April 29.
"You were right, Sister Raven. He was expecting us."
"Aye, 'tis beginning to look that way."
The Lightbringers watched as Aldarion led the horses one-by-one across the narrow bridge, a rugged-looked affair of thick ropes and wooden planks. He had insisted on leading the animals across himself, presumably because he wasn't completely sure if the structure would support their weight. So far, though, it seemed to be holding up just fine. They had come upon the bridge roughly a mile south of the clearing where they'd first met their mysterious ally. It looked very much like a bridge the Metamor Long Scouts might construct under the circumstances -- not permanent by any means, but serviceable. The fact that Aldarion had apparently built it by himself in anticipation of their arrival was a testament to his skills as a frontiersman.
The last horse was across the ravine now, and Aldarion beckoned to them from the far side. Merai went across first, feeling the gentle sway of the bridge with every step, hearing the rush of the river below. She moved carefully, a step at a time, hands gripping the two heavy ropes from which the whole contraption hung, her tail flicking back and forth in response to the tiny changes in balance brought on by the bridge's movement. Half a minute later, she was on the eastern side. Raven moved swiftly but gracefully to join them, and in another two minutes they were riding through the forest again, Aldarion walking a few steps in front of the horses.
"It seems Aldarion is taking us southeast," Raven told Merai, after they had been travelling for about half an hour. "That will bring us close to the edge of the Nexus zone, but we should cut several days from our time in the forest."
"Is that safe?" the younger priestess asked uncertainly.
"It is an acceptable risk," the wolf-woman said -- which, Merai noted, was not exactly an answer.
Over the next several hours, Merai noticed a change in the topography of the forest. The trees seemed to grow weaker, thinner, and more gnarled, and even their leaves looked as black as soot. Openings appeared in the canopy above them, exposing a dismal grey sky. The dry earth of the forest floor was replaced by bogs and marshes, and the horses were forced to slow down and step carefully to avoid any uncertain ground. Tiny flying insects swarmed around them, getting into eyes and ears, and Merai often thought she saw mysterious ripples in the ponds and pools of water around them.
Sometime around the third hour of the afternoon, a break appeared in the treeline to their right -- and Merai looked out at the darkest, most oppressive landscape she had ever seen. Stretching off into the distance, cloaked in a heavy mist, was a swamp; but whereas most swamplands were green and teeming with life, albeit largely unpleasant life, this swamp was as dead and quiet as a graveyard. The reeds and marsh grasses were black and withered, and the stagnant water stank of death and decay. Off in the distance, burning through the sickly grey fog, an ethereal blue light hung in the air like a malevolent specter. Waves of pure evil washed over Merai's mind, chilling her spine and stifling all speech, all life, all hope. They rode past as quickly as they were able, and no one spoke again until the dead swamp had once more been shrouded by the trees.
"Gods preserve us," Merai breathed, wiping the cold sweat off her brow. Her fur felt matted and clammy all over from the perspiration.
"The greatest danger is behind us now," Raven said, sounding weary. She had probably been even more heavily battered by the Nexus's aura than Merai, the younger woman thought. "But we must travel quickly, to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and the Nexus before nightfall. Its magic grows stronger in the dark."
"Does it drain the life of everything near it?" Merai asked. "Are even the Dark Queen's own creatures not safe in its presence?"
"We are not certain," the wolf-woman replied. "No one has yet survived an encounter with the Nexus and returned to tell the tale. We suspect that close exposure to its magic will turn the living to undead, but that is only speculation."
Merai forced down the uneasy feeling rising in her throat and focused on Aldarion, who was still gamely leading them through the trackless forest with nary a word. Inwardly, she desperately hoped and prayed that he knew where he was going. Darkness was only a few hours away, and the shadow of the Nexus weighed on her like a death threat. The sooner they were out of this damned forest, the better.
By the time they were forced to stop for the night, they had moved out of the wetlands and back into the dry forest again. It was with some relief that Merai lay down at the base of a tall, sturdy-looking tree, grateful to have solid earth beneath her. Compared to the twisted demesne of the Nexus, the rest of Elderwood seemed almost wholesome.
