Chapter 39

Erren kept Darras busy over the next few months, mainly in the west, where the shadows had congregated to attempt to destabilise the various kingdoms. He did not run across any of what the Dark Lord termed a medium scale, though Pelegard and Hallis had combined their abilities to improve his armour to resist curses, with Erren blessing it each trip.

An issue had been a series of primarily human assassins attempting to waylay Darras, usually, though not always, on the road. None of them were of any particular danger to Darras, backed up by Erren as he was, but they were annoying and time-consuming. This also involved the Thieves Guild of Dobra after Darras found a written contract on one of his assailants that gave a name and a payment. Erren later informed Darras that Amina’s group had taken down a wealthy Baronet in Asul from the town of Pelethor, who had taken out a contract with the far less scrupulous Hunters Guild of Asul.

‘Not just took him down,’ Erren informed Darras as he sat in a tavern waiting to deal with a possessed merchant. ‘But passed on various documents to the local Earl of the Baronet’s involvement in smuggling and kidnapping.’

“Lost his title?” Darras asked.

‘Currently running for his life to the Krunan border with only a horse and his clothing left to his name,’ Erren replied happily.

“I take it the Earl opposes slavery?”

‘He does, though, had little inclination to do something openly about it, at least until now.’

“Saw which way the wind was blowing?”

‘Yes, he’s now incredibly popular in his demesne, which has followed Gorfey’s example and made the slave trade illegal,’ Erren replied. ‘Years ahead of schedule.’

“I suspect that has upset the Darmelan merchants,” Darras chuckled.

‘Greatly, as Pelethor stood astride the slave route to the far north, though admittedly its influence had waned due to a lack of Elven slaves.’

“Yes, that became a hazardous undertaking.”

‘It did indeed, my love.’

“There’s our target,” Darras informed Erren.

‘Lot of guards.’

“Low-level thugs, for the most part, though at least two are mercenary types.”

‘Doubt you’ll get him alone, either.’

“Unlikely, he’s being escorted everywhere, and they are even checking the jakes,” Darras chuckled.

‘Seems you’ve taught them fear,’ Erren replied, satisfied.

“Won’t help the shadow when I come for it.”

‘No killing.’

“By your command, my lady.”

As getting the shadow possessing the merchant was impossible in the tavern, Darras took his time to examine the train of wagons moving the merchant’s goods, finding them to be of poor overall quality, if adequate for the task. Darras calculated their speed and, checking on a map, figured he could get at the merchant as he passed through the dense woodlands en route to Sveemas, the capital of Korch.

‘I’ve spoken to Doriel, and her followers will assist you in your path through their woods,’ Erren confirmed.

“Good, it would be difficult otherwise,” Darras nodded. “Not without much wholesale killing.”

‘None are irredeemable.’

“And we don’t want Serulon sticking her nose in, I know,” Darras chuckled.

‘And she will trust me,’ Erren replied. ‘I think she’s getting tired of my brother’s litany of complaints and wants me to stop making him angry.’

“Not for him to stop upending the natural order of life?” a puzzled Darras asked.

‘I think she just wants a quiet life,’ Erren giggled. ‘Catching us out doing something against the rules might just shut my brother up for a while ... or so she hopes.’

“She can’t be that naive?”

‘She isn’t, but she hopes.’

After a good night’s sleep, Darras set off very early and made his way to his planned ambush site. The forest folk observed him as ever when he entered the woods, though they did not approach. Darras then pulled a set of darts out, their tips coated with a powerful, if short-lived, paralysing agent. Just over an hour later, the merchant’s wagon train rumbled through the woods only to come to a halt as Darras targeted the lead driver with a dart, causing his muscles to spasm and freeze, with the horse pulling to the side before coming to an abrupt stop.

Darras then targeted the guards approaching the wagon before darting from cover and racing towards the merchant’s covered wagon. Loud warning shouts went up as the guards fell, though many were on the far side of the train and did not notice Darras’s approach. Those that did were armed only with swords and no match for Darras’s ability to accurately throw the darts at any exposed point on their body, as other than the ex-mercenaries, none were armoured. Hence, despite the shouts of alarm, Darras reached the merchant’s covered wagon, pulled the door open, grabbed the shadow from the merchant and pulled it away, dragging its disintegrating form back into the treeline, now chased by the remaining confused guards.

‘Well done, my love,’ Erren congratulated Darras. ‘There were no deaths, no witnesses to your face, just confusion and a short chase as the forest folk are closing the trail behind you.’

“Thank Hallis and Miriel for the dart idea,” Darras chuckled as the sound of pursuit died out from behind him.

