1

After leaving his ancestral home, Telhari had forced himself to travel light. He knew how to make most things that he might need from resources found in the wild. Anything else he could purchase with coin or could repair using magic. Though, come to think of it, he hadn’t used much in the way of magic since arriving in Omnirius. In the few months since Telhari had come to Viemen, he had kept the same small room at the same shoddy inn. It was the only establishment in town that would take his coin; and, conveniently, they also had a stable in the back.

Telhari hoisted his travel pack over his shoulder and took one last look around the room before departing. Downstairs, the inn keep was mopping the floors in the entryway. They had never before exchanged names and Telhari saw no reason to do so now. He plopped the room key on the counter and stepped over the threshold. Once outside, Telhari began walking the muddy path around to the back of the inn and made his way to the stables. His horse was a suitable gelding; yet despite the custom of his people, he had yet to name the beast. In his mind, Telhari still saw his foray in Omnirius as temporary.

Moving into position, he swung himself up into the saddle. Once situated, he took out the parchment he had taken from the Lonely Song and read it once more…

image [https://storage.ko-fi.com/cdn/useruploads/post/dd317909-ac59-454c-aef0-fd8c1065b899_chapter2journeytomalendarsedgeinsert.png]

Request for Service of a Huntsman

What follows is a request from the Lord of Malendar’s Edge as dictated by his Lordship to the chief scribe:

In the Malendarian hills, just beyond the border to the city of Malendar’s Edge, our forest has been overrun with a pack of ferocious wolves. They continue to hunt our livestock and attack our citizens. We are in need of an experienced huntsman to aid our men. The reward for the successful hunting of these beasts is as recorded below.

Any who wish to heed this request may find their way to the governor’s office in Malendar’s Edge and present this contract to the Law Enforcement official. Once confirmation of a completed hunt has been received, a reward will be dispensed.

Lord Thistletwat offers 10 Nobles for satisfying the requirements of this contract. The Governor’s Office of Malendar’s Edge, on behalf of the Royal Omnirian Treasury, recognizes this contract as legitimate.

“No… that’s not right?”

Wolves? Telhari thought to himself. It couldn’t be?

Such a simple beast couldn’t possibly be worth an expense of ten nobles. Yet, the contract had been drawn and officiated. Telhari examined the parchment more closely: the paper had a weight consistent with that used by the governor’s office; the penmanship was certainly that of a skilled scribe; and the bottom of the contract was imprinted with the unmistakable seal of the Royal Omnirian Treasury. If it was a forgery, it was a very high quality one.

What wolves could possibly be causing such a commotion?

Telhari smiled.

Admittedly, he found himself intrigued. For the first time in a while he was feeling excited. He folded the parchment neatly into one of his breast pockets and set off from the stables.

2

“Kid, are you sure you can read that?”

The man furrowed his brow at the two adolescents huddled around the table.

“Yeah, I’m sure!”

Ellis scrunched up his nose and looked hard at the map in his hands.

“This is it. Mary, get out the ink.”

“Ok, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it as nice as this…”

“Hey, don’t you brats ruin that! It’s my only copy!”

“We won’t mister, I promise!”

“Ellis hold it still so I can see, your hands keep moving…”

“Oh, sorry.”

Marybeth tried her best to steady her hand as she moved the end of the quill along the torn parchment.

“Malendan’s Eb Gee? What’s that?”

The man shook his head.

“That’s Malendar…and that’s a ‘d’, not a ‘b’…”

“Oh! Malendar’s Edge? Ain’t that far?”

“You’re the one’s trynna go there!?”

“Ok! Finished.”

“Mary! This looks great!”

“You think so?”

“Yeah! You could pass for a proper a scribe!”

“Oh gods…are you two finished?”

“Yep! Thanks, mister! We won’t forget this!”

“Hmph.”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Ellis and Marybeth left the map on the table and ran off down the crowded street toward Viemen’s southern gate.

The old man shook his head and peered down at the parchment.

“HEY! YOU BRATS GOT INK ON MY MAP!”

3

The blade landed with a twang against the rocky ground. Telhari held his sword outstretched toward the two men and eyed them carefully. In the space between them lay the two swords that the men had used to charge Telhari with, only a few moments ago. In a whirlwind of movement too fast for them to follow, both men had been disarmed. The man farthest from Telhari gripped his forearm as warm blood streamed from an open wound.

The two men then exchanged glances.

Perhaps it was the suddenness with which they lost their advantage, or the way in which their adversary stood still as a statue before them, but the two men very acutely felt a growing fear. They had never fought an alfkin before and they vowed after this moment to never do so again. As quickly as they had come, the two bandits scurried off down the face of the hill, leaving their blades behind.

The sound of their labored breathing disappeared, and Telhari was left with only the noise of the branches rustling in the canopy.

Satisfied, he sheathed his sword and continued on.

4

The moon was on full display this night, bathing the entire forest floor in silver.

“Are they gone?”

“Shh! They’ll hear you!”

“Don’t shhh me!”

“You’re too loud!”

Snap.

“AH!”

