When Ilicia came to, the first thing she noticed was how incredibly warm she was, despite the cold of the morning air nipping at her nose. The second thing she noticed was Will’s massive arm wrapped around her, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder as they lay. His other arm wrapped across the front of her body, so one of his massive hands lay on Ilicia’s hip. 

Her initial response was panic. Then she heard the deep breathing, letting her think Will was still asleep. Ilicia tempered her reaction. Instead, she turned to lie more fully on his arm so she could see Will. She knew now why she was warm. Heat radiated from his body, making the tent they were in almost too warm. Ilicia leaned into Will, enjoying the moment.

“Good morning, princess.” Will said, startling the young woman who was very much enjoying snuggling.

Ilicia’s reaction made Will smile. Ilicia seemed to freeze, looked up into Will’s eyes, and jumped into the air. She landed on her feet and seemed to freeze once more, “Will! I uh…When did you… Ummm.” 

Will smiled at the now furiously blushing and thoroughly flustered princess, “When did I wake up? Or are you really asking, did I see when you leaned into me earlier?” 

Ilicia could not respond and simply made a gulping sound as if she were desperately attempting to drink all the air around her so she would not hear the answers to those questions. Will continued speaking with a smile, “As far as when I woke up… I never went to sleep. I am responsible for your safety, so until we reach the next town, I will not sleep. And yes, I did see you lean into me.”

Ilicia said nothing and simply walked out of the tent. Will smiled and then felt his stomach drop when Ilicia spoke next, panic permeating her voice, “Will!” 

Will moved, and seemed to materialize in front of her. She forgot how incredibly fast he was. She looked out at the six hooded figures seated around their camp, noting weary body language. 

One of the six stood, its robes and hood hiding its appearance entirely. It bowed to Will and began speaking a language Ilicia did not recognize. Will listened for a moment and seemed to relax as one of the other hooded figures waved a hand at the banked fire, sending it springing to life.

“It’s all right, Ilicia. They are Gumbari.” Will said, and Ilicia understood why Will seemed so relaxed. Gumbari were a strange people, they were fierce and determined, but they also adhered to some of the most intense cultural rules Ilicia had ever heard of. There were many, but generally, unless you did something to greatly anger a Gumbari, you were safe around them. Sometimes they would even come to your aid–so long as it did not violate another of their rules.

Ilicia went back into the tent, preparing for the coming day. She listened as Will sat and talked quietly in the strange language with the Gumbari. The Gumbari cooked for them, producing food and drink seemingly from air. After Will had packed the tent and spoken some final words with the Gumbari, he pulled Ilicia to the side and had her face away from the fire pit where the Gumbari were gathering.

“Don’t look back.” Will said, facing the same direction as her, “Let them finish. They will say something when they are done.” 

Moments later, a voice unlike anything Ilicia had heard spoke in what could only be described as a muddy tone. “Thank you.” 

When they turned around, the Gumbari were gone, and any evidence of the small fire pit or any damage they may have caused to the forest seemed to have vanished without a trace. Ilicia was stunned, “What happened?” 

“The Gumbari happened. If you treat them appropriately and respect their rules and ways, they do these kinds of things.”  Will said, “I asked one once how they do it… apparently, they quite literally feed off of the damage a fire causes to the earth and general damage to the forest.” 

“And where did you learn that language?” Ilicia asked Will.

“There is an old Gumbari couple who live in the Gob’Ran. They take care of several things for my grandfather, and in return the Gob’Ran and its people do their best to abide by several rules regarding the forest and nature.” Will said as he made sure their bags were secure and slung them on his back.

“Interesting.” Ilicia said and fell into step next to Will as they headed off through the woods. Several hours went by in quiet conversation, and as they were both feeling they should stop for food, voices drifted to them through the forest. Will and Ilicia stopped to listen.

“Of course I’m sure! It’s what the Gumbari said. There are only two of them, and one of them is a woman.” 

A gruff voice holding a note of command chimed in, “Good, alright, lads, get into position. We need to welcome our guests properly.” The laughs of an untold number of men followed. 

