"Ugh... my head..." Kelevandros rubbed his head wearily and looked around.
He was in a dark cell, only illuminated by a single torch. His hand moved
to his neck and he cringed. The collar was still there, a drake control
collar to be specific. It prevented him from changing into his dragon form.
He pulled futilely at the collar, as the memories of recent events swirled
into his head. Where's Katula? He thought as he looked around the dungeon.
They must have caught her as well.
"Katula?" He called, "KATULA!?" He heard no response. Trying to calm down,
he tried to sense her presence. An elf could always sense the presence of
other elves nearby, and no matter what she said, Katula was obviously part
elf. He could sense her, barely, somewhere in the fortress above him. The
feeling was faint, and he assumed it was because she was only half elf.
Kelevandros almost lost his concentration as he sensed another elf close by,
a full elf. Who could that be? He wondered, surely not Kithal, he only
works for Balkoth, but who? He strained his senses as he realized the other
elf was moving rapidly toward Katula. He let go of the feelings, and hoped
that the other elf was an ally, for he was sick of enemies appearing
everywhere. He settled against the wall, missing his sword and bow, and
waited to see what occurred.
~~*~~
Katula stood and leaned against the wall of her cell. She surveyed where
she was, noticing the many torches lining the wall. All the walls were
stones and hurriedly made, giving off the appearance of an almost natural
room. The two draconian guards paced the floor regularly, often stopping to
glare at their prize, who stared icily in return.
Katula thought about where she was, and decided she was high up in the
fortress. She had awoken a few times when draconians were dragging her to
this cell, and she remembered many flights of stairs, but little else.
Eventually she grew tired of standing and slid to the floor and put her head
on her knees. She thought about her predicament, Kelevandros and she were
separated, she was to be taken to Beryl eventually, and she wasn't sure if
her plan would come through for her after all. She felt weak, defeated, and
almost ready to give up.
A plate of food was shoved under her barred door, which she looked at with
distaste. A tinplate with a thin slice of moldy bread, and some
green-tinted runny cheese, complete with a pitcher of dirty water. Katula's
throat was parched, so she sipped the water, but quickly put it down. It
smelled and tasted kind of musty, and she suspected it was drugged.
Katula sighed and placed her head on he knees and looked at the floor. She
totally calmed down and waited for her fate. After a little while she
sensed something, almost like a presence. She was alarmed and then lost the
feeling, and forced herself to calm down. When she could feel the...
something... again, she could sense two different points. One was rapidly
drawing near, and the other was down below her somewhere. She tried to
figure out what was going on, and remembered elves could sense other elves
when they were near. Well, she thought, Kelevandros was right, I am part
elf, and I need to come to grips with it whether I want to or not.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a door down the hall burst open, and a
figure walked in, a woman wielding a sword and wearing a gray cloak. Katula
stood and looked at the woman calmly. About time you got here, she thought.
The two Draconians were stunned momentarily, but soon recovered and ran
towards the woman. Katula saw the warrior smirk as she crouched and jabbed
her sword up into the torso of the leading Draconian. She pulled out a
knife with the other hand and stabbed the second Draconian hard in the side
with it, killing it instantly. She removed her weapons quickly and jumped
back as two large puddles of acid appeared where the Draconians had been
standing.
Two more Draconians from down the hall heard the racket and walked down the
hall. When they spotted the woman and the acid, they ran at her bearing
teeth and claws. The woman sheathed her sword and knife, and then pulled
out her bow. She pulled out and arrow and aimed, then released it quickly,
shooting another arrow right after it. The Draconians stopped in front of
Katula's cell with arrows protruding from their foreheads. Katula watched
as they turned to acid, and was disappointed when they acid refused to eat
through the bars on her cell.
Well, Katula thought, my wild card came through after all. She watched as
the woman started to walk towards her, but stopped and went into a nearby
room. Katula was confused until the woman reappeared carrying Katula's
spear and dagger. She stopped in front of Katula's cell and removed the
hood of her cloak, revealing her elfish features, brown hair, and sea gray
eyes.
