by M. Gregg Roe
♦ ♦ ♦
Dinner was a nightmare. Audrey couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to Janny, and she ate very little. Her father kept going on about how she was going to marry the visitor named Saxloc, and they were all going to be rich and live in the Witch’s City. Audrey felt like hitting him, and she could see that her mother was annoyed by it.
Her best friend Violet came to see her that evening. Violet was tall and thin, with long blond hair and lively green eyes, but her good looks were marred by her crooked teeth. The two of them went to Audrey’s room to talk.
“Oh, Audrey,” cried Violet. “I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you. I couldn’t believe it when I heard that you’d been healed. I made your mother let me in so I could see for myself. It was like a miracle!”
“Everyone keeps saying that, but it was definitely magic.” Audrey pulled up her pants leg. “The magic healed my wounds and got rid of the infection, but I’ve still got these ugly scars,” she complained.
Violet wrinkled her eyes and smirked. “If it bothers you that much, we can still cut off your leg.”
Audrey smiled at her friend. “I appreciate the offer, Violet, but I’ll pass.”
They both laughed, but then Violet sat down on the bed and her expression turned grim. “Did you hear about Quentin and Janny?” she asked.
“Yes. It was horrible.”
Violet began to sob. “I saw part of what happened to Janny. I can’t stop seeing it! We all just stood and watched. There was nothing we could do!”
Audrey began crying, and she sat down next to Violet and hugged her. They sat and talked quietly for a long while about what Quentin and Janny had meant to them. And later, after Violet had left, Audrey cried herself to sleep for the third time.
♦ ♦ ♦
The following morning, Audrey’s parents excused her from her chores, and she spent the day strolling around Farmerton. Everyone was impressed by her miraculous recovery, and they were more than willing to tell her all about the visitors. She had planned ahead and worn a dress, knowing that everyone was going to want to see her left leg.
By noon, Audrey had heard many stories about the four of them. She was primarily interested in learning about Saxloc, but she asked about all of them because it sounded to her like they were all close friends.
Audrey had lunch at her aunt’s house. The twins appeared less sad, and when she asked them about the visitors, they kept going on about how handsome the one named Gabriel was. After lunch, she went for a walk to think about what she had learned so far.
It wasn’t just her cousins, everyone referred to Gabriel as handsome. He wasn’t tall, but he was broad-shouldered and muscular. He had short brown hair, wide-set brown eyes, and a square jaw. He was friendly, but somewhat soft-spoken. His clothing was described as plain and somewhat cheap-looking. Two of the single women in the village propositioned him, but he had appeared embarrassed and politely declined.
Hankin was the other human male. All of his clothing seemed to be the same color: black. His hair was also black, although he had blue eyes. No one described him as handsome, but several girls had been attracted by his cocky attitude and secretive manner. Others described him as sneaky and were suspicious of him. Hankin had spent much of his time observing people and roaming around the village.
Siljan had long blond hair and striking hazel eyes. She seemed to favor clothing that was both expensive-looking and tight. Not surprisingly, all of the males described her as pretty or cute. Siljan also seemed to talk a lot, and she had flirted with a few of the better-looking young men. But her personality had apparently been off-putting.
And then there was Saxloc. He was short, but with a compact, muscular build. He had a long face with a pointed chin, light brown hair, brown eyes, and pointed ears. He was described as pleasant and friendly. From the descriptions that Audrey was given, it did sound to her like he wore very expensive clothing.
All four of their names sounded strange to her. She was also told that Gabriel and Siljan had spoken with an odd accent. She wondered if those two were originally from somewhere other than the Witch’s City.
Audrey had heard a few brief accounts of how the four of them had fought and slain the crocodiles that had been plaguing Farmerton. It all sounded rather unbelievable to her, and some of what she had been told was contradictory. After thinking for a while, she went over to Violet’s house and found her outside hanging up laundry.
“Hey, Audrey,” said Violet with an eager smile. “Have you reconsidered my offer? I think my father has a rusty saw in the barn.”
