Rojuun (18 page)

“The Mother Tree is wonderful. She is a holy
being, deserving of respect and dignity.” Adele said with a pointed
look at Tathan.

Tathan grinned at her. “I respect Mother
Tree a great deal. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have joked around with
her. Besides, she enjoyed the banter.”

“Of course,” Adele said, unconvinced. She
led them to a small grove of trees a distance away. There was a
clearing in the middle with simple, natural looking chairs and
table. A wood and leaf shelter covered the sitting area from the
worst of the elements.

Dwellings hanging from the trees faced the
clearing. They were made of intertwined living branches. Each one
was at a different level. Vevin jumped to the highest and looked
down at them. “I like this one!”

The cousins chuckled at him and went to the
ones closest to the ground. Each contained a bed, table and chairs,
plus an area to prepare food. The side toward the clearing was
open, but had a curtain made of leaves for privacy when
necessary.

“Dinner will be delivered to you,” Adele
told them before leaving.

Looking beyond the clearing, they could see
the forested city was lush with life. Globe lights hung from
various trees. When they had entered the city, one of the Druids
mentioned that the globes glowed magically at night.

There were flowers around the clearing,
which were very happy to see Liselle. She made it a point to go
around touching them, smiling. Flowers liked it when Liselle
smiled.

After exploring the dwellings, they sat
around the table. “This is going to be dangerous, isn’t it,
Cousin?” Liselle asked with both excitement and trepidation.

“Yes. I honestly don’t know how we’re going
to do it. I’m used to sneaking around in places to discover
information, but it’s difficult to sneak around with full armor,”
Tathan said while looking pointedly at Sir Danth.

“My good rogue, Have you not noticed how
little noise my armor makes? I believe that I do not make a sound
when I move,” Sir Danth said.

Vevin nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t make
any noise at all.”

Tathan’s jaw dropped in realization. He had
just assumed Sir Danth was making noise because anyone wearing that
much armor would make noise. Tathan had been lost in his own
thoughts too much lately. It was a habit he would have to drag
himself out of.

“I thought we were going to try walking in
and see what happens.” Liselle said.

“I think so, but I can’t believe they’ll
just let us walk through the gates,” Tathan said, standing up to
pace. “Hopefully they don’t attack us on sight.”

***

“They won’t attack you,” a voice said from
the forest. Three young women walked into their clearing with
assorted food, setting it down on the table. Steamed fruits made
taste buds water.

The one who had spoken was pretty, with
blonde hair and green eyes. She wore a green tunic with short
sleeves that left her arms exposed. A tattoo of leaves spiraled
around her right arm from wrist to shoulder. She had an airy voice
like the breeze. “They don’t attack anyone walking up to the
fortress.”

“That’s good to know. Will they let us in?”
Liselle asked.

“As long as you aren’t a Druid, yes. The
Rojuun have some sort of magical device that can tell if a person
is a Druid. It sets off alarms if one passes the wall whether
through the door or over the top. Anyone else can go in,” she
explained while pouring drinks. It looked to be a juice made from
fruits. “My name is Donna, by the way.”

“Hello Donna. My name is Liselle,” she
responded pleasantly while taking a sip of the fruit juice. It was
refreshing. Liselle looked at her cousin who seemed content to let
her talk to the girl while he attacked the food. Turning back to
Donna, she asked, “Do you think we’ll just be able to walk around
and talk to people?”

The young woman shooed the other two Druids
off after they finished serving the food and drink. “A few people
have escaped from the fortress. Usually, they’re people who have
been sent to forage for food. The Rojuun tell those people that
we’re dangerous monsters who snatch people, and to run for safety
should they see a Druid.”

“I wouldn’t imagine those people see the
Druids unless the Druids want to be seen,” Sir Danth said.

Donna chuckled. “Yes, well, there is that.”
She turned back to Liselle. “We usually let a person see us from a
distance in case they want to get away from the fortress. If they
do, then we take them to the Kingdom of Kethril where they can find
their own way.”

