Episode 5: Ambushed
14th of Matrinalis
Odd was the last to wake up, and was pleased to find a warm breakfast waiting for him. It had been a long night, with physical exhaustion combating acute terror. A warm breakfast was welcome. Aelita had found some wild herbs in the woods, and she'd seasoned the porridge with them, with seemed to increase their stamina. The teenagers packed camp and Jeremie pulled out a map. "It seems to me that the closest town is Juno's Eye." Jeremie said, pointing to a position on the map. "We came out of the Dendar passage around here, and we went west from there, so I can't imagine we're any farther than this."
Odd disagreed, "No, we aren't there. We're here. See, the tunnel let out here, though we did go west. I don't think Juno's Eye is closest, though. There's a village called Narza at the base of the Baramunz Highlands. There are many dwarves living there, so there are bound to be high-quality weapons and under armor. Then we can get up to the Highlands, and gain access to the Western Plains without using the Imperial Highway." Odd pointed, tracing his finger along the map.
Jeremie and Odd argued good-naturedly about their location, but seeing as how Odd had ventured more frequently from Capital Lyoko, they both decided that it would be best to follow his suggestion. It took about an hour to reach Narza, where a great many dwarves plied their trade. They sold more than just armor and weapons, but also little curios and other items. Jeremie found a book on telepathic theories, which due to his discovery of his telepathic connection with the others, intrigued him greatly. Laura found many scrolls that would help in tight situations. Yumi bought a new bo staff, which she twirled to get a feel for.
Ulrich managed to find a decent set of lock picks, which he quickly invested in. Lock picking was a hobby of his, and he was always looking for a chance to improve the skill. Since it seemed they were on the road permanently now, it would undoubtedly come in handy. William invested in a whetstone to sharpen his sword—for he had a large sword and he sharpened it often—and Odd purchased a blank book and charcoal, which in days to come he would fill with drawings.
Ulrich found Aelita just outside town speaking with elven merchants. She seemed to be intrigued with the rag dolls, but instead bought new clothes, something much more practical. Unlike the others, Aelita had found her home—a makeshift tent with only a few fragile possessions—to be completely burned, and since she had not expected the city to be attacked, she had not brought her real clothes. Luckily those clothes seemed replaceable—the clothes she bought at the merchant's aravel seemed almost identical. "Kitten, did I see you looking at those dolls?" He teased with brotherly affection.
Ulrich was an only child, and he got the impression Aelita was lonely. Being introverted himself, he identified with the Outcast, and he viewed her as his little sister. In their two days, Ulrich had given her the nickname 'kitten' because of her obvious curiosity with the world around her (and quietly he admitted her pointed ears made the connection easier to make), and Ulrich was the first person Aelita had called 'lethallin,' which was a casual title given to a friend.
"Aneth ara, lethallin," Aelita smiled, tucking her formal clothes into her bag and wrapping bandages up her legs for modesty. "I didn't see you there. Did you buy anything at the durgen'len market?"
Ulrich almost questioned her on her words, but concluded she referred to the many dwarven merchants. "Lock picks, just in case. I see you bought new clothes, and don't think that I didn't notice you avoided my question." He smirked.
She blushed. "No—I wasn't looking at the dolls. I mean, I was, but I was just… admiring the craftsmanship. Those dolls are very well made, even for the elvhen." She stood when she'd finished the wrappings, and she walked past them "We should meet up with the others."
They stood in the center market, prepared to make the journey on. A young dwarven woman with long, blond hair and a claymore approached them. Despite her short stature, she was very beautiful, and her chainmail cut low to show cleavage. Odd began considering the likelihood that she would date him. "Atrast vala, outsiders. My name is Brynja Heringsdötir," She greeted. She sized them up, her eyes lingering harshly on William and Aelita, probably due to the racism held between elves and dwarves. Nevertheless, she smiled and said, "The merchants say you are refugees, and that you bring word of kallak."
Jeremie spoke, knowing what Brynja spoke of. "Yes, the dark elves attacked Capital Lyoko. We managed to escape, as did many others, but some were not so lucky. You should send word to the deshyr of Narza's head kalna."
The dwarf looked to him. "You surprise me, outsider. Not many would know enough about us to use our words correctly." She smiled briefly, but it vanished. "The deshyr has added extra patrols to the Scarwood Forest, and this is why I must ask you to remain inside the boundaries of Narza until further notice."
William seemed less than pleased. "We cannot stay here. We must continue forward, warn other towns and prevent more attacks when we can." He protested.
Brynja eyed him angrily. "That's not my problem, salroka. I'm not the one giving orders. If you wish to challenge the deshyr, you are welcome to try. There would be a hundred dwarven arrows in you before you could say 'mercy,' dirt farmer." She spat.
William opened his mouth to challenge the dwarven woman, but Laura and Yumi calmed him. "No, William. We don't want to antagonize them." Yumi said, and he tried to calm himself.
A dwarven scout watched as drow constructs followed the path, and his breath caught when he saw a beautiful drow woman riding on a crab-like construct. Her hair was in braids, and she wore thin leather armor. The dwarf summoned his courage and blew as loud as he could on his horn, hoping that they could hear him in Narza. The drow stopped the constructs, and she jumped off the construct she rode. She pulled him from the hedge and ordered one of the cubed construct to strike him.
The dwarf was still alive when the drow kicked his throat and rode away.
