Elf Lords: 02 - Last of the Elf Lords (15 page)

“This way!” Katryn called.

Landis pointed to the slender, blonde haired female.

“I do not believe it.” Weslocke muttered.

“What are we waiting for?” Jaylen asked, as he grabbed his son by the arm, pulling him towards Katryn.

“Hurry!” Katryn called out as they ran towards her. Everyone rushed to where Katryn waited. She motioned for them to step inside the odd green light that shimmered amidst the trees. Once everyone was inside, she cried out, “Drop to your knees.”

Landis could not stop staring at Katryn.

“That means you too, Landis.” She spoke.

Landis realized that he and Katryn were the only ones still standing. He quickly fell to his knees. Katryn raised her right hand to grasp a small green stone that hung about her neck by a thin chord. She whispered a single word and the greenish canopy of light that surrounded them began swirling. The light, mist, or whatever it was, appeared to be swallowed up by the stone. Then everything became blurry. The companions’ ears were ringing and nausea overcame them as the forest began to spin about the spot where they knelt. When everything stopped spinning, they were once more kneeling in the midst of the magical green light. A pair of dryads now stood on either side of Katryn. Landis shook his head, unable to guess where they had come from.

“Where in the abyss are we?” Weslocke asked. The dwarf was on his hands and knees, trying to regain his senses. One of the dryads gasped at Weslocke’s misguided comments. “Do not say such a thing.” She spoke in a soft, melodic voice.

“He does not mean to insult us.” Katryn spoke, as she released the green stone, allowing it to fall against her chest. “You are safe now.” She addressed the companions.

“Tell that to my stomach.” Weslocke bemoaned, “First sea-sickness, then dragon-sickness, and now, whatever the abyss you call this. I am getting too old for all this.”

“Where…” Landis began.

Katryn interrupted him, “We are on the other side of the Tilsaw, just outside of Seebaul’s sanctuary.”

“That is not what I was asking,”Landis corrected her, “where have you been all these years, and why did you leave me?”

“I had to.” Katryn answered.

“Is Seebaul here?” Jaylen asked.

“I do not know,” she answered. “I was called by the dryads when the dragon appeared. That is why I came to get you. This is the only place that I can take you to. You must go now.”

The light vanished. Landis continued to glare at Katryn while the others looked about at their new surroundings.

“Come with me.” Tessa insisted, pointing the way towards the Elf Lord’s encampment.

Katryn offered a smile to Landis. “Fear not, you will see me again.”

Landis stepped closer to her, prompting Katryn to raise her hand to ward him off. “Not now, Landis. I really must go with my
sisters.
You must go to Seebaul.”

“She is correct.” Jordan spoke up.

Landis faced the prince, “I know she is, damn it.” He turned back to Katryn, only to find that she had vanished, along with the two dryads. “How?”

“We must go now!” Tessa insisted.

Shadow led the way as they began stomping through the forest. The sound of children’s voices could be heard as they walked. Shadow burst through the brush as the compound came into view. Several small children cried out in delight as the elven-wolf-hound bounded into their midst, frolicking and licking the children who gathered about the fierce looking animal without fear. The children ignored Tessa and the others as they stepped into the clearing, until Weslocke came into view. The dwarf became the instant object of infatuation for the children, who had never seen anyone like him before. They marveled at the appearance of the Westland creature with his long, thick beard and rushed to greet him. Weslocke, who had bravely stood against many life threatening dangers during his lifetime, looked absolutely terrified by the youths surrounding him.

“What is this place?” Landis asked Tessa.

The Ranger patted one of the smaller children on the head, “This is Seebaul’s sanctuary. A place of safety for orphaned children, who would otherwise be enslaved by the Warlord.”

The light in the orb vanished. McRawl carefully placed the ball back into his black cloth bag before slipping it into a pouch on his belt. He looked out over the rooftop, where he crouched in the pouring rain. From here he had a perfect view of the town. His scouts had informed him that Kadoola would be traveling this way, and would no doubt seek shelter here before moving on to the summit with Alister Marlow in Ducaine the following day. Off to his right, his archer would be well concealed, waiting for Kadoola to be identified. The troll squatted in the corner, oblivious to the falling rain. Despite the wizard’s assurance that the beast would be of no danger to him, McRawl remained uncomfortable in its presence.

He spotted riders in the distance. “That must be them.” He spoke aloud, as Kadoola’s entourage road into view. The Libertine leader had nearly three dozen armed riders traveling with him. McRawl knew that there would be more following behind, and he guessed that Kadoola probably had several men already in town searching for signs of trickery.

McRawl pointed to the riders in the distance as he called the troll into action, “After the horsemen, kill them all!”

