Tree of Ages Box Set

by Sara C. Roethle

  She glanced at Iseult as they walked. He had more color in his cheeks now, though he still looked ready to keel over. She opened her mouth to ask if he needed to rest, but didn't get the chance as he placed a hand against the small of her back to urge her on more quickly.

  When Liaden regained consciousness, she found herself awkwardly slung across the back of a shaggy, short horse. The horse was keeping up a rather brisk, bumpy pace that was quite irritating. The last thing she remembered was a Traveler pulling her from her bedroll, then she was submerged into a world of grays.

  She had walked through long halls for days, or perhaps weeks, she was not sure. She had heard voices, and felt as if there had been several consciousnesses within her skull. The extra minds had guided her through the maze-like corridors with soft coaxing. Occasionally she had seen other human forms, but they were always hazy, and did not seem to notice her.

  Eventually she found what the voices were looking for. It was a great tree that appeared to be mostly dead. Yet there was life in its roots, and she somehow just knew that those roots reached into another place, and not just into the ground. The tree's name echoed in her mind, Archtree.

  Brought back to reality again by the harsh movements of the horse, she tried to right herself in the saddle. It became apparent that someone was holding her in place, and she began to thrash about until she fell from the horse to the ground. The next sight she saw was Finn standing over her, only not looking how she was supposed to. Veins of light could be seen flowing underneath Finn's skin like wildly writhing serpents. The lights shone particularly bright where her heart should have been.

  “Liaden!” Finn shouted, causing the light to intensify. She crouched closer, bringing her headache inducing brightness with her. “Are you all right?”

  Liaden flinched at the sound, then waved Finn off. “I'd be fine if you'd just stop shining so brightly.”

  “S-shining?” Finn asked, but Kai appeared before an explanation could be offered. He lifted Liaden up into a sitting position. “Are you hurt?” he asked.

  She pushed away from him to sit on her own. “The Travelers?” she asked, wondering how she had been freed from her captors.

  “Dead,” Kai replied as he got to his feet.

  “How?”

  Àed came into view. “That's not important now. What is important is that we're going to be just as dead if ye fools don't get up out of the dirt and get movin'.”

  She allowed Kai to help her stand, but instantly almost lost her footing again. She felt absolutely exhausted, and hungry. Very, very hungry. She noticed that Àed shone with a similar light to Finn's, only his was more muted and golden in tone.

  She held on tightly to Kai's arm as he guided her back into the saddle so they could begin moving again, reveling in the feeling of being near someone she trusted. She shivered as she thought of the cold touch of the Ceàrdaman. Closing her eyes against the sharp pain in her head and the sick feeling in her stomach, she asked, “Would someone please explain to me what is going on?”

  “The Faie are at war,” Iseult answered blandly from somewhere behind her. “Because of this, we'd like to get out of their forest as soon as possible.” Despite his words, she doubted he would be able to make it out of the forest as he leaned heavily against a nearby tree for support.

  “How far do we have to go?” she asked, discarding all of her questions in favor of a more pertinent one.

  “We're close,” Iseult replied simply.

  The conversation ended with that. She would have liked to know where Branwen and Anders were, but she could see something shining in the distance, and she felt that this thing might not be as welcome a sight as her companions had been.

  “There's something up ahead,” she warned.

  “I see nothing,” Kai replied from beside her, scanning the trees farther up the path.

  While she watched, a line of bright lights journeyed in single file from within a thick copse of trees. The lights seemed almost like free-floating fires, but were too bright white to be flame.

  “Those are the lights that lined the Traveler's cavern,” Finn observed.

  Liaden let out a sigh of relief, glad that she wasn't the only one who could see the lights.

  “They're Faie,” Iseult clarified, as he looked at Finn. It was a rather tender look for a mercenary to give. “They guided me to you,” he explained, still looking only at Finn.

  Finn turned from Iseult's gaze to stare back at the lights. “Look,” she said, pointing to where the lights had come to a standstill. Open land could be seen past the lights. They seemed to be encircling the border of the forest.

