Elvangar

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “I can’t say,” answered HawkShadow.

  “You can’t say?” glared the officer. “What do you mean you can’t say?”

  “It is a matter of secrecy,” HawkShadow replied softly. “I was ordered not to reveal the origin of the slaves.”

  “Who ordered you to remain quiet about this?” demanded the officer.

  Again HawkShadow felt a moment of failure. He did not know any of the Motangan names except Vand, and he didn’t think that the officer would believe that. He was sure that the Emperor had his own personal guards that would carry out special orders. As the officer once again demanded an answer, HawkShadow remembered Mistake mentioning that she had seen Aakuta inside the temple.

  “Aakuta,” HawkShadow replied conspiratorially, “but I will deny having told you that. Look, I am not trying to be trouble to you, but I do not want to be punished by the mage.”

  The officer’s glare softened and he nodded sympathetically.

  “I won’t mention a thing,” promised the officer, “but I wish these mages would use proper procedures. How do they expect us to secure the temple when they go around breaking all the rules?”

  “They do seem to be favored,” shrugged HawkShadow. “I try not to get on the wrong side of them.”

  “That is wise,” nodded the officer. “When are these elves supposed to arrive?”

  “They should have been here already,” frowned HawkShadow. “I think I am going to go looking for them. There is only one man escorting them, and that worries me, but the mage was precise with his instructions. I hope to be back shortly.”

  The officer nodded, and HawkShadow started walking across the barren strip towards the forest. His friends watched him approach.

  “Does he know these Motangans?” Tamar asked with surprise at seeing HawkShadow walking around freely.

  “No,” grinned MistyTrail. “He has never been here before, but this is not the first time that HawkShadow has amazed me.”

  “He seems to blend in wherever he goes,” admired Mistake.

  HawkShadow entered the forest and walked well past his friends to make sure that no on saw him meeting anyone. He turned and crept back to them.

  “What did you learn?” asked MistyTrail.

  HawkShadow took a thin wire out of his belt and handed it to Tamar. Tamar looked at the wire questioningly.

  “Bind the top of your ears so that they lay flat against your head,” instructed HawkShadow. “Make sure that your hair covers both the wire and your ears.”

  Tamar nodded and made a large loop out of the wire. HawkShadow sat on the ground and faced the rear of the temple.

  “The shutters to the library are magically alarmed,” reported HawkShadow. “If we tried to enter that way, we would be caught quickly.”

  “There is another balcony on the far side,” offered Tamar, “but I have no idea where it leads to.”

  “I think I have found a way in,” declared HawkShadow, “but I doubt that we will be able to leave the same way.”

  “How do we get in?” asked Mistake.

  HawkShadow smiled and pointed to the large opening in the rear of the temple. “I spoke to the officer there. He is expecting me and another soldier to be escorting two elves. Evidently, it is highly irregular for prisoners to enter in this manner, but I told him that Aakuta had requested it in secrecy. The soldiers do not care much for the mages here in Motanga.”

  “There is a reason for that,” frowned Mistake. “The mages here are the ones who torture the prisoners. I feel uneasy even hearing Aakuta’s name.”

  “What is done is done,” shrugged HawkShadow. “We should take this opportunity to get into the temple before that officer is replaced by another.”

  “Do you remember the map I drew of the interior?” asked MistyTrail.

  “I never forget a map,” smiled HawkShadow. “If my sense of direction is any good, we need to make a left upon entering the rear of the temple. There we should find the door that the kruls would not let you pass through.”

  “And Avalar’s cage is just beyond it,” Mistake said excitedly. “Maybe we can get in and out of there so quickly that no one will even notice.”

  “One thing at a time,” replied Tamar as he covered the wire with his hair. “First we have to get in.”

  “Let’s go,” HawkShadow said as he rose to his feet. “Let me do the talking if we are stopped.”

  HawkShadow and Tamar sandwiched the girls between them and then marched out of the woods. They walked normally across the barren strip. As they reached the rear of the temple, most of the soldiers turned to watch their approach. A few of the soldiers became alert, but they relaxed as the officer strode forward to greet them.

