They finally emerged from the tunnel two days later. It was near midday, and they were all very grateful they were out in the sunlight at last. It was a bitter sweet moment for them. They survived the perils of Kingdom Tunnel only to go their separate ways. There were hugs and handshakes all around before their final good-byes.
“You take care of yourself, and your brother.” Wayland was hugging Rowena and found it hard to let her go.
“I’ll do my best.” She really hated that they were splitting up. She felt so much safer with everyone together.
“I want you to keep my father safe,” Selwyn said to Conrad. “I know you two have become close friends, so I’m trusting you.”
“You know I will. And keep yourself safe, your father would be devastated if anything happened to you.”
Once they had all said their good-byes they went their separate ways. Selwyn, Rowena, Culfang, Osric, Rylan, and Tiernan stayed close to the mountains as they moved west toward Zarail, where they hoped to gather information in order to form a plan of attack against Vileheart.
William, Wayland, Edred, Conrad, Arden, Valeris, and Thryth moved south toward Ladon’s lair, where they hope to defeat the ogres guarding Ladon’s treasure. Once they’ve all completed their task they plan to come back together at the city of Dendra, the last city left in Zarail and the only place where humans live with little fear.
*****
“Did you ever figure out what spell was in the trap?” Selwyn asked Culfang as they rode.
“No. I have been thinking about it and can come to no conclusion. It was dark magic that I have never seen or heard about.” The only thing he could come up with was that it must have come from the other side of The Great Barrier Mountains. As long as he had lived he had not yet ventured to the lands beyond those mountains.
“At least we won’t have to worry about it when we go back to Stonehaven.” Rylan was relieved by that much.
“While that may be true, it still poses a problem if Kingdom Tunnel is to be used as a trade route; especially if you want to trade with the dwarves in the north.”
“Maybe it was the dwarves that enchanted it. Perhaps they don’t want visitors from the south. I wish Thryth was here so we could ask his opinion,” Rowena said.
“We will see him again soon.”
“I hope you’re right.” She was worried about all the others that went south. She knew they were powerful and could handle themselves in a fight, but what had Ladon left behind to guard his treasure. He was a powerful magic user and may have left traps for anyone who managed to get passed his ogre minions.
“I think for now we should focus on getting to Zarail. Sometimes it’s better not to think too far into the future,” Tiernan added to the conversation.
“I agree with, Tiernan; we need to reclaim Zarail first. After the castle has been won it will need to be rebuilt. That when you can set your mind to work on the tunnel.” Osric didn’t see any reason to be concerned about something when it was uncertain.
“I suppose you’re right. We still have many miles and many days to go before we even get to the castle. But we are in the borders of Zarail, correct?” Selwyn asked.
“I believe we are. We did come out many miles past Stonehaven castle. If we are not yet in Zarail, we will be before the end of the day,” Culfang answered. Before the end of the day, he also noticed that the cloud was back. He had thought it had been lost when they made it to the tunnel. But somehow it found them again. Someone or something was guiding it to follow them. When night fell he would have to get a closer look and see if he could figure out what was going on.
“By the way, do you think it’s a good idea to stay so close to the mountain? I know how much trolls love to spend the day in caves and overhangs.” Tiernan knew from his own adventures, as well as his training from his uncle, that trolls were best avoided whenever possible.
“Perhaps we could stray a little deeper into the woods.” Culfang never had any trouble with trolls himself, but he knew they liked to eat human flesh, so he was willing to indulge his companions.
Rowena was glad to hear it. She knew that some of the horses were having trouble keeping their footing. She knew because Ril’dar had told her, in her mind. It was a strange feeling to hear someone else’s thoughts. It didn’t hurt like she thought it might, but it was strange. She guessed it was something she would grow use to, and one day she wouldn’t remember it being any other way.
“Rowena, are you all right?” Selwyn asked from beside her.
“I’m fine; I was just thinking.”
“Care to share?”
“Not really, but thank you for asking,” She threw him a wink, and he returned it.
They made their way about half a mile from the base of the mountain where there were no caves or overhangs.
“Do you think this is far enough?” Selwyn asked.
“Yes, this is a very good distance. We won’t have to worry about other monsters here. They all like to stay clear of the trolls, and if the trolls happen to attack us, there shouldn’t be too many. They know that their prey stays at a distance and don’t hunt this close to their lair,” Rylan supplied.
