by Peter Plasse
He turned to his left. This cell was empty. Good. At least someone was listening to his orders.
He turned slowly back to his right. Erik was standing about halfway back in his cell. He had deliberately positioned himself between the outsiders and Stephanie, who appeared to be sleeping in the corner.
“So this is the young Prince of Ravenwild,” said Malance. “And do I see someone with him?”
He turned to face the three Troll guards. They were obviously nervous, shifting back and forth from side to side in front of him.
“Yes,” spoke the senior sergeant. “A young girl. We captured her with the Prince. She has not awakened since they were brought in.”
“I see,” said Malance. He turned back to face Erik. “Well, young Prince, since none of these fools has the manners to properly introduce us, I am Leopold Malance Venomisis, Emperor of Slova. You are Erik Fairman, no?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Well, I can see that you have been raised with manners, unlike the swine that is guarding you.” He frowned at the guards, who stood with downcast eyes.
“Now, who is that in there with you?”
“Your Excellency, she is just a friend and inconsequential in the war between our countries. I would consider it a personal favor if you would release her and allow her to return to Belcourt with an escort under a flag of truce. You have my word that she is not in our military, nor in any way associated with our government. She is just a private citizen and, as I have said, my friend.”
“And this would be agreeable to her, waltzing away scot-free and leaving you in the hands of your captors? Is she capable of speaking for herself?”
“Not at the moment, Your Excellency. It is as the sergeant said. She was knocked unconscious, and has been in and out all the way here. Since we arrived she has not awakened. Would it be possible to get her medical attention? I beg you. Please …” His voice was desperate, pleading, as he choked on the final word of his request. “Your Excellency,” he whispered in conclusion.
“Well, well, well,” said Malance. “The young Prince has deep feelings for the girl, and a peasant girl at that. How interesting. Hmmm. All right, it shall be as you wish. Yes, I shall do this for you, and ask for nothing in return. Nothing. Do you find that remarkable? Would you think it possible that I would extend to you, my sworn enemy, the hand of simple kindness? Hmmm?”
Erik paused to think before he answered. It seemed like a loaded question. If he answered, ‘Yes,’ Malance Venomisis might interpret this as him thinking the Emperor weak, and he might go off the deep end, but if he said, ‘No,’ the Emperor might lash out at Stephanie.
“Your Excellency,” he replied, “I have no doubt that a leader that is as fearless and skilled a warrior as yourself might also be willing to show kindness. Thank you for this.”
“You are welcome, young Prince. Is there anything else I can do to make your stay more pleasant? Short of letting you go as well, of course …”
He approached the desk and spoke in a low voice to the guards there. “Have my personal doctor attend to the girl. I want her awakened from this sleep state as soon as possible by whatever means necessary. When she is awake, he will call me at once. At once. Is this clear?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. At once.”
The Emperor turned and walked out of the dungeons with not another word. Due to his size, he required assistance from his attendants to make the stairs back up to the ground floor. Opening the final door, all were breathing heavily, especially the Emperor whose robe was soaked with sweat.
Once their breathing had settled down, Malance Venomisis sent for his personal advisor to join him in his quarters and went there straight away, where he resumed chewing on the succulent Human thigh that he had been enjoying before his visit to the dungeons. He considered having it warmed, but decided it would be as enjoyable cold. Acts of plotting and scheming and games of deception always made him ravenous, and he didn’t want to wait another moment before he stuffed something in his mouth.
Singular Night, Emperor of Vultura by birthright, stood, sword drawn, on a bluff outside the city of Stihl overlooking what promised to be a terrible battle. It was going to be terrible for two reasons: First of all, there was going to be a huge amount of death, and second, almost all of it was going to be on the side of the Gnomes of Vultura. Oddly, he watched the scene in front of him with an air that was almost detached from the horror that was about to be. The Ravenwild forces outnumbered the local Gnome militia of the city of Stihl by no less than a thousand to one, and there was not a chance that any of his fellow Gnomes would survive the onslaught.
“This is going to be bad,” he said to Turman Pandieth.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” said Turman. “This is not going to be fun to watch.”
“No, it is not. And even less so to be a part of.”
Turman grunted in response. He knew that as soon as the fighting started that both he and his Emperor would join the Gnome soldiers of the Stihl Clan militia in front of them, and that they would both die.
It was not that either of them was unwilling to die with their militia, it was that they both knew that not a one of their own had to die at all, at least not now. It was all so pointless. Not to mention that this massacre would doom the entire campaign.
They watched as the Ravenwild army slowly formed ranks, encircling the Gnomes, who huddled together in the center of the valley as the Humans, Elves, and Dwarves surrounded them.
“My Lord,” said a messenger that raced into the clearing in which they stood. From his tone, the Emperor suspected that the Gnome soldier had just the news he wanted to hear.
“Speak,” he said.
The messenger, panting severely from the sprint he had made, gasped, “He … wants to see you. He … has agreed to discuss the whole situation again.”
Singular Night turned to Turman Pandieth, who had held the title of Head of the Palace Elite under the rule of Singular’s father, Hanz Oratorius Night, and said, “Why am I not surprised?”
