Chapter 5
The thief was called Woodchuck. It would seem that was not his given name, but rather a working nickname.
Parn and the others had moved the conversation up into their room, bringing a bit of food and drink, which they spread out on the small wooden table. Ghim immediately set to eating it. The room was fairly large, but with six occupants it still felt a bit cramped.
“Three days’ travel to the east, in the woods, there’s an old house. The owner kicked the bucket some twenty-five years ago, so it ought to be abandoned. But a few years back, a pretty shifty lot moved in. Conveniently, that was right around the time the Academy’s treasures were stolen.” Wood proudly laid out the facts and savored a sip of wine. “Whether you believe me or not is your business. But those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds aren’t Guild thieves. If they’re stealing things behind the Guild’s back, it’ll put a black mark on the Guild’s reputation. So a Guild member went there to investigate, and he saw something interesting. It seems that the sentries in front of the building were a dark elf and an ogre. And some guy wearing fancy armor came out of the building. That guy had the emblem of Marmo engraved on his armor.”
“Why would someone from Marmo, the dark island,” groaned Eto, “come to Alania?”
Even in Lodoss, Marmo was famous as a land of many demons. It was said that many dark elves, ogres, and trolls lived there. Its emperor, Beld, had once been one of the Six Heroes, but rumor had it that he had unified the island by force, showing not the slightest sliver of mercy.
“Do you think they’re plotting something?” Eto asked Slayn.
“I don’t know.” Slayn spread his hands and shrugged. “But if the rumors about Beld are true, I can hazard a guess.”
“You mean he’s planning to conquer Alania?” asked Parn with a gulp.
“It’s just a guess, but maybe…”
Parn muttered “hmm,” and pondered this. Slayn’s guess was the most logical one. If Marmo had already sent in soldiers, it was possible that they really were planning to take over Alania. It was even possible that Wagnard’s destruction of the Academy was not merely out of his personal grudge, but also in order to prevent the mages from posing a threat to Marmo.
“It might really be worth taking a look.” Parn crossed his arms and spoke as though thinking aloud.
“Why do we have to put our necks on the line for something like this?” asked Ghim, discouraged. “Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the king’s soldiers?”
“I’d have a problem with that. This is valuable information. There’s the Academy’s treasure, not to mention the reward for stopping any conspiracy… how much do you think I spent to get this information from the Guild?”
The bit about spending money was a lie, thought Slayn, but he kept quiet about it.
“Dark elves and ogres? Those are dangerous opponents. Especially dark elves, because they use magic.”
“Yes, because they’re elves.”
Deedlit’s face colored at Ghim’s words. “Dark elves are an unsavory lot who sold their souls to demons. Don’t compare them to us.”
Elves like Deedlit had reasons to hate dark elves. The color of their skin had changed to black as proof of their service to the dark G.o.d. Elven elders taught the children of the cruelty of the dark elves. They killed elven men and women without mercy. It was even said that dark elves used elves as sacrifices to their dark G.o.d.
As for ogres, they ate elves as a snack. Along with dark elves, they were the elves’ oldest enemies. They had spilled each other’s blood many times over the years.
In the last fight against the demon, the dark elves and ogres had become the demon’s vanguard, sowing death and destruction before him. Deedlit herself had not fought, but countless elves from her village had given their lives. The memory was still fresh for her, as though it had happened yesterday.
“I’ll show you how different we are from dark elves!” raged Deedlit.
“Me too,” Parn was telling Slayn while gauging his reaction. “I too want to settle this myself. I can understand the thief’s perspective. And it’s not certain that Alania’s army would believe us even if we told them. Besides, dark elves and ogres shouldn’t even exist.”
“That’s true,” interjected Wood.
“Oh dear, looks like I have no choice,” said Slayn with a long sigh. “Let’s go along with Parn on this matter. If there truly are treasures from the Academy, we have much to gain. And as a human, I can’t just let the dark elves do as they please.”
“Hmm, if you want to go, I won’t stop you. I’ll let my axe taste dark elf blood. We dwarves have reason to hate them as well.”
Showing off his thick, st.u.r.dy arms to Deedlit, Ghim let out a laugh that shook his beard.
