Chapter 1
First chapter of my NaNoNovel. It's a bit crap but it's all the scene-setting stuff and I always find that bit boring.


Chapter 1

The clearing was lit by moonlight, the silver light highlighting the two groups of people standing on opposites sides of the grassed area. Neither group was moving, simply eying the other suspiciously. They stayed that way for several minutes then one group shifted slightly, stepping aside to reveal two people, one man, one woman. They were both tall and slender and almost ethereally beautiful. They had long blond hair, pointed ears and wore beautiful silk robes, the man in a deep midnight blue and the woman in a rich wine colour.

The couple stared at the opposing group for a moment then paced gracefully out into the clearing. They stopped just short of the centre and stood there. For a moment, no one moved then two people scurried forward carrying a pair of lightweight canvas chairs. The chairs were quickly placed just behind the beautiful couple and the two sat down gracefully and simply waited patiently.

The other group started shifting uncomfortably then finally they parted to reveal another couple. This man and woman were not beautiful though they were quite remarkable. Their eyes were red and their hair pure stark white. Their ears were also pointed but unlike the graceful curve of the other couple, these two had sharply pointed ears. They were wearing black, almost identical robes.

The black-clad couple walked out into the clearing until they came to a halt a few feet from their counterparts. Chairs were brought forward for them and they two sat down. The two groups milled for a moment then settled into stillness and silence as they waited for the two couples to speak.

"You have summoned us. We have come," said the beautiful man, his expression calm and collected. "Explain."

"Your race is dying." The harsh words came from the black-clad woman. Her expression was petulant and bitter. "As is ours. The humans and dwarves have more numbers."

"This is true," the beautiful woman admitted with a single graceful nod. "What would you have us do?"

"Ally yourselves with us," the black-clad man said, leaning forwards slightly. "Neither of our races can survive on our own. You must know that. But together we may have a chance."

The beautiful man arched a single eyebrow. "You know this?"

The black-clad man smiled sardonically. "My people are powerful Seers, that is true. But no, they have not seen perfect success. But they have seen a chance if the Elves and the Night Walkers form an alliance. Isn't a chance better than annihilation?"

The Elven Queen nodded once. "That is true. But an alliance to what end? Your people and ours are hardly bosom companions. We are more often in competition than agreement."

"And that has been part of our downfall," the King of the Night Walkers said in a firm voice. "While we have been fighting amongst ourselves, the human and dwarves have been whittling away at our numbers. If we do not turn away from each other and face them in a united manner, we will both die. Would you have those puling day dwellers succeed?"

The Elven King's expression became cool. "We too are day dwellers."

The King of the Night Walkers waved an impatient hand. "You know what I mean and this sort of taking of offence is precisely what has put us in this situation."

The Elven Queen laid an elegant hand on her husband's knee. "He is right, my love. He was not referring to us after all."

The Elven King glanced over at his wife then relaxed and inclined his head to the King of the Night Walkers. "Very well, Belzac. What is it that you propose?"

King Belzac smiled. "My people are confined to the night. We do not do well during the day. And the humans know that. They attack us during the day when we are near blind and slow. Your people can move during the day but your numbers are few, as few as ours, so when the humans and dwarves attack, you must withdraw or face losing precious warriors. Both our races are long-lived and pay for that with few births." He glanced over at his Queen. "Zarah?"

"We have found an ancient city," the Queen of the Night Walkers said eagerly. "It lies deep in the Black Forest. Your people and mine would have the skill to traverse the difficulties of that place but the humans and Dwarves lack the subtlety to do so. Our peoples would be safe and we could use the Black Forest as a staging ground to attack their settlements."

King Belzac arched an eyebrow. "Well, Terevash?"

The Elven King looked momentarily uncomfortable and looked to his wife. "Araveil?"

"It is... unusual," she said slowly. "But in these troubled times, surely it is time to discard old ways that bind and seek new ones that will enable us to flourish."

King Terevash nodded slowly and gave his counterpart a long assessing look. "Your people will protect ours during the night? As our will protect yours during the day?"

"Yes," King Belzac replied. "And we will find ways to combine our warriors to create effective fighting units. Together we can destroy the humans and the dwarves. Apart... we will only rule over the deaths of our peoples."

