A Warrior's Redemption (The Warrior Kind)

I made a great show of unsaddling Flin and making camp for the night. I even went so far as to make a quick batch of pan bread. After my meal I surreptitiously surrounded the outer rim of the fire pit with the stones from the creek, as I appeared for all intent and purposes to be cleaning my dinner dishes. The fire had burned down some and now I built a trifold of sticks over the fire that would slowly release wood and keep the fire burning long into the night. Only my trifold setup was going to be a quick release mechanism in about a half hour or so. Moving to my bedrole on the edge of the fire's light I lay down on it and paused for a few moments and then I carefully slid out the far side of it into the darkness beyond the fire's light.

I had made sure to throw my saddle outside the fire light's range earlier and I had hobbled Flin on a patch of good grass some thirty feet from the fire, another thing I would never have done if I was making a serious camp. Grabbing Flin's bridal I quickly saddled him and moved off northward along the ridge first walking and then riding softly, as noise travels far after dark.

Pausing a half mile away up higher in the foot hills of the mountains I listened for signs of pursuit, but I heard none. I watched the camp below me in the distance, as I sat on top of Flin. Both of us were completely still and silent in the darkness of the night as we waited.

The sticks had fallen into the fire and were burning quite brightly now. Shadows suddenly appeared out of the darkness around the fire and not less than three lances were jammed into my vacant bedroll, while two other figures stood back and observed. Upon realizing my absence I could hear voices raised loudly in argument.

Somebody was getting dressed down royally. Served them right, that had been a good blanket I had left by the fire I wryly mused to myself. It was going to be a cold night without it, but I was glad at the prospect of being able to at least still feel the cold. Having come to some consensus the shadowy figures by the fire stopped arguing and were about to exit the camp when it happened.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rocked the night air in a continuous staccato of sound! I grinned broadly with satisfaction. This was well worth suffering a little discomfort for, as I watched the mayhem breaking out in the camp below. I couldn't have planned it any better. The ice cold riverstones had heated up and blown apart at precisely the right moment. Chaos ensued in the camp below.