Discovery

While Lady Sophia's group races to Albyia, Muld and Syndi prepare to explore the island.

9.

Discovery

 

In the common room of the Airship Haroldris Rex, the crew of the royal ship sat eating and drinking as they watched with great interest their three elven passengers.    One was a tall blonde woman with a military air about her, who was playing chess with an equally tall Drow man, while his heavily pregnant dark elven wife sat nearby attempting to locate someone with a large crystal ball as she nervously chain-smoked Dart’loxinchu cigarettes.

“Any luck?”  Deborah called over to Sophia who looked around the edge of the crystal ball and shook her head with a frown.

“Nothing so far, but I’ve switched strategies; I’m trying to see the commanding officers of each Imperial legion, as I’m sure there are several legions invading Albyia.”

“That won’t show you Muld and Syndi,”  Deborah replied.

“Probably not, but they may have captured them.   It’s a long shot, but I don’t know how else to see anything on that island.”

“The elves there are said to be led by Druids �" what if you tried to see one of the Druid masters?”

“I don’t know any of their names, so how would I channel the crystal to find them?”

Deborah sighed, “Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t work any better, huh?    What if you just try for the pool �" if it is magical, it might act as a scrying device as water is often used in scrying.”

“That’s a good idea, but I’d have to have a name to channel it too.”

Deborah thought for a moment, “Try Mórálach’s  Pool �" if any of the elves there call it that, it might be descriptive enough to activate the crystal ball.”

“Okay, it’s worth a try,”   Sophia put her cigarette between her lips then waved her hands in front of the crystal with her eyes closed and her mind thinking Mórálach’s  Pool.   For a few seconds nothing happened, but then, very slowly, as if appearing through a dense fog, an image appeared.

“Hey!   I think I’m getting something!”   She called to her husband and Deborah.    They immediately jumped up and rushed over to stand behind her as the image cleared.

“Look, it’s a pool!”   Deborah exclaimed, “But it is foggy �" is the image just not coming in clear, Sophia, or is that the condition at the site?”

“The fog is there �" but look, the fog is moving up the shoreline!”   They all leaned in closer to examine the image.

“I see some shapes in the fog,”  Khord said, “See the shadows �" human shaped.”

“Or elven,”  Sophia added, “It could be them.    Now perhaps I can zero in on them, if that is who we are seeing.”

Sophia chanted a focusing cantrip, speaking Muld’s name while gesturing to the indistinct shapes in her crystal ball.

The image in the crystal ball shifted, showing a ghost-like image of Muld, mostly concealed by an arcane fog.  He turned and looked to a figure behind him, and Syndi could be seen briefly behind him.

“That’s them!”  Sophia announced, “They are definitely at Mórálach’s  Pool.    Now I’ll use another cantrip, giving the terms as Mórálach’s  Pool in the middle of Albyia Island.   By doing this, we’ll find where they are, as if I call it that and the pool is not in Albyia, it will remain blank, but if the pool is in Albyia, it will show the pool, using the exact coordinates of the spell description.”

“Brilliant idea!”   Deborah said as the Drow Sorceress began another focusing cantrip.

Everyone fell silent until her spell completed and the crystal ball’s image returned to the first view of the pool.

“Success!”  Sophia shouted, “The Focusing cantrip verified it.    Muld and Syndi are on Albyia.”

“I’ll have the captain notify the other airships in our convoy,”   Khord jumped up and rushed out to find the man.

“Now all we have to do is sit back and wait three days until we arrive.”   Deborah sighed, knowing that it would be an anxious period of time.

 

***

 

It was a long wait for Syndi and Muld until darkness arrived.    Three times that afternoon, men came into the tent looking for something, but they never stayed long and none of them had any clue that there were two elves hiding behind one of the larger crates.

Finally it was entirely dark and Muld asked his fiancée, “Are you ready to try to slip off into the woods?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” She replied somewhat hesitantly, “But an unknown forest at night is not appealing to me.”

“Nor is it to me, but the only way we’re going to get back home is to find a port and stowaway or pay a ship captain to take us back to our part of the world.”

“It seems hopeless, doesn’t it?”

“Never lose hope, my dear, we don’t kn-“  Muld stopped in mid-sentence as shouts of alarm suddenly filled the encampment.

Muld and Syndi froze, looking at each other in alarm as they listened to the sounds throughout the camp.

