Ghosts Of Alfhaven (Book 2) (5 page)

Sawain grabbed a wooden plate when he came to it and put pieces of fruits and cheeses on it. When he came to the first attendant, the elf looked at him distastefully, like he smelled foul.

“Do you want a slice of boar?”

Sawain held out his plate, “May I have two slices?”

The elf carved off a single slice and put it on his plate, “No.”

Sawain scowled, “You're not going to give me another slice just because I'm an outsider?”

The attendant sighed, “Everyone gets only one slice. Director's rule ever since Tobi ate an entire boar by himself.”

Sawain was satisfied with the answer, though he had no idea what it meant. He simply nodded and turned to find a place to sit. The room was large and round. The same glowing fungi clung to the ceiling and walls, illuminating the cavern in a dim glow. Several long tables ran parallel to each other, a few feet apart. Most of them were already crowded, except for a section of the far table in the back.

Sawain sighed and made for the table. He sat down at the edge and picked at his food. The few elves at the table got up and relocated, not too subtly. He tried to ignore them, but the way they treated him like a disease sickened his stomach. He chewed on the boar meat as his heart sank lower and lower. The meat had little flavor. He couldn't tell if it was the meat itself or his loss of appetite.

He heard someone clear his throat nearby. He looked over his shoulder and was surprised to see a chubby elf standing behind him, holding a plate of food. He looked to be the same age as Sawain. His long blonde hair fell in straight strands around his pointed ears and face. His small blue eyes shone with hope as he gripped his plate with stubby, trembling fingers. His voice was a little shaky as he addressed Sawain.

“y-you know, that's my seat.”

Sawain turned around and sighed. He grabbed his plate and started to rise when the elf spoke again.

“No, no! It's alright! You can have it, but... is it alright if I sit with you?”

Sawain was shocked that someone in this place wanted to sit with him. He looked at the newcomer skeptically.

“You actually want to sit with me? Not afraid I might be carrying some plague?”

The elf smiled and hesitantly took a seat beside him. The two ate in silence for a few minutes. Sawain just stared at his plate, picking at his food. He picked up a glowing berry and stared at it warily. He was about to put it back on his plate when the elf beside him spoke up.

“That's a Frostglow berry. You should try it, it's really good. It can cool you off on the hottest days.”

Sawain looked at his table mate, then back at the berry. He shrugged and popped it into his mouth. When he bit into it, the juices that flowed out were sweet and cold as ice. He shivered as he swallowed it and the chilly sensation rushed through his body. He exhaled in surprise and saw his breath.

“Wow, that's a new experience.”

The elf grinned, “Yeah, there's all kinds of fun berries in the forest that have magical juices. Some are useful, but many are deadly, so you can't just go picking anything that glows.”

Sawain nodded and tried to pretend that he already knew that.

The elf was quiet for a moment, then spoke again, “I'm Tobilin, but everyone around here calls me Tobi.”

Sawain nodded again, not knowing what else to do, “I'm Sawain. Nice to meet you. How come you're being so nice to me?”

Tobi stared at his own plate, looking downcast, “I know what it's like to be the new guy around here. I've been here a year and I'm still treated like the new guy. I thought maybe we could... stick together, maybe we can make it through the academy if we work together.”

Sawain looked at him closer. Tobi looked to be in bad shape. He was the first overweight elf Sawain had ever met. He was surprised the already infamous training regime had not yet expelled Tobi.

“
Tobi, I don't want to sound rude, but how are you in the training program still after a year?”

Tobi looked as if he was about to cry, “You mean how come I haven't failed out, being so... fat?”

Color and heat rushed into Sawain's cheeks, “No, I mean... Does it really take that long to finish the training to become a ranger? Or...”

Tobi forced a smile as he looked at Sawain, “Sure, most finish within a year, but... It's a lot harder for me. I never made any friends, it took me a year to pass the test to be placed on a team, and now even my team mates don't want me around. My father was a Ranger for the first hundred years or so of his life until he was wounded in the last war. It's his dream for me to become a Ranger like him and carry on the family legacy. I love my dad and he has always done so much for me, I just can't let him down. Even if it takes a decade, and even if I'm just one of the trackers, I have to become a Ranger for my father's sake.”

Sawain listened and felt bad about judging Tobi just from his looks. He smiled at Tobi.

