Captured by the Elves Ch. 12

Note: Before we begin, I want to give my thanks to those of you who've been following along for so long now. I greatly appreciate your patience and your interest. One of the hardest things about being a writer is wondering if anyone is going to give a damn about what you write. You folks are amazing, and now so many other great new people are following the story too. It's come a long way. Any errors or omissions are my own. All the characters in this story are over the age of eighteen. The elves even more so. It does contain a magical transformation. It doesn't represent any real people or groups. It is literally a fantasy. There are elves. Please check the story tags. Considering that this is Chapter 12 you should know what you're in for. It's a bit long, but you know that we are heading into the end so we need to get some things done. Enjoy.

The memory seemed to come to me easily. Flowing like wine on a good day. However, I knew that many people were guilty of watering their wine because the drink could be too harsh and ice was a rare thing in some parts. Diluted wine is easier to swallow, but it's always missing the real character.

My feet were killing me from the road that day. More than normal. We had too few horses to ride, and the wagons were reserved for what supplies we still had and the sick. I was going off to war to see the world and my aching feet were carrying me there.

I painfully eased myself down to sit on a tuft of grass beneath a tree. Fortunately, I wasn't wearing my armor. Not that it amounted to much, but armor was armor. My father had assured me that our lord had invested well, and thus I'd be protected.

Off in the distance was more of the same never-ending landscape. Tracts of forest on two sides and opens fields. Here and there was evidence of previous inhabitants. Modest walls, collapsed huts, and even a ruined mill. People would try to grow on whatever land they could, but if the land didn't have safety it was bound to be abandoned. The scouts told us there were towns not too far away, but the commander was an untrusting sort. We were strangers in these lands. We'd officially been out of our own country for two months. It was a strange thing not to recognize anything that you saw outside. Yet even though it was unfamiliar I still knew what to expect. Mostly nothing.

"You're not going to fall asleep, are you?"

I turned to seen Brendan approaching. He cut a magnificent figure in his full uniform and most of his armor. All six and a half feet of him. The road had been hard on us all. I'd been losing weight, but Brendan looked big and strong as ever. Like he'd win the war all by himself.

"I don't sleep well anymore," I said.

Brendan made a face. "You've never slept well. Not since I've known you, which is basically forever."

"Well, it's worse now."

"You've never been happy, William. "I know that we're going to war and all, but still..."

"I'm not made for this. I must be honest with myself. I should not be here."

Brendan sighed. "This shit again. Look, you know that I'd rather be home too, but our country needed us. This is what we must do. Putting ourselves in danger to save others."

"The army has been good for you. Why would you leave?"

"Not that good. Anyway, you don't need to be afraid. I'll always be there to look after you. Besides, I heard the commander talking with the captains. We're only going there to shore some people up. There is a whole big allied army. Most likely we'll be digging more ditches and standing guard. That' it. You need to relax, William."

"I try, Brendan. I really do. But there's something else."

"Always."

"I'm serious. I've been talking with the other men and with the quartermaster. There isn't enough food. Not at the rate we're going. Not by half."

"You're not eating enough is all."

"I've done the math, Brendan. I know how to calculate things like this."

"I think that you need to calm down. Perhaps we are eating a lot, but the boys are going to start foraging more. Thom says that he's really good with animals. We'll be all right."

I wasn't convinced at all, but this was Brendan. He'd known me for most of my life and knew more than my parents or my many siblings. No matter what my misgivings were I wanted him to convince me that everything was going to be fine.

"If you say so."

He offered his hand, and helped me to my feet. Brendan smiled. Such confidence in his big brown eyes. Everything about him was big. Many people joked that it should've been impossible for him to be a scout. They were typically a smaller bunch that could melt away into the wilderness and not be seen for days. Brendan somehow managed, and somehow always returned to make sure that I was safe. That wasn't how this was supposed to work. This was war or at least it was going to be when we finally got to where we were going.

Brendan said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the scouts held a meeting with the commander. We poured over the maps. There is a great forest southeast of here passed the foothills and the marsh. We don't know about any towns or villages over there, but it could be a short cut to avoid the next set of mountains."

