Chapter 40: Warning bells

Koth watched as Irin walked to the lake. She was getting stronger each day; yesterday, she had only needed a short nap in the middle of the day. He hadn't liked it when she had told him she could go and collect water on her own. According to him, it would have been safer and better if he had joined her. It was his protectiveness and possessiveness that made him feel like that. He found both had worsened since their relationship had changed. Irin needed space to be her own person without him hovering. So he sat on the edge of the platform in the shelter, making bundles of sticks for the fire, but all his attention was on her. She looked happy and relaxed, which eased some of his anxiety. She stopped by the horses and patted them as she always did. When she returned, she held out a small yellow flower.

"The first spring flower," she announced, sounding thrilled.

"Nice," he said, unsure what else to say. She smiled and reached up. Koth felt her hand in his hair. "What are you doing?" he asked. She took a step back and looked at him.

"Perfect," she said.

"What is?" he asked. She just smiled. Koth felt around in his hair, and just above his left ear he felt the flower.

"Be careful, or you'll make it fall out," Irin told him. Koth was almost sure that was the outcome he wanted, but if the flower made Irin happy, it could stay. "Now, where are the other robes?" she asked.

"My other robe? In the packing. Why?" he asked. Irin took the robe out, together with the sewing kit.

"I'm responsible for the hole in the back, so I'll fix it," she told him. She sat down on her bedding and started removing the stitches he had used to close the hole.

"It wasn't your fault, it was the dagger," he pointed out.

"But I made it bigger. We don't know when we'll come across a place where we can stay long enough for you to have a new robe made. You need one you can change into, one that looks decent," she said. Koth didn't want to argue with her. Instead, he took a seat next to her and continued to work on an amulet he was making. He enjoyed working next to her; it was both relaxing and energising. He reached into a bag he kept close to their sleeping place and pulled out a piece of dried rabbit meat, giving it to Irin without a word. He had made it a habit to ensure she ate as much as he could make her. She needed the extra energy. She smiled at him and accepted the offering.

"Thank you," she said. He hummed and went back to work. A while later, there was the sudden sound of something shattering. Both Koth and Irin froze and looked at each other. No, he thought. They should have had more time; Irin wasn't fully healed. She needed more time. Koth stood up and looked in the direction of the sound from his warning system.

"I didn't come from that direction," Irin told him as she stood next to him.

"Not to be rude," he started.

"But I might have gone a bit off course and they're taking a more direct route," she continued. He smiled. At least she knew her own shortcomings.

"Yes. You'll get on Glima and you'll go in the opposite direction," he told her. She looked up at him with that stubborn face of hers, and he gritted his teeth. They didn't have time for this.

"I'm not splitting up from you. We do this together. There are just two of them, and two of us. The odds are better this time, and I think we have a good chance of beating them," she said.

"They could have got reinforcements. For all we know, there are fifty of them," he pointed out.

"Look, Koth. I appreciate you trying to protect me, but I can't do another round of thinking you'll die and leave me alone. We do this together, and if we fail, we both fail, but I think we'll both succeed." Koth knew he had a minimal chance of winning the argument, and they didn't have time for him to try. He pulled her closer and kissed her.

"You'll stay close to me, and you won't do anything crazy," he demanded.

"I'll do my best," she agreed. He helped her put on her harness with her sword. It was still hidden and would serve as a good surprise. He knew neither the mage nor the shaman had seen her use it, thanks to the wall he had created in their fight. He had seen her use it, and it had been impressive. They readied themselves and looked towards the edge of the forest where the warning had sounded. Out from the forest came a group of men. They were not what Koth had expected. They seemed as surprised by finding Koth and Irin as they were at seeing them. The men looked like fighters who had become farmers. They were all humans, but they were taller than average. Broad shouldered with long blond hair and braided beards. The groups looked at each other for a moment. Koth didn't know if they were hostile. They could be another group of mercenaries that his father had hired. He couldn't sense any magic from them, and he couldn't see any weapons except for two bows. He could see some of them carrying woven baskets on their backs. It looked more like a hunting party.

"Who are you?" one of them asked. Koth was about to ask the same question when Irin took half a step forward, making their focus shift from him to her. He needed to have another talk with her about her self-preservation. Their last talk obviously hadn't worked.

"I'm Irin, this is my husband, Koth," she said.

"Why are you in our fishing hut?" the stranger asked. The question made Koth a little more at ease.

"We're sorry if we've overstepped, but we were travelling and got a little astray, and I fell ill. My husband found this place, and we were in dire need of some shelter to let me recover. We'll be on our way," she said. The men looked at them and then started to talk to each other in low voices. Koth took the opportunity to walk up to Irin and put his arm around her.

"What did I say about doing crazy things?" he whispered. "Do I need to put a leash on you?" She chuckled.

"I don't think that'll be necessary. They didn't look like they wanted to harm us. They were surprised to find us here, which means they weren't trying to find us," she whispered back. She would be the death of him, Koth thought. He didn't know if she was naive or just trusting; maybe a little of both. In his experience, it was rare that sort of world view paid off.

"We can share the hut for now," the man said. "We don't want to turn you away if you're not well, if you and your husband are okay with us staying. We're here to fish for our town," he added. Irin smiled at him and then smiled up at Koth. Fine, she was right this time, he admitted to himself.

"We're grateful for your generosity," Koth said. He could see that the men watched him with more caution than they did Irin. It was fair. He knew what he looked like, and he did look more intimidating than the small human female by his side. If they only knew the truth, they would have looked at Irin with more fear.

"We have some rabbits roasting and hot tea; we're happy to share with you," Irin offered.

"We would gratefully accept. It has been a long walk," the man said. "I am Lokhue," he introduced himself.