by T. K. Chapin
“Who was that ninja?” Nejik asked motioning over his shoulder.
“He was a ninja?” Tessla asked. “I guess it doesn’t matter… he said his name was Miko and he was hired by the Wizards of Curo to capture me?” Tessla said confused.
“The Wizards of Curo? Who are they?” Nejik asked. “I wonder if this has something to do with the war.”
“So the Wizards are trying to get me and the Runic’s have my child… Fantastic,” Tessla laughed as she rested her head against her hand. Shaking her head, she looked up at Nejik. “I miss my home in Silvermeer… I guess it was a fantasy thinking it’d last forever.”
“I know you miss it, but it was crazy to think that it would work forever. Ada isn’t immortal, she can and will die at some point. When this all gets figured out, we can have a normal relationship and spend time together. I know I didn’t reach out to you at all after I ducked out from the castle… but these years you’ve been only been a small distance away and… I just want something more than we have had. You know? Life is short and I don’t want to lose you again. ”
Glancing over at Illadari and thinking about her son Kessler, she replied, “But at what cost Nejik?” He looked down between his folded hands and sighed.
“I know…” he said softly.
**
Illadari began coughing and moaning as he turned onto his side. “My neck!” he screamed as he clenched his throat in pain. Tessla touched his face and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks be to Omad you are okay!” she said resting her head on his chest. She inspected his neck and saw that his wounds were beginning to close. “See if you can walk,” Tessla said helping him to his feet. Grabbing his ribs as he stood up, he staggered across the floor cringing with every step.
“It’s okay… but I rather rest longer,” he said as he lowered himself back down to the floor. Bending down next to him, Tessla put her hand on his shoulder.
“Our son needs us,” she said softly. “I can give you better healing down below when I get my mandolin.”
“At least bring me a black diamond to restore my mana energy before we go down there…” Illadari said.
“Certainly,” Tessla said jumping up; she retrieved one from their pouch. “Here,” she said handing him the diamond. Placing his finger tips on the black diamond, he drew the energy out and immediately Tessla could see his energy return. “Did the diamond make you feel any better?”
“No,” Illadari said in a grumpy tone. Tessla knew he was being over dramatic, but she kept silent and let him bask in his misery.
“Well you are well enough to travel to the base of the tree now. Let’s go,” Tessla said helping him upright. Nejik grabbed the pouches and joined behind them as they traveled down the long winding slide that wrapped around the tree to the base.
Arriving at the bottom, Tessla left Illadari with Nejik and set foot across the glade in search of her mandolin. Finding her mandolin rather quickly, she was curious to where Miko had fallen to his demise. Continuing her search, she followed around the entire Great Tree’s base in the glade and found his body nowhere along the way. That’s strange, she thought to herself as she glanced back up at the platform.
“I didn’t find Miko’s body anywhere,” Tessla said upon approaching Nejik and Illadari.
“Odd,” Nejik said glancing around both directions. “Maybe a wolf dragged off his body or he managed to pull himself into the forest to die. Regardless, I don’t think he’s an issue anymore.”
Tessla nodded as she began to play the Song of Healing Rain for Illadari. White notes traveled from her mandolin and formed a white puffy cloud over Illadari. As the last note played, it appeared to be made entirely of water as it floated up into the cloud above Illadari. A moment later an explosion disturbed the cloud and rain droplets began to fall over Illadari healing him quickly to full health.
Falling to her knees, she asked Nejik, “Could you get a black diamond from my pouch next to you? I don’t have the energy to play a song of regeneration for my mana.”
“Sure,” Nejik said as he opened the pouch and pulled one out. Glancing around in the bag he said, “This is the last one you have.”
“I am aware, please bring it to me,” she said with a smile. Bringing it over to her, she drew the energy from the diamond restoring her energy. “Much better,” she said standing up rejuvenated. Illadari arose to his feet fully healed and stretched.
Chapter 14
“Thank you,” Illadari said to Nejik. Any ill feelings he had towards the man had all gone away through the act of generosity in helping save his life. “I would have died if you didn’t save me,” Illadari said extending a hand and a smile.
“So that’s it? You just let it go and like me now?” Nejik asked curiously with a half grin on his face.
“Saving my life is a pretty big deal and I figure that’s a good trade off for the offense of almost killing me when I first met you,” Illadari responded. Looking to Tessla, Illadari embraced her tightly in a hug and kissed her passionately.
“I was scared I was going to lose you,” Tessla said hugging him.
“So you sat with your brother and chatted?” Illadari laughed. “I’m not upset, but it seemed unusual.”
“You were healing and I needed to catch up with him,” Tessla said defensively.
“Understandable.” Directing his attention to Nejik, Illadari said, “It’s safe to assume you didn’t figure anything out about with the Kobold’s having Ada… since we figured out it was Runic magic, right?”
