The Long Road Back: A Jarthen-centric Interquel (pt. 1)

To ease what we here at Jarthen HQ is sure has been a truly arduous wait, here's the first part of a serialized interquel featuring the one and only Jarthen, boy wonder. Because regardless of the fact that we were forced by the demands of plot and pacing to demote him to a secondary character in the books proper, he will always remain the protagonist of our hearts. This novella starts right after he stumbles over the ghostly form of Na-Fra (the pirate formerly known as a bitter centaur named Glothnafar) and follows him through his misadventures until he reaches Rethnaki and company again a good three or so years later. Enjoy!
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If there was one decision I could take back, one moment of my life I would’ve done different, it would have been at Na-Fra’s funeral. I would’ve stayed. If I’d known then what I was running to I don’t think I’d’ve run. Actually, I’m sure I’d not have run. But maybe that’s the way fate works – maybe fate’s in those moments where you think you know what lies ahead but you don’t. It’s the thing that tricks you down the path you know you’d not have gone down on your own.

I think about that sort of thing a lot these days. I never did before that last time I saw Na-Fra, after his funeral. When he was alive and dead at the same time. When he was a ghost. A’right, I know he says he wasn’t one, but what other name fer it is there? I guess I never really thought about it ‘cause I never really thought I had a fate. Or a destiny or what have you. I thought that sort of thing only happened to important folks and I’ve been decidedly not important my entire life. Which was never really a bad thing until my pa decided I wasn’t all that important and sold me to the army.

I wonder if that was fate, too. I wish there was a way to know fer sure. Doubt there is, though.

Guess none of this matters much since the fact of the matter is I didn’t stay at his funeral. I stood there, watching the rest of them looking all hollowed out and empty, knowing it was my fault. That we’d never have had to fight that battle had it not been fer me and that he’d still be alive and kicking but fer me. Seeing Jellihondor like that was the worst of it. After all, he saved my life, you know? He couldn’t look me in the eye after Na-Fra died, I think he thought it was my fault, too. I figured I’d done enough damage, so I slipped off. I didn’t really know where to go – I mean, technically I was deserting both sides. Not a lot of places are friendly to that sort of thing – but I went away from the mountains, figuring I’d hit the Fethil and head back home. Course, I ran into Na-Fra before I got all that far and that sort of led to a change of plans. The entire time I stood there in those ruins talking to him, though, I half-believed it was a dream. Seemed like a dream, ‘tween the dead man glaring at me and all that talk about a prophecy and all. Didn’t feel like a dream, though, and if it wasn’t it was a dying man’s last wishes and I couldn’t refuse that in good conscience. So after he died the second time, I headed south, towards Neerhemhind, like he told me to.

One thing I’d learned on that long, hard trip with Jelli and his crew was that I thought the world was a much smaller place than it is. I’d no idea until they dragged me along that places like the City of Mages and the Dark Lands even existed. My best friend back home, Bertronius, he was educated proper, so he probably knows all about them, but I didn’t. And I didn’t know Susselfen was so far off from the forest, either. So I sort of thought Neerhemhind was closer than it was. I hit the Athenorkos River and followed is west for three or four days before I got to Helletiern City. Which, I admit, I thought was Neerhemhind at first. It’s bigger than Susselfen, it was the biggest city I’d ever seen, and all the buildings were built out of stone. And all I really knew about Neerhemhind was that it was huge, that the queen lives there, and there’s a lot of stone buildings there. Got set straight, though, when I asked a fella selling apples which way Elftown was.

“Elftown? Got the gambler’s row a few streets south of here, but this ain’t Neerhemhind, boy. There’s no proper elf district here in Helletiern,” he said. “What’re you after them fer, anyway? Should steer clear, they’ll just charm you up and down and leave you naked in a ditch somewhere.”

“Right, course.” Well, I thought to myself, there’s got to be sympathetic elves all over. “Which way to the gambling houses?”

“Boy, I’m telling you, those elves, they cheat like there’s no tomorra. Best keep your gold to yourself.”

“Just tell me and if I lose my gold it’ll be my own fault and not yours.”

He shook his head at me and pointed down one of the side streets. I thanked him and he told me again to watch myself and that I was barreling headfirst into a world of trouble, but I ignored him. Should’ve listened, though.

The gambling houses weren’t hard to find. They were tucked in this narrow little alley that smelled just like Naki’s tent – pipeherb and parchment and old wool – and there were elves milling around outside a number of shops, talking with each other in low voices. There weren’t many humans about, I remember that, and they all stared at me as I passed by. A bit down the street there was a pair of them playing fiddles and singing songs about birds, and I figured them for minstrels. And the minstrels, you know, they’re always traveling all over the damn place. And one of the songs was about a starling, which I thought could’ve meant I was on the right track since Naki’s code name was Starling and all. I parked myself against a nearby building and waited for them to finish up their set and watched the other elves wander off before I went over.
“You two heading out anytime soon, you think?” I asked. Good lord, I was nervous as all hell, too. Especially when the taller one looked up at me and frowned.

“Why do you want to know, dayney?”