Her perspective received a jarring adjustment when she awoke to the sound of ear- splitting laughter all around them.
She was on her feet in three seconds, moving with the speed of instinct, and she grabbed for the bow and quiver beside her. Raven and Aldarion were already standing with their backs to the fire, swords drawn. Slinging the quiver over her shoulder, Merai looked up-- And froze as she saw a horde of laughing-beasts rushing out of the woods on all sides.
The creatures ran with reckless abandon, climbing and leaping over each other to reach the three intruders. As they drew close, the predators turned and lashed out with their whip-like tails, snarling and cackling as they tried to pierce their prey with the barbed stingers. Raven slashed Elemacil in a broad arc in front of her, slicing off the tails of a few of the dog-sized beasts. The creatures she had struck yelped in pain, then turned and attacked again with their jaws of needle-like teeth.
"Merai!" Raven shouted. "Look out!"
Shaking herself out of her daze, Merai turned to see half a dozen of the little brutes pouncing towards her. She blocked their attack with a wild swing of her arm, the unseen energy field knocking them aside like children's toys. The animals landed deftly on their feet and started back towards her again.
In the few seconds of breathing room she had, Merai notched and fired two arrows in quick succession. Both struck their targets, but there were so many of the stinger-tailed beasts coming towards them that the arrows did little good. "Merai! Hi danoch!" Aldarion shouted, pulling an arrow from his quiver and tossing it to Merai.
As she caught it, she instantly saw that it was not an ordinary arrow; in place of a barbed tip, there was only a small rounded cylinder. Merai had her suspicions about it immediately, and quickly notched it and fired, aiming far behind the front line of the advancing horde.
She was not disappointed. The arrow struck with a flash and a roar, as a blast of magical fire rolled out in all directions from the point of impact. The flames dissipated about three yards in front of her, leaving a field of well-charred bodies in its wake. The surviving beasts panicked and scattered, leaving only a brave handful who persisted in their attack. Holding them back with her protective shields, Merai lashed out with her claws and shredded them one by one.
With her side of the camp momentarily cleared, Merai ran to stand beside Aldarion. The frontiersman was slashing away at a sea of laughing-beasts, many of them uncomfortably close. Summoning another shield, Merai pushed the closest ones back with a wave of her hand.
"Give me another!" she said, shouting to be heard above the noise of the predators. She held out her hand toward him, but he shook his head . "Iblain bannen!" he shouted back.
Under the circumstances, the meaning was obvious. Merai bit her lip, casting a glance over at Raven as she again pushed back the advancing hordes. The older woman's ears were pressed back against her head, her teeth bared, as she cut into the little beasts again and again. Still they kept advancing, dropping out of the surrounding trees, dozens, hundreds of maddened voices cackling as the assault continued.
"We can't stay here, Raven!" Merai shouted, her tail twitching in anxiety. "There are too many of them!"
"I -- would have -- to agree, Sister!" Raven called back, her words punctuated by the thrusts and slashes of Elemacil. "Do we still have the horses?"
Merai looked over her shoulder to the trees where their mounts had been tied. "Yes!" she replied, rather surprised at the news herself. "I think the beasts are ignoring them!"
"They -- *ungh* -- aren't hungry," the wolf-woman said, grunting as she fought off a particularly insistent laughing-beast that had latched on to her arm. "These creatures are attacking on orders!"
"Aagh!" Merai cried out, flinching back as one of the beasts stung her with its tail. The wound burned, but she didn't seem to be affected too strongly by it -- apparently the venom was relatively mild, more painful than deadly. She dealt the creature a sharp kick, hearing the crack of its ribs on impact. The animal howled in pain and ran off as fast as it could.
"I can create a diversion, but it won't stop them for long," Raven called to her. "On my word, go get the horses -- and make sure Aldarion has one, as well!"
"All right!" Merai nodded in exaggerated fashion. "I'll take the bags off one of the packhorses!"
"Make ready!" In a sudden movement, Raven thrust both hands out in front of her, pushing back the attacking animals with such force that a six-yard swath around her was cleared. Then, immediately, she held Elemacil aloft in both hands and called out in a loud voice:
"A hlaranye, Dvalin! Sule dan i lamanose!"
