Legacy

Chapter 1

The beach sat silently but for the lapping of waves, what creatures lived here had long since retired for the night. A thick mist obscured a full and bright moon like a quilt, making the air damp and cloying.

Out of the quiet, all consuming mist a small boat slowly made its way to shore, powered by two great seaman with their oars. A hooded person at either end of the boat looked on toward the beach, it would not be long now.

Upon striking the ground the two passengers disembarked with haste, giving the little boat a firm shove out into the sea from whence it came, both stood silently on the spot until the boat was completely engulfed by the fog. The two figures pulled back at their hoods, to reveal in both the fine features of elves, a man and woman.

"I am glad to be rid of those people, I suspect even my patience would not have been able to cope with that stench for another week." Said the man with a hint of bitterness. The woman looked out toward the sea with a sigh.

"The humans aren't so bad, but ship life does bring out the worst in them."

The man snorted indignantly, "Perhaps if you weren't so like them you might see them for what they are: Filthy animals." The girls eyes locked onto those of her taller companion, "And perhaps if you weren't so high and mighty, you might stop to see that despite their flaws, they are basically a good people, even if they lack the vision and knowledge that we possess." She retorted quickly.

The elf looked down upon his charge, this mere slip of a girl in elven years had wisdom before her time, and a patience that even a full blooded elf could admire when it came to the other races.

"I apologize Mae, I should not have said what I said."

The girl looked up at her companion, this dark elf that stayed at her side. "I know Ashar, I know its difficult for you to do this, but I wouldn't want to travel with anyone else."

"It is much harder then you know."

The two began up the beach not knowing fully what to expect when they reached their final destination, or indeed where their destination would be for that matter. Both knew however that wherever they ended up, it would not be easy for either of them.

Dawn broke with Ashar watching carefully the wrecked remains of a halfling village, amongst the great trees that covered much of the land, these tiny folk could easily move about in relative safety, and their knowledge of magic, although crude was effective in dissuading all but the most determined from entering their villages without their leave. Sadly it seemed, for these folk at least, that they had encountered just such a group of people.

Mae stirred, unlike her companion, her mixed heritage meant that she could not travel as far or as fast as full blooded elves, and after two days of travel without sleep, she had succumbed to her bodies protests for rest. Ashar had spotted the village and had set up camp within the confines of the effects of the halfling magic. It had not taken Ashar long to realise all was not as it should be within the village,

for no sound had been heard since they had set down. His eyes had seen through the dark in a manner only dwarfs could match, he had seen the bloodstains on the ground, the slight smell of burnt flesh, whatever had happened, it was not recent.

"So what did you find?" Asked Mae as she casually surveyed the damage

"Much, most the buildings seem intact, though a couple of the smaller out buildings have been put to flame, some signs of a funeral pyre and as you can see a lot of blood on the ground. I would suggest caution, whoever did this don't seem to be around at the present, but the fact they made it past the Halfling's defensive magic suggests a great amount of power. Possibly even those of my kin."