The Codex Lacrimae: The Book of Tears

Chapter 11: The Misgivings of Elves, Norns, and Dwarves

The march into the forest resumed after the elves and dwarves deployed.

Clarinda couldn't help but notice that, for all the assortment and movement of soldiers, archers, and wolves, the entire company was positioned defensively around her and Aurelius.

Shortly after the expedition began, Rudyick excused himself when one of the keder reported findings. Both elves immediately trotted at an angle into the woods.

Fenris took the chance to move next to Aurelius and Clarinda. "The Untere Weg soon becomes very difficult," he said. "It's a dark and tangled wood, my friends. Stay close to the middle of the path and don't be distracted by whatever you see or hear."

"The wolf speaks truly," Rudyick said, returning without the guard. "My elves are starting to see movement half a league off to the east." He sighed. "This isn't a surprise because the darker things can sense movement of this many people. I fear that, ere long, we may be in for a battle."

He raised an eyebrow at Halfdan, who'd just sent a few of his own dwarves into the woods.

"Ja," the brigadier agreed. "I'd also add that we've now reached the outskirts of the Sviddengenand as we've all warned, it's a dark place."

"All that's gone wrong with our magic has seeped into the ground, wood, and air of this forest," Rudyick explained, his gaze upon Aurelius. "There is no counter to it, so we must pass through here quickly."

Andvari harrumphed. "Don't be distracted by the sights or sounds that might accost you. They come only from your own pasts and can do no physical harm."

"Can we go around it?" Aurelius looked at the trees ahead of him with apprehension. Whispered voices drifted on the wind, speaking in Arabic and intermingled with distant screams.

"No," Rudyick replied, a great sadness in his voice. "The forest is the heart of Svartalfheim. It was built upon the same ruined magic that created the Codex Lacrimae. We attempt to correct that ancient wrong, but the magic keeps failing."

"With this result?" Aurelius was incredulous that the elf could speak so calmly about the condition of the forest before them. "This entire region seems a desecration, Rudyick. How can you accept it so calmly?"

"Master Santini ..." Traeg cautioned, but Rudyick's temper had already flared.

"I've never accepted it, Mortal. My father and I have gone to great lengths to atone for the evil he did. Don't attribute our failures to a lack of trying, nor of willpower. You're part of that attempt, now."

Aurelius's eyes flashed. "I said I'd help you, Rudyick, and I didn't mean to imply that you're responsible for this wasteland. I'm just ... shocked at the state of these woods. Remember, my first experience here was Alfheim. The forest there was like something out of a dream."

Rudyick sighed. "I took an insult where none was meant. You wield a powerful magic, Servius Aurelius Santini, a magic that binds elvish enchantments with the sorcery of the gods. In all the tales, the Codices are foretold to cause the destruction of the Nine Worlds, our Ragnarok, and central among those books is the Codex Lacrimae. This is the very reason that I sought you. If you've truly been chosen to wield the Book of Tears, naught else but your help will avail my people or our land."

Aurelius coughed a harsh laugh, partly reacting to a reek that permeated the air with the odor of rancid meat, but mostly in response to the elf's expectations. "I'm also involved in a game where I don't know all the players or pieces." He waved a hand at the blackened and tangled underbrush. "Forgive me if I'm not looking forward to heading into more of that stinking vegetation just so I can get to a ‛glade' where you all might try to kill me."