The Home Stone

Shannon awoke to the smell of meat roasting on the fire and tea brewing. She always enjoyed the early morning. The birds were busy overhead searching to bugs and materials to build their nests with. Brendan was already awake and helping with the fire and cooking utensils. Kirin who also just woke up was stretching trying to restart his muscles after spending the night sleeping on the hard ground that seemed to be in abundance here on the island. Not like the forests of Maitland where the ground cover was much softer. With a good hot breakfast consumed and warmer clothing put on, the group doused the flames with water and headed for the pass. It was a narrow trail to follow and as the queen had pointed out, a dangerous one too. Several times one or another slipped on loose rocks and almost lost their footing. They were climbing higher and higher when the tragedy occurred. They were about to stop for a rest when the warrior, named Helen, at the rear of the group slipped and fell into a large crevasse and disappeared from view. The haunting scream from the young girl would be remembered for a lifetime thought Shannon, as she tried to help with her magic, but it all happened so fast that before she could complete a spell she lost sight of the warrior. A short ceremony was held for the fallen girl and the queen said a few chosen words and then the group moved on. They were a short distance away, when Shannon suddenly turned and almost ran into Sapphira.

“I think she is still alive,” shouted the elf. Looking directly into the queen’s eyes and seeing that confused look in them she continued to explain. “I don’t know why, but we have to go back. I can’t say for sure that she is alive, but it’s this feeling that just came over me. We must go back!”

Trusting the elf’s feelings, hope grew in the queen’s heart as she turned and gave the order to return to the crevasse and try to rescue their friend.

“I just hope your feelings are right, or we will have wasted precious time,” warned the queen. “These mountains have not been kind to travelers of late and being this high up with limited supplies could kill the lot of us if we are not careful.”

Shannon understood what Sapphira had said and agreed that this is not the place to spend any amount of time, but with the possibility of the girl still alive she could not abandon her without at least trying. They returned to the spot where the girl fell and called out her name in the hope that she could answer, but all they got was silence. It was Kirin who tied one end of a long rope into a makeshift harness and prepared to climb down, when the queen stopped him.

“You are too heavy,” she stated. “One of my warriors will be lowered down to see if Helen is reachable and still alive. If we can bring her up; we will, but it must be one of us that tries.”

Kirin backing away, gave the harness to Sapphira, who the bound it around the youngest and smallest warrior in the group. Shannon in the meantime had taken some of the sticks that were meant for a fire later that night, fashioned two small torches. Soaking then in some of the lamp oil that she always carried, she then handed the torches to the young girl and told her not to light then until her feet touch hard ground. It would be there that she would find the fallen warrior. Nodding that she understood the young girl crawled over the edge and was slowly lowered down into the black abyss.

“We only have about fifty feet of rope, so if she can’t touch bottom we no other choice, but to abandon our search,” said Sapphira with a saddened tone. One could see that she really wished to find the girl, even if she was not alive.

Slowly they lowered the young warrior and were about to run out of rope when a yell came from down below. She had touched bottom. Peering into the dark hole the group on top saw a flicker of sparks and then the torch came to life.

“She’s still alive!” yelled the girl after a short pause.

Kirin instructed her on how to put the harness around the unconscious girl, so she would not slip out and then slowly with the rest of the group began to pull the injured warrior up. Not to add further injury to the fallen warrior; Shannon used a levitating spell to help her over the edge. Sapphira watching this looked on with surprise. She had not seen the mage use any of her magic and was elated that she would help after they were led to believe that the Valcorans had stolen their holy icon. After examining the injured girl, Shannon gave her a small potion from a vial that she had in her backpack. This was to ease the pain, for when she would come to, she would be in serious pain for her leg was broken and Shannon felt that a couple of ribs were cracked. Then she set about splinting the leg and binding the rib cage. When that was done, Kirin then took four spears from the Valcorans and with some of the rope and spare leather clothing fashioned a stretcher, so she could be carried back down the mountain and back to Valcore where their healers could help her more.

