The Acolyte's Map - Story, Deleted Scene

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Deleted Scene
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4,
Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10)

(Months after posting this story, I recalled that I had written a scene somewhere in the middle that didn't fit with the flow of the rest, so it was removed. After talking to my writing-partner-in-crime, she told me I should share it. This isn't particularly polished and it's downright sappy probably why I dropped it early on, but when your elfsister asks for something, you give it to her. Unless you happen to like brooding, love-sick half-elves, feel free to ignore this. ;) ~Meri)


Raff was on watch or, rather, staring off into the distance with a hand wrapped around the jade pendant that hung from his neck and watching nothing but his thoughts, when he felt someone sit down on the log next to him. Too close next to him, as he scooted away with a half-hearted glare. Apparently not deterred by the stare, Charity moved a bit closer and asked, "What's bothering you?"

Can't she see I want to be alone? Raff moved away again. "How do ye know something's bothering me?"

"Because you've been staring at that same spot for twenty minutes; at least we know nothing is going to attack from that direction," she replied with a mischievous grin, "And you won't let go of that necklace so whatever is bothering you must have something to do with that. I'm not blind."

He looked down at his hand as if just noticing that he'd been holding it and let go, trying to hide his embarrassment with a shrug. "I'm just worried is all."

"'Worried' seems to be an understatement. Is there anything I can do to help?" the woman asked in a soft voice. Is she flirting? Normally Raff wouldn't mind some amusing and harmless flirtation, but he was far too preoccupied to be anything but irked at this.

"Unless you know how t'tell if someone far away is safe, then likely that's a no," he answered, trying to keep his voice just on the chilly side of calm. Yes, she was bothering him, but she also didn't deserve outright rudeness. Yet.

Still not getting the hint, or at least blatantly ignoring the hint, she continued prying. "Ah, that would be the girl who gave you the necklace?"

He silently cursed the inquisitiveness of his clerical brethren, but knew full well that he'd annoyed enough people the same way. He sighed, knowing that she wouldn't leave him alone until she got the truth out of him, but he couldn't help being a little sarcastic in his answer, "You're half right. Aye, I'm worried that something may have happened to her."

Inquisitive though she might be, Charity wasn't stupid. She caught that change in tone and Raff was pleased to see her quickly drop the flirtation act. Probably thinks that would be futile, which isn't strictly true, but I'll let her keep believing that. "He's another Messenger, isn't he? And since you mentioned that he's far away, you probably haven't heard from him in a while?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Raff blinked, both startled and impressed; he knew by now that Charity was quite intelligent, but she was even sharper than he'd have given her credit for if she could jump straight to that conclusion without missing a beat. "How'd you know that?"

"Like I said, I'm not blind. Whenever something about this quest and the attacks are mentioned, you get really quiet and grab that necklace."

"I didn't realize I was being so obvious." Raff had always prided himself on his acting ability and now it seemed to have failed him at a time that he really needed it.

"I doubt anyone else noticed. Everyone's rather preoccupied," she reassured him. "I only noticed because I was... um..."

She looked embarrassed, so Raff just shook his head, knowing the reason. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know." Changing the subject, he continued, "But aye, I am very worried; normally he sends me a letter every fortnight or so but I haven't gotten one in almost three months. I know letters can take a while t'catch up to us when we're on assignments, but it shouldn't be that long."

"Maybe his were stolen?" That had also occurred to Raff, but hadn't cheered him up any then, either.

"That's what I'm wondering. The thought of some sick thief reading it isn't a good one, but it's better than what has me so frightened. What if he was attacked by that same thug who went after me? Last I knew he was over on the coast, but that was months ago and without a letter I don't have a clue where he is."

The woman thought for a while before saying anything else. "Do you think you'd know if something happened to him?"

"I don't know. Possibly. I hope I would." With a wry smile he added, "Although now I know why we're not really supposed to become close to anyone; in a situation like this it becomes a burden." The woman saw his smile grow softer as he went on as if just talking to himself, "But I'd never swap that burden for being in a position where I didn't have someone t'worry about..."

He'd spent much of his life worrying that his boyfriend would get himself into some horrible trouble, so this was nothing new; yes, he wasn't completely innocuous and was actually far better than Raff at magic and let's face it, far smarter, Raff's thoughts chimed in to his vexation, but what good was magic if you were already run through with a sword or eaten by a dragon? Possibly you could still cast a spell while inside a dragon, but it wasn't something Raff had ever wanted to test in order to allay that particular fear. Yet all that worry was somehow worth it. Love really does make for a complete lack of sense, but as mine has pointed out numerous times, I'm already good at senseless. What's one more personality quirk when I already pride myself on possessing an assortment of them? He grinned to himself, not caring if Charity saw.

She noticed, but was just glad to see that he'd gotten himself out of his funk. "Ready to finish watch now? We don't want any orcs swarming camp, right?" she asked with a smile.

Raff stood up and dusted his robe off. "You know as well as I do that there aren't any orcs left in this part of the world." He returned the smile and gave her a hand to help her up. "Next time say kobolds or goblins. Nice try, though."

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 10

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 10
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,
Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9)

It turned out that Raff's fear was relatively unfounded, or possibly a well-armed and rather feral-looking elf at his side kept Charity from reacting too badly. She was frustrated at the news, of course (Raff got the feeling that she was thinking "Great, I'm still stuck with these fools?"), but the group now had plenty of time on their hands to sort out another plan while Jonathan recovered from his shock. They really didn't want to move on until he'd finished frothing at the mouth and staring vacantly into space, which, horrible as it sounds, Raff was willing to admit was an improvement on the boy's previous personality.

After much debate between the four Messengers and the wood elf which consisted largely of:
"Melt it with fire?" - "Couldn't find one hot enough. That's why we looked for a dragon in the first place."
"Bury it?" - "It would eventually get dug up by an animal or a treasure-seeker."
"Keep it at a Messenger's mosque?" - "Be realistic; everyone would be far too curious for it to be secure."
"Have Raff carry it around?" - "Very funny, guys. It's evil and weighs about fifty pounds."
and "Find another dragon?" with a much-echoed "No!", Mina finally hit on "Could we toss it into the sea? It would be least likely to get picked up there, right?"

Unable to find a better rejection than "Maybe someday a sentient sea creature may find it", the general consensus was that this would be the best course of action, especially since they were only a few days' journey from the southern coast.

The trip to the coast was uneventful; perhaps the lingering aroma of evergreen-scented dragon snot was enough to keep any possible danger at bay. Even Jonathan remained quiet in his recovery; he was less moody and demanding, but still frequently stared off into space. From that expression on his face and the strange questions he asked about recent events, the others had come to the conclusion that he was trying to piece together what had been happening to him for the past year or two, as though his experience was now a jumbled jigsaw puzzle and he was still short about half of the pieces. He was especially surprised to find all those undelivered letters and scrolls in his backpack, but after some prompting, coaxing, and a bit of compelling magic from the others, was able to deliver one as they traveled past its intended destination without appearing particularly attached to it.

What surprised everyone the most, however, was that he seemed completely oblivious of the fact that the large stone of amber that Raff now lugged around was the cause of his fractured memory, which, as the miles dragged on and the stone seemed to be gaining weight, bothered the half-elf considerably.

I'm entrusted with your problem- your rather heavy problem- and I don't even get a 'thank you'? Raff grumbled to himself, glaring tiredly at the youth. He realized that his burden being ignored was likely a good thing in this situation, but a little recognition of his valiant effort would have been gratifying.

"'Valiant effort'?" Raff heard the dog send mentally; obviously it was able to tell the direction of his thoughts, which would have bothered the half-elf had he not been too exhausted to fret. "You have a ball. You should be glad to carry a ball."

And here I was thinking that having a dog would be easier than talking to a mouse. Are food and play all animals think about? Raff thought. He paused to blow a loose strand of hair out of his face before answering, "It's far heavier than a ball, ye know. If you want to play, go bother Mina's dog."

"She's boring. Doesn't really talk and just wants to be carried by her human," the dog sniffed disdainfully before adding, "May as well be a cat."

The half-elf snickered but didn't have a chance to reply further as they'd finally reached their destination. Everyone, minus Mina's dog which had curled itself up on a sunny rock to nap, and Caledhrad, who looked terrified, inched their way over to the edge of the cliff to stare down. Even Raff's mouse glanced down before squeaking and returning to the cleric's pocket.

"No rocks. Good. That means the amber shouldn't smash when it hits the surface," Charity observed.

"Amber sinks, right?" Tomas asked. When the others stared at him, he blushed and said, "Hey, just wanted to check. The last thing we'd need would be an evil buoy."

"Yes, it will sink," Mina assured him, but then negated that answer by adding, "Although it may possibly act differently than we expect because the artifact was magical and the stone was made by something magical, but it shouldn't come back to the surface."

"Aye, that statement was reassuring," Raff commented sarcastically. When the younger cleric frowned at him, he sighed. "Sorry, Mina; I didn't mean t'be snippy. I'm just tired of carrying this thing around. Can I still toss it in?"

