by Hans Bezdek
“The dwarves of Nurem don’t have to deal with this kind of thing anymore,” said Zeke quietly.
“Zeke!” said Sloane harshly. This was an inappropriate time to say such a thing!
“You can help stop injustices like this,” said Zeke, ignoring Sloane and placing a hand on Jereod’s shoulder. “We can help you and the rest of Tunil get rid of this scum.”
“But how?” asked the man, looking sadly at the elf. “We aren’t as strong as Nurem. Heck, I even heard a rumor that they had an Arcane Staff and The Elf Thief…”
“The Elf Thief actually didn’t make it back with the Fourth Staff in time to fight Kutarm’s men,” said Delvin.
“How could you be sure?” asked Jereod, shaking his head. “You might’ve been fighting in a different part of the city and never saw him.”
“No… we saw him alright,” said Sloane, glancing at Zeke. The elf was smirking, knowing where this was going.
Sloane had to hand it to him. Maybe saying something so harsh in that moment was the push Jereod needed.
“You did?” asked Jereod. “You saw The Elf Thief?”
“I did,” she nodded, gesturing to Zeke. “And he’s standing right here.”
Chapter 3
The next morning, Zeke and the others sat around a table in the back of the Striking Hammer, enjoying a simple breakfast they made from what they could find in Jereod’s cupboards. They hadn’t actually seen the blacksmith since the night before when they discussed a potential plan to take the town back. Zeke checked around for him in the morning, but he was nowhere to be found. The only other people in the building was the family that had been forcibly removed from their house. When Zeke had checked on them, they were still asleep. He and the others decided to let them be.
“Do you think this is wise?” asked Sloane, taking a bite of some bread.
“We didn’t take anything special from his kitchen,” shrugged Zeke. “I don’t think he’ll be too upset.”
“Actually, I think she meant riling up the town to stage a revolution,” said Delvin, taking a sip of water.
“Oh. Of course I think it’s wise,” said Zeke. “Kicking Kutarm’s men out of anywhere will always be a blow to him. Weakening him is a good thing.”
“But at what cost?” asked Sloane. “They want to defend their town, but if this ends like it did in Nurem, they’ll have to abandon it.”
“We’re here with an Arcane Staff this time. I’m sure things will go better.”
“I guess we’ll see,” said Sloane. She didn’t sound convinced.
“You’re the one that brought up I was The Elf Thief, remember? What else did you expect to happen when you did that?”
“Should I have lied instead?”
Well, she was actually lying when she said he was The Elf Thief, but she didn’t know it yet. Zeke felt like this wasn’t the right time to correct her. He didn’t respond, taking a drink and looking away.
“I’m worried about Jereod,” said Delvin, looking at the door. “I figured he would’ve been back by now.”
Zeke was getting a bit concerned as well. The plan was for Jereod to go around town, doing the best he could to convince the others in the Linsuk Resistance to help fight against Kutarm’s men. Jereod said he was confident most would agree, especially after he shared the news of Zeke and the Arcane Staff. Speaking of which…
The elf glanced at the Fourth Staff next to him, still covered. He hadn’t gotten a chance to use it after the battle with that smoke dragon. If they actually came to open conflict with Kutarm’s forces, the town of Tunil was going to be counting on him and the Arcane Staff.
“What if he was captured?” asked Delvin.
“I’m sure he wasn’t captured,” said Zeke, shaking his head. “He’s probably just running a little late.”
“This is later than I would’ve guessed,” pointed out Sloane.
“You must feel horrible,” said Delvin, looking sadly at Zeke.
“Why’s that?” asked the elf.
“If it turns out Jereod was captured, you’d surely feel responsible,” said the gnome. “He’d probably be horribly tortured for trying to resist Kutarm, and then die in some dark dungeon somewhere…”
“Thanks, Delvin,” mumbled Zeke. “That was really helpful.”
“S-Sorry…” he said, looking down at his cup.