There was a sudden, fierce howling noise, and then a mighty wind shot through the forest like a flood, circling the three travelers and their campsite. The closest predators were lifted bodily into the air and carried off, while the rest were blasted back more than fifty yards. The wind whipped at the long, loose hair all three of them wore, but otherwise they were untouched.
"Go!" Raven shouted, her arms still upraised.
Merai was already moving. Using her claws she slashed through the ropes holding the horses, not bothering to waste time untying them, then likewise cut free the baggage off of the packhorse that was carrying the least. It wouldn't hurt them too badly to lose the provisions, and time was of the essence.
Leading the horses over to the fire, she motioned for Aldarion to climb onto the newly- freed mount; he did so quickly, then led Raven's horse over to her as Merai climbed into her own saddle. As soon as Raven saw that everyone else was ready, she lowered her arms and virtually leapt into her saddle.
The wind stilled an instant later, and they took off running toward the southeast, where the forest's edge awaited them. Merai held tightly to the remaining packhorse's reins; fortunately it was not too heavily laden, a week's worth of its provisions having already been used, and it managed to keep pace with the others quite well as Aldarion led them in their escape. They charged right through the ring of disoriented predators, trampling several of them along the way, and were well clear of the laughing-beasts before they began to give pursuit.
The Lightbringers and their companion soon discovered that fate was smiling on them tonight: Though they were fierce and agile, the short-legged, tree-dwelling predators were not well-suited to an extended chase on the ground. They were out of their element on the forest floor, while the horses were fully in theirs, running over the firm soil unimpeded by the scant undergrowth. Raven summoned a ball of light to go along a short distance ahead of them, showing any trees or other approaching obstacles long before they reached them. After a while the beasts dwindled from view, apparently having given up the chase, and Aldarion brought them down to a slower, more relaxed pace.
"We shall have to keep moving now until we are out of the forest," Raven said. "I dare not give the Mistress of these woods time to plot a second attack."
"Why did she wait so long to do it?" Merai asked, absently rubbing one of the welts on her arm. Now that the adrenaline had faded, she could feel dozens of the stinging bruises all over her body; she suspected that Aldarion and Raven were in similar shape, but it was difficult to tell in the dim light. "Why wait until escape was within our reach?"
"Most likely, she had hoped to force us towards the Nexus, where she might have been able to capture us ... or twist us to her will," Raven added as a grim afterthought. "When Aldarion found us and led us across the ravine, she was forced to abandon that plan. I imagine it must have taken her all day to muster enough creatures for that attack." She shook her head. "If we keep moving, we should be out of the forest by midday. I doubt she will be able to rally her forces again before then."
"What hour is it?"
"Something like two hours before dawn. Take heart, we shall be able to rest soon."
April 30.
True to Raven's word, they reached the edge of the forest shortly before noon. Merai felt a sudden rush of relief as they stepped out from beneath Elderwood's branches, beholding the vast plains of the Outer Midlands and the mountains of the Great Barrier Range rising behind them. Looking up at the cloudless blue sky, feeling the sun shine down on her face, Merai felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
They rested out in the fields for a time, breaking their fast and dozing in the noonday sun, but by one o'clock Raven was prodding them on again. She pointed out, quite reasonably, that dehydration was a threat on the plains, even in springtime, and they were running low on water. After about an hour's ride they came to a grove of poplar trees around a small stream, and the horses drank thirstily as the travelers rested a while longer in the shade and renewed their own water supply. Though they kept a watchful eye, Raven and Merai saw no sign of the assassins that had haunted their steps through the Southern Midlands.
"It seems that we have lost our hunters at last," Merai said brightly.
"Aye. It takes weeks longer to ride around Elderwood than to take the path we traveled,"
Raven said. "Even if they knew where we were going, it could take them a month or more to pick up our trail again. I suspect they have left us for dead; if they still have any spies watching for us, they will likely stay close to the main highway from Salinon to Kelewair. In any event, I think that danger is behind us for now."
