Notes for this chapter
Hen llinge (Elder Speech) translation:
daen'ce = thank you
fraere = brother
sor'ca = sister
They went through the forests in a fast trot and every time, when they've reached a clearing, they've spurred the horses into a gallop. As dusk began to fall they were already quite far. None of them has spoken yet.
Suddenly a road appeared between the trees ahead of them. They went along, staying hidden in the forest and slowed down, when they heard noises from a nearby settlement. Both carefully approached it on their horses and observed the first houses. Keaira noticed, that his hands are shaking a bit and realization hit her - the air grew cold and he's only in his shirt, barely sitting in the saddle, tired and with chattering teeth. She silently reached into one of her saddlebags, pulled out her folded cloak and handed it over to him without saying a word. He looked at the cloak in her hand, then into her eyes and proudly turned his face away without saying a word.
„As you wish..." she said with disgust and stowed the cloak again into her bag.
Kea dismounted and walked on foot towards the settlement between the trees. She was gone for a long time when his whole body started to visibly shake from the cold. It was early fall and the temperature was promptly dropping after sunset. When she returned, she just shook her head and climbed back into her saddle. The elf gave her a questioning look.
„There are only humans. That wouldn't be a good idea." she replied seeing his gaze.
He nodded silently and suddenly put forth his hand towards her, his wide palm open.
„Is the cold already bigger than your hatred against the Dh'oine?" she asked sarcastically.
He bit his tongue instead of answering her and kept his hand in front of her.
Kea studied his face for a while, then bent down, pulled out her cloak from the bag again and stuffed it into his hand. While nodding gratefully, he threw it over his shoulders and carefully fastened up the buckle on the cloak.
„I see, it's still not that cold to say ‚thank you'." she reacted to it with another scathing remark. The elf remained silent and just spurred his horse again into a trot through the forest.
They've passed by two more settlements on their way until they've found a remote small village. She could hear his stomach rumbling and right after that her own as well. They had both nothing to eat since yesterday evening. Let's hope we'll have some luck now... Kea thought when she dismounted from her horse and quietly walked over to the first houses in the darkness.
They had. She noticed with a smile on her face, that a female elf walked out of a house with a sleeping child on her hands and then entered another house a bit further away. At the other end of the village the door opened on a small tavern and a tall black-haired elf went outside, followed by a half-elf.
„So good night and tell your wife, that the soup was really excellent." said the tall elf to the innkeeper and walked over to his horse.
„I'll do, good night and drop by again." the half-elf waived with his hand, went inside and Keaira heard, how the door bar snapped into place.
The black-haired elf mounted his horse, spurred him into a trot and disappeared in the forest nearby.
She returned back to Coinneach, took her horse's reins and said without looking at him: „I think, we'll get finally something to eat."
He dismounted from the palomino, also took his reins and followed her. Both silently crossed the village, walked over to the tavern's door and Keaira knocked.
The door bar rattled and the half-elf opened the door.
„Did you forget something?" he asked with a smile which immediately froze as he noticed them. He looked them over with fear in his eyes.
Standing in front of him was a small human woman wearing dirty elven clothes and behind her a tall elf in a dark cloak. Exhaustion, a broken nose and bruises on his face, hunger and cold in his eyes. The woman quietly pulled out of a small pouch on the front side of her belt a tiny object and handed it over to him. The half-elf gulped and looked at her palm, in which a small emerald was glittering. The innkeeper carefully took it from her hand, then quickly glanced around, stepped aside and whispered quietly: „Sit down by the fireplace, I'll take your horses to the stables."
The woman turned to her horse, mumbling a few words, then gratefully nodded together with the elf and entered the tavern passing him by.
Vascoigne, the deputy commander of Fort Drakenborg, was nervously pacing around the room and angrily lashing the side of his jackboot with his quirt.
„Are you trying to tell me, that the whole escort is just simply lying around there dead, with them also Dá Reo, nobody has seen or heard anything, and nothing is missing?!" he bawled at the breathless man in a uniform standing in the doorway.
„Y-yes sir..." stuttered the obviously frightened soldier, who just came running to tell him, that the regular messenger, who has been riding between Tretogor and Drakenborg, has found one days' ride away from the Fort the whole escort and the prisoner lying dead on the road.
