The Qubari army halted outside the gates of the ancient city Angragar. Hundreds of Qubari warriors with wicked-looking spears, which sported long sharp blades, lined the road on both sides. Rejji led the chosen twelve up to the gates. MistyTrail, Mistake, Eltor, and Caldal followed.
“See the ruined buildings,” Mistake said to Eltor. “They are unchanged after thousands of years. You can still see the boulders that the elven siege machines threw over the walls.”
“The boulders are there,” conceded Caldal, “but that does not verify that elves put them there. They could just have easily come from human sieges engines.”
“Be quiet, Caldal,” MistyTrail said irritably. “I have heard enough human bashing for one lifetime.”
Caldal looked shocked at the reprimand, but Eltor shook his head knowingly. He reached for Mistake’s hand and held it. She turned and looked at him questioningly.
“I do not like the thought of you going into the city without me,” Eltor said softly. “I would like to guard you. Do you think the Astor would allow it?”
“I have not been chosen to go into the city,” frowned Mistake. “I will be staying here with you.”
“But I thought you were one of Rejji’s chosen?” replied Eltor.
“Not this time,” sighed Mistake. “Bakhai and Mobi will go in as they did last time, but Wyant will be taking my place. I guess Rejji feels it is necessary that one of the Fakaran tribesmen see the city. I wish he had chosen me.”
“Perhaps he has not chosen you because he does not want you hurt?” countered Eltor. “You are close to him, aren’t you?”
Mistake looked into Eltor’s eyes and saw fear in them. It was not the fear of being at Angragar that she saw. It was the fear of losing Mistake to another man. She smiled sympathetically.
“We are close,” admitted Mistake. “Rejji and I met when his village was destroyed by Jiadin bandits. They killed everyone except Rejji. We have been through a lot since then, Eltor. We were captured by the tribes and sold into slavery in Khadora. We were captured and sentenced to die by the Qubari. We met the Sage of the Mountain and flew on the back of a dragon. We were together when Angragar first opened to Rejji’s touch. Yes, we are close. I know that is not the real question that you want answered, but I have no answer to give you for the other question.”
“Do you mean that you do not know if you care for him?” asked Eltor. “Or is it that you do not know if he cares for you?”
“I am not sure of either,” admitted Mistake. “As it stands, we are extremely close friends, maybe more, but I don’t know. I feel confused every time I think about it.”
“Is there any hope for me?” asked Eltor. “Do I fit into your future plans at all?”
“I can’t answer that,” sighed Mistake. “I have grown rather close to you as well, Eltor, but I sometimes wonder what that feeling really is. Am I just excited to know an elf? Am I just thrilled to be thinking about a trip to Elvangar, the land of the lost elves, or is it something more personal? I just don’t know. I am confused.”
“I understand,” Eltor nodded and smiled weakly. “There are no conditions to my offer to take you to Elvangar. I want that known up front. If you do decide to come with us, I will not take that as any commitment to me. I want you to be happy, whatever path that may be. I will even understand if you chose to remain behind here. Even though you are an elf, you have the right to choose your own life. I will try to respect your decision.”
“Try to?” asked Mistake.
“Well, yes,” grinned Eltor. “If you decide to stay and do not marry Rejji, I might be forced to form an elven raiding party to come and kidnap you.”
Mistake laughed and squeezed Eltor’s hand. “Thank you for saying what you did, Eltor,” she smiled. “I know that it must have taken a lot of courage to say those words. It shows that you truly care about me. I shall never forget them.”
“They are going in,” MistyTrail said excitedly as she pointed to Rejji approaching the massive gates. “I wish Lyra had chosen me. It is so exciting.”
The Astor approached the gates and turned to make sure that everyone was ready. He then turned and placed his hand on the gates. They swung open at his touch. The twelve chosen walked through the gates. Rejji turned and looked at the Qubari army on the other side of the gates. He fought the temptation to touch the gates again and make them close. Leaving them open just seemed wrong to him, but he turned and joined the others.
Emperor Marak took the lead with Gunta and Halman flanking him and a step behind him. Axor followed close behind the Emperor. Lyra, Rejji, Bakhai, Temiker, and LunarSigh formed the middle of the procession. Behind them came Mobi, DarkBlade, and Wyant.
“We will try to get to the temple with as little fighting as possible,” announced Emperor Marak. “If we must fight, everyone stay together. Our goal is the temple, not to see how many we can kill.”
