The light drizzle started up, sprinkling the five cloaked travellers with water as they walked down a dirt road that wound its way through picturesque farmlands. Puddles began to form on the road, and out of curiosity, Rovie turned his head to see if the elves could walk on water like the fairy tales said. The older one, Lamak stepped in one, but the impact of his foot didn’t even make a splash. The water scarcely even rippled.

The two elves were dressed in peasant travelling cloaks with the hoods up to conceal their ears. Gavik had pointed out that their elvish cloaks would stand out with their shifting colours and cause them more trouble than they were worth, and the elves had grudgingly accepted the ones Gavik offered them.

The elves were walking a good distance behind the three humans. Gavik had insisted on bringing the muskets that were hidden within a bundle of sticks strapped to Loric’s back. He didn’t believe for one moment that they were here to ‘inspect the woods’, and decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

“I suppose that’s the wood you want to inspect,” Gavik remarked, pointing at a small forest off to the north.

Lamak looked up and nodded.

“It’s incredible what your kind has done to this place,” Ila remarked as she looked around, “the elders say that this was all once part of our woods.”

“Is ‘incredible’ good or bad?” Gavik asked.

“Both,” Ila replied after a moment’s thought, “I don’t think our city has changed since the dawn of your kingdoms.”

Rovie glanced at the older elf for confirmation, but his face was as impassive as it was since they left Soltin. Reading him was like trying to read a rock. Ila on the other hand was more expressive and had shown nothing but wonder at the world outside the forests. Rovie wondered if that was due to her ‘youth’.

“What do you expect to find in those woods?” Gavik ventured for the umpteenth time since they’d left Soltin.

“Elves do not speculate,” Lamak replied. It was the same reply he had given every time he’d been asked, “I do not know what we will find.”

“There’s a village nearby,” Gavik remarked, “perhaps we could ask them if they’ve noticed anything strange.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lamak said, “we could do that after we’ve inspected the woods for ourselves.”

He paused before adding, “you three don’t have to accompany us into the woods.”

Gavik raised an eyebrow. “But we’ve come this far already.”

Lamak shrugged. “Suit yourselves.”

Rovie stole a glance at Loric who looked lost in his own thoughts. They had spent little time training in the art of war since the uprisings began but neither wanted to miss an opportunity to spend time with elves and so they had once again tagged along with Gavik. The elves had been tight-lipped and kept mostly to themselves, however, and both boys wondered if they had made the right decision in coming along once the novelty of being close to them had worn off.

“The rain will probably get heavier,” Gavik remarked worriedly, looking up at the sky. That meant their muskets would be useless once they arrived at the edge of the forest, and if it got too heavy, it could ruin their gunpowder, turning their muskets into little more than heavy sticks for the duration of this venture.

“There appears to be another party headed in the direction of the forest,” Ila observed as she looked off into the distance. Rovie followed her gaze and saw some shapes approaching the forests from the west. They were too far away for him to discern any details.

“I thought your kind kept away from elven woods,” Lamak remarked, and Rovie thought he heard a touch of concern in his voice.

“Well, some are superstitious,” Gavik allowed, “and most of the lords forbid trespassing through such woods simply because they can. It could just be some peasants who are feeling brave.”

Lamak frowned and muttered something to himself that Rovie couldn’t catch.

“From their pace, they appear to be riding horses,” Ila observed, “I think we’ll arrive at the forest’s edge at roughly the same time.”

Gavik exchanged looks with the boys. If the strangers ahead of them were on horseback, they were likely to be nobles. Now, what were nobles doing in these parts?

“Hopefully you will be able to persuade them to turn back,” Lamak remarked.

“I doubt that,” Gavik replied.

They continued walking in silence and soon, the heavens opened up. The rain made it difficult to track the other party, but soon there was no doubt that their destination was the same. There were five riders in all, but that was all Rovie could make out due to the rain. He wondered if the elves could make out more details. Well, he would know soon enough. They were only twenty minutes or so away from the forest’s edge and it seemed that Gavik and Lamak were keen to have a chat with these strangers.

A fenced-off pasture stood six hundred yards from the treeline of the forest. In between was an unkempt meadow covered with patches of long grass. A tangled mess of wild shrubs grew on the far end. Rovie had heard legends of elven forests growing up and had been told that if he ever encountered one, he should never enter. The adults who told him the stories seemed serious enough about it. The villagers must have cut down the trees at the forest’s edge for firewood during a time of great desperation and left in a hurry for fear of angering the forest’s spirits. Rovie recalled the winter three years ago being particularly harsh and reckoned it must have happened then.

They climbed over a fence and into the pasture just as the five horsemen were riding through a gap on the far end when suddenly, Ila spoke softly. “Da gnar id gnal.”

