by Quil Carter
Teal’s face darkened at the mention of the Serpents. He looked behind Aleeka to a gap between the gates; no doubt scanning the road ahead for any sign of the knights. He reached into his pocket and tried to slip a silverling into Aleeka’s hand. “We wish to not draw attention to ourselves.”
Aleeka nodded but declined the offering of coin. “Sleep soundly, lad. They left a fortnight ago after ridding us of a rogue heekah. Just our own guard are inside these walls right now.”
With his face holding trace signs of relief, Teal nodded.
Aleeka continued, “Well, spend lots of covis, young one. Inflation has ravaged us, but for the want of lodgings and horses, it’s worth the extra cost. Good luck, Tealander and you, Korbin of Galan, the non-partner partner.” He turned around and opened a door that was right beside the large gate. Ben looked up and saw that it led to the left guard tower.
Ben stuck close to Teal as they walked into the village. He could see red brick buildings in front of him, separated by a dirt road that held merchants’ carts and elves going about their business. It was a nice-looking village, albeit small, and with the faint yet pungent aroma of rotting vegetables and farm animals.
Immediately Ben felt uneasy with all the Alcovians that were walking around the streets, even though there was scarcely a dozen to be seen in any direction. They were of all shapes and sizes, highborns and low, wearing clothes of all classes from travel-worn tunics and jerkins, to brilliantly-coloured silks and dyed wools. They were all buzzing around the roads, bartering with the merchants that had set up shop on the sides of buildings, or disappearing into small stores with faded signs hung on rusty chains.
As Ben looked around the village the recall the demigod had planted in his mind went wild. He could see a lot of things he knew he shouldn’t recognize but inside of his own head there seemed to be an untapped library of information just waiting for him access it.
“Keep close to me…” Teal whispered beside him, he looked almost as nervous as Ben felt.
Ben nodded, still scanning the village.
Traces of war could easily be seen on the brick buildings around him. The village was more unkempt than Ben had expected. There were rotting vegetables thrown in corners, being eaten at will by all sorts of animals, mostly pigs and Alcove’s version of a cow, a semi-domesticated long-haired bovine called the borsow. The animals seemed to have free reign over the village; their waste was everywhere, which didn’t help Malla’s already pungent smell.
More unease crawled its way up Ben’s body as they walked up the main road. There was a nagging feeling inside of him that made him sure that everyone knew he didn’t belong here, even if there was no indication that that were true. It just seemed like everyone was staring at them for a lot longer than usual. Even the beggar elf children seemed to gape at him as they held their hands out for kippins.
Ben straightened up and tried to look confident but he was walking so close to Teal he could feel their shoulders brush against each other’s. What a contrast, in his world he used to be the one standing tall while Tav cowered beside him. Now he was the one feeling nervous and out of place.
“Maybe we should’ve camped outside of Malla…” Ben whispered, swallowing down a large lump that was stuck inside of his throat. He could feel his heart thumping against his tunic and he seemed overly aware of every movement he was making. He felt awkward, anxious… and claustrophobic.
The brick buildings that were on both sides of the road were separated by dark alleyways that carried on until disappearing into darkness, even looking down them flooded Ben with more unease. The bounty hunter could be hiding in the shadows with a dagger in his hand; it wouldn’t take long at all for him to come out and finish both of them off. He could escape with their heads and the Jewel of Elron that rested inside of Teal’s tunic pocket.
Ben glanced around, but shrunk down further when he saw all the eyes on them. Merchants in front of carts of food, beggars with their hands out, and highborns with long flowing robes of various colours and designs. All of these elves were looking at them as they walked by, analysing their steps like Ben himself was the bounty hunter waiting for his chance to strike.
“Why is everybody staring at us?” Ben asked nervously, walking a little bit faster.
“They do that with all visitors. I would avoid this village but we need supplies, some proper clothing, and you need rest,” Teal explained. “Just let me do the talking. I don’t want to rely on your demigod recall to get you through anyone talking to you. You might look like a hibrid but you still act human.”
