by Gavin Neale
‘I wouldn’t know much about that. I’ll have to ask Daphne about it when I see her. I think you’ll eat well with us, though.’
Abby could smell warm bread and bacon as they approached the campfire and was soon chomping bacon sandwiches with the dwarves and wondering what they would be doing for the day. She was concerned about a sword being made for her. It had all happened so quickly when she and Chris saved Mum. One minute she was frightened, having the magic pulled out of her by a Fairy King, and the next she had been as tall as an adult – and fighting elves. Only her scars made that summer feel real. Now it felt as if it were happening to someone else.
She had started kendo because she was fascinated by a demonstration at a fête. She loved it because no one treated her differently when she was training. Sensei made sure of that. And whilst they talked of fighting, sword cuts and how to injure people, Abby was under no illusions about becoming a warrior.
‘Einion.’
‘Yes, little one?’
‘Einion,’ said Rhiannon, shaking her head in exasperation.
‘Ah yes, my apologies, Abigail. You must forgive an old dwarf his forgetfulness.’
Abby looked at her feet as she tried to come up with the right words. There weren’t any. All she could manage was a quiet, ‘I’m not a warrior.’
‘Abigail Arwen Cromwell.’
Abby looked up, surprised to hear her full name.
‘You may not be little but you are still a child. I am not sending you to war but I want you to be able to protect yourself if the war comes to you. And there’s more to dwarf weapons than killing.’
Rhiannon stopped eating her bacon sandwich and stared at Einion but she remained quiet, respectful of the master runesmith and Guardian of the Peace Accords.
‘I don’t understand,’ Abby said.
‘How could you? I don’t plan on giving away all my secrets on our first day together. We will only make you a prototype sword for now. We’ll start with getting you the perfect sword, which is the right balance and size to match your skills. When I am certain of the design, I will gift you my full arts.’
‘But I don’t want it.’ Abby felt churlish even saying it but she was deeply uncomfortable.
‘You’ll learn,’ was Einion’s only reply.
Abby finished her breakfast in silence and helped Rhiannon clear everything away. She took the crockery to the workshop to wash up. When she returned, Einion was waiting for her, wearing a leather apron. He smiled and asked Abby to follow him.
She followed the old dwarf as he walked towards the great steam traction engine that formed a side of the camp. Rhiannon was tending to a small but intense fire that she had made in a metal contraption that had been removed from the traction engine. ‘The furnace is nearly up to temperature,’ she said.
‘Excellent, I’ll be with you in a moment. Now, Abby, I would like you to make a practice cut with one of these.’ Einion pointed at a rack of different-length swords like medieval long swords. ‘They are blunt, so we are perfectly safe.’
Abby reluctantly approached the swords and took one about a third of the way down the rack from the left. She turned, brought the sword up and felt the weight of it. She drew herself up to her full height, stepped forward with a hearty cry and delivered a blow to her imaginary opponent’s head.
‘Interesting,’ Einion said. ‘Try another.’
Abby replaced the sword in the rack and picked up a lighter-looking blade, but that also felt heavy and awkward when compared to her bokken. She tried a cut with the new blade but it didn’t feel much different to the first. Einion encouraged her to try a third sword. He was clearly not happy with how she performed with this third blade either and shook his head after she took her cut. ‘You’re getting worse.’
‘I don’t know what I am doing,’ complained Abby. Despite wanting to hurl away the sword, she respectfully returned it to the rack and glared at the remaining swords.
‘Do none of them call to you?’ asked Einion.
‘Er, no. Should they?’
‘May I?’ Rhiannon sounded hesitant. The grand master of the runesmith guild had experience and skills that she doubted she would ever have. However, he did not look cross at the interruption and waved her across to the rack of swords. Rhiannon stared at it for a couple of minutes before picking up the original sword that Abby had selected. ‘Can you show me a strike with this?’
‘That was the first one I tried,’ muttered Abby, but held out her hand to take the sword anyway.
‘I know. I just want to watch you more closely.’
Abby drew herself up and, under Rhiannon’s watchful gaze, made another strike to the head of an invisible opponent. Einion realised where he had gone wrong as he watched Rhiannon nod to herself and turn to the sword rack.
Abby stood holding the sword down at her side, looking frustrated.
‘Try this one,’ Rhiannon said, holding a plain-looking sword that was both longer and heavier than the others. Abby snatched up the sword that Rhiannon presented to her and tried it. That was when things changed.
Abby didn’t notice Rhiannon wince as the sword was snatched out of her hands, or see the frown that crossed Einion’s face. In fact, she didn’t notice anything until she assumed her guard position. There was no magic; the sword was simply a piece of exquisitely worked metal. But it was perfect. The weight of the blade was offset by the balance and Abby performed a clean strike to the centre of her opponent’s head.
‘Men,’ Abby cried fiercely, the Japanese term for helmet ringing out as she started a round of kirikaeshi. Her spirit soared as she gathered herself, immediately following up with four alternating strikes to the right and left temples of her imaginary opponents. ‘Men, Men, Men, Men.’
