Chapter Ten

Tam sat, back to the wall below the open window, listening to the noise of the creatures passage become louder as they drew closer to the tower. He hoped that they would just pass, without detecting him or entering the towers base. He once again searched the guano stained floor for anything that could be used as a weapon, already knowing that it would be futile. He didn’t just want to sit there and possibly die without at least trying to take some of the creatures with him.

The guttural growls and yips suddenly became louder and faster, almost frantic, making Tam tense up. I have to know what the hell is going on, he thought as he eased himself up just enough to be able to see over the windows bottom edge. He could see the dog like creatures milling about beneath his position, but he couldn’t work out why, thankful the doorway was on the opposite side of the tower.

The creatures froze, and Tam jerked back in surprise as a hunting horn sounded out suddenly from somewhere within the trees of the forest. The noise was deep, long and loud, vibrating inside his ears and momentarily deafening him. Whoever was sounding that horn must be very close, and this became a certainty when Tam saw an arrow flash out of the trees, striking one of the creatures through its throat , causing it to tumble backwards.

As Tam was watching the creature tumble through the air, he missed seeing two armored men step into the small clearing, but he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and they were already there when he had returned his sight onto them. They appeared to be elven in appearance, and were dressed in green chain mail and leather pants. Both had longswords in their hands, drawn and ready, as they rapidly approached the remaining canine beasts. From his position, he could see that the beast wouldn’t post much of a challenge to the swordsmen, but the beasts must have thought otherwise.

Whether it was their normal behavior, or whether they just fell back to a more primal urge, Tam didn’t know, but the remaining beasts dropped onto all fours and charged, their sudden speed boost impressive. This seemed to catch the swordsmen by surprise, for they were caught there, flat footed, as both creatures leaped, one at each swordsman, mouth agape and teeth flashing.

Then Tam saw that the swordsmen had seemingly planned their own ruse, one to get the beasts to act exactly as they had done, for in what seemed a well rehearsed action, both swordsmen leaned backwards, out of the path of the leaping beasts, then both swords swung around in synchronized arcs. One sword arc bisected the neck of a beast, separating it cleanly from the torso, while the other was a fraction late and only connected with the last beasts hips. While late, it was still effective enough for the razor sharp blade to slice deeply into the body, spraying blood profusely around. The wounded creature fell to the ground, and before it could make any move to run or attack, the swordsman gracefully turned his weapons arc into a lunge with a smooth twist of one wrist. The lunge punched the point of the sword through the beasts chest and deep into the ground, pinning the dead body there, like an entomologists specimen.

The skills of both swordsmen astounded Tam, and he would have stood up and applauded the exhibition he had just observed, if it was not for the small fact that he had no idea who these people were, or their intentions. My best option is to sit here quietly and hope they depart without detecting me. He watched as they collected the loot from the creatures chest icons.

He felt a small tap on his shoulder, then the sound of an attention seeking cough. “Ahem.”. the shock and utter surprise of this caused him to freeze, which may have helped save his life. He could tell from the sharp edge that grazed his neck that it was a sword that had been used to attract his notice, and any sudden moves could result in a swift strike to his throat. Tam didn’t fancy visiting the rats again, or the walk back here, so he didn’t move

The voice spoke again, it was a light male voice. “ I said ahem. That usually means someone wants your attention, so please turn around, and slowly would be appreciated..” The tip of the sword prodded him gently in one shoulder to emphasis the point that any false move would result in punishment. Tam lifted his hand up, to show he was unarmed, then slowly stood up and turned.

The person he saw facing him, a drawn longsword pointed directly at his throat, was definitely an elf. What kind of elf, Tam was not certain, but he knew without doubt that it was a dangerous one. The elf was dressed pretty much the same as the others outside, except this one had a longbow slung over one shoulder. His eyes followed the blade upwards to the elf’s face. It held a look of mild inquisitiveness, with one eyebrow quirked up enquiringly., the green eyes beneath glinting as they watched him carefully.

“Ummm….. Hi, how are you ?” Tam inanely uttered, his brain suddenly incapable of coming up with anything appropriate to say .

The other eyebrow on the elf arched up on hearing this , somehow wordlessly expressing unexpected bafflement. The eyes flicked to the window, then back to Tam. “Why are you hiding in this tower, watching us. Were those Grolls here because of you, or are you just here to spy on us ?” This had been asked civilly, but Tam could hear a slight note of distrust in the voice.

“Sorry, Grolls ? What are Grolls ?” The name was as unknown to Tam as were the creatures to whom it applied.

The elf again gave him a peculiar look. “Those creatures outside, those were Grolls. You claim to have never heard of them ?” While he spoke, the two elves who had fought outside, climbed up into the room and stood behind the first, all of their eyes fixed on Tam. “If you are not familiar with the world Groll, they are also known elsewhere as Growls. I suppose you’re going to say you have not heard of those, either, eh ?”.

“No,” replied Tam to this, “I have never heard of either of those, and no, I also wasn’t spying on you.”

“So then, pray tell, what were you doing skulking around in Melchants Tower. No one from town comes here, and we know there is nothing of value for scavengers. You claim not to be spying, yet here you were, concealed,” his eyes scanned Tams appearance, “ and unarmed.. The fire below informs me you have been here more than a short while, yet remain untouched by the Grolls. What else are we to assume from this but you are either a spy, or an agent of the dark lord ?” The elf poked him with the point of the longsword, pinking his shoulder and giving him one point of damage. “Speak and allay our suspicions, before we dispatch you to your gods.” During this speech, the elf’s features had slowly changed from its initial inquisitive into distrust.

