The Home Stone

All agreed and Roma led the way around the lake near Storr and up into the Crystal Mountains. Now a party of just six, they made their way higher and higher into the peaks. Way up here the days were still cool and one could still find patches of snow around. Especially on the cold hard rocks and boulders that covered most of the terrain higher up near the peaks. Here, although cool, the trees offered some protection from the cold air and at night, gave them heat when they lit the campfire. Roma led the party along the same path that she and Shannon had come down from, after finding the box that had contained the ancient magic. She hoped that in another day’s ride, they would arrive at the hunter’s cabin, where she and Treymane had healed the wound on Shannon’s shoulder that she had gotten from the encounter with the huge mountain cat.

They rode on all day and that night for the first time they had a campfire to cook a warm meal that the elven hunters had killed during the day’s journey. With lots of wood on hand the six crawled into their bedrolls and laid down as close to the fire as they dared. Each of the six took turns at standing watch until the dawn broke onto the eastern sky, sending the moon and stars off to sleep for another day.

By the end of the third day, the six stood at the edge of the forest. They had met up with the Crystal River and from here on there would be no more large forests until they reached the lake, only small groves that could offer some sort of shelter if the rain, or snow, didn’t come down too hard. Gathering as much firewood as they could the six packed their horses and walked beside them. Now the going would be much slower, but as Brianna pointed out, they brought along heat for the cold nights. The hunting also became scarcer, as there was not enough places for rabbits to hide in. So their meals became meager snacks instead of mouthwatering banquets that they had been used to back in the forests of plenty.

The first night out here in the open, no one slept much. With the howling of wolves and snarling of nearby cats, kept everyone awake for fear of having a meeting with another mountain cat like the one that attacked Shannon, some twenty years ago. Before leaving the next morning Roma suggested that all the waterskins be filled as the river disappears and does not reappear until they are passed the Black Hole. Roma explained that, that is where the river falls down into a deep hole. Some say that it is a bottomless pit and it feeds the Underdark. Everyone smiled, as Roma told the story of some of the local folklore surrounding the pit, for not everyone believed in it.

The next two days took the party along a pebble-strewn path that slowly climbed higher and higher up to the top. It seemed to have no end, but by late afternoon on the third day, they came to a part of the road that people called The Valley of Caves. Again Roma’s mind wandered back some twenty years and recalled the first meeting with a strange girl called Jennifer Wells and her encounter with the blue lightning that had struck Shannon, exchanging the thoughts with a girl from the ancient times called Jennifer. Roma strained as she tried to find the cave that they had emerged from, after being chased by a group of Gray Dwarfs, but it was already too dark and the shadows covered the east side of the mountains. Finding a small glen the troop entered and camped for the night. This time it was much quieter and everyone got some sleep. They went on for the next three days until the forest of Crystal Lake came into view and it was just past midday when Roma called for the party to stop.

“We’ll rest her for a while and then continue until we reach the lake,” Roma said. “There we will camp for the night.”

The six continued after a short rest and a quick cold meal and Roma said that tonight they would dine on rabbit or maybe a grouse or two, or maybe even a combination of the two. Since the wine ran out some time ago, tea would have to do, until they reached Haven.

The crystal, cold waters of the high mountain lake came into view by late afternoon and the party found a good place to set up a camp for the night. A fire was lit and plenty of extra wood was found to keep them warm during the cold night. The water, though crystal clear, was icy cold, so taking a bath was out of the question. They heated some water in the cooking pots that they had on hand and used that to wash themselves. By the time it took the three girls to build a good fire and collect soft boughs of fir to make mattresses the men returned with four descent looking birds, which they immediately set to cleaning and preparing for the evening meal. That night they dined on roasted grouse, boiled roots that tasted like potatoes and some form of wild vegetables that Roma had never heard of. When she finished eating she offered the group some tea from leaves that she had collected en route. The whole meal had been a pleasant change from the roast rabbits that the Drow had been serving ever since they left their island. It seemed to Roma that nothing but rabbits grew there.

The conversation continued around the campfire, when Brianna, who had not said much since leaving her home, finally spoke up. “Why don’t we spend a day here and hunt or search for other food?” she asked. “Who knows when we will have another chance to find such an abundance that we have here.”

