Hamertia: The Elven Folly
Chapter 10

At the gnome garden, Filwood was just about to fall asleep in his gnome home, a wooden pentagon shaped structure with a tall pointed roof, when he heard a rustling noise coming from outside. He quickly climbed out of his straw bed to investigate. Pushing the hatch open ever so carefully, he got a glimpse of the intruder. A boggart with shovel in hand was in the process of digging up holes in the garden.

“Boggart!” Filwood shouted, alerting the other gnomes to the situation.

The boggart dropped his shovel and spun around. But before the trespasser had time to fully react, a horde of gnomes had descended on him. In typical gnome fashion, they pounced on the boggart, preventing any chance of escape. Once the creature stopped struggling, the gnomes removed themselves from the pile and restrained him. Filwood stepped forward.

“Why are you here, Boggart?” he shouted. “How dare you step foot in our forest!”

The boggart was slightly taller than him and had a longer nose. The most obvious difference between the two, however, was that the boggart appeared much older and uglier by all accounts. In regard to physical appearance, these characteristics are what differentiates the two races.

“I saw some dirt and decided to dig a hole,” the boggart replied indignantly. “It’s what we do!”

“And were you planning on planting anything in that hole?” Filwood asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Of course not,” he replied. “Putting anything in a boggart hole is sacrilege! It’s unthinkable!”

“First you steal our land and destroy it with your holes that serve no purpose,” Filwood said, disgusted. “Then you come here to do the same. How did you even make it past the tree wall?”

“I’ll never say,” the boggart responded. “And if you don’t mind, I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Oh no,” Filwood said sternly. “You’re not going anywhere. Gnomes!” he shouted, addressing the group as a whole. “Tie this beast up to a tree or something. I won’t have our garden or gnome homes defiled by his presence.”

Following their impromptu leader’s advice, the gnomes carried the intruder to the nearest tree and wrapped him up in its vines. They all then retired to their gnome homes for the night, leaving the boggart alone outside in the dark.

In the southern forest, Jharyn and Feno were busy practicing their fire skills. Feno conjured a small ball of flames before Jharyn took control, sending it crashing into the trunk of a tree. Because fire mages are capable of conjuring flames that dissipate on impact, they ran no risk of reducing their home to ash.

“Hey, Jharyn,” Feno said after the elf successfully hit his mark in the center of the tree. “Why did you tell Druin not to go after Nealey?”

“Because using fire to harass other elves is stupid,” he replied. “We should use our abilities when the need arises. In the meantime, there’s no reason to not be content with what we’re doing right now. Just because we’re low-born and can shoot fire from our hands doesn’t mean we have to be bad guys.”

“Druin doesn’t seem to think so” Feno muttered. “Even Connak seems to agree with you. I’m surprised Druin hasn’t really challenged his leadership yet.”

“Druin respects Connak,” Jharyn replied, trying to reassure not only Feno, but also himself. “He respects power, really. As long as Connak conjures blue fire, I think Druin will fall in line.”

“I hope so,” Feno said, genuine concern in his voice. “I would hate to think what our group would be like with him in control.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Feno,” Jharyn said. “Besides, Dakath would never let Druin overstep. He may look like a ruthless killer, but Dakath holds honor in high regard. He would never let harm come to a fellow fire mage.”

Feno nodded, deciding to embrace the comforting words. “So what were you thinking about earlier?” he asked, wanting to change the subject. “You know, when you said you couldn’t sleep.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Jharyn said in a half whisper. “You can’t tell anybody.”

“Sure!” Feno replied a bit too loudly.

“The only thing I was thinking about was how good Jastra’s lips taste.”

“You mean…”

Jharyn nodded. “Jastra and I have been together for a while now. But like I said Feno, you can’t tell anybody.”

“Connak will kill you if he finds out!” Feno exclaimed, again not minding his volume. “You know how he feels about her!”

“Which is why he can never find out. Promise me, Feno. This is just between us.”

Feno gave a light nod. “I promise.”