Audrey pretended to be thinking about it. “It is tempting, Violet. But I’ve decided that having two legs and some scars is better than having one leg and no scars.”
Violet made a pouty face. “Darn. Well, the saw will always be there if you change your mind.”
“Violet,” said Audrey seriously, “did you see the battle between the four visitors and the crocodiles?”
“Yes. I saw it all. It was amazing!”
“Good. Then please tell me all about it. If you do, I’ll help you hang up the rest of the laundry.”
“How about you hang everything up and I just talk?” she offered, grinning and showing her crooked teeth.
“Fine. But I’m expecting a lofty tale, filled with daring deeds and heart-pounding romance.”
“No promises, but I’ll do my best.” Violet tilted her head and looked to be thinking hard.
“It happened the morning after they had arrived,” she began. “The four of them spent the night in the meeting hall. After breakfast, they all put on their armor and swords and stuff. They looked really impressive. And very serious.”
Audrey smiled as she began to hang the laundry. Violet always tended to gesture when she spoke, but now she was using her entire body and making faces as she practically acted out her tale.
“Saxloc asked Johan for something to use as bait to lure the crocodiles,” continued Violet. “Johan got him a sack of pig parts. The four of them went over to the dock. Of course, we hadn’t been using any boats lately because of the crocodiles and them actually being bigger than the boats. Anyway, a bunch of us followed along and watched what they did.
“The four of them walked out onto the dock. Saxloc walked to the end and tossed in some pig parts. They waited a while but nothing happened. Then Saxloc threw in all the rest of the pig parts, scattering them all around. That got results. One appeared right in front of the dock and another kind of off to the right. The one in front climbed right up onto the dock and Saxloc started hacking at it with his sword. The other one went up on shore and then ran up where Gabriel and Siljan were waiting. Gabriel had a big sword too, and a shield, but Siljan just had a shorter sword. Oh, and Hankin had this really thin sword.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” said Audrey, “but did you actually wash these clothes? Some of them are still dirty.”
Violet frowned in annoyance. “Yes, Audrey, I washed them. I’m just lousy at it. Who cares? They’re just going to get dirty again.”
“Okay. Okay. Go on with your story.”
“Let’s see. Saxloc was fighting the one crocodile, but he looked to be having a hard time of it. Another crocodile came up out of the water to the left, and Hankin waved his free hand and did some kind of magic thing to it that seemed to hurt it. But that didn’t stop it from jumping up on the dock and attacking him.”
“What about the other crocodile?” asked Audrey.
“I’m getting to that. Siljan also did some kind of magic thing, but it didn’t even slow it down. It climbed up on the dock and Gabriel started hacking at it with his sword. Then another crocodile popped up out the water near Siljan. She made this gesture and yelled something, and it was like a couple of big icicles appeared and then shot right at the crocodile and smashed into it. They must have really hurt because it just took off and swam away. It had these two big frozen spots on it.”
Violet paused to think. “What happened with
Saxloc and Hankin?” asked Audrey impatiently.
“That’s the really amazing part. Saxloc stabbed his crocodile with his sword and it looked dead, but then it opened its jaws incredibly wide and sprang at him. It got him by the legs and knocked him down. Then Saxloc smashed his fist down on the dock and this huge mass of fire just appeared from out of nowhere. I could see the wood under it starting to smolder and smoke.
“But it wasn’t just some big fire, it was a creature made of fire. People asked them about it later and they called it a ‘Fire Elementer’, or something like that. Anyway, the fire thing smashed the crocodile with a big flaming fist and it let go of Saxloc. Then the crocodile tried to bite the fire creature. Talk about stupid! You could actually see it cooking and steaming. Then it fell dead into the water.
“That’s what I was watching, but Hankin and Gabriel were both still fighting. Hankin looked tired though, and he was bleeding pretty bad. Siljan did the ice magic thing again and killed it before it could hurt him anymore. Then I saw Gabriel finish his off with one big swing of his sword. He was just covered in crocodile blood and guts, but he didn’t look hurt at all.”
