by F. P. Spirit
Calipherous rose above the two-story inn, then with a single beat of his great wings, shot past the roof and out over the town of Vermoorden. Aksel watched the town flash by below. In no time, they had left it behind, flitting past the docks, and were out over the waters of Lake Strikken.
The morning sun was behind them, its golden rays reflecting a path across the clear waters beneath them. The copper dragon carried them all the way to the other side of the lake, a short while later landing on a small stretch of sand along the opposite shore. Once they had all dismounted, Ruka turned to face Aksel.
“Would you mind watching Maya for a few minutes? Cal and I need to talk in private. I’m sorry, but there are things about our island that must remain secret.”
Aksel responded with a brief nod. “I understand. Don’t worry, Maya and I will be fine.” He shifted his gaze to the little girl. “Right, Maya?”
“Can we skip stones?” Maya asked, her eyes wide, two dimples forming on either side of her mouth.
Aksel couldn’t help but smile back at her. “Certainly.”
Maya clapped her hands together, and spun around in a circle with a cry of “Yay!”
Ruka’s face softened into an uncharacteristic smile as she gazed with fondness at her little sister. It was only for a moment, though, her expression swiftly turning serious once again. She gave Aksel a curt nod, then spun around and walked off with Cal a short way down the beach.
Maya grabbed Aksel by the hand and dragged the little cleric down toward the water. Once there, he bent down and began his search for a good stone to skip across the lake waters. About twenty minutes passed before Ruka and Cal rejoined them. Ruka pulled Aksel aside, and talked with him in a hushed voice. “We’ll drop you off back at the tower, but then we’re going to have to go and search for our sister.”
Aksel gazed at her with keen sympathy. He knew only too well what it was like to have a loved one disappear. Aksel placed a reassuring hand on Ruka’s arm and gave her a slow nod. “I completely understand. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help.”
A small smile creased the young teen’s lips. “I think we’ll be fine, but thanks for the offer.”
Ruka and Maya both shifted into dragon form since it was the fastest way to travel. Aksel marveled at the sight of the three dragons side-by-side, though he did note some differences between them. Ruka and Maya both glistened with a yellow-brown metallic sheen, though Ruka was perhaps just a bit darker than her sister. Still, both were far lighter in comparison to Cal’s deep reddish-brown scales.
Further, Maya was probably about half the size of her older sister. Yet Ruka was just as large as Cal, both dragons almost thirty feet long. Aksel remembered Glo saying that copper dragons were smaller than their brethren, but the little cleric never realized by just how much till now. He felt a sudden wave of empathy wash over him—Aksel was very aware of what it was like to live in a world where most beings were twice your size.
After a few moments’ reflection, Aksel climbed on Ruka’s back, and the three dragons lifted off the ground. The small flight then shot out away from the lake, headed northwest toward the Darkwoods. Aksel had previously wondered about Ruka’s top speed, but now the air rushed by so fast, the little cleric could hardly breath. He silently thanked Donnie for the loan of his spider boots as he hung on for dear life.
Stirring the Pot
Ach! Not another one of them snake cults!
When Kalyn talked, she talked a lot, but when she wasn’t talking, she was as silent as a stone. Seth had been following her on his riding dog for several minutes now. She rode the horse ahead of him, her head constantly swiveling about and tilting, as if listening to the nighttime crickets, or the very trees themselves.
After a moment, a new sound made Seth perk up, as it was completely out of place in this silent forest. A woman’s voice sang a cheerful ditty somewhere in the trees. Seth looked at Kalyn and saw her shake her head with a smile.
One day as I was gone a-hunting
I saw’er an orc wearing a bunting
He danced a jigged and was laughing
His kicked up his heels to a lute staffing
He carried a jug with a passel o’ flowers
I followed him to a twisted tree
Where many a folk danced full-a glee
They passed about drinks and all sang:
Come down to the Twisted Tree
Where the weather is always right as rain
We’ll give ya a hearty cheers times three
And together we’ll sing, “Crane! Crane!”
Seth cocked his head to one side and squinted his eyes. “What the heck is that?”