„What do you take me for, an idiot?!" screamed Vascoigne so loud, that the soldier winced and hit the door jamb with his shoulder.
„Shall I go and have a look at it?" asked with a cold voice the second man, who was in the room with Vascoigne. It was a tall muscular man wearing a hunting suit. He was sitting on a chair behind Vascoigne's table with his legs in high boots placed on the table. There were several knifes inserted in the pockets of his jacket and on his thighs, next to him a sword and a bow with a quiver were leaning against the wall. His long red hair was at one side of his head intersected by a broad scar, which was framed by a strip of grey hair. Several additional ugly scars were on his face and a part of his nose was missing. Cold and sinister steel-grey eyes were completing his overall horrifying look.
Vascoigne nodded and replied with a commanding tone to the second man while determinedly walking towards the door:
„We'll go together, I want to see that with my own eyes!"
The other man stood up, took his weapons and followed him without saying a word.
They chose a table nearest to the fireplace. Given the late night hours there was nobody else in the tavern except for them. Both sat down with relief on two chairs opposite to each other. Coinneach unbuttoned the cloak and threw it over his chair. Keaira unbuttoned her elven jacket and also threw it over her chair. She was silently watching the slowly bleeding wound on his shoulder. His gaze stopped for a moment on her breasts pronounced under her blouse and then skipped to her face.
„What's your name, Dh'oine?" he broke the silence between them after a while.
She scowled at him angrily being fed up with the constant ‚Dh'oine' she heard from him all the time.
„Keaira."
„Keaira... and?" he looked into her eyes.
„Keaira Ther'eyllis." She answered after a short hesitation, when she noticed, that his question is sincere and the snooty look from his eyes has disappeared.
„Strange name." He hasn't stopped staring into her eyes.
„It's an elven name." Kea replied and when she saw his skeptical look, she added: „Not YOUR elven name, it's not originating from the Aen Seidhe. The Aen Muire have given me that name. When they've found me, I was too young to remember my own."
He had an apparent surprise on his face, but before any one of them could speak again, the door behind her slammed and the half-elf has entered the tavern. Keaira only slightly turned her head and watched him from the corner of her eye. He came close to their table, quickly glanced at her embroidered elven jacket, then at Coinneach's nose, shoulder and fingers and cleared his throat:
„I'll get a healer, my wife will bring you some food and drinks in the meantime." With that he turned towards the low door to the kitchen next to the fireplace and shouted: „Bring the soup and a bread, Mairead. We have guests."
Then he looked at them once again and added: „And bring also the rest of the roasted pork and some wine. The soup won't be enough..."
Keaira smiled at him: „Thank you."
The half-elf returned the smile and nodded, then looked at Coinneach and said: „We take care of our own..."
Then the innkeeper went outside and the door quietly closed behind him.
For a while they were again staring at each other silently until a woman didn't appear in the kitchen door. She was a bit sturdy, but quite attractive, had a friendly smile on her face and in her hands two bowls with a soup and half of a bread. A human just like Keaira. The woman placed everything on the table in front of them and handed them over a small jar with cutlery from a nearby table. Then she turned and went back into the kitchen.
They silently took the spoons and started to eat the soup. His hunger was too big to ask her any further questions now and she was too tired to start the whole complicated explanation.
The door quietly squeaked, the half-elf entered and behind him an elf with golden blond hair with his hands full of small pouches. They both greeted them with a nod and the elf placed the pouches on a nearby table, walked over to Coinneach and examined him slowly.
„I'll need hot water and bring also some vodka for disinfecting the wound." Then he looked at Coinneach's nose and fingers and quietly asked:
„Can you handle it, fraere?"
Dá Reo finished eating the soup, laid the spoon aside and silently nodded.
The half-elf went into the kitchen and returned a moment later with the requested hot water in a small pot and a bottle of vodka. He placed it on the table and disappeared again into the kitchen.
Keaira finished eating her soup, slightly nodded to the healer and followed the half-elf and his wife into the kitchen. They were quietly whispering something to each other.
She spoke to them with a soft voice: „We don't want to cause you any trouble. I'm really grateful for your help. And for the healer, but we should..."
The half-elf's wife interrupted her: „Don't even think about going somewhere now! I was just telling my husband to prepare a hot bath for you in the morning. You both need it." And she smiled at her.