“Correct…” Nejik paused for a moment looking at Tessla. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think we need to travel to Ashengale and ask around about any rumors circling the town about Ada and her whereabouts. Maybe she was brought through town on the way to the castle? Or maybe she’s being held somewhere around the area.”
“And risk seeing my Mother and Father again?” Tessla asked with widened eyes. “I can’t risk that,” she said turning away.
“Well unless you have a better way, I don’t see how we are going to find Kessler and Ada,” Nejik said. “I don’t like Mother and Father either, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about Kessler and getting him back to you two safely.”
“You are right, we need to find Ada and get this resolved,” Tessla replied.
“What about the Curo Wizards seeking to capture you?” Illadari asked.
“What about it? We can handle it. We have to find Ada and fix this mess. That’s the most important thing,” Tessla said.
**
Traveling through the evening, into the night and through the next day; the three of them traveled through the Darkwood Forest, the Dustwallow Pass and into the Ironwood Forest in pursuit of Ashengale. As night began to fall, they made it to the outskirts of Ashengale.
Illadari rubbed his forehead as he set his sights on his old priest halls in Ashengale that lied between the two buildings that they were near. I was so young, he thought to himself as he watched Elder Konner come out the front door shutting it behind him. He walked down the street and out of their view.
“I’m going to go stop in at the local pub and see if I can find anything out,” Nejik said to Illadari and Tessla. “People won’t recognize who I am since I’ve been gone so long and the berry tar on my eyes.”
“How come we can’t use the dirt of the Ironwood Forest to hide ourselves and join you?” Tessla asked.
Nejik looked at the both of them and shook his head. “I know people that frequent the tavern. They know me as a loner and would be suspicious to see others with me.”
“Sounds like a plan then,” Illadari said.
“Don’t be gone too long” Tessla said.
“I won’t,” Nejik said giving her a hug. Nejik set foot into town, while Tessla and Illadari stayed behind a pile of logs that sat just on the backside of the Ashengale general shop.
“You think Kessler’s here in Ashengale? What if he’s in the castle? With my parents?” Tessla asked.
>
“I am not sure of where he is… but I hope he and Ada are here so we can get it all straightened out,” Illadari said. His stomach began to growl in hunger.
“Let me get you some food,” she said reaching into one of their pouches. Retrieving a Hilted Banes Leaf and a loaf of gymer bread, she gave him a chunk of the bread and a leaf. Grabbing both from her hands, Illadari smiled. She reached into the pouch again and fetched a waterskin for them to share.
Tossing the leaf into his mouth, he chewed it quickly and shoved bread immediately in afterwards to help with the bitter taste. His hunger pains began to subside and he took a swig of the waterskin. Wiping his mouth, he handed the waterskin back to Tessla.
“Thank you,” he said smiling. Looking over into the forest, he said, “I remember the first time we met, just walking with you in these woods and talking as I healed animals…” He looked over at her and smiled. “Life was so simple back then…”
Joining him in the reflection on their early years of their relationship, she said, “We thought it was complicated and difficult back then…”
“We were young,” Illadari said reaching over and grabbing her hand. Kissing the topside of her hand, he looked her in the eyes and said, “I’d do it all again if I had to.”
Smiling, she said, “I would too.”
“Life’s crazy sometimes… but a little bit of chaos is nice, it keeps it interesting. For instance, I could have been listening to boring fishing stories, going to the Halls and conducting my life like it has been for the last decade instead of sneaking back into a city that wants to kill me.”
“True… but I rather have our boy back and you listening to boring fishing stories then this,” Tessla said with glossy, tear-filled eyes.
“That is very true… I’d be happy to listen to fishing stories for the rest of my life if that meant Kessler were safe with us at home.”
A couple hours had passed, and Illadari and Tessla became worried about Nejik as the sun began to set fully and the moons were out. “You think he’s okay?” Tessla asked Illadari as they lay their heads against the pile of logs.
“I hope so, it has been a few hours now…” Illadari said. “I’m starting to wonder.” Sitting up, Illadari climbed the pile of logs and glanced over the top, into Ashengale. The streets were less crowded than earlier and it appeared that many of the shops were now closed. “I wonder if you should go into the tavern,” Illadari said.
“Uh… why not you?” Tessla asked.
“The Ashengale folks know my face very well. You are the princess and were not present in the city very often, you are better suited,” Illadari said.
“Well I was still in the city sometimes…” Tessla said. “What if I cut my hair?”
“Cut your hair? With what? A rock?” Illadari laughed. “Here, just put my blue robes on and go into the town.”
Illadari stripped off his robe and down to his under garments. “I’ll be fine, just hurry back once you get find him,” Illadari said as she put the blue robes on that were clearly too large for her small frame.
