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Chapter 22
“So Gustov is dead?” Ifan sat upright in the cot, his ribs tightly wrapped with thick white cloth. Angharad and Rhian sat either side of him, each holding on to a steaming mug of tea. His mouth curled into a snarl, and he felt his cheeks twitch. The mottled wool of his blanket resisted his tightening grip.
“It seems so. We can retrieve his body once his killer is dealt with. He will be here before long if he just follows the road.” Angharad sipped on her drink, “In fact he probably should have been close behind us even after our little detour.”
“I wonder what’s stopped him.” Closing his eyes, Ifan shook off the rage bubbling beneath the surface, “You said he could change his skin, like Gus’ shouts?”
“Yeah. He hardened his fingers to sever Ryker’s hand from his wrist, and the killing blow on Gus was caused by extending his sharpened skin into a point and puncturing Gus’ body.” Angharad watched as Rhian wiped the moisture from her eyes, before turning around to the group of elves, all sat around Fendrick’s cot, and barely speaking. Pulling in closer to Ifan, Angharad lowered her voice, “Chances are we’ll need to enlist their help. It won’t do if their captain is still unconscious though. The trolls have strengthened tonight’s watch on my advice, but with the magic drought we humans are likely to be the most useful. We’ve not really had a chance to see how any of the others fare in combat, but their captain, Fendrick, was a demon.”
“A few more hours bed rest and I’ll be able to operate at near full potential. That doctor’s magic is a touch weaker than the Divine Breath but it’s nothing to sniff at.” Ifan slapped his wrapped abs, and Angharad smiled.
“We’ll need every ounce of your power to deal with him. It couldn’t have been a worse time for such a foe to emerge.”
“A symptom of the elves playing with magic outside of their understanding it seems,” whispered Ifan.
“What could they have even wanted that staff for? And why is everyone so obsessed with the stone?” asked Rhian, joining in the hushed conversation.
“Something to do with the Well perhaps—”
Dai cleared his throat.
Ifan took that as indication they weren’t speaking quite as quietly as they seemed. Those large elf ears were for more than just show, he thought.
“Nevertheless, I’d rather the large, scary monster that murdered our friend not get its hands on the odd magical stone the sahuagins so revered. Who has it?” asked Ifan.
“Kolt.” Angharad turned to the elves once more and smiled at the officer. Kolt returned the smile and patted her hip pouch.
“Very well. It’s in good hands then.” Ifan hid his distrust and smiled at Kolt also, offering a light wave in her direction. “So, I guess we just sit here and wait for this man to come to us?”
“Unfortunately, yes. I hate to be such a burden on the trolls, but we’ve no real other choice at the moment. If we’re spared his presence until the morning, we can join the guard. We’re not in a fit state to try and fight in our collective conditions at this hour,” Angharad said.
“We’ll fight if he shows up though, right?” asked Rhian.
“Of course, but we’ll be joining in late. They’ve ten men on the guard tonight, on my word they’ve more than doubled their usual count. That should be more than enough to keep him occupied with minimal casualties, until we get there.”
“Are there enough cots for everyone to sleep here for the night?” Ifan looked around the room and began counting, mouthing the numbers as he went. “Five. So not quite.”
“We’ve been offered some additional blankets and pillows, so we can rest on the floor for now. I’ve already volunteered myself, and I believe Dai said he prefers the floor.” Angharad pointed to a stack of grey woollen blankets near the nursing station’s entrance.
“Accommodation is sorted for now then. And how long will it take us to reach the walls when he arrives?”
“Maybe a minute or two? If we don’t get lost,” responded Rhian.
“Right, we’ve made our way here in the dark once now, I reckon I’d be able to get us there fairly directly.” Angharad knocked back the remainder of her tea and placed her mug on the nearby bedside table, alongside a half-full cup of water that Ifan was making his way through slowly at the behest of the doctor.
“Fantastic. Then as I’m up to speed, what’s say we get some shut eye?” asked Ifan with raised eyebrows.
“Fine with me, Rhian?” Angharad stood up from her chair and waited for Rhian’s response.
“Ok with me. Though I can’t imagine I’m going to get much rest.”
“Just try your best. We’re not going to be of much use to the town if we are groggy and half-asleep when Gus’ killer arrives.” Angharad made her way over to the blankets, tossing one and a pillow onto the cot next to Ifan’s.
“Thanks, Haz.” Rhian made her way around Ifan’s cot and finished her tea, adding another empty mug to the growing clutter on the bedside table.
“Do you all mind if we blow out the candles in this part of the room?” Ifan raised his voice, aiming it in the direction of Kolt in particular.
