The couple looked at him with both interest and skepticism. “And what might that be?” they asked almost in unison.
“Hold two events, separated by tastes. That way you will favorably impress everybody at each function, instead of only getting half of the accolades because half would have been less pleased.”
Jolinda clapped her hands. “Splendid!”
Keldir nodded. “Yes, that would solve the problem.” He turned to Heather and me. “Sub-leaders? Do you also agree with the Captain?”
Not trusting our voices, we nodded enthusiastically.
“Then it is settled, my dear. We will have two functions,” Keldir said magnanimously to Jolinda.
She came around the table and gripped his arm in peaceful warrior fashion, then tucked her hand into his elbow. Without any further notice of us or any sort of goodbye, the two left arm-in-arm from the discussion room.
CHAPTER 16
Arghen exhaled a sigh of relief as the door closed behind them. Heather and I echoed him.
“Peace officers? We’re peace officers as well as military? Did you know that, Arghen?” I demanded.
He shook his head. “No, I did not. In Relkanav, there is a force separate from the military who are the peace officers. Here, it seems the military also functions as the peace officers. No wonder we have had little trouble navigating the Rings and the caverns.”
“I wonder how we can turn that to our advantage,” mused Heather.
“We already unintentionally have by assisting Jolinda and Keldir, although I had feared that my inadequate knowledge of Chirasnivian customs would reveal us for what we are. It is fortunate that they were too wrapped up in their argument to notice any deviations I inadvertently made. However,” Arghen said in a softer, grimmer tone, “Now I understand why Chirasnivians want Surfacers.”
“Why?” Heather and I both asked at the same time, matching his volume.
“Surfacers have an innate ability to use magic items because they believe in the Divine. Under-elves cannot, because they do not.”
“But Caelestis said as long as I believed, magic could affect me. Shouldn’t the Under-elves believe, because they can see magic being done?”
“But you worship Caelestis. So not only can magic affect you, you can make magical items work. The Under-elves can have magic affect them, but they cannot make magical items work. Thus, it seems some Surfacers are taken to Chirasniv so that they might use any magic items that the Chirasnivians acquire. Or rather, so that those Surfacers so chosen can employ the magic items on behalf of their Under-elf masters. This is the nature of that agency Jolinda and Keldir referred to: the Exchange.”
I blanched. That had to be the reason why Jason was taken by the Under-elves. They must have thought he was a Surfacer who could use magic items for them.
Heather saw my face and said soothingly, “Then Jason should be safe, because he’s a Surfacer who’s been traveling with you. He’s just like you, right?”
I shook my head, extreme worry on my face. “He’s more like you than me. He can’t use magic items. He has trouble believing in magic and doesn’t worship any Deity, just like you don’t. And magic doesn’t affect him like it doesn’t affect you!”
Heather’s tan face grew serious. “So, if the Chirasnivians only want Surfacers to work magic items, and Jason can’t ….” She let the sentence trail off.
“Yes,” said Arghen, unease in his tone now. “Jason will be considered useless to them. And you know that uselessness is not tolerated in the Sub-realms.”
“We’ve got to find him fast!” I said in a fierce whisper.
“Lise, what if it’s already too late?” Heather asked in a fretful tone.
“No! I refuse to believe that! He’s alive. Caelestis said so!”
“If Caelestis said so, then it is true,” said Arghen as Heather subsided. The Under-elf surprised me by putting his hand on my arm, possibly to give me strength for his next words. “But if the Chirasnivians have some healing items and it is discovered that he cannot be healed by magic, they will then discover he cannot use magical items. Which means there is only one place where he would be sent—Central Court.”
My heart dropped. Gone was my private, feeble hope that since he could not be part of the Exchange that we’d just learned about, he would be in a holding cell somewhere nearby while they figured out what to do with him. From a holding cell, or from this Exchange, we might have been able to rescue him from more easily. It was going to be harder to do it in full view of Chirasnivian society.
“Now that we know why the Surfacers are here, it’s going to make rescuing any of them that much harder,” Heather said musingly.
