CHAPTER 8 - HOME AGAIN - Part 3

Tris’tan and the other Asrai reached Vess late at night. They had followed the scent and tracks of the running Rathians until the reached the walls of the city. Tris’tan guessed that they had come to grab the other bride to be.
The walls were watched by Rathian warriors and the gates were guarded by the same. Tris’tan and the others didn’t think they could get inside the city to track the men they were looking for, but it was probable that they would come out before Cullen’s army arrived.
Still in wolf form, the elves ran a ways up the road that led to Rath and settled in for the night. Then men who would be with the girls would likely run down this very road to escape the coming army so all they would have to do is wait.
The Twins sent concern through the pack sense for Cullen, knowing he was in Seawatch already, fighting to win back the Realm one Kingdom at a time. They were too far to share anything with Cullen through the pack’s sense and Tris’tan shared their concern but he kept them focused on the task at hand.
They lay down just off the road and got some rest before the Rathians rode out. They slept in a circle in the layer of snow that had fallen and kept each other warm. Asrai didn’t need fire to stay through the night like humans did, their thick coats were enough to stay warm.

***

Cullen walked up the stone stairs that led to the King’s apartments with his head down. He had left Tik in Idylls’s care since the Knights had demanded he come see to the King of Seawatch who had apparently been wounded during the fighting.
Cullen walked through the oak door and entered the first room of the apartments and found King Cosmin on the floor held up by attendants with a nasty stomach wound that looked fatal.
“Ah! The boy King,” Cosmin coughed out as Cullen entered. “Good, you can witness the bestowing of the crown on my heir.”
“King Cosmin, I’m sorry we never met before,” Cullen started to say.
“I don’t have time for niceties boy!” Cosmin barked, showing surprising strength for a man that was dying. “Bear witness!”
Starlight and the Nightlands were already in the room, huge hulking men in dented armor. Starlight was focused on the dying King.
“I, King Cosmin, being of sound mind, hereby give my crown and all rights to my Kingdom to Dagr Starlight, my finest Knight. You have the Kingdom now boy, rule it well,” the old man spoke surely until the end and then he had a fit of coughing.
Cullen watched an attendant lift the golden crown off Cosmin’s head and place it on Starlight’s, who bowed towards the King and then again towards Cullen.
“I give my allegiance to the High King of the Realm, Cullen the First of his name. Seawatch stands by you Sire,” the Knight said in a shaky voice.
“We can have a funeral for Cosmin but then I’ll need you to attack Rath,” Cullen said, his own voice sure and strong despite the weariness he was feelings.
Cosmin breathed deeply and coughed again, his eyes fluttered and he let his head fall back and within just moments he was gone.
“Does anyone know what happened here?” Cullen asked.
The Nightlands spoke in a deep cavernous voice that sounded halfway dead itself. “The Rathian in charge here, Bergulfr, ran up here when you attacked. The King tried to defend himself and his attendants, but he was wounded before he killed the man.
Cullen looked at the dead Rathian and swore under his breath. This was the first time they tried to kill the King during an attack and he hoped that wouldn’t happen in Vess, since they should be attacking anytime now. He shook his head and left the room, heading back down to the courtyard to check on Tik who had not regained consciousness when he left.
Cullen had destroyed the sword once he stepped away from Tik and there had been a large explosion of energy when the sword was smashed. Tik’s hand and eyes seemed to be recovering from the black infestation he had suffered while wielding the weapon.
Cullen didn’t know what Sonia would think when they got back to Holdfast but he thought she may never forgive him for what he had done. As he stepped outside, he saw that Tik was awake and talking to Idylls.
Hesitantly he walked over to his friend who was laying back against some hay bales that had been stacked up. Tik looked up as he approached and immediately started crying.
“What I said, the things I said to you, they weren’t –“
“I know Tik, I know,” Cullen assured him. “It wasn’t you, it was the sword. I’m sorry about your hand. We’ll find a way to help you once this is over.”
Tik smiled weakly. “At least we won the battle,” he said faintly.
“Yes, we won this battle. I’m afraid that Nicu has the other cursed weapons though and I will need to fight them to destroy them. The last fight is going to be a bad one.”
“I’d like to come, if you’ll have me,” Tik said, sounding sure of himself this time.
Cullen thought about it and considered sending him home, but he decided to let Tik come and see it through to the end. He nodded and Tik smiled warmly. Idylls patted his arm and smiled at the two men.
“We have a funeral for the men that dies and King Cosmin and then we’ll go to meet the others before we invade Rath. Both of you get some rest, while I see to the change in leaders here.”
Cullen walked away to check up on the rest of his men who had been fighting. Some were wounded but none of them dies fortunately and most of them were well enough to travel soon.
Cullen steeled himself for the coming fight and thought about Grimm and hoped he had won as well.