The Elven King was silent for a moment longer then he nodded and rose to his feet. He held a hand out to King Belzac. The King of the Night Walkers quickly got to his feet and clasped the Elf's hand.

"So be it," King Terevash intoned. "Our peoples will form an alliance."

"So mote it be," Belzac said soberly, triumph gleaming in his eyes.

Just as Belzac spoke those last words, a strangled cry came from one of the Night Walkers standing on the edge of the clearing. Everyone turned to see what was happening and saw one of the nocturnal creatures standing stiff as a board, his eyes unseeing. He jerked and shuddered and two of his comrades came up beside him, ready to catch him should it be needed.

For several minutes they simply watched the Night Walker until he finally relaxed and slumped into the waiting arms of his fellows. They lowered him to the ground and propped him up into a sitting positions. King Belzac and Queen Zarah hurried over to the Seer and knelt beside him. King Terevash and Queen Araveil followed at a far more sedate pace, fascination obvious in their expressions and postures as they waited to hear what had happened.

"There is a man," the Seer said hoarsely. "A human. He can stop us from succeeding. He must be stopped."

Zarah took the Seer's and in her own and chafed it carefully. "What is his name, Xacat?"

"James Margrave."

The Seer slumped and Belzac rose to his feet, leaving his wife to care for the Seer. "He must be stopped."

"We shall send warriors out to find this James Margrave and kill him. He cannot be permitted to interfere," Terevash said sternly then he paused. "You shall send some of your warriors with ours. It seems that the first test of alliance has come within moments of its agreement."

Belzac smiled coldly. "So it seems."

The two Kings turned and headed back to their respective delegations and a moment later there were flurries of activity as elves and Night Walkers disappeared into the surrounding forest or crossed the clearing to talk to their respective counterparts.

************************

The shadowy figure lurked among the trees outside the great walled compound with an air of mixed amusement and impatience. The cloaked and hooded person seemed to find what he was doing entertaining in some ways and even lurked somewhat ostentatiously for a few minutes before seemingly fading into nothing once again. All in all he seemed to be playing some sort of game as he waited for something to happen.

When the gates of the compound swung open to let a single rider out, the shadowy figure stopped his games and watched intently. Anyone close enough might have heard a whispered 'Finally' then the figure began to shadow the man on the horse. It wasn't a difficult task. The rider was moving at a slow walk, clearly in no hurry, letting the horse amble along at its own speed.

For nearly an hour the cloaked stranger kept pace with the mounted rider, following as he travelled along the main road then took a small side road. Only when he was certain that they were out of sight of the road and any and all dwellings, did the cloaked stranger pull a small tube out of a pouch on his belt. He raised it to his lips and blew once.

The rider suddenly flinched and clapped a hand to his neck but the tiny dart the stranger had sent his way had already fallen to the ground. The rider rubbed his skin and shook his head before continuing with his journey. He only managed a few more yards before he began to sway in the saddle. The horse, confused by this, came to a halt and the rider slowly slid out of the saddle, landing with a thump on the ground.

The cloaked stranger emerged from the trees and walked calmly over to the horse. He placed one hand on the beast's nose to soothe it then walked around and looked down at the unconscious man. A smile of smug satisfaction flickered across his face then he bent over and picked up the man, throwing him over the saddle and securing him tightly. He then took hold of the horse's reins and headed off the road and into the woods.

***************************

James Margrave... or Jamie to his friends... was a mercenary. He had been for years, joining his current company when he was eighteen. He was now thirty eight and he’d learned many things in his twenty years of fighting. One of those things was how to wake up without alerting anyone that he was awake. Useful when captured and also when sharing a tent. He’d always thought it rude to wake up others especially given he was an early riser.

It was this ability that he was using now. He had determined that he was lying on a blanket on some kind of hard surface, perhaps a floor though he couldn’t identify what kind of floor. He was fairly certain he was outside though. The air had the smell of fresh air that you just didn’t get inside a building. He could hear the sound of a horse nearby, possibly the horse he’d borrowed, but nothing else to tell him what had happened.

