The sky was cloudy, with signs of an approaching storm. Talon rode his horse through the gates of Carhan, with Arthur and Peitar riding alongside him. Neither had been overjoyed when he told them where they were going. He told the council that he would be going away for a few days. He couldn’t tell them the real reason.
There was no missing the nervousness in his friends. Talon didn’t know much about the Forest Dwellers, not many did but he had to do this. Eshil Domain, Skahad, and Malvarian were uncooperative. He didn’t know the last time a king had entered the Forest Dweller's lands.
“Are you ready?” Talon asked.
“When you are,” Arthur replied. Peitar remained silent.
“Relax, if things go bad, I will get us out of there,” Talon said. He hoped that reassured them and it looked like it did. Arthur’s shoulders slumped, slightly. Peitar’s expression grew determined.
“I forget you can use the power at times,” Peitar said.
“You’ll get used to it,” Talon said, glancing back to watch the capital fade into the distance. This should be far enough. “We’re going to get the Forest Dwellers on our side. If we can reach an agreement, we might not need the other nations.”
“But they’re savages!” Peitar said. “How can we trust them?”
“You know nothing about them,” Talon countered. He was a bit nervous himself. With the power or not, he didn’t know what he was going into. His gut instinct was to meet the Forest Dwellers, otherwise, he wouldn’t go through with this. He had to hope he wasn’t being stupid. “Let me do all the talking.”
“We’re your bodyguards,” Arthur said.
“You’re more than that,” Talon stretched out his right hand and summoned the power. The thrill of the energy coursing through him wiped away any other feelings. Nothing could stop him when he felt like this. A portal opened, big enough to fit the three at once. “Let’s go.”
Talon urged his horse forward and the three entered the portal. They arrived at the edge of a forest. Not far into the trees would be a bridge and that was where the Forest Dwellers would stop them. He had been in this spot once before when his father told him this was the closest any king came to the Forest Dwellers' lands. It was meant to show bravery that a king would come this close. He had to do more than get close.
“One of us can go on ahead and make sure it’s safe,” Arthur said.
“No,” Talon shook his head. He had to be seen. The last thing he wanted was to show any disrespect and that was going to be hard as he didn’t know what would upset the Forest Dwellers.
Their horses moved in. Birds chirped and he heard rustling in the bushes. Talon had to force himself not to gather the power. As far as he knew, no mages visited the Forest Dwellers. Still, he couldn’t risk being wrong. If a mage detected the power from him, it would all be over. He had to trust the Forest Dwellers wouldn’t attack him on sight.
Twenty minutes passed before they made it through the forest. Talon stopped his horse and eyed the bridge. No foreign army had ever conquered the Forest Dwellers, thanks to choke points like this. Passing through was nearly impossible without sustaining heavy losses. The river was a raging torrent; anyone who fell in would surely drown. He tried to find a Forest Dweller and saw nothing. He suspected they were in the trees as he doubted anyone passed the bridge without them knowing.
“Remember, let me do the talking,” Talon said. He saw Peitar gulp. He would have come alone but Rickard wouldn’t let him leave the capital without an escort. It had been a struggle to convince Rickard to let Peitar and Arthur come with no one else. “Don’t draw your weapons unless I order you to.”
Without another word, Talon started across the bridge. His eyes darted all over the place, waiting for someone to pop out. He was surprised when nothing happened when they crossed the bridge. Was I wrong? His heart pounded, and it took all his willpower not to summon the power. He was more nervous than he had expected to be.
Talon waited a few more moments and pressed forward. He could see Peitar and Arthur looking around. He barely moved fifteen steps when he heard movement behind. He turned to see three men, wearing no armor, standing there. He didn’t have to look forward to know they were surrounded. Three women were standing in front. At least eight, probably more in the trees.
Half the men were wielding staffs and swords. It was the same for the women. “What are you doing here, outlander?” The woman in front asked.
Talon saw Arthur move his hand toward his sword but stopped himself. Peitar remained still. Thankfully, neither one of them took out their weapons. They listened well. “My name is Talon Astero, king of Azzellia. I have come to speak with your leader,” he said with as much force as he could.
“A king of outlanders?” The woman looked at him suspiciously and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the crown on his head. “That does look like a king's crown.”
