Outcasts of Velrune (7 page)

Tyco pointed at the guardhouse. “All travelers passing through the dead lands report to the guards first. It makes it easier to notify families when someone turns up missing.”

They moved towards the guardhouse, passing the bonfire along the way. Tyco nodded in its direction. “Most travelers set up camp next to the fire. We’ll be staying in the inn, however.”

When they reached the stone building, Tyco dismounted and went inside. Max and Mr. Penna dismounted as well and waited for Tyco to return. Eve wandered over to the building and leaned against it. She was trying to hear the conversation inside without Max and Mr. Penna catching her doing so. An unknown man spoke.

“Lieutenant Biros, we’ve been expecting you.”

“Well, here I am, along with three others, one of which is a lacarnian.”

“That is more than we were expecting, Sir.”

Tyco growled. “Plans have changed.”

“Yes sir. Is the fleabag at least registered?”

“Of course she is, now what about our rooms.”

“There are still two rooms left, Sir. Each has two beds.”

“Fine, we’ll use both.”

The door to the outpost began to open. Eve hopped away and ran over to Max and Mr. Penna before Tyco stepped out.

“I have registered us and it seems there is still one room open in the inn.”

Tyco faced Max. “It has two beds, so as long as you don’t mind sharing with Mr. Penna we’re good.”

He then turned to Eve. “It looks like you will have to be outside again.”

Eve stared at Tyco. “Only one left? Didn’t seem like there were that many people here.”

Max shook his head. “Wait a minute, Tyco. Can’t you and Mr. Penna share a bed? Eve can have the other one and I’ll stay on the floor.”

Tyco smiled. “Sorry Max, I’m a loner.”

Eve tilted her nose up. “It’s okay Max. I’d rather stay outside anyway.”

Before Max could get in another word she grabbed her bedroll from Starlight and took off toward the campfire.

Tyco clapped his hands together. “Well, that settles that, shall we go?”

Max watched Eve as she walked past some other travelers and stopped in a vacant area on the far side of the campfire. “Actually, I think I’ll stay out here as well.”

Tyco’s voice grew stern. “Don’t be ridiculous, Max. You’ll need a good night’s sleep.”

“I’ll be fine out here, and I’m sure Mr. Penna would rather have the bed to himself.” Max took Starlight’s reins and followed after Eve.

“Max, get back here!”

Max ignored Tyco, reaching Eve just after she had finished unrolling her bedroll.

“It looks like you’ve found a nice spot.”

Eve looked up in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Max laughed and began to unpack his things from Starlight. “Thanks for the welcome.”

“Sorry, Max, it’s just that I haven’t known you to turn down a bed.”

“Normally no, but haven’t you noticed how much Mr. Penna snores? The last thing I want is to be trapped in the same bed as him.”

Eve giggled, beyond Max she saw Mr. Penna walking towards them. “Actually, I hadn’t really noticed. Just how bad is Mr. Penna’s snoring?”

“Oh it’s awful, I’m lucky I haven’t gone deaf.”

“Is that so?” Max nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Mr. Penna’s voice.. He spun around and saw Mr. Penna a few feet away.

“Mr. Penna, I thought you went over to the inn with Tyco.”

Mr. Penna crossed his arms. “So I gathered.”

Eve burst out laughing..

“You saw him coming didn’t you?”

“Yep!” managed Eve between laughs.

Mr. Penna gave a deep, hearty laugh.

“Why did you follow us, Mr. Penna? Aren’t you going to stay in the Inn?”

“It is a beautiful night, Maxwell. I thought I might enjoy the outdoors. That is, if you will have me, snoring and all?”

Max shook his head and went back to unpacking his horse. Mr. Penna gave a chuckle and did the same. When Max finished he started to take Starlight to the stables. Mr. Penna stopped him.

“Leave Starlight here, Maxwell. The prices for the stables are outrageous. I am afraid Evangeline was on the right track yesterday. The Protectors have a nice little market going for themselves.”

Max dropped the reins and helped Mr. Penna unpack instead. Once finished, the three sat down to eat. Eve let Spook out, giving her some of the cheese Mrs. Tassi had sent. The little mouse devoured it then ran around picking up everyone’s crumbs. Max watched for a while before voicing what had been eating at him since crossing the river.

“You know, Eve, we’ve know each other so long that I’d stopped thinking about the fact you’re a different race. I mean, sure you’ve got ears and a tail, but, to me, that’s like someone else having freckles or a big nose. I guess I really don’t know what the lacarnians are.” Max studied Eve’s red tail and ears. “Guess that means I don’t know what you are. It never really mattered to me.”

Eve smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t really know a whole lot myself. I don’t remember much before coming to Swiftwater. I know I was in a forest first. Then I remember being squeezed in a room with others like me in the city. Then I was handed over to Mr. and Mrs. Tassi and taken on a long ride to Swiftwater. Anything I know about what I actually am as a lacarna came from Mr. Penna.”

Max turned to Mr. Penna. “Why have you never told me about Eve’s people? You’ve been relentless about everything else with my education.”

Mr. Penna sighed, “Because I made a promise to your father, Maxwell, to let you learn for yourself about the lacarna. It may have been a mistake, but he was adamant that you form your own opinion of them.”

Max swallowed hard, “My father? But why? Are they really that different from us?”

“Not so much now, but at one time, yes.”

“When was that? What did they used to be like? Why did they change?”

Mr. Penna laughed. “Are you actually asking for a lecture? I never believed I would see the day.”

Max didn’t laugh, which caused Mr. Penna to grow serious once again.

“All right, so be it. There are not a lot of detailed facts about our planet so I will give you what is common lore of Velrune. I will do my best to keep my own thoughts out of the picture. What you do with this information in days to come is up to you.”

Mr. Penna cleared his throat and began.

