Elvenshore: 03 - Elf's Bane (19 page)

Sarchise cut in, “Let them die, they have done enough
evil. They would not hesitate to kill again if we saved them.”

Goran was displeased at his words
. “They were not all bad, just protective of their home. They did not attack the Humans because I told them that the Humans had done them no harm.”

Aron looked into Goran’s face and saw something familiar
, “When came you to live here?” 

“I was captured when I was a boy. They attacked my village and killed many, but took me and
six others prisoners. At first we were their slaves, but then we were given our freedom to come and go as we pleased. We were all ashamed to go back to our homes after having served the children of the mountain for so long, so we stayed. I am the last one of those that were taken. All the rest have died.”

“From what clan do you hail?” Aron asked, even though by looking at his bone structure of his face, he already knew the answer.

“I am Goran Tewl.”

“Then you are my uncle,” Aron replie
d
. “
W
e thought that you and the rest had died, although we never found your bodies, and I tell you right now, you will be welcomed home warmly.”

Goran got a sad look on his face and slowly shook his head back and forth, “I will stay here. I would be ashamed to go home. You are young and idealistic, to some I would still be a traitor.”

“Are there more of these monsters around?” Sarchise asked.

“They are not monsters, just angry. No
, there are no more. The mother and the father of the mountain lived here when I first arrived, but they were old and the mother was now barren. She had only had sons over the years, so when she died, there was no hope of a next generation. The father died many years later. The children were always angry and looking for a fight, so when the Elves moved onto the mountain them they decided to destroy them.”

“That’s where they made their last mistake,” Sarchise said.

Hemlot was looking around and liking what he saw. “When the children are all gone, I think that some of my warriors and their families will move in here and keep you company.”

Goran was stunned, “I had thought that I would live the rest of my life alone, I would not mind some company.”

Verain stiffened, he did not like the idea, but when he thought about it for a minute and the fact that it looked that gold had already been found in the mountain, by the looks of Goran’s staff, he then relaxed. ‘Maybe there would be some gold to work if the Dwarves lived in the land,’ he thought.

Helot turned to Sarchise, “Do you want to b
e King under Mount Ealdwine?”

Sarchise just shook his head, “I just want a
quiet life in the Lost City with my family.”

Hemlot smiled, “You married a Valkyrie and you expect a
quiet life?”

When Istuin heard the words he was taken back, “Valkyrie?
Lost City? You have a tale to tell, my friend.”

Sarchise started at the beginning, “I was hunting in the woods one day with my fellow Royal Scouts…”

 It had been hard for the Elves that had fled to the swampland to rely on the Humans for their support. They had been a proud and self-reliant nation before. The Humans didn’t seem to mind, and it seemed even as if they were enjoying the opportunity to learn more about their Elf neighbors. It had been a chance to exchange ideas and other things such as food. The Elves had never eaten fish, which was the main staple in the swampland. They found it very delicious. They even liked it more than some of the Humans did that were not from the swampland. The Elves too shared a recipe. They had found the seeds of a particular plant that grew in the forest made excellent bread. There were none of those plants on the swampland, but there was a similar plant. The plant was not used by the Humans as a food source so there was an abundance of it. When they tried making that type of bread with they found it worked very well and soon they Humans and the Elves were enjoying the loaves.

For Mauric
, it had been a nightmare getting there. The endless mud and the days on the road had taken a toll on him. When the Humans had given him a mud hut to live in he had thought his world was coming to an end. Something he had always looked down on was the mud hut of the Humans and had refused to go inside one in the past. He did not have much of a choice this time as he was caked in dry mud and his clothes were filthy. He had no other option so he gave in, even though he thought it was beneath him.

When he walked into the one hut he had been assigned to he was surprised. It had a wood floor and paneled walls. The beams of the roof made it look rustic and the round design distributed the heat of the fireplace evenly. He had now changed his mind about the structures and was even contemplating using these structures until the Elves could get back on their feet and rebuild.

News from the war was getting to the swampland by way of Darnic’s group of volunteer horsemen. It was a particularly sad day when the news of Darnic’s death reached the Humans of the swampland. He had been a great man among his people and among the Elves, so both races mourned his passing.

When the news that the situation looked like it was stabilizing after the battles in the village of Vil Mawe, Mauric knew that his window of opportunity was rapidly closing. He had a plan to gain power and he had to act on it before the war was over.

He called the Elves of the swampland together in the center of the village that the Humans had supplied them. When they were all gathered
, he began his speech. “Greetings, people of the Elves, the survivors of this horrible war that is upon us. I, Mauric, had urged the Chancellor not to let the Elves build on the side of the mountain, but he did not listen to me. He did not listen to the wise counsel of Darnic either and so now we find ourselves exiles amidst the Humans. We have been driven and killed by a monstrous beast, and have been forced to flee to the only safe place that could be found.

“We find that we are now ruled over by a man who has only driven horse teams for his occupation. He was made Chancellor by a badly injured, and almost certainly on the influence of a pain
potion at the time, Armurous. Our laws state that as soon as practical, we are to elect a proper Chancellor by the voice of the people. Since those that have fled to Elvenshore may or may not return, and since we are the only ones guaranteed to still live on the Far Shore when all this is over, I say that we elect a Chancellor in exile. Thus we will have a government in place as soon as this horrible war is over, a man that can help us rebuild our cities, our nation and our lives.

