The Elves of Cintra (Book 2 of The Genesis of Shannara)

Simralin led the way, using her Tracker’s instincts to guide them, her strong figure reassuring to Kirisin as he stayed close. Erisha followed him, and Angel and Ailie brought up the rear. Moonlight, unfiltered by clouds or ground mist, brightened their way, and they were able to pass through Cintra’s forest and down Arborlon’s trails without need for artificial light, just as Kirisin had hoped.

They had met earlier at his house, the safest choice with his parents still absent. Angel and Ailie had come on their own, able to slip away easily from their quarters and their unseen guards without being detected.

Erisha had encountered a few problems from the Home Guards on duty in and around the Belloruus royal grounds, but Culph had shown her another of the secret tunnels, one that exited through a trapdoor just outside an old storage shed at the back of the property. They had waited until just before midnight, when most of the city’s population was asleep, determined to reduce the chances of being spotted before they reached Ashenell.

“No talking until we get to where we are going,” Simralin had warned the others. And then she had added for his benefit alone, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Little K.”

He didn’t, of course. Not entirely. They would gain entry into Ashenell, locate the Gotrin family burial site, search through the markers for Pancea Rolt Gotrin, and then decide if they should dig up her remains immediately or wait for daylight. How they would determine this, he didn’t know. All he knew was that one way or the other, they would find out whether she had taken the Elfstones with her to her grave as the scribe’s journal had recorded.

If they couldn’t find her marker, he didn’t know what they would do.

The night air was cool on his face. A breeze blew down out of the higher elevations of the mountains, gusting at times, chill with what remained of permafrost and scattered snow. There wasn’t much of either left now, most of it melted in the change of climate and the destruction of the environment. Once, there had been polar ice caps of enormous size at the top and bottom of the world. But these had been diminished and were shrinking still. The seas had risen, and the lowland countries and coastal areas had flooded years ago.

The water had receded with the changes in climate, erosion carving new inlets and water tributaries that had re-formed much of the coastline. But thousands of species had been lost to starvation and an inability to adjust to the radical changes. His sister had said it best, returned from one of her expeditions.

The world is changed, Little K, and I am not sure it will ever change back again.

He hadn’t let this bother him before, secure in the haven of the Cintra, safely hidden away from humans and their follies in his own little part of the world. But thinking now of where the Elfstones could take him, once he found them, he wondered at what he might find. If he accepted that both the Ellcrys and Angel Perez spoke the truth and that Simralin’s assessment was accurate, then what must the world be like if it was on the verge of being destroyed?“Stop dawdling!” Erisha hissed in his ear.

He realized that he was lagging behind. Wordlessly, he hurried to close the gap, flushing with the rebuke.

They reached Ashenell without encountering anyone, the moon gone lower in the sky, but not so low that they couldn’t see clearly. The burial ground was huge, an area of vast, sprawling forested heights that dipped and rose in a series of gently rolling hills. It was neither gated nor fenced, but the screen of trees and the lift of the terrain provided a natural barrier to those who might wander in by accident. Brush had been left in place, small trees allowed to fill out, and hillocks and humps remained undisturbed. Slender vine-covered alders trained to grow in leafy arches designated entrances from the west and east. Paths leading up to the grounds ended there.

They stood at the west entrance, where the shadows were deepest.

“One of us needs to stay here to keep watch,” Simralin said quietly, gathering them close. “Perhaps it should be me. Likely I will know the guards who might find us and can talk our way out of trouble.”

Ailie reached out and touched her arm with feathery fingers. “I would be a better choice. I can hide and not be seen by any Elf. If anything threatens, I can give warning more quickly and quietly.”

The other four glanced at one another, and then Angel said, “Ailie is right. She is the best choice.”