The sword moved at her whim and her feet and strikes were in unison. The world dropped away as she continued the set form of kirikaeshi. Never had it been so easy for her to move from the four strikes forward to the five back. ‘Men, Men, Men, Men, Men. MEN!’
On the sixth and final strike she moved forward and turned to face the dwarves. Abby stood, not knowing what to say. She remained frozen, standing with the sword held in front of her.
‘I think we have a winner,’ said Einion with a laugh. ‘Let me take some measurements and we can get started.’
Abby handed the old dwarf the sword. ‘So what do I do now?’
‘Whatever Rhiannon tells you to do. I need to focus on what I am doing. This will be good practice for when we make you a proper sword.’
Abby wanted to ask all sorts of questions but Einion had already turned away to take the sword template to his mobile work bench where he could double check the measurements.
‘You should consider yourself fortunate,’ said Rhiannon quietly.
‘I should?’ asked Abby, as she turned to face the younger dwarf.
‘I know many a swordsmith who would give up a year’s rent for the opportunity to watch Einion work even an ordinary blade.’
‘Oh…’
‘We’ll get you kitted out so you can watch closely.’
‘If you are sure,’ said Abby, following Rhiannon towards the forge.
12
Sights and Sounds of the Forest
‘There are many dangerous things in the Grand Forest, but none of them obey orders very well.’ Tobias was leading the way through the trees slowly, his old legs giving him a rolling limp.
‘We’ll see about that,’ said Daphne, unable to sense anything among the trees. ‘In my experience, folk that are threatened with extinction can be surprisingly accommodating when it comes to a chance for survival. Not to mention that, in the right circumstances, dangerous might well be good enough.’
‘Is there anyone in particular you wish to meet?’ asked Tobias. His queen had instructed him to offer the witch his full cooperation, but no fairy would take that to m
ean they had to tell the outsiders everything. There were certain secrets that still had to be kept, even in these desperate times.
‘I don’t have much truck with fire elementals. There’s no controlling them in a forest like this.’ Daphne hadn’t met any elemental spirits since the separation of the worlds all those centuries ago, and it was not a loss that she mourned. Elementals were powerful beings that represented one of the basic magical forces, and there was very little predicting or controlling them.
Tobias worked hard to hide his shudder from the witch. The idea of a fire elemental burning its way across the Grand Forest was in equal parts exhilarating and terrifying, but the ancient lore master had not lived so long by giving into the first idea that passed through his brain.
‘I reckon we’ll start with the water sprites and talk to whoever we pass along the way,’ Daphne said.
‘Very good,’ Tobias said, wondering what the old human was up to. ‘We’ll go to the river and see who we can find.’
‘Lead on, dear,’ Daphne replied, knowing full well where they needed to go.
***
Harmonia walked beside the old witch with one hand resting on her sword, waiting for the inquisition to start. They were well away from court before Nora finally broke the silence.
‘Do you trust me?’
‘My lady, I trust very few, even among my own fairies.’ Harmonia’s voice was clipped, revealing nothing.
‘In my experience, the nearest you get to a trustworthy fairy are your warriors and the court guards. Do you trust the rest of the court or the queen’s council?’
‘Hardly.’ Harmonia was conscious of a couple of pixies that were just out of earshot. She could not be sure that there weren’t other creatures spying on them.
‘I see,’ said Nora, picking her way through the trees. There was a lot on her mind; too many things were fighting for her attention and she knew she would have to delegate some of the problems soon. ‘I can’t afford to second-guess everyone, not when facing as formidable an enemy as the Ruined. Do you trust the council to act in our shared interest, at least until the current danger is passed?’
‘No.’
‘And they say I’m difficult!’ Nora snapped.
‘Do they? I trust my sword, my sister. And I believe that everyone else is looking out for themselves. Anything more is built on quicksand.’ Harmonia’s lips barely moved as she spoke. She surveyed the way ahead, listening for others who might creep up on them, but at no point did she look directly at the human witch.
‘What do you want out of life, Harmonia?’
‘The older I get, the less sure I am.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Nora said. ‘Would you stop for a moment, please?’
Harmonia stopped and scanned the trees around them, wondering what the human was up to.
‘I’m sorry about this,’ Nora said. She laid her hand on Harmonia’s arm, just below the elbow of her sword arm but above the vambrace that protected her forearm, so she could make contact with Harmonia’s skin.
A flash of pain seared the fairy’s arm and she instinctively grabbed at it with her free hand. Before Harmonia could work out what had happened, Nora had slid Harmonia’s sword out of its scabbard and was holding it inexpertly away from her.
‘What the…’ Harmonia gasped, looking directly into Nora’s eyes. The old woman looked into her soul and Harmonia watched helplessly as scenes from her life passed through the eyes of the old human. All the while, she could see the events of Nora’s life pass before her own eyes. ‘Oh…’
Nora looked away and took a moment to gather herself now that the soul gaze was over. It had been a long time since she had shared one with a non-human and, although Harmonia’s was a shorter life than her own, Harmonia had been alive for a lot longer than any human. It was a lot to take in when you could never forget what was seen in a soul gaze.