She and Lamak cast off their peasant travelling cloaks to reveal their shimmering elven cloaks underneath, which shifted to match the colour of the knee-length grass around them. Bows appeared in their hands as they advanced.

“The muskets,” Gavik barked.

Loric unpacked the muskets and handed them out. “We won’t be able to fire in this rain.”

“Use your bayonets,” Gavik ordered as he drew one from the sheath at his belt and attached it to the end of his rifle.

Rovie swallowed and did the same. He’d not practised much with it, and the prospect of getting that close to someone for the kill made him nauseous.

“I wish I brought my sword,” Loric remarked.

“Hey, what happens if the elves kill those riders?” Rovie asked.

Gavik looked up and shrugged. “I don’t know. They don’t have a reputation for being rash, so let’s hope they know what they’re doing.”

They hurried towards the riders that they knew the elves were pursuing. The elves themselves had all but disappeared from view due to the rain and their strange cloaks. Rovie looked up at the forest ahead and blinked. It looked like there was a thick mist within the woods. Was that due to the rain? Could it be his imagination? He shook his head and focused on the horsemen, tasting bile. He was almost certain blood would be spilt soon.

The horsemen were riding at a languid pace through the meadow, seemingly unaware of Gavik’s party when twenty men burst out of the long grass on either side of them, brandishing muskets and screaming at the horsemen. Rovie could not hear what they were saying over the rain, but it was clear that it was a violent confrontation. Perhaps they were bandits waylaying nobles. But why lay in wait all the way out here? Did nobles come this way often? Rovie shook his head. That didn’t matter now. He looked over at Gavik who was moving forward. Why intervene? Why were the elves interested in what happened to either side? Weren’t they supposed to be indifferent to humanity in general?

Rovie had so many questions but had to push them aside and focus on keeping his footing on the slippery grass. He looked around but could find no sign of the elves. Up ahead, the horsemen had drawn their swords and didn’t look intimidated in the slightest by their ambushers. They were level headed enough to know that their muskets wouldn’t work in the rain.

One of the ambushers decided that talking had run its course and charged the nearest horseman, wielding his musket like a club. The horseman saw him coming and readied his sword. They were about to clash when an arrow flew between them, causing the ambusher to lose his footing and slip. Ambushers and horsemen alike looked around frantically for the new assailants, allowing Gavik and the boys to catch up to them.

“What’s going on here?” Gavik demanded breathlessly.

The rain was beginning to let up, but they saw Gavik before they heard him, and turned to face the newcomers. A few of the ambushers raised their weapons at Gavik.

“We’re with the rebellion!” Loric cried, placing himself between Gavik and the others with his hands raised, “this is Gavik of Gofeldin! We’re with the rebellion!”

“Why are you interfering with us then?” one of the ambushers demanded, “this lot are nobles. Enemies of the people.”

‘We are not your enemies,” the voice was familiar, but Rovie couldn’t place it, “we are here to search for the bandits that were using these woods as a base.”

“A likely story,” one of the ambushers spat, “I’ll bet you’ve hired those bandits and are here to relay new orders to them.”

“We cleared them out personally last week,” the familiar voice protested, “and I’ve returned to see if we did the job.”

Rovie looked for the owner of the voice, but the horsemen were dressed in hooded blue cloaks to protect them against the elements.

“Margrin did say a young cavalryman dealt with the bulk of the bandits last week,” one of the ambushers remarked, “she said they had the markings of a crowned crimson eagle on their jackets.”

“Then this should clear things up,” their leader said, as he cast his travelling cloak aside to reveal his white jacket with a crowned crimson eagle on its breast.

“It has the eagle,” the man said grudgingly.

The tension eased, but only slightly as both parties turned their attention to Gavik and the boys. “Where are your archers?” one of them demanded.

“The situation is defused,” Gavik called out in the rough direction the arrow had come from, “you can stand down.”

If the elves heard him, they showed no indication, and Gavik shrugged before turning to the horsemen. “We aren’t your enemies.”

“Gavik of Gofeldin,” the leader of the horsemen said, as he pulled back his hood, “we meet again.”

“You’re the cavalry officer,” Rovie blurted, “from Loverto.”

Gavik’s eyes brightened. “So you are. The great Atri niv Markvist if I recall correctly.”

“I hate to interrupt the reunion,” one of the ambushers said sourly. Rovie guessed he was their leader, “but your boy here didn’t deal with the bandits completely. Some mighty strange things have been happening here lately, and we were lying in wait to see if we could catch the culprits when they came out to cause their mischief.”

“Why not go into the forest?” Atri asked.

The man shook his head. “These are elven woods. They have their magic on them. Everyone who’s gone in hasn’t come back out.”

“The bandits came back out,” Atri pointed out.

“Perhaps it’s the elves, eh?” the leader shot back hotly, “they’re supposed to be really angry with how we’ve cut down their forests. Maybe this is them getting their revenge.”