Hearing the horn, Brynja and other warrior dwarves prepared for battle, and the Heroes stood alongside them. Odd stood next to the beautiful dwarf and eyed her. "So, uh, are you doing anything later?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Killing dirt walkers and leading the warriors of Narza to amgarrak," Brynja said, holding her claymore threateningly. Odd nodded and prepared his bow. The constructs appeared on the horizon, and charged. "To arms, brothers! May Vulcan and Mars guide our swords to amgarrak!" The dwarves cheered, and they charged the constructs.
The battle had gone on for hours. The sun was starting to set, and the army grew weaker. Being too exhausted to fight any longer, Jeremie had climbed to the top of the building, monitoring the battle and giving suggestions to the other Heroes. He felt useless, but he vowed he would return to the battle as soon as he was able. But as a woman appeared in the staircase, he feared he would not be able to. "Who are you?" He demanded of the dark elf, "Who do you work for? Who attacked Capital Lyoko?"
The drow drew her twin khopeshes, and she pointed one at him. "I am Sinae, right hand of the Matron of House Kenval, Xana." She said, clearly not bothered by conversing with one she wanted to kill.
Jeremie remembered the name. "Xana Kenval? Wasn't she the leader of the dark elf uprising a hundred years ago? She caused the Surface War!" He shouted, drawing his blade. Xana Kenval had been defeated by one of Laura's relatives an age ago, with the help of Saint Aelita Fen'harel the Wise, whom the Outcast was named after, though the elf had not survived the war. "You lie! Xana Kenval is dead!"
Sinae shook her head. "Not dead, but sleeping. We have waited for the day she could reawaken, and now she will finish what we started." Sinae prepared to strike, and Jeremie prepared as well. "Not that you'll survive to tell anyone, shem. Prepare to die,"
Sinae struck first, and Jeremie moved quickly to block the strike with his shield. She sliced with her off-hand khopesh, and he jumped out of the way. Jeremie dodged many of her attacks, studying her movement. When he saw an opportunity to weaken her, he took it, stabbing her in the stomach.
Jeremie had heard the others tell of their first kills, with the exception of Aelita and Laura. He had expected it to feel no different than killing a construct, but he was wrong. He saw the pain in her eyes, whereas a construct felt nothing. He had this pit growing in his stomach, and he pulled the sword out of the drow. She fell onto him, and he panicked, pushing her off of him. They stood near enough to the side of the building that the push sent her corpse over the edge, falling with a 'thump' into the market square.
Jeremie had killed someone, and he would try his best not to do it again, no matter what. A Hero I may be, he thought, but a murderer I am not.
Without Sinae to lead them, the constructs fell one by one. Many dwarves had died, but the citizens of Narza spoke of them with great honor. Brynja thanked the Heroes for their assistance, and presented them with a small sack of gold for helping protect the settlement. That night, as Odd was scouting the area and Laura started the fire, Jeremie explained what he had learned from Sinae before she died.
"Elgar'nan! The Dark Mother has returned?" Aelita exclaimed. "By the Creation Father, if what you say is true, then not even the Heroes of Old can stop her! A hundred years of her magic growing…" She held her fist to her mouth to quiet its trembling.
Laura looked at Jeremie. "It's true. We're just children. We don't stand a chance against Xana Kenval." She looked to her toes. "Gods, I thought we could actually win this war. But if she is awake, we can't."
Yumi remembered studying Xana. She was born a noble in the Underdark, and was easily the most talented magician in her class. Xana was believed to have been defeated in the Siege of the Leifreholm the Blooded. But it appears that she was merely in a stage of deep sleep. "I don't believe that, Laura. If Xana was defeated once, then she can be defeated again."
Ulrich agreed. "Xana is just a person. People die all the time. Why should this drow be so different?" He reasoned.
"It won't be easy," William stated. "One hundred years have improved the drow, just like the humans, elves, orcs and dwarves. There will be an army of constructs and dark elves waiting to lay down their lives in her name, and in the name of the Destruction Mother." William had experience with the paranoia of the drow.
Ulrich glared at him. "No one said it would be easy." He smirked. "Besides, William, you aren't deterred by a challenge, are you?" The statement had undertones of something more than his words implied. Ulrich was challenging William to something, but what?
Jeremie looked at his toes. He did not mention Sinae's death. He looked up at the others. "So are we decided? We're going to take the fight to Xana?"
The others seemed hesitant. After all, none of them were older than eighteen. But Xana was the bigger problem, not their ages. They nodded their heads in agreement. Suddenly, Odd appeared out of the dense woods. "Hey, come see what I found!" He said, ushering them into the woods.
Odd led them to a landship used by the wilder elves, and Aelita's eyes lit up when she saw it. It seemed abandoned, as the fire was out and the inside had been cleaned of potions, weapons and books. "Odd, you found an aravel!" She entered it, and she confirmed that it had belonged to a wandering clan. "This looks like it belonged to the Minore clan, which was almost completely decimated in an orc raid three years ago. I suppose the survivors abandoned the aravel to travel faster."
"I don't think that they would mind if we, say, borrowed it. I doubt they are coming back, judging by the amount of dust in here." Odd said, and Aelita agreed.
With some assistance from a conjured deer, the teenagers brought the aravel back to the campsite. They loaded the landship with Jeremie's books, Laura's scrolls and several miscellaneous objects that were not needed inside the tents or would slow down their individual travel. Then they locked it, and Aelita confirmed that it would not easily be broken into. "I'll take the first watch," Jeremie said, his voice pained. "I don't think I'll be getting any sleep tonight, anyway."
A/N: A shorter chapter. I plan to post a picture of the aravel on my DeviantArt page, but don't hold me to this, as aravels are not simple things. Also, I'm happy to translate the dwarven language, too, though this is from Dragon Age, just like the Elvish I use.