The Elven Tales: The Company of the Rose

by Fabi Ghittoni

  “You made it,” Dedric remarked.

  “Please, sit down.” Dunhill pulled their chairs out from the table.

  “Thank you very much, but I intend to end this matter as soon as possible. This is very risky and I do not want to get in trouble with the authorities of the Council. Whatever you need to do, do it fast. We must return to Borghild before sunset.”

  “Could you please explain the reason why we are here?” Prudence asked.

  “We are here because I need to prove something. You’ve seen what happened at the dungeons. That was a big fail—a huge one,” Dedric said.

  “Thank you very much,” Prudence replied, looking bothered.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Prudence,” he explained as the rest of the group became intrigued about his point. “We all know you are not made for battle, and we know what that means. If we could summon your powers, we could see what you can do. Maybe it’s fire, or air, or light, or water, or maybe it’s all of them together. If we could only test you under the Oracle we could prove that we are in the presence of an Astor.”

  Now his plan became clear to everyone except Prudence.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked.

  “Elves are magical creatures, not like wizards or faeries. They possess their own kind of magic. Elves are either warriors, or they have the ability to manipulate objects or elements of nature. While some elves are taught the art of combat, and put dedication into mastering it, others are deeply connected with unseen forces. Their spirits and bodies work in harmony with such forces, and it comes naturally to them. Skuld, for example, has skill with healing and medicine. I believe you have skills, I just don’t know what kind.”

  “Let’s do this,” Dunhill exclaimed.

  “I guess we won’t know if we don’t try, but if something happens...” Skuld warned.

  “Nothing will happen. We check her and we see what she can do. We get back. That’s all.”

  They stepped outside and followed a path that led behind the tavern and through the narrow streets of the village, crossing it almost entirely. They headed towards a remote corner where the Oracle temple stood. Goosebumps ran up and down Prudence’s skin when she saw the building; it was unlike anything she had seen before.

  The exotic building stood alone among damp and dark wooden cottages. It was narrow, but as high as a tower. Its walls were entirely covered by gray stone.

  They knocked on the door, and after a few seconds a dark skinned woman with a very mysterious appearance answered. Her green gaze was so strong that it made Dedric look away.

  “Hello. We come from Borghild. We need to make use of the Oracle. We have reasons to believe this girl...” he said, pointing at Prudence.

  “This girl?” the woman interrupted, examining Prudence.

  “Yes. She is—”

  “I know who she is. Please, come in,” the woman said as she waved the door open.

  “You know her?” Dedric asked with clear excitement.

  “Of course. My name is Amareth. I’m sure you don’t remember me,” she said to Prudence, “but I remember you. I’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”

  “Good,” Dedric started to explain. “We need to test her powers—”

  “Test her powers?” the woman asked. It became clear that she never let anyone complete a sentence.

  “Yes. We would like to summon her powers under the Oracle to see—”

  The woman laughed. “You will see nothing. Her powers shouldn’t be tested nor summoned. Her powers must be unleashed. They were buried deeply inside her.”

  “How do you know that?” Dedric asked.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  Dedric pulled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a mark in the shape of a rose on his skin. The expression on the woman’s face changed completely, as if it meant that he actually was in a position to know more.

  “I think it is,” he stated.

  “You should have spoken before.”

  She led them into a circular lounge. There was a big monolith in the center of a network of hundreds of circular patterns carved in the stone floor.

  “I buried them myself. Ancient elven magic, known only by a few. I did the job at the request of your mother when you were just a little baby.” Amareth spoke to Prudence this time.

  “Did you know my mother? Why did she ask you to do that?” Prudence was very curious.

  “I didn’t ask questions. My sisters and I were always known along these lands for our discretion in every job done.”

  Prudence looked disappointed with this answer.

  “But I’ve learned later, by the rumors, that she made you disappear. I deduced then that your powers were buried so that you could blend in among humans. Where else could you be safe?”

  “Safe from what?”

  “From all the threats that chased you since the day you were born. Now, if you let me...”

  She took Prudence’s arm and held it firmly in front of her body.

  “Will it hurt?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “It depends.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “On how strong you are.”

  “I haven’t been good at that lately...”

  “You will have to be.”

  Prudence closed her eyes. She felt the cold blade of a knife digging into her skin. A trickle of blood began to run down her wrist, onto her hand and fingers. Then it quickly began to drip onto the floor, right inside one of the patterns. Suddenly, the blood started moving along the figures, towards the center, as if it was alive. The monolith lit up with a gigantic wave of bright white light. One by one, the elements drawn on the rock languished inside the light. The figure of fire was lit, as well as the figures of air, light, and water. The excitement on Dedric, Dunhill and Skuld’s faces was growing bigger as the light climbed higher, but it didn’t compare with the amazement on Prudence’s face. It was at the top of the monolith that a string of light exploded up in the air.

  “I must admit, I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life,” Amareth exclaimed.

  Suddenly, the whole place started shaking. They all tried to keep their balance while the shaking lasted.

