Chapter 5

Right after dawn, Endermon started dismantling the campsite. She got her sleeping area done and started making breakfast in between taking down the clearing. As she worked, the other two made their way to the small fire Endermon had made.

They picked up their bowls and ate in silence. Well as silent as taking down a campsite could be. Finally Dresden broke the silence and asked her what the hell she thought she was doing. Endermon paused and said there was rumors of the treasure in a cave by the seaside, and it would take several days to get there.

The other two sat there stunned and then asked how she knew that when they hadn't heard anything. Endermon said she had her sources and they could come with her to find out if it was true, or they could make their way back home. Still skeptical, they finished their breakfast, but started taking down the rest of the campsite.

Together they rearranged the trees and foliage to look only mildly messed with. They gathered all the important stuff into bags and designated one for each of them to carry. With no cart and no one daring to ask the driver if they could use the carriage, they had to only take what was absolutely necessary.

They agreed to sell or trade the redundant stuff in the nearest town, or if they were lucky enough to find a traveling merchant on the way. They also needed directions. They couldn't very well go around telling them a bird told me, or I heard the insects.

Endermon told the other two to start without her, as she claimed she had to use the lavatory. They shrugged and started down the road. Once they were out of sight, she did a sweep and apologized to the wildlife and convinced the grass to grow around the firepit. Swearing to make time to meditate later, she asked the birds to send word to her parents and have them check on Rutus's parents and to see if they could find anything on Dresden.

With the nature portion of the takedown complete, she headed down the road to catch up with the other two. They hadn't gotten very far, having gotten into an argument about whether they should trust Endermon. Dresden was saying no, and Rutus was saying yes. When they saw Endermon approaching, they stopped, not knowing what she heard.

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Endermon pretended she hadn't heard anything for the sake of the trip, and they started walking down the road. For a while, it was comfortable silence, until boredom set in. Rutus had been whittling to keep her hands busy and that gave Endermon an idea.

She quickly told the birds to warn her if anyone was coming and grabbed a branch at the side of the road. Between her and Rutus, they made several rounded tipped twigs to use as projectiles. Making a small batch of mud, they dipped the rounded ends into it and told Dresden to change into something white.

He chose a big white dog, and the game was on. Any mud he got on himself from the twigs was a point to the one who threw it. To tell whose was whose, Rutus put notches in the flat end of hers.

Dresden took off and the other two tried, and mostly succeeded in hitting him several times. Half way through, they stopped counting and by the time they had list all their sticks, they were all quite hungry. Breaking out the dried and other non-perishable items, they sat and had a quick lunch. Once they had retrieved their stuff, they were all in a pretty good mood.

And with their hunger mostly sated, and their spirits high, they were able to make pretty good time. With the sun going down, they began looking for a suitable place to sleep for the night. Tired of sleeping on the ground, they hoped for a building, or at least an abandoned cart.

Not finding anything resembling home comforts, they set up a small fire and positioned themselves around it. It wasn't much but it was warm and there was enough space for a small meal. They ate and settled in for the night hoping for better accommodations the next day.