Mirri stumbled, trying to catch her balance again. Hanna lunged at the pair of fighters. The shapeshifter hadn’t seemed as fast when it tried to take on both her form and Mirri’s. Some part of her mind told her that she didn’t have the same grace or quickness possessed by Mirri, so when the shapeshifter took on part of her own form, it lost some of the agility and speed that the cat warrior had.
Mirri regained her balance and pressed another attack. Hanna, with her dagger ready, circled around behind Mirri, attempting to position herself within view of the shapeshifter while maintaining a good distance from the fight.
The shapeshifter saw her, and its body twisted and melted. It began to take on some characteristics of Hanna, while losing some of Mirri’s. This abrupt shift caused it to lose some balance and allowed Mirri to strike a good blow to its sword arm. As an equilibrium was reached within its form, however, it attacked again. Sword clanged on sword. The shapeshifter used some of its new strength to push Mirri back. She tripped over the tree root again, and before she could regain her balance, the creature sliced her other leg.
Mirri’s warrior training and experiences stood her in good stead. She fell across the gnarled roots but held onto her sword, using the momentum of the fall to roll away down a wider tree root and end up back on her feet. Bouncing off of a nearby tree trunk gave her even more speed and set her up for an excellent strike at her astonished foe.
Hanna watched Mirri’s comeback with amazement. The cat warrior hacked a blow through the shapeshifter’s chest, at the same time shoving her foe back into a small pool.
Hanna breathed a small sigh of relief at the victorious outcome. “How did you—?” she started to ask, then broke off as the shapeshifter, now in Mirri’s form, burst from the pond in a spray of water, mud, and algae.
The creature, apparently undamaged by Mirri’s stroke, sprang at the surprised cat, knocking her against a tree trunk. Mirri’s sword went flying and would have fallen into a pool of water but for Hanna’s quick grab for it. Undeterred, the shapeshifter slammed the cat warrior’s head against the tree and let her limp body slide to the ground unconscious.
Hanna cried out incoherently to get the shapeshifter’s attention and rushed it. The creature looked away from Mirri and up at Hanna. Its form shifted with startling speed, but before it could take her form completely, Hanna bowled it over against another tree.
The navigator slipped on the rebound and found herself on her back, precariously balanced on a gnarled root. Fortunately, she retained her grip on Mirri’s sword and on her dagger. As the shapeshifter and Hanna rose, they both moved onto the wider root. Hanna raised Mirri’s sword as the shapeshifter moved nearer and feinted an attack. She knowingly left her left side open, expecting the shapeshifter to take advantage of the opportunity. The creature stared back at her with her own blue eyes, but dead and empty of any expression. They narrowed slightly, and Hanna braced to move out of the way of the attack.
The creature leaped, and Hanna leaped as well, managing to move out of the sword’s path while making a move she had seen Mirri execute a few times in past years. Admiring it, Hanna had practiced it on her own in her cabin aboard Weatherlight:. Now she twisted, kicking one foot high, aimed directly at her opponent’s sword. She ended up on the ground again, as she knew she would, but a swift roll put her in a position that allowed her to come up beneath her opponent with her sword ready to eviscerate it.
The blade sliced through her opponent’s lower torso. Blood poured out on the ground, splashing the navigator’s face and hands. With a violent heave she pushed herself out of the way. As she watched, the thing slowly shifted into a larger, buglike form. Hanna’s astonishment lapsed into resolve. Before it could shift fully into its new, chitinous form, she ran her sword through the fleshy abdomen as high as her arms would reach and then brought it down. She jerked the sword out, ready to do the same again. The weird amalgam of bug and human tottered backward and fell into the pool of water, disappearing beneath the black, oily surface.
The navigator turned back to Mirri’s still form. Laying the ichor-coated sword beside the cat warrior, Hanna checked her pulse. She breathed a quick prayer of thanks when she found one.
“Mirri, wake up,” she whispered. “Come on, Mirri. Can you move? We need to leave this area.”
Mirri stirred a little and then opened her eyes. “What happened?” the cat warrior asked.
“The thing knocked you out, and then I killed it.” She shuddered, remembering how much it had looked like the navigator before it changed into that hideous bugthing.
The cat warrior was staring at her with unblinking green eyes. “Forgive me,” Mirri whispered. “I thought you a burden, and you saved my life.”
Hanna nodded, quietly accepting the apology. Inwardly, she still couldn’t quite believe that she had succeeded in killing the creature. “Let’s bind you up before you lose more blood,” she whispered.
She cleaned the cat warrior’s wounds with the water from the skin and then bandaged them with the fabric that Mirri carried in a small pouch. Hanna’s own aches set in. “You know that move you do where you kick the sword out of your opponent’s hands and then slice him open?” she observed to her companion. “How do you do that without bruising every muscle in your body?”
Hanna stood up stiffly, her muscles protesting every move. With Hanna’s help, Mirri slowly stood up as well. “It takes practice,” replied the cat warrior in a quiet voice as she leaned on Hanna’s shoulder. “Even then, some bruises still result. If you do it right, you don’t dislocate your shoulder and tear your leg muscles.”
