by Simon Archer
“I am fine, Leo Hayden,” Bernsten said, shaking off my concern after he attempted to walk and fell flat on his face. “I will recover.” But he was clearly wincing in pain as he climbed back on his horse.
As we traveled closer to the center, Nadeine grew antsier and antsier. She clearly still didn’t trust the forest elves, including Freyja, and from the way she kept scanning every gap in the trees and focused on every little rustle of leaves, it was clear that she was expecting us to be attacked at any moment.
“Who is this friend of yours?” she would ask Freyja sharply over and over again. “How can we trust her?”
“I have known her my whole life,” Freyja finally said in no uncertain terms, “and I trust her with that life, so there’s no reason to fear her.”
“That is easy for you to say,” Nadeine spat out.
“We need her,” I would hiss at Nadeine when she acted like this.
“Very well,” she would sigh.
Freyja rolled her eyes in response, and we continued on our journey in uncomfortable silence.
Unfortunately, at least one of Nadeine’s fears proved to be reality on our last evening before we reached the center of the forest. We had been riding through the underbrush on Freyja’s directions since we were last attacked, but as we were approaching the center, we had to return to the main beaten path in order to reach our destination.
“There is no way to reach the center any other way,” Freyja explained. “Only through the main road.”
And so we followed her up through the underbrush to the beaten path. Bill seemed relieved to be back there, raising and lowering his hoofs and stretching his legs out, happy to have space to walk comfortably again without branches and weeds tangling through his legs.
“You’re doing good, buddy,” I said, running my hands through his hair. “We’ll get there and get some rest soon. Don’t worry.”
But I’d spoken too soon. As we took our first steps on the main beaten path, a torrent of forest elves carrying crudely crafted swords, daggers, knives, and cleavers descended upon us, adopting a strategy of coming at us with such force and number that we wouldn’t have the time to react appropriately and allow me to use my magic. There were clearly too many for just Marinka, Freyja, and Nadeine to hold off so I could create a circle and summon my cello.
“Run!” Marinka screamed when she saw the elves, but there was no time. The forest elves descended upon us from the surrounding underbrush, the treetops above, and the road in front of us, hacking and slashing with all of their might.
My companions drew their weapons as I stood off to the side with Bill to have a better line of vision for my magic. Bernsten, his skills hampered by his condition, was awkwardly waving his sword, unable to move around properly. Nadeine, encumbered herself by Bernsten’s awkward presence on their horse, was poking her own sword at the forest elves trying to climb their horse, doing her best to keep them down but not doing anything to reduce their number. Marinka was doing the same, unable to down any of our opponents. Worse, there was blood gushing from a nasty wound on her forehead.
I turned my head around, looking for Freyja, but she had disappeared, leaving Nadeine’s horse behind to fend for itself, along with the rest of us. I looked around, trying to see what she was up to, but couldn’t find her. Nadeine would think she had fled, but she had stuck with us before when we were attacked, so I had no reason not to trust her.
The forest elves were coming at me now, having shoved their way past my companions. The first couple attempted to jump up Bill’s back, but I pulled on the miniature horse’s reins, urging him to rush forward. He did his best to brush them off and run forward as I kicked one of the first elves back. Bill was bigger than the other horses, so he was doing better at getting away from our attackers, but I didn’t have a weapon to help him. Bill broke away from another attack, and then, in a fit of agitation, he began to jump around, trying to kick away the forest elves and nearly throwing me from his back in the process.
“Whoa, boy!” I said to him, pulling on his reins. “Whoa!” But Bill was just too frightened of the animalistic elves.
I had one last trick up my sleeve. While there was no way I would be able to create a mage’s circle or summon my cello from atop Bill, I could try to press back against my immediate opponents using verbal magic. I closed my eyes and tried to use my magic by humming a series of scales meant for the defensive combat spells I knew.
