The Home Stone

As they reached the top of the stairs, they stopped. At first, it looked as if they had entered a chamber with no exit. They searched and felt the walls for a door that would lead them to safety. They certainly could not stay where they were, because Ashley would no be able to hold off the goblins forever. Eventually they would gain the upper hand and then come up after the three remaining friends. Kirin stayed near the top of the stairwell while Shannon and Brendan searched for an opening to the outside.

“Found it,” shouted the rogue. “Let’s see if I can open it. It’s a secret door made to look like a wall.”

He felt around and then found a small lever hidden behind a loose rock. A quiet click was heard and then the wall or door slid silently aside gaining the party an exit. No one wasted any time and ran down the corridor until they came to a “T” intersection. Here they stopped and wondered which way was the way to the outside.

“If I’m not mistaken,” began the rogue, “we have to follow the passage to the left.”

No one disputed his decision and followed him down the left tunnel. It twisted and turned left and right, uphill and back downhill. At times, the tunnel narrowed that the bigger man had to squeeze sideways to get through. He told them that he remembered this route and was sure that they were on the right track.

Suddenly from farther back down in the tunnel came a loud clash of steel hitting steel. Shouts and screams were also heard.

“Sounds like the grays found the goblins or vise-verse,” panted Kirin as they broke into a run.

The three ran for some time, hoping they would escape the fight that seemed to be following them. Finally, the sounds of the battle began to diminish and then died out completely. Still they kept on going. They did not want to run into any of the dwarfs or goblins. Five started this journey and now they were down to three. They could not afford to lose anyone else. Twice they passed passages that ran off to the right, but they stayed true to their course. Slowing their pace after running for what seemed to be almost half a day, they came to a tunnel that ran off to the left. Here Brendan stopped and began to think.

“Shouldn’t we go this way,” asked Shannon pointing to the left.

“I can’t remember,” answered the rogue. “I know that the exit isn’t that far from here, but I don’t remember this side tunnel being here the last time I passed here.”

“Then maybe we should continue straight ahead,” answered Kirin. “Let’s continue for a while and see if we’re on the right track or if we need to return.”

The other two thought for a moment and then agreed with the elf. Straight on up the tunnel it was. Now the passage began to rise making the trek harder on the nearly exhausted three. Sometime later they stopped to rest. They sat quietly listening if anyone was following them, but no noise could be heard. Soon they were back on their feet and trekking down the corridor. Hours passed and finally the tunnel before them began to brighten. Cautiously they continued forward until they realized that the light they were seeing was coming from the outside and not from torches. Happily, they quickened their pace and moments later found themselves standing at the mouth of the tunnel.

The sunshine hitting their faces perked them up and smiles returned to what was a solemn mood. Squinting until their eyes stopped hurting from the brightness of the day, the three made their way over to some bushes and crawled into them. Here they stayed until they were sure that no one else came out of the tunnel or that no one was hiding the forest below the grassy meadow on which they had found themselves as they exited the caves.

After a short rest, Kirin gave the all-clear sign and the three raced down the slope and into the forest. Once inside the trees they stopped once more. Looking back up the hill, they spotted what looked like a head peering out from the cave entrance. Freezing, not daring to move the three watched the head reveal a body. A patrol of grays had followed them after all. The first dwarf stepped out into the open and then another followed until six grays stood there searching everywhere. They checked the bushes where the three had hidden themselves and then looked down the sloping hill to the forest. Their eyes peered from left to right, but did not see the three hiding behind the first line of trees. Satisfied that they had been mistaken the six dwarfs returned to the dark tunnel and disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief, the three quickly left the place where they stood and ventured deeper into the forest. In a small clearing, they stopped and ate a cold meal and drank from their waterskins.

“We will have to find water and food soon,” Kirin said. “The journey through the tunnels took longer than expected. Not to mention the supplies that we lost that Fredrick was carrying.”

Looking at the rogue Shannon asked. “What’s the hunting like here?”

Thinking for a moment, Brendan answered, “if we approach the village from the left we will have a better chance of finding food, because the forest is very sparse on the other side. Also, there will be more chances of running into the Valcorans if we go that way.”

“Then it’s decided,” Kirin broke in, “we take the left side where we will be a lot safer and at least we can hunt as not to starve.”

