Sacrifice (Amaria & Mr. M)

Five men, in lightweight leather and chain armor, were lashed to tree-trunks at the edge of the grove, while other men, some dressed similarly, others in robes of midnight blue, held them at sword-point until their bindings were tight. The scene was lit by the distant bonfire, as chanting echoed through the wood.

"I get that you've thrown in your lot with these murderers, Cole," growled the tall man with the short-cropped black hair. His startlingly blue eyes flashed in the torchlight as he angrily muttered to the man double-checking his bonds. "What I don't understand is why? Why did you betray us?"

The man he called Cole shook his head, smiling almost fondly. "What you fail to understand, dear cousin, and what you have always failed to understand, is that power is the lifeblood of our people. You've spent your life charging about, trying to protect the innocent and serve the people, when it's our birthright and our blood responsibility to have the people serve us. You've always had the roles reversed, and while that's admirable from some perspectives... it's also incredibly stupid."

Cole yanked the bindings tight, drawing an involuntary grunt from his cousin, then grabbed the man's chin so he could look straight into his eyes. "The bluestone is going to give me and my compatriots immortality. In a thousand years, the world will worship us as gods. Collendius Redshield will be a name spoken with reverence and fear. And you'll be lost to history. In a thousand years, I'll be the only one who still remembers the name of Gilgamesh Darkwood."

"The heedrin..." the captive gasped.

"The heedrin are animals. Scampering forest monkeys. They have no importance to us; at least this way they're useful for something." Cole gazed into his cousin's eyes a moment longer. Then he released his jaw and patted his cheek like a friend. "Goodbye, Gil."

He turned and strode toward the bonfire in the center of the clearing. The unbound men in armor gathered to follow. One of the dark-robed men stepped close to Cole. "We shouldn't leave them alive."

"Oh, they'll be killed. The question is whether or not their deaths will help with the great work. We have to consult the book to see if they'll serve as sacrifices. And in the meantime, we can use my dear cousin's interference to our advantage. Guard them until I or one of the priests comes to tell you our decision." With that, he strode away.

Gil glared after his cousin; if hate had force, he would have bored holes in the back of Cole's head. The slightly older, slightly slighter man tied to a tree near him spoke up softly. "I don't think your ideals are stupid, sir."

"Thank you, Mr. Greycloak," Gil said, distractedly, still trying to crack bones with his stare.

"I think it's very noble, your protecting the innocent and all."

"I appreciate that."

"Although, there was that time with that ogre in Sunset Valley that was rather ill-considered..."

"Mr. Greycloak..."

"And I don't know what you were thinking going into the caves of the Spider Queen, of all things..."

"TOM!"

The other man paused, blinked, and settled. "Sorry, sir."

Gil sighed as he lost sight of Cole. "No, it's all right. I like to think I learned from those escapades."

Tom chuckled softly. "And what precisely did you learn from the Spider Queen?"

"A gentleman doesn't tell." He paused a beat. "Ask me again when we're drunk, sometime." Gil tested the bindings; they were solid. He craned his neck; he could see Tom and half of Greentree on one side, Riverstone and Woodshadow's arm on the other. All seemed to be tied securely, but the three robed guards were markedly lax in their duties, gathering in a knot to talk and only glancing over occasionally. "All right, men. You know the drill; any advantage you can find, any avenue of escape. People have to be warned. And there might be war with the heedrin, if we fail." Gil's bonds were the strongest and tightest of them all, but he struggled nonetheless.

From her vantage point high in a tree on the opposite side of the clearing, she watched them. She knew beforehand what she might find but was not prepared for what lay before her. Having seen enough she dropped silently from her perch to the ground and retreated into the wood a few paces.

“Fools! Meddling with things they know nothing about!”

“See. I told you Merna.” a young heedrin greeted her.

“Ah, Jayden, I believed you. I had to see with my own eyes.” she crouched beside where he knelt and described the scene to him. They had traveled a day to find this place not even stopping to rest. Not two weeks prior she had presented a plea before the Elders on Jayden's behalf, when all the disappearances became more common, but it was turned down. They would not allow accusations of humans to be entered on record without proof. One or two missing heedrin, and scant notes about a fabled bluestone were not enough.

“We'll free the humans.” her voice was a whisper, still thinking over how to go about it.

“What? Free them? Let them kill each other I say.” Jayden was outraged. “They took no thought to killing us why should we risk freeing a handful of them!”

