War of the Wisps

Old Bart’s tavern was packed as the whole village crowded in to hear the story their second traveler had brought the village in as many days. This only made the buzz louder as villagers insisted on talking over one another when making their comments, rather than listening to the young Dwarven woman as she told of her first encounter with a wisp.

“Can you believe this lass?” Bart whispered under his breath to Andrew and Peter, who were sitting by the back of the bar, listening with the rest to Anna’s story. “Never heard of wisp that didn’t try and drive men mad. Sounds like a fairy story to me.”

“There is that old story about King Horace II,” Peter chimed in. “A wisp lead him around an enemy ambush.”

The old tavern keeper chuckled, his second chin waggling. “Well, I suppose. Still, that was a king, and this is a young trader girl.”

“That makes a difference?” Andrew asked.

“Well, kings are kings,” Bart said. “Strange things always happen with them, especially with that Elven blood of theirs. But a young slip like this? No. More like the wisp drove her half mad so it could get away.”

Andrew shrugged. After listening to the story of the cave in, he found himself agreeing with most of what Old Bart was saying. Not about how special the Kings were. But the thought that this strange Dwarf may be a bit touched in the head seemed at least a little plausible. Especially after listening to her story.

“At least we don’t have to worry about her snooping around, though,” Andrew said.

“You’re still worried about that?” Peter asked. “I don’t care if she finds out about anything.”

Andrew glared at him. “You just don’t take anything seriously, and that means I have to worry more. We have no idea what people from outside the valley would do if they found out you can—”

“It came back?” shouted a patron in the seat next to the brothers as Anna described the wisp returning with other Dwarves to dig the traders out.

“No need to shout, boy!” Bart barked at the man. The younger man spun around, red faced, then quailed at the expression of the rotund old tavern keeper.

“You’re paranoid,” Peter told his brother. He went back to listening to Anna.

She took a long time telling her story, though that was due in large part to the amount of questions some of the other villagers prodded her with. Most were about the wisp, and most of her answers were some version of, “I don’t know.” When she explained that she was traveling because the blue wisp that had saved her had seemed to want help himself, voices rose throughout the tavern.

“Keep it down, everyone!” Donna called as she weaved through the group passing out refills. “Let the girl finish her tale before you get all uppity.” The patrons obliged, at which point Anna moved on to talking about her journey up the mountain and bumping into the other wisps that morning.

“Takes guts to just head out on her own like that,” Peter said, looking back at his brother.

“I don’t think I’d call it guts,” Andrew said. “Optimism fits better.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Peter asked.

“She got lucky, making it as far as she did without encountering any bears or wolves. And she’s already admitted she doesn’t know where she’s going.”

“She said Woadrok, didn’t she?” Peter said.

“You know what I mean,” Andrew said. “She was lost when we found her. She didn’t have a planned route.”

“You don’t think she’d figure it out?” Peter asked.

Andrew shook his head. “I don’t think she thought that part over. I bet all her journey’s so far have been through the tunnels. Hard to get lost on a one way road.”

“Ah. Yeah, maybe. She might just need a little help out there.”

Andrew held his brother’s gaze for several seconds, then shook his head. “No. You’re staying here.”

“What’d I say?”

“It’s too early for you to just go off with some stranger,” Andrew said.

Peter crossed his arms. “Wouldn’t take long for me to get her to Woadrok,” Peter said. “No more than two days.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “That’s not the point,” Andrew said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Peter muttered. “Still too young to handle myself, I know. You can’t use that line forever though.”

Andrew shook his head and sighed. He knew he couldn’t keep Peter at home forever. He probably wouldn’t be able to for the next year. But there was something in Peter’s face and voice that made him seem even younger than he was. The farthest either of them had ever been from home was Belmont, and then only once, when Peter was eight. Peter had the same expression of wonder on his face now that he did when first seeing the castle knights for the first time, and no worry at all for what might happen to him. Or what might attach itself to him.

When Anna mentioned how the brothers had found her, many of the villagers looked back at the boys. Some raised their mugs. Others shouted questions at them, drowning one another out, but they stopped to let Anna continue her tale.

“I think Peter scared the wisps away,” Anna said. “After that, though, the two of them offered to take me here, so I could get ready for the next leg of my journey.”

“Ha! You sure he’s the one that scared ‘em off, or did he have one of his pals with ‘im?” barked one of the villagers. Andrew felt his face flush red as he stood.

“No, it was just the brothers,” Anna said. “Do they normally hunt with friends?”

This sent a wave of laughter through the villagers, though those who’d seen Andrew rise to his feet quieted themselves and looked away. Then they started asking questions again. “Were you able to touch the wisps?” called one. “How do you even get that close?”

“Never mind that,” Donna said, interrupting the crowd. “Our guest has been talking your ears off for a long time, and she hasn’t gotten any dinner yet, unlike all of you. Let’s give her a break. I’m sure you’ll be able to pelt her with questions after that.” Another ripple of laughter, but Anna nodded her gratitude to the older woman.

Donna gave the dwarf a tray piled high with glazed ham and spring vegetables, as well as a watered down mead, and found her a spot at a table near where the brothers were sitting at the bar. She leaned back in her chair, sighing. “I didn’t realize talking was so tiring,” she said.

Peter grinned at her. “Worse than climbing over a few mountains?” he asked.

“Almost,” Anna said, digging in. “I didn’t think it would be so much harder climbing over them than using the tunnels.”