His question was met by shrugs but no one seemed inclined to want to stop him. "Okay. If something disastrous happens, I'm denying all responsibility in advance. I'm just the messenger. No pun intended."

Taking the last step forward, Raff held the amber out over the cliff... and was startled to find that he hadn't let go. He stared at his hands in confusion; he wanted to drop this. He wanted this frustrating quest to be over so he could go home. He certainly didn't want this heavy, horrible piece of resin. So why was it still in his hands?

"Raff, what's wrong?" He hadn't even noticed Mina walk up next to him as he tried to convince his hands to open.

"I can't … drop it," Raff explained through gritted teeth, mentally fighting with his body. "Did the dragon do something?"

The half-elf sensed someone else approach on his left and glanced over to see Caledhrad, who still looked extremely pale under his green tattoos and who was pointedly not looking towards the sea. Distracted though he was, Raff knew enough about elves to realize that this wasn't a fear of heights- a wood elf afraid of heights would be nigh-useless- but likely an intense fear of water.

The wood elf took a deep breath and stared down at the object in Raff's hands. "Kerethiana may have done something to it, but I'm not sure if it was on purpose," he said quietly in elvish, his voice quivering, "Amber dragons have the ability to bespell metal to make it magnetic to whoever holds it. This could be reacting with the magic of the items encased in the resin- particularly that metal scroll case."

This impressed Raff even as he continued to try to dislodge the amber; this wasn't Caledhrad's quest, but the wood elf was braving what must be his biggest fear to help out people he barely knew. From what Raff knew about that breed of elf, this was a strange fact.

"But Raff's hands aren't metal," Mina pointed out in the same language, "Why would it stick to him?"

The wood elf shook his head. "That does not matter. It's magic- the state of the bearer is irrelevant."

"So how do I get that magic to go away?" Raff asked. Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't resist joking, "As much as I love this wonderful piece of dragon excretion being stuck to my hands, it'll surely be a crimp on my social life."

Mina grinned. "You're so worried about this that you've forgotten that we're magical. Hold still."

The young woman placed a hand over Raff's and began chanting, her attention focused on the golden orb. When nothing happened for a few moments, Raff began to fear that her spell would not work. Finally, though, the feeling gradually returned to his hands, but before he could try dropping it again, the stone was snatched out of his grip. He looked up to see that Jonathan had nudged Caledhrad out of the way and was now holding the large piece of amber.

"Oh no..." Mina muttered, then said, "Jonathan, give that back to Raff."

"Why?" the teenager asked, sounding genuinely curious. "He was just standing there. We're supposed to toss this, right?"

"Yes, but-" Charity began as she tried to tug the youth back to where they'd been standing.

"If he won't, I will." Giving a shrug, he lobbed the heavy objected into the ocean. The others leaned over to see what happened; sure enough, it did sink with only a splash and a few lingering bubbles, as Mina had predicted.

"Well, that was anticlimactic. No smoke? No fireworks? No angry dragons swooping down to grab it?" Charity commented.

As one, the humans- and elf-kind- looked up at the sky to find it empty except for a few clouds and Raff's bird. "I guess we really did it," Tomas said, relief evident in his voice.

Unseen by the distracted companions and only noticed by the brown mutt, the sea bubbled again where the amber had been dropped; if dogs could see color, perhaps it would have noticed another change, as well- but perhaps not. "Bubbles where the ball fell," it informed Raff.

The half-elf waved a hand dismissively then reached down to scratch the dog behind the ears. "Aye, bubbles happen when something sinks. Stop worrying about that ball. I'll get ye a non-evil one, okay?"

The distraction of ear scratches and a new toy pulled away the only creature paying attention. The dog trotted off happily as the map began its long trip to the sea floor. With the evil power sunk and its pawn being given the chance to atone for his misdeeds, the alignment balance began to shift back towards center. Mischievous Good may not be Evil's most powerful enemy, but sometimes it has enough weight to shift the seesaw.

The End



((I know the ending is rather abrupt, but since that artifact will likely make another appearance, had to go for vague. ;) I'll be writing more about Raff at some point- I like him too much to stop! But right now I'm starting to work on Meren's story, so my focus is on mages, wood elves and centaurs, not mischievous clerics.))

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 9

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 9
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,
Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 10)

The dog returned a few moments later, dragging a reluctant Tomas forward by the hem of his robe. When Kerethiana greeted the man with a sniff to his chest, the reluctance turned to fear as his face went ashen, but he didn't faint as Raff had feared his friend might. When the dragon made no hostile move, Tomas' color returned and he looked over at Raff quizzically. "She likes your amber," the half-elf quietly explained.

Looking down, Tomas seemed to finally take notice of the draconic-caused stickiness now staining his robe and Raff had to chuckle at his grimace of revulsion. "Congrats. You've been slimed, too," the shorter cleric whispered with a grin, hoping that if Tomas was thinking about the disgusting dragon snot, he would forget about being frightened.

When the dragon moved her head back to glance between the two Messengers, Raff caught on to what she wanted before the wood elf could translate. "Tom, pull out the map so we can explain what we need done," the half-elf instructed.

As the younger priest obeyed, his hands not shaking too much as he pulled out the metal scroll case containing the horrible artifact, Raff tried to explain the situation to the wood elf. "If it's possible, we need her to destroy the parchment that's inside the case. Does she have a way to set it on fire or the like?"

Caledhrad exchanged a few words with the dragon, then nodded. Switching to Common so that Tomas would understand, he answered, "Burning tree sap she says with which she can hit it. Fire it would not be, but melt most of the item she believes it would." He listened to another silent comment from the dragon before adding, "And in thick resin she says the remains encased would be."

After figuring out what the elf was saying through the strange sentence structure, Raff and Tomas nodded. Seeing that they agreed, the dragon began walking away- or, rather, began crashing through the underbrush as she headed in the opposite direction. The wood elf explained before the priests could question this action, "Set the woods on fire she does not want to do. An impervious spot she knows of which lead us to she will."

Raff shrugged and he and Tomas, along with Caledhrad, followed the dragon at a slow enough pace so the others could catch up with them. By the time the clerics had finished explaining what was to happen, Kerethiana had come to a stop. Unsure at first why this clearing was any different than the few others they'd passed in their travel through the forest, Raff noticed that the dragon was now partially obscuring a very large tree stump to the north of the clearing. "I suppose she wants you to place the map on that stump," the half-elf commented with a nod of his head in that direction.

Tomas nodded but looked terrified again. Raff was tempted to take the artifact from his hand and spare what obviously frightened his friend, but knew the others would never allow him to touch the map. Tomas took a deep breath to try to calm himself, then began slowly trudging towards the dragon, glancing behind a few times as if to check that the others were still there. Finally arriving at the stump, he removed the map from the scroll case and dropped both on the stump, bowed to the dragon, then quickly scuttled back to the group.

As they watched the dragon push the items into the center of the stump with a long claw, Mina caught movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hold Jonathan back," she whispered urgently. Charity and Caledhrad, the two standing closest to the once-cleric, grabbed hold of the boy's arms as his fidgeting was about to shift to bolting away. Being helpful for once, Mina's small dog grabbed onto the cuff of his pants.

The teenager glared and struggled to break free as the dragon started to spew forth what Raff could now, after having been coated with dragon-slime, only think of as the world's most awful and disgusting snot ball. The burning, honey-colored liquid doused the map, stump and all, leaving an overpowering scent of pine in an already evergreen-scented location.

The watchers were unable to observe this strange sight for long, however, as Jonathan's sudden shriek caught their attention. Raff glanced over to see that the boy was no longer trying to pull away from the woman and elf holding him in place, but had collapsed to the ground and was twitching slightly.

"I should have realized this would happen," Charity said as she knelt next to the boy, "I forgot he was so tied to that blasted map.... er... literally," she added when she realized the word she had used.

Biting her lip, Mina asked "Is he going to be okay?"

Charity shrugged. "I'd imagine he's feeling like something heavy is being dragged out of his head. He'll be fine when he snaps out of the backlash. Probably. Possibly. We can hope, anyway. He can't possibly end up any worse than he was."

When she caught sight of the expressions on the other Messengers' faces, she frowned. "What? I know you guys are thinking that."

Raff was saved from having to answer in the affirmative by the wood elf grabbing his arm and dragging him slightly away from the others. "Allow them to worry about the lad. Kerethiana says that you should get the map now."

The way the elf had said "you" made Raff think that Caledhrad hadn't grabbed him arbitrarily. "Why me? The others wouldn't even let me carry it."

"She says it's now safe to touch. I think her reasoning is that the map is, in essence, now amber, and you are the one she most trusts with such a stone."

Either she really does like me, or she'd just rather see it in the hands of someone not entirely human, Raff thought to himself. He gave a shrug; the reasoning didn't really matter, as long as they were able to break Jonathan free from the map's spell and somehow eliminate the object.

...but there was the flaw in this plan, which Raff saw as he and the elf walked over to where the dragon was using a great claw to carve the fossilized map out of the huge mass of amber that was once a tree stump and the surrounding grass. The large chunk of resin that Kerethiana held reflected magnificently in the sunlight, but a vague shape of what remained of the map and the still-intact metal scroll case could still be discerned inside- which would likely be a problem, as the half-elf now foresaw.

