L' malar Whol Kestal

Chapter 2- Utho

I rode into the city of Indyisis. I wondered how I got so far from my home in the land of the elves. It all started when my brother died, ten years ago. My brother was murdered by someone and they thought it was me. My brother was killed by a bolt from my crossbow so people had to think I did it. Everyone knew I hated my brother so it would be easy to believe I did it. So they exiled me from all of the elven lands threatening death if I ever came back. I was twelve at the time. After a couple of days of near starvation I was found by a man. He never gave me his name but he told me to call him Master. He lived with Master for nine years, learning everything he needed to know to survive. Master taught me how to use a bow instead of a crossbow. Master said he hated crossbows so if I wanted to learn that, I was on my own. He also taught me how to use some magic. Only minor spells like making fire and such but he said I had the potential to be a great mage. That all ended when he died last year. A group of people came up to us and just killed him. Apparently he wasn't too popular to some people. Since then I became a mercenary. Do a job and get my money. Now I've been hired by some king to do his work. I finally got to the gates and some guards were stationed there.
​"Who are you?" one guard asked.
​"I am Utho. Your king hired me," I replied.
​"Ah, a mercenary. Come on in, elf. The king is waiting."
I proceeded to ride into the city. It seemed a bit dirty all around. Nothing like my old city. Some people turned and stared. They had probably never seen an elf much less one dressed for battle. When I got to the palace of Indyisis I saw the better side of the city. Much cleaner and people looked a little happier here. Most likely because they had much deeper pockets than the rest of the citizens. I got to the throne room to see the king of Indyisis and another person there, a dwarf.
​"Welcome, elf!" the king exclaimed.
​"Hi, I'm Kantos, I'm here to assist you," said Kantos.
​"Do I look like I need assisting?" Utho asked the king.
​"Not at all but this here is a very important mission and I want to take no chances," the king answered.
​"Very well. I only have two questions. Who? How much do I get?"

 

Chapter 3
Veronica

Disapointment. That's what I felt. Disapointment.

I was in the forest. The one just outside of Indyisis. I was  siting on the boulder, right infront of the small campfire. I was thinking. Thinking about our chances for success. We had 15 members of our rebellion, and we were up against the King, who had so much power.

Needless to say, our chances were slim.

I heard the snap of a twig from behind me.  Idiot!  it thought. I was supposed to be on watch, alert for anything. Instead I was lost in my thoughts. 

In one swift movement, I stood, took my sword out of my sheath, and turned around, ready to face anything.

"Relax, Roni. It's me," the man before me said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Arzon. Don't creep around like that. You scared me."

Arzon was the leader of our Rebelion. He made all the plans, kept everybody safe. Me? You could call me second in command, though it wasn't an official title.

"Catch anything?" I asked.

"Yep!" he held up his prize, a small deer and a couple of rabbits. "It was good hunting today. Dinner is served,"

I smiled, and for a moment, my worries were forgotton. 

Zrame and Relan came out of a nearby tent. They were brothers, and the two youngest members of the resistance. They were left without anyone to care for them when they were found by Arzon. So he brought them back to the camp. That was only a few months ago, but they were fitting in well. 

"Did someone say dinner?" Relan said.


"Maybe. But only if you help me gut and skin the meat first." Arzon put the meat by the fire, sat down, and took out his dagger. He looked at me, as if he expected me to do the same. 

"Sorry, I'm on watch," I said as I sat down on the boulder, not really sorry at all. 

Zrame and Relan hesitantly sat down, and I could tell by the looks on thier faces that they wished they were still in the tent. 

I sighed and looked away from them, not wishing to see my meal before it was cooked.

I went back to wondering about or chances. As I heard the Zrame and Relan, disgusted by the insides of a rabbit, I knew they weren't good.

 

Before the story of Ligrr starts, I should probably explain her species. If you’ve read any of The Forgotten Realms books concerning the Drow, skip over this part. The Drow are a species of dark elves that live underground called the Under Dark. For the most part they are hated by everyone including themselves. They (for the most part) are completely evil and their entire existence is about gaining power and revenge upon their enemies. It’s a matriarchal society, and males are considered slaves, only useful as body guards, soldiers and entertainment, and can be killed for any reason at any time without much shock. The main Goddess is Lolth the spider queen and Goddess of Chaos. Her priestesses and those high in her favor are the highest on the hierarchy of the drow. They also tend to excel at something and are always female. The only purpose of males to Lolth is sacrifice.

