Shortly after getting a good nights rest and letting the worse of the camps wounds heal, Boyd informed the boys that it was time to head home. "Alright, it's time go. I'd tell you to say your goodbyes and all that, but half the camp is either busy packing or wounded so we'll forego all of that. Once we've had breakfast we'll be back on the road and we can put all this business behind us. Right boys?"
Eager to move on and be done with this whole mess, the boys agreed wholeheartedly.
"Great, I hope you boys like eggs." The boys perked up at this, happy to be dining on something other than stew or jerky. "Ahem, though uh, it should be mentioned. Perhaps you shouldn't be as forthcoming with all the details from this little expedition. I'm not saying lie or anything." Boyd scratched his head apologetically. "Actually, that's what I'm saying. Lie if you have to, be vague ideally. Just..." Taking a deep breathe, Boyd started doling out the food. "Just try not to send your parents or guardians after me. Take it easy on your old captain."
The boys, silently agreeing amongst themselves that this trip wouldn't be the talk of the town, for their various reasons, wolfed down their food and started packing up their gear. However just before they could get on the road, Miller approached hesitantly. "Ozlo, I have something for you. Elizabeth would have wanted you to have it now that you have her. Ahem. Anyway, here." Silently placing a small leather-bound book into Ozlo's hand, Miller the healer walked back towards his tent and away from the group.
"Alright lads, are you ready for a few days of walking?" Groaning outwardly, the boys started to remember exactly how long the walk up here was and dreaded the long walk back home.
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***
The first day of walking was awkward. No-one wanted to speak and the only sound that could be heard was the somewhat distant trodding of other peoples footsteps and the occasional pant from the mules at the front of the expedition. That didn't stop Ozlo's mind from wandering however.
As much as he would have liked to put everything behind him, Ozlo couldn't shake the sight of Elizabeth's lifeless eyes staring back at him. The fear and panic that gripped him as he scrambled around in the muck for her card. The pain of arrows entering his body as he looked around helplessly at his friends.
Though the boys did their best to hide it, they were changed. No longer were they as carefree and never again would they look at the world in the same way. Every tree, bush, or distant hill might hide an archer, a goblin, a slime, anything. While yesterday they viewed those things with a healthy dose of caution and trepidation. Today and from this day they view them with an unhealthy dose of paranoia and a sense of dread for the unknown, unseen enemy.
It was during this walk that Ozlo had a thought, one that would change the course of his life forever. "Boyd, are there cards that let me detect enemies? If we could sense our foes then during the battle we..." Boyd gave Ozlo a reassuring smile and stopped walking for a moment, gesturing to the group to do the same.
"Yep! You betcha. There's cards for all sorts of skills like that. Detect enemy, sense life, even the coveted see the unseen. All great skills to have, but all expensive. The nobles have first dibs of course. Then diplomats, high ranking soldiers, scouts, powerful mages, and so on and so forth. You'll probably never spot anything above a common. And even if you do, you can expect to spend a few hundred shards buying it. Most people just get a perception card and the much more common awareness card and make do."
Having given Ozlo more than enough to think about, Boyd gestured for everyone to continue and on their way they went. It was that moment then that Ozlo vowed to be better prepared and most of all, better equipped. "Alright, I need a detection card of some sort."