We continued our journey, now with the harpy tied to the back of our horses. Nia wanted to kill him, but Greenspring and I wanted to keep him alive until we could safely interrogate him. We were still in harpy territory after all. As the Sapphire Mountains grew closer, the terrain started to change. The rolling hills grew larger and trees became more frequent.
Signs of the harska also grew more evident. We found recently used fireplaces, visible footprints, and cut marks along the trees. Greenspring also found some shards of rock near one of the fireplaces. According to him, this was a sign that they had made new weapons. When we fought them at the forge, I did remember them using stone weapons. Though it was hard to tell with the uneven lighting.
We rode behind Greenspring’s wolf while looking for a place to camp for the night. With the harpy in tow, we had to be extra careful to find a good spot. I pointed out a small clearing in the middle of a dense group of trees. Hidden from the sky, it was the perfect place to hide from any unwanted observers. We tied our horses to the nearby trees and set up camp. The harpy we left tied up near the horses. Nia fed and brushed them, while Greenspring and I got to making dinner.
We decided not to cook anything, choosing to go with dry food instead. With the recent attack by the harpies, we couldn’t risk it, the smoke from the fire would give us away. We resigned ourselves to eating bread and water. I had some dried jerky, so we ate that as well. The harpy we captured only ate the bread, but he didn’t complain. After eating, he quickly fell asleep.
Nia sat by me as we ate, watching me out of the corner of her eye. I noticed her but decided not to call attention to it. When she decided to talk to me, she would talk to me. I didn’t have to wait long to hear what she wanted to ask.
“Norman?” asked Nia. “I’ve been wondering, how does your magic work?”
I turned, raising my eyebrow. “What makes you ask?”
“I noticed that when the harpy attacked, you didn’t try to cast any spells. But when the harska attacked, you were playing songs on your instrument there. I’m assuming that was you using magic. Why didn’t you do that against the harpies?”
“Bards, like myself, play music to use magic. So you are correct that I was using magic against the harska. As for why I didn’t do that against the harpies, well... I didn’t think about it. I was too scared I guess.”
“So you play a song and then something magical happens?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t have to play a song to use magic, that’s just the easiest way to do it. My mandolin, or my voice, is a conduit for magic. Specifically, because they both produce sound. Bards can manipulate sound to cast spells. As long as there is sound, I can use magic.”
Greenspring nodded and added, “My magic comes from nature. Either through plants or animals. Like Norman’s instrument, they are a conduit for magic. Sometimes even the air is enough to use magic.”
Nia looked to the side. “Could you teach spells to someone who doesn’t know magic?”
“I was able to learn from Piopus without knowing magic,” I said with a shrug. “Of course, I was quite young. The younger you are, the more susceptible to learning magic you are.”
“Something to think about I guess,” said Nia.
I took a large sip of water, the cool liquid slid down my throat as I thought. Was Nia interested in learning magic? Her skills with her axe already made her a force to be reckoned with, magic would only aid in her strength. Though it would be hard to teach someone who wasn’t a child.
“Perhaps we can make a deal that will benefit all of us,” said Greenspring, his mouth was filled with bread as he talked. “You can teach Norman how to fight, and Norman and I will teach you magic. You did offer to teach Norman your knife trick, remember?”
Nia nodded, but I wasn’t so easily convinced. “How does that benefit you?” I asked Greenspring.
Greenspring smiled. “Well, I do need stronger bodyguards.” He laughed. “Besides, it will be fun to see Nia train you. That is more than enough of a benefit to me.”
We both looked to Nia for her answer. Her facial expressions switched from happy to nervous and then back again. She squished some bread in her hands together before taking a bite. We watched her chew and then wash it down with some water. Finally, she looked at the two of us. “Count me in.”
The next morning, I stood ready in the center of a large field. Greenspring made a circular training area for us out of branches. He watched from the sidelines, the tied-up harpy next to him. I bounced from foot to foot at the edge of the circle, while Nia stood opposite me. We both had large sticks to act as weapons. I fixed my grip several times on my stick. Nia stood calmly with her stick pointed down.