After making sure no one was following him, Druin made his way toward the southern forest’s stream, intent on paying visit to a particular eccentric little elf. Just as he had hoped, Nealey was sitting on his rock tossing stones into the water below.

“Ah! A face Nealey does not see often,” he said as Druin approached. “I say, tell Nealey how you got those scars.”

“You want a story before you’re sent off to sleep?” Druin responded in an unreadable tone.

“Nealey does enjoy a good story! How else would Nealey ever know anything?”

“Well, many moons ago there lived another race of magical elven beings,” he began. “The lightning mages. The bastards believed they were superior to us, so we were at constant war. One night, they snuck up on us like cowards. As soon as I saw them approach, their leader struck me with one of those awful bolts. It burned hotter than any fire I had ever conjured. It ran down from my face through my entire body. But I killed him with a ball of flames before he could finish me. His screams were the most satisfying I’ve ever heard. Maybe I should thank him, though. The scars he gave me are symbols of my strength. Any elf that takes one look at them thinks twice before picking a fight.”

“You speak quite good for an elf of the southern forest,” Nealey observed. “Tell Nealey, how did you learn to use such proper language?”

“When you have feelings for someone who appreciates something, you learn it to gain her favor,” Druin replied.

Nealey laughed. “Do not waste your time on such things, silly fire mage! Companionship of the romantic variety is a pursuit for the weak minded! Just look at Nealey…”

Druin smirked. “I suppose I should get on with what I really came here for.”

“And what might that be?” he asked. “Nealey was never told.”

Without speaking another word, Druin held his hands together, forming a ball of flames. Once it grew to a proper size, something that took only a matter of seconds, he sent it flying forward. Sitting on a rock and unable to react, the fire ball struck Nealey center mass. The elf’s screams were muffled by the blaze that engulfed his entire body. Before long, he fell into the water, which immediately extinguished him. This would prove to be of no real benefit, however, as his lifeless body was slowly carried away by the stream.

“Nobody tells Druin what to do.”

Elluin awoke in his bed the following morning. With Rychell and Jorie still sound asleep on the floor, he quietly slipped out of his room in search of Jastra. As soon as he closed the door, someone came running up to him.

“Hi Ellie!” Athtar shouted. “It looks like a really nice day outside! But I guess every day is a nice day! It’s still a good thing to mention, though! So what are you doing today?”

“I have an important meeting to get to,” he replied. “Do you know where Rydel is?”

“Ry’s probably at the library,” Athtar responded. “We’re gonna be needing a new librarian, you know. I told Ry he should do it. Or even Onvyr or Rania! Maybe they could do it together! Could you imagine? Two librarians!”

“Thanks, Athtar,” Elluin said. “Why don’t you run off to find him.”

“Ok! But first, what kind of meeting are you going to? I guess a meeting is just where you go and meet with other elves, but we usually don’t call that a meeting unless it’s important. So if it’s important I think I’d like to know about it!”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, sounding a bit harsher than intended.

Athtar shrugged and ran along, not seeming offended by his question being brushed off. Once the elf was out of sight, Elluin made his way to Jastra’s room and knocked on the door. Within a few seconds, it swung open and he stepped inside.

“So now you’re harboring low-borns in your room?” she asked, grinning.

“What? How did you know…”

“You really should keep your door locked at night,” she said. “Who knows what might sneak in.”

Elluin smirked. “So are we going to see the fire mages or what?”

“In good time,” she replied. “Tell me, who else knows about your little plan?”

“Just Folwin. He doesn’t seem that supportive of the idea but I don’t think he’ll oppose me. I believe that deep down he knows this has to happen.”

“Alright, best not tell anyone else for now,” she said. “I’ve heard that Kellam is going around preaching a bunch of nonsense. And you know how Rydel is…”

“Rydel is a great guy. But he does have certain sensibilities that could get in the way of doing what needs to be done. I agree, no need to tell anyone else for now.”

“Good,” Jastra replied. “But we’re going to need more than just the fire mages if you intend to eradicate an entire land of its inhabitants. We’re going to need…”

“Centaurs?” Elluin asked, smiling.

