(Note: This story and all characters within are the sole property of the author, and is under the protection of
Laith did not know what to do. His secrets were closing in on him, and he did not know how he could tell the truth after so much time had passed. He felt like maybe he should just keep running until exhaustion, or a beast, or the laughing gods themselves saw fit to end his misery. He had been so glad to discover the trail leading out of the village that showed dwarf footprints, with an injured human in tow. He followed the trail to Grenwyn’s shop and there he saw her. He thought his heart would burst at the sight, and yet he could not go to her.
He learned from others, that she had no memory of her previous life, and he did not know how to feel about that. Without her memory, she was free from Dastrius, and perhaps they could be together, but he would also never know if she remembered him form their previous encounter. He felt so guilty in keeping the information from her, but he kept telling himself she must have suffered a great trauma, and that there was a reason she did not remember. She would remember when the time was right, when she was ready. So he watched from afar, always too afraid to venture near. He watched her fight and saw the hardness in her eyes, the fury that lay just beneath the surface. He feared that she would hate him when she finally remembered things, but his greatest fear was that she would not remember him, even when her memory returned.
It was not until the attack at Grenwyn's shop that he dared to draw near. He knew he could not let her suffer the loss of another friend, nor could he risk any harm to come to her. He was relieved when she did not recognize him, so he continued to play along with the charade, stating that he had a personal reason for wishing to find out more about the men who had attacked her. It was a plausible lie, as many had suffered under the tyranny of the Shadow Cloaks. Really, he told himself,it wasn’t a lie at all, he did have personal reasons, he wanted to destroy whomever had caused harm to his beloved Faelyn, who had destroyed his second chance at a home, and who had destroyed so many of his friends.
Feryl heard a rustling in the brush and at first she thought it was Laith returning to the camp, but something seemed wrong about it as she had never known the elf to make even a single sound while walking. Feryl slowly drew her sword and moved closer to Grenwyn to wake him, just as she was about to touch him, a foul stench filled the air and it was so powerful she had to cover her mouth. In those few seconds, the creature was out of the woods and almost upon her. It was all she could do to keep from wretching, but she somehow managed to get her sword out in front of her in time.
The creature looked at her malevolently, and seemed to smile. It had approached from downwind, so she could not smell its vile stench until it was almost too late. The creature had a sickly purple skin, that seemed to be stretched to the point of breaking over its bones. It reeked of evil and decay. Grenwyn began to stir, “What the hells have ye been eating girl,” he quipped as he rose from his sleeping roll and pulled out his bone white axe. The creature hissed at the sight of it, and two more pair of yellow eyes emerged from the forest gloom. Feryl saw one point a wand at the fire, a black mist leaked out and the fire went out. “I’ll take him first” Feryl said, but she felt less certain now that she couldn’t see. Then she heard Mynix behind her “Galad Silim Fein” she shouted and a luminous ball of light appeared. Feryl and Grenwyn looked at each other and grinned, then they rushed the creatures.
Laith was drowning his guilt in a bit of the ‘fine old when he smelled it. He had been upwind of camp, and nearly wretched even at that distance. “Ghasts” he said and he started running back to camp. When he reached the edge of the forest, he could feel the trees accusing him, “Too late,” they whispered, and they overwhelmed him with their feelings of rage at this unholy intrusion. He gathered himself and moved on with all the speed he could muster. He emerged just as Mynix had finished casting her light spell. Grenwyn noticed him out of the corner of his eye. “about time you showed up,” he said gruffly, ”Here, I’ll even let ye in on some of the fun,” and with that he lifted him bone hammer in a mighty arc over his shoulder that knocked the first ghast to the ground, and drove the other in Laith’s direction. Before the ghast could even think about rising, Grenwyn drove another hammer blow right to its chest. The creature hissed in pain, but managed to get its filthy claws around the dwarfs leg and tear a painful cut. This of course, only made him angrier.