We both looked towards Greenspring. He would be calling pauses in the action as well as making sure things didn’t get too heated. With a nod from him, we got ready to fight. Nia lifted her stick, brandishing it above her head. I tightened my grip on my weapon as well.
Nia was the first to act, coming at me fast with an overhead swing. I blocked it with my stick and tried to transition into an attack on her side. She took a step back to avoid it. Stepping forward again, she lunged at me. I tried to dodge to the left, but she caught me in the middle of my movement. Her stick slapped my side, hurting more than a stick should. Greenspring called a pause so we took a couple of steps back to cool off.
My breathing was starting to get ragged, but I carried on. Greenspring called for us to resume, so I wiped the sweat off my brow and got ready. Nia seemed calm and collected, not even sweating from our minor tussle. To her, this was a warm-up. I decided to make the first move and rushed forward.
I made a feint to the left, before swinging at her neck. Nia blocked the attack with ease and kicked me back. I slid on the damp grass, trying to get my footing. She preyed on my momentary unbalance and kicked me in the chest again. I fell to the ground where Nia placed her stick at my throat.
Greenspring paused the fight again. Nia held out her hand to help me up, which I graciously accepted. As she pulled me up from the ground she said, “You’re too predictable, Norman.”
“How so?” I replied, brushing dirt and grass off my pants.
“Your left leg leads every attack you make. Once that starts moving, I know you're gonna move with it. Then there are your facial expressions. You squint once you think about attacking, and you look to where you're gonna attack. Honestly Norman, it’s pretty bad.”
I nodded. “Alright, well how do I fix it?”
Nia played with a bit of her hair while she thought about my question. I looked over to Greenspring, who was playing with his wolf, much to the dismay of the harpy. He would throw a nearby branch and the wolf would race after it, trotting back happily with the branch in its mouth.
“Let’s focus on your leg first,” said Nia. I nodded in agreement and got into a combat-ready stance.
“Predictability is the death of a fighter. Once your opponents know how you’re gonna act, they’ve already won the battle. Instead of leading with your left leg, try switching to your right every other swing. That will help build muscle memory when a real battle happens. Do that for me, one hundred times.”
“One hundred!” I whined. “We don’t have time for that. What about saving Tamara?”
“If you aren’t ready to fight when the time comes, it won’t matter how soon we get there. Now, give me one hundred swings!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
I quickly started swinging the stick from side to side, stepping forward with each swing. I made sure to switch which leg I led with each time. As I worked on improving myself, Greenspring and Nia worked on packing up our camp. By the time I was done, sweat covered my body. My arms and legs ached, but I knew it would only get worse as the days got on.
Every morning on our little journey, Nia would train me in some new fighting techniques. We trained on predicting your opponent’s movements, how to keep them from predicting yours, and which body parts to attack first. All of it was drilled into my head day after day. Greenspring chuckled to himself as he watched my suffering. I wasn’t sure what made me angrier, the fact that Greenspring enjoyed my discomfort, or that Nia let him.
Every evening, Greenspring and I worked on teaching Nia magic. Since she had no knowledge of magic, I started small. The first spell I taught her changed the pitch of her voice. Master Piopus had taught me that spell so I could perform duets by myself. It wasn’t that hard to use, only requiring humming three notes while rubbing your neck. Nia picked up on it quickly, learning faster than I had when I was a child.
Greenspring taught her how to understand his wolf. It wasn’t really a spell, more like learning a new language, but Nia took to it quickly. Then he transitioned into teaching her how to speak with different types of animals. I wish I could have listened in on those lessons myself, but I still had to work on my swordplay.
Within a couple of days, we had reached the edge of the Tehle Forest. Trees grew close to their neighbors in the forest, fighting over each other for space. The ground was littered with leaves and roots poking out of the ground. Faintly, I could hear birds calling in the new day.
“What are they saying, Nia?” I asked.
