Ch. 34 Windson

The two horses that Peter and Sarah brought with them when they came back from the initiation, as well as three horses from the soldiers camp, came in handy when it came to carrying all of their supplies. Kaz had never been on a horse before, and it felt very odd. He was not sure if he liked it all that much. He was more use to the relaxing comforts of a car, not the bumpy, clunky clops of horses.

Windson could tell this was Kaz's first horse ride and decided to ride up next to him. "It takes some time, but it sure beats walking everywhere." Kaz nodded and continued to ride the horse awkwardly. Windson laughed to himself and looked around to see how everyone else was doing. It looked like Sarah was having some trouble with loading her horse up. Deciding to be a gentleman, he clopped up, got off, and extended his hand out to her. "May I?" She looked at him and giggled. "Oh, what a gentleman." Taking a step back, she watched as Windson gracefully placed the gear on the horse and got it all hooked up.

He then turned around and put an arm on the horses back and leaned on it to relax while looking at Sarah. "You look like a woman who can take care of herself. I like that quite a bit." He smiled, and his teeth shone in the light. She continued to giggle and smile his way. On the other side of the area was Perish and Peter watching them. Perish let out a small laugh, and Peter looked like he was quietly grinding his teeth. Perish noticed this and slapped him on the back. "Oh, you're not going to let him take your girl, are you?"

Peter blushes and looks at Perish. "She's not mine. It's not like that." She laughs and gets on her horse. "Alright then, if you say so." They all head out from the hut, which had protected and sheltered them for so long. Perish would miss it most. It was her only home she had ever known, and now she was abandoning it to go on an adventure. One that might well get her killed. Peter and Sarah missed their homes but knew they could never return to them. They wondered what became of their parents once they left and hoped they were doing alright without them.

Kaz was thinking about his time limit and wishing they could have taken a shorter path to get to the border, but it looked like safety was more important, which Kaz wasn't totally against. How could he even begin to explain to them that they needed to hurry to an unknown location, or he would potentially die? Windson was humming to himself and enjoying the freedom he had sought for so long. He loved being able to move his arms and stretch out his wings from time to time. The scars on his body hurt now and then, but it just proved to him that he was still alive.

Perish wanted to break the silence of the travel up a bit, so she started a conversation with Windson, which got everyone interested. "What kind of life did you have before you were captured? Windson?"

Windson whistles and laughs a little. "Oh, man, my life has been a little interesting. I guess I could go ahead and tell you a little of my exploits!" Everyone looks at him with some interest. Peter has a little bit of an irritated look on his face. Rolling his eyes, he still puts an ear out to hear his story.

"Well, you see, I used to be an adventurer!" He pulls out an emblem that looks similar to Peter and Sarah's, but it looks like it has a different symbol on it. It's silver and has two claw marks on it. He shows it, so everyone has a chance to look at it, and Sarah asks him the question that was on everyone's mind.

"That is cool and all, but how does a monster become an adventurer? Doesn't that mean you hunt monsters?"

As if knowing she would ask that question, Windson chuckles and puts the emblem back. "you see, there is more than one type of adventurer. Some become adventurers in the human lands to hunt and exterminate monsters in their land and across the border." Looking right at Sarah, who was captivated by his words. "there are also monster adventurers in the monster lands."

Peter perked up at the words Windson was saying. He had always wanted to know more about the monster lands. He wanted to know how cultured they were and what they did in their free time. He was always fascinated with any stories he could hear about them, but everyone he had talked to that had been there was still very biased and spoke only negatively about the monsters. Having known Perish, he knew there was more to it than that. He might dislike Windson, but this was a great chance to get more info.

Perish was surprised at what Windson had just said. "That means you have been to the monster lands then?"

Windson laughed to himself and nodded. "I use to live in the monster lands."

Everyone was in shock at that. That means he had successfully crossed the border once before, which means he could quickly help them find a way across. This made Kaz very happy it means they could potentially get across much faster. Kaz spoke up now. "If you are here, that means you successfully crossed the border, and your knowledge of the human camps means you traveled for a while before being captured. What exactly was your purpose for coming over here?"

Windson looks at Kaz and squints his eyes a little in excitement. "You catch on quickly, I see. Yea, I was sent here for a specific purpose. To scout out the enemy camps to find out the best way to assault them. I ended up getting captured by one of the camps on accident, though, and the guild probably thinks I am dead by now. It was kind of a suicide mission, after all."

Kaz looks a little confused and uncomfortable. "Why would they send you on a mission like that knowing you would probably not come back? Did you piss someone off?"

Windson rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, you got me, I can't get anything past you, Kaz." He looks at the ground a gets a little somber. "I was not alone in my mission, I did have some good companions, but we were found by a scouting party coming back from their patrol, and before I knew it, we were surrounded. My companions were captured. I went to get help, but in the process, I ended up getting caught myself. "

Everyone gives him a look of regret for bringing up such a sore subject. The ride was quiet for the most part after that. They occasionally talked about small things like the weather and what they would eat that night. But no one said anything else to Windson. They eventually camped for the night, and as they were setting up camp, Sarah came up to him and decided to prod a little deeper. Something was on her mind, and she had to know the answer to it.

"Do you know where they took your friends?" Windson gave a small half-smile that looked a little forced and looked in her eyes.

"I know a strange-looking man took them with some kind of deformity. Where to is anyone guess." Sarah placed her hand on Windson's and tried to comfort him. "I am sure you will see them someday again. Just have faith.

Perish and Sarah were preparing dinner while Kaz went to get some fish, and Peter and Windson grabbed the wood and finished setting up camp. Peter did not like that he got the same job as Windson and decided to stay a bit of distance away from him while he looked for suitable wood for a simple campfire. Windson could tell Peter was not one of his fans but tried to talk to him anyway.

"You seem to appreciate the monster culture. You would fit in where I'm from."

Peter did not look at him. He just kept looking for sticks. "Oh yea, where is that?"

"It's a beautiful monster settlement deep in the monster territory called Farluk. The summers are cool, but the winters are not my favorite. the people welcome humans with open arms and try to co-exist with them, but not everyone sees eye to eye."

Peter looks at the sticks in his hands in deep contemplation. "Will we be accepted when we cross the border?" Peter looked worried about something. Windson tried to cheer him up but did not want to lie to him.

"Not everyone will at first, but I am sure when you show them you are not like the other humans, some will come to accept you. It won't be easy not as long as the war continues, but if we can get across the border with the information I have, we might be able to sway the fight in our favor."

Peter looked at Windson with a serious expression. "You take your job seriously."

"If it means peace can be brought sooner, than I will not treat it any other way."

Peter looked back down and noticed something on the ground. "Hold on a second!"