Archives: Search for Azala
Chapter 13: Search for Air
The trio walked into the desert, following the series of prints that gnome had laid out for them. It looked like three people, and none of the footsteps fit Air’s small feet. They had to be carrying her. However, not far from the road, the prints disappeared. There was a large, square impression the sand, edged by a deeper sunken line.
“What is this?” Kitsa wondered aloud. Not risking to test it with her own body, she drew her sword and stabbed it into the sand. There was the heavy sound of the blade hitting wood. A trap door?
“Estas was right,” Orion said quietly. His eyes scanned the desert for any associates waiting for them, but who knew if the sands held anyone. It was an environment Orion knew little of. Kneeling down, he brushed the sand away from the spot until he found himself a handle. “A clever location,” he muttered as he grabbed hold of the cast-metal ring. Pulling as hard as his muscles would allow, the door would not budge. “Hmmm...”
Orion cleared his throat once more. “Gnome, kindly spirits of the earth at our feet, do us but another favor. Open up this passage way, so that we may enter into your homelands...”
Gnome did indeed respond. Dark hands began to bend and break the trap door, slowly breaking them off of their hinges and pushing the pieces aside before disappearing. What was left was an entrance covered in splinters of wood. “Watch your hands,” Orion said, mostly to Kitsa, as he began to climb down.
Kitsa followed Orion down into the tunnel, followed by Lanir. The tunnel was cool and dark, a stark contrast to the desert above. There was no lighting within, but Kitsa could smell the lingering smoke of a torch. Someone had passed through here before them.
“Will o’ Wisp, light our way,” Kitsa summoned. A tiny ball of light joined the trio, waiting for Kitsa to led it onwards.
Orion frowned at Will o’ Wisp’s appearance. It would attract attention and he was somewhat planning on a stealthy search. “Is there a plan you had in mind?” Orion asked Kitsa quietly.
“I do not have a plan,” Kitsa admitted. “We will just have to track them and see what lies in these tunnels to form a plan. Do you have any ideas?”
“I...” Orion paused. The realization dawned on him that his plans involved him alone. All of them relied on stealth, invisibility, and being far away from any who could jeopardize that silent method. He was so used to being an individual that he had forgotten what it was like to work in a group. “... would have to agree with you. We should try and keep quiet. I hope these tunnels are more... intuitive than going this far was.”
Orion looked down the dark tunnel and started to lead them forward. just a five steps ahead of Kitsa, where the light started to die. His eyes were scanning the darkness ahead when he felt a tug at his foot and he froze. “Hold it!” he whispered harshly. The silver-haired elf pulled back to release the tension and knelt. A trip rope. “Watch out for traps... Kitsa, stick close. We’ll need the light to identify them before they do something more than knock us over...”
Kitsa nodded to Orion and fell in place behind him. Silently, Lanir fell back behind her. All three of them were rangers and likely skilled at stalking silently. “I can see it,” Kitsa said softly, pointing out the trip wire Orion had nearly pulled. “Be careful,” she whispered to Lanir.
The tunnel was fairly straight forward, it had once led to a prosperous city before sand and time took it from the world above. The kidnappers, Air’s fiancé and the three thugs he had hired were making great haste in fear that they were being followed. One of the three thugs was once a proud trapper before times and debts forced him into the line of work he was currently in. Every fifteen to twenty feet he set a trap, just small tripwires attached to carefully concealed spikes, discarded crossbow bolts, and the like. While even an idiot would be able to see these tripwires, crossing them would slow any likely pursuers enough for the five of them to escape far enough into the ‘Sand Wolves’ thieves guild lair, located in the heart of the old city, and still quite a ways away.
Orion instantly picked up the pattern of the trip wires as they pushed onward through the cave. “These wires are all over the place,” Orion whispered back. “Keep your eyes in front of you.” Stepping over another wire, he groaned. Whoever they were facing was not the most creative person he had ever met. The pacing of the traps was something the elf almost got comfortable with. “Keep moving. This cave seems to go on forever...”
Kitsa and Lanir, both proficient rangers, were able to spot the traps along with Orion. However, since he was in the lead, he noticed most of them.
As they hurried along, Lanir, who had been wrapped up in his worries of his missing sister, failed to lift his foot high enough and accidentally tripped one of the wires. Something sharp suddenly pierced his calf and the half-elf gave a yelp of pain before falling to the floor.