"Well Laurei," Katula said, "Way to make an entrance." Laurei smirked and
handed the weapons to Katula. Laurei looked at Katula a moment then asked,
"Why did you leave me behind?"
Katula rolled her eyes, "First of all, I didn't leave you behind on purpose.
You left to go see if your village was doing well, and Kelevandros and I
left while you were gone. I didn't know you would come back, and even if
you had been there, it was necessary to leave you behind."
Laurei glared, "Why? If I had come with you, I could have helped you."
Katula laughed, "You must think an awful lot of yourself. Do you really
think that if you had been here, that you wouldn't have been thrown in a
dungeon like Kelevandros and me? No offense, but I highly doubt it."
Laurei's eyes narrowed, "I wouldn't speak so boldly, girl, especially since
you are still stuck in your cell."
Katula raised her eyebrow in a quizzical way, "Oh, still stuck am I? You're
pretty ignorant for an elf." Katula ignored Laurei's responding remarks as
she whispered words to her spear, causing it to glow a light blue. She held
the spear point close to an iron bar, then slowly drew the point down it.
As she did so, the bar began to freeze. She did the same to a bar next to
the first one, then leaned back to study her handiwork. After finding a
weak point, and telling Laurei to step back, she kicked the weak point as
hard as she could. The bars shattered, leaving iron and ice chips all over
the floor, while Katula was very pleased with herself.
As she stepped out of her cell, Katula smiled and looked at Laurei's
expressionless face. "Impressive," Laurei muttered, "Now that you're free,
let's go get Kelevandros." Katula nodded and they both walked down the
hallway and out the door Laurei came through. They were faced with two
staircases, one leading up, and the other leading down to the dungeons
below. Katula looked at the upwards staircase, Beryl's up there, she
thought, and I will go meet her, my revenge for Vijayendra is at hand. "You
go save Kelevandros," Katula said, "He's in the lower dungeons."
"Where are you going?" Laurei asked. She tried not to wince as Katula let
out a cold laugh. Katula said, "Beryl's final hour is near, and she will
fall at my hands."
Laurei grabbed Katula's arm; "You're not going by yourself. It's suicide!"
Katula laughed coldly again, "It is, isn't it?" She walked a little closer
to the stairs before Laurei stopped her and said, "Why do you run knowingly
to your death?" Her voice hushed, "Do you seek it?"
Katula turned and shook Laurei's hand loose, "I refuse to run from it," her
voice was stone, "Go save Kelevandros."
Laurei took a few steps toward her; "I won't let you go alone."
Katula grew angry, "Laurei, GO!" with that, she went up the stairs a bit,
then turned around. A huge wall of ice formed between her and Laurei.
Laurei watched as Katula's blurred form paused a moment, then ran up the
stairs. She surveyed the wall, and decided it was too thick to break.
"Courageous fool, just like her mother," she said to herself as she ran down
the stairs.
~~*~~
Kelevandros awoke and sat up on the cold floor as he heard the guttural
noises of Draconians being killed. He squinted as a door down the hall
opened and light came in through the opening. Someone ran down the hall and
quickly handed him his sword and bow through the iron bars and began to
fumble with the lock. His eyes began to adjust, "Laurei? How did you-
wait, where's Katula?"
The door swung open as Laurei entered, "Your friend's done something
drastic, hold still and let me work at your collar." Kelevandros stood,
nearly knocking Laurei over, "What?! Katula went to face Beryl alone?! Why
didn't you follow her?" Laurei went to work on the collar with a strange
ivory-colored key, "Believe me, I tried. She's as stubborn as a dragon with
a toothache, with a foul temper to match."
As the collar fell from Kelevandros's neck, he heaved a sigh of relief.
After the momentary pause, he sheathed his sword and swung his bow and
quiver behind his back, "Quickly now, we must help her." Laurei nodded and
ran after Kelevandros, who was already out of the hallway and flying up the
stairs.
