Feel Just Like A Child

“Where was it, lass?”

“This way.”

Gaylia lead the group through the streets, dodging past panicked citizens and trying to focus her senses past the screaming and general chaos rampant in the city. People cried out in terror, still fearing for their lives, which the party thought only slightly strange, since both the monstrous spiders had apparently been defeated. As they made their way to the site where Gaylia had seen the grey elf fall, though, the sounds of a raging battle cleared things up significantly.

“Do I care to know who we're looking for?” said a curious little gnome who had started to follow the group, along with his paladin companion.

“It's simple,” Elathan said, not bothering to give a backward glance. “If you see a grey elf, kill it.

Kayla shot her friend a worried glance at the harshly-spat words. Something had happened to the mage, she knew, but she shuddered to think would could have brought such anger from the normally calm, albeit grouchy, elf.

As they came through an alleyway, the group found the battle between Karrashiva and Horendithas still raging. Lightning and fire spells flew at full force from the mage's hands, but Karrashiva seemed to be possessed of an unnatural grace as she slipped through most of the assaults and launched brutal attacks of her own, a pair of daggers glinting in her hands. They danced a deadly pas de deux, seemingly unconcerned with the city or anything else around them. The catfolk queen managed to slip inside Horendithas' defenses and closed to strike, but it was then the mage noticed the party and let a wild-eyed smile nearly split his face in two. He thrust himself backward and rolled away from the attack, fingers already working frantically when he came back to a stand. Karrashiva looked toward the group and scowled.

“What are you doing here? Run!”

She turned back to her enemy, who was still in the midst of spellcasting, and started a spell of her own, covering one of her daggers in utter darkness and lengthening the blade to that of a longsword. Instead of the shouts she expected signaling the retreat of the group, though, she saw two arrows stick fast into Horendithas' side, visibly causing the mage pain, but hardly slowing him. A series of green bolts furiously struck the grey elf next and the queen glared back at the party, who were still moving to get in better positions to continue their assault.

She began to shout at them again, when suddenly, everything went dark. Karrashiva looked about her, momentarily wondering what had just happened, but soon came to the realization that in her distraction, the mage had placed her inside a magical cage with no means of escape. At least, there would have been no means of escape if she had not had a powerful wand with her, one that allowed her to destroy such magical constructions completely. Despite her preparedness, Karrashiva let out a deep growl as she pulled out the tool and worked its magic on the cage.

The queen did not give orders for her own health.

*

“Can ye hear me, Elathan?” Kayla shouted to the similar cage that the mage had found himself in. Most of the party stared at the thing in concern, for Horendithas had disappeared as quickly as the cages had come. None of them had ever seen anything like it and knew nothing about how to get neither Elathan nor Karrashiva (whom Gaylia had gone to check on) out of them.

“Yes,” the sorcerer replied. Something about the elf's voice seemed very small, which only increased Kayla's concern.

“How am I to be gettin' ye out of there?”

“Someone has to dispel it.”

The cleric frowned, knowing she couldn't access such powerful magic any more that day, but what concerned her more was if she could access a spell that could destroy the box at all. As she kept looking at the thing, she suddenly felt a soft breeze and looked to see Karrashiva standing plainly on the street, though the visage she wore showed she was far from calm. Kayla grew concerned when she saw the ranger suddenly go back on her heels and bow when the queen spoke and felt herself tense when the catfolk came over near where she was standing and point the wand in her hand at the construction. A thin strand of magic came from the tip and spread when it hit the side, seemingly corroding straight through the magic and breaking it apart before their very eyes. Elathan, surprised to be suddenly freed, got to his feet quickly, but stared intently at the ground, clearly not wanting to meet the furious queen's eyes.

“Where is Farrln,” she asked evenly.

“He's assisting Willem in the rout of the remaining orcs, Your Majesty,” Elathan replied quietly.

“Aye, Willem did go to help Farrln,” Kayla corrected quickly, knowing it wouldn't be wise to imply that the prince would be assisting an unknown soldier instead of the other way around. Karrashiva stood silently, eyes flashing for a moment, before Gaylia dared to approach her from the side.

“I saw where Horendithas had fallen from your blow,” she explained. “We wanted to make sure he had been dealt with.”

The queen glanced at her, then stared at Elathan for a moment before replacing her wand in her belt.

“Return to the castle,” she said. “Let us see if that is an order you can follow.”

