“Yes. It continued until this morning. We saw civilians working to put out the various fires. Kurr and orcs forced them to work at bringing water to that chapel near the town’s center,” Saaja pointed. “There must have been something in there that they wanted because every time anyone tried to take water to the northern half of town, the enemy would send them right back, forcing them to work on preventing that one building from burning.”
“What about the shield they told us about?” Rune asked.
“Look around,” Saaja said. “You’re sitting on it.”
Rune looked left and noticed for the first time the sheared path, cut into the forest. Even the tree they sat on looked to have been cleaved to create a border. “Is it active?” Rune asked, wondering if it had been phased out as the occupants departed.
“I believe it was active until today. You missed something quite special this morning,” Saaja said.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Ophelia added, shaking her head.
Rune eyed her, a sprightly contrast to the others who’d volunteered to leave the Riverlands with Rune and Saaja. The others bobbed their heads in agreement, hardened faces of lives well lived collaborating with her assessment.
“That dark sorcerer showed up,” Saaja said.
Rune’s narrow jaw dropped. “Really?” he asked. “How did you know it was him?”
“Well, for starters, that big black dragon of his was a dead giveaway,” Ophelia said.
“You saw the dragon?” Rune asked. He’d heard reports of it in Southland, but the black creature hadn’t ventured to Westland since the first war. He saw Ophelia and the others nod, then he said, “I had hoped that the reports were only rumors and that the foul thing was gone from these lands.”
“Nope. He came here just today,” Saaja said. “I thought it strange, such a powerful man stopping to check in on this measly lot. We watched from the hill. He landed for a few hours, then took off again. Flew south along the coast. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t see him on your way back.”
Rune shook his head, “No, I didn’t.” Pondering it for a moment, Rune said, “That is odd for him to stop here, and for such a short time.”
“Yeah. Why fly all of the way here to turn around and leave right away?” Ophelia asked.
Rune shrugged, “Have you seen any civilians since the occupants left?”
“Nah. We’ve just been waiting for you to get back. I don’t think many stayed though. It looked like the kurr gathered everyone up and took them off with them,” Saaja said.
“I wonder who’s organizing the kurr?” Rune asked. “I didn’t know those creatures could follow orders.”
“Maybe that’s what the sorcerer was doing here? Telling them to move on,” Saaja suggested.
“Maybe,” Rune replied, thinking on the idea for a moment. “But that doesn’t seem worth it. How many of them were here?”
“Couple hundred at the most,” Saaja said.
“Exactly. That doesn’t seem as though it would be a large enough force to warrant a visit from the leader. He must’ve wanted something else,” Rune said.
“There’s one last thing you should know about before we head down there,” Saaja said calmly.
Rune tilted his head in curiosity, “Yeah?”
“There’s been a ship.”
“What do you mean, there’s been a ship? Where?”
“A ship’s been sailing up and down the coast for the last day and a half. They’ve kept their distance and weren’t anywhere to be seen when the dragon was here, but we saw them again after. They stuck around.”
“Is it the enemy? Possibly a transport ship?” Rune asked.
“That’s what we thought,” Saaja said. “But they didn’t help, and we last saw them sailing north, opposite the others going south.”
“Odd,” Rune said.
“Yep. That’s it from us,” Ophelia added.
“So, you think the barrier that kept everyone trapped inside has been deactivated?” Rune asked.
“Don’t know how all those people were able to leave if it weren’t,” Saaja said.
“Let’s test it then,” Rune suggested.
Saaja turned and looked at the others, “Do we have any volunteers?”
Rune waited for a response, but when none of the ex-farmers offered, he said, “I’ll do it.”
“You sure?” Saaja asked.
“Yeah. This was my idea coming here. I wouldn’t feel right if anyone else risked their lives over mine in this venture.”
“Alright then,” Saaja said. “We’ll be right here if you need anything.”
Rune rose from his seat on the log. Taking in a short breath he stepped forward and walked down the slope past the clear-cut line through the forest. Once he’d crossed the line about ten feet in, he turned around and looked back at his companions. They sat, leaning forward and watching intently to see if he would return. Rune gulped, hoping the barrier was down. If it wasn’t, he had just committed himself to an extended stay in the desolate town. Gathering his confidence, Rune hiked back up the hill, stopping at the line in the forest. He raised his arms out in front of his body. He didn’t want to run into the invisible wall face first. That would add insult to injury if he were truly stuck there.
First, Rune felt the space before him, leaning forward as he did and nearly losing his balance as his hand passed through empty air. Stepping forward to catch himself, his upper body passed the plane where the barrier had been. To his relief, the wall was no longer there. He walked back to the log, his friends letting out a collective sigh of relief.
