Peter
"There's nothing left here." Fiete frowned and kissed Peter's hand. "But it smells like blood."
They were standing in the clearing where the camp was supposed to be. But apart from the remnants of a battle, there was nothing here. Snow was already on the charred meadow again. It had been snowing for about ten minutes now. And a strong wind came up.
"But where are they then?" Peter shook his head. "Do you think they're dead? Everything is burned." Peter held a slightly burnt piece of wood in his left hand, while Fiete held his right hand, and looked at it. He had picked it up just before the heavy snowfall began.
"Such a large group?" Ari hugged him from behind and rested her head on Peter's shoulders. "No." The three of them stood close to each other and Peter enjoyed the warmth that emanated from Fiete. Ari's body, on the other hand, did not warm him, even though she clung to him. Vampires had cool bodies. Not freezing, but not warm either. The wolves looked around the meadow nervously.
"They must have moved on. I smell..." One of the many wolves sniffed excitedly. "It's still enough to notice. Elves. Feathers and horses! They're further up the river! The traces are hard to perceive, but they are still there."
Fiete nodded and crossed his arms. "The smell is very faint."
Peter would like to have such a fine nose. Although, if someone farts? From how far away could I still smell it? No, thank you. "Then we'd better follow the trail before it's gone", he muttered. Does Fiete suffer from farting people? Peter smirked a little, which earned him several puzzled looks. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat. "Let's go!"
While they were still following the river, the strong wind turned into a blizzard. The wind persistently tried to prevent them from going any further, but the group had nowhere to shelter from the storm. They had to move on. The trees swayed in the wind. They couldn’t seek any shelter under them. Branches cracked and rustled. A tree fell into the river. Just behind them. Peter cried out in fright.
All that remained for them to do was to look for the camp, to follow the vague trail. And don't get slain by a damn tree! Peter shook his head in shock. Around them, many branches fell, so that Fiete pulled him to him. They hurried along the river between the swaying trees. The wolves scolded as the storm blew the trail away, but they didn't give up.
And they found it. The tent camp.
The new camp was difficult to reach and well hidden. But the noses of the wolves, the vampire, and Fiete found their way. And then, finally, they stood between a few tents. Cleo hugged Peter. However, the storm forced them to seek shelter in the tents close together. Everyone was accommodated, even if it would be cozy in the tents. Fiete, Ari, and Peter would sleep in a tent with Cleo, Charlotte, Pelle, and Alwin. Crowded together. Alwin insisted on honoring Peter with one of his devastating hugs until Fiete growled impatiently at the other dragon. Only then did Alwin let go of Peter. Instead, he embraced Ari, who struggled to free herself from the iron grip. "I'm glad to see you too!", she murmured.
Finally, they had made it.
They had arrived.
Julia
Julia enjoyed a warm soup. Their group had reached the village. They had stayed with a friendly family who offered them shelter from the storm. The wind prevented them from moving on. They sat together on soft mats in the attic of the little elf family. Blankets and pillows lay around them to offer warmth and coziness.
The family didn't know who they were. They only saw the need and therefore offered them to stay overnight. They had cooked tea and soup for their guests. Julia was more than grateful to them. The family owned a small herb shop and sold medicinal herbs. When they saw the feverish children, they immediately helped. For the children, there was a tea against the fever. Amaury, however, didn't like the tea.
Julia had also tried to help the children with healing magic. She managed to lower the fever somewhat. Since Julia was not familiar with this healing magic and had to rely on her intuition, she was very careful. She didn't want to endanger the children. Fritz also tried his luck, but the fever persistently returned. Again and again. "I guess it's the exhaustion and the shock!", he muttered. Paul nodded helplessly. Valentina and Paula now planned to stay in the village with the children and help out in the herb shop.
Their hosts had offered this to them when they heard that the group had a long journey ahead of them, but the children had a hard time coming along. Originally, they had planned to leave Valentina and the children in an inn. But the children's fever had worsened. They couldn't possibly wander around any longer. And in this village of elves, there was none.