Ben stopped and touched his ears, as if making sure they were still pointy, he looked down at his hands too, and examined his clawed fingernails.
Yep, he thought to himself, still a hibrid.
Teal led him down an alleyway, steering off of the main road and onto a smaller side lane, narrower than the one they were just walking down. They walked down a flight of stone steps and into a small square. On either side there were street vendors, and playing children weaving in and out of the small crowd wielding sticks.
“Fresh deer steaks for you, young sirs?” an older ladyelf called, waving her hand over several dark red cuts of meat. “Caught just this morning, you won’t find it fresher.”
“Perhaps later, my lady.” Teal inclined head with a friendly smile. “Let us get lodgings first, we may be back.”
Ben gave her a smile too, his mouth watering at the thought of eating some fresh meat that wasn’t squirrel. All they’d had to eat today was salted meat, cheese, and oat bread.
Teal had to pull him away. They stopped several buildings over, in front of a shop with several tunics and jerkins on display in the dirt-stained windows. Above them was a faded sign with faint words carved into it.
“What does that say?” Ben asked.
“Hakire febriss sai’i two thousand twelve,” Teal said glancing up; he was pre-occupied getting his leather coin purse out of his pack.
“What!?” Ben exclaimed. “I thought you spoke normal in Alcove?”
“Well you asked me what it said.” Teal smirked. “It’s Old Elronish, nobody but the Evercovians’ speak it anymore; it’s mostly extinct here. Ol’ Hakire the shopkeeper, a rude, greedy fellow, is Evercovian. Don’t get offended by anything he says. He’s an ass.”
“I’m used to dealing with the type at my old job,” Ben remarked, but still made a mental note to keep his mouth shut.
They walked into the fabrics shop.
“Visitors, eh? Did the other villages kick your hibrid asses out?” a fat, pointed-faced elf with black eyes and salt and pepper hair greeted them with a gruff yet cruel laugh. He was wearing a brilliant emerald green robe trimmed with a gold pattern and surrounding him were yards of brightly-coloured fabric, buttons, and small wooden boxes holding needles. The inside was dimly lit, but was a lot bigger than it appeared to be on the outside; though it still looked unkempt and stank like the rest of Malla.
“Watch your mouth, you old joke,” Teal said acerbically. “We have enough covis to feed your gob tonight so behave for once.”
“Yes, yes, you hibrids always seem to have sticks up your asses nowadays.” Hakire held up his hands and shook his head. “I’ll give you manners, you give me coin.” The elf tapped a sausage-like finger on the wooden counter.
Teal nodded and gently touched the chest of a soft leather tunic that was fitted around a wooden form. “My friend here needs a tunic or a jerkin, and we both need cloaks warm enough for the winter. I’ll give you one covi and three silverlings for all three.” Teal reached in his pocket and pulled out a small leather bag and placed it on the counter.
The elf looked hungrily at the leather bag.
“Do we have a deal?” Teal pressed.
“You must be in a hurry, hibrid, but as you wish,” the elf said. “He looks to be a typical hibrid size. Let me measure him and I’ll tell you what I can do.” He took out a long piece of string and began to measure Ben.
“We
are,” Teal said with a nod. He crossed his arms and watched Hakire start to measure Ben. “I would prefer that if anyone comes here asking about hibrids – you keep your mouth shut.”
The old elf looked up from measuring Ben’s waist and nodded, his jowls jiggling as he did. “I’m no fool, hibrid. I know hush money when I see it. I’ve seen no Serpents here, and none will hear of you.”
“It is appreciated,” Teal said, a look of relief on his face. Ben held out his arms as the elf started measuring his chest, trying not to feel uncomfortable with having someone so close to him. At least he wasn’t getting friendly in any places.
“I have a dark green tunic, karissian thread, about his size, plus two black cloaks I can give you, no wait,” the elf announced after several minutes. He set his piece of string aside. “If you’re in a hurry it would suit you best.”
