“Follow me,” the solder said as he turned and walked away from the dock.
Caldal took MistyTrail’s hand and followed the soldier. The rest of the soldiers followed them. MistyTrail gazed at her surroundings as they marched through the city. Morada was a beautiful city. Trees were everywhere and parks were abundant. The streets were spotless, and the people well groomed. Citizens did look to see whom the soldiers were escorting, but they were polite with their curiosity. They neither glared nor scowled at MistyTrail.
The group entered a stone plaza and then a building off the plaza. Caldal and MistyTrail were told to sit and wait while the soldiers continued to stand guard around them. A few minutes later, Caldal was called away. MistyTrail sat silently, trying not to stare at the soldiers. A long time passed before Caldal returned. He sat next to MistyTrail.
“We must wait until Eltor and Mistake are brought in,” Caldal said softly to MistyTrail.
“There is to be no talking,” one of the soldiers said harshly.
Caldal nodded and stared at the floor.
* * *
Most of the villagers sat around Eltor as he told the story of what happened to him and Caldal since they left the village. He had just reached the part where Mistake and MistyTrail had helped him rescue Caldal from the Chamber of Horror when the elven soldiers arrived. Eltor frowned because he knew that the messenger could not have possibly run that fast to Morada. Still, there was nothing for him to complain about. He would have to finish the story later.
Eltor and Mistake rose. The soldiers took their swords and Eltor’s bow and ordered them to follow the lead soldier. It was late in the day when they finally reached Morada and met up with Caldal and MistyTrail.
The four adventurers sat silently until Caldal and Eltor were ordered to follow a soldier. They were marched along a corridor and shown into a large room. At one end of the room was a long table. The twelve Elders of Elvangar sat behind the long table, and Eltor and Caldal were led to a spot in front of it. Soldiers stood on both sides of them.
“You are accused of violating the laws of Elvangar,” stated Malid, the Head Elder. “Caldal, you have already stated your guilt. What say you, Eltor? Are you guilty?”
“I am,” nodded Eltor. “I intentionally sailed beyond the Barrier Islands. I have returned to Elvangar to accept my punishment.”
“Accept your punishment?” asked the elder. “It is my understanding that you snuck into the village of Etta, while Caldal entered Morada and immediately confessed. How is that surrendering?”
“I surrendered to the guards in Etta,” replied Eltor. “They immediately sent a runner to Morada. I was awaiting an escort when the soldiers showed up.”
The elder looked perplexed. He summoned a soldier and whispered in his ear. The soldier nodded and withdrew from the room.
“Why did you not return with Caldal?” Malid asked.
“I suspected that my punishment would keep me from my friends and family for some time,” answered Eltor. “By surrendering at Etta, I had a small amount of time to say goodbye to those I love before being sentenced. I assure the elders that escaping justice has never entered my mind. Caldal and I have been through a terrible ordeal since leaving Elvangar. We are thrilled to be back in our homeland, even if it means punishment.”
The soldier returned and whispered in the elder’s ear. Malid nodded and stared blankly at the two accused elves.
“It is said that you were imprisoned on the Island of Motanga, Eltor,” continued Malid. “Is this true?”
“It is,” Eltor nodded. “We sailed too close to the island and were captured. We were forced to work in the shipyards. Caldal and I tried to escape. We were caught. I was sent to work the mines, while Caldal was sent to the temple for torture and death.”
“And yet here you are,” frowned the elder. “How is that?”
“I was rescued from the mine by two female elves,” explained Eltor. “Their names are Mistake and MistyTrail. They are being held outside this room.”
“I know about them,” scowled the elder. “Tell me of Motanga.”
“They rescued me from the mines,” frowned Eltor. “I told them that I could not leave the island without Caldal. They agreed to help get him out of the temple. The three of us snuck into the temple and rescued Caldal from the Chamber of Horror. We evaded their patrols and creatures and managed to sail away from the island without being captured.”
“Creatures?” asked one of the other elders. “What type of creatures?”
“They are called kruls,” answered Eltor. “The best description that I can offer is this. They stand at least twice our height, some thrice. They resemble giant apes, yet they have the ability of speech. They are incredibly strong. I believe them to be magical beings.”
“And this is what inhabits Motanga?” asked another elder.
“No,” Eltor shook his head. “Humans inhabit the island. The leader is known as Vand. Anyone who sails near this island is captured and put to work. There are hundreds of elves imprisoned there. Humans, too.”
“Hundreds of elves?” scoffed Malid. “How is this possible? Not that many elves have gone missing.”
“Some of the elves were born on Motanga,” replied Eltor. “There are several generations of elves living there. Their ancestors may have been captures years ago.”
“Did you say Vand?” asked an elder. “Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yes,” Eltor nodded exaggeratedly. “He is reportedly an ageless magician of the dark arts. He takes new bodies over the course of time, but it is said that he is immortal. He is the leader of the Island of Darkness.”
The elders were obviously alarmed. They ignored Eltor and Caldal and whispered excitedly among themselves. Finally, the Head Elder broke away from the whispering group.
“We must know everything that you can remember about Motanga,” declared Malid. “This information is vital to Elvangar. Because of the information that you bring, your punishment will be less than normal. The fact that you both willingly surrendered is also to your credit. You will be required to report here each day to talk about Motanga until we have gotten all of the information that we can get. You will be housed in the prison until your sentence is completed.”
“There is more that I must tell you,” Eltor said. “We also traveled to Khadora and Fakara. Emperor Marak has asked us to deliver a message to Queen Alycia.”
“Khadora?” frowned Malid. “Fakara? These names mean nothing to me. Who is Emperor Marak?”
“He is the leader of Khadora,” explained Eltor. “He thinks that Vand is going to attack him and his neighboring countries. He has asked for help from the elves.”
“Are these countries on the Island of Motanga?” asked Malid.
“No,” Eltor shook his head. “When we escaped from Motanga, we sailed to Khadora. It lies to the west of Motanga. We spoke to the ruler there. He was most gracious to us. We promised to carry his message to the queen.”
“You told this human about Elvangar?” gasped Malid. “Tell me that is not what you just said. You know our laws.”
“We told him nothing about our homeland,” protested Eltor. “We told him neither the name nor the location of Elvangar, yet it was obvious that we were not human. This man is an honest and generous man. His country is faced with ruin when Vand attacks him, and he believes that Vand will attack us when he is done with Khadora. He wishes to join forces with the elves to defeat the evil.”
“This is most serious,” Malid shook his head. “Being captured by humans was obviously beyond your ability to protest, but these other humans you have willingly conspired with. That is against our laws. This is a matter that must be taken to the queen. Your sentence for now will remain as I have stated, plus you are banned from setting foot on a ship for a period of five years. This sentence may be severely modified after a review with the queen. Take them away.”