Fires of Azeroth

"Bring one of my arrows," Vanye said; and when no one moved: "Bring it!"

Lellin did so, moving very carefully. Vanye held it so that the haril could see it and indicated the feathering, which was brown; and pointed at the arrow in the corpse, which bore white feathers. The haril spoke something to its fellows; they responded in tones that seemed at least less angry.

"Tell him," Vanye asked of Lellin, "that those Men out there in Azeroth are not our friends; that we come to fight them."

"I am not certain I can," Lellin said in despair. "There is no system to the signs; subtleties are almost impossible."

But he tried, and perhaps succeeded. The haril spoke to its fellows, and some of them gathered up the body of their dead and bore it into the woods.

Then the one behind set hand on Vanye and began to draw him away too. He resisted, planting his feet, and now he was very frightened, for the thing was strong -and they were still completely surrounded.

Lellin put himself in the haril's path and signed a negative. The haril spat back a chittering retort, and beckoned.

"They want us all to come," Lellin said.

"Liyo –get out of here."

She did not. Vanye turned his head, trying to reckon his chances of breaking for his horse and living to reach it. Morgaine did not move, doubtless weighing other considerations.

Sezar muttered something he did not hear clearly. "Their weapons are poisoned," Morgaine said more loudly. "Vanye, their darts are poisoned. I think Lellin has been persuaded by that from the begi

Sweat trickled down his face, cool as it was in the night "This is a ridiculous situation. I apologize for it. What do you advise, liyo?"

"Vanye asks for advice," she said to Lellin.

"I think we have no choice but to go where they wish… and not to do anything violent. I do not think they will harm any of us unless they are threatened. They ca

"Are these their woods, where you have led us?"

"They are ours, and we are now nearer Azeroth than I would have liked to come, following this one. Your enemies have roused something that we may all regret. Khemeis Vanye, I do not think they will let you go until they have what they want, but I do not think they will harm you."

"Liyo?"

"Let us go with this a little way and see."

Lellin translated an affirmative sign. The haril tugged gently at Vanye's arm, and he went, while the others were allowed to go ahorse: he heard them following. The haril's hand slid to his wrist, a gentle grip, dry as old leaves and unpleasantly cold. The creature turned and chittered at him now and again as they came to rough ground, helped him up slopes, and when a time had passed in their journey, it let him go seeming to judge that he would stay with it. Then his fear diminished despite the strangeness of the face which occasionally turned to him in the dark. They were being urged to haste, but not threatened.

He looked back more than once, to be sure that they had not lost the others; but the riders stayed with them, more slowly and by a course the horses could follow. Sezar brought Mai along, which he was glad to see. But when his looking back delayed him, a touch came on his shoulder: shuddering, he faced the haril, which seized him a time and hurried him on.

He tried signs of his own, making what among Andurin signed for –where!- a pass of the open palm back and forth supine. The haril seemed not to comprehend. It touched his face with clinging, spidery fingers, replied with a sign he did not understand, and hurried him on, through the thicket and up slopes and on and on until he was panting.

They came briefly into the open between trees. The haril seized his arm again to be sure of him, for suddenly there was a dead man at their feet, and another, as they crossed that area, bodies almost hidden in the dark and the leaves. He saw the leather and cloth in the starlight and knew them for the enemy. One carried arrows, white-feathered. He resisted the haril enough to bend and gather one up, showing the creature the nature of the feather. The haril seemd to understand, and took the arrow from him and threw it down. Come, come, it beckoned him.

He glanced over his shoulder and for a moment panicked, for he no longer saw the others. Then they came into view, and he yielded to the haril's pulling at him. It began to go very quickly, so that he was rapidly exhausted by the pace, for he was in armor and the creature strode wide with its stalking gait.

Then they were at a complete break in the forest: trees ceased, and starlight fell clearly across a wide plain. Something else glowed there, the glare of fires spangled across the open. Where they stood there was wood hewn, trees felled, their wounds stark in the faint light. The haril pointed to those, to the camp, and signed at him, at him, accusingly.

No, he signed back. Whatever it wanted or suspected that had to do with himself and that camp, the answer was no. Morgaine and the others overtook them now, and harilim were all about them. He looked up at her, and she gazed at the campfires of the enemy.

