by A. Giannetti
“You are either a very homely Goblin or my friend Ascilius,” he said wryly, a gleam of humor in his gray eyes.
“You can jest all you wish when we are safe,” said Ascilius in an exasperated voice. “For now, you must hide me if you can. There are Goblins all around us who may discover me at any moment.”
“He must be real,” thought Elerian to himself as he extended his silver ring's invisibility spell to cover the Dwarf. “A Goblin would never be this cantankerous.” As Ascilius vanished, the world went black for him again.
“At least he is with Ascilius now,” thought Anthea to herself as she watched the Dwarf’s broad shade hoist Elerian’s taller, more slender shade onto its shoulders. She planned to accompany Ascilius as he carried Elerian to safety, but suddenly felt her shade being drawn back toward her body.
“Not now,” she thought to herself in dismay, but the relentless pull grew stronger.
“Good fortune to you both,” she said, casting the thought at Ascilius. “Tell Elerian that I will come back when I can.”
“She has returned to her body,” was Ascilius’s disappointed thought as Anthea’s illusory image faded away. “I am left alone to get Elerian and myself to safety. It will be no easy task to carry him through a wood that is stiff with the enemy.” Cautiously, Ascilius began to walk north through the forest, trying to keep each step as quiet as possible while his eyes and ears probed the surrounding wood for danger.
A RESCUE
Fortunately for Ascilius the forest was quite empty, for the threat presented by a dragon prowling amongst the trees had sent all of the normal residents of the wood as well as the Goblin army into hiding. His burden also proved to be less onerous than he first expected.
“How light Elerian is, as if he has only one foot planted in this world,” thought Ascilius to himself as he darted stealthily from the safety of one tree to another with his companion’s limp form on his shoulders. With no bit of sky visible through the dense canopy above him and what with constantly turning about to look in all directions, Ascilius eventually realized that he had lost his way. The sense of direction that never failed him below ground was less reliable here in the forest.
“Well I am totally flummoxed now,” he thought irritably to himself. “For all I know, I am traveling south instead of north.”
“Are you lost or do you intend to travel west,” asked a familiar voice softly.
“You are awake,” whispered Ascilius delightedly, setting Elerian on the ground with his back against a tree trunk before sitting down next to him.
“Yes I am and just in time to rescue you it seems,” said Elerian dryly as he sent away his ring. He then cast an illusion spell over himself and Ascilius so that they could see each other while remaining hidden from any enemies that might happen by. Elerian’s face seemed pale to Ascilius, a reflection of his present weakness, but his sense of humor appeared to be intact, a good sign.
“You must be delirious,” observed Ascilius. “I could have sworn that I was rescuing you.”
“You are mistaken as usual,” said Elerian blandly. “If you had waited a bit, I would have made my way to your camp on my own.”
“I would have waited a long time then,” said Ascilius dryly before taking a deep swallow from his water bottle.
“You must have taken up some new habits since I last saw you,” observed Elerian. “I cannot remember that you were ever so fond of water.”
“I still lack any affinity for the substance,” replied Ascilius, passing the water bottle to Elerian. Taking a long swallow himself, Elerian was not surprised to when he tasted a strong, red wine. Warmed by the strong vintage, he passed the container back to Ascilius.
“How did you find me?” he asked. “I had not thought you were so skilled in woodcraft.”
“I have many skills which you do not appreciate,” replied Ascilius modestly. “When you ran off last night, I knew you would get yourself into trouble, so I left Falco in charge of the company defending the dike. Taking only Fulmen with me, I followed you across the river by floating on a log.”
“You must think a great deal of me to cross a river to help me,” observed Elerian, laughter making his gray eyes gleam. “I know how much you hate swimming.”
“I think a great deal of Anthea,” said Ascilius dismissively. “I would not see her troubled by your early demise.”
“What happened after you crossed the river?” asked Elerian, reaching for the water bottle again and taking another drink. The wine sent another wave of warmth coursing through his body, but he felt no stronger. Truly, he had overextended himself this time.