“Lanir!” Kitsa gasped, spinning around. The young half-elf was examining his leg, a crossbow bolt run through it. Kitsa knelt beside him to examine the wound. “You were not careful enough,” she chastened him.
“Yeah, I know,” Lanir said with a groan.
“This is a bad wound, you should not go on,” Kitsa said with a frown.
“But Air...”
Kitsa cut him off, “You are no use to Air if you can’t walk or run! Hold still,” the quarter-elf said, then braced Lanir’s leg so she could remove it. She pinned his foot between her knees and placed one hand on his knee. “Bite something,” she told Lanir.
The half-elf put his arm to his mouth and clamped his teeth down on the glove. Kitsa then began to slowly pull the shaft out of his calf, following the trajectory of which it had entered. There was no fletching on the end to tear his flesh worse.
Once the bolt had been removed, Kitsa tossed it aside and checked the wound. Lanir, breathing heavily, pushed her hand away. “Go,” he said. “Help Air, I can take care of myself from here.”
Kitsa paused for a moment, looking at Lanir with heavy concern in her eyes. She honored his wishes though. They would have to pass this way later and they could pick him up. Kitsa had no doubt that they would return.
“Let us continue then,” she said as she stood, turning to Orion.
Orion flinched at the sound of the bolt, and again when Kitsa ripped it out. Though the act of war never had affected him, he could imagine the pain of Lanir. Orion thought the idea of leaving Lanir alone in a cave would be the death of him, but it was his request, and Air was still ahead. There was nothing to be done there.
The silver elf felt the urge to hurry after that. Though his eyes were keen on the ropes, Orion was moving at a jogging speed. His mind was far ahead as they got closer and closer to something that looked like a light. It was on Air and the men he would probably have to kill in order to save her...
“We’re coming up on something,” Orion whispered. “Are you ready?”
Kitsa regretfully left Lanir and hurried after Orion. She kept at his heels, bounding over the tripwires along the way. A pattern seemed to develop in their placement—near or around every fifteen or twenty feet. As they reached the exit, Kitsa went to grab her sword, but momentarily considered her bow. “Wait...” she said. “Let us see if we can peek out so we know what is there.”
The darker ranger approached the door and examined it. Pushing it slightly, she found that it wasn’t locked, and she was able to see a run down sandstone village around them. There was no one in sight, but it seemed as if the trapdoor opened in the middle of the street.
“It seems as if there is no option but to go and hope that no one is watching this door,” Kitsa said.
Orion nodded. He had considered using invisibility spirits or earth spirits to see if the area was clear, but he only used them when it was truly necessary. So he slid to the side where the hinges were and pushed himself up against the wall. With one hand on the hilt of a dagger and the other on the wood of the door, he slowly pushed it further open and waited...
No one was bothering watching the trap door to the underground city. It was a ghost town regardless. The Thieves’ Guild kept themselves deep within the confines of the underground city and the kidnappers were making great haste now that they were out of the tunnel. Their footprints marked their passage clearly towards the Thieves’ Guild hall in the dust and sand.
When there was no reaction to the opening of the door, Kitsa peeked out. She saw nothing, and decided to risk stepping out. Cautiously, she pushed the door open further, her sword half-drawn. Still no reaction. The quarter-elf relaxed momentarily and pushed the door back. “We seem to be safe,” she told Orion. Glancing down the street, she saw a path of footprints, however.
“This is getting to be too easy,” Orion muttered, stepping out into the doorway, scanning the path ahead as best he could. “I have yet to decide whether they are very intelligent or very inexperienced. But I don’t hear anything. Keep a look out for any movement, or anything else. They left their passage clear and, even if it is a trap, we will find Air at the end of it.”
“What brings an elf of the green and a woman to this lair of the unseen?” called out a booming voice from what seemed like everywhere. “The two of you have trespassed upon the land of the Sand Wolves, and are unwelcome to dwell any longer. State your affiliation and business or be destroyed.” The sudden presence of many eyes were on Orion and Kitsa. After a slight pause the messenger repeated herself in elven.
Orion pushed Kitsa back behind the door and swung himself around back to safety in case any had ranged weapons were aimed at them. His face went deadly serious, but he did not hesitate in response. “My affiliation is my own,” he yelled back. “Kitsa, talk to them,” he whispered. To himself, he began to chant his pleas to Gnome, asking to inform him of where these Sand Wolves were and if Air was among them...
