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The cart stopped. Lazarus stared behind him. The elven scouts reined their horses in around them. He saw something dark coming toward them. The Elves turned to the beast.
"No scouts, it is Royce," yelled Groton.
The large Grog sauntered into the pathway. The Elves still kept their swords aloft, yet Della's sword disappeared. She was close to the Professor and she glanced over him with concern. Professor Jacobs nodded to her. Lazarus smiled to himself and made a mental note to ask Della if her swords were magical.
The minutes passed, and the orcs still didn't attack them.
Broethon said, "Let's go to the city. We can at least find some shelter there."
They started off down the path again. Lazarus was wondering about the orc wizard, Bruen. He seemed a dangerous adversary.
The trees became more scant as they moved along the path. A high wall made of wood and timber suddenly appeared in front of a large grass field. Large areas of charred wood and a large open area sat in the wall. Dead Elf bodies littered the front of the gate. It must have taken a large army to break down the wall.
Mages came to Lazarus’ mind. A group of magic users could have broken through. The main gate was destroyed. More dead bodies were scattered on the ground. He wondered why Broethon wanted to enter this graveyard. Lazarus didn't want to see the atrocities inside the city. They stopped just outside the gate.
Groton and Broethon confided, still on horseback. Groton called for several of the scouts to enter.
Lazarus heard Groton say, "Look for survivors. Find anything we can use."
It seemed hours before the scouts came back. Lazarus and his group jumped off their cart and stretched their legs. And then he thought he could levitate with the Alpha Mages and leave to find Merlin on their own, for it was Merlin himself who told them to find him.
He shook his head, and knew his thoughts were foolish and full of pride. His parents had taught him better. They had taught him humility was what needed when faced with great adversity. His parents, who he knew were finally dead.
Royce sat away from the others, looking back and forth into the city and then out toward the forest. Lazarus approached him. He didn't approach in a hurried fashion but in a relaxed manner.
"Royce, how are you doing? I just wanted to thank you for helping us back there," Lazarus said.
Royce turned to him and grinned. "You’re welcome, Lazarus."
They were silent for a while. Royce turned around, listening. "The orcs are not coming. They decided to wait. I scared them."
"I'm also sorry about what the girls are saying about you."
Royce's luminous eyes stared into his. The moonlight glinted on the irises. "You also don't want me here."
Lazarus wondered if Royce could read his mind. "Royce, you're an Alpha, like me and the others. They chose you, just like they chose me," he said.
Royce grumbled something under his breath, then said, "Master Lazarus, you didn't tell me your true feelings. Do you want me here?"
Lazarus held up his hands. "At first I didn't want you here with us. Mathew was a good friend, and I wished he was here instead of you. But he is dead, and you're here. We have been made pawns, first with the Elves and Illuminati, and then with the Vvong Queen."
Royce turned away from him and sniffed the air, then said, "I can smell the animals in the forest. There are creatures I can command. I don't have to stay with you. I can leave."
"No, I want you to stay. I want you to help me and the others. I feel that we have been manipulated since the beginning, and it all started with Merlin."
"I am not a pawn. I did everything I wanted to do. The Vvong didn't make me kill your friend," Royce said.
Lazarus shook his head. "No, you were manipulated by the Vvong. They made you into this creature. They knew you wanted more. You wanted to be somebody more than who you were. She used you."
Royce growled, then stopped. "I don't understand how we have been used by the Elves and the Illuminati. I have never seen them before."
"They have been watching and testing us since we were been children." Lazarus told him about his memories, which came to him after the Bastions were open.
"I don't remember anything," said Royce.
"Think about it for a minute," Lazarus said.
The large Grog stopped looking incessantly around the area. "Well, yes, there was a time when my father burnt and destroyed my drawings and journal. And then he also beat me. But something odd happened. My father saw something, and then stopped. I thought I saw it too. It was two hooded figures, and then they were gone. I never understood what happened, but my father didn't beat me again though he really wanted to. I saw murder in his eyes."
The large Grog paused and shook his head. "I never told anybody about that."
"There were probably more times, but you have to think about it."
"Why would they do this?" Royce inquired.
"I think their intentions were good. They needed strong Mages to help get Merlin out of the Blessed Isles," he said.
"The Elves couldn't find Merlin and help him. It seems like they're too weak. Why do we have to find this Merlin? With our powers, we can defeat the Vvong and rule the Earth together."
"No," Lazarus said softly. "There is more to it. We need Merlin to defeat the Vvong."
Cindy came over to them. "They're coming back."
Several of the elven scouts came back. They had two people with them. It was hard to see them from this distance, but he noticed one of the two people was smaller than the other. The elven scouts directed the two people to Broethon. Lazarus walked over to them. When he came closer he saw it was an elf woman with a young girl. It was hard to tell their ages because they were Elves, but they were shaken and tired.
He heard snatches of the conversation. Then Broethon saw him and Cindy approaching them. Royce stayed behind, guarding their backs.
Broethon said, "These are the only people left alive. This is Laurel and her daughter, Beline."
"Hello," said Lazarus.
"They are coming with us?" Cindy asked.
Broethon nodded to her. "Yes. They cannot stay here. Everybody is dead."
Lazarus spoke. "It is safer with us. They can ride in the cart. There is enough room. Cindy and I can ride our mounts."
Before the elven commander asked them where they would find horses, Cindy focused her magic and a ball of water appeared. The ball floated in the air close to her. The moonlight glinted on its surface. The water spheres moved away from them and started to grow and morph into two brown horses, complete with riding gear.
