I watched the small curved form plummet from the sky, drawing ever closer. It levelled its descent just above the treetops, and skimmed the canopy until, arriving above the clearing, it circled in a downward spiral, to alight with a flurry of wings upon my upraised fist.
It was Rovalthenin, a falcon of eleven summers, bearing a message from the commanding lord of the Grey Watch.
"Fresh orders." I said simply to Celegu, who crouched by the foot of a great birch tree, absently thrumming his bowstring with a restless finger. He nodded idly, and turned his gaze back to the wall of leaf and trunk around us.
I read the message again, before marking the order as understood in the agreed manner, and returning the small scroll to Rovalthenin's messenger harness. I stroked his head briefly as I whispered quietly, bidding him return to Thamas Lorn with haste. He gaped acknowledgement, his eye fixed me with a knowing glance, and with a beat of wings, he cast himself aloft and out of sight.
I turned to see Celegu follow the last glimpse of the falcon, then give me an inquiring look. I smiled briefly at him.
"Good news it seems - we are no longer needed in Falathlorn; we are to return east, beyond the river...our watch on the road is resumed."
He nodded curtly - even revealing a trace of a smile - before rising to his feet.
"I will tell the others" he said, and turned to vanish into the woods.
