"King Arik doesn't let just anybody go on missions for him," the local declared loudly. "If he don't carry a sword, he ought to be pretty good with that bow of his. I say if he can hit the coin, we get old man Panas out of bed."
"And if he don't hit it?" asked another local.
Karl did not wait for an answer. His bow had been strung since leaving the elves. Before anyone in the room could move, Karl grabbed an arrow from his quiver and nocked it. He swiveled and fired before the man who had placed the coin had a chance to move back to his friends. The arrow streaked across the room and slammed into the wall above the fireplace. The copper coin flew from the impact of the arrow and sailed into the air after glancing off the head of the local who had set it down.
"I'll get Panas," offered the innkeeper as the local held his hand over the bruise on his head. "I'll be right back. Someone get the stranger an ale."
The innkeeper raced out the rear door of the inn while one of the locals got a mug of ale for Karl. The hunter's limbs began to quake from the tension as the locals continued to stare at him warily. Seeking to hide his fear, Karl moved to the closest table and sat down. He sat with his back to the locals, figuring that if they rushed him, he would be a goner anyway. At least he didn't have to watch them staring at him.
"Heck of a shot," one of the locals said reverently as he placed Karl's arrow on the table. "You didn't even take time to aim. Where did you learn to shoot like that?"
"The elves taught me," Karl answered softly.
"Elves?" spat one of the locals. "We don't care much for elves around here. The elves murdered the whole town of Hega not long ago. Only one man survived, and he has an army hunting the elves."
"No man survived," Karl replied as if in a trance. "Only a woman survived."
The rear door of the inn opened, and a group of men flowed into the common room. Karl didn't notice. He was staring blankly at the arrow on the table before him as his mind suddenly drifted to his wife.
"A man did survive," argued one of the locals. "His name was Karl something."
"Karl Gree," the hunter responded mechanically, "but I wasn't in the town when the dark elves struck. The only one who survived was my wife."
"He is Karl Gree," declared one of the newcomers. "I served under him until King Arik ordered us to disband."
"So you are on a mission from the king?" asked a portly bald man that the others deferred to.
"I am," Karl nodded as he looked up at the old man. "Are you Mayor Panas?"
"I am," answered the man as he waved for the locals to relax. "What is so urgent that it cannot wait until morning?"
Karl shook his head and seemed to come out of his stupor. He stood and looked at the men gathered in the common room. He turned to the innkeeper and ordered him to lock the doors. The innkeeper complied immediately as everyone else waited in silence. When the doors were locked, Karl locked eyes with the mayor and spoke.
"I have dwelt on how to say this for hours," Karl began, "but there is no easy way to break this news. I must have your word that no one will leave this room until we are done talking, Mayor Panas."
The mayor gazed around the room and nodded as he recognized everyone present. Panas declared his agreement.
"What happened to Hega is about to happen to Dani," Karl announced.
Gasps rippled through the audience, but Karl raised his hand to halt the chatter.
"The dark elves have Dani surrounded," Karl continued. "Any attempt to leave will result in a massacre."
"We'll be massacred if we don't leave," the mayor pointed out. "We are no match for an army of elves."
"How did you get in?" asked one of the locals.
"I rode in," answered Karl. "The Dielderal had no reason to stop me as they plan on killing everyone in the morning."
"We can't leave, and we can't stay," commented the innkeeper. "What are we supposed to do? Hide?"
"Yes," Karl nodded exaggeratedly. "That is exactly what I want you to do. I want everyone in the town to move to the center and seek shelter in a strong building."
"There is a stone temple in the center of town," frowned the mayor, "but what good will hiding do? The elves burned Hega to the ground."
"The Dielderal elves burned Hega," corrected Karl. "Never confuse the Dielderal elves with the elves of Elderal. I made that mistake once, but now I know better."
"It matters little at the moment," scowled the innkeeper. "Are we to die with a smile on our faces because there are good elves somewhere in the world?"
