Death Knight Box Set

by Michael Chatfield

  Anthony patted Ramona, who lowered her head slightly, accepting him fully. Her eyes were no longer wild and panicky but there was a poised look in her eyes, as if surveying the world from atop its highest peak.

  “Well, I think that this is where we’ll part ways,” Anthony said.

  Aila nodded and moved forward to go next to Anthony.

  “Please accept me as your disciple.” Tommie dropped the cast-iron pan with a loud noise and dropped to his knees, prostrating in front of Anthony.

  “Nope,” Anthony said, without pausing.

  Tommie looked up in shock, not expecting to be rejected so fast.

  Aila could see the distress in his eyes. Did you have to be so harsh?

  “Though you can come and adventure with us,” Anthony said in the next moment.

  “Can I?”

  “I said it, didn’t I?” Anthony said.

  “Yes, yes! Okay, I’ll get my stuff!” Tommie jumped up and then looked around, and then dropped to his knees again and made to smack his head against the ground.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Paying respects?” Tommie said.

  “Respects? You smash your head into the ground like that, then you’ll only get a concussion.” Anthony shook his head.

  You implanted your face into my bedroom floor and you’re telling people to not hit their head against the ground!

  “I, uh, yes,” Tommie said, kneeling there, not sure what to do now.

  “Well, go and get your gear.” Anthony waved him on.

  “Kids these days—all over the place,” Anthony said to Ramona. She nodded her head as if she understood while Aila shook her head because she didn’t understand at all.

  Don’t worry, Ramona—you’ll learn just how smart your master is soon! Poor creature to be stuck with such a man.

  The convoy tended to their wounded and shot them glances, creating an awkward standoff before Tommie appeared with a bag two times bigger than he was.

  “I’m ready!” Tommie smiled, ignoring the dirty looks from the rest of the convoy members.

  “Well, Ramona, we best go and see your little ones and then we can head off toward Thelsedorei,” Anthony said.

  Ramona turned and led them away from the road.

  It wasn’t long before they got to a cave.

  Ramona let out a cry.

  Two smaller versions of her rushed out. They didn’t even look at their mother as they looked at the three people with her.

  Ramona let out a noise. Aila could feel she was displeased with the lack of attention, while she could also sense the two other’s curiosity.

  “Look at them, so small and cute!” Anthony said. The two of them circled around them and were around Anthony as he pat them and gave out scratches.

  “Small” was a relative word.

  “They’re as big as a thoroughbred horse!” Tommie yelled out.

  “Cute, aren’t they?” Anthony petted the two beasts. Aila chose to ignore how the reptiles were wagging their tails as if they were two puppies, both of them trying to get more attention from Anthony.

  They’re cute if you don’t mind the fact that they can kill a fully grown man by themselves.

  “Semantics. All right, let’s get going. Now that Ramona’s my contracted beast, she’ll be coming with us until we can find somewhere for her to bring up these two little tikes in safety,” Anthony said.

  “I’ll call you Rachel and you can be Ryan.”

  Ramona and her children dropped down, making it easier for them to get on. Tommie had the most trouble, with Ramona walking over and nudging him onto the suffering reptile.

  Ramona led the way, with Anthony sitting on her comfortably.

  Without the carriages and with Ramona and her children being better suited for the forest than the larger, heavy-going beasts pulling the carriages, they were able to make quick time, passing through the forest.

  Roars would greet them occasionally, with Ramona responding with her own roar.

  They passed through the forest, the landscape blending together.

  “When will we get there?” Aila asked.

  “Didn’t you get a map or something of where to go?”

  “I got a map to the Deepwood and instructions to make contact with the elves and that I would get an audience with the elders,” Aila said.

  “Elves and their secrets—guess the mirages would make it hard on their trained beasts.” Anthony started talking to himself.

  “So when?” Aila interrupted him before he started talking to himself and involving Ramona in the conversation. He had done it before already. Basically, anyone who was nearby and would allow him to ramble on turned into his victims.

  “We’re already here. Can’t you feel all of the arrows pointed at us?” Anthony pointed into the trees. Aila looked around at where he was pointing. With her eyesight, she was able to see the elves who blended into the woods.

  “What are you pointing at?” Tommie couldn’t see them.

  Aila took down her hood and showed her ears off as she pulled out a letter. “I’m here to meet with the elders. I am Aila Wranoris, princess of the dark elves to the north.”

  An elf appeared before them and stepped out from a bush. “Welcome to Thelsedorei.” The elf put his hand on his sword. “Put your hands above your head and dismount.”

  “Ah, I love a proper high elf greeting—all surprising entrances, trying to control the other’s emotions, make us feel awe or fear, while also plenty of hair flicks. Where do you get your conditioner from? I haven’t been able to find out for the sun knows how long.” Anthony jumped off his mount and raised his hands.

  The elf glared at him and Aila felt the bow strings around them tense up as tight as her cheeks.

  “Really like the open concept, you know—allows one to breathe, feel more in harmony with the world. Though I guess all creeping around in the forest doesn’t really connect you to the outside world.” Anthony shrugged.

