by Logan Jacobs
“I got it,” the archer replied as she twisted her head to prevent her horns from getting caught in the branches above her. “Finish cleaning up, when I get down I want to kill that damned Dovar-cu and get out of this damned forest.”
Aerin, Maruk, and I exchanged nervous glances before we finished packing up the remainder of the camp and stamped out the last embers from the fire.
It was difficult to see Lavinia through all the branches, but the rustling of the leaves and intermittent swears gave us an idea of her approximate progress, and it wasn’t long before she was on her way back down with her bow and quiver slung across her back. No one dared to say anything when at last she dropped down to the grass again with a few new scratches and leaves in her hair, and she took her pack from Maruk with a curt nod and marched toward the river.
“Let’s get that blood already so we can get out of here,” Lavinia called back, and with another glance between ourselves, Aerin, Maruk, and I followed her to the water.
Chapter 9
Lavinia stood on the riverbank with her hands on her hips and stared down into the water.
At first, no one said anything. The puca’s raid on our camp hadn’t improved anyone’s mood, and I guessed Aerin and Maruk were as hesitant as I was to break the silence, uncomfortable as it was.
“Well?” Lavinia asked after a few moments. She turned to cast a glance over her shoulder at us. “What now? You said the Dovar-cu lived in this river, Aerin.”
The elf raised one eyebrow as she met Lavinia’s expectant look. “Well, yeah, but I don’t know if it’s right at this spot,” she replied.
Lavinia frowned. “You mean your friend didn’t tell you how to summon it?”
“I don’t think we summon it,” I put in. “I think it’s just an animal.”
Lavinia’s shoulders dropped, and she looked between Aerin and me with an expression of disbelief. “So, what? We’re supposed to muck around in the water and hope we find it? Or should we hike up and down the entire riverbank?”
“We’ve tracked animals like this before,” Maruk said. “We could catch some fish to use as bait.” His voice was calm and assured, but when Lavinia turned back to the water, he looked over at Aerin and mouthed, “Does it eat fish?”
Aerin shrugged.
“Well, this day just keeps getting better,” Lavinia growled as she marched back up the bank. “We don’t even know what this thing is supposed to look like, how are we going to track it?”
“It’s a magical creature, right?” I asked. “Maybe I could sense its mana or something.”
Lavinia frowned at me. “You can do that?”
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure. I could see the mana in living things, and in mages or magical creatures, that light was a little brighter, but I had never tried to track anything by sensing its mana. It only seemed like a better idea than sitting on the bank and waiting around for a creature that might not show up.
“I don’t know,” I confessed. There was no point in pretending to have confidence I didn’t have to the others. “I thought it could be worth a shot. Magdalena marked out the Dovar-cu’s territory for us, so it’s not like we have to search the whole river, just a few mile stretch. I could walk along the bank and see if I notice anything.”
Lavinia considered that for a moment, then heaved a sigh. “We might as well try it,” she admitted.
I realized then that Lavinia, Aerin, and Maruk were waiting for me to lead the way, and I straightened up. I didn’t really know what I should be looking for at this point, but I at least needed to pick a direction. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt like upriver was the right way to go. And if it wasn’t, at least we would have ruled it out.
“Um, let’s go east,” I said. “It probably has some kind of den along the bank, so keep an eye out for that, too.”
With that, we started a measured procession upriver, and the others poked around the mud with sticks at the tall clumps of grass or anything else that might be a hiding spot for the Dovar-cu while I scanned the bank and the murky water for the telltale glow of the creature’s mana.
We hadn’t even gone a mile when I caught the gleam of light in the forest up ahead. The shadows beneath the trees were too deep for me to make the creature out at this distance, but the light of its mana was low to the ground, too low to belong to a human. My heart leapt, and I signaled to the others behind me and pointed to the light. If it was the Dovar-cu, I didn’t want to frighten it off by speaking.
Silently, I moved away from the riverbank and crouched beneath the scant cover of the trees and brush as I crept slowly up the path and deeper into the forest toward the light. A quick glance back told me that the others were following.
