She frowned as she got up off the floor of the great hall and went up the stairs. The great hall consisted of a great room with a balcony that overlooked bankers and merchants as well as a space for gathering or sparring. She found Ailreden was sitting behind his desk under the giant stained glass window in the center of the balcony, and he did not look happy.
“Yes, sir?” she said, trying her best to seem upbeat and unaware that anything was wrong. “How may I serve?” The customary response to one’s guild master seemed hollow today.
“I have concerns, my dear,” he said, steepling his fingers and leaning on them with his chin. Ailreden’s eyes were narrowed, although more likely in fatherly concern rather than anger. “I had expected so much more of you, knowing who your parents were.” Gin hung her head as angry tears stung the back of her eyes. “Now, now,” Ailreden said, rising from his desk and coming over to rest a hand on her shoulder. “I think that training you as a solitary druid is not the way for you. I do not think that you are meant to hunt on your own.”
“I know, sir,” she said, her voice soft. “I know that all I am fit for is healing those in my group when there is no one trained in the cleric way to be had.”
Ailreden put his finger under her chin and raised it until her eyes met his. “Not at all, child,” he said softly. “You are progressing quite well in the other magical talents afforded to druids, and I think that your skills will best serve a group of adventurers.”
His hand left her chin and caressed the back of her hair, as a parent would. “I fear for your safety alone, child, not because you lack in skill, but because you have too much heart. Killing is not in your nature, and I fear that if you are on your own it will be you that will meet death and not your enemy.”
“Am I being dismissed from the guild?” she asked slowly, her eyes wide with fear as she met his gaze.
“Oh, no child, not that. Never that.” Ailreden returned to his desk and gestured toward a cushion on the floor nearby. She obeyed, sitting down on the cushion with her legs crossed under her. “In fact, because of your good heart and your need for justice in all things, I would that you succeed me in guild leadership if anything should happen to me,” he said quietly.
Gin’s eyes flew to his. “Sir?”
“Not now, Gin. Nevertheless, I will be honest with you; I am drawn to other shores and other adventures. I have been a guild leader for a long time, and I would like to escape it for some rest.” The horrified look on Gin’s face left him silent a moment. “That time is not now,” he said solemnly, “and we shall not speak of it again until it is the right time, agreed?” She nodded, though her eyes were still wide. “For now, there is someone I want you to meet,” he said, snapping his fingers and then making a beckoning gesture.
A tall male Qatu seemed to appear out of nowhere and cross the balcony from the corner, stopping at the guild leader’s side. He sniffed the air, and then smiled down at Gin. It was the Bane of the Forest, who had stolen Gin’s backpack and food. “Sathlir Clawsharp, at your service darlin’,” he said, purring. His teal eyes seemed to twinkle with inner light as he bowed his head toward her. “You can call me Sath, if you like.”
“What is HE doing here?” Gin scrambled to her feet, drawing her scimitar and holding it at the level of her eyes as she backed away from him, almost tumbling over the edge to the main floor below. Her hand involuntarily flew to the scar on the side of her face, and Sath sucked in a loud breath as he noticed it.
“Ah, you two have met, have you?” Ailreden said, chuckling. It was quite clear by the elder elf’s demeanor that he already knew they had. “Gin, I want you to travel with Sathlir. I think that he can help you progress while giving you the protection and group hunting practice you need.” Gin stared at Ailreden as though he had just told her to jump off the roof. “But of course, you’re right; two does not make a group. I am also sending two of our guild’s finest warriors, Hackort and Teeand, and to help you continue your studies, one of our most talented druids, Elysiam.”
Gin’s heart leaped at Elysiam’s name. The two had grown up together and had been friends until Elysiam was banished from Aynamaede for training with Nelenie without permission. Gin had found the Fabled Ones through Elysiam, and it had been like finding a long lost family.
“He is…but sir, he…You are…” she stammered, staring at Sath.
