I start again heading back to the tear. I double-checked to make sure Jenn is following me. I wasn’t completely sure she wasn’t on this side for something else and I didn’t want to ask, just in case she was. She’s keeping her distance, maybe about 20 feet, no closer. I’ve picked up the pace quite a bit. Still hiding from tree to tree or cover to cover, but not waiting nearly as long each time, if at all. Jenn, if not for the shimmer I see, I would not know she was there at all.

We make it back to my bed without incident. I can see one of those little shits, riding behind the shoulder of a white hulk, standing in the clearing about 100 feet before the tear. Four more green hulks another 50 feet back. It’s quite a distance away, couple hundred yards. But I know the set-up, without having to be close enough to see their faces.

Taking my helmet off and pulling out the binoculars, I see more goblins farther back, behind the green hulks.

The goblin commander seems to be arguing with someone through the tear. It’s Lilly. She just stepped through to this side. I can see she is outfitted for battle. Bow in one hand, sword sheathed at her side. Armor like what I saw Jenn wearing at the archery range. I can’t hear what she’s saying, but with the one hand waving through the air with the accusing finger-pointing, I know the commander is getting an ear full.

“Mom’s here” looking back to Jenn as I’m putting the binoculars away. I can see she already knows.

Kneeling behind my bed, I turn on the laser sight for the crossbow. Pointing it down and making a quick check that everything is working. I squeeze the trigger with the safety on, lighting up the ground in front of me.

“What The Hell!” I exclaim. Looking around to see if anyone noticed the laser light. “Sorry for the language.” Seeing a wide-eyed half-elf looking at me, as if I’m going to get us all killed.

Another screw-up. I realize it now. Laser sights are good for targeting. Also good for letting everyone know where you are. Not what you want, when what you’re shooting at, can come find or shoot back at you. I turn the laser sights off and flip open the protective caps on the scope.

Still kneeling, I take my pillow from the head of the bed and lay it in front of me. Using it for a rest, for the crossbow, I aim for that little shits head.

There are no circles of power with the crossbow. But with the pillow holding it steady, I take my shot. I don’t wait to see if I hit the target. I put the stock of the crossbow into the lower part of my chest, grab onto the steel cable and pull, to try and cock this crossbow manually.

Arms shaking with the stress, I cock the bow and load it. Setting up for the second shot, I see the white hulk has gone down. I see the body of the commander on it, but it isn’t moving either and I don’t have a clean shot. I shift targets to one of the green hulks and try for another headshot while they’re not moving.

Loading for a third shot, I see chaos has broken out. Lilly has fled back through the tear. Jenn has an arrow notched, but is in protection mode, watching our flanks and backs. Looks like I got a headshot on the green. The commander and the white are still down and not moving.

The greens are moving on the field and I’m taking shots into their bodies. I don’t know how much damage I’m doing to them, but they sure stagger when I hit one. I don’t see any other targets except for the lesser goblins and the two greens still up. There is bow fire coming through the tear now and the greens don’t know what to do about it without the commander. They won’t last much longer and the lesser goblins are not coming any closer.

Another few minutes and both greens are down. I stopped shooting after the greens started moving around. I found I couldn’t hit them unless they were moving towards or away from me.

Jenn is still on high alert as I pick up my helmet, and put it back on.

I don’t know what it is right now, but I think I’m way calmer than I should be. I think I feel just a little too at ease. No fight or flight panic going on. Looking down at my pillow, I want to keep that. I want to keep everything. Have to fix the part of the frame I pulled the screws out of.

Flipping my visor up. “Jenn, Thanks for coming to get me.”

“You’re welcome, Doug.” Still not getting any closer.

“Jenn,” I pause, “My name’s not Doug.”

Smiling “I know that, Doug.”

“Really? How?” I ask, looking back at her.

“Most people answer when you call their name, Doug.” Still smiling.

“I’ll have to work on that.” Looking around and back by the tear, there isn’t much happening. I don’t want to drag my bed that far; it’s already damaged enough now. I also don’t want to get shot going back through the tear.

“Jenn, I’d like to take my bed and stuff back with me. Any ideas or magic that can do that, besides dragging it?” I see it’s just getting funnier for her.

“Do you sleep out here much, Doug?” Still on alert, but the absurdity of my bed sitting here is making it hard for her to keep a straight face.

“Thanks,” I say as I toss the crossbow into the middle of the bed. “I mostly sleep over there.” Pointing over to where the drag marks started, when I first got up and dragged the bed here. Jenn has again taken a step back, her eyes shifting between where I was pointing, back to the crossbow, then to me again. I walk back into the woods about twenty or thirty feet, while I signal Jenn to hold up for a moment.

I’m looking for some small trees or long branches. I want to make a stretcher of some sort. Pulling out one of the machete’s, I find a small tree. Where the trunk is about eye level and as thick as your fist, I cut it off. I find a second similar piece that is a branch of a larger tree and hack that limb off. Dragging them back to Jenn, it wasn’t more than a couple of minutes.