“What about the fire creature?” asked Audrey, who had now finished hanging up all of the clothes.
“When I looked back over there, it was gone. But it really had been there. I went down later to the dock to look and you can see where it’s all burned. You should go look for yourself.”
“No thanks. I am not going to go anywhere near that close to the lake.”
Violet frowned and shook her head. “I guess that’s understandable. But I’m not completely through with the story.
“After the fighting was over, they used more magic—healing magic, like what saved you. Saxloc was all bloody and could hardly stand. His hands started to glow and he ran them down his body and over his legs. Then he walked off like he was just fine. Siljan did the same kind of thing for Hankin. Her hands were glowing too.”
“That was a lofty tale, Violet. And there were some amazing deeds. But I didn’t hear any romance.” Audrey now had her hands on her hips and was pretending to be angry.
Violet shrugged and spread her hands. “It’s not exactly part of the story, but the evening before, Siljan flirted with a certain girl’s boyfriend. The girl became cross with him—very, very cross. He felt so bad that he asked her to marry him. And she said yes.”
She was now smiling happily. Audrey returned her smile and gave her friend a firm hug.
“Thank you for the story, Violet. I’m sure that you and Orian will be very happy.”
♦ ♦ ♦
After telling Violet she wouldn’t, Audrey found herself wandering toward the dock. She just had to see it for herself. She managed to force herself to approach within ten yards, and she stared at the oddly-shaped scorched area that had been made by a magical fire creature summoned by the elf named Saxloc who had saved her life. It was unreal.
She was planning to go back home but instead found herself following the shore to the south. There was something else she needed to see before it was erased by rain. The dried blood looked almost black on the grass and dirt—a large spray of it by the shore where she had been attacked, and a crooked trail leading to a tree nearly thirty yards inland. There was a large, ragged splotch there where she had apparently lay unconscious and bleeding. The tracks of the crocodile were also visible, but they stopped ten yards short of the tree, just to the side of the bloody trail she had created. It had been monstrous—easily five yards long with a huge, toothed mouth. Another set of its tracks led back down to the water.
Audrey was surprised by how far she had managed to flee, but she had no memory of that part. She remembered desperately jerking her left leg away from the crocodile’s rapidly-closing mouth after it had exploded out of the lake in a spray of water. She was fast, but not fast enough, and the teeth gouged her leg severely. It was all blood and pain as she scrambled to escape, and then … nothing. She had awakened in her bed in severe pain with her lower left leg wrapped tightly in red-stained cloth.
She didn’t understand how she had even survived; it really should have caught her. Quentin hadn’t survived, and there was an enormous dark patch strewn with dirt and footprints where he had perished. She walked up to it, fell to her knees, and began to sob. “It should have been me,” she said to herself over and over as she prayed to her goddess for forgiveness. A hand touched her left shoulder startling her, and she turned and saw Violet’s sympathetic gaze. Violet helped her up, hugged her, and then led her home.
♦ ♦ ♦
Audrey lay awake in her bed that night thinking about all that she had learned. She really wished that she could have seen the four of them fight. It sounded amazing. And three of the four could use magic—powerful magic. She wondered how they had learned to do that. Was it something that could be taught, or did you have to be born able to do it? She had never heard of anyone in Farmerton being able to use magic.
There was also the issue of the crocodiles. One had gotten away and there could still be more. That worried her. She wasn’t going near the lake until she was certain it was safe. She resolved to tell her cousins to do the same since they didn’t seem to have much in the way of common sense.
More than anything, Audrey wanted to meet Saxloc and thank him for saving her life. He and his friends had headed north and they were from the south, so she assumed that they would be returning before too long. But the days passed, and it was soon clear that they weren’t returning. She resigned herself to doing her chores and fending off the clumsy advances of the local boys. She seldom wore dresses anymore, but otherwise, Audrey’s life was really no different than it had been before.
