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I wake up to the sound of galloping horses. I notice that Jana has taken her horse with her, probably to cover for the hoof prints and where she was. She shows up later, in her human form, with a pot full of water and some fish over her shoulder, her horse following close behind.
“Where did you get all that? Is there a stream nearby?”
“Not near for you. It feels so good to have been in my true form again. I got a nice long time too, I woke early and waited until Ethan was asleep before I changed.”
“It’s a good thing you changed before you got back. The others might have been awake as well, though I’m not sure about that considering this is their first time outside the haven and having to wake so early in the morning.”
I help Jana prepare breakfast, then wake the others as the light starts to touch the forest floor. Seth and Ethan probably expected something a little bigger than what was provided, but they didn’t complain so they must realize the importance of saving food while traveling long distances.
We set out soon after breakfast, but the going is a little slower than yesterday as we come to a field of grass in the afternoon. We start heading towards the other side, assuming they went straight through as they had been doing, according to the trail, for the last few miles.
We reach the end of the field after an hour or so of slow riding with no sign of a trail anywhere. “Hold on, I’m going to see if I can find a trace of the wolves over there.” I wander into the bushes to our left, but instead of looking for a trail I call a sparrow to me. “Have you seen any lupine werewolves run by here in the last week?” I ask her in the elvish language.
“Yes, they were making an awful lot of noise running around here. They headed to the cliff falls to the south. If you’re going after them, don’t. At the top of the falls are the wastelands, the vampire lord Vladimir lives in a great castle there with his brides, and his son Authion. It makes my feathers stand on end just thinking about it!” I could see talking about it made her uncomfortable, so I let her fly back to her nest. I climb out of the bushes and tell the others what I ‘found’ and we turn to our left and head south. It will take more than a few vampires to scare me away.
I’ve heard of Vladimir before in one of my history books. He’s a loyal follower of Durion and a deadly foe. I know that he’s a type A vampire, but there are rumours that he and his son might be A positive. The wolves were probably heading to their vampire masters, although they will be much less organized without an alpha to guide them.
It’s not long before we come out of the trees and can see the cliff falls, they say they are the tallest in the entire realm. They are the border between the land of sun and the land of darkness that is the wastes. The water falling from the top is dark and filthy, but is purified as it falls to the bottomless lake at the end. In the dwindling light I can just see the small village that lies to the East of the falls, the town of Yeste.
“Are you sure the wolves went up those cliffs?” asks Seth, “They look too steep for them to climb.”
“I’m positive. Don’t doubt what a wolf can do, there must be a safe passage they could manage easily. Why don’t we stop at that town first? Perhaps they can tell us something.” I’m not sure how we will be received, but we must find a safe way up the cliffs. One thing’s for sure, it will be well guarded, being on the border to the Wastelands and all.
As we approach the small town, I hear a horn call. Clearly they are taking no chances with strangers.
A rider approaches us before we reach the first gate. “Who goes there? Friend or foe?” He has a rather gruff voice and a strange accent I cannot place.
Seth answers the rider with as much authority as he can muster. “We are protectors. My name is Seth, and this is Melody, Jana, Ethan, and Sapphire.”
The rider regards us with a look of amusement, he’s probably wondering how such a young group can be protectors, but he lets us pass. We approach an inn close to the gate as darkness falls and tie up our horses. As we enter the inn I feel the spine shivering that can only accompany the suspicion that someone’s watching us. We walk straight to the inn; if anyone knows anything here, it’ll be the innkeeper.
“We’re looking for information on a pack of large wolves. We think they might have passed this way about a week ago.” Everyone in the room turns to look at Seth as if he had sprouted fangs and announced that he was going to eat them all. Although Seth is a good leader, subtlety is definitely not his strong point.
The innkeeper looked down at us, an easy feat for him as he was at least 7 feet tall and well muscled, and growled quietly, “It's best not to talk of such things in the open just before sundown. Come see me in the morning after all the customers are out.” He then straightened up and looked at us with a less hostile demeanour. “Now, is there anything I can do for you young'uns? Would you like a few rooms perhaps?”
I stopped Seth before he could say anything else on the wolf matter and stated, “Yes, some rooms would be very nice. It's quite wonderful to come to a friendly place with a roof over it after travelling so long in the open. We would like two rooms please, one for three and one for two, if that's not too much trouble. And a hot meal would be quite nice if you're still serving supper.” I'm so glad for the etiquette lessons we elves receive while still young, it comes in handy at times.
“Of course. I'll have my servant girl prepare your rooms immediately. Now please, sit and I will bring you all some stew.” At that, the large man hurried off, bellowing for a girl named Emilia.
“Why'd you do that?” Seth doesn't look too happy with my taking charge of the situation. His face is red as a tomato. “We need to find out about those wolves. They could be part of some evil plot to have us killed or something like that. And why didn't you tell him who we are?”
“Manners. If I walked right up to him and just said we are the protectors, not only would he think we're cocky but he wouldn't believe us. And I know you would have taken a minor setback and turned it into a catastrophe. It's much better if we stay the night anyway, he'll be more open to us in the morning. The people here are very fearful and superstitious, they won't talk of evil things in the open or at night.”
Seth, seeming temporarily satisfied with my answer, went and found a table for the five of us to sit at. His mood is rather sour, but I'm sure he just needs a good night's rest in a proper bed.
Just before I fall asleep, I think on the events leading to today as I stare at the wooden ceiling. Mella rolls over to look at me and asks, “What are you doing?”
“I'm just thinking about the past. I've found it rather soothing after lots of change in my life.”
 Girl of the Dragons · Mon Aug 23, 2010 @ 02:16am · 0 Comments |
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