Legends of Windemere: 03 - Allure of the Gypsies

by Charles E Yallowitz

  Aedyn smiles even though it causes him pain. “You have no idea how it really works.”

  “Not entirely. I can’t talk to her unless she is in charge of the body and she can’t spy on me from inside. All she has is a sense of time and a slight sense of location,” the forest tracker replies, getting up to help Aedyn take another long drink. “It’s for the best. She doesn’t want to get in the way of my natural development cycle or my breeding habits.”

  “Those must be her wor . . . wait . . . you turn into a female griffin?” the priest asks with an amused tone to his voice.

  “Yes,” Luke mutters sheepishly.

  “That has to feel strange, but it is still a very good ability to have,” Aedyn politely mentions.

  Luke nervously runs a hand through his hair. “Lord Perrin was right about me. My powers are connected to a source, which is the griffin’s spirit.”

  “How do your other powers connect to her?” Aedyn inquires curiously.

  “It deals with the natural abilities of griffins, which she is going to teach me about. Again, I only understand the basics,” Luke answers with an expression that betrays his confusion on the topic. “She explained that griffin blood is used in various anti-toxin formulas. They use it on each other because their natural enemy is the chimera, which is very poisonous. My language understanding power and meditative trance are connected to griffin behavior. They have developed a language center in their brain, which can decipher any spoken language. She tells me that they developed this ability after centuries of being used as aerial mounts. So, they can understand what is being said to them, but they are unable to talk back.”

  “I never thought of that. The few times I have interacted with griffins, I never noticed that they responded to my words,” Aedyn says, his voice full of wonder. “At the time, I thought they responded to my hand gestures. I assume their trance ability is equally impressive.”

  “The trance is nothing more than how they sleep,” Luke casually admits. “Griffins sleep with their eyes open. They remain aware of their surroundings. It’s more like a subconscious awareness than sensory observations.”

  “You have a lot to learn,” the priest points out.

  “That’s not counting if I discover more powers that are connected to my new partner,” Luke groans in dismay. He looks at the ceiling and sighs heavily. “Lord Perrin said there is a chance that other powers may emerge as the griffin and I integrate with each other. I could wake up the next day with retractable claws or the ability to sense incoming storms. Thankfully, the griffin is willing to teach me about whatever I ask. Though, she refuses to tell me her name. She says it doesn’t matter anymore since we are one and the same.”

  “Sounds like you have a permanent teacher and a friend,” Aedyn states, a raspy cough caught in his throat.

  “I hope so. She seems to like Nyx a lot more than me,” Luke mentions with a pained look on his face. “At least, that was what I felt when I looked at Nyx. I think she can sense Nyx’s experience with griffin riding. Either that or she sees a kindred spirit. I get the feeling that the griffin has a nasty temper like Nyx.”

  “Nyx has the personality of a griffin. That is funny,” Aedyn laughs, shifting in the bed and trying to sit up. He stares alarmingly at the odd movement under the sheets whenever he attempts to move his legs.

  “You just noticed,” Luke mutters sorrowfully.

  “I can still feel them,” Aedyn whispers, feeling shocked and confused.

  “The healer said that it will be like that for a few days,” the forest tracker says, a lump growing in his throat.

  “You have been talking to me and holding my attention since I woke,” Aedyn accuses his friend, irrational anger growing in his heart. “You were trying to distract me from this?”

  “I was just stalling until you were awake enough to notice it for yourself,” Luke replies in a panic.

  “Both of my legs are gone below the knee!” Aedyn exclaims. He hurls the sheets away and pounds at the numbed stumps that used to be his legs. They are heavily bandaged with the acrid stench of healing salve wafting off of them. Aedyn furiously tears the bandages off his face before Luke can stop him.

  “The healer was able to fix the burns to your face and arms, so it’s only a matter of time before something can be done about your legs,” Luke says, picking up the sheet and trying to put it over Aedyn. The priest violently grabs the sheet, balls it up, and hurls it out the open window.