"This is not their main strength," she whispered for Lellin's benefit; and that was true, for the camp was not nearly large enough-nor would Roh or Hetharu likely give up possession of the Gate of Azeroth's center.

"This is what the harilim brought us to see," Lellin said. "They, are angry… for the trees, for the killing. They blame us that this has been allowed."

"Vanye," Morgaine said softly. 'Try; mount up quickly."

He moved, without prelude or hesitation, flung himself for Mai's side and scrambled into the saddle. There was a stir among the harilim, but none moved to stop him. He remembered the poisoned weapons and sat the nervous horse with his heart pounding against his ribs.

Morgaine turned Siptah slowly, to regain the shelter of the woods. Harilim stood gathered in the way, stick-like arms uplifted, refusing them passage.

"We are not wanted here," Lellin said. "They will not harm us, but they do not want us in the area."

"Will they cast us out onto the plains?"

"That seems their intent."

"Liyo," Vanye said for of a sudden he read her mind and liked not what he read. "Please. If we strike at them, then we will not ride far in the forest before there are others. These creatures are too apt to ambushes."

"Lellin," she said, "why have not your people been hereabouts? Where are the arrhendim who should have warned us of this intrusion of enemies?"

"The harilim probably forced them out… as they mean to do with us. We do not dispute passage with the dark folk. Lady, I fear for Mirrind and Carrhend. I fear greatly. That is surely where the other arrhendim have retreated, to protect and warn those places with all haste; they would not have come this far when they knew the dark folk were here. Lady, forgive me. I have failed miserably in my charge. I led you into this and I do not see a way out. None of the arrhendim hereabouts had reason to suspect there were those who would ride past their warning-signals. They gave them, but we rode through. I thought only of sirrindim, that we could resist. I did not reckon that the harilim had taken possession here. Lady, it may be that the keepers of Nehmin have stirred them up."

"The arrha?"

"There is rumor that the keepers of Nehmin can call them. It is possible that they are part of Nehmin's defense, summoned against that. If that is so, then I myself would be surprised; they are as difficult to reason with as the trees themselves; and they hate both Men and qhal."

"But if it is true, then it is possible that Nehmin itself is under attack."

"It is possible, lady, that this is so."

She said nothing for a moment. Vanye felt it too, the sense that beneath the peace of Shathan, which had wrapped them securely thus far, things had been going dangerously, utterly amiss.

"Beware, all of you," she said, and slipped Changeling from her shoulder to her hip. Holding one palm aloft, in a gesture which somewhat stilled the harilim's chittering apprehension, she unhooked the sheath.

Then, two-handed, she drew it slowly, and the opal light of the blade swirled softly in the dark. The light glittered in the dark eyes of the harilim, and grew as she drew it forth. Suddenly it blazed full, and the well of darkness at the tip burst into being. The harilim drew back, their large eyes reflecting it, red mirrors of that cold light. The wind of otherwhere stirred the trees and whipped at their hair. The harilim covered their faces with spidery hands and backed and bowed at that howling sound.

She sheathed it then. Lellin and Sezar slid from their horses and came and bowed at Siptah's hooves. The harilim kept their distance, chittering softly in fear.

"Now do you understand me?" she asked.

Lellin looked up, his pale face stark with dread. "Lady, do not-do not loose that thing. I understand you. I am your servant. I was given to be, and I must be. But has my lord Merir knowledge of that thing?"

"Perhaps he suspects. He gave you for my guide, Lellin Erin-hen, and he did not forbid my seeking Nehmin. Tell the harilim we will go through their forest and see what their mind is now."

Lellin rose and did so, signing quickly; the harilim melted backward into the trees.

"They will not stay us," he said.

"Get to horse."

The arrhendim remounted, and slowly Morgaine urged Siptah forward. The gray horse threw his head and snorted his displeasure at the harilim, but they passed freely back into the forest, while the harilim stayed with them like shadows.

"Now I know the grief that is on you," Sezar whispered as they came near in the dark. Vanye looked at him, and at Lellin, and a weight sat at his heart, for it was true that the arrhendim began to understand them, who carried Changeling , .. recognized the evil of it, and the danger.