by Simon Archer
“I… do not,” she said slowly, shaking her head. “I do not know how many of my people would be comfortable dwelling in the land of our most violent enemy.”
“Shouldn’t that be their decision?” I asked. “You may not be comfortable, but some of them could be.”
“Remember, my friend,” Marinka said, turning to Nadeine. “Just a few short months ago, our people feared the forest and its inhabitants. But now they are our closest allies. Why should our views not evolve in a similar way when it comes to the mountains?”
“It is different,” Bernsten said, finished heating our food now and ready to join the conversation. “We had misconceptions about the forest elves and their land. We have no such errors in our judgment when it comes to the mountain elves.”
“That’s true for now,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “At least for the mountain elf we’re fighting. But we don’t know what all of them were like. And even if they were all horrible and evil like you say, that doesn’t mean the mountains themselves are. How can a place be evil?”
“I believe that cave we just escaped was clearly evil,” Bernsten scoffed. “This whole place is haunted with the memory of evil and its practitioners.”
“You really feel that way?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise. “You feel the presence of evil here, in this clearing, surrounded by bird songs and beautiful trees?”
“I do not know,” Bernsten sighed, growing frustrated. “No… Yes… I do not know. I have no answer for you, Leo Hayden, I am sorry.”
“I just think it’s a waste not to use it,” I said, shaking my head. “All this space. You could at least use it for vacations.”
“We shall see,” Nadeine said, shaking her head. “But all this talk is premature. We must defeat our enemy before we can take his land for ourselves. Speaking of which, have you made any headway interpreting those scrolls, Marinka?” We all turned to look at the kingdom elf princess, all thought of our disagreement over the mountains already forgotten. Bernsten began to pass out the preserved stakes he had heated, the flames from Ishida’s fire flickering in his eyes.
“Some, I believe,” Marinka said as she took a steak from Bernsten, furrowing her brows together again. “It is difficult work, especially without my team of expert scholars back in the royal castle. I could use their expertise now more than ever. But I have been able to make out some of his writings. It has revealed nothing noteworthy yet.” She bit into the steak and closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. I looked down at my own and did the same. The steak was juicy and salty, marinated in some kind of wine sauce. It was a more than welcome change to my diet.
“What has it revealed?” I asked after I swallowed. “If not noteworthy, anything interesting?”
“Not particularly,” Marinka sighed. “I was only able to make out a few lines of text, but it was something about the effects of the spell he cast, which we have already seen, of course. It describes the lightning, cylindrical light, and the thunder the forest elves heard, as well as the blackened flora and fauna. The rest of that scroll was gibberish, as far as I could tell. Perhaps it was the spell itself. I do not know. Perhaps the other scholars will make more headway when they look at it, but that does not help us now.”
“That’s something, though, isn’t it?” I asked, shrugging and taking a long swig from my canteen. The salt on the steak was good, but it made me very thirsty. “It’s better than nothing. And it shows that he left something to do with us and our quest behind for us to find.”
“Indeed, it does,” Marinka said, nodding. “That is a better way to look at it, I imagine. The information is pertinent to us, though it admittedly is not new. Perhaps I will fare better with the other scrolls.”
“If anything, this shows that he does not know we are here, or at least did not when he left, does it not?” Nadeine asked, swallowing a bite of her own steak. “He would not have left his spell lying around in such a way if he expected us to enter his land.”
“Unless it is a trap, and he left that information behind to mislead us,” Godfried said darkly, speaking for the first time since we arrived at the clearing.
“I don’t think that’s likely,” I said. “He doesn’t even know we can read his language, right? And anyway, as I said earlier, I think it’s best if we hope for the best.”
“Of course, you are correct, Leo Hayden,” Bernsten said. “Let us remain optimistic. It will help our mood and perhaps our performance as well.” He cast a look at Godfried.
“Very well,” the younger elf sighed. “You are right. I will do my best to lift my spirits.”
We passed the rest of the evening in good cheer, laughing and joking around like we had the night before in the fortress, though that felt like a century ago by then. We didn’t speak of the specters, or what they had been doing there in the cave, waiting for us. The thought of them lingered in the back of my mind and in my dreams later that night, but I thought it best not to give those thoughts a voice after the incident with Godfried. I reasoned we would discuss it more the following day, perhaps when the younger elf was out of earshot.
25
We continued to traverse the mountains over the next several days. Each hour, I felt as if the mountains grew more beautiful and exciting, providing us with magnificent views and diverse terrains. There were small streams, rivers, and enormous lakes that stretched as far as the eye could see. There were also huge swaths of forest, smaller tufts of trees, long stretches of rocky mountain dotted with the occasional small cave. It was more vast and varied than either the kingdom or the forest, as much as I loved both of those realms.
We went into a few of the caves to see if we could find any more info on our enemy, but they were all barren, inhabited only by moss and the occasional bat. After we had experienced this several times, I threw up my hands and sighed.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “Didn’t a whole race of people used to live here? Where’s all of their stuff?”
