Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen Ancient Wisdom

"Wait! Wait!" Abereth yelled, dashing out of the river, and pushing away the two elves with their swords at Ivan's throat. "He is not an enemy!" This statement surprised Ivan. "Thanks, elf," he said, grimacing with pain as he spoke each word.The black arrow pierced almost halfway through his thick, muscular thigh. The two elves were utterly bewildered, but still lowered their shoulders and propped Ivan's arms, lifting the dwarf all the way out of the river. "Come on, hurry up!" said one of the elves. "If we remain exposed, the enemy will follow us." The weary members of the group need not be reminded a second time, especially as they can still hear Ragnor's ferocious orders on the other side of the ridge over the sound of the rushing river. with its soldiers.

Abeles looked back at that ridge most of the time.The elf prince was never lost in a fight, but even if he complained to Ivan, Abereth must admit that if the dwarves hadn't dragged him out of the fight, he might have been killed by Ragnor . With this dark thought the elven prince left the river. The elves' camp wasn't quite a formal encampment, more like a small block where every tree shaded an archer, grim-faced, ready to deal with an enemy trying to cross the river. Aberes and his companions met the elves who came to greet them in a small open space: Xuelin and Tintage.The elf princes were afraid that they would be killed when they were at the top of Dionysus.There was no smile on their faces as they walked over to join the company; they even frowned when they saw and smelled the dwarves.

"Just in time for you to come back," Xuelin said, and Aberez couldn't remember hearing her musical voice so solemn.He stared at her carefully for a long time, and it was only then that he began to understand how serious the damage suffered on Dionysus was. "Many elves died," Tinteg added, equally somber. Alberez nodded. "Who will take care of the wounded?" he asked. "Miss Maupassant's arm needs to be re-bandaged, and mine—" He looked at Ivan strangely for a moment. "—My friend was shot by an arrow." Ivan's eyes widened when he heard the elven prince declare him a friend.

"Wow," Pikel exclaimed. "Hey! That's nothing, elf," Ivan snarled, but when he pulled away from the two supporters to take a step, he almost fainted from the pain and couldn't control his feet. Danica was at the dwarf's side in a flash, and picked him up with her good arm. "Come on," she said, holding on to a smile, "we'll get therapy together." "Two old and disabled travelers, huh?" Ivan chuckled. "Not as broken as the enemies we left behind," Danica pointed out.She noticed that Xuelin and Tintage hadn't stopped frowning, and she almost growled at them as she and Ivan passed by them.

"We must consider the dwarves our allies," Abereth ordered, "because they are, and please leave no doubt." "According to whose order?" A voice came from the side.Abereth recognized his father's voice before he turned to face the elf king. "Did you obey the army's orders?" Galendile roared, moving to his son. "Have you the right to choose our allies?" Danica and Ivan stopped and turned to look; Cadderly and Pikel didn't blink.Cadderly put an arm on Pikel's shoulder, though, to keep the dwarf calm as the Elven dynasty approached them.

Aberes didn't think his father's outburst was worth answering, but he knew that if he didn't face Galendelle right now, the problem would only grow bigger. "I don't think we are in a position to refuse any assistance at this moment." "I never said I'd help you, elf," snapped Ivan, trying to bring the whole thing back into the realm of his own as a dwarf. "My brother and I are here to take care of Cadderly and Danica, not you!" "Ooh!" Pikel agreed firmly. "That's right," said Galandale, glaring at one of the brothers, then the other. "Take care of Cadderly and Danica, and then, get out of our way."

"Father," Abereth began sharply. "And I don't want to hear your sophistry any more, Elven Prince of Simista!" Galandelle cried sarcastically. "Where was Abereth when Dionysus was destroyed? Where was my son when his people were being slaughtered?" For the first time since Cadderly had seen Abereth, the elven prince seemed very small to him.The young scholar looked past the elf to Danica, and saw tears welling in her almond-shaped eyes.This time, there was no jealousy in the young scholar's heart, for he felt as much sympathy as Danica. "Go again if you still want to," Galendelle said angrily. "Then maybe you won't have to be forced to see our end come and our home destroyed." The Elven King turned away and disappeared. in the woods.

