Retreat to the River

The gnomes were on top of the humans in a flash. Aurora was thrown to the ground. A gnome grabbed at her feet and the bottom half of her skirt tore in his hands. Losing her shoes, the Empress kicked wildly at the gnome's nose and eyes. Devrim only had a moment longer than Aurora and had his sword half-drawn when he was engaged. He kicked away the first gnome that came toward him giving him just enough time to pull his sword from its sheath. Devrim's foot throbbed. 'These creatures feel like stone!'

He had little time to think as he slashed at the next two gnomes, drawing blood from each of them. The next, realizing the folly of his friends, held his own sword and swung to cut off the man's head. Thankfully, Devrim was a skilled swordsman. He dodged the deadly blow and placed a large gash in the arm of the gnome as he fell forward. The gnome held his limp arm and screamed in pain. Devrim looked frantically to see what had happened to Aurora. Other than her initial outcry, she had made no sound. Three larger gnomes were carrying Aurora bundled up in her cloak toward the fissure in the ground. The rest of the group had merely been a distraction.

While the gnomes were heavy and bulky, this group at least did not seem particularly skilled in warfare. Devrim hacked his sword left and right through the group and cleared a path towards Aurora. "Put her down!" He demanded. The first gnome of the trio that held Aurora turned to push the boy away, but instead received a huge cut in his leg from Devrim's sword. He crumpled to the ground, causing the second to trip and third to barely escape the same fate. The Empress pulled herself from their grasp as Devrim helped her to her feet.

"To the water! They cannot swim!" Aurora yelled. Devrim held off the remaining gnomes as they hastily retreated to the river. They waded into the water quickly only to find it was just past Devrim's waist at its deepest.

"Stupid humans!" A gnome yelled from the shore. "We do not need to swim to get to you. Come back now, and we will let the boy go free," he tried to tempt them. The gnomes could easily ford the river, but that did not mean they wanted to. At their core, water was their enemy.

Aurora considered his words. If the gnomes could pop out of the ground at any point, Devrim was not safe with her. But she did not believe the gnome's words. If they were going to abduct or murder her, they would not want any witnesses. She and Devrim would have to escape or die. "You will have to come and get us!" Aurora said defiantly. Devrim gripped his sword tightly. He would not allow the woman he loved be taken from him.

Just then the water rose around them, lifting the humans from the riverbed and high into the air. The water nymph took shape and had each of them in one of her shapeless watery arms. "You came back!" Aurora cried happily. The nymph said something in reply that they did not know, but the gnomes did. They began hurling curses at the nymph. One gnome threw his knife, which sailed through the watery body without causing injury.

"Can you get us out of here?" Devrim asked politely. The nymph nodded and began her trek upriver holding her new friends. The gnomes tried to wade in after them, but came back to the shore. They chased them alongside the bank.

"You cannot keep them forever!" one of the gnomes yelled so that the humans could hear. "You have to put them down some time."

The nymph gave a crushing reply, causing the gnomes to jeer. She called out and two more water nymphs, who both appeared to be male, came up on either side of the humans blocking them from view. Then they rushed up the river quickly. With two walls of water on either side and a watery arm around her, Aurora struggled against her panic. Not two days ago she was nearly drowned, and the scene around caused her to hyperventilate. Devrim reached out and touched her arm.

"We will be fine," he comforted her. He looked up at the nymph. "I hope you have a plan," he said.

The nymph nodded unconvincingly. The look of concern was evident on her face. "That's not terribly reassuring," Aurora echoed Devrim's thoughts. She kept her eyes on him and smiled weakly. Devrim took her hand and squeezed it. He was happy to see that she was back in control of her emotions.

"We have been in worse situations," he joked, hoping to keep her focused on him and not her fear. Ahead of them a large forest of trees seemed to crop up out of nowhere on both sides of the river. The nymphs stopped at the treeline, waiting. "Why have we stopped?"

Although they could not see them, the humans could hear a triumphant cheer from the gnomes. They were close and approaching quickly. The nymph to Aurora's left dropped into the water and sent a deluge to wash back the gnomes. With a clear view, the Empress could see that the gnomes had nearly been within arm's-reach. "We have got to get out of here!" Aurora screamed. Suddenly the air in front of them crackled and an invisible barricade became translucent as it cleared in front of them. A hole wide enough for the nymphs and humans opened.

"Quickly, get through so I can close it!" A voice called such that Aurora and Devrim could understand. The nymphs obeyed. They passed through the strange translucent wall that seemed to stretch to the sky. Immediately, the gnomes charged after them, but they were not fast enough. An elf dropped from a tree and summoned a huge gale of wind. The force pushed the gnomes back through the hole before the elf sealed it shut once more. The barricade became invisible, yet the gnomes could not cross it. One of them hit it with a large club causing a crackling sound. "Careful," the elf said, "That could be you next."

"We will get those humans. And you will be next," one gnome threatened, though whom he was threatening was unclear.

The elf laughed, "Good luck with that. Go back to your hole!" Unless they wished to start a war with the elves, the gnomes had no option but to retreat. They turned around and left after one last jab at the protective field with an ax.

When they were out of sight, the nymph released the humans. Aurora rushed at the elf and hugged her tightly. "Brinn! I am so happy to see you." Brinn smiled as she worked to disengage from the Empress. Humans were very needy. Sensing the elf's discomfort, Aurora released her and walked back to the nymphs. "Thank you for your help." Aurora bowed her head.

"Yes, we might not have made it without you," Devrim added as he nearly folded in half with respect. The nymphs made watery bows—at least that is what the humans assumed they were—in return.

The female nymph looked hard at the elf and furrowed her brow. Her face came near Brinn's. "I hope we have not saved them from the snake pit and delivered them to the lion's den," she said in the ancient tongue. Brinn smiled innocently but said nothing. As their new friends slid back into the water, the elf motioned for the humans to follow.

"What did the nymph say?" Aurora whispered as she fell in step next to the Brinn.

Brinn waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing important."