As the distance between the bands closed, Kharla acted first. She stood and shouted something that Tovi could not understand. And with that, she charged, her club held high.
Tovi heard whizzing past his head and saw two of the humans drop in their tracks. But what surprised him most was the massive fireball that had been hurled from behind him. It struck a human that had turned to face them. When he fell, it was as though he had turned to ash. Rys quickly and quietly downed one with her arrows and longbow. Ran and Mathias bolted into the fray, their swords swinging with precision as they felled their foes with seemingly little effort. And then it was over. Silence fell over the scene as the last of the daylight faded.
The Azyrean stared at the bodies on the ground. These were the beings that had instilled hatred in him less than an hour previous. These were the same ones that had mindlessly slaughtered the ogre women and children in the kraal behind them. In the gathering darkness, they looked different than he had expected. Their faces were quiet, almost peaceful. How could they be those same murderous souls that he had wanted to kill with his bare hands?
Ryshara reslung her bow. “We must bury the bodies. I will gather some brush and sticks for a fire so that we can see.”
“Let them rot above the ground. Let the beasts of the desert eat their fill.” Kharla spat the words. “They are soulless demons. They got only what they deserved.”
Rys put her hand on Kharla’s shoulder. “They are dead. Whatever they were in life, it is over. To continue the hatred beyond the fight is to make us like them.” She paused and turned toward the bodies. “You are the leader and we follow your word. But I urge you to rethink.”
Kharla stared at the horizon to the north, her eyes hard and cold. “Build your fire.”
Chapter 21: Crystal Sands
The remainder of the trek to the oasis was subdued. The moon, well into the eastern sky, provided surreal illumination. The near-darkness stole most of the color from the landscape, while the moonlight added back just a hint of dark orange. As they approached the trees, the still spring provided a perfect reflection of the orb.
A campfire lessened the darkness in Tovi’s heart. Seeing the humans dead and fallen at the battle site had left all of them shaken. But for the Azyrean, the hardest part had been watching what had looked like an inept bunch of panicked kids try to fight off their inevitable death. The humans seemed completely unprepared for true battle. They had managed to massacre defenseless women and children with little apparent effort. But when faced with battle-hardened fighters, they crumbled. It could hardly be called a battle. But the worst part was that, in his heart, Tovi knew that this killing was only the beginning.
As the group settled into their respective resting places for the night, Tovi made his way over to Kharla, plopping down beside her. “I wanted to talk to you, away from the others.” He had thought on this for the past hour.
She turned towards him, her face still grim and hard. “Yes?”
“It’s just that, I don’t know how you feel about it, but I think of you as my friend. You and Klunk—I’ve never known anyone like you. You were angry with me when I told you about your papaw. And I’ve tried to make it up to you. I don’t know whether it worked or not. But I needed to tell you that, back there at the fight, I was really proud of you.” He shrugged and cleared his throat.
“I know I’m just a kid, and it probably doesn’t mean a whole lot. But my family is out there somewhere else, on some other world. And I may never see them again, well, except for Marzi. But if I don’t, then you and Klunk will be my family.”
She put her arm around his shoulder. “Thank you. I have struggled and there are hard days still ahead. But Klunk is my friend, and I miss his words out here tonight. For you to say these things, it makes it as though he were with me.”
“I guess there will be a lot of killing before this is over.”
She sighed. “Yes. And at one time, I thought that I would rejoice in that killing. I thought it would wash my sorrow away, to avenge my papaw. But today, even though I killed willingly, it gave me no joy. I hold no love for those beings and I cannot bring myself to feel sorry that they are dead. But I am sorry that I had to be the one to kill them. I feel as though with each life I take from another, it steals some of my life as well. Klunk was right all along. We must do what we can to save our people. But I hope never to take joy in the killing.”
◆◆◆
The next morning, the group prepared for the trek back to the main encampment. As the sun made ready for the day, hovering just below the horizon, they shouldered their packs and turned toward the southeast.
Kharla turned to face the group. “Before we go, I have something to say. You are elves and humans. You have come to my world from your own. You have left your homes and your families to help us. You risk your lives for us. And even though I am not yet an adult, you accepted my words.” She shuffled her feet as she appeared to struggle for more words.
“I am grateful. I want you to know that. Yesterday, I behaved badly. I wanted to leave the bodies of the humans unburied, to be scavenged by the desert beasts. I was wrong.” She gestured toward Ryshara. “You helped me understand, and you did so with respect. You showed me what true strength is.” She turned to Tovi. “And you reminded me that friendship and loyalty do not observe the boundaries of race. You, to all of you, I am grateful. Let us be off.”
Chapter 22: Crystal Sands
Marzi watched the band returning from their foray with trepidation. She had not wanted Tovi to go. This was war. People were killing and being killed—certainly no place for a child. As much as she loved her brother, she knew that he was not the wisest or most cautious of Azyreans to begin with. Even though he was supposed to stay out of the way during fights, she remembered that he was also not supposed to climb onto colored moonbeams. He didn’t follow directions particularly well.