One after another, a number of shields made of golden light arose around myself and Bill, preventing the forest elves from reaching us. Bill seemed to relax a bit and calmed down. At least I didn’t seem in danger of being thrown off of my own horse anymore.
There was some distance between the forest elves and Bill and me now, so I hopped off my horse, keeping a hand on his neck to steady and calm him. I continued humming, keeping the shields up around us as I drew a mage’s circle in the dirt lining the beaten path underneath our feet. Or hooves, I guess. When the mage’s circle was complete, I positioned myself at one end and let go of Bill. He looked at me with a worried expression on his face, looking down at me with sad wide eyes. But he stayed put, placing his trust in me.
I closed my eyes, reached out my arms wide to my sides, and felt my bow and cello materialize in my hands. I sat down, put my bow to my strings, and stopped humming. The shields around Bill and me fell away, leaving us exposed. I started playing the advanced combat spell for the daggers, the E minor etude I had learned the last time I had practiced.
One by one, in a puff of golden smoke, the daggers appeared in the air. They pelted themselves at our opponents from every which way, hacking and slashing right back at the forest elves. Our attackers fell away one by one, succumbing to my own attack, but it wasn’t enough. It seemed like each time one of the forest elves fell or ran away into the underbrush, three more appeared to take its place. The crowd of forest elves was endless, and I wasn’t sure what spell I could use to get rid of them all at once.
As I continued to play through the E minor etude, I looked around at my companions. My spell had provided them with some relief, but it wasn’t enough. Marinka still appeared bruised and battered, and Bernsten seemed to be more of a hindrance to his and Nadeine’s efforts than a help. Freyja was still nowhere to be found, and her horse had made its way over to Bill and me, cowering from our attackers.
But then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement in the trees above, a dash of red hair across my vision. My eyes darted upwards, and I squinted as I continued to play through the etude on my cello. It was Freyja, hopping from tree to tree, working through some knots on hunting traps some forest elves had set in the branches. I couldn’t make out what she was trying to do.
She looked up and caught my eye, and I shrugged my shoulder, mouthing the words, What are you doing? She shook her head and motioned for me to watch closely. She jerked up on the rope, and a large metal axe fell down on the ground. This didn’t do anything to clear up my confusion, as the axe wasn’t anywhere near any of our attackers.
But then, Freyja jerked up on the rope again, sideways this time. The axe slashed into the very tree to which it was attached, knocking it down. As it fell, Freyja hopped from the branches to another nearby tree. I looked closely at the tree’s trunk as it fell, and realized these were thinner trees near the edge of the beaten path, meaning that it was easier for the axe to cut it down. I watched as Freyja jerked another rope on the next tree and caused it to fall in turn.
The trees fell down on the beaten path, taking out several of the forest elves that were attacking us. Marinka looked relieved as the elves around her fell away. But still more came to take their place. Freyja wasn’t working fast enough. We needed to find a way to take them out all at once and scare the replacements off.
I looked up at the trees and remembered a spell I’d learned when I first arrived in Eviorah, one that let me move a table. If I remembered correctly, it wasn’t just for tables. I searched my brain for the correct
scale variation, selected it, and began to play the appropriate complex variation on an A-minor scale.
The daggers disappeared in a puff of golden smoke, and the remaining particles of light coalesced around each other to form long, straight arms of light that reached out and pulled down on several of the smaller trees that remained standing. The arms of light grabbed hold of the tree trunks towards the top and pulled them downwards over the beaten path.
“Get out of the way,” I screamed out so that Marinka and Nadeine would hear and make their way back to where Bill, Nadeine’s horse, and I were a few feet away from our attackers. They did and pulled on their horses’ reins to move back towards us.
With a loud creaking noise, the trees snapped off of their trunks, falling down on the forest elves in front of us, stopping them in their tracks and causing the survivors to flee off into the underbrush. No new forest elves arrived to attack us. Even on the off chance that they hadn’t been scared off, there wasn’t any room for them to come out on the road now since it was covered in the downed trees. Freyja clambered down the larger tree in which she was perched and rushed over to us.