“Listen to yourself! If the Elders thought like you we'd be in a constant state of war!” she knew very well of his mistrust of humans.

“I didn't say anything about war just let them kill themselves.”

“And what then? If conflict arises between two heedrin tribes does that still ring true? We should by pass Elders Law and allow them to slaughter each other? And the humans? We should just gather a few strong heedrin and slaughter the lot? We have gone over this before, Jayden and more bloodshed is not the answer. Neither human nor heedrin.” she paused. “Not by my hand.”

Jayden waited a few moments before responding. He had to admit her words made sense, he just did not particularly care to deal with humans. “Fine then. Free the humans, then what?”

“I haven't gotten that far yet, but it involves getting my hands on the stone and that book. I want that book.”

“Aaaaw! Merna Merna , this is not a jaunt across the wood to retrieve a simple book. According to you the book is death itself, why on Elders Law, do you want that cursed book?”

“Proof Jayd, proof. The Elders want proof, we'll give them proof. As vile as it is that book is still a missing piece of heedrin history AND I have no desire to allow a book that includes me as an ingredient for anything, floating around the countryside.”

“True enough.” he conceded to that line of reasoning. “But what if the humans won't help us?”

“Oh I have a feeling they will. At least I have hope in these particular humans. ” she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and smiled. “Come. We've no time to waste.”

The pair made a wide path around the clearing, taking to the trees as they drew closer. From her closer view point Merna took note of all the men, their bindings and finally the guards. The setup was almost too easy. Concentrating on the man on her far right she loosened his bands, without leaving the tree. A thought was all that was needed for her to sever a few strands at a time in the thick cords until all it took was a good jerk and he would be free. She repeated the process on the next man as Jayden worked quickly in the dark, freeing the two men on the other end. He slipped back into the woods and waited. The man in the center, that had received the most attention, she saved for last. This time Merna moved closer, actually climbing into the tree he was tied too.

She spoke in her normal voice but it carried to his ear, as if she stood right beside him, softly whispering. "Your bands are loose. This is all we can do for now."

They had struggled and strained, and for nothing. They could not even get a good sawing motion going, and all that would do would be strip some bark off the tree, anyway. So the rested, and thought, and tried to come up with other options.

"Mr. Greycloak, do you remember that time we were in the restaurant in Abbadon?"

"With the butcher thinking you were his daughter's lover, yes..."

"And you'd secreted a dinner knife in your sleeve?"

"...why they never think -I'm- the paramour, I'll never understand..."

"And you sawed through the curtain ropes he used?"

"...I'm just as charming, and I'm more a stealth lover, I don't look like the ladykiller I am..."

"...Tom?"

"...not like these villager's daughters are any prizes themselves..."

"Tom, do you have any cutlery up your sleeve?"

"... ah. No, sir. Naught but a wooden spoon."

"Pity." Gil turned his head. "Did you hear something? Footsteps in the leaves?"

"Just the sound of my vain hopes dashing, sir."

"Yes, yes, you're very cheery. No, I'm serious, I..." He stiffened as Merna's words came softly to his ear. "Who are you?"

Tom Greycloak looked over at the others in confusion. "Sir?"

He turned his head toward Tom. "Shh!" Then he looked around, up at the trees. "Who are you? Heedrin? You can't stay; they have ways to detect you!" His voice was soft, but his tone was urgent.

"Like a human could be this light on their feet. Of course I'm heedrin." She glanced down at him, her cloaked form barely visible in the dark canopy of leaves. "The others have been loosed as well. This place is vile and reeks of death. The trees are angry so if they don't kill you this forest surely will." her voice swirled about him, sometimes on the left, then the right.

Jayden's urgent whisper came to her. "Merna! There are more men than we thought. We must leave now!"

Merna scanned the trees."Move now before your friend returns, human! More men are approaching."

She was careless with her voice or the detection the human mentioned gave away her presence. A guard turned their direction watching the area suspiciously. She froze in her position in the tree.

Gil could barely glimpse her, her lithe form barely occluding the starlight. Like all her people, she was slight and slender, well-suited for disappearing in the brush. But if what she told him was true, he and his men could escape. He was about to let his men know to try their bonds again, when the guard looked over.

He realized she's been speaking perhaps a bit too clearly, for the benefit of his relatively insensitive human ears. His mind flashed to possibilities, and he opted for artifice.

