by F. P. Spirit
Seth had stayed one step behind him all the way, using a magic spell he’d learned to keep from exhausting his riding dog, and double its speed. He suspected that the mage was using the same magic on his stolen horse, because he had only stopped twice during the last twenty-four hours to refill his water.
Now they were on a small, underused road that was heading directly toward a small town nestled somewhere deep in the forest—Deepwood Fort was the name. Seth had seen an old, weather-beaten sign on the road near Bendenwood, with the smaller town’s name scratched into it.
For some reason, the name rang a bell, though Seth wasn’t sure why. He vaguely remembered having heard of it as he passed through Bendenwood, on the way to Ravenford about a month ago, but he was sure he’d heard of it elsewhere as well. As his eyes cautiously flitted around the lush green canopy above him, he wondered what sort of people could live in a place like Deepwood—a place so wild and remote.
They’re probably all flowery, plant hugging druids who cry when a fly dies, Seth thought dryly.
A few silent moments passed before Seth reined his dog to a halt. There was a small trail that branched off the road, and the mage’s horse had gone down that path. Seth turned his dog down the trail. He traveled it for a few twists and turns, until the main road had disappeared behind him, then his riding dog halted abruptly. It sniffed the air and whined, taking a step back. Seth looked ahead and squinted, but only saw a small clearing in the trees a short distance ahead. Still, that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything there.
Good place for a trap, actually.
He patted the dog on the shoulder and turned it to the side, moving it up to a fir tree with low branches. He slipped from the saddle and tied the dog to a low branch, then he moved forward as quietly as possible, shrugging on his magic cloak as he did and turning invisible. He crept up to the edge of the small clearing and peered around a tree.
The mage stood in the middle of the clearing, his horse tethered to a log, and he chanted and weaved his hands in a spell.
What is he trying to do?
Seth only had a few seconds to wonder. As the mage finished, a shimmering light surrounded Seth, outlining his body and illuminating the shadows he was hiding in. The mage had cast a spell to reveal the invisible.
Crap baskets…
A hiss from above made the hairs on the back of Seth’s neck stand on end. He rolled away from the tree, barely avoiding the coils of a giant green snake. He spun around to face the beast, drawing a knife from his belt. The creature hissed, its red eyes locked on him, as it slowly dropped from the tree. Although not the largest snake Seth had seen by far, this one was still a good eight feet or more in length and could undoubtedly squeeze the life out of him in seconds if it could get its coils around him.
Seth tried to take a step back, his mind racing, but his muscles stiffened. His arms fell to his side and locked into place. He glanced to the side and saw the mage pointing a glowing finger at him while chanting.
He’s trying to bind me!
With that thought, the spell suddenly ended and Seth’s limbs returned to normal. The mage snarled.
“You cannot escape us!”
As the snake struck at him, Seth rolled to the side, springing back up to his feet. He darted for a large oak tree, glancing over his shoulder once to see the snake in hot pursuit.
If I time this correctly…
He slowed his pace just a little, waiting for the snake to come within range. The snake, seeing an opportunity, brought its coils in close behind it and sprang forward, maw open.
Seth put all his energy into his legs, running up the side of the oak tree and flipping in the air, drawing another dagger. As he came down, the snake slammed into the side of the oak tree beneath him, sinking its fangs into the thick bark. Before it could recover from its mistake, though, Seth dropped onto its head, jamming both daggers into its skull and giving them both a sharp twist.
The snake’s mouth fell open, and it slumped to the ground, its lifeless body writhing. Seth pulled his daggers free and rolled away from it in one fluid motion. Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light exploded in his face. He stumbled backward, blinking rapidly as the shadowy world around him became a haze of multicolored lights.
Two big hands grabbed him by the wrists and wrenched his knives from his hands. Then he was lifted from the ground and held against a tight chest by two thick arms that squeezed him until he could barely breathe. The world gradually came back into focus, and when Seth look down at the arms restraining him, he found that they were green in color.
