The encounter with Kerala put Brandela in a better frame of mind for her daunting task and, by the end of the day, she had selected her hundred maidens and was feeling genuinely pleased with her choices. The town was humming with energy and rejoicing, and preparations were in full force for the ceremony and feasts that would take place the following day.
The next afternoon found the Elven citizens gathered once more at the town center, mesmerized as they watched Princess Bran-dela standing before her handpicked maidens, including Kerala. The Elven maidens were all attired in hunter-green dresses and each wore a small headpiece with a veil covering their faces as a symbol of their humble station. As the crowd watched, Brandela moved to the center of the courtyard and the girls formed a large circle around her. At a signal from Brandela, the maidens supplicated themselves before the princess, with their foreheads touching the ground.
As one, they lifted their heads and began reciting the pledge of loyalty. “My will is yours. My loyalty is yours. My body is yours. Command me as you will, Mistress, for I am your loyal servant in battle and your faithful counsel in times of war and peace. Do with me as you will.”
As the maidens spoke in unison, Brandela began to recite an ancient, magical enchantment and turned, facing each of the girls for a moment before turning again slightly to face the next. Her chanting became louder and stronger as she pulled life energy from each of the maidens and drew it into herself. By the time she had completed the circle, she was impassioned and the crowd was responding in like, with cheers and hoots of excitement. A final recitation sealed the binding spell between Brandela and the young women, and they rose, drew back their veils, and came forward to kiss the princess’ hands in gratitude and joy.
The cheers of the crowd were barely settling down when the governor announced the start of the feast, throwing the townsfolk into a fresh frenzy. The guards held them back until the princess and her contingency had been seated and served in the area reserved for them, and then the commoners flooded in. Venison, goats, calves, and pigs turned on spits over fires that hissed with dripping fat and blood. Tables were heaped with fresh breads, fruits, berries and vegetables, and tempting treats of all sorts. Wine and mead flowed as freely as the music that filled the air around them, and it seemed to all that Eldergate had never seen such happy times.
Unbeknownst to the Elves, the town was being watched by a scout of the largest slaver army ever put together. They were led by Garock the Strong, a fierce Barbarian warlord and leader of the largest group of nomadic Barbarians in the Wildlands. More than 3,000 men were under his command, on a mission to capture and enslave as many female Wood Elves as they could manage.
Elves were highly prized on the slave market due to their long lives and unparalleled beauty, but rare due to the almost impossible task of entering their forests. Garock had a deal in the works with empires in the West that he hoped would fund an army large enough to allow him to capture one of the free town settlements. This, along with the control he already had over the Wildlands, would make him a king in his own right and highly powerful—not to mention rich! He was confident that these small Elven settlements would be easy pickings, but he had no idea of the goldmine he had just stumbled upon.
Garock and his men had entered the Wood Elven forest, undetected by the Rangers, with the use of a magical rune artifact that allowed them to make use of near invisibility. Where nomadic Barbarians would have gotten such a rare and powerful artifact was a mystery, but with it they had been able to head north from Garock’s encampment, through the forest and to Eldergate. His scouts had reported an unwalled settlement in the north with a large enough population to make the trip worthwhile. Garock decided that this would be their first conquest.
The message that arrived from the scout pleased Garock. Most of the Elves had gathered at the town center for some celebration and the timing was perfect. He knew from experience that taking the Elves by surprise ambush was the best tactic. They would be no match for his army in hand-to-hand combat, especially since few of them would be armed. It would be over before they knew what hit them. He smiled in anticipation. It’s been far too long since I’ve had an Elven whore in my bed, he thought. His spirits were high as he gave the signal to his army to surround the town.
The attack, when it came, was swift and sudden. Never before, in its long history, had the town been attacked, and it was the last thing the Elves were expecting on this celebratory evening.
At first, most of the Elves assumed the commotion on the outskirts of the town was being caused by over-exuberant youngsters and they laughed in memory of their own foolish days of old. But it soon became evident that something more serious was happening, and by the time word spread throughout the crowded streets, chaos had taken hold. As Garock predicted, the Elves had little time to react before his men were already well engaged and moving into the town.
