Elf Lords: 01 - Pearls of the Elf Lords

by Richard Saunders

  The dragon hovered over them as Zenon looked down, pointing his scepter at them. “You should have accepted my offer, Half-Man. Now you will all perish and I will take the Pearls from your corpses.”

  The dragon swayed as an arrow struck its underbelly. Landis looked back to see his father sending a second arrow at the giant beast. The dragon yelped as the arrow sank into its flesh. Seeing this one of the knights riding in the rear readied his crossbow and fired an arrow at the beast. The shot was accurate, but the arrow struck the dragon and bounced away, leaving Landis to assume that it was the magic in his bow that caused his father’s limited success. Zenon pointed his scepter at Jaylen and mumbled something that was unintelligible to those on the ground. As soon as he finished, a bluish blob of energy shot out of the top of the scepter, flying down through the air to hit Jaylen at the same time the elf’s third arrow stuck the dragon. Jaylen was knocked off of the carriage and landed hard onto the road where he did not move.

  “Father!” Landis yelled, jumping from his horse.

  The dragon roared angrily, causing the horses to jump and prance about. Everyone jumped down and away from their horses while continuing to battle the dragon-fear that overwhelmed them. Most were unable to speak or do anything more than stare at the colossal serpent-like beast above them.

  “Any suggestions?” Konik asked.

  “Someone get Petra and Eric into the trees!” Rathkemp yelled.

  The knight atop the carriage scrambled down. The other four knights shook off what they could of their fear and moved back to surround the carriage. They did not know what they could do to stop this beast but they were going to die before it reached Petra. Trevor muscled his way through them to the door and opened it. He unceremoniously pulled Petra out of the carriage. With the assistance of Katryn, he pushed the Princess towards the trees on the far side of the road. “Get her to safety!” He yelled to the female druid, before drawing his sword and taking his place among the knights who had followed his lead and were now forming a wall of defense blocking the trees where Petra had been taken. “Someone get Eric!” Trevor yelled.

  “I will not run.” Eric said, doing his best to keep from allowing his knees to buckle under him.

  Zenon laughed above them. “Try to run and hide if you want to. There is no way that any of you will escape today. All of you will die!”

  The dragon, with three arrows still sticking into its underside, flapped its mighty wings and rose higher into the air. They all watched in awe as the dragon turned and swooped down at them. The white monster’s massive jaws opened wide in preparation to unleash its deadly dragon-breath upon them all. As Konik watched the Ice Dragon, memories of his vision long ago returned to his mind. He remembered as well his vision beneath Sadau in Bytorron’s lair. Konik knew at once that this was his moment. It all became clear to him. He was Konik Dakaardban—Dragonsbane—and it was up to him to stop this beast and save his friends. Konik reached over his shoulder and pulled his large sword free of its sheath. He held the blade upwards before him and become aware of the silver bracelet on his right wrist. The red pearl was glowing brightly. The dragon fear was gone and Konik Greyfeather lunged forward out in front of everyone. “Come and meet death!” he challenged both the dragon and the snow-elf that were rapidly descending on them. The dragon spotted the petty mortal that raced ahead of the others. The site amused him and the creature decided to direct his icy blast of energy upon this man first. With his jaws open wide the dragon spat its dragons-breath—a blast of flame-like ice that would kill instantly.

  Konik stood his ground, holding his sword high above him, convinced that if he could just strike the dragon that he would somehow—through the grace of god—slay the vile creature. The dragons-breath engulfed Konik. Everyone gasped as the big plainsman was lost in the white blast. They could hear him scream. It was not a scream of agony; instead it was a cry of battle that echoed out of the dragons-breath.

  The dragons-breath came to an abrupt end. The blackened figure of Konik still stood miraculously; his skin was charred from the icy blast. What little remained of his clothing hung about him in useless rags. But Konik still stood, his shriveled arms held his sword, pointing it at the dragon that hovered above him. The red Pearl of the Elf Lords gleamed brighter than ever. The magical pearl had engulfed much of the dragons-breath and magnified its strength within the pearl. Then without warning it released that energy back at the dragon. On will alone Konik stood tall, directing the beam of fiery energy up along his sword as it fired in the dragon’s direction. The blast struck the ancient beast, causing it to howl in agonizing pain. Atop the dragon Zenon screamed as he too was engulfed in the very dragons-breath that was intended for the human below him. His hand released the scepter as his body disintegrated in near instant death. The dragon continued to howl as it dropped out of the sky, its body bursting apart before crashing into the road.