Chapter 4
Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elghinn dal lil alust
Ligrr d’ Vhid

Nindyn vel'uss kyorl nind ratha thalra elghinn dal lil alust. Meaning “Those who guard their backs encounter death from the facing,” in common. A common saying amongst the drow population, and especially those trained as warriors and assassins. And now, I had almost found out the truth of that saying for myself. The howl of the shriekers on the wall filled me with great dread as I sprinted past them. Their fungi bodies smooth almost slimy to the touch. I could not help but look back in terror of the drow warriors on their riding lizards alerted by the moss shrieker’s alarmed calls. Unfortunately I was so busy checking behind me, and I ran right into one of the hunting parties who had gone through a different tunnel to cut me off.
The leader, Xarve sent from the House D’Zhaunl to capture me stuck his foot out and tripped me, his normally brown eyes glowing red when he turned his on his heat sensing eyes. I could do nothing but lie on the floor gasping for breath, violet eyes panicky. I was thin and in good shape, but my copper hair and grey skin were still slick with sweat from the hard running.
“Thought you could escape the under dark eh?” Xarve smirked and flipped his silvery hair out of his eyes. “You honestly thought we would just let you leave?”
I bared my teeth at him and as a challenge summoned the dark powers within me to enclose us all an orb of darkness that not even the drow’s natural heat sensing eyes could penetrate.
“Stupid girl you’ve blinded yourself as well as us.” A harsh female voice hissed. I heard some chanting calling upon the Goddess to lift the veil of darkness. Blood froze in my veins for it was Vivienne, a high priestess of Lolth the Spider Queen and Goddess of Chaos who had spoken. If she was there, that meant that I had to get out of here quickly, for she was in high favor of Lolth and there was no telling what other nasty spells she would use once she could see me again.
With a sense of urgency in my manner I quietly struck down one of the guards
“Not to disagree with you my lady.” Xarve’s voice suddenly sounded submissive and quiet. Males were inferior to females in Lolth’s hierarchy.
I struck down another one, directly to my right.
“But she’s adept in the fighting style of Kvone Veldrin!”
I heard an intake of breath from all of the soldiers present; along with the loud pained shriek of the next one I struck. Oops missed a little on that one.
I ran from the orb as fast as I could. Unfortunately, some drow had managed to escape my orb. When they saw me running, they immediately pulled out their crossbows and began to fire. Fortunately, they fired a little too quickly to aim as well as they could, so all the bolts managed to miss me.
I sprinted faster than I had ever before desperate to get to the surface, and soon I was practically flying passed the dim lights and various spiders on the tunnels that led upward.
There weren’t too many people left to stop me, and I began to smell the sweet scent of surface world air. I let out a little laugh as I saw the faint twinkle of stars in the night sky, something most drow never see in their entire lives.
I heard the faint rustle of my attackers behind me, and glanced backwards over my shoulder. Only one with a crossbow, and a couple others with maces making one last desperate attempt to catch me. The one with the crossbow shot wildly at me until he had run out of bolts. I was dehydrated ragged and a little crazy from so much running and fighting, but I managed to let out a little laugh of triumph when the bolts soared over my head. Unfortunately, I didn’t look back ahead to see the one that deflected off the stalactite. I did however notice when it hit me in the shoulder.
With a gasp, I stumbled and almost fell. I felt the bolts effects almost immediately as the sleeping elixir made my head fuzzy and my vision start to blur. I managed to make it through the door, guaranteeing my escape. None of them would follow me through the door onto the surface. I had escaped the under dark and had made it into the surface world and I was free of the dangers that the Drow would pose. More than that I cannot say however, because as soon as my feet hit soft dirt I collapsed with blood streaming from many wounds, and dove head first into welcome sleep.

