by RG Long
It was ringed by several tapestries hung up by ropes. There were various decorations woven into each one. Some depicted just one Skrilx holding a weapon or a scroll, while others showed maps or armies. It was delicate work and beautiful to behold. It formed a type of boundary from the out circle to the inside.
Her captors were ushering her right for it. Silverwolf saw that several were already gathered there. She wondered what type of meeting was taking place. Or maybe it was because she was the purpose of the meeting.
As they broke into the circle, Silverwolf saw many stares of several of the cat like creatures who had gathered there. One in particular set on a wooden carved chair raised up on a platform of earth. This particular feline looked female to Silverwolf.
“Bring the captive forward,” she said in a commanding voice.
She had barely moved in order to issue the command. The beast had hardly even blinked.
Silverwolf felt a little unnerved by her. But she tried to shake it off. It was important that she looks strong. She walked out into the middle of the circle and folded her arms. She knew that she would not speak first. It was a way to maintain some control of the situation.
“Bring out the others,” the leader said.
Silverwolf rolled her eyes.
Of course, Holve and the rest had been captured as well. That’s what they did. Whenever they went to explore some new territory, they got into trouble and were captured and questioned and thrown into some prison. It was something she was getting rather sick of.
But who was let out of the nearest hut was not Holve, the dwarf, Wisym or Felicia.
Instead, it was a blonde-haired elf, a girl with red markings on her skin, and Tratta.
“Oh, come on,” she said. “Of all the people to run into outside the continent of Ladis, we had to end up with the assassin? That’s rough, ya know.”
30: To the Middle
Firag flapped and ruffled his wings as he spoke to Holve and Felicia.
“As I told you before,” I have to take you to Skrilx who rule this island. That was my message and commitment to them as well as to you. I took an ancient vow that cannot be broken.”
Holve let out a sigh in frustration.
“I would’ve thought the attack from the airship would have shown you how urgent our need is. Since you are healed and well, I beg you to take us to Rerial. That is where we need to be. There’s no use for us being here to speak to the Skrilx.”
The dragon shook his head.
Holve should have known it would be no good. Felicia knew it when the dragon returned and had told them of his intention. Forcing the dragon out of this vow, as he called it, would be impossible. They would have to allow the dragon to take them or risk fighting it and making this very young and hot-tempered dragon their enemy.
Felicia had enemies already. She did not need another formidable one.
“What will the Skrilx do with us once you take us to them?” Holve asked.
That was a fair question. Felicia had been wondering that herself. Would they simply ask them questions and let them go on their way to Rerial?
She doubted that very much.
The trees continued to rustle around them as the morning waned on. Firag had returned to their camp site just as the sun was rising and gave a report of what he had seen. They’ve been no sign of any other survivors along the beaches other than some small footprints among the debris that had washed on shore.
There was, however, a lot of activity in the Skrilx lands. What was left of their once great nation was now a few cities of exiles in the trees that encircled what Firag said was a holy place for those Skrilx.
They had not yet found out what that meant.
“We leave in an hour,” Firag said definitively. “Gather your things and prepare yourselves.”
Felicia was sure that was it. There is nothing more they can do. They would have to face whatever fate the Skrilx would have for them when the dragon took them to its leader or chief or whatever they had. Felecia wondered what Urt would have thought of such a meeting. He had been apprehensive at meeting the others on the first island. Would he had been just as worried now moving to a large Skrilx settlement?
Felicia took only a few moments to get everything that belonged to her gather up. There wasn’t much left. A tattered jacket that they had salvaged from the airship wreckage and a sword that had once belonged to someone else. Other than the clothes on her back and the strips of meat in a small pouch, that is all she has. She looked at Holve who was kicking dirt onto their fire. The small flames were smothered within moments.
“Ready yet?” he said, looking up at her as if they were not about to venture into another unknown enemy camp. She supposed this was something she was used to it at this point.
“Suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said. “I do hope we see them. I hope Gorplin and Wisym made it.”
Holve nodded his head as looked down at the dying embers.
“Silverwolf is useful to,” he said.
“Useful?” Felicia shot back. “She’s downright annoying.”
Holve almost smiled at this. Felecia had a hard time finding too much joy. Gorplin and Wisym. Their companions. Their friends.
“I hate to see them drowned.”
Holve nodded again and then stepped up to Firag,
“I don’t think there’s a reason for us to wait the full hour,” he said, putting this spear in the holder on his back. “Might as well get going now if you’re ready.”
It wasn’t long before Felicia was holding on to Holve’s middle as the dragon rose into the air. She still detested flying. But more than that, as they rose above the trees and got their first full look at the island, they had spent the last few days on, she was concerned for their fate once they landed.
