Luck of the Draw

A/N: Ah, I can't believe how long it took me to post this one. The third installment of proto-TROUF! I really enjoy writing Leffi. - Rachel

Luck of the Draw

When she set out from the Library of Skye that day, a peculiar feeling of regret settled under Leffi's skin. She had a chilling thought that she might never see Prudence or her parents again. This was always a possibility when she left on her travels but for some reason, it felt more true this time, like she was about to leave behind the world as she'd known it before. Nonetheless, she did as she'd been told and left the city. She couldn't run the risk that staying would bring evil to her home. She wished she could have said goodbye to her parents before she left but the message she'd left for them with Pru would have to be enough.

As Skye, or the boy who claimed to be Skye, had instructed her, she picked a random direction and started walking. According to the god, she would meet others if she just walked, though she wasn't sure how or why or where. All she really knew was that she'd received her call to adventure and it would take a fool to ignore that, if ignoring it was even possible, which she suspected it was not. As intimidating as it felt to be given orders by the lord of all, Skye himself, she could not help but feel pride that she'd been chosen to partake in such a grand story.

For a while, she just walked and enjoyed the pleasant weather, for the sun was shining and a pleasant breeze kept it from getting too hot. It was quite the perfect day for traveling, but she couldn't help wishing that she knew where she was going. Under normal circumstances, the Library would give her an assignment, or at least an idea of where to start. She wasn't sure what to think of Lord Skye's instructions, and if she had not feared for the safety of her loved ones, she might have ignored him entirely or written him off as a figment of her admittedly quite active imagination.

Above her head, the fluffy white clouds turned gray and she could hear the rumblings of a thunderstorm approaching. She thought to make a dash for the treeline in the distance – she'd been traveling a road that lead through open farmland – but before she could do so, the sky opened up in a downpour. Within moments, she was soaked from head to toe, slogging along the now muddy dirt path in waterlogged clothing. She was grateful for the enchantment on her leather satchel that protected the parchment documents it held.

She heard Prudence in her head, telling her to pray to Jilna for forgiveness. Leffi had never put too much thought into the goddess' supposed unhappiness with her, for she'd always thought that the gods were not so concerned with individual mortals. She thought about it now, shivering under the force of the cold rain, and allowed herself to wonder if she truly was cursed with bad luck for angering the goddess.

Then again, she decided there was no reason assume that more than one deity might have taken a personal interest in her. It seemed a bit arrogant to think such a thing, actually. And if Skye liked her so well, Leffi thought it was unlikely that another god would have a problem with her. After all, Skye was the great Father. To be favored by Skye was the highest of honors.

This thought comforted her a great deal and she found it within herself to continue her journey in good spirits. After all, how could one be unhappy after learning that the great Father himself favored them? She did not understand, of course, what it was about her in particular that Skye favored. This was not because she had any issues with her self-esteem, but rather because she knew well that she had not been his most devoted follower.

There was more to following a god than just saying that you did it. Followers of Skye were meant to be faithful in attending to their prayers and observing his sacred days. Leffi was rather too scattered to keep up with such things, though in her younger years, she'd endeavored to do so. Her head was elsewhere, it seemed, and she never taught herself to keep up with it, despite her best efforts.

When Leffi reached the treeline, she saw the storm clouds break up and the rain slowed to a light drizzle as the sunlight filtered through. She smiled and stretched out her arms, enjoying the fairer weather.

“See,” she spoke out loud to herself, for there was no one else around, “bear with it and the weather will always turn nice again.”

She heard a chuckle from behind a nearby tree that gave her pause. Looking for the sound, she saw the young boy from the library step into her path. He was smiling, eyes still bluer than blue, and his hair and attire were dry.

“You again!” she exclaimed, pointing a finger at the child. “I hope you've come to give me directions. I haven't the faintest clue where I'm going.”

Skye beamed at her and beckoned for her to follow him. “Walk with me for a while and I will tell you a few things as a reward for following my orders as you have done, and also for keeping in good spirits.”

Leffi hurried to do as instructed and walked side by side with the god along the path through the forest. Although he still resembled a child, Leffi noted that his mannerisms were those of someone much older. He crossed his arms behind his back and admired the forestry as they walked.

“Isn't this a lovely place?” he remarked. “It reminds me of my wife.”

“Lady Terra, the mother of us all?” Leffi clarified.

“The very same,” said Skye, and he gave her a look of approval. “We two have been around for a very long time and we will be around for a great deal longer. She and I often walk together as you and I are doing now. We like to admire the garden, so to speak.”

