Outcasts of Velrune (18 page)

Mr. Penna held up his hand to stop Eve. “No, I did not. We have not gotten that far in the story yet.”

Eve crossed her arms. “Hmph!”

Mr. Penna lowered his hand. “The next morning, Neysa woke Peter and I before the sun had even risen. She could barely contain herself, enthusiastically telling us that she had received permission to lead us to her home village. I could not believe my luck.”

“We left immediately and arrived at her village the early the next day. When I saw it, I stood speechless. I could never have imagined such a place. It had no houses, huts, or other crafted structures, at least that I could see. Then, Neysa pointed to the trees. Far off the ground, the branches and leaves formed small, natural shelters. She told us that the lacarna lived in the open, only taking shelter during storms.”

“Neysa then led us straight to the center of the village, something that made me rather nervous. I asked Neysa if we should barge in without any warning, to which she informed me, in a rather smug fashion, that we in no way traveled quietly enough to surprise the village.”

Neysa broke out in laughter. “I couldn’t believe the noise you two made. They probably heard us when we started out the morning before.”

Mr. Penna cleared his throat. “The Chief of the village greeted us, with Neysa informing her about our wish to see how the lacarna lived. The Chief gave her approval, even inviting us to stay a few days. She said that as long as we did not interfere we could talk to whomever we wanted to, whenever we wanted.

“We stayed two days before the Chief politely insisted that we leave, apologizing for the short stay. We did not argue or ask why, as she had already given us a great privilege. We thanked her, along with the other lacarnians we had spent time with, and prepared to leave the next day.

“Neysa had us up and ready to go early in the morning. We reached the edge of the village clearing when we noticed the arrival of another party. I remember them well, as I have not seen another sight like it. First, there was an adult male lacarnian, a rarity among their race. With him was an adult female who held the hand of a very young lacarnian girl that stood between them. Finally, a few feet behind the lacarnians, stood a human girl of about nine or ten.

“I was curious as to who they were and turned to Neysa to ask if she knew. I found her as fascinated by the sight as I. At the sound of my voice, she jumped, told us we needed to leave immediately and ushered us out.

“From there, Peter and I returned to Moenia where we filed our report on the information we had gathered. I went back to processing lacarnians and Peter left for patrol duty.”

Mr. Penna stretched his arms and legs. “It is time for a break.”

“Ahh, Mr. Penna, you haven’t gotten to me yet.”

“I will in due time, Evangeline, but for now, please help Neysa and I clean up this mess.”

“Okay.

Eve jumped to her feet to help Neysa.
I’m starting to understand Max’s frustration with Mr. Penna. He really does draw things out as much as possible
.

Together, they cleared away the mess left over from the meal. Spook, having already done her part by eating the crumbs, climbed onto Eve’s head for a nap.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Neysa stacked several blankets in a corner of the room. She, along with Mr. Penna, positioned themselves on the blankets so that their backs leaned against the wall. Eve flopped down, stomach first, facing them, on her own stack.

“Okay, Mr. Penna, every thing’s put away. This time you can’t stop until after you get to my part.”

Mr. Penna’s eyes twinkled. “Do not worry, Evangeline. I will finish my story this time.”

Mr. Penna paused a moment as if to remember where he had left off, then started in with the rest of his story.

“Several months after our return to Moenia, I saw a surge in the number of lacarna that entered into the city. With them came stories of bandits that had chased them out of the human villages, forcing them into the protection of the capital. Not only did this tax our inspection and registry system, but it became a challenge to find places for them to stay. At first, we found empty houses for them, putting five or six in each. When those ran out, we invited human citizens to come and hire them as help with the condition they also board them. Unfortunately, the process was not well thought out. Before long, it turned into an auction house.”

Mr. Penna shook his head. A slight tremor shot through his body.

“I despised the auction house, but knew of little I could do. The bandit attacks gave us little choice, or so I first believed. Then, one day, Neysa came into the processing center. When I saw her, I wondered why the bandits would bother with a lacarnian village on the outskirts of the forest. I wanted to talk to her and find out what happened, but one of the other inspectors got to her before I could, sending her to the holding area to await her turn in the auction.

“That night I had trouble sleeping as I wondered why Neysa was in Moenia. The next morning I informed my superior I could not be at my post due to an illness. I then slipped off to the auction house.

“I knew what went on at the auction house, but I had never been there myself. It broke my heart to actually see lacarnians sold to the highest bidder with no regards to age or family members. When they brought Neysa out, a chill ran down my spine. I decided immediately to buy her, despite the disapproval I would receive from the Protectors. I owed her that much for the kindness she had shown Peter and me.

“The deal done, I took Neysa straight home and questioned her. She told me that bandits had indeed attacked the village. She noted a few strange things though. First, they were very well armed, odd for thieves who spend most of their time in hiding. Second, they took nothing, instead burning the village to the ground. Third, guards from the Protectors arrived to escort the lacarnians to Moenia, even those that wanted to rejoin the villages in the forest.

“My talk with Neysa made me suspicious. From that point on, I paid very close attention to the lacarnians I processed. To my growing concern, more and more of them had the appearance of those that lived near or in the forest. Mystified as to why bandits would attack the forest lacarna who held nothing valuable, I began to keep a separate log of those I processed, hoping I might find something to piece the puzzle together.

“Then, one day, the Protectors escorted an unusual group of lacarna into the city. The physical features, typical of the forest lacarna, were much more pronounced. Some appeared more beast than human, almost as if a panther decided one day it would walk on two legs instead of four. Upon inspection, I also found them to have fully functional claws that could easily strip flesh from bone, far from the fragile, worthless ones I was used to seeing.

