Later that night when she woke him to take over the watch, Nym told him what had occurred.
“We were just walking, exploring the area, when we heard a sound behind us, as if something had fallen to the earth,” she said, clearly still shaken. “We turned and Rowan got there first. The staff is oak, perfectly balanced, straight and smooth. It fell from the tree, Clay. The tree gave it to her.”
Clay looked at her for a moment and then looked at Lana. The staff was on the ground next to her sleeping form, within her reach. There didn’t seem to be anything mystical about the length of wood, nothing that he could sense. But a gift from the trees was a rare thing indeed.
“Thank you for telling me,” he said. Nym nodded then went to prepare for bed. Clay spent part of his watch keeping an eye on the surroundings and part of it watching Lana. Could it truly have been a gift from the trees? Why would they give such favor to a halfling?
The next morning while Lana took a turn riding, Clay carried the staff to examine it further. It was quiet so he knew it wasn’t living wood. The tree had sacrificed a part of itself for Lana. It was smooth as if it had been sanded and rubbed with oil for years. He placed the middle of the length of wood on his palm and it didn’t wobble a bit. The balance was perfect, as Nym had said. Perplexed, he handed the staff back up to Lana who took it from him and placed it in front of her on the saddle.
“It’s just a walking stick,” she said, bewildered by the interest he and Nym had shown in it. “I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss.”
“Rowan,” Nym said, urging her horse forward so she could speak with the girl. “Do you not understand what happened?”
Lana stared at Nym and waited for her to continue speaking. Clay grinned affectionately. He thought of it as the princess in her coming through when she did that. Not asking questions, simply waiting for people to explain themselves.
“That staff was a gift, girl,” Nym told her, reaching a hand out to touch the item in question. “The tree wanted you to have this. No limb is this smooth or straight. I don’t know why it would give you such a gift but it has. You must appreciate its worth.”
Lana gazed down at the staff lying across her saddle, running a hand over it. Then she looked at Clay, bewildered.
“What does it mean?” she asked him.
He shrugged. “Maybe something, maybe nothing,” he said. “It’s not living wood so it has no powers but it’s the perfect height and weight for you. Perhaps the tree felt bad because you stumble around so badly in the underbrush.” He winked at her and she scowled at him. So did Nym.
“Does that happen a lot?” Lana asked Nym. “I mean, I know it happened in that story you told me about the human and elf wars, but I didn’t know that it was something that might still happen.”
“It does, but not often,” Nym told her. “The trees once bent themselves to meet our needs but it’s rare nowadays. Thelsamel is the center of the elvish lands and home to an entire palace made from trees that have twisted to join together in such a way as to create rooms and corridors. The Great Tree still stands there, towering over the palace, so tall that the top of its canopy disappears into the clouds. It’s truly a sight to behold.”
Lana’s eyes were wide with wonder.
“You’ll see it soon,” Clay told her. “That is our destination, after all.” He loved to see her this way, so full of delight and excitement. He just hoped that her arrival in Thelsamel would be a joyous occasion.
After they made camp, Lana and Nym started to wander off but Clay called them back. He held his hand out for the staff and Lana obliged, her brow furrowed.
“Would you like to learn how to use this?” he asked her.
“I use it by placing on the ground to steady myself as I walk,” she told him crossly, as if he had lost all of his senses.
“Rowan, this is a weapon,” he told her, holding the staff diagonally across his body with both hands. “Yes, you can use it for walking, but there is no doubt that this was meant to be a weapon. The balance is too perfect, the weight and height are absolutely ideal for your size.”
Lana watched him as he executed a few maneuvers with the staff. It cut through the air with ease, whistling slightly as he twirled it about. He looked back at her. There was color in her cheeks and a steely glint in her eye.
“Yes,” was all she said.
They moved a few yards away to a flat, clear area and he began to show her the basics. How to block and parry, how to trip up foes and buy herself some time. He instructed her in a few routines that would help make some of these movements come more easily to her. Thrust, sweep up, squat, sweep down, return. She worked like a woman possessed. Watching her whirling the staff about, he was amazed at what he was seeing. That length of wood was as much a part of her as her arms or legs already. It was uncanny.
That night was the first night he suggested Lana take one of the watches. She might not be able to incapacitate a foe trying to sneak up on them, but she could definitely do some damage and give Clay and Nym time to get up and join the attack. Lana was quite pleased to be asked, eager to do what she could to help out.
Coalfell
Lana was riding with Clay a few