“What are these strange things that have happened?” Atri asked.

“Livestock’s been killed, dogs going crazy, in the middle of the night,” their leader replied, “but last week, a farmhouse was raided, and everyone inside was killed.”

“They were torn apart. It was as though it was the work of wild animals,” one of the men added, turning pale at the memory, “we won’t go in there and fight whatever’s inside on their terms, but out here’s our turf, see?”

“Well count your blessings they didn’t come out today,” Atri remarked. He turned to Gavik and added, “your men seem to need more training. Or common sense. They should know full well their muskets will be useless in this weather.”

“Why are you here anyway?” their leader demanded, looking at Gavik, “aren’t you supposed to be preparing to invade…”

He was cut off by one of his men elbowing him in the ribs while gesturing at Atri and his men.

“Sorry,” the leader said sheepishly, “why are you here, anyway?”

“Same as them,” Gavik said, jerking a thumb at Atri and his men, “apparently these woods need investigating.”

“Well, be my guest,” their leader said, “but we won’t be going in.”

Gavik raised an eyebrow and turned to Atri. “Well then, shall we? We’re both busy men and I’m eager to get this over with.”

Atri nodded and climbed back onto his horse. “You’re right, let’s move out.”

Rovie looked to the forest and saw the mist was thicker than he first thought and seemed almost foreboding. “Is that normal?” he asked, “the mist.”

“It’s not,” one of the ambushers said, “that appeared around the same time the strange goings-on began.”

A chill went down Rovie’s spine. There was something unnatural about the mist and his every instinct screamed that he should go nowhere near it.

“That place gives me the creeps,” he said to Gavik, “maybe we should turn back.”

“Are you afraid of some old fairy tale?” Loric scoffed, “you can stay here if you like, but I’m going in with the…”

Loric let the words die in his throat upon seeing the look Gavik was giving him. “I’m going in,” Gavik said, “but it’s as Loric said, you can stay outside if you want, Rovie. I won’t think less of you for it.”

“But I will,” Loric chuckled.

“I’ll go,” Rovie fumed.

Gavik looked up at Atri. “Do you want to lead the way, your Highness?”

“I’m not a king,” Atri remarked, as he set off towards the trees, “just call me Atri for now.”

“Well then boys,” Gavik said, as he set off after the horsemen, who had set a cautious pace that they could match on foot easily, “it looks like we’ve new travelling companions.”

“Do you think they’ve gone in without us?” Loric whispered, “the elves.”

Gavik shrugged. “They may have done, but I’m keen to find out what’s so important to them in there.”

“Why do you think they intervened?” Rovie whispered.

“They’re a mysterious lot,” Gavik replied, “and I can’t pretend I have any idea what they’re thinking.”

“They saw them, didn’t they?” Rovie piped up.

“Eh?” Loric grunted, “the horsemen? Everyone saw them.”

“No,” Rovie snapped irritably, “the ambushers. They saw them as soon as we entered the pasture.”

“That’s impossible,” Loric scoffed, “maybe if it was a clear day.”

“They could well have,” Gavik remarked, “I know I wouldn’t want to fight them in the wilderness.”

“Is there somewhere you would like to fight us?”

The hair on Rovie’s neck stood on end. It was Ila’s voice, and it came from just behind him. He whirled around to see the elf standing two paces behind him with a broad grin on her face and almost fell over as he tried to scramble to get away.

“Are you an elf?” Atri’s voice was filled with wonder as he and his men stopped in their tracks.

“That I am, human,” Ila replied arrogantly.

“I see you have new companions,” came Lamak’s voice. Rovie looked over at where it came from and could barely make out his shape from amongst the tall grass.

Atri climbed down his horse, staring wide-eyed at the legends that had become real before him. “You have some incredible friends, Gavik of Gofeldin,” he remarked.

“Friend is a bit of a strong term,” Gavik stated flatly.

“What business have you in these forests?” Lamak asked as he approached Atri.

Atri bowed formally to Lamak, who returned the greeting with a curt nod. Atri’s men murmured discontentedly amongst themselves at the disrespect shown to their lord.

“Oh noble elf, bandits have taken refuge here,” Atri replied, “we dealt with some of them earlier but felt their actions here suspicious and so I thought it prudent to investigate what they were up to.”

Lamak nodded thoughtfully. He turned his attention back to the woods and frowned.

“Ati tuta naklag aisun id nis,” Ila remarked carelessly. Whatever she was saying, she was confident the humans would not understand.

“No,” Lamak replied, “we might need their help.”

Ila raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Lamak nodded gravely before turning to Atri. “Your horses may become a liability in the forest. I advise you to leave them out here.”

Atri nodded and turned to his men. “You heard him.”

“Those brigands will surely steal them while we’re in there, my lord!” one of his men protested.

