Book 2 Chapter 36: A Conundrum

Sam

The Elven Realm, unknown date and time

Two hours had passed, and they still hadn’t heard from the chopper. Everyone's nerves were on edge, and Sam decided they should proceed with the rescue plan.

Koshchei went through the portal first, as planned, then pushed his arm back eight seconds later, beckoning. When Sam and the rest of the team passed through, they found the Colosseum empty, except for the Arena. The staircase was barricaded with a few marble columns, taken from beneath ornamental statues of past champions or Roman emperors. Around it, Orc and Elven guards, together with Pops and Maverick, were fighting to keep a horde of gargoyles and undead from getting out.

Tristan teleported ahead and destroyed the skeletons with his AOE. Just activating and deactivating it broke them to pieces. At the same time, Koshchei unsheathed a chain sword, attacking the gargoyles. As soon as there was a break in the attack, Aldric ran forward and touched the columns. The rock melted, taking the shape of a lid to cover the stairs. They could hear the monsters banging into the cover, but the attack was halted, at least for the moment.

"What's going on?" Kariperos asked.

"The two champions that were supposed to protect the arena left us on our own and went down that hole," an orc said. "The monsters' numbers only grew after that."

"I can build a permanent stone lid in about half an hour," Aldric said.

"Don't! Isolde is also there," Maveric yelled. "Go free Dragon and Zappy. They have enough firepower to destroy hundreds of them in a single attack. We'll form a party and go for Isolde."

Hearing the sisters' names made Sam facepalm. He had forgotten about them, again. There's definitely some mind magic in play here.

"Sir, you're that Envoy from the Realm, right?" an elf asked Sam.

"Yes, why?"

"There's trouble in the city. Factions are preparing for a fight. Could you try to negotiate a truce, maybe?"

"Sam doesn't know the subtleties of our politics. I will take care of that," Kariperos said. "My wife and I are related to half the noble families."

"It's not only the nobles, but also the commoners, sir. Them and some Forest elves," the guard added. "We don't know why they're here."

"We called them. It looks like they were able to move very fast," Sam asked.

"We waited two hours for the portal, and the chopper made an hour to Szolnok. So yes, they had enough time to arrive before us," Eliza said. "Their Queen is also a portal specialist."

"Kari, how much time do you need to make a portal to the Realm again?" Sam asked.

"Two hours, like last time. It takes almost all my mana."

"Okay. We have two hours to solve as many problems as possible. Here's what we're going to do. Aldric and Max, find the sisters. Tristan, you're their security. After you find them, break into the vault and bring the gold here. You're sure you can carry it all, Max?"

"Yes, no worries. I have a skill that allows me to teleport precious metals, coins, or bullion. It's called Wiring Money."

"Perfect. I, Saint Georges, and Kariperos will try to negotiate a truce with… whomever. Dorian, are you in Koshchei?"

"Yes," the man's voice boomed through a speaker.

"I need you to leave Koshchei for now and protect Emfindsamkeit. Tag her as your ward. She's officially the Queen, so we need to protect her at all costs. Empfi, you'll stay here; it's safer. Do you understand?" Sam frowned at the girl. He had expected her to protest, like every other will teenager, but she nodded. "Great. That leaves only one other task."

"Rescuing Isolde?" Koshchei asked.

"Investigating the Colosseum. If it's doable, we rescue her. If it's too risky, well… I don't think she'd like it if other people get hurt to save her. We'll see. Jane, you have free hand."

"Do you have any archives I could search?" the detective asked the former king.

"The Royal Archive. It's adjacent to our castle," Kariperos said.

"Liz, go with Jane, see she's safe. We check on each other in an hour and a half, here."

"Roger," Koshchei saluted. Eliza nodded.

"Do you need a map?"

"I'll fly. I suppose the castle is easy to find. I can also take both Jane and Eliza in the cockpit."

"Do that. Mind the forcefields."

"There are no more forcefields; I would have detected them," Koshchei said, opening his door and kneeling so the women could go inside.

"You, you come with us," Sam beckoned to the officer who had told him about the problem.

"Yes, Sir," the man saluted.

The guard headed in the opposite direction from the one Sam thought. Still, after they exited the Colosseum, he understood the reason: only a part of the building was included in the Royal Park, the one he had seen from the castle; the other was surrounded first by a square, then descended into a valley and a labyrinth of alleys and narrow streets built around a small river. It was obviously the poorest part of the city. The water was dirty, and the low houses made of mud and planks.

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Not even two hundred feet from the exit, at the end of the public square, the problems were evident. There were our factions facing each other. Toward the building, strategically occupying a few defendable places, like stairs and colonnades, were the Colosseum's guards, assisted by a few dozen Elves dressed in green and gold. In total, they were the least numerous, maybe a couple hundred and something. To the left were other Elves, twice as many, with red clothes and banners. Those were probably the dead king's supporters.

In the middle, on the largest street—which wasn't so large in the first place—were a sizeable force of Forest Elves, at least five hundred, with their Queen in front, and Cedric and Juniper near her. She held Cedric's staff in her hands. The Elves were marching, their bronze weapons and long bows at the ready, but stopped when the Queen noticed Sam and raised her hand. They exchanged a short nod of acknowledgment.

And finally, a huge mob filling every other alley, armed with tools and stones taken from the pavement. They had raised barricades, a feat that made no sense. For the moment, the factions were keeping each other in check, with a few random skirmishes in the back, mainly the plebs going around the Forest Elves to throw stones at the Reds.

"Why are they converging on the arena?" Sam asked.

"The Reds want to kill you and him," the officer pointed at Kariperos. "The king's death and the massacre of the Parliament were broadcast. Your momentary leave of absence wasn't."