  “Ah,” smiled the officer, “now I understand. Why didn’t you say that they were off-islanders? They must be important not to be brought in through the harbor.”

  “I imagine that they are,” nodded HawkShadow. “Do not spread the word of your observations. I want to survive this mission.”

  “I understand,” nodded the officer as he led the group through the gaping entrance.

  The inside of the temple was cavernous. There was a large clear area immediately inside the doorway, with dozens of doors and corridors radiating off of it. The officer started to turn to the right, and HawkShadow halted his little group.

  “We need to go to the left,” announced HawkShadow.

  “No,” countered the officer. “The left side is full. You need to take them to the right.”

  HawkShadow saw several hooded figures at the rear of the room. One of them looked curiously at the new arrivals. HawkShadow felt a chill race up his spine. He motioned for the officer to come closer and the man complied.

  “Look,” whispered HawkShadow, “my instructions state a particular cell. If there are already prisoners in it, I will remove them and take them to the right side, but I do not want to stand here and discuss it. The mages in this room are already taking notice of the new arrivals, and Aakuta will have my hide if anyone finds out about these girls.”

  The officer changed his position so that he could look to the rear of the room without it appearing obvious. He slowly nodded his head.

  “You will owe me for this,” warned the officer.

  “I am sure that I will,” HawkShadow chuckled softly, “but if my guess is correct, you don’t want the attention of the mages on you, either.”

  “You are correct,” grinned the officer. “Still, you owe me. Follow me.”

  The officer turned and led the group to the left. Mistake leaned close to HawkShadow and whispered to him.

  “I think one of those mages was Aakuta,” she whispered. “He looked at us and immediately slipped through a doorway. We may have trouble ahead. I am sure that he must have recognized me.”

  HawkShadow nodded his head and sighed slightly to ease his tension. The officer took a look over his shoulder to see if there was a problem and then continued across the large room. He reached the doorway to the cell area and stopped. As he fumbled through his key ring, HawkShadow noticed a group of three mages approaching them from the rear of the room. He gently tapped Mistake, who was next to him, and nodded towards the mages. Mistake alerted MistyTrail, and she alerted Tamar.

  “Too many keys,” complained the officer as he continued to try different keys in the lock.

  The officer fumbled the keys and they fell to the floor. HawkShadow bent down swiftly and retrieved them. He handed them back to the officer.

  “Now I have to start all over,” complained the officer. “Why don’t they make all the locks the same?”

  HawkShadow glanced over his shoulder and saw the three mages approaching. They were already half way across the floor and HawkShadow felt sweat forming on his brow.

  “Start from the other end,” HawkShadow suggested to the officer. “There is no sense in trying the same keys over again.”

  The officer nodded and tried another key. The mages were only twenty paces away when the office
r found the correct key. He turned the key and opened the door. HawkShadow roughly shoved Mistake and MistyTrail through the door. Tamar quickly followed them, and HawkShadow thanked the officer as he slipped through. Mistake tried to put her foot in the door so it wouldn’t close, but HawkShadow pulled her away as he heard one of the approaching mages shout.

  “Why did you stop me?” frowned Mistake. “It would be the quickest way to open the door if I jammed the lock before it closed.”

  “Because the mages wanted to know who the two elves were,” HawkShadow answered softly as he saw the nearest krul approaching. “We must be swift in getting out of here, but we are not leaving by this door. We have already received too much unwanted attention. Where is Avalar?”

  Chapter 32

  Avalar

  MistyTrail stared into the last cell and saw the calm male elf sitting with his back against the wall. He stared at her curiously. MistyTrail smiled broadly.

  “Avalar?” asked MistyTrail.

  The man smiled and nodded. “You should not talk in here,” he said softly. “They will punish you. Stay strong and preserve. Kaltara will aid you.”

  “No talk,” shouted a krul as he advanced towards MistyTrail.