"Actually," Karl smiled thinly, "it matters a great deal. The elves of Elderal are going to save your lives in the morning. It would be in poor taste to think ill of them."
"Elves will save us?" frowned the mayor. "How?"
"Prince Garong of Elderal and his warriors are not far away," explained Karl. "He is the Knight of Alcea that I spoke about before. Before this night is over, the elves of Elderal will sneak into Dani. They will take up positions in your homes while the citizens of Dani hide in the temple. When the Dielderal attack in the morning, the Elderal will defend Dani."
"How will the good elves get into the town without the bad elves knowing about it?" asked Mayor Panas.
"They are already on their way," answered Karl. "They will leave their horses in the forest with a small group to protect them. As soon as the moon has left the sky, they will crawl into the town. We must be ready for them when they arrive."
The man who had briefly served in Karl's army approached the hunter. "Are you sure about this, Karl?" he asked. "Can we trust the good elves?"
"With our lives," Karl nodded vigorously. "I was wrong in so many ways after Hega was attacked. For months I have ridden with Prince Garong and the elves of Elderal. There are no finer men alive. They are risking their lives to help King Arik and Alcea. What more proof of friendship could we ask for?"
"Then we best get moving," the mayor announced with a tone of finality. "We have little time before morning."
"We must move stealthily," warned Karl. "The town is being watched closely so only a few people at a time can be moving about, or the dark elves will sense the ambush awaiting them. We must also move all of the citizens without any of them panicking. Can that be done?"
The mayor hesitated as the scope of the problem suddenly dawned on him. He glanced around the room slowly to gauge the mood of his men. Finally he nodded with the grim smile of determination.
"The people of Dani will not panic," the mayor announced more firmly than he truly felt.
Chapter 16
Frolic in the Hay
Karl Gree felt a shiver race up his spine as he walked along the main street of Dani. Although the predawn air had a bit of a nip to it, Karl knew the shiver had nothing to do with the temperature. It was the prickling of fear, and Karl fought to suppress it.
The hunter stopped in the middle of the street and gazed around. The sky had not lightened enough to see very far, but Karl could see people moving about in every direction. Shopkeepers walked towards their shops, their fur coats pulled close about them, and their knit caps pulled low on their heads. Other citizens met in the street on their way to somewhere and struck up early morning conversations. Beyond the buildings lining the main street, Karl could see men out tending to their livestock or inspecting their crops. Other men moved among the huge bales of hay. It appeared to be a typical morning for a Cordonian frontier town, but Karl knew otherwise. If the dark elves attacked at dawn, as they had in Hega, the streets would soon run red with blood. He turned and stared eastward at the distant mountain peaks. The sky was lightening quickly, and a glow was already illuminating the tall mountains. Within minutes the rays of the sun would spray upon the town.
The innkeeper stepped out of an alley alongside the inn. The movement immediately caught Karl's attention, and the hunter glanced at the man. The innkeeper's hand made a motion in front of his body, and Karl stared wide-eyed for a moment. It was not that Karl didn't understand what the signal meant. Rather it w
as noticing that the man's hand had appeared through the front of his fur coat instead of the sleeve. Karl noticed that the sleeves of the fur coat hung limp and shook his head in embarrassment as the innkeeper approached.
"You should keep moving about," the innkeeper said softly as he walked by Karl. "No one is to appear alert this morning."
"I am sorry, Prince Garong," replied Karl as he started walking away. "I did see your signal, but my mind was elsewhere."
"Walk with me a ways," offered the elven prince. "The attack will come soon."
Karl turned and strode after the innkeeper. "What if they don't come?" he asked.
"They are already approaching," answered Prince Garong as his hands flashed signals to the others.
"How can you be sure?" Karl asked anxiously.
"I can see them," Prince Garong replied. "Get ready to attack, but don't nock an arrow yet. I want them in close before the killing starts."
Karl stared along the street to the outskirts of the town, but he could not see anyone approaching, nor could he hear the sounds of approaching riders. The hunter subtly moved his bow to his left hand and gripped it for a quick shot, but he kept the bow low as if he were merely carrying it.