Kitsa’s mind was blank for a moment when Orion told her to talk. They needed the cover though, it didn’t really matter what she talked about. “Please do not hurt us! We are only travelers. A sandstorm hit us and we found the door to this tunnel, so we followed it here,” Kitsa said, loudly explaining what was obviously a blatant lie. While she talked, she drew an arrow from her quiver and nocked it on her bow. “All we need is a place to stay for the night while we recover from the ravages of the storm. We will tell no one who you are, just give us a place to rest and we will leave in the morning.”
The main voice and about fifty others burst out laughing. “A sandstorm? Sylph is calm upstairs, my dear, but that was a nice try. A truly ‘lost’ traveler would have stayed in the tunnel and waited out the storm. Do not try to insult our intelligence,” the voice boomed. “We’d let you stay here, but unfortunately we have a strong policy against those who attempt to summon spirits in our presence.” A young half-elven woman came into view from behind a building. “However, since you two seem strong, I, Valkyria, will take you to the boss. ‘Tis best if you don’t resist. I’d hate for you two to be sniped off by your own kind, of a sorts.”
Orion stopped communing with Gnome and wished him away. They were quite in tune with the spirit world, it seemed. But so was Orion. If he wished, he could have made a pact with a king spirit long ago. He had the gift and would not hesitate to use it, even in the activities no proper elf considered, if need be.
Orion glanced to Kitsa, his eyes determined, yet in thought. “Give me a guarantee,” Orion called smoothly. He had dealt with these types before. False displays of kindness had been fatal in the past. “Give me a reason to trust your intentions. We are not interested in a fight. Have your men leave their hiding places. Have them come into the light. We both know you have the advantage.” Orion said all of this while still looking at her. Despite the seriousness of the words he spoke, he managed to smile a little to comfort her. “Unnock your bow, but don’t keep that arrow too far away,” he whispered.
“Sure. You have my word as a thief,” Valkyria said. She gave a sharp whistle and the fifty-odd human bandits came out of hiding. Many of them were no older than twenty, but each had the look of a hard life etched into their sand-worn faces. Each wore a sand colored poncho and hood that allowed them to blend rather well into their surroundings. The majority of them were bow users, as suspected, but a rare few had blowguns which they now held at their side. “I’ve shown you mine,” Valkyria stated. “I trust that’s enough of a guarantee for you.”
Orion pushed off of the wall and into the doorway. All of his weapons remained in their places, though his hand hung off the handle of one of his daggers. “It will do,” Orion replied calmly as he stepped into the light, away from the door. “We’re ready.”
Kitsa put her arrow back in her quiver, but held onto her bow. She could quickly pull it out again, but there was no way to appear nonthreatening while holding onto it. The quarter-elf stepped out after Orion.
“Good to hear.” Valkyria motioned for the men to disperse and looked towards the center of town. “Follow me, you two. It’s just a fair bit of a hike to our guild ‘quarters.”
Orion nodded as he approached the ring leader. “We are on a tight schedule, so speed would be appreciated,” Orion said evenly. “Lead on.”
Valkyria took Orion and Kitsa deeper into the underground city to an abandoned keep that showed signs of recent use. Their trek also coincided with the tracks of Air’s kidnappers taking them straight to the heart of the city. “Mind your manners in front of the master.” Valkyria warned. “He’s a little hard of hearing on one side due to losing his ear, so keep to his left. Annunciate clearly, and keep the conversation pretty concise. He’s not really of the patient lot, but he’s got a softness for elf-kin.” Valkyria giggled and framed her ears with her hands. “It’s the ears, methinks.”
Orion’s eyes narrowed at the ear comment ever so slightly, but he said nothing. “Anything else I should know?” After hearing the comment about ears, Kitsa, as subtly as possible, tucked her hair behind her ears to show their pointed tips.
Valkyria was glad that they at least one of them listened to her advice, although the male one seemed a little perturbed about the whole affair. “This way,” she said, leading the two of them on. She brought them into a large audience chamber filled with stolen goods and a few patrolling guardsmen. The thieves were better prepared and more alert than what would be expected of a rag-tag group of humans. In a few cages along the wall, slaves and exotic beasts were chained and caged in opposition.
