Although it was around midday, it looked like dusk within the forest. The air was still and quiet. It was as though the denizens that lived there sensed something was awry and were afraid to emerge from their hiding places. Sweat poured down Galfin’s face as he led the group towards the forest’s edge.

  They trudged along in silence, partly out of worry at the Enemy’s newly demonstrated powers, and partly because Aeldra had insisted on scrutinizing their guests’ naked bodies to ensure there were no burrs on them either. Findel had protested vehemently at being examined by a woman, and so it had fallen to Galfin to inspect every inch of the dwarf, and he wasn’t sure if they would be able to look one another in the eye again.

  When the group arrived at the forest’s edge, the air was so choked by unnatural smog that the sun blazed blood red in the sky. The spire, too was lit up by its blood red lights, giving the whole scene a nightmarish quality.

  “It looks like your hideouts are out of the question,” Ondra remarked.

  The gorilla like creatures that had attempted to climb the tree earlier were now streaming out of the spire marching in disciplined ranks. Their skins smoked under the light of the weakened sun, but only slightly, and they seemed to be in little discomfort.

  “If there is one crumb of hope, it appears that they are heading for the river,” Aeldra breathed.

  “Which will bring them right here,” Galfin observed. “We need to move quickly.”

  “But where do we go?” Ondra asked. “Do we hide in the forest and wait for them to pass?”

  “No,” Aeldra said sharply. “We must leave at once.”

  “Where can we go?” Findel cried, exasperated. “I agree with the wizard. We should lie low. If your guess was right, as far as they’re concerned, we’re deep within the forest by now. I don’t see what difference hiding out here until they pass will make.”

  “We might be wrong about the burrs,” Chelhem pointed out. “And if we are, we will be trapped.”

  A slight smile appeared on Aeldra’s face. “You are wise despite your tender years, child.”

  “I know of a trail further to the south that might lead us to shelter,” Galfin offered.

  “That path is likely to be long since destroyed,” the elf remarked.

  “What shelter ‘might’ it lead us to?” Ondra asked.

  “The trail runs along the bottom of a ridge that hides it from view from the forest,” Galfin said. “And it leads to the ruins of Islop.”

  Aeldra furrowed her brow, and then her eyes widened when she put the pieces together. “So that’s why we found several trees missing from our southern reaches during the last survey!”

  Galfin smiled sheepishly. “Well, yes… we might have used it to cut a few down…”

  “That hardly matters now,” Ondra snapped. “This Islop, how much of it remains?”

  Galfin rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know… I haven’t been back since the Night of Fire… but there were homes with cellars, so they might have survived if nothing else…”

  “That’s good enough for me,” Ondra said. “Lead the way.”

  “Is this Islop where you were from?” Chelhem asked as Galfin led them back into the woods.

  “It was,” he said before heaving a sigh.

  “Is it far?”

  “It’s not far,” he replied. “About half a day’s walk.”

  “Why haven’t you been back since?”

  Galfin looked at the boy, who stared back at him with childlike innocence. He found it strange, the boy was sharp, there was no denying that. But he could also be na?ve. Perhaps that was what children his age were like. “Because I’m afraid of what I might find.”

  “Your family was there, eh?” Ondra observed.

  Galfin felt a surge of anguish and choked it back before nodding. In the corner of his eye, he saw Findel’s mouth was agape at his companion’s brashness and felt a little better. “They were.”

  “Well, think of this as an opportunity to get closure,” she said. “Where were you when the sky burned?”

  When Galfin remained silent, the wizard began to chuckle. “Come on, you’ve kept it bottled up for almost two years now, haven’t you? Let it out, it will be cathartic.”

  The lumberjack felt the vein in his forehead throb but replied all the same. “I was on this trail when they came. We were camping close to the forest so that we could begin work at first light when the first of the creatures came. It crashed down from the sky like a meteor. We went to investigate...”

  Even though he knew the plains were out of sight by now, Galfin paused to look over his shoulder. “It was one of those, the ones that climbed the tree… The large ones… we call them brutes.”

  “A fitting name,” Ondra nodded.