Deedlit gave the dwarf a sharp look, but when she realized he was gently teasing her, her expression changed into a sweet smile.
“That’s the spirit! It should be short work for you lot. I’ll help out too, of course. Despite how I look, I’m a fair hand with a dagger.”
Slayn knew that well. Thieves’ daggers were most to be feared under the cover of night or from behind. His old friend, who had probably been a better swordsman than Parn, had died to just such a dagger.
“We’ll give you half the reward. Do we have an agreement?” asked Parn in a solemn tone.
“I’m counting on it.” Wood nodded to Parn and let out a thin laugh.
Slayn thought it a strange laugh. It wouldn’t do to underestimate this thief. Making up his mind to walk at the very back of the group, Slayn stood to begin preparing for the trip.
Though it was too late to strike while the iron was hot, the party set out that afternoon from the Crystal Forest with Woodchuck in tow, leaving the city of Alan.
The road to the east was less traveled than the north-south highway. To the east, there was only the fishing village of Margus, where the road ended. Seeing no one but the occasional cart full of fresh fish, the party walked at a relaxed pace. Parn and Deedlit walked in front. They were followed by Ghim, and for some reason Wood and Eto were walking together. In the back trudged Slayn, his eyes alert, watching Woodchuck.
It’s gotten really hot. Slayn suddenly looked up at the sun, dazzled by its summer brightness. To shield his eyes, he put up his hood and pulled his head deep inside it.
That was the second day, and on the third they crossed a bridge into the woods.
“Here we are!” said Wood triumphantly, pointing out a small forest road. “The house we’re looking for isn’t far.”
“How long do you think it will take us to get there?” asked Parn.
“About an hour, I think.”
“What an odd place to build a house,” murmured Deedlit, looking at the trees with nostalgia.
“Well, I didn’t build it,” said Wood with a straight face.
“We’ll have to keep our guard up from now on,” came Slayn’s m.u.f.fled voice from deep inside his hood. Since the sun was at its peak, Slayn’s face was completely lost in the shadows.
“True,” said Parn, and he chewed on his lip, worry showing on his face. “Shall we go into the forest?”
Deedlit agreed happily.
The party went along with Parn’s decision and entered the woods. They could feel the vitality of the early summer forest, and the smell of the leaves was pleasant. Parn was still in front, making a path so that Eto and the others could easily follow him.
Slayn was irritated to find that the dew on the plants was dampening this clothing. His robe kept snagging on tree branches, too. Little rips and tears opened in the fabric, making Slayn realize he would need to buy a new robe soon. But there probably wasn’t a single store left in all of Alania that still sold the right sort of robe.
As they neared the house, the party slowed its pace and was careful not to make too much noise. Even so, Parn and Eto’s metal armor clanked as they moved.
“My chainmail is made of truesilver, so it doesn’t make a sound,” Ghim told Parn with pride.
Deedlit, too, had put purple armor on over her green clothing. At first glance it looked like metal, but it was actually leather that had been treated to stiffen it. The chest piece had been dyed with the seeds of mountain grapes. A simple design was scratched into it, and it was edged with red-tinted steel. Not merely decorative, the steel also served to strengthen the armor.
The house suddenly came into view in front of the party. They ducked down into some low bushes and spied on the entryway.
The huge ogre guarding the entrance immediately caught the adventurers’ eyes. Next to him, the other guard, a dark elf, was barely half the ogre’s height, but a sly light shone in his eyes as he diligently kept watch. The ogre carried a huge club, while the dark elf held a spear.
“Okay, what next?” whispered Parn. They needed to keep going in order to find out the truth, but that carried a risk of discovery by the sentinels. He turned to Eto as if to say ‘I’m counting on you,’ and asked “Should we try shooting them?”
“We failed the last time. Now our opponents are an armor-clad dark elf and a strong ogre. One or two arrows won’t stop them,” said Eto, recalling their fight against the goblins in Zaxon.
“Then what do we do?” Tired of hiding, Parn raised a petulant voice.
“It would be good if my magic would work,” Slayn inserted himself tactfully into the conversation, “but dark elves are highly resistant to magic.”
