“Anyone home?” Galena called at the tent Morak indicated belonged to Morgo. Elenio opened the flap and smiled at her. She couldn’t help it; she returned the smile and reaching up, kissed him quickly on the lips.
“I missed seeing your irritated face when I woke up,” she whispered.
“Am I forgiven for acting like a pain yesterday?” he whispered back, smiling as he did so.
“Always.” She kissed him quickly once more before stepping past him and into the tent. She found Morgo, shirtless and smiling up at her from his own hammock. The last time Galena saw him was during the battle. She really hadn’t been paying attention to him and the way he’d changed since leaving him behind in the world he knew. When they last parted, it was at the entrance to the outside world near the base of the Mountains of the Gods. She couldn’t remember exactly how he had looked because he had been so utterly forgettable that often times she found her thoughts drifting in all directions at once. The longer she was with him, the more these forgettable traits faded. Even then, she realized other than the dull and ghostlike look that was common among the underground elves; she could remember nothing else of his appearances.
Now, as she looked at him, she realized he’d lost the pale, white skin and the limp, dull dark hair. She was surprised to discover how handsome he really was. His skin had darkened up, even in the winter months, to a more creamy color and his hair, which hung below his shoulders, was now a dark brown instead of the black it once appeared to be. His eyes held the biggest change, as they were full of life. They even had a mischievous quality to them. His smile was warm and friendly and Galena found herself returning his smile easily.
“I’d get up to greet you properly, but as you can see, I’m a little ill-disposed at the moment,” he said, indicating the bleeding bandage at his side she somehow missed before.
“Couldn’t Nigora help you more than that?” Galena asked, a little shocked he wasn’t in better condition.
“She could, but I wouldn’t let her. There were other elves in worse condition than I was and she needed all the energy she could muster at the time. I bandaged myself up and told her I would wait until she took care of the elves whose needs were more critical than mine.” He grimaced horribly as he attempted to readjust himself so he could look at her more comfortably.
“Weren’t you the one who brought me to my tent?” Galena asked feeling clearly confused.
“That didn’t take physical strength. I just flew you back with the wind. Nina helped some too,” he said, grimacing slightly as he readjusted yet again.
“Hold still and I’ll get you fixed up. We can’t have my former mentor all banged up.”
He rolled his eyes at this statement, further evidence of the changes the above world had on him. Sitting down across from Morgo, Elenio chuckled at their friend’s reaction, but said nothing more. Galena shook her head, amazed with the changes in Morgo. Placing her hand on the wound, she healed the damage to his inner organs, the muscles, and the surrounding tissue. She replaced his loss of blood, taking care not to energize him with the addition of too much oxygen and nutrients to the newly replaced fluid. Finally, she repaired the skin, making it appear as if he’d never been wounded.
Morgo looked down and seeing his stomach whole once more, looked up at Galena with a huge grin on his face before commenting, “You’ve come a long ways since the last time we met.” He put on a shirt, stood up, and stretched from side to side, twisting his waist this way and that to test the job Galena did. “Amazing, I feel better than I have in a long while.”
Still smiling, he sat back down while gesturing for Galena to sit in an empty chair next to Elenio. Morgo waited for Galena to sit before asking, “So how do you like life in the center of everyone’s attention?” He winked at her conspiratorially, which stopped Galena from saying anything rude.
“You certainly are quite a bit different from the last time we met.” Galena laughed.
“The upper world agrees with me. Elenio was just describing how everyone has been asking for you since your grand appearance at our most recent battle and we already know Rau is searching for you as evidenced by the massive army he sent. What have you learned about yourself since the last time that we talked? What theory have you discovered to be the correct one?”
Galena thought back to the conversation they had in the underground world in one of the many tunnels they traveled while they were there. It seemed a lifetime ago. In reality, she knew it couldn’t have been more than a couple of months, maybe a little longer. Morgo threw out two different theories as far as why Galena had been able to do magic even with the marks of Rau on her hands and feet. The first theory he had was the idea there were flaws in her tattoos. They’d almost immediately rejected this idea, but were not entirely sure. His second theory was she contained more magic in her than most normal elves. This idea seemed more fitting, but once again, they were unsure.
When Elenio and Tark took her to the healing waters at Mira’s View, it had been there Mira removed the marks of Rau from her hands and feet, explaining to Galena she was indeed more powerful than any elf had ever been. She explained to Galena, she contained more magic than a hundred elves combined. Galena had not believed this at first, but after the last couple of months, she realized what Mira told her was true.