  “How do we get out?” Finn asked.

  “Wait,” Iseult instructed as he stared at the lights, shifting his weight from foot to foot uneasily.

  Àed had moved closer to Finn, and to Liaden, the two of them together was almost blinding. White light mingled with gold to create a dizzying shine. She turned back to the lights at the border as they pulsed brighter and brighter, as if they were building up to something. With a final pulse, they exploded in a fiery flash. A hot wind rushed past her face, and the pressure changed, making her ears pop. She looked where the lights had been, and could find no sign of them.

  Àed groaned. “They destroyed the border. The Faie are free. We needed to be gone from this place a fortnight ago, a year ago!”

  The party stared at the old man as if he had lost his mind. “What are ye waiting fer!” he scolded. “Get movin!”

  They did not need to be told twice. Liaden set her heels into the horse's sides to urge the creature on. Everyone else ran as if there were flames licking at their heels.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As they ran, the ground behind them began to shake steadily. The mule carrying Liaden didn't seem as worried as everyone else on foot, and kept an even pace despite the trembling. At first Finn thought that perhaps the earth was going to tear itself apart, but she soon realized that the shaking was caused by footfalls. Thousands upon thousands of footfalls.

  Finn watched in horror as several Trow surpassed her on their way to the border. Another Trow reached her side. “Faster, Tree Sister!” he shouted at her. “Even with the Ceàrdaman weakened, the border will not stay down for long!”

  The Trow then picked up his pace, quickly leaving Finn and her party behind. Finn stumbled, but Iseult was quick to catch her so that she did not fall completely. Liaden kept pace with them, even though she could have easily ridden ahead. Àed outpaced them all, constantly looking over his shoulder to urge his companions on. The old man scurried and hopped over the underbrush like a fox. It would almost have been an amusing sight if they weren't all running for their lives.

  “Faster!” Kai urged, also looking over his shoulder. Finn stole a glance back, then indeed ran faster. All shapes and sizes of Faie followed in their wake. The tiny winged Faie that had once been in cages caught up and buzzed past Finn's ears on their way to freedom. Her lungs burned as she labored to suck in enough air. The border was so close, but her steps had begun to falter. Her pace slowed as she resigned herself to being overtaken by the stampeding Tuatha.

  Just as she was ready to drop to the ground, Finn let out a yip as someone picked her up effortlessly from behind. For a moment she thought that Iseult had rescued her, but the arms around her were not human. The twig-like arms of the Trow now carrying her were much stronger than they appeared. Panicking, she tried to pry herself free as she was carried away from her party, and eventually over the border. The Trow carried her a few steps farther, then turned to look back at the other fleeing Faie .

  As Finn watched, all of the various Faie crossed the border and disappeared into the scenery. Some took to the sky, others scurried over the ground and into the brush, and others simply faded from sight.

  The Trow let Finn down to her feet as her party reached them. “You are safe for now, Tree Sister,” the Trow rumbled, “but I would not remain near the border long. Many of the Ceàrdaman still live
, some in the forest, and many others outside of it.”

  Kai grabbed Finn as soon as he reached her, pulling her away from the Trow's side. The Trow laughed in his strange, deep voice, then hobbled away to melt in with a copse of nearby trees.

  “When that creature grabbed hold of you, I thought-” Kai began.

  “He was trying to help,” Finn interrupted, “and lucky that he did, my legs were ready to give out.”

  Come to think of it, her legs still felt like pottage. She was surprised that she was able to stand at all. With that final sprint, the long walk had caught up to her.

  “We best be leavin',” Àed commented. “Not all these Faie will be as benevolent as that Trow.” Àed looked Finn up and down. “Up on the horse with yer friend now,” he ordered.

  Finn looked skeptically at the horse with Liaden in its saddle. Despite its rickety looking body, it did not seem weary in the least. Finn turned back to Àed. “How is that horse the least tired among us?”

