It was a stunningly clear morning.
The young defender was meant to be keeping a constant vigil over the pass to the east, but he couldn't resist turning and looking across the channel to his old home of Manatoa. The city could been seen, with a slight haze over it, nothing seeming to have changed, but the rumors of upheaval on Firsthome had somehow floated up to the settlement of Waykeep, as they have a tendency to do. The young man was looking over the island as if he could see if the rumors were true from this distance.
Someone was laboring up the narrow trail that led from the settlement to this look-out point. The young sentry was surprised that Enis, the leader of Waykeep, was making his way up the trail. Even the strongest and most acclimatized people huffed hard at this altitude and the trail was particularly steep. Was Enis actually taking a turn at the look-out when there were plenty of less-experienced men available for the lonely duty?
"How's it looking?" Enis used the young man's shoulder as a hand-hold for the last step up. "I forgot how tough this climb is!"
The sentry sniggered. "Nothing to report, sir. The pass is clear."
Enis coughed, bent over to put hands on knees. He nodded, which caused his haphazard hair to bounce around his face. In a few minutes, he lifted up and faced the sentry. "How are you?"
The sentry was turned toward Firsthome again and Enis noticed this with another nod. "You miss it?"
There was a shrug. "I don't know. The stories say that a lot has changed over there." He gave his leader a side-long look. "Do you think it is the coming of the Deliverer?"
"Heh, I wouldn't believe everything I hear." The older man scratched his head and smiled. "Julya is still far too young at this point to fulfill prophecies. Anyway, happenings down there shouldn't affect us any at this distance."
The young man laughed quietly. "You are probably right."
Enis was here to do a welfare check. He has already made the rounds to a lot of the new recruits that had formally taken the Covenant a few weeks before. He hadn't yet reached this young fellow, who had already been busy working at the pass on two occasions and been taking his turn at look-out. "I notice that you work pretty hard, which is good. Everyone can depend on you."
"I try. I wanna be worth the food I eat."
The leader laughed at that and nodded. "You're more than worth that." Enis tried not to make it this next question too serious. "You been looking for a wife?"
The young man got a strange look on his face. "Are you serious?" He gave a quick shake of his head. "I haven't thought much about it."
Enis had recently remarried, as his former wife abandoned him during his time on Firsthome. His new wife was a widow and had been at Waykeep her whole life. They had also known each other for a long time and were always on friendly terms, so it seemed a good match all around. "I'm gonna arrange for you to have some time off so you can socialize with the ladies. Figure out what you like." He gave the young man a pointed look right in the eyes. "It's that important."
"You think?" The defender gave his leader a sheepish glance. "There is this girl that followed us from the swamp..."
Enis smiled. "Oh, yeah? Well, take a few weeks and get to know her better. She'd probably like some help with her workload, if I know how the other women can be." He looked out over the pass. "A men really needs something to live for besides defending the pass." He gave the young man a wink. "We could also use some more kids around here."
"Sir!" The defender's face flashed red. Enis' new wife was already starting to show her pregnancy, her two kids by her dead husband often trailing behind the Waykeep leader, who liked finally being a father. "I'm not sure I am ready for things like that."
"Who cares how you feel about it?" Enis snorted. "Who is this girl? I'll have a talk with her and let her know you're on assignment to court her." The young man got even more red in the face. "You don't have to say anything. I'll figure out who she is. I'll get her on-board."
The young man buried his face in his hands. "You don't have to do that."
Enis just smiled. "This is the most important part of my job - I live for this!" A meaty hand squeezed the young man's shoulder. "I'm gonna take care of you, my friend."
The pair looked on the pass below and saw it at the same time - a lone figure on the far end of the path through the pass. The two men turned to each other and the Leader sighed.
"Tell you what. Once we get this next invasion handled, I'll get you and this girl together and give you some time to spend with her. I've got a good feeling about this. Until then..." The Leader slapped the younger man on the back.
The defender ran peel-mell down the path down from the look-out, raising the alarm.
Enis closed his eyes and put his head back. God was good and he was grateful for it. Waykeep was back and the Covenant endured. As his prayer ends, he slowly makes his way down the trail.