Sizarra looked in the direction she had last seen Tchetfeti, crystalline tears trickled down her face and landed on the sash he had given her. The sash was of green velvet, green like Tchetfeti's eyes, the last thing she had seen before he had run off. She twisted the sash around her left hand and stared blankly in front of her.
It had been three days since he had voluntarily run off, to be a hero, he had decided to take it upon himself to take down a horde of orcs, or at least hold them off long enough for their group to get away. He had promised to return to her.
What a fool he was leaving them like he had, but without him they'd all be dead now. She could see him as he had been now. Riding his charcoal black horse, a look of extreme confidence on his face around him a shimmering shield. He had summoned up a small army of elementals a feat that only a grand mage could do.
When the party had rode off leaving Tchetfeti to his fate she had turned back to get one last glimpse of him and the Orc army. The army was the largest conglomeration of orcs she had ever seen. Each one of them held at least one sharp jagged blade. The casters had looked even more deadly than the melee. The raw power radiated off of them a beacon of death to the unknowing. Even with the mage's defenses and many elementals there was no way that he could of survived.
Sizarra presumed that Ninweil was of like mind concerning Tchetfeti's survival. The ranger was setting a neck breaking pace and only recently had shown any interest in slowing down. Slowing down for what? Was he waiting for Tchetfeti's return or was he so exhausted himself?
She herself had been luckier than the others, she didn't have to keep watch, and they deemed her too inexperienced to keep watch by herself. Was it really that, did the others know that she mourned Tch's loss as much as she did? They had to know. She was up before the others always a little distance away from them. Always searching with tears in her eyes. Each time they had stopped to rest she had gotten less rest than the others.
Sizarra unraveled the sash and wove it through the ring she wore. She turned her gaze back to the skies, Tchetfeti had given it to her years ago telling her it would keep her safe from any harm. He hadn't been kidding, ever since she had worn the ring she hadn't had any harm befall her. Maybe it was just superstition but it worked.
The ring was silver with a marquee cut emerald.. Emeralds were rare in the region and worth a small fortune to high elf and wood elf alike.
Tchetfeti had bought her the ring from the dwarfs when their trading caravan had come to Felwithe two years ago. The ring had drawn her in with the way it had sparkled in the afternoon sun, calling to her with unknown powers.
Sizarra wondered for a moment if the sash and ring were meant to go to together. Was he planning to give her the sash all along?
A small breeze ruffled her hair causing a strand to cover her eyes. She pulled the strand behind her ear, her eyes traveling to the sky in the process. A faint line of grey clouds was in view, bad weather was on the way. She sighed and pulled her hair back tying it up with the sash.
Time to head back to the camp, everyone should be up by now and she'd be missed if she was gone too long. They all seemed to fret when she went missing for any amount of time, at least when Tch had been here they had seemed to worry a little less. Since his death they had been keeping a close eye on her. Probably making sure that she wouldn't run off to go after him or some other useless fantasy, Yes she'd love to go and kill those orcs, but it'd have to wait. Eventually their paths would cross again and she'd make sure their deaths were slow and painful.
She smiled to her self wiping away the last of her tears, she couldn't look too unhappy around them. They might just corner her and find out what Tchetfeti had been to her, even if she didn't know what he had been at the time. She didn't want to brood on it too much now that he was gone. It just hurt way too much. She made her way back to the camp hoping her face wasn't too tear stained.
Ninweil was roaming the camp when she returned. The wood was set out and chopped neatly stacked; several extra logs were already cut and set off to the side. The Site was so like Ninweil; neat, clean, professional, he did all his work with no mistakes, she was jealous. Well maybe not jealous of the fact that he did everything like so, but of the fact that he could do it in any situation stressful or not.
He took out a small knife he was carrying and struck it against a stone that he had picked up. After several tries a spark ignited a piece of cloth she hadn't noticed before. He blew on the small flame, causing it to flare up and ignite the wood around it.
She sat down next to him as the wood was set ablaze. There was awkwardness between the two, a reminder of what had happened 3 nights ago. He looked at her for a moment and when she met his gaze he looked away.
