Revenge of the Elven

Chapter 15

Varrell woke the following day in a good mood having shared in just a few drinks with her friend Arlan the night before. They did not drink too much so she was spared the hangover but as she stretched and the fog of her freshly woken head began to clear she remembered Qin her friend having returned and the small notebook he had given her. She got up and pulled on her clothes before heading to her father’s study where she had hidden the small notebook amongst her father’s journals. She pulled it and sat deciding to look at it once more knowing she could not read it but wondered if she would be able to decipher anything from the images. She turned to the first page and saw alongside the strange language even Qin did not recognise, some symbols like odd looking runes. She wondered if there was power in these rune symbols and what they meant. Each one was very different from the other and they were written downwards as though that was how they were meant to be read. She turned the page. She turned the page to see an image of an elf much the same as the female elf they had found as they entered the cave to rescue Taeril’s people. This elf was tied up and it looked as though a dark entity was going inside it. She wondered were the witches and warlocks actually trying to find a way to stop these joining with the elves, trying to find a way to help them and put an end to all of this? That was what it appeared to be looking at the images. Taeril harboured such hate towards the warlocks and the witches but perhaps they were really trying to help the elves. It was true that the people Taeril had been with and those they rescued had endured unjust treatment but perhaps as a whole the other warlocks and witches were trying to find a way to help his people. He had too much hatred towards them to even consider that possibility she already knew this, but it might still be worth showing him the notebook. There was a knock on her door; that loud knocker brought down hard against her sturdy door. She sighed and closed the book. Why does everyone insist on visiting first thing in the morning? At least I am dressed this time. She thought to herself and stood to see who it was. She opened her large main door and saw two guards standing there again but no Taeril this time, relieved he had not gotten himself into trouble again.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“There was a murder right near here last night, we are just asking around if anybody saw or heard anything?” one said, and she was horrified.

“A… no I did not see or hear anything suspicious. I was… well, I was at the large tavern in the commons with my friend Arlan until fairly late, but I came home pretty much still sober and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, the streets were quiet,” she said. “I feel terrible the timing seems to have been off, I would have saved whoever the poor soul was,”

“We know you would have, Mistress Varrell, as would we,” one said.

“Can I ask who it was that got murdered?” she asked.

“It was Councilman Bryni, he was…” the guards exchanged looks, “he was killed by what appears to be…” they could not put it into words.

“Where is his body? Shall I see for myself?” she asked, and they nodded so she followed them to a small side path, it was right here in the noble quarters just as they had said. She slowly walked towards where she could see a heap on the ground. What was he doing in a place like this in the dark of night? She wondered as she drew nearer. His robes were sprawled as was his body and she peered closer, she had to move his robes to get chance to see his face and as soon as she saw it, she recoiled. Councilman Bryni was a good man, why did he have to end up like this? She did not know him personally, but his views always resonated with her. He did not only look out for the elite like many councilmen, he actually cared about the commons and the people there; he always sought ways to help them and improve things for them. His face. The way he looked was not only… Varrell had seen many dead bodies in her time but this… it was as though his soul had been killed before his body but the soul… was that not supposed to be eternal? His face his expression showed the very fear he must have felt as he met his end; his eyes wide in terror even his mouth was still partially open as though it had formed a scream. A scream that nobody heard. She looked at his body; it was not sprawled it was twisted. His body was so grotesquely contorted she was surprised she had not noticed that first but then the council members all wore long thick robes. How does a person end up in such a state? Why? What reason would someone have to kill him so horribly? It could only be one thing. It could only have been done by some form of magic. She moved away from the dead body the body that used to be Councilman Bryni and returned to the guards.

“Do you know what caused his death? Did you take a close look at his body?” she asked them and they both looked disturbed, the haunted expression in their eyes proved that they did. “Right, the market is opening soon, people will be filling the streets, we need to get his body out of here before civilians see him in that state. Imagine the panic,” she finished, and they agreed hurrying to rally more guards. She took one last look back at councilman Bryni’s body before she left the side path. She saw a warlock on his way towards her, he was one of the High Councilmen too. It was Warlock Eizor. He stopped to exchange brief words with the guards before he continued onwards and stopped at Varrell.

“You have seen the body?” he asked her, and she simply nodded. “What are your thoughts?” he asked; his stern eyes were fixed and unmoving from her own.

“It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I have seen dead bodies before but… not ones that look quite so… empty as though there was never a soul there to begin with. His skin was grey, his eyes darker than usual for death, I do not know how that would be but… also his body was twisted…”

“Do you know what causes a death such as that?” he asked her.

“As I said before, I have never seen a dead body in that state, I have no idea what might have caus-“

“Magic or… more importantly, a dark entity,” he interrupted and her eyes widened.

“A dark entity? In this city?”

“A dark entity could only have one way in and that would be to fuse with an elf,” he said, and she felt her throat become dry and her heart was racing inside of her chest as though it was about to burst. Taeril had already admitted to having successfully fused with an entity though he said it was a pure spirit he joined with. It was not just Taeril though, Varrell had assisted in the illegal smuggling of elven people into the city and kept their location safe. She felt a pit of dread form in her stomach, and it took all her strength not to scream. Had her actions in aiding the elves lead to the death of a good man? Was Taeril to blame, or was it one of the rescued elves with him?