She had a disgusted look on her face. “You don’t want to know.”
Beyond the forest lay the foot of the Sapphire Mountains where we suspected the harska lived. Greenspring’s wolf confirmed, at least, that the trail led into the forest.
Greenspring walked up to the nearest tree and placed his hand on it, saying, “Oh mighty oak! How long have you thrived at the edge of this forest? Your ancestors made this collection of trees what it is today. Yet, there is no king or queen to rule over your kind. No, each tree fights for their dominance in the kingdom of nature. Permit us to enter your domain, so that we may rescue our own.”
We stood in silence as Greenspring talked to the tree. I looked over to Nia, who only stared in awe at the dirty hermit. I knew that he was a druid, master of nature magic, but talking to trees was a bit much. It sounded ridiculous to me.
The wind picked up. Leaves, hanging from the thick branches of the trees, danced in the wind. Several fell to the ground as the wind blew harder and harder. Yet, the wind never reached Greenspring. His clothes hung loosely from his body. Not a hair moved on his head.
The wind stopped. We watched as Greenspring smiled at the great oak that stood before him. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out some kind of green-colored dirt. Leaning on his staff, he spread the dirt at the base of the tree. Slowly, he stood back up and turned to us.
“This forest will do us no harm,” he said, patting the trunk of the tree.
“Would it have hurt us if you hadn’t done that?” I asked.
“Would you harm someone who entered your home without asking?” replied Greenspring. I didn’t answer him.
“You can’t take me in there,” said the harpy, staring wide-eyed into the dark depths of the forest.
“We could kill you now,” replied Nia, smiling. “How does that sound?”
Greenspring shook his head. “No, he is right. This is as far as we take him. The other harpies will not follow us here.”
Sliding off my horse, I untied him from the back of Nia’s horse. We never got around to questioning him, but it didn’t matter. Greenspring’s wolf never lost the trail, so we never needed the harpy’s help. Still, I was curious about how much he knew. After putting him onto the ground, I dragged him away from the forest.
“How often do you see harska in your territory?” I asked.
“I don’t know what that is,” he replied, struggling against his bonds.
“If you lie again I’ll let Nia kill you.”
He struggled harder. “I don’t know what that is! You have to believe me, I don’t know every word you humans use for everything.”
I sighed. “They’re cat-like creatures, about half the size of myself. Starting to ring a bell.”
“They’re too fast for us to catch, so we leave them alone. Some passed by us a couple of days before we saw you.”
“How many?” I asked, looking into his eyes.
He met my gaze. “A large group, maybe ten or more. Some of them were carrying large bags. I wanted to eat them, but my brother said no. Said we made a deal with their king.”
Now a good ways from the edge of the forest, I sat him upright and held my knife to his bonds. Greenspring and Nia watched me nervously, ready to strike if he tried anything. “Next time you see them, kill them all.” I cut through the ropes. He pushed me back and flew into the air, heading back towards Kent’s Crossing.
After watching him disappear into the sky, I walked back to my horse. I remembered the name of the king that harska had talked about, Gunner. My blood boiled as I thought about this harska king. Whoever he was, I was going to personally end him.
We made our way forward, following Greenspring’s wolf deeper into the forest. As we went further into the thicket of trees, the tracks became more noticeable. There were more cut marks on the base of the trees and broken branches lying on the ground. Nia even found a dried piece of their stool.
Even with Greenspring’s ritual to appease the forest, I still had a sense of unease. Every step that we took brought us closer to the harska. We hadn’t even discussed how we planned to rescue Tamara, hoping that an idea would come to us as we got closer. I assumed that Nia would want to rush in, while Greenspring would want to take a more careful approach. I had no idea what to do and no plan of action.
The other two must have been in as deep of thought as I was. They stayed silent as we followed the eccentric wolf. It took a break every couple of steps to follow some new trail, and discover new details that we would have missed. I lost count of how many pieces of cloth we found caught on some tree branch. Soon, we would find where they had taken our friends and family. We would rescue them.
