The Serpent Cult (Heroes of Ravenford Book 2)

by F. P. Spirit

  “Thanks. I believe I will.” He turned to Donnie. “Care to join us? I think I might have an idea on how to get you into the party.”

  Donnie made a lavish gesture with his hand. “By all means, lead the way.”

  The two elves followed the lovely tailor into the back room.

  New Enemies

  To a real knight, these backwater confrontations would be a mere trifle

  About an hour later, the two elves exited the shop. Elladan was telling Donnie about some of the Heroes’ exploits. “...then Lloyd slammed into the giant’s back, and it went flying into the ground!”

  Donnie wore an appreciative smile. “Sounds like my kind of fellow.”

  The duo began to head down the street, then halted. There was a crowd gathered at the corner, not ten yards in front of them. From the center of the throng, they heard a voice ring out.

  “Non-humans are not to be trusted.” Whoever it was talked with a pronounced lisp. “And Elves are the worst of them all,” the voice continued. “They act all superior, like they are better than the rest of us. But in reality, they just keep to themselves because they are scared.”

  Elladan’s eyes shifted to Donnie. Donnie returned his stare, a single eyebrow raised.

  “I resent your attitude, friend,” a deep voice resonated. “My companion here is an elf, and he has stood by me through more dangerous encounters than you’ll ever see in your lifetime.”

  That’s Lloyd! Elladan motioned for Donnie to follow him. The duo rushed forward and entered the crowd.

  “I’m sure that whatever encounters you’ve had were challenging for one of your station,” the first voice responded. “However, to a real knight, these backwater confrontations would be a mere trifle.”

  Elladan politely pushed his way through the throng. Donnie followed close behind.

  “Some folks throw the term knight around loosely,” Lloyd countered. There was more than a trace of anger in the young man’s tone. “Where I come from, that isn’t just some title given to every noble’s son. It has to be earned.”

  Elladan finally broke through the crowd. Lloyd stood in the center of the circle with his back to them, Glo beside him. Opposite them stood a man with shoulder-length brown hair, sporting a mustache and a goatee. He wore a blue doublet with lieutenant bars on the arms and an insignia on his chest that Elladan found unfamiliar. On either side of his waist hung a sword and an axe.

  Donnie whispered, “That’s a Dunwynn insignia.”

  Dunwynn! Just wonderful. He had heard rumors of that Duchy. They were Xenophobes, distrustful of all the non-human races.

  “And just where do you come from?” the man in the blue doublet asked. He stood with his hands on his hips, a disdainful look on his sour face.

  “The City of Penwick,” Lloyd replied proudly, his arms folded across his chest.

  “Ahhh, Penwick,” the Lieutenant sneered. He slowly spun around gazing at the surrounding crowd. “That explains much.” He continued to turn until he faced Lloyd again.

  The sound of scornful laughter drew Elladan’s attention to the other side of the throng. Three men stood there dressed in the same blue uniforms as the arrogant man, Dunwynn insignias on their chest.

  This could get ugly fast.

  Elladan turned to warn Donnie, but the blond elf was no longer next to him. He scanned the crowd and caught sight of the elusive elf working his way around the edge of the throng. Elladan groaned. Things just kept getting worse. Donnie, great as he was in a fight, was a bit of a loose cannon. If he decided to put in his two cents, it might add fuel to the fire.

  The Lieutenant addressed Lloyd again. “It’s a quaint little town, with charming customs to be sure, but it is a mere village when compared with the grandeur of Dunwynn.” He stood there, gazing at Lloyd disdainfully, as if daring the young man to contradict him.

  “Bigger doesn’t necessarily imply better, friend,” Lloyd said, his anger now thinly veiled. He shifted his stance, unfolding his arms and dropping his hands to firmly rest on his sword hilts. It appeared as if he was seconds from drawing his blades. Elladan started forward, thinking he might still salvage the situation, but halted when Glo began to speak.

  “Lloyd, pay no attention to this gentleman.” His tone was thoroughly dismissive. “We have important matters to attend to. Let us not waste more of our time.”

