by Gavin Neale
Erykah dropped into her panther form, the change in shape taking place within a step as she broke into a loping stride that carried her towards the Fairy Court.
She returned to her fairy form shortly before she arrived at the clearing where she held court, and walked past one of her guards without waiting to be announced. With a flick of her wing, she summoned the members of her council of war as she strolled across to the dais on which her throne stood. As soon as the three fairies that made up the council of war joined her on the dais, she flapped her wings to form a dome of fairy dust around them. With a casual thought, she created a binding secrecy spell that prevented anything discussed within the circle from being carried away on the winds of magic and whispered to another’s ear.
‘They will come?’ asked Tobias, once the spell had formed. He was an ancient twisted fairy who no longer resembled any particular animal – although Erykah thought there was a hint of the mole about his face. Tobias was a master of lore and had a particular affinity with the spirits, sprites and other magical creatures that lived alongside the fairies in their land.
‘The witches are coming,’ replied Erykah, considering each word carefully. ‘They will be with us as soon as they are able, and they will bring allies.’
‘Will it be enough?’ asked Harmonia. She was a serious-looking fairy in dull, worn armour, with a longsword strapped to her waist. Her hand rested upon its hilt. She stood bolt upright and was unusually still for a fairy. Her half-fey, half-bear face gave little away.
‘That I cannot say, but we will need them.’
‘Ha, to think it has come to this.’ The Court Mage had a quiet voice, hard to pin down, and there was no clue to his identity in his dress. The Mage was wrapped in plain robes, with a hood that kept the owner’s face in shadows. The only other identifying feature was a surprisingly large pair of translucent wings that were held remarkably still.
‘It is not that the witches’ magic is more powerful than ours, but it is different and there are other skills they can bring to this campaign. Different allies.’ Erykah replied, watching the Court Mage closely. She didn’t know the Mage’s name; nobody did in case someone was able to work magic with it. The official Court Mage was only known by their title, the Mage, which signalled their deep study and unparalleled ability with magic. A Court Mage could work more magic with one tiny movement of their wing than most fairies could manage at the height of their powers. Even Queen Erykah was respectful of the Mage’s abilities, although she would never admit that.
‘We shall see,’ was all the Mage said in return.
‘Any developments since we last met?’ Erykah asked.
‘There have been no more incidents,’ Tobias replied. ‘And the Ruined’s camp has not expanded but there is still a lot of digging towards the centre of the clearing. Foraging parties have been sent out but the local populace have stayed clear, as instructed. For now, things remain calm.’
‘We should be harassing their foraging parties, denying them food and making their stay as uncomfortable as possible.’ Harmonia’s voice was calm but they could all sense the frustration from the leader of the fairy warriors.
‘What do the Ruined care about hunger or discomfort? They will see it as another test and carry on regardless. They will stay and pursue their goals until they drop,’ Tobias retorted.
‘I don’t want to encourage a confrontation until we are ready,’ Erykah said. ‘We have to strike at the right moment and for now we must accept our visitors’ unwelcome presence. However, to do nothing could also encourage them, so perhaps the occasional mishap should befall them. Perhaps a foraging party could go missing. I’m sure that between us we can play plenty of tricks with food and weather conditions. It is well within our power to make life uncomfortable for them.’
‘As you wish, my Queen,’ replied all three of the council members, recognising Erykah’s words as a command.
‘How many times do I have to warn you?’ asked Erykah with a forced smile. She hated the obligation that was placed upon her by her position. Fairies hated to feel bound to anyone – although she did enjoy the power her title conveyed. ‘Very well. If that is all then we shall dismiss for now. I will send you such commands as necessary; for now I wish to contemplate the situation alone.’
Erykah broke her secrecy spell and waited for the fairies to disperse, then she left the dais and wandered out into the Grand Forest away from the court. After a mile or two, she heard a low buzz as she was joined by a pixie, a smaller type of fairy that lived apart from their larger cousins. The pixie settled upon Erykah’s shoulder so they could talk.
‘Erykah,’ it said in a high-pitched voice.
‘Bryonny,’ Erykah said under her breath, acknowledging the pixie chief who was her occasional ally.
‘Things remain as they were. I still have no idea why the Ruined came or if anyone from this land helped.’ Bryonny was tall for a pixie, with long plant-green hair that matched her knee-length summer dress. Like all pixies, she went everywhere barefoot. She balanced easily on Erykah’s shoulder, knowing that if she kept still no one would spot her out here in the wilderness.
‘I know. I want you to keep watching their camp and king, but I also have a new mission for you.’
‘Another mission? There are only so many of us, Erykah.’
Erykah smiled. ‘This is a mission for you alone, Bryonny. I need you to kidnap a human child for me.’
‘But it is forbidden. The pathways are closed. The Accords put a stop to all of our fun.’
‘Not all of them. I can get you to the humans. As queen, I am allowed to travel to meet with the Guardians of the Accords.’ Erykah wanted to turn her head to look at the pixie chief but knew that she had to continue as if there were no one there. ‘There is no magic in their world and I would be seen. But you will be able to follow them and come up with a plan. Between us I am sure we can manage.’
