While the healers were crowding around Legaulle, Milashar was climbing a rope ladder to a building nestled in the branches of one of the old trees. The home he reached was the home of a friend, and he borrowed a length of rope from the friend and then continued his ascent to the upper branches to wait for the sun to set. As soon as it was dark, the elven warrior moved cautiously along a branch until it began to bow under his weight. With a small weight attached to the end of the rope, the elf tossed the rope at an adjacent tree. The rope wrapped around a branch, and the elf paused to listen to the sounds below.
When Milashar was confident that no one was below the tree, he deftly stepped off the branch and let his body swing to the other tree. There was a slight rustling sound as the branch he had been on sprang upward, and he vowed not to go so far out on the limb the next time. As his body swung under the new branch, the elf climbed the rope until he reached the safety of the new tree. He untied the rope and paused to listen again. Hearing nothing, he scampered around the trunk and out onto another sturdy branch. Twelve trees later, the elven warrior was far enough outside the Heart that he could climb out of the tree and begin running towards the village where Eulena's daughter lived.
Milashar ran for hours, and when he finally reached the village, the sky was beginning to lighten. He banged loudly on the door to the small hut, and a young woman opened the door. Milashar pushed past her and collapsed on the floor. The woman closed the door and turned to look at the elven warrior. An older woman came through a doorway and stared at the man on the floor.
“He didn't say anything at all, Mother” the younger woman frowned.
Eulena crossed the room and knelt next to the warrior. She cast a generic healing spell on the warrior, and he gazed up at her with a look of urgency.
“Get him some water, Liliana” ordered Eulena.
“The king sent me,” croaked Milashar.
“And you ran all the way no doubt,” replied Eulena. “While I admire your devotion, do not speak yet. Drink the water first. A few moments will not matter much.”
Liliana gave a mug of water to the warrior, and Eulena helped him sit up to drink it. She was prepared to slow him down if he began to drink too quickly, but it proved to be unnecessary. Milashar showed restraint and sighed deeply as he emptied the mug.
“Legaulle has been badly hurt,” Milashar said. “The king ordered me to fetch you quickly. The historian has been moved to the king's bed. It is feared that he might die.”
“Then I shall be off to the Heart promptly,” Eulena declared.
“No,” Milashar said quickly as he grabbed the mage's arm. “There are soldiers there. It is not safe for you to enter the Heart until they leave. The king just wants you close by when they do leave so that Legaulle does not have to wait. I am to escort you back immediately, but we will hide outside the Heart until the soldiers leave.”
Eulena frowned. “Did the soldiers hurt Legaulle?”
“Not the soldiers,” answered Milashar. “K'san threw him through the wall of the archives.”
“Very well,” Eulena said as she rose to her feet. “You are to rest, Milashar.”
“I am strong enough to leave now.”
“No,” Eulena said emphatically. “I want you strong for the return trip. You will sleep until nightfall. Is that clear?”
Milashar started to object. Eulena bent over and placed her hand on the warrior's head and then eased his sleeping body to the floor.
“What is going on, Mother?” asked Liliana.
“I am not sure,” frowned Eulena, “but something is not right. The Federation has allowed us one sacred place in all of Elfwoods, and that is the archives. No soldier or mage of the Federation is allowed in there. Evidently, Legaulle protested, and that protest was not taken well. He is a frail old man. I must go to him immediately.”
“But you just told Milashar to rest until nightfall.”
“So I did,” smiled Eulena. “I can enter the Heart much quicker without him. When he wakes, explain that I have gone on ahead, and he is not to enter the Heart until the soldiers leave. Tell him no more than that.”
“Why do you hide your powers from your own people?” asked Liliana.
“I do not hide them all,” shrugged Eulena. “I am known as a great healer, what more can my people ask of me?”
“Yet you are capable of much more,” retorted Liliana.
“As you will soon be,” smiled Eulena. “Until the Dielderal are free from the Federation, you will find it wise not to draw attention to yourself. The emperor will crush anyone who he thinks has too much power. Remain indistinct and live long.”
Eulena moved to the door and stepped outside. Liliana followed to say goodbye to her mother. The two women embraced and then Eulena turned to leave. She halted after two steps and turned around with a worried brow.
“Do you remember the friend you met in the reeducation center?” Eulena asked. “The one you keep saying that you would like to visit?”
“Yes, Mother. Why do you ask?”
“I want you to visit her as soon as Milashar leaves for the Heart.”
“Why? What do you know that you are not sharing with me?”
“I know nothing more than I have said,” answered Eulena, “but I have a strange sense of foreboding. Promise me that you will leave here tonight.”
“I promise, Mother.”
Eulena smiled and walked into the trees. When she came to a small clearing away from the village, the elven mage transformed into a dove. With a flap of its wings, the dove leaped into the air and winged its way towards the Heart. The flight over the trees of the Elfwoods was swift and accomplished in a fraction of the time needed on foot. When the bird neared the Heart, it flew cautiously, purposely avoiding the area around the archives. Eventually it glided through the trees and landed on a platform high in one of the trees of the Heart. The dove hobbled along the platform and leaped up onto a window ledge of the small house on the platform. It jumped through the window and landed on the floor.