I turned an angry glance on her, and she backpedaled, saying, “Lise, chill! I didn’t mean we would abandon all of them! I’m fine with sticking to the plan of freeing as many as we can. It just doesn’t look like it’s going to be that many, though. You were probably hoping they’d be kept in jail cells or dungeons or something, right?”
I nodded sharply.
“But, instead, they’re going to be spread out all over Chirasniv or put to work through this Exchange place,” she continued. “You’re just going to have to accept that we won’t be bringing back as many with us as you’d hoped.”
I exhaled a big sigh, losing my annoyance. “You’re right, Heather.”
We all froze as the door to the discussion room opened briefly. We tensed, but it closed almost right away when whoever was outside realized the room was occupied.
“Let’s get going,” I said. “We can’t stay here. We’ll just have to wing it on the way.”
“‘Wing it?’” Arghen asked. “I assume that means taking advantage of situations as we come upon them?”
“Now you’re getting it, Arghen,” Heather said with a grin.
We left the discussion room. Since it wasn’t too far from the main thoroughfare, we managed to get back to the big corridor without missing a turning. As we entered the main corridor, a rolling hush fell over the passing Under-elves. At first I thought it was because of us, but then all the Under-elves pressed themselves up against the walls as best they could, and we followed their lead so we wouldn’t stand out. Arghen moved his mouth at me, but I wasn’t able to lip-read what he was saying. He rolled his eyes significantly down the corridor, and I followed them. Walking in the center of the corridor, mumbling to herself, was an ethereal-looking Under-elf dressed in a long gown of thin, flowing white layers, which made her look rather ghost-like. She was pale even for an Under-elf, and her eyes were white, not amber. She carried a fancifully carved white wooden-like staff which she leaned on as if she needed its support. I understood then what Arghen had been trying to tell me: she had to be one of those Conductivuses he’d told us about. And it was just our luck that Chirasniv had one.
Every Under-elf head bowed in a mark of respect as she passed them, and so we did the same. As I stood waiting for some sign from Arghen of when we could go, my eyes registered the fact that a white, fluttering hem had stopped before me and Heather. Nervous sweat gathered on my brow, but I didn’t raise my eyes. She stood for a long moment in front of us but then moved on. Once the sound of her tapping staff had petered out down the corridor, Arghen quickly ushered Heather and me away from the murmurs about what had happened that were rising around us about the unusual occurrence. I longed to ask Arghen if we were in trouble, but he stoically looked ahead. I didn’t want to give the Under-elves any more reason to gossip, so I kept my lips zipped. Fortunately, we passed without incident through the rest of the Civilian Ring, and soon we stood at the downward grade that led to the caves between the Civilian Ring and the Leadership Ring.
I was curious to see what they would look like since I’d privately dubbed them ‘Parks and Recreation’ when Arghen had described to us this part of the city-state. The caverns were huge, although they were a little smaller than either the training fields of the military or the ‘countryside’ of the civilians. I peeked up at the ce
iling. Yep, no hanging rocks in here, either. This cavern was maybe half the size of a football stadium, but down below it would be hard to tell that because it was set up like a private park—or what would pass for a park. There were meandering paths outlined in white stone, and thick mosses of different shades of grey, white and even black which passed for grass. Here, for the first time, we saw color in something other than the lichen. Dotted about the cavern were huge mushrooms, like trees would be on the Surface, of many different kinds. Their hues were not brilliant, but even dull colors were still colors. Rocks were piled about in many places to make cozy, private nooks in the moss-grass. Once again these were covered in the glowing lichen-moss to provide its dim light for the inhabitants. It was quiet in here, although off to the left and the right I could see openings to other caverns where faint sounds of combat mixed with hisses and cheers. I guessed those had to be some of the recreation areas as opposed to a park area like the one we were headed for.
When we reached the rocky floor and entered the mossy areas via the laid-out pathways, I heard Heather gasp and saw her stop short as we passed the first rock walled-in rest area.
“Lise! Arghen! Look!” she whispered fiercely, pointing to a picnic scene inside it.
