Chapter Fourteen: Close Calls
Thol felt as if he had been asleep for ages. At first he couldn't even open his eyes. The light from the window was too bright. They soon adjusted themselves enough so he could see where he was however.
He opened his eyes a crack and looked around. It was obvious from the start that he was in some sort of bedroom. That meant that they had somehow defeated the Lich and got out of the cave. How, he wasn't too sure. The last thing he remembered before passing out was. . .
"Melira!" he shouted weakly. He tried to rise but the pain of his sudden movement caused him to double over and cry out.
A man entered the room when he spoke and was over to him in an instant. "Easy now! Don't try to get up. You've been hurt badly," he said to him as he held him back.
"Yes, I'm aware of that," Thol said between clenched teeth. "Where's Melira? Is she alright?"
"You need to stay clam, Thollatos. You'll aggravate your wounds if you make sudden movements," the man said ignoring his questions.
Thol looked at the man more carefully. "You're Almus, right?"
"Yes. You remember me I see."
"Yes. Now look Almus. Where's Melira?"
"Valon says that you need to stay in bed for a few more days before you can get up and move around," Almus said, avoiding Thol's piercing gaze.
"Almus," Thol said, becoming irritated.
"And you have to drink this twice a day," Almus said referring to the potion sitting on the table beside the bed.
Thol's eyes narrowed. One. Two. Three. Four. . . .
* * * *
Keza and Tor had been discussing the advantages and disadvantages of broad swords over short swords for three hours now. Keza had given up in the end due to Tor's absolute stubbornness on the matter. They had lapsed into silence for the moment as Tor sharpened his sword. Keza had a thought then.
"I think I'll go see how Thol and Melira are doing," he said getting up.
"Right. Let me know when you're done," Tor replied.
"Of course," the other man said, leaving for the clinic portion of the house.
He was there only moments later and noticed that Almus was not in the room like he usually was. Only the old man named Jamos who had let them into the building to see Almus the first time was there. Almus had started working here after he had recovered from his injuries because he still wasn't healthy enough to go back to work as a soldier.
"Where did Almus go, Jamos?" he asked as he neared.
"He went in to check on Thollatos. Your friend seems to have stirred within."
"That's great! Is he-" Keza began to say.
He was interrupted by a thundering detonation coming from inside Thol's room. Almus fled from the room seconds later with a lightning bolt hot on his heels.
"He's gone insane!" Almus yelled as he slammed the door shut behind him, locking it in the process.
"What's the matter with him?" Keza asked.
"Valon says that he must remain in bed for a few more days at least before he starts moving around, but he insists on going to see Melira. He started to get vocal about it but I adamantly refused and told him that he has stay in bed. That's when he started slinging magic around."
A noise came from the door behind Almus. Thol was apparently trying to open the door and was obviously not having any luck as Keza could clearly hear him cursing on the other side of the door.
"You might want to move away from the door Almus," Keza advised.
Almus gave him a strange look, but moved anyway. He was about to ask him about it when the door suddenly exploded in a shower of splinters. Thol stood there sending an icy glare in Almus' direction, he had his fist raised as if to smash the frightened worrior with another spell.
Keza calmly stepped forward. "If you insist on getting up to see Melira then at least allow me to help you there," he said.
Thol fixed him with the same glare he had given Almus, looking for a moment that he would begin a fresh triad of magic casting on Keza but he sighed slightly and allowed himself to be lead to Melira's room.
"She's in here," Keza said as they approached a room. Thol pushed him out of the way and went into the room.
Melira was laying down in the bed in the room. She was obviously not awake. As Thol neared he noticed that she was quite pale, more then she should have been from the wounds he knew she received in the fight with Lich. He looked down at her for a few moments with an unreadable expression on his face. Keza had slowly stepped beside him.
"What's wrong with her?" Thol asked quietly.
Keza hesitated for a moment. "The Lich somehow poisoned her with its attack on her. So far we haven't been able to cure it."
"Have you had a white mage in to see her? They should be able to cure her in no time."
"Valon did his best, but he doesn't know the proper spell for it."
"I said white mage, not Valon."
"No. The few white mages we had in Melmond were killed by the vampire."
