Archives: Trials of the Half-Elven
Chapter 14: Krisatris’s Arrest
Some time after the trio of elves and grassrunner left, several Kanon soldiers entered the inn. The man leading them was unfamiliar, but two of them may have been recognizable as the soldiers they fought on the road. These men were soldiers from both Shinning Hill, and Darvis’s barony. All of them scanned the crowd, and stopped when their eyes fell upon Krisatris, Flora, and Trent.
“The half-elf girl, she was one of them!” one of the more battle worn soldiers said excitedly, pointing at Krisatris. Fortunately for Flora and Trent, he didn’t recognize them, as they had attacked from the forest during the battle the day before. Obviously, their captain didn’t inform them of Trent’s appearance, though the boy no doubt had incurred his wrath.
“Oh crap,” Krisatris cursed as the soldiers came in. Turning to Flora and Trent, she whispered, “Lie! You met me here in town!”
These soldiers probably meant to arrest them for the fight on the road, but Krisatris knew they had to protect Olula so she could make things right. Kris wasn’t looking forward to jail, but she didn’t have much time to think. If anything, she could escape while they hauled her off, and failing that, they could tell Olula so that when she got her audience with the king, he could pardon Kris...hopefully.
Flora looked at the soldiers and sighed. “Lie?” she whispered back to Kris, then sighed softly and looked at Trent.
The soldiers stormed across the room toward the table where Krisatris, Flora, and Trent sat. Meanwhile the innkeeper, behind the bar, threw up his hands in frustration. He had seen enough excitement in the last few days, and now he had soldiers stomping into his inn.
“You there!” the lead soldier, one of the Shinning Hill men, shouted, pointing at Krisatris. “You’re coming with us!”
Krisatris stood up, hand on her hilt. She couldn’t give away her friends. “Why? What’d I do?”
“You know damn well what you did!” one of Darvis’s men growled at her. “What about your friends here?” he asked, eying Flora and Trent suspiciously. “I think I recall a black-haired boy being one of your number... Where’s the rest? The dark elf and half-breed dark elf? And the dwarf and the armored boy?”
“We broke up, they went to Valis, I came here, but I just met these two here at the inn,” Krisatris lied. “We just ate breakfast together.”
The other soldier from Darvis’s troop turned to the innkeeper. “Hey! Where’s the rest of them?” he demanded.
Now, the innkeeper couldn’t quite lie to the soldiers, but he didn’t want to give away a girl like Olula. He couldn’t imagine that poor child had done anything worth the wrath of the Kanon army. Knowing the hardships faced by half-dark elves, he expected that she had been falsely accused, and the rest of her companions came to her defense. “Damned if I know, they left like she said,” he replied. It was mostly true, the dark elf, the half-elf and dwarf, had all left—though there was no boy in armor with them.
The soldiers bought the innkeeper’s farce, but not Krisatris’s, entirely. “Take the two humans in for questioning as well,” the Shinning Hill soldier said.
Krisatris was clapped in irons, and two more soldiers went for Trent and Flora. The half-elf’s eyes darted from Trent to Flora. They had recognized Trent, and she could possibly agree that he was with her, but then they would be suspicious of Flora as well. Someone had to stay and warn Olula, someone who knew at least something of the situation. Or perhaps she should just stay quiet and let them talk their way out of it. She looked to Trent, pleading for him to do something.
Again, it seemed, Nat would have to help out. The half-elf had stopped playing when the soldiers accused Krisatris. It seemed that she was trying to protect her other friends by sacrificing herself.
“She is correct,” Nat spoke up as he walked over to the soldiers, giving them an amicable smile. “The rest of her traveling companions have left. I have been playing at this inn for several days, and I can vouch for the fact that these two,” he pointed to Trent and Flora, “came in separate from the half-elf’s group. There are many young men with black hair, I believe this must be mere coincidence.”
Flora looked at Nat as he spoke and she started to think, I hope that is the right choice he is making. Please Falis, if you can hear me, bless us as we go through this hard time. Help Olula to get things straight with the king and please, protect Krisatris. To you I pray Falis.
