Chapter Eleven
[Silver]
A large, lustrous raven sat watching the group from
its perch in the thick foliage of a tree just above the camp. She
cocked her head to one side, trying to grasp the meaning of the commotion
through the tired fog of her mind as people chattered below. Let's
see, I heard "Magpie" and "she's got Flea", so I take that to mean--
The female raven was fully awake in an instant as
this thought crossed her mind. She had been watching this group ever
since the one named Belisarius had joined. She had been sleeping
in an overlooking tree that day, when the one called Spyder had crashed
into it with surprising force, jarring her awake. Therefore, the
raven knew just how dangerous Flea's soul could be in the wrong hands--or
body.
I've got to follow Magpie! the black-feathered
bird thought impulsively, spreading her wings; then she folded them as
common sense took over. Oh, please, Silver. She's much too fast,
being a Dragoon, and I don't really even know where she just went. I might
as well just see what conclusion they come to, then I'll come down and
offer my services. She softly fluttered her wide wings and smoothed
back a barely noticeable silver streak of down feathers near her back,
shifting her postion on the branch as she did so. Besides, I haven't
played poker in a while... she thought to herself as she opened her
beak then closed it in a birdlike yawn.
A meeting had been called by Roland, Spyder, and
Cyclinbear. It had taken quite a while to calm Dhsu down, but finally
everyone gathered in the tent. Just after the last person had gone
inside, the raven dropped down at the base of her tree. She quickly
stepped behind it into the shadows. What happened after a few moments
was almost too surprising for words. What came noiselessly out from
behind the tree was not a bird, but a figure in a long, dark, hooded cloak.
The figure walked around the camp, silently gathering
broken twigs and branches, bark and leaves from the trees Dhsu had damaged
in his frenzy, and a few stones, and piled them in the center of the clearing.
The cloaked figure knelt by the heap and in a short while had a small fire
crackling and popping there in the clearing. The dark character then
sat crosslegged by the warmth and idly tossed small twigs and other substances
to feed the fire.
The conference in the tent grew hushed as the smell
of burning wood and the crackling sound of fire got through to them.
Roland glanced toward the entrance of the tent, then quietly motioned for
Spyder and Parsnip to follow as he went out to investigate. The first
thing they saw was the small fire, and by it the cloaked figure.
They quickly approached.
"Who are you?" Roland demanded. "Identify
yourself!"
In reply, the figure pushed back its hood to reveal
the face of a young girl. She laughed merrily, a pleasant, clear
sound. "Oh, hello, Roland, Parsnip, Spyder! Yes, I know your
names," she said to their surprised faces. "And it's nice to meet
you in person!" She stood and stepped closer to them.
"Hey, who are you, anyway, and how do you know who
we are?" Spyder asked, studying the stranger. The girl was about
5' 3", had long black hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, and silver stud earrings.
She wore a pale gray tunic and small brown leather boots.
"I'm Silver. I know who you are because I've
been watching your group for a while, and now I'm interested in joining
you all and your cause against King Marley. I have pretty good skills
as a spy, but I guess I could settle as an errand girl. Will you
let me join? I have another special ability that could veeery useful!"
She absent-mindedly ran her fingers through the hair right behind her neck
as she spoke, and Spyder noticed a thin silver streak among the black strands.
Parsnip ventured a question. "And...what exactly
would that 'special ability' be?"
Silver crossed her arms. "Let's just say I
can go anywhere without being noticed or arousing suspicion. I won't
reveal anything else unless I'm allowed to join. So what do you say?"
She watched the trio's faces and added, "Call out everyone else if you're
so unsure and indecisive. Just decide quickly so I'll know what to
do with myself!"
Silver sat patiently by her fire while the group
conferred in the tent. Presently everyone came out and stood around
her.
Spyder was the first to speak. "We don't think
it's a good idea to let you join. You look kind of young, and you
don't look like you've had much experience, either."
Parsnip was next to voice his opinions. "Yeah.
We don't even know what that 'special ability' is, and we can't risk having
you drag us down or botching up anything."
