The Horn of Moran

“Sorry for yourself or for your friends?” Sindar questioned.

“A little of both I suppose.”

“Then stop one and do what you can to help the other.”

Alex knew there was no reason to be depressed. They would make it off the mountains and to the enchanted woods before it started to snow. He had the Horn of Moran in his bag, but still, he couldn’t find any joy inside himself. Worry filled his mind, and not just about his friends. Alusia needed the Horn of Moran in order to know who the true king was. But even more important than that, the Horn would unite the people of Alusia and stop the different kingdoms from drifting apart and falling into an unending series of wars.

It took the company three more days to reach the first gate, and it was already dark when they got there. The sphinx watched them silently as they approached and passed through the gate.

Alex wanted to move on at once, but Sindar insisted they rest before starting for the woods. Alex reluctantly agreed. He had only slept for a few hours each day and had hardly eaten since leaving the Tower of the Moon. All he could think about was helping his friends by getting to the enchanted woods before the snow started to fall.

“All right,” Alex said. “We will rest. But only for an hour or two. The snow will be falling soon, and I can rest once we get to the woods.”

Alex conjured a fire to keep the company warm, and then helped Sindar wrap their companions in blankets. Sindar quickly cooked a meal for the two of them and made Alex eat a second helping. When he was finished eating, Alex lay down and almost instantly fell asleep. His dreams, however, were dark and troubled, and not at all restful. It wasn’t long before Alex woke, and when he did, he found snowflakes falling on his face.

“We must hurry,” said Alex, jumping to his feet. “If the snow gets too heavy, we won’t be able to find the woods at all.”

“I will lead,” said Sindar, attaching the guide rope to his belt. “I can see better in the darkness, and it would be deadly to get lost now.”

Sindar set a quick pace, and Alex had trouble keeping up. He felt tired and week, and with each step, his feet felt heavier. The cold wind numbed his senses. At times it seemed that Sindar was pulling the entire company forward like a great sleigh horse in the snow. The ground was already white, and the air was so full of snowflakes that it was hard to see anything. They had walked for a long time when Sindar suddenly stopped.

“The snow is too thick,” Sindar yelled over the howling wind. “I can’t see where we are going.”

“We can’t stop here,” Alex yelled back.

“We can’t go on without some kind of guide. We could wander for days in this storm and never find the woods.”

“I have an idea,” said Alex, forcing his nearly frozen brain to work.

Holding his hands close together, Alex conjured up a large, bright blue weir light. Concentrating on where he wanted to go, he focused on the light that hovered in front of him and simply said, “Lead me.”

The light hovered for a moment and then moved slowly forward and to Alex’s left. Alex and Sindar quickly changed places in the marching order, retying the rope that held the company together. The weir light seemed to wait for Alex to follow and never moved too far ahead of him. It always seemed to move in a straight line, though it was hard to be sure in the blowing snow.

The snow was soon ankle-deep, but the weir light continued to guide them. Alex desperately hoped that his magic was working, because if it wasn’t, they might be traveling in circles. After walking for what seemed like hours, Alex finally saw the dark shapes of trees ahead of him, and he let out a sigh of relief. As they continued to move forward, the snow grew lighter, and in a few minutes they were inside the enchanted woods.

“A useful bit of magic,” said Sindar. “A pity that Halfdan didn’t see it, he would have enjoyed that very much.”

“Perhaps another time,” said Alex, conjuring several additional weir lights to guide them into the dark woods.

“It is warmer here. The air is much warmer, in fact.”

Alex had noticed it as well. The change in temperature would normally have troubled him, but all he wanted now was to find a place to sleep.

After moving into the woods a short distance, they came upon a small meadow. Alex stopped the company and untied the rope from his belt. He was so tired that he could barely help Sindar with the others. He lit a fire and let the weir lights fade.

“I need to sleep,” said Alex, dropping onto his blanket. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired.”

“Rest, my friend,” said Sindar. “I will watch and keep the fire burning. You have done a great thing, and have earned a rest.”

“ Wehave done a great thing,” Alex corrected as he closed his eyes.

* * *

When Alex woke up, the sky was much lighter, and he thought he heard Sindar talking to someone. Alex hoped that his friends had recovered, but when he sat up, he saw Sindar sitting alone by the fire. The fire was larger than it had been, and Alex wondered why Sindar had built it up so much.

“Who are you talking to?” Alex asked.

“The brownies, of course,” Sindar answered.

“Brownies?”

Sindar gri

“Welcome, master wizard,” said the creature, removing its pointy hat and bowing to Alex. “We hoped that you would be returning to our woods.”

Alex blinked several times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. The brownie giggled, and Alex recognized the sound as the laughter he’d heard when they had passed through the enchanted woods before. The brownie took a few steps closer, then bowed once more.

“I am Tip, at your service,” said the brownie.

“Thank you,” Alex managed to reply.

“I was just discussing our friends with Tip,” said Sindar. “It seems that he and his people might be able to help them.”

“If you can, we would be very much in your debt,” said Alex as he studied the brownie in front of him.

“Oh yes, I’m sure we can help, but there are a few difficulties involved,” Tip answered.

“Difficulties? What difficulties?”

“Well, as I was telling your friend Sindar, we don’t like to show ourselves to humans or dwarfs,” said Tip, turning slightly red in embarrassment.

“But I’m a human.”

“You’re a wizard,” said Tip. “And that makes a difference.”

“So, you can help them, but you don’t want them to see you,” said Alex, slightly puzzled.

“Not exactly,” said Tip. “We can help them, but we don’t want them to know we helped them, or even that we were here.”

“And that is the difficulty,” said Sindar, looking at Alex.

“I see,” said Alex, trying to think of a way around this difficulty.

“I do have a solution,” Tip said.

“And what is that?” Alex asked with interest.

“We could put your friends in an enchanted sleep,” said Tip. “They could sleep all winter, and when spring comes, they will wake up and be themselves again.”

“And this is your solution?”

“In part,” Tip answered. “You see, the enchanted sleep will help them heal faster, and they wouldn’t know we helped them. Unless, of course, you tell them.”

“I see,” said Alex with a soft laugh. “So Sindar and I need to promise not to tell them about you.”

“Exactly,” said Sindar.

“And you would be willing to take our word?” Alex asked Tip.

“Of course,” Tip answered in a surprised tone. “Elves we trust very much, and wizards we know do not lie. At least good wizards don’t, and we know you are a good wizard, so that’s that.”