Heading towards the ocean, Rinne heard voices once more and slowed until it was clear that these elves knew her. She approached to see many of them cutting down trees with axes from the human islands. When Rinne entered the camp, they ran over to her and engulfed her with questions.
"Where are the others?"
"Did you see anything dangerous?"
"Where is Mavok?"
Rinne pushed past them all. "I must go find Zalon, where is he?" She asked.
"Near the edge of the forest, by the sand," someone replied as Rinne hurried off in that direction.
More and more elves appeared as Rinne ran by, still the questions asked and as the trees thinned, making way to the beach, Rinne stopped. In front of her were the skeletons of buildings made out of the wood they had begun cutting down in the forest. In the short time that she had been away, Rinne saw the amount of progress already made. Standing by one of the buildings Zalon was calling out orders as she walked over to him.
"Welcome back," he said before the smile dropped off of his face. "Where is Mavok?"
Rinne told him the story of their journey so far and about Mavok leaving to hunt for some food then not returning. When Rinne mentioned the other elves Zalon stopped her.
"What do you mean other elves?" he asked.
"Others like us, that didn't come from our land," Rinne replied.
"So there are others living here," said Zalon. "And they are elves."
Rinne nodded.
"This is interesting, do you think that they are friendly?"
"They captured Mavok and Amy. I heard them speaking about it as they passed me" said Rinne, she felt her legs growing weak and her head swam.
"I expect they are as surprised about us as we are by them," he said, "Where do they live?"
"Towards the mountain," Rinne replied, "I did not check. We must go and save them. Did the others make it back?"
"What others?" Zalon asked.
"Those that were with us. I decided to see where Mavok and Amy had gotten to, I told the others to head back here and inform you what was happening. They should have been back before me," Rinne replied.
"You are the first to return from the expedition, we did not expect anyone back for some time. From what we have been able to tell, this land is large and we have focused upon shelter if it rains like it did last night then we are going to be in need of something strong until we build a something proper inland"
Rinne nodded in agreement.
"We need to make contact with these indigenous elves. They may be able to take us in and we can release Mavok whilst we are there," said Zalon. "I will choose some people to go back with you to make contact. Maybe I should come with you."
Rinne's eyes grew heavy and Zalon seemed to be speaking in softer tones.
"Are you alright?" Zalon asked.
Rinne felt her legs give way and she could just see Zalon rush forward to catch her before it all went blank.
chapter six
Alyster leant against a tree and sighed.
"Are you sure we headed south? We should have been there already," he said to the group.
"I am as sure as I can be," said Nate. "I was only a cleric, we never left the monastery"
"Then the fact is, we're lost," Alyster breathed.
"We should have stayed and waited for the elder to return. We were too hasty," said Nate.
"Can anyone here climb trees?" Alyster asked. Each elve shook their heads in turn, just his luck to be stuck with no naturists who loved to climb trees.
Alyster himself was like the girl Rinne, he had been a philosopher before ascending. One of those who dealt in the secret workings of the world. It offered him no more skill or knowledge of the outside world than being a cleric.
"I will have to do it myself," he said before looking around and choosing a close by a tree that had low enough branches to climb. "Wait here"
Alyster unclasped his belt and let the scabbard holding his weapon fall to the floor then began to pull himself up the tree. It was harder than he thought it would be and his arms seemed to burn with each pull. About halfway up he stopped and sat upon a branch panting, sweat dripped down the side of his face. He looked down and could see the other elves standing around and looking up at him. Something cracked and he turned around just in time to see the branch he sat on begin to break at the trunk, he tried to grab hold of another branch but it was too late, the branch gave way and he began tumbling through the tree, an explosion of pain burst through him each time he hit another branch on the way down. The last he saw was the ground coming towards him and the other elves shouting before all he could see was darkness.
chapter seven
Mavok awoke with a start and reached for his sword, something had fallen or jumped upon him. He opened his eyes and the light caused him to blink several times before they adjusted. Something was now walking over him and he tilted his head up to take a look. A small animal was looking at him and pressing its paws into his stomach, he looked out of the window and then remembered that they were inside a mountain so the time of day was impossible to tell.
"Nico," a young-sounding voice called out.
Mavok looked back around the room and realised that Amy had gone. The young boy that Mavok had met the day before entered the room.
"Ahh, there you are," said Tomas who seemed to ignore Mavok's presence at first. He walked over and picked up the animal, holding it close to his chest.
"What kind of animal is that?" Mavok asked the boy.
"It is a cat," said the boy with a smirk. "Have you never seen one before?"
Mavok shook his head.
"That's weird, we have them everywhere. This one is mine. His name is Nico."
The cat made a peculiar noise then wrestled itself away from Tomas's grip then ran off out of the door.
"There he goes again. I need to get him for his dinner," said Tomas. Who then ran out the room after the cat.”
