Abner had no inkling of how far they’d travelled over the past few hours. Whatever creature he was riding on moved smoothly, swaying side to side only slightly, belying the great speed at which it travelled, leaving Abner to wonder if it was a blessing that a black bag had been placed over his head, blinding him and muffling the surrounding sounds. The creature he was riding made a clicking sound before abruptly climbing a sharp incline. Abner would have fallen off had his hands, which were bound in front of him, not already been clenched tight around his saddle’s horn.

  “Be careful, we’re about to climb,” came Eskar’s sardonic voice from in front of him.

  Abner swallowed a curse and clung on for dear life. The angle at which his steed was climbing seemed impossibly steep. It felt as though they were climbing a sheer cliff face.

  “You know, I’m beginning to think the elves don’t intend to reward us at all,” Stride remarked.

  Before Abner could retort, he heard Gen speak. “Oh, don’t worry, the elves are a secretive bunch, and not very inviting to outsiders, but they always keep their word.”

  He heard Brynn let out a tired, drawn out sigh and shook his head. “Did it occur to you that the reward might not necessarily be one we would want to receive?”

  Gen fell silent for a moment, and Abner could picture the cogs turning in her head. At length, she replied. “I think we might be in danger.”

  “We’re bound with bags over our heads, and you’re just realising that now?” Abner snapped.

  “There’s no need to be rude!” Brynn shot back, but even she could scarcely keep the exasperation from her voice.

  “Silence, the lot of you!” Eskar snarled.

  Soon, their mounts levelled off, and Abner heard the singing of birds, a sound he had realised was missing until now. Then, he heard the sound of slowing water. His mount made a clicking sound before coming to a stop. Abruptly, the hood was removed from Abner’s head, and he blinked under the bright rays of the sun before taking in his surroundings.

  The forest here was lush. Silver barked trees soared into the sky around them, their branches heavy with jade green leaves. They were on a smooth dirt path, and the undergrowth around them looked like it had been freshly manicured by expert gardeners.

  “Riding lizards are not permitted beyond the sacred waters of the Ildan,” Eskar said, indicating a fast moving stream of crystal clear waters in front of them.

  It was spanned by an arched bridge of silvery wood upon which leaf bearing branches sprouted, making it look like it had been grown in place, rather than built. Abner’s brain then processed the words, ‘riding lizard’, and looked down to see that he had been riding a large yellow lizard. Its eyes moved independently as it watched its surroundings for danger, and its long, pink tongue flicked out intermittently, tasting the air.

  “That’s disgusting!” he heard Gen cry.

  Her voice was followed by a loud thud, and Abner turned to see that the sorceress had fallen off her riding lizard. Brynn daintily hopped off hers and helped her ward to her feet. Abner clambered down his, a process made awkward by his bound hands, before turning to their captors.

  “What now?”

  “We proceed on foot. You will be the first outsiders to travel beyond the Ildan in the past two centuries, so be on your best behaviour,” Eskar warned.

  “Or what, you’ll ‘reward’ us further?” Stride asked bitterly.

  Eskar’s eyes suddenly turned cold, causing the boy to shrink back. “I am risking a lot bringing you back for questioning.”

  “Well, don’t feel you have to put yourself out,” Brynn said testily.

  “Yes, we would happily turn back right now,” Stride chimed in.

  “The alternative was summary execution,” Fultri said, silencing the humans’ rising objections.

  “For what crimes?” Gen demanded after an uncomfortable silence.

  “Crossing the Erevine, for one,” Eskar replied bluntly.

  Gen blinked, and her shoulders slumped. “Oh… After everything that happened, I’d quite forgotten about that.”

  “Surely the fact that we helped you slay that foul creature counts in our favour,” Brynn protested.

  “That is one of the reasons you are still alive,” Eskar pointed out.

  “What are the others?” Stride demanded.

  The boy’s eyes were darting around, looking for any avenue they might have to escape, and Abner couldn’t help but feel the boy had the right idea.