“And how do you know that?” Rowena inquired. He held up the book Keyon had given him.
“It’s not a picture book if that’s what you thought,” he said to his older sister.
“Play nice you two,” Osric rattled off out of habit. He wasn’t even aware he had said a thing. He just kept on riding like nothing happened. It was a phrase he used a lot during their training when they would fight, like siblings will do.
“I guess I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Selwyn admitted.
“Well, I have been studying with Master Keyon a little longer than you have.” He wasn’t bragging he was just stating a fact.
“That may be true, but there is more to learning then reading a book,” Selwyn retorted.
“Play nice you two,” Osric rattled off again. This time they all three broke out laughing. When the laughter died down they said very little more. They had their noses buried in their books while the rest of their group kept an eye out for danger.
Once in a while Rowena would gaze off to the side of the trail to see if she could name the plants she saw there. But this early in her training she had a hard time naming anything she saw. Before the last rays of sun were ready to leave the sky, they stopped and set camp.
While Selwyn and Tiernan set up camp, Osric and Rylan began cooking. Culfang took Rowena off into the woods to train a little before the light was completely gone.
“I want you to remember that I cannot help you as well with this deck. I will guide you as best as I can, but remember to use your imagination, there I cannot help,” Culfang reminded her.
“You mean like I did when I removed the poison from Selwyn’s horse.”
“Yes, I had not shown you that my deck could do such a thing, but you used your imagination and made it happen. That was in the realm of possibility for my deck, so it worked. That was also one reason I decided you were ready for the Deck of Mokelbel.”
“So if I wanted to I could turn my skin into armor?” She had been giving it some thought ever since she was killed in the tunnel.
“Please, explain.” She had peaked his interest.
“I was thinking that if I turned my skin into something hard, like metal or stone, not all the time of course, just during battle or when there is a trap to spring.”
“That is an intriguing idea. I would think that, since these things are in nature, that it would be possible. But since you have not yet attempted such a feat, I would suggest that you try it on a small part of your skin first. Better to lose a finger or a hand them the whole of your skin should something go wrong.” He wasn’t trying to scare her; he was just trying to prepare her for the worst.
“That’s not a pleasant thought, but I think your right.” She pulled a card from the deck and held it in her left hand and let lose the magic. The card dissolved into her skin leaving her hand covered in stone. She held in up in front of her face and wiggled her fingers. To her amazement, her fingers moved as well as they ever had, in fact she could make a fist, and it didn’t feel any different than before she used the card.
“Well done, but how well will it protect you?”
“There’s one way to find out.” She pulled a dagger from her boot. “I was told this will cut the skin of a giant. Let’s see how it does on granite skin.” She held out her hand and placed the blade against her forefinger. She took a deep breath and held it in before applying pressure and pulling the blade. Nothing happened, no blood, no cut. She was speechless but Culfang was not.
“It looks like you have struck on something that will be of great benefit. Being of nature, I am surprised that an elf never thought of it. We will have to see what happens when you use it on your entire body.” That was when Osric called out to them.
“How do I undo it?” Rowena asked nervously.
“Will it to end.” She did and it faded from a grey and white veined granite hand back to her flesh. She gave a sigh of relief. “Can I tell them about it or should I wait until I have it perfected?”
“I think it would be good to wait.” They made their way back to camp where the others were already eating.
“Rowena, I was wondering if you might like me to teach you how to fight with that staff of yours?” Osric had been meaning to ask her about it but she and Culfang were always going off to work with magic.
Before she could answer Culfang spoke up. “I have been teaching her how to defend herself with it, but I think it would be good for her to know how to attack with it as well, and seeing as you were her trainer for her trial of rulership, it would only be fitting that you train her yet again.”
“Well, what do you say?” Osric thought it would be best to let her speak for herself.
“I think that it’s a great idea. But with my training with Lenwë when will we find the time?” She was very happy to learn everything she could, even if she had to train into the night.
“You are learning magic much faster than I had anticipated. I think Osric and I can take turns in your training,” Culfang suggested.
“It’s settled then,” Osric proclaimed.
When they were all settled in for the night, they set guard duty. Osric took first watch followed by Tiernan and then Culfang.