  Ouch. Elladan had always been told that Galinthral elves were arrogant, but he had never heard Glo speak like that. If anyone deserved it, though, it was this self-important Dunwynner to be sure. The Lieutenant’s face momentarily clouded over. He glared at Glo with clear hatred. The moment quickly passed, and the haughty man began to chuckle. He spun around toward his men.

  “Oh ho, so the elf speaks,” he mocked. His toadies all snickered. The Dunwynn officer whirled around once more and waved his hand dismissively. “Do run away, man of Penwick and little elf, before you start something you cannot finish.”

  Lloyd’s shoulders stiffened. He began to draw his blades from their scabbards. Glo reached up and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. Lloyd glanced at Glo, the elf almost imperceptibly shaking his head. Reluctantly, Lloyd re-sheathed his swords. Glo addressed the conceited Dunwynner once more. His tone was scathing.

  “You, sir, have no clue what you are up against. I have personally seen my friend here mow down giants and trolls. I suggest you turn away now while you still can.”

  The Lieutenant’s face twisted into a contemptuous sneer. “Oh. Now you want to stay and fight.” He glared at Glo for a moment longer, then addressed Lloyd. “The likes of you and your elf-loving friend here do not scare me. We are made of sterner cloth in Dunwynn. We do not frighten so easily.”

  Glo dropped his hand from Lloyd’s shoulder. When he spoke, his tone dripped with acid. “Then you are stupider than you look.”

  The Lieutenant’s face grew red with anger. His hands strayed to his weapon hilts, his tone grim. “Those are fighting words. I am surprised an elf would show that much courage, but then, you do have this human to do your dirty work for you.”

  Glo’s tone was cold as ice. “Oh, I can assure you, he will not fight alone.” The wizard’s hand strayed his belt, in obvious preparation for a spell.

  This is getting way out of hand.

  Elladan quickly stepped out of the crowd, hoping to still salvage the situation. He strode briskly toward the center of the circle, holding up his hands as he went. “Now hold on, friends. What’s all this talk about fighting?”

  All eyes turned on him. The anger faded from the Lieutenant’s face, replaced with a look of surprise. Lloyd and Glo wore startled expressions. Glo gave him a questioning stare. Elladan merely nodded to his fellow elf, then returned his gaze to the Dunwynn officer. He gave him a half-smile. The Lieutenant’s surprise quickly faded, replaced with a scornful sneer. Elladan did not stop, though. He strode on until he was in the very center of the circle, directly between his companions and the Dunwynners.

  The Lieutenant finally spoke, his tone mocking. “And what have we here? Another elf. Why am I not surprised?” He spun around once more to face his entourage. The Dunwynn trio burst into laughter.

  Elladan took advantage of the moment, whispering over his shoulder to Lloyd and Glo. “Steady, guys. Andrella wouldn’t be happy with you fighting on her birthday.” He didn’t wait for a response. He shifted his gaze back toward the Lieutenant.

  The officer had spun back around to glare at him once more. Elladan took a deep breath and spoke as calmingly as possible. “Listen friend, Dunwynn’s reputation for upholding the law is widely known. Do you really want to ruin that with a street fight—especially on the Lady Andrella’s birthday?”

  The Lieutenant eyed Elladan up and down. When he finally replied, his attitude had not changed, but his disdainful expression had softened a bit. “
Dunwynn’s reputation is no concern to the likes of you, but you do bring up a salient point. The Lady Andrella’s wishes are more important than a minor skirmish with some street urchins.”

  Elladan gave an inward sigh. We might just get out of this without any blood being spilled. Before he could respond, though, a familiar voice rang out from the crowd.

  “That’s a pretty speech there, friend, but I think that you would find this encounter anything but minor.”

  Elladan groaned. He knew that voice. He turned to see Donatello saunter out of the crowd toward them. Elladan sighed for real this time. He had been so close to ending this. The artist casually strolled up and stopped next to Elladan. He faced the Dunwynn Lieutenant, his hands on his hips.

  “Yet another elf!” the man cried with clear exasperation. “The town is practically crawling with them!” He threw up his hands in apparent disgust.

  “Who is that?” Glo whispered from behind Elladan.

