by Victor Kloss
Natalie to her credit remained calm, staring at the dark elf in a way that was similar to how Ben would look at the underside of his shoe, when he had stepped on something that smelled particularly bad.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Please move aside or my guards here will make you.”
The small dark elf barked a derisive laugh. “Oh they will, will they?” He looked at Ben and the others scornfully. “I assume you are new here, so I’ll give you one more chance. There is a basic tax anyone passing through here pays, or they don’t pass through. There is a special bonus for anyone who tries to skip payment: they never leave.”
The two larger dark elves to his sides moved forwards, purple energy starting to seep out of their fingers. One loosened a sword in its scabbard. Violence was moments away when Natalie nodded her head and reached into her purse, bringing out one emerald coin with Suktar’s face on it. She flipped it end over end to the ugly little dark elf. “That should be enough.”
He grabbed it out of the air and pulled out of his dirty overcoat a small looking-glass. Squinting through it he briefly verified the coin, licking his lips in a way that made Ben feel like throwing up there and then.
With a flick of his hand he indicating to his thugs to back off. “Okay, you may pass. Thank you so much for your patronage.” He gave a mocking bow and they all backed up.
Keeping an eye on them Ben and his friends passed by, walking rapidly but slowly enough so it didn’t look like they were afraid.
After passing through a few alleyways Ben moved up to Natalie. “I’m not sure that was a great idea to give them an emerald coin. Did you see the look of greed in that creature’s eyes?”
Natalie frowned. “I know, but I had to gamble. They might be following us now, but the other option was definitely going to be a confrontation, and that would have undoubtedly blown our disguise.”
They walked through a few more alleys and paths, trying to find anywhere that had food. It was getting darker now, and harder to keep their bearings. Finally Charlie smelled something and took them down a path to the right. Sure enough they came to a dingy looking inn.
It didn’t take long to get a seat and order their food, as the place was quite empty.
They managed to get a table far enough away from the entry so they could keep an eye on anyone who came in.
While tucking into some sort of dark meat and stringy vegetables, Ben and Joshua kept an eye on the door. Natalie found out from the young dark elf girl serving them that there were still a few shops close by that would still be open if they wanted supplies.
“I know it’s dark already, but I think the quicker we get out of this place the better. It doesn’t seem like the friendliest place in the world, and I’m not sure who ‘his Lordship’ is.”
Ben nodded in agreement. “I was thinking the same thing. I’d rather be out at night than be here for any length of time.”
The food was strange but filling, and they washed it down with some bitter tasting local drink that Natalie said was common in Erellia.
Loosening their spellshooters in their holsters they followed the directions the girl had given them to the nearest shop. It didn’t take long to get there but to Ben’s disappointment it was closed.
He turned to Joshua who had written down a few notes of the area.
“How close is the next one?”
Joshua pulled out his scribbles and tried to decipher his own writing. “Looks like a ten minute walk from what I understood.”
They moved off again, quicker this time, feeling the pressure of being out in a dark elven town on their own.
It was in a particularly dark narrow alleyway that it happened. He heard a grunt of surprise from behind him, and Ben immediately went to grab his spellshooter. Before he could pull it free, something shot out of the darkness and wrapped around his hand and holster, sticking them together. He tried to yank his hand free, but it just stuck harder. Backing up fast, he bumped into Joshua, who had also been trapped. They tried to turn around and run but found that they were surrounded. Before Ben or the others could so much as yelp, four large dark elves had grabbed them and hauled them back down that alley and then through a small, barely visible door set in a brick wall. The world went dark as they quickly and roughly frisked Ben and his friends, removing their packs.
Unsurprisingly the small ugly dark elf turned up, swaggering through his fellow grimy friends.
“I have to say, I really didn’t think you would be stupid enough to come back out here tonight, but hey, I’m not going to complain.” He went straight to Natalie and personally relieved her of her purse. “I’ll take that darling.” He smiled and brushed her cheek with his rough fingers.
Ben then heard a shout from one of the others, and saw that they had discovered Joshua’s spellshooter.
Ugly-face turned back to Natalie with a mixture of anger and alarm in his eyes. “What is this?” Moving quickly he confirmed what he now obviously expected — they all had spellshooters.
In his own tongue he rapidly gave commands to his brutish fellows and their hands were double secured away from the shooters, which were then cut away while still holstered and put in a bag.
He went back to Natalie and grabbed her arm a bit roughly this time, all pretence of friendliness gone. “Change of plan: you are coming with us, straight to his Lordship.
The four friends were roughly tied together and then marched down through the endless winding paths and alleys. Ben was quickly lost after the tenth turning they took. Finally they were dragged down a narrow flight of stairs and through a twisty set of corridors. By the time Ben was thinking he should try for the sword, which again had somehow remained hidden, they had already come to a stop and he found himself standing in a tight, narrow room. There was barely space for himself, let alone his friends, the two bodyguards, a long wooden desk — and the lanky dark elf seated behind it, studying the four of them intently.