When it was Culfang’s turn at watch, he was walking the perimeter of the camp when he heard someone call to him in his native tongue. Since he knew no human that spoke elvish it had to be one of his kin. He left the camp to the security of the fire light. He knew there was no danger in the area because his kin would have scouted the area well before contacting him. He walked short distance into the forest before finally coming upon the one that had called to him. Indeed, it was an elf. One of the few who stayed behind to keep an eye on the powerful magic items that had been entrusted to the dragons. Once in full view he saw that it was his old friend, Lorranu.
“Lorranu,” They embraced. “It is so good to see you.” He pulled back holding his friend by his shoulders. “I thought you had left with the others.”
“I had to stay to keep an eye on you.” There was no humor in his voice. “I have followed you for many years without you ever knowing. Until now, I had no reason to interfere in your dealings with the younger races.” Culfang dropped his arms from Lorranu’s shoulders and with them, his smile.
“I have been alone all these many years. Longing for a conversation with one of my own people, and all this time you were spying on me, never letting me know you were there.” He hung his head and shook it. “Perhaps I have spent too much time around humans, or maybe I have been away from my own for too long, but now I can see why so many humans and dwarves dislike us. They call us arrogant, and we say we are proud. They say we interfere and we say we are teaching, and now I understand why so many rejoiced when the others left.”
“I am sorry, but you chose to stay for them, so I left you alone with them.” Lorranu was blunt.
“So you did not stay of your own accord. You were ordered to stay.” Culfang was shocked by this revelation.
“The elders thought it would be wise to have an overseer. Someone to help you, and the others, to see the errors you may make, so that you can correct them.”
“So the reason you are here is to point out a mistake I have made.”
“That is correct.”
“And you are going to tell me how to repair this mistake.”
“Yes.”
“I am curious. What is this mistake that, in your eyes, I have made?” Culfang thought he knew what Lorranu was going to say. It didn’t really matter what he said, he had no intention of doing anything different.
“To start with you are traveling with these humans, and a dwarf I might add, with the intent of helping them to reclaim something they lost many years ago.”
“What exactly is wrong with that?”
“If they are not capable of taking it back without your help, then they do not deserve it.”
“I have no doubt, they could take it back from those monsters, but there is an evil wizard as well. An evil wizard who has found many items of power that was supposed to have been guarded and kept from the younger races. But he managed to make his way into a dragon’s lair that was no longer guarded by a dragon. I am going with them to defend them from that which our people have created.”
“Is that the reason you are teaching a human to use magic?” Lorranu asked in defiance.
“Yes, that is the reason. I cannot be in all places at all times. They need to be able to defend themselves against powers that the elves brought into this world.” He was still in shock over this whole thing, one of his own kin turning against him.
“You make an intriguing argument. I will take some time to consider your point of view before I make a final decision.”
“And if you do not see things my way? What will you do?” Culfang asked.
“We can discuss those things when the time comes. As to what you said earlier, I agree; you have spent too much time with humans. You are acting more and more like them.” Lorranu said this as if to offend Culfang, but it did not in the least. “I will leave you to your thoughts.”
“I do have a question for you. There is a cloud that has been following us since we left on this quest. Are you the one responsible for that cloud? If you are I would like an explanation.”
“I am; it is my home. If you have not noticed it before now it is because I am always close by and do not need to move it. But since you are going much farther than you would normally go I thought it would be best to bring it along.”
“A little piece of our old home; I would very much like to see it someday.”
“I will consider your request. Now I will leave you so that I may consider what you have told me.” Lorranu walked over to the closest tree and passed right into it. Culfang went back to the camp where his companions were still sleeping. He had searched the land far and wide in hopes of seeing one of his own kind, and all the while he was being watched by one. It made him angry and sad. He never liked being emotional but felt this was one time he needed to be. Betrayed by his own friend because he felt the need to protect humans and dwarves was a just cause for being angry. And having that same friend see his loneliness and not show him any compassion was sad indeed.
He heard someone stirring from their sleep. He turned around to see Rowena walking his way. The fire had died down, and it was still dark, but she seemed to know where he was. She sat down on the log where he sat and put an arm around his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” He didn’t know how to respond to her. How could she have known he was going through this? “I don’t mean to be a bother; Ril’dar was concerned, and his concern is what woke me.”
“Sounds to me like your bond is very strong, but why would Ril’dar be concerned about me?”
“Because I consider you to be a friend and care about you, so he in return cares about you.”
“I see. What did he tell you?”
“It wasn’t so much as words as it was feelings; is everything alright?” She put her hand on top of his for comfort.
