The Elf and the Amulet

by Chris Africa

  Chassy didn't want any weapon. Up until now, he had never thought how he would protect the amulet if attacked. In his imagined adventures, the foe had always been a sea monster or dragon. But the idea of actually stabbing a person gave him the chills.

  "Okay," he said. "But you don’t really think we’re going to have to kill anyone, do you?"

  Yosef shrugged his thick shoulders. "Blackwood is a dangerous place. Besides, from the amount of provisions in that pack, it looks like you're in for a good long journey. A blade is a traveler's best friend. Here, you better at least learn how to hold this before we start moving. Give this a good handshake."

  Yosef pulled out his own dagger and held it out hilt to Chassy, who took it awkwardly.

  "That's good if you're going to eat off of it," Yosef laughed. Chassy shifted the blade around, feeling foolish in front of the veteran fighter. "Try putting your thumb over here. Now point it at my belly…"

  "The rest is just practice, pure and simple. And that’s something you won’t get much of while we’re on the move. I’ll set you against Bruno when we make camp tonight." Yosef disarmed him in a wink and tucked his dagger back in the sheath.

  Chassy was relieved when Yosef finally turned to Andrev and started introducing him to a sword he could barely lift. He looked for Nita; she was talking to Toad and Yasmina. Toad was waving his hands around and pointing.

  "What are you looking at?" Yasmina demanded.

  Chassy hadn't actually been looking at her and jumped when she talked. She looked like a fine lady wearing her brother’s clothes, with a pale face and long blond hair flowing freely. She was shorter than Chassy, and the only one of the guards whose face was not scarred. On her hip she carried a narrow blade in a jeweled sheath.

  "You look like an elf," Chassy blurted.

  He felt a blade at his throat again. She was fast! Touchy, too.

  "I'm no elf," Yasmina said in a husky voice.

  "I meant no offense." Chassy tried to smile, but the rapier felt awfully pointy. Yasmina did not smile back, but she did sheath her blade.

  "Yasmina’s more dangerous than any silly old elf," one of the guards whispered behind his hand.

  "Robert, mind your own business," Yasmina snapped, and Robert raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

  Not soon enough William called, "Bruno, Dalshess, Yasmina, go ahead and set the border. We're in for the night, I think. The rest of you make camp."

  Chassy wanted to collapse onto the ground and catch his breath, but the entire camp site was covered in sharp-looking black stones and dirt that stuck to his boots like mud. He leaned back against a tree.

  "Why should I have to waste my time setting up camp for 50 people?" Andrev muttered, coming up beside him. "When we were traveling alone, we could just throw down our things."

  Nita was close behind. "Don’t be so surly, it's only 13 people. When we were traveling alone, we wouldn’t have had all these guards around to protect us," she reminded him quietly.

  Chassy had the urge to get moving, but he was too exhausted to put up an argument. Nita pitched in, and Andrev as well, though he grumbled constantly about what a poor deal Chassy had struck.

  The border consisted of a ring of stakes mostly buried and strung with a fine, nearly invisible thread just far enough off the ground to trip a man. The thread was rigged to a geared pulley mechanism that rung a large cowbell in the center of the camp when pulled.

  "What’s this contraption?" Chassy asked.

  William kicked a string with his boot and the cowbell made a hollow clank. "Alarm, such as it is." The bell sounded like it was wrapped in silk, and Chassy hoped it would be loud enough to wake the guards.

  "No tents tonight," William said, pointing up at the dense canopy, which would keep out rain. Chassy shrugged; he was getting used to the open air. Thick blankets were spread like a rug around the fire for sleeping.

  "Chassy, fetch a log from under the seat and get the fire going," William said.

  Chassy realized he was the only one just standing around, and he felt exhaustion setting in. Under the seat, he was amazed to find a dozen logs of precious hand oak, named for the shape of its leaves. One log would burn through the night, cook enough food for the entire group, and give off enough heat to keep them comfortable while they slept. This was expensive wood for a merchant to carry—even Master Svarne, the wealthiest man in Waet Tree Village, didn't use hand oak. His eyes strayed to the back of the wagon as he wondered what was under the cloth.