As I hack off more of the branches at the base and leave the smaller ones at the ends, I notice Jenn watching me and periodically checking out my crossbow. Still keeping her distance from me and my bed at the same time.

I end up with two pieces about twenty to twenty-five feet long each. I lay one piece on the ground, along each side of the bed. The trunk or thickest part, by the head of the bed and the length of it extending well beyond the foot of the bed. Picking up each side of the bed, I slide the branch underneath. Coming back around to where I started, I ask Jenn “How do you like the crossbow?”

“Stag doesn’t like it at all” looking back over at it sitting on the bed. “I have never seen anything like it. I thought it had power, but it is a dead thing, that concerns me all the more.”

We have been scanning and watching the area while I worked and both talked. If anything was close or watching us, I haven’t noticed and I don’t think Jenn has either. It does seem a little off, our conversation is too at ease for the situation around us. Intellectually, I am aware that I should be being much more concerned and cautious. Emotionally, I’m not sure if it’s too much confidence or not caring enough about what enemies are around us. Either is dangerous, and I need to be more serious about my surroundings. It’s not like I haven’t been making noise hacking down these branches.

I walk around the head of the bed. Jenn is still talking to me. “The power I feel is coming off of you. That’s something you didn’t do before.” She says. I unwind the chain around my wrist and pass it through the front support beam of the bed, holding the end in my left hand. Turning around, I bend my knees until I can grasp a branch in each hand. “I won a ring, a sword, and a bunch of other stuff.” I stand up, lifting the bed off the ground. “Would you please make sure nothing falls off the bed, I don’t want to lose anything.” I start towards the tear. Dragging the branches with the bed on them, the chain not letting the bed slide off.

“Won?” Jenn asks as she shimmers and fades from view.

“Some goblins thought I was stupid and were making bets on me. Every time one of them lost, I would get something. I won some daggers, a shield, a silvery sword I liked. They’re probably still on the ground over there.” Nodding my head in the direction where the white hulk, commander, and other green hulks were lying about. “Had the ring on, so I didn’t lose it.”

Approaching the tear from this side is uneventful. Mostly I don’t want to get shot. I remember seeing the arrows flying out of it, then Lilly ran in. I can’t see what, if anything, is going on that side.

“Jenn?”

“Yes, Doug?” I hear her voice off to the left side of me. The opposite side from the clearing and fallen foes. I can see that the goblin commander and white hulk are dead. Not close enough to see if it was my arrow or not. Close enough to tell where I was fighting and see that there is nothing on the ground anywhere. Everything being picked clean, except for those that just died.

“I’m thinking I don’t want to get shot walking through the tear.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be wearing your fancy clothes. Doug”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“What are you talking about Doug? Your clothes?” I know she’s entertaining herself, maybe a little sarcastic too. That’s ok, I don’t need to tell her my name either. We’ll see who caves in first.

Stopping about ten feet from the side of the tear. “You’re right Jenn. Who knows what they will think if they see me like this? I have to take them off” Setting the bed down.

“What??” Jenn is more in front of me now, I hear her closer to the opening.

“Turn around Jenn. I’m a little embarrassed”

“You can’t be doing that out here!” If no one heard us before, they can hear us now. I look around as I pull back the hood of the ghillie suit and unzip the front, leaving the helmet on. I don’t see anything, but I’ve screwed up before.

“Ah, It’s cold out here!” I exclaim, dropping the suit off my shoulders and pulling my feet out of the leggings. “Don’t look at me Jenn. It’s bad enough without you seeing too.” I put the ghillie suit on the bed and wrap my crossbow up in it. I pull off one of the thinner blankets, then use the other to wrap the suit and the other packages of bolts and things. So, they don’t fall off and no one sees what I have.

Picking up the blanket I pulled out, and wrapping myself up in it, only my helmet sticking out. “OK, you can look.” I stand behind the bed as I see her shimmer fade enough to see where she is and turn towards me.

“Are you crazy? You should have just put that over you in the first place!” she scolds.

“Where are you supposed to be right now?!” I question her. Her body language stiffening telling me all I needed to know. “Your father and mother love you very much.” Those wicked thoughts churning. “How worried would they be if they knew you were here?” Wicked, Wicked, thoughts. “What would they think? What if something happened to you?” So, you knew my name wasn’t Doug, did you? “How would they feel if you never came home, never knowing?” And there it is, those sad puppy dog eyes. Pull the trigger.

My hands still under the blanket, I pull off my helmet. Holding it through the blanket, I turn to look through the tear. “LILLY!” “TALON!”

“TRAAKO!” “TRAAKO!” Is all I heard Jenn saying as she faded so completely, I couldn’t see the shimmer, even knowing where she just was.

“TALON!” I command again. Looking back and scanning the field and woods, I see movement now. Definite movement, but not coming any closer.

“TALON!” I don’t think Jenn has gone through it yet. I can see a squad scrambling. Light armor. Heavy large shields. Long swords.

“IDENTIFY YOURSELF!” I hear a command from the other side.

“DOUG.” I am going to have to get myself a last name. “DOUG.” There is just silence for a few moments.

