Shadows of Redact

by RG Long

  “We are not talk about such things.”

  “Why not?” Susan asked inquisitively.

  The gray haired Skrilx did not answer.

  “I’ve told you everything you wanted to know from me and my people. I’ll tell you more.”

  She got out in front of the Skrilx and turned around to walk backwards. She was in a bright and cheery mood. Soon they wouldn’t meet her kindred. After informing them of the crisis at hand, they could work together like they had not done in several decades. Perhaps they could un ravel the mystery of the Rimstone and why it was becoming infected. Together, they could push back this plague. Susan was sure of it.

  She wondered what they were like. Those who had lived in the other tower.

  Did they have festivals and celebrations like they did? Had their cultures changed over the years?

  “Our Rimstone is infected,” Susan said. “That’s why I need to make the journey. I need to warn the other elves in the other towers about our plight. If we don’t try to solve it, all of our Rimstone will crumble. If it does, our towers very well may fall. Did you know that our towers are held up by magic?”

  “One would think,” the older Skrilx old Skrilx said. “That you would have learned to hold your tongue when needed. Did you not see the dangers we faced in the forest? Just because we’ve left, it doesn’t mean we are outside of danger.”

  Susan’s face fell. She turned around to walk normally again. What was the point of walking with those who would escort her and protect her if they wouldn’t at least engage in conversation with her a little?

  The brown haired Skrilx had at least been looking at her when she talked to the group.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking Acred in the eyes.

  He nodded.

  Susan supposed that was good enough for now.

  “Let’s get going,” said Tert as the gray-haired Skrilx walked in between them.

  Laserie looked at Acred and saw the cat nod her forward. There might be a time later when they could talk. When they could get to know one another better and learn from each other. Now was apparently not the time.

  She and her feline companions walked towards the tower.

  It wasn’t long before they found themselves at the doors. The construction of the tower was almost the exact same as the one she had left several days ago. The markings on the outside resembled the ones she was familiar with.

  Above the large, intimidating doors, there was a carved insignia. A purple field held three white towers. The flag and symbol of LaGrove. She wasn’t sure what to do now. No one had ever come to their tower from the other ones. How did visitors proceed at this point? Perhaps she should knock?

  The stairs were overgrown with plants and grasses from the surrounding area. The stones that had once made a path to the tower door were uprooted and overturned. That was not unusual. Her own tower home was overgrown at the base as well.

  The elves of LaGrove did not venture out often.

  She knocked on the door and found that it opened easily.

  As soon as the door opened however, Laserie felt a chill. From the inside, everything was different. She had only taken two steps into the tower before she knew something was terribly wrong.

  The smell of death hit her nostrils and knocked her backwards.

  There was mold and decay in here. In complete contrast to the fresh winds outside, the smell of the inside of the tower reeked of decay and rot.

  “What happened here?” Laserie asked as she looked into the tower.

  There was not a single piece of glowing Rimstone. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw that much of the tower had been ruined with some type of decay.

  As if something was eating away the stones.

  “The plague?” she asked, hoping that it would not be true.

  Only Acred had followed her inside. The other felines had remained just beyond the door.

  The cat nodded.

  “Certainly. This is what it looks like when it takes over rocks in the forest.”

  He bent his head.

  “I’m sorry. We did not know. We would not waste the trip here if we had known that inside the tower was dead.”

  Laserie was in shock. Her fellow kindred. The elves of LaGrove. Were they all dead within? She didn’t know how to proceed. She didn’t know if she could.

  “Let’s leave,” Acred said.

  Laserie felt dizzy. She had come to warn the elves here of impending doom. Instead, she had found that doom was already upon them. Is this what would happen to their own tower if they fell to find a way to keep the Rimstone pure? Is this what would happen to her home if she couldn’t find a way to beat back the plague?

  As she left the tower, she saw that she was no longer standing outside with only the Skrilx who had accompanied her.

  The Skrilx had their weapons drawn and were staring down a delegation of humans.

  “My name is Paula,” said an intimidating looking dark skinned woman at the head of the group. “I have come on behalf of Severn to parlay with the elves of LaGrove.”

  50: War

  Commander Sefen watched as the suns were beginning to rise over the horizon.

  That was the sign he had been given.

  “Company, forward!” he yelled as the light of day broke over the waters beyond.

  The Court of Three was marching on Rerial.

  Commander Sefen not care that lives would be lost on both sides. He did not truly care if the Court of Three won the bloody conflict that was about to ensue or not. He was a warrior. One who was destined to spill blood. One who needed to cause ruin and devastation. His insatiable appetite for violence could not be met with a battle, raid, or skirmish.

  General Sefen needed war.

  The troops marched past the Gift of Laurels. The sight irked him.

  “Tear it to the ground,” he commanded an officer next to him. The woman nodded and directed her speakers towards it. Stones began to rumble as they sent their yellow tendrils of magic out towards the temple.

  Rerial Speaker had built the structure. It was only fair for the Court to tear it to the ground. As their troops marched past them, the temple began to fall.