  “Do not talk about things that you know nothing about!” the frantic priest shouts, his voice crackling. “Burns are easy to fix with salves if they are caught in time, but my legs require powerful regeneration spells. Even with that, I might not regain the full use of them. There will always be some discomfort.”

  Luke is surprised when Aedyn attempts to heave himself off the bed. The forest tracker quickly pins him down, preventing him from crashing to the floor. It is an awkward struggle as Luke tries to hold Aedyn’s shoulders down while avoiding the priest’s flailing. Luke ignores Aedyn’s attempted kicks because he’s sure that bringing attention to them would only further enrage his friend. A solid punch to Luke’s jaw sends him stumbling a few steps away from the bed. He rubs his chin and watches Aedyn start to go headfirst off the bed. Spitting blood from his mouth, Luke lashes out and kicks the priest in the stomach with enough force to knock him back onto the bed. Aedyn lies on the tussled mattress with a stunned expression on his face.

  “You kicked me,” the priest finally blurts out.

  “It wasn’t like you left me any other choice,” Luke contends, his voice a mix of irritation and concern. “You could have fallen out of bed and cracked your skull open on the floor.”

  “An odd way to help a friend.”

  “You appreciate it.”

  “I will when my ribs stop throbbing.”

  “It’ll pass.”

  “I should hope so. I have enough problems to deal with.”

  “You’ll forget about them when the party starts,” Luke cheerfully promises as he sits down again. “Alyssa and Sari have been working on it since the battle ended.”

  Aedyn sighs and looks away from Luke. “I will not be going.”

  “Nyx already declared that you don’t have a choice,” Luke mentions with a friendly grin across his face. “You’re one of the guests of honor, so you get the expensive mead and other treats that Alyssa has been keeping for a special occasion. I heard her fiancée is cooking some sauce-covered meat from his homeland.”

  “You expect me to go out like this,” Aedyn says, gesturing to his missing legs.

  “It wouldn’t be a proper celebration of victory without all of the heroes there,” Luke states, his frustration growing. “Stop being so vain and be happy that you’re alive to see the sun again. Durag still shines on you whether you have legs or not.”

  “Using my own religion and faith against me? You are an evil and manipulative friend,” the priest growls, looking down at his bandaged stumps. He twitches his right leg and reaches down to rub at the sensitive half-limb. Already, he can feel the sensation of having legs begin to fade away.

  “Everything will be okay, Aedyn,” Luke softly swears. “It isn’t like you to give up.”

  “I believe you have us confused. Not giving up no matter what happens is your bad habit,” Aedyn says with tears rolling down his cheeks. “I doubt even you could keep going without your limbs, Luke. There are some problems that a person just cannot work through.”

  Luke gets up and stretches as his expression becomes serious and cold. “If that’s the way you feel then I’m glad that you aren’t continuing on with me.”

  “Excuse me?” Aedyn whispers in disbelief.

  “You heard me clearly, old friend,” Luke snaps, more serious than Aedyn has ever seen him. “In the world of adventuring, one has to be confident and brave. I wouldn’t want to risk traveling with you if you’re giving up.” He turns his back to Aedyn and stares out the window at the bustling main street
of Haven.

  “I guess we agree that I would a liability,” the priest says.

  “Though, we don’t agree on why. You think it’s your missing legs that make you a liability,” Luke mentions with a disappointed sigh.

  “And, what do you think?” Aedyn asks.

  “It’s your broken confidence that would get us into trouble. Eventually, you will falter when your friends truly need you. Having a despair-riddled ally on the road is worse than having someone who needs to be on horseback for the rest of their life,” Luke answers, still staring out the window. “Don’t try to say that I don’t understand because we both know I already had a taste of despair. You were one of the people who helped me through it, so I expect you to let me do the same for you.”

  Aedyn struggles to sit up and angrily stares at his stumps. A pang of regret stings his throat whenever he tries to say something to Luke. The priest wipes his nose on the sheet and reaches to a nightstand where his holy symbol is sitting. He clutches his golden sun pendant to his chest, hoping that the right words will come to him. Minutes pass before he lets the pendant slip from his fingers and fall into his lap.

