“Your guards have discovered the young man, Devon, to be missing. They’ve searched the camp, but no trace of him can be found. I’ve called out the trackers. Don’t worry, my friend,” the chief said, his anger forgotten at the sight of the elf’s anxiety. “We’ll find him.”
“A young fool’s gone for a walk!” Yngvar snapped irritably. “Why all the fuss?”
“Devon has been very unhappy of late,” said Eliason in a low voice. “Very unhappy. We fear . . .” His voice failed. He shook his head.
“Ach!” said Yngvar gravely, in sudden understanding. “That’s the way of it, is it?”
“Grundle!” Hilda called out sharply, loudly. “Grundle! Come in here, this instant!”
“What are you doing, Wife? Our daughter’s in the cave—”
“Take the sack off your head,” [3] Hilda retorted. “Our daughter’s no more in that cave than I am.” She stood up, raised her voice threateningly. “Grundle, I know you’re out there, spying! Alake, this is serious. I won’t tolerate any more nonsense from you girls!”
But there was no answer. Yngvar looked solemn, tugged at his beard. Stepping outside, he motioned to one of his attendants, a young dwarf named Hartmut, and sent him off toward the cave.
Yngvar returned to the longhouse, where Eliason was also on his feet. “I should go help search—”
“And do what? End up losing yourself in the jungle? Our people will find him. All will be well, my friend—we pray to the One.”
“We pray to the One,” Eliason repeated, and sat back down, his head in his hands.
Then Yngvar spoke, “Aye, but where’s that Haplo got to? Has anybody seen him? Wasn’t he supposed to be here? This meeting was his idea in the first place.”
“You dwarves are suspicious of everything!” Dumaka shouted. “First, the dragon-snakes’ magic. Now Haplo! And after he saved our children—”
“He saved our children, but what do we truly know of him, Husband?” Delu asked. “Perhaps he brought them back, only to carry them off again!”
Reference to a popular dwarven drinking game, the rules of which are far too complex to describe and probably wouldn’t be believed anyway.
“She’s right!” Hilda came to stand by the human woman’s side. “I say your trackers start looking for this Haplo!”
“Fine!” said Dumaka, exasperated. “I’ll send the trackers out looking for everyone—”
“Chief!” The doorkeeper shouted, “They’ve found them! All of them!”
Elves, humans, and dwarves rushed out of the longhouse. By this time, everyone in camp knew either what had occurred or what was rumored to have occurred. The royal families joined a throng heading toward the elven guesthouse.
Human trackers escorted Haplo, Grundle, and Alake from the jungle. Haplo carried Devon in his arms. The elf had regained consciousness, smiled weakly, shamefaced at the attention.
“Devon! Are you hurt? What happened?” Eliason shouldered his way through the crowd.
“I’m . . . fine,” Devon managed, his voice coming out a croak.
“He’ll be all right,” Haplo said. “He had a nasty fall, got hung up in a vine. Let him rest. Where shall I put him?”
“This way.” Eliason led the Patryn to the elven guesthouse.
“We can explain everything,” Grundle announced.
“I’ve no doubt of that,” her father muttered, eyeing his daughter grimly.
Haplo carried Devon into the guesthouse, deposited the young man on his bed.
“Thank you,” said Devon softly.
Haplo grunted. “Get some sleep.”
Devon, taking the hint, closed his eyes.
“He needs rest,” said Haplo, coming to stand between Eliason and the young elf. “I think we should let him alone.”
“But I want my physician to see to him—” Eliason began anxiously.
“That won’t be necessary. He’s going to be all right. But now he needs rest,” Haplo repeated.
Eliason looked past Haplo at the young elf lying exhausted, disheveled, on the bed. The girls had cleaned him up, washed the blood away, but the burns and marks left by the vine were plainly visible on his neck. The elven king looked back at Haplo.
“He fell,” the Patryn repeated coolly. “Got tangled in a vine.”
“Will it happen again, do you think?” Eliason asked quietly.
“No.” Haplo shook his head. “I don’t think so. We had a talk . . . about the dangers of climbing trees in the jungle.”