Chapter 5 - Carabas and the Unexpected Truce
And there we stood, a moment frozen in time, as Yours Truly held the mystic artifact that he had taken from the most Skilled Harbinger in the world.
There was no applause (that would have been a bit much), but both Ecki’s fixed gaze and that of Rowan, our Harbinger, were approval enough.
Dust and small pebbles came down from above, a reminder of the disaster being wrought above us. How would we save them? Could we save them, or the ones we’d brought so far – or even ourselves?
No need for doubts. Carabas was on the scene.
I flipped the gem into the air, and smiled at Ecki.
Who, to his credit, immediately backed down, realizing he disrespected the wrong catling. Alarmed by that, and by the precarious state of the Forges, he called for a truce, promising he and the General, Siflae, would leave the field to usand allow our rescue mission to continue. His only price in this was the return of the gem I had so deftly obtained, and which he spoke of as an item of great power and great danger.
I chuckled at the thought of danger, but then, casting a glance at my comrade Rowan, realized that poor soul was overwhelmed with animus his fellow Harbinger, and on the verge of attack. A battle I had no doubt we could win – but which might endanger our ability evacuate our newfound friends from Redvalley.
It was a split-second decision of the most careful judgment, but I was more than up to it. Rowan trusted my judgment, I knew, and I trusted he’d believe me when I told him something (in some cases, even something outrageous).
“Deal,” I told Ecki, thus locking him and his all-too-scrupulous mistress into the offered bargain. I flipped the gem through the air toward him, just far enough away to require him to take a rapid, panicky step to catch it, as I knew he would.
I smiled at him, letting him know that I’d already had the maximum enjoyment in the matter anyway by obtaining the gem from him.
After some quick banter between Ecki and Rowan, the former went to Siflae and vanished in a most dramatic fashion.
“Well!” I cried out in deserved triumph, “There’s a victory for you!”
And a great victory it was! The most skilled Harbinger in the land! A most puissant General of the Overlord! Both forced to retreat, leaving us in in control of the battleground, and able to carry out our mission of mercy. Ha-ha!
The others were all celebratory and full of admiration, of course, but realized it would be untoward to in such a moment of crisis to spend too much time voicing it toward me. Instead, Virens and Wynn persuaded the bandits (who had been slowly sidling away once they saw whom they were facing) to guide others from above down into the Forges as a means of escape.
Which they did and, through a a stroke of great fortune and favored karma – and, to be completely honest, through my prevarication to Bernard and Jane about where their son and daughter-in-law were, and how I and the Fellowship’s actions brought that all to pass – reunited the family of our favorite innkeepers.
I wish I could have been there as they marveled over the matter, but I was already in the vanguard, as we made our way out of the city.
It was a dark and spooky journey, and might have daunted a lesser spirit. It was also, as we passed the wealth of the city of Redvalley, a constant temptation to those who might be attracted unduly and with inappropriate timing to shiny things.
Indeed, such a circumstance presented itself, as a remarkable gemstone, floating in midair in a chamber we passed. Indeed, it glittered so in its filigreed binding that even so focused and doughty an adventurer as myself might have bee tempted to bat at it, had not Rowan – no doubt emotionally exhausted by his previous encounter with Ecki – elbowed his way forward and took it … then, realizing how embarrassing such an action was, handed it off to Virens, who put it in a satchel (which I took note of for future reference, in case he forgot where he put it).
The passages we followed finally exited the city some ways from the walls, in the Mist-shrouded red forests. The city folk quailed at the size of the large creatures we encountered along our journey, and even some of my companions seemed daunted, never having learned the Catling’s proverb that “You will always be smaller than something else, so just figure out how to get on top of it and dig in and you’ll be fine.”
Instead, Ann, bless her heart, tried to keep the (mostly) human party of five-score or more from wandering off or being terrified or befuddled in the Mist by creating the sort of busy-work that humans seem obsessed with, as well as leading them in camp songs to keep up their spirits. I joined in on a few tunes, but they all fell silent when I did, their eyes rapt on my performance, and Ann made it clear in her own subtle way that it was more important for these poor souls that they be allowed to sing, even painfully aware of their own imperfections, than that they enjoy in a Catling’s fine voice.
I took the hint, and simply hummed under my breath.
A Very Large Creature crossed our path. Virens drummed at it, which attracted some other animals, and even some of the city folk. Drums aren’t a Catling thing, alas (we prefer the rhythm section of swishing tails), so I watched with polite attention to see whether all the noise would drive off the Very Large Creature, or whether the valor of Carabas would once again be needed to save the day!