Standing in the glade, the reality of what had happened slowly settled into his disordered mind. Everything was still, the moment of his failure frozen in time, as if to imprint itself irrevocably on his psyche- the colors vibrant, even the faint brown splashes on the tree trunk screaming out to him in a violent red. He walked to the tree, plucking the arrow free to take and read the note, absently walking in the direction the departing tracks led. The paper the note was written on seemed familiar, and a glance at the back revealed the reason- it was his note to her, announcing the reason for his absence from her side. His own scrawled words now leapt out at him, the folly of his departure burning in his mind as he turned to the reverse side of the parchment, reading the words left by the unknown assailant- the one who very likely had the life of his soulmate in his hands. The Elvish script was clear, retaining the flowing beauty characteristic of the written language of his people, the color making it clear what was used to scribe the message- the lifeblood of his love, used as if to mock him in his failure to uphold his promise to protect. Forcing the rising rage from his mind, he carefully scanned the note, hoping for some clue as to the kidnapper's identity:
'Forgive me for getting your attention this way, but you'd never come without motivation. Your wife is as precious as they come, I remember her as a child. Pity that I did not know you as well... I wish a meeting with you, son. At your earliest convenience. I'm certain a trained ranger such as yourself will be able to find me easily.'
Still following the tracks, almost without being aware of it, the Ranger read the note over..twice, three times, letting the meaning and implications sink in. The tracks that left the copse led down to the water's edge, where the hoofprints of a horse met those of the abductor- and then both were gone, leaving only the waves kissing the shoreline. He stood for a moment, gazing out over the water, willing an idea to form, a way to discover where she'd been taken...and then the strange bird cackled again, the sound grating Gules' raw nerves like rough steel. Turning quickly, the Ranger reached out, catlike, and captured the bird, gripping it's throat firmly and bringing it near for closer study. A glance revealed the fact that it was plainly no ordinary bird- the golden eyes set forward rather than to the sides, glimmering with the spark of intelligence. Taken aback by the strange apparition in his grip, Gules stared into the bulging eyes of his captive and said, quietly, "I do not believe your presence here is mere happenstance- and therefore you must have a tie to this act in some way. Am I correct?"
A spark of recognition lit the bird's eyes and the beak parted- but no sound escaped, the pressure on it's windpipe to great to allow speech. Relieving the pressure slightly but maintaining control of the creature, Gules asked again: "Can you lead me to whoever did this, or aid me in any way, or should I simply squeeze the life from your miserable body?"
The bird caughed and gasped for breath, its wings stilling as it hung limply there in its hand as the golden eyes flicked up at him. The jagged beak parted, tongue lolling out a bit as it's whispered word came forth: "Water.."
"You need water?" Pulling a flask from his pack, the Ranger turned it up to allow a trickle of water to splash over the beak: "Now- if you can help me, do it...and if not, make it clear so I may get on with the hunt for this....Elf." He spat the word like an epitaph, distaste clear in the tone. "And waste no time or I'll crush you like the egg you were birthed from."
"No egg I hatch from... I made, like you. Same hands, and same magic..." came the broken reply, made raspy by the grip at the birds throat. The water cooled the burning, and the creature flicked his head and sent the remaining droplets of water flying.
"Made?" That simple word sent a thousand questions ricocheting through Gules' mind, but he forced them back, choosing to concentrate on the urgency of the situation at hand. "Never mind that gibberish..where did he take her? That's the only answer I want from you...and I'll set you free if you lead me right."
"I know not where ...but I know who does. The master knows... knows much. More of you than you." The bird gave a broken caw, wriggling in the uncomfortable hold keeping him still.
Gules considered the bird for a moment, studying the eyes for any sign of duplicity before nodding firmly. "Then take me to him...and now. I don't have time for stupid games and half statements, even from a brainless thing like you." Seemingly offended by this reference, the bird flapped its wings against his hold, trying to pull away. "Take you to the Master, yes.. all will be revealed, but must let go!"
"Let go?....yes, in a moment...." Reaching inside his pack, Gules pulled out a long, thin piece of rawhide- affixing one end around the leg of the bird and grasping the other end in his hand, pinned between palm and sword hilt. "There...you can fly but not get away from me. Lead on."
"Leashed! Like dog, I'm not!" The bird huffed again, midnight feathers ruffled as it cawed indignantly, but did not attempt to remove the leash. It's wings spread wide, easily matching the wingspan of a Great Horned Owl, and it flew uneasily at the end of the tether, hovering as it gained its bearings. "Back to Norrath.. must return!"
"Norrath?", the word and idea unsettled the Ranger, his thoughts centered on the time that was slipping past- and the amount of time it would take to get back to that planet without his wife to transport him. He addressed the bird again, hoping for some answer that would relieve his worry that they would arrive too late. "Do you have a faster way than is the norm, or need I arrange transportation for us?"