We looked, and I inhaled sharply. Two Under-elves—a male and a female—were seated on leather-padded rock benches, a flat rock table carved with decorative swirls holding the remains of a picnic lunch between them. They wore luxurious tunics and leggings that had dark-colored crystals sewn into the hems as decoration—something we hadn’t seen so far in the clothing of the Under-elves of the Civilian Ring. A very beautiful female Surface-elf with long black hair stood behind them. She wore a long white dress-robe with something that looked like a fancy, colorful rhinestone collar around her neck. Attached to the collar was a lead that was held casually in the hand of the female Under-elf, making it not a piece of jewelry but a dog collar.
“Wine, Emalai,” said the male Under-elf, waving a fancy golden goblet in her direction.
The expressionless Emalai took a small, fancy golden vial from a pouch at her waist and poured a rich red liquid into his cup. There was no way that the vial could fill up the goblet, but Emalai not only filled his but his companion’s matching goblet as well. Heather and I both gaped. Seeing a Surfacer in an actual slave position using magic for the benefit of an Under-elf was discomforting, to say the least. Noticing us standing at the entrance, the three of them looked over at us—the Surface-elf quizzically, the Under-elves with hostile curiosity.
“No glancing about,” Arghen suddenly barked at Heather and me. “You are on report, remember?”
Surprised, Heather and I snapped our heads around to face him, but his expression warned us not to say anything. The two Under-elves, whose expressions had quickly gone from hostile curiosity to angry suspiciousness as we stood there, relaxed and went back to their picnic. Arghen ordered us harshly along the path, but at the next private nook he pulled us into it.
“Remember how we are to try and rescue as many Surfacers as we can?” he asked. “I think we should start with this Emalai behind us.”
Heather and I both eyed him like he was crazy.
“It makes sense,” he said. “The style and the fabric of clothes those two Under-elves wore indicated both wealth and prestige,” he pointed out. “I suspect that they are from the Leadership Ring. If we had, Emalai she could be a shield for us over and above what the Kobold provided for us. Wealthy military would be given even less notice than non-wealthy military, or non-military ones for fear that the lesser-status individuals would draw ire from us higher-status individuals.”
“We’re not taking their clothes, are we?” Heather asked, aghast.
Arghen smiled. “No, because in this case our uniforms serve us better. But having Emalai would serve us better still.”
“Pity we don’t have Auraus and Ragar,” I said with regret. “They could have come with us after all.”
“We needed at least one of them to stay with the horses, as Heather had pointed out,” Arghen said. “Auraus was best for that for her skill with animals. And I did not want her to stay alone, so Ragar was the best choice for two reasons: first, he has a short temper and so the possibility of him causing problems while we infiltrate would be high.”
I nodded, remembering Ragar’s behavior on the first assault on the keep.
“The second,” Arghen continued, “is that he is a good fighter and would have a chance at protecting Auraus from anything other than Under-elves.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Remember what I said about killing fields?” he asked. “That cavern they are in would be one if it was activated.”
“We left them in danger?” Heather and I gasped together.
Arghen frowned. “There is no danger unless it is activated. And there would be no reason to activate it unless a monster made it through the other two killing fields we passed as it was headed towards Chirasniv. Auraus and Ragar knew this possibility.”
“They did? Did you tell them and not us?” I asked, nettled.
“No. I had thought it was obvious from our previous conversations.”
“Well, it wasn’t obvious to me!”
“All right, fine,” Heather interjected. “But if there’s not that many Surfacers, that Surface-elf’ll be recognized by someone who knows that couple, won’t she?”
Arghen smiled. “Not if we use some of the leftover disguise items still in my pouch on her first.”
I knew there was probably a gleam like Ragar’s green eyes in my blue ones when I grinned and said, “Well, then, what are we waiting for?”