Jastra nodded. “Centaurs.”

The sun was peaking above the horizon in the woodlands beyond the southern tree wall. Heavily shadowed by the many layers of trees, a young centaur was looking for an area where the sunlight managed to penetrate the thick cover of branches and leaves above him. Finding his favorite spot, he sat on the ground and opened his book. A blotch of light that shone through a break in the foliage above illuminated the page.

“What are you doing?” an all too familiar voice called out to him. It was the last thing he wanted to hear. “Come on, the rest of the group will be up soon for our morning training. You don’t want to get caught sneaking off again.”

“Can’t you just give me a few minutes alone?” he mumbled as the unwelcome visitor approach. “I hardly get any time to read.”

“That’s because centaurs aren’t meant to read,” he replied, snatching the book from the other’s hand. “We’re meant to fight. Now let’s see what we have here…”

He carelessly flipped through the book, not actually reading the words.

“It’s a good thing I can’t read,” he said finally. “Not that I’d want to anyway…”

“Haven’t you ever considered that there might be more to life than warfare, Horyn?” he asked. “Maybe if you gave reading a chance it would open your mind a little.”

“Pfff,” Horyn replied. “I swear you’re the only centaur I’ve ever known to prefer a stack of paper to the bow or blade. What are you going to do when it comes time for battle?”

“What battle?” the boy asked. “All you and the others ever talk about is battle. What do you think is going to happen? Are the reds going to attack us? It’s been ages since we’ve seen them. Who knows if they even exist anymore.”

Horyn sighed. “And what if they do, Heath? It’s better to be prepared. Besides, it’s simply the centaur’s nature to fight.”

“We weren’t all born with horns on our heads,” Heath said. “Was your father a goat or something?”

Rather than being offended by the remark, Horyn smiled. Indeed, he was the only centaur in the woodlands with a pair of horns on his head; horns that most closely resembled those of a goat. Nevertheless, he revered them as a source of pride.

“A sign from the Great Stallion,” he replied. “A sign that I’m destined to be the best centaur warrior who ever lived! Now come along, we don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

Onvyr and Rania awoke in each other’s arms to sunlight shining in through their window. They turned their heads to look into the other’s eyes and smiled, just as they did every morning. After a long moment, they both got out of bed.

“Do you want to go see what Athtar and Rydel are up to today?” Rania asked as they got dressed.

“Seems you’re starting to take a liking to them,” Onvyr grinned. “Why is that?”

“I just think they’re a nice couple…of friends,” she replied. “And Athtar did take you to see the gnomes. I just thought it would be nice to spend some time with them is all.”

“Well at least I don’t have to worry about either of them trying to steal you away from me,” Onvyr snickered as he walked over and locked her lips together with his.

Rania grinned. “You never have to worry about that,” she told him. “You’re the only elf in the forest for me.”

“Well then,” he said. “Shall we get headed to the library? I’m sure if we’re to find Rydel and Athtar, that’s where they’d be.”

Rania nodded and the two made their way out of the room. To their surprise, a perky blonde haired elf was waiting for them right outside their door.

“Hi guys!” Athtar greeted. “I was going to go look for Ry at the library but figured I should see if you wanted to go along too! We’re gonna have to pick a new librarian and I thought you two should be there since you like books so much! So do you guys wanna come?”

“We were just on our way there to look for you and Rydel,” Rania replied. “Let’s all walk down together.”

“Awesome!” Athtar exclaimed, grabbing their hands and pulling them along as he led the way. “Onvyr, maybe after we pick the new librarian we could go visit the gnomes again! Maybe we could even think about writing a new book about them! Do librarians write books? Could you imagine? Writing a book instead of just reading it! But I guess you could read a book too after you wrote it! That’s pretty amazing!”

Onvyr and Rania half walked, half jogged along with Athtar toward the library, not even attempting to get a word in as the elf continued to blurt out anything and everything that popped into his mind.