Keaira only now realized how awfully they both with Coinneach must look.
Then the half-elf added: „We have one guestroom, I'll prepare it for you. We don't have often guests over night." he turned and went to the narrow stairs leading up to the upper floor on the other side of the kitchen.
Keaira was looking at his wife for a while, then returned the smile: „Thank you again."
The innkeeper's wife wanted to reply something, but suddenly a muffled scream from the next room could be heard. Keaira was with two fast leaps at the kitchen door and placed her hand already on her belt, when she entered the front room. She was stopped by the surprised gaze of the blond elf. He was just holding in his hand one of Coinneach's outstretched fingers and applied a mixture of healing herbs to it. Both elves were slightly startled by the way how she barged into the room.
She shortly mumbled „I'm sorry..." and walked backwards with a lowered head into the kitchen.
„He'll be fine sweetie, don't worry, Jarlath is an experienced healer." The half-elf's wife smiled at her again.
Keaira nodded with an almost ashamed smile: „I think I'd like to have some of that wine now, if you don't mind..." pointing with her finger towards a jug.
She was sitting in the kitchen with the innkeeper's wife, they were having a small talk and when the half-elf came back from the upper floor, he joined them in their chit-chat. After a longer time the blond elf appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.:
„I'm done. Only two fingers were broken, the rest is just badly beaten. I've straightened his nose. The wound on his shoulder is sutured and I've applied an ointment to the bruise under his eye as well as to his wrists. He has a few more bruises on his chest and legs, but that should be all right in a few days."
„How much do we owe you?" asked Keaira.
„Nothing." replied the elf and added towards the half-elf: „And I don't want anything from you either."
All three of them have looked in surprise at him when he continued: „I did it for free and gladly. I think I know, who he is..."
Keaira's face turned from surprised to suspicious, but the elf quickly added: „Maybe we should all talk openly..." and he nodded towards the front room.
„And we could use some of that wine as well..." his gaze stopped at the jug, from which the half-elf's wife and Keaira have been pouring the wine out before.
Keaira silently looked at them all and then she followed the healer into the front room. The half-elf took a big plate with the rest of the roasted pork and another bread, his wife refilled the wine jug and took with the other hand a tray with clean cups.
They all sat down at the table, Coinneach and Keaira started to eat the pork with bread and the innkeeper's wife poured some wine for all of them into their cups.
After a few bites Coinneach couldn't stand it anymore and asked: „So talk brother, what's going on..." and took a swig of wine.
„I recognized you by the scar on your ear. You're Coinneach Dá Reo, right?" asked the healer outright.
Coinneach was eyeballing him for a while and then nodded: „I had the feeling we've met already before..."
„In Brokilon. Shortly before the war started. You were just leaving to the south, when I've arrived." continued the elf also with a short nod. „You were advising Milwa to stay in Brokilon back then."
„I hope she listened to my advice. How's our sister?" Coinneach faintly smiled, but the smile froze immediately on his face as he saw the blond elf slowly and with a serious face shake his head.
„Fuck!" slipped from Coinneach's lips, but he quickly regained his self-control and took another swig of wine. They were all silent now and the innkeeper's wife filled their cups again.
„I told her back then, that it's our duty to go to this war, that it's our baptism of fire... She warned me, that this fire will burn us all up... She was right..." added Coinneach quietly with such bitterness in his voice, that Keaira quirked an eyebrow.
„Ehm... That's not all..." whispered the healer as he cleared his throat. Keaira noticed how Coinneach's jaw hardened.
„How much do you know about the fate of the other Scoia'tael?" asked the blond elf carefully.
„Almost nothing since the time they've arrested us. I mean myself and the other officers of the Vrihedd brigade. And they've separated us, when we've arrived in Dillingen..."
The blond elf nodded and took a big swig from his cup. Keaira and the half-elf with his wife were for now only quietly watching the two elves.
„The Scoia'tael were scattered to the four winds after the war. At least what was left of their commandos..." the blond elf paused for a while and then he quickly spilled out the rest as if each word would burn in his mouth: „Some ran to Brokilon, others in small groups mainly to Temeria and Aedirn. A few went even to Dol Blathanna, but Enid an Gleanna expelled them from there..."
