by Sam Ferguson
“What of his burns?” Seldaric asked as he gestured to Kai. “He might not be able to travel as fast with his injuries.”
Liloriel nodded. “Tantine is on the way. After you both are underway, I will send a message to the priestess I spoke of. She should be able to heal the burns within a day, but don’t wait any longer than that. If she can’t heal you within that time frame, you must move on.”
“By your command,” Seldaric said.
Liloriel turned and looked to Kai. “You will draw attention,” she told him. “Tuport is a melting pot of different races, but most humans never venture deeper into Selemet Isle. I want you to follow Seldaric’s instructions. He knows elf customs. I should warn you both that law and tradition beg that I meet with the Selemet High Council before we act, however, I am going to forego that formality for the sake of time. The assassin has at least half a day’s head start, and there is no way for me to know whether he is going for the castle or Elroa first. If you have any trouble with local patrols, tell them that you are Liloriel’s agents. That should at least by you some time before they would prosecute.”
“Why would elves prosecute agents of the Kruks?” Kai asked. “I thought you said Kruks were above the law.”
“I did, however, the Selemet High Council has had its share of… shall we say, abrasive dealings with the Kruks. Some on the council wish to see our order disbanded. They believe we are wasting our lives protecting a door that no one wishes to open. More than that, they believe we are a danger to others’ lives as well.”
“Obviously someone wants to open the Netherworld Gate,” Kai said quickly. “Perhaps the council would rather deal with an invasion of vengeful Sierri’Tai.”
Liloriel smiled and turned back to the water before them. “When we dock, do not wait for me. Move directly to the road marked upon the map and go as quickly as you can. Once your burns are healed, go straight to the tower.”
Then the Kruk priestess turned and left Kai and Seldaric alone at the front of the boat while she went to speak with the crewmen.
“I must explain something to you,” Seldaric started. “I assume you are familiar with the great war that ravaged your continent after the Elf War?”
“Of course,” Kai replied. “We all know about the Mage Wars.”
Seldaric cleared his throat. “Since the Mage Wars, we have not used magic. It is in fact unlawful for any elf to use magic in any degree, except for the Svetli’Tai Kruks. They are the only elves who may use magic. If other elves were to use magic publicly, it could be punishable by death. Because of this, we as a race have largely forgotten how to use magic properly. I doubt most elves could use magic now. We must find this assassin, for if he unleashes the Sierri’Tai upon us, we will be largely defenseless.”
“Well, if the old Sierri’Tai that attacked Bluewater can use magic, I am willing to bet that there are a few elves who still remember how as well.”
“Perhaps,” Seldaric shrugged. “Even so, I presume the Sierri’Tai still practice magic in the realm where they now reside. If that is true, and they were released from their banishment and given the freedom to attack us, it would be devastating indeed.”
“Why did magic become unlawful to practice?” Kai asked as he shifted the conversation slightly. “Surely the Mage Wars did not come to your lands?” Kai realized the answer almost immediately after asking the questions. He dropped his head downward and huffed. “But I suppose that unless you pretended that magic did not exist, unless you made it something of contraband, the Mage Wars would have eventually come to you.”
“You are wiser than you look,” Seldaric replied. “If we had continued the use of magic they would have come with hordes of warriors to exterminate us as well. After fighting the Sierri’Tai, we simply didn’t have the power to fight off anymore attackers. It would have meant the extinction of our people.”
“Although I understand that is likely how it would have been, it is still hard to fathom.” Kai sighed again as he looked back to the sea. “I can’t imagine Zinferth sending armies down to slaughter elves.”
“War always seems unimaginable until it is upon you,” Seldaric commented quietly, leaning onto the ship’s railing and clasping his hands. “That is the blindness that threatens us all. It is too easy to sit by, thinking the worst will never happen, until flames of hatred are nurtured and a leader rises up to bring war down upon those who stand in the way of his power. It is then that we can find the survival of an entire race hanging in the balance.” Seldaric turned about and leaned his back against the railing as he stared off in the opposite direction.
Imagining the anguish such a war might cause in his own country, the suffering someone like his sister Sebina would endure, gave Kai a sick feeling in his stomach. His thoughts turned to his little sister then, realizing that her future happiness did depend on them successfully stopping this assassin from releasing the drow. By Liloriel’s promise, Sebina would be heading to Svatal soon. For her sake now, the Elven Isles needed to be kept free from the curse of the Sierri’Tai. Kai spat into the sea and turned to walk to the back of the ship. He grabbed a bottle of ale hoping to find some solace from the bottom of a bottle.
“Don’t drink too much,” Seldaric warned. “We’ll be in port within ten minutes.”
Kai finished a long pull on the bottle and replaced the cork in the top. “Just wanted to wet my pipes,” Kai said with a smile. He sat down, leaning against the port side wall of the vessel and closed his eyes.
Kai barely managed to calm his nerves by the time he felt the boat slow down. Crewmen hurried about, working the sails and guide ropes. Kai rose to his feet so as to stay out of the way until the side of the boat gently brushed up against the dock.
