by S. Y. Lee
He thought about turning around and rejoining them, but it was too late. The door creaked and started to open slowly outwards in the middle. It was well-lit inside the structure, and Leo could clearly see the diminutive man who walked out. He was about four feet tall.
Chapter 57
She wasn’t sure what the units of currency were here, but the stallkeeper was more than happy to keep bringing out bowls of stew when Caitlin showed him a gold coin. Apparently, he didn’t have enough change for her, so he just kept the stew coming. She could see that business was relatively good, so if he couldn’t make change, one gold coin must be worth a lot more than she thought.
It wasn’t prudent or frugal, but she was starving and didn’t care about spending her money wisely at the moment. Two empty bowls were stacked to her side, as Caitlin drank from the third bowl in her hands. The flavor of the stew could be described as bland at best, but it was more delicious than anything she had eaten in days. She assumed the chunky bits of meat were beef, though they tasted slightly different and sweeter.
Opposite her, the tall man sat in silence, staring down at the bowl of stew before him. He was still upset at the outcome of their barter, though he was now wearing the brown pelt on his back, over his original cape. He looked sillier than when he had first appeared, if that was possible at all.
“What’s wrong? You haven’t eaten,” Caitlin observed while wiping her mouth on her sleeve. She was beginning to fill up.
“Do you know who I am?”
“No. I’m Caitlin. What’s your name?”
“Alister the Wonderful!” the man declared loudly, drawing the attention of several other patrons and passersby. It was as though he had been waiting to say it since they had first met, and Caitlin had to bite her lower lip to prevent herself from laughing at the ridiculousness of his name.
“Okay, Alister the Wonderful, why aren’t you eating?”
Alister pushed the bowl away with his long index finger. “It’s disgusting. Only poor people would find this edible.”
Caitlin raised her eyebrows in amusement. Her family wasn’t very wealthy growing up, but they were able to live comfortably and her mother provided all that Caitlin and her two sisters ever needed. She didn’t appreciate the put down by this man she had just met.
Jiggling the pouch of gold coins in her hand, she took another sip of her stew, slurping as she did. “Well, I’m not poor. And this is awesome.”
Alister crossed his arms and said nothing.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, deciding to change the topic.
“I’m looking for my daughter. She was abducted by a wizard and an elf,” Alister responded with a straight face.
Caitlin nearly choked on her stew. Coughing profusely, she set the clay bowl in her hand down as she tried to clear her windpipe. It was such an absurd statement that Alister had made, yet she felt like he meant every word. He was more than a little odd, but he didn’t strike her as crazy.
Wheezing as she composed herself, Caitlin cleared her throat one last time. “A wizard and an elf?”
“Yes. Crafty woman that wizard. They say you shouldn’t trust a wizard, but I’ve always given her the benefit of the doubt, then Sarah just runs off with her like that. And she burned a big hole in my tree!”
The more he elaborated on his grievances, the more confused Caitlin became. “So, your daughter Sarah ran off with her? Doesn’t sound like she was abducted. And I guess it’s just a tree?”
“Just a tree?!” Alister’s voice was shrill now. “That tree belonged to my father. And his father before him. And one day I was going to give it to Sarah! I’ve been grooming her ever since I found her as a little child wandering the forest alone. The wizard must have cast a bewitchment spell on her, otherwise she would never have left. She’s my precious daughter.”
Caitlin opened her mouth to ask other series of follow-up questions, but stopped herself at the last moment. She swallowed a deep breath of air and tapped her fingers on the table in rapid motion as she thought about what to say. There was no point in aggravating Alister any further, and while he appeared to live on the border of sound mind and insanity, she didn’t know anyone in this city. She was also sure that he had more money and was a man of resources, which might come in handy.
“Have you heard of a place called Sydney?” she asked.
Alister shook his head.
“Never mind about that. I’m looking for someone myself. Uh… my sister Keela and my nephew Edan. They were taken, I think, by people on horses,” Caitlin said. She still felt weird referring to Keela and Edan as family, even though they were the main reason she was currently in Thermine.
“The wizard stole two horses from me,” Alister stated. His arms were still crossed and he looked indignant.
“There was also a… I came across some cottages on the way and they were all burnt to the ground. There was at least one body in the fire,” Caitlin continued.
“The wizard loves to use fire! In all the years I’ve known her, I’ve often seen her do fire magic.” Alister was becoming more animated as he spoke, realizing that they might share a common enemy.
“But why would a wizard take my sister and nephew?”
“Wizards are always up to something, you must remember that, young woman. And it’s often no good. I overheard the wizard and her cohorts talking about Thermine and Thelmont back in my tree. I’ve been here for a day and there’s no sign of them, so I’m going to see the Lord of Thermine to alert him of the wizard, and seek his help in pursuing them. You shall come with me. It’ll make my case stronger.” Of course, Alister had little concern for Keela and Edan. All he had taken away from Caitlin’s story was that she could be of use to him.
That fact bothered Caitlin, but she was all out of options and perhaps this ‘Lord’ that Alister spoke about could help her find her lost relatives and ultimately get home.