 

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Ummmmmm

 

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Chapter 6- Utho

I looked up to see them. There were at least of ten of them. I raised my bow and loaded. Right before I shot I muttered "fire" in the Elvin language. The arrow burst into flames in mid air and hit the bandit in the chest. He also erupted in flames. The rest of them looked scared at their flaming comrade. Then a voice spoke out.
​"There's only two of them! Get them!"
That must have been the leader. Kantos charged them with his axe. He knocked the legs off of one and decapitated another. I shot again and he erupted in flames as well. Kantos jumped and kicked a guy to the ground then landed on him, axe first. After a couple more shots and swings there was only one more guy. The leader. He started to run away from Kantos and I. Kantos chased after him but the bandit leader pulled out a throwing knife. It hit Kantos in the thigh and he fell down. The leader got away. I rushed over to my fallen teammate. I cast a simple healing spell and it mostly healed but his body would have to do the rest.
​"Come on. We got a rebellion to crush," I told him.
​"Ok," Kantos said while standing up, "But after that, I'm gonna kill that guy."
​"So where is their hideout anyway?" I asked.
​"Well he said it's somewhere in the Karda Mountains, a couple mile from here. But he doesn't have any exact info."
They moved on and then they heard a voice behind them.
​"You're gonna have to come with me," a voice said.
They turned around to see a boy holding a dagger. Along with five other archers pointing right at them. They didn't look to be good shots but they didn't take any chances.
​"I am Veronica. And you mercenaries are my prisoners," said another voice.
​I whispered to Kantos, "Looks like the rebellion found us."
 

 

Chapter 7
Veronica - A stranger is found

I loved the look on the mercinaries' faces when they turned around and saw us. Total shock.

"Drop your weapons!" I commanded. They dropped them, and put their hands up.

"How did they sneak up on us?" one whispered to the other.

"Stop talking," I said. "And if you must know, that racket you made while fighting the bandits could be heard throughout the whole kingdome." I nodded my head to the prisoners, and two of the archers on my left put their bows away, walked over to them, then put a knief to their throats. "Good work guys. Blindfold them." The two archers on my right took out a strip of black fabric and covered the prisoner's eyes. "Alright. Let's go," I said. 

An hour later, the intruders were tied by thier hands and feet, gagged, and thrown in a tent with someone gaurding the front and back of the tent.

You'd think I'd feel safer knowing that the threat was no longer threatening, but I didn't. What if there were others traveling with them? And they were supposed to get caught and taken to our hidout? We could have been followed.

The sun had set, and it was dark now. I took my sword, then left the camp without another word. 

The darkness of the forest helped me and my black clothes blend in. I crept around silently, looking for any signs of life. If i was known for one thing, it would be my stealth. If there was someone out there, he wouldn't see me coming.

I slowed my breathing down, trying to hear over the noise of the crickets. I don't know how long I was out there. Maybe an hour, maybe more. But I wouldn't go back to the hideout untill I was absouloutly sure that there was no one else in the forest.

That's when I found her. Her skin was dark, and she was covered in blood. It looked like she had recently been in a horrible fight. She was unconsious. I thought she was dead untill I checked her pulse. It was weak.

Then, a hand grabed my shoulder.

I whirled around, and unsheathed my sword, ready to kill anything in sight.

"Easy Roni," said a startled voice.

I rolled my eyes and sheathed my sword. "Arzon. That's the second time you've done that to me today. Stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Why did you leave the camp?" he said, changing the subject. 

"I wanted to make sure that no one followed us."

"You could have told someone! No one knew where you went! And who is she?" Arzon said as he turned his gaze to the girl on the ground. "Did she try to sneak up on you as well?"

I ignored his last comment. "I don't know who she is. I just found her. But she needs help. We should take her to the camp and heal her." 

Arzon looked like he wanted to protest, but I glared at him. He sighed, then said, "Never could win an arguement with you." He picked up the girl and we started walking. 

I smirked. "Never could, never will. And that's the way it should be."  

 

Chapter 8
Talthalra l' shinduago xellased-Meeting the surface dwellers.

