III

The trip was tiring after spending so long in the confines of Oakenbough, but she would have it no other way.

Their journey had started very early in the morning, but Valtaya was used to seeing the sun rise. Together with the other members of Druce's small team, the druid had met beneath the leaves of the King's Manse, dressed like the others in soft, tough hunting leathers under a light, durable cloak enchanted to help hide her from sight. While most of the others carried an assortment of weapons, and even Druce carried a staff for walking and a heavy sickle and shield for fighting, Valtaya carried only her staff, a stout oaken cudgel roughly her height, but she was certain that her spells would be of far more use than any weapon. Valtaya's equipment consisted largely of bandages and healing salve or an assortment of acorns and seeds to help revive the burned forest. Lord Caradoc himself had seen the group off with a teleportation spell, though he made little attempt to hide his displeasure at sending Valtaya along with the others, and within moments they had gone from Oakenbough to a tiny village named Ceallai, over a hundred miles to the northwest. From there they had set out through the dense forest, and with each passing mile the forest grew wilder. Where the elves of Argent had made the eastern reaches of their nation slightly more passable, creating the occasional road and several trails, western Argent saw no sign of elven life. The few elven bands that did travel the area were nomadic and even less obtrusive than their cousins in Oakenbough, and Valtaya had difficulty picking up the signs of their presence as they journeyed back to the place that she had once called home with her mother.

The other members of her band were no strangers to the wilds, either. Although Druce was the appointed leader of the group, Fife, a tough looking, soft spoken ranger with a thick braid of long black hair and piercing, emerald green eyes, seemed to take charge once they had left Ceallai. Dressed in well worn leather and carrying a magnificent ash long bow, he moved silently through the forest and at times seemed to disappear even from Valtaya's sight as he led the others northwest. Although Valtaya thought Druce might take offense to Fife's assumption of leadership, somehow the two had seemed to work out the matter of command without a single word spoken to each other about the matter.

The other two rangers were apparently Fife's subordinates or close friends. The more striking of the two was Keridwyn, a young woman with flowing, silvery blond hair and almond colored eyes. Only slightly shorter than Druce and the comparably sized Fife, Keridwyn was tall for an elven woman, but still a strikingly attractive elf in her own right and almost as stealthy as Fife. Dolan, the other ranger, was the youngest of the three, with a charming smile and the same jet colored hair and green eyes that Fife displayed. Although they shared a resemblance, Dolan laughingly dismissed Valtaya's inquiry of whether they were brothers.

Lord Caradoc's protégé, Hefydd, rounded out the group. Although he was more urbane than his companions, Hefydd was still as capable in woodlore as any elf, and what knowledge he lacked the rest of his group provided. Hefydd was the quietest of the group, keeping more to himself or studying his arcane tomes when they stopped to rest. Although Hefydd was polite and even a bit engaging when he did enter into the conversations, he seemed far more content to read than to socialize. His slight frame and build, standing only a hair over the petite Valtaya, bore testimony to a life of reading and researching rather than enjoying the wilds of Argent. The thought of a life cooped up inside libraries and laboratories made Valtaya silently thank the Mother for providing her with an opportunity to become a druid.

For three days Fife led the group steadily northwest, and for those days it seemed to be far less a dangerous mission than a tour of the northwestern reaches. On the second day they had even met a small band of nomadic elves, but they knew very little about the fires, much less anything sinister in nature connected to them. Even with Hefydd's inexperience slowing them, the six investigators made remarkable progress through the forest, easily leaving Ceallai behind and rapidly covering the distance between them and the fire. Valtaya took those two days to take in the scenery that she had left behind a half century ago, relishing every breath of the fresh air and every sip of crystal clear waters from streams that were directly fed by the Khairathi Mountains rising up in the distant west. For two days, Valtaya easily forgot the mission ahead of her, and simply enjoyed being back in the northwest.

On their third night, however, she discovered that the others, most notably Druce and Fife, had not forgotten their purpose.

The sun had been down for several hours, but the elves had only just finished their journey for the day. Making camp consisted of little more than picking out several sturdy, large branches and crooks in the largest oaks of the area, and within minutes Keridwyn, Hefydd, and Dolan had gone into their trance. With only a few hours of rest necessary for them, Valtaya was confident that they would be on the move again before dawn, just as they had done the previous mornings. But as Valtaya nestled into the upper branches of her resting place, she looked down to see Fife and Druce once more on the ground. While he did not have an arrow nocked, Fife held the arrow loosely in his hand as he considered something in the darkness. Elven vision, so keen even in the dark, could easily pick out foes in the dead of night, many times before the elves' enemies were even aware of their presence. Carefully Valtaya slipped back down through the tree, careful not to make any noise. A sudden knot formed in her stomach as Valtaya wondered if Fife had spotted a band of marauding goblins, or if perhaps the orcs that Teirtu suspected had started the fire were even now creeping up on them. Quickly the forest that she loved so much became more intimidating, and suddenly Valtaya wished she had something more than just her staff to protect herself. After a quick, nervous scan of the trees around her, Valtaya turned back to the two elves on the ground, ready to ask if she should awake the other half the group before whatever it was that Fife had seen decided to attack.

She had only just opened her mouth to speak when Fife shrugged and tucked his arrow back into his quiver. Druce said something inaudible to the ranger, but the druid seemed largely unconcerned with whatever had caught the ranger's attention. Finally, Fife and Druce started back to the tree, ready to rest for the night. Valtaya turned to climb back up, only to find Keridwyn down next to her.

