Chapter 6
The dark elf who had gone to investigate the clump of gra.s.s soon realized that he had been tricked. The sound of unfamiliar armor came from the direction of the door. Perhaps the ogre had been defeated, though he heard no sounds of battle.
The dark elf knew that it would be risky to return to his post.
“Ô tiny spirits, ô formless beings, make my form like unto your own,” chanted the dark elf in the language of the spirits. After a moment his body faded, becoming completely invisible. He then ran back to the entrance of the house, his footsteps nearly silent.
“That dark elf has been gone a long time!” yelled Parn, keeping a firm grip on his b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword.
Having at last recovered from her terror, Deedlit had retreated behind Parn, acting almost as his shadow. Even the ogre’s powerful life-force was not enough to keep it moving once Ghim had beheaded it with his battle-axe. His body was still twitching, though, as the last embers of that terrifying life-force burned themselves out.
Eto and Woodchuck had joined the others in the entryway.
“Ghim and Deedlit, go inside, quick! The people inside may have noticed us. I’ll take care of the dark elf,” exclaimed Parn as they were waiting for the dark elf’s return.
“You dolt, what do you think you can do against the dark elf’s magic? You should leave him to Slayn and I and go inside yourself.” Urging Parn inside, Deedlit swiftly unfastened the water skin from her back. “Ô spirit of water, you who see the unseen. Where is the dark elf? He must have hidden himself.” Deedlit addressed these words in the language of spirits to a blueish ma.s.s inside her water skin. In response, the water spirit, Undine, surged forth. Then it spread out, forming a thin membrane of water, almost like a piece of cloth, and danced through the air.
Ah, is that him? Slayn tried sending a canceling spell to where Undine was floating. Cancelling spells served to nullify other magic. Slayn chanted in the ancient tongue and waved his staff around.
As Slayn chanted, a white light came forth from his staff. Glancing off of Undine, the light expanded over the ground.
“Augh!” with a groan, the dark elf appeared.
The dark elf couldn’t help cursing his luck at finding himself facing not only an elf but a rune master as well. They had quite a bit of power between the two of them. The mage’s cancelling spell had completely destroyed the dark elf’s sprite charm. But he still had his spear in his right hand. The elf was a slip of a girl and the mage was frail. He might have a chance if it came to a battle of strength.
But that thought was crushed by a blow from behind. “Ahh!” The dark elf screamed in pain in spite of himself. Three stabs of pain coursed through his back. Gritting his teeth, the dark elf turned around.
Behind him stood the thief in black armor, holding a short sword in an underhand grip.
“Huh, looks like I haven’t lost my touch,” said Wood with a satisfied smile.
All three daggers he had thrown had hit the dark elf in the back. None of them were fatal wounds, but at least they had all hit the mark.
Just then, Deedlit charged in like a flash. The dark elf sensed it and turned, meeting her attack with his own. Deedlit sidestepped it and extended her right arm and upper body, aiming her rapier at his flank.
If he hadn’t been injured, the dark elf would have been able to dodge. But when he tried to move, the daggers in his back dug in and slowed his movement for just a moment.
His death scream rang out through the forest. With Deedlit’s rapier in his side and Wood’s daggers in his back, he fell to the ground in a motionless black ma.s.s.
At that moment, Ghim, Parn, and Eto were all locked in combat inside the house. Their opponents were four humans. Taken by surprise, none of them wore armor, and they fought with just weapons and shields.
Nonetheless, all four were skillful fighters, and Ghim and Parn were having a rough time of it.
“Ô holy light!”
Watching them fight, Eto lifted his hands above his head and chanted a prayer. There was a sudden burst of light. It was only a moment, but the enemies facing Eto automatically averted their eyes, creating an opening. Neither Ghim nor Parn let the moment slip. Both were facing away from Eto, so they were unaffected by the light.
In unison, both of them attacked their opponents. Both enemies stumbled under their attacks. At the same time, having beaten the dark elf, Deedlit and the others came into the house.
The party made short work of their dispirited enemies.
No one else was in the house. After verifying that the corpses carried nothing of interest, the group searched the house. There were four rooms on the ground floor, but all they found were some rations and a number of bottles of liquor.
“Oho, what a find!” Ghim was stuffing as much food as he could into his bags.
“I’ll search the second story,” said Parn as he climbed the stairs. The house was well-maintained, complete with new furniture. Judging by the effort they had put into making themselves comfortable in such a dilapidated house, the occupants must have planned to stay a long time. The stairs, too, were covered with new carpet. Tromping over said carpet, Parn climbed the stairs and emerged into the second-floor hallway, with Deedlit close behind.
“So?”
“I still can’t see anything. Be careful.”
“You too.” Bending over, Deedlit snuck a look down the corridor. The light of the setting sun illuminated two doorways. The door of the closest one was wide open.
“Shall we?”
“Of course.”
The two adventurers stood in front of the open door and looked around. There were signs that the room had recently been occupied. It was quite a large room. There was a long table in the middle, surrounded by eight chairs. Several of those chairs had fallen over, and it seemed likely that the men they had fought earlier had knocked them down in their haste to ready themselves.
