The Happy Few

A/N: I enjoy how active this part of the community is. It's nice to see so many stories being updated.

Chapter 3

Contrary to Kir’s prediction, trade dried completely between the elves and the humans in his town. The impact of the loss of trade went largely unnoticed by the mainstream populace. It was the higher classes and the nobility that felt the losses the most. Women could not order new jewels now that jewels were not being imported. Men could not buy golden ornamentations with gold suddenly unavailable. The upper half of the hierarchy was in great distress at the fact that they had to wear their old accessories. It was a point of pride to be able to have new jewels for each event they went to. The sudden lack of riches left many people angry at the elves.

Despite the trade trouble, Kir was doing quite well. People were desperate now to have new jewels, regardless of threat from the law. Appearances were everything and many people of the higher classes condescended to deal with item peddlers from the black market. Which meant good business for Kir.

He had enjoyed several weeks of good dealings, selling many of his items for twice the amount they had been worth before. With his own life going so well, he could easily overlook the anger of the upper classes. Hostility towards the elves meant nothing to him. His people never got along very well with any race, so it seemed unimportant. Perhaps his obliviousness to the matters with the elves was what caught him off guard when the king began preparing for war against them.

Soldiers began to gather at the royal city to prepare for battle and the outlying towns were similarly filled. In his own small town, Trese, entire streets of houses were cleared out of tenants to house the coming warriors. Smithy and weapon businesses boomed with the onslaught of soldiers, but Kir’s selling business started to decline. The fact irritated him no small bit, but with all the soldiers and knights about, there were many more people to steal from and his thieving business boomed along with the blacksmiths and weapon makers.

The lucky turning of events the soldiers brought distracted Kir from worrying over the reason they were present. The soldiers moved on to the royal city quickly though, leaving only a few stragglers in the town. The town returned to the way it was before the soldiers came. A fortnight later, new soldiers came.

It was the turn of the season, when the agonizingly hot days of summer turned to bearable autumn days of sweltering heat. Being surrounded by desert, Trese and the other outlying provinces always experienced some kind of intense heat. Their winters were nothing if not dismally hot. Evenings were more tolerable. Once the sun went down, the air chilled and a refreshing breeze swept through the streets. Windows were left open at night to air the stifling homes.

Kir’s own window was open, allowing the breeze to waft through his spartan apartment. He stretched out against the wall, resting his head in the crook of his arm. The hard ground of the small room was uncomfortable to sleep on, but it was cool. He shut his eyes, his entire body exhausted from spending the entire day walking the streets, selling what he could and stealing to replace the items he had sold. One person he had pick pocketed had been carrying a religious talisman. There was an old man he knew who collected religious artifacts and paid handsomely for them. The thief was looking forward to selling that. He was about to drift off, thinking of the bounty the talisman would provide him, when a noise caught drifted to his ears.

At first, he tried to ignore the sound, but it was steady and constant. With an irritated grumble, he flung the threadbare blanket off of his body and went to peer out the window. There were few lights in the street, but he was able to see shadows moving in the darkness. Kir squinted, straining his eyes to try and decipher what was moving outside. He thought that the sound he heard might be the sound of heavy footfall.

Curiosity had always been a great draw to Kir. When others knew better than to investigate things, he plunged ahead, often foolishly, to sate his curiosity. The same desire to investigate that had led him to trouble many times before pricked at his curiosity once again. The young man shrugged into a black cloak and slipped from his apartment, crouching low to the ground and moving swiftly in the cover of darkness.

The shutters and doors of the other homes were closed and shut tightly; everyone except him seemed to suspect that something foul was afoot. That did not dissuade him from his mission. Kir crept down a narrow alley between streets and peered out at a forest of passing legs. He crouched behind a crate to conceal himself, unsure who these people were and whether they were friend or foe. From his vantage near the ground, he could see the ends of spears and thick scabbards he imagined filled with heavy swords. He thought that the people were another contingent of men passing through, but a small detail caught his attention.

No few of the feet that passed were followed by swirling green capes. None of the other soldiers had worn green capes. Green wasn’t a color of his people’s flag or crest. Kir turned away from the passing soldiers and put his back to the wall. He tried to think of what people wore green as a symbol of their country. Trese’s colors, and the colors of all the provinces on the west side of Omar, were orange and gold. Their colors invoked the image of fire and symbolized the heat that encased the desert city. Green was too soft a color to associate with their country.