  The dragons-breath was gone. The red pearl had returned to normal—seemingly the only thing on or about Konik that could be described as such—as the big man fell backwards onto the ground. The others raced to where he lay. His body was smoldering from head to foot from the burning icy blast that had consumed him. No hair remained and his skin hung freely from the bone in many places. As bad as his injuries were, the big man appeared to feel no pain or sorrow. Speaking in a voice that was soft and raspy Konik asked for Jareel.

  “Do not try to speak.” Natis instructed. “You must save your energy.”

  “Do not waste my time. Can you not see that I am dying?” Konik responded, his voice barely audible.

  Jareel dropped to his knees beside his uncle. Konik looked up into his nephew’s tear filled eyes. “Do not weep for me, Jareel. Instead rejoice, for I could not have found a more glorious way to die. I am in no pain at all. Return to our clan and tell everyone that Konik Dakaardban is now a reality. Our family is the family of a dragon-slayer, just as the visions foretold.”

  With those words, Konik closed his eyes and died.

  Petra was openly weeping as she stood behind Jareel. Katryn stood behind her, having been unable to keep Petra from fleeing the safety of the woods. No one could speak as they all stood there in reverent silence looking down at Konik’s remains, still unable to fully comprehend what they had seen this day. Trevor Kahn pushed his way through to stand at Konik’s feet. He stood erect and clenched his right fist, slamming it to his chest over his heart in a knightly salute. Seeing Trevor’s actions Rathkemp DuJurnor did the same. The two men stood side by side as the other five knights followed the actions of their Captain, giving Konik the salute that was reserved for knights alone: the highest honor that they could award the fallen plainsman.

  Jehu appeared in their midst, followed by several monks who had followed their master out of the safety of the monastery. Landis looked back and could see that perhaps all of the monks and guards of the monastery were lined up on or before the walls, having witnessed Konik’s heroic deed. Jehu reverently waited until the knights ended their salute before kneeling beside the fallen warrior and offering prayers for him. After he had finished praying he stood and said, “With your permission, we will bury him with honor amongst our own.”

  “Thank you.” Both Jareel and Trevor answered.

  “Wait.” Landis said as several monks stepped around Konik’s body. Landis knelt beside Konik and gingerly removed the bracelet. Landis could see that the bracelet had been damaged by the dragons-breath but the pearl was in perfect condition. He then noticed something gleaming on one of Konik’s fingers. He took his friend’s badly damaged hand and looked at the Tale-Weaver’s ring he still wore. Landis carefully removed the ring from the finger before standing. “You can take him now.” He instructed.

  The monks carefully lifted Koniks badly damaged body and lay it onto a canvas sheet they had spread out beside of him. Everyone stood still, watching as the monks lifted the body using the canvas and carried it back to the monastery. Only Natis turned and walked away before the monk
s—with Konik—vanished through the gate.

  Landis walked over to where Jareel stood. The younger plainsman was looking down at Konik’s ruined sword. “It is useless,” Jareel said of the weapon, “I had hoped that I could take it home as a keepsake for his family.”

  “I think this would be better.” Landis said, handing Jareel the Tale-Weaver’s ring.

  Jareel accepted the ring, looking it over before slipping it onto his own finger. “Yes, Landis, this will be much better. After we are done with this journey, I will return home to tell everyone of my uncle’s feat here today.”

  Natis came to stand beside them. “I think that you had better keep this,” He said, handing the half-elf the black scepter that Zenon had dropped. Landis took it and looked at the black pearl it held. Seeing the look on Landis’ face Natis said, “I cannot carry it, Landis. The power I feel coming from it was trying to pull at me just on the walk back from where I found it on the road. I would last no more than a day before succumbing to it.”