“Oh. I must have done it right then.”
Mirri patted her gently on the shoulder supporting her. “Yes, you did it right. I wish I could have seen you.”
Hanna helped Mirri over one root and onto another. “I used to watch when you practiced against Gerrard,” she said. “Then I would practice the moves you two did in my cabin. I don’t want to be a burden on others.”
Mirri nodded wearily. “We should practice together sometime.”
“I’d like that. Now, let’s see if we can find what we came for.”
* * *
—
Mirri pulled them to a stop. “Look!” she urged. With Hanna’s help, Mirri bent over. “Gerrard has been here,” she whispered. “And since he is not here now, he has either been carried off or he moved away on his own.”
Hanna’s heart skipped a beat. “Are you sure?” she whispered back. “He’s alive? How is that possible?”
Mirri looked up and pointed. “See those branches? It looks as if he fell here. This scrap of clothing proves it,” the cat warrior handed her a bit of brown cloth.
Although she couldn’t see the branches that Mirri spoke of, Hanna knew that the shred of fabric came from Gerrard’s clothing. She remembered seeing him in the brown trousers and leather jerkin that morning. “I would have missed these signs myself,” Hanna admitted in a soft voice. “Where do we go next?” she asked quietly.
Mirri pointed to their left. “We should be able to track him despite the water everywhere.”
Mirri and Hanna moved forward a few more paces. “It looks as if there was a fight over here,” she stated. Mirri supported herself on a tree trunk. The roots of the trees in that area were scuffed. The water pool between the roots looked larger than most. It appeared as if something huge had blasted its way out of the water, breaking roots along the way. “That way,” Mirri pointed straight ahead.
Once again, they moved forward several more paces before stopping. “Gerrard is running from something at this point,” Mirri declared, holding up another swatch of cloth. “He is alive.”
Hanna felt a quiet joy spread over her. But, he might have yet died at the hands of whatever was chasing him, her inner voice warned her.
“My guess is that something came out of that larger pool back there and attacked G
errard,” continued Mirri. He broke free from the attack and ran this way. Since he is running, we should be able to track him fairly easily. Keep an eye out for waterfolk, though.”
Hanna nodded and once again helped Mirri move forward. “The light is changing,” the cat warrior announced in a whisper. “It is brighter ahead.”
“Do you think it’s another hole in the trees?”
“Perhaps,” came Mirri’s response. “We should be careful, though. Gerrard’s trail takes us in that direction.”
Together, they made their way along Gerrard’s path. As they got closer to the lighter area, they discovered that it was indeed caused by a break in the canopy of trees above them. The light from the break centered over a lightly bubbling spring. Around the spring, the trees seemed somehow healthier. “They stand taller, straighter, and thicker,” Mirri noted after Hanna remarked on this.
“Perhaps the spring has healing water flowing from it,” Hanna suggested.
“Water would be good right about now,” Mirri agreed. “You used the water in the canteen to clean my wounds. Now would be a good time to refill it.”
Mirri and Hanna settled down next to the spring. “Is the water okay?” Hanna asked.
Mirri hunched over and smelled it. Then, she dipped her fingers into it and touched it to her lips. “Yes, it seems better than okay,” the cat noted.
Hanna dipped her canteen into the water and handed it over to Mirri to drink. As she took another sip of the water, Hanna noticed that Mirri straightened a little and seemed to lose her expression of weariness. “Is it healing water?”
Mirri nodded. Then, as if apprehensive, she looked around at the dark tree trunks, marching in endless ranks down the aisles of the wood. “When we first set out from the ship, we passed several unusual life forms,” she observed. “When these disappeared, I knew that something was wrong. Then, that strange black creature went by. I haven’t seen any life besides trees and the shapeshifter since then. It’s as if something has warned all the local animals to stay away.”
Hanna stared about them. She had the itchy feeling that they were being watched again, and she whispered her fear to Mirri.
“I’ve had the same feeling for quite a while now,” Mirri admitted. “Just keep an eye out once we start moving.”
Hanna nodded her assent, and Mirri got up and took a step forward. Suddenly, she went completely still. Hanna looked around wildly for the thing that had caused this reaction but could see nothing.
“Don’t panic, Hanna. Stay still. We are surrounded,” Mirri whispered.
“Surrounded? By what?” Hanna’s hand crept down to her dagger.
“No! Leave it be. We must not resist,” Mirri declared in hissed tones. Then she straightened up and called out, “You may come out now. We will not resist.”
“What?” Hanna cried. “Who is it?”
Before Mirri could respond, several lithe forms stepped forward. Their pale skin told of lives spent beneath the shroud of trees.
Mirri stared at them. “These elves will do us no harm as long as we do not resist their will,” she informed the navigator.
Hanna wished she had the cat warrior’s confidence. The elves were clad in snakeskin and wielded swords, staves, and polearms. As Hanna watched, about twenty elves revealed themselves. “Have they been following us for long?” she whispered to Mirri.
“We know of your ship and are readying to move on it,” answered one of the elves. He stepped forward with two sets of vines.