“The second proved to be correct. I have it on good authority from Mira herself,” Galena said, training her eyes on the floor. Once again, the conversation came back to her power.
“Don’t worry, your fame will pass. When we underground elves first showed up, we were the talk of the village as well, but once everyone adjusted to our magical abilities, our fame passed and we became just another elf. Your popularity may take a little longer to die out, especially after the show you put on, but take heart, it will pass, of this I am confident,” Morgo said quietly to her.
She returned her gaze back to his face and saw the sincerity there. She nodded in thanks, but said nothing to this. She hoped he was right, just as he had been with his theories concerning her.
Elenio reached over and taking her hand gave it a little squeeze, further reassuring her.
“Now, while we’re on the topic of your magical abilities. Remember another conversation we had before about elves having talents in one area or another with their magical abilities. I think I told you my strength was in the area of putting people to sleep just as Nigora’s magical ability is definitely in the area of healing. It would seem you have no limit to a specific skill either. Am I wrong?” Morgo looked at her, a hint of a smile on his face as he waited for an answer.
“I’d forgotten about that particular conversation,” Galena said, thoughtfully looking up at the ceiling of the tent. She remembered it now along with the conversation on how using magic was a lot like exercising. When you did too much, your body would shut down in order to preserve itself, which was not always ideal especially when you were in a sticky situation, such as she had been the day before. “You also mentioned you did not have the capabilities of producing fire or causing things like torlics to catch on fire, yet while we were fighting I distinctly recall you setting several creatures ablaze when you struck them with your sword,” Galena retorted, a smirk now on her face.
“Aahh, no, what you saw was the work of Pangoro. Tark had the idea to put fire into arrows and I just took it a step further by having Pangoro put the fire into the swords.”
Galena felt thoroughly confused at this point and looked to Elenio to see if he understood it at all either. Judging by the look on his face and the lack of thoughts on the matter, this was news to him as well.
Taking in the looks of both Elenio and Galena, Morgo laid back on his hammock and placing his hands behind his head, explained, “It’s much like the floating light concept only instead of trapping light within glass orbs or frozen air, we trapped fire within the blade of the sword. Whenever the blade encounters anything, it releases some of the fire within. If you recall, as the battle raged on, I lost the capability of igniting creatures with my sword because I had used up all the fire within. The same concept went into the arrows as well. It was a difficult bit of magic to perform, and without the help of Pangoro who has been doing this for a lot longer, we may not have been able to accomplish it.”
Galena’s eyebrows raised with surprise. It was a good idea and made her wonder if she could accomplish the same thing with all the swords the elves used. Surely, she had enough power to do so and it would give them more of an advantage over the enemy for their next battle.
“Okay, back to my question. Is there anything you have not been able to do?” Morgo asked once more, looking to both Elenio and Galena for an answer.
Galena looked at Elenio for which he simply shook his head. She could feel his pride as well as read it in the expression on his face. “So far no. Everything I’ve tried has been relatively easy. I only blacked out after running for nearly three days straight and then using a ton of magic along with fighting. Moreover, I’ve figured out how to do a sort of energizing of our bodies. It gives us a lot of energy, but when we crash from it, we really crash. The effects from pushing our bodies so hard during the energy rush seems to be rough physically on our bodies as well. When I blacked out, my own energy rush had burnt out and I wasn’t holding the Sword of Lumina, which seems to have its own energy when I’m touching it.”
“Interesting,” Morgo said thoughtfully.
“May I see your sword?” Galena asked, curious to see if she would be able to accomplish the same thing that Pangoro had.
“Certainly.” Morgo sat up and reaching down pulled his sword from its scabbard and handed it to Galena.
Galena had been able to charge Morgo’s sword with no difficulty, much to his amusement. In Galena’s opinion, it was a lot easier than creating a floating light orb. A single touch with the idea of trapping fire within its breakable bounds and the task was done. Galena smiled, thinking of Morgo and Elenio’s enthusiasm at the idea of her being able to do the same thing with all the other weapons the elves used. Galena felt this was an interesting concept and it would definitely edge their chances against Rau’s army. First things first, she thought.
After bidding farewell to Morgo and Elenio, she headed in the direction Morgo had indicated Nigora’s tent was. She felt getting everyone healthy as quickly as possible was a little more important at the time. Some of the elves were seriously injured and if they didn’t survive their first battle, flaming swords would be of little use. Moreover, she wasn’t entirely sure if she should give everyone’s sword a flaming quality to it. Morgo confessed it took him several days to get (use) used to his sword as well as several serious burns. That kind of advantage may not be for everyone, Galena thought shaking her head bemusedly when she recalled Morgo blushing fiercely when he told her the last bit.
