35

An Abundance of Judgment

“I know what the blasted emperor said,” Teresa exclaimed as she pounded her fist on the table. “It's not true!”

The majority of their group had gathered together in the cramped dining area of the coffee shop. The shutters were closed and candles were lit, even though it was midday.

Wisym thought it best not to show off their new guests after what Blume had told them at the city gate. She was still amazed at their luck.

Since most of the guard hadn't been to the meeting yet, they didn't know about the supposed dangers of the Wood Walkers, and since a good number of Lone Peak residents had never seen one before, they were able to slip their two guests under cloaks and escort them to the coffee shop without much trouble.

If there had been many more Enoth elves about, however, their fortunes would have been much worse.

Wisym had been surprised to find the city of Lone Peak overrun by elves from the south. When they had seen the convoy of ships a week ago, she had not know that they would all be converging on the same spot.

Eren had, surprisingly, surmised that they would.

What was even more surprising, however, was the ferocity with which Teresa defended the Wood Walkers. Wisym had gotten the impression that the princess didn't like the elves they had traveled with all that much. She scowled at their lack of modesty. She scoffed at their unflinching protection of nature. She even declared their unwillingness to kill animals for food and let elves in their own family suffer as insane.

But now here she stood, beating her fists on the table in defense of the very elves she appeared to have nothing in common with.

The princess had surprised Wisym before. She guessed this would not be the last time.

"Besides the fact that they are horrible fighters, and would never use fire to burn anything except for dead branches they scoured off the ground, nearly every single wood elf in the south was at the very same gathering we were sent to spy on."

Teresa was making her case for the innocence of the Wood Walkers, and so far had a pretty convincing argument.

The rumor was that the elves had burned down the city for no reason at all and were on the verge of attacking both Darrion in the north and Enoth in the south. After getting to know them, the notion of the Wood Walker elves attacking anything seemed ridiculous.

In fact, they were the ones being attacked. Not by elves or men yet, but by the relentless attacks of the foxes.

They had seen two small skirmishes with the beasts since the day they saw the ships leave the river and enter the sea. The Wrents attacked without warning and were expert in stealth, even by elf standards.

Wisym was quite sure that if the men and elves surrounded the Wood Walker's territory and attacked at the same time, the effects would be catastrophic. No less than genocide.

But why?

That was a question Wisym kept returning to time and time again. Why would the elves from the south seek to destroy the Wood Walkers? From what she knew of them, they had cities with vast wealth, peace on every corner of their empire, and were knowledgeable about many of the great mysteries of the continent.

So why seek out the woods?

Wisym listened to Teresa go over again the facts that proved the Wood Walker's innocence.

Holve had heard enough.

"I believe you, Teresa," he said with his hands in the air. "But I'm not the one you need to convince."

The air inside the nobles' castle felt dark and heavy compared to the outer brightness springtime in Lone Peak had offered. Wisym had only once been inside the Room of Houses, the place from which the elected representative of each noble house ruled Darrion.

Since that time, there had been two major changes.

The first was that when they come as a group seeking permission to access Lone Peak's famous library. They had sat before the council of nobles who had deliberated for a few short minutes before granting them permission. Apparently, Holve was a good friend of the current ruling Noble, Max Condor. That Noble was no longer in his chair in the middle highest point.

Since her and Teresa's excursion into the woods, there had apparently been another election. Instead of the red and silver bird of prey that had dominated the chamber before, the green and yellow bear was now the main banner on display.

The middle seat was not occupied with the plump and pleasant Max, but the short, squinty-eyed figure of Robert. To Robert's left sat a woman Wisym had never seen before wearing the red and silver colors of her house. To Robert's right was a younger man named Cecil draped in blue and brown, the colors represented in the banner above him. A great serpent like fish coiled around the banner.

The house of nobles had certainly changed, not just in appearance, but in atmosphere.

The other addition, which Wisym had not expected, was the presence of three male elves dressed in orange robes. One held a banner that depicted a comet. The other held a large ancient tome. The one in the middle, the tallest of them all stood staring at their company, hands folded together and looking curious but displeased.

"Welcome Holve Bravestead, traveler from Ruyn and guest in Lone Peak," came the deep voice from the center elf. "What brings you to the House of Nobles today?"

