The Land of Green and Gold Part II: Silence

Chapter 16: Blood Band

"NO!" Griffin screamed, voice rising in desperation.

The spriggan thrust out a hand, feeling an immense surge in his gut. The giant spriggan's sword hit Fern's chest and exploded into shadows, the dark tendrils swirling wildly around the dryad, then drifting away. A sliver of red bled through her clothes from where the sword had struck her, but Fern was able to scramble hurriedly to her feet. The spriggan's weapon had only managed to nick her.

The crowd fell silent, save for a scattered murmuring of surprise and confusion as the spriggans glanced around at one another. The giant spriggan stared at his hands where his sword should have been, then at Fern who was staring back, equally bewildered.

"What's going on?" Jolt whispered, hands wringing nervously.

"I...I yelled and did something. I don't really know what I just did, but somehow the spriggan's sword disappeared," Griffin replied. How exactly did I do that? It was almost like when Feral took control of my magic, except this time it was me controlling another's.

"Um, Griffin? Griffin? GRIFFIN!" Jolt shouted.

"What?" Griffin snapped, turning to face the phoenix. His irritation quickly dissolved, however, as he realized that the Glayren spriggans were all staring at them.

"Griffin!" Fern cried out, seeing him as well.

The dryad began to run toward him but the giant spriggan grabbed her wrist and twisted her arms behind her back. Fern muffled a cry of pain and gazed sadly across the room at her friends.

The quiet murmuring that had been going on suddenly ceased. The crowd parted as a lone spriggan made his way toward the newcomers, confidence and authority in his step. This spriggan was tall and lean, perhaps in his later 40's, and walked with a slight limp that strangely seemed to make him appear more terrifying than weak. His black hair blended seamlessly with his skin, making the Elder to seem like a living shadow.

The spriggan stopped in front of Griffin who had climbed down from the barrel by now. He paused, silently studying the three Elder, then spoke. "What is your name, brother? I assume you have brought the phoenix and wisp as gifts? The dog, too, is a nice touch."

"Gifts?" Griffin echoed.

The spriggan nodded. "Yes, to join Blood Band of course. Is that not why you are here?"

Griffin shook his head. "No. These two are not gifts and I've never heard of Blood Band. I came here because you have one of my band members." Griffin pointed at Fern and waited for the dark spriggan's response.

"Hm. I see I've jumped to conclusions. My name is Void." The spriggan gestured grandly at the throng of Elder behind him. "And this is my band, Blood Band. We are all the same here and each one of us is strong—we even killed all the vile humans who lived here and claimed this place as our own. Come join us, brother. I promise it'll be much more fun than putting up with those other Elder."

"You have one of my followers," Griffin repeated stiffly, ignoring the invitation. "I don't care about your band or how strong you are. Release her."

Void sighed as though disappointed, but the gleam in his black eyes didn't quite seem to match. "You're deluded, young spriggan. The other Elder are not our friends. They have turned their backs on us centuries ago and nothing good will come out of associating with them. If you remain in this band, one day your followers will betray you and you will be all alone. Come—join my band and be free."

"I'm not here to join you and nothing you say will convince me," Griffin retorted. "Now hand over the dryad before someone gets hurt."

The Blood Band leader grinned, teeth flashing unsettlingly white against his skin. "Before someone gets hurt, you say. Does that mean you'll attempt to fight us?" The dozens of spriggans suddenly drew various weapons, eyes gleaming eagerly. "Please do try."