“Does she always stutter like that?” Sath asked Ailreden, chuckling. “Ah well, I like a quiet group, and Elys already talks enough for two wood elves.”
“I HEARD THAT!” rang out a female voice from downstairs.
“You…you kill druids,” Gin said, her face pale and her scimitar still raised and her posture still stiff. “Sir, you cannot trust this…this…BEAST,” she said.
Ailreden looked sadly at Gin. “He has come to us wanting to make amends for those early deeds, Gin,” he said, placing a hand on Sath’s forearm affectionately. “Believe me; Elysiam has already helped him atone for many of those sins.” A malicious female laugh from downstairs caused a grin to spread across the guild leader’s face. “It is your task as well, my girl, with your pure heart, to forgive Sathlir. Can you do that for me and for the guild?”
Remembering her oath to the All Mother years before, Gin nodded hesitantly. “For you, sir. But I will be watching you, Cat,” she said, pointing one of her tiny fingers at the massive Qatu, hoping that he wouldn’t see how much it trembled. “I may forgive but I can never forget.”
“I hope so,” he said quietly, beaming a smile at her and trying his best to hide his deadly teeth. “I do hope so.” Gin winced and stuck her hands in the pockets of her tunic, scampering away and down the stairs. Sath smiled sadly. “I will take care of her, Sir,” he said to Ailreden, bowing his head reverently before his guild master. I will let no harm come to her, I swear it.”
Seventeen
After many uncomfortable months of traveling alongside Sath and the other Fabled Ones, Gin found herself one evening sitting on the marble floor of the grand hall, packing her things for a long mission. Ailreden had asked them come to the aid of a magician that had been a longtime friend of his. The magician, called Gaelin, was an elf from Alynatalos, so Gin was hoping that he might have some news of her friends from her childhood. It had been many months since any of the Fabled Ones had heard from the elderly mage, and Ailreden feared that Gaelin was held prisoner, so their job was to find and bring him home.
She studied the other members of her team warily. Ailreden had called them all together the night before in order to brief them on the mission, and she was still not sure she would remember their names. Well, save two…Gin was sure that she would never forget Sathlir Clawsharp’s name. He had been her constant shadow since being “assigned” to help her by their leader. Elysiam was also familiar from back home in Aynamaede, but Gin had not seen her much after her banishment. She was not sure how Elysiam could stand to be in the same room with Sathlir, but there she was! How her old friend could have invited her to the guild without telling her that Sathlir was a part of it... Perhaps she bought into his story of seeking atonement, but Gin was not so convinced just yet.
Gin was glad to be hunting with Elysiam all the same. After the unpleasantness surrounding Nelenie and Elysiam’s banishments, Gin had feared for her sister-druid. She was still young but she seemed to have landed on her feet. Elysiam now had a companion who had devoted his sword to protecting her: a gnome called Hackort.
Gin smiled as she looked at Hackort now, as he watched Elysiam’s every move and made sure that all of her weapons were sharpened and ready for battle if needed. He clearly cared deeply for her, and Gin found herself a bit jealous. She giggled as Elysiam swatted at the gnome’s hands when he got too close to her rations. “We are not taking ale,” she snarled. “You can talk to the dwarf if you want some of his but I am not packing any, Hack,” Elysiam hauled him out of her bag by his collar. “Don’t you have someone else to annoy?”
“No one as fun as you,” th
e gnome replied, beaming a grin at Elysiam, who scowled back at him. “Although Gin…Ginol…I’m sorry, what was your name again?” he asked Gin as he squinted up at her.
“Ginolwenye,” she replied with a smile. He frowned.
“Nope, can’t say that one. I’ll call you Ginny,” he said. Gin rolled her eyes.
“That’s what we used to call her back home,” Elysiam said softly. Gin stared at her sister-druid. Elysiam never let her guard down and was usually hard as stone. Hearing the longing for their home in her voice was surprising to say the least, especially after how the elders had thrown her out like so much rubbish.
Gin reached over and squeezed Hackort’s tiny hand. “That’s fine, Hackort.”
