by Hans Bezdek
The giant purple blob flew from him, traveling at a breakneck speed towards the collection of Kutarm’s men. A few of the men at the side of the group began turning their heads towards the bright light, but it was too late for them.
A giant explosion ripped out from the center of Kutarm’s men as the Fourth Staff’s shot crashed into their midst. The last thing Zeke saw before the light temporarily blinded him were the bodies of the guards being tossed into the air.
“Woah!” shouted Jereod, covering his eyes next to Zeke.
Zeke tried to rub his eyes back to normal as his hearing came back to him. After the sound of the explosion, everything had become eerily quiet. Smoke and dust filled the center of the town, and Zeke couldn’t see anything.
A few seconds later, and he heard cheering and clapping. The smoke settled, and he saw that his plan had worked.
Where the group of Kutarm’s men once stood was a giant crater. A handful of dead guards were scattered around the outside of the blast radius, but the bodies of the rest were nowhere to be seen.
“Dang,” said Sloane. “That was quite the shot.”
“Yeah,” nodded Zeke. “That went even better than I-”
A shield smashed Zeke across the face, sending him and the Arcane Staff to the ground.
“Kill them!” shouted a voice behind Zeke, followed by the sound of rushing feet.
Zeke reached for the Arcane Staff, but it was kicked away before he could reach it.
“Think I’m letting you grab that again, scum?” came the taunting voice of the owner of the foot.
Zeke glanced up to see a man with his sword pointed down at the elf, the shield that knocked him down in his other hand. From Zeke’s peripheral, he could make out that at least a dozen of Kutarm’s men had flanked them and were now taking up the attention of everyone else.
The man drove his sword down at Zeke. The elf rolled out of the way as the blade dug into the ground, quickly getting to his feet and reaching for his dagger.
“Leave now while you can,” said Zeke, holding Lucky up threateningly towards the man, “or you’ll end up like the rest of your comrades.”
“Oh yeah, you’re going to blow me up with your wimpy dagger?” smirked the man.
“Hey, it’s not wimpy!” shouted Zeke defensively.
“Oh, so it has some of that elven magic in it?”
“Well… not exactly,” said Zeke, shifting slightly on his feet. “It brings me good luck, though.”
“That is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard,” said the man, shaking his head. “You’re not even going to make this a challenge, are you?”
“Look, guy! It may not look like much, but-”
Before he could finish speaking, the guard flung his shield at Zeke with all his might. Zeke brought up his free arm, his hand getting smacked by the shield.
“What’s wrong with you?!” demanded Zeke, nursing his hand. “Who throws a shield?!”
“Someone who doesn’t need it!” shouted the man, lunging at Zeke with his sword.
Zeke panicked, tripping over his feet as he tried to get away. He fell forward, reaching both hands out to try and stop his fall.
His opponent’s sword nicked his left shoulder and continued over it as Zeke fell. The elf awkwardly landed in the man’s chest with his hands outstretched.
The man gasped in surprise, then collapsed.
Zeke, having no idea what happened, pushed the guard back and stood up. He then realized he no longer had Lucky, looking around wildly for it. After a few tense seconds, he found the blade. Lucky was still in his hands as he fell, and the blade had impaled the man’s chest as Zeke crashed into him.
“Did anyone see that?!” exclaimed Zeke, looking around.
No one responded. Everyone was still focused on what remained of Kutarm’s forces.
“Well, I thought it looked cool,” mumbled Zeke, yanking Lucky out of his enemies’ chest. Hurrying over, he collected the Arcane Staff.
Harnessing power, he ran through, fighting the crowd. Whenever he passed by a guard, the elf swung out with the Fourth Staff, hitting anything he could with it. Time and time again, the guards would go flying back, freeing up the Resistance fighter to go help someone else.
After a few minutes of this, the last of Kutarm’s men turned heel and ran away.
Why was he so exhausted again? Aside from all the running around and the duel with Lucky, he didn’t think he exerted himself so much. Was the Arcane Staff somehow taking energy from him, or was it just a coincidence?
