The Forge
The stout gentleman wielding the hammer stopped mid-blow and
stared in the direction of the visitor. Owen Bruce hadn’t seen the woman in
over a decade. “What brings you to my shop, Earthshaker?”
Ailith Drake stepped forward into the glow of the forge. “I
need your clarity, Ironmonger. I am troubled by strange visions. They make
little sense to me.”
The smith dropped the hammer against the steel continuing to
work on the blade while Ailith took a seat nearby. Ailith watched him work. Her
mind drifted back to an earlier time.
At the center of the maze, a heavy beam secured the iron
door from the inside of the room. The other end of the maze started with a
narrow passage that opened into a series of caverns and passageways deep
beneath the mountain. At the center of the room slept an ancient winged
creature, well protected from the swords and arrows of brazen adventurers.
A cascade of pebbles echoed down the shaft above rousing the
dragon from her slumber. A short while later a second cascade fell, then
silence returned. At the top of the shaft, a young mage waited for her arrival.
She shot up the shaft and rose into the sky before settling gently to the
ground. “Why have you called me?”
“Something is coming for you, Earthshaker. I did not want
you to be caught unawares.”
Deep below, the iron door gave way, splintering the heavy
beam, as the brute rammed its way through. The ogre skidded across the room on his
back, having lost his footing on the pebbles. His surprised roar echoed up the
shaft.
On a whim, the young dragon returned the roar of the beast
below before grabbing the young mage and descending into the dark chamber
below. Upon arrival, the mage dusted himself off. “You could have asked first,
you know. Or at least given me a warning.” He created a ball of light to
illuminate the chamber, thus revealing the heavily armored intruder.
After his eyes had adjusted to the light, the ogre found a
young maiden standing over him offering to help him to his feet. The mage set
the ball of light afloat in the air. “She stronger than she looks,” he said to
the brute. “Let her help you up. You wouldn’t want to insult your host, would
you?”
It was the beginning of a centuries-long friendship between
the two. She had helped him many times in the past despite his initial intent
to snuff out her life. Now, she sat in his shop patiently waiting for him to
finish despite the pained desperation showing on her face. He plunged the still
dull sword into the temper and hung up his hammer. “It’s done well enough to
serve its purpose.” He walked over to where she sat. “Come, let’s grab a cuppa
and you can tell me all that troubles you.”
Ailith sipped her tea and slowly went over the strange
visions that had been plaguing her over the past few months. “Well? Does any of
this make sense?”
Owen pulled his smart phone out of his pocket and opened up
an app. “I want you to listen to this podcast. Tell me if you hear anything
unusual in it.” The voice of a young woman introduced herself and her guest.
About twenty minutes into the podcast, the subject of anomalous signals arose.
The guest played a recording that he had made of a nearby pulsar.
The color drained from Ailith’s face as her mind latched on
to the mysterious message and began to decode it. Owen stopped the playback.
“Ailith?” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright? You’ve gone all
pale and starry-eyed.”
Ailith blinked, then nodded. The color returned to her face.
“I could use another cup of tea. I need time to think, to take it all in.”
“There may not be time. You need to move on this, to take
action, to call your troops.”
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