"So the map is harmless while in stasis, but what do we do with it to keep it that way?" Raff asked, frowning as he was hit with that concern.

The wood elf said something to the dragon then shook his head at Raff upon hearing the silent response. "She says that's not her problem now. You have the amber so you're responsible for its safekeeping" Caledhrad looked rather abashed under his green tattoos as he apologized, "I am sorry. If you wouldn't mind my company, I will join the group to help concoct a solution."

A helpful wood elf. Who would have thought such a thing existed? Raff couldn't help but smile as he replied "Of course; I have a feeling we could use all the help we could get. Tell Kerethiana thank you for her help. It may not be exactly the result we were looking for, but it's certainly a vast improvement."

As the two were walking away, a thought occurred to Raff. "I may need you to do me a favor."

"What would you need?"

"Don't let Charity throttle me when she learns that this solution isn't permanent."

Caledhrad snickered. "And I thought priests were supposed to be kind and gentle; perhaps you really should have been rangers."



The next part of the story can be found here.

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 8

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 8
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,
Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 9)

"When are we going to meet him? We've been walking forever," Jonathan complained as he dragged his feet along.

It's your stupid map, Raff thought, but wisely kept silent as that statement would just irk the boy who wasn't actually in possession of it at the moment. One of the other three had it hidden away, but the half-elf couldn't remember whose turn it was to keep it hidden. Even though he'd offered to help, they were trying to keep it away from him, as well. Sheesh, one lapse in control and you'd think I was the one possessed by it. Raff sighed and simply corrected, "Her."

"What?"

"Her. The dragon's a female. Calling her male pronouns won't exactly endear her to our presence." And you likely would get yourself eaten; maybe you should try it. Raff wasn't feeling quite callous enough to say that last part aloud, but he was getting close to it.

"How do you know that?" Jonathan asked doubtfully, clearly not believing him, although what reason Raff would have for lying about this would have been anyone's guess.

"The elf told us that her name was Kerethiana. If you knew any Elvish, you'd know that was a female name. Even in Common, that's not exactly masculine-sounding." Raff knew he was being petty, but this youth was enough to try the patience of a saint. He almost wished the boy would go back to being evil because Annoying Neutrality didn't seem to be much of an improvement.

"She should be around here somewhere close," Mina commented, her voice quiet.

"How do you know that?" Raff asked incredulously. He was beginning to think that his ranger training had gone rusty because nothing short of a large flashing sign that read "Dragon is here!" would have clued him in to the location of the object of their search.

Still nearly whispering she supplied, "Look at the trees- there's an odd mark there."

Raff looked closely at the evergreen trees surrounding them. Sure enough, there was a strange triangular mark high up in the bark of some of them, which he'd completely failed to notice. Pines, of course. It's always pines that elude me. "How'd you see that? And how do you know it's from a dragon?"

Mina looked bashful. "I read a lot and I find dragons intriguing. If memory serves me right, we're going to be looking for an amber one."

"Hey, don't blush. If you're right, then that's incredibly helpful," Raff told her kindly, then admitted, "I certainly don't know what we're looking for."

As Raff's newly acquired dog gave a low whine, Tomas, who had been leading the group with the silent help of the canine, froze in place. "Umm... something like that, I would bet."

"Like what?" Charity asked, dragging the still reluctant Jonathan with her to join the group, "I don't see anything-"

Then, much like how the wood elf had blended into the forest, the shadow of the trees a few yards ahead of them morphed into a large- and unmistakably dragon-shaped- figure as the dragon moved. Stepping away from the tree from which she had been feeding, Kerethiana moved to stab another one with the large horn atop her head.

"That's an amber dragon, all right," Mina sounded in awe, "although the book didn't give a good idea of the sheer size of one..."

"Yes, she's very large," Charity agreed, quickly stopping what would likely be the scholarly ramblings of an intellectual. "But what do we do to get her attention?"

She looked over at the rest of the party. Jonathan had taken a step back and was shaking his head emphatically while Tomas bit his thumbnail, clearly looking worried. Mina was still staring wide-eyed at the dragon as if trying to memorize what she looked like for an exam and wasn't paying the older woman any attention. Obviously those three weren't going to be any help. Raff shrugged and reasoned silently, Well, I'll just have to hope that being half an elf will help here...

As Raff closed the short distance between the group and the dragon, trying to put enough space between them that his traveling companions wouldn't be hurt should the dragon try to attack him with … fire? Acid? I should have asked Mina what they breathe, not that the knowledge would have helped- anything short of fluffy pillow breath would be lethal, he was pleased to notice that the dog had resumed its place at his side. The dog didn't look frightened, so hopefully that was a good sign; Raff for one was certainly worried.

"Hey, great dragon!" he called, his voice cracking slightly under the strain, then mentally kicked himself. That was not the right way to greet a dragon. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I mean, hail, great Kerethiana. My friends and I ask for your aid with the task we must fulfill. We were sent to you by the wood elf Caledhrad."

The dragon raised her bark-colored head and, dripping tree sap, looked at the half-elf standing nearby with what appeared to be a mixture of disdain (probably at an interrupted lunch) and curiosity. She didn't seem to have a response for Raff, though, so he repeated the same thing, minus the error at the beginning, in Elvish, figuring that would be a better approach for a forest-dwelling dragon.

This time the dragon reacted, but not in the way Raff would have guessed. She cocked her head to the side, clearly confused, and the half-elf heard in his head, "Humans... Elf... Caledhrad... Aid... My..." He'd had no idea how dragons communicated, but having spent the past fifteen or so years talking telepathically to animals, this didn't startle him. What did bother him was the fact that he seemed to be getting only about half of the conversation.

Unconsciously mirroring Kerethiana's head tilt, Raff tried again, this time trying to simplify. "You- great dragon. Us, Messengers. Clerics. We need help to destroy bad thing. Bad thing is very bad." After saying that he thought, I feel ridiculous.

"Priests... aid... bad? Sap... thing?"

Raff was torn between laughing at the asininity of this exchange and pulling his hair in frustration. "Priests need help. Need to get rid of bad thing-" his ramblings were interrupted by the sound of laughter coming from a different direction than where he'd left his companions. Both the cleric and the dragon looked up to see the wood elf Raff had suspected of following the group approaching. The elf bowed to the dragon and said in Raff's language, "My friends are asking for your assistance, great and wise Kerethiana," before switching over to Wood Elvish to say something else that the cleric was unable to follow.

Now I know how Charity feels when I'm talking to the dog, Raff mused while Caledhrad looked shocked, then thoughtful as the dragon was able to successfully communicate with him. The green-tinted elf and the dragon seemed to exchange a few more pieces of dialog before the half-elf was brought back into the conversation. "Take a look for yourself," the wood elf said, gesturing at Raff.

The cleric had time to think all of Huh? before the brown-hued dragon brought her head down to stare into his eyes, then moved to sniff at his chest, making sounds much like a large dog and dribbling tree sap down his robe in the process, staining the deep red fabric an even darker color. Oh, wonderful. Dragon snot, Raff thought, wrinkling his nose as his mouse scampered out of his chest pocket and back onto his shoulder, chittering in protest. The dragon continued smelling the robe for a moment and Raff heard a distinct "Amber" in his head before she turned her head to look at Caledhrad.

"She says you smell like amber and wants to know why," the wood elf explained.

Raff nodded. "Yes, I got that from her. Thanks, though." He reached into his robe to grab his feather-in-amber holy symbol; after managing to get the necklace tangled in the chain of his other pendant, his hair, and the miffed mouse, he was finally able to remove it. Holding it in his hand, and hoping she didn't decide to eat it, he said to Caledhrad, "Tell her it's the holy symbol of my order. All the Messengers are given one of these."

Once again there was a conversation Raff couldn't take part in before the elf said, "She wants to know by whom?"

Raff was silent for a moment. This was a subject the Messengers were told to keep hushed, but the truth would probably be best and would hopefully keep her from deciding it (or he) was a good snack. Still, he kept his answer short, "By our god, essentially."

The wood elf just nodded and didn't press for more, to Raff's relief, and appeared to pass this information on to the dragon. "She'll help with this item you're talking about; she says she likes your bit of amber and your audacity," he translated.

Just so long as I don't have to give her the amber and she won't eat me for being audacious, that works for me, Raff thought, then told his dog, "Go get whoever has the map and bring them over." He hoped that the dog would be able to suss out who this was; though the dragon seemed friendly enough, he didn't want to turn his back on her.



The next part of the story can be found here.

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 7

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 7
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3,
Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 8)

"So your disguise is a lack of one?" Raff looked up from the letters he was reading- it turned out that Jonathan, brat though he was, had told the truth about their contents- to see Charity and the rest now garbed in eclectic greens and browns. He was surprised that they'd managed to throw together enough of the correct colors, but being allowed leather armor at least helped the color theme.

