Oswald looked at the elf beside him and then at the other one beside the fire, and decided to tell them the whole truth.
Without going into too much detail, he explained how tough life was in Tepton and how the Dark Elven soldiers had come into his village that night. Taking the women and using them, he had managed to break free and tackle the one dragging his mother away, only to be subjected to further torment. Oswald felt his voice breaking slightly as he mentioned the part of him having to watch as his mother’s throat was slit. Masina gasped and lifted her hand up to her mouth, “Oh you poor thing,” she said, looking and sounding genuinely disgusted at what she had just been told. Taking a deep breath and not wanting to cry, Oswald carried on about the part where they had thrown two men to the beasts as food but allowed him to live so long as he fought an elf. Sansia also came and sat on the side of the bed and lifted his hand up in hers, “What happened? How did you escape?” she said patting the back of his hand.
“I killed the elf in charge,” Oswald said hoping they didn’t think ill of him.
“Good!” Sansia said, “Elves like that are a disgrace to our people,” she said sounding quite disgusted at what she had been told.
A somewhat awkward silence fell around the room before Oswald decided he needed to know the answer to one more question.
“Are you going to hand me in?” he said, although hopeful that perhaps they weren’t.
“Certainly not!” Masina said sounding as though she was annoyed he had even suggested such a thing. “You will stay here with us, won’t he Mother?”
Sansia chuckled again, a laughter that sounded a little different to that of a human, yet still pleasant nonetheless. “I think you have your answer Oswald,” she said heading for the door and leaving him alone with Masina.
Chapter 16.
Ari had been a little surprised that Brenion had been true to his word and found him, someone, to help him train. For the past two days, while Liana had been off with Osrik, he had been working hard practising with both a sword and a bow. While he found the sword a little more difficult than he would have hoped, Ari found firing a bow much more to his liking. His tutor also happened to be an officer in the small army of men kept by the Free-Folk, which would hopefully make it a bit easier in making it official for him to become Liana’s protector.
The officer, a man, named Lenic, was quite young considering his rank. In his thirties, large and quite stocky with a thick head of hair and a beard to match, he was quite an easy going, laid back type of man and one whom Ari thought made a good tutor. There was no shouting or bawling when he got things wrong, just a few words of advice on how to correct the mistake, which Ari found much more to his liking. If he managed to impress Lenic enough, the man had agreed he would back him in becoming Liana’s protector, and if that did happen, he would then get a uniform to distinguish himself as such.
Although hard work, and sometimes painful, Ari tried and pushed himself to the limit of his physical capabilities when it came to sword practice. Being the one thing he had thought would be easy thanks to the lessons from Brenion, it was actually the one he struggled with most of all. Despite being beaten easily by Lenic and a few of the other soldiers he roped into helping, Ari thought he was getting better with each bout. Using proper swords so he could get used to the weight and feel did not go without its dangers, and already Elynia had been needed to heal two wounds he had duly suffered. While neither had been life-threatening, both were a little more serious than a simple cut or scrape. The first was a deep gash on his upper arm where he had completely misjudged an attack, and the second was a piercing wound to his shoulder. The latter he had suffered having stepped forward into the opposition lunging attack rather than back. A simple mistake it might have been, but not one Ari wished to repeat any time soon.
Archery lessons were much better. So much so, Ari was already matching Lenic shot for shot, although the army officer did admit he was not much of a bowman, and judging by the man’s size and bulk, Ari could see why. While not yet anywhere near a perfect shot, Ari was still able to hit a target from between eighty to a hundred paces away. All the work he had endured in his years in the fields had made his arms strong, enabling him to make a decent draw on the bowstring. This was something that Lenic told him, would stand him in good stead, and already put him above some already in the ranks. It was remarks such as those that filled Ari with a self-confidence that he had never known he had. The more he believed in his own abilities, Lenic told him the better he would get.
Liana had spent two days with Osrik, while Ari had been playing with his swords and bow. As much progress as he appeared to be making under his tutor, quite the opposite could be said about her. Osrik was nice enough about her failings and had never raised his voice once at her apparent lack of progress. The one skill Liana had managed to do well was the ability to sense others around her, although it was the one she had already been using and hence felt comfortable in doing so anyway. Nonetheless, Osrik had told her that with a little more practice she would likely match him for distance. While Liana still needed to recognise different feelings and shapes when using her ability, Osrik was pleased with what she could do.
That morning’s lesson had seen the pair of them wandering around Insgarth, stopping every now and then and telling the other what they could sense. Aside from the many strange looks, they both got from passersby, Liana had felt she had done well. However after returning back to the library and home to the magical fraternity in Insgarth, and after a spot of lunch, the afternoon lesson was not quite so successful.
