When he returned to camp, Gewey tried to take his mindoff the thought of the day ahead by listening to Felsafell sing songsin an ancient forgotten tongue. Though he couldn't understand thewords, he imagined an epic battle between good and evil being wagedacross time. He wondered what the song was really about but didn'tbother to ask. Once the song was done, Gewey shut his eyes andlistened to the music of the forest until he felt the dawn approach.
Linus kneeled beside him. “Today is the day.”
Gewey opened his eyes and smiled. “I'm ready.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
It was mid-morning when Gewey noticed the terrain aroundhim change. The woods became thicker. So dense, in fact, that evenwhen he used his power to listen, the sound bounced straight back,startling him. The party funneled into a narrow trail, causing theirprogress to slow. No sound could be heard at all, not even thefootfalls of the party. Gewey nestled himself between Felsafell andLinis as Felsafell began to whistle. The sound pierced the deadsilence of the woods, making some of the elves uneasy.
“We're nearly there,” whispered Linis.
“Nearly there indeed,” said Felsafell.“There and back we go. Once more and again.”
Gewey couldn’t help but smile at Felsafell'swords, though most times they made no sense to him.
After about an hour, they came to a narrow stream,spanned by an elegant, wooden bridge. Theopolou motioned for everyoneto halt.
“We come in brotherhood and friendship,”called Theopolou.
There was a long pause before a voice called back fromthe other side of the bridge. “Then enter and be welcome.”
Theopolou and the other elders slowly led the rest overthe bridge. On the other side, the landscape opened up into a grassymeadow, covered with soft grass, and dotted with multicoloredwildflowers. Tents lined the far end and Gewey could see elveswalking among them. Far beyond the tents, a white, vaulted roofpeeked out. A group of three elf women, dressed in tan leather shirtsand trousers, each with a long knife at her side, approached fromamong the tents. Theopolou raised his hand in greeting, but the womenmade no reply. When they were a few feet away, Theopolou stopped andbowed.
“Matrons of the Creator,” said Theopolou,without looking up. “I offer you my friendship. As the eldestamong my party, I claim the right to beg entry for all.”
The matrons examined the group, only pausing for asecond when their eyes passed Gewey and Felsafell. They looked ateach other and nodded.
“Be welcome,” said the elf in the middle.“But be warned. You bring two humans with you and will beresponsible for their well-being, and answerable for their actions.”
“I understand,” he replied, lifting hishead. “We need to be shown our quarters at once. There is muchto do.”
“You, along with the other elders, have alreadybeen seen to,” said the matron on the left. “Your tentsand provisions had been made ready and await you.” Her gazefell on Gewey and Felsafell. “However, we did not expect toaccommodate… humans.”
“They need no special consideration,” saidTheopolou. “They will lodge with me and mine.”
“Very well,” said the matron on the right.“I assume you know your way.” With that, they turned andwalked back in the direction of the tents.
Theopolou waved Gewey over. “Stay with me.”He turned to the others. “Farewell for now.”
The other elders and their escorts bowed in turn andheaded off in different directions, Gewey guessed to their tents.Theopolou led Gewey, Linis, Kaylia, Felsafel and his own escort tothe left, towards the western edge of the encampment. Gewey glancedseveral times at the domed roof, hoping to get a better look, but tohis disappointment, as they neared the tents, the roof disappeared.From the far end of the meadow, Gewey couldn't tell how many tentshad been erected and was surprised to see that they numbered in thehundreds, once they were among them. Elves were everywhere. Most weredressed in plain leather or linen, but some were attired in finesilks and adorned with exquisite jewelry.
“I never thought to see this many of your peopleat the same time,” whispered Gewey to Linis.
“I'm shocked as well,” said Linis. “Ithought to see less than half this many. It seems Theopolou's callhas caused quite a stir.”
“All the more reason to be cautious,” Kayliainterjected over her shoulder.
They wound their way through the camp until they reacheda large silver tent. It was twelve feet tall and at least forty feetacross. Gewey figured it could easily house three times the numberthey had with them.
Theopolou pulled back the tent flap and disappearedinside. Kaylia, Felsafell, and Theopolou's escort followed closebehind. Gewey and Linis entered last. Gewey looked around, impressed.The interior resembled a house more than a tent. Just past theentrance was a large open area with a dozen plush chairs lining thewalls. In the center, there was a short round table, big enough toaccommodate twenty people, with an assortment of cushions underneath.The scent of mint filled the air, emanating from the roasted lambthat had been placed on the table. Along the ceiling hung light orbs,set just dimly enough to give the room a warm feel. The floor wasuncovered, but the soft grass was as lush and beautiful as anycarpet. At the far left corner another tent flap led to the backareas.
“There are enough rooms for everyone,” saidTheopolou, pointing to the rear door. “All the rooms are thesame, so choose as you will. Hot water should be waiting for you,unless you prefer to eat before you wash.”
“No, thank you,” said Gewey. “I preferto be clean when I eat, if I can.”
Theopolou nodded and led the group through the tentflap. A hall lined with several cloth-covered doorways stretchedbefore him. Gewey chose the third and Linis the one just beyond.Kaylia and the others continued around the corner, followingTheopolou. Felsafell whistled merrily and winked at Gewey as herounded the corner.
The room Gewey chose was rather sparse compared to themain dining and lounging area. A small bedroll was placed in thecorner, and a wash basin sat in the opposite corner with a cottontowel folded neatly beside it. One light globe hung from the ceilingand a soft, thin, brown area rug covered the floor.
Gewey washed and changed into a cotton shirt and pants,and strapped on his sword. He could still smell the mint lamb and hisstomach growled loudly.
“Are you ready?” came Linis' voice from justoutside his room.
Gewey threw back the door flap and smiled at the elf.“I'm starving.”
Linis noticed Gewey was wearing his sword. “Youwill want to take that off at the table. It is considered rude to bearmed at the table of your host, and for all intents and purposesthis is still the home of Theopolou.”
Gewey removed his sword. “Should I leave itbehind?”
“No,” Linis replied. “Keep it withyou, but place it on the floor beside you.”
Gewey nodded and followed Linis to the dining hall.Theopolou and a few of his escort were already seated. Gewey took aseat opposite them and Linis sat on his left. Kaylia was not yetthere.
Theopolou nodded at the lamb. “We serve ourselveshere. Felsafell will not be joining us. He said he needs to rest.”
One of Theopolou's escort passed them a bottle of wine.Gewey gratefully accepted it, then gave it to Linis.
“I'll wait until we're all here,” saidGewey, noticing that the others’ plates were still empty.
“Only await Kaylia,” said Theopolou. “Therest are running errands.”
“No need to wait any longer,” said Kaylia,as she entered the room.
She was dressed in a soft, loosely fitted, white cottonshirt and trousers and a pair of soft leather shoes. Her hair wastied into a long braid and she carried a long knife in her left hand.After surveying the group, she took a seat on Gewey's right.
Theopolou cut off a portion of lamb then passed itaround the table. One of the elves rose from the table, retrieved abasket filled with flat bread, and passed it out to the party. Theydined in silence, to Gewey's relief. It was all he could do tomaintain his table manners. Not only was he famished, but the lambwas exceedingly tender and juicy.