The Torak led at a moderate pace. He did not try to hurry, but neither did he dally. He proceeded at the fastest pace that would allow for stealth from each of the members of the group. They advanced over six blocks before the first hellsoul was sighted.
“Three blocks off to the right,” Gunta said softly. “It was a single hellsoul.”
The Torak merely nodded and continued at a steady pace. Just before the intersection two blocks later, Marak held up his hand and gave the signal for hellsouls. The group tensed. The Torak marched into the intersection and immediately swiveled to face his left. Gunta moved swiftly to stay on Marak’s right, while Halman slowed to avoid showing himself.
Three hellsouls shrieked and charged. The Torak stepped forward and sliced into the lead hellsoul. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Gunta repeated the procedure on another hellsoul by decapitating him with one stroke. Halman stepped around the corner and struck at the third hellsoul, which was trying to attack Marak from the side. The hellsoul went down under Halman’s strike, but the head was not totally severed. Halman stepped forward and completed the task, sending up another wisp of smoke. The Torak immediately turned and continued the path toward the central square. Gunta and Halman resumed their places.
“This is almost identical to the last time we were here,” frowned Gunta. “Would they use the same strategy each time?”
“No,” answered the Torak as he nodded ahead. “They are more ready than they were the last time.”
The street in the distance was already clogging with hellsouls. Shrieks echoed from every direction, and more than one member of the group muttered an oath under his breath.
“We are turning to the left at the next intersection,” Emperor Marak declared loud enough for the whole group to hear. “Close up the group now, and be prepared for a quick stop as soon as we are out of sight.”
Everyone moved forward until the group was compact. Emperor Marak turned left at the next corner and stopped when he felt there was enough room for everyone. As soon as he stopped, he turned around.
“Turn around and reform,” ordered the Torak. “This will not be much of a diversion, but it will gain us a few blocks.”
Halman moved to the corner and peered around it as the group reformed into their original positions. They stood silently for a moment until Halman waved the group forward.
Emperor Marak led the group out of the side street and continued marching across the wide boulevard. After he had gone an additional block, he turned to the left onto another wide avenue that paralleled the original one. There were no hellsouls in sight.
“They will wise up soon enough,” Gunta commented softly.
“I know,” replied the Torak. “Let’s take each block as we can. This avenue is the one that runs directly in front of the temple.”
They made three more blocks before the hellsouls managed to discover where they had gone. Shrieks rang out from their left as they passed through another intersection. Halman looked to his left and saw a large crowd of hellsouls moving towards them.
“The bulk of them are no longer before us,” Halman reported softly. “They are off to our left.”
“There will be more ahead of us,” replied the Torak, “but be ready for anything.”
They made two more blocks before a worried voice came from the rear of the procession.
“There is a large group following us,” Wyant reported loudly. “Very large.”
“And there are some at the next intersection in front of us,” added the Torak as he felt his sword warming in his hands. “I can feel them. We may need the help of you in the rear to get out of this.”
Mobi immediately turned and ran up behind Halman. DarkBlade understood the move. He also went to the left and advanced, but not quite as far. He kept pace alongside the middle of the procession, making sure the Star of Sakova was protected. Wyant remained the sole rear guard. As the Torak stopped into the intersection, he saw a large group of hellsouls coming towards him from the left.
“Stay on the lead, Gunta,” ordered the Torak as he separated from the group and claimed the center of the side street.
As Halman moved into the intersection, Marak edged slightly to the right to make room for him. They guarded the left flank of the procession as Gunta kept the group moving forward. The hellsouls attacked.
The Torak swung his long sinuous blade back and forth as he continued to edge to the right. Puffs of smoke rose rapidly as the Sword of Torak ripped through the hellsouls. Alongside Marak, Halman chose his swings carefully. His long sword reached out and decapitated hellsouls as they approached. Mobi soon joined him with his long spear slashing into the hellsouls. He aimed for the neck, but he struck so swiftly that some hellsouls fell to the ground with their heads intact. Whenever he could, he slashed at the necks of the fallen hellsouls as well as the advancing ones.
Suddenly, brilliance lit the air. Axor tossed a light blade at the charging hellsouls. He aimed it at shoulder height. The blades of light ripped into the hellsouls, several columns of smoke drifted upward at the same time.
“Excellent,” shouted Temiker as he watched the display. “It does not matter much how the heads come off.”
“Aim neck high,” cautioned Axor as he released another light blade, “And don’t strike our own men.”
