The Eighth Warden Bk. 04 Ch. 15-16

Hopefully Meritia would know what to do.

Shavala had also brought the hefty stack of notes she'd been keeping about all the new plants and animals she'd encountered on her travels--enough for a book, if the other druids thought it would be helpful. Elven books, or dorvasta books at least, were rare, copied painstakingly by hand. Druids passed their knowledge along orally instead. But humans had printing presses which could make many copies quickly, and Ellerie had offered to help Shavala learn the process. It seemed more efficient than carefully memorizing the details over many retellings.

There was a rustling sound to Shavala's left, and she looked to find a squirrel running from one tree branch to another. Its markings were familiar.

"Lele? Is that you?" she asked. "What are you doing way out here?"

The squirrel stopped immediately, sitting back on its haunches and peering at her intently. It gave a high-pitched, questioning chirrup.

"It is you!" Shavala slipped out of her saddle and approached her old friend. "Come here!" she said, patting her shoulder.

Lele jumped to the branch nearest Shavala, then ran along it and leapt off. He almost missed his target, catching himself on her tunic and scrambling up to her shoulder. He was growing older, and she felt a pang of regret about having left him behind for so long, but squirrels didn't travel well. It wouldn't be fair to take any wild animal away from its home.

"Why are you awake?" she asked him. Tree squirrels didn't truly hibernate through the winter, but they did sleep for long periods of time, tucked away in their nest.

He chittered complaints about too much noise and activity waking him up. Druids couldn't understand animal speech the way animals could understand druids, but Shavala had known Lele for years and was familiar with how he expressed himself.

"What sort of noise?" she asked, though she knew the answer wouldn't make any sense. Talking to a squirrel could only go so far.

A voice called out from farther down the road. "Shavala?" The figure was wearing the mottled green and brown garb the rangers used to blend in with the forest. He carried an unstrung bow in one hand, and had a quiver slung over his back.

"Ellisan!" Shavala said with a wide grin. "You're out here alone?" Normally the rangers patrolled in groups.

"Meritia said you'd be here. She sent me out to find you. She must have told Lele, too--he insisted on coming along, and he never wants to come with me."

Shavala laughed. "What's going on at the outpost? Lele says it's noisy."

"I'm not sure. Meritia's packing to leave, and she's taking some of the rangers with her, back to Terrillia."

"We'd better hurry then. I need to talk to her before she goes."

Ellisan reached Shavala and gathered her up in a tight hug, ignoring Lele's scolding. The hug lasted longer than Shavala expected, and through the tree bond, she caught a quick flash of feeling that hadn't been there before.

Finally, he stepped back and looked her over, as if searching for any injuries. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

"I'm not really back," she explained. "I was passing nearby, so I wanted to visit."

A look of disappointment crossed his face. "You can't still be on your travels," he said, referring to the final stage of a druid apprentice's training. "You've been gone for a year and a half."

"No, I've finished my travels," Shavala replied. She hadn't realized it was true until she'd said it, but a druid decided when their own training was over, and there was no doubt she was a full druid now. "But I'm not quite done with traveling. There are a few things I still need to take care of, but I should be around more often now."

Ellisan nodded and led the way back to the border camp. He was on foot, so Shavala walked with him, leading Socks--her roan gelding--and her pack mule along behind her.

It took four hours to reach the outpost, and they spent the walk talking about Shavala's time away. She told him of her companions and the discovery of Tir Yadar, but shied away from mentioning anything about wardens or her relationship with Corec. She spoke for so long, her throat grew dry. It was the most she'd said at one time in as long as she could remember. Talking with other dorvasta was always easier than talking to anyone else, the tree bond helping to gently guide the conversation.

The border outpost looked much the same as Shavala remembered, though there were two very young men going in and out of her old hut. Apparently it had new residents.

Lele jumped from Shavala's arm to a wood pile, and then scampered up to the roof of Meritia's hut.

Meritia was inside, tightening the straps on a travel pack.

"Ahh, good, you're here," she said before Shavala could speak. "The forest told me you were coming. Grab anything you want to bring--just what you can carry. Leave your animals with Ellisan. We'll be taking the running trails. I waited an extra two days once I realized you were back, so we need to move quickly."

The tree bond pushed for agreement.

"Where are we going?" Shavala asked.

"The druids have been summoned to a conclave. I'll explain on the way."