Free Splintered Fate by ylugin

took, putting distance between
them. Soon the only sounds she heard were the distant birds and the
gentle rustlings of leaves. Walking through the woods alone was
calming, even though what she was about to do could be the
stupidest thing she had ever done.
     
    * * *
     
    After some time treading between
the trees, Lana came across a Rami standing perfectly still with a
tree against his back. She paused, like a small animal who had just
spotted a predator lurking in the nearby shadows, frozen and hoping
that she had not been spotted. The Rami didn’t seem to notice her
from the distance, his gaze was bored and he stared straight at the
woods in front of him. Keeping her eyes locked on him, Lana took a
few cautious steps to the side until she was well hidden behind
brush, where she could more comfortably examine the Sentry up
ahead.
    He was tall with broad shoulders
and a stern face. His olive skin tone and earthy colored open vest
gave him away as a Rami. He seemed to be posted by the tree,
stationary. Quietly, Lana looked around, wondering how many
sentries they had posted around their camp. No others could be seen
from where she stood. Silently, she skirted around the brush,
moving away from the Rami unnoticed.
    Soundlessly Lana moved between the
trees, highly alert so to not accidentally run into another Rami
sentry. Moving with ease between the forest brush and growth, it
wasn’t long before Lana found the Rami camp. It pleased her, how
relatively easy it was for her to get so close. Besides nearly
running up on that one sentry, she was able to get to the camp
without any trouble.
    Tiptoeing closer, Lana observed
the camp from behind a large tree. They had tents set up, hundreds
of them. In the distance she could hear the muffled sounds of
people talking, but they were too far away to clearly hear. No one
was near the outer tents.
    Sounds were coming from farther
within their camp. They must have been having some sort of
gathering. Unable to make out much of what was happening, Lana
decided to get a closer look, so to try and be able to at least
hear some of what was being said. She took
a cautious step from around the tree. Her heart beat strongly
against the wall of her chest. Goosebumps ran up her body. She
paused with every step, listening.
    “Well hello there, and what are
you doing around here?” A calm and clear male voice came from
behind her.
    With a sharp inhale Lana turned to
see where the sound came from. Two men were approaching her from
the woods, it was clear the words were meant for her as there was
no one else around. Her heart thundered at the sight of them, her
body tensing, every muscle suddenly tight.
    What were the two of them doing in
the woods? A chill touched her skin. Lana hoped that she had not
left Donn and the children too close to the Rami camp. At least
they had Ardin with them. He would protect them, he would be able
to hear if someone approached and keep them out of harms
way.
    Both of the men approaching her had dark hair.
One however was short and stocky, the other taller. The
shorter one stopped in the near by distance while the tall Rami
took a step closer towards her.
    He spoke, “A lovely girl such as
yourself should not be wondering about this part of camp, so close
to the edge.”
Lana instinctively took an apprehensive step back, keeping herself
carefully out of his reach. Ardin suddenly became very present in
her mind, filled with worry. She shoved a wall up in Ardin’s face,
trying to keep him from coming to her before her cover was
blown.
    A wicked smile spread across the tall man’s
face as he brought his hand to something at his neck. That was when
she noticed the gold coin hanging around his neck. The Rami rubbed
the coin a moment before releasing it, his blue eyes never leaving
Lana.
    He continued speaking, “You see,
most people know me around here, for I am the Lieutenant General to
king Zakran. I am the one in charge of this camp. But you taking
that timid little