Coinneach gritted his teeth.
„When they brought you to Dillingen, they've picked a few of you and the rest went with a large troop of soldiers heading for the Ravine of the Hydra..."
Keaira cleared her throat and to their surprise interrupted the healer while looking into Coinneach's eyes: „They've chosen in Dillingen only you, Isengrim, Angus and Riordain." Her eyes returned to the blond elf. „The others went with that troop."
The elf nodded and continued: „Iorveth managed to escape in the first night. Only he did..." he gulped heavily, then raised his cup and drank everything at once.
„The others ended up dead in that ravine..." he dropped his head and the fists on his hands placed on the table were clenched.
It was eerily silent now in the tavern. The half-elf and his wife also dropped their heads. Keaira was holding her forehead with a hand and said with a quiet distressed voice: „Oh no! Too late... It's too late..." and stared at the empty plate in front of her with absolute despair in her eyes.
Coinneach was observing her for a while, then turned towards the blond elf: „I don't believe it! And I won't until I see this myself!"
„Don't go there brother, it's a grim sight. Deagan was here just a while ago. He came directly from there..."
Coinneach raised one eyebrow: „Deagan lives?"
„Yes, a few Scoia'tael stayed here. Fugitives from different commandos. They're hiding in the forest nearby..." nodded the healer.
„They drop by from time to time to stock up on supplies, or to eat something." said the half-elf suddenly.
„Or I treat their wounds if necessary." added the blond elf.
They were quietly drinking their wine for a while, all hypnotizing the table with their eyes as if scared to look at each other.
Then Coinneach spoke: „Daen'ce, fraere."
„How did you manage to escape?" the healer asked him.
Coinneach looked at Keaira. She was still holding her forehead with her hand leaned on the table and was staring utterly devastated at her empty plate. The other elf looked at her, then back at Coinneach and he understood.
„If they were taking you to Drakenborg and you've managed to escape Vascoigne's men, he'll send someone to bring you back..."
„I think that might take a while..." Keaira interrupted him with a cold look on her face: „There's an elf wearing the officer's jacket of the Vrihedd brigade lying dead on the road to Drakenborg along with the whole escort..."
The blond elf raised one corner of his mouth to a smirk: „Interesting solution." then he turned to Coinneach and continued again with a serious face: „Aodhan is working for him and you can't trick him, you know this yourself..."
Coinneach visibly twitched and threw a hard look at the healer.
The healer continued: „You need three things: new clothes, new weapons and some rest – at least for two or three days. I strongly recommend the last one and at the same time it's enough for me to get you the first and the second."
Coinneach took a breath and already wanted to disagree, but the healer stopped him with a fast move of his hand:
„If you stay up there," he nodded with his head towards the guest room upstairs, „then Aodhan will pass by here in the meantime. I'll take care of it, that he follows a wrong trail..."
Keaira looked at everyone and stopped her gaze on the blond elf:
„Why do you want to help us so much, if you didn't even want to take anything for the wound treatment?" She had suspicion in her voice.
The blond elf smiled at her: „Because we all help each other, sor'ca. After all, you've helped him as well..."
This was the first time on this world, that an elf had friendly smiled at her and talked to her with respect. She returned the smile with a grateful nod.
The innkeeper slowly stood up, looked at Coinneach and then at Keaira: „You gave us more than enough. I'd be happy, if you take Jarlath's advice and stay for a few days." and he turned to his wife with a smile. „I'll prepare a hot bath for them in the morning. We should go to bed dear, it's quite late."
The innkeeper's wife also stood up, smiled as well and pushed the wine jug towards Keaira and Coinneach: „If you'd like to sit here a bit longer... The guest room is upstairs on the right side."
After that they both said good night and went away through the kitchen. Jarlath stood up, picked up all his pouches with the healing herbs and ointments and looked at Coinneach. He was waiting.
„Thank you for your help, Jarlath. I really appreciate it. And I will listen to your advice." was Coinneach's reply with the hint of a smile on his lips.
They both nodded to each other and the blond elf went out into the dark quiet night. The door silently closed behind him and Keaira has placed the door bar on the door's hooks just like the half-elf did before.
