Chapter 8

You brought back a human?” Nessana spat the last word vehemently.

“He was in the Hollow’s Glade, Scout Leader,” Seleeku replied. “He’d have been corrupted if I didn’t get him out of there. Once he saw me, what choice did I have but to bring him here?”

“He could be corrupted already!” Nessana shouted.

“Corrupted? Look at him! Does he look corrupted to you?”

Nessana gave Brynn a withering stare and looked him up and down. Brynn felt himself being scrutinized. The stare became uncertain.

“He could be deceiving us,” Nessana said ambivalently.

“The river let him pass,” Seleeku stated. Nessana still looked doubtful, so she quickly continued, “We can take him to the Supreme Warlock. He’ll be able to tell for sure.”

“The river let him pass,” Nessana repeated with disdain. “I should have him tossed back into it and be rid of my troubles.”

Then he sighed and seemed consider his options. “But that is not our way,” he said finally. “We’ll take him to the Supreme Warlock to make sure the hollow hasn’t corrupted him. Then the High Council will decide his fate. Dorosi, bind his hands and search him. Mattissa, shoot him if he tries anything.”

The male elf, Dorosi, motioned for Brynn to hold out his hands. Dorosi produced a short length of rope and quickly bound his wrists. Then he grabbed Brynn’s small pack and rifled through the contents. Mattissa kept a close eye on Brynn the entire time, her arrow nocked and ready.

Dorosi pulled out the small bit of leftover smoked fish that Shaman Edda had given Brynn just before his exile from Brightmyst. He smelled it quizzically before putting it aside. Then he reached back into the pack and searched once more. His hand reappeared and held out a few small acorns for all to see.

“What are those, human?” Nessana demanded.

Brynn had very nearly forgotten about them. They were from the tree in the Hollow’s Glade. Admitting that to Nessana at this moment seemed like a bad idea. “I promised a tree that I would plant them if I could,” he said carefully, “in exchange for a night’s sleep beneath its branches.”

A suspicious frown formed on Nessana’s brow.

“Scout Leader,” Seleeku said suddenly, “shouldn’t we get moving? The sun is getting low in the sky and the Supreme Warlock is some distance away.”

Nessana nodded curtly and Dorosi continued his search, but all that was left were a couple of pieces charcoal and some blank parchment paper. Dorosi placed everything back in the pack and shouldered it.

“Mattissa, you go ahead and notify the Supreme Warlock,” Nessana commanded. “Dorosi, you stay with me and watch the human. And Seleeku …” he paused, shaking his head in disappointment. “Seleeku, you’re the rear guard. Let’s move.”

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The group paused briefly for a short rest after a tiring climb up a steep tree-covered hillside. With his hands bound, Brynn struggled with the ascent, and in several places Dorosi had to grab him and help pull him up a sharp incline. They were both out of breath at the top, and leaned against a tree to recover.

“Thank you, Dorosi,” Brynn managed between gasps. Dorosi simply nodded.

Nessana took Seleeku aside and commenced a heated conversation with her in loud whispers. Brynn couldn’t understand what they were discussing, but by they way they were both pointing vigorously at him and by Nessana’s repeated glares, he assumed it was about him.

Brynn couldn’t help but notice that Seleeku wasn’t acting at all like a subordinate to her superior in the chain of command. They reminded him of old friends—or a couple—having an argument. Brynn shook his head. Perhaps he simply didn’t understand elven culture and was misinterpreting things.

Nessana and Seleeku returned to where Brynn and Dorosi were patiently waiting. Nessana spoke, “Dorosi, we need to keep a sharp eye on this human. He’s a druid-”

“Former druid.” The words were out of Brynn’s mouth before he could think to stop them.

Nessana’s muscles tensed at the interruption. He looked about to strike, causing Brynn to involuntarily wince. But he stopped himself short, glancing furtively at Seleeku.

“This druid,” he continued, “is extremely dangerous. Don’t let his innocuous demeanor fool you.”