Hanna looked at Mirri questioningly. Surely the cat warrior didn’t mean for them to be captured like this? she thought. Mirri gave her one of her inscrutable looks and then held out her arms so that the approaching elf could bind her with the vines. Shrugging, Hanna did the same. After having lived with the Llanowar elves for as long as she did, the navigator concluded, Mirri must have some insight into the behavior of these elves that was denied her.
“Where are you taking us?” she asked the elf as he bound her wrists behind her back. Another elf took her dagger and Mirri’s sword and flatly ignored her question.
They walked for another eternity before reaching the elves’ goal. During their journey they saw no other creatures, though once they heard the same unearthly howl that had disturbed them early in their search.
A massive entanglement of roots supported the many huts of the elves’ village. To Hanna’s surprise, no water was visible once they entered the village. Their escort immediately surrounded the two prisoners, blocking their view of the villagers, although Hanna did see a few younger elves drilling together. Evidently, these elves were always ready for battle.
They were taken to one of the larger huts. Hanna noted before being shoved through the door that the building itself consisted of an intermeshing of living roots shaped to form the walls and ceiling of the hut. A light feathering of dark leaves covered the roof, no doubt preventing any rain from dripping into the building. Their escort gestured for them to sit down, untied their hands, and then left the room with all but two elves, who stayed behind to guard them. The guards withdrew to stand on either side of the exit.
Minutes passed before Hanna dared ask a question of Mirri. “What is going on?”
Mirri shook her head. “May I have some water?” she asked instead.
Hanna handed the cat warrior the canteen and watched as she took several swigs. “Now, you must have some,” Mirri ordered.
Hanna looked over at the guards, but they stared impassively back at her. She took the canteen from Mirri. The water was a bit sweet to the taste, Hanna thought as she took a sip. The water quickly spread its healing effects throughout her body. The pain of her various bruises eased. Hanna watched her scraped palms heal. “Would you like some more?” she asked Mirri.
Mirri shook her head and leaned over to Hanna. “My wounds are gone,” she noted in a low voice.
Hanna nodded. She took comfort in the fact that the cat warrior could once again defend herself should matters turn worse. They remained silent for several more minutes before Hanna asked another question. “When did you change your mind about me? And why?” she began.
Characteristically, Mirri thought about the question for a few moments before answering. “I would have to say when Gerrard and I left the ship,” she replied at last. “At times, I can be stubborn about how I see things. It took leaving the ship for me to realize that you were a positive, steadying influence in all of our lives. You remain calm and collected in the face of adversity, which is a soothing thing to have near you when adversity abounds. Even when faced with the prospect of returning to a problematic family relationship, you remained calm and admitted that the action was necessary.”
Hanna thought this over for a few moments. She wondered exactly how much Mirri knew about her relationship with her father. “Why didn’t you like me in the beginning?” she asked finally.
Mirri’s answer was brief. “I did not know you. Later, when I learned you had bad relations with your father, I did not understand you.”
“Why?”
“Because I do not have a family and would like to think that I would cherish them if I did,” Mirri admitted. “You have a family and don’t. While I still do not understand, I know you well enough now to realize that you must have your reasons.”
Hanna thought about this for a moment. She didn’t want to tell the whole story, but she did want to help Mirri understand her position. “He wanted me to follow in his footsteps so that we could learn more sorceries and make even greater magic spells,” she said finally. I was a tool to be used, not a family member to be loved and cherished.” She thought a moment, then continued with a sigh, “When I started showing an interest in studying artifacts in Argive, he expressly forbade me to think about it.”
“But you went there anyway.”
“Although Tolaria’s library didn’t have much material on artifacts, so
me of the students had studied the subject,” Hanna replied. “As students came and went while I was growing up, I found the ones who knew about artifacts and learned from them what I could. Then, to complete my studies, I decided to go to the Argivian University with a student who left the island to study there. Father had already refused to let me study artifacts.”
Hanna paused in her tale, and Mirri asked, “Did you tell your father you were leaving?”
Hanna hesitated before answering. Remembering this made her both angry and sad at the same time. “Before I left with the Argivian student, I tried to tell my father how much studying there meant to me. He didn’t understand. Instead, he set a few wards around my room and the island that would have prevented me from leaving. He was very angry when I foiled them—he underestimated my sorcery abilities.”
“It seems as if a lot of people underestimate you, Hanna,” Mirri said wryly. “What happened then?”
“I received a letter from him telling me that I must return. ‘Your duty is to sorcery, not artifacts,’ he wrote.” Hanna shook her head. “Not once did he say that he missed me or loved me.” She sighed again. “I didn’t see him or talk to him again until you and Gerrard joined us to help find Sisay.”
Several minutes passed before Mirri said in a soft voice, “Still, having a father whom you dislike and who misunderstands you must be better than having a family that disowns you completely. Right now, I consider Gerrard my only family, but he is not of the blood, and he was not always there.”
Hanna heard the guards snap to attention suddenly. Another elf entered the room, followed by the one who had lead their captors. “Ah, the ones who left the ship,” he noted as he passed them. “Good, Dreanilis.” He turned to his captives. “We shall soon attack your ship,” he observed with a cool smile.
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