Treasures of Ília - Dragonmage stories

3. Prey

There was something unsettling about seeing elven riders on the forest carriage road. It was never fun running into them anyway, these were unpredictable, two-faced folks. Chaerie could not remember ever having seen elvenfolk in this part of SeerHill. Luckily! Unless they were playing a wicked trick on someone, there was no way of knowing whether they were friends or foes. They were false, lying, treacherous by nature. That was why the young woman didn't want the riders to notice her. She pulled off the road into the woods and waited.

The three armed elf men rided past a few steps away, too close, but she managed to remain unnoticed. She hid in the bushes, watching what was happening. She was shocked by what she saw: they were dragging someone along, like hunters carry their prey; their captive was unrecognizable. He was being carried by two horsemen wrapped in some kind of cloak, and his long blond hair sweeping the dust of the road showed that he might be an elf of some kind. His face was stained with blood, and his whimpering, his muttered words could not be understood, only guessed at.

Chaerie was sure that the sun would not rise for this poor man. It was with a heavy heart that she left her hiding place, but there was nothing she could do, and little she wanted to do. He was an elf. Not her folk.

As the afternoon began to turn to evening, she remembered more than once what she had seen. She didn't want to get into an altercation with the riders, yet she was still disturbed by the way they treated their captive. Finally, before nightfall, she decided to investigate. Whatever these creatures were up to, they should not to do it near her home!

It wasn't difficult to trace the tracks, because they followed the wagon road and then turned into the stream. The team followed the trail along the creek. Here Chaerie was more cautious, for all the signs indicated that the elves had set up camp. There was a smell of smoke in the air and something cooking. She heard voices and stopped. She saw that no guard was posted, they felt safe, the horses were just tied at the edge of the clearing.

The woman sneaked closer.

Five elves sat around the fire, their armor gleaming with red light. The young woman's forehead creased, for she had seen only three horsemen in the afternoon. At first, she did not notice the captive, and for a moment she hoped that he had escaped. But he was not so lucky. He was tied ruthlessly to the lower branch of a tall tree, a position from which he could not free himself. His blood-stained, dirty shirt, which she could make out in the scant infiltrating light, suggested a troubled past. He was passed out, but maybe not dead yet.

"The boy managed to escape," said one of the thin, tall men in his own language. The woman listened carefully, for she did not understand the language well.

Of what she heard next, she only understood a few words. A reward for something, some kind of curse, she heard such things from the strange melodious language.

The roasting meat sizzled over the flames, and the talk suggested a growing gaiety. Knives and daggers were brought out as the roasted parts of the steak were cut off. One elf, as he drew his dagger, laughed mockingly. As he stood up, you could see his tall stature. He walked over to the captive tied to the tree, looked at him, perhaps even struck him. The captive groaned, so he was still alive. Then he let out a heartbreaking, painful cry.

Chaerie didn't want to watch this anymore. Since it looked like they were camped for the night, she sneaked into the thickening gloom on the wagon road and went home.

Her mind wandered while she locked up the sheep and poultry and provided fodder for her horses. She served their own dinner absentmindedly, putting bread, butter and cheese on plates. Her daughter's words brought her back to reality.

"Mother dear, while you were away, I fed the lambs. We'll take the clean wool to the fair tomorrow, won't we?"

"What?" said Chaerie. "Tomorrow?"

Yes, they should leave at dawn. How could she forget!

"I haven't even put everything together yet!"

"Oh, I've already done that!" laughed the little girl, as if it were the most natural thing in the world Chaerie looked at her and wondered. She's only nine! How smart, how she was raised by life!