With a soft sigh I sat up. The light coming through the door was blinding and I let out a little shriek of pain as it pierced my eyes. Throwing my hands up I darkened the room with my magical orb of darkness, and groped in my pockets for my darkening cloth, a magical item that allowed the drow to see in full sunlight as I was now. It was also invisible once put on so no one could take it off to blind me. With a frown I looked around. I was not in a glade in the forest, but in a tent made of some sort of… leather? Animal hide? I wasn’t really sure. It was obvious of course that I was in the upper lands, the sun had obviously come out, no other thing but magic could make that bright light.
Now somewhat returned to my senses, I noticed a little movement out of the corner of my eye. It was a young boy, thin and short and so obviously not a warrior that I could do nothing but laugh at the sight of him quivering in a corner holding his little toothpick of a knife until tears ran down my face.
As soon as he deemed it was safe, he ran out of the tent at top speed shouting “She’s awake she’s awake!” in common.
I heard a rustling outside my tent the jingling of armor and the low hum of human voices.
Still outside my tent a male voice muttered, “Who’s going to talk to her first, assuming she can speak common of course.”
A young boy’s voice replied still just above a whisper, “I don’t think anyone should talk to her, all drow are evil, and plus she can do magic. She darkened the tent when she opened her eyes, I think after being underground for all her life has given her that weakness. Maybe we should use it against her and just kill her.”
“No!” a young woman’s voice said, barely older than a child it sounded like, “It would not only be immoral but our fears could be unfounded. If a drow was willing to risk leaving the safety of the under dark to come onto the surface where she would be discriminated against and possibly killed for nothing as you are suggesting Relam, she is no ordinary elf. Arzon you talk to her first. I must interrogate the mercenaries. I’ll talk to her sometime tonight or tomorrow. Good luck. And bring Zrame and Relam with you.”
I heard a sigh, it seemed neither of the men were particularly excited about this. I felt the same way about talking with them. I am, however excited for my talk with that woman. She seems like a sensible female. Never can get anything done with males, so send them on the less important mission. Talking with a wounded dark elf.
I watched as 3 men walked into the tent, the young boy still shaking in his shoes, and another boy, who I presumed his brother staring right at me. He was unafraid of the grey skinned elf that lay before him.
The other man, who I assumed was Arzon strode in behind the two kids. I watched him with interest. He was a tall strong man, and was obviously a fighter with hardened muscles and a couple visible battle scars.
“Hello,” Arzon began hesitantly in common
“Hello Arzon.” I replied, in common as well. He looked surprised. “Yes I can speak common, but I have never spoken it with a person whose first language was common, so it would be greatly appreciated if you could speak slowly.”
“So are you a mind reader as well as a mage drow!” The boy, Relam, spat the last word.
“You do not like me boy.” I said with a low chuckle “Just a word of advice, never speak that way to a female in my lands, for it is likely you would be sacrificed to Lolth if you did. Slowly and painfully.”
“You are very strange drow-woman.” Zrame stated carefully. “If you know so much what’s my name?”
“Zrame.” I said coldly with a soft smile. “And you are a very strange boy. You are not afraid of me are you? Not like your brother who almost wet his pants.”
“Actually,” Zrame said quietly, “I am.”
“Even stranger! To be afraid and to hide it and follow orders without shaking in your shoes! You will make a great warrior someday!”
Arzon made a little sound in his throat that sounded much like a cough. “It seems that you know our names, but we do not know yours. How do you know our names by the way?”
“My name is Ligrr d’Vhid. A drow has the best hearing of any creature in the upperlands, and better than most who dwell beneath the surface. We also have better eyesight, sense of touch and we are stronger and faster than most of your warriors could hope to match. Even the surface elves. However we have a bad sense of smell and taste, almost as bad as a humans’. “
“Was that a threat?” Snapped Relam
“No merely a statement of fact.”
Arzon cleared his throat and attempted once more to take charge of the conversation. “Excuse me if I’m being rude but… You don’t look like the other drow.”
I sighed. Humans could be so small minded some times, especially males. “We drow are as different from each other as humans are. We don’t all look alike despite what humans think.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’ve never heard of a drow with violet eyes before. Or blue for that matter. Or red hair.”
“Those are all traits that are uncommon in our kind, yes I know. The red hair is just rare, but it’s drow. Sort of like humans and being naturally blonde. The violet eyes…” I trailed off
“The violet eyes?” Azer asked, seeing my discomfort.
“They signify surface elves somewhere in the blood line. You know red and blue mixed together?”
“Ah.” He seemed to understand my embarrassment. The surface elves and dark elves hate each other with a passion. I did not share this hatred, but I was embarrassed merely as a habit from my family’s hatred of my violet eyes and what they symbolize.
“Well,” said Arzon, a bit of relief coloring his voice, “That’s enough conversation for one day. Miss, erm Ligrr here is probably tired, so we should probably head out.”
All three of them turned to leave and I said, just to throw them off. “Deshmal yugho talthalrae dos rivven.” Meaning Bye nice meeting you humans. I doubt they understood me, but they jumped when I spoke in drow.
As soon as they were gone, I closed my eyes and started to meditate. Sleep soon overtook me again, so once more I drifted off into unconsciousness.

