[The Barrow-Wight]

* * * * * Rhûn Nation * * * * *

The Kiseljak Hostel blazed brightly through the night, and though the were-bears circled for several hours just beyond the glare of the fire, they did not attack again. As the morning sun arose, the adventurers from Ozvalda saw the carnage that had occurred at the place. Bodies of soldiers and civilians littered the courtyard of the hostel, most ravaged beyond any recognition. Kiseljak had stood for decades as a place of sanctuary in the evil hills, but now it would protect no one again. Kasteni called one of the injured horse-guards to him and ordered him to make haste back to the capital to warn the city what had occurred.

“The sun is only now rising,” he told the frightened man, “and the monsters will not come out in its light. Your horse is still strong, and if you ride without pause you will reach the Great Captain long before nightfall.”

He turned to address the rest of the group.

“The attack through the night was unexpected. This hostel has been a safe place for many years, and it was never assaulted in such a manner before. I fear that our journey is now more dangerous than it was when we started, for the enemies of Mislavini were surely behind this.”

“Enemies?” asked Ulwyte. “What enemies could the Great Captain have?”

Lovek laughed gruffly, “You don’t rule an empire with a heavy hand and not make a few chieftains angry.”

Ulwyte understood that the remark was aimed at his father, and he said loudly, “My land is loyal to Ozvalada and always has been!”

Lovek smiled evily. “Perhaps in your lifetime, young one. But I was with Mislavini during his campaigns against your grandfather, and I remember a time when there was little love from the eastern provinces.”

Ulwyte began to protest, but Kasteni stopped him.

“Lovek was not saying your land had anything to do with this, Ulwyte. And if he would say such a thing, he would be mistaken. Pazin is a trusted ruler, but there are others who are not. Glamoc of Losinjin would not be unhappy if Mislavini was not represented in the Stoneland meeting. No doubt he has sent his own ambassadors, invited or not.”

He grabbbed the reins of Petrij. Kasteni had been very pleased when the horse had appeared out of the darkness shortly after the hostel had been ignited. He bore no wounds except for a long scrape from where the chariot harness had been severed in the attack. The stallions’s saddle had been recovered from the ruins of the wreck, and Kasteni climbed up into it and stood high in the stirrups.

“We are far behind schedule and the next hostel may be as unsafe as this one, though I doubt the beasts will range that far. Still, there are other dangers our enemies can set against us, so we must hurry. We cannot rest for long until we make the Aranaw Forest, and that is still a week’s hard ride away. There we may be beyond the reach of any Ozren threats, but the danger of the unknown will increase with every league. Let us move!”

With that, he sat and gave Petrij the sign to move. The horse jumped forward and the entire group followed as he rode quickly away from the ruined hostel. As the terrible place fell out of site, he turned to his three companions and said, “Please, each of you tell your thoughts as we travel to Aranaw. It will make the journey seem to pass faster, and the week may seem like a day.