“I wouldn’t come here if this wasn’t important,” Talon said. “What may I call you?”
“I am Telia of clan Stedrosis,” Telia said and motioned with her hands. Six more figures dropped from the tree lines, each carrying a bow. “We did not see you coming and my scouts report no army.”
“It’s just us three,” Talon said. He wasn’t surprised that scouts had reported their movements once he had gotten closer. That was part of the plan. He didn’t want the Forest Dwellers to suspect he was up to something. “I didn’t want any of my people to know that I left.”
“I see,” Telia said and turned around. “You will follow. If you give us any trouble, we’ll smack you and drag you along.”
“You’re in charge,” Talon said with a faint smile. She didn’t return the smile. At least they lowered their weapons. Telia began walking and Talon followed. He studied their clothing. The men wore no shirts, not that he blamed them, the heat was making him sweat. The women wore thin clothing and there were markings on their shoulders. He assumed the markings must signify which clan, for there were three different ones. A lizard, snake, and deer.
The little Talon knew about the Forest Dwellers was that they had a chief. In the past, a Malvarian king had kidnapped a chief and refused to give them back because the chief drank some holy water only meant for followers of Tarmella. The Forest Dwellers invaded and defeated Malvarian in what was known as the four-month war. The cost had been high and the king of Malvarian was executed in his castle.
The journey was longer than Talon had expected. They traveled for five hours, with little being said. He tried speaking to the Forest Dwellers but got nothing in return. Arthur and Peitar didn’t try speaking to their guides. It was a rather boring journey, though one thing he did notice was a Forest Dweller would run forward and return, whispering to Telia, who would glance at him and say nothing.
Talon was glad they left early in the morning. The sun was at its peak now, though the trees provided nice cover. He couldn’t imagine how hot it would be if there was nothing to block the sun. When they arrived, he noticed guards perched by a wooden gate. What surprised him was once they entered, there were houses in the trees, along with vines and ladders all over the place. It was like there were two different areas. There were plenty of Forest Dwellers on the ground and houses to go with it. There had to be thousands of people moving above him. He could hear movement all over.
“Wow,” Peitar said, slamming his mouth shut when he realized he had spoken.
“The chiefs will meet with you shortly,” Telia said. “Your companions will have to wait. They will be given food and shelter until your meeting is over.”
“Are you going to guide us back once I meet with your chiefs?” Talon asked.
“That is up to the chiefs,” Telia said. “We’ll take your horse; you’ll get it back when you leave.”
Talon nodded and slid off his horse. “Do you need my sword?” he asked.
Telia shook her head, “you may keep your weapon.”
Interesting. Talon was used to subjects seeing him without weapons as protocol. Then again, he saw weapons on almost every single Forest Dweller. Oddly enough, none of them carried an axe or hammer. All of them had either a sword, spear, or bow. He saw no shields either. Wherever they were had large trees all around them. He had known the Forest Dwellers lived in a giant forest, yet he couldn’t help being surprised at how efficient they were.
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“Are you going to continue gawking or follow?” Telia asked.
“Sorry, just admiring your homes,” Talon said and turned to his friends. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, understood?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Arthur said.
“We’ll be here when you get back,” Peitar said.
Shaking her head, Telia led the way toward the center of the village. “What is this place called?” Talon asked.
“Balatier, the home of trees. This is where our chiefs meet for important matters,” Telia said.
“Nice name,” Talon said.
“Your opinion wasn’t asked,” Telia said sharply.
Touchy, touchy. Talon refrained from saying anything else. He needed to make a good impression on these people. He watched a group of kids form a circle and began fighting each other with sticks. Older kids and even some adults would stop by and watch. Telia kept moving, not explaining anything, though he had many questions.
They stopped in front of a hut and Talon was surprised not to see any guards. He wanted to ask where they were but decided against it. “Wait here,” Telia said and walked into the hut.
A few of the Forest Dwellers looked at him oddly. A young teenager ran up to him. “You’re no king!” the kid said. “You outlander kings are too scared to come into these lands.”
“I’m not like the other kings,” Talon said carefully. Would Telia be mad if he spoke to a kid? “My name is Talon Astero, King of Azzellia.”
The kid looked him up and down. “I don’t believe you, Talon Astero,” he said the name with disgust.