  Tamar inserted himself between the krul and MistyTrail. HawkShadow tapped Mistake on the arm and pointed to the lock on the cell holding Avalar. He then straightened and rounded the corner, walking briskly past the krul. The krul frowned and turned to watch HawkShadow while Mistake raced to unlock Avalar’s cage. Avalar became suddenly interested in what was going on. He looked at Mistake and then at MistyTrail. He shook his head and focused on Tamar. Finally, he rose and stepped close to the door of the cage.

  “Who are you people?” he whispered.

  “We have come to free you,” MistyTrail grinned. “Are you all right?”

  “Elves and humans?” frowned Avalar as he stared at Tamar.

  “I am elven,” Tamar said softly. “The other male is human. Act calmly, but be ready to run.”

  Meanwhile HawkShadow wandered from cage to cage sticking his face up to the bars on each one. He not only captivated the attention of the first krul, but every other krul at that end of the corridor was watching him. HawkShadow managed to keep an eye on what was going on at the end of the corridor as he moved from cage to cage.

  The corridor seemed to stretch onward forever. HawkShadow counted over forty kruls before he gave up counting and he was sure there were more at the far end of the corridor. He had managed to pass by six of the giants while keeping their attention focused on him.

  “Give him the uniform,” MistyTrail urged softly.

  Tamar glanced over his shoulder at the kruls and then reached into his pack and passed the uniform to Avalar.

  “You people have come prepared,” Avalar said as he hurriedly put on the uniform.

  “It’s open,” Mistake grinned as she restored the piece of metal to her belt.

  Avalar was struggling with the uniform. He had large bracelets on both arms and he could not fit them through the sleeves. MistyTrail opened the cell door and stepped inside. She grabbed the material on one of the sleeves and pulled hard. She heard the material rip, but she got Avalar’s arm through the sleeve. She immediately repeated the procedure on the other arm.

  Suddenly, one of the kruls noticed MistyTrail in the cage. He bellowed loudly and pointed towards the end of the corridor. All of a sudden the corridor erupted into chaos. Kruls started running towards the cage with Avalar and MistyTrail in it. The kruls growled as they charged and it was obvious to everyone that the time for talking and bluffing was over.

  Tamar drew his two-handed sword and stepped towards the charging kruls to make room for the king and the princesses behind him. MistyTrail and Avalar stepped out of the cell while Mistake’s hands filled with knives. Tamar slashed into the first krul, slicing his abdomen open. The huge krul continued to charge and Tamar jumped back a pace and brought his sword out in front of him. The krul impaled himself on the sword. When the krul tumbled to the ground, it pulled Tamar’s sword from his hands.

  HawkShadow pulled his sword and charged at the kruls from behind. He swung his two-handed sword at the legs of the first krul he could reach. The sword sliced cleanly through one leg and half way through the next. The krul slammed to the floor. HawkShadow jumped on its back and drove his sword deep into the krul’s neck. The krul stopped struggling, and HawkShadow pulled his sword free and charged towards Tamar.

  Tamar pulled his sword out of the dead krul just in time to swing at the next giant. He sliced deep into the krul’s extended arm just as Mistake’s knife flew into one of its eyes. MistyTrail threw a Sakovan star at the next krul and hit it in the head, but it halted only long enough to rip the star from its flesh and throw it aside.

  “I could use a weapon,” Avalar said.

  MistyTrail handed him a knife as she threw another Sakovan star. This time she struck the krul in the eye and it turned to one side as it screamed. Tamar sliced high on the krul that Mistake had wounded. He sliced into the neck of the krul while Mistake dove under its legs and came up behind it. She turned and drove a knife into its back as high as she could reach. The krul wobbled from both assaults and tumbled to the ground. Tamar had to jump out of the way of the falling giant.

  HawkShadow caught up to another krul and again went for its legs from behind. The massive creature screamed and fell forward. As HawkShadow jumped on its back and delivered a killing blow, Mistake shouted.

  “Behind you, HawkShadow!” she screamed.