Without warning, Will gestured for Ilicia to wait. He melted into the woods. Moments later, Ilicia heard Will’s voice sound out from near the group of men. 

“So, lads, what seems to be the plan?” Will said, his tone carrying that playful note of danger Ilicia had come to know. 

The next thing that Ilicia heard could only be described as a clamoring ruckus. She rushed forward, forgetting Will had asked her to wait. It didn’t dawn on her what she had done until she was already clearing the tree line. Luckily Will had things well in hand. Even in the scant moments, it took Ilicia to find her way through the trees, only one of the apparent brigands was still standing.

“What…Who… Who are you?” The man asked as he shrank back from the mountain of flesh that had apparently just steamrolled through his friends.

“I am Will Garrow, and I am one of the two who you were waiting for,” Will said and then caught sight of Ilicia, “and here is the other. So tell me, where do you have the Gumbari? Did you detain them or something else?”

“Back that way.” The man said, coming up short against a tree and gesturing behind him, “Anyone who travels the forest knows not to hurt the Gumbari.” 

“Good,” Will said, smiling, “Well, you have a good day then. We will be leaving and letting the Gumbari free.” 

Ilicia walked quickly past the man, and Will stepped to match her pace as she passed him. After they had untied the hands of the Gumbari and broken the line of iron nails laid around them, the Gumbari promised to make it up to them and disappeared.

Ilicia followed in silence, thinking about how quickly Will seemed to deal with things, especially when it was a matter of combat. “Will, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” Will said, leading the way. 

“How do you deal with large numbers of people with such ease?” Ilicia asked. 

“Well, it is a combination of things, but the two I think make it so easy are the fact people in groups tend to overestimate the group and underestimate individuals, and most people feel fighting is something structured. I treat fighting as a cold and calculated application of violence to achieve a goal.” Will said all this with a casual tone which made Ilicia shiver with how easily the words flowed from his lips. 

“Thank you.” Ilicia said, grateful for the simple answer to what could have been an incredibly complex question. They both turned their efforts to walking. Will saw the sun setting and told Ilicia to push on. They were almost to the town. Two hours after sunset, they finally arrived at the gate of the small town, no more than a collection of ten buildings.

The inn was expecting them and had two conjoining rooms waiting. As they prepared for bed, Ilicia was saddened she would not be able to snuggle up to Will. She thought about this for a while and finally steeled herself, knocking on his door. 

The door between their rooms opened almost instantly, Will standing there shirtless with a knife in either hand, “Is everything alright, Ilicia?” 

Ilicia nodded, and Will relaxed. The knives seemed to disappear from his hands.  Ilicia barely managed to squeak the words out, “Can I ask a favor?”

Will smiled at her and nodded. Ilicia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She felt as if her face was going to melt, it was so hot. She stood there for a moment, her jaw working as her brain tried to figure out what she was trying to say, then she panicked and turned to close the door.

“Ilicia, why don’t you come in and have a seat.” Will said. Ilicia looked up at his face and knew Will understood exactly why she had knocked on his door. Ilicia nodded and walked into his room. 

Ilicia sat on the bed and Will locked the doors behind her, handing the key to Ilicia. “So, I am tired, and you look tired as well. I am going to lie down and go to bed. You are welcome to do what you like.” 

Will lay down on his side of the bed, which to Ilicia felt like a massive thing, barely containing his massive frame. The sliver of mattress remaining unobstructed by his body seemed designed for her as Ilicia lay down with her back to Will. 

Unbidden, a sigh of contentment escaped Ilicia’s lips. Will chuckled quietly to himself, and Ilicia felt her heart leap into her throat when a massive arm snaked around her body to pull her close to the rock-solid wall of muscle behind her. Ilicia thought she might die when she felt Will’s hot breath on her neck.

“Goodnight, princess.” Will said and then gave into a small portion of the lust coursing through his body, and kissed her on the back of her neck. She arched her back, pushing her hips back, and turning her head so that he could see her eyes. 

In that moment, both of them knew they would not be getting much sleep this night.