Meric the Storyman: Rega and the Dragonstones
Chapter 14: Estu

The party had no fear of retaliation. Pyrdon was attending to his wounds. The orcs were still in turmoil. Only one new sub-chief had been appointed. That was Hamuk.

They had to travel at a slower pace. The brownies had only recovered Dexir’s horse. Everyone else had to ride in the wagon or walk. This tended to tire the ponies out faster.

Doman walked up to Rega. “I heard some news while roaming in the caves with the orcs.” he said. “They had caught an elf, had Pyrdon get the information about us from him, and then killed him.”

“You don’t suppose they knew about the stones?” asked Dexir.

“I’m sure they didn’t.” answered Rega. “The elf should have been traveling at a high rate of speed. This probably made the orcs suspicious. Unfortunately, the elf probably let it slip about us coming.”

Rega then added, “Besides, they didn’t even search us for anything. Most likely, Pyrdon gets the first choice of any treasure found on prisoners. The only things the orcs took were our weapons. Which reminds me, how many weapons do we have?”

“I have Akrun.” said Dexir.

“I have a short sword.” answered Doman.

“Your silver dagger is hidden in the wagon, Rega.” said Stice.

Lano said, “The brownies still have theirs.”

“So, that makes five weapons for eight of us.” said Rega. “We will have to buy some once we get to Esapha.”

“A couple more horses wouldn’t hurt, either.” said Stice, thinking about the strain on his ponies.

It took another four more days to make it to the city of Esapha. Many buildings on the outskirts of town showed signs of the attack from the orcs and dragon. Where there once were buildings, there now were burnt piles of rubble. Others had scorch marks still visible. Rega wondered if it had been the Red Dragon orc clan and Pyrdon.

They found a weapon shop open. Rega purchased himself a short sword. Lobaki got a dagger. Stice wanted a short bow and Lano a staff.

There were also horses available in a different shop. Rega bought three more, one each for Doman, Lobaki and himself.

After stopping at a general store to replenish basic supplies, they were ready to move on. Since Rega didn’t have any business in Esapha this time, it was best they leave before he was possibly recognized.

The elven city of Estu is built in the southernmost region of the Tsalpei Forest. The Great North/South road ends there. It is unclear on how long Estu has been around but even the eldest of the elves remember the city being there when they were young.

The castle has been built in a large clearing. The trees that were in the clearing when the castle was being built were preserved. Several times modifications to the original design had to be made to allow the trees protection.

The rest of the city is also built in this clearing. Once again, the trees are kept safe while the city grows.

The elves consider themselves as protectors of the woodland creatures. Dryads, pixies, sprites and brownies are occasionally seen visiting the castle honoring the elves.

The war from twenty years ago never really touched the forest. Although orcs fiercely hate the elves, they also fear them in large numbers. In the forest, it is the elves’ domain. The orcs felt it to be in their best interest to avoid the forest and concentrate on the human cities.

This is not to say the elves did not fight. They went to the aid of the halflings. A particularly large battle was being fought near the halfling city of Leafbourn when the elves arrived to help defeat the orcs.

Today, both cities still have close ties.

As they neared the forest, the road split. Stice explained that the left road in the fork went to Leafbourn. The one on the right led toward Estu. A few minutes later they were entering the forest taking the right path.

Rega wondered if the elves knew about their arrival. The elf they had met days earlier had said he would ride on ahead and let them know, but if what Doman had heard was true, then maybe the elves were not aware of their arrival. Unknown guests could be a problem. They had traveled several hours into the forest before it was time to stop for the night. Doman cooked them an excellent meal, aided in part by the new supplies picked up in Esapha. Their usual night guard rotation was then set.

Dexir took the first watch. Wild creatures would usually attack on this first shift, soon after smelling the food. Rega had the next watch. More intelligent creatures or persons would attack after the party had fallen asleep. Stice had the third watch and Lano had the fourth. Finally, Doman took the fifth watch. He would cook breakfast and then wake the rest of them up.

The brownies did not want any part of this night watch. They felt that a break was owed to them. They were always watching the wagon when the party was away from it. Everyone agreed on this.

Lobaki was also left off the watch rotation. She was only proficient in using a dagger. Also, everyone felt it best she be well-rested. Magic spells can be a tricky thing, so it was better to not have a tired, novice wizard around.

