Final Voyage of the Remora

by Richard S. Tuttle

  Unwilling to proceed further in the dark, Kalina cast a spell on her ring. She kept the intensity of the light low, but it was bright enough to see that if she had kept moving farther into the room, she would have fallen through a hole in the floor. She inhaled deeply and gazed around to get her bearings. As she increased the intensity of the light a bit, she noticed that she seemed to be on a balcony of some type and near an intersection of it, as if a courtyard might have existed down below. Part of the balcony had been torn off where the sand flowed over the edge, but whatever she was in was too massive for her little light to illuminate.

  Kalina edged along the balcony looking for another door on the right so she could spy on the thief. When she finally reached one, there was no light coming from underneath it, and it was probably too far along the balcony to be the same room anyway. She sighed with frustration and then put her ear to the door. There was no sound coming from beyond the door so she eased it open. To her amazement, the door slid smoothly, and she stepped inside the room. Easing the door shut, she brightened her ring some more and looked around.

  The room was a sitting room and comfortable furniture still occupied it. There were two other doors leading off the room. She opened the door on her left and saw a bedroom. The blankets on the bed were in disarray, but she was amazed at the preservation of a room that had been buried for twenty years. Moving back into the sitting room, Kalina decided to try the third door. She eased it open cautiously and peeked out. The light from her ring showed that it was a corridor. Wondering if she would be able to see into the thief's room from the corridor, Kalina doused her ring and slid into the hallway. She walked silently, one small step at a time towards the next doorway. She saw a small sliver of light showing under the door. She stopped and frowned with the knowledge that the door to the next room was closed, and she would not be able to spy on the thief. Kalina decided to retreat the way she had come, but the door before her suddenly opened, spilling light into the corridor. The elf walked into the corridor holding a torch and stared at Kalina in surprise.

  Chapter 37

  Questioning Thief

  The elven thief stared at Kalina in surprise, and while Kalina was also surprised, she was not unprepared.

  "I thought I heard noises coming from the next room," stated Kalina as she kept both her magical and physical shields firmly in place. "Who are you?"

  "Who am I?" echoed the thief. "Who are you?"

  "I asked first," smiled Kalina.

  "So you did," frowned the elf as he cautiously approached the woman. "I am called Morro. I am the one who discovered Aranak. Now, who are you?"

  "I am known as Kalina," she answered as she watched his eyes for any sign of recognition. "Is that what this place is? The lost city of Aranak?"

  "You didn't know?" the thief asked skeptically.

  "No," Kalina replied. "The sun was brutally hot outside in the desert. The darkness down here looked cool and inviting. I was pleasantly surprised to find accommodations, but I didn't realize that other people came here."

  "Are you alone?" Morro asked anxiously.

  "I am," nodded Kalina. "You?"

  "Yes. What were you doing out in the desert?" asked Morro.

  "I was trying to locate someone," replied Kalina. "I thought that someone trying to reach the horse countries might use the desert to avoid the Forest of Death."

  "It has been tried before," Morro nodded as he appeared to relax a bit, "but it is not advisable. The Sands of Eternity are endless, at least for all practical purposes. Whoever you were following will never make it alive."

  "I have made it this far," Kalina pointed out, "and so have you. Perhaps it is possible."

  "Aranak still has a useable well," declared Morro. "It is the only place I have found in the desert that has water."

  "You have water?" brightened Kalina. "Enough to share?"

  "There is plenty," Morro responded. "Come, and I will share some with you."

  Kalina smiled and followed the elf back to his room. She was surprised to see that the door led to the very room with the hole in the ceiling and the huge pile of sand filling most of the room. She had not been able to see the door when she entered from above. Morro led her around the mound of sand and into the lighted room. It was a bedroom much like the one she had discovered next door, but Morro had made improvements over time. There was a bookshelf with books upon it and a large supply of candles on the floor next to it. Two packs rested on the bed. Kalina recognized one as the one stolen from Tedi's room and figured the other held whatever the elf wanted to carry from the city. Standing in the corner of the room was Tedi's black staff.

