Alynon's Tear

by Rick Brown

  “Well, you didn’t think we made such a death defying escape from the hospital just to be caught now, did you?” I joked.

  “Well, King Eberon, I still owe you those lessons in anatomy. Thanks to you, I no longer have any seriously injured patients. Would it be convenient for you to drop by tomorrow? We could start your first lesson.”

  “Thank you, Doctor. That would be perfect.”

  I saw my opportunity to escape, and took it. I left Abi and the doctor talking as I returned upstairs to resume my lesson in elvish. If Alynon was teaching me a lesson, I had learned it.

  Chapter 26

  (Lee)

  That night, as I slept, I found myself once again inside Alynon’s dream world. I was standing in the library room of our tower. Had I any doubt it was Alynon that sent the doctor, showing up in this room dispelled them. Alynon’s head just barely clearing the ceiling of the room. He looked as he always did, but then again, why would a god change?

  The god turned and looked at me. “I fear matters in Illiner are graver than I anticipated,” the god admitted. “They had always been such true allies, I did not foresee any issues with recovering the stone.”

  “Do you think they will deny us the Tear?” I asked.

  “I do not know, but you must not leave here without the stone. Gorath has the numbers to simply overwhelm the three remaining kingdoms, if he so chooses. Worse yet, the King of Spellion is receiving bad council. His daughter is promised to Kendrick, but a Dommerian agent within the King’s inner circle is trying to disrupt the marriage,” Alynon growled, frustrated. “You will have to go there, once this issue with the elves is resolved.”

  “What about the sword?” I asked. “The stone is useless without it.”

  Alynon shook his head. “You may stop by the dwarves on the way to Spellion. As for the stone, you call it useless? The stone is never useless. The truth of the stone has remained hidden. It’s true, you’ll have no control over it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be compelled to cooperate. I made the stone sentient when I created it. That way it can perceive a situation and aid in the casting of magic. Think of it as a dog.”

  I stood stunned. “The stone is alive.”

  Alynon nodded. “Mmm, yes, in its way. There is no beating heart. I wouldn’t anticipate any scintillating conversations, but it can communicate in a fashion. You can receive impressions from it. That’s how your ancestors described it.”

  “So, then it’ll help us without the sword!” I exulted. The months of travel to find the sword would be unnecessary.

  Alynon shook his head. “I described the stone as a dog. To continue with that analogy, you will not be the stones master without the sword. While it may aid at its whim, it cannot be controlled. It is also over a thousand years old. It has picked up some personality quirks over that time. While some of your ancestors had a good working relationship with the stone, others found nothing but frustration. The more time you can spend with it, building a relationship, the better.”

  “So, I’m supposed to bond with a thousand year old, cranky stone? Alright,” I said as I tried to accept these new facts.

  “First you must acquire the stone. Excellent work, by the way, healing Orlik and Zarcharus. Even without having received any training, you did well enough to save their lives.”

  “Do you think we’ve convinced Councilor Belkor that we deserve the stone?”

  Alynon shook his head. “Belkor’s wife was killed by humans. His hatred for your kind runs deep.” Alynon gave a sarcastic laugh, “Even allowing you to save his son tormented him. I think he dislikes you even more for being his only choice.”

  “Well, then I guess we’ll have to get the other councilmen’s votes.”

  “Were it so easy. Belkor is a powerful voice in the council. Others will just follow his lead.”

  “Then we must make Lee a hero,” came Ayisha’s voice as she appeared from nowhere.

  “A hero?” Alynon asked.

  “The missing soldiers. He should rescue them,” The beautiful goddess explained.

  Alynon considered her suggestion. ‘They are being held in Alsselya. It’s would be dangerous.”

  “That’s why I added Abigail to this mission. With Lee and Yagen’s training, she is becoming formidable.”

  “How would we get there?” I asked. “Illiner is snowed in.”

  “It is from above,” Alynon agreed.

  Oh, no. “We just got out of those caverns,” I complained.