"A storm is brewing," He said his eyes on the sky, "we best prepare the camp for a storm"
"Wait," she responded, "we're not moving on, were staying here? Why, what's going on?" The ranger sat a little closer to her; she could feel the air between them. She wanted him to hold her, to comfort her, to tell her everything was all right. Most of all she wanted to feel his lips upon her lips. She almost blushed at the thought of it.
"Aye, were staying for a few days. I have a friend coming to meet us. He's going to show us the way to the hidden city." He replied, "I'm hoping there we will find more clues."
"Oh, I see…" she lifted her hands to warm herself; it was getting chillier by the moment.
The two sat in awkward silence for a few moments as Sizarra lost herself in the flames of fire. The blaze was strong now, but it would expire as soon as its fuel source ran out or someone came by and extinguished it. Tchetfeti's life had been like that strong, vibrate, an ever consuming flame but it had been extinguished early. It hurt to think about it, he had been her everything at one time.
That time was long past and it had failed. She and Tchetfeti were a lot alike, too much alike and she thought of him more as a brother figure now. They had broken up a few months before this expedition had started. Some raw feelings were still there, but she had put them aside. Tchetfeti's feelings though she didn't know. How had he thought of her in the end, lover or friend?
She prayed it was friend for she had been developing feelings for Nin this whole trip. Now she didn't know if the ranger felt the same way about her. She hoped it was the same way she felt about him. She hoped that the night of Tchetfeti's death hadn't been a fluke. She had to find out!
"Nin?" Sizarra asked.
"Yah?" he responded letting her know he was listening. He picked up a stick and started to absent mindedly poke at the fire causing it to flare up.
"I…" she stopped. She wanted to tell him how she felt, but what if it had been a fluke? What if she just ruined the rest of the trip for them? There would be awkwardness between the two and she couldn't bail out when she wanted. They were too far away from home. He could have been just comforting her after Tch's death. A strange way to comfort but it had worked she had forgotten all of her troubles for that one night.
Suddenly she felt the tears well up in her eyes at the thought of the night. She tried to hold them back but they came anyhow.
Ninweil stopped poking the fire and scooted close to her again. She could feel his warmth his longing. There was no longer any gap between the two. "Sizarra." He gently said her name.
He grabbed her hand and brought if to his lips. His lips felt nice against her skin the warmth of his breath, the smooth lips. He lightly kissed the back of her hand than sending shivers through her spine.
Her dropped her hand than and brought his hand to her cheek and forced her to look into his eyes. He had such beautiful eyes they were the color of raw amber. She wanted to get lost in the depths of his eyes forever.
He brushed away her tears and gently trailed his fingers down to her chin. He held her head up for a moment than started draw her closer. She longed to have his lips against hers, she imagined his warmth overtaking her like it had three days ago. He leaned closer they were only inches away now.
"Hey Nin, check out what I caught!" came Lefaaz's voice as he walked into the camp carrying several rabbits. He started at the two of them for a moment. Sizarra could feel the heat running to her cheeks.
Ninweil quickly backed away from the mage pretending nothing had happened. He faced his apprentice and examined the rabbits. "Great work Lefaaz and in great timing, I just got the fire started." He smiled, "Let's start skinning them; we can make some nice rabbit stew, maybe even have some roasted. The rest we can set out to dry and make some rations with them for later. You can never have too many rations." He pulled out his skinning knife and grabbed a rabbit from Lefaaz.
"Can I set the skins out to dry later, master?" Lefaaz asked setting the rest of the rabbits down on a log. He took out his skinning knife and went to work on one. "I'm sure they will sell well later, or we could make some clothing with them later."
"Good idea, but we have one little problem we'll have to wait until a more dry day there will be rain today." He looked around, "You can put them in the spare tent I put up last night, should keep them nice and dry through the rain."
Sizarra sat stunned through their conversation. Had Ninweil almost kissed her? She longed for it more than anything. Her hand went to where Nin's had been as if she could still feel him there. Lefaaz had the worst timing of anyone she'd ever know. Why couldn't he of caught just one more rabbit, or maybe a dear or two. That would of kept him busy just a bit longer.