“Look! We’ve done it!” shouted a woman in the crowd, breaking Zeke away from his thoughts.
“We couldn’t have done it without The Elf Thief!” cried out a man.
“Let’s hear it for our savior!” added another. “The Elf Thief!”
“A-Actually, it’s Zeke,” Zeke said, trying to get his name out there.
“Hooray for The Elf Thief!” shouted those around him.
Zeke sighed. He’d have to work on this.
“Good job you two,” smiled Sloane at Zeke and Delvin.
“Yeah, great distraction with the fire phoenix,” nodded Zeke.
“T-Thanks,” said Delvin, his face turning a light red. “I-It was nothing, really…”
“They’re running away!” cried more people closer to the walls of Tunil. “We’re free!”
Zeke glanced over at the town’s main gate. A dozen or so of Kutarm’s men were running out of it, risking worried glances back at the townspeople. This was a day they wouldn’t soon forget. Zeke hoped it wouldn’t mean they’d be coming back with a vengeance anytime soon.
From the mass of people running away, there was one that caught his eye that wasn’t moving. A figure stood in the middle of the gate, letting Kutarm’s forces run by her.
It was the fae agent from the tavern the previous night.
The blue caped fae stared at Zeke, somehow finding him from within the crowd. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew she was focusing on just him. Was she going to cast a spell at the crowd now? Zeke raised the Arcane Staff up, preparing to form a protective bubble around the people just in case.
Instead, the woman smiled at him and gave him a small wave.
Turning around, she blended into the group running away and disappeared.
Everyone around him was ecstatic, cheering for Tunil and The Elf Thief. He wanted to join them, but couldn’t. Something about that fae worried him…
He had a feeling it wasn’t the last time he’d see her.
Chapter 5
“Quit complaining and just help,” said Sloane, dragging one of the dead guards towards the wagon.
“They’re so heavy, though!” whined Delvin, uselessly picking up one of the man’s legs.
The two of them were attempting to help clean up the streets with the rest of the people of Tunil. Zeke was traveling around with Jereod to help number the dead on the people’s side, missing out on the less enjoyable work. Sloane didn’t see why they needed two people to count instead of just one…
Sloane hoisted the body up and onto the wagon, Delvin hopping up in a failed effort to help. One of the men at a nearby wagon snickered at the gnome.
“I’m not made to do manual labor!” exclaimed a frustrated Delvin. “The only heavy lifting I do is of spellbooks!”
“Too bad you don’t know spells to levitate objects,” smirked Sloane.
“I didn’t think that’d be particularly helpful to learn,” shrugged Delvin.
“Really? But learning all you can about illusions was?”
Delvin pretended to not hear her as he went back for the last body in this street.
After loading it up, the two of them helped secure the wagon then saw it off as it made for the eastern gate. Sloane paused and examined Tunil from the new angle. The sun was beginning to wane, but it looked like most of the immediate work was done. Several buildings were destroyed, but they’d be rebuilt over time. Compared to the destruction that Nurem saw, this
was nothing. They were lucky there weren’t any mages in Kutarm’s forces, or any of the abominable creatures outside of that fae.
Why hadn’t she attacked with the rest of Kutarm’s men? The only time Sloane saw the cloaked fae was when she was fleeing with the rest of them. It had freaked Zeke out, but that was it. Perhaps she wasn’t much of a fighter, and instead an emissary for Kutarm? If that was the case, the town people were going to have a bad time in the future. It was one thing for a smaller town to break free, but to have done so with a representative of Lord Kutarm there made the evil ruler look bad.
Sloane had agreed to help clean up the streets, but she didn’t think it was the best idea. Like Nurem, these people should’ve decided to leave. That was their call to make, however. If they wanted to stay, that was on them.
“Oh, there they are!”
Sloane turned and saw Zeke and Jereod approaching. The elf looked to be in high spirits. He had done well during the battle, outside of the first little hiccup with the Arcane Staff. Yes, she had noticed it. No point in embarrassing him about it.
Well, not yet, anyway.
