Chapter 17
Five days passed quickly and they were at the Druid Village. From there they set out on foot, leaving the horses and Liselle’s bow in the care of the Druids. After a day of travel on foot, they reached the edge of the forest.
Grey stone walls in each direction were the height of a four-level building. Numerous wisps of chimney smoke from inside the walls indicated people living inside. They stood at the southwestern corner and would have a bit of a hike to reach the gate that was supposed to be in the middle of the western wall.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Liselle craned her neck to look at the crenellations atop the wall. “It’s so large that it’s frightening. Do you really think they’ll let us in?”
“The Druids said they will.” Tathan looked up with her. “These walls are larger than most I’ve seen in my travels.”
“This stronghold does not have very good defenses.” Sir Danth pointed. “There is no one walking the top.” Sure enough, the walls were empty. “There are no killing fields around the perimeter, not even a moat. It would be simple to use siege engines and ladders to take it with little loss of life. I dare say a determined individual could sneak over without notice.” He glanced in Tathan’s direction.
“I could fly over, but people tend to panic when they see a dragon flying over their city,” Vevin said.
Liselle’s neck ached from looking up. “I think we should just go to the gates as planned, and if that doesn’t work, then we can sneak over the wall.”
“Of course, Milady. That is the proper course of action,” Sir Danth agreed.
“Good.” She led the way while the others followed with bemused looks. A short time later, the companions reached the closed main gates, large enough for a full-grown dragon. Four human guards stood next to a smaller postern gate at the side.
The guards put their hands on sword hilts at the sight of the approaching party. They wore chain mail armor with red tabards. Tathan cautioned his companions, “Make no hostile moves and keep your hands off weapons. Let me do the talking.”
One of the guards stepped forward with a hand up. He was tall with dark skin, thick shoulders, dark brown hair and a bristly mustache. “Hold there adventurers,” he said in a rough voice. “I’ve not seen you at this gate before. Are you Druids?”
“Nah, we’re not Druids. We heard stories of work to be done and money to be made.” Tathan spoke in an exaggerated accent. “I didn’t believe it at first, but suddenly we walk out of the dark forest to see this place!”
“Aye, it’s not normal for such a place to be out here.” The man looked to be a veteran with scars from battles past. Tathan’s manner had made all of the guards relax and their hands were off weapons now. The speaker looked at them with suspicion. “I’m Sergeant Soam. How did you get through the forest and past the Druids? They’re dangerous ones, they are.”
“Nah, they aren’t that bad. They don’t like strangers in their precious forest or something like that, but they didn’t mess with us,” Tathan said in the new manner he was using. “We didn’t see them much, but Druids don’t like to be seen.”
“Aye! That’s the truth.” The sergeant snapped his fingers. “You don’t see them until they’re right on you. Then it don’t matter. Lost more than a few foragers to them.” He shook his head sadly.
Tathan drew back in surprise. “You send foragers out into that forest? Not a job I’d want! We can handle a couple of Druids, but I wouldn’t want to forage from their forest.”
Liselle wondered why Tathan was surprised until she realized he was being devious with the guards. The thought excited her, so she paid close attention to how he did it.
Sergeant Soam reacted well to Tathan’s words, nodding in agreement with his sentiments about foraging in the forest. “Aye. I don’t feel entirely comfortable here at the gate. I’ve seen a couple of them from a distance you know?” the sergeant said in a low voice, leaning toward Tathan.
“I’m not surprised. We saw a few on our journey here too. I think they like showing themselves from a distance to scare folk.” Tathan spat.
“Aye, true enough. No need to worry about them inside though. The Rojuun have defenses on the walls that prevent them from crossing over.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Druids know about them, so it’s no problem to tell you.”
“Rojuun.” Tathan pretended to have just heard the name for the first time. “I was wondering what they were called. The person I spoke to in Tillg didn’t know what they were called, just that they looked funny.”
Liselle had never heard of Tillg and wondered where it was and who Tathan had spoken to about them. Then she realized he was making it up for the guard’s benefit.
