It was the morning of the third day after Terra guided us to the fork. I was just about to send a wave of energy into the soil when it began to churn forming into Terra’s body. “Do not risk using any more power until it is time, not even to call me. The place you are looking for is just on the far side of a large river you should reach in the evening. I would cross the river in the morning. I think it is wise to have all the strength you can get.”

Terra’s advice was not really needed. I was always one to take all the advantages I could get and a night time attack was not in my favor. But Terra was much more involved than I had seen her in ages. In fact, I don’t think she had shown this much attention to me since animals began to group in herds. I was not going to say anything that made it seem like her advice was unwanted. Though I did have to fight hard to keep my eyes from rolling. 

But her willingness to help also scared me. The only reason I could think of for this change is that she must have looked in on Maximus and thought of him as truly evil. What is he doing to my friends? Partially hoping to gather some more information I asked, “Will you be traveling with us this morning?”

She pondered this invitation for a moment then shook her head. “I think I’d better not. It will increase the risk of him detecting us.” She left a short while later as we set off down the road. 

Terra’s words continued to weigh heavily on my mind as we rode that day. I felt sorry for the others since my turbulent mind cast our whole party into an uneasy quiet. I clearly did not want to talk but it seemed that they must have thought I did not want noise. There were a few feeble attempts to convince them that they could talk but they fell flat. It seems that trying to get others to talk when you did not want to was not very effective. 

It was getting late when we made it to the bank of the river. The road did not lead to a bridge but to a shallow ford. No one liked the idea of trying to ford the river in the dropping temperatures of the night. So everyone happily listened to Terra’s advice and started to set up camp. We found a small copse of trees just off to the side of the path that would shield us from the wind and many of the prying eyes from the town we could make out in the distance. 

Dinner time was even more uneasy than the day had been. Only the minimum amount of words were exchanged. Everyone’s nerves were strained knowing what tomorrow would likely bring. None of us had directly faced Maximus and did not really know what he was capable of. But we had heard the stories and at least my mind was filling in the blanks with horrible details. 

This had to stop. We would not be able to get any sleep like this. Near where we had set up the camp there were some bean plants that had withered for the winter. They would be the perfect way to help us sleep tonight. I stretched out my hand to them to make them grow, when suddenly my hand was pulled away by Leafia.

“What was that for?” I look at her in confusion. 

“Mother Earth said not to use your powers.” I could only groan at myself for forgetting. She was right. If I had grown the medicine Maximus would have felt me and run away in the middle of the night again. This whole chase would start all over again. “What were you trying to do with those bean plants anyway?” Leafia asked. 

“We are all so nervous. I was trying to make something that would help us sleep.” I said, feeling rather sheepish for forgetting Terra’s warning. Especially as I wrote the warning off as obvious this morning. 

“With a bean plant?” She looked at me confused. “I thought that their only ‘medicinal’ use was to give you gas.”

Leafy’s medical use of beans forced a laugh out of me despite my wishes, leading to a snort escaping. Emily also started laughing but I could not tell if it was from Leafy’s words or my snort. By the reactions of Gray and Istan, they seemed to be on Leafia’s side with the medical uses of bean plants. 

Once she had settled down Emily explained for me. “There is a medicine you can extract from some types of beans and peas that can aid with sleep. I assume this is what you were trying to do with those plants,” she said looking at me for confirmation. 

After affirming her assessment with a small nod, I said, “So what are we going to do now? We need to be in our best shape tomorrow.”

“I will stay up and watch so the others can get rest,” Istan said confidently. 

“No you most certainly will not,” I replied back. “You need sleep just as much as the others.”

“We are so close to Maximus, we can not all sleep. What if he comes in the night?” Istan rebutted me.

“Have you forgotten that I do not sleep? I will watch again tonight.”

“Laurel, I don’t think that is a good idea.” This time the counter argument came from Leafy. 

“Why not?” I questioned, though noticeably less severely than I just replied to Istan. “He is even less likely to be able to sneak up on me than any of you.”

“I don’t think you should be alone tonight.” She said looking at the ground. “What if you feel Mist or Faun in pain? Would you be able to sit here by yourself and wait till morning?”

Her words filled my mind with new terrors. I had not conceived of this idea. “Then what are we going to do? You all need to get to sleep, and soon.”

It was hard to tell in the glow of the small fire but Leafy’s face seemed to be turning more red. “Sleep in my tent tonight,” she practically whispered. “I will hug you all night so you can not get away without me knowing.”

I wanted to point out that I had already proven that I could get in and out of her tent without her noticing but I was not going to put my own foot on the thistle. And the thought of being hugged calmed down the horrors that were still racing through my mind at the idea of hearing Mist and Faun in pain all night.

“I think it is a good idea,” I said barely any louder than her suggestion had been. “I will spend the night in Leafy’s tent just to be safe. Anyone have any issue with this plan?” 

“So I will stay on lookout,” Istan said once again with confidence, but was soon smacked in the back of the head by Leafia. Her smack was super effective as Istan almost fell off his seat. I was grateful for her efforts since I was not allowed to convince a plant to do it for me right now. 

“You will be in your tent threatening to wake us up with your snores,” I said sternly, making it clear that this was not negotiable. “You should be well aware by now that I do not need my eyes to see.” I let out a sigh seeing that Istan gave in without the usual back and forth tonight. “We should all be turning in. It is already late.”

Katuwarrior

I really can publish on time. We are only a few chapters away from the finally and I have a question for you. How should I publish the finally.