Another thud.
Were they safe? Lorin had to know, but first things first, his wife needed to be tended to. Without the option for hesitation, Lorin pulled the rag from the basin. Droplets poured onto the floor and his clothing; then, without warning, he pressed the cloth over the punctures. The liquid poured down Jessica's back with its color tinged red and that wonderful cedar smell came again. Lorin's arms shook with strain as he compressed Jessica's chest, forcing a gasp from her. The instant Lorin made contact, Jessica's arms and legs straightened out stiff as a board and spasmed in pain while veins bulged on her neck and forehead. Within a tick of time, her body went limp in Lorin's hold.
A tinge of panic flashed through Lorin, but Jessica's racing heartbeat held so close reassured him that he hadn’t just killed her. His arms and face turned red and quivered. For what felt like an eternity he stayed resolute, holding and waiting for a positive sign. The smoke and bubbling hiss from under the cloth faded, and he held the cloth in place for a just a little longer before he let his grip relax.
Jessica took a deep breath once he was no longer squeezing her as tightly. Cradling her in his arms, Lorin pulled back the cloth, uncovering two now-shriveled holes. Dots of red began to grow, but Lorin covered them with a bandage when he could. Then, he tore a strip from Jessica's old shirt, trying to pick the driest part, and wrapped it across her chest to hold the bandage in place. After finishing his knot, he laid her in their bed and rolled on her side to keep weight off the injured shoulder.
Lorin kissed Jessica's forehead and turned to look at Sarah.
"Is Mommy dead?" Sarah's was voice weak and cracked.
Lorin's heart sank. He hadn’t wanted his children to ever see anything like this. Lorin rushed up and hugged her, lowering his voice to be as comforting as possible. "No, sweetheart, she just needs her rest." He held her head close to his chest and began slowly rocking back and forth. Then Lorin hummed a low tune, resting his chin atop her mussed-up hair. Sarah pushed in close. Lorin finished his first impromptu song and was halfway through the next when a sound echoed in the cabin.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Lorin's blood froze, his body stiff and alert. Someone had just knocked on his door—the door of a cabin on the outskirts of the Wilds. He must've misheard.
"Dad," a tiny voice said from under his arms. "Someone's at the door."
In his arms, Sarah felt like a coiled spring. "It sounds like it," Lorin said, trying his best to cover up his shock, "Stay with your brother, I'll make sure everything is safe."
"No, what if it's a monster?"
"Sweetheart, monsters don’t knock."
Would they?
"I'll go see who it is. They might need help." Lorin let Sarah huddle up with her brother again and walked to the door. His steps were confident, his chest out and head high. At the same time he kept his hands in front of him to hide how much they shook. When he got to the door, he picked up his bow. He moved the bench, blocking the door just enough to open it a crack. He made sure that, should it be necessary, he could fall on the angled bench and slam the door shut again. Only one of his eyes could see through the hairline crack, but he could discern nothing on the other side. It was dark, like the sun was blotted out. He couldn't see the grass in front of the cabin or the tree line—it was blocked by something. Curiosity getting the better of him, Lorin pulled the door further open.
"Greetings," a voice said.
Lorin could feel the deep bass through the door and slammed it closed.
"I did not intend to scare you." Though the heavily accented voice was outside, the walls did little to dampen the sound. "It is safe now; my companions and I killed the last of the creatures. We hope to know of your family's well being."
Lorin at this point was leaning against the bench, bracing the door shut. His thoughts were slowed from the exhaustion now setting in.
"I would very much like to talk, but this door makes conversation… feel awkward," said, the voice.
After a moment of hesitation, Lorin said, "Why are you out this far?"
"That is a complicated question, better left for face-to-face talking. But we heard one of the beasts wail and we came to find your home. We only mean to help where we can."
"Do you have medicine?" Lorin blurted out the words before he realized he had spoken.
"Yes, one of our group is as good as any physician. Is one of you hurt?"
Lorin let his weight off the barricade and moved it to the side of the door. After a deep breath, he opened it enough to poke his head through. Filling the doorway stood a mass of muscle, sinew, and bones shaped like a man. The giant wore no shirt, just a sash of granite blocks that was joined to a belt at his waist made from larger blocks. He had to duck his head to fit, but his smile was so comforting that Lorin felt himself open the door the rest of the way.
"Thank you. May I come in?"
Lorin gestured inside as an invitation. The man could stand straight up in the cabin, but his head was less than a finger-width from hitting the ceiling.
"My name is Theodore," he said, extending his arm to Lorin.
"I'm Lorin," he responded, grabbing Theodore's forearm. The dark skin felt rough as slate and just as hard.
"One of you is hurt?" Theodore asked, his square face wrinkling into concern.
Lorin was transfixed on the thick muscles that made Theodore's neck seemingly disappear. It took him a second before the words clicked in his head. "Yes." Lorin pointed to his bed, "My children and wife were very close when one screamed and… my wife was bitten."
Theodore nodded and put his massive hand on top of Lorin's shoulder. "Do not worry. We can help." Then he ducked his head back down through the door and yelled, "Karine, you are needed inside."
