Category: Alagariel

Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Phansigar

About two hours later, towards the end of the afternoon, the outriders called a halt, waving a signal to the lead cavalrymen. Lieutenant Hieronymus rode to Caerel after he’d found out what was going on.

“A group of riders has been spotted milord. Around fifteen of them, perhaps a mile down the road.”

Caerel was obviously a little flustered. He didn’t know what to do exactly. Ala wondered if he had ever had to command a formation against a real enemy before. It seemed unlikely. She decided to make a suggestion.

“Perhaps we should try and draw them in, see if we can catch one for information? If they see all of us, I expect they’ll run, we outnumber them.”

That cleared his mind.

“Good idea, Lady Alagariel. We’ll need some bait, uhm…”

“I will be the bait, they’ve probably been instructed to keep an eye out for me.”

Myrthe frowned at her.

“Uhm… I can’t…. let…” started Caerel. Then he thought better of it, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead where Ala had grabbed it to throw him to the ground on the practice field. He raised his arm and pointed.

“Ride the wagons into that copse of trees, together with the mounts we don’t need. Put the archers in that treeline,” he pointed, “and the infantry will hide in that ditch.”

He pointed to a ditch in the other direction, dug as drainage to keep the road from becoming muddy.

“The cavalry will form up behind that rise, then ride round to cut off their retreat when they are in the trap. Lady Alagariel will ride up the road and pretend to run from them, hopefully drawing them in. Any questions?”

It made sound tactical sense. It had taken Caerel only a moment to collect himself in the face of a real fight. It was quite impressive, Ala thought, understanding better what Myrthe saw in the young man. Lieutenant Hieronymus didn’t have much of an opinion about anything, but it was obvious from Brugor’s expression that he approved of the plan, he had spun his horse round to put it in motion the second Caerel had stopped speaking. Ala whispered to Fulgor who started forward. She loosened her shield a bit so she could easily swing it round when needed.

Ala rode forward, hood down. Her red-golden hair was in a loose braid and clearly recognisable. After about seven hundred yards, around a bend in the path, she could see the riders ahead. She stopped Fulgor, telling him to be ready to run back quickly. She didn’t recognise anyone among the riders. They had the manner of soldiers, she could see they wore mail and had shields slung over their backs. Some wore conical helmets others, a chapeau-de-fer, making them better equipped than she was accustomed to for militiamen. Only Bernard’s cavalry had been similarly equipped. The leader had a one-and-a-half-hander at his belt. He was a muscular, clean shaven man. It was customary for riders to stop at a safe distance from one another. The leader did not, and continued to ride in her direction.

“Halt,” she called, “Identify yourself!”

“Show your right of passage, elf! Or you are under arrest by order of the Constable of Thetwick.”

He had an accent. It could be Oakharrow, she thought… or maybe further away.

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

She whirled Fulgor round as she heard the troop spur their horses. It was easier than she had expected. She whispered to Fulgor in elvish not to go too fast and to stay the same distance ahead of them. The leader had a particularly fast horse, however, causing her to have to accelerate. He could not manage to outpace Fulgor, who responded well when Ala whispered to him in elven. She raced down the track, with the riders following her. She held Fulgor back a little to let the riders think they were gaining. A horn call sounded. Brugor had given the signal to close the trap. The infantrymen stood up and climbed out of the ditch. They formed two rows across the path, pikes set low. She could hear the rumble of the cavalrymen coming round behind the pursuing riders. The archers stepped forth out of the trees in a long line. The infantrymen opened a gap for Fulgor to ride through as Brugor bellowed a fire command. The archers fired a volley at the riders, dropping several of them. They walked forward, nocking the next arrows and stopped for a moment for a second volley.

Caerel’s plan was to pin the riders in a triangle. One side was formed by the infantrymen directly in their path. The archers formed another side, and the cavalry, riding abreast rode in to close the triangle around them. Ala had stopped Fulgor and was turning him around when she saw that the leader and perhaps three of the riders were going to make it out of the trap before it could be fully closed. Myrthe, Matt and Caerel were riding out of the woods towards her too. She whispered Fulgor forward, as she was considering how to take the lead rider down without killing him. The man had drawn his sword, in his right hand, which gave her the advantage, as she was coming from his left. A little to her disappointment, she decided this couldn’t be Gordon Marchmain. She felt confident she would recognise him. She concentrated on intercepting him, deciding she didn’t think hurting the horse was an acceptable course of action. She was going to have to tackle him off the horse. She stood up on Fulgor’s broad back, and dived into the Oakharrowers’ leader.

It was a risky move. She had aimed to impact her left shoulder at the junction of his neck and his shoulder, trying to leverage him over the horse. She missed by a bit and the manoeuvre didn’t quite go as she had imagined it. She slipped past him, only partially making him lose his balance. At this point, it really didn’t seem like the best idea she had ever had. As she was heading head first towards the ground, she came by his sword arm. She let go of her own blade which was still in her right hand, and grabbed hold. That pulled him over the horse thankfully, reversed her direction of fall, and put her on her side in the dirt, weaponless, maybe six inches from the Oakharrowers’ head. She pushed up off the ground, getting back to her feet. The Oakharrower did the same after he had gotten his sword out from under him. Luckily that took him a moment longer. She looked around for her sword, which had fallen a few yards behind them. She immediately ran for it. She wouldn’t have been fast enough if Myrthe hadn’t arrived and taken a wild swing at him with her riding sword. It was a miss, but it distracted him just long enough that Ala could put her right hand on the sword, roll with it and come up reversed with her blade in hand in time to parry the man’s first disorganised swing.

“Drop the weapon, Oakharrow man,” Ala hissed.

He looked around. Caerel had ridden on. He had cut down one of the riders and was gaining on a second one. He evidently decided he could handle one elf and a clumsy priestess. Matt didn’t dare gallop his horse, he was too afraid he’d fall off, so he was still quite a distance away.

“For you? You must be that elf bitch Marchmain spoke of! I think I’ll kill you instead. Mahr will be pleased,”

He didn’t sound like he was from Oakharrow, Ala decided as she wondered who ‘Mahr’ might be. He took his weapon in a two handed grip and raised his sword to swing for her. Ala stepped fully under his attack, her sword marking his wrist as she stepped underneath it and put her left hand on her sword grip too. It caused him to interrupt his swing, and Ala dropped her blade in a cut straight down with his left wrist in the way. He was wearing mail backed gloves so she didn’t sever his hand. Her sword did cut through the mail and put a deep cut across the back of his hand as he frantically tried to step back in time. Ala stepped back taking her distance again.

“I don’t like to repeat myself. Drop your blade and you won’t suffer further injury!”

He looked shocked and angry at the way she had routinely interrupted his attack. He had a bit of a crazed look in his eyes, she thought, almost like he was inebriated. Despite his injury, he decided to attack again with his blade only in his right hand, raising it above his head rapidly to strike. She interrupted the attack again with a long diagonal top-right to bottom left stroke, designed once again not to kill him but to give her space to move close next to him, her legs grouped close together and put her blade in the crook of his right elbow while he was busy trying to recover his sword from its own inertia. She then stepped out extending and rotating outwards creating a very long powerful cut that sliced through the mild steel rings of his mail where she made contact and cut through the skin, muscles and tendons all the way down to the bone. His sword tip fell to the ground as he screamed. He was physically unable to lift the sword now and bleeding profusely from the inside of his right elbow. He still wouldn’t release his sword though. Ala had to punch him full in the face several times to stun him, then stamp on the man’s hand four times before he would let go of the sword. Ala glanced at Myrthe, the two of them sharing a look of concern as Matt rode up.

“What’s wrong, ladies?”

“This man has the drive of ten mindless fanatics,” said Myrthe, gesturing over to the Oakharrower who was lying stunned and bleeding in the grass now.

Caerel came riding back too.

“One of them got away,” he said.

“They’ll really know we’re coming then,” said Matt.

Ala turned her attention to the wounded leader.

“Where is Gordon Marchmain?”

She detected a glimmer of recognition in the man’s eyes.

“Marchmain is a brother…. A true soul… He would not falter, nor will I,” he said in between clenching his teeth against the pain.

It was enough confirmation for Ala. She hoped she would be able to find him this time. He was certainly in the Westmarch.

It was the same story with the other riders. Caerel’s soldiers had had to kill nine of the remaining twelve that had been caught in the triangle. The three who were still alive had been bludgeoned into submission. Four of Caerel’s men had been killed in the exchange, and four more wounded. Ala surveyed the carnage.

“This doesn’t make sense. These men aren’t mercenaries. They fight like they’d rather die than be taken. Mercenaries would want to fight another day. Normal Oakharrowers would want to go home and bandits would run at the first opportunity.”

Caerel looked at her.

“You don’t think they’re just well paid mercenaries?”

Brugor shook his head.

“I agree with Lady Alagariel and the Priestess. This kind of devotion is unusual. It’s…. it must be religious or the like, milord.”

Ala walked over to the corpses. As she moved she cleaned off her sword and sheathed it. She then pointed at two infantrymen, “you and you, come here and give me a hand. We have some distasteful work.”

Together with the two men, she searched the corpses and then stripped them. They didn’t have anything particularly strange on them, but each man had the same tattoo on his left forearm.

“Anyone have any idea what that might represent?” Ala asked, loudly.

Caerel, Matt and Brugor all had a look and all shook their heads. Myrthe, with her vast learning, had a contribution to make, she put her teeth on her lower lip as she always did when she was thinking.

“Part of it looks a bit like something I once read about. A cult of some sort if I remember correctly, related to a demon-king, I think he was called Mahr.”

“Mahr? Their leader said something about Mahr being pleased just before he attacked me,” said Ala.

“I don’t know about religious, but certainly like a cult, at least. This symbol has an addition to it though, compared to the one I saw in the book, underneath. Look it’s like two curved swords, under a set of spread wings maybe? I think the wings were related to Mahr’s cult. The swords weren’t in the book I read. But it was an old book, and it spoke of it as ancient history. Sorry. That’s all I know.”

“It’s more than the rest of us put together,” mumbled Caerel appreciatively, straightening himself up.

“Lord Caerel, may I send riders to the Duke? We have to assume word will get to Thetwick soon, we need men to ride swiftly to minimize the chance of them being headed off at the ford.”

“Yes. Sergeant-Major. I agree. Send two men at once.”

“May I make it two groups of two, by different routes, milord?”

“That will sap our strength too much. With our current losses, even sending two men is a large drain on our resources. Just send the two, that will be enough.”

Ala didn’t think that was the best course, and tried to catch Myrthe’s eye. She thought maybe Myrthe could change his mind. Myrthe saw Ala looking and shook her head. She didn’t think it was a good idea to question Caerel’s authority right now it seemed. Ala decided to trust Myrthe’s judgement.

Caerel quickly wrote two notes to the Duke, explaining what they had encountered, beseeching him for more forces, the folded and sealed them and handed one to each of the men.

“You will take this message to the Duke of Taladaria. It is of paramount importance that the message gets through, if you have to abandon one another to achieve it, do so. In case you lose the letters, you will memorise the message as well. Repeat after me.”

It took about twenty minutes to get the messages written, the freshest and fastest horses assigned, and the best riders selected. They had to repeat the message back to Caerel several times, then he sent them on his way. They soldiers quickly dug shallow graves. One for the cultists, and the other for the Guardsmen. The location was carefully marked on the map so they could be reburied properly later. Once the messengers had left, it was late afternoon, and Caerel called then all together for an impromptu conference.

“Lady Alagariel, you know Thetwick. Is there perhaps a reasonably defensible place we can travel to in order to rest for the night?”

“We already passed Brightfield, that was that caravan stop we came by. It’s more or less half way between Thetwick and the Ford in. Between here and Thetwick I think we’d better press on. I know of a place near Thetwick that’s reasonably defensible. A few miles from Thetwick, there are some ruins which we sometimes used as a campsite on militia patrols… the locals call it the… err… Maiden’s Tower. I know it well, I used to visit it often.”

Ala decided that she should omit the fact that that was what it was called was because she’d had a habit of practising sword work encased in fire there when she was younger. She continued with her explanation.

“It’s ruined, but is does offer a fair view towards Thetwick. It was once a keep or tower of some kind, there’s natural springs and it has a commanding view of its approaches. At the pace we managed with the cavalry screen, I estimate we will be able to get there perhaps a few moments before sundown.”
Caerel nodded before turning towards Brugor and Hieronymous.

“Lieutenant, Sergeant-Major, how does that sound?”

Lieutenant Hieronymus nodded.

“Sounds defensible, milord, it’ll do. Probably best if Lady Alagariel rides out ahead with a scout or two to look it over before the sun sets,” said Brugor.

“Agreed.”

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

The Bullstead

When they started out early the next morning, Ala felt like there was a quiet tension in the air. It was of the kind that accompanies the anticipation leading up to a fight. They left the Ford Inn with the cavalry in the vanguard, followed by Caerel, Ala and the others, then the mounted archers, the supply train and the pikemen at the rear. They rode with a screen of two outriders to scout ahead, one on each side of the road. It was possible that the Oakharrowers had spotted them arriving at Ford Inn. It was even possible that they had spies at Hightower, but they would have to have a network of sentries to be able to relay that message to Thetwick faster than they were travelling.

Ala needed a moment to focus on the task at hand. She was feeling guilty that she had not told Martha that she had killed her younger brother, Jake, who had been among those who meant to assassinate her at Larkhill.

An ambush or other attack seemed likely in light of what they’d learned at the Ford Inn. It was certainly what Ala would have done had she been leading the Oakharrowers. The requirement for added caution slowed down their travel. The outriders would call a halt if they saw something they felt needed investigation. It caused many stops. Nonetheless, they passed by the Brightfield caravan stop by mid afternoon which meant they were still solidly outpacing a normal ox drawn caravan.