A moment later, Eulena exited the door of her home and descended the rope ladder to the ground. Keeping her hood pulled forward and face looking downward, the mage headed straight for the king's chambers. A group of elves stood on the stairs of the king's building, but Eulena pushed through them without a word. When she entered the king's chambers, King Elengal looked up in surprise. His mouth opened to ask a question, but the mage spoke first.
“Do not waste time on idle questions,” she scowled. “Anyone who is not a healer must leave the room immediately. That includes you, King Elengal.”
The elven king was not used to being spoken to in such a manner, but his concern for Legaulle was greater than his demand for respect. He quickly joined the others in moving out of the room. When everyone except two healers was gone, Eulena closed the door and locked it.
“How is he?” Eulena asked as she bent over to examine the historian.
“He is dying,” said one of the healers. “He has numerous broken bones, and he is bleeding internally. We think one of his lungs has been punctured as well. Maybe more. We are not healers of your caliber, Eulena. We have not been able to do much for him.”
“You have kept him alive so far,” Eulena smiled thinly. “Do not belittle your skills. I am going to need both of you to get through this, so if you need any time for yourselves, take it now.”
Neither of the women moved to leave, and Eulena closed her eyes and placed her hands on the historian's body.
Outside the locked room, King Elengal retreated to his office. He slumped into his chair and stared at the desktop. Eventually, the strain took hold of the elven king, and his eyes closed in a fitful sleep. Some time later, a guard came into the office and loudly closed the door. The king woke with a startled look on his face.
“How is he?” the king asked.
“The door is still closed,” reported the guard. “I came to tell you what is going on with K'san. The soldiers have seized three women from the
Heart. They are currently looking for Eulena.”
“Eulena?” the king echoed with alarm. “For what reason?”
“They have not said,” answered the guard.
“Do they know that she is in the city?”
“No,” replied the guard. “I told them that she was off visiting her daughter. They asked where the daughter lived, and I told them. I am sorry if this was wrong. I fear lying to K'san.”
“You did right,” said the king. “If they have access to the archives, they can easily find out the village that Liliana lives in. Did you get any idea of why they are searching for these particular women, or what they plan to do with them?”
“Nothing at all,” replied the guard. “I suspect that they plan to take the women with them. Can we do anything to stop it?”
“I am open to suggestions,” sighed the king. “With three mages and a hundred soldiers, I do not think we would fare well in a battle with them, and even if we did win, we would be jeopardizing everything we have been planning for. The Dielderal would be annihilated within a week.”
“That is the feeling of the others as well,” stated the guard. “There is much frustration among the people over this. We feel so helpless.”
“Maybe I can talk them out of whatever it is they are planning,” the king said as he rose to his feet.
“You would be well advised to remain clear of them,” warned the guard. “They are not in a hospitable mood.”
“Neither am I,” scowled the king, “and I cannot stand by while they abduct our women.”
“Then we will stand alongside you,” declared the guard as he started to follow the king.
King Elengal stopped and turned to face the guard. “No. I will not give them the chance to slaughter us all. I alone will face them, and I will try to do so in a non-confrontational way, but no matter what happens, no one else is to argue with them. See that everyone else stays out of it.”
“As you wish,” the guard replied resignedly.
King Elengal turned and strode out of the building. He walked to the historian's hut and found that K'san had taken it over as his own. He walked in without knocking and K'san looked up with irritation on his face.
“I understand that you are gathering women from their homes,” King Elengal said. “That is not called for under our agreement with the emperor.”
“Then the agreement has changed,” growled K'san. “Get out of here and leave us alone.”
“The emperor has also promised that our archives would be respected as sacred to our people,” the king continued. “I do intend to lodge a protest with the emperor over this.”
King Elengal was not sure if it was his imagination or not, but he thought he detected a flicker of fear in K'san's eyes. K'san rose from his seat and glowered at the king. King Elengal decided to press further.
“I ask you again,” the king asked authoritatively, “for what purpose are you taking elven women from their homes?”
K'san's arm rose quickly. The king's eyes widened in horror as a ball of fire shot from K'san's fingertips. The fireball struck the king's chest, and his body was thrown out the doorway from the force of the impact. The king landed on his back and slid a few feet before stopping. The king opened his mouth to scream in pain, but nothing came forth. Instead, his whole world was deadly silent. During that brief moment, the king heard K'san's voice clearly as the priest spoke to one of the black-cloaks.
“Forget the Eulena woman. Choose the next one on the list. It is time to go.”
Then the king's scream ushered forth from his lips. Elves ran forward to put out the flames burning on the king's chest, and as the pain struck home, darkness overcame his mind.
