They returned to the cave. Murple broke apart a wooden sign standing outside and threw it into the fire to keep it burning. Night had already fallen. In just one day, they had experienced more tension than they had in their entire lives. They wanted to forget everything, but the deaths of their comrades weighed heavily on them. Instead of forgetting, they honored them with a song.
We fell to a trap laid by elven hands,
Betrayed by those we once called friends.
From where do all these troubles rise?
What feeds the root of all these lies?
But still we march, we carry on,
For those we loved, now dead and gone.
Gold awaits in lands afar,
In distant realms beneath a star.
Foes await us, standing near,
Side by side with traitors here.
We must leave this cursed ground,
Before we share the fate they found.
They all fell asleep after the song. They were so exhausted that they only managed to wake up around noon.
After filling their stomachs with food they had looted from the elf camp, Sadagat pulled out a map.
"If we ride south for two days, we'll reach Lakeby. That city has plenty of places for us to stay. However, west of Lakeby Lake—so southwest of us—there's a small village. Its name is Elgovil."
"What do you suggest, Sadagat?" Mervilion asked.
"Elgovil is near the Elgabin border. It was once a place built by elves. But now humans live there. If we ride for a few hours, we can reach it. I'd rather stay in a village than camp along the road."
"Then we're going to Elgovil," Kromnir said.
"Enough talk. We're moving!" said Mervilion, and they mounted their horses and set off. Rylen sat in front of Murple and traveled like that. The others rode their own horses. They evenly distributed their supplies among the horses. While riding, Rylen asked Murple a question.
"Don't we need to look for Serot and Straga? Serot is the leader of the brotherhood. Maybe he has another plan in mind."
With a weary expression, Murple took one hand off the reins and placed it on Rylen's shoulder.
"There is no brotherhood anymore, Rylen. It's just us."
Less than an hour later, rain started pouring from the grey sky. As they continued on the road, Mervilion felt something stirring inside him. As if a burning flame was inside him. Sadagat was drinking his beer on the side. Kromnir continued on, visibly bored.
They had finally left the slopes of the Northern Montragan Mountains and entered the vast plains of Montragan. As the rain continued over the green lands, they encountered something. A group of about thirty elves. But they were unarmed.
"Who are they?" Kromnir asked.
"Exiled elves," Sadagat replied.
"Where are they going?" Mervilion asked.
"To the east. To Elgturad," Sadagat answered.
"It is impossible to attack them. They swear a sacred oath not to engage in violence during their journey. In return, they are granted protection. Things don't look good in Elgrabin. First the Battle of Elfdif, then the bandits on the border. The age of the elves is ending," he added.
"We should get out of this rain. How far is Elgovil, Sadagat?" Mervilion asked.
"No more than three hours away. Let's continue," Sadagat said.
The journey continued for four more hours. Finally, they arrived at Elgovil. A town nestled between two hills, one mile west of Lakeby Lake. Wanting to avoid the rain, the group observed the town from a distance. It looked like everyone was inside their homes. The outside was completely empty.
"Where is everyone?" Murple asked.
"They probably didn't go out because of the rain," Kromnir brushed it off.
They moved toward the town. But there was no sound at all. They stopped next to the local tavern, and Kromnir was the first to step inside. Feeling uneasy, he grabbed one of his axes and slowly pushed the door open. What he saw inside horrified him. No candles were lit, no food was being served. There were six tables in front of him. A corpse lay on one of them. Along with bodies leaning against the walls and several more lying on the floor. The inside reeked. Flies buzzed over the corpses.
Mervilion peeked in from behind and saw the scene. He stepped inside after Kromnir. At that moment, the silence was broken by a door sound from upstairs. Five meters to the right, a staircase was leading upward, and something was about to come down.
Mervilion silently turned back.
"Don't make a sound and ready your weapons," he whispered.
He slowly drew his sword. Tarnash pulled out his shield and sword, Murple readied his dagger, Rylen prepared his arrows, and Sadagat gripped his staff suspiciously.
At that moment, sounds came not from inside—but from outside. Four bandit-like figures appeared. But their ears were very noticeable. They were elves. One carried a woodcutter's axe; the others had short swords. Tarnash positioned himself against them outside.
Inside, footsteps from upstairs grew louder. Multiple steps.
"Kromnir! Check the stairs," Mervilion said.
"You'd better just fuck me!" Kromnir snapped back.
"Fine, I'm coming with you," Mervilion said, and they moved toward the stairs.
Outside, the fight began. The axe-wielding elf threw his axe at Tarnash, but it hit his shield. Before he could recover, one elf lunged at him—but regretted it immediately. Tarnash cut his throat easily.
Sadagat took the man's sword. The remaining two moved toward Tarnash. The first attack came from the left; Tarnash blocked it easily. With a spinning move, he gutted the attacker. The other was already struck by an arrow—Rylen's. Tarnash finished him off and threw the severed head at the last fleeing bandit, knocking him down, and ended him with Ardanel in his chest.