When she turned away from the door, she glanced at Coinneach sitting behind the table. He pushed away with his hand the empty plates to the table's edge, filled their cups in front of him with wine and motioned with the other hand towards her chair:
„I'd like to pay my debt now and listen to what you have to say, Keaira Ther'eyllis."
Kea sighed deeply. She was extremely tired and she knew, that it will be hard to explain the whole thing to him in an understandable way. She wanted to sleep.
It was as if he would read her mind: „Make it short if you want. I can ask about the details tomorrow as well..."
She nodded, sat down on her chair again and took a swig of wine. Then she took a deep breath and started:
„Aside from the Aen Seidhe, there are two other big groups of elves: the Aen Elle and the Aen Muire. They live on other worlds, not here. The Aen Elle have by now evolved further than you, the Aen Seidhe, and they've only very recently joined the Elven Federation. The Elven Federation is an association of many Aen Muire worlds and some other smaller elven groups. The Aen Muire are yet another thousands of years ahead of you all – their civilization, culture, sociopolitical norms, technologies..." she looked at him for a while, because she awaited a scornful laugh from him, that she's telling him fairy tales. But he was listening motionless and with a serious face. He drank a bit from his cup and waited.
„The Aen Seidhe on this world are slowly dying out. For centuries you're killing each other with humans. The Aen Elle have conquered the worlds on which they live. They have eradicated the humans living there and kept only a few alive to serve them as slaves. That was by the way the main problem, when they've negotiated their admission to the Federation. But I'm deviating from the subject... The Aen Muire have always lived with the humans in peace. Since the very beginning. They've respected and learned from each other. When the Aen Muire mastered the way of traveling between he worlds and settled on new ones, they've agreed with the humans, that they'll relinquish to the humans the world from which they've originated. They wanted to avoid right from the start any conflicts or disagreements, that would sooner or later arise, because the human population was growing much faster than the elven one."
She remained silent for a while again and drank a bit of wine.
„Please continue." said Coinneach and his eyes haven't stopped studying her face.
„Ehm..." she cleared her throat again and thought about how to explain the rest to him as simple as possible.
„Unfortunately, as it turned out, the humans are a too aggressive race even towards each other. After a few centuries they've destroyed in huge consecutive wars themselves and the world both they and the Aen Muire originated from..." she sighed. „Only a few humans have remained. They fled in very small groups to other worlds and there they are slowly dying out. Maybe it's better this way..." she added quietly and remained silent again looking at the wine in her cup.
Coinneach was listening to her and her last remark surprised him. He didn't expect to hear it from a human. He slowly filled their cups with wine again.
„Continue, Keaira. Please." he repeated the word 'please' again and this time she could see in his eyes, that it's sincere.
„The Aen Muire have not condemned the humans despite that. They help them until today and they've welcomed with open arms those, that fled to elven worlds. But not with the same kind of respect anymore. A few human groups have secluded themselves on worlds, where nobody else lives, no elves as well. The life conditions there are too bad, but those last ones didn't have much choice when they fled... Generations later the people there hardly could remember any elves at all, considering them to be just myths or legends... I come from one of such worlds..."
„You've mentioned, that they've found you." Coinneach nodded and the intensity of his gaze remained unchanged.
„Yes. I don't know what has happened. As I said, I was too young to remember anything. I only know, that I was the only one, who survived there as a small child... Until today nobody wants to tell me, what has happened there back then. The Aen Muire who have found me, took me to Gwaeloth. That's the capital world of the Elven Federation. There one elven family adopted me, gave me my name, raised me..." then she couldn't resist and looked at him angrily: „I grew up amongst you, my parents are elves, all my friends are elves, I understand the humans even less than you and your constant disdainful 'Dh'oine' is really offending me." she bit her tongue and turned her head away towards the fireplace with a frown. „I'm sorry, I got side-tracked..."
„I understand. Even though it's quite hard to believe it all now. But if you'd be lying, I would see that." he interrupted her and then he shortly added with an unexpected friendly tone in his voice: „I won't call you like that again. I own to you at least that much for saving my life."
She looked at him with quite a surprise on her face. He suddenly smiled: „And I can even say 'thank you'."
She vaguely returned the smile and for a while they were silently looking at each other.
