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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7589412" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 278The wind continued to blow deep into the jungle night, the shifting gusts causing hollow moans to sound from the caves within the canyon.  Wisps of cloud drifted across the night sky, obscuring the stars and the thin slice of moon that hung low in the sky.The constant sounds and the lack of light made it difficult to keep watch, but Elias was a trained soldier, used to tackling challenging tasks without complaint.  Not that he was happy about it.  Deep inside, where none of the others could see, he had profound concerns about this mission that had already claimed the lives of two of his comrades.  He did not want to join them, falling in this gods-forsaken place a world away from his homeland.He rose and took a dozen steps, choosing a new spot that offered him a slightly different vantage of the camp.  He was wary of the cliff edge; the descent was steep enough that he would escape a fall with only broken bones if he was lucky.  And luck seemed to be a rare commodity in this new land.From his new position he could see a bit more of the canyon, though all he could make out in the near-darkness was vague shadows.  The fire had completely died out, leaving the caves where the others slept just black slits against the only slightly lighter gray of the canyon walls.  He could not see Kalasien, but that was not unexpected; the man was hard to see even in the light of the day.The thought of his superior awoke a fresh stir of disquiet.  Elias had spent his life following orders without challenge, but the Arreshian agent had been distant and odd of late.  It was probably just this place.  It had an effect on all of them, an effect that got only more pronounced as they pushed deeper into the interior of this rotten continent.  Strong leadership would have been reassuring at a time like this, but Elias would do his duty even in its absence.He started to turn away, but caught a hint of motion out of the corner of his eye.  Reaching for his sword, he leaned forward—respecting that treacherous edge—to get a better look.The figure was little more than a shadow, but somehow Elias thought it wasn’t Kalasien.  Something off in the way he moved—assuming it was a he.  Whoever it was, they were definitely trying to sneak out of the camp undetected.  Elias watched as the shadow made its way up into the cleft that ascended at the rear of the canyon before it disappeared from his view.He considered for a moment.  He scanned the canyon again but saw no sign of Kalasien.  He could have shouted an alarm to wake those in the camp, but the figure could have been departing for any number of valid reasons, down to seeking a little privacy for a nature break.  That would have been stupid but not dangerous, not to the group as a whole, anyway.Elias made his way along the cliffs toward the cleft.  He knew the way; that was how he had gotten up here in the first place.  Kalasien had suggested it as a good vantage when they’d taken up their shift about an hour ago.  The route was mostly bare rock, with an occasional struggling bush where some soil had managed to find a home in a crevice.  Elias had no difficulty even in the poor light.He went about fifty yards before came to a spot that offered a good view of the cleft.  He saw no sign of the mysterious figure at first, but then, as he started to turn back, he saw a form standing next to the gap that led further up into the range.  That was the beginnings of the pass that Mrrik had told them about, the route they would be taking once they set out in the morning.Wary, Elias drew his sword.  He started forward, but the figure did not react.  In the darkness it was impossible to tell if the other was even facing toward him.  Elias considered hissing a greeting, but his suspicions kept him silent.  His boots made almost no sound as he glided forward over the bare stone.They were only about ten paces apart when the figure suddenly took a step forward, out of the shadow of the gap into the faint starlight.  He was wearing a heavy cloak but the hood was down, and there was just enough light for Elias to identify him.“Kavek!” he hissed.  “What are you doing here?”“I am sorry,” the sailor said.  “You were a loyal soldier, but I’m afraid you have something that we need.”Elias tensed, but all he heard was the faintest footstep before someone was on him from behind.  The soldier was a strong man, and competent, but his opponent was both fast and powerful.  One arm snapped around his throat, almost pulling him off his feet, while the other pinned his wrist, keeping his sword immobile.  Elias tried to chop back with his other hand, tried to drive a boot into his foe’s knee, but he might as well have been trying to knock down a tree for all the effect his desperate blows had.  The grip around his neck tightened until he could hear the bones inside grinding together.  He made a last effort to throw his sword down, to make a clatter that might warn the camp, but Kavek caught the weapon before it could hit the stones.“Your watch is ended,” he said to Elias as the darkness enveloped him.</blockquote>

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