He was in a dark cell, only illuminated by a single torch. His hand moved
to his neck and he cringed. The collar was still there, a drake control
collar to be specific. It prevented him from changing into his dragon form.
He pulled futilely at the collar, as the memories of recent events swirled
into his head. Where's Katula? He thought as he looked around the dungeon.
They must have caught her as well.
"Katula?" He called, "KATULA!?" He heard no response. Trying to calm down,
he tried to sense her presence. An elf could always sense the presence of
other elves nearby, and no matter what she said, Katula was obviously part
elf. He could sense her, barely, somewhere in the fortress above him. The
feeling was faint, and he assumed it was because she was only half elf.
Kelevandros almost lost his concentration as he sensed another elf close by,
a full elf. Who could that be? He wondered, surely not Kithal, he only
works for Balkoth, but who? He strained his senses as he realized the other
elf was moving rapidly toward Katula. He let go of the feelings, and hoped
that the other elf was an ally, for he was sick of enemies appearing
everywhere. He settled against the wall, missing his sword and bow, and
waited to see what occurred.
~~*~~
Katula stood and leaned against the wall of her cell. She surveyed where
she was, noticing the many torches lining the wall. All the walls were
stones and hurriedly made, giving off the appearance of an almost natural
room. The two draconian guards paced the floor regularly, often stopping to
glare at their prize, who stared icily in return.
Katula thought about where she was, and decided she was high up in the
fortress. She had awoken a few times when draconians were dragging her to
this cell, and she remembered many flights of stairs, but little else.
Eventually she grew tired of standing and slid to the floor and put her head
on her knees. She thought about her predicament, Kelevandros and she were
separated, she was to be taken to Beryl eventually, and she wasn't sure if
her plan would come through for her after all. She felt weak, defeated, and
almost ready to give up.
A plate of food was shoved under her barred door, which she looked at with
distaste. A tinplate with a thin slice of moldy bread, and some
green-tinted runny cheese, complete with a pitcher of dirty water. Katula's
throat was parched, so she sipped the water, but quickly put it down. It
smelled and tasted kind of musty, and she suspected it was drugged.
Katula sighed and placed her head on he knees and looked at the floor. She
totally calmed down and waited for her fate. After a little while she
sensed something, almost like a presence. She was alarmed and then lost the
feeling, and forced herself to calm down. When she could feel the...
something... again, she could sense two different points. One was rapidly
drawing near, and the other was down below her somewhere. She tried to
figure out what was going on, and remembered elves could sense other elves
when they were near. Well, she thought, Kelevandros was right, I am part
elf, and I need to come to grips with it whether I want to or not.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a door down the hall burst open, and a
figure walked in, a woman wielding a sword and wearing a gray cloak. Katula
stood and looked at the woman calmly. About time you got here, she thought.
The two Draconians were stunned momentarily, but soon recovered and ran
towards the woman. Katula saw the warrior smirk as she crouched and jabbed
her sword up into the torso of the leading Draconian. She pulled out a
knife with the other hand and stabbed the second Draconian hard in the side
with it, killing it instantly. She removed her weapons quickly and jumped
back as two large puddles of acid appeared where the Draconians had been
standing.
Two more Draconians from down the hall heard the racket and walked down the
hall. When they spotted the woman and the acid, they ran at her bearing
teeth and claws. The woman sheathed her sword and knife, and then pulled
out her bow. She pulled out and arrow and aimed, then released it quickly,
shooting another arrow right after it. The Draconians stopped in front of
Katula's cell with arrows protruding from their foreheads. Katula watched
as they turned to acid, and was disappointed when they acid refused to eat
through the bars on her cell.
Well, Katula thought, my wild card came through after all. She watched as
the woman started to walk towards her, but stopped and went into a nearby
room. Katula was confused until the woman reappeared carrying Katula's
spear and dagger. She stopped in front of Katula's cell and removed the
hood of her cloak, revealing her elfish features, brown hair, and sea gray
eyes.