The two centaur boys galloped back to where the other centaurs were beginning to wake up.

“See,” Heath groaned. “Not everyone is even up yet. I could have read for at least a little bit.”

“Get up!” a booming voice shouted before Horyn had a chance to respond. “A sleeping centaur is a dead centaur. A warrior must rise before the sun to avoid an ambush. Now get up!”

The largest centaur of the group trotted to the center of the clearing. He was tan and wore long brown hair. His large muscular build stood in stark contrast to Heath’s slender, untoned body and pale skin. Indeed, the only thing paler than Heath’s skin was his white hair. The imposing centaur held a bow in one hand and a sword in the other. Once all the others were on their hooves, he proceeded to bark out his orders.

“Find a partner and get in your training positions! Alternate between blade and bow! As centaur warriors, you must be well versed in all forms of combat! And…go!”

The centaurs, about four dozen in total, scrambled to find their sparring partners. Naturally, as the only two adolescent centaurs in the group, Heath and Horyn paired up, just as they did every day, both preferring it this way. For Horyn, it meant an easy victory he could never achieve against a fully grown opponent. For Heath, it meant not being defeated nearly as badly as he would be against an adult challenger.

Starting with the sword, they began to spar together. It only took a few moments for Horyn to side sweep Heath’s front legs and send to the ground.

“I told you some of us just aren’t made for this stuff,” Heath remarked as he struggled to get back up.

“Well you’re not gonna get any muscle by reading and tending to those plants of yours all day,” Horyn laughed as he reached his hand out and pulled him up.

“None of you would have anything to eat if it weren’t for my plants,” Heath replied. “You can’t get muscles without food.”

“Centaurs got along just fine for hundreds of years eating grass before we learned how to garden,” Horyn countered. “We could go easily go back to doing that.”

“And yet you still prefer the food that I grow…”

Before their conversation could continue, the head centaur snuck up behind them and smacked them both upside the head.

“No idle discussions during training!” he yelled. “Now get back to work! It’s time for archery.”

The two rubbed the back of their heads as they went to the center of the training yard to fetch their bows. The arrows they used for training had no points, so a centaur could withstand being hit with them; most centaurs, anyway.

“Ow!” Heath moaned as Horyn sent an arrow flying into his torso before he could even get into a defensive stance. “Come on, I wasn’t even ready!”

“It’s not that bad,” Horyn smirked. “Go on, take a shot at me.”

Horyn stood in the open, his arms held out at his sides, making for an easy target. Heath nocked his arrow, pulled the bowstring back, and aimed. He sent the arrow flying through the air, hitting its target. To his disappointment, however, the arrow simply bounced off of Horyn’s abs, causing no apparent damage. While Horyn was just as slender as him, his arms and torso were well toned, the result of all his hard training.

On the outskirts of the clearing that made up the training yard, the head centaur was making his rounds, inconspicuously keeping tabs on everyone’s activities and progress. He walked up to another centaur, who seemed to be his second-in-command.

“The horned boy shows promise,” he said in a hushed voice. “But I’m not sure about the puny white haired one. Perhaps we should just let him tend to the plants…”

“All centaurs must be raised as warriors,” the other rebuked. “He’ll either come around on his own, or we’ll make him. But no centaur can just be left to be a gardener.”

The head centaur nodded. “Just make sure to keep a close eye on him. And I’ll do the same.”

Feno had woken up before his companions. Thinking they would still be asleep for a while, he decided to take a walk to the stream, expecting to see his friend sitting on his favorite rock. What he found, however, made him drop to his knees in shock and sorrow. Washed up along the water’s edge lay the charred remains of Nealey. After taking a moment to fully process what he had discovered and wiping the tears from his eyes, Feno hurried back to tell the others what happened.

“Guys! Guys!” he shouted as he ran up to them.

The fire mages slowly got to their feet and rubbed their eyes, not prepared to face the morning sunlight.

“It’s Nealey!” he continued. “Something happened! He’s…dead!”

“What do you mean dead?” Connak asked. “What happened to him?”

