Of Liars and Thieves

by Gabriela Lavarello

  Aeden clenched her jaw and nodded. “Yes, in passing.”

  “Travelers are quite interesting people,” Lorian said, panting, with one boot in his hand as he tipped river water from it. “Who doesn’t enjoy someone who can portal without a portal stone, as well as conjure up a terrifying beast upon command?”

  Finriel rolled her eyes. “They cannot conjure up just any beast, it’s unique to each traveler.”

  Lorian shrugged. “I would love to have that ability myself. It would make breaking the law much easier.”

  “It’s no wonder that they’re strange, coming from a cursed kingdom and all,” Krete added, his cap slightly skewed. “Let’s pray that we do not have to encounter one on our journey.”

  Finriel nodded in silence, still scratching Nora’s ear. The sun was beginning to peak in the sky, and Finriel closed her eyes in satisfaction. They hadn’t seen the sun since entering Millris Forest, and it was a relief to finally feel the warm rays upon her skin.

  “Do you smell that?” Aeden asked suddenly, and Finriel opened her eyes. She reached out her senses and took in a deep breath of crisp air, though something else mingled.

  “Is that smoke?” Finriel asked, and Aeden nodded.

  “I think so.”

  “There.” Krete pointed. “Something is burning in the distance.”

  Finriel dropped her hand from Nora’s back and turned to find that there was indeed a plume of black smoke rising into the cloudless sky. Her magic sparked and she quickly bit down against it. Finriel had successfully avoided any questions about her magic thus far, but she knew that she was running out of time before it would be unavoidable, and now was certainly not the time for an interrogation.

  “It’s a village,” Aeden announced, her heightened sight no doubt the reason for her knowing such a thing.

  “We should go help,” Tedric said. “It could be one of the beasts.”

  Finriel unrolled the map and searched it, her eyes landing upon their position in the realm. They were near the border of Proveria and Farrador, and an illustration of a small village sat at the edge of a small forest thicket by the shimmering kingdom wall.

  “Do you see a beast?” Tedric asked, and Finriel glanced about the page before her eyes landed upon the image that had caused Finriel to laugh their first night in Millris Forest.

  Finriel nodded. “It’s the brownies.”

  The companions made good time trekking across the large open fields, each step accompanied by rising nerves. Finriel had ordered Nora to hunt in the forest thicket near the Farridian border, and the mogwa had set off at high speed, eager for her mission. The smell of smoke strengthened, and Finriel could soon make out three buildings reduced to nothing but ashes. Her stomach dropped at the sight, though she couldn’t see any citizens of the village. The sight of wreckage was new to Finriel, and she couldn’t help but feel a stab of fear.

  The small village was deathly quiet as they walked through, inspecting their surroundings in confusion. Orange embers still popped and sizzled from the burned buildings, which, to Finriel’s horror, appeared to be homes. She coughed against the smoke that held thick in the air, setting the sun in a red haze. Browning leaves cracked under their feet and dust puffed around them as they walked down the dirt street. Finriel scanned the area, spotting the shimmering wall marking Farrador’s border near a thick line of ancient gnarled trees.

  “We should knock on one of these doors to see if anyone is home,” Lorian suggested as he peered through one of the small windows of a nearby cottage that was unharmed.

  Finriel shook her head and shot him a glare. “Do you want to get us killed? It’s too dangerous.”

  Tedric looked to Aeden, who was watching him closely. Finriel raised her brows in surprise as Tedric winked at the fairy before turning back to the wreckage and shrugging with his good shoulder.

  “What’s the worst that can happen? I am one of the most skilled fighters in Raymara, and you have untapped magic flowing through your veins. I think that we can fight a few untrained villagers.”

  “And what are we, bystanders?” Lorian asked, narrowing his eyes.

  Finriel ignored Lorian and transferred her glare to Tedric with a shake of her head. “With your actions fighting the chimera and the state of your arm, I wouldn’t be so confident about our chances.”

