Chapter 2:
Time flew by, and before I knew it, I'd been here for four months. During that time, Ifan and Beast- the dwarf from the shipwreck- kept an eye on me, because Griff was growing more and more out of hand. He'd begun threatening me whenever I healed someone that he or his people had hurt. That didn't stop me, and I was grateful for the two men watching over me.
Today, I was picking a yarrow flower, when one of the children ran up to me. My eyes widened at his words, and I rushed to where Griff stayed, in the center of Fort Joy. Just as the child had said, there was an elf in the cage opposite the cooking pot. And he was injured.
I moved toward him, but Griff shouted that I wasn't to go near him. That it was punishment for stealing from him.
I knew the elves here- a few of them from Driftwood, before we'd all been taken- and they would never steal from him.
Determined to do something- anything- to help the elf, I went the leftmost part of the island, and tapped into the magic that let me grow herbs from nothing. Hoping it would point me in the right direction to the oranges Griff had said were stolen. I doubted it was just oranges, but I did feel a slight pull toward the south of the camp. The direction the cave the elves were in.
But I didn't believe for a second that they had been the ones behind it. There had to be some other explanation.
The sensation guided me to where the Dreamer had set up his camp, and I spotted a crate off to the side of it. He was deep asleep, it looked like, so I carefully went up to it and lifted the lid. It wasn't nailed shut, the way it should've been. Inside were indeed oranges, but they were full of drudanae. That's what Griff was upset about.
"You've done a lot of good since you arrived, but you need to leave this be."
I flinched at the voice behind me, the anger in it, and slowly turned to see the Dreamer looming over me.
"I-"
"Leave."
"Please. Griff is blaming the elves. I won't tell him where I found them. Promitto. I promise." I begged.
He took a step toward me, a threatening aura coming from him. An arm was thrust between us, and I looked over to see Ifan standing protectively beside me.
"Back off." He growled out.
I put a hand on his arm, putting just enough pressure to lower it. "Please." I refocused on the lizard. "He doesn't deserve to be held in a cage, at Griff's mercy. You know how he can be. Please."
The Dreamer regarded me for a few minutes in silence. "You won't tell him I had them?"
"I promise." Hand over my heart.
"Fine. Take them."
"Thank you." I breathed out a sigh of relief, turning back to the crate.
The question was: how do I move it?
Which was answered when Ifan picked it up, motioning with his chin for me to walk with him. We took it back to Griff together.
"Where'd you find it?" He asked, after looking through to make sure it was what he'd been missing.
"Non dico. I won't say."
He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and jerked me close, his face inches from mine. "Excuse me?"
"I said I won't say."
His eyes narrowed, staring me down, but I wasn't about to let him bully me. I was going to stand my ground about this. I'd made a promise, and I wasn't going to break it.
"Fine." He pushed me away, and I lost my footing.
Thankfully, Ifan was still here, and he caught me before I could fall. I could feel how angry he was- it radiated from him.
"I got it back, and that's what matters. Here." Griff tossed a key my way, and I fumbled for a few seconds before catching it.
I rushed to the cage, letting the elf go, before healing him. He thanked me, before making his way toward the cave.
The Lone Wolf and I left the camp proper, heading to the beach. Once there, I turned and smiled at him.
"Thank you, for back there. I appreciate the help. I hadn't expected the Dreamer to be so upset." I chewed my thumbnail. "Looking back, I should have. I know they like their drudanae. I'm happy he let it go, without a fight."
He shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "You're too good, sometimes."
I blinked at him, tilting my head. "What makes you say that?"
"They both almost hurt you." The smile turned into a deep frown, that anger from earlier in his eyes.
"I know." I said softly, reaching out and touching his arm. "I'm grateful that you were there."
He visibly relaxed, a sigh leaving him. "Of course."
A week later, I was walking past the gate between us and the magisters, when one of them grabbed me by the hair and dragged me after him. Taking me through the gate and into the mansion.