“He was lying there along the stream,” Feno replied, his eyes tearing up once again. “And his body was…burnt.”

“Dakath does not find that possible,” Dakath said. “Only fire mages can burn elves and all fire mages were here last night.”

“Are you sure he just wasn’t sleeping, Feno?” Jharyn asked.

Feno shook his head. “He was dead! And burnt! How did this happen?”

“How is that possible?” Connak asked no one in particular. “Unless…” He eyed Druin suspiciously.

“What?” Druin barked. “You think I did this? We all agreed not to go after any elves last night. I may not think you’re a very good leader, Connak, but at least I respect the fact that you are the leader!”

“Alright,” Jharyn interjected. “Why don’t we go take a look and see what happened.”

The other fire mages all nodded in agreement, except for Druin, who simply huffed. Feno led the way to the stream where Nealey’s body was located. Before long, they arrived at their destination and saw it for themselves; Nealey had indeed been burnt to death.

“Well those are definitely burns,” Connak observed.

“Poor bastard must’ve been struck by lightning or something,” Druin suggested. “That’s the only thing I can think of.”

“And when was the last time there was a lightning storm in the forest?” Jharyn asked.

“Well maybe we were overdue for one!” Druin shot back, giving Jharyn the nastiest glare imaginable. “What else could it have been?”

“A fire mage,” Jharyn murmured under his breath, luckily not loud enough for Druin to hear.

“Shall we take care of the body?” Dakath asked after a long pause.

Connak nodded and signaled for them to retrieve Nealey’s burnt remains. Dakath and Feno grabbed hold of the arms while Jharyn and Druin took the legs. The two didn’t stop leering at each other for the entire walk back.

In the northern forest, Athtar, Onvyr, and Rania met up with Rydel in the library. The flowers from the previous day still sat on the bookshelf, looking just as beautiful as ever.

“Hi Ry!” Athtar greeted as they walked in the door. “Looking at books, I imagine?”

Rydel nodded. “Leofrick had a lot of amazing books here, Ath. It would take forever to read them all.”

“That must be why Xander was in here for so many days nonstop!” Athtar replied. “But I bet he didn’t even come close to reading all of these books! Anyway, we were all talking about who the new librarian should be! Who do you think it should be, Ry?”

“I think everybody should just come as they please,” Rydel said. “If someone happens to be in here, then they can be the librarian if they want. That way everyone has equal access to the books.”

“Great idea, Ry!” Athtar exclaimed. “Everybody can be a librarian! I would have never even imagined! It’s amazing!”

Rydel smiled. “Glad you think so, Ath. So do you guys agree?” he asked, addressing Onvyr and Rania.

The two elves nodded. “Sounds like a great idea,” Rania said. “Having just one librarian always seemed to make them a bit…snobby.”

With that settled, Athtar moved on to the next order of business. “Ry, we were all talking about writing a book! I was thinking about writing one about gnomes but I guess it could be about anything! But how do we go about doing that? I imagine we’d need lots of blank paper! But there’s not very much left in the forest… Where would we find more?”

“Nealey might know,” Rydel replied. “He’s a bit tricky to get information from, but he did help us find hemlock when we needed it to save you. We could try asking him.”

“Awesome!” Athtar exclaimed. “Just lead the way, Ry!”

Elluin and Jastra approached the fire mages just as they finished cremating Nealey’s body. They managed to catch a glimpse of his remains right before they burst into ashes. Jastra quickened her pace.

“What’s going on?” she asked, sounding rather alarmed. “Who was that?”

“Nealey was found washed up along the stream,” Connak replied. “We were just doing what we do in such situations.”

“But what happened to him?” she continued to press. “Elves don’t just wind up dead like that.”

“Bastard probably just slipped off his rock and banged his head,” Druin said. “Who cares?”

“Elves don’t get burned by falling off rocks,” Jharyn said under his breath, yet loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Naturally, Druin shot him a nasty look. “I don’t know happened to him,” he insisted. “But whatever it was, it doesn’t matter. We took care of the body, so that’s that. What I really want to know is what brings my fair maiden to the southern forest.”

