Fireclaws - Search for the Golden (13 page)

Not far from the bonfire area, a large stone trail led off into the distance toward what my keen ears identified as a roaring river gorge far below. In the other direction, well away from the river, were the rest of the village’s homes and shops. The center bowl area made a natural amphitheatre large enough to host the entire community. Word must have preceded our arrival as there was already a small crowd of elves sitting on the edges of the bowl. At one end of the bottom of the structure were two portable polished wooden thrones. Other than those, the floor of the depression was featureless.

Our escort led us down to the floor level, stopping only once to remove Andi from the back of the black goat. A young girl child came up and wrapped a piece of cordage around Daphne’s neck and led her away to some low buildings in the private sector. Kerrik, Andi, and I were soon standing alone in front of the thrones waiting; the archers had retreated to the top level of the amphitheater but still had their bows trained on all of us.

Without looking at either of them, I whispered. “Kerrik, no matter what happens, maintain your status and bearing as a wizard. Bluster, lie, curse, show them some magic tricks if you have to, but never back down from what you are. Tell them the truth; you and Andi are on your way to Xarparion on a matter of great importance. That’s all they need to know.”

“What about you, Ryliss? You can escape any time you wish. Are you going to leave us now?”

“I will not leave you voluntarily, but make no mistake, Kerrik, we are all in great danger here. I have been listening to the guards and they have orders to kill. Your first priority has to be protecting Andi at all costs. Reveal to no one that she is a seer; additionally, you must get her to Xarparion and Sky Raven. If you arrive there without me, ask for an audience with the King and Queen. Tell them your story and they will grant you both the help you need.”

Interrupting, Andea asked urgently, “Ryliss, can you swim?”

Huh? “No, not very well, at least not without turning to animal form…why?”

Any further discussion was cut off by a blast of horns and the appearance of three individuals coming out of the grand doors of the cathedral. The first two, one male and one female, were slender and dressed in long robes of the lightest silk. The third was a stoop-shouldered ancient female elf dressed in a more practical shift and leggings of dyed cotton. Behind them trooped out half a dozen armored footmen with swords and shields. The first three walked calmly down to the thrones, as did two of the footmen, taking up positions on either side as the three sat. The remainder of the troops circled around closely in back of us and came to a halt. The ornately-robed male, whom I took to be the chieftain, spoke first.

“So you are the wizard who allegedly has appeared miraculously in our midst? I am Aegone, chief of the Canna band of our people, and this is my wife Lhathma.” He had a longish face and thin delicate fingers, no facial hair, and the same whitish hair that they all had.

Kerrik bowed formally. “My name is Kerrik Beratin; this is my sister, Andea, and our guide, Ryliss. We are on our way to Xarparion for an important consultation.”

The stoop-shouldered female nodded and whispered something in the chief’s ear. It appeared that she was some sort of shaman or wizard herself.

“Interesting story, Wizard; perhaps you could clarify something for us. Our first reports, when you entered our woods, had two riders on horseback. But when my guardians ran across you, there were three humans and a goat in the party.”

Kerrik’s face became very pale, and I could see him searching for an explanation. Finally, he just threw up his hands and blurted out, “Two members of our party have the ability to change shapes; they were the horses you saw.

“Shape shifters!” the woman identified as the chief’s wife exclaimed, standing up angrily. She glanced over at one of the guards, scowling. “Get that goat back here, now!” She sat back down, her pale eyes trying to burn holes in all of us. Other than slightly softer features, she could have been almost a twin to her husband.

“So I assume that your guide, this Ryliss, who appears human to our eyes but has the name of an elf, is the other shapeshifter?” the chief questioned sharply, and Kerrik nodded dejectedly. The elf woman on the throne now turned her attention to me.

“You, girl, what exactly are you?”

“A humble servant of the Earth Mother, My Lady,” I answered shakily and watched as she motioned for the old woman to examine me. Before the old crone could approach me, the guard who had been sent after Daphne came running back in a panic. He bowed and hastily explained to the chieftain in elvish that the goat had vanished from the pen in which it had been locked and was nowhere to be found.

By the end of this conversation, the old woman was circling around the three of us. She immediately dismissed Andea, sniffed somewhat disparagingly at Kerrik, but found me very, very interesting. She stood off a few yards and pointed back at me, addressing her superior.