The light bobbed slightly as the creature moved, and as we stepped closer, a few dozen yards away now, I began to pick out its silhouette from the underbrush. It was short and wide, and… it had a long stick that it was knocking around in the tree branches.
I tried to swallow my disappointment. Finally, I could see the creature’s true shape in the shadows, and it wasn’t the Dovar-cu. In fact, it wasn’t a creature at all, but a man.
He was a dwarf, dressed in green robes with flowers woven into his russet hair and beard, and as he stood along the edge of the path, he used a long stick to loop some sort of charm of woven grass onto a tree branch.
The light of the dwarf’s mana didn’t seem bright enough for him to have been a mage, at least, and he didn’t appear armed. In fact, all he had was his stick and a few more of those grass charms, but even so, I was glad that he didn’t appear to have seen us. After our encounter with Allowen, I was much warier of strangers in the forest.
Still, the dwarf didn’t appear to be a traveler. He wasn’t dressed like one, and I doubted that he would bother to put up all those charms if he was only passing through. If he lived in the area, he might know where we could find the Dovar-cu, but I wanted to get a better idea of whether we could trust him before I asked. We could follow him, at least for a little while, then plan our next move when we had more information.
I signaled to the others to follow me as I crept up the path after the dwarf as he went, far enough that he wouldn’t hear us trailing him, but close enough that I didn’t lose the light of his mana as he passed through the trees. It was slow going, as every so often he would pause to hang another of his charms, but caution bolstered my patience, and I stayed hidden as I followed him through the forest.
Soon after the dwarf had hung the last of his charms, the trees began to thin again, and I realized as it opened out before us that the dwarf’s camp was quite different from what I had been expecting. I’d assumed wherever he lived would be a set-up like ours, perhaps a little nicer, but nothing more than a fire and a tent or two, perhaps a cabin like Allowen’s.
The dwarf’s camp, however, was something more like a small village nestled in the trees. A half-dozen tents of dark green fabric were arranged in a half-circle on the bank, but each was large enough to shelter several people comfortably. More charms made of wood and twisted grass hung over the flaps, and wooden wind chimes knocked together with a pleasant melody in the branches of the trees above. Thanks to a morning of fruitless searching and our slow progress through the woods following the dwarf, it was already late afternoon, and warm golden light shone out across the treetops.
I stopped behind the cover of some blackberry bushes and Aerin, Lavinia, and Maruk crouched next to me as they peered through the leaves at the camp.
About twenty dwarves, all dressed similarly to the first in green robes, with flowers in their beards and crowns constructed of branches on their heads, milled about the place with bowls full of nuts and berries, garlands of flowers, drums, and many other things besides.
Across the camp, a few dwarves rubbed oil onto a wooden statue of a strange-looking creature that somewhat resembled an otter, but unlike the cute little animals I remembered from the zoo, the statue had to be about five feet tall, and the creature’s wooden face was
carved into a grotesque snarl. Someone had smeared red dye over its teeth, or at least, what I hoped was a dye. More flowers had been scattered about the base of the statue in a trail that led down the bank right up to the water’s edge.
“It looks as though they’re all preparing for something important,” I whispered. I couldn’t help but watch as the dwarves decorated the creepy wood carving and turned to Aerin. “Look at that statue. Do you know what that thing is?” I asked quietly and pointed to it. Maybe it was because I was still new to this realm, but something about it gave me a weird feeling.
“It’s probably some sort of river beast,” Aerin answered.
“Might it be our river beast?” Lavinia asked. “‘Big as a pony, rows of sharp teeth,’ that’s what you said right?”
Aerin’s face looked a bit paler as she stared out at the statue’s snarling face. “Those are merely kids’ stories,” she said, though she didn’t sound very confident. “This could be something else.”
Lavinia gave her a light punch on the arm. “Toughen up, we’ve dealt with worse.” She nodded toward the dwarves and pulled her bow around. “Probably better to kill all of them first. Bet I can get five before the rest of them notice what’s going on.”
Maruk put his hand on Lavinia’s arm. “Goodness, Lavinia, what’s gotten into you?”
