Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

Wyant nodded and marched towards the corner table. The occupants looked up when he arrived.

“Marshal,” greeted one of the men. “Sit down and join us.”

“I am afraid that I cannot,” smiled Wyant. “I am with the Astor and need to discuss some things privately. I was wondering if I could talk you men into moving to a different table. We are expecting some others.”

“Rejji is here?” asked one of the men as he rose and turned to look. “I would like to say hello to him. I am done with my meal anyway.”

The other men nodded and stood up. Those who had not finished eating moved to another table while those who were finished walked towards the door and greeted Rejji. A serving girl immediately arrived at the now empty table and gathered the dishes. She came back and cleaned the table just before Gunta and Halman entered the room. Rejji broke off the conversation with the tribesmen and welcomed Marak to Meliban. Mistake hugged Rejji when she saw him. Eltor’s brow creased as he watched the affectionate embrace, but he did not say anything. Rejji guided the party to the corner table, and everyone sat down.

“Quite a city you are building here,” complimented the Torak. “You must be proud of your accomplishments.”

“I am proud for my people,” nodded Rejji. “They are the ones rebuilding Fakara. How was your trip?”

“I would like to say uneventful,” frowned the Torak, “but that would be a lie. We were attacked several times. We are getting better at avoiding the attacks, but I am afraid the family at the Western Woods became involved more than I would have cared for. We have avoided your string of inns since then.”

“Crawford?” asked Wyant. “Is he alright?”

“He is,” nodded the Emperor. “He and his girls were fine when we left, but he had a great deal of cleaning to do.”

“You have been camping then?” asked Rejji.

“We have,” answered the Emperor. “In fact, I would like to take a route towards Ghala that is not traveled much. Is that possible?”

“We could go up the Meliban River and through the Valley of Bones,” nodded Rejji. “There are no inns along that route. Is that what you want to do?”

“Yes,” replied the Torak. “I think we will be attacked no matter which way we go, but I prefer to keep innocents out of harm’s way.”

“Do these hellsouls know where Angragar is?” asked Wyant.

“I doubt it,” Marak replied. “I think they are just watching all of the trails for me.”

“Then I can be of help,” grinned Wyant. “I know the area along the Meliban River quite well. It is the area my tribe used to call home. I can take us along trails that will not be watched by anyone.”

“Excellent,” Emperor Marak replied as Tutman arrived with plates of food.

Each plate was filled with a wasooki steak, slices of clova, and a thin strip of fish. Two girls followed the innkeeper with several large bowls of vegetables.

“A meal fit for a king,” announced the innkeeper as he gazed at each of the visitors and tried to figure out what was so special about them.

His eyes hesitated on the hooded man, but Tutman finally shrugged and returned to the kitchen for more plates. When he returned, Emperor Marak smiled at him.

“Your service is the best I have had on this journey,” Marak said. “We would also like to have four rooms for tonight. I would like the rooms together, but with two on each side of the hallway. Can you accommodate me?”

“Of course,” nodded the innkeeper as he grinned because of Marak’s compliment. “I will give you rooms at the end of the hall so others do not disturb you.”

“Excellent,” smiled the Emperor.

“Introduce us to the rest of your party,” urged Rejji after the innkeeper had left.

Emperor Marak started introducing everyone to each other. Rejji shook his head and stared at MistyTrail when she was introduced.

“So Mistake does have a sister,” Rejji grinned happily. “That makes every step up the mountain to see the Sage worthwhile. I am so happy for both of you. I would like to talk to both of you after the meal if that is acceptable.”

“Acceptable?” balked Mistake. “I would be sorely disappointed if you had not asked. I have so much to tell you. Bring Bakhai with you. We can talk in our room.”

Both elves frowned at the turn in the conversation. Marak saw the tension building and continued the introductions by presenting Eltor and Caldal.

“Elves?” Rejji said with surprise. “Real elves? How can this be? I thought they were a people of ancient history. Where have they come from?”

“We come from the land of elves,” Caldal replied brusquely, refusing even to mention the name of Elvangar. “We will soon be returning there. We will be taking Mistake and Misty Trail with us. They are elves just like Eltor and myself. They have no place in the land of humans.”

A deep frown fell over Rejji’s face from both the tone of Caldal’s speech and the content of his statement. His mouth opened to speak and the Emperor abruptly stood up.

“While this is a magnificent meal,” he announced, “I am quite tired from the day’s journey. I am sure the rest of you are as well. Perhaps we should retire to our rooms and prepare for an early start in the morning. Wyant, some in our party are in need of swords. Can you pick some up at the marketplace for me?”

“We have quite an assortment in the administration building,” answered Wyant. “We can meet there in the morning, and each person can choose for himself.”

“Good,” the Emperor nodded curtly. “Let’s retire to our rooms.”

Halman and Gunta immediately stood up. Axor and the Fakarans did as well. The elves stared across the table at Mistake and MistyTrail and finally rose. They turned and walked away silently to get their key from the innkeeper.

“What is wrong with them?” frowned Mistake. “I thought Caldal’s attitude was improving, but he sounded quite put out. I wonder if the food does not agree with him?”

“And that is what I have been doing since I left Fakara,” Mistake said as she concluded the tale of her adventures since leaving Ghala.

“You have had quite an adventure,” Rejji replied as he rose and walked around the small room in the Kheri Inn. “It is hard for me to imagine the Island of Darkness. I could not stand to live in such a place.”

“They plan to bring that culture here,” warned MistyTrail. “How can we possibly hope to defeat a million man army?”

“Fakara is much stronger than it used to be before Rejji took over the Free Tribes,” Bakhai pointed out.

“But it is still fractured,” countered the Astor. “The Jiadin are still scattered over much of the land. Fakara’s armies are half of what they could be.”

“You need to conquer the Jiadin,” suggested Mistake. “You cannot hope to defeat Vand’s armies with the Jiadin at your back.”

“I cannot even hope to defeat Vand’s armies with the Jiadin eliminated,” frowned Rejji. “If I try to eradicate the Jiadin now, all that I will accomplish is more death and destruction. The Free Tribes will be less of a force than they are now. I want a time of peace and prosperity in Fakara. These people deserve a break from the ages of warfare.”

“What they deserve and what you can give them may be two different things,” cautioned MistyTrail. “The Sakovans yearned for peace, but it could never happen until Omunga was conquered. Isn’t the Astor of Fakara supposed to be like the Star of Sakova? Didn’t Kaltara send you to free these people?”

“I don’t know what I am supposed to do,” Rejji admitted with a frown. “I opened the gates of Angragar. That is all that I have done.”