by Clark Graham
Mauric was irate, yelling over and over again, "How can that be their decision?" His own friends dragged him out of the tent to try and keep him from making a fool of himself.
Verian was a little stunned. He had not expected that he would be Chancellor. After taking a few minutes to regain his composure he said to Istuin, "Can you delay your trip a little longer? I will need you as the commander until an election can be held."
Istuin smiled, "I guess my mother can do without me a little while yet. Besides, I hear there are Valkyrie in Elvenshore and that has me a little scared."
Some of Verian's men came up to congratulate him. Most every Elf in the room had felt some sort of relief at the decision, including one of Mauric's counselors.
Vil Loree
Elvenshore
Amlius stood outside the gates of the city of Santera, waiting for them to open. The guard was not sure if he should let the once banished Elf in or not. He sent a runner to the Chancellor’s Quarters to inquire. When the runner came back and said to open the gates is when he reluctantly did so.
Amlius walked in, very upset at the wait and then walked right up to Chancellor Fannor, who had come out to meet him.
"Amlius, what brings you to my city today?" Fannor asked.
"Your wounds have healed sufficiently. It is time for us to visit Vil Loree."
Fannor smiled widely and said, "I would love that very much. Can I take Armurous and Gilead with me?"
"Yes," Amlius said without hesitation.
When they had some supplies gathered up they hooked up a team of horses and a wagon that had been brought over from the Far Shore, and the four Elves climbed on board for a trip to the Mountains of Iron.
The journey went well and the four of them were able to stay at Inns along the King's road on the way. Amlius thought it would be faster to travel the road instead of go through the forest, even though the forest route was shorter.
When they arrived at the Dwarf fort on the plains of they spent the last night of the trip there. It was a stone fort on the plains of Zor that had been built during the last Gremlin war. It was still garrisoned by Dwarves. Oswin had arrived back at the fort from the Far Shore and greeted Amlius and the rest of the Elves warmly. That night there was a bonfire in their honor.
The cooks roasted goats and rabbits and served breads and cheeses at every table. There was plenty of ale to go around. As per Dwarf tradition, every time someone would toast someone else, everyone would drain their mugs.
The Elves were still a little hung over the next morning when they set out, but it was a quest of all Elves to see the Golden City and they did not want to wait one more day.
In front of the gates of the Mountains of Iron was an Inn. An enterprising Human had built one there, with the permission of the Dwarves, so those visiting the Vil Loree would have some place to stay. Amlius had already arranged quarters with King Cazz so when the wagon pulled up there was no hesitation. The gate opened immediately.
Amlius pointed out, "The gates of the Dwarves open to me more readily than the gates of my own people."
Fannor replied, "I will make sure that the gates of the Elves open to you as fast as the gates of the Dwarves have today."
The wagon rolled in and King Cazz came out to greet the Elves. "Hello, I will have a wonderful bonfire for you tonight, after you visit the City of Gold."
Amlius smiled, "That would be wonderful." The other Elves cringed; they didn't know how much more of this Dwarf hospitality they could survive, they were still feeling the effects of Oswin's bonfire feast.
Vil Loree was all that everyone ever expected it to be and ten times more. There was a crystals that let in the sunlight from a hole in the cavern high above in the mountain top made the city as bright as the noon day sun. The gold glistened from the sunlight, showing that particular gleam that the original builders intended. Fannor’s breath was taken away when he first entered into the chamber.
Every brick of every building was of pure gold. Each was constructed by the best craftsmen of the Dwarves. All the streets led into a center palace that held the gold throne of the Dwarves.
Armurous was amazed. He could not have even imagined the beauty of it. Gilead too way total in awe of the beauty around him. The Elves spent the rest of the day there. They paused to look at the graves of the fellow Elves that had died defending the city from an invasion of their own race. It was the only sad note to end a wonderful day.
That night King Cazz threw an even larger feast than Oswin had the day before. The feast had everything that Oswin's had plus roast lamb and pork. Everyone ate and drank their fill. It was very late when the four Elves finally finished and stumbled up to the quarters that they had been assigned.
It was mid day before Fannor got up. He wanted to see the Golden City one more time before he left. When he got there he was surprised to see that Amlius was already there. "How are you not hung over? My head is exploding."
“It's a trick that Sarchise taught me; you have your server water down the ale, that way you don't get drunk."
Fannor just shook his head, "I will try that next time."
They walked around enjoying the city and a few hours later the two Elves were joined by two more and the four of them spent yet another day in the Mountains of Iron.
When they decided that it was time to go, they made their way back in the wagon on the same route that they had previously taken. When they were about three fourths of the way home, Amlius suddenly brought the horses to a stop and then handed the reins to Fannor said, "This is where I get out. I have one more errand to do before I journey home to my Ornamac tree."
"Farewell, my friend, I will come to visit you as soon as the stiffness in my legs allows me," Fannor said and the other two Elves nodded in agreement.
"Farewell," Amlius replied and then he was off.
It was the middle of the night when the guard at the Lost City looked down to see the solitary Elf approaching. She got really upset when the Elf started pounding on the gate and yelling, "I want to see my daughter!" He knew it had to be a girl because the Valkyrie had not had a boy baby in over four hundred years. "I want to see her now."
Queen Fawn was awakened from a deep sleep by a messenger. "My Queen, there is an angry Elf at the gate demanding to see his daughter."
Fawn looked at the messenger, "Is it Amlius?"
"Yes, my Queen."
