The Elves Bow

 

 

There are two types of gnomes in the land of Kingdoms. There are woodland gnomes, a chubby, polite folk who are not much taller than six inches or so. Then there are mountain gnomes. They are near four feet tall, rather skinny and usually bald. They are known to be very good card players and even better thieves. This is a story about one of them.

 

Hollis had just returned to his inn in the town of Crow in the Kingdom of the Weeping Moon. He had spent the evening playing chess at a local club. Now you might be thinking that a mountain gnome thief playing chess is a little odd. But if you read on you’ll find some even odder things in Kingdoms.

 

He had won two games and lost one during the evening, so was reasonably pleased. But that changed as he approached the door of his room. It was slightly ajar and he knew he had closed it before he had left earlier. There was also a candle flickering inside and he knew he hadn’t left one burning either.

 

He frowned, realizing he had a visitor. He knew that might spell trouble, especially for a renowned thief. But since whoever was there wasn’t hiding their presence he wasn’t too worried. He checked the dagger at his belt though, just in case. He then pushed the door open and stepped inside.

 

Only to be extremely surprised at who was waiting for him… a female elf.

 

This was very unusual. Elves were a very secretive folk and rarely ventured from their forests. To find one in his room in a large town like Crow was quite a shock. But he smiled as she stood up from the room’s table.

 

‘Evening!’ he said pleasantly.

 

'Are you the mountain gnome that goes by the name of Hollis?' she asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

'I am,' he replied.

 

'Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Curling Leaf. I am from the Whispering Forest in the Kingdom of the Silver Moon.'

 

‘You’re a long way from home,’ he said. ‘I thought elves didn’t like to leave their forests.’

 

‘That is mostly true, however we do venture out when the reason is important enough,’ Curling Leaf replied.

 

‘So what brings you to Crow and to my room,’ Hollis asked, curious as to what she wanted of him.

 

‘I'm looking for a good thief and was told you might be able to help me in that regard.’

 

‘That might be me,’ Hollis replied warily.

 

He didn’t want to admit anything just yet. He may have done some thieving in the past that had upset her folk.

 

‘I have a job for you if you are,’ she said. ‘Please, I have some ale here, cheese and biscuits. We can have a late supper and talk.’

 

Hollis joined her at the table. She poured him a tankard of from a large jug. He took a drink as she spoke again.

 

‘I want you to steal something that was stolen from my folk many, many years ago. It's an ancient bow made from the wood of the Moonlight Tree, now long since gone from our forest. It is engraved with red Elven runes.’

 

‘Who stole it from you?’ Hollis asked.

 

‘Some dwarves,’ she replied in a distasteful tone.

 

That didn’t surprise Hollis that much. Elves and dwarves weren’t fond of each other as a rule.

 

‘We have always longed to recover the bow and recently we discovered that it has been acquired by a third party. We want you to steal it from him for us.'

 

'Why don’t you just offer to buy it from this person?’ Hollis suggested.

 

‘Because we know he would not sell it,’ Curling Leaf replied. ‘Also, we don’t believe in buying something that is ours. But we will pay someone to steal it.’

 

'And who has the bow?' Hollis asked.

 

‘An ogre by the name of Sulphur-Eye. Have you heard of him?’

 

Hollis’ eyes widened in surprise.

 

‘Yes… I’ve heard of him,’ he said. ‘He lives in a large castle in the middle of a swamp in the Kingdom of the Pale Moon.’

 

‘Do you think you could steal the bow from him?’

 

Hollis tapped his chin thoughtfully with a finger.

 

‘It might be possible,’ he said. ‘But it won’t be cheap… I’ll need to hire some help and equip ourselves with the necessary gear.’

 

There was small pack beside Curling Leaf’s chair and she picked it up. Opening it, she took out a small cloth bag and put it on the table.

 

‘Consider this a down payment, no strings attached,’ she asked. ‘If you get the bow, there will be another bag waiting for you.’

 

Hollis opened the bag and spilled out a variety of gems onto the table. There were diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires, all worth a small fortune. He managed not to drool as he slipped them back into the bag.

