The Home Stone

The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, when the ship finally docked in the second only deep harbor at Summerhill. Raven and the twelve other Drow were the first to leave the ship followed closely by Roma and Brianna. It was still early and the stores had not opened yet, but the inn was and the smell of fried pork and eggs along with fresh baked bread was so enticing that they hurried to enter the establishment. There, standing and cleaning mugs and glasses from the night before was the owner that Roma had met a few weeks earlier.

“Welcome back,” he said as he looked up from the sink and smiled. “Some of your friends were here just last week. I told them that you had left and didn’t know if you were coming this way again. They hung around for a few days and then one morning they were gone. Found some gold pieces on the bar and the rooms empty. Must have left early before I opened.”

Roma smiled and asked if the man with the women was a dark haired tall and very muscular. She also asked if he had an old scar on his left arm and the barkeeper acknowledged that it was he. Then he described the four women that had accompanied him as the four that had killed Jarron and stalked Roma from the time they left Caldor.

“We’ll have to watch ourselves from now on,” Roma said after the owner showed them to a table.

“Let them try something,” answered a smiling Raven and she saw the other twelve enter and sit at some other tables. “Five against twelve? I would say that the odds are in our favor.”

By the time they had finished breakfast, the stores were open and supplies were bought and horses were acquired. Close to noon the party set out for Storr. Roma wanted to stop in and check on Tom and Melba. She wanted to find out if Tom had been able to see the King and what answer he had been given. Would Enderby enter the conflict or would the King decide to play it safe and keep his forces home to protect its borders.

Following the river, they camped the first night in the lower forest just below the grassy plains. Raven had some of the men set up camp, while she had others hunt for food. Since the wildlife here was plentiful, the hunters returned a short while later with enough meat for everyone. Slow roasting the wild rabbits over an open fire, they party sat down to eat. With very little spices and no sauce the meat turned out to be quite dry and needed lots of water or wine to help swallow. Roma noticed that the Drow did not have any trouble eating the dry meat as she did. Probably that is the way they always ate. Most of the elves that she had met ate bland food. Little spices and little sauce. Even the woodland elves in Maitland cooked their food in the same manner. She could not say the same for the dwarfs. They liked their food spicy and with lots of gravy. Blick always said to give him spiced potatoes with gravy and you can keep the meat.

After the meal, they all sat around the fire and drank wine and talked. Raven made sure that no one drank too much and posted a watch before everyone turned in for the night. Roma and Brianna found a nice grassy patch where they laid their heads and fell asleep.

The next morning, they broke camp and headed out onto the plain. It was just their luck for clouds moved in from the west and by noon it had started to rain. A light drizzle at first and then a more steady rain began. With no cover to hide under the party continued until the morning had passed. Stopping only for a short rest and a quick cold meal that consisted of leftovers from last night’s dinner.

The rain continued until late in the afternoon allowing the sun to peer through and dry the plain enough for the group to settle down on dry ground for the night. They had covered a lot of ground and were within eyesight of the forest when they called a halt. It would be another night out on the plain, rather than in the forest under the protection of the trees. When Roma asked why they did not make the effort to reach the forest Raven answered. “There is movement just inside the trees. It might be an ambush, so we will be careful and camp here where we can see an enemy coming.”

Later that evening after they let the fire burn down to glowing embers, Raven sent out a patrol to see who was in the forest. Roma lay down, but sleep did not come quickly. She was worried that the four women were still out there lying in wait. It was way past the middle of the night when the patrol returned with the news that there was a group of warriors camped just inside the first line of trees. They counted about twenty all dressed in furs and forest clothing. So, a decision was made to break camp and try to skirt the camp in the forest. With a little luck, they could be miles away before the other camp realized that they were gone.

They tied the horse’s hooves with thick cloth so that they could walk with making as little sound as possible. Anything that could bang together was well packed or tied down. With everything and everyone ready, the party stole out into the night. Luck was on their side, for the moon had not risen yet, allowing them to steal away into the dark night.

As they neared the forest someone heard a cough coming from somewhere past the first tree line. Everyone froze in their tracks. Two Drow let loose their reins and with blades drawn moved forward towards where the coughing had come from. The night turned deathly quiet and then a rustling sound reached Roma’s ears and then a gurgling sound and Roma knew that whoever that had been was no more. Soon the two returned and the party continued. Raven greeted the two with a pat on the back, but said nothing. That was all, the two Drow needed for doing their job.

They continued all night and when the sun came up, off came the covering on the horse’s hooves. They mounted their steeds and rode hard to get as much distance between them and the camp in the forest. By noontime the party slowed their pace and turned towards the river. There they would stop and eat another cold meal. This time it consisted of little leftover meat and mostly berries. That and a swallow of water as the wineskins were empty. Then they were on their way again and by the time the sun set they were close to Storr. A decision was made that they spend another night out here in the forest than risk an ambush at Roma’s farm. Raven said that she preferred to approach Storr during daylight hours where they could see better. Roma agreed and thought that if they came stealing in the night, Melba and Tom would be scared out of their wits. Yes, a daylight approach made sense.

During their last night in this part of the forest, Raven sent a small group back to cover their tracks so to throw off anyone who might be following them. Time passed slowly, but the men that Raven sent out never returned. Worried, the Drow Elf suddenly stood up and motioned that Roma and Brianna saddle up and leave the camp. When Roma questioned her about this, Raven told her that the enemy was slowly closing in. The captain who was in charge of the soldiers approached Raven and whispered something that Roma could not hear. Then the warrior woman grabbed her saddle and moved towards her horse. Saddled and ready to go, the captain handed Raven all the reins and off they rode into the night. They rode for a short time before Raven stopped and dismounted. She tethered the animals and then mounted her steed once more. The three then moved off the trail and continued silently until they were far enough away from the Drow that were left behind.