Two other women warriors volunteered to bring her back, so that Sapphira could continue to reach Evermore and her son. Leaving all the wood and some of the food that they were carrying the two volunteers picked up their injured friend and headed back down the pass. At the same time the remaining eight of a group of eleven continued up the slope to where their night camp would be. They climbed higher and higher, sometimes having to haul each other up a steep slope and other times slipping on the loose stones covering the narrow trail. Towards evening they came to a wide portion in the trail and stopped.

“After tomorrow, we will start our descent,” Sapphira said. “We will be about halfway through the pass. From there on, it’s all downhill.”

That night the campfire burned brightly and they ate their meal warm and drank hot tea. Now the extra furs came in handy, as the peaks here were still full of snow. Warming them over the fire each one them wrapped themselves in the warm furs and lay down close to the flames. Each took a turn standing watch and making sure that the fire did not go out during the night and by early morning, after breakfast they resumed their journey. They continued all day and the next night after their meal they ran out of firewood. That frosty night they froze and were happy when the sun smiled down upon them early the next morning. Coming down the mountain was much easier, but it still took them most of the day. It was late in the afternoon when the group finally came to the tree line and entered the forest. Sapphira ordered a camp set up and sent two warriors off to hunt for fresh meat while she and the other Valcoran went in search of edible roots and berries. Later that evening, sitting around the fire, Sapphira asked Shannon to tell her about the elves and her role to the missing icon.

“Do you know who stole it?” she asked.

“Yes I do,” answered the elf, “but if I say anything, it would bring shame to the family, for the girl who helped the thief is also dead. So, what would be the point? Her family is well respected and it wouldn’t go well if it were to be made public that their daughter was the other thief.”

That night everyone slept better and a lot softer as Shannon and one of the warriors went off into the woods and collected a bunch of boughs from nearby fir trees. By the time noon rolled around the next day the eight were at the spot where Brendan and his friends had hidden their canoes. A short search found the three tiny crafts hidden exactly where they had left them. Without any further hesitation, they said their good-byes to the remaining warriors that had been part of the escort through the pass. Then Kirin, Shannon, Brendan along with Sapphira, her scribe and one other warrior, climbed into their respected canoes and launched themselves into the river heading for the ship that awaited them at its mouth, leaving the lone warrior to make the journey back to the village. Sapphira wanted Brendan in her craft, but Shannon thought it best to keep them separated. So with the rogue sitting in the bow and Kirin steering in the stern of one canoe, the three boats using the aid of the river quickly made their way down stream to where William and Sean were waiting.

By nightfall they reached the mouth of the river and could see the tiny ship anchored not two or three hundred yards off shore. William had left a small lantern burning on deck just as the elf mage had asked him to do when she had visited him the other night. Not wanting to spend another night sleeping on the ground, Shannon insisted that they make for the ship. As they neared the ship, Kirin, who was in the closest canoe recognized William keeping watch. Signaling him, the only way the Home Guard understood, William lowered a small rope ladder for them. Once on board the group was ushered below and the anchors were lifted.

“This is Jack, my cabin boy,” William introduced Sean as the party gathered in the tiny galley. “He will see to all of your needs as we journey back to home.” He then looked at Sapphira and her two warriors and added. “Welcome aboard. Next stop, Evermore.”

Shannon wanted out of the stuffy cabin so she asked if it would be safe to go up on deck for a while. William shrugged his shoulder and said nothing. Who was he to tell the mage where she could go. The elf girl turned and climbed the steep stairs and was out on deck while the others made themselves as comfortable as possible. She stayed on deck until well-passed midnight, filling William in on all that had happened. She told him how she found out that Ashley had been involved, although not fully aware as to what was stolen, but that she was promised great rewards once the deed was done. He listened as the elf girl told him that the Valcorans did not steal the Home Stone and that they have allied themselves with the elves to find and bring home their holy icon. Finally, her eyes grew tired and she said goodnight to the elf in the tiny wheelhouse and went below. There she asked Brendan to relieve William so that he too could get some sleep. The rogue was only too happy to accommodate her wishes and scooted up the stairs and out of sight. Glancing over to where Sapphira was sitting she saw her eyes on the rogue as he vanished up on deck.