 

Chapter 10- Utho

"What if we DON'T fight for you?" I asked.
Veronica responded with a low kick in the stomach.
Utho grunted then spoke again, "You're a good motivator."
"What I want you to do is a test run so we can see just how good you guys are. There is a village called Andemon. It is being oppressed by the King's soldiers. Kill them all," Veronica explained.
"Where is this and are we going to do this alone?" Kantos asked.
"I will pair each of you up with two of our guys. We're not going to let you escape."
"Well untie us and we can prepare," I told her, "We can't take down those guys with our arms tied behind our backs. I'm not THAT good."
She nodded, "Zrame! Untie these mercenaries."
A boy came over and cut the ropes.
"You can go now. I don't want those poor people to suffer for any longer. Zrame, get Relan. You two will be with Kantos. Also get Sema and Cran. They will guard the elf."
The boy named Zrame left the tent and brought back three people. Two guys and a girl. The girl, Sema, had Utho's bow.
"Here you go," she said while handing it to him.
"What about my arrows?" I asked annoyed.
Veronica cut in, "You get them at Andemon."
"Well we should go. No time to lose," Relan told them.
The journey to Andemon was made in near silence. The rebels tried asking us things but they soon realized that we weren't in the mood to chat. Then Andemon came in sight. It was a rather small town but they could see the soldiers from here.
"Here's the plan. Zrame, Relan, and Kantos will take the left side of town and Sema, Cran, and I will take the right side. Good luck," I commanded.
They nodded and we went to work. I shot the soldiers and Cran and Sema hit them in close combat. Kantos whacked them with his axe and the other two just used their swords. It was a short battle. Kantos started to walk over to me.
"I got everyone all the guys over there," he told me.
"Good. You guys can head back," I responded.
He nodded his approval and those three started to make their way back to the rebel camp. I walked over to Sema and Cran.
"I think I saw some guys go into that bar over there," I lied, "Sema, you wait out here and take care of any leftover guys you see."
"Ok," Sema said.
Cran and I walked into the bar. It was completely empty.
"You were wrong. There's no one here. Let's-" Cran was knocked out.
I stood over the unconscious body of Cran and then walked outside.
"Sema! Come quick! I think Cran is hurt!"I exclaimed.
Sema rushed inside. She knew something was up the moment she stepped inside.
"What did you-" she started but I knocked her out as well.
I picked up my bow and arrows and walked outside. I found a forest on the far side of town and ran into it. I had escaped. I grinned and ran some more.

 

Chapter 11
Hopeful answers
Veronica

My suspicions were right. I knew one of them would try something stupid. And I had a feeling he would run for the woods. It was the best hiding spot for miles. So I wasn't surprised when I heard rapid footsteps pounding through the forest. 

I was sitting on a low tree branch, waiting for him to pass by me. As I predicted, he didn't notice me at all. He just kept running. I could see now it was Utho. I let him run a bit more, then I climbed down the tree, and followed Utho, trying to stay as quiet as possible. I wanted to see where he would go...

Turns out, he went nowhere. He came to a small clearing then stopped, looked around to make sure no one was following him, (of course he didn't see me), then tried to start a fire. He didn't get to light a single flame, though. Because that's when I made my move. Slowly and silently, I emerged from the shadows and unsheathed my dagger. As I stood behind him, I slid the dagger close to his neck. "Decide to try something stupid, did we? C'mon. I should kill you right now for betraying us, but I'll let you live. Don't forget to thank me."

It was a struggle to get him back to camp, but once I did, we bound and gagged him again. I would be careful not to let him stray too far out of my sight in the future.

I sat down by the fire, trying to get my mind off things. I ended up doing the exact opposite. There were too many questions, and no answers. So I decided to start getting some. Starting with the drow.

I entered her tent slowly, trying not to appear threatening, but not as a whimp either. I went with my semi-friendly face. Not a smile, but not a hard gaze either. She looked at me, not sure what to say. I took a few steps forward, then said, "Hi, my name is Veronica. I help out around the camp."

She nodded, but said nothing, like she was waiting for me to say something more.

"So," I said. "What's your story?"
  