“It’s a nice idea,” answered Roma, “but we haven’t the time. We have to reach Castle North to meet up with a man called Shamus Redfern. From there and with his help we must travel east to Sanctum where Shannon should be waiting. No, I’m afraid that we don’t have enough time to spend here, but I really wish we had.”

Looking a bit confused as to what was ahead, Brianna fell silent once more and stared into the flames that danced high into the air like demons on their holiest of fests. Just before everyone went to sleep Raven posted the night watch and then rolled herself up in her blanket and closed her eyes.

Roma was deep within a dream about her farm, when a bloodcurdling scream shocked the camp awake. With weapons drawn the party closed in around the fire. More wood was thrown onto it to build the flames. Another vicious snarl was heard and then…silence. Raven sent the two men out to see what the noise was all about, but Roma knew already. The guard must have wandered too far away from the camp and was attacked by a mountain cat. After some time the two returned with a broken bow and bloodied sword. That was all that they found of their comrade. No one slept the rest of the night, fearing the return of the giant cat.

As daybreak broke the dark night, the party, now five in number, was packed and ready to move out. None wanted to spend another night here in this forest. No matter how beautiful it looked. After filling their waterskins and wrapping the leftover meat to prevent it from spoiling too quickly, the five made their way around the lake and back into the protection of the trees. Yes, the cat could follow them, but because of its size, the large feline would not be able to maneuver as quickly as it did the night before, when it hunted down and killed the elf guard. They continued until well past noon when they left the forest and its dangers behind.

Before them lay the Haven Bridge Pass. One of the last obstacles left for them to conquer, before reaching the capital city of Rogalandt. The bridge that lay ahead crossed a ravine with a thousand foot fall if you missed a step. One did not run to reach the other side, because the bridge being only three feet wide also did not have any hand railings to hold on to.

“We will try to cross before nightfall,” Roma explained. “We will make camp on the other side and be in Haven by noon the day after tomorrow.”

“And what if the bridge has been destroyed?” asked Raven.

“Then we will be late for our meeting with Shannon,” quipped Roma with a slight smile on her face.

With last night’s horror put aside, the five went on and entered the pass. It was tough going this time, as the trail was nothing more than a space between the steep side of the mountain and a five hundred foot drop. In single file they trudged on. The hours passed and still higher they climbed until they came to a small plateau, where they could stop and rest. Quenching their thirst and munching on some berries that they had collected before leaving the forest, they moved on. It was almost dark when they finally came to the bridge. To their surprise, someone had tried to burn the bridge. Since it had been constructed out of ironwood and would not light, because Ironwood was some of the hardest wood around and used to build all sorts of things, such as bridges that spanned a wide river or gorge and was great to build furniture with, but the trees that grew to become iron wood were being found less and less as they took many years to grow large enough to be useful to anyone. Upon examining the state of the bridge Roma saw that the only part that had burned was the rope that had held the giant logs together. A decision was made not to attempt a crossing at night and to stay on this side of the gorge. A safer crossing could be made in the morning when one could see where they were stepping.

Raven spent the night trying to sleep, but like the others, it was difficult to be comfortable with all the loose stones lying about. She finally gave up and seated herself beside Roma, who sat a little ways away from the group. She was deep in thought and did not hear the elf approach.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” asked Raven.

“Yes,” answered Roma. “How could I not have seen it, with his constant leaving the farm on some useless errand or some meeting with potential clients to store horses with us. Out of all of his so-called efforts we only acquired one client who only stabled with us for the three months and then he came and took the animals away. That should have told me that there was some else going on. I could have accepted it, if there had been another woman, but to play me for some sort of fool and use me, really angered me. One day I’ll meet up with him and so help me when I do.”

“You couldn’t have seen it,” Raven said as she put her arm around the girl from Storr. “You were in love and he was a spy. He only used you to gain your confidence. That’s what men do.”

The two sat and talked deep into the night and it was after midnight when the two finally nodded off. The morning came fast and the other three were awake and preparing to cross, when Roma and the elf woke up. Wiping their tired eyes and splashing cold water in their face, they joined the others who were already at the bridge. Now in the light of the day they saw that had they tried to cross during the night, disaster would have befallen them. Whoever tried to burn the bridge only managed to burn off the ropes that held the four large logs together. Now they saw that each one would have to cross alone while tethered to a rope. The logs were all loose and dangerous to walk on. One of the elves tried to secure the widest log by placing some flat stones on either side. This helped, but it was not the best solution. With little else to work with the rocks would have to do. Before anyone crossed, they unsaddled their horses and set them free. Somehow they knew that the animals would find their way back to Storr or any other village.