“Depends on which you are referring to, the noise, or the noise maker.” Kalyn giggled. “The noise is a popular tavern song in Deepwood Fort. The noise maker is my friend. She loves to sing.”
Kalyn turned off the road and led the way down a deer trail that wound its way through the trees for a short distance, before opening into a glade. In the middle of the glade sat a middle-aged woman on a large stone, wearing a straw hat with decorative flowers all around a pink band. She was bent over a small fire that did not smoke, and a pot of steaming liquid hung over the licking flames.
“Oh good! Yer here. Supper’s ‘bout ready. I cooked enough for three.” She looked up at them, but her bright blue eyes did not focus, instead staring into nothingness.
Kalyn halted her horse and whipped around to look back at Seth, her brows knit in confusion. “Wait a moment!” She turned back to face her friend. “How’d you know there were gonna be three of us?”
The other woman smiled slyly. “I said I cooked enough fer three. I didn’t say I knew there’d be three.”
Now that they were closer, Seth was able to get a better look at the older woman. Her dress was a patchwork puzzle of greens, browns, and grays, and a belt of braided grass was tied around her waist. Her pale gold hair, streaked with gray, was tied to the side in a messy braid, and her tanned face was covered with smile lines. On her shoulder, nestled close to her messy hair, was a small, one-legged owl that peered at Seth with large, inquisitive eyes.
Kalyn dismounted her horse. “Okay, I have to ask—do you know who I’ve brought with me?”
The other woman frowned. “What kind of a silly question is that, child? ’course I don’t!! But I knows that he’s a short feller. Probably a halfling, judging by the way his dog pads ’cross the ground.”
Kalyn shook her head with a sigh. “Fran, you do beat all.”
Fran smiled. “Aw, now, you’ll be makin’ me blush if ya keep up with that flatterin’ talk. Now, get yerselves o’er here and sit down! Can’t tell me yer tales when yer starvin’ fer a bite to eat.”
Seth tilted his head down and put his hand over his mouth, almost snorting out his nose. Do they all talk like this? I better watch myself, or I’ll start doing it, too.
Fran raised her arm and waved her hand, motioning for them to come closer.
Kalyn looked back at Seth. “This is my oldest, dearest, and strangest friend, Fran. And when I say strange, I mean you ain’t seen nothin’ till you’ve seen Fran.”
Seth slipped off his dog and eyed Kalyn dubiously. “I don’t know. I’ve seen some pretty strange stuff.”
Kalyn bent over and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Not this kind of strange. Trust me.”
“Ho! I may be blind, but I ain’t deaf! Watch how you talk ’bout me, or I’ll show you some strangeness alright!” Fran shook her spoon in Kalyn’s direction, though a smile wrinkled the corners of her bright blue eyes.
Kalyn giggled softly, then cleared her throat. “Fran, this is Seth. And you’re right—he is a short feller.”
Seth shot Kalyn a glare that could have curdled milk, even though in reality he was too amused to be angr
y. Yet his dark look only made her grin grow larger.
Fran slapped her knee. “Well, for Druids’ sakes and Dunwynn unda’pants! I plum missed an opp’tunity to win a bet.”
Seth looked back at the older woman, the corners of his mouth slowly upturning. I am going to start talking like this if I stay here much longer.
“So, young Seth. Where you wander in from, eh? Been travelin’ long?” Fran asked him. “Do come sit yerself down. I’ll serve ya up some food. Might not be fit for a duke, but I’ll bet my two pretty eyes that it makes yer belly stop a-growlin’.” She angled a gentle, warm smile in Seth’s direction as she motioned to a large stone opposite of her, near the fire.
Seth tied his dog to a log, next to where Kalyn was tying the horse, then walked over to the fire, climbed up on the rock, and sat down. The savory smell of the stew in the pot wafted toward him and made his belly rumble. Seth regarded the older woman with a half smirk. “Do you have a particular duke in mind?”
