Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“Time for you girls to turn in,” he announced. “You need to be up bright and early in the morning.”

Both girls instantly rose and bowed to the shaman before retreating to their room. Emperor Marak rose and the whole party followed his lead.

“The Western Woods is indeed a friendly place,” Emperor Marak said to Crawford. “I will recommend it highly. I have not enjoyed such food and company for some time, but it is time for me to retire as well.”

“I will stay up for a while,” responded Crawford. “If you want anything, just ask.”

The travelers filed out of the common room and up the stairs. Gunta came up last and handed out the four room keys. Mistake and MistyTrail took one room and the elves another. Halman bunked with Axor, while Gunta followed the Emperor. When they entered the room, Gunta immediately went to the window and gazed out. He leaned out the window and checked the side of the building before retreating.

“Anything out there?” asked the Torak.

“No,” replied Gunta, “but I feel like there will be before long.”

“I feel it, too,” nodded the Emperor. “I have been trying to calculate how long it will take those hellsouls to get here on foot.”

“I thought the attack was one of random chance,” stated Gunta. “Do you think they are coming specifically for us?”

“I think they are coming for me,” corrected the Emperor. “I have no knowledge to base that assumption on, but too many people knew about me taking this trip. There is not a great deal of traffic on this road yet. Do you think hellsouls would just wait forever to ambush whoever came along?”

“They might,” shrugged Gunta, “but we must plan as if they are after you. Should I alert the others?”

“I want the group to get a good night’s sleep,” frowned Emperor Marak. “It will not be good for us to all be tired tomorrow. Share our concerns with Halman, but not the rest. If we see or hear anything during the night, awaken everyone. You and I will take turns sleeping.”

“Why tell Halman then?” asked Gunta. “I thought Halman and I would take turns so that you can sleep through.”

“I want Halman to protect the innkeeper’s daughters if we are attacked,” explained the Emperor. “It is bad enough that we are bringing trouble to this family. I will not bring sorrow to it as well. Halman does not have to stand watch during the night, but he should be aware that we are going to so that he will know what his task is if something happens.”

“Understood,” nodded Gunta as he slipped out the door.

When Gunta returned, Emperor Marak was already asleep. Gunta was glad that Marak had chosen to wear the black and silver of the Torak clan, rather than the white and gold of the Imperial Emperor. If a fight did come this night, the white would stand out too much. Gunta quietly walked to the window and stared out. The view from the window looked out over fields of watula. A few small farmhouses were visible in the distance, but nothing was moving outside. Gunta frowned when he realized that he could not see the road. He wondered if the hellsouls would follow the road or keep off of it. There was little he could do about watching both approaches. He pushed the thought from his mind and concentrated on the soft sounds of the night.

Several hours later, Gunta felt something was not right. He became instantly alert and tried to pinpoint the nature of the problem. He nodded slowly to himself as he realized that the sounds of the night had changed. The cricket chirps could still be heard in the distance, but not nearby, and the horses were restless. Gunta gazed out the window at the stables. Suddenly, he saw a dark shape flit within the stables. He reached over and shook the Emperor.

“What is it?” Emperor Marak asked softly as he rose and strapped on his weapons.

“Something besides horses is in the stables,” reported Gunta.

“Alert the others,” ordered the Torak. “If it is a false alarm, they will only miss a few moments of sleep.”

Gunta nodded and headed for the door. As he opened the door, he heard a shout from downstairs. A distant clash of steel made Gunta draw his sword and race for the stairs.

“Attack!” Gunta shouted as he started running down the stairs.

The Torak ran from the room and headed for the stairs. The door to the room occupied by Halman and Axor flew open. Halman stepped into the hallway with his sword drawn. He ran for the girls’ room at the other end of the hall while Marak started downstairs. Doors were slamming open behind the Torak as he raced down the stairs to the common room. Ahead of him, Marak could see Gunta swinging his sword at something coming in the rear door. Crawford held a bloody sword before him with his back braced against the front door. A dark shape rested unmoving at the innkeeper’s feet.

As Marak’s feet hit the ground floor, the body in front of the innkeeper started to get up. Crawford’s eyes grew wide with fear. He moved forward to kill the invader a second time. When he moved, the door behind him burst open, throwing the innkeeper to the floor. The Torak raced towards the front door. He jumped over the innkeeper and jabbed the Sword of Torak into the hellsoul trying to enter the inn. The hellsoul’s body evaporated in a black puff of smoke. The Emperor heard the innkeeper curse behind him. He also heard the clash of steel and a cry and a thud.

“Crawford?” called the Emperor without turning around.

“I am here,” the innkeeper panted. “This man doesn’t want to stay dead.”

“Go up and protect your girls,” ordered the Torak. “Send Halman down to me.”

“But…” protested Crawford.

“Just go,” commanded the Emperor. “Hurry.”

Emperor Marak slashed another hellsoul trying to get through the front door. As the body disappeared in smoke, he shoved the door shut and put his back to it. The hellsoul that Crawford had been fighting with was trying to get up again. Marak stretched forward and brought his sword down on the hellsoul’s head. The hellsoul disappeared in a puff. Marak saw Axor standing at the foot of the stairs. The room burst into brilliance as the Chula shaman sent a brilliant light disc into the kitchen. Marak could not see what had been shredded in there.

“They are coming in the windows up here,” shouted Eltor from the top of the stairs. “I keep killing them, but they will not die.”

“Axor,” shouted the Torak. “Get halfway up the stairs and kill anything trying to go up. Gunta, join me at the front door. We are taking this fight outside.”

Axor backpedaled up the stairs as Gunta ran away from the rear door. As Gunta ran across the common room, Marak shouted loudly and pulled the front door open. The hellsouls who had been trying to force their way in through the front door hesitated slightly. It was the opening that Marak had hoped for. He pushed the Sword of Torak before him as he stepped outside. Once clear of the door, the Emperor slashed his sword in a figure eight. The sword sliced cleanly through the flesh of the hellsouls. Three dark cloaks dropped to the ground, and Marak pushed onward.

The front of the inn had a small roof over the porch outside. As the Torak emerged from under the roof, a hellsoul dropped onto his back. Gunta’s sword sliced through the hellsoul’s legs, and it fell to the ground screaming. Gunta stepped up alongside the Torak as they both swung their swords furiously. Within moments the front of the inn was clear of hellsouls.

“Back inside,” Marak ordered Gunta as he turned and raced through the front door.

Axor was still on the steps. Body parts littered the floor, but the Torak could see nothing moving. He raced up the steps past the Chula shaman. The upstairs hallway was splattered in blood. MistyTrail and Mistake each had a hellsoul on the floor and were repeatedly stabbing them whenever they opened their eyes. Caldal and Eltor were shooting arrows along the corridor as creatures rose to attack. The Torak rushed towards the women first. He sliced each of the fallen hellsouls and nodded when their bodies disappeared. Marak turned and pushed past the elves.