by Jaxon Reed
Both Lexa and Pediford stared at him in shock.
Lexa said, “So, we have a potential heir to the elven throne right here in Phanos?”
“I’m sure it’s not that simple, but . . . yes. He has royal blood in him. In my time within Dryadopolis, I learned something of the social structure. They do not marry outside their class, because abnormalities develop as a result. From ancient times, mating outside of one’s class has been forbidden to elves. Toby’s . . . simple mindedness, and the fact that he’s a mute . . . these are the results from crossbreeding between the classes. I suspect his abnormal size is part of that, too.”
“Well . . .” Lexa shoved her plate back and she stared at Pediford across the table. “It makes sense now why Sthenos wants to kill the children. Not only is Toby a potential heir to the throne, he’s an aberration in their natural order. No doubt the elves dislike such . . . flaws in the populace.”
“Indeed,” Justen said. “I never noticed such as him in all my time within Dryadopolis.”
“What a vexing dilemma! Pediford, what should we do about it all?”
The butler jumped in his seat, startled. He said, “Do, m’lady? Why should you do anything?”
“They are my responsibility, Pediford. I took those poor elves off the street and gave them somewhere to go, somewhere they could be safe and thrive. Now that pesky king has been sending his assassins after them. If he sends an armed force to fetch them, it could mean war. Now, I ask you both for your advice. What should we do?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, too, m’lady,” Justen said, shoving his own plate back. “And because this is a royal matter, involving the king of the elves after all, I believe you should present their case to Queen Elliah.”
Lexa clapped her hands together and smiled.
“Splendid idea, Justen! The queen might have some notion of how to resolve all this peacefully.”
“Or she might decide to execute them herself,” Pediford said, pointedly.
“Nonsense, Pediford. Reginald assures me the queen is quite considerate toward all her subjects.”
“It will certainly dump the problem in her lap, m’lady, absolving you of any further responsibility.”
“Tish-tosh, Pediford. That’s not why I’m doing this.”
“Indeed. Lord Reginald has returned to court as well, has he not?”
Pediford’s eyes glinted with the accusation, strongly hinting that her motives were not entirely altruistic.
She either did not notice or she chose to ignore it.
She said, “Yes!”
Lexa’s eyes lit up with an even bigger smile.
“I have one other bit of news in the research I’ve done since learning about Toby’s heritage, m’lady.”
“Yes? What is that, Justen?”
“Tawny talks about the fighting that her mother engaged in when the first assassins were sent shortly after Toby was born. They were hiding out in a small village, by the name of Ligo.”
“Ligo? I’m not familiar with it.”
“It was destroyed. Ligo is no more.”
“Where was it?”
“Near Melody. In fact, Ligo was the closest village to Melody. Almost immediately after Ligo’s destruction, Melody began to sink and turn into the dungeon it is today.”
Lexa’s face fell. She said, “Do you think . . . do you think those events are related somehow?”
“Toby seems young to us, m’lady. But in fact, he’s older than fifty. He’s an elf, and they age differently. Tawny has been running and hiding with him for over half a century. And yes, I think the destruction of Melody is directly related to them and their mother’s final battle, somehow.”
“Well,” Lexa breathed, her head swimming with all the new knowledge. “We’ll just have to bring this to Queen Elliah’s court and see what she thinks.”
-+-
Two days later, a curious wagon train trundled out the gates of Phanos. It headed down the road toward Menos, capital city of the Queen’s Land.
Nothing led the fine carriage up front, although the butler guiding the contraption seemed to be leading invisible horses. He held reins that disappeared in the air, and the conveyance traveled where he directed. Such was the way of magical carriages.
Hitched to the back, a large covered wagon followed. Inside this much plainer vehicle a giant elf, his sister, and a small band of Dungeon Corps members sat on simple wooden benches holding a quiet conversation.
A third cart brought up the rear, this one piled high with food and . . . a stone sarcophagus.
The odd procession left the city, the butler waving at the city guards at the gate, and it proceeded down the road at a stately pace. The added weight hitched to the magical carriage seemingly made no difference to whatever ghostly horses on the aethereal plain might be pulling it.
They trundled along as the paved stones gave way to crushed gravel, then hard packed dirt as the city fell further behind.
The three young people talked quietly. Percel took the opportunity for a nap, although no one understood how the man could sleep on a hard bench in a moving cart.
Choster stayed in the sarcophagus, avoiding sunlight. Justen shuttled between the carriage, casting magical messages for Lady Lexa, the driver’s seat where he politely chatted with Pediford, and back under the covered area under the canopy.
For his part, Toby sat on the back of the wagon, his feet dangling over the edge while he watched the scenery passing by in wonder.
They stopped for lunch at a crossroad populated by other travelers, but kept mostly to themselves. Justen started a roaring fire and Pediford prepared food for everybody. He made a plate to bring into Lexa’s carriage, but she stepped out and ate with everyone else, travel temporarily easing the boundaries of class.
Pediford did not say anything but his expression grew disturbed.
“It’s fine, Pediford. We are on the road and social niceties must perforce take a backseat.”