***

Grimm and the Dreamweaver sat astride their horses outside of Vess, looking at the great golden gates of the city, which were closed to them of course.
They had the elves and Kingsguard with them and the Kingsguard were ready to use the explosives but they were waiting for the signal to mount their own attack. Grimm sat with a scowl on his face, holding his new battle axe, waiting to ride in and kill some Rathians.
He was still seething with anger at them for killing his King and he was waiting for the chance to fight Hook. He didn’t know if he would get to fight Nicu as well, but he was damn sure going to try to fight them all.
Deep inside the city, behind the Palace, in the mines of the Mountains, Dwarves tunnels through from their own tunnels into the human tunnels that they never knew existed so close together.
When the hundreds of screaming Dwarves broke through in three separate places, the miners quickly dropped everything and ran. Roarr led the charge out of the mines and into the city, headed straight for the Palace and the front gates.
The Rathians, totally focused on the gates and the front of the city, never saw the Dwarves until it was too late and the short, sturdy men were attacking them with axes and hammers.
The Kingsguard, as soon as they saw the Rathians reacting to something happening inside the city, ran ahead with their explosives and placed them along the bottom of the gate.
Grimm waited for the bomb to go off, finally smiling as he anticipated the surprise of the Rathians. The explosion was a pillar of flame that melted the gold and collapsed the gates.
The elves and men rode inside, cutting down the Rathians as they tried to shore up the opening. Grimm rode down the main street towards the Palace, hacking men out of his way as he swept past.
He reached the Palace gates and pushed them open and rode down the two men standing there. He leaped off his horse and ran inside, attacking Rathians as they appeared in the hallways.
He reached the King’s apartments at the same time Roarr did and the two warriors eyes each other down the hall. Roarr gave a little bow and Grimm knew he would be the one to fight whoever waited in the King’s rooms.
The Dwarf ran at the door, a thick oak door that was locked from the inside. The Dwarf managed to knock it down in one try and Grimm leaped through the space into the lavishly decorated living quarters of the King. And standing there, in the middle of the first room was Hakr, the Rathian Chieftain that was left in charge.
Grimm snarled and lifted his axe and the Rathian charged him with two swords. Grimm blocked with his own weapon, spinning the axe with skill and speed unheard of with such a large weapon.
Grimm’s first focus was on what he saw behind the fighter he faced. He saw King Simon and his wife and one daughter and he knew then that the Rathians had escaped with the two girls meant to be wed to Nicu’s sons.
Grimm roared and cut past the man’s guard and hit the Rathian in the leg, making him buckle under the power of that blow. He raised his swords to defend himself and Grimm cut down with a two handed overhead blow that shattered both defending swords and split the man’s head in two.
Grimm wrenched his weapon back out of the dead man and he walked towards the King. The King looked ashen having seen the death of another right in front of him and the women in his family were busy trying to look anywhere but there.
“The city is your again King Simon,” Grimm said in his massive voice.
“And I thank you. But my daughter was taken last night, along with Adrian’s daughter. You must go after them!” the King urged.
“High King Cullen has already sent men after those craven fools and I am sure they will be caught before long. Your daughter will be in safe company soon. In the meantime, you must take back control of your city for we cannot stay.”
“You will go on to Rath?” the King asked.
“We must,” Grimm answered. “Cullen will meet us at the border with the rest of his army and we will ride into Rath to settle this.”
The King looked up as the Dreamweaver walked into the room. The old man looked once at the body on the floor and grimaced at the sight, but then he looked at the King and his family and smiled.
“You were in time then,” he said to the mighty warrior he rode with.
“Yes, except we missed the girl. It’s up to Tris’tan to get them back now.”
“I’m sure he will succeed my friend,” the Dreamweaver assured the two men. “Let’s have you go address the citizens of your city King Simon to assure them all is well again.
The King nodded and beckoned to his family to step around the body and head outside to address the people. Grimm and the Dreamweaver walked with Roarr outside to check on their men and collect the dead.
One step closer to Hook, Grimm thought. Soon, soon he would face him and pay him back for the scar he wore. He spent a moment wondering if Cullen was successful and then he dismissed the thought. The boy won wars, that was for sure.

