178) The Salvation of Eden, Chapter 14 -- The Silver Lady

Finally, the day came when they knew they had arrived. Walking down the little dirt path into the hamlet, they were told by a fellow they passed that yes, Jorn Habaldson lived just up ahead on the left.

         This little hamlet looked the same as the countless others they had wandered through, but this time, it felt different. Kohra was sure that this was the end of their wandering. Once they met Jorn, they wouldn’t be traipsing about the countryside like well-paid hobos anymore. Now they could finally get some answers. Maybe this friend of Galen’s (and presumably therefore, Ms. B’s?) would even have news of her family!  It had been so long, so many weeks on the road that she’d lost count.  But spring had turned to summer, then to autumn, and now the landscape was a painting of golds and browns, and the grasses and flowers were all going to seed, readying themselves for the long sleep before they’d burst out of the ground again in the spring.

         The sign on the front door of the blacksmith shop was itself a work of art. They stopped before knocking, gaping at the calligraphic script carved into the rich cherry wood — “Jorn’s.” This was set against a background that was so intricate, so detailed, Kohra could have stared at it all day — a battle scene between a dragon and a giant fish-like creature that took up the entire rest of the door.

         Suddenly, the handle clicked and the door swung open on soundless hinges. An impossibly beautiful woman in a long, flowing, silver dress stepped out, almost bumping into them before stopping herself.  “Oh!” Her voice was high-pitched and melodic, as though even in her surprise, she was singing.

         They straightened up from their hunched-over postures, and gazed, dumbfounded.  

         Lenny spoke first. “Excuse me, um, miss, uh, we, I, we were just…wow, this door is b-…it’s beautiful. Have you seen it before?” Lenny’s face felt hot; she couldn’t quite bring herself to meet the woman’s eyes; she didn’t know why. Physical beauty was something about which Lenny prided herself on caring not a single iota. Nevertheless….

         The woman was smiling at her like they were old friends. Lenny felt awkward and uncomfortable but the woman seemed not to notice. “Oh yes! I have spent many an hour staring at it myself. It’s beautiful and terrible at the same time, don’t you think?” Her slender hand caressed the dragon as she spoke.  Lenny found herself imagining kissing that hand.

         “Um…yes.” Lenny swallowed, looking back and forth between Dominic and Kohra, with un-Lenny-like desperation. However, they were both just staring, blank, no help at all. Gamely, she continued, her mouth full of marbles and her mind full of mush. “I, uh, that is, we are looking for Born Jabaldson, no, Jorn Babal, oh Gods, The Blacksmith! Is he, um, here?” She wondered if that sounded as stupid to everyone else as it did to her.

         The elegant woman smiled again as Lenny turned an even deeper crimson. “Well, it’s your lucky day! You caught me just before I stepped out for lunch. How can I help you?”

         Lenny, finding it impossible to produce coherent speech, said nothing, busy as she was in that moment praying that the earth would swallow her whole.

         Kohra had a funny feeling that she knew this woman somehow, or maybe she’d seen her somewhere before?  But she couldn’t place it.  Nobody THAT elegant had ever set foot back in Huntsville, she was pretty sure.

         In any case, Lenny seemed completely tongue-tied at this point, so Kohra gamely tried her best. “Uh, thanks! Yeah, but, um, maybe Lenny wasn’t clear? I’m, uh, WE are looking for Jorn?” She pointed to the sign on the door, as though that would clear up the confusion. “Do you know where we can find him?”

         “Her.” She laughed, a twinkly, musical laugh, extending an elegant hand and shaking Kohra’s. Her grip, although gentle, was as unyielding as iron. “Jorn Habaldson, nice to make your acquaintance.”

         “But we were told it, he, uh, Bjorn…,” Lenny spluttered. “Not that, you know, uh….”

         “You were expecting a big, hairy man with dirty fingernails who talks with A GROWL?” (She growled the last part, then laughed her airy, twinkling laugh again.) “I get that a lot.”

         Lenny stood, immobile, trying to look like she didn’t care one way or the other. This was Lenny’s last-resort survival strategy — play it cool. Cold as ice. It was obviously ridiculous in that moment, but Kohra and Dom were too captivated to even notice.