"Unless, of course, you might be willing to show
us your special ability?" Tazor interjected.
Silver scowled at him and kicked a small rock into
her little fire.
Roland said what everyone had been thinking.
"And you said earlier that you've been watching us for quite a while.
How do we know we can trust you when we just met you so recently?
For all we know, you could be another of Marley's spies."
A murmur of agreement followed his statement.
He continued, "So, therefore, we deem it unwise
to allow you to join."
Silver's scowl turned to a shocked expression.
"B-but... but you haven't thoroughly talked about the benefits yet!
I promise I won't drag you down, and I'm definitely not a spy! I
mean, do I look like a spy?"
A few looks wavered, but Roland's espression was
steady and firm.
Silver looked surprised for a moment. Then
her whole countenance changed.
"Fine!" she said hotly. "Just fine!
See if I care! Maybe I just go to someone on Marley's side and tell
him everything I know about you all! He'll appreciate my abilities
and someday you'll all be gone!" She spun on her heel and stalked
away through the trees. She was heard complaining as she came into
contact with an especially hard tree trunk.
A moment later she reappeared.
"Hey, where is Marley's anyway?"
Tazor, Cyclinbear, and Spyder burst out laughing.
After many begging-caused headaches, Roland and the
rest of the group finally decided to permit Silver to join.
"Yeeessss! I'm in! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
Silver hopped happily around on one foot, clapping her hands together joyfully
as she did so.
"Yes, we've chosen to accept you," said Parsnip,
bringing the girl to a stop, "but we've yet to know your other ability."
Silver smiled mysteriously at that and stepped calmly
behind a large rock. The group heard her mutter a short series of
incomprehensible words, then all was quiet. After an uneasy silence,
a jet-black raven hopped out from behind the boulder and flew up to perch
on it. Everyone began to murmur among themselves, amazed, while the
bird simply ignored them and began to preen its feathers.
As it turned to clean the feathers on its back,
Spyder caught sight of a tiny patch of silver-colored down. "S-silver?!"
she sputtered. "Th-that's you, isn't it!?"
The raven looked up, cocked its head to one side,
and laughed. Not a raucous raven's cackle, but the clear voice of
the girl named Silver.
"Spyder, you're good!" The raven giggled.
"Silver Ravenshadow, at your service!" The raven giggled again.
"This is my special ability, and this is why I'm always inconspicuous!"
She flew up and and circled them from high overhead, then lit down again
on the rock.
"This also gives me another ability, " she remarked.
Suddenly, Spyder's voice screamed, "Tazor, behind
you!"
Tazor, who had been standing near the edge of the
clearing, whirled around and drew his sword, expecting to see an enemy.
But all he saw were trees.
"Hey, Spyder, that wasn't nice!" Tazor complained,
sheathing his sword again. "Trees-- oh sure, VERY scary!"
"What?" Spyder queried. "I didn't do anything, I
swear!"
They all turned at the sound of Silver chortling.
She shouted in a perfect imitation of Tazor, "Trees. VERY scary!"
She covered her beak with a wing, attempting to muffle her laughter.
She stopped immediately when she saw everyone else glaring at her.
"Okay, you guys," she muttered guiltily, "I won't
do it again...."
[Dhsu]
Now that Silver had just joined the group, Parsnip
decided to rebrief the party. "Since Belisarius is an acquaintance
of Neo, he has been successful in infiltrating Marley's castle and providing
a way in, namely the rope he just dropped at our signal. Speed is
crucial to this mission, but so is stealth. Therefore, it seems that
this is the perfect job for Silver." Parsnip gave a quick glance
in her direction and Silver instantly began to jump up and down ecstatically,
hands clenched in school-girlish excitement.
"YESSSS, my first mission!!!" she yelled so loudly
that everybody around her took a small step back. "Oh, sorry," she
said sheepishly, slightly subdued at their reaction. "But still,
you have to admit that you can't blame me for being so excited!"
"Of course, Silver," Parsnip replied calmly.