  Tedric opened his mouth to spew whatever commander nonsense he’d prepared for the day, but Finriel stalked off to continue investigating the deserted village, hoping to cut off any potential conversations about her magic. The village was desolate, and Finriel wondered if the inhabitants had fled from whatever, or whoever, had caused the fires. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she remembered the illustration of the brownies.

  “I think there are people in here,” Finriel said, her mind focusing on the task at hand as she peered through the dust-heavy window of a small cottage. She walked around toward another window on the opposite side of the small door of the home. Shadows and dust obscured most of her view, but a flicker of movement within the barren cottage was clear enough to see.

  Krete stepped forward and reached his hand out toward the door. Before he could knock, Finriel put a hand on his arm to halt his advances. She looked out in the direction of the elf kingdom border, her face set with concentration as she listened to a distant rumble.

  “Do you hear that?” She already knew that only Aeden would say yes as the fairy murmured in agreement. Finriel’s hearing abilities were far from normal even in comparison to others of her kind. After a few moments, the sounds became clear, and Finriel cursed. It was the sound of hundreds of stomping feet, and it sounded as if those footsteps were coming right for them.

  “It’s the brownies,” Aeden hissed, and she motioned for them to gather close and draw their weapons.

  The companions gathered into a line across the main road, each drawing their respective weapon. Finriel yanked her dagger from its sheath, receiving strange looks from her companions.

  “Appearances.” Finriel shrugged, and they gave her a medley of forced smiles and feigned frowns in reply.

  “Do you have the page?” Tedric asked, glancing at Aeden who stood at his side. She met his gaze and nodded, patting the pocket of her cloak.

  The sound grew louder, and soon a distant puff of dust was visible at the outskirts of the village. Flame roared through Finriel’s body, and a bead of sweat began to form on her forehead as she continued to shove down the endless inferno that roiled in her veins. She needed to keep her magic on a leash, especially now that it had gotten a taste of air after longer than she could remember.

  “Ready?” Krete asked, the small bow in his hands held deathly still as he watched the hundreds of small creatures coming toward them at an alarming speed.

  “I still don’t think that we have anything to worry about,” Lorian said casually. “I mean, they’re brownies, for Nether’s sake.”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Aeden answered quietly. “They’re likely the reason for the burned homes.”

  High-pitched squeaks and excited chatter in an unfamiliar language became audible from the approaching dust cloud, and they were upon the companions in moments. Or rather, most of them began to swarm around Aeden, and the remaining furry creatures started toward the other four companions, fists raised to fight. They looked like very small furry men, even smaller than Krete, whose head reached Finriel’s chest.

  They all wore the same uniform of small plain leather vests and red hats that had holes on either side to accommodate long pointed ears. Their legs were covered in tufts of wiry brown hair instead of clothing, and their small feet were also covered in the same kind of hair in place of shoes. Finriel’s eyes widened in alarm at the sight of Aeden standing defenseless as the brownies ripped her sword out of her hand and discarded it on the ground. She cursed and thrashed as they scrambled all around her, their excited chatter growing louder and louder. Less than half of them even seemed to notice the rest of her companions’ existence.<
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  Tedric surged toward the swarm of creatures, his sword raised. His face was set into grim determination, and a brownie soon noticed his attack. It growled, red eyes set on the warrior. It lunged and landed on Tedric’s chest, and Finriel’s stomach gave a flop as Tedric stumbled. Tedric grunted and spit wiry hair from his mouth and grabbed the creature by the side of its small vest, ripping its body from his face. Finriel whirled back to the swarm of brownies before her, but found that they were not keen on fighting her, nor Lorian or Krete for that matter. They growled as Lorian took a step forward, and the thief quickly retreated.

  “Stop fighting the brownies!” Aeden yelled through the swarm around and on top of her.

  “What do you mean? They are attacking you!” Tedric yelled, tossing his small assailant to the ground.

  “No,” Aeden gasped, and yanked a brownie from her shoulder, “they’re not! Just lower your weapons and back away.”