An annoying niggling in the back of the thief’s mind told him that he had seen green livery before. He tapped a finger against the side of his head, trying to recall where it was he had seen such emerald clothing. Several minutes later, his memory still had not produced an answer. Kir sighed, angry at his poor memory, and peeked out over the crate. There were still soldiers moving, but there did not seem to be as many as there had been before.

He turned away from the narrow alley opening and started to inch back the way he had come. As he crept, the tip of his boot nudged a discarded bottle and it rolled, clanking against the wall. The thief tensed, listening for footsteps that foretold of someone coming to investigate the sound. No sound came; the shuffling of boots moving in the distance did not cease. He sighed, tension draining from his stiff body.

A hand clamped down unexpectedly on his shoulder. Kir uttered a shout of terror and spun to see who had grabbed hold of him. When he looked up into the angry, forbidding face of the man the answer of where he had seen green livery dawned on Kir.

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Most of the humans had wisely decided to stay in their homes when the Elven troop entered the town. Guards had been posted all around the town to make sure no one escaped to warn their liege lord of the occupation. No one left the town, but a few foolish humans had taken to the streets in their curiosity. They were quickly caught before they could raise a riot and taken to a decrepit stable that served as a temporary prison.

This little town was ideal for their purpose. It was close enough to the royal city to observe and send spies, but it was far enough away that the leaders of Omar would not be alerted to their presence. They had brought only a small number of their soldiers with them; just enough to take the town as their own. They were unsure yet if they would need to call reinforcements.

While his fellows went about their business to secure the town, Ari paced slowly in front of the stable. Having been guard at the prison for some time, his commander had told him to stay and watch the few cowering humans they had caught moving about at night. A voice whispered in the back of his mind that he was really being assigned such a menial task because he was a lowly soldier with no decoration and the others wished to rub that in his face. He hadn’t bothered to look in on the prisoners yet; bound and terrified as they were, with him guarding the only exit, he doubted they were of much threat.

An hour later, another guard came and they entered the stable. The humans were kept in an empty horse pen at the back of the building and they went there to see what types of people they were holding. There was a woman with two small children, likely caught while they were walking home to rest after a long day of labor. Beside them, there were several men of varying ages, some more suspicious looking than others. Most of them looked terrified, wondering why their town was being occupied and why, of all people, it was the elves occupying it. Fear was understandable, Ari expected the people to be afraid. That was why, when he noticed one prisoner was not afraid and instead sat slouched in a sleeping position, he approached to see if perhaps the young man was injured. He immediately wished he hadn’t gone over to see.

When he laid tentative fingers to the young man’s head, the boy jerked forward and fixed the elf with curious, dark eyes. Ari froze.

“Hey, it’s you! Mister elf!”

The other guard came over even as Ari took a step backwards. “Do you know this human?” he asked in their own tongue.

“Unfortunately,” Ari mumbled, putting his back to the huddle of humans.

The other elf glanced between the two of them. A malicious grin curved his lips. “Since you’re familiar with our prisoners, you should watch them while I go to the meeting.”

Ari looked at his fellow guard with a horrified expression. “I will not sit here and endure him. Call in another guard and you and I will go to the meeting together.”

The elf looked thoughtful, taunting his fellow cruelly. Behind them, Kir had begun to ask questions, unable to understand what the two guards were saying. The sound of his voice grated on Ari’s nerves; he had had more than enough of the annoying human while he was imprisoned on their island.

“Alright,” the other elf conceded, “I’ll call in Mauritz to watch them and you and I will go.”

A sweeping wave of relief washed over Ari. His comrade, Orin, went to the stable door and called for another guard to come in. As instructions were given to the replacement guard, Ari studiously ignored the human’s questions and whining tone. What dismal luck he had, coming upon the very town that the thief lived in. It did not surprise him that the human was already causing trouble and being held prisoner.

When Orin beckoned and he started to walk away, Kir called out one last time to the elf. Ari paused and glanced back. He expected some query of why they were there or when he would be released.

“When are you coming back?”

The oddity of the question caught him off guard. It had been on the tip of his tongue to answer, but Orin was calling again, irritation slipping into his tone. Rather than risk his comrade’s ire and be stuck watching the prisoners, he quickened his pace and left Kir without any answer.

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When their lord had sent troops to the human lands, intent on discovering if there was indeed a war looming in their future, Ari and all of his comrades believed that they would find a people preparing for battle against them. None of them suspected that there would be people preparing to aid the elves in the war. But there were. Very shortly after the soldiers had created a perimeter around the town, a group of men had come forward, bowing in respect and offering their services. The Elven troop leaders were immediately intrigued and called for a meeting between the leaders of each group.