  "Now," said William, "Toad will sing us a song, and it is Strato’s night to cook. After a hot meal, we will have weapons practice."

  As Strato set about cutting up potatoes and carrots, Toad sung them a rambling melody about a beautiful princess kidnapped by her evil uncle. He demanded half the kingdom for her return. She was eventually rescued by a dashing young prince, who won her hand in marriage.

  "Do you do this every night?" Chassy asked. It seemed strange to see fighting men croon around a campfire.

  "We take turns—keeps the morale up. Each of us gets the chance to cook, to stand guard, and to entertain the others," William said. "It’s not always singing. Sometimes Dalshess plays mandolin, and Robert’s not bad with a harmonica."

  Chassy could cook well enough, but he wasn’t very excited about the idea of standing guard. And he doubted anyone would care to hear him try anything musical. Nita was grinning like a fool. He realized she was just staring at William and he almost lost his appetite. He was going to have to have a talk with her, sooner rather than later.

  "Yeah, even William gets his turn to entertain us," Yosef cackled. "But he ain’t got no baby smooth singing voice like old Toad here."

  William smiled. "At least my cooking is always edible."

  "Yosef burns water," Yasmina explained. "So we mostly let him stand guard."

  Chassy joined the laughter.

  After the meal, Yosef demonstrated a few techniques with the dagger for Chassy, and set him to work with Bruno.

  "First we learn the block and the parry. If you can’t avoid your attacker, you can always run. Most of the brigands in these parts are only in it for the thieving and won’t chase you down," Bruno explained. "If you take a sword through the gullet, though, you won't have the chance to worry about striking an offense."

  By the time Bruno released him, what seemed like hours later, Chassy’s arms were aching, and he had suffered more than a few nicks to his hands from failed blocking attempts. He felt especially fortunate when Andrev joined him by the fire with an egg-sized lump in the center of his forehead.

  "Stop staring," Andrev said, dropping a staff on the ground beside him. "At least I’m not bleeding all over the place."

  "I figured you’d want a sword," Chassy said, eyeing the staff.

  "It's a bo. I wanted a sword, but I’m not strong enough for a sword—yet," Andrev said matter of factly. Chassy doubted Andrev would ever be able to use a sword. He was pretty sure swords were heavier than the packs that Andrev struggled with already.

  "Isn’t that just as heavy? It’s really large."

  Andrev tossed it to him, and Chassy snagged it from the air and passed it between his hands.

  "It’s a special wood out of the West, hard as oak and light as birch," Andrev said. "The knock on the head is what I got for calling it a staff. Yosef carved this one himself. The best fighters always make their own."

  Chassy thought he heard pride, not the usual arrogance, in Andrev’s voice. He tried to picture Andrev carving a staff—a bo—but thought Andrev would rather read about it than actually do it.

  "It’s beautiful!" Nita knelt beside them. She appeared unscathed, though Chassy had noticed her grappling with both Yasmina and Toad. She must have some bruises under her clothes. "You guys look terrible."

  "Thanks." Chassy grinned. "Wish I could say the same for you. They're working you pretty hard."

  "Well, Yasmina wanted me to learn the rapier, but the blade is actually really short. See?" She pulled it
from a sheath they hadn’t even noticed. Its slender length glistened in the firelight. "Once I learned that it’s made for close work, I knew that hand fighting would be a perfect complement."

  How did she know something like that? Chassy wondered.

  Andrev looked doubtful. "It sounds dangerous to me."

  Nita just smiled sweetly and patted his hand. "Do you need something for that lump?"

  "I’m fine," Andrev growled. He tossed his blanket down on the ground, close to the fire. Nita put hers down beside him, and Chassy settled in next to her.

  "Which brings me back to Chassy," Nita said. "What happened today?"

  It was the very moment Chassy had been hoping to avoid. "It was nothing," he lied. "I felt dizzy for a few moments. But I'm alright now." Maybe it was a vision—or maybe he was just seeing things. He wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, especially not with William and his guards hanging around.