The group quickly agreed and gave deep bows, and Karrashiva walked off toward the direction they had arrived from, expression not changing one iota. They watched her as she turned a corner and everyone, just for a moment, felt like a scolded child.

“Well, ye heard her,” Kayla said with a sigh, then turned to start heading for the castle. The others followed behind, silently wondering if they were in for more harsh words from the queen upon her return.

*

With pikes brought to bear, shields flashing in the sunlight, and battlecries pouring from their lips, the forces of Farrlmarr, with Farrln at their head, cut an intimidating figure as they rumbled across the open plain in full pursuit of the retreating orcs. The prince kept the troops running hard and they quickly began overtaking the vermin, killing and trampling them as they steamrolled along. Soon, only a few of the things remained at distance and the few men who brought shortbows with them sent stinging arrows in their wake, ensuring that though they ran fast, they wouldn't go much farther.

Farrln brought the men to a complete halt after that, ordering that those who had injuries should be tended to and to give the lot of them a rest. The troops were grateful for the breather and settled quickly to regain their lost breath and come down from their battle high, fully congratulating each other on a job well done. The prince broke into a wide smile when he saw Willem not so far away from him and greeted the crusader with a hearty pat on the shoulder.

“There you are. I had wondered where you had gone.”

“There was a spider,” said Willem, his face spreading into a smile.

“Did you smash it?”

“It's on the menu tonight.” The catfolk gave a hearty laugh that belied his slight stature.

“That's one feast you'll have to count me out of, then.”

“Oh, but it's good for you. Lots of protein.”

“I'll take your word for it, my friend.”

The two warriors shared a laugh at that and kept up their banter about the fight and the chase, seeming to all the world as a pair that had grown up in the streets side-by-side. Willem cut the lighthearted moment short when he suddenly spotted something in the sky approaching the troops quite rapidly. He pointed the thing out to Farrln, who went a bit wide-eyed at the sight, putting his hands on his hilts.

“What on Toril?...”

The pair watched the figure come in and the look of shock when they saw Karrashiva settle before them and fold back her great black wings was quite apparent to the queen, though she said nothing about her manner of appearance or entrance.

“Oh, wow.” Willem said awestruck.

“Report.”

Both of them stood a little straighter at her terseness and sombered.

“The invaders have been repelled. One or two managed to flee, but it won't do them much good. With the advent of the dragon, the battle became a rout.”

“It seems you've found your spine,” Karrashiva said as she looked at the crusader, giving the man a sum up from head to toe. “I like you better this way.” The crusader looked slightly taken aback by the backhanded compliment, but the queen turned her attention to her son, who still stood silent. “Were you at the head of the rout, Farrln?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Then all is well. Lead the men back to the castle. There is much to discuss with the pair of you when you return.”

Willem looked after the woman curiously as she stepped away, unfurling her wings to take flight back toward the city. Something about the conversation struck him as particularly odd and he looked to his friend slightly concerned.

“How often do you get that?”

“What do you mean?” Farrln asked honestly. The crusader stared for a moment, then just shook his head, at a loss to think of how to explain his thoughts appropriately.

“Never mind. Let's go.”

“...all right, then.”

Farrln couldn't help but wonder what his friend was on about as he went to coordinate the troops into proper ranks to start a quick march back to the city. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary in the situation, besides seeing his mother flying on a pair of jet-black wings, but Willem had seemed concerned. The warrior shook off his thoughts as he went to the head of the formation to stand beside Willem and gave the signal to start the march. The crusader was just continuing his line of jokes, he thought.

*

Kayla sat close to Rel in the parlor, checking on the injured drow's condition. He was still weak from the spider poison that coursed through him, but the magic the cleric had worked enabled him to move a little. Still, he was far from being back to his normal self and everyone knew it, especially Bramble, who lay very close to his master.

“Will he be all right?” Gaylia asked quietly.

“Aye,” said the dwarf. “Even without further healing, a few days rest'll set him right.”

The ranger nodded and settled into her seat, though she did notice that Elathan was sitting a little away from the group as a whole, obviously engrossed in his own thoughts. The mage had been quiet ever since the queen had left them, not even answering questions Kayla had presented to him. It was an elephant in the room for the group, as everyone wanted to know what plagued the sorcerer, but no one dared to be the first to ask.