Sitting in a grandiose chair was a one eared man, grizzly looking and had a half bestial look about him. Close at hand was a large well-crafted falchion, bare bladed and excellently kept. His hard gaze fell upon Valkyria, Orion and Kitsa and softened. “Valkyria, I see you brought two elf-kin friends. What do two from the forests come to the desert for? Illicit vacation, or vocation? Have you come to this den of sand wolves to browse our wares, or buy back something you lost?” he said. Even though he had meant to soften his voice it came out as a massive booming growl, echoing due to the grand acoustics of the chamber. Valkyria gave the floor to Kitsa and Orion, letting them do the talking for themselves. She’d see if their story changed from the one they gave her at the entrance.
“We seek no wares and we will not be purchasing anything,” Orion stated smoothly, his voice both stern and gentle at the same time. “We seek a girl who was taken this way today against her will. We tracked her abductors here. If it is your sand wolves that have taken her, then we shall be taking her back. If not, then we wish only to follow the trail of those who did.”
“Oh,” the leader said with a crestfallen look. “The little half-elf girl? We assisted in that capture,” he said blandly, scratching at his bushy beard. “But we were paid for that job, and we couldn’t just give you the girl back without making restitutions to the person who hired us. Besides it being bad business, I don’t think you have any claim to the girl. She’s his fiancée, and I doubt the two of you are her parents,” he sighed. “Unless a blood relative can vouch for her unwillingness, I’ll chalk it up to her having cold feet and leave it at that.”
“Is she in this place or not?” Orion asked, ignoring what the thief had to say.
The bandit leader was ignored by Orion, making the large man slightly infuriated. “She’s here,” he said in a low growl.
Valkyria set her jaw, and stepped between Orion and the leader. “Sir, a moment please. I’m sure that the elf-kin just forgot his manners is all. I’ll remind them once more about watching their tone before you decide to do anything rash.”
“Very well,” The leader growled. “I’ll give you a minute.”
Valkyria turned her cold eyes on Orion. “Are you stupid? I told you to mind your damn manners. This is the last warning you’ll get. Another rudeness like that again and I’ll have no chance to stop what will happen to you. Mind your damn manners or have your woman talk for you.”
Kitsa turned a piercing gaze of her own on Valkyria. “I cannot say that I would be anymore polite than he is,” she said. “Air asked for the protection of our party from this ‘fiancé’, whom she refers to as an ex-fiancé. She has obviously broken the arrangement and was taken against her will,” Kitsa said. “We may not be blood relatives, but she is in our care.”
Valkyria sighed. “According to our laws, we can’t take that into account. Listen, either the two of you get nice and chummy and follow the rules or you’re both going to end up dead. Now I’m not going to say this again. This is your final warning: behave yourselves or you won’t live to see her,” she warned. Inwardly she sighed. If these two had any business sense at all, they’d offer to buy back the girl instead of posturing stupidly.
Kitsa glanced to Orion, unsure of what to do, and hoping he had an answer. Perhaps they would have to play along. They were only two amongst many...
Orion was not a fan of these so-called rules. And he was an inch away from showing this fool what he thought of them. But the needs of Air had a tendency to bypass even his most irate desires. “Then tell me what I must do to retrieve the girl,” Orion replied swiftly. “What can supersede your deal with this man?”
The silver elf, perhaps one of the most powerful shamans of Seri’s party with the exception of the high elves themselves, had no desire to deal with them and would have rather ransomed the leader’s life with the command of a spirit he doubted any there could match than bargain. He expected a demand of money, something Orion had little of and he doubted Kitsa had much of either. After all, Kitsa and Orion had been conveniently sent out before Seri had paid either of them for their services... Already, his fingers were touching the handle of his silver daggers. Though he would sacrifice both of them, being stripped of the weapons he was most proficient in was not a satisfying end...
“Well there’s two ways to go about getting her back,” Valkyria stated. “The first is probably the best, and least costly, if a blood relative of hers were to speak on her behalf it supersedes any dealings we would have with the betrothed. Of course, only being the two of you, I’m sure that it’d be kinda hard for you two, as neither of you are blood relatives.” She scratched her head solemnly.
