by Travis Bughi
She realized that someone with unprecedented bow skill had just saved her life.
Two more arrows shot out of the darkness and struck down two more kobolds.
“Kobold! Kobold!” the little creatures started screaming in fear.
Twenty arrows poured out of the forest, each one striking a target. The kobolds were thrown to the ground, pinned to trees, and snatched away into the darkness. The little creatures screamed in fear and retreated quickly into the darkness, leaving their dead behind and even dropping their weapons to run faster in their terror. More arrows soared out of the unknown to assault them, and the sounds of squeaking and scratching faded as the kobolds retreated as fast as their little legs could carry them. The arrow attack stopped when the kobolds were out of sight, and slowly, the forest grew quiet once more.
“Adelpha?” Emily asked into the darkness. “Chara?”
There was no response.
“Was that your shot, Iezabel?” Emily asked.
There was a rustle in the darkness, and Emily took a step back. Out of the night, ten beings appeared. They appeared human, except their ears were pointy, their skin was unusually fair, and the tallest one only came up to Emily’s chin. They were dressed in skintight clothing with strange cloth bags around their feet and long cloaks across their shoulders. Like the amazons, all their clothing was a mixed pattern of green and brown. Also like the amazons, each one of them carried a quiver on their back and a treantwood bow in their hands.
And every one of them had an arrow pointed at the two women.
“Elves,” Belen hissed.
* * *
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Adelpha muttered under her breath again.
“And what other choice do we have?” Chara replied.
By the time Adelpha and the rest of the amazons had scaled down the steep hill into the valley, the elves had already extended their offer to Emily. The elves had been tracking and following the amazons since they’d captured the treant. They knew the centaurs were bent on annihilation and that the amazons were in desperate need of a quick escape. Or, at least, that’s what they said.
“The centaurs are closing in on you fast,” one of the elves spoke in a monotone voice. “You can come with us, or take your chances with them.”
Slim and short with straight yellow hair that draped down past his shoulders, he nevertheless evoked an aura of authority. In fact, his face was so rigid with duty that he would have made a senior knight of Lucifan stifle a tear in admiration. The other elves appeared submissive towards him and held steady at attention, hinging on his every word. Unlike most of the men Emily had seen in her life, this elf (and all the others) grew no facial hair. He did not appear to have shaven, but rather never to have grown hair on his face at all, except for his eyebrows, which were just as yellow as his hair. His pointy ears reminded Emily of the centaurs, and she tried not to stare at the elf with such open curiosity.
“I still don’t know if we can trust you,” Adelpha replied.
“If you couldn’t, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” the elf replied, eyes fluttering with annoyance.
Emily noticed how elegant the elf’s voice was, despite its flat tone. It wasn’t as musical as an angel’s, but it had an unnatural smoothness and poured into Emily’s ear like water.
“I think we should take their offer,” Emily said now.
“And who asked you!” Belen said, tied up next to Gaia. “You conniving twit! Don’t take the bait, Adelpha. They’ll kill us all.”
“Someone shut her up,” Adelpha said.
“Gladly,” Iezabel said, and punched Belen in the stomach. “You know, Belen, I actually doubted your guilt. It’s good to see your true colors come clean.”
Belen glared back and clenched her teeth. The elves watched this unfold and showed only impatience. Their speaker, who would not give his name or anyone else’s, had folded his arms and even went so far as to tap his foot a few times.
“Officially,” he said, turning the focus back to him, “our offer only truly extends to the one called Emily Stout, but the rest of you will be granted amnesty if she so desires.”
In wide-eyed surprise, all the amazons stared at Emily. She didn’t shrink back, though, for she too had been struck dumb by shock.
“Me?” Emily asked in pure confusion. “Why me? How do you even know my name?”
“All will be explained if you come with us,” the elf repeated. “Now make your call. I don’t wish to be here when the centaurs find your camp above this valley or the kobold bodies below.”
For such a short creature, this elf’s voice carried ample authority. The rest of his companions stood quiet and motionless with such poise that Emily was sure they practiced at it. This did not make her trust them, but they knew her name and that was enough to entice a burning curiosity.
“Well?” Emily asked of Adelpha, who remained silent.
“Did you hear the elf, Daughter?” Chara replied. “The choice is up to you.”
“Oh,” Emily realized.
The answer was obvious, but the responsibility for the lives of others had never been a burden she’d had to carry, so she paused before replying.
“Well,” Emily started. “I would like them to come with me, yes.”
“Then return to the hill and collect your things. When you are packed, return here and we will make our escape before Lok’har can fully encircle you,” the elf replied, visually relieved a decision had finally been made. “And please do all you can to conceal your tracks, assuming you are capable of such actions.”
The amazons snarled but otherwise swallowed the elf’s insult. The surreal situation had stunned them enough to ignore it. In silence, they climbed back up the hill, packed up their things, and returned to the valley of dead kobolds.
“Follow me,” the elf said.
The ten elves turned their backs at the same time, ignoring the look of disdain on the faces of the amazons. In quick order, the short creatures formed a line and darted through the forest. Emily followed them first and was surprised at the speed the elves attained so easily in the thick woods.
