Eternal Forest: Savage Rising (11 page)

             
What they saw was a forest floor completely filled with balisekts. The beasts’ numbers were far beyond counting, but were easily in the tens of thousands. They filled the spaces between the tree trunks, crowding together as they marched in unison down a road that couldn’t hope to hold them all. The balisekts each wore crude suits of armor. Rusty plates of metal covered their chests and arms. Many had spears in their hands, and a few had bows with quivers full of crudely made arrows strapped to their backs.

             
Viyana could feel her hands trembling as she gripped tightly to the helm of her sword. A cold sweat ran down the back of her neck and disappeared beneath the plates of her armor. She opened her mouth to speak, but another sound quickly echoed through the trees to drown her out. It was ferocious roar, but unlike anything she had ever heard before.

             
Cherin was perplexed as well. He’d never even heard tales of creatures that could make such a noise. It roared like a dragon, but crackled and hissed like a raging inferno. The sound made him tremble in his saddle. He couldn’t see what creature was making the cry, and he thanked the Lady for it.

             
“That’s an army intent on war,” one of the soldiers said. There was barely any air behind his words.

             
With mouth gaping open, Viyana shook her head. “Indeed,” she answered. “But a war with whom?”

             
“Are they going to Stonemouth, too?” Cherin asked. He knew he was speaking out of turn, but the Lady of Meadowgold was clearly too preoccupied to care.

             
Viyana turned to face her companions. The fear and doubt behind her eyes frightened Cherin more than the coming army could ever hope to. “My concern is more with where they came from,” she answered. “They approach from the Northwest, following the same path we are.”

             
Another soldier’s eyes went wide with his terrifying revelation. “They’ve already come through Meadowgold!” he shouted. The circle of mounted riders burst into a chaotic mess of confusion and fear.

             
“What do we do now?” a soldier shouted.

             
“We must return home!” another insisted.

             
“You blighted fool! There’s no way around the army!” the first retorted.

             
“Silence!” Viyana demanded. With the soldiers quieted, she began turning her horse back towards the southeast. “There’s only one direction we can go, and we must take it with great haste. We will ride to Stonemouth and try to warn them.”

             
“The dwarves cannot possibly hope to be ready for such a force in the time it would take us to get there!” a soldier shouted.

             
“I know,” she said with no hope or confidence in her voice. “But it’s all we can do.”

Chapter 11

“Until that day, I had thought the Lady was just an idea, an imaginary phantom the elves and faeries used to make sense of the world. Stepping into the hidden valley was like crossing into another world. As I beheld the splendors within, I couldn’t help but believe.”

Journal of Summit, discoverer of the Grove

              “I don’t like this.”

             
They were close enough to hear the bustling marketplace the dwarves had erected at the base of the city. The sounds of joyous cheers, laughing children, and haggling merchants echoed deep into the trees of the northern Wilds. It was there that Zehlyr, along with Heeska and Azalea, stood in hiding amongst the deep foliage.

             
Zehlyr was peering out from between the branches of a small pine tree. He could see a bit of activity from his vantage point. The heads of dwarves passed in and out of his small window, framed with leaves and branches.

There were other creatures, too. He could see elves as well. They were human in shape, but
slightly smaller and gaunter looking with long, pointed ears. The occasional torso of a horse let him know there were centaurs with them as well. The occasional faerie zipped by as well, though standing no more than a few inches tall, they appeared more like large insects flying by from his vantage point. Up close, they were a remarkable sight, with elven-like features and beautiful wings.

“I promise, I’ll be perfectly fine,” Azalea said, putting a hand on Zehlyr’s shoulder. The years had changed him quite a bit, and the Wilds had hardened him from a small, timid boy into a stout and capable young man. Learning to be cautious helped to ensure their survival, and it was that same caution he was showing here.

“I have no doubt in your skills, or your ability to handle yourself,” Heeska said. Their balisekt companion hadn’t changed much over the years. “I simply don’t understand why you do not wish us to come with you.”

Azalea turned her head to him with a raised eyebrow.

Heeska smiled as he nodded in understanding. “Correction; why you don’t want
him
to come with you.”

Azalea blushed a bit. “These dwarves think of me as some great sorceress. They’ve built lore around me, and none of it involves any mysterious companions.”