2
‡ Saxloc ‡
“Audrey! Audrey!” Romee shouted excitedly as she opened the door. It was the fifth day of the first month of Spring, and Audrey had known who would be standing there before she had even reached the door. Romee’s frenetic manner of knocking was quite distinctive.
“Hello, Romee. What’s—”
“They’re back!” interrupted Romee, now literally jumping up and down with excitement.
Audrey felt her heart leap. “Who’s back?” she asked, hardly daring to hope.
“Them!” exclaimed Romee with a peeved frown. “The ones that killed the crocodiles! The elf that healed you! I gotta go!”
Romee raced off with her pigtails flying just as Audrey’s mother walked up. “I heard,” she said. “I can hardly believe it. I’ll tell your father. You should go out and greet them.”
Audrey was in shock. “Uh … okay. In a minute.”
Marilee nodded at her and walked out the door, but Audrey just stood there lost in thought. Over five months had passed since she woke to find herself miraculously healed. She and her mother had given up all hope of the four visitors ever returning, although her father never really had. It wasn’t that he was more optimistic; his incredible greed simply wouldn’t allow his hope to die. Anton still dreamed of moving to the Witch’s City and living in fabulous wealth.
With the return of the visitors, Audrey saw the revival of the plan—her plan, not her father’s. She needed to persuade Saxloc to take her with him when they left, and she was determined to succeed no matter what the cost. Her only hope of getting to the Witch’s City was in the company of people powerful enough to provide protection. The area south of Merryton was known to be rife with wolves and goblins. Wolves were certainly dangerous, and she had even seen one from a distance once. The stories she had heard about goblins were wildly contradictory, but they all agreed that they were nasty and to be avoided.
Audrey removed the old cloth that she had bound her hair up in and tossed it on a nearby chair. She closed her eyes briefly as she offered a silent prayer of thanks to Lasrina. Her face was filled with purpose as she walked away from the house.
This is it, she thought to herself. My chance. My hope. My future!
♦ ♦ ♦
The remainder of Autumn
had passed with unusually mild weather. Each time a trade delegation arrived from either Merryton or Fisherton, her father rushed out and asked for news of the four visitors. Audrey was also interested, and she eagerly listened to everything that he was able to discover. Ultimately, however, the news proved disappointing.
After leaving Farmerton, the four had indeed traveled north to Fisherton and again asked after a missing boat. There they met with success. Months earlier, fishermen found a small boat on Fog Lake, adrift and empty. They eventually sold it to a representative from a temple located to the west of Fisherton, and that is where the four next traveled.
Many days later, the four arrived in Merryton, making use of that very same boat. In the process, they almost certainly followed the lake shore, which meant that they had passed by Farmerton without even bothering to stop. In Merryton, they returned the boat to its original owner—a man named Wilkin (who had apparently not been at all happy when the four of them had rented his boat and then failed to return it). The four then headed south, presumably returning to the Witch’s City.
Audrey found the news extremely discouraging and her mother agreed. The four had accomplished their mission. There was no reason to expect them to return to Farmerton anytime soon, if ever. It wasn’t like Farmerton had anything to offer visitors. Marilee went back to encouraging her to marry one of the local boys, but she continued to resist her mother’s match-making efforts. She was not going to spend the rest of her life in Farmerton.
For nearly a month, Josette continued to not seem to understand that her sister was gone. She would often ask the other villagers if they had seen her sister, and no one really knew how to answer her. One day, Josette suddenly burst into tears and began to loudly wail that her sister was dead. After that, she recovered quickly and was soon like her old self. Audrey and the other villagers were greatly heartened, and they showered Josette with presents on her birthday.
There were no further sightings of crocodiles near the village. At one point, a number of men armed themselves with a variety of make-shift weapons and then threw bait into the lake. Nothing happened; the crocodiles seemed to truly be gone. The villagers were greatly relieved and went back to using their boats and fishing. Audrey, however, remained wary.