Sylvan Song -- The Chameleon
Gwendolyn Silverbow was not prepared for what she
saw when she walked into Solstari. She had been traveling for many
days from the sylvan village of Quintessa to attend the wedding of her
dearest friend. Gwendolyn and Siali Kin'stasari had been traveling
companions long ago when both had been young elves just starting their
way out in life. Both had been restless with their lives and had
met when Gwendolyn had stopped a fight in a bar in Aklarond.
Siali had been overwhelmed by three large men when Gwendolyn had
walked in. Gwendolyn, entering after visiting another friend of hers
in Aklarond, had rushed over and, with her staff, knocked one of the men
unconscious and had given the rest a such a good scare that they had stumbled
off, dragging their unconscious friend with them, as Gwendolyn was
a fairly large elf for her race and was not afraid to show her strength.
After Siali had been picked up, Gwendolyn introduced herself, and offered
to buy Siali a drink. Siali had been traveling for some time with
an adventuring party and had been deserted near Aklarond. She had
stopped in the bar to freshen up and get directions when these three men
had walked over to her and had been poking fun at her race. After describing how
she had pulled out her knife and told them to leave them alone, Gwendolyn had
come to like the brave elf, and invited her on her travels.
Siali and Gwendolyn had been traveling companions
for a half century after that, Siali studying the fighting arts and Gwendolyn
going down the path of a priestess of Quaressa, Guardian of the Forest
, until finally Gwendolyn had realized the need to continue her training
in the sylvan elf village of Quintessa. Siali had found her sister,
Coronna, in Solstari, and thus they had split apart, but had kept in touch.
Now, a century later, Siali was to marry into a noble family of Solstari
and Gwendolyn had seen fit to leave the academy and visit.
Gwendolyn had not anticipated, however, the two
armored guards outside the normally unguarded west gate. Looking
at them curiously as they stopped her, she held on to her staff and tried
to figure out what was going on.
"I am here for the wedding of Siali Kin'stasari."
she said pointedly, trying to puzzle out why she was being prohibited from
walking in. There were no elven villages that she had heard of that
denied entrance to other elves. One of the elves gasped, and the other
gave her a sad look.
"I'm afraid that will not be going on. I fear
there is a great danger loose in the woods around our city." He told
her, still standing in front of the entrance. "We have been told
to close the city to outsiders." he crossed his arms over his twin
sword hilts and nodded at her to move along. Gwendolyn, however,
stood fast.
"I am a personal friend of the Kin'stasari family,
you must allow me entrance!" she commanded, looking around the guard until
she finally spotted a tall elf in a redesplendent, shimmering emerald robe.
"Ke'shar!" she cried, standing tall so that she could be seen over
the guards. The elf looked over, startled, and swept over to them,
brushing by the guards as he came to look down at Gwendolyn.
"It has been too long since I have seen you, friend."
the elf wizard greeted her, his normally stoic face looking even more grim
than usual. The gray elf gave her one of his typical hard stares.
"You should not be here, I know you have come to visit Siali, but now is
not a good time."
"I have not come here to visit Siali, I have
traveled here to attend her wedding." she told him, glaring right
back at him. Finally, the wizard backed down his glare to one of
pity. "What is wrong, Ke'shar?"
"It is Siali's sister, she was found dead yesterday
by a hunting patrol." he told her, guiding her inside the village.
"She was in a rather terrible state, and Siali has called off her wedding
until she can find her killer." he explained as they stopped some distance
away from where a large group of elves stood, rising their voices to the
heavens in a song of lament over a bier that was covered with decorative
flower wreaths and a variety of instruments. Gwendolyn looked away,
saddened by the sight. She whispered a quick prayer to Quaressa and turned
back to Ke'shar.
"Where is Siali now?" she asked, noticing
that she was not at the funeral ceremony. Ke'shar shook his head. "Out
looking for a sign of the monster that killed Coronna with a patrol of
warriors. She refused to stay here, insisting that she would serve
her poor sister best if she went with the party to look for the beast."
"You must take me to her." Gwendolyn said
simply. "I have come all this way, the least I can do is to help
a friend in need, and I know you won't let me go alone." she told
him, looking off into the surrounding forest. The wizard shook his
head resignedly and placed a warning hand on her shoulder.
"I suppose that I must, I know that you have every
right to want to help Siali." he said, giving her a grave stare.
"But I must warn you, the monster that killed Coronna was not one of the
natural persuasion."