“This one reeks of magic, Sire, powerful magic!”

The chief stood up, still cross at the news of the goat escaping, and shouted at the assembled troops. “Bind her! If she resists, kill the blind girl!” Most of the footmen brandished their weapons and surrounded us. I felt my arms grabbed roughly, and a few seconds later, the burn of cold iron snapped over my wrists and ankles. I looked over and saw Kerrik struggling with several other warriors to no avail, and finally he just stopped and looked defiantly at the elves on the throne.

“You have no right to do this; we have caused you no harm!”

“Do not presume to lecture us on dealings within our own domain, Wizard; it is you who have trespassed under false pretenses. Now I will know everything from you!”

The crone had again approached me as I was being held firmly by two strong males. First, she relieved me of the shield amulet Rosa had made for me to take the place of armor in my travels. Next, she discovered the bone dagger in my boot, which she examined and then tossed aside in annoyance. My other boot contained a flap compartment that held my magic map, which she smilingly confiscated. A search of my belt found the bag of dimensions. And finally, with a look of triumph, she reached up and untied the enchanted scarf from around my neck. Instantly, my persona as a human dissolved and I was revealed to a gasping audience as my real dark elf self.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kerrik just stand and gape in horror. After the crone had finished stealing my things, she stood back and with a final leer at me, addressed the chief.

“My lord, the magic was all in these oddly enchanted items, she has no personal magic at all. She is no Druid; she’s nothing but a filthy dark elf spy.”

By this time, the crowd and the chieftain were all on their feet, arguing and demanding action, most of it bloody. The chieftain raised his hands and shouted, “We will reconvene this discussion in ten minutes at the precipice! Then we will obtain the answers we need!”

I was dragged roughly from the viewing area and toward the river. Along the way, I tested my bonds and I could feel the itch of the cold iron leeching away my connection to nature. Already it was like someone had put a heavy woolen sack over my head. I could no longer sense the life forms around me, smells were muted, and my head was muzzy in confusion about the sudden loss.

My handlers, who were being none too gentle, half carried me up a rock incline and the smell and sounds of the raging river far below were very evident now. After further prodding, I found myself out on a narrow finger of rock extending into thin air. Looking down, I estimated it was something on the order of one hundred and eighty feet down to the cauldron of rocky boiling waters below. My rational mind hammered at me that drowning was unlikely as the fall itself was inevitably fatal. There was a certain fascination in watching the violence of the waters roar like an angry Jag’uri, but I finally took a big swallow of uncertainty and turned to face the crowd.

The chief and his wife, along with the crone, pressed through the crowd on the main bank. I thought I caught a glimpse of Kerrik in the far background, but I couldn’t be certain. Aegone raised his arms for silence, or as much silence as possible over the roar of the waters below, and shouted, “You would do well to answer our questions honestly and freely. Who are you and what is your mission?”

“My name is Ryliss Tancreek and as I have said previously, my mission is to guide the wizard Beratin to Xarparion.”

“And what of the creature that came to us as a goat? Is this another dark elf spy as well?”

“No, she is an innocent forest creature.”

Aegone snorted. “I sincerely doubt there is anything innocent about this entire situation; never fear we will track down and find this other shapeshifter as well. What is your specialty, spy?”

“Specialty?”

“Yes, growing up, what were you trained to do? Are you an assassin? Spy? Thief? What?”

“No sir, I am a librarian.”

That brought a huge titter of amusement from the crowd but just caused Aegone to darken further with rage. “I would counsel you to start taking this interrogation seriously young woman; it will end badly for you otherwise! Now who do you work for?”

“I work for the Enchanter, Rosa, at Xarparion.”

“What nonsense! The humans and wizards at Xarparion would never allow a dark elf into their midst.”

“Your information is badly flawed; not only are dark elves allowed to live and work in Xarparion, but the Queen of Sky Raven Fortress is a dark elf. This is an indisputable fact.”

The chief growled, “I can see we are wasting our time here. Against the best judgments of my advisors, I am willing to go out on a limb and offer you one chance to live. You will immediately renounce all previous oaths of loyalty and pledge yourself solely to the Canna clan of the elves. We will expect you to provide all the information you know about dark elf troop numbers and readiness, as well as the locations of outposts and the identities of any other spies that you are aware of.”

