Source Of The River (15 page)

W
hen Kaiya and
Galen reached the trees, they looked upon massive evergreens towering high into
the air. These were ancient trees that had grown in the millennia before humans
or dwarves came to inhabit the world. Only the First Ones had been present when
these trees were small. The ancients had tended this forest before crossing
over. Now, they were part of the Wildlands, the untamed region of N
ō
l’Deron.

Kaiya tilted her head back to view the treetops as
they reached the sky. “I can’t believe I never came here before. I was only a
few miles away, and I missed seeing this.”

Galen replied, “We have more lovely trees in the
Vale. They’re silver and wide enough to build a home inside.” He looked down at
her, his face shining. “You should come and see them.”

“I might just do that,” she replied, still staring
skyward.

“Shall we venture in?” Galen asked.

Kaiya nodded, and the pair stepped cautiously into
the forest. The ground was littered with fallen needles and pinecones. A strong
woody scent filled the air. All was silent except for the occasional rustling
of a branch, where small furry creatures scurried about. Smaller trees and
bushes were scattered randomly through the forest, adding to its feral
appearance. There were no visible paths or signs of habitation.

“Does anyone live here?” Kaiya asked.

“I don’t know,” Galen replied. “Maybe.”

It was cooler within the forest than on the beach,
and the sunlight was mostly hidden behind the massive boughs of the evergreens.
It was as if twilight had come early, despite being bright and sunny only a few
steps away.

“We should probably turn back,” Kaiya suggested.
“I don’t want River to wonder where we’ve gone.”

Before he could reply, Galen felt a sharp pain.
Looking down, he saw a feathered arrow protruding from the left side of his
chest. Kaiya gasped as he was struck, pulling him to the ground to cover him.
Galen buckled to his knees and remained motionless, stunned by the sudden
attack.

Kaiya scanned the trees and caught sight of a
second arrow making its way toward her. With a flash of her gray eyes, she
altered its course, blowing it away with a small gust of wind. Two elves hopped
out of a low tree, their bows held at the ready.

“Why have you attacked my friend?” she demanded.
“We did nothing to you!” She was visibly angry, her fists clenched and her body
quaking with rage.

“You’re in our territory, and you’re not welcome
here,” one of them said. He was much shorter than Galen, shirtless, and wore
red paint upon his face. His skin was darkened from the sun, and his dirty
blond hair was spiked in a thin strip on top of his head. Raising his bow to
take aim, he said, “It’s time to finish the job.”

Before he could loose another arrow, Kaiya
summoned her strength and knocked him backward. He stumbled off-balance and hit
the ground with a thud, dropping his bow. His friend tried to grab Kaiya by the
arm, but his movements were too slow. Her eyes flashed silver as she knocked
him back with a gust of air.

Previously unseen elves descended the trees and circled
around Kaiya. Turning to check on Galen, she laid a hand on his cheek. His face
was pale, and his breath was coming in shallow spurts. Despite his pain, he
managed a weak smile. Staring into his dark eyes for only a moment, her heart ached.
I cannot let them hurt him again
, she thought.

The elves moved in closer, their bows drawn. Kaiya
closed her eyes and slowly raised both arms toward the sky. Feeling the charge
in the air, she knew the magic had worked. With a quick movement of her arms,
she called down the lightning. Directing the blast at the elves, she scattered
them and singed a few as well. Having never witnessed such a spectacle, most of
them ran for their lives. A few stood motionless, staring at the dwarf who
could summon energy from the sky.

Kaiya had no patience for the gawkers, and she did
not feel safe with them around. Mustering the wind to her aid, she attacked.
With a flash of silver in her eyes, she summoned a gale that blew the elves off
their feet and sent them tumbling through the forest.

Crouching next to Galen, she asked, “Can you
walk?”

He nodded, and she helped him to his feet. She
stood only to the height of his waist, which made her a rather awkward crutch.
He leaned heavily on her shoulder with his left hand and clutched at the arrow
with his right. Slowly, they emerged from the forest, finding the sunlight
again on the beach.

