“I guess so,” Erril conceded. “So when do we begin?”
“Right now,” Tollack said, presenting Erril with a brand new dagger and scabbard. The metal was gold and bronze and the hilt was wrapped with black leather. The scabbard was rich maroon in color, and when Tollack removed the dagger from it, Erril saw the blade was also gold.
Erril's eyes widened and she greedily grabbed the beautiful dagger, which she had no doubt was of Dwarven make. She couldn't help but smile at the beauty she saw, and when she looked up at Tollack, she could see that he was smiling as well.
“That was my grandfather's dagger,” the dwarf chief explained. “I usually keep it on me for good luck, but I think my grandfather would agree that you need it more now.”
Erril couldn't find the words to thank him and only managed to sputter out, “I-I'll make sure to get it back to you unharmed-”
Tollack raised his hand to stop her and said, “It's yours. Consider it a gift for your service to Fellen.”
Erril replaced the blade in the scabbard, then held it to her chest with both hands. “Thank you...” she finally said.
“Now then,” Tollack said. “There will be a wagon waiting by the smith's shop that will be left unguarded and unattended. You will 'happen' upon the wagon and hop inside without any of the guards noticing, and then once they set out you will be safely carted outside. Once they stop for a break, you will sneak out and high tail it to Ironbarrow to warn Conley and the others of the impending disaster that is to come if they are caught unaware. Can you handle that?”
“Of course,” Erril said without hesitation.
“Then come with me,” Tollack said. “We've got work to do.”
Tollack and Erril snuck out the back door of Lord Darius' mansion and they crept along the alley just across from it until they reached another road that intersected it. They turned right and moved along towards the city wall, stopping to check for nosy guards or even worse, Shadow Hand cultists. Once the wall was only a few buildings down, Tollack turned left down another alley and headed towards the road that one traveled down upon entering the city.
A long line of wagons littered the street. Though there were a few guards on patrol, the wagon next to the blacksmith's shop was left unguarded as promised. Tollack gestured to the wagon with a jerk of his head. Erril nodded. The dwarf held out a hand to halt her, then when the coast was clear, he gestured for her to run for the wagon.
Erril crept closer to the covered wagon, every step she took with great care, then rolled passed the gaps in between the wagons to avoid detection. She made it to the back of the wagon and opened the flap.
There were several crates lined up almost all the way to the top, but there was a small gap left off to the side where Erril could squeeze through and hide among the supplies. Erril was just about to climb inside when she was suddenly suspended in midair.
Erril's first reaction was to fight whatever it was that had grabbed her, and only a mere second later did she hear a voice shout, “What are you doing here?”
Erril looked up in horror to see a Whitspire guard, and she bet her new dagger that he wasn't one of the guards who intended to help her.
“Please,” she said before she could stop herself, “don't you want to stop Greenwood and the Shadow Hand? Let me go and I can make sure that happens.”
The guard met her gaze and Erril was surprised to see sadness behind his eyes. “Sorry child,” he said, “but I got a family to think about.”
The guard suddenly presented a horn from his belt and to Erril's horror, he blew the horn. The deep blaring howl of the horn sounded loudly and Erril knew that it spelled trouble. Though she knew it would soon be too late, she delivered a swift blow to the guard's stomach with her elbow.
The last bit of breath choked out of the horn as the guard lurched forward from the force of Erril's blow and the horn flew from his hands and tumbled helplessly across the stone street. Tollack was rounding the corner of the caravan in seconds and before the guard could recover from Erril's attack, the dwarf brought his hand down on the back of the guard's neck and knocked him to the ground.
Though the guard was successfully incapacitated for the moment, the sound of hurried footsteps and the shouting of orders sounded from all directions. Soon the other guards would be there, and soon they would be caught.
Tollack turned to Erril, grabbed her by the arms and said, “Get going. I'll distract them.”
