Month: December 2016

Two more enemies charged into the storage room. Ravenna easily bested them with the short sword. She hazarded a look in the alley. The Greelve that escaped was talking to others of his ilk and more were arriving by the moment. She’d managed to handle them one or two at a time. Now they were organizing some attack. She was getting a bit tired. The elf ducked back into the storage shed and pushed a rack of dried plants in front of the door. She studied the wand. There were runes. Years ago, she saw runes of an old elfish dialect called Foreskorr on an ornate rod taken from a Greelve during a battle in Red Mountain. Was Foreskorr the native tongue of the Greelves?

She recalled the phrase that facilitated the use of the Red Mountain artifact. Perhaps it’d work again. She muttered, “Abe Linkin!” The wand felt warm. The phrase “Jams Mad Eye Son” appeared in her mind. She uttered the phrase. The wand seemed to meld with her hand. Commands in Foreskorr tongue appeared in her head. Many footsteps neared the battered door. Ravenna grasped the wand and uttered three phrases in the native tongue of the Vydaelians. The red-haired elf faded from sight. Pairs of Vydaelians poured through the door. The first pair had thick wooden shields before them. At least twenty rushed into the chamber. Ravenna had no difficulty slipping among them and exiting the storeroom. The alley was crowded with dozens of the greenish gray creatures, but Ravenna Nocerre slipped through them without being detected.

She slipped through the alley and made her way onto the pathway and proceeded along the seashore. She passed more buildings and many of the inhabitants. She observed green, grayish-green, yellow, snow-white, and multi hued citizens.

Without thinking she slammed her shoulder into the floor and forced it open. The storeroom was unoccupied. Odd dried plants were stacked to the ceiling and filled most of the thirty by thirty-foot room. The ceiling was made of the same woody material that made up the walls and doors. Peculiar that underground buildings require roofs.

Ravenna heard footsteps and shouts. She closed the door and jumped behind a stack of the dried plants. Shouts came from the alley. Two Greelves pushed the door open. Two twangs of the elf’s usurped bowstring ended their lives. Ravenna’s aim was unerring from the distance of twenty feet. Two more Greelves burst into the storeroom. Two more arrows, two more deaths…

She only had three more arrows. Another Greelve came through the door and stepped over his fallen comrades. Ravenna rushed toward him and parried his first blows. The elf gained eye contact with her opponent and purred, “Stop fighting! I’ll have to kill you! Wouldn’t you rather caress my hair?”

Her long red locks were l matted not very appealing at the moment. Her simple Charm Spell failed. She parried another blow and took the wand from her newfound quiver and said, “Abe Linkin.”  The phrase had empowered the scepter she had gained in the war against the giants. She tapped the Greelve with the wand. The wand emitted a spark when Ravenna touched him. The Greelve yelped and jumped backward. He turned and ran from the room.

“Not what I wanted!” Ravenna fumed.

Without thinking she slammed her shoulder into the floor and forced it open. The storeroom was unoccupied. Odd dried plants were stacked to the ceiling and filled most of the thirty by thirty-foot room. The ceiling was made of the same woody material that made up the walls and doors. Peculiar that underground buildings require roofs.

Ravenna heard footsteps and shouts. She closed the door and jumped behind a stack of the dried plants. Shouts came from the alley. Two Greelves pushed the door open. Two twangs of the elf’s usurped bowstring ended their lives. Ravenna’s aim was unerring from the distance of twenty feet. Two more Greelves burst into the storeroom. Two more arrows, two more deaths…

She only had three more arrows. Another Greelve came through the door and stepped over his fallen comrades. Ravenna rushed toward him and parried his first blows. The elf gained eye contact with her opponent and purred, “Stop fighting! I’ll have to kill you! Wouldn’t you rather caress my hair?”

Her long red locks were l matted not very appealing at the moment. Her simple Charm Spell failed. She parried another blow and took the wand from her newfound quiver and said, “Abe Linkin.”  The phrase had empowered the scepter she had gained in the war against the giants. She tapped the Greelve with the wand. The wand emitted a spark when Ravenna touched him. The Greelve yelped and jumped backward. He turned and ran from the room.

“Not what I wanted!” Ravenna fumed.

Ravenna had seen a tapestry in the chamber of their opponents in the dungeons of Red Mountain had depicted the underworld sea and the great city. But where was she? Her keen vision detected huge constructions to her left and many “Greelves.” Many looked like the individual that attacked her with the sword she now carried, only most were simply clad and milling about and performing tasks.

One of the inhabitants noted her and shouted, “Vydaelia is under attack! To arms!”

“Good grief! At least I know the name of this foul place,” she moaned as she descended the stair.

