by Jordan Cramm
Katrina ordered one of the magic casters forward, and the Elf stepped closer, bowing her head slightly at Katrina’s request. Katrina told Wolflen that the Elf was a Cleric, and that the Clerics of the Elven people were magical healers who specialized in healing. The Elf looked Wolflen over quickly and then spoke and said,
“The cut on his chest is an easy fix. I assume the armor won’t be hard for your people to repair either, but his arm…I can heal it sure enough, but he will be out of commission for two days at least afterwards.”
Katrina nodded and to Wolflen’s surprise, she told the Elf to start the healing.
“Katrina,” he commented, “how am I to get back to Peludeen if I am out of commission after this healing?”
Katrina looked over at Ayvock, who simply nodded his understanding. She then looked over at the Cleric and said told her to start the healing. Wolflen saw a blur of yellow color form around the Cleric’s hands and suddenly, a jolt of energy flew toward Wolflen’s chest. When it hit him, it felt warm and refreshing, but he didn’t feel anything for long, because he was soon unconscious. As he fell backwards and limp, Ayvock caught him in his fall and gently lowered him to the ground. Katrina stood nearby and Jakarta’s guards began escorting their prisoner toward Peludeen. Jakarta himself though turned back around and looked over Wolflen a moment.
“Your beloved was quite hasty to attack the Night Elf. Can you not keep him from such rash behavior?”
Katrina turned her head and looked at him as she spoke.
“He is your student Jakarta.”
There was a moment of serious firmness in their expressions and then they both began to smile.
“Well Princess he has taken away the threat of this Night Elf. If nothing else, I give him credit for bravery.”
Katrina nodded before turning back to see magic swirling over Wolflen’s arm now.
The magical healing in the woods was done as perfectly as it could have been done. When it was over, Sespa became Wolflen’s transport back to Peludeen when Katrina asked Sespa to carry Wolflen back to the city. So Ayvock, Jakarta and also Katrina herself helped to put Wolflen on Sespa’s back. Shortly after, Wolflen was in his bed inside his quarters in the Hall of Emerald Shielding. He was there for two days before they managed to get soup down his throat, but it was two days after that even, that he finally opened his eyes. To his delight, Katrina was sitting on the bed and staring at him when he woke.
“Katrina?” he said groggily as he wiped his eyes.
She smiled at him warmly.
“Thank you.”
Wolflen was confused. He didn’t know why she was thanking him.
“What?” he asked.
“For ridding Peludeen of the Night Elf danger. Jakarta’s guards couldn’t do it for many weeks, and we were losing more all the time. Now the killing in our woods is at an end, and for that we owe you thanks.”
Wolflen sat up and propped himself on his elbows in bed as he looked around and oriented himself to his surroundings.
“Katrina,” he said calmly, “it is my fault she was in your woods to begin with.”
Katrina disagreed, telling him that the Night Elf had made her own choices, including the one that brought her to Elven lands. Katrina said Wolflen was not responsible for that. Wolflen took a deep breath, but Katrina put a hand on his healed arm.
“We got her Wolflen. She is in our custody. The Paladins have a protected cell that she is a prisoner in. The cell is magical, preventing her from doing any magic, and now she is unarmed as well.”
Wolflen sat fully up in bed, suddenly realizing that he had lost precious time in healing. He asked Katrina if Ravenshade had been interrogated, and if there were any incidents with her. Katrina told him that Ayvock had been to visit every day, but would never say why. Katrina also explained that Jakarta spent the first day trying to question Ravenshade, but Ravenshade would not utter a word at all in response.
“We are thinking about starving her out. We fed her a good breakfast this morning, but there will be no lunch and dinner. Hunger will make her talk, and perhaps we might learn of plans that our enemies make.”
Wolflen threw back the blanket that covered him and stood. He had pants on, but no shirt, and as he stretched, Katrina admired his physique a moment. She asked what he was doing and he told her that he himself needed to meet with Ravenshade for questioning.