“If you say so, m’lady.”
Clearly he did not approve, and would have preferred she dined alone. But she waved him off and chatted with the others over lunch.
An hour later they were on the road again, Choster remaining inside his sarcophagus while everyone else piled back into the covered wagon.
Erik brought out his deck of cards and rearranged the benches so that one served as a table while they sat on the floor to play the game.
Toby resumed his perch on the edge.
As the sun sank deeper in the sky, they passed a marker indicating four miles to the village of Leptos.
This elicited a question from Pediford regarding their accommodations for the evening.
He spoke through the panel into the carriage’s compartment.
“We could camp outside the village, m’lady. Perhaps that would be best for the elves, so as not to arouse any concerns with the populace. If you like, I could take you into town once they are settled and find a suitable inn for you.”
“I don’t like the idea of splitting up, Pediford. And I don’t think the children would appreciate sleeping under the stars while I relax in a bed. No, I will vouch for them at the inn we choose. Besides, it will be safer indoors.”
“As you wish, m’lady.”
Justen, overhearing Pediford’s side of the conversation, solved several problems by casting a spell on the entire party before they entered the village. He made everyone look completely different, even going so far as to make Toby appear to be a normal-sized man.
They found the nicest inn within the village walls and sat down in the public room for supper. Lady Lexa paid in advance for everything with several coins to the grateful innkeeper, who was always happy to entertain unexpected guests so long as they could afford his rates.
The chair Toby sat down in creaked ominously. He looked around in his human guise, alarm spreading on his face. The spell did not adjust his weight to fit the new appearance.
“You’re alright,” Tawny reassured him, looking like a shorter
human herself.
A wench came out with bread and stew, and everyone dug in.
Later, bringing a fourth helping to Toby, she said, “You must have a bottomless pit for a stomach, ay?”
She winked at him.
He smiled back and stifled a burp with his fist.
She lingered in the area, and continued making eyes at Toby. Nessa finally placed her hand on top of Toby’s and glared at her with an unspoken message of possessiveness. Only then did the serving wench back off and leave Toby alone.
Later they headed upstairs. Lexa had paid for two rooms, one for herself and a large one for everyone else.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Percel said as they filed into their big room with several beds. “I had a nap on the road.”
“I’ll take the second,” Justen said.
“Wake me up early,” Erik said. “I’ll pull a Percel and sleep on the road, later.”
After breakfast the following morning, Pediford retrieved the carriage train from the stables where he had parked it for the night.
Everyone loaded up at the door to the inn, and they made their way out of the village, attracting considerable attention from everyone who saw them. Evidently, not many magical carriages made their way to the village.
They traveled uneventfully through the morning, stopping around noon for lunch at the crest of a scenic hilltop. Other travelers stopped here often as well, leaving behind the telltale signs of campfires.
Once lunch concluded they again took to the road, with Pediford determined to make it to the village of Livadi before nightfall.
Late in the afternoon, everyone was either bored or asleep in the wagon.
Percel and Justen nodded off in opposite corners. Nessa lay curled up in Toby’s arms, dozing. Erik and Tawny sat against a wall holding hands while staring into space.
Erik said, “Are we there yet?”
Tawny said, “No.”
“Are we there yet?”
“No. Shut up.”
“I wish we could take the Abyss to Menos. It’d be much faster.”
Percel opened an eye to glare at him. He said, “Too dangerous.”
“We made it alright last time.”
“Are y’daft, lad? We ran from every creature that outranked us down there, and only escaped by the skin of our teeth. And how do y’suppose we could get the lady and her manservant through all that? The mage could hold his own, but those two would not last three levels, I wager.”
Erik smiled, but conceded defeat.
He said, “Just a thought.”
“We could have used transport stones,” Tawny said, picking up the spirit of Erik’s argument.
Percel snorted. “Thousands of gold each. Nay, this is the normal way to travel to Menos, and elsewhere. By cart and road, the way the Creator intended.”
The wheels continued their rhythmic pace and conversation dwindled.
Silence reigned for several minutes.
Erik said, “Are we there yet?”
“Slit his throat for me, lass. I don’t feel like getting up to do it myself.”
Unfortunately, Pediford did not make it to Livadi before nightfall. He stopped and let Justen come out to cast Globe of Light, setting the spell to float twenty feet in front of the carriage.
“We’ll have a late supper, m’lady, but we should be in the village within an hour, I reckon.”
“Very well,” Lexa said. “Carry on, Pediford.”
The train commenced into the gathering night.
Several minutes later, Pediford spied a horseman waiting for him in the gloom ahead.
“I say! Company on the road.”
Hearing this, those in the back stirred.
Lexa opened the slot between her compartment and the driver’s seat and peered out in the dark.
She said, “Don’t stop, Pediford.”
“Indeed, m’lady.”
Pediford guided the invisible horses onward and made to pass by the man. As he drew near, however, a dozen riders burst out of the woods and crowded the road.
Pediford might still have tried to plow his way through the equine blockade, but someone cut a retaining line and a large tree trunk came swinging out over the path.