“I will be fine. I saw someone I had not seen for a very long time, and it took me by surprise.” She squeezed his hand trying to give him strength to tell her more, but he didn’t. “Thank you for your concern. I think you should get a little more sleep before the sun rises.” That was another thing that humans had and elves did not, the ability to express their emotions easily.
Rowena did go back to sleep, but it was not restful. Ril’dar was showing her the confrontation between the two elves. She couldn’t understand all of it, but she knew they were talking about her. She finally gave up as the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon. She made her way to the fire that Culfang had built back up, so she could chase away the morning chill. She sat still with her eyes closed, soaking up the warmth. Then she caught a whiff of coffee and opened her eyes to a mug being held out to her. She looked up to see the owner of the hand was Selwyn. She gave him a smile in return as she took it and sipped slowly.
“Good morning,” he said to her smiling face.
“Good morning to you as well,” She looked around and didn’t see Culfang anywhere. When she had walked up to the fire, he had been close by. He must have walked away when she closed her eyes. She thought that he might be mad at her for asking him if he were alright, but wasn’t sure if he was or not. She held the mug in both hands and rested them between her knees and closed her eyes. When she opened them again her mug was cold.
“You want me to warm that for you?” Tiernan asked as he stirred a pot.
“Yes, please. What happened anyway? I just closed my eyes for a moment, and it was cold, and you were here instead of Selwyn.”
“I’d say you fell asleep while you were sitting there. I’ve been banging around here for a while, and you never moved. Maybe tomorrow you should stay in bed a little longer.” He handed her back the mug with steam rising from the warm coffee. She took a sip but didn’t close her eyes.
“Giving it another try are you?” Selwyn asked as he walked up with more firewood.
“I guess so. I must have been more tired than I thought.”
“Well, breakfast is almost ready, so keep your eyes open, or you might just go without,” Tiernan said teasingly.
“Not a chance, I’m awake and intend to stay that way.” She looked around and still didn’t catch sight of the elf. “Has anyone seen Lenwë this morning?” She took another sip of her coffee expecting a quick answer. When one didn’t come she looked up and saw Selwyn and Tiernan looking at each other. She was afraid they had bad news that neither one wanted to tell her.
“When I got up this morning, he was tending the fire while you . . . slept. When I came back from a short walk, he said that he needed some time to be alone. When I asked how much time he said not to wait on him. He said he would find us on the trail.” She gave it a moment’s thought.
“You don’t think he put a spell on me do you?” She found it hard to believe he would do such a thing, but he may have thought she was going to question him further. If he really didn’t want to be bothered, she would have left him alone.
“I don’t know for sure, but you were really out of it. Like I said, I was banging around on pots and pans, and you didn’t move,” Tiernan repeated. Selwyn sat down at her side and put an arm around her.
“I think he did. But why would he do such a thing?” She was reluctant but told them what had happened.
“We humans wouldn’t have acted in that way, but he is an elf. Maybe he thought he didn’t have a choice,” Selwyn suggested.
“I thought he knew me better than that.” She thought it over before saying anything else. “I guess I just won’t ask him any more personal questions.”
“There might be another reason you slept so soundly, while you were sitting up,” Osric interjected. They all gave him a waiting look. “You and he were out last night practicing magic were you not?”
“Yes,” She still didn’t follow.
“I know how much it saps Selwyn’s and Rylan’s strength when they use magic off an item, but you probably weren’t,” he explained.
“Yes, I was using the deck he gave me,” she said skeptically.
“Alright, but are you fully recovered from your ordeal in the tunnel?”
“I thought I was, but maybe your right. I’ll just blame it on needing more strength. Now if you don’t mind I’m also very hungry.” Even if it wasn’t the truth it made her feel better.
“It’s not quite ready, sorry.” Tiernan continued to stir this and that.
“I guess I’ll pack up while I wait.” She left them to their chore and began to gather her things. That was when she noticed how stiff, her hand felt. It was the same hand that she had enchanted. Now the idea of using it on her entire body seemed a bit scary. Even if she stopped at the neck, she wouldn’t be able to move the next day. Not if it made her entire body feel like her hand did. She finished packing and thought she might tell them over breakfast about the spell she had cast the night before, and what her hand now felt like. But once she started eating it was hard to stop. When she had cleaned her plate her hand was fine once again. She decided not to tell them unless the stiffness returned. She would, however, tell Lenwë about it the next time they went off together.