For moment Holve simply considered the elf before speaking.

"Had it been an audience with you or the elves of Enoth, I would have requested it. As such, my business is with the Nobles of Darrion."

Wisym wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the deep voiced elf turn up a scowl at Holve. She glanced over to see if the older man had registered this as well. No concern or care came over his expression. When she looked back at the elf, his face was once again curious instead of scowling.

"Of course," he said gesturing to Robert.

The squat man cleared his throat at this exchange.

"Well?" he asked abruptly. "What is it?"

Wisym did not like Robert. From what she heard from the people in Lone Peak, the portly man appreciated the perks that came with politics more than the actual burden of ruling. She could tell from his demeanor that he wished this meeting to be adjourned as quickly as possible.

"We seek asylum for two individuals who have just recently traveled to the city of Lone Peak. Just as you have accepted us into your midst and we have been peaceful, so too we ask for you to accept these as they will also benefit the city and cause no trouble."

Wisym had been waiting to hear it but Holve had stopped short of identifying the two as Wood Walkers, or even elves at all. She couldn't help but admire the diversity of the group: one dwarf, six humans, two halflings, a skirlx, and herself, the sole elf from Ruyn. She wondered who Robert might think they were about to present to him.

He raised an eyebrow at Holve.

"More traveling companions?" he asked. "What have you added to our city? I fail to see how you being here has benefited us."

Truthfully, Wisym could find no answer to this question either. All they had done was live in the city, drink the coffee at the shop, and traveled around Irradan.

But Holve had an answer.

"You may be unaware, noble Robert, as my previous meetings had only been with Max," Holve said with a small bow. "How is he, by the way? I hope he recovers from his injuries soon."

Robert shifted uncomfortably in his chair, as did the noble of Leviathan.

It had been well known that the ruler of house Bear hated Max and envied his position as Head Noble. The two clashed openly and disagreed on just about every part of ruling Darrion.

When Max had unexpectedly come up injured and unable to fulfill his duties, an election had been held to choose the ruling house as well as Max' successor. Robert had won; bringing his house from second to first. Leviathan had moved up to second, a place it had not held for several years, and now Condor, who had enjoyed the top spot for decades, was at the very bottom of the houses.

Holve had informed Wisym and Teresa about this on their way up to the castle. He had also told them about the gossip surrounding the incident. Apparently a servant girl had seen someone attacking Max and told anyone who would listen about the event.

The girl had mysteriously gone missing just a few days after she gave testimony about the event, lending credence to rumor that Bear and Leviathan had orchestrated the whole thing.

Robert eyed Holve with his narrow eyes.

"I believe you were telling me about how you've added to our city?" he asked, dodging the question.

"Of course," Holve said with a wave of his hand. "A few weeks ago, four in our company defended your fields against a Wrent attack. All in all there were fifty of the beasts. Ealrin, Blume, Jurgon, and myself drove them away from your city's fields where they surely would have injured workers, horses, or even burned your crops. This one deed alone has repaid our visit to Lone Peak tenfold."

That wasn't quite the story Wisym had heard from Blume. Instead of an offense against the city, it was Ealrin and Holve searching for Blume after she had stayed out too late practicing magic. But Robert didn't need to know that.

"Bring guards from the wall to verify his story," he commanded.

Some attendants went to go fetch guards from their stations while the company waited.

It wasn't long before several from the wall, as well as one of the healers who attended to Ealrin's shoulder, appeared in the house of Nobles and were able to recall the day's events.

Wisym had been more than a little concerned for Ealrin when Blume had told her about the attack and his shoulder. She looked over at him now as he pulled away his collar to show the scars that were left. She had missed him and was glad to see him well.

She also found herself being more infuriated with the wrents because of their attack on Ealrin.

Holve's story and that of the city guard matched up. A few of the guards had even gone out of the city walls to ensure that there were no more of the beasts around and that they had indeed fled.

Wisym was sure that, with these witnesses testifying to how they had been a benefit to the city, Holve's request would be granted.

Holve continued to speak.

"As you know, Noble Robert, we call ourselves simply The Swords and have come from a land torn apart by war. You graciously hosted us in your city and allowed my companions and I access to the famous library in Darrion. From there I have searched your histories, your legends, your wars, and your origins."