It’s an orc!
“Ha!”
Seth looked up and blinked, his eyes slowly focusing on the mage, who danced on one foot in glee. The mage gloated. “I have you now!”
Crap baskets!
Seth knew he was in serious trouble, but he wouldn’t let the mage see that. He forced a smirk onto his face. “Did you learn that victory dance from a three-year-old, or did you come up with it on your own? It’s pretty cute. All you’re missing is a diaper.”
The mage stopped and scowled at Seth. “Let’s see how witty you are after I’m finished with you!”
A look of concentration crossed his face as he started to mutter and weave his hands in a pattern.
Seth struggled against the orc, but the brute only chuckled, then squeezed harder. Seth continued to wiggle and struggle, his fingers groping for one of his knives hidden in his cloak. There was a soft sound of rushing air, and then, in the blink of an eye, three arrows suddenly appeared in the mage’s body. The first arrow punched through his right hand. He faltered mid-spell, his eyes going wide and his mouth dropping open in pain, but before he could cry out, another arrow punched into his left shoulder, making him stumble backward a couple of steps and fall against a tree, where another arrow sliced through his right shoulder and tacked him to the tree like a doll.
The orc howled in surprise, loosening its grip on Seth. Seth wrapped his fingers around a blade and whipped it out, twisting in the orc’s arms and slicing the blade across the monster’s jugular. Before the brute could drop him or react, an arrow tip punched through the middle of its forehead. Its eyes rolled back and it crumpled to the ground. Seth shoved away from the orc as it fell, barely avoiding being crushed. He rolled across the ground in a somersault, jumping back up to his feet. He looked back at the motionless orc, bewildered.
Never saw that coming. But who…?
Suddenly, Seth’s head started to swim and the world twisted sideways. He fell onto his knees, his ribs screaming in pain as his lungs gulped in shallow breaths of air. That orc had squeezed him a little harder than he realized. A soft rustle made Seth look back up.
A young woman, perhaps in her twenties, dropped from the tree above the orc. She slipped a bow over her shoulder, her sharp gray eyes looking him over carefully. She pushed a long strand of reddish-brown hair behind her ear, keeping a hand on her bow.
“You alright?” She asked, somewhat timidly, the words rolling from her mouth in a drawl.
Seth nodded, but said nothing, focusing on getting his lungs to work properly so he didn’t look so pathetic.
She sighed, pulling a rag from a pocket on her long green tunic. “I gotta say, I’m impressed; not just anyone can handle a giant snake the way you did. You sure are tough for a lil guy!”
She grinned and winked.
Seth frowned. He watched as she leaned down and pulled the arrow from the orc’s head, wiping the rag over it to clean the gore from it. Suddenly, a big silver lynx dropped onto the orc’s body. It fixed Seth with stern golden eyes and growled low, then it sat down, making itself comfortable on top of the orc. It kept its eyes locked on Seth, making it clear that he was not to move.
“Now then…”
Seth turned to where the mage was pinned to the tree, moaning, and watche
d as the young woman approached him, tapping the arrow across the palm of her hand.
“I know a guy who had that same tattoo,” she said, using the arrow to push back the right-hand sleeve of the mage’s robe, revealing a snake tattoo. “We never exchanged names, or anything like that, but he had an unforgettable face. He was bald and had a half-skull tattoo on the left side of his head. Maybe you know him?”
The mage rolled his lips together and kept his mouth closed tight.
The young woman sighed. “I see how this is gonna be.”
She reached out and wrapped her fingers around the end of the arrow sticking through the mage’s hand, making him flinch. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe you don’t know the guy with the half-skull tattoo. But I’ll bet a shiny new bow that you two are in the same club, huh? Mind telling me what that club is?”
“I could save you some time and tell you that.” Seth crossed his arms as he spoke, glancing to the side as the lynx growled at him. “He’s with the Serpent Cult.”
