by Travis Kerr
“Good,” she replied, though whether or not she was really convinced, or if she was just going along with it for now, he didn’t know. She was usually fairly predictable, but he had also seen her mood change at a moments notice at times. “I don’t like jealous men. If it turned out that you were that way, I might have had to reconsider our arrangement.”
He didn’t bother to mention that he didn’t have the slightest idea what their arrangement actually was. He had gone out of his way to avoid that question, not certain if he really wanted to hear the answer. His feelings for the feral woman had grown deeply over the past few weeks, and he didn’t want to do anything that could ruin that.
“I was thinking more about what he might say about it in general,” he said after a moment, choosing his wording carefully. “He seems to have rather specific ideas about how things should happen, and I don’t think that this was a part of his plan, whatever that might be.”
“Why? Would that really make a difference? I’m enjoying myself, and there hasn’t been too many moments in my life where I can say that. What he thinks doesn’t make a bit of difference to me. It shouldn’t make any difference to you either.”
“It doesn’t,” he replied quickly. This was turning out worse than he thought it would. His questions were meant innocently enough, but somehow everything had been turned around. He should have gone with his original thought and kept his mouth shut. “I was just wondering is all. Never mind, it’s not really important, like you said.”
“You two act too awkward,” a voice observed from the back of the room. It was not a voice either of them recognized. They both turned toward the sound quickly, searching for the mysterious source of the unexpected statement. After several seconds they spotted it. A small human-looking creature, less than a foot tall, sitting on top of one of the cupboards, barely visible in the shadows.
The figure appeared to be, apart from its extremely small size, a normal human man in all other regards. If he had been of average size, Drom would have believed him to be a young man of perhaps sixteen. He had long, black hair, tied tightly behind him in a tail that reached halfway down his back. He wore a dark grey tunic, with breeches of the same color, and tiny black boots that appeared to be made of leather.
Raine reacted first. She grabbed the knife she had used to cut the vegetables off of the counter and sent it hurtling at the creature. The knife flew straight and true, to strike....nothing at all! The figure that had stood there had disappeared completely!
Had it really been there at all? Drom began to wonder.
Surely he should have seen it move if it had dodged the knife, but he hadn't seen it move at all. It was as if one moment it was there, and in the next it was gone.
“It's not very nice to throw knives,” the same voice observed again, this time from the doorway behind them. “Bree doesn't think you should do that any more.”
Raine grabbed a second knife and threw this one as well, directly at the small figure that now stood in the doorway, leaning against the inside of the frame. Once again, the figure winked out of existence. This time Drom had been staring right at it. It had been directly in the light of the room, so there wasn't any question that it had been there, and he hadn't seen it so much as twitch a muscle before the knife reached it. It just ceased to exist; there in one moment, gone in the next.
“Bree can do this all day, but would rather not. It gets annoying trying to dodge knives all day long. Bree hopes you stop throwing knives at him now.” This time the diminutive man spoke from the kitchen windowsill, where it sat in a relaxed manner, swinging its legs back and forth over the edge.
It’s like a playful child, Drom thought.
“Hold on a second, Raine,” Drom asked before she could find another knife or some other object to throw. There were plenty of things within her reach. It was already obvious to him that they weren't going to get anywhere this way.
It was probably best just to find out who this man, who called himself Bree apparently, wanted of them. Raine dropped her arm and let the heavy skillet she had already picked up drop from her fingers. It hit the floor with a loud bang and bounced across the floor.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Drom asked.
“I am Bree, and Bree is me,” the tiny man replied. “Right now Bree is sitting on a window and talking.”
Bree is horribly confusing, Drom thought irritably.
The small man's answer was certainly true, he was sitting on a window and talking, but it didn't really tell them anything.
“No, I mean why are you here?”
“Bree is here to talk, of course,” Bree replied casually. “Bree wants to meet you too, so Bree sent Bree here to talk with you and see if you will meet with him.”
Now Drom was completely confused.
What is this little man talking about?
Bree, it seemed, tended to refer to himself in the third person, which was strange and confusing enough. Now, however, he seemed to be saying that he sent himself to talk to Drom and see if he would meet with him. The whole thing made no sense whatsoever.
“OK, Bree. I’m here now. I wasn’t exactly planning on meeting with anyone at the moment, but since we’re both here, I see no reason not to meet with you. As long as you agree not to bother us again, at least not without announcing yourself first anyway.”
“It’s not Bree that wants to meet with you, though it is a great honor to meet the battle mage in person. It’s Bree that wants to meet with you. If you agree to meet with Bree, Bree will go back and tell Bree, and then Bree can come here and meet you.”
More confusion it seems, Drom thought sourly.
He had been looking forward to another quiet night with Raine, but it seemed that he wasn’t going to get his wish. A sudden realization came to him, so obvious that it surprised him that he hadn’t noticed it right away.
Did I just hear that diminutive man refer to me as the battle mage? How could he possibly know that?
