As the road wound around the jungle, they lost sight of the quasir, the landscape instead offering a dark jungle full of hidden threats and the bottom of a tall cliff on the other side. The jungle was still relatively far away from them, and it was much less dangerous during the day, but Feyrith still kept an eye on it. It was one thing to fail at protecting himself, but it would be something completely different if he failed at protecting humans—especially ones who had come to help him. That would be unforgivable.
But despite his constant worry and suspicion when it came to the jungle, nothing ended up happening aside from a beast flying overhead too fast for Feyrith to identify it. As the stone walls of their destination came into view, lit by the sun’s last few rays, Feyrith felt some of the tension that had been building drain out of him.
Mistglen was smaller than the town they’d left, but it was still larger than Sunwood. It seemed the town had been built so that one side of it would be protected by the stone wall of the mountain that towered above it. Feyrith grimaced as he realized that that mountain must have been part of the mountain range that stretched over most of the western side of the mainland. Somewhere on that mountain range was the ruin Feyrith had been sent to investigate, and he was now reminded of it every time he so much as looked up at it.
But wait…. There was something not quite right here. And as they got closer, Feyrith realized what it was.
“Scalewings!” Lanna yelled, already making her quasir increase its pace to a full-on sprint towards the town. Arbane and Edwyr weren’t far behind, heading head-first into danger. And so was Feyrith before he truly realized it.
The two furoi—or scalewings as Lanna had called them—were circling the town quickly, despite the humans in the wall towers using ballistae to try to chase them off. Feyrith could see as much from where he was, galloping towards the town, his staff already in his hand.
He was summoning fire at one of the flying beasts as soon as he was within range, close enough to hear the yelling coming from the town. He only managed to singe it, but Edwyr and the two humans shot arrows at it the next second, driving the furoi away.
Feyrith was already preparing to throw more fire at the other beast when one of the ballistae sent its massive bolt directly at the furoi, managing to pierce its side. The furoi roared, trying to grasp at the bolt sticking out of its hide for a moment before giving up and flying away with what strength it still had.
Feyrith immediately turned his quasir around, looking up at the sky, searching for the first furoi, but it seemed it had flown back to the jungle and likely landed there. Another roar, a much more distant one, followed as the other beast disappeared among the tall, looming mass of trees in the distance as well.
Feyrith would think that it was odd that two furoi would be so ‘easily’ defeated and chased away, but the humans must have been fighting them for a while before they’d arrived here. Feyrith turned his quasir back around and made his way to the town gate, only then realize there was a moat dug around the entire length of the wall. He shouldn’t have missed it—they hadn’t been far away enough not to see it—but he had been too preoccupied with the furoi to truly notice the town itself.
Feyrith doubted an elf had helped them built the moat, which made its existence very impressive. He’d never seen that before with his own eyes, and elves didn’t use them because they could create magical barriers with the same effect. It was definitely a clever idea, however.
As Feyrith reached the edge of the moat, he gazed down into the dark space filled only with moss and ferns here and there. It had to be at least twelve feet deep. How much work must that have taken? But then, it made sense for Mistglen to be well defended, given its proximity to the jungle. That was no doubt why they had ballistae in the first place—no town Feyrith had seen had them so far.
His pondering was cut short when he heard the voice calling at them. He looked up to see a woman standing on the wall above them, waving her arm. She was almost directly above the drawbridge.
“We’ll let the drawbridge down for you!” the woman yelled at them. Feyrith joined Edwyr, Lanna, and Arbane close to where the drawbridge would be. He watched with fascination as the large wooden construction slowly lowered itself in front of them. He almost wished he had the time to fully understand how the system worked from a practical standpoint, and how the humans came to invent it. Perhaps on the way back, if all went according to plan, he could ask around. But given that nothing had gone according to plan so far, so he wouldn’t hold his breath.
He could hear the people on the wall murmuring excitedly about something, likely about him and Edwyr, as that seemed to be a very common thing to happen. He was sure there would be people who would need his help in this town as well, and he was ready for them. He was getting better at using basic healing spells now that he had the opportunity to use them in a practical setting, and it felt like of all the things he could do to help, this would affect the humans’ lives the most, so he was pleased about that.
“Come on in!” said the woman who had greeted them, now standing on the opposite side of the drawbridge. She looked much happier than Feyrith thought was normal for the situation, given that her town had been attacked only a moment ago. But he didn’t comment on it and just guided his quasir over the bridge, waiting for his companions when he got to the other side.
That was far enough for Feyrith to be able to study the town itself, though. He looked around, scanning his eyes over the large, stone structures, similar to the wall itself, spread out in several circles. But he supposed that made sense, given the fact that they had a source of rock right behind their town. The only thing made of wood, it seemed, were the roofs. Feyrith could spot scratches and cracks on most of them, but none of them seemed to have holes in them.
Feyrith’s eyes drifted to the tallest building, right in the center, with a large tower. He wondered if that was a church or the housing of whoever led the people of Mistglen. He would assume it was both, but he knew that unlike elves humans didn’t tend to do combine things like that.
“Well, we appreciate the help,” said the woman to Edwyr, which made Feyrith frown at her. He must have missed a part of the conversation.
