Thank you for the reviews; Truegold-Dragonstar, yes it would seem that everyone had died, but it will get better later on. Trust me on this. I don't have a spell check on my computer for some reason. I am working on it. Sometimes I just get going, and I miss typos.
Pinewoodpine, thank you. I am glad you like the story. I will have more in this chapter. Back to the story's preasent time in this one. We shall now fallow the adult Blazewind on to her next anventure.
P.S. readers, I have never done any writing that takes place in the middle ages before. Normaly I write sience fiction. I will try my best to keep things old fashioned.
Chapter Three. Danger and rescue.
Blazewind waited out the rain for a day, and another night before cheaking out of the inn. She arrived downstairs in the small lobby, and set her traveling gear on the floor.
"Cheaking out today, I see," said the innkeeper, who looked up from behind the old wooden desk.
"Yes," Blazewind replied, dropping a few silver coins into his hand.
"Carefull on those roads out there. Very muddy. You walking or riding?"
"Walking. I like to walk. I like to enjoy the journey, and going at my own pace."
"Well watch out, and stay on the roads. There are said to be some dangerous creatures out there this time of year. I heard a rumor last night about a..." He walked away to answer to someone calling his name from a back storeroom. blazewind, deciding to not wait for him to return, simply picked up her gear and walked out onto the muddy road.
For a while she wandered along the side of the muddy road, dodging puddles when she had to. Soon, she started jumping over the puddles playfully, splashing little bits of mud around her feet whenever she landed. She was very much enjoying the chance to play and be young, but soon, she tired of her game. She walked along on the loney road playing her wooden panflute. Blazewind was living what she believed to be a great life. The road was her only true companion, and the only friend she truely wanted in her life. She hummed a song out loud as she strolled along. Music was in her head it seemed almost every waking second of each day. Her mind and body were forever full of song, and she would often dance to the silient music that only she could hear. Blazewind had reached of true adulthood several years ago, but still, she refused to fully grow up. She was still happy being young while she could. The young bard grew tired of the muddy road, which seemed to go nowhere, and decided to cut a path across the forest. She knew that there had to be a sheltered space somewhere among a grove of trees, where she would be able to sit and rest, out of the mud. She finally came to a place like one she had been looking for, and she sat against an oak tree to eat some rolls that she carried in her bag. She did not quite hear the low growl that came from deeper in the woods.
The animal had nearly reached her by the time she saw it, and she threw her head head, and leaped to her feet in shock. She inched backward slowly hoping the ravanous black wolf had not seen her. She very quickly knew though that if that one had not, then the other one, walking straight for her, surely had. It licked it's lips and snarled a challange at a third wolf, who was creeping up behind her, snapping it's teeth. Blazewind screamed and tried to climb up into the tree behind her, as one of the animals siezed the back of her pants in it's teeth. She made a grab for her sowrd, and swung it wildly at the beasts trying to frighten them away. The animal in the front of the group backed away a little, but the other two would not give up that easilly. They began to advance on her, and she began to yell loudly, hoping to intimadate them. It had amost no effect. The leading wolf caught her by her clothing again, and she fell from the tree. Her baggage, and weapon went flying across the ground, and her head stuck the trunk of a nearby tree. She felt the bone in her leg snap as her body came to rest in the dirt. She fell unconcious from the bump on the head. She knew then that her life would soon be over.
"Oh my," a distant sounding female voice said. "Everyone come here. There is someone over here."
"Huh?" said a male voice, fallowed by the sound of running footsteps, crunching over drying leaves. "Geez... she looks badly hurt."
"Ya know..." said another male, "I would guess that those wolves got her. Remember the ones we saw on the way in here?"
"Those wolves would've got us too, if Ravahana hadn't been able to chase them away with her fireballs."
"Of al the close calls we had had on this adventure..."
"Hey," said the female, "can one of you strong man help me turn her over? I am not strong enough to do it right, and I don't want to hurt her trying."
"You are just to tiny for this kind of work Rava," said one of the men, as he pushed Blazewind onto her back. "Is she awake?"
"I don't know," said the woman. "I think... somewhat."
Blazewind slowly managed to open her eyes and look around, as her blurred vision slowly cleared. She saw that three people, two men, and a woman kneeled beside her on the ground. The woman was a very small halfling, and wore a very small set of light armor over her blue dress. She held a wooden staff in one hand, and now was using it to balance herself as she kneeled, with her weight on the backs of her feet. The two men were both human, and both dressed in simple mens clothing. One wore what looked like some kind of fighting armor, and the other was dressed in dark colored travelers clothes.
The small woman, who seemed to be a mage, and must have been the one thowing fireballs at the wolves, held a water container out to Blazewind, who carefull took it, spilling some water before managing to drink some.
"Where is Belfire," the halfling mage asked looking over her shoulder.
"Don't know," said the man in fighter's armor, "He seems to be wandering in the woods again. I don't know why a cleric would want to spend so much time in nature, but he does."
"Belfire!" the mage called into the trees. "We need your help, quickly."
Blazewind, now quite wide awake, looked at the group nerviously. She rubbed her aching head with one hand, and tried to sit herself up. She screamed in pain as she realized that her leg was broken, and fell back to the ground helplessly.
"Don't move," the mage said, placing a small hand on Blazewind's cheast. "You seem to be very injured."