Raine must have heard the same thing, because as soon as the man had referred to him as the battle mage, she had started closing the distance between herself and the tiny person. Moving ever so slowly, she stalked him as if she were a house cat with a mouse in its sights. As soon as she was within a few feet, she leaped toward the small man at full speed. Drom had seen Raine move before, and knew that at that distance the little man wouldn’t be able to move an inch before she would be on him.
“Gotcha!” She cried, her arm nothing more than a tan and black blur as she struck. Once again, however, the tiny human-looking creature disappeared without so much as a twitch. Raine stared unbelieving at her empty hands. It shouldn’t have had a chance at getting away, she knew.
“You should really stop doing that,” Bree said seriously. “You’re going to hurt them if you keep attacking Bree that way. You need to be more careful to keep them safe. You should sit down on that chair over there, instead of attacking Bree.”
Now what was this little man talking about, Drom wondered?
Whatever it was it seemed to stop Raine in her tracks. She immediately did what she was told, sitting down on the hard wooden kitchen chair. Drom didn’t know what to think. He had never seen Raine stop herself in such a way, and had certainly never seen her take orders from a complete stranger.
She wouldn’t even take commands from me like that!
“Much better,” Bree commented. “Now, when would be a good time for you to meet with Bree? Bree will be waiting to hear from Bree by now.”
“OK, so let me get this straight,” Drom began, trying to sort through the confusion of this little man’s speech. “Your name is Bree, right? And you were sent by someone else, who is also named Bree. Have I got any of this right so far?”
“Yes, isn’t that what Bree has been saying?” Bree asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I wonder if he knows just how hard it is to understand him, Drom wondered? Could it be that he really doesn’t know?
>
“Well, what time would be good then for Bree to meet with me?” he asked.
It’s not as if I have much else to do, Drom thought.
Whoever this other Bree was, he might have other places to be or things to do, especially if he sent this Bree to come talk to him first. Perhaps this other Bree was the king of this strange race. If so, he would surely have a fairly busy schedule.
“Bree can meet with you whenever you wish,” Bree assured him. “Meeting with the battle mage is the most important thing for Bree to do.”
There it was again. For the second time, Bree referred to him as the battle mage, and this time there was no way for him to possibly mistake it. Somehow, this little man knew more about him than he should be able to. The only people who should know who and what he was were Raiste and Raine.
Could this little creature have spoken to Raiste?
Drom didn’t think it likely. Raiste was normally tight lipped, even when speaking to his friends. It was very unlikely that the assassin would tell anything to this little man.
“I can meet with Bree whenever it is convenient for him,” Drom answered finally.
Bree had never mentioned Raiste, and with the mages hunting for his friend, he didn’t want to say anything that would give away the fact that this was the place that the assassin called home. He would have to be equally careful not to give away anything to whoever this other Bree was, he felt certain.
“Bree can go find out when Bree wants to meet you,” the small man replied with a merry grin. “Bree will be right back.” Before Drom had a chance to figure out what the little man had in mind, he disappeared once again, winking out like snuffed candle.
“So what do you think that was all about?” he asked Raine once he had determined for certain that the little man was truly gone this time.
“Who knows,” she answered distantly.
Something was bothering her. Now that he wasn’t distracted by their unexpected visitor, he was certain of it. It had been something that the little man had said. Perhaps it had been when Bree referred to him as the battle mage. It was bothering him as well.
“He seemed to know things about us that I wouldn’t have expected anyone else to know. I wonder how he knew about that?”
“He probably didn’t really know anything,” she retorted hotly, her temper flaring into life in an instant. “How would he know anything about us?”
“Is everything alright with you?” Drom asked, in as sweet a tone as he could manage. “Even if he somehow knows that I’m a battle mage, there’s no reason to get angry. We’ll figure out how to deal with it. It’s a little bit unnerving for me too, but honestly, he didn’t seem dangerous. Perhaps he might even turn out to be an ally, or rather this other Bree that wants to meet with us.”
“I’m fine,” she snapped, then stopped herself abruptly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be harsh with you. I just don’t like vermin sneaking into my house uninvited. I could have sworn I had him for a second, but somehow he managed to slip away. I’m not sure how he did it. It bothers me is all.”
“Hardly vermin, young lady, but I can understand your feelings,” a voice said from the corner of the door frame. “I apologize for my messenger's abrupt manner. I apologize if he startled you when he arrived to speak with you as well. My bree do not generally show themselves to those that they visit. I’m afraid that manners are not a normal concern for them. I do believe that I was invited, however, unless I have misunderstood my messenger.”
“Bree told Bree that you would meet with him!” The small man from before exclaimed happily. “Bree has come to meet with you.”
“I take it you must be Bree, again,” Drom stated flatly, staring at the newcomer. Unlike the messenger who stood next to him, this man was not at all young. Deep, thick age lines wizened his ancient face. Unlike his messenger’s simple clothing, this man’s garment was a deep, rich blue, with shining, gold embroidery.
