Forest Spirit with concept art

 Here is my short story Forest Spirit with the concept art I made using an assortment of AI Art Generators.

 

Prologue

Forest Spirit

 

Big brothers must be the dumbest, most horrible, most evil creatures in the whole world of Mundial. Even the Lich Lords of the Eastern Wastes would shudder at the pains and torments older brothers inflict on younger brothers. Of course, it would be Almas’ luck to get the all-time worst.

Almas Aguerius was sure that his brother, Cree Tanis Aguerius (Almas just referred to him as Creetan), had spent his first four years of life torturing cats, learning the art of being mean and dreaming of the day he’d have a little brother to make cry. It was probably best that Almas didn’t remember anything before he turned three-years-old because if they were anything like the next five years then they were most likely filled with warfare just as intense as the battles their father was involved with during his wars with the Undead.

Sure, when he was a baby Almas probably didn’t cut holes in the back of all of Creetan’s pants to get back at him for breaking his favorite toy horse, but they couldn’t have gotten along nearly as well as their mother always claimed. There was no getting along with Creetan, you could only endure him.

Almas blamed his brother for the trouble he was in now. All he had wanted was an apple from the apple tree, but he was too short to even reach the lowest branches. Then Creetan had the nerve to sneak up on him and scare him out of his wits. Then to make things worse, rather than help him get an apple, he decides to climb up the tree, eat some apples, and call him a coward and a baby.

Now because of that, Almas was the most tired, cold, scared, and – worst of all – completely lost that he had ever been in the eight years of his life.

All he had wanted to do was spend some time in Aguerius Forest alone to prove to that 12-year-old pigheaded monster, who had somehow tricked his parents into thinking he was their first-born son, that he was not a coward.

He had gotten the idea when he had gone to the riverbank to brood. He had noticed a blue bird in a tree looking at him and had wondered if the Forest Spirit of Aguerius Forest ever had to deal with a stupid older brother. He had never been sure if there was a forest spirit – after all it was only a legend that the adults talked about, and adults had a bad habit of trying to trick children into believing absurd things. When he had asked his father, he had only said that many legends are based in truth so some of it might be real.

The legend was that the forest was cared for by a forest spirit who protected both man and beast that entered into it. Since there were no stories of anybody being attacked by wild animals in the forest, that’s what gave Almas the idea to go spend the day in the woods. He had decided that it was his best chance to show Creetan how brave he really was. After all, even a safe forest could be scary when you’re by yourself – couldn’t it?  So, after waking and eating breakfast the next day, he had told his mother that he was going to play outside. Then when no one was looking he went right into the green wood.

The day had started out great; the sun was sending bright light through the branches of the great and mighty trees. Birds were chirping happy songs while the bushes seemed to make way for him, almost inviting him into the forest. It was by far the most beautiful place he had ever seen. It was thick with green leaves and flowers on every surface. Also, there were animals everywhere from chipmunks and insects to deer and elk. After a few hours Almas decided that he had been out long enough to show Creetan who was brave. Not to mention he needed to get home before it got dark – for his mother’s peace of mind, of course.

It was then he realized that he had no idea which way home was. Picking the direction, he was sure would at least take him to the river that he could follow home, he had set off at what he meant to be a nice easy trot, but ended up more like one that resembled a deer being followed closely by a pack of wolves.

It was shortly after this that things began to go wrong for him. The friendly forest seemed to change with every step. First the friendly songs of the birds stopped, followed by the trees reaching out and blocking the light of the sun with their branches, while the bushes and shrubs began to grab and claw at him as he tried to find his way home. From time to time the forest seemed to play a game where it would start to brighten and give Almas hope, only to destroy it by suddenly becoming darker and more menacing.

It was just as the sun was beginning to set that Almas learned where he was. He stepped out into a clearing to find the site of an old battlefield. The clearing was mostly dead earth with clumps of tall, brown grass scattered about; much the same as the instruments of war that littered the field. Everywhere he looked he could see armor and weapons of all sorts. He realized as he looked among broken swords and shields that he was on the completely wrong side of the forest. His father had told him how 75 years ago his great grandfather had led the king’s army against the Lich Lords and drove them to the eastern wastes, and that the battle had taken place on the other side of the forest.