Inside, Mervilion and Kromnir reached the top of the stairs—but found no one. Eight doors were aligned across a corridor.
"Don't hide in the rooms, boys…" Mervilion said, tapping his sword and walking forward, humming a tune.
As he passed the first room, nothing happened. In the second, a bandit rushed out with a mace—but Kromnir's axe buried itself in his back.
More enemies appeared. Tarnash joined the fight from below, leaping in with his shield. Mervilion and Kromnir helped, and they cleared the room.
"Since when do elves become bandits?" Kromnir questioned.
"These poor people… they must've been killed by these bastards. But what did they want?" Kromnir said.
"This is beyond us," Mervilion replied.
Later, they regrouped downstairs.
Murple was silently praying for the dead.
Mervilion stepped outside for air—and saw something on the hill near the town. A hooded man in black was watching them. The moment Mervilion noticed him, he ran toward him. The man immediately fled. Mervilion stopped pursuit.
"I think we shouldn't stay here, Sadagat. You saw what I saw," Mervilion said.
"There's nowhere else. Only Lakeby, and it's a day away. Going back to the cave would take too long. Best option is to set a night watch and barricade the doors," Sadagat replied.
"What about these?" Mervilion pointed at the bodies.
"If we had shovels, we'd bury them," Kromnir said.
"Let's move them outside. Let the rain take them," Murple said.
They carried the bodies out and barricaded the tavern. Tarnash was chosen for night watch.
Later, in the dark night, they heard a sound. A group of armored riders—about ten men—had arrived. One of them was different, clearly the leader.
"My lord, these bodies." he said, pointing to the seven corpses in front of the tavern. "Search the tavern," the man ordered.
One of the soldiers tried to open the door, but the barricades blocking it stopped him. Noticing this, the lord got off his horse, stroking his sharp grey-streaked beard, and moved his long, rain-soaked hair away from his eyes.
"Whoever is inside! This massacre will not go unpunished. Whoever you serve, first you will pay for it, and then so will they!" he said.
At that moment, Mervilion spoke up. "The massacre has not gone unpunished. We cleared out the bandits here. Who are you?" Mervilion asked.
"I am Vihen, commander of Lakeby, servant to Lord Lufna. Some also call me One-Eyed Vihen. Who are you?" Vihen replied.
"I am Mervilion. I came here with my friends to take shelter," he said.
"Why the barricade at the door?" Vihen asked.
"You must have realized this place isn't safe, Commander Vihen. We thought we should take security measures," Sadagat said.
"How many of you are there?" Vihen asked.
"There are six of us. But I don't understand why you're asking. Do you intend to attack us?" Sadagat asked.
"No. Just come out and tell us what happened," Vihen said.
Sadagat looked at Mervilion with a questioning expression, and Mervilion nodded. They loudly removed the barricades and opened the door.
Mervilion stepped out first, and they all followed.
At that moment, Mervilion leaned toward Sadagat and whispered, "Where are the horses?"
"Behind the tavern," Sadagat replied.
Commander Vihen stepped forward from among his men and faced Mervilion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Our goal was to reach Lakeby. But the road was long, and we thought this would be a good place to stay. It seems we were wrong," Mervilion said.
"And these bandits?" Vihen asked, pointing at the seven bodies on the ground.
"They are not bandits. We found them dead inside. The real bandits are upstairs. There are eight bodies up there," Mervilion said.
"These are not ordinary bandits, Commander. They are elves. What would elves be doing here?" Sadagat interjected.
"Briefly explain what happened," Vihen said.
"As soon as we entered the tavern, we found these poor souls' bodies," Mervilion began.
"My dwarf friend Kromnir and I went upstairs. Meanwhile, the others killed four of them outside. The rest were upstairs. We took care of them as well. Then we carried the bodies outside and secured the building," Mervilion finished.
"Soldiers. Search every house and shop. Tell me how many bodies you find. Bring anything important you discover. And you, Mervilion… you will accompany us back to Lakeby," Vihen said.
"That would be great," Mervilion replied.
They waited for the soldiers.
"What was your purpose here, Commander?" Murple asked.
"A carriage was supposed to arrive from here. But it was delayed too long, so my lord Lufna suspected something was wrong and ordered me this morning to investigate. Now the reason for the delay is clear," Vihen said.
After about an hour of waiting, the soldiers returned with their report.
"Commander, there are one hundred and seventeen bodies in total. The entire town has been killed. We found nothing else."
"How could eight elves have carried out a massacre like this?" Murple said.
"There are many things to question…" Vihen said.
"We will spend the night here. Hopefully, the inside is comfortable," he continued.
The soldiers, Vihen, and the group entered the tavern and fell asleep in a rather uncomfortable manner.