by B G Mitchell
Behind her followed a couple of dark elf females with whips and wearing armour. He then noticed the reason the evening gown wearing female seemed so much taller was because she was floating about three feet in the air. She turned and looked straight at him.
The other patrons hid themselves behind their tables and chairs at a speed normally reserved for closing open windows on a computer when the boss walks by. She pointed a finger straight at him and said in a loud yet still feminine voice, “Human male.”
Gary quickly checked behind him to make sure she was not talking to anyone else and cleared his throat. “Me?”
The female narrowed her eyes and looked at him. “You have rained great destruction down on the Dammed Plains and annihilated Quargath, one of the most powerful demon princes as well as his castle.”
Gary couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or confused by it but suspected that it may be better to admit it than look weak at this moment. “I might have done that, and you are?”
The dark elf female floated and moved her face closer to his as he noticed the eyes were a deep shade of black surrounding a black pupil. “I am Zateria the one true goddess of the dark elves. How did you manage to destroy such a powerful foe in one move, human?”
Gary noticed she spit out the term “human” like a curse word but decided to tell her the truth because lying seemed like a very bad idea. “I uhh, think I set off a soviet built nuclear missile with an estimated yield of three hundred kilo tons.”
“Strange, I have never heard of the race called soviets how many more of these nuclear missiles do you have, human?”
Gary thought for a moment that he better make this sound good as he was talking to a supreme being not known for her sanity. He cleared his throat. “Well, let’s just say the Soviet Union made a lot of nuclear missiles.” He emphasised the pronunciation of nuclear so he hoped it would look like he knew what he was talking about.
The goddess floated back. “Fine then, human, you leave me little choice. I will let you have this city of dark elves if you let me take five thousand of my most faithful.”
It took a moment for his brain to register what she had just done, and it was true sanity was not her strong point. “Well, I … uh.”
The goddess then rose, and then he heard her voice. It seemed loud and all-encompassing like it was broadcast straight into his mind. “All Dark Elves that see the scared mark of Zateria will have one hour to pack up and proceed to the great chiasm, we will follow the priestess of the house of Arnea as they lead the faithful to a new home. I will no longer hear the others as they have long left my path. This city now belongs to the great human archmage.”
Gary took a long look at his beer, idly wondering if someone had slipped him some sort of hallucinogenic drug (which ironically they had as the mushrooms used in the beer to have a hallucinogenic properties, the only problem is that is rather tame and a heavy dose may make thing look slightly wonky).
Well, he thought to himself. How bad can the beer be? He downed the beer in one smooth motion that was not so much a sip as a chug and slammed his glass on the counter. Then he looked at the remaining patrons. They looked at him with a mixture of awe and even fear. Oh god, he thought to himself. I will be dead within a week.
Lucinda was having a rather interesting day. She was the youngest daughter in the house of Arnea at just a hundred and forty years old. She had short, silver hair with a dark purple streak in it as well as emerald green eyes and the petite elfin frame that was only five feet two inches tall. She also had the pitch black skin and long pointed ears that pointed her out as a dark elf and had just returned from her favourite store, a small, magical shop down in the merchant district.
When she arrived back to the compound, she noticed a certain bit of activity but assumed that it was another dedication to Zateria, but she was not really interested in the religious part of the house. She preferred looking into sorcery. That did not put her in favour with the matron mother, as sorcery was regarded as a more of a male thing and according to the Matron mother they did not even do that well.
A little while later, she was up in the noble part of the compound which was a tall tower situated in the middle of the house defences, and was going through and checking the ingredients for what she hoped would be a rather interesting spell. She heard a knock on the door.
“Enter,” she replied in an offhand manner as she focused on the book in front of her.
The door opened and in came her older sister Althenian, wearing a grey, long cloak. She too had the dark skin and pointed ears of a dark elf as well as an elfin frame and but she had green eyes and was slightly taller than her sister of five foot and had a couple of red streaks along her short, white hair which just reached her neck. “Have you not had the sign?”
Lucinda looked at Althenian rather confused.
She returned her look with scorn, her thin lips turned into a frown of disapproval. “I am not surprised if the goddess does not see you fit to join us, then that is the way that is then.”
Lucinda narrowed her eyes. “What mission does the goddess wish you to perform now?” Lucinda was rather glad she did not call the mission mad as she could not use another lecture about how great the goddess is, and how she should be studying to become a priestess which would improve the position of the house in the goddess eyes.
Althenian just sighed and shook her head. “Well, now it is too late for you. A strange human has arrived, he apparently defeated Quargath with a powerful spell or weapon, and the goddess has given him the city as long as she can take five thousand faithful since that included this house as well. You are now the Matron Mother of what remains of the house.”
Lucinda was stunned and did even notice the sarcastic tone she had used towards the end of the conversation, with that her sister not waiting for a goodbye and left while slamming her door. Lucinda got up and walked out to her balcony. She was only on the fourth floor, being the youngest sister, and the tower went up two more stories, but still the view was impressive as the compound site was situated on a rather tall cliff overlooking the rest of the city of Narderba.
