Reign of the Dark Elves: Book One : The Sorcerer

by Andrew G. Wood

  He watched as One Dark Elf, in particular, seemed somewhat cagey about putting his head too far from the obscurity of the tunnel entrance. An older looking Elf that Brenion immediately recognised as probably being the one in charge. From observing this elf’s behaviour, he deduced that the officer looked somewhat uncertain, and it was this uncertainty that convinced Brenion to do nothing. Let the Dark Elves remain unsure about what to expect. Sure, they would almost certainly go and get more, but Brenion knew if he could lure a much larger force out of the tunnel and up to the walls and gate, he and the others defending could strike them a major blow.

  Drakon stepped back into the safety of the tunnel, just out of the entranceway to decide on his next course of action. After pondering for a few moments, knowing this could be something that elevated him in status, ensuring him further wealth and fame, he knew he needed to get this right. Attacking with what he had was probably foolish, especially as he had no idea of what he was facing. Even if there were humans the other side, he doubted they would be of sufficient skill to counter his own force. Yet he supposed in enough numbers they might cause him some problems, and therefore he needed to make certain. Clicking his fingers as he made up his mind, Drakon ordered ten guards to remain at the tunnel entrance. Their job was to remain and observe any signs of humans, while he and the others rode back to the outpost. Here he could gather the full force available to him, although that would likely have to include the small contingent of humans from there as well.

  Brenion carefully manoeuvred himself over to the steps that led down from atop of the wall. After a brief and quiet discussion with the officer in charge at the gate, they agreed to keep an eye on proceedings. Meanwhile, Brenion would hurry back to the main town and ask the council to ready their full force. Although he was already certain he would likely be blamed for leading the Dark Elves to their little sanctuary, it was something they all knew would have happened eventually.

  While Insgarth thrived, and those that lived there had a far better life than most humans, it was always their intention to one day break free from their mountain hideaway and free all their lands. While they would never have enough numbers to fight the Dark Elves in one vast battle, Brenion and many of the other senior members knew if they were ever to achieve such a thing, they would have to be selective. If, as he now thought, the Dark Elves were probably amassing what numbers they could from the local outpost, this could be a decisive moment for both sides. If they could defeat this force of Dark Elves, it would not only mean the local outpost could also be taken, but the local human populace could be liberated and incorporated into their own numbers. While only sparsely populated around this region, and not everyone suitable to take up arms and fight, it would hopefully still be enough to take that first step back to freedom.

  As Brenion hurried away from the gates and towards the outer walls of Insgarth, he knew persuading the council to do anything other than cower away would be difficult. Yet he sensed an opportunity could be had here if they played things right. Not only could they deal the Dark Elves a defeat, something which had barely happened even during the invasion, but they could also take an important step forward. With a spring in his step and a mind full of both doubts and hopes, Brenion made his way through the gates and up the street towards the keep.

  Having not been to the keep since the farcical trial that had taken place, he wasn’t even sure he would be allowed access. However, the guard at the entrance seemed to recognise who he was and waved him straight in. With the state of alertness now needing to be raised, Brenion headed straight for the office of the High Councilor. Even if the man didn’t agree to his offensive plans, he needed to call all the army to prepare for what looked like an imminent attack. Hurrying up the staircase, taking two steps at a time he felt a little out of breath as he turned right down a corridor before stopping outside one of the doors. Marked with the symbol of the council upon it, Brenion took a deep breath and knocked.

  A voice from within soon shouted for him to enter, and knowing time was of the essence, he did just that. Stepping inside what was an uncomfortably warm room, he spotted the High Councilor sitting behind his desk discussing some paperwork with his much younger assistant.

  “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” The High Councillor said clearly not best pleased to see him.

  “We have a problem. The Dark Elves have found the tunnel entrance,” Brenion said skipping all formalities or welcomes.

  Evidently, it took a few moments for those words to sink in, as the High Councilor merely sat and stared directly at him without saying anything in reply. However, as if the words had triggered something inside, he then leapt up out of his seat, almost knocking his assistant over in the process.

  “You are certain?”

  Brenion just gave a single nod of his head in reply.

  “Very well Brenion. We may not like each other, but I must ask you to gather all the magicians at the gate. I shall call the army and the reserve to arms.”

  With a mixed feeling of nervousness and uncertainty, as well as a touch of excitement, Brenion headed out of the keep yard and down the street to where the magical fraternity resided. Unsurprisingly, he found Osrik and Liana outside practising, and though he wasn’t sure the latter was ready for anything just yet, the former would definitely be needed. “Osrik!” Brenion shouted over as he headed straight in their direction. The druid smiled and gave a wave of his hand, although that was soon replaced by a look of concern when Brenion explained to him what was needed.

