Children of the Sun and Moon (13 page)

Eric felt like
laughing. What he saw before him was a very short and stocky
looking person. He had a long braided beard, which reached all the
way to the ground. His hair and beard were the darkest black Eric
had ever seen. Realizing he was staring, Eric introduced himself.
“My name is Eric Traven.”

“Well, yer
highness, yer in dwarven territory,” remarked Grund.

Stunned, Eric
stammered, “How did you know who I was?”

Grund laughed
and it was the deepest laugh Eric had ever heard. “We be knowin’
lots o things, Prince Eric. But not be knowin’ what yer doin'
here.”

Eric was about
to answer, but Nak cut him off. “Wez notz needs helpz fromz
dwarvses.”

It was then
Eric noticed the goblins had been practically hiding behind him.
“Nak, he knows these mountain areas. I think we should get help
from him.”

Nak looked at
Grund suspiciously. “Yous helps goblins?”

“Well, it be
lookin’ like yer needin’ some healin’ help.”

“Yes we do.
Tallmeken and Mork are in pretty bad shape,” responded Eric with a
sigh.

Grund eyed the
prince. “Ye be a days walk from me village but yer over o week from
Keenley. Ye be welcome to come. We be havin' healers like ye never
seen.”

Eric could see
the goblins were reluctant to go into an old enemy’s home, but Nak
knew they didn’t have much of a choice. Both Mork and Tallmeken
needed help, and soon.

“Wez gos,”
stated Nak after a few moments.

“Well, eat
a'fore we be gettin’ on the road,” declared Grund.

“Sounds good,”
said Eric, smiling. He was happy something was finally going their
way.

Grund led them
to the spot where he had left his pack. They all sat down and broke
out some rations. Nak stayed by his injured comrades, but Eric,
curiosity getting the better of him, decided to sit next to
Grund.

“I be thinkin’
the travellin’ gonna be mighty slow with them two as hurt as they
be,” commented Grund.

Eric nodded.
“Will they make it to your village?” he asked.

Grund shrugged
his shoulders. “Not be knowin’ but the sooner we be goin’ the
better.”

“Agrees,”
stated Nak from behind Eric. “Theys notz doins

goods. Needs
heals.”

Grund stood up
and grabbed his pack. “Then let’s be goin’.”

The unusual
group packed up their things, got Tallmeken and Mork organized on
the cart they had built, and set out for the dwarf village. Having
lost all the horses, things were slow going.

They rotated
pulling the cart with the injured goblins, and by the time they
needed to set up camp for the night, they were still more than half
a day away from the village. Eric was upset about the entire
situation. He set up his sleeping area near Grund, much to the
amusement of the dwarf. Grund had noticed how the young prince had
taken a liking to him. After Eric had set up his things, his mind
immediately turned to the dwarf. “Does your village have a name?”
he asked.

Grund settled
down beside Eric. “It be havin' a grand name. Ye never heard o
it?”

Eric became a
little uneasy. He had never heard of any dwarven villages, and felt
unsettled about the situation. Eric couldn’t figure out why no one
had ever talked to him about villages which were inhabited by other
creatures. “No. No one has ever spoken of dwarven villages. I did
not even know if your people really existed or not.”

Grund laughed,
which to Eric sounded like a landslide.

“Ye never be
hearin' stories o Xamblers? He be a mighty hero in dwarven legend.
Just ask yer goblin friend.”

Eric had
noticed when Grund mentioned the name Xamblers, Nak looked very
uncomfortable.

“Yesses
dwarfses. Thatz names wez knows. Hez killses goblins.”

“He be savin’
many a dwarf village from yer kind, goblin. Yer kind would have
slaughtered the lot o us.”

“And you still
want to help them?” questioned Eric, looking very puzzled by all of
this.

“Thems be
goblin crimes o the past. I be livin’ fer the now,

boy.”

“Orz youses
leadins olds enemieses toz deaths,” hissed Nak.

Eric noticed
the tension, which had been building up between these old enemies,
was about to come to a head.

“Nak! Tallmeken
and Mork are going to die if we do not get them help. Either keep
being perturbed by the situation, or grateful he is willing to
help. I am glad someone came along to help us and not kill us. I
trust him even if you do not and I am the one in charge of this
expedition so as long as I am alive, we will take help whenever we
are given it.”