Her view also included the other five smaller houses that made part of the ruling council as well as the various districts of the city itself. Some of it lit up with small flames the rest lit up with a blue glow given off by the magically created blue moss. The cavern itself was large and spacious with the ceiling being at least three hundred meters above, and being at least five to six miles wide with a large lake at one end, and in the very centre was a large column which contained the city university.
The family compound itself was impressive when compared to the other houses beside the tower. It also had a large domed building which seated five thousand in the worship of their goddess, and was called simply the great temple of Zateria. Next to the temple were the stables used by the dark elves’ favourite draft animals, giant spiders, and next to it were a couple of workshops and the slave quarters that mostly contained orcs and goblins.
There were a couple of other buildings, including the staff quarters and the barracks. All of this was surrounded by a thick wall which the guards were able to patrol about ten feet high, running to guard towers and stalagmites that had been converted to guard towers. It made the wall run at rather odd angles to the compound, and the guard towers themselves looked rather oddly place with different heights.
She noticed down by the large gate which acted as the main entrance by the stables were a couple of wagons tied to their giant spider mounts, and what seemed like over half the compound was below in formation, many carrying what they owned in bags on their back. She also noticed they had the slaves as well being used as pack mules. She looked towards the other noble houses and saw too that their exoduses had begun. She looked over the city and saw smaller convoys also heading out, and as she turned back to her family, she saw them start to set off. Part of her wanted to go down there and join them.
They slowly left the gate, and she could not mov
e. She looked down and felt tears well up in her eyes. She tried to stop them, as she had been told many times that a female needs never display weakness, including crying, but she could not help herself. She then noticed a figure in a grey cloak look back at her and then turned to catch up to the convoy.
She did not know how long she had been standing at the balcony feeling the tears run down her cheeks as she watched the wagons leave, but as her family seemed to reach the city gates, she heard a loud banging on her door. She let out a sniffle and wiped her eyes, and taking in a deep breath while shouting in a voice that sounded too emotional for her liking, “Hold on.”
The banging stopped as she opened the door. In the hallway she found the captain of the guard, a tall female with short, white hair, blue eyes, and a scar along her cheek. If Lucinda remembered correctly, the captain’s name was Mayli. If the captain noticed her teary eyes, she did not say. “Mistress, we must move quickly to maintain order in the city. I think we should gather up the remains of the noble houses and then see what this strange human wants?”
Lucinda found herself wondering why the captain did not leave, as she had always been loyal to the house, but she decided not to dwell on it and also decided to call her captain since she could not remember her name. “Right, find what nobles you can, and they are to meet in the Council chambers in the chapel of Zateria. I will join them shortly. First I need to find this human they have talked about. Once you have sent the messages, meet me at the exit of the gate with five more guards.”
The captain nodded and rushed off as Lucinda closed the door and headed to her wardrobe. This human sounded dangerous, and she wanted to be well armed.
A little while later, she stood by the gate feeling a bit self-consensus and not feeling like the warrior she was dressed as. She was wearing a breast plate of steel and under that was a simple black shirt as well as black trousers with steel knee caps and a pair of solid boots which also happened to be black as well. She had also put on a cape that happened to be dark grey as she thought she might be overdoing the black. It clipped around her neck with a small brooch which had the house insignia, which happened to be a red circle with an image of the top of a black scorpion with large pincers. She also had on her person a small dagger hidden in her boots, a small dagger attached to her belt, a larger dagger, and a small pouch, as well as a wand with a couple of fireball spells, as well as a small wrist mounted crossbow with a couple of poison darts for good measure.
Checking that a bolt was loaded and ready, one could never be too prepared, especially in a city of dark elves. The captain appeared beside her and behind her were five soldiers, all of them were male, and wearing a metal chest plate and a coat of long chain mail as well as steel helmets, all with the house insignia in the middle of the forehead and all of them having a long sword attached to their belts. She nodded to the captain as she performed a half bow and grasping the hand to her chest, “My lady, our spies have located him. He is in the broken glass tavern.”
“Well,” replied Lucinda, “no accounting for taste. Let’s go.”
With that, she stepped out of the gate with the soldiers following. As she walked down the street, she felt rather important as the commoners stepped out of the way. She saw a few other races, the odd goblin being used as a messenger, but nothing more. The streets had an eerie feeling of quiet. When they did reach the tavern, Lucinda checked her crossbow.
She moved to one side of the entrance while the captain got to the other side. The five other guards stood ready. Once everyone was in place, she nodded to the captain who got her two swords in her hand and kicked the door hard, forcing it off its hinges with a loud thud. She then jumped in, performing a perfect roll. As she got up into a sword fighting stance, she was followed by Lucinda who, with her crossbow, looked out over the now hushed crowd. The other guards entered as well in a chevron formation.
