Chapter Nine

Northward Bound…

Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Alith and Eréniyä,-two elves from very different worlds and cultures, with completely different philosophies,- set out north towards Du Welden Varden in uneasy companionship.
For the next month by Alith's reckoning they headed north, sustaining themselves on forage mainly due to the scarcity of worthwhile game.

Once during that trek they were set upon head on by slavers, which they struck down without mercy in short order, sparing none, and stealing supplies and three horses in the aftermath.

And throughout this, despite their differences, the two learnt things about the other.

Eréniyä found that Alith was a more than capable healer when he dressed the injuries she'd sustained while at Brandise's mercy.
Alith for his part largely focused on trying to think of the best way to find and kill Dromino and his warband, thwart whatever the Skaven were up to and find his way back to the Old World.

He did learn that Eréniyä had been partially tutored in magic, and that the reason she'd been captured was she'd run away because she'd chaffed at her father's protectiveness, and as a consequence had been captured by woodsmen from the city of Ceunon who'd decided to make some quick money by selling her as a slave.


Two weeks later, they sighted a small settlement by the shore of a lake.

'Gil'ead, we'd better be careful, that's one of Galbatorix's army's main staging posts.' Eréniyä said.
'We'll need supplies if we're heading into the forest.' Alith pointed out.
'It is an easy enough matter to find food in Du Welden Varden if you know what to look for.' Eréniyä replied dismissively.
'Perhaps,' Alith said, 'but I will acquire some supplies tonight to be sure, we're not under the bows of those vaunted pines of yours yet.'


It took the pair several hours to find a suitable campsite, and with that task completed the pair settled down to wait.
When the sun was finally down, Alith crept stealthily into the city, before taking to the rooftops to avoid the guard patrols.
Some methodical searching revealed that almost all the rough-cut log buildings were barracks, though Alith did eventually find a storehouse, and proceeded to acquire a set of new clothes, as well as a suit of chain mail armour and other supplies.

The chain mail was of nowhere near the same quality as the suit he'd been wearing prior to his capture, but at that moment some form of armour was better than none.
He also took the precaution of acquiring a second set for Eréniyä for when her wounds finally healed.
Along with these, Alith also stole as much food as he could, as well as a pair of packs.
Thus burdened, he stealthily exited the warehouse, before making his way back to the camp, careful to make sure he wasn't being followed and surprised to see that the night was nearly dawn.


When he re-entered the camp, he immediately knew something had happened.
Eréniyä's scant few possessions were scattered about, and the she-elf in question was nowhere to be seen, and a trio of dead creatures that reminded Alith of orcs,-excepting their horns and the fact they were grey skinned instead of green,- were the camp's only inhabitants.
A tumult of tracks headed back towards the city, but a smaller group went to the north.
Alith deftly drew the moon bow and followed these tracks.
He came to another small clearing, startling a bird nesting in a bush which twittered in startlement.
A guttural shout broke the quiet a moment afterward, before Alith could get a good look at the camp's inhabitants.

He pulled his bow to full draw, and sighted another of the horned, grey-skinned orcs, this one wielding in a mattock, only for it to explode in a flash of blue light.
He switched targets, then decided to watch on.
He'd just got a good look at the camp's inhabitants:
One blue dragon, two young men,-one wielding a wine-red sword, the other a normal hand-and-a-half sword,- and two horses.

He deduced pretty quickly that the two humans were skilful swordsmen,-though nowhere near the same skill level as even the most untested inhabitant of Ulthuan.
The dragon appeared incapable of breathing fire as of yet, as well as a little on the small side, so Alith assumed it was rather young.
The young man with the red blade also appeared to be a magician, of marginally more skill than Eréniyä.
Then Alith saw this man get clubbed over the head by one of the orcs, and get promptly spirited away, leaving the other young man and the dragon to the mercy of their brethren.

With a resigned sigh, Alith shouldered his bow once again as it was all too likely he'd injure the other man or the dragon with the bow's enchanted arrows, opting for his sword instead.
Then, invoking the shadow crown's power, Alith broke cover and struck down the remaining eight orc-creatures, impaling four, beheading two, and bisecting the remaining two, before parrying the second man's blade and trapping it against his side, only to end up pinned by the dragon's talons.

He glanced up to see the gleaming sapphire eye of the dragon boring into him.
Then the second man put his blade to Alith's neck.
'Who're you?' He asked dangerously.
Alith grinned dangerously.
'You obviously weren't listening a few moments ago.' He replied.

Okay, so yes, I am at last bringing actual IC characters into this.

Also, if anyone who knows the High Elves would like to suggest unit types to put against the Skaven, or how I should go about bringing Skaven into this and what to give them would like to start making suggestions, that'd be appreciated.

I've also dropped the rating by one because I reckon that's why I'm getting so few reviews here.

If I got that wrong, please, let me know.

Thanks to Hideout Writer for reviewing last chapter, event hough that was a couple of months back.

'til next winter: (If anyone gets that reference, please, mention it.)

No One-liners.