It occurred to Leffi that this was a unique opportunity. She'd devoted years of her life to studying the stories of Lord Skye, and his wife Terra, and their children, both divine and otherwise. Now, she was speaking with him face to face.

“I have so many questions for you,” she said. “There is so much that I do not know that I have always wondered about. For instance, why do the stars we see at night change over time? It is almost as if the sky itself is rotating around us, changing with the seasons.”

The god beside her laughed and looked up at her with a merry expression on his face. “I'm afraid it's not for me to tell you everything, Leffita. One day, someone will discover the answer to that question. You see, it is not always the answer itself that is most important, but the journey that brings you to it.”

This seemed like a strange thing to say, in Leffi's opinion. She had a strong desire to learn new things and had few scruples about the manner in which she learned them. Admittedly, she was disappointed that he would not tell her about the stars. She often watched them at night and noted the way they changed, depending on the time of year. The moon also changed, shrinking from a full, silver disk to nearly nothing. Did the moon rotate as well? What were the heavens made up of, and how far did they go?

“Can you tell me anything?” she asked, her tall form drooping a bit with her disappointment.

“A few things.” The god raised one finger in the air. “Keep walking on this road and you will come to a village. There, you will meet the person I spoke of before.”

“Oh, tell me more about this person,” said Leffi, perking up a bit. “What are they like? Are they a man or a woman? Elf? Human? Or perhaps they're a dwarf. I do find dwarfs fascinating.”

Skye squared his shoulders and said only, “You will know him when you see him.”

“Aha!” Leffi snapped her fingers. “So it's a man I'm looking for!”

The god's eyes widened and he uttered, “Drat, I didn't mean to say that much.”

A grin spread across Leffi's face when she realized she'd gotten more information from him than he'd intended. Weren't gods supposed to be infallible? Could it be true that Lord Skye had told her more than he'd meant to tell her? Well, regardless, she now had a little more information about her future companion. She tried to picture him in her mind, but she was stuck on the idea of him being a dwarf. Perhaps he would have a bushy brown beard.

“What else can you tell me?”

Skye raised two fingers this time. “He will have a crystal like your own with magical properties.”

“I see.” Leffi pondered this. “Will it look like mine?”

“No, it will be different.”

“How so?”

Instead of answering her, Skye held up three fingers. “After you meet him, you will meet others. There are six crystals, all told. Three are of the sky and three are of the earth. Each was created by a different god and will grant its user a different ability.”

Leffi was starting to like the sound of this. She drew her own crystal on its chain from beneath her tunic and admired its stunning shade of blue. “And what ability does my crystal grant to me?”

“We've been over this,” Skye reminded her. “You will discover its powers yourself, in time.”

If she had any further questions, it did Leffi no good, for she looked to the space beside her where he walking companion had been and found that she was once more alone. She stopped in her tracks and looked around with a frown, hoping he'd merely stepped aside for a moment, but Skye was nowhere to be found.

Well, she thought, at least the sun had started to dry her clothing. She hoped it would not take too long to reach the village that Skye had spoken of. Perhaps in the near future, she would have a more permanent companion on this journey, one with whom she could have interesting conversations, who would not disappear at the drop of a hat.

–

It seemed that no matter how long she walked, Leffi never drew nearer to civilization. For one thing, several times the road had been blocked for some reason or another and she'd had to take detours. It was, at times, difficult to find her way back to the road Skye had told her to stay on, but she had a head for travel and so, each time her path was diverted, whether it was a washed out bridge or a skirmish among ruffians that blocked the way, she worked around it and found her way once more.

On her fifth day of traveling, she wondered when she might be coming across a village. She had not made good time, what with all the diversions. It almost felt as though someone wanted her to be late in meeting her fellow crystal user. This was a ludicrous notion that she brushed aside as soon as she thought of it, though it did seem that her bad luck was a bit worse than usual.

She was still daydreaming about what her new companion would be like. After spending a couple of days imagining him as a dwarf, she'd changed her mind and decided it was more likely that he was a human, since most of the travelers she passed on the road were human. This suited her fine. She liked humans, perhaps because she had a bit of human blood herself or perhaps because her father, being half human, was possessed of some human mannerisms.