 

Chapter 12
Ligrr D’vhid
L’Statha D’Ussta Dro: The story of my life

“What is your story,” the tired looking woman said. It was hard to tell with humans, for they grow so fast, but she looked barely out of adolescence, around twenty. I continued to watch her, not sure if I wanted to respond to that or not. She watched me as well, and when she realized I wasn’t going to speak she sighed and said, “Let’s start with the basics then. What’s your name and age?”
“My name,” I began, “Is Ligrr D’vhid, and I am approximately 73,”
She let out a little gasp of shock.
I smiled a little amused. “I’m not even considered an adult yet. We drow live longer than you humans, though not as long as the surface elves I’ll admit. Average age is around fifteen hundred years.” I casually brushed my copper hair out of my face.
“You have violet eyes!” she gasped.
I winced.
She noticed that, but didn’t ask any follow up questions. “So,” she commented, “how did you come to the surface world?”
I sighed again. “In the underdark, there is little kindness. Everything is a competition. Greed and power are our rulers, and the main goddess of the underworld, Lolth, encourages it. Being the goddess of chaos, that is in her nature I guess. Any drow children that are born with a scrap of goodness in their hearts learn very quickly that the under dark is unforgiving, and that kindness, honesty, and pity are weaknesses to be exploited. There is no word for love in our language; the only word that comes close is lust which is not the same thing.
I am one of the few exceptions. I was raised in one of the noble houses, but unlike other children, I never grew out of my goodness. This infuriated my family to the point in which I had to hide it in order to avoid being beaten. I was trained as a warrior because I was not high enough in Lolth’s favor to be a priestess. I was trained a little in magic, and though I did not carry the favor, I was unusually adept at resisting it, even for a drow.”
“What do you mean by that?” The woman said a weird almost triumphant gleam in her eyes.
I hesitated before answering. I wondered if I had said something wrong. “Drow are naturally resistant to magic. we cannot be put to sleep with it, controlled by it, and when scryed we tend to be blurry and hard to hear. That doesn’t keep us from getting benefits from spells though, for the most part we only block out bad effects. We can lower our defenses, but since they are natural it is very difficult and can’t be done for very long.”
I took a deep breath and went on with my story. ”A year ago after years of pretending that I was the same as everyone else, I decided that it would be better to try and escape to the surface where people are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt. It took months of planning and sneaking around, and I would have made it if it weren’t for a loktriam named Xarve.”
“Loktri-what”
“Man, guy, person.”
“Ah. So how did this “Xarve” person find you out?’
“He was around the house a lot… He was, well he was supposed to be my consort in a couple years.” I admitted blushing. “He got suspicious of all my supplies I had stashed, and alerted some people in high places. I had to leave a week early without anything but the clothes on my back.”
“But they got you anyway?”
“Yeah. I didn’t realize that Xarve was still watching me. I was very displeased with him. I made it however, and now my question is, what are you going to do with me? I would be willing to help you, for I owe you much for helping me. This king does not sound very… kind.”
She hesitated for a second, then began to speak, “We would honored to have you fight with us. A warrior of your skill would be welcome help. To start off…” She trailed off as the man Arzon walked into the tent and bowed. “I’m sorry to bother you my lady, but the two mercenaries have escaped again. We caught the dwarf, but the elf was too skilled and got away. It’s getting dark, and he won’t be able to go anywhere, but our men can’t see in the dark either.
“See in the dark…” she murmered. “Umm Miss Ligrr? Would you be willing to help us in this regard?”
I got to my feet and bowed. “I would be honored. Have your men follow behind. He won’t have gotten far with his inferior eyesight, but he is still faster than any human could go.”

A couple seconds later I was gliding silently through the forest. The moonlight was still bright enough for me to see normally, so I didn’t have to turn on my heat sensing vision. The glow of my red eyes would have alerted him to my presence anyway. The smell of rotting leaves and rich earth bombarded my nostrils. With my fantastic hearing, I could hear every snore of the forest creatures, and the soft tread of the ants on the forest floor. I also heard a crashing too soft for human ears, but thunderous in mine.
“For an elf he sure is loud.” I muttered. I quietly ran to where the noises were coming from, and realized he had stopped in a clearing, around five miles from camp. He was smart enough not to light a fire, but not smart enough to realize that breaking logs was obnoxiously loud. I sunk into a crouch and leaped at him, knocking him flat on his face. He let out a sharp cry of surprise which I cut off by slapping my hand over his mouth.” Shut up.” I hissed in his ear as I began to tie him up. He struggled as I did, but I was stronger. Soon his ankles and wrists were tied up nice and tight.
“You’re no human,” He muttered.
“Got that right!” I growled.
Once I was sure he was secure, I stopped and listened for my backup. According to the crashing sounds far in the distance, they were barely a mile from camp. I sighed. “I guess, I’ll have to bring you all the way back, they’re taking far too long.”
I began to carry him back. As he caught sight of my grey skin and violet eyes he growled, “Drow!” and struggled even harder.
I got him back easily despite his thrashing and dumped him at the woman’s feet. “Welcome back,” She said to us with a smile.

