KEEL THE DEMONSLAYER

2 - Rendezvous at Tleos

When I saw strange people and strange things...

The ship was docked in that huge, smelly city. We were at Tleos for two weeks and I was still trying to get used to it.

"Captain" called one of the sailors.

"Captain!" he insisted. I was fingering my scars, distracted.

"Captain Keel, are you all right?"

It was only then that I realized the sailor was calling me. After the battle only a few ships remained. Most of the fleet sank and many officers perished. Only four ships and three captains remained. Zidaios took the fleet's command and because of my performance in the fight against Lord Xastzar he appointed me captain of one of the remaining vessels.

"Captain" repeated the sailor. "Admiral Lazeth requests your presence. A council meeting was hastily convened".

"So soon?" I thought, "Such a meeting should only occur within two or three days."

"What happened?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing sir".

"So let us go".

I got off the ship and joined Tleos' port guard, our escort. In that city, elves were tolerated but not well seen. The wounds of the past war against the humans had not yet healed. We elves also had no love for humans, especially those from the eastern civilization. But increasingly, the war against the demonic forces was cooling off that disagreement between the two species.

We crossed bustling streets under unfriendly gazes, insults and protests. It was my first contact with a human town and I noticed that the buildings looked rough, but seemed somewhat robust. An old city filled with temples, Tleos was founded more than three thousand years ago. Soon, we reached the governor's palace, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. It was a huge construction with very high ceilings decorated with art, weapons, armor and colorful frescoes filled with figures of an eccentric style according to our people's aesthetic sense.

In the antechamber of the council room, I was impressed to find a huge mirror. Large mirrors like that were a rarity and I had a chance to contemplate my image for a while. This memory of my image as a young man still with a soft heart is good to describe myself. It was taller than most humans. My eyes were big and brown and my nose was thin and delicate like my mother's. My hair was long and curly like my father's, as I remember from my childhood. My skin was tanned from sun exposure and I realized that my expression was serious. Many people I met during my life told me that it was rare to see me smiling. My eyebrows were a bit thick; this was an unusual attribute among elves and contributed to my unsmiling face. My clothes I inherited from one of the captains who died fighting against the hordes. They gave me a distinctive appearance, unlike before when I used to wear simple sailors' clothes. I wore Khaki pants, brown boots, a thick belt of the same color and a white jacket. My neck was covered with an orange scarf. Over the head an elegant captain's hat, of khaki color and details in red. I could not avoid feeling some vanity; I stood contemplating myself for some time while waiting for the preparation of the boardroom.

From behind me came a hideous creature and my first impulse was to draw my sword. However, I was unarmed. Knives and swords were left with the guard at the entrance of the palace. For a moment, I saw it as a demon. It was a strange a bipedal figure sleek and with a scaly skin. His eyes were cold and expressionless and it had a long swinging tail and sharp claws. It resembled a winged demon, except by its scaly skin of blue and green stripes. The humans called them lizards, but they called themselves Inikutz. Before the war, their race was unknown, but many strange races gathered in Tleos to discuss an alliance against the invading hordes.