Princess of Wind

Chapter 8: The Problem With Time Travel

Before the final bells rang, Marva was already leading their group through the streets of Rifthold. Sticking mostly to side streets and alleyways, trying to avoid the attention that a group of five cloaked figures might get.

While Marva led with Eloise by her side, Marion stayed towards the back of their group, making sure that Connor and his cousin, Eleri, didn't get lost or try to attack Marva and Eloise while their backs were turned.

Their journey through the streets took them over thirty, with more than a few close encounters with both Valg and human guards, ones that were luckily avoided by the advanced senses of every member in the group.

When they were finally able to exit the dangerous city and enter into the Oakwald forest, Marion let out a sigh of relief, happy to let her tired mind and eyes rest from constantly scanning for danger.

It took a few more minutes for Marva and Eloise decided that the group was safe in a clearing deep within the forest. Marion took full advantage of the safety it provided, sliding down the trunk of the tree and resting her tired eyes.

"What do we do now?" Colin asked from where he stood in the center of the clearing.

"We wait," Marva responded, "in a few hours magic will return and will have the power to face the Valg and any other foes, while also bringing us cover in the chaos that follows."

"If we have time then, would you care to explain what is happening now," Eleri asked, "especially in relation to the fact that none of us are able to use our magic?"

Marva quickly launched into an explanation that Marion soon tuned out. She had heard this story many times before, both from her parents and from the teachers at school, after all it was the story of the greatest war that Erilea had seen since the time of Brannon, the first king of Terrasen.

As she sat Marion felt herself falling asleep, unable to keep coherent thoughts after the long night of dancing following a day spent running around Orynth. However a sudden memory shot through her mind before she could completely tune out the outside world.

When she was younger she had traveled to Adarlan, while there she had found a particular book titled The Walking Dead inside of the library there. It was a peculiar book that liked to jump from place to place, yet it was worth hunting for as it contained a vast array of knowledge including some on wyrd marks. Elea had been fascinated and Marion had tried to learn a few, though she barely remembered anything now.

It seemed her realization came just in time, as Marva had finished explaining the situation to Eleri and Colin, and the group four four was now sitting in pairs talking in different parts of the clearing.

"Marva," Marion said to get the witch's attention while she walked up to where she sat next to Eloise, "what if we use the The Walking Dead to get back to where we came from."

"That could work," Marva said, "though it could be a challenge to get into the castle."

"I thought you said that that part of the castle was blown up and the rest thrown into chaos, wouldn't that make it easier to get in?" Colin asked, moving from where he was sitting with Eleri across the clearing.

"Theoretically yes, however not only is almost everyone here fae, but the only people who stand a chance at finding the library have parents that will be in the castle, or at least are known by the people in the castle. Following that fact that if we get caught it could cause a plethora of unwanted problems for us and possibly skew future events. I don't think it is wise for us to enter the castle," Marva responded.

"Why don't you just draw us a map?" Eleri asked, "It shouldn't be two hard to sneak in and get this book."

"Because the book tends to have a mind of its own, meaning that it will be nearly impossible to get it out of the library and to us without it disappearing," Marion said, picking at the sleeve of her shirt while trying to work out the problem at hand.