31: Strangers
Jos was running around in the collective with a lot more energy than he normally did. He wasn’t often one who got excited or thought much about the events that happened outside of his spending time with friends or maintaining the chores that his parents forced him to work at.
But today, there was something extraordinary.
Not only had a group of strangers been taken in the day before, but a new stranger was here and there was reports that the dragon, Firag, who their village had taken in and nursed back to health after a terrible fight was seen flying over the island that morning.
As far as exiles went, there wasn’t much excitement in their collective. Now it seems everything was happening at once and Jos could not contain himself.
He and his friends had run that morning to the central gathering to try to see the woman they had found on the beach. By the time they had been able to finish up their chores and get to the meeting space, however, they had already escorted her off to meet with the chief.
Chief Rark was a strong Skrilx who did not take to newcomers. The fact that so many had wandered into her midst recently was certainly something that would upset her. Jos was sure of it.
When he got to the Circle and saw that the meeting was over, Jos sighed and drooped his shoulders. He hadn’t gotten a chance to see the strangers yet and had hoped this would be his chance to see all five of them. Instead, all he got to see was his friends bragging.
“Can you believe it? They said they knew each other!”
“Maybe they’re all spying on us!”
“Do you think the men are going to come for island?”
“Let them try! Will fight them!”
A group of four or five young Skrilx were busy chatting away as Jos walked up to them.
Just as he is feared, they began to tell him all the exciting things that had happened and that he had missed.
“Jos where were you!?”
“They just left to see the chief in private.”
“Did you hear? They all know each other! From Ladis!”
“They’re not even from Redact all!”
“So they say...”
Jos put his hand on h
is hip and kicked at the ground. It was something he had wanted to hear about himself, not hear secondhand.
Grolla, the Skrilx he had been friendly with since they were both young could tell he was disappointed.
“Maybe we can go see where they went with the chief?” she said putting her hand on him. Jos looked up at her excitedly.
“Do you think so?” he asked her. She smiled back.
“I don’t think you should,” said one of their friends.
“You know how the chief gets,” said another.
Jos didn’t care what they thought. It was Grolla’s idea.
She winked at him and taking his arm, guided him away from the group.
“Maybe we’ll just take a private walk instead,” she said.
Jos saw her look around and wink at the others.
“Oooooh!” Several in the group cheered as they walked away. “Maybe it’s time to head up bonding ceremony!”
Grolla shook her head. Jos felt his skin grow hot underneath his fur. He had always liked Grolla. Now he was very aware that she was standing very close to him.
“If we walk around the meeting Circle,” she whispered. “We might be able to get a glimpse of the chief talking to them.”
“Do you think so?” Jos asked.
She looked up at him and smiled.
“Definitely.”
They walked casually until their friends were out of sight and then turned quickly off the path to circle around. Several of the Skrilx were still getting on with their chores of the day. Some were bending down collecting the soft grass as it grew along the floor of their home. Others were shaping metal or skinning animals or cooking food for their noon day meal.
Not too many gave the pair of them much notice. Jos and Grolla were just young enough to have some chores, but not have their day completely filled by them. Which meant they were able to get into mischief.
Jos was familiar with the path they were taking. It looped around the Meeting Circle and came back to the chief’s hut among the trees. He wondered if the strangers could even climb such high distances. He had never seen a human before, having grown-up and lived in the collective his whole life. But he had heard stories about them. Savage men who had killed great scores of their kind and removed them from their ancient homeland. They had exiled some to this terrible island. Others they had taken in as slaves. But most, they had killed.
No humans had dared come to the island for decades there chief had said. Perhaps they feared what they would find if they came to confront those they had exiled. There had always been talks of revenge and honor from the old ones who had lived through the wars. But Jos and his friends who knew no different life were content to live on the island and hate the men from a far.
Those who had been foolish enough to come had suffered greatly at the hands of the residents of the island and were made examples by the chief. Jos could only barely remember one such occurrence, but he had been much smaller then and not allowed to watch.
Jos could see the chief’s hut and so bent low to avoid being seen. Now they just needed a place to hide and listen. The pair reached the place they were going to with just a few short steps, shielded by the trees that most of their dwellings rested on top of. Jos and Grolla picked around to see if the newcomers were meeting at the base of the Chief’s tree. All of their kind had a round dwelling far up in the trees. It was from there they could rest from their day’s work, but also defend it themselves when necessary.
The island had some larger predators that had scales and claws and could climb the trees and attack weaker dwelling. Most of them were able to repel these types of attacks, but if enough of them gathered their own kind to get over their fear of the Skrilx they could prove worrisome.
They stalked up quietly up to the Chief’s hut. Jos saw that they had not climbed, but were rather meeting down below. As was customary, most of the Skrilx had a second place where they would meet and talk with friends and neighbors on the ground. It was considered rude to visit the treetop hut of another Skrilx without express permission or being close family.
