Long Journey

Chapter XXVI

Barlon and Fulmar enter a dark room. Fulmar magically makes the candles in the room lit up. Barlon looks around in amazement. "that's impressive" said Barlon. "it's just called magic" said Fulmar. They approach the elf. He was tied to a chair with magic. Fulmar pulls out His dagger and cuts The elf's ear. The elf screams in pain. "you finally woke up" said Fulmar. "Please, please don't do anything to me," said the elf in fear. "what's your name?" Barlon asked. "I..my name is Garis" Garis answered. Barlon nods. "Listen, Garis, this is a serious situation you put yourself in. Tell us what you planned with those orcs or you will face harsh consequences."

Garis was sweating in fear. "I...i...cant"

Fulmar slashes Garis's face. Garis screams even more. "they will..kill me if I tell you anything."

"and we will kill you if you don't tell us anything," said Fulmar. Garis started crying uncontrollably. "my family...they will die if I tell you anything," said Garis in fear. "if you don't tell everyone else family will Die. you have to tell us or else everyone will die" said Barlon. Garis was silent for a moment then he talked. "I will tell you But you have to promise me that nothing is going to happen to my family."

"you are not in a good situation to make demands. I can't promise you that" said Barlon. Garis's face twisted in anguish as he realized that he had no choice but to reveal his plan. "Fine," he said, his voice shaking. "I'll tell you everything."

He took a deep breath and began to speak. "I was hired by a group of orcs to provide them with information about the kingdom's defenses. They promised to spare my family if I helped them, but now I see that was a mistake. They plan to launch a surprise attack on the capital, and their army is much larger than anyone expects. They have spies within the kingdom, and they know all the weak spots."

Barlon and Fulmar exchanged a worried glance. They had to act quickly to warn the queen and prepare the Kingdom's defenses. But they couldn't let Garis go free, not after what he had done. "What should we do with him?" asked Fulmar. Barlon thought for a moment, then said, "We'll take him with us. He can guide us to the orcs' camp and help us gather more information. But if he tries anything funny, he'll regret it."

Garis looked terrified at the prospect of being taken into the heart of the enemy camp. But he had no choice but to comply. As they left the dark room, Barlon turned to Fulmar. "We have a lot of work to do. We need to warn the queen and prepare for battle. And we need to make sure Garis doesn't betray us."

Fulmar nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him. You go ahead and warn the king."

"Alright," said Barlon "take care of Bayla as well."

Fulmar nods. Barlon Leaves the house and quickly mounts his horse and heads to the Queen's castle.

After Barlon reaches the Castle, he talks to Elva Privately. "what plan?" said Elva. Barlon takes a deep breath before talking. "there are traitors among us."

Elva got so scared and worried she starts hearing her heart pounding inside her chest. "How do you know all this?" said Elva. Barlon starts to explain how they found them. Then Barlon explains the attack and how they confronted Garis. Elva started to get worried. "Don't worry, your grace. We will protect this kingdom at all costs."

Elva felt a little relieved from Barlon's words But she couldn't shake the feeling of worry. She smiles But quickly hides it. Barlon notices her worry. He puts His hand on hers. "don't worry, we can do this" He said. She looks at him and gives him a little smile. "I hope so."

Barlon Leaves Elva's room and walks to the yard. He sat down and began thinking. Suddenly Hermit appears on his shoulder. "what's the matter, human?"

Barlon looks at Hermit and tells him about the orc's plan. Hermit jumps from Barlon's shoulder. "We have to do something quickly," said Hermit. "what are you suggesting?" Barlon said. Hermit smiles. "first, we have to get rid of the spies," said Hermit. Barlon nods. "we must force the traitor to talk."

Barlon Sighs. "Let's go" Said Barlon. He stood up ready to leave. "wait," said Hermit. Barlon turns to Hermit. "what?"

Hermit snaps his fingers and they magically teleport to the village. "what was that?!" said Barlon. Hermit smirks. "you've never wondered where I go after I disappear?"

Barlon laughs. "I didn't care to be honest"

Hermit makes a gesture with his hands and made a wand appear. "this is called the wand of life. It was used by my ancestors. This wand makes you live longer and have these power that I have."

"so you never had powers before this wand?" Barlon said. "False, I had powers, but it was limited"

Barlon shook his head in amazement. "can a human acquire this power?" said Barlon. Hermit laughs loudly. "I knew you were jealous of my powers"

"It's not jealousy im just asking"

"the simple answer is... I don't know"

Barlon felt curious about Hermit's words. "shall we go now?" said Hermit. Barlon nods. Both of them continued walking until they reached the house. Barlon stops. "this is the house."

They both enter the house. They see Fulmar sitting next to Bayla's bed. Fulmar turns to see them. "Hey," said Fulmar. Barlon and Hermit sat next to him. "how is she doing?" said Barlon. "she is doing fine, she just needs a little bit of rest."

Barlon Puts his hand on Bayla's. "I hope she recovers from this."

"Sorry for interrupting this but where is the traitor?" said Hermit. Fulmar points his finger to a small room. "there."

Hermit walks to the room and opens it with his magic then he enters the room.

"May I ask you a question?" said Barlon. Fulmar nods. "can a human acquire the powers that elves have?"

"There are some humans in history that had such power. Some human kings had those powers. The problem is that humans are Evil creatures, so most of those humans that had magical powers used them to destroy and kill. Yes, humans can have these powers but it's very dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

"if you don't mind me asking where can you get this power from?"

Fulmar Looks at Barlon with suspiciousness. "why?"

"Don't get me wrong Fulmar I wouldn't do anything that hurt you all in any way. I'm ready to die for this Kingdom. I just want to protect this land and these people. This is my new home."

"It's better not to get this power because it might lead you into madness"

Fulmar's words echoed through barlon's mind. "alright, I understand"

Fulmar smiles. "I'm glad you do"

Suddenly Bayla opens her eyes. "Barlon..."

Barlon turns to Bayla and holds her hand. "how are you feeling?" said Barlon. Bayla smiled weakly. "I'm fine."

Suddenly they hear screaming in the room where Garis and Hermit were. "what's going on?!" said Barlon. He ran to the room and enters it. Hermit was torturing Garis with his powers. "talk or I will make this even worse for you."

"Hermit stop this!" said Barlon. Hermit stops the torturing and looks at Barlon. "how are you going to make him talk then" said Hermit annoyed. Garis looks at Barlon with Fear. "please..please don't leave alone with this" said Garis then looks at Hermit. Barlon approaches Garis slowly. "Tell us where are the spies and I promise nothing will happen to you," said Barlon. Garis was thinking about the offer then he looks at Hermit. He smiles at him. "Alright, Fine," said Garis "I will tell you but you have to promise me again that nothing will happen to me or my family."

Hermit laughs to himself. "we can't promise you that, but we will keep your family under protection at all times. You on the other hand, we will keep you in a cell until things calm down, then the queen will decide your fate."

Garis then looks down and thinks. After moments he raises his head and looks at Barlon. "as long as my family is safe, I will do what I must."

Barlon smiles. "we have a deal then."

Barlon stands up and puts his hand on Garis's Shoulder. "you made a good choice."

Barlon looks at Hermit. "can you take Garis to the queen?"

Hermit nods. "alright"

Hermit snaps his fingers and made the chair that Garis was sitting on disappear making Garis fall. "why did you do that?!"

"shut up and move."

Hermit and Garis leave the house and head to the Queen's castle. Barlon leaves the house and heads to the forest.

End of the Chapter.