by B G Mitchell
Slowly, Sylvania climbed down from her cave on to the forest floor. She felt the strange texture of grass on the exposed part of her feet. She grabbed the cloak and put it on finding the world above rather cooler than what she was used to, but it did not stop her admiring the colour, sounds, and smells of the woodland.
After about an hour, she noticed strange noises that sounded like voices speaking in an alien tongue. She quickly jumped behind a large tree and slowly peeked around the trunk to see two surface elves. Using the knowledge from an old leather bound book she enjoyed reading in her family’s library, she identified them as wood elves, with their bronze skin and blond hair. They were both males and wore a green lace up shirt and light green pants as well, no doubt to better blend into the forest, their natural home.
They also carried a bow and arrow as well as a collection of dead small game animals, no doubt returning from a hunt. She toyed with the idea of following them as they proceeded further down the path. She suspected they might be off their guard at the moment, as they were more focused on their conversation than keeping an eye out for any threats. Then again, they were wood elves well known for their wood craft and tracking skills and would possibly notice her if she stalked them, she would rather err on the side of caution as the surface realm was strange territory to her. She pulled out her small journal instead as the elves walked away and made a note about the encounter.
As she progressed deeper and deeper into the forest, she noticed the signs of habitation including an old campfire with burnt wood as well as a stone with Elven writing on it. She then stumbled across a large, grey stone road cut into the middle of the forest.
The road itself seemed to come from the mountains where she had come from herself, and she suspected it might lead up to the dwarvern city Blindstone. The road looked well maintained and was made up of many cobbled grey stones all laid flat. She decided to see what traffic would use the road and found a nice hidden spot among the trees, where she could view any traffic coming and going and waited for a while. As she listed to the sounds of the forest, eventually she heard a noise on the road. She managed to climb up a tree, making sure to hide where she would not be seen and waited for the travellers to come into view. Her patience was rewarded by seeing a couple of large carts pass, driven by strange four legged animals. The drivers of the carts seemed to be dwarves, supporting her theory that this road led to Blindstone. She looked into the back of the cart to see what they were transporting and only saw large, wooden crates. Then she noticed in the third cart, sitting in the front was a human wearing a black cloak, and as the cart came closer to her vantage point, she was able to make out it was the same human that was responsible for the change in her city.
He did not seem to be a prisoner and was in fact talking to the dwarf sitting in the back of the cart on top of the large, wooden boxes. She waited for the carts to go past and made sure they were well down the road which did take a while, given their pace, but once they were clear of earshot, she carefully climbed down the perch and, making sure no one was around, made another note in her journal.
The sun was creeping lower, and it seemed to be late in the afternoon so she made the decision to head back into the forest to find a comfortable place to sleep, since she was more than a day’s walk from her cave. She promised herself that she would return back home tomorrow and found a comfortable looking tree to hide in before the evening. She climbed to the top where she noticed that she could see a small band of flickering light in the distance, and it looked like it was in the same sort of area where the two wood elves where heading to. Curiosity overcoming her natural instinct, she climbed down from her tree and decided to observe slowly. She made her way to a camp.
Sneaking through the forest at night was a rather unnerving experience. It seemed more active and had a lot more sounds. Fortunately years of growing up in underground had provided dark elves the ability to see as well as a cat at night, so she was easily able to navigate towards the faint glow of the fire where she found that the elves had set up a camp next a small ledge which offered an almost perfect view of their camp site.
She carefully snuck up the hill, making sure to approach on the far side from camp and once she made sure there was no one at the top of the hill, she slowly climbed up to the ledge and, hiding underneath a bush, managed to get a good view where she watched the campfire and spotted a small group of green elves made up of a couple of men, women, and children. She also noticed that the dress of the women closely resembled that of the men as they were both wearing trousers. She got out her journal again only to hear a twig snap behind her. She instantly shot up and turned around. Sylvania then heard a voice call out in a strange tongue, and she noticed a pair of uniformed figures coming towards her. Panic overwhelmed her and she decided to make a run for it, but as she picked up a leg she found her ankle caught in a root from the bush, tripping her and forcing her to tumble down the side of the ledge.
As she fell her, head happened to impact one of the rocks on the way down, forcing her vision to go black.
The return of Degraos had given Lucinda what she needed: information. The captured orc had been willing to talk once he was in a dungeon. No doubt the dark elf reputation for cruelty actually helped out in this case. Once he had given all the information he could, Lucinda had decided not to release him but rather let me stay under the city’s protection in one of the slave work gangs, a rather harsh choice but one Lucinda had thought necessary.
Nataylia, her religious leader, had not approved of the treatment of the orc and was found of quote Mikiria preferred her worships to be gentle, kind, and trustworthy. Lucinda had argued that the city was vulnerable now, the last thing she needed was an orc to tell his leader what she had seen in the city and that the current conditions were prime for an invasion. The slaves faced conditions that was a thousand times better than before, even Nataylia conceded that point.
