Halfling (editing in process)

Chapter Six

The new powers she had gained, as much as she hated to admit it, were amazing. The flight and the shadows combined with the power that she had gained from whatever energy the runes on her arm had given her made her feel strong. She had been practicing for two days, the flying had come to her as easy as breathing; but the shadows were still a frightful mystery to her, and, after the experience with her father she was terrified of being alone within it. She could move in and out them with ease; but when she was inside the plane of darkness it just seemed to stretch on forever; she could hear voices in the darkness, whispers, and that made her uneasy. The difference she noticed between where her father had sent her and where she was going was that there was no screaming, no bodies, it was somewhat quiet actually. She would feel things caressing her sometimes; one instance something grabbed her ankle and she had left so quickly she had smashed her head into a tree limb as she flew out.

So; after carefully warding her clearing to keep it safe and uninfested while she was gone and packing food along with one of her furs she set off in search of the elven relic. She figured it would be most dangerous for her to go after and wanted to get it over with. She was actually apprehensive about the trip; she had never been around elves before, but she knew that elves and demons hated one another. She was uneasy about leaving her forest as well; as she had never been out of it save from her recent trip to Hell and walking the trails just outside the safety of the trees. She had left never the less; not wanting Lucien or Payne to pop up and force her out. She walked instead of flying, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself; if the elves knew she was coming before she even got there she was going to end up with an arrow between her eyes.

She had braided her hair back; and even then the sun caught locks of her hair and made them shimmer in the sun as if her hair was spun of copper. A spell had changed her eyes to green, and she hid her demonic energy as well as she could. She would look like a common elf to any humans she passed by and that was what she needed to be, common, out of sight.

In the week it took her to get to the elven city she witnessed many new and strange things. She explored human villages and larger settlements for the first time. She had discovered their currency; and had promptly used her magic to pickpocket a nice sum for herself. She had bought food; a cloak that would cover up the slits on her back, and a few sweets for the trip. The hustle and bustle around the city reminded her of the animals in the fall; always running about collecting food for the winter. Humans, it seemed, were quite energetic and weren't afraid to speak their mind about her. Some looked to her in wonder, as they didn't get many elves just wandering, others spat at her feet and cursed her, and one unfortunate drunkard who attempted to fornicate with her in a tavern ended up bound and gagged by vines and tossed out a window, much to the amusement of the tavern girl.

She had listened to bards, drank and generally enjoyed herself in the time she was in the city. It was all too soon that she had to leave and continue her journey. Though it wasn't long before she ran into the less friendly side of humans; a group of bandits who had thought 'hey, it's not going to be hard to rob the lone elven maiden off the side of the road'. Poor bastards. Aria left them in pieces, pocketed what she could of their loot, and continued on with her trip with a smile.

She had walked where she could, stopping at inns or taverns when it was dark, and, if nothing else was around, simply found her a nice spot off the road and slept on a fur under the stars. The same stars and constellations awaited her when she slept outdoors making her feel less homesick than sleeping in the closed spaces of a rented room. Nights where she lay staring up at the twinkling sky she wondered how her little oasis faired without her; small things like if the berry bushes had finally ripened and if the raccoon she had been attempting to domesticate had found a way around her wards and was sleeping in her bed.

The last night of her journey was spent in the back of a hay cart, slumbering away while a human couple, now one hundred gold pieces richer, took her to the city of elves. The realization had come to her that she had no idea how to get to said city, and when she had overheard the couple was heading there she had decided to let them take her instead of walking.