* VII *

Elantar's strange behaviour continued all the way back to the room where they had met and killed the Ogre with the improvised drums. She cartwheeled into the room giggling, closely followed by Gravak, Taldir and Coralyn, who had also decided to come back with them.
"Oi!" the Rogue shouted when they came to a stop. "The room's spinning!"
"It's because you've been spinning Elantar," Coralyn explained. "Your eyes need time to re-adjust.
"I haven't been spinning!" she replied incredulously. "I'm far too serious to do any of that nonsense."
Taldir couldn't help but enjoy himself with this. "You just summersaulted for over two hundred feet coming back here Rogue. It seemed a little pointless to me, but I suppose lesser minds need to amuse themselves somehow."
"What you sayin'!" Elantar demanded. "Wanna make something of it?" she asked, brandishing a dagger at him. Gravak grasped her by the wrist and held her back. The Wizard grinned and raised his hands threateningly.

"Taldir…" the Cleric grumbled, "why don't you just look at the runes?"
"I'm more than happy to do so," he responded. "Keep the basket-case quiet, will you?"
"She's…" Coralyn began. "Give me a minute… Elantar? Could you come over here?"

The two stepped aside, towards the ruins of the Ogre's drums while Taldir began to examine the Dwarvish writing.
"We should burn this room!" Elantar announced. "And that Wizard. I've had enough of him. What help is he anyway?"
Coralyn held her hands to Elantar's shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. When her mind was intact, Elantar shrank away from eye contact. The effects of the spirits had made this action one of amusement for her, and she couldn't help but giggle at Coralyn's furrowed brow.

"Anything?" Gravak asked.
"Plenty," Taldir responded. "A history of this Mine. Well, for as long as the Dwarfs had it, at least. I suspect there's more history here than they know, this account only reaches back four-thousand years or so."
"That seems a long enough time to me," Gravak replied.
"Yes," the Wizard sneered, "I expect it would."

There was an abrupt silence as Elantar's laughter ceased.
"What was that?!" she asked.
"It's over now…" Coralyn said sympathetically. "The spirits got to you somehow, took some of your mind. Do you remember anything?"
"Snatches…" she replied. "There was a broken statue… dizziness… Did I stab Taldir?"
Coralyn gestured over to the other side of the room, where the Wizard stood examining the walls with Gravak.
"Oh…" Elantar said disappointed, "that's almost a shame."

"It's not a well-known fact," Taldir was saying as they re-joined the others, "but the Grey Elves actually taught the Dwarves all that they know about mining."
"Really?" Gravak answered sceptically.
"Oh yes… but we prefer to keep it quiet. It suits us that other races have some cause for ideas above their station. We don't need everyone begging for help unceasingly; those days are long over."

"Coralyn?" Gravak saw they had approached. "How is she?"
"It's OK," Elantar answered for her, "I'm back. What have we learned?"
"Nothing." Taldir replied abruptly.
"Nothing?!" Gravak demanded.
"Well, I'm sure that, could you read this, you would have learned a great deal. But I have read nothing that I didn't already know."
"You're walking a fine line here Wizard…" Gravak grumbled.
"Oh, calm yourself, savage…" he replied, but there was a definite hint of fear in his voice.
"It's a typical Dwarf mining tragedy. They settled here, were doing rather well for themselves and became wealthy. One day, they dug too deep and unearthed something that they shouldn't, and fled the mine thinking it cursed."
"Is that all that this says?" Coralyn asked.
"That's the summary," Taldir replied. "And one more thing; anyone reopening this Mine for business will find themselves besieged by Dwarven legions. It's the typical footnote to their failures… What they can't have, they won't let anybody else have either."

The four began to make their way back to the throne room with the information, Elantar walking this time, trying desperately to remember every detail of her temporary madness and think of a way to dismiss it when she was questioned.

"Hold on a second," Taldir ordered. He slipped into one of the smaller Kobold tunnels off of the main path through the Mine. He returned a few moments later with a small pick.
"There's something I need to try…" he explained.

Taldir hefted the pick. It was built for someone much smaller than him and looked almost comical in his hand.
"I can't believe you're going to do this," Elantar said for what felt like the hundredth time.
"You know I don't support this either," Gravak added. "You have no idea what's going to happen here."
"That, as I keep pointing out, is exactly why it must be done," the Wizard responded irritably.

The whole party had gathered in the lower chamber, most of them remaining silent on the issue, but all ready to fight off whatever Taldir was about to set free. The voices were unceasing, constantly demanding the return of the Eisenkern, and Elantar began to once again feel unnerved.
"I'm having no part of this," she announced, and began to retreat up the steep tunnel. The rest of the party were drawing weapons and preparing to fight off an almost inevitable assault. This shamed her into stopping, and readying her own equipment.