She sighed. “Fine. Let’s go see the Lord.” She tried, unsuccessfully, not to roll her eyes.
Chapter 58
Leo sipped the piping hot tea from the tiny cup. The four of them were sitting cross-legged on the floor on either side of the interior of the stone teepee at small, individual tables. The twins sat on one side, facing Leo and Karine on the other.
When the door had opened, the small man motioned them in and an equally small woman had brought them the tea. There was a big pot brewing over a clay stove near the back of the structure, and she knelt next to it and tended to the fire.
The man hadn’t said a word. He sat at a head table and sipped the same tea as they had been served. The setting and décor resembled some eastern cultures on the world Leo and the twins had come from, probably closest to Japanese, although the diminutive man and woman were ethnically ambiguous. In fact, the man was so plain looking, it was difficult to describe him apart from being a very short man.
They all drank the tea, except for Karine, who let her cup sit untouched in front of her. She was sitting closer to the open door, constantly glancing back and forth between the man and the exit, as if she were ready to bolt at any given moment.
“What is he?” David whispered to his sister. He was horribly unsuccessful at going unheard, as everyone turned to him. The Englishman shrugged when Sarah answered with a stern look. He didn’t dare turn to the direction of the tiny man, in case he had offended him. Leo had been wondering the same thing and was secretly glad he hadn’t been the one to broach the subject.
“What do you mean?” the tiny man asked calmly. His voice was a higher pitch than most people and Leo had to cover his mouth with a hand to conceal an involuntary smile.
“Uh, well, you know, you seem…” David stuttered. He was clearly flustered and embarrassed.
“He means you seem important,” Sarah quickly interjected. Her brother was still not used to the world they were in, and she knew she had to intervene before the line of questioning got out of hand. She shot David another look, a familiar one that he was well accustomed
to, one that meant “I’ll do the talking, you idiot.” David’s face reddened, frustrated at his own faux pas and his sister’s need to cover for him.
The tiny man rubbed his chin and took another small sip of his tea, before chuckling to himself. Of course, he knew what David had meant. “Hmm… I guess I’m a small man, but that would seem to be a very rude way of putting it.”
David just stared down at the cup on the table, hoping the attention would shift away from him.
The man took another sip of his tea.
“My name is Delmar. That’s my wife, Mira,” the man pointed at the tiny woman tending to the fire. “What brings you to seek refuge on Servane?” It was an open question to all four of them.
Karine was visibly shaken at the mention of his name. “Delmar? And Mira? No, that can’t be true.”
“Ah, mistress of the forest, you’ve heard of my name?” The man seemed amused to be recognized.
“I’ve heard of a Delmar, a human who lived a long time ago. He was a legendary swordsman who was unrivaled throughout the land, but he vanished before the battle of Quilen, never to be seen again. You’re not him.”
Delmar laughed. “And why not?”
Karine was on her feet while the rest of her companions didn’t know what to do. “Because humans don’t live that long, and Delmar was a tall and imposing warrior who struck fear in the hearts of enemies who came before his presence.”
Karine’s angry words were meant to insult and hurt, but it only drew a giggle out of the man’s wife, who was now going around to top up everyone’s teacups. The kettle was nearly half her size, yet Mira carried it with ease in one hand and her upper arm was at a right angle and parallel with the ground. When she got to Karine’s table, she took the untouched cup and poured its contents out the door, before refilling it with freshly steeped tea.
“Sit down, young mistress,” she smiled kindly. “Please.”
“Karine, let’s hear what they have to say. Please, we’ve come so far. If you’re still not satisfied, we’ll be right behind you,” Sarah said. They had only just gotten there and she was curious to find out more about this sanctuary.
“Yes, Karine, please,” Leo chimed in.
The elf sighed and crossed her arms, though she remained standing.
“It’s been a long time since someone has come to Servane and heard of my name,” Delmar said. “Some of what you know about me is true, mistress, but legend is not always to be believed, especially after so many years. True, I was unmatched as a swordsman back in my day, but I was never a tall and strong warrior. People didn’t like losing to a man my size, so they made up stories about a giant imposing man who could fall a tree with one swing of his mighty sword.”
Usually when one starts to tell a story to a room, he or she tends to look around at their audience to engage them. Delmar didn’t follow that paradigm. Instead, he gazed out the door and his eyes seemed to stare miles away, into a distant memory.
“Yes. I was supposed to be at Quilen…” His tone had transitioned from pride to sadness. “However, Thurmill Furngood sent an assassin for me. I was careless and foolish, thinking that all fights would be fair and out on the battlefield. But the stain of Gormore corrupts even the best of us, I learned. My apprentice betrayed me. He had been poisoning me and sapping my strength, so gradually that I didn’t realize it at first. It was too late by the time I was aware of what was happening. The assassin came in the dark of the night. I stood no chance in my weakened state and I was severely wounded.”
Everyone had fallen silent as they listened to Delmar tell his tale. Even Karine’s expression had softened, but she was still ready to leave.