Instead, the gnome that had followed along with them introduced himself as Lysldar, a traveling bard, and his friend as Ines, a paladin companion. The little man seemed quite mannerable and spoke with all the distinction of one who had lived in a court much of his life. He managed to take the group's mind off their worries for some time as he went into stories of how he and Ines came to be in the city and a bit of their own histories, but he was cut short when Lady Caraliss came into the room, commanding everyone's attention. The group stood and bowed respectfully, and Caraliss nodded in kind before turning her attention to the sorcerer, calling him to come to her. As soon as he came close, the archmage gave him a flick on the forehead that sent him stumbling backward, stunned on several levels. Once he regained his footing, though, he hung his head in shame, knowing fully well he'd deserved the blow.

“I'm truly sorry, my Lady.”

“You placed yourself in very real danger,” the woman said sternly. “Not only that, you left yourself in a position where you could not even protect the very friend you wanted to save.” Kayla went wide-eyed at the statement, but Caraliss pressed on. “Had I not arrived when I did, you could have been taken anywhere, never to be heard from again.” The sorcerer cringed visibly.

“I know,” he said quietly. “And for that, I owe you a debt I can never truly repay.”

“You show your youth, Elathan,” the archmage continued. “You cannot let your emotions overtake your judgment.”

“I understand. I will do my best to never make that mistake again.” Caraliss gave a slight sigh as the elf bowed to her, her expression softening only slightly.

“I will let your fellows decide what punishment is befitting once they hear your tale. And you will tell them completely what has passed.”

“I had planned on it, my Lady. They have a right to know.”

“They do.” The woman gave Elathan a light pat on the arm and turned herself a bit to address the room as a whole. “The Queen will be here for an audience with you all in due time. I would suggest you take this down time to hear what Elathan has to say. I will return with Her Majesty.”

They all nodded and Caraliss took her leave from the room. Elathan looked for a moment as though he would faint on his feet and sat down in a chair hard, only to have Tasha come out of his hood and settle comfortingly on his lap. The sorcerer pet his familiar absent-mindedly as the others stared at him.

“Elathan, what in the world?” Kayla said quietly.

“Please let me tell you all at the same time so I don't have to repeat myself.”

The cleric stared hard at her friend for a long moment, then gave a sigh. “I guess we can give Willem a bit of time to show up. But if he doesn't, you'll have to tell it again.”

Elathan nodded and went back to his thoughts, turning the events over in his mind as he kept stroking Tasha, eyes flickering over the memories and giving a subtle twitch here and there. Everyone looked concerned but left him alone, since they would hear the full story in due time.

After a short while, Farrln and Willem walked into the parlor, a bit dusty from the march, but otherwise none the worse for wear. They immediately sensed the gravity of the situation and settled against a wall after giving each other a glance. Elathan remained silent a few moments after that, but finally went into his story after a quiet mewl from Tasha. He left nothing out, though it was obvious that the elf didn't like thinking about some of the events again. Everyone was silent when he finally finished, except for Kayla, who had taken to angrily pacing the room.

“That dirty, rotten snake! I'll kill 'im, don't ye doubt!”

The others couldn't fault the dwarf for her outburst, since they knew Kayla was very attached to Elathan for reasons unknown. Farrln shook his head and leaned more heavily against the wall.

“He has a drive to keep you,” he said. “He'll come after you again.”

The mage shuddered at the though. “I knew he wanted me to switch sides, but...”

“Strange chap, that sounds like,” said Lysldar, shaking his head.

“The fact remains that it is up to you to determine my punishment.”

Kayla looked to her friend and frowned. “I can't decide that. You did make a really stupid mistake, but you were tricked and influenced both times.”

“It certainly doesn't seem correct to judge you based on another's deceit,” the gnome said.

“I still walked through that door on my own, trick or not,” Elathan contended.

“Your Highness, what do you think?” asked Gaylia, turning to the prince. “I imagine being trapped like that is more than any punishment we can give him.”

“No. There is another part.” Everyone turned to look at Willem, who had stood silently staring at the floor during the whole tale. The warrior looked up and stared hard at Elathan, blue eyes almost seeming to flare. “You have been constrained and influenced beyond means of your control, I will not dispute that. But you said nothing to us.”

“Correct,” said the sorcerer, meeting Willem's gaze. “I did not.”

“You did not trust me when you first saw me, did you not?” Rel said, and everyone looked to the drow wondering about the point he was trying to make. Elathan agreed with that, too, not even paying attention to who had spoken the words.