Before Erril could protest, he removed the axe from his belt and said, “Get out of the city while the guards are distracted and run like you've got a hound nipping at your heels. Go!”
Tollack pushed Erril into an alley where she fell into enough cover that the guards who then approached the caravan didn't even notice her.
“You there, halt!” one of the guards yelled as Tollack darted in the direction opposite from Erril's position. Though her initial thought was to help him, she knew that his sacrifice would be in vain if she got caught trying to help him. She bit her lip and made up her mind to heed his words and get out of the city while the distraction kept the guards busy.
Fortunately, none of the guards noticed her sneaking past as they were too busy running in the direction of the disturbance. She darted in and out of the alleys until she came to the city front gates. There she saw the same guard who had escorted her the day she arrived, and also the one she suspected of having written her that note that told her how to get to freedom. He was the only guard stationed at the gate, which didn't surprise Erril since she knew that they wouldn't just leave it unguarded no matter what the situation was, especially when they were keeping such a tight hold on the city. Erril didn't want to just run out to him and ask politely to just let her walk right out of the city.
Before she could stop herself, she actually pictured the whole thing in her head. Hello there, remember me? She pictured herself asking him. I'm the girl you help imprison to keep a traitor on the throne and probably keep your family and friends safe from the Shadow Hand. Oh and I also think you may have been the one who slipped that note into my bread and helped me escape. I just wanted to know if you'd be so kind as to let me leave Whitspire and warn my friends in Ironbarrow that you and your comrades will be invading them in the near future?
Erril rolled her eyes at the thought, but just as she was still trying to make up her mind about what to do, the guard's eyes happen to fall upon her.
Though she was safely encased in shadow and camouflaged with her surroundings, the guard's sharp eyes caught sight of her and he quickly moved into an offensive stance. Erril's heart nearly stopped as he inched closer to her with his sword drawn. He stopped wordlessly just a few feet away from her and simply stared for a few moments.
The guard lowered his weapon and whispered, “Go.”
Erril didn't pause to ask questions, but darted out of her hiding place without any hesitation or even thanks and sped off down the path that led out of the city.
Erril didn't stop running until she couldn't breath anymore. Only then did she finally turn to see that Whitspire, the grand jewel of Fellen, was a mere dot on the horizon. It was then that she realized she'd run longer than her small body could handle, and she collapsed onto the grass beneath her and blacked out.
Greenwood rushed down the steps from the front door of the castle as a group of guards ran towards him. Edric stared them down as they attempted to find their words.
But it was Edric who spoke first. “First you inform me that the girl has somehow escaped her cell and you can't figure out how, and now you tell me that there is a dwarf running loose in the town?”
“Sorry Milord,” a guard said. “We heard the distress signal from one of the men guarding the caravans and when we arrived he was unconscious and the dwarf was standing over him. We figure he was trying to sneak out of the city in the caravan and he got caught.”
Edric tensed up. The only dwarf he knew of who had been in town was Tollack, the chief of the dwarves. But he had been executed wit
h the royal family, he thought, I was there when it happened. Could there have been another dwarf, someone in service to the chief that was in town when everything went down? Perhaps he was trying to either save his own skin or worse, trying to go to the other dwarves for help?
The sound of another alarm interrupted Edric's thoughts. He looked on as the guards before him darted off in the direction that the sound came from. Edric cursed his own curiosity and impatience and soon followed.
The guards and Edric didn't have to travel far before they found another crowd of guards formed in the corner of an alley. Edric impatiently shoved his way through the crowd, barking orders in the meantime, until he finally came to the dwarf that they had been pursuing, only Edric couldn't believe his eyes.
The guards had captured none other that Tollack.
Edric stared into the eyes of the dwarf chief in disbelief. “I watched you die...”
Tollack smiled. “Death cannot stop the righteous.”
Edric frowned. “Don't give me that. I know what I saw, but I also know that no one comes back from the dead. If you're still alive by some trickery, then I can safely assume that the members of the royal family are also alive.”