“Well, ‘cause I need to get to Elftown. Fer…fer the cause,” I said, hoping they’d just believe me and agree to take me.

The other one cocked an eyebrow at me. “For the cause? What cause?”

“You know. The cause,” I said. They blinked at me, looking a bit bored and bad-tempered, so I ducked in a little closer. “You know, golden tree and all that,” I whispered.

The smaller one’s eyes got big and he shoved his fiddle in its case and started off, but his friend caught him by the sleeve before he could get that far. “What do you know about that?”

“Probably know more about that than you,” said I. “I’m a friend of Starling’s, calls me Pigeon, ring any bells?” They shook their heads. “Look, I been running with them fer awhile and I really need to get to Elftown. Can you take me? Or know someone who can, maybe?”

They stepped back and whispered to each other, watching me close the entire time. Can’t really blame them, though, seeing as how it’s not every day some human lad comes up out of nowhere saying he’s running with the rebels. The taller one crossed his arms and studied me for a second. “Li erala parra orlan gann?”

Now, I knew that was the red’s tongue. Heard bits and pieces of it all my life, living out in the Fethil. But, I ain’t ever been all that good with languages and I don’t know enough of it to count to five. You’d think the rebels would use it but as far as I know they don’t, not really. Well, they never did around me, anyway. My friend Bert, the one with the fancy education, he knows it. His granpa’s one of them and he’s bright as all hell anyway, so I bet he’d’ve known what that little bastard was saying to me, but he weren’t there. Anyway, I shrugged and shook my head.

The elf waved at me and started off down the street, so I ran ahead and blocked their path. Got long legs, helluva a lot longer than most of his kind, didn’t take much. “Look, see this dark spot here on my vest? Had a patch with the tree on it, swear I did.”

“Oh? Did you rip it off yerself?” the smaller, nervous one asked, suddenly not all that nervous.

“Well, aye, but I had to. Long story, that. But, look, you know that band the Cardinal was dragging all over creation? With Starling and Peregrine and Dove and Owl and all?” They gave me a wary nod and I finally felt like I was getting somewhere. “I was with them. Up through Norsa, through the City, through the Dark Lands and into Susselfen.”

“That so?”

I nodded, willing them to believe me.

The taller one chewed his lip and looked me over. And I wish he hadn’t, ‘cause I tell you, I looked a frightful mess then. Been on the road fer a fortnight by myself, hadn’t had a chance to bathe, covered in dust and prickers and the like. Looked like a deserter, frankly. “If that’s true, why aren’t you with them now?”

“Long story. Trying to get back.”

“We elves, you know, we love a good long story,” the other one said.

Well, I have to say, I didn’t feel right about spilling to them ‘bout the prophecy, since they’d all kept it from me so long. It was about me, sure, but somehow it didn’t really feel like it was mine to tell. ‘Sides, all it would’ve done was make it all sound crazier and less likely. “Well, if it was a good one, I’d share it. Look, I know loads, I swear. Like…uh…like that the Cardinal, back in Norsa, he fought that duel with the blue queen.”

“Everybody knows about that, lad,” said the taller one, arms still crossed. Still staring daggers at me.

“Aye, guess they do. Does everybody know she wanted to keep him stuck there as her personal attendant if he lost? Heard her say it myself, plain as day.”

The elf watched me for a second and whispered something to his friend. I tried my damnedest to hear what he was saying, but he was talking quiet-like and I think it was in their tongue again anyway. They kept on like that fer what felt like ages. Then he looked up at me again and smiled.
“So you need to get back to the rest, do you?”

“Aye, I do.”

“Well, I know a few fellas down south who’ll take right good care of you. Guess you’ll be wanting to leave sooner rather than later, eh?”

“The sooner the better. So you’ll take me to Elftown?”

He grinned at me and I grinned back. That happens now and again with the reds, and I think he was trying to charm me, but all that ever happens with me is just the grinning back. I used to think folks just blew their magick out of proportion, tall tales and all that, but I’ve seen them charm the living daylights out of each other, so I know it is real. It just don’t seem to ever get very far with me. Anyway, he grinned at me, one of those sorts of grins they wear when they’re winning at cards. “Do you one better. I’m taking you to Opleneer.”

“Oh, no,” said I. “I’m s’posed to head to Elftown. Or Susselfen.”

“Well,” said he, “from what me and mine round here have heard, the tree’s moved to the islands. If you’re really who you claim to be, I can get you on a ship in Opleneer. ‘Twould be a good bit faster than lumbering through the forest alone, wouldn’t it? And besides that, there’s a great lot of us in Opleneer anyway, everyone knows that.”

“A great lot more of us there than in Elftown or Susselfen,” said the other elf.

“That so?” I asked. I was skeptical, but hell, I didn’t really know all that much about it. I was sort of thrown into all of this blind, you know, Jelli and the rest didn’t exactly explain the ins and outs of the underground rebel network to me when they took me in. And, really, Na-Fra just said to get to where there were elves and the elves would know what to do.

“That’s so, lad,” the tall one said. And, like an idiot, I believed him.