Garock’s men had encircled the town and were systematically working their way toward the center, slaughtering anyone who crossed their paths and capturing as many of the Elven females as they could find. To their credit, the unsuspecting town guards had regrouped quickly after the initial onslaught and were doing their best to slow down Garock’s army. But they were no more than a nuisance obstacle to Garock’s men, and it was not long before the raiders were breaking through the guard’s lines and moving toward the center of the town.
As word of the attack reached Princess Brandela and her entourage, panic began to break out. Brandela, however, was calm…puz-zled, really.
“Are you certain?” she questioned the man who had been sent to warn her. “There is no way that non-Elves could have made their way unnoticed and unstopped this far north in the forest. The Rangers are quite skilled at protecting these forests. That was the reason this town was chosen for my journey, in fact. What you are saying is quite impossible!”
“It would seem so, my Lady,” replied the man apologetically, “but I assure you, the town is most certainly under attack and I beg you to seek shelter immediately.”
“This is ludicrous,” Brandela insisted. “I demand to see the governor at once.”
The governor, when he arrived moments later, confirmed the report and strongly encouraged the princess to take shelter in his own offices.
“We were able get a messenger past their army lines,” the governor informed her. “He will reach one of the northern outposts within a day or two and they’ll get word to the capital. Help will be arriving soon. The town guards are leading a counterattack at this very moment and slowing down the enemy army and every able-bodied citizen has been called upon to assist. We will be able to hold them off until your people arrive, but it would be best if you were not so visible. Please, Your Highness, I beg you to go into the offices.”
At that moment, a small group of Barbarian warriors who had managed to break through the Elven town guards’ defensive perimeter stumbled into the courtyard. They stopped short at the sight of Brandela and stared, with gaping mouths, at the most beautiful Wood Elf they had ever seen.
“She is wearing the royal crown,” exclaimed one of the men.
A lewd grin spread over one of the men’s faces. “Ol’ Garock’ll be surprised to find out there’s royalty visitin’, won’t he? No wonder they were havin’ such a grand party!”
The group was quickly driven back by Brandela’s personal guards, but there was no doubt that more would soon be following.
“Please, my Lady, move yourself and your maidens to the offices. I must go. Your guards will be better able to protect you once you are safely inside.”
Brandela frantically turned her thoughts to the safety of her newly acquired servants. They were her responsibility now and she must do what was best for them first. But what was the best thing to do? If only her mother had come. She would know just how to handle such a situation!
She scanned the courtyard, desperately seeking a way to gather and calm the scattered and frightened girls, when her eyes fell upon Kerala. Kerala stood in the midst of the chaos, patiently watching the princess and waiting for her command to action. She, alone, appeared focused, attentive and prepared to serve. Brandela felt stronger the moment their eyes met.
“Kerala, you must take the maidservants into the governor’s offices and barricade yourselves inside until you receive further instructions,” Brandela ordered.
Kerala frowned at hearing this and replied, “What about you, my Lady? We should see to your safety first and then we can worry about your other maidservants.”
“No, I will stay and help you find them all,” Brandela insisted. “I have my mother’s personal guardsmen to protect me. Believe me, I am sufficiently safe. They, and you, must get to safety first. If the situation worsens, I will take the necessary actions but, until then, you have your orders. See to the safety of my servants, Kerala.”
Kerala nodded her head humbly and obeyed. She had soon rounded up a large number of the other maidens and led them to the governor’s building. Once they had all been herded into the inner offices, she instructed them to barricade the doors and to not open them for anyone until help had arrived. Then, without hesitation or thought for her own safety, she ran back out to the courtyard to find Brandela and the others.
Kerala paused on the stairway to see if she could locate the princess. Her heart began to pound as she took in the scene before her. The Barbarians had broken through the town guards perimeter barrier and were now flooding the courtyard. Bodies lay strewn in the streets, and many of the Elven females had been captured and were being forced into a small building at the edge of the courtyard.
Suddenly, Kerala spotted Brandela on the other side of the courtyard. Brandela’s guardsmen had formed a protective barrier around the princess, but as Kerala watched, the Barbarian slavers charged and began a viciously brutal attack. The Elven guards were no match for the men and, within minutes, it was clear that Brandela was in serious danger of being captured.
