The Masked Elves

Bridges and Tunnels

Crows cackled high in the branches like they were angry at the moon while Yasmin held on to Fallahr and said nothing at all and Phadia gave the kind pony a few small commands every few minutes to change directions. Since Yasmin was a dryad she couldn't understand what the horse was saying; it annoyed her a little whenever she heard Phadia laughing about something Fallahr said. The pony glided through the trees seamlessly and the elves watched as the last treehome they recognised vanished behind them. And when the forest around them became denser and the path became darker and they could see different species of plant life and the tents where the fauns slept were completely out of reach, they knew they had made it to another district.

The calmness of the night soon rubbed off on Yasmin until she wasn't as worried about their little task anymore. She calmly said, "this place is called Copper. What do you think? Not a bad place to rest?"

Phadia's eyes scanned the scene. She didn't like the short colourless grass and the screeching crows didn't help matters either. "Not really..." She said quietly.

"Well I think we should rest anyway, since it's a new district. We've been riding for hours."

"Okay, as long as we run more districts tomorrow."

The elves dismounted and Phadia carried the imp off the pony's back since he was smaller and the jump down looked a whole lot greater in his eyes. Being elves, there was no need to lead Fallahr by a rope, he dutifully followed their backs like a shadow. The three of them searched for a warm spot where they could stretch their legs away from the mass of trees. They settled on a decent area where the grass was longer than the rest of the path and Yasmin placed a small blanket that she had packed inside the bags Fallahr was carrying. The grass beneath their feet was still relatively short and prickly and Phadia was grateful for the barrier.

Phadia looked left and right. Nothing but thin dark trees. "What sort of creature's live here?" She asked.

"I've heard the banshees sometimes pass by this district but I'm not sure where they live exactly."

Phadia frowned. "But who lives here?"

"I didn't want to worry you," Yasmin looked uncomfortable bur she forced herself to talk, "but there's a whole group of goblins that live in Copper. They stay underground most of the time though."

Phadia winced a bit. Her friends back in Timber had always told her that goblins were extremely unpleasant. They didn't speak to them too often and kept their distance since they usually carried iron. We'll be past them shortly, she told herself, then lay her head down and closed her eyes. Yasmin and the imp did the same and the imp followed. His tough skin wasn't bothered by the prickly grass so that left the elves to enjoy their blanket fully.

A few minutes of quiet almost had them fast asleep until the scratching of tree bark made Phadia raise her long ears. Then a hiss came sounded from behind her and she jumped. "Yasmin, I think we should leave."

"Because of the hiss?"

"Yes. It was very loud. I haven't even heard a hiss like that before." Phadia hadn't planned on spending the night finding another district but if it was a choice between sleep deprivation and being bitten by something, she would stay awake for a week.

Yasmin didn't just want to coldly tell her to go back to sleep. She thought of a simple plan. "We'll search for the creature then and if it's harmless, we'll come back here."

The girls tiptoed closer in the direction of the noise, leaving a sleeping imp behind them. They looked at the ground the whole time as they walked. Phadia was expecting to come across something small but deadly. Yasmin didn't expect anything at all. Whatever had hissed before had probably run off. But then the girls heard another hiss that was twice as loud as before and their heads jerked up.