 

Who took the cookie from the cookie jar?

 

Chapter 14

This was not going to plan. They were just supposed to kill a rebellion not endure it's torture. I, Utho the Elf-Mage sword master, shouldn't have been caught running. Twice. That stupid Drow or whatever it's called. Now they had to make another assault and this time it was a bigger city. And they would be accompanied by the leader of this band of hooligans. This was one mission I wish I turned down.
"LET'S GO! GANDANALL WON'T SAVE ITSELF!" Zrame shouted.
Kantos walked up beside me.
"Oooooh...carnage time," he said.
"Yes it is. The bad thing about this though is who we're killing for," I replied while pointing my finger at Veronica who was sharpening her sword.
"True. But what's the difference between two tyrants?" he asked.
I let this sink in and then spoke again, "The other one pays better."
They shackled me but not Kantos. Apparently I was a bit more shifty. We traveled with the rest of the rebellion which was a lot smaller than I had imagined. The boy, Cran, was holding my arrows. When he saw me eyeing them he all did was pull one out and spoke,
"Awww...do you want this?" Cran told him with a mocking innocence.
"Not really," I answered, "I'm just wondering how long it will take."
"Will what take?" Cran asked.
Then the arrow lit on fire and Cran threw it on the ground.
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to set off the Fire Arrow, you moron."
Then Cran put the quiver back on his back and kept walking. There were no other disruptions for the rest of the journey to Gandanall. We finally rested on a cliff; overlooking Gandanall.
"Remember, only kill the soldiers. Not the guards," Veronica explained, "Cran, unshackle our friend who likes to run."
Cran nodded then unlocked my shackles. I did some stretches just to get the blood flowing again and then received my weapons from him.
"Many of the soldiers will be in the inn and the rest will just be patrolling. Utho, Kantos, Zrame, and Cran will be with me. Everyone else, just kill any soldiers on sight. Utho don't do anything stupid."
"You have my word, dear tyrant," I replied.
She struck me across the face.
"I'm not the tyrant. I'm trying to stop one," she responded, "And your word is meaningless here. Anyway, let's go."
We went down a slope and into the city of Gandanall. We saw a group of soldiers near us and we charged. I saw which one Veronica was going for so I purposely shot him first. He went down right before Veronica struck. She turned around and glared at me. I shrugged with a smile and we moved on. Another group heard the commotion and they attacked. Again we defeated them and also, I took Veronica's kill again. She yelled something in another language that I didn't understand but it couldn't have been nice. We did this three more times with more patrollers. After that last one Veronica walked over to me.
"I just want you to sit there and not do anything. You're making me look like a fool out here."
"No you make yourself look like a fool all on your own. Maybe that's why your rebellion consists of about fifteen, inexperienced kids."
She struck me again.
"Also hitting isn't a very motivator. Any one of those times I could have just aimed a bit to the side and I would have hit you. Terrible accident," I told her.
She was silent for a moment.
"Just don't do anything," she finished then walked off.
Veronica talked with the others and they went into an inn. All except for her. She remained outside to prevent anyone from hitting the others from behind. I was just to be sitting on the other side of the road. Then I saw something. It was a soldier wielding a knife. He was behind Veronica. I raised my bow and aimed but then I paused because I realized I had two choices here. I could shoot the soldier.

Or I could let him kill her.

 

Chapter 15
Veronica
The Traitor

That little rat had the arrogance to try and show me up infront of my team. I was ready to have him killed. Ready to kill him myself.

But something held me back. Something I can't quite explain.

But it was the biggest mistake of my life. 

