by Clark Graham
"But," continued Amlius, "after breaking through their enemy, the Minotaur could not outrun the Gremlins. There were constant Gremlin attacks on the rear of the Minotaur column. The weak and slow died first, but they worked the way up to the strong ones at the front. Some were able to try toescape the slaughter by running away from the main force, but the Gremlins hunted them down to and killed them. There is a trail of Minotaur and Gremlin dead that extends for many miles, all the dead are without horns now, thanks to the men and their hunt for ivory. This must have been when Tabor found Dwarves in the forest. He must have thought that they were after him, why else would a Dwarf come out of their mountains?"
"It must have Cazz's army that Tabor discovered while hunting down the Minotaur; your Dwarf army was further east at that point. That is why he changed strategy and attacked the city of Tarlina instead of trying to starve it out like he did Santera."
Sarchise listened to the all of the Elf's before commenting, "Then they knew we were in the woods already. He was not out to attack us when he ran into the bulk of the Dwarf army; he was already on his way to High Mountain, to attack it before they could defend themselves. When he saw he could not carry the day, he retreated, but sent a group down to the breeding pits under the mountain to get them started up again."
"Yes, he didn't have enough Gremlins, because he had to move up his plans. After taking the city of Tarlina and meeting you in the forest, forces were badly depleted. You saved High Mountain by accident."
"The Dwarves saved High Mountain, I am only one man," Sarchise said.
"True enough," Amlius said.
Exploring the City
"Shall we enter the city of my childhood home?"
Sarchise was taken aback. "I had no idea that you grew up here. By all means let us enter."
The two of them walked through the open gates of the city and started down one of the side streets till they came across a small house. Amlius stopped and pointed, "This was my house growing up, and that empty spot of ground is where Nevelef's lab was, before I burnt it to the ground."
"He lived right next door to you?" Sarchise asked with a surprise in his voice.
"It was only his lab, he lived in the house with me. He was my brother," Amlius said.
Sarchise sat there in stunned silence not knowing what to say. It was Amlius who spoke first, "I imagine you have a million questions. Let me just start by saying that we loved each other deeply, but he would not listen to me, and was destroying the land and the Elves. There are those who didn't recognize the effects that he was having with his inventions, or turned a blind eye to it. The majority did see the evil that he was doing. The government backed him, so anyone that intervened, was going against the government. too. I felt I had to act for all those that could not."
"That must have been very hard for you," Sarchise commented.
“It was hard, but what is done is done and cannot be changed,” Amlius said. “Come, I want to show you something.”
They both entered his old house. It had been roughly treated with a Minotaur family having lived in there. The walls were dirty and the paneling badly worn. In the kitchen, old pots had been left lying around. The treasure hunters that came in after the Minotaur had abandoned the city had ransacked the rest of the meager belongings left behind in their rapid exodus.
It was hard for Amlius to see the mess. It took away from his memories, but he went to the fireplace and said, “My brother had given me a token when we were still close. I had it hidden in one of the loose bricks in the fireplace. After he died, I wanted nothing to do with him or his token, so I left it here.” Amlius checked several of the bricks, before finding the one he was looking for. He gently pulled it out and reached into the void it had left. “Ah, it’s still here.”
He pulled out a large gold coin. It was minted in the era of Grand Chancellor Anatornic. It was a time of peace for his people.
He handed the coin to Sarchise. “I want you to have it,” Amlius said, “Most likely the gold it is made out of was stolen from the Dwarves anyway, so I am returning it to a Dwarf Prince.”
Sarchise turned the coin over in his hand, “Thank you very much.”
“Come, let me show you the rest of my city,” Amlius said.
Only a few of the buildings had not been touched by the Minotaur during their years of occupation of the old Elf city. They went to the blacksmith’s building. Most of the tools had been taken out, but the old bellows and fire pit were there. The Minotaur could not match the beauty of the Elves in the crafting of swords and knives, but were known for making weapons that were brutally effective. That, combined with their legendary upper body strength, made them a force to be reckoned with. Only by sheer numbers could any enemy expect to defeat them.
When they visited the grain mill, it was completely devoid of anything inside. All had been stripped out for food or scavenged.
Amlius spoke up, “My father spent many years as a warrior and then something happened to him that he would not talk about. He then changed to a peaceful occupation. This is where my father worked. He would thresh the wheat plants and pick out the very best of the grain to bring home to my mother. She would bake the best bread in town. I can still remember the smell the loaves as she took them out of the oven.”
“Did you hear from your parents before they left for the Far Shore?” Sarchise asked.
“Yes, my mother slipped a letter out to me saying goodbye and that she understood why I did what I did. She did not agree with it, and thought I was rash in my actions. She mourned, because she lost both her sons that day. She debated about staying, but in the end the government wanted everyone to leave, so she went with them.”
The two continued on exploring the city well into the night and then camped by the back wall. The new day was still dark when Amlius woke Sarchise up. “Be very quiet and follow me. We are not alone.”
