Dragon's Blood

History

Despite their hopes that Alona had been joking or at the very least exaggerating, they did in fact find themselves travelling on foot for two days and nights through the forest.

Strangely, the deeper they went, the more relaxed and at home Iyla felt. At night, whilst Bill grumbled about thistles sticking in his back and stiff muscles caused by the cool air, Iyla slept like she had never slept before, her strange dreams forgotten and the forest floor feeling like it was made simply for her to rest on. They had no trouble finding food whilst they travelled, the forest seemed designed to see to Iyla's every need and Grimp could turn the simplest ingredients into a hearty meal. He would disappear for hours at a time but always seemed to be able to find them, returning with armfuls of food from the forest, or refilling the leather pouches that Alonah gave him with fresh, cool spring water from springs that no-one else would have had any hope of finding. Iyla was kind of getting used to him, a lot of the time she forgot he was there. Just as Sam had said, Grimp was very good at keeping out of sight and each time they stopped their seemingly endless trekking, hungry and tired, she felt more and more grateful to have him along.

Dappled sunlight fell through the forest canopy and scattered on the soft ground around their feet, birdsong followed them through the trees which rustled gently in the soothing breeze, sounding like thousands of gentle voices softly calling her name. Without even realising it, she began to walk ahead of the group, leading the way through the trees, her eyes closed, never losing her footing, walking as surely over the ground as if her eyes were wide open. Her fingertips brushed the smooth bark of young saplings stretching for the light and as her companions watched her move effortlessly over uneven ground, they could almost see the trees and plants of the forest bloom and lean towards her.

Bill leaned in close to Sam and whispered, "Does she know where she's going?"

"More than I ever could and I know these woods very well," said Sam, "Iyla is finally home, the forest is welcoming her back and leading her to her destination. It is very hard to find Elves unless they want you to find them or you have very powerful magic at your disposal."

"So you don't actually know the way yourself? I thought you'd been to Haven before?" said Bill.

"I have," said Sam, "But it is virtually impossible to find it on your own if the Elves don't want you to." said Sam.

"How does Iyla know then?" Bill asked.

"She is half Elf, the trees are speaking to her although she probably doesn't realise it. They speak to the other Elves too."

"Well we'd better not lose them then," said Bill, quickening his pace to keep Alona and Iyla in clear sight, "I missed my 'learning to talk tree' lessons at school."

The early parts of their journey saw Sam and Alona in lengthy, hushed discussions that Iyla had given up trying to listen in on. She knew that Sam was asking about his kind, the Chandak, and why they had disappeared. Iyla kept a respectful distance, aware of Sam's pained expression. Clearly what Alona had to tell him about the fate of the people he had left behind to save her so many years before, was upsetting to him and Iyla knew he needed time to let the information sink in and to understand it. She knew this because she felt the same way.

During the second day, as they walked, Sam dropped back and finally Iyla was able to ask him to fill her in on some more details about her past, he seemed to welcome the distraction from his own worries.

"I must tell you about your Mother," he said quietly and with regret tainting his tone, "I'm sorry to say that I have hidden more from you about her than anyone else." Iyla felt a knot forming in her stomach, what could he mean? She noticed Bill was now walking up ahead with Alona and wondered if Sam had asked him to.