Not long after Brightfield they saw a burnt farmstead in the distance, some parts of which were still smouldering and producing smoke. Questioning eyes turned towards to Ala.

“I know that place. Quite a well to do farm, Thets call it the Bullstead. It was founded by the man who brought me to Thetwick, William the Bull. Rich, by Thetwick standards… or it was.”

“We’d best investigate it,” ordered Caerel.

Brugor waved to the outriders to turn towards it. She had passed by the Bullstead many times on patrol with the militia, sometimes stopping to water the horses. She had even stopped there on her own once, trying to find out more about ‘the Bull’ himself. She had been told by Palady that the man had been on the patrol that brought Ala to Thetwick as an infant. Her visits had never led to any new information about herself. Now the smoking ruin appeared to be deserted.

The archers formed a cordon around the farm and everyone in Caerel’s little command group dismounted to look around. There were two corpses in the yard in front of the burnt out building as well as dead livestock. The dead bodies were two men, dressed as farmers customarily were. There were only two dead animals, a cow and a pig, the rest of the livestock was gone, but it was clear there had been more. Ala remembered the place as a prosperous farm, one of the richer ones in Thetwick by virtue of the size of its lands. The farm itself was a large building forty yards long with stout stone walls. It had burnt out, the thatched roof and interior had been almost completely consumed by flames. Roughly a third of the building had been the family’s living quarters, the other two thirds had been a barn for storage and livestock. Only part of the charred wooden skeleton and the low stone walls remained. Judging by the decomposition of the bodies and the remains of the fire, it hadn’t happened more than a few days ago.

Brugor shook his head in disgust. “I’ve seen this before, milord. This looks like the behaviour of an occupying army, an oppressor. They are operating overtly, not worried about reprisal. They are here in strength, feeling invulnerable. We have to assume that they control the whole Westmarch which puts us deep in hostile territory. I’d wager they have a significant force here. Probably too many to take on.”

Caerel shook his head. “These people were innocent. Defenceless. Why murder them and drive them off?”

“They probably needed supplies. Perhaps plunder, or the men merely wanted some amusement. Who knows, milord? One thing is certain. Oakharrow is making its move on the Westmarch and by extension, Taladaria. We should send fast riders back.”

“Not yet. We must know more first,” said Caerel.

Brugor frowned, clearly disagreeing, “if this force is larger than we anticipated, we may not be able to get anyone out in time. I urge you to send men now, milord.”

Caerel was irritated, “and tell my grandfather what? That we found some driven off farmers? We need to know more, Brugor. Also, we will be depleting the cavalry if we send some of them away. My decision is final, Sergeant-Major.”

“Yes milord.” Brugor didn’t look like he agreed. He was used to following orders though, even if they came from inexperienced twenty-two year olds.

During the exchange Matt had been scraping around in the ruins of the Bullstead and he waved to them over, “as far as I can tell, if there were any survivors, they were either carried off, or they didn’t wait for the fire to burn out.”

“What makes you say that?” Asked Caerel.

“They left their valuables here,” Matt shrugged, “people who flee usually only leave their riches behind if they have no other choice.”

Ala went over to see what had led Matt to his conclusions. He had uncovered a stone in the floor that was removable. He had an uncanny ability to home straight in on spots where people might store valuables. Underneath was a small wooden hatch, inside of which was a small chest, and some bundles wrapped in oilskins against moisture.

“You have an uncanny knack for knowing where to look for things like this, Matt,” Ala said.

“Well, I suppose it’s not something to be terribly proud of, but you develop a sense for it. Maybe from now on it can lead to things getting back to their rightful owners rather than the other way around. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking, since the rightful owners are probably out in the yard… or prisoners…”

He smiled ruefully as Ala turned to the others.

“I came through here a few times on patrol with the militia. The farmers here were all named William… after the Bull, I imagine.”

Ala thought for another moment.

“So a sequence of William Williamsons. His father’s name was William too, which makes it a little hard for me to remember them all as they all had the exact same name. I think this family has named their eldest sons William since William the Bull. People don’t really bother with last names in the Westmarch. If there’s any information to be about them, it would probably be listed as William Williamson or William of the Bullstead. Something along those lines,” Ala said.

Caerel was looking round. He was visibly shocked by the random brutality that had been visited on these people. “Just poor defenceless farmers, probably have been for generations. How could a warrior do this?”

“I guess a real warrior couldn’t… at least that’s the way I was taught… bullies and thugs… well, they might I guess,” Ala said.

“It’s hard to fathom that such people exist.”

“The patriarch of this family was a famous warrior, served in the ducal regiment. I told you that he was with the patrol that found me? I think he was already famous then. He achieved distinction in the service of the then Duke of Taladaria… that would be…. your father’s great grandfather, I think, Lord Caerel, if I’m counting correctly.”

“Well, his loyalty seems to have been of meagre service to his descendants.”

“This man, William the Bull, left with that patrol after depositing me here. As I understand it, he never returned. I once came here trying to find out more of my own history, when I was younger. No one remembered anything. If I think about it for a moment, I’m sure I can recall the story of how William the Bull earned his nickname. Come to think of it, I think I can even vaguely recall the man himself. Not that I knew he was important, then. Shame I only discovered who he was so much later.”

Caerel looked up at her, initially interested by the tale, only for the look on his face to be overtaken by the realisation of how old she was sinking in. Ala was speaking of events that had taken place more than a century ago.

He shook it off and spoke, “I think I’ve heard a story about a brave man-at-arms who served my great-great-grandfather nicknamed ‘The Bull’. I think he was famous for pushing over a warhorse, rider and all who was about to spear my grandfather. There’s a tapestry depicting the event in the great hall in Peyrepertuse. You actually knew this guy?”

The smile vanished from Caerel’s face quickly as he looked around the ruined farm again.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I knew him. I saw him maybe a few times, I think? Perhaps with the patrol? I don’t remember. I suppose I was too young for the story of his exploits, then. Or I dismissed it… I don’t know. It was a long time ago and I don’t remember anything that went on then it in as much detail as I would like. Not even in enough detail to know what exactly happened.”

Caerel was shaking his head.

“Taladaria hasn’t done right by his family, has it? Do you think… that these two, the corpses in the yard, were the last of the line?”

He looked down. Ala was impressed with the young man’s perspective.

“There were women here too, also children. They’re not among the dead. Hopefully they managed to flee.”

“I can only hope so,” Caerel said.

Matt was looking through the things he had found, he pulled some delicate metal tools from in between his padded armour, and fiddled with the lock on the small chest. It was of remarkably good quality, much better than one would expect among simple farmers. Inside were around twenty silver coins, some jewellery, and four scrolls.

“This hasn’t been opened in a long time. Not in a very long time,” Matt pronounced.

Myrthe looked at him blankly, “how can you tell?”

“The smell. Age… I don’t know… you can smell it when things have been sealed off for a long time.”

Myrthe carefully looked through the scrolls, one by one.

“This one is a deed. It grants this land to William ‘the Bull’ of Thetwick and his descendants in perpetuity. Oh look, Caerel, it’s signed too. In the year 838, by Ivan de Duilhac, Duke of Taladaria. That’s what? Your… ehm… great-grandfather, I think? To the fourth degree, I think, if my maths is right.”

Caerel came over to look, his interest piqued, “truly? Imagine that,” he said, clearly a little speechless to find such a direct link to his family in the ruins.

“The date corresponds with when I think I arrived in Thetwick,” said Ala, “more or less.”

The other scrolls were wills from the two generations since, and a letter from the Duke Ivan to William the Bull’s widow. It informed her of her husband’s heroic death in a battle Ala had never heard of and apparently had included a pension for her. It was dated two years after the land grant. Apparently the dead William, the most recent generation, out in the yard, hadn’t gotten around to a will yet.

Myrthe remained engrossed with the documents, so Ala inspected the two bundles that were wrapped in oilskins next. One of them was heavier than you’d think and contained a coat of very fine silvery mail, finer than Ala had ever seen. It had blackened patches on it that reminded Ala of the kind of encrustation that had been on Ala’s sword and the remains of its scabbard. She opened the other oil-paper package, impatient now. It contained the remains of a fine, delicately embroidered cloak. The designs on it were like a lot of things she had seen at Yesme’s house, but more dramatic, more yellows and reds. There were great holes in it, but it had once been like a fire inspired version of the same idea, she thought.

“Myrthe, could you please take a look at this?” Ala called shakily.

Myrthe came quickly, a look of concern on her face.

“This black stuff on the armour, and on what’s left of this cloak. It’s the same as was on the remains of my sword and scabbard. This farmstead was given to this family very close to the date I came to Thetwick… William the Bull would have come here, when he was nearby.”

Matt was looking over the scrolls, apparently smelling them.

“Lemon juice, maybe, though I could be imagining it,” he pronounced, waving the Duke’s letter.

Ala looked at him quizzically.

“It means there may be a hidden message, Ala,” said Myrthe.

“How do you know that?” Matt asked Myrthe.

Myrthe just smiled knowingly, “misspent youth I’m afraid.”

“What are you two on about?” Ala snapped, “explain!”

“If you write a message in lemon juice, you can’t see it on the parchment, until it’s heated. To be honest, I wouldn’t really expect it to last for a hundred years. You have to be a little careful not to burn the parchment. We can do it carefully tonight,” Myrthe suggested.

“Heat?” Ala grabbed the document and concentrated. She was good at controlling her gift in small ways. She’d always been so concerned about discovery she’d spent a large part of her youth tightly controlling her fire so no one noticed it. She called flame to her hands and gently heated the document. A text became visible, in a delicate hand.

“That’s a neat trick,” Matt said.

Ala was far too busy concentrating on the parchment to notice his comment.

To my grandchildren, great grandchildren and other descendants,

I have written this note, because I dare not tell my own son about these treasures we keep. My beloved Bull made me swear to return these items to the elven girl named Ala, currently in the household of Palady Georgedaughter, when she comes of age. This will be in perhaps a century or more, as she is a fire elf, not a half-elf as Palady has convinced the villagers. I don’t know much about elves and the like, but my Bull was well travelled and knowledgeable. He was certain she would not come of age for more than a century. I am ashamed to say that my son is too enraptured by wealth. I do not trust him to hold these objects according to his father’s wishes. My dear Bull was an honourable man. He would never want that, so I am hiding these things in the hope that honour returns to this family in future.

Bull never told me the whole tale of what happened during the patrol when they found the elven girl. I think he expected to be able to instruct his own children on what precisely to do. What I do know is that he was present when they came upon a group of evil men and creatures. They were keeping the elven child as a prisoner and carried items that were probably plundered from her companions. The Bull thought it likely that a group of elven travellers that had been ambushed somewhere nearby. The condition of the items convinced him that it had to have been nearby. He and his men searched for the site of the slaughter, but they could not find it in the short time they could afford to stay in so dangerous an area.

Palady has taken to calling the girl Alagariel, after the elven queen in the Faerytale. Bull thought these ruined items belonged to elves who had lost their lives protecting the elf child, as noble a death as can be imagined. He felt she had a right to have these clues to her heritage, though he himself did not understand what family they may have belonged to. It is my desire that our descendants honour his wishes.

Nyra of Oakheart, Widow of William ‘The Bull’ of Thetwick.

Wogekind, 896

Ala was crying. She didn’t really know why. Myrthe hugged her.

“It’s a piece of your puzzle Ala. But we must go, Caerel is growing impatient. I think he wants vengeance for what has been done to these people. We should talk about what all this might mean later.”

Ala gathered the items, put them in her pack and mounted Fulgor. She wiped her eyes and nodded to Caerel who was looking at her to see if she was ready. He obviously didn’t understand exactly what was going on. He was absorbed by what had befallen The Bull’s descendants and wasn’t immediately concerned with what Ala had discovered. He was very keen to continue on to Thetwick. Even so, he hadn’t pushed Ala to hurry, she noted.

When she was ready Caerel led off heading further towards Thetwick.

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Martha’s Tale

Caerel was sitting at a long table chatting with Myrthe, which Ala had noticed was the case more often than not. The serving girl, Alissa, Ala’s friend whom she knew from previous visits to the Inn, had just finished refilling their goblets with wine. She nodded to Ala with a smile when she saw her. Alissa always acted distant when she was in sight of the Innkeeper, Helmut. Myrthe and Caerel seemed to be getting on very well, as they had every evening of the trip. They genuinely seemed to enjoy one another’s company. Myrthe had been missing from the quarters she was supposed to share with Ala every night. Matt was in the back playing songs for some of the other patrons. He was a fair hand with a flute he had played them a few bawdy ballads on the trip back to Thetwick.

Ala headed for Caerel’s table. She was still a little wary of her interactions with Caerel since the incident on the practice field. She gestured to Martha to wait a moment.

“Lord Caerel, I found someone I know, a friend, from Thetwick among the travellers – they are in fact refugees – that are out in the common yard. Will you listen to what befell her, I beg of you? Her husband and sons were murdered by Oakharrowers. I have known her for twenty years, I think her story is important to hear.”

“Refugees you say? What is happening?”

“My friend, Martha Callumsdaughter has been on the receiving end of the Constables latest schemes. She can explain,” encouraged Ala, gesturing for Martha to come closer.

Caerel looked over at Myrthe, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Ala took note of the interaction. He apparently valued her opinion. For some reason it pleased Ala that their affair was something more than purely physical.

“Let’s invite her to sit with us, Lady Alagariel.”

“Martha, come and join us. This is Caerel de Duilhac, Lord of Taladaria and heir to the Duke. Next to him is Myrthe Lambertye, Priestess of Guanshiyin, over there is Matt of Duilhac as well as Lieutenant Hieronymus and Sergeant-Major Brugor of the Duke’s Regiment.”

