It was a shallow stream.
But for Zala that day, it may as well have been roaring rapids for the way the mare was acting!
"C'mon, Zala! Cross!" Jayari said, trying for the umpteenth time to nudge her young mare across. She'd tried treats, she'd tried pulling her across, and now she was back in the saddle, digging her heels into her flanks and trying again. But the mare only danced away from the stream and tossed her head, stubborn as a mule! It was unlike her to behave like this, but every now and then she got a burr up her ass and pulled a stunt like this.
With a loud sigh, Jayari once again dismounted. Hands on her hips, she came around to Zala's front and eyed her, hands on her hips and a determined set to her jaw.
"Really? It's not even a foot deep! You've crossed it before! I know it's a little cold, but honestly, water?" Shaking her head, she rubbed the horse's velvety nose. "You don't shy from battle, but a stream defeats you. Alright. Let's give this another go. We are not backtracking a mile just so you don't have to get your little hooves wet. C'mon now!"
Gripping Zala's reins, she began to pull, but Zala dug in deep and flared her nostrils, snorting, until--
Zala jerked her head back, and Jayari fumbled her grip just enough to lose it--and fall backwards into the stream with a splash and a loud screech as cold water soaked her to the skin. Yet despite the shock of it all, she could only sit there in the water, eyes wide and mouth open as she gasped at the coldness.
Right before she burst into laughter at the ridiculousness of it all.
"Alright," she finally said when she could breathe again, slowly rising to her knees and shivering. She splashed water at the mare, who shook her head when it got her. "You win. Well done! Backtracking it is, you brat. This time, at least. We're going to have to work on this."
A grassy, desolate plain. That's all there was in sight, and all there had been in sight a while. Liadrin felt like she had been wandering the plains for hours... which, she had, just it still felt a lot longer than it actually was!
The entire time she had been traveling through this region, there had been nothing but empty grasslands, except for the single small town she had slept at the night before, which was on the very edge of the plains anyway. It was hot and the sun was out, and with no shelter from the heat, most people would have been extremely uncomfortable. Not Liadrin, however. She was used to the heat, being a fire mage. The arcane energies that coursed through her body were like the flames of a fire. She was beginning to feel dehydrated, though, and that was a very real affect of the heat on her.
After the long walk she had made, she began to see a small stream in the distance. Picking up her pace slightly, the mage headed for the water... her long, red dress flowing behind her, dragging slightly across the top of the grass. Her staff on her back shone in the sun, as well as the golden embroidery around her dress. At least her dress was light and silky, and was designed with a segment missing around her abdomen. This helped with the heat also, other than her just being used to it. Even if it wasn't the most noble looking dress (in fact, it left a good amount of cleavage exposed!), it was elegant, as well as practical for her.
The stream was beginning to come into sight better, and Liadrin was eager to get a drink. However, as she got close, she began to hear the sound of horses galloping behind her, and turned to see three men with swords, as well as one with a bow, riding their horses after her. She stopped and turned to face them, smiling. "Can I help you gentlemen?"
The one out in front spoke first. "This section of the plains belongs to our clan. If you want to get out of here unharmed, you'll have to pay up." Liadrin's smile disappeared, and she spoke out again. "I'm sorry, I won't be paying anyone." As the men readied their weapons, Liadrin's eyes began to glow a fiery red, and a ring of fire began to swirl up on the ground around her. The horses were terrified and ran off, taking their riders with them, who had a priceless look of fear on their faces as well.
Liadrin stopped casting her magic, but due to the heat and the dryness of the grass around her, the land began to burn. "Shit!" Liadrin cursed as the fire began to expand. She managed to get it under control easily, but the smoke and light from the blaze would surely not go unnoticed to anyone who was even remotely close to her.
It was when Jayari climbed up onto Zala that she noticed what she'd been too distracted to notice before.
Smoke on the horizon, burning black, and then abruptly white as it was extinguished. And it was no small amount, either! Jayari's eyes narrowed. Perhaps that was what had spooked Zala, because that was a fire made by a person, not a natural brush fire.
Whoever it was, they were trespassing--and being terribly stupid, setting a fire in the grasslands like that!
She took Zala upstream a little ways, found a shallower part of the water, and this time got her to cross. Then with the press of her heels and a shout, Zala burst into a gallop and they took off across the area, heading directly to the source. By the time they got there, Jayari had an arrow nocked in her bow, and her lips pulled into a frown at what she saw.