Turning his head, he said loudly, "You're right, Mr. Greycloak!" Ignoring his second-in-command's confused look, he raised his voice further and shouted toward the guards. "You'll not get away with this! The good people of this borough will hear of what you're doing, they'll hear of the evil being perpetrated here, and they'll rise up against you! And even your wizard won't be able to stop them!"

He hoped he'd thrown the guard off the scent, that he believed it was just prisoner chatter he'd overheard, made strange-sounding by the wind in the leaves. But if not, if the guard came over to investigate, he had to be prepared. They all did.

"Try your bonds again, men," he murmured almost under his breath, definitely soft enough that the guards couldn't discern the words. "But don't -look- like you're trying your bonds." He realized that was a little confusing. "Pull casually," he added, and winced; that didn't help at all.

The guard turned and Merna wasted no time. She scaled down the tree landing behind the human. She crouched low, her dark cloak blending with the leaves. With a glance his bonds snapped free. Standing up she hugged her body close to the tree and spoke quietly. "There are more men sweeping the woods coming from the west. If we go now we can slip by them. Head south." Feathery wisps of brown hair framed the olive face that peeked out from beneath the cloak, and brown green eyes reflected the dim light. Merna saw a shadow and nodded to Jayden.

He had returned and crouched behind the next tree. "Your bonds are free, human. If you circle around to the south you'll find the gear they stripped from you." Humans were rarely seen with out a weapon of some sort, so he knew this would be valuable for them to know.

Without waiting to see if the men followed, both Merna and Jayden fled silently back into the forest a few paces returning to the cover of darkness. They waited thankful that the whole exchange took less than a minute.

Gil's ropes parted freely, and he kept an eye on the guards as he heard the tiny, gentle snaps of the others bursting their ropes. "Well, then," he said softly, and stepped backward, fading into the shadows under the trees. His men followed suit, all moving silently -- for humans. The heedrin surely thought they were as loud as boars crashing through the brush, but they weren't trying to hide from heedrin.

Hunting was not their primary focus, but they were skilled enough. They circled through the trees, keeping to the shadows, and moved easily around the men, reinforcements for the cultists at the clearing. They did find the cache of their captured swords... and one guard, one of their former companions, now revealed as just another cultist. He was unsuspecting... until sudden shouts in the distance behind them drew his attention. He was still gazing in that direction when Gil and Riverstone took him.

The others geared up while Gil knelt a moment over the body. He sighed sadly, and touched the dead man's shoulder. Then he stood as Greycloak approached with his weapon belt. "Thank you, Mr. Greycloak," he said softly, sadly. He buckled it on, thinking. "We have to get to a village, spread the word. Heedrin friends... are you still around?" He looked about in the trees as the others came ready.

"Here."

Merna slipped from the treeline and drew near making a wide circle around the dead man. Jayden followed a few paces behind her. Merna looked down, a deep sadness over her face as if she knew him, but she did not. She felt living things and the softness of the souls gathered around her contrasted greatly with the blank cold slate of death. No warmth radiated from him. A hand on her shoulder made her pull her eyes away and she looked up at the men. Both her and Jayden were nearly a full head shorter than all of them.

"We will help where we can. I am Merna of Westwood and this is Jayden of Elyroth Lake." they both removed their hoods as she briefly introduced them. Normally upon first meeting a long heritage was named, but time was of the essence so she skipped the formalities. "The nearest human village, I'm sure you know is just south of us, but the nearest heedrin village is west and a half days walk. Whichever we choose hold your peace before you go about warning the people. I fear there is much more you need to know before you speak openly of what has happened here."

"A safe place to talk would be best for now and speed is more important than silence." Jayden added. A smirk cutting across his narrow face. He replaced his hood. "If you know of such a place in the human village lead on, the other guards are heading our direction."

Gil bowed to them both respectfully. "We owe you our lives, friends." He listened as Jayden spoke about the other guards. "Well, my liege and my family need to be told about the betrayal here tonight, at the very least, and the madness. There are always places to speak privately. So let's head to the village." He hissed for attention, spun his hand in the air in a circle, and then pointed south. Everybody headed that direction on silent (for a human) feet.