“I had just crept up onto the shore when the night was suddenly rocked by a tremendous explosion,” said Ascilius, continuing his story. “I suspected at once that you were up to your usual mischief, so I circled the western edge of the meadow searching for you. By then the forest was full of Goblins, so staying to the west of the road, I followed it south, hoping that you had gone the same way. I found no sign of you, and thinking that you might have already returned to the camp, I started thinking about turning back. Then, just as dawn broke, I suddenly heard the most fearful roaring and shouting ahead of me.”
“Ha! That is where I will surely find him, causing more mischief, I thought to myself at once, so I continued on through the forest until I came to three dead atriors. I was about to go on, for there was no sign of you, when Anthea suddenly appeared before me as she did in Ennodius. She told me that you were hidden under a nearby fallen branch. I had my doubts, for there were no marks on the ground anywhere that I could see, but when I reached beneath the screen of leaves, I felt your shoulder with my right hand.”
“I thought I only dreamt her,” said Elerian quietly. “She must know somehow when I am in peril, for she came to me when I needed her the most. I was lying out in the open near the dead atriors too tired to crawl away when she first found me. She encouraged me to keep moving until I finally reached the cover of the branch under which you found me. Somehow, she erased all marks of my passage.”
“She is a remarkable young woman,” replied Ascilius sagely. “It makes your attraction for her all the more odd,” he added slyly.
“She appreciates my sense of humor unlike some that I could name,” said Elerian lightly. “What happened after you found me?”
Ascilius took back his bottle and took a long swallow. Properly refreshed, he continued his story.
“Anthea disappeared, but she told me that she will return when she can.”
“I wish that I could have spoken to her,” said Elerian wistfully. “How did I get here?”
“I carried you, of course,” said Ascilius.
“It could not have been easy,” said Elerian warmly. “Carrying me through a forest thick with Goblins must have been both dangerous and difficult.”
“If it was, then you will not hear it from me,” said Ascilius modestly. He saw no reason to tell Elerian that the forest had been deserted the whole time he traveled through it and that Elerian’s weight had barely taxed his great strength. “What sort of mischief did you cause this morning?” he asked curiously.
“There is not much to tell,” said Elerian diffidently. “When I ventured south, I discovered that the main army of the Goblins was much closer than we thought. I was trying to think of a way to delay them when I suddenly saw Eboria in the skies above me. It was not hard to lure her down onto the road in front of the van of the Goblin army. When I ran through their ranks, she followed me, scattering them with fire or crushing them with her vast bulk. When I finally hid in the forest, she followed me, causing further confusion among the enemy I am sure, for in her state of mind I am certain that she would have slain any living thing that crossed her path. She seems to bear quite a grudge against me,” he said sardonically.
“Her desire for revenge is not something you should make light of,” said Ascilius sternly. “It would be best for both of us if she never learns of our whereabouts. Dragons are not forgiving c
reatures.”
“As long as we avoid Ennodius, we should remain safe from her wrath,” said Elerian dismissively. “The city she has stolen from your people has now become her prison, for she is bound to her stolen treasure with chains of avarice that will not allow her to travel far from her golden bed. I doubt that she will ever again fly any farther north than the Caldus.”
Elerian was quiet for a moment and then spoke again. “It is strange, Ascilius, how events work themselves out at times. I was angry that I did not slay Eboria with my arrow on the ridge that led to the castella, but if I had killed her then, the Goblin army would have killed or captured all of your people before tomorrow’s dawn. Do you think there is a purpose to the ebb and flow of events, or are they guided by coincidence only?”
“I do not worry about such things,” replied Ascilius indifferently. “Any help Eboria gave us was unintentional and in no way makes up for the crimes she committed against my people. If the opportunity to slay her ever presents itself, I will take it without hesitation.”
“You would do well to forget such thoughts, Ascilius,” said Elerian at once. “I watched her sweep aside a mighty army today without receiving a scratch in return. Any who wish to live would do well to leave her alone.”