“STEP TO WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU!”

Looking around, I still see movement. Goblins and whatever else is watching, but not coming anywhere close. I don’t like being without my helmet, I just feel safer with it on. I wrap it up under the blanket on the bed, so it doesn’t fall off.

Coming around to the head of the bed, I pick up the branches and drag everything around and back so that I square up with the front of the opening, about ten feet back. Looking through, I see two rows of about fifteen officers, total. Very large shields. Long swords. Light armor? Closer, I see two men in plate mail, one to each side. Large shields. Long swords. Behind all these, there are about six cars? Wagons? Turned on their sides, making a half-circle blockade. From what I can see, around the opening, militia armed with bows taking cover behind the vehicles. Scattered crowds in the background.

“SHOW US YOUR HANDS!” Commands the man behind the blockade.

I hold my hands up out from under the blanket. “OFFICER TRAILBREAKER.”

“I’M IN CHARGE HERE! TAKE OFF THE CLOAK! SHOW US YOUR HANDS!”

I partially turn and throw the blanket over the middle of the bed. “Liar!” I hear Jenn over to my right now, somewhere on the other side of the tear. I’m standing with the camouflaged outfit that I went to bed with. Machetes strapped to each leg with all the sheaths, straps, and guards all over. “DOCTOR ROWAN LIGHTBRINGER. LILLY LIGHTBRINGER.”

“DOUG, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO REMOVE YOUR SWORDS BEFORE WE LET YOU COME THROUGH.”

GOD, what kind of political idiot is this. Ok, I can see he’s just being safe and careful. I still don’t like it. “LILLY LIGHTBRINGER! I JUST SAW HER! LILLY LIGHTBRINGER!” There she is, just a couple of feet away from this guy. Standing just between the two vehicles, so she could get a better shot with her bow.

Holding up my right arm above my head so everyone can see the blue wristband. “ARE THE CHILDREN OK LILLY? ARE THEY SAFE?

Lilly doesn’t say anything at first, just looking over at the person calling himself in charge. “YES DOUG, ALL THE CHILDREN ARE SAFE.”

Good. I didn’t know and I am relieved to know that they are. I was going to try and make a scene with this guy, but now I’m just not feeling right about it. These two in plate armor have come closer to the opening, but not through. Not sure if that is by choice or not. I feel like I’m trying to sneak through security at some secure location. I might get through, but not going to get very far with everyone watching.

I feel some kind of pressure on my left side, and behind. I turn to look, but I do not see or hear anything. After a few moments of watching, I can see a ranger come out of camouflage by a tree. He approaches cautiously, the bow is notched but pointed down and away.

“Talon with you?” I ask.

The Ranger considers my question for a moment, nods his head back over his shoulder, then quick steps to the side of the tear in front of me and pauses. A quick, light, bird whistle of sorts he makes. Another is heard through the opening as a reply. The guard’s part, and he passes through.

Two more individuals come through the woods, to the tear. Pausing and proceeding with caution, when they come near me. But not stopping or interacting with me. Neither are rangers, still, both have bows.

I can feel them as they come close. With almost nothing that is around us, I know that they are there. I look back through the tear, I see those people, but cannot feel anything through it. Same with Jenn, I am fairly certain she is still here, but I get nothing. Stag on the other hand, just for a moment, was there on the right side of the opening.

Officer Talon Trailbreaker comes out of the woods next and gives me a stare. He starts to pass me by when I say “A little bird told me that fairies were following me.” The Officer starts rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I was just talking with Lilly. She was telling me the children are all safe. Probably still sleeping in their beds.” The Office shaking his head with that ‘Yes, what else could go wrong’ while still rubbing the bridge of his nose. I see Daylor pass by next.

“Sure could use some help getting all my stuff safely back home, without anyone messing with it. I hate people touching my stuff. Then maybe I could tell you about what happened to the people over there, the other day.” Nodding my head to the dead hulks and goblins in the field. He is looking up at me, now more interested in what I am saying. “I met some large people. Gambled with some new friends. Won some money, a couple of daggers, a shield, a shiny sword, some other things I don’t remember. Then lost it all when I had to leave.

Talon turns his back to me, showing me a shiny silver sword tucked neatly away on his back. “Yes, like that one.” I smile.

“You’re going to owe me some work.” He states.

“Anything I can do to help with an ongoing investigation. It’s only my civic duty to help make this world a better place” I can hear some light snickering from the fairies.

“A world” I continue, “where fairies can’t follow and plan your day.”

“HA” Jenn exclaims, momentarily losing focus. Giving Talon a little wave goodbye as she shimmers and fades back away.

Looking me right in the eyes, “Lilly is going to shoot you.” Talon warns.

“Then we best be getting back, so we can head out in the morning.” I reply.

Officer Trailbreaker gives a couple of short chirps, waits for a reply, then passes partway into Community Farms. A few words and the guards are moving back to make a way for me. He signals me forward. I loop the chain around the bed support like before and pick up the two branches to drag everything with me, noting the slight extra weight of my fairy.