There was a noise from the front, and the three of them got to their feet.
“What was that?” asked Zeke. “Think it’s Jereod?”
“Or it could be a fae agent coming to destroy the traitor’s home and shop,” suggested Delvin.
“What is with you today?” asked Sloane.
Before the gnome could apologize, Jereod came stumbling into the room. The human was out of breath and held his side, but otherwise looked fine.
“You weren’t captured!” cheered Delvin.
“Huh? Captured?” panted the blacksmith.
“Don’t mind him,” said Sloane. “How did it go?”
“Successful,” said Jereod, taking a few more deep breaths before getting his breathing under control. “Nearly everyone I talked to said that they were in, and they’d speak with their neighbors this morning to try and get them to help.”
“Great!” smiled Zeke. “I’m assuming you’d want to get some rest before this gets underway. We-”
“No time,” he said, walking over to the wall and removing the twin blades again.
“Surely you can rest up for an hour or so,” said Sloane, exchanging nervous looks with the other two. “You’ve been running around all night. We can manage the others when they arrive here.”
“The others were told to start fighting outside of their homes at 10 am,” said Jereod, shaking his head. “We decided it would be best to cause chaos from multiple points in the town. It’ll be harder for Kutarm’s forces to pin us down.”
“Good thinking,” nodded Zeke. “So we have until 10 am… what time is it now?”
Jereod pulled out a pocket watch and glanced at it. “9:58.”
Zeke and the others looked at each other.
Sloane and Delvin ran back into the room they slept in to gather their things, while Zeke grabbed his bag and Staff from the table. The elf was hoping to get a bit more time to mentally prepare, but it looked like that wasn’t going to happen.
“Where is my quiver!?” shouted Sloane from the other room.
“Check under the hay where you found your bow!” shouted back Zeke.
“I did, but I can’t find it! It’s not there!”
“Check again!” came a shout from Delvin.
“There’s no reason to… oh. Found it! It was under they hay after all!”
Zeke caught Jereod’s eye. The man looked less confident than he had just a minute earlier.
“Don’t worry, she’s an amazing shot,” said Zeke.
The blacksmith opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, shouts rang out from all around the shop.
“It’s starting!” Jereod smiled. “Let’s go!”
Zeke followed the man outside. Groups of angry citizens holding up pitchforks and weapons surrounded men dressed in blue and black. The people of Tunil were shouting at Kutarm’s men to leave and never come back, and were doing a convincing job of it. The men trapped inside these groups were attempting to back away, keeping their hands up to try and calm the crowds down.
The door across the street opened, and the three men who took over the home of Jereod’s neighbors came out. They looked around at the various groups, confused as to what was going on.
“What’s the plan?” asked Sloane, catch up to them with Delvin. “It looks like things are springing into motion.”
While putting a plan together would’ve been the smart thing to do, Zeke had other ideas. The elf was focused on making the three men pay for kicking that family out onto the streets.
“The plan is to get rid of these monsters,” said Zeke, storming off to confront the three men.
&nbs
p; Delvin and Sloane sighed, then followed after him.
The three men saw Zeke approaching, each of them pulling out their swords.
“You! Back inside!” shouted one of them.
“But it’s the morning,” said Zeke, pretending to be an innocent. “I was just inside all night!”
“It doesn’t matter!” said another of Kutarm’s men. “Something strange is afoot, and all citizens must return to their homes until we can determine what the cause is of all this!”
“Leave now, or we’ll force you to!” added the other.
Zeke smirked, removing the covering from the top of the Fourth Staff and storing it back in his bag. Holding the glowing Arcane Staff before him, stood a little straighter. They’d surely be afraid of the legendary weapon. “Wanna repeat that?”
The three men shared a confused look.
“I said leave now, or we’ll force you to!” repeated the man. “Are you hard of hearing or something?”
Zeke looked down at the Fourth Staff and frowned. This wasn’t having the desired effect.
