Elf Killers

by Phipps, Carol Marrs

"Take my blade," said Oisin as he began at once cutting at the downed bird's thigh to retrieve his last arrow, "and go get Alister and Mayl and the girls and maybe a half dozen kids. Let's try to drag all three carcasses out of here in one trip. Remember it's still dark and we have no idea what got these two shawkyn spooghey onto us in the middle of the night, so keep everyone quiet. And watch for snakes..."

  Olloo was already out of sight, running through the grass for all he was worth, back the way they had come. No more than a furlong away, he tripped on a twist of big bluestem and fell. "Cac!" he cried as he hit the ground. As he got up onto his hands, he saw the glint of something glossy in the moonlight, nestled in a low mound of matted grass. He crawled over to it at once and reached out his hand. "Eggs. Three of them, and if they're not the size of baby’s heads, then I'm the size of a mouse. Cracked! One of the little buggers is hatching. Wow!" He was on his knees at once, gathering them into his linen leine.

  "You rotten tooth-dog, Fnanar," moaned Fnana-fnyr, holding his head in his hand as he rolled himself up onto an elbow. "You hee-hee-sneak buzzard-vomit."

  "Shush-smack him, Fmoo," said Fnanar as he tramped about the cave in agitation. "I'd still be sitting-astride him, but he snuff-snuff like old rump-smears. And I have to-be jump-ready."

  "Shh!" said Fnarry-irrny as she knelt and grabbed onto Fnana-fnyr's wrist. "Fnanar's thunder-time now be..."

  "Fnanar rolly-eye hee-hee-sneak jump-bite," said Fnana-fnyr, twisting free of her grasp as he sprang to his feet. "Thunder-men mount rock and ooot-ooot, ooot-ooot, ay-ooo, ay-ooo and stand-up head-smash. Fnanar no-stand thunder-big. He be sneaking crawl-dog. Thunder-worm."

  Fnanar wheeled and tramped across the cave, bug-eyed and bristling, raising his club as he came. Fnarry-irrny sprang to her feet and lunged between them, just in time to take the full force of his swing. The loud whack toppled her to the floor to stare up at them, never to see again.

  As Fnanar and Fnana-fnyr stared agape at their mother, Dyr quietly stepped between them. "Why shouldn't I head-smash you and you to the dead-land to be crawl-animal for your old-mother-sow?" he said softly, in spite of the bristling hair all up and down his freckled arms and shoulders.

  "She fell," said Fnanar.

  "No fall leaves eyeballs on cheeks," said Dyr.

  "She got between us," said Fnana-fnyr.

  "Yea? Which one of you head-smashed her?"

  "Fnanar did not big-nod to thunder-thump Fmoo. He big big-nod to thunder-thump me all to head-smash. And you too. He big big big-nod to hee-hee-sneak and thunder-thump you all to head-smash, Da, so he could be Thunder-man."

  "No ooot-ooot? No ay-ooo, ay-ooo?" said Dyr, planting the fury of his gaze in Fnanar's face. "You sneak-dog worm-animal! You no-be my big-kid. Drag her carcass to the back of the cave and stay with it until we dance over her. When we throw her into the pit, you go-down with her until she stops stinking. Crawl out too-soon and I will head-smash you. We could eat you for debt-baby, but that would diggy-finger my nose at Arrdsey-phnyr-phey-fne."

  "Kieran," said Sorcha, giving him a shake, as the first larks tinkled far overhead under the fading stars. "I see people coming, but they aren't any of us. They look like grown-ups. Come see."

  "What?" he said as he shook away the sleep from his face. "Show me."

  "Straight west. Do you see them?"

  "Why they're Elves, Sorcha. A rescue party! We've not been marooned here after all."

  "Are you sure? Maybe they're trolls with glamouries..."

  "No way. Trolls simply don't have magic. And a-coming from that direction, those folks are our people and no mistake."

  By that evening many tears of joy and sorrow had been shed up on Carraig Faire, as they shared a resolve to build a new life out here on the Strah in harmony with the great grassland, safe from the Elf Killers.

  Back across the Eternal Mountains, Gyrn's sow had an early delivery and all the Dyrney-brutes had a ceremonial bite of her debt-baby, renewing their hope for plenty of Elves to eat. They surely would be rewarded.