As they moved, Gil made the introductions. "I am Gilgamesh Darkwood, scion of the House of Darkwood, one of the local human noble houses. Please, call me Gil. This is my boon companion, Tommarika Greycloak. And these are our allies and friends, Almoriatto Riverstone, Rudolphorius Woodshadow, and Hammanchia Greentree." Each man nodded or waved as they moved. Though they were smaller, none of the humans had any doubt the heedrin could keep up; this was their very element, after all. "Merna, Jayden, as I said, we owe your our lives, we all do. Let us know how we can help you, and we shall."

He turned to his men. "Al, take point. Rudolph, Ham, keep an eye on our trail." Greycloak stuck close to Gil's side, as he always did. "Is there anything you can tell us while we travel?"

Merna took note of the how Gil's men followed him with ease. Not all heedrin had her ability to see souls as she did and what she saw between these men was beautiful. She wondered if he knew just how tightly their souls were bound to him and each other.

"You owe us nothing, friend." she spoke with a kind smile, nodding her head in a slight bow.

"Can your lives bring back the dead, friend? Can your lives stop the.."

"Jayden! Silence!" Merna paused to assure he was not going to start again. "For now I can say that our people have been vanishing as far back as a month. Missing heedrin really isn't that abnormal, we are a wandering people so one would need to be gone at least two seasons to truly be considered missing. But two weeks ago Jayden came to me saying some human priest was 'gathering' heedrins under the pretense of a ceremony celebrating the two races."

Jayden reluctantly told them of his part in all this. "My sister knows of my feelings towards humans so she talked me into going. But things started getting strange, and when I tried to leave I was stopped by a priest. Most of the heedrins were in some sort of weird trance. I tried to grab my sister and leave but she wouldn't come." his voice trailed off and he ran ahead leaving ,Merna to finish.

"Eventually he slipped out, but without his sister. The group he speaks of was probably the second to be taken." she pointed the direction they had just left. "And that was the third. I spoke with two other tribes and found similar stories." she paused not knowing how much to say. "There are references in our texts that point to a missing book, well not missing hidden. The creator of the book is not known but it is a book of rituals that call for the blood of heedrins. This information was told as a silly fable to scare heedrin children away from human villages. The blood of heedrins will bring immortality to humans. The book is real, I believe this now, but the Elders do not."

"Cole did mention a book; that's the one, then." Gil's voice was soft, as he thought out loud. "And he wasn't lying about the immortality, then, or at least he doesn't think he is." He glanced to Merna. "I rather doubt anything that claims to permanently end death and decay. Even mountains crumble with time."

"But the truth of the book is immaterial. These cultists believe it, is the main thing. And whatever it promises, it apparently does have some magic over heedrins. And humans, apparently." He sighed sadly. "Half my cohort just turned on us at Cole's word."

"Just the nobles, sir." Greycloak said quietly.

"What's that?"

"I know you don't pay much attention to that sort of thing, sir, but your handpicked team was composed of both stalwart commoners such as myself and adventurous noble sons. Your sister's swordmaidens are similar. When Cole's betrayal came..." Greycloak paused. "Well. All the traitors were from the noble houses. Except for Greentree, of course, but you know the House of Greentree is considered only technically noble, anyway."

Gil sighed. "That damn elitism. I would have thought if they were riding with me, they'd be able to get past that."

"Apparently not, sir. Some things are deeply rooted." The older man's lips twitched, suppressing a smile: Gil Darkwood himself had some deeply rooted qualities he could not change if he wanted to, and that is why Greycloak was happy to follow him. He glanced over at the slight fae creature who strode with them, fast and silent as a spirit. "My lady, pardon me for asking, but why don't your Elders believe you? It seems you have done your research and gathered your evidence quite well."

"Politics, my friend, the root of all evil." she said with a grin. "The fact that I was able to present my case was based upon my status in the Westwood tribe, one of the four ancient tribes of heedrin. Add to that my standing as scribe and scholar. But this only gave me a voice, an allowance to simply speak before the Elders. They heard my say and they heard the full testimony of Jayden, but chose not to take actions without evidence. Approaching the humans with accusations of kidnap and murder, would not go over well if they are only based on a few scattered heedrin and a half crazy scholar obsessed with a book that does not exist."

"Tell me, would not your people doubt such claims?"

Gil and Greycloak exchanged a look. Gil chuckled softly. "Our people are not quite so unified. The noble houses live in peace, and coordinate on many things, but we are not all of the same mind, so someone may have listened and sent someone to investigate."