"I have wings. You have feet." Stated as a simple fact, the statement nonetheless came across as if the bird were a teacher speaking to a slow student.
"Then we must seek someone who can get us there quickly...if you see a Druid or someone who can do this, tell me....and precisely where on Norrath must we go?"
"Maeryn would know." Gules started a bit at the mention of his mentor's name, looking at the bird thoughtfully. Golden eyes flicked back towards the unconscious druid laying in the grass. "See druid there ... broken. Silly waste. To the Faydark.. to your first home, Ranger." The realization that this bird may be far more than it appeared struck the Ranger as he glanced over at the Druid, lying still on the ground. Rushing over , Gules propped him up and splashed water in his face in an attempt to wake him. The Half Elf sputtered, blinking against the light of the sun and holding his hand to his aching skull. Looking around, he settled his dark eyes on the Ranger and caught his breath.
"By Karana! Did you see him? Someone accosted me, forced me to bring him here... then struck me down. Where is the knave?" At these words, the bird behind Gules emitted a brief, raucous cackle, finding humour in the situation- another sign that there was more to be reckoned with than appearances would imply. Hushing the bird with a glance, Gules turned back to the Druid, who was still shaking his head and regaining his bearings.
"That knave is standing in front of you..and I do apologize for my action, but I'm in a bind and did not wish to be distracted...and there's no permanent harm, is there? I have need for transport to the Faydark now- I won't force it at swordpoint this time, but instead appeal to you as one in need...my wife has been kidnapped and is in grave danger. Do not do the favor for me, do it for another of your calling, or walk away and ensure her death. The choice is yours."
The Half Elf's dark eyes flickered to the laughing bird, distracted for a moment by the sheer unnatural feel of the creature, before returning to the desperate Ranger. For a heartbeat, he seemed to debate the plea- but it was the pained eyes that convinced him. The druid nodded: "I know what I would do had my wife been taken... of course I will give you transport. To the home of the Dwarves or the Gnomes?"
"The Steamfont Mountains, please. And quickly, if you would..once there, you may go, and I'll not trouble you again." With the issue of transport decided, Gules gave a slight tug on the tether, startling the black bird and causing him to come close. The druid took to his feet and rubbed the knot on his head briefly before the swelling ebbed and he sighed as the pain subsided.
"Gather close... I will wait in the Steamfont mountains for your word that your wife is safe or if you're needing transport away from hostile land."
Gules looked at the Druid, something akin to gratitude appearing in his dark eyes before responding. "No need for that..none will be alive to pursue us, but I cannot force your departure."
"Just the same.. I would like to know if the both of you are all right." The Druid paused for a moment."To rest my conscience." The weaving of his fingers brought forth the motes of magic and the implosion of air sucked them through space to deposit them in the Gnomes' homeland.
Steam geysers made the air perpetually sultry, thick with humidity, Gnomish children running amok over the holes... one decidedly familiar. Gules glanced at the boy, but only for a moment, the name lost in the mists of his preoccupation. Nodding a quick thanks to the Druid, he turned his attention back to the bird: "Go...quickly. Time is almost as short as my patience at the moment....lead on."
The strange owl-like raven twisted its head around backwards, looking around before lifting off in the direction of the Faydark, crossing through the steam geysers and past rogue clockworks quickly until they reached the Faydark- where the bird balked. "Danger here", he said, looking to Gules with a look of trepidation in his mysterious eyes.
"Danger? Don't be absurd...what sort and why?" He looked impatiently at the creature, eyes urging him to hurry.
"Demon horse and brownies... must move unseen." The bird lit on the Ranger's shoulder, ruffling ebony feathers with it's jagged beak and giving itself a shake. "The Master is under the tower... show you your wife, he can.. and the way to get through Vallon's defenses."
" I have the way through his defenses....right here" The Ranger indicated the bow slung at his back. "But, if you insist, we'll go talk to this so-called "Master"- but fair warning, he'd best waste no time....and I agree with the unseen idea." With a few words the Ranger disappeared into the shadows, still clutching the piece of rawhide. " Now, lead on before I decide to make you a meal."
The bird yelped at the promise of being a meal and took off ahead of him. On owl's wings the bird flew as silently as the clouds overhead, moving into the eternal dusk of the canopied Faydark. Weaving through the trees, the sound of hoofbeats raced by, but took no notice of them and the tiny people of the land saw nothing creeping through the grass towards the abandoned tower. Pixies fluttered nearby, in the very place where Ally would lurk and hunt for their dust for her cooking. His eyes intently watching for danger, Gules reached out for her with his mind- finding nothing but the emptiness he'd experienced since that moment on Luclin. Following the silent bird, he whispered almost inaudibly "Under the tower....hm. Let's get there and quick." A tug on the leash provided the emphasis absent in the quiet words, causing the bird to turn it's head around and glare at him balefully. Hovering over the base stones of the tower, the bird flicked its head about then rapped its beak on the stones in a certain order that made them fold back, stone grating on stone, revealing a dark tunnel with no visible bottom or way down.
