Ember Wind: Starlight City

Saving Graces

Several hours passed and the group rotated the night watches. The concept of eternal night didn't dawn on them until after two full rotations. Night watch rotations often lasted 3 hours per person. It proved to be a very long and boring night.
   
Falcher leaned up against a thick oak tree. "Hey Mir," he said quietly.
   
Mir sat up and yawned. "What is it Fall? It's not my turn again is it?"
   
"No. I don't think morning is coming. We've done two full rotations and it hasn't gotten any darker or lighter."
   
Mir looked up at the sky. "I haven't paid much attention to it. I guess it hasn't?"
   
"Do you see a tower?"
    "Nope, I see sky. A couple of clouds but no tower."
   
"Damn... I'm still trying to figure out where in hell he went."
   
"Where who?"
   
"Tang, the guy we're looking for."
   
"Oh, the quote unquote godly tank."
   
"Godly is a bit of reach."
   
"We're desperate for tanks." Mir sighed and laid back down. "The Uskor raid took out so many of us. I lost my brother in that trench."
   
"I'm sorry."
   
"Not biological, we'd been close friends for so many years we just adopted the concept of being siblings."
   
"I can't say I've had anyone close enough to have that kind of bond. Almost envy it."
   
"It was great. At least he died doing the one thing he loved."
   
"What was that?"
   
"Kicking ass like a viking. He was all dressed up for it too." Mir started to sob but as soon as she realized it, she choked her breath and stopped it. "I think it's best if I go back to sleep."
    
"Don't bother, I'm about to get everyone moving again." Falcher said, standing up and nudging Storm awake.
   
Storm grumbled and rolled onto her back. "Huh? Who got the gold card?"
   
"Wake up, something's wrong."
   
Hearing the word "wrong" snapped her awake. She blinked rapidly, "what do you something's wrong?"
   
"I'll explain once everyone is up."
   
Storm then bellowed, "ATTENTION!"
   
The other members of the group, Gelmen, Colchis and Tilamo frantically scrambled to their feet with their weapons in the wrong hands.
   
Falcher watched in awe and pulled Storm up to her feet. "I've discovered something that might be important. We've already gone through two cycles of night watch. Technically, that's well over twelve hours. Daylight should've come by now and it hasn't which leads me to a theory. There is no day here, only night."
   
Tilamo countered Falcher's statement. "That's impossible. You can't have this kind of greenery much less a fully living ecosystem under such a condition. I'm no science geek but plants need sunlight and the other zones have normal day/night cycling."
   
"This zone is different. Something, like Judas probably, is corrupting the very concept of the day/night cycle."
   
"Do we have to fix it?" Colchis inquired.
   
"Maybe. But we've been here too long now. We need to move before someone or something finds us."
   
"Falcher has a point," Storm added. "We need to move. Get your gear together and let's move."
   
The gathering of stuff was quick since they had very little with them. Storm lead the charge through the tall grass field. Hilariously enough, the grass got short quickly and broke down into a plains. They stood at the edge and looked back at the grass forest with laughter.
   
"That was a much smaller area than I thought," said Falcher.
   
"Considering how large the jungle seemed to be, I expected that to be big as well." Storm then pointed to a distant and blurred object. "Look at that. What is that?"
   
Falcher shrugged his shoulders, "dunno. The distance fog kinda makes it water like, wavy and whatnot."
   
"Gelmen thinks it a wall." Gelmen scratched the back of his head. "Perhaps tower is that way?"
   
Tilamo gave Gelmen a noogie, complimenting him sarcastically. "Well done buddy. Ya did something right."
   
"Gelmen hates it when you do that." Gelmen stepped out from underneath Tilamo's knuckles and frowned at him.
   
Mir got giddy again, "if that is a wall, does that mean I have targets to practice on?"
   
Storm shook her head, "hold your violent antics for a minute. We don't know what Tang has done and we don't know if that's even where he is."
   
"There's only one way to find out," Falcher said as he began the next part of the hike to the distant wall.
   
Tangurple quickly swapped hostile glances with the elven guards around him. He hunkered down with sword and shield in hand. He waited for them to make the first move.
   
The elven queen pointed at him and commanded the few soldiers that encircled him. "Kill the Emporian. Consider this revenge for the Triate Pact."
   
The guards closed in on Tangurple. First strike came from his left and with ease he parried the strike and knocked his steel-clad fist into the elf's head. The elf was knocked to the floor, stunned. Tangurple had to quickly switch targets. He blocked the next attack and responded with his own shield bash. The guards around him were agile, unified and more than combat capable. They quickly discovered a way to wear him out and once he was drained of most of his stamina, they swamped him with attacks.
   
On the verge of defeat, Tangurple broke off combat and took off running. Down the street with twelve guards in tow, Tangurple breached a house and hid. The guards were far enough back to miss the maneuver and kept on running. After several minutes of hiding, Tangurple peeked out through the window. The street was clear of anything guard like. He tossed on his cloak and exited the house. He held the gem of light in his hand and he grinned widely. "One more stone to go." he paused for a minute as a thought crossed his mind. "How does one get to the dark elven kingdom?"
   