"Mr. Darkwood is being modest," Greycloak intoned. "That's precisely how we came to be involved."

Gill shrugged before ducking under a low branch. "There were reports of strange happenings, farmers finding unidentifiable remains, possible heedrin involvement... and we weren't doing anything at the time, so Father asked me to look into it."

Greycloak leaned in toward Merna conspiratorially. "Lord Darkwood both does not like the unexplained and does not like any of his sons or daughters to be idle, even as far down the line of succession as Gil is."

"Well, he's going to like this news even less," Gil muttered darkly.

"I shouldn't think he would be pleased in the least. I care none for the unexplained either." Merna was growing weary, and her thoughts were becoming scattered. Both her and Jayden were nearing two days with no sleep, but the drain of the dead was taking its toll. Her pace slowed and Jayden could tell.

He perched in a tree just ahead of them and called down as they approached. "The village is not far now Merna. There is a farm just as the trees clear and the town beyond that." He had scouted ahead. Jayden hated the thought of entering a human village but knew it was for the best, at least for now. "But even for a human village the guard is heavy for a simple night watch."

Jayden was right; as they crouched in the shadows of the treeline, there were an awful lot of men and women in armor milling about. "Definitely trouble," breathed Ham. Gil patted him on the shoulder in agreement.

"Well, we need to find out what. We need to send in a scout. I'll put on a disguise, and ..."

"Begging your pardon, sir," Greycloak interrupted, "but you're too well-known. So am I, for that matter. If this has anything to do with the cult business, we might be recognized."

"Well, what do you recommend?"

Greycloak tapped another man on the shoulder. "Rudy, how's your Hillside accent?"

Woodshadow responded with a cadenced spout of mumbled gibberish that seemed to have only a tangental relationship to the language they all spoke, but the men all nodded.

"All right, we disguise Rudolph. Let's get to it." They stripped off his armor and changed some clothes around, making him look poor and long-traveled. Greycloak applied some mud and some careful smudges from a small jar of pigment he carried in a belt pouch, and suddenly Woodshadow appeared decades older when he stooped and leaned on the staff of wood they found for him. They hunkered down again as Gil laid out the plan. "Rudolph goes in as a traveler, to stop at the tavern for a bite before traveling on. It seems to be the only lit building in the village, from what I can see, at least. Al, you should take his armor and weapons and meet him on the other side of town when he's through. Ham, you pace Rudolph as best you can from the forest, try and make sure he makes it through; if he runs into trouble, we're going to want to know. We'll meet up again in the hayloft of the barn over there. All right?"

The three soldiers all looked over at Greycloak, who looked back at them calmly, then grew confused, and then slightly alarmed. "What? What is it?"

"Well," Greentree murmured, "we were expecting a quip. Or a joke."

"Something to break the stress," added Riverstone.

"It's... not that stressful," said Greycloak, shaking his head.

The men looked disappointed as they got up to embark on their missions. "But he always makes a quip..." Riverstone could be heard to mutter as they filtered into the forest.

Greycloak sighed heavily, and then called out in a stage-whisper behind them. "Hey! May the gods be with you! So if you have to run, trip one, and let them get caught instead!" That appeared to make the men happy, and Greycloak just shook his head again. "I'm really going to have to re-think my approach..."

They made it to the hayloft shortly, the sleepy sheep in the barn beneath barely murmuring at their intrusion. While Greycloak listened and kept an eye on the farmhouse through a cracked slat, Gil sat with the heedrin and spoke quietly. "So, you said there was more we needed to discuss..."

"I'll take my leave," Jayden scaled a ladder. "I have no desire to hear this again. I'll have nightmares for sure." He climbed out the loft window onto the roof.

"He doesn't like closed spaces." Merna removed her cloak, draped it on a table against a wall and sat on it, with her legs neatly folded and crossed at the ankles. She sighed and bowed her head as if praying for the right words. "Sacrificing heedrins for immortality is not the only atrocity. There should be.. How do I put this?" She hesitated. "In the books I have been able to get my hands on there is talk of a stone. The Bluestone is described to be about the size of a small table, smooth and flat like an altar, but with rounded edges. No record of where it came from or what its full purpose is." She looked at him to see if mentioning the Bluestone was significant to him. He didn't say anything right away so she went on.