Running to the left was out. The Vydaelians were too many! She hit the bottom of the stairs running and sped to the right. Direction, even for an elf, was impossible to determine. Two Greelves impeded her briefly. They were no matches for Ravenna’s skills with the sword, and she quickly slew them. She took a quiver and bow from one of the guards and ran as fast as she could. Many shouts filled the air behind her. Ahead a group of buildings seemed less occupied. She endured a brief battle with another guard and again prevailed.

Ahead she saw other guards and other different appearing creatures. They all had similar appearances, but there were differences in their statures and the hues of their skin. There were obviously males and females. Most that she encountered as she ran from the prison were unarmed and fled from her. They were right to be afraid!

Time…she needed time. She saw an alley between two small buildings. Unlike the prison that was hewn from stone, most of the constructions she was running past were made of odd colored wood. It wasn’t really blue, but it made her think of the extremely resilient bluewood of the old trees of the Iron Mountains. She slipped between the buildings. The alley extended about twenty paces. There was a door on the right. Without thinking she slammed her shoulder into the floor and forced it open.

 

The well-lit passageway  extended sixty feet forward and ended. At fifty feet there was a passage to the right and at thirty feet a passage to the left. She heard thrashing behind her. Howls and growls typical of frenzied troglodytes came from the passage to the right at the end of the corridor.

“No reason to go that way!” she thought.

She moved largely on survival instinct, clutched the well-made sword in her right hand, and held the wand in the left. She ran around the corner. A passage extended forward for sixty feet. There were barred doors on both sides of the passage at thirty feet and at faintly lit opening at the end. Was she going to be fortunate enough to have a brightly lit moon to help her escape? She took a deep breath and ran down the hall.

She hazarded a glance into the two cells as she ran by. The large cell on the left was empty. The cell on the right contained a large number of troglodytes. Their chorus of howling voices and unmistakable stench suggested dozens. The howls obscured any sound behind her.

The elf ran from the prison onto a long stairwell, which dropped about fifty paces and ended on a large stone open area. There was neither moon nor sky! She was in an enormous cavern. Its ceiling was hundreds of feet above and illuminated. The light was equivalent to early dawn or twilight in Donothor. She heard the unmistakable sound of gently breaking waves. About a hundred paces beyond the end of the stairs was a huge sea with dark murky waters. Along the edge of the sea she could see a city that rivaled Lyndyn and Hillesdale in its dimensions. The prison was cut out of the walls of the cavern and a path twenty feet wide extended around the seashore and curved toward the great city.

Ravenna had seen a tapestry in the chamber of their opponents in the dungeons of Red Mountain that had depicted the underworld sea and the great city.

At her command the troglodyte attacked the larger armored Centurion. Ravenna moved quickly, struck the robed “Greelve,” and knocked the wand from his hand. The taller Greelve pushed back the troglodyte and attacked Ravenna. She rolled to the floor and avoided the Centurion’s short sword.  She grabbed the wand from the floor. The charmed troglodyte flew into the two Greelves. There was nothing for it. With only the wand to parry the Centurion’s sword, she ran through the entrance. The unarmed lizardman provided only a brief diversion. The shouts of the stunned Greelves were shouting and in hot pursuit.

She rushed down a ten-foot-wide stone hallway with an eight-foot ceiling and light sources along the walls. There were light sources along the wall.  She passed dimly lit cells. The passage ended in an intersection. The passage extended twenty feet to her right and opened into a brightly lit room. A screaming Greelve ran from the room toward her with an outstretched short sword. The hallway extended twenty feet to her left where it ended and turned to the right in a ten-foot wide passage. Growls and screams continued behind her. Ravenna evaded the charging guard and struck his neck with a heard openhanded attack. The unfortunate guards neck snapped and he fell at her feet. Hours spent studying methods of openhanded combat with the Curates at the Fane of the Setting Sun had paid another dividend. Ravenna scooped up the short sword. She now had a weapon! She ran to the left and then to the right.

Phynne waved the wand in his right hand and threw some red dust into the doorway. Initially the dust sparkled in the frame of the opening to the cell, but soon the particles fell onto Ravenna’s side of the portal. The larger character pulled a well-made short sword from a sheath in his side and stepped gingerly into the room. The second kept the wand pointed toward Ravenna and walked behind his comrade.

“I’ll skewer you if you don’t cooperate. I know you are a witch! We learned of your skills when you attacked us. Why don’t you show the wear of the seasons that you have been here?  How do you do Magick without a wand? Answer!” Centurion Orylan said impatiently.

“Slow down! I’ve just awakened! You must have poisoned me. I’m helpless. What do you persecute me? The stench of the troglodyte is punishment enough!” Ravenna protested.