  “This will be only a short trip. You should make it in two days. Less if you don’t rest.”

  Two days back in those caves. The idea made me shiver. “This won’t be a popular decision.”

  “You’re King,” Ayisha reminded. “You don’t have to be popular.” Then she softened. “You have good people, they will understand.”

  “I don’t understand,” Barad argued the next morning. “Why would we put ourselves through that again?”

  “Because Alynon has instructed us to do so.” Father Yagen defended.

  “We are going to bring back the captured elves,” I explained.

  “Captured by who?” Brianna asked.

  “Dommerians,” Abigail answered. Everyone turned to look at her. “I was with Lee when he talked to Zarcharus. He was the only one of his unit that escaped from capture.”

  “Dommerians? We’re going into Dommeran?” Barad asked.

  “We are going into Alsselya,” I corrected. “Think of it as a scouting trip. Maybe you’ll see a place that you want to call home after we retake it.”

  “What we have seen of Alsselya was destroyed by war,” Barad reminded. “Still, it’s been weeks since I’ve crossed swords with a Dommerian. Could be fun.”

  Bri smiled. “I bet Illiner has fantastic fletchers. I’ll need some new arrows.”

  I nodded, “We’ll need to hurry. The council meets next week.”

  “When do you want to leave?” Orlik asked.

  “Today,” I answered. “So everyone get packed. We will be traveling light and fast. I turned and looked at Ryan. “Ryan, I’ll need you to stay here. If we aren’t back in time, you will be our representative at the council meeting. In the meanwhile, keep studying Elvish. I’ll play catch-up when we get back.”

  Ryan gave an enthusiastic nod. I guess I would too if I was going to avoid the caverns. “Abi, you’ll come with me to visit the doctor. We may need one on this trip.”

  “King Eberon, Abigail. Ready for your anatomy lesson?” Doctor Yorlin asked as we entered the hospital.

  “Is there somewhere private we can talk?” I asked her.

  She arched an eyebrow, intrigued by the need for privacy. “Pick a room, just about any of them. Other than Zarcharus, my only other patients have run out on me.”

  We walked into the room where I had been a patient. I turned to look at the doctor. “We are leaving Illiner.”

  Yorlin looked at me, confused. “Are you not going to ask the council for Alynon’s Tear?” We looked at her, shocked. “In all of Illiner, there is talk of little else. To be honest I was rooting for you.”

  “Oh, we are still trying to get the Tear, in fact we thought we would try to tilt the council in our favor,” I answered with a smile.

  “By Leaving?”

  “By rescuing the captured elves,” Abigail jumped in.

  The doctor stared at Abigail for a moment as she considered what she had been told. Then she looked me in the eyes, “I’m going with you. Those soldiers will need a doctor.”

  “Of course they will,” I replied, still smiling. “You have an hour to pack. Meet us at our tower.”

  “How will we get out of the valley? It’s snowed in,” she asked.

  I lost my smile with that question. “The same way we got into the valley.”

  “Oh,” the doctor said, as she realized what I meant. Then she sighed and nodded. “I’ll be there.”

  When we returned to the tower, Farloc and his father were waiting for us by the door. “My
friend!” Farloc came forward and greeted me enthusiastically. “What we do is a wonderful thing.”

  “Are you ready to go?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “For this I would go with just the clothes on my back.”

  “You might want to pack more than that. Also, I want extra rations. We will have more mouths to feed on the way back.”

  “I understand, I will return shortly.” With that Farloc went running down the street.

  Councilor Nenelin walked up to greet me, “I too am pleased that you do this, but is it wise? The council meets next week. Going through that snow, there is no way you can make it back in time.”

  “We aren’t going through the snow councilor. We are going through the caverns again. I won’t pretend it won’t be close, but I hope to be back before that meeting. If not, Ryan will have to represent us.”

  “He is an intelligent young man, but he is not the charismatic King of Alsselya. I hope you are here in time.”

  “So do I, my friend.”