“Most people wouldn’t suspect that to be an Arcane Staff,” whispered Delvin from behind him. “From their point of view, why would one be in Tunil?”
Zeke sighed. That was a good point. How disappointing.
“We have the power of an Arcane Staff on our side!” declared Jereod, appearing next to Zeke. “Leave now with the rest of your men, or you’ll face destruction at the hands of the Linsuk Resistance!”
The three men shared another look, this time bursting into laughter.
“You honestly think we’ll fall for that?!” laughed one of them.
“Prove it!” demanded another.
“Your funeral,” said Zeke, holding the Fourth Staff up and pointing it at the man on the left who demanded an exhibition.
Everyone stared as Zeke concentrated, attempting to blast the man with a magic-infused ray.
A minute passed.
Then another.
“Gah, stupid thing!” cried out Zeke, waving the Arcane Staff around. “Why won’t you work?!”
“Enough standing around,” said one of the men. “You’ve all admitted to being with the Linsuk Resistance, which is a death sentence. Should’ve kept your mouths’ shut and gone back inside like we told you to!”
The three men rushed at them, blades raised.
Before Zeke could think to do anything, the glow on the end of his Staff expanded, forming a thin barrier between them and Kutarm’s men. The three bumped into it, and then the barrier exploded out towards them. Their swords went flying as they fell backward.
“Good one!” said Jereod. “You really had me going there for a minute!”
“Uh, yeah,” said Zeke, staring down at the Fourth Staff. “All part of the plan…”
“The fool was right!” said one of the men, getting back to his feet. “They do have an Arcane Staff!”
“If we take it to Lord Kutarm, he’ll reward us!” grinned another.
“Let’s kill them!” cheered the last, as the three pulled out daggers from near their ankles.
The Arcane Staff glowed brightly again, the loop on the end closing. This was more of what Zeke had in mind.
The three dove at him as one, lunging out with their daggers. Jereod leaped forward and caught one on the left with his blades, while Sloane parried the one on the right. The man in the middle nearly reached Zeke, bloodlust and excitement in his eyes.
Zeke raised the Fourth Staff towards the center of the man, and a ray of purple magic shot out. It connected with the man, sending him back before he could slice into the elf. The man crashed into the side of the house, slumping over as the ray came to a stop.
Sloane was making easy work of her enemy, but Jereod seemed to be struggling with his. Kutarm’s man was stabbing at the blacksmith in an endless barrage of strikes, and all Jereod could do was bring his blades up defensively to block them.
Seeing his opportunity, Zeke struck the enemy in the side with the Fourth Staff. A purple light exploded, sending the man tumbling off. He didn’t get back up.
Zeke heard a grunt and turned to see Sloane’s opponent collapse.
“Good job, guys!” said Delvin, filling his role as the group cheerleader. “I’d have helped but it looked like you didn’t need it…”
“I’m sure we’ll need your illusions before the fight is over,” smirked Sloane.
“You okay?” Zeke asked Jereod, looking him over for any scars.
“Yes, thanks to you. That weapon is incredible!” said Jereod, staring down at the Arcane Staff in awe. “Lord Kutarm himself will have trouble dealing with such a weapon!”
“That’s the hope,” nodded Zeke. He imagined it would be a more difficult fight since Kutarm had one, too.
Cries rang out from their left.
“Come on, others need our help!” smiled Zeke, sprinting off to join the fray. He never thought he’d enjoy being in battle so much!
Chapter 4
The group of citizens cheered as a final blast of magic from the Staff sent the last of the small troop flying back.
Zeke was starting to get the hang of the weapon now. Just like their battle against the smoke dragon, the Arcane Staff took a little getting used to.
“I can’t believe it!” shouted one of the people in the crowd. “The Elf Thief is here, and he’s on our side!”
“Please, call me Zeke,” smiled Zeke.
More cries rang out behind them, followed by the sound of metal against metal. Looked like it wasn’t yet time to bask in his own glory.