Men were yelling and shouting, there were a few screams and the sounds of projectiles hitting the sides of tents or finding living targets.

“They’re trying to rescue the old man!”   A soldier yelled to his companions as they ran past the tent where Muld and Syndi hid.

 

Something began to hit the top of their tent.    It wasn’t arrows that were striking the tent, and whatever they were, they were not penetrating the canvas, but were sliding down the sides.    Yet after a few moments, the smell of burning fabric verified their fear.   

“We’ve got to get out of here,”  Muld told Syndi, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the tent flap, “We don’t know who’s attacking or from which direction, so let’s try to get to the pool.”

“Muld, what about the prisoners?”

“Whoever is attacking is trying to rescue at least one of them; we need to worry about ourselves.”

Before she could respond, Muld flung the tent flap back and again taking her hand, stepped out into the camp.   The torchlight did little to show them what was happening or who was attacking.    As soon as they had taken a handful of steps, a group of panicked auxiliary legionaries raced around the corner of a neighboring tent, and, mistaking them in the dark for either fellow soldiers or some of the camp slaves, yelled out, “Run for your lives!”

Syndi and Muld had no option but to spin on their heels and run, or else be stampeded by the terrified men.

They ran as fast as they could, past burning tents and men running in all directions, with the group of scared legionaries on their heels.    Arrows began whistling through the air, one nicking Muld’s cheek and several striking some of the soldiers behind them.

They rounded a corner into the main “square” of the tent camp.    Almost half of the tents were burning and there were scattered bodies strewn everywhere.

Taking advantage of the open area, Muld pulled Syndi toward what looked like a large make-shift cage in the very center of the camp.

“Muld, that’s probably where they keep the prisoners!”   Syndi exclaimed and as she spoke, a volley of arrows began to whiz around them as if those attacking the Imperial camp were trying to keep them away from the cage-like confinement cells.

The panicked group of soldiers had turned another direction, leaving them more-or-less alone in the open section of the camp (except for dead bodies and an occasional frantic legionnaire wildly racing past).

An arrow nicked Syndi’s forearm and another one hit Muld in the upper leg, though thankfully his stolen legionnaire pants somehow kept it from doing more then prick his skin.

They sprinted toward the cages, mainly to conceal themselves from the unseen forces shooting arrows at them.   As Muld had hoped, those attacking ceased firing at them as they knelt in front of the cages, probably out of fear of hitting the very prisoner they were attempting to rescue.

“We don’t want to stay here long, Syndi, but for the time being we’re safe.”

“We’ve got to free the prisoners, Muld.”

Muld nodded, hoping that by doing so, the archers attacking them would cease their assault.

Glancing at the cages, he found a chain and simple lock, so immediately began chanting a basic Unlock spell.   Syndi followed suit, working on the lock of the second cell.     The spells did not take long and soon both locks fell off and they slipped the chains away from the cell doors.    They hadn’t wasted any time trying to peer through the makeshift wood bars of the cage at the prisoners, but as they pulled the cage doors open, they were finally able to see them.

 

Each cell held one prisoner, both of them firmly bound hand and foot with thick ropes, and then gagged with a piece of wood and rope cord.   They were sprawled uncomfortably on hay strewn across the floor of each cell and both had been beaten and mistreated.

The first one was an elven man with wild brown hair and penetrating blue eyes who seemed to stare right through them as Muld worked on cutting his bounds with the legionnaire sword.    He was older, with a hint of grey in his wild mane and the gentle wrinkles that had marked elves of advanced age, before the Burning Tree dream from Yesh that had told all elves that they would not grow old from that day forward.    This man’s signs of aging told Muld and Syndi that he had been of advanced years before that worldwide dream was given.

As soon as the ropes binding his hands were cut, he began struggling with his gag as Muld sawed at the cords on his feet.

Meanwhile, Syndi checked on the other prisoner.

She was surprised in what she found.     It was curled up in a fetal position, but from the long tail, small green scales, and reptilian lower legs, she knew it was not a human or elf.    As she touched its shoulder, the creature shivered and drew back a long neck that ended in a head somewhat like an alligator or large lizard.    It too had a gag in its mouth and it looked at the Losasidhe princess with very expressionate brown eyes that hinted at intelligence, gentleness and pain.