Humans were quite varied in appearance. This new crystal user might be short or tall, handsome or plain. He might be a scholar like herself, perhaps quite knowledgeable, and this was Leffi's greatest wish about this person who would be her friend. She was certain that they would be friends. Since she was small, she had always acquired friends simply by choosing those she wished to be friends with and forcing them, as it were, to be friends with her in return. Prudence was a good example. They'd known each other since they were young but Prudence had at first kept her distance from Leffi. It was Leffi who had decided that they should be friends and she had proceeded to spend all of her time with Pru until the nelfkin decided that she didn't mind the friendship.

So she had decided that if she was sharing some kind of special quest from the gods with this fellow, then they were going to be friends. It didn't occur to her to worry about whether or not he would also want to be friends. That did not matter very much. It might take some time, but he would be her friend, and she was always excited to make a new friend.

Around midday, she came upon a place where a broad river cut through her path. It was too wide and deep to wade across, but to her relief, she saw a ferry docked on her side of the river. She picked up her pace, grinning at the thought of riding across the river on the ferry. However, before she could get close enough to wave to the men aboard it, it began to drift across the river to the other side.

Breaking into a run and waving her hands in the air, she called out to the ferrymen, hoping to draw their attention, but to no avail. The ferry floated away from her and far over to the opposite riverbank, where she watched its small crew and few passengers disembark, leaving the ferry docked. She stood on the bank for a few long moments, hoping the crew would come back, but to no avail.

She crouched down on her haunches and stared out across the water, wondering if she should make camp and wait however long it took for the ferry to return. However, she noticed a small fisherman's boat docked nearby and noted that since it also held two oars, she could row herself across. Once on the other side, she could leave a note on parchment asking one of the ferrymen to row it back. She could even leave a few coins as compensation for the trouble.

Deciding that this was the best course of action, she hurried to untie the fishing boat and pushed it out into the water. Boating was not one of her skills and she got quite wet as she climbed into the craft, but she didn't mind. Now she was on her way again, and she reasoned that the ferry crew and their passengers must be on their way to some nearby village, so perhaps the first leg of her journey would be complete by the day's end. With this cheerful thought, she began rowing herself across the river.

Though the water had been calm before she started across, it seemed to flow faster and faster once she was on it, until she was having rather a hard time controlling her boat. Indeed, the current increased to such a pace that Leffi's arms, unused to such a task, were not strong enough to keep her boat on course and instead she began floating downstream.

The boat bobbed and rocked and Leffi lost her grip on one of the oars. The water swept it away and she was left with only one oar with which to direct her craft. Needless to say, it was not very useful in fighting the current and the boat continued down the river, taking Leffi further and further off course. It might have continued this way, had it not struck a large rock and promptly tipped over, throwing Leffi and her belongings into the tumultuous waters.

Leffi was not a very good swimmer. She seldom had occasion to practice it and she wasn't fond of it in the first place. She knew enough to keep herself from drowning, and with a great deal of effort, she swam back out of the river, this time on the side of it that she wanted to be on but quite a distance from the road that she wanted to travel. Pulling herself up on the bank, coughing and spluttering, she collapsed in the mud and stared up at the blue sky above her with a frown.

When she'd recovered a bit, she sat up and took off her boots to pour the water out of them. Then she poured the water out of her satchel, as the enchantment on it had not been strong enough to protect it from being waterlogged in the river, and she spared a moment to mourn the loss of its parchment contents and the ruination of a bottle of expensive ink.

At least, she reasoned, it wouldn't take too long to get back on course. Hopefully, no one would miss the fishing boat. She did feel bad about that, but since she had been sent on this journey by Skye himself, she suspected that it was an acceptable sacrifice. After her dip in the river, she was quite bedraggled, sloshing her way along the riverbank as she headed back to the main road.

This was an uphill walk, and though the sun served to dry out her clothes, it became quite miserable thereafter. By the time she found her way back to the road, she was hot and sweaty and in need of a good, stiff drink. Thinking to take a break, she sat down beneath a tree and went to draw out the small flask she kept on her person, only to discover that it was gone, probably lost in the river.

Her nice elven traveling clothes were in quite a mess now, sweat-stained and torn, and her mass of red hair was even more tangled than usual. With no drink and the sun beating down on her, her usual good mood was threatening to dissipate.

“Now,” she spoke out loud, “would be a good time for a god to turn up and lend some assistance.”

Instead of a god turning up, a traveler sped by on a horse. A small stone, kicked up by the horse's hooves, went flying through the air and struck Leffi's temple. The elf gave a yelp and clutched at her now ringing head. She staggered to her feet, having come to the conclusion that sitting beside the road was not the best course of action, considering she didn't even have any drink to ease her pain.

