Mistimed Jump

Coming through the portal, Brinn was still among the treeline outside of the clearing. Reyan's range was limited, but he had helped her make it a great distance without being seen.

Ducking behind the nearest trunk, the princess peeked carefully into the clearing. The abominations filled the area but did not seem to be doing anything in particular. The lizards were casually lounging in the sun without a care.

This was both good and bad.

It was good because it meant that the cohort had not been sensed earlier. If they had, surely the monstrous terrors would be on high alert. Their lack of worry meant that the others were safe for now.

Yet the carefree attitude of the lizards was also problematic. Without a task to do, the creatures' eyes and minds were free to wonder. They had no distraction and so even the slightest mistake on Brinn's part was sure to be noticed.

And her first mistake was sensed all too soon.

"What is that smell?" A plump abomination said as he rubbed his belly. "Smells sweet. Almost like candy."

"I do miss sweets. When I get back to civilization, I'm gonna eat handfuls of them," a slender lizard groaned quietly.

"Hey! I smell it too!" A third creature lifted his head from laying on the grass and his eyes swiveled toward the tree-line. He sniffed experimentally to find the source of the pleasant aroma.

'Sweet? What in the world out here would be…blazing bees, it's me!' Brinn brought her hand to her forehead.

With noses perhaps even more sensitive than the abominations, the elves usually used a bit of magic to hide their scent from those around them.

However, with Gela around, Brinn had used her own scent to protect her nostrils from the bear-man's putrid stench. She realized now that she had forgotten to hide herself again.

Once while hugging her, Aurora had told Brinn she smelled like sugared plums. These abominations seemed to agree.

Pulling her hand from her face, Brinn wiggled her fingers and wrapped an imperceptible column of wind around herself like she usually did.

As soon as she did, her sweet scent was cut off from the outside world. It began to slowly dissipate from the air, but the lizards were already up and on the trail. They were incredibly fast, and would be at the elf's location in barely a moment.

Brinn would not be able to outrun them without them at least feeling the rush of wind. She pressed herself up against the tree. In almost the blink of an eye, the three monsters had surrounded her location.

The third lizard circled the tree repeatedly. "It was here. I know it was." The creature clawed at the trunk and brought the bark to his nose. "I'm not crazy."

"Well, you are but not about this." The slender lizard furrowed its brow.

"Strange. I don't smell it anymore." The plump lizard continued to sniff long after the aroma was gone. The rumbling in its belly pushed it to examine every inch of the tree with a critical eye.

There was no denying it; they had lost the trail.

"What do you think it was?" The second lizard scratched its head.

"You don't think someone made a pie in the cabin and then ate it so we won't smell it anymore, do you?" The third turned his beady eyes on the small house. His certainty of the location of the smell was as shifty as his eyes.

"Of course not! But maybe we should check it out to be sure." The plump abomination dropped to the ground on all fours. It was hard to believe that he had once been human. He lumbered toward the house, ready to steal any sweets that might have been made by those inside.

With nothing else to do but heed their grumbling stomachs, the other two followed the first toward the center of the clearing.

Brinn took a deep breath from the branches of the tree. She had barely managed to scramble up in time without being seen. 'I'm rusty.'

Sneaking around an elven palace was not the same as being out in the wild. Being home with her husband for the past year had been utterly delightful, but not good for her spymaster skills.

If Brinn didn't shape up quickly, she would surely make an error that could be fatal.

The three abominations circled the house. One entered, but was reprimanded by an angry beast inside. The slender lizard was chased out by a much larger one, who wielded a club in his hand.

"Come in here again and I'll bash your head! Go hunt if you want some food!"

The door slammed and the lizards ambled off, trying to decide if hunting was worth it or if they would wait for an easier meal to come along.

Brinn waited until things settled again. When it came to covert movement, the timing could not be rushed. Surveying her options, the elf plotted her next move.

Two trees had somehow managed to flourish in the clearing, though each was a large distance apart. While not ideal, traversing between them would be preferable to picking her way through the lazing lizards.

'Just like old times.' Brinn smiled mischievously, remembering the many instances where she used the canopy like her own personal highway. Was she already becoming nostalgic?

Bracing herself, the elven princess made two short leaps between trees to get to the edge of the tree line. Although they were more than any human could conceivably do, it was something the redhead had been able to accomplish since she could walk.

It was the next two jumps that would prove more of a challenge. So far the lizards below had not registered her presence. If Brinn did things correctly, they would continue to be unaware.

Trying not to think about it too much, Brinn gracefully raced to the end of the longest branch and used it as a springboard for her jump.

As the gentle twang of the branch bouncing back filled the air, Brinn made herself invisible to complete her arc through the open sky.

The elf landed nimbly on the other side of the breach with only a whisper of leaves to attest to her arrival.

The princess snaked through the branches, allowing herself to reappear when she was fully masked from the ground. There was no use using up all her magical resources if no one could see her.

However, her assessment was not entirely accurate. Although the lizards could not see her, the blackbirds in the tree certainly could.

They had been warily watching the creatures on the ground, unsure what to make of the monsters. A few of them had already fallen prey to the leathery skinned beasts.

So when a golden-skin elf appeared out of thin air, the feathery friends were more than a little startled.

They cawed wildly and took to the air all together, unwilling to see what Brinn would do if they stayed. The elf crinkled her nose.

'Not good.' The disturbance was sure to draw the attention of at least one of the creatures below.

The lizards were likely decent climbers due to their sharp claws. What if one of them were to come up to investigate?!

Disappearing once more, the princess ran full speed in preparation for reaching the next tree. It was closer to the first and did not require the same amount of precision to reach. As soon as she made it there, she would be able to rest and replenish her magic.

Although her leap was not as well timed as she liked, Brinn could not wait. Already she could hear the murmur of the lizards on the ground commenting on the curious behavior of the birds circling overhead.

'Wait, circling?'

It was too late. Brinn was already in the air when four of the flying foul intercepted her on her wingless journey. Crashing into her left side, the blackbirds were blindsided by the sudden collision.

The elf was pushed off course as all five beings plummeted from the sky. Recovering themselves, the birds flapped their wings to gain height once more, but three were snapped up by the lizards before they could rejoin their brethren.

Brinn, on the other hand, had no wings to get her back to the tree. Even spreading her arms and making her cloak like a kite would not have given her the lift she needed to complete her journey.

Brinn would fall. Selecting a small empty area in the clearing, Brinn instinctively changed the position of her body to land on the dried grass.

A small bit of magic—she didn't want to draw any extra attention—allowed Brinn a small cushion of air to stall her from cracking her bones against the solid earth.

With the added help, Brinn rolled over her shoulder and came to a stop…

Face to face with an abomination….

And he did not look happy.