Hamertia: The Elven Folly

“Looks like I found us some targets!” Druin exclaimed as he shot a fireball at Rychell’s feet.

“I got the green bastard!” Connak shouted as he sent a stream of blue flames whizzing right past the boy’s body.

“Is this really necessary?” Jharyn said. “We should be getting some rest if we’re going out prowling tonight.”

“You’re just upset because you can’t join in on the fun,” Druin replied. “Bet you wish you could make your own flames to chase these little things around.”

“Please just leave us alone!” Rychell begged. “We’re not doing anything to bother you!”

Jharyn sighed and raised his hand, stopping one of Druin’s fireballs in mid-air. He motioned his hand downwards, causing the flames to slam into the ground and dissipate.

“What’d you do that for!” Druin shouted, quickly moving toward his fellow fire mage. “I’ve had just about enough of you!”

Druin wrapped his hand around Jharyn’s throat before the elf had time to react. Before he could use his other hand to conjure a flame, Dakath moved forward and smacked him on the back of the head, sending him to the ground.

“Dakath agrees that Jharyn is pathetic for defending little freak elves, but a fire mage should never put his hands on his brothers.”

“Thanks, Dakath,” Jharyn said as Druin pulled himself to his feet. “I guess…”

“And now they got away!” Druin exclaimed, eyeing down Jharyn and Dakath. “Hope you two are happy; stopping a fire mage from being a fire mage…”

“Nevermind that,” Connak said. “We had our fun, but Jharyn’s right. We need to get some rest for tonight.”

At that moment, Elluin, Folwin, Jastra, and Xander came passing through. The three elves still held a tight grip on their prisoner, not allowing for any possibility of escape.

“Hope you guys aren’t bothering that poor Rychell kid and his friend,” Jastra said as they approached.

“We’re not,” Druin replied. “Jharyn made sure of that.”

“I bet he did,” she said, glancing at him and smiling. Jharyn blushed ever so slightly. “I’d love to stay and chat, but as you can see we’re quite busy.”

“And just what are you doing?” Connak asked. “Looks like you’re carrying that poor bastard off to be executed.”

“He’s been banished,” she replied. “We’re taking him to the tree wall.”

“Banished, eh?” Connak said, sounding rather intrigued. “You know, it would be much quicker…and more fun to burn him.”

“We’re not doing that,” Folwin retorted. “We don’t sink to the level of your type. We actually have a civilized way of dealing with things.”

“Ooh, listen to the high and mighty high-born,” Connak mocked.

“Maybe you should go and live with them, Jharyn,” Druin added. “Seems like you’d fit right in.”

“That’s enough,” Jastra declared. “I just want to go and get this over with.”

“So, we’ll be seeing you later then, Jastra?” Connak asked.

“Mmhm,” was all Jastra bothered to respond with as she and the others walked away toward the tree wall.

“Ah, Athtar and…uh,” a gnome said as the two elves approached.

“Onvyr,” Onvyr replied.

“Right, right. Onvyr. Strange name.”

“Well what’s your name?” Onvyr asked.

“Filwood,” the gnome replied proudly. “A proper name for a gnome.”

“Well Onvyr is a proper elf name,” he said defensively. “In fact, I’d say it’s the elfiest name out of anyone in the forest.”

“Which is why it’s a strange name,” Filwood replied matter-of-factly. “But I suppose strange names are fitting for such strange creatures.”

“Then why do you live here if you think we’re so strange?” Onvyr shot back. “Why do you garden for us?”

Filwood took a deep breath. “Athtar, I would’ve hoped you’d talk to your friend here about what is and isn’t acceptable to discuss with gnomes.”

“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Athtar assured him. “This is his first time meeting you guys and I guess he just doesn’t know yet…”

“I’m sorry,” Onvyr said. “Really, I am. I’m just interested in learning about you. Tell me something about your kind, anything at all, I won’t ask any more specific questions.

“Very well,” Filwood sighed. “I’ll tell you everything you could possibly want to know so you’ll never be inclined to come back here and ask one of those questions of yours.”

Onvyr and Athtar took a seat on the ground. Filwood cleared his throat and proceeded to tell his tale.