  “What was that?” Prudence shouted as the light was interrupted.

  “I have no idea, but I’m afraid it’s nothing good,” Dedric exclaimed as he approached the door to see what was going on outside.

  He looked up to the sky and saw a huge flock of black birds flying overhead. It seemed like they were desperately escaping from something—or someone.

  “What is it?” Prudence asked, peeking from behind him.

  “Get back inside!” he shouted. Just then, a fireball fell from the sky and took down the building across the street. The Oracle temple shook even worse than it had before.

  Scared people were running in every direction, desperate to save their lives.

  Dedric slammed the door closed and started looking for another exit.

  “What is going on?” Skuld shouted.

  “We need to get out of here!” Dedric hurried to say.

  “There is a back door on your left,” Amareth said, leading the group to the back of the room.

  “Here!” She pointed to a rear door. Skuld, Prudence, Dedric and Dunhill followed her. “But the ritual is not finished!” Amareth exclaimed.

  “There is no time. We need your help to get out of here!” Skuld replied.

  They walked among the desperate crowd until they found an empty alley.

  “The village is under attack,” Dedric shouted. The crowd grew noisier and the sky was blanketed with a thick, black cloud of smoke. Puffs of fire writhed over the consumed skeletons of houses.

  “Run! Run!” Skuld commanded as she spotted a group of black-dressed mercenaries attacking people.

  “The Azarias...” Dedric lamented.

  “Move, fast!” Skuld shouted over the screams and cries that could be heard every
where.

  They started running between the narrow streets of Forth Are while a group of Azarias started chasing them.

  When they reached the intersection of two alleys, they met face to face with two giant orcs. One of them held a large stone club in his hand, which it used to beat everything in its path. The beasts growled at them and immediately ran in their direction. One of the orcs lunged against Dedric, who dodged, slipping beneath him. Prudence fumbled in panic. Dunhill ran around it, as well as Dedric. They meant to confuse the beasts.

  “Come on, let’s go!” Skuld shouted to Prudence as they crept away. As they made their way out, Dedric hit one of the beasts in the eye with an arrow. The orc twisted and the club flew violently out of its hand, only missing Prudence and Skuld by an inch.

  “Come on!” Dedric yelled to Dunhill, and they followed the two women into the forest. The other orc was moving clumsily towards them, crashing and smashing everything in its path. They made their way through the branches of the trees, trying to escape. At one point, the vegetation became so thick that they continued running without noticing that the land abruptly ended. The four of them fell from a cliff. They rolled downhill, between branches and pointed trunks. Prudence hit her back against a rock that stopped her altogether. When she looked up in pain, Skuld was seconds away from crashing heavily against her. And she did. The beast was left behind.

  They made their way back to the palace in pain, hoping not to be caught. But as Forth Are was destroyed, the smoke from fires could be seen from the palace and everyone in Borghild was waiting for them when the door opened.

  “This is unacceptable! This is an outrage against the authority of this council!” Lord Kotal shouted, backed up by Philibert Prescote, Goldine Pfeffer, Lyolf Evigan, Herold Huggle and Genuss Godfarr.

  “Lord Kotal, please. You are misunderstanding the facts,” Dedric hurried to say.

  “You dare to question my judgment to comprehend what happened?”

  “No, sir. Definitely not. However, we had reasons to believe that Prudence could be something else. We took her to Forth Are and we met an elven sorceress that help us unleashed her powers. You should have seen it. This is a matter of the Company, and you know what that means for us all.”

  “All I know is that this Council swore to protect Miss Clarke from the threat of Alanel and his army of Azarias. And you risked it all.”

  “Kotal, they are upon us. They took down one of our villages. Our people are dying. We need to fight Alanel. If we don’t stop him now, we may lose the Five Kingdoms,” Philibert exclaimed in a very serious tone, approaching Kotal.

  “I’m afraid you are right,” Kotal lamented.

  “I suggest—” Dedric interjected.

  “I know what has to be done, young man,” Kotal interrupted.

  Dedric lowered his head. Now Kotal stood in front of Prudence, looked her right in the eyes, and spoke to her.

  “I don’t think I have the right to ask something from you, because that would be too much, but I am afraid I have no choice. While our army is in charge of stopping new attacks, I’m asking you to sacrifice your safety for the sake of others—for the sake of our kingdoms. We need you to find the runes and we need you to destroy them. You are the only one who can do this to stop Alanel. It will require acts of bravery, and you will have to go as far as it takes, but you won’t be alone.”

  Prudence listened carefully. He raised his eyes to look at Skuld, Dedric and Dunhill.

  “Would you join the Company?”

  “You can count on me,” Prudence said.

  CHAPTER 7

  A door that seemed too heavy to be moved by one person opened to reveal a magnificent library.

  “Prudence, what are you doing here all by yourself?” Kotal asked while entering slowly.

  The library comprised of three floors of endless shelves full of books. A majestic marble double staircase stood in the middle. Along the corridors, there were huge globes, maps and tables.