  “A friend,” he replied over his shoulder.

  Donnie continued in nonchalant manner. “I think I find your tone offensive, but I am in a good mood this morning and am inclined to let that slide. “However,” he paused dramatically, “I am not really your problem here. I may be fair with a sword, but from what I’ve heard, these folks can easily handle themselves—be it against monsters or buffoons in uniform.”

  Elladan shook his head. He knew Donnie meant well, but this was not helping to diffuse things.

  When the Lieutenant responded, his tone was insufferable. “Yes, yes, once again I’m sure that common riffraff like yourselves can handle the average creature or ruffian, but against trained troops from Dunwynn, let me assure you, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  Those last words dripped with malice. Elladan recognized that tone. The Lieutenant was done talking. He had reached his breaking point. If the situation wasn’t diffused right now, someone could end up badly hurt, or even dead.

  Elladan tried to recapture the man’s attention. “Excuse me, Lieutenant...”

  The Lieutenant’s gaze fell on him once again. The man practically sneered his response. “That is Sir—Sir Fafnar Strakentir.”

  Good, I have his attention. “Well Sir Fafnar, are you entered in tomorrow’s tourney?”

  Sir Fafnar glared at him as if he was a dolt. “Of course I am. I am of the noble Dunwynn house of Strakentir. Close personal friend to the Duke himself. My spot in the tournament was reserved well before my arrival here.”

  Elladan nodded. “Very impressive.” He took a step back and placed a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “However, you are looking at Lloyd Stealle, of the noble Penwick house of Stealle. His spot in the tournament has been reserved by Baron Gryswold himself.”

  Sir Fafnar’s face dropped, and his eyes going wide. His gaze shifted from Lloyd to Elladan and back again, his expression one of disbelief. “You... you can’t be serious.” He quickly regained his composure, his astonishment replaced with a smirk. He spun around again toward his men. “Looks like they’ll let anyone into these backwater tournaments.”

  The Dunwynn group snickered at his mean-spirited attempt at humor.

  “Steady,” Elladan whispered, grasping tighter onto Lloyd’s shoulder. He could practically feel the warrior’s hands twitching on his sword hilts. Elladan addressed Fafnar again. “Listen, friend, this entire group here are personal guests of the Baron tonight. So I suggest that if you have any grievance with us, you take it up on the tournament field instead of the streets.”

  At that moment, a soft cheer of “Heroes. Heroes.” sprang up from the surrounding crowd. A strange expression crossed Sir Fafnar’s face. He scanned the chanting onlookers. “It cannot be! You are the mighty Heroes of Ravenford we’ve been hearing so much about?” A satisfied smirk crossed the noble’s face. “Just as I suspected—nothing but upstarts and hooligans. The town would be better off without you.” He gazed around the crowd and raised his voice above the chanting. “What these people really need are some good Dunwynn knights protecting them.”

  A few boos and hisses escaped from the gathered masses. Someone yelled, “Dunwynn go home!”

  Fafnar appeared unperturbed, instead glaring at the surrounding throng. “Of course, these backwards people would not know the first thing about real law and order.”

  The boos and hisses immediately died down, as did the chanting.

  Elladan took advantage of the silence to draw the Dunwynn noble’s attention back to him. “Well Sir Fafnar, being that you are so sure of yourself, would you like to make a little wager on tomorrow’s tournament?”

  Sir Fafnar stared at him with obvious scorn. “What do you have in mind?”

  “If you can beat Lloyd here in combat, then we will pack up and leave Ravenford, never to return.” Fafnar squinted at him, distrust written across his face. “But if Lloyd here bests you, then you have to publicly declare us protectors of this town.”

  Fafnar glared at Lloyd. “It will be no contest.”

  Lloyd stared back at the noble, unflinching, his tone as cold as ice. “You’ve got that right.”

  Elladan drove the point home. “Well then, are you going to take the bet?”

  The crowd grew very still. Fafnar did not take his eyes off Lloyd. Their eyes were riveted together, the very air between them seeming to boil with anger. Sir Fafnar finally broke the silence.

