That Hideous Slumber
Chapter XXIII: The Most Dangerous Man in the World
My skin was on fire.
I could feel a deep cold digging into my palms. I was on my back, dressed in marauder furs. I sat up, looking around. Ice was all there was to see. Ice was the world. Endless floes surrounded me. High above the moon punched a hole in the midnight sky, looking larger than I'd ever seen it.
The moon and stars colored the world white. I was stranded in a land of contrasts. All around me was pure whiteness, further out were dark shadows lain by the serrated forests of frost. I could see high mountains in the far distance, to the north. At least, what I thought was north. I could also see smoke rising high into the air, as if from some sort of campfire or settlement.
I looked down and saw Eleanor lying beside me, her body a little curled up as if in sleep. I knew in that moment I was either dreaming or I'd lost my mind, and it made my heart hurt. She too was dressed in Malaud clothing. I leaned towards her and gently laid a hand against her shoulder.
"Ellie...?" There was something about the very possibility of her presence, her nearness, that made me happier. The pangs that had momentarily overtaken my heart were quickly forgotten. She was here and I didn't care about anything else.
Eleanor stirred and looked up at me with a sleepy smile. "Robert... I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," I replied. Truer words had never been spoken. I laid back down on the ice, closer so that our shoulders touched. I caught a flash of brilliant starlight, and some sort of rainbowy veil draped across the sky, but I turned towards Eleanor, our faces scant inches apart. The lights above were faintly reflected in her dark brown eyes.
I wanted to kiss her, but something held me back. She reached out with a single finger, stroking my cheek. "Your hair's gotten longer." She said, then added "You're sadder now than you used to be," Not a question, a statement. A slight crackling sounded beneath us, but I ignored the noise.
"Yes, but not right now," I said with a smile. The cracking grew louder.
She nodded, smiling herself. "But I can see it in your eyes. Please don't be sad. It's good to see you. So good. I've been... lost in my dreams for a long time. I'm waiting for you to come wake me up."
"I will, I swear to God I will." A tear slid down my cheek. All this time neither of us had moved, but I began to feel Eleanor drifting away. The cracking, it had been the ice between us coming apart. I swallowed a lump in my throat, fighting back panic.
We no longer sat on an unbroken field of ice, we were on two jagged chunks of frozen seawater, floating away from each other. All had changed while my focus had been diverted.
I reached out a hand to her, but she had turned away. She was in exactly the same position as when I'd first awoken. Back asleep again. But then she roused herself and turned, as if waking up again. She reached out to me, but we were too far apart by then, so our fingertips barely grazed each other.
"I love you, Ellie!" I called out, knowing we were speaking the last words we would get to say to each other for a very long time, possibly forever. Dark ocean water spread between us.
"I love you too, Robbie..." she called back, now more than ten feet away. Her voice sounded dreamy, far away. I had lost her to sleep again. Beneath me I felt the ice bearing me up disintegrating into smaller and smaller pieces.
I gasped in pain as the shock of the icewater bit through my thick fur coat into the vulnerable flesh within. Robbed of breath, I sat up in a blind panic, panting for air and drenched in sweat. The ribs I'd broken ached. The pain helped to sharpen my focus. I wasn't in the far north at all, I was lying in a bed of hay inside an ancient, abandoned barn. I could see stars through the slats.
A dream, this one even more vibrant and realistic than the last.
I could still feel the touch of Eleanor's finger on my cheek, still trace the scent of her hair in the atmosphere around. I could still feel the ice delving into my fingertips, even though they didn't feel cold now.
I lay back and watched the sunrise through all the cracks in the walls, deep in thought. Above me in the loft I could hear Drift snoring softly. The little barn lay in the midst of an overgrown farm in northern Nicculus. We'd ridden for hours before finally stumbling across it and deciding to stop.
A stirring outside roused me. I sighed and stretched. It was probably just a raccoon or wayward faerie but I still grabbed a knife from my belongings and moved to investigate.
It had been many years since my father had taught me how to hurl a knife but I knew I could still throw with precision. Warily I stepped out of the barn into the morning light. Traces of fog still curled on the ground here and there, clinging to the earth like stray ghosts.
I soon saw it wasn't a raccoon at all, it was Atlas. He'd followed us. The man hadn't seen me yet. He was peering intently through the wall of the barn, trying to get a glimpse of us, of me.
"Can I help you?" I asked, breaking the silence. I made sure I was ten feet away when I did so, out of sword range.
Atlas jumped and drew his blade, pointing it my way. If I'd been closer, I'd have just been skewered. The soldier saw it was me and relaxed, sheathing his weapon. "Don't scare me like that," he breathed, then chuckled a little. "I... uh, I came to join you. You're searching for Queen Artemis, right? I'd like to tag along."
