“I followed her to the woods the night we got here. She sneaked out of Rose Manor and headed to the Mothingale River, after Lord Besyyd and the magician forbade it.”
“So what? That doesn’t make her our enemy.”
“I’ve heard the wizards say someone let the dark magic into Penrith. I know it was her.”
“Stop saying that!” Skuld exclaimed, terrified at the thought that someone could hear them.
“I’ll prove to you that I am right,” Prudence whispered and then unlocked the door, startled by the fact that Skuld wouldn't believe her.
Dawn came in a flash, as if the night had not passed. Now, it was time to return to the wild. Who could know what awaited them at the other end of the sky?
"The time has come," were Dedric's words before taking off.
When they left Penrith, the weather was tortuous. The winter unleashed all its fury in strong bursts of frozen wind that carried particles of snow. The weather remained unchanged after a whole day of flight.
The next day, the snowstorm had given them a slight respite and the flight conditions improved markedly.
As they flew, the last morning clouds began to melt, the wind had subsided, and for the first time since they had left Penrith, Prudence could see the sun shining high in the sky.
At the end of that second day, after flying over plains and prairies, the mountains began to be seen in the distance. They headed in that direction, towards the northwest.
Finally, those gigantic dormant rocks that formed the beginning of the northern mountain range rose before them, and the Company plunged into its sturdy walls.
From their heights, they could see a cord of water snaking through the mountains. It looked narrow, but surely its draft increased as seen from nearer.
The birds began their ascent and began to fly at full speed between the clouds and the sharp peaks that were rapidly falling behind.
By the time they located Killian's inn on the horizon, it was dusk and dark. Kotal had given Dedric instructions on how to find him in that repetitive landscape.
At that point, the wind was raging with fury and the birds had great difficulty landing.
Precisely because of the great cavity that opened inside of the rock, the bursts of wind stirred and pushed the birds away from the edge. In spite of this, they all had to maneuver against the wind, and one by one the birds put their claws on firm ground.
Within that cavity lay a flat space that ended in a great stairway on which was placed a gigantic door. It was not at all the kind of home that any of them had imagined. It had rather the appearance of a fort, perfectly carved in the raw stone. Prudence could see that Killian was not only an interpreter of dead languages; in his years of isolation he had devoted much time and effort to the office of sculptor.
Dedric led the way and was the first to ascend the steps to the door. He took the golden claw-shaped hand and made it ring on a plate. The noise produced a very large echo and everyone was amazed at how it expanded between the mountains.
When the echo faded, all that was heard was the whistle of the wind between the rocks, at least for a few minutes, until finally Killian slid a lid open and peered through a peephole.
“Who dares to enter my property without permission?” he asked.
“Mr. Vardran, my name is Dedric Derthorian and I am a member of the Company of the Rose. We come in the name of the Council of the Five Kingdoms to ask for your help with a very special task.”
“Hmm—Elven name...” he whispered and became silent again for a moment. “I do not trust elves and I would never allow one inside my house," Killian shouted and closed the peephole.
"I'm a human!" Prudence dared to say, knowing that was partially true. Skuld looked at her, her eyes wide.
This caught Killian's attention. "A human?" they heard him say.
There was silence on the other side of the door. Dedric closed his eyes and covered his face with both hands, lamenting what Prudence had just said.
"I've heard of elves among humans, although I never agreed with that. But what is a human doing among elves? That is something interesting, to say at least.”
"Well, I have something for you."
"Something for me? What would it be? I never get things from strangers. Actually, I never get things from anyone."
"I brought a letter and I need you to read it for me," Prudence elaborated.
"Why don’t you read it yourself?"
"Because I don't speak Ephaniar."
"What did you just say?" he exclaimed in amazement and opened the peephole again. His eyes were riveted on Prudence.
"The letter is written in Ephaniar, and I've come from far away to ask you to read this letter for me."
Killian was silent for a couple of moments. Prudence and the rest of the Company were internally praying for the door to open.
“I guess visits from far away cannot be rejected,” he said at last and the sound of an opening lock was heard. Prudence smiled with relief. They all did.
Despite what common sense would have suggested, Killian’s place was not a cold and pale hole, lacking the warmth of home. It was indeed a comfortable and clean house, and a big one at that. The floors were carpeted and the furniture was polished and smelled of citrus. It seemed like the right place to find wisdom and wise sayings about life. Prudence noticed lots of maps, paper rolls containing heavens-know-what, and books, of course. Hundreds, maybe thousands of books.
When she turned her eyes, she realized Killian was watching her wondering and examining his home. She was completely frightened, mostly because Lord Kotal said he was a hermit who disliked people, but not by her own impression of him. She couldn’t avoid trusting people who treasured books. She felt like they were her own kind.
Killian's face was wide and elongated, his hair was gray as well as his beard, and it looked like it had not been cut in a long time.
“So? Are you going to show me the letter or what?”
“Yes! Of course! Sorry...”
"Almond tea is in the kettle on the side table, if you wish."
