Beth was the first to respond. Jumping out of the cart, she raced to Greenspring’s body. She tore the sleeves off her shirt and began applying a tourniquet to his arms and legs. Nia quickly joined her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It couldn’t be Greenspring, he was too strong to be taken down by a few arrows.

  White strands of his hair and beard were stained red by blood. How long had he been lying there? What if we had passed by him? Why wasn’t he getting up? The last time I saw Greenspring so injured, he stood up within a minute like nothing had happened. My eyes fell onto his wolf necklace.

  I stumbled out of the cart, grabbing the pendant off the ground as I ran to his body. His eyes were open, still staring at where the pendant had been. Arm outstretched toward it. There was no pulse and no sign of breathing. Nia and Beth tried desperately to provide aid, but I knew it was pointless. If he wasn’t dead yet, he would surely be soon. Only the strongest healing spells could bring him back.

  Still, I had to try something. With numb hands, I lifted up his head and placed the necklace around his neck. The wolf’s eyes glowed a deep purple color. In the distance, I could hear a wolf’s howl followed by another animal cry, one I couldn’t recognize. It was deep and guttural, piercing down to my very soul. Pressing my hands to his chest, I tried to feel for a pulse. Briefly, for just a moment, his heart beat again.

  “We have to get him to Kareth,” said Nia as she lifted Greenspring into her arms. “It isn’t safe here.”

  I scanned the trees for any sign of danger. Nia was right, whoever shot those arrows could still be nearby. Beth helped Nia load Greenspring into the cart. She immediately began washing his wounds with whatever water we had in our supplies. My heart swelled with pride. I was so lucky to have a wife like her.

  Now that Greenspring was safe, the mules were ready to go. I wondered if they had known Greenspring was hurt and wanted us to rescue him. He was a druid, if there was any person that animals cared about it would be a druid. Commanding them forward, I kept my eyes focused on the road. Safety and speed were my only two priorities.

  Keeping the cart steady required an immense amount of focus. I was thankful that the mules seemed to sense my distress and tried their best as well. Every bounce of the cart, every uneven turn had me grinding my teeth. Now I regretted taking the bumpy road. Sweat formed on my face and dripped down onto my lap. Behind me, I could hear Beth and Nia trying their best to help Greenspring.

  “It’s okay,” said Beth, washing the blood off his back with a wet rag. “Hold still.”

  I chanced a look back. Beth held up Greenspring as Nia took off his robe. Some of the arrows had pierced through his chest, the small metal tips poking through the flesh. With calm determination, Nia took her knife and cut around them. Greenspring groaned but could do little more than that. I turned back around as Nia snapped the arrows and began pushing them through his chest.

  My stomach groaned in turn with Greenspring.

  Finally, we passed by the sign to Kareth. For the first time since finding Greenspring’s body, I felt myself start to relax. There were only a few more miles until we were safe. The mules ran faster, somehow sensing that our destination was close. I wanted to take another look back to see how Greenspring was doing, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

  “We’re close!” I called out.

  “Thanks!” yelled Nia. “Keep going until we reach an inn.”

  Tugging the reins, I slowed down as we pulled into Kareth. Even though we were in a hurry, I didn’t want to hit anyone walking through town. Lucky for us, there were only a few passersby as we blazed past them. My eyes scanned the surrounding buildings, looking for anything that resembled an inn.

  Kareth was a small town, smaller than even Xalir. Most of the buildings were made of wood, with thatched roofs sloped to keep the snow off them. The inn was the largest building in town, but it was still the smallest inn I had ever seen. A sign depicting a sleeping woodsman was the only hint that it was an inn.

  I pulled the cart right up to the front door. As soon as we stopped, Nia hopped out of the cart and grabbed Greenspring. Beth followed after her. I pulled the mules to the side of the inn where a small stable was set up for visitors’ animals. Their hot breath was visible in the air as they finally caught their breath.

  Stroking their manes, I whispered, “Thank you.”