First, he hesitated. The place was spooky and Almas was scared enough as it was. But curiosity in the objects littering the ground overcame his fear and he entered the field. He began to wander around and study the relics of a battle long past. Why had no one claimed these treasures? As eerie as the place was, he had to take a look at some of these artifacts. Was that a real ruby in the hilt of that sword? The metal it was embedded in looked like gold! If he brought something expensive home maybe his mother wouldn’t kill him for being late. At least he’d be able to make Creetan jealous.

For a moment he was so lost in his curiosity that he forgot about being scared. But then as he was looking at a helmet in the tall grass that looked like it might have a diamond embedded in the front, he felt something odd under his foot. Searching the ground where he had stood, he saw a small, gold chain partially hidden in the ground. He pulled the chain from the ground and found a small pendant attached to it. The pendant was round and somewhat flat, and like the chain, was made of gold. There was also a green gem embedded in the center of it.

As Almas looked over the pendant, he wondered how much something like this would be worth. The last thing he expected was an answer to his unspoken question.

“I am what you would call priceless.”

 “Who said that?” Almas yelped as he searched in all directions for the source of the voice.

“I did you fool. You’re holding me,” came the reply.

Almas looked down at the pendant. Was the pendant speaking to him?

“Idiot child, of course I’m speaking to you. Do you see anyone else around?”

At that moment Almas realized that the voice he heard was only in his own head. Almas stared at the pendant and asked, “What are you?”

“I am Lightbringer, a powerful fielis. Figures that I would be found by an ignorant, runny-nosed human child… An Aguerius at that, by the looks of the symbol on your crest.”

Almas looked at his crest hanging on his neck that bore his family’s symbols. How could this thing see it and what was a fielis? Almas thought he had heard that word before but couldn’t remember where he heard it or what he had heard about it. He was about to ask more but the thing called Lightbringer spoke first.

“You don’t have to speak out loud; I can hear your thoughts just fine. But explaining these things to you probably doesn’t matter since I don’t expect for you to escape this place alive. Do me a favor and put me down. I really hate getting eaten along with fools – even if the slime behind you doesn’t get you then the forest dragon that claims this land will surely track you down. He hates intruders. Few grave robbers that have come here have escaped. If you do survive, send someone back worthy to hold my greatness.”

Almas turned around and, sure enough, not far behind him was a big, slug-like blob about the size of a large cat. He had never seen a slime before but had heard that they were boneless creatures that could spray a stream of acid five feet away. The acid was used to dissolve its food before eating it and to defend itself from predators. They certainly didn’t live in his family’s forest; it was yet another reminder that he was far from where he was supposed to be.

 This gray colored slime seemed to be eating an old shield, and Almas decided there was no point in sticking around and handing it an easier-to-eat dessert. If the pendant wanted to stay that was fine with him. He dropped Lightbringer, cutting off the pendant’s maniacal laugh and ran back into the forest.

Almas wasn’t sure how long he had been running. Ten minutes? Thirty? He just knew he needed to put as much space between himself and that field as he could, yet when he tripped as he passed through a dense grove of trees, he knew he couldn’t get up. His legs felt dead and his chest felt like it was on fire. By now it was completely dark and all Almas could do was focus on breathing.

Rolling on his back he cried and cried till he heard a strange sound. Looking up he saw in the tree a songbird singing to him. At least he was pretty sure it was to him. It seemed to look right at him. The song reminded him of a song his Uncle Marpel used to play on a harp to help him and his brothers and sister go to sleep. He had always accused his uncle of casting a music spell on him, as bards like his uncle were known to do, but tonight he would’ve welcomed the peace his uncle’s music would have brought. Slowly the fire in his chest went away and he felt that he could breathe again. He knew he should get up and get moving again, but he just didn’t have the strength. He quickly faded off to sleep.

As he slept, he dreamt of home. He dreamt of his mother tucking him in for the night and singing gently to him. It was a nice dream and Almas slept peaceably and warm well into the morning.

Almas awoke with a start to the sound of the songbird chirping and fluttering its wings in obvious panic. He found himself under a blanket of tall grass which he didn’t remember being there the night before. Searching for the cause of the bird’s agitation he sat himself up to find the same gray slime from the evening before right next to his feet. At least he was fairly certain it was the same slime; part of the slime’s body had expanded and shaped itself into a small tendril that was holding the magic pendant that had called itself Lightbringer.