"Then why haven't you gone to Elfland to go get one?" Thol said, his voice giving away his irritation.
"The ship is in need of repairs, Thol. It isn't even close to being sea worthy."
"What's wrong with the ships from here? I seen a perfectly good ship at the port when we came here."
"No one knows who owns it. During the confusion surrounding the vampires attack, he might have been killed or seriously injured. I'm sorry, Thol. There's nothing we can do for her right now."
Thol stood there for a moment in silence. He suddenly reached out with his hand and grabbed Keza by the front of his shirt and pulled him toward him with a strength that defied his apparently frail frame and his near crippling injuries. He didn't even turn his head to look at him.
"Now listen and listen well, thief," he said in a chillingly calm voice. "First you are going back to the Zakonian and rounding up the crew from Provoka. Then, you're going to take them to that derelict ship and have it readied for sail. Once you have completed that, you will come and get myself and Melira and we will board that ship. We will then sail to Elfland as fast as the ship can manage. From there we will take Melira to the Clinic until such time as we track down a competent white mage. After that we can take all the time we want returning to Melmond. Do you understand me, thief?" he finished. He fixed his most deadly gaze on him now just to make sure he understood.
Keza nodded foolishly, his eyes wide with fear. Thol being a mage, he didn't expect him to be so strong and he knew that if he chose to, he could blast him into next week with his magic. This was one time when he wasn't going to fool around.
Thol let go of him and watched him move to leave. Just as he was about to exit the room, Thol added one more comment. "Oh and Keza," he said casually. "If you're not back here within an hour's time you're going to regret the fact that you were born."
Keza left quickly. . . .
* * * *
"Leaving? For where?" Tor asked as Keza rounded up the crew.
"Elfland. Thol's insisting we take the derelict ship over there and get Melira cured. I would have tried to tell him about the legal repercussions of doing so but I'd rather like to stay alive for a few more years at least," Keza explained.
"He's injured. How dangerous can he possibly be?" Tor asked.
Keza gave him a grim look. "Right now, Tor, I don't think you could even stop him, armor and all."
"Thol's my friend. He'd never do something to hurt me," Tor replied, his voice confident, but his faced betrayed the worry he felt.
Keza just looked at him for a second. "Trust me. You weren't in the room when he started giving orders. If we don't do exactly as he says, he's liable to level the city until we do."
Tor frowned at that. "Is he really that serious about this?" he asked.
"Deadly serious. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Melira is the most important thing to him right now and neither the laws of the crown nor the gravity of our quest mean anything to him where she's concerned."
Tor stood in though for a moment. "If it's important to him, then it's important to me as well. I will aid him to the best of my abilities," he said with conviction.
"Good. You get this crew to the derelict ship and get ready for sail then. I've got to round up what we'll need to transport Melira to the ship."
"What about Valon and Goro?"
"I'll tell Almus to tell them where we're going. We've no time to go looking for them. Thol sort of gave me an ultimatum about how much time I'm allowed to take."
"Right. We'll be ready as soon as we can," Tor said as he turned to go round up the crew. . . .
* * * *
Thol was still in the room with Melira. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was in a lot of pain as a result of his earlier outburst. The pain from his injuries didn't really bother him though. He was in more mental pain for letting Melira get hurt like she was. The poison in her was killing her and it wasn't taking its time about it. Her life force was weakening every hour and at the rate it was going, Thol didn't know if they could make it to Elfland on time.
Earlier he had asked Almus how long he had been out for and he wasn't really too pleased to learn the answer.
A week. That's too long. I could have had Melira cured by now if I would have woken up earlier. He wearily closed his eyes and waited for Keza to return.
His wait was not a long one. The thief entered the room again ten minutes later.
"Done already? I figured it would take you a little longer then that to rouse those drunken sailors," Thol commented as Keza rushed into the room.
"Tor's coming with us. He's taking care of the ship while we get Melira ready to be moved."
"Good. Let's get to it then. She doesn't have as much time as I'd like I'm afraid."
They both left the room and Thol started barking out orders to the clinic staff. . . .