In the darkening shadows, Aberis stood for a long time without saying a word. "They don't attack at night," Tinteg told the group, trying to break the gloom. "Darkness is good for the goblins," Cadderly said, trying to keep the conversation going, not trying to argue with him. "Not in Simista!" replied the blue-eyed elven magician, forcing a smile. "Our enemies have learned to fear the dark. They attack only by day, as on Dionysus." Tinteg's voice faded as he mentioned the deadly battle. Abeles said nothing.Without bowing his face, refusing to lower his proud chin, he walked away slowly.

※※※ It was a particularly cold night for a late summer night, and Cadderly was allowed to light a fire in the rear, away from the front lines.He took out his light tube and followed the book of Lanier Quelquin, and began his translation work.He resolved that if there was anything that could help the elf, he would do it.After a while, however, he was distracted by the beautiful cry of a night bird not far away. Cadderly suddenly had an idea.He put the ancient book down and thought about the silent spell he had jotted down earlier that day.It was not an easy spell; Cadderly had always known it would be a test to cast it.While he was glad Dorigen was not on Ragnor's side, he almost wished he had the chance to face the test.

"Why not?" the scholar thought, before he slipped away from the fire and narrowed the beam of the snoot so he could aim more precisely at the bird. He began to chant the ancient language verbatim, not quite sure if the intonation was correct, but confident that he would not miss the words prescribed by the spell.Seconds passed; Cadderly felt a strange energy build up within him. It was getting stronger and stronger, and it was urging him to release it.And he did, putting all the resolution in the last syllable and saying it. He was still for a moment.In the night the birds stopped suddenly; the whole forest fell silent.