The bridge to the city gates was relatively empty. A handful of guards watched the approach from the mainland. Falcher scratched the back of his head. "This looks about right but how'd he get in?"
   
Storm wondered the same thing as well. "Did he have some sort of disguise or stealth ability?"
   
"You kidding? He'd rather take on twelve men at once than try to sneak his way past. He wouldn't have called for help if he could get around easily."
   
"Just asking. Some people change methods."
   
"Some do, yes. So, how do you propose we get inside?"
   
"Look for a secondary entrance, side doors, evacuation exits and sewer entrances."
   
"I don't know about you but I don't want to go swimming in that."
   
The front part of the city beneath the bridge was a partial moat which looked sickly green in the moon's light. The water was stagnant and freely growing mold along the edges and pond scum on the surface. "Got a better idea?" Storm asked.
   
"Actually, yes. You all are elves, the guards should be fine with you entering. They won't like me."
   
"So we just walk by with you looking like a prisoner?"
   
"Exactly."
   
"Falcher, you're a genius."
   
Tilamo then pointed out, "small problem. None of us look like guards, soldiers or anything of the sort. I don't think no proper city guard is going to let in a bunch of elves and a gnoll in looking like we do."
   
Mir pouted and argued. "We look fine."
   
"Let me spell it out for you. Mir, you look like a stripper with that outfit. Colchis looks almost demonic with those jagged edges-"
   
Storm smacked the back of Tilamo's head. "I get it, we don't exactly look the part. There is a way around it however. If we play our cards right, we can persuade them that this getup was done in effort to capture Falcher."
   
"Gelmen likes this idea!" Gelmen cheered.
   
"Gel, shush."
   
"Sorry."
   
"Let me do the talking since I look the closest to being an elven squad leader."
   
They nodded in unison and readied themselves for the attempt. Falcher faked his imprisoned state by holding his hands together behind his back and stuffing his weapons into his inventory. Storm lead the group across the bridge with everyone else at Falcher's side. They had their weapons drawn in the event things went south but also to complete the look.
   
They marched across the bridge and stopped the gate. The handful of guards there were on active watch and were quick to question them.
   
The first guard approached Storm and looked over her shoulder at the towering gnoll. "Who are you and why do you have this slaver?"
   
Storm realized she couldn't say her username. It was too foreign to fit the need. She quickly thought up elvish sounding names and rolled with it. "Name's Ariennae. I bring this gnoll because he is our prisoner."
   
"Prisoner? Gnolls were driven from the land years ago."
   
"Missed one. Found him along the jungle's edge."
   
"A lone gnoll? Odd but I guess inevitable. Take it to the palace, the queen will want him."
   
Falcher made a low growling noise and gave the guards an evil scowl.
   
The elf stepped back, "might want to muzzle him, he looks ready to break."
   
"He won't. We've beaten him into submission." Storm said.
   
Mir naturally enhanced that by kicking in Falcher's knee. Falcher grumbled in pain and trudged forward behind Storm. They entered the city and made a few turns to make sure they were out of sight of the gate guards. Falcher then glared at Mir. "Was the kick really necessary?"
   
Mir giggled sadistically. "To a sadist, it's always necessary."
   
"It did help actually," Storm said. "Otherwise they might have wanted to tag along."
   
"Why are you encouraging her?"
   
"I'm not. Not deliberately at least. But that's beside the point. Where to next, Falcher?"
   
"He doesn't mention anything beyond the gate. He does mention there being this item called 'Gem of Light'. Perhaps we can ask around about that."
   
"The Emporian didn't mention he had friends." the voice came from a tall and heavily jeweled Aldail.
   
"Emporian?" Storm turned to face the Aldail female.
   
"Emp-? That must be Tang." Falcher said. Then he realized he was nowhere near. "Where is he?"
   
"Tang is his name? He's more a scavenger than Emporian. He left town hours ago after stealing the Gem of Light and killing the Light Keeper." She snapped her fingers and guards came from both ends of the street and blocked their escape. "Before you draw your weapons and make a mess, I have a proposition."
   
The guards that walled them in were heavily armored and tankish in nature with a few hard hitting characters behind them. Given the option presented, fight or accept, Storm was quickly liking the latter. She spoke up, "Say what you will."
   
The Aldail Queen gestured to the guards to lower their stances. "Get the stone back from your friend and bring me the Khunait's Obsidian Darkstone."
   
"Obsidi-what?" Gelman looked baffled.
   
"It's a black rock with immeasurable amounts of dark magic in it. Likely hidden deep within the underground Khunait city of Vanruul Vol. Whatever you do, don't combine the stones, don't let one person hold them both. The results would be-"
   
The Aldail queen was interrupted by a messenger who was a much shorter Aldail, younger albeit frail looking. He was out of breath and tried to speak between gasps.
   
"Take a breather. Catch your breath then tell me."
   
After a minute of heavy breathing he finally spoke clearly, "Khunait! They march en masse."
   
She nodded and turned to the group. "There's a back door out the south west side. It's secluded with a hedge maze on either side." Her guards then backed off and rushed to the gate and castle walls. The Queen along with the messenger boy hurried off to the palace.
   
Storm gestured to the others to follow, "we better get moving as well."