“No,” Garl said with unusual sincerity. “It was truly a compulsion spell, but one that must never be used on a descendent of Kieran. I will teach it to you.”
“Then we can repay you for the pain,” grinned MistyTrail.
“I am afraid that you could,” frowned Garl. “You see, I am a descendent of Kieran as well. In fact, only descendents of Kieran can use this particular spell. It was developed by the master himself.”
“Does that mean that we are related?” asked MistyTrail.
“In a way,” nodded Garl, “but I would not put too much importance on that. Kieran lived thousands of years ago. There are many branches of his family tree.”
“Yet you were surprised,” frowned Mistake. “If there are so many, why were you surprised?”
“Lineages in Elvangar are very important,” explained the old man. “Just about every descendent of Kieran is well known, yet you two are not. It makes me want to know more about just who you two are.”
Chapter 21
Return to the Mountain
“How will we know if have learned this spell?” asked MistyTrail. “We cannot use it on each other to find out.”
“Not without causing pain,” answered Garl as he sat on the rock and smoked his pipe. “You can try it on a villager later. None of the other villagers are descended from Kieran. We will do it together so that I can assess your abilities.”
“You seem to know a great deal about magic,” remarked MistyTrail. “Why is it that you were cast out of the Society of Mages?”
Garl squinted at MistyTrail as if trying to determine how much she knew. He sighed and waved his hand in dismissal.
“The Society of Mages are a bunch of windbags,” Garl stated. “They like to act as if only the best and most creative are accepted into their ranks, but the truth is that they are afraid of anyone who thinks differently. I am quite happy to be apart from them.”
“But why were you kicked out?” pushed Mistake.
“He offended the queen,” replied Slari as she approached, hands on her hips. “I thought you two would stop him from smoking that nasty pipe? Put it out, Garl. You know it will kill you.”
“Would that be so bad?” quipped Garl. “I think I am going to smoke this pipe until it is done. Why don’t you run along, Slari? I think I hear one of your children being eaten by those trolls that moved into the jungle.”
Slari turned around and stared into the jungle in horror. Garl’s lips curled up slightly as if enjoying a private joke. Suddenly, a child hollered near the jungle, and Slari ran off.
“That was not a nice thing to say,” frowned Mistake. “What if Tokak really did eat one of the children? You would not be smiling then.”
“So you know one of the trolls?” asked Garl as his eyebrows rose in surprise.
“I know them both,” nodded Mistake. “They are really nice people when you get to know them. How do you know them?”
“I walk in the jungle each morning,” replied Garl. “I do not think the trolls will eat the children. In fact, I am pretty sure of it.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked Mistake. “Tiny has a voracious appetite.”
“That she does,” chuckled the old man, “but they like elves for their intelligence more than the taste. I convinced them that elven children are rather stupid, and that it takes a good number of years before they get smart.”
“Why didn’t they eat you?” asked MistyTrail.
“I am too old,” chuckled Garl. “I told them that I had already forgotten more than they knew, so eating me would make them stupid.”
Mistake started laughing, but MistyTrail frowned.
“Why do the elves allow the trolls to live in the jungle if they eat elves?” the Sakovan asked. “Surely the guards could kill the trolls?”
“I am sure that they could,” nodded Garl, “but that does not mean that they should. The trolls are intelligent beings, and elves do not take another’s life unnecessarily. Besides, the trolls have not eaten a single elf since they arrived. I think it may be more of a game with them than anything else. I doubt we taste very good compared to a nice hog.”
A sound from the nearby forest trail alerted MistyTrail to someone approaching. A knife slid into her hand as she turned to see who was coming. Mistake stood alongside MistyTrail and waited. A moment later, they relaxed. They saw Tamar escorting Eltor and Caldal to the village, and smiles split their faces.
“You are not in prison anymore?” MistyTrail asked happily.
“No,” smiled Caldal. “We are not allowed near any boats, but we are free. We have come home to Etta.”
Mistake grinned mischievously and stared at Caldal. Suddenly, Caldal rushed forward and hugged MistyTrail as if they were long lost lovers. MistyTrail dropped her knife and frowned in confusion.
“I am sorry,” apologized Caldal as he embarrassingly broke the embrace. “I don’t know what came over me.”
MistyTrail heard Mistake chuckling under her breath and turned to face her sister with an angry glare. Garl coughed and both girls turned to him. He shook his head and rose from the rock, tapping his pipe empty.
“I have tasks to attend to,” Garl declared with a twinkle in his eye. “We will meet again later to continue our discussion on the complications of using serious magic for trivial reasons.”
Mistake’s face immediately dropped its smirk as she realized that a lecture was forthcoming when next she met the old man. Garl nodded and turned towards the village. The girls turned their attention to their arriving friends.
“I took the opportunity to escort these young lads,” stated Tamar. “I wanted to see how you two were doing out here.”
“We are doing well,” smiled MistyTrail. “We are staying with Garl, and he is teaching us magic.”
“We even learned that we are descended from the famous Kieran,” added Mistake.
“Are you?” frowned Tamar. “Have you discovered your family then?”
“No,” MistyTrail shook her head. “It is just a spell that only those of the Kieran line can learn. How are things at home?”
“You two are missed,” smiled Tamar as he extracted a small sack from his pack. “Anija sent a sack of cookies for you. Unfortunately, I can’t stay long today, but I will arrange to visit another day. I spent the better part of the day getting Eltor and Caldal out of prison.”
“We thank you for your efforts,” smiled Eltor. “I was afraid that we would never get out of there.”
“Will you stay and share the cookies?” asked MistyTrail as she bent down and picked up her knife.
“No,” smiled Tamar as he handed the sack to Mistake. “They are for you. I will be back. Abayo.”
“Abayo,” Mistake and MistyTrail said in unison.
“How did you meet Tamar?” Caldal asked MistyTrail. “He is a high officer in the army.”
“We stayed with his parents in Morada,” explained MistyTrail. “They are very nice people. Let’s go to the village. I am sure that your family and friends will want to learn that you are home.”
In the bushes not far away, an elven officer watched Tamar depart and the others head for the village. He waited until everyone had left before continuing to follow Tamar.
* * *
Rejji and Wyant stopped at the abrupt edge of the mountain trail that used to lead to the summit of Mount Kiator. Wyant leaned slightly forward and stared downwards at the pile of rubble a thousand feet below him. He shook his head and leaned back.
“You would never survive that fall,” Wyant declared. “So this is where you, Bakhai, and Mistake evaded the Jiadin. The three of you are lucky to be alive today. I cannot imagine trying to get into that cave with a bunch of Jiadin chasing me. Are you sure that you want to go through with this?”
“I have to give it a try,” Rejji nodded as Mobi and Panka arrived and dropped the rope and metal hooks on the narrow path. “Besides, I will be harnessed. I will not reach the bottom if I fall.”
“That is where you need to go?” asked Mobi as he pointed to a small cave opening in the side of the sheer cliff above the broken section of the trail.