Ellis and Marybeth tumbled out from beneath the shadowy embrace of a nearby spruce tree, swinging their weapons wildly.

“Did we get ‘em!?”

“Open your eyes, Mary.”

She did so.

There were no attackers— there was only Ellis, his silhouette illuminated by the down-glow of the moon. She took a deep breath.

The night was calm and the air was cool. It eased her senses.

“What do you think they were running from?”

“I dunno…some kinda monster, maybe?”

“What kinda monsters live out here?”

“Hopefully nothing that hunts at night.”

“Still, it’s dangerous to travel without weapons, they shoulda known better.”

“I still think we could’ve taken ‘em!” Ellis jabbed at the air with his sword. “One stab to the gut and we’d have won! But you wanted to hide…”

“You’ve never even won a fight, Ellis. And ‘sides, they were two times bigger than you were!”

“So!? I’ve got skill!”

She giggled.

He scowled back at her.

“Let’s just keep going…” Ellis grumbled. “Edge is still a few days away.”

“You don’t want to camp?”

“Not really. I feel great! What about you?”

Marybeth knew better. Despite his talk, Ellis hadn’t let go of his sword since they had come out from under the tree. His skin was red from the cold and his hand was still shaking.

“I don’t feel much like sleeping, anyway. Let’s just keep going…” She picked up her pace so as to be side by side with Ellis. “’Sides, it’s a nice night.”

5

Telhari stopped at the edge of the cliff face and gazed out into the vastness of the Malenday Corridor. The morning light had just begun to spread over the land; and as the sun rose between the mountain peaks, the scene was brightened by a wash of gold. Sweeping hills bounded across the edge of the horizon; sprawling, sloped pastures were filled with herding beasts and dotted with patches of dark green forest. As the fields rolled out across the Corridor, they came at once to the steep drop of a tremendous canyon that tore like a great scar through the landscape. Running from east to west, this marked the end of the proper Omnirian border and the beginning of the Malenday Corridor. A mountain lay in view, rising above the plateau, situated just at the edge of the canyon wall. Nestled at the foot of this mountain sat the city of Malendar’s Edge. Below, at the basin of the several hundred miles wide canyon, lay the neighboring kingdom of Boginsklad.

“Hyah.”

Telhari urged his horse onward, down the slope and toward Malendar’s Edge. As they went, Telhari took survey of the surrounding land.

Thousands of acres of farmland…yet only a fraction bordering the forest’s edge. How much harm could these wolves really do?

Looking toward the cityscape, Telhari found himself even more puzzled.

The city of Malendar’s Edge was of considerable size. Bordered on either side by a sheer canyon wall and the base of the mountain, the city wrapped around a sliver of land at least half a mile long. Built above the city streets there rose a large stone keep, flanked by watch towers and other large buildings. This was no small settlement— it was an economic and militaristic force.

Surely, they have a militia that could handle something so tedious?

After continuing on, the steeper sloping hills began to give way to more gentle terrain. Telhari took the opportunity to slow his pace as he approached the border of the field lands. A beaten path wound through the grass and was flanked on either side by uncharacteristically barren fields.

It may have been too early for sprouting grain, but even the local flora, which typically dominated the region, seemed to be withering. The quality of the plant-life was weak and brittle, the grasses, a dim gray with only the faintest hint of green. Telhari listened carefully, yet he heard only the crunching of the grass and the clopping of hooves.

No song of birds. No sound of small creatures. And where are the sheep? The goats?

He drew himself up and looked across the fields into the nearest yardland to the east— he saw the same emptiness.

What of the south?

The next yardland immediately south of his position was similarly empty and withered, but beyond that he could see herds of sheep grazing along the slope.

And to the north?

Looking toward the northern sky, Telhari saw a blanket of thick forest drape over the mountainside. Several miles of dense tree cover blended into the withered fields.

The closer to the face of the mountain, the more barren the fields become…

Something else was at work— he could sense it. Not as one senses the heat of a fire or tastes a piece of bread; it was something difficult to describe in a way that ordinary people could understand. It was a subtle intuition that caused an uneasiness of the spirit.

There was more to fear than wolves in Malendar’s Edge.

6

Frolicking birds darted through the canopy while their excited chirping drifted down to the forest floor. Ellis, previously exhausted from trekking throughout the night, was renewed by their sound.

“It’s morning, Mary!”

She yawned at him.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her along as he rushed to the top of the nearest hill.

“Ellis, where are you going!?”

After climbing up onto a large boulder, Ellis stood tall, cupped his hands around his eyes and gazed into the distance. The terrain dipped down ahead of them, and through the descending tree tops he could make out patches of land and fenced off crop fields.

“Look! There it is!”

Marybeth hoisted herself up onto the boulder and stood next to Ellis. She looked out, squinting.

“Ellis, I don’t see nothin’…”

“It’s right there, see? And further out, it’s the city!”

She looked at him confused.

“Ellis, what are you gettin’ all excited about?”

Ellis beamed brightly at the scene before him.

“’Cause, Mary. This is where our adventure starts!”