Heather and I followed Arghen back to the rest area where the Under-elf couple, fortunately, still sat. Heather and I dropped our eyes enough that we could not be accused of looking at them again but high enough that we could still be able to see what was going to go on. Heather had had some problems with the plan that Arghen had laid out as we walked back, but she had eventually understood that there was no other option. I sympathized because I felt what she felt, and I told her so. That had made her feel a little better.
The male looked Arghen up and down haughtily, ignoring Heather and me completely as we came to a halt in the rest area’s entrance again. “What is the meaning of this, disturbing us twice in such a short span of time?”
The female looked daggers at Heather and me.
“I am bringing my subordinates back so I may apologize for their behavior and have them beg for forgiveness as well,” Arghen replied with a crisp military voice and bearing.
I could just about see the female add a nasty smile to her expression. “That is much better,” she purred. “That will save Jodron and myself from having to seek out your superiors to address the situation.”
I gulped silently. It seemed it was a very good thing we’d decided to come and get Emalai.
“You may begin,” she said airily, waving her hand dismissively at us.
Arghen, still in his military manner, saluted sharply and said, “I apologize most humbly for the untoward actions of my subordinates. What they did in staring at both of you and your servant in a public place was an unforgiveable breach of manners, for which I promise you there will be justice. I will see to it that any future behavior from these troops towards any others of status will be met with the same justice. This I swear on the dignity and honor of the ranks that I wear.”
I noted with pleasure at the way Arghen worded his ‘apology’. That the Under-elves assumed it meant us getting punished was all too evident from the nearly identical looks of satisfaction on their pale faces.
Arghen motioned to us to step forward. Heather and I, having been briefed on what to do on the way back, moved to stand before them—me before the male and Heather before the female. We timed it so we would drop together on one knee and bow our heads.
“We apologize,” she and I chorused together, “NOT!”
CHAPTER 17
Heather and I quick drew our Under-elf swords on the word ‘not’ and struck at the couple. We must have somehow telegraphed our intentions, though, because the pair flipped off their benches backwards as we lunged forwards and drew matching bejeweled dirks that had been hidden in their clothes. I gulped as I saw that the female’s tip bore a shiny green coating, and I remembered what Arghen had said about Under-elves and their fondness for poisons. Emalai stood stunned for a moment as the action raged around her, then dashed to the side of the enclosure and put her back up against the rock walls, eyes wide and terrified. Arghen swooped in to stand with Heather and me, and as one the three of us rushed the Under-elf couple.
These Under-elves were not as good as Arghen, which made sense if they were not military. But they were as good as Heather and me, if not better. I swung my sword at the male’s chest, which he parried with his smaller weapon. He slid his dirk along my saber and somehow rotated it out of the way, and then aimed for my face. I ducked and brought my saber down to catch his wrist and make him drop the dirk, but he moved it away at the last second. We drew apart briefly. Beside me Heather did a stop-lunge at the female, who snorted with laughter and knocked Heather’s sword aside with one hand while jabbing her poisoned dirk at Heather’s neck. The Under-elf faltered, however, as the sword she must have thought was not sharp cut her hand. This gave Heather the opportunity to recover and thrust again, scoring a hit in her opponent’s shoulder. Arghen took advantage of the female’s surprise and ran her through. Heather dropped back, a greenish look on her face as the female Under-elf’s body hit the ground.
My attention was brought back to my fight when the Under-elf male roared his anger for the fall of his companion. He turned and swung upwards at me so viciously that he cut through the bandages that hid my lack of Elven ears, slicing the top of my ear in two vertically. He stopped and gawked as the bandage fluttered away from my head and revealed my all-too-human ear. That distraction was apparently what Arghen needed. He stepped in and skewered the male Under-elf as well. I scooped up the fallen bandage from where it had fallen to the moss and pressed it to my ear, wincing as the pain of the slice hit me all at once when the adrenaline in my veins subsided. Arghen, a look of concern on his face, pulled out some of the ointment that Auraus had made a few days ago and applied it to the wound and held it together until it started to knit. I sighed in relief as the salve soothed away the hurt. Arghen re-wrapped my head disguise to cover my ears again. That it was now bloody added an extra bonus disguise factor in my favor.
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