“As you know, there was once a time when us gnomes lived peacefully in the lands east of here. These were lands of thick forests, much like what you have here. We gardened and treated our home with respect. However,” Filwood paused for dramatic effect. “One day, the boggarts invaded. In appearance, they are woodland creatures much like us, although slightly taller and much uglier. But their behavior couldn’t be any different. They seized our land and destroyed our plants. They began digging holes into any empty land they could find. Once they ran out of space, they began chopping down trees; only for the purpose of clearing land for more holes! Now our homeland is barren of any plant life, holes being the only thing that dots the landscape. We moved here because it was the only sensible thing to do. You have a lovely forest and we refuse to live among the…centaurs of the south. So now we live here and make food for elves. We garden not so much because we care about your survival needs, but because it’s the only life we know. Does that cover everything?”

“It sure does,” Onvyr replied, smiling. “Thank you so much.”

“Yes, well…I know you elves are the curios type,” Filwood said. “Especially Athtar, but for some reason I find him tolerable.”

“I find you tolerable to!” Athtar exclaimed, not that he actually knew what the word meant.

“Well, thank you,” Filwood replied. “I really must be getting back to my plants now. Look around or be on your way, just don’t disturb any gnomes at work.”

Onvyr stood up and had a look around the garden. He was mesmerized by the level of organization and beauty that the gnomes managed to create. The various fruits and vegetables grew in perfect rows, not a single blemish to be seen on any of them.

“They really are master gardeners,” he whispered.

“They sure are!” Athtar replied. “And I think Filwood is starting to like you now!”

“I don’t know about that,” Onvyr said. “He didn’t seem very happy that I was here.”

“That’s just how gnomes are,” Athtar told him. “They always like to be gardening and can get a bit grumpy if they’re interrupted. They treat everybody like that...well, besides me.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Onvyr replied, sounding a bit relieved. “But why do they like you so much?”

Athtar shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess it’s because I was always nice to them. Most of the other elves don’t really appreciate them and some are even mean to them. I heard that Xander kicked one once! But he won’t be around to do that anymore.”

“What do you mean he won’t be around?” Onvyr asked. “Is he going somewhere?”

“He killed Leofrick!” Athtar responded. “And now he’s being banished from the forest!”

Onvyr’s face dropped in shock. “Wow.”

Elluin, Folwin, and Jastra arrived at the southern tree wall with their prisoner. Usually one to pride himself on his composure, Xander was now shaking like the leaves on the trees above him.

“You don’t have to do this,” he begged. “I know what I did was wrong. But come on, do we really need two arrogant elves in the northern forest?”

“Well now we’re not going to have any,” Elluin replied, refusing to be swayed by Xander’s feeble attempt to be spared.

“Folwin? Jastra? Please, will somebody talk some sense into him?”

“He was going to kill you,” Folwin responded. “I talked him into banishing you, so I’ve already helped you to the extent I’m willing to.”

“Please just let me stay and we’ll forget any of this ever happened. I’ll stay in my room just like before and I promise I’ll never bother you again. Please, I can’t survive out there on my own!”

“I’d think you’d learn something about surviving on your own after all the reading you did in Leofrick’s library,” Elluin replied.

“Please guys, don’t…”

“That’s enough!” Elluin shouted. “Jastra, if you’d be so kind…” He motioned toward the tree wall.

Just as she had done at the northern forest tree wall, she grabbed two tree trunks and used all her strength to pull them apart. Slowly but surely, the trees separated, creating a gap just big enough for a skinny elf to be thrown through. Jastra grabbed hold of Xander’s arm without saying a word and forced him through the opening. Before he had time to even turn around, she began pushing the trunks back together.

“I’ll kill you!” Xander shouted as the gap was closed, sealing his fate. “You hear me! I’ll kill you all!”

“Well then,” Jastra said as if she had just done something as simple as tossing out a banana peel. “Now that that’s taken care of, I best be headed off. I’ve been meaning to meetup with a certain someone.”

“You’ve really been taking care of business, El,” Folwin said as Jastra ran off. “You’re shaping into a true leader.”

“Somebody’s gotta do it to create a better world for everyone,” Elluin replied. “Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking over some things; got some big plans in the making. Let’s go back to your room and I’ll tell you everything.”

Jharyn was leaning against a tree while his companions, having taken his advice, were sleeping on the ground a short walk away. Jastra was quickly approaching. Before he even had the chance to greet her, she grabbed him around the waist and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

“The others can’t know about this,” he said, already out of breath from the excitement.

“I know,” Jastra replied quickly before kissing him again. “But really, they need to learn to back off.”