“There is no reason to wait, we can have a government in place from day one after victory is achieved. What say you? All those who will support me as their new Chancellor raise your hands.”

There was a lot of grumbling in the crowd, but since Mauric had handpicked his supporters to come with him on the ships from Vil Mawe, he held the majority of those present and was elected Chancellor of the Far Shore.

His first act was to send a proclamation, by riders, throughout the land detailing his election as Chancellor and after that he appoint two counselors and start planning for the future of the nation.

The Humans just shook their heads about how that happened. A lot of them had met Mauric did not like him because he was demanding and looked down on them. They did, however, like the Elves they had met and seemed to get along with them well. Those Elves that had fled to the swampland always would have a special place in their heart for the Humans that had saved them.

The Elves and the Humans had marched out of the mountain to start their lives over again, but Sarchise and the Dwarves lingered behind until they were sure that the last of the Trolls were dead. It gave Hemlot and his men a chance to explore the caverns for themselves. They liked what they saw. There was an underground river in the caves behind the throne of the Trolls that had been a food source and a source of water for the beasts. Goran showed them all of the caves and caverns that he knew about.

Hemlot came to Sarchise
one night. “Do you suppose that the Elves will let us stay in this mountain?”

“I would think that they would be so grateful for what you did for them that they would not object,” Sarchise replied.

“There is a nice stones in this mountain that has, in the past, given us ore bearing rock. It is a matter of finding it, but that is what we Dwarves do best.”

“I wish you luck in your endeavor, but I will be marching out with those of the Dwarves who wish to return to Elvenshore in the morning. I will arrange for your families to come if the Elves will allow it,” Sarchise promised
.

Hemlot gave him a deep bow, “You have been a noble Prince and a brave and resourceful leader
. You have saved my people from destruction on several occasions. You have also been a good friend. I thank you for all those times you saved my life.”

Sarchise returned his bow, “I have had you to thank for saving my life and not letting me do some of the crazy things that I wanted to do during the Gremlin war and afterward.”

That night they lit a bonfire in front of the throne of the Trolls, with the stone dead Trolls on either side of the hall.  

The last of the ale did not
make it through the night, but it did not stop the Dwarves. The songs and the celebration were still going on long into the early morning. The raging bonfire dancing around made it look like the Trolls were moving. As the fire danced back and forth, the shadows of the Trolls against the love hewn walls of the cavern were an eerie sight. It bothered Sarchise, but he did not say anything about it.

It bother
Hemlot too, and he vowed that the before the next bonfire, he was going to have his men bust the dead Trolls that had all turned to stone into small bits and remove them from the cavern.

To the Dwarves it was wonderful to be sleeping inside of the
mountain that night, although they all opted to be around the corner from the main chamber and the dead Trolls. Goran had shown Sarchise his sleeping area. It was a pleasant spot down by the underground river, away from the main Chamber. He had burrowed into the mountain over the years and had made himself a nice room. It had smooth walls and a stone shelf, where he would eat. He had left the one side open to be able to listen to the waters of the river rushing by. After years of living with the Trolls he had somewhere they could not get to so he could get some time to relax,alone. When Goran and the others were first captured they had been used for the Troll0’s entertainment. They pitted the Humans against each other and forced them to fight. When the monsters finally grew tired of that, they taught the Humans their language and then basically left them alone, but they refused to let them go back home. As the years passed by, the Trolls didn’t seem to age but the Humans died off one by one until Goran was the only one left. His only conversation was with the Trolls and he had managed to talk them out of killing the Humans when the beasts went to battle the second time. why? and why was door closed?

He was a tired old man who was asham
ed to go home, but would now have Dwarves for company.

In the morning, Sarchise gave Hemlot one last bow and then headed out. The Dwarf warriors, who only numbered about two hundred at this point, were split about who was staying and who was going back to Elvenshore. The younger ones were staying
, as it was a grand adventure, the older ones who had families back in the Elvenshore were going home.

It was a proud, but sparse
, army that marched out of Mount Ealdwine that day. Sarchise in particular was anxious to get home and be with his new wife and twin boys. He had done his duty to the Dwarves, it was now time to move on. No longer be a Dwarf leader but to be a husband and a father.

When they marched into the sunlight, Aron and another Human w
ere there to meet them and escort them to the Vil Mawe where they would be catching a ship home. The Humans rode beside the marching Dwarves and Aron leaned down and told Sarchise, “If you need to communicate anything to anyone, we will act as messengers for you.”

Sarchise replied, “There is a group of Dwarves that are going to stay here on the Far Shore. They will send for their families and have them brought over. If you can notify the Elves and your people of that, it would be very much appreciated.”

Aron nodded, and then went to speak to the other rider. The other rider rode off and Aron came back to Sarchise to report. “The Humans will have no problem with that, but the mountain is technically in Elf land, I sent the other rider to get a letter of permission for you to stay here. After all you have done, it should be a mere formality.”

“Thank you
, so much,” Sarchise replied.

Kolis and the twelve men he had been able to s
lip out of Vil Mawe, past Verian’s guards, had been working steadily rebuilding the Capital City of Fernar Darus. They had only two homes rebuilt and the work was going slow because they had no cured wood to work with and they were having to scavenge their supplies in a nearly totally destroyed city. Lacking building material for building homes, the group spent much of their time cleaning all of the debris from out of the city.  The army stopped to camp in front of the gates. Verian  and Istuin came into the city to see what was going on. “Two houses already; you are coming along well Chancellor,” Verian said.