Camping Outside the Tower - Chapter 2

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“Nah, I’m ok for now, but I lost my stuff somewhere back there.”

Ziza tossed the farmer a small sack containing a few rations.

“It’s not much, but it’s most of what we have.”

“What about you? I can’t take all your food.” the farmer hesitated.

“Don’t worry about us. I don’t need to eat, and my friend here, Ziza is plenty good at finding food out here in the wild.” Zolana ensured the farmer with a wink.

“Oh, forgive us. This is Ziza Leaffoot, and I am Zolana Frosttoes. We are elves from the Snowpines”

“Yes, I can see that.” The farmer looked over the two friends. He saw their tell-tale long ears, youthful, almost childlike, appearances that beguiled the strength and wisdom that most elves possess.

“My name is Adam. I am a simple farmer from the east. My family owns a small plot of land there. I was on my way south to trade for some fallow seed. We usually plant wildflower seed instead of letting weeds grow over, so there is more to till into the soil next season.”

“What about that thing?” Zolana began, spitting the taste out of her mouth as the thought brought it back.

“I believe it was a zombie.” Ziza added in. “I have heard from other rangers that some of them come off the Blood Plains once in a while. No one knows why, but they come, and they always have the mindless desire to kill.”

The Blood Plains have always held this name because of its red soil, but the name fit more snugly now because of the frequent battles that it staged. It was the perfect meeting place for the clash between the orcs north of the Snow Cap mountains and the men from the south. It was crazy that the orcs continued to try to pass through the Blood Plains with the men watching the south and the elves watching the north. It was as if they wanted to die, and Ziza thought it was true. He had heard that orcs had a code. There was nothing more honorable then the glory of battle death and all orcs, so he had heard, craved it above all else.

Adam shuttered, looked at Zolana and then Ziza and thanked them. “Well, I think I owe you my life. If you ever are in need, my farm will always welcome you.”

“Do you need any rest Zolana?” Ziza asked because he knew that sometimes turning took its toil on her.

“No, I was quite rested already. I will be fine until nightfall.”

“Very well. Adam, we really should be going. We have about the right amount of light left to escort you to the Blood Plains Tower. When we get you there, we can figure out what we are going to do next.”

They packed up their things and began walking. Adam was very interested in Zolana and the life of a druid. But he knew that he would never be able to become one himself. It wasn’t something you chose, it was a gift from nature. But he was still curious. Furthermore, his constant questions made the trek much more pleasurable. Ziza took the lead but sent Claws out to hunt. She came back with a large rabbit that would make for great stew.

Night fell just when they were able to see the tower off in the distance nestled in the lowlands of the mountain range, so they decided to make camp. It was not wise to approach a guard tower, filled with archers, under the cover of darkness, especially one that was on the constant look out for orc raiding parties. After dinner they all took their turns at watch and had a good night’s sleep.