“I’m here to set you free,”  She spoke to the creature, which she assumed to be one of the Lizardfolk of the southern swamps.    Syndi was unsure if it understood her or not, but it uncurled itself from its fetal position and held up its bound arms to her.

Syndi gasped in surprise when she glanced down at its nude form.   The creature was a female, with large swollen breasts and a thrust out belly that obviously showed she was very pregnant.

“Muld, come here!”   She called to him as she worked on the Lizard-woman’s bonds.

“Oh…”  Muld said when he saw her, then to Syndi, “She’s one of the Lizardfolk.”

“I didn’t know they nursed their young or carried babies… aren’t they reptiles?”

“No, that is a common misconception about them.   They are warm-blooded like us and as you can see, they carry their babies and nurse them.    Yet they don’t have hair and have reptilian features.”

“Are they dangerous?”  Syndi asked, hesitating to hear Muld’s reply.

“Not usually.   They don’t eat humans as is commonly reported.    They are omnivores and are very shy around people, but are certainly able to defend themselves.    They possess average intelligence but they can’t speak our languages.   Their language is a series of squeaks and chirps.    They can understand our languages if they are exposed to them, however.”   Muld leaned in close to her and spoke slowly in common, “We’re friends �" do you understand me?   We’re here to help you escape.”

The Lizard-woman nodded and Syndi resumed sawing on her restraints as Muld returned to the older Elven man.

He was free by the time Muld returned and he squatted on the hay of the cage rubbing his wrists and eyeing Muld suspiciously.

“We need to get out of here,”  He told the elf, hoping he would understand the Common tongue, “Someone is attacking the camp and we’re lucky that they haven’t shot at us.”

The man stopped rubbing his wrists and suddenly looked upward, out of the cage.   Muld turned to follow his gaze and at that moment the man kicked him in the chin.    Muld fell back against the door of the cage, yelling out a warning to Syndi.   But before she could respond, the elven man began chanting something in a language unknown to them and a few seconds later he disappeared.   In his place was a large owl and it screeched fiercely and flew straight toward the cage door and out to freedom.    In a moment it had disappeared into the night.

“Muld, are you alright?”

“Yeah, just get the Lizard-woman free and let’s get out of here.   I’ll bet that man was a Druid and that it’s his people that are attacking the camp.   With him out of the way, they may resume shooting arrows at us, so let’s get to some cover!”

Syndi quickly cut the bonds on the creature’s legs and she pulled free the gag on her own, while rising to her feet on stiff legs.

“We’re going to run to the pool at the bottom of this hill, okay?”   Muld spoke to the Lizard-woman, who nodded passively.

“There is a hidden cave under the water, swim to it and hide if we are separated.   Do you understand?”  

Again the reptilian woman nodded.

“Syndi, are you ready?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Both of you keep your head low and run as quickly as you can straight for the pool.”

Both women nodded and Muld took a deep breath, pushed open the door to the cages and exited, protecting the entrance from being targeted by the hidden archers, “Alright, run as fast as you can!  Go!”

They both complied, rushing out of the cages so quickly that they were halfway across the open area before Muld began to run after them.    The Lizard-woman, despite her very advanced pregnancy, was amazingly quick and outdistanced Syndi.   Muld raced after them, thankful that they had taken the archers off guard.

The camp was littered with dead soldiers and burning tents, but still none of the attackers had shown themselves.

The Lizard-woman had left the confines of the camp, leaping gracefully over three dead sentries without slowing down.   Syndi kept glancing back to make sure he was following her and he motioned for her to keep going.

He was relieved when she had left the perimeter of the legionnaires’ camp and Muld was growing more and more confident as each moment passed.

But just as he left the camp area and passed into the cover of the overhanging trees of the pathway to the pool, suddenly something snagged his ankle and he fell hard.

Immediately he tried to get to his feet, but to his horror he found that a tree root was winding its way like a snake around his ankles.

“Muld!”   Syndi called from far ahead, hearing him fall, though it was too dark for her to have seen it.

“Get to the pool!”  He yelled as branches of the tree that had grabbed him began to animate, grabbing and clawing at him.

He hacked at them with the stolen Imperial short sword and managed to free his arm.   But it wasn’t enough.

A branch as thick as his upper leg swung around and struck him in the head.     Darkness rushed over him and he prayed that Syndi and the Lizard-woman had escaped.    A Druid cast a spell to animate this tree, he thought as he lost consciousness.