January 15, 2008

• The rain ran down the cold stone wall, flowing through sharp cracks between shards, and formed little gravel-bottomed pools at its base. Moonlight ebbed and flowed with the swiftly hurrying clouds, rushed onward by the warm, blustering breeze. A figure stopped, inhaling deeply, before moving off toward the low brush, followed by two others. Their long cloaks were heavy and damp, but scarsely caught or snagged on the grasping branches. The ground sprung lightly beneath their feet, with a rich smell of sap and fallen leaves, marbled with the sound of tiny streams, scurrying beneath the rough, grey boulders. The terrain grew steeper, low trees giving way to grass and rock. Cresting a sharp-topped rise, a long, thin lake, away and to their right, stretched off into the distance, its extent hidden as the mountains drew together. It was the water which guided them, though they never approached its shores and their thick blanketing of old forest. A few bites of bread and cheese, a drink from one of the larger streams, and they pressed onward, descending, later to rise again.

  • 2:32 pm
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