And they were quiet, too. Their small feet and light weight made them glide across the underbrush of the forest as if it were not there at all. In comparison, the crunch of dead leaves under Emily’s feet made her cringe, and she doubled her efforts to lessen the noise. She watched the elf in front of her as its foot fell and noticed how the whole body moved upon impact with the ground. The blow was eased with a spring in the knee, hip and even arms, and Emily mimicked the motions. Soon, she noticed that her movements made less sound. She could even hear, over her own imperfect leaps, the sound of the amazons running behind her. To keep up with the elves, the amazons were sacrificing stealth for speed.
Emily thought of Chara and checked over her shoulder to make sure her grandmother could keep up with the pace. As always, though, Emily had underestimated her new mother. She saw Chara just behind Adelpha, breathing hard but keeping up.
I hope I’m as strong as her at that age, Emily thought and, not for the first time, admired the woman who had given her the freedom she’d always wanted.
Emily turned back and startled as she lost sight of the elves. Then her eyes caught movement, and she distinguished between the elves’ brown-green clothes and the forest around them. They were still in front of her, running along. No wonder she hadn’t seen the elves before, she realized. Their clothing, especially the long capes, did a better job of camouflaging than did the short leather skirts and vests the amazons wore.
Emily took the time to study her enemy—or were they allies now? She still thought of them as enemies. The elves were granting the humans amnesty for a reason unbeknown to them, and so could not be fully trusted. For all Emily knew, she might have just made the worst decision in her life. She would have to watch the elves carefully as she followed them deeper into Angor. However, what she truly wanted to know was what really had happened during the kobo
ld attack. There were only ten elves, yet Emily had seen at least twice that many arrows fly out of the bushes. There was no possible way for anyone to reload a bow that quickly, which meant that either Emily had seen the impossible or there were other elves hidden in the forest.
Emily wagered on the later.
They ran through the moonlit night until the elves suddenly stopped. The amazons were thankful for the break. They had been running at a punishing rate all the previous day and were now operating on only a few hours of sleep. Most of the women leaned against trees to catch their breath, and more than a couple sat down on the ground. Emily stood and watched the elves.
They had huddled into a group and were now whispering to each other. There was little disagreement though, and their conversation ended quickly. The elf who had spoken previously stepped forward to speak again, this time to all of the amazons.
“We’re here now,” he said. “I suggest you apply what little courtesy you have and keep your voices down. There is still a chance we could be found.”
“Hey,” Adelpha said, tired of being treated with such arrogance. “You invited us, remember?”
The elf sighed at Adelpha but did not otherwise respond. He turned his back to show the total lack of interest he had in her concerns, and Adelpha almost leapt with a raised fist at the little man. Fortunately, Emily intervened.
“Adelpha, Adelpha,” Emily said hastily, gaining the woman’s attention. “Let’s just see where this goes before we start swinging.”
With an immense effort, Adelpha slowly stepped back to accept Emily’s proposal. If there was one thing to be said about Adelpha, it was that for all her leadership skills, she struggled to control her short temper.
With that problem detained, Emily turned back to the elves. They had yet to move but were now staring intently into the boughs above. Emily followed their gaze, but even in the moonlight, she could not see what the elves were watching. She kept searching until her attention was grabbed by the elf leader.
“You are Stout, correct?” he said to her.
“Yes, I’m Emily Stout,” she replied.
“I will not lie to you, Stout,” he said in a hushed voice, which still flowed like water. “If I had my way, I’d have left you all to die at the centaurs’ hands. Lok’har is a dependable fellow, you see. He’ll hunt you to the end of time if he so desires.”
“Then why did you intervene?” Emily asked.
She asked her question directly, without hesitation or a drop of fear, and for once, it was the elf who took a moment to reply.
“It was not my call,” he said finally, sounding defeated.
He looked back up, and Emily did not question him further. She wanted answers, but it was clear this elf either did not know them or would not give them. She’d have to be patient, which was a skill the Great Plains had long instilled within her.
Still, why was the elf looking up?
Emily raised her head again and searched the darkness. For a moment, there was nothing, but then she saw a faint shadow tumbling down the nearest tree. It looked like something rolling or unraveling, and as it fell lower and lower, Emily finally knew what it was.
A rope ladder spiraled down into view and stopped at the elf’s waist, swaying against the tree. Emily followed it up with her eyes, but branches blocked out the moon’s light, and therefore Emily could see nothing past a certain distance. For all she knew, the ladder continued up and up until it reached into nothingness.
“Follow us,” the elf said.
Chapter 10
One by one, the ten elves grabbed ahold of the ladder and started to climb. As the last one reached up, Adelpha gave Emily a shove.
“You’re up,” she said.
“Do you know where they’re going?” Emily asked.
“No,” Adelpha shook her head. “The last time any amazon spoke with the elves was ages ago. We’re traveling in new territory now. But it looks like we’re going up into a tree.”