“They never will,” Jharyn sighed. “Druin obviously wants you and Connak thinks he’s entitled to you. Dakath and Feno…well, I don’t think they care too much.”

“Connak and Druin are just ruthless brutes. But you...” She kissed him again. “You have depth. You might not be able to make fire but you have a mind in there, and that more than makes up for it in my eyes.”

The only reply Jharyn could offer was a broad smile. She leaned her forehead against his and matched his expression. Smiling was something the two of them rarely did on their own, yet frequently did when together. She kissed him one final time before bringing their rendezvous to an end.

“I’ll come back and see you tomorrow,” she assured him. “We’ll be able to get a bit more privacy then. Go get some rest and don’t do anything too stupid tonight.”

“Goodbye, Jastra,” he whispered, not wanting to let her go.

“Goodbye, Jharyn,” she replied in an equally soft voice. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I promise.”

With that, she was off. Jharyn stood and watched as she hurried away before finally joining his fellow fire mages for some much-needed rest.

“Did you hear what happened with Xander?” Onvyr asked Rania as they sat together on their bed.

“Rydel told me,” she replied. “It did seem a bit strange when he was in the library and Leofrick never returned from his research, but I would never have expected him to actually kill anyone…”

“I guess he finally snapped,” Onvyr sighed. “And you know how Leofrick could be. He probably said the wrong thing and…you know.”

“At least he won’t be around to hurt anyone else,” Rania said. “He’ll spend the rest of his days beyond the tree wall.”

“And how many days will that be? Xander’s not exactly fit to fend for himself in harsh conditions. The only time he was really ever out of his room was these past few days in the library.”

“Well what is beyond the tree wall?” she asked. “I mean there’s bits and pieces of information in the library and the stories that float around, but is any of it really true?”

“I would think it is,” Onvyr replied. “Stories have to come from somewhere. I imagine that truth would be the natural starting place.”

“Pfff, you should ask Kellam about that. Natural this and natural that. You know he tried to convince me and Rydel that things in the forest are about to get really bad?”

“Well, Kellam is…Kellam,” Onvyr grinned. “He spends a bit too much time by himself. Just spending his days walking around talking to that Poof of his. But don’t worry, Rania, things are going to be great now. The troll is dead, Xander is gone, and we can live out our days in bliss.”

Rania smiled, leaned over, and pecked him on the lips. They lay down on the bed parallel to each other for a long while, content with simply staring into the other’s eyes.

“So what do you wanna do now, Ry?” Athtar asked, nearly jumping into the air. “We could go back to the library and see what books we didn’t read yet! But I don’t know who would give them to us. Who do you think the new librarian is gonna be? It could be you since you like to read so much! But Onvyr and Rania like to read too. A long time ago, the old inhabitants of the forest used to settle things like this with gnome throwing contests! But I don’t think the gnomes would like that too much…”

“Why don’t we get some flowers from the garden to put in the library,” Rydel suggested. “For Leofrick.”

“But he won’t be there to see them…”

“It’ll be a memorial Ath,” Rydel explained. “It would be nice to do that for him.”

“That’s a great idea!” Athtar exclaimed. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were supposed to do that when someone died…”

“Well no one’s ever died since we’ve been around,” Rydel replied. “I just got the idea earlier when we were in the garden. Do you think the gnomes will be ok if I show up again?”

“They were fine when I was there with Onvyr. I’m sure they’ll be ok!”

The elves yet again made the journey back to the gnome garden. Filwood was tending to a plot of bright orange carrots when they arrived.

“Hi Athtar!” he greeted. “And uhm,” he cleared his throat. “Rydel.”

“I’m sorry about what happened earlier,” Rydel told him, offering a genuine apology. “We were wondering if you could spare some flowers for our friend.”

“Very well,” the gnome replied. “Is this for a gesture of friendship or does something ail them?”

“Well,” Rydel replied slowly. “He’s…dead.”

“Dead?” Filwood repeated. “We may be master gardeners, but we have no flora that can cure death. Good day!”

“It’s for a me-mor-ial,” Athtar said, looking to Rydel for validation of the pronunciation. “We’re just going to set them in the library.”

“Ah, well in that case you’re going to want these,” Filwood said, wobbling over to the flower plots. “Magenta flowers. Magenta is the closest we have in regard to flowers to the word memorial, so I think they would do nicely.”

“They’re perfect,” Rydel smiled. “Could we have a few of them?”

