“We did,” nodded Caldal, “and look what happened to us. We were destined to die at the hands of the humans on Motanga. You and Mistake intervened to save us, but the experience proves that our lessons were the truth. We should never have left Elvangar. Now our very existence is a threat to our people.”
“How are you a threat to anyone?” asked MistyTrail.
“While Emperor Marak has been quite friendly towards us,” explained Caldal, “he is human. He will now seek to discover the secret of Elvangar. He will not be able to help himself.”
“What if he does try to find Elvangar?” asked MistyTrail. “He would never bring harm to your people.”
“He would not do so intentionally,” agreed Caldal, “but trouble will follow him nonetheless. Once Elvangar appears on the charts of humans, others will seek us out. Some elves may even think it is time for us to return to the world and encourage the humans, but that would be folly. Once the humans learn of Elvangar, the land of the elves will begin to perish.”
“So you are blaming yourself for some future destruction of your people?” questioned MistyTrail. “Is that what is truly bothering you?”
“I think it is something like that,” nodded Caldal. “If Eltor and I had not rebelled and broken the law, Elvangar would remain a myth to the humans. I feel as if I am guilty of the worst nightmare one could ever imagine.”
“You forget about the other elves that were captured by Vand’s people,” noted MistyTrail. “You and Eltor are not the only ones to have strayed from Elvangar. You also don’t realize that the humans from Motanga are the ones that the elves need to fear.”
“The fact that others disobeyed the law is hardly a reprieve from my own transgressions,” frowned Caldal. “I do not stay up at night worrying about what others have done.”
“But you are missing my point,” MistyTrail persisted. “No matter what you do, humans are going to find Elvangar. If Eltor and you were never born, the humans would still find Elvangar. Can’t you see that?”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better about the end of my people?” snapped Caldal. “Do you expect me to sing for joy just because it is not me personally that will be responsible for the death of the elves?”
Caldal suddenly realized that he must have shouted at MistyTrail. The entire column had stopped and everyone was staring at him. Emperor Marak turned around and rode towards Caldal. The elf tried to avoid the human’s eyes, but Emperor Marak sat patiently until Caldal looked up.
“I will not be a party to the destruction of the elves,” the Emperor declared softly. “Whether or not the elves join with us to defeat Vand, I will never allow the elves to be attacked by humans. If that is what is affecting your attitude, be reassured that my intentions are honorable.”
“I have learned that your intentions are honorable,” admitted Caldal, “but that only means that you are a rare human. Once Elvangar is on your charts, elves will begin dying.”
“Elves will begin dying as soon as Vand sets his sights on Elvangar,” replied the Emperor. “With the number of elves he has already captured, do you really think he does not already know the location of your homeland?”
Caldal’s mouth dropped open, and he stared into Emperor Marak’s eyes as he saw the truth in the human’s statement.
“The only saving grace for Elvangar is that Vand intends to attack us first,” Emperor Marak continued. “And I intend to defeat him before he can turn on the elves. Help from your people would be invited and welcomed, but we intend to stand against Vand’s armies regardless of how badly we are outnumbered. If you really want to help your people, alert them to the threat of Vand and prepare Elvangar for the inevitable attack should we be defeated.”
Suddenly, six arrows flew out of the forest towards the Khadoran column. Two arrows struck Emperor Marak in the back, knocking him off his horse. Two arrows struck Gunta and Halman caught another. Both Torak soldiers fell to the ground. The sixth arrow hit MistyTrail’s horse. The horse shrieked and bolted, tossing MistyTrail to the ground.
“Everybody down,” shouted Mistake as she dove at Eltor, knocking both of them off their horses.
Caldal dropped to the ground and threw his body over MistyTrail as the horses ran past. Axor turned his horse and galloped away after the other horses. More arrows flew through the trees, but everyone flattened against the trail. All of the arrows missed.
Eltor shook himself free from Mistake and grabbed his bow. He nudged Caldal with the end of it. Caldal looked up and saw Eltor making motions with his hands. He rolled off of MistyTrail and grabbed his own bow. The two elves nocked arrows and split up. Eltor backtracked along the trail, keeping low to avoid being seen. Caldal did the same in the opposite direction. Mistake and MistyTrail crawled to the Emperor’s body.
When another hail of arrows ripped through the trees, the elves responded with arrows of their own. Two screams came from the forest followed by a number of shouts and the sounds of movement. The sounds grew dimmer.
“They are running away,” shouted Eltor. “Let’s track them.”
“No,” groaned Emperor Marak as he rolled over and stared up at Mistake and MistyTrail. “Tell the elves to stay here.”
“Eltor! Caldal!” shouted Mistake. “Come here quickly.”
The elves halted. The looked first at Mistake and then locked eyes with each other. Eltor finally shrugged and walked towards Mistake. Caldal followed his example.
“Why would you not let us track them?” asked Eltor.
“Because they would lay a trap for you,” the Emperor said as he sat up. “I want the two of you alive to return to Elvangar.”
“How is it that you survived the attack?” asked Caldal. “I saw you struck down by two arrows.”
The Emperor smiled and extended his arm towards Caldal. The elf grabbed the arm and pulled the Emperor to his feet. Gunta and Halman were also getting up and standing.
“The thin cloth that you wear under your tunic is armor,” smiled the Emperor. “It has tremendous abilities in stopping most attacks to the torso.”
“That thin black cloth?” frowned Caldal. “You can’t be serious. That stopped the arrows?”
“I am sure that I have a couple of puncture wounds in my back,” nodded the Emperor, “but no serious damage was done. It sure does hurt, though. I won’t mind a night in a nice bed.”
“That is amazing,” remarked Eltor. “Maybe we should put ours on,” he added as he looked at Caldal.
The Emperor looked from Caldal to Eltor and frowned. “You aren’t wearing yours?”
“We thought it was some human fetish,” Eltor shrugged embarrassingly. “We didn’t know it was armor. How can it protect you and still be so light?”
“It is made of Tyrik silk,” explained the Emperor. “It is then coated with carganite. Not much gets through it.”
“The Chula ran off during the fight,” frowned Caldal as he sought to provide a distraction from his embarrassment. “I guess that is to be expected from one who hides his face.”
“He is trying to capture our horses before they scatter,” explained the Emperor. “Without them, we are truly dead. The enemy would have time to congregate and greatly outnumber us. Do not make the mistake of thinking that Axor is a coward. You will find that Chula shamans are capable of great feats of destruction. As for hiding his face, someday you will learn why. Let’s walk towards the inn. I am sure that Axor will be along shortly with our horses.”
“What about the enemy?” asked Eltor. “We killed a couple of them I am sure of it. Shouldn’t we search the bodies?”
“You can try if you wish,” shrugged the Emperor, “but I doubt that you will find any bodies. Even if you killed them, they will rise again.”
“Hellsouls?” frowned Mistake.
“Hellsouls,” nodded Emperor Marak. “I had word before leaving Khadoratung that thousands of them are being shipped out of Motanga. This will not be the last attack upon us. Somehow Vand must know that I am making this trip.”