“She will not speak to you nor to your people. But before in the woods—she spoke to me. I know some things. I can’t be sure of this yet, but her loyalties might still be for sale if that interests you or your people. Can you take me to her?”
Katrina nodded.
“She’s held in the Tower of Ivory Shining.”
Wolflen nodded as he got dressed. He put on his armor as well, noting that his burnt orange suit of armor was completely fixed like new, as though it had never been in battle. He put the items on quickly, as he had practiced doing for weeks prior. Katrina watched him dress and then stood, closing in on him as she draped an arm around his neck and kissed him gently. He kissed her back and then smiled at her.
“She had mithril weapons,” Katrina said, noting Wolflen’s surprise at the repaired armor, “that is how she cut through. Mithril and magic I am betting.”
Wolflen nodded.
“Is Ayvock still training with Trevel?” Wolflen asked.
Katrina nodded.
“I need to speak with Ravenshade,” Wolflen continued, “but I believe that when I am finished I will also need to speak with him, and with Jakarta too. You wouldn’t know how to get that message to them would you?”
Katrina smiled and looked back at Wolflen.
“Well,” she said with a grin, “I can have one of the guards summon Ayvock later, and as for Jakarta, he is right outside your door. In fact, I don’t think he has left that chair but to relieve his bladder in the last four days. He had food brought to him down here when he ate. He has slept in the chair just beyond the door, so he will be easy to find I think.”
Wolflen looked shocked. He didn’t expect that Jakarta would keep a constant vigil over him while he healed.
Wolflen found his swords and sheaths over on a nearby table, and he put them on at once. Katrina asked if he planned to show those weapons when he went to speak with Ravenshade. Katrina suggested that if Ravenshade overcame Wolflen then she would have two Flameblades, and a War Mage as a hostage. Wolflen told Katrina not to worry. Then he made sure he knew the place that Katrina referred to and asked again where Ravenshade was being kept. Katrina told him again, and then told Wolflen that he was expected to continue training as soon as possible. Wolflen insisted however, that the matter with Ravenshade was more important at the moment. Katrina asked if she could accompany Wolflen, and he told her he would love the company, so together they opened the door to the quarters, and Jakarta stood at once; glad to see his student healed.
Wolflen thanked Jakarta for the constant vigil, and Jakarta bowed his head with a smile. Wolflen then explained what his plan was regarding Ravenshade, and Jakarta asked what it was that Wolflen knew that compelled him to spare Ravenshade’s life. Wolflen took a deep breath before answering, because he knew that it would be hard to convey any good reason for compassion or sympathy for their prisoner.
“What if…” Wolflen began, “what if she only came here to try and improve the reputation and label of her race? She claims her actions bare the reward of bettering the Night Elf name.”
Jakarta stopped a moment and stared at Wolflen.
“They have a reputation and a name already, and their name is assassin.”
“She claims that Mortican promised to help mainstream her race once I was killed. I assume that naturally Mortican also intended to have both Elves and Izenians exterminated before that could happen, but Ravenshade told me that she was promised recognition for herself and her people. She said that killing the Elves in the forest felt like a betrayal. I think that she would rather be accepted by the Elves and fight for the side of
good than do this evil work.”
Katrina chimed in now, not liking what she was hearing. “Oh, well that is all well and good,” she began sarcastically, “but have you forgotten the part where she tried to kill you? Twice now in fact!”
Wolflen grinned.
“Trust me I have not forgotten. All I am saying is that Ravenshade is a mercenary for hire. If not for the promised reward, I don’t think she would have come after me at all. I really do think she wants her people to once again be accepted among the Elves, and legitimately recognized as part of the Elven race.”
Jakarta looked disturbed and began walking again.
“To even suggest such a thing is treason.”
“He’s right,” Katrina added, “the Night Elves are considered cast out for what they did to the War Mages long ago. It wasn’t their fault they were taken or made Night Elves by the darkness, but their actions afterwards made them outcasts. We cannot trust them. Ravenshade herself proved that just by coming here.”