Once inside, he let my hair go in favor of grabbing my arm, another magister coming up and taking my other one. Together, they forced me into a large room with two staircases leading down into a depression. Where an elf stood, in the center. She looked over her shoulder at us, a sad look on her face.
The magister standing at the opposite end of the room said some words, quoting the book in front of him, calling out a prayer to the dead Divine. Before my eyes, I watched as a cloud of blue obscured the elf. The next moment, it was gone, and she... wasn't the same. I was horrified to see the transformation she'd undergone- her eyes were dull and lifeless, her skin gray. There was a mark on her forehead, and I could have sworn I saw something move underneath it. Her mouth was sewn shut, whereas it hadn't been before the spell.
I shuddered as she walked silently past us. As the door shut behind her, the two magisters holding me dragged me down one set of steps. I struggled against them, but it was no use- I wasn't physically strong enough to go against them. They didn't leave me, even after reaching the space the elf had stood. No doubt, they knew I was a flight risk. Given the chance, I would flee as quickly as I could.
The third magister began speaking again, the words repeated from earlier. I pulled more desperately against the men, tears filling my eyes. I didn't know what to do...
A clamor came from behind us and, as the gathered magisters readied their weapons, the doors to the room burst open. Ifan stood front and center, looking almost feral. Beast and Lohse close behind. Sebille, Fane, and the Red Prince fanning out behind them.
Immediately, a fight ensued. In the midst of it, while I was trying to figure out how to get out of the way, I saw one of the archers aiming at Sebille, who was focused on two magisters before her. A quick prayer left my lips, and I felt compelled to thrust my hands up, as if guiding something to rise.
A wall of rocks rose from the cobblestone flooring, blocking the arrow easily.
The fight was over quickly after that and, while the others searched the adjacent room to make sure it was clear, Ifan rushed to me, looking me over.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, anxiety radiating from him.
"Thanks to you all, I'm alright."
His hands grasped mine, squeezing them lightly, and I suddenly realized how terribly I was shaking.
"What are you doing here, though?" I gave him a questioning look while I tried to will myself to still.
"We'd talked about escaping for the last week. I was going to find you, when one of the children ran to me, saying the magisters had taken you inside." His jaw hardened, eyes angry. "We moved our plans up."
"I'm sorry." My eyes fell to the floor. "If it hadn't been for me, you'd have more time to plan it."
"What's done is done." Sebille's voice interrupted our conversation.
The others were standing at the doors again.
"We have to leave, before more show up." Lohse said, looking around uneasily.
"Right." One of his hands let go, but the other held on, pulling me along with him as he moved toward them.
Together, the lot of us managed to leave the mansion unharmed. At the end of the path, before entering the swamp, stood a man. Someone who Sebille and Ifan had to speak with one on one. He came away with a different crossbow, and I tilted my head, curious. He raised an eyebrow at me, before grinning and holstering the weapon on his back. If I wanted to know, I could ask- that's what the smile told me. I pushed it aside- there would be time later for it.
For now, we were trying to put as much distance between us and the fort as we could.
Several hours later, I was sitting, watching Lohse try to light the sticks for a fire. She didn't know fire magic, and the Red Prince- who she assumed would know- was standing guard a ways off, keeping an eye out for anything that might attack us.
Cupping my hands, I murmured a soft prayer- a plea for help. I wanted to be of some use- everyone else had specialties and, unless someone was injured, I was useless.
Startling me, a small puff of smoke rose from my hands, before a green flame danced in its place.
"Here." I said, approaching the mage and lowering my hands to the pyramid of sticks.
The fire leapt harmlessly from me to the wood, sparking immediately. The fire, still green, grew to consume the entire pile. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face at the sight.
"I thought you couldn't do fire magic." She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't know I could." I responded softly. "I've never done fire magic before. The earth wall was new to me, as well."
"Huh. You're full of surprises, aren't you?" Shrugging, she went and sat on her bedroll.