“Marak!” shouted Gunta as he saw the crowd of hellsouls forming in front of him, “I need you.”
The Torak looked over his shoulder and saw DarkBlade moving into the intersection. The group was half way through the intersection. With a final slash at the nearest hellsoul, the Emperor turned and ran towards the front of the procession. Halman immediately moved to the right, as did Mobi. Temiker turned and sent a light blade streaming past Wyant and into the group of hellsouls that were following them. Several puffs of smoke appeared and the hellsouls hesitated in their approach. LunarSigh joined Axor by sending light blades into the side street.
“Warriors forward,” instructed Lyra as she saw the group in front of them. “Leave the side street to the mages.”
Halman and Mobi dashed forward. DarkBlade faded back to join the procession alongside Lyra before moving forward. With the warriors out of the way, the mages sent light blades streaming into the side street. The hellsouls broke and ran. The humans turned to attack those behind them, but that group had stopped following them.
At the front of the procession, Marak raced back to the lead spot just in time to help Gunta with the first of the hellsouls. The procession halted as the two warriors tried to stop the creatures from advancing. Halman, Mobi, and DarkBlade soon appeared and formed a united front across the avenue. As soon as the five warriors were in place, the Torak called for them to advance.
Four long swords and a spear lashed into the crowd of hellsouls as the group began moving forward again. DarkBlade’s vicious severing of heads soon earned the admiration of the other warriors who had faced the hellsouls before. For several minutes the five warriors pushed into the mob of creatures, lopping off heads with almost every stroke. The swords of the hellsouls were too short for them to effectively defend themselves. The long two-handed swords struck before the creatures could do any damage. After several minutes, the hellsouls turned and ran.
“How is the rear?” the Torak shouted as the hellsouls retreated from in front of him.
“They are being cautious,” Wyant shouted back. “They are still following us, but not closely.”
“Do you carry Sakovan stars?” the Torak asked DarkBlade.
“I do,” the Sakovan warrior answered.
“Get some ready,” instructed the Torak as he sheathed his sword. “You too, Gunta and Halman. They will not vanquish these creatures, but they will buy us time as we approach the temple.”
The warriors sheathed their swords and filled their hands with Sakovan stars. Mobi kept his spear ready. Marak could see the temple a little over a block away. There were only a few hellsouls visible, but he knew that the open plaza would be filled with them.
“The temple is the large building on the right coming up,” Marak said loudly. “Rejji, I want you to lead the group up the steps and inside the building. You will run as soon as the way is clear. Make sure the mages are with you. They can cover for the warriors when we have to retreat.”
The Torak heard Rejji giving orders to the mages and turned his attention to the approaching plaza. He was thinking so much of what might await them in the plaza that he did not feel the warming of his sword. A hellsoul leaped out of a doorway on the left of the procession. DarkBlade immediately spun and threw a Sakovan star at it. It struck the hellsoul in the center of its forehead. Mobi raced towards it before it had completed its fall to the ground. His long spear sliced cleanly through its neck. As the empty cloak fell to the ground, Mobi returned to his position. DarkBlade smiled and nodded at the Qubari warrior.
As the procession reached the plaza, Emperor Marak ordered the warriors to wheel to the left, leaving a path to the steps of the temple open. Axor tossed a light blade across the plaza at the hellsouls that were heading toward the group. The spell sliced into the bodies, but none were decapitated. Several of the creatures fell to the ground.
Loud shrieking filled the plaza as the group emerged from the avenue. The Torak tossed a Sakovan star at the closest creature. As the hellsoul collapsed to the ground the other warriors started throwing stars. Rejji broke into a run and raced towards the steps of the temple. Lyra, Bakhai, LunarSigh, Temiker, and Axor raced after him. Wyant joined the warriors as they moved slowly to their right, edging closer to the temple.
Rejji ran up the stairs and pushed the doors of the temple open. Bakhai raced through the doors, his long spear ready for anything that might already be inside. As Lyra and LunarSigh ran up the stairs, a hellsoul stepped out from behind a column supporting the porch roof. Rejji turned and slammed his staff viciously into the hellsoul. It struck the hellsoul on the side of the head. The creature disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Axor was the next to arrive. Instead of entering the temple, he stood alongside the door. Temiker, panting from exertion finally climbed the steps and stood on the opposite side of the door. Rejji turned and followed Lyra and LunarSigh into the temple.
