Into the Hells

by Christopher Johns

  James had been researching several different islands that the Dragon could be on with little luck so far.

  Bokaj was trying to write songs because he had heard that it was possible to use the music to buff the party. That was wild as fuck to me.

  Yohsuke was in charge of all the food, duh.

  Jaken had been balls deep in helping us with the metalworking.

  “Any word from Maebe yet, man?” he asked curiously.

  “Not yet, but it should be later tonight.” We walked into the tavern.

  The broken door had been removed, and I assumed that Rowland’s daughter, Sarah, had come to take measurements already. The girls were in the room giggling about something when Jaken and I walked in.

  Vilmas was instantly shy, and Vrawn stood to greet Jaken and I both.

  Once he had unloaded his cargo, Jaken mentioned something about visiting his former class trainer Willem for some one on one time.

  “So, we have a hundred twenty-five of these,” I informed the enchanter as she made sure that the plaques were to her specifications.

  “And how many planks are there in the fence?” Vilmas asked. I groaned at the thought of having to count, but Vrawn actually had the answer.

  “Two thousand eight hundred seventy-five planks,” Vrawn answered matter of factly.

  “So, that means that we can put a plaque every… twenty-three planks?” She began to clear a space on the floor for a large sheet she had with symbols carved into it. It looked so perfectly done it could have been carved by the gods.

  Damn, man, I lamented to myself. Everything she does is fucking perfect! I really need to up my game with my own enchanting.

  “What’s that?” I asked as I stared at it. It was a square with a circle in the middle and five lines leading from the center to smaller circles with runes carved around them.

  “It’s a copycat sheet. It allows an enchanter with enough mana to replicate a single enchantment to items of the exact same quality. It’s meant to be used for bulk enchantments,” Vilmas explained. “We will use this to finish this job much faster than normal. Luckily, I have a large mana pool.”

  She took a plaque into her hands and closed her eyes before running her hand over the front of it. As she finished, there was a simple design left behind that reminded me of a coat of arms. It was a ridged shield with three points at the top that rounded down to a slight point at the bottom. Behind it were a crossed crooked staff and a longsword.

  “This is the design,” she stated, then looked at me and asked, “Can you duplicate it?”

  I took the image in for a moment longer, then duplicated the image with my mana for her to see. By now, my control was much better, and the small corrections she made took almost no effort.

  I used the floating image like a brand and began to stamp each plaque with it until we were finished. The whole process was finished in about twenty minutes as we stopped every few to check the design.

  We went through the same purifying process with these as we had the nails, but the powder yield for the plaques was minuscule in comparison. The quick press of mana left less residual mana behind. Even with there being less residual mana, they were still being done one at a time for around thirty seconds each just to be safe.

  “While you’re doing this, I’m going to go ahead and go back to the mountain and see about getting some more of that ore. I’ll be back as soon as I get the goods.” Before anyone could tell me otherwise, I teleported to my spot at the mountain. Better to get there sooner.

  While I was enjoying myself with digging for once—I had never really been a fan as a younger man or even as a kid—I felt slightly closer to the mountain.

  It wasn’t as intimidating as it was before. Granted—I still hate enclosed spaces to an ungodly degree, but this wasn’t all that bad. I could ask what it was from the Primordial earth elemental, sure, but that didn’t give me permission to bother them at every given opportunity. I’d muddle through it properly.

  In the twenty minutes I had been there digging, I had unearthed a foot of the mystery metal. It was during my second cycle of digging that I felt something extremely off.

  A shift in the world around me brought me out of the hole in the side of the mountain. In the shaded portion of the tree line, shadows fled from their homes to a central point where they deepened until they were black as pitch and began swirling like a whirlpool. The pool raised from one side and stood completely vertical before light began shining through and a figure stepped out.

  I couldn’t drop my form fast enough. I was so happy to see her, so relieved that she was here again. “Mae!” My voice echoed louder than I had meant.

  The woman looked up at me and smiled. I took my owl form and flew down to land in front of her, shifted into my human form, and picked her up in my joy.

  “Hello, Zeke,” the queen whispered against my neck. Her arms around my shoulders felt like being home again. “How have you been?”

  “I’ve been okay, though we have a lot to catch you up on.” I looked into her sparkling deep green eyes and ducked my head down to kiss her.

  Her pillowy lips met mine in a tame kiss. I stroked her multi-colored, highlighted hair behind her left ear and set her down.

  “You had some things you wanted to talk to me about as well?” She nodded, patting her travel clothes—a simple set of dark breeches, thigh-high leather boots, and a red blouse with sharp-looking sleeves.

  “We can discuss that later,” she replied softly. She looked around. “I had not expected to find you in the mountains. What are you doing?”

  “I found a strange, green metal, and I wanted to collect some more to see if we can figure out what it does.” I pointed up to the spot I had been digging. “How did you find me this time? Have you learned how to travel somewhere specifically?”

  “I have, and I can explain that later as well—tell me more of this metal.” She began to walk toward the hole; the line of her body seemed a little more rigid. Formal.

  “It’s green, and I have no clue—hey, is everything okay?” I asked, stopping as I asked my question.