Gules leaned to look down the tunnel, sharp Elven eyes adjusting to the dark immediately. Seeing nothing but darkness, he turned back to the owl and asked " So..we just jump in or what? Perhaps we need to fly?"
"I fly... " The bird seemed to shrug it's dark wings, ruffling a bit, hovering on the end of it's tether.
"Then I do, too...if necessary" Ensuring he had a supply of the proper component, Gules whispered a few words and rose from the ground, hovering like the bird. "Now...inside, and stop moving so slowly."
"Cannot move any quicker tied down!" The bird huffed and dove down the hole, fluttering down to the black pit while the Ranger followed, leading him down to where the tunnel ended in an acid pool to thwart any unwanted visitor. Looking around at the surroundings, unhappy to be underground and away from the freedom above ground, Gules muttered "Nice hospitality...now, where is this fool we've come to see? I'm getting more impatient with every moment we waste...and if it will help, here.." He reached and untied the bird, freeing him from the tether. The bird's black claw flexed and its wings beat the air quickly, pace increasing as it wove through a maze of tunnels, looking back it's shoulder to be certain the Ranger could keep up. At the center of the maze was a large antechamber. A mercury pool sat in the center, smoking at the edges as if filled with molten silver. Relics of the arcane littered the walls in a chaotic fray, but the room seemed to be empty otherwise.
Giving the bird another look of impatience, the Ranger took in the chaos around him, looking from the shimmering pool to the jumble of unidentified objects lining the walls. "All right- we're here in the center of a madhouse, apparently, and I'm no closer to my goal. I know where to go, and believe I'll depart for Kelethin now. This is pointless."
"Zemiel... come." The bird perked at hearing the aged voice, swirling twice over the mercury pool and landing on what looked to be one of the other relics. However, it was an aged crone of an Elf, silvery hair now withered to a limp and greasy grey as he shuffled forward, the bird perched on his hunched back. "Good that you have returned to me, little one. Your mother I knew well... but you're not here for that... you're here for the little one who looks like her."
Gules took in the sight before him, thinking that the Elf had to be the oldest he had ever seen- but otherwise, there was no spark of recognition. "Two things- first, I'd appreciate you telling me who you are, and second, I have not returned anywhere or to anyone. I've never seen you in my life, and in a few moments, I never will again. Tell me where my wife is held and I'll be gone."
"You may not have seen me, Gulerian... but your mother, fleeing from your father's remorseless rage, made a home here with the Rangers... and loved one most dearly. However, she carried you and fell to me when she was in need. I knew you before she birthed... and made you a finer Elf with the blood of all three." The crone gave a cackle and shuffled his aged bones with an aching creak of skin until he came to a groaning rest at the edge of the pool. "But it is your wife you seek and she is not in Kelethin... no, Vallon would not be so foolish to bring Kelethin's littlest princess back to her folds while he pains her so."
The Ranger looked up at the ceiling, then back at the ancient one, the frustration clear on his face."Would you PLEASE stop with this senseless prattling and tell me where she is so I can get on with this? I care nothing for princesses, and even less for my mother. Now answer me or not, but I am leaving this asylum either way. She may be out there dying...do you understand that? Place yourself in my boots for a moment, and make haste rather than detaining me with stories."
The old mage looked back at Gules, meeting his fiery eyes with his own bleary and slightly pained ones. "Patience, Gulerian, patience... Vallon dare not kill her. What pain she endures can be healed... I will show you where she is, else you'll never find her." The caster started a mumbling chant, pale amber eyes rolling backwards in his head. The raven-owl fluttered off to its roost in the corner as the molten pool began to swirl, flowing into an image that was foggy at first as it centered on a pair of slender wrists crossed against the bark of an ancient tree. The wrists were pinned there by an arrow piercing through the tanned skin and into the wood in a way that was too painful to struggle. As the image pulled away, Gules saw that she was held fast to this fallen tree, bound tightly enough for the ropes to bite into her tender skin with long bloody lines. Her lips were chapped, parted and parched. As a guard dabbed a cool rag on her cheek and squeezed the water onto her lips, her eyes fluttered a bit...
Breaking into the Ranger's thoughts, the caster looked up and asked "Is that her?"
Choking back a sob, devastated at seeing her in such a state, Gules blinked back a sudden onslaught of tears before nodding and answering softly.
"Aye, that's her...that's my Ally."
No comments:
Post a Comment