The troll reacted instantly to the command. It climbed over the ledge and dropped down the side of the building to the muddy street below. It then charged head long into the direction of the oncoming riders. McRawl watched as the troll advanced. He doubted that the beast would succeed, but that mattered naught. It was to serve as a distraction to provide his archer the opportunity to assassinate the rival rebel leader without being seen, at least until after he had fired his fatal arrow. Kadoola’s men reacted as expected upon seeing the charging beast. They formed a wall between the troll and their leader. A few fell back to cover Kadoola’s flanks and rear. Little did they realize that their actions were part of McRawl’s scheme to help identify their leader’s position among their ranks. Now the archer knew exactly who among the many men to target. Two men fired arrows at the advancing troll. One struck the beast in the shoulder, while the other missed completely. The creature did not respond to the injury. Only then did the men realize that they were up against something more dangerous. Three kicked their horses into a charge, attempting to run the beast down. The troll leaped high enough between two of the horses to grab a pair of riders and pull them to the ground, ripping their throats open without slowing down.

The troll was not amidst the soldiers. The defensive parameter surrounding Kadoola clearly marked him as the target. He could not help but wonder why the archer had not fired upon the rival leader yet. A large black raven landed on the ledge of the building. For a moment McRawl mistook it for the rook belonging to Kataard. He was about to shoo it away when a voice startled him from behind.

“An omen of death.” The oddly familiar voice spoke. The raven flapped its wings and flew away from the rooftop as McRawl spun about, drawing his sword as he moved. Three men stood behind him on the rooftop. He did not know how they had snuck up on him as they did, but he recognized two of them: Seth and Doogal. The half-elf thief allowed the rope that he had tied into a noose to dangle from his left hand. “I have waited a long time for this.”

Seth displayed a bow and two green-fletched arrows. “Your assassin is dead. Kadoola will reach the summit safely.”

McRawl was not about to stand around and talk. He had to take action if he was going to get off of this roof alive. The seasoned warrior lunged forward, raising his sword as he went directly after Doogal.

“He is mine!” Doogal ordered. He raised his blade in his right hand, ready to face off with McRawl.

Seth and Reldoor moved to either side of the fighting pair, ready to enter the fray when needed, as they watched the two swordsmen go at each other. McRawl pressed forward, pushing Doogal back as he used his years of experience to gain the advantage over the former fighter turned thief. Doogal backed away, parrying the other man’s blows as he sought the correct moment to strike.

“I’m going to finish you off this time.” McRawl challenged.

Doogal met his opponent’s sword, blow for blow. “You said that once before, maybe that should be a lesson to you. Next time you kill a man, make sure he’s dead before you move on.”

Doogal jumped aside. “Now!”

McRawl thrust his sword forward, missing the dodging half-elf completely. He did not notice Seth tossing a lasso around his neck until it was pulled tight. Indeed, he had failed to notice a rope in the boy’s possession. The noose in Doogal’s hand—which he had tossed aside as he advanced on McRawl—had been merely a distraction. McRawl reached for the rope with his free hand, permitting Doogal the opportunity to slash his blade across McRawl’s sword arm. The warrior’s involuntary reaction to the injury caused him to let go of his weapon. Doogal lunged forward, punching McRawl in the stomach with his left fist. He spun around behind the man, bringing his sword to rest against McRawl’s exposed throat. “Now you will pay for what you did to Lorili.” He spoke coldly. “Tie the end to something sturdy.”

“Grab his pouch first.” Seth insisted.

Doogal yanked the pouch containing the crystal orb from McRawl’s sword belt. “Here.” He said, tossing it to Reldoor.

Doogal dropped his sword, grabbed McRawl and wrestled the man to the building’s edge. McRawl tried to resist, but was unable to stop Doogal’s momentum. His knees struck the low wall just as the half-elf pushed him from behind. McRawl tumbled over the side of the building, dropping several feet before the rope halted his decent. McRawl grunted as his body jerked at the end of the rope. His arms and legs flailed about as the captain made a futile attempt to free himself from the noose. Doogal looked down at the struggling man as he died. The raven flew past McRawl just as his body gave out. The bird’s cry was the last thing the captain heard.

“Give me the assassin’s bow.” Doogal said, as he continued watching McRawl swinging back and forth below him.

Reldoor picked up the bow and both arrows from the rooftop where Seth had tossed them at the start of the fight. As he handed them to Doogal, he asked, “What are you going to do?”

Doogal tossed them over the side of the building. In the distance he could see Kadoola’s men regrouping after slaying the troll. Seven bodies lay scattered about in the aftermath, not counting the two who had been felled attempting to charge the troll. “They will see McRawl hanging here soon enough and come to investigate. Seeing the bow and arrows on the ground, and in the same location from where the troll appeared from, they will no doubt put two-and-two together.”

“We better get moving before they come.” Seth suggested.

Doogal agreed, “I cannot imagine what Marlow will have to say when Kadoola asks him why his captain tried to kill him.”

“Hopefully, he will receive Seebaul’s message informing him of our daring rescue.” Seth grinned as they rushed to escape down the opposite side of the building.