I could think of one…
Fran poured some of the stew into a wooden bowl and stood, holding it out toward Seth. “Duke a-Dunwynn.” She spat into the fire, “May rust monsters eat his armory.” She made a sign in the air with her free hand, as if casting a spell, though nothing happened.
Seth’s smirk widened as he sat up tall and reached high to take the bowl from her. It appears the Duke’s ‘charm’ extends even all the way out here.
“Fran, you keep putting all those curses on the Duke, and none of them have come true yet.” Kalyn said as she sauntered up and sat down on a stone next to Fran.
“They ain’t wishes, sweetie. Curses take their time. The longer they take, the bett’r they ‘er.” Fran sat back down and nodded toward Seth. “You’ll havta slurp that slop up from the bowl, honey. I ain’t got no spoons ‘cept this one,” She held up her serving spoon as evidence, “An’ I might need to use it to whoop on Kalyn ’fore the night is gone.”
“Hey now! I’ve been a good girl, I have!” Kalyn protested. “And you’d better dip us both some food before you dirty that spoon on me.”
“Eh, I might not eat. Had too many ’shrooms.” Fran said as she leaned over and poured some stew into another bowl.
Kalyn’s smile faded, and her eyes grew bigger. “You... you didn’t put none of those nasty hagstools in this stew, did you?”
Fran sat up and glared. “I wouldn’t share my ’shrooms with you if you was the las’ person on this here green earth!”
Kalyn sighed and smiled, then took the bowl from Fran. “Oh good. I’m glad.”
Seth had been holding his bowl politely in his hands, the mouthwatering smell begging him to eat it, but Seth wasn’t about to eat food offered by strangers, even if one of them had saved his life. He would wait until one of the women sampled the stew, no matter how good it smelled.
Fran shook her head, then turned it back in Seth’s direction. “Now then, has ya forgotten my question, young man? Where is ya comin’ from?”
Seth shook his head, then remembered he was shaking it at a blind woman. “I’m coming from the South.”
Kalyn coughed forcibly, with great exaggeration. Seth shifted his eyes toward Kalyn and narrowed them. Kalyn raised her eyebrows expectantly, then frowned. “Oh, come on! That was so vague! Brag a little!” she said before taking a slurp of her stew.
Fran chuckled softly, presumably at his reluctance to tell her anything about himself.
Seth blew across his stew. “Why should I when you are clearly going to do it for me?”
Kalyn huffed, then pivoted toward Fran. “Seth is just being modest. He is none other than one of the Heroes of Ravenford.”
“Well! Ain’t that a fine howdy-do!” Fran slapped her knee, then paused abruptly. “Who are the Heroes of Ravenford? They impo’tant?”
Kalyn’s mouth fell open.
Having determined the stew as safe to eat, Seth took a quick gulp to keep down the laugh that was creeping up his throat.
“But, Fran, I told you all about them as we were traveling!” Kalyn said.
Fran blinked. “Oh? Oh! Ya mean them ones that was doing all the magic, snake killin’, and lighthouse burnin’?”
This time, Seth snorted stew through his nose, and the rest that was in his mouth spewed toward the fire, making the flames hiss.
Fran sat up with a frown. “My stew ain’t good ‘nough to breathe, young feller!”
Seth wiped his nose, his eyes watering as he gasped for air while his muscles seized with laughter. Oh gods, do I wish Glo was here right now to hear this!
Kalyn turned a light shade of red, her manner growing sheepish. “Oh. Well, I just told you that the lighthouse burned down after they left town on a mission. I didn’t say they burned it down.” She glanced between Seth and Fran several times.
Seth wiped the stew from his mouth and laughed. “We didn’t burn it down. Glo was the one who did that.”
“Glo?” Kalyn and Fran both asked simultaneously.
Seth realized he had mentioned the elven wizard’s name without thinking, but before he could retrace his steps, Kalyn sat forward eagerly, almost spilling her stew into the fire.
“Oh! Oh! Is he the elf feller with all the wizardy powers? Is he?”
Seth nodded, trying very hard not to laugh.
“Yes! I knew it!” She smiled with satisfaction, then took another sip of her stew.
