A light shone directly into my eyes. "West," I muttered.
"She's coming around," someone said.
I opened my eyes and found I was lying flat on my back in a dark room. A furry hand waved a lantern over me; dim faces loomed. "Wait," I said. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't obey.
"Ssh," said a kind voice. "Ye need to rest."
"Wait," I said again. "Who are you? Where is this place?" The lantern swung, and I caught a glimpse of an earthen ceiling. Where had I been before? I remembered running through the Commonlands. Then--my head hurt. "Where am I?"
"Don't go getting excited, now, child," the kind voice said. "I'm Grimmfaith. I'm a cleric. You're in Misty Thicket, outside Rivervale."
"Rivervale?" The name stirred a memory. "How did I get here?"
"That's a long story, child," Grimmfaith said. "You're too tired to hear it now." He held the lantern up, illuminating the sparkling eyes in his weathered face.
"No, wait, don't go," I said. I tried to sit up again, but laid back down when an arrow of pain shot through my head.
"All right," Grimmfaith said. "Everyone find something else to do, please. I'm going to talk to Gwion for a bit." I heard the scuffling of several pairs of feet. A door opened, letting in a crack of grey light for just a moment, then the light was gone.
"You're halflings," I said. "How do you know my name?"
"No more questions," Grimmfaith said. "I'm going to tell you what happened, but you have to rest while I tell you or I'll stop, hear?"
"All right," I said.
"So." Grimmfaith brought up a chair and set the lantern down on a table near where I lay. "As I said, you're in Misty Thicket. We've an orphanage here. Some days ago, one of the youngest was out gathering mushrooms in Kithicor Forest, and he found you lying there in some undergrowth. Barely alive, you were, so he came back for help and we brought you here to our hospital."
"Barely alive?" I said. "What happened?"
Grimmfaith shot me a stern look. "I'm getting to that, now what did I tell ye?" I tried to look as restful as possible.
"Kithicor Forest isn't dangerous until after sundown," Grimmfaith continued. "If ye want to go to Rivervale, ye must travel during the day. The evening hours can be dangerous, and after sundown..." he shook his head. "Well, after sundown ye just can't get through the place alive. It's the undead.
"See, a long time ago, the undead came to the forest. Many of ours were lost in the beginning. That's why we have the orphanage here." He sighed. "Then we learned not to go into the forest at night, and since then, we've been safer. But every so often, we still find someone like you out there. And some aren't so lucky."
"So the undead attacked me," I said. "I don't remember it."
"And fortunate are ye indeed," Grimmfaith said. "They're not pretty to look at, from what I've been told. They're rotten, reeking of the grave. And they're tormented, bound to force the living to join their ranks.
"Every night they roam the forest, waiting for the scent of life. The animals are smart enough to hide away, and the goblins and orcs have a pact with the undead. But anyone else who comes through at night is in for serious trouble.
"The forest is thick, see, and travelers lose their way in the darkness. Those who are attacked might live, as we've found, if they can outfox the undead long enough to make it through to morning. When the light from the sun hits the undead, they disappear."
Grimmfaith leaned a little closer. "You were very lucky, child," he said. "Near ye, we found a longsword stuck in the ground, just a little way from your head. We think the sun saved ye." He put a cool hand on my forehead. "I hope you never remember that terrible night."
I shivered. "Thank you--for helping me," I said.
Grimmfaith shrugged. "We're the living," he said. "We have to help each other. If we don't, all of us will be like--them." He looked at the lantern for a minute. I glanced around the room. It was earthen, a burrow, but clean enough, and warm without a fire.
Finally, I decided to risk a question. "Grimmfaith?" I said. "Is there more? How do you know my name?"
"Yes, I'll tell ye." Grimmfaith sat back in his chair. "Ye'd been here a few days, no more, and then we had a visit from the Thane of Misty Thicket." He smiled. "A grand lady she is, tall, and beautiful as the sun. Our forefathers swore an oath of fealty to her family long ago. These days she comes every once in a while to see how we are. And when we told her we'd found someone in the forest, she offered her help."
A memory surfaced--a tall, beautiful woman with armor shining in the sunlight. "Wait," I said, "Her help? Is she really tall, and she looks like--well, she looks like a princess?"
Grimmfaith gave me another look. "She is a princess! Now quiet down or I won't tell you the rest." He shook his head. "As I said, she offered her help. And when she saw you, she knew you."
"Donnalinna," I said.
"That's right." Grimmfaith nodded. "You've got her to thank for your life. Her healing powers are much stronger than my own."
Everything was coming back to me. I'd been on my way to Rivervale to find the halflings. And Uncle Zophia--where was he now? And Tinna? "I have to talk to somebody," I said. I sat up, ignoring the pain in my head. "The druid guildmaster, where is he? I need to talk to him. Now, it's very important."
Grimmfaith sprang out of his chair and forced me, with surprising strength, back onto my sickbed. "No," he said. "You'll stay where you are until I say you're well enough, do you hear?"
"But I have to--"
"Nothing is that important." Grimmfaith scowled. "You've had enough for one day. Tomorrow, if you're feeling better, I'll bring the druid guildmaster to see you. Until then, you will rest. Is that clear?"
I gave up. "Yes," I said. "Perfectly."
Grimmfaith took the lantern, and quietly left the room. I tried hard to go back to sleep.
