Chapter 28

"And his son is an exceptional bowman, though that does not surprise me, being elven." The High Witch then looked puzzled. "However, I must ask you how you managed to harm the SoulSlayer? To my knowledge, only a high level spell can affect them."

"The arrows I had the fortune to have with me were magical, my lady." Syrqyndyl pulled one from his quiver and handed it to Arhyvhynne who admired the fine craftsmanship. "These are fashioned from the argentree, the shaft being made of their wood and the arrowhead from the silver of the leaves. We have less than five score of them for we may gather and use only branches and leaves that have fallen from the great trees as a result of nature. As I am sure you know, the woods are sacred to us and it is considered sacrilege to bring harm to any living thing in this forest without due cause." Arhyvhynne handed the arrow back to Syrqyndyl. "In any event, since rumor of the foul Slayers had reached Qyntes'ah, I always carried with me a score of the arrows whenever I ventured out of the Sylvan. I was hunting when I happened upon your distressed party."

One of the sentries called Syrqyndyl over to them and he excused himself. Arhyvhynne spoke quietly to Uriel. "Is this not one of the most beautiful places you have ever seen? It is so peaceful. And there is a sense of…"

"Being at one with nature," Uriel finished for her.

"Yes," she smiled at him. "Exactly."

It had been a long time since Uriel had seen her smile. Especially at him. It made him feel guilty about the way he had been treating her, about the way that he was acting in general as of late. So he repressed those feelings and changed the subject. "I don't understand something. I thought only the Witches of the Moons and the ten wizards were allowed to practice magic. But that elf guy said that the arrows were magical."