“Yes. Murk is Darium’s bird,” she answered.
“Murk, get Talia-Glenn,” ordered Rhys. “Tell her we need her healing powers. We’ll be at Kasculbough with the wounded. And tell her to hurry. They are near death.”
“Wait,” interrupted Lira. “Wouldn’t it be better to call for your mother instead? She could get to us faster than Talia can.”
“Yes. The Fae Queen will know what to do,” agreed Persimmon. “Call for her. Please.”
“Of course. You are right,” said Rhys. “Murk, go to my mother first and then find Talia. Hurry!”
The raven shrieked and headed up into the sky.
“I’ll need to get these two onto the wagon to transport them,” Rhys told them.
“Do you need help moving them?” Persimmon asked him.
“Rhys has super strength,” Lira informed her. “It is one of his powers.”
“I see.” She watched Rhys pick up the man easily, heading for the back of the wagon.
“I think I can help make things move faster.” Persimmon used her power of telekinesis to assist him. Holding out her hand and focusing on what she wanted, the unconscious woman levitated and floated over to the wagon. By moving her fingers slowly, Persimmon was able to lower the old woman gently into the back of the cart.
Rhys looked up in surprise, helping to settle the old woman.
“I can move things with my mind,” she explained. “I’ve had the ability since childhood.”
“I see that,” said Rhys with a nod of his head. “Thank you. Now, let’s get to Kasculbough before these two die.”
Stone followed Fang through a field of tall lily-type flowers, trying to find the nearest town. Even though he was a good tracker, no prints could be found. He did find a few broken stalks and knew someone had passed through the area. But this land was so clean that it even smelled beautiful. Taelgonoth stank from end to end.
Glad to be out of the cave, he had hoped the strange elf man named Elric would assist him and Aithrod, but he hadn’t. It seemed as if Elric was greedy and only thought about himself. As soon as they’d exited the Quamm Caves, the elf had disappeared leaving them alone in a strange land.
“I hope we won’t come across any other beings like those pesky gnomes,” said Aithrod rubbing his backside as they walked.
“Or no more like that irritating, greedy little elf,” added Stone.
“Mmm, these flowers smell nice.” Aithrod stopped to sniff one of the lilies that was as tall as them.
“No time to stop and smell the flowers,” Stone told him. “We need to keep tracking Rancor and whoever might be with him.” Something made Stone stop walking to take a big sniff of one of the flowers as well. It was if the scent was starting to control his mind. Oddly enough, he started to feel randy. That’s when he realized these plants must have an aphrodisiac effect on people. Something about the scent was awakening something inside him that he didn’t want woke up at the moment. “Let’s move faster,” he said picking up the pace.
As soon as they exited the field of tall flowers, the effect thankfully wore off. They saw a small village up ahead. Colorful cottages dotted the beautiful green rolling hills. There was a creek with several arched bridges leading across the water. Blooming trees and lots and lots of lush plants and extremely large flowers covered the entire area. The air was filled with sweet smells. Butterflies and dragonflies buzzed and flitted around their heads cheerfully playing in the warm sun. Fang snapped at a butterfly and then sped across the greens chasing something that reminded Stone of a bee but was much bigger, almost the size of a bird.
“This place surely is magical,” commented Aithrod. “Everything seems to be so happy and peaceful here.”
“Mmmph,” snorted Stone, always suspicious and never believing anything he saw. Especially when it seemed too good to be true. “Rancor and his friend could be hiding here so don’t get too relaxed. We need to stay on alert at all times.”
“Of course. You’re right,” agreed Aithrod as they crossed a bridge, trying to catch up to the hound that was running in circles in the front yard of one of the cottages.
“Fang, come back here,” called out Stone. As soon as they got close to the dog, the door of the cottage opened and a woman in a flowing pink gown walked out to greet them.
“Greetings,” she called out with a wave of her hand. “Are you boys lost?”
“Hello,” said Aithrod, smiling and walking right up to meet her, already forgetting to remain cautious.
“We’ve been told we are in Mura, but that means little to us,” Stone relayed the information.
“I see. I didn’t think you looked familiar, even though I can’t say I know everyone in Mura.”
“We’re from Taelgonoth and arrived here through a portal,” Aithrod blurted out, making Stone cringe. Stone wasn’t sure they should be providing so much information to a stranger they’d just met. After all, it was evident that they couldn’t trust the elf so why should this be any different?
“You came here through a portal? Really?” asked the kind lady, seeming very much interested in what they had to say.
“Stay quiet,” Stone warned him, speaking from the side of his mouth. “We don’t know if we can trust her.”
“Where was this portal?” asked the woman in curiosity.
Aithrod looked over to Stone, raising his eyebrows.
Stone let out a puff of air from his mouth and shrugged. “All right, I’ll tell her. It was in the cave,” he said, hoping this woman would be helpful instead of a hindrance like Elric or the gnomes. “A crazy elf told us they are called the Quamm Caves.”
“Oh, my. The Quamm Caves are dangerous,” said the woman. “Did you have any encounters with the gnomes?”
“You could say that.” Stone rubbed his behind that still hurt from being poked and pricked.
“Yes, we did. Thankfully, Elric helped us to ward them off,” answered Aithrod.
“Did you say Elric?” The woman cocked her head. “What was he doing in the caves?”