“
I think you can do it, Tobi. Maybe we'll end up finishing the training at the same time and will be able to work together out there.”

Tobi's eyes brightened and his mood improved dramatically, “That would be great, Sawain! I hope we can both do great this year and pass the Arena Trials on the first try!”

Sawain didn't know what the Arena Trials were, but he smiled and clapped Tobi on the shoulder, “Maybe we will, Tobi.”

Sawain and Tobi talked and joked for another hour until it was time to turn in. Sawain climbed the stairs along the Courtyard wall until he found a door with the same strange runes
etched onto it as his key. He took the key Lady Tirinele gave him from around his neck and placed it into the keyhole. He turned it until the lock clicked. He pushed the door open and looked inside. The room was dark and barely furnished. The only things in his room were a small bed and a chest at the foot.

He stumbled inside and closed the door. He took off his boots and other belongings, then strew them across the floor as he fell into bed. This bed was not much, but it was the most comfortable one he was ever able to call his own. He was asleep within the minute he closed his eyes.

Chapter 5

The bell in the courtyard rang out and snapped Sawain from his slumber. He stared at the darkness in front of his eyes. His body did not want to get out of bed.

I just went to sleep. It can't be time to get up yet.

He closed his eyes. Sleep enveloped him again, but released its grip when a knock rapped hard on his door, followed by a loud voice.

“Time to rise, recruit!”

He winced and sat up. He glared in the direction of the voice. He swung his feet to the floor, resting them on the cold wood. He looked around for his clothes, then realized he could not see a thing. He felt around for his pants and tunic, using his sense of feeling to put on whatever he found. It took several minutes to dress. He stumbled out into the better lit stairs outside of his dark room.

I need to get one of those glowing mushrooms.

There was a scroll pinned to his door. He pulled it off and unrolled it. He was thankful it was written in common.

Sawain of Anvilheim,

Team Mirehawk

Instructor: Captain Nerelis

Meet at sword ring after breakfast.

Sawain's stomach dropped when he read the name Nerelis. He remembered Ilias matching the name with the Ranger captain who beat him and threw him in prison.

This is not good.

He was shoved from behind and stumbled down the stairs, catching himself before he crashed into the young elf maid coming out of the room below him. He glared over his shoulder at his assailant. It was the boy from the encounter on the lawn. He grinned viciously.

“
Watch your step, man-elf. Don't want to cause a ruckus.”

The girl who Sawain stopped short of frowned at the boy, leaning close to Sawain to look past him, “Banthan, you're the one who needs to watch his step! You know you're on the verge of being expelled as it is!”

The boy named Banthan waved her off, “Tch, whatever you say, Daddy's Girl. At least I got in on skill alone.”

The girl's green eyes narrowed on him and her thin lips tightened, “You're all talk. I've seen your scores, and I'm not impressed. Also, my father is harder on me than anyone else.”

She turned and walked down the spiraling stair. Sawain heard Banthan spouting off a stream of complaints, but did not register them. He felt the heat in his cheeks from the girl being so close. He willed his legs to move again, tucking the scroll into his belt. He was forced to walk behind the girl who defended him against Banthan.

She had black hair that fell over her shoulder blades. She was wearing a brown tunic and trousers held together with a brown leather belt. He could not help noticing how well in shape she was. He tried to keep from staring as he followed the flow of the crowd into the courtyard and into the lower chamber where they had dinner the night before.

Tobi sidled up beside Sawain in the line for breakfast as Sawain was receiving a ladle full of oatmeal in his wooden bowl, “Morning, Sawain!”

Sawain returned the smile Tobi gave him, “Are you sure it's morning? I can't tell in this place.”

Tobi chuckled, “Sure, look at the glowstools.”

Sawain arched an eyebrow, “The what?”

“
Glowstools. You know, the glowing mushrooms on the walls and ceiling. They change color depending on the time of day. They fade from the cooler colors at night to warmer colors in the daytime. If you're good with color recognition, you can track time to the minute, depending on where the glowstools are in the spectrum.”

Sawain nodded slowly, trying to comprehend. He glanced at the walls and noticed that the glowstools were glowing a color somewhere between green and yellow.

This is going to take getting used to, but I think warmer colors are like fire colors. So it must be early still since it's still mostly green.