Thick gold necklaces adorned his neck, and gold rings dominated his fingers. He wore a long cloak that covered his shoulders and back, also the same deep blue, but trimmed in white fur around the collar. All of these things were tiny to Drom, but on this small man they appeared huge, and must have been quite heavy for him. The small, aged man appeared every bit the scale model of a king.
“Our race is the bree,” the aged man explained. “Unlike you giants, we do not have names to explain who we are talking about. We can see into each others minds, and as so such distinctions are not normally necessary. I am, however, the leader of our race. You may call me Bree if you like, or you may call me whatever you wish.”
“You don’t seem to talk about yourself in the third person like your messenger did,” Drom observed. “I would assume that you must have practice speaking to people from other races. I’m afraid I must apologize, but I’ve never heard of your race before.”
Drom considered the strangeness of that even as he said it. He had thought he had learned about all of the other races from his mother’s teachings in his childhood; teachings that had been confirmed since then by the books he had read from Raiste's library. In all that time though, he had never heard of a race of miniature beings known as the bree. He was certain he would have remembered it if he had.
“You would assume wrong,” the elderly man returned. “I’ve never spoken to anyone, other than my bree. Our race has stayed hidden since we were created. No one knows about us, and if you don’t mind, I would like to keep it that way for now. You are, I believe, people who are used to keeping secrets.”
“We can keep secrets if we want,” Raine growled. “I still haven’t seen any reason why we should keep yours. What is it you want with us?”
“You have quite a temper on you young lady,” the old man replied. “I believe you are calling yourself Raine at the moment. I will do so as well then. You’re every bit your father’s daughter. A good thing, I’m sure, considering what is coming. You will need every ounce of that strength, much sooner than you think.”
“What do you know of my father!?” Raine shouted. “No more riddles, old man. Explain yourself!”
Drom put a comforting hand on her shoulder, afraid that she would suddenly fly across the room at the miniscule king. He could feel her shaking underneath his fingers, and added a small amount of pressure in hopes of calming her.
It certainly wouldn’t do to have her chasing him around the kitchen like she had his messenger. They wouldn’t learn anything that way.
“I know of your father the same way I know about most things. My bree are everywhere. We hide in the shadows, and listen. The mages don’t even know we exist, and we have listened in on their meetings for thousands of years. They don’t know about you yet Raine, nor have they realized yet that Drom is the battle mage. They think that Raiste is the new battle mage actually. I don’t believe it will take them long to figure out that it wasn’t Raiste that carried that huge blade of yours though. Too many of his guards were allowed to escape.”
“Do you know what happened to Raiste?” Drom asked before the man could say anything more. He had planned on avoiding any discussion about the assassin, but it seemed that this small king already knew all about him; about them all it seemed. The king had already claimed to have listened in on the mages council meetings, which was incredible. If there was any truth to that, the bree could prove to be a valuable ally. Drom sincerely believed that the king wished to become his ally.
Why else would he have shown himself to me? he reasoned.
“He is alive and well at the moment, though not out of danger,” the aged man replied. “The mages still hunt him, and they are relentless in their pursuits. Raiste is currently disguised as an aged old man. I believe you are familiar with that disguise already. So far they have not discovered him, but that may not be the case soon. They have brought a dragon into the hunt, and that dragon may be able to see through his disguise.”
“How do you know about that?” Raine asked.
“Because we watch
, and we listen,” the king repeated calmly. “Admittedly we can’t be everywhere at once, however we can instantly travel from one place to another at will. You have already witnessed this ability, I believe. We did not know anything about Raiste until after Port Tam. We had seen him, and knew him by several of his aliases, but he had never spoken to anyone about his true identity. We had no way of knowing about it before then. We wouldn’t have paid him a moments notice, if it wasn’t for Drom using his magic. That caught our attention, as I’m sure you understand. I’ve had my bree watching over him, and all of you, ever since then.”
“Why?” Drom asked. “You’ve said that your people have been able to stay hidden for all this time, for thousands of years. Why would you come out of hiding now, just to pay attention to us? I understand that there hasn’t been a battle mage in a long time, but I’m hardly the first. From what you’re saying, you never talked to any of them before.”
“There’s a reason for that. Those battle mages that came before you, even the best of them, were still a part of the system that the mages have created. Not all of them were bad men, but none of them could see, as you have, the inherent dangers in the ruling class of mages. Raiste is right when he said that the ruling class has to destroyed.
“The three of you are special. All three of you. Raine, when you saw the problems in your society, you knew that they couldn’t continue as they had been. Raiste has seen similar corruption in this society. Few people in the world have seen this as vividly as the two of you. Drom, more than anyone else in the world, you are in a position to finally, after thousands of years, put and end to the corrupt world we now live in. The three of you have started something that may, should you survive long enough, change everything. No one before you has ever had such a chance.
“I would like to help you if I can. My bree can go to places that few others can follow. We can pass information on to you that otherwise you might never learn. The only thing I ask in return is that you keep our existence a secret. If the mages learn that we exist, we would no longer be of any use to you, so I’m sure you realize that keeping our secret is in your best interest as well.”