The problem with Liana and her gift was her inability to control when it surfaced. Both times she had used it she had been angry, and the magic had just seemed to happen. However, now she was trying to learn it and make it happen at her will, it was not so easy. Quite how she had managed to leap ten paces in one go or smashed a wooden desk in half with her bare hands, she had no idea. Osrik had tried to wind her up and make her angry, but because she knew what he was doing she had ended up giggling instead. So much so that even Osrik had given up and started laughing along with her in the end, which didn’t help matters at all. Despite all her failings, Osrik still thought she had the potential to be a powerful druid, and he was certain that in time she would learn how to control her abilities how and when she wanted. In the meantime, it would be a case of keep trying on what she couldn’t achieve, and keep practising the skills she could.
With the afternoon drawing on, Osrik thought they had done enough for one day, and with other things he needed to do decided to call time on their lesson. Liana, for one, didn’t mind, especially as she thought she might still catch Ari training in the yard outside. Osrik placed a friendly arm around her shoulder, as he seemed to do at the end of each lesson and told her they would go again tomorrow. The pair walked outside into the fresh air, and after a quick goodbye, they parted their ways, with Osrik seemingly needing to go back out into the city. After watching the young man for a few moments, Liana thought how peculiar he walked, before shaking her head and heading to the back of the building hoping to catch sight of Ari still practising.
Liana pulled her cloak tightly around her as the cool wind picked up when she turned the corner, and sure enough, Ari was there with the man called Lenic. Not wanting to put him off, Liana stayed out of sight, happy to watch from a distance as Ari fired another arrow at a target some distance away. While the arrow did not hit the centre, it was not far away, and closer than the arrow that Lenic had already fired a moment earlier.
It was while watching Ari that Liana suddenly became quite pensive and started wondering whether Ari would ever have to fight to protect her. Surely if they were to live in Insgarth as she presumed, who exactly would she need protecting from? Or was he training for something else, perhaps a future war where the humans and Dark Elves would clash? A scary thought indeed, especially when all that separated them was a tall natural rock formation, a narrow tunnel and a set of wooden doors. While Ins
garth had remained undetected for some time, Liana recalled the words that Osrik had said during her hearing, about sooner or later the Dark Elves would find them. Surely if that day ever happened, then the only outcome would be a fight, and with just a hundred soldiers she wasn’t overly confident it was one they would win.
“How long have you been watching?” Ari said stepping up to her. Liana jumped, startled from her daydreaming state of mind, having not even seen him finish nevermind walk up to her.
“Oh just a few minutes,” she said stretching up and giving him a kiss on the lips. “Eww! You’re all sweaty,” she added pulling a face to mimic her being repulsed at the thought. Ari just grinned and moved his head forward before putting his arm around her and suggesting they head back over to the house.
“You need to get a wash when we get in,” Liana said glancing over to look at him as they headed towards the front door.
Although Brenion had told them both, they would eventually be given their own place, quite possibly even one of the houses next to his, for now, they were both more than welcome to stop with him. Oscar appeared to get on well with both, so much so that Ari had been putting his new skills to good use in the evenings after supper in play fighting with wooden swords. Of course, Ari always pretended to be the evil man, and Oscar always wanted to play the part of the hero, and naturally, Ari always let the youngster win. Liana was somewhat more content to let the boys play, and Elynia had started showing her how to cook and sew. Apparently, these were skills she would need if she were ever to become a good wife and mother, although not convinced, she did quite enjoy doing both. Her first attempt at making a loaf of bread the previous evening had not been too bad. Not rising as much as she would have liked, it still was a fair attempt considering it was something she had never done before.
Elynia had also taken her to one side and had a talk with her about sharing a bed with Ari. Now she was a young lady she risked getting pregnant, and although Liana thought one day she would like to have children, it was not really something she wanted just yet. As a result, Elynia had given her a few tips on what to do and what not to do at certain times of the month. While the entire conversation had been embarrassing from start to finish, Liana was thankful that they had it nonetheless. While their relationship was still very much in its infancy, it was probably best to take things a little at a time.
All five of them were sat beside the fireplace in the main room of the house when a knock came at the door. Brenion looked immediately concerned, “I wonder who that is at this hour,” he said getting up from his seat to go and answer it. All the eyes in the room followed him as he walked over into the hallway, and then out of sight towards the front door. Whatever conversation Brenion had it was over very quickly, and although each and every one of them had tried to listen to what was being said, they could only deduce it was a man’s voice talking.
The look of concern on his face suggested everything was not right, and Elynia first thought that perhaps those in charge were making trouble again. However, that was evidently not the case as Brenion explained to them all what was happening. Scouts, who were often sent out to keep an eye on the local area had spotted an unusually large force of Dark Elven soldiers just a day’s ride away. While they had inevitably taken up refuge in the outpost, the fact they were this far away from Gashek suggested something was going on.
“You think they know where we are?” Elynia was first to ask a question.
Brenion didn’t think that was the case, or there would probably be thousands of Dark Elves lining up outside.
“You think they have managed to track us?” Liana asked the same question that Ari had been thinking of asking.
Again Brenion didn’t know, and while they had been reasonably careful about leaving any clues to their whereabouts, he supposed a good tracker might have picked up on their trail. Of course not knowing that wraiths could detect a presence of magic long after it had been used did not help.
