by C Woodward
Before the curtain went up, we heard people chatting below us. Talestria turned and looked at me, “So, what kind of food are you in the mood for?” I took off my helmet and placed it in front of me, “I don’t know what there is here.” I actually was craving some pasta. I guess I will need to “invent” pasta before this world could produce restaurants that serve it. I pondered on the making of pasta. I think it takes flour and some eggs and rolling and other things.
My train of thought was disturbed by a strange and hateful feeling. It grew more intense and I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. “What’s wrong?” Talestria asked. I glanced around but saw no reason for my feelings. Then I turned around and saw the source.
A nearly all-black clad figure was right behind me. The figure appeared to be female. She held a scythe that had a glowing red blade. The figure didn’t hesitate a moment before taking a swing at me. I quickly rolled forward to avoid it. Talestria jumped out of her seat in surprise. I grabbed my helmet and used it to parry the next hit. The figure wore a black mask with a sinister-looking, smiling red face on it and also a black cloak. She let out a grunt and swung at me again. I thought I saw sparks flying from the impact on my helmet. I felt the rail of the balcony against my back. The drop over would be enough to do some damage. The woman was hit from the side by a burst of fire. I saw a faint glow around her. It was enough force to make her cease her furious attack. Talestria is a force to be reckoned with!
The woman in black gave a sinister laugh and jumped back towards the railing. She raised her scythe, aimed it at Talestria but was too far away to come close to reaching her. To my surprise, the blade shot out of the handle and circled toward Talestria. I tried to scramble toward Talestria but was too late. The blade violently struck and bounced off a shield that Talestria had suddenly created.
Talestria was grinning but I sensed she was ready to rain destruction down on this dangerous woman. The attacker pulled back her blade which slid back into the handle. It was then I saw a chain connected to the handle of her weapon. The woman chuckled while performing an acrobatic jump to the edge of the rail. Talestria appeared to be charging up a spell, but so was the dark woman. The masked woman did a spell I’d never seen before. She moved her weapon creating lines that actually started forming a large rune. I could feel Talestria’s surprise growing.
The masked woman was building a large, strange looking rune. Talestria eyes grew wide. The rune glowed a bright yellow, and before I could react, a yellow beam shot out, straight toward Talestria. The beam hit her shield. After a moment, the beam broke through the shield hitting Talestria in the torso. She fell to her knees. Quickly, I ran to move her out of the way. No luck. The beam had some kind of hold on her.
I was panicking and could see Talestria was in pain. I moved between my wife and the beam. As soon as I did, a warm sensation filled my torso and I saw Talestria fall to the floor behind me. I gritted my teeth and barked, “Talestria, try to move out of the way!” She didn’t reply.
Suddenly we heard people running up the stairs to the balcony. The yellow beam stopped and the masked woman turned toward the noise. Out of the crowd came several dark elf guards. They wore crimson-colored cloaks and each held a short, curved sword. The elves filled the back section of the balcony and looked around.
The masked woman gave a hearty chuckle and jumped off the balcony, grabbing onto a hanging tapestry. She started chanting loudly. A strange, yellowish flame engulfed her. Soon, her body was covered by the bright yellow glow and we were blinded. Moments later, after we regained our vision, our attacker was gone.
I turned and ran down to Talestria. She was unconscious. I pulled off my gauntlet and checked her pulse. The dark elf guards talked among themselves, still examining the scene. Two of them went downstairs to report the events. I was focused on my wife. Her pulse felt fine and her breathing seemed regular. Relief washed over me.
A man knelt near Talestria saying, “I am a healer. Let me see if she is alright.” I nodded and stood out of his way. He also checked her pulse and breathing. I was feeling very anxious and worried.
A guard got my attention by asking, “Sir, did you know that strange woman?” I shook my head. He scratched his eyebrow, “We are left to believe that woman is none other than The Blood Witch.”
