“That settles it then,” Hadrin said.
Alandra nodded as she turned toward the forest. She took one last look toward where they had left Erlkan and let out a sigh. Her reverence for her aunt had her wanting to be there when she met with her husband. In her mind, the situation was a simple misunderstanding. She hoped that things would go well in her absence. Hadrin placed a hand on her shoulder. The hunter had already started off toward the forest. Alandra smiled at the Prince and walked alongside him. There was something calming about being in his presence. Despite knowing that Wrotan would get impatient, neither of them felt the need to quicken their pace.
“Erlkan will be fine. In fact, he’ll even have Empress Melisandre seeing the truth,” Hadrin said.
“Kindness such as yours is hard to find these days, even amongst the elves. It is truly refreshing,” she said.
“You have me at a loss for words.”
“I’ll bet you say that to all the elven maidens back home.”
“They don’t often talk to me when they see what the scourge has done.” Hadrin pulled off his gauntlet and showed her the small blue tendrils that had recently spread to the back of his hand.
“It is quite commendable to see someone brave enough to accept such a burden so readily. More often than not, people are unwilling to take on even the smallest of responsibilities.”
“I’m not sure I ever had much of a choice. The evening realms would fall apart without someone to replace my father. A Prince can’t just step down because he doesn’t want to take on the burdens that come with ruling.”
“You certainly know how to turn a compliment into a negative situation.”
“He has a hard time taking a compliment, go easy on him or you might scare him off,” Wrotan said as he turned back to look at the two of them.
“Have you been eavesdropping on our conversation?” Alandra asked.
“Not by choice, but I did catch bits and pieces. My apologies.”
“He has done nothing wrong, leave him be,” Hadrin said.
“Not that a little flirting between my traveling companions is any of my business, but the two of you should cut each other a little slack. I may not know even the slightest thing about elven politics, but I do know that it shouldn’t get in the way of two people getting to know each other,” the hunter said.
“I think you’ve mistaken what has transpired, my friend. Alandra and I were simply making conversation.”
“Right, innocent conversation. I’ll remember that next time it happens.”
“Let’s just talk about something else,” Alandra said.
“Might be best if we stay quiet. The woods are home to more than just elves.”
The Forest Realms
Mariah spotted the elves before any of the others. They were thinner than she expected, but she surmised that the elves from different lands each had their own unique look. She reached out and took the knife from Julian. He was about to protest when he noticed several elves coming out from behind the trees. There were ten of them in total. All but one of them, their leader, had their weapons drawn. Amber and Kade stopped and looked at one another. Julian started to take a step back before stopping himself. Mariah looked back over her shoulder, making it seem as though she were checking on the other two. She counted five more elves behind them. Their leader stepped forward with his hand on his sword hilt. He examined the group for a moment before speaking.
“You best be careful what you do with that knife,” he said.
“I take it that was a promise and not a threat. Why so wary?” Mariah asked.
“It isn’t your business.”
“You make it seem as though you just don’t like the idea of humans in your lands.”
“We haven’t had the best of histories, our two peoples. I’m sure you already know that. That having been said, it doesn’t look like you are planning an invasion. I’ll give this as a warning, the elven lands are in a bit of turmoil right now.”
“Is there any way we can assist?” Kade asked as he stepped forward.
“I doubt it. The sun elves and the night elves look to be gearing for war. That places the forest elves and the sea elves in the middle of things. Unless one of you is an extremely powerful wizard or the best diplomat known to the world, there is little that can be done. Though, your offer will be remembered,” the leader replied.
“We are looking for a safe place to stay before moving on. Can you provide that for us?” Mariah asked.
“You can find lodging at one of our outposts or waystations. We haven’t any real cities, not in the way that you would think of them. Your best bet for affordable lodging would be at our trading post, but it is a good half a day’s worth of travel from here. Continue down the dirt path and you’ll see a crossroads. There will be signs.”
“That will do, thank you.”
The elf nodded before turning to his troops and motioning for them to put away their weapons. Mariah and the others watched as the elves disappeared into the forest. She let out a sigh as she handed the dagger back to Julian. He nodded as he took it back from her. All four of them continued on without saying a word. Unlike before, the silence seemed to come from some sense of apprehension in the other three. Whether the others knew it or not, there was little doubt in her mind that the forest elves had sent at least one scout to follow them. The royal guardswoman glanced back to see if she could garner anything from their expressions. They did their best to keep from locking eyes with her. She stopped and turned toward them.
“What is the matter?” She asked.
“The elves are preparing for war. They are supposed to be the last ones to fight,” Kade replied.
“Is that really what you’ve been taught?”
“Yes, the humans were at fault the last time we fought the elves,” Julian said.
“Absolutely not, the elves attacked us for reasons that they have yet to reveal. Most of our wars with them started with an invasion from an elven army. Until recently, they fought among themselves on a regular basis.”
“If they are so dangerous, why did you bring us into their lands?” Amber asked.
“I’ve been asking myself that same question since we entered the forest. The only answer I can think of is that the elves aren’t the ones chasing us. That and I was hoping we could help your friend. Unfortunately for us, the forest elves appear unaffected by whatever it is that your friend has contracted.”