Nak stared at
Eric. “Goingses sleeps nowz. Weses leaves suns comes ups.”

“Good night,
Nak. Remember, this trip is going to help out all of us,” said Eric
softly.

Nak nodded and
went over to his pallet.

“That be a
brave thing ye did lad,” remarked Grund.

“Thanks, Grund.
I only hope he sees I only want everyone to get out of this alive.
One of our group had been taken when we were attacked. I think that
is what is bothering him.”

“I see. Maybe
he be thinkin’ dwarves be behind it.”

“That could be.
Anyway, we should not be worrying about that right now. I just want
Tallmeken and Mork to get better.”

“Ye should be
gettin’ rest.”

Eric agreed and
went to sleep. When Grund heard Eric’s breathing level out he got
up and went over to where the goblins slept.

“I know ye be
up goblin. I got herbs that may help yer friends.”

“Knows bouts
dwarfses healings. Princez trustes youz. Yous gives herbs.”

“That be very
gracious o ye.” Then he went to work mashing up the herbs and
mixing them with some water. He poured a little in each of their
mouths and sat back. The potions started to work immediately and
within a few seconds they were both breathing better and their
natural green colour had returned to their skin.

“They be
walkin' tomorrow. Ye should be gettin’ some rest, Nak. And I need
to be thinkin’ o what to tell the boy.”

“Iz explains.
Yous notz like stories ofz dwarvses wes taughts.”

Grund smiled.
“And ye be nothin’ like the stories I be taught.”

Grund patted
Nak on the shoulder and went over to his pallet. His little trip
just got a bit more interesting. As he was falling asleep, he
realized something. These goblins did not sacrifice creatures, but
worship them. The council was never going to believe him when he
showed up in Xamblers with followers of Nelvlick. That was yet
another thing he was going to have to explain and he was sure was
going to be a very difficult task.

Koral woke with
a start. She had sensed Eric, and he was not far away. Knowing this
was going to be their one chance to catch him, she bolted to where
Glavlin lay sleeping. Jumping to his feet upon her approach
startled Koral, and she paused for a moment.

“Eric is
close,” she stammered.

“There is
something else in the forest as well,” stated Glavlin. “You and I
will pack our things and leave immediately. The rest of the group
will continue to the dwarf town.”

Koral nodded
and ran back to her things, throwing them as quickly as possible
into her pack. The sun was slowly poking through the trees and she
suddenly felt a sense of urgency. She grabbed her things and
brought them to Swift. When she was done, she noticed Glavlin,
Darly, and Mekken were all waiting for her. The king handed her
some of the food he had given Swift earlier. “Feed this to him. It
will get us there faster. Hurry, princess, we must be off.”

Again, Koral
just nodded. She fed the food to him, then hopped up and was off.
They had to find Eric, and quickly.

Eric woke up
with the sun slightly above the trees. He had thought the goblins
would have awakened him sooner, but figured they just wanted
everyone to rest, so he got up and started packing up his things.
He almost fell over when he saw Tallmeken and Mork packing their
belongings.

“Dwarfes
healings,” came Nak’s voice from behind.

Eric was going
to respond when he got an overwhelming feeling. It was so strong
that it brought him to his knees.

“Ye be alright
boy?” asked Grund.

“It is Koral. I
can feel her. It is as if she is close by. It was such a strong
feeling it overwhelmed me for a moment.” Getting to his feet, he
added, “I think I will be fine.”

“No you will
not because I am going to kill you,” came a

voice through
the trees. Koral and her elven friends were upon them in seconds.
Glavlin’s food had worked it is magic again. They had just made a
day’s ride in under an hour.

Reining in
Swift, Koral jumped down, walked up to Eric, and punched him in the
stomach.

“That is for
running out on me, you little snake.”

Regaining his
composure, Eric faced his sister. “Glad you could join us.”

Koral clenched
her fist to take another shot at Eric when she noticed the goblins
had drawn their swords.

“Some friends
you have here, “she spat.

Eric turned.
“Wait, this is my sister,” he yelled, putting himself between the
goblins and Koral.

