Chapter 4:

When Searon woke up he gathered his things and left the room. Karceoles was already gone. Searon left the elf hotel and stood outside taking in his last moments in the elf city. Vil’ek walked up to him looking happy to be running him out of town.

“I will accompany the two of you safely out of our territory,” Vil’ek said.

“Where is Karceoles?” Searon asked.

“He begged us to make copies of some scrolls at our library, he should be here shortly,” Vil’ek said.

As he said that Searon saw Karceoles walked towards them with a handful of rolled up scrolls with ribbons. He dropped a few and bent to pick them up. It was the first time Searon saw the old man walking without guidance of his zylek. He had a slight limp that wasn’t noticeable before. His zylek was clipped on his brown robes.

“Ready?” Karceoles asked.

“Are you?” Searon replied.

“Just shut up and move,” Karceoles said.

Searon chuckled as Karceoles walked past into the forest. Vil’ek and Searon followed. The further they got into the wilderness the more Searon missed Sudegam. The beautiful flowers the magnificent tree homes, and all the animals that spoke to each other. It was much more quiet too, at Sudegam there was always peaceful music from instruments that the elves played.

After a while of walking Karceoles stopped and set the scrolls on a fallen tree trunk. He opened them up and started looking through them. Vil’ek and Searon watched as he pulled out a pipe and lit it. He began smoking his pipe and studying the scrolls. Searon walked up to him and looked at the scrolls.

“What are those?” Searon asked.

“They’re scrolls you dumb human,” Karceoles said.

Vil’ek chuckled.

“I know that, what are they of?” Searon asked.

“They’re information about the ranzak. Where their settlements are, their capital, and anything else we could find of use,” Karceoles said.

“The king is going to need those back,” Vil’ek said.

“Why do you think I’m reading them now? It’d be much more peaceful to read these without the presence of an elf. They’re always talking,” Karceoles said.

“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day,” Vil’ek said.

“It already has, and I was the one who seemed to give more trouble,” Karceoles said.

“Not from the right person then,” Vil’ek muttered.

“It’s best that we study these now, we only have another mile of elf territory, in which I must give these scrolls back,” Karceoles said.

Vil’ek raised an eyebrow, “How do you know where our boundary lies?”

“I’m a wizard, I know everything, the sooner you realize that, the sooner we can all get along,” Karceoles said.

“The sooner we can get along is the sooner you get out of the elves territory,” Vil’ek said.

Searon looked at the scrolls. They said the ranzak have been in existence for eight hundred years. They were created when a dark wizard and dragon mated. Over the years they had lost their small tales and wings due to raping human women. Enough generations passed until they were more human like. They are unisexual, and therefore have no gender. They now mate with each other, and the occasional human woman that gets captured.

“My lord, they are a disgusting race,” Searon said.

“That’s something you should have already known, why else would you be fighting them?” Karceoles said.

Karceoles pulled out a map and looked at it. There was one mass of land surrounded by water. The land was labeled Calthoria. There were a few islands off the coast on the west. They were on the far west side, still pretty far from the sea. Sudegam was on the central west still over a hundred miles from the coast. They were traveling north through the forest. On the far end of the north was a large city labeled, Kaznarenth. On the far east there were lots of town names that Searon recognized as human towns. He’d never been that far east to see them. In fact he had never been to the coast. The town he lived in was a few hundred miles from the coast. In central Calthoria was a large meadow, no trees at all. North of that there was a large desert and to the west of them was a humongous mountain range at the very northeast.

“Is Kaznarenth where the ranzak are?” Searon asked.

“Yes, and you see the scattered small dots heading south from it? Those are their settlements,” Vil’ek said.

“We start here,” Karceoles said pointing to the first dot, “Then we’ll make our way north destroying every one until we reach their capital.”

“You don’t intend to take out the ranzak just the two of you do you?” Vil’ek asked.

“If that’s the way it has to be, it will only be a matter of time until the elves take part of this war. Elsargast is too ignorant to realize this,” Karceoles said.

“Don’t be speaking ill of our king in my presence,” Vil’ek said.

“Then walk away when I talk about him if you don’t like it. You don’t have to listen to me. The reason you do is because you know it’s the truth,” Karceoles said.

“Are you done with the scrolls?” Vil’ek asked.

“Yes, they’re all yours,” Karceoles said as he handed them back to Vil’ek.

Vil’ek grabbed the scrolls and turned to walk off.

“Aren’t you going to accompany us the last mile?” Karceoles asked.

“I trust you can find your way, just make sure you don’t head back in the wrong direction, you aren’t welcome back in Sudegam,” Vil’ek said.

Karceoles smiled and started walking north. Searon puzzled followed him.

