34

Poorly Timed Return

Blume and Jurgon were inside some type of long stone tunnel. Even though it was dark, she had the sensation that people were very close by. In fact, she could hear people talking, many of them.

Like the sound of rushing water, hundreds if not thousands of voices sounded like they were happily chatting away. Blume walked for a moment down one end of the tunnel and the sound became lesser.

"It's got to be coming from that direction," Blume said, pointing the other way on.

From one of her pockets she produced a small roll that she had intended to save for herself after practicing magic for so long. The look on Jurgon's face as he leaned against the wall, worn out from his advanced magic, prompted her to give it away.

"Eat up," she told him.

He didn't need telling twice. Leading the way with one hand holding out his wand and devouring the bread using his other, Jurgon led them in the direction of the noise.

In just a few steps, they came to a dead end. It was strange to Blume because she could swear the voices were coming from just beyond the wall.

"I think you got us into something behind the amphitheater," she told Jurgon. She pressed her ear up against the surface that blocked their path. She expected stone, but it was wood that her fingers grazed over.

"Maybe there's a handle?" she asked she began to feel around under the guidance of Jurgon's red light.

A loud noise ended her search abruptly.

“Welcome citizens of Lone Peak!" came the booming voice of one of the Nobles of the City. Though Blume knew the amphitheater was designed so that sound could travel, she had tested it once on one of her nighttime excursions, the voice booming now was far too loud.

Someone had to be magically enhancing it. The buzz that had come with the spectators began to die away.

“The Elves of Enoth have journeyed from their homeland to extend the hand of peace to the country of Darrion and bring with them a warning of a coming danger!”

Blume held her ear up against the wood and listened hard. The crowd assembled was definitely murmuring at these words. This was not the speech she had expected. Most of the time she skipped these meetings as they weren't the most exciting thing going on in Lone Peak. Speeches would range from Nobles trying to gain political power over a rival's house, to changes in the night guard, to visiting plays and minstrels.

Blume thought that even the recent theatrical talent had been a bore.

This was new.

“I give you,” the voice continued. “His Excellency, Rophilborn the Eternal, Emperor of Enoth!”

Emperor? thought Blume as applause filled her ears.

“Thank you, kind houses Condor, Bear, and Leviathan,” came a voice that was unfamiliar, yet warm and kind. It was not the type of voice Blume had expected an emperor to sound like. She had pictured someone old with a gray beard and heavy crown on his head who talked with a trembling note.

This person sounded young, no older than Ealrin and certainly less so than Holve. She found herself wanting to hear the voice more, hoping it would speak so that she could listen.

“We are grateful for the men who have settled the north and brought civilization to the coast of Irradan.”

Applause, presumably from the men he was talking about.

“And we elves have kept safe the southern lands for our own empire.”

Clapping and cheering. Blume guessed the elves in attendance were indulging in national pride.

“But there is a threat that lives between us.”

Silence followed this statement. If the emperor was going for dramatic effect, he had found it. Blume was trying to remember who lived in between the men of the north and the elves to the south.

Wasn't it...

“The elves of the woods are fierce and barbaric,” the emperor said, cutting across Blume's train of thought. “They worship the trees that the elves of the south so desperately need for the furthering of our great kingdom. And what of you men? When the cliffs no longer can supply your needs and your food stores run low, will you turn to the south as well and find elves who live like animals?”

Sporadic shouts now filled the amphitheater.

“You harvest and plant where you can, but are the cliffs the best place for your food to grow? How much more an abundance would you have if the whole of the forest was able to be used for fields for your crops and feed for your animals? How many ships could you build if you had at your disposal the great tress of the south?”

More shouting came from the crowd at his words. Blume could hear people shouting out things like “More food!” and “Greater ships!”

“Peace!” the emperor shouted.

And with his word, the place fell again into a hushed silence.

"We have received word that the city of Bestone has already been attacked and fallen to the wood walking elves. Like animals, they took nothing of value from the city, they only enjoyed the pleasure of burning it to the ground and killing its citizens."

Angry noises filled the crowd. Blume wondered if people in the city had relatives who live in Bestone. She herself knew full well what it was like to come from the city that was attacked for no reason. As best as she knew, she was the only survivor of her hometown.

“Who of have had family outside of Lone Peak? Who of you would want to protect loved ones from death? Which of you would fight these barbarians in order to protect your family and your nation?”

There were scattered cheers of affirmation. Blume could tell this leader was an expert at getting the masses on his side.

"Friends," the emperor said. "We must join together to fight this menace!"

Shouts of affirmation followed his statement. The general din became a roar as more and more people called for the blood of the wood elves.

The emperor then began to detail a plan he and his fellow elves had constructed in order to neutralize the elves of the woods. Mostly it involved signing up and volunteering for an army that would march from Lone Peak and into the territory of the forest.

The army would leave in two weeks and those who would volunteer should prepare themselves for a long journey and difficult circumstances but would be greatly rewarded by the noble houses of Darrion and the elves of Enoch.

From the sound of things, this was the end of the speech. Blume could imagine men in the colors of Darrion standing at the exit of the amphitheater holding large parchments and quills, taking down names of volunteers for the army.

Something about it didn't sit well with her, but the emperor’s voice had been so welcoming and kind that she found it difficult to doubt his words.

Then there were her immediate circumstances to consider.