Fran sighed. “So then, young adventurin’ Seth, what ’er ya doin’ all the way out here away from yer comrades, and how did Kalyn find ya?”
Seth and Kalyn exchanged glances, then the halfling leaned back in his seat. “Maybe I’ll just let you explain it to her.”
Kalyn shook her head. “No-can-do, holy cracker muncher! I don’t know how you got out here, because I didn’t ask, because I don’t ask questions of a more personal nature. I just killed the guys who were trying to kill you, because I’m nice like that.” She gave him a big, cheesy grin, then winked before slurping her soup again.
The corners of Seth’s mouth upturned slightly once more. He was having a very difficult time holding back his amusement. Much as he tried to retain his composure, this young woman’s open nature and simplistic view on things continued to grow on him.
Fran snorted and shook her head. “Don’t ask pers’nal questions, my fat goose.” She muttered under her breath before folding her arms over her chest. “So then, young Seth, what is ya tale?”
Seth narrowed his eyes, taking a moment to size Fran up. She seemed rather genuine, but just how much could he actually trust her? As he stared at her, she angled her sightless eyes in his direction, almost looking directly at him, her expression completely serious. “Yer out here for the darkness that I’ve been seein’ creepin’ o’er the land in my visions, ain’t ya?”
Seth kept his eyes narrowed. “Are you a seer?”
Fran waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t skirt ‘round my question. Jus’ answer it.”
Seth let out a wicked laugh. “Wow. Rough crowd!”
Kalyn shook her head. “Don’t include me in this! I ain’t the one asking questions.”
Seth gazed from one to the other yet again. He had to tell them something if he was ever going to find Serpent’s Hollow, but he still wasn’t completely sure about them. “First, tell me what you two are doing out here all alone.”
Fran pointed in Kalyn’s direction. “She’s takin’ me to Bendenwood.”
Kalyn pointed a thumb back at Fran. “I’m takin’ her to Bendenwood.”
Seth shook his head. “And you accuse me of being cryptic!”
Kalyn shrugged. “What? That’s what we were doing! We ain’t being cryp-tic!”
Seth fixed Kalyn with a hard stare. They couldn’t be that dense.
“Is there any particular reas
on you’re going there?”
Kalyn pushed her shoulders back. “Well, duh! Sure, there is.”
“I has a meeting with some friends in Bendenwood. We has one ‘bout once a month.” Fran explained.
Seth cocked his head and squinted with one eye at Fran. A once-a-month meeting in Bendenwood? When he spoke, his tone was quite deliberate. “The moon is almost full, isn’t it?”
Fran smiled mysteriously. “Yep. Sure is.” She reached up and gently stroked the little one legged owl perched on her shoulder.
Seth continued to stare at the older woman. Even though she was being vague, he was certain she was referring to the monthly meeting of the Druidic counsel. If she was truly attending that, then she had to be someone fairly high up in the druid ranks.
“Am I missing something?” Kalyn asked, looking between Seth and Fran.
Fran moved her hand up to her neck and pulled out a crescent shaped pendant hanging from a leather cord, fiddling with it almost absently. “Nah, ya ain’t missing much, honey.”
Seth sat forward for a closer look at the pendant in her hand. It gleamed silver in the firelight, like a quarter moon. Seth had seen a similar pendant only just recently. It had been worn by Almax, the druid representative to Ravenford. If this Fran wore that same pendant, then she was indeed a druid. Seth let out a short sigh. Perhaps he could trust her after all. At least somewhat. “Very well. You guessed right. My friends and I are after the darkness. They’re called the Serpent Cult.” He said the last part slowly while staring at Fran, trying to gauge her reaction.
Fran’s eyebrows slowly lifted and relaxed. “Ach! Not another one of them snake cults!”
That was certainly not the response Seth was expecting. “What do you mean another?”
Seth and Kalyn had asked the question simultaneously. The duo cast a brief glance at each other before turning back to Fran.
“Oh, this here goes way back—back a ‘fore the Thrall Wars, even a ‘fore the Galinthral elves went off n’ disappeared to gods-knows-where.”