  Chapter 27

  (Brianna)

  Lenux and I hurried through elven city, looking for a fletcher. We did our best to collect our used arrows, but they were been heavily damaged from constant use. Following Lee has certainly been an adventure.

  The cobbled streets were covered with a fresh layer of snow. Already the citizens of Illiner had left tracks up and down the street. For the most part, the shops were similar to what you would find in other cities. A seamstress here, a Milliner there. It was only the styles that were different. The elves wore clothes that were more muted than their human neighbors. In fact, everything in Illiner seemed calmer. I smiled thinking of the struggle that was causing for Barad. He didn’t do ‘quiet’ well.

  Farloc had told us of a good fletcher that was down this street. Though we couldn’t read the writing, he indicated that there was a drawing of an arrow on the sign. Lenux forced me to stop briefly as he ran into a candy store. Walking back out with a big smile on his face, he popped a candy in his mouth.

  “And?” I asked.

  He frowned. “Just as bland as everything else in this city. I can’t believe that stupid troll ate my candy.”

  “I can’t believe how much money you spend on candy,” I retorted.

  Lenux shrugged. “Lee pays for everything, what am I supposed to spend it on?”

  We continued our search until Lenux spotted the fletchers sign. It irritated me how well those eyes of his worked. He always beat me when we were searching for something.

  Unaware of my aggravation, Lenux open the door and let me go first. I took a breath and reminded myself to relax. I wasn’t competing with him anymore.

  The elven shop owner walked up and greeted us in Elvish. “Do you speak human?” Lenux asked.

  “I do,” the fletcher said as he switched to human. “It’s nice to have human’s visit our city once more. And more importantly, bring their silver,” He said with a smile.

  “It depends on what sort of arrows you bring?” Lenux parried.

  “Ah, the best! What will you be shooting? Deer… boar?”

  “Dommerians,” I answered flatly.

  The shopkeeper looked at us both. “Then you should have my best. May I see your bow?”

  Lenux unstrapped his bow and handed it to the fletcher. “You won’t shoot far with this,” He said, frowning at our sneak’s bow.

  “It’s not intended to shoot far. We are hired for our stealth. We get close to our targets before shooting,” Lenux patiently explained.

  “Then you should have an elven recurve bow,” He said as he walked behind the counter and pulled out a strange looking bow. The gut was tied to the tips, which were facing the wrong way.

  “This will likely double your range,” he bragged.

  I took the bow and examined it. “Do you have a place to shoot?”

  “Behind the store,” he said, grinning.

  He walked us through the back of his store. There was a shooting range that had multiple targets set out. Another perk of having your shops and homes spread out instead of all clumped together like in a human city. There was room for a range like this.

  “Those arrows you’re carrying aren’t exactly made for this bow, but they’ll do. Aim for the furthest one,” The fletcher encouraged.

  Looking at the distance, I knew right away our bows would never reach that target. Bringing up the elven recurve bow, I lift it up to about forty-five degrees, as our trainers had taught us for maximum distance.

  “Lower,” the shopkeeper instructed.

  I looked at him sidelong, but lowered my bow.

  “Lower,” he repeated.

  I shifted my shot again and glanced at him. He waved me down further. I continued to lower it until he gave me a stop sign. This seemed ridiculous, but there would be no harm with undershooting. Taking a deep breath, I slowly released it. Letting loose the arrow at the end of my breath. I had my eyes set well short of the target, where I anticipated the arrow to land. Instead it overshot the target by two feet. I gazed where the arrow landed and then back to the bow. “I want one.”

  The fletcher smiled. “I have an arrangement with the Bowyer. I can sell you both a bow, for a small commission, of course.”

  Lenux took the bow from me and drew his own arrow. He glanced to the fletcher who motioned him to lower the angle. With a nod from the fletcher, he released, his shot hitting a tree above the target.

  “Yep. I need one,” He agreed.

  We both walked out of the fletchers with our purses lighter, but happy about the new bows that were now strapped to our backs. We had spent a few minutes using the fletcher’s targets until we were comfortable in adjusting to the bow’s strength.