"Pretty much- without the conspicuous robe I'm just a woodsy half-elf. It's nice when you get to disguise yourself as yourself." He nodded towards a sheathed sword lying in the grass next to the napping dog; the mouse, wisely, had taken up residence in his pocket again while the cardinal hid somewhere up in the tree branches. "That's about all there is to it."

"Should I bother asking why you have a sword? You know you can't use it, right?"

Raff stood, grabbing the scabbard and attaching it to his belt. "I just can't hit anything with it. Becoming a Messenger didn't mean that I suddenly forgot how to wield it believably should I have to act like I can use it. Besides, it's less awkward than lugging around a bow and quiver I can't use. I notice you guys didn't think far enough ahead to realize a relevant weapon might help out a costume."

For the first time since he'd met her, Charity smiled sheepishly as she began unscrewing the silver fox from atop her wooden staff. This she stowed carefully in her pack before retorting, "What we have will have to do. At least our quarterstaves can pass as walking sticks." That's one good thing about being clerics of a mischief god, Raff supposed; Hermes was one of the few deities that didn't mind his flock hiding their holy symbols- or at least hiding them in the name of stealth and roguishness.

Charity turned to glare at the napping canine. "Now is the dog going to lead us or not?"

The dog opened one eye and yawned. "Pushy, isn't she."

Raff coughed to hide his laughter. "Ye don't know the half of it." Catching the woman's expression, he said, "I was talking to the dog, not you. We're coming. Right, dog?"

As the group set off, the dog and Raff leading, the half-elf asked the canine quietly, "Do you have a name? I feel silly calling you 'dog' all the time."

"Isn't talking to me already silly? And I am a dog."

"Both very good points. But you need a name-"

Raff's musings were interrupted by a well-camouflaged shape swinging itself down from the trees and landing lightly in front of him, nearly causing the half-elf to jump out of his skin. The figure had an arrow nocked on his bow, but wasn't targeting it- yet. And as Raff knew, one visible wood elf probably meant another half dozen hidden away who were aiming.

"Told you wood elves were near," the dog chimed in ever-so-helpfully as Raff tried to get his heart to stop racing. He silently berated himself for not noticing this elf sooner, Some almost-ranger I am. As Raff got a good look at the stranger, he noticed both that the elf was his height, making the newcomer fairly tall for an elf, and why he'd missed seeing him- well, other than being distracted by the dog- the elf's clothing and green tattoos blended him into the forest even better than the garb Raff wore.

I wonder if those are real tattoos; that must have hurt- rolling his eyes at his own short attention span, Raff recalled the correct greeting for this situation. Bowing low to the very green elf in front of him, and presumably the ones hidden nearby, he said, "Hail tree-friends, may the peace of the woods be with you" in his native Elvish. He hoped that this elf happened to know that dialect because he'd never had a chance to learn more than a few words in Wood Elvish.

The elf seemed to understand. Nodding his head, he gave the expected reply of "Well met traveler, from whence do you come this day?" in an only slightly accented version of the same language.

Raff had a moment of panic as he tried to recall what the last line to be said was; it had been years since he'd last recited this greeting. It was on the tip of his tongue... Something about pines and air... Aha! "From the forests and pines of my home where the air is good and all is well," he finished. That had always seemed silly to him- his forest didn't even have pines- which was likely why it was the line he never could keep straight.

His slight hesitation didn't seem to bother the wood elf, so possibly he hadn't caught it; the elf nodded again and when he reached over with a vine-patterned hand to grasp Raff's arm, the cleric knew that the disguise had worked. Now to just explain his traveling companions who likely weren't believably fluent in Elvish and certainly didn't know the woodland greeting...

Or maybe just not that last part. Mina stepped forward, echoing Raff's bow, and said, "Well met. My comrades and I are on our first mission under the tutorage of Rafion, and we were wondering if you could assist us with our task" in flawless High Elvish. The half-elf's jaw dropped. Why didn't she say she could speak it? I could have helped her with an elven disguise; she's certainly tiny enough.

Still dumbfounded, Raff wasn't sure how to jump back into the conversation and certainly didn't have a good explanation handy to explain their quest. Luckily Mina seemed to have a lie already thought up, "We were asked by druids to the north to research the mating habits of dragons in the area; a rather arduous task, to be sure, but we will not be allowed to reach the full rank of ranger until we complete this."

She's good, Raff thought. Something told him that Charity was about to open her mouth and demand to know what was being said, though- gods forbid someone speak a language she was unfamiliar with in her presence- so he hastily took a couple of steps backwards to join her. Sure enough, he reached her side in time for her to ask "What-".

He silenced her quickly with a jab of his elbow to her side and whispered, "Be quiet. Mina's giving a very good lie as to why we're looking for a dragon and I want to hear."

Charity nodded and remained silent, but his retreat caused Raff to miss the wood elf's response. He was able to catch Mina's sigh and her next statement of "It does seem like the novices always get the most tedious quests, does it not? But you say there is rumor of one in the pine forests to the west of here?"

Once again Raff missed the elf's response, this time as Jonathan leaned over to whisper, "Are they finished yet? Are they going to tell us about that dragon or not?"

Before the half-elf could answer, it was Tomas's turn to inquire, "And what is she saying about trees and something west? That's all I caught in there."

Raff rolled his eyes up to give a silent prayer asking for the patience to deal with such annoying traveling companions. He may not have the greatest attention span, but at least he could stay silent for a few minutes. "If you guys would stop talking, I'd be able t'tell you," he hissed.

Tomas had the courtesy to look abashed, but Jonathan only scowled as Raff was finally able to hear Mina say "Thank you for your assistance; I am very grateful for your aid. I must now speak with my companions to explain this situation as a few of them do not yet know this language well."

The wood elf nodded and bowed low to her. His next actions surprised Raff; turning to face the group, the wood elf dipped his head and said in highly accented and broken Common, "Dangerous dragons often be, but tell Kerethiana that with our blessings you go and that vouch for you Caledhrad does. Young rangers, on this task well do we wish you."

Then with a wink at Mina, he stepped back into the shadow of the trees and vanished into the greenery as his mottled greens and browns seemed to become the foliage. Raff glanced at the spot uncertainly, but even with his trained eyes he couldn't tell if the elf was still watching them or not. Obviously the elves did not take them for a threat, but judging from Mina's blush, that particular elf could still be sticking around for a different reason.

"You charmed him or something, didn't you?" Raff asked her suspiciously. Having used that trick more than a few times himself, he was a pretty good judge of noticing when someone had just tried flirtation combined with magic to get desired information, even if he hadn't witnessed the whole exchange.

"I wouldn't say that. He was just friendly and helpful," Mina replied with a shrug, obviously trying to pretend that she hadn't been the cause- probably because Tomas was now glaring in the direction he thought the elf had left. And left was right, or correct, anyway; Raff was amused to notice that the young man was glaring in the wrong direction.

"Now where is this dragon?" Jonathan demanded, "Some of us just want to get this over with, you know. Who cares how he gave her the information?"

Now Raff had to do all he could to keep from laughing at the dirty looks both Tomas and Mina shot at the boy. This drama was fairly amusing, or at least more amusing than anything else on this trek, but the teen did have a point. Apparently Charity agreed, because she commented before Raff could get his smirk under control, "To the west, correct?" At Mina's nod, she continued, "Then west we go."

A thought occurred to Raff, "And we should get away from prying ears as soon as possible. Nice as these elves seem to be, we don't want them learning of our true mission," he whispered, "Obviously we'll need to explain it to the dragon- I'd recommend not in disguise, in case it doesn't work and she becomes angry- but the less who learn of it, the better." Not that he thought a map would be of particular use or attraction to a wood elf; they rarely left their forests and from what he knew, not many of them bothered to learn how to read, even in their own language. Still, it was better to be safe. Look at me, being all rational and thoughtful, he thought with mock-pride.

As if echoing his thoughts, Charity said, "That's an impressive statement. We'll turn you into a good, levelheaded Messenger yet."

Raff looked at her questioningly, wondering if she meant to be rude, and saw that she was grinning. "We'll see about that," he retorted, mirroring the grin.



The next part of the story can be found here.

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 6

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 6
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7)

Seated on the ground with his back against a tree, Raff spoke quietly with the mouse in front of him. Like most Messengers in their downtime, he was attempting some mischief out of boredom; in this case, trying to get Rhy to understand the concept of thievery and how to work a button on a backpack. The half-elf had a feeling that some of the stolen deliveries were in the bag Jonathan carried, but he had no desire to get close enough to the strange young man to rummage through it to find out. Still, he very much wanted to know if the letters he was expecting were in there... "No, no, no. You don't eat the button, you move it so you can get inside."

"But looks like cracker. Like crackers!" The mouse looked up at Raff expectantly. "Snack for Rhy?"

"You are crackers." When the mouse sent back a mental "?", he sighed, wishing he had a pet who understood jokes. "Look, it's simple. Slide the button like so, climb inside, grab paper with orange string... wait, can you see color?"

"See grass, see big elf, see tall leafy things. Not see this color." The mouse's nose twitched as it looked around, trying to scent the unfamiliar word.