"How many are in your group?" Lorin asked, running his thumb on his bow.
Theodore turned back inside and gestured to a chair as a request to sit.
Lorin nodded.
"Four in total," Theodore said as the chair groaned under his weight. "Nock is walking the edge of the clearing to make sure all is well. Varron is doing something most likely less productive, but he is with us too."
"I would like to meet you all," Lorin said, easing himself into a chair, a hint of hesitation creeping through his words.
"I promise you will, but first your family needs to be cared for, no? Ah, here she is. Karine, this is Lorin."
A thin silhouette stood in the doorway, then walked toward Lorin and gave a bow. She had sharp features covered by warm, tanned skin, as well as the telltale pointed ears and solid-colored eyes of an elf. Across her chest a leather strap held in place a handful of glass vials, and daggers hung from both hips. One was jeweled and golden, and the other was bright blue and crystalline.
"Who needs my assistance?" Karine said with little to no inflection in her voice.
Lorin opened his mouth to speak.
"The children and mother suffered from a scream," Theodore said, cutting off Lorin. "I have not seen their condition, but the mother was bit as well. They are resting on the beds."
Karine began to walk toward them, but Lorin stood and said, "Why are you helping us? What do you want?"
Karine stopped and gave a look to Theodore.
"We wish to help those in need when we can," Theodore said.
"Not for free—nothing ever comes for free," Lorin said. "We have little money, some food and water, but that's all."
Theodore sat for a long moment looking at Lorin. He stood, the stone belt grinding a hollow sound in the room. "You are right," Theodore said and nodded to Karine. She resumed her walk and knelt at the side of the bed where Jessica rested. Theodore then laid his hand on Lorin's back, turning him toward the door. "We will talk outside, Lorin. Let her work. The children do not need to hear."
Lorin put up some resistance, but realized its futility and walked on his own out of the cabin. Theodore closed the door behind them and walked past Lorin, motioning for him to
follow.
"I saw your little girl watch us from her bed," Theodore said. "A beautiful young child, you must be proud."
Lorin didn't reply, but followed a half step quicker than normal to keep up with Theodore's long strides.
"I did not want to scare them any more than they are. Tell me, Lorin, do you know what type of monstrosities attacked you today?"
"Howlers. I have seen quite a few while hunting."
"They are that common here?" Theodore turned his head to Lorin, his eyebrows raised.
"When we broke land, yes, but I killed them as I came across them. It's been a while, probably last winter, that I last saw any."
"Dangerous creatures they are. Howlers is a new name to me, though. We usually call them shrieks or banshees, both seem to be fitting. Do you know why they attacked?"
"My children were alone at the water pump," Lorin said, his eyes on the ground. "Or they smelled the deer I brought this morning. In either case they were looking for an easy meal."
Theodore stopped and said, "They are hungry creatures, but they will eat each other before attacking dangerous game. The others you have hunted, did you see them in packs?"
"Theodore, what do mean?"
"You may call me Theo, we know each other now. The shrieks are a harbinger of dangerous times." Theodore pointed at the water pump, where a man washed his face under the spigot. Lorin couldn't make out many details other than shoulder-length straight black hair and polished, gold-trimmed armor. On the grass beside the water pump he could see a large crossbow laid atop a small arsenal of weapons. "Varron brought us together to stop the culling before it happens."
"I don't understand."
"You have built your lovely home close to the Wilds. The Wilds are not just untamed land—the Wilds are an organism."
Lorin nodded along, trying to hide his confusion, though he knew he didn't hide it well.
"Organism means life, the land lives like a creature," Theodore said without a hint of condescension. "The Wilds have been pushed so much by civilization that they are trying to reclaim what has been lost. Varron knows how it works more than I, but there is a hierarchy. The basics are, monsters rule the Wilds, and stronger ones rule over the lesser ones."
"Ah," Lorin said. "Doesn't sound far from civilization."
"It isn't. Common folk give taxes to their baron—so, too, the monsters give sacrifices to their higher-ups. Varron knows of a hive close to your home, which is why we are here. The hive needs to give a gift to the ones above it." Theo gave a sympathetic look.
"My family," Lorin said, the color draining from his face.
"The monsters live for quite a while, so a gift isn't often necessary, but one is currently due."
"I won't let my family be a part of any of that."
"While the Queen lives, that choice is hardly one for you to make."
Lorin looked up at Theo, his eyes burning. "Then I will kill the Queen."
"Good." Theo gave him a slap on the back, hard enough it could've pushed him forward a step, but Lorin stood rooted in place. "That is the payment we require for our help."
"Where is it?"
Theo shifted to his other foot and one of his eyebrows raised. "You know you are not going alone."
Lorin shrugged his indifference.
"A man after my own heart," Theo said, then laughed. "Varron knows the way. Come, you wanted to meet the others."
Lorin felt the dull thud through the ground again, but this time he heard something after as well. It sounded like a cheer.
"Nock got another one," Theo said, pointing far out to the tree line. Lorin could make out a squat silhouette of a dwarf raising an anvil-shaped hammer the size of his body above his head, then bringing it down. The same thud rumbled through the ground. "You don't need to know much more about him," Theo said with a chuckle.
