by Blaine Hart
“Suit yourself. But, tell us one of those long ones. My boys deserve the best,” he said and a loud cheer echoed from everywhere around the gate.
Vygarast set down his pouch with a silent thump and dug out his master’s flute. He examined it with a thoughtful look and nodded to himself. This will be enough for them. He mentally counted the men close to him, and with a measured move, he touched the hilt of his sword from inside his cloak. A small crowd had now amassed around them, getting ready for the show. When Vygarast was ready to start, he took a long breath in and started talking out loud:
“Ladies and esteemed men of Crowfair! The tale I’ll sing to you is one of passion, courage, and heroism. Remember it, learn from it, and in the future, don’t use your lord’s name to gain from it.” The guards had barely enough time to move before Vygarast started his song.
It was that of a Nymph of the High Peaks, the frozen slopes of the Oversea Mountains. The song was used as a way to freeze up the Bard’s enemies, inflicting them with a spell that immobilized their every move. By the time the Bard had started his song, the men had slowed down considerably, now almost unable to move at all.
Vygarast knew all too well that the only throwback of his spell was that it was easily broken if he moved. His plan, however, was not to freeze them completely; the spell had also another use. “Now, let’s see how strong and mighty you are,” he sang.
The men were now able to move again, but their shaky limbs deemed them unable to fight. They drew their swords with great difficulty and as they launched forward to meet the Bard, Vygarast outmaneuvered them with ease, succeeding in tripping a couple of them so that they fell on their arses. The crowd was now laughing at the guards’ misfortune and clapped every time a freezing guard fell on his face.
Once all the guards where left unable to move on the ground, Vygarast curtsied and the crowd cheered. “Thank you, thank you good men and women of Crowfair. If you could point me at a good inn for the night, then…” Before he was able to complete his sentence, a guard from inside the walls hurdled towards him with an angry roar.
Usually, Bards were not trained in the act of fighting because they were mostly used as healers or to keep the soldiers’ morale high. However, Vygarast was Lanarast’s pupil, and he didn’t get the name Lanarast the Bold from just his skill with magic alone. His master had insisted that all his students be trained, like he was, in the art of swordsmanship.
‘There is no greater danger than a slow Bard, or an untrained one. You can learn to sing, but for a Bard to cast he needs absolute focus. You won’t always have the time to sing, not during a fight.”
Abruptly, with a quick flap of his cloak, Vygarast drew his sword. When the two steel blades kissed, the crowd gasped in delight. In their minds, this was closer to a show than an actual fight. Vygarast was quick, sleek, always a move ahead of his enemy. His sword was like an extension to his body, and he moved with practiced grace.
The young blue-eyed guard was soon exhausted, and fell to his knees when Vygarast disarmed him with a well-placed blow. The crowd cheered and Vygarast turned and bowed a few times quickly to thank them. He was, above all, a showman.
For a reason apparent to all, the remaining guards avoided him, instead tending to their officer and their fallen comrades as Vygarast swiftly made his way into the city. A few in the crowd followed him, cheering his performance. After several blocks a gray-haired old man called out to Vygarast. His face was a mixture of concern and caution. He instinctively knew that the elder wanted to ask him something.
“Sir… Sir Bard,” the man stuttered and lowered his head in respect, “I’m Elder Vint, chief of one of the villages near the forest of Streyln. Sir Bard, I have been looking for a hero such as you for many days. I wouldn’t ask for such a tedious act if I could avoid it, but do you know anything about killing Ogres?”
Chapter 4 : Of Spiders and Fairies
Elder Vint was certainly quick on his feet for an old man. Hunching forward, sometimes even skipping a step while keeping up a fast pace. He looked like he was being chased by a pack of wild dogs.
Trotting now and then to keep up with the man’s fast walking, Vygarast was having second thoughts of following the man towards the woods. However, just the mention of Ogres, gigantic super strong beasts with fierce tempers, was enough of a hook for young Vygarast to help.
There is no way of him knowing that I’m out to hunt legends, right? I mean, I kept my face hidden all the way from Midvein to Crowfair, as well as kept my business secret. Vygarast took a long breath and decided it was time to ask this old man some questions.
“Excuse me, Vint, can we make a short stop? The fight and casting exhausted me and I would like to have a word with you now that we’re some ways away from the city.”
The elder argued with himself for a short moment, probably weighing his options in his head. The man wanted a fighter and Vygarast, even with then prowess he showed, would not be able to kill an Ogre if he was tired. So, with a sharp nod, he led the way deeper into the woods, this time at a more manageable pace.
A couple spans to the west there was a small glade. Judging from the blackened ground in the middle surrounded by stones, this was a hunters’ spot. The elder certainly knew his way around. Vygarast’s had a big concern. For some time now, he had a vile taste in his mouth, like the air tasted bad. He had asked the elder about it, but he didn’t seem to notice.
As they stopped to rest Vygarast stated: “Thank you elder. Some times people tend to forget that magic comes equal parts from inside and from outside the body. No matter how powerful a Bard is, casting takes a lot from a man.” Vygarast knew that this was not totally true, but if he was getting lured into a trap, then lying to a freckled old man was the least of his worries.