  Chapter 9

  In spite of the great reunion, everyone worked feverishly to butcher the elk and the two strike falcons. By broad daylight, Alister and Mayl appeared with four full water skins and the news that they had reached a large vein of very good tasting water. Shortly after, Oisin and Jamys set out with their bows to protect Lilee, Doona, Creena and Roseen and Vorona and Onora while they searched for Lilee's far flung plants, which they were already calling Strah flax.

  That evening, as they celebrated their first day of being reunited along with a glorious sense of relief at knowing that they would neither starve nor die of thirst, they laid plans to build sod houses by their new well. By the evening of the next day, the men and the boys older than Thomase and Markus set out for the camp by the sea, leaving Martyn and Donachan at Carraig Faire to guard the women. In a fortnight they returned with fifteen unicorns, dragging poles from the maidenhair woods on the eastern flank of the Eternal Mountains and twenty-one head of sheep and assorted axes, saws and drawknives, but no terraing pictiur. Search as they might, not one sign of the picture catcher unicorns was ever to be found again. And it was not until they had returned that they realized that even though they had returned with every single tool at the camp, they had not brought back framing tools of any kind whatsoever. It was decided at once that Oisin, Kieran and Olloo should return right away to the mountains, not to the camp, but to Baile Gairdin to search for the needed tools.

  Olloo knelt at the foot of Carraig Faire and squinted at the setting sun as he lunged forward and scooped up his two week old strike falcon, scampering about, chasing after grasshoppers. "Here. In you go, Baase," he said as he worked the kicking chick into the backpack he had woven from big bluestem. He tied down a pair of flaps, leaving Baase's downy head free to toss about, gawking at things. "I can't believe you're already bigger than a banty rooster..."

  "And the bigger he'll get, too," said Donachan as he tramped to a halt and squinted at the bird. "Are you sure it's wise, hauling him all that way on your back? You never know when you might need to run..."

  "Oh I'll manage," said Olloo as he shaded his eyes from the sun. "He's kind of a handful to catch if he's startled. I won't have to carry him long."

  "You're going to get him well away from here and turn him loose, then, aye?"

  "No, I mean that he'll be too big to carry before long."

  "Yea. And a right big responsibility if you manage to get him back here, wouldn't you reckon? The grown ones kill people, don't you know."

  "We'll see..."

  "You've had a chance to see him hatch. Now, I'd kill him if he were mine."

  "I suppose I will if I must," said Olloo, giving Baase a scratch as he thought: "For all the hours you've spent, telling me tales of history and valor and Elven deeds, you can sure be an old maid!"

  "Better not let them leave without you, then," said Donachan as he turned on his heel and walked away, shaking his head.

  A vesper sparrow called nearby. Olloo squirmed into the straps of the backpack and sighed, pausing to look away at the mountains under the setting sun. "Baile Gairdin," he murmured with a shudder, as he thought about the terrifying day when the Marfora Siofra hoard came in broad daylight and killed his parents and over half of everyone else. He clamped shut his eyes at the memory of screams. He gave his head a sudden shake and was on his feet at once to scratch the neck of the sturdy little dappled Dulish unicorn he had chosen for the journey before heaving his panniers over its rump."We've got to go all the way back again, Mas old boy," he said as he picked up his bow, found his stirrup and set out at a saunter across the grass to where Oisin and Kieran were waiting with their unicorns. Well-wishers milled about, some of them requesting that they keep an eye out for this or that particular keepsake of theirs. Brenden caught his eye at his approach and gave a proud nod of approval.

  Vorona stood before Oisin and Kieran, talking to them. Oisin was shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Vorona," he said, "Father h
as the taisteal gift, but I don't. Grandfather didn't either, but his father did. This gift of instantaneous travel seems to show up every other generation, all the way back. My word. With that, I would've got back to camp when the trolls killed Aedan and we'd all be on our way to Deatalamh right now instead of trying to stay alive out here."

  "You might've," she said with a keen look, "but I'd still be here. As it is, I'll just wish you all Fate's-speed and ask ye a small favor. There's an old, old book, even older than I am, somewhere in the palace library which has to be found, I should think. It's a chronicle of our people from the beginning time. It may even include every one of the known Elven prophecies. Now, that's what they used to say. At least it's the only place any of them are written down, as far as I know." She paused to study his face. "I've not had a need of such things until now, but I reckon you see my position?"