Although they took the proper precautions, there were no disturbances during the night. In the morning, Doman fixed a simple breakfast. They continued on their way after packing the gear.

Rega had never been to Estu. He did, however, once do a job for one of the elven dignitaries. He remembered the job well.

It was told to him that while this elf was visiting the dwarven city of Cromwell, someone broke into his room at the inn where he was staying and took his cloak. This wasn’t an ordinary cloak. It was a cloak of protection. It helped prevent injuries, either physical or magical, from the wearer. A single item of protection was good. Even better was having a cloak of protection, a bracer of protection, and a ring of protection. This combination made the wearer very protected from most attacks. Missing one of the items would sure to be noticeable in the level of protection.

After searching the city for days, the elf gave up. His business was done, so he headed home. On the way back, one of the elves in his party mentioned something about a trader’s shop in Ractah. So, this elven dignitary decided to take a few days to make the trip and visit the shop. Once there, he commissioned Rega to find his cloak. He explained that it had been made for his father’s father and had eventually been passed down to him.

Rega accepted the job. He first went to the city of Striplind. There were a few people there he could see to maybe get a lead on the cloak. While there, he got the information he needed, saved his friend Luxod from the guard, and finally found the person with the cloak.

There weren’t too many people who would want a cloak like that unless they were planning on going on an adventure. It just so happened, a small group of men were planning to go to the kobold caves east of the city of Striplind. They had heard that there was treasure just waiting to be found. One of the party members was a thief who happened to see the elf and his entourage boarding the ferry to Cromwell. He decided to follow.

Using a stone he had found which could detect magic, this thief brushed by the cloak and found that it was magical. He continued to follow them to the inn upon where he then broke into the room that night and took the cloak.

The group of men had not left for the caves yet. They were looking for a cleric that they could bring with them. Rega joined the group of men by dressing up as a cleric of Makloran, searching for evil in the land to eradicate.

That first night, exercising his own skills, he simply stole the cloak back from the thief and left, once again leaving the party without a cleric and the thief without a cloak.

When he returned to Ractah, Rega sent word to the dignitary and later gave the cloak to one of the dignitaries’ entourage members. He was paid a healthy sum for his work.

Maybe it was this dignitary who had something to do with Soliat coming to see him? He would find out soon.

At midday, the group decided to stop and take a break. Stice told Rega that if all went well, they should be in Estu by nightfall.

Their lunch consisted of some dried meats purchased in Esapha and some berries found earlier that morning.

Since they were deep into the forest, grass was sparse. The horses were fed some oats. They were also given a few berries. The halfling’s ponies especially enjoyed these.

As they were cleaning up and preparing to continue, almost simultaneously, they noticed they had visitors. Actually, it was a dozen elven archers surrounding them. Their bows were not slung over their shoulders either.

Dexir went for his sword, but Rega stopped him.

One of the elves called out to them, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

Rega then knew that these questions confirmed Doman’s story. The elf on his way to Estu never did make it. That meant their arrival in Estu would be unannounced.

“I am called Rega.” he finally decided to answer. “We are here to see the Elven King on an important mission.”

“We know nothing about you or your mission.” said the elf. “I will have to check on this.”

They watched as the elf took out a small ball which looked like it was made out of crystal. He spoke to the ball and nodded two different times. A few minutes later, he put the ball away.

“I have been told to escort you to Estu. The King will decide then if he will see you.” The elf then motioned to the other elves. They went to the road, half in the lead, the other half apparently waiting for Rega’s group.

“I guess we don’t have a choice.” said Rega. “Let’s go.”

As the group got back on to the road, the second half of the elves fell in behind them. The lead elf came up to Rega.

“Don’t try anything funny. My archers are the best.” he said.

Later, as Rega rode near the wagon, Stice whispered him a warning.

“I have never seen them so cautious.” said the halfling. “We have never had any problems with the elves. Something must have happened.”

Rega only nodded.

They reached Estu by nightfall. The city streets were dead. There was no activity except for small groups of elven archers. The usual elven events that Stice and Lano had been talking about were clearly absent.

They were taken to the main palace building and were then guided to a room. Two elves were placed outside the room as guards and the door was locked.

A little while later, the door was opened. Rega recognized the elf that entered. It was the one who had hired him to retrieve the cloak.

“What is going on here?” asked Rega. “Why this?”

“I have bad news to report.” said the elf. “The Dragonstone has been stolen!”

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