by Jaxon Reed
That created a stir in the group. Several people shifted their weight at the uncomfortable thought, suddenly growing restless.
The two elves had suddenly become more than just a problem for Dungeon Corps.
Nessa said, “Are they . . . better than us at war?”
Percel said, “Aye. Their magic is stronger, and they are generally superior in every way. But, there are far more of us. And, they hate to die even more than we do. They live so long, when their lives are cut short in battle it is far more devastating. They have more to live for, you see.
“In addition, they do not reproduce at the rate we do. It’s not unusual for our families to raise up four, eight, even twelve children. An elven family will be lucky to have one.”
Dunken nodded. He said, “They are very arrogant when it comes to military matters. Some would say, rightfully so. But, as Percel says, when push comes to shove they hate to engage in war. It is very costly to them, even if they win.”
Erik said, “If the . . . Justice group . . .”
Tawny said, “Andreia.”
“Thanks. If that group comprises their fighters . . . and they’re less in numbers than the other groups . . . that presents another problem for them in war, right?”
Tawny shook her head. She said, “It’s true the Andreia guard the Great Tree, and are in charge during emergencies. But in a war, all elves battle under their direction. Especially the Sōphrosynē, the most common type of elf.”
“Say it slowly,” Nessa said.
“So-frah-suh-nee.”
“I think I hate the Old Tongue.”
Norra said, “I don’t feel like hiding them in the crypts solves anything. Even if that . . . creature comes back for them, and you defeat her, their king still wants them dead for some reason. We’re not solving anything by killing his assassin.”
Dunken said, “We can’t wage war on the elves, Norra.”
“We should at least try to . . . I don’t know. Open a line of communication with their king, or something.”
“I think,” Percel said, “taking out his best assassin will send a right proper message to that old king. That message being, you don’t mess with Dungeon Corps.”
He glanced over at Tawny and said, “Let’s contact your friend, Justen. He might be able to help, too.”
-+-
Dracaena seethed in rage. She flew from Dungeon Corps Headquarters, snuffing out lights all the way down the street. She flitted through the ancient magic wards at the intersection, her advanced Shadow Magic undetected by the spells. Then she hurried down another street and into darkened alleys, putting distance between herself and the . . . vampire.
How had he known her? How had he sensed her presence?
Obviously, he was a fellow practitioner of Shadow Magic. She racked her mind, trying to think if she had ever met him in the past.
She had not. As a rule, elves did not associate with vampires, and she would surely recall such a meeting had it occurred.
So, how did he know her?
That idiot Jeremy. The thought came to her with a sudden clarity. Jeremy, the human who explored elven lands a century ago and returned home to write about his adventures. Who knew what wild tales that stupid man had spun to impress others?
Jeremy she had met, and even showed him a small sampling of her skill. Now, decades after the fact, the act appeared foolish. No doubt that was how this . . . vampire . . . had learned of her.
There were other books that mentioned her, too, now that she thought about it. If someone truly sought to learn Shadow Magic, and read as many tomes as they could find on the matter, her name would likely be mentioned in at least half a dozen places.
There was naught to be done. She could see now how vexing this pair had become to King Sthenos. They had somehow made friends with the very people who could detect her and use her own skills and specialties. That was very troubling indeed.
But not insurmountable.
She would return to the building housing the wayward elves. And this time, she would be far better prepared.
-+-
A few hours later, after everyone had breakfast, Percel once more loaded up his enchanted rucksack with an incredible amount of food.
He had everyone else inspect their weapons and prepare for departure. He retrieved another portal stone from Dankers, the quartermaster, ignoring the older man’s protestations regarding the expense.
Finally, he deemed it was time to go. Choster waited with them at the doorway, parasol ready to be deployed.
The vampire said, “Hope you don’t mind a sixth tagging along, do you?”
“Happy to have you,” Percel said with a smile. “Probably can’t do it without you, either.”
Together the pair walked out onto the street followed by the younger members of the team.
Soon they entered the shaded tranquility of Grimuald Cemetery, traipsing the path between ancient stone markers covered with lichen until they reached a guard hut near the ossuary entrance.
“Dungeon Lord Percel’s team. Special assignment,” Percel said to the young corpsman on duty. He waved them through without a word.
They tromped into the upper ossuary and headed back toward the family crypts, past the stench of decay. Tawny sent her Globe of Light floating ahead.
“How far back are we going to go?” Erik asked nervously.
“Until we get away from the smell, I suppose,” Percel said.
“If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion,” Choster said. “We should find a highly defensive location and endeavor to encamp there.”
“That’s fine,” Percel said. “But, we need to stay on the upper levels. It’s bad enough this night mistress is coming for us. We don’t need any powerful monsters hunting us, too.”
That sounded good to everyone involved, and conversation subsided as they made their way deeper into the crypts.
At last they neared the iron grate the grave robbers had used. Percel walked over and pulled on it, rattling it to make sure the lock still held from when they closed it.
