Will looked behind him Stacey had been keeping up with the wagon all day, not even that much sweat on his brow.

“How you holding up?” Will shouted.

“Fine and dandy, thanks, mate!” Stacey laughed out.

Will snorted, “Hitch a ride on a wheel?”

Stacey let out a burst of speed so he ended up right next to Will. Will jutted out an arm and Stacey grabbed his and Will boosted him up so he was on this ledge just above the front right wheel.

Pepper teetered a bit at the added weight then trotted on.

Hence scowled, but said nothing. Why did Hence not like him? Hence had said he didn’t trust soldiers, and something about executing, he also had said the war ended when he was young, did soldiers do something to him? Hurt him? Or worse.

Hurt someone close to him?

````````````````````````````````````

It had been hours but Will didn’t care, night was coming and he was tired, he had been riding in a bumpy wagon and he was sick to his stomach, but he didn’t care, he had been talking to Stacey all day, and had learned more about the outside world then his father had ever told him about his whole life.

“Slow down, Pepper! We approach the Haunted Deck.” Hence spoke quietly.

“H-haunted?” Will stuttered.

Pepper snorted, “Scared of a white dead being, Little-Grey?”

“I’m not scared! But what is the Haunted Deck?”

Hence turned to Will, “Ever looked at a map kid? Yes? Get it out.” Hence watched in the fading light as Will unfolded his map. He pointed to a little blue dot down by where it said ‘Ruins of the Mighty Mountain.’ “Ah yes, we head to Cloud Mountain for the night. There we shall have a fine meal by my favorite cook, and a good bed. The mountain may have fallen, but the people didn’t the Mountain Villages still thrive. All we have to do is pass Decker’s Landing, or better known since the end of the war as-.”

“Haunted Deck.” Stacey had spoken, even in the fading light his face cast a large shadow. Hence studied him for a bit, then spoke.

“Aye, we all have a past, and ain’t one to pry,” Will and Pepper looked at him hard, he ignored their meaningful stares, “so I have a cloak if ya want to borrow one.”

“No,” Stacey stated simply. “No, I don’t want to hide, not anymore, let’s continue.”

````````````````````

They approached Decker’s Landing. The scorch remainders of what was supposed to be a safe haven brought no hope. It was rather small, but it looked like it was once a home, a happy one, was this what his father dealt with? Is that what his father, Picket Longtreader, saw on that tiny boat with his sister, uncle, and his future brother-in-law?

Will turned to look at Hence but stopped when he saw Pepper. She had stopped, she was looking fondly at the wreckage, as if staring, no, searching back into her past to find a key to the truth.

Those scars… had she fought in the war?

Had she helped in that endless massacre? Had her comrades been killed? By Half-Wind? The king? By Will’s father? Had she been the only one to- to escape? Why was Will asking himself this? The war ended before he was born, what did he know?

“Here we are!” Hence said, pointing to a little bridge farther down.

“Is that the pass?” Stacey said, leaning forward to look, “I thought it was a dead tree that decided to die over a swollen river!”

Will laughed and Hence rolled his eyes.

“Aye, she might as well be!”

Will looked at Hence, “Is it safe?”

Hence chuckled “Nope! That’s why we cross one at a time! Hya Pepper!”

“What?!” Stacey and Will yelped.

Hence brought the wagon to a stop as they neared the bridge, just enough room for the wagon to cross.

“This isn’t s-safe.” Will stuttered

“When is life safe?” Hence shrugged. “You first, Stacey.” Hence coldly said.

Stacey gulped and then walked cautiously forward to the bridge, it groaned under his weight, he drudged ahead. Will held his breath, what if Stacey fell in? Then he would be swept away in the cold, dark water, was Hence trying to get rid of him? No. Hence was a good guy, right?

Stacey teetered in the middle, Stacey fell back a bit, then breathed out and lept he jumped to the other side and turned to look at them Will breathed out, gulping air back into his lungs. Stacey chuckled and pumped a fist into the crisp air.

“Your turn, Will.” Hence spoke, “Then Pepper and the wagon, then I will go.”

“You? Last?” Will said.

“No stalling child, go.”