  "Here," said Morro as he offered a cup of water to Kalina.

  "Thank you, Morro," she smiled. "I see that you have books in your room. There are none in mine."

  "I like to come here to read at times," declared the thief. "It is a place where I can depend on the privacy."

  "I am sorry to intrude," Kalina frowned as she moved to hand the cup of water back.

  "Oh no," Morro quickly apologized. "I did not mean it in that way. In the city I seldom have time to read, yet there is so much I want to learn."

  Kalina walked curiously to the bookshelf and perused the titles. She raised an eyebrow in surprise.

  "You seem to be rather interested in the history of the elves," she commented.

  "Among other things," Morro replied with hesitancy. "How is it that you bypassed this room when you arrived?"

  "I never saw it," replied Kalina. "I came down that big pile of sand in the dark and sort of slid to a different door. It opened onto a small balcony of some type. I followed it to the right until I came to the first door I found, and that must be the next set of rooms."

  "You should avoid that balcony," warned Morro. "It is unsafe. If you need to go down into the city, there are stairways off the corridor where we met."

  "Down into the city?" Kalina questioned with genuine surprise.

  "Oh yes," grinned Morro. "There is a great deal of the city accessible. Of course it is hard to navigate as most of the streets are filled with sand, but the roofs of the buildings held out much of it. This inn must have been a grand place in its day. It has an indoor well that is still functional. That is where I get the water."

  "Amazing," Kalina replied. "I would love to see it."

  "I assume that you will be pressing onward in pursuit of your quest when the sun begins its decline," shrugged Morro, "otherwise I could show it to you in a day or two."

  "I have no schedule," Kalina replied casually. "Why can't you show it to me today?"

  "No," Morro replied much too quickly. He stared at the floor for a moment as if composing himself before continuing. "I must stay near my horse for today and tomorrow. I never go off exploring the first two days."

  "So you are planning on staying here for some time then?" asked Kalina.

  "For some time," Morro replied evasively as he walked over to the bookshelf and bent down to pick up several candles. "You will need these for light in your room," the thief smiled. "Do not let them burn more than necessary. I am not sure if it is possible to consume all the air down here, but I usually stay in this room near the entrance so that my candles have no effect on the rest of the city."

  "Surely there must be air below," mused Kalina.

  "There is," agreed Morro, "but I know of no other opening than the one we entered, so I tend to be overcautious. In my travels below the air feels heavy and old."

  "Well," replied Kalina, "it is like a tomb of sorts. Are there still bodies below?"

  "Not that I have found," answered Morro. "I presume those who were not immediately buried found their way out into the desert. Of course, they may have perished once they were outside. I do know that some of the survivors founded the city of Olansk. Are you familiar with it?"

  "I have been there before," nodded Kalina.

  "So that must be where you came from," smiled Morro. "Have you been down here long?"

  "I didn
't say that I had come from Olansk directly," corrected Kalina. "I actually came here from the Aranak Road if you must know."

  "Which originates in Olansk," grinned Morro. "You go to great lengths not to lie to me, yet you are eager to hide the truth. Why is that?"

  "You have a rather suspicious manner," frowned Kalina. "Perhaps I should just leave you to your books."

  "Thieves are suspicious by nature," retorted the elf.

  "You are a thief?" Kalina acted surprised.

  "Again," chuckled Morro. "Your question feigns ignorance of my profession, but your lips refuse to utter a falsehood."

  Kalina glared at the elf, but Morro merely smiled in return.

  "You would have me believe that you were here when I arrived," Morro eventually said. "Yet your footprints in the next room obliterated my own. Are you merely distracting me to allow time for the rest of your party to arrive?"

  Kalina knew that she had made a serious mistake, but she refused to answer the question. She pondered why the elf was toying with her when he obviously suspected who she was from the very first moment.

