I splashed cold water on my face. The disturbed pool of spring water distorted my reflection. Undulating ripples mixed my eyes with my nose and my lips with my chin. I splashed some more water on my face. I cupped some water and took a sip. A chill flowed down my throat, nestling deep inside my body.
On the precipice of dawn, I sat down by the spring and collected my thoughts. “What kind of dream was that,” I said quietly to myself. The memories of the dreams were fleeting, and I could only try to hang on to them while they were still fresh in my mind. Yet, they were quickly fading like wisps of smoke on a windy night.
I held my head in my hand and rubbed my temple. I remembered the first dream as a cornucopia of chaos. The second had been almost comically malevolent. It had felt like I was there, inside both dreams, but it also felt like I wasn’t. If I could feel what my shadow felt, I could imagine it feeling the way I’d felt inside those dreams.
I circled the top of the hill. Maybe an early morning stroll would clear my mind. Thankfully, it looked like Noel hadn’t fallen asleep up here after all. She was probably back at her tent. I walked for a little while longer, before going back for another sip from the spring. I grabbed some fruit I’d found growing on a hidden bush, and munched on it as I went back to the campsite.
A bird stopped on a branch in front of me. I stopped. The bird turned its head in the brisk way that birds do, but it didn’t fly away. I hesitated. The bird turned its head again, even though it was staring right at me. No. Not at me.
I crouched and placed the fruit on the ground. Then I went back down the long way. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the bird glide down from the branch, turn its head from side to side, and begin pecking at the fruit.
---
I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I decided to hang around the human tribesmen instead. Many of them had been up as lookouts, while many others had already gotten up for the day. Most of them froze up as I got near them, so I decided to stick to the Roja tribesmen instead. Although, just like Kezler, they seem to have been infected by the other tribesmen’s awe of me. It was like they’d forgotten that elves were an important part of their mythology back when I was training them in magic, but they had suddenly realized they were supposed to respect me like a semi-deity after meeting the other tribesmen.
“Kelser!” I shouted, hailing the little red-haired kid.
“Oh, good morning Cas,” he said.
I inwardly thanked Kelser’s bold and brash childishness for immunizing him against the waves of elf worship I felt were brewing around the campsite. I asked him if he’d had breakfast yet, to which he replied that he hadn’t. I followed him to a smoldering campfire where the red-haired Roja tribesmen were mingling with a bunch of white-haired humans. They were from the Jenin tribe, which was led by the rambunctious elder Sunki. I was a little surprised when I found out the reason Sunki’s beard was white wasn’t only because of age, but also because most of the people of his tribe had white hair. There were some brown and blue haired humans here too, but they seemed to be a part of the Jenin tribe too.
The Jenin tribesmen froze, like I’d expected them to, but the Roja snapped out of it once I asked them what they were making. They said they’d caught some fish nearby and were also bringing out some salted monster meat they’d gathered and preserved along the way. I offered them the gourd-full of spring water I’d brought back, along with a bar of soap. They remembered what I’d told them about washing their hands before eating, and proceeded to do so without hesitation.
The Jenin, however, looked over the shoulder’s of their fellow humans, but didn’t come over to ask what was going on. I nudged Kelser. He gave me an inquisitive look. I gestured towards the Jenin tribesmen with my head. Kelser furrowed his brow before eventually opening his eyes wide. He nodded to me before walking over to the Jenin tribesmen and explaining the use and usefulness of soap. He also mentioned that they were hand-crafted by me, the venerable elf, even though the Roja tribesmen had made that bit of soap themselves.
A Roja tribeswoman realized what was going on and offered the soap to a Jenin tribesman who she had been chatting with before I’d arrived. I’d seen the couple flirting like crazy, so I was sure the man wasn’t going to refuse. As expected, the man was the first Jenin tribesman to try the soap, after which the others began using it—a little overzealously, if I might add.
The tribeswoman, noticing the embers of the campfire, gestured for the Jenin tribesman to follow her. He walked carefully forward, always keeping his front towards me like I was some sort of ferocious animal. The Roja tribeswoman planted her feet in front of the campfire pit, took a deep breath, and cast fire magic on the fresh tinder she’d placed on top. The Jenin tribesman’s jaw stayed opened, and the other tribesmen were similarly stunned.
We used the fire to make a nice meat stew. The tribesmen had poured the water out of the gourd to wash their hands, which meant it was still clean enough to use for cooking. One of the first things I’d made sure to tell them was that soap was not food!
We grilled the fish directly over the fire. By this point, I was chatting with Kelser, who was chatting with the Jenin tribesmen, but never directly spoke to them. I could tell the Jenin were still a little awed by me, so I asked the Roja tribeswoman from before how she felt about the Jenin tribesman she’d just tried to impress. The woman blushed a little, but it wasn’t like her actions had been subtle. I praised her for her magic, before making a small comment to the Jenin tribesman:
“You better be careful,” I said. “If you get her angry, she might burn your hair off!”
The joke didn’t land as well as it had in my head, but it did get the Roja tribeswoman to start explaining, in a flustered tone, that there was no way she would ever do something like that. The Jenin tribesman gave an awkward laugh, and I figured this was my time to shine.
I offered to teach him magic.
A hush fell over the campsite. It wasn’t like there had been much noise before, but I’d made sure to speak clearly enough to be heard by the surrounding tribes too. They’d already been peering over to this campfire, too intimidated to get closer, but too curious to not stare.
Kelser asked if I was sure. There were a lot more people here than just the Roja tribe. I told him it was fine, since the festival was unlikely to proceed like usual. I thought many tribes would want to hang around for a few more days, especially now that I’d offered magic lessons.
“I can’t start today though,” I said. “Since Noel and I need to talk with the Jora tribe’s priests. We still have a lot of questions, and I don’t think Noel will accept any more of a delay.” I clapped a hand on Kelser’s shoulder. “But I don’t need to be around for the first lesson, do I? The Roja can teach the other tribes, at least for today.”
Kelser tried to protest, but I told him there was no reason to be humble. I could tell they were good enough to begin teaching the other humans, and Kelser, in particular, would do a fantastic job. In fact, I told him he’d be in charge of teaching the other humans, since elder Kezler had to join us in our meeting.
“That reminds me,” I said, “have you seen Noel?”
“Yes,” said Kelser, “she’s still in her tent.”
I looked up at the horizon. The sun was well and truly up by now, and almost everybody was awake. Noel wasn’t the type to laze around in bed all day, so I grabbed a small, skewered and cooked fish, thanked the gathered humans for their company, and went up to Noel’s tent.
“Noel,” I said, “it’s time to wake up.”
Noel didn’t respond.
“Come on,” I said, “we have to meet the Jora, I mean, the human Jora tribe’s priests! We still have some questions for them, don’t we?”
Still, no answer. My heart skipped a beat. I grabbed the entrance to her tent and went inside. The insides were messy and disturbed. The back of the tent was upturned halfway, with roughed up dirt at the base of the back exit. The tent was near the edge of the encampment, facing towards a lip of the hill behind which several people could be easily hidden. I ran behind the tent in a frenzy and searched all around the place.
Noel was nowhere to be seen.
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There are 3 things a wise man fears …
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