Meric the Storyman: Rega and the Dragonstones
Chapter 15: Looking for Clues

“I apologize for any inconvenience.” said Tamin, diplomat for the Elven King. “We had no idea you were on your way. With the Dragonstone being stolen, I’m sure you can see why our forest scouts acted the way they did.”

“I fully understand and apology accepted.” said Rega. “When did it happen?”

“All will be told soon.” answered the elf. “Right now, King Motagula wants to see you. He needs your help in this matter. I have informed him of your skills and he thinks they will be useful.”

Rega, Dexir, Lobaki, Doman, Stice, Lano, Ardi, Certi, and even Barg were all taken down a long hallway which led to the King’s chamber.

Tamin went in alone and came back a few minutes later. “He is ready to see you.”

The Elven King and Queen were both there. Tamin also introduced them to the elf who had originally met the group in the forest. His name was Fisor.

A table with food had been prepared for them. There were different fruits and berries, nuts, cooked deer and pastries. There were also juices, ales and the elven specialty, Estu wine.

“Please, get yourself some refreshments.” said the Elven King. “We can talk afterwards.”

The halflings were the first to the table. Their plates filled very quickly, and they were still trying to put more food on them. Rega was amazed about how much these little persons could eat.

Everyone ate, remaining quiet throughout the meal. The food was very good and Rega made sure to only have one glass of the Estu wine. The halflings, already on seconds, were the only ones not finished when King Motagula began.

“The elves have long been a member of Dragonlair. We know of and support the good dragons’ goal of keeping evil from hurting the inhabitants of the land. And even though the humans and dwarves have been excluded from Council meetings for many years, the elves have still been attending.”

“When the split with the humans and dwarves did happen, the dragons wanted gems to place spells into. The Elven King at the time wanted to contribute. The Silver member already had a ruby from the dwarves. The Gold already had a diamond. The Bronze had received an emerald from the halflings. This left the Copper and Brass.”

“It was the Copper who came to the Elven King and asked for a gem. The King sent elves throughout the land. Many beautiful gems were brought back, but after many weeks, he finally had success. A deep blue sapphire found in the northeast mountains in the area that is now known as Morane pleased the Copper dragon.”

The halflings, finished eating, now came over.

“As you can probably guess, it was this sapphire that became the Dragonstone. The Copper gave it to us to hold after the spells were placed in it. Unlike the Wizard’s Guild in Makloran, we have never studied the gem. It was given to us for safekeeping, not to unlock its secrets.”

“However, recently, the Council decided it was time to collect the Dragonstones. I was willing to give the sapphire over then, but was told that when the time was right, it would be collected. The meeting ended when the Council placed Soliat in charge of recovery. He visited here several times discussing how to get them all. Our Dragonstone wouldn’t be an issue, but the others would. Finally, he came up with the idea of stealing them back. It was Tamin who suggested that you might be helpful.”

“Soliat thought that if the thief was successful in getting the Ruby, he could get the Emeraldstone next. I told him that the thief could come by Estu and pick up the Sapphire. I only wanted to see the Ruby as proof. If a thief could get into the dwarven castle and steal the gem, then there was potential for him to complete the mission.”

“Word came back that Soliat had found a person for the job. I also got word when your party was seen in Striplind. But I didn’t hear if you were successful. My messenger in Striplind never returned.”

Rega explained about the meeting with the elven messenger. He also told them about being captured by the orcs and their escape, leaving out the details about Pyrdon and Akrun. He had Doman repeat what he heard about the elf.

King Motagula nodded and then said, “Well, this explains much.” He then turned to the Queen and whispered something to her. A surprised look appeared on her face and she nodded back.

The King continued with his story, “So, I was all prepared to deliver the gem when just three days ago, I discovered it had been stolen.”

“At first, I thought it might have been you, but after checking with my forest friends, I was told that no humans had entered the forest in many days. I was now at a loss to explain what happened. I have sent my archers out to search the forest. It was Fisor’s group that found you.”

“Were there any clues left behind?” asked Rega.

“None that we could find.” answered Queen Tulina, speaking to them for the first time. “We are hoping that you might have some luck in finding something we may have overlooked. There is just one test we must do first.”

“What test is this?” asked Rega.

“We must verify that you are the actual person Soliat hired for the job. You would have been given this test even if we had the gem still in our possession. The test is very simple. You must hold the Staff of Truth while we question you. You will only be able to answer with the truth. Once we have finished with our questions, the test will be over.”

“Very well, I’ll do it.” answered Rega.

Queen Tulina walked over to a cabinet. She opened one of the doors and took out a staff. There was nothing fancy about the carvings. In fact, Rega had a quick doubt about it even being magical. She handed him the staff. Rega took it.

“Try to lie on this first question.” said the King. “What is your name?”

Rega didn’t feel different. He even thought of the name to lie about. As he went to say the name Milrop, he instead said, “Rega.”

Pleased with his response, the test continued. “Tell me how you were hired.”

Rega did, leaving out no details. He was asked about the Ruby. He was even asked about the orcs capture again. Rega told all, including the parts left out from before. The elves present in the room and even the King looked at Dexir and his sword at the mention of Akrun. Then the Queen asked the final question.

“If you succeed in getting all five Dragonstones, will you deliver them to the Council of Dragonlair?”

“Yes.” answered Rega a little harshly. “I was hired to do the job, and delivering them is part of the agreement.”

