Chapter 58: Objective

  TASTKA POV

  After days on the trail, and spending last night soaking wet, awakening in a dry and warm place was refreshing.

  Of course, we were a little crowded all tucked into this single shelter, and we were technically captives, but our captors had put us up in a very comfortable place by our standards.

  The shelter itself was shaped wood and woven mats for the roof, made up of some kind of tough fibrous plant that reminded me of a sturdier version of the reeds we sometimes used. I could still sense the mana that had been used to create it.

  It wasn’t just larger than the more temporary shelters my people used. Small crystals lined the upper arch of the dome, linked to the outside somehow and serving as a way to filter in the sunlight as dawn broke. If anything, the light inside was brighter than the dimness outside.

  “The mats here are softer than ours,” Eyssa noted curiously, kneading one hand on her own mat. “This place is a lot different than ours. Do they stay here every season, or leave it and come back?”

  Fisk ran his fingers over one of the warped wooden supports of the shelter. “I think they stay here. I’m pretty sure these are Aravel elves like the ones we’ve heard of.” He looked up at the rest of us. “See how small they are?”

  “When did you ever meet an Aravel?” Duvad asked, amusement fluttering across his ears.

  “I never did.” Fisk flicked his tail to dismiss the idea. “Eyssa, Tastka and I have been preparing for this trip for a lot longer, and we were told about the Aravel.”

  Eyssa glanced back at the discussion. “We don’t know how similar these are to the Aravel we’ve heard of though. Weren’t those more dawnward?”

  “Yes,” Fisk agreed. “But they match the description. They speak strangely though, don’t they?”

  Solen rose up from where she sat, rubbing her fingers through her hair. “At least it’s dry in here. And we’re dry too! I wonder if we could figure out a way to make a drying stone like that…”

  I spoke up at last, looking toward the stone at the entrance that had dried us off last night. It was pretty interesting, a flat stone that we each stood on for a few moments and dried us off. “It’s kind of complex,” I observed. “I think we could still figure it out, but it wouldn’t last long where we live. There’s so much mana in this area that it never loses its power.”

  My sense of this sort of thing was still hard to read, but I was starting to see what kinds of patterns did what. This must be what all of us put together by feel and trial and error before. If everyone had this strange way of feeling out the various patterns, making spells would be much easier.

  My thoughts were interrupted as the draped cloth over the entrance opened up, one of the elves peering at us with glowing green eyes. This one gestured with his tail, urging us out, as he spoke. “Come with me. The Grand One wants to speak to you now.”

  This one said the words strangely, but was much easier to understand. I looked at the others, and Fisk just gestured for us to follow, slipping out of the shelter.

  This settlement was even bigger in the dawn light. My eyes had adjusted to the dim morning, enough that I could see the numerous shelters making colorful mounds all through the camp. It was set upon a slight rise and mostly clear of trees. What trees were there were large, thrusting up between the shelters and spreading their branches wide, lending shade to the paths between each structure without fully blocking the sun above.

  With my Pattern Sense working more easily after a full night’s rest and healing, I could easily make out details that the others might miss. The branches of those trees held small crystals like the ones in our shelter, spreading the sunlight out in a soothing caress even underneath some of the trees. I also saw the faint flicker of the Umbral veil over the entire camp, easier to detect now that we were inside rather than outside.

  “The ground isn’t wet,” Dashe observed. He was looking downward curiously, and flexing his arm. Our captors had provided healing services for our injuries, more advanced than Dashe’s own skills. He wouldn’t be fully capable with that arm for a few days yet, but that was faster than his own skills could work.

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  I flexed my toes and realized he was right. The grass beneath us was damp, and the ground spongy, but I felt no mud despite the lengthy rainstorm. A quick look with my sense now saw an intricate pattern of mana – mostly Aqua – forming lines that converged off to our left, where a large and strangely round lake collected the water.

  It was a bright, sprawling display of mana all around. It permeated the entire region, and the elves here had learned to leverage that, using it for common tasks that we had to do manually. I wasn’t sure if I was envious of them or not.

  “How is it you speak with us more easily?” Fisk asked our guide, breaking my thoughts from the wonders around us.

  The smaller and lighter elf didn’t even look back. “I’ve met others like you before. They spoke much like you. Almost.” At first I thought he didn’t have a perfect command of how to speak with us, but he spoke with such conviction I abruptly realized that he wasn’t speaking like we did, just close enough we could understand him.