  Maebe turned and looked at me—really looked at me—and then looked away.

  “I do not know,” she replied, and I could hear a sadness in her voice that made me want to comfort her, “but we can discuss it later. There is much to be done in order to have your party at full strength.”

  She began to levitate off the ground, then up the side of the mountain toward my spot. I flew up myself at a distance. It was clear there was a lot on her mind at the moment, and I didn’t want to upset her.

  I stayed at the back of the small cave and heard her say inside, “This is Fairy Iron.”

  “Fairy Iron?” I smirked. “Isn’t that a little bit of a misnomer? Aren’t fairies and Fae crazy allergic to iron?”

  “We are, but this metal is called that because of the Little Folk who use it to make powerful weaponry. There are some among the Little Folk, fairies as most call them here, who would rival even the Dwarves of this realm as far as craftsmanship is concerned.”

  “Does it take anything special to work it?” I wondered aloud. She looked askance of me, and I continued, “I gave a little to Rowland, the smith here, and he’s going to try to discover what the properties of it are. Try to work it. If there are special considerations to be taken into account for him to be able to work it, then he needs to know.”

  “I think so long as he does not use iron tools or use an unenchanted flame, he should be fine.” She mulled over something for a moment before continuing, “Then again, I am no smith.”

  “And if he does use those things?”

  She thought on it for a moment. “If I recall correctly, the metal will not heat properly without enchanted flame, and then working the Fae metal with iron will likely make it brittle and weak.”

  Oh, okay, cool, I thought to myself. My friend isn’t in danger.

  I sighed, then looked at Maebe. Her cultured tone, regal stance, and a
loofness had returned. I wanted to ask her what was wrong again, but I didn’t want to push her before she was ready to talk.

  “Okay, then once I take what I have exposed here to him, I’ll take you to the village, and we can explore it together. I don’t think Vilmas, the enchanter I brought from Djurn Forge, will need me for the enchanting process, so it’s more what I want to learn from her. Though I do want to see how she enchants multiple items at a time.”

  I eyed the metal and sighed. “It took a while last time to get through the full thing.”

  Maebe turned and addressed me softly, “You promise to take me to this ‘Sunrise’ and show me about?”

  “I give you my solemn oath and swear also on my affection for you, that once this is taken care of, I will personally take you through Sunrise Village with pride.” As soon as I finished the oath, I bowed at my waist. I felt a familiar weight settle over my chest.

  WARNING!

  You have given your word to a denizen of the Fae Realm. While you are not within the realm, the beings of that plane of existence carry with them a true power to hold others to their oaths. If you break your word, the consequences could be dire.

  For the first time since she had arrived here, I saw a genuine look of excitement and mirth pass over her face. “Thank you.”

  She reached out with her hand, clenched her fist, and slammed it down on the chunk of ore near the rocky wall. With a resounding crack and a slight shake, the ore dropped on to the ground.

  “There, what needs doing next concerning this material?” She looked to me sweetly and for a moment—a fluttering of my heartbeat—I felt fear at the immense power she held, among other things.

  Just something about a lady who can beat the hell out of anyone gets the mind working. I’ll shut up now.

  I hefted the ore into my inventory and took Maebe’s hand gently in mine. “We take it to Rowland, and I warn him to leave it alone until I can enchant his forge and other things to see what he can do. After that?” She watched my face stoically. “Nothing else matters but my completing my oath to you. I can’t wait for you to meet the people who took—and continue to take—such great care of us. I think they’ll like you. Keep in mind though, these are simple folk. They’re isolated here. They don’t know much about royalty, let alone royalty from the Fae realm.”

  “This will not be an issue,” she said calmly. “While I am here, I am simply here for you and my other champions. They owe me no allegiance, but if they are open to me, and treat me well—

  I may offer them my favor.”

  Her reference to me was odd but oh well. We would see later how it was going to turn out.

  “Then let’s go.” I cast Teleport and brought us into the square.

  It was afternoon; the children were romping and playing in the streets and alleys. Merchants hawked wares and folks milled about discussing events and happenings. One couple who had been walking, clearly enamored with each other, almost walked into us. The man had bumped into me—I had barely noticed it—and had made some comment to watch where I was going.

  I paid him no mind. Maebe, on the other hand, was eying me considerably.

  “You are not going to assert yourself?” she asked in confusion.

  “What use is there to it? I don’t need these people to fear me—I like them. If he wants to take a love-struck walk with his lady friend, let him. Better that he walk into me than you. If it had been you, I would’ve said something.”

  She seemed to consider that for a moment; then I offered her my arm. “Shall we take a walk together, my Queen?”

  She smiled and took my arm, and despite the open stares of curious villagers, I showed her the village on the way to Rowland’s forge. I showed her Sarah’s carpentry building that was down the road. She seemed completely taken by the place. And the children—she loved the children.

  “They let them run wild here? They do not have someone watching them?” She was confused, bordering on truly worried for them. “Children are precious gifts. Are they so numerous here as to be treated so frivolously?”