  “We ran… my friends and I…” he continued. “There were six of us in all. It killed us as we ran into the woods… Then the elves… she…”

  Galfin looked pointedly at Aeldra. “She saved me. My friends though… not enough of them remained to be buried and my family in town…”

  “Perhaps they are thriving in a different Sanctuary,” Ondra said firmly. “And you will be reunited when all this is over.”

  “I promised myself that I would go see my home,” Galfin said, not listening to her. “Many times since the Night of Fire, but I lacked the courage… Now that I am going, I have no excuses…”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “It is always better to know than to fret over what might be,” Ondra said confidently.

  “What family did you have in Islop?” Chelhem asked.

  Galfin blinked and looked at the boy who was now walking alongside him. “I am ashamed to admit this is the first time I’ve thought of them in months.”

  “You have had other things to worry about,” the boy said before patting the man on the shoulder.

  Galfin nodded, feeling strangely heartened by the boy’s words. “I had a wife and two children in Islop. My eldest, the boy, would have been around your age… His name was Gilferd.”

  Chelhem nodded. “I hope your family is at peace, wherever they might be…”

  Galfin took a deep breath and nodded silently. He then spotted a small ravine up ahead and pointed. “The trail emerges from there.”

  Aeldra brushed past him to get a closer look and grunted. “Impossible to see anyone through that undergrowth unless you’re walking right over them. Small wonder we couldn’t find it.”

  A loud roar echoed through the forest, and Aeldra dropped to her knees, keeping her body low. The others were quick to follow suit. The elf’s ears twitched and she closed her eyes so that she could focus. Her companions scarcely dared to breathe and strained their ears.

  “My people have engaged the Enemy on the edge of the forest,” she whispered.

  She clenched her jaw as she looked in the direction of the roar. After a pause, Galfin touched her on the arm. “Aeldra…”

  “I know,” she snapped. “Lead the way.”

  The path down into the ravine was treacherous, and the group’s descent was slow. Aeldra had looked troubled since they heard the roar and was now examining their surroundings with great scrutiny.

  “Do you think the Enemy could have found this trail?” Ondra asked.

  “No…” Aeldra said absently. “I’m just wondering how Galfin and his cohorts got lumber out this way without us noticing…”

  “We only took the smaller trees and cut them into bolts which we carried back by hand,” the lumberjack replied.

  “That seems like a lot of effort, weren’t there trees closer to home?” Ondra ventured.

  “Elven trees are enchanted, and so they fetched a higher price,” Galfin replied.

  “That didn’t give you the right to steal them,” Aeldra snapped.

  “No, it didn’t,” Galfin conceded. “I have been meaning to apologize to your Chieftain.”

  “You can do that when we return at the head of the Eastern Army,” Ondra’s voice was loud and boisterous and caused Galfin to wince.

  “Keep your voice down!” Aeldra hissed. “Do you want to announce our presence to every Enemy creature in the forest?”

  Ondra, though, looked unrepentant. “We will see more horrors and more tragedies before this quest is over. The most important thing we must keep in mind is that we do not let our spirits drop. All will be lost the moment we give up hope and give in to despair.”

  “All will be lost if we are torn apart by the Enemy here,” Aeldra replied evenly. “So keep your voice down.”

  The dense undergrowth above them combined with the hazy skies made it almost pitch dark at the bottom of the ravine. They heard the trickling of water in the distance, and the rocks under their feet were damp and slick, and the stench of rotting vegetation filled their nostrils. Chelhem slipped and almost fell before Galfin caught him by the arm.

  “Watch your step,” he whispered and grunted when Ondra slammed into his back.

  “Give some warning if you’re going to stop!” she cried. “I can’t see my hand in front of my face down here.”

  “Quiet!” Findel hissed.

  “Oh don’t you start as well,” the wizard snapped.

  “No, something lurks ahead,” the dwarf warned as he pushed past Galfin.

  The wizard’s tone turned serious. “What do your dwarf eyes see?”

  Galfin would have shot Aeldra a triumphant look, but it was too dark for him to spot her. Moments later, he heard her click her tongue irritably and used the sound to move closer to her.

  “Do you see them?” he whispered.

  “No,” she replied. “Elvish eyes need some light to see.”

  “They’re coming!” Findel warned. “Three of them!”

  As soon as the dwarf spoke, low guttural growls echoed from ahead.

