Elf Mastery

by Bryant Reil

Kyla looked down at her shirt. “Pardon? He wants my what?”

  Lug related this and got his reply. “Clothing.”

  “What? He wants my clothes?”

  “He want soft. Soft valuable here.”

  Kyla opened her bag and took out her blanket and pillow. “He can have these!”

  Lug looked up at the waiting giant. “Krhm mrh rhmrhk.”

  The giant nodded. “Mrkrhm.”

  Lug turned to Kyla. “You make good gift greater. Generosity appreciated.”

  “Ok, sounds good! Here you go!” Kyla held up the blanket and pillow. One of the Digans from the side of the chamber retrieved it and handed it to the Digan leader, who stood and watched Kyla patiently. She looked back over at Lug.

  “He still want clothes. He say blanket and pillow is extra gift.”

  “What? No! I'll freeze! Tell him I can't do that!”

  Lug relayed the message and got a reply. “You want aurichalcum, you give soft. You not freeze. Is not cold.”

  “Not for a bunch of rocks but it is for me! Also I don't want to walk around naked!” Though she also didn't want to leave empty handed. “Tell him I'll bring back a whole bunch of clothes later!”

  “He say you no come back. No one come back.”

  Kyla was distraught. Lug seemed to sense it.

  “He no care about naked. He care about soft. You have fire to be warm.”

  “Of course he doesn't care about naked! He doesn't have the same – you know – bits that I need to keep covered up!”

  Lug relayed a message and got a long rumbling response.

  “You promised soft. You give soft.”

  “I did NOT promise soft!”

  “Maybe bad translation,” Lug admitted. “I think if he wants you must give or he make trouble.”

  Kyla was not happy with the arrangement but could see the Digan leader was becoming agitated. She looked about but there was nowhere obvious to undress. Not that it mattered, as she had nothing else to put on and would have to walk back out naked anyway. Finally, with a sigh, she set down her bag and disrobed.

  The same Digan that had grabbed the blanket retrieved the clothes. Apparently Kyla was not permitted to hand anything directly to the leader. He took the gift of soft and lumbered heavily back to the pile of rubble.

  Kyla noticed the smaller, creepier Digan leering at her. She put her arms over her chest to conceal herself as best she could.

  The Digan leader reached into the rubble pile and started tossing it like a salad, mixing Kyla's gift in with the rubble. As the gray dust and assortment of rocks were cast from the pile she could see it consisted mostly of clothing. He sat on the pile and rumbled with satisfaction. He leaned back and spread his arms in a most relaxed manner. He certainly liked his soft. The others watched jealously. He did not seem generous with his comfort. Also, Kyla noted as she saw a skull roll from the pile, he was willing to take by force if necessary. Kyla was glad she chose to trade with him after all, though now she was shivering.

  The chief sat up and shouted a command at one of the Digans. The creepy one in the corner leaped up, waved his arm as though trying to get the chief’s attention, and let out a long rumble. The Digan leader waved his hand and the smaller one stepped toward Kyla, who stepped back.

  “He volunteer to get us goldstone,” Lug told her. “No worry.”

  They were led out of the chamber and followed the little Digan who kept looking back at Kyla. She decided being naked in front of these elementals was not as harmless as she had supposed. “Ask him if there's a little room where I can get dressed.”

  “You have more soft? Clothes?” Lug asked.

  “I'm gonna think of something. This guy's creeping me out.”

  The Digan was happy to find a room for Kyla. It was about the size of her room at home – small but sufficient for her needs. She emptied the bag and took a look at the contents. A canteen, the cloth the food had been wrapped in, rope, the bag itself, some paper, and a few utensils, including a large knife, and a small pot and a frying pan. She sighed. Well, she wasn't going for pretty. Only functional.

  There was a low rumble and the earth shook. Kyla stood still a moment, wondering what to do, but after several seconds it stopped. She supposed that as earthquake management was part of the Digans' job she should expect frequent tremors.