The young woman looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. “The Serpent Cult, huh? Is that the same as the one that crashed the birthday party at Ravenford a few days back?”
Seth raised an eyebrow, but nodded his head. “How did you know about that?”
She shrugged. “Word gets around these parts fast, especially if it has anything to do with humiliating the Duke of Dunwynn.” She turned back to the mage. “So, the Serpent Cult, huh? What’s a Serpent Cultist like you doing in a forest like Deepwood?”
The mage kept his lips rolled tightly together for several moments until the young woman started to twist the arrow into his hand slowly, pushing it farther in. The mage jumped and cried out.
Seth raised his other eyebrow as she pushed the arrow all the way out of his hand, dropping it to the ground and letting the wound bleed openly. Not afraid to get her hands dirty, but what’s her angle?
“What are you doing in Deepwood?” She demanded. “Is the Serpent Cult responsible for the disappearances here?” Her voice took on a sharp edge.
The mage started to laugh. Before he finished, the young woman pinched his nose and covered his mouth with her free hand, raised the arrow that had killed the orc, and slammed it into the mage’s knee, right above the kneecap, slowly twisting it. The mage let out a sick, stifled cry, trying to pull his face away from her hand so he could breathe.
She snarled as she continued to twist the arrow in his knee. “I can do this all day, you dribbling, clay-brained, goblin licker.”
Seth grabbed his sides to stop himself from laughing out loud. Dribbling, clay-brained, goblin licker? She must be new to this.
“So, you either make this easy on yourself and answer my questions, or I spend the entire day making you wish you’d made this easy on yourself.”
She stopped twisting and jerked the arrow out, letting go of his nose at the same time. The mage gasped as the arrow was removed, and started panting heavily. The young woman cleaned the arrow off again.
“Not so tough when you’re not picking on someone half your size, are you?” With that, she moved the arrow up to his nose. “No piercings? Well, I can fix that.” She reached out with her free hand and grabbed the end of his nose, “Hold still, I want to make the hole big enough to fit a chicken bone through.” With that, she pulled the arrow back and tensed her muscles.
The mage screamed. “Wait! Wait! Serpent’s Hollow! I was just passing through to Serpent’s Hollow!”
Seth’s eyes narrowed. I was right—he was headed to the cult’s ‘home.’
The young woman cast a quick glance at Seth and winked, dropping both hands to her sides. “Good boy. Don’t stop there, though. Keep talking.”
The mage licked his lips. “I was just passing through. I didn’t have anything to do with the disappearances, I swear.”
The young woman raised her arrow and twisted it nonchalantly between her fingers, pretending to stare at it. “Go on.”
The mage licked his lips again, the corners of his eyes pinching up in a cringe. “Oh please, I’ve said too much. They’re going to kill me for what I’ve said already.”
The young woman smiled. “Aha! So, this Serpent’s Hollow is your nest! Anything else you want to tell us? Like, did the Serpent Cult have something to do with folk disappearing here in Deepwood?”
The mage squirmed, moaning in pain. “The cult has kidnapped people from everywhere. It’s not my job to keep a list.”
The young woman moved the arrow up to his nose again. “Actually, I think two chicken bones could fit in a nose that size…”
The mage tensed and started panting. “Yes! Yes! The cult has taken people from Deepwood! You guys are the closest. It’s easier to snatch one or two of you if we need more.”
“More what? What are you taking people for?” she asked, still keeping the arrow tip up by his nose.
He narrowed his eyes, his voice losing some of its fear. “Slaves.”
“Slaves? What the heck do you guys need so many slaves for? What’s been happening to them? Are they still alive?”
The mage stiffened, and silence reigned for several long moments. The young woman began to tap the arrow against her hand impatiently.
The mage took a deep breath. “Do your worst. I’ve said too much all ready. I’ll not give you any more information.”
“Okay.” The young woman stood and walked over to Seth. “He’s all yours, short-stack. Do what you want to him.”