Kea took another breath before she continued: „The Elven Federation is just one part of the so called Great Union. It's an economic-sociopolitical coalition of many races from many worlds. There are three main key players almost equally sharing the power within the Union. The Elves, the Z'evelians and the Aardaqs. I'll explain to you the details later, otherwise we wouldn't have enough time even during the whole next two or three days now..." she smiled apologetically. He nodded without saying a word.
She sighed: „And now the more difficult and unpleasant part." she drank up her wine and he again refilled both their cups.
„The Elves and the Aardaqs have recently discovered at the same time a few new habitable worlds. Both sides are staking a claim to these worlds. Both sides are obviously not interested in the fact, that an another race is living on some of those already..." she had bitterness in her voice. „During the last Great Union assembly it was decided, that the Elves and the Aardaqs have to settle this among themselves. The Union considers this to be just a local territorial conflict and the other races refuse to get involved in this. Approximately in ten months the negotiations will start within the Union area on a neutral territory, where both sides should reach an agreement. But both sides are too stubborn to abandon their claims."
„Are you expecting a war?"
„Yes, although both the Elves and the Aardaqs are preparing for it secretly. Of course, they'll send the best representatives they have to the negotiations and they'll try to reach a peaceful agreement. But each side wants to have an advantage over the other if the negotiations fail..."
„Politics has always been a sordid business..." now he had bitterness in his voice as well. He raised his cup and looked at her. She nodded, raised her cup as well and they drank some wine.
„And now I'm actually getting to the point why I'm here. As I said, the Union doesn't want to be involved in this and if the Elves and the Aardaqs start a war, nobody will care about how the conflict ends for both parties. The only thing the Union will care about, is the compliance with the so called Codex. If one of those two races violates the Codex, they will be excluded from the Union, which will have wide-ranging negative economic and political consequences for that race. Not to mention, that the main representatives will be judged as war criminals. And that for some groups within the Union this conflict will be convenient as they'll be able to strengthen their own positions within the Union in the meantime."
„And what is stated in that Codex?"
„Amongst other things, that if we wage war directly on a world, where already an another civilization exists, that has not yet reached the industrial age, then none of the parties involved is allowed to use new modern weapons..."
He started to get the hint from her story, although unsure about the 'industrial age' she mentioned.
„It would be a slaughter, not a war. That Codex was established by the Great Union after the first Aardaq-Z'evelian war. Both sides have literally in hours destroyed with newest weapons during their conflict an entire evolving civilization... It was simply standing in their way..." she was looking at him with sad eyes. „It was at the very beginning, when the Union was not yet stable enough and it almost disintegrated at that time." she drank a bit from her wine again and cleared her throat.
„So in case, that the negotiations will not end well and a war breaks out, it'll be carried out in many different ways. One of the most important will be the ground offensive directly on those worlds. In the end it will be about it who will conquer these worlds. That race living there is currently in their Middle Ages - same as you are here and they use very similar weapons..."
„And how is that related to me?" he asked although he already guessed what her answer will be.
„The governors of the Elven Federation decided on a secret meeting, that they'll break their own rules." a slight irony could be heard in her voice now. „Only very few still have excellent proficiency in using such outdated weapons as you have. Don't get me wrong, using swords is still very common, but not many are really excellent at it. To gain advantage in this kind of war, the governors have send secretly a few like me to some elven worlds like yours, although it is strictly forbidden to visit these worlds – there's a specific elven Codex for that as well by the way, which was established a long time ago by the Federation itself. Each one of us got a list with names. The names of elves, who are masters in tactics and strategy, and in the use of these old weapons. From what I've read, obviously also masters in the necessary cruelty and ruthlessness..." she gave him a cold stare. He returned it.
"Now I understand it. And who's on your list?"
„Fourteen names. In this order: Isengrim Faoiltiarna, Angus Bri Cri, Riordain, Iorveth, Coinneach Dá Reo, Ciaran aep Dearbh, Ciaran aep Easnillen..." she said one after another the names of fourteen most feared officers of the Vrihedd brigade or members of the Scoia'tael and added sarcastically: „The governor told me, that without Faoiltiarna I don't even have to come back..."
"If you should not visit our world - or worlds like ours - then how come you're about to start a war on a similar world?" he quirked an eyebrow with a sarcastic undertone in his voice.
"Only the species belonging to the Great Union are protected... " her voice trailed off.
