Chains of the Forest

by Darin Niemann

  I offered my hand as I had done with the others. She hesitated a moment while narrowing her eyes at me. Clearly she didn’t trust me. Had I done something to incite mistrust? I wasn’t sure, but she eventually shook my hand.

  “Excellent!” Answald exclaimed with his typical broad smile. “Now that everyone has been gathered and introduced, let us depart!”

  The man was too jovial for such a dangerous expedition. I gathered that he hadn’t seen much conflict or despair in his life as a nobleman. I glanced at Vaughn who heaved a sigh but followed the departing nobleman. The rest of the party set out as well in no particular order. That only lasted until we passed the city gates.

  Vaughn paused the party and motioned Herrick forward. The tracker nodded and made his way to the front of the party, leading the way forward. From what happened, I surmised that he would be our guide to lead us up into the Azek Mountains. As a hunter he had some experience being near the mountains so was our best bet at finding landmarks pointed out on the map, as where we were going there were no roads or signs.

  We all walked in silence for the most part, outside of Answald of course. He kept reciting various deeds has father and grandfathers had done throughout the course of their lives. I also noticed Elana had taken the rear guard position. As I wasn’t used to being apart of a traveling group, I was unsure of my place. Just as I wondered if I should be doing something, Dendar turned and spoke over his shoulder.

  “That be a mighty fine cloak yer wearin’, lad. Where’d ye get a thing like that?” He asked me.

  Surprised at the question, I blinked. Not many people asked about the cloak in so forward a manner. I grabbed the side of the cloak and felt it. It really was a fine cloak. Closer to silk than leather or fur.

  “It was… a gift. From an old acquaintance.” I replied, thinking that it was the truth. Sentovos, or at least his journal, had been the only person I had even remotely interacted with during my time within Foxthorn Forest.

  The dwarf nodded sagely. “A great gift.”

  Suddenly, the younger dwarf Hafoki who had been walking beside Dendar, halfway turned around and eyed the cloak end still in my hands.

  “Can I feel it?” The younger dwarf asked excitedly, reaching for the edge of my cloak. Dendar slapped his brother’s hand away before he could grab it.

  “Ye damned blockhead!” He swore, lightly smacking the back of Hafoki’s head in rebuke. “Ye don’t just grab other people or their things without their say-so!”

  Hafoki’s face reddened with embarrassment, though his beard did make it harder to notice. “Sorry.” He muttered, looking down.

  I chuckled at the scene. These two were quite a bit different than Braddick’s gruff, no-nonsense attitude.

  Dendar glanced at me, “Apologies ‘bout me brother. He can be foolish at times.” The last he spoke with a glare at Hafoki.

  Feeling for the younger dwarf, I replied. “It’s nothing. I actually don’t mind if you want to take a look.”

  I unclasped my cloak and offered it to the momentarily stunned dwarves. Hafoki quickly accepted the offered cloak and began looking at it all over. The older dwarven wayfinder, even with his rebuke, also felt of the cloak and had a thorough look. Perhaps they would find something new about the cloak that I had missed. Either way, it was worth the temporary loss of my cloak to see the dwarves excited expressions as they mumbled over this and that. I heard a ‘fine as silk’ and possible a ‘no doubt enchanted’ among other remarks.

  The weather was such that I had little need of a cloak anyway. I only wore it because it wasn’t as heavy as a normal one and it didn’t hinder me at all. And then there was the concealing hood. The dwarves kept inspecting it for quite some time until we stopped for a slight meal at noon. Sehas assisted Answald while the rest of the party brought out their own rations.

  Dendar handed back my cloak to me with a smile on his face. “Thank ye for that. The cloak be truly a gift fit for a king. Though I haven’t heard of any king concealing his face.”

  Smiling, I accepted the cloak and returned it to its place on my back. “Neither have I.” I replied. In truth I knew little of kings.

  I sat with the dwarves at their insistence, and we talked of our journey as we ate. I knew that we had headed east after leaving Greypoint, but we had yet to head north into the mountains. We were still following the road east that eventually turned south towards the capital city, although that was much farther south.

