Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [26]
"I don't understand," said Elowen, still going through the contents of the shelves. "This waycache hasn't been restocked in at least a year by the looks of these." She gestured to the few leaf-wrapped parcels she had drawn out. The leaves were dried and brown, which Marrec knew spoke volumes about the freshness of whatever was contained within.
Ash stood without prodding, which was unusual, walked over and nudged one of the wrappers. The girl's nose wrinkled, as if in disgust.
"What is it?" said Marrec, rushing up to his charge.
Losing interest, Ash lapsed back into her normal uncaring stare.
"She must sense the spoilage," responded Elowen. "We're stuck with our own rations for a few more nights, it seems. I can't understand why this cache hasn't been restocked. Briartan never allows this portion of the wood to go untended."
Gunggari asked, "How close are we to the Mucklestones from here?"
"Just a few miles," answered Elowen. "I thought this would be a good place to rest up before plunging ahead. I want us to be rested when we meet the great druid."
Ususi looked up. She said, "Briartan has the Mucklestones in his charge. The Mucklestones are blocked. I doubt Briartan would have allowed that if he could have stopped it Since he couldn't stop it, he's probably…"
Elowen stared at her friend with dawning alarm in her eyes, and Ususi didn't finish her thread of logic. Marrec was gratified to see that Ususi had empathy enough to spare her friend's feelings. It gave him hope.
The group bedded down for the night after establishing a watch schedule. Marrec went to his rest, thankful to have avoided first watch, but sleep was too brief. He woke to the relentless black of middle-night at Gunggari's prodding, whose turn it was to cast off into dreamland. He held back an irritated comment with a real show of will. Where lack of sleep was involved, the cleric knew he was sometimes bitter.
Marrec was on the middle-watch, when by rights all earthly creatures should be snug in their dens-except for the worst sort of creature, which, after all, was why he was awake to guard against them. His eyes roamed the wayeache, picking out each of his fellow travelers wrapped snuggly in their blankets. They'd had a small fire earlier, but Gunggari had let it die down to mere embers. Marrec lit the lamp. Elowen had found a store of lamp oil in one of the storage shelves, more than enough to last through several days of continuous burning should they need it.
The sound of a child crying dimly reached his ears. He stiffened, his eyes immediately shifting to Ash, but the girl slept soundly, her eyes and mouth closed. He could still hear the crying, unmistakably that of small child. Was it his curse to find orphans around every corner? Better check it out, he chided himself.
Before he exited, he shook the tattooed warrior, "Gunny, you awake?"
The Oslander opened one eye and used it to fix him with a baleful stare.
Marrec whispered, "I'm going out to check something. I heard some kid crying out in the. woods, just outside the waycache. Stay alert, I'll be back in a minute if it's nothing."
Gunggari craned his head, listening, but the crying had stopped.
Marrec held the lamp up in one hand, held his spear Justlance in the other, and exited the cozy waycache into the darkness of the forest.
Pausing some feet beyond the large boulder, he scanned to the extent he was able, listening with all his attention.