“No,” I said simply, trying to keep any vestige of tremor out of my voice. “I may be just a librarian, but I was raised by a dark elf father who loved and trusted me. I will not dishonor him or my family name by bartering away my honor for a life of slavery.”

“Very well, I can see we are done here,” Aegone said dismissively. “Enjoy your honor in hell, dark elf spy.” He raised his chin imperiously, and I felt armored hands grab my arms on both sides. I heard Kerrik, several rows back in the crowd, finally snap out of his stupor and shout, “Ryliss, wait!”

But any waiting was over as I felt myself propelled out into the sky. Part of me enjoyed the feeling; it reminded me of the long flights as eagles I had had with Lin and Jules. Except now, I was tumbling erratically down to my death. I tried to enact the change to a bird, but the cold iron manacles behind my back and around my ankles would not allow it. I helplessly watched as the frothing, spitting wall of angry water slapped me hard into savage darkness.

Kerrik

I pushed the food before me on the table away uneaten. It was the morning of the fourth day since I watched the elves execute Ryliss, and the burn of shame that I didn’t do more to help her was eating away at me. The revelation that she was a dark elf had stunned me to be sure, but I was just too slow and dim-witted to recover from it before it was too late. My brain relived every rescue, every smile, every piece of good advice that she had graciously given me. The balance scale in my jumbled thoughts was heavily weighted on the side of Ryliss being someone I could never forget or repay, versus my preconceived notions of the evils of dark elves. Those notions now seemed so unimportant, and my sense of loss was profound.

I heard a tap on our door, and a young elf girl led Andi in from outside. “Your sister has been freshly bathed and clothed, Wizard,” she said somewhat anxiously. “If you have broken your fast sufficiently, your donkeys are saddled and provisioned. You should leave before you lose the daylight.”

I nodded in thanks. Overall, the Canna elves had been hospitable to the two of us. The first two days, of course, there were interrogations. Did I know Ryliss was a dark elf? Well no, I could honestly answer that I had no idea. Did I create the magic items that she carried? No, I have no enchanter skills. Do I know where she obtained the items? Again, no; probably Xarparion or Sky Raven. Why did she choose to lead our party through the elves’ domain? I don’t think she knew exactly where we were going any more than I did. Being completely in the dark came easily for me, and in short order, they seemed to believe my story. The only bit of information I kept back from my captors was that Andea was a seer. She did not appear to radiate a magic aura like a wizard, so she went undetected. Daphne apparently continued to elude them.

A few minutes later, Andi and I mounted up on the donkeys the Canna seemed anxious to provide us. We followed our escort to the edge of the village, but there were no onlookers to watch us leave. From what little I could get out of the serving girls who attended us after the interrogations ceased, the Canna had troubles of their own. Apparently, there really were dangerous beasts in the forest, or at least one. A number of patrols had come back missing warriors and there was shadowed talk of an enraged monster stalking the Canna. In addition, a particularly virulent form of blight was yellowing the local crops and turning seedlings to dust; if it wasn’t brought under control, the next winter would be a long and hungry one. Even in their homes, the elves were under siege as thatch roofs mysteriously caught fire, penned animals regularly escaped, and fresh milk soured instantly in the dairymaids’ collection buckets.

We had just passed the edge of the village clearing and entered the tree line, when Aegone stepped out from behind a large oak and gestured to the two guards leading us. Obediently, they retreated back into the village, out of earshot.

“Wizard,” he said, greeting us, and managed the remnants of an ingratiating smile. I had not seen the chief since the episode on the cliff face, and while I was not a very good judge of things elven, I would have to say he had lost a lot of his haughtiness and looked a few hundred years older than the last time I saw him.

“Chief of the Canna,” I returned, gritting my teeth.

“I hope you have everything you need to continue on with your journey; I instructed my staff to equip you generously. I hope when you finally arrive at Xarparion that you will speak fairly of your treatment here.”

“Everything we need to continue our journey? You mean like our innocent guide who you had killed?” I said bitterly.