  Kyla's bag proved too small for a dress but was perfect for a short skirt, and she was able to tie this on with some rope. The pot and frying pan served to cover her breasts and she noted with chagrin that the small pot was more than sufficient in size. These too were tied around her with a mess of rope. The food bag she had cut in two and lined the pot and pan so the cold metal wouldn't stick to her skin. Now she had no bag to hold her canteen, wooden spoon, and other utensils, so she tucked them into the rope around her waist. It took some time to get the knots tight enough so the ensemble wouldn't fall apart as she walked, but once finished she was pleased with what she was able to put together using her own ingenuity. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

  Despite the time it took for Kyla to get her clothing together she was still finished before the Digan returned. He had his fist enclosed around something but refused to open it.

  “He say he want trade.” Lug looked uncertain what he might want. Kyla stepped back. Those eyes. It wasn't the size difference, or improper spacing, or the color that scared her. They were hungry, but for what? Was he looking for a mate? Kyla could think of several reasons that wasn't going to work. “Ask him what he wants,” she asked warily.

  “Khrrmmrhm krh rhmhk.”

  The Digan tore his gaze from Kyla and stared at Lug. “Khrmrmmrrh rhmmrhrk krhm.”

  “He want warm soft.”

  “I don't have any more soft! I gave it to the big guy! Unless he wants this skirt I made from the bag!”

  “Warm soft mean skin. He want your skin.”

  “What? Is he crazy? Tell him this doesn't come off!”

  “He say it come off. He can get it off.”

  “Yeah but I'll DIE!”

  Lug explained to no avail. “He say you no die. He want warm soft.”

  “But I already PAID for the aurichalcum! Does he even have it?”

  When asked he opened his hand quickly and closed it again, then hid it behind his back. He rumbled.

  “He say you have goldstone when he have warm soft.”

  “No! Tell him I go back to leader – listen to me now, I'm starting to talk like you – I'm going back to the big guy and telling him!”

  Lug passed the message and looked alarmed at the rumbling reply.

  “He changed passages. He say we no find way back.”

  “What?”

  “Walls move. He make walls move. He say we no find way out. He take us outside if we give warm soft.”

  Kyla's eyes widened. “That sack of crab-apples! No wonder he took so long! You tell him to give me that aurichalcum and get us out of here or you'll crush him!”

  “He say I weak here. You no worry. I get goldstone.”

  Lug dashed at the Digan and grabbed his arm, wrenching it from behind his back. He cracked the Digan's hand against the hard floor until the aurichalcum jarred loose. The Digan kicked and wrestled. Lug might not be at his best but he was still strong. He pushed the Digan against the wall, and Kyla crawled through Lug's legs and grabbed the stone. Realizing she no longer had a bag to keep it in she shoved it into the pot over her left breast. She turned around but realized she didn't know where to go. She had not thought to use chalk on the walls when following the Digan. She also didn't know if her trail would work anyway since the Digan had changed the layout. Did he change one wall or many?

  “Go!” Lug said as he struggled. “I hold. You escape!”

  “I don't know the way out!”

  “I don't know. He no help. He crazy! You go!”

  Kyla didn't want to leave Lug behind again but she had the aurichalcum, and Lug did appear to be winning the fray. She hoped he could find her again.
r />   Chapter Thirty

  Kick the Goblin

  “Down there!” Aspen shouted in Eunoe's ear as she saw a glint from the ground. It was difficult to talk as the rushing wind blew her words away as she spoke. It had been sunny only moments ago, but now a cold wind and gray clouds were closing from the north. Eunoe took Castor down, and Denzig, keeping an eye on them, circled overhead as Aspen hopped off the tiger to see what lay in the brush.

  It was a large jar, almost up to Aspen's waist. The label was written in a strange tongue. They had flown over a giant settlement a short time ago, so it wasn't out of place. There was a picture of a passion flower. A sleeping draught, probably. Aspen looked around. There had been a fire. Someone large had camped here. No sign of an elf, that she could see, but Aspen was no tracker.

  Denzig swooped down. He had been flying at his full size, but now shrank to his less fear-inspiring stature.

  “I see nothing, but this is very near Alfheim. Perhaps we should go back to that town and inquire.”