A strange, pale-skinned foreigner in strange clothes--whose guilt was written in the look on her face, and the scorched grass around her.
"You there!" Jayari called in her native tongue. "Halt! What business have you here?"
Liadrin sighed as the woman approached her. "Jeez, what's with everyone trying to kill me today?" She said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Throughout the hundred or so years Liadrin had been alive,she had become fluent in most tongues, and had at least dabbled in others. This one wasn't one of her strongest. She could understand it, easily. Speaking it was different, though.
"I'm just traveling through." She said as accurately as she could. "Anyway, I could really just use some water, then I'll be on my way."
She hoped that's what it came out as, anyway. Who knew what she had actually said to this woman? It was something close to that, for sure, but even slight errors can create a lot of trouble.
The woman's Duhjari was broken, but understandable enough to Jayari's ears. She narrowed her eyes and kept her arrow trained on the woman, unmoved.
"Just traveling through," she repeated, and looked around at the scorched earth around them. "And...lighting up our fields?"
She lifted an eyebrow, clearly awaiting an explanation.
"Ah, yes... that... well, you see..."
Liadrin was stumbling for an excuse. She clearly wouldn't be able to provide a decent reason, and didn't want to get in any more trouble. She decided it would just be best to tell her exactly what happened.
"I was attacked by a group of riders. I'm a fire mage, so naturally when I was attacked I resorted to my magic. I seem to have went a bit out of control, however." She offered with a nervous smile.
Jayari's expression turned flat. "And these riders. Were they dressed like me?"
She had a feeling she knew where this was going.
Liadrin smiled. "Yes, they were. I suppose that turns me into the one in the wrong in your eyes, does it not?"
Jayari's aim was unwavering, and she deigned not to answer the woman's question directly. This wasn't a debate about right and wrong, but about laws.
"And did they explain that this is our territory, but that you're free to cross--provided you have something to offer us in return?"
"Hmmm."
Liadrin thought for a moment. "I suppose now that you mention it, they did, although it was more of a threat than an explanation."
"And now it's been explained to you. What do you have to offer?"
"I don't carry anything on me to offer." Liadrin said to the woman. "Besides, I can manage just fine on my own."
It's not that she didn't know that this would cause a problem, or that she wanted to cause a problem either. However, Liadrin wasn't about to pay for safe travel that she could provide herself for free.
"Sure you do," Jayari said with a smile. "You have yourself."
Liadrin gave a warm smile. "Is that a threat? If so, I'd like to advise you to think very carefully about who you make an enemy out of."
Liadrin wasn't sure about the exact age of this woman, but she appeared to be a good ninety or so years younger than Liadrin was. That was a long time that Liadrin had spent refining her magic. She wasn't threatened or intimidated by this younger human woman at all.
"It's not a threat. It's a fact. You are not without offerings, so either make them, or turn back around and leave our land."
Jayari's expression was cold to the woman's warmth. "Or be escorted out."
"What a shame." Liadrin said. "I had hoped we could get along. In any case, I need to pass through here. So, I'm sure we can work something else out, no?"
Liadrin shifted her stance a little. It was more to get comfortable than to get prepared, and she didn't want it to look like a threat. "If I understand your meaning about offering myself correctly, I'm afraid that simply won't do."
Jayari paused, blinking suddenly. "What do you think I mean?"
"Of course, I'm not sure of the details. But I would assume you mean I have to do something for you or your tribe. If you're requiring it as a toll, it must be substantial." Liadrin said, pausing to think. "Actually, let me rephrase myself. So long as it doesn't take too long, I'll consider it."
"That's correct. However, you still don't seem to understand the nature of this exchange," Jayari said, arching a brow. "It is not up to me to suss out what you can do for us. I don't know your skills or what you have to offer, or if what you have to offer is even worth my time. It's on you to make a case and convince me. So, what do you have to offer?"
Liadrin grinned. "If we're going to continue this conversation, you're going to have to stop pointing an arrow at my face."
"You're in no position to make demands here," Jayari answered calmly. "Make your case."
Liadrin's eyes glowed with red fire for a second, and the arrow Jayari was holding suddenly burst into flames and turned to ash. "Much better." Liadrin said with a kind smile. "Anyway, I can't offer anything if I don't know what kind of things you want. You're going to have to be a little more specific."