They had finally arrived in Tuport. Now the real pursuit would begin.
The large city seemed to rival even the great city Blundfish in its size. However, the mixture of races in this city was like a large pot of stew. Kai surveyed the docks and turned his eyes up to the warehouses beyond. He saw elves, a few humans, and even several dwarves out in the streets. Kai studied the city with a sense of admiration. Although Tuport did have a certain dirty appearance and feel, he had never heard anything less than respectable news about this city. It was intriguing to him that so many different kinds of people could reside in the same location, especially one that had been ravaged by a genocidal war centuries before.
Kai wondered then if maybe it wasn’t in spite of the war that Tuport had such myriad races living together, but perhaps because of it. It was as if Tuport was a new world, one where all could live and pursue their happiness within a larger framework. Kai smiled to himself and shook his head. The ranger in him laughed at his over simplification. He knew that if he looked hard enough he would likely find many of the same types of criminals and low lifes in this city as in any other. Just because the races intermingled, it didn’t mean there was a lack of bad blood. Still, it was an idea that he liked. So for now, until he knew any different, Kai was going to assume that everyone in Tuport got along quite well, despite any racial differences.
Kai’s attention was grabbed by a rather large figure leaving one of the warehouses. The man stood at least seven feet tall by the looks of him. He was head and shoulders taller than the nearest human to him, and he seemed a giant as he walked by a duo of dwarves. By the looks of him, he was a Varrvar. Kai had dealt with a fair share of barbarians in the desert lands near Rasselin, and his perception of them was not one of high regard, yet seeing one here made him wonder whether there might be more within the city. He thought it interesting that dwarves and Varrvar could walk openly in the streets without killing each other. The dwarves Kai had met before coming through Rasselin in merchant caravans had always been quick and loud about their hatred of the large, barbarian race.
Seldaric walked up behind Kai and put a hand on his left shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Alright, the crew is going to set out for Kobhir without delay. Your sister, her
friend, and your aunt will soon be on their way to Bluewater after that.”
Kai smiled and nodded his head gratefully. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, thank Liloriel.”
Kai smirked and nodded again. “Next time we meet up with her, I will.”
“You and I will follow Liloriel’s instructions and go to the tower,” Seldaric announced.
Kai leapt over to the dock and Seldaric followed half a moment later. They waved to the crewmen and then made their way into the city.”
“Should we try to question anyone at the docks and find out if anyone saw him come in?” Kai asked as he adjusted his sword a little to the left.
“No,” Seldaric replied with a small shake of his head. “We go for the tower. As Liloriel said, there is no need to try to find the human. We find the things he wants, and he will eventually come to us.”
“I know what she said,” Kai began. “I just thought a little more information might help us, that’s all.”
“We are agents of the Svetli’Tai Kruk priestess. We do as we are told.”
“Alright,” Kai relented. The two of them walked through the city with a determined pace and a focus that did not allow them time enough to even glance at the bustling of city life around them. Merchants called out to the pair of travelers from their stands on the sides of the street, but neither Seldaric nor Kai paid them any mind. It seemed as if they floated through the crowds of people near the docks and warehouses without even causing a ripple. Instead of going through the main gates into the city beyond the commercial district at the docks, the pair went around the left of the wall, following a wide, dirt road around the city and coming out on the other side where they saw the beginning of a dense, emerald forest. The large road leading away from the city had a single sign. A large set of elvish runes were carved into the sign.
“This is the road to Telshir,” Seldaric said.
The lush, green forest which stood on both sides of the road was so dense that it would be impossible to navigate with a horse off the beaten path, and Kai wondered if even a human would have an easy time going through the forest with all of the vines and large brush in between the closely spaced trees. He had heard stories about the forests of the elven isles, but it was altogether different to see it in person. Now he understood why elves preferred to walk than to ride horses on these islands. Not that there were many horses to be had, as Liloriel and Seldaric had explained to him. There were no native herds on either of the elven islands and the few horses that had been brought over the sea belonged to merchants and pulled their wagons over the roads from city to city for trade.
Seldaric turned and thumped Kai on the arm. The ex-Ranger looked up from his thoughts and saw a sly smile on his companion’s face. Kai cocked his head a bit as he tried to read the half elf’s thoughts.
“The city of Tantine is a little more than a day’s walk. While you are working on your wounds with the priestess there, I will be able to restock our provisions and then we can travel on to the tower. However, we have lost much time already in our pursuit.” Seldaric paused for a moment and a small twinkle seemed to beam from his eyes as his smile grew wider.
“You saying we should skip the healing?” Kai asked. “I know it will put us back more in terms of time, but even I have to admit that fighting with a burn the size of a frying pan on my torso isn’t going to be easy.”
“Do you think you could endure the pain if we quickened our pace?”
Kai lifted his shirt to reveal the large bandage with yellow and orange stains. “You did see the burns, right?” Kai asked.
Seldaric nodded. “If you could endure the pain while we ran to Tantine, it would help us make up the time we will lose when we stop to see the priestess. It shouldn’t do any actual damage to your body.”