  “I should send a message to Kellia,” Aedyn whispers in a strained voice.

  “A magical note has already been sent to her,” Luke mentions, finally turning around. “She responded.”

  “May I ask what she said?”

  “Why would you need permission to hear what she said?”

  “You do not have to be rude.”

  Luke sits next to Aedyn’s bed and clears his throat. “She said that she will be sending an envoy to bring you back to Gods’ Voice. Once there, the Zarian and Duragian temples will tend your injuries and, with your permission, see if your legs can be regenerated. When you are ready, you will begin your temple duties and be taught the rules of Gods’ Voice nobility.”

  Aedyn forces a smile. “It seems that she still sees a use in me.”

  “We all do as long as you put your heart and soul into something,” the warrior declares, his voice soft and kind. “What’s a few missing parts when you stand by your friends?”

  “I can try, but it will take time,” Aedyn answers half-heartedly.

  “You have three days before the envoy arrives,” Luke says. He takes a deep breath, preparing to deliver bad news. “Your father is going to be with them. He happened to be visiting Duke Solomon when we sent the message. Such a funny, little coincidence.”

  “I am missing the dragon’s mouth already,” Aedyn groans, covering his face with his pillow.

  “By the way, a letter was sent to you while you were unconscious,” Luke reports, handing him a small envelope. “I don’t even know how this person found out so quickly. I’m assuming they intercepted our message to Kellia.”

  The thin, metal seal on the flap is shaped to resemble three lightning bolts converging on a glowing orb. Aedyn cautiously opens the envelope and silently admires the jade-colored ink. A look of surprise covers the priest’s face when he recognizes the name scrawled on the bottom of the soft parchment. Luke is concerned as his friend’s face turns pale, but he is waved away when he tries to take the letter back. Once he is done with the letter, Aedyn tucks it into his shirt and stretches his arms. He waits until his joints pop and a soothing numbness fills his body.

  “What was the letter about?” Luke asks, his curiosity getting the best of him.

  “It was an offer to help, but I do not know if I should accept it,” Aedyn states, a nervous smile on his face. “The results could leave me worse than I am now.”

  Luke raises an eyebrow in anxious curiosity. “Who wrote the letter?”

  “Catarina Warrenberg,” Aedyn replies with an involuntary shudder. “She wants to build me new legs with some experimental technology that she has been working on.”

  Luke rubs his chin and smiles at the familiar surname. “I’m guessing she’s related to Fritz.”

  “She is his daughter,” Aedyn says, chuckling at Luke’s look of surprise. “When I was sorting his belongings after his death, I found a letter for her. I sent it with a scroll explaining what happened to him and how he was a very dear friend.”

  “So, she’s looking for a way to repay your friendship with her father. That’s good,” the forest tracker happily claims.

  “I fear for my life, my sanity, and my self-respect if she gets involved.”

  “It could be worse.”

  “True. It could be you trying to fix my legs.”

  “Just for that, I’m not going to bring you anything from the candy store.”

  Aedyn laughs gently while his eyes close and he starts to fall asleep. Luke waits a few minutes before slipping out of the room. He waves to the old healer as he walks by and silently opens the door. Once outside, Luke slips behind the healer’s building, finally breathing a sigh of relief. All of the stress and tension ebbs from his body until he slumps to the ground. He is barely aware of the soft footsteps approaching him from around the building. A slender shadow falls across Luke and the half-elf glances into the stern face of his father.

  “We have to talk, son,” Ilan says, extending a hand to help Luke to his feet.

  *****

  For the first time in his life, Luke sees how old and worn his father is. The middle-aged elf sighs every few minutes while he sits in his favorite chair by the window. Ilan seems to be paying less attention to his son and more attention to a trio of squirrels in the tree outside. Even when Luke harshly clears his throat, the only response Ilan makes is a gentle wave of his hand. The bored half-elf crosses his arms before unceremoniously flopping onto his parents’ soft bed. He moves his arms behind his head and stares at the wooden ceiling. There are four holes above the bed, showing the serene, cloud-filled sky high above the roof. As a child, Luke always wondered why the rain and snow never fell through the holes. His mother only told him that the love they had as a family kept the bad weather outside. Luke never had the heart to tell his mom that he had climbed onto the roof at the age of eight and discovered the glass coverings.