Jayari yelped in surprise and nearly dropped her bow, too, as her arrow burst into flame and burned the fingers holding it. It surprised Zala, as well, who let out a whinny and danced nervously, nostrils flaring.
And it certainly did not impress Jayari.
"You've made your case, I see," she said, eyes narrowed. "Passage is not granted, so you're going to turn around and leave the way you came."
"I guess you don't quite understand." Liadrin said, keeping a kind tone in her voice. Flames began to dance in the air around her. "I'm not requesting permission. I have said before, I can pass through just fine on my own, have I not?"
If Jayari was nervous about those flames, she didn't show it.
"This is Banyur territory," she said. "It's not a matter of capability. It is, actually, a matter of permission."
Liadrin sighed, then laughed a little. The girl didn't seem to get her point. Also, being a noble high elf, Liadrin saw humans as an inferior race. She wouldn't be taking orders from one. "Are you telling me you still wish to stand in my way, human?" She said with a hint of irritation, spitting out the last word with disgust.
"No," Jayari said, smiling as she felt a subtle vibration in the earth, that was only growing stronger. "I'm suggesting you rethink your position, and adjust your attitude."
Liadrin began to feel the ground rumbling as it got more intense, and sure enough soon started to hear people and horses approaching. Liadrin didn't particularly hate humans, she just saw them as inferior. It wasn't as if she wanted to cause problems with them, but for some reason this brought a wicked smile to her face. "Ah, so that's how it's going to be, then?"
The small group of Duhjari riding up had been attracted to the fire, as well--and had also been alerted to the incident by the men that had originally found the woman. They were among the group the rode up behind Jayari, each and every one of them armed as they sat their strong, sturdy plains horses.
And each and every one of them, Jayari knew, was a seasoned fighter.
Jayari held out a hand to signal them to wait as she once again turned her attention to the woman. "This doesn't have to end in a confrontation," she said calmly. "It never did."
"Then what do you want?" Liadrin asked. "I'm not intimidated by your numbers, by the way. I won't take demands from a human, but I will listen to your request, so long as you ask nicely."
Jayari frowned at the woman, giving her a level look. "I know your grasp of our language is shaky, but I believe we've already been over this. Several times, in fact. Do I need to try a different dialect, or is this one sufficient?"
"And I've already told you, you need to be more specific." Liadrin said with a grin. "I don't offer my services unless I know what I'm getting into."
As she talked, the flames dancing around her got hotter and brighter.
Jayari looked at the woman, her eyes narrowed, and then glanced at the flames dancing around her. She had given her a chance--multiple chances, far more than she should have--but it was clear the woman was either willfully ignorant, or just a troublemaker. Either way, she'd spent more time on her than she would have liked, and was officially done with her.
With a sideways glance at her closest men, she signaled them with her hand, and immediately the small horde around her drew their weapons and closed in on the woman. There were mages among them, too, and a few of them began to summon their enchantments as they drew closer.
They wouldn't hurt her--unless she resisted.
"It's funny how humans think they are equal with the other races. Magic flows through our bodies. Your mages believe themselves to be masters of magic, but they could never hope to accomplish what a high elf can." Liadrin said with a grin. "Your warriors believe themselves to be able to compete with mages, but metal only gets altered and deformed in fire."
A flame set the grass behind Liadrin on fire, though she retained control over her magic. Only that which she wanted to set aflame would catch fire. "Fire is a dangerous magic. It's wild, hard to control. Sometimes the consequences of playing with fire can be... extreme."
If any of them heard the woman, they didn't show it, because it was while she was still talking that several of the warriors rushed her from the front and the sides while Jayari slipped around and behind her, between she and the burning grass.
Liadrin took her staff in her right hand when the warriors began to charge her and created a ring of fire swirling around her, which then began to expand outward so that it would burn the ground and anyone it touched.
The warriors fell back, horses whinnying and dancing back from the flames--
And Jayari, who had used the distraction to slip behind the woman and dismount, laid her hunting knife against the side of the woman's neck. "You'll want to stop doing that," she growled into her ear, their bodies pressed flush together.
"Do you not find the fire beautiful?" Liadrin said as she let the flames die down so that they were barely burning anymore, but not quite completely out. Her eyes burned with both magic and anger as she glanced down to the knife. "The fires may have gone down, but the only thing controlling them is me. If you don't want them to burn out of control, I recommend keeping me in a conscious state."