Being the lowest in rank, it had been a fight for Ari to be included in the meeting. The troop leaders assured him that the second-in-command of the guard did not need to hear such important things, but Ari insisted. Fortunately, commander Orin, though he loved to tease and mock Ari, was also fond of the elf. They went together to the meeting and stood at the rear of the gathering so that they might see the table and the people that gathered around it.

There were ten humans sitting at one end of the table, across from the Elven troop’s leader, Sigael, and his second and third in command. At the head of the table was a large human man, skin dark from the sun and thick orange hair that covered his head and arms. He had a bushy beard that he continually ran his fingers through.

From his position, Ari could see that Sigael was unimpressed with the man, but he was willing to listen to what he had to say.

“It seems odd,” the Elven leader said slowly in the King’s Language, “that a human should be prepared to betray his own kind.”

The man grinned wolfishly. “Not so odd when one considers how unfit the present king is. Our people suffer and our Liege Lord does nothing to assuage his people’s suffering. Should the people’s welfare not be a lord’s main concern?”

Sigael snorted. “Even so, it is difficult to trust a traitor. What gain would you have should we enlist your services to aid our side in the war?”

“You would benefit most, I assure you,” the man said, twisting a bit of his beard around a finger. “With my men’s loyalty, you would have a foothold in each town, especially the royal city. We also have numbers that would surprise even the king. Though I know very little about your people’s military, I doubt that you currently have enough soldiers to take on the royal army.”

“It is not our plan to make war, only to discover if we need to prepare for it.”

“I can assure you, lord elf, you will need to prepare for it, and you will need to be prepared soon.”

The elf leader frowned. “I ask again, what gain to you?”

The man leaned back a bit; he could see that they had gotten past the initial negotiations. The elves were not foolish enough to think they could stand alone in battle. It was time to discuss rewards. “I do not know if your people are familiar with our history—”

“We ought to be, seeing as we were alive during most of it.”

The bearded man smiled, a small bit of amusement on his face. “The current king’s family did not have the right to take the throne. Two hundred years ago, his ancestors battled the rightful heirs to the throne and seized it as their own.”

Ari could see that Sigael was thinking. His face was calm and passive, but he knew the man well enough to know that his mind was working, taking in the situation and drawing conclusions. “You would like to take the throne from the king?”

“I would.” The man nodded.

“For yourself?”

“For the rightful heirs. They still live, though the king is unaware of them at present. Had he known that the rival family still had surviving heirs, he would have likely executed them in his paranoia.”

Again the Elven leader paused to think. “You propose to aid us in our battle so that you may dethrone the current king and put one of your own choosing on it. How do my lords know that you will not place a worse king on the throne? One that will wage war with my people?”

This time it was the human that paused for thought, combing his beard with his fingers. “You do not know.” He admitted after a time. “But on behalf of the future king, I would agree to sign a peace treaty with your people. It would ensure that no war would break out between your people and mine and that trade would be fair between us.”

Several of the elves shifted upon hearing that. With trade putting a strain on their people, such an offer was tempting.

“You have the authority to make this deal and sign in your lord’s place?” Sigael asked.

The man nodded. “I do.”

The elf turned and spoke to his second command in their own language. There was a tense moment, both parties looking anxious. The human men whispered amongst themselves, prophesying what the outcome would be. When the elf turned back to the human leader, everyone fell silent. Ari leaned forward a bit to hear.

“We will make the deal and have a scribe write up a contract. We can haggle details when it is written.”

The whole room seemed to exhale at the same time and cheers of joy erupted from the humans. Ari let out a breath as well, unaware that he had been holding it. It seemed that fate was smiling on his people. A scribe was immediately sent for and the two leaders shared a glass of wine to seal their deal.

As the scribe was writing up the terms of the contract, the human man cleared his throat for the Elven leader’s attention. A hush fell over the gathering.

“Even with our numbers, it may still be a difficult battle.”

“My men are well prepared. Even the lowest of my soldiers is capable of defeating a well armed and armored human knight.”

The human sat back in his chair, digesting the insult. “That may be so, but every bit of help will be welcome.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I hear your people are familiar with magic and elemental power.”

The elf narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “We are. What concern of yours?”

“Such power could be a boon on the battlefield.”

“Unfortunately, our magic users are not trained for battle. Their magics are mundane and would cause little stir on the field.”

The human waved a hand. “I had something different in mind.”

