Elg'cahl Maelthra

Elg’cahl Maelthra

“Help!” yelled the dwarven king as he choked on the blood that was streaming from the hole in his throat.

This was the first assassination that Elg’cahl Maelthra had ever done. Thirty-seven years later he could still remember it as though it had happened yesterday. He could still remember the cries of the dwarven king's son as Elg’cahl ran out of the caves. He could remember every detail of that night and it haunted him.

Elg’cahl Maelthra is a Drow Assassin. His skin is dark gray and like leather. His eyes are cloudy and dark green. He is approximately 5’7” tall and 125 pounds of pure muscle. A heavy black cloak is always on his back. On his side is a pouch containing poison darts, poison bolts, and shirukins. A poison dagger was strapped on his right calf and on his left hung a crossbow.

Now Elg’cahl sits with his back against a tree. He could feel the rough bark against the back of his head. All around him grew multifarious trees and plants. Birds flew in the sky above chirping their songs of joy. The ground was cold and a slight breeze blew.

While Elg’cahl was resting against the tree he heard a noise to his right. This noise was different. Not like any animal's but more like a small man. Suddenly he heard another voice to his left. He grabbed his crossbow so that he wouldn’t be defenseless if he were to be attacked.

The noises were now constantly getting louder by the second. A few moments later two dwarves came out from the trees around him. “Who are you and what do you want?” asked Elg’cahl.
The dwarf on his left replied, “We are servants of our king Thor. We have been sent to offer you a job.”

“If you wish to accept our offer we will give you the directions to our king for more details,” added the dwarf on Elg’cahl’s right.

“I’m listening. Who am I supposed to assassinate?” asked Elg’cahl.

“All we have been told is that it is a royal family and that you will be paid greatly,” replied the dwarf on his left.

After a few moments of thinking Elg’cahl stood up. “I accept. Give me the directions and I’ll head right over.”

Once Elg’cahl had the directions to the dwarven king’s cave he headed out. The skies were getting dark and cloudy. The wind picked up and Elg’cahl could hear thunder in the background. It started raining and the ground was getting slick. Elg'cahl could see the storm coming his way from behind. He started running faster, hoping that he could outrun the storm.
“CRASH!” A blinding flash of lighting struck a tree directly in front of Elg’cahl, which sent him pummeling the ground. “What is wrong with me?” he asked himself as he got back up. He was covered in mud, which made him slow as he continued on his way to the dwarven king called “Thor”.

The rain stopped and the sun came out as Elg'cahl ran. He could now start to see mountains ahead of him. The forest started getting thinner until it finally stopped. Now Elg'cahl was running through fields that were freshly seeded. Strangely Elg'cahl couldn’t see any people or buildings. Elg'cahl stopped in the middle of one of the fields and rested. During this time he ate his lunch and thought about the upcoming job and who he would be killing.

To his left Elg'cahl could see forests, on his right he could see fields, and in front of him he could see the tops of some mountains. A few moments later the forests on his left and the fields on his right became mountains. Now all Elg'cahl could see were mountains. After traveling for another hour Elg'cahl was at the end of a great valley. Mountains now surrounded him.

“Where is everyone?” Elg'cahl asked himself. He couldn’t see any cave entrances or any dwarfs. “What have I gotten myself into? This has to be a trap.” Elg'cahl whispered to himself. Suddenly something moved to his left. Standing very still, Elg'cahl turned his head and looked where he just saw movement. Very slowly he could see a part of the mountain slide. An opening appeared where just a few seconds before was solid stone.

Out rushed three stout dwarven guards. Elg'cahl almost started laughing at the site of these little men running. They ran very slow because of their short legs. All three stopped at once about forty feet in front of Elg'cahl.
“What do you want drow?” yelled one of the guards.

“I was told that the dwarf named Thor had some work for me.” Replied Elg'cahl.
“You must be that stupid drow assassin he sent for.” Smirked the smallest of the guards.
“I’d shut up if I were you, little man. I could kill you faster than you can eat a turkey leg.” Barked Elg'cahl.

“Why I aughta…” screamed the little dwarf in
anger. Before the guard could finish his sentence the other 2 guards grabbed him and shut him up. They whispered into the angry dwarf's ear. The dwarf walked into the cave grumbling to himself.

“I will tell Thor of your arrival,” called out the bigger of the two guards. The guards went into the cave and left Elg'cahl standing outside waiting.

A few minutes later a new dwarf stepped out of the entrance. “Thor will see you now. Please follow me.” He calmly said.

“Could this be a trap? Of course it could. I better watch my back and keep my guard up” Elg'cahl silently said to himself.