  “I kind of find peace when I’m surrounded by books. It has always been like that. The first time I toured the palace, Skuld told me I would have time to visit this place later—she knows I love books. But since I’m leaving soon, I didn’t want to leave without spending some time in here.”

  “It will be sooner than we all thought.”

  This took Prudence by surprise. “Where exactly are we going?”

  “Well, that’s the reason I came to find you here. I want to discuss with you the destination of your journey.”

  “Lord Kotal, if you are suggesting that I might have knowledge about where to go, then I must make clear that I do not know the location of the runes,” Prudence clarified.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Prudence. I believe you, but you might have a clue. Something could have gone unnoticed but that could be very important. Defining, I daresay.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The letter your grandfather gave you/”

  “What about it?”

  “There is a chance that the letter could lead us to the runes.”

  “My grandfather said it contained the directions to my mother’s resting place.” Prudence was confused.

  “That’s what he believes, but it does not necessarily have to be that way. Look, Prudence, I know private papers aren’t meant to be seen by others, but I need to see that letter.”

  “Why do you believe otherwise?”

  “The circumstances surrounding your mother’s death are, to say the least, controversial. There are many different theories about it, but the most resonant of all says that the King’s Runes were not lost during the last Azarian invasions. It was your mother who took them and ran away with you. Then she concealed them as a way to keep you safe. And of course, this secret got lost along with you. So if you let me see it...”

  “Yes, it’s fine. I’ve spent hours trying to figure out what those characters mean but I just have no idea.”

  Prudence passed the letter to him. Lord Kotal held up the yellowish paper and gazed at it.

  “I could not say either, but I have knowledge of someone who might actually be familiar with those characters: Killian Vardran, one of the last interpreters of the Ephaniar tongue,” Kotal said, but there was no sign of excitement in his words.

  “That is great news, Lord Kotal. Why do you sound so serious?”

  He sighed deeply. “The problem with Killian is that he is a hermit. He lives secluded in the depths of the Atarum’s Edges.”

  “So?”

  “Atarum is hostile territory. The lands of the Balljas. And let me tell you, if you were afraid of the Oltras in the dungeons, you will not want to come across a Ballja. The Edges are an extremely dangerous place to go, even for a group as prepared and as brave as The Company of the Rose. And, even if you make it out of the Balljas safe, nothing ensures that Killian will help you.”

  “We should try anyway. It could be our only hope,” Prudence said.

  “I agree with that, but the road to Atarum is not easy to move through,” Lord Kotal said as he headed towards one of the tables and unrolled a map on its surface.

  “You see, here we are now, in the Borghild meadows.” He pointed at a miniature of the palace drawn on the map. “First, you must cross the White Forest to the Mothingale River. Swamps across the river will be the first hurdle. Then, it would be shortly after you get to Penrith. You will meet some other members of the Company there. But be aware, Penrith is not a village like Forth Are. It is the first big city in your journey. You will have to be careful not to be seen—there are a lot of people, and so the risk of Azarian presence will increase.”

  And so it was done.

  The adventure began at a quarter to four in the middle of the night while the five hundred souls that inhabited the Borghild Palace were resting.

  “Hurry up! Get up and get dressed!” Skuld exclaimed while swinging the door of Prudence’s bedroom open.

  Prudence dressed in dark gray that morning. Her dress featur
ed engraved black leather armor that covered much of her abdomen and back, with appliques of white fur on the shoulders and chest.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “There is already movement in the stables.”

  They left the palace and made their way across the grounds and into the edge of the White Forest where stood the Armory. Dedric, Dunhill and Genuss were already there, preparing for the trip.

  The Armory was a huge warehouse full of weapons of all kinds: swords, bows, shields and daggers. One wall was covered with bows of different sizes and materials. Some were purely of wood. Others had inlays and gold accents.

  “Choose one to your liking,” Dedric offered.

  “Are you sure? I’ve never used one of these,” Prudence replied.

  “What about this one?” Dedric asked pointing out a bow on the wall.

  “It’s really beautiful,” she said.

  "The body is made of Amaranth, a tree that grows only in the lands of Arkana. The tips are golden styled. It will suit you just right—a wooden bow made in your lands."

  “Thank you for letting me have it.”

  “Don’t thank me, you are going to need it.”

  “I hope not.”

  Kotal and the five ministers were standing outside the Armory, as well as a horde of horses.

  “We wish you a safe journey, and we hope to see you all return back healthy,” Goldine Pfeffer said.

  Each of them greeted the members of the Company. When they were about to go, Prudence saw Skuld separated from the group and took the side of the ministers.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded while stopping her march. The whole group stopped.

  “But... my lady, Skuld is not coming,” Kotal said, noticing how disoriented and confused Prudence was.

  “What?”

  “She is not prepared for this kind of journey,” he hurried to say.

  “Oh, please! We all know she is more prepared than I am.”

  “Prudence, stop—” Skuld whispered.

  “You are heading to inhospitable places,” Kotal continued.

  “I won’t leave without her,” Prudence insisted.