Hamertia: The Elven Folly
Chapter 4

Nealey had just climbed onto his rock in the middle of the stream when the trio of elves approached.

“Alright Nealey,” Elluin said as they walked up to the water’s edge. “Where can we find hemlock?”

“Hemlock? What hemlock?” Nealey asked, attempting to conceal a devious grin.

“Hemlock, the plant. The plant we need to save Athtar. Come on, Nealey,” Folwin said, trying not to lose his composure.

“Ah yes! The hemlock to save the elf Athtar who ate the athtar flower! That still cracks Nealey up!”

“Are you gonna tell us or not, Nealey?” Elluin shouted. “We could have probably found it ourselves by now.”

“Oh, Nealey doubts that. How would an elf find something in a place he doesn’t even know exists, hmmm?”

“Just tell them where to find it you little low-born freak!” a newcomer shouted, holding a dagger in his hand. He walked up to join the others at the edge of the stream

“Xander?” Elluin blurted out, perplexed.

“Tell them where to find the hemlock or your tongue is coming out,” he demanded, waving his dagger in the air.

Nealey’s eyes widened. “Alright, alright. Nealey knows when he’s waited long enough. To find the hemlock you must travel north. Oh yes! Far, far north until the ground turns white and the cold freezes your ears! There you will find your hemlock.”

Xander sheathed his weapon in his waistband and walked away without saying another word. Elluin, Folwin, and Rydel exchanged a quick look of confusion before returning to the matter at hand.

“And you’re sure that we’ll find it if we just head north?” Elluin asked. “This isn’t one of your tricks?”

“Oh, Nealey never tricks with a blade pointed at him! He swears it! Just walk north and you will find what you seek.”

“Why do you think Xander helped us like that?” Elluin asked. “And what was he even doing out of his room, let alone in the southern part of the forest?”

“I have no idea,” Folwin replied, sounding just as perplexed as ever. “That was just about the strangest thing ever.”

“At least we know where to find hemlock now,” Rydel interjected. “Maybe he’s not as bad as you guys think…”

“He must have some other reason for doing it,” Folwin said. “Believe me Rydel, Xander never does nice things for anyone.”

Rydel shrugged and they continued walking. They made it about halfway back to the northern forest when suddenly a young elf about half their size ran up. He had wide blue eyes and a messy head of brown hair.

“Hey!” he shouted excitedly. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I heard you guys are going on an adventure. Do you think maybe I could come?”

They stared blankly at him for a moment before Elluin responded. “Why would you want to do that? This has nothing to do with you…”

The boy sighed. “I’m just sick of being down here all the time. No one ever wants me around and whenever I try to do anything with them they’re just mean to me. Except for Jorie…but even he says he just wants to be alone right now. Please, can I go with you guys?”

Elluin looked to the others for advice. Folwin simply shrugged his shoulders and Rydel took another glance at the little elf before returning his eyes to Elluin.

“Let’s just let him come along,” he said finally. “I don’t think he’ll be any trouble and we’ll get him out of this place for a while.”

“Alright,” Elluin replied, half-heartedly accepting the decision. “What’s your name, bud?”

“Rychell!” their new friend exclaimed, a huge smile spread on his face. “Thank you guys so much! I was getting so sick of being stuck down here! We’re gonna go on an adventure and have so much fun!”

“We’re going on a very important task,” Folwin said matter-of-factly. “We have to collect hemlock to help our friend. We’re just going to go get it and come right back.”

Not letting anything curb his enthusiasm, Rychell brushed off the comment and trailed closely behind his new companions as they started walking again, the smile on his face never fading.

Back in the elves’ dwelling, high within the trees’ branches, Onvyr and Rania were getting ready for the day. Both had just woken up from a full night’s rest and were ready to forget about the previous day’s troubles.

“Feeling better today?” Rania asked.

Onvyr nodded his head. “Much better. I’m just glad I won’t have to do that again for quite a while, but I do feel bad for whoever is up today…and whoever was up last night.”

“Don’t worry much about it,” Rania smiled. “Elluin said we won’t have to deal with his nonsense for much longer.”

“He was probably just blowing smoke,” Onvyr said with a smirk. “Nobody will actually do anything about him.”

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Rania replied. “So anyway, want to go to the library and take a book to the stream? We can finish that book on gnomes I know you like so much.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he responded, holding out his hand for Rania to take. “Let’s go.”

The two elves left the room and made their way down to the forest floor. They had quite the surprise when they finally entered the library.

“Xander, what are you doing here?” Onvyr asked. “Where’s Leofrick.”

“Leofrick is out doing…research of some kind,” Xander replied, his nose in a book. “What do you two want.”

“We’re looking for the book on gnomes,” Rania answered. “Do you have it here?”

“Look on the shelves,” Xander said, never once bothering to bring his face from the book to look at them. “It it’s there, I have it. If not, then obviously I don’t. Just take it and get out of here.”

Onvyr quickly scanned the shelves for his book, grabbed it, and took Rania’s hand, quietly leading her out of the library.

“What was he doing in there?” he whispered once they were outside. “Xander never comes down here.”

“I don’t know,” Rania replied, not seeming phased by the situation. “Maybe he just likes reading now. Who cares? Let’s just leave the guy alone.”

