Tangled webs - Elaine Cunningham [108]
The two boats drifted closer together as the rising burden drew them in. The circle of the fisherfolk tightened, and soon they could make out the two still forms entangled in a mass of seaweed. Fearfully, Erig reached out and began to strip away the fronds that obscured the identity of the drowned men.
A hand shot out of the seaweed and seized the young man's wrist. Erig let out a startled yelp and fell back. It was as if a corpse had suddenly leaped from its bier, with one terrifying addition: the figure that tore free of the seaweed was a sea elf with long plaited hair, a face twisted with rage, and a long keen knife in his webbed hand.
So unexpected was the attack, and so strange the attacker, that for a moment even the warrior-bred Ruathen were frozen with shock. Dagmar, however, had the presence of mind to use the oar in her hands. She swung hard, and as the elf leaped into the boat she met his rib cage with a sharp crack. The blow halted the momentum of the attack. Erig seized the moment and punched out, landing a blow that sent the slightly built elf reeling back. Once again he struck, and at last the elf dropped senseless into the sea.
The second elven figure entangled in the seaweed seemed more interested in freeing himself from the green mass than attacking, but the Ruathen were in no mood for making fine distinctions. Dagmar lifted the oar high and smashed down, again and again. The elf-a male with short hair as green as the kelp--ceased his struggles and fell limp.
For a long moment the fisherfolk merely stood and stared at the strange beings in their nets. Finally Valeron, the oldest among them, leveled an accusing finger at the unconscious sea elves.
"There's the answer for the poor fishing and tom nets, or may Umberlee take me! May hap these sahuagin-spawned fish-elves know something about the drownings, too."
"Take them to land. Make them tell us what they know." This opinion was voiced from one of the other boats that had drawn near to observe the spectacle.
The taboo against sea elves was strong, and Dagmar tried to convince the others this course was not wise. But the voice of a woman was soon lost among the males' clamor for justice-and vengeance. The elves were dragged aboard, and all thoughts of fishing abandoned as the folk turned back to Ruathym with their catch.
"Xzorsh, my friend, can you ever forgive me for what i have done?"
The ranger shifted painfully; he was bruised and battered from the pounding he'd taken at the Northwoman's hands, and the wound from Sittl's knife made his shoulders bum and throb-but he managed a wan smile.
"it was not your fault," he said, and not for the first time. "You were under the charm of a kelpie-of course you would fight to protect the creature. What i do not understand is why you ventured so far west in the first place, and why you did not leave word for me!"
His partner grimaced. "After i left you to tend your pledge to the human pirate, i was waylaid by a band of merrow. They brought me here; i do not know why. I managed to escape while they quarreled among themselves. When this happened, i cannot tell you, for i do not know how long i was under the kelpie's spell. Nor do i know what other things i might have done," he added in a voice tight with foreboding.
Xzorsh patted his shoulder. "i remember my first view of the kelpie lair. There were no other victims entwined among the creature's fronds, so you may rest easy."
"Rest easy? Not until we find a way to free ourselves from this place," Sittl said, casting a fearful look at the stout wooden walls of their prison.
The ranger sighed. He spread his fingers and regarded his hands. They had