The Frost Phoenix

Chapter 10

The next morning Balisk knocked on Norril's door saying" come on it's time to work Nil." When there wasn't an answer he opened the door only to find the room completely empty of all traces that the half elf druid. He quickly ran down the hall into the living room where he found the half elf packing up a couple of pieces of bread, dried beef, and a canteen of water.

She looked up before saying" you're going to be late, Bal I have until dawn to do my job." The brown haired man looked around questioning in which she said, grabbing the bag as she got to her feet" they already took off Dan was supposed to be at the docks at daybreak. Neek is working as a bodyguard at this moment, Silent is at this moment should be at the tavern as a cook, and you are late for your shift as an assistant for the clinic." He looked outside with wide eyes before grabbing a bag rushing out the door as Norril shook her head laughing a bit. Getting to her feet she said" well I'm off Lily let them know I won't be back until tomorrow morning if not I'll most likely be by the lake."

Lily asked, as she came out of the kitchen crossing her arms over her orange and black striped dress" are you sure that's enough to last?" The half elf thought for a moment before turning to look at the orange and black highlighted haired female. Lily smiled before she came over giving the cloaked druid a small box saying" this is a stir fry I made for tonight please do try to be careful out there."

Norril said, yawning as she stretched" I can't make any promises however I'll try. I'm so tired of making the others worry about me already. Thank you for the food and I'll be taking my leave now remember to let them know." Lily waved goodbye as the druid took her bag, after putting the box inside, and her staff leaving with a small smile. As soon as she stepped out of the house she moved into the forest going towards the lake. She wanted to find the next key along with collecting enough gold coins to survive on for a couple of weeks. By dawn she managed to kill four deer and two wolves when she spotted something off on the horizon as the sun was setting. She couldn't exactly tell what it was at first curiosity drew her over to the place she reached it about an hour. She knelt down as she moved closer to a temple looking structure about ten feet away and she stopped realizing that if she were to go in she may not come back out. The half elf shook her head before dragging her latest kill, which was a deer, back to Lily's house making a mental map of the path she was taking. When she arrived she dropped the deer off in a small shed in the back of the house. Walking inside she shut the door quietly not wanting to wake anyone Norril could barely stop herself from laughing at the sight of Silent laying halfway off the couch with Neek's wing covering his face.

She shook her head before going to clean her scimitar which was coated in blood. She could care less about her staff's points because they were already stained crimson from hunting while they were traveling. Lily spoke in a hushed tone in which Norril looked over her shoulder while she spoke" good to see you made it back alright." She came over to the half elf handing her a covered warm bowl saying" it's not much however it's better than nothing." She said, stretching" well I'm going to go get some sleep tomorrow Silent said he was going to cook." Norril smiled a bit at least until she was out of sight before she looked outside at the stars with a frown as she let out a sigh.

She whispered, letting the scimitar soak a bit to clean off the drier blood" why couldn't you just tell me what's going on? Why couldn't you do this yourself instead of waiting too long and having me do all of this in your place?" She slammed her fist onto the counter as tears started streaming down her cheeks, her cyan eyes dark with fury and sorrow. The half elf sat down on the closest chair as she sank into her thoughts waiting for the water to appear darker so she could finish cleaning the blade. Little did she realize that Dan had woken up going to get a drink when he found the druid sitting there in the dim light of the moon and stars.

He spoke in a quiet tone not wanting to startle the cloaked figure" Nil is something wrong?" Norril stiffened before frantically rubbing her face as she looked over to see the paladin standing there. He walked up to her before he asked, worry in his tone" you know you can always talk to any of us right?" He rested a hand on her shoulder smiling as he said" I'm not talking as if I'm an overprotective guardian I'm telling you as a comrade, a member of Frost Phoenix, and a friend."