The chief’s face clouded over and I could see that he was having difficulty keeping his anger in check. “You are fortunate that we discovered the spy when we did, Wizard! Your innocent guide would have undoubtedly slit your throats in your sleep one night without a second thought. I will not apologize for ridding our forest of the likes of her.”

Looking away to hide the glistening in my eyes, I nodded. “Well, we should be on our way. It sounds like you have potent issues to attend to of your own. You have my thanks for the provisions and the treatment of my sister.” I started to nudge my donkey forward, but he put a firm hand on the pommel of the saddle.

“Before you leave, I would ask that you take these with you.” He held out a hemp bag and glancing inside, I recognized Ryliss’ map, her dagger, pendant, scarf, and bag of dimensions. “While I will not apologize, I will acknowledge that your arrival in our village has not been auspicious for either of us. We are plagued by forces that we do not understand nor can we control, and we are anxious for this curse to be lifted. I do not know if the dark elf was a Druid, witch, or demon, but her coming has brought us nothing but sorrow. While these magic items are very valuable, they are tainted with her presence, and I would be grateful if you would take them with you. Return them to Sky Raven if she can be believed that it was her home. Bury them in lieu of a body if you must to bring her wandering vengeful spirit to rest, I don’t care, but take them away, please!”

I nodded and tucked the bag into my donkey’s side bag. A few moments later, the elf guards returned and led us on a trail that would take us to the foothills, which were our original destination.

That evening, tucked behind a rock fall in a small canyon, I watched our tiny fire listlessly. Finally I looked over at Andea sitting woodenly on a log. I had refrained from speaking about any of this to her while we were still in the confines of the forest. My sister looked even paler and more fragile than normal; she wasn’t eating, and the tears from her ruined eyes seemed to flow continuously. On top of it all, I don’t think I heard her utter more than a dozen words since Ryliss died.

“Andi…how?” I asked painfully.

She took a long time answering, and for a while I didn’t think she would respond at all, but finally replied in a small voice, “How, Brother? How did I mess up and cause my friend’s death? Is that what you are asking?”

“Was this truly the best route of the three?”

“It was the only way to avoid Verledn’s trap, so at the time, yes. But things have obviously changed.”

“But, Andi, you knew. That was the reason you asked Ryliss if she could swim, wasn’t it?”

“A brief flash, Brother, and no time to act on it. Tell me, are you sure Ryliss is dead, that she didn’t turn into an eagle or something on the way down and escape? Somehow, I feel as if she is still in play in some of my visions.”

“I made it to the edge just as they flung her off. I watched her struggling all the way down; she couldn’t seem to escape those restraints. Andi, I saw her strike the water and disappear below, no one could survive a fall like that. And as long as I watched, I never saw her rise to the surface…she’s gone, Andea.”

Andi hugged her knees and sobbed for a short while, finally raising her head fiercely. “You don’t believe all those things the Canna said about her, do you? I know you hate dark elves, but Ryliss was a good person. She cared about people; she shouldn’t be judged by what her race did in the past.”

“I know, I keep thinking about that conversation about dark elves we had on the trail, and how Ryliss acted different afterward. I must have hurt her deeply with my stupid war stories. Then at the Canna camp, I was stunned for a moment. I was used to seeing her as a plain, simple human girl, and then to see her as a dark elf…I will carry the look I gave her in shame to my grave.”

“Tell me what she looked like, Brother.”

“She was gorgeous, Andi; long silver and blonde hair, dusky purple skin…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a creature so lovely.”

Andi sighed. “She told me once that the Queen she served at Sky Raven was the most beautiful woman in the world, and that she was as beautiful on the inside as the out. She treated Ryliss like a sister, like family. We need to find this Queen and tell her what a hero her sister was.”

I brooded on that thought for a short while. “We will get there, Andi; at least we have Ryliss’ map to help guide us.” I got up and found the donkey’s side bags, rooting around until I found the hemp bag Aegone gave me. Returning to the fire, I spread open the map. “There is another village with the same strange marking as Biskitne; I wonder if that means there is another of these Wizard Towers there?”

“What is its name?”

“It’s a place called Northfield.”