Galena was able to locate Nigora’s tent easily considering it was the largest one and there was a line of injured elves waiting around the entrance of it. Not even bothering to call out, Galena entered the tent, passing the injured elves as she did so. There were elves lying everywhere in hammocks that had been set up for the sole purpose of dealing with the sick and injured. Galena realized why Nigora was wearing out quickly as some of the elves in the sick bed looked like they were on the verge of crossing over into the Land of the Gods.
“And Morgo said she had taken care of the extremely bad off,” Galena muttered to herself as she eyed some of the worst cases. Spying Nigora checking on a more serious patient across from the entrance of the tent, Galena made her way toward her, taking a few moments here and there to heal some of the patients along the way. When she arrived at the hammock Nigora was leaning over, she grew alarmed. Nigora looked pale, even more so for an underground elf. Her skin around her face appeared to be almost gray from all the work that she had done. Sweat beaded her brow and she looked like she was on the verge of passing out herself. Galena reached for her shoulders, just as the older elf started to tilt forward, her own exhaustion getting the better of her.
“Nigora, you know better than that!” Galena scolded her as she helped the healer to a seat next to the hammock. “I’m here to help and you need to go find someplace to sleep if you’re going to be any use later on.”
“So many,” she said wearily. “There are so many and just when I think I have gotten ahead, more come.” She placed her head in her hands, clearly worn beyond what she could handle.
“Where are your sleeping quarters?” Galena asked softly.
With a shaky hand, Nigora indicated a lone hammock in the corner of the tent. Galena helped the little elf to her feet and to the hammock, she pointed out. Once she got Nigora comfortably situated, she went to work. She started with the more serious elves and worked her way through the tent. By the end of the evening, she’d started on some of the elves waiting outside for Nigora’s aid. By the time Elenio arrived with a tray of food, she was beginning to feel extremely tired and famished. Galena smiled gratefully and went to him.
“You are just the elf I wanted to see,” she said, kissing him quickly on the cheek.
“Yeah, that’s because I come bringing gifts,” he joked for he knew food was the center of her thoughts.
“True, then there is sleep, and of course my thoughts turn to you,” she said grinning as she grabbed a loaf of bread and wedge of cheese from the tray.
“Always last,” Elenio said in mock disgust.
“That, my love, you’ll never be,” Galena said, grinning broadly and causing Elenio to laugh at her when she did. She’d shoved several bites of bread and cheese into her mouth, giving her the look of a squirrel with its cheeks full of nuts. Swallowing with as much dignity as she could muster and not succeeding even in the slightest, caused Elenio to double over with laughter, tears in his eyes. Galena realized this was the second time today she caused someone so much mirth, they couldn’t stop laughing at her. Galena ignored this for the most part and continued eating.
Finishing the tray in record time, she secretly hoped part of it had been Elenio’s. Would serve him right for laughing at me, she thought irritably. It seemed every time she thought he had calmed down, he would turn to look at her and start all over. “Have we heard anything about Rau’s army?” Galena asked, as she rolled her eyes at another fit of laughter on Elenio’s part. That sobered him up.
“They pulled out early this morning and are making their way toward Blackwell. Tark wants to stay here another day and then pursue them.” Elenio brushed some of the crumbs off the tray as he said this.
“Why are we waiting another day?”
“Some of the underground elves really overdid it. Plus, he wants to make sure you’ve had plenty of time to rest.”
“Doesn’t he realize I don’t burn out like other elves?”
“Yes, but you still pushed yourself too hard and with all the healing you did today. You’re going to need some quiet time of your own to be at your best.”
“I’m fi...” Galena started, but stopped when Elenio raised a hand.
“I don’t want to hear it. You passed out twice in a little under two days. We all know you’re not going to take it easy on any dark creature you come across so yes, you’re going to rest before we head out. You’ve taken care of everyone here today, the whole camp will attest to that, now it’s time to take care of you.”
Galena glared stonily at him, intent on continuing the argument.
“Galena, I know what you’re thinking and you should know I’m not letting up on this. Tark agrees with me. He’s the one leading this camp, so pipe down and let’s get back to our own tent. The sooner you rest up, the sooner we can get going.”
“You know, I’m getting tired of everyone telling me what I can and can’t do.” Galena sat back in the chair and crossed her arms angrily.
