us as we do not bother them; though if they are corrupted with black magic, and turned Feral, I do not guess what evil they might be capable of.”
“I dread to think,” Adacon replied. “Hah, look!” Calan turned to see what amused him: it was a sleeping gnome, upright in his stool, lit pipe dangling from his mouth. Suddenly Remtall toppled from his stool, where on the wooden floor he promptly began to snore. Adacon walked over to extinguish the smoldering pipe, and together he and Calan lifted the old captain onto a nearby carpet, plush enough to serve as a bed.
“Well—serves him right I guess,” Adacon said.
“Does he always drink with such abandon?” Calan asked.
“He has since I have known him.”
Adacon drifted off, forgetting Remtall, staring at Calan: her attire clung loosely around her fragrant body, and she appeared moist with the dew that hung about the trunk-cabin air. Her jet hair shone with silver brilliance that seemed to radiate its own light, and her deep eyes drew his attention even from her curved body.
“Adacon?” Calan spoke after an awkward pause; they had both been staring at each other.
“Sorry, I was thinking of tomorrow,” Adacon lied.
“Would you come out to the balcony with me, and see the stars before sleep?”
“Sure,” Adacon replied with delay. He became excited, yet sick with nervousness. He stared at her from behind as she led them out onto the balcony. On the balcony the stars glittered wildly above them, twinkling through sections of broken canopy; every few moments a shooting star trailed through the luminous night sky.
“It’s beautiful,” Adacon replied. “In my country, the stars aren’t so visible. I can’t think what to blame for it except Grelion and his destruction.”
“I don’t know if this will be troubling for you to answer…” Calan said.
“No, please—what?”
“Was being a slave—it must have been so awful…” she trembled. Adacon did not respond at first, and Calan felt as though she had overstepped a boundary; her face contorted with a terrible anxiousness. Instinctively Adacon touched her hand to ease her, and she looked up, startled.
“It’s ok—it was awful—I never really gave it much thought until after I slew all the men that kept me there.”
“I’m sorry,” Calan offered. Adacon clasped her hand in his, she tightening her own grip.
“Don’t be. I have come to accept it for what it was, and what it is—and now, though our journey is grim, I am much happier—just for each moment of freedom, even if the consequence is death.” Calan smiled in response, and they both looked up to the starry cutouts in the canopy; from the branches surrounding them emanated subtle night songs, and it seemed all the birds of evening had come alive to sing melodies of love. The mist that hung static in the air shimmered in combat with the light of the stars, and so it appeared the forest was filled with glistening jewels, bright as the night above. Far down, at ground level, Adacon could see fires roaring, where masses of elves carried on in revelry amidst the sparkle-checkered air.
“You know, you’re really the first young human I’ve ever met; I have met old Vapours, and most other races of Darkin as well. But there are few men in Enoa, compared to your country. It is a new experience for me,” Calan expressed. Adacon thought to tell her that she was the first female he had ever met, human or otherwise, but out of embarrassment he did not; instead he leaned forward and kissed her. Calan recoiled, and Adacon looked away, feeling sorely mistaken, loosening his clutch of her hand. Suddenly she gripped his head and turned his jaw back on her, and they kissed once more under the starbrimmed heavens.
* * *
The morning came fast and with quite a start, as a great bell sounded throughout the entire post, and soon Carbal Run was alive and bustling with the coming day. Already gathered about the center of the post was a great congregation of elven men, and several elvish women. Adacon and Remtall awoke atop the jungle in their high room. Adacon thought immediately of what had transpired the night before: Calan and he had kissed, he remembered; it hadn’t been a dream. Adacon looked around the room and found they were alone; she must have left after they had lain down together and he fell asleep.
“Up with the sun, boy. What, no energy of youth? Get up! Have a drink to raise your spirit,” Remtall