Beyond the Pale

We set out at around sunset from Eplash's camp.

Now that I had found the Giantkin, I had wondered where to go next. My mother and I had been on the way to the Alphine Woods to find Eplash when the attack happened, so I knew where to look. All I knew about the other two companions were their names.

Vendrix, with its "-RIX" suffix meant that he was probably an elf, and one of the royal family at that.

A beam was a building material, and there was nobody but the dwarves, who were widely regarded as the best builders in the land, who would name their child something like that.

So one elf and one dwarf.... that narrowed it down to just several million people.

Eplash's help in this matter was... limited.

"So," I said as we were taking a short rest. "This Beam and Vendrix... do you know where they might be?"

"No," the big woman shook her head. "It's been many years since I've seen or talked to them. Vendrix will probably be easier to find."

"How so?"

"Last time I saw him, he was dead."

"What!"

"When someone is exiled from the Elven kingdoms," she explained. "They are considered to be dead. It's very rare to spot an elf outside their homeland, so he will stick out wherever he is."

"Exiled? What for?"

"You will have to ask him," Eplash shrugged. "He did not speak much about it."

"And what about Beam?" I questioned.

Eplash seemed to think for a moment. "We will just have to follow the explosions."

I was just about to ask the Giantkin what she meant by this when the deafening screech of "Saaaaaaasssaaaaaa" cried in the distance.

Eplash jumped to her feet. "This way! Run!"

Grabbing my things I sped off in the the direction that she pointed. The woods were dark, but I could see that Eplash had directed to me onto some sort of well worn, but narrow trail. I could hear her feet pounding the ground just behind me. Suddenly, I felt myself lifted into the air and thrown over a massive shoulder, carried like a lost little lamb on the back of a shepherd.

"This is faster." was all Eplash said when I tried to protest. Those protests were very weak - she was right after all. My running was nothing compared to her massive strides and overall athleticism.

"Saaaaassaaaaaa" the draconic voice echoed as it drew nearer. I could hear the *thump thump thump* of its wings now.

I could only watch the branches and the leaves fly by as Eplash bounded along the trail. I was glad that I hadn't eaten much in the last few hours, the experience did no favors to my stomach. The dragon began to circle overhead, seeking.

Suddenly we were on a downward slope, I could hear the sound of rushing water.

The next thing I knew, my view of the sky was blocked by the underside of a stone bridge. Eplash set me down and we did our best to keep away from the sides, a hard task given the amount of space that the Giantkin occupied.

"It is following you," Eplash frowned. "How long?"

"Four days," I said. Was that it? Was it just four days since my mother and I were first attacked by the cultists who had been hunting us for all those years?

"Saaaasssaaaaaa!" the dragon screeched. It was swooping along the area that we had just traversed. Its head swiveled back and forth.... hunting.

Eplash held a giant arm out and pushed me back against the arched wall of the structure. She huddled in herself, stepping back into the shadows that our cover provided. The beating of the wings came closer.

I heard the dragon swoop overhead.

Moments passed and we heard the *thump thump thump* fade into the distance.

I felt myself suddenly wanting oxygen. I hadn't take a breath in some time.

The pressure of the protective arm lessened. Eplash stepped away, she poked her head out of the shadows and looked into the sky.

"Gone," she said. "Strange."

I stepped beside her, my breathing slightly labored. How do you breath again? I felt like I had to take each breath manually.

"Why," I breathed. "Is it strange?"

"We are below dragons. They would never hunt a single person. Evil magic is at work. From now on, we will shelter at night."

I nodded.

We clambered up the side of the riverbank to the bridge, we had made it to a main road.

"Cultists.... dragons..." Elpash said. "Your mother didn't make it easy on me."

"I'm sorry."

"No, do not be sorry!" the big woman smiled. "I enjoy a challenge!"

I gave a slight laugh. It felt good. I felt a little bit of the tension that had built up over the past few days slip away.

"Good," Eplash said. "Laugh more. You're mother would want that."

I looked in the two directions that the road followed. "So, which way?"

Eplash hunched down and examined the road. She poked and prodded the ground for a few moments.

Standing up she pointed left.

"This way," she said and started walking. She cut her stride down for me to keep pace.

"I will have to show you bushcraft," Eplash said. "By the time your mother was your age, she could hunt with the best of the Giantkin."

"I would very much like that," I said.

"Good, we will start now. Do you know your constellations?"

"Yes," I said. "More or less."

"More or less?"

I pointed at a cluster of stars, "That's Ankor, the Titan. The star at the tip of his tail leads North." I said.

"Good," Eplash said. "What else?"

I pointed out the small handful of constellations that I knew. Eplash began to instruct me on the location of several more, and showed me ways to use them for navigation.

We continued walking into the night. Something occurred to me.

"Eplash," I said. "You poked the at road when you decided which direction we should take. Is there some sort of technique I should know?"

"Shit."

"What?"

"Horse shit. I looked for the freshest clump I could find. We are following horse shit."