‘What is the point if we are not allowed to perform the old magic? If we were to trick a child out of its magic, would that not be a worse breach than that which the Ruined have already carried out?’
‘I want the child for its own talents. You pixies never change. We need all the help we can get – and that includes the last human I know who passed two of the three tests of a true hero and defeated the Tree Spirit King, even if she is still a child. The warrior Abigail is a worthy ally that the human witches would deny us.’
‘You want me to kidnap a warrior from under the nose of two witches? Why not just kill me now and have done with it?’ asked Bryonny, fighting hard to resist her instinct to run away and never come back.
‘Because you are too useful. And where is your sense of fun? I’m sure you can find a way. There hasn’t been a pixie chief of note for a millennium and then you crop up just when I need one. I am sure you have more power than you have revealed so far.’
Bryonny kept quiet. She knew of various pixies who had been skilled enough to become chief over the centuries, and there were perhaps a couple alive now, but there had been no crisis to create the need for another one. Not that she was going to give away such a piece of knowledge to Erykah; the fairy queen might wonder if there were other pixies prepared to let her have her way for a cheaper price.
‘Do I need to find myself a new chief spy? We are facing an invasion by a threat that could kill us all.’
‘If there’s a way, I’ll find it,’ muttered Bryonny.
‘Good,’ Erykah said, stepping across dimensions to the human world.
Bryonny shuddered, finding the lack of magic truly unnerving. Without thinking, she jumped into the air to take flight. Erykah watched, amused, as Bryonny’s wings failed to hold her up against the Earth’s gravity without magical assistance and she fell from the air. Her wings created enough air resistance to slow the fall so she didn’t hurt herself, but it was a clumsy landing.
‘Where are we?
’ Bryonny snapped.
‘The garden of the human warrior. The witches will be here in the morning. I suggest you get used to the layout of the place. I’ll be back tomorrow to hear your plan.’ And with that, Erykah vanished.
Bryonny might not have been able to fly in the human world, but she was small and fast. She quickly explored the garden to get a feel for where she could safely track the slow, dull humans. She was just settling down to have a nap when she felt the echo of magic like an itch in her brain. She listened carefully, but the message was for a specific person so all she could feel was the subtle power that had given life to the communication spell.
Bryonny was impressed; it was one thing to hear the stories of the powers granted to the Guardians of the Peace Accords, but it was another to have a spell slither past you in the dead of night. That it could do so in such a barren world and not scream its passing was an impressive feat. She was sure it would pass invisibly among the background thrum of magic on other worlds. If Bryonny had been any other type of creature, she might have started to worry about tricking someone so skilful with magic but, true to the carefree spirit of her people, Bryonny was soon hidden in a tree, fast asleep.
5
Watching and Visiting the Dwarves
‘Where’s Daphne?’ asked Abby as she came down for breakfast the next morning.
‘She had a chore to do in town so it’s only me today,’ Nora replied.
‘Okay, I’ll mainly be doing homework this morning anyway. I might do some extra this afternoon so we can do things later in the holiday when we’re all here.’
‘That’s very mature of you,’ her mum said, looking happily at her daughter and feeling a certain degree of awe for Nora.
‘Make sure you take some breaks. You shouldn’t be cooped up in here too long,’ Nora said. ‘I had better go check on Thomas.’
‘Okay, see you this evening.’ Claire finished her tea. She kissed the top of Abby’s head and gave her a squeeze. ‘Don’t become too much like your brother. I’m not sure I’m ready for you to be grown up and focused on your homework.’
‘Mum,’ whined Abby, not entirely sure what she meant.
Outside, Bryonny was watching with interest. Waking as the sun had come up she was surprised to discover that, now her magical senses had adjusted to the relative quiet of the human world, she could find the distant echoes of strong magic in the garden.
The first thing she noticed was no older than seven years; there had been a great protective spell placed around a small wooden outbuilding. She had also discovered an old tree stump behind the small wooden building that looked as if it belonged to an ancient tree of power. Such a tree should have been removed when the different worlds were parted many centuries earlier, so there was no way it should be there in the garden. Even stranger was the faint trace of a binding spell placed upon the tree, but the pixie chief was unsure who had cast it or what was trapped inside the tree before it was chopped down.
Bryonny had not needed to investigate further; when she felt the witch arrive in the morning, it was apparent who was behind the two spells in the garden. Bryonny could feel the witch’s passage through the house and, sure enough, an old woman appeared in the kitchen exactly when Bryonny expected her to.
Bryonny ran round the house to watch when the woman from next door delivered her child to the household and promptly left again. She was surprised when another mother left shortly afterwards as well, leaving the old woman to look after the two children.
The girl was a conundrum. Bryonny had not been particularly impressed when the girl warrior went through her morning training regime. The cuts were all well executed, even Bryonny could see that, but there was little variation. The girl just repeated six formal sequences until her mother called her in shortly before the old woman arrived. Perhaps the most confusing thing was that the human girl spent the rest of the day bent over various books and parchments; she appeared to be working as a scribe.
