The Home Stone

Shannon enjoyed the coolness and the shade the forest offered. She was still spitting sand and trying to dislodge more of it from her hair and clothing. By mid-morning they reached a small clearing with a tiny pool of clear water in its center. While one kept watch, the other bathed. They ate the last of the food that Soukar and Marrak had left them. Washing it down with some cool and refreshing water, they continued until it became too dark to see. They too refuge under a large pine tree, taking turns to keep watch.

The next morning was just like the one before. Keeping off the main trails so not to run into any troll patrols, made walking more difficult. Stumbling over exposed tree roots and tearing their leggings on thorn bushes they made little progress. By mid-afternoon they had to stop for they couldn’t go any further. The brush had grown too thick.

“It might be better if we moved along the main road after dark,” whispered Brendan. “With your vision, you could see a patrol approaching before they see us. This would give us an advantage and travel more quickly.”

“You might be right there,” answered the elf.

They moved towards the road and just about fifty yards from it, they entered a dense thicket, which prevented them from being seen by anyone traveling on the main road. There they hunkered down and waited for dusk.

The two traveled for most of the night and only had to leave the road twice. Once to avoid a passing patrol and the other time was to let a caravan, heading west, go by. Then they continued until dawn, where they found another patch of bushes that would conceal them. There they lay quietly and waited till the sun went down.

Being about a day’s walk from the coast, the traffic on the road increased. With the many more villages around, Brendan thought it would be safer if they headed more southeast towards the seashore. Here they would encounter less traffic and less of a chance of being spotted, but that meant it would take them about a half a day longer to reach Sean, his son.

They chose a less traveled path that led them on a southeasterly route towards the coast. Along the way they stopped and ate some berries and chewed on edible roots. A clear stream nearby quenched their thirst. There they rested a short while before continuing.

The scent of salt from the Eastern Sea hung in the air. The shoreline was close as the two made their way along. Soon after, the trees finally opened up and they found themselves standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. The embankment stood about one hundred feet higher than the sea below. Now they turned north and began to follow the coast. They climbed over boulders; loose rocks and fallen trees that grew near the edge of the sea and threatened to send them over the edge and into the salty brine below. It was rough going and the two found themselves exhausted after a few hours. Frequent rests were called upon to conserve their energy.

It was close to dark when they saw the lights of the little cabin. Shannon saw immediately that something was wrong.

“How many people live with you?” she asked in a whispered tone.

“Just myself and my son,” replied Brendan as he saw his boat anchored about a hundred yards off shore. “Why do you ask?”

“I see movement on both sides of the house,” Shannon said. “Now I see more movement inside, but it doesn’t look like a boy standing next to the window.”

“Trolls,” whispered the rogue. “They’ve captured my son. Can you see him?”

“No, he must be inside somewhere.”

“We must get to my son,” said Brendan. “He has nothing to do with this. This is my fight with those creatures.”

He rose and started towards the house, but Shannon stopped him and pulled him back behind the bush that hid them from the trolls.

“Wait! I have an idea,” she said in a low tone. “Stay here until I call for you.”

She was up and gone before the rogue could rebut her decision. Without a sound, Shannon crept closer to the nearest troll. She was whispering a spell as she closed in on the man and just as the troll turned to face her, Shannon placed both palms on the earth in front of her. Suddenly vines and roots from the plants and tree seized the troll. His mouth opened as if to scream, but nothing came out. The roots and vines tightened around his neck and body, as he struggled to get loose. Finally, unable to breathe, he collapsed and fell to the ground dead. The bindings had squeezed the life out of him.

Brendan was next to her as the troll hit the ground. The second troll came into view when he heard the commotion coming from his partner. When he saw what had happened, he turned to run, but a well-thrown dagger, stopped him dead in his tracks. The two waited to see if any more trolls had been listening and on their way to help, but no others came. That left only the ones in the house.

Brendan quietly made his way to the side of the house and cautiously peered through a side window. There he saw Sean, his son, tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He made out one other troll in the room. Other than the two, the house was empty. Silently he crept back to where Shannon was waiting.

“I can only see one more troll in the house,” he said. “He has a crossbow trained on my son.”

“Leave him to me,” said Shannon. “Go and get the row boat ready. I’ll get Sean.”

She watched as Brendan made his way over to the tiny quay where a small boat was tied. Down he climbed and untied the boat. There he waited. Shannon moved towards the front door. With a crossbow trained on the boy she would have to make her attack from the front door. This would at least turn the troll’s head for a second. That would be all the time she would need to dispatch the creature.

She stood in front of the closed door and began her spell. Then with all the force she could muster, she hit the door with the palms of her hands and the door burst open, splintering into many pieces. The troll jumped up, turned in one quick motion and fired his crossbow. The quill failed to hit its mark as Shannon was quicker and side stepped the shot. Her arms still raised she hit the troll with a bolt of lightning. He died before he hit the ground. Quickly she moved and with her knife, cut the roped that bound the young lad and led him out of the house.

The two ran towards the tiny boat to where Brendan was waiting. Sean, embracing his father, the rogue waited until Shannon sat down. It was a short reunion as the three-made haste to leave the place before reinforcements arrived.

“The changing of the guard is soon,” Sean said as he got into the boat. “They change at the first sign of light.”

“We should be safely on board by then,” replied Brendan. “On board and out of range of their arrows.”

With everyone sitting, Brendan began to row out to the slip anchored just a few hundred feet away.

The three were about half way to the skiff when the morning patrol arrived. Immediately they saw three in the tiny boat and ran to the edge of the quay where they loosened a dozen or so arrows. Two landed in the boat, narrowly missing the three; the rest missed altogether. Rowing as hard and as fast as he could Brendan brought the tiny boat around to the port side that protected them from the troll arrows.

Keeping a low profile, the three climbed aboard the sailboat. Then Brendan and his son pulled the tiny boat on deck, while Shannon created a spell to protect the sails from the arrows, while they were being hoisted. Once that was accomplished Brendan steered the boat farther out to sea until the trolls’ missiles were no longer any danger to them. Only then did Shannon relax her spell. Now safe from the creatures on shore the three could get on with their trip to Evermore.

Later that morning the sun came out and brightened everyone’s day. Forgotten were the events that lead to this day. All that the three wanted to remember was the smooth ocean and the gulls flying peacefully overhead. Sean immediately after leaving the trolls behind began to fish. In the small galley below Brendan was preparing a meal consisting of some stale bread and cheese.

“Once we catch some fish,” he began, “I’ll prepare something more palatable.”

Shannon hungry as she was just nodded her head and bit down on the hard bread. The rogue had found a bottle of unopened wine left over from the last outing with Sean. Shannon welcomed the wine, as there was not any fresh water on board.

“We’ll have to put ashore after dark and find some water,” said Brendan. “I know a place that should be safe, where we can land and fill the water skins, but it’s still about a half a day’s sailing away.”

They were just finishing the last of the bread and cheese and Sean was looking towards the stern to check the lines that he had set to catch some fish, when his eyes spotted something on the horizon. He squinted because of the glare from the sun prevented him from making out the dark speck approaching quickly.

“Dad,” he said, “what is that back there?”

Brendan took his spyglass out of its case and walked to the stern of the boat and steadied himself for a better look.

He turned to his son and barked an order that froze Shannon in her seat.

“Get her under full sail,” he shouted to his son. “There’s a troll warship under full sail coming up fast behind us.”