“Perfect, we’ll take them,” Teal said, and the elf disappeared into the back room.
“What an ass,” Ben mumbled. “Though he did seem to shut up once you whipped the coin out.”
“Anyone who has gold is treated well here. They need the coin and they know if they say the wrong things, the gold is going to disappear as quickly as it came.”
“Gold seems just as valuable here as it is back in my world,” Ben said. “I’ve shed a lot of blood over money. And the way that elf was looking at that leather pouch, he looked ready to do the same.”
Teal shrugged, looking at a display of cloaks “Times are tough here. Erick and his followers have done a number on us. The smaller villages have especially suffered. Less merchants travelling the roads and that means less coin is passing through. Some places have been abandoned in their entirety for favour of the larger towns.”
Ben felt a swell of guilt as he swallowed down that information. He wanted to ask questions about Erick, and what he had been doing to Alcove, but he didn’t know Teal well enough to ask. Teal seemed touchy about discussing Erick and what he’d done since he arrived here. Like prying about Teal’s family, Ben had decided it was just best to leave it alone and wait for his friend to bring it up.
“Alright, hibrid, come here, try these things on.” The old elf tailor appeared from the back room holding a bundle of clothing. He pushed the clothing into Ben’s hands and pointed him towards a small room beside the counter. Ben assumed it was the fitting room.
“I can do quick adjustments if something doesn’t fit properly. If you’re travelling you want a proper fit so don’t dally about it. If the bandits kill you and loot your clothes I at least want them to see it was well-made and well-fitted by Hakire Evantiro.”
Ben obeyed and walked into the small room.
He slipped the tunic on and belted it at the waist. It fit quite well and was warmer than the clothing Teal had given him.
Ben ran his hands down the thick fabric and smiled to himself.
Then he made the mistake of looking up – right into the full-length mirror.
Immediately Ben felt his legs start to weaken as he saw his reflection, and he got to witness the blood draining from his face. The face that was paling right in front of him belonged to a stranger… surely it couldn’t be his own.
His facial features were the same, and he still had thick, black circles under his eyes and his face was still sickly and gaunt. In a lot of small ways he still looked like the Ben who had always greeted him in the bathroom mirror at home.
But he was a hibrid now.
His ears were now pointed, and his hair was long and wavy, falling just past his ears. And instead of solid black hair he now had streaks of dark blue in random places, just like how Teal’s golden hair held highlights of dark red. His eyes had stayed the same colour at least, almost the same shade as Teals: a deep dark green.
Ben reached up and scratched his light facial hair, and just because he could, he flexed his fingernail claws in and out as he did. When he had lowered his hand he decided to smile, the first good look at the pointed teeth he had been feeling inside of his mouth for days now.
All of this made him shake his head in disbelief, and that in turn triggered another rush of apprehension and nausea.
He wasn’t Ben Zahn anymore – he was a hibrid. This was really happening – this was… real.
How could this be real? Ben said to himself as he stared at this stranger in the mirror.
“Are you done, Korbin?” Teal called from behind the door.
“I… why didn’t you tell me I looked so… different?” Ben said quietly, not realizing how stupid he must have sounded.” “Please, tell me this mirror is broken,”
“No, it’s not it works just fine” Teal said back flatly. Ben could hear the warning in Teal’s voice not to say anything else stupid. The shopkeeper must’ve been in earshot.
“Okay,” Ben said under his breath, not knowing what else he was supposed to say. He took one last look at the strange hibrid staring back at him before bundling up his old travelling clothes and walking out of the room.
“I know it must be quite shocking…” Teal said, giving him a supportive smile. He opened his mouth to say more but Ben shook his head and raised a hand to stop him.
“I’ll be okay,” Ben said back, not wanting to admit how much seeing himself had rattled him; how much it had made all of this real. “I know this isn’t the time nor the place to freak out about this. Let’s just get out of here, please.”