Before Talon could respond, Telia came out of the tent and glared at him for a brief second. “Beat it Malderin. You have work to do,” she said.
Malderin straightened, “Yes Telia,” he said and scampered off.
“The chiefs will see you now,” Telia said and motioned for him to enter.
Talon walked through and turned around, expecting to see Telia. Instead, he saw nothing behind him. What if he decided to walk out? He laughed to himself at the absurdity of it and continued forward and saw seven people, each with a marking above their heads. He saw three of the seven had familiar markings. A snake, deer, and lizard. The other four were new ones but bore the same resemblance. A parrot, wolf, some random bird with red wings that he didn’t recognize, and a fish.
Telia had said she was part of clan Stedrosis and that matched the lizard he saw on her. Talon looked at each chief closely. Six of the seven were young with three men and women. The seventh was a much older man. He had white hair and dull blue eyes. The balance was interesting, six young and one old.
One of the women spoke first. “Welcome, outlander,” she said. She had the signal of a wolf on her left shoulder and wore the same thing clothing of fur the other woman did. None of the chiefs were carrying a weapon and each looked at him curiously. He saw no signs of anger, only curiosity. “My name is Natlonia of clan Wafralion. We will each introduce ourselves before asking you questions. Nod if you understand.”
Talon nodded and made sure not to speak. He saw the chiefs all smile and look at one another. At least he was starting this meeting right. Hopefully, he could keep it that way.
Yushtar of Clan Orian, Selena of Clan Stedrosis, Dalmana of Clan Diving Rocks, Edvarnon of Clan Forest, and Morvius of Clan Solonkai. Those were the six young chiefs and all spoke of their clans with pride. Talon made sure to nod at each one and waited as the oldest of the chiefs began to speak.
“I am the elder chief, Kaloris,” he said. His symbol was the fish. “I am part of no clan, yet all of them.”
Talon didn’t understand, was this Kaloris like a king? Did his word trump the other chiefs?
“No,” Natlonia said as if reading his mind. “This is not like an outlander king. The elder chief is our most respected and wisest. He only votes on issues that he feels are important. But he does not rule us. Now, what is your name?”
“I am Talon Astero, king of Azzellia,” he said.
“What brings you to us?” Yushtar asked. His voice was deep and he looked at Talon suspiciously.
It was time. Talon took a deep breath and began. “I have traveled far to get there. I come with a proposal. A war is coming and it will be a threat to us all. I want us to form an alliance to help one another when the invaders attack. Once the war is over, our alliance is finished.” He decided not to mention who the invaders were. He would do that later.
“That has never been done,” Edvarnon said.
“You ask the impossible. Outlanders can’t stand us,” Selena said.
“There will be problems,” Talon admitted. “I think we can make it work. More importantly, if we don’t do this, I believe the invaders can conquer the entire continent.”
“We have heard of these tales, during your fathers' reign,” Kaloris said.
Three of the chiefs looked disgusted at the idea of forming an alliance, while the other three didn’t look like they were for or against the idea. Talon had a feeling he needed Kaloris to support him to have any chance.
“A question for you,” Natlonia said. She leaned forward as she spoke. “The attacks tend to happen by the waters near Vandalor, Azzellia, and Eshil Domain, correct?”
Talon nodded.
“That is a far distance. How do you expect us to support you when we are so far away?” Natlonia continued.
“If an alliance is agreed upon, perhaps you could spare some of your warriors? Otherwise, it is something we can discuss if we move forward,” Talon said. How would he get warriors to Azzellia without showing he could use the power? He had to be back in Azzellia in a few days or the council would think something happened to him.
“Sending any of our warriors into your lands does not sound enticing,” Kaloris said. He clasped his hands together. His eyes did not leave Talon’s face, as if the elder chief was looking for any signs of deceit.
“I agree, we don’t even know if these raiders are part of a large army or not,” Edvarnon said.
“Exactly. How can you be so certain these invaders exist?” Selena asked.
“I can answer that,” Kaloris such, much to Talon’s surprise. The other chiefs looked at him oddly. “We had an interesting case where some outlander with a strange accent came around trying to start feuds between clans. I was alerted to this and put the man to question.”
