Darkwalker on Moonshae - Douglas Niles [79]
“It’s lucky he got away. He told me about you,” Robyn explained.
“Well, isn’t he a smart bird!” laughed the bard. He sobered quickly. “I owe you all a lot, and I thank you. You know, there might even be a song in this!” Keren leaned back thoughtfully, humming a bit of melody.
The dwarf snorted. Scratching her ear with a dirty finger, Finellen looked around. Her whiskers twitched irritably. “You know,” she said suddenly, her rich female voice emerging incongruously from the bushy beard. “For humans – and a Halfling – you folks are not all that bad. I’m proud to have fought with you.”
The simple statement, they all realized, meant a great deal. The dwarves were traditionally aloof and haughty toward the shorter-lived races, rarely deigning to involve themselves in human quarrels.
“We’re honored by your praise,” responded Tristan, “We, too, look highly on the chance that brought you among us as a companion.”
“Where are your people?” asked Robyn. “Do you live near here?”
“My people live wherever we want, within the borders of Myrloch Vale. It happens that, this year, we’ve taken residence in a comfortable group of caves, a few days north of here, in the Highlands.
“It was there that we saw the signs of Firbolg activity. The fen country, down there, wasn’t such a bad place in the past. We knew of this Firbolg stronghold, but it’s never been a problem before. Lately, though, they started hauling coal here from the mountains. I was sent to investigate. Now,” she said, chuckling wryly, “I can tell my people that the problem has burned itself out.”
“Perhaps one part of the problem,” observed Keren, “but not its core. Gwynneth is in dire danger, and the help of your people would aid greatly in the thwarting of this threat.”
“Oh no!” objected Finellen, with surprising vehemence. “We’re not about to get entangled in a bunch of human problems! It’s like my mother used to tell me – if you see a human coming, you see trouble coming!
“I owe you my thanks, for getting me out of that cell. But don’t go expectin’ us to bail you out of another of your big messes!”
“But this is not a problem that threatens only the humans,” argued Tristan. “All the peaceful Ffolk of Gwynneth – including those of Myrloch Vale – are in danger. Can’t you convince your people of that?”
“I couldn’t even try!” shot back the dwarf. “I’m sorry, but this is a problem you’ll have to work out for yourselves.”
They tried for several hours to get the stubborn dwarf to reconsider, but she was adamant. Finally, they dropped the topic, as tempers on both sides neared the breaking point.
In the morning, Finellen was gone.
*****
For many days this time, Erian remained locked in the body of the wolf. Only gradually did his human form return, in a process of nearly unendurable pain. He finally awakened far inland, in an area of near wilderness. As before, he was naked and covered with blood.
Horror gripped his mind with icy fingers. He knew now that he could not return to the world of men. Choking out sobs of agony and fear, he staggered through the wilds.
For weeks he ate only such food as his bare hands could gather. Nuts, berries, grubs, and even mice all passed his smacking lips – he cared not for taste, nor appearance. He only craved enough food to stay alive. Once he stole a chicken from an isolated farm, giving him the best meal since returning to his human body.
He moved aimlessly, or so he thought. Driven on by the consuming horror in his mind, he staggered through the wilderness, first moving north, and then east, He paid no attention to his location, but his direction was guided by an instinct deeper than his consciousness.
Gradually, night by night, the moon faded to black, and then slowly grew. It fattened over his head, passing from sliver, to crescent, to half moon. And still it kept growing. Behind the moon, came the Tears of the Moon, growing brighter and more distinct each passing night, a glittering necklace of light.
A consuming fear gripped him with the approach of the next full moon. That one, he knew, would