  “You hold a clue to what that one’s brother is up to in our forest,” Eskar replied and quickly continued before Gen could protest. “I suggest you search your memory, because any knowledge you can offer is the key to saving your life and those of your companions.”

  Gen swallowed and nodded while Eskar motioned to Fultri, and Eskar found it curious that the Captain had omitted mention of their High Priestess.

  “Follow the Captain,” the elf ordered. “And make no attempt to run. You are already being watched by our sentries, and you will be dead if you take one step out of line.”

  Abner immediately scanned the trees but saw no sign of the sentries, though he did not doubt they were there.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “There, there and there,” Stride muttered, pointing with his bound hands.

  Abner looked at the areas the boy had indicated, and it took him a while to discern the outline of an elf, crouched on a branch, watching them.

  “You have good eyes,” Brynn remarked.

  “Go,” Fultri ordered.

  As they reached the bridge’s midpoint, Abner saw a gold dome that looked like it was set ablaze under the midday sun peeping over the tops of the trees ahead and blinked. “There is a city out here?”

  “You should count yourself honoured,” Fultri said from behind him. “You are the only humans who have laid eyes on the gold dome of Emar Sulian in the living memory of your people.”

  Once they were across the river, elves materialised, seemingly out of thin air. Unlike the rangers, they were clad in white steel armour, and high crowned helmets sat on their heads, making them look like towering giants, and they were armed with long, slender glaives. The dozen or so armoured elves swarmed around the humans and marched in step with them.

  “Iglia Idral, Captain of the Third Guard, greets Eskar Orfie, Captain of the Rangers,” the armoured elf walking alongside Eskar said.

  They spoke in Herovinian, no doubt for the prisoners’ benefit, Abner thought to himself. Then, the elf’s surname, Idral, sent a chill down Abner’s spine. That was the surname of the High Priestess.

  “What news from the Southern reaches?” she continued.

  Abner watched the pair closely, wondering how Eskar would respond. The Captain of the Rangers glanced at the tall elf woman walking beside him but remained silent for what felt like an eternity. This was not lost on the armoured elves, who shifted their gaze to Eskar. Abner took a deep breath and flexed his hands, testing their bonds to see if he could break them with brute strength should a fight break out.

  However, the ropes binding him were strong despite their dainty appearance, and he could feel no give in them. Stride had disappeared from his side and was now behind him, and he could feel the boy’s eyes on the dagger Abner kept sheathed at the small of his back.

  “Dangerous news,” Eskar replied at length, and Abner shifted his attention back to the Captain. “The corruption is worse than we thought. We have reason to believe the servants of the God of Rot are involved.”

  Iglia glanced at Gen before turning back to Eskar. “Them? You think they are the servants of Putres?”

  “They would not be alive if that were the case,” Eskar replied quickly when the armoured elves bristled. “No, but we believe that one might have a clue.”

  Eskar pointed at Gen before continuing. “She is a student of the Society of Sorcery.”

  Iglia’s voice turned dark. “I knew their heresy would lead to no good.”

  “We pursue only knowledge,” Gen objected.

  “Some knowledge is better left undiscovered,” Iglia said coldly. “Being overly curious will only lead to ruin.”

  “Our knowledge has benefitted mankind!” Gen snapped. “And it is what helps hold the line against the monstrosities assailing our northern realms. It could help your people too, if only…”

  “The Black Horde’s arrival is a consequence of your own actions,” Iglia snarled.

  Abner looked at Gen and Brynn, who looked just as confused as he was.

  “What do you mean?” Gen blurted.

  Iglia and Eskar exchanged looks before the former replied. “You humans have expanded your borders too aggressively without a care about their initial inhabitants. Now, many of our people see it as you getting your just deserts.”

  They trudged on in silence until Stride could no longer contain his curiosity. The boy reached out to nudge Gen on the shoulder. “What was he talking about?”

  Gen turned around to look at the boy for a moment before replying. “The Stinwell Expedition beyond the West Gate… Some say it triggered the Black Horde’s invasion of our lands.”

  “Why do it, then?” Stride demanded.