"What for?" I asked, wrinkling my nose a little suspiciously. "It's not going to be a joyride. It's not going to be fun. We could all lose our lives."
"It's a long story for another time. Suffice it to say for now that I too, have business with the faerie."
"I've got time," I replied. "And I hate secrets."
"Well... she killed me. When the war spread to the faerie woods, as you well know, the natives turned on both sides, forcing us all to leave the forests in retreat. My troops were among the first to be ambushed, deep as we were staged." His voice seemed to grow emotional. "I lost every man in my command."
"But why do you want to find Artemis?" I asked. "She's a dangerous woman."
"I want to find out why I came back to life, and how. Why me, and none of the men I failed. I... I had heard reports that there were dangerous elements in the forest. I knew the risks, and I ignored them. It's my... it's my fault so many died."
A man whose errors had brought much death.
I could relate.
"You need say no more, my friend. I welcome you to join us." I reached out a hand and he clasped it.
And then there were three.
---
The dark and seedy tavern buzzed with conversation as Drift and I slipped inside as surreptitiously as possible. Victoriana had told me this was where I'd find the man who could help me, help us. We had traveled far, back into Argentan land. We were close to the Faerie Wood now. Its immense trees loomed high on the northern horizon like distant mountains.
I waited a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the dramatic change from the sunny December weather outside. The center of the room was occupied by the bar. Dozens of tables and booths lay scattered around it.
For a few gold coins the bartender told me where to find Franklin Rovur, wulfren. He was sitting in a candlelit booth tucked in a back corner of the pub near the kitchen, nursing a frothy pint of golden ale.
"Ho there, chaps, come to buy me another beer?" The man seated at the table called cheerfully as we approached. He seemed congenial enough. "Always room at Franklin Rovur's table!" The wizard before us was certainly dressed like the wulfrend, in black robes. He had the long black hair, odd for an argentan, but common among all wulfrend. It was a little shaggier than normal, however. Rovur's overall appearance was far more unkempt than average, from his rumpled robes to his rakish beard.
"We would indeed like to buy you a beer, friend." I replied, answering his initial question. "And perhaps ask a few questions, if that's alright." I slid into the booth, Drift right beside me.
"Yes, yes, always room at Rovur's table... especially for the ladies. But then, if I could find a nice girl to sit with, maybe you would be less welcome," he said with a chuckle. There was a wild look to his eyes, an almost feral twist to the wicked grin that plied his features.
"I have spoken with Victoriana. She told me of your whereabouts, told me you had been trailing a woman named Artemis for many years." I paused, and let a little urgency slip into my voice. "It's important that I find her." I dropped the witch-queen's pewter necklace onto the table.
The wulfren paused for a moment, taking a long draught from his glass, a bit of foam clinging to his beard. When he spoke his jovial tone was tempered slightly. "Artemis is an... incredibly dangerous woman. Possibly the most dangerous person alive. No one gets too close without her allowing it to happen." He picked up the jewelry laying between us, examining it closely.
"We will see what allowances she will afford." I replied, perhaps a little vehemently. "She will suffer an audience with me if it costs me my very soul, I swear to you. You only call her the most dangerous person alive because you've never seen me on a bad day."
Rovur laughed at this. "What's your name, stranger? He stretched a hand across the table. There was dirt embedded within the fingernails. I reached out to grasp it without hesitation.
"Robert Thornhail."
"Franklin Rovur," he replied, "Though I suspect you already knew that, before I ever invited you to sit. I like you... I think perhaps we can do business. Who's your silent friend?"
"Drift Garnet, pleasure." Drift stretched out his hand in greeting. Atlas was tending to our horses, preferring the outdoors to the poorly lit bar.
"Is that Drift... like a boat lost at sea?"
"Mmhmm," Drift responded. "Is that Rover... like a dog?"
"Close enough!" Rovur replied with a guffaw. "My enemies would certainly say so..."
"You have a lot of enemies?" I asked, wondering what we were getting ourselves into.
"Oh, certainly... Mostly admirers of Artemis who don't like me... snooping around. I never get terribly close to the woman you see. Too dangerous to do so on a regular basis. Lesser men have died that way. I follow the trail she leaves... the patterns she creates in the world, the way a rock creates... ripples in a pond."
"So you don't actually know where she is?" I asked in disbelief. I felt my emotions begin to unravel. All this could have been for nothing... how would I find the faerie queen now? How would I rescue Eleanor now?
Before I could fully grasp the idea and really panic, Rovur answered. "No, no! I know exactly where to find her!" The man feigned offense. "Do you think Victoriana would pay me so much because I'm not the best at what I do? I am a tracker without equal, laddie."
"So you'll take me to her? I realize it's dangerous, but we are willing to reward you for your assistance."
