Chapter 2-5

They hiked upwards, following the creek as it meandered between hills on its way down from the mountains. As they drew closer, Almonihah could see that they were headed towards a broad-mouthed canyon between two of the closer mountains. As they walked, Almonihah noticed a funny mark on one of the trees near the creek. It looked kind of like someone had lightly etched a rough likeness of a tree into the bark.

“What's that mean, Zrathanzon?” Almonihah asked, pointing at the mark.

Zrathanzon looked at where Almonihah was pointing, his expression a bit puzzled at first. After studying it for a bit, he smiled a bit and said, “Good eyes, Almonihah. I don't know how many times I've walked past this tree and not noticed that there. That is one of the many symbols used to refer to Naishia. No doubt Llinos was the one who placed it there.”

“Llinos?”

“That's the name of my friend who lives here,” Zrathanzon replied to Almonihah's question with a bit of a grin.

“Oh.” Almonihah realized that he probably should have known that.

They continued on, following the creek. Almonihah got a funny feeling as they passed the marked tree. It took him a little bit to put his finger on what kind of a feeling it was, but it seemed like the best description for it was a feeling of peace.

As the last light of dusk was disappearing, they came to a fire ring, much like the fire rings at the other campsites Zrathanzon had apparently set up all throughout the North Forest. They quickly set up camp for the night.

“Llinos should find us in the morning,” Zrathanzon told his student as he prepared to lay down.

Almonihah only nodded in response as he went to his bedroll, as well. He was quite surprised to find that he fell asleep quickly—or rather, he would have been, if he had been awake long enough to appreciate it. His dreams that night were peaceful and pleasant.

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Well, this is the end of chapter 2. Next time, we all get to meet Llinos! (What is it about Welsh names and sounding all fantasy-ish...)