“We haven’t interacted with any tribes since Meadowgold,” Zehlyr reminded her. “There are more than just dwarves down there. If there are humans, someone may recognize you and…”

“I promise, I’ll stay alert,” she insisted. She was wearing the exquisitely made dress the dwarves had brought to her in the Grove. It fit quite well, despite its maker having no measurements to go by. For three, long years, she’d worn nothing but rags and animal skins, and she couldn’t let such an exquisite gift go unappreciated. Giving Zehlyr a reassuring smile, she reached a hand up into her wide, draping sleeve, revealing a small dagger hidden within. “You’re not the only one with survival skills.”

His nerves calmed, Zehlyr wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “We will be watching from the shadows,” he said.

“I know you will,” she responded in kind.

“These will be here if you need them,” Heeska said as he laid a sword, bow, and quiver of arrows against the tree. The lizard-man smiled at her. “Now, go and let them meet their Sorceress.”

~~\*/~~

              The one thing Sunrise couldn’t get used to was the noise. Ever since he and Firefly arrived in the dwarven city of Stonemouth, the noise had been a constant nuisance. He could stand being away from home. Having been born and raised in Moon-hollow, his move to Tranquility had already taught him to find peace in new surroundings. He also didn’t mind the crowds. Tranquility often hosted grand events for all the tribes of the Lands of Order. Great feasts or ceremonial events were commonplace at the Temple as many made pilgrimages to revere the Lady.

             
The difference was, in those large gatherings, there was calm and reverence. The ceremonies existed with order and everyone adhered to a strict schedule. They were silent as they heard the wise words of whatever priest, priestess, or seryan was speaking. Crowds were fine, as long as there was civility.

             
This was chaos.

             
The dwarves had built a large marketplace at the base of the mountain. The trees had been cleared away for several square miles, and replaced with row upon row of carts, tables, tents, and small huts. Strings of colorful flags were draped across the marketplace from tall polls. All around them, dwarves, faeries, centaurs, and elves talked, bartered, drank, sang, conversed, and enjoyed each other's company along with the Sorceress’s harvest.

             
“Lady’s grace, how can anyone even think in all this noise?” he asked his tiny companion.

             
Unable to hear her mentor’s question, Firefly continued hovering through the air just behind his head. The scene was quite chaotic, but it didn’t worry her at all. Firefly loved crowds. She loved meeting people. The diversity of this particular event pleased her the most. There were creatures of all kinds in Tranquility, but never before had she seen them gathered in such a celebration. In the Temple, things were so reserved and orderly.

             
Here, in Stonemouth, there was dancing and music. Storytellers told dramatic tales as eager audiences gathered around them. Passing by one such teller, she was able to pick up a few words on the story of Shimmer and her fellow warriors who ended the Blight. It was the part where they encountered a band of rough balisekts at Tri-leaf Pass, and how the Lady bestowed upon them magical weapons to defeat their enemies.

             
Quietly, Firefly sighed. Maybe Sunrise was right. Perhaps she did lack enough conviction to truly wield the Lady’s power. Were she to bear witness to such miracles as Shimmer and her warriors did, no doubt she would find true faith. Of course, Shimmer had been out in the forest, not in some musty old temple.

             
“We need to stay on alert,” Sunrise said with a glance over his shoulder. “The dwarves are saying the Sorceress will make an appearance at this celebration.”

             
“Have any of them given a description of her?” Firefly inquired. She flew closer to his face in order for them to hear each other.

             
“I’ve gleamed very little in my conversations,” Sunrise answered. “All I know is she is young and human.”

             
“I doubt we’ll miss her,” Firefly said reassuringly. “This feast is in her honor, so I’m sure she’ll make a grand entrance.”

             
“But that will make it nearly impossible to get an audience with her,” Sunrise retorted. He wasn’t trying to be pessimistic, but the situation didn’t bode well for their mission. The Grand Seryan wanted them to get the Sorceress alone and discover how she came about her power.

             
“Lady’s grace, be you acolytes from Tranquility?” a dwarven merchant called out from under his tent. Firefly and Sunrise stopped. The dwarf’s tent was surrounded with crudely made shelves, each lined with various trinkets made of brass or tin.

             
“We are,” Firefly said with a big smile. She landed on the wooden table between them, resting her hand against a finely forged goblet. “I’m Firefly, and this is Sunrise.”

             
The merchant looked up at Sunrise.

             
Sunrise gave the dwarf an awkward smile.

             
“I knew there were visitors coming from all of the territories, but I’d no idea the Temple was sending anyone.”