Trent’s heart rose to his throat when he heard the soldier’s accusations, he was afraid that this day would come when mutilating the captain would haunt him. At the time he thought it was a solid warning and that the soldiers would simply be thankful to Marfa that their losses weren’t greater and back off. But he had learned a lot about his own kind since then, and realized much too late that the soldiers would not be deterred at all. Not that they wouldn’t have pursued anyway, they were still far more intent on capturing Olula.
Kris looked at Trent as the soldiers shackled her, he wanted to do something but there were too many soldiers and too many innocents that could get hurt, fighting wasn’t an option. Luckily by then Nat had stepped in and began to offer an alibi for him and Flora.
“He’s right sir, there are many people with dark hair in this country, just look around you,” he said playing along with Nat and reciting a few facts about his own lineage. “Black is the most common hair color in Marmo and this is the nearest country to the Dark Isle. Immigrants have been sneaking here for centuries to make better lives for themselves.”
The Shinning Hill soldier leading them looked back at the innkeeper for confirmation, and he seemed to go along with the lie by affirming Nat’s information with a nod. “Alright then, we’ll take the half-elf,” the soldier decided, but he leaned in toward Trent, wagging his finger in front of the ranger’s face. “You’d better keep your nose clean, boy.”
With that, the soldiers left, dragging Krisatris behind them. The half-elf looked back over her shoulder at her companions with a pained expression, but she could only hope that her sacrifice had protected them and Olula.
Tears came to Flora’s eyes as she watch Krisatris get dragged way. “Kris,” she said softly, then she looked back at Trent and Nat. “What will we do now?”
The half-elf shrugged. “I suppose you’ll have to wait for your friend Olula to return... if they haven’t tracked her down as well,” Nat replied. “What are the two of you involved in?”
Flora looked at Trent to answer this one. She really didn’t know what it was. She just came when the battle was nearing to an end.
As Kris was hauled away, Trent forced himself to appear indifferent, while beneath his cloak he had a hand wrapped around his hunting knife and grasping so tightly that his knuckles might have burst from his fist. When the soldiers left he was able to drop his demeanor. “God damn it!” he shouted as he brought his fist down on the table. He was so focused on his own anger that he ignored Flora’s question, but not Nat’s response.
“No, we should find her before those soldiers do. I don’t want to think about what they’re going to do to Kris, but if they find Olula she’ll get worse.” He then turned to Nat. “And as for your question, that girl you met earlier got kicked out of her home village simply for having dark elf blood. Now, I have never seen a dark elf before a few days ago and even I could see that it wasn’t in that girl to hurt anyone. But that didn’t stop Darvis from banishing her or send an attack party after her the next morning.”
“Ohh... So that’s what happened. Poor Olula,” Flora said and started to think for a while. “One of us should go and find her. Or maybe two. We need to tell her right away.”
“It would be a good idea to find her,” Nat agreed. He considered the opportunity this provided, and decided that he could help find Olula. He imagined it now, finding her, hugging her close and telling her just how worried he was over her. “Someone should stay here, and since I’m probably more familiar with Shinning Hill than either of you, I should go out to find her.” Nat looked over the young man and Flora, then settled on the one he at least knew the name of. “Flora, why don’t you come with me?”
Flora nodded at Nat and stood up. “Alright then, lets,” she said pushing in the chair and waiting for him to lead the way.
* * *
With Flora following, Nat briefly spoke to the innkeeper to find out where he had sent Olula, then the two headed out onto the street. Nat stayed alert, looking for any other soldiers and avoiding the eyes of the city guard. After several blocks, the courier’s shop was in sight.
Olula had just finished sending off the letter and jewelry to Derrick’s family, and she was feeling good. This courier had been much kinder, in fact, she wondered if he even realized that she was a half-elf. Now with Derrick’s business taken care of and some closure in his death, Olula was feeling much better. She only had the more intimidating task of finding a way to gain an audience with the king.