While Valentina and Peyo anxiously looked after the children, the rest of the group planned their way forward. Well, Mads didn't help much, as he struggled with his hair. He claimed it was dull and messy. A disaster. Emmie tried her luck combing her best friend's curls. With Julia's comb. The first strands of hair had gotten stuck in it. So you could definitely say that the planning was a bit chaotic. Also because Amaury tried to help with the plans. Again and again, the little boy ran to them. He suggested, for example, that all the bad guys should simply be shooed away. Paul promised him that they would try. After that, he pushed his son back to his siblings to rest. But Amaury was stubborn.
"Shoo away..." Levi growled grumpily, looking out the window. “Or we'll let the dragons eat them all!", muttered Mads. "OUCH!" "Stay still!", hissed Emmie. She was busy undoing the comb from Mad's hair. "And I don't think so many people can eat the dragons just like that. At some point, even dragons are fed up. Or? Josefine?", she turned to the dragon girl. Josefine hissed softly.
Snow and hail pounded against the thin window. Julia feared that the weather would remain stormy. She couldn’t call for her visions, otherwise, they would have known exactly. Emmie found this particularly interesting, which is why Julia couldn't avoid telling her exactly what she had learned from Iris.
"Oh!" The wolf girl grimaced after Julia explained everything to her. "Then don't do it!"
Leopold nodded in agreement. "It’s for the best." He kissed Julia's cheek. Smiling, she snuggled up to him.
"But it's annoying", Finn muttered. "How far is it to Klarbach?"
"It shouldn't be far away." Fritz scurried through his light hair. "We've almost left the elven territory. It should be nearby."
"I'm asking our hosts!" Julia put her bowl of soup aside. She kissed Leopold's cheek and then quietly went into the small kitchen so as not to wake her hosts' children, who were already asleep. The house was old. Just like all the furniture. But everything seemed cozy. Inviting. The couple sat in the kitchen. The two elves had dark blue dragonfly wings.
"Can we help you, girl?", the woman asked. They had introduced themselves as Gloria and Maxi. "Are you still hungry?"
Julia nodded. "Yes. Thank you. But that's not why I'm here."
"Then why?" Maxi raised his eyebrows. Of course, the two elves had noticed the binding spells and were therefore a bit skeptical. Whether they belonged to the rebellion or not, Julia did not know. These nice people offered them a place for the night. That was enough. They are really kind-hearted to offer us a place to sleep despite their worries and fears. And a place to stay for Valentina, Paula, and the children.
"Do you know the way to Klarbach? We're on our way there", she replied.
"Klarbach?" Gloria nodded. "That's still a long way off."
"One to two days. On foot." Maxi sighed. "A human city. They used to trade with us, but now... These new laws prevent that." He snorted angrily, then looked nervously at Julia and cleared his throat. "You're a witch? I hope I'm not being rude. What do you want in the place? There…" He glanced briefly at his wife. Gloria poured soup into a large bowl and nodded briefly.
"There used to be a lot of rebels there", she answered.
"And there's a small slave market." Maxi narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
Julia immediately shook her head. "I don't want to buy slaves. Or sell! My servants..." The word only came off her tongue with difficulty. " They are family. No slaves. The fact that they are bound to me was neither my nor their decision. It just happened. They were a gift I didn't want. But if I had refused, who knows what would have become of them?"
"Hm." Maxi didn't seem to believe her. "I should have an old map. Wait a minute..." He left the kitchen. Gloria smiled.
"Well. Take the soup upstairs. Maxi will bring you the card as soon as he finds it. It's good to know that not everyone looks down on us or loathes us. You can stay as long as you want, or as long as you have to. The children are in good hands with us. We like to help good people."
"Thank you. You are an angel!" Julia knew she could trust this family. Her heart told her so. And a brief vision that had come to her on the way to the kitchen. She saw Amaury baking cookies with Gloria while the twins nibbled on the dough.
Gloria grinned. "I hear that far too rarely!"