“I understand young Bard. Rest for a while. But we do have to be in the village by sundown.” Vygarast noticed a tint of concern on the man’s voice. It seems that forests are not safe anymore.
“Tell me elder. What do you know of the Ogre?” The old man snapped at the sound of that word, acting like he heard of the creature from the first time ever in his life.
“Not much. Mostly rumors, glimpses of shadows deep into the Streyln. But just recently, a bunch of our best hunters decided to hunt that. . .thing. No one believed that it was an Ogre, not with the hundreds of years that we hadn’t seen one of those things in our forests. Only after one of the hunters returned, with blood running from his amputated arm, did we know for sure. The last word he muttered was ‘Ogre’ before he died from blood loss. I couldn’t wait any longer for someone to believe me. I had to act, so I decided to get to Crowfair and ask for help. But Lord Digby laughed at me, believing me to be a frightened old man who was daft in the head.”
Yes, that is something that a Crowfairer would do, Vygarast thought. “And tell me elder, is there a bounty on the beast’s head?”
A bold question, Vygarast knew, but he needed gold! Besides, everyone knows that beast slaying was not a free job. Lanarast was rich in his old age from all the bounties he had collected. “Yes, of course young Bard, we managed to collect 50 gold coins; it was a rough winter for our village, and we were unable to gather more.”
Damn. Not even a fraction of what I want. I should have asked about the money first. But Vygarast knew that he followed the man because he needed to be bold and he wanted to be sure of himself before going to look for the Owl-Wizard. It was one thing hearing his own father talk about harpies, but for a whole village to believe in Ogres was huge. He had to investigate. “Okay. I’ll do my best to help you Elder Vint.”
Half an hour had passed while the two men talked to each other. The Elder’s village, Hollowpeak, was mostly a settlement used by passing hunters. Deep in the forest and close to the river of Turtle Run, Hollowpeak was a village of few permanent residents but with plenty of visitors coming and going from Crowfair. The fact that the army, or even other hunters, had not taken notice of the Ogre was something that worried Vygarast. It was
too late now, since he had already committed to the task and followed the man to the other side of the forest. He could only to hope for the best.
After taking a last sip off his flask, Vygarast was ready at last to move on from the forest clearing. He was still uncertain of the elder’s intentions, but at least he had had time to replenish his strength. Magic could do wonders to his stamina, but it could also leave a man hollow if used carelessly. The old man obviously didn’t know that a Bard could use magic to prolong his stamina or run faster, but Vygarast had no intention of being careless and running head-first into a trap. His father’s life depended on him.
“Okay, let’s go. Is Hollowpeak still far?” He asked, turning to look for the old man behind him. When Vygarast finally spotted him, the elder was shaking like a fish out of the water. It was like he had seen a ghost.
“Is something wrong?” As Vygarast rushed back to help him, he saw what scared the man senseless. “What the. . . ?” He didn’t have time to speak.
He pushed the elder roughly one way and then jumped himself the other way, just in time to dodge a huge spider attacking him from above. Having lived most of his life at the foot of a mountain close to the forest, Vygarast had only seen a few giant snakes the size of this thing. Its hairy belly hit the forest floor and it waved its front legs in front of vicious mouth dripping with poison. It was getting ready to attack.
“Run! I will keep it here,” Vygarast bellowed to the old man who stood petrified a few feet away. “Run you stupid old man! I’ll catch up with you!” After the second round of shouts, Elder Vint shook his head and ran into the woods.
Now, focus on the spider Vygarast. He drew his sword from the scabbard and held it with both his hands for more power. Sharp as his blade was, Vygarast knew he had to end this fight with a mighty blow if he wanted to survive. The spider’s fangs dripped green venom and as it prepared to attack.
Vygarat examined his surroundings, searching for the best footing. If only master Lanarast was here. He could cast while I slaughtered it with ease. But he knew he was alone in this. Vygarast took a deep breath, relaxed his muscles and followed his gut.
Hello? Is anyone out there?
“What the? Who was that?” Everything then happened almost simultaneously. The enormous spider jumped towards Vygarast who had lost his concentration when the voice had whispered inside his head. It was the chirpy sound of a female voice. Vygarast could not track to its source. Lost in the moment, he barely managed to jump to the side, barely avoiding the spider’s fangs. The spider responded quickly and did a quick jump turn, and started charging after Vygarast.
He didn’t have the time to think. He took his sword and thrust if forward, catching the spider between its many eyes. The hairy creature was fast, however, and managed to get away with his blade only sinking in a few inches deep. Quickly circling, getting behind Vygarast’s back, the spider attacked again. Spinning with the sword above his head, Vygarast brought his sword down in a might two handed cleave that tore through the spiders head and brain. With a horrifying shriek, the spider fell to the ground with its belly up and its legs twitching. Vygarast wasted no time and gave the beast a few more deadly stabs until the twitching finally stopped.
