Chapter Eight: Out of the Shadows
After only a few minutes Rend felt that one trait common to all Warforged begin to rear its head: Boredom. Rather absently he sat down on the ground and rummaged in his rock carving bag for his tools, then searched about for a good stone. An oval one, half buried, was near at hand and would do nicely. He dug it up easily, to find it was decently smooth and nearly perfectly formed, just about as long as his own hand and about four inches at its widest point. This was going to be a pleasant challenge, for he was used to the stone having a rough shape at the start. He ran through his memory of things he'd seen – and he never seemed to forget what he wanted to remember once he'd seen it – until he settled on one and began to shape it with his fingers, and then his tools, soon forming the head, legs, body, and tail of an animal. But he'd not been at it ten minutes when a blade pressed lightly against the back of his neck, and a familiar voice teased,
"After all these months, not to mention the years we fought side-by-side, you still haven't learned to listen for me sneaking up on you." Rend agily spun to his feet as the dagger moved away, being tucked into the sheath at another Warforge's waist.
"Shadow! What are you doing here?" Rend was delighted.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Shadow replied, smiling, "but since you asked first, I'm escorting the healer's wagon. I've been jumping from job to job since we split up. You?"
"I've been traveling. I've found Scout and Sever, and another Warforged named Hunter..." Rend trailed off, then gave himself a mental shake. "Anyways, it's great to see you again." Shadow eyed Rend up and down.
"There's something... different about you." The pair sat down together, and Rend began to work on his carving again, easily talking and working the stone at the same time.
"It's probably from listening to Hunter. He's teaching us how to be alive, really alive."
"How so?" Hunter's philosophies practically rolled from Rend's lips, as if were.
"He's got these ideas: Because we can choose, we live; the purpose of life is living; living creatures have the right to choose; and some choices warrant punishment. Basically anything that can choose for itself is alive, like us, and therefore has the right to make those choices, and should enjoy it, but we and everyone else has to be careful, because some choices, like stealing or hurting others, will get us punished."
"That last one sounds like common sense, and I think I understand the third, and the first too – that's like skeletons as compared to a dog, right? - but I'm not sure I understand the second one, about the purpose of life being living." Rend thought for a moment, remembering how he himself had had to ask about that one as he dug out his smoothing cloth.
"It's really hard to explain, at least for me. Hunter always said to watch the other races. They try to enjoy their lives, no matter what."
"That's the truth!" Shadow agreed. "Just look around." Rend nodded in agreement.
"You should meet him."
"I'd like to, but I've already agreed to the escort. Say," Shadow's expression brightened. "I know. Why not see if this Hunter wouldn't mind meeting me in Nowhere? That's where I'm escorting the wagons to."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll ask." If I can, he added mentally to himself.
"Say, what's up with your rock?" Rend looked at what Shadow had noticed, and saw that there was a bit of crystalline purple emerging from within the gray.
"I – I'm not sure." He'd never seen anything like this before. As he worked it further, the more purple was revealed. The two were so engrossed watching – Shadow keeping himself occupied by handing Rend what tools he needed – that by the time it was finished, a standing wolf with swishing tail and head looking to one side, the sun was rising.
"That looks nice," Shadow complimented, and Rend, never one to brag, had to agree. The wolf was almost entirely made of the jewel-toned violet crystal, save its feet, tail tip, ear tips, and the base of the figuring which were the original gray stone. And the purple seemed... well, sharp was the best word Rend could come up with, if the way it looked was any indication.
"It's light too, very light." Just then the mother approached.
"I'm sorry it took so long," she apologized as they stood. "The healers wanted to take a look at me too."
"I didn't mind," Rend replied.
"They want me little Elimaya and I go to with them. They say they know someone who can heal here eyes, remove the glass shards that blinded her."
"That's good news."
"C- could you walk me back to my tent?" Rend nodded, and the pair of Warforged escorted her along the way, one to each side. She gave a slightly nervous laugh. "My! I feel like some sort of noblewoman; two Warforged guards." Rend gave her a comforting smile.
"Shadow and I were in the same unit before the War ended, and he's going to be escorting the wagons to Nowhere."
