There sure seemed to be a lot of women and children in this town, thought Ronald. Barney tried to talk to some of them to find out what had happened. They all ignored him until a plump lady with a long flowery dress and a handkerchief tied over her hair approached him. ‘Where are you from good sir?’ she asked, forcing back tears. ‘I am Barney Critchem, and this is Ronald. We are from Saltwood. In fact, I am an elder on the council there and have endured a difficult journey to get here and impart urgent news to your elders.’ He looked around as if he would spot an elder walking past. ‘Mr Critchem, I am Penny, the baker and I fear all the men of our village have been recently kidnapped. '
Barney raised his eyebrows in disbelief and replied. ‘What do you mean,’ he paused, ‘kidnapped? Where is everyone?’ Penny continued, ‘I am usually one of the first awake before sun up. Preparing my ovens and saying goodbye to my husband, who heads down the coast fishing early.’ ‘I see’ said Barney, looking at Ronald and wondering what the hell this had to do with anything. ‘Then the evil grey mist’ she said. ‘It drifted out of the forest and settled over the village. Behind the mist came these......these things that carried our menfolk away.’ She now had Barney’s full attention, who was visibly startled. ‘What, could they not fight back?’ ‘No’ she replied, ‘we were all in a daze as if we were sleeping with our eyes open. I only woke up after the mist cleared, but I still saw what had happened.’
Ronald spoke ‘We saw the mist as we came into the village last night and we heard...’ ‘We don’t know what we heard!’ snapped Barney. He continued ‘Go on Mrs Penny.’ ‘Well’ she said, ‘There was talk that just before the mist, some of the watchmen on patrol saw some witches’ in the sky.’ Penny swallowed and made a feeble attempt at a smile. ‘Of course, I am not sure if that would be true or not, because witches’ are extinct as we all know. We were all sure that they had merely seen a formation of crows and the angle of the light....’ Her voice trailed off. Barney felt ill as memories of childhood horror stories suddenly flooded his mind. He did not tell her that he had witnessed an unusual occurrence in the sky the day before, which he suspected were witches flying about. That probably explains what had happened here then. But why would witches’ attack these people? What had they ever done to the witches’? And where had they even come from?
Above the continuous, unified sobbing and inquiring voices, a sudden scream erupted from the far side of the square, which was then joined by screams from another woman. Clearly, something else was happening over there now. Barney sighed and turned to face the commotion. Woman and children were running towards him and away from that side of the square. Over the screams came a loud familiar howling. With the grey mist departing, the Deadbite Canines had gone against all instincts and entered a mankind village in broad daylight. The leader was still insane with grief and rage and would not rest until they found the mankind animals that killed some of her family. They did not care if the changeling curse became permanent. Seeking revenge was now the most important thing. The Deadbites had roamed the streets at daylight sniffing here and there and ignoring screaming women and children.
Finally, they picked up the scent of the two mankind males responsible and tracked them to this spot. Barney and Ronald recognised the leader with half her hair burnt off her body as she stood tall on two bent legs. She appeared to be in a euphoric state as she spied Barney and Ronald. She howled with glee and barked out a command. The other three houndman dropped to all fours and in large bounds made their way through the screaming children and fainting women across the square towards Barney and Ronald. Barney swore and fumbled for his sword as Ronald stepped back and quickly unslung his bow off his back and fitted an arrow.
'These things don’t give up!’ Cried Ronald, who couldn’t release a shot as too many people were running between him and the approaching houndmen. Something small and quick caught Barney’s eye as it flew across his peripheral vision. The unknown object struck a running houndman in the upper torso with a loud thud, dropped him instantly as he then skidded facedown along the ground to stop a few feet in front of Ronald. A black twin-bladed axe protruded from its upper back. Barney stared and saw that it was smaller than a regular woodsman’s axe, of very fine craftsmanship though designed for throwing and quite effective by the look of it. For an instant, Barney thought he saw a small blue flame flicker along the edge of the exposed blade. He had no time to dwell on this as the other two houndman, seeing their fellow fall, glanced left and right then howled and run determinedly towards him.