“Yes, because we have been able to do that so well and better yet, you always listen to us,” Elenio said, rolling his eyes as he stood. He held out a hand to help Galena up, which she considered briefly ignoring. “Galena, I’m not above going to get Morgo and having him put you to sleep and dragging you back to our tent that way. We’ve been going full steam for the last four days you need a break. Now, let’s go.”
Growling in frustration, Galena knew when she was beaten, and she knew he was right. The tiredness she felt from working on so many injured elves was starting to catch up with her.
“I knew you would see things my way,” Elenio said smiling when he saw her thoughts.
“Well, I guess you’re bound to be right once in a while,” Galena said, heaving herself to her feet and grinning mischievously at him.
“That’s my girl.” Taking her hand, Elenio led them back to their tent for which Galena was grateful for because she really wasn’t sure which one was theirs after storming away from it early that morning.
“How’s Morgo?”
“Much better as I’m sure you knew he would be after working on him. Morak is also well. Tark sent him and some of his archers out after the army to keep track of them until we catch up. Not that we’ll need them to locate those brutes. It would be a little difficult to lose an army that size.” Elenio shook his head, amused at his own sarcasm. “I understand you saw Tark this morning.” He couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice with this last statement.
“Yeah, this wasn’t my most graceful day,” Galena said, hoping to ward off the fits of laughter that she was sure would come. “How far is our tent? I don’t remember walking this far.”
“Just over there,” he said grinning, pointing in the direction of a tent on the outer edges of the camp. He knew what she was trying to do. She slapped his shoulder for good measure before walking in that direction.
“Home sweet home,” Galena said, opening the flap of the tent and stepping into the dark little room. How dreary, she thought, letting the flap close behind her. Thinking of the floating orbs of light from Gora and the underground world, she focused on air shaped like a small ball and trapped some of the light she saw in the lightning within the confines of it. The result caused the inside of the tent to be bathed in the soft light. That’s a little better, she thought dully.
“No sense prettying the place up if we’re heading out the day after tomorrow,” Elenio said as he stepped through the doorway of the tent. “Especially considering I can’t see you wanting to stay in here more than to sleep.”
“I really don’t even want to sleep in here, to be honest. It reminds me too much of the underground world.”
“It’s not that bad,” Elenio said, as he sat down on the hammock and stretched out.
“Do you think I should put a protective barrier around the camp?” Galena asked. She couldn’t help feeling vulnerable without it, now that they were so close to Rau’s army.
“No. Tark has patrols making rounds around the camp. Your job is to rest. You’re the most important person in the upcoming battles. Get some sleep while you can and let others take care of you for a little while.”
Galena shrugged and then moving slowly so as not to repeat the fiasco of earlier that morning, she sat next to Elenio. Lying back, she rolled over so that she could lay her head on his shoulder and wrap an arm around his middle. Instead of risking the movement, she caused a gentle breeze to pick up their blanket and pull it up to their shoulders. The nights had warmed up; however, it was still chilly enough that the blanket helped Galena feel nice and warm. The activities of the day ran through Galena’s mind, making her feel incredibly tired and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
* * * *
Tark awoke to the sun attempting to shine through the thick tent material. He looked over at Taura, still sleeping curled up next to him. He pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and kissed her lightly on the forehead before he quietly slipped from the hammock. He wanted to check with the night patrol and Morgo before the camp really began to wake up and stir. Slipping past the tent flap and stepping into the bright light of the morning, Tark had to blink several times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light before he was able to continue. He talked with each of the patrols to find that the night was quiet when they started their shifts and the guards before reported the same. Galena must have really scared Rau’s army, Tark thought grimly. Thanking the elves for their reports and work, he headed off in the direction of Morgo’s tent.
When he got to it, he was surprised to see the tent flap propped wide open because the air was still chilly. Assuming since the door was open, anyone was welcome, Tark stepped into the tent. Sitting on the hammock with his back to the opening was Morgo. His head was bent and he appeared to be looking at something in his lap. Tark cleared his throat, hoping to get his attention, but Morgo remained in the same position. Tark began to worry something was wrong so he crossed over to where the elf sat and peered over his shoulder to see him holding a bowl full of water. In the water was the image of Venia. It appeared she was sitting down and staring vacantly at nothing at all, as she had so often done when Tark was around her.
“She’s still beautiful, isn’t she?” Tark asked. The result of him speaking when Morgo was so entranced caused both of them to be covered in water and Morgo to end up on the ground, looking up at Tark and breathing heavily. “Sorry, I tried to get your attention before, but you were a little preoccupied.”