  “Well, that’s one way to say hello,” Tommie said.

  Aila let out a sigh, her hands in the air holding the letter that had been her quest for the last few weeks. For some reason, she didn’t feel that relaxed even as her quest was coming to an end.

  Chapter: Morhtheaus

  They were assigned a guide and escorted into the “city,” which was hard to actually compare to the rest of the forest. It was impossible to tell it was a city; one had to look up to even see any hints of activity. The whole city was high in the trees and one could see the people going about their business.

  “You’ll have to leave those down here.” The guide indicated Ramona and her children.

  “They’ll be fed and watered, right?” Anthony asked.

  “Of course,” the high elf said, barely restraining the eye roll implied in his words.

  “Stay here. I’ll come and visit you tomorrow,” Anthony said while petting Ramona.

  Ramona nodded, as if understanding. Her two children started to play fight each other, wrestling underneath the high foliage of the elven city.

  They walked into a tree, stepping on a platform that was pulled up by contracting tree vines.

  People passed them, heading down and out of the city.

  They passed through the guards and entered the city. It was hard to say how many levels there were to the city. It was like a city built in a hilly area; there were floors and roads peeking out of one another.

  “Stay close. It’s easy to get lost in all of the roads and different alleys,” the guide said.

  Aila had never seen the high elves’ homes before and tried her best to look in every direction, trying to take it all in.

  Tommie looked around, comfortably telling them about the best places to get a drink, a restaurant’s specialties, or interesting sights he had found.

  Anthony looked around but he didn’t look to be shocked like Aila or to be confident like Tommie. Instead, he looked like a local. Nothing seemed to faze him; instead, he seemed to be looking
at the developments of the city compared to his memory.

  “This is strange. I feel like I’ve been here before.” Anthony shrugged and shook his head. “And still, my memories are all jumbled up in there.”

  It’s no wonder that the high elves are said to be a secretive group. All they need to do is step on to the main level of their cities and it would be hard to find them.

  “When will we be able to see the city lord? This matter is of utmost importance and urgency,” Anthony said to their guide.

  “I have sent word to the city lord. Wait here until he makes a decision and summons you,” their guide said as they reached a simple tree house.

  “I hope he doesn’t take longer than two days to come up with the decision,” Anthony said.

  The high elf’s eyes narrowed. “I will pass on your words.” His words sounded more like a threat than a promise.

  The guy didn’t pay them any more attention; he turned on his heel and left. Most would say he was even marching toward the center of the city.

  Aila frowned and followed Anthony into the house.

  “What was all that about?”

  “The high elves don’t do anything without purpose. They’re masters of social etiquette and hidden meanings: the way they say a word, the way they look at people, which building they host us in.”

  “I think the message I’m getting is that we’ve only just met them, and you started antagonizing them!” Aila said.

  “Don’t worry, one way or another we will meet the elven leaders,” Anthony assured her.

  Aila and Tommie looked at each other.

  “You’ve said nothing but the truth ever since I met you,” Tommie said.

  “Who knows, they might be busy with something else,” Aila said, feeling as if she had to defend her distant cousins.

  ***

  “They came into my city and they tell me that I need to meet them! That, and access to the elven elders! Do they know who I am? Do they even know who we are?” The Elven City Lord Aevaris’s voice rang through the chambers of the city lord as the guide who had deposited Anthony, Aila, and Tommie at their new residence knelt in front of him.

  “They also insisted that you meet within two days, my lord,” the guide said, not bothering to hide his anger at their words and serving to stoke the city lord’s own ire.

  “A mere dark elf comes into our city, thinking that she is our equal! Nothing but the dregs of our society that were kicked out for turning their attention toward manipulating the dead instead of the living. Saying that she’s the princess of the dark elves—even if a dog is a princess, does their position matter?” the city lord yelled, taking a few deep breaths and trying to regain his composure.

  “Hear my orders,” Aevaris declared. “Make sure to investigate their backgrounds first!”

  An elf stepped out from the wall, graciously dropping to their knee. “The gnome—the one called Tommie—I know of him.”

  “Speak,” Aevaris said imperiously.

  “He is nothing but a simple merchant. I would guess that he was their guide to find us.”

  “Very well. Investigate the knight who is protecting them,” Aevaris said.

  With his orders, the elves started to move.

  ***

  The city lord was sitting on his throne the next day when one of the elf sentries ran in.

  “City Lord, the merchants’ caravan from Laisa has just arrived.”

  “They were a half day late. Did something happen?” Aevaris asked.

  “They said that Tommie betrayed them and the dark knight turned on them. Most are bruised, a few having broken bones.”

  “How did this happen?”

  “The knight—I guess he fought them all?” the sentry said, not believing his own words.

  “Defeated them all?” The city lord frowned. “Do they have any idea who he is?”

  “No, sire. They think that he’s some kind of human but they ran him over with about seventeen carriages and he got up as if nothing had happened.”

  “Thirteen carriages?”