The cleric covered his face with his hands, exasperated but slightly amused- was the mouse purposely being obtuse? Feeling this would be a lost cause, he wondered idly if he'd be able to find a cat or a weasel or some smarter animal nearby to train for this task. Before Raff could try explaining once again, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps crackling through the underbrush at his back. Placing the mouse on his shoulder, Raff stood. When he saw that it was the person he was plotting against, he hoped the mouse would sit quietly and not get confused.

"Are you Raff Goldenstrings?" the once-Messenger inquired tersely, not looking at Raff.

The half-elf's hope was short-lived; when the mouse heard the name, it asked "String? That string? Orange? Where string?"

"Forget the string. Just stay quiet," Raff whispered to his pet. He narrowed his eyes, wondering what the recently-possessed boy wanted. When not openly glaring, Jonathan had spent most of the trip avoiding the half-elf and hadn't yet spoken to him directly. "Why do you want to know?"

Jonathan shifted his feet and kept his head down. "I've heard them calling you Raff. I need to know if that's you" he mumbled.

Raff rolled his eyes. "Fine, yes, that's me. Now why do you need to know that?"

"I wasn't going to give these back, but Edward says I'm going to need to eventually deliver everything and you're right here so it might be good to start." Drawing a selection of rolled up parchments out of the bag slung over his shoulder, Jonathan hesitated for a moment before tossing them over. He clearly did not want to get any closer to the older cleric, which didn't surprise Raff, although it still irked him to be so shunned. It wasn't as though he wanted that blasted map, contrary to what this boy believed.

Raff caught them, noticed the color of the strings tying them shut- three with orange, one with a green ribbon- and frowned. When he caught sight of the open wax seals, his anger changed to indignation. "You read them, too? What the hell's wrong with you!"

Holding his arms out in front of him to try to belay Raff's anger, Jonathan tried to play innocent. "It wasn't my fault! And if it makes you feel any better, I didn't just read yours."

"Oh, now that really validates your actions!" Taking a deep breath, Raff tried counting to ten. Then tried it again in another language when that didn't help. He tried to work through a third, but when he could only remember up to the number six, he gave up. Oh, forget this. I have reason to be angry! "Important messages are entrusted to us, you stupid boy! Possessed or not, it never occurred to you that people depend on letters making it to their intended destinations?" Raff paused to take another deep breath, clenching and unclenching the hand not holding the arrangement of scrolls, before continuing, "You never realized that people would be worried sick when they didn't hear from someone they were expecting news from? That sometimes letters are the only way of reaching those ye care about?"

The youth muttered something, which Raff missed in his tirade. Ceasing his verbal reproach, he asked "What was that?"

"I said you didn't have to worry. He befriended a dragon, he wasn't eaten by one."

Raff stared then shook his head in bewilderment. Was this lad still lacking sanity? "Huh? What does a dragon have t'do with anything?"

Now Jonathan looked up, but only to glance guiltily at the items in Raff's hand before returning his attention to his boot laces. The half-elf wished he had something heavier to throw at the young man than just a handful of paper, and had to settle on taking a step forward, all but seething. "And you recall the information of your thefts? You should be the one forced to encounter a dragon; maybe being faced with large amounts of acid or flame would set ye straight." Realizing what he had just said, Raff reviewed that statement. "Meeting with dragon-flame or acid... that's it! Ratfink though you may be, you've given me an idea!"

The boy had begun to back away, but now finally looked up at Raff's face, his turn to be confused. "What idea?"

"I think I've found a way to speed up your atonement and eliminate the m- that item. We just need t'find you a dragon."

"Just? A dragon?" the young man squeaked, sounding even younger and nothing like the attacker they'd foiled so recently.

While still peeved, that cooled Raff's anger into something more resembling pity. Quick to anger though he was, he was never one to hold a grudge- unless the boy had lied and the letters in his hand were bad news. Then all bets would be off. "You want to be normal again, right?"

Jonathan nodded dumbly, so shaken that he didn't cringe away when the older Messenger grabbed his arm to drag him back to where the rest of their party was setting up camp in a forest clearing.

*****
When Charity noticed the two of them in close proximity, she raised an eyebrow; this action reminded Raff of who he was dragging along. Dropping the boy's arm like it burned, Raff absentmindedly wiped his hand on his robe. "Guys, we need to find a dragon."

That brought Mina and Tomas over. "A dragon? Why?" Tomas sounded intrigued, which the half-elf took to be a good sign.

Jonathan tried to pout and glare at the same time and ended up just making faces. "Raff wants to get rid of me by dragon-fire."

"I said no such thing." Seeing the young man about to deny this, Raff rolled his eyes again and went on, "I'm miffed, not evil. My idea is to destroy the artifact with dragon-breath, not annihilate you with it."

From the look on Jonathan's face, Raff got the feeling that this would be much the same thing. Still, it was the best (in that it was the only) idea they'd had so far.

"There's a slight problem with that, though, Raff," Charity chimed in, always the voice of reason. "None of us happen to be carrying a convenient small dragon in our packs, you know."

"Technicality. There's bound to be one around here somewhere. I mean, Edward wouldn't have sent us south if there wasn't a good reason for it." The others gazed at him skeptically. "What? I can't possibly be the only one who trusts his judgment."

A collection of shrugs greeted this statement. "Besides, I know for a fact that there's a dragon... um... let me find it..." Raff began riffling through the messages Jonathan had so recently given him.

"Don't bother. That dragon is far to the northeast, halfway across the country and nowhere near the direction we were sent." Apparently as well as recalling the dragon, Jonathan still had the contents of the stolen letters memorized. Expecting Raff to be angry at this breach in secrecy, the youth was surprised to see him just shrug. Hey, it saved me time trying to skim through that tiny handwriting for the exact passage, the half elf thought to himself, maybe after this we could start using the kid as a scribe. He still wasn't happy about all this, but holding a grudge wouldn't get them anywhere on this quest.

"So we'd have to find another dragon. Who do we know who would know the location of one nearby?" Mina pondered.

"Rangers?" Tomas supplied.

Raff snorted. "Good luck finding one of them. The whole point of being a ranger is to keep from being tracked. Druids perhaps?"

"Possibly a bit easier to locate but not likely to help," Charity refuted.

"Wood elves."

"Come now, those would be even less likely to help than the druids and even more difficult to find," Raff commented. When the other four stared at him in confused surprise (well, confusion on the part of three of them; irritated bemusement on the part of Jonathan), Raff returned the gaze. "Okay, someone said 'wood elves'. I am not hearing things."

Once again, the group looked skeptical. Fortunately, before Raff could begin doubting his sanity any more than usual, a brown shaggy dog sauntered into the group and plopped itself down at his feet. "You again! What a fine mess ye got me into earlier, by the way," the half-elf upbraided, not caring what the others thought about a one-sided conversation.

"Sorry. Had to leave and man got away."

"Obviously, which was the start of said mess." Raff crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at the mutt. If a dog could look chastened, this one did; dipping its head low it whined. Raff sighed and reached down to scratch it on the head. "It's fine. Forget it. Now what's this about elves?"

Either the words or the scratches cheered it up. Looking up with a doggie grin it sent mentally, "Smell wood elves nearby. Can take you to them."

Before Raff could agree, Charity interrupted, "Care to let the rest of us in on this conversation?" Taking his attention away from the dog, Raff saw that she had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot. Never a good sign. Tomas and Mina both looked like they were going to laugh, while Jonathan was still trying to ignore him; both of these things were preferable to an affronted Charity.

Blushing, the half-elf explained, "That's the dog I met at the start of all this. He says he can take us to wood elves."

Charity nodded, which relieved Raff, and said, "And if there's a dragon anywhere near their forest, they'd know. But how would we get them to tell us once we located them?"

"Can't we just disguise ourselves as something they'd trust?" Tomas supplied. When the rest of the group turned to look at him in amazement, he shuffled his feet nervously. "We're all Messengers, right?"

When he caught Jonathan's scowl, he hastily corrected, "We all know how to use disguises, I mean. Can we make ourselves look like elves or rangers or something? Then it won't be as suspicious as a bunch of priests- sorry, Jon- looking for a dragon."

"That just might be crazy enough to work," Charity agreed. "Oh, stop moping. Maybe this will take your mind off of things," she then said sharply to the only non-Messenger of the group, choosing to ignore the glower he shot in her direction. She turned to the two shortest members of the party for their reactions to this idea.

Mina shrugged. "It's worth a try. The worst they can do is send us away."

Aye, at arrow-point, Raff thought but refrained from saying it aloud. Instead he also shrugged. "Hey, at least this time it's a disguise where I don't have to change my appearance much. Works for me."

"Good, then it's settled." Talking directly to the dog, either assuming it understood her or figuring Raff would translate, she told it, "As soon as we're ready, I'd like you to lead us to those elves."

"She said-" Raff started to interpret.

"Tell her yes." Okay, then, Raff thought, either this is a really smart dog or there is some really powerful magic going on here. Even if he had cast the Speak with Animals spell, which he had already used up on the mouse, it shouldn't have been able to understand two humans (or close enough) at once.

