Strange fire

Posted by Fox on July 2, 2011

We took no chances last night. Shortly after nightfall, we heard bubbling sounds from the bog. They only lasted a half hour or so, but we kept watch two at a time after that. I was drawn on guard with Kanar. We heard nothing through the night. Absolutely nothing except for Cutter’s snoring and the occasional release of ‘wind’. Cutter had been drinking some foul smelling concoction shortly before he rolled up beside the fire and I guess it was this that made his guts that bit more active. It was funny, though. And it added a welcome touch of normality to this place. The only thing I was afraid of was that he’d get too close to the fire and those mini detonations might ignite.

I guess that was never a real possibility because our fire didn’t burn well. The growth we found along the edge of the bog was hard to light. Sounds crazy, but it felt like it was fighting us. Every time Sara used her tinderbox, the flames just fizzled away into dancing sparks. The same thing happened when I tried my cigarette lighter. In fact, my flame didn’t even blacken the kindling. Putting the flame to the sticks felt more like putting it to concrete.

In the end Kanar doused the sticks with some black powder he had and the fire eventually took. Even then, it stayed weak. The flames burned low and loose, almost like they were cowering within the branches. But at least they burned. And, if anything, it was harder to put them out this morning than it was to light them. When Cutter poured a pot of water over them the water immediately became a cloud of hissing steam. We were lucky nobody got scalded.

We used dry earth to cover our campfire. Don’t know if it was fully out, though. No matter how much earth we piled up on it, it was never enough to stop it smoking. Maybe it’s still smouldering now. Who cares? And it didn’t stop us lighting another fire here tonight. After trudging along the edge of the bog all day, we’re all exhausted. Saw nothing. Well, apart from a few clouds of mist hovering over the morass, we saw nothing. I knew already that our route would be tough. Armbranch told me last night.

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Strange fire