Teal nodded and they both walked into the main area of the shop.
“Everything fits great,” Ben told Hakire.
“Hibrids all have a similar build, not surprised.” Hakire said looking pleased. He slid the empty pouch back to Teal and inclined his head at him. “Come back anytime, if you survive out there.”
Ben quickly left the shop, and Teal followed him. He was starting to feel claustrophobic, unable to shake his new reflection out of his head. There was something extremely unnerving about not recognizing himself.
“Kippin? Kippin for sup?” a small elf boy pleaded. He was dirt-stained and rather skinny, with light blond hair and hands that reached towards Teal.
“If I do, will you tell the others? I have one for you, but not for every elfling in Malla,” Teal said in a warning tone.
The little boy shook his head vigorously, holding out his grubby little hands. He was probably no more than ten years old.
Teal gave him a kip and the elf boy bowed. “Anea praise you!” And with that he ran away.
“Do all villages have so many beggars?” Ben asked, watching as the boy ran away towards an alleyway behind him. In that same alley he could see an old elf with a scraggly beard and a patched robe; he was sucking on a wooden pipe. “They seem to be everywhere.”
“It varies really,” Teal said in a hushed tone. “It also doesn’t help that it borders the forest so they get a lot of attacks. Alé is bigger but it was just as bad when I was there last. Being so close to Lelan, Serpents are always swarming around it to keep an eye on the Lelanders.”
As the sun disappeared behind the forest Ben wrapped his arms around himself to keep out the chill. Teal noticed the shift in temperature and Ben’s discomfort and handed him one of the black fur coats they had just bought.
He took it but, realizing he didn’t know how to put it on, Ben only gave Teal a pathetic look.
Teal laughed. “You don’t know how to put it on do you?” he mused.
Ben scowled at him. “Just as much as you know how to use a microwave.”
His friend laughed again and unfolded the other cloak; he draped it around Ben’s back and took two silver links into his hands.
“These two latch together,” he instructed and linked them both together. Ben watched Teal carefully and did the same.
“There you go. See, it’s not hard, is it?” He smiled, seemingly ignoring the scowl that was painted on Ben’s face.
“Yes, surely the hardest part of my time here is done,” Ben said sarcastically.
But Teal only beamed back. “You’ll do fine, I’ll teach you
,” he said. “You’re already doing great.”
“Except I’m dead tired. We’re staying here tonight, right?” Ben asked. Almost on cue his sore, swollen feet gave a nasty twinge of pain. He felt his knee buckle, though not enough to draw attention to himself.
“Yes, that’s right,” Teal said. “Tomorrow we will carry on to the Forest of Jare, and inside of that forest is a town called Alé, after that is the Lelan Hold.”
“Lelan Hold? Why are we going there? Who lives there?” Ben asked. They made their way down another flight of stone steps, passing a large group of Alcovian merchants arguing over the price of a wagon of carrots.
“The Lelanders? Well they are a type of elf, a combination of demi-elves and regular elves who interbred with each other long ago. They have a chain of islands they inhabit east of Alcove, but in an agreement with the kings of this continent, in exchange for free trade and military protection in times of war, they have been given parcels of land,” Teal explained. “They have one in every kingdom; sometimes more than one. Their king is named Korivander. He’s a great elf; he might be able to help us.”
“What do they look like?” Ben asked.
“They look like elves, a bit taller with strong arms for wielding their bows. Giant bows, usually made from black ironwood. They’re incredible archers. They’re called forest elves or squirrels actually; but be careful calling them squirrels, in the wrong tone it’s quite derogatory, like hibrids being called tree-cats,” Teal explained, leading them down a deserted alleyway. Ben watched as a stray cat bounded away from them, climbing up a wooden pole that led to a shingled roof. The reason for its presence was soon seen as the two of them walked past the remains of a large rat. As Ben tapped it with his heel he caught his reflection in a nearby pool of water.