“This is deep as we go,” Percel said. “Let’s find a defendable location. Make us a map, lass, and let’s see what’s available on this level.”
Tawny nodded and began tracing a pattern in the air, her fingers glowing. Choster raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed. He watched her form the spell carefully, trying to follow the steps.
When she finished, a representation of the Crypts of Phanos hovered in the air.
Percel grunted, looking at it. He said, “There. It’s not far from here.”
He pointed to a large circular room branching off the tunnel they currently stood in.
“Come along. This way.”
He turned his back on the group and headed out. The others followed while Tawny waved her hand through her cartography spell, dissipating it.
Soon they found the room he had identified on the map. It was a good 200 feet in diameter, roughly circular. The floor was littered with broken pottery shards and several old stone sarcophagi, their lids tumped off to one side. The entire chamber had clearly been looted, long ago and several times over.
“Right, then,” Percel said. “There’s only one way in and out. We watch it with our lives. Choster, you can detect her presence even when she’s under a spell?”
The vampire nodded. He said, “It was faint, but now that I’ve seen it I can most certainly detect it again.”
“Tawny? How about you?”
The elf blushed slightly. She said, “I did not get a look at her, Lord Percel. But, perhaps Choster can show me . . . ?”
Choster nodded and said, “I can give you a glimpse of my memory, so that you can know what to look for.”
He touched his fingers lightly to her forehead, with a sparkle of blue light. Tawny’s eyebrows raised as the knowledge infused her mind.
“And now that you know, Tawny, I will let you keep the first watch. As for myself, I will serve the team far better at night.”
> With a smile, Choster turned and inspected one of the sarcophagi with an intact lid. He retrieved a cloth from a bag on his side and cleaned out the interior. Then, with a surprising show of strength, he lifted the stone lid onto the top, angling it in the front so he could slide in, feet first. He reached up with a hand and pulled the top over, sealing himself inside.
The others looked at the now sealed sarcophagus in surprise.
“I suppose that’s one way to keep the light out while y’sleep,” Percel said.
He reached into his enchanted rucksack and pulled out a pickaxe and a shovel.
“Let’s see your map again, lass.”
Tawny quickly recreated the floating model of the crypts.
Percel nodded, looking at it, and walked over to the side opposite the entrance. He struck the pickaxe into the wall a couple times, leaving a mark.
“Toby, get over here and make yourself useful.”
The big elf grinned, but dutifully came up and began swinging the implement at the wall. In no time, a new entrance to the room opened up.
“Careful,” Percel said. “Let’s make sure nothing’s on the other side, eh?”
They poked their heads through the hole. Satisfied, Percel returned his attention to the others.
“Tawny, keep an eye out for your elven friend. But, I suspect Choster is right. She’s more likely to strike at night, once she figures out where we are.”
Tawny nodded and glanced nervously at the original entrance and the new one.
Erik reached into a pocket and pulled out a deck of cards.
He said, “I brought something to help pass the time.”
“Good lad!”
-+-
Dracaena hid in the basement of an abandoned farmhouse outside the walls of the Phanos. She had sealed off the entrance and had the place to herself.
She paced in a circle in the dark, going over the recent events in which she had utterly failed in attaining her objective.
“What happened?”
It was the same question she asked herself hours ago when retreating here to her temporary base of operations.
She had never before met someone so easily able to counter her every move.
Of course, given time she could have defeated the vampire. But he had called everybody in the building to his aid. And even though she was superior to all those in Dungeon Corps Headquarters, even she could not face all of them simultaneously.
Besides, Dracaena liked to work quietly, slipping in and quickly finishing her job then escaping undetected. It became impossible with everyone’s eyes on her when they rushed into the common room. That incident, more than anything, sparked her retreat.
Now, unfortunately, she would have to pursue a more direct approach to her targets. And, they were forewarned.
She sat down on a stool to think. What would be the best way to handle things? Wait a while and come back when their guard was down?
Waiting too long was risky. The targets might leave the city and go into hiding, making her task that much more difficult.
Usually assignments like this were easy. Humans rarely lived long enough to even hear about Shadow Magic, much less become proficient in it. She could laughingly fight her way through any group of men or women without even breaking the proverbial sweat.
A human mage might gain a fair bit of knowledge by age 50 or so, enough to maybe threaten her. But by then he or she already started growing old. Humans were so weak.
On the other hand, a powerful specimen at age 20 or maybe even 30 might cause her trouble, especially if they could close with a sword, axe, or other weapon. But they were usually unfocused at that age, their mind not yet fully mature, and not experienced enough to deal with an elf already ten times their age.
So in normal circumstances, finding a couple of young wayward elves in human lands and dispatching them, even among a building filled with people willing to defend them, would be child’s play for Dracaena.
But, she had not expected them to be assisted by a vampire. Even worse, he was a vampire who apparently practiced Shadow Magic himself.