Seth glared at the young woman, trying to decide how much of this interrogation he actually believed. It seemed real enough—he had already established the mage was a chicken, the way he ran from the battle in the monolith. It wasn’t very likely that he would willingly subject himself to the pain she inflicted on him.
The young woman shrugged, cocking her hip to the side and resting her free hand on it. “You might be able to get some more information out of him.” She glanced over her shoulder uncertainly at the mage, “I’ve got all I’m gonna get out of him, I think, which is just enough for me to know what I need to do.”
Seth tilted his chin and narrowed his eyes. She seemed genuine enough. Either that, or she was a consummate actress. “So, I take it you’re from Deepwood Fort?”
The young woman’s mouth fell open, and she gave him an incredulous look. “No. I’m a dragonborn that fell from the sky. I mean, really, it doesn’t take a wizard to figure out where I’m from.”
Seth snorted. She was cocky, he’d give her that, even if her jabs were a bit lame. The real question was could he trust her? If people were disappearing from Deepwood, as she said, then her interest in the Serpent Cult might be genuine. “Heh… and folks are being kidnapped from that town?”
She shrugged and nodded uncertainly, straightening her posture, then used her free hand to rub her other arm awkwardly. “No one believes they’ve been kidnapped… ‘cept me, of course. Most say they just ran off, or something like that. But folk have been disappearing left and right around here for about four months now. Probably more.”
She shrugged and sighed. “At least my suspicions have been put to rest and I know I ain’t crazy. Still, I think I would have settled for crazy over my neighbors becoming slaves, and no one knowing about it or trying to rescue them.”
She ended softly on a sad tone, looking away and twisting her mouth to the side to hide the emotion that Seth saw creeping into her face.
Seth knew that look only too well—he had seen it on Aksel many times, in quiet moments when the little cleric thought no one was looking. This young woman had suffered a loss—a painful one. That was something you couldn’t fake. Seth let out a short sigh, the tension releasing from his shoulders. He wasn’t quite sure yet just how much he trusted this woman, but he no longer thought this some elaborate ruse. “Do you have any idea where Serpent�
��s Hollow is?”
She looked back at him, her eyebrows narrowing and her shoulders slumping forward. “No.” She shook her head dejectedly, but then her face lit up as her eyes grew wider. “But, I know someone who might! Sure as a dead man knows where his grave is!”
Seth’s mouth twisted into a smirk. This young woman’s colorful phrasing was definitely growing on him. “Who would that be?”
She cocked her hip to the side again, “Someone we can trust more than the gods themselves.”
Seth spiked an eyebrow. “That’s putting a lot of trust in one person.”
“She’s just that trustworthy.” She winked, then became serious again. “Hey, what’re you after in Serpent’s Hollow?”
“Nothing.” Seth shook his head. He wasn’t ready to trust her with that information just yet. Too many lives were at stake.
She crossed her arms and grinned. “I’d buy a goblin’s left ear over that steaming pile of troll snot.”
Seth rolled his eyes. Gods she was corny. “I just wanted to find out where the Serpent Cult was based.”
“For who?”
Seth held his breath and stared at her for a moment, weighing his choice of words. “For myself…”
The young woman tilted her head and spiked an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “Gonna have to do better than that if I’m gonna trust you, pint-size.”
Seth grit his teeth and crossed his arms, pretending to be angry. The fact that she didn’t trust him, actually made him trust her more. His response positively dripped with acid. “I have a name.”
She mimicked him. “You didn’t tell it to me.”
Seth knit his brows, still pretending to be perturbed. This was starting to get fun—nearly as fun as needling Glo. “You didn’t ask.”
“Sure didn’t! Didn’t look like you were in the mood to give it to me after that orc hug.” She grinned and cleared her throat. “I’m Kalyn Rhan, and that’s my buddy, Elfar.” She jerked her thumb back at the Lynx still sitting on the orc corpse. “And now, you are?”