Shadows of the Lithilium

The morning brings less pain than the last time I awoke, but that's little comfort since I am still exhausted. The splinter and knife wounds on my arms are healed, but my shoulder is still quite painful and my arms and face itch like there are ants crawling all over them, the result of the healing flesh. All of that, together with my nightmares, meant that I got very little sleep and I am not excited to have to do more walking today.

The cool white light of dawn casts its frosty glow over everything as I push myself on to my knees with my one good arm before rising to my full height. Arath and Tealith still seem to be asleep as I quietly step over the ashes of last nights fire and walk into the woods. I don't really have a destination in mind, I just need to get by myself for a little bit. The last several weeks have happened so fast, and changed so much of my life, that I need to get away from anyone else and enjoy the peace of being among nature.

The thought that I could just leave it all behind did cross my mind, but only for a second. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I had broken a promise like that. Integrity has always been important to me, and I think that was one of the reasons dealing with Bloquan was such a struggle. Bloquan is totally without integrity. He would say or do anything if he thought it would help him achieve his ends.

I find a grassy clearing and sit down cross legged in the shadow of one of the great elm trees surrounding it. I close my eyes and let the sound of the waking forest surround me. I hear the birds singing their good mornings, the insects bidding each other farewell, and the softer sounds of the other animals as they change shifts; the night workers giving way to the day. One of the few benefits I have noticed from being a Lithilium is my enhanced senses. I had always loved the sounds of nature, but with my increased hearing those noises have taken on a new depth.

In the midst of my listening I begin to notice a sound that seems out of place among the natural cacophony of the forest. It takes me a few moments to recognize the sound as human breathing, and several more seconds to locate the source of the breathing. I am reasonably confident that the person I can hear is a man, based on the timbre and quality of the breathing, and as best I can tell he is standing several feet behind me. I'm not sure how he managed to get so close to me without being heard. I carefully maneuver my hands into position on the hilts of the knives in my belt before quickly launching to my feet, stepping to my right around the tree trunk and turning to face the unknown person behind me as I do so.

I'm both surprised and relieved when I see that it's only Arath stumbling backward in evident shock at the speed of my movements. I relax and walk toward him as I tuck my knives back into their concealed sheathes in the folds of my belt. "How long have you been following me?" I ask when I get closer to him.

"Since you got up." His tone is defiant, and a little defensive.

"Wanted to make sure I didn't wander off huh?" I ask sardonically. "What would you have done if I did make a break for it?"

Arath shrugged one shoulder, doing his best to act casual but I can smell his sweat and I know that he's still afraid of what I might do to him. Inspite, or perhaps because, of Tealith's faith in me he obviously didn't trust me.

"I'm just glad we didn't have to find out," he says with a false joviality that is almost painful to listen to.

I sigh softly, "Look, I know you don't trust me yet and that's okay. I haven't given you much reason to trust me, and I'm not going to ask you to do so on blind faith in my word alone. But I will promise you that I'm not going to abandon you. I'm stuck with you and Tealith until this is all over, one way or another. "

Arath opens his mouth quickly, and I can tell he wants to deny the truth of what I've just said, but then his shoulders slump and he nods slightly.

"You're right. I'm sorry, but I've fought against the Lithilium for pretty much my whole life, and right now it's hard to believe that you haven't used some sort of a spell or charm to make Tealith believe your every word," he says instead.

I nod, trying to look sympathetic, though I'm not sure how well it worked; I hadn't used those muscles in awhile.

"I really do understand, and you have my word that I will not do anything that will harm her. I didn't intend for any of this to happen, and I'm just as tired of this war as Tealith is. I don't owe Bloquan anything, but I owe you and Tealith my life, and that's not a debt I take lightly."

Arath doesn't say anything, and after a few seconds I sigh softly to myself again. "Alright, lets get back to camp before Tealith starts worrying about us."

We walk back to camp in silence. Our interaction this morning has reminded me of why I agreed to help Tealith in the first place, so while it stings my pride that he doesn't trust my word, I'm still grateful that it has happened.

Tealith looks worried as we come into camp from the surrounding trees.

"Is everything alright?" She asks as she hurries over to us.

I don't respond, instead looking over at Arath to see what he will say.

"Everything is fine. We were just surveying the area, making sure that there is no one around," Arath tries to smile, but it looks pained to me and I'm sure that Tealith noticed. She looks back and forth at us again, and then seemingly decides not to pry.

"Alright. Well we had better get moving again now to make sure that we stay ahead of Grodun and his search parties."

Arath and I both nod, and then we all get to work. It only takes a few minutes for us to have everything packed up and then erase as much trace of our presence there as possible. We scatter the ashes of our fire in the forest and spread them out so they will be more difficult to spot. Once we're confident that it will at least take some time for our pursuers to recognize that someone camped here we take one last look around and gather at the edge of the trees.

"So where do we go now?" I ask, picking up where I left off last night, wondering if anyone has any ideas yet.

Tealith looks at Arath, who shrugs.

"What we need to do is find a way to stop the Lithilium, so the best thing to do is probably to try and find out as much about them as possible. Maybe there is a way to negate all of the strength and endurance advantages they have," she says as she looks back at me.

I have my doubts about that, but it is the best plan I can think of so I don't argue, instead I ask, "Where should we start?"

"I was thinking we could start in Frengton," Tealith responds.

Arath sucks his breath in sharply at the name of the town, and I wonder why he would be so affected by the name. I had been to Frengton once or twice since Bloquan began systematically subduing the humans, and I hadn't seen much to impress me.

"Why there?" Arath does is best to keep his voice even as he asks the question, but I can tell it's a struggle.

"Because, it's one of the oldest towns I know of, and certainly the only one I can think of that has a library of records that goes back more than a couple of years," Her tone softens as she continues, "I know how you feel about it, but you're not the person you were then."

Arath's eyes quickly dart to my face and then away, before he nods. "Of course Lady Tealith, you know I will follow you where ever you ask me to."

"Thank you Arath," Tealith says as she touches his shoulder lightly.

I don't want to interrupt them, but the sun is rising higher in the sky and I know that we need to get moving if we want to make any progress today so I say, "Alright then, I guess that's settled. Which way is Frengton from here?"

Tealith points in the direction and I nod, "Let's get going then!"

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The next few days pass uneventfully in a blur of walking and seeking to hide all signs of our passage. We cover a lot of ground, and I'm pleased with the progress that my wound makes in the course of our travels. I wish that I could say the same about my relationship with Arath and Tealith, but that is another story.

The closer we get to Frengton the quieter Tealith becomes, and the more closed off and reserved Arath seems. When Frengton actually becomes visible on the horizon I decide it's time for me to know what we're going to be getting into when we enter the city.

"We need to talk," I say to them when we stop to camp for the night.

Arath won't look at me as he begins to get a fire together. Tealith sighs as she slumps her pack off of her shoulder and drops it on the ground.

"You're right," she says, "You need to know."

We finish getting our camp put together for the night and then Tealith and I sit down together by the fire. Arath sits across from us, far enough away that he doesn't have to be involved in the story, but close enough that he can still keep an eye on what is going on.

Tealith takes a deep breath and lets it out before beginning. "Frengton is where Arath and I met. Things were different for both of us back then. I was just barely beginning to get involved in the resistance against the Lithilium, and Arath, well it was a much darker time in his life. . ."