The robed creature asked, “You must be a leader in your land. We are a people in duress. We have simple needs and want only to engage in trade with your people.”

“Right! We saw what you did in two wars. I saw your actions with my own eyes! I saw my comrades fall before you. I turned your devices against your allies. My people are strong. They will resist you!” the elf answered.

Ravenna loosened the ropes but kept her hands behind her back.

“We have been kind to you. The troglodytes stare into your cell and drool. Perhaps we should start allowing them to spend some quality time within your cell. Their hatred for you is obvious,” Orylan chided.

“Perhaps you should!” Ravenna shouted. “Now!”

At her command the troglodyte attacked the larger armored Greelve.

She clenched her fists.

“You have spirit. We never tire of watching you,” the Centurion Orylan chided.

“Where am I? How long have you perverts been watching me sleep?” Ravenna asked.

The Vydaelian interrupted,” “I’ll ask the questions. I guess you’ve figured out that you are alone but for your eight legged friends.  Death is your only escape.”

Counselor Phynne said, “We might have an option for you. We know you have powerful Magick. If you share your skills with us, we’ll spare your life and allow you to continue to enjoy these comfortable surroundings.”

“How can I turn down such a sweet deal,” Ravenna answered facetiously.

“I’m going to send the troglodyte through the barrier to bind you. Will you cooperate?” Phynne asked.

“Send him in. I’m left helpless. I’ll allow him to bind me,” she quipped.

The smaller Vydaelian uttered a few phrases and touched the bewildered troglodyte with the small wand. The bipedal reptilian creature whimpered when the Protection from Magick Spell prickled his skin and briefly shocked him.

Orylan pushed the Troglodyte through the opening. The beast flew through the aperture, howled, lay on the floor, and whimpered. The simple spell’s Magick protected the trog enough to help him through the barrier.

Ravenna gazed into the Troglodyte’s snakelike eyes and mused, “I can’t believe these guys are this simple.”

The Charm Spell was an intrinsic ability of many sorcerers and sorceresses. The simple mind of the troglodyte made an east target for the Charm Spell.

“I’m famished. But…” the red-haired elf muttered. She tarried and gingerly manipulated the berries.

She had company.

Two elf-sized creatures stood just beyond the entry to the room. One resembled the “greelves” she recalled encountering in Red Mountain, only he was adorned in chain mail armor and carried a glistening short sword. His skin was greenish gray. He was handsome in a bizarre sort of way and had well defined musculature and vaguely elfish features. The second was more slightly built and had iridescent hues of many colors sprinkled through his skin, which was also greenish in its overall appearance. He wore ornate robes and carried only a small wand. The troglodyte cowered behind the two characters in the hallway just beyond the door.

Ravenna’s muscles tensed. She had not experienced this feeling since the last time she was in battle, but how long ago was that?

The armored creature spoke but Ravenna could not understand the dialect. Ravenna stood, approached the opening, and shook her head negatively.

The second Vydaelian tapped his small wand twice and muttered vaguely familiar phrases. Ravenna had heard the Languages Spell but it had seldom been necessary in her forays with Roscoe and Knarra because the Staves carried by the sorcerers of Donothor had intrinsic translation abilities.

The first spoke again, “How was your nap, wench?”

Ravenna smirked and replied, “Step into the room and I’ll be happy to discuss it with you.”

Ravenna studied the walls of her cell and found no other entries. The cell contained no spell components. Could her captors not realize that certain Magick required only the guile of the caster?

Hours passed. One by one memories returned. A twinge of hunger let her know that her stomach was empty and awake. She listened intently. The skittering of the spiders in their webs interrupted the silence. Then she heard the approach of soft steps. Ravenna readied by the opening. The footsteps stopped just beyond the opening to the cell.

“You may as well move away from the wall, wench! I know you’re in there. I don’t care if you eat or not. I’m not going to wait for you,” the voice growled.

Troglodyte! She hated the wretched language, but at least something had interrupted the silence. She had fought many trogs in conflicts in Donothor. She had been a troglodyte for a time. A rod of transformation employed by the great dark sorcerer Roscoe created the ruse during the Great War. Ravenna had never queried as to the origins of the rod, and Roscoe never told her. The device was expended during the conflict but its Magick helped bring down the guards of Red Mountain.

Ravenna answered in troglodyte dialect, “OK. I’m hungry. Leave my food.”

The troglodyte snarled and extended a tray covered by unusual fruits. Green oblong variegated leaves, round reddish brown berries, and blue apples- fruits uncommon in Donothor. The beast extended the tray, which was made of a shiny auburn material through the opening on the floor. The aperture permitted passage of the device.

The Centurion and Counselor watched the troglodyte perform his assigned tasks.