  “Yes, my lord, fully loaded.” The sentry hesitated. “They said that he was kind of simple, slow even. Most of them believe that it was not him who actually defeated them but his armor, saying that it must have been heavily enchanted and strengthened.”

  “What is the elf to him?”

  “They said that he was the party leader.”

  The city lord frowned, thinking on all of this new information. “It is clear that this is the dark elf’s quest. This Tommie must have joined them in Laisa as their guide. The knight is the unknown factor here.”

  Another elven sentry ran into the room with a pleased smile on their face. They dropped to their knees as the lord looked down to them.

  “Lord, lord—the knight went down to see the beasts that they brought with them. Seeing that they do not have enough food, he charged out into the forest, only to return later with a carcass of a white deer!”

  “Oh.” Aevaris’s tone was light but there was a vicious look in his eyes. “As high as it is, our duty is to protect Deepwood and the creatures in it. We are its custodians. Any killing or poaching upon our lands must be taken very seriously!” the city lord said. “Summon them. Let us see what reason they have for killing our sacred beasts.”

  ***

  Aila stood up as there was a knock at the door. She opened it to reveal six elven guards in full armor waiting for her.

  “The city lord demands your attendance.”

  “Certainly,” Aila said, feeling that their wording was weird. Maybe they’re more abrupt and abrasive.

  She left with Tommie and Anthony falling in behind her. The guards quickly surrounded them all. They all had grim and impassive faces, as if they were taking Aila and her companions to their execution instead of to see the city lord.

  “Lovely high elf hospitality,” Anthony muttered.

  The cold glare from the guards seemed to make the Mana in the air and within their bodies slow.

  Aila shot Anthony a look.

  “Fancy little Mana trick you got there,” Anthony said; one could practically feel him rolling his eyes.

  Aila shot him another glance, to which Anthony shrugged.

  “Solomon, I have a job for you,” Anthony said in a whisper so Aila could only barely hear him.

  His voice dropped again and she couldn’t hear him anymore.

  She disregarded him and she grabbed her bag tight that was holding the letter from her mother. Finally her trip was coming to its end; then she could return back home. She liked adventure, but she had seen and done so much in such a short period of time, she wanted to go home and relax.

  She looked to Tommie and Anthony. Tommie was looking around, taking in the sights. His eyes filled with curiosity as, like a gnome does, he looked at the different structures that had been grown out of the land to create the fresh and vibrant city that weaved through the trees, making them look natural and beautiful.

  People talked to one another as they passed.

  “Is that a dark elf? Does she have no shame, spending that much time hiding from the world?”

  “I heard dark elves are all murderers and devil worshippers,” another said with a note of displeasure in their voice, as if they were an expert on the subject.

  “With such simple clothes—and I heard she said she was the princess of the dark elves,” another said in an aloof voice, lifting their nose in disdain.

  Aila frowned but she didn’t talk out at them. They reached the center of the city. A large tree stuck out from the rest; in front of it, a flowing creek of pure blue water from across the city pooled into a bubbling fountain.

  It was idyllic and peaceful, in contrast to their procession as they marched up toward the city lord’s hall.

  They were halted in front of the city lord’s throne, but he was nowhere to be found.

  “The city lord is dealing with a few emergency issues. He will be with you shortly,” an advisor to the side of
the throne said.

  Ten minutes quickly went by and they started to get tired from standing on their feet for so long.

  “Must be really important,” Tommie said.

  “I bet.” Anthony sat on the ground. The advisor’s eyebrow twitched at seeing Anthony’s cavalier attitude.

  “Gotcha,” Anthony said in a low voice and he laid down, humming a tune to himself.

  Tommie sat down sometime later. An hour must have gone by now.

  An hour and a half passed before the doors opened.

  “Presenting City Lord Aevaris of Morhtheaus,” the advisor said.

  Tommie got to his feet as Anthony slowly got up.

  “You dare to lie down in the presence of our city lord!” a part of the group that had come in with Aevaris yelled.

  Aevaris held up his hand. “It can only be expected from the lower races,” Aevaris said in a tired voice as he sat down on his throne.

  “This meeting was supposed to be about the information coming from the dark elves,” Aevaris said in a neutral voice. “But now I have learned of the unsanctioned slaughter of beasts within this forest and under my jurisdiction.” Aevaris looked pained and frowned slightly as his eyes fell on Anthony.

  “You didn’t—”

  “Silence!” The aide who had yelled before infused Mana into their voice, enough to deafen everyone in the room.

  “You might be angry with them, but we need to judge them impartially,” Aevaris rebuked the man.

  “I am sorry, City Lord. It is just—”

  Aevaris nodded and waved off the remaining words.

  “Have you sent word to the elders?” Anthony asked.

  “Trying to talk over others will not make your case any better. What is your name?”

  “Anthony. But have you?”

  “The elders are busy people, studying the arcane for centuries. To disrupt their studies for someone who killed beasts without seeking approval, do you think they would listen?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t we ask them? The letter, Aila?” Anthony asked.

  The city lord let out a tired and annoyed sigh, seemingly coming to the end of his patience.