“Of course,” he said, plucking three of the flowers and handing them to Athtar. “And, uh, sorry about your friend.”

They returned to the library and Athtar set the memorial flowers on a shelf, in front of the row of books.

“That looks great, Ath,” Rydel said. “Thanks for going with me to get them.”

“Of course, Ry,” he replied. “It’s nice that you though to do that for Leofrick. I’m really going to miss him.”

Rydel hugged him. “Me too, buddy. Me too.”

“What?” Folwin asked, not sure that he heard his friend correctly. “You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I’m serious, Folwin,” Elluin replied. “You know many of those things must be up there. It would safer for all of us in the long run if we took them out now.”

“And what do you think is gonna happen if we don’t?” he inquired.

“Another one of those trolls will come down here and enslave us again. We can’t risk it. And besides, after what he did to us for so long, don’t you think we’d be administering justice?”

“No,” Folwin replied bluntly. “We took care of the one that was here, El. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“And when more come?” Elluin retorted. “If they ever find out what we did? We have to make sure it never happens again.”

“And how would they ever find out about it?” Folwin asked. “We’re not killing off an entire race over what one of them decided to do.”

“But that’s how those things are, Folwin,” he insisted. “You can’t guarantee it won’t happen again unless we take action.”

“We took action when we killed the troll,” Folwin replied. “That was the end of it. I’m not gonna be a part of your crazy plan.”

Elluin sighed. “Folwin, I’m doing this for the good of our community. For the good of you, me, and all elves. We’ll never truly be free until we completely eliminate all threats to our way of life.”

Folwin shook his head in disbelief. “And just how would you plan on doing it, El? Killing a single troll in our own home is one thing, but killing them all of in their own homeland? How…?”

“We get help,” Elluin replied. “There’s plenty of elves here who are in fighting condition. You saw how strong Jastra is. Besides, all those trolls are old and feeble. I’m sure they won’t pose that much of a challenge. Not to mention…centaurs love a good battle.”

Folwin raised an eyebrow. “Centaurs?” he asked.

“Centaurs,” Elluin repeated, smiling.

Folwin shook his head yet again. “This isn’t a good idea, El. We can’t get used to using bloodshed to solve our problems. That’s what Xander did, you know.”

“Xander murdered Leofrick in cold blood,” Elluin countered. “We’re eliminating a group who threatens everyone we care about. Think of it as a public service. I really think the ends justify the means in this case.”

“I don’t know, El,” Folwin sighed. “I really don’t know. But if I can’t stop you…”

“Then it’s settled!” Elluin exclaimed. “I’ll go talk with our new allies tomorrow.”

Elluin got up and exited the room, leaving Folwin alone. The elf sat on his bed for a long while, contemplating everything his friend had just told him.

Before heading to bed for the night, Elluin decided to make his way down to the forest floor, hoping to find Jastra so he could inquire about the fire mage’s willingness to fight in the upcoming war. However, once he descended the tree ramp, he noticed Rychell and Jorie leaning against the trunk.

“Have you guys seen Jastra around?” he asked them.

“The last time we saw her she was with you,” Rychell replied. “We’ve been up here ever since then. Those fire mages won’t leave us alone otherwise.”

“Not here to kick us out of your northern forest again?” Jorie asked sarcastically.

“That was Folwin, not me,” he replied. “Listen, as soon as I take care of this one thing, there’s going to be some big changes coming to the forest. I promise you guys will be able to come up here; even live up here. Maybe I’ll give you Xander’s old room…”

The young elves’ faces lit up with delight.

“Take care of what thing?” Rychell asked.

“You remember those trolls we met when we went north?” Elluin asked.

They both nodded. Rychell had relayed the story to Jorie at least a dozen times, so he knew very well what Elluin was talking about.

“Well,” he continued. “I need to go up there and make sure that they’ll never bother us. We had an…issue with one of them for a while and I’m ensuring that it’ll never happen again. But I’m going to need to talk to Jastra before I can move forward.”

“She might still be in the southern forest,” Rychell advised. “It’s gonna be dark soon, though. She’ll probably come back here before too long. And you really mean it when you say we can live up here with you guys?”

“I sure do, Rychell,” Elluin smiled. “Why don’t you guys come up with me? You can stay in my room until we make the new arrangements.”

Rychell and Jorie exchanged a look, a huge smile on each of their faces. They darted up the tree ramp to their new home, with Elluin following closely behind.