“Now tell me,” the elf started, lounging back in his chair with his feet up on the desk and his hands steepled in front of him. “What are three human boys and one half-elf girl doing here in my city, hmm? Especially carrying Institute-issue spellshooters!” Ben felt a shock run through his body; he hadn’t registered that their disguise had worn off, as they had been moving in almost near darkness. The dark elf who was apparently in charge tapped his forefingers against his long, pointed chin and let loose a cackle. “Someone is a long way from home.”
Ben struggled to pull free from the dark elf holding his arm, to no effect. “Who are you and what do you want with us?” he demanded anyway.
“Who am I?” Their host looked surprised and even a little offended. “Why, I am the Lord of the Underworld,” he declared. “And as to what I want with you — well, that remains to be seen.” He nodded at his two bullies. “Toss them in the cellar,” he instructed. “I’ll retrieve you once I’ve figured out how to put you to use,” he warned Ben. “Till then, enjoy your night.”
For the second time since this war had begun, Ben found himself being led away to a cell. At least this time it wasn’t by his own people, he thought, but he still wasn’t sure there was much he could do about it. As he looked across at Natalie, Ben was painfully aware she wouldn’t be sneaking in to save them this time.
— Chapter Twenty-Four —
A Bit of Luck
“Well, this is fun,” Charlie declared. He was perched on a large wooden box and swinging his legs so that his heels kept slamming into the side. “I’m sure wherever Suktar is he’s having a good old laugh at this: the mighty Guardians, trapped in a cellar by a small-town crook!”
“Not our finest moment, sure,” Ben had to agree.
He was pacing in front of the heavy ironbound door, which except for a tiny grating-covered window off to the side and a drain in the floor was the only way in or out of this large, low-ceilinged space they’d been escorted to. He had tried the door the minute it was shut, of course, but it was extremely solid, a
s were its heavy iron hinges and its equally heavy lock. Without his spellshooter there wasn’t much Ben could do about either. Still, he refused to give up.
“We’ll think of something,” he insisted. At least there was light, courtesy of the full moon outside. The window was small and high up, but it let in enough illumination for them to see.
“You’ve still got the sword, haven’t you?” Josh asked.
Ben nodded and patted the scabbarded blade at his side.
“And I’ve got the shield. Maybe we can just wait for them to give us food and then rush them? There’re four of us, after all.”
“Four of us and at least two of them, with the ‘them’ in question being twice our size,” Charlie countered. “And we don’t have any magic, while they can blast us at will.” He shook his head. “Not exactly great odds.”
Ben sighed. “No, it isn’t,” he agreed. “Besides,” he reminded Josh, “you know it doesn’t work like that. These artefacts may be incredibly powerful against Suktar and his soldiers, but otherwise they don’t seem to be much more than good weapons. Remember, they have minds of their own, and they agreed to help us against Suktar, not some street thugs we were dumb enough to get grabbed by.”
Natalie frowned. “So, what, we just sit here waiting to be rescued? Or used, or sold, or whatever?” She had been sitting as well. This room was clearly an actual cellar, filled with various boxes, bags and barrels. “Well, I’m not going to do that,” she said hopping to her feet. “We’re going to get out of here and finish our quest!”
Ben had been thinking the same thing, but hadn’t come up with any good ideas. “Did you have a way to manage that, exactly?” He tried not to let it bother him when she shook her head.
“No, but maybe there’s something here that can help,” Natalie suggested, waving a hand at the clutter. “We should look around, take stock, see if there’s anything we can use.”
Charlie stopped his banging. “Yeah, that’s smart,” he admitted, clambering down off his own seat. He turned and pried at the lid he’d been perched on, finally managing to pull it up enough to peer inside. When he glanced up again, he was grinning. “Apples!” he declared, reaching in and pulling out a handsome red apple, and then taking a big, juicy bite. “So at least we won’t starve!” Still happily munching, he extracted three more apples and shared them around.
Ben grunted. Leave it to Charlie to completely get over a dire circumstance just because they’d found some food. He didn’t turn down the apple, however.
After rummaging for an hour, they agreed to take a break and recap what they had found.
“So we’ve got plenty of food,” Ben summarised.
Thus far they’d managed to find not only apples but also potatoes, melons, bananas, dried peas, carrots, peanuts, hard cheese, some sort of flatbread, and even dried fish. There was also a large barrel of weak beer and a much smaller one of potent wine. Far more useful to them was the open barrel situated by that small window, with a pipe leading from one to the other. The barrel was full of water, presumably from whenever it rained. It smelled a little musty and metallic, but they’d sampled it and found it drinkable.
“And we have a few random supplies, too.”
There were nails and rope, and a bolt of canvas, plus a box full of small, rough wooden blocks that Ben was sure would have some use somewhere.
“What we don’t have are spells or spellshooters, or any weapons beyond the sword and shield.” There had been a hammer tucked away on a shelf, but it was so old and worn Ben suspected it would shatter if it was used against anything.
“We don’t have a way out of here, either,” Josh added. “So even if we could fight our way free, we’re still trapped in this cellar.”
Charlie was thinking. “Maybe we can yank the bars out of that grating,” he suggested, pointing towards the window. “Then we can try to squeeze through.” He looked down at his own stomach. “Well, Natalie could, anyway.”