"You guys have TVs? Never mind. Go on."

"The Greens and Gold are satisfied with His Majesty Empfinsamkeit's amnesty and are on our side. I don't know what plans the Forest Elves have. The plebs are blocking the way to the port and are trying to attract us or the reds on those streets. We'd be overwhelmed very fast."

"The Forest Elves are on our side. If you take care that the plebs don't attack from the rear, we can take out the Reds."

"Remember what the pilot said," Saint-Georges said. "Don't trust. Maybe he was talking about the Forest Elves."

"Yes, but they have no reason to betray us. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt." Involuntarily, Sam sighed at the end of his phrase, as his gut feeling was that Saint Georges' suspicions were true. He shared the same worries, even without voicing them.

We rushed into an alliance with the Forest Elves without knowing much about them.

"Sir, could you negotiate, if possible?" the officer asked. "This neighborhood is the worst place to have a fight. The reds will use fire spells, and the Forest Elves will use wood spells. Terrible combination."

"That would burn the place down, huh? Saint Georges, would you mind going around and inviting every faction for a round of talks?" Sam asked.

"Very well," the Frenchman said. "Someone gives me a white flag."

"Why?" the elf asked.

"It's a sign we want to negotiate?"

"Not for us. Let me do it."

The elf had a badge pinned on his chest. Raising it up, he advanced toward the Reds. At the same time, a Forest Elf detached from the group and came forward. Sam knew him; it was Vaelzryth.

"Duke Samuel," the elf bowed.

"Just Sam. What's going on, Vaelzryth?"

"We heed your call for help, and here we are," the elf said. "I see the guards are on your side now."

"Yes. They asked us to mediate between the other factions. Can you help?"

"The Queen guessed as much and says you should let them fight each other. The important thing is to get the Colosseum under control."

"A team of Champions is taking care of it. We need you to keep the royalists in check, or whatever."

"I'll deliver your message." Vaelzryth saluted and left.

"What's the difference between the two parties, Kari?"

"The reds are traditionalists; the green and gold are considering giving more rights to the plebs. In the elections, most of them voted for me, but my brother bought a few, and they switched their vote."

"And the common folks? They're supporting the greens, I suppose. Why is this shanty town here, by the way? The rest of the city is much better."

"That river," the elf pointed, "passes under the Colosseum, and when it exits, it carries gold, or even artifacts. They're farming it. It's very dangerous. The water has predators, and all sorts of diseases."

"The guard is back," Saint Georges said.

An elf in red armor had tagged along with the officer. Remaining at a distance, arms crossed, they were staring daggers at Sam.

"We're willing to forgo their revenge if you convince your daughter not to grant rights to the plebs," the elf said.

"But my manifesto has always been—"

"Listen, Kari," Sam interjected, speaking loud enough to be heard by the noble. "Those guys, the plebs, are they slaves?"

"Of course not. All the inhabitants of our city are free people. They live on our lands, but are free to go at any time."

"How many are they?"

"Two hundred thousand, more or less. Why are you asking?"

"And how many Elves to that?"

"Ten thousand. One thousand from the grand families, and the rest from the small nobility."

"What would happen if, let's say, I'd offer those two hundred thousand plots of land or empty houses in my territory, plus a bit of money to start over? We have many empty cities and vast tracts of land in our new protectorate."

"I guess they'll move, but that would destroy us."

"I'm sorry, Kari, but it's the only way forward. Your nobles will have the satisfaction of keeping their rights, and ruling over an empty city."

"We could also kill you all," the noble said.

"If you look behind you, you'd notice my allies, the nice Forest Elves. Are you sure you'd win? Why are you so stubborn? A happy population means wealth for everyone."

"Forest Elves are weak to fire, so yes, we are sure of winning. Tradition is worth more than wealth. I don't expect a nouveau riche to understand."

"Nouveau riche, huh? You know my culture well, I see. Your former king had enlightened me on yours too. What about this: Let's settle our differences through a duel to the death in the Arena. Name your champion, and I'll meet them in two hours. And by the way. I'm not weak to fire."

The elf's face became instantly livid. "We'll have to speak with our brothers," he said curtly, turning on his heels and leaving.

"They're not really strong, are they?" Sam whispered.

"There's only so much one can do on this planet," Kariperos said. "Normally, they'd ask one of the Arena champions to represent them, but they’re down there for now."

"But what if they come back, or they find someone, somehow?" the officer asked.

"We'll see when it comes to that," Sam said deadpan. Kariperos' ability was going to recharge before the deadline, and his priority was to get his people safely back, not fight senseless duels on a planet he began to hate.

I'm changing… Not long ago, a duel was something I felt excited about… Maybe Eliza was right about me needing to grow up…

Somebody pulled his sleeve out of a sudden. A kid, the urchin he had noticed on two occasions before. He slipped a folded paper into Sam's right hand. At the same time, somebody cleared his throat nearby. Vaelzrith was back.

"Speak," he said abruptly, and a bit impolitely, while unfolding the note. His patience was running short.

"The Queen, my mother, says our troops will stay behind to keep the High Elves in check, while she will proceed alone into the Colosseum's Inner Sanctum to make sure the heartstone is contained."

"That's a good idea," Sam nodded, trying to contain his anger. "Give me a few minutes to arrange things."

Turning his back on the elf who was running back toward his group, he elbowed Kariperos, discreetly showing him the note. It read:

'There's an Ancient Evil in the Colosseum's basement, and the Queen wants to free it so it destroys the city. With my staff, she's unstoppable.

Cedric'

"Are we fucked, friend Samuel?" Kariperos whispered.

"Pretty much sideways," Sam clenched his teeth.

His sleeve was pulled again, by the same person.

"Tip?" the urchin asked, forwarding his hand.