He finally decided that he needed to open his eyes and find out what was going on. He did so slowly and saw that he’d been almost right. He was indeed lying on a blanket but he was doing so in a cave and he was facing the opening. He could also see that there was a person sitting in the entrance of the cave with their back against the stone wall. They seemed to be fletching an arrow. The light outside meant that he couldn’t see this person’s face though he could have sworn that they had long hair, something that was unusual in the region in which he lived. Unless the person was a woman... which didn’t seem likely.

“It’s about time you woke up.”

Jamie gave a start and sat up, automatically reaching for his sword. Somehow he wasn’t surprised to find that the weapon wasn’t there.

“You’re sword and knives are just to your left.”

James automatically looked and found that he had been told the truth. He’d also calmed down enough to determine that his captor was definitely male. He grabbed his weapons and got to his feet before putting them back on.

“Who are you and what do you want from me?” he demanded once he armed himself again.

“My name is Firali and I want to save your life,” came the calm answer.

Jamie’s eyes narrowed. Firali wasn’t a familiar style of name. He took a few steps forward, just enough that he could see his captor clearly and the moment he did, he yanked his sword out of its scabbard.

“Elf,” he growled.

The elf... Firali... yawned and rolled his eyes. “How clever of you to notice. I didn’t know that.”

Jamie was actually taken aback by the elf’s attitude though he didn’t lower his sword even a fraction.

“What do you want?” he growled.

The elf sighed again. “I told you... to save your life.”

“I don’t believe you.” Jamie’s voice was flat and adamant.

“I rather thought you wouldn’t but it’s true nevertheless.”

Jamie stared at the elf suspiciously. Maybe there was some truth in the elf’s words. He wasn’t dead yet after all nor was in a fight.

“You ambushed me and dragged me all the way out to this cave to... save my life,” he said sceptically. “Save it from what?”

Firali shifted so that he was facing Jamie. “The Elves and Night Walkers want to kill you.”

Jamie stared for a moment then he laughed, finally lowered his sword. “The Elves and the Night Walkers want to kill everyone. You should know that. Besides, how do I know you’re not going to kill me right now?”

“Well, killing you would rather defeat the purpose of all the trouble I’ve just gone to,” Firali said in a sardonic drawl. “And I meant that rather specifically. The Elves and the Night Walkers want to kill you. James Margrave.”

Jamie didn’t really believe a word the elf was saying and he now snorted derisively. “Me? Why me?”

“Because you’re going to ruin their plans,” Firali replied. “Or you could. It’s a prophecy so there’s always a little grey area there.”

Jamie rolled his eyes. “A prophecy?” he said with disgust. “Since when have prophecies ever come true? All the priests do it interpret them to suit themselves well after the fact.”

“You’re talking about human prophecies,” Firali said archly. “I’m talking about the prophecies of the Night Walker Seers. They are accurate. Sometimes obscure but accurate nonetheless.”

“But you just said there was grey area,” Jamie objected.

Now it was Firali’s turn to roll his eyes. “No prophecy is one hundred percent accurate. Surely even a human knows that? The future isn’t set in stone. But nevertheless, the Seers of the Night Walker are the most accurate Seers in existence. And their greatest Seer has seen that you and you alone are the difference between their success and failure.”

Jamie shook his head, not wanting to believe this. “So what were they going to do?”

“Ambush you,” Firali replied. “Pretend to want to employ your Company and find you and kill you.”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no way they could do that. The Captain doesn’t allow clients to mix with the Company.” He came to a sudden halt and his eyes widened as the penny dropped. “No!”

He whirled around and ran over to the horse, which he found was indeed the one he’d borrowed that morning. It was still saddled and harnessed and he grabbed the reins and started to lead the horse out.

“Where are you going?” Firali said, getting to his feet in an elegant and languid manner.

“Home,” Jamie said firmly.

“Why?” Firali said impatiently. “I’ve told you what’s happened.”

“That’s why I’m going home,” Jamie replied. “Those people are my family. I’m not going to leave them to die because of a stupid prophecy that I don’t believe in anyway.” He raised his chin belligerently. “Are you going to stop me?”