“That’s what they gained by selling their souls to demons,” said Deedlit with disdain. She had drawn her rapier and was checking the tiny dagger attached to her shoulder guard. A specially made throwing dagger like the three Woodchuck carried, she’d covered it with a paralyzing drug. Normally, it would have been used for hunting animals, but in this case she had prepared it to increase their chances in battle.
Ghim pulled his battleaxe from his back as well, and held it, ready to attack at any moment.
“There is one way,” said Slayn without confidence.
“Tell us, Slayn,” said Parn by way of encouragement.
“Well, magic that acts directly on a person won’t work on the dark elf. Therefore, we should use magic to lure our enemies away from their post.”
“Illusions, huh?” said Deedlit.
“Exactly. But auditory illusions only. If we can get even one of them to go off to investigate, not only will we no longer have to fight two of them, but we’ll prevent them from alerting the others.”
“What if both of them go?”
Hearing Parn’s words, Slayn shrugged. “In that case we’ll sneak inside.”
“Just so.” Ghim held in his laughter, but it showed on his face. His beard shook happily.
Slayn sent his consciousness towards the other side of the house. He began to chant in a low voice and drew a small symbol in the air with one hand. When he had finished, he began rustling the gra.s.s underfoot.
“Slayn!” Parn cried out without thinking.
But neither the sound of Parn’s voice nor the rustle of the gra.s.s carried. Instead, from a tuft of gra.s.s Slayn was staring at came a rustling noise and the sound of a voice calling “Slayn!”
The sound was barely audible to the party’s ears, but to the two sentries standing nearby, it must have been much clearer. The dark elf gave a start and uttered a few orders in a strange language to the ogre. The ogre readied his club and let out a little howl. The dark elf checked his spear and headed in the direction of the sound.
“Huh, magic is pretty useful. Teach me some later!” said Woodchuck with admiration, thinking how useful that trick would be for burglaries.
“Now!” Not waiting for Slayn’s signal, Deedlit sprang into action. Turning and winking at Parn, she ran towards the house with all the grace of a cat.
Stunned, Parn froze for a moment.
“Ô kind dryad of the woods. Make of that ogre my friend.” Deedlit’s spell was mysterious, not using the ancient language of Slayn’s spells. It was only a whisper, but it worked.
The ogre had tried to let out a big yell, but when Deedlit’s spell took effect, he stopped moving with a shocked expression. His little brain probably hadn`t even registered that he was being affected by magic. Instead of seeing Deedlit as a suspicious intruder, she appeared to be a close friend, doubtless someone closer to his heart than the dark elf who was always bossing him around.
Deedlit ran full tilt at the ogre. He was easily twice her size. His whole body was covered with rippling muscles, and his red-brown skin was bare save for a loincloth. His sharp tusks and crooked nose disgusted Deedlit.
“Beurk!*” muttered Deedlit, an Elvish word meaning ugly, as she ran up to the ogre that was staring at her in shock and aimed the sharp point of her rapier at his heart. Her sword sunk deep into his chest, so that the tip came out the other side.
The ogre finally realized what was going on. The elf girl in front of him was definitely an enemy. Not even realizing that he was dying, the ogre wanted only to eat her.
With all her strength, Deedlit pulled her rapier from the ogre’s body. Blood spurted from the wound as the ogre fell forward. Backing away so as not to be covered in it, Deedlit turned her attention towards the direction the dark elf had gone.
“Look out, Deed!” Parn’s voice cut the air.
Startled, Deedlit instinctively jumped high in the air. The thick, club-like arm of the ogre, still lying on his stomach, pa.s.sed right below her.
Had she taken that hit square on, Deedlit’s little body would surely have gone flying. Her spine might even have been broken. With a shiver, the elf remembered the monstrous life force that ogres possessed. When she turned to look at him, the ogre was flailing around, struggling to stand up.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, Deedlit couldn’t even work up the courage to deal the finishing blow. Her body shook like a leaf in a storm.
*translator’s note: Deedlit says “バーク” (baaku), which is closer to bark, but I opted for beurk due to its meaning in French (‘yuck’) and lack of resemblance to any English word