As he trudged along one of the pathways Jim glanced down and was grateful that he had no fear of heights. Scampering across slippery rooftops inured you to the fear of falling. If you were afraid, you shouldn’t climb up where you can fall off, was his thinking.
Still, it was a sobering sight looking down and seeing nothing to break your fall, save some unwelcoming branches and the hard forest floor below. He took a deep breath, more from fatigue than any discomfort at being so high up and continued.
By the time he reached the entrance to the Queen’s Court, word of his arrival had already reached Her Majesty. Queen Aglaranna sat on her throne, her husband, Warleader Tomas, seated at her side. She was the most regal being Jim had ever encountered, and he had met his share of human ruler. Not only was she beautiful in a slightly strange and alien way, but she held herself in the easy manner of one used to being obeyed, yet without a hint of arrogance. In fact, if anything, the inherent warmth and kindness she projected added to her aura of nobility. Her reddish-blonde hair was untouched by grey, though Jim knew she was centuries old, and her face was unlined, making her resemble a human woman of no more than thirty years or so, and her deep blue eyes were clear and direct. Her smile was heartbreaking.
The man at her side was perhaps the most daunting figure Jim had ever seen, though he had never shown anything but the utmost courtesy and friendliness when Jim had previously visited the court. Tomas was a strange being by anyone’s measure, and while Jim had heard all the stories, he wasn’t sure where fact ended and fancy began. The story was that Tomas had been born a human lad, in the keep at Crydee Castle, down the Far Coast. Some ancient magic had transformed him during the Riftwar into a being of astonishing power, half-human, half-… Jim wasn’t entirely sure what. He had a somewhat elvish look to him, with pointed ears and an elf’s long locks, yet his features also looked… different. The story went that he was the inheritor of an ancient magic, belonging to a legendary race known only as the Dragon Lords. As he had the last time he had visited, Jim was determined to find out more about these legendary beings, if only he didn’t become too busy with other matters, as he had the last time he returned to Krondor.
At their side stood two elves, who looked young, though that concept had no meaning here. One was Prince Calin, the Queen’s son by her first husband, the long-dead Elf King. The other was Prince Calis, her son by Tomas, and while there was a strong resemblance to their mother in both of them, Calis had inherited a robust look of strength and power from his father that his half-brother lacked. All of them smiled at Jim Dasher as he entered the court and bowed.
‘Welcome, Jim Dasher,’ said the Queen. ‘It is good to see you again. What brings the agent of the Prince of Krondor unannounced to our court, welcome though he may be?’
‘I bear grave news, and have need of your counsel, Your Majesty,’ he replied.
‘You look exhausted,’ observed the Queen. ‘Perhaps you should rest and revive yourself before we speak.’
‘I welcome such an offer, but before I do, allow me to tell you the cause for my arriving unannounced.’
‘Please,’ said the Queen, her brow furrowed with concern.
‘Agents of our enemies, an unnamed band of marauders landed…’ Jim paused. He had lost track of time since he had been captured. Had it only been three days? ‘They landed three days ago on the shores of the Peaks of the Quor.’
At mention of the location, the Queen and all her advisors stiffened, as if they sensed something dire before he spoke of it.
‘With them was a magician of some power, who conjured a being the like of which I’ve never encountered, and it was only through the intervention of others that we were not destroyed Utterly by this creature.’
‘What others?’ asked the Queen quietly.
Jim realized she already knew the answer. ‘Elves, My Lady. Elves unlike any I’ve seen or heard of, from a refuge they called Baranor.’
Tomas nodded. ‘The anoredhel. They endure.’
The Queen asked, ‘How fare your companions?’
‘They are taken captive. After rescuing us from the brigands, the elves took us prisoner and marched us to their stronghold.’
‘How were you treated?’ asked Lord Tomas.
‘Well, enough, I suppose, though there was this one fellow who looked ready to cut our throats no questions asked, my lord. But these are desperate people, from the look of them, and I fear they may decide that Kaspar and my companions are more trouble to keep alive than to kill out of hand.’ Jim looked around at the faces regarding him. There was something at play here, some elvish business that he was not privy to.