The Lion of Farside by John Dalmas

The bird looked down his beak at Macurdy. “Not a crow, I promise you that.”

“Then what?”

“Men and tomttu call us the great ravens. And while the term reflects an inadequacy of concept, for our purposes here it suffices. Keeping in mind that intellectually we are far superior to ravens, which in turn are considerably superior to crows, which are—et cetera.”

“Where did you learn to talk so well? You used some big words. I’m not even sure what all of them mean.”

“Um. My species tends to be more intelligent; more, let us say, scholarly. Certainly much better informed.”

Macurdy stared bemused. “How did you get so smart?”

“He’s got a hive mind!” the halfling called; his nerves settled now. “Or more correctly, he’s part of a hive mind!”

“Hive mind?”

The bird explained. “My kind has a shared mind. Each of us is an individual, but whatever one of us learns is available to us all. When we need it or care to access it.”

Macurdy frowned. He thought he understood, but it was strange.

“For example. Suppose you carried a bow and shot at me. And I saw you do it. All of my people would then avoid you.”

“Wouldn’t that get confusing? How do you separate in your mind what’s happening to you from what’s happening to someone else? And somewhere else!”

“That’s not difficult; there’s always a sense of where and who. And at any rate, I don’t even know what my nest mates are doing right now, though I could. But if you’d shot at one of us, we’d all avoid you as dangerous, and know the reason. On the other hand, the others wouldn’t know I’d been talking to you unless one of them wondered what I’d done lately that was different.”

“And they’re all gluttons for knowledge,” the halfling put in. “Afraid there’s somethin’ interestin’ goin’ on that they’re missin’.”

The bird nodded. Physically nodded. “True. It’s why I associate with him.” He gestured toward the halfling with his head. “He’s a tomttu, you know. From time to time we great ravens form relationships with individual tomttus. They’re veritable mines of lore—facts, stories, and opinions.”

Macurdy saw possibilities. “Is that right! I’m new in this world, and there’s a lot I don’t know about it that I need to. Maybe you could help me.”

“Indeed? Obviously you’re no hatchling—excuse me; newborn. What do you mean, you’re ‘new in this world’?”

“I came through a gate last spring. From Farside.”

“Indeed!” This time it was the halfling, the tomttu who spoke. “I’ve heard of gates to a world called Farside. I’ve also heard they’re dangerous to men and tomttus; that only those of ylvin blood can use them.”

Macurdy decided not to say too much. “Well, at least one human’s come through safely. Myself.”

“Farside.” Blue Wing cocked his head. “Interesting. I am Blue Wing, incidentally, and my friend is Maikel. What is your name?”

Macurdy didn’t answer at once. What might happen if the Sisterhood learned he’d come through? And where he was. On the other hand, suppose Varia heard. “Macurdy,” he said. “Do you know of anyone by that name?”

The bird’s gaze seemed to lose focus, as if he scanned the hive mind. “No, no I don’t. But then, I’ve never run into anyone from that mythical country before. What are you doing here?”

Careful now, Macurdy, don’t say too much, he warned himself. “I’m a slave. The Ozmen made a slave of me when I came through. So I can’t travel around. And there’s a lot I’d like to know about this world.”

Bird and halfling looked at one another for a long moment, and it was the tomttu who spoke. “We’ll trade you knowledge for knowledge. Yuulith for Farside.”

“I’ll agree to that,” the bird seconded. “It’s infrequent that any of us exchanges thoughts and knowledge with a human. And when it happens, it’s usually with one of your immatures, typically female. Your immature females are more—open. They tend to feel more affinity with such as we. And it’s rarer yet to have a three-cornered exchange. It should be quite interesting.”

“I’ve a question for you,” the tomttu said. “How were you able to see me? The spell I cast should have kept me invisible to you.”

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