Ascilius did not answer and Elerian sighed, for he well knew by now how stubborn a Dwarf can be when it came to revenge. Ascilius had spilled gallons of Goblin blood since their escape from Torquatus’s mines without in the least quenching his desire for vengeance against them.
“We should be on our way,” said Ascilius putting away his nearly empty water bottle and standing up.
“I can walk now, I think,” said Elerian. Pushing himself weakly to his feet, he promptly fell down again.
“You will not use that leg for a while,” said Ascilius shaking his head as he examined the newly healed wound in Elerian’s left thigh. “Climb onto my back,” he ordered after helping Elerian to his feet.
Reluctantly, Elerian put his arms around Ascilius’s thick, corded neck. Putting his powerful arms under Elerian’s thighs, the Dwarf easily hoisted him into the air. After Elerian ended his illusion and called his silver ring to make them invisible, Ascilius set off once more. Before long, however, he had cause to wish that Elerian was unconscious once more instead of wide-awake. Bored with riding on the Dwarf’s back and seeing that the forest appeared empty of any danger, Elerian began to amuse himself by annoying Ascilius.
“You know Ascilius, it would be much safer if we traveled through the canopy,” he said slyly.
“I am not climbing any trees, especially with you on my back,” replied Ascilius at once.
“Oh, I forgot you were afraid of heights,” replied Elerian.
“I am not afraid of heights,” growled Ascilius softly. “I simply choose to walk on solid ground like any other sensible Dwarf.”
“Walking on the ground in a dangerous forest is in no way sensible, especially if you are a Dwarf,” observed Elerian. “You are so noisy the Goblins will hear us from a mile away.”
His nerves already stretched thin by their dangerous situation, Ascilius ground his teeth in frustration. “If you do not stop talking, I swear I will knock you on the head and send you back into blissful unconsciousness,” he replied at last in an exasperated voice.
“Stop,” said Elerian in a whisper, his voice, grim and cold now, indicating that his bantering was at an end. Warned by the change in his companion’s tone, Ascilius froze at once in mid-step. Looking ahead of him, he saw three shaggy canigrae emerge from the trees, one of them more than twice the size of the others. His fangs hung so far down past his thin black lips that half their gleaming white length was exposed, giving him a particularly savage appearance. All three of the Goblin hounds had their heads raised and their ears pricked up.
“Did they hear us?” wondered Elerian. The wind was in his face so he knew that, for now at least, the creatures could not scent him and Ascilius. Beneath him, Ascilius was wondering furiously what to do next.
“The largest of the three is surely a licantrope like the one Elerian and I faced in Nefandus,” he groaned to himself, staring in dismay at the fanged leader of the pack. “If the brute attacks me, Elerian will be at the mercy of his pack mates, for even with Fulmen, it will be no easy task to slay such a formidable creature.”
“Set me down and go hide behind a tree,” whispered a voice like Elerian’s in Ascilius’s head.
“I will not leave you alone,” Ascilius thought back angrily.
“Take them from behind when they come for me, you idiot,” was Elerian’s next thought.
“I may let them take a piece or two first,” threatened Ascilius as he quickly and silently set Elerian on his feet. Elerian wavered a moment and then stood straight. Enough of his strength had returned to allow him to stand even though his wounded leg was still very sore. As soon as Ascilius slipped behind a nearby tree, Elerian sent away his silver ring, exposing himself to the view of the canigrae. Slowly, as if exhausted, he sank to the ground.
“Kill him,” growled the licantrope as soon as he saw Elerian. Like evil shadows, their eyes burning like coals, all three of the creatures bounded toward Elerian, the two canigrae in advance of their giant leader, both of them eager to be the first to rend Elerian with their jaws.
Too weak to do anything to defend himself, Elerian waited stoically, his life in Ascilius’s hands. When the goblin hounds were but two leaps away from him, the Dwarf suddenly rushed out from his hiding place, attacking the two smaller canigrae from the side. With his powerful arms, he brought Fulmen down on the skull of the closest hound, crushing its skull as a flare of silver white light from the argentum inlaid in his hammer bathed his grim features. As the second hound rushed past him, leaping for Elerian’s throat, Ascilius cast Fulmen with his right hand, catching the creature in the back of the head and bringing it down at Elerian’s feet.
