Rachel walked beside a winding river, searching for her daughter as a tight knot formed in her chest. Unable to teleport after losing her gemstone, she found herself becoming increasingly frustrated, forced to walk forever through an unforgiving land. The thick yellow grass along the riverbank felt soft beneath her combat boots, and the gentle breeze tussled her hair, flipping it back and forth across her forehead. It wasn't long before her thoughts started to wander.
She didn't notice the old man until he stepped on a dry branch, breaking the silence with a sharp, clear cracking sound. Rachel stopped in her tracks, squinting towards him through the bright morning sunlight.
He stood some distance in front of her, wearing a long grey cloak with a white belt tied loosely around his waist. He carried no weapon that she could see, but he was obviously a lord of some kind. Her first instinct was to teleport away but she couldn't do that anymore, so turning sideways, she reached over her shoulder for the bone staffs instead.
'Please,' the old man said, raising one hand. 'There's no need for all that.'
His voice was soft and gentle, and he made no attempt to approach her. Rachel eyed him warily. There were no lords that could be trusted as far as she was concerned.
'What's your name?' she shouted.
'They call me Lord Candervas - those who call me anything at all.'
The name didn't mean anything to her but she had little knowledge of the Blasted Lands. He could be Malkor's right-hand man for all she knew.
He was short and slim, diminutive in stature for a man. She had a feeling he was much weaker than she was, not just physically but as a lord too. She could feel his presence like a background hum. There was something calm and reassuring about him. Could he be trying to appear weak to draw her into a trap? He made no move to approach her so she walked towards him with the bone staffs held loosely in her hands.
'What are you doing here?' she said. It was a foolish question but she wasn't sure what else to ask.
'I'm searching for berries.'
Rachel raised an eyebrow, slowing her pace until she came to a halt a few paces in front of him. It wasn't the answer she had expected.
'I make various ointments,' Candervas said. 'Some for healing, others for strength of bones and such like.'
'Who uses your ointments?'
Candervas shrugged, his thin grey hair catching in the breeze. 'Sometimes people. Sometimes lords.'
'Lords don't get sick.'
Candervas smiled. 'Do they not?' Raising the hem of his robe to his knee, he revealed his thin, bony, legs. A web of red lines wrapped around them just below the knee, extending down to his ankles.
Rachel pulled a face.
'Sorry,' he said, lowering his robe. 'I'm not so pleasant on the eye these days.'
'What is that?' Rachel said, lowering the bone staffs by her sides.
'It's a parasite, native to this land. We call it Perimak. It saps strength from its host, causing lethargy and fatigue. It's quite painful at times, like a burning sensation that never ends.'
'Lords don't feel pain,' Rachel said. 'Not unless they want to.'
Candervas smiled, his face a mask of wrinkles that made him look somehow more honest. 'You seem to know a great deal about the lords, perhaps because you are one yourself?'
Rachel pursed her lips, wanting to deny his words but she guessed he had a point.
'You have no need to fear me,' Candervas said in a more conciliatory tone.
'I'm not afraid.'
'You're threatening me with a pair of Homan staffs.'
Rachel glanced down at Merivon's staffs in her hands. She had never heard them called that before. 'What do you know of these?'
'They must have belonged to a senior cleric at one time or another. You should be careful. They won't like you having them.'
'They don't, but that's not my concern.'
'The staffs have great power,' Candervas said. 'They were forged in the smelting grounds by the guardians.'
Rachel frowned. She had no idea what he was talking about. She couldn't let her guard down, no matter how harmless he appeared.
'Where's Malkor?' she said, watching his face for any sign of a reaction.
'Somewhere north.'
'You are loyal to him?'
'I lack the strength to stand against him if that's what you mean, but I do not work on his behalf. He has no interest in me. My low status makes me irrelevant in his eyes and I wouldn't have it any other way.'
'Why do you think you have a low status?'
Candervas offered a half smile, his eyes glancing towards her before continuing to examine small shrubs that were scattered across the ground. 'I was never strong like you. I was born with a sickness that left my growth stunted. My abilities were poor from the start but they have worsened over the years. I can't even teleport anymore. The other lords ignored me - even before I contracted Perimak. These days I spend more time with the humans than my own kind.'
'Why? What do you do to them?'
Candervas glanced towards her. 'Do to them?'
Rachel slipped the bone staffs over shoulder, replacing them in the sling beside her backpack. She could retrieve them quickly if he tried anything.
'Why do you associate with people more than your own kind?' she said.
Candervas turned his soft grey eyes towards her. 'Because they accept me. Isn't that what everybody wants in life?'
Rachel was taken aback. She saw now that there was real pain in his eyes, not only from his condition but also from the way he had been excluded from his own people. He was weak in their eyes, unworthy of their attention. She had formed similar conclusions herself but she felt some sympathy for him despite her better judgement.
Crouching down, he brushed the short undergrowth with his hands and then smiled. 'Loper berries. I've been looking for these.'
Rachel stepped closer, gazing down at half a dozen purple berries in his open palm while he plucked more from the spiky shrubs around him.
'Are they for your ointments?' Rachel said.
Candervas shook his head. 'No, these are for eating. Try one.'
He passed one to her and she held it in her hand, staring at it.
'They're quite safe,' he said, popping one into his mouth before chewing with his mouth open.
Rachel did likewise. It was a little bitter for her taste with a citrus after taste. It reminded her of the smell of trees as a child. She hadn't realised how hungry she was until her stomach rumbled loudly.
'Come,' Candervas said. 'I can make us something more nourishing.'
Rachel shook her head. 'I'm not going anywhere with you.'
Candervas shrugged and walked along the river without her.
'Hey, wait!' she said, jogging after him.