  Others were about, milling around the edges of the path we took. They all appeared reluctant to approach, but the curious stares were fixed upon us. The silence of it was eerie, so I distracted myself just looking at how all their eyes glowed, usually pale green or light yellow. I saw a few blue here and there, but all of them glowing like that was strange to me. Casters sometimes had their eyes glow when using their mana, but this seemed to be their natural state.

  Their clothes were surprisingly simple, I noticed. Most only wore just enough to fashion pockets or to hold pouches. They were otherwise very basic, just something for utility rather than warmth or aesthetic value. I also noticed that while the shelters each had complicated enchantments, they all seemed very straightforward and similar to one another otherwise.

  Something about all that bothered me, but I couldn’t quite grasp why.

  I shook away those thoughts as we approached a large circle of rocky ground, where five more Aravel stood. Our guide approached them, motioning for us to stay there, and exchanged several long moments of rapid speech that I couldn’t follow.

  At last, our guide turned toward us. “These are the Council, and this is our Grand One. He wishes to know why you have left the Barren Lands, and if you know anything of the recent change to the System.”

  I didn’t know that last word, but from the other words used I guessed what it was referring to. That must be what they call the Menu, here. All this went through my mind as I clasped my hands over my stomach – as did the others in my group – as a gesture of respect to their leader.

  Fortunately we had considered the possibility of encountering others. The bridge had taken us by surprise, but meeting another elf wasn’t unknown to us. As we’d all agreed, Fisk stepped forward to do our speaking for now.

  “We also noticed the change,” Fisk began, speaking slowly so our guide could relay the information. “One of our number gained a new class we had never heard of before. A class that was meant to explore far beyond our normal lands.” He pointed to Eyssa. “The [Horizon Bearer] class.”

  Our guide quickly translated, and the five elves quietly spoke amongst themselves. I continued to look around, and noticed the small but growing number of elves around us. Something was really off about this…

  It hit me after just a few more shuffled by. None of the adults in the watchers or the Council were female. I scanned over everyone again, but that just confirmed what I’d thought. The only females I saw were few and far between, scattered amidst the silent watches, and all of them were very young. Only a few were old enough to even have their Menu yet.

  I couldn’t help it. I tensed and my tail lashed, but I took a breath to steady myself. Eyssa was recounting what we had faced on our journey so far, leaving out our specific skills. Despite the lack of women here, the attention of everyone did not seem overly focused on us. They looked over the entire group, not just me, Eyssa, and Solen. That, and the presence of children, told me that their women were not gone… merely not present right now.

  That still made me nervous, and as Eyssa talked, Solen stepped up next to me. She whispered, “You’re bad at hiding your tail. You noticed, too?”

  I flicked an ear in affirmation, keeping my attention on the Council and our guide. I whispered back, “They don’t seem surprised to see us though. I wonder why?”

  Eyssa finished her recounting of events, stepping back toward us. The Council started to speak amongst one another again, but I didn’t pick up any hint of alarm or concern. That was good, probably.

  While they spoke, our guide turned to us. “You should not go through the marsh. You were lucky. The Lurkers claimed me twice before we stopped going into the marsh.” He flit his ears upward in a smile. “I have been to your Barren Lands. We knew of your people, but were never there when you were near.”

  Fisk flicked his tail, “If you don’t cross the marsh, then it must be hard to get to us. I’m not surprised.”

  The Grand One, who strangely didn’t look all that much different from all the others, spoke in a rapid stream of words again. Our guide listened, and then flicked his ears affirmatively before turning back to us.

  “Why did you cross that danger and come this way? Why did you choose this direction?” he repeated the question to us.

  Fisk glanced back at me before answering. “One among us told us we had something to seek here.” He gestured to me now.

  I felt all the eyes on me, and my tail lashed in nervous agitation at the attention. I stepped forward, raising my hand. “I have heard of a place we must go to, and someone we must find.”

  The guide relayed this, and as expected, the question came back, “Who is this person?”

  I had no reason to keep it secret. Now I even had a proper name, instead of a vague direction. My ears and snout did a twitch of an uncertain expression before I answered.

  “They are called Kesseken the Green Tender.”

  The name left my mouth, and the circle exploded into murmurs.

  Horizon Bearer

  Discord, now!