"How do we get out of here?" she asked as she continued to feel around for any knob or handle that would open the wooden panel in front of her.

A terrible thought crossed her mind: that there was no door, only this wooden panel in front of them. She feared that the builder might have known this tunnel to be a dead-end and boarded it up so that no one could wander inside a tunnel that went nowhere.

She looked at Jurgon who was nearly slumped over with exhaustion and knew that asking him to teleport them out would be a real hardship on him. He might be able to manage it in a few hours, but not at the moment.

This thought of being sealed inside this dark tunnel was just beginning to overwhelm her when she heard the sound of a door opening and voices shouting at one another.

There must be a small room on the other side of the wall. Blume could hear the heated conversation quite clearly.

"You have no proof that the wood elves were the ones who burned down Bestone!" The first voice shouted. "It could've been pirates! Or wrents for that matter! You're basing this campaign all off of false information!"

"But did you not hear the voice of our emperor?" a second calm and much deeper voice replied. "He has said the attack was from the Wood Walker's, and I dare not refuse him."

"And I wonder how he came to that conclusion," the first voice responded. Blume could tell these two were no friends. Both of their voices were dripping with hatred for one another.

"Darrion scouts, of course," the deep voice answered.

A groan of frustration came from the other person.

"I will send my own scouts to verify this before I put any weight of my own behind this. This reeks of deception and falsehood and I feel you are in the center of it."

The slamming of a door ended the conversation.

Blume waited to hear if both of the elves, she was assuming they were, had left when the door slammed. She was surprised to hear a third voice.

"Do you think he'll be convinced, Master Cedric?"

"No," the deep voice replied. "I think he will be disposed of."

"But he survived the first attempt, my Lord," the new voice said.

The one name Cedric laughed. It was a deep and mirthless sound. Unlike the voice of the emperor, Blume wanted this to stop as soon as she heard it. The noise chilled her.

"It's only a matter of time," he said. "I will ensure that he is dealt with."

Blume heard a door close and assumed that the second pair of voices was now gone.

"Seems like these elves don't have it all together either," she whispered to Jurgon, who was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, munching on the rest of his bread.

"Nope," he said astutely.

Not that Blume knew what to do with what she had just heard. Two elves were at odds about what the emperor claimed to be a threat. The first seemed like an elf that did not want to act unjustly. The second, the deep voiced Cedric, had apparently bought into what the emperor was saying.

The elf that had left first was in danger. Apparently he had survived some attempt on his life and was going to face another.

And he sounded like someone who was important to the elves of Enoth. Blume was at a loss at what to do. It wasn't like she knew any of these elves or could talk to them about what she might do with this information.

But wait. She did know one elf.

Dilinor.

She made a mental note about what she had heard and told herself that she would tell him the first chance she got. The first point of business, however, was getting out of this tunnel. She just about to give up on finding her way through the wooden panel and waiting for Jurgon to recover his strength, when the door swung open on its own, pushing Blume up against the wall along with the halfling.

The dark silhouette of someone passed by on the other side of the door and down into the depths of the tunnel, a soft blue light following them.

Blume didn't hesitate or attempt to see who had passed through the secret door. Instead she grabbed Jurgon's hand and led them through the door before it shut back with a thud.

Blume stood on the wall facing the elven tents as she pondered the speech and what she had heard afterwards. Part of her had said she should go straight to Ealrin and Holve to let them know what she had overheard. The crowds fighting their way back down towards the lower parts of Lone Peak, however, persuaded her to come out to walk along the outer wall and put her thoughts together.

She enjoyed this part of the city. From here she could see the fields that supplied Lone Peak with its food and the animal farms that lay outside the protective city walls as well.

From here she could see the winding road that led down from the top of the cliffs into the valley below where she had ridden her horse Snowy so often.

Since the elves had come, she had not ridden as much as she used to. Between the feeling that she was being watched by the fox creatures no matter where she rode, and her renewed interest in studying magic, she hadn't found the drive within her to ride again. She looked out over the tents that lined the road and, as she expected, found most of them empty.

The elves had stayed behind in the amphitheater for some sort of ceremony or festival or something. Blume had been surprised to see only the men and women of Darrion filing out of the stadium, while all the elves remained seated in place. As she looked out over the deserted tents, with banners and loose door flaps waving in the air, she considered the words of the emperor again.

A threat from the woods.

Needed resources being hoarded.

A city already burnt to the ground.

It all sounded familiar.

She was beginning to rethink all of the same arguments that had been used against dwarves and elves by the crazed men of Ruyn, when she saw movement on the main road in the middle of the tents. Four figures were moving towards Lone Peak at a hurried pace, one with dark short hair wearing light armor, and another with blonde long braids and pointed ears.

Teresa and Wisym were home.

Blume felt her heart lift at the sight of these two women she hadn't realized she had missed until she saw them walking up the road. The lifted feeling, however, was replaced with a sudden dread as she made out whom the other two who followed them must be.

From this vantage point, Blume could see the features of each: a tall, lanky looking male elf and a large, intimidating female. Both looked as if they had plucked up the contents of the nearest forest and used it for clothing.

Blume had never seen a Wood Walker elf, but if she had ever tried to picture them in her mind's eye, these two would fit the image perfectly.

And that meant she had to get them out of sight as soon as possible.