"No more mountains," I said, shivering with my memories of the hardship that we had faced then. We still had provisions back in the mountains, but we had lost several men to the cold and the rockslides.

"You see?", said Brendan. "It already sounds better, doesn't it? It's warmer in the south. Hopefully we'll start bumping into the armies that are already heading there. It's going to be well, William. Trust me, you'll see."

Finally, I gave into him as I usually did. Brendan often credited me as being the smart one or the one that the girls liked looking upon, but despite these supposed advantages I was usually following him.

It was just easier.

Brendan and I walked off to join the others. I awoke from my nap, and I was Kiari again. I wondered how accurate my memory had been. I thought back to the strange other version of myself that had confronted me after I ate the fruit.

"You never forgot," she said.

I wondered if that was true.

I hid with the litter holding Katania behind a downed tree. In its time the tree had been an enormous redwood. Ancient and proud. Such trees were rare on the continent. In some places the harvesting of such wood was forbidden without the permission of the local lord and could result in execution. With good reason. Just one of the great trees could be used to make several buildings in a town. On more than one occasion I'd helped my father escort a wagon train of lumber home. The value was impressive, and so my parents had tried to get involved for years. The other reason for the trees' protection was that in some of the old religions they were sacred.

It struck me as I hid behind the tree. This great once-living thing was worth so much, and yet the tree had fallen over in the forest and just lied there in quiet anonymity. It would likely never be found by a human logger and if it did then by that time it would have fused with the dark floor of the forest like so many leaves and trees before it.

I dug my hand into the moist dark soil. It smelled rich. Comforting.

I was waiting.

Several yards ahead of me, I could see Ericka hiding in the thicket. She had an arrow nocked in her bow and a spear on the ground in front of her. Ericka had told me to wait for her, and in turn we were both waiting for Raina. Our guide had proven to be quirky for our tastes. Raina had been a trained scout as Brendan, but as Raina there was something off.

I didn't want to say anything. This whole enterprise was based on a hope—however slim. Ericka didn't miss any opportunity to remind of how foolish it all was. She was right. Yet, I had to do something for Katania. She needed me.

Our exfiltration from the she-elf settlement had been surprisingly easy. Raina had been leaving the settlement frequently on her own for some time. She far eclipsed my efforts of digging under the briars with my bare hands. Her egress was part of the ancient stone ruins that dotted the elves' domain. I could see portions of long destroyed walls and even stairs as she led us underground. She'd cleared away portions of it, and had done a surprisingly good job at it. Despite this, trying to get Katania through that space seemed impossible at first. Fortunately, in her supposed madness, Raina had cultivated the kind of determination that would not be defeated by any hardship. She helped me get the injured girl through. It was easier once we were on the other side. Ericka helped me craft the litter for Katania that I pulled.

For her part, Ericka remained skeptical of the whole endeavor, and I was quite sure that there was a certain northern girl that she would rather be with. But Ericka was bonded to me, and that carried with it a dedication that was profound. She had been the one to gather our supplies. Apparently, some of the other elves were already preparing to abandon the settlement and so had been secretly putting caches together. That was sure to anger the chieftains if they found out, but it was happening anyway.

While Raina still wore the tatters of her elf scout outfit and the stolen pair of men's breeches, Ericka procured for us fresh tunics and vests, though she covered them with dirt and stained them with leaves and grass. She insisted on this, and I didn't complain. They were still much cleaner than the disgusting rags that Raina wore. I did miss my healer's outfit. There had been no time for Braith to make another, and I couldn't very well ask her to.

As I waited, I tried to think about how Braith had reacted to my being gone while I waiting behind the tree. It hadn't been easy to find a piece of paper. Braith did have vellum scrolls and even some old books, but they all looked to be prohibitively old. Even if I was married to her, I still felt uneasy around Braith's more valuable things. The story that she'd told me on our wedding night only reinforced that.

My note had been simple: "Braith," it read, "I love you. Please, trust me. I will return. I must try and fix this. Yours always, Kiari."

I didn't want to think about it too much. I had committed to this woman, and here I was doing this to her.