She stood up and looked out of her window on to the city below silently. She adjusted her full length, grey skirt, lately she had taken to wear black shoes with a small heel of half an inch and a simple grey skirt with short sleeves and a dress that came down to her knees. It still had a V shape, showing off her chest, and her hair was in a simple ponytail. It was rather unlike her predecessors, who had opted for elaborate dresses and hairstyles that could take hours to do.
She read the information in what had become her office. She had taken over the magical study of the matron mother and stripped out most of the furniture and replaced it, with a bookshelf that contained her notes and ledgers and a heavy, solid wooden desk with the space for her ink well and pens. It had the advantage where she could get an even better view of the city. Ruling it had been no easy task; she had to put up with various groups all seeking to solidify their own powerbase. One of the biggest hiccups had been the university of magic, where the nobles where trained. Most of the teaching staff had left, including the entire theology department. Which, truth be told, was not that much of a loss, as all of them where priests of Zateria, but it had left the department of Magic with only a couple of students, one of which had already required hospital treatment over a magical incident (a potted plant fell on his head; the problem is no one is sure where the plant came from and it contained a species of fern which had not been seen before).
She picked up another report and looked at it again. It was information that the orc gave and was rather interesting and worrying. Apparently a couple of demons, which oddly enough were wearing specially designed helmets that allowed their horns to poke through the top, which was odd behaviour for demons.
They were now trying to organise the orcs into an army, but they did not seem to take that much of an active role in the training and discipline of their troops, which was even stranger as normally they were the ones leading the army and always the first ones into a fight (mostly with other demons). Some orcs even suspected that their demon commanders where sick, something she dismissed out of hand. She knew mortals like
her could get sick, but she had never heard of a sick demon.
It did make her worry since demons were behind the recent orc incursion. What exactly where the followers of Zateria up to? She heard the sound of the compound gates open up and looked out the window to see who was entering, only to find it was the traders she had sent to Blindstone that were now returning. Lucinda noticed Mayli talking to one of the guards who rushed off. She then went straight into the front door, and it was not long before Lucinda heard a knock on the room. She resisted the urge to steeple her fingers (something that happens to all people in power) as she simply said, “Enter.”
Mayli stepped in, still wearing a pair of grey trousers and her metal breast plate. She performed a bow before beginning, “Mistress, I have my report about the trade deal, but there is something urgent you should know before we begin.” Lucinda nodded and allowed Mayli to continue her story. “Sylvania decided to sneak out of camp during the night; she wished to see the Elven settlement on the surface. I did send someone to track her movements. I have also taken the liberty of sending a message to her older sister, Nataylia, to come and see us here.” Mayli reached in to her pocket and produced a piece of paper which she handed to Lucinda. “Here is the note she left.”
Lucinda took the note while resisting the urge to raise her eyebrow as she read the letter. Once done, she put it on the table and after a moment of thought replied to the unspoken question, “Well, we better wait until Nataylia arrives, but tell me how your trade mission went?” Lucinda listened as Mayli went thought the details the offer of a dwarf mining contingent along with extra guards. This was rather interesting and may prove useful. She doubted the dwarves were a start of an invasion; as long as dwarves had ore, they were happy and only took other settlements that did not agree to their demands for ore. Mayli was up to the loading of the carts and caverns when there was a knock on her office door and in stepped Nataylia.
Nataylia was wearing a long, light blue dress that went down to her ankles. Lucinda noticed that there was a slit along the side that went up to her thigh. She cleared her throat, then stood up. She nodded to Mayli who took the hint and excused herself before rushing out of the office.
Lucinda pointed to a chair. “Please sit down. I have some news about your sister.” Nataylia did as she was told, and Lucinda took that as her sign to carry on speaking. “It seems Sylvania has decided to take the opportunity to see the Elven realm, Lewryn.”
She passed the stunned Nataylia the note her sister had left. She then continued, “Currently, we have someone following her from a discreet distance, and we hope to hear a report soon.” She almost jumped when she heard the loud thud as Nataylia slammed the note down on the table. That is when Lucinda noticed that Nataylia’s eyes were starting to water. Nataylia blinked a couple of times to clear the tears before saying in a voice that sounded like it was on the verge of tears, “I should have known. Her curiosity of outside cultures had always been strong and had got her in trouble more than once.” Nataylia stood up and sighed. “I am sorry about this.” She then took out a small piece of cloth and wiped underneath her eyes before continuing, “Please let me know if you have any news.” Again, Lucinda notice Nataylia blinking before she left her office.
Lucinda turned and looked out of the window on to the city. She had regarded Nataylia as a useful tool but also part of her thought of her as a potential threat, as per her dark elf training; something she had difficulty seeing now. Lucinda looked at the city again and sighed. It seemed to make life more and more complex.
They were now approaching Ellerwyn, or as he had been told by Bloodhammer, that Ellerwyn means Capital City of Lerwyn, and of course Lerwyn meant New Realm in Elvish. So a literal translation would be Capital City of the new realm. As they approached, he noticed the change in landscape with more fields of grain and wheat, as well as other crops and the odd large house that indicated a farming estate. As they reached the crest of a hill and he was able to look down and saw the city itself, a large expanse of light grey streets and various types of buildings that must have covered several square miles. On the edges of the city connected by light grey streets where what looked like houses about two or three stories high with a flat roof, most of which were green with plants, the centre of the city was surrounded by large, grey walls, and as they got close, he could make out little figures on top of them.
