Untitled Chapter 7
Haiden reached the edge of the caves and the stinging lights peered inwards. Through his squinted eyes, the necromancer spotted a wild horse not far off in the distance. The dark elf's hands waved around as he summoned a cloud poison around the head of the horse.
Even on such a large beast, the poison worked quickly and the animal fell to the side, lifeless. Haiden pulled a dagger from his belt and cut a long piece of cloth from his cape. The necromancer took note of the direction and an approximate distance from the horse, and then proceeded to tie the cloth around his head, blindfolding himself.
He walked the 50 paces he estimated and began his spell to raise the dead horse. Haiden was well aware that by having the undead sentry guarding Tal'Vex and the undead horse, that his spells would be severely limited until one of the two ceased to exist.
The horse walked to his master, and Haiden mounted it the best he could without his vision. "I will need your eyes, my life is in your hands." Haiden then felt for the ring again, and rendered himself invisible, along with the horse. "Lead on my friend, follow the stench of oily green skin. We have a troll to hunt."
- - - - -
The trio followed Venavin Newpalla into the house. The walls seemed to sparkle when light reflected off of it, like the stone was made of thousands of diamonds. "This is my mommy," Venavin stated, taking her hand and pulling her into the room.
She smiled and shook Maylin's hand. Maylin bowed his head a little to kiss her hand, "Always a pleasure to meet a high elf."
The woman blushed, "I am Amarra Newpalla."
"Maylin Levail. This is my brother, Scempt and our little friend is Finola Ravenfury."
"Nice to meet you all. I'm sure my son didn't introduce himself; he can be a little rude like that. Probably got it from his father." Amarra pointed to him, "This is Venavin."
The two elves looked at each other and repeated the word like it was a question, "Venavin?"
"You don't like his name?" Finola asked with all sincerity.
Scempt asked Amarra as politely as possible, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the word 'Venavin' high elven for 'Unexpected'?"
Amarra hung her head a little and replied, "Actually, that is exactly what it means. Venavin's father and I never expected our blood to be compatible enough to reproduce, him being a black dragon."
The two elves' faces bunched up and Maylin asked, "I didn't know the actual deed was possible."
"Venavin's father could shape shift for short periods of time. Venavin himself has a similar capability, but only between high elven and black dragon. Even when he's in one form, parts of the other always seem to come through," she pointed to the tiny horns on his head, partially hidden by his curly hair. "This is the part of the dragon that shows. All in all though, he's a good kid… most of the time."
Scempt replied, "I'd say, he saved our lives today. I still can't fathom how child as young as Venavin can cast spells that would take a wizard decades to even consider the attempt."
"That's something that always confused me, he's been doing it since he was five. My guess is that it would have something to do with the dragon blood mixed with the high elven, both races known well for intelligence."
All three thought the comment to be a little on the cocky side, but for a high elf, it seemed rather appropriote.
Finola broke the awkward silence and asked Amarra a question, "Have you ever been in battle Amarra?"
"More than my share actually, I used to compete in archery and rogue competitions."
Finola's eyes lit up. "You can fight like a rogue?"
"Well, yes." Amarra answered.
Finola bent her knees and stood on her toes and started sneaking around Amarra in circles, "And you know all the styles, sneaking around and being sly and all that stuff?"
Amarra chuckled, "Yes little one. If you like, I can teach you a few things."
Finola was jumping up and down, "Really really really?! Oh, you're the best!"
Amarra could see the excitement in her eyes, "In fact, lets go right now and see what I can show you, but be warned, I'm a little rusty"
The two walked out of the room leaving just Scempt, Maylin and Venavin to chat. Scempt thought now would be the best time for a bit of an interrogation, naturally there was more to this little one's magic than just blood inheritance.
- - - - -
Tal'Vex's breathing was nearly at a normal pace within a few hours after Haiden's departure. Once again, the undead sentry placed at his door for his protection. The druid was unsure of how long he was unconscious or how he'd gotten back to the caves, but he suspected Haiden had a large role in the whole thing.
The dark elf was far from rejuvenated, the mere thought of using any kind of magic nearly made him sick to his stomach. He wedged himself passed the sentry again to see how the flytrap was doing. Tal'Vex reached for the pouch from the side of his belt, but noticed it emptied off to the side of the room.
A note written in the sandy ground simply said, "After the toe." Tal'Vex was impressed, not only did he save his life, but he was already after another component for the spell. It was just then that Tal'Vex realized what Haiden was doing. He ran to the edge of the caves and the druid proved his suspicion correct. It was nearly noon, Haiden have gone out in the light, a task the druid thought he would never see Haiden do willingly.
Tal'Vex rushed back to the plant and dug behind a few loose rocks, pulling out three vials, one filled with an orange liquid and the other two a hazy purple. He pulled one of the purple vials to his pursed lips and consumed the foul-smelling contents as quickly as possible. The dark elf dropped the vial and before it hit the floor, he could feel his body regenerating. They were an extremely expensive purchase, but certainly worth every piece of gold. The vial smashed on the floor and the other two were carefully placed at his belt.
The druid ran as fast as his legs could carry him until he exited the tunnel and headed straight for the small cliff. Tal'Vex dove off of the edge, belly down, and mumbled a few enchantments. His bones made a horrid cracking sound as they reshaped inside his body and he melted into the form of an eagle.
The eagle was the only form Tal'Vex could change into, but it did offer the ability to see invisible beings, something he assumed would be extremely necessary in finding Haiden.
The eagle shrieked and the sound echoed through the air for miles, sending an unpleasant chill through the spines of all who heard it, with the possible exception of Haiden.