Martha looked very uncomfortable, her eyes darting frantically over the people whose array of names and titles Ala had listed.

“Please sit down. Mistress Martha,” said Caerel, as gently as he could, “Lady Alagariel tells me you have suffered a great injustice in Thetwick, please, tell me your tale so that we might learn more of our adversaries and see justice done.”

Martha curtsied as best she could and looked at Ala uncertainly. After a moment Ala suddenly realised the poor woman was awed by the importance of the people assembled to listen to her. On top of all that, it occurred to Ala that Martha was just as mortified that she had been so familiar with her, as she had just been addressed as a noblewoman by Caerel, who was obviously expected to know about such things.

“Please sit Martha, Lord Caerel needs to know what happened. If we are to seek justice for all of your kin we must know as much as we can about the men from Oakharrow,” said Ala.

“Yes milady…. Milord, I’m sorry I must apologise I was so familiar with… Lady Alagariel earlier. I didn’t know…. no one did in Thetwick, I think.”

Caerel looked over at Ala, a little puzzled. Myrthe, ever socially astute, understood and saved the moment.

“Dear Martha, no one knew, not even Lady Alagariel herself. As you probably know better than I, she knew little of her family. We have since discovered a little more and one of those discoveries is indeed that she is of noble descent. There is no harm done. I am certain you know Lady Alagariel is not the sort to hold petty grudges. Please tell us your tale.”

Ala smiled at Martha, trying to coax her to start telling the tale and inviting her to sit once more. Martha repeated what she had told Ala, with more detail. A few days after Ala had punched her way out of the council hall, the Constable had ordered that the militia men should no longer keep their equipment at home, but that it should be stored centrally at the council hall. Most had complied.

“Foreigners started coming into town, the day after you left… err Lady Alagariel. By their accents I though they might be Oakharrowers, or perhaps some hailed from deeper in Selinus. Many of them were rough types and they were all armed. I heard Willard meant to form up the militia, but the Constable forbade it. He claimed that the foreigners were a ‘civil’ matter and that they had been hired to work some of his new fields…”

“New fields?” asked Ala.

“I think he may have meant Bernard’s fields, milady.”

“I see, please continue.”

“Almost immediately the ‘taxation’ started. Those men started loading carts with the spoils and they disappeared in the direction of Oakharrow. The Constables men rapidly became very brutal whenever anyone spoke against them.”

Martha explained what had happened to Tom, her sons and June. The leader of the ‘tax collectors’ was a man named Ancus, with a scar over his left eye. His accent was different to that of the men from Oakharrow. The taxation continued to increase in its intensity and the sanctions for not complying had swiftly become more severe. Merchant caravans who came to town were “taxed” in the same way. Some merchants were killed in the irregularities. Other merchants made for the Ford Inn. Soon, the word of the ‘taxation’ spread and the regular merchants had stopped travelling to Thetwick. Some of the militia men had been talking of sending a message to the Duke, but nothing had come of it, at least until Martha had seen the Duke’s men camped at the inn. Finally, Martha finished her story saying, “I’m not sure how it all suddenly started. It’s like they were waiting for Captain Bernard to die and Ala… sorry… Lady Alagariel, to leave.”

Caerel looked very angry, “Mistress Martha, these men who terrorise my grandfather’s loyal subjects will be punished. Thank you for telling me your tale. I can see that it was hard to speak of these injustices and I regret they befell you. I will do everything in the power of House de Duilhac to achieve justice and attempt to extract compensation from the culprits.”

Martha nodded. It wouldn’t change enough for her even if justice was served reflected Ala, but she seemed a little more at ease that something was at least being done.

The atmosphere among the Company changed after that. Martha was excused and what had looked to be another relaxed evening became more tense with the men clearly more wary and alert. Brugor headed outside to increase the guard and double check that the lookouts were posted in spots where they could see the surrounding approaches clearly. After the meal Myrthe asked Ala to join her and Caerel.

“It seems this Constable of yours has his eyes set on more than Bernard’s will,” said Caerel.

“I’m a bit shocked to be honest,” said Ala. “I hadn’t really dreamt that he could be actually be dealing with the Count of Oakharrow. Not like this, certainly. This is treason, is it not?”

“It means he has more support than just what he can press gang in Thetwick,” observed Myrthe.

Caerel nodded in agreement. “This is indeed more than just an abuse of power. I agree, it’s outright treason. I hope our strength will be sufficient to deal with this.”

“Even if it isn’t,” said Ala, “we should at least find out a little more about what’s going on. Bernard would have called it reconnaissance in force. Gordon Marchmain’s reappearance with these Oakharrow soldiers also reeks of cooperation that may stretch back for twenty years.”

She’d said it just as Brugor had returned from his rounds.

“Your teacher seems to have been a sound strategist, Lady Alagariel. I’d have liked to make his acquaintance,” said the Sergeant-Major.

“I’m sure you and him would have gotten along well. You seem… cut from the same cloth.”

“Heh, who knows. The elf-maid is right though, milord, a little aggressive reconnaissance would be my preference also.”

“I suppose that’s what we will do then. I’m still hoping we can set things right of course,” said Caerel, as if he felt the need to reiterate that the mission was still to restore the Duke’s Peace.

“Aye milord, we’ll do that if we can. Goin’ to need to be a wee bit more careful goin’ about it, nothin’ more. Just got to keep in mind that they might be with many more than we though.”

“Yes, Sergeant-Major. That is indeed prudent. I’m pleased we’re all in agreement.”

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

The Duke’s Peace

They made it to the Ford Inn without any incidents, if you didn’t consider torrential rain and the resulting stuck wagons an incident. Approaching from the Taladarian side of the Iceflow river, Ford Inn held a commanding position that overlooked the ford and offered a view some miles into Taladaria as well. Viewed from this side, Ala was certain it must have been built on the foundation of a castle or some other fortification in the time when Taladaria and the Westmarch weren’t united under the same Lord. The men of the Duke’s Regiment were accustomed to travelling from chartered Inn to chartered Inn in this manner. One had to be a Master with the Innkeeper’s guild to be allowed to run one of the chartered establishments along the official routes of the Caravanners Guild. The innkeepers along the route were all obligated to provide members of the Duke’s Regiment and anyone else who could show a document from the Duke proving permission with anything they lacked. The Duke’s factor would reimburse the innkeeper in question for whatever it had cost, at fixed rates. This was all assuming that Innkeeper could get a representative to go to Peyrepertuse to fetch the money. The alternative was to wait for the factor’s yearly rounds along the Duchy’s Caravan routes for the bills to be settled.

All this knowledge of the inner workings of Taladaria’s ducal system came from Myrthe, who had encyclopedic knowledge of seemingly everything in Taldyr. Her wisdom including detailed information on the mechanisms by which the Duchy was ruled and she was also able to explain that such systems worked more or less the same way throughout Selinus and Iurrak. The Guilds played an important role in making governing large domains manageable. Only Dukes, Princes and Kings were permitted and also obligated to maintain standing military units in Iurrak. Those regiments, mandated by the King had to be supplied by the chartered Inns throughout Iurruk, even if the Regiment was not in the fief it belonged. If one of the Dirua Regiments needed to be somewhere outside Dirua, then the Inns still had to supply them.

The last stop before the river had been in Hightower. Ala hadn’t stopped there on her journey to Peyrepertuse. She had passed it by to catch up to the caravan where she had met Myrthe weeks earlier. Even Matt managed the trip with nothing more than saddle sores and regular complaints. Ala had sort of hoped that the two Royal Customs Officers she had run into during her dash across the river might still be there, but there was no sign of them. The little building on the east bank of the Iceflow was empty. Ala would have liked to talk to them and found out what had happened after she passed them by. News along the route hadn’t been heartening. Rumours and accounts gathered by Myrthe and Matt from travellers out of Thetwick, told of brutality and other incidents with increasing frequency as they approached the Westmarch.

Strangely, the Innkeepers along their route through Sheffield had all reported bandit activity along the King’s Road seemed to have decreased in recent weeks, which was hard to comprehend. Ala thought that sponsored banditry out of Oakharrow should have been something that the Count would have been more than happy to be involved in. She and Bernard had always suspected that Sheffield’s unsafe roads were the Count of Oakharrow’s doing. It wasn’t their direct problem, but she knew Bernard had reported the suspicion to the Duke several times. Why then, had banditry seemed to decline since Bernard’s death? Where had the bandits gone? She was worried it had something to do with what was going on in the Westmarch. The closer they came to the Westmarch the more people seemed relieved to see their band flying the Duke’s colours arrive, as if they were long overdue.

They forded the Iceflow, which was presumably as cold as its name suggested in this time of year. The tracks at the Ford were less than Ala was used to. The Inn looked quiet too. Trade was less than had been customary a just few weeks earlier. That too was out of the ordinary, it was the time of the year for increasing trade. The only thing that ought to slow it down was if the Iceflow grew too deep because of melt water. It wasn’t at its shallowest, but it wasn’t anything that would stop a caravan. It was another indication that not all was as it should be.

“It’s more quiet than it usually is this time of year,” said Ala.

“Surely the death of a militia Captain doesn’t normally affect trade?” Myrthe wondered.

“Shouldn’t should it? Unless that made the roads a lot less safe or something,” suggested Matt.

“Whatever the Constable has been doing since I left, might though,” Ala said.

When they rode into the Inn’s courtyard it was doubly clear that there were far fewer merchants at the Inn than there should be. The King’s Road that they had travelled from Peyrepertuse to High Tower had had its normal share of activity. Merchants must be bypassing the Westmarch, Ala decided. They were turning north at Hightower instead of continuing West to trade mounts in Thetwick as they might have only a month earlier. The stream of people and goods to and from Thetwick had obviously decreased. Aside from the lack of merchants, there were more travellers than usual, people who had belongings with them. People sometimes moved or travelled to live with family, but it was a rarity. There were quite a lot of such people at the Ford Inn, which was unusual.

“This is not normal for the Ford Inn in spring,” said Ala as she dismounted. The Inn didn’t have the vibrant look she was accustomed to seeing after the winter. It looked empty, even sad and the numerous travellers she could see weren’t engaging in any of the usual commerce.

Ala walked around the inside of the walled caravan enclosure and in a corner, under a roof that was meant for storing farm equipment, found a group of several families that were travelling with what belongings they had managed to load onto a small donkey cart. What they looked like, Ala decided, was refugees. She was about to ask a question when she realised she recognised one of them. The woman was Martha Callumsdaughter whom she’d known since the tragic day when Martha’s half sister and father had been murdered. Martha had witnessed Gordon Marchmain doing it when she was only twelve years old.

Ala had remained friendly with the woman ever since and she was now the wife of a farmer. Martha was an attractive woman in her mid thirties with auburn hair. She was wearing a rough brown dress and a green headscarf that only allowed a few wisps of her hair to escape. Ala was certain she had still lived at Piersson Steading, close to Thetwick’s southern edge, with her husband just a few weeks earlier. Ala had stopped at their farm many times to water the horses when she was riding patrols with the militia.

“Martha? Martha Callumsdaughter?”

Martha’s features changed to surprised recognition when Ala approached. “Alagariel? Truly? Whatever brings you here? It’s not safe for you, you know! You should go back to where ever you disappeared to! Not that it’s not good to see you, mind, but it really is dangerous in the Westmarch now.”

“I know it is.”

“Wait… did you just arrive with the Duke’s soldiers?”

Ala nodded, “I did. It’s good to see you though I am most alarmed to run into you here. What happened that you are here with your family and belongings? Where is Tom?”

She saw Martha’s eyes water and her lips tense up, giving Ala an unspoken answer.

Ala spoke softly, “tell me what happened?”

It was difficult for her to speak, “Tom… he died….”

“Please tell me what happened… this.. this was no accident I take it? You wouldn’t be here fleeing with your family, otherwise, I think.”

“No… he was murdered… and John and Henry too.”

Ala was shocked. Martha’s husband and two sons were both dead.

“Gods…. Martha… I’m here with the Duke’s men, we are on our way to Thetwick.”

“There is great trouble there, Ala.”

“The Duke sent us to arrest the Constable and make certain ducal authority in the Westmarch is safeguarded in future. Please tell me what happened? It’s important to know.”

“They killed Tom and my boys. They stood up to them and they killed all of them! Laughed as they did it…”

“OK, now. Take a breath… start at the beginning. Who did it? Was it the Constable?”

“They have something to do with the Constable, he calls them his ‘enforcement squad’ or summin’. From their accents, I think they’re from Oakharrow or further… and Ala…”

“What?”

“I think one of them may have been Gordon Marchmain.”

Just hearing the name made Ala’s blood boil again. Martha had seen Gordon Marchmain murder her father and sister two decades before.

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Not sure… and I’m certain he didn’t recognise me. But I think so. I remember him. When they left June and I took what we could and fled, that night, we gave Thetwick as wide a berth as we could and came here.”

“You don’t think Marchmain was back for revenge?”

“It seems not… what I’ve heard from the other… refugees… what the Oakharrowers were doing… it was the same at all the farms. When I saw him, I was frightened… but now I think he wasn’t really after me. Oakharrowers were doing the same everywhere….”

“But then… it is the new constable who has Oakharrow men in his employ? Gordon would be… his uncle would he not?”

“I think so, yes.”

“It certainly offers a clue about the connection.”

“Marchmain wasn’t their leader… when they came, they were led by a Knight, though he bore no colours. He gave the orders, though he left while they were being carried out… the man I think was Marchmain… was, a sergeant or the like.”

Things were worse than Ala had imagined possible. Ala’s mind raced. Was that why the raiders had been so good at eluding the militia? How long had the Constable been colluding with the Oakharrowers, she wondered? Could this be where all the bandits had gone?

“The Constable has brought in these soldiers from Oakharrow?”