  "And why are you here so soon before the rest of them?" Morro continued. "I was not followed. Of that I am sure. So how did you get here so quickly?"

  "You seem to have all the answers," shrugged Kalina. "Why don't you tell me?"

  "It is obvious," he smiled. "You have some capability of moving much faster than they do. It is probably a magical ability similar to my own, but I am curious about it."

  "You have magical abilities?" asked Kalina.

  "Why do you think Cracker calls me Speedy?" laughed Morro. "But again, you are being coy because you are not sure how much I know about you. Let me be blunt."

  "Please do," urged Kalina.

  "Garth, Tedi, and Natia are already on their way here," he began, "but you were afraid that I would disappear before they could arrive. So you used your speed ability to catch up to me and find my lair. How am I doing so far?"

  Kalina tried to hide her emotions, but she truly was amazed that the thief had put so much together.

  "You probably told Cracker that you are after me because I have your bag of trinkets," Morro continued, "but the staff is really what is important to you. For some reason, Tedi requires it. Why is that? What is so important about a staff?

  "It has sentimental value," sighed Kalina.

  "It means more than that to him," Morro shook his head, "although I am sure that your words are not a lie. No one would bring such a staff across the seas on a secret mission just for mere sentimentality."

  Kalina's eyes grew wide and she stiffened in preparation of defending herself.

  "Relax," smiled Morro. "I mean no danger to you. Have you ever stopped to wonder why an accomplished thief would steal a staff?"

  Kalina relaxed a bit, but her brow creased heavily. The truth was, none of them had stopped to question the choice of items the thief stole. It was obvious that Morro knew much more about them than they knew about him.

  "Why did you steal it?" she asked.

  "To get you out here," answered the elven thief. "I wanted the five of us to be able to talk without anyone knowing about it."

  "The whole city of Olansk probably knows that we are tracking you now," argued Kalina. "How did that accomplish your mission?"

  "I have a certain reputation within the community of thieves," grinned Morro. "I never get caught, and when I return to Cracker, I will tell him that I eluded you once again."

  "But Tedi will have his staff," Kalina stated adamantly. "And he will have it before this is over," she stressed.

  "No need for threats," cautioned Morro. "You may take the belongings and leave now if you wish, but it would be such a waste of all the planning I have done. As for those in Olansk, I will tell them that I tossed the staff when I fled the city. After all, everyone believes that the figurines are the real treasure. I made sure of that."

  "You have done some planning," Kalina grudgingly agreed, "but to what end? How do you know about us?"

  "I am a thief," declared Morro. "It is my job to be aware of things. Knowledge presents opportunities, and I am always looking for opportunities."

  "Specifically," demanded Kalina.

  "Notices have gone out all over Zara for your apprehension," replied Morro. "The Federation is looking for two women, three elves, and half a dozen men that have arrived by ship. Just recently a new bulletin was circulated to all of the garrisons. It says that the three elves were detected in Elfwoods, but were rescued by four human males. What does that leave still unaccounted for?"

  "So you are looking for two couples," shrugged Kalina. "There are many people who can fill that bill."

  "True," agreed Morro, "but how many of them would make war with an army of thieves to recover some trinkets?"

  "So you steal from all the couples who come through town in the hopes of earning a large fee from the Federation?" asked Kalina.

  "I steal from everyone who comes through town," laughed Morro. "I am a thief, but I do not let myself be seen by most."

  "Oh?" balked Kalina. "And you purposely exposed yourself to us I suppose?"

  "Indeed I did," nodded Morro. "I purposely passed through the common room to let you see me carrying off your goods. After finding the trap door in the inn across the alleys, did you really think there was not one in the Aranak Dunes as well? I could easily have stolen your things without notice, but that would not have allowed you the opportunity to pursue me."

  "Alright," conceded Kalina, "but how does that tell you that we might be the people you are searching for?"