* * * *
Despite his injuries, Thol could not just sit and wait for them to arrive at Elfland. Instead he paced the deck and scared the living Hell out of any sailor who happened to get to close. It had been only two days since they had left Melmond and he was already more irritable then he had ever been throughout the whole journey. Melira was showing no signs of improving on her own and Thol's periodic check on her life force showed the same rapid decline as he had detected when he awoke those few days ago. Tor had estimate that at their present speed and if the weather held out, it would take them just under five days to reach Elfland. Thol knew that five days was cutting it very close. By then it may be too late to save her.
Thol sighed heavily and continued to pace the deck. . . .
* * * *
It was the next day that they were attacked. Thol as usual was pacing the deck when a group of bluish creatures crawled over the railing and started toward him. His training in Crescent Lake told him that the creatures were sahags, semi intelligent sea monsters that could breathe out of water for a moderate amount of time and were able to walk on their hind legs, albeit clumsily.
He reacted without thinking and blasted the group with a lightning spell, killing most of them out right. Shouts of alarm started ringing from around the ship. Thol obviously wasn't the only one who was confronted with monsters. Using his old silver staff that Tor had thoughtfully brought over from the Zakonian, he finished off the last two sahags that had survived his lightning spell. Thol grinned rather smugly at his victory until a second group of creatures crashed over the rail. This group included sahags with red scales and a creature that was little more then a mass of feelers and two oddly matching eyes.
He didn't hesitate for one second. He turned and fled, looking for one of the others.
As luck would have it, he ran into Tor only seconds after he had started running. "Tor! I need a little help here!" he yelled as he ran in and cast a lightning spell on the group of monsters Tor was fighting.
The swordsman turned to see the group of monsters trailing Thol and charged at them, sword cutting a path through their ranks. Thol fought beside him, backing up his sword with well timed lightning magic. When it was all finished, Thol was laboring for breathe, his injuries still causing him grief.
"Are you alright?" Tor asked him.
"I'll be alright in a moment or so. I'm still feeling those wounds from Lich," he replied, leaning heavily on his staff. "Go see if anyone is hurt. I'll be there in a minute or so."
Tor nodded and started making a circuit around the ship. He found Keza nursing a wound on his left arm just below deck. Some of the creatures had punched a small hole in the side of the ship which the crew were quickly repairing before they took on too much water.
"Little bastard bit me!" Keza shouted as Tor neared.
"Is it bad?"
"No. It'll heal quickly with proper treatment."
"Did they get to Melira?" Tor asked, worried about their fading comrade.
"No. Though they did try their damnedest to do so. We managed to keep them out without anymore then a bite wound," he said referring to the bleeding incision on his arm.
"Right. I'm going to go check back on Thol. He was pretty winded after that battle."
"Was he hurt?"
"No. He managed to find me just in time."
Keza nodded and began helping the crew fix the hole in the ship as Tor headed back on deck.
Thol had moved from the spot he had been where he left him and was now leaning on the railing, still breathing hard.
"Are you sure that you're alright?" Tor asked.
"I don't know. I can't seem to get my wind back," he replied between breaths.
"I think you should go below deck and rest for awhile. We'll take care of anything that crops up," Tor suggested.
Thol nodded and falteringly started below deck. Tor made sure he made it down stairs before he went to help the crew clean up the mess from the fight. . . .
* * * *
Keza noticed Thol practically dragging himself down the steps and went over to help him.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he helped him down the last few steps.
"Guess I still haven't healed fully. I'm still winded from the fight."
"Valon said that it would probably take awhile before you can fight like you used to. You've had two serious injuries in the last two months and your body is going to take a while to recover from it," Keza told him as he helped him to his room.
"I guess he's right. I didn't know he knew so much about healing."
"He told me that he was planning on becoming a medic before he discovered his interest in prophecy."
"Fascinating," Thol commented as they entered his room. Keza helped him over to the bed and propped his staff up against the wall if he needed it. "Thanks."
"No problem. Just yell if you need anything. I'll be outside keeping watch and probably helping fix the hole in the hull."
"It's not bad I hope."
"No. It's far enough above the water line that we won't take on any more water then we can safely bail out. We'll have it more carefully repaired at North Port."
"Good. I think I'll rest now. I'll see you later."
