Pug glanced at Tomas, finding his friend lost in his own discomfort. Pug returned his attention to Carline. He felt overwhelmed by the Princess, but her allure was tempered by a strange discomfort he felt whenever she was near. As beautiful as he found her—her black locks and blue eyes igniting some very uncomfortable flames of imagination—the images were always somehow hollow, colorless at heart, lacking the amber-and-rose glow such daydreams had possessed when Carline had been a distant, unapproachable, and unknown figure. Observing her closely for even as short a time as he had recently made such idealized musing impossible. She was proving herself to be just too complicated to fit into simple daydreams. On the whole he found the question of the Princess troublesome, but seeing her with Roland made him forget his internal conflicts over her, as a less intellectual, more basic emotion came to the fore. He was becoming jealous.
Pug sighed, shaking his head as he thought about his own misery at this moment, ignoring Tomas’s. At least, thought Pug, I’m not alone. To Roland’s obvious discomfort, Carline was deeply involved at the moment in conversation with Prince Calin of Elvandar, son of Aglaranna. The Prince seemed to be the same age as Arutha, or Lyam, but then so did his mother, who appeared to be in her early twenties. All the elves, except the Queen’s seniormost adviser, Tathar, were quite young looking, and Tathar looked no older than the Duke.
When the meal was over, most of the Duke’s court retired. The Duke rose and offered his arm to Aglaranna and led those who had been ordered to attend them to his council chamber.
For the third time in two days, the boys found themselves in the Duke’s council chamber. Pug was more relaxed about being there than before, thanks in part to the large meal, but Tomas seemed more disturbed than ever. If the taller boy had spent the hour before dinner staring at the Elf Queen, in these close quarters he seemed to be looking everywhere but in her direction. Pug thought Aglaranna noticed Tomas’s behavior and smiled slightly, but he couldn’t be sure.
The two elves who came with the Queen, Calin and Tathar, went at once to the side table that held the bowl and the artifacts taken from the Tsurani soldier. They examined them closely, fascinated by every detail.
The Duke called the meeting to order, and the two elves came to chairs on either side of the Queen. Pug and Tomas stood by the door as usual.
The Duke said, “We have told you what has occurred as well as we know, and now you have seen proof with your own eyes. If you think it would be helpful, the boys can recount the events on the ship.”
The Queen inclined her head, but it was Tathar who spoke. “I would like to hear the story firsthand, Your Grace.”
Borric motioned for the boys to approach. They stepped forward, and Tathar said, “Which of you found this outworlder?”
Tomas threw Pug a look that indicated the shorter boy should do the talking. Pug said, “We both did, sir,” not knowing the proper address for the elf. Tathar seemed content with the general honorific. Pug recounted the events of that day, leaving out nothing he could remember. When he had done, Tathar asked a series of questions, each jogging Pug’s memory, bringing out small details he had forgotten.
When he was done, Pug stepped back, and Tathar repeated the process with Tomas Tomas began haltingly, obviously discomfited, and the Elf Queen bestowed a reassuring smile on him. That only served to make him more unsettled, and he was soon dismissed.
Tathar’s questions provided more details about the ship, small things forgotten by the boys: fire buckets filled with sand tossed about the deck, empty spear-racks, substantiating Arutha’s surmise that it had been, indeed, a warship.
Tathar leaned back. “We have never heard of such a ship. It is in many ways like other ships, but not in all ways. We are convinced.”
As if by silent signal, Calin spoke. “Since the death of my Father-King, I serve as Warleader of Elvandar. It is my duty to supervise the scouts and patrols that guard our glades. For some time we have been aware that there were strange occurrences in the great forest, south of the river Crydee. Several times our runners have found tracks made by men, in isolated parts of the forest. They have been found as near as the borders of Elvandar, and as far as the North Pass near Stone Mountain.
“Our scouts have tried for weeks to find these men, but only tracks could be seen. There were none of the usual things that would be expected of a scouting or raiding party. These people were taking great care to disguise their presence. Had they not passed so close to Elvandar, they might have remained undetected, but no one may intrude near our home and go unnoticed.
“Several days ago, one of our scouts sighted a band of strangers passing the river, near the edge of our forests heading in the direction of the North Pass. He followed for a half day’s march, then lost them.”
Fannon raised his eyebrows. “An elven tracker lost them?”
Calin inclined his head slightly “Not by his lack of skill. They simply entered a thick glade and never appeared on the other side. He followed their tracks up to the point where they vanished.”
Lyam said, “I think we know now where they went.” He looked uncommonly somber, resembling his father more than usual.