Emerald of the Elves (39 page)

The knife clattered loudly as it fell. The sound of a large body hitting the ground followed immediately. Wylan waited silently for any further sounds. Several minutes passed by, and Wylan dropped to his hands and knees. He placed his staff next to the wall of the sewer and felt around with his hands. He felt Sheela’s body. She was still breathing. He turned her onto her back to make sure that she would not drown in the shallow water. He moved slowly forward, running his hands over the ground. He felt the knife and seized it. Crawling further forward, he found Jon’s body. Jon’s breath was shallow, but he was still alive. A tremor of fear coursed through Wylan’s body as he crawled on top of Jon. Feeling Jon’s body with his left hand, Jon plunged the knife hard into Jon’s eye. He held the knife and waited to make sure that Jon was dead.

Wylan rose and felt for the wall of the sewer. He felt the wall and then shoved the knife hard in between the rocks of the wall. He pushed hard on the knife to make sure it would not dislodge. Wylan dropped to his knees again and felt for Sheela. He lifted her body and placed it over his shoulder. With his free hand, Wylan retrieved his staff and rose. He turned and proceeded down the gentle slope of the sewer in search of the staircase he had used to come to his present location.

* * *

Garong approached the gates of Klandon. He gazed up at the banners flying over the gates and halted. He stared at the symbol of the dragon that he had last seen on Arik’s chest. Confusion clouded his mind as he walked up to the gates. The guards stared at the elf walking up to the gates and positioned themselves in the center of the open space. Garong stopped in front of the guards.

“I have come to speak with the king of Klandon,” Garong stated.

The guards whispered between themselves, and then one of them turned and ran off.

“You are an elf,” commented the other guard.

“I have always been one,” smiled Garong. “May I see the king?”

“I have sent a runner,” nodded the guard. “He will be back shortly.”

“So I am not allowed to enter your city without the king’s permission?” frowned Garong.

“I don’t know,” shrugged the guard. “We have never had an elf here before. In fact, I have never seen an elf before. We have been told not to trespass on the lands of Elderal.”

“As it should be,” grinned Garong. “May I enter the city?”

The guard hesitated, not knowing how to answer. He was saved the embarrassment when another guard came running to the gates and halted alongside him.

“I shall escort you to the keep,” stated the new guard. “Please come with me.”

Garong shook his head and followed the guard. His eyes roamed as he walked. While he had spied on the city before, he had always done so from a distance. The only time he had been in a human city had been during the Collapse when Elderal landed in the same physical location as Tagaret. The elves had left the city promptly to avoid the war that the humans were embroiled in at the time. His memories of that visit were old and faded.

Garong gazed at the buildings and the people moving along the streets. Everyone appeared to be in a hurry as they scurried about. Some of the humans noticed him. They stopped and stared as he passed. Others seemed oblivious to his passing. Nobody was overtly hostile to him, but neither were they openly friendly. Before he knew it, Garong was being led into the keep. The guards all noticed the elf entering the keep, and whispers ran rampant. Garong was shown into a room with a man sitting behind a desk. The guard halted and Garong stopped alongside him.

“Are you the king of Klandon?” asked Garong.

“I am Duke Altaro,” answered the man. “I used to be the king of Klandon, but now I am the duke of Klandon. I take it you are from Elderal. Welcome to Klandon. What brings you out of the forest?”

“I am seeking help for a problem that my people are having,” admitted Garong. I am hoping that you can help us, or direct me to where I can find Alcea.”

“What is the problem that you face?” asked Duke Altaro.

“My first problem is finding Alcea,” frowned Garong as he wondered if telling Klandon about Sarac’s people was wise.”

“Well you have found part of Alcea,” replied Duke Altaro. “The Kingdom of Klandon is no more. We have become part of Alcea. If you would tell me what you need Alcea for, perhaps I can help you.”

“There is a human named Arik,” responded Garong. “This human is important to the people of Elderal. I believe that he would be willing to help my people if I could find him, although I do not know if he is capable of helping us. Do you know this person?”

“Are you referring to King Arik?” inquired the duke.

“King Arik?” echoed Garong. “I do not think so. The Arik I seek is young. He visited Elderal not long ago. He traveled with others, including a dwarf. He rode a unicorn. Are you familiar with him?”