Holve paused here and Wisym saw him consider those who stood before him. He strode over to the left, speaking now to the next Noble on his chair.

"Part of our company sailed out to see the other cities of Darrion. As you well know, they came upon the city of Bestone and discovered that it was deserted and burned to the ground."

“And they can verify the destruction caused by the Wood Walkers,” interrupted the priest, pointing a long bony finger at them, accusingly.

Holve ignored him and continued.

"It's true that there they found crude spears, branches and animal skins, but these were laid on top of the charred remains of the city. Untouched by flame."

“Lies!” the priest shouted.

Again, Holve spoke as if the priest had not said a word.

"After this discovery, that same crew was set up on by pirates. They captured one and brought him back for questioning, but he has escaped."

“Convenient,” Robert said under his breath. Felicia began to approach the noble and speak, but Holve held out his hand.

Wisym thought she heard Felicia swear underneath her breath. She couldn't blame her. Without their prisoner, their story seemed less credible.

“During the same time," Holve continued. "Another three of our number went to explore the forest and, if they could, meet the Wood Walker elves."

“You sent spies to the Wood Walkers?” the priest interjected. “Who?”

Holve considered him a moment.

“Teresa Thoran and Wisym of Talgel,” he said, motioning to the two of them. “A princess who has employed many elves in her army and an elf from our own forests back on Ruyn.”

The priest eyed them suspiciously.

"I think,” continued Holve. “That at the same time that you claim the elves had marched past the borders of your country and burned a city far to the north, they were in fact having a great meeting to discuss their own troubles and how they might solve them."

Teresa stepped forward and nodded.

“We were in the presence of most of the leadership of the Wood Walkers now three weeks ago,” she said. “They spoke nothing of the men of Darrion. Their problems involve their own shortage of food and inner strife. Not wars with men.”

For a moment, the expression on Robert's face changed from a scowl to something like a grimace. Wisym took this for a good sign.

"It seems I have under estimated your party," Robert said. Wisym felt as if he were admitting this against his better judgment and that the words tasted bitter in his mouth.

Then a smile creased his face.

"Bring your two guests before me so that I might see the newcomers. If you have traveled as far and wide as you claim, perhaps they can also speak to the goings on in Irradan.”

All around her, Wisym could feel the group shifting uncomfortably. This had been a concern of theirs, but one they had hoped they could avoid. She was just trying to figure out how Holve was going to talk his way out of this particular dilemma, when his next words took her by surprise.

"Teresa," he said, turning to the princess who stood stiff, arms crossed in front of her. "Go and fetch our guests."

Two robed figures strode into the hall, following Teresa.

Wisym kept turning her head back from Robert up on his chair to the two figures that stood in the center of the semi-circle of their company. Their robes were brown and long, going from the hoods that covered their heads and faces almost completely, to the stone floor of the House of Nobles. In the darkness of the current arrangements, it was almost impossible to discern any of their features.

“You are strangers to these lands,” Robert began, assuming what Wisym was sure he thought he might know about them. “Take off your robes so that we have no shadows between us.”

The effect was instantaneous.

Perhaps they had been wanting to discard the robes as soon as Blume had suggested they wear them. It had taken a far bit of convincing to have them actually put them on. Perhaps they felt constricted in all the fabric.

There was certainly much less covering them when the robes fell to the floor.

Robert stood, clutching the hand rest of his chair with one hand and pointing with the other. The tall priest began chanting in deep elvish, which the two others began to repeat after him. The other two nobles sat rigid in their chairs, looking back from Robert, to the priest, to the elves on the floor. Robert's voice was the loudest of all.

“Wood Walkers! They're Wood Walkers!” he shouted, apparently having lost all other words in shock.

“Thank you, Robert,” Holve said sarcastically. “I wasn't aware these elves were not from the Empire of Enoth or from Darrion.”

Wisym was sure the noble hadn't heard him.

The priest left his chanting behind and shouted over the din.

“Why have you brought these animals into our midst? To spy? To kill our children? To burn down this city like they did to Bestone?”