  Finriel shoved her dagger back into its sheath and Krete lowered his bow. Tedric looked up and exchanged a glance with Lorian, and the thief nodded. Tedric lowered his sword and took a step away. For a few moments, Finriel thought they had made a mistake as she watched the brownies continue to crowd around Aeden. As if a torch had been extinguished, the brownies began to peel away and created a perfect circle surrounding her.

  Tedric motioned for the four of them to step back as the brownies began to line up, and Finriel made her way to stand next to the panting warrior. The four companions stayed deathly still and watched the brownies all bow their heads and murmur in odd voices as they glanced amongst each other and toward Aeden who watched curiously. Her dark violet hair had come loose from its braid, and long strands hung wildly across her face and tumbled down her shoulders.

  “They weren’t trying to kill us,” Aeden began in amazement. “They were trying to protect me from the four of you.”

  One of the brownies stepped forward and bowed before her, his small head nearly touching the ground. They all looked like children doting upon a loving mother, and Finriel blinked in surprise as the rest of the brownies bowed low as well.

  “Get the page out,” Lorian said, indicating Aeden’s cloak pocket with his chin. One of the brownies turned and looked at Lorian with suspicion and distaste.

  “You are a very dislikable person,” the creature declared in a high-pitched voice.

  Lorian snorted and gave the small furry man a grin. “Trust me, I agree with you fully.”

  The brownie humphed and turned again to Aeden with a bowed head.

  “I don’t understand why they are just standing there,” Krete said from Finriel’s other side. “They all but destroyed this poor village, and yet they do nothing to harm us?”

  “Why are you all being so kind to me?” Aeden asked in a honey-sweet tone.

  The brownie who appeared to be the leader of the small army stepped forward.

  “We, the ones close to the ground, have been sent ready and armed to protect the maiden from a deadly prospect.” The brownie smiled at Aeden, who glanced at her friends in question. Finriel raised her brows and looked pointedly at the page in her hand.

  Aeden looked all the more confused but turned and smiled back at the brownie. “Thank you for your kindness,” she began, “but for all of your safety, I need you to go back into your page, at least for a short while.”

  Aeden pulled out the page from her pocket and bit her lip as she bent down so that she was at eye level with the small creatures. She beckoned a brownie closer with a smile, and the creature shuffled forward with a sad expression skewing its furry features.

  With one fleeting look at Aeden, the brownie stepped forward and disappeared into the blank page with a faint popping noise. One by one, the brownies began to line up behind one another and walk into the drawing. Aeden looked up to meet Tedric’s gaze, and Finriel watched them exchange a strange moment of complete stillness, Aeden’s eyes tinged with sadness.

  After a few minutes, the last of the brownies had walked into the page with a faint pop. Aeden looked down at the scene they had been drawn into by the storyteller and then proceeded to fold it and place it back into her cloak.

  She straightened and began to walk toward her companions’ still frozen forms. Finriel was not quite sure how to react to what had happened, and judging by the still forms of her companions, they didn’t know either.

  “H-how was that so easy?” Krete stuttered, and shook himself slightly.

  “I’m not sure,” Aeden answered, a contemplative tone to her voice.

  “It was as if they were waiting for you, and when we came to help, they were trying to protect you from us,” Krete suggested.

  Lorian nodded and sheathed his dagger at his side. “We should get—”

  He was cut off by the sound of a door creaking open and a cry of gratitude. Aeden stilled, and in an instant, she was gone. Finriel watched the fairy dart behind a building, and her footsteps were quick as she headed toward the thicket of trees by the kingdom border.

  She had no time to think further upon Aeden’s strange behavior when an old voice exclaimed to them, “Oh thank the goddesses, you’ve saved our village!”

  Finriel spun around to find a frail old woman standing in the doorway of the cottage Lorian had previously tried to check on. She was short and small boned in stature, covered nearly head to toe in a dark brown dress and matching shawl. Her grey hair was tied into a tight knot at the back of her head and her grey eyes pooled with tears as she looked at the four companions gratefully.

  “Please, come in and rest. I have enough food and water for all of you.”