“What’s that?” Deedlit had noticed what looked like some kind of official doc.u.ments in the center of the table. She rushed over to gather up the doc.u.ments. There were four sheets of fine parchment.
“There’s something written on them,” said Parn, who had moved next to Deedlit and was looking over her shoulder at the pieces of parchment. Then, realizing he was almost touching her narrow shoulders, he tensed and shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” asked Deedlit, all innocence.
On the parchment, frightening things were written concerning the actions of the king of Alania, Cadmus VII. Cadmus VII was famous for his love of hunting, and one of his favorite hunting spots was near this house. Furthermore, according to the doc.u.ment, when hunting he only brought along a few companions. By bribing one of those companions, the conspirators had gotten their hands on the names and descriptions of the king’s usual guards, which painted a clear picture of their opposition.
“What is this?” Parn’s hands were shaking.
“An a.s.sa.s.sination plot? Of the king of Alania?” Deedlit was only slightly calmer.
“Could be. No, it has to be. We’ve stumbled on something awful.”
Deedlit, too, was thinking that they’d seen something incredible. And that the plan was likely to succeed, if put into action.
Watching Parn fret, Deedlit slowly folded the parchment and put it in her pocket.
“We’d better search the next room.” Deedlit urged Parn, who hadn’t recovered from his alarm, out of the room.
From the layout of the house, one would expect the next room to be smaller. Parn carefully laid his hand on the doork.n.o.b and pushed.
The door did not open. Then he pulled, a bit harder. The door still did not open.
“That’s no good.”
Hearing Slayn’s voice, Parn rushed back to the staircase.
“Slayn! Woodchuck! Come here! The door is locked.”
Deedlit had tried the door many times, but it still would not open. So she patiently waited for Slayn and Woodchuck.
“Calling not just for the thief but also the mage. That’s pretty smart,” said Deedlit as she crouched down to look through the keyhole.
Parn smiled.
“Don’t look into the keyhole without thinking,” Wood’s dry voice echoed through the hallway along with the sound of three footsteps. “There might just be a poisoned needle on the other side.” He had arrived with Slayn and Ghim in tow. Surprised, Deedlit quickly pulled away from the keyhole.
“Is Eto fine by himself down there?” asked Parn, worried.
“No one’s coming from outside. He’ll be fine,” said Ghim carefully searching around the door. “Doesn’t seem like there’s any kind of weird device.”
He switched places with Woodchuck, who began to inspect the door in turn. He inserted what looked like a small wire into the lock and twisted it around, moving it up and down. Careful to avoid the doork.n.o.b, he tapped the door with his fist, listening to the sound.
Behind him, Slayn chanted a few words of a spell and muttered, “Hmm.”
“Did you find something?” asked Ghim.
Slayn replied simply, “There is magic on that door.”
“Looks like it. It isn’t locked, and there’s no traps. Seems like it’s your turn.” Wood stepped back, making room for Slayn.
Slowly drawing a symbol, Slayn chanted an unlocking spell. Then he knocked on the door with his staff.
The door shook a few times, then slowly opened. As the door opened, the lights came on in the room. Parn gave a start, and his hand moved to the hilt of his sword.
“There’s nothing to worry about. It’s a simple trick,” declared Slayn, stepping into the room. There was no one inside. Bookcases stood on either side of an old, worn desk.
“I wonder if those are from the Academy.” Slayn had walked over to them. There was also a cabinet near the door, full of gla.s.s bottles and tightly rolled scrolls.
But Slayn’s hopes were soon dashed. No, they aren’t. But his disappointment did not show on his face. He hadn’t been very hopeful to begin with. In Wagnard’s place, he would have had any magical items brought to him right away.
“Huh, looks like I was right. Oh, and there’s also a treasure chest. Ha, I’ve been looking for this.” Speaking in a strange voice, Woodchuck fiddled with the wooden chest that had been sitting on the desk.
Slayn walked over to the desk and carefully opened it. Inside, he found a beautifully decorated dagger and what looked to be a letter. Slayn opened it and skimmed the contents. The letter was short.
Everything is fine here.
How are things on your end?
Send news from time to time via the usual method.
Karla
“Not very clear, is it?” said Slayn in a monotone, putting the letter in his bag.
It was then that Slayn noticed. Ghim was staring at something near Slayn with a serious expression on his face. Whatever it was, it was above Slayn’s head.
Following Ghim’s gaze, Slayn looked at the wall, near the ceiling.
There was a single portrait hanging on the wall. It was a picture of a beautiful woman. She was wearing a low-cut violet gown and behind her were bright red curtains. Even the scenery outdoors was painted in painstaking detail. The woman’s skin was the same color as Deedlit’s, but her hair was as dark as the night sky. Her eyes seemed to stare at Slayn as though interrogating him.
I wonder if that woman is Karla. Slayn’s mind seemed to be stuck on that name. He tried to remember where he had heard it, but couldn’t.
“Well, it’ll come to me eventually,” muttered Slayn with a curious glance at Ghim, who was still staring intently at the portrait.
“It looks like her…” Ghim muttered this almost too quietly for Slayn to hear.