“Zeke shows up right as the hard work is done,” said Sloane to Delvin. “Why am I not surprised?”
The gnome laughed while the elf floundered.
“H-Hey, what I did was important, too!” said Zeke defensively.
“Uh huh. Counting dead people with someone else must be really difficult.”
“How many people did Tunil lose, by the way?” asked Delvin.
“Nearly forty,” said Jereod somberly. “While everyone is happy that Kutarm’s men have been hoisted out, it’s still sad to have friends and neighbors killed.”
“That it is,” nodded Sloane, looking at the ground. She knew that pain all too well. It was a shame anyone had to die to get their home back.
“The losses would’ve been much higher without the three of you,” said the blacksmith, putting on a smile for them. “The people of Tunil owe you greatly for your help, not to mention the Resistance as a whole.”
“We’re happy to have helped,” smiled back Delvin.
“It was good getting to bring the Fourth Staff into some action,” added Zeke.
“We were glad to see it,” nodded Jereod. “It wasn’t just the power the weapon brought, but having the knowledge that The Elf Thief was on our side really made a difference.”
“Zeke,” said the elf, clearing his throat.
Delvin and Sloane exchanged a look, Sloane raising her eyebrows slightly.
“Yes, the mighty Zeke,” laughed Jereod.
An awkward silence followed.
“So, it looks like you all are staying,” said Sloane, breaking it. “I’m glad the structural damage was minimal.”
“Woah, you’re staying?” asked Zeke to Jereod, taken aback.
“Why else do you think we were cleaning the streets…?” asked Delvin.
“I thought it was just the polite thing to do,” shrugged the elf.
“We’ve decided this is home and have no intention to leave,” nodded Jereod.
“I don’t want to freak you out,” said Zeke, “but that fae agent definitely lived. I imagine she’s on her way to Kutarm as we speak, and he’s not going to be happy.”
“Then we’ll fight them back again!” cheered someone passing by. A few others around cheered as well, then went back to their business.
“That’s more or less the plan,” smiled Jereod. “We will be stationing people near the gates at all hours to be on the lookout for any forces heading our way. We’ll also be setting up mandatory combat training immediately, so everyone will be ready for if any retaliation comes our way.”
Zeke gave Sloane and Delvin an uneasy look but kept his mouth shut. Sloane thought that was for the best. It was clear that the people of Tunil felt they could handle this on their own now. While she wasn’t so sure about that, there wasn’t much of a point in trying to talk them out of it.
“We wish you luck,” said Sloane. “For us, we should probably be off to Newbridge. Have you heard of any danger on the road that way?”
“I haven’t,” said the blacksmith, shaking his head.
“Whew!” smiled Delvin. “Finally, some peace.”
“But that’s because Newbridge has openly accepted Lord Kutarm’s reign,” explained Jereod.
“Or not,” groaned the gnome.
“It’s not like they’d know what we look like,” pointed out Zeke. “Whether they are under Kutarm’s watch or not, I don’t think we have to worry about it.”
“Except for all the people that saw you today, including the fae woman,” said Sloane.
“What about them?”
“Newbridge is the closest major city, isn’t it?” Sloane asked Jereod.
“It is,” agreed Jereod. “Realistically, all of Kutarm’s forces that fled today would’ve made their way to Newbridge as fast as possible. There is the chance that some of them would recognize one of you, especially Zeke.”
“Didn’t think about that…” mumbled the elf.
“Being well known isn’t all positives,” said Sloane.
“Just mostly,” he nodded in apparent agreement. That wasn’t what Sloane meant.
“It will be very dangerous for the three of you in Newbridge,” said Jereod. “Granted, you’re all very strong. I’m sure you can manage.”
“W-What if we skip it?” asked Delvin. “C-Could we maybe go a longer route to whatever the next city is?”
“We aren’t just passing through,” explained Sloane. “The lead I have for the Lost Citadel’s whereabouts is actually inside Newbridge. We have to stop there.”
“M-Maybe we could wait it out for a few days?” tried Delvin. “Give them a chance to leave before we show up?”