The elves looked between themselves, uncertain of what this human might propose. Their leader looked the man in the eye. “Go on.”

“The king’s men are not prepared to deal with magic. They can only defend against sword and spear and other such instruments. Should we have the power of magic on our side, they would be helpless to defend themselves. Winning would be no chore and our own losses would be minimal.”

“Yes...” the elf agreed reluctantly, “but as I said, we have no such magic to lend in battle.”

“You do not, but there is another source of magic that can aid us in our fight.” He paused and looked to make sure his audience was in rapt fascination. They were. “Some of my men have done some research regarding the old kingdoms. Long before the current lord’s family took the throne, the kings of old possessed artifacts that allowed them to use magic of sorts. It was said that the artifacts were gifts from the gods and were imbued with divine power.”

“An interesting story, but I take it the king does not have such an artifact now or else he would have used it.”

“You are correct. The artifacts were returned to their sacred resting places and became lost to time.”

While the man paused, Ari tried to recall stories of such power in the human lands. No such tale came to mind.

Sigael leaned towards the human. “I take it you would not be bringing this up now unless you had located these artifacts, because surely we would not have time to waste in chasing such myths.”

The human man lifted a hand and held two fingers up. He wiggled them and another man stepped forward. He addressed the Elven leader.

“I have dedicated my life to keeping track of the royal history and researching the stories associated with the kings. In my studies, I have found numerous accounts that support the idea that the kings of old had such powerful magical artifacts.”

“And you’ve managed to pinpoint the locations of such artifacts?”

The researched nodded. “Not to any specific location, I’m afraid, but to towns and places where supporting stories are prominent.”

When the man paused, the elf frowned. “You suggest we send someone to find those artifacts. That seems like a gamble with little concrete evidence and no exact location. Who is to say the artifacts haven’t been scattered far and wide since the age of your old kings?”

The redheaded man spoke again. “No one can say, however Luca has done impressive research and believes he has found the exact sites of two of the artifacts. Even if we possessed one artifact, we would have great power to assist us in the war.”

Another silence filled the room. In the back, Ari frowned at the proposed idea. Putting aside the ridiculous notion that the gods had created magical artifacts of immense power for humans to use, the idea that they could find such things in the short period of time before war and without any direct location was preposterous. Even so, Sigael nodded his head and agreed that it would be beneficial to have such artifacts.

“But we have no soldiers to spare. Should it take longer than we assume to find such an object, we will be down the man power of the soldiers sent to procure the artifact.”

The human grinned that wolfish, predatory grin once more. “We need not send soldiers. Luca assures me that there will be no risk of fighting and conflict. Most people do not know of the items or think of them merely as myths, so no one would stand in the way of a small party sent to find them.”

It took a good deal more convincing, but the Elven leader at last agreed to send a small group of men to find the artifacts. As the two leaders discussed who ought to go and who most certainly could not be spared, the researcher Luca disappeared to put together a map and details for the traveling party.

Orin nudged Ari and signaled that they should leave. He nodded and they silently slipped away, whispering in their own tongue about the happenings and how fortunate it was to have such a group of humans on their side.

“Still,” Ari said as they made their way back to the stable, “we should be careful with them. If they will betray their king, no matter what their reason, they may betray us.”

His comrade nodded. “That is true, but I think Sigael has thought of that. I don’t think we are in a position to deny those who wished to assist us.”

When they entered the stable, the guard they had left looked up gratefully and ran towards them.

“The human won’t stop talking,” he cried in exasperation. “He keeps on asking for you, Ari. You go talk to him.”

Before he could answer, the elf had fled the stable. Orin looked at him. “How do you know that human?”

Ari sighed. “I guarded him in the prison. He was the human that they caught stealing.”


“He’s a thief?”

“He is. And a very annoying one at that.”

“Well,” the elf smiled, “I’ll leave him to you then since you two have an accord.”

Orin walked away then, towards a group of elves that had come from the gathering, leaving Ari alone with the prisoners. He glanced down the large hall and looked at the humans. When he saw that the elf was looking, Kir grinned and started shouting for him. Ari groaned. He swore he felt a headache coming on and he would be sure to tell Orin how cruel it was to send him back to deal with their human captives.

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When Orin walked into the stable with their leader Sigael, Ari jumped to his feet. He had been sitting on the straw covered floor, reclining against a stall door when the two entered.

“Orin. Sigael.” He bowed his head slightly to show the respect their superior rank deserved.

The two elves only glanced at him; they were more interested in the huddle of humans behind him. Ari looked over his shoulder.