  A look of understanding passed between us. Once they were settled in with food and water, I made sure the cart was secure before heading inside the inn. It was nice, save for the barely alive druid lying on one of the tables. The innkeeper, an older elvish woman with jet-black hair, was casting healing magic on him. Nia and Beth were nearby, watching the innkeeper work with bated breath.

  “Anything I can do?” I asked, moving to stand next to her.

  “These wounds are fresh, but the marks of decay are undeniable. Your friend here was dead. What happened?”

  I shrugged. “I’m not sure. All I know is that once I put that necklace around his neck, he started recovering.”

  The elvish woman pursed her lips, her hands were enveloped in an orange glow. Blood pooled around Greenspring’s wounds before it floated up into her hands. Dirt and other debris did so as well. Small balls of blood pulsed rapidly in the air before they returned to the druid’s body. I tried to use my own healing magic, but it only helped heal him a little.

  “Poison,” she muttered, sweat dripping from her brow as she concentrated.

  “We didn’t see any poison on the arrows,” I replied, glancing at Nia and Beth who seemed as confused as me.

  “You wouldn’t. It’s invisible to the naked eye. But those who have experienced the effects of the poison can smell it.” She shook her head. “You never forget that smell. Kanta Spit they call it.” The light around her hands disappeared as she took a step back.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Kanta Spit?” The kingdom of Kanta was a coastal kingdom to the west of here. Zadona, the one who had asked me to come to Adelbern, was a Kanta elf. Though I had known Zadona for many years, I knew little of her heritage. She had never talked about her birth parents.

  “Your friend needs time to recover,” said the innkeeper, cleaning her hands with a nearby rag. “He’s lucky. Few who walk the path of the druid receive a gift such as that.” She gestured to his wolf totem. “I dare say he is the only one of this age.”

  I nodded. She offered me the rag, which I took graciously and cleaned my hands as well. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name. My name is Norman, Norman Benson. This is Nia, my wife Beth, and this one is called Greenspring. Thank you for helping him.”

  “I didn’t do much,” she replied, glancing at the druid before her tired eyes met mine. “I’m Keziah. I imagine you folks are going to need a place to sleep, right?”

  “We have money to pay, of course,” I said, smiling.

  She scoffed. “Yeah, you four aren’t staying here for free. Especially not after this,” she said, gesturing to the druid. He slept peacefully on the table, his wounds healing as we spoke. When I looked back up at Keziah I noticed her eyeing my instrument.

  “Kingmaker,” I said, pulling my mandolin around to my front so she could get a better look. Arienne had named it after our adventure under the Sapphire Mountains. “It’s my trusty mandolin.”

  “I know what it is. You know how to play it?”

  I laughed. “Of course I do. You must have heard of me? Surely my songs reach even these treacherous mountains? Perhaps you’ve heard of my master, the great Piopus?”

  Keziah frowned. “Piopus? That sounds dirty. Look, if you can play, you can stay. I’m sure the hunters around here would enjoy having a bard in town.”

  Biting my tongue, I smiled. “Of course. I’ll do my best.”

  “You better,” she replied. After eyeing me up and down one last time, she turned to speak to Nia. “There’s an empty room at the end of the hall. Take your friend upstairs. He needs to sleep on a bed, not a table.”

  As Nia picked Greenspring up, his eyes fluttered open. Panic was evident on his face before his eyes settled on Keziah. He quickly relaxed. “Keziah,” he muttered, barely able to get the words out.

  She held his chin, her gaze softening. “Rest, young one. You’re safe here.”

  He fell asleep. As Nia carried him up the stairs, Keziah let her hand hang in the air. Making a fist, she let it fall. I wanted to ask what that was about, but I also didn’t want to be rude. After all, she had already done so much for us. She must have noticed my confusion, as she took a seat before sighing heavily.

  “He shouldn’t have gone alone. I told him that, but he wouldn’t listen,” she said, folding her arms.

  “You know him?” asked Beth, leaning toward the elvish woman.