         “Well, what are you looking for? Is this something that can wait until after lunch?” She smiled her impossible smile again. Everybody’s knees melted a little.

         “Sure!” Lenny answered smartly. “No problem, we can wait forever, if you need us to.” She wanted to smack herself in the face for saying that; what was wrong with her? But instead, she went back to trying to look neutral.  

         Ice….

         “No, wait!” Kohra almost shouted. The raven-haired woman shifted her eyes and Kohra felt an electrical charge run through her. She felt special. No, she WAS special! Her mind went blank.

         What was I going to say…oh, right!

         “We need to ask you for a very special kind of job, so if you don’t mind, maybe we can talk? In, uh, private?”

         The woman arched one eyebrow, paused for a moment, then turned and reopened her shop. They nervously followed her inside, and were astounded all over again. The shop was filled with exquisitely crafted tools and metal objects of every possible configuration, immaculately organized. Dominic actually squealed with delight. There were so many more THINGS than he had ever thought blacksmiths would use.

         Oddly, there weren’t any farming implements, horseshoes, knives, shovels, nails, axes — the kind of stuff blacksmiths usually made. There weren’t even many weapons, only a couple of short-swords hanging on the wall in one section.

         Instead, there were necklaces, delicate platinum chains, jeweled pendants, a silver decorative scimitar with a jeweled hilt, coils of fine, silver rope, spectacularly sparkly rings with gemstones of every possible color. And shields — a whole wall, emblazoned with different crests.

         “Lock the door behind you. Please,” Jorn asked Lenny, who was the last inside. “I’m still on my lunch.” She smiled. “I’m intrigued, I admit. It’s not every day one gets approached with a special request by two young Elves from different tribes, a Ranger-in-training, a snake and a remarkably cute squirrel.”  She gave Squirrelly a scratch under her chin, and Kohra could’ve sworn the critter actually purred.  “So, ask away!”

         Dominic, still transfixed by the tools on the wall, didn’t seem to notice that she had said anything. Lenny, still transfixed by her, also didn’t seem to notice. Kohra rolled her eyes. “Umm, we need, uh….” She hesitated. “Ferret armour.”

         The woman’s alluring hazel eyes widened momentarily in surprise. “So it’s time.” She rose quickly from her chair to peer out the window, before pulling the shutters. “Does anybody know you’re here? Does anybody else know you’re looking for me?”

         Lenny started to shake her head no, but Kohra swatted her shoulder. “Lenny! Yes! Yes! We’ve been asking around for you ever since we left Anthor. We’ve talked to probably a few, uhhh, hundred people by now? You might even have heard of us — the Snakey & Squirrelly show?”

         The woman hissed what sounded like a curse in a language they didn’t know.

         “Umm, is there some kind of problem?” Kohra asked.

         “You have to leave. Now!”

         Lenny snapped out of her romantic stupor like she’d been splashed with a cold drink. Here we go again. Pffft. What was I thinking anyway? Getting all gooey-eyed over a pretty girl? That never ends well.

         “Yeah, we have that effect on people,” Lenny remarked snidely. Ha, take that, PrettyGirl. Couldn’t care less….
         But the woman wasn’t listening; she had rushed over to one corner of the room and was frantically searching through drawers, pulling them right out and dumping their contents on the floor all around her. They watched helplessly. Kohra felt stupid, like she had done the wrong thing.

         Then everything changed.

         First, it went cold, instantly, like summer becoming winter in one second.

         Then sound disappeared, like the entire world turning into a still-life painting.           

         Then the air disappeared. Kohra clutched at her throat, eyes wide with panic.

         Then, agony, pure agony, like her heart was being shredded inside her chest.

         Her body felt far away by the time it hit the floor. She watched it bounce like a dead bird. A loud whispering filled her mind, not one voice but hundreds, thousands, “We see you, we see you, we see you,” over and over. The room spun, darkness swam into her mind like spilled ink. She felt like she was falling, even though she was already splayed on the ground.

         Then, the Silver Lady was shouting, screaming, but Kohra couldn’t understand. She was leaping towards her, stabbing forward, something glowing…the whispering was so loud….            

Light. Pure golden light. No sound, no touch, no sensations of any kind. Just light. It seemed to last forever.