Aryo & the Missing Prince

CHAPTER SIX: THE QUEST

The forest whipped past in a blur of shadows, but Aryo took no notice. The only thing he saw now was the scene that would be forever etched into his very soul. The prince was dead.

It had all happened so fast.

First, there was the army. It marched down out of the mountains in a long, steady stream. It looked like a black snake, weaving among the boulders and foothills as it chased after its prey. The orcs had come.

The rest was a blur, but Aryo remembered the prince telling them to make all possible haste. He told Barin which direction to travel and then embraced them both.

"As long as your heart beats, young Aryo," the prince had said. "my quest will live on." Then he said words that Aryo would never forget. "May you find allies, even in the darkest of places."

Then, he urged them to leave. And that's what they'd done.

Aryo only remembered Barin handing him the dagger before lifting him up onto Kamri's back. He must have found it somewhere on the Minoboar's trail where Aryo had dropped it while unconscious. Then Barin climbed up behind him, the prince bid them farewell, turned, and drew his sword.

And then there were the orcs. They were terrible. They rushed down the valley in an unruly, disorganized horde, some twice the height of a man, others no taller than a small monkey, but all of them angry, fierce, and armed. There arose such a roar from the horde that Aryo knew without a doubt that this was a force capable of wiping out all of Denzilli.

And then they rode away.

At first, Aryo begged Barin to stop, to turn around, to stay and help the prince, but then he leaned out and looked back. The orcs broke upon the man like waves upon stone. He held firm, his sword and shield flashing wildly about and orcs falling lifeless to his left and right.

"Perhaps he'll survive," Aryo thought hopefully. "Perhaps I'll see him again someday."

And with happy thought to distract him from all the sad ones, he turned back to the forest as it whipped past him. Kamri was a fast horse and Barin a skilled horseman. They weaved between the massive trunks of trees, leaped over streams and logs blocking their path, and climbed hills and rocks as they plunged onward toward home and their quest.

***

The sun had set, making the dark forest darker still, which seemed to draw out the forest's evilest of monsters. At one point, a Harpy flew down at them, screeching and swiping at Barin's shoulder with her dark claws. He groaned with pain and Aryo could see spots of red soaking through his tunic. The Harpy was swooping in for another attack, but Barin was defenseless. Aryo drew his dagger and, as the Harpy stretched out its gruesome claws, he slashed at them. The bird screeched and fluttered back, disappearing into the forest.

"Nice one!" Barin said from behind.

On and on they rode, the forest turning black then silver as the moon broke through the treetops. Suddenly, a young man appeared in their path and Barin pulled back on the reins to keep Kamri from running him over. She skidded to a stop just in front of him. He wore a simple burlap robe and stood barefoot, long, dark hair falling upon his shoulders. He laid a hand on Kamri's nose, but the horse shivered and backed away.

"Hello there!" Barin called, frowning. "What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

"Oh, just out for a—a walk, I guess," the man said with a white, toothy smile.

Barin raised an eyebrow. "In the forest?"

"Oh yes," he said, smiling again. He stepped closer to Kamri and the horse grew agitated. He was only a few feet away now, standing in a beam of moonlight. It was then that Aryo couldn't help but notice that the man was very hairy for someone as young as he was. "I like nights like tonight," the man said, smiling up at Barin. "Don't you?"

But Barin didn't get a chance to answer. In a flash, the man leaped at him, but it no longer a young man that tackled him off Kamri. It was a wolf. In a flurry of fur and metal, the two wrestled on the ground. Barin was fighting hard, but the werewolf was strong and had long, hairy limbs and was getting the better of the fight. Aryo jumped to the ground and rushed at the creature, dagger in hand.

But there was no need. With a roar, an enormous black shape pounced from among the trees, tackling the werewolf to the ground beneath a massive paw. Barin was free.

"It's a fang-tooth!" he called to Aryo. "Get the horse!"

Now it was the werewolf who looked weak and lanky beneath the rippling body of the well-muscled wildcat. Barin didn't wait around to find out who won the fight. Rather, he was on his feet in an instant, rushing Aryo back to where Kamri ran up to meet them. They could hear the snarls and growls of the fight as he and Barin plunged onward.

"Didn't want to get caught by that fang-tooth once he finished off that poor lad," Barin said from behind. "Nasty creatures, the lot of them!"

After several hours of hard riding, Aryo grew worried that poor Kamri was wearing out and wouldn't make it all the way back to Denzilli. The animal was wet with foam and panting loudly as it plodded along, galloping at a fraction of its original speed.

"Come on, girl!" Aryo called to her, patting her huge neck as it jerked back and forth with every stride. He could feel her weakening. She would not last long.

Behind him, the sun was rising over the mountains. As if held at bay by the magical darkness of the forest, the sun's rays did not brighten the forest completely, but only gave it a faint, dusty glow. Nevertheless, that glow changed everything.

With it came the Sprites.

Floating, flying, and dancing in mid-air, the tiny fairies kept pace with Kamri, smiling at the little boy and the old man who ran so quickly through their forest.

They flitted up to Kamri and her riders, conversing in their high-pitched tongue. They were deciding something. Suspicious of them, Aryo was tempted to bat them away, but Barin leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Wood Sprites! Fairies. So there is some good in this forest yet!"

Aryo watched wide eyed as the little fairies hovered at one side of Kamri's neck. Together, they reached down and laid their hands on the horse's neck, a faint gold light emanating from them as they did so. All of a sudden, Aryo felt Kamri speed up. Her stride was strong again and her breathing normal.

"Haha!" Barin cried out as the wind blew through his hair. Kamri was running faster than she'd ever run before and he knew it.

"Did they just—" Aryo started.

"The old gal's got fairy energy in her now!" Barin said, laughing. "Look at her go! We'll be back to Denzilli in no time!"

Aryo watched the fairies—now finished with their task—float away from Kamri with a little less flair and excitement as they'd had when they first approached. They'd lost some energy.

"Will they be alright?" Aryo asked Barin.

"Aye," the old man said confidently. "They get their energy from the trees. It won't be long before they're back to their spunky selves, don't you worry."

"Still some good," Aryo thought to himself as he waved goodbye to the Sprites who were disappearing into the trees. "Even in a place like this. Allies in the darkest of places."