Barney fell backwards, holding his short sword in front of him. The houndman leapt and landed on Barney using all fours to pin him to the ground, snapping continually at his face. Barney pushed hard against this thing with his sword as he turned his head away from the advancing jaws and shut his eyes. He felt the efforts of the houndman growing weaker and gathering his strength he pushed with all his might as it rolled off him. His sword was buried deep in its chest. He unsteadily got to his feet and saw Ronald holding his bow with both hands in front of him as a shield. The houndman gripped the centre of the bow with big teeth and shook profusely. It ripped the bow out of Ronald’s hands and flung it sideways to land on the ground. It howled and moved towards Ronald, who lost his footing trying to back away, falling to his hands and knees. Ronald fumbled at his side for the small knife he carried. Barney started to run toward Ronald with his sword high in the air, but he feared he would not make it in time to save him.
The houndman leaned over Ronald and opened his mouth wide to strike. Ronald could smell its fetid breath and felt saliva drip on his face. Barney yelled in fright, fearing he was about to see his young friend die. As if in slowed time, a long black arrow resembling a tiny lightning bolt flew straight past Barney right ear and twisted in motion to strike the hound between the shoulder blades. Barney stared at the green and red fletches at the end of the trembling arrow. The dying houndman with a blank stare on its face lay twitching on the ground giving small yelps. Barney helped Ronald to his feet, who then quickly reached over and grabbed his bow off the ground. It had some decent teeth marks in it now but still seemed functional. They both looked around, most of the women and children had vacated the square as their panicky squeals could again be heard in the distance as they ran through the neighbouring streets wailing out warnings. The leader of the houndman was nowhere to be seen, and their rescuers suddenly showed themselves from between two nearby buildings.
Barney gasped ‘elves?’ He had only ever heard stories about them. That they had once lived in the moors and deep woods with the animals and were now extinct. Then again, he had thought the same about witches’ and magic things in general. He cleared his throat and bowed. ‘Thank you for your help......err whatever you are?’ Ronald stared open-mouthed and didn’t say anything. Three elves approached them, smiling while trying to present themselves to be as less threatening as possible. They had heard that these mankind animals were timid and frightened easily at the best of times. ‘I am Shalia and this is Kerythe and Durlaan. We come from the Grelen Clan to the far east of the moors.’ She spoke with a strange accent that was neither a Saltwood nor Brineburg lingo. Barney didn’t know what else there could possibly be, he replied ‘I am Barney Critchem, and this is Ronald...I don’t really know his last name. '
The elves looked confused at this. Barney continued, ‘We come from the south, our village is called Saltwood.’ His voice trailed off as he looked at Kerythe jerking roughly on his axe several times until it came free from the houndman carcass. Kerythe wiped the blade on the fur of the houndman and placed the shaft into a sling on his back. Barney also noted that Durlaan carried a long black bow on his back and a quiver with long black arrows fitted with the same green and red fletches. All three elves only came up to Barney’s shoulder in height. Their skin was a light grey tone, and they wore the same brown coloured clothing of simple trousers and tunics. The two male elves, well he presumed they were males, were stocky with long blonde beards braided tightly
that hung down their chests. They had short light sandy coloured hair that barely covered their pointy ears. The one who called herself Shalia was obviously a female as she was of a slighter build to the other two and was without a beard. She had fiery red hair that was tied up in a tight knot. All three had almond-shaped blue and grey coloured eyes. Shalia did not have any weapons that Barney could see, but she carried a short straight staff that appeared to be grey marble with black veins running the length of it. At each end was a pretty assortment of small jewels.