After awhile, I got fed up with his little game. I walked over to him and we exchanged a few words. Then I told him to sit down and to not move a muscle. He sat, and I thought I would be done with him for the day.

Soon, everyone moved into an inn. I was at the back of the group. When everyone was in, I killed anyone who got near me. I kept fighting for awhile.

Everything was going smoothly. I was able to keep the door safe. No one got past me. Then..I turned around to see a man with a knife. His eyes were murderous, and I knew he wanted to kill me, and that he would enjoy it. I raised my sword to defend myself.

Then it happened.

As my sword was about to make contact with him, I felt a sudden, but tremendous pain in the back of my shoulder. I started feeling dizzy an instant later, buy I turned around to see Utho. His bow was raised, but he had no arrow in it. It confused me for a moment. Then I saw him lower the bow and I relized what happened.

He shot me. Utho had shot me with his arrow. 

I'm not sure what happened next. I think I fell and hit my head. Then everything faded away. But one thought lingered in my mind.

That traitor was going to pay. 

 

Chapter 16
Ussta Ramoth
Ligrr D’Vhid


An elf of any sort rarely sleeps. We tend to enter a restful period called Reverie. It’s like a cross between daydreaming and meditating. However, dark elves are more likely to enter a true sleep, and though somewhat rare, we do dream on the occasion. Unfortunately, with the ability to have a dream comes the ability to have a nightmare. On occasions we get a treema’urn ramoth, or fearful nightmare. 
I was running down a dark path, guided only by the pinprick of light ahead of me. I didn’t know why I was sprinting the way I was, I was only aware of the desperate need to get away from something horrible right behind me. The light ahead kept getting brighter and brighter, and I could almost feel myself being enveloped in it completely. I was almost to my mysterious destination when I was yanked back to the familiar darkness, with Xarve’s soft voice echoing in my ear. “Surprise!”
I awoke with a gasp. Judging by the soft pink light coming through the tent, it was sunset. I cocked my head and listened for the sound of armor jangling and the clunking noise of people. All that met my ears was dead silence. This meant that they weren’t back yet, camp was never this quiet. If it was sunset and they weren’t back, something was wrong. With a fluid motion I leapt out of bed and began to run towards the town.
I could hear the fighting well before I could see it. Various noises came from the building right in the center of the small town, probably the inn. I walked up to see the front door unguarded, and evidence of a struggle. I frowned as I contemplated what had happened. The woman leader would not have left the door unguarded. Despite her age, she was obviously a brilliant commander. Also I noticed the elf and dwarf were nowhere to be seen. The dwarf didn’t worry me; I could hear his battle cry inside the building. The elf however… 
I cocked my head and listened intently. There! I could hear his voice coming from behind the town hall, directly to my right. 
“…I’m sure I can get a good bounty from you,” I heard him mutter. “The king will be pleased to have the leader brought before him, and you can die a painful death, exactly as you deserve. Without you, the rebellion will crumble.”
“You won’t get away with this.” She hissed back, “Even if you do manage to drag me all the way back, Arzon will take over. We will not fall.”
“Awww,” I heard Utho reply contemptuously, “Who’s going to save you. The drow is ten miles away. She’s the only creature that can possibly catch me, and by the time she hears about it, it will be too late.”
“It’s amazing how skewed your sense of distance is.” I said with a smirk as I walked around the corner. “Even in the under dark, we would refer to this as about ten feet, not ten miles.”
Utho spun in surprise, his blue eyes wide with shock.
While he was still frozen, I put an orb of darkness around us, plunging us in to complete blindness. 
“Ha!” I heard him remark, “You can’t see either without giving yourself away with…”
I concentrated on the sound of his breathing. Then I pulled out my scimitars and struck, making a neat x pattern on his chest, killing him instantly.  I dispelled the orb and turned to Veronica, who was tied up. 
“Are you all right my lady?” I asked. There was a dark red stain on her shoulder that did not look too good.
“Yes except for the fact that I’m covered in ropes!!”
“Right. I’m on it.”
As soon as she got the blood flowing through her wrists and ankles again, I apologized for killing Utho.
She sighed with a sad look on her face. “He was too dangerous to be kept alive anyway.” She said quietly. 
All the men and boys then came tramping around the corner exceedingly happy in their victory. They froze when they saw the scene before them, except for Kantos who nodded with a sad look on his face. 
Veronica and I looked at each other. “I think we have some explaining to do!”