“It isn’t contagious,” Kade said.
“How do you know?” Mariah asked.
“I don’t, but they do.”
“Who does?”
“The ones that I saw from before. I think that we are somehow connected. I can sort of sense them out there. They seem to be getting closer to us.”
Mariah nodded as she dropped the conversation. She wanted to reprimand him for not telling her earlier, but she knew that it wouldn’t change anything. The information was helpful. There was a group out there that knew something about this strange disease or scourge. Even though her duty was to the people of Reddington, she felt like this was a matter of some importance to more than just the elves. The last thing that anyone in the borderlands needed was a spread of disease. They were already enough of a target from threats on nearly all sides. The guardswoman shivered at the last thought. Her wards were the only reason that the four kingdoms hadn’t invaded. They had made a treaty with the former King of Reddington and breaking such a treaty would look bad. If the royal line were destroyed by a disease, everyone would have their eye on the borderlands.
*
Erlkan’s spirits fell when the Empress’ palace came into view. He had forgotten how much of the city’s resources had gone into converting the large castle into an even larger palace. They were still miles from the entrance to the city and the only structures he could make out where the palace and the walls. There was little doubt that the new design would serve well in a siege, but it still felt too extravagant for his liking. The one upside that he coul
d take away from the situation was the fact that his wife had been much younger when she had commissioned the conversion from castle to palace. Her more recent decrees had been much more favorable in the eyes of the general populace. He pushed aside the feelings of regret and tried to focus on how to better their relationship.
“Your highness, something isn’t right,” one of the soldiers said.
“What do you mean?” Erlkan asked as he turned to face her.
“The Empress would never remove her banner from the palace.”
“You’re certain there is no reason for her to do so?”
“Absolutely.”
The sun King let out a sigh as he looked back toward the palace. As the soldier had said, the Empress’ banner was nowhere to be found. Despite whatever grievances remained between the two of them, the Empress was still his wife and he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. No one spoke as they made their way closer to the palace. Everyone knew to expect to come to a different sun palace than the one they had last visited. Erlkan nodded to himself as he quickened his pace. He would face the situation with his head held high. No matter the reason for the Empress’ banner being removed, the sun elves would need a King that was willing to face adversity without wilting away. The elf King resolved to be that which his people needed most.
“There, someone approaches,” the elven Captain said as he pointed to Erlkan’s side.
“I’ll need a sword,” he replied as he looked over at the approaching group.
“Sorry, your highness, the Empress instructed us against that.”
“Whether bandits or the Empress’ own troops, I will address them with a sword in hand. This is not a negotiation, Captain. You have my word that I will not use it against one of our own, but I need to show my strength if we are to unite together and defeat the scourge once and for all.”
Erlkan waited for a moment, wondering if his gamble would pay off. The Captain shook his head as he unhooked his scabbard. He handed it to the King before turning to get spare from his equipment. The sun King drew the sword as he marched toward the oncoming troops. He could now see that they were elves, but whether they were hostile or not remained to be determined. The group of elves slowed to a stop when they spotted the King with his sword drawn. Two of their members began to talk before heading toward Erlkan.
“Your majesty, there is no need for violence,” one of them called out as soon as he was close enough for the King to hear.
“What is your purpose?” Erlkan asked.
“We came to warn you and to ask for your assistance.”
“Warn me about what?”
“The dragons have turned on us and the Empress has been taken captive. There is a wizard that claims the throne.”
*
Melisandre paced back and forth inside of her cell. She let out a sigh as she dropped to the floor. By her estimation, more than a week had passed already. Whether by design or not, the mage had ignored his own ultimatum. Her food rations had been decreased to one meal a day. All signs pointed toward this new ruler trying to break her spirit. Despite his insistence on being able to make do without her, she suspected that her assistance would make things easier for him. It was rare times like this that she wondered if things would have been the same had she tried to reason with her husband. There was no doubt in her mind that he was an unreasonable man, but she also felt that there were times when she could have asserted herself more.
“Lost in thought, are we?” A man asked as he opened the door.
“Who are you?” The Empress asked.
“Peligrin, but that is hardly important. My master seems to be of the impression that you will beg him for mercy. He and I are not in agreement on this topic. As you may have guessed, his bark is worse than his bite. However, he only has so much patience.”
“You are here to convince me to join him.”
“Not at all. I am in my master’s service because I made a foolish pledge to serve him until his dying breath. My plan had been to kill him or even just serve him until time did the dirty work for me.”
“How is that possible?” Melisandre asked.
“I’m not certain that I could explain it to an elf. To put it simply, my people live thousands of years. By their standards, I am not even middle aged. My master is something of an anomaly. I don’t actually know if he’ll live as long as I will, but he certainly won’t die anytime soon. Not by natural means.”
“You are here for me assistance in defeating him.”
“Not exactly, no. I don’t expect you to be able to do much considering that he has you in your former dungeon. However, being an Empress, you must know of people that can assist me in ridding the world of my master. In exchange for a meeting, I could leave a door or two unlocked.”