"What? Where are... huh?" Blazewind muttered, in confusion. She stopped speaking, finding it to be too great an effort. She would just have to trust these people. She knew she was not going anywhere under her own power anytime soon. She felt that she was growing tired again,at the same time as she heard another set of feetsteps running through the trees. She forced herself to remain awake as a young, blond haired man kneeled beside her.
"She is in trouble alright," he told the mage. "It's looks as though something tried to attack her. She might have fallen form that tree behind her."
"Can you heal her?" the mage asked.
"I think I can," the young man replied. "She looks pretty frightened though. I think she is very confused."
Blazewind wanted to sleep, yet she knew she should not let herelf. She did not know who these people were, and if she could trust them. Her head was however aching worse then it ever had, and the bright sunlight above her seemed to make it ten times worse.
"My head... hurts... " she muttered. She put both hands on her head, and the young man took them, and placed them at her sides.
"Please, trust me," he said. Blazewind, suddenly unable to remain awake, dozed back off to sleep.
She felt strangely better, when she opened her eyes, and looked around again. She looked over and saw that the blond haired cleric sitting on the grass next to her. She looked at her intently and now began to take more notice of his appearance. He was dressed in simple loose fitting clothing, and had taken off his footwear, and sat barefoot on the ground. His blond hair was long, and tied back neatly. She then noticed his elf ears for the first time. She was embarrased at having not noticed before that the cleric was an elf.
"Glad to see that you are finaly awake," he said, speaking common.
"Thank you for saving my life," Blazewind blurted, looking at his blue eyes.
"Think nothing of it, my lady," the young man said. "As a cleric, I am sworn to help all of those in need. Do you feel any better?"
"Yes. I think I do," Blazewind answered. She noted a slight in her head, but also knew that she felt nearly normal. She was aware of the fact that the sun was just barely up, over the trees. "How long did I sleep?"
"Almost fifteen hours," the cleric told her. "I think you must be well rested by now." He pulled some rolls and cheese, as well as a water jug, and offered them to her. "Hungry?"
Blazewind nodded, taking some food. "What are you and your party doing way out here?" she asked, sitting herself up against a tree.
"Going home," the cleric answered, nibbling on a roll. "We have traveled together for the last year, seing the world, seeking adventure. We are all homsick and lonely for the lands we call home, and are returning to them soon. We shall travel together to the town of lanorewood and then we shall all part ways. It will sure be good to be home again. Say, my lady... what is your name anyway?"
"Blazewind," the bard told him, and the young elf cleric held out a hand to her.
"Belfire Merryweather," he said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Blazewind." He gestured toward the rest of his party, who were sitting feather in the woods, talking to one another.
"These are my party," he said. "The little woman is Ravahana, our mage. The fighter is Davros, and the rouge is Kevril."
Blazewind muttered a hello to the group as they came to join them on the grass, by the tree.
"Are you going to come with us?" Ravahana asked, as the party left camp the next morning. "It would do no good at all to leave you alone in the forest. Those wolves could return at any time."
"Without her here to throw more fireballs, they could get you for sure, if they did come back," Davros said. "We would all feel better if you came along."
"It would give me a chance to perform for people," Blazewind answered, after a moments consideration. "The thought of being here if those creatures came back is positively frightfull" She joined the group for a quick breakfast, before they headed back out on the road. Ravahana, who could not have waighed more than fifty pounds, rode with Davros, on his horse, and Blazewind rode the one that she had been riding. She was not a very good rider at first, having only ever riden in front of, and later, behind Jamis. Soon though, she got the hang of it, and could keep up with the party of adventurers well enough to avoid slowing them down. Many times during the three day trip to the town of Lanorewood, Belfire would let his horse fall back to ride beside Blazewind, who fallowed nicely behind the others. She caught him several times looking at her shyly, when he must have thought she had not seen him.
"What is your name?" he asked her on the second day of travel. They trotted along at a slow pace, down the dusty road.
"Blazewind," she replied, looking at him like he was quite insane. She had told him her name in the woods, and he had been using it for days.
"I meant your real name," Belfire answered. "I am quite sure that no self respecting human couple would name their child Blazewind."
"My parents called me Abagail," Blazewind answered, surprised at how stangeit felt to say that long forgotten name aloud after eleven years. "But that life is long gone now, and I want it to stay that way."
"Was your old life really so bad?" Belfire asked, giuding his horse around a sharp bend in the road.
"Not bad," Blazewind answered. "Just not who I was. I was never that girl that I had to be then."
"Hmmm," said Befire. "I supose I can understand that. Not all of us can be what the world expects of us."
"No, we can't," Blazewind said. "So, who are you really? Someone like you must have a wife and perhaps a child or two waiting for you back home."
"Actually, not so. I have still not found the woman that will make my heart stop beating whenever I see her. I will not marry until it can be to that one woman. I don't think we should have to settle for second best in our lives."
"I must agree with that."
"So," Belfire asked suddenly, after a long pause, and a bit of silance, "you ever been in love?"
"Only once," Blazewind answered. "He did not ever love me back though, and one day he got someone very special to me killed with his selfish foolishness." She stared at the path ahead, and muttered, "the road is my only true companion now."
"That sounds," Belfire began... "very sad."
"It is not as sad as you would think," answered Blazewind. "It is a bard's life. And my life is the one I want."
"Look up ahead," called Kevril, to the back of the line. He pointed with his finger. "The lovely town of Lanorewood."