“Two elves who despise killing more than you despise them burning down a capital?” Holve replied acidly to the priest. “You may have given way to madness, but I haven't yet.”

The priest looked at Holve, disgusted. Turning away from the elf, Holve addressed Robert.

“These elves are no threat to you or your city,” he said in a more tempered voice, though Wisym could tell he was on the brink of anger. What she appreciated most about Holve was his respect for those he had yet to learn everything about.

“You'll find them to be quite peaceable and they also have a warning to give the people of Darrion.”

This last statement broke Robert from the state of only being able to shout the new elves' origin.

“A warning!?” he proclaimed. “That they intend to march to our city and tear the stones down from our walls! They are here to warn us of their approaching invasion!”

Holve threw his hands up in the air, obviously overwhelmed with Robert's ignorance.

“You've not even heard them speak, yet you throw words into their mouths. They came here to warn you of the Wrents! The same ones we held back not two weeks ago. They are gathering in strength in the north. While you sit and plot against the elves who live in the woods, a real threat grows that you are doing nothing to prevent!”

Robert's brow was still furrowed with rage as he sat back in his chair.

“I see no reason to believe that the Wrents will attack us, yet here are two elves in our midst. They look more like animals than the elves of Enoth.”

The female elf stepped forward, her fists raised. Wisym reached out and grabbed her arm, not harshly, but without hesitation. The last thing this meeting needed was provocation. But the priest had seen her come forward and was already drawing himself up to his fullest height.

“The beasts desire to attack!” he shouted.

Holve grunted in frustration.

“These elves are no threat to the people of Darrion or Lone Peak!” he shouted back.

“Enough of this!” shouted the priest. “These animals and their companions are a danger to Lone Peak and the Elves of Enoth!”

He turned to Robert.

“Have them arrested!”

He spoke with such force that even Robert paused a moment.

It was just enough time.

“Now Jurgon,” Holve said only loud enough for the group around him to hear.

Wisym closed her eyes and covered her ears.

When she opened them again after a momentary wave of heat blasted her skin, she was greeted by the sight of every noble chair knocked askew, with the occupants of those chairs laying scattered about the platform. The priest and his two elves were also in various stages of consciousness as they had slumped to the floor. A gentle haze blanketed the room.

“Time to go,” Holve said.

Without any further words, he turned and left the house of Nobles. All their party followed him out, with Wisym in the rear. Holve instructed her to grab the robes from the ground, obviously to place over Elen and Eren before they return to their shop.

Once outside, however, Holve's intentions were made clear.

“We can't stay in a city given over to madness,” he said. “Felicia, take Urt and prepare the boat. We need to sail before nightfall.”

Wisym couldn't say she blamed Holve for this decision.

Noble house guards had already come to escort them from the foyer and out the door, closing it forcibly behind them. The telltale click of the lock told her all she needed to know. They hadn't known about the blast in the room of judgment yet, but were more than willing to see them go.

“What else do you need from us, Holve?” she asked.

“You and Teresa take these two back to the house,” he said, looking at the two Wood Walkers as they dressed in their robes again. “Gather any supplies you can and pay our hosts well. Then come down to the ship as quickly as you can.”

“Tory, Jurgon, Jurrin, Gorplin,” he said turning to the four beside him. “Take whatever coins you have and stock up in the market. Come to the boat with the provisions. I trust all we lack is food, Felicia?”

“Aye,” she nodded. “That and fair skies.”

Wisym turned her eyes up to see that the clouds foretold springtime storm.

“We'll have to make do with whatever weather we can get,” Holve replied.

“Ealrin,” he said, turning to the only adult without a job. “Come with me to the library. I'm not leaving without my notes.”

Holve had turned to leave before being interrupted.

Blume spoke up from behind Jurgon.

“Hey!” she exclaimed. “What should I do?”

Holve turned and looked at her for a moment before the faintest smile crossed his mouth.

“Head with Wisym,” he said. “With any luck you'll be able to let Dilinor know you're leaving. He's been at the shop more often than not lately.”

Wisym saw Blume's face go slightly red.

Holve looked to the sky, and then at those gathered on the steps of the Noble House.

“Meet at the docks before noon and make haste,” he said. “I fear we've made a terrible judgment of the tolerance of Darrion.”