The regiment rode with Edalene for what must have been hours, but the horses didn't mind. Many of the Striders were as excited as their companions, and the other horses were invigorated by their energy. Clutching the grips of his yvas, Thetch rode ahead of the regiment, his younger brother alongside him. Every so often, he closed his eyes and reached out with one hand, feeling for the strands of Djed that made up Damie's outstretched web. Thetch was a better webber than his brother, but it would do his younger sibling well to practice it while riding on his horse. He had been the one to find the web, anyway. It was his right to glory to lead the regiment to Damie. Every so often, Thetch sent glances back to Edalene, to make sure she was keeping up. He knew she wasn't as experienced a rider as many of the Watchmen, but he certainly didn't want to end up leaving her behind. Sending her a smile, he performed a bit of grassland sign at her with one hand - we're almost there. Of course, there was the question of whether she knew grassland sign, but he assumed she did. As the sun was arcing high in the sky, just a few bells from high noon, Thetch's brother began shouting. "It's here! It's here!" Kicking his legs into his horse's sides a little too vigorously, eliciting an irritated groan from the mare, he pulled ahead in excitement to a knoll just ahead, near a small arrangement of larger boulders. Two large dark lump laid in the grasses, difficult to identify from a distance. As the regiment grew closer, it was clear that neither of them were human - they were too large, and too... feathered. Remarkably, it was two slain glassbeaks, covered in gash marks from a blade. Rounding the boulders, their killer was seen sitting up against one of the large rocks: a dark haired man remarkably late in his years. Head drooped, he held a bloodied sword in the crook of one, arm while the other was tenderly holding his abdomen. He didn't look to be breathing, at first, but as they drew nearer, his fingers twitched on his sword, and he shifted his leg over. It was confirmed: Damie Sunblaze was alive. |