Sawain asked Tobi, “Do you think I could get one of those in my room so I can see what I'm doing in the morning?”

Tobi looked as if he was in thought for a moment, “I'm sure you could if you asked Lady Tirinele.”

Sawain shuddered visibly at the thought of having to talk to the director again. He dropped the issue and took his breakfast to his new usual seat.

The two friends sat in their corner of the room, talking during breakfast. Tobi noticed the scroll in Sawain's belt.

“
Oh, you got your orders! What team are you on?”

Sawain frowned with a mouthful of oatmeal, “Captain Nerelis' team.”

Tobi's eyes brightened and a large grin spread across his face, “Really? That's great! I'm on Mirehawk too!”

Sawain was relieved to already know someone on this mysterious team. He grinned and rolled up the scroll.

“
Oh, good. We can suffer Nerelis' wrath together.”

Tobi shuddered, “Nerelis is a mean one, but he's the least of your worries. Mirehawk is packed with talent and ambition. I have no idea how I got on the team. I guess they lost a bet.”

Sawain looked at his half eaten breakfast as his nerves stirred again, “What can you tell me about them?”

Tobi scratched his chin, “Well, there's Loraleth, she's an expert with knives. She can hit every target's bull's eye on the range ring while running the obstacle course beside it. Very impressive, even to the instructors. Then there's Mariten and her Pankin companion, Timbrel. There's something enchanting about the way they play their music. Captain Nerelis calls it Bardic Power. Then there's Loraleth's twin brother, Banthan. He thinks he's the best. He's good with a sword, but a bit of a coward.”

Sawain recognized the name, Banthan. It was the name of the boy who antagonized him earlier. He tried to keep his hatred from showing while Tobi continued.

“
Finally, there's Naralei. She's the best all around on our team. Her scores are some of the highest in the academy. She gets a lot of unfair accusations of getting inflated scores because Nerelis is her father, but I don't believe it. I've seen her train. She's as good as she is beautiful.”

Tobi had a dreamy expression on his face. Sawain smiled, trying not to laugh. He could not hold it all in and a snicker escaped his throat. It snapped Tobi back to reality and turned his cheeks red. He cleared his throat.

“Right, well, there's the rundown on team Mirehawk. Speaking of the team, I don't see any of the others in meal hall. We better hurry and get up to the courtyard. We're late!”

Sawain's heart skipped a beat as he shoveled a few more spoonfuls of oatmeal into his mouth and jumped up from the table. He quickly followed Tobi out of the meal hall and into the open courtyard. The two friends hurried to the sword ring at the far end of the grassy field. The others were standing in line while Captain Nerelis stood in front of them with his arms behind his back.

Sawain glanced at his new team mates as they entered the ring. He recognized Banthan and Naralei. The others were new faces. He noticed one of the girls had a reddish raccoon-like creature dressed in a little blue vest and beret with red trim. He assumed these two were Mariten and Timbrel. Mariten was the shortest elf on the team. She was not fat, but she was more squat than the others. She had shoulder length blonde hair that grew more wavy at the tips. Her wide blue eyes sparkled with craftiness. She had a tomboyish posture and smirk that matched her garb. She wore a green leather jerkin and matching trousers that were held up by a white sash that was more yellow than white. She also wore black boots that came up to her knee caps and a blue beret similar to her pet. A clay flute hung around her neck on a brass chain.

He assumed the other girl was Loraleth. She was tall and slender. Her nose was long in the bridge, and her chin was pointed. She had long brown hair and pretty brown eyes. A single scar ran down the left side of her jaw. Though her face was long, there was unmistakable elven beauty about her. Her hair was straight and wild, much like Banthan's. She wore black leather armor and a bandolier of like colored leather that held six curved knives. She also wore black cotton trousers and matching boots. Sawain thought he could see another dagger hilt protruding from the top of one of the boots. When she noticed him looking at her, her eyes widened, her complexion darkened and her right hand instinctively shot up to cover the scar on her chin.

Tobi and Sawain quickly fell in line. Sawain was breathing a little harder than usual, but Tobi panted as if he just finished a marathon. Nerelis glared hard at them. Sawain's blood boiled as he returned the glare. Nerelis spoke.