With his new roommates getting themselves situated in his room, Elluin stood outside his door, hoping Jastra would soon come passing by. Sure enough, before long Jastra came walking down the corridor.

“Hold up a second, Jastra,” Elluin said as she approached. “I need to talk to you.”

“Don’t tell me you have somebody else to get rid of now,” she grinned. “It’s been a long day.”

“Well…we might have a bunch of bodies soon enough,” he replied, causing Jastra to furrow her brow. “I need to know if the fire mages would be interested in my…proposition.”

“And what kind of proposition might that be?” she asked.

Elluin looked in both directions before speaking. “Let’s go to your room. I don’t want anyone else to know about it just yet.”

The two elves walked to her room, Elluin closing the door behind them.

“So what exactly is this all about?” she asked once they were alone.

“Alright,” Elluin began. “I need to gather a large force to march north with me. I think the only way to ensure our safety in the future is to take out the trolls that live up there. I’m not sure how many there are, but I don’t think they can fight very well. We’ll just make our way up north and take them all out; quick and easy. I think the fire mages would be perfect for the mission.”

Jastra chuckled, not quite sure what she thought of the bold proposal. “Well, the fire mages will jump at any chance to reign their flames down on a group of unsuspecting victims. But are you sure you really want to do this?”

“Why not?” Elluin replied. “I took care of the troll who tormented us here and now I’m making sure that they never get the chance again. I thought you liked it when we take initiative to get stuff done.”

Jastra stood in silent contemplation for a moment. “You’re right,” she finally said. “Wouldn’t be right of me to stand in the way of another elf’s ambitions. I’m going to see the fire mages tomorrow. I’ll mention your plans to them then. For now, why don’t you go back and get some sleep?”

“Thanks Jastra,” Elluin said, smiling. “At least someone believes in my cause.”

With that, he headed back to his own room to see that Rychell and Jorie had made themselves right at home. The two were bundled in blankets, curled up on the floor fast asleep. Elluin climbed into his bed, thinking over his battle plans before finally drifting off to sleep.

As the high-borns went to sleep in the northern forest, the fire mages were just waking up in the south, with the exception of Jharyn, who had hardly slept at all.

“You were the one telling us we needed to sleep all damn day,” Druin remarked. “So why do you look so tired.”

“I didn’t really get any rest myself,” Jharyn replied. “I was up…thinking.”

“The only thing you need to be thinking about is fire,” Connak interjected. “And will somebody wake that little bastard up,” he added, turning his attention to the only elf who was still sleeping.

Dakath kicked Feno in the ribs, waking the boy with a jolt. Feno quickly jumped to his feet and stood at attention, although it was clear from his droopy eyelids he’d much rather remain on the ground.

“What…or who do we burn tonight?” Dakath asked ominously.

“Haven’t seen that Rychell kid or his green haired boyfriend since Jastra came around,” Druin said. “Who knows where those two ran off to.”

“But you know who might be out tonight?” Connak asked no one in particular. “Nealey.”

Druin grinned. “That’s right. Little freak is probably still at the stream throwing rocks. Let’s go!”

“Wait guys!” Feno spoke up. “Nealey doesn’t bother anybody. Let’s just leave him alone, huh?”

Druin quickly walked toward the younger elf until he was only a few inches away. Looking down, he glared into the boy’s eyes.

“Your loyalty lies with the elven fire mages,” he told him. “Lucky for you, we can’t harm each other, but anyone else is fair game. And I say we go and burn the little bastard!”

“Hold on,” Jharyn said, stepping between them and lightly pushing them apart. “Think about it, we have an incredible power. Does it really make sense for us to use it to terrorize the innocents of the forest?”

“I have an incredible power!” Druin shot back. “Connak has an incredible power! Dakath has an incredible power! Hell, even Feno has an incredible power. But you? I regret the day we ever let you in our clan.”

At that moment, Connak stepped forward, grabbed Druin by the shirt, and threw him on the ground.

“We’re not going to be burning any elves tonight,” Connak proclaimed. “We can practice our conjuring and aim on some tree trunks. But I want you two to stay far away from each other. Understand?”

Jharyn nodded and walked off with Feno to find a suitable tree. Dakath joined up with Connak and walked off as well, leaving Druin alone to sulk on the ground awhile longer. Eventually, he pulled himself to his feet. He sustained no physical injuries, but his pride was certainly not intact.