But there he was, trudging alongside Kharla, unscathed. She ran to greet them, stopping briefly to exchange hellos with Rys and Ran, who led the way. “How did it go?” She glanced around to see everyone who had left the day before was present and apparently uninjured.
Ryshara stopped and adjusted her pack as she spoke. “Okay.” She opened her mouth as though she wanted to continue but fell silent.
Ran nodded and lowered his eyes. Something was wrong. Everyone was back safely. And since they had only been gone one day, they obviously had accomplished what they were supposed to.
By this time, Tovi and Kharla had joined them. Marzi could see Elle and the human, Mathias, bringing up the rear. “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?” She briefly embraced her brother and then held him at arm’s length, examining him from head to toe.
“I’m okay.”
“Your brother is good to have along.” Kharla put her hand on Tovi’s shoulder. “I will always take care of him.”
“Thank you.”
The group continued on to the encampment. But Marzi couldn’t shake the sense that something was not right. Rather than asking more questions, she followed them to the main command tent. Captain Virgil, along with the triumvirate of elven people—Empress Ariessa, Saige, and Elondiel—met them outside near the entrance.
The human captain stepped forward to address Kharla. “You are back so soon.” He glanced around at the group, as though taking count. “And I can see that you have all returned safely. I can only assume that your mission was successful.”
Kharla bowed her head for a moment. “Yes. We traveled to the kraal that was attacked and buried those that were lost in the fight. After that, we intercepted the band of humans. None were left alive.” Her voice grew soft as she finished her report.
“You seem less than enthusiastic. Is there something we should know?” Virgil’s question was the same one echoing through Marzi’s mind.
“I don’t know. They were humans, for sure. And they were the ones that attacked the kraal. But something was, I do not know how to explain it….”
> The captain cocked his head, his eyes questioning as he waited.
“They fought as though they did not know what they were doing or why? We easily defeated them. The truth of it is that I think children might have done better than they did. This is far different from what we experienced when we fought attacking bands in the past.”
The elven members of the party stood silently and nodded their assent.
Mathias, the only human to accompany them shook his head. “I can’t explain it, Captain. It was like they went through the motions—they raised their swords and swung, but there was no heart, no spirit in what they did—almost as though they were already dead.” He winced as he said those last words.
Ariessa, Saige, and Elondiel had, up until this point, stood back and observed. The empress cleared her throat. “Is it possible that we have overestimated the capability of this impending invasion? Could it be that the armies of this demon Dredwyn are mindless and barely competent?”
Virgil shook his head as he surveyed the horizon. “No. I have fought his forces in Caravast. Some are more skilled than others. The rangers are superior to cavaliers. And there is a group of assassins that have vastly greater skills than all of them. But none are mindless incompetents. Something else is at play here.”
Ran stepped forward. “Maybe coming through the portal changed them—scrambled their brains or something.”
“It’s possible. We can only hope. But I wouldn’t bet on it. We do know that several months ago Wyndred was sending non-soldiers through. Many of them had dementia or other similar problems. It could be that this group represented the remnants of them. That would explain their behavior.”
Saige spoke up, “Is it possible that we are misunderstanding your king’s intentions? Have you or any of your rebel command group actually spoken to him? Maybe we are reading this entirely wrong.”
Virgil smirked. “There is no misunderstanding Wyndred. He seeks dominion over all. There is no compromise or negotiation. We saw that the other day with his minion, the one who killed your elves and injured Commander Corhymin. No. We understand him completely.”
Saige smiled and shrugged. “Perhaps. But, in the interest of saving many lives, it might be worth our while at least to seek an audience with him. Who knows? Perhaps this war can be avoided.” She glanced around at the group. “I offer to travel to your homeland and meet with him as an emissary for our combined people.”
The Empress turned a deep shade of scarlet. “Thank you for the offer, Saige, but I think any action such as that must be carefully considered. Our ogre and human allies would need to be consulted first. And that includes speaking with the human commander whom, as I understand it, remains back in Ebon Hills.”
Virgil subtly bowed. “Yes, Commander West remained behind with the balance of our force and I agree wholeheartedly that any such undertaking must be put to her first. But I can tell you without hesitation, the king is not an ordinary leader who will negotiate to get what he wants. His approach is force. And if that fails, he applies greater force. His cruelty knows no bounds. The only loyalty he recognizes is what he commands through fear. There is nothing else.”
Marzi recognized the look on Saige’s face. She had seen that look on the elf when they had argued on the beach. The leader of the cliff elves was not convinced. Her face tightened and her color deepened.
After a moment, she relaxed and offered a smile. “Very well. As you wish.” But Marzi could see resentment and cold determination in Saige’s eyes.
Virgil turned to Kharla. “Thank you for the report, and for leading this force. I congratulate you on your victory. I should like to confer with Commander Corhymin regarding our next steps.” With that, he turned toward the medical tent.
As the group dispersed, Marzi couldn’t help but notice Saige staring out across the desert. Whatever was haunting the elf’s mind, the discussion at this gathering had not put it to rest.
Chapter 23: Crystal Sands
Tovi pulled the object from his pack. Holding it with both hands in front of him, he turned it so it could be inspected from different angles. No matter how he looked at it, though, it still seemed to be nothing more than a long piece of encrusted rock. Still, there was something…. The tingling in his hands that moved up his arms puzzled him.
