Page 3 of The Gargoyle's Glade
Coltor
Huts and cabins had sprung up around the ruins like mushrooms after a thorough rain.
Initially, I’d thought it wouldn’t be so bad to have a neighbor or two, isolated as the location was, but now I was having second thoughts. In fact, I was curious how we’d arrived at a place where more people inhabiting the area was desirable at all.
The Ruins of Emankor were intentionally magically warded so people avoided coming too close to them. The whole point of my holding a sentry post here was to scare wayward travelersaway. Now, the ruins were going to be home to several residents, both permanent and temporary. It was too late to dispute the new development however, as the plans had already been approved and construction started.
“Stay to the path,” I groused at a handful of young stone kin men carting lumber on their shoulders. They were paying no attention and tramping down the grass and flowers as they crossed the glade.
“Sorry,” one of them apologized, and they mindfully returned to the narrow strip of dirt. It had been well traveled recently, andseveral branches had sprouted off the main one, creating easy routes from the portals through the glade and some all the way to the other side of the ruins.
So many of my clan had been in and out via the portal to Revalia in recent times it had left my head spinning. It had been nice to see others of my kind, but my enthusiasm was very rapidly depleted. I missed the quiet that had plagued me to near madness not all that long ago.
If nothing else, at least my hut remained hidden away. It was tucked right outside the boundary of the ancient castle itself, and was built with just the most basic of comforts in mind. It had, after all, been intended simply to provide shelter while I was posted as sentry here. Nobody could have foreseen then that I might be the only one able to take or maintain the post for months or years at a time. Small as it was, the single little room had served me well over the years. I’d added a few bits of my own after being there for so long, but it remained not much more than a barrack.
The second dwelling had only recently been built. Seir and Hailon’s cabin, nestled beyond the tree line in the heart of the glade, was, from the very beginning, a home. They were good neighbors, quiet. Friendly. And thanks to Seir, I was able to step away from my post now and then as he and his brother Tap managed the many doorways between worlds hidden within the ruined bones of the ancient castle that fell under my responsibility.
The pair had fallen into the ruins as they were journeying through. Our friendship had roots in what was purely an accidental meeting, but had developed normally enough. I’d threatened him, he’d stabbed me for speaking too harshly to his mate… and somehow, they now lived within shouting distance. We’d all become good friends. The first I’d had in quite some time.
Now, my kin were building a whole series of little dwellings, and I was struggling to keep up with the rapid changes. To my dismay, I’d lashed out several times when really what would probably have served me better was some time to quietly process what was happening.
I’d gotten too good at being alone.
Turning from the noisy construction, I made my way to the portal that would take me into Revalia. I’d been summoned by my father to help with an urgent task, and I didn’t want to be away any longer than necessary.
Moving a table.That was my father’s idea of an urgent task.
He’d even had help from the two demons who lived at the collegium for which the table was being procured. When I asked why I’d been needed at all, he’d just smiled at me, like he’d won something. It was beyond irritating.
So now I was seated across from Hailon’s friend in the dining room of the collegium when I should be back in my glade.
The little woman with hair the color of a summer sunset was somehow everywhere I looked lately. My jaw clenched as my pulse picked up against my will.
Merry. Her sunny disposition was a perfect embodiment of the happy moniker. I was inexorably drawn to bask in her light like a lovesick youngling, and it disturbed me greatly that I couldn’t seem to escape such an inclination.
When she’d first popped up at my several-times great-aunt Ophelia’s hut, I’d been unable to do much more than blink and stare at her. I’d gone to visit the ancient gargoyle sorceress for help managing a newfound power, one that still felt unwieldy and had me doubting my strength. It had not bolstered myconfidence at all that I’d been largely unable to speak in her presence during that introduction. Thankfully, I’d moved beyond stuttered greetings and halting words with her, though admittedly not by much.
Not long after that initial meeting, she’d been here at d’Arcan. I’d used the portal so I could have a quick discussion with my father, and there she was, bold as anything, giving advice on how to expand the garden beds. Rylan, the demon archmage who’d founded the collegium, had enthusiastically gestured and said something that made her clap her hands excitedly. I’d stared from across the yard, watching her laugh freely with the collection of demons, gargoyles, and mages like she’d always been there.
I couldn’t even escape her at the markets when I’d gone for supplies. My father’s mate, Grace, had taken her to shop, and Merry’s bright laugh had me turning around from the opposite end of the street to find the source of the joyous sound.
It didn’t seem to matter where I went. That smile, those vibrant red curls, that strange magnetism… they were everywhere I turned.
And now, she was here. Again. Staring at me across the new dining table over tea.
“Sorry?” I realized I hadn’t been paying attention as she looked at me expectantly.
“Sugar?” Her cheeks flushed pink as she pushed the dish of little white cubes toward me.
“No, thank you.”
“Are you still staying with Ophelia, Merry?” my father asked her, wearing a frown of concern.
Ophelia was terrifying. Mostly kind, to be sure, but ancient and therefore infinitely dangerous.
“Yes.” She bowed her head, stirring the sugar into her tea. “She’s been so gracious, but it’s time I moved on. I’d love to leave her to her peace and quiet as soon as I can.”
“I don’t see any reason you can’t claim the first guest cabin in the glade. I think all it’s missing is paint. You and I could tackle that if there’s nobody else to get it done.” Hailon brightened, clearly taken with the idea.