Oh well, it wasn't worth worrying about. "He says he will."

Charity nodded. "Good. Now let's go see what kind of charade we can pull together."



The next part of the story can be found here.

((And if you were curious as to why Cyn has been so pissy lately, well, part of the reason is that green-ribboned scroll...))

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 5

Banner art by Artmetica.

You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!

There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.



The Acolyte's Map, Part 5

(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6)



Raff eyed the seemingly empty road- seemingly empty because all he could see was Mina, a short, slight blond woman in red robes that looked to be about two sizes too large for her. Fate (or something resembling it) had smiled on the Messengers- she'd returned to the Rinos mosque for a new assignment just as Kendric had handed over his letter, acting the part of pretentious noble as best he could while loudly demanding that someone carry it as soon as possible because it was vitally important that it reach one of Countess Berkeley's knights. The head priest hadn't missed that golden opportunity walking into his field of vision (dwarfed by the tall officer though she was) and had quickly handed the message over to Mina before Kendric had even marched out of the building.



The young woman had been slightly confused at first to be in such the right place at the right time to apparently have a delivery waiting for her, but after Raff had taken her aside to clue her into the plan- or at least a condensed version of it in case their target had a way of knowing if she knew this was a ploy- she quickly agreed to be the bait, consenting with a wicked smile.



With the bait thus selected, in less than a day they'd finalized the plan, created two fake deliveries to send off with obviously stronger and less tempting targets, called in a favor with one of Apollo's priests, found a wizard to help, and were now on their way. Raff was amazed at what could get done when an opportunity to trick someone loomed in the near future.



A soft thud and some muffled cursing sounded from a few feet away. Sounds like the others haven't figured out how to keep from tripping over each other, he thought, grinning to himself- and only himself. That was the reason for the "seemingly empty" road and the hired mage; Raff and the four others were invisible, trailing Mina as she headed southeast. The half-elf was doing pretty well at judging where his colleagues were located but the others weren't so lucky and kept tripping over themselves. Mina appeared to be ignoring the bumbling behind her, but Raff had caught her stifling a giggle a few times by pretending she was talking to the small dog strolling at her feet. Raff's bird wasn't happy about the terrier being nearby, but stayed quiet on Raff's shoulder. At least, he assumed the weight on his shoulder was the cardinal- like most of this troupe of plotters, Neru was invisible. Every once in a while he heard the bird give a cheerful chirp, so maybe it was enjoying itself. The mouse, however, wasn't handling this so well; Rhy had hidden itself in Raff's pocket and refused to come out.



The half-elf was beginning to wonder when they'd stop for the night and if he'd ever be able to lure the mouse from its hiding place when out of nowhere there was a young man standing off to the side of the road, leaning indolently against a tree as if he'd always been there. If it wasn't for the dog's sharp bark, Raff would almost have believed that. The others must have noticed this stranger, as well, because the sounds of stumbling and bumbling ceased as Mina crossed the gap to greet the stranger with a cheerful smile.



Raff was too far from the pair to hear what the man was saying in a low voice, but he caught Mina's change in demeanor. No longer smiling, she was grasping her quarterstaff tightly and her head was down, as if she could no longer meet the man's eyes. Her dog was standing close against her leg, growling up at the sandy-haired man, who was clearly trying to ignore it. Raff was starting to wish he could hear what was being said when the man switched from talk to action, shoving the girl and causing her to land heavily and awkwardly on the ground.



Raff brought both hands to the attack position on the simple wood staff he'd been given temporarily, getting angry that someone would knock around someone so innocuous, even if that had been their plan. When the man drew his sword and took a step towards the girl, the half-elf could hold back no longer. Forgetting that leaving the circle around his invisible companions would render him visible, he charged at the pair, calling out "Hey! Don't touch her!" His bird, also now in plain sight and sensing Raff's anger, sensibly flew up into the tree to get itself out of the way.



That shout got the young man's attention. With a scowl, he took a few steps away from Mina to brandish the sword in the other Messenger's direction. Raff was able to get a good look at him as he circled around, trying to put himself between the strange man and the prone woman. The man couldn't have been more than twenty and wasn't much taller than the half-elf, which was surprising, but an air of barely-contained anger seemed to make him appear more powerful. When Raff met his eyes, he quickly amended that assumption to "insane barely-contained anger" as he thought this guy's completely off his nut; Raff would be the first to admit that he wasn't exactly the most level-headed person on the planet, but the amount of crazy he was sensing from this individual would make him look positively normal in comparison.



While he was sizing up the would-be attacker, trying to decide if he'd have enough time to set off a spell, and if so, if he could do it unnoticed, he felt something touch his leg. Glancing down, he saw Mina pull her hand away to cork a vial of water as she chanted something under her breath. Mina, you idiot! he mentally cursed as he caught a few words of the spell she'd just cast- Protection From Evil. Why didn't you cast that on yourself?



The young man seemed oblivious of this, lost in his own angry world though he was, but had enough wits to ask- no, demand- of Raff "Who are you to care what I do?" Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "And how did you get here?"



There was no way Raff could resist that voice; he had the truth on the tip of his tongue, ready to tell this rogue exactly what he shouldn't, when a terse voice sounded in his head, "Do not tell. Remember, bard." That pulled him out of whatever glamour he'd fallen under- jolted him out of it, in fact. He blinked, looked down momentarily to remind himself that, yes, he was in fact garbed as a bard, and slid into that persona, grateful that Edward, the head priest, had suggested that he wear this disguise.



With his nose in the air and a hand on his hip, he kept his face expressionless and answered, "Mithlir Blackwind," with a slight nod of his head. Moving his long, currently still black hair out of the way, he adjusted the gittern case strapped to his back to draw attention to it and continued, "As you can guess, I am a minstrel; as such, I will not give away trade secrets that grant my clandestine comings and goings. Allowances must be made for a bard's... eccentricities." Hey, maybe if he played up his faux-craziness, he could get on the madman's good side. "As for why I care, I cannot stand idly by when a helpless girl is attacked; what kind of story would that make for myself?"



He looked over at Mina and caught the strange expression on her face before she covered it up by dropping her head to hide behind her hair. Please don't put us in jeopardy by laughing, he silently willed in her direction.



Fortunately, lost in whatever world most of his brain was inhabiting, the young man still failed to notice Mina and kept his eyes on Raff, who was developing the urge to fidget under that mad stare- he pretended to smooth down a crease in his black tunic to cover his discomfort. Raff was determined to keep up the disguise to keep the thief distracted, however, if just for the girl's safety; were the man to attack, Raff would much prefer the target to be himself- and if the man were evil as well as crazy, the half-elf would now be far safer than Mina.



The rogue slowly switched his sword back and forth between hands a few times, his lips moving as he silently said something to himself, possibly not knowing what to make of Raff. This, though, was something the half-elf was accustomed to, and he jumped on the man's distraction, pulling out his Charm magic again. "What say you leave this young woman alone; surely she has nothing of any interest to a traveler such as yourself." Whatever that type is, Raff thought scornfully, mentally taking in the state of the man's heavily disheveled appearance, greasy hair, and battered (but unfortunately still sharp) broadsword. If this was a Messenger, he's really let himself go. Although if that were the case, after seeing this individual Raff now could see why the older priests constantly badgered him about his travel-worn robes. It really didn't make you look particularly trustworthy, competent, or in this case, sane, to be so slovenly, although Raff generally lacked the eye twitching and glazed expression of which this man was in possession.



Raff thought his statement had worked as the young man began to lower the arm holding the sword, but that didn't last; he shook it off- actually shaking his head, and despite the gravity of the situation, Raff was almost surprised to not hear a loose marble or two rolling around in there. Taking another step away from Mina, he pointed the sword at Raff again. Blast! Why didn't that work? The Charm always works! Raff had time to think before having to quickly sidle out of the way as the blade swung past where his shoulder had been a moment before. The man's agility shocked him; surely someone with so few wits shouldn't be able to move like that! Feeling déjà vu, and once again being annoyed by the fact that he lacked a decent weapon, Raff brought his quarterstaff up into the defensive position.



The man didn't lunge again, but instead growled loudly, "Oh, but she does have something I desire." He didn't lower his sword, however, and was looking back at Mina, who was now trying unsuccessfully to get to her feet. Raff had a feeling she'd twisted at least one ankle as she fell.



That could have been taken to mean many things, but to Raff, it validated what he hadn't been completely sure of; this was the man they were looking for. The others heard this, too, and Raff caught mutterings behind him. Trying to keep the crazy man distracted and unable to hear what the half-elf hoped to be the chants of spells, he began talking to cover the noises of those still unseen. "I doubt you have ever seen her before. How can you know that she is in possession of something you covet? Perhaps this is just a case of mistaken identity. You could be wrong, yes?"



That last part returned the young man's attention to Raff. "Wrong? I am never wrong about something like this, silly bard!" he exclaimed, one eye twitching.



Who are you calling "silly," kettle? "Perhaps. How would I know such as what goes on in your head or even what you are looking for? I do know that whatever it may be, she has it not, so leave her alone."



"And you'd stop me?" Once again, Raff found the sword pointed in his direction.