At first Sarchise wondered if it was a Dwarf patrol out to find them, then he saw the concern on Amlius’s face and realized it probably was not. The two slipped up inside of an old watch tower against the back wall and, after locking the door behind them, climbed to the top.
They sat there in the shadows until they saw a group of men and Gremlins walking through the city. The group didn’t look like they were looking for anything, as they were not going from house to house, but just walking around. There were three or four Gremlins and about fifteen men. When the group stopped walking, they set up camp in the middle of the street and made a large fire.
“Who are they?” Sarchise asked.
“It’s just another low royal trying to raise an army to legitimatize his claim to the throne, it looks to me,” Amlius responded. “They seem to be trying to gather Gremlins, but are not having much luck by the looks of it. They would be delighted to find I was sitting right under their noses.”
“Is there a way we can get out of here without being spotted?”
“I have a rope. We can let ourselves down the outside of the wall,” Amlius said.
They tied the rope to one of the posts that held up the roof and let themselves over the wall. There were no trails in that area and the two of them had a hard time keeping quiet, while going through heavy brush. Soon they were on the open trails and going faster.
Amlius stopped them in their tracks. “Someone is coming,” He said.
Sarchise listened for a second, but could not hear anything. He knew the Elf had more acute hearing so when Amlius led him to a hiding spot he went willingly. Both of them drew their swords just in case.
Along the trail came five Gremlins and nine Humans. They were heading for the city.
After they passed, Amlius said to Sarchise, “Let’s make our way back to the watchtower and climb back up the rope. I want to see what is going on. This is bigger than I imagined.”
Sarchise just wanted to make good his escape, but realized the wisdom in the Elf’s idea so he reluctantly agreed.
It was easier being quiet on the way back as t
hey retraced their footsteps. The older Elf made easier work of the rope climb back into the tower than Sarchise did. He was breathing heavily when he was finally able to pull himself up.
The Pursuit in the Woods
They both watched the gathering going on below them. Small groups were coming into the city a few at a time, but it was adding up to a large crowd. There were about fifty Gremlins and three hundred men. The fire in the middle of the street was large by now, with the group was gathering furniture from the abandoned houses and burning it.
Amlius was getting very upset about the furniture being destroyed.
Finally, a man, standing on a chair addressed the crowd, “I see no one has found the Elf as of yet. Now I hear that the tall Dwarf was spotted at the crossroads. An attempt by some in our group to take him was foiled by the Royal Scouts. We followed his trail to Tarlina and then back out. He may have been headed this way but we lost his trail in the canyon. When you find the tall Dwarf, andcapture him, then the Elf may try to come to his rescue.”
Amlius snickered and said, “don’t count on it.”
That made Sarchise smile.
The man in the streets continued, “We now have enough of us to cover every trail in this part of the Westwood. Our spies outside the Dwarf fort have told me that he has not shown up their yet. We need his secrets so we can raise an army and free King Gregor. Now go back out there and find them.”
When he had finished speaking, the crowd headed back out of the gate and dispersed.
“They are wasting their time; there are no more breeding pits and Gregor has doubtlesshad his head removed from his shoulders by now,” Sarchise said.
“Most of those men are swords for hire. The scum you find along the king’s road at every inn and tavern. They look for any way they can get some money for whiskey or ale. They won’t care if Gregor is alive or dead, as long as they can use his name for a rallying cry to draw men to them. What that leader wants is to get the secret for the breeding of Gremlins and then he will have the power to control the whole land even if he does not have any claim to the throne,” Amlius said.
“Gregor must have had two armies hidden in the woods. I missed one,” commented Sarchise.
“No, I think this was one of those patrols that were out looking for me. When you attacked, not all the patrols had made it back yet. They have probably grown in strength since the battle.”
“You could be right, but how do we get out of here?”
“No reason to leave while they are out there; we will wait until they come back and then we can sneak out,” Amlius said. He then pulled up the rope to prevent someone from finding their escape route.
The two stayed in the city over the next several days, only going out to get water. The dried food that Sarchise had brought with him was getting low when finally there was another gathering.
It was the same thing as last time, with a group of them lighting a fire, then the rest gathering. Sarchise and Amlius slipped down the rope and out into the forest.
They made quick time with all of those who were looking for them out of the forest. They had gone a long way down the trail when Amlius stopped. “There is a group up ahead and heading this way,” he said.
They hid themselves in the woods. The group was in a hurry as if they were late for the meeting, but one of the men stopped.
“I see tracks,” the man said, “fresh tracks. That has got to be the tall Dwarf, this other one, very faint, but could be the Elf. They must be in the woods there, not far away.”
Sarchise and Amlius looked at each other then moved further into the woods as quietly as possible. Amlius cut a pine bough from a tree and covered their tracks by dragging it behind them. Then the two of them turned and started going parallel to the trail.
The men came slowly crashing through the woods, following the tracks, but stopped short where they disappeared. “Lost them,” the tracker said.
“Maybe they are up a tree,” suggested one of them and the five men in the group began looking up into the leafy canopy.
Sarchise and Amlius started doubling back towards the trail. When they got near it they noticed that the two Gremlins the men had with them were still on the trail.
