Well, slowly but surely, this story is coming together. I am having a good time writing it, and I am hoping the readers are having a good time reading it to. Pleqase keep reading and reviewing. Now... on with the story.
Chapter four. Conflict in Lanorewood.
"Jamis, have you ever been on a great adventure?"
"I never have, no. You will though one day."
"Me, an adventurer. I don't think I want to."
"You will do great things one day, Blazewind. I know you will."
"Me... great? I just want to play my music."
"Life does what it will to you," Jamis said. "Sometimes, just when you think you have it all figured out, fate comes up with another plan for you. You can't tell fate what to do, or even what you want to do. It will place you on the path it wants you on, and you can never stop it. I think your fate will grant you an adventure one day."
Blazewind let her seated body fall aginst a tree trunk. She knew that Jamis had always believed in fate, but she was never sure if she did. She knew, even at the age of eleven, that she wanted to be in control of her own life. she sure did not want some unseen force giuding her every move, and telling her what to do. She did however admit that it would not be so bad to go on great adventures, with an adventure party.
"I could compose such great songs about that," she muttered to herself, as she looked at her teacher.
The image shifted in her mind, and young Blazewind was now running across the clearing to find Jamis' bloodied body on the grass. She screamed in horror, filling the silent woods with her shreaks of furry, and vengeful rage. She felf as though the tears, which poured from her eyes would never subside, as she ran from the dismantled camp on Annette's orders.
Blazewind sat straight upright on the grass, on which she slept. All around her, it was dark, and she could make out black shapes of the trees, all around her. Still in her confused, half asleep state, she yelled in fear, at feeling surrounded in the dark. She threw off her thin cover, believing for a moment that something had grabbed her.
"I will never let you get away with this," she screamed out loud. "You will not kill me like you killed him!"
"Blazewind," called a male voice, running across the clearing. Belfire came over to her quickly, and put the cover around her shoulders. "What in the world...?"
"Belfire... I am sorry. I... I... had a bad dream. I... I am sorry to have..."
"Don't worry about it," Befire answered. "I was up anyway. Are you alright?"
"Yes. I am fine. I have not had a bad dream in a very long time. I wonder why I did tonight."
"Bad dreams happen somtimes," Belfire anwered. "No one knows why they do, when they do."
"Yes, I suppose. Do you ever have nightmares?"
"Hmmm... that is hard to explain. Elves don't exactly sleep. Not like you do. I have had some pretty frightfull feelings though in my idea of the sleepstate, but I just wake myself up easily and that is the end of that."
"Hmmm," Blazewind replied. "Yes, I do recall that elves don't really sleep. Even Jamis never did, and he was half human. He could never quite understand how me and Annette needed to sleep for eight hours every night. He and the elves we traveled with just sat, or layed quietly for about four hours, then they got up."
"Blazewind," said Belfire suddenly, "... I have been pacing around for a couple of hours now, trying to think of a way to ask you what I wanted to."
"What do you need?" Blazewind asked.
"I was thinking," said Belfire, "since you have no place you need to go, would you like to travel with me for a while longer. You can play for people in the taverns along the way, and neither of us will have to go alone then."
"I don't think I need company on the road," Blazewind answered, looking up at the barely rising sun. Belfire sat looking at the groud, seemingly embarrased... or quite rejected.
"I... I'm sorry," Blazewind said. "I did not mean... It's just that I have traveled alone for so long."
"You won't come with me then?"
"I don't know. It has been nice having people to travel with for the last few days. Perhaps I could get used to... I like to go at my pace though, and stop to perform. I do need to earn a living you know."
"I know. There would be a lot of places you could do that in."
"I... I... Okey, I will go with you for awhile."
They were right outside of the little town of Lanorewood, and when morning came, the group of five got up, and went into town. They decided to go and have some breakfast at the tavern, and say their good-byes. They sat inside the small, well disigned place for a good while chatting. The mood was cheerful, and the group, once they learned that Belfire and Blazewind were continuing on together, teased them in friendly humor.
"I think he is in love with the bard," said Ravahana to Davros, as Kevril laughed. Befire began to turn a good shade of pink in the cheeks.
"Am not," he said. "She has no where to go, so I asked her to travel with me is all. It is a long way home for me, and I would be happy to have some company on the way."
The mage leaned over and wispered something to the fighter, before she nearly fell out of her chair laughing. Belfire looked to the rouge for understanding, but he too was nearly laughing himself into a frenzy. Soon the fighter started laughing too, and Belfire looked at Blazewind, who rolled her eyes in disbelief.