"If I must." Okay, any time you guys get those spells going, that would be great. I only have this stupid staff to defend myself with, you know.



The man had his sword in an offensive stance, having brought it around to poke at Raff's chest (or, rather, the leather armor hidden under his tunic), when he was hit with the full force of several spells. As the crazed man went rigid, the tree behind the three suddenly joined the side of the Messengers as it began to wrap its roots around the man's legs, dragging him to the ground and causing the weapon to fall out of his hand. Knowing what would come next, Raff hurriedly began dragging Mina away as the rest of the vegetation in the area had a growth spurt, shooting out tendrils and roots to try to grab them.



Just out of range of the rampant greenery, Raff helped Mina to her feet as the others broke out of the invisibility sphere to encircle the grasping plants. The half-elf noticed Tomas poking at the edge of the brambles with his quarterstaff and made the obvious assumption about who had cast that particular spell, "A bit overkill, I think." At Tomas' look of chagrin, he shrugged, "Hey, don't worry about it. We got out fine."



"Thankfully." Edward commented, coming over and sizing up the new forest. "Thank you for your assistance, Tomas, but could you send those plants away, please? We need to be able to get him out."



"Out?" Mina asked, incredulous. She grimaced as she tried to stand straight. "Isn't it better to just leave him there for a while? Pardon me for saying it, but he deserves to stew in the pot he made".



"As tempting as that sounds, we cannot. Now please, Tomas."



Glancing back and forth between the angry and injured Mina and the calm but authoritative Head Messenger, Tomas threw his arms up in defeat. "Alright, alright." Concentrating on the mess of plants, he chanted a few syllables.



When the greenery began sinking back into the ground, Tomas came over to help Raff support the limping woman. "Why is nothing I do ever the right thing?" he mused to his companions.



"You did well," Mina reassured him, wrapping an arm around his waist so that Raff could let go. At least the half-elf assumed it was for that reason, but since he was eager to go help the others, he wasn't about to pry.



Raff made it to the other priests at the same time as the last of the tree roots vanished. He took a place in the circle they'd made around the now frozen-in-place thief; the man may not have been able to move or speak, but he could certainly glare and now that Raff was there, he was honored with the bulk of the silent anger.



Three of the priests- Edward, Charity- the conspiring woman he had met a few days before, and the middle-aged priest of Apollo who had been roped into this quest (Raff hadn't caught his name) were chanting. Charity came out of it first and remarked, "There's something magic in that scroll case on his belt... it's extremely magical, whatever it is."



"And radiating evil," the Head Messenger added as he, too, finished his chant. "As is the boy himself."



Raff started to reach down to grab whatever they were talking about, knowing it was a stupid move but not being able to resist its sudden attractiveness, when Charity smacked his hand away. "Do you want us to have to rescue two possessed evil Messengers, elf-boy? For the gods' sakes, you're as bad as Tomas." Raff was clearly confused, both by what had just happened and by how the heck Tomas fit into this, so she just grabbed his arm to pull him away before he could say or do something he'd regret.



"Raff, I know you're smarter than this," she said quietly so as to not disturb the others, "Snap out of it."



Raff blinked a few times, then seemed to come back into himself. "I … have no idea what just happened. Sorry about that."



Charity nodded. "Just as I thought; that item must be powerful if it can affect someone from a distance."



Worried, Raff asked, "But why me and not anyone else?"



"You're a few bricks short of a load?" She grinned impishly at his glare. "Sorry. Maybe it's because you're part elf, but I think it's likely because you've been around its influence for a bit longer than the rest of us have."



"Lucky me," Raff muttered, but was interrupted from saying more by a strange voice calling out for help. Charity tried to hold him back, but he brushed off her hand on his shoulder and walked back to the circle around the crazy young man.



Who was looking decidedly less crazy- or less angry-crazy, anyway. Someone must have dispelled whatever was holding him frozen because he was now sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, looking pleadingly up at Edward. "It's magic. The map. It's making me do horrible things. Someone take it away before-" Noticing that Raff had come over, his expression hardened and he appeared to age a few years as a shadow fell over his face. "But not him. He can't have it!"



Okay, then... Raff thought, then moved behind the other clerics so he was out of sight again. As soon as he'd left the seated young man's field of vision, the boy reverted back to helplessness. "Please, sir, help," he pleaded to Edward.



Edward frowned, deep in thought. Finally he met the boy's eyes. "I think I have a plan. Would you be willing to hand over what you carry to us?"



The boy fought with himself, visibly torn about an answer. "Y... yes."



"And would you be willing to destroy it?"



That took even longer for a definite answer. Finally, so low that Raff could barely hear it from where he was standing, the boy whispered. "Yes. Please."



Edward nodded, seemingly satisfied.



"You can't mean that he's going by himself," Tomas replied, leading Mina over. Raff caught Charity rolling her eyes and had to suppress a laugh; it was obvious by now that the woman had been stuck working with Tomas on more occasions than this one.



"Of course not. You'll be going with him," the head priest explained, chuckling as the young man gaped at him. Looking around the circle, he added, "As will Raff, Charity, and Mina."



Raff and Charity both nodded, expecting that, although the half-elf was rather worried about having to spend more time around this strange once-priest and the item in his possession. Mina, on the other hand, glared at the boy, then turned (almost knocking Tomas off balance, small though she was) to look quizzically at Edward. "But... I'm injured, sir. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."



Apollo's priest smiled roguishly and Raff couldn't miss the fact that he looked quite like Edward while wearing that particular expression on his face. "If you would stand up straight, I think you'll find that problem much improved."



Sure enough, Mina was able to now stand. Tomas let go rather reluctantly, which she either ignored or failed to notice. "Thank you, sir." Well, she said she was thankful, but the doubt in her voice was apparent; it was obvious that she didn't consider this much of a blessing.



I'm with you on that one, Raff agreed silently.







The next part of the story can be found here.

The Acolyte's Map - Story, Part 4

Banner art by Artmetica.
You can find the whole cover art here- the art is gorgeous!
There's also a mix/soundtrack that goes with this story- you can find that here.

The Acolyte's Map, Part 4
(Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5)

A red bird flew through the window and landed on the desk right on top of the paperwork Kendric was reading, startling the dark haired man. About to shoo the cardinal back outside, he caught sight of a tiny scroll attached to its leg. A courier bird wasn't an unfamiliar sight in the barracks so he untied the green ribbon attaching the paper to its leg. Assuming it was meant for someone else, he was surprised to see his own name on the outside of the paper; generally if something was important enough to be sent by bird, it was meant for a higher ranking officer.

As he unrolled the small parchment an even smaller piece of purple ribbon fell out. This he placed aside as he read the short message:
"Kenny-
Meet me at Old Hamish's Inn tonight. Important situation to discuss- need your assistance. Neru will wait for reply."

He smiled to himself despite the seriousness of the wording; the only two people who called him that were his little brothers, and the color of the ribbon informed him that it was from the honorary brother rather than the one by blood, which was useful because the message was vague and not signed. He assumed the purple one was inside because two tied ribbons wouldn't fit on such a small bird.

He'd laughed at this color-coded idea originally, thinking it just one of the bizarre ideas his real brother was known for, but he'd come to realize that, although strange like most of those ideas, this one actually worked... Well, he was optimistic about the idea for vanishing paper, but his brother hadn't yet gotten that idea off the ground. In this case, though, it was a good way of saying a lot in a small space, or being secretive if that were needed. Green string or ribbon meant that the message was from Raff and the purple meant "disguise" or "be extra sneaky", which, coupled with the wording, meant both this time. A lack of bright red string told Kendric that this was sent in some sort of unofficial capacity; were that color there, it would mean that it was from Raff-as-Messenger, not Raff-as-brother- or more appropriately, Raff-needing-favor. Still, the cleric never asked for help if it wasn't needed, and even then often didn't notice until too late that he was in a situation where help was warranted, so Kendric wasn't about to turn him down.

Distracting the bird with a piece of bread leftover from breakfast, Kendric fastened two bits of string onto its left leg: one blue, one white. Blue was his personal color and white meant "yes" or a positive answer of some kind. If anyone noticed the random pieces of string he had laying around, no one had ever commented on it.

He picked the bird up gently and carried it to the window. As he watched it fly away, he wondered what trouble the half-elf had gotten himself into this time; trouble always seemed to follow him, although generally it became other peoples' misfortune. Yes, this is bound to be interesting, he thought, grinning as he stroked his short beard, I wonder what he wants me to do to help?

*****
The inn was full of patrons when Kendric entered that evening and he hoped that the large crowd would mean that no one would recognize him. He'd tried to garb himself in cheaper clothing than he was used and nothing he wore bore any insignia of his rank, but he knew he wasn't the best at hiding who he was. And, truth be told, he wasn't entirely comfortable around all these boisterous working-class people. He always tried to see everyone equally, but it's hard to fight your upbringing, especially when you're feeling rather overwhelmed. This is why, when he felt a hand tap him on the arm and he looked down to see a raven-haired youth of that aforementioned class trying to get his attention, his first thought was Why is this kid trying to bother me? His annoyance fled when he caught sight of the bright green eyes under that large hat and he grinned as the "kid" embraced him quickly before beckoning to follow him upstairs.

