Richard Tuttle - Elvangar

“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.