[Story] Unicorn Rings: Chapter 1: The Escapes
Rozberk Omniist
The Unicorn Rings: Chapter 1: The Escapes
Stargazer lay quietly in the cage, trying to avoid being noticed. The trolls hadn't spotted her so far, but she was just grateful that the sky was clouded over tonight, and that the trolls had weak eyes. The hideous creatures talked, fought and shouted by the light of the fire they had built to one side of the path, but it was obvious that they wouldn't be moving for hours yet. The current shouting match was about a gold gryphon, and who had let him escape.
Rozberk was quietly listening in on an orc conversation. The evil troopers had been set on guard by his cage to prevent a rescue, and after having had their fill of poking him through the bars of his cage had settled down for a drink.
"Wonder where dem trolls ave gone."
"Far away I ope. I erd that they wus sent to catch im agin."
"Dunno which is worse, boss bein angry or griffin bein mad."
"Don't wanna find out. We aint gonna let dis one get out, are we."
"Wiv da boss in dis mood? Nahway. E's bin plannin this fer ages."
"Oy, shut yez traps and keep gardin." A burly orc with a helmet and breastplate wandered over to the cage and poked the trapped alicorn.
"Alicorns. Oi ates em."
QuickBrown and her friend held a hushed discussion.
"You have to get out before he realises what's wrong."
"I can't leave you and the others here. Besides, how am I going to get out. Fly us both, perhaps? Teleport? Use my horn and hooves to climb down a nonexistent rope attached to a skyhook?"
"There's no need to be like that. Someone will come. They have to."
"The gryphon hasn't been seen for more than a year now. Who else is there?"
"Someone will come. Have faith."
Meanwhile, back at the inn...
"Innkeeper, have you seen Rozberk?" The high-pitched voice behind him completely startled the innkeeper, who jumped in surprise and turned to see a small figure in a hooded cape looking worriedly up at him.
"No, I 'aven't seen him since he left his room zis morning. Is it important, no?"
"He told me he'd come and see how ShadowAngel was getting along, but I haven't seen him since the crash. I'm worried."
"I'm sure he'll be alright. He can take care of himself. Have you seen StarGazer? She booked a meal and didn't turn up."
"No, I haven't seen her, either. I think something's gone wrong."
"You could be right."
The little figure called "I'll go and find out. Can you do me mushrooms on toast when I get back?" as she turned and started for the door.
"Yes, alright...mercy, she's gone again."
The small figure kept the cloak pulled tightly around her until she got to the woodland. There she stopped to think. "Arran was saying that there was something strange going on in the western river valley, that there were orcs building something there. I wonder..." Silently she pulled off the cloak, revealing a slender body clad in black and purple leathers, with black skin, white hair, and eyes the hue of amethyst. She pulled a crystal out of a pocket and concentrated for a moment. Suddenly the woodland clearing was empty once again, and no sign of her passing existed other than a small trace of glowing golden dust, which sank to the forest floor and vanished.
She reappeared at the entrance to ShadowHome, her guardian's lair. Upon entering the cave complex, she beckoned to a small carpet on top of a stack of similar rugs. The flying carpet floated slowly, following her as she moved off down a side tunnel. She reached the door of her bedroom and entered it. On the floor of the room were heaps of clothes, books and weapons, jumbled up in any old order. Searching through the mess, she pulled out a bow and quiver, a few small daggers, and a whip, piling them on the floating rug. Leaving her room as she had found it, she went across the corridor to a storeroom, and retrieved a brush handle and a coil of rope. She then jumped on the carpet and they zoomed towards the exit, nearly bowling over a Dwarf as they left the lair to the shouted curses of the diminutive metalsmith.
The flight to the river was quick, and the dark elf soon saw what she was looking for - trouble. She ordered the carpet down a short distance from the orcs, and equipped herself for battle, sending the carpet to tree top height before replacing the cloak around her shoulders. The orcs were completely drunk by this time, and most of them were asleep, so she scrambled up the tree containing the cage and dropped lightly onto its roof.
"Hsst"..."Hsst"..."Rozberk, can you hear me?"
"Who's that?"
"The dark elf. Are any of them still watching you?"
"The Captain is."
"What happened?"
"Norak came upon the four of us and caught us to try and get our power. He'll work out soon that we didn't finish. The black unicorn is the key, get him out first. Norak won't hurt the rest of us, it'll damage his power."
"Where's the black one?"
"I don't know."
"I think I saw him on my way in."
With scarcely a sound, she shimmied up the rope and back down the tree, running towards the pitfall and the two unicorns there.
Quickbrown was starting to get worried - she kept hearing sounds coming from beneath her - dry, slithering sounds. Her friend was starting to get very nervous indeed, making the cages shake with stamps of his hooves and skakes of his head. Suddenly something light landed on top of her cage with a soft thump. She reared, trying to put her horn through whatever was up there.
"Hey! I'm friendly! I'll come down to the side of the cage so that you can see me"
"Be careful - there's something down there. Who are you? I can't see in this darkness."
"I'm a friend of Rozberk's. I'm going to try to get the pair of you out of here." The dark elf pulled a pebble out of another pocket, and dropped it to the bottom of the pit. She spoke a command word, and the area was suffused with a soft golden glow. Unfortunately, QuickBrown could now see her.
"It's a cursed dark elf!" was all the warning the rescuer got as QuickBrown once again tried to stab her with the point of her horn, forcing the dark elf to let go of the cage and drop to the floor beneath. The elf pulled on two folds of her cloak, and a great expanse of material allowed her to float to the floor in a slightly more controlled fashion. When the elf landed, she realised that the floor was only a few feet below the cages, and that the deep pit was nothing more than an illusion. The noises, however, weren't. A large black snake uncoiled itself from a corner, and slowly undulated towards its latest meal.