  “I understand,” Osrik replied.

  “I’m coming too,” Liana added, even though she had not been asked.

  “Yes, I thought you might say that,” Brenion replied, before heading into the main building to spread the word.

  Chapter 19.

  Within just half an hour over one hundred soldiers were lining up at the base of the wall near the tunnel entrance. Obscured from view by the same vast structure that was currently all that separated them from the Dark Elves. With orders to remain quiet, they were split up depending on their skills, with an equal amount of infantry and archers being readied to take up positions on the battlements when the time was right. For now, they were just going to have to wait, and already a temporary camp was being set up, so the men had refreshments at hand.

  Brenion led the small team of magicians, who were in discussions with Lenic and two other officers as to where they were to be positioned if needed. Among their number was Liana, who had insisted on playing her part, which ultimately meant that Ari was with her. With so much going on, Liana and Ari found themselves conveniently positioned just off to one side as if moved out of the way. While all the fuss was going on, and not being able to see what faced them, Liana thought to use a little of her magic and see if she could sense what was the other side of the vast wall.

  Closing her eyes and calming her breathing as Osrik had told her to do, she found she could see things much further away and in more detail than before her lessons. There were no beings, elven or human within the gap between the wall and the tunnel entrance, and although the rock made it difficult for her to see what was beyond that, she picked up on a familiar feeling.

  “Wraiths,” she mumbled under her breath, although in their true form and so unable to detect magic. Knowing this was something of importance Liana immediately opened her eyes and looked about for Osrik or Brenion. Thankfully both were still in talks with the officers, and without letting Ari know what she was doing, darted off towards them.

  Ari was caught a little off-guard as Liana ran off, and with strict instructions, he was to remain at her side and keep her safe, was left with no option but to run after her. With a bow over his shoulder, a quiver of arrows flapping around his lower back and a sword at his waist, running did not come easy. After nearly tripping over his own bow, Ari stumbled into a stride but no sooner had he got a rhythm going than he had to stop again.

  “Wraiths…They have wraiths!” Liana said interrupting the c
onversation going on between the magicians and the officers.

  “Who has wraiths?” said a man Liana did not know, but judging by his attire she assumed was another magician and not a soldier.

  “They do…I sensed several of them, just the other side of the rock face,” Liana explained.

  The unfamiliar man looked towards Osrik and Brenion as if checking to see if Liana’s observations were worthy of note. Both men thankfully nodded, and Osrik was happy to explain that as far as sensing other beings, Liana was as good as they had.

  “You should not have used your magic, they might have sensed your presence, and all this would be for nothing,” the man said turning Liana’s direction.

  “Okay, Egar, keep calm,” Osrik immediately said jumping to her defence. “If the wraiths are still in their proper form then they would not have been able to pick up on her magic. However, should they change then they would have to come through the tunnel to sense us here anyway.”

  Egar nodded as if calmed by the explanation he was given. Although Liana had only tried to help, it appeared she was only succeeding in causing more trouble and was about to turn away and stand back over to one side.

  “Stay close, perhaps we can use your ability to let us know if and when the wraiths are moving,” Egar suggested.

  Liana rolled back her eyes, wishing the man would make up his mind as to whether she was to use her magic or not. She glared his direction for a few moments to show her annoyance but quickly looked away when the man seemed to take umbrage with her doing so. Although not particularly threatening in stature, Liana assumed he must be a magician of great regard, if both Osrik and Brenion were happy to do as he was asking. Tall and slim with a face that suggested he had probably seen more summers and winters than the three of them put together, Egar did carry that certain air of importance about him. Although balding with just a few wispy grey hairs on the sides, the man’s posture was still good and upright, belying his years.

  With the presence of wraiths being a major concern, the discussion now was whether to make the first strike or risk being detected. Should the Dark Elves left to guard the tunnel think about using the wraiths, then the creatures could take their ghost-like form and be almost invisible to the human eye. Moreover, killing them would be a far bigger problem, and would mean them having to return to their original form for them to do so.

  “I have been instructed that if things go badly, I am to collapse the tunnel,” Egar said as if forewarning the other magicians.

  Fortunately, in such circumstances, the defence of Insgarth was overseen by those in military command and not the High Councillor or his cronies. While they still had an input as to what they wanted to be done, the final say was not theirs to make. As a result, Egar had been instructed by the military officers to block their only way in and out to the rest of the kingdom if necessary. While this may have appeared a bit drastic, securing Insgarths future had to take priority over all other scenarios, even if it meant cutting themselves off.

  As Liana and Ari stood listening to the discussions, the latter thought to ask a few questions of his own, although only whispered them into Liana’s ear.

  “How is he going to collapse the tunnel?” Ari asked, trying to keep his voice low.

