Chapter 145: book 3 chapter 46

To say the young woman Alagos had followed into the forest was an oddity would have been an understatement. In all his years he had never met someone so… confusing.

On the one hand she appeared to be a completely harmless child, blundering her way through the forests while plucking handfuls of flowers and tossing them into a bag. 

On the other hand, however, the way she had snuck up on him when they met left the man stunned. How could this girl who had fallen into a bush just minutes ago completely erase her presence? 

And then there was that feeling, the sinking in his gut when she had faced off against him in the clearing. A premonition from deep inside his own psyche that pulled a long forgotten fear from his memories. A fear he had not felt in ages; one that had so long been covered by countless battles and hardships, one any warrior will face and either overcome or be consumed by. 

Alagos, Chairman of Defense, hailed as the best magic swordsmen in all of Felnnor; a man who has climbed his way all the way to the top was… scared… no, not scared of this girl. It was not something so shallow as fear, it was mixed with something else… excitement. 

He knew in his very soul that if he were to attack this girl he would lose. It was simple, like saying the sky was blue; just a fact that he as a warrior knew. Just like when he was a rookie sparring with his commander, it was just how the world worked. 

But with that creeping realization from ages of experience, the wisdom that came from cutting his teeth against countless others that were his equal came another feeling. A spark of youth he hadn’t felt since becoming a master swordsman. A desire to fight strong opponents, to test himself against the pinnacle, to climb that ever growing mountain just because it was there. It was that very spark that drove him when he was young, since he picked up his first sword a lifetime ago, a flame that he had ignored.

No, not ignored just… forgot. He let it carry him to where he was now and stood at the top of that mountain but this girl. This child who emitted absolutely no power, who stood before him with the confidence of a lion before a mouse had reminded him of that flame he had nearly let die. 

Yet since entering the forest she had lost all that voracity, that defiant feeling that stirred him to agree to follow her had vanished. Leaving this blundering mess of a girl in its wake. And it not only confused Alagos, he found it somewhat… aggravating.

Not the girl, though she was part of his irritation as he was confident she had absolutely no idea what she was doing, a fact made painfully clear when they passed a large stump he was certain they had passed before; the fact she reacted the same every time she saw it made it all that more obvious as she walked up patted the log and exclaimed that it would make a great chair.

More than that however, he was aggravated at himself. He was not some young hotblooded swordsmen, but a Chairman. Someone who is supposed to lead his people, to defend them! And here he was leaving Cemi of all people alone with three unknown women. Sure, she had the escorts, and Rilitar along with a squad of soldiers; but after sizing the three of them up just as he had with this girl, Alagos was confident those three would be more than a match for any average soldier. Even with them suppressing their mana it was clear that the girl in black and the elven woman had extensive training, the fact that they had subdued Astari was proof enough of that.

He can admit he had been skeptical when he had heard they had been spotted with his wayward brother, but that doubt had been erased the moment he had laid eyes on them. After all, that girl with the injured leg was using a branch of the world tree as a cane, more specifically she was using Astari’s staff he had been given when he became an elder; or what was left of it at least. 

“Oh wow, this would make a great chair!” the girl exclaimed again as she ran up to the same log and slapped it with an open palm. 

Alagos couldn’t help but grind his teeth as the scene played out again. The strange girl ran in a circle around the log before nodding to herself, then she dropped to the ground as if searching for something, even going as far as to press her ear to the dirt and muttering to herself. He couldn’t be sure, but she may have even licked a rock as she did and then like the world itself was sharing some secret with her she laughed before standing up. Then after sniffing the air she just picked a direction at random.

“We are walking in circles!” He finally voiced his annoyance as he pointed at the log, “We have passed this exact log a dozen times!”

As if to add to his irritation the girl had the audacity to actually look confused as she cocked her entire head to the side. Her next words actually made his blood boil, as she shrugged and said a single word. “And?”

“Do you even know how to track someone? Where he went? Or where we even are?” Alagos bit back his more… impolite observations of the girl as she scratched her head.