“Don’t worry,” Shannon said in a calming tone. He can’t go far, as we are already too far out to sea. Any of the canoes would be swamped by the first wave that came along and it’s too far to swim back to shore.”

Reassured, the queen turned her attention back to jack the cabin boy. This young man seemed to be not who he was supposed to be. She was sure that he wasn’t Jack and could be the one she had been searching for. The boy paid her no attention to her and continued his work at setting up places for everyone to sleep. As soon as the ship was safely away from the Dragon Isles, and if the weather held out, most of the group would spend their days and nights on deck where there was more room and it was much cooler than the stuffy cabin that was built for a crew of three and not eight.

The next three days were spent up on deck sunning themselves and fishing for food as their little supply from the village had run out. Shannon now began to think of Roma and how she was doing. Had she reached Brianna? Was she all right? What about Treymane? He had the hardest quest of them all. He had to convince the whole of the Hillshire, of an impending invasion. How had he fared? The elf girl could not wait to reach Evermore and find out if any new news had come from the north. By now she knew that Blick had mustered an army and well was on his way to Maryton and try to enter the Hillshire to protect the Halflings there. Also had Dreen recovered enough to have the elven army on the move to help the dwarfs in case the invasion had already started. Sitting in the bow of the tiny sloop, staring out onto the blue waters of the eastern sea; all these thoughts passed through her mind making her wish that she was still at home and all this was just a bad dream.

The rest of the days, the friends spent up on deck leaving only those that felt sea sick down below, where the rolling of the ship was at a minimal. On the morning of the fifth day, Jack, who had been allowed on deck was standing in the crow’s nest and shouted, “Land Ahoy!” All eyes turned to the bow and sure enough, there, far off on the horizon, lay the coast of Maitland and Evermore. By noon, an Elven Man-O-War pulled up beside and hailed them. As soon as they were recognized, the larger ship pulled away and let the eight sail on to the harbor. There were cheers as the tiny sloop docked and all aboard stepped onto solid ground. The eight were immediately escorted to the great building that housed the High Council.

There, standing before the council Kirin and Shannon stepped forward and told the elders of what they had found out. The council questioned them all and the meeting took up the rest of the day. Finally they were satisfied and the friends were allowed to leave. Only the queen was asked to remain behind. The elders wanted to ask a few more questions and at the same time offer an alliance that would benefit the two races. It was not until the supper hour the Sapphira returned. Looking quite satisfied with her meeting she told her scribe all that had transpired between her and the elders. Then she turned her attention to Brendan and the two other elves that had accompanied her.

“When will I meet my son?” she asked with an impatient tone.

Sean stepped forward and said with a smile on his face. “I think you have already met me, Mother.”

The queen stood and after a short pause embraced the young man. “I see that your father has taught you well,” Sapphira said in a soft voice. “I wasn’t sure and you kept your identity hidden well.” She turned to the rogue and put her hand on his shoulder and said, “I don’t know whether to thank you or to kill you, but you have done well with my son. You both are welcome to visit or even stay with me in my village without fear of retribution for what you have done.”

The queen extended the invite to all the friends that helped her reunite her with her son. For the rest of the evening she spent most of the time with Sean and his father. They had a lot to talk about and lots more time to make up for.

The meal was an exquisite one with plenty of elven wine and good strong dwarf ale. The gathering went on into the night and by early morning, the friends found themselves staggering home for a good sleep. In two days, they would depart. Kirin to Maryton to meet up with Blick and Shannon would leave for Sanctum, in Rogalandt and there would not be too much time to prepare.