  “There had been no sign of the Black Horde for three hundred years,” Gen said with a sad shake of her head. “Years of civil war had drained the coffers of House Lecore, so the King decided that claiming new lands for the crown would solve all his problems.”

  “And how wrong they were,” Iglia said darkly.

  “Yes,” Gen’s voice was scarcely a whisper.

  Abner bowed his head. This was the first he’d heard of any expedition, or House Lecore’s role in everything. No wonder the prince was so eager to fight to protect the people of the North. A twinge of guilt ran through him. Was he truly doing the right thing by not answering the prince’s call to arms? He was so lost in thought that it was only when he walked into Brynn’s back that he realised his companions had stopped.

  “Sorry,” he said, surprised that she wasn’t already showering him with expletives.

  Abner looked up and was stunned to see a sprawling city built amidst the woods. The smaller buildings were made from the silvery wood of the surrounding trees, while the larger ones were built from pure white stone. A tower rose in the middle of the city, ringed by arches and statues of elves. Jewels sparkled in their eyes, and above it all was a dome Abner had seen earlier, covered in gold leaf and dazzling under the rays of the sun.

  “The prisoners are to be questioned at the Terrace of First Bloom,” Iglia said.

  Eskar looked at her in shock. “Does that mean the queen will be there?”

  “She said she wishes to question them herself,” Iglia replied.

  “She has heard of our arrival?” Gen blurted in surprise.

  Iglia glared at the sorceress until she averted her gaze before smirking. “Yes, she had her eyes on you the moment you crossed the Erevine.”

  “If she’s so all knowing, how come she doesn’t know what’s going on with the corruption?” Stride snorted.

  Iglia’s hand moved as swiftly as lightning and struck the boy across the face with a resounding crack.

  “Watch how you speak of our Queen,” she hissed. “Or I will cut your tongue out and feed it to the crows.”

  Tears streamed down Stride’s face as he glared at the elf, but he did not retort.

  “Come along,” Eskar said gruffly. “We must not keep the queen waiting.”

  Iglia paused to glower at Stride for a moment before spinning on her heel. She snapped her fingers, and her men converged to shove their prisoners roughly down a broad road of beaten earth.

  “Something’s strange,” Abner muttered to himself as they were marched through the city.

  “What?” Brynn whispered, leaning in close.

  The buildings looked impressive at first, sporting intricately carved beams and pillars and lofty ceilings, but now that he took the time to look at them, many appeared derelict and were in various states of disrepair. Then, there was the lack of activity. This was the first arrival of outsiders in who knew how long, and no one could be bothered to turn up.

  “Where are the inhabitants?” Abner asked. “It’s just after midday. The streets of any human town or city of note would be packed.”

  There were a few elves here and there who looked at them curiously as they went about their day, but not nearly enough for a city of this size.

  “You would do well not to notice so much if you wish to leave this city alive,” Fultri warned.

  Abner fell silent and took pains to be more covert in his examination of the city. Their guards didn’t seem to care as they led them up a short flight of stairs, which appeared to be the single thick branch of a tree that wound around itself until it became a platform almost forty feet in diameter and just five feet off the ground. A grand chair of white wood had been set up under a lace canopy that was suspended from branches that formed a crown above the centre of the platform.

  A diminutive elf woman was sitting on the platform wearing a simple white gown. A crown of brambles sat on her head. Their leaves were a fiery hue of red and gold, and a single blue gem the size of Stride’s fist blazed in its centre. She was flanked by a pair of guards wearing the same armour as Iglia’s men.

  She watched the humans with deep green eyes as they approached, and the Iglia’s men arranged them in a row before her. With the slightest nod of her head, Iglia and her men withdrew three paces, leaving Eskar and Fultri standing next to the humans. The elves bowed, and without having to be told, the humans did the same, overwhelmed by the majesty the diminutive elf exuded. Her eyes roved over them, holding each of the humans’ gaze in turn. Then, she smirked.

  “Arshava Kiruivi, Queen of the Erevine, greets you.”