Chapter 6
The Old Man in the Forest
We walked down the road. The four of us. A strange group if you look at it on paper. A paladin, a thief, a wizard and a cleric. Of course, the only strange thing was me, otherwise the group was normal, to a point. The paladin was a younger than most and the wizard was only a child.
The castle slowly disappeared behind us, soon out only companions were the earth and the sun.
"Adamis." I said.
"Yes?"
"You might be interested by this." I grabbed the top of my staff, I twisted it clockwise a quarter rotation. The hilt sprung outwards and clicked into place. A previously invisible seem formed between sheath and blade. I pulled it out of the staff, and out came a four foot long sword. "It's a hidden weapon. Useful. I have surprised many road side bandits with this and similar swords. Humans in this one town took apart a similar sword a gnome wielded. A human engineer discovered how it worked and created a larger version. This sword has served me well for many years." I looked into its blade and saw my reflection. I smiled and put it away. Once in the sheath, I gave it a counterclockwise quarter rotation and the hilt snapped into the staff, the space between the hilt and staff could only be observed if you looked at the staff closely.
"You have many secrets Irigorn. I can tell just by looking at you." Cynwyd said. She continued to look ahead.
"What's wrong?" Adamis asked Cynwyd.
"If any of you are in trouble I am not helping you. It is every man for himself." She explained to us.
As we continued to walk we came upon the marsh the party of elves had supposedly disappeared into. There were cattails growing high in the marsh. There was a constant buzzing and humming emanating from the marsh. As well as the occasional reptilian noise. I walked over to it and whispered under my breath, "Extdovam ja avin bretya." Rest in peace brethren. I stared down into the brackish water. A dragonfly buzzed around my head. For a second I thought I saw a face in the water. But it was nothing.
As I came back Adamis decided to go towards the marsh, he said, "I am going to see if there is anything there." He walked over, took out his two handed sword, and dipped it into the water. He pulled it out. On the end there was mud and slime. He twirled around and the mud came flying off.
"What is he doing?" Thoros asked.
"I have no idea. I guess he is checking if there is anything in there." I guessed. A great many things about Adamis and paladins in general concerned me.
Adamis walked back, sheathing his sword, he said, "Nothing in there."
We continued walking, eventually the march disappeared, and forest began to form. At first it was a tree here and there, a few bushes. But as we came closer and closer to the forest there were more trees, bushes and underbrush. The width of the road began to grow smaller the further into the forest we went, until we could no longer travel in one row, but two. Thoros and Adamis in front, myself and Cynwyd int eh back.
We reached a fork in the road. On sign said "Caves of Chaos" another, pointing in the direction we come from, said "Borderland Castle", and the other said "The Realm 215 miles". We rested here for a few minutes. Had a snack and drank.
Adamis said, "Thoros, can we call you Thor for short?"
"No. Call me Thoros."
"Malgoreal Vlacus, that is like calling me Iri for short."
That was the end of that argument.
We moved on, traveling deeper into the forest. The further we moved in, the smaller the road became. It became darker, the light became greener. I looked around me and enjoyed it. The forest was not elf-like for the most part. There were no pines, no magical creatures that I could see. No other elves. It was happy.
"The woods are getting pretty thick." Thoros observed.
"We elves live in forests denser than this. Not to mention there are pines, spruce and other trees with needles instead of leaves. Some of these needles are as long and pointy as arrows. You really don't want them falling on you." I told Thoros. I remembered the woods with fondness. The woods the elves lived in were special, magical almost. A forest where time stood still and you could appreciate the present.
A small, five and half foot tall, bald old man with a long white beard and a walking stick walked in front of us and said, "Hello. Would you like some tea?"
I am usually suspicious of random people showing up asking for things, like Adventures. I usually suspect these peoples and being part of road side bandits. I have been snared by a few of these men too many times. But right now I wasn't suspicious at all. "Sure."
"Sure." Cynwyd said.
"I wouldn't mind some tea." Thoros said.
Adamis placed his fingers on his right temple and pointed the fingers of his left hand towards the man. I knew this process took a while, so I didn't interrupt him. We began following him until Adamis said, "Guys stop. I sense evil."
Cynwyd, suddenly shocked, as if an enchantment had just been broken, said, "Yeah, lets go."
"Oh, but wouldn't you like some tea?" The old man said.
Adamis took out his long sword and charged the old man. The old man, running incredibly stealthily and fast for his age, lunged for the bushes. Adamis parted the bushes, but the old man was not there. "Over here!" The old man yelled from deeper in the forest. Adamis ran after the voice.
I ran after Adamis. I knew the Paladin's need to destroy evil. Apparently it is hammered into their heads in the classroom that all Paladins must apprehend evil whatever form it takes. It was incredibly stupid, and it created some of the best warriors, but the worst strategists of all time. I sprinted as fast as I could, running at 30 miles per hour after Adamis. I grabbed Adamis' shoulder, slowed down and said, "Malgoreal Vlacus! Do not apprehend this foe. He is tricking you."
"Leave me alone elf." Adamis said.
"Yoo hoo! Tea is over here." Adamis ran after the voice. I jogged after Adamis. Adamis came into a clearer part of the forest. Where there was just grass. All around the bushes rustled, shadows moved, the old man's voice came out from behind a tree , then five seconds later it would be from the opposite side of the clearing. The pattern and movement of the old man's voice was erratic, showing no pattern in sentences or movement. If there was a pattern I couldn't find it.
"Show yourself!" Adamis yelled into the air.
I came into the clearing when the old man stabbed Adamis. Adamis gave a yell of pain. He turned around, slashed at where the old man had been, but the old man had leaped aside. His bloody knife in hand. He ran back into the bushes.
I pulled out my bow and knocked an arrow.
"Over here!" He said behind a tree. There was rustling on both sides of the clearing. How'd he do that unless if there was more than one? I wondered. The idea of there being more than one of this old man frightened me.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Adamis was yelling.
"Shhhh." I told Adamis. He shut up. He still followed the sound of the old man or men moving in the brush. It was annoying me and hindering my hearing so I shushed him again. He stopped moving. I closed my eyes and listened. I heard rustling in a bush behind me, I turned around as quickly as I could and fired the arrow. A three pound missile thudded against a tree as it slammed into it at 120 miles per hour.
"You're a bad shot for an elf." The old man said from further into the forest.
"Adamis, come back. He is just aggravating you. He knows your weakness, he knows what aggravates you. Lets go before he strikes again." I talked calmly to the paladin, as if he were a child suffering from a panic attack in the middle of a market place because he had agoraphobia.
Cynwyd and Thoros came into the clearing and Cynwyd immediately asked, "What was that about?"
"Yoo hoo! Come and get me you stupid paladin! I know the dragon who killed your parents!" The old man yelled from further away in the woods.
"Paladins have this necessity to apprehend evil." I explained. "Since he sensed evil in the little man, or men as seen in some my more frightening hypotheses, he had to apprehend it. Either knock him unconscious or kill him."
"That's stupid." Cynwyd commented.
"It is."
"We better get going. The sun is getting high and I want to make it to the Caves of Chaos soon. Just a few minutes of travel left." Thoros looked towards a recent ripple in the brush, and the disconcerting voice followed by the creature on the opposite side of the clearing.