“You can call me Hack,” he said, grinning. “Just don’t call me Teeny, that’s Elys’s pet name for me when we’re alone, isn’t it?” He fluttered his tiny eyelashes up at Elysiam who groaned loudly. “She doesn’t like it when I announce it in public, though.” Gin giggled as she looked around the room.
The only one that did not seem too interested in getting to know everyone was the dwarf warrior, Teeand, but he was apparently good friends with Sath already so Gin was not sure she wanted to know him. Rumors flew about the relationships of the races that made Orana their home, and often the dwarves were said to be even worse than the dark elves who still skulked about in the darker parts of the forest when they were not underground.
Gin had met Teeand before, once long ago when she had only just come to the grand hall of the Fabled Ones and she remembered how kind he had seemed in that brief encounter. Now he was cold and quiet, and he drank a lot of ale. Must be the association with that Qatu, she thought. That would drive anyone sane to drink.
“So we know our route and we’ll be ready to head out at first light?” Teeand barked, rousing Gin from her memories with a start. “Steady there, druid, I didn’t mean to scare ya,” he said as he and Sath shared a grin. “I’m just asking because I’d like to have a bit of time to relax before we’re off in t’morning, so are we good to go or…?”
“As long as you bring back a bit of the ale from the tavern to take with us?” Hackort said with a wicked grin. “That trail will be long and I feel like we might need it…”
“Of course I will, wee man, of course, that is if your lady friend there doesn’t mind?” Elysiam answered Teeand by throwing a shoe at him and barely missing his head. “Ah, this will be fun, eh Qatu?”
The dwarf clapped Sath on the shoulder but the Qatu ignored him. He had been staring at Gin, still unable to believe that the one who wrote the words that had so inspired him was right there in front of him. He had not forgotten his promise to Raedea, but similarly he had not quite been able to give up the journal. “Hello? Sath? Stop checking out our new druid or I’ll teach her to speak Qatunari.” Sath started at the sound of his native language and then chuckled along with Teeand.
“HEY no fair talking in the growly grumblies!” Hackort shouted, and they all burst into laughter. Gin looked from face to face, finally locking eyes with Sath and quickly looking away. He took a deep breath and frowned at the fear he could smell from her. Hack looked back and forth between them, and then scooted over close to Gin. “Don’t worry about the Qatu, Ginny,” he said in an exaggerated whisper. “If he was still eating druids for lunch our Elys would have been an entrée ages ago.” She grinned at Hackort with gratitude and then stood, pulling her pack onto her back.
“Right then! To the tavern?” Tee said, finally smiling. Gin shook her head.
“I’ll just be off to say goodbye to my sister,” she said. “I’ll meet you all here in the morning to leave, if that’s all right?”
“Don’t blame you,” Elys said, grinning at her. “You’ll have enough time to spend up close and personal with this lot. Go get a good night’s sleep in a bed. We will see you in the morning. First light”
“Yeah, let Elys have one more night with us all to herself,” Hack said. He let out a loud OOF as she planted one of her boots in the middle of his back. “She doesn’t like me telling THAT in public either.” Gin was laughing as she opened the great hall door and headed for the tiny room at a local inn that she was currently sharing with her sister, Lairceach.
The Fabled Ones had set up in an old cathedral in the outpost near the edge of the Forbidden Sea. This body of water had become so acidic by the outpouring of magic that created the dragons that to put a toe in the water for most of the races of Orana would cause the skin to burn. The outpost here was different than most in that it existed due to a partnership among most of the races of Orana. There were representatives of the humans, dwarves, elves, and gnomes there who had formed embassies so that they could mediate issues that arose amongst their people. Notably missing were the Qatu and the Dragonkind, neither of which felt that they needed to mix with the others, and the dark elves who did not trust anyone but their own kind. Gin had sent word for her sister to join her there when she became part of the Fabled Ones, but since Lairceach was not yet ready to join a guild and she was still pursuing her training they lived in a room in a nearby inn.