‘I’m sorry, that isn’t getting any easier at my age.’ Nora offered the sword hilt to the fairy, who took it gratefully and sheathed her sword with practised ease. There was no need for Nora to apologise further for the slim steel nail that she had used to distract Harmonia; the fairy understood why the human witch had used it to prick her skin.
‘Are the Ruined really that bad?’ Harmonia asked, knowing the truth having seen it in Nora’s past but seeking confirmation as she rubbed at her sore arm.
‘Yes. They can be defeated but it will require teamwork and that is not natural to a fairy. Although perhaps it is more common than you let on.’ Harmonia nodded but didn’t say anything in reply. ‘Let us keep this to ourselves for now but please continue your preparations.’
‘Very well. About the warrior child?’
‘What about her?’ asked Nora, looking sternly at the fairy.
‘I do not understand how a being can be both child and warrior. Yet she defeated the false king. Is that not a power that we need?’
‘She has power but she is a child. Rescuing her mother was one thing; I will not send her into a war.’
Harmonia looked at Nora as she glared her challenge. ‘Unless you have to.’
‘I need to get back to court and talk to this Mage of yours,’ Nora replied. She closed her eyes for a second so she could get her bearings and then strode back the way they had come.
Harmonia didn’t call after the human witch; after the soul gaze, they both knew the truth of what she had said.
***
Pedir had not moved since Florian left him; he simply sat and waited. He would not rush his pixie friend and he was fully expecting a summons from the witches to arrive before any news. However, to his surprise it was the pixie that returned first, scurrying down the tree trunk and resuming his position on Pedir’s shoulder.
‘That was quick,’ said Pedir, using magic to whisper directly to the pixie.
‘It’s going to take a long time to get all the details you want. The Ruined have lookouts around their camp and the perimeter is patrolled regularly. There’s nothing an enterprising young boy like me can’t get around but it will take time. I’m not sure how we can ever work out what Bryonny is planning without her knowing, but I have a couple of friends looking into it. Don’t worry, they don’t know fully what I’m up to.’
‘I’m not sure why you have returned then.’
Florian looked around him dramatically and lowered his voice even further. ‘I smelt a human. A tasty one. Sorry, I mean young. We don’t eat them anymore but some habits are harder to break than others.’
‘You think there is a human in the camp?’
‘It smells like it. But that is impossible – unless you know something I don’t. And no teasing about all the things you know that I don’t. Some of us don’t get to wander between worlds.’
‘I have been told that the Ruined might have kidnapped a child and it looks like it is true,’ said Pedir, letting out a deep sigh. ‘Maybe one day you will come exploring with me.’
Florian did not reply. He wasn’t particularly unusual for a pixie, unless you counted being in love with an elf; the idea of the responsibility he would take on if he went with Pedir sent a shiver through his slight body.
‘I told you that not all of us fight,’ Pedir said, understanding his friend and trying to put him at ease. ‘There is as much danger in the Grand Forest as any world I have walked upon.’
‘But I know the forest. You’re asking me to leave my home. And I don’t fancy traipsing round simply as your friend.’ Florian hung his head, eyes watering. ‘I’ve got to go. Lots to do if I am going to find all the answers you are looking for.’
Pedir wanted to say something but the pixie was already scrambling up the tree. The elf sat for a while, listening to the world and watching his thoughts run through his head, but nothing changed. Reluctantly he slipped one hand into the dirt beneath him and, with his free hand, reached up and touched a
small coin hanging from a chain about his neck. He concentrated on the idea of Nora, and the magic in the world powered the spell.
‘Hello, Pedir,’ Nora said. ‘Do you have news?’
She was on the other side of the forest, approaching the court of the fairy queen. Pedir had never worked out what her talisman was; perhaps she didn’t need to touch it like he did to make it the focus of a spell. How the dwarves made these talismans whilst not being able to directly manipulate magic themselves was a mystery. He ignored the voice of his father that still shouted out dire warnings about dwarves and was just glad that he could communicate secretly with the others.
‘There is much still to discover. The Ruined are here and they may have the human child you spoke of.’
‘You have seen him for yourself?’
‘I have it from a source I trust completely.’
‘Do you need any help?’
‘For the time being I am redundant,’ Pedir replied. ‘I have others in play and am awaiting results.’
‘I want us to meet back at the garden soon,’ Nora said. ‘Head back if you have time and I will meet you there. Try not to argue with Einion too much.’
Pedir didn’t get a chance to reply as Nora had already severed the connection. He stood and was about to step across worlds when a wild cat walked cautiously into view. The elf watched the cat, which sat down and stared for a moment before finally talking.
‘Good afternoon.’ The cat had an elegant voice and spoke Human with a decidedly English accent. She looked old but healthy; her few scars were worn as badges of honour.
‘Good afternoon,’ replied Pedir. ‘Can I help you?’
‘I believe that you are a Guardian of the Peace Accords.’
‘Indeed I am, although I am surprised you could identify me.’ Pedir had met all manner of creatures that could talk but a cat who could identify a Guardian was new to him. He was delighted