They stayed the same distance from the caves and overhangs, as they did the day before, while they once again moved to the west. With Culfang not with them Selwyn and Rylan left their books packed away so they could survey the woods around them. Without the elf’s keen eyes keeping watch, it would take the both of them to cover what he could see.
The terrain ahead of them began to get rough. Before long, they came to an area that was impassable. They could neither go forward nor could they go down, but they could go up.
“What do you think? Do we risk going closer to the mountain or do we backtrack?” Osric, who was in the lead, asked Tiernan, who was bringing up the rear?
“I think that’s Selwyn’s decision. I’m just here for support.” He knew they should get closer to the mountain but didn’t want to be the one to say so. If Selwyn was going to rule a kingdom, he needed to learn to be a leader. Osric looked to Selwyn and waited for his answer.
“I think we can risk the high road. Trolls sleep during the day, so they shouldn’t be a problem, as long as we’re able to get back down before dark. If we stay silent I don’t think we need to worry about anything else attacking.” With that they moved closer to the mountain. When they were nearly to the bluffs, they came across a well-worn path. It moved along the bluff line toward the west. Osric risked a little noise and spoke in a low voice.
“This looks like a path we don’t want to be on for long, if at all.”
“We’ll just have to move swiftly and hope we don’t encounter anything.” Selwyn didn’t like to be where they were any more than Osric but didn’t see a way to avoid it.
“Then let’s move.” Osric took lead once again. He decided that the best pace would be at a run. If they were to go at a gallop, anything ahead could hear them coming and set an ambush. But at a run anything hearing them wouldn’t have time to ready themselves, and they would be able to get past them without a skirmish. They rode this way until after noon without reaching an end of the path. They stopped for a short time to rest their steeds and have a quick meal of dried meat and Tunnel Stools. When they started out again they made the choice to go slow. It was a risk, but they hadn’t seen anything so far, and they might need to ride on into the night. If they did ride into the night, their steeds would need all the strength they could muster, so they didn’t want to push them any harder than they had to.
Night was falling, and they still hadn’t found a way down from the danger zone. They were all becoming concerned. It wouldn’t be long before the trolls left their shelter and begun the night’s hunt. Right before the colors of the sunset faded to black, they came to an old tower. Without any other choice, they sought refuge within. There was no way for them to know if there was anything waiting for them, so they had to be prepared for anything.
There was more than enough room inside for the horses and Ril’dar on the ground level. Rylan and Tiernan stood watch at the doorway while the others explored their potential shelter. The ground floor was empty except for the debris that had blown in through the open doorway. The second contained only a few bird nests. On the third floor, there were books on a shelf and a couple of chairs that were still in good shape. On the fourth and final floor, they found what was left of the former owner. His skeleton lay on an ornate four post bed that was hung on all sides by heavy drapes. They found no signs that he was attacked or any signs of scavengers having touched his body. For that matter, they hadn’t found any evidence of, there being anything bigger than a bird in this wide-open shelter.
“It might be enchanted to keep away anything bigger than a cat,” Rowena said as they were returning to the bottom floor.
“You may be right, but I would like to get that doorway blocked before we relax.” Osric wasn’t worried about the windows; they were too small for anything to come through that might be a threat. As they approached the second-floor Rowena stopped.
“What is it?” Selwyn asked.
“I can see you, very well.” When there was no response, she continued. “I can see you and we have no torches.” That brought a look of understanding to their faces. They looked around to see that there was light coming from within the walls.
“Maybe that’s the magic that keeps the monsters out,” she speculated.
“Let’s get downstairs and see what’s going on down there,” Selwyn urged.
When they reached the bottom, there was a door in the doorway, but it wasn’t a plane wooden door, it was a magic door. It gave off a slight red glow.
“Where did that come from?” Osric asked.
“Out of thin air,” Tiernan told him.
“Maybe Culfang is close by and is trying to protect us,” Rylan suggested.
“I don’t believe that’s the case,” Rowena said. “I think this tower is enchanted. I think we have nothing to fear as long as we remain here.”
“Have you tried to open the door?” Osric asked Tiernan.
“No, I didn’t want to risk touching it.”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea.” Rowena didn’t think the glow being the color of blood was a coincident.
“Alright, we’ll make camp on the third floor and set watch down here.” They all agreed and set about doing what was needed.