The Shadow's Story

The air in the small hideout under the tree suddenly seemed sucked from it. An attack? On whom?

Everyone's dumb stares at Alaron made him sigh. "I suppose that means it is my turn to explain. When I went back to the cauldrons, the two bickering wolves I had seen before were interrupted by a human man. He spoke of going to see Taran so I followed him. That is when I noticed quite a few strange things..."

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Immune to the heat, Alaron ducked between two of the cauldrons to follow the human into the camp without being seen. In doing so, he nearly tripped on a receptacle partially buried in the ground.

Like the pump on the other side, this long trough was attached to a pipe leading to the top of the cauldron. It was collecting the mist from the boiled water and condensing it in the cool earth.

Alaron turned to see a lizard dipping a bucket into the far end of the metal container and slurping at it greedily. The Guardian tilted his head but only paid it a little attention. He wasn't here to see the abominations drink.

Following the shrewd looking man, Alaron ghosted through the camp between the tents and wooden buildings, looking like nothing more than a deep shadow for anyone who glanced his way.

It helped that most of the abominations seemed to fear, or at least have a healthy respect for the dark-haired human that Alaron was tracking, for in general they avoided engaging with him except when necessary.

Everything was going smoothly until someone near the center of the camp caught the man's attention. "You have got to be kidding me…" He gripped the sample of water tightly in his fist and turned aside towards a break in the tents.

The thin man hurried to a large pool of water in the center of the camp where a lizard was flailing at and sputtering on the muddy shore. Hurrying up to the lizard, the man hit him squarely on the back.

With a lurch, the lizard coughed up a large amount of water before lying on the grass breathing heavily.

"Why did none of you help him?!" The man sneered at the small group around him. Two lizards, a wolf and a human would not meet his eye. The thin man pinched the bridge of his nose and turned back to the lizard on the ground. "And you! We have water for you to drink without magic in it, don't go huffing in the lake water while you are swimming!"

The lizard looked hurt. He rolled onto his side and coughed before responding. "I didn't mean to! The water just smells and tastes horrible! It's utterly repulsive. Which means when I got a little in my breathing tube, I couldn't keep going. The rest went downhill from there..."

The second human, who had sandy hair and piercing green eyes, looked at the lizard with frustration. "It would help if you were using my invention correctly. Do not blame the machine for your incompetence. You have to keep the end above the water or of course it will fill up." The green-eyed man shook his head. "Do you have any better recruits for this trial?" he asked the dark-haired man.

"Sorry, Benno. You have already gotten all the best candidates. But if you can teach these creatures to swim and move underwater, then the rest will be easy. Think of this part as a warm up for a more massive experiment." The dark-haired man gave the other a winsome smile.

Benno grumbled and repeated his lecture from earlier in the day. "You put the curved tube in your mouth like this..." The man demonstrated his invention and then took it back out. "...and then you wrap your lips around it and only breathe through your mouth. You have to float just under the surface but not too deep. Then kick the fins on your feet to move forward. Shallow swimming is the key."

"I don't see why we need to swim at all! If we want to cross the lake, then boats would be far easier..." the half-drown lizard spat.

Before Benno could answer, the dark-haired man hovered over the lizard with a dark expression. "If the elves or other magical creatures know we are coming to attack, they will try to finish us before we even reach the shore. My elven ancestor attested to their might, calling all of us weak for not having their ability. He died when I was young, but I can still hear his mocking.

But brothers, he was wrong. We are not weak. We shall show the land of magic once and for all that they cannot control us. We may be humans, but humanity is stronger than they can ever hope to be. The elves may be part of my heritage, but the era of humans will be our legacy."

His words were met with low growls of passion. The dark haired man took a step back, slightly concerned that he had stirred the emotions of the abominations just a little to much. It was a delicate balance, after all.

But they seemed to still be in control, and as the two standing lizards placed the special reeds in their mouths, checked the fins attached to their feet, and dove into the water, the dark-haired man felt his job was done. He placed his hand on Benno's shoulders. "Best of luck, my friend."

Benno sighed and gave a weary smile. "I'll need it, Yum-e. You know I will. Off to see Taran?"

The dark-haired man raised a vial in his other hand. "I am heading to see the mastermind and his blushing fiancée. The water, unfortunately, cannot carry itself. Did you want to send him a message?"

The green-eyed man shook his head quickly. "I have no more good news yet, so it is best to stay out of his mind entirely. You know how he is."

"Taran likes results. But who doesn't. I shall not mention you at all then." The two shook forearms and parted ways.

Alaron, who had been watching the exchange and memorizing every detail, nearly missed the cue to continue the hunt. He rushed along the edge of the tents, catching the eye of Benno.

"Who is out there?" Benno turned around to scan the tents. "You better not be slacking. We will find out. Get back to work!"

Alaron knew better than to answer. He continued on out of the view of the sandy-haired human and followed his target toward a large wooden building.

It was much bigger than any other buildings, with many chimneys of makeshift clay protruding from the top. Alaron wondered for a moment about all the smoke. How was it not spotted from across the lake? The cauldrons also were putting off grey wisps. Surely they could be spotted from the ice barrier.

But then the Guardian realized that the height of the trees around them and the distance from the elven gate made spotting the little columns of smoke almost impossible once they reached the open sky. Taran had chosen his location very precisely.

The dark-haired man stopped short of the entrance and looked around suspiciously. It was as if he had suddenly become aware of Alaron's presence. The man turned to the wolfish soldier at the door.

"Do you sense anyone around?" he asked the abomination.

Squatting low inside the shadow of a tent, Alaron pulled his cape fully around him and ducked his head into the black folds. Hyper focused, he listened for the monster's answer.

"Only you and the other regulars. Were you expecting someone?" The guard asked.

"No, not right now at least. I am expecting a message later though." The dark haired man cleared his throat. "Is Sir Taran within?"

"He is." The wolf stepped aside.

"And his mood?" The man paused as he watched the wolf's puppyish face turn sour.

"Hopefully it will improve with your arrival."

"The man is so close to a breakthrough that he can taste it. I will not fault him for being a little intense." The dark haired man's body tensed slightly. He squared his shoulders and entered the building before the wolf guard shut the door.

Knowing that trying to bypass the guard might cause a problem, Alaron spent the rest of the hour at the building. When his time was up, the Guardian returned to the meeting place to wait for the brown wolf to join him.

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"So neither of you found Dania?" Mairwen tried not to sound disappointed. It was a long shot that they would find her in such a large area.

"I didn't say that!" Alaron looked hurt.

"Where did you see her?" Eira knew the white-haired Guardian liked to be mischievous. She forced him to get straight to the point.

"Right before I left to meet Renat, I made a sweep around the building and peeked into any window I could find. When I had finished my search and was coming back, I saw a man and a woman exiting the building together." Alaron lifted his finger to make his point.

"How can you be sure the woman was Dania?" Mairwen pressed her hands together nervously.

"She had fair skin, long, brown hair, and was carefully avoiding the embrace of a certain handsome nobleman. 'This is not the place, Taran!' she cried, pushing his hand away. Then she looked my way, her gaze seeming to peer through both my hiding place and my hood, and her green eyes...turned blue."

Only one person out in the wilderness could have those features. "Dania!"