The Sword and the Flame: The Forging

Chapter 15

Gilliam looked back at them with a sad smile. "Galin, we are in no danger as we are alive. The spirits here are enthralled with it, unable to decide on what to do." He shrugged. "They have given up their hold to this world but wish to remain. There is no danger in peace."

Everyone remained silent for a moment as his words taught them all in some way. Most felt as though they had attended a funeral, except it wasn't a depressed sadness but a warm, comfortable sadness as one experiences after the death of a loved one and looks back on their lives with fondness rather than regret.

Both Viola and Janessa stood side by side, one comforting the other until Viola spoke. "We'd best get moving."

Janessa nodded her agreement as did Galin. "Aye, lass, it won't remain dark for long."

Berek rested a hand on Gilliam's shoulder. "Uncle?"

Gilliam nodded with a sad smile. He didn't know where his words had come from. Whether the words were his or not didn't matter. For now, he wondered at what was given to him that night. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he turned back towards the broken down warehouse with their destination behind it. From that moment on, each step seemed to move them forward at a running pace, even though the pace Gilliam set was the same as a few minutes before. Strange how quickly one's perception can alter things, he thought as they turned past the far side of the deserted warehouse. There, he stopped at two large wooden doors reinforced with steel sitting in front of him on the ground, their locks glowed in the darkness.

Before anyone could say anything good or bad, Janessa stepped forward, rubbing her palms together. "This won't take no more than a minute." Kneeling on the ground, she studied the lock for a few seconds and mumbled something about dual tumblers, and then searched through her pocket for her tools.

Gilliam, Berek, and Galin all exchanged looks of knowing. Berek smiled and shrugged. "We each must use our gifts when necessary."

Galin stroked his beard. "True enough. Just glad I never left my lock box unattended."

Viola saw the looks the three exchanged and she felt her face flush. They were understanding. At least, she assumed the cleric was. Mystics of the light tended to look down on people like her and Janessa, but then he had thrown in with them, hadn't he? She couldn't help but feel them judging her and Janessa.

"We have to eat somehow." Viola meant to sound offhand; like she was one of them. Instead, it came out sounding defiant. She noticed Janessa tense somewhat, either her curiosity was aroused or she was prepared to come to Viola's defense if need be as the mage had come to hers. Viola chose to believe the latter, but to her surprise, Gilliam responded to her first.

Gilliam's face looked haggard, like he bore some great weight that could never be understood. Viola felt ashamed for her previous tone after seeing the pain and age in the cleric's blue eyes. "We pass no judgments, as we are far from angelic ourselves. Please, don't misunderstand what we say or do."

Viola nodded and her apology was accepted without hesitation. Janessa heard it all as she worked to open the lock. She didn't cry or take any of it as an insult. In fact, she took the whole event as a compliment. It seemed at last they found friends that didn't judge them without the benefit of the facts. As a Halfling, it was something that was seldom, if ever experienced.

Halflings, the scourge of the land, the kings of thieves, were a couple of phrases often used by the other races throughout the world of Pyrain. From the day they came into being, Halflings have been as unique as any other race. They were created by the Goddess Arabeil to personify her mischievous nature towards her siblings' creations. She copied her oldest sister Helus' race of Elves and their features, but decided to mock the Elves' statuesque beauty by making them half the size of their cousins, hence the name Halfling.