For hours they sat in silence. The only noise was the pounding of the forges and the growling of the Urki. Castor thought. All the time they were being carried up and back he had watched for the slightest sign of an escape route. There had been none. Still, he refused to give in, refused to accept that Morgorath would rise and they would be killed. It just was not right. Still, the weight of dread hung over him like a storm cloud. Suddenly he found himself hating life. What had he down to deserve this? He had not asked to be the one that dethroned Bantu and kept the most evil of sorcerers from rising. Again, it wasn't right. Theuses's voice interrupted him. "Did you see that?"

"Hmm? What?" He said in an annoyed voice.

"Look at the wall."

Castor looked. He saw nothing at first but then... Was that a shadow? He squinted in concentration. It was. It was a figure hanging in the edges of the shadows holding onto the wall with its arms and legs spread out to avoid darkness in any one spot. It was the work of a professional stealth artist. "I see it. It's a person."

Theuses slid closer the bars. With his fist he knocked on the iron. The clanging was not loud but it could easily be heard from the other side of the chasm. Castor saw it. It was only the slightest movement, a tilt of the head. Then, without consciously seeing it, the figure was gone.

"What do you suppose that was?"

Just when Castor was about to answer, something dropped from above and stopped in front of their prison. He was so startled he almost cried out, but Theuses stopped him. He took a closer look. The figure was wearing a black shirt and brown vest with long, black hair draping over its shoulders. On its back, he saw the handle of a sword and in its belt three daggers. Its eyes were thin. With a slender movement it pulled out his sword and cut through the bars like they were made of butter. "Come with me, but be silent." The black scarf around its mouth muffled its voice, but it was soft like an elf's, though it contained a hint of steel and was harsher than any elf's. He hesitated. It could be a trap, then again if they did not go with him they would probably never make it out. "Are you deaf? Come." Castor finally slid closer to the hole in the bars.

"How?"

The elf-like thing pulled a role of rope from his back. He knotted one side of it to the bars and draped the other end into the pit.

"Go down about fifty feet. Another tunnel opens up down there with a path to the surface. I will meet you there." Without another word he disappeared.

Theuses and Castor looked at each other for a moment before climbing down the rope. It was hard work. The edges of the chasm gave almost no footholds, putting all the stress on the arms. Thankfully, the Urki were too busy to notice two prisoners, even ones as important as these, climbing ever so slowly toward their escape.

It didn't take long for Castor to see the opening the creature had spoken of. It was a decent size hole with crude metal spikes nailed around it. Balancing on the spikes, Castor let go of the rope and leaped into the portal with Theuses right behind him. The creature was waiting. "Come with me, but be silent." They slowly made their way down the tunnel for about thirty feet before the creature stopped them.

"Are you armed?"

Castor shook his head. "No, they took our weapons."

The creature nodded like he had expected as much. "Very well then. Wait here." He slid closer the wall and continued forward. Theuses looked at Castor with a puzzled look on his face, but Castor just nodded.

Seconds later they heard the clash of weapons and the sound of something heavy striking the ground. The creature appeared again.

"Come." They followed him without a word. Farther down the tunnel, two Urki soldiers lie face down on the ground. Behind them a huge, metal portcullis blocked an entrance to the now dark world outside. Again the creature turned to them. "Look for a lever or a wheel that will open the door." They did. It was hard to see in the dark with only the light of the moon to aid them.

Seconds later Theuses called out. "I found it!"

"Quiet you fool! They will hear you." Footsteps were already audible from back where they came. The creature ran over to him and pulled the heavy metal bar. He was stronger than he looked. The portcullis slid upward just enough for them to slide under. It was just in time too. The forms of three Urki warriors appeared from the tunnel.

"No! The prisoners! Stop them!" One of the warriors grabbed the falling gate and lifted it above him. The other two dashed under it. The creature didn't even look back before raising his hand quickly. A green orb of fire flew and exploded, striking down the two Urki. Castor, Theuses, and the creature simply kept running. Once they had gotten several hundred feet from the door a horn blew.

"That's the battle signal. They are alerting all scout, enforcement, and reserve parties that they have been breached."

"What does that mean?" Castor asked.

"For us? That means if we don't get away by then we will be captured, taken back to the fortress, and slowly tortured until dead."

Castor decided to keep running. It did not take long for him to get tired. Theuses, being an elf, could keep a pace all day without breaking a sweat. The creature appeared to have the same endurance. Finally he stopped. "I-I can't run anymore."

"Good, 'cause we're here."