Atri looked at one of the men and said, “Suwol, stay here and look after them.”

Grudgingly, his men dismounted and handed their reins over to a skinny young boy who didn’t look a day over sixteen.

“Do you anticipate trouble in there?” Atri ventured.

“It would be wise to be on guard,” Lamak replied, as he set off towards the woods.

Atri fell in next to Lamak and his men followed just behind. None of them could take their eyes off Lamak. Gavik and the boys followed after, giving them a wide berth while Ila brought up the rear. Soon, they were almost at the first row of trees. The mists were thick, limiting visibility to around thirty yards.

“Why did you intervene back there?” Atri ventured.

“These lands are… special to us,” Lamak replied as he peered into the mists, “we do not want to see blood spilt here.”

Atri nodded. “That’s fair.”

They walked in silence for a little longer when Atri continued, “do these mists have something to do with you being here?”

Lamak paused and Atri knew he had hit the mark. “The mist is a sign that something isn’t right,” the elf allowed.

“This place makes me uneasy,” Rovie remarked. They had bunched up with the others instinctively as they approached the treeline, “something’s off.”

“It’s too quiet,” Loric observed, “I haven’t heard a single bird since we left the pasture.”

The mist seemed to swallow all sound up. They could scarcely hear the sounds of their own footsteps, and their voices sounded muted.

“Be on guard,” Lamak warned as he led the way into the trees.

As they walked into the forest, Rovie was struck by a wave of nausea. He looked at the others and if they felt it, they were showing no sign. He wrote it off as his unease getting the best of him and noted the volume of leaves on the ground and thought it strange. It was too early into the season for there to be so much. He looked up and the few branches he could see through the mist were completely bare.

“It’s as though the forest itself is sick,” Gavik remarked as a loose piece of bark crumbled under his touch.

“Is your powder usable?” Atri asked as the humans formed a tight knot just behind the elf with Ila bringing up the rear.

“That’s a good point,” Gavik muttered, “in all the excitement, I forgot we hadn’t loaded our guns, but to answer your question, yes, it should be dry enough to fire them.”

Rovie cursed his absent-mindedness and began loading his gun. First the gunpowder from his horn. Then came the paper wadding which was packed in using a metal ramrod. Then the lead ball. Then more wadding. Loading complete, he checked the flintlock and was satisfied it was in good condition, felt much better. He looked up to see that the elves had been watching the entire process with distaste.

“They don’t seem to like guns very much,” Atri observed.

The elves said nothing, and Lamak continued leading the way through the trees. Their cloaks blended in perfectly with the mists and they had their hoods pulled back so that the humans could see and follow them. That they looked like floating disembodied heads moving through the forests made the scene seem surreal. Rovie wondered how they were navigating. He couldn’t see more than twenty yards ahead. The mist seemed almost oppressive, and it felt as if it was slowly leeching the life out of him.

“Why don’t you carry guns?” Rovie asked, finding the silence unnerving.

Atri raised an eyebrow at being spoken to directly. “I’m afraid you can’t be very accurate, firing from horseback. Especially when all you can carry is a pistol or a carbine. Reloading on horseback is out of the question completely. Better to just charge in with our swords.”

“Cavalrymen must be very brave,” Rovie remarked, “I don’t think I could face guns armed with just a sword.”

“I’d call that being foolish more than brave,” Gavik snorted.

Atri’s men bristled but held their tongue which gladdened him. He had no doubt that they were in hostile territory and now was not the time to be trading barbs.

“Perhaps we’d best focus on our surroundings,” Atri suggested, “we can discuss the nuances of war once we’re out of these woods.”

Soon, Rovie was completely lost, and he didn’t know if he would be able to find his way out if he were somehow separated from the group. How long had it been since they had entered? He could scarcely tell if it had been minutes or hours. Did the elves know where they were going? Lamak seemed confident enough. There was no conversation, everyone was unnerved by the unnatural mist, and everyone was alert to any potential dangers that might appear.

“What was that?” Rovie asked. He thought he’d heard the snapping of a twig somewhere. He came to an abrupt halt when he bumped into the man in front of him.

“What’s the hold-up?” Gavik demanded. He had been walking just behind Rovie.

“The elf,” one of Atri’s men replied, “he’s vanished.”

“Ila’s gone as well,” Loric reported from the rear.

“We’ll never find our way out without them,” Rovie wailed as panic began to set in.

“They’ve abandoned us!” one of Atri’s men cried, “the treacherous swine!”

“We’re still here,” came Lamak’s disembodied voice from out of the mist. It seemed to echo in Rovie’s ears. He looked around frantically but could not locate the older elf.

“Something dangerous approaches, prepare to defend yourselves,” came Ila’s voice.

Atri’s men drew their swords and formed a protective screen around their lord while Gavik and the boys stood back to back with the muskets ready.

