(May '18) Prompt #2 - "And the moon shone bright" [Archive]

ArtisticVicu

09-10-2018, 02:45 AM

Hours had passed since the sun had vanished beyond the horizon. The night was dark but the swaying lanterns lit the way just as easily as the sun had.

The caravan was mostly foot traffic with the four vehicles packed with everyone's measly belongings and what food supplies were left. The man at the head of the caravan came to a stop at the crest of a soft hill, the sword on his waist glinting in the low light. He looked at his companion. "Keep going. I'm going to check on the others."

The youth nodded and kept going. He gained curious looks from those that walked passed but most were placated with a soft smile and some sort of acknowledgement. A few stopped for words.

"Everything alright, Salazar?" an older gentleman asked, coming to a stop at his side out of the way, wife hovering close with their two grandchildren clinging to her skirts.

He reached out and gave the man's shoulder a squeeze. "Of course. I'm just checking on the others."

The older gentleman nodded and beckoned his wife and grandchildren on. The youngest of the pair waved goodbye and he returned the little one's wave with a fond smile. Children were always so carefree even in hard times.

He caught sight of her robes before he actually saw her face. The diadem in her dark curls glimmered in the lantern light.

"Everything alright here?" he asked, cutting off whatever her comment was going to be.

She dipped her head in a nod. "Everyone is in high spirits, thankfully. However, we won't last much longer. The children are already growing exhausted."

He nodded. "I've noticed. The next area shouldn't be that much farther."

She nodded in turn before returning to the flow of the caravan.

He stepped into the stream as the cart of food started to pass. He fell into pace with the front seat. "How's everything here, Helga?"

The normally bright woman looked far more tired than others he had seen. His heart went out to her. "Not good, Sal. We'll need to find a way to replenish stock somehow. Magic can only get us so far."

The same, then. They never did had quite enough. "I'll see what I can get gathered. We may need to tightened our belts for a while."

She gave him a solemn nod. "Best tell Rowena that, then, and have her spread it among the adults. I'm not rationing the children portions."

"I wouldn't ask you to," he assured her. "Hopefully it will only be for a night or two, though."

"For everyone's sake, I hope you're right."

He let the cart get ahead of him before returning to the edge of the caravan.

The flow of people petered out till only a few stragglers were passing. A good number were children running about at the back of the caravan but a few were the less able. He was pleased to see that no one was alone and that it was only a few. Finally, the last to pass him were those of the makeshift guard and the man he had been waiting for.

The other smiled warmly at him and he found some of the day's tension leaving. "I hope it's not bad news that has you gracing my company," the man teased as they fell into step with each other.

"Thankfully, no," he assured in return. "We should be nearing a place to stop so I thought I would check in with you and the others."

"And?"

"People are in good spirits, thank Magic, but they're starting to tire as expected. Additionally, our food supply has not gotten better during the last few hours so there may be a need to ration."

The other hummed but didn't comment. He didn't expect him to.

The light from the lantern the other carried bounced off the swords they both wore.

The treeline broke to reveal a massive lake, an a massive field not far off that the caravan was settling in.

"Nice place."

He looked back, finding the other had stopped and his gaze beyond the lake itself. He returned to the other's side, looking out in the same direction.

"Well protected, for now," he responded. "I don't think it would be wise to stay for too terribly long, though."

"Wise or not, we can't keep traveling, Salazar." He looked to his companion but the other's gaze had yet to relent whatever he was discerning. "Besides, I doubt we'll find anything better from here." He finally gained that rich, brown gaze. "The cliffs on the other side are well protected and if we build tall enough, we could see anyone coming in every direction. All four of us could ward the grounds to secure it."

He turned his gaze to the mentioned cliffs. "It would take some work. Those aren't necessarily the levelest of places to build and it would have to be large enough to house everyone while also having enough space for people to simply be."

"Castle, then?"

He gave the grinning other a flat look. "Are you looking for something to be done in a few days or a few years, Godric?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to stopping permanently."

He looked towards the caravan. Rowena and Helga were approaching, Rowena with a soft smile while Helga matched Godric's grin.

"We could set up farms and hunting grounds," Helga added onto Rowena's words. "Would help our food situation. Especially if the lake has fish."

He gained a thoughtful look. "I would be surprised if it didn't but we can check in the morning. Right now we have a camp ground to secure and people to tend to."

The others nodded, starting for the caravan. Fires had been started, dotting the tattered tents that were starting to pepper the grasses. He slowed, falling behind. He looked back towards the lake, uneasy about stopping but sharing in their excitement. Maybe stopping and fortifying themselves was the next logical step.

His gaze turned skyward. Overhead the stars reflected the glimmers of life he could practically feel from the settled caravan and his companions walking towards the camp.

And the moon shone bright overhead, encouraging the spark of hope burning in all of them.