“You’ll need to do better than that. The only people who can stop your master are the night elves. Their night dragons are a match for the sun dragons. I can get you a meeting with their leaders.”
“I knew my master was foolish to underestimate you. Our discussion must come to an end, but I will return tomorrow. You will be free of this dungeon before the week is out.”
The Dance of Shadows
Hadrin kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as he watched the forest elves whispering to each other. He glanced over at Alandra and realized that she had her sword drawn and was ready for a fight. The forest elves looked equally prepared for a fight. Wrotan looked far from ready to fight, but Hadrin knew that the hunter would be the first to draw blood in the event of a confrontation. The forest elves continued to whisper and occasionally glance at the small party. Hadrin was unsure whether Wrotan’s presence caused them more or less pause. One of them turned back to the forest and began shaking his head. The other elf turned and started coming closer to the three of them.
“Please, we aren’t looking for a fight,” she said.
“Nor are we, but don’t think that means we will shy away from one if necessary,” Alandra answered.
“We wish to pass through your lands and into the human lands. There is no reason that we should come to blows,” Wrotan said.
“There is a matter that must be dealt with before we can grant you this wish.”
“What matter?” Hadrin asked as he stepped forward.
“You will soon see, Prince.”
The forest elves stepped forward to take possession of the group’s weapons. Alandra finally consented after Wrotan and Hadrin encouraged her to do so. The hunter had given up his weapons without even the slightest pause. Hadrin asked to keep his knife, but the forest elves wouldn’t allow it. Once they were certain that the three travelers were unarmed, they lead them deeper into the forest. The Prince attempted to keep track of the path, but the elves used such a roundabout way that he soon found himself unable to remember the intricacies. They came to a large clearing and the leader of the elves motioned for the others to be blindfolded. Alandra protested once again, but Hadrin convinced her that it would be fine. The second half of their trek was even more difficult and the Prince found himself with no idea as to where they had been taken.
“You may remove the blindfold now,” Hadrin recognized the voice of Lothrin, King of the forest elves.
“It is a pleasure, your majesty,” the Prince said as he stepped forward and held out his arm.
“If only we were meeting under better circumstance, Prince Hadrin,” Lothrin and the Prince clasped forearms and pulled each other in for a one armed hug.
“These are my friends and traveling companions, Alandra and Wrotan.”
“Your majesty,” Wrotan said as he gave a slight bow.
“Welcome to the woodland realms,” Lothrin said, ignoring Alandra’s defiance.
“Something is amiss?” Wrotan asked.
“Yes, allow me to introduce Kade, Mariah, Amber, and Julian,” the King motioned to the side as he spoke.
The four humans were brought into the room in chains. Hadrin looked to the others to see if he could garner any inform
ation out of his allies’ reactions. Alandra scowled at the sight of the shackles, but quickly recovered her look of defiance. Wrotan raised an eyebrow as he looked over at his fellow humans before looking back at the King. For all Hadrin knew, the hunter was merely curious at the appearance of these four. He looked to the four. Mariah’s expression was nearly the same as that of Alandra. The Prince shuddered at the thought of facing either of them in such a mood. Amber had a look of sadness to her. Julian seemed to be the only one of the four that didn’t care about being in chains in front of a room of elves. Kade looked terrified as he looked around the room.
“What does this have to do with us?” Wrotan asked.
“The one they call Kade has shown signs of the scourge,” the King answered.
“Impossible, he isn’t even an elf,” Hadrin replied.
“So we thought,” Lothrin paused and motioned for the guards to bring Kade closer, “but we were wrong.”
“Take the shackles off of this young man immediately,” Wrotan said as he looked from the mark on the back of Kade’s hand up to the bandage on his eye.
“You have no authority here, hunter.”
Wrotan pivoted forward and hit the nearest elf with a palm strike to the nose. He grabbed the elf’s sword and then disappeared in a small cloud of darkness. Dozens of forest elves rushed into the room with their weapons drawn. Hadrin looked to Alandra in bewilderment. The forest elves were advancing on them, and she looked as frightened as he did. Wrotan came diving out of the shadows and skewered two forest elves before disappearing once again. King Lothrin ordered his soldiers to bring more torches into the room. The Prince felt a strange feeling come over him as he was compelled to use his magic. His arms rose into the air as the spell came to him. A quick burst of air and the torches in the room were blown out. The darkness closed in around them and the sounds of a massacre become louder.
“Enough!” King Lothrin shouted as he used his own magic to fill the room with light.
Hadrin could scarcely believe his eyes as he looked around the room. Wrotan stood at the far side of the room with a sword in each hand. The dozens of elves were either dead or dying on the floor. There were several smaller wingless dragons whose scales and skin were so dark that they almost looked like they weren’t truly in the room. The hunter sheathed his swords and the creatures melted into the light. He strode forward and shattered the shackles around Kade’s wrists using only his hands. Another two dozen forest elves entered the room and looked to the King for instruction. Lothrin motioned for them to put away their weapons as he used his magic to relight the torches.