Rovie thought he heard the muffled snap of a twig in the distance. A moment later a man screamed. He whirled around to see a great creature. It looked like a black wolf but was the size of a horse. Something was off about it besides its size. A moment later, Rovie saw that it had six muscular legs. Then, he noticed the oversized, misshapen head, and then saw the man hanging limp in its jaws. Jaws that were lined with jagged teeth the size of daggers.

“What is that thing?” Loric gasped.

“Shoot it!” Gavik roared.

The boys took aim and fired. The beast barely flinched and stared at them with its four eyes. They couldn’t have missed, Rovie thought to himself. The creature was less than ten yards away! One of Atri’s men let out a yell and struck the creature with his sabre. The creature released the man and let off an unholy sounding shriek that sounded like a mixture between the roar of a tiger and nails on a chalkboard before snapping at its assailant with its jaws, taking the man’s arm.

“Reload! Hurry up!” Gavik ordered.

“What’s the point?” Loric gasped, as they went through the painstaking process of reloading, “we barely scratched it!”

Rovie’s hands were trembling so badly that he dropped his powder horn. He cursed and bent over to pick it up. When he looked up, he saw three arrows fly out of the mist, striking the beast in the head. The creature let out a howl of rage.

Atri took advantage of the distraction to aim a thrust of his sabre at one of the creature’s eyes. The creature howled and poised itself to strike. One of his men tackled Atri just in time and the creature snapped air.

“Aim for the eyes,” Gavik cried, “fire!”

Rovie took aim, but before any of them could pull the trigger, arrows flew out from the mists, striking the creature in its remaining eyes. Blinded, the creature let off an ear-splitting shriek and began thrashing around wildly.

“What now?” Rovie cried.

Lamak appeared out of the mists with a dagger in his hand. With catlike grace, leapt onto the creature's back and drove his dagger into the base of its back. The creature shuddered before falling into a heap.

“Is it dead?” Atri asked as Lamak leapt away from the body.

No one dared move as they watched the creature intently for signs of life. After what felt like an eternity, Loric broke the silence. “What in the name of all that is holy is that?!”

Rovie realized he had been holding his breath and exhaled. All eyes went to Lamak who was looking at the fallen beast impassively.

“The coast is clear for now,” came Ila’s disembodied voice.

Lamak cleaned his knife with a handful of fallen leaves before sheathing it. He gave the beast another look before plucking the arrows out of the body. Rovie felt much more at ease though he didn’t know how she could be sure with the mist as thick as it was.

“Well?” Gavik demanded, “what is this thing?”

“Sib,” Lamak replied simply. He pulled the hood of his cloak back before setting off again.

“Sir Elf, we have a wounded man!” Atri called out.

“No, you have two dead men,” Lamak replied without turning around, “we’ll come back for them later.”

Rovie turned to see one of Atri’s men cradling the man with the missing arm. Atri went over to confirm he was dead and gritted his teeth. “We have to go.”

“We can’t just leave them,” one of his men protested.

“We’ll come back for them,” Atri said, “we can’t stay here. There may be more of those… things out there.”

The humans gave the fallen creature an uneasy look before following after Lamak. A foul-smelling black liquid had begun to pool under its corpse, and they were glad to leave it behind them. Soon, the creature and the slain were swallowed up by the mists.

“Hey,” Gavik called out angrily as he jogged to catch up to Lamak, “that’s not good enough. What the hell’s a sib?”

“I believe sib is the elvish word for demon,” Atri said when Lamak didn’t reply.

Lamak glanced at Atri momentarily before turning back to the woods in front of them.

“Why are they here?” Gavik demanded as he caught up with Lamak, “you know, don’t you?”

“I don’t,” Lamak replied, “that’s why we’re here to investigate.”

“How did your dagger pierce that creature’s skin?” Atri ventured, “our swords were useless against its hide.”

“Silver,” Lamak said, “they are vulnerable to silver. Our arrowheads and our blades are made from silver.”

Loric’s eyes widened. “How lavish.”

“You’ve encountered these creatures before,” Gavik stated.

Lamak nodded slightly. “They were supposed to be banished long ago, and yet, they have returned.”

“What are they?” Atri asked.

“Beings from another realm,” Lamak replied, “they haven’t been seen in our world since long before the dawn of man.”

“So why are they here now?” Loric blurted.

“That is what we’re here to find out,” Lamak said simply, “I have answered your questions, so please be quiet. There may be more of those things out there.”

That was a sobering thought to Rovie and the humans dropped back and began looking over their shoulders frequently. Soon, Ila reappeared to bring up the rear.

“No sign of any more of them,” she breathed, “but even my eyes can’t see very far in these mists.”

“What is it?” Gavik demanded as Lamak came to a halt.

Lamak raised his hand indicating he should be silent while he peered into the mists ahead of them. He pulled his hood on disappeared into the mists once again.

