Elven Accord

by Daniel Schinhofen

  When they reached the body, Alvin got out of the Humvee to loot it. The only thing he got was a spyglass. Shrugging, he got back in the Humvee. “Car, drive back toward the Gate. Stop if I slap the roof twice.”

  Kuro looked at him with a questioning gaze, but Alvin just gave her a smile as he got back into the gunner’s spot. Putting the M82 away, he used the spyglass to take a look around. In the distance, he could see a couple of other riders moving the same way the army was going.

  Ducking back into the Humvee, Alvin chuckled. “Car, turn left ninety degrees and pick up the speed to sixty.”

  “What is happening?” Kuro asked.

  “I see some more riders; we’re going to go say hi to them,” Alvin told her. “I think it’s just more scouts, which means another detachment of soldiers are probably at the Gate or close to it. After we hit the scouts, we’ll go back to the Gate and see if more of them showed up.”

  “Are we going to leave the vehicle to face them?” Kuro asked hopefully.

  “Not at first, but we will if they surrender,” Alvin said.

  “Again, I do nothing,” Kuro muttered.

  “We’ll fix that starting tonight,” Alvin told her. “We’ll be starting you on firearms training, the zombie edition.”

  Kuro’s face scrunched up. “Why the zombie edition?”

  “Because with the way guns work now, some of the older rules kind of fall away,” Alvin said. “We’ll talk later.” Standing back up, he grabbed the M240B and got it pointed at the closest rider, who was sitting there with wide eyes.

  “It is just not your day,” Alvin said, squeezing the trigger for a brief moment. Six rounds left the gun and hit the rider in the upper chest and neck. “Splash goes the weasel,” Alvin snickered as one of the rounds severed the head from the body. He tapped the roof twice and the Humvee came to an abrupt halt, throwing Alvin into the pintle mount. “Fucking car,” Alvin hissed as he ducked into the Humvee.

  “Why did we stop so suddenly?” Kuro asked as she rubbed her head.

  “Dead Elf. Jump out and loot him, please,” Alvin said. “I’m going to try to get the vehicle to understand what I mean when I tell it to stop.”

  Kuro’s eyes narrowed, but she opened the door and got out. She was back after a minute with a hide, and put it in the back compartment. “Sevra hide; it can be used by our crafters,” she said to his questioning look.

  “As soon as you’re back inside, we’re after the next scout,” Alvin told her. “I’ll even give you a go at it. Get into the back seat with me, and I’ll explain how the M240B works.”

  Kuro glared at him, but got into the back of the Humvee. “Car, turn around one hundred eighty degrees and go at forty,” Alvin said, ducking down so he was next to Kuro. “Okay, so the gun is easy. You just need to aim it at the person you want shot, then depress the trigger for small fractions of a second. Judge your shot, then do it again until you kill the rider and his mount.”

  Kuro eyed him with suspicion. “How do I aim the gun?”

  “Does this world have crossbows?” Alvin asked.

  “Only the infirm and children use them,” Kuro replied with a frown.

  “Our guns are similar in concept. Aim down the barrel for now; we’ll go over the real mechanics tonight,” Alvin said. “I’m going to take back control of the Humvee from the dumb AI. Start shooting once he’s within a couple hundred yards.”

  Not waiting for a reply, Alvin left Kuro in the back. Puzzlement was writ large on her features. He hasn’t even leered at me, Kuro mused internally. Maybe he isn’t like our men. She stood up in the gunner position, squinting against the wind as she saw a figure on sevra turning and fleeing from them.

  “He is running,” Kuro called down to Alvin.

  Alvin wasn’t sure what Kuro was saying, but he could see the scout turning away from them. “Damn it. Don’t run, Mister Elf. We just want to murder hobo you.” The distance between them wasn’t closing, and if anything, the sevra was starting to outpace them. “Shoot him!” Alvin shouted up at Kuro as loud as he could.