"Turn around and walk casually towards the east," instructed the elven prince. "By the time you reach the last few buildings, the battle will have begun. I will continue westward. May your arrows fly true this day."
"My arrows will fly true," Karl remarked coldly as he thought about the destruction of Hega and his chance for justice. He turned and walked away from the disguised elven prince.
Karl passed by the stone temple in the center of the town without a glance. Keeping his eyes focused on the distance, he inhaled deeply when he caught the first sight of an approaching rider. Karl fought the temptation to quicken his pace as more figures began to appear in the distance. He casually reached back and extracted an arrow from his quiver with a motion that could be taken for scratching one's head. He held the arrow tightly in his right hand, but made no move to nock it.
Karl's pace felt agonizingly slow as he watched the distant riders galloping towards the town, but made no show of alarm, nor did he quicken his steps. In fact, he turned his head as if he was looking towards the shops, but he kept watching the elves approach. He could see several dozen riders approaching and gritted his teeth nervously. All around him citizens appeared to be going about their normal early morning meandering, and none of them appeared to notice the galloping elves. Had he not traveled with the Elderal, Karl would have screamed out a warning, but the hunter knew that it was not necessary. He shook off his feelings of fear and mentally prepared for the battle. He did not have long to wait.
As Prince Garong had predicted, Karl had reached the last few buildings on the street when the elves attacked. With shouted war chants, the Dielderal charged into Dani. Arrows streamed through the air towards the citizens near the edge of the town, and bodies began dropping to the ground. Karl raced to the edge of a building and nocked his arrow. He stared in disbelief at the numerous bodies already on the ground. He had not expected such losses so early in the fight.
Only seconds had passed since the first arrow had been shot, but it felt like minutes had dragged by as the lead Dielderal came within range. Karl raised his bow and fired smoothly. Karl's arrow sailed into the chest of the dark elf, and the Dielderal grunted in surprise as he looked around for the source of the arrow. The dark elf tumbled from his horse without ever finding his killer. Karl swiftly nocked another arrow and fired. Even as his arrow struck another Dielderal, Karl's mouth opened in surprise. Behind the dark elves, the stricken bodies of citizens that had fallen in the opening salvo rose from the ground. The Elderal threw off their disguises as fur coats and knit caps were hastily discarded. As the fallen elves fired arrows into the backs of the Dielderal, other elven bowmen opened fire from the windows of the buildings lining the main street of Dani. The air sang with the snaps of a hundred bowstrings.
Shouts of surprise and alarm ripped through the Dielderal as riders tumbled from their horses. The dark elves tried to turn around and race out of the trap, but it was too late. Karl nocked another arrow and sought a target, but every time he sighted a live Dielderal, the dark elf tumbled to the ground before the hunter could let his arrow fly. The battle was over almost as soon as it had begun.
Karl gazed along the main street of Dani and saw bodies everywhere. The horses raced out of the town in every direction, leaving silence in their wake. Elderal began emerging from the buildings, and soon the street was full of elves as they checked to see if any of the Dielderal had survived the ambush. Karl unnocked his arrow and placed it in his quiver. He hurried along the street to the west to find out how the rest of the battle had progressed. He found Prince Garong in the middle of the street with a cluster of Elderal around him. The elven prince was issuing instructions to his men, and Karl decided to wait at the edge of the street. A few minutes later, Prince Garong approached Karl.
"I think it is safe to let the citizens out of the temple," the prince declared.
"Are any of the Dielderal alive?" asked Karl.
"I am not sure yet," answered the prince, "but we haven't found any at this end of the town. I hope some survived at your end. I want to know why the Dielderal are attacking Cordonian cities."
"I did not see any of them alive back there," frowned Karl. "Your men hit what they aim at. At first I thought many of your men had fallen to the opening salvo. Was that planned?"