They were in a small clearing of boulders with tall spines of rock sticking up all around. Rocks lie on top of each other in small walls that connected the spirals of stone. It was the remnants of a tower. From the shadows six other figures appeared. Two seemed to be bound. The creature dropped to the ground at the sight of the first in a deep bow.

"Rise." The creature did.

It was difficult to see the figures in the moonlight, but Castor did his best. The leader was medium height with long, black hair. He carried a bow on his back and two knives in his belt, along with a sword similar to the one the creature was wearing. He wore long, brown pants and a green vest over a cream shirt. Leather armor covered his arms and grieves were strapped to his legs. It might have been a trick of the light, but Castor thought he saw pointed ears on the figure. It moved before he could be sure.

"Welcome, Castor King of Archain, and you, Theuses of Ilesmatr, Lord of the Elven realm, and Protector of Valdraermisr." It chilled Castor that it knew his and Theuses's names. The leader stepped back several feet and the rest of the figures made a circle. "Bring the spoils." Two of the men stepped forward. The first carried what Castor recognized as their weapons, along with an assortment of heavier Urki weapons. The other carried leather bags of herbs and jars of liquids Castor was not familiar with. The leader frowned, but nodded like he was pleased. The men dropped the spoils in the center of the circle. "Bring the prisoners." Castor was again chilled by how they referred to them as prisoners after they had been freed, if that was what had happened. He felt a strong push and he walked forward to the center of the circle, Theuses with him. One more 'prisoner' were sent forward.

Castor was relieved to see L'arch. She looked shaken up, but altogether fine. One of the figures spoke up. "What do we do with these? We will have no use for them in Crolia. Let us spill their blood now and get it done with." Another murmured in agreement, but the leader shook his head.

"No, they are leaders of realms. To kill them would be starting a war with the two powerful kingdoms. It would be foolish."

"They are not the most powerful. The Empire is."

"Nevertheless, we still could use them as allies. Killing them would get us nowhere."

Castor was annoyed by how they talked about him like he wasn't there. "Hello, we are still here. Would someone mind explaining to us where we are, why were are here, and who you are?"

"Of course, my apologizes. I am Ilvnag of Crolia, Hunter of Crocis, and General of the army of the Night Elves." Theuses immediately jumped for his sword. The four other Night elves immediately drew their blades.

"Please don't," Ilvnag murmured threateningly.

Theuses grimaced in anger. "Castor, whatever you do, don't trust them! They have betrayed the elves before and-," He was cut off by one of the Night elves striking him over the head with the butt-end of his sword. He collapsed slowly. The L'arch was dealt with in a similar manner, but the damage had already been done. Castor was on high alert.

"What did he mean by 'they have betrayed the elves before'?"

Ilvnag glared at him. "It is no matter of yours."

"Well you made it a matter of mine when you took me and assaulted my friends. Explain."

"We will not speak of this further. Juidan, bind those three." A warrior ran forward and wrapped rough rope around the elves' wrists. Castor himself felt a warrior wrap ropes around his wrists as Ilvnag approached him. "If you refuse to be an ally of the Night elves, you are an enemy of them and will thus be treated as one." Suddenly another arrow shot from the shadows, but went straight through a Night elf and impaled itself in a rock. The shaft was black iron and the fletching was navy blue.

All the elves turned to look toward it as a platoon of Urki emerged. At its head was the fortress commander. They all wore armor from head to toe and carried huge, war blades. The elves scattered to engage them, but Ilvnag had different plans. "Warriors, fall out! Take the prisoners."

Several warriors dropped back and grabbed the fallen elves. Then they simply disappeared into thin air, along with the elves they carried. More did this until there were none left but Castor and Ilvnag. The Urki lord approached, swinging his sword experimentally. "I swore to you I would spill elf blood on this land and I intend to honor that oath."

Ilvnag spat in the rock. "This human is under my protection. If you declare destruction on him you do the same to me."

The Urki cringed slightly. "Your forces are obsolete against the armies of Urki, general of the shadow ones. Your warriors are weak and ill equipped. We will destroy you as long as the earth remains just."

Ilvnag sneered. "Good thing for me the earth isn't just."

The Urki lord growled. "Then justice will be served." The force of Urki charged forward, but they were too late. Ilvnag grabbed Castor's arm and then Castor blacked out.

~ ~ ~

Castor dreamed of blackness. Cold, dark, looming blackness. He also heard voices. Smooth, elfish tones mixed with rough, harsh voices. He heard arguing and the clash of blades.

Then he woke. He saw blue sky. Groggily, he sat up. In front of him was a forest made of immense pine trees. Water gurgled from somewhere nearby. Shiny, flat rocks covered the banks of the river where he was lying face down. From somewhere he heard the crackling of a small fire. Ilvnag's voice came from behind him. "You've been out for hours."