“That is King Arik,” nodded Duke Altaro. “He is the king of Alcea. You have very impressive friends. As to where he is right now, I cannot say.”

“He never mentioned that he was a king,” frowned Garong. “Do you swear allegiance to him?”

“He has recently been crowned king,” nodded the duke, “and, yes, we swear allegiance to him. What does he have to do with Elderal?”

“He is the prophesized one for our people,” explained Garong. “He is to save us from the forces of Sarac. I must find him immediately.”

“That will be impossible to do,” frowned Duke Altaro. “He led us in battle recently, but we do not know where he is now. I can try to get a message to him, but I can not be sure that he will receive it any time soon.”

“This is a problem that cannot wait,” frowned Garong. “My people are endangered, and Arik’s life may be in danger.”

“You have some explaining to do,” Duke Altaro said sternly as he rose from his chair “If there is danger to King Arik, I want to hear about it now.”

“The danger is not from my people,” Garong replied quickly as he realized that the duke had taken his statement the wrong way. “Arik is known to my people as Valon. We will not harm him. He is on a quest for us. It is something that he must find and return to Elderal. The danger to him is that Elderal has been invaded by Dark Riders and Black Devils.”

“How many?” interrupted Duke Altaro with concern evident in his voice.

“Thousands,” replied Garong. “My people will need help to defeat them. Sorelderal is too far for us to seek help from our own people. Perhaps the armies of Klandon can help?”

“If it is the wish of King Arik,” vowed Duke Altaro, “my men will gladly come to your aid. Sarac’s army is our sworn enemy.”

“But you cannot ask your king,” Garong pointed out. “A promise of help that cannot be fulfilled rings hollow.”

“You are too quick to come to that conclusion,” retorted Duke Altaro as he waved to some unseen person in the corner of the room.

Garong watched in amazement as a little green man darted to the center of the room and fluttered to land on the desk.

“Go to Tagaret, Droplet,” instructed the duke. “Relay this conversation to General Gregor. Ask his advice on how we are to proceed.”

The fairy nodded and flew out the window. Garong shook his head in wonder and the duke smiled at him.

“The fairy people have sworn allegiance to King Arik,” Duke Altaro said. “It may take a while, but we shall find a solution to your problem. I will have a room set up for you in case it requires a stay while we wait for the answer.”

“You appear to be very accommodating,” replied Garong. “Why are you so willing to make Elderal’s problem your own? I expected more resistance to our plea for help.”

“What you have said to me rings true,” answered Duke Altaro. “I know that King Arik is on a quest to find the Book of Things. Supposedly, he is looking for it for the elves. While your people have never been friendly to Klandon, neither have you been bad neighbors. I suspect that the fortunes of our people are intertwined. In the very least, we share a very despicable common enemy.”

“My people have only asked to be left alone,” nodded Garong. “Klandon has respected that wish. I am glad that I came here today. Perhaps our peoples can learn to be better neighbors.”

“I suspect that we shall become closer than neighbors,” smiled King Altaro. “Let me have a man show you around Klandon. The time will go faster for you, and you may learn a little about our people.”

“I would like that,” smiled Garong.

* * *

The Rangers rode cautiously into the city of Forgum. While Prince Darok received some questioning stares, the other Rangers were mostly ignored. Forgum had long been a city that was neutral in the battle of the rogue armies. It was, in fact, a city free from the conflicts and rivalries that raged through Sordoa. The unspoken rule, established not long after the Collapse, was that fighting within the city was forbidden. It was a place where enemies could walk safely past one another without fear of attack. It was also a city where one could gather much information about what was happening in Sordoa.

Alex led the way to the Sordoan Arms Inn. The Rangers stabled their horses and entered the common room. The room was crowded with soldiers from many armies and there was no empty table. Alex was about to leave when a group rose to leave. He quickly moved to secure the table for the Rangers.

The Rangers were seated for several minutes before a girl came to take their request. Alex spent the time listening to snippets of conversation. When it came time for him to choose his meal, Alex asked for the fish.

“He really would rather have the venison,” interrupted Prince Darok.

The girl looked confused and focused expectantly on Alex. Alex nodded and agreed. The girl shook her head and left. When she was gone, Alex looked questioningly at the dwarf.