‘Yes, Miriel used them to take down the Crusalian usurper’s guards,’ Erren replied.

“And we’ve no doubt disappointed Serulon,” Darras smiled.

‘And annoyed my brother, too.’

“Could be difficult to tell; he always seems annoyed.”

‘True,’ Erren giggled. ‘Oh, I have a request from Doriel; there is a dispute in this forest, and she’d appreciate your help calming things down.’

“No problem; what’s the issue?”

‘Villagers have taken on a contract to log wood and have encroached upon a sacred grove the Woodnymphs use,’ Erren explained.

“I take it Doriel doesn’t want them killed?”

‘No, they’re my followers, but the priest is ill and wasn’t consulted.’

“Ah, I see,” Darras nodded, knowing that the priests of the gods were far more ‘hands-on’ than in his world. “So, just friendly advice before they go too far?”

‘Yes, please.’

As it was still early and the village within jogging distance, Darras swiftly made his way to the area, finding signs of logging, though the villagers still needed to arrive. Following the trail, Darras left the forested area, spotting a neat, well-kept village not too far away. The first signs of not everything being well came as Darras reached the entrance to the village, finding it guarded.

“Halt! State your business!” a young man in ill-fitting armour demanded.

“I am Darras Blain, agent of the goddess Erren, and here to prevent your village from coming under the wrath of the forest folk,” Darras replied.

“How do I know you aren’t a spy?”

“Get many spies?” Darras asked.

“Er ... no, but tensions have been rising, and several villagers are missing,” the guard replied,

‘Doriel assures me they’re alive,’ Erren informed Darras.

“They’re alive, but your logging has encroached upon a sacred grove, and I’m here to negotiate before deaths do occur,” Darras informed the guard.

“I’ll ... er ... take you to the mayor,” The guard eventually decided. “But no tricks.”

“Of course,” a slightly amused Darras replied.

“The mayor, a hassled-looking middle-aged man, greeted Darras politely and quickly asked him about the circumstances of the visit. “We took on a logging contract, but the merchant wanted a specific wood.”

“A Darmela worshipper from Fordel, perchance?” Darras asked, his suspicions hardening.

“A Fordelian, yes. A Darmelan most likely, why?”

“Fordelians are currently having a dispute with the forest folk of their own country and seeking out supplies of wood elsewhere,” Darras replied. “This, however, has a touch of malice to it.”

‘Indeed it does, my love.’

“Unfortunately, we had to take our priest to the main temple in Sveemas for healing and could not consult him over the contract,” the mayor sighed.

“If you can come with me, I’ll try to speak to a Dryad or at least a Woodnymph and try to get this resolved for you,” Darras offered,

“I will; tensions over the missing villagers are high, and this needs ending.”

“Trust me, you would not win in any show of violence towards the forest folk,” Darras warned.

“I know this, but I have a few hotheads who would try.”

“Best get this sorted then,” Darras nodded.

First, the mayor rang a bell at the village square, summoning everyone interested to hear an announcement. He then informed them of who Darras was and what was to happen.

“How does this stranger know what is going on?” a burly young man asked.

“Because my goddess told me,” Darras replied. “She wishes to avoid a dispute that can only lead to bloodshed and the wiping out of the village.”

“Pah! We have the measure of the forest folk,” the man replied.

“Not even close,” Darras chuckled. “I’ve seen what they can do if you make them angry.”

“Darras is right,” the mayor interjected. “Our people are alive; let’s not give the forest folk cause to make it otherwise.”

“And what of the contract?”

“I’ll speak to them about that too; they have no love for Fordel,” Darras replied.

“That’s where this merchant hailed from,” the burly young man replied. “Are you saying we’ve been duped?”

“Most likely,” Darras shrugged. “It’s a win-win for him. Get the wood, fine. If your village gets wiped out, he’ll have plans for a logging camp.”

“I find that hard to believe!”

“Your choice. Just wait patiently, and the mayor and I will get your people back and talk to the forest folk about your contract.”

That settled the meeting, and Darras and the mayor made their way to the woods. Darras followed Erren’s directions towards the sacred grove until Erren informed him that the forest folk representative had been summoned. This was a Dryad, whom both Darras and the mayor greeted respectfully.

“Thank you for your aid,” the Dryad spoke to Darras. “My name is Tyani.”

Darras and the mayor explained the situation, and the mayor humbly apologised for the trespass near the sacred grove. Darras also explained his suspicions of what the merchant was up to and what he hoped to achieve.

“You suspect he is under the influence of both Darmela and the Dark Lord?” Tyani asked.

“Yes, though not possessed,” Darras replied.