  “I can provide a little light!” Ondra cried. “Illuminare!”

  The wizard’s hand began to glow, illuminating their surroundings, and revealing three of the creatures they had encountered on the platform earlier, bounding towards them. Without needing to be told, Galfin grabbed Chelhem and Findel and dragged them to the side of the path. Moments later, three arrows whizzed past in quick succession. The creatures yelped, and Galfin unslung his axe as he charged forward, finishing the creatures that didn’t die straight away off.

  The wizard’s light quickly faded, and the only sound at the bottom of the ravine was that of Galfin’s laboured breathing.

  “Are there any more?” his voice was hoarse, and his heart was pounding. He had not expected to encounter the Enemy down here.

  “None that I can see,” Findel replied, and Galfin willed himself to relax.

  “Can you cast that spell again, wizard?” Aeldra asked. “I wish to retrieve my arrows.”

  “I need to conserve my magic, or I won’t be able to cast anything when we really need to,” she warned.

  “And I am running out of arrows,” Aeldra pointed out testily.

  “Here, I’ll get them,” Findel sighed. “Do we just follow the trail to get to your town?”

  “Yes,” Galfin replied.

  “Then I will lead the way,” the dwarf offered.

  “Is it safe to stay down here?” Aeldra ventured.

  “These creatures were lying in wait,” Ondra said after a moment’s thought. “If they were tracking us, they would have come from behind.”

  “Well, there might be more of them down here, so keep your voice down,” the elf huffed.

  The dwarf led them unerringly through the darkness, taking care to point out obstacles in their path until they saw daylight ahead. The light was bright. Brighter than when they had descended into the ravine, and their hopes soared. Galfin quickened his pace so that he was at the head of the formation and readied his axe.

  “We will soon emerge on the southern end of the Plain of Burnt Sand,” he said and turned to look pointedly at Ondra. “Stay quiet and stay low, the Enemy might be patrolling.”

  “Alright, no need to gang up on me,” she sighed.

  Galfin blinked as he stepped out into the sunlight. The smog had dissipated somewhat, and the sun had increased in intensity.

  “I'd say that's a good sign,” Ondra remarked, a little too loudly, earning herself a dirty look from Aeldra.

  Galfin led them under the shadow of a rocky ridge just beyond the forest's edge. This had once been a heavily wooded area, but these forests did not possess the elves' enchantment and were not spared from the Night of Fire's destruction.

  Hesitantly, he looked to the right and his heart sank. What were once verdant fields of crops and pastures had been reduced to more of the same charred black sand. His heart began to pound, and he shifted his gaze until he saw a river of black water, winding its way slowly through the desolate landscape. His eyes followed the river until they came across the charred remains of a town. The iconic steeple of the Islop Cathedral lay amongst the rubble leaving no doubt as to which town it was.

  Weakness seized him, causing his axe to slip from his grasp. His heart felt like it was about to leap from his chest as his eyes searched the town. Clear patches amidst the rubble showed him where the roads once lay, and he used them to trace a path to his home. Like all the others on his street, it had vanished without a trace. Then, he noticed them. Some were lying on the street. Some amongst the rubble. They were human remains, picked clean down to their bones. The strength left Galfin's legs. He sank to his knees and began to sob.

  It wasn’t long before he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. And then a strong voice spoke. “Shed no more tears, son of Elbarad. Let your grief galvanize your will and rise. Rise as an avenger of your people, let the Enemy know your name and your vengeance.”

  The words stirred Galfin’s heart, and he slowly began to stand. As he did, he was surprised to find that it was Chelhem who had spoken to him, and the man could feel the will that was as strong as steel behind the boy’s eyes as they held his.

  “Thank you…” he began, struggling to find the words. “I was… I suppose I needed to hear that.”

  “The boy has the gift of the gab,” Ondra said proudly.

  “I suppose he does,” Galfin allowed, wondering if he had used the same spell as when he first heard the boy speak. He then saw the troubled look Aeldra was giving the boy.

  “Is everything alright?” he asked quietly.

  The elf blinked and shook her head. “There isn’t much left of your town. Are you sure your shelters still remain?”

  “The cellars should still be more or less intact,” Galfin allowed. “But there is only one way to be sure.”