Mavok smiled and the boy poked his head back through the doorway.
"Alack wants to see you when you are awake. Head out of the house and look for the tall spire, he and your friend are there."
"Thank you," Mavok called out as the boy disappeared again.
He picked up his sword, sheathed it and then left the room. The smell of fresh bread filled his nostrils making his stomach growl with hunger, much like the noise the cat had made. Nobody seemed to be in the house and he could see the bread sitting upon a table, he walked over and took the knife sitting next to it then sliced himself a chunk.
"Help yourself," said a voice behind him.
Mavok jumped around and his hand went straight to the sword on his belt.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," said the woman he had seen earlier. "There is some more stew if you wish to have some"
"No, thank you," Mavok replied. "I did not see you"
"Oh I was here," she replied. "I find it easy to go unnoticed, you should hurry to the spire. I know that Alack is keen to talk to you"
"Thank you for the bread," he said and began to walk out of the house.
"My name is Enrid by the way," Mavok turned back to see the woman smiling at him.
"Nice to meet you Enrid," he said in a polite tone.
"And you too Mavok," said Enrid. Who then began to busy herself with some utensils on a table.”
Mavok left the house and looked around. The settlement within the mountain was buzzing with life as much as when they had first entered. In the distance, Mavok saw the spire that he was heading for. It towered upwards and from the angle Mavok stood. It seemed to Mavok as though it reached to the ceiling of the mountain itself. Without wasting any more time, Mavok headed towards it, eating the still warm bread as he walked.
As he continued walking through the mountain Mavok noticed how bright it was, that coupled with the small gardens that each house seemed to have, each growing various vegetables and fruits it stumped him how they could do it inside a mountain without sunlight. Mavok lo
oked up once more at the spire and saw the large orange spheres that surrounded it providing a light that was not too dissimilar to the sun.
He reached the base of the spire and straight away, he saw Amy standing next to Alack, the latter beckoned him over as he approached.
"You are awake, good," said the elve. "How are you feeling?"
Mavok looked at Amy who smiled. "I am feeling rested thank you," replied Mavok "You wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes. You are the first visitors we have had on this island. It is exciting and the fact that you are like us is a wonder," said Alack.
"Why is it a wonder?" Mavok asked.
"In time I will explain. Let us go inside the spire where we can talk without distraction," said Alack. He turned to the large doors of the spire and approached them, they opened without a sound and Mavok began to walk towards them, Amy grabbed his arm.
"I didn't tell them anything," she said.
"Good, it is best that we do not reveal the others quite yet, I do not know how these people will react"
Amy nodded in agreement.
They entered the spire and were plunged into darkness, it took several moments for their eyes to adjust.
"Why is it so dark in here?" Mavok asked.
"All will be explained, as I promised. Inside the spire, we hold our secrets, treasures and prophecies. We keep it in darkness so that we will not be tempted by what is here," Alack said as they began walking down a long hallway.
"But as elves we can see," said Amy.
"Elves?" Alack asked.
"That is what we call ourselves, we ascended from humans into elves," she replied.
"That is interesting, we had not given ourselves a name other than people," said Alack. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the guardians?"
The name sounded familiar to Mavok though he was not sure why.
"I have," said Amy. "It is a myth among the clerics that the God we worship is, in fact, many guardians that watch over the world, protecting it and giving life to everything. Though it is sacrilege to speak of it."
Alack laughed. "Well, the others did fall far from the true path," he said.
"Others?" Mavok asked.
"We are almost there now, wait a little longer and you will get many answers to questions you have not even asked yet.
Mavok was curious about where this was all leading, these elves seemed to be welcoming them into their secrets and it unnerved him. The air began to get warmer with each step they took and a faint glow appeared in the distance.
"What is here?" Mavok asked.
"Answers," said Alack and he was not forthcoming with any more details.
A short time later they reached the end of the corridor and entered a grand hall. Alack turned to them and smiled as their jaws fell open.
chapter eight
Rinne awoke to the sounds of people moving around her, she cursed herself for fainting again and how weak it made her feel. She opened her eyes, elves moved around carrying wood and supplies. Sitting on a chair looking at her was Zalon.
"You know, holding your power like that is not a good thing to do. Our power should flow free. As energy waves or as the life force that can be harnessed for the creatures of nature," he said with a solemn look upon his face.
"I have only used it to hurt people," said Rinne. The shame filled her. "I didn't know it had other uses"
"There is much that we do not know about it. Where it comes from, why we have it or even what its purpose is," Zalon said.
"Like the question about why we ascend," The philosopher in Rinne was beginning to come out. Even though she had studied science, all those that followed the path of philosophy asked the questions of existence.
"Exactly!" replied Zalon. "Maybe these new elves hold some of the answers that we seek"
"Where do you think they come from?" Rinne asked.
