A King's War

Chapter 5

RAVEN

The town was bustling as it always was at this time after midday. People moved quickly through the streets minding their own business, trying not to attract the gaze of the Valveronian soldiers. No one spoke to anyone unless they had to and everyone moved as quickly as possible. This town was different than any behind the walls of the kingdoms. The doors were made of steel, steel bars and wooden beams covered the windows, and every building was reinforced a hundred times over, but not to keep the soldiers out. Oh no. To keep the dark hunters, the monstrous creatures that thrived in the dark, out. Everyone moved quickly about their day in this town, a town people often referred to as Lost. No one wanted to waste any daylight here and no one wanted to be caught outside after dark.

I recognized many familiar faces as I watched from where I was hidden in the shadows of the alleyway between the tavern and the blacksmith’s shop. I kept the hood of my cloak up and my hand on my dagger as I watched the Valveronian soldiers walk by. As soon as they had, I emerged from the shadows and walked across the dirt street to the inn on the other side. All the while I kept my eye on the soldiers.

The inn was only place in Lost that ever seemed to get any business. Travelers would stop in for a night and get something to eat and then continue on their way. The only people who stayed in Lost were the ones that truly had nowhere else to go or no means in which to leave. 

I stomped my boots on the steps leading up to the inn, trying to knock off as much of the clumped mud as I could before I pulled open the heavy steel door. A door that I’d helped the owner put in place. Actually, I had helped to reinforced much of the inn in exchange for a place to sleep and the occasional hot meal.

“You’re in luck,” I heard Hendin’s booming voice say. “there she is now.”

I frowned as I pushed my hood back from my face and looked toward him, to try and see who he was talking to.

“Raven!” He shouted across the room and the few people that were inside turned to look at me. A couple were familiar faces and a couple were new, but the biggest surprise was the three unfamiliar faces standing around the counter. Elves. 

It was unusual for them to have traveled this far west. Elves tended to travel east or simply stay in their kingdom of Ralorn. Actually, it was unusual for anyone to travel west anymore. No one crossed through the red forest unless they had to, and even then, Valveronia was dead in the middle of the Red Forest and therefore everyone actively avoided there.

The elves wore tunics and trousers of various shades of green and brown with some white and yellow added in. So not just some elves living in The Outskirts. They wore the colors of the kingdom of Ralorn. Ralorns then. Their clothes were worn but well taken care of, which meant they also were not seasoned travelers. Although, their clothing was more suited for warriors than commoners. Interesting.

Hendin waved me over and I approached, taking care to ignore the Ralorns watching every move I made.

I dug through the sack strapped to my hip and removed the mushrooms and herbs I had gathered, setting them on the counter in front of Hendin.

“Ah!” He shouted joyously. “You found them. I knew you would, senia,” He said, calling me child in his native language of the kingdom of Meern.

Meern was a powerful kingdom that controlled many of the rivers that ran throughout the world. The kingdom was built on the edge of the Vast Lake and as such controlled most of the waterways, fishing, and trading that took place everywhere. It was a wealthy kingdom and not one that many wanted to leave, which was why I found it odd that Hendin had. Though every time I asked him, he always waved me off. It was also one of the few kingdoms that had not fallen to the Ruthless King, but only because King Nuvi of Meern was allied with the kingdom of Valveronia.

“I’m not a child, Hendin,” I reminded him.

“Yes,” He agreed. “I suppose that is true.” His eyes strayed over to the Ralorns who were talking quietly amongst themselves.

I nodded my head in their direction. “What’s with the elves?” I asked him.

“They’re looking to cross through the Red Forest.”

“No one crosses through the Red Forest to the west, only to the east. Where is it exactly that they’re looking to go?”

“Valveronia,” A voice replied, but it was not Hendin’s.