Cadderly clenched his fists in delight at victory.He returned to work on ancient books, feeling more confident about his role in the upcoming battle. His confidence was quickly shattered, though, when Danica approached his fire.The young woman's lips moved in greeting, but no words came out.She looked around, confused. Cadderly understood what was happening immediately, and sank into his hands. His sigh was also inaudible, neither was the crackling of the fire, and then he understood.He grabbed a branch and wrote in the dirt on the ground, "It will pass." Then he gestured for Danica to sit down next to him. "What happened?" Danica asked a few minutes later, as the murmur of the campfire returned. "I proved myself useless again," Cadderly replied.He kicked his backpack, which contained the Book of Universal Harmony. "I'm not at all a Denierian priest, not even a priest. Even the simplest spells that come out of my mouth can go wrong and hit things I don't want to hit. I try to make The bird was quiet, but it made itself silent. We should be glad that the magician didn't show up in the last battle. If she had, we would all die, although no one would hear our cry before death. Voice." Even though Cadderly was speaking in such a rueful tone, and even though she was in danger and her injured arm was hurting, Danica laughed at the thought of him. "I'm afraid to cast even the simplest healing spells," Cadderly continued, "because I know they might make the wound worse instead of better!" Danica wanted to comfort him, to tell him that he was the smartest person she had ever met and the most respected young scholar in the Moezhi Library.But she could not sympathize with his small concerns, especially compared with the dark and heavy fate that hung over the ancient trees of Simista. "Self-pity is not your style," she commented calmly. "A confession," Cadderly corrected her. "Maybe," Danica argued, "but it's an irrelevant confession at this point." "All my life—" Cadderly began. "It's not wasted," Danica interjected, before the young scholar pushed himself even further into despair. "Your life? You've only just begun." "I want to live like a priest of Denir," Cadderly lamented, "but that's not the reality." "You're not sure yet," Danica snapped. "I agree." A voice came.They looked up, and were surprised to see Zirkan Rufo approaching the fire. Danica had all but forgotten the thin man's existence, and seeing him brought back many unpleasant thoughts.Sensing her sudden anger, Cadderly put a hand on her shoulder, lest she suddenly jump at Rufo and grab him. "Some very high-ranking members of our sect aren't very good at casting spells," Rufo continued, picking a tree trunk across from the small fire and sitting down, avoiding Danica's icy stare. "For example your friend, the Mistress. When Priestess Potelope casts spells, even the simplest ones often fail." Rufo's face grew thinner in the flickering firelight, and Cadderly could hear a tremor in his voice.However, the young scholar didn't pay much attention to this matter, but was more concerned with the fact that Rufo had just revealed to him. "How is that possible?" Cadderly asked, "Pertelope is the leader of the sect. If she can't even perform the simplest magic, how can she get the high position of female head teacher in the Mengzhi Library ?” "Because she's a scholar, like you," Rufo replied, "and with Denier's consent. Don't doubt it, even if that consent wasn't revealed in the priest's spellcasting. Priestess Portillo Pu is fully qualified for her title." "How do you know these things?" Danica asked, still having a lot of questions on Rufo's mind, especially about his relationship with Dorigen. "I heard Avery say it once," Rufo replied, trying to sound relaxed, though his monotonous voice trembled with every word. "And I'll pay more attention after that." He fell back and rested his head on his bony elbow, trying again to feign composure in vain. Cadderly knew that there were many other things at war in this conversation, both from Danica's and Rufo's perspective, and that there was far more to it than the light-hearted banter.Minutes passed and the tension showed no sign of dissipating; in fact, as far as Cadderly could see, it seemed that the tension was growing in both his companions on each side of the campfire.However, Cadderly still felt quite comforted after hearing what Rufo had said to Pertelope.Considering these words in light of his own experience with the headmistress, he had to agree that he had hardly seen Pertelope attempt to perform any magic. Rufo stood stiffly. "I'm glad you're back," he said, strangely tense.He took Cadderly's silk cloak and wide-brimmed hat, a little wrinkled, from his knapsack. "I'm glad," Rufo said again.He bowed slightly, and walked away, nearly tripping over a tree trunk as he walked. "Surprised to see us, don't you think so?" Danica commented when Rufo was out of earshot of their conversation. "Our friend is a little nervous." "Zirkan Rufo is always nervous," Cadderly replied, with relief in his voice for the first time since he discovered his failure with the Silence spell. "So you think it's a coincidence?" Danica said angrily, "and it's also a coincidence that Dorigen knew him?" "She probably knew about Rufo from the same source that she learned about us," Cadderly reasoned. "Of course," the young woman agreed, and her sarcasm made what Cadderly himself said sound like an accusation against his gaunt companion. "Of course." ※※※ Shortly after dawn, Cadderly was awakened by the sounds of fighting.He rummaged through the pack for the frisbee, grabbed his cane, and headed for it.Before he could get close, the battle was over, and the elf managed to fight off another wave of incoming enemies. However, even if the operation was successful, when Cadderly walked up to where Danica, Abereth, and the dwarves were, none of them looked happy. "Sorry," the young scholar stammered apologetically, "I fell asleep and no one told me..." "Don't be afraid," Aberes replied. "You won't have much to do with this battle. Eleven archers made the enemy retreat, and many didn't even cross the river." "And those who cross the river will wish they had turned back sooner!" Ivan added, seemingly unaffected by the foot injury.He made a point of holding up the bloody ax for Cadderly to see.Meanwhile, Pikel was busy pulling a lock of goblin hair from a shallow slit in his stick. Cadderly didn't miss Abereth's grateful glance at the dwarves, though the elf was clearly trying to cover it up. "Come on, go get yourself some rest now," Aberez said to Danica, and then he looked around to show that he was speaking to everyone. "I must go to a meeting with my father. The scouts will bring back more complete information on the enemy this morning." The elf bowed and