Tathan laughed aloud, surprising them all.
“So the Rojuun send people into the dangerous forest. Some of those
people disappear, but not all of them. It makes stories about
Druids snatching people all that more real.”

Donna blushed as she sat down. “I suppose it
does at that. The people we rescue, tell us they’re allowed to roam
freely through the lands of the Rojuun. The Rojuun have extensive
caverns throughout the Caaldith Mountains. There are also numerous
valleys and plains in the mountain range few humans have ever
visited.”

“Oh yes! There are lots of valleys.” Vevin
agreed. He was sitting down, but his head still bobbed in time with
his invisible music. Liselle noticed he was much brighter since
Mother Tree had healed the wound. “There are lots of canyons too.
It’s fun to fly through them!” he exclaimed with the biggest smile
any of them had seen.

Everyone turned to look at him. Vevin put
his arms out like wings then leaned back and forth as if he was
making sharp turns in the air while making a whooshing sound.

Tathan shook his head in amazement. “Liselle
and I were both raised in one of those valleys south of here. It’s
difficult to get through, though the range isn’t as thick there as
it is here in the north.”

“Exactly. The Rojuun have humans farm and
raise livestock in those places. They have others mine in the
caverns. Many live in the Empire of Iynath and their labor goes to
the Empire as well as the Rojuun.”

“Mining is bad work,” Tathan interjected. “I
would imagine those who do it suffer?”

“The people we’ve rescued say the Rojuun
make certain humans don’t suffer. In fact, some say it’s better to
work for the Rojuun than any king or lord.” Donna shrugged in
embarrassment.

“That’s not what I expected,” Tathan said
with a frown before going back to eating.

Donna brushed aside a strand of hair. “No.
Keep in mind that this is just what we are told, so we can’t verify
the information.”

“From what you are telling us, Donna, it
doesn’t sound as though the Rojuun are truly evil,” Liselle said in
confusion.

“In many ways, they aren’t. Rojuun are
rather naïve and childlike. However, they believe that they’re a
race of destiny and humans exist to serve them.” The expression on
Donna’s face became serious. “The Rojuun believe humans were put on
Ryallon to prepare the way for them. Now that the Rojuun are here,
humans can use all we’ve learned to take care of them.”

“What about dragons? They don’t think
dragons should take care of them do they?” Vevin asked.

“I don’t even know if they’re aware that
dragons exist.”

“Can I eat them?” Vevin asked hopefully.

They all stared at him.

“We’re not allowed to eat humans you know.
Dragons and humans get along and we agreed long ago not to hunt or
kill each other. Some dragons eat people and some people kill
dragons, but that sort of thing is punished quickly by specific
individuals, both human and dragon. Dragons don’t have an agreement
with the Rojuun, so can I eat them, and do they taste any good?”
Vevin asked Donna.

The young Druid stared at Vevin for a moment
with her jaw open. “I . . . I really don’t know.

“I think it might be best to avoid that when
we go to find out information about them,” Liselle said, trying to
think of the best way to handle it. “Perhaps finding out if dragons
are allowed to eat them can be one of the things we learn.”

“Oh! That’s a very good idea, Lady Liselle!”
Vevin exclaimed. “But I don’t think they’re protected, so I may
taste one just to see if they’re any good.”

Liselle gulped as the party and Donna
exchanged looks. Tathan took a deep breath. “I would ask that you
wait until we find ourselves in a position where we have to defend
ourselves against the Rojuun, Vevin. Then you can taste one.”

“Oh yes! I will wait until we are in danger
and then eat one . . . or more if they’re yummy.”

Tathan sighed as he went back to eating.
Donna stared at Vevin for a moment longer and then continued with
her story. “One thing you should know about the Rojuun is that they
are artists.”

“Artists?” Sir Danth asked.

“Yes. They create music, paint, and sculpt
as well as things I don’t comprehend. Much of their time is spent
performing,” Donna said. “Part of the reason humans can go wherever
they want is because the Rojuun spend so much time on their art
that they don’t care what humans do as long as it’s not
disruptive.”