“That was awesome,” she yelled, running to crash into me in a big bear hug. Surprised, I hugged her back, waving my bow in the air until it disappeared into the distance along with my cello and the arms of golden light that had downed the trees.
“You were pretty awesome yourself,” I said, grinning. “I never would have thought to use the smaller trees like that.”
“Yeah, pretty cool, wasn’t it?” She laughed as she released me. Marinka and Nadeine climbed down from their horses.
“Are you guys okay?” I asked them, looking at the nasty cut on Marinka’s forehead. It was still bleeding, but more slowly now.
“Yes, Leo,” Marinka said, reaching up to wipe away some of the blood and wincing at her own touch. “I will be fine.”
I hummed, focusing on the cut, and a few tendrils of golden light appeared, wrapping around her forehead. When they dissipated, the cut was cleared up.
“Thank you,” she said, giving me a small but warm smile.
“No problem,” I said. Then, turning to my other companions, “What about you guys?”
“We are alright,” Nadeine said, motioning between herself and Bernsten. She looked shaken, her hands trembling. “But he needs medical care as quickly as possible.
“We should proceed into the center, then,” Freyja said, motioning ahead of us on the beaten path, except now it was covered in felled trees.
“You must be jesting,” Nadeine said, staring at Freyja with her mouth hanging open slightly.
“No,” Freyja said slowly, looking at Nadeine with surprise before gesturing towards Bernsten. “Why would I be kidding? You just said he needs medical care.”
“You cannot possibly expect us to follow you into the center now,” Nadeine said, continuing to gape at the forest elf.
“Nadeine, she just saved our necks,” I said, trying to sound understanding.
“No, you did, Leo,” Nadeine said. “It was your magic that saved us, as it was always meant to be.” That’s when she realized that the rest of us were all staring at her in disbelief, “Of course, she helped, but that does not make her trustworthy. She was being attacked, as well. Of course, she did what she could to fight them off.”
“Freyja could have easily fled and abandoned us to our fate, Nadeine,” Marinka said, and I heard an edge in her usually soft voice for the first time. “But she did not. She came back and helped us. Leo is right. He would not have thought to use his magic to fell the trees without her.”
“But… I…” Nadeine sputtered as she searched for a retort. When nothing seemed to come, she shook her head to clear it. “Be that as it may, this does not mean the center is safe for us. Look at what just happened. We cannot just go marching into an area swarming with forest elves and let them kill us.”
“I understand your concerns, my friend,” Marinka said. “And I even share them, though I must say that Freyja has won my trust even if she has not yet won yours. But what other choice do we have?” She glanced at Bernsten in concern and desperation.
“I am fine.” Bernsten waved his hands to brush away our concern for him. “Please make no major decisions on my account.” He wasn’t fooling anyone, though. He looked tired and weary, his eyes drooping, and he seemed like he was apt to drift back into unconsciousness at any given moment.
“No,” Nadeine said, sighing heavily. “They are right, brother. We must risk it, or we may lose you.”
“I am not dying, sister,” Bernsten said indignantly.
“Perhaps not,” Nadeine said, reaching out to take her brother’s hand, “but even if you are not in immediate danger, your leg will slow us down should we proceed around the center and into Viktor’s side of the forest. You will be a liability to us and our cause without proper medical treatment.” This seemed a bit harsh to me, but Bernsten’s reaction made me realize that Nadeine had been wise to phrase her retort in this way.
“Of course you are correct, sister,” Bernsten said, his shoulders slumping. “I do not wish to slow us down. We should do as the princess suggests.”
“It’ll be better this way,” I said. “I trust Freyja to take us through the center, and it could be even worse, walking straight into Viktor’s side of the forest blind. We’ll be alright.”