After much laughter, storytelling, and a restless night, Gin found herself up well before dawn and headed back to the grand hall. She was surprisingly excited to be going on the mission, considering the variety of her traveling companions. Her sister had been shocked to learn that Gin was traveling with the Bane of the Forest, but after much discussion and assurances, she had accepted it and sworn on the memory of their parents that she would not try to follow Gin.
“You have many seasons of training ahead of you, Lairky,” Gin had chided her. “Just think, you’re so far ahead now, but how much better can you be with more training? You’ll know more than your guild masters!” As she walked along the cobblestone path leading to the hall, she thought about the smile that had split her sister’s face and grinned. Lairceach was going to be all right, and Cursik was there if she was not. Her family was safe.
Gin almost skipped up the ramp leading to the door of the massive great hall. She did not notice the cloaked figure behind one of the massive columns that followed her inside the lobby. The figure stayed with her until she got to the great hall door, but was not close enough to see the intricate pattern of shapes on the door that Gin touched in sequence. The spots in the door served as a password of sorts that allowed only members through the giant door, and without the correct order, the figure remained, swearing softly, in the lobby.
Her compatriots were still asleep, as she had thought they would be, and she was careful to step over them as she made her way to the pool of magical water that would rejuvenate her before the long trip. She stripped down to her tunic and trousers and slid into the cool water, saying a silent word of thanks to the All-Mother and marveling at how instantaneous the restorative effect was. Within moments, she was nearly asleep.
“You’re up early,” said a grumbly voice from the shadowed corner of the room that held the pool. Gin jumped to her feet and scrambled for her armor. “I’m sorry, wait, wait…” said the voice. Wide-eyed, Gin stared as Sath emerged from the corner. “Me, I can’t stand that stuff. My race doesn’t…care for water.” He chuckled but then stopped when he caught the scent of her fear. “I’m sorry, I’ll go.”
“No, I lingered longer than my fair share in the water,” Gin said as she backed out of the room, holding her armor up in front of her as a shield. “I understand that you may feel the healing benefits if you merely sit next to the pool, so if you…” Sath moved faster than Gin could turn and run, and was soon between her and the door to the main room of the grand hall.
“Wait. Please.” He knelt slowly, his arms outstretched to show that he was unarmed, and looked her in the eye. “You have every right to be wary of me, Ginol…Gin,” he began, his teal eyes pleading with her to listen. “In fact, I deserve every bit of anger you have toward me. I can only hope that you will come to know me as I am now, and not as the monster I was when we first met. I have so much to teach yo
u, if you will trust me.”
“You stole my things, injured me, and sent your terrible pet after me,” Gin said, her tone accusatory and angry. “Granted, you did return most of my things, but still… Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.” Sath stood back up and sighed loudly as she dashed past him and into the main room. Gin strapped on her armor as fast as she could, and in the process got her hair tangled. It was light chain mail, and the tiny loops held her hair fast. She cried out in frustration before she could stop herself, and Sath was at her side in the blink of an eye. “Can I help?” he asked as he studied the mail tunic that she held aloft to keep the weight from pulling her hair from her head.
“No, I’m fine,” she said, struggling to release her hair while not dropping the tunic.
“Let me help, I’m taller than you are and can use my claws,” Sath said, not thinking about how that sentence would sound to her. Gin stilled, frozen in place, tears welling up in her eyes as Sath carefully picked the tangled strands of hair out of the neck of the tunic. “There. All fixed,” he said before backing away from her, hands raised.
“Thank you,” Gin mumbled as she pulled the tunic over her head. She released her hair from the ponytail and pulled it back up, causing a shower of what seemed to be sunflowers to assault Sath’s nose. Did she always smell like that? He backed away another step to clear his head, and put his foot right on top of Hack’s leg. The gnome screeched and scrambled to his feet, his giant axe already in his tiny hand. Elysiam was at his side immediately, her weapon drawn as well.
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