  As he expected, a warning trumpet sounded at the fort just beyond the Gift of Laurels.

  Rerial knew they were coming.

  “Captain!” Commander Sefen shouted. “Tell your speakers I have a better use for those stones than to lay on the ground.”

  The woman replied with a vile smile.

  “Speakers!” she shouted. “Cast those stones at the Rerial army!”

  One by one, speakers started sending large chunks of the temple in the direction of the fort.

  Debris from the place of peace began raining down on the soldiers who were spilling out of the fort to defend against the tide of the Court.

  “To war!” Commander Sefen ordered.

  More gifted speakers sent their magic into the pile and cast stones at the soldiers mustering outside the fort with reckless abandon.

  “More!”

  Every regiment that walked past the rubble of the temple used their speakers to deliver stones. Some of the rocks were larger than horses and crashed into the fort, sending it into chaos.

  Rerial’s speakers were outnumbered. Some of them tried to cast up shields to deflect the rocks while others sought to steer them away. From far away, it looked as if they had been able to deflect some, but not all. The first fort of Rerial was already crumbling under the weight of the barrage.

  Commander Sefen watched with glee as he saw the feeble attempts of magic flicker and die from the fort. Their speakers were spent.

  King Belfast was a fool to not reinforce his troops. And now the court would to send upon Rerial with reckless abandon and unhindered.

  “To war!” Commander Sefen shouted again.

  The Court had come to take its revenge on Rerial.

  And he would spill the first blood.

  51: Not to Home

  Chi
ef Rark set across from the old man who had appointed himself the main speaker of the group. The rest of their company sat just behind him.

  They had spent most of the afternoon trying to discern their story.

  Chief Rark was still skeptical about who they were and what their purpose was.

  “I cannot send you to Rerial,” she said again. “It would be like sending back a gift to reinforce my enemies.”

  “I have told you,” Holve said. “We are not your enemies and do not desire to enact any harm upon you or your people.”

  Chief Rark shook her head.

  “I cannot trust you,” she said. “Too many humans have turned against me. They promised me peace and then given me war. They told my people we could live with them, and then they turned us into their slaves. I cannot send you to Rerial.”

  “To send us to the Court would be a death threat!” the dwarf said.

  Chief Rark shot the short one a threatening look. He had been arguing with her most of the day and was the reason she had appointed only one to speak for their group.

  “Do not be offended by my companion,” Holve said. “What he speaks is true. The Court of Three would rather see us killed then reunited with our friends.”

  “I thought you said you came for peace,” chief Rark, said crossing her arms.

  “We came to find our friends home,” Holve said.

  “I cannot send you to Rerial,” chief Rark said again.

  “Then to where will you send us?” Holve asked. “Allow us to leave and give us the chance to leave you in peace.”

  Chief Rark looked at him, considering.

  The suns had set long ago and she was looking over the group under the light of their torches. The circle cast shadows along the tapestries. She could not send them to Rerial, it was against her nature. She would not send them to their deaths, they had done nothing to earn that.

  “Firag,” chief Rark said. The dragon lifted up his head and let out a snort of smoke.

  “Can I trust you?” she asked.

  The dragon chopped down it’s my teeth.

  “With your life,” he said.

  “Good,” chief Rark replied.

  She knew that she could not send them somewhere close. She had to ensure that they were far enough from Rerial so that they could enact their plans. The human nation had once hunted them to extinction and caused them humiliation. They were close. Very close to being able to regain their honor.

  She looked over the group of humans, elves, and a dwarf. She could not send them to her enemies. But she did not have to send them to her allies, either.

  “I want you to escort them all to Darc,” she said. “Tell them the chief has sent to them those who would seek peace.”

  Author’s Note

  I have not had a title be so difficult to finish since I began writing! Sometimes it’s hard to finish a book because you don’t know the story. That wasn’t the case here. Sometimes it’s hard to finish a book because you just can’t think of the words to say.

  That wasn’t the case either!

  No, this time the struggle was family and life.

  My wife herniated a disc and one of my daughters broke a leg while I was writing this book (not WHILE I was writing, but you know, during the process!).

  My wife is doing much better thanks to surgery and my daughter is all healed up and playing just as hard as before. Which gives her dad heart palpitations, but that’s besides the point!

  It certainly meant a lot of late nights and furious typing sessions late in the game.

  It’s always my hope to deliver a quality, amazing story to you!

  I hope that’s the case this time as well.

  But know that while I’m proud of this story, I’m certainly glad I was able to finish it and get it to you at all!

  Until next time,

  Enjoy the journey!

  RG Long

  The Story Continues

  “Towers of Redact”, book twelve in the Legends of Gilia series, will be available Summer, 2019!

  Want to be the first to know when it goes live?

  Sign-up to my email list by visiting my website!

  rglongauthor.weebly.com

  Also, if you want to connect with me, I’d love to hear from you! Find me on social media:

  facebook.com/rglongauthor

  twitter.com/rglongauthor

  instagram.com/rglongauthor

  Thanks for reading.

  Enjoy the journey,

  RG Long