“humm…” She crossed her arms as her face contorted as if in deep thought. “Nope, no idea where we are. But hunting I can do!” The girl's odd tail lifted up and pointed off to her left, “I am… like… 75% sure he went that way. I would be more sure if I could use my hunting hat but Eryl won’t let me enchant it yet, something about unstable enchantments and “the end of all common sense as we know it”.” She made air quotes around the last part as if to emphasize her point, “I think she’s just being over dramatic but she’s really cute when she rants so it's ok…”

This can’t be real. He thought as the girl went on yet another long-winded tangent. This has to be some kind of trick, that’s it. No one can possibly be this easily distracted. In the hours, and it has been hours, he has followed this girl, she has talked nearly constantly. Not to him mind you, just… talked. Twice she had run into the woods only to reappear swearing about some “vine” man who scared all the animals away; four separate flower picking tangents and one particularly bad encounter with a wasp she still insists was “just a really pissed off honey bee”. She had complained for nearly 20 minutes when Alagoas killed it before it stung her, despite him explaining exactly how venomous that particular wasp was.

It was honestly easier for him to believe that this was some kind of clever plot than reality, that this girl had some kind of high-level acting skill, a deception high enough to fool even him into thinking she was some kind of threat… no, my own scout had confirmed that Astari was with them. And he clearly wasn’t when they arrived meaning he did escape into the forest… 

“And that is why I need to get a lot of fancy gifts from all across the world for everyone!” Thank the gods she seemed to be winding down, “What were we talking about again?”

“Astari is probably halfway back to the port by now.” Alagos muttered, and much to his surprise the girl laughed.

“Grabby hand?” She scoffed, “He’s super lost; he’s been walking in circles since he escaped. Really kind of disappointing, aren’t elves supposed to be great at the whole wilderness survival thing?” For her credit she actually looked abashed as she quickly amended her statement, “I mean… that was racist, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just everyone I met so far has been really good at finding their way through the forest! But then there's this guy, who is so confident he’s so much better than everyone but couldn’t navigate his way out of a paper bag if the instructions were on the bottom… wait… I messed that up… something about a boot and water… where does the paper bag come into it then…”  

“You honestly expect me to believe that Astari is the one walking in circles and you’re just following him?” he decided to ignore… well most everything the girl said.

“Well duh, that’s why we keep passing this great chair!” She rolled her big red eyes before continuing, “Hey do you think I could dig that up and take it with me? Would that be like a bad thing? This isn’t like a forest preserve, is it? It just looks like really good wood, why’s it red inside? Trees at home aren’t red like that, you know? And the mana conductivity! I bet Eryl knows, I should ask her… why do you look so angry?” 

I’m… I’m going to kill her. Alagos considered himself a patient man, but this was too much. He had only followed this girl out here to find Astari. That and she had somehow convinced him that she was some kind of threat that the others in his group couldn’t handle but…

His own resolve slipped slightly as his hand tensed against the hilt of his sword. His own irritation got the better of him for a moment before he could take a deep breath and remind himself for what felt like the millionth time that she was clearly a child…

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As if reacting to his thoughts the girl’s entire body stiffened, her wide smile faltering as her eyes narrowed and again Alagos’ felt it, that creeping coldness as her eyes fixed on him. The girl's tail, that had been a constant maelstrom of movement, stilled; coming to rest coiled defensively around the girl’s body as her voice came out in a low growl, “I do not want to fight you.” She hissed and Alagos actually stepped back, his throat suddenly dry as the girl glared at him. 

 

He, a man who has stood on the frontlines of battlefields, killed countless men… Yet this girl cowled him with no more than a look. He was unaware that everything in the area also ran away from them as Hecatolite flooded the area with emotion, Alagos himself was surprisingly bad at mental defense though his fortitude would normally make such things trivial. But it's not every day you stare down a Deity who really wants nothing more than to wander happily though the forest on a lazy hunt with an actual elf, though Alagos was a bit grumpy he really did remind Hecatolite of her father.

He was powerful, and though she could feel pride in him it was far from unfounded. He may also share that lust for battle her father did, but that wasn’t a bad thing for someone to have. The desire to be strong. And since she could feel in him the same desire her father had, the unrelenting need to protect something she had concluded that this man was a good man. After all, the desire to be strong was something Hecatolite herself could respect in a person, after all being strong is what makes people safe, and what better reason does someone need than to protect people!

However, she did not like the few times she felt bloodlust from the man, and why would he point it at her of all people! Was he annoyed at how long it was taking to track down grabby hand? She was dragging it out after all, but she was sure the others were still talking and though the other elven woman was cute, she couldn’t bring herself to act interested in politics. She wanted to just slap a terminal in the lady’s hand and have her call mom, or the Queen; that’s about as involved in all this alliance stuff she wanted to be. 

