Elf World Shadows Rising

by Matthew Pequegnat

Kayla stood up, and looked out at the pink moon, as it started another one of it’s six revolutions around the world each day.

  “What about Fire Magic. What can I do, and how do I do it?”

  “Well, as you saw with the undead, you can cast intense flows of super hot fire for short distances. That is what lets me know you are at least level nine. If you weren’t, you never could have even attempted what you did, and it would have probably drained you to a state of unconsciousness at level eight, so you are likely a good bit higher.”

  “It’s a good thing you use Fire Magic. It is the one that I know most about after my Earth Magic.”

  “Why is that Myst?”

  “Battle Mages work closely with the Army, and they mostly use Fire Magic, that’s why.”

  “Ok, what can I do!!!”

  Myst smiled at her, he well remembered the excitement of first learning magic.

  “The lowest form of Fire Magic is making light, or heating something, or starting a fire. You concentrate on an object, and then will what you want to happen using the magic as it flow through you. Be careful at first. If you will too hard, you might not light the candle, but burn down the house you are in instead.”

  “As for offensive magic, the lowest offensive ‘ability’ you have is the Magical Bolt. All mages have some form of it, but Fire Magic Bolts are the most effective and with the lowest cost to the caster. What you do is point your finger at the target. It should be less than a hundred yards away, some can shoot farther, some not even half that far. You might be able to double that range with practice, and using Fire Magic instead of the other types of Magic’s. After you point at the target, will a small bolt of fire to jump out of your finger and hit the target.”

  “If you use your fist or cupped palm, instead of your finger, and visualize a ball, you will cast a Fire Ball. It has about half the range but it is much more powerful. It will burst on what it hits, and set everything within a few yards on fire. The more powerful you are, the larger the area you cover with the fire burst.”

  “Let’s see, what else? Oh, yes. If you use the palm of your hand flat facing out, you can create a wall of fire on an area. The more powerful you are, the longer and stronger the Fire Wall. And you already know the effect, if you point all your fingers of your hand at the target. That’s called a Fire Strike, and it works well on powerful undead, or walls…

  Those gestures are ways to focus your power you send out, they are not magical otherwise, and you may find others more suited for you.”

  “One of the most useful spells is the protection against magic attacks, usually you ‘will’ a bubble of force around you, frequently the mage will use their hands to focus the spell, open finger hands like this. You have to maintain the shield, but it is easy and takes much less strength than you would expect, some mages can keep the shield up while sleeping, I can’t. Shields always work better than an attack and use less power, it’s what makes attacking other mages hard, you keep hitting a shield with power looking for weakness, a gap in concentration or to just weaken the shield. Air and Spirit magics make the best shields, Zarra could probably block your best attack, at least for a while.

  “That’s some of the common Fire Magic that I know of. It’s a start, at least.”

  “Thanks Myst, it helps a lot.”

  The sun began to appear across the world, as they talked.

  “Myst, look at the beautiful sunrise. It’s so lovely. Do you know I love sunrises? They make me feel…, well frisky!”

  Kayla stood up, and let her cloak fall to the ground. Underneath, she was naked to the dawn’s gaze. Her gorgeous light tanned skin was shining in the early sunlight.

  “Oh, God, here we go again,” Myst thought.

  But, as she wrapped her arms about his neck and pulled Myst down on top of her, he really did not seem to mind all that much, no not much at all!

  CHAPTER 18

  They came over a small rise, a few hours after sunrise. There before them, was the city of Cozon sitting in a slight bowl with low hills around it. A low brown mud brick wall, surrounded the collection of narrow streets, full of ugly two and three story buildings. It was a disappointment after the long walk from Tazco, across the mountains and all.

  There were a few carts travelling up the road to the city. Myst and the others joined them as inconspicuously as possible, all had cloaks or Zwari capes pulled up as did most of the other travelers. The guards post at the city gate was unmanned and the gate was open. Too early for the local garrison to be up, Myst supposed.

