The Arcane Staff Trilogy Box Set
Page 38
“It’s the least I can do,” she shrugged. “I did kidnap you.”
“And choke me out,” added Kriket.
“I stand by my previous decisions,” shrugged the fae. “I’ll be sure to tell Zinovia you said hello, Zeke.”
“That’s really not necessary,” mumbled the elf quickly, his face turning slightly pink.
“I think I’ll continue on,” said Ivsaar, not paying attention to the other elf. “I’ll take my men to other towns within Kutarm’s old empire and make sure everyone knows that even though Lord Kutarm is dead, no retribution will be taken on any of the people there.”
“I’ll do the same in other parts of Linsuk,” nodded Kriket. “I’m sure some of the Burston fighters would be willing to come with me. I’d be happy to have any of the three of you come with, if you’re interested.”
Zeke, Sloane, and Delvin all shared a look.
“I don’t think so,” said Delvin. “I’ve had enough action to last me a long time.”
“Me too,” nodded Sloane. “It’s time to get some rest.”
Everyone looked at Zeke.
“Well?” asked Kriket. “What does the future hold for The Elf Thief?”
Zeke smiled and looked to the east. “I’m not sure. There is one thing I need to take care of first, though…”
Epilogue
“Moya!” shouted Zeke.
The elf and Sloane marched through Re’Lus and made a line straight for his old restaurant. A crowd of elves started to gather around them as they reached their goal. Zeke recalled how little excitement went on in his hometown, and couldn’t blame them for wanting to come watch the show.
“Is that Zeke?” he heard a few people mumble.
“Zeke!” cheered a woman’s voice.
His old friend, Bronwen, ran up and embraced him. He gave her a quick hug but broke it off as he waited for Moya to come out. There’d be time to catch up, but it wasn’t now.
“Oh,” Bronwen said, looking Sloane over. “I see the plain looking human is still following you around.”
Sloane and Bronwen exchanged smiles, but for some reason, Zeke felt like they weren’t very genuine. He didn’t spend much thought on it. Probably had nothing to do with him.
A fat female elf came stormed out of the building, her puffy white hat tilted to the side.
“I’ve returned!” declared Zeke. “I came to let you know that-”
A metal ladle flew from the cook right for Zeke’s face. The elf, expecting this, leaned back and easily dodged the projectile. He glanced at Sloane and gave her a wink. He wondered if she’d get it stuck in her head again that he was really The Elf Thief.
“As I was saying,” smiled Zeke, turning back to Moya.
A second metal ladle was flung at his face, this one smacking him on the nose.
“Ow!” he shouted, grabbing his face. “A second ladle?!”
“You come back here making a ruckus and shouting for me when you know it’s our busiest hour?!” shouted Moya, taking a threatening step forward. “You’re making me lose business!”
“That doesn’t mean you just assault a guy!” he shouted back.
“Let me guess,” smirked Moya. “You’ve come back after a couple of months out on your own, and now you want your old job back.”
“You… you seriously don’t know what’s happened?” asked Zeke, sharing a look with Sloane. The human shrugged, unsure how to help him.
“What are you talking about?” asked Moya.
“Lord Kutarm,” implored Zeke. “He’s dead.”
“Who cares?” she laughed. “The Elf Thief goes off and kills him, and that somehow means some random elf like you no longer needs employment? We live in a society, you know. Everyone’s got to pull their weight.”
“Some have more to pull than others,” mumbled Zeke. So his plan backfired in the end. No one heard of the mighty Zeke Northwood, just of The Elf Thief.
“Why you little-!” growled Moya, raising a chubby fist and taking a few steps closer to Zeke.
Sloane stepped in between the two, putting her hands up.
“Zeke didn’t come back here to fight,” she said, trying to diffuse the situation.
“Boo!” shouted someone in the growing crowd.
“What a scaredy cat!” shouted another.
“Hey, I could take her!” shouted back Zeke, his eye twitching.