“How? Aren’t the tunnels just a strait shot from one Dwarf city to the next?”

Anna shook her head. “No. The tunnels twist and turn a lot with the rock layers.”

“Do they ever loop back on themselves, then?” Peter asked.

“Boys!” Donna snapped.

“Oh, sorry,” Peter said.

Anna shook her head. “I don’t mind. I’m not the best person to ask about construction and tunneling, though.” She paused, taking a drink, then looked back at the brothers. “What about you two? Are you the towns hunters, or…”

Peter grinned. “Ranch hands, mostly.”

Andrew nodded. “Our father is the butcher. I started hunting so he’d have more to sell. Helps out a lot, when the pray doesn’t get scared off.”

“Oh,” Anna said, her face falling. “Did… did I scare off your game, earlier?”

“What? Oh, no, no!” Andrew said. “Sorry. No it was before we met you.”

Anna’s smile returned. Peter started laughing. “Andrew’s a good shot, but he missed and startled the whole herd today.”

“You try shooting straight with a dragon calling overhead,” Andrew shot back.

“You hunt when the dragons are out?” Anna asked.

“I mean, they’re out all the time. Kinda hard not to,” Peter said.

“But it’s safe?” Anna asked.

“They leave us alone if we leave them alone,” Andrew said.

“We’re tiny, we live in big groups, and carry lots of pointy sticks,” Peter said. “Not really worth the effort for them.”

“You weren’t hunting in a big group though,” Anna pointed out.

“We know how to handle ourselves,” Andrew said. He glared at Peter, who just shrugged and took a swig from his own mug. “Anyway, we help with a lot of things around the village. Not quite handymen, and definitely no carpenters, but work is work.”

“That must be nice,” Anna said. “I spent all my time traveling between the Dwarves under the valley and reading. I research and budget, but I’m not good at anything else.”

“You made it over the mountain didn’t you?” Peter said.

“I think that was more luck than not, at this point,” Anna said, echoing Andrew. “I should have tried to bring someone from home on the journey.”

“Were any of them foresters?” Andrew asked.

Anna shrugged. “No one I’d be able to convince. I wonder if I’ll be able to hire help along the road.”

“I volunteer,” Peter said, leaning forward.

Andrew pulled him back. “No you don’t.”

Anna smiled at the boys. “It would be great to have you along, but I don’t want to take either of you away from your work here.”

“Thanks,” Andrew said. “You may need to shout it for Peter to get the message, though.”

“Oh yeah,” Peter said. “Everyone knows how hard of hearing I am.” Anna chuckled, but she wasn’t the only one. Two other voices came in from the window at her side. He looked and saw the two faces almost hidden in the shadows outside. “Maddie? Maggie?” he said, getting back on his feet.

The faces disappeared, followed by the sound of dirt crunching under feet outside. “They’re supposed to be with Mom and Pop, right?” Peter said. Andrew didn’t bother answering. He pushed his way outside, then dashed around the building.

“You two are not supposed to be out this late!” he called. He rounded the corner of the tavern and heard their footsteps. He groaned. “This isn’t the time for keep away, either! Come on. Madyline! Margret!”

After a moment, the two girls appeared around the corner, stepping into the light coming from the tavern window. Maddie walked in front, with Maggie lagging behind her, but both girls had sheepish grins on their faces. “We just wanted to listen, too,” Maddie said. Maggie nodded her agreement.

“Besides, Mom and Pop went to bed already,” the younger girl said.”

“Then you two should also be in bed,” Andrew said.

Peter stuck his head out the window, blocking most of the light. “It’s alright,” he said. “Let ‘em join us. We’re just talking.”

Andrew glared at Peter, but the girls whooped and ran around to the entrance. “You’d better make sure they don’t sneak any liquor,” Andrew muttered.

“Already on it,” Peter said. He saluted, then disappeared back inside the building. Andrew shook his head and followed his sisters around to the front entrance.

There he found that neither of them had made it inside. A man was standing in their way, his chin resting on his hand in thought. He was tall, with black hair cut short to accentuate the chiseled square features of his face. He was dressed in plate mail, his helmet tucked under one arm. The dim light caused the gleam of the armor to stand out more. He hadn’t noticed any of the three arrive. He seemed to be too busy muttering under his breath. The girls looked back to Andrew, confusion turning into uneasy relief on their faces.

Andrew beaconed the girls to him, then held his arms out, keeping the pair behind him. “Hello, Sir?” he said. The man didn’t turn to him. He took a step forward and began reaching out to wave before the man. Some bell of recognition was ringing in his head, but it was not clear yet. “Excuse me?”

Andrew saw the man’s hand shooting out for him, but there was no time to back away. He felt himself dragged forward and lifted into the air. Behind him, his sisters screamed. Looking down, Andrew found he could see the man’s face more clearly, and he realized why he seemed familiar. He’d seen the man in Belmont once, several years ago when he’d gone with Peter and their parents to meet Lord Richard Ironhill. The knight was obviously older now, but even in adolescence, he’d been built like a boulder.

As the realization occurred, the knight flung his hand out, tossing Andrew into the door, sending him crashing into the tavern. The conversation ceased, and the patrons all turned to see what was going on. Andrew groaned, and managed to sit up.

“Sorry for startling you, Lord Charles,” he managed. “What are you doing all the way up here?”