“Yes. They have a camp around three hundred yards up the creek from Thetwick. About a week after you left, they came round the first time, Gordon and the Knight and more men. They said there had been a tax increase. Took all our best provisions, everything we had been meaning to take to market. I heard some men, militia men stood up to them, like Willard. I heard Gordon and his men killed him and those with him.”

“Gordon Marchmain killed Willard?” said Ala, shocked. Willard had been her second in the militia for years.

“I don’t know that he did, personally. I only heard talk that it was him.”

Ala took a deep breath, recovering, “Best tell me the rest.”

“Two weeks later they came again, Gordon and his men. Said it was tax time again. Tom told them no. They killed him… and my boys and… and… they took my eldest daughter, June… took turns…”

Ala felt her blood run cold. She took a deep breath to steady herself and then attempted to speak as normally as possible.

“I cannot bring your husband and sons back or reverse what happened to your daughter, Martha. I am so sorry Martha, that such tragedy has found you again. I can promise you these men will pay for what they have done and I will find Gordon Marchmain too. I know it is a poor consolation.”

Martha’s face became very intent, “I feel it will offer a little satisfaction, at least.”

Ala nodded before continuing, “Lord Caerel, the Duke’s grandson is here. Will you relate to him what you told me?”

“Lord Caerel…? He’s the Duke’s actual grandson? Truly? Yes, yes. of course I will come. But I look a state…”

“He will understand, Martha. Please come with me to the inn, we’ll find him.”

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Chapter 5: Homecoming

It has long been challenging for a Lord to exert his authority over unruly underlings. Many a relationship between a vassal and his lord has grown sour for lack of a lord effectively managing his relationship with his vassals. Even if there is no vassal who may be prone to delusions of grandeur, this is still no guarantee that a lord’s authority will remain uncontested. Many a lord is forced to defend his title within his own borders, even in times of relative peace. It is to be encouraged for a Lord to forge bonds of alliance and marriage with his vassals. Shared economic interest is another strategy that can contribute to a stable bond between a Lord and his vassals. This is not enough however and a Lord should diligently and regularly visit every corner of his realm, doing so is absolutely vital to its integrity. Failing to maintain such bonds can lead to a collapse of the relationship and even become dangerous for everyone involved as such problems can easily result in charges of treason or violent revolt by a vassal.

While a canny lord may be tempted to administer a fief himself, simply dispensing with giving it in vassalage to anyone, this tends to lead to even greater problems. A realm of any significant size requires day to day supervision and a Lord simply cannot be everywhere at once. Hence, a fief directly administered without its lords very regular presence is very likely to lead to unpleasant surprises brewing up in the unsupervised fief. This is one of the many reasons why the practice of giving more than one regnant title to a single person, should absolutely be avoided.

From the book “On Kingship” by Selinus IV, “The Scholar”, King of Selinus, circa 260

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Return to the Westmarch

Eventually, the warband had taken shape. The whole company ended up numbering almost fourty. Caerel was in overall command, fulfilling the role of Captain. There was a troop of ten experienced cavalrymen with mail, shields, swords and long spears, mounted on Frisian destriers that had all been bred in the Westmarch. Next were ten of the Duke’s elite mounted pikemen with five-yard-pikes, shields, light crossbows, and swords. They were mounted on lighter steeds. Last were ten mounted archers. They were equipped with short swords and longbows, which they had to dismount to employ. There was also a small supply train with wagons and crossbow armed teamsters to transport feed, tents and everything else that was needed when a warband travelled.

The gruff Sergeant-Major, Brugor, was assigned to the expedition as well. Ala assumed he would be granted early retirement and made Captain of the Westmarch Militia if things went according to plan. Myrthe had explained it was a customary posting for competent senior enlisted men who were nearing retirement age. Ala wondered who they had in mind to take the post of Constable. Perhaps the Duke would send someone on after them for the job or maybe they would select another Thetwick local to do it. She wondered who she might recommend, if she was consulted. Probably Harald, she decided. Not that it was a pressing problem, a Captain could certainly look after a Constable’s duties for a while if needed.

Myrthe had asked Ala to try to teach her to meditate, but the priestess was absent from her bedchamber every time Ala went to look for her. She could guess where she was and what she was doing of course. She judged it unlikely that practising meditation had the highest priority and gave up on it, deciding to let Myrthe take the initiative.

It had taken a week to gather the supplies, people and horses. They left Peyrepertuse a little after dawn on First, a full week after the eventful session of the Duke’s Court. The weather was clear and only marred by the occasional spring shower. Caerel was mounted on an enormous white Percheron at the head of the column, with a guard Lieutenant named Hieronymus assigned as second in command by his side. Hieronymus was a tall, gaunt man, his brown hair greying, who had been in the guard forever. Gladiuth had told her he never really seemed likely to hold more than the Lieutenant’s rank he now held. It was clear that the Duke intended for Caerel to do the leading and Brugor was there to keep an eye on him. Why Hieronymus had been selected to come along wasn’t really clear to Ala? Perhaps the Duke didn’t want a powerful personality influencing Caerel’s leadership? Ala didn’t really see why the man had been sent along.

The baggage train consisted of five wagons filled with supplies. Each was drawn by two quick draft horses so they could keep up a good pace. They were intending to travel at twice the speed of an ox drawn caravan, meaning they should be able to make it to Thetwick in around eight days. A week’s practice had taught Matt how to sit on a horse without falling off. They had found him a gentle but energetic brown mare that wasn’t likely to scare easily and throw him. He wouldn’t be doing any lance charges, but neither was he going to fall off at the first sign of trouble. Ala was riding Fulgor and the Duke had let Myrthe pick one of the guard horses, an energetic grey gelding named Peter. Alagariel had dared to ride through Duilhac without her hood up. People stopped to stare and point at Myrthe who was riding beside Ala as they rode by.

“Myr, why are they pointing and staring at you?”

“Oh Ala, you dolt, you’re so naive. It’s not me. Do you have any idea what these people see when you ride by?”

“I don’t understand what you mean?”

“What do you think you look like in mail with those pointy ears and that red-golden hair and a cape trailing behind you, seated on an eighteen hand black stallion, surrounded by the Duke’s soldiers and colours?”

“Well you certainly make it sound like it should be something cool…”

“It’s like something out of a faerytale. You touch the imagination, which, as I understand it, is precisely what your people have done for elvenkind for millennia! Truly, how can you not understand that they’re looking at you? Gods, you’re so oblivious sometimes!”

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Preparing to March

The Duke had ordered that a company of warriors be organised to restore the offices of Thetwick. He also needed to select a new Captain and Constable for the region. Putting together what was really a temporary, self sufficient unit took a little while. In the meantime Matt was helping the guard root out as much of the Thieves’ Guild as he could. It showed just how powerful the organisation had become. It was deeply infiltrated in many levels of Duilhac society. The town was in an uproar as Matt pointed out several City Guardsmen that he knew to be on the Thieves Guild payroll. The dungeons were crowded and soldiers of the Duke’s Regiment were scouring the city and had take over the civil dungeon in Duilhac as well, both because they needed the space and the Duke felt her couldn’t be sure of the City Guard’s loyalty. The Duke himself had gone down to Duilhac several times to make certain things were being handled to his standards.

Myrthe and Alagariel were invited to stay at Peyrepertuse, both as a social courtesy and so they would be closer at hand to the preparations for the expedition while the city was being turned inside out. Ala brought Fulgor up from Guanshiyin’s stables the next day.

“Are you sure you want to come to Thetwick, Myr?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure. I don’t feel like you have played your part yet Ala. Unless you have tired of my company?”

“No, no, I would love for you to come… I don’t think I could ever tire of our friendship. I just feel like I am leading you in circles… there must be something more important for you to do, mustn’t there? Other than travelling up and down the road to Thetwick?”

“I’ll be the judge of that. I’m on Sojourn. I am listening to the cries of the world. They ring loudly around you. Besides, I hear that Caerel is to be leader of the expedition,” she said with a naughty look. “Oh and I think it’s quite a nice road,” she added with an amused smile. “No one said following cries would be straightforward. Or that you can’t have a little fling on the way.”

Ala shook her head, “incorrigible. Be that as it may, though, I’ll be glad to have you along. I’m worried what we’ll find in Thetwick. The Constable has had free reign all this time. The Thets will not be having an easy time of it.”

“I understand. One other thing, too. We can’t leave Matt here. He’s still too dangerous to the guild. They will try for him again and again.”

“The condition for his freedom is that he helps against the guild.”

“I know! But that effect is already being achieved. The patrols are discovering more and more places where the thieves simply ceased doing whatever they were doing and have vanished. His knowledge was so complete, they are completely changing their way of doing things. He doesn’t need to be here. Just the demonstrated effectiveness of his knowledge is sufficient for the Guild to pack up shop for now. They’ll just lie low or relocate. The guard will be better off giving them some time and space and then revisiting their old haunts in a few months when they think the danger is gone.”

“How are we going to convince the Duke of this?”

“I have an idea. I’m going to go find Caerel.”

“How are your horizontal activities going to help us?”

Myrthe stuck out her tongue at her before she explained. “He’s going to present my idea to the Duke as his own. Trust me, it will work out fine.”

Myrthe was being her usual secretive self and refused to tell her what she had in mind. But, sure enough, Matt came by that evening saying that he had been ordered to accompany them to Thetwick. He still looked out of place in his Regimental uniform.

“I don’t really understand, I haven’t led the guard to more than half of the places and people I know have something to do with the guild.”

“How many of those places have yielded results?” Asked Ala.

“Less and less, I guess. The guild is catching on quickly that they’ve been burned. It’s to be expected really. It’s what I would do.”

“So, perhaps it’s better to let them think you know less than you do. Leave them alone for a while, and then hit the rest in a few months?”

“That’s a good idea actually, I should mention it to the Captain…” Myrthe gave him a look.

“Oh. Right…. You?”

Myrthe just looked at him for a moment. When Matt realised she wasn’t going to say anything, he continued.

“Ok, ok, I get it… off to Thetwick it is.”

“Do you actually know how to ride a horse, city boy?” Myrthe asked.

“Sure, seen people do it all the time.”

Ala and Myrthe looked at one another.

“We’d better go and practice a bit,” Ala said.

They also had a visitor in the days leading up to their departure. They were out in the practice yard, Myrthe was teaching Matt to ride, and Ala was practising weapons drills when Talathiel strode into the courtyard. Her turquoise blue hair was unmistakable and to accentuate it she was wearing an ornate robe with an intricate pattern of blues and greens. Her cloak was in the same colour scheme and it billowed out behind her as she walked. Following behind her at a distance, taking its time sniffing things, was a black bear. She singled out Ala and headed straight for her. Ala quickly excused herself from her practice partner. Talathiel and Georgina drew quite a few stares. Gladiuth, who was also out in the yard, approached to head her off. He appeared worried the woman might do something mad. He called from a distance.

“Hello auntie, out and about? We don’t often see you leave the shop. What’s the occasion?”

“I wish you wouldn’t use these human familiar family terms. I can’t imagine anyone actually wishes to be referred to as an ‘aunt’, Gladiuth. As if my existence is somehow dependent on my relationship to you. Unless it’s their sole claim to fame, I suppose. In any event, shoo, I came to speak to Lady Alagariel.”

Gladiuth had reached her, clasped her hands and kissed her cheek in the elven manner. Ala approached and fumbled a bit with the hand-clasping kissing ritual. Talathiel shook her head with a slightly amused look.

“Good effort child. Perhaps we can sit over on those steps and talk for a bit?”

“Aunt Tala, now that you’re here for once,” pleaded Gladiuth, “please don’t forget to pay your respects to the Duke. Someone needs to save him from that incompetent Court Wizard.”

Talathiel glanced at him with a dismissive expression, “peh, he’s fine. Doesn’t need me.”

“Should I find you a room where you can speak to Lady Alagariel? It’s not fitting to sit out here in the practice yard.”

“Go away, Gladiuth.”

“Also, I still think you should do Jurgen’s job.”

“Gladiuth, he knows where to find me if he needs me or if Jurgen isn’t able to do what he needs. I’m not hanging around this dark Castle all the time. The shop is closer to the river. I prefer it.”

“Jurgen can barely boil water!”

“Come now, you’re not buying into that silly story like all the peasants are you? But, I will see if he is available after I have spoken to Alagariel, young nephew, just to see if there is anything pressing. Does that set your mind at ease?”

Talathiel had more of a sense of humour than Ala had given her credit for.

“Thank you, Tala,” said Gladiuth.

“Now, go away.”

“I didn’t realise you were a wizard,” said Ala.

“Oh, I thought someone would have mentioned it? I understand it’s prime gossip in Duilhac. Come along.”

“She’s a very talented Water Magister, in fact,” explained Gladiuth.

“Go on about doing whatever it is you do here, Gladiuth,” said Talathiel, shooing him off again, “I want to talk to Lady Alagariel now.”

Ala and Talathiel sat down on the steps leading up to one of the smaller courtyard buildings. Georgina had found a guard’s pack that must have some food in it. The bear was dexterously undoing the buckle that kept it shut. Talathiel clearly held the opinion that the bear’s activities didn’t warrant any action on her part and simply continued the conversation with Ala.

“I looked into you a little, young Alagariel, because I had an inkling of a sense of something when we met. Perhaps it’s destiny, though I’m reticent about using such weighty terms. I’m not sure how or what, it’s just a feeling, but elves have learned to take heed of such sensations. I feel an urge to be around you, but perhaps that’s just a hundred thousand years of fire elven charm ingrained in my bones. Anyway, I’m not going to follow you around like those two cute young humans over there,” she gestured at Myrthe and Matt, looking at them with an inscrutable expression.

After a moment of silence that was just long enough to make Ala think she should say something and wonder exactly how she knew the details of the expedition to Thetwick, Talathiel continued, “instead, I am going to give you something that Yesme helped me make.”

