Page 18 of In Darkness Forged
Somehow she could not bring herself to admit the reason. Whether it was embarrassment or caution, she did not care to admit to her lack of magic in front of these night elves, who exuded power with every breath they took.
“Our landlord has demanded that we pay or be evicted from our home, but my grandmother is old and her mind is not strong, and my mother is ill. They would not survive being thrown out, and our village is poor and cannot take us in.”
The imposing night elf before her shot her a disdainful and somewhat disbelieving stare. “And what manner of pity do you expect from us, if your own people will not aid you? Why not go to other humans with your tale of woe?”
Aislin could cheerfully have disappeared into the floor, but she had to see this through.
“Because my lord has given me a task that will pay my debt if I can accomplish it.”
This raised the night elf’s eyebrows and provoked a strange undertone of muttering from around the room.
“You’re saying your lord sent you hereon purpose?”
Aislin nodded reluctantly. Then she removed the pouch from around her neck, pried it open clumsily, and allowed the stone to spill into one of her bound hands.
This was going to sound ridiculous. It was just a rock. But she’d come this far, and she would not give up now.
“This stone was purchased from your people by my lord’s great-grandfather. It is said that he traded half his fortune to possess it, as it contained some sort of magic that ensured prosperity and protected our lands. That magic caused it to glow with power for the past eighty years, until…”
Had that been only yesterday? Was it morning or night? And why did it matter?
“Only a short time ago,” Aislin continued, “the magic died. My lord now fears for the future and has tasked me with finding a way to renew the enchantment.”
The silence that fell was stunned and absolute.
“Allow me to see if I understand you,” the cloaked one said, his face studiously blank. “You came here, risking your own life and limb, because your liege lord wanted hismagic rock back?”
His tone could only be called derisive, but Aislin nodded, her hands clenching around the stone until her knuckles turned white.
Laughter suddenly surrounded her, loud and prolonged, and when it finally died, the cloaked one addressed her once again. “Supposing we were to agree to help you with this absurd quest. How, exactly, were you planning to compensate us for our aid?”
Aislin looked him full in the eye. “I had no way of knowing what would be required. I could only ask. And that is what I am here to do—ask of you what you would demand in order to restore this stone to what it once was. You can see that I have no money. No way to pay except…” She held out her bound hands in front of her. “These. I have my own two hands, a strong back, and a willing heart. Ask of me what you will, and I will attempt it, to the very limits of my strength and abilities.”
She expected more laughter, but it was silence that greeted her pronouncement. The night elf in front of her wore a frown, as if he were perplexed by her words.
“Why?” was his eventual question. He folded his arms and regarded her from his superior height with a curious tilt to his head. “Why you? I know little of humans, but enough to be aware that you would hardly be considered a warrior among them. Why would your lord entrust such a task to you?”
What did she have to lose by telling the truth?
“Because my liege was not willing to risk anyone else,” she said bluntly. “I have no skills that matter, and no magic that can aid him in his ambitions. As he said before I departed—if I die, then he has lost nothing.” It hurt to admit, but she needed them to know the limits of what they might ask of her. If it required magic, she would have no hope at all.
And yet, the tall night elf before her still did not laugh—instead, his eyes narrowed as if in deep consideration.
“And you say you are willing to do anything?” Rather than give her hope, his words chilled her, accompanied as they were by a look of… Well, she might have called it desperation.
What could make a night elf—with all his power and magic and ability to shapeshift—so desperate as to consider bargaining with a human?
“I am,” she said, despite her misgivings. Her path had not changed just because it may have acquired a few unexpected turns. This was still the only way. She could not go home until she succeeded.
The night elf nodded slowly, then more firmly, as if he’d come to a decision.
“Then, human, I do have a task for you.”
Aislin froze, half in terror, half in hope. “You do?”
The other night elves around her seemed as confused as she felt—all of them watching the exchange with tense fascination.
“Our Marlord—the ruler of this territory—lies ill and draws nearer to death with every sunset.”