  Àed grunted in reply. “I've a way with animals. Now up ye go.”

  Finn obeyed, and they made their slow way away from the forest. In the few moments they'd stood conversing, the tumult of the stampeding Faie had nearly died down completely. They were out in the world of humans now. Finn knew the day's events would have dire consequences for the world of her companions. She supposed it was her world as well, even if she preferred to live in it as a tree.

  Really, they were probably more safe at that moment than they would be upon reaching the next town. They were in the last place the Faie wanted to be. The mule-horse seemed to sense that the need for great haste was over, and kept a slow, lolling pace. Àed returned Finn's dagger to her, then handed Kai his various weapons as they walked. Finn watched curiously as Kai returned each blade to its proper place, stumbling with fatigue as he did so.

  Liaden, who was sitting in front of Finn in the saddle, turned to meet the eyes of her fellow rider. “Where are the twins?” she asked. “I hope nothing tragic has befallen them.” Though Liaden's words were sympathetic, Finn sensed that they weren't entirely genuine, perhaps because of the way Liaden squinted at her while she said them.

  Finn looked back at her sadly, ignoring her strange squinting. Liaden had been through a lot, after all. “They live. At least they were alive when we left them, but Branwen fell afoul of some unknown Tuatha spell. We found her lying among Faie barrows. Once she awoke, she behaved as if in a trance, like a sleepwalker. We left her with Anders at the border when we came back to find you.”

  Liaden's expression turned thoughtful. “You lacked two members of your party, yet you still came to find me?” she asked breathlessly, as if truly puzzled.

  “Three actually,” Finn answered. “Iseult was missing as well.”

  Liaden twisted her mouth in confusion. “But why? Why would you and the old man risk your lives for the life of a stranger?”

  Finn's eyes narrowed, not sure if she should be offended or not by the line of questioning.

  “Don't misunderstand me,” Liaden said hurriedly. “I am grateful, just . . . well Kai I understand, that boy knows no fear, but you owed me no such rescue.”

  Finn shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. “I suppose I just didn't feel there was another option. You and Iseult were both within the forest. If we did not find you, who would?”

  Liaden shook her head, but smiled to soften the gesture. “You are a very strange woman Finn, and I am grateful for it.”

  “Of course no one is grateful to the old man,” Àed piped in. “I only kept all yer fool hides safe through this whole debacle.”

  “Thank you Àed,” Finn, Liaden, and Kai said in unison. Iseult remained quiet, but Finn was quite sure that she had seen a small smile cross his exhausted, pale face as he walked beside Àed's horse.

  The party went in silence for quite some time. Whenever they passed through a copse of trees, Finn felt a certain sense of unease. Any manner of Faie could be hiding in the foliage . . . but the trees were always empty. At least they seemed empty.

  The sky was more clear than Finn had seen it at any point that year. Clear enough that the sun beat down on their shoulders whenever they left the shade of trees. Her entire body ached, but her stomach ached the most. She worried that they might starve, but did not say so out loud.

  “I'd still like to know how you found us,” Kai said to Iseult, breaking the drawn-out silence.

  Iseult offered the barest of nods as he walked beside Kai, but did not speak.

  “Well?” Kai pushed.

  Iseult ignored him completely. Surprisingly it was Liaden who cut in. “I don't think any of us really want to divulge our experiences in that cursed forest. I, for one, will not be answering any questions, so I shan't blame the sellsword for doing the same.”

  Kai raised his eyebrows in tired surprise and turned his attention to Liaden. “You won't even tell me?” he asked, though it was clear he'd turned to teasing.

  Liaden let out a snort of weak laughter, then turned her attention away from Kai. “Do we have any food left? Or more importantly, water? I feel as if I've had nothing to eat or drink for a week.”