  “Fine!” he almost spat the word. “But bet or not, you can be certain that I will be keeping my eye on you until you are banished in tomorrow’s tourney.”

  A half smile crossed Elladan’s lips. “That remains to be seen.”

  Another chant of “Heroes! Heroes!” erupted from the crowd, louder this time.

  “Bah!” Fafnar cried in disgust. He spun around on his heels and stormed off in the direction of his men. “Let’s get out of here!” he commanded them as he pushed through his entourage. His men appeared uncertain but swiftly followed him. The crowd parted, allowing the Dunwynn group to pass through. All the while, they chanted “Heroes! Heroes!”

  The companions watched in silence as the Dunwynners strode across the street. They stopped at a pack of tethered horses and mounted up. Sir Fafnar spun around on his horse to face them once more. “Enjoy your last day in Ravenford!” He then whirled his mount around and galloped up the road toward the keep. His men followed suit.

  Stalker

  If he’s half as good with his sword as his is with his tongue, then he might just turn out to be useful

  Elladan let out a sigh of relief. Donnie spun around to face the others. “What a pompous ass.”

  Glo cast a glance at Elladan, nodding toward the slight blond elf. “Are you going to introduce us to your friend?”

  Elladan laughed. “With all the excitement, I never got the chance. This is Donatello, an old friend of mine.”

  Donnie doffed his hat and bowed. “At your service.”

  “Donnie, this is Lloyd and Glo,” Elladan said, pointing to each of them in turn.

  “Saesa omentien lle,” Glo said, his tone solemn.

  Lloyd stepped forward, extending his hand. “I appreciate the kind words, friend.”

  Donnie reached forward to take the warrior’s hand. Elladan suppressed a smile. He remembered his own hand throbbing for quite a while after his first meeting with Lloyd. “It was my... pleasure,” Donnie managed, doing his best to endure Lloyd’s vise-like grip. The young artist was saved further punishment when a small voice spoke up from behind him.

  “That idiot from Dunwynn should be thanking you.” Elladan whirled around as Seth appeared out of nowhere. “He was this close,” the halfling held his fingers about an inch apart, “to singing soprano for the rest of his life.”

  They burst into laughter. Even Lloyd managed a chuckle.

  “You’re assuming that there was something there
to cut off in the first place,” Glo said with a half-smirk.

  “Ohhhh!” Donnie groaned. “Low blow.”

  They all laughed in earnest that time.

  “Well, I’m glad it didn’t come to that,” another familiar voice spoke up from behind them. Elladan swung around to see Aksel standing there. He gave the bard an approving nod. “Nice job diffusing the situation, Elladan.”

  Elladan responded with a half-smile. “I do what I can.”

  Donnie was introduced to Aksel and Seth. The crowd around them had dissipated, although the corner was still rather busy. Townsfolk and out-of-towners continued to bustle about in preparation for the evening’s festivities.

  Aksel rubbed his hands together gingerly. “Well then, if everyone is done with their errands, we should head back to the inn. We need to get ready for the party.” He nodded to Donnie. “Nice meeting you.” Aksel then spun around and strode in the direction of the Charging Minotaur. The others bade goodbye to Donnie as well, and fell in behind Aksel.

  Elladan waved for Donnie to follow then rushed forward after them. The two of them quickly caught up and drew alongside Aksel. Elladan addressed the leader of the group. “I was thinking that Donnie here could join us at the party tonight. He’s actually quite handy with that pig-sticker at his waist.” Aksel halted and gazed at Donnie, his hand going to his chin.

  “It’s alright by me,” Lloyd chimed in. “Anyone who can stand up to that fool from Dunwynn is okay in my book.”

  “Not to mention, the more elves in one place, the more we can annoy him,” Glo said.

  Aksel’s brow furrowed, his hand going to his chin as he mulled it over. “We do have a lot of ground to cover this evening, and if you vouch for him, Elladan, then I’m okay with it.” His eyes shifted to Seth. “I assume you have your usual objections?”

  Seth shrugged, giving Elladan a sidelong glance. “Like that has ever stopped you before.”

  A closed-mouth laugh escaped Aksel’s lips. “No, not really.”