 

‘I think we can do business,’ he said.

 

‘How long will you need?’ Curling Leaf asked.

 

'A week to organise and the same to do the job,' he replied.

 

'Then I shall return here in a fortnight,’ Curling Leaf said. ‘Agreed?’

 

‘Agreed!’ Hollis replied.

 

* * *

 

Hollis slept well that night, rose early and had a hearty breakfast. He was very excited about the proposed theft and left the inn to send messages to some friends he could trust. He headed through the busy streets of Crow and shortly arrived at a particular building. A flock of pigeons circled above it, the air filled with their mad cooing. Some were landing and others were flying off in different directions.

 

This was a Kingdoms Pigeongramme Office. Most large towns in Kingdom’s had one. They were used to send messages throughout Kingdoms, whether across mountains, oceans or deserts. The messages were put in tiny wooden tubes and tied to their legs.

 

Hollis entered the building and joined one of several queues of folk waiting to be served. There were men and women, trolls, goblins, dwarves and the odd witch and wizard sending or receiving messages. Hollis sent his own messages and then returned to his inn.

 

The next day three pigeongramme’s were waiting for him. Two were from friends who replied that they would be delighted in assisting him in the thieving. The third was from a source telling him that the ogre Sulphur-Eye had indeed acquired the bow as Curling Leaf had said.

 

A few days later his fellow thieves arrived. Gold-Toe was a dwarf with a thick ginger beard and a black patch over one eye. Titus was a huge Minotaur, his bull’s head complete with a thick gold ring through his nose.

 

'I’m glad you could both make it,' Hollis said as they ate lunch in his room.

 

'I couldn’t say no to the money you mentioned,’ Titus said. ‘It’s very generous.’

 

'Very!' Gold-Toe agreed. 'What do we have to do to earn it?'

 

'We have to steal something,' Hollis said and explained his meeting with Curling Leaf.

 

At the end Gold-Toe gave a chuckle.

 

‘Yeah… some of my folk can give elves a hard time.’

 

'I’ve heard that Sulphur-Eye’s swamp is a miserable place,' Titus said. 'Rains all the time and is full of deep bogs. Some say that some rather nasty creatures live in it.’

 

‘Well, we’re being paid to take risks,’ Hollis said. ‘But we’ll go prepared for any trouble. It’s also a long way away, so we’ll have to be conjured there.’

 

Titus groaned.

 

‘I hate conjuring!’ he muttered.

 

The next day the trio left the inn with packs on their backs loaded with food and camping gear. They first dropped off at a Witchery shop, easy to spot with its wooden sign of a black cat over an iron cauldron. Run by witches, Witcheries sold magical potions and healing lotions. They also sold incense, flowers and a good quality cat food.

 

They bought several items they might need and then headed to a Wizardry shop. They soon found one, the sign above its door painted black with a bolt of lightning across it. Run by wizards, Wizardries sold magical spells and conjuring from one place to another.

 

Inside they approached the wizard behind the shop’s counter. Like all wizards who ran a Wizardry, he wore bright blue robes with silver stars stitched on the sleeves.

 

‘Morning,’ he said. ‘What can I do for you?’

 

‘We’d like a conjuring for three, please,’ Hollis said.

 

‘Where to?’ the wizard asked.

 

‘The edge of the swamp surrounding Sulphur-Eye the ogre’s castle in the Kingdom of the Pale Moon.’

 

The wizard opened a large, heavy book on the counter and ran a finger down a page.

 

‘That’s some distance away,’ he said. ‘It'll be expensive.’

 

‘I have a few gems here,’ Hollis replied and dropped a few glittering sapphires onto the counter.

 

‘That will do nicely,’ the wizard said as he scooped them up.

 

‘And we’d like some stun spells as well, thanks,’ Hollis said.

 

The wizard walked over to one of several cabinets against the walls. He opened its door and Hollis could see shelves inside. Small cloth bags of different colours sat on them.

 

‘How many would you like?’ he asked.

 

‘Oh... a dozen should do,’ Hollis replied.