"Now would you mind telling everyone what your first mission is?"
"Oh...uhhhh...I...don't know..." she realized, eliciting
a few chuckles from a few people to whom she promptly gave a nasty look.
"Now, now," Parsnip admonished. "Anyway, your
first mission, should you choose to accept it (hee hee, I've always wanted
to say that), is to check up on Belisarius, see what he is doing, and inform
us of his situation. Understand?"
"You betcha!" Silver said, already beginning to
morph.
"But remember, be very careful not to do
anything too conpicuous, even though nobody may be watching at the time.
Guards may come in at any time, and a talking raven is something you don't
see everyday."
"Don't worry," she assured as she completed the
transformation. "Nobody will even know I was there." With that,
she took off and rose quickly in the air. The party watched her perch
on the tower window and go into Belisarius's room, only to see her fly
out within a few seconds, swooping down with panic-stricken speed to give
them the shocking news.
"He's not there!"
[Leo]
"So, how long you think Silver'll be in there?"
said Dhsu.
"Don't know," said Parsnip. "This is
her first mission. And we don't know how Marley's been reacting to
the rumors of rebellion".
Nearby, a bearded hermit listened in.
"Marley? They talk about him like they are
his soldiers! If there's one thing I learned, it's that I should
cut loose ends out of the picture!
With those words, he jumped out of a nearby bush
and held a sword to Dhsu's throat. "Now we can do this the hard way,
or the easy way. You can tell me all I want to know about Marley,
or I'll kill you and get it out of another one of his soldiers!"
As soon he had said this, Dhsu struck him, took his sword, and put it to
his throat.
"Marley's soldier? I don't think so!
Not many people have put a sword to my throat and lived! Now, time
to meet--" Dhsu was interrupted as Silver swooped down.
"He's not there!!" Silver cried. As
she finished her remark, she noticed the man with a sword against his throat.
"What's happening here? I leave to see if we can siege Marley's castle--"
"MARLEY'S CASTLE?" the man interrupted. "I thought
you were working for him!"
"Quite the opposite actually," Parsnip cooly responded.
"And maybe, if he's your enemy and ours, maybe we could team up."
"Are you crazy?!" Dhsu shouted, stunned by Parsnip's
remark. "This guy would've slit my throat in an instant ago, and
you want him to join us?"
"I've learned to take no prisoners after all that
has happened to me," the man responded.
"Even if you do join us, what can you offer?
Some hobo cooking tecniques?" Dhsu answered. The hermit took out
his sword again.
"I'll have you know that I was once a great paladin,
and this is one of my many talents!" the man screamed. "Now will
you let me join you to stop Marley? I've grown tired of hermit life,
and I thirst for revenge."
Dhsu, still speechless about the recent events,
finally stuttered out, "O--o--okay, but you can't attack me or another
one of us again!"
"Agreed, but I have a condition, too. When
we get to Marley face to face, I get the kill. I've waited too long
for this moment, and I won't allow any of you to take my revenge away from
me."
Parsnip held the two away from each other.
"Listen, we just got news that our contact isn't where he's supposed to
be, and that's a lot more urgent than you two arguing against each other,"
Parsnip announced. "Now what's your name?"
After a pause the man answered, "Leo."
"Ok," Parsnip said, "Leo, will you help us find
out what happened, and can I count on you to help, not hurt, any of us
if we are forced to battle?"
"....... You can," Leo said in a soft voice.
"Ok, welcome aboard," Parsnip said.
When Leo wasn't looking, Dhsu went up to Parsnip
and whispered in his ear, "Do you really think this guy can be trusted?
He nearly killed me, and he seems a bit insane."
"Not insane," Parsnip retorted, "but needing to avenge. And that's
more motivational than anything in the world. And besides, a touch
of insanity never hurt anyone."
So they think I'm insane, huh, Leo thought
to himself. Instead of replying to the comment, Leo did something
he hadn't done in a long time. He smiled.
Previous chapter
Next chapter
Back to cover