It was a small vial with two liquids, green and blue, which didn’t mix.

“It’s something to call me, when it’s time. You shake it like so…”

The green and blue liquids flowed into each other, looking a lot like the pattern on the robe she was wearing, “and you pour it into a body of water. That water must be connected to the other waters of the world, so a puddle won’t work unless you’re very lucky, but almost all streams, rivers, wells and oceans will. Be careful with mountain lakes, they are sometimes isolated. I will feel the call and know it is you.”

Ala accepted the vial. She decided there was not much point in asking what might happen after she had followed the instructions, though she was curious.

“What did you find out about me? Also, how do I know when it’s time to use this?”

“You’re almost as impatient as a human. It’ll be the upbringing. Or perhaps it’s fire elves… your elven kind does have a reputation for impatience… possibly its just been too long since I was around fire elves… so exhausting.”

Talathiel looked thoughtful for a moment again. Ala was finding her a challenging conversation partner.

“I digress. I looked into my pool, but I did not find much at all. Which is strange in and of itself. The world is generally clear to me, usually even magnified or a little exaggerated through my pool if I will it so. The only way that my view can be veiled, is if someone has taken the trouble to veil it, like an octopus using its ink cloud.”

“What does that mean?”

“Someone has used magic to hide you, dear. It has a metallic tang to it.”

Ala looked at her, somewhat awed, “an elf would have to have done this?”

“Well, there are others who can use magic, but I would say it was an elf, even specifically a very strong metal elf, just by the character of the magic. Water elves are traditionally most versed in seeing far. They are therefore also the ones who can best hide things in the vastness of the deep. I would say it was done by a metal elf, though any very skilful wizard could theoretically have done so. I expect it would be within the abilities of a Custodian of any of the elven kind. Or it should be… who knows how standards have slipped these days?”

“What is a Custodian?”

“Oh yes of course, we hadn’t yet covered the Custodians yet. Each nation of elves has a Tower of Magic. Historically, the Custodians report directly to the High Throne. Legend is that the first Custodians were ancient Alagariel’s own Cabal of mages, those that she often cooperated in casting circles with. Obviously that hasn’t worked that way in a while. The caretaker of each tower is called the Custodian. They are generally very promising wizards, though perhaps not all as strong as they were originally intended to be.”

“Well, there was once an elf somewhere who knows I existed, at least. That is more than I was sure of before. Thank you for taking the time to look into it, Mistress Talathiel. Now, when should I use this?”

Ala held up the vial.

“I think you’ll know when, but considering your lack of elven attunement, I will tell you what I saw. It is like a dream. I saw you standing on a hill, observing a field of campfires, like a camped army, with me next to you. That’s all.”

“I hope I will understand it when the time comes.”

“I’m not worried.”

Talathiel stood up.

“I’m going to find the Duke now. I will be seeing you quite soon I think.”

Talathiel stood up and strode off, though she stopped by Georgina for a moment, who was happily sitting in the middle of all the things she’d taken out of the guardsman’s bag. Talathiel looked at the bear with a stern expression.

“If you take things out of a bag, young Georgina, you also have to put them back! Imagine what a mess Taldyr would be if everyone behaved the way you do!”

She then turned and continued her route towards the keep. Georgina sniffed a few more items and then followed after her, leaving the contents of the bag where they were. Ala was left behind, wondering what on Vatan that had all been about. She put the vial in her pouch. Gladiuth reappeared once Talathiel had disappeared from view.

“Interesting, isn’t she?”

“She has a certain intensity to her. Like a wave breaking over you? How do I feel that way? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the sea?”

“Have you not? That is indeed strange. I have no answers for you, I’m afraid. That feeling though, it goes with water elves. My mother says there are also ones who are calm like mountain pool. Guess auntie Tala isn’t that sort.”

“You didn’t tell me she was a wizard.”

“Oh, I thought everyone knew. She’s about a zillion times more competent and smarter than that idiot Jurgen. She can’t be bothered to hang around at the castle though, to the Duke’s chagrin. He makes do with Jurgen unless there’s something important that needs attention. I’m not sure I have ever actually seen her do magic though. Jurgen is always muttering incantations, with mixed effects. She doesn’t appear to do it that way.”

“Well. She’s fascinating. Not exactly easy going, but very fascinating.”

“Good description. Anyway, let’s get back on the field, sword-forms don’t do themselves.”

“Do all elves have magic?”

“No… well not like Tala anyway. My mother is an inscribed Magister too and highly regarded in elven magical circles. She’s not in Tala’s league though. Though Tala praises her skills as an apothecary regularly.”

“So what’s the difference?”

“Well aside from the fact that Yesme is inscribed in Earth Magic… Tala is in a league of her own, the may my mother describes it. A connection to water magic that even other water mages can only dream of.”

“So there tends to be a lot of variation among inscribed magisters?”

“To be honest, not generally as I understand it. Talathiel’s connection is primal. It’s more like you and the fire, really, come to think of it.”

Ala sighed, “every step forward I take seems to result in a million more questions.”

“Such is the nature of inquiry. One of my early sword teachers used to say that a lot.”

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

The Duke’s Court

After the meal they walked to the Duke’s Court, which was always held in the Great Hall of the central keep. There seemed to be a lot more guards about than Ala had seen before. The Guard Captain obviously wasn’t taking any chances. She nodded a greeting to Brugor, he was among the guards arrayed inside the hall. He stood near the dais, near enough to the Duke to be able to intercede if anything unexpected happened. The big man gave an almost imperceptible nod of acknowledgement.

Abe was there already, chained up and looking despondent as he sat on a wooden bench with some other unfortunates, waiting. There was a gaggle of peasants on the right, and a few richer looking men at the front of the group. Ala surmised that It was probably a representative turnout for a day at the Lord’s Court. Just normal people that sought to bring their case before the Duke.

The procedure for a Lord’s court was a recipe for exasperation. People were noted down in order of arrival. The Lord heard cases, one by one, taking however much time he thought was necessary. At noon, court was over. If your case hadn’t been heard yet, you just had to come back next time, which was on Third, unless the Lord had a different engagement and cancelled that day’s court. Sometimes, the Duke would also designate someone else to hold court in his stead, Myrthe had explained, but the current Duke only did so rarely if he was in residence at Peyrepertuse.

Also, the Lord could decide a different matter had priority, moving everyone else back a space on the list. That was a right that the Duke chose to exercise today. He was seated in a high-backed chair behind an enormous table, in the middle of the long side on the raised platform at the head of the Hall. It was the same table and chair he sat at for banquets. To his left and right were a number of officials, including the Court Wizard, as well as a plains dwarf which was a species Ala had only ever seen at a distance before and two other men, one fat one wearing a robe and a priest’s medallion and Caerel. That startled her initially, but made sense after she considered it for a moment… The young man was the Duke’s heir. Familiarity with proceedings like these was vital. In fact he might already have to had to preside over the court numerous times if the Duke had been unavailable. There were also several scribes sitting at small writing tables to the side. There was a lot of talking in the hall until the Duke hit the table with his judge’s hammer. Then he addressed the dwarf.

“Master Gorek, a change of order. First we will hear the case brought by Lady Alagariel,” said the Duke.

The Dwarf nodded, “as you wish, your grace,” he said in a gruff voice and rearranged his papers.

There was discontented murmuring in the public area. Some of the people may well have been waiting for weeks to have their case heard for all Ala knew.

The dwarf spoke, “Lady Alagariel, please come forward and state your full name and the nature of your case for our records.”

Ala strode forward dropping her hood, which caused even more murmuring.

“Your grace, I am Alagariel, my home has been Thetwick. Until recently I was referred to as Alagariel Half-Elven due to confusion about my heritage. I am not a half-elf, but a fire elf. I come before you with a question about the estate of Bernard Alanson, the late Captain of the Westmarch Militia and a retired sergeant-major of the ducal regiment,” said Ala.

“I have been informed to some extent about the matter, Lady Alagariel,” said the Duke, “But please, for the court’s record, recount the whole tale.”

Ala told the whole story, from Bernard’s death, the events at the Town Council, the attempts on her life, the encounters with Abe and later Magnus, and the contract put out on her. The Duke listened dutifully until she was finished.

“Have you witnesses or evidence to support your tale, Lady Alagariel?”

It was the traditional question that came next.

“I do, your Grace. Lady Myrthe of Easthall, Priestess of Guanshiyin was present for many of these events. Matt, formerly of the Thieves’ Guild can tell of the contract placed on me. Abe, in chains over there knows the truth, though he may not speak easily. I have my copy of Captain Bernard’s will and perhaps the signature on it can be compared to his signature on your grace’s warrant assigning him the Captaincy of Westmarch. The forged will is still in Thetwick I am afraid, your Grace. I would also respectfully request leniency for Matt, if I may take this opportunity to do so, on the basis of his willingness to cooperate and expose the Thieves’ Guild.”

“I see. We will hear your witnesses now. The request for leniency has been noted and will be discussed separately.”

Myrthe and Matt told their tales as well. The Ducal warrant was produced from the archives, someone had seemingly already made sure it had been retrieved and each of the men at the table and the head scribe compared the two documents. They all individually noted down their opinion, and the anonymous vote was tallied by the Duke. Abe was brought forward. He was belligerent, but in awe of the Duke at the same time. The Duke questioned him himself. It did not take the old man long to wear him down. He implicated Magnus again, though Matt had already done that convincingly but he also confirmed Travis the Constable of Thetwick’s role. His description of what had happened with Bernard’s will at the council in Thetwick wasn’t of particular use, which was probably because he hadn’t really understood the proceeding.

“The signatures are unanimously agreed to match. I am convinced of the validity of this will that has been brought before my court by Lady Alagariel. Even without that, I find the validity of the other evidence overwhelming. I find the case brought by Lady Alagariel to be sufficiently proven. I judge this will to be the only one and only Last Will and Testament of Bernard Alanson of Thetwick, Captain of the Westmarch Militia and Lady Alagariel of Thetwick to be his only rightful heir. The litany of crimes against Taladaria brought to light by these testimonies leads to the following judgement. The Constable of Thetwick is hereby removed from office and sentenced to death by hanging as is his son Magnus of Thetwick. Abraham Toddson of Thetwick is sentenced to death by hanging.”

The Duke glanced over at Master Gorlek to be certain he had noted everything down.

“As for practical matters, the following actions will be undertaken. One of my officers shall compare the will in Lady Alagariel’s possession to the alleged forgery in Thetwick, for the sake of completeness. That is assuming it doesn’t disappear by the time we get there. That aside, even without the forgery, the evidence and testimony presented to me is more than sufficient. These decrees, except Abraham Toddson’s sentence, will be carried out by a party that will travel to Thetwick with all possible haster. It will be led by my grandson, Lord Caerel, who will be accompanied by Lady Alagariel, if she will consent to go. Abraham Toddson will be hanged in Duilhac tonight.”

Ala couldn’t help but feel a certain satisfaction. Coming here hadn’t been for nothing. The Duke continued his speech.

“Next we will deal with the plea for leniency in the case of Matt, formerly of the Duilhac Thieves. Step forward for questioning. Now is the time to come clean, Matt of Duilhac.”

“Yes, your grace,” he said meekly.

Matt had to relate countless crimes he had committed or participated in. At the same time, he had lots of details about the guild, people involved to a lesser or greater extent. He didn’t know who the guild master was, but he could indicate a number of trusted lieutenants. The Duke was obviously conflicted about how to deal with him. As he was about to get around to sentencing, Myrthe stepped forward.

“Your Grace, may I make a suggestion for sentencing?”

“Yes, I suppose so, Lady Myrthe.”

“While Matt’s crimes are many, he has not murdered anyone and abhors violence. He has also bettered his ways by coming forward and exposing his former associates. His knowledge and aptitude could continue to be valuable to your grace as a special addition to your Regiment. Perhaps he could be assigned a term of service, at the end of which his contribution could be evaluated. If he serves you well enough, he could be freed, and if not, he can still be held accountable for his crimes. I think Matt himself would relish the opportunity to redeem himself in such a manner.”

She had formulated it slightly more positively than Matt felt about it, Ala was sure, but it was pretty much the boy’s only chance. Ala had also been shocked at just how much stealing, racketeering and whatnot he had done. From his tale it was also clear that he had gone to great lengths to avoid violence, however. Considering his performance in the Tea House, Ala easily believed that he was no fighter.

“Matt of Duilhac, what say you?”

“Your Grace, it would be my great honour to serve you and Taladaria as best I could, for however long you require me too. I have many amends to make.”

“I am conflicted on this young Matt. It is the quality of those speaking on your behalf that stays my hand, in any other case it would be a trip to the gallows. As it is I sentence you to death…”

Ala’s heart sank… should she have let him escape? He shouldn’t be hanged, she was about to stand and say something, when the Duke continued speaking.

“I am, however, suspending your sentence. Do not blemish the honour of those that spoke on your behalf. Ten years service in the Guard, unpaid except for room, board and equipment. Reevaluation at that date. Report to the Captain at once. You will make every effort to root these thieves out of my city, understood?”

“Yes, at once, your grace. Thank you… thank you.”

Ala felt relieved. For a moment, she had really thought the Duke would have Matt executed immediately. She knew many had hanged for a lot less. As she relaxed she realised it was already an hour after noon. The Duke’s Court was adjourned, leaving the grumbling petitioners to try again on Third.

Matt was obviously relieved as they went outside. He stopped for a moment, his eyes focused a thousand yards away. He looked like he was surveying a new world. In a way he was, Ala thought.

If you wish to receive the weekly installment to this story in your inbox, please subscribe to the newsletter below.

Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

A Night in and Out of Gaol

After having mader their way back up to Peyrepertuse, she bid Gladiuth thanks and goodbye and went back into the depths of the dungeon. Myrthe was still watching over Matt, but it was obvious that she had set the matter straight as far as the dungeon keepers were concerned. They were treating Matt as a valuable asset, rather than the customary, brutal way prisoners were handled. The other prisoners were no longer present, Ala assumed they must have been moved to a different cell. Myrthe had made sure that the Guard Captain was already talking to Matt. It was a smart thing to do, because the wealth of information Matt had in his head was becoming clear to the man. It couldn’t hurt Matt’s chances if the Duke’s Guard wanted what he knew. Myrthe was sitting at the table where the gaolers usually took their meals, drinking watered ale with one of the guards, a middle aged man with a bit of a paunch who looked harried.

“Hey there.”

The guard fairly jumped up. “I apologise milady!”

Ala wondered how he could possibly reach such a conclusion about her heritage, still covered in dirt and grime as she was. It was as if someone had posted a sign on her forehead ever since she had found out herself.

“Relax, guardsman,” she said.

Ala sat down and Myrthe poured some of the watered ale into her cup and gave it to Ala.

“Sit down, for god’s sake,” Ala said to the guardsman, before turning to Myrthe. “Are you satisfied we can leave him here safely for the night?” Ala took a deep sip from the cup.

“Not completely. I think I convinced the Captain to make sure he has a guard tonight. That thief that got away has a lot of reasons to have him killed.”

“If they’re uncertain of his loyalty to the guild, which they will be since he turned on the man that escaped, the whole guild will feel the same way, I imagine. It’s a question of how far their reach is.”

It didn’t look like Myrthe was fully confident Matt would be safe. She had clearly fully taken the young man’s plight to heart after Guanshiyin had demonstrated her favour by healing him.

“It could well be they have agents within the castle walls. Shall we stay here then, just in case?”

Ala looked around the gaol, trying to gauge how she might defend it before she spoke, “it would make me feel better too, I think.”

This idea appeared to perk Myrthe up and relax her. “Shall we? Yes let’s! That idea is making me feel better already. This is Henry by the way.”

She gestured at the guard who had nervously sat down at the table again though he wasn’t really daring to move or speak.

“Hello Henry. I’m Alagariel. Would you please calm down?”

“Just think of the respect you’ll have when you tell them in the barracks that you spent the night drinking ale with two Ladies.”

Myrthe hadn’t helped with her comment. Henry had just bravely been trying to take a sip of his cup of watered ale. It now came out of his nose, which made him even more self-conscious.

“I don’t think that exactly helped to calm him down, Myr.”

The guard Captain came into the guard chamber then, having left his conversation with Matt. He was a man in his mid forties with a neat beard. He was also a knight. Poor Henry had to stand up again.

“Greetings, you must be Lady Alagariel, I’m Captain Jorwyn,” he bowed slightly to her. “Well Lady Myrthe, he’s certainly singing like he’s reformed. Never really known a man to change though, so I’m still suspicious.”

Myrthe replied, “I’m not sure it’s a change. I don’t think he was ever one of those guildsmen in his heart. Guanshiyin would never have saved him if his heart wasn’t true.”

“Well I hope you’re right,” the Captain said dismissively, “but, reformed or not, I too am concerned about the guild attempting to assassinate him down here. I’ve formed a detail of six trusted guardsmen to stand watch.”

“That is very kind of you. Ala and I have decided to stay here tonight too, just in case.”

“This is no place for Ladies…”

“We insist,” Ala said quietly.

It left absolutely no room for discussion. There was a moment of silence.

“Well, I can hardly deny it then, can I? We’ll clear out the next cell and organise some bedrolls and food. The door will stay open of course.”

“Thank you Captain.”

The Captain left them. Henry didn’t dare to sit down without orders apparently, so Myrthe asked him to sit down again. Shortly afterwards a platter of bread, butter, cheese and ham was brought by a servant as well as some more watered ale.

“So we spend a night in gaol.”

“Let’s hope it’s uneventful. So, where did you go today?”

“First, I practised with Gladiuth. Out in the yard.”

“Oh really? Just practised?” Myrthe raised an eyebrow.

“Your mind lives in the gutter. Yes, just practised… he’s interesting actually… just more as a swordsman than anything else. Something strange did happen though.”

“Like what?”

“A sort of trance. We apparently practised for hours. I can recall every second of it, yet it seemed like no time had passed at all. We were so engrossed, that we didn’t even notice that half the court came out to watch, including the Duke himself.”

“Sounds like a kind of sex to me. Bit kinky, with everyone watching…”

Poor Henry just didn’t know what to do with himself. Myrthe took pity on him.

“If our conversation is too unnerving why don’t you take the new decanter of ale and go sit in a cell or something, Henry?”

Henry fled, clutching the ale and his cup to him as he mumbled apologies.

“Where were we?”

“You said it sounded like sex to you. I have only a little experience of that, but I can imagine that if you were completely into someone it might be the same. This was with swords though. Live ones.”

“So a live sword was involved?”

Ala couldn’t help but smile and blush.

“You’re incorrigible, Myr!”

“Just having fun with you. So a sword-fighting trance, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that.”

“Gladiuth said he’d experienced it once before in Amahle. With an elven sword master. He called it a Battle-Dance.”

“That I’ve heard of. I’ve read stories about elven battle dancers. They’re said to be the most deadly blade wielders that ever lived. They turned the tide at the battle of Vani-something. I think my grandfather was killed there, in fact.”

“Vanidil, so the Duke said. Your grandfather was killed in battle? Really?”

“A fate that befalls a disproportionate number of nobles. But, to get back to things. You’ve been chatting with the Duke too? Can’t leave you alone for a minute. You didn’t kick the Duke in the nuts too or anything, did you?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Well, that’s something, at least. So does this mean you’re a battle dancer now?

“Hardly. I have no idea how I got into that state, only a very slight idea of how to reproduce it even with Gladiuth. No idea how I would do it in a real fight. So, it’s like spotting a glimpse of light in the mist. That’s how it feels, a fleeting glimpse.”

“As usual you are full of surprises. Maybe you just need to want it.”

“I think it’s a little more involved than that. It’s something to study. I may figure it out, or maybe I will find an elf who can teach me more about it. Anyway, after that I went with Gladiuth to see his mother and aunt.”

“You’ve met his mother already, that’s quick going.”

“Stop it. He’s not unattractive, but I don’t think he’s for me.”

“Why not?”

“The idea of him dying centuries before me scares the hell out of me.”

“You don’t have to marry the man, Ala. You are allowed to have fun.”

Ala was silent for a moment.

“I’ll think about it. But anyway, actually speaking to other real live elves was useful and wonderful. Apparently the five elven realms are a bit of a mess at the moment, in the opinion of older elves anyway. The High Throne has been empty for five hundred years and Gladiuth’s family at least, wasn’t happy with the situation.”

“Really? Hmm… it’s never been explained to me that way. I suppose if something has been the same way for five hundred years, humans would see it as a more or less permanent situation. Interesting how points of view differ. What happened to the last High King again?”

“Reputedly slain by demons, opening the way for a demonic invasion of the world. Or something. That’s the popular story… among elves anyway.”

“Well, I haven’t seen that happening yet.”

“Yeah, well who knows what kind of timescales demons… or gods work in.”

“There is that. Are demonic invasions of the world a popular problem, with elves?”

“You’re ridiculing it. If you must know, you know who rid the world of demons the last time?”

“An elf, no doubt.”

“Of course. A Queen the humans call Alagariel.”

Myrthe smiled, “the faerytale. Of course. Well, I can only hope they’re wrong and we won’t be seeing any demons in the short run.”

“I suppose that would be best…”

There was a thunk from the cell where they were to sleep, which was strange. Henry was in there. Ala got up and walked over. Henry was lying on the floor, convulsing, having fallen off the bench where he had been sitting.

“Myrthe, there’s something very wrong.”

Myrthe got up and rushed over, checking Henry’s pulse.

“He’s dead.”

She smelt the cup he had been drinking from.

“It just smells like ale… maybe something. I’d say… maybe nightshade and perhaps some sort of accelerant? Enough to kill a horse. How the hell did they cover the taste of that?”

“Myr, Where in the hell are the guards the Captain was going to send?”

Ala ran back into the cell and grabbed Henry’s keys. She opened the cell door to Matt’s cell.

“Wake up sleepy head. Someone’s coming to kill you.”

“Huh what? Haven’t I done enough today?”

“Well, we’re going to have to do a little more otherwise it will be for nothing. Myrthe bring Henry’s club. Give Matt your riding sword, he’s probably more use with it than you are….”

“I… ehh… daggers… are more my thing…”

“Just take the sword Matt, I don’t have any daggers. You can have my knife, if you must.”

He glanced at the small knife at her belt and shook his head, “hah, I’ll go with the sword, that’s barely a weapon.”

“Right. Myr, Lock Matt’s cell, and let’s bring Henry’s body to the table, put his keys back on his belt.”

“What do you have in mind Ala?”

“We wait until they come, we’ll ambush whoever comes in the door, then we move. Put out some of the torches. Make it dark in here, but not darker than it would be if a gaoler was sleeping. They’ll be looking for three corpses. Matt, put on my cloak, lie down on the floor behind the table. Myrthe, you play dead too.”

They didn’t have to wait long. The outer door wasn’t locked and Ala saw the latch move a few minutes later. The door opened slowly inwards. The first thing she saw was a the tip of a crossbow stick out from the doorway. She was standing with her back to the wall, and her sword high, pointing upwards from her right shoulder. The first intruder crept in, keeping his crossbow shouldered, covering the table, he was wearing a hooded cloak. The crossbows complicated matters, especially since her shield had been left at the temple. The second man came in and began to turn his crossbow towards her. They were certainly well drilled. It decided the matter for her. She dropped her sword level and stuck it through the side of the man’s head at the temple as he was turning towards her. The sound of the blade entering through his skull made slight crunch and the man began to sag. The front man obviously detected something and whirled round. She judged that she wasn’t going to have her blade free of the first man’s head before he brought the crossbow to bear. She flared her flames as hard as she could. In an out of body kind of way she felt the room fill with searing light, a ball of white flame rapidly expanding outward from her. She frantically stopped doing it as she belatedly realised she might hurt Matt and Myrthe. Darkness returned but for some reason the light hadn’t blinded her. The crossbowman was not so lucky. He was weaving around like a drunk, his clothes burning, giving Ala more than enough time to step past him, in case there was a third assassin. Matt and Myrthe had now also started to move. They had had their heads down, so they shouldn’t have been too affected by Ala’s firework display.

Ala turned round. There was indeed a third man in the doorway. He was opening and closing his eyes obviously trying to get his vision back. Ala pushed the man who had been engulfed in her flames forward, towards his companion in the doorway. The man standing there just saw a vague blob coming towards him, and fired his crossbow at it, hitting the man in the chest somewhere. As he toppled over sideways, Ala rushed forward towards the third man. She hoped that was the last of them. She didn’t relish trying to deflect a crossbow bolt with her sword. The man in the doorway thought better of it, dropped his crossbow and started running down the hallway to Ala’s right. She rushed after him, drawing her knife with her left hand. She threw it after the man, but it just missed him and clanged onto the floor as he turned to his left. She decided not to pursue, reminding herself of Bernard’s lessons – the prize was keeping Matt alive, not catching the thieves. She quickly walked back to the gaol. Myrthe had lighted all the torches they had extinguished earlier. Both the crossbowmen were dead.

“Third one got away,” Ala said as she came in. They could hear sounds of armoured men running.

Matt looked at the two of them, the tension he was feeling was obvious. “Being a Guildsman is much safer than being a former Guildsman. People have tried to kill me twice today.”

“I’m not sure what time it is. If it’s just after midnight, then the first time was yesterday, just so you can whine about the right things,” said Myrthe, looking annoyed.

“Grab that crossbow, would you Myr, and use the table for cover. If that other table isn’t too charred, maybe you can do the same with that one, Matt. I assume the sound of running men I hear are guards, but we can’t be certain.”

It turned out the be the captain with four guardsmen. The Captain was flushed as he rushed in and stopped abruptly, looking surprised as he was facing the two crossbows. Ala was at her spot next to the door.

“Hello Captain. Nice to have you back.” said Ala.

“You’re all alive. Thank Belus! What happened?”

He was obviously looking at the blackened marks on the wall, floor and the charring on one of the corpses.

Myrthe answered, “not all of us. Henry is dead. The jug of watered ale that came with the bread was poisoned and the poor bastard drank first. Shortly after, we were attacked by three crossbowmen. One of them got away.”

“A servant raised the alarm when he found two guardsmen with their throats cut in a side passage. I came immediately. What happened to the floor?”

Ala shrugged. The captain eyed Matt, with a crossbow and a riding sword, but didn’t say anything. The guards the Captain had brought were the remaining four that had been scheduled to do guard shifts.

“With all due respect Captain. It appears to me that the Thieves’ Guild is well infiltrated throughout Duilhac and even here in Castle Peyrepertuse. Might I suggest we try a different approach for safety? Myrthe and I will stay with Matt, but not here. We won’t leave Peyrepertuse, but perhaps it’s best if we find a place to spend the night which we don’t advertise to the rest of the castle?”

The Captain clearly didn’t much like it, but seemed to realise he didn’t have much choice as the security of his gaol had just been proven to be less than perfect.

“I would like to send at least one guard with you. I will need to go and tell the Duke what is going on in his Castle.”

“Alright. One guard. I pick, uhm… him.”

Ala randomly pointed out one of the four men with her sword.

“Rufus, stay with them, guard them with your life.”

“Yes Captain.”