  Andrev turned his attention back to his bo, and Nita raised an eyebrow. That look said she didn't believe Chassy, and she'd probably corner him about it the first chance she could get him alone.

  "I should have known this would be a mistake. We’re moving too slowly now." Andrev scowled. "We could make better time on our own. That elf may be days ahead of us by now."

  "Oh, Andrev, just give it up!" Nita said, exasperated. "Once we’re out of these horrible woods, we can move as fast as you want."

  "Lights out," William ordered. "You’d better get some rest or you’re going to be sorry when it’s time to move again."

  Andrev started to grumble about being treated like a child, but Nita shrugged and lay down. Chassy mimicked the guards’ way of sleeping with their backs to the fire and their weapons at their sides. He fell into a deep and troubled sleep, full of bits of his visions mingled with a crazy Nydwon who made him stand on his head to get a meal.

  The wakeup call came far too soon. Strato distributed dried fruit and cheese, which they ate on the move, not breaking until nightfall. Chassy wished they would move faster. How would they ever catch up to Lyear at this pace? For a few crazy minutes, he considered leaving William and his crew behind so they could make speed.

  "Nita," William said when they finally made camp. "Would you be so kind as to cook this fine evening?"

  "Of course," she said, giving him one of her biggest smiles. Behind her back, Chassy made a gagging motion, and Andrev grinned.

  It turned out, Nita's stew was the best Chassy had ever tasted. It was thick and salty, with potatoes and bits of dried meat. He sopped it up with some hard bread.

  "I hope it tastes okay. I couldn't find the herbs my father told me to put in it, and I had to use parsnips in place of potatoes," she confided when she sat down beside Chassy.

  "I didn't even know you could cook!" he said.

  "Don't look so surprised," Nita said, elbowing him. "I don't like cooking, but I'm every bit as good at it as my mother." Chassy thought she might even be better than Henny.

  "This is amazing!" William said. "Before we part you have to tell me the secret!"

  Nita blushed and kept her secrets, which nearly made Chassy gag in earnest. She followed up the main meal with some bread and jam.

  "I have a stomach ache," Bruno complained, patting his stomach.

  "We'd better stop eating before we get too fat for the wagon," Strato said.

  William patted his stomach. "This the best meal I've had in decans."

  "I'll clean up," Nita offered.

  "I'll help," Chassy said quickly, racing around to snatch up bowls. He cornered Nita alone as she was collecting leaves to wipe the bowls.

  "You can't trust him, you know," he whispered.

  She pursed her lips. "What's wrong with you? Wake up on the wrong side of the campfire?" Nita yanked a bowl from Chassy’s hands and piled it with the others.

  "We can’t trust him, Nita," Chassy warned. "Just remember, looks can be deceiving."

  "I have to agree with Chassy, Nita," Andrev added, sticking his head between theirs. "That Yosef is more than a fighter. And did you see how Yasmina dresses? She's hardly a proper woman at all."

  Nita threw down the leaves she'd been using to wipe the cook pot. "Have you both gone mad? We're just traveling with them for protection. We don't have to trust them."

  She stomped off in Yosef's direction leaving the boys to finish the clean up.

  Chassy looked at Andrev. "A proper woman? You should know by now not to say things like that in front of Nita."

  William interrupted them, making Chassy jump a little. "Andrev, I'm going to have you join the first watch. But don't take any chances. If we come across bandits, we're going to have our hands full fighting them, without having to try to keep you from getting killed."

  That night, a couple of the men were stricken with night terrors, and Robert was found wandering outside the security border, muttering in his sleep about a boy he should have killed. That gave Chassy a lump in his stomach. When he asked about it, Yosef shrugged. "A man's dreams are his own to deal with," he said. Strato offered to calm Chassy's own dreams with a noxious black tea. But Chassy wasn't having any dreams, and he wanted to be alert if they had to move quickly.

  Chassy's impatience grew. From the time they woke up to the time they lay back down to sleep, it was nothing but blackness and silence. It could be day or night, raining or snowing, and he would never know it. They might have been in this wood for an entire moon cycle. Each day it became colder and colder, until he started wearing his silks under his woolens like Nita and Andrev. They seemed to be going nowhere and doing it very slowly.