“It is said the Creators came from the outer reaches of the cosmos. When they came across Velrune they found it very appealing and decided to make it there home. They first populated the planet with a variety of wild beasts and plants. Little thought was given to the overall design, resulting in chaos. To bring order, they decided to create a more intelligent creature, one they could communicate with. They would need to make this new creature strong, agile and quick in order for it to survive. Thus they created the lacarna.” Mr. Penna winked at Eve. “The first lacarna were different from what you see now, Maxwell. They were designed as an animal, like a large panther, but the Creators gave them the ability to change form. In this other form, they stood on two legs and could speak the language of the Creators.

“The lacarna’s strength and intelligence soon brought order to the previous chaos. Velrune became a welcoming place, enough so, that many of the Creators decided it was time to live on it.

“It is unclear how much time passed before the Creators decided to make us, humans. Why they made us is unclear as well. It is believed the lacarna leaned to far towards their beast-like natures whereas that the Creators wanted a being more like themselves. Whatever the reason, humankind came to be and time continued to pass.

“The humans multiplied and spread across Velrune. Their relationship with the Creators began to change as they began to worship them as gods. It was during this time that the Creators living on Velrune became known as Immortals. The humans named them this to separate them from those that were said to exist in the cosmos.

“When the humans began to worship the Immortals, they denied the lacarna the right to see them, thinking of them as nothing more than beasts. The lacarna grew angry and demanded to see the Creators. When the humans continued to deny them access, war erupted.

“It was a short war. The lacarna nearly wiped out the humans before the Immortals put a stop to it. They realized it was their error in letting the humans take things so far. It had not been their intention to be worshiped. To return peace they decided three things. First, the Immortals spread out to live with both the humans and the lacarna. Second, they instituted a ruling body made up of members of both races. This ruling body they called the Protectors. Finally, they encouraged the two beings to live and work among each other.

“Over time, the two races did mix and things remained in order. However, after approximately six hundred years, the Immortals suddenly disappeared. Rumors as to the reasons behind their disappearance spread, each race blaming the other.

“As the accusations increased, war broke out again. This time the sides were more evenly matched. The lacarna had lost many of their beast-like qualities from mating with the humans and the humans had much greater numbers.

“The war raged on for several years, each side losing most of their population. Finally, both sides near extinction, the Protectors were able to bring about peace with the following proposal. The lacarna would stay in the distant wilds or dense forest areas. Any lacarna entering a settlement could do so only if accompanied by a human. Likewise, humans would stay in the open regions and in the settlements that had already been built. They were not to enter the forest unless escorted by a lacarna. The two races were free to marry one another but such unions were needed to be registered with the Protectors.”

Mr. Penna dropped out of his lecture tone and focused on Eve and Max. “Those are the terms that each race lives by today.”

Max tried to process Mr. Penna’s story. “I guess I can understand the Protectors’ terms at that time. But, why still today?”

“Many humans still fear the lacarna, Maxwell.”

“Yeah, but I’m not afraid of Eve. Besides, what does that have to do with what Tyco said about a law against a lacarnian riding a horse?”

“I am afraid any more comments I have would only break my promise to your father Maxwell. I will end this conversation with one last fact. There have not been any lacarnians in the Protectors for a long time.”

Max shook his head. “I don’t understand, Mr. Penna. I don’t understand why my father would have you make such a promise, or why the Protectors would place so many restrictions. I mean, Eve is one of the nicest people I know. The only time I’ve ever even seen her bare her claws is when she was protecting me.”

“I am glad you have Evangeline, Maxwell. She is pretty typical of her race.” Mr. Penna let out a soft chuckle. “Not that I would ever accuse Evangeline of being typical.”

Eve’s cheeks pinked a little. Mr. Penna continued.

“I have met many lacarnians, Maxwell; all friendly. Once, your father and I were even honored guests in one of their forest villages. However, many people only know what the Protectors tell them.”

Mr. Penna paused in thought, becoming very serious. “About Evangeline’s claws, Maxwell, never tell anyone that she has them. It is strictly forbidden for any registered lacarna to have them. In fact, their claws are removed before they are allowed to enter a city.”

Max stared in disbelief. “That’s awful…but, why then does Eve still have hers?”

A smile crossed Mr. Penna’s face. “My guess? Someone forgot to check when they first registered her.”

Max brought his attention back to Eve, who sat with her head bowed, scribbling absent-mindedly in the dirt.

“I can see now why you didn’t want to come with us, if people really are that afraid of the lacarna, but why didn’t you tell me?”

Eve raised her head. Tears filled her eyes. She could barely be heard. “I didn’t know how, and I didn’t think you would be my friend anymore.”

Eve quickly looked down at the ground again. Max stumbled for something to say He hadn’t seen Eve cry since the night his father died.

“Shoot, Eve, there have been times when I could have sworn you were the devil himself. The fire in your eyes when you get an idea for an adventure; that red hair of yours blowing about, yet I never stopped being your friend. I knew you would never hurt me. Finding out your long lost ancestors were wild beasts or that there are a few stupid laws your race has to follow isn’t going to change that.”

Eve looked up at Max and stared at him for what seemed like ages. He began to wonder if he would survive until morning. He was pretty sure she would never hurt him. At long last, she made a sound that fell between a sob and a laugh.

“I think that had to be the worst attempt at trying to cheer a person up that I’ve ever heard.”

Max, relieved, let out his breath. “That’s what you get for making me try to, with your crying and all. Hopefully you’ll remember this and never do that to me again.”

Eve laughed and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ll try my best not to. I don’t think I could take that again.”

Mr. Penna, who had watched the two in silence, gave a slight nod. “Well, things seemed to have worked out nicely. Not that I had expected any different, being Peter’s son and all. Alright then, time for bed.”