Amlius motioned to the bows and they both drew arrows. On Amlius’s silent signal they both shot. The Gremlin that Amlius shot dropped like a rock. The one Sarchise hit fell too but was in agonizing pain and screeching very loudly.
“Nice shot,” Amlius said, sarcastically.
“Sorry,” Sarchise replied.
Then the two went running down the trail as fast as they could go.
The men came to investigate the sound. When they saw the dead one and the wounded one had been shot with arrows, one of the men was sent into the city to tell the others. It didn’t take long for the tracker to pick up their trail again. “That way, that way,” he yelled pointing down the trail. The four remaining men went off in hot pursuit.
Amlius and Sarchise stopped on a bend in the trail, and when the four men came around the curve, two of them were met with arrows. The tracker was the first to die. Sarchise and Amlius jumped out of the bush with their swords drawn. After a short skirmish, the other two men lay dead.
“They will expect us to go down this trail, but we will head across the forest from here. We will stay off the main trails until things cool off,” Amlius said and the two of them headed out into the trees.
For five days, the two of them played cat and mouse with the roving patrols. The patrols never did get as close as they had that night. The two of them hid up in the trees on two occasions. When they were finally nearing the fort, Amlius stopped Sarchise yet again, “I hear heavy boots on the trail. We are heading into a dwarf patrol. Do you want to allow them to find us or sneak into the fort unseen?”
“I’m tired of hiding. Besides they may have food and water. We are out of both,” Sarchise replied.
“Very well, all we need to do is go straight ahead.”
War Horns in the Westwood
Soon the Dwarves came close enough to see the two of them. There was a mad rush forward and cheers and shouting rang out. Someone blew a war horn. It was soon answered by one in the distance, then another a little further away. Two more horns went out from different directions.
The Dwarf patrol led them back to the fort where there was a massive celebration when they arrived.
Darnien came up to the two of them, “King Cazz has been so worried about you that he has sent out two armies to find you. We have also had an army from High Mountain out looking also.”
Sarchise just said, “Can we get some food and water? We have been two days without either.”
“Yes,right away, my prince,” Darnien signaled to a runner to bring some food.
Just then Fawn rode up on her horse. She had been searching also. Climbing off the horse she went over and hugged him tight, “You are safe, I am glad.”
“I am safe, too,” Amlius said.
She just scowled at him and continued hugging Sarchise.
Darnien came up to Fawn and said, “We need to get the message to the King that Sarchise and the Elf are safe.”
Fawn nodded that she understood, and then taking Sarchise's head in both of her hands, gave him a lingering kiss on the lips, then got on her horse and rode away.
Amlius leaned over to Sarchise and said, “She is a Valkyrie, you know.”
Sarchise just shrugged his shoulders.
The two of them sat down when the food arrived and started to eat. Warm food had never tasted so good to both of them. With some water and then some ale in them, they were starting to be in high spirits. That night there was a bonfire that lit up the night sky.
By then Sarchise had been drinking a lot and all the aches and pains had gone away. Darnien leaned over to him and said, “I don’t think that King Cazz will ever let you out of the Mountains again, nor do I think that King Therin of High Mountain will ever let the Elf wander free in the Westwood.”
Amlius responded, “I don’t think the Elf will want to anyway. I will stay here at the Ornamac tree and enjoy the hospitality of the Dwarves.”
Darnien looked surprised by Amlius’s remark, “That is the first nice thing that I have ever heard you say about the Dwarves.”
Amlius smiled, “I have never been so happy to see Dwarves before as I was today. I have grown quite fond of them during my recent travels, especially their Prince. Hail, Sarchise!”
The crowd around the campfire echoed back, “Hail, Sarchise!” and then drained their mugs.
‘And so it starts,’ thought Sarchise, then he thought, ‘oh well,’ and shouted, after someone had refilled his mug, “Hail, Amlius.”
Sarchise’s head was thundering when he awoke the next morning. He didn’t know how he had gotten up to the top of the Ornamac tree. Someone must have carried him, was his only thought. He could see the camp below him was already cleaning up after breakfast and he didn’t want to bother them to have to start another one. He glanced down and saw that Amlius’s home had smoke coming out of the chimney from a cooking fire, so he headed down there. When Sarchise knocked on the door, Amlius gladly let him in. To Sarchise’s surprise, he saw Darnien sitting at the table eating porridge.
“Don’t tell the other Dwarves,” Darnien said, “But I have grown quite fond of the porridge that Amlius cooks.”
“If I can get some of that, I promise not to tell,” Sarchise said hungrily.
Amlius set down two more bowls. “Just because it wasn’t shot with an arrow and had its guts ripped out, doesn’t mean it’s not good food.”
Sarchise tasted a spoonful, “It is very good, I can see how you have taken a liking to it, Darnien.”
Darnien smiled and then shoved yet another spoonful in his mouth.
“So,” Amlius started in, “I have been telling our Dwarf friend of all our adventures while we were being chased through the woods. He is on the fence about whether to send out the armies or not.”