He turned over and shakily stood. "Where am I?"

"You're at the River of Trethia."

Castor shook his head in wonder. "The River of Trethia? That's all the way south of Valdraermisr!"

Ilvnag nodded. "Yes, and just north of the Crocis forest which is are destination."

"Wait, wait. You said I was out for a few hours. How did we get all the way out of Valdraermisr in only a few hours?"

Ilvnag got a dark look. "Ask you elf friend over there, if he's conscious."

Castor looked farther in front of him. Theuses lie almost motionless. A long cut went from his shoulder to his wrist. It did not look deep, but it bled profusely. "What have you done?!"

Ilvnag only grunted and turned away. Castor walked to where Theuses lie. Carefully, he touched him on his forehead. Theuses gasped for breath suddenly and then calmed down.

"Castor! Don't trust them!"

"You already told me before you went out. What is it? What is it about them that's so bad?"

Theuses coughed. "They are an evil, despicable race. About a millennia ago, the elves were simply one group. We practiced magic, studied scrolls, and trained in swordplay, but not all elves were satisfied with this. A law states that any practice of dark magic is forbidden, a law punishable by exile. A group of elves were not satisfied with this limitation. They believed that our race could greatly progress in power if we allowed such practices. Our king at the time would have nothing of it, and so, this group waited, but never forgot their beliefs.

"Finally, a group of these elves returned from an expedition to the very heart of Valdraermisr where things are strange and magic is as common as air. They had made a discovery. A rare piece of magic that they had harnessed. This magic allowed them to bend the very forces of the darkness to transport them into a different location. When word of this spread many were curious, but also suspicious. The same king as before forbid such a spell's use. The elves that had made the discovery were angry with such a declaration and accused him of being jealous of their power. The king was furious with this accusation and declared them banished from the kingdom. The night of the declaration they stormed the palace and murdered him in cold blood, along with all his guards. The group was known as the-,"

But Castor didn't need him to finish. "Night elves."

Theuses nodded. "As I said, they are not to be trusted. The same blood of that king runs in my veins and I will not sit here playing along with them."

"But they could be the edge we need," Castor argued.

Theuses shook his head. "I am sorry Castor. I respect you and trust you, but this thing I will not do. They are my blood enemies and I will not fight alongside with them. I am sorry." He stood up, wincing as he moved his arm, and stood, looking out over the river.

~ ~ ~

Tarris walked alongside Bantu as they surveyed the camp. It was a fine operation. Slaves hauled huge trees from the forest that lie several hundred yards from the forest. Once they were done, however, the forest would be several thousand yards away. Sparks flew from forges as the Urki soldiers smelted their weapons. Steam and smoke hung thick in the air. Overseers cracked their whips viciously at rows of slaves.

Farther back, the two looming mountains of rock that formed the two edges of the Saber Pass stuck up intimidatingly. Bantu stopped. "Are there any immediate defenses of the pass?"

"No my lord, but we do have nearly twelve groups of four-hundred at the pass's mouth."

"It's not enough. Assign four groups of soldiers to the fortress in the pass."

Tarris bowed. "Yes sire."

"How is the dam going? Will it be completed on time?"

"I have no reason to suspect anything otherwise."

"You said we have four-thousand, eight-hundred soldiers, correct?"

"That is correct."

They were interrupted by a party of Urki coming toward them. The leader was the lord of the mountain fortress. "Bantu, I must speak with you."

The Maneket emperor looked at him distastefully. "What is the meaning of this? I assigned you to protect my prisoners. You have disobeyed that order. A sensible man would hide his face from me."

"The prisoners are the meaning of this conversation. Last night my fortress was raided by Night elves. They freed the prisoners and took much of our goods. I attempted to take them, but they disappeared before I could. It is for this reason I request to lead the force of the pass. My pride is wounded and I intend to strike them back to settle the score."

"You have failed me once. I will not give you the chance to do it again. You are relieved of your position." Bantu turned away.

"Lord Bantu! Listen to me! I-," He was cut off by Tarris's sword in his back. He collapsed. Bantu wrinkled his nose. "You there," He said pointing to a slave. "Take this warrior and dispose of his body." The slave ran forward, lifted the body, and dashed away.

Bantu turned back to Tarris. "Have either Tarnagh or Fearior escaped yet?"

"I am afraid not sire. Tarnagh's bonds are nearly destroyed, though it will be a while yet for Fearior to escape. The spells on him are strong."

"Hmm. Have them free by the next full moon. I would prefer the Dark Lord rising sooner than later. On that day, all hell will break loose.

2֟c�*