The handle of the axe, the bow and the staff had ornate carvings in them in such fine detail that Barney had never seen before. He even thought he saw some of the designs emitting a faint blue colour as they twisted and turned in the sunlight. Shalia saw Barney staring and said ‘Yes they are enchanted. The runes you see give the weapons their special ability. These are several of the remaining Druid weapons that are still in this realm. It is said that they were forged in the heart of Aledran Mountain by the great Druid smith Lordrid Sunthief. However, we have been unable to gain access to the smithy’s chambers in the magic warrens for centuries’. Barney had no idea what she was talking about. She continued, ‘They are instrumental against the likes of these and others like them that are born of witch magic or the darkness of the Dread-realm.’ She nodded towards the houndman nearby on the ground. Barney interrupted, ‘I have a hundred questions to ask. Wait, what are these hound things that attacked us?’ Shalia replied, ‘They call themselves Deadbite Canines. They were once of your kind but had made bargains with the witches’ and paid the price with being cursed into changelings. It’s a favourite joke of the witches’ to do this, and there are many more around than just these few. They operate now as mercenaries completing errands for the witches’ and goblin kings.’ Barney nodded then exclaimed, ‘goblins?’ Shalia continued ignoring his comment about goblins. ‘You must have really upset them, as they usually don’t come out during the day for fear of their curse becoming permanent. ‘We had killed some of their numbers several days ago’, said Barney. ‘Ahhh, I see. Well, you are safe for the time being.’ Shalia replied.
Several gasps of bewilderment were heard as some of the townsfolk women came cautiously back into the square. ‘We must hurry.’ She said, ‘Time is important, and we don’t have much of it. The witches’ are moving with the Wildpack against our lands and the lands of our brother wolves.’ Barney looked confused and exclaimed ‘wolves!’ Shalia ignored him once again and looked around nervously at the people coming towards them. This mankind animal did not seem to know much about Frelith, she thought to herself. Several women were pointing at the elves and uttering the word, Daemons. She gently grabbed Barney by the arm and tried to lead him away. ‘Quickly, we must find a place away from wandering eyes. The witches’ have spies everywhere.’ Barney stood his ground. ‘Look I appreciate you helping us just then, but I don’t know you or what you speak of and quite frankly....’ ‘Move beast!’ yelled Kerythe loudly and prodded Barney sharply in the back with the hilt of his axe. Barney, unaccustomed to being spoken to like this was shocked, but he and Ronald followed Shalia all the same out of the square and past some bewildered people. They went through several twisted streets between small cottages and soon came to the start of an expansive forest near the eastern edge of the village.
They found a giant Maple tree with a small pile of rocks surrounding the base. Barney and Ronald took a seat on a stone each and wondered what was going to happen next. To the amusement of the elves, Ronald groaned and shifted his position on the stone uncomfortably. ‘Shalia spoke first. ‘I apologise for Kerythe’s behaviour, but it is dangerous to stay within the mankind village. We have been tracking you for two days.’ ‘Tracking us? Why?’ said Barney and he continued, ‘I was sent by Saltwood to warn Brinetown of pending danger.’ ‘Doesn’t seem to matter anymore’ added Ronald gloomily, ‘Looks like the witches’ beat us to it.’ Shalia liked the look of the young man. ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘Your right, unfortunately, they have taken three-quarters of the village.’ Barney sputtered, ‘Where to? Can they be saved?’ ‘I’m afraid not’ said Shalia. ‘They would already be dead or cursed. It is the witches’ favourite pastime to perform a soul reaping every few hundred years.’ Neither Barney nor Ronald spoke for a few moments, trying to comprehend what the elf just said. Then Barney looked at Shalia and whispered, ‘The grey mist?’ Shalia lowered her eyes and replied. ‘The mist is poison, it is a way of numbing victims, and so they can be collected and transported with minimal damage.’ Barney shivered and felt faint. ‘Tell me everything.’ He said weakly. For the next hour or so, Shalia explained as best she could in a way that the two men would understand.
The world was a lot bigger than what mankind perceived. The witches’ and the goblins were always befriending Daemons in exchange for magic powers. The hounds were an army of raw savages that rules the great northern forests of Trunarth and heavily in league with the witches’. There were the wolves, bears, elves and many other peaceful species trying to live harmoniously. Their fate, however, was to inevitably defend themselves against those aforementioned. An hour later, Barney and Ronald nodded solemnly. ‘I had not thought any of this real’ said Barney. ‘We had grown up with similar stories but believed them to be children’s tales.’ ‘Well’, said Shalia ‘It has been centuries since mankind had conversed with other species, and you have simply forgotten the common tongue.’ Shalia finished with the explanation of the Wildpack, goblin and witch armies in the north and the south moving against the wolf pack and elves, gaining momentum to likely converge on their final target of Aledran.