Turning west the three continued their slow trek until they came to a road. Brendan explained that this was the main route to the village and was often traveled by the female warriors. Not wanting to be seen or caught here the three crossed the road and entered the forest once more. They trekked along some footpaths and came across a deer trail. The tracks were fresh and so they followed it. It was not long before they came upon the animal that had made the tracks. Stopping, Shannon notched an arrow and silently approached the animal. When she was in range she let the silent missile fly. The dear jerked its antlered head up as the arrow found its mark. The beast jumped over a fallen log and crashed headlong into a thorn bush. There it moved for a moment longer and then lay still. Quickly the three friends were upon it and soon a small fire was roasting a good portion of the meat. While Shannon and Brendan watched the meat slowly roasting, Kirin took the waterskins and searched around for a small stream that the rogue had pointed out to him.

The sun was beginning to sink behind the western peaks when they finished their meal and extinguished the campfire. It made no sense to come all this way and then get them caught, by advertising with a nice fire. It was a damp night and the bugs were out in full force. The mosquitoes bit them every chance they got, until Shannon pulled a salve out from her backpack. It smelled like lemon and kept the pesky little bugs at bay.

Kirin sat beside Shannon and explained how he felt about her. “Shannon, I love you. I don’t know why I didn’t tell sooner, but after today I felt that you have to know how I feel.”

“You know that I’ve always felt the same way,” she answered. “I just wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual until now. I felt Ashley’s love for you and her hatred of me. I hope when we are finished and all of this is over, that we can begin anew together.”

“I…” was all he could get out when suddenly one after another felt a bite on the back of their necks. Shannon looked at Brendan, when she felt her whole body go limp. The last thing she remembered was seeing the other two slump to the ground where they had been sitting. Then all went black.

It was pitch black when Shannon opened her eyes. Her head was throbbing as if someone had hit her with a tree. She tried to rub her head, but realized that her hands were tied tightly behind her back. Slowly her eyes adjusted and she began to see shapes moving in front of her. Shannon tried to move her head to where her two friends had fallen, but the pain was too much.

“The pain will ease up soon,” she heard someone say. “It takes a while to wear off.”

Shannon tried to focus, but it was of little use. The pain was just too great. Then she heard a moan off to her right side. Pain or no pain her turned her head and saw Kirin sitting with his back up against a tree. He too was tied with his hands behind his back. A little further she saw Brendan, who too was tied up. She tried to speak but found that she and the others had been gagged. Struggling to get more comfortable, Shannon caught the attention of one of her captors. Suddenly she found herself pulled to her feet and slammed against the very tree she had been leaning up against.

“Who are you and what are you doing here on our island?” a voice demanded. “Tell us or you and your friends will die.”

Shannon murmured something, but the gag prevented her from speaking. Then she felt more pain as whoever her captor was, ripped off the gag allowing the elf to utter a few words.

“Take me to your queen,” she began angrily. “For if you harm any of us, you risk war with the elves and I don’t think your queen would want that.”

Shannon’s statement hushed the woman warrior who stood in front of her. Returning to the rest of her group the warrior woman spoke in hushed tones. Shannon was able to make out the nodding of heads that meant that they were in some sort of agreement. By now Kirin was also fully awake and trying to loosen his bonds, but they were too tight. These warriors knew how to tie a good knot. He stopped his struggling as the female warrior returned.

“Why should we trust you?” she asked. “How do we know that you are not assassins?”

“I think that if you have inspected our weapons and you would know that they aren’t the tools of an assassin,” answered the elf girl. “All we want to do is speak to your queen.”

“About what?” was the next question.

“When you become queen I will tell you,” answered and angry Shannon, “but until then this is between your leader and me. Now untie us and take us before your chief.”

Shannon could feel the heat rising as her captor fumed in anger, but a moment later Shannon felt a knife cut her hands free.

“My friends too,” she boldly said, and after a short pause she continued. “You have our weapons, so we are still at your mercy.”

Nodding her head, she ordered the other warriors to free Shannon’s two friends, but a few kept their weapons trained on all three. They were not going to take any chances and be caught with their guard down. Since Shannon seemed to the leader, the warrior woman in charge, always had two of her warriors with their bows trained on the elf girl.

As the dawn approached their captors relit the campfire and began to boil water for tea. Shannon and her friends were asked to sit closer to the fire and were offered some food and drink. With some food in their stomachs, their headaches began to dissipate and their strength returned. The elf girl knew that she could now cast a spell to put the warriors to sleep, but it would serve no purpose. Even if they killed them word would somehow get back to their village and it would jeopardize the reason they came here in the first place. No, they could not let that happen. Kirin knew this, but Brendan was not so sure. For the first time Shannon got the feeling that the rogue was hiding something. Something, he forgot to mention to them before. As long as he kept his mouth shut the three should be safe.

The woman in charge of the warriors approached the elf girl and sat down next to her. “My name is Roanna and I’m in charge of this group. Now tell me your name.”

Shannon hesitated for a moment and then said, “my name is Shannon.”

