3rd Day of Growfest, 565 Cy
Elven Tribal House, Willip, Furyondy

"He's coming around."

A male voice. Elven.

"Everyone be quiet. Don't make any sudden moves. We don't know all of what they've done to him yet."

Female. Also elven.

Something touched his cheek.

Tadoa's eyes snapped open.

He was lying down on a soft bed. There were three elves looking down at him.

The one furthest away, standing perhaps at a ten-foot distance off to his right, was a sea elf. Tadoa blinked at him. At least, the child thought he was a sea elf. Tadoa had never seen one before.

He frowned. Wait. That wasn't quite right. He had seen one before, but he couldn't place when. Was it recently?

The sea elf gazed at him with eyes so pale blue, they looked almost silver. He appeared worried, biting his lip and glancing over occasionally at the other two.

The second elf was the female. She was sitting on the edge of the bed by Tad. It was her hand that had brushed his cheek. She was a high elf like Tadoa and sported the dark hair and green eyes most common of their kind. Those eyes too, held both worry and kindness. She glanced back over to the sea elf.

"Oceanus, there's a decanter of Aleeian wine in the parlor. Could you go get it, please? And tell Keasten if anyone else arrives, we're not to be disturbed."

The sea elf nodded, somewhat reluctantly. "I'll be right back." He turned and hurriedly left the room.

The elf turned her attention back to the child.

"Tadoa?" she asked in a soft voice. "My name is Ehlissa. I am from Welkwood."

Tadoa said nothing. His eyes wandered to Ehlissa's hair, pinned up and held in place by a golden clasp shaped like an eagle. They went to her small silver earrings, the woven leather clasp on her green, furred half-cloak, the weave of her green linen tunic. When they returned to meet Ehlissa's eyes, there was no change in his expression.

The female glanced back over her right shoulder.

"There's nothing there I can see. What did they do to him?"

Slowly, the third elf, who had been sitting on the far edge of the bed, rose and walked over to stand beside Ehlissa and gaze down upon the youth.

This was the oldest elf Tadoa had ever seen. His face and hands carried deep lines in them. Elves did not age as quickly as humans did, even relative to their long life spans, but this elf looked to be well over seven hundred years old.

His hair was gray, his eyes green but somewhat clouded. Ehlissa made room for him on the bed as he sat down on a corner of it and gazed closely at Tadoa.

It was only then that Tadoa saw the tears slowly running down his face.

"My dear boy," the old elf whispered in a hoarse voice. "My dear, dear child. It's all right now." He paused briefly. "I am sorry it took us- took me so long to find you, but it's going to be all right now. I promise."

Tadoa just stared at him.

The old elf's brow furrowed, and he frowned. "Tadoa," he said, his voice a bit stronger now and placing his hands on the younger elf's shoulders. "Look at me. Do you remember me?"

Tadoa saw nothing in his face that looked familiar. Surely he would have remembered seeing an elf this old. His eyes wandered to the deep purple robes the old elf wore. They had silver stitching of abstract designs upon them. The sleeves were-

Tadoa looked. Upon each sleeve was embroidered a design.

Three moons. One full, one waxing, and one waning.

Something deep within him stirred- but then everything else crashed down upon it and blocked it out.

"Noooooo!" he screamed, as the hatred came back.

Tadoa lunged forward, trying to bite the old elf's arm. The child managed to grab hold of his sleeve and held on tightly, worrying it like a dog. Startled, the old elf pulled back, bringing Tadoa along with him, so that the boy was now sitting upright in bed. Tadoa began struggling fiercely as Ehlissa tried to grab him. Something that was sticking out of one of the sleeves of the tunic Tadoa was now garbed in hit a wood-and-crystal lamp on an end table that was lit by continual light and knocked it to the floor. Wild shadows of light and darkness danced crazily around the room. Tadoa kept wrenching at the fabric of the old elf's robe until a piece of it tore free. He spat it out. Ehlissa was trying to push him back down onto the bed, so he lunged at her nose, trying to bite it off. It was all she could do to hold him off. Growling, Tadoa twisted left and right, and something that was sticking out of the other sleeve of his tunic came flailing around and slapped the female elf's cheek before bouncing off.

"He's trying to bite us!" she cried. "He doesn't realize he's got his limbs back!"

"Thank Sashelas for small favors!"

Oceanus had returned. He slammed the decanter of wine down on the end table and helped Ehlissa wrestle Tad back down onto the bed. The sea elf glanced back at the ancient high elf. We need to bind him!" He shouted over Tadoa's yelling and barking. We need a spell!"

The old elf just stood there, apparently in shock.

Other voices in elven could now be heard from the door. They were raised voices, as well.

Oceanus gritted his teeth. "Sohar and Kina were just coming in. I told Keasten to-" The aquatic elf turned back to the door. "Sohar! Please! We have an emergency here! You and Kina just wait out in the parlor! We'll be out in a minute! Keasten! Get him out of here!"

As Tadoa, now lying prone again on the bed, continued to struggle, out of the corner of his eye he saw a male elf peering through the open doorway, staring at him. Tad could just see the arms of another elf pulling at him, but he stood fast. The one Oceanus had called Sohar.

It was The Emerald Serpent.

Tad stopped struggling.

Four eyes widened simultaneously.

The anger continued to coarse through Tadoa, but now it had direction. You lied! his mind cried. You told me my soul would feed the great Sleeping God! You said you'd kill me! You promised!

And then, amazingly, his anger washed away and was replaced by something else. Something older than his anger.

His fear.

Tad screamed from the very depths of his soul as Sohar's face vanished. Ehlissa was saying something, and the old elf might have been incanting now, but Tad heard none of it as he blacked out.