Once in one of the small rented rooms with the door firmly locked, Raff gestured for Kendric to keep silent; the man watched as Raff brought his hand to his chest and quietly began chanting and gesturing with his free hand, his focus seeming to be on the door. Once done, the half-elf noticed Kendric's confused expression and shrugged. Taking a seat crosslegged on the bed, he explained in a quiet voice, "I can't keep anyone from listening in, but if they put their ear to the lock at any time in the next ten minutes or so, they'll be in for a nasty surprise." When the confusion didn't lessen, he continued, "It's going to get gradually warmer and if anyone is touching it, we're bound to hear them start yelling."

"Isn't that rather cruel?" Kendric asked, raising an eyebrow.

Raff grinned. "Then they shouldn't be listening."

The man eyed the door uncertainly. "Do you think anyone would be listening? I had hoped no one would notice us."

The priest shrugged again. "If they did, I doubt anyone would care enough to even remark on it."

"Ah, good."

"They probably just think that you've taken on a young lover." Raff said, keeping his voice flat and impassive.

Preoccupied, it took Kendric a second before he exclaimed, "I've taken- what?"

Raff grinned impishly. "Just kidding, brother dearest. That's why I picked this particular disguise; if anyone happened to notice us or caught on to who you are, they'd probably just assume I'm your son or nephew or something."

Kendric felt rather skeptical about that. He did have a nephew about the age Raff was trying to pass himself off as, but... it was just strange to think of his honorary brother as being able to appear that young, even after he himself had already fallen for the disguise. On the other hand, Raff's age had always been a bit of a mystery. Kendric had thought the two priests had been playing a trick on him when they'd explained that the half-elf was actually four years older than he was because he knew for a fact that Raff had entered the Messenger's mosque not even a year earlier than his younger brother- so Kendric now had an older little brother. Why was everything so confusing when it came to elves? It was enough to give someone a headache.

Shaking his head to clear it, Kendric changed the subject to something that was randomly bugging him, "How did your hair turn black, anyway? Some of that mischievous magic of yours?"

Raff wrinkled his nose. "I wish. It's soot. Well, mostly soot. It ends up being a sticky mess, but it works for a while." He glanced at the door before continuing in a softer voice, "Kenny, I need your help."

"So I figured." Pulling over the room's only other seat, a rickety old wooden chair, Kendric sat close to the bed so the two could plot quietly. "What did you do this time?"

Raff pouted indignantly. "Why'd you assume I did something wrong?" Noticing the look on his brother's face, he remedied that comment before Kendric could give them away by breaking into laughter. "Okay, so it was a good guess. But I didn't, not really. We- that is, the Messengers- have a problem. A very large problem. Someone is attacking us and is stealing a good portion of the messages we carry."

"So why the secrecy if it's a large scale religious predicament? Or have you priests just become overly obsessed with costumes and charades?"

It was a sure sign of the gravity of the situation, Kendric noticed, that Raff neither stuck out his tongue nor fired back a quip. Instead the half-elf just looked troubled and remained oddly quiet. Finally he answered, "Because we can't be open about this problem, even with ourselves; the Head Messenger here in Rinos fears that the attacks and thefts have something t'do with a Messenger, or at least someone who was once a Messenger. At the moment only a few of us are aware of who- or rather what- this criminal might be. Edward wants us to keep this as quiet as possible, in case he learns of our plans."

Kendric nodded, following most of this except... "Why tell me? You know I'll gladly help what I can, but I'm no priest or mage. I cannot track him down or anything of that ilk."

"No, but you are someone important." Raff saw that his brother was about to deny this, so he hastily added, "Ken, listen. What we need is someone in on the plan who isn't one of us because we need that person to send what is, to all intents and purposes, a real letter or message. An important real letter because it has to be enough to attract the attention of this renegade so he goes after it himself, rather than sending a lackey."

"Is he likely to do that?"

"He already has." Raff explained the attack and the minimal plan the few Messengers had come up with the night before, omitting nothing and hoping that Kendric would be able to contribute to the plan.

"I follow and of course I will help, but..." Kendric had a good idea what the answer to this would be, but still couldn't help asking, "Would something I send be that appealing? I'm just a lieutenant." That last part came out more resentful than he'd intended.

Raff sighed. "Stop playing modest. You're the best possible accomplice for this- a noble officer with no apparent ties to any priests in the area."

"But what about you?"

Raff eyed his brother- his muscular, tall, tanned, aristocratic, and above all human brother- and did his best not to laugh. "Be serious. If anyone caught on to the fact that you even know me, they'd have t'be a mind reader and then we'd be caught in an even more difficult mess."

"Ah, right." There was a time when his connection to the Messengers had been obvious, but that had been more than a decade ago and half the kingdom away. No one here knew that he had family and friends in the order, so why could he never remember that fact? Trying to redeem himself from his brief absentmindedness, he supplied an idea. "I believe I could pull both rank and class fairly easily- would a letter going to a knight suffice?"

"Of course. Osric, right?" Raff asked, naming the oldest brother in Kendric's family. At the man's nod, he went on, "But can you trust him? I know you've said he's short a few marbles- and that was one of your nicer comments- and I'd rather not let anyone in on this who we can't entirely trust."

"But there's no need to tell much, correct? It just has to appear to be a real message," Kendric plotted, "I think for that we can trust Os, and if the letter slips past this thief and he winds up actually receiving it, well, I'm all for confusing and vexing him. We can straighten it out later if we must."

Raff bit his lip as he thought about this. "There's so many ways this could go wrong, but I don't see any other option. We'll just have to hope that it does get waylaid. Try not to fill it with too many outrageous lies, okay?"

"If you must insist. I'll do my best to make it befit your grand schemes," he assured with a smirk.

Now Raff stuck out his tongue. "Ye know, you'd have made a good Messenger. You have sarcasm and roguishness well-honed."

"And be stuck wandering backwater lands at the whim of whoever desired a message to be sent? No thank you." He chuckled at Raff's expression, then turned serious. "One thing is bothering me about this situation, however."

"Only one? I would have thought there'd be several."

"You were going to leave the city without bothering to say hello, weren't you?"

"That's what's bothering you about this whole thing? And they say my priorities are askew." At Kendric's glare, he sighed. "Look, I forgot what town I was in."

The man raised an incredulous eyebrow. "It's the biggest city in the kingdom. Next to a lake. How did you forget?"

Raff shrugged sheepishly. "It's a city, Kenny. They all look the same after a while; huge buildings, too many people, distracting noises, not enough trees-"

"All right, nature boy, I get the point." He shook his head and wondered aloud something he'd never understood about his brothers. "I don't know how you and Cyn can be so comfortable outside city walls."

"I was going to be a ranger, remember? Being outdoors obviously goes with the territory, no pun intended. Not so sure about him, but that happens to most Messengers, I think; when you spend most of your life traveling, you become as comfortable outdoors as in." Raff answered, then figured this was a good a time as any to ask what had been on his mind for a while. Trying to keep his voice steady and not sound too hopeful, he inquired, "But speaking of Cyn, have you heard from him lately?"

"Not in over a month," Noticing the half-elf's face fall, he asked, "Why? What happened?"

"Nothing's happened, which is the problem." At Kendric's blank stare, Raff sighed again. "I haven't heard from him in even longer than that. I'm worried. Possibly his letters are being stolen, but..."

"I'm sure he's fine, Raff. One of us would have heard if it were otherwise."

"You're probably right. But if this thief does have those letters, he'll regret it. I swear."

Kendric nodded, knowing that he wouldn't want to be on the bad side of the Messengers, particularly this one. Messing with people who have perfected practical jokes to a career is never a bright move. "Then we'll just have to do what we can to catch him. Assuming you priests have this sorted out on your end, I'll bring the message by in two days."

"Perfect. If anything changes, I'll send my bird again." As the two rose, he added gratefully, "Thank you so much, Kenny- with your help we just might be able t'pull this off. The Messengers- well, the ones in on this- will be very thankful for your assistance."

The man reddened, feeling abashed but pleased. "Pah, you know you only had to ask. You don't have to twist my arm for me to admit that I miss spending time with you crazy clerics."

Before Kendric could say anything else, he was startled by his brother unexpectedly hugging him tightly with a muffled "Love ye." It shouldn't have surprised him since he knew that, despite being half-elven (elves, in Kendric's knowledge, were the epitome of stoic and bland), Raff always wore his heart on his sleeve, but it was something the man still couldn't become accustomed to; he was from a society where everyone- particularly the men- hid their true feelings and avoided showing any kind of passion or emotion. He could count on one hand (and still have a finger or two left over) the number of times his real brother had told him that, and Cyn was a self-proclaimed rebel of their caste.

Kendric's awkward return of the embrace seemed to satisfy the half-elf, though; Raff grinned rather waggishly before bounding out of the room. He does that on purpose, doesn't he? Kendric asked himself, shaking his head.



The next part can be found here.