“Kammer!” yelled King Erods in a panic. “Kammer! Help me!”
“Yes!” called Dravo, playing along. “Come watch your father die!”
They kept up the banter a few more moments before the alarmed face of a dark elf appeared in the mirror. He stood barefoot and naked from the waist up. The expression turned to one of outrage and fury.
“Dravo!” the dark elf yelled. “Traitor!”
Dravo pulled the king backwards, trying to create the impression that the king had activated the Mirror of Sulinae before he could be stopped, and now Dravo was dragging him farther away. The real goal was to create room for the expected arrivals.
“Save me!” yelled King Erods, but the face of Kammer disappeared. They heard him hollering for guards, as half-expected. It didn’t take long before four armored reinforcements arrived and rushed through the Mirror of Sulinae and into the room, swords swinging. Pretending to be one of Dravo’s elves, Eric drew some of them to him, and Dravo let go of King Erods to take on the other two. Matt wondered if Kammer was coming or if they would have to go get him. But then the prince stepped into the room with a wicked sword poised before him, his eyes catching sight of Matt to one side. Even as he turned, Matt spoke a word, and the prince collapsed.
Seeing this, King Erods said, “Stop in the king’s name!”
The remaining four intruders hesitated, allowing Eric to slug one of them to the floor and Dravo to disarm another. The last two lowered their swords. It was over.
Ryan watched the late afternoon sun fall on the upper half of Castle Rivina with mixed feelings. He was glad to be going home, but the last time they were here, Dravo had tried to kill them. The scene had been among the more unsettling they’d experienced, one that added to a feeling that he and the others needed to make a plan for what to do once summoned. That included the moment of arrival and questions to ask about situations and even details about life. The day here was apparently an hour shorter than on Earth, and they counted the weeks differently. Would they one day arrive somewhere more drastically different?
After capturing Prince Kammer, the group had awaited Dravo’s men, a hundred brought into the courtyard in Avaran and soon overtaking the surprised dark elves who had accompanied them. Some fighting had broken out despite Ryan, still pretending to be King Erods, having told the elves to disarm themselves. The order was dubious, and it didn’t really surprise anyone that some had disobeyed, but with help from Matt and the other wizards, the castle had come under the command of Dravo, who waited until dawn to crown himself King of Kiarven from the castle walls as much of the city watched. It hadn’t been up to the Ellorian Champions to help him secure the city or his kingdom, so they had returned to Thiat with the news.
Even the grumpy King Varrun gave them credit for the mission’s success before pointing out that no one from the Kingdom of Thiat had benefitted from any of this so far. The Ellorians still needed to get King Sondin restored to the throne of Aker and out of Thiat. They had ideas on this, but first, they needed rest and slept into early afternoon, when they awoke to learn of various plans made in their absence. To secure peace, King Dravo had agreed to marry a human duchess from Aker. King Sondin was to marry the dark elf Princess Liera, Dravo’s sister, who didn’t look too pleased.
But her reaction paled to that of Princess Miara. By now, she had learned that the wizard Gian, whom she loved, had reached the Quest Ring at Castle Rivina in Aker a week earlier and summoned the Ellorians, only to be killed by Dravo’s forces. Now Dravo’s sister was to be Miara’s aunt by marriage, and Queen of Aker. The fury had been impressive, and no one had to say aloud that if Miara were to remain in Aker with her brother, no peace would last. King Sondin was to marry his sister to someone in Thiat, to strengthen that bond as well, removing the princess from his kingdom. Miara hadn’t exactly calmed with the news.
Prince Kammer was to stand trial in Aker for his war crimes, but Erods was to stay in Kiarven. Ryan wondered how that worked, when someone took over as monarch in a coup and the previous one was still alive, but they didn’t have time to question it and it wasn’t their problem. He just hoped that the elves didn’t rise against King Dravo and do something that required another quest. Once was enough.
None of these marriages had taken place yet when the Ellorians traveled with King Sondin and Princess Liera, plus a few hundred soldiers, to Kiarven via the portal under Thiat. With King Dravo’s blessing, all of them then used the Mirror of Sulinae to reach Aker, completing the quest.
As for Ryan and the others, it was time to go home. Rather than returning to Thiat, they would use the other Quest Ring in Aker, declining any attempt at a banquet or celebration. King Sondin had enough to worry about rebuilding his kingdom anyway, and no real staff set up to do such a thing. He settled for a procession that led them to the half-burned Castle Rivina. He could do nothing to restore it yet, but when they arrived in the