Roanna’s eyes grew large. She recognized that name. Her hand went to the hilt of her long knife, but Shannon stopped her with a gentle touch.

“I said that I am not here to harm any of you,” she started. “If I had wanted to do anything I would have done it the moment you loosened my bonds. As I have stated before, I have come here to speak with your queen. Will you still bring us to her?”

Roanna stepped back and sheathed her blade, before confiding with the rest of her party. A few moments later she returned and said. “We have agreed to take you all to her, but you will be bound and hooded.”

It was clear that the Valcorans still did not trust the three and they would be bound and have their eyes covered for the rest of the journey.

After their breakfast, the three had their hands tied behind their backs again, only this time they were not so tight as to cut off the flow of blood. Hoods were placed over their heads blocking out any light and a chance to see where they were being taken. Each of the friends was assigned a warrior to assist them so they would not stumble or fall. Shannon and her party walked for quite some time before Roanna called a halt. The three captives were given something to drink and then they continued.

Sometime later Roanna called one of her women to her and in a low voice told her to scout the road up ahead. Shannon wanted to ask her why, but decided against it. There was no need to let the warrior leader know that she could hear every word that was spoken between the captors.

Suddenly the elf’s ears picked up a noise coming from deep in the forest. From behind the tree came a whistling sound of an arrow. One of the Valcorans cried out as the arrow struck her. Shannon tried to shake her head to remove her hood, but it was properly secured and would not budge. Roanna was shouting orders and didn’t hear the elf girl call to her. Another arrow whistled past. This time Shannon could almost feel the wind as it passed. Roanna seeing this rushed to Shannon’s side and ripped off the hood. In a single motion, she had her blade in her hand and cut the bonds that restricted the mage’s motions. No sooner had the elf mage been freed from her bonds a spell was already in the making. A few words in the ancient language, Shannon in each of her hands held a fireball. With one foot forward, Shannon threw both fireballs in the direction from where the arrows came from. There was a scream and she could see that one of the grays had caught the full force of both fiery missiles.

The other two friends were freed and their weapons were given back to them so they could defend themselves too and Roanna gave the order to attack. The warrior women rushed the dwarfs with such ferocity that they soon had them on the run. Though they never caught them, they did scare them enough that the dwarfs did not return. When the battle was over, the three were hooded again and their weapons once more confiscated. Only this time, their hands were left free. They seemed to have earned the trust of the Valcorans. By the end of the day’s march, the party came to the banks of Crater Lake that was formed thousands of years earlier, during the great catastrophe that had befallen the world of the ancients. There hidden in some bushes and covered with extra brush were four good size canoes. Shannon, Roanna and one other Valcorans paddled one of the crafts while Kirin and two others took another canoe. Brendan and another Valcoran paddled the third canoe that held the wounded woman and the last two remained on shore long enough to assure the escape of the first three boats. They would soon follow. The lake was crystal clear with not a ripple on it. The four canoes were the only ones to disturb the surface of the water. They paddled for what seemed like hours before reaching the far side.

“We are safe now and the hoods will be placed back over your heads,” said Roanna. You cannot enter the village without a hood.” Having no other choice, the three complied and allowed the Valcorans to replace the hoods on their heads. Now in darkness they had to rely on their captors to guide them safely to the village once more. The women now were more at ease and talked among themselves as they made their way to the road and on to the home. The sun was just beginning to sink behind the tall peaks in the west when someone removed their hoods. Squinting Shannon and the other two saw that they had arrived. They were taken to a hut in the center of the village. When Roanna left them, she had their arms and legs secured once more, before leaving and going to the large building to where the queen was waiting. She frowned when she asked why she had returned with the hunting party and asked. “Where did you find them?”

She then demanded that they were to be brought before her. Roanna returned to the hut and cut the bonds of their legs, but not their hands. They were marched out into the center of the village square where every warrior had a good look at the new arrivals. After that brief stop they continued and halted in front of a long building. Shannon noted that it was made up of wood and stone. The roof was of reeds that were thick and secured to keep out the rain and cold. The front doors were heavy and set with large iron hinges. Probably to prevent easy access if ever the Valcorans would be invaded. This was the home of their queen. Two guards stood outside the doors and turned to open them as the party approached. Inside the large hall was decorated with wall carpets that depicted many different scenes. Some were of epic battles, while others were just designs. The three were marched and stopped in front of a short staircase that lead to a fur decorated high backed armchair. In it sat a dark haired, scantily clad woman. Roanna stepped up the stairs and whispered something in her ear. The queen stood up and came closer to examine the prisoners and stopped when she looked upon Brendan.

“Well, well,” she began. “You have finally found your way back here.” Then a look of anger changed her facial expression as she growled. “Where’s my son? Where’s Sean?”

