Ironroot

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I always take a walk the night before a fight; always have. Helps clear the mind and lets you focus on the job at hand. Some people drink; some make love. I walk. Of course, it helps that I’m an officer and I can leave the camp any time I like.

Where we’d camped that night there was a small river a little to the north. Not much of a river really; more of a stream, but it ran down into a deep copse of copper coloured beech trees. I strolled from the north gate out into the moonlit night and wandered aimlessly in the general direction of the copse.

I had my armour on and my sword with me, partially because over the years it’s become such habit I often forget I’m wearing them, but also because I was leaving the camp and there were barbarians out there. To the south, for sure, but you never know.

The peace out there on the blasted moonlit heath was a balm and a blessing once you left the echoes of the raucous and nervous men in the camp far behind. The only sounds were the wind blowing through the heather and the long grass, the occasional rustle as something nocturnal scampered away from you, and once or twice the eerie, haunting call of an owl.

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