Will tip-toed out, the bridged sighed and breathed, as if saying, ‘Don’t come here! You’ll fall! Brother River is hungry!’ Will stepped out further.

One instant he was on the bridge, the next, he wasn’t.

He had leaped to safety.

Pepper walked confidently across as if she had done this before, and she probably had.

Hence was next.

Hence strutted out and was almost across when Will heard a crack, a piece of the bridge had broken! Hence was falling! He was going to go into the water!

Stacey grabbed him and hoisted him onto safe, dry land.

“Thanks, soldier, I guess you aren’t that bad.” Hence said, letting his pride go, but still not uttering Stacey’s name.

``````````````````````````

They had reached the mountain. Will was in awe! He couldn’t see the top!

Little cottages dotted around the entrance to a large cave, Hence motioned for Stacey and Will to go inside while he and Pepper put the wagon over to the side.

Will hurried in and looked around the rounded cavern, tables were sprinkled around the cave. Rabbits were sitting, eating, playing, and conversing. Sounds that would remind one of a busy restaurant. They passed a grim-looking group of soldiers who shot looks at him and whispered things like: ‘Look at his pelt! Is he a Longtreader? I saw a raptor! Just outside.’ But Will didn’t notice.

But Stacey did.

“You have a problem with him?” He huffed harshly out.

Will turned at the commotion.

The largest of the group, a grey-gold buck, stepped forward. “Your friend here looks like a well-known traitor.”

Will knew exactly what he was talking about, even though Will had lived in a protected home, not filled with the whispers, worries his father and aunt had to live with. He understood, if he admitted his lineage then he would never get rest, his friends would never look at him the same! Even though the war was over, people still didn’t trust them. It wasn’t their fault! Will’s uncle was the problem, and of course he had to look just like him.

Why was life so unfair?

“No,” Will said. “I am no Longtreader.”

Oh, his Uncle Wilfred must’ve turned over in his grave!

The tan buck narrowed his eyes, while Stacey grabbed Will by the arm and dragged him away.

“Where’s your unit, runaway!” The buck called after them. Stacey grimaced.

They sat down at an empty table and a waiter came up with a bowl of potato soup in each hand, he placed them down in front of them. Will almost fainted at the smell, oh! When was the last time he had eaten?

Pepper and Hence walked in, people scattered at the large shadow that was Pepper appeared, they sat, and Hence flipped a coin to the waiter, after a few moments with the only sound being them slurping. Hence spoke.

“So, got any family in the Warren, Will?”

Will practically choked on his broth, he coughed a bit then mumbled, “yes,” and Hence nodded.

“I am going there to visit my sister, along with that trading market, and the king is holding a victory day celebration.” Hence looked down. “Sadly, it seems that the wolves around the Wood are still infested, after the war, chaos scattered the wolves who fought with Morbin, some are with the king while others went rabid.”

“How many children does the king have?” Will asked, he hadn’t visited them since he was a babe, then his father and Weezie moved back to Nick Hollow.

Stacey looked hard at Will, “He had two, twins girls, old enough to crawl. I think their names are Advice and Marsilla, they had a son, but something happened to him, I can’t remember the whole story though..” Stacey muttered the last few words.

“I heard you runts are heading to First Warren, you won’t make it there without a guide.” a voice said boldly behind them.

Will looked behind him and watched as the red-figure sat in an empty chair across from him. The creature looked like a wolf, but she was red and had a giant fluffy tail, a fox. He had heard stories of the scavengers.

“Name’s Flisk, and I am willing to guide you.” She said.

“What’s the catch?” Hence asked. “There’s always a catch.”

“No catch! I can take you as far as Harbone, I am on my way there already we leave tomorrow,” she said, a grin played on her face.

“What do you say, gang?” Hence said.

“What other choice do we have?” Pepper whispered.

“I don’t trust her, she is planning something and I know it,” Stacey muttered.

“I say we take the risk,” Will murmured, “I need to get to First Warren, it is of mass importance.”

Hence studied him, then turned to Flisk and reached out his hand, Flisk to it in her dark brown one.

“You’ve gotta deal Fox.”

Done! That one took a long time! Next part next week!