“
Nice of you two to decide to join us today. We will train an extra hour past downtime for your tardiness”

The others groaned and complained. Nerelis shot them a sweeping warning glance. They were immediately silenced.

“You are a team. You are one. If one is punished, you all take the brunt. If one fails, you all fail. Now, before we get started, you have a new team mate. He is not from the forest, but you are all required by the Triumvirate to treat him as such.”

Sawain was sick of being treated as an outsider. The director's words echoed in his ears, warning him not to reveal his bloodline, but he decided that he would rather be a hated native than a hated outsider. He boldly stepped forward.

“My name is Sawain, and I do have ties to Alfhaven, despite what you have all heard. My mother is Skalda of Alfhaven. We were torn from our native home, but I have returned. I may have not been born in the forest, but, by my mother's blood, I am a part of the forest.”

Everyone except Nerelis gasped at the name, Skalda. There was silence for a moment as Nerelis glared long at him. It threatened to wither Sawain on the spot, but his human stubbornness took over. Nerelis eventually looked away and cleared his throat.

“Well, there you have it. The son of a celebrity. Very bold claim you make, Thrallborn. Of course, you are a liar. Skalda died years ago, before you could have been born.”

Sawain glared at Nerelis, “It's not a lie! I grew up in Mistveil Farm on the border of Jordborg. My mother was enslaved by a human named Torval. I am not a liar!”

Nerelis placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and glared hard at Sawain, “That is enough! If I hear one more word from you, I'll gut you myself!”

Sawain quietly stepped back into line and stood still. his mind buzzed with emotions. He made sure to glare defiantly at Nerelis. Nerelis took a moment to calm down, then addressed the young team as a whole, while he paced up and down the line.

“Today's first exercise focuses on team building. You have a new team mate, one who is not as experienced as you. As you know, one weak link...”

He glanced at Tobi. Tobi blushed.

“Can break an otherwise strong chain. You are going to run the Thorn Trial today.”

The others shifted uncomfortably at this news. Sawain felt even more uneasy about just being thrown into a trial with no training.

Maybe this is just how they train. Nerelis could be trying to break me early too. That's not going to happen. I'll pass any trial he throws at me. Can't be worse than fighting an army of undead or a giant.

Nerelis continued his speech, “You'll have no problem with the trial if you work together. Now, follow me.”

The young elves fell in line behind Nerelis. He led them outside of the fortress walls and around the back, where Sawain could not see before. Behind the fortress was a massive tangle of briars. Sawain guessed it was roughly the size of two Dawnstar Manors. There was a narrow trail that led into the tangle. Nerelis took them straight to the maw of the thorny beast. He turned to his pupils and crossed his arms behind his back. He gave them all a cynical smile.

“
In you go, now. I'll be right behind you, watching your progress. This is a pass or fail exercise. You know what happens if you fail.”

The others nodded grimly. Sawain quietly swallowed the lump rising in his throat. He was starting to wish that they were fighting a giant instead. Naralei was the first to stride into the thorns.  Banthan hesitantly followed her in, followed by Mariten, Timbrel, and Loraleth.

He and Tobi were the last ones to enter. Tobi glanced back at Sawain, with a scared look in his eyes. Sawain put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder that seemed to embolden him somewhat. They both walked to the entrance of the thorn tangle. Sawain was cut off by Nerelis, who stopped him by drawing a curved sword and placing the flat of the blade against his chest. Sawain looked at him nervously as the captain spoke.

“
You can't go in there unarmed, Thrallborn.”

Nerelis tossed the sword, spinning it and catching it expertly by the blade. He offered the hilt end to Sawain, who hesitantly took it.

“Do you have anything bigger? I was sort of hoping I could learn to use a great sword while I was here. You know, to prepare me for my mission?”

Nerelis laughed coyly, “Don't be ridiculous, Thrallborn, Do you want to die before you make it a hundred yards outside of the city? You can't use such cumbersome weapons here. Your first lesson from me is this: Learn to adapt or die. Now, get going. Your team is waiting on you.”

Sawain glared at Nerelis, feeling his blood boil. He could not shake the notion that Nerelis was working in tandem with the Triumvirate to get him killed. He held onto the anger. He could use it to survive training and trump his adversaries behind the scenes. He shot a parting quip at Nerelis as he stepped into the briars.