“Ahh, Tillg. You’re from the Kingdom of Kethril then.” The sergeant looked over his shoulder. “So they know of the Rojuun there. Some of us were wondering how far word had spread.”
The other guards nodded at this new knowledge.
“Well, it’s just a rumor. Most folks don’t believe it,” Tathan said. “I was leaving Tillg anyway and needed a place to go.” He gestured extravagantly, holding the attention of the guards. “Didn’t want to go to the south. Got into some trouble down there a while back.” He leaned forward with a wink.
The sergeant chuckled. “Yeah, that’s how I came here too. Little bit of trouble on the other side of the mountains.” His face became serious. “That said, it would be unwise to cause trouble here. Rojuun don’t pay too much attention unless threatened at which point they get dangerous.” Sergeant Soam took a closer look at the group. “Well, you’re an odd bunch aren’t you?” His eyes settled on Vevin and grew wider.
“Yeah. Civilized folks don’t like unusual people. That’s why we thought we might stand a chance somewhere new.” Tathan got the attention of the guards back on him. “It’s hard to live where people don’t give you a chance, you know?”
The sergeant nodded. “I do know. Things are different here though. Just don’t cause trouble and you’ll be all right.”
“No trouble, got it. Say, can you tell me anything about these . . . Rojuun? What do they look like? I hear they got seven arms.”
Sergeant Soam chuckled. “Just four. Their skin is pale white.” He described them in some detail. “The Rojuun guards wear colorful armor, yellow and burgundy. The rest wear colorful robes. Their hair is black and thick while their eyes are like upside down teardrops with pupils like a cat. Amazing, really.”
“That’s remarkable. I wonder what you could do with two extra arms.” Tathan waved his about.
“Well, for one, they carry long knives in each hand when they fight. They’re good with them too. Mostly, they use them to play music unlike anything I’ve heard before. Or they paint. They seem to like to make music and paint and things like that.”
“Seems like a waste of time to me.” Tathan shook his head just like the sergeant. “What else should I know?”
The sergeant gestured toward the mountains behind the keep. “Well, if you’re looking for work as you say, you’ll need to go through the tunnels to the city of Alluu. The Cavern Road travels under the Caaldith Mountains all the way to the Iynath Empire.” He pointed to the gates behind him. “This is the city of Puujan, although most call it the winged city. I think the names all have some sort of meaning to the Rojuun, but I haven’t heard their language. They speak common all the time. Anyway, Puujan here is more of a human settlement. It’s a good place for you to start.”
“Why is it called the winged city?” Liselle asked.
“You’ll have to see for yourself,” Sergeant Soam said.
The guards gave each other knowing looks.
“Probably because of all the bugs,” Vevin said.
“Anyone I should talk to, or can you recommend a good inn?” Tathan ignored their purple friend.
“The White Tree Inn is a good place.” The serg
eant made turning motions with his hand as he gave directions. It sounded as though it would be easy to find and there would be a large wooden banner with a white tree in front.
Tathan nodded when the instructions were finished. “White Tree Inn sounds like a human name for an inn. Do the Rojuun use human names for inns and that sort of thing?”
“Rojuun don’t name or even build inns. It’s a human thing,” the sergeant said. “Most everything here is human built. The Rojuun don’t care as long as they get what they want.”
“What do they want?” Liselle asked. “Why do they need humans to work for them?”
“Well, they don’t like building things, foraging, hunting, or . . . well anything really.” The sergeant ran fingers through his hair. “They can do all of that, but prefer making music, painting and stuff I don’t understand. They want humans to take care of them so they can do the things they like.”
“I wish someone would take care of me so I could do the things I want!” Tathan laughed. “They sound like an odd folk if you ask me, but if they pay . . .”
“Aye, they are odd, but they pay well and leave humans alone for the most part. Just don’t make them mad. Don’t cause trouble and they won’t bother you too much.”
“We won’t be causing trouble.” Tathan reached out and shook the sergeant’s hand. “Thanks for the information, Sergeant. It sounds like there’s adventure to be had.”
“Aye, that there is. Good luck to you.” Sergeant Soam stepped aside, waving them in through the postern gate to the city.
Rojuun Page 29