"Right. Later," Keza replied, leaving the room. He picked up one of the broken boards from the hull and looked at it. I hope that there's nothing stronger out there in the ocean, he thought, marveling at the power it took to break the sturdy wood. . . .
* * * *
Thol woke up the next day in world of pain. He promised himself that he would let the others deal with any sort of attack from now on. The short fight from the day before was enough to make it so he could hardly move afterwards. No wonder he was so tired yesterday.
As Tor predicted, they arrived at North Port during the fifth day of traveling and as Thol had predicted, Melira was almost gone. The instant they had docked, Thol started complaining about every little delay, violently at times. They borrowed a carriage from one of the merchants at the port, paying him for the time they used it and promising more when they returned it. The merchant had one of his men go with them just to make sure they brought it back.
The man's name was Koth. After asking why they had rented the carriage from his boss and what exactly was wrong with her, he seemed as worried as any of the others. That gained their respect immediately.
"Can't this damned mule go any faster?" Thol yelled violently.
"We're going as fast as we can, Thol. Just calm down," Keza said.
"Calm down? Do you realize that every minute we waste could cost her life? We don't have time to dally. Give me those," he said, grabbing the reigns from Keza. He snapped them once and the horses took off at a more suitable pace in Thol's view.
"Geez! Everyone, hang on!" Keza yelled, gripping the side of the carriage for dear life.
Thanks to Thol's insane driving, they made it to Elfland in record time. They were met at the edge of town by a few guards who asked why they were in such a rush. Keza quickly told them what was wrong and they quickly ushered them to the castle where she would receive immediate care by the castles wizards.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait outside like everyone else," an elderly mage said to Thol.
"I will not! If you don't let me in there I'll-" Thol began to protest. Tor put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"It's best you stay out here, Thol. You'll just be in the way," Tor said to him.
Thol thought it over for a second and realized that he would indeed just be in the way. "It is for her own good isn't it?" he said in defeat.
Tor just nodded and sat back down. Thol joined him and waited.
Keza talked with Koth while they waited and learned that he had little respect for the man who paid him.
"It's disgusting that he's charging you for the use of the carriage in light of the girl's illness. I'd quit if I had another job to go to, but there's no work these days."
"Indeed. On more then one occasion I've made a worthy attempt at garnering an honest job. There's no growth in the world right now, that's the problem," Keza was saying.
"Perhaps when we have succeeded in our quest, the world can start growing again, in more then one way," Tor said absently as he leaned back in his chair.
"Exactly what is it that you people do anyway?" Koth asked, curious to the meaning behind Tor's statement.
"I don't know how familiar you are with ancient legends, but it seems as though we are the Light Warriors of Lukahn's prophecy," Tor replied.
"So it is true," Koth replied.
"What's that?" Keza said, a little confused by his reply.
"While we were here, all the elves could talk about is that the Light Warriors had come and defeated some dark elf and woke the king. I guess that would be you four," Koth replied.
"Well there's six of us actually, but Thol dragged us out of Melmond so fast that we didn't have time to get the other two. I can understand his haste now, but at the time I was rather confused. I didn't know she in that bad of shape," Keza said.
"If you would just listen when I speak your life would run much easier," Thol commented as he strummed his fingers impatiently against the small table beside the chair he sat in.
The elderly mage that had banned Thol from the room emerged and stepped toward them. Thol was up in an instant and in front of him.
"Is she alright?" he asked, his voice worried.
"She'll make it through now, but she didn't have much longer. It is a good thing you came when you did. Another hour and there would have been nothing we could have done."
Thol let out the breath he was holding and wearily sank back into his chair. He was quite obviously relieved. "How is she doing right now?"
"She's still unconscious, but her life force has begun to regenerate itself. We figure it will be a week before she is able to walk around again. We suggest that she stay here in the mean time."
"When will she wake up?" Thol asked.
"She should be awake in a few days. Her body needs time to restore the energy it lost."
"Alright. Thank you. You've no idea how much this means to us," Thol said finally.
The old mage excused himself and returned to the room. They sat for a few moments in silence when they had a visitor.
"Light Warriors! I came as soon as I was informed. How is she fairing?" It was Arastari, the king.