Mira had set the kettle back down on the stove and taken a seat next to her husband. Delmar took her hand into his and smiled at her. They looked like a young couple in love. “Fortunately, the assassin underestimated Mira. She managed to fend him off and we escaped. She had to carry me most of the way as we fled. We didn’t know who we could trust anymore, so we just ran. The assassin pursued us for days, until we finally came upon this mountain. We sought refuge and have stayed here since.”
“What is this place then?” Sarah asked.
“It’s a sanctuary. It has been for centuries, maybe longer, nobody really knows. Some have been here for so long, they don’t even remember what it was like before they arrived or how long they’ve been here.”
“So… this mountain grants immortality?” Leo raised his hand and asked.
Delmar paused and he seemed to be thinking about an accurate response. “In a way. People who come here, stay as they are. They don’t age or die. Eventually, some choose to leave, to revisit the lands they once abandoned or return home after their enemies are long gone.”
“So, people can leave Servane? The stories say otherwise. What happens to them?” This time it was Karine who spoke up.
“Stories aren’t always true. I don’t know what happens to those who leave. I think they go back to their lives. There’s something about this mountain that sustains life in a different way. I’m sure you’ve felt it by now, mistress. Not many elves stay long because of the disconnection with the green. The larger green.”
Delmar paused to let Karine process his words.
“Nobody can ever come to Servane twice. Some have tried. A dwarf showed up here a few years ago, running from his clan. I’m not sure what he did, but everyone is given a chance here, so he stayed. Then one day, he said he was going to go on a trip, to see if things had calmed down where he came from, then he would return. I warned him against leaving, but he insisted. He never returned. He wasn’t the first and he shalt be the last.”
“Maybe he had a change of heart once he got home. Or he was killed,” Sarah said.
“Maybe.”
“We can leave anytime we want to?” Leo asked.
“Of course.”
Chapter 59
She was well-rested. The bed in the inn had been the softest surface she had slept on for days, though it was nothing compared to her bed back home in Sydney. After eating her fill the previous night, Caitlin and Alister had gotten adjacent rooms at a shabby inn in the city. According to the skinny man, although the Lord of Thermine was available for audiences after sundown, it was much wiser to approach during the day when the Marble Keep was illuminated by natural light. While she had been eager to find her supposed sister and nephew, Caitlin didn’t object to a good night’s sleep.
Presently, the two unlikely associates were walking into the main hall of the Marble Keep. Caitlin saw why Alister didn’t want to come at night. Even with the sun shining down through the skylights, the structure was still eerie on the inside.
Ahead of them, there was a group of people who wore dark red uniforms. There was a symbol of a black flame on the back of their shirts, and they all carried swords by their sides.
“…we have not seen any sign of them,” a woman who appeared to speak for the group in red said. She was the only female and younger than some of them, in her mid- to late- thirties, but she carried herself like their leader. A small scar on her left cheek was evidence of her battle-weariness and experience. Her jet-black hair was wound tightly in a braid and tucked into the back of her uniform.
In contrast, the man she was addressing on the throne was dressed in all white. “What of the women and children you’ve captured? Have you found the ones he seeks?” he asked.
“As you requested, they’re being held in an encampment away from the city by our men. If I may speak freely, my Lord?” The woman bowed her head in deference, waiting for permission to continue.
“You may.”
“None of these children present any threat. Perhaps, he might be mistaken, or his message was muddled in the deliverance?”
The lord shook his head. “The message came straight from Gormore. “Children from another world may attempt to stop him” was what it said. But, perhaps we’ve interpreted it wrong. There are too many children and we can’t round up all of th
em. If the people of this city knew about it, there would be chaos.”
All this time, Caitlin had been standing behind the group in red, listening to the conversation play out.
“Did you kidnap a child and his mother from a fruit stand, just off a dirt road?” she suddenly asked, inserting herself into the discussion. Alister was bewildered and stepped to the side, distancing himself from the Australian.
Everyone turned their attention to Caitlin, noticing her presence for the first time. It had been strange for them to have such a conspicuous discussion out in the open, but it was likely because the lord's authority within these walls wasn't to be questioned.
“Who are you?” the leader of the red uniforms asked.
“Their names are Keela and Edan,” Caitlin said adamantly, ignoring the question. The bow in her left hand rattled softly as she trembled with fear, but this was as close as she had come to getting any answers since coming to this land. The conversation she had walked in on had been vague, but somehow, she knew that the reference to “children from another world” likely had something to do with herself. It wasn’t how she would describe herself, but it was an apt description nonetheless.
For a moment, Caitlin thought the raven-haired woman would deny abducting Keela and Edan, then they would come to an impasse. Instead, before she knew it, swords were being drawn around the room and Caitlin quickly reached for an arrow from her quiver and notched it on the bow, though she pointed it towards the ground.
“I’m not with her!” Alister exclaimed and jumped to the side, landing on a marble seat. Next to him, a dour man in a black robe sat motionless. Caitlin had been oblivious to his presence and if his eyes hadn’t moved to look at her, she might have mistaken him for a corpse.
“Alister, who is this young lady? And why are you here?” the lord asked. Evidently, they were acquainted, which Alister had neglected to inform Caitlin.