Chapter 5
Wandering Mage
The young couple crawled quietly to the edge of the ridge and peered down at the Calusa Road. The woman grabbed her long, brown hair and forced it down the back of her tunic so that it didn’t fall across her eyes as she gazed at the group of travelers below. The man turned his head as he detected the motion beside him. He glanced at the woman for only a moment, but her eyes instantly glared back at him.
“You should tie it,” Lymm remarked softly.
“When your hair gets longer than a knuckle,” taunted the Rhodan, “then I might be interested in your advice.” Lymm sighed and shook his head. Chimene turned her gaze back to the road and the group of travelers below. “What do you find so interesting with this group? They do not appear to be a threat.”
Lymm hesitated before answering. He subconsciously ran his hand through his short, black hair as the Rhodan’s taunt still echoed in his mind. “Do you see nothing unusual about the group?” he eventually asked.
“I see four men and a woman,” answered Chimene. “They are not heavily armed, and they do not appear to have taken any particular care in choosing their campsite. They obviously are not concerned with being attacked, and they do not appear to be capable of attacking anyone. They are just travelers. What did you see that caused us to leave our horses behind and crawl up here?”
Lymm stared once again at the small group having their morning meal around the campfire alongside the Calusa Road. “The group appears to have spent the night alongside the road,” Lymm stated. “That alone causes me concern.”
“There are no inns along this section of the road,” frowned Chimene. “Where else would you expect them to sleep?”
“It is not so much that they slept where they did,” explained Lymm, “but rather that they were able to do so without us knowing about it. There were no reports of these travelers approaching this area yesterday, and there was no report of a campfire last night. Boric gets regular reports of everyone coming and going along the Calusa Road. This group has never been mentioned before.”
“Are you sure?” asked the Rhodan.
“I am sure.” Lymm nodded. “First off, they are not lightly armed; they are unarmed. I do not see a single weapon among them. That alone makes me suspicious. Boric has worked hard to let everyone know that the bandits own this road. To travel along it without protection speaks of carelessness.”
“Maybe they do not fear bandits because they have nothing to steal.”
“Look again,” instructed Lymm. “Those horses are Occans. Each of them is worth a fortune, and they even have spares with them. There is something strange about this group, but I cannot tell what it is. Still, I must report them to Boric. You stay and watch them.”
Chimene stared at the group as Lymm backed away from the edge of the ridge. She saw one of the men rise, say something to the others and then walk into the woods. She hurriedly slid backwards and raced to the horses to catch Lymm before he road away.
“We are not supposed to separate,” she said to her partner. “If you return to camp, I must go with you.”
“Are you afraid to stay in the woods alone?” taunted Lymm.
“Would you care to try your sword against me?” Chimene scowled in return. “I am not afraid of you or anyone else. Yortana told us to stay together, and I know how to follow orders.”
“Then what is the purpose of both of us being out here?” snapped Lymm. “We are just wasting resources. We have done nothing that couldn’t have been done by just one of us.”
“I will not argue your point,” frowned Chimene. “I can only assume that we are meant to learn to work together. In that light, the orders make little sense, but I will follow the orders given to me.”
“Then we shall ride together,” sighed Lymm. “I only hope the strangers aren’t gone by the time we get back from camp.”
The pair rode quietly for a while before urging their horses into a gallop. Within a half hour, they arrived at the secret canyon and gave the password of the day. Karaminian patriots and Rhodan warriors alike watched their progress along the canyon floor as they rode towards the dead end. They dismounted and moved swiftly up to the cave where Boric and Yortana resided. When they entered the cave, the two leaders were talking to Max Caber. Chimene let Lym
m make the report. She remained silent and watched Yortana’s face for any sign of her feelings about the group. Chimene was curious to know if her leader would find anything strange about the travelers, but it was the Alcean who seemed to have the greatest interest.
“Are you sure they were Occans?” asked Max. “Have you seen many Occans before?”
“I haven’t seen many,” admitted Lymm, “and those that I have seen were from a distance, but there is no mistaking an Occan for another horse. Is it important?”
“It might be,” Max replied distractedly. “I think I might go and have a look for myself. Where exactly were these travelers?”
“Due west,” answered Lymm. “They could not have camped any closer to us and still been on the Calusa Road.”
“You two have done well,” nodded Max. “Rest your horses a bit before heading back out. I will tend to our travelers.”
Max did not wait for any protests over his course of action. He strode quickly out of the cave and down into the canyon. While he did not wish to say anything to the others, he suspected that some of the Alceans were nearby and didn’t want to announce their presence to the locals. He mounted his unicorn and rode swiftly out of the canyon. As soon as he was out of sight of the secret canyon, he halted and stuck his finger into his breast pocket.
Runt immediately popped his head out and looked around. Seeing no one around, the fairy shot to Max’s shoulder. “It’s about time you let me get out and exercise. What is the mission?”
“There is a group of travelers due west of here,” explained the Ranger. “I suspect they are some of our people on unicorns, but I want to know for sure before I get there. Go on ahead and scout them out.”
“I will spy on them and return swiftly,” vowed the little man as he shot into the sky.
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