Coinneach was silently looking at her for a while and then drank up everything from his cup. The flames in the fireplace were slowly dying.
„So to summarize: some elves about whom I've never heard of, have send to our world a human female to look for fourteen Scoia'tael, who hate nothing more than humans, to convince them to leave their own world, abandon their brothers and sisters who fight here for their freedom and their rights, make a journey into the unknown and fight there a war because of a conflict, which has nothing to do with our world..." he gave her a cold stare. „Do you realize how ludicrous that sounds...?"
„I do. That's exactly why I didn't want to come here and asked for a replacement with someone else." she replied with the same cold stare.
Then she suddenly stood up, took her jacket and left without saying a word.
Coinneach slowly drank the rest of the wine, then he also stood up and watched the dying flames in the fireplace for a moment. He turned, took her cloak from the chair and went upstairs to the guest room. When he entered, she was just taking away a thick woolen blanket from the bed and walked over to a rocking chair standing in the corner next to a small table underneath a window. She unbuckled her belt with swords and untied the leather sheath with a knife from her thigh, leaving it all lying at the table's edge. Dressed as she was, she wrapped the blanket around herself and sat down in the chair. Without saying anything she closed her eyes, tilted her head a bit to the side and nestled down to find the best position to sleep.
„You can sleep in the bed, I'm used to sleeping on the ground." he said to her, when he closed the door.
„Sleep, Coinneach. You need it now more than me." she replied with closed eyes in a tone, that stopped any further discussion about the topic.
He sat down on the bed's edge exhausted, took his boots off and stretched himself out on the bed. In just a few minutes his chest was moving in a regular rhythm in a deep sleep.
Keaira was watching him with squinted eyes. A fiasco... Total disaster... rushed through her head shortly before falling into an uneasy poor sleep.
Vascoigne, the other man and two soldiers were galloping through the dark night on the road to Tretogor. They wanted to reach the dead escort as soon as possible in the early morning. At dawn the horribly looking redhaired man in the front slowed down his horse and walked over to the first soldier's corpse lying on the road. He dismounted and the others followed. Vascoigne silently looked around the area and turned to the man:
„What do you think about it, Aodhan?"
The tall redhaired man quietly reached into one of his pants' pockets, pulled out a short leather band and tied his long hair to a ponytail at the back of his head. Two pointed elven ears emerged from underneath his hair...
„Stay where you are, I need to look thoroughly at the footprints in the dust." said the mutilated elf with a cold voice and remained standing on one place.
They were standing there for almost an hour without moving until the sun wasn't high enough in the sky to see the whole surrounding area clearly and sharply. Aodhan slowly moved and started to watch the tracks coming from Tretogor.
„What's the weight of your messenger and what kind of a horse does he have?"
„His weight is about the same as this one has." nodded Vascoigne with his head towards one of the two soldiers, who were accompanying them. Aodhan turned and looked the soldier over from head to toe in detail.
„And the horse?"
„All of our horses are almost the same. We use..." the mutilated elf stopped Vascoigne in the middle of the sentence with a quick waive of his hand and was now looking the horse over from head to toe thoroughly. Then he turned back to the tracks on the road and to the injured horse standing nearby, behind which a dead armsman was lying on the ground with his right foot trapped in the stirrup. He started to circle around him in a wide arc. Behind the injured horse's back he stopped for a while watching the tracks coming from the forest. After that he continued along the tracks on the road towards Tretogor for another two hundred feet. His eyes were pinned to the tracks in the dust constantly measuring them. Then he turned and went back to Vascoigne.
„Two other horses. Two riders, one was female."
Vascoigne looked at him in disbelief, but the elf waived him off again with his hand: „I'm not about to explain anything to you, it is as I said."
The elf slowly started to inspect the corpses, he bent down over them and carefully examined their injuries.
„Elven swords. The attacker was fast and without mercy."
„I knew, that his pals will try to get the asshole out of this!" snarled Vascoigne furiously. He looked at the dead elf in the officer's uniform of the Vrihedd brigade with an arrow in his back, leaned towards a nearby tree, and growled maliciously: „You've almost made it, you son of a bitch!"