 Almas quickly began crawling backwards but only went a couple of feet before hitting his head hard on a tree. Before Almas could make any movements, a stream of acid shot right past him and the tree that his back was to. Almost instantly a large roar filled the air behind him and Almas felt something big crash into the tree he was against. Rolling away from both the slime and whatever the slime had just attacked, Almas decided that if anyone wanted to question his courage, they were welcomed to do it. He just prayed to whatever gods might be listening that he could get home alive; he didn’t care what names his brother called him. Looking to the tree he had rolled away from; he saw a forest dragon that was franticly dragging its head on the ground as it tried to scrape off the burning acid from its face.

Forest dragons were small for dragons and had no wings, but still twice the size of a large bear. They were colored green and brown to blend in better with the forest. Almas had seen many forest dragons before – many warriors used them as war mounts, his own father included – but this one was nothing like the tamed ones he knew. First, this was the biggest one he’d ever seen; second, this one was now looking at Almas with what seemed a mixture of hunger and anger.

Almas knew he should be running but his legs betrayed him and refused to move. The forest dragon took a step towards him but another stream of acid shot right in front of the beast. Almas glanced at the slime. Was it actually moving between him and the dragon?

The dragon eyed the slime, then Almas, then back to the slime. It seemed the dragon was deciding if Almas would make a meal worth the sting of the slime’s acid. After a short eternity the dragon suddenly looked off to the left and emitted a low growl. Almas turned to discover, to his great shock, an older boy, perhaps just a little younger than his brother Creetan, standing between two trees. He had light brown hair and stood only a couple inches taller than Almas himself. He wore brown and green clothes and had nothing on his feet. While it was clear the boy was a child, it was also clear the boy wasn’t human – his ears were more pointed on top.

The blue-eyed boy stared at the dragon and the dragon stared back. Then suddenly the dragon charged at him. The boy just continued to stare the charging beast right in the eyes and at the last minute jumped, planting his bare feet on the trunk of the tree next to him. He then took two quick steps up the tree trunk, and grabbed onto a branch. The dragon, unable to slow down, passed right under the boy who dropped onto the dragon’s back, then did a front-flip off of it and landed right next to the slime. As the dragon turned and once again charged, the boy quickly took Lightbringer from the slime and held it up to the charging dragon.

“Don’t look directly at the pendant!” he yelled.

Almas wasn’t sure why he needed to look away but decided to trust the boy. He turned his face away just as the pendant exploded with bright light. Even looking away from the light everything was so bright that Almas threw his arm over his eyes to protect them.

The light dimmed and, as Almas blinked the after-image from his eyes, he heard the sound of the dragon crashing through the forest away from them. Soon the sound of roaring and trees being knocked over faded. The boy continued to stare in the direction the dragon went for a few moments longer, then walked over to Almas and collapsed against the tree next to him. Only now did Almas realize how out of breath the boy was.

“Do you…(gasp)…have any idea…(gasp)…how much trouble you’ve caused me…(gasp)…these last couple days? That dragon is a lunatic about protecting his territory, which includes the old battlefield. It picked up your scent and tracked you down. I had to sprint for the last 20 minutes and still almost didn’t make it in time.”

Almas just stared at the boy. “Are you a forest spirit?”

“No, I’m an elf.”

“Why do they say there is a forest spirit here then?”

“There is what people believe and then there is the truth.”

The boy stood up and walked over to the slime; he removed his shoulder bag and scooped the slime into it. Putting the shoulder bag back on he added, “We should get going before Grumpy gets his eyesight back and returns for breakfast. I don’t think he believed me when I said my father was nearby.”

“I didn’t hear you tell it anything.”

“I don’t need to talk out loud to speak to the animals and plants of the forest,” the boy answered as he wrapped Lightbringer in a cloth and placed it in his pocket. “Now come on; I’ll take you home.”

Almas eyed the pocket the boy had put Lightbringer in. “That thing is bad.”

“Lightbringer is bitter, selfish, and annoying but like all of his kind, harmless to those who hold him. Now let’s get going.”

Almas stood up and followed the boy who started walking away. “My name is Almas Aguerius.”

“I know.”

“How?”

“Little happens in or near this forest that I don’t know about, not to mention your family has been protecting my family since they settled this area. It was my father who gave this forest to your family.”

“But my family has owned this forest for a hundred years! How old are you?”

“One hundred and nineteen.”