             
“Well, we wouldn’t want to miss such a big celebration,” Sunrise said with palpable sarcasm. This merchant understood Tranquility was a long way, but didn’t seem to grasp that an invitation to this event wouldn’t have arrived at the Temple in time for them to get here.

             
The dwarven merchant wagged his thick, stubby finger in the air with one hand as his other reached under the table for something. “I’ve just the thing to please a couple of acolytes such as yourselves.” The dwarf righted himself again and set a thick, golden necklace comprised of fat links on the table. At the center, a golden circle as big as a human’s palm was linked into the loop. On it, an image of the Lady’s face was carved into the surface.

             
Firefly walked across the table to the medallion and stared down at it with wide eyes. It reminded her of the carvings on the side of the Temple, though not nearly as well done. She clasped her hands together under her chin. “How lovely,” she said with a smile.

             
“Why thank you,” the dwarf replied in kind. His eyes turned up to Sunrise’s face. “What do you think, master elf?”

Sunrise couldn’t hide his distaste. “Do you think this a worthy vessel to hold an image of the Lady: a gaudy trinket of excess?”

              The merchant’s business-practiced smile quickly vanished. His hand slapped down hard onto the necklace, causing Firefly to fall backwards on her rear. “If you find my wares offensive, then you best be on your way.”

             
Firefly lifted off the table as the merchant took back his item. She turned to say something to Sunrise, but her mentor had already moved on. With an aggravated frown, she followed after him. “You didn’t have to be so mean to him,” she said finally catching up.

             
“The Lady is not a commodity to be profited from,” Sunrise insisted. “It was practically blasphemous.”

             
Firefly searched for something else to say, but a loud trumpet blast from the north silenced all thoughts. The dwarves all around them began to cheer and shout as they raced towards the northern end of the marketplace.

             
“What’s going on?” Sunrise asked a young dwarf racing past him.

             
“She’s here! She’s here! The Sorceress is here!” the youth shouted jubilantly.

             
Sunrise quickly turned to his faerie companion. His eyes held more spark and excitement than she’d ever seen in them. “Perhaps our luck is finally changing,” he said.

             
“Well, let’s go!” Firefly insisted. As Sunrise politely but insistently pushed his way through the crowd, Firefly rose above the crowd and zipped on high overhead. This was truly her chance to shine. Should the crowd prove too dense for Sunrise to get close enough, she would have to do all of the reconnaissance herself. The dwarves were short enough for Sunrise to see over them easily, but there were enough humans and centaurs in the group to keep his view of the Sorceress well blocked. Perhaps she would prove her worth on this trip after all.

             
From her high vantage point, Firefly watched the procession unfold. A half-circle of dwarves, dressed in fine armor and carrying large axes, blocked off a small section of the northern tree line. From the foliage stepped a young and beautiful woman. Firefly immediately noticed her fair skin and long, pink hair. The woman wore a long, elegant dress that was as green as the leaves in summer. A small crown of pink and white flowers adorned her head.

             
Beside the girl walked an older dwarf. He had leathery skin and a long, white beard; His clothing fine and regal looking. Though Firefly had never met this male, her short time in the dwarven territory had been enough to discern that this was Boulder, the Lord of Stonemouth. The old dwarf waved with excitement to his people as they cheered, occasionally motioning to the human girl at his side, and shouting, “she has arrived”.

             
The half-circle of soldiers closed around them as they moved into the crowd. From high up, it looked to Firefly like a bubble floating up from the bottom of a lake. The Sorceress waved and smiled at the people as they cheered. Full of excitement, Firefly raced back down to Sunrise’s side.

             
“I saw her!” Firefly shouted joyously as she landed on Sunrise’s outstretched hand.

             
“Could you discern anything about her?” he inquired.

             
Firefly smiled and looked off back towards the crowd. “She’s absolutely lovely.”

             
Sunrise sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand as his eyes shut. “Could you discern anything
helpful
about her?”

             
“Oh, sorry,” Firefly answered as she turned back to her mentor. “The rumors were true. She is human and quite young. Her hair is rather peculiar.”

             
“How so?” Sunrise questioned.
              “It’s pink.”

             
Sunrise jerked his head back a bit in surprise. “My, that is peculiar.”

             
“She is with Lord Boulder, and there are soldiers surrounding them both,” Firefly said, continuing her report. “It looks like they’re heading over to that stage.”