This obstacle, hanging by ropes as thick as a man’s fist, would surely damage the magical carriage if he tried to ram it. Pediford pulled back on the reins and the riders surrounded them.
“I say! Bandits!”
In the back of the covered wagon, everyone looked out and spied the riders on the road in the dusk. Toby, legs swinging off the back, stuck a finger in his mouth as he regarded the men and women in dark clothing.
Percel shoved his way past the giant elf and hopped down to the ground. A flicker of steel reflected back in the Globe of Light’s illumination. All the riders had their swords drawn.
Percel looked down at the stone sarcophagus in the cargo cart and thumped on the lid.
“Get out here, Choster. You haven’t done anything but sleep this whole trip.”
The bandits’ attention shifted to the cart, where the slow scraping of a heavy stone lid being shoved aside made an ominous sound.
Choster sat up, his head swiveling, taking in the dozen or so bandits on horseback surrounding them.
“Ah! How fortuitous. I was getting hungry.”
He disappeared with a soft poof, turning into a cloud of dark mist virtually invisible in the gathering dusk.
The bandits, their confidence shaken by seeing one of their would-be victims disappear out of a stone coffin, shared nervous glances with one another.
The mist flowed around the rider closest to the cart, and the evening suddenly grew darker for that poor soul in more ways than one.
He waved the air in front of his face, as if trying to clear away smoke.
Choster materialized suddenly, in front of him. He grabbed the man’s head and pulled him out of the saddle, biting his neck in one smooth motion.
The horse reared in fright, then galloped down the road into the night. The other horses backed away uncertainly, held in place only by the will of their masters.
They watched in horror as Choster feasted, the bandit in his arms now comatose and seeming to shrivel rapidly before their eyes.
Choster dropped his victim to the ground and looked up at the circle of riders with blood covering the lower half of his face.
He smiled and said, “Who’s next?”
At that, the bandits had enough. They all turned their horses and galloped away.
“Right, then,” Percel said. “Erik, chop down that tree blocking the road. Toby, lad, roll it off to one side so’s we can pass.”
Erik said, “Come on, Toby.”
The giant elf followed him around to the front.
Pediford remained seated on top of the magical carriage. He smiled nervously at them. He had seen what happened to the bandit, and he glanced at the crumpled body uneasily.
“Uh . . . good show?”
Erik nodded and unsheathed his Nikos sword. He cut one end holding the long tree, and the large trunk thudded to the ground. Then he moved to the other end and cut it too, neatly jumping back as the tree rolled a bit.
“Your turn, Toby. Push on this end and roll it off the road.”
Toby smiled and placed his palms on the trunk. His shoulders bunched and the tree trunk rolled. Within minutes, it lay off to one side and the way was clear.
In the driver’s seat Pediford breathed a sigh of relief.
He said, “Onwards!”
Toby and Erik made their way back to the covered wagon and climbed onboard.
Pediford snapped the reins and they resumed their journey.
-+-
At long last, early in the afternoon of their third day on the road, the walls of Menos came into sight. Pediford sighed in relief as the carriage trundled out of a lightly wooded area in rolling hills. On the top of the first clear rise, he pulled over and invited everyone to come out and look at Menos from a distance.
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There, with miles of open countryside surrounding it, the vast walls of the powerful ancient city seemed to rise from the ground as if growing there naturally over time.
The walls stood tall, taller than those around Phanos. Even at this distance, the runes carved in them sparkled with magical energy reflecting the setting sun. Watchtowers rose at regularly spaced intervals, affording a clear view in all directions. No one could approach without being seen from miles away.
Near the city’s center on top of a massive hill stood a glorious palace, the most magnificent structure in the land. It loomed tall and vast, with black and gold pennants, the royal colors, flying from its many spires. Gigantic bay windows reflected sunlight, winking at them in the distance, and enormous high balconies promised exquisite open-air views for those stepping out to enjoy them.
“That’s where we’re headed?” Tawny said, awe creeping into her voice.
“Aye,” Percel said. “Menos means ‘mighty’ in the Old Tongue. This great city has stood for centuries and never fallen. Not even to the elves.”
Eventually everyone returned to their seats and Pediford resumed the trek, guiding the magical carriage back onto the road. The surface quickly grew better, from hard-packed dirt to smooth caliche, then cobblestones as the day progressed. Half a mile from the city gates, the road widened dramatically, allowing all sorts of traffic to go in and out.
And the volume picked up as other roads from farms, villages and nearby towns and cities merged, their streams forming a much larger river of humanity leading into massive metal gates set in the wall.
When they reached the gates, choosing the line for carriage trains, a bored guard raised an eyebrow and asked Pediford his name and business in the city.
“Lady Lexa and her party, here to see the queen.”
This elicited a sharp reaction. The guard hopped to it, and in no time Pediford found himself following a mounted company of six Queen’s Guard soldiers, who cleared a path for the carriage through the busy streets and led them straight to the palace.
There, more gates opened and they were led inside a marvelous stable, the likes of which Pediford had never seen. Stalls for horses were magnificent, made of fine timbers and kept immaculately clean, with fresh hay and clean water.