Kaiya led Galen around a cluster of boulders that
she hoped would shield them from the eyes of the forest elves. He leaned upon
one of the rocks and coughed, unable to take in a full breath.

“Try to stay calm,” Kaiya said. She had no medical
training and no idea how to treat a wound such as this.

Leaning his head back on a rock, he coughed a few
more times. His right hand still clutched at the arrow, but he did not have the
courage to pull it out. “You’ll have...to...,” he tried to say.

Kaiya knew what he meant. He wanted her to remove
the arrow from his chest. Pulling it out, however, could cause him to bleed to
death. Sometimes it was best to leave it in. She knew that much, but that was
the extent of her medical knowledge. The worst she had ever treated were
scrapes and cuts. This was a serious wound, one that could prove fatal.

She swallowed hard and looked around the boulder
to make sure no elves had followed them. Seeing no one there, she felt a small
amount of relief. Turning her focus back to the arrow, she reached a hand for
its shaft. She hesitated before gripping it, fearing she would do more harm
than good.

Galen looked at her and gave a weak nod. “You
must,” he whispered.

T
hough he’d been
away only a few days, Lenora found herself missing River more and more. Each
day without him helped her realize how much she cared for him. She had plenty
of work to occupy her time, but at the back of her mind, his absence was
certainly noticed.

Each day more patients arrived for treatment at
the hospital. Though she could not cure them, Lenora’s newest herb concoction
had done wonders for easing their symptoms. Many of them were able to leave the
hospital after only a single night’s stay. As luck would have it, the herbs she
required were in good supply in the mountain village. It was summer in the
mountains, and yellowroot, sage, and ginger were growing in abundance. Cloves were
the only necessary herb the dwarves did not grow themselves. Luckily, they were
quite popular in dwarven kitchens, being one of the herbs they traded for with
the merchants from the Kingdom of Al’marr.

Despite her new remedy, the hospital was still
full of ailing dwarves. Some of them simply did not respond to the treatment.
Others, it seemed, waited too long to come to her, and their symptoms had grown
worse. There had been no new deaths this day, but she feared that would not
last. Even with her best efforts, some of the patients were still growing
weaker.

Ortin the smith was among those lying on a cot in
the hospital. Like many, he had waited to seek treatment until he was seriously
ill. He went about his work as usual until he could no longer stand. One of his
customers found him lying on the ground unconscious and brought him in for
care. The herbs helped with his cough, but his fever refused to subside.

Kassie had declared Ortin to be the grumpiest
patient she had dealt with. When he was awake, he was loud and demanding. She
strongly preferred the moments when he would sleep, but he occasionally woke in
a rage. The fever had taken hold of his mind, and his situation was critical.

Lenora showed surprising patience with him. Though
he was ungrateful and often obnoxious, she sympathized with his condition. She
had tried several different herbal remedies, but none of them brought his fever
down for any significant amount of time. Today, he had been silent. She caught only
a glimpse of him awake when he was shivering and mumbling to himself.

Lenora sat next to Kassie, who was grinding more
herbs for a potion. Lenora could not decide what to try next for Ortin, and she
sat with her head in her hands.

“You aren’t getting enough rest,” Kassie said.
“Why don’t you take an hour or two for a nap?”

Lenora looked into Kassie’s kind, motherly eyes.
“I’ll be all right,” she insisted.

Grabbing a phial from the desk, Lenora slowly
walked to Ortin’s cot. He laid motionless, beads of sweat covering his
forehead. Sitting next to him, she gently lifted his head with her hand.

“Drink,” she said softly.

Ortin roused from his sleep to take a sip of the
medicine. “Awful,” he grumbled, letting half the liquid dribble down his beard.

“You must drink,” she said, tilting the phial once
more to his lips.

Before he could protest, his body shook uncontrollably.
Lenora jumped to her feet and placed one hand on his forehead, the other on his
chest. Closing her eyes, she spread white magic throughout his body. The
shaking subsided, and he looked at her in amazement.

