Hamertia: The Elven Folly
Chapter 16

Back in the northern forest, Elluin was interrupted by another knock on the door. Closing his book and taking a deep breath, he called out to his visitor.

“Come in.”

Folwin slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside, Puff still on his shoulders.

“Heard you didn’t agree to go along with the gnomes to fight the boggarts,” he said, a grin on his face.

“Wasn’t really in the mood for it,” Elluin snickered. “What do you care?”

“Was worried that the whole troll thing would give you a taste for blood,” Folwin replied. “Glad to see you didn’t jump at the opportunity for another war.”

Elluin shrugged. “The trolls were our business and the boggarts are the gnomes’ business,” he said plainly. “If Athtar and Onvyr want to help them, that’s their business.”

“A great big world of everyone minding their own business,” he said, his eyes fixated on the ceiling.

“Wonderful world, isn’t it?” Elluin smiled. “So how’s the whole taking care of Puff thing going?”

“It’s pretty awesome actually,” Folwin replied. “It’s nice having a feathery little companion.”

Squee

“Glad to hear it. It’s been a long day, I think I’m gonna be going off to sleep soon.”

“Alright,” Folwin nodded, making his way for the door before pausing. “Oh, one more thing. When do you think Kellam will be coming back? Not in a rush or anything, just wondering.”

Elluin shrugged without making eye contact. “No idea.”

Folwin nodded once more and walked out of the room, leaving Elluin alone. He let the book fall to the floor at the side of his bed as he stared at the wall in front of him. He hated when Folwin brought up the subject of Kellam. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get the thought of what he had done out of his mind. He unremittingly told himself that his actions were justified, that the elves would never be safe from the trolls if Kellam kept calling the war a mistake, but still the feeling of guilt lingered. As the sun dipped below the horizon and light seized to fill his room, Elluin buried himself in his blanket and waited for sleep to come rescue him from his thoughts.

Rydel and Rania walked Rychell and Jorie back to their room. They managed to cheer up a bit from earlier in the day, but were by no means back to their old selves.

“You guys get some rest,” Rydel instructed them. “We can hang out and talk some more tomorrow if you want.”

The boys nodded and replied with weak smiles before stepping into their room. They were greeted by Feno, who, after spending the day thinking about his grand rescue mission, had fallen asleep on the floor next to the bed. They carefully stepped over him and climbed into bed, enveloping themselves in the warmth of the covers.

Rydel quietly closed the door and turned to face Rania, who couldn’t help but smile at him.

“You’re such a sweet guy, Rydel,” she blushed. “We’re so lucky to have an elf like you here with us.”

Rydel grinned and lowered his head slightly. “I’m really not that great,” he said softly. “Not better than anyone else.”

She pulled him into a hug, something that while unexpected, he fully embraced. “Well I think you are.”

She kissed him on the cheek before releasing him from her arms and taking his hand. She led him through the hall, much in the same way Athtar did every day. She stopped once they reached the door to his room, giving him one more quick hug.

“’Night, Rydel,” she finally said. “Let’s hope our boys come home safe tomorrow.”

Rydel nodded. “Ath promised they’d be fine; not much the boggarts can do to them. I just hope the ordeal wasn’t too bad. I really hate having to think about all this violence, Rania.”

“Me too,” she replied, looking into his eyes. “Hopefully we can just put it all behind us now. Elves took care of the trolls and gnomes took care of the boggarts. No more battles to fight, no one else has to get hurt. Everything should return to normal now.”

“Let’s hope so.”

She smiled at him once more before turning around to retire to her room for the night. Rydel opened his door and stepped inside. It felt strange not to have Athtar there talking to him about what a great day they had and how wonderful tomorrow was going to be.

“Shouldn’t they have gotten back by now?” Druin asked.

“Dakath would think so,” Dakath replied.

“It is getting late,” Connak added. “Jharyn should have been able to talk to Feno and return by now.”

“So what do we do?” Druin inquired. “What if they don’t come back at all?”

Connak sighed. “They’ll be back, Druin. They’re fire mages.”

“Hardly,” Druin scoffed. “Jharyn can’t even conjure fire at all, and Feno…that little thing…maybe they’re coming around to the idea that they might not be real fire mages after all.”

“And who would’ve put that thought into their heads?” Connak asked, turning to give Druin a fierce glare. “Honestly, you should’ve been nicer to them.”

“Pfff,” was all Druin offered as a reply. turning his face away and standing up from his favorite rock. “Well, I’m going to check in on them. It’s nighttime now, and as far as I can tell, our dear leader Elluin is still letting us low-borns wander around up there at night.”