  “I don’t know,” Liana said, admitting she was as clueless as he was as to what powers Egar possessed.

  While they had tried to keep the conversation to themselves, it was soon evident Brenion had overheard the comment and duly answered the question for them.

  “Egar is what you would call an elementalist. He can control fire, water, air and the earth.”

  “Fire, like you?” Ari asked.

  Brenion shook his head, “Not quite like me no. I can manifest the flames, but Egar can not. However, he can manipulate them to do some quite amazing things,” Brenion replied.

  “So he can manipulate the rock to bring the tunnel collapsing down?” Ari asked as if understanding what was being explained.

  Brenion nodded and told him that was correct.

  After endless discussions on whether to make the first move or not, a decision was finally agreed upon. Having the wraiths the other side of the tunnel was too risky, and they needed to be dealt with. They knew that the other Dark Elves had ridden off and would very likely be back within a few hours in much larger numbers, so any action they needed to take had to be carried out sooner rather than later. The problem they had was how to get to them and dealing with them before they changed their form. This was apparently something Egar could do, and something that Liana for one was interested in seeing.

  Although not asked to be there, Liana and Ari decided among themselves it was where they should be as they listened in to what was going to occur. As it happened Liana was needed, although only briefly just to locate and pinpoint the position of wraiths. After a short delay with her struggling to concentrate as she did earlier, Liana picked up six of the creatures, all standing together in a group at the other end of the tunnel.

  “They have probably been commanded to stay there, and won’t move unless someone tells them otherwise,” Osrik explained, apparently being the expert on wraiths and their behaviour patterns.

  Liana felt Brenion put his hand on her shoulder and nod his head as if to say well done, before asking her and Ari to stay where they were. Brenion and Egar then pointed out to where Liana had explained the wraiths to be, and the two made their way up the stone steps that led to the top of the battlements. Keeping low and out of sight, the two stopped just short of the top steps allowing them both to remain standing. Liana, still on the ground wanting to see what they were doing and despite being asked to remain put, decided to move around the side to get a better view.

  “Whoah!,” She said as Brenion produced just a small ball of flame. While that was nothing that she had not seen before, the way that it moved certainly was. As if being guided, the ball of fire did not merely launch through the air as she had seen Brenion do previously but drifted slowly upwards before moving along the top of the wall as if it were staying low to remain out of sight.

  Liana assumed the Dark Elves keeping watch at the tunnel entrance would spot a ball of fire moving around by itself, and keeping it hidden was a good idea. As the ball of flame reached the point where the man-made wall joined the rock face, Liana lost sight of it for a few moments. Thinking that Egar had lost control of it, she went to turn away but kept her eyes that direction as she saw the fire again, although now it was nothing more than a thin line of flame, making it much harder to see.

  The wraiths, all grouped at the end of the tunnel entrance as they had been instructed to do merely stood huddled together. From above their position, unseen or undetected by either the strange looking beasts or the two Dark Elven soldiers positioned with them came a slither of fire. Moving down at speed through the darkening skies above the flames spread out, enlarging as they fell. As the first of the beasts let out a loud cry, the flames had already engulfed the entire group, as the fire then started moving up the tunnel to the soldiers waiting for the other end.

  Hearing the cries and screams, the Dark Elves positioned at the wall side of the tunnel turned to see a mass of flames heading their direction. With the option to either remain and be engulfed in the fire or move out of the tunnel to the area around the wall, the latter was the only feasible option to take. However, no sooner had the fire reached the tunnel entrance, and those same Dark Elves thinking they had survived an attack when the archers upon the battlements revealed themselves and fired down at them. The fighting was over all to briefly as a plethora of arrows shot downwards, killing all the Elves before any of them had realised what was happening. With the brief battle finished, the gates were opened, and dozens of soldiers hurried out into the open. The scene needed to be reset, and any evidence that anything untoward cleared away from view. This would ultimately mean dragging both the dead Dark Elves corpses, still peppered with arrow shafts and the blackened burned corpses of the wraiths into the area be
yond the gates. Any visible signs needed to be removed, and although they knew there was the risk the Dark Elves could have more wraiths with them on their return, it was assumed not likely, meaning they now had no way of detecting magic.

  Osrik came over to Liana and asked her to use her senses once more, just to check Egar had not missed any. With only her tutor asking she appeared to be able to concentrate that bit easier than when in front of others, aside from Ari of course who didn’t really count. Starting as she always did, Liana used herself as the centre of focus, pushing her will outwards, feeling, searching for any unfamiliar signs of life. So many people in one place, far more than she had ever seen before, as she duly detected the army of human soldiers all nervously waiting on her side of the wall. Beyond that, nothing, just an empty void of lifelessness, meaning Egar had of course done his part of the job well.