Suddenly, the two donkeys raised their heads and make a nervous wuffing sound, and I retrieved Ryliss’ bone knife from the bag. Standing up, I leaned well away from the fire to let my eyes acclimate to the darkening sky. Not sensing anything, I relaxed and sat back down. Reaching again into the sack, my fingers found the amulet that Ryliss has worn. “Aegone said these items were magical. You might as well wear this one, perhaps it will protect you or bring you good luck,” I whispered, putting it around Andea’s neck. Finding the scarf, I tied it around my sister’s throat, as well. “This one, I’m pretty sure, is the disguise; at least, this is what revealed her to be a dark elf when the old woman took it off.” I stood back and looked at her. “I don’t know, you still look the same to me, sis.”

“Maybe it only works on strangers. Are you sure we should be using these, Kerrik? These were her personal items; somehow it seems disrespectful.”

“All I know is that Ryliss wanted you to arrive safely at Sky Raven. If using her magic items gets that accomplished, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind at all.”

Again the donkeys went on the alert, shuffling their feet nervously. This time, I drew Ryliss’ bone dagger and slipped into the darkness, determined to eliminate the threat. Creeping around the periphery of the flickering light, I saw black shapes and shadows everywhere. I stepped forward and my foot found a rounded rock; teetering crazily, I tried to regain solid balance, but there was a sudden explosion of movement from out of the darkness. The next thing I knew, a bony head had knocked the knife from my hands and I was flat on my back with a black goat on my chest, licking my face energetically.

“Daffi! I missed you too, but you need to get off me!”

The goat’s scraggly fur thinned appreciably and its limbs lengthened. The homely face was replaced by the familiar cute, dark-haired girl I knew; a totally naked, dark-haired girl, who was still kissing me with wild abandon.”

“Umm, Daffi, shouldn’t you be wearing clothes?” I asked, trying to pry her off.

“They are totally optional for dryads, silly! In fact, I hear my forest sisters get better results like this.” She giggled, trying to burrow into my shirt.

“Yes, well, sorry to disappoint you, but we won’t be getting those kinds of results tonight or any other night.” I grimaced, finally getting to my feet and setting her firmly aside. She drew away from me, hands on her hips.

“Am I so repulsive to you, Wizard, that you cannot risk even a single evening’s dalliance with me?” she sniffed, on the verge of tears.

I gulped and tried to reason out a safe strategy, but it seemed best to just go with the truth. “Daphne, you are an exciting, lovely girl and most men would gladly dally with you in a heartbeat. But I made a promise to Ryliss that I would treat you like a sister, and I will try to keep that promise. I’m sorry.”

Daffi looked down sadly. “I figured she would do something like that. Even in death, she’s a prude, and I probably won’t get my forest that I was promised either.”

“Well, Andi and I are still going to Sky Raven. If you come along, you can still ask the Queen to honor the agreement you had with Ryliss. What can it hurt? And I could really use the help with Andea.”

She paused, thinking about it for a moment, then seemed to brighten. “On one formal condition, oh Wizard.”

“Really? And what’s that, oh pooka?”

“When we get to Sky Raven or Xarparion, whatever it’s called, you will take me on a real date, just like human girls go on. Something fun, like a festival or a party with a real dress, flowers in my hair, and dancing in the moonlight!” The dark-haired girl clapped her hands together in anticipatory delight.

I thought about it, and it seemed harmless enough. “Agreed…but there will still be no “dalliance” in this promise, strictly a date.”

“Dalliance not required,” she said seriously. “But then, it’s a long way to Sky Raven and I will have lots of time to change your mind.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryliss

I heard voices in my mind, as if someone was standing over me. At first, they spoke in muffled tones that were impossible to decipher. Concentrating, the voices became clearer and my mind recovered from its wildly jumbled state.

“Why have you disturbed me?” A deep male voice registered in a slightly grumpy manner.

I thought about trying to answer or even to open my eyes, but I couldn’t summon up the strength. As it turned out, someone else replied instead.

“The wimrants retrieved this creature from the river, Master Thokul,” a younger-sounding voice that I attributed to a female answered.

The deep male voice growled in dismissal, “If they had merely found it, Diori, the wimrants would have consumed this creature immediately and we would be none-the-wiser. So I ask you again, why have you disturbed me? Why is it here? And what is your involvement in all this; is this another of your fanciful projects?”

The female voice dithered a little, but finally admitted, “I did send the servants to search the river.”