Myhrren had declared it special. He said that Tovi would need it to banish Dredwyn. But the young Azyrean didn’t understand how this crude object could help. He picked at the crust with his fingers, to no avail.
“Whatcha got there, lad?”
Tovi came out of his thoughts to see the human, Mathias, standing over him.
The man knelt down, lightly touching the piece of rock. “Strange looking stone, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I just found it on the ground in a cave. I’m not even sure what it is.”
“Mind if I take a look?” Mathias turned it over and inspected it just as the Azyrean had done. “This is shaped like a dagger. See? It’s long and rounded on one end but seems more pointed on the other.” He took a knife from his belt and picked at the encrusted rock. One piece, about the size of a small pebble, broke away. “Hmmm. I’ll bet we could clean this up for you.”
The thought made Tovi nervous. This was supposed to be something important. Cleaning it up, taking the crust off, might change it. What if the rock was supposed to help him with Dredwyn? “Uh… I don’t know.”
Mathias handed it back to him. “It’s up to you. But we’ve got a weaponsmith that could break that rock off and polish what’s underneath for you. It’s not likely to do you any good in the shape it’s in.” He grinned.
Tovi knew that the man was right. In its current form, it was nothing but a piece of rock, even if it did make his hands tingle. Whatever was important must be beneath the surface. But what if it was the same all the way through? “Maybe we could just take off a little of the crust, you know, to see what’s under it. Not a lot, not all of it. Just to see, okay?”
“Easy enough. Let’s see what we can do.” Mathias stood and beckoned toward a row of tents.
◆◆◆
“Whatever is underneath must be old, ancient. For this kind of crust to form in this area would take centuries. Let’s have a look.” The heavily bearded weaponsmith took a small chisel and hammer from his pouch. He placed the object on a flat piece of rock, positioned the chisel on one of the outer edges, and gave it a gentle tap with the hammer, dislodging several fragments of rock. “Yes, this is going to clean up nicely.”
“Just be careful.” Tovi decided against disclosing the importance of the object.
“Not to worry, my young friend.” The weaponsmith continued his work—position and tap, position and tap. More pieces fell away.
Then Tovi saw it. From the reactions of the other two, they saw it as well. As a piece of rock fell away, a glow emanated from what lay beneath it. The light was milky white yet had swirls of color, mostly purple with some crimson, emerald, and a deep azure blue. “Whoa! What’s that?”
“Can’t say that I rightly know. Never seen anything like it.” The man held the object up, inspecting the glowing surface closely. “Let me chink off a little more and we can get a better look.” Hammer and chisel in hand, he positioned and tapped again. A larger piece and several smaller ones fell away, revealing even more of the glowing surface. “Why that looks like a blade edge, which makes sense. After all, it is shaped like a dagger.”
The chipping continued until the entire object was free of crust. The weaponsmith held it up at eye level. “It’s a dagger for sure, but I’ve never seen one like it.”
The blade extended just longer than the length of Tovi’s open hand with the hilt slightly shorter. The swirling glow of the blade mesmerized the boy. The hilt, while it also glowed with the same light, seemed less intense. He took the weapon from the man. Lighter now with the rock gone, it seemed to fit perfectly in his hand. He felt the energy pulse through his hand and up through his arm into his chest. His mind calmed in a way
that he didn’t understand. It was like he was one with everything, the entire world. He shuddered and set the dagger down without comment.
“Let me get some oil and I’ll polish it up for you.”
Tovi nodded, all the while staring, transfixed, at the weapon.
Mathias put his hand on Tovi’s shoulder. “That’s some dagger you got there.”
The young boy nodded again.
The man’s voice took on a seriousness that Tovi had not heard before. “Listen, lad. There’s something about that weapon. You can’t keep this to yourself.”
The words reassured Tovi. “Yes. I know that. I’m going to take it to Myhrren. He’ll know what to do.” Although, in his heart, he already knew what the old man would say. The dagger would be needed to banish Dredwyn. How that would happen, well, Tovi would know when the time came.
Chapter 24: Ebon Hills
It took only a second for the fear to evaporate. Jarek’s heart leapt when he saw Brother Martin and Brother Daniel step into the circle of light. “You are here! We had no idea how we were going to find you.” Jarek extended his hand in Martin’s direction.
The brother accepted his hand. “What are you doing here? I figured the three of you would be back at the rebel camp.”
Jarek turned and shot a questioning look toward Burns and Ratio before responding. It occurred to him, from Martin’s words, that news of the massacre had not yet reached the brotherhood. “Uh, well….” He stuttered, searching for the right words.
Ratio saved the day. He stepped forward, head bowed. “There was an attack at the camp. Some of the rebels perished. Others escaped. We were hoping we could all work together to find the survivors.”
Martin exploded, “What? My family! You promised that they would be safe.”
Jarek put his hand on the distraught brother’s arm. “Your family was not among the dead. We believe that they escaped with Commander West and a couple of others. I’m sure that they’re fine.”
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