Sekali, "The Sister City"
Chapter 19
When he had withdrawn from the inn there were not half as many people as when he returned. To him, everyone's behavior was reckless and inattentive, and more so now as the evening moved on. This form of conduct, if displayed in the Wastelands, would be the death of them. He did not care; better them than he. Let the lesser breeds drink themselves into oblivion. Sekali made his way through the crowd and down the hallway to his room. Once there, he opened a window and pulled a chair next to it.
Sitting himself cross-legged on the chair, Sekali stared out into the night wondering if this was all there was to the living world; drinking fools. There had to be more than this. He would find out soon enough; he had time. In fact, time was all Sekali had. As he stared out into the night, he found himself drawn into the midst of a dream; a living nightmare . . .
. . . still and silent as stone they watched on. Proud and fearless they stood on that evening when the mists seemed unusually thick and menacing. Their Elfin eyes, more black than the night, sought to penetrate the murky vapors, to expose any enemy that might challenge them. Then it came. The witch had noticed the change of air first. A quick hand signal and the others knew of danger. As they scanned their surroundings, they suddenly froze, still as stone, fear gripping fearless hearts. This watch would be one of the worst Sekali lived through; though he wished then that he had been slain, or had the power and will of mind to slay himself . . .
. . . looking out the window of his room, Sekali shuddered, unblinking, and his hand snaked across his midsection, clutching the hilt of his sword unknowing . . .
. . . there was no movement . . . just a blackness that increased in its own darkness as it came on. The night mists about The Watch seemed to choke on themselves and churn wildly at
its approach, as if the non-living vapors themselves suffered from the presence of the enemy. The earth trembled slightly, yet still he and his brethren, and his wife, stood as unmoving as the rocks about them. Then the earth and rocks all around them seemed to fall into ruin and decay before their eyes. Before he knew what the enemy truly was, the witch behind him in the circle's center was casting her magic. The most significant thing he remembered about that accursed day was the fear in the witch's voice. Sardakk Elves are fearless, bold, and daring; they have to be. And rarely had he known a Sardakk Elf brother or sister to be fearful.
Bolts of red lightning shot past him and his brothers, blasting rock and earth to charred and blackened ash . . . and still it came, barely hindered by the power being thrown at it. The Sardakk witch called fire down from the skies above, yet ceaselessly it moved toward The Watch.
In one motion, he and his brothers drew their weapons and advanced toward an unearthly darkness. Sweat ran freely down his body from the heat of the Witch's attack, mingled with the stress of the encounter, stinging his eyes, blurring his vision. Quickly he wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve . . . and when his arm passed from his eyes he beheld his enemy, and was suddenly sharing the Witch's fear. It was . . . Death . . .
. . . Sekali sprang from his chair, knocking it over, gasping, eyes wide with shock and horror, sword unsheathed and ready . . .
. . . the apparition advanced, as if floating upon an unseen wind. Sekali's eyes darted to his brothers, who were advancing with him. With a hoarse battle cry, he struggled to bring himself to strike his enemy, yet to no avail. Darkness flooded his world . . .
. . . the vision slowly faded, until he found himself within the lonely room of the inn. He withdrew from his fighting stance and sheathed his blade as he felt sweat trickle down his back. He trembled violently, recalling the horror of that watch, which had never diminished in his memory.
The knock at the door caused the unsheathing of his blade. Again, quickly, the blade was replaced in its scabbard and he went to the door and opened it. Uther and Finyat stood in the small hallway. Uther spoke first.
"Greetings . . . elf Sekali coldly stared at the both of them. Finyat gave Uther an irritated glance and bowed.
"Sir, my companion and I are on our way out tomorrow to see what there is to see, hear what there is to hear, and to experience the outside world at our own leisure. We wish you to join us, that our journeys may be successful and, I might add, be fruitful. If you wish to join my friend and me, we will be leaving at sunrise tomorrow."
Without waiting for an answer, the two, almost jovial, headed off down the hall toward the common room. Before shutting the door, Sekali had already made up his mind that he would rather be dead.
But plans change.