uncomfortable. “I don’t know. Not too much to tell really. My brother and I grew up in Veldaren, and about three months ago the king kicked out all elves. Believe it or not, that included us.”
Aurelia grabbed his sleeve to halt him. “First, who is your brother? Second, since when are you elvish?”
The half-orc chuckled, but still kept his eyes downward. “Our mum was an orc. Dad was an elf. Never met dad, and mum sold Qurrah and me when we were both little. I ran away and lived on the streets of Veldaren. Found Qurrah about a year or two later, hiding in the streets after he escaped his master. My brother, well…”
She watched as Harruq struggled through some sort of internal debate. His brown eyes finally rose to meet hers.
“Qurrah’s like you, but not. You can cast magic right?” Aurelia nodded. “Well, he can too. But he… he’s different. When we were kids, he found a little mouse. It was dead as dead can be. He closed his hands around it, just like this, and then whispered some words he learned from secretly watching Master.”
“Master?” Aurelia asked, interrupting him again.
“Yeah,” Harruq said, frowning. “My brother didn’t have too much fun before I found him. We were both sold, but I escaped. Qurrah, though, he was sold to Master...forget it, that’s for another time. All that matters is that he learned those words before he met me. He whispered something, opened his hands, and then just like that the mouse got up and started running.”
“He brought it to life?” she asked.
“Well…” Again he stopped, obviously uneasy about what he wanted to say. “It was still dead, but it was moving now. That make sense? Qurrah could make it do whatever he wanted. He let it run off and die, that first one he showed me. He was pretty shy about it. Don’t think he had any idea how I would react.”
Harruq suddenly stopped and laughed. “You should have seen us, Aurelia. We spent the rest of the day chasing after mice so we could stomp them and have Qurrah bring them back to do tricks.”
Aurelia smiled at the burly half-orc.
“You really made them do tricks?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, some jumps and flips. We tried to see how high we could make one climb before… what?”
She was smiling, but when pressed she refused to answer him. Instead, she stood, brushed off her dress, and flipped her hair over her shoulders. “Same time tomorrow?” she asked.
“Sure,” Harruq said. “But how many times will we be doing this?”
Aurelia shrugged. “Until I feel you have paid me back.”
“So what, a couple days?”
“You know very well I can’t obtain any proficiency in such a short time,” she said.
Harruq shrugged. “Fine then,” he said. “How long you want me stuck here with you?”
“Two weeks,” she said. The elf danced away behind a tree. Harruq followed, but all he caught when he stepped around was a tiny line of blue fading on the afternoon wind.
“That was interesting,” he said before returning to Woodhaven.
D eeper in the forest, Aurelia stepped out of a glowing blue portal. An elf waited there, an ornate bow slung across his back.
“So do you think it could be him?” he asked her.
“Perhaps,” Aurelia said. “I think it’s in him. Something is wrong, though. He’s too light hearted, too free.”
“What does that mean?” the other elf asked, his fingers twitching at the string of his bow.
“I don’t know, Dieredon.” Aurelia sighed. “It means he’s capable, but would not do so without reason. If he’s butchering the children, he’s doing it for someone else.”
“Who?” Dieredon asked.
She shrugged. “My guess is his brother. He sounds like a necromancer.”
Dieredon nodded. “I’ll find him and watch him for a bit. If either of them slaughters another child, I will see it and put an end to it.”
Aurelia pulled a few strands of hair away from her mouth and tucked them behind her ear.
“This seems like a small matter for
Aurelia grabbed his sleeve to halt him. “First, who is your brother? Second, since when are you elvish?”
The half-orc chuckled, but still kept his eyes downward. “Our mum was an orc. Dad was an elf. Never met dad, and mum sold Qurrah and me when we were both little. I ran away and lived on the streets of Veldaren. Found Qurrah about a year or two later, hiding in the streets after he escaped his master. My brother, well…”
She watched as Harruq struggled through some sort of internal debate. His brown eyes finally rose to meet hers.
“Qurrah’s like you, but not. You can cast magic right?” Aurelia nodded. “Well, he can too. But he… he’s different. When we were kids, he found a little mouse. It was dead as dead can be. He closed his hands around it, just like this, and then whispered some words he learned from secretly watching Master.”
“Master?” Aurelia asked, interrupting him again.
“Yeah,” Harruq said, frowning. “My brother didn’t have too much fun before I found him. We were both sold, but I escaped. Qurrah, though, he was sold to Master...forget it, that’s for another time. All that matters is that he learned those words before he met me. He whispered something, opened his hands, and then just like that the mouse got up and started running.”
“He brought it to life?” she asked.
“Well…” Again he stopped, obviously uneasy about what he wanted to say. “It was still dead, but it was moving now. That make sense? Qurrah could make it do whatever he wanted. He let it run off and die, that first one he showed me. He was pretty shy about it. Don’t think he had any idea how I would react.”
Harruq suddenly stopped and laughed. “You should have seen us, Aurelia. We spent the rest of the day chasing after mice so we could stomp them and have Qurrah bring them back to do tricks.”
Aurelia smiled at the burly half-orc.
“You really made them do tricks?” she asked.
“Well, yeah, some jumps and flips. We tried to see how high we could make one climb before… what?”
She was smiling, but when pressed she refused to answer him. Instead, she stood, brushed off her dress, and flipped her hair over her shoulders. “Same time tomorrow?” she asked.
“Sure,” Harruq said. “But how many times will we be doing this?”
Aurelia shrugged. “Until I feel you have paid me back.”
“So what, a couple days?”
“You know very well I can’t obtain any proficiency in such a short time,” she said.
Harruq shrugged. “Fine then,” he said. “How long you want me stuck here with you?”
“Two weeks,” she said. The elf danced away behind a tree. Harruq followed, but all he caught when he stepped around was a tiny line of blue fading on the afternoon wind.
“That was interesting,” he said before returning to Woodhaven.
D eeper in the forest, Aurelia stepped out of a glowing blue portal. An elf waited there, an ornate bow slung across his back.
“So do you think it could be him?” he asked her.
“Perhaps,” Aurelia said. “I think it’s in him. Something is wrong, though. He’s too light hearted, too free.”
“What does that mean?” the other elf asked, his fingers twitching at the string of his bow.
“I don’t know, Dieredon.” Aurelia sighed. “It means he’s capable, but would not do so without reason. If he’s butchering the children, he’s doing it for someone else.”
“Who?” Dieredon asked.
She shrugged. “My guess is his brother. He sounds like a necromancer.”
Dieredon nodded. “I’ll find him and watch him for a bit. If either of them slaughters another child, I will see it and put an end to it.”
Aurelia pulled a few strands of hair away from her mouth and tucked them behind her ear.
“This seems like a small matter for
Similar Books