 

The wizard carefully took out some red cloth bags and put them into a paper bag. He then handed it to Hollis.

 

‘Treat them gently till you need them,’ he said.

 

Hollis nodded and put them safely into his pack.

 

‘Right then,’ said the wizard. ‘Follow me and I’ll get you conjured away.’

 

‘I’m not going to enjoy this,’ Titus complained.

 

‘Stop being a baby!’ Hollis said. ‘The effects don’t last long.’

 

‘Yeah, but they’re bad enough whilst they do,’ Gold-Toe commented.

 

Hollis had to agree with him. Being conjured was a quick way to get somewhere, but for everyone except a wizard, the experience wasn’t pleasant. They followed the wizard into a back room and imbedded in the middle of the floor was a large gold disc.

 

‘Please step onto the disc and remain perfectly still,’ he said.

 

They did so and the wizard came around to stand in front of them. He then began to mutter in a strange language and then suddenly clapped his hands sharply together.

 

Hollis watched the shop disappear in a golden flash… then utter darkness surrounded him. His big toes felt like they had been suddenly stomped on and his ears stabbed with a red-hot poker. Then light returned and he found himself standing in long grass. A thick, clinging mist hung everywhere.

 

‘Trolls breath! I hate that!’ Titus moaned and staggering over to a tree, promptly threw up.

 

Hollis and Gold-Toe managed not to throw up and Hollis handed out some bottles of a potion. They would settle their stomachs and prevent the nasty headaches that usually followed being conjured. They drank them and then had a better look at where they had arrived. They stood in a small clearing and through the mist they could see the fringe of a grassy swamp.

 

‘How do we find the castle in this muck?’ Gold-Toe asked. ‘We’ll just get lost wandering through it.’

 

‘With this,’ Hollis said and reaching into his coat, took out a small metal object.

 

It was round, about half the size of his palm with a clear glass top. It was divided by a cross into quarters marked by an N, S, E and a W. A tiny needle fixed at the centre trembled slightly, pointing toward the S. Hollis turned it in his hand till the needle pointed toward the N.

 

'What is it?' Titus asked.

 

'It's called a way-finder,' Hollis replied. 'I got it off a wizard friend of mine. It’s very useful. The needle always points north and as Sulphur-Eye’s castle lies in a northerly direction, all we have to do is follow the needle.'

 

Soon they were well into the swamp. The ground was soggy under their boots and the misty air chilly. They came across numerous pools of slimy water and bogs of mud. They had to wade through a few and as some were quite deep, Titus had to carry Hollis.

 

By late afternoon the mist had lifted, only to be replaced with a steady rain. So it was three soaked and miserable travellers who set up a tent for the night. By the light of a lantern they ate a cold meal of bread, cheese and dried apples.

 

They took turns in a night watch and it was during the last that Gold-Toe heard something approaching. Heavy, thudding footsteps could be heard in the surrounding gloom. It woke Hollis and Titus in the tent and they joined Gold-Toe to stare out into the night.

 

‘What... what do you think it is?’ Titus asked nervously.

 

‘Trouble,’ Hollis said and quickly got the stun spells out of his pack.

 

He handed them out as the footsteps got nearer. As they did they could hear a deep huffing sound as if something was trying to breathe through mud. Then glowing red eyes appeared in the air.

 

‘Get ready!’ Hollis said, readying a stun spell. ‘Now!’

 

They each threw a stun spell toward the eyes and crackling explosions split the air. A dazzling red light lit up the swamp and it revealed huge beasts more than twelve feet tall. They appeared to be made of mud, their bodies and mouths dripping and drooling with it.

 

‘Troll’s breath!’ Gold-Toe exclaimed fearfully. ‘Bog Dwellers!’

 

The trio threw more stun spells and red explosions went up around the beasts. They howled back in rage, but shambled off into the night in retreat. Hollis shook himself as a shiver went through him.

 

‘Bog Dwellers!’ he said in horror. ‘A bite from one of them and you turn into one yourself.’

 

‘Let’s hope they don’t come back!’ Titus said.