“Fine,” Connak said, not bothering to argue any further. “Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Druin scoffed once again as he walked away. He quickly made his way through the southern forest and reached the border. With all the elves of the northern forest in their rooms for the night, he was completely alone on the forest floor. He eventually made it to the base of the tree that housed the elven dwelling, perhaps hoping to find the wayward fire mages waiting for him. He found no such thing.

With no one in sight, he ascended the tree ramps and came to the entrance. Not wanting to risk being seen entering the hall, he grabbed hold of a notch on the outside wall and swung himself around. He now hung high above the ground, gripping the wall that made up the side of the building. He carefully moved along the surface, peering into each window as he went by. After looking into about five rooms and seeing elves he didn’t recognize, he eventually came to the one that made his heart stop. Nearly losing his grip, he quickly resituated his position to prevent himself from falling to the ground below. It took a few moments for him to fully comprehend what he was seeing.

Inside the window, he could see Jastra lying on her bed. Jharyn was hunched on top of her, kissing her passionately, a blanket covering their bodies. He knew he wanted to react, jump in through the window and confront them, but his body wouldn’t move. He could only stare, his eyes widened and his body paralyzed as the two embraced each other the same way he had wished to do with her for so long. Eventually, he shook his head, breaking his gaze on them. Not allowing his eyes to return to the couple, he hastily made it back to the front of the dwelling and descended the tree ramps, his mind still in a daze.

As soon as he reached the ground, he collapsed. He knew he needed to tell the others about what he had just seen; no doubt Connak would want to burn Jharyn’s flesh from his bones, but the emotions he felt we too overwhelming, like nothing he had ever experienced before. He sat there on the ground and allowed himself to do something he never once before did in his life; cry. He vowed at that moment that he would be the one to kill Jharyn. When the moon was at its high point in the sky, he stood up and began the walk back to the southern forest.

It was nearly dawn when the gnome convoy returned to the forest. Rydel and Rania were waiting at the garden to welcome them back home. As soon as the carts came to a stop, Athtar and Onvyr jumped out and ran up to them.

“Hey guys!” Rania greeted. “So how’d it go?”

“Well the land is back under gnome control, that’s for sure,” Onvyr responded. “I’m just glad to see you again.”

Onvyr and Rania hugged each other while Athtar pulled Rydel into his arms.

“We can go write our book now, Ry!” he said cheerfully. “I think it’ll be the best book ever!”

“Do you even know how to write, Ath?” he asked, a smile on his face.

“Well…no. But I’m sure you do!”

“What makes you think I’d know how to write?”

“You taught me how to read!” Athtar replied. “I’m sure it’s not that different from writing!”

Athtar pulled Rydel along in the direction of the library, leaving Onvyr and Rania alone with the gnomes, who were busy removing the empty buckets from their carts.

“So did you and Rydel have fun while we were gone?” Onvyr asked casually.

“We hung out in the library most of the time with Rychell and Jorie,” she replied. “He was so nice to them and really helped them feel better after the whole troll battle thing. It must’ve had a big effect on them. I was kinda worried for a bit that fighting the boggarts might do the same to you…”

“Well, things did get a bit…crazier than I thought they would, but everything’s fine,” he assured her, forcing a grin. “We helped the gnomes get their land back, so it all ended well.”

“Good to hear. You must be really tired after all of that. Want to head back to our room?”

Onvyr nodded and off they went.

“Are you sure?” Connak asked, his voice distant, as if he was in another universe.

“I’m sure,” Druin replied. “The bastard was there with her…in bed. He stole her and I don’t think he intends to come back.”

A ball of blue flames formed in Connak’s hand, growing so large that it appeared he may soon lose control of it. He sent it flying into a tree while letting out a jarring scream before falling to his knees.

“That little bastard…I…I…I’m gonna kill him!”

In an unexpected development, Dakath stepped forward to put his hand on his fellow fire mage’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. The gesture was dismissed when Connak suddenly pulled away.

“I say we take it a step further,” Druin suggested.

“How do you mean?” Connak asked, slowly regaining his composure and returning to his feet.

“The high-borns obviously think they have us wrapped around their fingers, that they can do whatever they want without consequence. And now even Jharyn thinks he can go up there and get away with stealing Jastra. We should burn their entire forest to the ground and take what’s rightfully ours. The reign of the high-borns is over as soon as we say it is!”

A long moment of silence passed before Connak spoke again. “I think you’re right, Druin. It’s the high-borns who made this possible to begin with. It’s not enough to kill Jharyn, they all need to feel our wrath…and they’re going to.”

Sinister smiles spread across the faces of both Druin and Dakath. The former was ecstatic that he finally managed to convince his leader to take extreme action while the latter was just happy at the prospect of violence.