  “Very well.” Landis said, stuffing the scepter into his belt until he could put it elsewhere. They now had all four of the Pearls of the Elf Lords in their possession. Landis felt no pleasure in their success. These four pearls had been too costly: Alek Jarobohim, Jandelie Nightingale, and now Konik Greyfeather had all died in their efforts to locate and protect them. He only hoped that they had now paid all that would be required of them.

  Chapter 27

  The city of Talboth was a welcome sight to the riders. They had crossed the border into Alexonian territory nearly two full days earlier, but Talboth was the first city along this route. They had passed two farming villages that were still for the most part abandoned following the brief summertime war with the snow-elves. According to Rathkemp DuJurnor, the snow elves had apparently believed that they could sweep down out of the White Wilderness during the summer thaw and attack the northern part of the kingdom—which included the capital city of Alexon—and return to their homeland before the winter freeze locked them out. No one knew for sure what they were after; whether it was resources, slaves or something else. As it was, they were now scrambling back to the safety of their tundra domain, licking their wounds. Landis believed that there could be no coincidence in the timing of the attack on Alexon and the discovery of the Pearls of the Elf Lords, but chose to remain silent on the matter. Rethkemp informed Petra that—even though the war had been short, and that they had a decisive victory—The Council of Elders, the Knights of Alexon, and the King, were all in agreement that precautions had to be made to ensure that the snow-elves could not repeat the attack the following summer.

  Jordan was up and moving about gingerly by the time they rode into the city. He was still forced to ride in the carriage with the Princess and Katryn, but at least he could get out and walk about when they were stopped. He was in pain and could not raise his left arm very high, but he had been assured that he would fully recover from his injuries. Jaylen too was doing much better and had discarded the crutch, that the others had wanted him to use, somewhere along the road.

  Talboth was a small city along the Dulchin River that fed off of Dulchin Bay. When the city was built it had served as the northernmost shipping port accessible to Dulchin Bay, providing easy access for merchants to purchase commodities that were grown, raised or made in the neighboring communities. Talboth had become a popular city in the Westland and it was the birthplace of Alex Sergius. Alex’s father, Mecham Sergius, had been named Lord of Talboth after marrying the daughter—and only child—of the previous Lord. Talboth had been chartered under the Sedau Empire and Mecham Sergius had assumed rule of the city shortly before the dark elf Bytorron had taken over the empire. Long before Mecham Sergius had become Lord, Talboth’s fortunes had undergone changes. A series of severe storms, followed by erosion and siltation, altered the channel of the Dulchin River and prevented ships from maneuvering the waterway to the city, resulting in the prosperous shipping industry drying up. When Bytorron began his wars to the south, he temporarily dismissed the far northern cities and stopped providing any support for them as well. And Talboth declined even further.

  Acting on a suggestion from his father—The wizard Aaron Sergius of the Tower of Lonia—Mecham Sergius decided to build a port city along the coast of Dulchin Bay. And thus Alexon was built. He had named the new town after his only son, Alex Sergius, and promised to name his son Lord when he reached the appropriate age. By the time Alexon was completed Bytorron’s war had reached the northern cities. The Emperor sent soldiers north against his own citizens to capture the cities and take men for use either as soldiers or as slaves to work in the mines to provide the necessary resources to continue his war. With the strain of the war, Talboth’s resources dried up. But thanks to Mecham Sergius’ efforts, the town of Alexon—and his son Alex Sergius—became a rallying point for the freedom fighters to rise up against Bytorron and free the Westland from the Emperor’s grasp.

  Talboth never reclaimed its lost stature. It did survive as a thriving center for fishing and farming. And it served as a valuable outpost for the northernmost garrison of the Knights of Alexon—the Garrison where Knight-Captain Rathkemp DuJurnor served. And the city was always proud to herald the fact that the bloodline of the Kings began here.

  It was Talboth that the snow-elves struck first. The surprise assault overwhelmed the city. If not for the efforts of Rathkemp DuJurnor and the Knights of Alexon, the city would have fallen completely. But the snow-elves were still victorious in that they rendered Talboth useless as a defense of Alexon, which was a full day’s walk southwest from here. But even in defeat, Talboth’s stand provided Alexon the valuable time necessary to mount a formidable offense to meet the snow-elves before they could reach the capital. Much of the early part of the war had been fought around or near Talboth. And it was here that Petra’s father had died in battle. Soon after his death the snow-elves were slowly pushed back and the battle gradually moved away from the city and closer to the border of the realm until the snow-elves were eventually defeated.