He took the letter Prudence handed him, and then sat on a big old armchair. Killian smiled at the sight of what was written.
He looked at Prudence for a few moments without taking his green eyes from hers. Then he stood and paced in front of his chair without saying a word, looked at the stone ceiling repeatedly and then suddenly exclaimed:
"You sure want to go there? There is no need to get inside the place described in this piece of paper if it's not a matter of life or death. Are you sure you really have to do this?"
"I do."
"I just want to free my conscience that at least I warned you the three times that are necessary not to carry a tragedy on my shoulders."
"Thank you. But as you said, it is a matter of life and death. Not just for me. Many more people will die if I do not go."
"Human nonsense really knows no limits. It has always been like this. I really do not know why I'm surprised."
Killian headed towards a corridor and waved for Prudence to come after him. They passed by countless doors until at the other end of the corridor, a huge window opened up to a magnificent view. Nothing compared to the immensity of the mountains. But it was sad and monochromatic, and this made Prudence feel sorry for Killian. What would he have in his heart that would make him so fond of the solitude, the silence, and the stiffness of that landscape?
Killian sat down in front of his old desk, took a roll of paper, and uncorked an inkwell.
"I'll write down the instructions in a language you could understand. I will also add some symbols that could be easily remembered."
When he was finished, he stood up and handed the paper roll and the letter to her.
"I cannot thank you enough, Mr. Vardran. I've got gold to pay for your services."
Killian let out an unexpected laugh. "Gold?"
"Yes. The Council of the Five Kingdoms wants to reward you in some way."
“I
don’t need your gold forged by elves. What do you think the Balljas guard under these mountains? I live on a cumulus of endless tons of gold. I extract gold in the raw state of the earth, refine it and make it a noble metal. I am an alchemist. That is what I do.”
At that moment Prudence obtained the answer that allowed her to understand Killian’s solitude. Not only did he live there, but it was his job, and surely he was the man with the most gold of all the Five Kingdoms.
“You’ve paid me enough. You can go easy on yourself.”
“How?”
“You have given me a fraction of your time. Although small, it is more valuable than a bag of gold. Time is the most precious reward someone can receive. Even more so for a human. You really are destined to last only a moment in this world.” He slightly laughed at that last thought.
“Then I’ll pay you with a promise.”
“What kind of promise?”
“A promise of coming back to visit you so I could have another cup of almond tea, and I could tell you about my journey.”
After those terms were taken, she walked away with the instruction of following the Palehl River as it flew down to Azmarath, known as the Land of Shores.
The journey continued without any difficulty as they flew over the Palehl River to their first stop at Linmehl, a small village whose banks were bathed by its waters.
The Palehl River divided the Village of Linmehl in two. The settlers of the left bank were giants, and those of the opposite shore were dwarves. In the center of both shores, in the middle of the waters, stood an enormous islet that connected both sides of the town by means of bridges.
“My mother will be so happy to have us all in her house. I haven’t seen her in almost a year,” Dunhill said as he led the rest of the birds to the left bank of Linmehl.
"This is the giant’s side of the village. Are you sure it's the right location?" Dedric asked.
"Of course it is. Believe it or not, my grandfather was a giant. This farm has been in the family for hundreds of years."
“Do you have giant’s blood? That really seems unlikely,” Dedric joked.
The houses of the giants were logically taller than those of the dwarves, had circular shapes with rounded roofs, and all were surrounded by galleries and balconies. When they reached the vicinity of Dunhill's mother's house, the moon was already shining high in the sky.
After knocking on the door, a woman who looked very similar to him, but with several more pounds on her frame, peered at the door in surprise.
"This cannot be true! My only son has returned!" she exclaimed. She put her arms around him and tried to lift him.
"Why didn’t you let me know we have visitors? she demanded, after a warm welcome to the group.
"Luckily, I have not lost the habit of cooking large quantities like when you lived here," she joked in front of everyone, making her son blush.
"We better free the Mithlons before it's too late. They must undertake the return to Penrith and it is not a short way," exclaimed Dedric.
"Please, feel at home," Dunhill offered as he retired to do his homework.
That night, Prudence, Skuld and Genuss were to share the same room. That is why Prudence and Skuld waited until the last moment to go to bed.
“We can’t sleep with her! She’s dangerous!” Prudence muttered. “I’ll tell Dedric everything I know,” she insisted.
“You won’t say anything until we are sure of it. We will take advantage of the proximity to observe her,” Skuld stated.
The day had been very long and only the two of them remained awake—at least until the clock struck twelve, and then they heard in the corridor the noise of someone stumbling against a piece of furniture packed with dishes. Prudence and Skuld looked at each other, and thought in unison that it must be Genuss. Prudence emerged as if ejected from the chair in which she was sitting and hurried to the corridor from which the noise came.
“Look!” Skuld exclaimed, and pointed out at a hooded shadow across the gardens.
