Master Novice - Part 04

Eric paced back and forth. Time seemed to have slowed to a crawl. His path brought him back to the horses, and he started adjusting the straps on the first one.

Diana looked up from where she sat and said, "If you keep tightening those straps, pretty soon they won't be able to breathe."

He looked over at her and noticed that she was doing the exact same thing to her armor. "Look who's talking - pretty soon YOU won't be able to breathe."

Blushing, Diana dropped her hands from the buckle they had been fiddling with. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm just nervous..."

Eric nodded. "Me too. I've got to do SOMETHING - this waiting is driving me nuts."

Diana found herself worrying another buckle. "Don't worry - I'm sure we'll have excitement soon enough."

Rob, Hank and Preston pounded through the forest, Sheila and the freed slaves a few yards ahead. The sounds of the bugbears chasing them were growing rapidly louder.

They burst into the clearing in which they had camped. Sheila was helping the girl onto her own horse, and Eric and Diana were both in fighting stances, weapons drawn. The other woman was already seated (sidesaddle, Hank noticed) on Sheila's horse. He was about to tell her to swing around and sit normal, but Preston's voice cut through the air. "Everybody stand back! I need room!"

Without waiting to see if they responded, Preston started waving his arms and chanting in an arcane language. Everyone scrambled out of the way, unwilling to be in the path of whatever magic he conjured up.

Preston stopped waving his arms, one of them raised over his shoulder, and appeared to wait. Within moments, what appeared to be the entire tribe of bugbears started pouring into the clearing. Preston waited until about a dozen were in the clearing, then he threw at them what he held in his hand - some small pins - and uttered one last word. Instantly, the pins turned into a gigantic lightning bolt which jumped from bugbear to bugbear like a giant snake. Within seconds, those first dozen or so were reduced to smoldering piles of unidentifiable matter. The rest of the tribe stopped, uncertain.

Grasping the opportunity, Robert stepped forward and yelled something at the tribe. The creatures shuffled about, and one of them shouted something back. Robert yelled something else, then turned to Preston and said, "Act like you're casting something else! Quickly!"

Preston started waving his arms and muttering, and a glow appeared around his arms. Robert shouted at the tribe again, which was now starting to edge away from the mage.

Robert said, "Now, Preston!" and the wizard seemed to GROW, and glowed brighter. He gave out a loud yell, and the tribe broke and fled en masse.

After a few seconds, Robert turned to Preston and said, "I didn't really need for you to cast anything, just look like it."

Preston smoothed down his robe, then smiled at the monk. "I didn't - that was just a cantrip - something that any novice could do. It couldn't have possibly harmed anyone."

Hank took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked around and said, "Well, everyone, we should get out of here - I don't want to face them again."

By the time the sun touched the horizon, the group had put a large number of miles between themselves and the clearing. Preston agreed to let the women use his enchanted tent to clean up the rescued prisoners.

After an hour, Sheila stuck her head out and called for Preston and Robert. As they entered, they heard Diana talking to the other woman, well out of sight.

Sheila said, "Preston, we need clothes for these two, and a hairbrush." Preston nodded and started digging through the piles of stuff. "Bobby, there's something... wrong... with the girl."

Robert blinked. "Like what?"

"Well... I don't know. For one thing, she doesn't seem to be able to talk."

Robert shrugged. "So maybe she's deaf - I can't cure that."

Sheila shook her head. "No, Natasha says..."

"Wait," interrupted Robert. "I assume that Natasha is the woman?"

Sheila nodded. "She says that Aurora - the girl - was perfectly normal until they were captured. And I don't think that's the only problem."

Robert thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I can take a look at her, but don't count on my help."

"Fine. She's around here." Sheila led him to a small room that had a sunken bathtub. The girl was in the tub, and looked up when the adults walked in, but showed no sign of embarrassment at being naked in front of people she didn't know.

Robert knelt next to her. "Hi, Aurora, my name is Robert. I'm going to give you a quick examination and see if you're healthy, okay?" No response. "Okay?" She blinked, but didn't respond. "Aurora? Can you answer me?" She opened her mouth, then closed it and slowly shook her head.

Sheila said, "That's pretty much how she's been the whole time."

Robert frowned, then shrugged. "All right, Aurora, look right at me..."

"So, what you're saying is, she's not human?"

Robert nodded. "Well, she's PART human - I mean, there's human blood in her, but it seems to be a minority. Some elf blood, too, but to be honest, Eric, most of it I don't know." He paused. "I don't know what she is."

"What she is," said Hank, "is a little girl that was kidnapped by monsters."

Eric nodded. "Reminds me of fairy tales from back home."

Preston spoke up. "In case you haven't noticed, we've been living in a fairy tale for over 20 years."

Eric grinned. "Look out, Hans Christian Anderson, here comes Presto, story-teller of two worlds!"

At that moment Sheila walked out of the tent, holding the girl's hand. "Well, gentlemen, I'd like you all to meet Aurora."

Hank stood and bowed. "I'm Hank, my dear. Glad to meet you." Eric and Preston followed suit.

Robert smiled. "And you've already met me."

Sheila walked Aurora over to the fire and as they were sitting down, Diana appeared at the entrance to the tent. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Lady Natasha."

The men all rose, and as the woman exited the tent they were stunned. She looked nothing like the scruffy slave she had been hours earlier. She was dressed in an outfit that displayed her obvious charms while allowing her to retain her modesty. Everybody was immediately struck by just how beautiful she was, once the grime and rags were gone. She paused in the entrance, posing for effect.

The men repeated their introductions, and Natasha and Diana seated themselves near the fire. Hank cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, Natasha, we were wondering how it was that you two came to be captives of those bugbears?"

Natasha thought for a moment, then replied, "Well... we had been part of a caravan that was travelling to the east coast. I was part of a duke's entourage, and I discovered that my father has been incarcerated in some sort of prison. We had been on our way to release him." She paused a moment, and wiped a tear from her eye. "It's been more than twenty years since I saw him last."

Regaining her composure, she continued, "I gathered a small band of mercenaries for the trip, and found a merchant caravan that would accept us. Things were okay for they first four or five days, but... but we were attacked by those... creatures..." She shuddered. "They k-killed everyone else - but I guess they decided to keep us because we were the only females..." She seemed to lose her concentration, staring into the fire.

After a few moments, Eric asked, "How long did they, uh, keep you?"

"I don't know - it's been quite a while, but I lost track after a couple of weeks."

Aurora raised a hand, two fingers extended. Diana asked, "Three weeks, Aurora?" The girl shook her head. "Three months?" Again, Aurora shook her head.

They all sat, stunned. Finally, Natasha managed, "Two years...? Those monstrosities held me for TWO YEARS?!"

Aurora was holding up her hand again, this time with four fingers up. Sheila asked, "Two years, four months?" A slow nod.

Natasha appeared to be in shock. "Two years... gone... two years..."

Hours later, with Natasha and Aurora sleeping fitfully within the enchanted tent, Hank and Sheila climbed into their bedrolls. Everyone else was already asleep, except Robert, who was standing the first watch.

Hank kissed his wife goodnight. He lay silent for a few minutes, then said, "One thing I still don't know - what does Aurora have to do with Natasha? And vice-versa?"

Sheila looked at her husband in the starlight and decided that he wasn't kidding. "I thought it was rather obvious."

He replied, "Not to me, not really."

Sheila rolled onto her side and grabbed his hand in hers. "Natasha is Aurora's mother."