"What do you mean by that?" the perceptive
priestess inquired. "Orcs and trolls are hardly unnatural in the
forest."
"This was no natural monster." he said again,
"We know this because when Coronna was found, all of the blood had been
removed from her body. There was not a drop left."
*****
Rialin Kinterwing did not know how he managed to
get himself into these situations. Backing slowly into a corner,
trying to stay away from the noble with the curved scimitar, he knew, was
not a good situation to be into. At this moment, the halfling really
wished that Kevlar would return from inquiring inside the tavern.
"So, the little thief wants to try and pickpocket
Raliegh Sharranstar, then?" the man asked in a drunken swagger.
Ordinarily, Rialin would not be as afraid of a drunken noble as he was,
but Kevlar had the halfling's short sword.
"N-n-no I wasn't." he stammered, trying to
look as innocent as his halfing facade could. He put on a huge smile.
"I was only checking to see that your purse strings were tight, it looked
as if it might fall off your belt!"
"Sure, am I to believe someone who only stands to
my belt?" he said, laughing as the weaving scimitar flashed in front
of Rialin's eyes. The halfing squeezed his eyes shut, certain that
he was doomed.
"I would." a voice said from the other side
of the alley. Rialin opened his eyes hopefully, hoping that he was
not just imagining things. The noble looked back coolly, simply nodding
to the tall man that was leaning against one of the walls, watching the
conversation.
"Ah, you have arrived just in time to watch me teach
this short man some manners!" the noble cried cheerfully, beckoning
to the man, who was dressed in all black. A dagger suddenly flashed
and there was a thunk as the noble's plumed hat was pinned to the wall.
"I don't think you are in any shape to be teaching
anyone any manners." he said quiely, advancing on the noble, who
was looking a bit fearful of this newcomer. Rialin finally found
his courage as he saw the man in black advance.
"Yeah, I'll bet that your sword is no match for
his steel and cunning." Rialin taunted as best he could while scrunched
in a corner such as he was. The noble looked back, the spark of challenge
alighting in his eye.
"So you would stick up for this halfling then?"
Raliegh Sharranstar challenged, holding his scimitar out towards the advancing
man. "I declare a deul then, for the life of this thief!" he said
loudly, challenging anyone in a thirty foot radius. There was a quick
flash of steel and suddenly the noble's billowy yellow breeches, formerly
held up at the waist by a belt, which was now in two pieces, were puddled
around his ankles.
"You might want to speak a mite quieter, you don't
want everyone to see you looking this ridiculous." the man in black
said, grinning at the flushed face of the now sober noble, who glared at
the two of them and dashed off, attempting to hold his pants up while he
ran. Rialin collasped into a fit of laughter at the spectacle.
"Kevlar, you arrived just in time!" he said
between laughs, "In another couple of seconds. . ." he was cut off as the
stronger man grabbed him by his tunic and lifted him up in the air, giving
him a stern look.
"In another couple of seconds, I would be scraping
your sorry hide off of these cobblestones." he warned, letting the halfling
fall back down with a grunt. "You need to learn to watch who you
try to pickpocket." he told Rialin sternly. The halfling sulked,
kicking the ground with his bare feet.
"I was only checking his pouch strings. . . " he
trailed off as Kevlar pulled his dagger out of the wall and threw the hat
at Rialin.
"Here. A souvenir." Rialin gave him a nasty
look, which Kevlar carefully ignored. "On the matter which brings us here,
I did find out where our friend may be headed next." he told the
halfling, who looked up, interested in this information that they had long
sought.
"He apparently travels toward the elven village
of Quintessa, for what purpose, I do not know, but our tavern owner had
seen him with a map of the area three days ago." he said, cleaning
his fingernails with the sharpened edge of his dagger before making it
disappear back into his clothing. "If we start today and travel as
fast as we have been, we may catch him south of Solstari." Rialin
groaned again at this prediction.
"I was hoping we could travel a bit slower once
we left here." he said, grimacing as he remembered the journey.
"We will have to go through elven woods again, won't we?" he asked, grimacing
at that thought also. Rialin did not like elves. Kevlar ignorned
his whining, as he always did and started to walk out of the alley.
Sighing, Rialin followed. The two theives were soon out of the town
of Garantar, heading for the Whispering Woods.
*****
As the chameleon changes his coat with the surroundings,
I have learned to change my facade within my surroundings. I am one,
but also another when my place has to change. I can be anything or
anyone that I desire, and it will suit me well once I reach my destination.
Then they will all pay for the horrors that I have had to bear witness
to.
*****
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