  The old woman stepped aside and beckoned them with a wrinkled hand. They looked at one another and shrugged before following the old woman into the cottage. The quaint home was mostly bare of furniture, with one large room containing a small table and cooking area. A small light wood door separated what Finriel assumed was the sleeping quarters from the rest of the space. She stopped abruptly at the sight of a young girl no more than fifteen standing in the corner of the cottage closest to the sleeping quarters door.

  The girl looked at the four of them with wide eyes. Finriel snorted inwardly, though Finriel couldn’t find that she blamed her for the look of alarm so plain on her face. Finriel thanked the goddesses that Nora was hunting and not with them at the moment if the girl was so surprised simply by their entrance. Though perhaps it would have been funny to watch the young girl collapse from fright at the addition of a mogwa in their company.

  The girl’s plain brown eyes seemed to take up a large portion of her face, making her button nose and thin lips seem as if they had just been placed on her face as an afterthought. She was very thin as well, and she looked at the old woman with concern as the woman huffed and sat heavily into a chair.

  “My name is Naret, and this is my granddaughter Lola.”

  The girl gave them a nervous nod, her gaze not quite meeting their faces.

  Naret sighed and waved the girl off. “Be a good girl and put the kettle on for tea, and find them some food once you’ve done that.”

  Lola bowed her head and shuffled toward the soot-smeared fireplace at the opposite end of the small cottage. Her hands shook visibly as she grabbed the flint and steel from the dirt floor, and after a few failed attempts to create a spark, Finriel walked forward.

  “Here, let me help.”

  The girl looked at Finriel and gulped as she approached, coming to kneel by the girl on the dirt floor. Finriel closed her eyes and willed for a small spark to burst from her fingers the moment that she struck the flint, praying that her small spell would not be noticed by Lola. In the blink of an eye, the pieces of wood were alight with flame. Finriel turned and offered the flint and steel back to the girl, who looked simply terrified. Finriel’s confidence faltered, but she was certain that the girl had not noticed her release a small amount of battle magic.

  “Don’t mind Lola,” Naret said with a harsh sigh. “She’s my son’s daughter. He died a few
moons back during a trip to meet with the elven scouts in Stenul.”

  Finriel nodded and stood as Lola sprang to her feet and busied herself filling their large rusty kettle with water from a bucket by the small pantry. The girl did not add to her grandmother’s statement, but had clearly heard as her throat bobbed with the threat of tears. Stenul was the main training camp for elven scouts, and one of the most perilous areas of Farrador. Finriel only heard stories of danger and darkness from that place, and she scowled when she found Lorian looking at her knowingly. They had made a silly plan to sneak into Stenul when they were children, though it had never come to pass.

  “Well, don’t just stand there like a bunch of confused children, come and eat. You have had a trying day.”

  The old woman beckoned them forward with a gnarled hand and Lorian, Krete, and Tedric silently obliged. Tedric squished into the small chair with some difficulty. the chairs had obviously not been fashioned to accommodate large men. Finriel hid her smile and leaned against their wash basin, having no desire to sit with the strange woman and her uncomfortable male companions.

  The food was simple, nothing more than a plain vegetable soup and bread, but Finriel ate it, thankful to have something warm in her stomach. It was a heavenly change from the food in Tedric’s ridiculous magical satchel. Her companions ate their food in silence, their eyes wandering occasionally to the old woman seated at the head of the small table. Naret watched the four of them with curiosity and almost a hint of ambivalence as she waited for them to finish their meal.

  Nothing but the soft clink of spoons against bowls and the occasional slurp filled the small cottage, giving Finriel time to ponder what had happened. The brownies clearly had not wanted to injure her, nor any of her companions for that matter. So why would they have created the fires in the villages? Finriel gently shook her head, deciding it best to speak to the others about the matter when they were free from the old woman.

  After they had finished eating, Naret barked for the girl to clear the dishes out of the way and serve the tea. The girl scurried to the table and handed them each a steaming mug of tea before silently taking their bowls. Tedric gave her a warm smile as she took his bowl.