Record of Lodoss War Vol 1 Chapter 2.7

Chapter 7

Three days later, Parn’s party had returned to the Crystal Forest Inn. They had turned over the conspirators’ doc.u.ments to the castle guard and gotten a reward of one thousand gold pieces.

Parn was in a good mood. His finances were good, and his actions had been judged righteous. The corrupt soldier would be judged, and the plot on the king’s life had been averted. The judge, Duke Balshea, had even thanked him personally. Parn was drinking ale and singing, though not at all skillfully.

“But rather,” Woodchuck was saying to Parn, “how’s about you let me join your group? I’ve shown I can be useful, and I’ve come to like you lot. Plus it seems like if I join you, I might see some interesting things.”

“I don’t see any reason why not.” Parn’s response was sincere. They never would have succeeded without Wood, and a thief might often come in handy on the road. “But please don’t break the law while you’re with us.”

The group had been drinking for a good while, and most of them were well into their cups. Slayn and Deedlit were the two exceptions.

“Only six hundred good pieces for that jewel. I think maybe we got ripped off.” Wood’s voice rang out as he critiqued the merchant who had bought the jewel from him.

“No, it was a fair price,” said Ghim who had had to keep Wood’s haggling in check while negotiating the sale. Wood seemed dissatisfied, but not wanting to argue jewels and craftsmanship with a dwarf anymore, he laid off.

In any case, the price he’d gotten from a mage for the scrolls and books recovered from the house was higher than expected, so Wood was not completely disappointed.

Slayn and Eto both seemed in high spirits. Ghim was the only one drinking in relative silence.

Just as the feast to celebrate the group’s success was reaching its peak, the outside door swung open and a man ran inside. Faced with this unexpected sight, even the partiers quieted down and waited for the man to catch his breath.

“It’s awful,” he announced. “Kanon has been razed. Beld… the emperor of Marmo, Beld did it!”

“What did you say?!?” Parn felt as though the floor had been yanked out from under him. He stood, kicking his chair away, and blanked out as though he had forgotten what he meant to say.

“He made his move, did he? This is going to be a major war,” murmured Slayn as though repeating a prophecy.

The group felt as though they had fallen into an icy sea, driving away their drunkenness.

“Kanon destroyed!” The news had of course made it to King Cadmus VII in the palace of Stone Web. The king called together an emergency meeting of the nation’s important n.o.bles. For a long time, a loose alliance had bound Kanon and Alania together. Kanon was the second oldest kingdom in Lodoss, after Alania, and had existed for over two hundred years. There had been many marriages between the royal families of the two nations, and Cadmus VII’s own mother was directly descended from the royal line of Kanon. Thus, Marmo’s attack on Kanon const.i.tuted an offense against Alania as well, and many influential n.o.bles called loudly for an attack on Marmo. There were also those who argued that Alania should call for talks with Valis and join forces to wage an all-out war against Marmo. If so, Alania would be the first of hopefully many nations to do so.

But Cadmus VII sent off an expedition to Kanon. For the moment, he decided simply to blockade the highway to the south, prepare his military forces against an invasion by Marmo, and wait to see whether Marmo would move against any other country. He even gave orders not to recruit mercenaries nor to muster the troops. In this way, he half-heartedly acknowledged the Marmo’s attack and its continued occupation of Kanon.

The next day, signs were posted proclaiming the king’s decision. Reading one, Parn felt like grinding his teeth.

“Why!?!” Parn yelled, forgetting that he was surrounded by people going about their business.

“What should we do now?” wondered Slayn, placing one hand on Parn’s drooping shoulder as though to console him.

“How can he do this, the spineless fool?” Tears welled up in Parn’s eyes. “Let’s get to Valis somehow.” Parn’s voice was resolute as he straightened himself up and rubbed his reddened eyes. “Valis will fight back for sure.”

“But the road to the south is closed, and we can’t go west until the sandstorm abates. If the king of the spirits has been released as rumor says, the western route will be impa.s.sible for a good long while. I hate to say it, but we can’t go to Valis now.”

“We’ve got to get there, whatever it takes. Even if it means entering the Forest of No Return,” said Parn implacably, glaring at nothing in particular.

“Are you mad, Parn? You should know as well as I how dangerous that place is. As the name implies, no one has ever come back from the Forest of No Return.”

“Then I’ll be the first!” Parn snapped at Eto.

“I’ve even heard that there’s ancient elven curse on the place,” added Ghim with a glance at Deedlit.

“Parn…” Slayne tried to calm Parn in his turn.

“That’s a good idea.” Deedlit, who had been silently listening to this exchange, suddenly spoke up. “Let’s go through the forest. It’s the best shortcut.” Her voice was calm.

“Do you know the way?”

“Of course.” Deedlit glanced at Ghim, then continued confidently. “I’m a elf. To an elf, there’s no difference between modern and ancient times.”