  Even with war so recently at hand, the city did not look scarred. Unlike humans, the snow-elves did not try to burn or destroy the cities they attacked. The only physical damage done was necessary to take or hold a city. It was the people they warred with who suffered. The city showed limited evidence of having been at the center of the war. Unless one chose to visit the places of healing which were still filled with amputees and others who recovered from the many battles, or the outlying cemetery, filled with row upon row of freshly dug graves that still lacked markers.

  They rode into town drawing a crowd of supporters as word spread that Princess Petra and Prince Eric of Birhirm rode with Rathkemp DuJurnor from the front. It did not take long—thanks in great part to Jareel Greyfeather, who had ridden ahead with Landis a short while earlier—for news to travel that Petra wore the famed Sword of Alexon. Everyone milled about wanting to catch a glimpse of both the sword and the Princess.

  Landis observed that Jareel had thus far proven to be his uncle’s equal as he sat in the tavern weaving the tale of Konik defeating the Ice-Dragon and Zenon. Jareel spun the story so that Zenon had become the king of the snow-elves and that Petra had led this motley crew of warriors ranging from the Prince of Birhirm and the Sword-Master of Alexon, to a handful of mere common men, and that they had become an elite force facing off against hordes of orcs, snow-elves, bandits and assassins along the way; always making sure to give Konik full credit in sacrificing his own life while destroying both dragon and rider. As long as he left out any mention of the Pearls of the Elf Lords Landis permitted Jareel to embellish as he so desired. The facts were true, but the number of their enemy and the accounts of the battle altered quite a bit: Petra had gone from being forcibly restrained in the woods to standing at Konik’s side during the battle with the dragon. Jordan’s several feats of rescuing the Princess—while already fantastic tales in their own merit—had been escalated to miraculous deeds. By the time Petra rode
into Talboth, tales were spreading of the heroic deeds of these travelers as if they had single handedly won the war. Landis was certain that this would surely help to secure Petra’s claim to the throne.

  They rode into the Talboth Garrison of the Knights of Alexon. There Jordan was taken for more careful examination by the practitioners of medicine. Jaylen refused any such care, claiming that his leg was recovered. The elf made no complaints even though it was evident that he limped when he walked. Many of the older knights in the garrison looked disapprovingly at Trevor Kahn. It was only when Rathkemp DuJurnor swore on his honor that Trevor Kahn had proven his skill, virtue and honor defending the Princess throughout their journey that their looks and comments became more lenient and less hostile; though it was still evident that a few of them were not pleased by his presence.

  Landis and Jareel made their way to the garrison shortly after Petra had arrived. It took a bit of discussion with the sentinel before he would even send word to Rathkemp DuJurnor for the Knight-Captain’s affirmation that they were to be admitted.

  They had been in the garrison for the better part of the afternoon and had just completed a hearty meal and were enjoying their first secure opportunity to relax and be jovial when they were apprised that General Bix had arrived from Alexon and that he insisted upon meeting with Rathkemp and Petra immediately. Rathkemp DuJurnor led the companions to the middle chambers, where the senior knights met to discuss matters of importance. It was there that General Bix would be sent to meet with them.

  General Bix entered the room with seven soldiers. The General was a tall, rugged looking man with a thick black beard and stern dark eyes. An unsightly scar ran from the corner of his right eye along the side of his face to the point just below his ear. Putting it politely, Bix was an ugly and mean spirited man, but he was valiant on the field of battle and had proven himself worthy to be named a General of the Alexonian Army. Bix was not overly fond of the Knights of Alexon. It was no secret that he had hoped to become a knight when he was younger. He had not proven himself to be worthy of the honor at the time so his request had been denied. He had great respect for the knights as soldiers but had little use for them otherwise. Rathkemp DuJurnor had the same feelings towards the General.