The Writers' Circle

Part 5 sooner than expected. I typed it up quickly in my lunch so sorry if it's full of mistakes. Part 6 may take a little longer to produce.

Enjoy.

JD

* * * * *

	"Tree."
	"No."
	"Twigs."
	"No."
	"Trunk?"
	"No."
	Tam thought long and hard before he gave his next guess.
	"Tamson?"
	"No!" Allegra laughed.
	"Well, what is it then?"
	"Do you give in?"
	Tam spotted the playful glint in the arlan's eyes and didn't want to admit defeat but there didn't seem to be any more words for him to guess.
	"Go one the," he said. "What was it?"
	"I'm not telling," said Allegra, smiling cheekily.
	"Aww, go on, please."
	"Nope."
	Tam looked crestfallen. So far he hadn't been able to guess any of Allegra's words.
	"You have a go," the arlan offered.
	Tam perked up at the suggestion and began wracking his brain for a suitably tricky word for his friend to guess.
	"So what does it begin with?" the arlan asked.
	"Shhh. I'm thinking."
	Allegra smiled at the young tulai's audacity. She savoured the silence even as her senses thrilled with the joy of her companionship and the serenity of her surroundings. Dappled light shone through the foliage of the trees in the forest around her and, every now and again, she would spot a squirrel or a bird going about its daily business and thrill with the shared feeling of freedom they demonstrated.
	"Ok," said Tam eventually. "I've got one."
	"Beginning with.?" Allegra prompted.
	"'A'"
	"Hmmmm," said the arlan in mock thought. "Allegra?"
	"No," Tam laughed. "It's not that easy."
	"Let me have a think, then," said Allegra, feigning disappointment at the failure of her guess.
	They lapsed into silence and Tam used it to take stock of his surroundings. Whilst they hadn't left the forests since leaving Jelosano Tam was still further from his home now than he ever had been in his life. His preoccupied mind took in the enchanting forest around him. The fog had long since lifted to give way to the golden rays of the brilliant sun which lanced down through the canopy overhead to shade the emerald leaves. Dragonflies capered playfully amongst the plantlife, savouring the final remnants of the Summer.
	Tam took all this in in wonder, completely failing to notice the sudden alertness of Allegra as he thrilled in his own personal wonderland.
	"You ready to guess yet?" he asked absently.
	"Ambush!"
	Tam stopped walking and glanced irritably in the direction of the shout.
	"No, that's not it," he said, wondering why the others were joining in with his game.
	They didn't seem like the playful types.
	"Get down!"
	Allegra pushed Tam roughly to the ground just in time as a crossbow bolt whisked over his head to thud deep into a trunk behind him. He looked up from his prone position to witness Allegra unleash a bolt of her own and he tracked its path towards the far treeline to watch it fell his attacker as more of his fellows charged from the bushes.
	Tam panicked.
	He had spent his entire life thus far within the protective sanctuary of Jelosano's embrace and now, within half a day of travelling beyond its borders he had been subject to more horrors than he could ever have wished to witness.
	The young tulai scampered on hands and knees into the forest fringe on the far side of the path to crouch behind a wide trunk. His sandaled feet scratched against the carpet of leaves that rustled loudly beneath his feet and he worried irrationally about the prospect of attracting any of the enemy to his position, despite how engrossed they obviously were in battling those amongst the gypsies who were putting up a fight.
	Gilly and Daryan had teemed up around Liv, who was crouched in the back of her abandoned cart, gallantly protecting her from harm. Away towards Tam's left, Lulu had joined Legio and Col to form a tight circle that ensured that each of their backs were protected from the ambushers who assailed them from all sides.
	Attackers and attacked fought personal battles all across the pathway but Tam noticed none of it. His eyes were firmly fixed on the empty ones of the ambusher that Allegra had shot. They stared lifelessly at him from where the deceased lay prone on the floor and filled Tam's entire vision even as his body shook from the shock.
	When the last of the ambushers hit the ground, killed by the well-practiced wanderers, Tam still hadn't moved, remaining frozen in his tableau of mortified disbelief.
	"Where's the mage?" Allegra asked, glancing around the pathway and peering amongst the horses and carts. "Where's Tam?"
	Her querying gaze was met by only puzzled looks and shrugs by the rest but Daryan, who was more proactive than the rest and had been more alert at the attack's inception, made a direct beeline for the tree behind which Tam was hiding.
	"Here he is," he said, roughly dragging the shaking tulai out by his robes.
	Tam's eyes were vacant, staring into nothingness as his brain failed to deal with what he had witnessed.
	"Take it easy, Dary," said Allegra, striding towards the pair.
	"We took him on for a reason," Daryan said in a loud voice, completely ignoring her. "And what good was he when all of this happened?"
	The red-faced arlan's gesture took in the pathway, littered with the corpses of their recently defeated enemies.
	"None of us were seriously injured this time but it could have been very different."
	"He's fresh out of the academy, Daryan," Gilly interjected sternly. "He's never been out of the city before and death is a character who he's not yet familiar to him. What did you expect him to do?"
	Daryan looked incredulously around the circle of travellers who had converged on the debate.
	"You don't get anything for free in this life," he said. "And I aint happy with carrying someone. Each and every one of us contributes to this family. What does this one bring?"
	He savagely shoved Tam from him and the tulai stumbled into the protection of Allegra's concerned embrace.
	"Who knows what may happen in the future," Gilly reasoned. "But we've always been on good terms with the tulai and I'm doing this for them as a favour. Now he's been no trouble so far so in my mind you've got nothing to complain about. We got by without mages before and we will do when he's gone."
	"Daryan?"
	The voice sounded before Daryan could continue with the argument and Tam followed his fierce gaze towards where his wife, Liv, stood amongst those gathered around. The young woman was looking stressed and exhausted and Tam noticed for the first time the bump that she was carrying.
	"This isn't getting us anywhere," she said. "Can we just keep going? Please?"
	Daryan looked like he was about to argue but eventually concern overrode his pride and he conceded defeat.
	"Fine," he said, throwing up his hands in defeat. "Let's get going."
	The tension appeared to dissipate around the group as those in the circle broke off and began tending to the horses, ready to progress as far as they could before nightfall, but Tam caught the menacing glare that Daryan gifted him before he too went about his business.
	"Are you ok?" Allegra asked, looking down at his nervous form.
	"Yeah," said Tam. "I think so."
	"Come on, then," she said cheerfully. "Walk with me again and try and forget about it. I know you've had a rough sample of it so far but the world's a better place than this, believe me."
	Tam smiled shallowly up at her but he wasn't convinced. Try as he might he couldn't shift the memory of those dead eyes and Daryan's hate-filled ones, each so different and yet both so mentally scarring to his naive mind.