Both Edwyr and the two humans had climbed off their quasir, so Feyrith did as well, focusing on the armored, short-haired woman. Now that Feyrith was standing on his own feet, he realized the woman was very tall. A few more fighters were standing around as well, all wearing the same, mostly metallic armor, but they were watching the scene from a distance. It made Feyrith a little uncomfortable, but he pushed that feeling aside, as he understood their curiosity.
“We haven’t gotten attacked by scalewings like that in months,” the woman continued, shaking her head. She still looked very enthusiastic, however, either from their victory or from meeting new people. Or perhaps she found the idea of being attacked exciting—Feyrith truly didn’t know. “But we managed to drive them off without any casualties. I think that calls for celebration, wouldn’t you say?”
The woman turned to her fellow warriors as she said this and was met with strong agreement. Grinning, she turned back to their group. “If you want, you’re more than welcome to join us.”
Arbane and Lanna looked very intrigued by the prospect, if their sparkling eyes were any indication, while Edwyr stayed neutral and said nothing. Feyrith wasn’t sure if he should take part in any kind of human celebration, but he was interested in seeing how it worked, even though he already had some idea, so he had no problem with this.
He did get a nagging feeling like he was wasting time, but what else was he going to do? They couldn’t continue on their journey as it was already getting dark, and their quasir were tired. And besides, he wouldn’t mind seeing these houses and their interiors up close.
16
Edwyr couldn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have. Or perhaps that wine he’d been offered had had something extra in it, and he was hallucinating because he was now standing in the middle
of a forest. But unlike last time, this forest was beautiful. Unnaturally so.
It was all gold and orange colors. The trees themselves, the sky, the sunlight—it was as if everything was made of precious metals. The trees still looked hazy, but in a way that made them look like they were glowing. Unlike last time, none of it was ominous.
Edwyr frowned, an annoyed grimace on his face. If this was a dream, then that elf was surely to be here as well. As he realized that, he suddenly got the feeling like he was being watched, and so Edwyr turned around, immediately coming face to face with Wyn. Of course.
“Again?” Edwyr grumbled, even though he wasn’t surprised at all. He’d been somewhat expecting to be contacted this way again, especially since their last meeting had been so rudely interrupted by tigers.
He might have even welcomed this if he knew he would be given some answers, but that was probably not going to happen if their last talk was anything to go by.
“I thought it best to visit you again, given how our last meeting ended.” Wyn looked a little irked as if he’d taken offense to Edwyr’s tone, but he didn’t let it show in his tone. “You are getting close, correct?”
Edwyr wanted to once again remind this elf that he owed him no answers, seeing as Wyn had given none in turn so far, but strangely he felt too tired to bother. Was it normal to feel tired in a dream? He would have to ask Arbane or Lanna later.
Still, he didn’t feel like being particularly helpful, so instead of giving Wyn a straight answer, Edwyr decided to play coy. “Close to what?”
Wyn grinned in amusement. What a strange expression to see on an elf. “Oh, come now, Edwyr, we both know what I am talking about.”
Edwyr didn’t reply, instead preferring to simply narrow his eyes at the other elf. While yes, that was likely true, Edwyr had no idea who Wyn was, nor did he know his goal. Was he at the ruin they were heading to? Genrith had told Edwyr to go there, after all. But if so, why was Wyn there in the first place?
Edwyr almost sighed, then. What was the point of asking himself these questions when he knew he wouldn’t get answers? Of course, that wouldn’t stop him because he couldn’t help himself, but it was so exhausting.
“South of Mistglen, there is only the jungle and mountains. And I highly doubt the Council sent one of their own to certain death,” Wyn continued, still smiling.
A shiver ran down Edwyr’s back at the confirmation that Wyn knew exactly where he was. But he felt disturbed for only a moment before it turned into irritation. “Are you watching me?”
Wyn connected his hands behind his back in what seemed to be an attempt to look calm and casual, but he was now also very obviously avoiding Edwyr’s gaze. “Not watching, per se.”
Edwyr glared at him, folding his arms over his chest. It was then that he realized how odd it was that this conversation felt the same as if he were awake. Edwyr knew this was all possible through magic, and so he doubted this was accurate to what a true dreaming experience would be like, but it was still very odd. What was Wyn doing to make this possible?
Wyn sighed, shaking his head. “If you were alone, I would tell you what is going on. But alas….”
“You come into my mind without my permission, and then imply that you don’t trust me?”
Wyn grimaced before looking directly into Edwyr’s eyes. The intensity of his gaze almost made Edwyr look away, but he did his best to resist.
“I promise to explain everything once you get to Urzikal.”
Edwyr glared at Wyn harder. He wasn’t at all surprised by this, but he still felt disappointed.
“Do you trust me?” Wyn asked, one eyebrow raised.
Edwyr blinked. What a ludicrous question. Wyn hadn’t even given him a reason to trust him yet. “Of course not.”
Wyn grinned, once again looking very amused. “Good.”