“Not at first,” Willem agreed. “But a day, maybe three, before you returned from the port, and the entire hunt at Moundmire, and he did not once mention his private encounter, even after the deceiving snake's involvement with the orcs became undeniably apparent.”

“After the snake's involvement?” asked Elathan, face squinting in confusion. “I'm not sure I follow what you mean.”

“The traitor. The cretin who constructed this scheme, whom I even thought to offer my assistance when we left Silvershore.”

“Oh, you mean when it was decided it was likely the viper belonged to Horendithas. That was the first time I had seen the familiar.”

“That's not what he means,” said Farrln.

“Please clarify then.”

“What he means is that even after we came to realize that Horendithas was leading the orcs back at Moundmire Castle, you still said nothing, which is highly suspicious.”

The elf blinked a few times and stared at the floor, obviously not trying to be difficult but still confused and disoriented with everything that had happened. He nodded a bit dumbly, finally figuring out what the pair were trying to explain to him and he realized that his actions had been shady at best.

“You are right. I should have said something about the meeting at the river. I knew nothing of the familiar then, though. I am sorry. I should have said something sooner.” The mage looked back up at Willem, his eyes full of sincerity. “It is a mistake I will not make again.”

“In my order, we are trained to defend against any onslaught we may face, to the death, if need be,” said the crusader. “But we are also trained to draw our strength from our allies beside us.”

“That is why I joined the Watchers,” Elathan said quietly. “So I could find friends and allies that I could trust.”

“I cannot fight for you if I am not with you.”

The sorcerer sat a bit straighter at that, looking hard at Willem. It was obvious that the words had struck a chord deep inside the mage, but he obviously couldn't put that into words. He stayed that way for a moment before saying “I do not intend to make that mistake again. I can't help my friends if I am not with them.”

No one missed the glance that he gave Kayla as he spoke those words, but the statement made everyone relax a little. The crusader sighed and gave a small shake of his head.

“That was a nice shot, though. On the spider.”

“As was yours.”

“A bit sorry I missed that,” Farrln quipped.

“It was pretty damn impressive,” Elathan assured him with a nod and a laugh. “He hit it harder than even my fireball did.”

“You people are strange,” the prince replied simply.

“So what do we do now?” asked Kayla, who finally finished making Rel a little more comfortable. “Wait for the queen to call for us?”

“You decide what my punishment is,” said Elathan, fixing the cleric with a gentle stare. “I'm not one to back out of taking responsibility for my actions.”

“I think you've been punished enough,” said Farrln. A wry grin came on Willem's face as he regarded his friend.

“I dunno. He could eat a spider-steak.”

“I've had worse.”

Both Willem and Farrln looked incredulously at the mage before their faces twisted in slight revulsion, though Elathan only shrugged as he started to pet Tasha once more.

“One doesn't always get to choose what they have to eat.”

“What about Rel, Your Highness,” Kayla said, obviously wanting to get off the subject. “He needs more healing to deal with the damage the spider did. I repaired what I could, but I'll have no more spells to help that kind of injury until I rest.”

Farrln began to ponder whether he could get one of the castle healers to come and take a look at the drow, but was cut short when his mother walked into the room, no longer covered in the blood and dust of the battle, but still looking quite cross. Everyone stood and bowed to both her and Caraliss, who came in behind her and she looked slowly to every one of them, then took a breath and closed her eyes.

“I will say this once and very clearly so that there is no chance for misinterpretation. When you are in my city and I give you an order, you follow it. Understood?”

Everyone in the room bowed and assured that they understood completely, knowing that any kind of negative response would likely land them in even more trouble with the volatile queen. Caraliss went over to where Kayla sat with Rel and gently shooed the dwarf away, intent on casting spells to heal the drow. Kayla had to split her attention between that scene and Karrashiva as the catfolk began to speak again.

“Good. I have consulted with Caraliss and we have agreed that this grey elf constitutes a threat that is far greater than we imagined. We cannot let him do as he pleases. We have decided that since you have the most experience fighting him, you all will be charged with the task of hunting him down.”

“Understood,” said Elathan. “We will do our best to bring him to justice.” Willem glanced at the determination that tinged his voice, but let it go as he looked to the queen.

“May I ask a question, Your Majesty?”

“What is it.”

“Um. Excuse my forwardness, but what is this city to him?”

Karrashiva looked at the crusader for a long moment before she finally said “Something he wishes to claim in the stead of someone who could not.”