Kai arched a brow and folded his arms. “What did you have in mind?”
“My friend, shall we go for a run?”
This is the other reason horses aren’t used on these islands, Kai thought to himself sourly. He knew that the elves on these islands liked to run almost as much as they enjoyed walking. It came natural to them to spring through the lush, dense forests as nimbly and quickly as the deer. Kai, on the other hand, had never been overly fond of running if he thought walking could get the job done just as well. Kai looked to the road and sighed. He hoped he could keep up.
“I assume you can run,” Seldaric pressed.
“I’m not an elf,” Kai shrugged, “but I can go for a few miles.”
“Splendid,” Seldaric said with a grin. The elf adjusted his belt and took off down the road.
“Curse the pointy-ears and their running,” Kai grumbled. He made sure his sword belt was secured and then jogged after him. The ex-Ranger tried to focus on the scenery around him, but even the beautiful landscape did little to occupy his mind as the miles dragged on beneath his feet. To his credit, Kai kept pace with Seldaric. Neither of them slowed their gait, except to water a few flowers when nature called on them.
*****
Kai and Seldaric made good time, resupplying in Tantine and then off onto the road by the second day of their journey. The Kruk priestess was able to heal all of Kai’s wounds and was pleasant enough to spend a day with, although she was extremely quiet the entire time Kai was under her care. To make up for additional time lost the duo ran in the mornings, and then from mid-day until it was too dark to see their way they walked. Kai could see Seldaric’s impatient glances, but there was nothing the human could do to keep up with the spry elf any longer than the first portion of the day. He had never run so much in his life. The desert never leant itself to such exertions. Even the criminals that ran from Kai in Rasselin city knew better than to run for very long, else they would suffer heatstroke.
The Elven Isles were much cooler, and the air was easier to breathe, but that didn’t help lighten Kai’s legs and feet. He could run farther here for sure, but his endurance just wasn’t the same as Seldaric’s.
He was more than ready to stop running once the sun reached its apex in the sky on the third day. Unbeknownst to either of them, the walking would be good for them as they would soon need their strength.
They ate their bread and fruit, which the Kruk priestess had been kind enough to give them for their journey, as they walked along the bumpy dirt road. They noticed several carrion birds circling the sky further down the road, off behind a bend to the south.
“Look there,” Seldaric called out as he pointed upward to the birds. “Monk vultures.”
Kai nodded. “I see them.”
Three of the black birds circled lazily, tilting their wings as they drifted. One of them dropped down below the tree line and out of sight. The other two continued to circle.
“Can you see through the trees?” Kai asked.
Seldaric shook his head. “The foliage is too thick. Come on, let’s investigate.”
Kai swallowed his last bite of the apple he was eating and then tossed the core to the side of the road, where it smacked against a tree and broke apart. He took in a deep breath and begrudgingly urged himself into a light jog. The curve in the road took them about fifty yards to the south, and then it curved back out to the east. As they rounded the last bend they caught a grizzly sight.
Four of the large vultures were pecking at a pair of corpses along the road. Crows and other birds squawked and hopped around the large, domineering vultures, trying to sneak bits of the meat away for themselves.
Kai kept to his steady jog while Seldaric quickened his pace and scared the smaller birds off with a wave of his hands. Three of the monk vultures reluctantly took to flight, but the fourth stayed and splayed its wings as it hissed at Seldaric. The raptor’s wingspan was at least three feet longer than Seldaric was tall, making for a most impressive display.
Seldaric pulled his scimitar out and poked it at the bird. The vulture snapped and hissed, but ultimately it flapped its wings and leapt backwards into the air, flying low along the road for a while u
ntil it rose up to light upon a thick branch overlooking the scene.
Kai caught up with Seldaric and looked down at the ravaged bodies. “Can you tell how long they have been here?”
Seldaric shook his head. “The birds have picked them over fairly well,” he said as he indicated the large hunks of missing flesh. The elf bent down to one of the corpses and scanned the remains. “Can’t tell what got this one,” he said after a moment.
Kai bent next to the other one. This body was taller than the other, but more of it was missing. Kai could see the ribs in one place. As he inspected the body, a pair of yellow jackets emerged from a cavity in the corpse’s chest and hovered around over the body. Kai shook his head and looked to Seldaric. “No idea what got this one either.” Kai then moved to the wagon. He grabbed hold of the side and pulled himself up. “Where’s the horse?” Kai asked as he pointed to the front of the wagon.
Seldaric moved around the wagon and studied the ground. The dirt road was well compacted, so only trace hoof prints could be seen, but it was enough for him to know the horse had been taken. “Looks like someone killed them for their horse.”
“Then why not take the wagon too?” Kai asked. “And what about the boxes of stuff?” Kai bent down and opened a small wooden crate to see it full of apples, cheese, and smoked meats packed in cloth. “The food here is still fresh, so the attack must have been recent.”
“My guess is only a day or two at the most,” Seldaric said. “This road is patrolled by guards on a routine basis. I should imagine they will be here soon.”