Alandier awoke to the faint shrill of a bird calling in a distance. Instantly he was alert, drawing an arrow and knocking it in one smooth, practiced motion, and shifted into a crouch, ready to move or shoot in a moments notice. The bird shrill had been sounded perfectly, the only discrepancy was that the last bird that made that call had migrated south two weeks ago. The sound he had heard was from Erandor, a brother waywatcher who guarded the paths into the sacred forest to Alandier’s right. Something was amiss.
Quickly surveying the trees in front of him, Alandier shrilled back. There is nothing here. The elf continued to crouch, still casting glances around himself, awaiting his companion’s reply. There. The call was similar to the last, used by the same bird, but was slightly longer this time and contained a slight warble at the end. I sense a disturbance. There are intruders, but I cannot see them.
Alandier knew what to do. Leaping from his tree branch, bow still at the ready, the elf landed on the soft mossy forest floor without a sound, only as a waywatcher with a lifetime’s worth of living in the forest could. Without hesitation, he began to creep his way over to where Erandor kept watch. It was impossible to see far in the woods, but Alandier decided to play it safe and dropped into a small ravine. He wanted to be sure he saw the intruders before the intruders saw him.
Suddenly, in midstep, Alandier froze. Something had moved in the trees ahead of the waywatcher. It hadn’t been Erandor, whatever it was, it had been cloaked in black and moved with a silence that even a waywatcher had to respect. Alandier had only seen it for a moment. As much as he wanted to inform Erandor of his sighting, the elf knew that to make any noise at all at this point would be to invite discovery, and if he was discovered, death. Or worse.
Silently, he moved again, only this time up the side of the ravine and behind a sparse bush that would allow him to observe the clump of trees the intruder had disappeared behind. Seconds ticked by. Minutes. Hours. Or so it felt to Alandier. The border-forest did not hum with life the way the Sacred Inner Glades did, instead, a deathly silence held the air. Nothing moved.
All of a sudden, another shrill leapt into the air from Erandor’s position, although this time it was not directed at Alandier. Erandor was calling the waywatcher Liandulin, who guarded to the right of Erandor. Alandier, listened, still watching for any sign of movement. Brother! Your help is needed! The Druchii-
Alandier started as the voice cut off. It had been a quick death, a quiet one, but not so quiet as to render the three flits of darts cutting into Erandor’s throat silent, or the sound of his limp body slumping to the ground. The Druchii. Undoubtedly clearing the way for another slave raid into the sacred forest. At least Alandier knew who he was dealing with now.
There was another moment of silence. All of a sudden, a elven figure cloaked in black seemingly materialized out of the air. Slowly and silently, it crept over to where Alandier knew Erandor’s lifeless body lay. It’s gaze was fixed away from the waywatcher, the shade obviously did not expect an attack from his direction.
The Dark Elf approached dead waywatcher and gave a quick glance around. Its eyes stopped on Alandier’s covered position for a moment, and seemingly burned a hole into the waywatcher’s forehead. Alandier was sure that at any moment, his throat would suffer a fate similar to Erandor’s. But the Druchii’s eyes, Elven in their shape and size but somehow tainted and twisted, passed on. As the shade returned its glance to its most recent victim, Alandier drew back his bow in a smooth motion. Just as he was about to release an arrow into the back of the Dark elf, the shade motioned with his right hand.
All of a sudden, a carefully clothed foot stepped silently on a root right next to Alandier’s hidden position freezing the waywatcher with his bow drawn. The Druchii, without a glance in his direction, moved passed him towards the first. The waywatcher was astounded. How hadn’t he noticed the Druchii waiting mere paces away from him? The two Dark Elves were soon joined by three more shades, and silently began to move away from Alandier, crossbows at the ready, when the waywatcher was suddenly struck with an idea.
Forming his lips together, Alandier let loose a shrill call of alarm. It was a gamble, but if there were only five shades, it might just work. As he predicted the Druchii froze, and turned quickly to face his direction. The waywatcher remained completely still, knowing that the slightest movement would mean the end of his life. The next move, he knew, was up to Liandulin...
Suddenly one of the Dark Elves collapsed, a thin white shaft protruding from its throat. The other shades reacted swiftly. The arrow had not come from Alandier’s side of the Druchii, but instead from where the waywatcher had correctly guessed that Liandulin would be. The remaining four shades ducked into cover, seconds before a second arrow imbedded itself in a tree trunk mere centimeters away from where the vile Druchii leader had been standing moments ago.
One of the dark elves fired back, his repeater crossbow firing a burst of three darts. Alandier held his breath for a moment, but relaxed when he saw the remaining Druchii still aiming in the second waywatcher’s general direction. Liandulin must have survived or else they would not be aiming at him still. Alandier’s plan had been successful. He trained his arrow on one of the shades who was concentrating on Liandulin’s position, and loosed it. An instant later he was rewarded with a choking gasp as the Druchii’s soul was claimed by whatever dark gods he had pledged it to.
The Druchii were now aware of their predicament. Diving down behind obstacles that provided the best cover in both directions, Liandulin and Alandier now had them pinned. Alandier nearly allowed a smile to cross his face when all of a sudden he received an impulse to move. Rolling away behind a tree, he flinched instinctively as three darts embedded themselves into the bark. As he crouched behind the tree, he heard the scream, almost alien in its nature, resound through the forest. Liandulin had managed to nail another one.
All of a sudden, Alandier heard the sound of steel whistling its way through the air. Leaping up, he barely managed to avoid the Druchii’s dagger as it was slashed towards his neck. In a single fluid motion, Alandier discarded his bow and drew his fine Elven Dagger. Rolling into a fighter’s crouch, he turned to face his opponent, cloak draped over one arm and dagger held firmly in the other.
The combatants remained motionless for a moment, until the Druchii launched himself into a series of attacks that caught Alandier off guard. He barely managed to parry away the attacks and hold his balance at the same time. The dark elf switched hands with his blade and attacked again. This move forced Alandier back until he was clumsily wrong-footed and tripped over a root. The waywatcher’s knife flew into the air and landed some distance away, and Alandier was flat on his back, defenseless.
The look in the Druchii’s eye was one of pure evil and malevolence. A leering grin was fixed onto the shade’s face as it moved in for the kill... There was a flit and the sound of an impact. The Shade stopped short, and its smile was replaced by a look of horror. Silently, the dark elf collapsed into a heap, revealing Liandulin, bow still aimed at where the Druchii’s back had been. Alandier met his companion’s eyes with a nod of thanks. Loren would have peace, for now.
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