Valadel

Chapter XVII

    Gallador sat upon an old stool, sharpening his sword with his whetstone. With each stroke, the edge became sharper, and small sparks flew from the blade. Edwin sat next to him, letting out a sigh on his way down.

"Well...where do we begin?" He said to the ranger

"I haven't the slightest idea. All I can think of now is seeing Siegfried's head on the headsman's block." His fury was almost visible. It was him who brought Seigfried along, it was him who put them in this situation. And it would be him who'd order his death.

"Tytus says there is only one remaining rowboat....that is not enough room to seat the rest of us."

"How many have we lost? How many remain?" Gallador asked.

    Edwin again sighed. "There's you, myself, the rest of my squadron, which is Balamar and Miles. There's the rest of your rangers which is...Tytus. There's also that stowaway. So that leaves Jazmyn, the old Magus Irving and that miner, Markus. By the Gods, how did this happen." He rubbed the crown of his head with his hand. "I was never fit to lead this expedition...I've lost almost half of our group."

    "Unfit to lead? Edwin, you're the leader of the Field Squadron. You can't be in that position if you're unfit to lead." Said Gallador, trying to reassure the knight.

    "I...I suppose you're right. This situation, I don't know what to make of it. Thank you Gallador, I appreciate the kind words. I'd be lost without your help. I'll see to it we both make it out of here."

    Gallador squeezed his shoulder. "Of course we will. Now, I'm going to speak with the stowaway boy. He seems to know the most about this place, and I want to squeeze more from him."

Gallador departed from his stool and made his way across the old room they had made into their shelter. He tried hard not to think about Danticus' and Cristomir's deaths. They would only make him weep. He had known the boys so long they seemed like his own kin.

In the corner of the room sat the young stowaway. His hood was down, revealing his shaggy blonde hair and his odd, oval shaped ears. He sat down next to him, causing the boy to raise his head.

"Mind if I speak with you?" Gallador asked.

"I don't care. Got nothing better to do."

"Right then. What's your name again?"

"Gabrielen."

"Well then, Gabrielen, I'm sure our current predicament is not lost on you. Those things out there, they're what stands between us and our escape. And that's where I need you."

Gabrielen scoffed. "What could you possibly need me for?"

"You seem to know more about this castle than you're letting on, about what happened here. Do not try and argue that, just tell me what I need to know, about this place, about those monsters, or anything you can. The more we learn about our enemy, the better we can combat it."

Gabrielen remained silent for several moments. "My grandfather used to tell me stories about a place that was sunken by the ones before...the elves...in order to escape the men."

    "Yes, yes, you've already told us this," said Gallador.

    Gabrielen snickered. "Well, anyway, he says the place was called Valadel or something of the sorts. It belonged to a great elven dynasty, the Levellan Dynasty. But the kingdom was cursed before they were able to sink it, by rogue elves. That's all I can recall."

    "What do you mean cursed? As in...magic?" Gallador asked.

    Gabrielen shrugged. "I suppose so. I don't see any other way."

    "How did your grandfather know all this?"

    Gabrielen shook his head. "He just does. He never told me, and I never cared to inquire." He slouched his head and his hand went to scratch the back of his neck. It was this when Gallador had noticed his ears. He craned his head to the side.

    "Your ears...they look odd."

    Gabrielen nodded, exasperated. "I've been told that my entire life. I don't know why they're that way, but my mother had the same ears. It's just...something strange about my family."

    Gallador sent the idea away. "Well, thank you for speaking with me, Gabrielen. I'll leave you with your thoughts." Gabrielen nodded and went back to staring into nothingness. Gallador walked back over to Edwin.

    "Edwin," he said, sitting next to the commander, "I think those things, the monsters out there...I think they're elves."

    Edwin's eyebrows rose up forehead. "Elves?" The word sounded foreign and vicious coming out his mouth.

    "Yes, elves. The boy over there, Gabrielen, says his grandfather would tell him stories about some...some elven kingdom called Vedel or Voledel, or something of the sorts, that was cursed and swallowed into the ocean...I think that's the curse, those things out there. They were turned into monsters..."

    "Gallador, that's...that's insane...couldn't it be that the curse was the ocean swallowing the kingdom? I mean, of course the elves could wield magic, we all know the stories...but to turn people into those things out there? It's too far fetched for me."

    "As if this entire situation isn't?"

    Edwin dropped his head into his hands. "Leave that to the scholars..."

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