left. Ivan and Pikel fell asleep almost immediately after they returned to Cadderly's small camp.The two dwarves stayed up all night, showing some of the more receptive elves how to build barricades, and concluded with a lesson in trap setting. Danica also stretched and rested, and Cadderly, after a brief breakfast of delicious buns, began to bury his head again in Delaniel Quelquin's book.His work on the translation was slow and late; he felt he had only deciphered the meaning of one ancient text.A hundred other more obscure symbols were still unknown to him. Alberez went to see them later that morning, with Tintag and Sherin by his side.The stern look on the Elven Prince's face showed what the news from the returning scouts meant. "The enemy is more disciplined and organized than we thought," admitted Aberez. "The enemy magician also returned this morning," Xuelin added. "She sent a flame from her palm and enveloped one unfortunate scout. He is still alive, but the healers don't think he will survive today. .” Cadderly looked reflexively at his pack, at the Tome of Universal Harmony.What healing secrets could he find in it?he guessed.Will he find the strength enough to help the wounded elf? He looked away in shame, admitting he couldn't do it.He had no right to be called Denier's priest, a fact he had discovered last night. "How about the Allies?" Danica asked. "Has the Moezhi Library responded to our request?" "There's no news of any outside assistance," Aberes replied. "We don't think the library will be able to muster enough troops anyway, even if they arrive in time." "Then what should we do?" Cadderly asked. "Galandale proposed to leave Simista." Aberes swallowed the choke that rose from his slender throat. "He kept talking about the Isle of Evermeet, saying that our days in the mortal kingdoms are over." "What do you think?" Danica asked, her question almost sounding like an accusation. "Now is not the time to go," said the proud elf firmly. "I will not leave Simista in the hands of the goblins, but—" "But our hopes here are fading fast," Xuelin replied. Cadderly did not miss the sadness in her violet eyes, the melancholy expression robbing her of vitality and fighting spirit. "We cannot defeat such a large army," the elf girl admitted. "Many goblins will die, it is true, but our numbers will continue to dwindle until there are none left." To Cadderly's own surprise, he abruptly broke the ensuing silence. "I've started translating the Book of Delaniel," he said firmly. "We'll find out there." Aberes shook his head, "You have very little time," he explained, "and we don't have many expectations for this ancient book like you. The magic of the forest is not what it used to be—at this point, I'm afraid My father was right." "When are you going to decide on your next strategy?" Danica asked. "Today, later on." The elf prince replied, "Although I know this meeting is just a formality, because the decision has already been made." There was nothing left to say, but much to do, and the three elves departed.Danica sank back into her blanket, squirming, trying in vain to sleep, while Cadderly sank back into the ancient book. He spent another hour, frustrated by two simple archaic phrases that appeared on nearly every page.If it took him so much time to even these two words, how could he expect to decipher the entire book in one day? He put the book aside and stretched, tired and defeated, full of anger at his own inadequacy.Reverend Cadderly?Obviously not.Warrior Cadderly?Hardly counts.Scholar Cadderly? Maybe, but the ability suddenly seemed useless in the real, violent world.Cadderly could recount the adventures of a thousand ancient heroes, recount past battles, and even memorize a wizard's lost spell-book after seeing it only once.But he couldn't drive away the dark forces that invaded Simista, and his other abilities didn't count at all at the moment. At last, sleep took over him benevolently, and Cadderly had a dream that was completely unexpected. He saw Simista bathed in the ancient light of the sky, violet and blue and yellow starlight shining softly through the thick canopy of leaves.The Elves danced, ten times as many as existed in Simista now, and the greatest King of Simista took the lead in singing. Cadderly could not understand the words, though he spoke modern Elvish fluently.Stranger still was the reaction of the forest around the elf, for the trees themselves answered Delanier's song, and answered the elf-king.A very light breeze blew across the ancient Simista, and those huge and heavy trees bent down and swayed, matching the graceful movements of the forest people. Then the sight faded away, and Cadderly sat up, awakened by Ivan's and Pikel's thunderous snoring.The young scholar shook his head and lay back, hoping to regain the vanished moment.His dream faded away quickly, only in the blink of an eye, but he could clearly remember the silence and magic. His eyes opened wide, and he crawled towards the book on the black leather strap.Those unknown ancient scripts appeared before his eyes again, but this time, Cadderly put aside his own notes and logical, practical skills.This time, the young scholar used the revelation he had received with emotion, felt it as Delaniel had in his dreams, and let his soul dance like elves and trees, and their songs accompanied him. ※※※ "Get out!" Zirkan Rufo snarled, pounding on a tree trunk. "I did as you asked, now set me free!" The thin man looked around nervously, afraid that he had spoken too loudly just now.Elves seemed to be everywhere; and Rufo had no doubt that if one of them discovered the reason for Rufo's dilemma, they would be more than happy to give him an arrow. He was alone in the forest, at least physically, and had been since leaving Cadderly and Danica the night before.Rufo couldn't sleep - an imp's voice in his head wouldn't let him.The gaunt man was haggard and troubled because he couldn't escape Druzil's telepathic intrusion. What have you got to lose?The imp's rough voice said with satisfaction.You can get the whole world. "I don't know their plans, and if I did I wouldn't tell you," Rufo insisted. Oh, but you will, Druzil replied confidently.And you should. "no way!" You betrayed a friend once, Zirkan Rufo.Druzil reminded him.How kind would the elf prince be if he knew your secret? Rufo's breathing became short gasps.He knew that Druzil's question was actually a direct threat. Forget about the unpleasantness, though, Druzil continued.Now, help us.We will have victory - which is clearly coming - and when victory comes, you will be richly rewarded.If you ignore us, you will pay the price. Rufo was unaware of his movements, unaware of the sharp pain.He looked down in surprise at his hand, which was clutching a handful of tangled black hair on his head.