  Seeing the sevra start to open the distance on them, Kuro frowned as she decided what to do. She was supposed to wait, but this vehicle wasn’t closing the distance. Shaking her head, she opted to take a chance and aimed down the barrel at the fleeing rider.

  Wincing as the first few rounds left the gun, Kuro wondered if she would be able to hear again after using the strange new weapon. Kuro adjusted the aim as she watched puffs of dirt erupting from the ground to the left of the fleeing scout. Depressing the trigger again, she saw more puffs spraying up from the other side of the rider. Muttering to herself, Kuro adjusted slightly back the other way as she pulled the trigger again.

  The third time was the charm—the rider swayed in the saddle, one round catching him in the neck where the armor didn’t cover. Smiling at having hit him, Kuro squeezed the trigger again, a little longer this time. The sevra seemed distressed before pitching its rider off. Since Alvin had told her to kill the mount too, Kuro aimed at the sevra and depressed the trigger again and again. The sevra fell after the second burst, and Alvin stopped the Humvee next to the Elf to loot the dead body.

  Blinking at the excessive ringing in her ears, Kuro wiped at tears that she hadn’t meant to shed. Alvin looked up at her and spoke, but Kuro couldn’t hear him. Seeing her expression, Alvin just gave her a thumbs up before getting back into the Humvee and taking them to the body of the sevra.

  Once he was back inside the Humvee and had ordered it to drive to the Gate, he pulled up the store pad. He couldn’t find anything close to what he wanted, and dismissed the pad with a frown, focusing instead on the approaching Gate. Alvin thought he could see movement around it, so he broke out the spyglass so he could get a better look. Over a hundred mounted Elves were looking over the site of the battle.

  “Kuro,” Alvin called to her as he slowed the Humvee. “Come back inside a moment.”

  “Yes?” Kuro said, just ducking into the vehicle.

  “We have a hundred cavalry to deal with. The M240B only has two hundred rounds at a time, and then needs to reload for ten seconds. I’m going to leave you up there to shoot while I try to do what I did last time and run them over. Shoot the fleeing ones first, please. If you notice an Officer, don’t kill him, but make sure his mount dies. I want him alive to question.”

  Nodding, Kuro gave Alvin a small smile. “I can do that.”

  “Your time to shine; Gothy will reward you handsomely, I’m sure,” Alvin said, keeping his eyes on the plain before him.

  Kuro’s lips parted slightly at his words, and a hopeful, eager light filled her eyes. “For Gothy.”

  Alvin held back his chuckle at the breathless need in Kuro’s voice. It reminded him of Becky’s voice when she wanted him. Smiling, he pressed the pedal to the floor. The Humvee hit its maximum speed, aimed right for the crowd of men.

  “I wonder if they hotfixed the ability to run people over, or if it’s still broken?” Alvin said. “Oh well, I’m just doing what I do.”

  As the Humvee came closer, the cavalry got onto their sevras and formed ranks facing him. Alvin just chuckled and focused on one Elf wearing as close to full plate armor as he had seen, other than the Champion from the other day. Aiming to the side of the leader, Alvin grinned and watched the sevra start to charge at him.

  “Oh good, this is going to be much more challenging,” Alvin laughed as he tightened his grip on the wheel.

  Alvin was still laughing when he spun the Humvee around after the first pass through the ranks of cavalry. He had hit several of them, and the sound of the M240B was adding to the noise. Heading back toward the sevras and riders, Alvin grinned as he watched the leader try to piece together what had happened to his men, even while charging back at the armored vehicle.

  Four passes were enough to make what was left of the unit break and run. Alvin stopped the Humvee while Kuro finished unloading the belt into the fleeing men, killing two more of them. Getting out of th
e vehicle, he headed for the leader, who had fallen in the last pass. By the time he got to the barely moving Elf, Kuro was beside him.

  “He’s a Captain,” Kuro said.