"Well Laurei," Katula said, "Way to make an entrance." Laurei smirked and
handed the weapons to Katula. Laurei looked at Katula a moment then asked,
"Why did you leave me behind?"
Katula rolled her eyes, "First of all, I didn't leave you behind on purpose.
You left to go see if your village was doing well, and Kelevandros and I
left while you were gone. I didn't know you would come back, and even if
you had been there, it was necessary to leave you behind."
Laurei glared, "Why? If I had come with you, I could have helped you."
Katula laughed, "You must think an awful lot of yourself. Do you really
think that if you had been here, that you wouldn't have been thrown in a
dungeon like Kelevandros and me? No offense, but I highly doubt it."
Laurei's eyes narrowed, "I wouldn't speak so boldly, girl, especially since
you are still stuck in your cell."
Katula raised her eyebrow in a quizzical way, "Oh, still stuck am I? You're
pretty ignorant for an elf." Katula ignored Laurei's responding remarks as
she whispered words to her spear, causing it to glow a light blue. She held
the spear point close to an iron bar, then slowly drew the point down it.
As she did so, the bar began to freeze. She did the same to a bar next to
the first one, then leaned back to study her handiwork. After finding a
weak point, and telling Laurei to step back, she kicked the weak point as
hard as she could. The bars shattered, leaving iron and ice chips all over
the floor, while Katula was very pleased with herself.
As she stepped out of her cell, Katula smiled and looked at Laurei's
expressionless face. "Impressive," Laurei muttered, "Now that you're free,
let's go get Kelevandros." Katula nodded and they both walked down the
hallway and out the door Laurei came through. They were faced with two
staircases, one leading up, and the other leading down to the dungeons
below. Katula looked at the upwards staircase, Beryl's up there, she
thought, and I will go meet her, my revenge for Vijayendra is at hand. "You
go save Kelevandros," Katula said, "He's in the lower dungeons."
"Where are you going?" Laurei asked. She tried not to wince as Katula let
out a cold laugh. Katula said, "Beryl's final hour is near, and she will
fall at my hands."
Laurei grabbed Katula's arm; "You're not going by yourself. It's suicide!"
Katula laughed coldly again, "It is, isn't it?" She walked a little closer
to the stairs before Laurei stopped her and said, "Why do you run knowingly
to your death?" Her voice hushed, "Do you seek it?"
Katula turned and shook Laurei's hand loose, "I refuse to run from it," her
voice was stone, "Go save Kelevandros."
Laurei took a few steps toward her; "I won't let you go alone."
Katula grew angry, "Laurei, GO!" with that, she went up the stairs a bit,
then turned around. A huge wall of ice formed between her and Laurei.
Laurei watched as Katula's blurred form paused a moment, then ran up the
stairs. She surveyed the wall, and decided it was too thick to break.
"Courageous fool, just like her mother," she said to herself as she ran down
the stairs.
~~*~~
Kelevandros awoke and sat up on the cold floor as he heard the guttural
noises of Draconians being killed. He squinted as a door down the hall
opened and light came in through the opening. Someone ran down the hall and
quickly handed him his sword and bow through the iron bars and began to
fumble with the lock. His eyes began to adjust, "Laurei? How did you-
wait, where's Katula?"
The door swung open as Laurei entered, "Your friend's done something
drastic, hold still and let me work at your collar." Kelevandros stood,
nearly knocking Laurei over, "What?! Katula went to face Beryl alone?! Why
didn't you follow her?" Laurei went to work on the collar with a strange
ivory-colored key, "Believe me, I tried. She's as stubborn as a dragon with
a toothache, with a foul temper to match."
As the collar fell from Kelevandros's neck, he heaved a sigh of relief.
After the momentary pause, he sheathed his sword and swung his bow and
quiver behind his back, "Quickly now, we must help her." Laurei nodded and
ran after Kelevandros, who was already out of the hallway and flying up the
stairs.