  Aspen looked around. There was forest to the east and north, nearly devoid of leaves. A swath of trees appeared to have recently been knocked down. Perhaps to be expected in a realm of giants, though unfortunate for the poor trees. “Could she have gotten here first?”

  Eunoe poked a stick through the ashes in the fire pit. Aspen had no idea what she was looking for. “No idea. We need to find the Digans. They'll be underground.”

  Aspen felt something cold on her cheek. She jumped and swatted it.

  “Snow,” Denzig told her. “Don't have that in Arkwood?”

  Eunoe looked up and sighed. “Rarely this early.”

  “It's beautiful, but it makes me feel lazy.” Aspen opened her mouth to catch some flakes.

  “It is enchanting.” Denzig sniffed the air. “There were many creatures here a while ago. Big stinky ones. The odor is too strong to tell if any elves came by.”

  A woman stepped out from the trees to the east. “It was a caravan of mammoths.” She had long black hair and dark eyes and looked much like a nymph, though certainly not a dryad. She wore a finely embroidered black tunic laced with silver and sleek black boots which rose to her knee. She wore no jacket yet looked perfectly comfortable in the cold. She smelled of moonflowers and was somehow familiar but Aspen couldn't place where she might ever have seen her.

  “Who are you?” Eunoe demanded, in a tone that sounded unnecessarily rude.

  “You may call me Sophrosyne. I didn't expect to see any dryads out, now that the forest has gone to sleep.”

  “They aren't hibernating yet.” Aspen could sense the nearby dryads. They were sluggish and hidden inside the trunks of their trees, but they hadn't yet begun their annual slumber. “And I don't need to.”

  The woman shrugged. “Not all do.” She turned to Denzig. “Well met, Sir Dragon.” She bowed, and Denzig puffed a grateful wisp of smoke.

  “Good day, lady.” He extended his right talons, which she kissed. She was overly kind. Aspen appreciated it but questioned its sincerity. Yet something about Sophrosyne made her difficult not to trust. She wore an emotional mask like Marik, but she didn't make Aspen feel so oily inside.

  Sophrosyne turned to Eunoe, who was frowning. “And you! Fair alseid. I would never expect to see one of your kind in these parts.”

  “Why not?” Eunoe seemed displeased, but Aspen couldn't guess why.

  “A little late in the season, I suppose. Don't your kind head to warmer parts in winter?”

  “No. We alseids don't abandon our duties.”

  That was a lie. Alseids were typically lazy.

  The woman smiled. “Well, what brings you here?”

  “We're looking for a friend,” Aspen said, but she got the 'shut up now' look from Eunoe.

  The woman looked at the nearest mountain. “There was an elf girl here a while ago. She went into that mountain. She hasn't come back out. I suppose she must be looking for the Digans.”

  Eunoe’s eyebrow went up. “Elf girl? Short, brown hair?”

  “Yes, that's the one.”

  There was a tremor in the ground, almost knocking Aspen off her feet but the woman stepped forward and caught her by the arm.

  “Thank you!” Aspen said as she regained her balance.

  “The Digans have been restless today. Be careful. I hear they aren't the kindest folk.”

  Denzig sent a blast of flame into the remains of the fire pit, and Aspen backed away. There was no wood but the leftover coals picked up some of the heat and started to glow. Denzig held his claws over them for warmth. “We need to follow, then.”

  “Yes,” Eunoe agreed.

  “There was a cave-in,” said Sophrosyne. “It might be faster to catch her on the other side. It's near the top of that mountain with the double peak. I wish I could help further but I have other matters to tend. Good luck to you!”

  Eunoe scowled as Sophrosyne disappeared into the trees.

  Aspen wondered at this. “You don't like her.”

  “I think she was lovely. It's Aias who doesn't like her but he doesn't know why.”

  “Well, it was lucky she happened to see Kyla.”

  Eunoe nodded but her eyes were distant. “Yeah.” Aspen knew what that meant. It was too lucky.

  ***

  Eunoe, Denzig, and Aspen agreed that Kyla would most likely be found on the opposite side of the nearby mountain with the double peak. Despite their confidence no one understood how they knew. It just came to them all at once. Aspen was also surprised to catch the scent of moonflowers this late in the season, and even more peculiar was a set of footprints that headed out from the woods and back again. Yet it had only just started to snow, and no one could recall seeing anyone walk by.