"It was," Prince Garong smiled thinly. "We had to stop any of the Dielderal from escaping, but it may not have worked as well at the outlying farms. Those areas are far too open for such a trick to work. We will know soon enough. Release the citizens from the temple."
Karl nodded and ran towards the center of the town. He banged heavily on the door to the temple in a prescribed sequence to signal those inside that it was safe to open the door. The door opened cautiously, and Mayor Panas peeked out. When he saw Karl, he threw the door open and stepped outside.
"Blessed sword!" he exclaimed as he viewed the carnage along the street. "How many were there?"
"I am not sure," Karl admitted as the citizens began filing out of the building. "There must have been well over a hundred."
"Mercy!" gasped a woman. "We will be burying them for days. Are there special rites one performs for elves?"
"Who cares about them?" scowled Mayor Panas. "We will just bury them and be glad they are dead."
"I was talking about the good elves," retorted the woman. "They saved our lives, and if there is a special rite, I intend to honor it."
"I am sorry," the mayor apologized as his face reddened. "I did not even think about Prince Garong's people. The good elves shall have whatever they desire. Where is Prince Garong?"
"Towards the western edge of town," Karl replied.
The mayor hurried away from the temple, and Karl followed along with a stream of others. Prince Garong was once again surrounded by a group of elves, and his expression showed that he was not happy. The mayor suddenly halted short of the group of elves as if suddenly afraid to say the wrong thing. Karl smiled knowingly and continued onward. If it were a couple of months earlier, Karl could have pictured himself in the mayor's shoes. Prince Garong dismissed the group as Karl and the citizens approached.
"The people of Dani would like to know how to honor your dead," Karl said softly. "I think the mayor is at a loss for words to show his deep appreciation."
Prince Garong stared blankly at Karl for a moment and then smiled. He walked past Karl and approached the mayor.
"Mayor Panas," greeted the elven prince, "I fear that I must leave a heavy burden with the people of Dani."
"We will bear any burden for our elven friends," the mayor replied nervously. "We owe our lives to the elves of Elderal. Tell us how we can repay your people."
"We all honor the same leader," smiled the elven prince. "You call him King Arik, but to us he is Valon. There is no repayment
necessary for brothers of the same clan, as we now are. The burden that I speak of is the task of burying the dead. I am afraid that my people must depart immediately. It seems that six of the Dielderal managed to escape. We must track them down."
"Burying the dead will be no burden for the people of Dani," replied Mayor Panas. "Some of my people are curious if there is some way to show our respects for those of the Elderal who have died?"
"The Elderal do have specific rites for fallen warriors," Prince Garong smiled, "but you will have no need to learn them today. Only the Dielderal died this day, and they can be buried in any way you choose."
* * *
As Cirris turned the corner, he casually glanced back the way he had come. The sailor was certain that he was being followed, but he wanted to make sure that he didn't inadvertently lose the man. Without showing any signs of alarm, the sailor quickened his step just a bit. The change in pace was subtle, and Cirris did not think that it would make the man following him suspicious. The stranger also quickened his pace.
At the next corner, Cirris made another right turn, turning onto a street he had just walked along a few minutes ago. It was the final test needed to ensure that the man was indeed following the sailor and not just a stranger out for a stroll. After making the turn, Cirris intentionally bumped into a woman, knocking a package from her arms. He apologized profusely and stooped to pick up the package for her. As he handed her the package, Cirris glanced beyond her and saw the stranger standing on the corner. The man glanced all about as if he felt suddenly exposed. Cirris was careful not to let his eyes linger on the man. He apologized to the woman again and strode off in the same direction he had been walking.
Keeping to the main streets of Southland, Cirris made his way towards the castle. The sailor's nerves were tingling, and he began sweating profusely as he tried to appear outwardly calm. He knew the stranger was still following him, but he also knew that there were likely five others that he had not yet identified. They also could be converging on him. Cirris cleared his throat, as his breathing grew ragged with fear. He refused the urge to look behind himself as he moved steadily closer to the castle.
Knights of Alcea Page 20