Adelpha’s last comment dripped with sarcasm. Emily hesitated a moment and took a deep breath before putting hand and foot onto the ladder. She pulled herself up and followed the elves up into the trees. Up and up she went, climbing ever higher until she risked a glance behind her to see that the amazons were following her.
Emily gulped. She’d climbed high enough that the forest floor was just a shade of black that seemed all too far away. For a split second, Emily contemplated climbing back down. This whole journey was a complete mistake, and she needed to be back on the ground as soon as possible. A moment later, she realized that could not happen. She needed to know how the elves knew her name and why they were helping them. Fear would have to wait, and she knew full well what had almost happened the last time she’d let such an emotion take hold of her.
Come on, she thought, this isn’t nearly as bad as the bugbear is it?
That did the trick. Emily forced her muscles to relax, and she let out the air she’d been holding in since she looked down.
“Something wrong?” Adelpha shouted up to her.
“We’re just really high, that’s all,” Emily replied.
“Yeah,” Adelpha agreed. “You’re telling me.”
They started climbing again, and Emily did not look back at the ground. Instead, she focused up into the darkness of the trees and watched as a square structure slowly materialized before her eyes. She had not been able to see it from below, but with each step up the ladder, the details began to emerge. From her perspective, it looked like they were approaching a rather plain and normal human house, only with a tree that had grown beneath it to lift it into the sky. The trunk of the tree went straight through the middle of the wood structure, and branches protruded from the walls and windows in all directions. However, on closer inspection, it did not appear that the tree had broken through, but more like the structure had been built around it. The rope ladder extended up right into the belly of the house, just a few body lengths away.
Emily climbed up and through the opening from which the rope ladder dangled.
It was dark inside, and Emily could only really tell what was around her by the sound of elven footsteps. They huddled by the opening and helped the amazons one-by-one until they were all inside. Only after the rope ladder had been hauled back in and the trapdoor closed did one of the elves finally light a candle.
The light hurt Emily’s eyes at first. She’d been in such darkness beneath the forest canopy that her eyes had to do a major adjustment just to look at the small flickering flame, which danced impishly as it illuminated the small room.
The ‘house’ was barren, completely empty of all furniture except for one large wooden chest. The only things in this room were twenty amazons and twelve elves.
“This is one of our forward outposts,” the elf, still the only one to talk, explained. “It is used for quick escapes and makes an excellent hiding place.”
“So not all elf homes are built in the trees?” Emily asked.
“No, actually,” the elf responded, apparently unconcerned about the information he was expelling. “None of them are. This is not a home. This is only a place of refuge. We’ll stay here for tonight and, in the morning, take you to our home.”
The amazons, all of them weary, took those final words as the cue to return to sleep. They dropped down to the wooden floor and took out their blankets. Belen and Gaia, whose restraints had been removed so they could climb the rope, were re-bound and placed in opposite corners of the room. The tree that grew through the middle of the house ensured that neither could help nor see the other.
The elves, too, began to retire for the night, opening the chest and pulling out sheets to be passed amongst them. Emily noticed that they made their beds differently than the amazons. While the humans spread out as much as possible, lying in all different directions, the elves placed their beds side by side, lining up against each other as if they were family. It wasn’t necessarily odd, but more of an attention grabber.
Before Emily
made her bed, she walked over to the elf that had spoken. She kept approaching until he turned his attention to her.
“Thank you,” Emily said to him. “If Lok’har truly was going to kill us tonight, then we owe you a great debt.”
The elf blinked, losing his rigid appearance for just long enough that Emily knew he was surprised by her honest gratefulness.
“I appreciate that, Stout,” he replied, “but you should save your thanks for he who sent us.”
Emily waited a moment, then made a slight nod and turned around.
“Uhm,” the elf cleared his throat, and Emily turned her head. “My name is Elidin Nathok.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elidin,” Emily replied.
“Please,” the elf said. “Call me Nathok. We only use first names to distinguish between family members.”
“Nathok,” Emily repeated. “Pleased to meet you.”
He nodded and then turned back to the other elves. Emily watched him for a bit, but when he did not make eye contact, she turned back to her bed. Carefully, she laid out her blanket and breathed a sigh of relief. She may not like heights, but she had to admit that this elf outpost gave a peace-of-mind foreign to her since entering Angor. With wonder, she pondered what the next day would hold. When she concluded she had no idea, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
* * *
The banshee tore at her throat again, and Emily lurched awake. She kicked and thrashed for the split second it took her to realize she was no longer dreaming.
Damn it! Emily thought. Damn you, Quartus!
She didn’t care if he was an angel anymore. No one deserved this much torture. Emily punched the wooden floor and instantly regretted it. Pain shot up her arm, and she shook it. To add, the pain only increased the anger inside her, and she swore out loud that Quartus was a motherless jerk.
Then she felt sorry for that. He had saved her life, after all, so perhaps he was entitled to plague her dreams. However, that didn’t make it any less unbearable, and if she had to go through another night like this, she’d march straight back to Lucifan and demand to know, Why her? What was so damned important that it required her constant attention at every moment of sleep? She was just a young girl trying to make her way in life, who desperately, so desperately, wanted a full night of sleep.