Nadeine nodded curtly, but she still looked worried, while Marinka motioned to Freyja.
“Lead the way.”
With that, we remounted our horses and trotted around the felled trees up the beaten path towards the center of the forest.
21
I was surprised to find that the center of the forest was an actual place, not just a vague geographic location. Kind of like the kingdom, it was surrounded by a wall, but this wall was made from rotting wood, not heavy metal, and had an old and tattered appearance.
“So, this is like an actual town?” I asked as we approached the wooden wall, turning to talk to Freyja.
“Sort of,” she said. “It’s a place for straggling forest elves to gather and seek shelter. It’s a long and harsh journey to get here, as you’ve experienced. Plus, we’re a nomadic people and prefer not to stay in one place. Most forest elves spend some time in the center during their lives, but few stay there for long.”
“Have you ever been here before?” I asked.
“Once,” she said, a clouded look crossing her face. “After my family died, my friend and I came here. I stayed for a few weeks, but I got antsy. I wanted to be out in the forest again, hunting and climbing trees. So I left. She stayed, wanting to stay where it was safe.”
“You didn’t want to stay with her?” I asked.
“I did,” Freyja shifted uncomfortably in her saddle, “but it’s not that simple. I’m better alone.”
“You’re not alone now.” I reached out and touched her wrist gingerly. “And you seem pretty cool to me.”
“Thanks,” she said, glancing at me and smiling quickly before turning back to the wall. “My friend lives off to the side. We should go in that way.” Then, she pulled her horse’s reins for it to trot over to the side, and we followed her off the beaten path and along the side of the wall.
The wall didn’t stretch into the underbrush, so we didn’t have to travel through very difficult terrain, but it was right up next to it, meaning our horses had to walk gingerly along the side, trying not to slip downwards. We traveled for around half an hour, and I realized that the center of the forest was pretty big. We didn’t see or cross anyone else as we walked.
“This should be around the right place,” Freyja said after some time, stopping her horse in its tracks and motioning for the rest of us to do the same.
“Should?” Nadeine repeated, her eyes darting around in anxiety. “We need to be more certain than that.”
“I will be,” Freyja said, hopping off of her horse and onto the side of the wall.
Nadeine’s eyes bugged out at that. “Wha
t are you doing?”
“Well, you can’t exactly walk in looking like this,” Freyja said, glancing around at the sight of us.
I did the same and realized she was right. Our group contained three kingdom elves in heavy shining armor, one of whom was seriously injured, a human from another world in bright mage’s robes, and four miniature horses covered in fancy leather packs from the kingdom. We wouldn’t exactly blend in with a town full of forest elves.
“Okay, so what are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’ll hop over the fence and find my friend,” Freyja said. “Then we’ll figure out how to get you in. Wait here.” She held out her hand to signal for us to stay, then disappeared over the top of the wooden wall.
“We cannot just wait here,” Nadeine said, fidgety.
“I do not like it either,” Marinka said, looking around us as if expecting more forest elves to launch themselves out of the underbrush at us at any moment. “But what other option do we have?”
“We’ll be fine,” I reminded Nadeine, rolling my eyes slightly.
She didn’t respond, and we waited in silence for Freyja to return. It took a while, but about a half an hour later, Freyja reappeared, her nose sticking out over the top of the fence.
“It’s safe,” she said quickly, her eyes bugging out in excitement. “We can come in. They’ve been waiting for us.”
“Waiting for us?” Marinka repeated, apprehension still in her tone.
“Yes,” Freyja said, waving for us to follow her. “I’ll explain inside.”
All of a sudden, the portion of the fence on which Freyja was perched swung inwards, providing us with a path into the center. Freyja continued to motion for us to walk past her. We did so, and once we were inside, the wall swung back into its original position. Behind it was another forest elf who had been maneuvering the wall from underneath Freyja. Her shift animal appeared to be an otter of some kind, and her otherwise human face was matted with long dark fur.