The goblins
placed their swords back in the sheaths and went back to packing up
their things. Grund on the other had was staring at the elves.

“What brings ye
to this area, Glavlin?” he asked.

“Grund,”
shouted Glavlin realizing whom it was speaking to him. “I have come
to see you about this boy actually.”

Grund laughed
and Koral could not believe how it sounded; like two stones rubbing
against each other.

“The boy be
trouble fer sure. We be headin’ to Xamblers.”

“The rest of my
group is headed there right now. I guess we will be escorting you
home.”

Grund smiled.
“We could be usein’ some o yer help. This little band be pretty
beat up.”

Koral and Eric
exchanged glances. She was stunned to be seeing a dwarf, and he at
seeing an elf. It appeared they both had made new friends.

“They look it,”
responded Glavlin. “We will head out then.”

Koral helped
Eric finish up with his things while Darly and Mekken helped the
rest of the group. “Are they really elves?” asked Eric, speaking
barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” answered
Koral. “They are going to help us fulfil the prophecy.”

This news upset
Eric. He did not want any more help than what he had. It meant
sharing in the glory and that was not something he wanted to do.
Koral saw the look on his face and knew this wasn’t what he wanted
to hear.

“In case you
forgot, this has to be done by both of us,” she stated.

Eric just
stared at her. Of course, he knew the prophecy said it would take
both of them, but he was certain he could figure it out on his own.
“Yes, I remember. I left when I did because I knew father would not
let us go otherwise. I knew you would find me.”

Of course, it
was all a lie. Eric had been hoping that with him running off their
parents would make her stay until he was found. He threw the pack
onto the cart and picked it up. “Well, let us get going.”

Koral got up
onto Swift and watched her brother move off. A goblin joined him,
and the two of them headed off down the trail. Koral knew her
brother had been lying; it was something she could always sense in
him. What she did not know is why. Eric had always wanted to go
down in history as some great hero, but she could not believe he
would risk something this important. She decided not to dwell on it
for now and headed off with the rest of the group.

Glavlin watched
the entire scene, and was in the same frame of mind as Koral.
“Darly, we must watch this boy,” he whispered to her.

Darly looked
ahead at Eric. “He doesn’t look like he would be a problem.”

Glavlin was not
so sure. “He wants to fulfil this prophecy by himself and that is
something we cannot let happen.”

Darly was
stunned by the forcefulness of his last statement. Obviously, there
was more to this prophecy than he was letting on. “Mekken and I
will watch him,” she replied and rode off to where Mekken was
riding.

It took them
the rest of the day, but they made it to Grund's village. Eric was
astonished by how small the actual village was. After Grund's
story, he had been expecting something grand. Grund, seeing the
disappointment on his face, placed his hand on Eric’s arm. “Don’t
ye worry, boy. There be more here than ye be seein’.”

Eric had no
idea what he was talking about, but followed him into the village,
the rest of the group in tow. They saw no one, but Grund assured
him they were about especially with goblins amidst the group. As if
on cue, out stepped about twelve dwarves, weapons aimed.

“Grund, what ye
be doin’ with the likes o these?” asked a dwarf, pointing to the
goblins.

“They be
friends,” Grund answered.

An odd look
crossed the face of the dwarf. “Friends ye say. Well, that be up to
the council. They be waitin’ for ye n' yer group.”

“Then ye best
be takin’ us in,” Grund replied.

The dwarf
nodded. “Not all ye. Need be pickin' who goes in.”

Glavlin turned
and sent his elven entourage, save Darly and Mekken, away. They
bowed and without a word, left.

“Is this
satisfactory?” asked the elf king.

“It be,” he
said, leading them towards the mountain running behind the
town.

Eric kept
looking for more dwarves, but none appeared. Glancing ahead, he
noticed they were heading directly for the mountainside. “Do you
expect us to be able to climb that?” he asked Grund.

“Just ye watch,
boy,” was his reply. Grund could not wait to see what Eric’s
expression would be when he saw what was about to happen.

Two of the
dwarves escorting them stopped the group, and the one who had
spoken before went off ahead. “Now ye be seein’ where we be goin’,”
Grund whispered to Eric.