“The second is an outright pay out. I’d suggest against this however, as the guy had a lot of money to throw around. The final, and time honored, traditional way to gain her back is a one on one fist-fight between one of the two of you and the one of the opposing party. A lot has changed since the old days though, and we tend not to make it to the death anymore.” Valkyria smiled. “We’re not a barbarous lot, after all. As always, to the winner goes the spoils, in this case, the girl...and ten percent of the betting pot.”
Kitsa’s eyes suddenly lit up as she realized something. “We do have a blood relative. Lanir, her brother, he is in the tunnels!” she said.
Valkyria laughed. “Alright. Would you like us to send someone to fetch him, or do you want to do it yourselves?”
“Orion, I will go,” Kitsa said, then looked back to Valkyria. “I need someone strong, however. He is injured and cannot walk, so someone must carry him.”
Valkyria nodded. She called over a young broad shouldered man wearing the colors of the guild. “This is Ox. Like his namesake, he’s reliable and a good steady lifter. Unfortunately, he’s a little slow, physically speaking. It’s the bulk of his muscles and all that nonsense,” Valkyria introduced. “We’ll have our surgeon look at the injury when he’s here,” she offered.
Turning to the bandit leader she called out clearly: “Hey, boss! This girl’s gonna go get some blood relative of the elf-kin girl’s.”
“Alright,” the grizzled man said, taking a seat in his throne again. “Valkyria, take the male elf-kin to the room where he can be comfortable.”
“Right-o boss!” Valkyria said giving a big thumbs up. “When you’re ready, just tell me, and I’ll take you to a sitting room,” she said to Orion.
“It will not be fast return as it is,” Kitsa said with a frown. “I will have to disarm your traps as I go. Come along then, Ox,” the quarter elf said, waving for the brute to follow her. Confident, but alert, Kitsa left the guild hall.
Orion had been sketchy on the details of several of the members of his own party, since he wasn’t one to share and had little dealings. Though Lanir and Air may have very well been relatives, he wouldn’t have made the connection any time soon. Kitsa’s quick thinking saved him a fist fight, something he could only hope his agility would have dragged him through if he fought.
The idea of Kitsa going off with a thief alone didn’t necessarily agree with his sensibilities either, but he had no place being that protective of someone else who was capable. “Very well,” was all he had to say.
“This way,” Valkyria said, guiding him to a small sitting room. It was lavishly furnished, and obviously used as a guest room. “If you’ll just wait here, it’ll take just a little while for your friend and Ox to return with the elf-kin girl’s sibling.”
Orion nodded, finding a place by the door and sitting down without getting comfortable. He sat straight up, not even leaning back on the plush surroundings. He was on edge. Kitsa being separated and alone with a thief, the entire situation with Air, and his presence in a den of wolves did nothing to help it.
Valkyria slipped down into the chair opposite of Orion. “So what brings you, your girlfriend, the girl and the girl’s sibling together? Just happened to run into each other, searching for treasure, hunting down a rogue king spirit?” she asked, showing genuine interest. “If you tell me, I’ll ignore the fact that you lied to me at the entrance to our hideout.”
“Simple mercenary work,” Orion replied disinterestedly, choosing not to inform the thief of any more. “The girl was found by chance and traveled with us. When she was taken, our employers requested that we secure her release.” Valkyria’s snide remarks Orion gave no merit to, but he didn’t choose to respond to them either. He also neglected to mention the fact that he was personally concerned about Air and felt slightly responsible for her.
Valkyria pouted. “Not very sociable for an elf, are you?” she stated. “I figured all elves were like my father, highly sociable, especially with the ladies,” she mused aloud. “Or is it perhaps that your feelings for the woman who was with you are...hmm, budding?”
Orion looked away from the thief woman. “Now you overstep your bounds,” Orion replied coolly.
“I’m sorry,” Valkyria apologized frankly. “Your friends should be back shortly.”
Though Valkyria’s apology seemed genuine, he gave her no credit for it. Many thieves could act. The way she was being friendly was no more than a violation of her true place: his antagonist. Orion thumbed the handle of his dagger absentmindedly, the act born of nerves. Orion was waiting for their betrayal. He expected it and was waiting for the sign. In his mind, Valkyria and her ilk could be no more friendly than the berries of the nightshade plant sweet. Perhaps it seemed nice on the outside, but their cores would always be toxic...
The elf remained silent. He could only hope this manner to be settled swiftly.