Determined to continue her journey in a dignified manner, she lifted her head and continued down the road, though she felt a bit dizzy from the blow to her head and wondered if she'd been seriously injured. If she was, she reasoned that sitting down again would not make it better and that reaching the next village soon and seeking out a healer would be the best course of action.

Of course her boot slid in a steaming pile of horse manure, causing her to pitch forward in the road. She caught herself on her hands, scraping them in the process, so that she was obliged to carry on her journey with an aching head and her sore hands tucked under her arms to protect them from further damage.

At least, she reasoned, it wasn't likely that her luck could get much worse than this.

–

Jilna observed the elf's troubles with a satisfied smile on her face. Ever since the creature had caught her idol on fire, the child goddess had held a grudge against her. Perhaps she might have forgiven the slight if Leffita had ever bothered to ask forgiveness, but instead the elf had gone on as though she'd done nothing wrong and never offered up the smallest apology. That had been nearly 15 years ago now and Jilna had been ruining the elf's luck ever since, but despite her best efforts, Leffita hardly ever noticed when things did not work in her favor.

She knew, of course, that Leffita was one of her father's favorite mortals. This did not help Leffita's standing in Jilna's eyes, as she was quite a jealous goddess and she did not like sharing her father's attentions with anyone, let alone some uppity elf who thought she could destroy idols without repercussion. To add insult to injury, Skye had chosen Leffita to carry the Codex crystal, which was bonded to Jilna's own crystal, Null. Needless to say, she was not happy that her own champion was to share a bond with such an uncouth creature.

It was her intention to make it difficult for Leffita to reach the village where she was to meet with Wyndal. She hoped to delay the elf long enough that Wyndal moved on before Leffita reached him, forcing the elf to travel alone for a great deal longer than she already had. She was not much worried about the fate of the quest these mortals were supposed to partake in. If she made things hard enough for Leffita, or perhaps caused the elf to be killed, she hoped her father would see reason and choose another champion to carry the Codex.

She felt her father's presence before she heard or saw him. Putting her hands on her hips, she turned to face Skye with a pouting expression.

“Sweetie,” said her father, in his preferred form, which looked nearly as young Jilna's own, “you're really going to have to stop interfering with my champion.”

“She started it,” said Jilna, sticking out her lower lip. “Why did you have to pick her as your champion when you know how much I hate her?”

Skye raised his hands in a placating motion. “Dear, I hardly think you're being fair. There is no mortal who exemplifies my ideals better than Leffita. She is brave and kind and selfless, but also intelligent and witty. She has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a can-do attitude. If you'd only give her a chance, I think you'd like her quite well.”

The two of them had a complex relationship. While Skye was Jilna's father, he was also the only other god who enjoyed taking the form of a child and he shared Jilna's more carefree attitude, where her siblings tended to be rather severe and not very much fun. Jilna and Skye played together more often than attending to any serious matters, so in addition to looking up to him she also saw him as her oldest and closest friend.

“But Daddy,” she said beseechingly, “I don't like her at all!”

“Right, yes, I get that,” said Skye. “However, I really must insist you ease up a bit. I'm not saying you can't continue to cause minor inconveniences for her but for the sake of the quest and your own champion, you really must let her meet up with Wyndal so that they may continue on together. Otherwise, Wyndal will have to keep traveling alone.”

“Wyndal likes to travel alone,” said Jilna. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Despite her stubbornness, she knew that her father was right. He was smart to bring Wyndal into it, for Jilna adored the witch and could not stand to make things harder for him. In fact, as frequently as she caused bad luck for Leffita, she ensured good luck for Wyndal, making his journey as easy and comfortable as possible.

She regarded her father with a sullen expression, even though she knew she'd lost this argument. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, alright, but Wyndal's not going to like her and this whole quest is going to be no fun. And I'm still going to keep messing with her. I really don't like her, Daddy, I think she's just horrid.”

“I understand,” said Skye, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You don't have to like her, it's alright. But let's keep things moving in a timely manner, shall we?”

–

To Leffi's relief, it was early in the evening when she at last reached the village. She hoped and prayed to Skye that this was the village where she was to meet up with her new companion, and she didn't dare let herself think that it might not be. With her skinned hands and bruised temple, disheveled clothes and bits of twigs and leaves sticking out of her tangled hair, she looked rather frightful. As she walked through the village, more than one person stared after her with confusion and pity.

Still, she was in the village, and she was quite pleased about this. At the very least, she'd be able to buy a hot meal and a drink at the local tavern, and perhaps she could rent a room for the night and sleep on a bed. She was so sore from walking for days, and nearly drowning, and getting hit in the head with that rock and falling over her own feet. What she needed now was some rest and relaxation.