"She'll be alright now. Thol's haste got her here just in time from what we've been told," Tor answered.
"That's a relief. I would have come right away, but no one thought to inform me until just a moment ago. What's the diagnostic?" the king asked.
Keza repeated what the old mage had told them.
"Please, I insist that you stay in the castle as our guests for as long as it takes. Anything you need will be at your immediate disposal. We owe you more then we could possibly give you anyway."
"We thank you, Arastari. We will not forget your kindness in out time of need," Tor replied.
Later in the room that was provided for him, Thol sat in a chair and restlessly fidgeted as he tried to read the book he had borrowed from Ukthal, the dwarven innkeeper. Despite the mages words, he was still worried that Melira would have some sort of relapse or something. He tried to read for another ten minutes and gave up. He decided to into the city and walk around.
The guards at the gate inquired as to his destination and offered to send an escort with him but Thol politely declined saying he was only going for a walk. The guards understood and told him to just ask if he needed anything.
His walk took him by the field where he had won the archery contest. There were a few people practicing there at the time but not enough to draw his attention like it had that day. He had just passed a group of people when a voice stopped him.
"Thollatos of Crescent Lake," said a familiar voice from behind him.
Thol spun about to see who had interrupted his stroll. He recognized the elf right away. "Runarel. Still sore about losing the archery contest?" he said, weary of the group of elves he was with.
"Actually, I wanted to congratulate you. I was too stunned at the loss to do so before. I must say, you've made a better elf out of me from my defeat," the archer confessed.
Thol hadn't expected that, but replied unfazed none the less. "I accept your congratulations, Runarel. I'm glad to see you've changed your nature as well. I myself am like that at times and find it more of hindrance than an asset."
"Aye. What brings you back to Elfland? Shouldn't you be out saving the world, Light Warrior?" Runarel asked in a humorous manner.
"Yes, we should, but one off us has taken gravely ill and we had to rush here to save her."
"The white mage," Runarel said, identifying Melira right away. "I pray she is recovering?"
"Yes. We made it just in time. The mages in the castle say that she will be able to walk again in a week."
"I'm glad to hear-" Runarel began.
From the direction of the city gates came a cry of alarm followed by more shouts and yells. An elf ran by shouting something to everyone he could see. Thol stopped him and asked what the matter was.
"Monsters! They are attacking the city! Dozens of them!" the elf said. "You'd better get out of here while you can. The guards won't be able to hold them," he said, then took off to warn other people.
"Looks like I'll have to help them," Thol said, more to himself then to anyone else. "You'd all better do as the man said and take cover," he suggested to Runarel and his pals.
"Now look here! If you think I'm just going to sit back and let my home be invaded you've got another thing coming! We're going with you!" Runarel declared.
"Right. Let's move it then. Those guards aren't going to last much longer by themselves."
The group of them, seven in total including Thol, headed for the city gates and saw what the elf was talking about. A horde of monsters had broken through the gate and where destroying everything in sight. Thol unleashed a spell as soon as they were in sight and Runarel's archers were right behind him with a rain of arrows.
Thol rushed in closer ignoring the fact that he was still injured, removing his staff from where it was slung casually across his shoulder. He sent another spell into the mix and took a swipe at a passing wolf with pure white fur, sending it reeling into a giant of the same color. What's a frost giant doing here? They live over in the Ryukahn mountain range area, Thol thought as he battled the things.
He was busy tangling with an ocho, a swamp and river dwelling monster, and didn't see the hydra come up behind him. It wasn't until the thing shrieked in agony that he knew it was there. He knew he would have been in serious trouble had Runarel not shot the thing with three arrows in the time it took him to turn around and notice the thing was there.
Things became bleak as the archers started running out of arrows and were forced to use swords and as the entire world knows, elves are generally terrible in close range combat. They were slowly pushed back into the city and one or two of them started to procure injuries. Thol couldn't hold them all back himself as he still tired quickly. He was seriously considering retreating to the castle for reinforcements.
Moments later, Runarel ran out of arrows and was injured severely by a manticore. Thol was just about to yell at the others to retreat when the castle guard, lead by Tor no less, came crashing into the battle. Also among the troops was Koth who had a sword and was hacking at monsters with the best of them.