At that moment Darlend walked out of her tent with her husband Sanjum close by. She was dressed in her platemail it was mithril and the color of silver shining in the fading sun. Strapped at her side was a nasty looking great sword that only a paladin of her standing could handle. Her golden hair was pulled back accentuating her angular face. She was tall by high elf standards.
Her husband Sanjum was shorter than her by a few inches. His platemail seemed to shine with a holy light that brought a feeling of peace to those that glanced at him. He was an accomplished healer, one of the most powerful ones Felwithe had to offer. His hair was cut short and blonde.
The paladin yawned and glanced over at the fire, "We having breakfast soon?" she asked taking a seat near the fire.
"Yah I'm starving." Sanjum followed his wife and sat down next to her.
"Yep, well be eating very soon." He finished his skinning and went to rinse his hands with the water from the water skin. As he tipped the water skin no water came out. He looked over at Sizarra "Can you summon me some water please?"
"Sure." She grumbled. She concentrated imagining a flask of water in her hands, the water crisp and clear ready to use for any purpose. As she felt it take shape in her mind she concentrated on making it appear in her hand. She tugged at the powers of arcane with her mind and a flask of water was in her hands. She handed the summoned water to Ninweil who quickly proceeded to wash his hands.
"Thanks Sizarra." He gave her a smile that made her heart melt.
"No problem. " She responded with a smile of her own.
"Lefaaz, can u put away the skins and finish preparing the meat?" Nin asked pulling out several eggs from his pack.
"Sure thing, master." He picked up the skins and looked over them. Nin's were so cleanly cut unlike his own.
"So do eggs sound good?" The master ranger finished taking the eggs out.
"Anything sounds fine; you know what I'd love though?" Sanjum responded. He didn't wait for an answer. "Some of that spice Tchetfeti used to use, it'd really liven up the food. You happen to have any?"
"Oh your making me salivate, did he give you any Sizarra?" Darlend chimed in.
"No, I'm sorry he didn't give me any." Her hand went to the sash Tch had given her a frown on her lips, "Maybe we could get everything was in it though?"
"Oh? What was in it?" Nin asked, he seemed uninterested as if this turn of conversation to the dead mage wasn't to his liking.
"Black pepper, parsley, basil, Marjoram, thyme, cayenne pepper, cumin, rosemary, garlic, carrots, orange peel, tomato juice, Lemon juice, lemon peel, Onion powder and salt." She said reciting what her friend had told her once, a very long time ago.
"Well, I don't think I can forage all of that, so we'll have to live with out his spice for the time being. We do have salt though." He pulled the salt out along with several iron clad pans.
"Works for me" Sanjum grabbed his wife's hand, "When did Tchetfeti get the time to put all of that together?"
"I don't know, probably when the rest of us were sleeping." Sizarra joked; she was feeling truly happy for the first time in days. She noticed Ninweil watching her and she beamed a smile at him.
He almost dropped the egg he was holding. "I…Uhm…Yah, I'm going to start the food now."
Sizarra stifled a giggle and looked over at Darlend and Sanjum. The two were silently talking to each other both smiling happily not a care in the world. She used to think she knew all her feelings but lately she didn't. Everything had become confusing the day she had met Nin.
Ninweil had been tough on her from day one, she was an inexperienced mage. She had never been out of Faydark. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even been near the Crushbone orcs before. The Magician guild had sent out many expeditions that way but she had never gone with them. Niola always had sheltered her on the request of her father.
When her father had died Niola had avoided putting Sizarra on the front lines, until Ninweil had come and requested her and Tchetfeti for the mission. Tchetfeti had been an old friend of Nin's and had recommended her. Niola couldn't deny a request from someone as famed as the ranger.
Tchetfeti had been the one to purchase her gear. He had provided her with enchanted jewelry, all of it adorned with emeralds. She assumed they were old gear of his or gear he had obtained from his many travels across Norrath. He had also provided her with a gorgeous enchanted robe as well. The robe was also emerald and shined with unknown power. It was supposed to help her with her casting and protect her from others spells. She didn't know if they actually worked, to tell you the truth she didn't want to find out.