“Having not seen lacarnians such as these before, I could only conclude that they must have come from deep within the forest. A little girl I saw standing in line confirmed my conclusion. I recognized her in an instant as the lacarnian girl I had seen in the forest village. Sadly, the two adults from that day were not anywhere in sight.

“The stories of bandit attacks no longer made sense. A group of bandits could never penetrate so deeply into the forest. If somehow they did, the lacarna could easily drive them off. No, it would have taken a large, organized force to drive them out.

“Whatever the truth, I knew these forest lacarnians could not stay in the city. They could never adjust to such life, and I feared the humans would mistreat them for their beastlike appearance. Without thinking it through, I falsified the records of any I processed, marking them as clawless and having come from human villages. I hoped if I made them less of a threat I would have an easier time getting them out of the city, though I knew not how. In case I formed a plan, I made duplicates of their papers for my own possession, keeping their true identity in my personal logs.

“That night, the image of the little lacarnian girl haunted my sleep. I woke the next morning with the determination to get her out of the city one way or another, even though it would draw suspicion on me for buying yet another lacarnian.

I left for the auction house and arrived to find the place filled with people, making it difficult to move around. At some point, I found myself stuck behind a young couple discussing their anger with the treatment of the lacarna. Curious, I introduced myself and asked why they had come. They informed me they came to the city to adopt a child as they could not bear any of their own. The orphanage; however, had only a few children, none of which the caretakers would allow the couple to take. The two lived in a tiny village across the dead lands, a place the caretakers deemed too dangerous for the children. On their way out of the city they saw the crowd at the auction house and slipped in to see the commotion.

“With the auction starting, I took a chance at the opportunity before me. I mentioned to the couple that, on occasion, a lacarnian child would be sold and the Protectors had no rules as to who could buy them. I assured them that such a child would thrive in the outlands, more so than any human child.

“The idea of purchasing a child in an auction appalled them. For a moment, I thought the lady would hit me for making such a suggestion. Their reaction left me no doubt that they would treat a lacarnian with the care and respect your people deserved.

“Desperate not to let them go, I explained how they could give a child a much better life in their village. I told them of the mistreatment the lacarna often faced in Moenia. I even offered to give them the money to make the purchase.

“No matter my tactic, I could not convince them. The man pushed me aside to leave, but his wife stopped him. The auctioneers had brought out the little girl. I could almost see their hearts break at the sight of her. The poor thing was ragged and scared. When the bidding started, I offered my money pouch to them. They hesitated at first, but, as they watched, some brute of a man took the high bid. With one last nudge from me, the man grabbed my pouch and bid until he won.

“After the sale, I went straight home and began writing letters to every acquaintance I had outside of Moenia. I told them of the auctions and of what I knew of the lacarna people. I offered to help finance any that would come. I also made counterfeit ownership papers of those I found homes for, in case I misjudged someone’s character.

“Less than a month later, Peter, clearly on edge, appeared at my home late at night. He stated that in two days he would take his son and leave Moenia for good. He asked if I would join him. In answer, I told him everything I had done, arguing that I could not leave with so many lacarnians to help. Upon hearing my tale, he said, with no uncertainty, that I must leave. He warned that, because of our friendship, the Protectors would be watching me closely. If they found out what I was doing, they would arrest me.

“I could see the fear and worry in Peter’s face. Though the decision tore at me, in the end I could not let my safety add to his troubles. We left two days later.”

A look of joy filled Mr. Penna’s face. “I have long held that the Creators left this world centuries ago; yet I cannot believe that mere coincidence brought us to the same village where the couple had taken the little lacarnian girl.”

Mr. Penna starred directly into Eve’s eyes. “That, my little lacarnian, is why I have your pape-”

Eve launched herself at Mr. Penna, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you!”

Mr. Penna returned Eve’s hug. “You do not need to thank me, but you are welcome, nonetheless.”

Eve sat back down. “Did your friends come? Did they take anyone else from the auctions?”

Mr. Penna nodded. “Yes, and I believe it is time to track them down. The Protectors have put their plans into motion. I only hope that I have not waited too long.”

Neysa wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I am not certain of anything, but more and more pieces seem to be coming together; Peter leaving suddenly eleven years ago, the bandit attacks, Tyco’s arrival at the village, his sudden desire to bring Maxwell here and the disappearance of the diggers when Tyco realized they had found out about Maxwell. I think all these things are somehow related to those lacarnians brought to the city years ago.”

“So what’s the plan, Chiros?”

“Tomorrow, I will take Maxwell around the city as promised, ending at Melody’s church. I will return here tomorrow night to prepare. Neysa, I want us to leave the following morning.”

Eve crossed her arms. “Max and I can’t come?”

Mr. Penna shook his head. “The Protectors have their own plans for Maxwell. I assume you will be going with him.”

“If they let me. Tyco wasn’t thrilled I came this far.”

“I am sure they will not be happy with your presence; I am sure that means you will only be that much more determined to go.”

Eve tucked her head down sheepishly. “Maybe.”

Mr. Penna chuckled. “I thought as much. That is why I want Neysa to take you shopping tomorrow. You will need to be prepared for whatever lies ahead.”

Mr. Penna stood. “When you two have finished shopping, head over to the church. I have a feeling Melody will have more information for us. For now, go get some rest.”

“Yes, Chiros.” Neysa got to her feet. “Come along, Eve.”