Dorosi’s eyes had gone wide with surprise. He took a cautious step back from Brynn, as if he had suddenly become aware that was he standing next to an angry viper.

“Yes, Scout Leader!” Dorosi yelped.

They resumed their trek, with Dorosi keeping just a little bit more distance between himself and Brynn. He watched Brynn nervously, twitching slightly every time Brynn snapped a twig beneath his heel.

“I’m not going to explode,” said Brynn, feeling slightly annoyed at Dorosi’s behavior for some reason. But that did nothing to assuage Dorosi, who continued to guard him anxiously.

It was near evening when the forest opened up onto a large rocky field. The first thing that Brynn noticed was the silence. The second was the sorrow.

“What happened here?” asked Brynn, his voice trembling.

“This is the site of an ancient battle,” Seleeku replied. “We don’t know who fought or why. It was so long ago that it is hard to know what happened. But many died, that much we do know.”

Brynn wasn’t sure how the elves knew that, but he himself could feel the melancholy spirits permeating the air.

Brynn’s gaze fell on a giant mound of stones, nearly two stories tall, which stood on a low knoll in the middle of the field. A small entryway stood in the center of it. Someone had constructed a fireplace just outside of the structure and Brynn could see puffs of smoke lazily making their way up into the sky.

“And that’s Grimcairn,” explained Seleeku. “It must have been the tomb of a great chieftain, but that’s something else we’ll never really know. Over the centuries it’s been repeatedly plundered. All that’s left is a barren sarcophagus. The Supreme Warlock decided he wanted to stay here, so it was converted into his home.”

“Why would he want to stay here?” Brynn asked in disbelief.

“You can ask him that yourself, human,” interjected Nessana. He gave Brynn a shove on the shoulder, prodding him to move forward.

As Brynn stepped out onto the sickly gray grass of the field, he felt waves of sadness wash over him. He blinked away involuntary tears. The spirits had died so long ago that they had forgotten all details about themselves and of the great battle that was fought here. What were their names? Forgotten. Families? Friends? Loved ones? Forgotten. How had they died? In a courageous charge? Fleeing in cowardice? All forgotten.

The loss, their lives, their memories, was too much for them to bear. All they had left was their sorrow. It kept the trees at bay for now, but one day that too would pass. One day they would forget their sorrow, forget their pain. The forest would reclaim the land, and the great cairn, that grand monument to a lost king, would be overtaken and tumble to the ground. Then all memories of what happened here would be gone. The misery, the terror, the ultimate sacrifices they all made.

All gone.

“Maybe then you will find peace,” Brynn murmured to himself, but the words sounded empty to his ears.

“Let’s go!” Nessana snapped. “Am I going to have to drag you over there?”

“This is hallowed ground, Scout Leader,” Brynn said evenly. “Please be respectful.”

Nessana paused and, remarkably, his expression softened just a little. He turned away and started walking towards Grimcairn without a word.

“He’s not a bad person,” said Seleeku as she came up next to Brynn. “The hollow is a distant relative of his, so his feelings about humans are, uh, complicated.”

The hollow. The hollow whose family was killed during the Great War. The hollow who took Brynn’s notes about the Fence. The hollow who was held captive by the tree in the glade.

Brynn glanced over his shoulder. Dorosi was still in the woods, about as far away as he could be and theoretically still be watching Brynn. “Why did you help me?” he whispered to Seleeku.

“Help you? With what?”

“The acorns. You know where they’re from. You didn’t want Nessana to find out. Why?”

Seleeku gave Brynn a inscrutable look. “Let’s go visit the Supreme Warlock and make sure you’re not corrupted.” She gestured towards Grimcairn with her quarterstaff. “After you, Brynn. I still want to keep an eye on you.”

Brynn could hear the words of the bonewalker, Arasen, echo in his mind. You must not trust … Seleeku? She was hiding something, that much was certain. And just when he was starting to think he could confide in her. From now on he would have to be on his guard.

With that thought hanging over him, Brynn walked onwards toward Grimcairn. It was time to meet the Supreme Warlock.