“I’m only a traveler,” exclaimed Tam “I stopped here yesterday to get out of the rain. The only reason I was hiding was because I heard those creatures you call Grolls, and feared they would find me. I didn’t know anything about you at all, and your appearance surprised me, and most probably also saved my life. I don’t know who you are, or why anyone would want to spy on you at all.” He slumped back against the wall, dejected, realizing that there was no way he could prove anything, or disprove. It looked like this was going to end up with a ratpit respawn.

The three elves glanced at each other, than back at Tam. One of the elves at the back shook his head. “I don’t know, there is truth in his words, but how much or little, I can not tell. We need to take his to the village headsman to get a proper reading.” He withdrew a leather thong from around his wrist. “Put you hand out, together. If we are wrong in not trusting you, I will apologize, but until the truth is revealed you shall remain in bondage. “ He tied Tams wrists together, firmly, with the thong.

They quickly made their way out of the tower, helping the helpless Tam navigate his way to the ground floor by the simple method of dropping him down the hole, to be caught by one who went first.

Tam was forced to wait while an elf went over to the Groll bodies and removed their ears. As they were placed in a pouch, Tam asked ‘Why are you only taking the ears ? Is there no value in their pelts, or teeth ?” This gained him a brief puzzled look from his guard.

“No, Grolls are foul beasts, no part of them retains any value. The meat is inedible, the pelt useless. We only gather the ears to receive the bounty that has been placed on them.” Seeing that his fellows had finished their gathering while he had been talking, he pushed Tam. “Go on, get walking. Follow the others, and remember I am here behind you, so do not try to escape.”

Tam started walking, but continued to talk to his guard as he did so. The mention of a bounty had garnered his attention and he wanted to know more. ”Bounty ? How much is the bounty ? Also, how far is this village we are going to. “

The elf gave a small smile. “For a stranger in a dangerous position, you sure ask a lot of questions. Answer mine first, and I will give you the answers you are seeking.” Tam looked back and nodded. “First off, stranger, what name shall we address you with ? I can not keep on calling you stranger. Also, what race are you, I have never seen anyone of your race before.”

Hesitating slightly, but unable to see any harm , he answered. “My name is Tam, Tam Starland, and I am of the Elder Race.” On saying this he heard a gasp behind him and turned. The elf had stopped walking, a shocked expression on his face, the sword handing limply from his hand. As he looked at the elf, confused, he was roughly thrust aside as one of the other elves pushed past him to grasp the other by a shoulder and shake him firmy.

“Brother, What ails you.” he asked. “Tell me, what have you seen that alarms you so.” He now gripped both shoulders and looked about to see what may have shocked him. “Are we facing danger ?”

The guard elf, still with a shocked expression on his face, just pointed a shaky finger at Tam. “Him.”

Tam squirmed about in an attempt to find a more comfortable sitting position, but was finding it hard to do trussed up as he was. The elves had not taken long to decide that he needed to be more firmly restrained, and now he was tied up, hand and foot. They had taken the unsteady elf aside and were now in a meeting of some sort, for they sat in a circle, or triangle, seeing it was only three of them, and had been discussing something animatedly for the past hour. Many looks had been made at Tam during this time, and he knew that whatever was disturbing them was connected to his presence.

The ropes had been tied too tight, his hands were numb and starting to get that pale whitish look that informed one of the lack of a blood supply. It was a painful numbness, which sounded ridiculous, but totally true. This concerned him a lot, for if this went on too longer, he would suffer sever damage to his hands, even if it was only until they healed themselves. Tam didn’t like unnecessary pain, and he definitely couldn’t understand any reason why they should be in such a panic. He just wanted to get these ropes loosened, or removed..

Congratulations, You have gained a new level in Pain Tolerance. You are now Beginner 2. You now receive a 0.4% reduction in pain

Great, thought Tam sarcastically at this announcement. That will really make a difference. Movement caught his eye. It seemed the discussion was over because all of the elves were approaching Tam now, stern expressions on their faces. He watched them carefully to get an indication of their intentions.

The main elf with the bow, bent over to untie his hands and noticed the condition of his hands. Quickly removing the ropes he spoke. “Tam Starland, I apologize to you on behalf of myself and my brothers. We have acted in haste, and caused you pain. It shames us that we have acted so thoughtlessly. Can you forgive us.”

Tam rubbed his wrists, at first a bit rubbery as he had no feeling in them, then more firmly as the returning blood started to cause them to ache. “Sure, I forgive you, as long as you tell me what it is that I have done that has caused you so much problem.” He still could see the rope strand impressions in his skin, and it stung when he attempted to rub them away.

The elf looked grave at that. “No, Tam Starland, this is not something I can talk to you about, you will have to wait until the headsman has time to talk to you to gain an answer to that question.” The elf stared thoughtfully at Tam for a few moments. “But I have been rude to you. We know your name, but we have not given ours in return. I am Alarand Telendeth, and these are my brothers Emerion and Daeron.” He indicated the other two. “We shall be taking you to the village of Oakengate. It’s not a long walk from here, about another two hours travel. Along the way we will answer the questions you have already asked.” He held out one slim hand to Tam, and assisted him to his feet after he had grasped it.

“So,” Tam asked as they continued on their way, “What’s the bounty on a Groll, and what the hell is a Groll ?”