"The stone was said to be hidden away some where because it could not be destroyed. All the details about its power are in a book that was supposed to have been destroyed. Obviously it hasn't and obviously the one who has the book now does not know how to read ancient heedrin texts very well, there are very few heedrin that can. Either that or they are more demented than I thought, because the rest of this horrid tale is the most frightning. When the stone has received the required amount of blood he will awaken." She leaned her head back against the wall.

"What will awake I don't know but I can't imagine it could be anything good. And that is all I know Mr. Darkwood. That is the part where I lost the Elders attention. If I could get my hands on that book I could tell you and the Elders more, but for now that's all I have. You too could say I am crazy but you must admit, what we've seen so far is just too close to be a fable." She leaned forward and let her legs dangle from the table.

"Maybe I am just a crazy scholar."

Gil sat on the hay next to the threshing table the farmer had stored up in the loft. He smiled gently. "Well, you might be crazy, but not for that reason. My cousin, the man who orchestrated our betrayal, he mentioned a bluestone. I have no reason to doubt any of what you say, and it would be entirely in keeping with what I know of ancient books and magical promises. They're never what they seem."

He sighed. "As soon as we can get word out, warn the people we can? We can see about that book. We'll need to gather forces, and we'll definitely need to rest, I'm afraid. We already rode through last night to track the ceremony site here, so we're coming into our third day with no sleep."

"It strikes me that if the bluestone is so comparatively small, they can move it about, perform their sacrifices in other places. This would make it difficult to track. We'll put someone on it when they get back; they don't have to get close, they just have to follow the stone, if it's moved, and let us know where it goes. Shouldn't be a problem. Where the stone is, the book won't be far behind."

"Aye, rest sounds lovely and you have us beat. It's only our second day without sleep, but hunting using only soulsight tends to drain the strength much faster." she pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping the ends of the cloak around her. "That stone was near...I could feel it, even Jayden felt it. After today's events I'm sure they have moved it."

She studied him, the limited light made it difficult but she watched with more than her eyes. "You're a unique man Mr. Darkwood." she would of added more but she left her sentence at that.

Jayden hung his head in the window "Is it safe to enter now? All done discussing the many uses of dead heedrin?"

"Yes we're finished with that now I'm explaining the virility ceremony of common males wishing to wed a heedrin of high rank."

"Nice Merna. But I wouldn't have worry of such things if you will just give me your house name." he scaled down and took a spot next to Merna on the table.

"Not likely. And be responsible for you? The thought itself is tiresome. Your father would be shamed, you dropping his name just to skip ceremony." her voice was laced with sarcasm, it was a discussion they had often, usually ending in Jayden upset for hours. This time they were interrupted.

"Your men approach." Merna announced jumping down from the table.

Gil's eyebrow quirked upward when she mentioned "soulsight;" he was curious, but he decided not to ask her quite yet; it didn't seem the time, and he wasn't sure if it was something personal to the heedrin. Then she called him unique, and he wondered what exactly she meant by that. But Jayden's re-entry disrupted any opportunity he may have had to ask about it.

He watched them banter, holding his tongue. They were at ease with each other, but if heedrin reactions were at all like human, he was clearly far more in love with her than she was with him. He'd had a little contact with heedrin, everyone had, but he'd never spent a lot of time interacting with them, as the two races tended to keep to their own, for the most part. But it fascinated him how close they seemed to be, and yet so different.

And then his men arrived. "All three of them made it," said Greycloak, peering through the loose slats, then he returned to watching the farmhouse as Gil clambered down the ladder to let his men in. They weren't panicked, so they weren't being pursued, so Gil led them up to the relative privacy of the loft before hunkering down and discussing what they'd found.

Woodshadow shook his head. "They didn't suspect me, but it was strange. At first they demanded I stay the entire night, but when I said I couldn't do that, they hurried me through town like their feet were on fire. They did let me buy a pint at the tavern, but the tavernkeeper brought it out to me at the door, and stood there while I drank it so he could take the glass back. I did pick up what the trouble was, though; they were on the lookout for you, actually, sir." Woodshadow shook his head. "Apparently, riders came through and spread the word that you were a murderer and an occultist, and spread the alarm. And now it seems like the whole countryside is turned against you. I asked what standard the messenger bore, and I finally heard it was Redshield."