“That’s older than my father!”

The boy laughed, “Much older.”

“What’s your name?” Almas asked as they started walking.

“Just call me Ulec.”

 

                       

Ulec wasn’t sure what to make of this small human creature. Maybe if he would close his mouth for longer than two seconds, then Ulec could decide.

“So how big is your family?” Almas asked.

“What’s that?”

“Your family. You said my family has been protecting your family; how big is your family?”

“Just my parents, my little sister, and me,” Ulec answered.

“I have an older brother, a younger brother and a younger sister along with my parents. Do you have a house here in the forest?”

“The forest is our house.”

“Oh,” Almas said thoughtfully, “don’t you get wet when it rains?”

“The trees can keep us dry if I ask them to.”

Realization came to Almas’ eyes. “Was it you that made the forest scary yesterday?”

Ulec was glad the boy was following behind him and couldn’t see his face turn red. “Well, I was trying to help you get back home. I… I thought if the forest was only scary when you were going the wrong way, you’d find the right way. It didn’t work very well.”

“Oh… sorry.”

Ulec felt bad. He had tried to lead Almas back home, but all he had managed to do was scare the kid out of his wits and almost get him killed. If he had just been more open and gone personally to help, he could’ve lead Almas back home without him ending up in danger.

They walked for a minute in silence, and then Ulec turned and asked, “Would you like to see the best view of the forest, see it as I think of it?”

“Yes, please!”

“Follow me.”

Ulec could normally move quickly through the forest but the boy moved slowly, even with his help. Eventually they came to a huge tree. Ulec didn’t even slow down as he got to the tree; he took three steps up the trunk of the tree and effortlessly swung himself onto one of the lower branches. Almas stopped and stared.

“Hey! How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Run up the tree like that. I can’t do that.”

“I ask the tree to help me. It holds onto my feet so I don’t slip as easy. Here let me help you up.”

Ulec reached down and took Almas’ hand. He helped pull him up and the two boys began climbing up to the top of the tree. About halfway up Almas asked, “How come you don’t have any shoes on?”

“You never take a break from the questions, do you?”

“Sorry, I was just wondering.”

“I don’t like shoes; I like the feel of the forest on my feet.”

They soon arrived at the top of the tree, which was much taller than any of the other trees in the forest. Almas looked wide-eyed across the carpet of treetops. “You can see the whole forest from here.”

“This is the oldest and tallest tree in this part of the forest; I like to spend a lot of time here.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

“Not really,” Ulec lied. “I have the whole forest to keep me company. Plus, I spend a lot of time with my father. He’s been training me in weapon mastery.”

“Why,” Almas asked.

“My father says having skills to protect yourself and others is important.”

Almas nodded. Almas was also the son of a weapons master and Ulec was sure his own father taught similar things. So, he knew he didn’t have to explain much more than that.

“What about your sister? Doesn’t she play with you in the forest?” Almas asked after a moment.

Ulec shrugged his shoulders. “My mother and sister spend a lot of time up north on the other side of the Dividing Mountains. The magic most elves use is stronger up there.”

“Why is it stronger there?”

“Elves use magic created by life. The forests up there are much denser and produce more magic than the ones here,” Ulec explained.

Almas seemed to think of that for a few moments. The mention of Ulec’s mother being gone much of the time must have reminded Almas of the situation with his own parents. Almas commented next, “My dad is away a lot too. He’s the royal strategist, and there is a war against the Lich Lords right now. He’s been gone longer than normal this time. Normally they just do small raids. But I’ve heard some of my father’s men say this was the biggest attack in 40 years.”

Almas nervously fingered the crest he wore around his neck. Ulec’s parents had both fought in a war before he was born but never in his life had gone to war. Ulec responded, “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine,” then thought it best to change the subject. “So why did you come into the forest alone yesterday?”

Almas hesitated then answered, “I was playing with my younger brother and sister a few days ago and Creetan snuck up behind me and scared me. He said I screamed like a girl and was the biggest coward he had ever seen. So I wanted to prove to him that I could be brave.”

“Being scared doesn’t mean you’re not brave,” Ulec said, “Being scared is what helps keep us alive when there is danger. Being brave is what helps us do things that need to be done. You can be scared and brave at the same time. It isn’t one or the other.”

Almas thought about that for a moment before responding, “I wish someone had told me that sooner. Trying to be brave almost got me eaten by a dragon.”