  “I’ll probably never tell her,” Luke whispers, drowsiness starting to set into his body.

  “What are you talking about?” inquires Ilan without looking away from the window.

  “Nothing important. What did you want to talk about?” Luke replies, sitting up on the edge of the bed.

  “I assume you’re going to leave us soon,” Ilan sadly states.

  “I want to stay for a week or so before heading out,” Luke admits with a yawn. “After everything that has happened, I need a break from the road.”

  “I see.”

  “There’s something else on your mind, dad.”

  “I can no longer consider you a child now that you have died and returned to the living. Such a voyage changes a man to his core,” Ilan says with a wry smile. “Am I right?”

  Luke rubs at the back of his neck nervously, trying to figure out what his father is getting at. He hadn’t given himself much time to really think about everything that had happened. Soon after coming back to life, Luke had been drawn into training with Lord Perrin followed by the battle with Kalam. Now, his mind can barely focus on anything other than Aedyn’s situation and how he couldn’t prevent it. He is still deep in thought when Ilan gets to his feet and slowly limps across the room.

  “You should be happy that you saved your friend and not dwell on the fact that he lost his legs,” Ilan interrupts as if reading his son’s mind.

  “If I was any kind of hero then I would have been able to protect him,” Luke declares, wiping a few tears from his eyes.

  “Your mother and I raised you to be kind and compassionate. We didn’t raise you to feel that everything that goes wrong around you is your fault,” Ilan says, chuckling softly. “Then again, it seems to be in your nature to believe that you can save everyone. Ever since you were a child, you have tried to help everyone you met. Usually, you did this at great risk to yourself and great aggravation to me.” He gently strokes the side
of an ornate wardrobe made out of a blackish red wood.

  Luke thinks carefully before innocently stating, “Who can say that I won’t save the world?”

  Ilan stares at his son, his mouth slightly open in disbelief. “That sounds ridiculous.”

  “It sounded better in my head,” Luke admits as he gets to his feet. “Still, I have these abilities that I can use to help people. It wouldn’t be right to stay in Haven now. It would be disrespectful to Uli and Lord Perrin. Most importantly, I promised Nyx that I would help her defeat some kind of coming darkness. Not sure what that will involve, but I promised her that I would help.”

  Ilan leans against the wardrobe, which creaks from the gentle pressure. “Those are all good reasons.”

  “Then, do you still hate my decision?” Luke inquires curiously.

  “To my very core,” his dad replies without any hesitation.

  “I won’t back down. I’m going back on the road and you can’t stop me,” the half-elf defiantly swears.

  “I know, but I hope that what I’m about to show you helps you understand what you are choosing,” Ilan admits, turning to face the wardrobe.

  The blacksmith’s callused hand gently traces the tree branches engraved on the top left corner of the wardrobe. Luke hears a subtle click before his father’s fingers travel to three horses running along a river on the front doors. The middle horse is rearing back while the other horses are rushing ahead. Ilan’s hand makes a slow petting motion to the middle horse, which sets off another click. His fingers continue to run along the face of the wardrobe, resting on a blank spot near the top right corner. Luke gets close to the wardrobe, squinting to see a tiny etching of a soaring heron that gently depresses once it is touched.

  A louder click and the grinding of gears fill the air as the wardrobe slowly turns around. As soon as the engraved doors are against the wall, a pair of latches unhook on the wardrobe’s right side. The back swings open to reveal a hidden compartment, protected by a thin pane of glass. Luke whistles in amazement as he looks at the golden chainmail shirt with a pair of dueling hawks emblazoned on the front. An ivory longbow wrapped in silver ivy and a leather quiver sit next to the armor. The only other items in the case are a simple golden ring, a glass torque shaped like an eel, and amber-colored boots.