The Alliance
In the midst of a well-ordered
forest, suspended between two trees, stood a circle of woven branches now bare
in the waning days. To a visiting Mundane, it was little more than an oddity in
the woods. but to the locals, it was a gateway from the world of Arcane.
Elspeth Hunt, chosen
by the elders to meet the Arcane messenger, was studying the wooden circle
wondering how the magic worked. She wondered if it had something to do with the
darkening days as the snows closed in on the bough. Beneath her hooded cloak,
she carried a short sword and a knife. It was her skill with the sword that
convinced the elders to select her to greet the messenger. She had arrived
earlier while the sun was still high in the sky. The Arcane was late.
A white stone triangle
lay against the black rock wall of an ancient volcanic cone. Behind it lay a
portal to the world of the Mundane. Dylan True kept close to the rock wall as he
approached the gate. He had taken great pains to disguise himself against
attack from the creatures that lived within the sacred circle. On his head, he
wore a carved wooden helmet that hid most of his face. Grapevine clung to the
caked dung that covered his body. There was a scabbard hanging from his waist
on his right side and a long knife strapped to his left thigh. He carried a
full quiver of arrows on his back. Worried about what awaited him on the other
side of the gate, he used his longbow to test the ground before stepping
through into the forest.
Elspeth watched the
beast sniff the air and slowly approach her where she waited unafraid. His
taloned fingers reached out and ran gently down her cheek. She grimaced at the
stench emanating from them as they curled beneath her chin. At first, she
averted her gaze from the monster. “Look at me,” it growled. Elspeth responded
with a defiant stare. Through the mask over his face she could see the yellow
pallor of his skin and a pair of amber eyes that stared back studying her face.
His sudden loud sigh was disconcerting. Elspeth reached for the short sword
that she had hidden beneath her cloak. She was not dying without a fight.
Dylan released her
chin and stepped back from the female they had sent to greet him. His voice
croaked as he spoke. “Bah! They send a child to receive my warning. No one will
hear it. We know how little Mundane men value the words of their youth and less
so the words of their women. Go home, child; but be wary of the thieves and
butchers who await you down the path.” Dylan turned and walked back to the
gate. He turned again, paused to watch her as she walked down the path.
Suddenly, Elspeth
turned and came running back toward the gate. Behind her, three men gave chase,
but she managed to stay ahead of them. Dylan raised his bow and loaded an
arrow. Taking careful aim, he felled one of the men. Elspeth turned moments
before one of the men caught her and thrust her sword into his gut, twisting it
as she drew it back out. A moment later a crossbow bolt whizzed past Dylan’s
head striking a nearby tree. He grabbed Elspeth around her waist and carried
her through the gate just as a second quarrel hurtled toward the open circle.
On the other side, Dylan set the writhing female down. “It’s
not safe to take you back the way we came. Those men would kill us both. Nor
can we stay here. If a Draugr catch the scent of you, you will be meat for its
next meal. Come with me to a safe place while we find a way to warn your people
of the danger.”
“I’m not a child. I can defend myself.”
“Back there? They would have killed us both and blamed me
for your death. And here? You’ve obviously never faced a Draugr. They are lanky
beasts full of teeth and talons. They would be on you before you could draw a
sword or I nock my bow. Everything avoids them that can.”
“You’ve well described yourself, except for the leanness.”
“Your eyes deceive you,” Dylan said just before dragging
Elspeth through a narrow opening in the rock face and smothering her with his
horrid stench while pressing her back against the stone wall. She slid her hand
down to the hilt of her sword, but gasped into his hand at the sight of the
long snout sniffing the niche for prey. It felt about with one of its clawed
arms before abandoning the cleft. After it gave up its search, Dylan led her out
and away from the stone gate they had come through. Glancing back, Elspeth saw
the creature crawl through into her world.
“We have to go back,” she struggled against his grip,
attempting to pry his fingers loose from her wrist.
“We can do nothing for those men in the forest.” Dylan
snarled. “And if we go back, we might die with them.”
“You could have closed the gate.” Elspeth was reaching for
her sword as she spoke.
“I have no control over the gate. It will close in its own
time. We must be at the next gate when it opens. If you want to save your
people, you must trust me. I am not the beast you think I am. The Draugr will
come back through that gate soon and if we are still here, it will attack and
kill us. Please, come with me.” Dylan offered his hand.
Elspeth shook her head. “Go. I will follow.” Dylan took off
at a slow run toward several large boulders. Elspeth followed close behind him
managing to scale the rocky slope without losing her footing. At the crest of
the hill, they followed a narrow path that wended its way through a dense
woodland. A downward path led them to the base of a waterfall, where they
stopped.
Elspeth watched from the weir while Dylan waded into the mere.
He left behind a trail of muddied water as he closed in on the falls, soon
disappearing into the rushing water. On the other side, he appeared in a small
settlement. He disappeared inside a hut where he changed out of his wood and leather
armor and wet clothes into dry clothes. He left the long bow and sword behind
and after a brief conversation with another of his kind, he returned to the
area behind the falls.
Elspeth started to run along the embankment toward the waterfall,
when a stranger appeared. His teal blue garb clung to his tall, well-muscled
torso and he wore strange ornaments on his forearms. Except for his yellow
complexion, his amber eyes, and his cinnamon hair, he looked like a Mundane. Elspeth
saw that he carried neither sword nor bow and sensing no threat, she approached
him where he stood. At first, she stood silently within a few steps of his
face, then feeling bolder, she asked, “have you seen a beastly creature? He
entered the falls a short while ago. We were travelling together.”
Dylan watched from the rocky ledge that led to a passage
beneath the waterfall as his companion ran up to where he stood. He stayed
silent, assessing her speed and her intent. He almost broke into laughter over
her question, but managed to stifle the impulse. “Who are you?” Elspeth stepped
back. She had not expected his question and shuffled her feet trying to decide
whether to answer or run away. “Well, child, do you have a name or not?”
“El...El...Elspeth,” she stuttered before recovering her poise.
“I am Elspeth Hunt, Emissary of the Mundane. My companion was an emissary of
the Arcane. Have you seen him? Can you take me to him?”
Dylan stepped down off the ledge. “And if I cannot?”
“Then I am lost,” Elspeth fingered the hilt of her sword.
She considered threatening the stranger, but relented. “Please help me get back
to my world. The gate is with a large stone circle that lies beyond the woods.”
She pointed back the way they had come. “My family will be worried about me.”
“Oh, I doubt that. They sent you off on a dangerous task to
meet with a stranger in the woods when they knew there were men who would
attack and kill you. I’d say they weren’t expecting you to return at all.”
Elspeth grimaced at his words, then slowly it dawned on her.
“How could you possibly know that unless you were there?” She stepped forward
until she was staring up his nose. “Who are you?”
Dylan gripped her shoulders and laughed. He stared down into
her eyes and smiled, waiting for her to step back. “I am your beastly creature,
having shed my costume, and I have come to take you safely home, but only if I
can trust you to keep silent.”
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