The Home Stone

Suddenly Soukar stopped. Turning to the rest, he motioned them to be quiet and crouch down. He himself a big troll, made himself as small as can be as he crept up the sand dune and peered over to see the other side. He paused there for a moment and quietly returned.

Quickly they moved back a hundred feet or so before Soukar halted. “Looks like someone found us out,” he said softly. “Here is where we were to meet with my friend and the horses.”

“He didn’t show,” Marrak said sarcastically.

“No, it isn’t that,” the other interrupted. “He showed up all right, but so did some others. Telgra is still out there, but the horses are gone and so are our supplies.”

“What happened?” asked the elf girl.

“Either rogues or Bolam’s friends stole everything and left him there dead,” answered the huge troll.

Drawing his sword Marrak began to move towards the body of Telgra, when Soukar stopped him. “There is a good chance that they have laid a trap for us out there. We must proceed carefully or we will join my friend.”

Turning south they walked for some time before they stopped again.

“We cannot trek across this sand without water and some food,” stated Shannon.

“There is a small farm about a half a night walk from here,” Soukar reassured them. “If we make it there and it’s not being watched, we will have enough water and food to make it across the rest of the desert, but we will have to be careful and not let anyone see us. Out here without water and weapons, we are doomed to whatever befalls us.”

They walked the rest of the night, until the first streaks of dawn graced the eastern horizon. Here Soukar halted. He went forward alone to the crest of the next sand dune and lay down on his belly. From his vantage point, he could see the tiny goat farm that was housed in a large oasis. He stayed there for almost an hour just looking from one side of the oasis to the other and then back again. Satisfied that there were no other unwanted trolls around, he turned his head and waved the rest forward to where he was lying.

“It looks all right from here,” he said. “No one else around except for the family living there. I think it’s safe enough to approach.”

He was up and making his way down the other side of the dune before anyone could voice their opinion. The other three just looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and began to follow.

They were halfway down the slope to the farm, when the farmer came outside with the biggest bow Shannon had ever laid eyes upon. Had she tried using it, the bow would have had to rest on the ground. Notching an arrow and taking aim, the farmer called for Soukar to halt. Raising both arms to show that he had no weapons in his hands he stopped. Then he dropped all of his weapons on the sand and slowly moved closer. When he was within talking distance, he stopped.

“We are not here to harm your family or steal anything from you,” he began. “We only have need for some water and a small amount of food, if you can spare it.”

Eying him with some suspicion, the farmer drew on his bow and moved closer. “Tell the rest to come closer so I can see who they are,” he commanded.

Soukar turned and waved to the others to approach. As Shannon and the rogue came closer the farmer took aim at Brendan, but Soukar stepped in front of the rogue and raised his hand.

“Isn’t this the one they’re looking for?” asked the farmer. “There’s a hefty price on his head. Enough to keep me and my family in food for almost a year.”

“I’ll be honest,” Soukar began. “He is the one you speak of, but he is innocent. The man who put a price on his head, is the one the guards are looking for. All we are trying to do is see him safely to the eastern forest where he lives.”

“I could still kill him and get the reward,” the farmer argued.

“You could,” answered the troll looking at Marrak and the elf, “but I don’t think you would live long enough to collect it.”

At that point, Shannon uttered some incomprehensible words and the farmers bow exploded into flames. Dropping the weapon, he kicked sand on it, to douse the flames. When Shannon stopped the spell, the flames died out. The farmer picked up the bow and examined it. There were no scorch marks on it. The same was for the arrow.

“You see,” began the elf. “We are not the enemy here and wish you no harm. If you can spare some water and food, we will be on our way and you can continue as before we arrived. What do you say?”

He debated for a minute and then agreed to give them what they needed. He knew that he was no match against two mountain trolls and a mage. The four followed the farmer into a small hut where he kept a few water skins. He filled four of them and asked his wife to prepare some food for the travelers. Then thanking the farmer, the party left, but not without a warning that if he spoke of their coming, the two mountain trolls would return and kill him. The farmer paled at the threat and promised he would not tell anyone that they had passed through here.

It was well into the morning, when the party left the farm and headed out on to the desert. The sun was burning down on them when Soukar called for them to stop and rest.

“We will stay here and rest,” he said. “When the sun goes down we will continue.”

With a couple of cloaks and swords they made another make shift tent and crawled under it. Here it was a bit cooler. They ate a small meal and drank some water. They then took turns keep watch while the others rested. Once the sun began to sink behind the Crags to the west, the party broke camp and continued their trek east.

Just after dawn broke, the eastern forest came into view. Again, Soukar stopped and went ahead to see if it was safe enough for the four to enter the heavily wooded forest. Here were a lot of places to lay traps to capture the rogue and anyone with him.

Poking his long sword into bushes and other areas where one could hide, the troll spent at least an hour before returning with good news.

“It seems that our friends didn’t think we would make it this far,” he stated. “The forest is empty, except for the little creatures that live there.”

Satisfied with the troll’s findings the little party entered the cooler woods. Even the air was fresher than the heat out there on the sand.

They continued for a while until they came to a small stream. Here the water skins were refilled and another meal was eaten.

“Are you coming the rest of the way with us?” asked Shannon.

“No,” answered Marrak. “It would be best if parted company here. They are probably looking for the four of us. They might not suspect the two of you traveling alone. Besides we would be making too much noise here in this overgrown shrubbery.”

Shannon walked up to Marrak and gave him a hug and thanked him for all of his help. She then turned to Soukar and did the same. Brendan just shook their hands and thanked them also for protecting them back there in the desert.

Leaving the elf and Brendan one water skin, the trolls took the rest and turned westward. Raising their huge hands and waving good-bye, they were soon out of sight. Now quite alone, Shannon and Brendan turned towards the east and as quietly as they could, made their way deeper into the forest.