I raised an eyebrow and repeated what he said, “The Blood Witch?” The guard nodded, “There is no mistaking it; the mask, her scythe, and she moved like the real thing.” He let out a big sigh and put his hand on my shoulder, “She is an assassin, and she must have been hired to kill either you or Talestria.”
A chill ran down my spine, “You mean someone might be trying to kill us?” The guard nodded his head, “We don’t know much about her except that it isn’t easy or cheap to hire The Blood Witch. It seems someone with a lot of money and power wants one of you dead.”
The healer stood up and I quickly turned my attention towards him. My heart raced with anxiety. He let out a sigh and looked at me. I could tell what he felt, which was somewhat confusing. “She will be fine but I have some dire news.” My heart stopped as I waited for what felt like forever. He looked downward, “I am not sure, but most of her magical abilities have been sealed somehow.”
I raised a brow, “What do you mean; sealed?”
He shrugged, “On her stomach, a seal was drawn but it is incomplete. I have never seen anything like it.” I knelt down by Talestria. I lifted her blouse to reveal her stomach. I saw a strange series of runes drawn in two rows but the second was only halfway finished.
I heard Talestria mutter quietly, “her spell.” I looked at her while holding her head in my hand, relieved that she was coming around. She could hardly open her eyes, “That spell, was, a forbidden, spell.”
The healer looked down at her, “Forbidden spell? What do you mean?”
Talestria looked at me, “There is no way she could have learned that spell… no way.” Talestria appeared winded but slowly gained enough strength to get up. People below, unaware of the commotion above them, were upset because the play was halted. The healer and one of the guards stayed with us until Talestria was able to stand on her own. The healer said to her with a slight smile, “You will be a bit tired for a while, and I recommend you get plenty of rest for the next few days, my lady.” He bowed and walked downstairs.
Another guard interrupted, “I don’t think it is wise to stay here any longer. It seems the Blood Witch has you targeted.” Talestria said to me and the guard, “The Blood Witch? I thought she was just an assassin.” The guard looked oddly at her. Her tone made the Blood Witch sound like some low-end criminal. Then he remembered to whom he was talking.
The guard spoke, “It is not safe for either of you. I fear even your home isn’t safe from her.”
Talestria sighed, “I think you are right. I still don’t understand how she was able to do that spell.”
“What spell, my lady?”
Talestria took a few steps back and looked down at her stomach, “It was one of the forbidden spells written in the book of Scrathelm.”
I put my arm around my wife and asked, “What is the book of Scrathelm?” The guard looked at me and spoke in a serious tone, “The book of Scrathelm was a tome that carried all the forbidden spells as well as other dangerous things.”
Talestria added, “The book was created long before the elf wars. Its origin is a mystery, but any spell etched in there is too powerful for any one person to use. Some say working its magic will drive one mad with power.”
The guard nodded, “It was once told that the book was created by an arch demon. It could tempt others with a taste of power and taint their minds and souls.”
Talestria sighed, “Blake, if you hadn’t block that spell, that woman might have sealed off all of my magic.” Talestria put her hands on my face and gave me a big kiss. I could tell the guard was a bit uncomfortable.
Talestria moved away and smiled at me, but I saw a tears in her eyes. I knew she was thankful for me but
she felt a bit worried and sad about what happened. I put my arms around her, “So what shall we do now?”
We left the theater. I helped her walk even though she insisted that she felt fine. The guards were busy calming everyone down. We found our small carriage. “What do you think we should do, Blake?” Talestria asked as I helped her into the carriage.
I hopped up beside her and said, “Well, we can’t exactly head home now.”
Talestria sighed, “True.” She was feeling upset and shaken. She also felt weak from losing most of her magic. I stared at her and felt a bit helpless myself; I couldn’t do anything for her. We couldn’t go home for fear the witch would come after us. We couldn’t stay here, because this is where she attacked us. I thought of something spur-of-the-moment and crazy enough to sound like a good idea.
I looked at Talestria with a smile, “Let’s leave this area and head up north.” She had a slightly puzzled expression on her face. I continued, “Seriously, we can’t stay here and we can’t go home. I say we go visit the dwarven lands.”
