"There's still some left?"
"We hid the entrance very well this time," Tarrin said with a laugh. "We have enough left to give those that want it a taste."
"I haven't had a glass-of course! Let's go get it!" Garyth said exuberantly.
Tarrin led the humans towards the big barn, and to his surprse, the Faerie was following him. He had been silent up to now, flitting along beside him, and he reminded him of Sarraya for a moment. "It's good to meet you," he said in his tiny voice. "I've heard alot about you, Tarrin."
"You have? From who?"
"My wife, Sarraya," he smiled. "She visited the colony a while ago and asked me to come plead her case to Sathon personally. My name is Alix."
"Well, it's good to meet you, Alix," Tarrin said. "Sarraya is one of my best friends."
"She says you're a stubborn pain in the butt, but she loves you anyway," Alix laughed.
"That's Sarraya, alright," Tarrin chuckled. "How was she when you saw her?"
"Tired, but alright," he answered. "Why are they staring at me?" he asked, pointing at the humans.
"They've never seen a Faerie before, Alix," Tarrin said calmly. "Garyth, Karn, Jak, this is Alix. He's a Faerie."
"It's good to meet you," Alix said politely.
"Uh, it's nice to meet you too," Jak said uncertainly in reply.
"Don't worry, I'm just the first of many shocks waiting for you three," Alix said with mischievious little grin. He was a Faerie, alright.
"Actually, I think the first shock was seeing Tarrin's friends around the fire," Garyth admitted with a laugh. "Who was that winged woman?"
"She's an Aeradalla, a very rare race that lives in the desert," he replied. "She's going to be our eyes in the sky."
"I hope the village is ready for this," Karn growled.
"They've dealt with the Woodkin before, Karn," Tarrin said patiently. "It'll be a little different than before, but I think they'll be alright. After the initial shock wears off, anyway."
"It's all very strange," Jak said quietly.
"That about defines my life since leaving home, Jak," Tarrin said with a rueful look.
"No, I mean them coming out of the forest. They don't have any real interest in what's going on, do they?"
"Of course we do," Alix cut in. "The real threat isn't here, it's in Suld. We know that Tarrin has to attack Torrian, and we'll help with that. But as soon as that's done, we're going to Suld. That's where the real battle is going to be."
"What battle?"
"Why, the battle, of course!" Alix said in excitement. "They've brought together all the Goblinoids and alot of the Fa-da'kii, and if they take Suld, the entire balance of nature is going to be disrupted. We can't allow that, so we're going to step in to preserve the Balance."
"The what?" Jak asked.
"The balance of nature," Alix replied. "The clock around which we all revolve. Without the balance, the world would be chaos."
"I'll take your word for it," Jak shrugged. "I'm more interested in what I can see."
"And what can you see?" Alix asked.
"Dals," he growled, his face turning hard.
They retrieved four casks of his father's ale and apple wine, then Tarrin hauled one of the wagons out of the big barn for them. It was a bit weathered and creaky, but it was servicable. Tarrin Conjured the harness they needed to hitch two of the horses to the wagon, then they loaded the casks aboard. Sathon decided to ride with Garyth and Jak, who were driving the wagon, climbing into the back and seating himself. "You keep them busy, Tarrin," Sathon said with a grin. "This is your chosen ground. Don't let them order you around."
"I'm not that bossy, Sathon," Tarrin smiled. "At least not about things that aren't important."
"Do you know the spells of sending, lad?"
Tarrin shook his head. "Sarraya never got a chance to teach them to me."
"What do you know?"
"Conjuring and Creating, mainly," he replied. "I learned a few little tricks outside of that, but I never really learned anything else. I can use Sorcery for anything I need. Druidic magic is just something of a hobby, truth be told."
"That's a very poor attitude, lad," Sathon said disdainfully. "You have respectable talent as a Druid. It's a crime for you to ignore your potential like that."
"I'm sorry, but I always seem to have something more important to do than learn Druidic magic," he apologized. "Given how long it takes."
"Nonsense," Sathon snorted. "I'll take care of that, lad. I'll teach you some of the things Sarraya didn't bother to show you. You understand the workings of Druidic magic, so teaching you the spells won't take long."
"I'll be guided by you in that, Sathon," Tarrin shrugged. "If you think I'm capable of using them, then I'll learn them from you."
"You're easily as strong as I am, lad. Anything I can do, you can do," he said confidently. "This is what happens when you have a Faerie as an instructor, you know."
Alix sniffed loudly.
"Truth is truth, Alix," Sathon grinned. "Your kind can't hold a thought long enough to get it across to other races."
"Well, I don't go around talking about how big and fat and ungainly humans are," Alix said flippantly.
"Well, it was Sarraya or no one, Sathon. Besides, I'm not that disappointed in how she did. Sarraya was actually a good teacher."
Alix beamed at Tarrin.
"She taught you the basics, but she ignored your advanced education," he said insistantly.
"Blame Triana for that," Tarrin told him. "She told Sarraya not to go beyond the basics. She did anyway, but I think that threat kept her from teaching me much more than she did. Sarraya would have alot to answer for if I got to Suld and could do a great deal of Druidic magic that I wasn't supposed to know."
"Oh, I see now," Sathon said with a laugh. "Well, Triana never told me not to teach you," he said with a sly smile.
"It's your neck, Sathon."
"Triana's an old friend of mine, lad. She'll trust that I won't get you killed."
"Pardon me, good Druid, but we really need to go," Garyth interrupted politely.
"Yes, yes, of course," he said with a nod. "Tomorrow then, lad. Sleep well."
Tarrin waved them goodbye as the wagon rumbled around the bend and out of sight. Tarrin sighed, crossing his arms and watching them go, his expectations rising by the moment. With the Centaurs and the Were-kin, Torrian was as good as taken. If they could move fast, they could reach Suld before the ki'zadun did, and play a major part in the defense of the city as well. It made him feel very good to know that Fae-da'Nar was going to come off the fence, finally, were going to take a stand and commit themselves to the defense of Suld. With the katzh-dashi, the Knights, the Selani, the Arakite Legions, Shiika and the Cambisi, Keritanima's Wikuni, Vendari, and gunpowder, the Ungardt, the Sulasian forces that would be available, the Rangers, and now a large force of Woodkin, Tarrin had a very good feeling about the battle to come. It may not number as highly as the force opposing them, but the numbers they did have were widely varied and universally powerful. Just knowing that the Vendari, the Selani, the Ungardt, the Knights, and now Woodkin would take the field on the same side gave him a very relieved feeling. It would be a force that not even the Demons numbering in the armies of the ki'zadun would care to face.
All they had to do now was get there in time.
The realization that Tarrin was a Druid on chosen ground sank in after Sathon left, and he dealt with his Were-cat friends, sisters, and mate afterward.
They kept asking him what they were supposed to do next. Even Rahnee, which surprised him to no end. It was almost as if Sathon's appearance had reminded them of custom, and now they were deferring to him. He found it to be very irritating. So irritating that he told all of them to start acting like they weren't still tied to their mother's tail and do for themselves. The only one that didn't defer to him was Jesmind, but he knew that that would happen just as soon as someone reached up and pulled down one of the moons. Regardless of the fact that he was a Druid on chosen ground, she wouldn't accede to him unless it suited her. Being his mate exempted her from that custom, or at least so he thought she believed.