Spinning on his right heel, Ascilius turned to face the licantrope which sprang on him, head cocked to one side and jaws spread wide to seize his face and head. Seizing its upper jaw with his left hand and its lower jaw in his powerful right hand, Ascilius was borne over onto his back where he struggled mightily to keep the shape changer’s powerful jaws from reaching his face. Blood flowed from his fingers as the creature’s sharp teeth sliced through his flesh, and its fetid breath washed over him, so thick and foul that he could scarcely breathe. Exerting all his enormous strength, Ascilius tried to rip the licantrope’s jaws apart but found them as immovable as stone. Worse yet, the rows of gleaming teeth he held in his hands slowly began to inch toward each other, placing him in an untenable position.
“If I leave my hands in place, he will slice my fingers off in a moment. If I let go, he will take my face off,” thought Ascilius hopelessly to himself. The shape changer’s crimson eyes gleamed with anticipation as he continued to close his jaws like some irresistible vise. Then, out of the right corners of his eyes, Ascilius suddenly saw motion. It was Elerian, limping toward the licantrope with Rasor in his right hand. Ascilius dared not say a word or even look Elerian’s way, but his mind screamed, “Stop, you fool. You will kill yourself.”
Knowing that Rasor might drain him of all his remaining life force, Elerian still did not hesitate, bringing the knife down, point first, on the licanthrope’s shaggy neck. The blow was weak, but the magical blade, the lines of argentum inlaid in its sides gleaming silver-white, sank easily through stony flesh that would have turned ordinary steel. Sliding between two of the great bones in the creature’s neck, it severed the cord that ran through them. His eyes rolling up into his head, Elerian collapsed even as the licantrope slumped lifeless onto Ascilius’s chest. Throwing aside the heavy body, Ascilius leaped to his feet and bent over Elerian. Fearing the worst, he raised his companion’s head with his broad right hand in a gentle motion that seemed at odds with the knotted muscles that laced his hand and arm.
“He is still breathing,” thought Ascilius to himself in relief. “B
ut how in the Middle Realm am I to continue on without his ring to hide us. We cannot be too far from the meadow now and there are sure to be other enemies in the forest.” His desperate gaze suddenly fell on Elerian’s knife, still thrust into the great body of the licantrope.
“It could work,” he thought to himself as he pulled Rasor free and began expertly skinning the creature. Once he had drawn the hide, Ascilius concealed the bodies of the canigrae and the licantrope as best he could, covering them with leaves and ferns. Then, after pulling Elerian up onto his back, he drew the large, bloody pelt of the licantrope over both of them, arranging it so that he could look out through the eyeless head.
“That disguise will fool no one,” said a familiar voice in his mind.
Eagerly looking around, Ascilius saw Anthea standing to his left. She looked so real in her huntsman’s garb that he had to remind himself that what he saw was only an illusion.
“You have come back, and just in time,” said Ascilius eagerly.
Although her shade lacked the power to hear, the Dwarf’s voice came clearly to Anthea, for her first action after reappearing was to extend a thin golden tendril from her shade into the tree above Ascilius’s head, contacting the small shade of a squirrel that crouched frozen on a branch, hoping to escape the notice of the strange creatures below him. Through the small creature’s ears, she was able to hear the Dwarf, and after adjusting to sight that showed her what was behind as well as in front of her, she was also able to see Ascilius’s feet and legs beneath the hide that covered him. From the odd bulge on his back, she guessed that he was carrying Elerian.
“I would not say in time, Ascilius,” she replied, her frustration coming through in the thought she sent to the Dwarf. “Either through weariness or a lack of mastery of the talisman that I wear, I was not able to return immediately when I sensed that Elerian was in danger again. If the two of you had died beneath the teeth of the canigrae, it would have been my fault.”