That evening they stopped in Frondham, a small, peaceful little town that straddled one of the several mountain-born rivers of the region. It was home to an old and humble Lightbringer temple, and the local priest was more than willing to accommodate their needs. After her first real bath in almost two weeks, Merai treated her stinger-welts with a medicinal salve from the temple storerooms. With the chill heat of the ointment anesthetizing her wounds, she curled up contentedly on the soft, clean mattress of the guest room, convinced that the Ninth Heaven itself could not be more pleasant.
They set out the next day with fresh provisions and horses, borrowed from the Frondham Lightbringers for the sake of their still-unknown mission. They made excellent time on the smooth dirt roads, and after two more days of travel -- nearly a month after leaving Metamor Keep -- they came upon another forest.
"Aelfwood," Merai whispered, gazing at the towering redwood conifers that seemed to rise for miles above them. She felt no stain of darkness, no touch of evil on this land, but she was filled with a mixture of awe and fear nonetheless. For while Aelfwood was very different from that other legendary forest they had just passed through, in one respect it was just as infamous: For over a hundred years, no human who entered the land of the Elves had ever come out alive.
Or, at least, no one had ever admitted to it. Aldarion obviously knew something of the goings-on in the forest, or they wouldn't be here. Merai wondered just how much he knew about this "danger" he spoke of, but that sort of question was rather difficult to answer with stick figures and hand motions.
"Do you think we can trust him?" Merai asked quietly as Raven drew up alongside her.
"Methinks we have little choice," Raven replied. "We have yet to see any sign of the great darkness the Oracle spoke of, and Aldarion knows this land better than either of us. If he says it lies within Aelfwood..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "I shall not force you to come with us, Merai. You may return to Frondham and wait for us, if you so choose."
"No, Sister Raven," Merai answered, straightening herself in her saddle. "My place is with you, and I shall remain by your side whatever the risk. The gods have seen us safely thus far; I have faith that they will not abandon us now."
"I pray you are right, Sister Merai," Raven said gravely, putting a hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "And I appreciate your loyalty. Now, come -- our mission awaits us." The wolf-woman gestured to Aldarion, and he dutifully took the lead again as they entered the forest.
The similarities and differences between Aelfwood and Elderwood quickly became clear to them. While there was much more light on the forest floor here than in the oppressive Elderwood, it was still dimly lit compared to most woodlands; thus, there was a similar lack of undergrowth, which led to easy travel for the horses. Most of the trees were massive, ancient redwoods, ten feet or more in diameter and well over a hundred and fifty feet tall. The bark of the trees was corrugated from top to bottom with folds and ridges, and its color was a soft and pleasant auburn shade that almost seemed to glow from within. The air was cool but not uncomfortably so, with just the right level of humidity. A gentle breeze drifted by, and Merai's feline nose caught a scent like spices and wildflowers in the wind. This would indeed be a lovely place to dwell, she thought; no wonder the Elves had chosen it as their home.
They had entered the forest near its northern edge, at the feet of the Barrier Range, and they proceeded eastward over gently sloping terrain. The forest ran from the Barriers in the north to the Sylvan Mountains in the southwest and a larger, distant range in the east. Much of the intervening land was rolling, hilly country at a fairly high altitude, and it was in this terrain that the redwood forest grew and thrived. The land seemed to be somehow magical, as well; as soon as they had entered the forest, Merai became aware of a soothing, peaceful aura, one that rose up from the soil like a sweet fragrance and resonated in the surrounding trees. Here was a place, she thought, that had truly been touched by the hands of gods.
They rode in amiable silence for half an hour, the aura of the forest lifting their spirits. Then, as they approached the base of a particularly massive tree, Aldarion held up his hand, bringing them to a halt.
"What is it, Aldarion?" Raven asked, moving her horse up beside his.
"Tulineth," he replied quietly, looking up into the surrounding trees. If there was anything in particular he was looking at, Merai couldn't see it in the heavy shade where they stood. He turned to look at them, an apologetic expression on his face. "Nan dim sinen," he said.
There was a soft whistling sound, and Merai felt something small and sharp strike her neck. At the same time, she saw something hit Raven from above, striking her in the shoulder. The wolf-woman quickly yanked it out, looking down at the object, then up again at Aldarion. Merai had just managed to identify it as a feathered dart when she slumped forward in her saddle and all went black.