  ***

  Kyla felt her way along the icy floor. The stone was wet and she was shivering. What she wouldn't give for a fire! She put her hand into the pot over her left breast to feel the nugget of aurichalcum. She was worried it might disappear somehow, and she wasn't going to return to the Digans to ask for more.

  She gave her orb another tap. Nothing. What a terrible time for it to go out! And the darkness was palpable. Oppressive. It pushed her from all sides at once, like she was being squished in a wet pillow.

  Without light Kyla had to focus on touch and hearing. She gently slid her fingertips in front of her to find handholds as the cavern sloped upward. Her other hand held the orb. She thought she heard wind whistling in the distance. She thought of Aura and wondered if perhaps an air spirit would wander down into the caves, but she feared this wind was only a residual effect, a piece that had been caught as it whipped past the mountain. Yet it meant there must be an opening nearby. Though she heard it she couldn't feel it, and wasn't sure from which direction the sound came. She decided to move straight ahead, hoping a change in position might help her pinpoint the sound.

  A voice penetrated Kyla's mind. She knew, somehow, that it was Erebus.

  You'll die in here!

  It occurred to Kyla that she should be terrified. She supposed she probably was, but the cold made her so numb she didn't really care. And her dream with the shadows gave her a stubborn resistance to anything Erebus might say.

  Why waste your life for a cause you don't understand? Come with me, and I will take you somewhere warm.

  “I doubt you have anywhere warm you could take me!” Kyla gritted her teeth.

  I have disciples everywhere, volcanoes and the infernal abyss among them. Warmth. Peace. You needn't worry about you or your friends suffering on the wrong end of a just war.

  “I'm not stupid!” Kyla didn't know why she was arguing, but at least it kept her mind off the cold. “What will happen when you win? Either I die, or spend eternity as a shadow!” The dark immortality in her dream frightened her more than death.

  You will have freedom. Freedom from your body. Aging, disease-laden, weak, tired, cold body. No more pain. No more suffering. No more death for you or your loved ones.

  “No more life eith
er,” she muttered.

  You suffer even now. Life brings suffering and hardship. Why must this be so? In our world there would be no Death. No suffering. No change. No hatred.

  “And no love!” Kyla was moving again. She thought the passage was sloping to the left, toward the sound of the wind.

  No need for love. No need for warmth. No need for change. Only endless, tireless, lawless living.

  “That doesn't sound much like living to me!”

  Nor does pain and anguish and suffering sound like living to me.

  “Why are you here? I don't have the stupid rubbing with me.”

  I want to give you a chance, Kyla Nim. I am not the villain you believe. Darkness existed before Light. I was pushed aside to make room for growth, which is only brought through pain and sorrow. You have stood bravely against the dwarves. You fight against me. You cannot win. Join me, and I will ease you into the eternity you desire. Chaos or Order matter not to me, so long as you help usher out the burning light.

  Kyla was crawling on her stomach now. A light blast of air lifted a strand of hair. It was ever so gentle but a sign she was heading in the right direction. She forced her body forward an inch at a time.

  “You must be pretty weak if you need my help.”

  You are stronger than you give yourself credit. The sun was designed to keep me away, and until it is extinguished I must rely on creatures of Order. Those who have seen the Light, and learned that darkness must reign to hide the horrors of the world.

  “I'm not going to help you. Are you going to kill me then?”

  I haven't the power over life and death in myself, but those who refuse to succumb to the dark will be consumed by it. You shall die here from the cold, and escape this fate; but die knowing what awaits those you love.

  Kyla had no words for this but kept inching forward as the darkness pressed in. She could feel her heart in her chest. It was slow and weak, and the oppressive blanket in which Erebus had her enveloped sapped her will and strength. But she persisted. She could not, would not, let him win. He continued to give dark counsel, but Kyla now blocked him out. She focused her mind on getting into the open, where even if she died one of her friends might find her and recover the aurichalcum at her breast.