Talestria stared at me for a long while, then she smiled, “Alright! Let us go!” I smiled back at her and put on my helmet. Glancing behind us, I realized that we barely had enough room for some provisions and not much else. “We should stock up before we go,” I mentioned.
She looked at me, “Shouldn’t we head back home to pack up? I mean…” She sounded a bit nervous. I should have known that she wasn’t used to travel and had an attachment to being home.
I gently rubbed her shoulders, “It might be best if we take off as soon as we can. That witch might expect us back at the castle.” She sighed and stared at the horse. She laughed, “I am so used to being called a witch that it feels so weird hearing someone else referred to by that name.” I laughed with her. We decided to start our journey.
Since it was late in the evening, we decided to purchase locally what we could, feeling strongly it would be better to leave as soon as possible. I kept watching for anything, feeling a bit paranoid. A few guards still watched us closely. We weren’t sure if they knew about the assassination attempt or were just keeping an eye on us.
Talestria had a good deal of money with her so buying supplies wasn’t a huge challenge. We stopped in a general store and surprised the shopkeeper. He was very nervous and kept apologizing for anything he feared might upset Talestria. She just smiled politely feeling a bit like a circus freak. I felt bad for her. She never felt comfortable in the city with everyone worrying about displeasing her. She is an interesting woman. She can be confident but at the same time feel alone and insecure. She seems happiest knowing I am around.
I gave her a wave as I grabbed several heavy blankets and a backpack. The shopkeeper appeared confused at my selections. “Will that be all, sir?” I pointed at some dry goods behind the counter, “Um, I would like some dried meat and a few pounds of other dried goods.” He quickly turned around and apologized over and over as he grabbed my selections.
He gave me a big nervous smile, “Are you two planning to travel?” I chuckled but my distorted voice under the helmet made him more nervous, “Yes we are planning to visit the ruins in the east.” I realized too late that it would have been best not to let anyone know where we were going.
We filled all the empty spaces in the carriage with blankets, food, wineskins, and a few simple tools. It cost more money than I had but Talestria was able to fund it. She suggested we stop to eat before leaving. We found a soup place which made it easy to eat and go. We both had tomato soup and smoked fish. Smoked fish is a popular item here. My wife seemed to be in better spirits after her stomach was filled. We complimented the cook; he felt honored having us there.
We climbed back in the carriage and headed out of town. Talestria let out a healthy belch, “You should learn how to cook fish like that!” I laughed but didn’t say a word. After a few minutes she pointed to a large building, “Wait! Quick, let’s stop there!” I pulled up the carriage and she hopped out. “Wait right here,” she ordered and ran inside.
The building appeared to be a small school connected to a blacksmith shop. I could hear her speaking inside, “Hi! Oh don’t mind me. I will need to borrow one of these. Thank you!” and before they knew it, she ran out carrying a sword and sheath.
I stared as she hopped back in. “What was that about?” She plopped the sword on my lap and gave me a big grin, “Well, this is where they sell enchanted weapons and armor. I sometimes have some sent to the castle in exchange for food and other things as payment. I enchant them and then send them back. I thought they wouldn’t mind if I got one for your use. You might need it.”
We left the city before the sun set against the far mountains. We kept quiet while inside the city limits. Our plan was to travel northeast in order to leave the swamplands.
“Too bad we can’t just rent a room at the local inn,” Talestria sighed.
Looking at her I replied, “With some crazy assassin after us, it’s best to leave as soon as we can.”
She let out another sigh but I could tell she agreed with my logic. “I don’t think we have enough provisions to reach Golashe” Talestria murmured.
“We’ll reach Halatross first,” I answered. Talestria recalled that I am forbidden to enter all elvin lands as well as some of the big cities where elves dwell, but we would need to find enough supplies to reach the dwarven lands. She chuckled, “I doubt we will have any luck staying in Halatross long enough before we find trouble.”