  “Not really, he came to my inn a few days ago. For a druid, he’s quite the charming fellow…” Keziah stared off into the distance, a pleasant smile on her face. Then she began to frown. “Your friend isn’t the first druid to be hurt in these mountains, but he is the first to come back. There are rumors going around of a druid hunter. If I hadn’t seen the evidence today, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

  “Why would someone hunt druids?” I asked. Before meeting Greenspring, the most I knew about druids came from books or bardic songs. They weren’t bad folks, but they were a bit odd. Most of the songs I knew about them treated them like healers or even great heroes.

  “Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, it could have something to do with… I won’t speak about it here, but that was a long time ago. Anyone old enough to remember that would have to be my age,” said Keziah, chuckling to herself.

  Kanta Spit, druid hunter, deadly archer, Zadona. Were they connected? Could that be why Zadona had sent that letter? Was her boss some kind of druid hunter? Had they tried to kill Greenspring? I shook my head. Everything was happening too fast.

  Beth hooked her arm around mine. The warmth of her touch spread through my body. I didn’t need to look at her, I could see her face clearly in my mind. Taking a deep breath, I pushed my worries out of my mind.

  “Keziah, has anyone seen this druid hunter?” I asked.

  “Sure, but they’ve never lived to tell the tale. As I said, only one druid has ever come back. If anyone knows what they look like, it’s your friend.”

  “Of course, sorry. Let’s leave such matters be.” My mind raced as I imagined what would have happened if we never stumbled upon Greenspring’s body. “What time do you serve dinner?”

  With a few hours to go before I would have to perform, Beth and I walked upstairs to check on Greenspring. The room Keziah set us up in had two beds with a large window staring out into the woods. Greenspring slept in the bed farthest from the door with Nia stood beside him. Beth sat down on the other bed, wringing her hands nervously.

  “He’ll be fine,” I said, sitting down beside her.

  She sighed. “Is this what you had to deal with when you left the first time?”

  “Almost dying?” asked Nia, grinning. “Yeah, something like that. Greenspring is tough, I wouldn’t waste too much time worrying about him.”

  “You never know, I could die at any moment,” said Greenspring, glaring at Nia with one eye open. His voice was still weak, but I could tell he would be back to full strength before tomorrow.

  “Glad to see you awake,” I replied, smiling.

  “I am glad to be awake. Most druids my age would not survive such an encounter.”

  “What happened?” asked Nia.

  Greenspring grimaced as he stared at the ceiling. “I am not quite sure myself. I have been traveling the Emerald Mountains for some time now. Ever since Khristi went missing. One missing druid is to be expected. Some jobs require traveling deep into uncharted, uncivilized territory. But five druids disappearing around the same time, in the same area? That is cause for worry.

  “At first, nothing seemed wrong. The forest is healthy, the animal populations are within expectations. Even the hunters are taking care to respect nature. That is unnatural but it is a good kind of unnatural. I was starting to get worried it was… Well, it could not have been that, but that did not stop me from worrying about it.”

  “That?” asked Beth. “What were you worried about?”

  Greenspring quickly looked to his left and then to his right. “Tigers! Nasty creatures tigers are. Always watch out for them.”

  I rolled my eyes, but Beth seemed appropriately curious. “Why would you worry about seeing tigers around here?” she asked.

  “You should not,” he replied. “But you can never be too careful when it comes to tigers. Once I ruled out tigers, I was truly confused. That was when she found me. She was good, probably the best assassin to ever come for me. Even so, if she had not known to remove my totem, I could have stopped her.”

  She? Her? My mind was racing. “Did you see what she looked like?”

  He nodded. “She was a Kanta elf. Red eyes, brown skin, white hair, pointed ears, all signs she comes from the Kanta region. I was surprised to see her use a bow, but I suppose anyone can use one of those. Most Kanta elves prefer the use of a dagger. Helps with the use of their poisons, you see. Yes, she was very clever. There are not many who could sneak up on me.”

  Beth gave me a worried glance, but I pressed on, still unsure of the growing worry in my mind. “You didn’t happen to catch her name, did you?”

  He shook his head, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief. “No, I did not. But I have my suspicions. There have been rumors of an elvish archer winning tournament matches in the north for some time now. If my suspicions are correct, then I am lucky to be alive. I have only heard the name once, but I believe the one hunting druids is Zadona, Archer of Adelbern.”