“The fish is rotten,” explained Prince Darok. “Can you not smell it? You would be spending the night in the bushes for sure.”

Alex smiled and nodded to the dwarf. He returned to listening to the conversations around him and ate his meal in silence. A mercenary entered the room and gazed about before coming to the Rangers’ table and sitting next to Alex.

“You folks heading to Melbin or Tagaret?” the mercenary asked.

“We are heading south,” Alex answered vaguely. “Yourself?”

“I came to Forgum to answer that question,” admitted the mercenary. “I am Captain Azule of the Sarga Mercenary Company. My boys are split on the question of where to go. Most figure that we will have to fight Emperor Hanchi sooner or later. The real question is where to do it. I am almost of a mind to return to Sarga instead.”

“Haven’t the Lanoirians already taken Sarga?” asked Alex.

“No,” the captain shook his head. “We certainly expected him to, but his whole army is coming up the eastern coast. It is as if he doesn’t care about pockets of resistance behind him. Then again, I guess I would be pretty confident with a hundred thousand men behind me.”

“A hundred thousand?” echoed Arik. “Can Trekum really resist such an army?”

“Probably not,” shrugged Captain Azule. “From what I hear though, you don’t want to be overrun by these Lanoirians. If you are, you either join them or die. They do not respect mercenaries.”

“How far up the coast have they gotten?” asked Alex.

“Gortha and Partek both fell this week,” frowned Captain Azule. “There is nothing between Emperor Hanchi and Trekum now. I suspect that the battle for Trekum will start within the week.”

“You mentioned Melbin as one of your choices,” commented Tanya. “Do you mean to offer them your services as mercenaries?”

“That is one of the problems with choosing Melbin,” replied the mercenary. “Some companies are talking about selling their services to Melbin. Others are talking about taking Melbin for themselves. It can get mighty confusing at times. General Mobami is organizing the defense of Trekum and that is pretty straightforward. There is no pay for mercenaries, but the only enemy will be the Lanoirians. Who knows what will happen at Melbin.”

“We came through Melbin,” mentioned Alex. “It is no longer a kingdom. It has joined Alcea. I would think any armies seeking to take it for their own might be fighting more than they think.”

“Really?” the captain remarked as his eyebrows rose. “Now that is a piece of information that is news to me. Where is Alcea?”

“Alcea encompasses all of what used to be Targa,” answered Alex. “It might be a nice place for men to leave the armies and settle down. They do not plan on yielding to Emperor Hanchi or anyone else.”

“So Targa has resurrected,” mused Captain Azule. “You present a tempting picture, but it sounds just a bit rosy. Last I heard the crazy prophet was sacking cities up there.”

“Not any more,” stated Arik. “The prophet Azmet is dead. His army was defeated.”

“Slaughtered is more like it,” interjected Alex. “No more than a handful survived.”

“Slaughtered?” echoed the mercenary. “Last I heard the Targa army was a bunch of city boys that weren’t sure which end of a sword to hold. Are you sure you got your information right?”

“It was the Red Swords and Rangers that did Azmet in,” nodded Alex. “They are the heart of Alcea’s army and not something to be trifled with.”

“That makes my choice easy,” frowned Captain Azule. “I don’t think I want to go near Melbin now. I fought against Red Swords in the Collapse War. There is not a finer fighting force alive. I will take my men to Trekum.”

“I wish you luck,” nodded Alex. “Still, you might think about joining with Alcea. I think they will need good men to aid in the coming battle with Hanchi.”

“If things go poorly in Trekum, I will think about that,” smiled Captain Azule. “You did say that you were heading south. Perhaps I will see you in Trekum. What is your name?”

“Trekum is a big city,” shrugged Alex, “but one never knows about such things. You can call me Garth, Garth Shado.”

Bin-lu slipped into the abandoned factory and closed the door behind him. He looked around in the dim light and did not see anyone. He walked to the center of the room and leaned against the wagon that had the name of Boris Khatama on it. Still not seeing anyone, he bent and looked under the wagon. Hearing the door open, Bin-lu ducked behind the wagon. Sheri walked in calling for Wylan and Bin-lu felt suddenly foolish for hiding. He smiled and walked towards the door.