  "Absolutely, my Queen.”

  "Augh!" she said, batting at the air. "Let's not start that. I still want ye to call me 'Vorona,' even if every last one of you ones do insist on my being Queen. But I think that if I am, I need the wisdom of the prophesies, don't you? Well. Olloo's here."

  Oisin looked up suddenly to see Doona smiling at him instead. "Oh my!" he said, returning her grin. His calf-eyed look alerted Kieran, who at once put on his own smile for her.

  At the sight of them, Olloo knew without turning around that his dear sister had followed him through the gathering and rolled his eyes for Vorona, who gave a wink and spoke up, "The sun may be setting, but that doesn't mean that Doona needs the pair of you mooning at her. You ones need to reach the foot of the mountains by daylight."

  Kieran and Oisin turned red and began grabbing up their panniers as laughter broke out all 'round. Olloo sobered up at once with a stern look from Vorona and dismounted.

  Doona's downy shawk spoogh ran zigzagging forth from amongst the forest of legs and grabbed onto Olloo's trius leggings, twisting and yanking as though she had a death grip on some kind of game. As Olloo stooped, the chick let go and began dancing about, leaping up at Baase, who flicked up his new crest of pinfeathers.

  "Looks like Onner wants to say goodbye to her brother," giggled Doona as she scooped up her bird.

  "Yea?" said Olloo, "Well, I know a couple fellows who'd like to say goodbye to you too, big sister."

  Doona straightened up as her eyes darted quickly about. "I've already said my farewells in private," she said in a hushed voice as she turned back to him with a stern look.

  "Right. I see how it is," he said, glancing at Oisin and Kieran. "I didn't mean..."

  "Hey, don't worry about it. Just shush it." Suddenly she hugged him. "And just you stay safe all the way to Baile Gairdin and back, you hear?"

  "My plans," he said, as he thought he caught a flicker of dread in her eye.

  "Our turn," said Onora, as she and Brenden pulled Olloo into a firm hug.

  Olloo stepped back with a grin and a bow as he doffed his hat. He turned about smartly, mounted Mas and sauntered away through the throng, waving as he brushed by Doona and Lilee, who had their heads together in whispers.

  The sun vanished from sight, leaving rosy streaks in the western sky and a fiery red lip along the crown of Carraig Faire. Larks tinkled overhead, far out of sight. At last Olloo's family and Lilee turned their backs on the great sea of grass and set out to join the others atop the great rock. Brenden and Onora had climbed well out of sight before Doona and Lilee began speaking in more than just murmurs and started their slow climb, each carefully cradling her hen-sized strike falcon chick. The rock was still quite warm from the day's sun. Doona reached a nice flat spot up the side and turned to sit in it while Lilee caught up. "Do you realize that Oisin and Kieran are all we ever talk about nowadays?" she said as she settled Onner into her lap and peered over the side. "Oh. Do be careful... And our strike falcons... and pretty new dresses. How are we ever to make them 'way out here?"

  "You hardly have to worry about dresses, Doona. You already have the three handsomest young men ever. I mean, Olloo doesn't count, since he's your brother, but you get to live with him. I mean Oisin and Kieran have gotten so loony over you, you need to choose. Really. You know, just to be kind to both of them."

  "Oh I have, really..."

  Lilee gave a squeal and a bounce, sending a peppering of stones skittering down the side of the great rock.

  "I'm glad you're excited, you silly goose, but I don't know what I'd do if you slipped..."

  "Who, Doona?" said Lilee as her face appeared beside Doona's knees.

  "Well, since Kieran has always been chums with Olloo, he's always been around making me laugh, making me mad and being my friend and companion. He also has that smile of his..."

  "So it's Kieran then, is it?" said Lilee, suddenly looking crushed.

  "Why Lilee! Are you...? Never mind. Listen girl. Kieran's not it. I've decided on Oisin. He's come to be an even better friend. He just seems to know what I'm thinking. And when he looks at me, Fates! There are moments he takes my breath clean away and sets my heart to racing..."

  With a sudden bounce, Lilee threw her arms around Doona's legs as her chick kicked and scrambled into Doona's lap.