“There are two creatures up ahead,” came Lamak’s disembodied voice.

Rovie turned around and saw that Ila had disappeared. The men readied their weapons and trained their senses as they tried to spot their enemy in the mists, but Rovie at least could see nothing but the grey and the trees.

“Is it me or has the mist grown thicker?” he muttered to himself.

Rovie jumped as Loric appeared next to him. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Just sit tight and get ready,” Gavik replied grimly, “what else can we do? Our weapons are useless.”

“Don’t you have some silver coins?” Rovie asked.

Gavik glanced at his purse and grunted. “I doubt throwing them at these creatures will be very effective, and we don’t have the time to melt them down into musket balls.”

“Maybe for next time,” Rovie breathed.

“Do you think there will be a next time?” Loric demanded.

“I certainly hope not,” Rovie replied.

“Will you boys please keep it down,” Atri urged, “we don’t want to attract any attention.”

“Do you have any silver weapons?” Gavik ventured.

Atri shook his head. “No, why would we?”

Rovie jumped as something bellowed in the mists ahead of them. It was followed by the sound of crashing trees and another shriek.

“That sounded different from the last one,” Gavik whispered, looking ahead.

“Perhaps it’s a different beast,” Loric suggested.

“It sounded almost… human though,” Rovie said, gripping his musket tight.

“Human? You must be joking,” Loric snorted.

There was another roar and then a thud.

“I think it sounded like a person too,” Atri remarked.

“We’ve killed one, the other has retreated,” came Ila’s disembodied voice and Rovie wondered how they did it. Perhaps it was elven magic, “move forward fifty paces and stay outside the barrows.”

“Barrows?” Atri asked but received no reply.

“We had best do as she says,” Gavik said, “they’re our only way out of here.”

Gavik took the lead as they hesitantly moved forward through the mists once again. The leaves on the ground were in an advanced state of decay, letting off a foul stench as they disturbed them with their steps. After thirty painstakingly counted paces, a small rise came into view. An entryway had been dug out of the side and was lined with moss-covered stones. Lying close to the entrance was a huge, grotesque looking creature with an elven arrow in its throat.

“That looks almost like a man,” Rovie breathed, watching the fallen thing for signs of life.

It had the rough shape of a person. It had a pair of arms and legs, though one of its arms was disproportionately longer than the other, and was so muscular that it was as thick as a man’s torso. Rovie guessed that the creature would stand almost eight feet tall if it were upright.

“I’m going in,” Gavik breathed.

“The elves told us to wait out here,” Rovie protested.

Gavik whirled around and Rovie saw the concern in his eyes. “Listen, these woods are less than a hundred miles from Gofeldin. You saw that beast. What if one made its way to our village?”

“What do you hope to do down there?” Rovie asked softly.

“If nothing else, I hope to find out what’s going on,” Gavik replied.

“I’m going with you,” Atri declared.

“So am I,” added Loric.

“Fine, let’s all go,” Gavik said, “but one or more of those creatures is waiting for us in there.”

Rovie swallowed. He wasn’t sure if he’d rather be alone out here with that dead thing or go down with the others and risk facing a live one.

“I’m coming too,” Rovie said, making his mind up.

“Wait,” Gavik said, as he opened his purse.

“Take one each,” he said as he handed everyone including Atri’s men a silver coin.

“What do we do with these?” Atri asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gavik shrugged, “throwing them just might be more effective than our weapons.”

Atri looked at the coin dubiously and then to the inky blackness beyond the entrance.

“If you have a better idea, I’m all ears,” Gavik said.

“Let’s go,” Atri sighed, “my men will take the lead, but we’ll go no further than ten paces if we can’t see anything.”

Gavik nodded in agreement.

“It’s awful quiet down there,” Rovie remarked as Atri and his men positioned themselves at the entrance.

Atri mouthed a silent prayer before stepping through the threshold. Rovie’s heart raced as he saw the men disappear into the inky black maw.

“Come on,” Gavik said once the last of Atri’s men disappeared through the entryway.

The nausea that he felt since entering the forest was almost overwhelming as he stepped into the black and soon, he was completely blind, and all he could hear was the sound of his own breathing. He placed a hand on the wall of the passageway beyond to guide himself and his other on Loric’s shoulder so that they could stay together. His musket was slung across his back. Firing into a narrow passageway when they couldn’t see anything was out of the question anyway. The passageway was surprisingly large and airy. The walls and floor were dug out of rich, black soil, and the ceiling was so high that Rovie could not touch it even when standing on tiptoes.

He counted the paces as they advanced and wondered if Atri’s group had decided to turn back. Rovie swallowed as he counted out twelve paces, but the others gave no indication they were stopping. Then, he saw a faint glow up ahead.

“What’s that?” he whispered.

