"Aye?" Rak repeated.
"While we watched, the enemy emerged from their tents, and formed ranks, and waited, patiently."
"For what?" Allazar asked, frowning.
"For breakfast."
"Breakfast?" Allazar gasped. "What breakfast? What ails Sarek so, and the thalangard?"
Gawain shook his head, once. "They do not eat spikeweed and ore-slag, Rak, as once you suggested. They eat their sheep, so carefully herded and penned."
Sarek choked back a sob, and Gawain turned, his expression cold. "Is that not so, Captain Sarek?"
Sarek looked up into Gawain's dark eyes. "Aye, my lord. It is so." He looked down at his hands, and continued, "They are an abomination. We must destroy them. All of them. Every last one. Else we are lost."
Rak's eyes widened as the full horror of it finally sank in. Allazar stood on shaky legs, staring dumbfounded at Gawain. Elayeen caught her breath, and looked to Valin and Meeya for confirmation. The thalangard nodded mutely.
"Oh by the Teeth, Longsword, what have they become?" Allazar gasped.
Suddenly Meeya leapt to her feet, and launched herself at the wizard. In a flash her hands were around his throat, her charge knocking him onto his back as he gagged and struggled. In the blink of an eye, Meeya had straddled him, and clutching his throat in an iron grip she began beating his head against the rocky ore-slag, a hissing stream of whispered elven invective pouring from her lips.
Sarek and Valin were on her in an instant, trying to drag her from the wizard, whose face first blue flushed a sudden red as her hands were prised from his neck.
"Meeya!" Elayeen cried in a whisper, her voice regal and commanding instant attention, "Meeya thalangard!"
The elfin ceased her struggling, and her shoulders slumped. Still Valin and Sarek held her, but with a nod from Gawain they too released their grip.
"Eest varl." Meeya sighed. "Eest vakin varl…"
"In the common tongue, Meeya, I command it." Elayeen demanded.
"He is a liar!" Meeya spat.
"By the Teeth…" Allazar croaked, still laying on the ground, rubbing his throat, "What have I said to cause such offence?"
Meeya turned to face Elayeen, tears streaking her mud-stained face. "We were not sent for you, mifrith Elayeen-thalin. They sent us to kill ithroth."
Elayeen gasped, stunned and wide-eyed, as Meeya slumped to her knees sobbing, while Valin stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder.
"It is true." The elf spoke, his voice low and rich. "Our wizards said you were dead. That no-one could survive being taken from Faranthroth. They said that ithroth was Morloch-cursed, that there was no danger to the land with the Ramoths gone, no danger but the one they call DarkSlayer."
Elayeen turned to Gawain, her eyes filled with pleading and confusion as Valin continued.
"The wizards said you were dead, Elayeen-thalin, and that for Elvendere we must go to Threlland, and find the DarkSlayer, and kill him. Only then would the lands be safe."
"They are liars." Meeya sobbed. "They said Morloch was destroyed, but his spirit lives in ithroth's eyes. But you live, mifrith Elayeen-thalin, and Threlland is our friend. And ithroth has shown us Morloch's army."
"But Allazar too is friend…" Elayeen said, "Surely…"
"No!" Meeya pleaded. "He is wizard! The same as them! All the wizards at Elvenheth gathered, and told that Morloch was dead, but lives in ithroth! They lied about Threlland, they lied about you, they lied about ithroth! They have done this, all of this, the wizards! Man does not eat Man! Only wizards can make so evil a thing! Only wizards!” Meeya's voice faded into wracking sobs, and Valin knelt beside her, comforting her.
Allazar staggered to his feet. "In truth…" he began, but his voice cracked.
"In truth," Gawain said quietly, "Only wizards could make so evil a thing, and so many of them."
"Longsword…" Allazar croaked again, his eyes wide with hurt.
"Take the first watch." Gawain commanded.
Allazar gazed at him for a moment, confused.
"Go higher up the slope. It will afford a better view."
Allazar nodded, and then stared at the rest of them. None but Gawain would meet his eye. Dejected, the wizard turned, and picked up his sodden blanket, and began to crawl up slope of the mound, to lay on the top.
"This is…" Rak began, but could not find the word. "We are all friends here…this horror must be shared…"
"I will relieve him soon." Gawain announced, and turned his gaze on the thalangard as Elayeen stepped closer to him.
"They are friends too, mithroth." She said quietly, reaching out to touch his arm.
The thalangard looked up, and saw the shimmering blackness swimming in Gawain's eyes, and for a moment they held their breath, but did not flinch away.
Gawain turned his head to stare deep into the hazel-green eyes imploring him to peace. "I intend no harm, my Lady." Gawain said. "But I would know the truth."
"The truth?"
Gawain nodded, and turned his gaze back upon Meeya and Valin. "You said Gan had sent you."
"He did." Valin replied, "But he does not know of the wizard's orders. He alone believes Elayeen-thalin might live, though she is declared Faranthroth, and he alone trusted your word that Threlland is frith to Elvendere."
"And Thal-Hak?"
Meeya looked up, confused.
"Does he know of the whitebeard's orders?"
"I do not know." Meeya whispered.
"My father would never allow such an order to be given." Elayeen said with commendable conviction.
"Your father, like every other king south of the Teeth, listens to wizards." Gawain replied coldly. Then he took a deep breath, and shrugged. "You are all tired. Sleep, if you are able. But sleep lightly. I shall make a brief patrol, and then relieve Allazar."
"I would come with you, mithroth…"
"No. You are tired too, my Lady, and I would have you here."
Elayeen nodded, and wrapped her arms around herself beneath her cloak as Gawain turned and crawled quietly up the mound, following Allazar's tracks.
He found the wizard laying on the wet blanket, gazing through the rain towards the great crater's wall.
"Credit where it is due, whitebeard, you've picked a good spot for a watch."
"From here I can see so much." Allazar sighed. "Yet I have seen so little."
"Do not take the thalangard's words too much to heart, Allazar. If I thought for a moment you were in any way responsible for what we saw, you would be long dead."
"Yet the elfin would have taken my life. It was in her eyes, as she squeezed the life from me."
"Perhaps you should try defending yourself from time to time."
"I am a wizard. I have a sacred oath…"
Gawain snorted. "Sacred horse dung."
"It is sacred to me. To all wizards. No wizard may harm the races of Man…"
Gawain sighed impatiently. "The frightening thing is, Allazar, you truly believe that."
"I must believe in something."
"Then believe in something a little more useful. No wizard may harm the races of Man? In a pig's eye. Morloch is a wizard, or had you forgotten?"
"No, I have not forgotten."
"Good. Then since Morloch is a wizard, and not one of the races of Man, it's about time you did something about harming him, isn't it?"
"He is too powerful. He has aquamire."
"True. But considerably less than he had before."
"Aye."
"And your precious brethren in Elvendere. What of them?"
"I do not understand the question."
"Which side are they on, Allazar. Who do they fight for? Who will they fight for? Morloch? Elvendere? The races of Man? Or for their own twisted ends?"
Allazar gazed out towards the devastation wrought by ancient miners, but made no answer.
"In the coming battles, in the coming war, Allazar, there will be two sides. Friend, and enemy. Soon you will have to choose, as will your brethren in all the southlands. It matters little to me which way they choose. As for you, I would rather you chose…wisely."