[ OT ] Sunday Free Write : Happy Holidays Edition !

**Song of the Watchtower: A Tale of Shield Brothers** - Chapter 4 - Entering the Niux Lands - Part 1 - [ Previous Chapters Here ] ( https: //www.reddit.com/r/Niuniverse/comments/5iyhbb/sotw_atosb_first_draft_chapters/ ) 
 
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 Four days had passed since leaving Athket. Himntor had slept through the final celebrations and was just in time for the Hunter ’ s departure. They were now at the final stop before crossing the national border into Niux territory, a large outpost with towers stretching north and south all the way to the horizon. Himntor stood against the wagon as Geldar spoke with the commander of the outpost. 
 
 “ Things have been quiet the last few weeks, ” the commander said. “ Normally we hear a pop or two from the rods during the week, but now there ’ s just the wind. I sent out three scouting parties a month ago, and all came back with nothing. Something ’ s not right I say, and the silence is making us anxious. ” 
 
 “ Maybe they know we ’ re coming, ” Geldar said, scratching his chin. “ Hmm. How possible would you say it is for a small group of them to get past the border? ” 
 
 The commander grunted. “ Not a chance. Not here anyway. Why? ” 
 
 “ We encountered a camp of them just off the main road to Athket. Only about two dozen, but they took out three of us. ” 
 
 “ By the Gods! Two dozen halfway to Dalmakar? Please tell me none got away. ” 
 
 “ Not a hair. ” 
 
 “ Bloody good. That worries me all the more though, I ’ ve had no reports from the other forts or outposts of anything getting past. ” 
 
 “ Could a caravan of Kamenhal merchants gotten past without any cause for alert? ” Himntor asked. 
 
 The commander narrowed his eyes at Himntor. “ A caravan? No, not if it came from beyond the border. Once you ’ re out, you don ’ t get back in. We only let Hunters with their flags back in. ” 
 
 “ Are the ocean shores guarded similarly to the borders? ” 
 
 “ Rivers and shores, nothing gets in. Geldar, who is this boy, who doesn ’ t know about the Watchers and hides under a hood? ” 
 
 Geldar gave a nod towards Himntor. “ Tomas. He ’ s the one who won the tournaments. Beyond that, I can not say. ” 
 
 “ Which tournaments? ” 
 
 “ All of them. ” 
 
 “ What? ” 
 
 “ He won every tournament, ” Lucretes said, who ’ d been sitting nearby on his horse along with the other Hunters. “ Scored higher than any Hunter in history. Says he ’ s from Heimar and was never trained by anyone. ” 
 
 The commander looked between Lucretes and Geldar. “ Funny. Never thought Hunters had such a sense of humor. But really, who is he? ” 
 
 Geldar smirked. “ We already told you. ” 
 
 The rest of the Hunters reluctantly nodded. 
 
 “ He ’ s beaten all of us in practice, ” Dayne said. 
 
 The commander gaped at them. “ Bloody Mountain, you can ’ t be serious. How? ” He turned to Himntor. “ How did you win *every tournament? * ” 
 
 All eyes turned to him, equally expecting an answer. 
 
 *I ’ m an idiot, * he thought. *Just had to open my mouth. * With a shrug, he said, “ I don ’ t know. I suspect nobody else felt like winning. ” 
 
 The Hunters shook their heads. 
 
 “ That ’ s his way of saying, ‘ *It ’ s a secret, * ’ ” Lucretes said. “ Though for all we know, he truly *doesn ’ t* know how. ” 
 
 The commander eyed Himntor skeptically. “ You ’ re sure he isn ’ t Sjornspawn? ” 
 
 “ Well he hasn ’ t tried to intentionally kill anyone yet, ” Geldar said. “ Strangest thing is his demeanor is that of a politician from Dalmakar rather than a woodsman from Heimar, and Gods help us if Sjornspawn have infiltrated the Republic. ” 
 
 “ Some say politicians are the closest thing to Sjornspawn, ” someone muttered. 
 
 The commander shook his head in disbelief. “ Gods help us anyhow, with this news of Niux infiltrating the nation and how quiet it ’ s gotten. I ’ ll not delay you further though. Travel safe, and keep your ears open. ” 
 
 “ Tomas ’ s nose will guide us, ” Lucretes said humorously. “ It hears thunder rods before our ears do. ” 
 
 The Hunters were then each given a small flag of Kamenhal, which would allow them back into the nation. Geldar had planned a route through the Niux lands that led northward, and if all went well, they would kill off as many Niux as possible and reach Fort Taurol within the next two months. 
 
 Himntor sat beside Geldar on the wagon as they set off. He wondered how it was possible that any Niux could sneak past the border, or what the silence meant. Could any of it be related? No, that didn ’ t make sense. There were only two possibilities: the Niux had dug tunnels for miles to get beyond the border, which was unlikely but probably possible, or they were born in the nation and weren ’ t discovered or caught, which sounded reasonable with no information on the rate of Niux being found and killed in the nation. He doubted it was one-hundred percent, there had to be some that escaped, though it was unlikely they left the nation, that would be stupid. The Watchers had to be suspicious of anyone who wanted to leave, except for the Hunters. 
 
 Niux had to be hiding within the nation. Perhaps in plain sight, just not using their power? No, they ’ d need a certificate of citizenship, and once a Niux was discovered, any of their identification documents were destroyed, and it wasn ’ t possible to get new ones after you turned five. They had to stay in the countryside. Why didn ’ t the Hunters go after them? A threat outside the nation was not as great as a threat inside. Were there other groups who handled that? There had to be, if the leaders of the Republic were smart. Maybe a certain sect of the Paladins handled it, though Himntor hadn ’ t heard of one. Someone must be doing something though, since there hadn ’ t been any major Niux attacks in decades. Maybe they just weren ’ t attacking, that would be smart of them. 
 
 Who knew? Maybe the silence was further evidence that they ’ d decided to no longer attack and simply hide. No matter, the Hunters would find them. 
 
 There was one thing that bothered him still: Lucretes ’ comment about him not really knowing how he had won all the tournaments. Himntor knew how, but not exactly why. He was different from everyone else, or at least he had never seen anyone else with red hair. It also felt like everyone moved so slowly. He wasn ’ t Sjornspawn, that he was sure of. What was he then? To that, he had no answer. He was not Niux, but he wasn ’ t purely human either. Deltan had tested him, and it was clear he thought and moved faster than anyone else, but why? Why could he do this? What did red hair have to do with any of it? 
 
 There were no answers, and that bothered him.