Judging by the way the chiefs reacted to being put to the question, it mustn’t have been a pretty sight. Talon would have to ask what that meant but not now.
“It’s an interesting thing. As I was speaking to him, he would grab his chest when starting to explain why he was trying to incite infighting. He begged me not to force him to speak, yet he finally did or I should say, tried. He burst into flames and screamed in what must have been a painful way to die,” Kaloris said.
Talon’s jaw dropped, though he quickly recovered. He noticed the others had caught his reaction.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dalmana said.
“What do you know of this, Talon of Azzellia?” Natlonia said at the same time.
Kaloris spoke first. “I didn’t want a feud between clans. Things were tense enough as they were and that man had been close to unleashing a war between us, much like the other nations.” He turned his attention to Talon. “As for you, what do you know of this? Nobody I know can figure out why this man burst into flames.”
“The man was under the influence of the power. A technique called oath-keeper,” Talon said, thinking furiously about how to make up how he knew this. “I read it in a book. From what I recall, an agreement is made and if either party violates the agreement, they burst into flames.” It was the truth; one he hoped the others didn’t ask how he found such a book.
“Interesting,” Kaloris leaned back. “That would make sense. I must apologize for what is about to happen.”
Before Talon could ask, he felt four people summon the power. A trap! Talon desperately reached for the power and felt himself hitting an invisible wall. He beat against this wall furiously, trying to grab the power in any way he could. He knew it was no use. The mages had captured him, he was done for!
Talon turned to the power users and was shocked to see they weren’t mages of Mortham tower. They were Forest Dwellers. “What’s going on?” he demanded, unable to hold the fury boiling in his blood.
Kaloris ignored the question and turned to one of the power users. “Dalaras, can you confirm he is the power user?”
“He is,” Dalaras said, emerging from the shadows.
“I thought so,” Kaloris turned his attention back to Talon. “I wanted all the cards on the table for our meeting and I wanted you to know that we knew you could use the power. You will be released but you mustn’t reach for the power, understood?”
Talon nodded and felt the invisible wall vanish. This was not what he had expected. The Forest Dwellers had their own power users and Mortham tower had no idea. How could they? The mages avoided the Forest Dwellers like all the other nations. This could work to his advantage if things went his way.
“I meant no deceit but how did you know I could use the power?” Talon said.
“You may explain Dalaras,” Kaloris said.
“A simple method. Our barrier detected a power user portaling near our borders. This barrier detects any power user down to how many. We knew there was only one and I doubted it was one of your bodyguards, though we tested to make sure,” Dalaras said.
That could be useful. It would be nice to know how many power users there are in Carhan or when mages arrive. Talon thought. His earlier anger was gone. He had underestimated the Forest Dwellers and found he was glad. These were not people to mess with and they appeared to not mean him any harm.
“We also know about your secret group of power users,” Natlonia said.
“Ho-” Talon stopped himself and regained his composure. This had to be going exactly how the chiefs planned. They were throwing him off guard but why? “Have you reported them to the mages?”
All of the chiefs laughed as if that was the funniest joke they had ever heard. After several seconds, Kaloris stopped laughing first. “No. The last thing we want is to give Mortham tower a reason to investigate us.”
“Then that answers the question of how to aid one another. We create portals when the time is right,” Talon said.
“You speak of this as if the mages wouldn’t come after us,” Edvarnon said. “I doubt our mages could withstand the full might of Mortham tower and they would bring their entire force down on us. Mages don’t like threats to their power.”
The other chiefs nodded in agreement. Talon couldn’t let them use this as an excuse not to form an alliance. The Forest Dwellers were more important to the war effort. Every power user was worth far more than an army. “That is a problem that we can deal with together, in the future,” Talon said.
“Perhaps,” Kaloris said. He stood up and the other chiefs followed. “We have much to discuss. You shall remain here and we shall meet again tomorrow. I recommend speaking with some of my people. A feast is being prepared and you shall take part.”
“I would be honored,” Talon said with a bow.
“Good, we’ll have someone escort you to your tent,” Kaloris said.
Talon turned and walked towards the exit. This meeting had unfolded far differently than Talon had anticipated. Was his honesty enough to get the Forest Dwellers on his side? He could only hope. He would feel far better if he had these people as allies in the war.