Turman sheathed his weapon and grunted. “Sometimes even a fool can be reasoned with if you hit him with a big enough stick.”
Chapter 7
It was taking Hemlock longer than a few minutes to return, and Blake and Jessica had slipped into the den to talk away from the children.
“I want to take the kids to Eddie and Kendra’s,” Jessica said. The way she said it left not a lot of room for discussion. “This entire thing is an odyssey into the deranged, and I don’t want them to be a part of it. Everywhere I sniff, I smell danger. I won’t have it.” She crossed her arms for emphasis.
“That’s probably a good idea,” said Blake.
“I’m going to call her,” said Jessica.
“I agree,” said Blake, “but don’t you think we should tell Orie and Jacqueline first? To be honest, I don’t know how they’re going to react but, whatever; I think they deserve to know before we pack them off to Scituate.”
“I thought of that, but then again that gives them room to argue it and, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no room for argument here. We need to go get Stephanie. That’s a done deal. But if something happens to us, at least they’ll be safe.” She leaned forward and put her face in her hands.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“This can't be happening,” she murmured. “It's all too strange.”
“No arguing that,” said Blake. “Let’s go tell Orie and Jacq’ so you can call Kendra.”
They returned to the living room. The two kids were nowhere to be seen, causing their mother to call out their names with a force that rattled the windows. Jacqueline answered, and Jessica slumped into a chair. “Our lives are never going to be the same, are they,” she muttered.
“Well,” said Blake, “never say never. I know things seem pretty turned upside down right now, but we’ve survived some pretty rough stuff so far in this life, and we’ll survive this. I think what we need to do
, as of right now this second, is take a first-things-first strategy. So, you call Kendra, and I’ll talk to Orie and Jacqueline and get them on board with the plan. I wanted to tell them together, but we want to leave for this Ravenwild place the moment that Hemlock shows up, and the sooner we can get it all organized on this end, the sooner we can bug out. I’m sure Kendra would drive down to pick them up. It’s kind of an emergency. They’ll be okay until she gets here.”
Jessica picked up the phone and dialed Kendra’s number, saying, “Go tell the kids.”
“Where’s Orie?” Blake asked.
Jacqueline was sitting on her mother and father’s bed. As usual, several cats surrounded her. The one she was stroking was Cinnamon. The cat was purring contentedly. The rest all looked like they were waiting their turn.
“He’s down by the barn,” she answered. “He thought he saw Hemlock down there nosing around, so he went down to check it out.”
“What do you mean ‘nosing around’?”
“I don’t know, Dad, I didn’t see him. Orie did.”
“That’s weird,” said Blake. “Anyway, look, there’s been a big change of plans. You and Orie are going to go to Tanta Kendra’s until your mother and I get back from wherever we’re going, okay? We think there might be some danger to all of this, and we know you’ll be safe there.”
“Sure, Dad.” She looked quite happy about it. Jacqueline always loved going to Tanta Kendra’s. “But Orie’s not going to like it one bit. No way. Uh-uh.”
“We kind of figured that, but that’s the decision and it’s final.”
“Well, good luck telling him that.”
Blake leaned over and gave her a half-hug, being careful to not disturb the cat. “Which one is this one now?”
“This is Cinnamon. She doesn’t like Hemlock.” She screwed her face up as if to emphasize the point.
“How do you know that?”
“I know. You can tell. It’s the way she acts when he’s around. She’s afraid of him, and Cinnamon isn’t afraid of anybody. She even liked that mean guy that worked on our roof. But Hemlock, no way, she doesn’t trust him. I don’t think you should trust him either, Dad.”
“I see,” said Blake. “Well, between me and you and the lamppost, we don’t trust Hemlock one bit.”
“Do you think he’s telling you the truth? About his people dying off, I mean? About needing you and Mom to go on some sort of crazy mission to save them?”
“Good questions,” said Blake. “The jury is out on those, but for right now your mother and I want to focus on getting Stephanie back, and then we’ll deal with Hemlock, or whoever he turns out to be, when we’re all back together again.”
She set Cinnamon down and picked up another one, a big orange tabby with green eyes and massive paws.
“Now who is this one?” Blake asked, chuckling a bit.
“You know this one is Pumba!” she laughed.
“Well there are so many, it gets confusing!”
Both of them laughed.
Jessica entered. “Where’s Orie?” she asked.
“Jacqueline said he went down by the barn. He says he saw Hemlock down there nosing around.”
Jessica started to walk to the window to call out for him. Jacqueline stopped her with, “Are you going to call him?”
“Yes Honey, I am. You guys are going to stay at Tanta Kendra’s until we get back.”
“I know. Dad already told me. But can I make a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“Let him be right now. I get the feeling he’s trying to spy on Hemlock, you know, to see if he can see if he’s up to something. I mean, why would he be down by the barn when he knows we’re all up here waiting for him?”
Blake and Jessica exchanged anxious glances.
“All right,” Jessica said. “We’ll wait. Meanwhile, are you packed for Tanta Kendra’s?”
“Yup.”