“I do not know,” Marinka said, shaking her head and appearing genuinely confused. “I had expected to find some remnants of the mountain elves’ civilization, but we have yet to do so, other than our enemy’s dwelling. But we know very little about the mountain elves or how they lived, only how they fought and destroyed. Perhaps they had few structures of their own, and lived in these caves or interspersed throughout the realm nomadically, much like the forest elves.”
“Even though we have homes and settlements,” Ishida reminded her, shooting her a pointed look. “We have always had our treehouses and our hollowed-out trees. Just because we are nomadic does not mean we lack tools or civilization, though it looks different from yours.”
“Of course.” Marinka bowed her head to the forest elf in deference. “I admit it is odd that we have found no elf-made structures outside of that first cave. Even if they were nomadic, one would expect to find something, especially considering that they crafted their own orbs from the mountains’ ore. I do not know what to make of it.”
“Maybe we’re just not far enough into the mountains yet,” I mused. “Or maybe the remnants of their civilization are long gone, aside from what our enemy left for us.”
“Indeed,” Marinka said, though she looked unconvinced. “It has long been speculated that the mountain elves operated vast mines to assist in their orb production, among other things. Perhaps we have only yet to encounter one. I would find it highly unlikely that any hint of them is gone, even now.”
“Mines?” Bernsten asked, holding a hand to his stomach and looking a shade of green I had come to associate with his reaction to talk of the mountain elves. “I do not know, Princess, are mines not in the center of the mountains or below? I do not believe that it would be prudent to enter one.”
“Oh, Sir Bernsten,” Marinka laughed, taking note of his discomfort. “If you fear the mountain, what will you do when you encounter the elf?” Bernsten only turned a darker shade of green and let out a strange sound somewhere between a burp and a moan i
n response. I chuckled beneath my breath.
“Well, we’ll just have to keep at it,” I said, turning to exit the small cave and climb back down to the path below. Unlike that first cave, this one was right by the path, with no dangerous cliffs in sight. “We’ll run into something interesting, eventually. For now, I’ll just keep enjoying the landscape.”
“Indeed,” Marinka said, sighing and closing her eyes at the edge of the cave, letting the gentle breeze run through her wavy hair. She held out her arms to feel it better and reopened her eyes after a few moments. “It is beautiful here.”
We climbed down several rocks back down to the path where Godfried had opted to wait with our horses. Bill raised his head in greeting when he saw me, but his eyes were drooping with fatigue.
“I’m sorry, buddy, I know you’re tired,” I said as I petted his long snout before turning to my companions, “I think the steep path really has been rough on them, especially now that we’re carrying Freyja and Ishida, too.”
“I believe you are right,” Nadeine said, looking over her own horse with concern. “They are not used to this kind of terrain and load. Is there something that you can do, Leo? Some kind of spell?”
“No, nothing I can think of,” I said, shaking my head, “but I could make one.”
I brightened up at that. My work on the spell to rejuvenate the forest had come to a kind of standstill since leaving the forest. It was hard to fix something I couldn’t even see and was hundreds of miles away from me at this point. It would be nice to do something more immediately productive.
“Good,” Nadeine said, nodding curtly. “You will be able to work on this evening?”
“Yeah, no problem,” I said, looking back at Bill. “Here that, buddy? I’m going to help you out. Tomorrow will be better, I promise.”
“Perhaps we should stop early tonight,” Bernsten suggested. “My horse, in particular, is quite wary. I worry for him should we continue too long.”
“Agreed,” I said, glancing over at my friend’s horse. True to his words, this horse was definitely worse for wear. He was quite a bit smaller than Bill, though still bigger than the other horses, and he had to carry Bernsten, Ishida, and all of the camping supplies and food. His legs were locked and buckling, and he looked as if every step took something out of him.
“Very well,” Nadeine said. “I believe I smell a lake not far from here. We could travel that far and make camp?” I took a deep breath and realized she was right. The distinct, fresh smell of water hung in the air.
“Cool, let’s go,” I said, hopping gingerly up on Bill and reaching down to help Freyja up as well. She placed her hands on my waist, and I pulled on Bill’s reins gently, ushering him forward. He did so reluctantly and headed off up the path. The other horses followed, trailed by Bernsten’s at the back, moving slowly under the combined weight he was carrying. A few moments later, Marinka gave voice to something I had been wondering for days but had yet to speak of for fear of reminding Godfried of what had happened.
“Do you believe that he knew we were coming, and that was why he left those things to attack us?” She leaned in close to me as she spoke, or at least as close as she could while traveling by horse. But even so, I could tell that Godfried had heard, and he averted his eyes, taking a sudden interest in his horse’s neck.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I hope not. I mean, how would he know we were coming? But then again, he knew enough to kill Viktor. But if he did leave them to find us, why did they wait so long to attack? And why did he leave behind all those scrolls you’ve been reading full of information about him and his spells?”
“I have these same questions,” Marinka said. “It does not necessarily add up.”
“Maybe he left the spectres there just in case someone came to find him,” I reasoned. “Not for us in particular. Maybe he even left them there a long time ago, maybe even when Viktor was still alive, to keep him away from him. But when Viktor died, he thought he didn’t have anything to worry about and left all the stuff behind.”
