Chapter 6 Part 6

When Avery finally awoke, he found himself washed and in a bed with linen that smelled of wildflowers. The lodging was an earthen home with walls that seemed to be constructed of vines and carefully directed tree growth. There was packed earth for a floor witha soft layer of moss and what appeared to be layers of tree bark providing insulation against the elements. One wall was solid stone--apparently the cabin was built up against a large rock. From that stone, however there bubbled a small, but constant fountain of clear water. There was an air of comfort and homeyness that had a calming effect on the mind and body.

Avery propped himself up to get a better look around and immediately wished he hadn't. The stiffness and soreness of his body told him that all of the major injuries were healed, but he was still not up to speed. Contemplating the dull ache in his newly healed back, he laid back down and returned to sleep.

When next he awoke, he heard the soft downpour of rain outside and the crackling of a fire in the fireplace. He opened his eyes and was captivated by a pair of bright blue eyes staring back at him. The eyes were surrounded by a round face supporting a small slightly upturned nose speckled ever so slightly by light freckles. A smiling mouth with perfectly straight pearl-like teeth completed the picture. The whole vision was of feminine loveliness and was accented by a halo of long hair the color of the sunset of his homeworld spilling across the shoulders.

"You slept long enough," she said in a voice as melodious as the soft ringing of wind chimes. "You were in bad shape, but you seem to have come through the worst part."

"Where am I?" As soon as he voiced the question he realized how weak he really was. His voice barely managed a whisper. The woman snickered and placed a damp cloth over his brow.

"That should be a lesson to you." She gently wiped his face with the damp cloth. "Save your strength. I will care for you until you regain your strength."

Avery listened. He could detect no ill intent in her voice, but he had to ask, "Why?"

"Am I helping you?" She finished the question for him. She sighed. "I almost didn't. I happened across you when I came to the rescue of an animal in distress." She smiled at the look on his face. "Yes I am a druid. I spoke to the injured coyodiak that you saved. He told me of your help. So I brought you here."

"You were quite lucky actually", she added. "When I happened upon you I thought you had fought the coyodiak and I was about to finish you off myself. But after speaking with the animal, I wanted to find out why you helped."

Avery tried to sit up but she easily pushed him back down. "I deduced that you were a ranger quickly. That explained most things, but the healing you needed plus what you shared with the coyodiak was more than a ranger can do. You are obviously familiar with druidic ways, but you are not a druid yourself. So you must also be a priest. But you carry no evidence of your obedience to a deity."

She leaned back and eyed him critically. "You present a puzzle and I haven't had any guests for several years. From the look of your eyes I suspect that you are not of any race I am familiar with."

She pushed a lock of hair back behind one ear and the unmistakable trait of eleven ancestry showed itself. The woman caught his gaze. "Both my parents were halfelven like yourself. I am a full blooded elf, but by law I can only be acknowledged as a halfelf. You, too are a halfelf, but your eyes..."

She rose from the bedside chair. She stood slightly less than five feet tall. She gathered her cloth and bowl. "Go back to sleep," she ordered. "We can talk later." She turned to leave when Avery weakly grasped her forearm.

"Please," he whispered weakly, "your name?"

The woman smiled and removed his hand. "My name is Nikki."

The next few weeks saw much improvement in Avery's condition. Soon he was strong enough to move about with the aid of a cane and he tried to help out by doing some of the lighter chores around the cabin. He had made friends quite easily with the coyodiak which Nikki informed him was quite young and would get to be the size of a large bear at its largest. She also informed him that coyodiaks were highly intelligent and could bond to a companion. She told him that she suspected that the coyodiak had adopted Avery and would quite possibly be with the ranger for the rest of the coyodiaks life. She mentioned that they lived as long as one hundred years in some cases.

Avery eased Nikki's anxiety about his eyes. He assured her that the solid amber orbs were the result of a curse from long ago that he had learned to live with.

Twice during the following weeks, Nikki disappeared for several days returning to find her guest washing clothes or repairing some part of the cabin that had been neglected. Avery's strength returned rapidly afterwards and soon he was thinking of his friends. He told the whole story to Nikki one night as they ate. She listened taking great interest in Marlena's part.

"Conception during bonding is very rare," she said, "but not unheard of. Many druids are women, but our cycles are synchronized to avoid the problem. The fact that your druid was suddenly dropped down into a strange land with a different bonding cycle than her body's is interesting. I wonder how the offspring turned out?"

"Perhaps I can send word when I find out." Avery said quietly.

Nikki stopped eating. "What is wrong?"

Avery bowed his head to avoid eye contact. "It is so peaceful here. I have no desire to go. But my friends..."

"Have probably already given you up for lost." Nikki smiled. She reached out and took the ranger's hand. She stared into the pupilless bright yellow eyes. "It has been four weeks since I found you, and you had been unconscious for days before that. Any normal person would have been killed by that storm. Accept the fact that they went on without you. Let the memory go and live for yourself and," she paused, "and stay with me."

Avery sat back stunned. The implication had evaded him completely until she had said it. Nikki was a petite yet well proportioned woman. He had never considered her beauty before, but now with her desires spelled out in front of him he was forced to address them.

Nikki saw the shock in his face and she turned her head away; bracing herself for rejection. She had tried very hard to hide her feelings from him, hoping they would fade and go away, but in the end she had acted contrary to her plan.

Avery took in the sight of the small woman. She was everything he had ever wanted and more. The memory of his friends, Armegon and the others, grew very, very distant and Avery understood what Scarlet had meant when he had said that Avery would not return home.

Avery realized that he did not want to return home. He was a ranger, a wanderer with no physical ties to his homeworld. His only possession had been friendship. Yet in the little cabin he had found another friend, and an elven maiden that he realized could be more than just a friend. The time had come for him to make the break he had been dreading. He silently wished his friends well. "I will stay."

Nikki threw herself into his arms and suddenly nothing else in the world mattered anymore. Later that night as they lay in each others arms, their bodies exhausted from spent love, Avery's thoughts drifted as he considered his place in this new world. He had made some new friends. The faces of the dwarven boat captain on the ice, the female ship master and her halforc first mate all danced in his mind. His new friend the coyodiak or wolfbear he called Mirfak and now a woman he would gladly leave his friends for were a good start to a new beginning.

There was one more variable to this new life, and it hung on the wall next to his bow. The enchanted sword that had spoken to him only briefly indicated that there was more in the future for him than he could foresee. That he would deal with when the time came. For the moment he intended to be happy.