Feryl wasn’t fairing much better, although she was able to parry all of the blows, the creature kept her on the defensive, and she was soon to be backed up to the tree line. Remembering a technique Laith had taught her, she feinted low, allowing the Ghast to come within reach of rending her with its claws, but before it touched her, she barreled into it, driving it backwards and to the ground. It tore at her with its claws, and bit at her with its teeth, but she was able to drive her silver sword hilt deep into its forehead. The thing made a hissing sound, and began to dissolve into a greasy slimy mess, right underneath her. It tried to raise its arm to fire the wand at her, but Feryl noticed and kickedit away, along with the hand that held it.She wretched for just a moment then turned around in time to see Grenwyn place a mighty hammer blow shattering the creatures skull, and it too began to dissolve. She then turned to watch Laith.
Although late to the fight, his performance was flawless, and Feryl could not help but feel jealous of his natural ability. The creature pressed him, and he parried with flawless precision. With each parry, he not only blocked the attack, but somehow managed a counterstrike. The ghast was leaking an oily black liquid in a dozen places, and it was obvious the creature was slowing. Laith was just waiting for the right opportunity.
As if directed by the hands of the goddess herself, the moon appeared from behind the clouds and shone brightly on the creatures face. Laith gasped and took a step back, that was all the opportunity the creature needed, it was upon him at once, bearing him to the ground and tearing at him with tooth and claw. Feryl pulled herself up and plunged her sword into the creatures back. The creature hissed, and it turned into a sigh. The monstrous rage left its face and as it began to dissolve, Laith again saw accusation as he looked into the lightless eyes of what was once his friend and business partner, the inn keeper from Sparrow Haven.
Laith felt a coldness wash through his veins, and began to sink into darkness. Feryl was there to scoop him up, and as he faded from consciousness, once again gazing into her blue grey eyes, he became confused. “Goodbye Faelyn, good bye my … I have always …loved...you...” and with that he was lost to the dark.
Feryl looked to Grenwyn who just shrugged, and then to Mynix who had done her best to keep out of their way during the fight. “I think its poison.” Feryl said, Mynix began searching through her bag, here, she said, make him drink this. Feryl poured a greenish grey potion down his throat, and hoped it would be enough to help him. Mynix helped her clean his wounds, and Grenwyn gathered herbs and boiled them with water to clean the rest of their wounds. They laid him near the fire, and Feryl sat there the rest of the night, holding his hand, and waiting for him to regain consciousness. “it all seems so familiar,” Feryl said quietly to no one in particular. She had a brief vision of the elf laying on a snowy road, of Laith staring at her from a bed, and of feeling something in that gaze. That was all she remembered though, so she pushed it aside.
Mynix was both thrilled and frightened that she had managed the light spell again. Thrilled that she had actually helped in a battle. She imagined being able to cast magic bolts and fire and saving her friends while they stayed out of her path. She began to think about all the good she could do, all the wrongs she could right, and then she thought of her shadow. Her body went rigid as she considered the implications. Who was the woman in the woods? Was she a nymph, a sorceress, a goddess? If so, then was she an agent of good or of evil? Luckily, in all the fuss over Laith, her friends had not had a chance to question her about her new found abilities. Based on their reaction to her light, she was sure they would pressure her to learn more, and she did not want that power, she was afraid of what she would do with it.
Mynix had seen a vision of herself in her shadow that night at the shop. Despite the warnings of the mysterious woman, she believed that shadow to be a prediction, a glimpse of the future. In her shadow, she had seen herself, mad with power. In the vision, she made herself large and loomed over her town. She watched in horror as her dark image destroyed the family that had given her up. As it burned the nobles who had passed her up for even a serving position. She saw her image destroy all the boys whose eye she had failed to catch. The worst part of it though, was the glee. The wild abandon and pure joy she saw in her images eyes when she was enacting retribution. She thought she might throw herself from a cliff rather than ever face that vision of herself again. She had thought if she just kept herself from learning magic, she and her friends would be safe. Mynix was stuck in a precarious position, it had felt so good to help, and the lady, if she could trust her, had said; “a far greater evil will have been done than any that even your shadow could do” if she did not learn magic. Mynix wondered if she should trust the woman, but wondered more, if she could trust herself.
Feryl awoke and was surprised to find herself huddled protectively against Laith. His arm was wrapped around her, and she felt so happy, so right being there. She closed her eyes to savor the feeling for a moment more, but then the fear reached in. She moved away from him slowly so as not to disturb him, but as she did, he called out, ”Faeyln, Faeyln, don’t leave
(Note: This story and all characters within are the sole property of the author, and is under the protection of
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