 

Thankfully they didn’t and the dawn arrived. They struggled on through the swamp till it started to grow dark again. They thought they would have to spend another night in the swamp. But then the high walls of huge castle suddenly loomed out of the murk. A few lights winked in narrow windows in towers rising beyond the walls.

 

'So how do we get in?' Gold-Toe asked.

 

Hollis gave him a certain look and Gold-Toe groaned.

 

‘Not the sewers!’ he grumbled in dismay.

 

They waded through some shallow pools around the castle till they came to a sewer tunnel. Thick iron bars lay across it and a foul stench came from within. Gold-Toe pulled a face in disgust.

 

'Can you bend these bars, Titus?' Hollis asked.

 

'No problem,' the Minotaur replied.

 

He gripped two bars in his huge hands and bent them apart as if they were rubber. Hollis lit a lantern and they set off up the tunnel. Dark shadows leapt ahead of them and the smell grew worse. They avoided looking at what they were stepping in.

 

The sewer tunnel twisted and wound its way under the castle for some distance. Then it abruptly emerged into a huge catacomb. They had only stepped several paces inside when a deep, growling voice filled the air.

 

‘Who dares enter the castle of Sulphur-Eye the ogre?’

 

Now instead of being startled by the voice, the three thieves just turned casually toward it.

 

‘Hello, Sulphur-Eye,’ Hollis said.

 

The lantern light fell upon a huge, green-skinned ogre. He was dressed in a black turtle-necked sweater and black trousers and was standing on a ledge. He was nearly as big as Titus and had glimmering orange eyes.

 

‘Nice sewer you have here,’ Gold-Toe said. ‘You could have at least flushed it out before we arrived.’

 

‘I did,’ replied Sulphur-Eye flatly.

 

‘Troll’s breath!’ Titus exclaimed. ‘What was it like before?’

 

‘Bad enough to keep real thieves away,’ the ogre replied with a grin. ‘Come on, I’ve got hot baths and dry clothes waiting.’

 

* * *

 

Some time later the four were gathered in the castle’s dining hall. They were seated in comfortable armchairs before a warm fire and sipped tankards of ale. As with many ogres in Kingdoms, Sulphur-Eye was a passionate art lover. The hall was adorned with many paintings, as well as sculptures standing in the corners.

 

'So, how was your journey through the swamp,’ he asked.

 

‘We came across some of the Bog Dwellers you warned me of in your Pigeongramme,’ Hollis replied. ‘The stun spells you suggested worked just fine. Apart from that it was just wet and muddy.’

 

‘Well, I did offer to pick you up in a carriage, but I suppose you had to look like real thieves,’ Sulphur-Eye said with a grin. ‘In the morning I’ll let you steal some horses and you can leave by the swamp road.’

 

'So where's this famous bow?' Titus asked.

 

Sulphur-Eye waved a hand at the dining table that had been set for dinner.

 

'Shall we take a look?' he said.

 

They all went over to the table and on it lay two narrow wooden boxes. Sulphur-Eye opened one and inside was a slim bow. It was made out of a white wood and was engraved with dark red runes.

 

‘It’s quite elegant, isn’t it?’ Gold-Toe remarked. ‘No wonder the elves want it back so badly.’

 

‘Oh, it’s a priceless example of ancient elven weaponry,’ Sulphur-Eye enthused. ‘My cousin will love it for his collection.’

 

‘And the copy?’ Hollis queried.

 

Sulphur-Eye opened the second box and revealed a perfect imitation inside.

 

‘So we’re square then?’ Hollis asked. ‘An evening playing chess for the fake?’

 

‘Absolutely, old friend,’ Sulphur-Eye replied.

 

‘But where did you find the wood to make the copy?’ Gold-Toe asked. ‘Didn’t Curling Leaf tell Hollis the Moonlight Tree had disappeared from her forest?’

 

Sulphur -Eye grinned slyly.

 

‘Oh, the tree no longer grows in their forest,’ he replied. ‘But that’s the problem with elves… they just don’t get out of their forests enough. I know of several kingdoms where folk build their houses out of the stuff.’