The Fairyhunter

Part 18

            Adrian left the Lurching Orge Inn a little faster than he was used to. Near as he could tell, the bouncer at his back was at fault.

            "You no come back here or me am rearrange you pretty boy face," said the bouncer, whom the bar was apparently named for. Adrian pondered the proper response for a moment, then decided to forgive the musclebound oaf and just politely inform him of whom he'd just pitched out the door. He was, after all, still Adrian Quicksilver, best fairyhunter in the realm, regardless of his present level of job satisfaction.

            "Y'ont no whoyer dillionwif!" he shouted. "Ahm Silver Adr'nquick, dammit!"

            "You am need sober time barrel, me think," said the ogre, cracking his knuckles with a grin. Adrian's legs tried to push away, but with little effect. The ogre grabbed him up by the neck and threw him bodily into a rain barrel on the side of the tavern that had a fine layer of thin ice on it that Adrian broke with his face. Adrian's head was held under for a few seconds, brought up and run through the same process a few times. The bouncer obviously delighted in helping out those more fortunate than himself.

            Just when Adrian thought his lungs might explode, the ogre let him up and tossed him to the side of the barrel. "You go home now...no more drink." he said, returning to the inn. He was kind enough to let Adrian lay in the puddle next to the barrel instead of actually making sure he moved along. Frazzled as his mind was, Adrian reminded himself to send this guy a present at Christmastime.

            It only took a few minutes before his wet body felt the fall chill in the air, but a lifetime to get up and start moving again. He shuffled away from the tavern and the town in general. There was no point in staying anymore if he wasn't going to be allowed to fog his mind up any further. Sleeping was not an option and neither was comfort. His dreams were plagued with the agonized cries of sprites and fairies that had been magically drained and turned into crystal statuettes and visions of wingless Fae that looked sorrowfully at him, but said nothing as they died around him. The idea of being warm and comfortable in light of that seemed almost ridiculous.

            He trudged on, leaving buildings and huts behind for larger and thicker foliage. Normally, this would have been a relief to him, but the woods seemed haunted now. He could feel the accusing eyes of creatures boring into his brain...even the squirrels seem to stop their chatter and watch him as he walked by. Either I'm sobering up, he thought, or I'm drunker than I thought. He picked up the pace a bit nervously, walking faster, then jogging, then running madly, a panicked scream building in him as the forest grew darker and closer around him. He ran into bushes and tree limbs, getting scraped and bruised in just about every place imaginable until one hit him squarely in the forehead, making him see stars for a moment. He staggered on, the pain blocked by days of ale and wine, but the stars grew brighter, making it harder to see. He stopped and fell to his knees, blinded entirely for a moment. He rubbed his eyes to clear them and blinked at the blood on his hands, trying to figure out where it had come from. The cold was also seeping into him again, but there wasn't much to be done about that, either. He looked up again, suddenly concerned about his whereabouts and saw no landmarks at all around him.

            "Stupid sprite," he muttered, still buzzing a bit. "Got me all hot, got m'mind screwed up, got me kicked outta the bar, got me…" Lost in the woods, he thought wryly. She got me good. Bitch! How could she do this to me? Where the hell is she? He was no longer really surprised at that thought, since even when he couldn't see straight in the taverns in town, he'd wondered that at least 5 times a night. He flopped on his back and groaned aloud until it built into a bellow that echoed his despair through the trees for quite a distance.

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!"

Adrian opened his eyes and stared at the tree above him. Strangely enough, it was night. He had no idea how the time had passed, but it had. His back felt stiff, his head felt thick and pained and as he tried to move, his limbs felt leaden and very, very numb. Time had definitely passed, enough so that he was certain this was not the same day he'd set out on. He realized suddenly that a hand as brown as the bark of the tree it came from was stroking his head and face. Strangely enough, this was not cause for alarm. He was immediately very sorry. "No," he said, his voice small, his mind still focused on the last thing he could remember saying. "I didn't mean that. She didn't ruin my life. Can you make her come back and I'll tell her? I promise."

The dryad slipped completely from her oak and knelt next to him. He could feel magic emanating from her and he knew he could trust her. "Neena is a sprite I captured, but I made her leave me because I said terrible stuff to her. She hates me now. I killed a lot of sprites and fairies, but not anymore. I quit right now. I want her to come back, because…because I love her. Hey, I don't think I'm drunk anymore! Everything hurts now…my head hurts a lot. I think I hit it pretty bad. Plus it's really cold and I can't feel my feet." Adrian gasped, suddenly aware that he was prattling on like a child. He tried to remember what he knew of dryads and found himself talking again. "Hey, are you making me say all these things? I heard dryads can make you tell the truth when they touch you, but only if you're really bad off. I am, aren't I? I'm tired and I'm dying and I'm sorry, but it's too late, isn't it?" She smiled a sad, but knowing smile at him and touched his forehead. He felt pain there and knew that everything he was saying was true. He couldn't lay out here, soaking wet and exposed to the elements with an injury like this; he'd freeze to death. No dryad could stop this…they could heal trees and plants, but not people.

He felt his eyes sting hotly for a moment, then closed them, whispering, "I'm going to cry and it's embarrassing because I'm a grown man. God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it…any of it. I just know how to see magic really good, that's what made me good at fairyhunting. I want Neena to come back so I can tell her. I don't want to die at all. You can't make me not die, can you?" He looked up and the dryad shook her head and he knew more than he wanted to know. She looked strange to him, different almost, and he knew he must be getting close. He opened his mouth to speak again, but pain resurfaced, making him groan and feel even more groggy. She looked worried as she put a finger to her lips and shook her head. "You want me to be quiet and rest…so I don't make it worse…but it's already worse. It hurts…real bad in my head…and I can't tell her I love her…I'm…gonna to go to sleep now, okay?" The dryad looked more worried now and gave him a kiss on his nose, one that made him smile delightedly and feel warm all over. He was certain his eyes were open, but he couldn't see a thing, only feel what his heart told him.

"Neena."

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