It made sense, on one level at least. Vampires, she thought, could live indefinitely. Certainly long enough to hear about, investigate, then master Shadow Magic. She had been a few years past the century mark when she first began studying it, sequestered deep in the private library of her mentor . . .
She set aside such thoughts and focused on the issue at hand.
Dracaena came to a decision. She would seek out her targets again immediately. And if the vampire interfered once more, this time she would be prepared for him.
-+-
Later that night the common room in Headquarters filled with young and old alike as they grabbed plates from the serving line and retired to tables scattered throughout the room.
All the talk was about the mysterious elven assassin and how Choster had fought her off. Some wanted to know her specialty, others discussed the odd blade she wielded that seem to drink in light. Others, callow youth, had words only for her remarkable beauty. They had not seen a lot of her, but she had left them wishing for more despite the obvious danger.
“And where do you think our elf friends, Tawny and Toby, have gotten to by now?” Clencher said. He sat at a table with Dunken, Norra, and Dankers, the gray-haired quartermaster. The other three winced at his over-loud voice.
“Well, we sent them down into the crypts,” Dunken said, his voice lowering conspiratorially. “We think it’s the best place for them to hide from this . . . whatever she is.”
Norra nodded, sipping a spoonful of lentil soup. She said, “The crypts offer many advantages. Chief of which is ample hiding spaces. They’re down below the ossuary, under Grimuald Cemetery.”
“Ah, good place. A good place,” Dankers said, sipping on his own soup.
A presence, unseen and unnoticed by all, crept silently away in the shadows of the room. No one noticed as it slipped through the crack in the door and out into the darkened street.
The topic of conversation at the elders’ table changed to other things, but they would come back several times throughout the night to the subject of where, exactly, the elves were hiding,
-+-
“This is a bad idea.”
Tawny sat with her back against a wall in the large oval space, next to Erik.
She held his hand tight. Erik happily obliged as they cuddled, watching the room.
Toby sat by Nessa while she gave him a lesson in cards. She showed him each one in turn and talked about their suit and their value in a hand. Toby’s brows furrowed as she talked, looking at the cards curiously. He daintily picked one up between his thumb and forefinger and brought it close to his nose, staring at it.
Percel decided to get some shut-eye. He sat propped up against his rucksack in the middle of the room, head lolling to one side and apparently sound asleep.
How the older man could sleep down here was a mystery to Tawny.
She gripped Erik’s hand even tighter.
“She’s going to find us. We’re going to have to fight it out with her down here.”
“That’s the plan,” Erik said, trying to maintain a comforting tone. “We want her to attack down here instead of Headquarters.”
“But there’s more people at Headquarters. And this . . . this is the middle of a dungeon.”
“We got this,” Erik said. “Try not to worry.”
“What if we’re down here waiting for weeks and she never shows? We’ll be in no condition to fight!”
“You really think she’d wait that long, if your king demanded she kill you and Toby?”
Tawny calmed down and thought. His words made sense, and the calm delivery helped soothe her nerves, despite the topic of conversation.
She said, “No. She’ll come for us sooner rather than later. She’ll be emboldened since there are fewer of us.”
“Right. And, this is kind of her domain. I mean, no sunshine ever gets down here, you know?”
<
br /> They heard a scuffing sound at the entrance and a head popped through, covered in a dark purple hood.
“Halloo!”
Tawny jumped up, a Fireball forming at her fingertips.
It died out just as quickly when she realized the skullish face under the hood belonged to Justen.
Erik said, “You scared us, Justen!”
“My apologies,” the mage said as he entered the room. He waved at Toby and Nessa and headed toward Tawny and Erik.
He said, “Dunken told me what happened earlier today, and I took the night off. I think I may be able to help. I’ve studied up on it, and in fact there are a couple of spells that might be very advantageous in this situation.”
“Justen, this is King Sthenos’s top assassin we’re facing,” Tawny said.
“I know, I know. And, I understand she specializes in Shadow Magic. Again, I think I may be able to help. I’ll just stay the night, and we’ll see what happens.”
He pulled out an enchanted satchel and reached in to retrieve a pillow and several old quilts. He made a bed for himself and plopped down on it before pulling out a book as his final item.
He said, “I took the liberty of setting a few markers. If something crosses them, even someone using Shadow Invisibility, I’ll know.”
Percel, who had opened one eye in all the hubbub, said, “Obliged for the company.”
Then he rolled over and went back to sleep.
An hour later, Toby stretched out and fell asleep on the floor. Nessa curled up next to him and dropped off, too.
Erik and Tawny had been talking quietly to one another, mostly about Tawny’s years on the run while caring for Toby. Erik felt like his life in Norvold had been quite boring in comparison, but Tawny actually envied his mundane upbringing.
Finally, Tawny’s head dropped on his shoulder as she snuggled next to him. He heard her breathing evenly and he could sense the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
