The Elf Thief

Chapter 27: A Visitor from the Mountains

Chapter 27

A Visitor From the Mountains

Letting out a sigh, Rith dropped his helmet on his bed and began to take off his armor. If possible, Fay’s Forest had gotten even more dangerous; elves swarmed everywhere and attacked anything that moved.

To be honest, Rith was lost. It had been weeks since Dearekk had rebelled and let the elves free, and no matter what, Rith just couldn’t believe that Dearekk would betray them without reason. Oh, he had heard the rumors about Dearekk being the “rebel prince”, but the problem was that Dearekk had never rebelled against anything in his life.

There was knock at his door. Quickly as possible, Rith pulled on a shirt and went to open the door. Since his promotion to commander, he had received a room in the castle. It was nice; but the major drawback was that he could be called on at anytime, day or night. A young boy stood in to doorway, his head turning as he looked around the hallway. Obviously, he had never been in this part of the castle before.

“Commander!” the boy exclaimed, standing just a little taller, “The King is calling a meeting! It seems that a visitor just arrived from the mountains, sir!”

Rith couldn’t help but chuckle at the boy’s eagerness. “Alright, lad,” he smiled and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a silver coin, he flipped it in the air and the boy caught it. “Go buy yourself a treat,” Rith chuckled, “I hear the new bakery in town has great sweets.”

The boy’s grin stretched all across his face. “Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” he replied before shooting down the hallway and out of sight. Rith smiled and shook his head before turning back inside his room.

A visitor from the mountains, he mused. No one survives in the Manticore Mountains. So who could be visiting from there?

_____________________________________________________________________________

            Rith took his place a couple seats down from the King, next to Ciroc, another one of the commanders.

            “Hello, Rith,” the older man greeted him.

            “Hey, Ciroc,” Rith grinned in reply. “Do you have any idea what this is about?”

            The middle-aged veteran shook his head. “No idea,” he said quietly. The room was bustling, but there was no need to draw unnecessary attention to themselves. “I heard there was a visitor from the mountains, but…”

            “But no one lives in the mountains,” Rith finished for him, frowning. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was a trick to get us here faster.”

            Ciroc’s booming laughter echoed across the room and earned them a few odd glances. “Well, we do take our sweet time,” he chuckled. “I think this is the first time any of us here have been on time, let alone early!”

            Rith smiled, but then creased his brow, looking at the door. “If council meeting gets called to welcome you, the least a man can do is be on time,” he muttered under his breath.

            Suddenly there was a loud noise as the door opened and a collective gasp went up among the courtiers and commanders. As the large, oak doors parted, a young woman walked in, head held high.

            The woman could not have been much younger than Rith. Her blonde hair flowed out behind her as she strode quickly through the room. Instead of the normal gown, she was dressed in grey furs and pants, which obviously were meant to keep out the cold, rather than be worn in court. Three sharp lines of red war paint were painted over her eyes vertically, giving the illusion that a wild animal had slashed her face. An engraved, bone hunting bow hung around her shoulder.