“I’m glad you weren’t. I haven’t had anyone new to talk to in years.”

“So you do get lonely,” Almas exclaimed triumphantly.

“I guess I do,” Ulec admitted.

A few moments of silence passed before Ulec spoke again and asked, “Can I see your crest?”

Almas took the crest from around his neck and handed it to Ulec. “How come you don’t have one?”

“Only citizens of your kingdom wear them. I’m not part of your kingdom. I’ve seen them from a distance but never up close. How come your crest has two pictures on it?”

“They are pictures of my parents’ crests; the one with the owl is my father’s and the one with the anvil is my mother’s. Children’s crests always show both their parents’ crests to show who they belong to. Then when we grow up, we get our own.”

“And the foxes around the edges of your crest?”

“Every kid has his own border around the crests. That way every child in the family has a crest that is a little different. My dad said that once only nobles had them but since everyone in the kingdom now are descended from those that fought in the War of Destruction, an old king declared everyone to be of noble blood.”

“Oh,” Ulec responded as he handed the crest back. “My parents also fought in that war.”

“Really? My dad told me that very few who fought in that war survived. And it was about one hundred and twenty years ago. Are your parents old?”

“Elves live 10 times longer than humans. So, for elves I guess they would be about middle aged,” Ulec answered with a shrug.

After another moment of silence Almas spoke up, “I was wondering. That pendant, Lightbringer, said it was a fielis. Do you know what a fielis is?”

“It’s a magic item made by a group of elves that died off long ago. They made the items by taking part of someone’s soul and binding it to an item. That item gains the personality and abilities of that soul.”

Almas asked something else but Ulec didn’t hear. His attention was suddenly elsewhere in the forest. That forest dragon was heading their way again – fast. The creature’s eyes still hadn’t recovered from the flash from Lightbringer, but the dragon was probably following their smell.

“What’s wrong?”

Ulec turned back to Almas, “I should get you back home. Your family is worried about you.”

“Uh, sure,” Almas responded with a quizzical look.

The two boys began climbing down. It was slow at first as Ulec showed Almas how to grab hold of a branch and step off the limb which they were standing on. The branch they were holding on to would then slowly bend, lowering them to a lower branch. They then could repeat the process. Almas was scared at first but soon began enjoying it. When they got to the bottom Ulec reminded Almas not to try doing that without him, since the branch could break and he’d probably fall to his death. Almas nodded and the two boys started on their way.

Ulec tried to hurry Almas along as quickly as possible but the young human just wasn’t fast enough.

“What’s wrong? Why can’t we rest a while? It’s after noon and I haven’t eaten in over a day.”

“I’m sorry, Almas, but we have to move fast. The forest dragon is following us again. I thought I could get you some place safe before he caught up but he’s moving too fast. I’ll have to try something else.”

“What?”

“No time to explain. Come on!”

Ulec led Almas to another large tree. “Up the tree, quickly. He’s almost here.”

He helped Almas get up to a large, high branch. Almas looked around, then called down to Ulec, “I see him! Hurry and get up here!”

“No matter what, stay up there.”

“Are you crazy?! What are you doing?”

“Trust me!”

Ulec ran over to another tree. As the dragon came into view, he grabbed hold of a long, thick branch. He asked the tree for the branch and it immediately separated from the tree. Ulec decided he must have lost his mind as he held up his makeshift staff and watched the dragon sniff the air.

The dragon still couldn’t see very well but it smelled Ulec and charged. At the last second Ulec sidestepped and hit the dragon’s leg with the branch with all his strength. The dragon didn’t even seem to notice. It simply turned towards Ulec and lunged at him. Ulec tried to move but he knew he wouldn’t be able to move out of the way fast enough. He mentally sent a plea for help to the slime that was still sitting inside his shoulder bag hanging at his side. He lifted the flap of the bag and a stream of acid shot out and again hit the dragon in the face. With the dragon’s lunge disrupted, Ulec took the opportunity to get out of the way and quickly climbed up a nearby tree

As the dragon once again used the dirt to scrape the burning acid from his face, Ulec took a moment to open his mind completely to the forest. Ulec had lived in the forest a long time. The plants and animals there knew him and he asked them all for help.