“That one.” Orin said, lifting his finger to point at Kir. The human looked at them.

“What about him?” Ari asked.

“Orin tells me that he is a thief.” Sigael said, looking the scrawny human up and down, clearly unimpressed.

“He is. Why? What importance is that to us?”

The leader’s eyes flicked over to Ari. “Is he good at his trade, do you suppose?”

The guard shrugged. “I cannot say. He’s a weakling, but when he was arrested we did find three full bags of stolen jewels on him. I think it safe to assume he’s good at his…profession.”

Sigael lifted a hand to his chin and idly stroked the bit of hair there. “Then it is decided. He will go. Might as well use the captive and get him away from here.”

Orin grinned. “It will certainly be nice to get rid of the annoyance.”

A small bit of hope soared through Ari. They were getting rid of the loud-mouthed thief? The news was so welcome he did not care about the whys and wherefores. A pleased smile lit his face.

“Don’t look so cheerful,” Sigael said, “you’re going with him.”

The smile immediately vanished. “Going with him? Going with him where?”

“To find those artifacts.” Orin said.

When Ari stared at him in shock, Sigael explained why they were sending him and the human thief. “We cannot offered to let any of our soldiers go, should the quest take more time than anticipated. I will send you to find the artifacts because, though you are a somewhat skilled warrior, you are a guard first and foremost. You will not be missed.”

“Mauritz is a lesser guard than I am, should not he go?”

“He is too unskilled to send. I have been assured that no fighting will be required of you, but even so, if some incident should call for you to fight, I know you are capable of fighting.”

His pride hurt. He was skilled, but not skilled enough to be considered useful in battle. Anger welled up inside of Ari. He glared at Sigael. “And the human? Why is he being sent? Do you think he can talk an enemy to death?”

The lead elf could see that Ari was angry, but he chose to overlook the impudent tone. “Sending a thief on this fool’s errand may prove useful. His skills are less than reputable, but thieves are good at being sly and sneaky and slipping into places others cannot get into. He may be of use to you.”

Ari highly doubted that. He glanced back at Kir who was watching them intently. The other two elves stared hard at him; Sigael dared him to complain and defy his orders. With no say in the matter, Ari muttered a curse and turned to undo the thief’s binding.

When he was free, Kir stood up and looked at the gathered elves. “What do you guys want?”

“You’re going on a mission.” Ari spat, angry and miserable.

The human looked at him in confusion. “A mission?”

The guard relayed the information to Kir and the reason why he was being sent. Kir scratched at his head and thought about the task.

“What do I get in return for helpin’ you?”

The question made Ari want to strike the human, but before he could, Sigael spoke. “If you are successful in the quest, my people offer you a great reward of riches and the humans promise you a well-furnished home and servants.”

That idea pleased Kir. It was easy, Ari saw, to play on the thief’s vanity. It disgusted him no small bit. Had the human no loyalty? He thought it likely not. Sigael spoke more, doling out details and expectations. Ari only half-listened, more intent on bemoaning the fate that saw him traveling with such a companion.

When the elf had finished speaking, Kir asked, “So, it’ll be the two of us then?”

“No,” A new voice answered and they all turned towards the stable entrance. The red haired man stood there, a smaller figure lingering just behind him. “I’m sending one of my own men with you. Emery will accompany you.”

He stepped aside and pushed the boy closer to the group of elves and the thief. Another wave of despair went through Ari. The human, though taller and leaner than Kir, was clearly much younger and appeared to be made more for looking at than traveling and fighting. His assessment of the boy must have shown on his face because the human man laughed.

“He may not look like much, but Emery is a skilled fighter and he will not burden you. Luca was his tutor, so he will prove useful in helping find the artifacts. As I said, I doubt you will need to do much fighting.”

The boy looked back at the man then turned to Ari and Kir. When his eyes landed on the thief, his lip curled up slightly in distaste. Perhaps the boy wasn’t all that bad then, the elf thought; he clearly had some taste.

“What was that look for?” Kir asked, indignant.

Emery said nothing, merely turned his head to the side with a soft sound of dismissal. The gestured enraged the other human and Kir began to shout at the boy. Orin and Sigael chortled amongst themselves, enjoying the distress on Ari’s face. What a strange and unlikely lot of travelers they were, he thought with no small bit of self-pity. If they managed to find a single one of those artifacts, he would be amazed.

END

I swear there is sex. Soon. Once they get together, it's hard to get them to stop. We have the main players now.