As she and Thangroth stepped out of the inn, she looked up the street to see Nat and Flora walking towards them. Seeing the half-elven man again set her heart fluttering, now that she was in a better mood. “I wonder what they’re doing out here?” she asked Thangroth. For a moment, her heart sank as she realized perhaps he was with Flora because he was interested in her.
“Is that the bard from the inn?” Thangroth asked.
“Yes, he helped us a little this morning, before you got up,” Olula blushed, remembering how Nat had kept her from getting in trouble with Mica.
As Olula and her dwarven friend stepped out of the courier’s shop, Nat’s pace quickened to reach her. “I’m so glad you’re alright,” he said, then threw his arms around her and hugged her close. As he held her, he pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head.
“It seems that you and your friends are in a bit of trouble,” he explained. “Soldiers came looking for you at the inn. Your friend um...oh, what was her name... The other half-elf...she was arrested.”
Olula blushed as Nat embraced her, and though she was tempted to fight it for propriety’s sake, she did enjoy it. However, she didn’t get a chance to fight it as he explained what brought him out here. Looking up at the half-elf with her blue-gray eyes wide in concern, she asked, “Krisatris?”
“Yeah, her,” Nat said. “Apparently you got yourselves in trouble on the road? Well, let’s get back to the inn and talk about it. I need you to stay hidden, alright? So keep your hood on.” He turned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders protectively, then began walking her back to the inn.
“Oh no! Not the soldiers!” Olula groaned. “We were just trying to defend ourselves. Oh Falis...how am I going to get an audience with the king when I’m a wanted fugitive!”
Flora sighed as she watch the two, then followed them as they headed back to the inn. She looked down at the ground as she walked behind them. Thank the gods for finding her safe. It is amazing that they haven’t got her, I am so glad, she thought as she looked up at the two. I wonder if those two can make a full bred elf, hmm.. maybe not.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure out a way,” Nat assured her, patting her shoulder. If he put some effort into it, he could probably get a musical audience in the courts, or, for the fact that he wasn’t a part of their number that the soldiers recognized, he could help her lie her way in.
Olula smiled slightly at Nat’s assurances, but she was still pessimistic. It seemed so hopeless.
* * *
The group returned to the inn without further harassment from the soldiers, and found Trent waiting for them. When Olula saw that Trent was alone, her heart sank, knowing Krisatris was gone. Moments ago, she actually was feeling good, but now she had sunk back down into a depression.
Olula pulled out a chair from their table and collapsed into it. She nearly suggested just getting on with her life and leaving Kanon, but she couldn’t leave Kris to prison, they could still try to get her back. “So... what exactly happened while I was gone?” she asked her gathered group of friends.
Flora entered behind the two and walked over to their table. She frown as she watch Olula get back into a depression mood. She sat to the table and waited for someone to tell her.
“They took her,” Trent said somberly, breaking the silence. “They came in here and they just...” The young man couldn’t finish, he wasn’t sure if he would choke up or scream but he couldn’t finish without taking a second.
A moment later he started from the beginning, not sure how much Nat had told her. “It was those from the road the other day, they were looking for you...us. Flora and I were behind cover during the attack so they didn’t recognize us. But Kris was here, she was identified and they hauled her off.”
It was basically what Nat said, but with the emotion Trent put in it, it seemed to explain it better somehow. Olula’s eyes fell to the tabletop, unable to meet Trent’s. “We have to get her pardoned...some how,” she replied. “How can we get an audience with the king when we’re fugitives?” It seemed hopeless.
Two guardsmen entered the inn casually, their shift was over, though of course, they would be obligated to catch any fugitives if they came across them.
“This place has some great elven wine,” one of the guards said to the other.
His partner’s eyes swept across the room and fell on the group gathered at the table, but he only had a smile and a nod for those there. “I’ve never had elven wine, but I keep hearin’ that it’s pretty expensive. Must be good for that much coin,” he replied, completely disregarding the group, despite the fact that two of the known fugitives were sitting there. The two men took stools at the bar and ordered their elven wine, ignoring Olula and company.
Nat tensed as the guardsmen came into the inn, but were oblivious as to who was at the table. The bard pondered on this for a moment. “The men who took your friend away were soldiers,” he said, thinking aloud more than anything. “The guards don’t seem to recognize you... Perhaps your exploits are only known amongst the military?”