The spark in the dwarf's eye gave him all the confirmation he needed.
Edric turned to the guards and said, “Take him to the celler. We'll get the information out of him somehow.”
Then Greenwood marched away from the crowd, and it was then that he was approached by the captain of the guard.
“Sir, are you sure you want-”
Edric shot a warning glare at the captain and with his face bulging red, he snapped, “I want that dwarf beaten, burned, castrated, whatever it takes to find out where the royal family is and the girl as well. If she escaped, I have no doubt that she's taken shelter with them. There's no way that she would have left the city, so she's bound to still be here somewhere.”
Just then, another guard approached Greenwood. The former count recognized the guard who had brought him the girl—he wouldn't have remembered his face otherwise—and he said, “Have you any news? Was the dwarf alone?”
The guard seemed to hesitate, but another warning glare from Edric got him talking.
“Y-yes Sir, the dwarf was alone,” the guard stammered. “I was just relieved of my duty at the gate, but I didn't see anyone.”
“Are you certain?” Greenwood pressed. “You saw nothing suspicious?”
Before the guard could answer, he suddenly gasped and uttered a small cry. The guard fell forward and tumbled face down lifelessly onto the stone ground. It was then that Greenwood noticed the unmistakable poisoned throwing dart sticking out of his back.
Before Edric could even search for the person who threw the dart, he presented himself from atop the nearest rooftop. The Shadow Hand member hopped down from the roof and the guards, thoroughly terrified of his presence and the possible presence of more cultists, averted their gaze and avoided his.
“What is the meaning of this?” Edric asked, trying not to sound nervous. “Why did you kill that guard?”
The Shadow Hand cultist removed his hood to reveal Xilas, the contact he had in town, who then said, “He was being dishonest with you, as I was fortunate enough to bear witness to.”
“What do you mean?” Edric pressed.
Xilas took a step towards Edric, who summoned every ounce of his willpower to avoid backing away. “Only minutes ago, I witnessed a girl hiding from the guards and sneaking out of the city gate during the confusion. Your guard here allowed her to pass without resistance.”
Edric was fuming. “Then the girl is on her way to Ironbarrow.”
Edric turned back to his guards, who were still holding on to Tollack. “Get that dwarf to the dungeon and get back here. We move out within the hour.”
The guards didn't argue and went about their duties as ordered. Edric then turned back to the cultist and said, “Perhaps one of your men can follow the girl's trail and silence her before she warns Rowan.”
Xilas shook his head. “It matters not if she does warn the masses of Ironbarrow. There is nothing Conley can do to stop the siege.”
“I don't want to take any chances,” Edric said. “Have your men-”
The cultist interrupted and raised a dagger to Edric's throat. He didn't even try to hide his fear this time.
“You don't get to make the demands here, Edric. After the trouble you've caused, you're lucky to still be in my presence, let alone to still have your legs. I suggest you learn your place before the Serpent has to remind you again,” Xilas said.
Edric gulped and slowly nodded.
Xilas removed his dagger and said, “Move your troops, Greenwood. In three days time, we will be marching upon Ironbarrow.”
CHAPTER 13
Two nights passed after Varg and Milea left the inn. The night before they were supposed to reach the entrance to the Crystal Wood, Varg readied his sack and looked over to Milea to see her getting comfortable in hers.
In a bold, desperate move, he said, “Can we just...talk?”
Milea didn't answer initially, and his heart dropped into his stomach until she muttered, “I have nothing to say to you.”
Varg sighed, then said, “I have something to say to you.”
Milea sat up and turned around. “What do you want to say, that you're sorry? That you wish you could take it back? That you swear it will never happen again? Well save your breath; I've heard it all before.”
Varg faced the dirt and shut his eyes. “I only want you to know that I never meant to hurt you.”
Milea stood up and took a step towards him. “Then what was your intention, to bed both her and me in the same night without me being any the wiser?”
