It was supposed to be a simple diplomatic mission, although from experience prince A’elin knew that when diplomacy was involved, things were rarely ever truly simple. Nevertheless, he and his personal guard, Viresse, had rode out early that morning, the first light of day creeping through the leaves of the woods as the two companions rode side-by-side. The first sign of trouble became evident when they rode past a small village, the sun was starting to set already. The village was in a state of mild chaos, several of the smaller huts were on the verge of collapsing and there was smoke coming from the large central building that would have been used as a place of religion and as a common hall. A’elin looked at Viresse and could tell the other elf was thinking the same thing he was, they had to help these people. They urged their horses into a gallop and raced towards the village. As they approached, their horses slowed down enough for Viresse to nock an arrow onto the bow he previously kept swung over his shoulder. As they came to a halt a villager who had seen them approach and recognised them as part of the royal court, came running over. Viresse instinctively raised his bow up. “Please, don’t shoot!” The man cried, cowering in fear of the weapon. The guard instantly lowered his bow and apologised to the villager, not meaning to cause him more fear than he had already been through. A’elin judged the situation to be save and dismounted, Viresse quickly followed his example. The elves swung the reigns over their horses necks, making sure that they wouldn’t get their front legs tangled up in them.
A’elin now turned to the villager, he noticed several scratches and a large gash on the man’s arm. “Could you tell me your name?” He asked. “My name is Renin your highness.” A’elin nodded. “What happened here Renin?” He asked, concern in his voice. A’elin was a kind man, some said that he would not make a good king because he cared too much about the lives of common people and preferred diplomacy over fighting, despite the prince’s excellent mind for strategy. A’elin kindly disagreed with those people. He listened attentively as the villager told him what had happened to his home, all while Viresse looked around for any signs of danger. A band of plunderers had passed this village, stealing most of their food supplies and all of the money stored in the village leader’s home, tax money A’elin guessed. The prince nodded and placed a hand on the Renin’s shoulder. “I will personally see to it that these men are put to trial and I will arrange for support to be send over to aid in rebuilding your homes. Did all of your people remain unharmed?” A’elin had realised that this man must have been the village leader and was glad to hear that all villagers had lived, albeit with various injuries. Renin assured him that all would heal in time. Renin then seemed to realise how late it already was and invited the prince and his guard to stay the night in his village, which A’elin gratefully accepted. He saw that the fire in the central building had been put out and slowly the tense energy in the air left.
After the two elves had made sure that their horses were secure and unsaddled for the night, they followed Renin to his home, where he showed them the guest room. It was a small and modest room but it beat sleeping in a tent like Viresse and A’elin had planned on doing. They thanked the village leader and moved to unpack a few belongings, the man leaving them alone to help his wife to prepare a meal for his family and guests. A’elin had given the man a generous amount of the food he carried, they did always end up taking too much food.
“I don’t trust him.” Said Viresse, looking around the room as if he expected to find hidden doors or traps. He had voiced his concern in elfish, both of them were fluent in common but in this situation Viresse had thought it to be smart to keep their conversation private. “I know.” Replied A’elin opting for his native tongue as well. “Something about his story does not add up, if the plunderers stole so much of value and caused so much damage to their houses, surely the injuries should have been more severe.” He continued, Viresse nodded in agreement and added another factor. “Renin did not seem at all surprised to see us here, you would think that your arrival would shock a man such as him, royal visits to villages aren’t common are they?” A’elin shook his head, confirming Viresse’s thoughts. “They are not.” That didn’t mean that A’elin thought that that was a good thing, he would like to have more interaction with his people, but unfortunately that was something which was hard to achieve. “How do you suggest we handle this?” Viresse asked. “We act as if we buy their story, remain alert but do not let them think we mistrust them.”
The two elves ate dinner with Renin, his wife Sophia and their two boys Namir and Erik. The village head’s house was somewhat larger than the other houses, but not by far. It had the same ground-level layout with a straw roof. Viresse had half expected their food to be poisoned but seeing as they ate from the same pots, that thought was quickly dispelled. Truth be told, the food was remarkably good, he was used to eating food prepared by the kitchen staff of the palace but Sophia was a wonderful cook in her own way. She smiled as Viresse voiced his thoughts to her, A’elin agreeing. After they had made sure that there was nothing they could do to aid the villagers at this moment, the two elves returned to the guest room.