Flora gasped as she saw the guardsmen enter. Oh no! Those two words kept ringing through her head over and over again. Her heart pounded as she saw the guardsmen look at their table. “Maybe you’re right Nat,” she answered. “We need to find a way for you to go and talk to the king. Poor Krisatris,” she said, resting her head on the table.
“If the guard doesn’t know...does that give us an opportunity?” she spoke in a whisper, so they wouldn’t hear. Her ears perked up optimistically, hoping that they had an opportunity here.
“I think it’s worth a shot...” Nat mused aloud, scratching his chin lazily. “If we avoid the soldiers and work with the guard, then perhaps we can get you to the castle to plead your case.” The half-elf ran his hand back through his hair, pulling back the locks that had fallen over his face. “What do you four say?”
“Yes! Let’s do it,” Olula said with a smile.
“Aye, it could be dangerous, but if we’re careful, we could get what we need,” Thangroth replied. “We’ll need to leave this inn soon, however, if those soldiers know we’re staying here.”
“That’s a good point,” Olula said. “We’d better pack up then.”
Flora nodded. “Indeed, the plan sounds good. Lets get straight to it guys. Olula,” she said as she paused to look at Olula, “We’ll get our things now.” She paused once more to look at Thangroth and Nat. “While you two do the same. We have to no time to waste so lets hurry and meet back down here,” she said as she paused again. A faint blush came upon her cheeks as she looked at the others and then down at the table. “I am sorry for giving out orders like that, I just want to hurry and save Krisatris.” She looked up at them and smiled.
Olula cracked a grin and Flora took charge; her eagerness was refreshing. The half-elf stood, ready to go get her things. “Let’s go then,” she said and headed for the stairs.
Flora nodded and followed Olula upstairs. She walked quickly in front of her and open the door, then she looked at Olula and smiled as she walked into the room. The first thing she did was get all of Krisatris’s things together and then she went and packed her belongings.
“I hope things go well,” Flora said, placing her things in her bag. She stopped for a brief moment and started to pray a nice short prayer to ask Falis to protect them and help them get through this safely. Flora sat on the bed and looked at Olula after her prayer. “I hope everything will be fine and for the king to have a soft heart towards you,” she said as she smiled.
“Thanks,” Olula replied with a smile. She was going to get Krisatris’s belongs, but Flora thought of it first, and it warmed Olula’s heart for some reason to see Flora taking more responsibility, even if it was just that little thing. The half-elf went about packing the few things she had left out, then picked up her own bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Are you ready?” she asked Flora.
Flora stood up and stretched, then picked up her bag and placed it on her back gently since her bow and arrows were there. Then she picked up Krisatris bag and held it in her hand. It was a bit heavy for her, but she could manage the weight. Before answering Olula, she took a quick look around the room and then walked over to the door. “Lets go,” she said as she opened the door and walked outside, then waited for Olula to come out and lead the way.
Olula nodded to Flora, then stepped out of the room, after giving it one last sweep to make sure they had everything. With that final glance, she shut the door and locked it behind her. With a new, hopeful attitude, Olula hurried back downstairs. Down the hall, Trent and Thangroth were leaving their room with their gear, and soon joined Flora and Olula as they waited momentarily for Nat to gather his things.
Nat went upstairs to pack his few and scattered belongs, haphazardly shoving them in his bag. Tossing the sack over his shoulder, he returned downstairs to pack up his guitar and found that the group was all prepared. “Let’s go,” he said. “Olula, keep your hood up.”
As Nat walked out, the innkeeper noticed that he had all of his things, and he had yet to actually pay for his room, or earn his keep to make up for the time he spent here. “Hey Nat! Ye better not be running out on yer bill!” the innkeeper warned, shaking his finger at the half-elf.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow,” Nat gave the innkeeper the most honest and trustworthy grin he could muster.
“Alright...” the innkeeper said reluctantly and with that, Nat stepped out the door, leading the group behind him.