She'd of been lost without Tchetfeti. She had learned her first mage craft from him. He used to entertain her by summoning things. Little things at first, like food and water. Than he'd start summoning the larger things. He had summoned a dragon once by accident. She remembered that day crystal clear.
They had been sitting together just outside of Felwithe the sun had been high in the sky glistening off of the jewels Tchetfeti had been summoning for her.
"I bore of this jewelry Tch." She had said to him putting her arms around him.
He had smiled at here than a glint of mischief in his eyes. "My, my, what shall I summon to catch your attention than my lady?" He had kissed her on the cheek causing her to giggle. He had summoned her some elvish wine earlier and she was a bit tipsy.
"I want something big, fearsome and extraordinary!" she had yelled out, her voice echoing through the surrounding forest. She had laughed than at the way it had come back to her.
"My dear, I shall summon something so great that you shall never forget it." Tchetfeti had been right.
She'd never forget that dragon, it had been pure black and its eyes had glistened with evil. Its teeth were covered in blood and its whole body stunk of rotting flesh.
She remembered it had struck at Tchetfeti with its razor sharp claws gashing him across the chest. After it had struck at him the mage had reacted quickly and banished it from where it had come from.
Since that moment she had seen the powers that a magician had and had yearned for them like a moth yearns for a candle flame. With much begging to her father he had allowed her to follow the path.
Now she was a strong mage, able to summon dozens of creatures at a time to attack her enemies. She could send bolts of fire raining down on her enemies and had control over most elemental beings. She could cast quicker than most mages out there even when she called a companion to her side she could do so in under six seconds.
She was strong and powerful, but inexperienced. Ninweil had been quiet mean to her this whole time. She couldn't recall when she had started having feelings for the man. She had always felt hate, anger and... And what?
A distant rumble of thunder jolted Sizarra from her thoughts. The group was being served their food by now.
"Here" Ninweil handed her a wooden dish with her breakfast eggs on it. He had even added an orange slice to the dish to add a little bit of variety. She wondered where he had found that oranges were rare to the mountainous area.
"Thank you." She responded noticing that Lefaaz was sitting with them now, eating his food like it would be his last meal. The apprentice ranger quickly finished his meal and turned towards Ninweil.
"You said you had a friend coming?" Lefaaz asked his master.
"Well, yes…but I had only told Sizarra that…were you eavesdropping again?" He took a bite of his orange.
"Eavesdropping? I don't think he had to." Darlend butted in taking a bite of her food, "We could hear you talking in our tent." Ninweil and Sizarra both paled and the paladin let out a laugh than quickly changed the conversation. "So, who is this friend? Anyone I know?"
"I'm not to sure If any of you have heard of him, but has a great bard around these parts and a very good friend of mine."
"Oh my god!' Lefaaz yelled out jumping up, "Am I finally going to meet the legendary Songkeeper."
"Yes." Ninweil responded finishing his breakfast, "he now lives in the hidden city and will take us there as soon as he arrives here. I sent a raven last night that he needed to hurry to us."
"So, how long will we be staying here for?" Sanjum asked.
"A few days I'm sure." The sound of thunder sounded this time closer, "I'm not to positive on how long it will take him to arrive, but being a bard it shouldn't take very long." Bards had the ability to travel at amazing speeds.
"Is there anything wrong with the food Sizarra?" Nin asked her. Oops! She had forgotten all about her food her mind lost in the conversation. She still was stuck on the fact that everyone had been able to hear them earlier. Even worse Lefaaz had walked in at the wrong moment.
"Nothing is wrong with the food Nin." She took a bite, "Tastes great." She beamed a fantastic smile at him causing him to grin stupidly in return. The Crack of thunder sounded in the distance this time it was very close.
***
Authors note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story. I've been working on it for a long time. Drop me a review if you read this and tell me what you think. More to come soon.
All characters in this are mine or I have permission to use.
I do not own Everquest or any part of it, I do own an Everquest account but that is all.