Several eager-looking gnomes were crowded around a particularly large broilcup, staring longingly into a pot of stew—rat and chanterelle today, I believe—that was bubbling happily within its bath of boiling water.
Heavy snores sounded from Benin and Coll's tent. The two humans had long since crawled into their sleeping bags—though probably as much to get a head start on Swift and Cheer as from exhaustion. The emberfox, however, was as alert as my denizens. She'd taken to following Ris'kin around, imitating my avatar's barked commands and "helping" her to carry supplies to and from the wagons.
After the little fox accidentally incinerated her third blanket, Ris'kin instead set her to the task of covering every inch of the camp and using her fiery aura to dry and harden the muddy ground. Pyra took her job very seriously; many a gnome was forced to jump out of her way as she proceeded along her route like a determined drillworm. Those not quick enough ended up nursing minor burns which I instructed my medics to attend to. Thankfully the rest of the forest was too wet for the accidental burning of leaf mulch and pine needles to be much of a danger.
Burn victims aside, Pyra had been accepted among the tribe immediately, whereas poor Binky still evoked suspicion and wariness from many of my older denizens. What Bekkit had told us about earthly vs celestial creatures checked out so far, in this particular detail at least.
Clothiers from different groups sat together on the wagons, swinging their legs and chatting happily as they knitted, keeping half an eye always on the children running to and fro. Apart from a few who'd developed annoying sniffles as a result of the inclement weather, most of the youngsters were in high spirits.
Several of them appeared to be giving Ajax a makeover. They clustered around the crouching warrior, giggling as they took it in turns to festoon him with woven grass crowns and paint his lips with berry juice. One boy’s eyes lit up when he noticed Binky nearby; he advanced toward him, comb in hand, but the spider smartly made himself scarce. Nearby, Nails watched as stonily-faced as ever, though I definitely caught the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
Hoppit was leading the watch tonight. After directing the others to their positions, she strode to her own post, chewing on a piece of possum jerky and re-tying her hair into a sensible tail. She threw Gneil a wink and a grin as she passed the chariot, which he returned awkwardly, blushing and nearly dropping the lid of the ark on his foot. One of the acolytes caught it, and when they'd set it to one side Gneil gave them orders to bail out the rainwater that had leaked into the 'holy box' over the past couple of days—presumably with strict instructions not to disturb my gem too much.
I gazed over it all, sensing through our bond that both Ket and Bekkit shared my contentment.
How could they not? Serenaded by a peaceful chorus of laughing children, snoring sleepers, the occasional drip-drip of the still-wet leaves, and the occasional happy snuffles of the badgers as they rooted for slugs and other insects beyond the camp's boundaries. With the warm glow of the hearthshrooms reflecting off the leafy canopy overhead, I almost felt safe.
Yes, I thought again. Maybe this journey won't be so bad after all.
Then the children's laughter turned into screams.
Thirty-One
Kidnapped!
Corey
I watched in horror as two huge winged shapes swooped from the trees and into the light. Their target was obvious: a blond-haired gnome child who was singing and dancing atop one of the wagons, completely oblivious to the approaching threat. The other children, who'd gathered below to watch her, immediately screamed and scattered when they spotted them.
Ris'kin! Owls incoming!
I didn't need to give any instructions. My avatar was already alert and haring toward the child. Forcing my thoughts into a cohesive message, I focused on Gneil and prepared to cast Divine Inspiration with the instruction to signal the other gnomes to take cover.
Then I recalled the Augmentary’s new feature that let me directly impart signaling instructions to my officers. It was the work of a second to switch my focus to Hammer and select ‘Take Cover’ from the list of options attached to her Signal ability. Though Graywall was closer to the site of danger, I knew from past experience that Hammer liked to shout her signals as well as sign them. Sure enough, her gesture was accompanied by a bellow which alerted the entire camp. All around, warriors raised their shields while non-combatants flung themselves to the floor, crawling into tents and beneath carts.
Frowning in confusion, the blond girl on the cart finally opened her eyes just in time to see the first owl's talons close around her waist.
She screamed as she was yanked up into the air, kicking her legs helplessly. Her pale hair whipped from side to side with every beat of the owl’s wings, and after a few seconds her head and limbs were hanging limply. I hoped she’d just passed out from fright, and that the violent movement hadn’t damaged her neck or spine.
A few of the slingers had their weapons ready, but hesitated to loose, wary of hitting the child by mistake. They were well practiced in aiming at moving targets on the ground, but flying targets? Not so much.
Luckily for us, I knew one member of the tribe who did have experience in that area.
Binky, Spit!
The massive spider, who’d been standing protectively over a huddle of cowering younglings, raised himself onto his rear legs. His upper body