"Did they see something?" the druid asked, glancing back down to the two group leaders.

"They aren't sure," Keridwyn answered, shrugging. "I'm surprised you didn't notice it. For almost two days the rest of us have been a bit more on edge. Well, except for Hefydd, of course."

"Two days?" Valtaya answered, shocked by the reply. Keridwyn nodded.

"I guess living in Oakenbough has dulled your senses a little," the ranger teased, making light of the situation. Valtaya forced out a smile of her own, but the druid suddenly felt very nervous. The rest of the group had picked up on a feeling of imminent danger, but if she had been in the wilds alone she never would have known there was something lurking through the darkness until it was too late. Keridwyn seemed to notice her apprehension, and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, milady," the ranger said. "Honestly, if I didn't know Fife so well I wouldn't have known either."

"Well, what do they think it is?" Valtaya asked. Keridwyn shrugged again, but this time there was a faint note of concern to the ranger's movements and voice.

"They don't know, but we'll find it soon enough," Keridwyn assured her. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we should be close to the fire."

"All right," Valtaya said. "Good night."

"Good night," Keridwyn said, pulling her cloak around herself again and drifting back into her trance. Valtaya made her way back up to the top of the oak, but as she drifted off into her trance she could entirely force the images of a demonic group of orcs lurking in the forest from her mind.

"Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, perfectly fine," Valtaya replied quickly, replacing her blanket in her pack and finishing her light breakfast. Although the sun would not be up for another hour, the sky had already turned a pastel blue, and enough light had crept over the eastern horizon to see the forest clearly. No orcs had visited during the night and nothing had attacked the band, but now Valtaya was aware of the faint note of concern from Druce and the others. Fife seemed to constantly watch the trees around them, while Keridwyn and Dolan always kept one hand near their quivers. Even Hefydd was starting to pick up on his companions' edgy behavior, and now kept one hand on the tip of the wand tucked into his belt. For his part, Druce smiled faintly at the newly anxious Valtaya as he finished the last bit of his honey bread.

"I warned you before we started," the druid said, though he was not admonishing his student. Then he patted her on the shoulder. "But do not worry yourself to death," he continued. "You are with good people. Fife is as good a ranger as I have seen, and the others are able to take care of themselves as well. Should it come to battle, simply remember what you have learned about fighting and healing. Fight when you must, and heal when you can."

"I will," Valtaya promised. Druce nodded with a smile.

"I know you will," he agreed. "Are you ready for another day of walking?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Valtaya said, forcing some good humor into her voice.

"Excellent," Druce said. He turned to Fife. "We're ready when you are."

"Good," Fife said, shouldering his bow and turning northeast. "Keridwyn, watch our backs."

"Already on it," Keridwyn said, moving to the rear of the small group.

"Dolan, watch our flanks," Fife instructed the other ranger.

"Consider them watched," Dolan said with a bit of a smirk. With a final inspection of his fellow elves, Fife nodded and started again through the forest.

The morning came and went without any incident, but now Valtaya watched the trees for signs of an enemy rather than for the beauty of the surroundings. The group moved swiftly and silently, again covering ground with speed that only elves could muster, until by midday a shift in the wind brought them a faint odor of woodsmoke. Fife brought the group to a halt as he caught the scent, kneeling at the group's lead and peering into the thick underbrush. Finally, the ranger dropped back along the line slightly to Druce.

"We're close now," Fife said. Druce nodded, his eyes on the forest ahead of them. "How close do you want to be before calling in a storm?"

"I want to see the fire itself first," Druce said. "If it is already dying down, as it should be with how verdant the plants are here, we may not need a storm. And I would rather not announce our presence until we know who or what has caused this fire."

"Fair enough," Fife said with a nod. "I'll angle us more to the west. If orcs or goblins are causing the fire, they're bound to be in its wake."

"A good plan," Druce said. Fife nodded once more, then got the group moving again. Valtaya moved up next to Druce as the older druid leaned on his staff.

"How much longer?" the younger druid asked. Druce simply shrugged.

"It could be another hour," her teacher said. "It could be the rest of the day, or maybe even tomorrow. It depends on how quickly we travel, and how quickly and in what direction the fire spreads."

"And your storms will be able to stop it, right?" Valtaya asked, watching Fife disappear ahead of them.

"I certainly hope so," Druce replied, a touch of humor to his voice. "Otherwise, King Setanta might not let me be Caretaker any more."

"He'd be a fool to get rid of you," Valtaya said, trying to take the joke for what it was.

"Come now, let's be moving," Druce said. "Fife won't like it if we're just standing around here the rest of the day."

Valtaya fell into place behind her mentor, and again the six elves moved through the undergrowth. The forest remained unbroken and pristine, with the sole exception of the smoke, for the rest of the day, until finally, as the sun dropped below the Khairathi peaks, the odor of smoke began to intensify. A pall, faintly visible but present nonetheless, began to shroud the trees around them, thickening as they continued west. At last, with darkness approaching and the smoke thickening enough to reduce their visibility to a matter of yards, Fife called the group to a halt again. Against the darkness, Valtaya could see a dull, angry orange glow penetrating the veil of smoke. Fife beckoned Druce to the front of the group, and Valtaya unconsciously fell into step behind her mentor. As the two of them reached the ranger, Fife tipped his bow to a heartrending view only a hundred yards ahead of him.

"We're here," the ranger said simply.