Rate this Story (5 best) 1 2 3 4 5

Evan woke the five guards at the harbor entrance and told them about the theft. One of them went to find Eric. Two others carried off the body of the elf for examination in the morning.

More guards arrived with the harbormaster, a short man with gray hair and a scar across his right cheek.

"I seen the trouble the elf caused ya," said the harbormaster. "So I fetched s'me more men to help."

"Good," said Evan. "Have them search the elf's boat," motioning down the pier toward the vessel.

"Aye," said the harbormaster. "This way," he said to the guards motioning them to follow him.

Eric arrived as the harbormaster and the guards moved down the pier to search the elf's scoop. Taking charge of the investigation, Eric began by questioning Evan and the others.

Evan recapped the events for his friend. Concluding his summation, Evan said, "So as we approached the harbor, we saw the extra guards you had posted here asleep. Iriel reported the elf was running down the pier just ahead of us. So I charged forward and Brashani shot a fireball at him."

"I see," Eric said. There was no irritation in his voice at the mention of magic, but there was in his eyes. "Continue."

"Well, it worked. The fireball struck the elf, knocking him back, and set his clothes on fire. By the time the elf had put out the flames, I had pinned him to the pier with my sword. Unfortunately," Evan concluded, "Before we could bind him, he mumbled some words, magic according to Brashani, and died."

"So where did you find the gem?"

"He was carrying it. I had to cut a hole in his jacket to get it out though."

"Okay, thanks," said Eric. "If I have any other questions, I'll come find you."

***

They headed back to the inn. Realizing he still carried the gem, Evan gave the topaz to Daniel for safekeeping.

"Maybe it would be a good idea if you stayed in contact with it," the demon hunter said to Daniel.

Taking the jewel, Daniel looked at it. It blazed with an inner fire unlike anything he had seen before. It was beautiful. If all the Aglaril lit up this way, the Crown of Power must have been a majestic sight to behold.

Upon reaching the Grey Horse, they plodded up the stairs and into the lobby. Molin and Brashani headed back to their straw mats to sleep. Daniel, Iriel, and James assumed their posts in the function room. Evan, deciding he needed sleep, climbed the stairs to his room and went to bed.

Evan awoke the later that morning to the sound of voices downstairs. Groggy and still tired, the priest tried to rollover and go back to sleep. The voices grew louder as the morning wore on. Finally, when the clock tower struck nine, Evan relented.

He washed and dressed in haste to see the cause of the noise and was surprised to see Eric and several of the town guards in the foyer.

"What's going on?" he asked Eric.

"I had a little talk with His Honor this morning about the attempted theft of Tindolen's gem," Eric said.

"Really? How'd he take the news?"

Eric shrugged. "About as well as could be expected.