"Oh, I see." Shadow smiled at her too, as they reached her tent. The two 'Forged broke down the tend and packed everything with an efficiency honed from years of doing similar tasks, hefted it all easily, and then they all returned to the healers.
"I've got to get set with them," Shadow said to Rend, "so I'll see you in Nowhere. And I'll make sure your lady friend and her daughter are well taken care of." Rend nodded in response to the rogue's promise, and watched as he moved off to the group of healers in charge. Then the fighter turned to Elimaya's mother, who was helping load up her few things.
"May I say farewell to her?"
"Yes. I'm sure she's be terribly upset if you didn't. She's over there with the other children." Rend nodded as he saw where she indicated, and headed over to see his new little friend seated comfortably on some cushy pillows and blankets. Carefully he moved closer to her.
"Elimaya," he said before touching her shoulder so as to not startle her.
"Hi, Rend. The healers said they're going to fix my eyes."
"That's what your mother told me. I'm happy for you."
"Maybe after I'm all better, you could find me so I can see what you look like."
"I'll do that." Hit by a sudden flash of inspiration, Rend rummaged in his pouch of stone to pull us a carving of a horse, which he gently placed in her hand. "Here, this is for you."
"Oooh, thanks. It feels pretty. Did you make it?"
"Yes. It's a warhorse, like one I saw during the War. Here's its head," He gently moved her fingers to feel out the head, then down the rest of the horse. " - and the neck, and the legs, and the saddle. There's a Brelish mark on the saddle blanket."
"Could you put your name on it, so I'll remember who made it?" Rend took it back and scratched 'Rend' on the figure's base with the carving pick, then handed it back, putting her fingers over the letters. "There. R-E-N-D, for Rend." Her grateful smile made Rend feel this whole crazy night, from Savage to his fight with Hunter to this very moment, had all been worth it.
"Thanks you."
"You're very welcome. Now you get some rest. You've got quite a long trip ahead of you, and I promise I'll see you again, sometime." His purposeful emphasis made her smile, and she snuggled down into the blankets holding the carving close like a great treasure. Rend smile, tucking the blanket a little more over her, then returned to say farewell to her mother to find the woman holding a red cloak and wide-brimmed red hat with a feather in the hat band. "Oh, did we miss those?"
"No, Rend. I took them out of my things." She held them out to him. "I want you to have them."
"Wha – I – I couldn't accept any payment..."
"This isn't payment. These belonged to Elimaya's father. He died in the War, serving Cyre long before the Day of Mourning. I think he would've liked you, and appreciated your kindness to us, and I'd rather they be worn by someone with such a good heart like you rather than get stuffed in a trunk somewhere." How could Rend refuse, though her saying he had a good heart made him feel repaid enough. With a nod and a smile, he took the cloak – for a human's, it was rather broad and long, meaning they had a similar build – and the hat – there was a tingle of magic there – gratefully.
"Thank you. I'll do my best to honor your gift." She smiled.
"The cloak should fit you nicely – he always had a flair for the dramatic and liked his cloaks to swing out wide behind him when he made snappy turns, which honestly was often, hehe – and as for the hat, well..." She gently patted his cheek. "Most people find Warforged so unapproachable, it just might help smooth things over." The wagon lead called just then, and she stepped back. "Well? Go ahead." Grinning as only a Warforged could, Rend flung the cloak over his shoulders, fastened the neck chain's clasp, and tucked the hat on his head. "Splendid." Feeling a bit gallant, Rend held out his hand, and gently helped her climb into the wagon, then stepped back and gave a playful, courtly bow sweeping the hat before him as he did so and getting a light laugh. He straightened, putting the hat back, to see her smiling. "Somehow, I knew they'd suit you. Thank you, Rend, for everything."
"And thank you, for your gift, and Elimaya's." The wagon jerked, and began rolling away. Elimaya's mother settled in, Shadow taking up a place next to her with a grin back at Rend before facing front to guard against trouble. Suddenly she turned back as if she thought of something, and called back to Rend as they were some distance apart now,
"After Elimaya is well again, we'll be moving to Wroat, where my sister lives!" Rend waved back to her, to show he'd heard and understood her, and watched them roll away.