Without saying another word on the subject, Rania and Onvyr headed to their usual spot atop the small stone bridge. Rania rested her head on Onvyr’s shoulders while he opened the book and immersed himself into the fascinating world of gnomes. Completely submerged in the beautiful northern forest foliage and hearing the gentle brook beneath their feet, the two wouldn’t want it any other way.

“So…where exactly are we going?” Rychell asked as he and the group entered the northern part of the forest.

“We’re going north,” Folwin replied. “As far north as we need to until we find hemlock.”

Rychell nodded his head. “This is so cool,” he said in awe, his eyes as wide as ever as he took in his surroundings. “I’ve never been up here before. It’s so beautiful!”

“Not even at night?” Elluin asked. “Don’t your kind wander up here once all of us are asleep in the branches?”

“I never go out at night,” he answered. “It’s bad enough during the day, I can’t imagine what happens when the sun goes down.”

“Doesn’t seem your well suited for life as a low-born,” Folwin said. “Well not yet anyway, you’re just a kid.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever fit in down there,” Rychell replied, taking on a more somber demeanor. “Everybody there thinks you have to be tough and fearsome and all that. But I just want to go on fun adventures. I never understood the whole low-born, high-born thing. If I want to be good and act like you guys, why can’t I just live in the northern forest in the trees with you?”

Elluin and Folwin snickered at his last remark, but Rydel offered a look of sympathy.

“Tell you what, if you help us find the hemlock for Athtar, you can come hang out with us in the trees,” he suggested. “I think you two would like each other.”

“Come on Rydel,” Elluin scoffed. “I know you’re a nice guy, but a low-born visiting us in the trees? It just isn’t done. He shouldn’t even be up here with us right now.”

Seeing that Rychell was disheartened by the harsh comments, Rydel stepped back and took the boy’s hand, making his face perk right back up.

Xander was still in the library going through his new books when another set of intruders came in through the doors. Puff flew from Kellam’s shoulder and landed on top of a book shelf, making himself comfortable while his master took a seat on one of chairs.

“What do you and your bird want?” Xander groaned. “I’m very busy.”

“Puff just likes the atmosphere in here,” Kellam replied. “There’s something about holes in trees that owls love.”

“So, that’s what that thing is,” Xander asked. “An owl?”

Kellam took a quick look at Puff before responding. “As far as I can tell.”

“Well how long are you going to be?” Xander scoffed.

“As long as Puff wants,” he replied. “You should really try to relax more. I never see you down here. A long walk in the forest will do you wonders.”

“I don’t need to relax!” Xander shouted. “If you and you’re…bird…poof thing really need to be in here, at least have the decency to leave me alone.”

Kellam nodded and closed his eyes. Before long, he began humming, causing Xander to slam his book down.

“When I say leave me alone, I mean don’t disturb me! Can’t you see I’m trying to read?”

“You’re the only one who’s causing a disturbance,” Kellam replied calmly. “Say, what happened to Leofrick, anyway?”

Xander sighed. “He’s out doing…research or something. Is it really that big a deal that I’m in the library alone?”

“I suppose not,” Kellam said after a pause. “But considering Leofrick is always in here and I’ve never seen you before, it could strike one as a bit odd.”

Sensing the hostile energy, Puff decided that he had quite enough of the library’s ambiance and flew from the book shelf back onto Kellam’s shoulder.

“Well it looks like Puff is done for the day,” he said. “Perhaps our paths will cross again sometime soon.”

“About time,” Xander smirked. “And let’s hope not.”

Kellam shrugged and left the library with his feathered companion.

Elluin, Folwin, Rydel, and Rychell approached the northern border of the forest. It was a line of trees covered in thick vines and foliage, making it impossible to see the other side. In fact, the tree wall was so thick that if there were any mosquitos in the forest, they would face difficulty finding a way through. No elf in recent memory had ever been outside the confines of the forest, nor had they ever had any reason to venture there until now.

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Rydel asked in a desperate voice. “How are we gonna get to the other side?”

Rychell snickered. “You guys wanna hear a joke?”

Receiving no response, he continued anyway. “Why did the gnome cross the path? To get to the other side!”

Rychell burst into laughter but quickly quieted down once he realized he was the only one doing so.

“Not now, Rychell,” Folwin reprimanded.

“Sorry…”

The elves searched along the forest wall for any gaps or sign of weakness, but found nothing. The wall appeared to be impenetrable.

“I know!” Rychell suddenly blurted out. “We could ask Jastra! She’s so strong, I’m sure she could bust us a way through!”

“Rychell,” Folwin sighed. “I know she’s strong, but come on, even she couldn’t make a dent in a tree wall like this.”

“Well what else are we supposed to do?” the boy insisted. “Just stand here moping around forever? You guys aren’t very good adventurers. At least let me go ask her.”

“Fine,” Elluin responded. “Not like there’s much else we could do anyway.”

Rychell smiled and took off running. Meanwhile, the others sat down and leaned up against the tree wall.

“What does he think Jastra’s going to do?” Folwin asked, shaking his head. “Punch a hole through the tree?”

“He’s trying to help us,” Rydel said, jumping into the conversation. “Give the little guy a chance.”

“Well I’ll give him one thing,” Elluin said. “Kid sure can run fast. Now all he’s gotta do is find Jastra, convince her to come back here, and somehow magically make us a way through the trees.”

“So much for getting an early start,” Folwin murmured.

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