“Why did we leave them?” asked Roma, speaking in a hushed tone.

“The enemy was drawing nearer to our camp,” she replied. “By taking the horses, I gave them the impression that we heard them and rode away. Now my men lie in wait to ambush the lot as they enter our camp. With darkness all around we have the advantage and can kill as many and hopefully discourage the rest from following us. If this works, and it should, we can reach Storr by early morning.”

Raven had no sooner finished speaking when the screams of dying men could be heard deep within the forest. A pleased look came over Raven’s face as she climbed back up onto her horse and motioned the other two to follow. The further they were away from the other Drow, the less Roma could hear the battle being fought.

As daylight streaked across the eastern sky, the first signs of Storr came into view. It was still too early for the farmers to be out in their fields, so the three passed without notice and reached Roma’s farm. It was quiet as they rode in for Tom or Melba weren’t up yet. This Roma found strange. At least Tom should be up and getting ready to feed the horses or let them graze out in the coral. Not a sign of the two could be seen. Cautiously the three dismounted and approached the barn. The doors were open, but no horses were inside. Roma looked around to see if they were already out in the pasture, but she saw no sign of them. Then she decided to check the house. Quietly they stepped onto the back porch and entered through the back door. All was quiet and still. Moving to the bedrooms, Roma drew her long knife. Slowly she opened the door to see if anyone was still asleep or hiding behind it, but the room was empty. After a thorough search of the farmhouse, Roma concluded that it was safe and everyone could relax.

“No one’s been here for some time,” said Raven.

Brianna now entered the house and sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. Raven left the house saying that she was going to check around a bit and in the meantime Roma could make a pot of tea and warm the place a bit, for it was quite damp in here. Smiling Roma nodded and got to work in lighting the stove to boil the water. Brianna in the meantime amused herself by checking out the other rooms and sat down in the big comfortable chair beside the great fireplace in the sitting room.

Just as the tea was being poured into cups that were taken from their place above the stove, Raven entered and asked Roma to come outside. There off to the side of the way to the road, she showed Roma a small patch of red.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that’s dried blood,” she began. “Something happened here a few weeks ago and I think I now know why your two friends weren’t here to greet us.”

A chill ran up and down Roma’s spine as she thought of Tom and Melba. She couldn’t imagine that something could have happened to them both.

“After we have eaten,” Roma began, “I will ride into town and try to find out what happened.”

Returning to the house Roma checked it further for anything that belonged to either Tom or Melba, but couldn’t find a thing. The rooms where the two had slept were empty of any personal belongs. It was as if the two had just moved out. What puzzled her even more was that fact that all the horses were missing. Had someone stolen them? She would find out as soon as she the village center where everyone knew everything. Finishing her tea, Roma saddled up her horse and waved good-bye to the other two. Looking back she told them that she would return as soon as she had more information and that she would buy some necessary supplies, for when the rest of the elves return. Waving once more, Roma then spurred the animal and took off in a gallop.

It didn’t take long to reach the village and the local inn. There she saw Chandler the owner sweeping the front porch. Looking up his face changed from a smile to a saddened look. Roma dismounted and tethered the horse. She approached the man who seemed to have been waiting for her arrival.

“Hi Chandler,” Roma started, “Have you seen Tom or Melba lately?”

“Please Roma, please come inside,” he answered rather nervously. “I have some bad news to tell you. According to Tom, after you left him and asked him to go to Montrose, some women warriors came to town. They asked about you and I, not knowing who they were, I told them where your farm was. They said that they were friends of yours and wanted to pay you a visit. I…I didn’t see any harm in this so I… I told them where you lived. Tom was not there when they arrived at your farm, for he had asked us to look in on Melba, because she was there all alone. A few after Tom left for Montrose a traveler came by with the news that he had found someone at the farm. It must have happened just after Tom came through here. When he returned and saw his dead sister, Tom cleared out all of their belongings and returned to Montrose. He did bring all of your horses to the livery here in town and said that you would take care of the matter when you returned. That’s all I know so far. Where in Montrose tom is I can’t really say, for he didn’t tell me where he was staying.”

Roma only heard half of what Chandler was saying and turned around and walked back to her horse. She could not believe that sweet Melba was dead. Poor Tom. What was he doing or thinking now?

Roma pulled her horse around to head back to the farm and stopped. “Tell George at the livery to hold on to my horses until I can clear up this matter. Tell him I will pay for the food and stable costs.” She then urged the horse to break into a trot and rode back out of the village, forgetting to resupply the larder that had been emptied several weeks before.

When Roma returned to the farm, she found Raven and Brianna standing outside talking to one of the men that had stayed behind in the forest. Seeing the girl ride in Raven came up to her and told her that they could not stay here any longer. From the twelve that remained behind only three survived the battle, but none of the others made it. All they had done was to buy a little time before more would come seeking them. For the first time in Roma’s life she was glad to leave this place and was ready within an hour to head for Water’s Edge. She was about to start back down the path when Raven called for them to halt.

“Isn’t there another way to get to Sanctum than via Water’s Edge?” she asked. “I’m sure that the way will be watched.”

Roma thought for a moment and then remembered the way past Crystal Lake. There used to be a bridge that crossed the Haven River. “If the bridge is still there it would bring us close to Haven and we wouldn’t need to make the long trip around to Water’s Edge.”