Axor gazed across the plaza as the warriors continued to inch closer to the temple. Four of the warriors threw Sakovan stars whenever a hellsoul tried to approach. Wyant and Mobi stood ready to dispatch any creatures that came closer.
“Now we provide the distraction,” Axor said softly to Temiker. “Are you recovered enough for this?”
“I will live,” retorted Temiker as he inhaled deeply. “It has been a long time since I had to run. Let’s do it.”
Axor nodded and tossed a light blade over the heads of the warriors. Temiker followed the example a little further to the right. Both light blades tore into the hellsouls, sending body parts flying in a mist of tissue and bone.
“Now,” shouted the Torak. ‘Retreat swiftly to the temple.”
The Torak stuffed the stars into a pouch and drew his sword. Gunta and Halman followed suit and flanked the Emperor. Wyant, Mobi, and DarkBlade turned and ran several dozen paces before stopping. DarkBlade pulled his sword and shouted a word to the Torak. The three Khadorans turned and ran past the other three warriors, stopping at the base of the steps of the temple and turning to protect the retreat.
Two more light blades flew into the plaza. More gore misted into the air along with a few puffs of smoke. As the other three warriors raced up the stairs, the Khadorans turned and followed them. When everyone had entered the temple, the doors were slammed shut. There was some debris inside the door that had been used on a previous visit. Bakhai and Rejji pushed a long table up against the doors and began piling things on top of it. Lyra grabbed an old torch and snapped her fingers. A flame danced on the end of her fingers and she applied it to the torch, illuminating a small area in the entry foyer. Others scrambled to find other torches and light them from Lyra’s. Soon the entry foyer was illuminated.
“Gunta, Halman,” ordered Emperor Marak. “Search the building. Make sure that we are alone.”
Each of Marak’s shadows took a torch and disappeared. Everyone else settled down to calm their nerves while they waited.
“Those hellsouls do not appear to be very fast,” commented Wyant. “It was not as dangerous as I thought it might be.”
“They do not depend upon speed,” replied the Torak. “They kill by mass numbers and poison.”
“Poison?” frowned Wyant.
“One touch of their blade can bring death,” replied Mobi. “Our first trip here we lost Grank and almost lost Voltak. Both were superb warriors. “Grank died in the palace from a head wound, but Voltak only had a small cut on his hand. It would have killed him if we had not rushed out of the city and transported him to the village for healing.”
“We were fortunate today,” added the Torak. “While they discovered us early, they did not appear to understand our movements.”
“You made them think we went the other way,” grinned Mobi. “That was smart. You come up with new tricks each time we come here.”
“Never being predictable is a good way to stay alive,” interjected Axor. “The Chula learned that early.”
“Why did we enter the city so late in the day?” asked LunarSigh. “Wouldn’t it have been better to enter at dawn? We will be stuck in this temple all night.”
“That is what we want,” answered Rejji. “The hellsouls now know that we are in the temple. They will gather other creatures from all over the city. We want as many to come to the plaza as possible so that the Qubari army can attack them in a group.”
* * *
“This waiting outside the city is frustrating,” complained MistyTrail. “Do they expect us to actually sleep out here while the gate is open? Those creatures could come out at any time.”
“We should have been taken into the city,” nodded Eltor. “Why wait until morning when we could be reading in the library of the palace. Those records are the ones that supposedly tell of the relations between the humans and the elves.”
“I know how you feel,” frowned Mistake. “I feel left out, too. I have survived Angragar before. There is no reason that I should be out here.”
“Except you now have elven friends,” Caldal pointed out. “Perhaps you are being punished because of us. They probably don’t want us to have too much time to peruse the library. Maybe those records don’t really exist. I am sure that they will find some excuse to keep the elves out of the city in the morning when the army enters.”
“They will not keep us out,” Eltor shook his head. “Do not make such foolish statements. They have no reason to exclude us, and even if they wanted to, we are elves. We could sneak in without being heard or seen.”
“We are elves, aren’t we?” Mistake grinned mischievously.
“Uh oh,” frowned MistyTrail. “I have seen that look in your eye before. What do you have planned?”
“We could use the time wisely in the library,” shrugged Mistake. “We are quiet and know how to move unseen. I also happen to know exactly where the temple is. I bet we could sneak in there unnoticed while Marak is leading the others. They would attract all of the hellsouls while we dash to the temple.”
“But they have already been gone for a while,” MistyTrail pointed out. “We could never catch them.”