“Perhaps,” Marinka said, looking relieved. “This actually makes a great deal of sense, Leo. You have eased my mind, thank you.”
“No problem,” I said, smiling at her. I glanced over at Godfried, who was still staring down at his horse. He had been unusually quiet since everything went down in that cave, and his usual confidence had evaporated. I eased up on Bill’s reins so he fell back a bit and leaned in close to Marinka, so I was almost speaking in her ear. “Is he okay?”
“I do not know,” Marinka sighed, shaking her head. “His confidence is certainly shaken. Perhaps this evening as you practice your own magic he can practice his, to regain some of it.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” I said. Godfried was really very good at magic, eclipsed in talent only by Nadeine and myself, and that was only really because Nadeine was older and more experienced, and had spent more time training with me. “Hey, how have you been doing with those scrolls by the way?” I gestured at the scroll in Marinka’s hand and the small pack filled with the rest of what we had found in the cave hanging at her side.
“It has been going rather slowly,” she said, hanging the scroll down at her side and frustration. “But that is to be expected, I suppose. But it is frustrating, nonetheless. It does not help that what I have deciphered has been of little use to us.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “It’s confirmed things we’d already suspected, sure, but that’s far from useless.”
“Indeed,” she said, shooting me a wan smile. “Of course, you are right, Leo. I am letting my frustration get the best of me. This early evening will be good for me, I believe.”
“Me too,” I said. “My own work on my spell has been kind of frustrating, too. Doing something that should be quicker and show immediate results will be nice. Not to mention getting more sleep, hopefully.”
“Indeed,” Marinka said, chuckling. “Though if you were not so resistant to consuming the stina root, you may feel better.”
“No way,” I said, shaking my head vigorously. “I hate that stuff. Makes me feel like I’m dying.”
“Perhaps your people have a different reaction to it,” Marinka reasoned.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I laughed, thinking of my dad who had to drink several cups of coffee every morning before work just to be functional. “I just don’t like it that much. Musicians aren’t supposed to take stimulants, you know, especially when they’re performing. It makes us even more nervous than we already are. So I just got used to never taking them, and now they make me feel weird. Especially yours, it’s super strong, a lot like your alcohol.”
“I suppose this is true,” Marinka laughed. “They must both be strong, otherwise neither would be as impactful. If our stina root were not so strong, then our alcohol would be too strong. And if our alcohol were not so strong, well…” She cast an exaggerated look in Bernsten’s direction. “Well suffice it to say that many of our soldiers would be unhappy. But this you say about performing, Leo. Should we not consume this stina root either? Is it negatively affecting our magic?” She looked genuinely concerned.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t think so. Performing is different here. You’re not standing in front of hundreds of people. And the real show is the spell and what it does, not the actual music, though that’s still pretty awesome. Anyway, that’s not to say that it isn’t nerve wracking here, it definitely is. And the stakes are higher, in the grand scheme of things. When I performed back home, it wasn’t a life or death situation, even though sometimes I guess it felt like it was. Anyway, I guess the adrenaline from the spell and everything makes me strangely calmer? And it’s a natural stimulant, so it doesn’t really matter? I don’t know. It’s just different.”
“That makes sense,” Marinka said. Then, pointing in front of us, “Ah, we have arrived.” I looked where she was pointing. In front of us was an enormous, nearly endless lake as far as the eye could see. Along the
shoreline were several spread-out trees, perfect ground for a campsite.
“Awesome,” I said. “This is huge.”
“Ample ground for fishing,” Marinka said, nodding.
“Oh yes, this will be fun,” Freyja grinned.
“Ah,” Bernsten panted, calling out from way behind us. “A campsite. Excellent. I do not believe we could have made it much longer.” I looked back to see him patting his weary horse on the head, Ishida behind him looking rather worse for wear. I wasn’t sure why Bernsten was worn out, considering he wasn’t the one carrying himself, Ishida, and many of our camping supplies, but he did.
“What’s up with you guys?” I called back to them. “Rough ride.”
“I do not know, my friend,” Bernsten sighed, shaking his head. “This has been a difficult journey.” Those of us at the front of the group had reached the edge of the lake by now, and I dismounted Bill, closely followed by Freyja. Bernsten and Ishida continued to lumber over to us on their horse.
“You okay?” I asked them when they were closer. Ishida looked rather shell shocked and hopped down almost before the horse even stopped.
“Better now that we’re here,” Ishida said, shaking her head vigorously to clear it, causing her short otter-like hair to stand up straight.
“What happened to you, brother?” Nadeine asked, eyeing Bernsten skeptically as he dismounted his horse and began to remove its saddle and the packs in an effort to relieve its burden.
“I am afraid we could have walked faster than my dear horse trotted this day, sister,” Bernsten sighed, still focusing on the saddle as he spoke. “Not truly, but Ishida may have been able to do so. My dear steed is quite weighed down by his load, I am afraid. I hope that your spell will help him, Leo Hayden.”