Free Elvenshore: 03 - Elf's Bane by Clark Graham

officer. The tall and lean Istuin with thin brown hair was just back from his fifth trip back into the burning, enemy -infested town. This time he did not bring back a wounded man like he had the other four times. When Verian had first met the young Sub Captain, he was resentful of him. Istuin had been given a commission because his family was well connected politically. His uncle was the mayor of Fernar Darus, his wife’s grandfather had been Chancellor and in the distant past Istuin had been related to the Elf Kings of old. If there was still an aristocracy in the world of Elves, Istuin would be part of it.
    Captain Verian had to work his way up in the ranks, starting out as a foot soldier and proving his worth over and over again to gain rank. His promotion to Captain had been one of the happiest of his life. It was har d to see someone given outright what it took him years to earn. Verian didn’t like Istuin and had told him so several times.
    After seeing how brave the young Sub C aptain had been he was now regretting being so harsh to him. Istuin, in Verian’s opinion, had just proved his worth.
    Verian was older than most of the officers. He had a wisp of gray hair, on his otherwise blonde head. It was unusual for an Elf to have any gray at all. It made him look older and made Verian wonder if he had been passed up for command a time or two because of it. At this moment it didn’t matter. Bellios had not made it out of the town and now as the senior officer present, it was up to Captain Verian to get what was left of the Elf regular army back to the capital.
    The Human horsemen’s willingness to take his wounded back for him was an enormous burden lifted from the Captain. Dragging back the wounded with them while on foot would have been a huge hindrance to the army and would have cost them a lot more time in getting back. He was wondering if he could make it even now without getting caught and slaughtered on the road.
    Captain Verian formed the army into ranks and had them move out. They did so with the Trolls still in the town of Morgus Tier, smashing and burning the town. He tried would look back once in a while in sadness to see flames rising up.
    The troops were tired so the marching was steady but slower than Verian had hoped it would be. He tried to coax them to move faster but it was just not in them, after the last few days of battling the enemy, to do so. As the sun dispelled the darkness, the morale of the troops improved and the speed of the marching also improved a little. Still Verian knew that if the Trolls were coming this way, they would catch the Elves on the road in the night. They didn’t stop for meals. The troops ate what they could as they marched. Water was also passed out to the warriors and they walked.
    When darkness began to fall Istuin came up to Verian, “ Sir, I can stay behind with fifty men to slow the enemy so the rest of the army can escape.”
    “No, it would only take the Trolls a few minutes to cut their way through fifty men and they would be upon us soon after that anyway. We will stay as one unit and fight as one unit.”
    “Yes, Sir,” Istuin said to Verian and went back to the ranks.
    When the time had come that Verian thought the Trolls would be upon them, he had his men hide in the brush on both sides of the road. It was then, in the far distance, that he noticed the fires in the town of Morgus Tier had been relit. The Trolls had not completed the task of destroying the town. Hoping that the Trolls would be at the their task of destruction all night, Verian formed his army back up into ranks and once again marched on.
    It was a joyful sight for the troops to see the walls of the Capital City in the early morning sunlight. Not a lot of them had thought they would see the city again when they realized how large their enemy was and had bloodthirsty. The army marched boldly up to the gate as it opened up to allow them in.
    Verian was greeted by another officer and dear