Shannon was taken by surprise at the demand that the queen put to the rogue, but she decided to let the scene play out in front of her.

“He’s safe,” answered Brendan. “I wasn’t going to let him stay here and become one of your slaves. He has to have a better life than this.” He pointed around the village. “I gave him a good home where he is free to do what he wants and become what he wants to become. So if that doesn’t fit into your plans; then so be it.”

It was at this point that Shannon broke up the reunion and spoke. “I don’t know what your relation is with this man, but I am here for a completely different reason.”

An angry stare from the queen almost made the elf girl step back as it knifed into her, but she held her ground. “I am here to retrieve the Homestone that your warriors have taken from us.”

The anger in the queen subsided and was replaced with a look of uncertainty. Then she spoke. “What makes you think that we have your precious stone?”

“The body of one of the elves was found on the shore of the Eastern Sea with one of your arrows stuck in his back.” She answered.

The questions went back and forth until Shannon was certain that these people did not have the holy icon. The next item that was discussed was as to who everyone was and after introducing herself and Kirin, the queen introduced herself as Queen Sapphira. The queen then explained that the barbarians of the Snowlands bought weapons from them and even purchased clothing, stating that their women needed them when they traveled to the south lands to trade their wares. Seeing no problem with their explanation or caring for their reasons they sold the barbarians whatever they had for sale. Many bows and arrows were sold along with spears and furs. Satisfied with the Valcorans Queen’s explanation, Shannon bowed and backed away a step or two.

The three were escorted back to their hut, but this time their bonds were removed to allow them to eat the food that the queen had ordered for them. Later that evening, the queen summoned them once more. This time they were entertained by some of the warriors showing off some of their skills as well as dancing. At some point during the evening, one of the guards came to Shannon and that the queen wished a private audience with her. Smiling to the warrior, she stood and followed her to another smaller room where the queen was waiting. Dismissing the guards, Queen Sapphira motioned to the elf girl to sit on a chair just off to her side.

“It seems that we both have a dilemma on our hands,” she began. “You have to find your Homestone and I have to figure out what to do with the three of you. Do I just let you go, or …” she broke off?

This was not the time to cower in front of the queen Shannon thought. Stand your ground, she thought to herself. A flash of anger, covering her face, showed the queen that this elf wasn’t going to be intimidated.

“I don’t think you understand,” Shannon said. “I did not come all this way to be threatened by you. I came in peace to ask you to give back the icon of my people. I know now that you never had it and that the barbarians implicated your tribe as the thieves. Therefore, I and my two friends will take our leave in the morning, for we have to find the icon quickly before it’s too late.”

“And if I do not let you go? What then?” the queen asked. Shannon knew that she was fishing for more info as to who she really was, but the elf didn’t give any ground.

“Then you will have a war on your hands,” she shot back. “I don’t think that your tribe would be up to it if they had to go up to an entire army of very angry elves.”

“I will let you and Kirin go, but Brendan stays here with us,” the queen stated.

“Not acceptable,” Shannon answered standing her ground. “We will all leave at dawn.”

The arguing went back and forth until the queen in a soft voice said, “I just want to see Sean again. How can I do this without keeping his father here to make the boy come to me.”

Shannon thought for a moment and then said, “How about you coming with us to Evermore to see him. I think once you see for yourself that he is a bright young man you will change your mind about forcing him to stay here. Let it be his decision, not yours”

Sapphira stared at the elf for a moment, for no one had ever spoken to her that way since she became queen. If any one of her warriors would ever try to speak like this elf girl did, the warrior would be killed and her body thrown into the sea. In deep thought, she rose from her chair and paced around the room. Time passed and finally she turned to Shannon and said. “If I come with you; what are my chances that you won’t have me killed?”

A smile grew on the elf girl’s face as she answered back, “If I would have wanted to kill you, I would have done so already, but that is not my intention. As a matter of fact, becoming allies would be the better thought here.

A short time later Shannon was escorted back to where the celebrations were going on and sat down between her two friends.

“What had the witch to say?” asked the rogue. “Does she still demand my staying here until I give up my son?”

“No,” answered the elf. “I have invited her to come and visit Evermore and see your son.”

Kirin looked surprised at her words, but stayed quiet. Brendan caught on to what the elf girl had just said. Shannon had never given away where his son was and would not do so until they reached the safety of Evermore. Smiling to himself Brendan took his goblet of ale and took a mighty swig. The dancing and entertainment continued deep into the night and it was well past midnight when Shannon finally stood up and asked to be brought back to their hut where by now beds and water to wash were set up. Her head spinning from all that ale Shannon lay down and fell asleep.