"How are you doin', lass?" Beast asked as he moved to stand beside me.
I smiled up at him. "I'm okay. I appreciate the concern, though. How are you?"
He chuckled, stroking his beard. "Happy to be outta there. And glad we got to you in time."
"Having a healer with us will prove useful, I'm sure." Sebille's voice had me looking across the fire, seeing her sit opposite me.
She gave me a nod, which I returned.
I woke up to a quiet whispering in my ear. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up and looked around, wondering where it was coming from.
Ifan, the one on watch, looked over at me, murmuring. "Can't sleep?"
I shook my head. "I... It sounds like someone's whispering." I frowned, getting to my feet. "From over there." I pointed out into the darkness.
He was instantly on alert, crossbow at the ready, eyes staring in the direction I'd pointed.
After a few minutes, the sound grew louder.
"It's coming closer." I whispered, fear shooting through me.
"Wake the others." An order.
Rushing about as quietly as I could, I shook them awake one by one, a finger against their lips to warn them about making noise.
A hissing soon rose from the darkness and, after another few minutes, a voidwoken crawled into the firelight. Quickly followed by several more.
Everyone jumped into the fray, the whispers now a raucous roar in my ears. It was the first time I'd seen a live voidwoken, and I wondered if this was normal, while I cowered by the fire, hands covering my ears.
The moment the last one fell, silence replaced the noise, and I felt myself relax. A hand on my arm made me jump, and I looked up with wide eyes at the Lone Wolf.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Everyone else?"
"Lohse was bit-"
I was up on my feet before he could finish, making my way to her, a quiet prayer flitting through my head as I healed her.
"How's that?" I asked, concerned.
"Right as rain." She grinned, giving me a thumbs up.
"I'm glad."
"Good thing we had you on watch." Beast said, addressing Ifan.
Who shook his head, looking toward me. "She warned me."
Everyone's eyes were on me, now.
I backed up a few steps. "I... I heard whispers. They woke me up. The closer the voidwoken came, the louder the voices got."
Sebille's eyes observed me keenly. "That explains why you were covering your ears."
"You..." I swallowed hard. "None of you heard them?"
They all shook their heads.
My eyes fell to the fire, confused.
A soft hum left the dwarf, deep in thought. "Maybe it's because you're a healer?"
"That makes sense." Lohse agreed. "Considering voidwoken are thought of as the opposite of life."
It made sense, if that really was the case.
"You are proving more and more useful." The elf said quietly.
"I'm glad. I was worried I would be weighing you all down." I murmured honestly, slowly raising my eyes to them all.
Ifan looked tense- and angry. The others were all regarding me with interest.
"Now that that has been handled, I am going back to sleep." The Red Prince sniffed, leaving our little gathering to return to his bedroll.
Everyone else moved away, too, save me and Ifan. He looked like he had something to say but kept his mouth shut.
"Are you alright?" I asked softly, reaching out to touch his arm.
He caught my hand midway, holding it tightly- almost painfully so. "You're not a burden."
I blinked. Oh. He was upset that I thought that about myself.
A sweet smile pulled up the corners of my mouth, and I covered his hand with mine. "Thank you."
His eyes moved to me, widening, before he nodded. "Get some sleep."
"I wish I could, but I'm too wired to sleep." A sigh.
"Wired?"
"Ah. Um. Energized. Sorry. It's a word from back home."
"Where is 'home', anyway? You've mentioned it before, but you've never said where you're from."
It was my turn to stare wide-eyed at him, now. "Ah. I..."
He looked away, sighing. "Nevermind. You don't have to tell me."
"I want to tell you." I rushed to assure him, squeezing his hand, earning his gaze back. "But, at the same time, I don't want you to think I'm... crazy, for lack of a better word. It's... hard to believe. And it's my life."
It looked like he was mulling it over. Before long, he nodded.
"Another time, then?"
"Definitely." I promised.