“Good,” said Jessica. “And you know you’ll have to do the stalls until we get back. You’ll have to get Orie to help you. You know how he hates to do the stalls.”
“I know, Mom.” She rolled her eyes, meaning she was perfectly capable of doing the stalls herself.
“All righty then,” said Blake. “Let’s go wait for Orie downstairs. I’m going to make us all something to eat.”
Jacqueline stood and walked to the head of the stairs. Nine cats followed her, nine cats and one dog. The other dog and cats lay asleep on the bed, Bubba snoring lightly.
Blake served up the breakfast to Jessica and Jacq’, a simple but nourishing meal of scrambled eggs and toast. Jacq’ had turned the TV on and was watching a special on the Discovery Channel about dolphins. Jessica had pulled the drapes and was scoping the yard with a pair of binoculars. She looked and looked, and saw absolutely nobody down by the barn. They all started as Orie burst through the back door.
Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but Orie noticed this and put his finger over his lips in the universal “Shhhh,” sign, and flashed Jacqueline their secret sign for danger. He beckoned for them to follow him but, as they started to, Hemlock appeared big as life right in the middle of the kitchen.
“I do apologize for having taken so long,” he offered, seemingly oblivious to their stares. “Something came up. Are we ready to go, then?”
“Yes,” said Jessica. “Blake and I are ready. I called my sister, and she’s on her way down to pick up Orie and Jacqueline. They’re going to be staying with her until we get back.”
“What do you mean, Mom?” Orie cried out. “Forget it! We’re going with you. We’re a family, and we’re all going together! Dad?”
There was a brief silence as Blake thought about the best way to answer his son’s plea.
“I told you he wasn’t going to like it,” Jacqueline interjected. “I knew he wasn’t going to like it.”
“Your mother is right,” said Blake. “If it were not for Jacqueline, it would be different. You are, after all, sixteen.”
“Don’t blame me,” said Jacqueline, around a mouthful of eggs.
“Nobody’s blaming anybody here,” Jessica continued the argument. “But despite everything we know, which isn’t much, this could be dangerous, and if, heaven forbid, anything were to happen to us, then … well …” her voice trailed off as she was unable to take the thought to its logical conclusion.
There was another brief silence.
Hemlock interrupted it. “How soon will it be before Kendra gets here? The reason I ask is we should be on our way as soon as possible.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Jessica. The look on her face was one of dark anger. “Is there a problem?”
Hemlock remained unfazed. He repeated his question.
“An hour,” she snapped. “They’ll be fine until she gets here. Now take us to our daughter. Orie, come give me a hug. You too, Jacq’. Come now. Spit-spot. We have to go get Stephanie. Then we’re coming straight back. And I’ll tell you right now, it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get this family to help you on whatever quest, or journey, or whatever it is you need from us.” Her face was a rock as she finished.
Hugs were exchanged all around by the Strong family while Hemlock wisely moved back to give them their space.
Orie, none too pleased with the unilateral decision to be excluded from the adventure, nevertheless kept quiet about his displeasure. “A little too quiet,” thought Jessica, as she strapped on all manner of weapons and survival gear.
“Wow, Mom, Dad, I can't remember the last time I saw you both wearing your swords at the same time,” said Orie. “You look wicked cool.”
“Are we ready?” asked Hemlock.
Blake and Jessica nodded. The face of each was a mask of non-emotion. Jessica barely got out, “I love you,” when they were gone.
“C’mon Jacqueline,” said Orie. The tone of his voice was urgent. “Follow me.” He raced down the stairs and mounted his bike. Jacqueline did the same.
Quietly, he sai
d, “Let’s go. Stay close to me. Keep your eyes peeled for anyone or anything that’s normally not here.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Exactly what I said. Stay as close to me as you can, and watch out for anybody. If you see somebody, tell me immediately. Immediately. Or anything strange.”
“How will I know if I see something strange? What am I looking for?”
Orie shoved off and called back, “Trust me, you’ll know it if you see it.”
They raced down the driveway at warp speed and squealed to a halt in front of the barn. Orie threw his bike down and ran up inside. He grabbed two fishing poles and a net, and raced back to his bike.
“Hey, if we’re going fishing, I have to turn the horses out first,” said Jacqueline. He leaned over to her and whispered in her ear. “We’re not going fishing. Do what I said, and follow me. We’ll be right back. The horses can wait.”
Off they pedaled up the driveway. Getting to the first rise, they took off down a walking trail that belonged to their neighbor, Ron, in the direction of his ponds, with Jacqueline grilling him all the way about what they were doing and why.
In a few minutes they were at the edge of a field. It was about fifty yards across. Behind it was a patch of woods about 30 feet deep, beyond which the land jutted straight upwards in a series of cliffs and overhangs for about 450 feet. It was on these cliffs that Orie had learned to rappel. He had stopped shy of the near edge of the field where they still had the cover of the woods. He hauled his bike up and off the trail, into the trees and bramble, squatting down low. Jacqueline followed suit. She opened her mouth to speak, but he put his finger to his lips and flashed her the danger sign. He leaned in and whispered, “See those pumpkins?”