The cave entrance was a lot larger tan it seemed from where he stood before. The stone inside the entrance was like none he had ever seen before. It was slick like metal but it wasn’t refined. There was a musty smell that almost made Elg'cahl sick.

After a few minutes of walking through the dark cave Elg'cahl could see a light. The smell got worse and Elg'cahl could hear voices. “We are almost there,” the dwarf said. They walked into a huge room. The sight of all the dwarfs sickened him. He saw no women or children, only men. The glow from the forges lit up the room. The sound of the pickaxes hitting the stone was as loud as a herd of buffalo. “It's right in here.”

They walked through a small door leading to another cave. The cave was well lit and made a nice little room. In the middle of the room there was a table covered in food and rum. There were two stools around the table; one was empty, the other held the biggest dwarf Elg'cahl had ever seen.

This dwarf was at least five feet tall and had more muscles than Hercules. On his face grew a gray beard that went half way down his stomach. His arms were like tree trunks and his hands were like roots. In one hand he had a turkey leg and the other held a beer mug.

“This is the assassin you requested, master.” Said the little dwarf Elg'cahl had been following.

“Good. You can go now.” The huge dwarf replied. “I am Thor. I need you to assassinate a family. I will pay you handsomely.”

“I am Elg'cahl Maelthra the drow assassin.” Said Elg'cahl.

“Poison Dragon? Suits you well. I have heard many stories of your assassinations.” Thor said.

“How do you know the meaning of my name? How do you know of me?” asked Elg'cahl.

“How do I know these things? You killed my father! Ever since I have been learning everything I could of the dark elves and of you.” Yelled Thor.

“I’ve only assassinated one dwarf ever. That was thirty-seven years ago. I was only doing my job.” Elg'cahl replied.

“I know you were only doing your job and that is why I want you to assassinate the family who hired you.” Thor explained. “I am willing to give you 100 pounds of our best gems as payment.”

“Who is it that you are wanting me to assassinate?” asked Elg'cahl.

“Don’t you remember? The Drow Royal Family hired you to kill my father.” Replied Thor.

“I was hired by the family servant. I didn’t ask whom I was working for. I didn’t care as long as I got paid,” replied Elg'cahl. “If I have to kill more than 3 drow I will need more payment.”

“You will be killing the whole royal family,” replied Thor. “I will add our best armor and weapons.”

“I need more than that if I am to kill the whole family,” replied Elg'cahl.

“I will add the legendary Thor’s Hammer!” Thor replied angrily.

“That will be payment enough. I will leave as soon as I get my payment.” Elg'cahl replied.

“Half now, half later” Thor barked

“That’s fine with me. I want the 100 pounds of gems now. I will get the other after I return.” Replied Elg'cahl.

Thor called for one of his servants. He whispered something into his ear and a few minutes later the small dwarf returned carrying the gems in a huge sack. “You will get the rest of your payment when you return.” Thor grunted.
Elg'cahl took the gems and ran. He ran until he reached the forest. By this time it was already nighttime and Elg'cahl was tired. He ran a few hundred yards into the forest and set up camp. He ate his dinner then got ready to sleep. Using the sack of gems as a pillow, Elg'cahl slept like a baby until he was awaken by the sound of birds chirping.

For the next few days Elg'cahl ran towards the drow palace. Early one morning he saw the palace and decided that he would wait for nightfall to work. He found a place to hide his gems and decided to sleep until late evening. He awoke just as the sun was setting and headed out towards the palace.

The palace was heavily guarded. Elg'cahl saw at least four rangers on the roof and ten guards on the ground. “This is possibly going to be the hardest assassination yet.” He said silently to himself. He watches as the guards made their rounds. He noticed that for 3 minutes none of the guards were watching the sidewall. “Maybe I can get in by going over that wall,” he said to himself.

Elg'cahl waited for the guards to leave the wall then ran at full speed. As he ran he slipped on a patch of slick grass. He hit a tree and a branch cracked off and hit him in the head. “ARGH!” Elg'cahl cried out.
“What was that?” yelled one of the guards.
“It came from the west wall,” yelled another.
“There is somebody under the oak tree!” yelled one of the archers as he was pulling back his bow.

Elg'cahl was sluggish in movement because of the branch. Before he had a chance to move, an arrow hit him in his left arm. He could see three guards coming around the corner of the wall. He tried running but fell when he took a step. “How could I let this happen?” Elg'cahl angry screamed.

“Thump, thump, thump” three more arrows hit
Elg'cahl. Blood was pouring out of the holes the arrows made. The guards were running at him as fast as they could, but it was all in slow motion for Elg'cahl. Elg'cahl tried to move but couldn’t. Four more arrows flew into Elg'cahl. By the time the guards reached Elg'cahl’s body he was already dead.

“Prince velg'larn?” gasped the guards in unison.