Tomas announced, ‘Castdanur, this is Miranda of Sorcerer’s Isle and her student Lettie.’
The girl with Miranda was young and slender with an upright posture that was almost rigid. She looked from face to face with a calm mask, and nodded. Miranda said, ‘I am going now,’ and vanished.
Castdanur said, ‘What is this—?’
Suddenly Miranda appeared again, this time surrounded by a band of elves, dressed in leather of a similar cut to the clothes worn by the Sun Elves. This band of newcomers wore necklaces of stones and rough gems, and two had eagle-feathers hanging behind their ears, tied into locks of their hair.
Jommy glanced at Kaspar who said, ‘Those are the elves from north of the Teeth of the World.’ He dropped his voice. ‘They’re called something like "the Mad Ones" by the other elves, because of something back in history. You don’t have to be told they’re different: you see them in Elvandar and they stand out. Baranor looks more like their kind of place.’
The leader of the band with Miranda walked straight up to Castdanur and said, ‘Brother, we hear of your need. We answer it. I am Talandel.’
The old elf stood with shining eyes, and said, ‘We welcome our brothers and sisters.’ He looked to where Miranda stood and saw that four of those with her were children. ‘You return life and hope to us, brother.’
The children stood rooted in astonishment, staring up at the huge red dragon who now crouched peacefully in the courtyard. Miranda shooed them away and vanished. Less than a minute later she appeared with another small band of elves, who crossed to stand with the first. This process continued until more than a hundred elves from Elvandar had been transported to Baranor.
Within minutes the courtyard was filled with the sound of voices, and Jim Dasher turned to Kaspar and said, ‘I never heard it quite this lively in Elvandar.’
Kaspar shrugged. ‘I doubt we’ve ever seen that many happy elves before.’ He pointed to where the children who lived in Baranor were already starting to play with those who had newly arrived.
Castdanur spoke loudly, so that all might hear. ‘Our new brothers and sisters, there are halls and rooms enough for all! Pick those that you will, for this is your new home. Tonight we feast!’
Tomas approached Kaspar. ‘How are your men doing?’
‘The wounded will live. We’ve been helping the elves hunt since Jim vanished to fetch you. All in all, for a band of prisoners we’ve been treated more like guests.’
Tomas dropped his voice. ‘Castdanur is like many of the old spellweavers in Elvandar. He adheres to tradition, which can be a trap.’ He glanced over. ‘I remember enough of my human heritage to recall when the elves’ sense of time seemed far more leisurely than good sense dictated. But in this case, it almost lost us something far too dear.’
‘The Sun Elves?’ asked Jommy.
‘The Quor,’ answered Tomas.
Kaspar introduced the Captain and the two youngsters to the dragon-rider, and Tomas said, ‘You’re Caleb’s fosterling.’
Jommy said, ‘In a manner of speaking. He and Marie welcomed me like another son.’ He grinned. ‘They’re as good as people can be.’
Tomas returned the smile and the alien aspect of his heritage dropped away for a minute. ‘His father was like a brother to me when we were boys; he was my parents’ fosterling.’ He looked over at the gathering of elves and said, ‘I must stay for a while longer, to preside at the feast tonight.’ He lowered his voice and said to Kaspar, ‘This is a far better situation for those who have come here today; they are the most restless among the glamredhel, and they have found kindred spirits among the anoredhel.’
Miranda came over and nodded to them, ‘Kaspar, Jommy.’ Kaspar introduced his Captain and Servan, and Miranda said, ‘Where’s Jim Dasher?’
Kaspar glanced around. ‘He vanishes like a mist in the morning sun. I have no idea.’
Tomas said, ‘He was very concerned over that enclave of creatures he saw up to the north. You don’t think he headed back that way to investigate?’
‘I don’t know him that well—’ Kaspar began.
‘You know him better than anyone else here,’ interrupted Miranda. ‘Do you think he’s out playing hero?’
Kaspar shook his head. ‘He’s a lot of things, but he’d never accept being called that. But he can be duty-bound, and that might be cause enough.’
Tomas looked around. ‘We’ve got a few hours of light left. It shouldn’t be too hard to pick up his trail if he’s heading in the direction.’
Jommy said, ‘I’m bored. I’ll go.’
‘If what Jim said is close to accurate, you’ll need me along. Let me settle Lettie in here and then we’ll be off,’ Miranda announced.
Servan and Captain Stefan volunteered as well, but Kaspar declined. ‘We’re going to be noisy enough with this lot along.’