“I’m sorry to have offended you, Rega.” said the Queen. “It was a question I had to ask.”

Rega only nodded. He gave the Staff of Truth back to the Queen. She returned it to the cabinet. Rega then saw her make some hand gestures and heard her whisper something. She then returned to them.

“Is that where the Dragonstone was kept?” asked Rega, pointing to the cabinet.

“Yes.” answered the King.

“Was anything else taken?” asked Rega.

“No. Everything else was left untouched.” answered the King.

Rega then turned to Lobaki. “Did you recognize anything about what the Queen did over at the cabinet?” he asked the apprentice.

Lobaki nervously looked at the Queen and then back to Rega. “From the times when I watched Nomis, it appeared to be a Wizard Lock spell.”

Rega looked at the Queen. She nodded. He then turned back to Lobaki. “Tell me what you know about a Wizard Lock spell. How can it be undone? Who can undo it?”

Lobaki began, “A Wizard Lock is a spell used to magically lock something, whether it is a chest, a door or even a cabinet. I only know of a few ways to undo the spell. If you are not a wizard, the only way to do so is to break the item that is locked. Otherwise, a Dispel Magic spell would work, but it may also dispel the magic of anything being locked up. Another way is by using a Knock spell. That usually requires the wizard to be more powerful than the spellcaster. The only other way is for the spellcaster to remove it.”

“Thank you, Lobaki.” said Rega. He then turned to the King and Queen. “Since the cabinet isn’t broken, it looks like a wizard was involved in this. Also, since the Staff of Truth still functioned, it can be assumed that a Dispel Magic spell wasn’t used. That leaves only one option. How many wizards are there in Estu that are more powerful than the Queen?”

The King looked shocked. “Surely you don’t suspect an elf to be involved in this?” he asked.

“I am not accusing anyone at this point.” said Rega. “It is only a place to start.”

“There are only three.” answered Queen Tulina. “They are Beska, Alho and Krago. All three, however, were present after the gem was stolen.”

“Do I have your permission to question them?” asked Rega.

“You may.” answered the King. “Might I ask a favor first? May I see the Ruby Dragonstone? ”

Rega smiled and removed the Dragonstone from his pouch, handing it to the Elven King. King Motagula took a few minutes to admire the quality of the gem before giving it back to the hired thief.

King Motagula sent Tamin with Rega. It was not that he did not trust Rega. The Staff of Truth buried any distrust. He just wanted the wizards to know they were under order of the King to answer all of the questions the human asked.

They first went to the residence of Alho. An apprentice answered the door. Tamin had him summon his master. The apprentice let them in and went to get Alho.

Alho appeared shortly after that. He was old, even for an elf. His many years were clearly obvious by his looks. His hair was white-grey, his fingers long and bony and his skin all wrinkled. His eyes, however, still sparkled with life.

“How may I help you?” he asked.

Tamin answered, “We are here on matters from the King. The human, Rega, will be helping him in finding the Dragonstone. You are to answer all questions he asks to the best of your ability.”

“Please, come sit down.” said the old wizard. “I get the feeling this may take some time, so I’d rather be comfortable.”

He led them to a small table with several chairs. After moving some research notes aside, he sent his apprentice to get some wine.

Rega asked him the first question. “Do you know the Knock spell?”

Surprised at the human’s bluntness, Alho didn’t answer right away. Just before Tamin was going to remind him about the King’s order, Alho answered, “Yes.”

“Good.” said Rega. “How do you feel about the Staff of Truth’s reliability?”

Alho smiled at that question. “I feel very confident about the Staff’s power. I was the one who created it. I know it will only allow a person to speak the truth, even if they don’t want to.”

Now it was Rega’s turn to be surprised. Alho had answered all but one of the thief’s prepared questions by his last response. “Do you desire to keep the Dragonstone from the person contracted to collect them all?”

“No.” was Alho’s reply. “I know of the Council’s plan on recovering the gems. I would not keep the Sapphire from the ‘courier’ if he had passed the Staff of Truth test.”

“Thank you.” said Rega. “I have no further questions.”

The next wizard to question was Beska. He also had an apprentice who told Tamin that Beska was not there. Tamin repeated his message from the King, but the apprentice still insisted that his master was away.

So, they headed to the next wizard, Krago. Tamin explained that Krago lived on the edge of town. He didn’t get involved with the affairs of the kingdom that often. He much preferred to be left to his studies.

Rega already had his suspicions about Beska. He now had some about Krago. Hopefully this elf would be at home.

He was there. No apprentice answered his door for him. He had none.

“What do you want?” he asked after opening the door.

Krago wasn’t as old as Alho, but his hair was grey. Rega also saw that his left hand had been badly burned before. Although he could use it, the fingers could no longer function as they should.

Tamin told him the King’s message.

Reluctantly, Krago let them in. He cared less whether they were comfortable. The questions could be asked in the foyer.

Rega asked him if he knew the Knock spell.

“Yes, but I have no need for it.” was the wizard’s answer.

Rega asked him about his feelings of the Staff of Truth.

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door.

“NOW what can it be!” exclaimed Krago.

Rega saw an elf who was out of breath point toward Tamin and himself. Krago let the elf in.

As he walked up to them, the elf said, “The King summons you both.” He took a few deep gulps of air. “Beska had been found by the elven patrol in the forest. He is near-death.”

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