The others followed after him as he ran for the center of town. While the streets nearest to the blacksmith’s shop had been cleansed of the Kutarm scourge, it appeared the same couldn’t be said for the rest of Tunil.
A handful of peasants laid dead, with many more being rounded up by a large number of blue and black figures. While Zeke and the others thought they had been winning the battle, it looked like maybe they weren’t.
“W-What are we going to do?” asked Delvin. “There’s so many of them!”
“Now’s your time,” said Sloane, gesturing up ahead. “Conjure something scary around the guards to distract them.”
“If you can get them to move away from the people, I can try and take them out with the Staff,” added Zeke. He wasn’t confident enough in his skills yet to try and take hard shots with so many innocent people behind his targets. He needed more of an opening.
“I-I’ll try,” said Delvin, reaching his hands out and concentrating.
A large green demon appeared behind Kutarm’s men, not unlike the one that Zeke and Sloane saw when they first met Delvin.
The townspeople screamed in horror at the sight, including some that had followed Zeke and his friends. While that was to be expected, Kutarm’s men didn’t seem particularly bothered at all. Zeke and Sloane shared a confused look.
“Why isn’t that working?” mumbled Zeke.
“I-I don’t know!” cried Delvin.
One of Kutarm’s forces stomped up to the demon, speaking loudly to it. “What are you doing here? Did Lord Kutarm not think we could handle a bunch of weaklings by ourselves?”
The illusion looked down at the man, baring its teeth.
“I know you can understand me!” shouted the man. “We didn’t ask for assistance from your species, so I’d appreciate it if you left!”
Zeke snapped his fingers. “They’re not scared of demons because they are working with them!”
“That must be it,” agreed Sloane. “Delvin, try and summon something else to get the guards’ attention. Don’t make it a demon, undead, or fae.”
“That takes out most of the scary things,” he muttered, closing his eyes to think on something else.
After it came to him, he opened them and gestured again at the crowd.
The green demon popped out of existence.
Several of Kutarm’s men looked around, surprised. Before they could think any more on it, one of the
citizens cried and pointed at the sky. “F-Fire Phoenix!”
Everyone looked up. High above them, a giant bird engulfed in flames soared. The phoenix dipped down, aiming at the mass of people and letting loose a spray of fire. The fire breath came up short, dancing over the tops of everyone’s head.
The crowd screamed again, while Kutarm’s men broke away and formed a group of their own. Pulling out bows, they tried to take aim, but the fire phoenix soared high above their range.
“That… that’s you, right?” Sloane asked Delvin.
“I can’t keep this up all day!” shouted the gnome, the veins in his face throbbing as magic pulsed through him.
“Sorry!” said Zeke, shifting his focus back on to the guards.
Raising his Arcane Staff up, he pointed at the group of guards. He had an idea, but wasn’t sure it would work. The top of the Staff began to glow as if it was creating a shot of magic. Instead of letting it loose, Zeke focused on building it up more and more.
The ball of magic grew brighter and larger, now the size of a watermelon. Sloane and Jereod took a few steps back as they watched.
Several of the guards shot up at the fire phoenix as it came within range again. One of them managed to land a lucky shot, causing the phoenix to pop out of existence just like the demon had.
Delvin let out a grunt and dropped his arms, breathing heavily. “They… they took it out…”
The guards looked up at the spot that the phoenix disappeared from, more confused than ever.
“It must be magic from these villagers!” barked one of Kutarm’s men. “Let’s kill them all before they do something like that again!”
The guards all leveled their bows at the mass of villagers they had collected. The crowd grew tighter together, worried cries springing from it.
“Ready!” barked one of the guards.
“Oh no…” said Sloane, holding a hand over her mouth.
“My people…” whispered Jereod.
“Aim!” barked the guard.
“Fire,” muttered Zeke, letting the now boulder-sized shot from the Arcane Staff go.