"They may have always been here or they too came from the city of the builders. As far as we know, the mountains at the top of the world go all the way across and they may even connect the two lands"
"Would you not have known about it?" she asked.
"One day we will head to the city and you will see how massive those mountains are, it took several generations to build the city and that was only in a small area," said Zalon.
Rinne nodded an understanding.
"Come, you have rested now and I assume that you are feeling better," Zalon asked her and she nodded. "I have chosen another group to meet with the inhabitants of this island, myself included. We must make peaceful contact and secure the release of Mavok and Amy" said Zalon and he stood.
'Just Mavok' thought Rinne with a grimace.
Standing up, Rinne stretched and walked off the cramp from her legs before following Zalon back to the edge of the forest. Zalon stood there waiting for her with another group of armed elves.
"Peaceful contact?" Rinne asked with sarcasm.
"We must prepare for any situation," said Zalon and he turned to the group. "Rinne will guide us to the mountain where we will meet these new elves. There must be no show of force otherwise they may think we are hostile and attack."
The elves all nodded and murmured their agreement.
"Right Rinne. Please show us the way," said Zalon.
Rinne moved to the head of the group and started walking once more towards the mountains.
"What do we do now?" Nate asked the rest of the group.
Alyster lay on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness and moaning allowed each time he woke till the pain caused him to faint once more. Blood was forming on the trousers Alyster wore, Nate knelt down by the semi-conscious man and pulled the trousers up bringing a loud moan from Alyster. Nate almost retched as he could now see some bone protruding from the skin and blood flowed in streams from it.
"We need to stop this bleeding. Does any know medicine here?" he asked the group and each shook their head.
Nate sighed, he knew a little bit about healing and treating wounds from his time on the path of strength. All warriors are to make their own way home if injured as a sign of strength and dedication to the path. Those that did return often needed help, but this was far beyond anything that Nate had seen before.
"We need to put the bone back into place and then wrap it," said Nate as he took his jacket off and passed it to the elve closest to him. "Use a knife and cut strips from it"
The sound of tearing accompanied Alyster's moans.
"You two," he pointed to a couple others. "Go find some branches that can keep his leg in place"
With a confused look, they walked off and began hunting for the branches.
"The rest of you, help me keep him still"
The rest of the group surrounded Alyster and each put a hand on him to keep his body still. Nate wiped the sweat from his forehead and took hold of the leg.
"This is going to hurt Alyster, forgive me. Hold him as still as possible"
With a slow tug, Nate pulled Alyster's leg and the forest shook with the screams that came from the semi-conscious man's mouth, the bone contracted back into the leg and Alyster fell silent.
"Is he still alive?" someone asked.
Nate's hands red with blood he sighed in relief. The bleeding seemed to have calmed down. Using some strips cut from his jacket Nate tied it around the wound and then with the branches brought to him, he tied them to the leg to keep it in place. Alyster mumbled something incoherent.
"Yes, but we need to keep him still in case he has any more injuries"
"It might not be safe here," said an elve.
Nate looked up at the man that spoke.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Mali," the man replied.
"Mali, I need you to go and find some water, what we have in the flasks won't last long," he said. "The rest of you, go find some food, there must be some fruit or animals that we can consume"
They went off to complete their tasks. It was easier than Nate expected. Using some of the water from his own
flask, Nate washed some of the blood from his hands and then stood up. The forest was quiet, too quiet for Nate and it unnerved him.
chapter nine
There in the massive cavern that opened out in front of them was a creature that defied Mavok's senses. Encompassing much of the cavern itself was an animal covered in large black scales. Giant legs stretched out upon the floor and a tail that ended in a sharp point wrapped around the edge.
"What is it?" Mavok asked.
"It looks dangerous," said Amy with a soft voice. As though she did not want to alert it to their presence.
But it knew they were there. Large yellow eyes opened and looked towards them and it opened its mouth and a great yawn bellowed from deep inside revealing long jagged teeth. They both stepped backwards in fear.
'What have you brought to me Alack' said a voice within their heads.
"How is it speaking to us?" Mavok asked.
'You may address me Mavok, a follower of strength' said the voice in his mind. 'I am only able to communicate with you like this'
"My apologies, may I ask what or who you are?" said Mavok. He felt nervous talking to the beast.
'Alack and his people call me a guardian. I am one of those that brought forth life on this world when there once was only rock and fire' said the guardian.
"I thought the guardians were just a myth. Something to explain where we came from and just stories for the children," said Mavok. He looked at Amy and she seemed terrified.
'As you can see we are more than just myth'
"We?" Mavok asked.
'There are ten of us, hidden within the surface of this world. We slumber for that is all we can do. Otherwise, the land would become unstable and all life would end'
Alack stepped forward towards the guardian.
"Many, many years ago a great catastrophe occurred on this world. My people escaped to the mountains at the top of the world to survive as we feared the world was coming to an end," said Alack.
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