Now who would cross first? Raven said that she would try it first, since she was the lightest of all of them. Brianna was needed in Sanctum so she would go third then Roma and then the last elf. Tying one end of a fifty-foot rope around her waist, she stepped onto the log. It didn’t move. Satisfied, Raven stepped out further. With one foot in front of the other, she slowly made her way across. Hollis was next. Raven had tied off the rope on a large boulder on her side while Roma and Dramm secured the rope on their side. Brianna was the third one to cross. Scared, as she was, Raven told her to keep her eyes on her and not to look down. Shaking like a leaf in a strong breeze, Brianna slowly made it to the other side, collapsing into Ravens arms. Now came Roma. Bigger and heavier than the others, the log began to slip. Only a couple of inches, but enough to set the woman’s heart racing. The sweat began to pour down her face, as she made her way on the log. Half way across, the log slipped some more and almost sent Roma down into the gorge. Holding their breath as the girl from Storr stopped and waited until the log settled and stopped moving. Only then did she dare try to continue, as Raven and Hollis ran and jammed some more stones on both sides of the log in hope to prevent an accident. This reassured Roma and she, hanging onto the rope slid one foot forward and so on. Finally she reached the safety of the other side and sat down to catch her breath. Looking back across she told herself that that was the last time she would attempt something like that. At last it was Dramm’s turn to cross. Tying the rope around his waist he stepped onto the log. It didn’t move. He jumped on and off several times to make sure it was safe. Still the log didn’t move. Confident that the log was held fast, he moved out onto it and began to cross. He was moving pretty fast when suddenly the rocks that held the tree worked their way loose and the log rolled over sending the elf down into the gorge. A short yell and the rope went tight. Immediately the other four grabbed the rope and began to pull as hard as they could. Raven kept calling Dramm’s name, but there was no response. Luckily the rope had held and he didn’t fall all the way, but clearly he had been injured or he would have spoken out by now. Pulling up fifty feet of rope with a limp body tied to the other end was no easy task. It took time until Dramm reached the lip of the side. Holding the rope tight, Raven crawled to the edge and grabbed the lifeless body. Slowly she rolled the elf onto the ledge and to safety. Then Brianna went to work. Not only did she have the talisman that Shannon needed, but she also had some experience in healing. Checking for broken bones she found that nothing serious had happened to him except for the large cut on his forehead and some bruising on his right side. She stood up and announced that he should be all right. Probably a concussion and maybe even some cracked ribs. Brianna did advise that they remained here until Dramm came to before moving on.

A short time later Dramm opened his eyes. He winced as he tried to raise himself up off the ground. Immediately his hand went to his bruised side and tried to stem the pain that he now felt. It was obvious that they would not be able to move him for a while, so they decided to stay and spend another night here in the pass.

By early the next morning Dramm seemed to be feeling a lot better and the decision was made to move on down the pass and onto Haven. The going was slow as the injured elf had to make frequent stops to rest his injured chest. It was dark when they came down out of the pass and entered the forest. Now totally exhausted, Dramm collapsed in pain. Brianna went to him and checked his ribs once more.

“I think I’ve made a mistake,” she began, as she slid her hand over his ribcage. “I think he has broken one or more ribs. Either we stay here and let him heal or we will have to carry him. Forcing him to walk will only land up killing him.”

“Then we will carry him,” Roma stated leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that she would not leave anyone behind.

The four set out cutting small saplings to fashion a stretcher and they would take turns carrying him. As soon as he was secured on the stretcher, they tied their backpacks also to it; two elves, Raven and Hollis picked up their friend and headed off in the direction of Haven. With all this delay, it would take them the better part of two days to reach the city. They took turns at carrying the injured elf and stopped only to rest and eat. When dusk came they stopped and made camp. A cold meal and some water was all they managed before they were all asleep. Somehow they made it through the night without post a watch and all felt refreshed early the next morning. The last thing Brianna did before they picked up their friend was to wrap his chest. At first he showed great pain, but then it subsided and he was able to relax while being carried.

