Xenn and Birney veered toward Sylvan Pond. Birney took gray berries, popped the skin on some of the thumbnail-sized fruits, and rubbed the pungent juice on Xenn and then himself to hide their scent. Once past the final Drelvish guard posts, they returned to the general direction of the Drolls’ tower. Twice the Drelves encountered Droll patrols. They followed the second patrol back to the recently constructed tower near the River Ornash. The brace of Drelves followed the noisy wolf-faced warriors without fear of being heard. Drolls oft sniffed the air, but grayberries grew commonly in the wood and the smell did not alarm the Drolls. The forest began to thin as they neared the river Ornash. Hiding became a greater challenge and then nigh impossible. Xenn and Birney hunkered down behind one of the last great red oaks standing in view of the tower. The massive tree’s trunk bore the scars of Drolls’ axes, but the warriors evidently tired of the process of chopping the tree down or else chose to leave a bit of shade. Numerous Drolls moved about the thinned forest. Most hewed small trees for firewood. Xenn stopped and removed an old clump of dark orange moss. The Spellweaver muttered phrases and Enlarged the moss. The young Spellweaver then threw the sheet of invisimoss over his shoulder, placed his arm around Birney, and stood close.
“I can still see you,” Birney exclaimed.
“Of course, you can. You’re inside the moss,” Xenn explained.
“Oh. The moss does feel good. It’s soft and warm,” Birney said as she awkwardly snuggled closer to Xenn.
The Drelves sneaked between remaining trees. The light period continued. They avoided passing near Drolls they saw working at various tasks. Drolls they passed turned up their noses and sniffed the air. Gray berries gave the scent of a skulunk passing a distance away. Skulunks were not Magick. They just smelled bad. Xenn and Birney stopped at the base of a large everyellow tree. The pair rested and munched on some delicious trail mix. The lingering odor of the gray berries depressed their appetites a bit, but the trail mix still was good. After a respite, they continued onward and nearer the River Ornash.
“Quick, get off the trail. Someone’s coming!” Birney whispered. The little Drelves slunk to the side of the path and sat beneath a bramble bush.
A huge Droll walked near them, stopped for a moment, sniffed, and looked all around. Invisimoss shielded them from the keen eyes of the sentries, and the gray berries disguised their essence form the guards’ keen noses.
benjamintowe 