Edwyr shook his head. He was starting to feel like he was being made fun of, which was entirely possible. Though he could somehow sense that there was a legitimate reason for Wyn’s presence, even if he couldn’t figure out what it was. He would have assumed that reason was only be related to Feyrith, but with what Wyn had already told him, Edwyr wasn’t sure it was quite that simple.
“Good?”
Wyn grinned again, though he looked far from happy. “The Council keeps preaching the idea that we should give the benefit of the doubt to everyone. That we should put away our suspicions and prejudices and instead be helpful to the point of self-sacrifice, while they do nothing themselves. I could never stand it, so I appreciate your honesty and common sense.”
This whole time, it had been clear Wyn wasn’t acting on behalf of the Council. Edwyr didn’t know who he was working for or with, but it had clearly not been the Sixth Circle. But to hear him confirm it like this made Edwyr’s mouth go dry.
He swallowed thickly. So, this truly was an elf completely unaffiliated with the Council. That would explain the strange name—whether a shortened version of his real name or a complete fabrication—as it would help protect him from them.
But was this elf simply not on the same side as the Council, or was he directly opposing them?
“Who are you?” At this point, Edwyr sounded incredulous, much more so than he’d intended to.
This time Wyn’s grin looked a touch bitter. “Come to the ruin. I will explain everything there.”
Edwyr opened his mouth to repeat his previous question and demand an answer, but the other elf spoke before he could say anything.
“Farewell, Edwyr. We shall meet again soon.” His grin softened into a small, genuine smile. “Your destiny awaits.”
And then Edwyr’s eyes flew open. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. Shaking his head, he huffed and sat up in his bed. For a moment he stared at the dark, stone walls, keeping his mind as empty as possible as he did his best to calm down. And once he did, he rubbed his eyes, sighing. He was glad that they were only about two days away from reaching that ruin because he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.
He’d found out nothing new, and yet his mind was reeling with new questions, to which he had no answers. So he was worse off than if Wyn hadn’t invaded his mind once more. Simply wonderful.
He pulled himself to his feet, running a hand through his hair. There was no chance of him going back to sleep after this. He wouldn’t be able to get his mind to calm for long enough to manage it.
With nothing else to do, he ended up wandering outside of the room he’d been given for the night. He hadn’t even had to ask for it—the local innkeeper had simply given each of them a room along with food and drink for free for helping them defeat the scalewings. Edwyr couldn’t say that this level of generosity didn’t make him a little suspicious, but he wouldn’t complain—not even about the fact that roasted bugs were a normal dish in this town. No, Edwyr was very grateful for the hospitability, even though they could have easily paid for everything. Feyrith could simply turn another rock into gold, after all.
Edwyr came to a halt as he suddenly found himself outside in front of the inn without even meaning to get there. But then, where else would he go right now? He didn’t feel like being social with the local humans even if some were still awake, and it was going to be much more pleasant outside in comparison to the halls of the inn.
He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment and enjoying the warm, night air. The wind was blowing, but not nearly hard enough to become unpleasant. In fact, it just made staying out here more refreshing, especially when paired with the enjoyable silence. The only thing Edwyr could hear was the chirping of bugs in the distance.
Finally, Edwyr looked around himself, realizing that he hadn’t given the town much thought until now. It was dark, but the moon above shone brightly enough to show the buildings surrounding him in a different, interesting light. They were all truly made of stone, so unlike what he knew from Sunwood. Edwyr hadn’t really heard of anything like this, but then he hadn’t traveled much, and he hadn’t read man
y books about humans back in Aendor either.
Edwyr absently ran his fingers over the rough wall of the inn, tracing the edges of the jagged stone. There was something painted on them, but he couldn’t see well enough to figure out if it was supposed to look like something, or if they were simply large dots and swirling lines arranged in random but pleasing patterns. He briefly wondered what the humans had used as a lasting paint as it was a very expensive commodity before he wandered off, simply letting the street take him wherever it was leading. Hopefully, after a walk, he would find falling asleep easier. Based on where the moons were in the sky, it was still much too early to simply wait for his friends and Feyrith to wake up.
The town was empty and quiet, which he liked, as he never liked the company of others when he needed to process his thoughts, but it also made him feel ever slightly on edge. If this were Sunwood, he’d be perfectly calm and relaxed, and he would barely pay attention to where he was even going, but here he didn’t have that advantage. Still, as long as he remembered the way back to the inn and no beasts came to attack from the jungle, he had little to worry about.
He didn’t stop until he reached what he assumed was the center of the town, and he couldn’t help but to stare in surprise at what he was seeing.
There was a pond right there, lined with stone. It was relatively small in comparison to ones Edwyr had seen before, but none of those had been in the middle of a town. Had the humans built Mistglen around it so it could serve as a source of water? He had noticed that the river was farther away from the town than usual, but he hadn’t thought anything of it as he had seen a well around here somewhere.
“Edwyr,” said a voice from behind him, making him tense up for a second before he realized who this was. And his mood immediately worsened. Of course, it was Feyrith. “Erm, hello.”
Edwyr turned his head to look at the other elf, frowning at him as Feyrith walked up to the pond as well. He seemed much more interested in the pond than Edwyr himself, but Edwyr didn’t care enough to take offense at that.
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