"Cole is cleverer than I thought," Gil muttered darkly. "He probably meant to merely set me up as the absent villain until his plans were complete, but it works to cut off our support if we escape, as well." He sighed and thought for a moment, as his men looked glum. "Well, we still need allies. All right. If I'm the one mostly named, then I need to disappear for a bit. We still need to get word to my father, but I can't risk being caught along the way. Rudolph, you're already in costume, you should head back to Darkwood lands. You can travel more invisibly alone. Stick with my father, and I'll send word as soon as I'm able. We also need to keep tabs on Cole and his people. They have an artifact, the bluestone, that they will be traveling with. Al, you're our best tracker, I want you to go back and infiltrate that grove, and follow the bluestone and the cultists. Zero interaction; merely track it, and leave standard scouting signs to let us know where you've gone. It's a dangerous job, so Ham, go with him and watch his back." He looked at all three of them. "You'll need to rest soon, I know, we all do. Be careful, and be mindful. This is bigger than any of us, and yet we're all necessary to see it through."

He put his hand on each of their shoulders as a friend would, and then he turned to the heedrin. "I think it would be best, now, if we headed west. We need to get help; there's more here than the seven of us can accomplish with just what we have on us. If we can't get manpower, we at least need to equip ourselves better. Would it be acceptable for us to visit the heedrin village in your company?"

Merna folded her hands across her chest. She was agitated and did not like the recent turn of events. Jayden moved from the table and stood beside her. “You can't possibly be considering it, Merna!”

“Let me think , Jayden.” her voice was low and firm, but Jayden continued. “Personally escorting the man, the human, soon to be known for the mass slaughter of heedrins, that will really impress the Elders.”

“Accused of slaughter,not known, there is a difference. And what choice do we have, Jayden? We can't do it alone, and if it means going back to the Elders, so be it, but I don't think that will be necessary.” she turned and smiled at Jayden. “We shall pay a visit to Adale Hold, the high house of Lake Elyroth, we may be able to get what we need there.”

“But why...”

“You know very well why.” She turned to Gil and Tom to explain, ignoring Jayden's pouting.“Adale Hold is Jayden's family. Since his village is one that is close to a human village, feelings toward humans are not as...hard. At least for some, heedrins. They have some interaction but mostly through hunters. The other village I checked further south was also within a days travel of a human settlement.” he sighed.

“Hold Elder, Venrick, Jayden's father, is waiting for news of his daughter. If we go there he may be willing to aide us in some way. He was not pleased with the Elder's decision. And it will be easy for humans to enter a village, if you have the personal invite of the Hold Elder's son.” she looked at Jayden, and waited for a response.

“There's no other way is there?” he asked. Merna shook her head, no.

“You could always...."

“And you know that would not look good for you.”

He sighed and faced the two men. With a sweeping gesture of his right hand and a deep bow, he spoke, “I, Jayden Adale first born of Venrick, Hold Elder of Lake Elyroth do invite you Gilgamesh Darkwood and Tommarika Greycloak as my gracious guests into House Adale. What say ye?

Gil and Greycloak both stood and drew themselves to their full height. Almost in unison, they bowed, deeply. "Jayden Adale, we both would be honored to be your guests, and humbly accept your gracious offer of hospitality," Gil said solemnly as they rose. He loosened up and looked to his men. "We should depart now. It's still full-dark, but we'd best be gone before the farmer gets up with the dawn."

"And gentlemen," Greycloak said as everybody gathered themselves up to leave, "If any of you get yourselves killed, I'll be docking you a full week's pay!" He held up a cautionary finger. "I know your drinking habits, and none of you can afford that. So be careful out there."

The men left in stages, first Greentree and Riverstone, scuttling into the woods to the north, then a short while later, Woodshadow, skulking off to circle around the village and regain the road, heading for Darkwood territory. Then it was just Gil and Greycloak and the two heedrin, waiting a few minutes to be certain nobody had raised an alarm about the others, then dashing for the cover of the trees, and striking out for Adale Hold.

"This isn't the first time we've been hunted," Greycloak commented as they trekked through the woods. "But it never ceases to be tiresome."

"We mustn't complain about things we cannot change, old friend," Gil mused as he hiked, "lest we be thought of as difficult."

"Oh, I know I'm difficult, sir. And complaining is a soldier's right. It's just being able to do anything about it that we're not allowed to do."

Jayden and Merna led as the men followed closly behind. After they had been hiking for a short time, Merna waited back allowing Gil to come abreast. "Mounts, gentlemen, we need to move quickly, all this traipsing about is quiet tiresome even for forest monkeys. We left ours not more than an hour form here. We've only two but more can be managed for you two, that is, if you are able to ride bareback."