  Zara led them up into the heart of the city, travelling the back alleys that seemed to pass for roads. She stopped in front of an ordinary looking building and pressed her hand to the front door. With the slightest surge of magic, the door swung open, and the group hurried inside.

  Through a long entrance tunnel, they came to the central courtyard of the mud brick building. The inside looked nothing as the outside would have suggested. Beautiful blue and white tiles covered the walkways around the courtyard, flower beds in bright bloom seem to dazzle the eye after the unremitting brown of the city. A cool fountain splashed in the center, and four large shade trees filled the corners, casting soft shadows in the secret garden.

  “Welcome to my home here in Cozon,” Zara told the group.

  “I see it’s hard to tell a house by the facade here.”

  “Yes, Thomas. It is much safer not to stand out here at the edge of the Waste. You cannot tell the wealth of the owner from the outside, and yes, there are some very wealthy people here, operating the trading concessions. This house is as comfortable as can be here, and it would be one of my favorite homes, if it was not for the location.”

  An old Dwarf dressed in a flowing white robe, stood waiting for them in the center of the court yard.

  “This is Filfic. He looks after the house. If there is anything you need, he will see to it,” Zara told them. “He will see to your rooms and a bath. Lunch will be in two hours. Now, please excuse me, I have matters to attend to.” With that Zara walked through a door on the far side of the yard and disappeared inside.

  “This way please,” the old Dwarf requested. He led them to rooms on the second floor of the building. Thomas noticed that there were no windows on the outer wall; the only openings were to the courtyard in the center. He figured it was for security, and of course he was correct about that.

  The two Gnomes found a room to share, and Myst and Kayla had a slightly larger one for themselves.

  “I will see that baths are brought up to your room,” Filfic told Thomas.

  “There is a bathing room on the lower level, for you Elves. You will most likely want to bath together, as is your custom. I will see that your clothing is cleaned and returned to you by the time you are finished with your baths”

  “Thank you, Filfic,” Kayla told him. “You have been most kind. I think we will have that bath now.”

  Kayla and Myst went down to the bathing room, took of their clothing, and scrubbed each other clean under the shower. Then they climbed into a hot bath, large enough for a couple dozen people.

  A Wild Elf girl came in and set down a flagon of wine and two goblets. She picked up their dirty clothes and asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

  Myst told her, no there was not, but thanked her for the wine.

  Kayla and Myst relaxed and let the hot water soak the soreness from their muscles. A while later Zara came into the bath and joined them in the hot water.

  “We have a problem,” Zara told them after she had dunked her head under the water.

  “The bridge over the gold river has been blocked by a large group of ‘Orc bandits’, and they have completely cut off the way to the north. The rumor about town is that the Orcs are going to finally take control of the Disputed Zone, or else they are going to invade the Empire and seize Cozon. Why they would want Cozon, the Goddess only knows?”

  “If the way to Freeport is shut off, where will we go?” asked Kayla. “Not wes
t for Zengara. That way is surely cut off, as well.”

  “We can just wait here of a few days. I have sent word to the Emperor about what is happening, and he will have an army division on its way, and here in about a week.”

  The Wild Elf girl came back in, with their clean clothing, and set it on the bench by the doorway. She had also brought them soft bath towels, that she left with the clothes.

  “Come on, let’s get dressed. We need to make preparations, just in case things get out of hand. Kayla I found a set of leathers that should fit you, your silk is not holding up to living rough.”

  Quickly they dried off, put their now clean clothes back on, Kayla now in boots with leather pants and half vest similar to what Zarra’s usually wore, only in a grayish blue, Myst thought it was the same color as the roof of his apartment building in Palantar, but it looked great on Kayla. Zarra put on a similar set of leathers only in smoke grey. Then they followed Zara through the house. She led them to her study, and closed the door behind them.

  The room was lit by magic lantern globes for there were no windows, only a desk and three walls full of books. At the back wall, once again Zara sent the smallest burst of Air Magic at a hidden lock. Only someone who could do Air Magic could open it, and then they had to know where to direct that magic to open the lock.