“You’re right. I had no idea that you were behind me as evidenced by my reaction,” Morgo said, chuckling slightly while he got up. He stood and shook his hands to get some of the excess water from them. He looked sheepishly at Tark, much like a child who had been caught doing something naughty. “I suppose you would like an explanation.”
“I have an idea, but I’m willing to listen regardless,” Tark said, grinning at the look on his friend’s face. For in truth, Tark realized Morgo had developed some type of feelings for Venia, otherwise he wouldn’t have paid as much attention to her as he had.
“She is beautiful. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Venia. The moment I laid eyes on her, I felt a pull like I had never experienced with anyone in the world from which I come from. I think the fact she is from the world above is what holds part of the attraction, but only a small part.”
“Are you sure she isn’t just a puzzle for you to figure out?” Tark asked smirking slightly. His friend Morgo was always trying to figure out how things worked or the reason behind anything he found intriguing. To Morgo, the world was one big mystery, waiting for him to unravel. It was the reason he’d begun collecting so many books.
“I’m not sure to be honest. That was the reason I became so interested in the first place, but then she started responding to things I was doing for her. Just little things like smiling at me or looking toward me when she heard my voice. It’s gotten to the point where I look forward to those moments and find myself doing whatever it takes to cause her to smile or acknowledge me at all.” Morgo sat heavily down on his hammock, looking at his hands as if they had somehow betrayed him. “I’m crazy, aren’t I?” He sounded thoroughly depressed and Tark couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.
“No, not crazy. Well, maybe not completely crazy.” Tark grinned at him.
Morgo returned the smile. “You know I asked Nigora to stay behind with her, so that she could continue to try and bring her back. She refused to though. She said her talents would be needed after battles. I knew she was right, but I still couldn’t help feeling disappointed when she didn’t remain behind. Although, we’re both at a loss for exactly what to do.”
“I think you were heading in the right direction. Love her back to life.”
“Are you angry at me, because we were friends first?” Morgo looked down at this, still looking sheepish.
“No, I’m not sure I completely understand, but who am I to judge others?”
Morgo gave a half grin at this, relief evident on his face. “Neither do I.” Morgo shook his head a little sadly before looking up and regarding Tark. “Now, how can I help you, since I assume your main purpose for coming to visit was not to scare the wits out of me?”
“No, but it was definitely a perk,” Tark said, laughing at the memory. The hammocks were not very comfortable, but they had definitely provided an entertainment factor that could not be beat. Between Galena and Morgo, he’d laughed more in the last couple of days than he had in weeks. “Can you show me Morak? He and a group of his archers left yesterday morning sometime and I haven’t heard back from them, not that I really expected to. I just want to make sure nothing has happened to them.”
Nodding, Morgo retrieved his bowl from where he flung it and sat in a chair next to Tark so they could both see. Within seconds, the image of Morak appeared in the bowl. He seemed to be crouching down with another elf. They were watching something from their hiding place. Other than looking like they were being cautious, which Tark appreciated, they appeared to be fine.
“I wish we could see where they are,” Tark commented as he continued to watch Morak peeking through the brush.
“That might be something for Galena to try. This type of viewing takes a great deal of concentration and that’s just with watching one subject. When we try to back up and take in other aspects, normal elves will burn out too quickly to gather that much information. But this may not apply to Galena seeing how most of the rules I have had to live by haven’t applied to her,” Morgo replied.
“This is true,” Tark said thoughtfully. “Are you going to continue spending time with Venia should we survive this?” Tark asked. He looked at the ground, giving Morgo a chance to collect his thoughts.
“Would it be offensive if I did?” Morgo asked slowly in response to this.
“What if she does come out of this sort of trance she’s in and she doesn’t reciprocate your feelings?”
“I guess that’s a chance I have to be willing to take.” Morgo looked slightly crestfallen at this, but snapped out of it quickly. “I assume you’re going to go see Galena now?”
Tark was surprised at the abrupt change of subject, but after getting to know Morgo, took the shift in stride. “I hadn’t actually thought about it, but if I want to find out if she can see the whereabouts of Morak and Rau’s army, I probably should take a stroll over to visit her. I’ll head there now, seeing how she normally wakes early.”
“Would you mind if I tagged along? I am curious to see if my theory was correct.”
“You’re always curious about something.”
“Indeed, it’s how we learn. Shall we go?”
“If you’re ready.” Morgo indicated the open tent with a sweep of his arm.