Exhausted, Thol let loose his strongest fire spell on a group of frost wolves and frost giants. The battle having moved away from them, Thol collapsed beside Runarel who was doing his best to tend to the wound the manticore had given him.
"You alright?" Thol asked.
"I'll make it. Yourself? You're looking a little winded."
Thol nodded. "Still recovering from previous injuries, but I'll be okay after some rest."
After the castle guard has chased off those monsters which weren't killed, Tor came over to them. "Can't let you out of my sight for a minute can I? Always getting into trouble you are," he said jokingly to Thol.
"Very funny, Tor. Help me get Runarel to the castle," Thol said, slowly getting up.
Back in the castle where they has taken all the wounded, Arastari came to commend them all for their bravery.
"It was nothing really, your majesty," Runarel replied from his bed.
"Aye. Any good man would have done the same," Tor added.
"You have the thanks of Elfland all the same. If any of you ever need anything, just ask and it's yours," Arastari said.
"I think perhaps after we've all had a little time to rest from the fight that we should have a little meeting, Arastari," Thol suggested.
"Of course. First thing tomorrow morning good?" the king asked.
"Yes. That should be good. I think Runarel should attend as well. You might need him later if there are other attacks like this," Thol said.
As was agreed, they met in the king's private meeting room. In attendance was Thol, Tor, Runarel, the regent Arcilmo, the head of the castle guard named Mandamil, and obviously king Arastari.
"Alright Thol, you called for this meeting, perhaps you should start by telling us why," Arastari said.
"Of course. It concerns those monsters that attacked. As you all know I was born in Crescent Lake, so I know what sort of monsters reside around there and the surrounding areas. The monsters that attacked the city all came from the Guru Volcano area," Thol said.
"Guru Volcano? That over a week from here due to the mountains," Arcilimo stated. "Why would even one of the creatures come around here?"
"That's exactly what I was wondering. It would be strange enough for just one of them to come all this way, but a group of them all coming to attack the city? I'm afraid to say it, but the facts are leading me to believe that this wasn't just some random attack," Thol said.
"You're saying someone sent them here?" Arastari asked incredulously.
"His theory does seem to make sense, your majesty," said Mandamil, a towering man even larger then Tor. "For one thing monsters of the variety we saw in the attack rarely ever travel together and never in such numbers. There is definitely something amiss here."
Arastari looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm afraid my inexperience on the throne has me at a loss gentlemen. What would you suggest I do?"
"For starters, I think the volcano should be checked on, but no sane man would try to get to Guru from Elfland, so when we go to Crescent Lake, we'll check it out while we are in the area."
"I suggest then, your majesty," Mandamil added, "that in the mean time we set a watch on the mountains. I think you should also seriously consider erecting a barricade around the city."
"Yes. I can have my fellow archers patrol the barricade when it is complete, your majesty. We could strike down anything before it even gets here," Runarel replied.
"If you think it is best, then I guess I'd better do that," Arastari said, sadly.
"Something wrong?" Tor asked, noticing his tone.
"It just that we elves are creatures of the forest and by putting up a barricade around the city, I'll be cutting us off from it," he replied.
"Worry not, your majesty," Runarel spoke up. "I speak for all the people of the city when I say that I support your decision and that we would rather lose the forest then lose our lives and the lives of those we love."
"Well spoken, Runarel," Arcilimo complimented him.
"Thank you, my lord."
"You people have helped me so much. How can I ever repay you?" Arastari asked.
"You don't have to," Thol said. "It's no big deal."
"But what of your injuries? Is it not costing your health?"
Thol shrugged. "It's our job, your majesty. Not just being Light Warriors, but our professions, whether it be mage or swordsman. We're all trained to fight and it's what we're good at. If we weren't then we'd be sitting behind desks or raising children and the like. We came to accept the danger involved with the job before we even began, so please understand, you owe us nothing. We simply do what we have to do."
"I see. Still, if you ever need anything," Arastari said, trailing off.
The meeting from there on revolved around the construction of the Elfland Barricade as it became known as. Within the week, construction of the barricade had begun and was progressing at an impressive rate. They had only to wait and see if their preparations for another attack were warranted. . . .
* * * *