Elli
October 5, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC)
Elli felt her boots landing on something soft.
"Hey, stop that! My face..." Lukas' voice sounded muffle.
"Oops, sorry." Elli's heart sank. She was stuck with Lukas, after all. She sat up but found herself sinking again — in a net — a fishing net — so big that it could've engulfed a truck.
The net extended to a muddy looking pole. Wait a minute, it wasn't a pole. It was a foot, ten times bigger than that of an adult elephant. She wiped her hair away from her eyes, and wished she didn't do that, as what she saw nearly made her shriek.
Lukas put a hand over her mouth and hurled her close to him. She could feel his body trembling as well. "Troll..." he whimpered. After her fright had settled down, Elli realised Lukas could even shout and not be heard. The snore of the troll was covering up every noise they made.
"Where's your wand?" Elli whispered.
Lukas rummaged his pocket, and the entire net shook under his action. "Where's my--"
"I found it, there." Elli pointed to the river bank, where Lukas' wand was lying next to her sword. She stretched her arm but it was beyond reach. "Can't you call it to you?"
"What, you think this is like whistling a dog to the owner? We can only do magic with our wand in hand. Let's just cut this thing up, quietly."
They brought their daggers out to cut the net and slip into the murky river, two feet below them. Apparently, the troll was a bad fisherman, and it seemed to have a very sweet slumber.
Well, almost...
Just when the blades made contact with the net, the troll jerked up, and its body blocked the sun. Elli could still see its squirming belly though, as if there were ten babies fighting from within. For a moment, the troll opened its beady eyes and looked straight at the flabbergasted figures before it, which were crouching as still as they could. Elli thought of confronting the troll with her dagger, but she remembered her father saying that trolls had skin which common blade couldn't cut through. The fact that Lukas didn't take any actions confirmed her theory that trolls had skin which was repellent to common magic, too.
The nostrils of the troll enlarged and reduced in size.
Elli and Lukas watched it for several tormenting seconds, hoping the troll didn't hear their throbbing hearts. Elli felt like she was meeting her future in-law, readied to get blasted. The troll brought its nose to them when a buzzing sound saved them. All of a sudden, a fly, stupider than the troll, flew around it and stopped at its chest. The troll smacked its wok-sized palm at the creature, leaving a tiny black stain on its brown loincloth.
Forgetting about Elli and Lukas, it rolled over the ground, thrice, and fell back to its slumber.
The net was entangled in terrible knots due to the rolling. Lukas sat on top of Elli; his face portrayed a dizzy look. Elli pushed him away with a force so hard that it woke the troll again. This time, it definitely smelled something fishy. It brought the net up to its eyes, and it dangled like a frail goodie bag. The troll blinked at them and after five seconds, it let out a roar that could have made the thunder shy. Its tongue was grey, its breath stinker than the pig sty, causing birds of all kind to scatter in the sky. Hooking its dull eyes on them, the troll untangle the net, like unwrapping a present. It wasn't doing a good job. After several attempts, it became impatient.
Turning the net upside-down, the troll shook and shook and shook. Elli and Lukas fell out. As soon as the duo landed, they broke into a run, but the troll scooped them up. Its gigantic fingers swept Elli's jukebox to the ground. A fuzzy sound came from the speaker and then went silent as it smashed on the ground. Nervous, Elli bent over; stretching her hand to get the jukebox but the troll yanked her closer. It sneered at them, a combination of a stupid and an ugly sneer.
"Sorcerers, goodness, we can make sorcerers broth. Tasty... Yummy..." Its voice was low, as if it had spoken through its stomach, instead of its mouth. It was preparing to stuff them into its pocket when a rustle came from the forest. Its fingers loosen.
Elli and Lukas took the chance to slip away.
"Wait, my jukebox," Elli croaked out.
She turned back but Lukas grabbed her hand. "No time."
They ran to a boulder at the edge of the forest, twenty feet from the river.
"Where are Marko and the rest?" Elli whispered, catching her breath.
Lukas wore a horrid look on his face. He swallowed an awful lump of saliva and pointed to the front, where a large group of trolls marched out of the forest. Elli couldn't count how many of them but that wasn't important. She saw something more horrible than figures. Two of the trolls were each carrying a barbecue stick over their shoulders. Tied on the sticks were Marko and Roxy, both unconscious. The new troop marched towards the troll sitting by the river.
"We found them in the forest, murdered by the rocks," one of the trolls said.
"Goodness, I caught two sorcerers too. Tasty... Yummy..." The troll by the river rummaged through its pocket. After realizing its prizes had escaped, it roared again.