“Well at least we were not poisoned.” The prince said with a grin, once more speaking in elfish. He was rummaging through his pack, making preparations to go to bed. “We can cross that off the list of possible ways in which we could be harmed here.” Replied Viresse who had placed his knife besides his bed in case of danger. “If you do not mind, I would prefer to spend as little time here as needed.” A’elin agreed. “Let us try to leave by sunrise tomorrow, do not unpack more than strictly needed.” The last comment was hardly necessary, Viresse had already repacked most of his belongings. “Good night A’el.” The prince smiled when he heard the nickname, only used when nobody else was around to hear the causal notion of friendship between the two. “Sleep well Viresse.”
The following morning came and both elves were on the move, quickly putting on the light armour they wore and swinging their cloaks around their shoulders. A’elin once more thanked Renin, assuring him that justice would be served, while Viresse saddled their horses.
When A’elin judged that they were well away from the village he spoke again. “I do not believe that Renin is the village leader.” Viresse turned to face his friend, obviously he had not reached the same conclusion, he had thought that perhaps Renin was in league with these so-called plunderers. “Renin’s house had only four rooms, a combined dining and living room, a kitchen, a master bedroom and the small guest room, all of which were designed to fit about two people. I doubt that the guest room normally houses the two boys we met. Did you not notice that the dining table was much too small for the six of us?” Viresse was once more surprised at how observant the prince could be. “Now that you mention it, that does seem odd.” He thought about it for a while before asking the next question. “Do you think that Renin is one of the plunderers?” Viresse asked, unsure of the theory. “I am unsure, I do not think that that is likely, why tells us of plunderers when he could have chosen any other explanation for the village’s disarray? It seems illogical.” Truth be told, A’elin had no clue as to who this Renin was.
The two rode in silence for a while, the sound of their horses’ hooves formed a rhythmic and constant noise. After what must have been two hours, Viresse suggested they take a break, rest their legs and let their horses graze for a while. A’elin had been so lost in thought that he had not noticed the time that had passed, something that he found happened to him often. “I saw a stream of water just over there, I’m going to refill our waterskins.” Viresse said as he headed to the tiny river. A’elin loosed the girths of their horses’ saddles and unfastened their bridles. He heard the danger before he saw it. A cry of pain that he instantly recognised as Viresse’s came from barely ten metres away. A’elin rushed to unsheathe his dagger, as he did so turning to the direction from which the noise had originated. He was met by a bright flash of blue, it hit him before he could make any move to protect himself. He yelped in surprise and was send crashing into a tree, his head was spinning and a sharp flash of pain spread through his head down his neck. Everything around him seemed distant and a wave of nausea hit him, there was a high pitched noise ringing through his head and it seemed like something was whizzing loudly. He shook his head, trying desperately to focus on something, Viresse, he needed his help! Another wave of nausea hit him as he tried to stand up, he crumpled to the ground feeling absolutely miserable, his body no longer obeying him. His vision was blurry but he was able to make out the vague outline of two men dragging a red-cloaked figure between them before the prince passed out.
Viresse was struggling and launching terrible words at the men dragging him. His left shoulder was throbbing in pain after being hit by magic but he could worry about that later. Once they had made it to the clearing he could see A’elin as he fainted. “No!” Viresse yelled as he thrashed around wildly, desperately wanting to run to the royal elf. He growled in anger, anger at his inability to do anything to protect his prince, anger at these men for attacking them and anger at himself for leaving his bow with the horses. He was roughly forced to his knees by the two men holding him, the guy on his left applying pressure to the aching shoulder. Viresse gasped in pain, trying his best to hide the fear and hurt he was in, he looked defiantly at the man who was no doubt their leader. “You should’ve fainted from the spell I cast on you, little elf.” The man said, a look on his face that Viresse did not trust. He felt like the sorcerer was eyeing him like he was an interesting puzzle to solve. “I guess you underestimated my resolve, magician.” The man chuckled. “Oh no I think that there’s something special about you and I intend to find out exactly what that is.” He turned to his men and said something in a language that Viresse did not speak. His arms were tightly bound together. The sorcerer was a wealthy man, judging by the carriage he travelled in. Viresse disliked carriages, even more now that he was tied up in one and had to share it with the man who was responsible for the current state of prince A’elin, who was still out cold, bound next to Viresse. The guard made a promise with himself that no matter what would happen, this man would not hurt A’elin.
baratheonpilled
prguitarman
ellievsbear
kianamaiart
annaxmalina
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
gummygunk
kaledo-art