The interior of the Tower of Ivory Shining was as beautiful as the name of the building suggested, and also as bright. Wolflen walked with Katrina and Jakarta down some stairs that led to underground levels until they reached the proper level. Jakarta pointed down a hallway as they stepped from the stairwell onto the right floor, and Wolflen walked down the hall, noticing only one doorway ahead on the right. He walked through it, ducking through the doorway as he went. Here, the subtle differences in Elven architecture were more noticeable; Elves were not as tall as Izenians, and their doorways were not always as tall as the Izenian counterparts either.
The doorway led him into a vast room, which opened up widely. He noticed that the floor seemed to be a walkway around the square edges of the room, with some sort of hardened spell glowing over the center of the room, through which Wolflen could see a lower level, the place where Ravenshade was situated with a bed and indoor plumbing. Wolflen pointed to the spell glow that seemed to be part of the floor itself, acting as a ceiling for the lower level it seemed.
“Your eyes speak rightly to you. The room is square. Around the outer edge, a seven foot wide walkway, and the top hallowed out, but covered by spell shielding. She cannot see us through the spell shielding, but as you can tell, we can see her. Her cell is such that she can do no magic within it.”
Wolflen was amazed. He had heard of similar types of cells that Shamans kept with magic wards and spells, but now he was seeing one in use, and not by Shaman magic, but by the grace of Paladin magic. Wolflen studied the room a moment before asking how one could get down to the cell itself.
Jakarta nodded his head, and Wolflen looked to where Jakarta was indicating that in the back corner of the room, there was a stairwell leading downwards. From the upper room it was hidden, but now that Wolflen looked, he saw it come into focus. He walked toward it, and Jakarta followed while Katrina kept close as well. At the bottom of the stairs, Jakarta explained that the cell wall (which was also spell shielding) was transparent to see into the cell just like it’s roof, but from the inside, a person could not see out of the cell. Wolflen nodded in understanding and looked for a door in. Around the corner, two guards stood posted, well-armed, and seemingly relaxed but always ready to strike if needed be. They stood near the doorway of the cell which was covered in a large steel gate. Wolflen guessed that it could be crude as it was because if the prisoner tried to work at it from the interior, the guards could easily stab weapon into the cell and end the rebellion with ease.
Wolflen turned back toward Jakarta and Katrina and lowered his voice.
“Let me go in alone. If I learn anything I will inform you both.”
Jakarta looked back at Wolflen.
“She is a Night Elf. You sure you want to take weapons in there? She bested you once already.”
Wolflen nodded.
“She did indeed. But today is not the day for her victory any more than it was before. If the War Magic came to me, then the Free Magic has a plan for me. Therefore, it cannot be my day to die—before even starting can it?”
As Wolflen turned, Katrina grinned at Jakarta, who merely shook his head in disbelief. He commented, saying Wolflen was getting cocky, and Katrina snickered at the thought. She reminded Jakarta that he was training Wolflen, and that maybe the cockiness was a result of that training.
The guards let Wolflen in the cell, and also handed him a folding chair to take with him. Wolflen thanked them politely and then entered the cell with the chair. Ravenshade jumped up from her serene position in bed when he entered the room, setting the chair on the ground to sit himself.
“What is this?’ Ravenshade demanded, “Come to take revenge for what happened to you then?”
Wolflen told her he wasn’t there for revenge, but Ravenshade was clearly uneasy now in his presence. She demanded to know why Wolflen was there if not for revenge.
“I came here…to talk.”
Ravenshade let out a shriek of a laugh and then calmed down once more. She stared him straight in the eyes and spoke.
“I came here to kill you War Mage, not to talk.”
Wolflen nodded.
“You came here intent on killing me yes. But you had your chance and failed. Even now you might be plotting ways to attack me here in this room, turn my weapons against me and cut my throat. Of course, that will do you little good, because this cell is so well protected that you will not escape. In fact, your captors would just assume execute you as hold you. I think you know their viewpoints on your kind. But if you cooperate, you just might be able to earn your life back.”