  Behind the secret door, there was a small hidden room.

  “Wait here a second,” Zara told them, as she disappeared into the other room. A minute late she returned with an armful of equipment.

  “This is for you, Kayla.” Zara handed her a gold ring with a large ruby set in the center. “A gift from me to you,” she smiled at the other girl.

  “It’s magic of course, Fire Magic actually. It works by amplifying and returning some of the magic energy you cast, allowing you to use less magic energy to cast a spell. It should double the amount of low level magic you can cast. It’s not as effective with the higher level spells, since it returns the same amount of energy whether you cast a simple Fire Bolt or some more powerful spell.”

  Kayla was stunned! The gift must be worth at least a hundred thousand Silver Crowns. “I don’t, I can’t take this, it’s too much!”

  “Nonsense, it’s mine to give and I give it to you, and that’s that! Besides, it only works for Fire Magic. I can’t use the silly thing.”

  “Thank you, Zara, it’s wonderful.” The two girls hugged each other tightly.

  “Now, for Myst and myself I have these crossbows. Notice anything different about it, Myst?”

  Myst looked closely. They were very well made, very thin and light. It even looked as if they might break when used, they were so delicate looking. Besides the quality, they looked like any light crossbows to Myst.

  “Cock it,” Zara insisted.

  Myst reached to the front of the bow and drew back on the cocking handle; it took hardly any strength to operate. But, that is not what surprised him. Soon as he had finished cocking the weapon, a very nasty looking bolt, with a deadly barbed steel head, appeared in the firing grove all by itself.

  “It never runs out. Well, at least it hasn’t in the twenty years since they were made.”

  “Nice. I could get off maybe fifteen shots in a minute with this beauty. What is the range, thirty five yards?”

  “That’s about its best range. Still effective up to fifty yards, just not terribly accurate at that distance.”

  “Wow! The pull must be more than twice what it felt like to cock it. It will certainly come in handy if we have problems.”

  “And for me, my favorite sword,” Zara pulled the weapon from it’s scabbard.

  A soft red glow could be seen deep in the blade of the Tulwar. The Tulwar was the favorite weapon of the Star Elves; it was curved like a saber or cutlass, and looked somewhat like a scimitar, but as a scimitar has a thicker blade, the Tulwar was razor thin.

  “It is also made with Fire Magic. But, unlike the ring I gave Kayla, it does not need someone with Fire Magic to use it. It sears anything it cuts, and the undead do not like the sting of this blade. I just wish I had it back when the Reaver attacked us.”

  "Also, I have these three emergency packs stashed full of things we might need," she said as she dropped the bags on her desk.

  “Now, let’s go down and have lunch.”

  They had lunch on a table that had been set up in the courtyard. The sound of the bubbling fountain made a pleasant accompaniment to the lunch of roasted pheasant and honey ham.

  After eating, they were sipping and enjoying the sangria, served in ice cold glass goblets.

  Filfic came running toward them. Suddenly, he seemed to fly through the air. ‘Boom!’ The front door exploded inward, and dozens of hooded figures rushed into the courtyard, short swords drawn and raised to drink blood. They sprang to their feet but there was no escape and they prepared to meet death with as many of the lives of their foes as possible.

  Kayla raised her right hand, palm out and called, “Fire Wall”. From the ground a roaring wall of fire sprang from one side of the yard to the other. The invaders came to a halt before the flames, unwilling to attempt crossing the inferno.

  One of the unarmed hooded men raised an arm, and shouted in Orcish. The wall of fire began to die, as his magic took effect.

  Myst had not been idle. The wicked bolt of the magic crossbow, thudded into the chest of the hooded mage, and the fire wall sprang back up at full force.

  “This way!” Zara quickly led them into the back of the house to a bare wall. Once again she used her Air Magic to pop open a hidden door.

  “Quickly, follow me. Close the door behind us.”

  The passage was narrow and dark, winding within the outer wall of the building. They came to a stop at the end of the passage.