  “Captain, you still alive?” Alvin asked, taking a knee next to the bleeding Elf.

  “What kind of horror descended upon us?” the Captain barely managed to ask, his eyes not focusing on Alvin.

  “Damn, didn’t want to waste a medkit,” Alvin grumbled as he pulled one from his pouch and applied it to the Elf. “Captain, no dying on me, at least not yet.”

  Eyes rolling, the Captain finally focused on Alvin. “Demon…”

  “Close enough,” Alvin replied as he rolled the Captain over. “Kuro, can you find something to bind him with? I want to take him back with us. Gothy will be getting anxious if we don’t come back soon.”

  “I’ll go look,” Kuro said, leaving the men there.

  Chapter Seven

  Pulling alongside the Mustang, Alvin motioned at Skyfall in the passenger seat. After a minute, the window rolled down. “I picked up a Captain for you, if you want to interrogate him. I doubt a hundred of the King’s cavalry were supposed to be at the Gate today.”

  Skyfall’s face hardened. “No, there shouldn’t have been extra troops, and that explains why it felt like they had more than we did. We will take him from you when we stop for the night.”

  “He’s trussed up pretty good, so that should be fine,” Alvin nodded.

  Skyfall looked away from the Humvee for a moment; Alvin could see Becky speaking to the Elf, but couldn’t hear what she was saying. Turning back to Alvin, Skyfall said, “Matriarch Gothy wishes to know if there was any trouble?”

  “Nope. I got Kuro a bit of fire time, though we need to work on her handling the guns. We’ll talk tonight,” Alvin said, shutting his window without waiting for a reply.

  Skyfall stared at him, shocked, before her window began to close. “You shut the window on her?” Kuro asked, her own consternation clear.

  “Yeah, I’m not going to hold a conversation between cars. We’ll talk when we stop,” Alvin shrugged.

  “She is a Champion of the Queen,” Kuro said. “She isn’t used to being dismissed by anyone other than the Queen.”

  “She’ll live,” Alvin said with a shrug. “I’m not part of your society. I’ll give respect where it’s due, but I’m not going to kowtow to her just because everyone else does.” Music filled the vehicle as Alvin turned the radio on, and neither spoke after that.

  Hours later, the sun had started to set and the army made camp. Glad for the break, Alvin put the Humvee in park and exited the vehicle. Popping open the back, Alvin was greeted with a snarl from the bound Captain. “Sucks being captured, doesn’t it?” Alvin asked as he grabbed the small spade that was strapped to the side of the compartment. “They’ll get you in a moment.”

  Alvin could hear the women talking as he walked off a ways and found a place to dig a hole. He had to kneel in order to use the short shovel effectively. Becky joined him when he had the hole almost big enough to suit him. “I was going to do the same damned thing.”

  “I’ll have it done in a minute or two,” Alvin told her. “Can you get some targets set up on the other side of camp? We need to get Kuro drilled on the guns.”

  “I invited Skyfall and Lightkiller to watch,” Becky told him. “They wanted to know more about our weapons.”

  “That’s fine,” Alvin replied as he kept digging, trying to get the hole at least a foot deep.

  “Be back,” Becky said, kissing the top of his head.

  Once Alvin had the hole as deep as he wanted it, he promptly used it, cleaning up with the TP from his bag. Feeling better, he left the roll of paper there because Becky was headed his way again. “We’ll fill it in tomorrow,” Alvin said when she was close enough to hear him.

  “Works,” Becky said, not pausing as she went right past him with Kuro close behind her.

  Their pavilion was set up and the bedding already laid out when Alvin went back to the camp. Checking on the far side of the tent, he found a couple of targets set up. Once he was sure they would hold up for a bit, Alvin set out the guns on a makeshift table.

  “Are those the guns?” Skyfall’s voice said from behind him.

