Exhaustion began to wash over Auric. He'd been running for over an hour. The baby in his arms had been crying, giving his position away to the Paladins that had been hard on his trail since Luca called for them. He was a traitor now, picking the monsters over the Paladins. Funny, he hadn't felt much kinship with them, but now that it was gone he felt... lighter. He knew he did the right thing, and maybe when he died Nathet would be merciful. After all, he'd died protecting a child.
The Forest loomed ahead of him. It was just called The Forest because his father had never bothered to name it. The Forest is where the monsters were all from, somewhere that humans and their ilk hadn't stepped foot since the time of the Great Breaking when the continents of the world tore apart over a millennia ago. Its dense undergrowth called to him, promising shelter and comfort, which he knew had to be a lie. Where else could he go? This Orc child couldn't be raised in a town with humans, elves, and dwarves. This was his only option. He needed to get deep into The Forest, where nobody would follow him, then set up a camp and try to live out his life, until the boy was old enough to care for himself. Hopefully, by then, he'd be considered dead and could live as a hermit somewhere.
The dense underbrush slowed his run as much as his lack of wind did. Still, he dug deep and pushed forward. The exhaustion was near bone deep now, and his muscles weren't listening as well as they were before. Looking behind, he noticed that the trees seem to have closed in around him. He couldn't see any of the sparser tree cover of the woodlands at all, just the dark-needled trees and vines that grew from them. He slowed, giving himself a chance to breathe and check on the little one. The rascal had fallen asleep.
Auric couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it must have been nearing evening, as his stomach started to complain about the lack of food in it. Instinctively, he reached to his back for the pack that would have been there normally, but he'd left it at the camp in his tent the night before. At the same time, the Orc child stirred and began to cry plaintively. All-Mother, what was he going to feed this child? He'd lost his mother just that morning. Is he still nursing? Did the poor wretch pee himself? The weight of his decision and the mantle of responsibility now rested squarely on his shoulders. Stopping and tamping down some ferns and grass, he set the child down and unwrapped him. A small leather scrap was wrapped all the way around his waist, covering his bottom. Exactly the same way Erik's mother had wrapped Erik when he was a newborn. More guilt for what he'd been party to threatened to consume what little self-worth he had left, so he began to check the diaper for soiling. It was thankfully clean but in the rummaging, he'd found a small skin with a liquid wrapped tightly against the child, to the point that it was still fairly warm. Opening it, he realized that it was meant to hold milk for the baby. And there was still some in it. He'd make it through the night at most, but it was a start. Feeding the child turned out to be relatively easy, he was able to hold the skin himself, and all Auric had to do was make sure that he didn't overeat. Couldn't afford to waste the milk on the spit-up.
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The ambient light of the Forest was starting to fade when he picked up the child again. They needed to find a safe place to sleep for the night. A cave or a thicker part of the forest would do in a pinch, but he needed to start planning for a more permanent place to live and find something to produce milk for the boy. A goat would be ideal, but to get one he would have to steal it from a farmer, and he didn't think that any farmer worth his salt would try farming this close to The Forest. More and more he was thinking that he's made a terrible decision to come here. After about a half hour of walking, he found what looked to be a den dug under a monstrous tree. The base of the tree was so big that he estimated that if he were to walk all the way around it, he would likely have walked 40 or 50 malms. That was almost as big as the courtyard back home. This would most definitely be a reasonable place to stay for the night.
Sluffing his armor, he eased himself against the dirt wall on the far side of the den. His sword was propped next to him for easy access. He'd spent the last bits of light on setting up a fire pit in the middle of the den and getting a fire going. Hopefully, it wouldn't be that cold of a night, but winter wasn't far off. Hunger gnawed at his belly, but exhaustion won the fight. Setting the child in his breastplate as a makeshift bassinet, he rolled himself into a ball and let his meditation state take over. Paladins could rest in a trance-like state and still be fully on guard for enemy attacks. It wasn't as resting as true sleep, but it was the next best thing.
Auric found himself sitting in a chair at a tavern. The sounds of chatter and merry-making helped him relax into his meditation state. This was a favorite memory of his. He'd been trying to bed the waitress here, Ana. She was a young, buxom woman with hair the color of spun gold and eyes that twinkled with blue-colored mischief. She liked to wear her apron slightly too tight, she said it helped her get better tips. Then, something happened that almost kicked him out of his meditation state. Emerald green eyes flashed from the shadowy corner of the tavern in front of him. This wasn't part of his memory at all. Then a pale, red-haired woman that quite literally took his breath away emerged from the shadows. Her lips were blood-red, and her cloak billowed behind her as she walked, showing off her curvy frame. Everything about this woman oozed sex appeal and danger all at the same time. Her hair was made up in an intricate braid, thrown over her shoulder, which framed her face pleasantly. He was so caught up in how she looked to register that she was walking directly at him.
"So you are the one," She said. All-Mother, even her voice was immaculate.
"The Lady desires that I seek you and bring you to safety." His thoughts raced. Who? What?
"Come, new father," She beckoned. His legs started to move, but she tsked.
"With your body, male." Her sardonic tone shook him from his trance completely. He looked around the den, to find that nothing had changed except the hour. The power in her voice beckoned him to move, however. Picking up the boy, he made his way into the night, listening for the woman's voice.