  Chassy was about to suggest to Nita and Andrev that they part ways with William's company, when things started to go really wrong.

  12: Night Attack

  After a couple of days traveling, they fell into a dull routine—traveling, eating in the saddle, and then breaking at night for song, food and sleep.

  On the third day, William spotted something on the ground and stopped to check it out.

  "A shod horse has been this way going north—only one, and perhaps a man afoot," William said, examining the ground. He picked up a button.

  "What does that mean?" Nita couldn’t see anything interesting about the ground.

  "Whoever was here should've passed us," William said. "In fact, we should have seen at least a dozen other travelers by now. It’s odd that we haven’t seen any."

  Nita shivered and moved in a little closer to William. "Bandits?"

  William shrugged. "Don't worry, we're prepared. I've never been robbed on the road, thanks to Yosef and his crew."

  After that, instead of traveling faster as Nita would have expected, they moved even more slowly. Yosef and Yasmina walked slightly ahead of the group, Yasmina occasionally stopping to crouch and look at a print or sniff the ground. Chassy felt like they were a mass of roving eyes, all of them searching for some sign of life in the dense tangle of underbrush. Overnight, William assigned extra guards.

  A clanging sound woke Chassy from troubled dreams. It took three muffled clangs for him to realize it was the alarm in the center of camp. He leaped to his feet, then remembered to lean down and grab his daggers. He forgot how to hold them, and fumbled around, almost dropping one. More than a dozen armed men wearing red and white striped masks fought hand to hand with William’s guards. William, mounted bareback, swung through the crowd with a mace in his hand, clobbering the marauders in the head.

  Chassy stared in horror at the blood and violence around him. His daggers hung uselessly at his sides. When he was finally able to think, his eyes went to Nita; she was poised with her rapier in front of a mountain swinging a sword longer than Robert’s. But as Chassy stepped toward her, a knife whistled past, barely missing his ear. He turned to confront his attacker, but the guy went down on the point of Robert's greatsword.

  And then it was over. The brigands who weren't on the ground fled for the trees. Bruno and Dalshess circulated, searching the bodies of the invaders. Chassy turned to
look at the gutted man who had attacked him, and stared at the bloody hole in his stomach. He was young, probably even younger than Nita, judging from the lack of any beard growth.

  We're killing children, Chassy thought. Nita and Andrev stood apart, looking as dazed as he felt, but the rest of the crew were cleaning up the campsite, dragging bodies into the trees like so much rubbish. Chassy wavered. Was this boy a criminal or just some poor kid in a bad situation? Maybe he, Chassy, was the criminal.

  Was this quest going to drag them down into darkness and evil? Maybe it was time to turn back.

  Feeling suddenly dizzy, he closed his eyes, and a new vision enveloped him.

  Chassy was on his knees observing last rites in a small town. Standing in the circle of the gods between Ana and Asa were the family of the deceased, a woman and a youth about the same age as Chassy. It was the boy's father on the tablet. The boy’s pain was palpable—the memories of days past, crushed expectations for the future. As the priestess raised her hands for the final blessing, the boy turned and pushed his way through the crowds of people and ran.

  Chassy opened his eyes and looked down at the body in front of him.

  It was the boy from the vision.

  Chassy staggered to his feet and away from the camp, feeling suddenly ill. Where were these visions coming from? What was their purpose? He grasped at the globe under his shirt. "Did you show me this?" he whispered.

  There was no answer from the Goddess, but a big hand clasped his shoulder.

  "My recommendation—never look at their faces," Robert said. His tone was sympathetic, almost as if he knew how Chassy was feeling.

  "He was just a boy," Chassy said. "You killed a boy."

  "A boy who was aiming to kill you," Robert said. "He was not just a boy any more, he was a thief and a murderer. Who knows how many other people he had killed before meeting up with you? And I'm going to tell you something only a couple of us know." He leaned in close to Chassy. "William has found signs of at least eight other traveling groups that have been either captured or killed."