MM1-2G: I Will Hold You To Your Word
by zaqxsw
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Description
Siril took a moment to calm herself and consider what he had said thoughtfully. She knew that wood elves took such promises as sacred bonds and therefore he would die before breaking it, so she was satisfied that he wouldn’t put his interests above Ryllae’s safety, and, truth be told, she had no idea how capable her other companions were. She knew that Coran had saved Kara from being ravaged by half a dozen brigands, and left their leader dead with a single blow, but she knew very little of monks and their abilities… it wasn’t an art pursued by many elves. She could surmise that Kara was a fairly powerful druid, based on the fact that she had a cougar as an animal companion, and knew a good deal about their capabilities as it was a path chosen by many of her peoples’ priests. Malark, she did not trust in the least, his only interest was in looting her former home for all he could take, but he had snuck into the drow encampment and escaped undetected, which spoke well of his skill. So, having someone along who she knew as a skilled warrior, as well as being wood-wise, would certainly be a boon.
“Alright,” she agreed with a shrug, “you can come along… but I will hold you to your word.”
A hard day’s trek through mostly trackless forest had them more than halfway to their goal, better progress than they would have made without Aesar and Kara combination of woodcraft and magic, letting them make camp just south of the Halfaxe Trail, the main trade route that ran south-west into Harrowdale. Coran used his enchanted token to provide them with shelter to the approval of all, and more than a bit of avarice from Malark, but the monk’s ominous glare was enough to warn him off any attempt to steal it… at least for the present.
“You’ve seen their defenses and managed to slip in and out undetected… so what are we facing?” Aesar demanded of the human thief while they settled down to dine on rations of elven bread.
“They have what looks like a rather hastily constructed palisade of logs a dozen feet high around the encampment, which sprawls out from the manor about a hundred feet in the front and nearly five times that in the back, which is where the majority of the tents were, with sentry posts at the corners and every fifty feet or so along its length. There is only one gate in the center of the front wall, with half a dozen guards posted, two on top and four below, as well as at least two patrols of the same strength roaming the wood line about fifty feet out. Inside there was a lot of milling about until sunrise, but then they seemed to retire to avoid the sun, but I didn’t see patrols or guards except on the doors into the manor… front and back… and at the door to what looked like the master suite, which is where the girl was held.” Malark reported in a mater-of-fact tone, as if discussing the weather.
“You snuck past all that undetected… twice?” Siril questioned in a tone heavy with disbelief.
“It’s easier to do than you’d think,” he replied casually, but then added; “Especial when they can’t see you.”
“So, you have a means to become invisible,” Aesar snorted with a huff, obviously not overly impressed.
“I have some talent with the ‘Art’,” the thief confessed with a rather arrogant smirk; which drew reproachful glares from everyone.
“And when were you going to share that tib-bit?” Siril snapped accusingly; certain that he had held that back in case he needed to use his spells to escape if things went badly… or worse, against them if it would give him an advantage.
“You never asked how I got in and out undetected,” Malark barked defensively, “and why else do you think I was so eager to get my hands on the scrolls and spell books I saw stashed there.”
“Alright,” Coran interceded, knowing any further argument would only sow more dissention amongst the group that already had little to hold them together. “Now we know… and I’m sure Malark’s spell-craft can be useful.”
Comments (20)
hashdoc
Great elven character!
zaqxsw
Thank you!
OkrimSlava
great looking scene.
zaqxsw
Thanks!
Kordouane
Beautiful elven portrait !!
zaqxsw
Thank you!
Echidnaean
Nice fae scene and snippet! Goes right along with the book I am reading.
zaqxsw
Thank you... glad you enjoyed it!
my3DDesignWorld
Strong meaningfulness
zaqxsw
Thanks!
bucyjoe
cool want to see the cougar
zaqxsw
Thanks... sorry, I don't have her in any of the coming images.
NobbyC
Very good!!!
zaqxsw
Thanks!
rto3d
great story and nice portrait
zaqxsw
Thank you!
eekdog
Cool Elven male character.
zaqxsw
Thank you!
goldie
Excellent installment to your continuing saga...really enjoying this one :)
zaqxsw
Thank you so much... I hope the future installments don't disappoint!
miwi
Beautiful elven portrait,super story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
zaqxsw
Thank you so much!
Crudelitas
Superb Portrait of a nice green eyes man. Wonderful Image and Story my dear friend!
zaqxsw
Thank you so much... I'm glad your enjoying it!
RodS
This just keeps getting better. Wonderful illustration, and I'm hooked on the story.
zaqxsw
Thank you so much... I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
RedPhantom
Monk of the Moon maiden caught my eye back when it was posted, but I have to wait to read it. This is a great story so far. I'll have to go back and read your others while I await your next installment.
zaqxsw
Thank you for your kind comment and interest! I have two more installments for tomorrow and Tuesday, and one more in the works after that.
starship64
Fantastic work.
zaqxsw
Thank you!
Axeye
I have a feeling that Malark might end up betraying the group. Hopefully Siril will not entrust him entirely because she's already aware of his skills and how he's used them... Excellent work my friend keep it coming!
zaqxsw
Thank you again for all your kind comments and interest... The trick to handling a thief is to always keep one eye on him and never turn your back!
netsuke
Better the admission now rather than later.
zaqxsw
Thanks for your comment and interest... Just laying the ground work for things to come.
styletx
Great close-up.
I've been on a 2 week family vacation to Rye Texas, visiting old friends. The rule was 'NO INTERNET.' You can find Rye on 'Google Maps;' GOOD LUCK finding it from the highway. "Recalculating." I will make every effort to catch up on all of your beautiful images.
zaqxsw
Thanks for your kind comment and interest... I hope you enjoy the rest of the series! I used to live in a town like that in PA... so small it only appeared on maps lumped together with the two other towns near by.
IceDragonArt
The plot thickens....
zaqxsw
So maybe not so predictable... I have to keep everyone on their toes every once in a while... Thanks again!
Artienne
Awesome portrait and description!
zaqxsw
Thank you!