  “Yeah,” Alvin said, looking out at the setting sun. Maybe an hour of light left… we’ll have to make this quick. Alvin turned to find Skyfall and Lightkiller both standing behind him. “Once Gothy and Kuro get back, we’ll do a quick drill on them.”

  “We’re here,” Becky said, coming around the pavilion. “You’ve got your rifles all laid out and we only have the three targets, so you’ll all get one.”

  Alvin motioned to the Remington. “Hang on to the rifle when we’re done. I’ve got the M82, so that will give you a distance gun, too.”

  “Sure thing, Hero,” Becky said. “Am I leading this?”

  With a look at the two Queen’s Elves standing there, Alvin nodded. “That would be for the best.”

  “Alright,” Becky said. She stepped to the table and Alvin retreated to the edge of the tent. “Ladies, come closer so we can go over this. I won’t say this twice and if you can’t repeat back my words, you aren’t getting range time.”

  Alvin watched Becky drill the trio of Elves on proper gun handling as if she were a drill instructor. It dawned on him that this was probably what she had gone through with her father when she was younger. The sun was almost totally beyond the horizon when she was satisfied with their replies.

  “Alright, it seems like you all understand what I’ve been saying. I’m going to let you all have a go at the targets.” Becky smiled as she looked at Alvin. “Would you grab all the flashlights from our bags? We’re going to need light shortly.”

  “Anything for my gothic beauty,” Alvin said, wandering off toward the vehicles to grab the lights. He had an idea, and had the vehicles come to the corners of the pavilion with their headlights pointed at the targets and lighting up the area. “This work?” Alvin asked as he got out of Ruffian.

  “Better than what I had asked for,” Becky winked. “Okay. We’ll start with Mousie, since she’s actually fired a gun before. You might want to cover your ears.” Becky demonstrated and the Elven women hesitantly copied her.

  Over the next few hours, the three Elven women put rounds into the targets, shredding them thoroughly. Once Becky called a halt, the Elves all looked thoughtful. “That is how guns work,” Becky said, collecting them for Alvin. “Any questions?”

  Skyfall spoke first, overly loud as her hearing hadn’t yet recovered from the noise of the firearms, “Will you sell them to us?”

  “That can be arranged, at least on the small scale to start with,” Becky replied.

  “The… shotgun…?” Lightkiller said the word slowly, checking that she said the unfamiliar word right. “It seems like that is the best of them.”

  “For close encounters, it is a hard one to beat. But it fails badly compared to the others at range. The small guns and submachine guns are good for quick and more quiet work, and they can be made even quieter than they currently are.”

  “I hope that is true,” Skyfall muttered.

  “The bigger guns do more damage, but as you saw, are not quiet and are much bulkier. The scoped rifle is the best for distance shooting. We can show you that better tomorrow before we leave,” Becky said.

  “Thank you for showing us,” Skyfall said, a small smile on her lips. “If we get enough of these guns, we could easily turn the tide against the King.”

  “You still need to chew through armor or hit them in unarmed spots, but even that’s going to change in a couple of days,” Alvin said. “To showcase the rifles tomorrow, we’ll need a chest piece set up at least a hundred yards out.”

  Lightkiller sneered at Alvin, but not as deeply as she had before. “What will that show us?”

  “You’ll see,” Alvin smiled sweetly at her. “Now if you don’t mind, we need to get some food and sleep.”


  Skyfall nodded to him, her eyes speculative. She touched Lightkiller’s shoulder and the two of them started toward the camp. “Good evening to all of you,” the words trailed to the group.

  Alvin watched them go with a narrowed gaze. “I have a bad feeling about what’s going to happen when we reach civilization.”

  “They’ll try to make a play for you,” Becky nodded. “They were asking questions about you today. They did it in between other questions, but it was obvious they think they’ll be able to entice you away from me.”

  Alvin chuckled as he watched the Elves get further from their small camp. “They have no idea how impossible that is.”

  “I know,” Becky giggled. “It was cute watching them try to be circumspect about it.”