“What did you come back for, then?” asked Moya.
Zeke took a deep breath to calm down. He held up the Arcane Staff so that everyone in town could see it. While they didn’t know he was The Elf Thief that brought Lord Kutarm down, they’d have to be impressed by this.
“Is that the Fourth Staff?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
“It’s not,” said Zeke. “Funny story, though, I did-”
“Good,” she nodded. “If you had taken the Fourth Staff, you know we’d have to banish you for the rest of your pathetic life.”
Zeke cleared his throat and shared a nervous look with Sloane. Probably best to not mention that little tidbit.
“Anyway,” he said. “This is the First Staff. I’ve brought it back from my adventuring as a gift for the people of Re’Lus.”
There was silence for a moment.
“Are you really not going to fight?” asked someone from the crowd.
“No!” barked Zeke, annoyed by the disrespect being shown to him and an Arcane Staff. “I’m not fighting Moya.”
“Waste of time,” said the man, walking away. The crowd began to disperse, clearly not interested in what Zeke had brought back to them.
“I’ve got to go back to work,” said Bronwen, waving as she backed away. “We’ll catch up tonight, okay?”
Moya chuckled and went back to her restaurant. “Let me know when you come to your senses and need a job. I guess I can take you back one more time.”
“I’ll never work for you again!” shouted Zeke.
Sloane put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. “Looks like that didn’t go as well as you hoped it would.”
“It’s fine,” he sighed. “We did the right thing defeating Lord Kutarm and bringing the First Staff somewhere no one will ever look for it.”
“Are you sure you want to leave it here?” asked Sloane.
“I’ve already disconnected myself from it,” said Zeke. He quickly put up a hand to stop the inevitable question. “Don’t ask me how. All I know is that it worked.”
“If you say so,” said Sloane. “There’s still a lot of good you could probably do with it.”
“If we need it again, I’ll come back and get it,” he shrugged. “For now, though, I just want a break from all this Arcane Staff nonsense.”
“I’ve still got mine,” pointed out Sloane, nodding back to the Arcane Staff on her back.
“Yeah, but summoning plants is lame,” smirked Zeke.
“Still want to stay here a few days before heading back to the Lost Citadel?” asked Sloane. “We didn’t get the homecoming you were hoping for.”
“Yeah, I’d still like to stay some,” he nodded. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s nice to be back. Besides, I’m sure Delvin doesn’t need us slowing down his research.”
“Trust me, no will distract him as much as Anthony will.”
Zeke laughed and looked around Re’Lus. While he didn’t get the respect he was hoping to, he found something better. With his friends all across Linsuk, he knew he’d be able to face any new challenges that came his way.
Epilogue Two
“The Elf Thief has defeated Lord Kutarm!” declared a few men that had been involved in the battle at Stedforge.
The elves of Eca’Li cheered, sharing hugs and drinks with everyone around. The town would have a party that night to celebrate the victory. While the elves of this town were far enough east that they didn’t have to worry about Kutarm directly, they were all happy to hear that he was dethroned.
All, that is, except for one elf towards the back of the group.
/> The real Elf Thief scratched the side of his head. What were these humans talking about? He had been laying low in this small town for months now. An elf legend goes quiet for a little bit, and someone decides to just up and take his name?
How rude.
The End.
The Arcane Staff Series:
The Elf Thief (Book 1)
Released April 2018
Lost Citadel (Book 2)
Released May 2018
Final Barrier (Book 3)
Released June 2018
The Half Dragon of Yaerna Series:
Tumbler Short
The Ilkas Diamond Job (Book 0)
Released February 2018
The Gathering Arc
The Shattered Sword (Book 1)
Released December 2017
The Time Shield (Book 2)
Released January 2018
Grimkell's Mace (Book 3)
Released January 2018
The Heralding Arc
Durnskeep (Book 4)
Released March 2018
Ravendale (Book 5)
Released July 2018
Aelric (Book 6)
Releasing August 2018
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