Night Woods

Kalena's smile returned at the compliment. “Oh, here and there. I was fortunate to find a few good teachers willing to invest their time in me,” she said modestly, not wanting to mention that she'd trained under some of the most talented assassins and swordsmen in the world. “You all must be quite the competent warriors yourselves. Judging by all your opponents over there, you were outnumbered by at least four or five to one! If you're ever looking for work, do come see me. I employ guards to protect my home, and I'm always on the look-out for strapping young blokes who know how to handle themselves in a real fight.”

The others beamed with pride. Laffy and Kline just seemed to nod at the compliments. “It was just team work, nothing special, training, that is all.” The tall man pointed out looking at the others. “If you want to take a watch,” Kline looked at Kalena then to the farthest wagon, “you can post up down there, keep an eye out for anyone else who might be coming along.”

He let her go and the men to settle. He watched the woods, seeing the fairy lights flicker in and out of the darkness. He did not like the idea of camping someplace like this, magic was wild in places like this, and it had a way of worming into your dreams. He wondered if he would sleep.

Once the men had settled in he stood and walked to the far wagon. For a moment he thought the woman had left, but her horse and things were still there. The emptiness of the night was all he saw, all he felt. Where had she gone? He looked around starting to get a bit worried. “Miss Kalena?” He half whispered in the darkness.”