The mutilated redhaired elf straightened up above one of the dead corpses and looked at Vascoigne hatefully. Then he turned away and was watching for a while the footprints of female elven jackboots in the dust. He walked over to the dead soldier with a sword in his head and was looking at the sword in his temple for a long time... After that he turned and watched the disemboweled crossbowman, raised his sight and looked at the dead elf.
He started to walk towards him, but stopped in the middle of the distance. Right in front of him were the tracks of two horses leading towards the forest. Again one male and one female rider... He squinted his eyes and looked with suspicion at the dead elf in the black jacket in front of him. Suddenly something crossed his mind and he quickly went over to the dead body.
He bent down and pushed back the dead elf's hair behind his left ear. The elf raised his gaze to Vascoigne standing nearby and waived him over with two fingers. The other two soldiers remained standing on their places.
Vascoigne came close to Aodhan with a questioning look. But the redhaired elf only silently pointed with his fingers to the dead elf's ear. Vascoigne looked at the left ear on the dead corpse, then back to the mutilated elf in front of him.
„A pointed ear. So what? He's a fucking elf, isn't he?" Vascoigne shrugged his shoulders dull-witted.
Aodhan's look hardened and he whispered angrily: „This is not Coinneach Dá Reo!"
Vascoigne's face immediately turned pale.
"Are you sure?" he whispered back.
"Absolutely. Coinneach Dá Reo has on his left ear an old deep scar. And I know this for sure because he has it from me! I know him too well to fall for this trick!" the mutilated elf continued to snarl angrily but quietly so that the two soldiers don't hear them.
In that moment Vascoigne's face turned from pale to red:
„Fuck! The others must not know, do you understand me, elf?!" the commander of Fort Drakenborg furiously continued to whisper. „If word gets out, that he escaped me and that I haven't followed the order and didn't hang him in the Fort, I'll lose my head! And you can look for a new job! Fucking elves! I could do without this..." Vascoigne's mouth was almost foaming while Aodhan's face started to wrinkle in a terrible grimace.
„Fucking pointy-eared rats! They should have cut their throats right there in Dillingen when they've arrived..."
He didn't finish anymore as the mutilated elf's hands flew up suddenly, grabbed Vascoigne's collar underneath his chin and drew his face towards Aodhan's, stopping just an inch away.
The tall elf started to straighten up still holding Vascoigne's collar. Vascoigne's feet were now barely touching the ground with their toes.
„You should watch the way how you're talking and to whom, Vascoigne!" said the redhaired elf with a quiet deadly cold voice and pure hatred was in his eyes. „Don't forget who I am! I'm not your servant and the fact, that I'm doing the dirty work for you doesn't mean, that I have to listen to this slander!"
„Calm down, they're looking at us..." objected Vascoigne quietly as well and tried to loosen the elf's grip on his throat, but the elf was much stronger than him.
„What do I care?! That's your problem, just like this unknown dead elf!" Aodhan continued to hold him relentlessly on his tiptoes. „I can leave whenever I want. And leave this damned mess to you!" the elf continued coldly speaking. „Or I can help you to quietly fix this. It's up to you... But surely not, if you don't start to watch your tongue!" he added cynically.
„I'll pay you! I'll pay!" blurted out Vascoigne quickly in fear.
The elf's hands slowly released him back to the ground: „You'll pay. And a lot!" Aodhan was watching him from above.
Vascoigne silently nodded and fixed the collar on his uniform. Then he shouted at the two soldiers standing not far away: „Don't stand there like cattle! Take the dead prisoner and let's go back! The order was to bring him to Drakenborg and that's what we're going to do!"
The two soldiers were looking at each other in surprise for a while, then one of them shrugged his shoulders and they walked over to Vascoigne, Aodhan and the dead elf.
The redhaired elf returned to his horse and mounted it: „I'll go immediately. They have a head start of at least a day. Give me everything you have now!"
Vascoigne was too afraid to oppose him. He walked over to his horse, reached into one of his saddlebags and pulled out a full pouch. Coins were chinking in it. He threw it towards the elf. Aodhan skillfully caught the pouch in the air and stowed it in a pocket on his saddle. Then he nodded to Vascoigne and spurred his horse into a fierce gallop following the trail of the male's and female's horses. He was the whole time thinking about who that insanely effective female elf might have been, who managed to kill the whole escort...
