Tabula Rasa

I looked over the lid at the eager faces looking up at me. ‘It’s here.’ I said, forcing a smile. A wave of elation rippled through the crowd, the crashing waters of hope washing over them, washing them of their pain and their suffering, their fatigue, their hunger. They were buoyant. I closed the lid of the small box and stood, closing the clasps. ‘We need to get going, we need to get out of this canyon before dark.’ I said to no-one, but it was received with nods and the group started to move, picking their way carefully back through the remains of the caravan party that had been attacked here however long ago. Judging by the way the bodies were strewn it was those Creatures that had done it. Nothing else would be bold enough to attack a royal caravan like this. Who had taken it then? Probably some scavenger. My chest felt heavy, a weight steadily accumulating in my stomach. They needed hope, and he’d heard dark rumours that there were other ways through the checkpoints without a writ. He glanced at the women and stopped thinking about it.