The troll that had spoken earlier on laughed, "Loser."
The other trolls laughed too. After relishing their companion's embarrassment for what seemed like five minutes, they began to fasten a muzzle over Marko and Roxy's mouth, and did so to themselves. The equipment looked like a breathing aid. After making sure that each and every one of them wore a muzzle, they dived into the river. The water splashed so high that it even hit Elli and Lukas. It smelled of urine and rotten flesh, which Elli regretted the instant she sniffed it.
"Uhh no, they've taken Marko and Roxy. What should we do?" Elli asked.
"We can't go after them. We need help. Besides, we need to find Rooney and Benedict. Come." Lukas stretched out his hand to help her up.
Elli ignored him and dashed to the site where her jukebox had fallen. It had been stamped to pieces, and lights of electricity shot out of the speaker. Her fingers shivered as she picked up the smithereens. "Can you fix it?"
"I can try." Lukas retrieved his wand from the river bank and muttered an incantation.
Two pixies flew out of the tip and as they saw the smithereens, they cursed in a fairly audible voice. They hopped around the smithereens, creating twirls of golden dust. The dust was like glue, bringing the pieces together and minutes later, the jukebox regained its original sheen.
"Whoa," Elli whispered. The pixies, having completed their task, saluted to her and evaporated into thin air. Elli shook the jukebox, "Dorris, Dorris, are you all right? Dorris, speak to me?"
A tut-tut sound came from the speaker before Dorris spoke, "Why don't you just let me die, you horrible human! I'll never forget the stinky smell from those ogres. Having ogre feet on my face, that's so embarrassing." The witch pointed her middle fingers to Elli, and the screen went black.
The twosome laughed but after Dorris had disappeared, Elli panicked. She hoped Dorris could keep talking, as she didn't know how to react with Lukas... alone. She wasn't, however, someone who could get use to silence, so she made the blatant first move. "Uhm, well, so what now?"
"We must find the others. Let's go into the forest and search from there."
They agreed with each other for the first time.
Instead of a shade of autumnal yellow, the forest looked blooming. Its magic soothed their worn-out hearts. They walked under a tree when Elli heard squeaking of birds. She looked upwards and saw three squeaking birdlings. Three silvery hairs sprouted up from each of their heads. Their eyes glistened with silvery brilliance, and their feathers stunning blue. Despite their current circumstances, Elli didn't want to stop to enjoy the scene.
The magic revolving around the forest made her feel that time was just a trivial essence. A zephyr blew over the evergreen tree tops, and leaves fell over her. Even the falling sounded like music, as if there was an invisible harp around them, and the leaves were pulling the strings.
Elli said in wonder, "This place doesn't look like a swamp. Did something went wrong—ouch!"
Lukas stopped in abrupt, and she bumped into him.
"It's Marko's wand. Marko and Roxy must've fallen here. The others must be nearby." He picked up the blood-coated wand and kept it in his pocket. He then brought out his map. Elli leaned over him but she didn't look at the map; she was staring at Lukas.
His brows furrowed as he studied the icons. "There are two Blue Lagoons. We are eight hundred miles further than the Blue Lagoon we want to go. The witches had messed up everything."
She barely heard him. She was studying his expression as he talked. Hmm, he doesn't seem like a bad guy after all, not like that Sourpuss.
Lukas folded the map in a fast and furious way that he almost knocked her to the floor. "What's the matter, human? You're getting clumsier and clumsier."
"Uhh, shut up." Elli got to her feet. She didn't want him to know that she had started to like this new friendship, not too soon. Her mind was set. She wouldn't leave her friends to track the Vampists by herself. Call her coward, she didn't mind. To think logically, what would benefit her if she died before her wish was fulfilled. She would never be able to avenge her father. I'll learn to shut Vadiraj out of my mind. Speaking of it, he has been quiet lately.
Lukas cocked his head slightly to one side, looking at her like a hawk studying some new alienated food. Forcing a smile, Elli strode forward. Some secrets are best unshared.
They walked for another mile, calling out for Rooney and Benedict. No response.
They yelled until they could form no voice and suddenly, they heard the sound of water splashing. Water, it meant the existence of beings. They ran towards the sound and saw scenery that captured their breathes away. A castle was built in the middle of a stone platform, with three waterfalls surrounding it like three silky curtains. Rainbows arched over the castle like crowns. A wooden bridge extended from the entrance to where they stood.
A woman walked towards them. Her pace was so light that the bridge merely swung. Long white robes draped from her shoulders to her heels. She had pointy ears and golden ears. Green leaves braided two strands of her long golden hair backwards, making her look even more elegant.
