Introductions

Blue was a well-known guide. She knew parts of the realm that most never set foot in, and wherever she was at any given time, she could give you great directions to the nearest tavern. Being a guide meant she was expected to know her path through the realm like the back of her hand, and she did. Furthermore, she could improvise if she had to guide someone on a path she wasn’t familiar with. Once you knew a road, you knew all roads, really. She had a feel for them, for where they might lead and what sort of people she was likely to meet.

Standing about four feet tall, Blue looked all of twelve years old, with her big gray eyes and shaggy yellow hair that she wore in a long braid down her back. In fact, she was 23, and she had a quick wit, and a quicker temper. She wore an old, patched blue coat that trailed down to her heavy boots. Her trousers were held up with suspenders. She carried a long, smooth walking stick which she could employ as a defensive weapon to great success. For the most part, she tried to avoid conflict. She liked an easy target and was wary of taking part in a physical fight, but in her line of profession, sometimes it was unavoidable.

Her most prominent features, however, were her ears. Long and pointed, like an elf, they were comically large against her tiny head. They drew stares, and although she had a hood she could draw to avoid prying eyes, she left it down. Anyone who stared too long got a sharp look from her, and most cleared off instead of bothering her.

The long and short of it was that people didn’t like her kind. They didn’t like nelfkins. Everyone in the realm knew that nelfkins were a rough bunch, willing to do anything to make a dime, taking on jobs that most others wouldn’t touch. At least, that was the general perception. Blue was very used to the scorn she received for her appearance. As far as she was concerned, the lot of them could sod off. But someone was going to say it, she just knew it.

“Hey nelf!”

Ah, there it was.

“We don’t like dirty little nelfs drinking from our glasses, girlie.”

From her seat at the bar, Blue looked over at the man addressing her. Human, average height, and she was guessing average intelligence too. It would be too easy to put the man on the floor. She looked down at him from her perch and frowned.

“Funny, you don’t look the sort what would run a tavern,” she replied. In fact, she knew the man was not the owner of the tavern, for she was on good terms with the owner. “My money spends the same as anyone else’s does, buddy.”

Her walking stick rested against the edge of the bar beside her seat and she eyed it, prepared to use it if necessary. This was a thin spot for taverns, not another one for miles, and she planned to enjoy it as long as possible. It was best, however, if she could avoid being seen as the one who started the fight.

“Money what’s not even rightly yours, I’d guess,” said the man. “Thieves can make their own way around here.”

“We ain’t even welcomed in a den of iniquity such as this?” An amused snort escaped the nelfkin. She nursed her ale, peering at the man from over the edge of her mug. “I make an honest living, fella. Thought you’re making it hard, carrying on like a fool as you are. Barkeep, fetch this guy another mug, if you don’t mind. My tab.”

It seemed the fellow was not expecting to be treated to a drink instead of someone knocking his block off. He went quietly back to his booth when he’d been presented with the ale, though he stared after the nelfkin from his table with a look of befuddlement on his face. The nelfkin got what she wanted, which was peace and quiet so she could get a feel for everyone in the room. She didn’t need to identify those in need of a guide, because the barkeep would be sending folks her way. Folks were less likely to approach her, however, if some idiot was trying to pick a fight with her.

It went without saying that she didn’t want to spend her hard earned money on the creep, but she had a job to do in order to keep a little jingle in her pockets. She couldn’t let her pride get in the way.

She’d long since heard every insult anyway. Everything that set nelfkins apart from other races in the realm also became a target for other folks to aim at. The ears were an easy target. The youthful appearance of most nelfkins became another reason why they weren’t trustworthy. They resembled young children, which some folks found unsettling. Their odd speech patterns also set them apart, giving rise to the rumor that they were quite uneducated compared to most. However, nelfkins were exceptionally bright and, despite having to fight for every resource, some nelfkins like Blue made it their business to know at least a little bit about nearly everything.

Some folks said the nelfkins were descended from the elves or the fairies, which did make sense. They resembled both races, except that they were far too short to be elves and they didn’t have wings like fairies did. There was little to no lore on the subject, so it was anyone’s guess. Unlike fairies and elves, however, nelfkins did not have very much magic. They were clever and lucky, and on occasion a nelfkin was born who could cast a few spells, but Blue was not one of those. She had no magic to speak of, and didn’t care for it, truth be told. She liked concrete, physical things that she could understand. Magic was too unpredictable.