They left the Captain and his guards. Matt had salvaged some equipment from the two dead would-be assassins. He knew exactly where they kept the tools he was looking for. He swiftly stored the lock picks and a few other items the purpose of which wasn’t clear to Ala. Taking a roundabout route around the castle grounds and trying to make sure no one was following them, they sat down in one of the arches on the inside of the outer wall on the side of the castle that was facing away from the city. It was a quiet part of the castle at any time, especially in the middle of the night. Only a lookout occasionally made his round along the battlements above. Ala took some time observing the area around them, but there was no sign that anyone had seen where they went and she could see no one at all moving around. She looked at her companions. Matt was still psyched from the night’s exertions. Perhaps it was simply that he would have to explain himself at the Duke’s court within a few hours? It would be enough to make Ala very nervous too. Matt fidgeted nervously, glancing about every few seconds.

Myrthe was chatting softly with Rufus. Ala decided she would lie down and meditate. Thankfully, there were no further incidents before dawn came. Precisely when dawn came was difficult to judge as the bulk of the castle blocked their view of the rising sun. The Duke’s court was scheduled to begin just after breakfast. Ala had been awake for hours and had been watching the denizens of the castle began their daily rituals. She’d managed to rest relatively well despite the discomfort of doing so while wearing her mail. The others hadn’t managed a lot of sleep. When Ala judged it time, she had Rufus lead them to the kitchens. Their arrival caused a bit of a flutter among the serving staff, as they made their way through, getting in the way of the morning rush.

“I don’t care who you are, milady, you have no business stomping through my kitchen!”

A large round woman wearing a well used leather apron over a simple brown kirtle blocked their advance. She had red cheeks and brown hair under a cap and her expression brooked no discussion. Ala decided she must be rather brave, or maybe the woman just defended the kitchen with her life, no matter how well armed or noble an intruder might be.

“I’m sorry, mistress, but strange as it may seem, we are on the Duke’s business. I need to be able to select some fare for my companions and myself without interference.”

The round woman showed no sign of caving to Ala’s wishes. A boy, a paige of some sort came up behind her and whispered into the woman’s ear. Her eyes went wide.

“I’m sorry, ladies. I don’t like people messing around my kitchen. Please tell me what you need.”

Ala moved closer to the woman so that people around couldn’t overhear.

“Cook, I assume you are the cook?”

The woman nodded.

“Last night, the thieves’ guild managed to infiltrate the castle.”

The revelation clearly didn’t surprise the cook. In a whisper she said, “they can get everywhere, milady, like rats.”

“Well this time they managed to poison a guard by mixing nightshade into the man’s ale. I just need to be able to select some foods for us that no one could have known beforehand would be consumed by us.”

The round woman had keen eyes, she nodded, clearly understanding why at once.

“Alright, I understand milady. Take what you need.”

Ala picked various foods for them, more or less at random, to make sure no one could bring them anything poisoned. Ala thanked the cook and apologised again for disrupting everything, who pointed out an area where they could sit and eat. They sat down in a corner of the kitchen and ate quietly. Ala was still making certain to keep careful tabs on their surroundings, but thankfully no one leapt down from the rafters to try and kill Matt.

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Disclaimer: This is not the final version as it will be available from the usual e-book sellers and eventually, bookstores. Rather, it should be seen as an (almost) final draft. If you are interested in becoming a beta reader, or you have any comments, suggestions or thoughts that you feel I should consider before publishing please drop me a line using the contact form.

Introduction to Elvenkind

They came to the alchemist’s quarter and Gladiuth led her to the Ye Olde Shoppe. It was quite a large building, built from rough grey stone. The shop was on the ground floor, which was slightly raised, with three steps leading up to a large double front door. The door was jammed open with a lump of unidentifiable cast iron. Inside was a second door with multicoloured stained glass. Little bells rung when Gladiuth opened the inner door. Gladiuth swept in and Ala followed, feeling self-conscious in her dirty garb. There was a long counter, behind which lots of shelves filled with thousands of little bottles and containers. It smelt, just a little, of herbs and exotic things. A large black bear was lying on the counter looking at them lazily, putting its head at Ala’s eye height, which was startling. It was a far cry from what she had expected to see.

Gladiuth was unfazed and spoke as if to a shop attendant.

“Hullo Georgina. Are they in?”

Ala looked round, there was no one else in sight. He must be addressing the bear, Ala realised, as she double checked that there really was no one else there.

“Uhm, I take it the bear is a pet?”

“Don’t call her that, she doesn’t like it. She prefers ‘friend’.”

“Sorry, Georgina,” Ala mumbled. It seemed prudent.

The bear sort of groaned. It sounded like mild exasperation to Ala. The bear rolled on its back, almost falling off the counter, and put a paw in the air.

“Upstairs huh? Thanks.”

Ala was rapidly getting the impression she had missed a lot, growing up in Thetwick. Gladiuth led them through a door in the back of the shop. Ala brushed the door frame as she followed, because she was still staring at the bear, which had already gone back to sleep judging by its breathing. The door led to a hallway with wide stairs going up.

“Mother, I have someone here I’d like you to meet,” called Gladiuth.

“Hello child. Why can’t you just call me Yesme, like normal elven children would?”

The voice came from upstairs.

“Sorry mother. Perhaps I’m not a normal elven child?”

A beautiful woman with fine features and earthy skin, brown, slightly curly hair and piercing green eyes appeared at the top of the stairs. Her hair was arranged in a long braid, clearly showing pointed ears. She was wearing a practical, though stylish dark green dress with a sort of leather doublet in a lighter, beige colour over it that accentuated her shape. If she was human you’d think she was in her late twenties, if that. They came up to the landing.

“Don’t I know it. So, you are Alagariel,” she stated.

She came forward, clasped Ala’s hands and kissed her cheek. Yesme looked her over slowly.

“Welcome to my home. Gladiuth has told me a little about you. Do you speak elven?”

Yesme looked at the grime and dust marks that covered Ala’s tabard before she could answer.

“What has he been doing with you? Rolling around in the practice yard with swords no doubt?”

Ala spotted a different sort of appraisal going on behind Yesme’s eyes too. Like she was wondering whether the rolling around might not have been with swords.

Ala quickly replied, in elven, hoping her accent wasn’t too awful, “yes madam. I’m sorry.”

Yesme smiled, also continuing in elven.

“Don’t be. I’m used to it. Come in to the sitting room and sit down. Gladiuth will organise us some refreshments. Maybe you can convince Talathiel to join us too, Glad?”

Ala was ushered into a large cosy room, with overstuffed chairs and many shelves with books and more vials and containers. It had a certain elegance to it too. It wasn’t quite cluttered, though it was getting there. It exuded warmth and comfort. There were piles of books and interesting objects all over. Ala liked it there a lot.

“So I understand I’m the first elf you’ve ever talked to?”

“Yes madam, that’s true. At least, I was very young when I was taken in by humans. It just seemed like I should, seek out… I have… so many questions.”

“Well, for starters, please address me as Yesme. I’ll explain what I can, though I’m not the best example of elven kind, nor the most knowledgeable. I’m one of the few elves who actually grew up completely in human cities, though I’ve moved around a bit in the last three and half centuries.”

“Is that unusual?”

“For a full elf, yes. As you must have experienced the ageing discrepancy can be a strain on relationships with humans. I feel that too, obviously, but I don’t really know any better.”

Ala nodded, “it’s not nice, losing people all the time.”

“No. It isn’t. I suppose in my case there have always been at least a few elves around too, which perhaps alleviates things a little. I imagine you must have lacked that?”

“No other elves… or even half-elves for most of my life. I long thought I was a half elf and it seems no one in Thetwick was well enough travelled to tell me any different.”

“You thought you were a half-elf? That’s a new one. How did that come about?”

“The Westmarch isn’t the most open minded of communities. When I arrived I think I was somewhere between four and six decades old. My adoptive mother reasoned that the people of the town would feel less threatened by someone who was at least half human.”

“That isn’t an unreasonable thought. But she didn’t even tell you?”

“To be honest, I think it was all a misunderstanding. It simply never occurred to anyone that it was possible that I didn’t know I was an elf.”

Yesme smiled again, “what a way to go through a century. That must have been confusing, eventually.”

“Perhaps a little. I did meet an actual half elf, but to be honest for a long time I thought it the difference in our rate of ageing was probably because our parents were obviously of different subspecies. She didn’t know her elven father either, so she knew as little as I did.”

“Well, I can certainly imagine you must have many questions. My older sister has lived among elves mostly, it’s why I asked Gladiuth to see if she’ll come down. She’s a little stormy. Water elf, you know. They can be like that. You, are in fact the first fire elf I’ve ever met.”

“Truly? Are fire elves that rare?”

“I was born some time after the land of Fire fell. I’m told a great many died around that time. Talathiel does have some experience with your kind. But she’s all but certain there are other surviving fire elves, somewhere if that’s some consolation.”

“It’s certainly… heartening.”

“Tala’s substantially older than I am. It may be a while till she makes her appearance, please, ask me what you will, I’ll try and answer as best I can.”

“Thank you. I suppose my biggest question is quite predictable. I have no idea who my parents were, or if they’re alive. Is there some way to find out about the lineages of the fire elves? Is there some way of finding out if there might have been a missing child around two centuries ago?”

“I’ll have to admit, that is puzzling to me. Elves don’t have many children, so what children are born are all the more precious. Fire Elves were always the least numerous, even before the fall of Fire, so if anything they are the most careful with their offspring. After what happened in Fire, your sort of elves has become so scarce that you may be the first of your kind to visit Iurrak in centuries. I think there’s many humans who doubt fire elves ever existed.”

“I think most of them have forgotten about it, to be honest.”

“Short memories, humans. Now, if there was anyone alive who knew of your existence, or had heard about the survival of an elven child in the Westmarch, well, I would have expected someone… several someones in fact, to come looking. It’s quite mysterious, actually.”

Yesme looked pensive, frowning, like she was thinking about how that was possible.

“I don’t know. The whole town thought I was a half-elf. Unless the elves check every mention of a half-elf, I don’t suppose they would have had a reason to come looking in Thetwick. I don’t think anyone ever came to check on Alissa’s parentage either. I don’t know if her father even knew that her mother became pregnant.”

“It’s as reasonable an explanation as any. Half-elves are certainly more of a grey area, which is sad all on its own.”

“Not really part of any one people. Still though, thinking I was a half-elf it certainly made me think at least a part of me belonged among humans. Now I suppose I still feel that way. But… is there a book perhaps, a history of the fire-elves which I could look over? Maybe some sort of work that describes lineages, like heralds do for nobles?”

“There are such works of course, particularly concerning Fire Elves I would imagine. Not that I have anything like that here. You will probably have to visit Amahle, in the Kingdom of Water. Metal would probably be even better, but its awfully far away.”

“My friend mentioned Amahle. I think I’d like to visit it, when the whole business with the inheritance is settled.”

“Humans don’t have much of an insight into elven history, as you may have noticed. Our culture is somewhat homogeneous to them. Monolithic even. Our timescales certainly don’t help. To them we seem rather unchanging. Understandable I suppose, when the last things that elves consider important happened during one’s grandfather’s grandfathers days it makes sense for humans to consider such events ancient and often irrelevant history. An example is the calendars. Has anyone ever explained the difference?”

“Elves have a different calendar?”

“No. In fact the human calendar is the elven calendar. The only difference is how we use it. To the humans, the year is 994. To us, well, its 19994.”

“Elves add nineteen thousand years? That’s what the ’19th millennium’ at the bottom of official parchments is all about?”

Yesme nodded.

“I’ve been brought up to say the humans ignore it. The exciting thing of course is what happens when the millennium rolls around? But I digress. Oh one thing that may be of interest, considering your name. Do you know what happened in year zero?”

“Wait a moment… is that… then… the first year of the reign of ancient Alagariel? Truly?”

“Yes. That’s right. My but you’re quick. All the more interesting with a Fire Elf named Alagariel sitting in my drawing room. Anyway, books. While I don’t own any works that specifically concern fire elves, I do have some more general titles, if you’d like to read them.”

“I would like that,” mumbled Ala, still distracted by the revelation about the calendar.

“Now, I will explain what I can, a short primer at least. The five kinds of elves always lived in a kind of symbiosis, an alliance that we called the Five Nations, up until recently. Recently in elven terms being half a millennium.”

“I think only elves could call that recent.”

“You see what I mean about the human perspective? To a human, the situation as it is seems normal, it has been that way for perhaps fifteen of their generations. To us, it’s a recent change, something that my parents were a part of. Something that my sister was alive for. Now, come, let’s sit.”

Ala sat in one of the big seats, upholstered in red leather with lots of stuffing. She sank down into it, it was very comfortable. She loved this place. Yesme continued her story.

“Only now do we really see groups of wood elves living mostly without other kinds mixed in, and the same goes for the other elven kinds. There has been a slow tendency for the sub species gravitate towards one another. As I understand it, the fire elves were traditionally the leaders of the elves, by virtue of their nature.”

“Their nature? What do you mean.”

“Brightness. Warmth. Light. Like fire, mesmerising in times, you know… when you look a flame, you can be captured by it, only watching it dance as time disappears. The warmth of the hearth that the community gathers around. While at the same time, the danger that is inherent in fire too. The potential to run wild and destroy. That’s what Fire Elves are like.”

Ala couldn’t imagine that described her. The intensity with which Yesme said it however made it clear that she was convinced that it was true.

“But… that’s…. we’re not really like that, I’m not like that. It’s just an idea isn’t it?”

“Oh my. So young… so… have you seen yourself? Human society has a massive shortage of mirrors of any quality, I know… but… well, until this afternoon I might have thought it just an idea too. Since you walked in however, I now fully understand. I… had not expected the effect to be so… profound.”

It was true. Ala had never really seen herself well. There were some very poor mirrors in Thetwick and she’d seen her own warped reflection in water many times of course.

“We didn’t really have many decent mirrors in Thetwick.”