Gasping for breath while standing above the spider, Vygarast shakily cleaned his sword on his nearby tall grass. He was exhausted.
Excuse me, now that the battle is over, can you help me here?
“Damn it, who’s there?” Vygarast shouted, almost jumping out of his skin when the voice whispered inside his mind again. “Are you one of those creatures? What do you want?” Exhausted and unsure of himself, Vygarast peered all around the forest.
Hey… human, I’m over here. Turn around.
He turned his head, trying to locate the voice. “I can’t see you!” Abruptly, a small, flickering motion of light appeared on a glistening spider’s web between the trunks of two trees. Vygarast rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before being sure. Something was indeed on that web and it certainly was not a fly.
Vygarast held his sword ready as he made his way to the silky web and the small glowing bundle that was trapped within. The voice was silent now, probably eager to be set free. His hands shook as he stretched them out to rip the webs strands apart. It took him a minute or two to completely remove the bundle from the powerful and sticky spider web.
A big web for a big spider, thought Vygarast as he examined the glowing ball.
I agree. I really hate spiders! The voice replied to his thoughts, making Vygarast jump and look around with wild eyes.
“Okay, the fun is over. What kind of spell is that? And how can you cast without an instrument? I haven’t heard a song or anything.” He took a good, long look around, waiting for someone to appear and assure him that everything was a joke, however, only that small light appeared out the mass of spider web.
Listen you hasty, young human; my name is Azore Frostyhill, and I’m of the Fairy Daughters. I would be delighted if you stopped your nonsense and freed me from the rest of this web.
Vygarast delicately pulled the glob of web apart, revealing a small glowing fairy from within. She squealed and cursed as he tried his best to delicately remove her from the rest of the sticky mess. He took out his water skin and after a few more minutes of careful work, she was free. She smiled at him then and then waved her hands about in a mysterious gesture. She glowed as bright as the sun for a brief second and then she was flying in the air next to his head.
Now that she was so close to him, Vygarast could see her for what she really was, another legend; a woman, or a teenage girl, with long blonder hair that changed color towards the end. Her eyes were two tiny balls of fire, like the flare that remained for a few seconds after you blew out a candle. Her body was tiny and her wings like that of a beautiful butterfly.
She looked tired, so Vygarast said: “Here, you can rest on my shoulder.” With a quirky sound, the fairy landed on the edge of his right shoulder. The feeling of having her there was invigorating; it was like her very presence filled Vygarast with strength and power.
Now what? Aren’t you going to tell me your name? The melodic voice chimed in his head.
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry. We half-elves don’t meet fairies all that commonly around here.” Vygarast grinned in an effort to appease the small creature. “I’m Vygarast son of Ornsell, from Midvein of the North Side of the Stryqip Bluff.” The fairy smiled.
Pretty big name for such a young human. Are you a lord, or royalty? I really love palace gardens. Vygarast could almost sense her weary smile.
“Unfortunately, I’m not… Lady Frostyhill. I’m on a quest to save my father from a harpy’s curse. I was following an old man to his village to kill an ogre, when we met the spider. You know what happened after that.”
As soon as everything poured out of his mouth, Vygarast cupped his mouth with both his hands, every secret he meant to keep, out in the light. The tiny fairy giggled at his reaction. You ignorant human; you really don’t know anything about our kind, do you? With a brief flap of her beautiful wings, the fairy proceeded to explain. No one can lie around fairies, not even Bards. We are nature’s judges and protectors, keeping our Mother safe from every vile creature, especially humans.
The tiny fairy floated before Vygarast’s head, looking him straight in the eyes. For a moment, she examined him. You have unusually bright green eyes, even for a human.
“I’m a half-elf, which has something to do with it.”
A charming giggle erupted from the fairy, this time lighting the whole glade up. My dear Vygarast, I wish I could stay. However, you have to take me to your King now, or one of your Lords. I bear news from the Queen of Fairies herself, and it is urgent.
Chapter 5 : The Four Dukes of Theugua
Vygarast returned to his camp from his short visit to the village. He had spent the last night talking with Azore, or Azy as she preferred to be called, who was a fairy ambassador sent here to negotiate the return of fairies to the k
ingdom. Azore Frostyhill was a Winter Fairy, belonging to one of the Four Factions of hierarchy back in the Fairy Kingdom.
She wouldn’t reveal too much to him, not with her diplomatic mission under way, but she and Vygarast became friends quite fast. Being forced to say the truth while close to her was troubling at first, but soon it was refreshing to not have to keep anything hidden from her. Even so, Azy was a quirky fairy, even under fairy standards. She was really talkative, not easy to fool (Vygarast was pretty sure that this was a common characteristic between the fairies) and a restless spirit overall. She was good company to have and Vygarast enjoyed every second.
It was not easy for Vygarast to accept that he was now friends with a creature from lore, but he was loving his new friend. He pulled aside a bush to enter his camp after searching for the old man for several hours. Azy was hiding on the higher branches of a tree and she floated down to greet him. It was very cool that she didn’t have to flap her wings in order to fly. He wasn’t sure how she did that.