“Let’s go!” Prudence said and when they were about to cross the door they heard someone exclaim:
“You mustn't go wandering around at night. This is a strange place. Think about what would happen to you if you were caught.”
It was Genuss, who had just gotten out of bed. But if she was there, then who had sneaked out of the house?
Questions exploded inside Prudence's head as Skuld looked at her disapprovingly. She wouldn’t have enough proof with one suspect, but now there were two.
CHAPTER 12
“Come on, it’s escaping! We cannot let it go!” Prudence exclaimed.
“What are you talking about?” Genuss shouted.
"I'm going to find out who's behind all this," Prudence said.
"Where are you going?" Skuld asked as Prudence walked out the door, ignoring Genuss's warning. All the noise had woken Dedric, who appeared in the room and saw Prudence flinging through the door into the darkness of the night. He hurried after her. Because of Prudence’s unusual departure and the danger of a strange presence out there, the rest of the group ran out as well.
Prudence ran as fast as her legs could carry her, desperate to find the mysterious being that had been hovering around them.
Prudence knew that it was dangerous, because it could be the murderer of a very large and strong creature like Bori, but she did not care. She was determined to find it. She followed the hooded suspect into the woods, but she quickly lost sight of it between the shadows.
Prudence looked around her again and again, but towering trees and darkness surrounded her. As if that were not enough, not only did she have no trace of the suspect, but she had no idea how to return to the house.
Prudence walked silently down a dirt road, her eyes on the path. Every so often a beam of moonlight through the branches generated a set of shadows that made her believe that she could see the hooded figure among the trees. In the distance, Prudence could hear running water, so she knew that there must be a stream somewhere nearby. It was then that she declared herself lost.
“Prudence!” Dedric burst out. He suddenly appeared behind her, breathing heavily after having run so hard. “What were you thinking? How did you leave the house like this in the middle of the night?”
“Someone was stalking us. I did not want them to escape.”
“You know what dangers surround us. You know the Azarias are after us. You cannot do something like this again!”
“There is something I need to tell you...” she said, but was interrupted by a movement in the trees and the sound of leaves crunching that caused Dedric to turn and lift his sword up. It was Genuss, followed by Skuld, Dunhill, Evard and Nefyyd. As they returned to the house, Prudence felt sullen and ashamed that she couldn’t keep up with the pursuit.
But when they reached the house, things couldn’t have been worse.
They had been ransacked. Everything was destroyed. The furniture was turned. Their packs had been thrown across the rooms and searched through. It was a real mess. Prudence rushed to find where the map translated by Killian was but it was gone, along with all of their most valuable possessions.
“Mother!” Dunhill exclaimed, as he entered his mother’s room only to find her lying unconscious on the floor. He rushed towards her and lifted her up. He carefully placed her on the bed and desperately tried to wake her up but with no results.
“Leave me alone with her. I’ll take care of this,” Skuld said as she entered the room.
As concerned as Dunhill could be, Dedric took him by the arms, and pushed him out to the hall.
“Do not worry, she will be fine. Skuld saved me, remember? She will wake your mother up”
Prudence saw their faces of concern as she joined them in the corridor, but they saw in her face an even greater concern.
“What's going on?” Dedric asked.
Prudence did not answer. She simply looked down at the floor and tears began to stream from her eyes.
“What
's going on?” exclaimed Dedric with a more forceful tone in his voice.
“The map Killian translated, it's gone.”
“Are you sure?! Have you searched properly?” Dedric asked, frustrated.
“I’ve searched everywhere and it’s gone! Whatever that thing was out there, he or she took the map”.
“What will we do now? How will we find the runes?” Dedric asked.
“I read the map. I think I remember a lot of the indications,” Prudence said, not very convincingly.
“We can’t do much with that,” Genuss spit.
“It's the best we have. The map is no longer in our hands and I have no doubt that whoever has it will not delay in going to look for the runes as well. We cannot waste another second,” Dedric added.
Slowly, Dunhill's mother was recovering while the house was put in order. The furniture was accommodated in their respective places, and the clutter was cleaned. But as if none of that was enough, in just a couple of hours they had to be on the dock waiting for the arrival of the Entheas, who would find them devastated and exhausted.
The sunrise found them still finishing reorganizing the remains of the looting, and the few possessions that had remained to them. Many of Dunhill’s weapons had disappeared, and Skuld had only a few potions left.
“This is all my fault. I should have been more careful about something so important. I should never have separated myself from that map,” Prudence lamented.
“It’s not your fault,” Dedric comforted her.
“I wish I was stronger, and smarter like any of you. I just don’t know what to do.”
“We are all thrown in this world without knowing what to do. We are all learning. That’s the real beauty of a journey: We never end up being the same person that we started as,” he said to Prudence.
At first, Dunhill refused to leave his home and abandon his mother, who was still recovering.
"What if they come back?" he asked.
"They will not come back, they already have what they wanted," was Dedric’s answer. "The Entheas must be arriving at the port at the moment, we must hurry," he finally added.
The Elven Tales: The Company of the Rose Page 9