"Let him in and escort him to the Inn. Then you need to wake up Sharis and have her and her daughter meet us there."
Sarchise turned over in bed. "I did not tell him."
"Elves have always had an uncanny ability to figure it out," Fawn replied. "Come with me; he won't be so angry if you are there."
When Sarchise finally got dressed and made it down to the Inn, Sharis and her child were there.
Amlius was holding the child. She was already walking and learning to talk. She was pretty enough to melt an old warrior’s heart and Amlius' anger had subsided by just looking at her.
He looked up when Sarchise and Fawn entered the room, "You should have told me. I could have had this moment many months ago."
"I'm sorry my friend, I promised not to," Sarchise said.
Fawn was still tired and now very pregnant, "If everything is well here, I am going back to bed."
"Yes, everything is more than fine," Amlius replied.
Sarchise and Fawn left the three of them there and headed back home to bed.
Sheris looked at Amlius and said, "Isn't she beautiful? Wouldn't it be great to have some more children?"
Amlius looked up, "Just do that seductive singing that you do when a person is asleep and have some poor sod father another one for you." emotion
Sharis sighed, "Our new Queen won't let us do that anymore."
Amlius was still holding his daughter. "What are you supposed to do now?"
"I don't suppose you see any reason for us not to get married, since we already have a child together?" Sharis asked.
"I can
think of a thousand and one reasons not to get married to you," he said indignantly.
Sharis put her arms around Amlius' neck and gave him warm, slow kiss. Suddenly he could not think of a single one of those one thousand and one reasons.
Travail in the Night
Fawn had gone back to bed but had been very upset about Amlius’ visit. His seduction had not been her idea. She was not happy when she found out what had happened but that was the way of the Valkyrie at that time. She still felt that she had betrayed a friend.
She tried to get back to sleep but suddenly started having contractions. They were small at first but soon were getting more painful. Sarchise sent a messenger to get the midwife and the first thing that the midwife did was to send Sarchise out of the room.
Sarchise stood in front of the doors of the bedroom then started pacing back and forth. He had seen many battles in his day. He had seen blood and death many times over. He wondered why he could not be there when his child was born. It could not have been as bad as the things he had already lived through.
He could hear that Fawn was in pain and wanted to burst through the door to hold her, but he dared not. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting he heard someone small crying on the other side of the door. The midwife came out and announced, "It's a boy."
Other Books by Clark Graham
Fiction
The Dwarves of Elvenshore
Elvenshore Book 1
A Scout from the human city of South Fort stumbles upon a group of Dwarves lost in the untamed forest of the Westwood. He saves them from getting killed and rescues a Dwarf Prince. For these actions he is adopted by the Dwarves and helps them in their wars and battles to save the kingdom.
Set in Elvenshore, A mystical place settled long ago by the Elves and later abandoned by them. This story tells the tale of battles with new and old foes as the Dwarves try and retake their kingdoms from the evil things that roam the forest and mountains of Elvenshore.
Lost Cities of Elvenshore
The Lost City of the Valkyries has been found! However, staying there brings certain death. The Dwarves are forced to send their Human prince to unlock the mysteries of an ancient evil that now lives in the city. Along the way the prince finds armies wandering the Westwood, an angry Elf, an upset King and alliances forming for both good and evil. The trilogy continues.What is in store for the land of Elvenshore?
Jack Warden Detective Novel #1
Winning Numbers Deadly Numbers
Jack Warden's first major case. A twisted tale of murder in a small town, when a couple wins a lottery jackpot and others are trying to get their hands on the winning numbers. Who will die next?
Jack Warden Detective Novel #2
In a Sea of Troubles
A serial killer is on the loose in Manila, a bomb maker is found dead, a girl is on the run from hit men, and Jack Warden is on a cruise, heading into a sea of troubles.
Strange Kin (Short Stories)
Something for everyone, Mystery, Science Fiction, Suspense and Fantasy.
Strange Kin
A boy grows up knowing he's different, but does not know why. One day he gets a visit by someone claiming to be his father, His father is not the loving kind one that a boy hopes to have, but someone who might be out to kill him to hide an ancient secret.
Guardian of the Portal
A man guards a portal into another dimension, not knowing that it is a place where there is a better life. But why is no one ever returning?
The Long Drought
After a long drought, in a small town, animals are acting funny and people are starting to disappear.
Child of the Visitor
A visitor holds secrets that only his nurse is beginning to understand.
Spanish Gold
A pact that a group of soldiers took when they discover a bag of gold while hiding in a barn in Germany during the war. But is the gold cursed?
Nick Spool Private Eye
An investigator tries to solve a murder, but is shocked when the truth isn't a simple who done it. There could be intergalactic consequences.
Non Fiction
Unexpected Tales and Feel Good Stories
Life does not come with an instruction manual. When I found skunks in my crawl space, I could not refer to page 98 to see what to do about it. I couldn't find a chapter about how to tell your neighbor that you accidentally burned up his yard. There was also no instruction on not climbing on a firetruck in the dark, because you might fall and break your finger off. You may not be able to laugh at the time, but life's unexpected events make the best stories, at least looking back.
Young Adult Fantasy Fiction
Emily and the Shadow King
Emily is forced to flee her home when the evil soldiers of the Shadow King burn down her farm and kidnapped her parents. She stumbles across a camp of Dwarves in the forest. They feed and care for her but she leaves to get her parents back from the Shadow King. When Emily heads out on her own, but soon realizes something is following her.
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