The warrior looked at Karrashiva but said nothing. Something nagged at him in the back of his mind that there was more to what she was saying, but the hint was dim at best. Still, Willem thought it would be best to look into the city history sooner rather than later.

“What about Silvershore?” he asked.

“What about Silvershore?”

“Oh. Well, Your Majesty, when we were joined by Reldaerqel at Moundmire, he said that the orcs were also attacking Silvershore, and it became very clear they were the same one under the control of Hornydithers.”

“Horendithas,” Elathan said with a sigh.

“That guy.”

“I prefer Creepy meself,” Kayla muttered.

Enough.

Everyone froze at the tone of Karrashiva's voice then and she cast a glance around the room to ensure more quips weren't forthcoming. Caraliss looked up from her spellcasting and drew her attention.

“It is true that Crulamin was under duress when I visited him. I made mention of it myself when I first met with you.”

Karrashiva put up a hand, stopping further explanation. “I do not know why he attacked the city. It might have been a diversionary tactic to draw would-be forces away from Farrlmarr. It may not have. I do not have a direct line to the mind of our opponent. What I do know is that I want the man's head on a pike, like his orc lieutenant's is, presently. You will help to accomplish that and it will be to the benefit of all of Tamourin, if not the multiverse itself.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Willem. “But it seems to me that the clearly has a plan and we have little more than cobbled-together pieces of information.”

“And Caraliss will help you to fill in some of those gaps, with my permission. You all will need to train yourselves, thought. This task will be a difficult one.” The queen looked straight to Farrln and the prince pulled himself up tightly. “Farrln, you will accompany the Watchers in my stead.”

“I understand.”

“I would bring this one along, if he wishes,” said Caraliss, gesturing to Rel, who was finally looking better and sitting up completely on his own.

“If the others would have me, I would be honored,” he said. Kayla broke out in a smile and patted him gently.

“Of course. Ye've done well since we've met.” She shot Elathan a look then, but the sorcerer wasn't paying either of them the least bit of attention. Caraliss nodded her approval when the others agreed to have Rel along with them and looked to Karrashiva.

“Then it is settled,” the catfolk said. “I surmised you will be leaving for Watcher's Dale soon?”

“We shall,” the archmage replied, drawing a questioning look from Willem.

“Then give my regards to Tyrthian. But there is something I must do with that one before you go.”

Willem noticed that the queen was pointing directly at him and he made an odd noise that wanted to be a word but didn't quite make it. He nearly shrunk as Karrashiva came to stand in front of him.

“I heard that you were the one that delivered the killing strike to the spider. True?”

“Well. Um. It was on fire at the time.”

“True or untrue?”

“Yes. ...ma'am.”

“I have also heard that you were the one to devise the method of defense used today. True?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Then upon your return, there shall be a ceremony held where you shall receive the title of apprentice knight for your intellect and heroism. The rest of you shall be honored, as well. I am not so evil as to let such acts go unrewarded.”

Willem's tension visibly eased as the warrior breathed a sigh of relief, giving thanks to Karrashiva. Farrln gave him a light congratulatory cuff on the arm and the others broke into smiles, happy that the queen's mood had at least eased some and happier still that one of their own would be receiving such an honor. Karrashiva took her leave after that and Caraliss moved to stand in her place.

“We have a ways to travel,” she said. “And you have much to learn, both about this matter and in the ways of combat. But there is a way that we can accomplish this in a reasonable amount of time. Do any of you have any pressing business here?”

“Elathan needs to eat a steak.”

Caraliss blinked at him.

“Fine by me,” said the mage. “I am a little hungry.”

“He's very frail. Needs some spider-meat on his bones.”

“I'm sure there's plenty for you, too, Will.”

“Are you sure that spider did not knock you both senseless?” the archmage asked in all seriousness. Farrln couldn't suppress his laughter any more and broke out in a fit of giggles and was quickly joined by many in the room. Caraliss shook her head and looked toward the ceiling.

“Ah, youth.”

“I am ready, though,” the crusader said in all seriousness, though he did wear a smile on his face. Caraliss nodded and told them all to gather their things and meet her in the foyer. Since the group already had most of their items on their person, it wasn't long before Caraliss was settling them all into a circle and telling them to join hands. Before they knew it, they were hurtling once again by Caraliss' magic, though instead of an unfriendly battlefield, they were heading toward a place they all knew well, and more importantly, a place where many of their questions could be answered.

End