  “Where will the map eventually lead us? All I’ve heard is the others mentioning the Azek Mountains.” I asked Dendar. Hafoki was only half paying attention to our conversation as he was mostly focused on his meal.

  Dendar finished chewing before replying, “Well, lad, from here we head east. Once past Foxthorn Forest, we will make north for the mountains.”

  As he spoke he drew a vague undetailed path in the dirt that showed our route. It was a simple backwards L shape until it reached the mountains. He stopped drawing then.

  “Herrick says he can find the trail indicated on the map and that trail should lead us to the end as long as we follow the landmarks outlined on the map. The hard part will be in actually spotting the landmarks. Time and weather have a way of obscuring such things.” Dendar’s face grew serious as he frowned. “It’s all too easy to get lost in a mountain range as vast as the Azeks.”

  There wasn’t much to be said afterwards and we quickly finished our meal before resuming our journey. As we traveled, I kept an eye on the rest of my companions. Herrick led the party, followed closely by Vaughn and Sehas who were only half listening as Answald somehow found more tales to tell. This time it was the grand adventures of some past king of Turinval. Perhaps of the kingly statue back in Argem?

  The two dwarves were happily full and walked with eyes half closed as if they wanted to take a nap. I watched, thinking that at any moment one or both of them would tip over sound asleep. It never happened. Lastly, I checked on Elana.

  The elf still followed in her position as rear guard. As I glanced over my shoulder at her, I caught her looking at something off to the side. Her narrowed eyes and coldness were gone from her face. Now, her face carried an almost peaceful look. Clearly her mind was focused on far distant thoughts. Without her cold glare, I found her striking.

  As if sensing my gaze, she turned to meet my glance. Interestingly, she didn’t narrow her eyes as we looked at each other. It seemed that her cold attitude towards me had improved, though I was lost as to what the reason could be. I nodded my head to her in recognition and she nodded back, using a hand to sweep a lock of her blonde hair behind an elven ear.

  My gaze then moved to the forest to the north. I could see it from the road, and I was truthfully glad we weren’t attempting to cross through it. It had only been a couple of months since I had broken the curse, so it wasn’t a surprise that word hadn’t gotten out about the forest. As most people avoided going anywhere near the place, it would likely be awhile before someone stumbled into it and made it out perfectly fine. Then the rumors would spread.

  In the evening, we left the road and found a decent campsite. It didn’t take long to start a fire and Sehas cooked a warm meal for all of us. I was surprised at the quality of food. It was much better than any travel rations I had eaten in the past. Perhaps that was a perk of traveling with a nobleman.

  Most of us slept under the stars though Sehas set up a small tent for Answald to sleep in. We took watch in turns with even Answald taking part. He announced that holding watch was an integral part of every successful adventure that his forefathers had underwent. He almost went into the full story before he yawned and excused himself for rest. Everyone smiled at that before retiring to bed, aside from Vaughn who took first watch.

  Chapter 14

  I reached out and grabbed the wrist of the hand on my shoulder. My other hand brought forward a knife hidden under my pack. Suddenly stopping, I realized that I wasn’t being attacked and that the person waking me wasn’t an enemy. I had almo
st stabbed them. I blinked, drawing back the knife as I looked up at Elana. She looked down at me, one hand still on my shoulder while the other was halfway to me clearly meant to intercept the blade. We both paused before I sheathed my weapon. She stepped back as I got up and looked around. The campfire was merely dying embers at this point and everyone else was asleep. My turn for watch then.

  “Sorry for that.” I didn’t try to explain my actions.

  She nodded, though a slight frown marred her face, “It’s fine. You’ve got the last watch. See you in the morning.”

  She settled back into her bedroll while I decided to walk around the campsite. I wanted to be vigilant and I had time before the sun finally rose. We weren’t quite in orc territory yet, but orc hunting and raiding parties could be in the area. Although it was hard to see given that the only light was the moon, I took my time checking in all directions before returning to the dying fire and waiting for the sun to rise.

