Rebels of Vulvar (Vulvarian Saga Book 2), стр. 35
After I remounted, we rode as near the camp as we dared, seeing numerous cooking fires twinkling in the darkness inside the camp. A copse of small trees and shrubs seemed a good place to tie our baacaases where those in the camp could not observe them. Then Emer and I crept closer on foot until we came to a thicket of bushes and brush where I might conceal myself and watch the camp while she went inside.
Without speaking a word, Emer departed. She stealthily closed the distance between my position and the perimeter of the camp. Since we had arrived while the warriors were preparing and eating their evening rations, the officers had not yet set the night watch. Once she had gained the perimeter, Emer strode boldly into the camp as though she belonged there. She joined a group of Thivan warriors seated cross-legged on the ground, eating from their tin bowls. I heard the hum of conversation coming from the group. Emer had joined the discussion but was too distant for me to overhear the conversation.
After about a half-hour had passed, an officer approached Emer’s group. Emer swiftly sprung to her feet and saluted the officer in the way of Vulvarian warriors, striking her breast with her right fist. The officer engaged Emer in conversation. I feared the officer was interrogating Emer when she pointed at the bow slung over Emer’s shoulder and then began gesticulating wildly with her hands while speaking. Emer spoke in reply and then nodded. Fearful that the officer would arrest my friend, I got to my feet and slotted an arrow in my bowstring. I drew back the arrow and aimed at the officer. Suddenly, the officer whirled around and walked toward the center of the camp with Emer following.
I relaxed the tension on the bowstring. The officer had not disarmed Emer, which suggested she had not arrested my friend. It seemed unwise for me to attack when I couldn’t be sure of what I’d observed. I sat back down on the ground with my back against the trunk of a small tree. It seemed best to wait a while to see whether Emer returned. If she did not, I knew I’d have to make my way past the night watch into the camp once the warriors extinguished their fires and rolled up in their cloaks to sleep.
Time slowly passed as I waited impatiently to learn both the fate of Emer and for the news of Idril I longed to hear. The tension in my belly felt as if there was a great spring inside me, winding ever tighter. The larger Vulvarian moon passed from the sky, plunging the night into complete darkness. The smaller moon it seemed was in its new moon phase as it had never appeared.
After many hours, the darkness lightened. While no one in the camp was stirring, I knew it would not be long before the first faint lights of dawn appeared. I had passed almost the entire night in the thicket. I stood up, feeling cold and stiff. I had to make a foray into the camp to search for Emer, though I didn’t know where the officer had taken her. I intended to wait until I saw the warriors on watch pass again, and then I would sprint to the camp perimeter.
After a few minutes, two warriors met and passed each other, moving in opposite directions. I was about to leave my place of concealment when my eyes picked up movement from inside the camp. A dark, lithe figure sprinted from the camp toward my hidden position. Surely it was Emer, I thought. But I drew my katana as a precaution.
“It’s me, Emer,” Emer whispered when she was within a few meters of the thicket. She passed through the bushes and almost collided with me. Then she sank to her knees on the ground, breathing hard. I knelt beside her.
“What happened?” I said.
Emer held up a hand, telling me to give her a moment to catch her breath. Finally, she spoke.
“Did you see the officer accost me when I was speaking with the group of warriors?” she said.
“Yes,” I said. “At first, I thought she had found you out and was arresting you. But then she walked away without taking your arms, and it appeared you followed her voluntarily.”
“I did,” Emer said. “The officer was organizing the night watch for the commander’s headquarters. When she saw I was an archer, she selected me for the watch. I tried telling her I was with the scouts and needed to return to my unit. But she insisted I obey her order. So I went with her. There was no choice.”
“I was about to come looking for you,” I said.
“I knew you would come looking before dawn,” Emer said. “That’s why I abandoned my post and came back just now.”
“Do you learn anything about Idril?” I said.
“Let’s get the baacaases and move away from the camp, and then I’ll share all my news,” Emer said. “The officer of the watch will soon discover my absence from my post. We must leave now.”
My patience was exhausted. I thought to argue. But with the appearance of the first faint lights of the coming dawn, I realized Emer was right. We walked silently back to the copse where we had left the baacaases.
After leading the animals a short distance, we mounted and rode away to the east to avoid recrossing the ridge line to the north. We didn’t stop until the sun had risen, and we had covered several legas and reached a stream. I pulled up at the creek, unable to wait a moment longer for news of the woman I loved.
“Let’s stop here and water the baacaases,” I said. “You can