  "It doesn't for sure," replied Morro. "One thing that gave me hope was your initial refusal to notify the army about the theft. Certainly aliens would wish to remain distant from the authorities. The second bit of hope was the impressive array of weaponry your group carries, but still I was not sure. I had to let the situation progress further before I could be sure."

  "And now you are?" asked Kalina.

  "The fact that you are here proves it," nodded Morro.

  "How so?" asked Kalina.

  "Olansk may be a small city," replied Morro, "but Cracker runs a decent outfit. You would have to have gotten to him to learn where I had gone. Now, the way I see it, if I was going to send a dozen spies behind enemy lines, they would have to be among my best, and that is precisely the type of warriors needed to get to where you are standing right now."

  "You seem to have everything figured out," Kalina said dryly. "What now?"

  "We wait for the others," answered the elf. "Once we are all together, we can talk and find out what we all have in common."

  "In common?" frowned Kalina. "In what way?"

  "We all wish the defeat of the Federation," answered Morro. "The real question is how we can help each other to achieve our goals."

  "You seek to learn our plans?" inquired Kalina. "I doubt that Garth is willing to share that information with anyone. Pardon me for being skeptical, but I do not see your actions as a thief being detrimental to the longevity of the Federation. In fact, your actions probably add to the misery of the common man. I would be more inclined to think that you wish to sell your information to the highest bidder, which would no doubt be the emperor."

  Morro fell silent. He sat on the bed and stared at the floor for a long time as if pondering how to proceed. Finally, he sighed heavily and nodded.

  "I had not planned on your strong skepticism," he admitted softly, "but I can understand it. Suppose we talk of less important things while we wait for the others to arrive?"

  "Such as?" asked Kalina.

  "You have noticed my interest in the history of elves," Morro replied. "In the land of my forefathers there were no humans, yet it appears that you have come from this same land across the sea, and there are humans and elves living together. I am greatly curious about the land that you come from. Tell me about it."

  Kalina hesitated, wondering whether it was safe to divulge any information about Alcea to a Zaran, and a Zar
an is what she considered Morro to be, for even though he was Dielderal, he lived among the humans and acted like them. Eventually she decided that she would divulge nothing strategic by discussing only the history of the elven race.

  "I can tell you of the history of your people," offered Kalina.

  "Nothing would please me more," smiled Morro.

  For hours the two sat on the bed as Kalina retold the history of the elves from the time of King Elisar and his three sons. She explained how Prince Geltim passed through a Junction and raised his tribe in a new world. She told the stories of how Prince Gordana split from the Elderal and created the Dielderal, and how Sorel, son of Prince Alderon, later split from the Elderal to create the tribe of Sorelderal. Morro showed that he was keenly interested in the topic and the discussion was quite interactive. Eventually, Morro yawned.

  "I am sorry," he apologized. "I rode through the night to get here quickly. My need for sleep has finally caught up to me. I hope you will excuse me and wake me when the rest of your people arrive?"

  "What makes you think they will arrive here?" posed Kalina. "You talk about luring us all out here and yet this place would never have been found if I hadn't hurried to catch you entering it."

  "I would have gone out into the desert again tomorrow," answered the thief. "I always travel quickly when I come here as I do not want others to know of its location."

  "Yet you told Cracker about it," Kalina pointed out.

  "I did," nodded Morro. "How else would you have known where to look for me? I can understand your hesitancy in trusting me, but you will just have to. As for Garth and the others finding Aranak, perhaps you can use this time to guide them here, but keep a careful watch for others. The secrecy of this place must be maintained. Promise me that you will do everything in your power to keep it secret."

  "I cannot leave here without the staff," retorted Kalina. "You might decide to slip away, and I cannot take that chance."

  "Take the staff with you," urged Morro. "It has no value to me. It was merely a prop to ensure your pursuit. You can even borrow my horse if you need to, but I must have it back. Aranak is too far for one to walk out of the desert."