Post by Alfreya on Oct 23, 2007 8:22:56 GMT -7
The Captives of Freeport - Chapter III, Part 1
____________________________________________________
The trip to Freeport by boat had been quiet as far as the sea was concerned, but turbulent for the two girls. They found themselves, for the most part, left to their own company. Alone and hands tied, except of course, when their guards had to give them something to eat or drink. And the guards had orders to never untie Elinea's hands. She found this most distressing. They had been placed under guard in the large, damp hold of the ship. It was also dark and cold, and they had only one, rather thin, blanket a piece.
The dark night was waning, and the girls could see daylight creeping through the cracks between the boards of the hold door.
"Eli, they told us yesterday we'd be in Freeport sometime today."
"I know Kae."
"Why do you think they want us?"
Eli sighed before speaking further, "I don't know. But, if I could, I'd put money on it that it's not good. "
The silence came between them once again. Elinea glanced over to her companion and noticed her head nodding. "Better let her get some sleep, maybe all we get for awhile." she thought to herself. If she had only guessed what waited for her in Freeport, she might have slept also.
She laid back against the wooden wall of the hold, and remembered stories her great grandmother had told her about her adventures to the old Freeport. Thinking back in the stillness of the hold, she could still hear her great grandmother Einelinea's voice, a very authoritative, quiet one, as a good wizard's always was----- "Freeport was not a city to be light hearted in, it was full of intrigue and danger even in the days before the rendings and the Overlord."
Elinea always loved her stories and would continually pester her to tell her more, particularly about her adventures in The Planes. Her thoughts wandered back to her childhood in Felwithe for a moment.......
"Gamma, please, one more!?"
"And what one could I possibly tell you that you haven't heard already, child?"
"Ooh Gamma, tell me one about the Plane of Fear!"
"And just HOW does a little girl know about the Plane of Fear?"
"Jerek and Aedon told me."
"And what did your brothers tell you, Elinea?"
A smile spread across Elinea's face for the first time in days when she remembered this conversation. Her brothers got into a lot of trouble for this little tale.
"They told me if I didn't stop bothering them, a monster from the Plane of Fear would come and get me."
There was a long silence from her great grandmother, "I think it's time your father had a serious talk with your brothers."
She gave a deep, thoughtful sigh, and said "Elinea, monsters do not come from the Planes to Norrath, they stay in the Planes. Now, let's talk about something else."
Elinea sat and looked up at the ceiling; counting the knots in the boards above her and remembered her brothers. "Where are Jerek and Aedon now?" she wondered.
Her great grandmother's voice came back to her again, "Freeport is a city of stairways and high walls. It's like a maze, if you take the wrong stairway, you could get lost and find yourself in a dead end alley."
She had always thought Freeport sounded scary and her great grandmother's descriptions only reinforced that idea.
"She never knew her stories about Freeport scared me, I'm sure," Elinea thought. She smiled again, a small tired one this time, "But, I did love to be scared. It made me feel big and brave, like Jerek and Aedon."
Elinea looked over at the sleeping Kaefir and then back up at the ceiling and whispered to her, even though she knew Kaefir was asleep and couldn't hear her:
"She talked about going to Freeport and killing plague rats and fire beetles. And about the Freeport Militia and how it scared her. My Great Grandmother afraid of the Militia? She wasn't afraid of anything. Nothing scared her. Oh, and Boomba. That's an ogre, Kaefir. I always wanted to go to Freeport one day and hunt plague rats and fire beetles like she had. And see Boomba, of course."
She stopped talking and listened to the ship's noises as it moved. Again she spoke, "You know I think about the night I left Felwithe and I realize now I was right. I'll never see home again. And I'll never get the chance to hunt those beetles outside Freeport."
The movement of the waves and ship took their toll on Elinea's consciousness, and she slipped off and joined Kaefir in a fitful sleep.
It seemed like only minutes to Elinea, when she was woken up with a hard hit in the side and harsh words in an unfamiliar tongue.