“What did you do?” he asked, his voice full of
vigor. Propping himself up on his elbows, he stared into Lenora’s eyes.

“I’ve used magic to help you,” she replied with a
tired smile. Lenora did not have enough magic to treat all the patients, so she
reserved it for only the most dire cases. Fearing that Ortin might not survive
the seizures, she had chosen to use a significant portion of her magical
reserves to treat him.

“I feel better than I have in days,” he said, the
surprise audible in his voice.

“Your fever is gone,” she said. “You should get
some rest.”

“I don’t feel the need to rest anymore,” he
replied. “You’ve cured me.”

“It’s not a cure, I’m afraid. I’ve only treated
your symptoms. They could return, and you should get some rest while you can.”

Taking Lenora’s hand, he sat up on the cot. “Name
your reward, my lady. You have given me back my life, and I would thank you.”

“You can reward me by taking care of yourself,”
she replied. “You are well enough to leave the hospital for now if you wish, but
you must return the minute you feel the symptoms returning. Treating this
condition early seems to be the only way of keeping it under control.”

“I will do as you command,” he replied. “But I
would still have you name a reward. There is no better craftsman in these
mountains than myself. I can craft you anything, big or small. Please, my lady,
I insist.”

Seeing that Ortin was sincere, she gave the matter
some thought. She would rather not accept payment for her services, but she did
not want to insult him by refusing a gift. Her mind wandered to thoughts of
River and the ocean, and she knew what she would ask for. “Could you craft a
ring with a blue stone?” she asked.

“My lady, you shall have the finest ring any lady
ever wore.” His eyes sparkled as he made the promise.

“I’d like you to make it for my dearest friend,
River,” she replied, blushing slightly.

“I see,” he said, noticing her shy smile. “He is
special to you, so I’ll make him a ring with the bluest sapphire the mountains
can provide.” He hopped off the cot and kissed Lenora’s hand before hurrying
out of the tent to begin his work.

Lenora sat down again next to Kassie, who had been
listening to their conversation.

“A ring for your friend?” she asked. “You two are
in love, aren’t you?” She nudged Lenora with her elbow.

“I think I do love him,” Lenora admitted. “I find
myself hardly able to concentrate now that he is away.”

“That’s how it starts,” Kassie replied knowingly.
“I haven’t forgotten what it was like to be young and in love.” She patted
Lenora’s arm and said, “Don’t worry, dear. He’ll be back soon.”

“I hope you’re right,” Lenora replied.

E
merging from
the water, River stepped onto the island. The presence of magic was
unmistakable. Certain that the artifact must be nearby, he searched the ground.
All around his feet, the sand was littered with tiny broken shells and numerous
rocks. Staring intently at the ground, he had no idea that someone was near.

Seated comfortably behind a boulder, Telorithan
had been awaiting the elemental’s arrival. Hearing him step onto the shore, he
rose to greet his prey. “We meet at last,” he said.

River looked up, surprised to hear a voice. There
was no settlement nearby, and there did not seem to be any reason why someone
would travel to this island. An Enlightened Elf stood before him, equal to him
in height. His skin was bronze, his hair silver, and his eyes a brilliant blue.
He wore a dark-red robe, suggesting his skill with fire magic. One hand cradled
a glowing orange orb. River observed him closely and remained silent.

As he stared into River’s sapphire eyes,
Telorithan could sense his power. The feeling was as strong as any fire
elemental he had encountered on the Red Isle. For a moment, he feared this elemental
might not be inhibited by his elf form, and a shiver made its way down his
spine.

“Mistonwey,” Telorithan uttered. Sensing the power
of the ancient God of the Rivers, he hoped he had the ability to tame him.

“You may call me River,” he replied. River’s gaze
penetrated Telorithan’s mind. A faint line of blue magic emitted from his hand
as he held it forth in greeting. “Lorith,” he said.

“My name is Telorithan,” he replied, insulted. No
one had called him Lorith since his childhood. He had taken the longer name to
emulate the name of the ancient gods. Only they possessed the power he craved,
and he insisted on being called by a more fitting name than the one given to
him by his parents.