His voice sounded like thunder in the otherwise silent corridor, and he could feel the annoyed eyes on him.

“Hush!” one of Atri’s men hissed.

They continued towards the light and saw that the corridor was lit by torches placed at regular intervals further in. The mist was thick here, causing the torches to give off muted lights. Rovie could see that the walls here were lined with alcoves. It was too dark to see what was inside, but it wasn’t difficult to guess. Then, he noticed something on the dirt floor. It was a trail of blood leading deeper into the crypt. Rovie jumped as a blood-curdling shriek echoed down the corridor.

“That didn’t sound far,” Atri said. His mouth was a thin line, and his knuckles were white around the hilt of his sword.

“Let’s move,” Gavik said grimly, “they may need our help.”

Rovie tried to push his fear aside as they continued down the corridor. Being able to see lessened his terror only slightly and he half expected to see another of those six-legged wolf creatures bounding up the corridor at any moment.

Atri’s men raised their weapons as they crept forward cautiously. The corridor began to descend steeply and turn on itself as they moved deeper into the barrow. Rovie wondered if the bodies resting in the alcoves were elvish or human. Or perhaps something else.

There was another shriek as they rounded a sharp bend and saw that the corridor opened up into a large circular chamber. It was well lit by a large bonfire in the middle of the room. The chamber’s roof was high, but Rovie couldn’t tell if it opened to the sky due to the mists. On the far wall of the chamber was a large stone arch, about three times the height of a man and half that in width.

Lying close to the bonfire were two of the human-like beasts with elven arrows in their throat and chest. The remaining one flailed its massive misshapen arm at Ila. The arm moved like a blur as it whipped towards Ila, but she dodged it with cat-like grace. The creature struck the rock wall of the chamber, creating a large indentation. Ila’s hands moved quickly, and three of her arrows struck the other arm that it had used to protect its vitals.

An arrow landed on the creature’s back, but it shrugged it off. Rovie turned his gaze to see Lamak across the chamber, trying to land a shot. Their quivers were almost empty with only five arrows remaining between them and it was clear that even silver arrows needed to find a vital point to bring these one of these things down.

Deciding it was time to act, Rovie clutched his coin tight and flung it with all his might at the creature. The coin struck the creature between the eyes. It shook its head and glared in his direction.

“What are you doing?” Loric demanded as the beast whirled around to face the newcomers.

Ila didn’t miss the opportunity. As quick as lightning, an arrow flew from her bow striking the beast in the side of the neck. The wound was not fatal, and the beast let off a blood-curdling roar before charging the elf. In a berserk frenzy, it hurled itself at Ila who dodged neatly, sending the beast crashing into the stone wall. Momentarily dazed, it shook its head to clear it which gave Lamak enough time to leap up onto its shoulder and drive his dagger through its throat. The beast gurgled as it crashed into a heap.

“Is it safe?” Atri asked as the humans cautiously stepped into the chamber.

The elves were interrupted by screams coming from an opening on the far end of the chamber.

“Those were definitely human,” Rovie breathed, as the elves took off down the passageway. Atri and Gavik exchanged a brief look before following after them.

The opening led to a small candlelit antechamber and inside, they found two men armed with swords. Two brown-robed men lay dead at their feet, and they had herded four more brown-robed men and a black-robed man wearing the crimson cap of a cardinal into a corner of the room. Books and scrolls are stacked high on desks and three men frantically threw armfuls of books into a metal brazier that was already overflowing with half-burnt books.

“Stop what you’re doing!” Atri ordered.

The elves didn’t wait for them to obey, and fired their last three arrows, killing the men who were burning the books.

“There isn’t time!” one of the armed men cried as he drove his sword into a robed man’s chest. With the last of his strength, the dying man grabbed the sword and held it tight.

“Let go!” the man screamed, as the remaining men in brown robes hurled themselves at his partner.

“Protect the cardinal!” they cried.

Loric fired his musket, but his shot inadvertently struck a robed man, earning him a glare from Gavik, while Atri and his men rushed to intervene. However, they were too late, and the armed men were able to cut down the brown-robed men before hurling themselves at Atri’s men in a suicidal charge. They too were cut down, making no attempt to defend themselves. Despite being mortally wounded, one of the men managed to slice open one of his foe’s throats before succumbing.

“What on earth was that about?” Gavik asked as they surveyed the chaos in the room. The armed men were all dead as were the brown-robed men. The cardinal lay gasping on the ground with a gaping wound in his chest.

“He won’t last long,” one of Atri’s men reported after a cursory examination.

“What happened here?” Atri demanded as he knelt over the cardinal. The elves moved quickly to the brazier to save whatever books they could.

The cardinal merely stared back at Atri, holding his gaze with his sharp brown eyes until the life faded from them. Curious, Rovie picked one of the books up and found they were written in a language he didn’t understand.