  "You and Cairys are going to fall right off the side of this rock. I'm not going to tell you another word about it until we get up on top."

  "Sounds like love to me, Doona."

  "Do you really think so?" she said as she handed over Cairys and carefully turned about to resume the climb. "No wait. If we talk here, you'll get yourself killed."

  "No I won't. And I also think that with a bit more encouragement from you, he'd ask Brenden if he could come courting you."

  "But surely, the way he smiles at me he knows that I ..."

  "Well, at least enough to keep on flirting with you, but he knows you care for Kieran, too, and it's holding him back. You know it is."

  "So you think I need to let him know, aye? Maybe I need a new dress after all."

  Lilee paused to give Cairys a private little squeeze. "Well, I've got a few notions about that, Doona. And we're really, really not going to talk any more until we're on top or you'll be the one to fall and kill all four of us."

  The Strah fowl could be heard booming from somewhere well away over the grass from Carraig Faire. Up on top, under the vault of blue sky growing light, the Elven women squatted around Onora's skillet, working sticks into the coals beneath it as they tended sputtering strips of elk. Presently Onora rose to her feet with several pieces of hot meat in a deer skin. She gave a generous piece to Brendan and came to wake the girls. "Time to wake up," she said as she gave Doona a pat on the shoulder, "even if you two did stay awake all night whispering about young men and clothes."

  "You heard us?" said Doona, up on her elbows at once. "Fates! We didn't keep you and Brenden awake, did we?"

  "You know as well as I do that nothing short of a troll raid would keep him awake. And I only heard you from time to time as I was drifting off, but I was a young lady myself once, you know."

  "What do you mean by that?" said Doona, sharing a quick look with Lilee, who had just closed off a yawn.

  "Oh, trip on trenchers," she said as she held out her deer skin to each of them, "I just overheard snippets, but I was enough like you ones once to know how they all fit together..."

  "Well, just how do I let Oisin know that I'd like him to court me and not break Kieran's heart at the same time?"

  "My. That is a most serious question to ask at breakfast, young lady. I'll tell you what, though. It's our turn to watch the children this morning while everyone works on sod or thatch. Maybe after we get the children rounded up, we could talk about this."

  Doona gave Onora a sudden hug. "Thank you for not treating me like a silly girl."

  "'Silly girl.' I'm right aware that you passed 'silly girl' long before you came over the mountains and are now on the doorstep of being a woman grown."

  The sun was just rising as Oisin, Olloo and Kieran rode into the briary edge of the East Maidenh
air Woods, weary at the prospect of the long climb ahead yet grateful to be able to cross the Strah at night, safe from the shawkyn spooghey. And even though there were not any trolls on this side of the Eternal Mountains, they were grateful to be able to climb their flanks by day. For the rest of the morning they climbed as the sun rose higher and hotter at their backs. By noon, they got above the trees and began the laborious job of clambering over a jumble of boulders and ropes of lava as they led their mounts to the cleft in the lip of the crater of Mount Sliabh, where they had last seen Radella and the Fire Sprites.

  Soon they entered the cleft, too exhausted to talk, as they listened to the echoes of the scuffling and crunching of cinders under the hooves of their unicorns on its sheer walls, while rock wrens gave their ringing calls far overhead. At the edge of the glistening waters of Lake Na Gealai, they fell to their knees without a word amongst them and drank, bathed their faces and filled their water skins. They were on their feet at once with the melancholy memory of Mian and Aland growing on them as they made their way along the shore to where they had abandoned their ashes. When at last they spied the big flat rock where their pyre had been, they dashed up to it and stood in silence.

  "What are we standing here for?" said Kieran as he turned to fling a stone out into the water. "They're long gone."

  "Yea?" said Olloo. "Well I miss them and I feel bad, myself. I hated watching them die..."

  "I see the spillway down into the mountain where Radella brought us out," said Oisin, wrapping his reins around his fist. "Let's go. The day's getting away from us." A pair of sandpipers ran twittering ahead of them along the edge of the water before taking flight to a place further down the shore. Soon the three of them stood watching crystal clear water from the lake race into a cavernous lava tube.

  "This looks like the mouth of the Pit to me," said Kieran. "Are we really going to do this? I mean, I liked the Fire Sprites and all, but remember it was trolls in there who killed Aland and Mian. I'm not sure I want to go in."