As a result, Insgarth was being put on a state of alert. Nobody was going in or out, apart from the scouts. The gates at the passageway were to be fully manned and guarded, day and night until the council was satisfied any threat was over. Moreover, at least one magician was to be on duty at the point of entry alongside the guards. Being as only a few of them existed, and fewer had such offensive powers as Brenion, he was one of just three being used for that particular task.
“Pfft, This is just the council getting you back!” Elynia said not happy her husband was having to go out into the cold dark of night and stand atop of a wall.
Brenion remained calm and explained that was his job after all. “If the city is threatened it's up to me to help defend it.”
“I can come with you if you like?” Liana blurted out without really considering how much use she might be.
“If Liana is going then I’ll be needed too!” Ari added getting quickly to his feet.
Brenion smiled, “Stay calm. No need for either of you. At least not yet anyway. You all need to remain calm and stay here. I’ll be back home in a few hours,” he said before heading back into the hallway to collect his cloak. Elynia immediately followed after him, the concern evident on her face. Brenion assured her all would be well and gave her a kiss goodnight, before heading off through the door.
With everything suddenly going very flat, Elynia suggested they all get an early night. After wishing both her and Oscar a goodnight, Liana and Ari headed up the stairs towards the room they shared. Ordinarily, Liana would have tried to seduce Ari, but somehow her mind was now preoccupied with other thoughts. When the young man slipped under the covers beside her and tried being attentive, she merely brushed him aside.
“What’s up?” he asked, clearly disappointed.
“I have a horrible suspicion we have led the Dark Elves here,” Liana said staring up towards the ceiling in the black of night.
Ari immediately tried to put her mind at rest, but even he knew it did seem a little coincidental that the Dark Elves showed up right after they had made their trip to Insgarth.
Chapter 17.
Oswald had been forced to remain in his bed for nearly two days. His chest still felt as if it had been trampled on by a horse, but his breathing was easier, and he was starting to feel much better about himself. Of course, having Masina sit with him for hours on end and Sansia coming in three times a day to bring him food and drink had helped matters significantly. So good was the food, and in such quantities, Oswald thought that if he continued eating in the same way, he would surely grow as big as a house.
Having had a good night’s sleep, Oswald was awoken once more by the sound of Masina coming into his room and sitting down on the bed beside him. As she had done every morning since his arrival, she placed the palm of her hand on his forehead. While Oswald didn’t really have any idea why she did this, he was happy for her to do so. “Mother is making your breakfast, and after that, if you feel up to it, we can go for a walk outside?” Masina asked looking directly at him for a response.
Despite it being a little dark and gloomy in the room, Oswald could see those dark red piercing eyes looking at him, and while he had originally been put off by them, he now felt comfortable looking back at them.
Oswald held Masina’s gaze for several moments, before realising he hadn’t answered her question. Smiling, as much to himself as to the young elven girl with him, he told her that he would like that very much. Not yet having been out since his arrival in Whitebrook, Oswald was actually quite intrigued about what it looked like. Having only had Masina’s descriptions to go on, the picture he had built up in his mind made it sound very different from Tepton and the surrounding villages.
Just as had been promised, Sansia entered the room a short time later carrying the tray on which Oswald hoped would be another bowl of porridge. Although it was not actually that exciting when he looked at it, he thought the stuff always seemed to fill his belly, something he felt he could get used too. As always Sansia left him alone to
eat, although Masina stayed with him. While he sat up in bed eating his porridge, she appeared to be doing something near a large cupboard over the far wall. Somewhat intrigued as to what it was, Oswald missed his mouth with his spoon and dabbed porridge on his face instead, causing him to curse under his breath.
Masina didn’t seem to mind the use of a bad word, and actually thought it funny when he told her what he had just done. With what looked like a pile of folded clothes in her hands she ambled back over to the bed and placed them down at the end, before taking up her usual position sitting down beside him on the edge.
“Here, silly,” Masina said using her finger to wipe off the small bit of porridge he still had on his face.
“I hope the clothes fit you, they are not new but far better than what you had on when we found you,” she added pointing down to the other end of the bed. Oswald just nodded as he scraped the last of the porridge out of his bowl and carefully put it in his mouth. No sooner had he finished when Masina immediately took the bowl from him and stood to place it on the small table across the other side of the room.
“Come on, let’s see you if you can get up by yourself,” she said turning back to face him.
Knowing he was completely naked beneath the bed covers, Oswald hesitated a little. Masina quickly picked up on his thoughts and giggled, “Don’t worry I’ve seen exactly what’s under there. Who do you think undressed you and put you to bed?” she said before walking over towards him. Oswald puffed out his cheeks and braced himself as Masina pulled the covers off him leaving him completely bare for her to see. Thankfully, he hoped the poor light in the room might have covered any redness that might have been showing on his cheeks, as Masina took hold of his arm and asked him to swing his legs over the side of the bed. Whether it was just a natural thing to do or not, but Oswald’s free hand immediately went to cover his more private regions, something that Masina found funny.
Reign of the Dark Elves Page 14