‘Why are you telling us all this?’ Barney asked. ‘Because the great Shah Bragus of Aledran and Princess Eylon of the Elvene maze request your immediate presence to the vale.’ Barney was gobsmacked. He asked nervously, ‘For what reason? I don’t know anything!’ Shalia continued to speak gently in a manner as if lecturing a child. ‘Because mankind has lost their faith in the Druid, who were the chosen few mages of your kind that wielded power to maintain the balance and keep the peace between the species.’ Barney interrupted, ‘But I don’t understand.’ Shalia patiently replied. ‘Every species has or had a chosen few skilled in the arcane, yours were the Druids. They were the most skilled of all until mankind degraded considerably to where they are now. At that time they chose champions through the ages and gave them, weapons like these to keep the witchlings and hell-walkers in check. One from your village possesses a raw magic ability that the witches’ and Daemons desire to mould and warp to do their bidding.’
Barney looked at Ronald. Shalia laughed quietly. ‘No not either of you, you would know if you did. A young mankind cub named Saniel, who is now on his way to Aledran as well.’ Barney swallowed hard. He had a nephew of the same name and wondered how many other Saniels there were in Saltwood. Ronald nodded. ‘I think I know the boy.’ He said, ‘He lives with his mother, as his father had died several years ago when fishing near the cliffs.’ ‘Yes’ said Shalia, ‘and unless we can keep him safe, the witches’ will kill him, steal his power or warp him to do their bidding and become powerful enough to destroy all who oppose them. What you saw here in this village is only a sample of what they can do. Oh, they would keep your species going, only to breed and harvest them like ripe fruit.’ ‘They did attack our village over a week ago’ said Ronald quietly. Shalia smiled. ‘That was only one hound and one witchling; can you imagine what they could do with several thousand hounds and many bewitched creatures?’ Barney went a bit pale and felt ill. If this was all true he thought, then Saltwood could meet the same fate as Brineburg had. He did not know why they had chosen him, as he did not feel courageous at this moment.
Shalia told Barney how she had the supernatural gift of the shadow tracker, being able to move between the realms for a short period ignoring space and time. ‘However, I am unable to take you to Aledran as I can only move certain beings like my companions here who possess a basic understanding of the shadow shift. In time you
may travel through the shadow, once you have a learned comprehension that the alternate pathways exist.’ Barney asked, ‘It's impossible, how do these realms exist?’ Shalia sighed as Durlaan looked to the sky impatiently. ‘I think the easiest way to explain this is that the world we live in is born of the light, yet another layer of the world coincides in darkness right next to this one. The laws of existence do not allow these worlds to subsist in unison and must remain independent. However, some laws are corrupted allowing creatures to move between, albeit through a difficult process. Some of my kind has the ability to travel in the thin space between the layers, without drawing attention in either realm.’ Barney thought on this for a few moments then said, ‘how far to this Aledran and how do we get there?’ Shalia thought for a moment, then replied, ‘It would be a good month’s solid march through Wildpack and goblin lands, and I doubt we would make it. However, there is another way.’ Shalia looked at the elf rangers Kerythe and Durlaan. ‘My companions will escort Ronald back to your village safely, where he can warn your leaders to make warriors ready to defend.’ Ronald nodded; he was ready to go home. Shalia continued, ‘There are some rocky islands nearby to this coast which conceal our method of travel. We will find them and use them to get to Aledran tomorrow.’
Barney stared at her opened mouth and was speechless. Later that afternoon, after much more conversation, Barney and Ronald bid their farewells. Barney watched Ronald walk briskly away through the forest around the edge of the village with the other two elves. ‘Do not be concerned’, said Shalia. ‘Kerythe and Durlaan are very capable rangers. Be more concerned for our safety.’ ‘Why’ said Barney. ‘Shalia continued, ‘Because we must seek permission from the keeper of the island that guards our intended mode of travel to Aledran.’
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