I scanned the area ahead in the forest. There was nothing but the green of the natural world. Then, suddenly, Raina appeared as if from nowhere. She moved in perfect silence, yet in the most casual of strolls. Ericka relaxed and stood up to meet her. Raina only nodded to her, and kept walking over to my hiding spot. She took a knee to speak to me at the same level.

Raina said, "Eastern men ahead. Too many for me to kill without being spotted and pursued."

"Can we go around them?"

"There's even more of them farther on and much of this forest is too thick to go easily through. They must be guarding this area in case the she-elves try to escape."

"You're one of us, Raina."

"'Brendan'," she corrected. "'Raina' is a lie, and I'll find a way to be rid of her soon. The question is: what do you want to do?"

I considered the situation. The risks. What else was there though? I said, "We need to get by them. As quietly as possible."

I could tell that Ericka was relieved immediately that I was choosing caution, but this venture hinged on Raina being cooperative with us. Raina or "Brendan" as she was thinking of herself, looked at me for a time. If only I could read what thoughts were hidden behind those big brown eyes. She shrugged and said, "If that is what you wish, but if things go bad then I am in command. Do you agree?"

I agreed.

Ericka looked at me with dismay, but I didn't believe that there was much choice in the matter. We needed her and if you needed something from someone then they had the advantage. I learned that meson from my parents and it applied to every aspect of life.

"Very well," said Raina. "Please keep your broken girl quiet and perhaps we can do this."

That's how it began. I had no idea where it would lead.

Raina's solution had me slowly dragging Katania through a low gulley in the forest floor. I did this while Raina scouted ahead and Ericka provided cover in the rear. Raina believed that the men wouldn't want to linger in this area even if they were ordered. She said that even the she-elves told their scouts to not to go into this part of the great forest unless it was necessary. That was rather ominous, but then I was with two trained scouts. While she despised Raina, even Ericka agreed that no one would want to travel in such a way, and that made it unlikely that we would be found.

Progress was slow. I had ropes tied to Katania's litter, and I pulled her. I'd never been so far from the settlement. Even when I'd been captured by the humans. Raina had led us deep into the northeast. So far away that the smoke was finally clearing up, and for that I was grateful. Breathing had been labored under the blanket of smoke for me, and I could only imagine how hard it was for Katania. I stopped and looked back at her. We had bundled her up and covered her in thick blankets to protect her from the brush and the chill of the nights. Katania was still, but I could hear her breathing. Faint, but on-going. Much like our hopes of this quest or even or stand against the humans.

I chewed the bitter leaves to stifle the pain in my knee. I had a pouch full of them. It was one thing that Braith did have in good supply still. She'd taught me about the tree that produced them, but I'd struggled to retain the information for some reason, that wasn't like me. It was another reminder that I needed to be trying harder. People were expecting things from me.

We journeyed for hours in silence. Then I saw Ericka motioning frantically to get down. I went flat against the forest floor. My nose buried in the dark earth and I got a full smell of the floral musk within it. All I could hear were the songs of the insects and birds. The breeze coming from the north and rustling through the trees.

Then I heard them.

It was the eastern men trudging through the brush of the forest. I went lower—hugging the earth for dear life.

"I still can't believe this shit," said the first man. "Finally, we get the chance to storm the she-devils and we get sent out here. Boring. And no bloody chance to get loot."

"What loot do you think there is?" asked a second man. "These bitches are a bunch of fucking primitives."

"Come on now," said the first man. "Think about it: even if they have cocks, a bunch of women is bound to be running around collecting shiny things. Think about what they might have found out here. People used to mine for gold not far from here."

While I was mostly focused on trying not to be discovered, what the man said was intriguing. If I could secure some supply of gold for the she-elves then I could work on improving things. Supplies, medicines, and better weapons. Gods, if only we were not at war. With a few years and the right resources, we could reforge the she-elf community into an economic force to be reckoned with.

The other man didn't believe the first man with his tall tales of she-elf gold. Granted: Yes, it was pure bullshit. I'd not even seen any gold held by the she-elves. I didn't believe that they even cared for such things. But I was rather curious to learn once I retuned to the settlement.

