Tales of the Big Bad Wolf: The Red Riding Hood Arc (A Fairy Tale)

Chapter 28: The Wolf Past, Part III

 The Twisted
Lost ones
become like the Unthings themselves,
devouring the lives of others
until Fate intervenes.

The elven rangers were tired. The darkness had begun to toy with their minds. They were a strong people but the unexpected loss of men to the Unthings discouraged them. They pressed forward, however, with the hope of finding friendly faces at the Elven settlement at the Silver River.

Finding the settlement, however, was not as simple as one might think. Elves were a cautious sort and often used their considerable talents to hide in the open.

The men in the troupe made their way along the riverbank in the light of morning. It was not wise to move openly but they had no desire to walk through the more shadowed parts of the woods.

And so they fell into a trap quite easily.

A thousand arrows pointed at this small band of rangers. If it weren't for Toryn’s unflinching poise, the other men might have reacted and uselessly drawn their bows at those who surrounded them. But Toryn knew it would be futile. He nodded to the circle of elves and spoke calmly. “I am Ranger Toryn. We’re from the Two Forks village. We’ve been journeying West to the Mirror Lake. Our men are injured, thanks to the Unthings a day or so north of here.”

“The human cub,” the apparent leader spoke from a tree above them. “Your prisoner?”

“No,” Toryn frowned. “He’s one of us.”

The elves murmured, before their leader answered. “No outsiders are allowed to see the way in. He’ll have to be blindfolded. Will you accept these conditions?”

Maximilian could see the others frown slightly, but when Toryn turned his head in his direction, the young man nodded.

“We shall,” Toryn answered.

At that, two men leaped from the trees, landing lightly on their feet. Maximilian tensed slightly as they approached, but did not move as a sack was placed over his head.

“Our apologies,” the leader's voice floated from somewhere else near him. “But our clan chief has warned of outsiders. Our men will escort your human companion. The rest of you are asked to please put your weapons away. We will guide you from here.”

                                                                                      ~o~

Maximilian would not have been able to do them much harm regardless of whether or not he was blindfolded or not. The path the Silver River elves took twisted and turned, went up and down, and was impossible to commit to memory.

He could hear the sound of water babbling faintly in the background as their path gradually sloped upward. He could feel the wind start to move more keenly. And then the air stilled and he was forced to kneel.

When his blindfold was removed, he found himself seated alongside several others in his party. His eyes drifted around, studying the wooden hut. He realized then they were up in the trees.

His troupe members removed his restraints, explaining the reasons for the peculiar arrangement of Silver River elves' settlement. They had not always lived up in the sky. However, they were forced to build above the ground, beyond the reach of the floods that came whenever the two moons in the sky aligned in orbit.

Maximilian realized that Toryn was not with them.  And so the rangers sat patiently, using the time to mend their bows, hew some arrows, and repack supplies with the materials provided by the River elves. They waited. Not only for Toryn, but for news of Eldnar and how he fared.

The younger ones could not help amusing themselves during this idle time. They openly discussed what they had observed about the village with the young Wolfram.

“There are more womenfolk than menfolk,” a ranger noted. “Rather odd.”

Delmarin seemed almost excited as he recounted how many young women he had seen so far.

His twin brother Delmari laughed at his brother's apparent fascination with the subject matter. “Delmarin is the sort to notice. He has always had such an eye for the ladies.”

Delmarin glared. “You know you were looking just as much as I was. But while the womenfolk here are quite fair, I don’t know that they much care for Wood Elf life. The River here has too many offerings that we could never manage to provide, I’m afraid.”

“Except a good stout elf,” someone added with a thump to his chest – a gesture that set the men grinning.

It was almost safe here to speak of such light matters. But Maximilian was not like them. He did not have their temperament or capacity for lightness. “And what of Eldnar?”

“He’s with the prettiest of them all,” Delmarin said a bit more somberly. “A healer. He actually cracked a smile when she started to talk to him. But who wouldn't?”

“Indeed, brother,” Delmari grinned. “I was worried for him for a bit. Thought Eldnar had lost more than his arm to that thing but one can see some glimmer of the old boy there.”