Varg stood as well. “That's not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Varg shook his head. “I don't know what came over me, but I do know that I can't take it back. I only hope you can forgive me, even if it means you will never care for me again.”
Milea studied him, then to his dismay, she answered, “I can't forgive it, not now. Perhaps one day I can, but as far as I'm concerned, you and I will never be the same.”
The pain of her words sunk into Varg's chest as he bowed his head in shame.
“We still have a mission, Varg. Just know that this won't interfere with what we need to do. As soon as we defeat the Shadow Hand, though, I think we should go our separate ways.”
The thought of never holding Milea or lying in bed with her again might as well have been a knife in Varg's chest. The very thought of bringing an end to Jin and the Shadow Hand only to watch Milea walk away from him in the midst of their victory, never to see her again, made his heart want to stop beating entirely.
Varg and Milea finally reached the outside of the Crystal Wood in the early morning hours of the third day after leaving the inn. They marched over a hill and came to an enormous forest, lush and green unlike anything Varg had ever seen. Not only that, but the forest formed an enormous dome that stretched up towards the sky.
Milea must have sensed that he was wondering about the dome-like forest, for she then explained, “The center of the Crystal Wood is home to the Tree of Laelith. It's the largest tree in the world, and it houses the sacred Temple of Laelith in its trunk.”
“In its trunk?” Varg asked with a raised eyebrow.
“The elves of the Crystal Wood do not believe in ravaging nature,” Milea explained. “Rather than cut down trees or flatten the terrain, the elves build their structures in the imperfections around the land. The Temple is built within the grooves of the Tree's trunk.”
Varg couldn't imagine a tree enormous enough to house an entire temple, but he didn't say a word about it.
“Well then, shall we go on?” Varg asked.
“Yes. The entrance should be further down,” Milea said.
They walked down the hill until they came closer to the edge of the forest. The tree trunks formed a wall around the area, making
it virtually impenetrable, but as they came to the archway, they curved almost perfectly into a tunnel, which made Varg wonder if magic had been involved with their placement. He presumed that the wall of trees was part of the barrier, but noticed that the tunnel itself was completely open and led into a darkened wood.
Varg approached the tunnel and said, “Well so much for the barrier. It looks as though anyone could just walk in.”
He looked back at Milea to see her shaking her head.
“Walk up to the archway and hold out your hand,” she said.
Varg shrugged and obeyed. He reached out his hand as he approached the archway, and once his fingertips reached the archway's edge, a sharp jolt sent it flying back. Varg gasped and examined his fingers expecting them to be burnt from the shockwave, only to find them completely unharmed.
Varg turned back to Milea and said, “So that's the barrier, then?”
Milea nodded. “The trees are just for good measure. It gives the Crystal Wood only one point of entry should the barrier somehow fail, although there is no conceivable way that could happen.”
“That you know of,” Varg pointed out.
“Perhaps, but let us focus on the task at hand,” Milea said.
She edged closer to Varg until she was standing right next to him. She presented a dagger and made a cut along the length of her palm. She winced as the blade cut through her skin. The blood dripped from the knife onto the ground as it finished its path and Milea lifted it from her skin. She then wiped the dagger on a rag, then replaced the dagger where it came from.
Milea then held out her uncut hand for Varg's, which he quickly presented to her palm facing up. She placed her bleeding hand in his and allowed herself to bleed onto him for a moment, then rubbed her hand in his until there was enough blood smeared on his hand to fool the barrier, at least what they thought would be enough.
“All right,” Milea said as she used the rag to bind her wound, “Now try.”
Varg nodded and approached the archway once more. He held out the hand that was stained with Milea's blood and braced himself for another shock, but was relieved to see his hand pass the point it had before without so much as protest. He inched further and further until he was completely enshrouded but the tunnel, past the barrier into the Crystal Wood.
The Crystal Wood (Half-Breed Book 2) Page 12