"Welcome to the House of Elixir. We've been waiting for you." Her voice sounded distant and divine. She smiled as she continued, "I am Eleanor, Queen of the Elves. You march in our forest with troubled souls. The king sent me hither to help."
"Two of our friends have been captured by the trolls, the other two are missing," Elli blurted out.
"The trolls, they eat every living they could come across. They love the blue phoenix the most. We put our charm in the forest, protecting the phoenixes on the trees. But once they left the trees, they will fall prey into the hands of trolls," Queen Eleanor said.
"Fair queen of all, forgive my outburst of awe but I didn't see your location on the map," Lukas said. Lines of doubts creased his temple.
"We appear only to the needy eyes. Come, follow me. The trolls devour on fresh stocks. They won't keep your friends for long. The king can help you."
Queen Eleanor turned her back to them and headed towards the castle. As they stepped on the bridge. It sashayed under their weight, and they hurriedly gripped the handles. If the bridge didn't break, a single splash from the waterfall could cause enough harm and wash them away.
"Fear not, adventurers. The one with faith can always go through all obstacles." The queen's voice eased them forward, like wind spurring the sail.
Elli found the bridge becoming obedient, and they reached the castle within minutes.
Two elfin guards flanked the entrance door. They bowed at their queen and the newcomers. The queen smiled, and the guards pushed the door open. If Elli thought that the Golden-Borns' school was marvelous, this castle was a million times more fabulous. It looked as if it was carved out of crystal. The walls and the floor winked at her as she passed by. She walked as gentle as she could, in fear that her boots would hurt the tiles.
The queen led them to a hall. Six elves sat in a circle at the right corner, playing some woodland hymns with their harps. To Elli's left, five silvery chairs lined neatly. A golden throne mounted at the end of the hall. Sitting on it, shining so bright under the sunlight, was a man that would make all kings fall to their knees before him. The man rose as he saw the newcomers; a smile radiated his ageless face. The queen walked up the dais and stood by his side.
The music had stopped.
The man on the dais said, "Welcome, adventurers. I am Edgardur, King of the Elves. Sit."
Elli and Lukas bowed and sat on the silver chairs at his single command. Two female elves brought forth two goblets of faint purplish drinks.
"These are mixed berries yoghurt. They will wash your fatigue away. Drink it," the king said.
The twosome took a big gulp. The taste was as refreshing as its scent. The king waited for them to finish their refreshments, before gesturing the female elves forward. This time, on the tray, were two cottony sweets like marshmallow.
"To save your friends, you need to swim in the Blue Lagoon, which is colder and darker than the Underworld. With these Soft-Spine Sweets, you can swim like a fish. Eat it," the king said again.
The twosome obeyed. Elli felt her muscles softened once the marshmallow drowned in her throat.
"Last but not least, you need the Rod of Star. It enlightens every path you walk on." The king stepped down from the dais and brought two rods out of his white robes. "Keep it."
The rod was a silvery six-inch stick with a star-shaped lamp dangling at its end. The lamp, though diminutive, illuminated the entire room with heavenly brightness. Elli held the rod in her palm and felt a sudden sphere of hope enveloping her.
"We embrace peace and kill no living, that's why we give you these rods. Once it touches the trolls' skin, it'll turn them to stones for twenty and four hours. Use it wisely, and you can save more than two lives. But magic gifts are dangerous. That's why the rods will only serve you once. They will dissolve as you touch ground again." The king smiled a fatherly smile before continuing, "My friends, you must leave now. Once you are in the water, the Soft-Spine Sweets will work its wonder, but it'll only last for an hour. Now, close your eyes. I'll give you a free ride."
"But wait, King Edgardur, why don't you aid us in fighting the Vampists? I believe with your help, we can defeat them easily," asked Elli.
King Edgardur's face darkened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a great deal at the mention of the Vampists. "It will bring shame to our name if I tell you this, but I must say, we no longer partake in any warfare. The war a year ago had caused us much grief, and I don't want to dwell on the anguish, not now. But, both of you are fighters with immerse grit; and I give you my blessings as you go forth the harsh route to bring peace to the world. Now, close your eyes."
They thanked the elves. Elli shut her eyes tight. She loathed this through-the-air transportation method, but she had faith in Elves' Magic. They were the fairest of all among the sprites; surely things wouldn't go wrong. Smiling, the king touched their foreheads. He muttered some Elfin words and they were transported, once again, to the river bank. Elli was eager to save her friends. King Edgardur mentioned they could save more than two lives.
What did he mean? She was eager to find out.