Amethyst however, seemed really excited about it, so Hecatolite would let her play politics for a while; besides it's not like it was really that big of a deal… Wait, does this man think she’s slow?

Finally the man sighed, taking a deep breath and the bloodlust faded and Hecatolite relaxed. Good, if I had to fight him, I am sure Amethyst would be mad at me. Besides, then I would have to drag both of them back. She nodded as the man rubbed his temples. 

“Listen,” the man shook his head before looking up into the sky, as if checking the sun before he continued. “I’m just going to take over tracking him myself. I can pick you up on my way back…”

I didn’t know he was the joking type too! Hecatolite burst into laughter, He really is just like dad… oh wait… he’s serious? Her laughter was cut off as she looked at the man's stern face. No trace of amusement in his gaze as he looked at her as if waiting for her to finish. 

“You really think I can’t hunt, don’t you?” She narrowed her eyes as she spoke. 

“We have been out here for hours,” He sighed, “If you could actually track…”

Hecatolite cut him off with a crack of her tail, This… I’ll show him! She didn’t bother flooding the area with emotion as she had earlier, after all this wasn’t a fight; now it was a challenge! “If you think you’re so good at hunting then why did you follow me huh? Because you know I’m better at it, that’s why! I bet you I can catch him before you do!” She hissed, jabbing a finger towards where their prey was, she didn’t want to be accused of cheating, besides it was only fair if they started off on equal footing! “He’s that way. I’m not sure how far but I know for a fact it’s that direction.”

The man cocked an eyebrow, as if considering her words before tentatively glancing in the direction she pointed. “Ok…”

“If I catch him first you will… owe me a favor! No wait, I need someone to show me around the big tree when we get them! That’s it, you will show me and Amethyst around the big tree! And if you win… I’ll… humm… I know, I’ll enchant something for you!” The man's face contorted in what could only have been disbelief, but Hecatolite wouldn’t be deterred! He is the one who challenged her after all. “Don’t look at me like that, I am a great enchanter!” She grinned as she plunged her hand into her bag.

Hecatolite hadn’t been wearing her hunting hat because… well she wasn’t hunting. Now however! She will just need to be careful with it since it wasn’t enchanted yet. but it was a sturdy skull so… it should be fine. 

The man’s eyes went wide as she pulled the skull from her bag and plopped it onto her head; somewhat surprised at how well it fit. She would need to thank the vine man when she saw him next time. 

“Is that a…” The man stammered as she put her hands on her hips.

“It’s my hunting hat!” She beamed at him, “Everyone knows you have to have a lucky hunting hat if you’re going to hunt. It’s like a law, just like a fishing hat!” Nodding to herself, more to be sure the skull was secured to her head; she extended her tail to the man. “So, what do you say future tour guide, I can understand if you're too chicken to take the bet.” She grinned at him knowing what his answer would be.

Alagos considered this turn of events. He was positive he could catch Astari before this girl could actually locate him. But she had just casually pulled out a thunder stag skull… Alagos was sure this girl was somehow dangerous, and this may be a perfect chance to see exactly what she’s capable of. And worse comes to worse at least he could be certain of her intentions once they catch Astari, and if she really means no harm then he could push this unstable girl on Cemi; it was her job after all to deal with foreign dignitaries, wasn’t it?

Tentatively, he took the offered tail and the girl beamed at him, her toothy grin twisting into an unsettling visage when paired with the bleached white skull, the small crystalline horns shining in the light as the girl twisted to face in the direction she had pointed.

“On go, ok?” Alagos just grunted in agreement as the girl bent forward in a strange pose. Her hands pressed on the ground as she rocked forward.

“Three!” Alagos could see the girl’s tiny feet digging into the dirt. 

“Two!” black lines erupted across her pail white skin, like branching veins that covered her bare legs as her tail lifted high into the air. The inky black lines showing through the tails thin coat of white fur as it coiled up behind her.

“One!” Alagos…. May have made a mistake. As he looked at the girl’s exposed backside it didn’t even register in his mind that she was only wearing a loose-fitting shirt and underwear as the black lines on her legs and tail pulsed. 

Her legs are surprisingly… muscular… He thought as her whole body seemed to tense like a coiled spring. “Go!” With a clap of thunder the girl vanished and Alagos swore.

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