HELLO EVERYONE! IT'S NICE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER!
There was a high pitched screech again, and I blacked out. The last thing I heard was Gilan calling out my name.
In the blackness, many things happened to me. I caught brief clips of sound. A couple of times it was Gilan, asking for me to wake up, other times it was Halt grumbling about something. And once, there was nothing. But it took a while before I actually woke up for good. When I did, Gilan was sitting in a chair next to where I was laying. He had his head on his hand and was leaning against the wall. A steady breathing came from him. A small smile curved my lips. But then an odd feeling washed over me. It was magic of some sort. But unlike other magics I had felt or witnessed it was strange. I could sense it, but it was almost as if it were hiding. Then, as soon as it appeared, it vanished. Hmm. That was odd. Then another type of magic pricked its way into my senses. It was light, and a small gust blew a strand of hair into my face. Air magic of some sort then. Then, it vanished as well. But soon after it vanished, it appeared again. This cycle happened a few times before it stopped. It must have been either Halt or Will. But they must have been elementals that were good at concealing their magic. It made sense since they were Rangers. Their job description required that they had to be sneaky. There was a low mumble to my right.
"Ally?" The voice said. It was Gilan. He moved a bit, but continued to sleep. I chuckled a bit in my head. I moved a bit, being careful not to wake Gilan. I got up, and when I did, I found that I had no weapons on me, and my feet were cold. I quickly realized why. My boots were in the corner of the room along with my cloak. I was in simple black pants and a grey tank top. I shrugged then walked out of the room. I gazed around the small cabin again and surveyed everything in it. Which was honestly not much. Plain wooden furniture, a rug, a fireplace where a small fire crackled, and I could see a kitchen around the corner. I walked over to the kitchen. I didn't know where Halt or Will were, and Gilan was asleep. When I looked out the window, the sun was about halfway to its peak. Might as well make some food since I was here. I grabbed a variety to things from around the kitchen to whip up some food. The first thing I did was put some logs in the stove and flick some elemental fire at the wood. It instantly caught and the fire flared up. I closed the door with the logs in it, and then put a couple pans on the top of the stove to heat them up. from the shelves and cabinets, I had grabbed something akin to bacon, which I threw in one of the pans. In another bowl while the bacon sizzled, I mixed some flour, salt, a tiny bit of sugar, baking powder, butter and some creamy milk. I stirred it up until I had a semi- fluffy mixture. I then grabbed another pan and put the mix in small circle shapes on the pan. I then stuck it in the oven as well. By then, the bacon had cooked to a nice crisp, so I took it out and set it on the side. In the other pot, the water I had stuck in had begun to boil, so I poured some already ground up coffee beans in it, and the smell wafted around me in a warm cloud. I mixed it for a while, then when beans had dissolved a bit, I added the tiniest pinch of some hazelnut I had found into the mix. I then let it stew for a few more minutes. As it did that, i turned back to the biscuits in the oven. They had fluffed up and turned a light golden color, so I took them out as well.
"That smells delicious." I turned for a split second between moving pots and got a glimpse of Gilan standing in the doorway. I smiled at him.
"Good. So since your here, you can help clean the plates." He groaned.
"Do I have to?" He mockingly whined as he shuffled over to me.
"Yes. If you don't you get no coffee." His eyes widened at that and he began moving at a faster pace. We worked for a little longer until I had all the biscuits arranged on a plate with the bacon on another. The coffee I poured into a different pot and I pulled a jar of honey from the shelf. Gilan grabbed the plate of biscuits and coffee while I carried the bacon and honey to the table. He reached for a flaky biscuit, but I smacked his hand away. He followed me back to the kitchen and we grabbed some coffee cups a jug of milk. We set them on the table, and not long after, Halt and Will walked in the door. Both of their hair had been ruffled, as if by a strong wind, and their clothes were crumpled a bit as well in certain places. They both took a seat at the table, then we began to eat. Will went to grab the milk jug, but I grabbed it first. I reached inside me for my magic and a light blueish-silver flickered in my palm. I ran my hand along the jug until it had a thin sheet of ice in it. I handed the jug back to Will and he poured himself a glass. I reached for one of the biscuits myself and broke it open. Some steam puffed out of it, but it retained its light fluffiness. The many layers folded around each other and I took a bite and let the warmth roll over my tongue. The others had already helped themselves, and the three already had mugs of coffee steaming by their hands. The lid on the jar of honey was crooked, so I knew that they had already dolloped plenty of honey into their coffee. I could definitely smell it. The aroma was comforting.
"That was delicious Ally. Where did you learn to cook?" Gilan asked. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Just a skill I picked up along the way. And its an excuse to be near knives." I tried to say the last part with a straight face, but at the three's reactions, I couldn't. I started laughing and soon Gilan and Will joined in. Halt of course didn't, but I saw his lips twitch up into a slight smile.
"But seriously." Will said. "Where did you learn?"
"I actually was taught by someone here in Redmont. Her name is Jenny. She's a fantastic cook. She owns her own restaurant now I think." Will looked shocked.
"What?" I asked him.
"N...Nothing, but I know Jenny. We were ward mates together."
"Well then we should go visit her. Tonight. I could use one of her pies. They are to die for."
"Ally." Gilan said. "Do you think that's a good idea? With you being an assassin and all.."
"Gilan, you forget. I am no longer an assassin. Now, I just happen to have a specific skill set that I use to acquire specific information regarding certain individuals. And even when I was an assassin, I only came to Redmont once. The job was botched anyway so non one saw me. Well..except you and Halt. Anyway. No one would recognize me anyway. Plus..." I stopped talking due to the fact that a sudden splitting headache intruded my mind. I heard the high-pitched shriek again. Then it was gone.
"Ally? You all right?" I rubbed my forehead in thought. "Is it about what happened a couple days ago?" I nodded.
"What is it?" Halt suddenly asked. i sighed.
"It's Morgarath. He's coming for me. Or us. I'm not sure. But he's not going to stop until I'm dead. When I passed out, he was in my head. He was saying he would stop at nothing until he found me, and that..."
"That what?"
"That he was sending his minions of the night after me." The three of them looked at me, confused. Halt got a look of knowing on his face, then began rubbing his forehead.
"What is it Halt?" will asked.
"It's them, Halt. You know of what I speak. The mysterious deaths, they haven't been accidents." He nodded.
"What are they?" Will asked again. i sighed again.
"Will. there are rumors that in the Mountains of Rain and Night where Morgarath has his lair that there are creatures that live in the mountains. Most are secluded and unseen. But there are a few unsavory ones who can be quite a pain when summoned. The things that are coming...Well, they haven't been seen or heard from in hundreds of years."
"What are they, Ally? What's hunting you." Gilan asked, concern lacing his voice.
"The Kalkara. That's what's coming."
WELL, I SAY THAT WAS A SUCCESSFUL CHAPTER. DID I MAKE YOU HUNGRY?:) ANYWHO, I HAVE A FEW SHOUTOUTS TO SOME OF MY LOYAL READERS!
ME: FIRST OFF IS..
I: SILENCE!
MYSELF:...
I: ..IS SCBASTV! i thank you for your continued support through out this story!
MYSELF: AND WE ALSO WANT TO THANK AERODYNAMIC157! GLAD YOU LIKED IT! When or if they meet Jenny, nothing will happen, but later on you will find out the answers to all your fabulous questions...hehehehr.
KASMN: THANKS TO YOU ALL!