“I don’t want to waste anymore time,” said Sloane, shaking her head. “We’re so close to finding out where the Lost Citadel is I can almost taste it.”
“There isn’t any sense in heading out tonight, is there?” asked Zeke. “I’m not sure about you two, but I’m pretty exhausted from the fight.”
“And the moving bodies,” added Delvin.
“Not to mention all the walking around that was required for me and Jereod to count,” nodded Zeke. Sloane shot him a look. “Although I’ll admit it might not have been as tiring… Still, we’re going to have to sleep somewhere, aren’t we? Why not stay one more night in Tunil?”
Sloane crossed her arms as she thought about it. She really didn’t want to. There was the chance Kutarm’s forces could come back in the night, especially if some demons were nearby. There was probably an equally good chance of them getting caught out in the wilds at night if that were the case, though.
“We do have some traders planning on heading to Newbridge first thing in the morning,” mentioned Jereod. “We’d be happy to give you a place to sleep again tonight, and then you could accompany them into the city tomorrow. You’d bring less attention to yourselves if you traveled with them.”
“Wouldn’t Newbridge reject trades with your town if they’re under Lord Kutarm’s control?” asked Sloane.
“They’re going to say they’re from another town,” shrugged Jereod. “It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Sloane shifted on her feet. That seemed reasonable.
“Come on, Sloane,” insisted Zeke. “Wouldn’t you rather travel with people other than just me and the annoying gnome?”
“Hey!” whined Delvin.
“I’m just saying that to win her over,” whispered Zeke non-discreetly.
“Fine,” sighed Sloane. “We can stay the night and leave with them in the morning.”
She didn’t want to be a stick in the mud, but she wanted to get back to searching for the Lost Citadel. They had meddled in the Resistance’s affairs enough. Now it was time to focus their attention again.
“Wonderful news, everyone!” called out Jereod. “The Elf Thief and his friends are staying with us tonight! We’ll throw a victory feast!”
&
nbsp; People nearby cheered and hollered, a few of them coming closer to talk.
“This is the one who saved us?” asked a woman.
“This is The Elf Thief?!” asked a man.
“It’s Zeke, actually,” smiled the elf, turning from one gawking person to another. “Zeke from Re’Lus.”
Sloane couldn’t help but smile while she watched as Zeke glowed from all the attention he was getting. This was the polar opposite of what had happened just a couple of weeks earlier in his hometown. She was happy for him, even if it seemed a bit odd for her. She was never one to want much praise for a job done, outside of a bit of pay. She didn’t like being the center of attention, whereas he seemed to be thriving in it.
A lot.
“I am a legend, aren’t I?” he laughed.
Sloane rolled her eyes.
Okay, maybe a bit too much...
Chapter 6
After a good night’s sleep, Zeke and the others left with the traders and headed west for Newbridge. They had to keep to side trails for a while, afraid to come across any of Lord Kutarm’s men and then be labeled as coming from Tunil. Zeke and his friends were told to claim they were from Oxendale if anyone asked. Sloane and Delvin spent an hour or so hammering the name of the town into Zeke’s memory.
Naturally, several of the traders were very excited to be traveling with The Elf Thief and had quite a few questions for him. Zeke did his best to come up with answers regarding some of the real Elf Thief’s escapades, sometimes telling them that the answers were a secret, and he’d have to kill them if he told them.
That quickly put a stop to the questions.
Zeke kept his hood up for most of the day, as did Delvin and Sloane after the traders gave them a pair of cloaks. Delvin’s was a bit too big for him, so Zeke offered to take Lucky out and help cut it to size. The gnome looked panicked for some reason, and Sloane was the one to do it. Zeke didn’t understand his friend’s concern, but let it go.
After eating a quick lunch, they continued on the main for the last part of their trek. They occasionally passed by other travelers, along with a handful of Kutarm’s men on patrol. The patrols paid the traders no mind, confident that nothing too dangerous was heading for the major city. Zeke wished he could see their faces if they ever learned an Arcane Staff snuck in from under their noses.