  For roughly a week we traveled in a similar manner. Follow the road east while skirting the forest’s edge. Eventually, we left the road behind and headed north as we had finally passed the forest’s eastern edge. I walked in front of the dwarves, all of us still following the directions of Herrick. He currently was leading us into a narrow pathway with two steep hills on either side with a good amount of shrubbery and trees. It looked to be quite difficult terrain to travel through when a ways back we could have chosen to go around the hills. Did he really know the way? Or was it something else I had missed?

  Suddenly, Herrick turned and grabbed Answald placing a knife at his throat. Everyone froze as Herrick shouted, “Now!”

  Movement in the trees ahead revealed a sizable group of men, at least twenty of them. Herrick had led us into a trap.

  “What is the meaning of this Herrick?” Answald cried out. For the first time that I had seen, worry shone on the nobleman’s face.

  Herrick sneered at us all, shifting the knife as if to make sure we all saw it there. Everyone had drawn weapons, with Vaughn wielding his large, two-handed sword and the dwarves holding double-bladed battle axes. I had drawn my sword as well, while Elana had an arrowed knocked and pointed at Herrick. Even Sehas had his knife out, albeit his hands shook as he held it.

  “We have you outnumbered. Throw down your weapons and I may let you live.” He grinned as he spoke. Some of his men had taken up positions behind trees with crossbows while some had advanced with swords and axes drawn to help up close. I knew men like these. They weren’t the type to let us live. Things were looking bad. I didn’t have a choice, there was one tactic I could use though it would drain my mana greatly.

  I only said one thing before I moved. “Trust me.”

  I whipped my hand forward and connected to my magic. I summoned a massive amount of swirling wind on the attackers. It wasn’t enough of a force to knock them over, but it covered the entire group of advancing soldiers and most of the archers. The real reason was that because of my tainted mana, the wind was pitch black, obscuring vision through the wind.

  Everyone, including the visible archers and Herrick, gaped at the sudden giant blackness that had appeared in their midst. I was the first to act as I ran forward in an attempt to reach Herrick. In his surprise, the knife in his hand had lowered enough for me to make a move for it but I was still so far away. As if my thoughts had provoked it, an arrow flew from behind me and took Herrick in the chest, missing Answald by a hair's breadth. I smiled as I ran. That had been a damned fine shot by Elana. I didn’t stop as I passed a still disoriented Answald and darted straight into the black wind.

  I slowed my speed, as I was finally where I wanted to be. I couldn’t physically see anything, but that mattered little. The reason it didn’t affect me was because my mana flowed within the wind, keeping it from dispersing. If I concentrated, I could feel my mana throughout the wind. Thus, I could tell if the wind was stopped, or blocked, by an object. This allowed me to paint a mental image within my mind; I could locate trees, plants, rocks. Enemies.

  I took only a moment to note the actions of some of the outlined figures within the black wind. Some were cowering in fear, others holding position, and yet others running around stumbling into trees and other objects. It was effortless. I simply walked up to them and stab them in the chest, neck, armpit, or any other vital area. While I worked, I tallied the number of bandits. In the end, when none were left alive within the black wind, I counted seventeen. It had been a slaughter.

  Taking a breath, not knowing what was to come, I released the magic. The black wind slowly dissipated and flew away until none of it remained. I stood before the party, noticing that they had done battle with what few bandits had been outside the black wind. They still had their weapons out, even Answald finally had his gleaming sword in hand. Elana had her bow drawn and nocked, an arrow pointed in my direction. I wiped my bloodied sword on the cloak of a fallen bandit and sheathed it.

  Finally, after a few moments of tension, Elana lowered her bow. The others followed and sheathed their weapons as well. I walked towards them, seeing Herrick lying dead nearby with an awed yet pained look still on his face. My large display of magic had used up over three quarters of my entire mana. It would take at least a day with food and rest to recover.

  As I came near, Hafoki’s voice sounded loud over the silence. “What in the bloody hells was that?”

  For once, it seemed Answald was speechless and only looked questioningly at Vaughn. Vaughn frowned at me, “I believe an explanation is in order.”