I had to agree, even for Lavinia, attacking now seemed a little premature. “They seem peaceful. Why would we kill them?” I asked with a frown.
Lavinia looked from me to Maruk, one brow arched. “Oh, come on, you’re saying that doesn’t look like an evil cult to you?” she hissed as she gestured at the camp.
“Lavinia,” Maruk chided, “we mustn’t be too quick to judge our fellows. Not every dwarven clan is an evil cult. They even have flowers braided through their beards. These seem like gentle druid folk who love nature.”
“Gentle druid-- for the love of the-- I don’t need you to lecture me about prejudice,” the beautiful dragon-woman groaned.
“Oh, of course not,” Maruk apologized as he bowed his head. “Still, I hate to prejudge those of different races. After all, both you and I are considered the less savory sort of races, so we—”
“Aerin, you read auras,” Lavinia interrupted. “What’s the deal with the dwarves?”
Aerin chewed her lip as Lavinia and Maruk turned to her, obviously uncomfortable about being caught up in their debate. “Uh, well, obviously not all dwarves are evil,” she said, “but, uh, yeah, these guys specifically are definitely bad.”
Lavinia gave Maruk a pointed look that he ignored.
“Just a moment,” Maruk insisted as Lavinia drew three arrows from her quiver. “They haven’t actually done anything to hurt us or anyone else as far as we can tell. It just doesn’t seem right to me to attack them like this. Perhaps we could leave them alone, we are only here for the Dovar-cu, after all.”
Before Lavinia or anyone else could respond to that, however, a rhythmic drumming started up from the camp, and we all shuffled forward to get a better view at what was going on.
A procession of six dwarves, their pale faces painted with stripes of red, marched out of the largest of the tents with a sort of bier hoisted upon their shoulders. Tied to the bier and gagged was a dark-haired woman in a white dress. The dwarves had obviously tried to place flowers around her, but she had shaken most of them off as she struggled against the ropes, and even from this distance, I could see the expression of fury on her face.
“Oh, look, they’re going to sacrifice someone,” Lavinia said flatly. “So, Maruk, do you think, you know, ethically speaking, we’d be in the right to stop them now? Or should we wait and base our response on how nice they are to the woman they’re about to feed to the ferocious river monster?”
“Ohhhh,” Maruk sighed, “I suppose this is what I get.”
“That’s okay,” Lavinia chuckled as she nocked her arrow. “You are a big sweetheart, but now it’s time to start murdering with great prejudice.
“Hang on,” I said as she was about to stand and let loose with her arrow, “we still need a plan.”
“Okay,” the ladona woman answered. “I plan to shoot them all in the face. Good?”
“Gabriel’s right, we need an actual strategy,” Aerin said with a frown.
Lavinia rolled her eyes. “Take your time with your fancy plans, then. I’m sure your damsel in distress up there doesn’t have anything better to do.”
The dwarves had set the bier on a wooden platform on the bank, and as the drumming continued at a faster tempo, they began to circle it and throw flower petals over the woman. Then one dwarf with a striking russet beard braided with roses stepped forward, and the drums cut off abruptly when he raised his hands and addressed the assembled crowd.
“Brothers!” he called out in a booming voice. “Tonight we are gathered to honor the mighty Dovar-cu, our faithful guardian. At sunset, it will come out of the water and join us on the bank. We offer this woman in sacrifice to thank it for its protection of these waters and ask for good fishing in the coming year.” He gestured with solemn grace to the woman on the platform, and she scowled back.
“That answers that question,” I whispered, and my friends nodded.
“Are you ready, my brothers?” the speaker asked, and the crowd cheered in response. Some waved scraps of cloth, but others, I noticed, had clubs, axes, and spears.
As the drums started up again in a quick, undulating rhythm, I turned back to the others. “Okay,” I said, “We need to rescue that woman first. I can cast an illusion to distract the dwarves temporarily, Maruk, you’ll go get her, and Aerin and Lavinia, you two will cover him.”