***

Tris’tan and the others were awake at dawn. They had hid themselves within a small copse of maple trees that grew on a small hill just outside the city of Vess. A light snow was falling again and everything was bright and beautiful.
Tris’tan and the others lifted their heads, now back in their elven forms, and sniffed the breeze coming towards them. The scent of horse and men was on the wind and the Asrai set up their ambush.
They had cut down a small tree to lie across the road and they waited on the other side of it, all six of them standing tall against the wind and snow. All of them were pale with white hair and red eyes that seemed to glow in the dawn light.
Their tattoos were easily visible from a distance in dark swirls across their skin. They each carried a bow with a full quiver of arrows, except for Tris’tan who carried Seeker, the magical Bow of Cullen. Each of them wore a steel katana as their second weapon of choice and all of them were finely trained fighters.
The ten Rathians that came around the bend, drew up quickly in surprise when they saw six white men waiting for them. Abjorn, the leader of the men reined in his majestic horse and slowed the rest of his fellows behind him.
Bound to their horses were two young women, the Princess Ana from Dustan and the Princess Nelu from Vess. Both of them looked frightened of both the Rathians and these new men standing in a line before them.
“You men are standing in the way of High King Nicu’s servants!” Abjorn called out. “Clear that tree from our path and we won’t punish you!”
Tris’tan smiled elegantly. “Ana and Nelu!” he called back, “We have been sent by your fathers and the true High King to see you safely home! Please do not be afraid!”
Abjorn scowled and looked back at his men, all of whom seemed nervous now. “I told you men to step aside! There are more of us than there are of you! And we’re mounted! Clear away!”
“I’m sorry but you’re mistaken,” Tris’tan said in his musical perfect voice, “Human,” he added. The Rathian’s eyes widened.
“We’re not men at all!” Tris’tan continued. “We are proud Asrai warriors of the Daoine Sidhe! We are brothers and companions to High King Cullen and we will see these girls to safety, of that you can be sure!”
Abjorn made another face and turned to his men. “Get them! Cut them down!” he shouted. The Rathians urged their horses forward and the Asrai suddenly pulled up their bows.
Six Rathians fell, five of them with an arrow through the eye. They were perfect shots and the strength of them lifted the men out of their saddles. Tris’tan’s arrow, made of purple energy tore the man’s head clean off and sent the body tumbling back to strike Abjorn’s horse.
As Abjorn tried to get his horse under control, the Asrai put away their bows and accepted the charge of the remaining four men. The Rathian’s horses leaped over the dead tree and they attacked with swords from horseback.
All four men died within seconds of landing as the Asrai cut them down with precision. Tris’tan jumped over the tree in a single fluid leap and landed with the magical Bow aimed at Abjorn.
The Rathian Chieftain yelled out a war cry and charged Tris’tan hoping to reach him before he could fire. Tris’tan’s arrow of force ripped through the man but left him in the saddle to come to a stop before the tree.
Tris’tan walked towards the two bound girls, put one arm to his waist and bowed deeply with the other arm high in the air. He raised his head with a genuine smile and looked over the two Princesses.
“My name is Tris’tan, and those others are my brothers or cousins. We would like to bring you back to Vess, untied, if that’s alright with you both,” he said respectfully.
Both girls smiled and laughed, grateful to be out of Rathian hands at last. Nelu bowed her head in a courtly fashion and laughed.
“Please sir, we would like to go home very much!”
“Your wish is my command,” the Asrai said sweetly.