Ravenshade studied Wolflen’s face a moment, but she found no trace of trickery or guile. She softened her own gaze slightly and then looked around the room. As she responded, she refused to look at him, refusing to accept that what he was saying was probably true.
“Why would you try to save me?” she asked him. “I came here to kill you remember?”
Wolflen stood and turned his back to her. Under other circumstances, doing so would be foolish. But he felt safe where he was, and he knew he had to make that clear to Ravenshade. No fear. She can’t do magic. You can spin round with weapons drawn if need be. Don’t let your hands shake.
He stood near the gate of the cell, and stared beyond it.
“I confess; a friend of mine wished your life spared. His reasons are his own. He has confided those reasons to me, but I doubt that they are enough to have your life spared. So, I thought perhaps instead that you might spare your life through information sharing.”
Ravenshade hesitated to respond. In the silence, he stood looking away from her a moment, determined not to fear her, though he knew she was dangerous. Slowly though, he turned, being as calm and cool as one who had no fear at all.
“It is interesting to see an Izenian War Mage. I don’t have a problem with your own people by the way. It’s nothing personal, but one way or the other, I will kill you.”
“Rather unlikely. Do you not see where you are, and how utterly hopeless your cause is? Strike at me if you will, but in here, your magic will not help you, and you are unarmed. In here, I would kill you easily. Everyone in this city would come down on you like a hard storm if need be. In fact they all want to. You are breathing right now because they honored my request to speak with you. You had your chance to kill me and you failed. For that matter, you failed to acquire your promised rewards from Mortican. But maybe there is a way for you to save your life, and possibly go free. You told me that you wanted to better the reputation of your people right? Well now is what may be your final chance to do just that. You could be the one Night Elf who aided the new War Mage. You could help the Elves in their quest to put an end to the evil that hunts them, and you could walk out of here the way you came in—alive.”
Ravenshade was silent for a few moments as she considered what he was saying to her. She admitted to herself that he was likely right. She saw no form of possible escape, though she had studied and tested her cell since she arrived. She also consid
ered the possibility that she had leverage—information that Wolflen would undoubtedly benefit from knowing. So, she began to respond.
“Can you swear my life will be spared and that I will be set free?”
Wolflen sat back down in the chair and stared at her.
“I suppose that would depend on what information you have to give.”
“And you seriously think I couldn’t kill you in here like this?” she asked, testing him.
“Well,” he remarked smugly, “you could certainly try. But if you intend to help your people as you say, then I am sure you have to be alive to do so. Maybe you could get me in a rush. But just maybe I would kill you first. My friend might be disappointed but I could live with that. But even if you managed to overcome me, you and I both know you wouldn’t escape alive. Without me to ask for your release you would be executed on sight. So, shall we start again? Say perhaps at the part where you tell me what you know?”
Chapter 18: Nambrin’s First Strike
Nambrin had been led off course by Ravenshade; or so he let her believe. In truth, his mind was set and he was right on course. Akartha was cold, but for an Izenian such as him his heart was made warm to see it once more. He still had feelings; even despite the fact that Mortican’s mind control kept him a total slave. Nambrin was still storing memories, still feeling feelings. But he could not fight the drive to do what he was sent to do, no matter how hard he fought against it.
For Nambrin, here in the cold snows of Akartha there would be no clichés of someone fighting against mind control and overcoming it. No trembling hands that refused to do the final ugly deed they were meant to do on account of will power overcoming the mind control. No indeed, Nambrin was an Izenian man on a mission. He could observe all of his surroundings easily, and he could even take measure of things as he went. But he could not however, refuse the tasks appointed to him. He would strike soon and with no regret, and when he did, he hoped the Gods would forgive him, for he knew what was programmed upon him. It was a cruel fate. Part of him wished he would be killed before the completion of his task, especially knowing what it was. On the other hand, he so longed for freedom now again, and seeing Akartha once more gave him a strong desire to be free. That, or he knew that his drive for freedom could possibly be something programmed in his mind by Mortican. He couldn’t be sure what caused it, but he knew it was there.