Nox

Chapter One

There was no sound to be heard amongst the towering ancient trees that lay in the Caecus forest. There was no wind to be heard whistling, no movement to shift the ancient branches that still held water droplets from the recent bellowing storm. The animals were quiet and sleeping, nestled in their holes in the ground and their knots in the trees. There were no pattering paws to be heard, no owl coos, not even crickets; for all the creatures of the wood were fast asleep in their warm burrows and knot holes to escape from the bitter cold that haunted the air that night. All was silent, except for the quiet footsteps of a small man.

Well, not man. Men were creatures who stood upright and built villages and families and who enjoyed the fun in life. The man who walked through the forest this night was not a man, this creature was none other than a dwarf. Looking at a man and a dwarf, one could say that dwarves weren't' that different from a man, maybe even called a very distant cousin. But in the same way, a dwarf is indeed much different from a man.

This dwarf was just below five feet tall, with broad shoulders and a long black beard that covered most of his face. The dwarf's face was shadowed by the dark cloak he wore, its' purpose to camouflage him as well as keep him dry. The hood over his head, along with the rest of the thick fabric was clearly still damp with rain as he lumbered through the fallen leaves and mud toward a large willow tree with long hanging leaves.

Panting slightly, the dwarf approached the large tree and stopped. He glanced around at his surrounds. The willow's leaves were long enough to almost touch the ground. The long strands of dark leaves gave the illusion of a doorway, or a curtain. The dwarf turned and landed on a fallen trunk, sighing as he did, for he had been traveling for a very long time. The dwarf took off the sack that he had been carrying on his back and placed it on the trunk next to him. He opened the sack and stuck his hand in the bag, rummaging through his belongings until his hand enclosed upon something smooth and round. The dwarf paused for a moment, then slowly pulled his hand out of the bag.

There in his hand sat a palm-sized glistening rock. The dwarf stared at it as the object glowed red at him, a tiny ringing in his ear. The ringing slowly grew louder and louder. Then the dwarf snapped his eyes shut and thrusted the gem back into his sack. He lost sight of it in the bag just as it turned the color white. The dwarf opened his eyes with a big sigh. He submerged his hand once more into the bag until his hand found the familiar metal flask. He pulled it out happily, unscrewed the top and took a large swig of whiskey.

The dwarf only had to wait a minute more before he was approached by the thing he was waiting for.

"The news of your actions have been spread far." A placid voice emerged from the curtain of the willow's leaves. The dwarf scrambled to his feet, the flask still in his hand. "Did I not tell you to be discreet and unseen." The voice toughened at these last words.

"Wel-I-I-I was indeed discreet...My prince," He added with a slight bow, "but of course, the news would've spread eventually wo-wou-wouldn't it, w-with- well when the dwarf who was in possession of it knew it to be gone, yes?"

"I suppose, but I thought you would've been clever enough to prevent that. Killing witnesses is not enough, Elethus, you must cover your tracks...I presume the owner of the other artifact has been notified and will be on the lookout for thieves. When it reached my ears that..somebody had taken it and that almost every creature across the land knew about it, I thought to myself.." The voice became dangerously low. "this certainly will not do."

Elethus began to tremble slightly. "Of course, my prince." He breathed. He bent over the bag and carefully pulled out the rock that still glowed a bright red. "In spite of your concerns, my prince, I have obtained what, what you so graciously asked for." He held his trembling hand out with the stone exposed.

"Ahh.." The voice said softly, and with swiftness like a fawn, a dark shape emerged from the shadow of the willow. First it was antlers, then it was dark red eyes, but slowly Elethus began to see what exactly he had been talking to. The black stag approached him slowly, gracefully placing one hoof in front of the other, its head lowered to gaze at the gem. "Ahh.." The voice said again, though the sound came from the stag, the animal's lips did not move. It simply continued to gaze at its prize. "Well done, Elethus.." The voice muttered.

Elethus gulped silently. "Of course, my prince..Well, I um, I'll just.." He carefully placed the gem on the ground in front of him as the stag continued to gaze at it. Immediately, the stone again turned white. "I'll just be going now if, um, if I'm no longer needed-"

"I think you are mistaken, dwarf."

The dwarf's stomach dropped. "I'm..I'm sorry?"

"I said that you are mistaken." The voice said as the stag raised its head so that its red eyes were looking directly at Elethus' brown ones. "Although I very much appreciate the work you have done for me, and really I do appreciate it," The stag began to walk forward. "I am afraid you cannot leave here tonight."

The dwarf backed away as the animal drew nearer. "But, but I don't understand, my prince-"

"Weren't you paying attention when I told you?" The dwarf's back hit a tree and the stag stopped directly in front of him. "You must always remember to cover your tracks."

The stag lunged forward with its head down and rammed it's antlers into the dwarfs' round belly. Elethus yelled out in agony as the stag pulled away, and the dwarf collapsed onto the forest ground, blood spilling from his fatal wound. Elethus closed his eyes, but opened them when he heard the sound of footsteps. His eyes snapped open and his mouth began to say something, but he stopped when he saw the tall slim figure.

The stag was gone; in its' place stood a tall pale person with pointed ears and long white hair. He turned his head to Elethus and stared at him with beetle-like eyes.

The last thing the poor dwarf saw was the elf smile as he bent down and pick up the white gem, which slowly turned a glowing black in his hand.

Authors Note: Hi, yes, it's been a long time, and hopefully I'll actually finish this story, but I cannot guarantee that. Although, who knows, maybe if enough of you like it I'll have to keep going. I apologize for the crappy title and description, I really don't know what to call this story. It's really still in the works, but I wanted to publish to try and motivate myself to keep writing. Hope you guys enjoy and thanks for reading!