The dragon charged the tree Ulec was standing in. As it charged, branches from the surrounding trees began to fall like spears on it and the shrubbery grabbed and clawed at the dragon’s legs. Most hit harmlessly on the dragon’s hard scales. The dragon threw itself against the trunk of the tree Ulec was on and the tree fell over.

Ulec managed to jump and grab onto the branch of another tree as the one he’d just been on came crashing to the ground. The dragon only took a moment to sniff the air and find Ulec’s new position and charged once again. As it came, a pack of wolves leapt from some surrounding bushes and onto the dragon. The dragon stopped its charge and tried to shake the wolves from its back, but they just sank their fangs in deeper till the dragon finally rolled onto its back. The wolves scattered to avoid being crushed but Ulec felt his mental connection to one of them suddenly disappear. The wolves grouped up again but the dragon went after them and they were forced to scatter in order to avoid the dragon’s attack.

Ulec looked around in desperation. The wolves didn’t stand a chance and he was out of ideas. The dragon stopped chasing the scattered wolves and once again came right at Ulec. He pulled Lightbringer from his pocket held it towards the dragon and channeled as much magic as he could into it and once again the pendant exploded into light. At the same time a dark voice entered into his mind.

“That won’t work. That beast is no longer using his eyes to hunt you.”

“Help me!” Ulec thought back to the pendant.

“Why should I do that?”

“If I get eaten, you go with me.”

“Hmm, as entertaining as you're getting eaten would be, I really would prefer not to pass through the insides of that beast again. You don’t want to be eaten? Then the answer is easy…run. With your power over the forest, you can move much quicker than that blind beast.”

“If I did that, Almas would be killed. I’m not leaving him.”

“Why would the son of Lady Alixia risk his life for a mere human? Have you no pride as an elf?”

“The Aguerius family protects this forest, protects my family. I have to try.”

The tree Ulec was in, began to fall over as the dragon crashed into it. This time there were no nearby branches to jump to, so all Ulec could do was jump clear of the falling tree. As he tried to get up Lightbringer’s voice returned. “Run, boy. Human lives are short anyway. Just run.”

As he tried to stand, Ulec’s ankle felt like it was on fire, and he collapsed back onto the ground. There was no way he’d be able to avoid the dragon with it.

“No, it’s too late for that now,” he thought to the pendant.

The dragon came at Ulec, mouth open to consume him. Suddenly a rock struck the dragon’s head and both the dragon and Ulec turned their heads to see the source.

“Leave him alone,” Almas yelled. He had dropped down from the tree and was picking up another rock to throw while the dragon took a step in his direction.

“Well, at least I’ll be able to enjoy watching both you and that annoying human get eaten. With any luck the dragon will choke on your dead body and cough me up.”

“Choke!” Ulec exclaimed aloud attracting the dragon’s attention once more to him.

“What? No! I can see your thoughts, you ca–”

Ulec pushed himself onto one hand, the dragon over him, mouth open once again. With his other hand Ulec aimed quickly and threw the pendant down the air hole of the dragon’s throat and rolled away as quickly as he could.

         

 

Almas had watched most of the fight from his tree, too terrified to even speak. For a moment he was sure he was about to watch his new friend get eaten right before him. He then realized he couldn’t let Ulec die because of him. So, he had jumped down, picked up a rock and threw it as hard as his 8-year-old arm could throw it. Then suddenly it was over.

 Now the dragon lay motionless on the ground and Ulec limped over to where the wolves had gathered around their pack member that had been crushed by the dragon. Ulec looked over to Almas and motioned him to come over. So he walked over to Ulec, keeping an eye on the motionless dragon.

“Are…are you alright?” Almas asked as he came near.

“My ankle hurts but I don’t think it’s bad. I just twisted it wrong when I fell from the tree. Thanks, by the way. That is what being brave is all about. You saved my life there,” Ulec responded, and then looking at the wolf said, “They came and saved us too. Even knowing that they were no match for a forest dragon, they came to protect me.”

Almas turned to the lifeless wolf.

“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t gotten lost…”

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“What?”

Ulec picked up a branch from a fallen tree and began to bend it as if it was clay, and in a couple of moments he had fashioned a walking staff to help him with his hurt ankle.

“Follow me,” Ulec said and limped away with the help of his new staff.

Almas followed him and the wolves to a small cave in the side of a hill. Ulec reached in and pulled out a wolf cub.