They both walked to the water pump, which Varron was leaning against as he admired his hand.
"Varron, this is Lorin. He has agreed to help."
Lorin stretched out his arm.
"Does he know how much danger he is in?" Varron said, without paying any attention to either man.
Theo started to speak, but Lorin cut him off, "I know how much danger my family is in. Where is the hive?"
Varron looked up. He was handsome, but he looked thoroughly out of place with his glinting jewelry.
"Quite the ferocity. I'm sure she will love that," Varron said. Lorin thought he saw something glimmer behind Varron's eyes. "The Queen," Varron said as he began to walk in a semicircle, "in the hive. She will send out others from the area, or spawn more. We need to leave as soon as we can."
"I need to make sure my family is well first, then we can go."
"No." Varron stopped walking. "You will get what items you need and then we will leave."
"Lorin," Theo said. "The hive is close, so we should be back before night. Your family will rest while we deal with this problem."
"But—"
"Karine will stay, she isn't much for fighting so she will look after the children."
Lorin stood in thought for a moment. "What if more come back?"
"What happened to the eagerness?" Varron said. He never looked at Lorin, always glancing off to the side or somehow through him.
"I'm eager to keep my family safe," Lorin shot back.
"If Nock stays guard as well," Theo said, holding his arms up in an effort to calm, "then your family will be well defended. We will be disadvantaged, but Nock would make things too easy for us, I think." He chuckled.
"Only I know the way to the hive," Varron said with a sneer.
Lorin let out a quiet, relieved sigh.
"Forgive me," Varron said. "I didn't grace you with my name. I am Varron Demore, the son of Almith the Baron of Jence and the province of Almith." Varron held out his hand to display his rings.
Lorin did nothing, then looked at Theo, who was rubbing his eyes, embarrassed.
"You’re supposed to kiss the rings," Varron said, disgusted.
CHAPTER TWELVE
"Hold on, Lorin," Catherine said, leaning over their table. "You're wrong."
Lorin had his mouth open ready to continue, but only stared at the owner of the inn.
"Varron hasn't been down to this area in years. It can't be him you're talking about."
Lorin tilted his head, confused. The two strong shots were in full effect, and his eyes took a moment to focus. His head felt heavy, like it was about to roll from his shoulders. "I remember the name clearly."
"Varron is a friend. This is the first place he would stop by if he was close."
Lorin's eyes narrowed. "What makes you say that?"
Catherine leaned back and rested a hand on her hip. "You said you wanted to hear about how I have a red dragon head displayed?"
Lorin nodded.
"Varron is a part of that story, he is—"
"I don't want to hear it, then," Lorin said, raising his voice.
Catherine's mouth fell open, and she was searching for an answer when Arthur spoke up, "Please, Catherine, tell me that story. It will give Lorin a chance to eat and rest his voice."
"No, I don't want to hear any story with—"
"Then don't listen," Catherine said. Her tone was so icy and firm Lorin would've taken a step back if he hadn't been sitting.
"Please, Lorin, let her tell it."
Without missing a beat, Catherine turned and smiled that sweet innkeeper smile at Arthur. Then she dove into the story.
"‘Bout ten years ago, me and Herman were in a group sent out by the Baron himself. We were assigned a contract to get two dragon eggs." She paused and eyed both the men. "No easy feat, but I was younger, and let me tell you—my Herman had proved to be more than enough
of a man for me to fall for him. So, we weren't too worried about facing a dragon."
Lorin tried to block her out. Catherine's voice, however, was enchanting—it was clear she was well practiced in telling this tale, and Lorin found himself drawn in.
"Luckily for us, we found a young dragon's lair when she was having her first hatching. Her name was Brickmere and she was on this side of the Abyss, so it wasn't too dangerous to reach her. The mountain she nested in hadn't fully broken down into a volcano. Even still, the lava and ash clouds claimed three of our group before we found her nest in that damned cave." She broke off eye contact and looked out behind her audience.
Lorin was about to follow her vision to see what she was looking at, but she blinked and shook her head, not letting the rhythm of the story drop.
"There were five eggs on a rock surrounded by streams of lava. The defensive drake didn't like us that close. My best guess is she heard the screams of the dying as we traveled in. She had perched above our entrance and ambushed us once we all made it in. Twelve good hunters were killed from her breath before we even turned to see her. It was a losing fight and we weren't prepared for her at that moment." She let her focus move from Arthur to Lorin and back. "But there is always a weakness. A parent will always fight to protect its children. Herman thought of the idea and ran toward the eggs. I was still staring through the heatwave of melting bones when he took off."
"Bones can melt?" Arthur said in the breathy voice of an astonished child.
"A dragon's fire will melt anything," Catherine said. Then, she continued, "Brickmere focused on Herman once he jumped across the lava stream. The fear of God must've been in him, because it was a good five paces or more of a jump. The dragon landed on the island while Herman hid behind the eggs. The dragon would have just burned Herman. It’s not like dragon eggs can be hard boiled, even if they were dipped in a lake of lava. Herman was sure to be another pile of ash spread across the room, and the eggs would be a little warmer for it. But…" She paused.