have practiced this night is called the 'sleep of the wandering.' A hermit's dreamless sleep that helps you tune in with your environment."

"I don't suppose you ever heard in your 'tradition' of the great Man Há-Tan?"

"No. I have to disappoint you, my friend. My faith deals with other kinds of spirits than the great gods."

A shrub not far from them rustled. Crefar turned, his fiery hands at the ready. Horden turned his piercing eyes in the direction. Honza crouched behind the fire and shot his gaze from one of his companions to the other.

Suddenly, they all heard, "I-i-it's me!" and Tereza's hand rose from the shrub. They all relaxed as Duzz fought her way out of the shrub and joined them by the fire.

"Anybody got something to eat?" Crefar asked, arching his back.

A sack full of seeds and wood berries landed at his side. He looked questioningly at Duzz, who threw it. "B-b-berries and s-s-seeds. Best b-b-breakfast." she said.

Crefar lifted the little sack with disgust and peered inside distrustfully. But having nothing else to appease his growling stomach, he soon started stuffing himself on the contents.

There were many large tracks, old and new, to be found near the site of the broken cart. The creature that wreaked havoc upon it either didn't care about anyone trying to track it, or it simply couldn't help itself. Whatever the case, they were soon hot on its trail.

The tracks took them a bit higher up the hills, though not nearly as high as where the Hall of Heroes stood. Soon they climbed among rocks and low bushes, leaving the forests and meadows far beneath them.

There was a short discussion among them about leaving Honza behind near the broken cart, since they knew they were going to face the real danger right about now, but Honza was afraid to be left alone in the wilds that were obviously this creature's hunting grounds. So in the end, it was decided they would keep one eye on him until they would find the creature.

The tracks led under several overhanging cliffs and small ravines between cracked-up rocks and in some of these shelters they found large pools of dried-up blood as though the thing had stopped there to eat. The monster could apparently dine on horse-sized meals which hinted at a sad end of the poor Řeřicha family. Honza shivered at the thought and Crefar, Duzz and Horden all felt a strange tingling at the back of their necks.

"Did you feel that too?" Horden turned to his companions. "That shiver down your spine?"

"Yea. Guess the years in the grave have actually made me squeamish." Crefar reproved himself.