The group went back outside ready to part ways, and be going in their own directions, when a group of rough looking men approched. Blazewind looked, and could see that there were seven of them. All were very big human men, all carrying large weapons. The one in the lead looked straght at Ravahana. His companion on the left walked up to her.
"I think you should do as I say," he said gruffly. "Hand me all your money."
"I don't think so," Ravahana said, and the big man picked her up by the front of her dress, lifting the small woman four feet in the air.
"I think you should put me down," the halfling mage told him, still managing to hold into her staff and keep her pack on her back.
"What are you going to do about it," the man demanded. "Give me the money. Now!" Two of the others had grabbed Kevril, and Davros, while Belfire pulled Blazewind into hiding, behind the side wall of the tavern.
The man holding onto Kevril's shirt began to beat him mercilessly, as he to, refused to hand over his gold pieces.
"I have nothing," he lied, as a huge fist slammed into his face.
"Don't give me that you fool," the troublemaker said, punching him again. "I saw you put your gold and siver into your pocket this morning as you left the tavern. I will kill you if I have to. Now, give it to me."
"No," Kevril answered stubernly, as one of Ravahana's fireballs flew at the huge man.
"Ouch!" the trouble maker yelled.
"You stupid idiot," he cried to his friend. "She's got some sort of mage powers. Stop her."
"How?" the other man asked, dropping Ravahana, as she threw another wave of fireballs. She went flying from his grip, sprawling across the ground, and jumped to her feet.
"That'll teach you," she cried, pulling her very small weapon from the holder atached to her pants. She swung the sowrd wildly at two of the men, untill another lifted her off the ground.
"No," said the man holding her. "That will teach you."
"I sware you will never get away with this," Ravahana yelled, kicking her tiny feet at him, until she managed to kick him... right in the metal armor he wore hiden under his loose cloak.
"Owwww!" she screached in pain and rage. "I am going to kill you. You... You... menace!"
"I am shaking," he answered, as he began to look through her pockets. "You are what? About three feet tall?"
"Ahhhh! I hate you!" the mage screamed. She swung her sowrd at him, and managed to cut his ear badly enough to get dropped again.
Davros was in the middle of a brawl with two of the men, and was losing. He may have been a good fighter, but each of the two opponants he now fought were bigger than he was. Soon he was bloodied, and briused, and about to lose his footing from weakness.
"I'm going to help our friends," Blazewind said to Belfire, as he held onto her arm.
"No," he said. "I can't let do get into that fight. You be killed."
"If I don't try, they will all be killed," Blazewind answered, pulling out her sowrd, and pulling her arm free of his grip. She run out and showed herself to the seven troublemakers. One grabbed her imeadeatly, and she swung her sword at him, as Belfire shot arrows from his bow in rapid sucsession. The man, whom Blazewind had swiftly killed, dropped her, before falling to the ground. She turned rapidly, swinging at another advancing man. He fell to the ground next at her hand, as a third, and forth were killed by Belfire's arrows. The three left standing ran off through the streets in panic, one of them dropping Ravahana's money.
"Oh god!" Blazewind cried in horror, as Belfire took the trembling woman in his arms. "Oh my god!"
"Are you alright?" he asked, and she nodded slowly.
"I... think Kevril and Davros need healing," she told him, and Belfire nodded his head.
"Can you go and check on Ravahana. I think she is alright, but we need to know for sure. She is so small, she can be hurt so easily."
Blazewind found the halfling sitting on the ground with one leg straght out in front of her. The look on her face was one of shock and pain.
"My... foot is broken... I think," she said, falling back into Blazewind's arms.
"Alright," the bard said slowly, still shaken up from the fight. "Belfire will help you." Blazewind looked down in horror to see that the blood of someone's death was on her hands. She shook off the terror as much as she could, and handed the mage her staff, which had been thrown to to ground in anger earlier by the small woman.
"I will be fine by morning," Belfire said later, as Blazewind sat beside him in a hidden place in the forest. "I just need to rest for a few hours. iI have epended too much energy trying to heal all of our party members in such a short time."
"You are sure you are alright," Blazewind asked the very weak looking elf.
"Yes, this has happened many times to me before."
Blazewind lay on the ground herself, and tried to stop herself from shaking long enough to sleep. She could not believe the reality that she had killed two people. She knew that she had only done it to save her companions and herself, but that still did not make it feel right in her heart. She sat up again and sat for awhile, watching Belfire as he lay on the grass. She could not explain to herself, the feeling for him, that were stirring right now in her heart.