Merely moments had passed before an elven lady came running
out of the trees to greet Shade while the rest of the party looked around in
confusion. She gripped him tightly in a loving embrace, “Thank the stars you
got the message!” She said swiftly.
“The raven is tied to my blood.” Shade reminded her, “It can
ALWAYS find me.”
She let go of him and gripped his shoulders looking into his
eyes with care, “It’s good to see you again Shade.”
He smiled for only a second, “Indeed, but you know how I feel
about this place…how dire is he?”
Her gleeful attitude shifted to darker tones. She sighed
heavily and shook her head, “We needed to call you, what do you think?”
“Tell me the story of his affliction.”
She looked over the party who had followed him, “Who’re
they?” She asked licking her lips.
Shade nodded at her, “They’re friends of mine. It’s safe.”
She eyed them suspiciously before quickly turning on her
heel, “I’ll believe you, but mother will decide that. Follow me and I’ll tell
you what’s transpired.”
Shade quickly walked after her using his head to signal for
the others to come with, “So?”
“Faris came home one day after hunting like normal.” She
started to tell him, “Learned this part later, but while hunting he
accidentally inhaled some powder from an artificial plant that has since been carefully
removed.” She paused for a moment, “I don’t know how better to describe this
so…” She opened up a door that was carved into the side of a large tree trunk
and quickly stepped down into the small passageway. “It’s exactly like that one
time…when you…” She let the sentence fade away knowing Shade would follow she
meant.
Shade froze for half of a second before quickly taking off
after her at a quicker pace than before, “What?!” He said in shock, “Why didn’t
you contact me sooner?”