Kerala became frantic, searching desperately for any guardsmen who could help Brandela, but the few that remained were already engaged in a losing battle with the Barbarians. Kerala felt for the rune crystal pendant she always wore around her neck. It was small, but it might help. She quickly rummaged through her reticule to see if there was anything there that would be useful. She found only her Elven dagger and three small acorns.
She looked down at the small items in her hands with a worried frown, then looked back up, just in time to see one of the raiders grab Brandela and knock her unconscious. Kerala’s face tightened with anger and determination and she began to move toward the men. She had no experience in real combat but she was not going to let that stop her from saving her mistress. After all, they were linked now, along with the lives of ninety-nine other innocent women. She would not allow her mistress to be killed or taken off, even if it cost her life.
She palmed the acorns in her left hand and gripped the dagger in her right. She wished she had a rune crystal staff like the ones the Arch Mages used in the capital city, but she would have to do what she could with what she had.
As she approached the fleeing men, one of them hoisted Bran-dela’s body onto his shoulder like a bag of wheat. Kerala felt her anger building as she watched the princess being treated in such an undignified way, but she quickly calmed her mind, knowing that she would need all of her concentration if she were to succeed. She focused, instead, on the pendant around her neck, pulling energy from it and preparing to put it to use.
“Let go of the princess,” she shouted as she drew nearer to the raiders. The closest man turned and lifted his sword to meet her as she rushed toward him. Kerala channeled some of the pendant’s energy into one of the acorns in her left hand and tossed it at the man, just as he brought his sword down. As soon as the acorn made contact with the man, it exploded and a flurry of wiggling roots quickly engulfed him. He fell, screaming in pain and panic as the roots constricted around him, tighter and tighter. Kerala stepped aside and approached the next target.
The Barbarian slaver who was carrying Brandela hesitated for only a moment before rushing ahead to break through the remnants of the guards’ barrier. His compatriot did not follow, but turned to face Kerala with a smug smile. Kerala, trying desperately to keep Brandela in sight, did not notice the man at first, until she tried to follow. The warrior stepped in her path and swung his sword, narrowly missing Kerala’s slender neck as she leaped aside. She turned her full attention on him then, her eyes blazing with anger.
Kerala stood her ground as he charged toward her with his sword upraised, and focused hard on channeling the pendant’s energy directly onto one single spot in the man’s path. The instant his right foot touched that spot, it was sucked into the ground as if he had stepped into quicksand and deep roots secured his leg, firmly. The Barbarian struggled furiously, but he could not remove his foot from the ground.
When Kerala was certain that the man was securely immobilized, she darted behind him and thrust her dagger into a well-aimed spot on the nape of his neck. The man ceased struggling almost immediately. She shuddered as she pulled the dagger away, but turned in search of Brandela’s captor without hesitation. She ran in the direction she had last seen the man, and soon caught sight of him far ahead.
With renewed determination, she began to pursue them, but was forced to use her second acorn on another raider who attempted to stop her. She had barely escaped him, when she found herself surrounded by five rank Barbarians, who grinned and leered at her with lust-filled eyes.
Kerala had only one acorn left and she knew it would not be enough to defeat five opponents. She slowly backed away from the men, trying to give herself more time and space to work, but the men followed, clearly enjoying the prospect of a cat-and-mouse chase.
Kerala knew she was in serious trouble. The energy stores of her rune crystal pendant were nearly depleted and would be of little help to her against so many men. She had only one option remaining to her and if she was not careful it would kill her.
She began to focus on drawing out her own life energy and concentrating it on the ground the five men were walking toward. She sensed an abundant store of small grass roots that she could use and she poured her energy into these roots, closed her eyes and began calling on the powers of the Elders for assistance. She continued her prayer until she heard one of the men yell out.
Kerala opened her eyes and watched with great fascination as all five men were pulled, screaming and struggling, into the ground by overgrown grass roots. As the men disappeared beneath the earth, an overwhelming wave of nausea and fatigue hit Kerala.
“Brandela,” she whispered before she fainted, completely and utterly exhausted.