They walked for three days and still making steady pace. They hadn’t seen one ranzak. The elves were right; they weren’t a direct threat to them. The war that the elves won against the ranzak must have had them keep away. That would explain why the last ten years they’ve been attacking more humans. They keep away from the elves and use all their power against humans. If that were true then Karceoles was right, they would go back to attack the elves.

Finally the woods ended and there was nothing but clearing ahead of them. According to the map this lasted for several miles until trees covered the north. The first few ranzak camps were in this open terrain. It was going to make it tricky, sneaking up on a camp of ranzak, without any cover of trees. After walking a while in the open there was a large hill they had to climb over.

When they got to the top they saw a battle. One elf against five ranzak, there was already four dead on the ground, which meant there were 9 total. Searon watched as she elegantly battle the five ranzak with such grace it didn’t look like she was having any trouble. Her moves were so complex that Searon could barely follow her. She was battling all five ranzak literally at once with only her sword. She swirled her blade and twisted her body, even sometimes spinning through the air in-between two axes with barely an inch to spare and strike her blade right as she landed. She struck two down and was working on the third when she tripped; as she fell she grabbed a ranzak and brought him down with her. As he landed on her, her sword went straight through him. She wasn’t getting up right away; maybe the weight of the ranzak had got to her.

Searon dived off the hill and rolled down colliding with one of the ranzak. He quickly stood up and stabbed one of the ranzak through the chest, and then struck the one he knocked over down. Searon rushed to the fallen ranzak the elf woman was under and shoved him out of the way. He didn’t see her.

“Looking for me?” a deep female voice asked.

Searon turned around and there she stood behind him. She was beautiful, and more noticeable than any of the elves in Sudegam because of her body. She had bright blond hair and bright blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds. She wore tight-laced chain mail and held her purple and silver helmet in her hand. She had silver scale mail over her chain mail covering her chest and crotch. On her chest there were thin purple swirls around it. That was where Searon paused. She had the largest breasts of any of the elves. Her armor wouldn’t of fit any other elves. Her scale mail only covered so much and the rest of her cleavage above was covered by the thin tight layer of chain mail.

“My face is up here,” She said.

“Oh.. umm.. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to, but damn one glance and it’s hard to think,” Searon said.

She smiled, “It happens all the time,”

Karceoles had made his way down the hill now and was standing by them. “Well of course it does woman, look at those ripe extra large melons.”

She just glared at Karceoles.

“My name is Searon, I’m a warrior hunting the ranzak. This idiot over here is Karceoles, a wizard,” Searon said.

“I’m Starlyn,” She said.

“We just came from Sudegam, trying to get you elves to help us fight the ranzak. The king denied our request, so we’re off to kill all the ranzak ourselves,” Searon said.

“You were allowed in Sudegam?” Starlyn asked.

“Yeah… Karceoles has a way with words,” Searon said.

“I see… why are you after the ranzak,” Starlyn asked.

“They are foul creatures that have been attacking the humans for too long.” Searon said.

Starlyn nodded. “I have been keeping the ranzak contained so they won’t strike on Sudegam.”

“You’re not doing a very good job protecting the humans from them,” Karceoles said.

“Excuse me?” Starlyn said.

“By keeping them away from the elves, you’ve been sending them to kill humans,” Karceoles.

“That is not my job, I am an elf,” Starlyn said.

“Congratulations, you know what you are,” Karceoles said.

“I don’t have to stand here and listen to this,” Starlyn said as she began walking away.

“Wait,” Searon said.

She turned around and looked at him. She raised her eyebrow and waited.

“If you don’t like these creatures, why don’t you help us? We’re on our way to attack their camps and then their city,” Searon said.

“Just the two of you?” Starlyn asked.

“Yeah, as I said, the elves wouldn’t help us,” Searon said.

“How do you expect to kill them all with one human and an annoying mage?” Starlyn asked.

“Wizard,” Karceoles corrected.

She glared at him.

“The element of surprise, we’ll move too quick for word to get out. Victory was never our objective,” Searon said.

“Can you keep the wizard in check?” Starlyn asked.

“No… probably not, you’ll learn to just tune him out like I have,” Searon said.

“Alright I’ll help you, there’s something I must tell you first,” Starlyn said.

“What?” Searon asked.

“My sister… changed a few years ago… She went with the ranzak. She now leads them. I want to kill the ranzak as much as you do. I won’t kill my sister; she is not to be harmed. If we encounter her, we capture her and bring her back to the elves.” Starlyn said.

“Alright, that seems fair,” Searon said.

“Good now I have something prettier to look at,” Karceoles said.

Starlyn stood and glared at the wizard.

“Shut up Karceoles,” Searon said.