The sight that greeted the war party was interesting. Over in the corner was a single human male who was not too pleased, and on the other side of the tavern about five dark elves all in the corner, watching the human like he was about to explode. Lucinda made her way towards him. She put out a hand, telling her entourage to stay where they were, then she put her hands up in a peace gesture as the human looked at her rather nervously. She wanted him alive so he could at least explain what was going on, and to be honest she wanted to make sure she had the right human as this one did not look like a powerful wizard. In fact she was not too sure what he looked like, as the cloth on his clothes seemed rather fine but too plain to be anyone important.
“I am Lucinda.” She paused for moment before continuing. “In charge of the first house of Arnea. I believe you are the reason that my family is in the process of leaving.”
The human casually reached for the strange bag next to him as she slowly took a seat. The human cleared his throat with a touch of nerves. “I am Gary of…uh, the data centre, and moving on seemed to be the goddess’s idea.”
Arnea looked at him sceptically before contenting to talk. “You also managed to defeat Quargath the mad and his legions?”
“Well,” replied the human. “I suppose so, yes.”
Lucinda studied the human for a moment. She sensed a distinct lack of confidence from one who had defeated an army of demons. To be frank, he looked like he could not take on an elderly orc, but he had scared the goddess enough for her to give him the city, she would have to wish. “You shall come with me. I am due to meet the rest of the noble houses.”
The human cleared his throat before replying, “and if I refuse?”
Lucinda glared at him. “Then you will not come with me.” She looked down at the crossbow briefly then back up at him. Before he had a chance to respond, Lucinda motioned towards her soldier. The human looked at his beer again and grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
Once out on the street, Lucinda led the way, followed by the human with the captain on the human’s right hand side and the five other soldier following close by. A couple of passersby would stare, as a human is a rare sight in this city, especially one as strangely dressed as this. But none of them stopped, not wishing to get involved in a house’s business.
Deep in the abyss, handmaiden of Zateria, a succubus Draconia entered Zateria’s throne room, which was a large open space with a domed roof, and in the middle were steps leading up to a platform which had a solid, shiny, black ebony throne. On that throne sat Zateria. In her current form of a beautiful, dark elf female with pitch black skin, long white hair, and solid, white glowing eyes and deep back pupils, but the casual observer could not help but notice that behind her was a long scorpion tail as well six scorpion-like legs growing on either side of her waist.
She was wearing a long, flowing, transparent white gown with a slit on the side. Along the steps were a couple of half-naked, handsome dark elf males, all of them wearing a collar with a chain that led to the base of the throne. Draconia bowed as Zateria acknowledged her with a simple nod, allowing Draconia to speak.
“Oh great goddess, currently your loyal followers from Narderba are on the move and, following your direction, will find the cavern in a week.”
“Good,” replied the goddess.
Draconia shuffled uneasily. “Forgive me, oh great one, but why did you leave an entire city to a simple human?”
The goddess stood up and cradled the face of one of the dark elf males. “Do you question my plans, Draconia?” Her tone was not harsh but questioning although she did have a frown on her face.
“No, great one, of course not.” Zateria smiled again.
“The city was lost anyway. The infernal goddess of Mikiria had taken at least one of the noble houses and had worked her way into many other hearts, but this human has given me an opportunity.” She began to caress the face of the Dark Elf male before continuing. “Many demon princes desire the weapon he unleashed, and I shall let slip to one of them where he will be, then once the dust has settled I will get the closest loyal dark elf c
ity of Chassadard to take back Narderba, and hopefully any knowledge the strange human has will find its way into demon and then my hands.”
She then gently kissed the male as her scorpion like tail rose and stung him in his shoulder. The male let out a sharp yelp as he fell to the ground, his body convulsing. She smiled and bent down to caress the male who was curled up in pain at her feet and making soft cooing noises. Reluctantly, she then turned her full attention to Draconia. “So get the priestess ready at Chassadard and tell them to prepare for war. In the mean time, I have a date with the demon prince, Zargon.”
Draconia simply bowed as she noticed the male slowly rose to his feet, still shivering. Draconia then turned out to the door. She smiled. Her mistress was wise, indeed. She had chosen Zargon, one of the weaker of the demon princes who happened to be a vassal of Quargath and the one who lost the most when he was defeated he would be eager for revenge, part of her almost felt sorry for the human.
Nataylia stood there with her hands on the hips of her dark elf frame. She was only four foot nine in height and had light blue eyes. She also had light blue hair which was unusual for a dark elf and she was rather proud so grew her hair long to show it off and it was currently in a ponytail. She was only about a hundred and fifty, the equivalent of a twenty-year-old human. She was also wearing a long, black dress with a long neckline that went down to her navel, as well as a pair of sandals whose straps went up to her knee.
As she looked around the great hall, formerly the great temple of Zateria, now a meeting room for all the remaining nobles which where only three hundred, most of them young, and almost all of them from minor noble houses. The building itself was impressive, being a massive auditorium that could seat over five thousand, in the front of the cold stone benches was a tall stage where the statue of Zateria avatar was put. It was a solid, black marble block.