The pain brought the peaceful bliss of sleep to an end. Elinea's eyes flew open to see a large, smelly troll above her with an ax and a slight hungry smirk on her face. She said something to her, and grabbed an arm. Roughly pulling her up by her arm and tied hands, she made Elinea stand. Kaefir was already standing up and had her guard standing beside her.
When door to the hold was opened, a blinding beam of sunlight hit Elinea's eyes and blinded her for a few seconds. As her eyes adjusted, she could see they were at a Freeport dock. Elinea tried to remember the descriptions of Freeport that she had heard her whole life, but very few now sounded correct. She remembered that Freeport had two docks and that, according to her great grandmother, one was larger than the other.
It was a dismal dock area, the local Freeportians stared at the two girls in a way that Elinea found very frightening. The air was cold and the wind blew in intermittent strong gusts that nearly knocked the two girls over as they walked. Other than the wind and the guards' occasional chatter, there was no sound or talking as the girls were lead through the streets. Even talkative Kaefir was unusually quiet.
After a long, very quiet walk up and down countless look alike stairways, they came to a large impressive statue made out of what appeared to be some sort of metal.
The guards took the girls around to the back of it. Elinea glanced over to her guard on her right in time to noticed him pulling something out of a pocket. A small oval stone with strange markings came out. The guard then did a strange thing that was to bother Eli for many coming seasons. He place the stone into a slot in the back of the statue and motioned for the other guards and the two girls to stand by him.
Suddenly, she felt a very strange sensation come over her body and everything went black in front of her.
The next thing she saw was a very large and ornate hallway that lead to two doors at the end. She was still with Kaefir and their guards, but no one else was in the hallway. Elinea's guard gave her a sharp hit to her side to make her move forward. She started to do as she was told, when she glanced back at the quiet Kaefir. Her companion had a very odd, somewhat painful expression on her face.
"Kae, what's wrong?"
Silence, and then Kaefir spoke very softly, "Eli,don't you feel it? It's evil, it's here."
____________________________________________________
The trip to Freeport by boat had been quiet as far as the sea was concerned, but turbulent for the two girls. They found themselves, for the most part, left to their own company. Alone and hands tied, except of course, when their guards had to give them something to eat or drink. And the guards had orders to never untie Elinea's hands. She found this most distressing. They had been placed under guard in the large, damp hold of the ship. It was also dark and cold, and they had only one, rather thin, blanket a piece.
The dark night was waning, and the girls could see daylight creeping through the cracks between the boards of the hold door.
"Eli, they told us yesterday we'd be in Freeport sometime today."
"I know Kae."
"Why do you think they want us?"
Eli sighed before speaking further, "I don't know. But, if I could, I'd put money on it that it's not good. "
The silence came between them once again. Elinea glanced over to her companion and noticed her head nodding. "Better let her get some sleep, maybe all we get for awhile." she thought to herself. If she had only guessed what waited for her in Freeport, she might have slept also.
She laid back against the wooden wall of the hold, and remembered stories her great grandmother had told her about her adventures to the old Freeport. Thinking back in the stillness of the hold, she could still hear her great grandmother Einelinea's voice, a very authoritative, quiet one, as a good wizard's always was----- "Freeport was not a city to be light hearted in, it was full of intrigue and danger even in the days before the rendings and the Overlord."
Elinea always loved her stories and would continually pester her to tell her more, particularly about her adventures in The Planes. Her thoughts wandered back to her childhood in Felwithe for a moment.......
"Gamma, please, one more!?"
"And what one could I possibly tell you that you haven't heard already, child?"
"Ooh Gamma, tell me one about the Plane of Fear!"
"And just HOW does a little girl know about the Plane of Fear?"
"Jerek and Aedon told me."
"And what did your brothers tell you, Elinea?"
A smile spread across Elinea's face for the first time in days when she remembered this conversation. Her brothers got into a lot of trouble for this little tale.