It came as no surprise at all to her when, as she passed by a small hut, she suddenly found herself accosted by a large quantity of rather vile liquid. She froze in her tracks when she was splashed with what looked and smelled like vegetable soup that had gone off. In the window of the hut, a housewife stood with a pot and a sheepish expression on her face.

“Oh,” said the woman, “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pitch it quite that far and I didn't see you there.”

Leffi blinked at her through her soup soaked tresses and just nodded. “That's quite alright, ma'am, I'm sure you meant no harm. Perhaps you can repay me with some information. I am looking for a traveler who might have come to town recently, a man.”

“Well, there's the witch doctor who stopped in last night. I believe he's still in the village square. Had a fine wagon, he did, and a gelding to pull it. Perhaps he's the one you're looking for.”

“Oh, excellent.” Leffi beamed, her mood immediately improved with the news. “I'll bid you a good day, ma'am. Only, watch where you pitch the soup next time, won't you?”

Sure enough, the wagon that the woman had described was parked in the village square. Leffi saw a tall, dark-haired human tending to the horse grazing near it and her eyes lit up. Skye had told her that she would know him when she saw him, and something in her knew as soon as she laid eyes on the human that this was the man who was to accompany her on this quest.

She marched over to the fine, meticulously clean wagon and settled herself down on the back of it with a long sigh, relieved to take the pressure off of her tired feet.

“Excuse me,” said the human, presumably the witch doctor, who was regarding her with a look of absolute horror on his pale, drawn face. He looked like the sort of person who stayed nervous and Leffi's first thought was that she would have to teach this fellow to lighten up.

“Yes, hello,” she greeted before the man could say anything further. “It's fine to meet you, at last. You'll be wanting to know my name. I'm Leffita, scholar elf of the Library of Skye. You would not believe the day that I have had, let me just tell you.”

The man's forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Actually, I...”

“First,” said Leffi, interrupting him, “I came to a river, which is quite wide, and the ferry left without me. So I thought I would take this small fishing boat that I found and row across. Seems reasonable, right?”

“I'm sorry, but...”

“And then,” the elf continued, “the river washed my boat downstream and I lost an oar and then the boat hit a rock and threw me in the river, and mind you, I'm a terrible swimmer. I made it out, but all my parchment is ruined and it's a big, soggy mess in my satchel, and that includes all my recent notes I'd taken, and I lost a bottle of ink.”

“Horrible,” said the witch, “but...”

“So then I had to walk back to the main road, which took entirely too long, and when I sat down to have a drink, I discovered that my flask was washed out of my pocket in the river. Then a fellow on a horse came galloping by and kicked up a rock that hit me in the head. See here? I'm bruised quite badly and have had a ringing in my ears ever since.”

The human narrowed his eyes. “I see. Can I ask...”

“Well, I was dizzy but I got up to keep walking, and then I slipped and scraped my hands on the road.” She displayed her raw hands. “And when I at last found this village, I was walking past a hut and someone threw out a whole pot of soup on me. From the smell of it, it's gone bad too. It was probably a good soup when it was fresh though, I think I taste a hint of garlic.”

“Really!” exclaimed the tall man, looking as though he might be ill at any moment. “I haven't the slightest clue who you are and what you're doing sitting on my wagon covered in old soup!”

Leffi quieted and stared at him, quite put out. Here, she'd just told him all the terrible things that had happened to her today and all he could do was complain that she was getting soup on his wagon? Speaking of, was that a bit of turnip stuck to her hand? She wiped it off on the edge of the bright, clean wood.

“There's no need to raise your voice,” she scolded, as though she was speaking to a small child. “It isn't like I even asked to be sent on this silly quest and I've been on my own for days now, but Skye said I'd meet you here, and here you are.”

The man looked quite sheepish, a blush coloring his white face. She thought that perhaps he was not one for emotional outbursts under normal circumstances. “Did you say you're on a quest?”

“Yes, Skye himself sent me on it and said I'd find you here,” she repeated. “What's your name, by the way?”

“W-Wyndal,” the man stuttered, ignoring the filthy hand that Leffi stuck out for him to shake. “Wyndal Thorne.”

“Nice to meet you! Call me Leffi.” Leffi took her hand back without taking offense that he hadn't shaken it. “Mind if I call you Wyndie?”

“Well, actually...”

“Wyndie it is! We're going to get along great, I just know it.”

TBC