“You will never succeed in binding a god,” River
stated matter-of-factly. “You are an Island Dweller, and you will age. To
accomplish such a feat, you would have to be one of the First Ones. We are
ageless, you are not.”

Angered by his words, Telorithan replied, “You
will see that I am no mere mortal!” Raising his hands, he blasted red fire at
River. Without hesitation, River lifted a blue magical shield to protect
himself. The shield absorbed Telorithan’s magic entirely, leaving River
unharmed.

“Cease these games and prove yourself a worthy
opponent!” Telorithan spat.

“I have no desire to fight you,” River replied
calmly. “Leave this place, and I will forget this incident.” He did not fully
realize the danger he was in or Telorithan’s desperation.

Determined to capture the elemental’s essence, the
sorcerer attacked again. With a blast of energy, he knocked an unprepared River
off his feet. Hitting the ground hard, River realized that the elf meant him
serious harm. Without understanding what a fire mage would want from a water
elemental, he shielded himself once more.

Telorithan continued to attack, throwing fire and
energy at River. All of the magic was absorbed into the shield, further angering
the sorcerer. He had faced several opponents in the dueling arena of the
Sunswept Isles, and his attacks had always been enough to penetrate a shield.
He could not understand why he was failing now. Water, being what he considered
the weakest element, was usually the easiest for him to defeat. This time was
different.

Reaching into the pocket of his robe, he pulled
out the large sapphire he had prepared to contain River’s essence. Once the
elemental could see he was prepared, perhaps it would strike fear into his
heart and cause him to falter.

River looked at the sapphire that was prepared to
hold his essence. “What makes you think you can control water?” he asked, still
maintaining his shield.

“I have mastered fire,” the sorcerer replied. “I
will master you.”

Once again Telorithan attacked. This time, he
focused his full mind on tearing down River’s shield. Fire could evaporate water,
leaving the elf defenseless. With a burst of flames summoned from his
fingertips, he blasted River’s shield. River, whose years of training were
trivial compared to those of his opponent, was unable to maintain his defense.
His shield evaporated before his eyes, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

Summoning a blast of energy, Telorithan pummeled
River, knocking him into the rocks. When he landed, River realized the gravity
of his situation. This elf would indeed kill him if he had the chance, and his
essence would be bound in eternal torment. Though his body was bruised, he
still had an immense supply of magic. Summoning his resolve, he blasted blue fire
at his opponent, hoping to stop the attack.

Telorithan was prepared for River’s counterstrike.
Knowing he could leach power from regular elves, he was determined to do so
with this elf as well. Being an elemental would only mean a greater power
store, and Telorithan was determined to have it. With one hand, he blocked
River’s attack, and with the other, he focused his energy on draining the
elemental’s power.

River could feel power leaving his body, and it
caught him by surprise. This was a skill he had never heard of, and certainly
not one that he would use. Having no idea how to defend against it, he tried in
vain to summon his shield. Telorithan’s power was too strong, and River could
barely move. Closing his eyes, he reached for his small supply of remaining
magic and steeled himself against the attack. With every ounce of strength, he
willed his magic to obey.

River’s body glowed with a pale blue light.
Telorithan noticed, but he did not pause in his attack. To break his spell now
would be folly. He was determined to drain every drop of magic from the
elemental’s supply. In such a weakened state, it would then be possible to bind
him.

River’s body continued to glow as he concentrated
on breaking through Telorithan’s spell. The light became brighter until a
sudden flash knocked both elves backward. The draining spell had been broken, burning
the hands of its caster. River stumbled over the rocks as he fell and landed in
the water. Feeling himself freed from the sorcerer’s grasp, he used the small
amount of energy remaining to him to dive down into the blue.

Telorithan would not let his prey escape so
easily. With his opponent’s power augmenting his own supply, he was determined
to find him at any cost. The elf’s essence would be his, and he would be one
step closer to binding a god.