“He’s still too young to survive without his mother. He needs a place to live and someone to take care of him. I can’t take both the slime and the cub.”

Ulec handed the small cub to Almas. The wolf cub was shivering, so he wrapped his shirt around it and answered, “I don’t think my mother would let me.”

“Just ask. Explain what his mother did for us. I think you might be surprised.”

“Sure, I’ll try.”

Almas was silent the rest of the trip home. Ulec found him some berries to eat but he was still tired and drained from everything that had happened. Never again would he do something just to show his stupid brother he wasn’t a coward.

As evening approached Ulec turned again to Almas and asked, “Can I ask you another favor?”

“What?”

“My parents don’t want other people to know about our being here in this forest. Your parents are the only ones who know about us, so will you promise that you won’t talk about us with anyone except for them?”

“Not even with any of my brothers or sister?”

“Not for now. Your younger brother and sister would have a hard time keeping the secret. I’m not sure if I trust your older brother. If any of them accidently told other people about us, we might have to leave. But maybe later; I’ll have to discuss it with my parents.”

“Why does your family need to hide?” Almas asked.

“After the War of Destruction there were only a few humans and elves left. Humans can increase their population faster than elves. So, there are still very few of us compared to humans. We need time.”

“Ok, I sort of understand – I promise.”

“Thank you. I’m going to have to say goodbye now. I’ve brought you as far as I can.”

“But…but I still don’t know the way from here.”

“Just follow the voices in the air.”

“What voices?”

Then suddenly he heard it, his name being called out in the distance.

“That sounded like my Uncle Jarad,” Almas said looking in the direction of the voice. “OVER HERE!” he yelled. “They are looking for me…Ulec?”

When Almas turned back towards Ulec, the young elf had completely vanished. He only had a moment to contemplate how someone with a hurt ankle could disappear so quickly and quietly when he heard his name called again. The voice was very close now and soon a large man with a hand axe strapped to his side appeared. It was his father’s best friend, who also served as commander of his father’s men when he was away.

“Uncle Jarad!” Almas ran to the man and gave him a sideways hug, being careful not to crush the wolf cub.

The man laughed, “Well, well. I was beginning to think the spirits of this forest had kidnapped you.” Turning his head, he spoke to someone behind him. “Would you take a look at what I found wandering the forest alone?”

“Now why’d you have to go and find him for? You have any idea what it costs to feed that kid?” said another familiar voice.

Almas peeked around Jarad to see his father standing there with a huge teasing grin.

“FATHER!”

This time Almas leapt into his father’s arms. “You’re home! You’re home!”

Almas’ father scooped him up and, laughing, swung him around and put him back on the ground. “Yes, I arrived home last night to find I was short one child. Now seeing I still had three out of four of my kids, I was all set to call it good enough and just write you off, go to bed and get some rest. But you know how your mother is. She started to fuss and fuss, so I figured I might as well come out and find you.”

“You were worried about me,” Almas said, giving him a knowing smile.

“Me? Never. Now let’s get you home and get you a bath. Then you can tell me why you smell like slime acid and have a wolf cub wrapped in your shirt. I’ve a feeling it’s an interesting tale,” Almas’ father said with a grin and a wink as he put a hand on his son’s shoulder and led him home.

 

                        

 

Ulec sat in a tree long after Almas and his father were out of sight. He had opened his shoulder bag and let the slime out, which was munching on pinecones at the moment. Ulec decided to call the slime Metal, since, while it appeared to be willing to eat just about anything, it seemed to have a special liking to metal, as Ulec had found out upon finding the remains of his small knife in the bag.

After watching Metal eating for a few minutes, Ulec spoke, “Are you mad?”

A voice answered from below him. “Mad about what? That you missed a lesson in order to save and help a boy lost in the forest, or that you seem to once again have adopted yet another pet?”

“I thought I could do it myself, without any help. I almost got us both killed.”

“Yes. If you had left me a trail to follow, I might have been in a place to help you when you finally called for it. There is no shame asking for help when lives are at stake. On the other hand, all your life I’ve been trying to teach you the importance of serving others. You have demonstrated that you have learned and understood the most important lesson I could ever teach you – service. So no, I’m not angry. I’m very proud.”

“Thank you, Father,” Ulec looked down to where his father was leaning against the tree. “So…can I keep Metal?”

Ulec’s father sighed and smiled. “Like I really have a choice with you and your pets.”