“Come here then, I have one.”

Yesme led her through the hall to what was clearly her bed chamber. It was the same sort of style as the sitting room with a large four poster bed that was piled high with pillows and quilts. In the corner stood a full length mirror. Ala couldn’t imagine what it might be worth. Yesme gestured for her to look.

She wasn’t really surprised by what she saw, after all she knew what she looked like. She thought about the way Yesme had described Fire Elves. She just saw herself, in more detail than ever. Yet… there was something she couldn’t place. Was that something all those things Yesme had described?

“You see?”

“I don’t know? I’m just me. Well, I’ve never had such a good look at me, I think. I’m not sure I completely get it.”

Yesme smiled. “I should have known. There is another thing they say about Fire and Fire Elves. Fire is not self-aware, it just is and does, moving with inevitability and complete confidence. I’m not sure if that’s completely true, but your reaction made me think of it. Come along now, let’s get back to the sitting room. Perhaps, Tala will have finally deigned to come down.”

When they were both seated there again, Yesme continued her explanation.

“Now, where were we? Oh yes, Fire Elves’ role in elven society. I learned they always made a conscious effort to keep the elves mingling, to keep things…. changing. Until the last elven high king, Anfos, was driven out by demons or some other unnameables around a five hundred years ago.”

“Demons?”

“A catch all term for… powerful supernatural entities that… well, I suppose one could say, have different priorities than is customary from… what we consider normal.”

“What would normal be?”

“Life, love, the pursuit of happiness? I don’t really know exactly, but whatever a demon is, if they even really exist, their goals diverge significantly from what the Vatan’s sentient species would term as important.”

“You don’t think thy exist?”

“No I think they probably do. Whether they are really involved in what happened with Fire? I don’t know. I’m not clear on the details and it was quite a time before I was born. No one seems to be clear on the details in fact, like its some big secret.”

“A secret? Why is that?”

“I’m afraid the vagaries of elven politics are probably almost as opaque to me as they are to you. The High King of the Elves had an important role in elven society, mythical even.”

“The Fire Elves are somehow connected to this myth?”

“The elven myth is that we are the protectors of the world, courtesy of a Queen the humans call Alagariel in their faerytales. It goes on to state that while there is a High King or Queen, the world is safe from invasion by demons or the great darkness or whatever it is that no one seems to be able to clearly define. Whatever bad things might happen without a High King or Queen, it clearly hasn’t happened during the last five centuries, so I suppose we have to wonder whether it was ever true – unless such disasters play out on an elven timescale rather than a human one of course.”

“So there hasn’t been a Fire Elven High King or Queen of five hundred years?”

“That’s right. Thing is, in elven terms I’m not exactly old and well, having spent so much time among humans, I’m not especially up to date on the way the whole Five Nations thing is meant to function when it’s working properly. So I wish my sister would make an appearance.”

“You’ve already been able to tell me so many things I had absolutely no idea of,” said Ala.

Yesme glanced at the door again, “Talathiel must be having one of her days. Gladiuth is obviously having trouble convincing her to come down, or they would have been here by now. Or perhaps they’re just having one of their customary disagreements. You may have to make do with me. I would have expected her to be curious about you. So, what do you want to know first?”

“There are so many things… I suppose history is as good a place to start as any. Everything you’ve just described, what does that do for today’s elves? How do they live?”

Ala was fascinated by the story and really wanted the she-elf to continue.

“Fragmented, is probably the best one-word description. Historically, there were five elven realms. Predictably there was Fire, Wood, Water, Earth and Metal. Each is a Kingdom. The first among equals was always Fire and traditionally, the High King or Queen has always been the King or Queen of Fire. Fire elves were thus always the elven high monarchs. The elven realms were ruled by noble families of each elven kind, but it doesn’t mean that their nation was populated predominantly by elves of that type. Even the royal families contain a mix of elves from different sub species, but the peers of the four realms other than fire are always of the elven kind sub race corresponding to their nation. There are even elven princes, dukes and whatnot other than the rulers of each elven land, but as in Iurrak and Selinus, whose systems were modelled on the elven one, they are not peers of the elven monarchy. Are you following?”

Ala nodded, she was fascinated by all this history of the people she had never known. Yesme continued her explanation.

“Each elven land has always contained a mix of all the elven sub species. That said, as I understand it, the fire elves were always the least numerous elven kind, so they were a minority even in the land of Fire. To preserve unity, there was much travel between the realms. Peers would visit each other’s realms for years at a time. That has decreased dramatically since the death of the High King. Fire has formally been ruled in name by a steward, who is in fact a Metal Elf, some Count or something I think it was. He has his residence in the Kingdom of Metal. I think the stewardship exists only in the form of a hereditary title to be honest. In this manner, the fragmentation continues to increase. I think no one has heard anything about Fire from the official steward in centuries. It’s more of ceremonial thing now I imagine. Perhaps it’s a fashionable thing at the King of Metal’s court. Metal elves have a bit of a thing for fashion. That’s speculation though. There’s nothing for him to do anyway as he can’t actually enter Fire. There is no ambassador from Fire to the King of Iurrak at Erythrae either at the moment, though I believe the other elven realms do maintain relations.”

“So, are there no fire elves in any of the other elven realms any more? Where did they all go?”

“Again, understand that they were always the least numerous by far. If there are any outside the Land of Fire, they are living secluded lives though they probably are in the other elven realms. I know many disappeared trying to defend or reclaim Fire five centuries ago. I have heard of people meeting fire elves in the remaining realms. To be honest though, I can’t imagine that there’s more than a handful left and they are clearly avoiding mainstream society. Even mainstream elven society. I should mention that that’s not entirely out of character for elves in general. The older they are, the more they like to be left to their own devices, my dear sister upstairs being a case in point. At least that’s always how it seems to me. You almost never just run into an eight or nine hundred year old elf, but they really are about. They just keep to themselves.”

“They sort of retire from the world?”

Yesme nodded and looked sad at the way Ala described it, her eyes a little red after her last words. She quickly continued, “you know, it makes me sad. Even to me with my life among humankind, Fire Elves were something just a little larger than life… having met you I see why elves feel that way and that sensation has only been reinforced. Just looking at you fills me with a kind of warmth, like… like a new dawn. Earth elves are supposed to be all sober and down to earth… but just listen to me babbling. I’m actually a little taken aback by the effect you’re having on me.”

Ala blushed a little but couldn’t help smiling. “I suppose there are worse effects to have on people…”

Yesme smiled at that and looked up as stumbling could be heard from above.

“Finally,” she said.

Gladiuth returned, with a tray of drinks in tall containers that were made of very thin crystal, another incredible luxury. He was followed by an elven woman with strikingly exotic features. She was as beautiful as her sister, as seemed to be the norm among elves. Somehow you could sense that she was older, perhaps by some minuscule marks and ever so slight lines in her face, except there weren’t any. An incredibly well preserved fifty or sixty human years would be the most anyone would dare ascribe to her, insofar as you could make such judgements of anyone with such dramatic features. Her skin was pale, like the froth on the seas, her eyes were sea green, and her hair was turquoise blue. It was almost eerie. Ala rose as she entered. The water elf came to her, clasped her hands and kissed her cheek. She lingered with her hands over Ala’s for what seemed like a long time. Her voice somehow made Ala think of crashing waves.

“An honour, Lady Alagariel. I am Talathiel Bahar. I trust my Yesme is being a gracious host?”

“Very much so, thank you.”

Gladiuth handed her a drink first, then Talathiel, his mother and then took one himself before falling into a couch.

“So it’s true. I checked with aunt Talathiel too.”

“What is, Gladiuth?” Yesme asked.

“Alagariel is a noble. She didn’t really know if she was or not.”

“You should really know such things, Gladiuth,” scolded Talathiel.

“Well please forgive me for not remembering the customary peerage of an elven sub species no one has encountered in more than five centuries, auntie?”

Talathiel spoke, “You’re such an impertinent child. Must be the human in you. Anyway, in the customs of our people, all fire elves are nobles. At least, I’ve never heard of Fire elven line that wasn’t and they were never numerous. They are the leaders, giving direction, that is the tradition. The current mess being a case in point, I suppose. Is nobility important to you, Lady Alagariel?”

Talathiel was direct it seemed. She had said the last bit with a note of disapproval. Ala was concerned what the she-elf might think of her. It was the first time in a while that she had cared what anyone thought of her.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about bearing arms any more then. That’s certainly of practical use where I grew up… and when travelling in Taladaria. I’m not sure I understand the rest of the underlying thinking in the concept of nobility… I suppose I can understand someone’s actions being deserving of distinction, but being born to it seems an odd concept.”

Talathiel smiled. She seemed satisfied with Ala’s answer… Ala pressed on, feeling she had voiced her opinion on the matter well enough.

“May I inquire, what did you mean when you described the current situation as a mess, Mistress Talathiel?”

“I mean that the elves are leaderless, without direction, and have been for five centuries. To my great chagrin, it seems we are in need of some noble Fire Elves to show us direction. Ironic, isn’t it? I don’t even really approve of the concept of monarchy, yet I find myself wishing for Fire Elven leadership. It’s paradoxical.”

Talathiel paused for a moment, as if it were an admission she was loathe to make, before continuing.

“How can we help you, Lady Alagariel? Gladiuth told me that you were wholly raised among humans. You must have missed out on an unimaginable amount of elven history, culture and of course lore. I don’t think we can catch up in one quiet Seventh afternoon, but perhaps we can make a start.”

“That would be very kind of all of you.”

Yesme spoke again, “perhaps it would be helpful if you tell us a little about yourself, to start with?”

“Very well. I have vague memories. I was raised by elves for perhaps my first forty to sixty years, I think. I have no idea exactly how long. I speak elven, somehow. I can read it too. I shudder at how much of a human accent I must have.”

“You don’t actually. Surprisingly. It is an accent I’m not familiar with though,” Gladiuth said.

Talathiel spoke, clearly piqued that he didn’t recognise it.

“It’s a Fire accent, Gladiuth. You’re such a boor. Quite an… archaic and proper one. The King’s elven is how I’ve heard that accent referred to. Actually, Alagariel is the one without the accent. It’s the rest of us here who speak like peasants. That’s what elven originally sounded like. I’ve met a very old Fire Elven priestess who spoke just the same way. Jerynne Feux is her name, Lady of… Greaneglowe I think… which was inside the Kingdom of Fire. She was an impressive creature. Spends her time in Metal, I think.”

Ala was pleased that her accent was tolerable though she was a little perplexed by Talathiel analysis. She would have been mortified to not be able to speak her own tongue properly in front of these majestic people. She was unreasonably happy she didn’t have to worry about that. Having a first hand account of another fire elf besides herself was the icing on top.

“I suppose what I could really use is some advice. I have a matter to take care of in Thetwick, perhaps Gladiuth mentioned it. My adoptive uncle left me his belongings and the will was contested by the Constable. The man is corrupt. I’m not terribly bothered about the wealth but Bernard left me his ancestral home and I would be tarnishing his memory if I didn’t handle this matter properly, according to his wishes. It’s why I came, to take the matter to the Duke’s Court tomorrow. If things go as planned, the Constable will be exposed and the Duke will probably have to take some action. If the ruling is in my favour in any way, I suppose I will have to go back to Thetwick to place Bernard’s estate in someone’s care. After that, I suppose I can do what I want. I was thinking of trying to find out what happened to my parents. It’s more than a century ago. Unless there were any nonhuman guardsmen in the patrol that brought me to Thetwick, I doubt there’s anyone left to talk to.”

“The Duke keeps the records of his ancestors. A patrol should be a matter of the military record. It’s possible there’s something in the Duke’s library. It’s worth checking,” said Gladiuth.

“That’s a fine idea. I will ask the Duke for permission. After that, I would assume such a search would lead me to visit an elven realm, whether I find anything or not. There’s more chance there might be an elf who remembers something than a human.”

“You should show them your sword.”

“Neither of us are fascinated by blades like you are, Glad,” interjected Yesme.

“Show them,” he repeated.

She drew the blade, holding it the way she had for Gladiuth to look at. Both the elven woman stared at it for a moment before Talathiel spoke.

“Well. That speaks for itself. I’ve never seen one that complex. Where did you get it?”

Ala explained all she knew about it.

“You can wield it comfortably? It protects you and may even kill those who attempt to disarm you?”

“Yes, that seems right.”

“I’d say it almost impossible that the previous owner of that blade was not a family member of yours, probably a close relative. I understand that that doesn’t spell much good for the chances of your parents both being alive but I feel its still important for you to understand that that sword must have belonged to a close family member. I don’t know much about swords, but I do know a thing or two about magic and that is how these things work – the blade will be strongest for those in the direct line, assuming they are true of course. This one is violently powerful even now, despite what it has been through. I can sense its power.”

The news made Ala sad of course. She’d always had a hope that one or both of her parents still lived, but that now seemed less likely.

“It’s a clue. It does make me apprehensive about where the search will lead me.”

“That is understandable. That blade was not relinquished by its last rightful owner willingly, I’m afraid,” said Talathiel, shaking her head.

They talked for a while longer, Ala picking up a great deal of knowledge about her people. A lot of things she hadn’t understood about elven kind were in their place when it was time to leave. She was fairly skipping again by the time they she had said her goodbyes headed back up to the Castle. Talathiel and Yesme asked her to come by again soon.

“Thank you for taking me to meet your family Gladiuth. It was wonderful.” She said as they walked back up the hill.

“It really is my pleasure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Talathiel so animated. They were quite excited to meet you too. My mother said that Fire elves create a sense of anticipation. I’m beginning to see that, though I don’t really understand why or how. Things happen around you. Perhaps that’s what Myrthe sees too.”

In her joy, she had even forgotten to raise her hood. It was only at the castle gate the reason for all the staring dawned on her.

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