The dark elf stepped back a pace, and a bell-like tone came from her mouth. The snake kept advancing, but lost its aggressive posture. By this time the two unicorns in the cages above were almost frantic with fear, both of the snake and the darkly clad figure beneath them. The snake kept advancing, but when it reached the elf, it curled up her leg and body to rest its largest portion around her shoulders.
"I'm going to let you out now," she called.
"Why?" demanded the black unicorn.
"Because if I don't, no-one will. If you will wait until both of you are out, we can use the carpet to escape. I've got to rescue Rozberk and StarGazer as well."
"Why should we believe you?"
"Because you have no choice. Shall we get started?"
"Alright. One false move, and I'll kill you and that pet of yours, though."
"It's up to you. One at a time, then."
The elf directed the carpet to take her to the door of one of the cages, then sent it to hold up the other. She pried around inside the lock for a while with a dagger, finally unlocking the cage and swinging the door open. The black unicorn jumped out, landing heavily on the illusion of a deep pit. The carpet sank slowly under the weight of the QuickBrown and the other cage, until the dark elf could climb along the beam to QuickBrown and open that cage too. QuickBrown jumped out, and waited for the carpet to free itself.
"I suppose you are all right after all. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry, I'm used to it. Shall we leave?" The dark elf motioned the airborne rug, and the carpet flew the allies out, one at a time. "Head for the Inn, QuickBrown. Tell Repeek what's happened. I'll get the other two and meet you there." The elf could see that the pair was too exhausted to aid in the rescue.
StarGazer heard a quiet thud on the roof of her cage. She had not yet been noticed by the trolls, who were still arguing beneath her.
"Hsst".."Hsst".."StarGazer!"
"Q u i e t. They don't know I'm here yet."
"Wait for the signal."
A small figure, masked in darkness, crawled to the door of the cage and picked the lock with a dagger.
"Don't go yet, they'll catch you. Wait a bit."
StarGazer saw the truth in the statement and nodded, slowly.
The small presence left the cage, and a few seconds later a dark elf walked brazenly into the middle of the trollish camp. All the trolls instantly stopped what they were doing to watch, some still with fists raised and others slopping beer down themselves, faces transformed into masks of fear.
The dark elf purred "Why are you here, slaves?"
"We's not slaves!"
"My House has found you. That makes you our slaves."
One troll stood up proudly. "We's Norak's trolls."
"Norak. How sweet. Speak when you are spoken to, slave" The lithe female brandished a whip, seemingly oblivious to the horrified StarGazer, who was waiting for the black fiend's allies to spot her and enslave her with the trolls. The sight of the weapon terrified the trolls, as did the appearance of a large black snake from behind a tree. "Dat tings three times the size of the pit snake!" screamed one, as he and all the others turned to run. The dark elf stood there until they were out of earshot, then grinned up at the frightened unicorn.
"You can come out now!" smiled the elf, sending the carpet up to the door. StarGazer recognised the voice of her rescuer and stepped on to the carpet happily. "The other two are waiting for you at the inn, hurry before Norak misses you and comes looking. I'm going to get Rozberk now." The elf disappeared into the darkness, listening to the fading hoofbeats.
"Rozberk, I'm back. The others are out now and on their way to the inn."
"The captain is still watching me like an orc. You're going to have to be careful."
"I can't pick the lock on your cage, it's enspelled. Norak doesn't like winged mythics. I'll distract the orc then work on the rope holding the cage up." The elf gestured, and the carpet flew straight towards the orc, repeating the trick played on the dwarf and flying within inches of its head. The carpet then flew off down the path, leading the swearing orc behind it. The little elf then started sawing at the rope with a dagger. As the last stand started to snap she jumped off the cage, whispering "Brace!" to Roberk. The alicorn promptly rolled into a ball as the cage fell from its lofty perch. At the end of the drop, the cage was a twisted, ruined wreck of metal bars. The rescuer quickly ran to the mangled remains and hauled out a scared but mostly intact Rozbert. The elf picked the snake up and draped it around her shoulders, then whistled for the carpet.
"Let's get moving, that orc's coming back and the others are waking up."
"I don't think I can fly. My wings hurt too much."
"I'll take you on the carpet, then. It should be able to carry both of us." The brave rug appeared around a corner, still being chased by the orc. The carpet was much the worse for the battle, with one edge frayed and one corner hacked off completely, but it was still flying as fast as the orc could chase. It flew past the pair, slowing down enough for the alicorn, the elf, and the snake to get on then climbing slowly with obvious effort. One swipe of the enraged orc's pike took another piece of the edging off the rug, but the little carpet gamely flew on. As they cleared the treetops, the little elf knew that Norak would be very upset when he found out...
The other side of the Eastern border...
Norak hurled the delicate glass vial against a wall, the costly contents splashing onto the wood and turning it bright, glowing blue.
"Slave! Get me a roc feather pulled at midnight by a blind troll, and make it quick!"
A scared little voice from the other side of the door quivers "Sire, we have none."
"I deliberately gave you that list of ingredients months ago."
"Yes sire, and we got you one, but you have used it, sire."
"Don't talk back! Get me one!"
"It will be done, sire, but it will take many days. We have no blind trolls and no captured rocs, but we will find a way."
"Do. I may be able to substitute fire lizard skin instead. You have five days."
The little fire lizard on the other side of the door tugs on his enspelled iron collar, then flits off to do his masters bidding, praying that the last escapee took his message to the Realm...
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Clare Yeowart, cl...@witsend.u-net.com