  “They are a gift, I should know. But no. There are forces in place here—the bears in the trees surrounding the place on patrol, the guards on the walls and in the village itself. There are more being trained as we speak. And now, they have us. And I hope you?”

  “Yes,” she growled, surprising me.

  “You like children?” I questioned her, stopping where I was.

  “Yes. They are rare for the Fae. We are so long-lived, the monarchs being strong enough to be almost immortal, that it seems to tamper with our ability to procreate. Elves and other Fae who have children are often given many gifts to help raise the child, and in villages within the Fae realm, children are raised by the community so that all may share the love of the child. With nobility, they are trained to adopt the station of their lineage from birth.”

  “So they don’t get to have the kind of childhood a normal Fae would.” I squeezed her hand gently. “You didn’t get to either.”

  “I did not.” She sighed, and her back straightened noticeably. “I am Queen. I was groomed from the womb to take the throne from my mother and lead my people. The training I received made me strong enough to stop the Seelie from encroaching further into my lands and freed my people from the curse that the Wild Hunt had been. They hunted my people freely, and the cold was not enough to stop them. I stepped up and prevailed where my mother could not.

  “I do not resent the life I had, but I find myself jealous of the lives of other children. They grew up outside the politicking and machinations of the courts. They were free of the tedious classes. The lessons. The brutality of the combat tutoring. All of them necessary. All of them for the good of my people.”

  “So that could be part of why you like being here so much,” I observed. She quirked her head at me, unsure. “Here, you don’t have any responsibilities except for what you choose. You choose to take on some here and there, like with the village, but other than your emissaries working for you,” I shrugged noncommittally, “you help us if you want or can—and you are awesome at it—but we allow you to explore and do things that you should have done. Rather, that you would have done, if you weren’t royalty.”

  “That is likely why,” she looked me in the eyes, “and with that thought, I want you to know that you are not something I just use to escape. You allow it, and I do enjoy my time with you—but I take this relationship seriously in my own way. You know this?”

  “It hadn’t really crossed my mind until now, but thank you for being up front with me.” I tried to look understanding, but the thought was there now. Oh well. “So how protective of these children will you be?”

  “If anyone harms a hair on any child’s head in a malicious way while I am here, they will know no end to their suffering, and death will be the only mercy available to them in this realm and any other,” she whispered vehemently as she watched the children playing. “With you and the Gods as my witness, these children are under my protection. I am their Auntie Maebe, and they are beloved by me.”

  A small human child around three or four heard this from where she had been playing in the dirt outside a small, well-made home and tottered over to the Elven woman with a smile. Her round cheeks were rosy-colored, and her golden downy hair was tied back in a loose ponytail. Her spirited-looking, gray eyes sparkled in the light, truly filled to the brim with joy and play.

  “Hiya!” She waved a muddy hand at Maebe, who knelt down to be closer to her. “My name is Lena. Are you my auntie?”

  “I am if you would like me to be, sweet child.” Maebe’s smile in that one moment was enough to further melt my heart. “Lena, what do you like to do?”

  “I like the dirt!” She produced her hands for Maebe to get a good look at. “And I like to eat pies. And run. And play. And play tag.” She rattled on more things that she enjoyed that Maebe seemed to take to heart. “Where are you from?”

  Maebe thought a moment, then replied, “I
am from far away, a place called the Fae Realm. It is a hard place, and children are something my kind are not blessed with the same way that your parents are. They are so blessed to have you, sweet child. Do you know that?”

  “Ma says I was a blessing, and pa says I’m his little treasure.” She puffed her chest out proudly, and I smiled at her confidence.

  “They are absolutely correct.” Maebe nodded her head; the light glittered off of her many earrings, and Lena’s attention went to her ears instantly.

  “You have so many shinies!” the little girl observed in wonder. She reached out, then pulled her hand back and asked, “Can I please touch your ears? Ma says we gots to ask people proper before we go touchin’ things that isn’t our’s.”

  The queen laughed at the girl’s suddenly stern tone at the repeated rule her mother had given her.

  “Yes, you may touch them.” Maebe tilted her head down so that

  Lena could reach out and gently touch her left ear. She poked one of the earrings, giggling after the metal clanked into the next closest one lightly.

  “Your ears are so long!” She reached back and touched her own ears, rounded and small. “I wish I had big ears. And your hair’s so pretty too! I love all the colors.”

  “Your ears are perfect, sweet child.” Maebe reached out her own hand and stopped just short. “May I touch your ears, Lena?”

  The little girl giggled and pulled Maebe’s hand toward her ear. Maebe tickled them gently, and Lena shrieked in delight. The queen gasped softly, pulling her hand back and looking over the child for injuries.

  “She’s alright, ma’am,” a gruff sounding, bass voice intoned from behind us. I turned to see a man who reminded me of Lena instantly grinning behind us. “Isn’t that right, my little treasure?”

  “Pa!” The girl ran between us and leaped into her father’s arms.

  The burly man, six-foot-something with a damned-near perfect lumberjack build, gave his daughter a peck on the forehead.

  “Name’s Shawn, this here is Lena, and my wife, Summer, is behind you.” He looked at me for a moment before grunting, “You look mighty familiar, mister. Do I know you?”