“That’s amazing,” Liselle said. “You said
humans farm and mine, but how do we explain Sir Danth in his armor,
or Tathan’s sword, or Vevin’s teeth?”

“The Caaldith Mountains have dangerous
creatures throughout them. It’s said that caverns and tunnels go
throughout all of Ryallon, even through the center of the world.”
Donna sounded as though she was reciting something she had learned
from a teacher. “In these tunnels are many creatures. Some are
harmless, but others are very dangerous, just as in the forest.”
Donna smiled as she finished as though she had just passed a
lesson. “Rojuun hire adventurers to kill the creatures that are
dangerous to them.”

“What do they pay?” Tathan asked, suddenly
curious.

Donna smiled shyly at Tathan. “They have
gold, silver and gems. Word from the people we rescued is that the
Emperor of Iynath turns gold into coins for their use.”

Liselle realized that Donna was attracted to
Tathan. She didn’t know how to feel about it.

Tathan smiled at Donna. Apparently, he
realized it too. “I’m sure the emperor keeps some of the gold for
himself. So, we could go in there as adventurers and say we heard
there was money to be made?”

“Yes, that is an excellent idea. I think
it’ll work,” Donna agreed.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Tathan
proclaimed. “Let’s stay here through tomorrow night and leave the
morning after. That’ll give us time to rest with as much traveling
as we’ve done. We’ll travel to the fortress as adventurers and
discover everything we can about the Rojuun once inside.”

They all agreed, excited now that they had a
plan.

Chapter
16

The companions woke the next morning feeling
refreshed. Liselle noticed that Tathan had left them for most of
the day to spend time with Donna. A few of the Druid men had
visited the clearing looking to strike up conversations with her,
but Sir Danth and Vevin sent them about their way, for which she
was thankful. Her parents had wanted her to get married and have
children, but she didn’t have any desire to start a family. It was
overwhelming when men made advances toward her. Luckily, no man was
willing to irritate either a Knight of Morhain or a dragon, even
one in human form.

Vevin had the horses ready to go, holding
the reins as she mounted hers. Liselle found it amazing that the
horses liked Vevin so much until he explained that dragons
sometimes charmed their prey so they didn’t have to waste time
chasing it down before eating. He further explained that the time
chasing down animals was better spent flying through the sky in
lazy circles, or hunting for treasure.

It had been decided they would ride along
another narrow, ancient road the forest hadn’t claimed. It was five
days journey to a small village where Druids would care for the
horses. Liselle would leave her bow there in order to retrieve it
when they returned. Tathan took the lead with Vevin behind him then
Liselle. Sir Danth brought up the rear. It gave Liselle time to
think about all that had happened.

There was a part of her excited by the
adventure ahead. Liselle had wanted to explore the world ever since
she was a little child. She would sit in fields with the flowers
and look at the mountains, thinking about fascinating lands waiting
to be explored on the other side.

Another part of her was filled with
trepidation. It seemed like there would be a great deal of danger
in their path. True peril was a new concept to her that had only
become real when her family died. The ache of loss was still there,
but the touch of the mother tree had removed much of the pain in
her heart when she thought of them.

Now they were going to a fortress with a new
race of people, not the sort of adventure she had expected. On
their journey through the forest, Tathan had told her of more
remarkable cities. The way he described it though, they were all
dark and sinister. It still fascinated her and she wanted to see
them.

Sir Danth told her about wondrous cities of
the past after joining the group. He spoke of magical lights in the
streets with people in fine clothing going to grand parties where
there was music and dancing. Liselle wanted very much to dance. It
sounded truly divine.

What no one had ever suggested was visiting
caves under the ground where humans were servants. They hadn’t told
her that her life would be in mortal danger as she tried to gather
information on a mysterious new race no one understood. Well,
Tathan had mentioned mortal danger, but that was a running theme
with him.

Liselle had always imagined meeting new and
interesting people too. What she hadn’t anticipated were a hollow
knight, a dancing dragon in human form, or a crazy cousin who drew
a sword at every shadow.