I turned to look at the Ralorn who spoke. He was striking to look at as all elves were. They all carried with them a grace and beauty that just drew the eye, no matter where they were. He was taller than the other two but that wasn’t odd, elves tended to be tall. He was lean and I could see from his build he had more strength than he appeared. A fighter’s build. Not made for brute strength but for quick reflexes and swift actions. He had golden skin, eyes black as night, and hair that was the color of the leaves before they fell, a soft orange that fell to his shoulders in messy waves. And of course, the long pointed ears that were characteristic of all elves, a feature that commonly allowed anyone to identify them. A bow and quiver of arrows were slung over his shoulders and wrapped around his torso, a sword on his belt and a dagger sticking out of his boot. The other two had many of the same weapons, except where he had a bow, they had a shield. 

I stared up at him wordlessly, my eyes dropping to the sword at his belt and my hand moved to the dagger strapped to mine of its own accord. If he noticed, he didn’t show it.

“I was told you could take us to Valveronia,” He said.

“I don’t take people to Valveronia,” I informed him. I nodded in farewell to Hendin before turning back to the Ralorn. “Good day to you,” I said as I turned to leave.

His arm shot out and his hand was loose but firm around my arm. He wasn’t trying to hurt me but he wasn’t letting me leave. I turned back to him, eying the hand wrapped around my arm in silent warning.

“I will pay you,” He said, ignoring my unspoken warning. The other two behind him, however, had placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, as if daring me to try something.

I looked back to the Ralorn who had hold of my arm. His expression was firm and giving away nothing, but his eyes were pleading. I pulled my arm from his grasp. “If you cared to look around, you’d notice that currency has no value in The Outskirts, except as something shiny to attract the soldiers. And no one wants that.”

“Please,” He said. “I need to get to Valveronia.”

I crossed my arms across my chest and stared up at him without expression. “Only the truly desperate cross the Red Forest at all, but to go to Valveronia itself? You’d have to have a death wish. And someone foolish enough to take you.”

“I thought you guided people through the Red Forest,” The girl spoke up. I turned to look at her. Fair skin, light brown eyes, and hair to match her eyes. She was taller than I but shorter than both the boys.

“Yes,” I replied. “I guide people through the Red Forest, not to Valveronia.” I shook my head. “You just don’t go to Valveronia.”

“We don’t need a guide,” The first Ralorn spoke again. “But it would certainly make things easier.”

I shook my head again. “You’re planning on going into the Red Forest?” I asked.

He nodded.

“You need a guide,” I told him. “but it will not be me.” I turned and began to walk away.

They were out of their mind, I’d decided. And determined to get to Valveronia.

I let out a long sigh, knowing I’d regret asking, but I stopped in my tracks and turned back to them. “Why?” I asked the Ralorn who’d spoken first. “Why do you want to go to Valveronia?”

“The soldiers are taking my brother there,” He said. 

Then, the brother was already dead. The Ruthless King never held prisoners of no importance to him. The moment he was brought into the kingdom, the brother would be killed-or worse.

I opened my mouth to tell him that his brother was already lost only to close it once I caught sight of an odd symbol carved into the wood of his bow. I frowned and walked forward, staring at the bow.

He looked down at me in confusion and then tried to back away when I continued approaching. I reached out and grabbed hold of his bow, effectively trapping him in place.

“Uh. . .” He started to say something as I wiped away some dirt that had obscured most of the symbol.

I swore as I recognized the symbol as the crest of the royal family of Ralorn.

I let go of the bow and took a step back, he did the same while still looking down at me in confusion.

“King or crown prince?” I asked him.

He frowned. “What?”

“Is your brother the king or the crown prince?” I clarified.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You want my help?” I asked sharply.

“Yes,” He replied cautiously.

“Then answer the question.”

“My brother is the crown prince.”

I thought about it for a moment before swearing again and letting out a sigh knowing that if I inserted myself into this mess, there was no going back. Unfortunately, that was exactly what I was going to do. “Well then your Majesty,” I said. “your brother might still live long enough for you to rescue him.” I turned and began to walk away. “Meet me at the edge of the Red Forest just before sundown. If you’re not there, I’m walking away.”

“Don’t you mean sunrise?” The girl Ralorn questioned.

I looked over my shoulder at her. “No. Sundown. So, I suggest you rest until then.” I pulled my hood back up over my head before stepping out of the inn and back onto the busy street.