The only thing she owned that had any magic to it was the amulet she wore under her shirt. It was a round, blue stone set in silver. She’d had it for many years. It had once hung around her father’s neck, but he’d given it to her before he died, and she treasured it now as a memento of him. Her father used to tell her the amulet was a powerful magical item that he’d found in his travels, but Blue had never discovered what it was that the amulet was supposed to do.

The front door of the tavern opened up, allowing sunlight from the outside to filter into the gloomy facility for a moment. Blue watched with interest as a young elf stepped into the tavern.

The elf looked rather out of place in the tavern. Like most of her kind, she was possessed of a striking beauty. She was taller than Blue, but that was not to say she was tall compared to most. Her clothes were dirty and worn but it was clear that they were of fine quality and must have once been quite splendid. It was odd to see an elf so far from any elven cities. Perhaps she was lost. Perhaps she had need of a guide. Blue settled back on her stool and waited for the barkeep to direct the elf to her.

She was not disappointed. Presently, the elf made her way to Blue’s seat at the bar, wearing a hopeful smile.

“Greetings!” said the elf as she took the stool beside Blue. “I am here in search of a guide and the owner of this establishment tells me that you are the best.”

Blue straightened up a little, surprised by the praise. She opened her mouth to speak but something caught her eye and gave her pause. The elf was wearing an amulet on a chain, resting in the hollow of her throat. It so resembled her own amulet that she could scarce believe her eyes. The shape was the same and the design of the setting was identical, but the color was different. Instead of blue set in silver, this was a transparent stone set in gold.

“Ahem, my eyes are up here,” said the elf in sharp reprimand, her voice taking on a different timbre for a moment, and Blue tore her eyes from the amulet, embarrassed. When she looked up, however, the elf was back to smiling and her voice went back to its original sweet, carefree register. “So, how about it? Are you willing to take a job?”

Well, of course Blue was up for a job, but it was best not to act too eager.

“I reckon I might have an opening,” she drawled. “Where you hoping to go?”

“I’m actually trying to reach the fairy colony of Vana Vale,” said the elf. “I’ll pay you well, I’ve plenty of gold.”

With that, the elf upturned a bag of coins on the bar counter and Blue’s eyes grew wide at the sight of them. They were gold, alright, and elven gold at that. A small fortune was lying there and Blue had a family she sent her earnings back to who could use that much gold. Her mother and youngest brother resided in the Nelfkin Colony, the only city populated exclusively by nelfkins, but the residents paid taxes to a human lord under threat of being expelled from the colony. There weren’t many safe places for nelfkins to go, and so Blue did her best to keep her mother comfortable there.

On the other hand, the elf said she wanted to go to Vana Vale. Blue knew where the fairy colony was located, roughly, but the problem was that the fairies who lived there did very little trading with the rest of the realm and did not allow outsiders inside their city walls. Only one with strong fairy heritage could open the gate and no amount of money could bribe its inhabitants to open it themselves.

Still, that was too much money to turn down. She would be a fool if she wasted this chance.

“I’ll take half now and the other half when we reach our destination,” she said, scooping up roughly half of the coins and pocketing them. The rest, she hurried to return to the elf’s purse. Others in the tavern were already eyeing the wealth. “Blue Jay Grass, notorious nelfkin rebel, at your service. And who might you be, m’lady?”

The elf looked delighted at this turn of events. She beamed at Blue and replied, “My name is Zi, and I am an elf sorceress from the city of Ar. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Grass.”

“Just call me Blue, if you don’t mind,” Blue told Zi with a wave of her hand. “Now, to iron out the details. You’ll know, of course, that I can only take you as far as the gate. Opening it is another matter entirely. Only fairies can open the gate at Vana Vale, and they don’t let in strangers. Do you know someone there?”

“No, I’m afraid that I don’t,” Zi replied, her smile falling a bit. “It is a matter of the utmost importance that I reach the library there. I am searching for a way to break a very powerful curse and I have been told that the spell I need can only be found in Vana Vale.”

Blue considered this problem. She could just guide the elf to the gate and let her make her own way from there. However, she’d heard of a lone fairy who did not belong to any colony, but who could perhaps unlock the gate.

“I may know of someone who could help,” she admitted. “Though I will have to charge more if I’m to help you find them, and the journey will take a bit longer.”

“Of course, money is no trouble,” said Zi, and Blue took a moment to consider that if the elf had come to a less honorable person for help, she might have been robbed blind or even killed. She was doing this elf a favor by taking her payment, she decided.

Draining the last of her ale, Blue sat down her mug and grinned. “Alright then, when do we start?”

  

-Rachel