As they passed by, I finally got a view of them.

"I know what's what," said the first man. He was a short and dumpy fellow with a bald head and missing ear. He wore a kerchief over his neck. Perhaps for the smoke. He said, "I have experience with these things."

"Sure, you do, fucker," said the second man. He was a tall man with sharp features. He carried a great sword on his back that was nearly as tall as I was. Could he prevail against the she-elves with such a weapon. I could imagine Raina dancing around him until she got very close. In that case a sword that big would be a great hinderance. Raina was far from merciful, and I could imagine what would happen.

The tall man a breath, and a moment to survey the area. He said, "The lieutenant said not to go too far out this way."

"Why?" asked a third man. This one was much younger than the first two. He looked to be my age or even younger. Probably a green recruit filed into the ranks of the veterans to fill out their numbers. His clothes were as new as he was.

The bald man said, "Something about parts of this forest being too old or something. Probably some shit that the elves told him. Their 'special advice' has been for shit so far. No surprise that they ran away. Anyway, that's what he said. Doesn't matter. We won't be staying long."

The recruit was still curious. "Do you think there could be more of these 'wild' elves out here? Or maybe even something worse?"

"You're not scared, are you?" asked the bald man. "There are scarier stories far out yonder. Believe you me. Tales of angry spirits and monsters."

"Nonsense," said the tall man. "You're going to help create another idiot like yourself, Brogan."

The bald man, Brogan, spat a mouthful of dark fluid. He was chewing tobacco, I thought. That's rare for this part of the world. He said, "Quiet, you fools." He craned his neck to focus on something. "Do you hear that?"

I'd never heard the forest be as silent as it was in that moment. I thought that it must have been Raina. It all made sense. She'd gotten too close to the men. Been too bold as always.

Damn, Raina. She was always...

Then I heard it. A rustling through the undergrowth of the forest. We were all listening to it. Waiting. Friends and enemies alike. I held Katania close to me. My hand near her mouth—praying that she wouldn't moan. Yet even Katania was silent.

The rustling in the undergrown increased. Plants and leaves were being knocked around. The eastern men readied their weapons. We could all hear whatever it was. All see it surging towards us.             

Then nothing.

Brogan had a morning star and a small hand-crossbow ready. He said, "Well, then. Maybe it was nothing to be troubled over."

A brown shape leapt out of the green foliage with a terrifying shriek and attached itself to Brogan. The bald man's scream was something frightening and unearthly. Eventually his screams morphed into something that was more like gurgles. He was close to me. I saw it. The beast that had seized him had skin like pebbled leather. It ran on two legs and its two arms held vicious curved claws like scythes. It reminded me of a lizard, but I'd never seen a lizard so big or deadly. I had no idea that such a beast could even exist out in the wild. Its movements were fast and jerky like that of a bird. I watched as it repeatedly tore into Brogan—praying that it wouldn't notice Katania and I.

Hot red blood spattered all over the green overgrowth. I closed my eyes as it began landing on me. I covered Katania with my own body as much as I could.

Brogan's gurgles didn't last much longer, but the viscous leathery creature wasn't interested in stopping. It was eating and it wasn't being shy about it. Chunks of Brogan were going everywhere. The entire time I wanted to scream for Brogan's friends to do something.

Finally, they did. The surviving men worked up their courage and began to prod at the creature with their weapons to get it off their companion. Saving the man wasn't an option, but they at least owed him the effort. When it was angry enough, the creature reared up from its bloody meal. It was thoroughly basted in gore. It raised its mouth high, but instead of fierce roar like a dragon out of the stories, its shrill cry sounded so much more like that of an angry human child annoyed that someone had put a stop to its fun.

It whirled around towards the young recruit—who was so taken with the urge to flee that he dropped his sword and tripped over his own feet onto the forest floor. The creature was nigh ready to make him the second course of its meal when a large blade swooped down in a savage arc and nearly cleaved it in two. The blade got caught in the ribcage of the creature and it tried to pull away, but only managed to make its wound worse. The torrent of dark blood coming from the beast soon brought it to an end.