Anders caught Maija’s eye with a wayward glance and shrugged.
They waited until the dragon was well out of view before mounting up. Keeping low to the ground, Raffa and Zahara flew Anders and Maija closer to the forest. Landing on the elven forest’s fringe, Anders dismounted Zahara before entering the trees. He checked the skyline one last time before following his companions. He saw the outline of the dragon against the morning sky as it returned on its path back toward the area. Anders noted how much more quickly the dragon’s turnaround had been compared to its prior run and hurried to hide quietly among the trees.
Anders couldn’t see through the canopy but checked it continually as they headed deeper into the forest. He led the way, directing them toward where he’d seen the fire’s glow the night before. The sound of each snapping twig had him flinching and instinctively reaching for Lazuran’s hilt. Suddenly a wide swath of sunlight caught Anders’ eye. He looked to the patch of forest that appeared to be missing leaves; it was not a meadow. Black branches shone, glistening in the sunlight. Curious, they walked toward it, eventually stopping at the edge of a burned patch.
“What caused this?” Maija asked, ankle-deep ash billowing lightly around her feet and dusting her legs as she stepped into the burned area.
“Dragon?” Anders suggested, glancing up at the exposed sky, half expecting to see the patrolling dragon overhead.
“If it were a dragon, wouldn’t there more damage to the branches? It looks like this fire burned hottest on the ground,” Maija said, pointing to the smoldering tree stumps.
Anders could see several leaves still clinging to the blackened branches and noted that their finer twigs were still showing, a fuel source that would’ve burned away in the intensity of dragon’s fire from above.
And if this were a dragon’s kill zone, there would be sign of a feast. I don’t sense one, Raffa said, flicking his forked tongue out into the air several times.
Anders shrugged, “This must’ve been the area that was glowing last night.”
“So, not an elven village. Well, there goes our hopes of a hearty breakfast,” Maija said.
As they walked across the burned area, Anders noticed a trail exiting from the other side. Anders and Zahara walked ahead of Raffa and Maija into the dense greenery of the elven forest. The trail Anders discovered was surprisingly wide. He’d traveled on the trails to and from Cedarbridge before. Those trails were narrow and worn to bare soil. This trail was freshly formed, the plants still green and broken along the ground.
Whatever or whoever created this path did so recently, Anders thought to Zahara.
Should we keep following it or make our own? she asked, also sensing the strangeness of the path’s creation.
Maybe the elves are creating some new trails? he thought.
I don’t know. I just hope it’s the elves and not the C.F.D.D dragons, Zahara said.
Let’s hope so. I think we should keep on this trail though. Even if it was the dragons, they’ll be searching the forest’s edge not the interior. Besides, walking on foot will be much faster on this cleared path. It might even lead us to an elven village where we can get some real food.
As the path widened deeper in the forest, Anders joined Maija, letting Zahara and Raffa follow.
“This seems too convenient,” Maija said, examining the trail. “The route we traveled from Eastland to Cedarbridge was a path worn down to dirt. And its construction didn’t damage the vegetation the way this trail does.”
“Yeah. The farther we go, the more I feel certain that elves did not build this trail.”
“What then? This is the elven forest so it wouldn’t make sense if anything else created it.”
Maybe it’s prey, Raffa suggested.
“You’re just saying that because you’re hungry,” Maija answered out loud so Anders could hear.
Raffa snorted, smoke puffing from his nostrils, This trail stinks of herd mentality. There’s no reason to where it’s leading.
“How could you possibly know that?” Maija asked. Anders was curious to hear Raffa’s reasoning. He thought himself to be a fairly good tracker and he’d missed this assessment of the trail’s direction.
If intelligent creatures had created this trail, it would follow a path of least resistance, but it does not. We’ve already been through sections where it would have been easier to move around a hill or down a slope. But the moving herd is fueled by those running behind. There is an element of panic that encourages them to continue straight through. This path bulls through everything, trampling brush that could easily be avoided.
Anders continued to walk along the path, taking notice of the features Raffa had pointed out. There was no method to the trail’s madness. It could’ve easily gone around a small stand of trees, but just rammed through, as Raffa suggested, trampling the thin trees and creating a hole through the vegetation.
Anders, Zahara said. Something about this trail smells familiar. I can’t put my claw on what it is, but something is off. I don’t think we should be following it so mindlessly.
I have a strange feeling about it now, too, Anders said as he wandered to the edge of the trail, peered into the thick forest. If we leave this trail, we’ll slow down, and we still have a two-day walk to reach or get close to Cedarbridge.
We could camp until dark and then fly? Zahara suggested hesitantly.
The dragons searching for us could easily spot us this close to the border. I don’t think they’ll find us in here, but if we fly we could risk leading them to Cedarbridge, he responded.
We’ll stay on the path, Raffa said in his powerful voice. As long as we know there’s something off about it, we can be ready for whatever lies ahead.
Okay, but as soon as we find a real elf trail, we should take it, Zahara said.
They continued down the path in the forest for most of the day. Every few hours, Anders would check to make sure they were continuing in the right direction. When the sun was at its peak, this proved more difficult, but Anders had been between the Eastland Mountains and Cedarbridge several times and felt confident they were heading the right way.
Later in the afternoon, Anders noticed a slight break in the undergrowth. He glanced to see an elven trail just as he was walking past it. Hopping back, Anders grinned when he got a closer look at the truly elven-style path.
“Which way do we follow it, left or right?” Maija asked.
“Well, it looks like the path to the left kind of parallels this one at an angle. Right now, we’re going southwest,” he pointed to the afternoon sun arching down directly in front of the path. “This trail here to the right looks to go more directly west, which should head toward Cedarbridge.”
Without hesitation, Maija took the lead, Raffa stepping in behind her. Anders followed them onto the narrow trail, Zahara close on his heels. Elven-style trails narrowed in comparison to the widely trampled trail they’d been following before, but the trees near the path had been removed to provide a wide creature, such as a dragon of Raffa’s size, to move carefully through the forest.
Walking along the elven path gave Anders and the others a sense of safety that they hadn’t felt in days or longer. Anders and Zahara had been unsettled in not knowing what had caused such a wide swath through the forest. If it had been a herd as Raffa suggested, Anders struggled to think of a creature that could run in a pack and also start a fire, if that’s what caused the fire they’d seen earlier in the day. The more Anders thought about it, the more he confused he became, telling himself it couldn’t be a herd of dragons. He decided that it was best to just let it go. They were on the real trail now and likely wouldn’t be bothered by the other path again.
As evening approached, Anders saw Maija suddenly take off at a run without warning. Anders’ first reaction was to look skyward, expecting to see the dragons from C.F.D.D. When he saw nothing threatening overhead, he chased after her, utterly confused. He slowed as he saw her standing near a log hut with a thatched roof. Anders could see the grin on her face as Maija walked up to the entrance. Seeing that Anders and the dragons had arrived, and realizing that there was no need for alarm, Maija entered the village dwelling.
She quickly backed out of the house with a frown, “No one is home.”
