Chương 635: On the Hunt
While the others had wandered in one direction to find the sword, Renat had gone off on a slightly different trail. He knew it was his fault that they had landed in trouble, and he was determined to make things right one way or another.
So he had decided to sweep a different spot of broken earth when something caught his eye. Among all the brown, specks of crimson dotted the bark of a tree. While not fresh, it was undeniably blood.
Hoping it was not another trap in the land of magic, Renat had gone to examine the strange sight.
His eyes opened wide.
His legs could not carry him fast enough to retrieve the others in his group.
"Look at this!" he pointed frantically at the tree.
The bark of the ancient oak was cut and marred. At first, Renat thought the gashes might be sword strikes, but the parallel nature of many of the cuts made him realize they were claws instead.
That was not the most interesting thing. At the base of the tree, a knife was stabbed into the trunk, abandoned by its owner. The blade and angle of the cut meant that whoever had made it was traveling upward before releasing the weapon.
Nath pulled out the knife with a somber expression. "If there was ever any doubt if Uri was here. It's gone now. I gave him this."
Mairwen frowned. "I did not realize you were so close to the elf we are looking for."
"He is like a brother to me." Nath took a deep breath. "Our mothers had us within a day of one another and we have been close ever since. I should have gone to see the Fates, not him. This is my fault."
Nath hung his head.
"You cannot blame yourself for the griffins taking Uri," Alaron had taken his own share of self-blame for things. It wasn't healthy.
"He doesn't," Lilith bent down by where the chaos had occurred, "because the griffins didn't take him."
She brushed away a bit of snowy dirt at the base of the tree. There in the heart of the chaos was a feather.
It was slender, not like the wide, proud feathers of the eagle-like griffin. Mixed into the white plumage were strands of gold.
The humans all looked at it with curiosity.
"I've never seen anything quite like that," Mairwen felt a small sense of awe.
Lilith, on the other hand, took a deep breath and sighed, "I have."
"What kind of creature has such thin feathers, but can attack an elf?" Eira was disturbed by the prospect of yet another flying creature.
"A harpy," Nath answered for his sister. "The winged women are dangerous to elves under normal circumstances. I hate to think how vicious they can be without their magic."
Harpy? Mairwen searched her mind for an image and any information that might help her. "Don't they get rid of things that they think will harm the land of magic? If I remember correctly, they attacked Gela because he did not belong."
The princess had only heard that part of the story in passing, but the information had stuck with her. Gela had come over the ice barrier to escape Taran's men only to be attacked and chased back from whence he came.
"They get rid of things that don't belong. That is true," Lilith's face was tense.
"I understand why they would want to chase off a hulking Abomination, but why harm an elf? You live here." Alaron pulled at his chin. Something didn't feel right about the Harpy's actions.
"That's a great question." Nath seemed to be in a similar state of perplexity. "They don't eat the flesh of creatures, unless that, too has changed."
"There is only one way to find out what happened. That is to track down the harpies." Lilith realized as soon as she said it that it put the people in a bind.
The elves had come on the journey with two purposes. They were to accompany the humans and to look for signs of the missing scout.
If the princess and Guardian decided to help find the harpies, then they would upset the Fate who they had also promised to help. But if they made the choice to continue northward, then the elves would be forced to choose between their two duties.
Alaron and Mairwen exchanged a glance. They, too, had come to this conclusion. Their silent conversation went on for half a minute before the princess sighed. "I'll talk to Hanna."
"Talk to me about what?" The Fate appeared through the trees so suddenly that Alaron almost believed her magic had returned to her.
But he was mistaken. Behind her, the rest of the soldiers trudged along, walking instead of riding to have a lower profile.
"Are you just lollygagging about while there is work to do?" Hanna asked.
She cocked her head to one side as she saw the broken ground beyond the tree and the shattered bark of the trunk itself.
"Harpies and griffins? You've been busy," the Fate nodded slowly.
"You got all that from the ground?" Renat was impressed.
"I've been around a year or two." Hanna flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "Griffins will bury their prey if they cannot capture it, and that feather is rather distinctive."
"We did not actually see the Harpies, but we think Uri was taken by them." Maiwen motioned to the knife in Nath's hands.
"I see," Hanna's colorless irises swirled. "And you want to leave the Fates even longer while you track down the missing scout."
The princess felt a pang of guilt. Was it right to potentially leave all of the Fates in danger just to rescue a single elf?
But her heart could not willingly abandon Uri either.
"I propose a middle ground," Mairwen said at last. "The six of us will look for one day for Uri. If we do not find him, we shall return and hurry north to catch up with the rest of you. The soldiers will be able to continue to march toward the Spires. Since our small party can travel faster than all of us collectively, we should not lose any time."
"You are neglecting the fact that you are the entire scouting party," Hanna narrowed her gaze.
"It is either that or we all look for Uri for a day and then continue onward. I also do not like feeling like we are within reach of finding the elf and not acting on it." Alaron stood beside his sister with his arms crossed.
Hanna looked at both of the humans. They had come a long way from the children she had helped bring into the world. They had their own minds and goals, and the Fate could either work with them or against them.
"Very well. I will lead the soldiers in your absence. But do not be gone more than a day. I am very anxious to see my kin."
"Understood." Alaron bowed before Hanna. He turned to his sister. "I'll find the horses. Assuming they are still there."
"Our unicorns would have protected them," Lilith answered. "Just call their names and all should come."
Alaron nodded and headed through the trees.
"Thank you." Nath was unsure what else to say.
"It is only a day," Mairwen reminded him. "If we don't find him, Alaron, Eira, Renat and I will have to leave you behind."
"A day is enough," Nath nodded, "I am sure of it."
As promised, the horses and unicorns were found together. Retrieving them, Alaron returned and the two groups parted ways. It was a very dangerous proposition to split up.
Foolish, because it meant dividing vital resources and manpower. But none of them could find a better way.
"We will see you soon, Hanna," Mairwen said tenderly from aboard her steed.
"You better!" the Fated huffed in response. Then her face softened. "Be safe, Dearies."
The six looked at one another, trying to decide who should lead. "Which way do you want to go?" Lilith asked her brother. Harpies' strongholds could move, and Lilith knew of no colony in their immediate vicinity.
It ended up being Renat who answered. "I think we should go either this way or that?"
The others eyed him quizzically. The directions were polar opposites.
"Is this some strange human joke I don't understand?" Nath asked.
"No. I have a theory that the compass and knife were not left behind by accident. In the human army, if you know you are about to be captured, you leave a trail so others can find you. If we can find another object or marking, we should be able to get a trajectory.
No one else had any ideas, so the group decided to act on Renat's suggestion. Carefully avoiding the griffon's nest, the group went elf-hunting.
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