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All the Elves stood in stunned belief watching the magical horses transformed from a water globe into animals.
The horses snickered and stared at Cindy, awaiting her orders. Watching Cindy cast her spell always made him in awe of her power. Lazarus could cast magical flaming balls, but not create creatures and animals.
Broethon nodded and bowed. "You are as strong and powerful as our oracle had told us."
"Oracle? Who is this?" Lazarus asked.
"The Oracle is our high priestess who foretold of your coming."
"Will she know where to find Merlin?" Cindy asked.
Groton suddenly moved close to them. "Commander Broethon, we should leave here. The orcs might be coming back to find us."
Lazarus and Cindy mounted their horses and the others sat back on the cart. When the elven scout was ready, they ushered their horses down a different path away from the forest where they’d arrived from. Moonlight illuminated the dirt trail.
Lazarus and Cindy moved behind the wagon. He wasn’t tired, but excited to be in a different land. Trying to recall the fantasy books he’d read, he thought these Elves were closer to the archetypal Elves he’d read about in those books. Marlena and Della seemed different to these Elves. It was as if living in space had changed them into shadows of what they once were.
They rode almost all night, until sunlight poured into the grass-filled hills and trees. They stopped for a brief break on the road. Groton called for two of his elven scouts to circle back and check if the orcs were following them. They all ate a small ration of beef jerky. Royce disappeared, then a while later came back. His mouth was bloodied. He licked his paws like a dog, and watched the rest of the group.
The scouts also rode back. Lazarus came toward Groton. He remembered when he first met the elf-dwarf woman, Marlena. She had a universal translator, yet, here on Middle Earth, she didn't have one.
Lazarus had to keep this to himself. Maybe he would ask Broethon, or maybe Della.
The scouts were talking to Groton. Broethon was next to him. They were both nodding.
Groton said, "That does not make sense. The orcs are not usually hesitant to attack. They are ruthless."
They saw Lazarus and turned toward him as he approached.
"I want to know what is happening, since it will affect me and my friends."
Groton said, "Yes, Master Mage." He turned to his leader and nodded for him.
"The orcs have not chased us. They are following us, but they are watching us. We don't understand," said Broethon.
Lazarus said, "It is the Vvong Queen. She is commanding them."
"What is a Vvong?" Broethon asked.
"The Vvong is an insectile race that consumes magic. They want to invade upper Earth to feed."
Broethon said, "Our Oracle prophesied such a person. We call her Morgana."
Something seemed to click in Lazarus's mind that this name, Morgana, was important, as if it was the key to this whole thing, this whole fight.
Lazarus said, "Whoever she is, she is telling them what to do. And I know what she wants. And this Vvong Queen knows she needs us Alphas to find and release Merlin. We need to find him as soon as possible. I think he could make sense of everything."
He sounded odd, as if he was sick or feverish. The Elves merely nodded to him.
Broethon said, "With respect, I believe the Oracle can help you. She has been waiting for you for many seasons."
"How long will it take until we get to the Capitol," Cindy asked after a while.
"It will take several day cycles," Groton said.
Lazarus said, "You all need some rest. Your horses will die if you don't stop and eat."
Broethon said, "You're right. We will stop here and post some guards."
"I also have magic that can watch over us. Do you have a map? I want to see the terrain and how far the Capital is from here," added Lazarus.
"Yes. Groton, let's set up a temporary camp and show Master Lazarus the maps."
Groton directed the Elves to set up their horses in the clearing to eat the grass.
They decided to have a fire. Lazarus wanted to know how close the orcs were, and also wondered why they were waiting. He looked over at Grace and saw she was talking to the two surviving Elves from the city. A roaring fire was built on the right side in an area far from the road and the trees. Cindy was next to him.
"Can you have one of your birds check on the position of the orcs?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
Her power came forth and he felt it. The magic was strong, and he saw the Elves stare at her in disbelief. A small peregrine falcon appeared and it squawked in midair and flew upwards into the sky.
Groton was holding several tubes of leather. "Here are the maps."
The elf knelt down and placed the tubes to the side. He picked one and unrolled it. Drawings in black ink showed the topography of the surrounding area. The interior of the tube was a bleached brown leather. The map was clearly drawn by an expert artist. He pointed at a picture of the city.
"This is the elven City that we came from."
"I cannot read that inscription."
Suddenly the inscription changed into words.
"This city was called Velium."
"Yes," Groton said.
"Where's your Capital City?" Lazarus asked.
Groton pointed to an image of a large city with high towers. It was called Porum. The Capital City was far away.
"Are we in elven territory?" Lazarus asked.
"Yes and no. The city of Velium was at the far outskirts of the elven and orc territories."
"So, the lines get blurred," Lazarus said.
"Yes," Groton said. "I have been defending these lands since I was young, and the orcs rarely attack a city. They only fight small skirmishes. Morgana has truly united the clans."
Cindy approached, her falcon perched on her shoulder. "There’s a small group of orcs waiting in the forest. They are just watching us."
