Page 57 of Storms & Sacrifice
“The elves let you keep it?” It’s pretty obvious they were the ones whoforged it.
“I think the city was surprised as well. There was hesitation in contacting them in the first place, concerns they might try to make a claim of ownership to a part of our lands.” Which would be extra unwanted for a city that enjoys its secrecy. “Now that I am older, I have found that elves I’ve interacted with are far more interested in things like diplomacy and trade than reclaiming some ancient piece of their past glory. Because they were found on our land, they said the temple and sword belonged tothe city.”
I can see that. Elves are known for beingsuperdiplomatic. Their cities are a lot more connected to each other across the globe than most other species, and they’re responsible for the signing of a number of peace treaties, a lot they aren’t even a party in. They are the reason the Lutherian founders were able to cut ties with Albion without fear of reprisal or the future threat of war. Though we’ll see how much longer that lasts. A low rumble of thunder from above cuts my personal history lesson short. Shit, if it starts raining now, then the rest of the night on patrol isreallygonna suck. Especially if we have to take this path again—these hills suuuuuuck. I take a second to lean against a tree and catch my breath before we start the climb up one of the bigger ones.
“No time to rest. We need to get back to camp before it rains.”Or not.“Druid Darkwolf may be able to do something to make our trek easier, in addition to improving your eyesight. You will certainly need ittonight.”
She’s done that the last two nights, and it’s pretty cool being able to see the forest at night. Not a lot of color, though. I push myself off the tree trunk and begin to climb the hill, keeping any complaints to myself. I have been spank-free for the lasteightdays, thank you! That’s a record, I’m pretty sure.
“What was...” Khazak pauses, his eyes darting to the left. “That.”
I look where his orc-hearing has drawn his eyes, and off in the distance, I see three black wolves climbing up the hill after us. My mind immediately flashes to the dream I had a few nights ago.Three black wolves. I turn back to Khazak and see him already drawing his bow.
“Keep climbing,” he tells me as he begins to carefully walk backward up the hill, keeping his bow trained in the creatures’direction.
I do as ordered but still draw my sword from its scabbard. They might outnumber us, but the two of us are more than capable of dealing with a few wolves. We’ll be fine. Still, where did they come from, and why are they after us? I keep looking back, but having them in our sights isn’t doing anything to deter them. If anything, they start chasing us faster, which makes us climb faster.
Have you ever seen someone about to lose their balance? Like, you catch them right as they trip before they realize they’re going down, and there’s nothing they, or you, can do to stop it? That’s exactly what happens when we get to the top of that hill. Maybe it was a tree root, or a loose patch of dirt, but one second, I’m watching the wolves, and the next I hear a shout from Khazak and turn just in time to watch one of his legs fly up as the rest of his body tumbles to the ground.
And then right down the other side ofthe hill.
“KHAZAK!” I shout as I watch his body roll, arms too tangled in his bow to stop himself.
I chase him down the hill as fast as I can without joining him and rolling myself, but once he picks up speed, I can barely keep up. The faster he goes, the more worried I get about where he’s going to stop.Howhe’s going to stop. He’s gotten dangerously close to hitting a few trees already.
Sure enough, as soon as he reaches the bottom of the hill, his body slams right into the base of a large tree with aloudthud.
“Khazak! Sir! Are you alright?” I call out as I approach. He’s still breathingat least.
“Yes, in pain but I think—” He pauses in the middle of rubbing his hand down his face, trying to stand up quickly despite the obvious pain. “Oh no.”
“Don’t move so fast.You cou—”
“Do not come any closer, David,” he says sharply.
“What? Why not—” But then I see it. Where he landed at the base of the tree, and now covering his uniform, is a large patch of familiar looking purple flowers: Ralor’s crown. Petals are even still on his hand—the hand he just wiped down his face.Fuck.“Whatdo we do?”
“I do not... David, look.” He nods behind me, and I turn to see the trio of wolves at the top of the hill, watching us intently before scurrying down the hillside. They’re moving fast, like they took our retreat as a challenge. We don’t havemuch time.
“You can heal poisons, right?” If there was ever a time to use his magic,it’s now.
“Yes, but with this amount I am afraid it will take everything I have just to keep my lungs from seizing.” He’s still picking flowers out of his armor. “There is no time. You need to run.”
“What?!”What?!
“I will hold them off...while you return to camp...for help.” He tries to hold his bow up, but his limbs aresluggish.
“Youjusttold me you’re barely going to be able to keep yourself breathing!” He’s already wheezing even! “How the hell are you supposed to defend yourself ifI leave?!”
“We do not have...time to argue... Will you just...follow my orders, please?” he growls through gritted teeth.
“No! They’re stupid orders!”I don’t follow stupid orders!
“David...will you do...what I say...foronce!” The usual impact of his glare is lessened by all the huffing and puffing.
“Make me.” I pull my sword out and slide into a fighter’s stance. That is officially the most childish thing I have said during a life-or-deathsituation.
“David—”