  Iseult silently untied his water skin from his belt and handed it to Liaden. She took a long swill from the skin, then handed it over her shoulder to Finn, who took it appreciatively. The water ran down Finn's dry throat almost painfully, and it was an effort to stop herself from draining the waterskin entirely. As Finn handed the container back to Iseult, he held her gaze until she gave him a nod of understanding. They had many things to discuss, but not while in the presence of Kai and Liaden.

  Finn very much wanted to know what had happened to Iseult in the forest, but the swig of water had brought to light more pressing concerns. They were nearly out of water, and entirely out of food. She hadn't eaten since that morning, and the portion had been so small she felt it hardly counted. She began searching through the horse's saddle bags in earnest, and to her surprise came up with two small pieces of bread, though there was no meat or cheese to go with it. Kai or Àed must have purposefully reserved the bread, knowing there was no food to find within the Blood Forest.

  Finn handed one piece to Liaden, fearing that the Travelers had not bothered with feeding her at all. The other piece she handed to Kai to divide up. What she ended up with was a small fourth of a piece of bread. The men had attempted to deny their pieces, but Finn refused to eat them. Liaden gnawed at her hunk of bread like a starved wild animal.

  Finn's belly protested the meager portion, letting her know that it would have rather had nothing, than just a bite to whet her appetite. Hearing the groan of her stomach, Kai looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. “We'll stop and set some traps soon. We likely won't find much, but we'll survive.”

  Finn knew that Kai was only trying to console her. There was always the chance that they would not be able to catch any game at all. If that was the case, starving to death became a real concern. Her stomach cramped, nearly doubling her over. Perhaps it was a concern already.

  “There is another problem,” Liaden added. “Even if we manage to feed ourselves until the next town, I've lost all of my belongings, and it seems most of you have as well. Do we even have any coin to purchase rations once they are available?”

  The party took a moment to search their persons. Finn still had Àed's coin purse, which had remained quite full. Iseult and Kai both carried a fair amount as well. Luckily they had all kept their coin on themselves and not on their mounts.

  With that settled, they walked on. It seemed to Finn that they had been walking forever, when in reality it had a few hours. They had seen no sign of the twins since leaving the forest. Finn hoped they were well, especially Branwen, yet she had to admit that a part of her was glad to delay their meeting. They'd had no chance to seek answers with the Travelers, and given the Traveler's recent lowering in numbers, possibly never would. Finn dreaded telling Anders, feeling he would blame her alone, as she was the one who had first promised answers.

>   The voices in Branwen's head told her not to wait any longer. Her brother had brought her to the outskirts of the forest, but he wasn't important. The forest had served its purpose, and now Branwen had to move on. Her heart pounded as scenes of bloodshed flashed through her mind, though the forest in front of her appeared empty.

  The forest. She had found new purpose there. Some small voice in the back of her mind protested this new purpose, but its influence was negligible. The voices in the front of her mind were much more prominent, and they had given her a mission to fulfill.

  “Go,” the voices urged her.

  Distant sounds from within the forest distracted her brother, and she took the opportunity to kick her horse into motion, despite the fact that her reins were looped around the pommel of her brother's saddle.

  Branwen's horse reared up, unable to move forward as its rider commanded. The horse reared again and turned to the side as Anders' own mount panicked. Branwen's reins came loose from his saddle before Anders could react. As soon as her horse was freed, Branwen kicked its sides again. She clung to her saddle as her horse took off away from the forest, with her brother galloping after her and shouting her name.

  As none had the energy to walk through the day, Finn and her companions stopped to make camp while the sun was still high above them. Luck was on their side, and Iseult found a nearby river to refill the few waterskins left between them. Kai set snares for rabbits, but with nothing available to attract the rabbits to said snares, he was not hopeful about the results. The best he could do was set them near the river, in an area that would be convenient for small animals to stop and drink.

  While they waited for night to fall, Finn and Liaden excused themselves to bathe in the chilly river, which was really more of a stream. Finn would have forgone the icy water altogether, but Liaden claimed she needed to wash away the feeling of the Traveler's touch, and Finn did not want to make her do so alone.