I just shrugged and laughed, “We won’t know until we try.” We followed a crude road leading out of the swamplands until we were out of anyone’s eyesight. We then took the least traveled route to Halatross. Since we had a horse, we assumed the journey would be easier than my past trips in this area.
I was concerned about facing the Blood Witch again. What is she? It seemed that her furious emotions nearly drove her to insanity and gave away her position. We had a sense of danger while hoping she was far away. Could she ambush us with a shot from a crossbow or some other weapon?
I was still uncertain about the book Talestria mentioned. It can’t be good. The witch attempted to go after me first. She only took an interest in my wife after Talestria countered her. Was there really a bounty on my head? Who could benefit from my death? The elves? I didn’t know. Talestria interrupted my train of thought with a loud snore. Her head was resting in my lap. Smiling at her, I felt lucky to be with her. My hope is that we will find a way to remove the seal placed upon her.
As we rode further on, the horse began acting tired and unwilling to travel anymore. I was tired as well. The night sky was too cloudy to allow the two moons to give us a decent amount of light. Talestria woke up in a puddle of drool. She was a bit disorientated however her brain quickly caught up with her body to the land of the awake. She let out a big yawn, “Are we camping here for the night?”
I climbed off the carriage, “I am afraid so. It is too dark to see anymore and the horse seems tired.” Talestria hopped down and lifted her finger as if trying to focus. She paused a moment. Eventually a bright light began to glow above her finger. Frowning, she said, “I am never going to get used to this”.
I unhitched the horse from the carriage and tied him to a nearby tree. Looking around, Talestria seemed displeased with our camping site. She muttered under her breath and I knew she wasn’t happy to be sleeping outdoors and would much rather be in her own bed. I grabbed the blankets and wineskins and tossed the blankets to Talestria. I caught her off guard so she gave me a firm stare but was too tired to start lecturing me.
I gave the horse a hearty drink of water. When I came back, Talestria was already sitting on the blankets trying to get her shoes off. “Should we take turns keeping watch?” Talestria asked while trying to find a comfortable spot in the makeshift bed.
I looked at her and inquired, “Are you mad at me?”
Talestria looked up at me, “No, I am just upset with the whole situation.”
I took off my helme
t and kissed her, “You get some rest. I will watch.” Leaning against the carriage, I watched Talestria sleeping. The air felt cool and comforting. While attaching the sheath to my belt, I hoped that I wouldn’t need it anytime soon. I pondered the best way to reach Trawlast, the dwarven capital. I have a faint idea about how many days it will take. Hopefully we will feel more secure once we get there. Teltar told me that the dwarves would always welcome me. I truly doubt the dwarves care about the elves hatred for me. I just hope the Blood Witch would never consider looking for us there.
My eyelids were feeling heavy but I just couldn’t sleep yet. I pulled out my new sword from its sheath and examined it. It had a long blade with a hilt that seemed to be of great quality. I have the option to use it with one or both hands. There is silver trim along the hand guard with the handle having a nice weave made of leather straps. The sword had balance and was sharp enough to cleave choguls or anyone who gets in our way. Pity Talestria can’t enchant it.
She told me once about the act of enchanting objects. It’s like putting your own mojo inside an object to power it up. Some enchantments can recharge themselves over time. Poor Talestria. She must be feeling so handicapped, now that her magical powers have been greatly disabled. Hopefully, when we reach Trawlast, we can relax enough to come up with a plan to get rid of that seal. I put the sword away and let out a big yawn from under my helmet. The armor was getting really heavy.
Thankfully, nothing happened during the night. I woke myself up while leaning against a carriage wheel. My back was killing me, among other things. Talestria was still snoring away, but at least the sun was out. I took off my helmet to get a mouthful of water from a wineskin. I gargled and spit, which woke up Talestria. While half-asleep, she wiped the drool from the side of her face and looked for me. I couldn’t help but laugh at the dent in her hair and the expression on her face. She sat up and twisted her back with some popping sounds. She clumsily reached for her shoes and pulled them on.
