Plague

Elnaril and Takari sat in the shop, occasionally glancing at each other as Ruehar walked about in a craze, often throwing his hands in the air for emphasis as he chastised the two young elves. Since their return to Alda Harad, Ruehar hadn’t let off on them – claiming that they “could have been killed” and questioning their competence.

“Does this mean I can’t go hunting with Leena today?” Takari asked after a moment of silence, successfully earning a glare from her glabrous-skinned father. She stepped down and closed her mouth when she realized how red his skin was getting.

“You don’t realize the severity of this situation. What could have happened–”

“But nothing happened,” Takari said, “It was all a misunderstanding and the council knows that. They let Elnaril and I go and are investigating the blacksmith – or whoever the man was that gave us the shipment.”

Ruehar said nothing in response to his daughter. He disappeared into the back of his shop and closed the door behind him, leaving Elnaril and Takari to themselves. Elnaril muttered some excuse for having to leave and Takari took her bow and her quiver from behind the counter, intent on meeting Leena before her father changed his mind.



Takari and Leena always did all of their hunting on the kingdom of Jarennore outskirts. This spot in particular was a breeding ground for all sorts of different animals – squirrels, rabbits, and if one of the two girls got lucky, maybe even a deer. Today was the first time the girls were actually struggling to find something. There wasn’t a sound to be heard in the forest.

“Peculiar,” Leena murmured, sheathing her knife once she realized the noise she had previously heard was in her head, “We’ve walked even further than we normally do and there are still no signs of any animals.”

“Could they be sleeping?” Takari asked.

“Not at this hour. They should all be out scavenging for food.”

Takari allowed her shoulders to roll into a lazy shrug as they continued walking. Meat was a plus at dinner, and Takari would be disappointed if she returned from this trip with none, but it wasn’t a necessity.

“We are going too far,” Takari noted uneasily, looking to Leena.

“We won't get lost. We've got our snow tracks to follow home.”

“We can only walk a little further before we hit–”

Leena shushed Takari and whispered, “Did you hear that?”

Takari listened, a pit forming in her stomach upon hearing rustling somewhere close in the distance. It sounded a lot like a deer and if that was the case, she would invite Leena and her family over for dinner that night.

The two girls followed the noise, moving quickly and stealthily. Leena readied her knife as Takari tried to nock an arrow onto her bow, fumbling with it as they moved. Their system was relatively simple: Takari would shoot an arrow, impeding any quick movements from the animal, and Leena would finish it off with her knife.

“Stop,” Leena's arm jutted out in front of Takari, successfully stopping her from walking any further, before whispering, “That's no animal. Oh – what is that thing, Takari? It's eating something. An animal? A–”

“A man.” Takari said, watching the crouched figure from behind the safety of a thick burning bush hedge. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched the creature; she couldn't tell for sure what it was. It sat on all fours, much like a dog or a wolf would, and its flesh was rotten – Takari could smell it from where she was standing.

“Is it… Could it be what the humans call a ghoul?” Leena whispered.

As if on cue, the creature looked up from the carcass of a man, inhumanly snapping its head in the direction of Takari and Leena. It let out a deafening screech and stood on its two hind legs. Before Takari could register what was happening, Leena was grabbing at her arm and yelling for her to run. She stayed in her spot, glued to the ground, and watched in amazement as the creature barreled towards her.

Before it could reach them it was shot dead through the head with a silver arrow, falling limply onto its side. Takari's eyes followed the invisible trail of the arrow where she spotted the silhouettes of three men. She quickly gathered her bearings only to hear an ear-splitting wail emit from her friend beside her.

“Leena? What happened? Leena?”

“I've been shot,” Leena bellowed, “Naida, I've been shot.”

Takari looked back to where the men were stanced, pulling two arrows from her quiver and expertly nocking them back, managing to kill two thirds of the group of men – or at least seriously injure them. With one man left standing Takari yanked the bow from its spot in Leena's lower abdomen and assisted her as they ran.

“He is gaining on us, Takari.” Leena murmured after a few moments. She put all her weight into Takari's side, causing Takari to stumble momentarily before regaining her footing.

“I need you to get through this,” Takari demanded breathlessly, “I need you to stay conscious and help me get us out of this. We've always been a team, haven't we, Leena? Right now is no different.”

“Drop me there,” Leena croaked, weakly pulling at a lock of Takari's hair and gesturing over towards a grove of ginkgo trees west of them. Takari struggled to carry Leena, nearly dragging her now, but ignored her friend's words. “Leave me.”

“I won't leave you,” Takari said, “We'll get you to a healer and–”

“Leave me,” Leena demanded, harshly as she could. Takari looked at her, nodding.

“Ari,” Takari murmured, pulling Leena towards the ginkgoes, “Ari.”

She laid her friend down by the most beautiful and inconspicuous ginkgo she could find, sitting beside her. “Gadael i'mi rauhaan. Mennä, Takari. Minä saada vielä riittä. Sanoa i'mi dylwyth. Ne yn minulle i'mi,”

“I won't leave you, kveekari.”

“Lähteä,” Leena spoke, her breath labored, “Ne yn minulle i'mi. Ne yn minulle i'mi.”

“Ari,” Takari said, hearing the footsteps in the distance, “Rwy'n di.”

“Rwy'n di, kveekari,” Leena smiled, “Do it now.”

“Close your eyes,” Takari instructed softly.

She nocked an arrow back and pointed it at Leena's forehead.