"They told me if I didn't stop bothering them, a monster from the Plane of Fear would come and get me."
There was a long silence from her great grandmother, "I think it's time your father had a serious talk with your brothers."
She gave a deep, thoughtful sigh, and said "Elinea, monsters do not come from the Planes to Norrath, they stay in the Planes. Now, let's talk about something else."
Elinea sat and looked up at the ceiling; counting the knots in the boards above her and remembered her brothers. "Where are Jerek and Aedon now?" she wondered.
Her great grandmother's voice came back to her again, "Freeport is a city of stairways and high walls. It's like a maze, if you take the wrong stairway, you could get lost and find yourself in a dead end alley."
She had always thought Freeport sounded scary and her great grandmother's descriptions only reinforced that idea.
"She never knew her stories about Freeport scared me, I'm sure," Elinea thought. She smiled again, a small tired one this time, "But, I did love to be scared. It made me feel big and brave, like Jerek and Aedon."
Elinea looked over at the sleeping Kaefir and then back up at the ceiling and whispered to her, even though she knew Kaefir was asleep and couldn't hear her:
"She talked about going to Freeport and killing plague rats and fire beetles. And about the Freeport Militia and how it scared her. My Great Grandmother afraid of the Militia? She wasn't afraid of anything. Nothing scared her. Oh, and Boomba. That's an ogre, Kaefir. I always wanted to go to Freeport one day and hunt plague rats and fire beetles like she had. And see Boomba, of course."
She stopped talking and listened to the ship's noises as it moved. Again she spoke, "You know I think about the night I left Felwithe and I realize now I was right. I'll never see home again. And I'll never get the chance to hunt those beetles outside Freeport."
The movement of the waves and ship took their toll on Elinea's consciousness, and she slipped off and joined Kaefir in a fitful sleep.
It seemed like only minutes to Elinea, when she was woken up with a hard hit in the side and harsh words in an unfamiliar tongue.
The pain brought the peaceful bliss of sleep to an end. Elinea's eyes flew open to see a large, smelly troll above her with an ax and a slight hungry smirk on her face. She said something to her, and grabbed an arm. Roughly pulling her up by her arm and tied hands, she made Elinea stand. Kaefir was already standing up and had her guard standing beside her.
When door to the hold was opened, a blinding beam of sunlight hit Elinea's eyes and blinded her for a few seconds. As her eyes adjusted, she could see they were at a Freeport dock. Elinea tried to remember the descriptions of Freeport that she had heard her whole life, but very few now sounded correct. She remembered that Freeport had two docks and that, according to her great grandmother, one was larger than the other.
It was a dismal dock area, the local Freeportians stared at the two girls in a way that Elinea found very frightening. The air was cold and the wind blew in intermittent strong gusts that nearly knocked the two girls over as they walked. Other than the wind and the guards' occasional chatter, there was no sound or talking as the girls were lead through the streets. Even talkative Kaefir was unusually quiet.
After a long, very quiet walk up and down countless look alike stairways, they came to a large impressive statue made out of what appeared to be some sort of metal.
The guards took the girls around to the back of it. Elinea glanced over to her guard on her right in time to noticed him pulling something out of a pocket. A small oval stone with strange markings came out. The guard then did a strange thing that was to bother Eli for many coming seasons. He place the stone into a slot in the back of the statue and motioned for the other guards and the two girls to stand by him.
Suddenly, she felt a very strange sensation come over her body and everything went black in front of her.
The next thing she saw was a very large and ornate hallway that lead to two doors at the end. She was still with Kaefir and their guards, but no one else was in the hallway. Elinea's guard gave her a sharp hit to her side to make her move forward. She started to do as she was told, when she glanced back at the quiet Kaefir. Her companion had a very odd, somewhat painful expression on her face.
"Kae, what's wrong?"
Silence, and then Kaefir spoke very softly, "Eli,don't you feel it? It's evil, it's here."