“But we may not be able to do it ourselves,” Druin added. “We need to go in with overwhelming force.”

“And who would help us with that?” Connak asked.

An even more sinister smile now appeared on Druin’s face. “The reds.”

Connak’s face dropped. “You don’t mean…”

Druin nodded, his unnerving smile ever present, “Volcanis Centaurin. The Red Centaurs.”

Xander had no idea how long it had been since his banishment. He only knew that the time was fast approaching that grass would no longer sustain him and he would perish. Too frail to walk, he crawled across the barren land in a desperate attempt to find something. He had no idea what that something was or if he would ever find it. His mind was focused on one thing; the evasion of death. He had managed it so far, but knew he couldn’t hold out much longer.

After what felt like an eternity crawling through a thin layer of grass, he felt something different underneath his body. His once extravagant clothing had been shredded during his time in the rugged outdoors, his bare skin now totally exposed to the ground beneath him. Feeling the coarse, rough texture, he paused for a moment. He scooped some of the material in his hand and looked at it. He managed to conclude that it was a red mixture of what felt like sand, ash, and rock before blacking out.

Back in the northern forest, life seemed to be returning to normal. Elluin and Folwin were outside walking the trails with Puff soaring in the sky above them, talking just as they had always done before. Rychell and Jorie, slowly coming out of the abyss they found themselves in after the troll battle, were running around with Feno, showing him all the beauty the northern forest had to offer. Onvyr and Rania sat on their favorite stone bridge, their heads resting on each other’s shoulders as they read a book together. Meanwhile, Athtar and Rydel sat in the library in front of the desk with a stack of paper on one side and about a dozen open books on the other.

“I didn’t think it would be this hard,” Rydel muttered as he scanned the pages of the books.

“Don’t give up, Ry! I’m sure we can figure it out!”

“It’s one thing to read these things in a book, but I’ve never even tried to write out any letters before. Guess I never thought I would have to…”

“What are you boys up to?” a voice called from the doorway.

Jastra was walking in with Jharyn, who never seemed to have left her side since his arrival.

“Me and Ry are trying to write a book!” Athtar replied. “But it’s not the same as reading…”

“You guys have so many books here,” Jharyn said. “Do you really think you need anymore?”

“You can never have too many books!” Athtar exclaimed. He returned his attention to Rydel and the quest to figure out how to write words instead of just read them.

“Well you guys have fun,” Jastra told them. “Jharyn and I are gonna grab a few books and find a nice quiet place to read for a while.”

“You could stay in here with us! The library is a pretty good place to read!”

“Thanks for the offer, but I think we want to find some place a bit more private,” she replied.

“You two must really like each other,” Athtar said, a hint of disappointment in his voice that they wouldn’t be staying.

Jastra and Jharyn turned to face each other. “I guess you could say that,” she said before leaning in and kissing him. “Just like you and Rydel do.”

Athtar turned to Rydel after the two joined hands and scurried out the door. “What did she mean by that?”

Rydel shrugged.

Xander woke up in a state of confusion. Unable to move his arms or legs, he looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in a large, dimly lit circular room. Sitting along the wall opposite the entrance, he noticed a single beam of light radiating down a stairway. Noticing that the structure lacked windows, he figured he was underground. There were several long, curved tables and cabinets along the wall. Aside from these few pieces of furniture, the room was completely empty. Just as he looked down to see that his arms and legs were bound in a thick rope, he heard footsteps descending the stairs.

After a few grueling seconds, three intimidating figures appeared before him. They looked a lot like centaurs, yet nothing like the simple creatures briefly described in a book he had read during those long days and nights in the library. They were the most muscular beasts he had ever seen. Both their human and horse parts exuded pure strength. Their hair was long and elaborately adorned with red beads. Their upper bodies were painted with red dye and they wore necklaces of red jewels around their necks. Even the hair that covered the horse half of their bodies was tinted red. Xander sat there stunned, unsure of what his captors intended to do with him.

“So what do we with that thing we picked up along our border?” one of them asked, addressing no one in particular.

“We could always offer him as a sacrifice,” the centaur next to him suggested in an unsettling deep voice. “We haven’t done that in many cycles.”

The third centaur shrugged. “I’m not sure a sacrifice would be best, considering we haven’t done it in so long. But if you just want to throw him in the volcano, that would be a sight to see.”

The other centaurs were nodding their heads when Xander finally spoke up.

“What…who are you?” he struggled to say.

“Volcanis Centaurin,” the first centaur replied, a mocking grin on his face. “We are the Red Centaurs of old. The one true centaur race.”