Once the books had been kicked out of the brazier, the elves rushed quickly out of the small room and back into the main chamber. Gavik tapped the boys on the shoulder and followed after them. Atri and his men were close behind.

Back in the main chamber, Lamak stood before the arch with a look of concern on his face.

“Karem da kub ni?” Ila asked.

Lamak glared at her and looked pointedly at the humans before turning his attention back to the arch. He closed his eyes and held up his arms to the heavens and began chanting. The mist swirled as he chanted harsh words that didn’t seem possible to be uttered by a human.

“What are you doing?” Loric demanded.

Ila moved away from Lamak and planted herself between him and the humans with a dagger loose in her hands. The look on her face told them she was frightened but would cut down any who tried to interfere.

Soon, the chamber shuddered, and his nausea disappeared. Around them, the mist began to thin. Rovie looked up to see sunlight piercing through the mist, and soon, an overcast sky became visible overhead, making the events of the last hour or so feel like a nightmare they had just woken from. He returned his gaze to the chamber and saw the elves retrieving their arrows from the fallen creatures.

“There’s no speculation now,” Gavik said, as he walked up to Lamak, “you know what’s going on and it’s time to tell us.”

Lamak wiped the foul ichor off an arrow before returning it to his quiver and turned his attention to Gavik. “It seems your people are trying to tap the energies of the other realm. I have sealed the gateway, but for your people to have the knowledge to open it in the first place is of great concern to me.”

Gavik’s face twisted in confusion. “Other realm? What other realm?”

“I’ve told you what I know,” Lamak said, “now it’s up to you to discover what your people were doing here. However, you should leave this place as quickly as you can and never return.”

“You’ve told me nothing!” Gavik protested as Lamak walked towards the exit. Ila gave the creatures they had slain a final look before falling in behind him.

“With the mists gone, you should be able to find your own way out of the forests,” Lamak said over his shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Gavik demanded.

“To report this to our leader,” Lamak replied without turning around.

Lamak disappeared down the passageway before Gavik could protest further. He turned to Atri who shrugged.

“I’ll stay here and investigate this place,” Atri declared. He turned to his men and sent one to tend to the fallen and another to report what happened.

“To whom, sire?” his man asked.

“Report directly to my father,” Atri replied after a moment’s thought.

“The men were speaking Gothrian,” his man pointed out.

“I am aware,” Atri said, “it seems my initial assumptions were off the mark. We need to figure out who they were. Identifying the cardinal shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Gavik nudged the boys and together, they returned to the antechamber. Rovie stared at the cardinal and wondered who he was.

“Have a poke through the books, lads,” Gavik said, “let’s see if we can’t find out who they are or what they were up to.”

“It’s in gibberish,” Loric complained as he flipped through a few of the books scattered around the floor.

“I can’t understand a word of it either,” Gavik sighed, “it looks like this will forever be a mystery to us.”

“The books are in Nurinvian,” Atri pointed out, as he appeared at the doorway, “the language of the Holy Church.”

“Or at least the few books I glanced at were,” he continued. He looked at the chaos in the room and the sheer number of tomes scattered about and sighed, “going through these books will take weeks.”

“Can you read it?” Gavik ventured.

A hurt look crossed Atri’s face. “Of course I can.”

His gaze then went to the robed men. “I suspect they’re monks. That means the church is involved with whatever’s going on here, which severely limits the number of men we can trust with this matter.”

Gavik raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“I think what we saw back there,” Atri said, waving a hand at the main chamber, “concerns all of us. Don’t you?”

“I suppose you’re right there,” Gavik conceded.

“Say,” Rovie said, “do you think the elf sorted everything out? Will we be seeing more of those strange creatures?”

“He did say he sealed the gateway,” Gavik remarked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “we don’t have much choice but to trust his word.”

Rovie turned his attention to the armed men. They were wearing rags, but their weapons looked expensive. “They’re probably nobles,” he remarked.

Atri searched one of the bodies briefly. “They bear no sign of who they serve,” he sighed and turned to Gavik.

“I’ll need your cooperation with this,” he said.

“Go on,” Gavik said warily.

“It will take weeks for me to get people here to investigate what they were up to,” Atri began, “I will need your help to keep prying eyes away from this place and safe passage for my investigators through your lands.”

Gavik nodded. “I’ll discuss that with the others. They won’t like it, but I will stress the importance.”

“Isn’t Nescovia nearby?” Loric pointed out, “why not ask them for help?”

“I don’t trust them,” Atri replied, “I don’t trust anyone at the moment.”

“That’s wise,” Gavik nodded, “in return, I expect you to share anything you discover with me.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Atri allowed, “but I must caution you to be careful who you share knowledge of this with.”

“I can tell you one thing for certain,” Gavik remarked, “peasants weren’t behind this.”

“I suppose you have a point there,” Atri conceded.