Tales of Vyscher Book 2

Chapter 27

Vic felt very exposed walking through the Greensward. Judging by Rek's constant glances, and the death grip she had on her sword's pommel, she assumed that she wasn't the only one. With the West Gate at their back, they were slowly making their way towards the boundary forest, still a smudge on the horizon, and looking for any traces of what may have happened to the missing men.

The outside of the wall was a confused mess of small gardens, originally started by accident as careless or lazy guards would toss seeds or fruit pits over the wall. Some took root in the rich soil, and soon enough a hodgepodge of plants was growing along the wall. Some of the more ambitious troopers then set about cultivating the crops and growing a few new ones. Nothing too much, since technically they were not on their own land, but nobody was going to pick their food under the walls with the guards watching.

After the small gardens, the grasslands opened up to miles upon miles of wild fields. Higher grasses closer to the wall, and shorter further out. The fields had various herds of antelope, and they kept the grasses shorter, for the most part away from the walls. There was no poaching of any animals outside the walls, it was too obvious. Once you were out in the fields, you had no idea what eyes might be watching. The grass was tall and the forest too close.

The trade road up to the boundary forest was paved in stone by the duchy and kept weed free by troopers who were being punished for some offence or another. It had to be a lonely and stressful duty, as nervous as being out in the open was making the girls. Vic and Rek pitied anyone who got that duty.

So it was that the two girls grew more and more nervous as they got closer to the forest. They had followed the road about halfway across the Greensward, but now they would start venturing off into the grasses to see if they could find any signs of their comrades.

The search was taking too long, they were constantly finding pieces of equipment and scraps of metal, casually tossed off the road by travelling merchants. The first few times this happened they ended up on hands and knees in that area looking for clues, until they realized what it was that they were finding.

They were not happy.

"This truly sucks. What did we do to deserve this duty? I think I'm roasting out here!" Rek finally complained.

"We lived." Vic pointed out.

Rek was silent for a moment. "Yes, we did. Who do you think would have been stuck looking for us if we hadn't?"

Vic grimaced. "Well, that is rather morbid, isn't it?"

"Obviously, yes. But I'm feeling morbid. We're out looking for friends who are most likely dead. Exposed for any enemy to see, in grasses no doubt crawling with snakes ready to sink fangs into us, and a sun that might have already broiled my poor brain!"

"Snakes don't crawl." Vic replied dryly.

"Don't make me come over there and thrash you!"

"Okay, fine. But to answer your question, if we were missing, they would have sent Fehrys to find us. Or more likely he would have come on his own, and much sooner than we were sent to look for Belrion and Petis."

"Yeah, that makes sense. He'd come find us."

"But this one is ours!"

"I would have let him take it!"

The constant forays off the road definitely slowed them down, and the hot sun beating down on them meant frequent water and rest breaks where they would erect a tarp in a quick lean to just for shade. While there were many wildflowers in open grasslands, there were no trees to provide the shade they craved.