“We’re elves, so it makes little difference to us. I’m happy to shut out the ones over here too if it will help you sleep.” Kolt made her way over to the nearby lamps, blowing out their lights and plunging their corner of the room into darkness.
“Thanks.” Ifan leant over and blew out the first candle on his right, after assuring that Angharad had retrieved her own bedding and Rhian had made her way into her own bed. Both were attempting to sleep practically fully clothed, with only the heaviest of their armaments placed to one side. A few seconds later, after confirming everyone had gotten comfortable, Ifan blew out the last of the lamps.
Fendrick awoke, his eyes opening to near complete darkness. His wounds had been bandaged, and despite not having a clue where he was, he felt more well rested than he had in a long time. A weak light coming from outside of the open door of the room he found himself in allowed his eyes to make out the faintest of shapes around the room. Carefully wriggling to an upright position, Fendrick took a look around. Four other beds were alongside him, one after another, each filled with a body. He couldn’t make out who his neighbour was, but it seemed to him they were fast asleep. On the floor, he could make out two other figures, one on the other side of the room, curled up under blankets, and another sat upright against a wooden sideboard. Nobody seemed to react to the slight shuffling sounds he was making, so he assumed everyone was asleep. In the hopes of finding out more about where he was, Fendrick swung his legs off of the bed and began pushing himself upright. As the wool blanket over his body ruffled loudly, the eyes of the sitting figure bolted open. The yellow irises of his elven ally made his heart freeze for a moment, before their familiarity put him at ease.
“Dai?”
“Aye, Fendrick.”
“Where are we?” Fendrick and Dai both spoke in hushed whispers, and Fendrick sat back down onto the cot.
“The troll town of Aberhaf. In a pop-up medical bay in their town hall. A doctor has seen to you and Ryker, as well as the prince of Inarell.”
“Ryker?”
“An unknown foe ambushed our little group as we attempted to leave the quarry. Severed his arm with a swipe of its own.”
“And this foe?”
“Held off by the humans’ Goliath friend. For long enough that we managed to escape, but he failed to fell the creature and succumbed himself.”
“One less potential troublemaker for us, I suppose.”
“I’d rather not besmirch his sacrifice, Fendrick. He was the one thing standing in the way of an even bloodier battle that you and perhaps I would likely not have lived through.”
“I apologise for my crassness. What of Podge?”
“Consumed by that flesh monster. Along with that staff we were asked to obtain.”
“Shit! Did we at least retrieve that stone?”
“Kolt is in possession of it currently. Although I’d be surprised if the humans let us just up and walk out of here with it. And that foe… wanted the stone for itself; and conveniently appeared when the flesh monster vanished. It seems the flesh and the staff merged together to make some queer, magical creature.”
Fendrick looked around at the others in the room, before realising that his cot neighbour was a sleeping Kolt. The sight invoked a smile, as he turned back to continue his conversation with Dai. “So, if the creature still lives –”
“It’s likely still looking for us, yes. It’s been about five hours since we were at the quarry, and it only took about two hours to make it to the town. Chances are we can expect it anytime now. The trolls have bolstered their guard, but they’ll need our help to repel this thing.”
“And there’s no chance we get the staff back without dealing with this monster. How frustrating.”
“My thoughts exactly. Best we deal with it once and for all so that we don’t end up returning empty handed to Fenerra.”
“And how are we to return to Prestelwyn after securing the stone and the staff?”
“That I’m still unsure of. The four of us versus the three humans and a small troll battalion seems like bad odds, I’m afraid.”
“Could we not… kill the humans and fight the creature alone, now that we are recovered?”
“I’ve thought about it. The prince alone will likely not go down without a fight, even if we attempted to assassinate him now. That ‘Divine Breath’ helped him kill Tristan, one of our strongest men, best Raffi, and nearly disable Welk permanently. Unfortunately, he’s fully recovered too.”
Tristan. Fendrick glanced around the room another time. An absence grew in his chest and his throat closed. He counted the number of people in the room. Once, then twice. Dai looked perplexed as Fendrick became clammy and worried, his eyes bouncing around the room. Tristan was gone. The realisation clawed into his consciousness and began plucking at his heart. His eyes swelled with tears, and they began to fall uncontrollably from his eyes.
“Are you alright, lad?”
“It’s nothing.” Fendrick’s voice was unshaken, but the tears flowed nonetheless. “I suppose I should get some more sleep in preparation for this upcoming battle. Goodnight, Dai.” Without waiting for a response, Fendrick pulled the blanket up over his body as he curled back into the cot.
Despite Dai’s knowing that things weren’t quite right, he accepted the fallibility of his new leader and closed his eyes once more. “Goodnight, Fendrick.”