"I will, Robert Thornhail, quite gladly," The man narrowed his eyes, serious again. "And not for the money, either, although I'll take all you've got to give." His features subtly began to transform into a more wolf-like aspect. "I like to live life on the edgesh of madnessss..." His words began to slur as his mouth grew into a snout, canines elongating. "One shhtep away from chaossss and ruin," His face returned to its normal shape again, his point well made.
I glanced at Drift. He was clutching the table with both palms. They left a streak of sweat on the wood when he adjusted them. He seemed to be tensing himself for a fight.
Rovur's face returned to its normal shape again, his point well made. I knew the kind of man we were dealing with now. The kind of man who was dangerous in his own right.
"As it happens, Artemis isn't far from here. She's been away on business in a land far to the southeast, a place called Termile. I can tell you what she was after, but I can't tell you why. It's a flute made of sapphire. I don't know what this silver flute does, but if Artemis was after it, you can bet it's a big deal. That woman is up to something."
"Excellent," I replied, mostly having only heard that the faerie was nearby. "Can you leave right now?"
"Hold on, Thornhail, let's not be hasty." The scruffy wizard waggled a finger at me, taking another sip of beer. "You know about the curses right? Trouble follows that woman everywhere she goes, it makes trailing her child's play sometimes.
"Ever hear of the wizard Margrovax, man of the Council? He's been cursed by Artemis, bet you didn't know that. He found out she was married, noble chap wouldn't cheat on old Dracoy, her husband with her. So she cursed him to wander the earth, never to find love. Isn't that the saddest thing you ever heard?"
"And my very own master, Queen Victoriana, her daughter Europa was cursed somehow too, though I don't know if it ever took effect. When her court magician, Josiah Gimel, turned Dracoy into a bird, Artemis flew into a rage. She blamed it all on the queen, told her Europa was as good as dead. You know what I think is-"
"Alright," I said impatiently, standing. "Enough talk." I dropped a small purse of gold coins onto the table with a loud clink. "I don't need to hear one more word about how dangerous it is, I just want to get going and be done with it." Truthfully, the more I heard about how dangerous Artemis was, the more I anticipated knocking her down a peg or two.
Without another word, without looking back to see if Rovur was following, I stalked out of the tavern. "Hey!" The wulfren called out as I made for the exit, "you still owe me a beer!"
---
Memories swept over me as the heady heights of the faerie woods stretched above us, their leafy canopies casting us in deep shade. All I could think about was the last time I’d been here, with Eleanor. I would have given anything to go back to that time, even if it meant returning to the body of a bluebird. I just wanted my fiance back, whatever that meant for me.
It had also been a time of awakening, for it was in Charlie’s magic tunnel that I had begun to return to myself mentally. I’d gone from being a bird with a half-remembered human past and a thoughtless preclusion to a beautiful freckled girl to a human in a bird’s body here. A massive transformation to be sure.
I walked my horse, it clomped along beside me at a steady pace. Per Rovur’s suggestion we had dismounted an hour hence, as the path winded through thicker and heavier vegetation, the deeper we traveled. We walked single file, Rovur in front as guard, then I right behind, followed by Drift, with Atlas as rear guard.
I still wasn’t positive what my plan was. I was beginning to grow apprehensive now that the moment was nearly upon us. It was easy enough to risk my own life, that gave me no qualms, but I had three other men depending on me. I would have to hope improvisation and reason would have to be enough.
Eventually, we reached what seemed to be the end of the trail. Heavy vines draped across the dusty way like curtains, hiding the deeper, darker heart of the forest. Up until now, we hadn’t seen much of note, the occasional overgrown cabin, a few faeries fluttering in the trees, but little else to suggest the potential for danger that lurked somewhere here in the trees.
"All right," Rovur called, holding up a hand and urging us to stop in our tracks. "This is it, the point of no return."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Pressing the leads for his horse into his hand, he took the vinery in hand and pulled it to one side of the trail, and waved a hand towards the path, which did in fact continue, meandering into the shade. "I mean that one step further into enemy territory, and the self-proclaimed most dangerous man in the world had better come up with a clever plan to best the second most dangerous person in all the world, or every last one of us is about to die."
I glanced from one man to another.
Franklin Rovur, amusement twitching at his features.
Drift Garnet, muscles tensed and smiling grimly.
Atlas Brimsword, stoic and silent as a cemetery.
“You let me worry about the plan,” I said after a moment. I dropped the ropes for both our mounts. “Leave the horses here. The less attention we draw to ourselves at this point, the better.” I didn’t really care so much about stealth at this point, I just didn’t want to have to worry about them anymore, or let the poor beasts get dragged into a battle unnecessarily. We’d seen enough faeries flying about that I had to assume our whereabouts had been reported to Artemis, assuming she was truly queen of her race.
Which meant she was probably ready for us.
Which meant we were walking right into a trap.
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