It was early evening when the lights of Haven came into view. Stopping at the gate Roma asked where they could find a healer. The guard pointed in the direction and told her that a good healer lived near the north gate. Thanking him the four picked up their friend and searched out the healer’s house. They took the main east west road until they reached the center of the city. Then they turn north and continued towards the north gate. Darkness prevented the five from seeing much of the city and all were concerned in finding the healer rather than site seeing. If there was time, they could see some of what Haven had to offer later. There on the right side of the cobblestone street under the eaves of an old house with a porch the entire width of the front porch, hung a sign that read HEALER. They stopped in front of the house and Roma made her way up onto the veranda and knocked on the door. A few minutes later an old man opened the shabby looking door and asked what she wanted. From where the others were standing, they could not hear what Roma was saying, but they saw the healer constantly looking over Roma’s shoulder towards the four elves. Then he beckoned the four to bring the injured elf into the house where he could better examine him. Sending everyone back outside he remained with the elf.

Sometime later, he emerged from the house and came to see the four who were waiting patiently at one end of the porch.

”I’m afraid that his wounds are more serious than first expected,” the healer explained. “One of his ribs have punctured his right lung and he has begun coughing up blood. I don’t think he’s going to last out the night. I have done what I could and made him as comfortable as possible, but he will get worse and the pain will grow. Then he will…” and he broke off letting the four friends figure it out for themselves.

“Can we see him?” asked Brianna.

“Yes! Yes! He’s awake,” the healer agreed.

Roma stayed behind and spoke to the man who helped them.

“I want to thank you for all your help,” she said. “Is there any way to repay you?”

“I usually don’t charge any fees for my services,” he explained, “but I do take food or anything else that you might wish to part with.”

Roma thought for a moment and then said. “Tell my friends to wait here till I return. I won’t be too long.” That said she turned and headed back down the road that had brought them here and disappeared into the night. She walked as fast as she could to get to a general store before it closed. Running the last few blocks Roma stopped in front of a store that sold everything from weapons to food. Here she entered.

“We’re just about to close,” said the man behind a large wooden counter.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get something for the healer up the road,” said Roma. “He has just helped a friend of mine, but he won’t take any coin as payment, so I thought if I could buy him some supplies to keep his larder stocked.”

The man behind the counter looked at Roma for a second or two and then nodded that he understood and knew what the healer liked and needed most. In no time he had several items on the counter and soon Roma had enough to fill her empty backpack. When she went to pay for the goods the merchant shook his head and explained that he had once saved his son after he was injured in a horse race, when he was thrown from his steed. From that day the merchant refused to accept any money from the healer and supplied him with a daily supply of bread and cheese or anything else that was not sold that day. Before he threw it out or before the bread went stale or moldy he offered it to the healer who was grateful to accept it. With her pack full of food, Roma departed and hurried back to the healer’s house, where her friends were waiting.

Upon entering the house Raven grabbed her arm and stopped her. The grave look on her face told her that Dramm had passed on. Saddened by the loss of someone she hardly knew, Roma presented the backpack to the healer who took it and thanked them for their generosity.

“I will have him buried in the morning if you like,” the healer offered.

Raven stopped the healer by telling him that elves preferred to be cremated instead of being buried. The healer assured them that he would carry out their wishes and have him cremated. Dramm’s ashes would be put into a box and they could pick it up when they returned from their journey. This pleased the elves and Roma and they prepared to leave. Only Brianna prevented them from starting out immediately. She remained with her friend, Dramm. Raven explained that Brianna and Dramm were supposed to be married upon their return. Now she does not want to go home again. She plans to stay and find a place to live in Maitland. She does not understand that the woodland elves and the Drow do not mingle let alone live in the same place.

“Don’t be too sure about that,” Roma cut in. “There’s a lot that you don’t know about my friends.”

Raven smiled and laid her hand on Roma’s arm and said. “If they’re anything like you are, then I will enjoy meeting them.”

Roma looked at her strangely and then thanked her for that compliment.

Time was rushing by and they needed to go if Roma expected to keep her schedule, so Raven went and brought the young elf out onto the porch.

“I know you are grieving, but we need to get to Castle North as quickly as we can,” said Roma speaking in a soft tone. She knew what lost love was all about. She had lost someone she loved not too long ago. Rowan who pretended to love her, just used her, but Roma still felt something for him and could forgive him if he changed for her. She also knew that that would not happen, so she would suffer in silence.