Terry Brooks - Bloodfire Quest

Redden sat all the way up, eyes locked on the creature and its pet lizard. The creature didn’t appear threatening, and a quick look around revealed that it was alone. Redden didn’t miss the curved, serrated blades it carried—two shoved in a leather belt at its waist and a third, much longer knife slung over one shoulder on a strap—but it showed no interest in using either.

“Mistress,” Redden called softly to the Ard Rhys.

She came awake at once, pulling off her blanket and sitting up, her eyes looking where he was pointing. She took a moment to count heads, obviously noting the absence of Pleysia, and then she moved over to sit next to him.

The creature said something to them, but it was in a language the boy didn’t recognize. She shook her head at it, and the creature’s smile broadened.

“You are not Jarka Ruus?” it asked her in broken Elfish. “You are not of the free peoples, the ca’rel orren pu’u ?”

Jarka Ruus. The name given to those imprisoned by the Forbidding. She shook her head. “No.”

“Then you don’t belong here. Why are you come?”

“We came by mistake. Through the wall of the Forbidding. What are you?”

The creature shrugged. “An Ulk Bog. What do you think I am?” The sharp eyes brightened. “Do you know of us?”

Khyber Elessedil nodded slowly. “I knew of another Ulk Bog. One from a long time ago. His name was Weka Dart.”

“Ha!” The creature clapped its hands in glee. “At last! You are the one I have been waiting for.”

“No, I don’t …”

“For very long. For years. I wait for so long!” The Ulk Bog talked right over her. “All through years after my uncle passes to other side, long since. I have wait and wait. Now you return, finally! You! I know of you! Your story, your name, your history, I know all!” He released a deep, explosive breath. “You are Straken Queen !”

For long seconds, there was a shocked silence. Then Khyber Elessedil held up her hands in a gesture or denial. “Wait. Your uncle was Weka Dart?”

The Ulk Bog danced to its feet, quick and lively. “Yes, yes! Do you remember him?”

“Only from the stories I was told. I am not the one who came here before. I am not the one your uncle knew. That was a different woman, one who served as Ard Rhys before me. Not a Straken or a Straken Queen, but an Ard Rhys . We are not witches. We are Druids. This other woman, the one your uncle knew. Her name was Grianne Ohmsford?”

“That was her name!” The Ulk Bog darted closer, crouched, and cocked its head. “Why do you say it isn’t you?”

The Trolls were awake now, standing behind Khyber and Redden and staring at this strange creature. Since they didn’t speak much Elfish, they had no idea what was going on.

“Grianne Ohmsford is gone. I am her successor. I have never been inside the Forbidding before now. I have never met Weka Dart.”

The Ulk Bog looked unconvinced. “You are described to me. It must be you! You have Straken magic. You know of Weka Dart. Of the Jarka Ruus. Why do you lie?”

“No, she isn’t Grianne Ohmsford,” Redden interjected impulsively. “I would know. Grianne Ohmsford was my great-grandfather’s sister. We are family. This isn’t her.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Redden Ohmsford knew he had made a mistake. The look that flashed across the Ulk Bog’s face was of anger as black as demon’s blood. It appeared and was instantly gone again. The boy saw it—or maybe he just thought he saw it because he felt it so strongly—reflected in the creature’s eyes and in a twisting of its features.

“Who are you?” the Ulk Bog asked, the words a soft hiss. “What is your name?”

“Redden Ohmsford.”

“Ohmsford. Of the family of the Straken Queen?”

“Of the …” He stopped himself, angered he was suddenly feeling so intimidated. “Who are you?”

The creature smiled, revealing all its teeth. “Tesla Dart is my name.” The smile vanished. “What are you doing in the land of Jarka Ruus?”

“Trying to get out!” Redden snapped.

“Trying to find two of our friends,” the Ard Rhys corrected, putting a warning hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We are here by accident. I told you before. We came through a breach in the wall we didn’t know was there, and it closed behind us. Now we are trapped.”

The Ulk Bog scooted back a few feet, his eyes darting left and right. “I think you lie. There are no others. Only the woman who left during the night.”

Pleysia. “Did you see which way she went?” the Ard Rhys asked.

Tesla Dart pointed south. Of course, Redden thought. Still searching for Oriantha. Going it alone.

“How long have you been tracking us?” the Ard Rhys pressed.

The Ulk Bog looked angry. It yanked on a patch of black hair in irritation. “Why do you ask stupid questions? I don’t track you. I don’t have to. My Chzyks do so for me. This one”—he gestured to the lizard—“is called Lada. He tracks you. He was there last night when you fought the Mantis Styx.” He gestured at Redden. “This one saw him.”

The boy glanced at the Ard Rhys. “He’s right. I did see him. Right after we were attacked. I forgot about it until I woke just now and found him poking at me.”

Tesla Dart nodded. “He watches you fight. Sees you and comes to tell me of it. Brings me here so we can talk.” He scrunched up his face. “But you are not who I thought? You are sure?”

“You’ve never seen Grianne Ohmsford, have you?”

“No. But I hear the stories. From Weka Dart. He tells me. You have magic like hers. You can do what she could. You are a Straken. Perhaps a Straken Queen, even if you say you are not. Lada knows this. So he tells me.”

“Wait,” Redden said, jumping in. “You can speak with Lada? But how did Lada find us? How did he even know we were here?”

Tesla Dart looked confused. “The Chzyks are a community. The community shares. One knows, all know.”

“And communicate with you,” the Ard Rhys surmised. “How many Chzyks are there?”

“Many. Everywhere. One saw you come through the wall and told me. Lada went to find you and told me. I am looking for you a long time, but now you are not the right one.”

“You were looking for Grianne Ohmsford? How long were you looking?”

Tesla Dart’s wizened face turned away in disgust. “Forever.”

“Why would you do that?”

The Ulk Bog jumped to his feet and danced away. “I can help you, if you want. Like Weka, I track. Nothing escapes once I begin to search. You want to find your friends? Missing friends? Ask me!”

His dark face was bright and animated; he appeared eager to demonstrate his worth. He hissed at Lada, and the Chzyk raced over, leapt onto his arm, and scurried up to his shoulder. Together Ulk Bog and Chzyk waited for a response.

Khyber Elessedil hesitated. “You can find them for us?”

“Ha!” the Ulk Bog shrilled, dropping once more into a crouch. “Tesla Dart can find anything! Lada!”

He made a series of hissing sounds to the lizard creature, and Lada responded in kind. Then the Chzyk flashed away, tearing out across the flats south and disappearing from view.

“You see? Lada goes to find them. When he does, he will return to tell me. We can start walking now.”

He turned and began to follow the Chzyk, not bothering to look back at them. Redden and the Ard Rhys exchanged a look, and then Khyber called after the Ulk Bog to wait long enough to let them gather up their things. She spoke to her Druid Guard, who hastened to do as she asked. It took the members of the little company only minutes before they were ready.

But then Tesla Dart returned to them, leached of animation and excitement, suddenly serious. “What we do is very dangerous,” he said quietly. “In the land of the Jarka Ruus, you are trespassers and not welcome. You understand, do you?”