"And drain yourself even more? I guess I'll find a way to tie you to your horse when you pass out."

"Don't exaggerate, I will be fine. In any case, Rael will not let me fall and you know it."

"You know how long it takes to summon a wild horse, we can't stay still for that long."

"No need, I have already called to two and they are willing to bare the humans. They will be waiting with our horses. Things will move much faster this way, Jayden." she turned back to Gil and added, "Plus, entering Adale Hold riding wild horses will make a good impression on Venrick. It is rare for one to allow a human to ride."

Gil and Greycloak both stared at the heedrin. It was Greycloak who finally answered. "Yes, we can both ride. Mr. Darkwood is an excellent rider."

"And Mr. Greycloak veritably grew up on horseback. If you have mounts for us, we will be able to keep up." Gil was honored that they had arranged for wild horses for them; the heedrin ability to, well, not "tame" but befriend and ride the lean and strong wild forest horses was one of the more famous and useful abilities the heedrin had, and Gil had long wished he could ride one of the magnificent beasts; it seemed now he'd have the chance.

Merna held up her right hand and came to a halt. Jayden and the men did likewise. Jayden stood close beside her and started to whisper but she put a hand gently on his mouth and pointed ahead of them.

The trees were thinner here and small ferns and vines grew between them. All about them the woods seems softer more delicate. First light was beginning to break through the leaves casting an surreal glow on the forest floor. Without turning Merna whispered to Gil. “They are very eager to meet you. No matter what happens stand very still and let her greet you. When she wants you to mount you will know.” she nodded to Gil and Tom in turn, making sure they understood.

Two horses trotted into their view, followed quickly by another pair. The dim light made it difficult to see the color but the strength and firm build of the horses was evident. A gray one approached Merna boldly, snorting her greetings and nudging her shoulder playfully. “Good morning Rael, its good to see you too.” A brown horse with a black mane stood in front of Jayden as he gently rubbed his sides, whispering soft words to him. “This is Hern, he has accompanied me since my youth, he does not belong to me, I belong to him. When I set off into the woods he is sure to find me, as it is with most heedrin. The horse you will ride, Gil, is called Bryn.” Bryn was a black horse that found it difficult to stay still until he heard his name. He dipped his head in what could be considered a bow and waited for Gil to mount.

“You have been chosen by a wild horse, consider it an honor. I have heard of it, but you two are the first I have seen with my own eyes.” Merna smiled already mounted on her horse and waiting for the others to do the same. “Yours is called Ressa, Tom. Ride her with honor, she is the equivalent of a princess among the wild horses. Be true to her, she has chosen you so other horses will try to claim you to get closer to her.

The men gazed at the magnificent animals with wide eyes. They each stepped forward toward their chosen mounts (or toward the mounts that had chosen them, depending on the perspective).

Gil raised a hand and gently touched Bryn's nose, feeling the whuff of the stallion's breath as he looked into his dark, alert eyes. "Thank you, Bryn. I could not imagine a finer mount. I'm honored." He moved beside the horse a little hesitantly, more in awe than in fear, and as the black-coated beast stood unusually still, he took that as a sign. Taking gentle hold of Bryn's mane, he jumped and swung a leg over, managing to mount the horse without seeming too ungainly, albeit at the sacrifice of seeming graceful. Bryn shuffled a bit, and Gil patted his neck, making reassuring noises. Wild horses were frequently more intelligent than domesticated breeds; the few that were caught for breeding purposes always turned out the smartest foals. But Gil wasn't sure how much language they understood, so he just made soothing sounds and hoped his message got through.

Greycloak, on the other hand, was stroking Ressa's neck and scratching gently at her chest, marveling at her grace and equine beauty. "A princess, are you? You certainly look it. It's my luck that the first noblewoman to take an interest in me is from another species." He chuckled gently as he moved to the side of her. "I hope your suitors don't try to claim me in a literal sense, your highness; we had a farmhand once who... well, that's not a story for polite company. But suffice to say, if there are any challenges, we'll deal with that as we come to it." He sprang nimbly onto her back like a boy half his age. Before they rode into the forest, he leaned forward over her mane and murmured into her twitching ears, "it's a privilege to be your passenger, ma'am."