  “I’m excited about this new bow,” Lenux stated, as he patted the bow’s tip that stuck out over his shoulder. “I wish I had this back in one of Max’s shooting contests.”

  I nodded in agreement. “They’ll be especially useful on a rescue mission like this one. There’s no telling how many we’ll be up against, I’d prefer to take out at least some of those Dommerian’s from a distance.”

  Lenux sighed. “I hope this is a rescue mission. Dommerian’s aren’t known for their hospitality.”

  I Shrugged. “I’ll plan for the best. That we will leave with a bunch of elves, and leave behind a bunch of dead Dommerians.”

  Lenux Smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

  Everyone was gathering at the tower by the time we arrived. Farloc had returned with a number of rations that were being divided amongst everyone’s bags. Lenux and I joined in and took our share of the burden.

  Lee also handed out crystals for everyone to tie to their packs. This time we wouldn’t be caught down there with only one light source. As I tied mine down to the top of my pack, Barad came and hopped up on the table next to my bag.

  “Looks like you’ve got a new toy,” He observed, pointing towards my bow.

  “Wait till you see it in action,” I teased.

  “Oooh, I’m intrigued,” He said, smiling. “I picked up these boys,” He stated as he held up two hand axes. “These are for the cave trolls. I thought it over, and decided that the ability to block in battle was less important than speed. Instead, I’m thinking multiple blows with these fellas.”

  “Speed over brute force?” I asked. “You sound like a sneak.”

  He leaned over and kissed my cheek, “I’ve learned from the best.” Smiling, I shooed him away so I could finish packing.

  Responding to a knock on the door, Whilhoit let in Doctor Yorlin, who was carrying a pack of her own. Lee called her over and helped her tie on one of his crystals.

  “All right everyone,” He called. “Gather around.” He waited till we all encircled him. “I don’t like those caverns any more than the rest of you. Alynon said, at its worst, this will be a two-day trip. I plan for it to be a lot shorter than that. No camping inside the cave this time. We go non-stop until we are out the other side. No reason to give the trolls any more op
portunity to find us than we must.”

  “Awe,” Orlik moaned. “I was gonna get my revenge on that one.”

  “If we are forced to face one, you will. This time we don’t hide while others arrive. Well attack it fast and hard. If it’s dead, maybe the other troll will just eat that and leave us alone.”

  “Ha! Now ya talking,” the dwarf cheered.

  “Doctor Yorlin will be joining us, just in case any of the captives require medical attention,” the doctor took a mock curtsey. “I know our packs are heavy, but my plan is to stash some of the food near the far entrance of the cavern. We won’t have to carry it into the fight, and we can just pick it up on the way back.

  “This will be your last chance. We leave in ten minutes. Make sure your water bags are full and you are carrying just what you must.”

  Chapter 28

  (Lee)

  I can’t believe I’m following this crazy dwarf back into these bloody caverns, I mentally berated myself. I thought I would never again descend into their depths. Now, here I am, less than a week later, going back inside. At least this time we were better prepared. I lit each of the crystals that we carried, so now the cavern was well lit.

  As we neared the scene of our fight, the fetid smell of dead troll was overwhelming. With little ventilation in the caverns, the odor of death hung deeply in the air. Abigail was the first to pull out one of her shirts and tie it over her nose and mouth, but we quickly all followed. Even so, I had to fight down the urge to vomit.

  The room itself was a pure hell. Rotting troll corpses littered the ground, most showing some signs of cannibalism. Bodies that had been crushed by falling stalactites were bubbling with bacteria.

  Another victim of our exit was the troll I had hamstrung. It appeared the other trolls had finished my work and consumed the body.

  We quickly moved passed the carnage and continued through the tunnels. Orlik stopped to read a dwarven rune. “Ahh, here’s where things change. We’ll be taking that tunnel there,” he said, pointing out our new route.

  “Who cares,” Abigail moaned. “One tunnel through rock looks just like another.”