  I nodded but gestured around at the death around us. “Agreed, but let's move first.”

  Vaughn nodded, and ordered the party to move forward. I stayed up front with Vaughn, followed closely by Answald and the rest. I noticed Elana was looking at me with a curious expression, though there was no fear or mistrust in her eyes. Sehas, on the other hand, looked at me in fear as we passed the enemies I had mercilessly slain. I felt no remorse. They would have done the same to us. The dwarves surprisingly weren’t afraid of me in the least, after their initial shock had faded. Hafoki seemed relieved while Dendar even went so far as to clap me on the back.

  It took a while but we made it through the rough terrain between the hills and, not long after, found a good campsite. The time spent finding a suitable site had relieved much of the tension within the group. Even Sehas seemed almost back to normal, as he began to prepare a meal for everyone at the behest of Answald.

  As we waited for the meal, I sat and told my story. Everyone listened as I talked of how I had been on my way to the mage schools when I had been swept into Foxthorn Forest by the river. Eyebrows were raised as I told of my tale of finding Sentovos’ little hut and learning magic secondhand. I heard a couple of the party whisper ‘wilder’ under their breath, though I didn’t respond. Continuing with the tale, I mentioned my painful escape by removing the curse from the forest by bringing the taint onto myself. It explained why my magic was black. I emphasized this by making a small black windblade in my hand and held it up for all to see.

  Even though my explanation was done, Hafoki asked excitedly if I would continue. I expected Dendar or even Answald to speak up in response with a story of his own but they all simply looked at me and waited for the tale. Reluctantly, I obliged them and recounted my arrival in Greypoint, followed by my first foray at orc hunting and the months thereafter. I finally ended the story with our latest ambush by Herrick’s men.

  Afterwards, the food was prepared and everyone ate in silence while mulling over my story. I was simply glad that nobody had mentioned my time before the forest. I had little desire in bringing up my past as a slave. It wasn’t something I liked to remember.

  We retired for the night, Sehas no longer fearful when looking directly at me. He still seemed nervous and anxious overall though. Our recent encounter had apparently made him realize the dangerous nature of our journey. He still was able to perform his duties and constructed the tent for Answald who retired soon after with little affair. Va
ughn simply nodded at me and called out the watch order while the dwarves patted their full bellies and laid down to rest. When I glanced towards Elana, she was staring into the fire with a thoughtful expression on her face, face half hidden by long strands of hair.

  I retired as well, though it was some time before I fell asleep. It felt as if I was immediately woken by a shaking hand. This time I managed to not nearly stab the person shaking me awake, which was Vaughn. Though I did have my knife ready. The big man nodded as if in approval of the knife before retiring himself. The night was quiet as I took my watch and soon enough I woke Dendar for his turn.

  In the morning, I was surprised to find Answald up and regaling a tale of some old, though clearly not forgotten, adventurer. It seemed everyone had come to terms with Herricks betrayal and my tainted magic. Once everyone had prepared for the day ahead, Answald coughed noisily and proceeded to gather everyone's attention.

  “Already we have faced troubles and hardships and betrayal. Thanks to Ruvaen and the rest of you for your quick actions we have overcome the odds and survived. As such, we shall continue forth in search of the treasure!” Answald spread his hands wide as if displaying the treasure. Hafoki’s clapping rang out while Dendar shook his head. Nobody else voiced objection though, so Vaughn took the reigns of the group.

  “It will be at least another four days until we reach the base of the mountains. From there we will have find the path indicated on the map leading into the mountains.” Vaughn then pointed out Elana and myself. “Ruvaen and Elana will be our scouts so that we don’t stumble headfirst into anymore trouble. As elves, you can move lighter and faster than the other members of our band. If you do find trouble, one of you can report while the other stands watch.”

  I looked towards Elana who glanced at me in return and we both nodded. It was a smart move after our previous blunder, although it was difficult to plan for betrayal. It didn’t take long for Elana and I to gather our things although we did speak a few words with Vaughn about directions and routes before departing. The rest of the party took their time packing to give us a head start.