The young boy who had been delivered early in the morning charged round the house and garden making lots of noise. Bryonny was sure that she had not been spotted but she couldn’t see how she was going to kidnap the girl from under the witch’s nose. But she might have the beginnings of an idea…
***
Daphne walked down the long tunnel, its high ceiling arching above her, and nodded politely to any dwarves that she passed. The passage was cool but not uncomfortable, and she could see the light of the main chamber up ahead. She couldn’t remember how long it was since she had last visited Dinasmawr but she was sure there had been many changes.
Stepping out into the bustling underground city, she looked at it in wonder. A sprawl of houses lay in front of her almost as far as the eye could see and people were talking or going about their day in the vast natural cavern they called home.
‘Excuse me,’ Daphne said to a warden who was doing his rounds. ‘I have not been here for a long time. Could you direct me to the smithy district?’
‘Good day, human. Much has changed in our fair city but the smithy district remains where it has always been.’
Daphne’s Dwarfish was a little rusty and the accent had changed, but she understood easily enough. She also recognised a test when she saw one but you don’t survive as a witch for long without having certain skills. Daphne had an excellent sense of direction as well as a good memory for locations.
‘Thank you. May your forge always ring with the music of creation.’
Daphne received a curt nod in acknowledgement. She was careful not to smile too broadly as she continued on her way, but she was happy to have passed muster with at least one dwarf. The city was clean; the politeness needed to live in close quarters when mining made dwarves excellent neighbours – as long as you didn’t mind the noise of hammers during the day and the occasional song in the evening.
As she made her way through the streets, Daphne could hear the smithy district. She turned a corner and suddenly found herself in a familiar place. The street had new shops and new facades but the layout was the same. A little way ahead she could see a smithy with a steady stream of visitors.
Daphne made her way confidently and strode past the first rune poles marking the entrance to the rune quarter. No dwarf could manipulate magic directly, there was no such thing as a dwarf witch or warlock, but the very skilled amongst them could control magic through runes. There was a quiet buzz at the back of Daphne’s head as the runes irritated her magical senses, but she carried on and let her magical abilities fall dormant, a skill that only human practitioners of magic possessed. If Daphne had not learned this skill she would have been unable to move into the district as the rune poles drained the area round them of any magic, sending it into the void between worlds. Nora had her own theory about how this was managed but it was too complex for Daphne and the dwarves were certainly not telling anyone.
The buildings around her grew grander until she approached the great guild house of the runesmiths. Unusually, the doors were closed and a warden in full battle armour stood guard. He did not acknowledge Daphne until she addressed him.
‘Good day, I have come to see Einion,’ she said.
‘The guild house is closed to non-dwarves.’
Daphne sighed. She would have preferred a friendlier approach but a lifetime watching Nora had taught her a thing or two about the use of power. Drawing herself up to her full height, she spoke quietly but with authority. ‘My good dwarf, my name is Daphne, Guardian of the Accords. I am here with an official petition for Einion, Child of Gimli. Einion will want to see me so, if the guild house is barred, would you be so kind as to send a message to announce my arrival? I am quite happy to wait.’
The dwarf warden’s expression did not seem to change, although it was hard to tell under his full beard and helm, but he obeyed her. ‘Porter, fetch a seat and a drink for the human witch. Tea?’
‘I will take a d
raught of your famous ale, if that is still allowed.’
‘A proper drink for the human, then.’
The porter arrived promptly through a small door cut into the great gates, carrying a tray with a tankard of ale. A young dwarf accompanied him, carrying a wooden bench that was placed to the side of the gates so Daphne could sit down. She thanked the dwarves and raised the tankard in acknowledgement to the warden. The young dwarf was sent back into the guild house.
Daphne quietly supped her ale and gave friendly nods to passing dwarves, who all acknowledged her politely, but it took a long time for anything to happen. She thought she could hear a commotion on the other side of the wooden doors. Suddenly the porter’s door was sent flying off its hinges and into the street.
‘Daphne, I’m sorry I kept you waiting. The message took a long time to get through. At least some of the guild have remembered their manners whilst you were waiting.’
‘Your ale remains as good as ever, Einion,’ Daphne said, standing and draining her tankard. ‘Though you move in interesting circles these days.’
‘There are certain expectations that the Guild Master has to uphold,’ said one of the cluster of dwarves that were orbiting Einion.
‘Which are superseded by the requirements of the Accords, as well you remember,’ Einion said. ‘I have a deputy for a reason. Now, if you will excuse me.’
‘There must be an extraordinary meeting of the full committee. There is a protocol to be followed, Guild Master,’ said the dwarf who had addressed Daphne a moment earlier.
‘There isn’t time to go through all that,’ Einion retorted. ‘Do you know what it means to receive a summons from a Guardian of the Accords? You do remember the order of my titles? I, Einion, Child of Gimli, Guardian of the Accords, Grand Master of the Guild of Runesmiths, etcetera, etcetera.’