Firali sighed and leaned against the wall of the cave. All in all, he looked the epitome of weary resignation. “Once again I remind you, I’m here to save your life.”

“Why should I believe you?” Jamie said bluntly. “You’re an elf.”

Firali placed one hand on his chest. “You wound me. Not one word I have told you has been a lie.”

Jamie eyed the elf suspiciously. “Are you going to let me go?”

“If you must,” Firali said with a sigh. “I’m not a savage, you know.”

Jamie watched Firali warily as he led his horse past the elf and out of the cave. The elf didn’t make a move as Jamie mounted up nor when James kicked his horse into a rough gallop and headed for home. Only when Jamie had disappeared from view did the elf start packing up the little camp he’d made. He knew he’d have to follow if only to save the silly human from his own prejudices. Of course the chance to stick one in the eye of the elves was also far too irresistible.

**********************************

Jamie made good time on his way back to the compound. It turned out the cave wasn’t too far from the road, just several miles further on from where he last remembered being. He wasn’t sure what to make of his little interlude with the elf. Now that he was back on the road, it seemed almost surreal that he could have met an elf and survived. That just didn’t happen. The enmity between elves and humans was far too ingrained.

He felt uneasy though. He didn’t really believe a word the elf had said even though he had sworn that he hadn’t lied. Prophecies were the domain of the charlatan priests and the gullible who had too much time on their hands. They weren’t real or accurate and they certainly didn’t revolve around a career mercenary of dubious piety. Except... what if the elf was right?

Jamie snorted and shook his head. Elves lied. They were well known for doing just that. They lied, they killed, they generally caused trouble. That’s what this was, just some bizarre form of trouble that elf wanted to indulge in.

Had he lied about the ambush then? Maybe he had. It would seem logical that he had, though the bigger question was why? Jamie had only been going to a nearby town to pick up a package for his Captain. Hardly a vitally important task or one that couldn’t be done on another day. Surely if they were going to ambush him, they would have done so when he was on his own rather than when he was in the compound. Why would anyone take the risk of attacking a mercenary compound full of well-armed and prepared warriors?

It then occurred to him that maybe Firali had been the ambush though that made even less sense than anything else he’d been faced with today. Jamie rolled his eyes and finally gave up on all the speculation. It was pointless really. He just needed to get back home and then maybe talk to the Captain. He might well have some advice about the strange events of the day.

He spent the rest of the ride trying to come up with a logical and coherent explanation for the Captain and it wasn’t until he was riding up the slight incline that lead to the gates of the compound that he realised that something was very, very wrong. He hurriedly dismounted from his horse and edged towards the gates. The guards that should have been standing by the gates were nowhere to be seen and a quick shout did not produce any results.

He drew his sword and slipped through the half open gates and what he saw beyond them nearly caused him to drop the sword for the first time since he was a raw trainee. Bodies lay everywhere, the wounds that had killed them having been inflicted with especial savagery. There didn’t seem to be a single survivor, not a groan from someone wounded or the shout of a survivor could be heard.

Jamie simply stared at the carnage for a long moment then he suddenly took off at a run towards the main building. He tore upstairs and ran down the corridor until he reached the Captain’s office. He shoved his way through the door and came to a sharp halt. The scene in front of him turned the stomach of even an experienced and somewhat jaded mercenary such as Jamie. The Captain, his Sub-Captain and the Company’s chief Healer, who was also the Captain’s wife, lay dead. Not just dead but ripped apart, as though animals had torn at them.

He stumbled out of the room and along the corridor, blind instinct carrying since his mind was shuddering away from the implications of what had happened. Firali had been telling the truth. Something had come to his company and killed each and every person in the compound, including all of the civilians. If Firali was to be believed, and Jamie was struggling to recapture the cynicism he’d had earlier in regards to the elf, then the killers had been looking for him. Everyone in the compound was dead because of him.

He looked around wildly and was surprised to find that he was back in his suite of rooms. He had no memory of getting here from the Captain’s office and now that he was here, he had no idea what to do. Did the killers know that he hadn’t been here? Would they still be looking for him? What was he supposed to do now? Report this to the Mercenary’s Guild? Run? Hide? For the first time in his life, Jamie honestly had no answers.