She nodded seriously. “If I could get through there, I might be able to go get help,” she offered. “Find Dagmar, Krobeg and Abigail, at least.”
They brightened a little at that idea. Krobeg alone would probably make short work of this so-called Lord of the Underworld and his thugs. But after a second’s consideration Ben shook his head.
“We don’t even know if they’re here in the city,” he reminded them. “And even if they are, how would you find them? Or us, if we got moved after that? No, it’s better if we stick together.”
No one objected to that. The idea of splitting their little group still further wasn’t appealing to anyone.
“We’ll think of something,” he said finally, seeing that the others were beginning to look dejected again. “We’ve got food and water now, and space to stretch out, and we don’t have to worry about getting jumped by monsters in the middle of the night, so I suggest we all get some rest. Let’s see how things look in the morning.”
The others agreed and they rose to their feet, finding spots that would work for beds and arranging what sacks and bags they could find. Eventually everyone was nestled down to one degree or another, and Ben closed his eyes, wondering if he’d be able to sleep at all after this.
He was asleep almost before he’d finished that thought.
*
“Pssst!”
The hiss woke Ben, and he started, leaping to his feet and grabbing for the sword even before he’d managed to pry his eyes open.
“Ben!”
Glancing wildly about, he squinted and tried to see who was calling him. “Hello?” he said. “Who’s there?” The door was still shut and he didn’t see anyone else in the room but him and his friends.
The voice persisted, however. And now it was starting to become familiar. “It’s me,” it answered, and he could now tell that it belonged to a young girl. A certain young girl in particular. “Abigail.”
“Abigail!” Ben’s shout woke the other three, who jumped up and looked around. “Where are you?”
“We’re nearby,” she promised, and he realised that he was only hearing her in his head. “And we’re almost there. Are you guys okay?”
“Fine, we’re fine,” he answered, lowering the sword and blinking to clear the sleep from his eyes. “You?”
“Yes,” she replied, though something in her tone told Ben that she was hiding something from him. “Where are you, exactly? I can see you, but not well. It’s really dark?”
“We’re in a basement,” he told her. “So, yeah, not a lot of light. There’s one door, and one small window to the outside. It’s not big enough for us to get through, and it has a grating anyway.”
“Okay, I’ve got you now.” Her voice had become clearer and clearer with each passing second. “We’re outside the building. I’m sensing a handful of dark elves inside. Who are they?”
Ben knew what she was really asking. “They’re just crooks,” he assured her. “They found us and grabbed us, and now they’re trying to figure out what to do with us. They took our spellshooters, packs and cloaks. Not the artefacts, though.”
“Right. Don’t worry, we’ll get it all back.” She went silent for a second, then added, “Be ready.”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asked. They crowded around him.
“Grab what food you can,” Ben replied. “They’re coming to get us.”
Everyone launched into action, snatching up empty sacks and filling them with food. They’d just regrouped with their bounty when a loud, heavy knocking came from the door. It repeated again, and then again, louder each time.
Then the lock snapped with a horrible clang and the door flew inwards, slamming against the wall.
Krobeg stood in the now-open doorway. “Got you!” he declared, stomping in and administering hearty backslaps and handshakes. “Ready? Let’s get out of here!” And, after turning, he led the way back out.
Ben and the others followed. As they climbed the stairs out of the basement, they passed one, then another dark elf. E
ach was unconscious.
On the ground floor they had to step over several more. Each one looked to have been punched or battered, or in a few cases clubbed with something large, like a heavy silver axe. The dwarf had clearly been busy. Ben couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry for the fallen dark elves. They might not be part of Suktar’s army, but they were criminals and they had kidnapped him and his friends.
Abigail and Dagmar were waiting just inside the front door. Dagmar had everyone’s cloaks and spellshooters, which she quickly handed out. But Ben’s eyes were glued to Abigail and the silver helm she was openly wearing.
He knew at once what that meant, and why she had sounded alarmed when she contacted him.
“You can take it off now,” he told her, and she did so quickly, giving him a grateful glance. “Any problems?”
“Not like that,” she promised, shaking her head. “But I think someone noticed I was here. We need to go.”
“Absolutely.” Ben did a quick headcount. All of them were there, and they had everything they’d come in with, plus the food they were liberating. “Okay, we’re out of here!” he declared, and the others grinned as they followed him to the front door.
Once out on the street, Ben turned to Dagmar. “Fastest way out of this city?” he asked, and the stocky teacher turned and pointed. “Lead the way,” he replied, and she quickly did so, stepping out in front and guiding them down the street and through a series of twists and turns. Krobeg was bringing up the rear to protect them in case anyone gave chase, and Ben fell back a step beside Abigail.
“Thanks,” he told her.
She nodded, brushing a blonde strand out of her face. “We got here this morning,” she explained as they walked quickly, “and figured you’d turn up soon, too. But you didn’t, and we started getting worried.” A frown creased her pretty features. “Then I got the worst feeling. I just knew something was wrong and that it had to do with you and the others. But we didn’t know what or where or who.” The frown deepened, and she looked away. “I didn’t want to use the helm. I’m sorry, but we didn’t see any other way.”