“Is this going to work?” she asked looking at Illadari as she raised her arms trying to get comfortable in the rather large robes. Relaxing her arms to her sides, the sleeves went well beyond her hands.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Illadari laughed wrapping himself with his arms to keep warm.
“I hope you are right,” she said going around the wood pile, Tessla smiled nervously back at Illadari. Taking a deep breath, she headed into the streets of Ashengale.
Chapter 15
Pulling the hood of the robes over her head to help conceal her face, Tessla looked down as she made her way into the tavern. Glancing up as she entered, she barely spotted Nejik at a table near the back corner. The lighting was poor in the tavern and it smelled of hops and smoke. Brushing the smoke out of her face as she coughed, she made her way across the creaky wood floor, to the table that Nejik sat at.
An older man stood out that sat next to Nejik. His face was worn like leather and a pipe full of gopher tobacco smoldered as he held it between his yellow stained teeth as he spoke amongst the other gentlemen at the table. Approaching, Tessla was about to speak, when the old man suddenly smacked the table so hard that silence fell across the entire tavern.
“Enough with the stories,” the old man said as he glared at Nejik. “We want to know where it is.” Nejik stood up and made eye contact with Tessla. His eyes widened as he looked to be overcome with fear to see her in the tavern. “Where do you think you’re going?” the old man asked grabbing onto Nejik’s arm and pulling him back into his seat.
“I was just going to get some fresh air,” Nejik said.
“Not until you tell us where the stone is,” the old man said taking another puff of his pipe. Stone? What is Nejik talking to these people about? Tessla wondered.
“It’s buried at the base of the tree that sits in the fork of the river,” Nejik said with a quieted voice.
“You best not be lying boy or it’ll be your throat we take,” the man said leaning into Nejik’s face as the smoke barreled out of his mouth. Nejik coughed as he pulled back from the old man’s gaze.
“I promise it’s there,” Nejik said as he stood up. “You have my word.” Extending a hand to the old man, they shook firmly on the matter, and Nejik walked right by Tessla as if he didn’t know her. Following him out of the tavern, she grabbed his arm turning him around.
“That was stupid!” Nejik said turning quickly to Tessla. “You could have gotten yourself exposed or hurt!”
“You have been gone for hours, we got worried about you!”
“Why? Did you two honestly think I could just walk into a tavern, ask a question and leave with the information?” Nejik laughed as he grabbed her arm and hurried back towards the log pile.
“Well…” Tessla responded searching for her thoughts. “I was worried about you.”
“Well… I can handle myself,” Nejik said. “I’ve been on my own for quite some time now sister.”
“What was the stone you were talking to those men about?” Tessla asked.
Stopping as they were about to the log pile, Nejik turned to her again and shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand. You haven’t had to live and fight for your life daily like I have. I can’t explain it to you in a way that you would understand. All you need to know is I know where they are keeping Ada.”
“What was that stone Nejik?” Tessla asked angered.
“It’s the stone that Amon, or Illadari… whomever, left behind at the Great Tree when you two went to Silvermeer,” Nejik said.
“You stole his stone?” Tessla said in disbelief. Nejik walked away and headed back to the log pile. Following after him, they arrived back at Illadari and Tessla grabbed Nejik’s arm. “Why would you take the one thing he had from his father?”
Nejik laughed, “I didn’t steal it. To steal something, it has to be in another’s possession and it wasn’t. It was at the Great Tree and might I add… he had left it there over a decade ago.”
“You took my stone?” Illadari asked. Tessla took off the robe and gave it back to Illadari.
“See… this is what you city folk don’t understand about the world outside of your precious walls. It’s a give and take out here in the world. Did I take the stone? Yeah, I did, but guess what? That stone is leading us to your son.”
“That’s great, but you shouldn’t take what doesn’t belong to you,” Illadari said as he put his robe on over his head. “That isn’t right.”
Shaking his head in frustration, Nejik said, “Out here beyond the castle walls and the city, lays the real world. The world where you don’t get what you want without giving something in return. Sometimes the truth and reality is not pretty.”
Tessla knew that Nejik had changed from coming to live out amongst the forest dwellers and had even became accustomed to the druids within the Darkwood Forest, but she never thought for a moment that Nejik would ever take something tha
t did not belong to him. As her eyes were focused on Nejik as he tried to justify himself, she saw him in an entirely different way. She no longer saw him as a little boy who played out in the courtyard with her as a child, but a man who made choices through his actions, even if they were not what she had wanted.
“Do you want to know where your son is? Where Ada is?” Nejik asked with his eyebrows raised. “Or do you want to continue on about how bad it is I took something I didn’t have any right to have?”
Placing her hand on his shoulder, Tessla looked him in the eyes and said, “What you did was not right. It might have not been a big deal to you, but it was important to us. I understand though… you were doing what you thought was right. You have to be able to do what you think is right in the moment no matter what, and that choice is going to help us find our son.”