In the centre were the largest buildings, most of them square shaped, and it looked like they had very ornate entrances with some seeming to have large columns that reminded him of the entrance to a supreme court house. Many of them where topped by large domes. In various spots of the city were a collection of bright canopies that looked like they might be market areas, and there were even a couple of buildings six or seven stories high with flat roofs as well.
He then noticed one of the furthest hills towards the east of the city was a large complex that covered most of the top of the hill. It looked like a manor house straight out of a book on the guide to the country side. From what he could make out, most of the view was blocked by large, grey walls. He also noticed that any houses that were close to this building seemed larger and more ornate. The opposite side of the city seemed to be an industrial area that had large buildings that looked like warehouses and a few with tall chimney stacks. The industrial area also touched the side of the river that flowed past the city, and there was a dock with a couple of ships with small figures scurrying across them.
As they got closer, he noticed the roads were nice and large, and traffic seemed rather light at the moment. Most of the elvish men seemed to be wearing trousers and ornately designed shirts, although they would be no match to the bright colour of a proper Hawaiian shirt. It seemed women were also wearing trousers with the odd female wearing a long skirt, and both of them had various patterns as well as colours on them; it seemed the brighter the better. Their hair colour was surprising, as it tended to have two colours, rather like their dark elf cousins, and ranged from black with red streaks to blond with light brown streaks, and their skin was white pale with a touch of colour in their cheeks.
He did see two bronze coloured elves, one with blond hair with dark streaks who was wearing a green shirt and pants. One or two of the houses turned out to be shops as well with either a large glass window in the front displaying what was on sale, or an open plan walk in shop with the front of the shop being provided shade by a bright canopy. After making their way past the houses, they finally approached the inner city gate house which was about three stories high and rather ornately decorated with ancient elven writing above the top of the arch of the doorway. He also notice a heavy metal portcullis in the raised position.
Here he came face to face with an Elven guard who wore a steel breast plate with the Elven city insignia on it, which consisted of a picture of stylised bird of prey with quills on top of its head, about to strike. The uniform itself consisted of a black shirt and black pants with a red stripe on them, as well as a round, steel helmet with a cap in front and space to allow his pointed ears. His skin was pale and his hair, from what he could see under the helmet, was pitch black. His eyes, he noticed, were bright blue. The weapon he held rather intrigued Gary; it seemed to him to look rather like a Flintlock rifle. He also had a sword in a scabbard on his belt. The guard looked at their group briefly and waved them through as if they were expected.
Then Gary noticed the foot traffic dramatically increase, and he also noticed that most of their buildings seemed to have a stone or wooden walkway between them at the second story. Finally the cart stopped next a large, three story, grey, stone building with a flat roof which had a large bricked off yard next to it. On the gates of the yard was a dark blue picture of an anvil with a grey pick lying on top of it—the logo for Blindstone—which slowly opened up, pulled by two dwarfs.
Bloodhammer was the first down, followed by Gary. Bloodhammer smiled as he nodded to the two dwarfs. “Welcome to the city of Ellerwyn, and this,” he said while pointing toward
s the main buildings, “is our embassy where we conduct all trade. It is getting dark, so first we rest up, then tomorrow I will show you the market, and after that you can join us as we trade.” Bloodhammer emphasised the last word as if there was nothing more exciting in a tone that indicates sarcasm on his part.
Gary thought for a moment before asking, “What is that large building on the far side of the city?”
Bloodhammer smiled. “That is where we are going tomorrow. It is the Palace of Ellewryn and is where the king meets with his parliament and also happens to be the king’s house; it is a rather odd system. It seems that in order to do anything, the king has to get the approval of his councillors first.”
Bloodhammer shook his head at such an undwarvern concept. Gary decided not to prod the issue further but rather thought of another question to ask his dwarvern friend. “What about the human realms, Morkangin and Gar, how do they work?”
Bloodhammer carried on walking up the stairs. “Morkangin is pretty simple. From what I hear, the one with magic rules, I think they have a council of mages or something. Gar, on the other hand, is ruled by a high priestess. Interesting place, I think that is where our next trading mission will be. I hope you’re used to heat.”
They climbed up to the third floor where Bloodhammer pointed to a door. “You are in there, and I am in the room next door, and facilities are down the hall, and supper will be an hour’s time. I am told we meet on the roof as they can cook in the open.”
Gary opened the door to his room to find a simple bed as well as a wooden desk and chair, a bowl of water, and a window with a view towards the eleven streets. He decided to head to the roof to see if he could get a good view of the city, and once up there, he found his instinct had not mislead him. He really wished he had his camera as he looked over the shopkeepers shouting out their goods and prices as well as the customers and even the odd group of city guards.