  “If we get separated, make it out of town and head into the Waste. Five miles from town there is a large rock hill that looks like a teapot. We will meet there if we can.”

  “No, wait,” called Myst.

  “Thomas I need your help.”

  “Anything Myst, anything,” answered the loyal and dependable Gnome.

  “They will come after us whatever way we go from here. They need to get rid of the Ambassador and myself. But it is more important than our lives, that the information that we talked about, get back to the Sun Elves.”

  “Yes, I understand Myst.”

  “I need you to take that information. Hire a fast carriage and go to Mordag its closest, then Zengara. Find Brigadier General Ral Cordan at the Sun Elf Embassy and let him know what is happening. Take Willow with you. She will be safer with you. Don’t take any risk. Let the pursuit chase after us, and the way should be clear for you, my friend. Good luck!”

  “Good luck to you as well my friend. May the Creator and the Consort keep you safe.” They grasped forearms as they said goodbye.

  “Ok, Zara. Pop the door.”

  Into a dark alcove of a stable, on the next street east of Zara’s house, they came out. Quickly, they saddled mounts, and the Elves set off east and the Gnomes headed west. There seemed to be a couple hundred of the hooded men in the street around Zara’s house.

  Once Myst and the Elf girls reached the East Gate out of town on the road to the Waste, they came to a stop. Hooded figures waited by the gate. They would not make it out through them.

  “Do you know another way out of here, Zara,” Myst whispered?

  “No, not through this gate. There is a way to the north, but not with the horses.”

  The sounds of battle sprang up back towards the center of town; trumpets called, and others answered.

  “What the hell’s going on, now,” Myst wondered?

  “It must be the city garrison fighting the Orcs. They must have stumbled over each other,” Zara guessed.

  The hooded figures rushed from the gate, and ran back into town and the sounds of battle.

  “Now’s our chance. Let’s go.”

  Out through the gate they rode, and down the caravan way they headed, as qu
ickly into the Waste as the horses could run. Looking back, Myst could not see any pursuit, but it looked as if a large part of the town of Cozon was in flames.

  Back in town, the sixty-five hundred Imperial lancers, that Navdis had requested to help, rode in. The long war lances, tipped with flags of purple on purple, gleamed in the hot sunlight. The lead troops came across hundreds of hooded men armed with swords in the middle of town. The hooded men reacted instantly, and the battle was joined. Quickly, the Imperial Lancers learned that the hooded men were Orc invaders, and house to house fighting erupted throughout the city. The Orcs were outnumbered twenty to one, and soon were in flight out of the city, heading north.

  But Myst, Kayla, and Zara knew nothing of what was happening, and so turned east and set off to cross the waste.

  ~

  Graz Fang had spent the last hour rounding up his survivors, and disengaging from the Star Elf Lancers. He was now well into the Waste and the enemy would not pursue him into the desert, hopefully.

  "I have wasted too much time and resources on this foolish mission," Fang thought to himself. "If I leave now, and force march my troops across the desert, I will barely have time to get into position for operation Rapid Lightning. And I will not miss that, not for this Shadow Elf foolishness."

  Gathering up his troops, they set off at the slow jog that Orcs can keep up for hours at a time. Heading east, they quick marched away from the slowly setting sun.

  CHAPTER 19

  The boat sat at anchor, deep in a sheltered harbor on the coast of Tuscan. This harbor was one of many used to smuggle goods into and out of the city of Port Orland. The water was not salty this far up the river Dar, about twenty miles inland, and only five miles below the city. Here, the large Cypress trees, covered in air moss, were the dominant vegetation in this hidden black water swamp.

  She was a large sleek sailing craft, two hundred feet long, but just twenty feet wide. Both the forward and stern were raked up in extravagant curves, that only a wealthy yacht would ever dream of having. The hull was painted a glittering gold, and the sail of the single sloop rigged yacht was dark purple. No one would mistake this for anything but the pleasure ship of some too rich for good taste Star Elf. And indeed that is just what it had been a month ago, but now the ‘Star of Ahzulta’ had new owners.