“Emperor Marak moves slowly and cautiously,” grinned Mistake. “He does not just dash into the city and run for the temple. He methodically marches down the street daring the hellsouls to attack. We could do it.”
“How would we even get into the city?” asked Caldal skeptically.
“The gate is open,” shrugged Mistake. Entering is no problem.”
“The gate may be open,” agreed MistyTrail, “but the Qubari will not let us go in. They have orders to wait until morning.”
“Orders have never stopped me before,” Mistake grinned broadly. “Get ready to go. I will get us through the gates.”
MistyTrail, Eltor, and Caldal looked at each other questioningly as Mistake moved close to the gate. The Qubari warriors stationed there suddenly stiffened. Mistake turned her back to them and began talking.
“Of course everything is fine here,” Mistake said loud enough for the warriors to hear. “Yes, the gate is still open. No, not a single hellsoul has been seen yet. How about inside where you are?”
The Qubari frowned and stared at Mistake. Voltak moved closer to her and looked past her to see if she was talking to someone he could not see.
“MistyTrail is still here,” continued Mistake. “Yes, yes, Eltor and Caldal as well. What? Are you sure? Well, I could ask them if they would join you. Order them? I understand. Yes, I remember the way to the temple. All right, I will get the three of them and go through the gates immediately. Where should I meet up with you? All right. Yes, I remember the way. All right. We will leave immediately.”
“What is this all about?” Voltak asked with concern.
“The elves,” Mistake replied. “The Torak wants the elves to meet him at the temple. MistyTrail and I are to escort them.” She turned towards the elves and called loudly, “MistyTrail, Eltor, Caldal. Come here quickly. There is no time to waste.”
“But no one is supposed to go through the gates until morning,” protested Voltak as Mistake’s three friends came running. “Those are the orders.”
“I heard the orders,” nodded Mistake, “but I cannot refuse the Torak. I dare not try to contact him now so that you can speak to him yourself. He was practically whispering to me. I suspect there might be hellsouls nearby. My voice might give away the Torak’s position. Are you sure you want me to try an air tunnel to him?”
“No,” Voltak said nervously. “Do not endanger them with an air tunnel. I do not like this change in plans, but I will not put your life above the Astor’s. I hope you know what you are doing.”
“I do,” smiled Mistake as she stepped through the gates and waved her three friends through.
Voltak shook his head and turned away from the gates. He spoke to another Qubari warrior and told him to keep watch on the gates while he grabbed some food. Voltak marched back along the road several hundred paces to where the campfires were burning. He grabbed a bowl of stew and sat down to enjoy it.
The elves had been gone around five minutes before the first hellsoul appeared. It saw the open gates and shrieked loudly. Soon, a large group of hellsouls gathered and stared at the Qubari warriors. The jungle fighters all became alert, their long-bladed spears gripped in their hands. They waited for the hellsouls to attack.
All at once the hellsouls charged. Qubari warriors stood in the open gates and slashed with their spears. The first wave of creatures was sliced quickly. Several puffs of smoke rose and even more creature bodies dropped to the ground, only to arise again. The Qubari warriors did not have sufficient room between the gates to swing their long spears, so warriors shoved the spears instead. While that did little to vanquish the hellsouls, it did keep any of them from escaping. Eventually the creatures realized that they could not escape. They stood just outside the range of the spears and stared at the Qubari.
Unexpectedly, one of the hellsouls picked up a rock and threw it. It struck a Qubari warrior in the head. The hellsouls shrieked in victory and scrambled to pick up stones. One of the Qubari warriors hurried forward, his long spear threatening the closest hellsouls. He grabbed one of the gates and swung it shut. Another warrior saw what the first was doing and pulled shut the other gate. Once the gates were closed, the creatures dropped their rocks. Slowly the crowd dissipated until there were no hellsouls left. Voltak came running along the road to see what the commotion was.
“That was close,” exhaled one of the Qubari warriors who had closed the gates. “If they started throwing stones, they might have gotten out. We should have brought shields with us.”
“There is only one problem with your actions,” sighed Voltak as he stared at the closed gates. “You closed the gates. How are we supposed to get through them in the morning?”
“We will tell the Astor that we need them reopened,” shrugged the warrior.
“And how will you do that?” asked Voltak. “Do any of you know how to make an air tunnel?”
“Mistake does,” answered a warrior.
“So she does,” frowned Voltak, “but she entered the city a few moments ago. We have a problem. Our Astor is expecting us to attack the hellsouls in the morning. We are not going to be able to do that.”