“Do you have any water?” Xander asked weakly. “Please…it’s been…I don’t know how long since I’ve drank anything.”

The centaurs looked at each other and laughed.

“We would never defile our land by allowing such a thing!” the second centaur bellowed. “But if you require nourishment, we can offer beet juice and yams, the only things that grow on our sacred land.”

Xander had never heard of these strange foods before, but he wasn’t about to argue or be picky, considering his desperate state. He quickly nodded his head, after which the third centaur retried the items from one of the cabinets.

“What brings you to our land?” the first centaur asked. “We haven’t seen an elf in many cycles. I doubt many of our kind would even recognize one. You are quite lucky it was us who found you. Anyone else would have left you to die.”

“But I thought you intended to kill me anyway,” Xander replied after taking a sip of the bitter liquid that had been referred to as beet juice and a bite from the ugly vegetable known as a yam. Although the old Xander would have spit them into the face of those serving him, after nearly starving to death they tasted like the most delicious things he had ever eaten.

“We have not yet decided,” the centaur said, irritability evident in his voice. “Don’t make the choice an easy one. Now, what brings you to our land?”

“I was banished from my home,” Xander answered, not willing to push them any further. “I’ve been wandering the land outside ever since. I just happened to stumble upon this place.”

“So you’re not a scout?” the second centaur asked. “There’s no plan of an elven invasion?”

The other two centaurs shot him a nasty glare, as if he had just revealed a classified secret.

“Of course not,” Xander insisted. “At least not that I’m aware. But I never even knew you…centaurs existed until now, so I doubt any other elf does either.”

Although they probably didn’t intend to show it, the centaurs looked relieved.

“Well…that’s good to know,” the first centaur said. “Alright, I guess we’ll let you go then. Consider yourself very lucky…”

“But I have nowhere else to go,” he blurted out without thinking. “Couldn’t you let me stay here? At least for a little while?”

Once again, the three centaurs looked at each other and laughed.

“An elf…living with us,” the third centaur managed to say before erupting into another fit of laughter. “Come on, we’ll show you the way out.”

He trotted up to Xander and pulled a dagger from the holster around his waist where his human and horse halves connected. He effortlessly sliced through the rope and freed the captive elf. However, Xander remained seated on the ground, still weak from his ordeal.

“Could you at least give me some beet juice and yams before I go?” he asked, trying to sound as polite, yet dignified as possible. “I have no food or…juice for the journey. There’s no way I’ll survive without it.”

The centaurs exchanged another look with each other before one of them walked over to the same cabinet as before. He pulled out a knapsack and tossed it over in his direction.

“There should be enough food and drink in there to last you a while,” he said, perhaps even with a hint of empathy in his voice. “Just make sure not to come back, the others won’t be as reasonable as us.”

At that moment, a ruckus erupted outside. A newcomer galloped down the steps. Xander thought it odd to see such a powerful creature nearly out of breath.

“Aodhan!” he called out. “There’s a group of things here. I think you should come see before we kill them!”

Not noticing Xander, the centaur rushed back outside.

The first centaur, who the intruder was referring to, sighed. “You two keep an eye on this one,” he commanded. “I’ll go find out what’s going on.”

Leaving the other two behind, Aodhan galloped up the stairs and disappeared into the light. Xander took another bite from his yam as a million thoughts rushed through his head.

Taking a break from their capering about the forest, Rychell, Jorie, and Feno sat down on the soft grass at the side of the trail. Rychell grabbed the small wooden cup he had tied around his waistband and grabbed a handful of purple berries from a nearby bush. Squeezing them in his hands, they produced enough juice to fill the cup. He licked the sticky mess that covered his hands and passed the cup to Feno, who slowly sipped the sweet nectar.

“So what do you think of the northern forest, Feno?” Jorie asked as he was handed the cup.

“It’s amazing!” he replied. “So much nicer than the southern forest.”

“But you were a fire mage,” Rychell said. “We had no reason to stay down there, but why would you want to leave?”

“They didn’t treat me any better than they did you guys,” Feno sighed. “I’m not big or strong like them, or as…nasty. I never fit in with them. I feel much more at home here.”

“It’s great that Elluin made all these changes,” Rychell added. “I mean…is he like the leader now?”

Feno shrugged. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter. He let us come live in this paradise, so if he wants to be an all-powerful leader, that’s fine with me.”

Rychell and Jorie were nodding in agreement when a pair of newcomers came walking along the path.

“Jharyn?” Feno asked, somewhat surprised. “You actually decided to come here too?”