Grinning, Tark stood and headed out to see his sister. “Do you think we even have a chance of winning?” Tark asked quietly as they covered the ground between Morgo’s tent and Galena’s. The question plagued him since they started on this quest and after seeing less than half of Rau’s army, he felt his fears were confirmed.
“That’s an interesting question,” Morgo said thoughtfully. “On the one hand, Rau has us hopelessly outnumbered. On the other hand, we have magical abilities the dark creatures will never have. So it is brute strength against magic, which cancels each other out. So then we’re left with the question, who wants to win more, the elves or Rau?”
Tark had never thought of it that way. Morgo certainly had an interesting way of looking at things. He had never failed to amuse Tark with his theories.
“Do you think it will boil down to Galena versus Rau too?”
“I most certainly do. How else would it all end?” Morgo said, looking at Tark curiously.
“Good point.”
They saw Galena slipping through the tent entrance when they drew close to her tent. Tark had to smile, he knew her so well. “Galena, wait.”
Galena stopped and turned to face them, a look of surprise on her face. “What are you two doing up so early?” she called out when they had almost reached her.
“We would like to try an experiment, if you would humor us,” Morgo said, smiling at her.
“What kind of experiment did you have in mind?” she asked a little cautiously.
“It won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Tark said good-humoredly.
Galena shook her head. She appeared to be unsure of what to think of this last statement.
“That makes me feel so much better,” she mumbled.
“Shall we head back to my tent, since I assume by your quiet exit, Elenio is still asleep?”
“Sure.” The trio headed back in the direction from which Morgo and Tark came. When they reached the tent, Morgo retrieved his mirror water bowl and handed it to Galena. “We already know I can see images in water,” Galena said, a bemused look on her face.
“Yes, but now we want to see if you can see the surroundings of your main focus,” Morgo said, filling the bowl with water as he explained what they wanted.
“How do I do that?” Galena asked.
“I’m not entirely sure as I have never been able to accomplish that particular task. I assume it’s a lot like viewing an image and then directing or thinking of yourself zooming back so that you can see the things surrounding that image. This is just an assumption and those can often be wrong. I only know an elf with a normal amount of magic cannot accomplish this goal because of the amount of power and concentration it takes. Not all elves can bring a single image up in the mirror waters. It’s like I mentioned before, some elves can do some types of magic and other elves can accomplish other things. You are the only exception to this rule.”
“Okay, now that this has been explained so it’s as clear as mud, let’s give it a whirl,” Galena said sarcastically while looking into the bowl of water. “What am I looking for?”
“We want to see where Rau’s army is first off and then if you could bring up Morak and the rest of his archers that would help too,” Tark said. He watched the images swirling around in the water, waiting for Galena to direct them into clearer focus.
Galena nodded and stared intently at the water, the images it held becoming sharper with each moment. There in the waters were the thousands of dark creatures remaining in the army Rau sent out. They appeared to be on the move, but as to where they were at, they would only be able to know if this experiment worked.
“Now, imagine you are flying away from them, higher into the air,” Morgo whispered, his attention too was on the images within the water. Instantly, the creatures began to shrink and more came into view. It took a lot longer than Tark would have imagined for Galena to get high enough to view more than the dark creatures. Finally, they were able to identify the region through which the army moved.
“They are moving at an incredible pace,” Morgo noted thoughtfully, his gaze still intent on the scene.
“Rau must have told them to get there quickly, or they’re afraid of you. I’m curious to know the reason behind their break neck pace,” Tark said, taking his eyes off the mirror waters and sitting back in one of the chairs.
Galena blinked her eyes several times, causing the images to disappear. Returning her gaze on the waters, she thought of Morak and instantly saw him in the water. They appeared to be right behind the army, but still at enough of a distance that they were safe. Galena cleared the image away along with the water and then placed the empty bowl on the ground beside Morgo’s hammock. She sat down gingerly, looking somewhat tired after the experiment.
“So they’re roughly four days ahead of us,” she said after a bit.
“So it seems,” Tark replied.
“And you still don’t think we need to get started sooner?”
“No, I don’t. I think you need to give yourself a bit more time and we have other magical elves that need the rest. You’re not the only important one,” Tark said, grinning in an amused way.
Galena sighed heavily and stood. “Well, if you two are through experimenting with me, I’m off to find some food and rest up since it’s so necessary.”
“Galena, we’ll head out tomorrow morning at first light.”
“By then, they’ll be a week ahead of us.”
“Then so be it.”