  HawkShadow did not even look back. He hurled his body forward and dove for the floor, tossing his sword high to get rid of it. Avalar reached up and snatched the sword from the air. The elves moved to the sides of the corridor as HawkShadow rolled past them. Tamar and Avalar immediately strode forward and attacked the krul that was chasing HawkShadow.

  “The arms,” shouted Avalar as he struck out with the sword.

  Avalar sliced cleanly through the creature’s left arm while Tamar cut off the right arm. The creature halted and screamed horrendously. MistyTrail’s star and Mistake’s knife both impacted the creature’s face. It fell atop the body of another krul and Avalar ended its life with a strong slice of the throat.

  “We will not make it out of here this way,” shouted HawkShadow as he gained his feet and saw dozens of kruls heading towards them from the far end of the corridor. “Try the lock on the door we came in, Mistake.”

  The kruls that were approaching were not charging. They were approaching cautiously although they were growling loudly. They clumped into groups, totally blocking the corridor as they approached. Avalar handed the sword back to HawkShadow, while Mistake ran for the door to the rear of the temple.

  “I would like one of those if we come across one,” smiled Avalar.

  “You certainly know how to use one,” smiled HawkShadow. “We will find you something.”

  “It’s no good,” shouted Mistake. “It is magically locked like the cell in Elvangar.”

  “You are from Elvangar?” asked Avalar. “But I have seen you girls outside my cage before.”

  “Only I am from Elvangar,” Tamar said. “It is a long story, and it can wait until we are free.”

  “Freedom from my cell is not freedom on this island,” frowned Avalar as he watched the kruls move slowly towards them. “We had trouble with those last five kruls. I cannot imagine how we will survive the next dozen. Even if we get by them, we will be hunted down.“

  “We have a ship,” offered HawkShadow as he stepped alongside the elven king. “We are not staying on this island.”

  “We are in deep trouble,” Mistake interrupted nervously. “A mage is joining the battle. Look at the far end of the corridor.”

  “Stop!” the mage shouted loudly. “Stop at once.”

  The kruls turned to look behind them and saw the mage walking towards them. They growled and turned back towards the elves. The mage shouted again, but the kruls paid no attention to hi
m.

  “Get ready,” warned HawkShadow. “Try to keep the kruls between us and the mage. If we can keep the kruls crowded together, we have a chance of defeating them. Don’t let the back ones move around the ones we attack.”

  “That is Aakuta,” snarled Mistake. “He will kill the kruls just to get at us.”

  As if her words were prophetic, the mage hurled a fireball at the backs of the kruls. One of the creatures burst into flames. Its scream was horrifying as it threw its body to the floor and began rolling around trying to extinguish the flames.

  “Mistake,” Avalar called urgently, “if you can get around locks, try the ones on my wrists.”

  Mistake ran to Avalar’s side and studied the bracelet. Aakuta threw another fireball and another krul erupted in flames. The other kruls growled with rage. They turned to face the mage. Aakuta stopped approaching and threw another fireball. Another krul erupted in flames. The rest of the kruls shoved aside their flaming comrade and charged towards the mage.

  “Got one,” Mistake said triumphantly as she move around to Avalar’s other wrist.

  “Looks like the kruls have a different idea than the mage,” grinned MistyTrail. “Maybe we should charge after the kruls? Then we would be too close for the mage to get all of us.”

  “Or we can stand our ground and hope that the kruls get the mage,” countered Mistake.

  “And that there aren’t too many of them left when the mage dies,” added Tamar.

  “No,” announced Avalar as the other wristband fell away, “we advance but slowly.

  HawkShadow’s eyebrow rose as he looked at Avalar. “Are you a mage?”

  “That is what the bracelets were for,” grinned the elven king.

  “I think I’ll keep this sword for myself then,” grinned HawkShadow. “Let’s go.”

  As the five escapees advanced steadily along the corridor, the kruls charged Aakuta. Fire flew from the fingertips of the human mage as the kruls got nearer. The front row of kruls erupted into flaming balls of fur. They turned and tried to flee away from the mage, but other kruls were right behind them. Some of the second tier kruls began to catch fire from the burning kruls.