The Skrilx were surrounding the strangers as they stood in a circle at the base of the chief’s tree. It was hard to hear anything that they were saying to each other, but from the looks of the ones Jos could see who were staring at the foreign strangers, they were unhappy to see them.
Jos got a glimpse of a human for the first time in his life. He thought they looked odd with soft, different colored skin and ears on the side of their head instead of the top. He had seen drawings and tapestries of humans, but never actually seen one in person.
“What do you think they’re saying?” Grolla asked him.
“Let’s get closer,” Jos said. Now that Grolla was with him, he was feeling brave and even a little reckless.
She nodded and they crept up closer to the meeting.
“You mean to tell me,” the Chief’s words became clear once they had stepped behind another bush and listened as closely as they dared. “That you know each other, but ending up on our island together was serendipitous? You had not intended to meet here to spy on us? To discover our ways and our numbers and perhaps wage secret war on our people?”
A woman with silver hair threw her arms up.
“I told you I did not think I would ever see these fools again.”
“So they aren’t friends?” Grolla asked quietly.
Just shushed her.
“We knew each other from our journey on the continent of Ladis. We had parted ways several months ago, ya know? And as we told you before, the dark-haired woman said. “We got lost after a magical experiment brought us to your island.”
“Yes, I remember your tale,” the chief said putting her hands on her hips.
“About incantations and suddenly appearing on a different continent.”
She let out what Jos thought was a disgusted grunt.
“More likely you were dropped off on our island by a small boat that avoided our sentries. There aren’t enough speakers and the cursed nation of Rerial to perform the type of magic you claim can happen.”
“I’ve seen this girl perform magic that would make you a believer,” the silver haired woman said.
“Stop threatening her, ya know?” the long-haired woman said. “We’re in enough trouble as it is!’
“They are making no threats,” said a blonde, long-haired looking human. Jos squinted. Maybe she wasn’t human.
“Is that an elf?” Grolla asked. “Look at her ears!”
Jos did see that ears of this being where much more pointed in the silver haired woman.
“This whole thing seems like a fanciful tale of spies and traitors,” the chief said. “We will not be entertained by this but for much longer. I’ll give you one more opportunity. Tell me whom you work for and why you were sent to our island. I do not guarantee your lives will be spared, but you may make your passing more tolerable if you tell me the truth.”
Jos smirked.
Their chief was strong. She would not tolerate being lied to or having the lives of her people threatened. She wanted to get answers. She was a leader Jos could follow without fear. She was one who could restore the glory of the Skrilx.
Just then, above them, came to roar of the dragon. Both Jos and Grolla looked up towards the sky expectedly. They heard that Firag was close by. They loved that dragon.
Several of the Skrilx around the group of strangers pulled their weapons and pointed them at the humans.
Chief Rark gave a wave to the treetops. Jos had seen her signal the dragon in such away before. He would land close to them.
“Perhaps your end and fate can be determined by one wiser than I am,” Rark said. “Firag is our protector and guard. I appreciate his counsel.”
“You mean the hot head?” Silverwolf said. One of the guards close to her put his spear next to her throat.
“You will not address Firag in such away!” He said threateningly.
But chief Rark’s face had chang
ed.
“You know the Dragon?” She asked, her eyes whitening.
“Tried to take his horns off,” the silver haired woman replied.
Before chief Rark could reply to this, Firag landed in their midst. On his back, he carried two more strangers. Two more humans.
He let out a roar as he landed and the Skrilx around gave him space.
The two humans on him slid off of his back and turned to face the Skrilx.
Firag spoke first.
“As I promised you I would, any humans I find or try to take over to Rerial, I bring to you first.”
The dragon bowed his head towards chief Rark.
He sniffed the air and looked up. His eyes seem to linger on the silver haired woman.
“Although one I thought lost to me has made her way here first it seems.”
“You’re familiar with this human?” Rark asked.
The dragon nodded his head.
She is a companion of these two. Though there was another elf and dwarf I had intended to bring to you who we have likely lost at sea.
“Gorplin?” The girl with red markings on her skin asked. It was the first time she had spoken. “Gorplin’s lost?”
“I must say,” the old looking man said as he observed the other strangers. “This is not the time or place I thought they were union would happen.”
“All we need now is Galp, ya know! I’m sure he’d love this!”
Grolla let out a tiny yelp, which made the entire party turned to look at them.
“In the bushes,” chief Rark said. “Go get them.”
32: Peace
“As I’ve explained to you both High Judge Aerert and Commander,” King Belfast said with an increased tone of irritability in his voice. “I ordered no attack on the Court of Three, nor have I or will I sanction any that have occurred.”