Taldir stifled a chuckle and began to chip away at the carved symbols on the floor. The moment that he had finished altering the first symbol, there was silence. Everybody waited. After a few seconds, nothing further had happened. Most of the party breathed a sigh of relief, but Taldir seemed visibly disappointed.

"I'd guess that you've freed them," Coralyn observed. Taldir frowned and turned to leave.

Their exit from the mines was far less eventful than the slow and perilous adventure to its heart. They utilised the Kobolds' trick of setting off a Thunderstone in the unstable cavern and all made it through unscathed. There was no sign of any more foes, neither Kobolds nor Ogres. There was no sign of Eldarion either.

The party returned to the surface to find that their horses were not where they had left them. None of them had travelled far, however, and all were rounded up within an hour or so. It was then, for the first time since discovering that he'd left, that anyone had mentioned Eldarion's name. The party were full of bitter words and speculation as to where he'd gone, and whether they'd ever see him again. Gravak and Taldir were both running their mouths off about what they'd do if they did see him again, suggesting loudly to the Forest that he'd better keep out of their way. Boshley was, unusually, rather quiet. Only yesterday, he'd been boasting of his great friendship with the Ranger. All he'd really said was how he'd found it difficult to believe that Eldarion was only in it to rob them, and that there must be some explanation. Elantar didn't buy that though.

The journey back to Torlynn passed largely in silence after everyone had vented their frustrations. They had filled several sacks with the coins from the throne room, and had managed to gather them all together. Without even counting all that Eldarion had stolen, they were bringing back a considerable fortune.
"Torlynn," Arden announced, thinking that she was the first to see it in the distance. "We should be able to make the midday meal in time, we'll be there in less than an hour."
"We know," Elantar answered, shoving past her. "There's no need to say everything out loud, you know?"
Arden shook her head in frustration as she took out her flute and followed her away from the rest of the group.

"It's helpful not to keep every thought silent as well, Elantar! You're making it very hard for any of us to get to know you." The Rogue stared her down, attempting to communicate with her eyes that being known by Arden was amongst the last of the things that she wanted. "Take Eldarion, for example; you've not said a word about him since he left, but I know the two of you were getting on well. It's not healthy to just hold it all in."

"What do you want from me?" she snapped. "Are you expecting me to cry on your shoulder? Shout and scream my hatred to compete with everyone else? Eldarion was useful while he was around, but he's decided that he was… well… I don't know what he's decided, but he's gone, and the only way I'll ever feel anything about him again is the joy of having him not know I'm there as my knife sinks into his neck. I don't need to try to shout louder than everyone else to make myself seem more dangerous, do I? Is that really what you want?"

Arden looked on stunned for a while. Elantar took some perverse pride in leaving the usually far too verbose Bard speechless.
"I just thought…" she began after a few seconds, "I just thought that you might like to… talk?" Arden said, sounding like she doubted every syllable. "I mean…" she continued before Elantar could respond, "the two of you were obviously quite close. I'm not the only one that thought there might be something… else there."

Elantar found it impossible not to laugh out loud at the suggestion. "Really?" she asked between chuckles. "You really think I want to be tied to someone like that? Or that I'd make a good companion? For anybody? I gave up on any ideas of that sort of thing a long time ago." Arden frowned sympathetically. "It's fine," Elantar continued. "I'm… well… not happy as such, but I've accepted it. It's not what I want from life, and have definitely never wanted that from Eldarion."
"OK… we were mistaken, clearly," Arden began.
"You were," Elantar interrupted. "I'd rather not speak about it again."

Arden nodded, and began to play.

They were well settled in The Amorous Goat and on the other side of a good meal when Gustovan found them.

"Well met, brave adventurers!" he exclaimed in greeting. Elantar wasn't the best at reading people, but there was clearly something different about the Mayor of Torlynn. It was as if he had had several hundred other burdens heaped upon his already straining shoulders. It was also telling that he'd sought them out in person.

Arden rose from her seat and exchanged handshakes.
"Good to see you again Mr. Mayor! How is life in your fine village?"
"Well, uh… it's been better, in all truth," he responded.

Elantar knew it. From what she'd been hearing since they arrived in The Goat, Gustovan was losing his grip on his position, and there was talk of a leadership challenge. The ringleader, sitting at the next table with his cronies, seemed a thoroughly unlikable character underneath his casual demeanour and hollow promises. He came across as the sort of person who wanted power just to enjoy it, despite professing to be a man of the people. The future of the small town would be far safer in Gustovan's hands.

"Can we retire to my office?" the Mayor requested. "We have business to discuss," he added almost reluctantly.
"Of course Mr. Mayor," Arden responded. "We'll just settle up here and be in. Give us five minutes?"