It was now Connak’s turn to aim a threatening glare in Druin’s direction. However, Druin was far too busy making googly eyes at Jastra to even notice. Ignoring him, Jastra decided to temporarily drop the subject and discuss the matter for which she originally sought them out.

“Elluin here has a proposal for you,” she said, addressing the fire mages as a group. “I think you’d be quite interested in what he has to offer.”

Elluin stepped forward and cleared his throat, feeling a bit intimidated by the orange eyes that were now fixated on him. Forcing himself to appear as confident as possible, he began his rehearsed proposal.

“In the lands north of our forest there dwells a menace that threatens us all; high-born and low-born alike. Known as trolls, this race exists for the sole purpose of enslaving all of elven kind. It is our grand responsibility to…”

“Get on with it!” Druin shouted.

“Dakath has no interest in listening to a high-born go on for hours using such jargon,” Dakath added.

“Alright,” Elluin said, taking a deep breath. “Help us defeat the trolls north of the forest and in return, low-born elves will have the opportunity to live in the northern forest.”

“What makes you think we would want to live in the north?” Connak snarled. “We have everything we want down here. Besides, living in the north would take all of the excitement out of prowling around there at night.”

“Dakath does not like the pretentiousness of high-borns,” Dakath said. “Why would he live among them?”

Druin opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Connak before he could get a word in.

“But fire mages do love to burn and conquer,” he said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. “That’s what you’re offering us, correct?”

Elluin nodded. “The chance to burn an entire land and eliminate its evil inhabitants. You got it.”

The fire mages exchanged looks with one another. Even Feno appeared to have a sinister grin. After a few moments of chuckling in anticipation, they returned their glances to Elluin.

“Alright,” Connak said. “We’ll march north with you and take care of the trolls. But let’s make one thing clear. Fire mages take orders from no one. You let us plan our assault and do what we do best. Everything will go just fine as long as we have that understanding.”

“Of course,” Elluin assured them. “I trust that fire mages know how to fight.”

“And you’re right to think that,” Druin interjected. “Now why don’t you run along so we can begin planning. But Jastra can stay of course.” He winked at her.

“I’ll be going back with Elluin to do some planning ourselves,” she said, ignoring Druin’s remark, something she seemed to have to do quite often. “We’ll meet up again later for further collaboration.”

The fire mages turned their attention to each other as Elluin and Jastra began walking back toward their home in the northern forest. With the others distracted, Jharyn quietly slipped away and hurried to catch up with them.

“Jastra!” he called in a hushed tone. “Wait.”

“What is it, Jharyn?” she asked.

“It’s about Nealey,” he replied. “I’m pretty sure Druin is the one who killed him.”

“I know Druin enjoys…tormenting other elves,” Jastra said. “But how can you be sure that he did it?”

“He actually suggested that we all do it,” Jharyn explained. “And he was really mad when me and Feno told him how stupid it was. We all split up after that and he wasn’t with any of us. Nealey was completely burned when Feno found him this morning. I can’t think of any other explanation.”

Jastra slowly nodded her head. “Alright, just keep an eye on him for now and we’ll deal with it later. For now, we need to focus on the battle that’s about to take place.”

Jharyn hung his head. “He’s dangerous, Jastra. And what about Rychell and Jorie? He’ll probably go after them next.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she told him. “They’re safe up in the trees with us.”

She put her fingers under his chin and lifted his head back up. Checking again to make sure they weren’t being watched, she locked her lips with his. After a long blissful moment, albeit quite an awkward one for Elluin, she bid him farewell. He hurried back to join the other fire mages as Elluin and Jastra continued on their way back north.

“Um, so,” Elluin finally said. “What was that about?”

“You can’t tell anybody,” Jastra replied. “But Jharyn and I sort of have a…thing going on.”

“Ah,” was all Elluin could think to respond with. They spent the rest of the walk back in silence.

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