“Oh, as much as I would love to be the one to risk my life by traipsing into the camp full of bloodthirsty savages, I really think I ought to let someone else have a turn at it,” Maruk answered.
“It has to be you, Maruk,” Aerin argued. “We’re definitely not risking Gabriel, and besides, he’s the only one who can cast illusions. I’m not strong enough to carry her if she can’t run, and Lavinia’s no good in close quarters--”
“Hey!” Lavinia protested.
“You know you’re not, and now isn’t the time for your pride,” Aerin said firmly.
The orc frowned. “I suppose you’re right,” he said at last and drew himself up with a noble air. “Very well. What would you have me do? Simply run out, grab her, and come back?”
The rest of us exchanged looks.
“You’d definitely have the element of surprise,” Lavinia said with a shrug. “Who would expect a seven-foot-tall orc in a frilly nightshirt to crash their human sacrifice?”
“Lavinia, I’ve told you, it’s not a nightshirt. This is the new fashion in--”
“Hey!” Aerin cut him off. “Focus.” Then she frowned. “I don’t want you leading a horde of murderous dwarves over to our gold mak-- ehhh-- manipulator. You should free the woman and hold your ground there. I’ll go with you to help, and Gabriel and Lavinia can cover us from here where Gabr--where they’ll both be safe. We’ll circle around through the trees before we go so they don’t expect back-up from right here, and we’ll signal you when we’re in position.”
“Do you really think fighting them in their own camp is the best course of action?” Maruk asked.
In the camp, the drum beats grew louder as the sun began to sink toward the horizon.
“We don’t really have time to come up with anything else,” Aerin said. She smiled and tried to make her tone light. “It’ll be just like that time in Tamoris.”
Lavinia laughed, but Maruk’s lip curled in a frown.
“That was not fun for me,” he grumbled.
Lavinia gave him a shove. “You two get going before that girl becomes fish food. Gabriel and I will watch your backs.”
Maruk still didn’t seem entirely pleased by the idea, but he nodded, and he and Aerin slipped away to attack the camp from the other side. I realized only after they’d left that Aerin hadn’t said what sort
of signal to look out for, and I hoped I wouldn’t miss it.
Lavinia had no such reservations regarding her role in the mission, of course, and she flexed her fingers eagerly around her bow as we waited behind the blackberry bushes and the drums beat steadily.
“I feel good about this plan,” the archer whispered, and then she lightly punched me on the shoulder. “It’s always a good day when I get to fill people I don’t like with arrows.”
“Uhhh, yeah,” I replied, but my mind was already spinning with everything that could go wrong, and I was starting to realize that the Foxes’ had a major issue with their organization: There wasn’t a clear leader calling strategy. The three of them merely argued about decisions until one person got their way.
I was going to have to fix that.
The dwarves began to chant, but instead of focusing too much on their ritual, I paid attention where I thought Aerin’s signal would be. It was clever and subtle, a flash of light in the shadows of the trees, like the light she’d summoned in the wraith’s tower that first night. The dwarves were too preoccupied with their ritual to notice it, but I knew she and Maruk were ready.
I swallowed and held out my hands toward the crowd of dwarves. Since they apparently worshipped a monster like the Dovar-cu, I didn’t think that trying to scare them was the way to go, but I only needed to distract them for a moment so that Maruk and Aerin could reach the platform where the woman was tied up. I conjured up images of a thick fog in my mind and willed the dwarves to see it too. The rush of my magic filled my veins as I concentrated, and then out in the camp, the drumbeats slowed to a stop, and the dwarves began to murmur in confusion. A few dropped the garlands of flowers or assorted weaponry that they’d been carrying and turned in circles as they tried to locate the source of the fog, and I waited for Maruk and Aerin to appear.
“Where are they?” Lavinia hissed after several more minutes had passed with no other sign of our friends.
I had been wondering the same thing. I had chosen a simple illusion on purpose, in the hope that I would be able to affect more of the dwarves if I was focused on the area of effect rather than the complexity of the illusion. Still, I had never tried something of this scale before, and as my head started to hurt, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep it up for much longer.