Jharyn exchanged a quick look with Jastra and grinned. “Of course,” he replied, turning his attention back to the boys sitting on the ground. “Did you really think I was gonna stay in that hellhole and put up with Druin when I could live here instead?”

“Well…I…I guess not,” Feno stuttered. “But what are they gonna do to you since you left?”

“The same thing they’re gonna do to you,” Jharyn said casually. “Nothing. Those guys didn’t even see us as fire mages. Well, Druin didn’t anyway. Not that I think Connak or Dakath really cared much either way. But it’s not like they’re gonna be upset that we’re gone. They’re probably just happy to be rid of us.”

“If you say so,” Feno murmured under his breath.

“I do say so, Feno. Just enjoy your new life, it’ll be much better than either of us could have had down there,” he contended, taking Jastra’s hand. “I’ll see you around, bud. You guys have fun.”

Feno nodded goodbye as Jharyn and Jastra continued along the path together.

“You think he’s right?” Jorie asked. “Will the fire mages just leave you alone?”

“I hope so,” Feno replied, not sounding very sure of himself. “Jharyn’s right that they never really liked us, but still…they tend to get mad pretty easily.”

“Don’t worry about it, Feno,” Rychell told him with a reassuring smile, handing him the cup of berry juice. “Elluin and the others wouldn’t let anything happen anyway. We should take Jharyn’s advice and just focus on enjoying our new lives in paradise.”

Feno took the last sip from the cup and returned Rychell’s smile.

“You’re right,” he said, actually believing himself this time. “I have an awesome new life with you guys. I’m not gonna let some stupid fear ruin it.”

He handed the empty cup back to Rychell, who tied it back around his waistband. The three boys stood up and began walking along the path with no particular destination in mind.

Sending Puff out on his own to search for food, Elluin and Folwin decided to stop in at the library. They walked in to find Rydel and Athtar bent over a pile of books, tirelessly searching for the secret to writing.

“You guys still at it?” Folwin asked with a grin.

“We have to tell the story of the great gnome and boggart battle!” Athtar explained, not lifting his head from the desk. “We can’t do that if we can’t figure out how to write.”

“You two look really tired,” Elluin interjected, trying his best to convey concern in his voice. “Why don’t you take a break and relax for a bit?”

After a long moment of silence, Rydel sighed and lifted his head from one of the many books sprawled out in front of him. “I think he’s right, Ath. We can go for a walk to the gnome garden. Maybe they know something about this whole writing thing.”

Athtar laughed. Even the frustration of the day’s failed attempts to learn a new skill wasn’t enough to damper his spirit. “I’m pretty sure gnomes don’t read, Ry! And they definitely don’t write! They’re too busy gardening!”

“It would still be nice to go for a walk,” Rydel replied. “I think I’ll lose my mind if I have to break down any more words.”

Athtar took Rydel’s hand and walked with him to the door. “As long as we get right back to figuring this writing thing out when we get back,” he insisted.

“Of course, Ath,” Rydel said as they walked out the door.

Once the door swung shut, Folwin turned to face Elluin and grinned. “Do those two really think they’re gonna figure out how to write?” he chuckled.

“Well…,” Elluin replied, trying not to follow Folwin’s lead and burst out laughing. “Somebody had to write all these books. I mean where did they come from anyway?”

Folwin shrugged. “How should I know, they’ve just always been here.”

“Well if the ancients were able to write, then why not Rydel and Athtar? Maybe we should give them a chance. You never know, they might surprise you.”

“We’ll see,” Folwin said, the grin never leaving his face. “But now that they’re gone…have you seen Jastra and Jharyn?”

“Yeah,” Elluin said curtly. “What about them?”

“They haven’t kept their hands off each other since they got here. Don’t you find that a little…annoying?”

“Don’t be jealous, Folwin,” Elluin laughed, playfully shoving his shoulder. “Just because you can’t find a nice girl…or guy, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

Folwin blushed before shoving his friend back. “It’s not anything like that. It’s just kinda…weird, ya know?”

“Onvyr and Rania have been together since like…forever,” Elluin said. “How is it any different?”

“Well yeah…but a high-born and low-born together? How does that even work?”

“Same way it works with anyone else,” Elluin insisted. “You gotta stop thinking this way, Folwin. Look at how great everything is now that we’re starting to do away with those old archaic rules. Rychell, Jorie, Feno, and Jharyn are happy, Jastra isn’t spending most of her time in the southern forest anymore, and we don’t have to worry about trolls. We’re creating a real paradise here, Folwin.”

Folwin sighed. “You’re right, El. You’re always right.”

Elluin smiled at him. “Come on, let’s go find Puff. We can head back to your room then and hang out for a bit.”

Folwin nodded and followed him out the door.

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