Flash Fiction # 350 -- Connor of Northgate/34

Connor awoke at dawn to the sound of something rustling in the grass nearby, but when he sat up, whatever it had been darted away in haste.  Nothing large, at least.

Connor ached from having hunched over to sleep and barely managed not to moan as he slowly stood.  If something watched him, he didn't want to sound weak.

He breakfasted on dried berries and water from the pack.  He tried not to think about home just then. Friends had died.  Nothing would be the same at Northgate.

The realization hit him harder than he had expected.  He walked with his head bowed and not paying enough attention and only looked up again when he came to a stream that had been hidden in the stands of grass. 

Connor hadn't expected anything so wide and deep and hadn't even noticed the scraggly line of trees that marked the course.

A bridge sat not far down the steam.  It looked like a  steady bridge of solid rock --

As Connor neared, a gnarled, dirt brown face looked out from under the edge.

They both yelped.

"Human!" the creature shouted, and Connor heard the bustle of others in the shadow of the bridge.  "Human here!"

Gnome. Connor had only met only two at Northgate, and while they could be fierce in a battle, they weren't usually a problem.  Connor gave a very proper bow.

"I'm following after my friends, trying to catch up with them," Connor said softly.

"And which are your friends?"

Smart Gnome.

"The ones who are hunted," he admitted.  "And the villagers who didn't give me to the enemy."
The face peered intently, lips pursed as he considered the answer.  Gnomes weren't given to taking sides; they usually only fought out of necessity.  This one considered things at great depth while Connor watched nervously for trouble.

"It's evil what they did to the centaurs.  Go.  Save them."

Connor had no idea what the gnome meant, except that magic must be used to keep the centaurs under control. That might be evil enough.

He crossed the bridge and kept going, aware of the chatter of Gnomes behind him. He glanced back and saw only one gnome face watching him, and nothing following after.

Connor hadn't expected to start catching up with the others, but he soon realized that for whatever reason, Galen had taken the entire village with him and those people were slowing him down. In another two hours, he began to hear them -- and realized he was far too close.  He fell back, stopping by the side of the trail and trying to decide what he should do next.

The night was coming.  Connor knew he would do better to hold back and wait for darkness before he got closer.  He very carefully moved off the trail by a half dozen steps, breaking as few of the stalks as possible.  There he sat down and bowed his head, weary now that he let himself rest.

He was getting too used to resting out in the open, alone in a hostile world.  Connor had no doubt dangerous 'things' were out there not far away.  Just because he had chanced to get away from Ordin and Galen didn't mean he was safe from the rest of the world.

Connor slept in snatches which seemed worse than no sleep at all.  The sudden surge from sleep to wake so often gave him a headache, and he despaired of ever seeing the shadows change and nightfall.

He finally slept for a little longer.  When he came awake, twilight had spread around him, the shadows nearly disappearing in the coming dark.  He stretched a little and slowly stood, trying to listen for any sound of something too near.

Nothing.  Even the sound of those he had followed was lost, though Connor thought he could see a light farther down the trail and maybe to the right.  He suspected the trail twisted there, but he would have to be careful.  Galen and Ordin would put out guards or at least magic to make certain no one came upon them.

Connor went down the trail as far as he dared, listening to the sounds of the camp that were almost clear enough to tell what people said.  Then he again moved carefully into the weeds until he found a path made by animals, though smaller than him.  It provided a little room for him to move and draw less attention.  He even slid along on his side part of the way, pushing his pack ahead of him.

Then he unexpectedly came to a larger, open area; a bubble with the tops of grass above him, and full plants on all sides, but enough room to sit up.  He also found Antisha there, turning with a start and then offering him a bright smile as she waved him forward.

"You are alive!" she said and slapped him on the shoulder, her voice a whisper that couldn't be heard above the nearby sounds.  "We couldn't be certain, you know."

"What are you doing here?  Where are the others?"

"I sent everyone on," she said and glanced out at a camp, barely seen through the grass.  "I have a duty, though.  I can't let Galen and Ordin continue what they're doing.  How did you get past the magic wards they put up?"

"Pure luck," he admitted.  "They didn't go off.  How did you?"

"I was already here when they made camp," she explained.  "There wasn't likely to be another place anywhere else along the road.  Look at the Centaurs.  What do you see out of place?"

Connor crawled forward and tilted his head so he could see the Centaurs.  They stood in a line not far away, their heads up.  Thin, he thought.

"What are those glowing spots on their chests?"

"Seals," she said with disgust.  "Galen and Ordin have full control over the Centaurs, and also drain power from them."

"Which is why they are so thin?"