The Silver Flower: Chapter Three

Here is the next Chapter of my new book, enjoy!!

Chapter Three: Glevanne Addets

There was soon a response, and a small door opened in front of them revealing another elf, only slightly shorted then the guide.

            “Halden kassit, Valkin Tredhale?” he said, not noticing the three children. Justin looked at Mary, who hurriedly translated into their own language.

            “He said: What is your business, Finch Moor?” she whispered behind Valkin’s back. Justin nodded and turned back to listen to the elves converse.

“j seeta blettash koona Glevanne Addets, Saden Flettica.” Valkin said. Mary quickly translated.

“He said: I have outsiders who want to see Glevanne Addets, Falcon Cave.” Valkin heard her say this, and turned around.

“Would you speak to the guard in our language? I think you may have a better chance of getting in if he knows you know our speech.” He said. Mary nodded.

“I’ll try.” She said to him, then, looking at the guard, she spoke in the elfin tongue. “je kentre koona Glevanne Addets.” She said. This time Valkin translated for Justin and Duncan.

“She said: We would like to see Glevanne Addets.” He said, himself still amazed at her wisdom of their language. At the sound of the human girl speaking his language, the guard, whose name we now know, softened visibly.

“Addene geklen kess dessinkae?” he asked. (You [feminine] know our language?) Mary smiled and nodded.

“Nedin, a cesik.” She replied. (Yes, a little.) Saden, for this was the guard’s name, looked at her.

“j retin gresu tu Glevanne seshi adenne.” He said, (I will speak to Glevanne for you [feminine].) and closed the door.  Mary returned to the group she had left temporarily and shrugged her shoulders.

“Do ye think it will help?” she asked. Valkin nodded, a smile on his face.

“Yes, you will get in. Saden is not nearly as bad-tempered as he seems.” He said. Mary smiled.

“Tha’ be good to ken.” She returned. They were silent, all waiting for the guard to return.

When he did, the door swung open silently, and the small group went in. Mary did not forget to thank Sadin, who retuned her thanks with a gruff, “j fetik jaeta.” (I did nothing.)

The children followed Valkin down the majestic hall and Justin gazed open mouthed at the high vaulted ceilings and strong stone walls, covered with tapestries illustrating gory battle scenes or portraits of kings and queens of the elfish kingdom. The floor was made of marble, painted over with beautiful gothic designs.  Justin, at the end of the line, traced one of the designs with his foot, marveling at its delicate detail. Duncan, in the middle, looked in delight at one of the tapestries, the solemn look on the man’s face almost made him laugh, but he swallowed it quickly realizing that it may offend the elves. Mary, also in the middle, looked all around her, her gaze at last resting on a tall tapestry with a woman on it. Something about the queen reminded Mary of someone, the sorrowful smile, the flowing hair, the shape of her face.     

She stopped suddenly, as Valkin walked by it, causing Duncan to run into her, and Justin run into Duncan. The boys both yelped in surprise and Valkin turned around, giving them all a warning frown.

“You must not speak loudly,” he said, proving his point by speaking in a stern, soft voice. The boys hung their heads guiltily, but Mary stood still, looking at the tapestry carefully. Valkin returned and watched her as her eyes studied the face.

“Who be this woman?” she asked softly, her eyes not leaving the face. Valkin looked up at the face for the first time, and looked at it for a long while, when he at last spoke, his voice was full of respect and awe.

“This lady is the king’s mother. She is no longer with us.” His voice grew sad. “It is a great sorrow for my people, for she was a wise and just counselor for the king. Now he is growing old, and his new counselor…” his voice sank into a whisper, “his counselor, some say, is an evil elf who intends to take over the kingdom by marrying the king’s daughter, Shetta Gloriheem.” Valkin said all this while looking at the tapestry, so he did not see the glances the three siblings exchanged behind his back when the name was spoken. A short silence went over the four as they looked up at the woman in respect, although the three children never knew her. It was broken by Valkin, who sighed and beckoned the humans to follow him again.

They continued their way to a door on the other side of the hall, but long before they reached it, Valkin turned to a smaller door, and slapped his hand against it as he did with the front gate of the castle. A window opened, and another guard (they soon found out his name was Dusak Aknae [Hawk Meadow]) had a quiet converse with Valkin, who seemed to know him better than Saden Flettica, the first guard. Soon, Mary was called upon to again speak to the new guard in the elfin speech. The guard looked at her quizzically when she stepped up.

“Adenne gecklin kassit dessinkae?” (You [feminine] know our language?) he asked, curious. Mary smiled.

“Nedin, a cesik.” (Yes, a little.) She replied. Dusak turned to Valkin.

“j retin gresu tu Glevanne Addets seshi, adek.” (I will speak to Glevanne Addets for you.) He said, and with a quick smile, disappeared. Again, the group waited. Valkin chuckling to himself about something he had shared with the young elfish guard. Soon, Dusak returned, and opened the door. The four people were ushered into a warm room. A servant girl came and took Justin and Duncan’s jackets, Mary’s shawl, and Valkin’s cape. The servant and Valkin smiled softly at each other, and to the three children’s surprise, they hugged. Valkin saw their shock, and he chuckled, leading the servant over to them.

“This is my sister, Vinea Aknae (Vixen Meadow). She is the wife of Dusak here.” The boys’ mouths stayed open, but Mary smiled warmly at the young servant girl, and very soon the two were friends.

“Seket tu pretik tendille Glevanne Addets’ hatten.” (Welcome to my master Glevanne Addets home.) She said.

“j adigen.” (I thank you.) She said, returning the greeting. Vinea looked at her brother.

“Adeck fetick desh gresu tet adin gecklen kess dessinkae.” (You did not say that she knew our language.) she said. Valkin shrugged.

“j dani.” (I apologize.) He said. Vinea shrugged her shoulders and took the coats away to a different room, and her husband, Dusak, led the small group to a staircase. Again, Valkin and the guard conversed in under tones, and soon, the guard left Valkin to guide them alone.

They went up the staircase and found themselves before a long hall. Valkin seemed to know exactly where he was going, so the three children didn’t contradict his judgment. The four arrived at yet another door, but this time, when Valkin gave the slap of his hand, no guard appeared. Glevanne himself opened the door. The children realized this because Valkin bowed his head in respect, and they quickly followed his example. Glevanne spoke in a language the children could understand, realizing that they were not elves.

“Why have you come here.” He said in a tired voice. The siblings looked up in wonder, all of them becoming conscience of the fact that Glevanne was not an old man, in reality, he was quite a young man, and handsome. He continued, unaware of their astonishment. “The king does not like visitors at this moment. I am surprised that you have made it this far. Valkin must be a very good guide.” He said this with a smile towards the guide, who took the hint and left, the door closing with a solid thunk. “What is it that you want to tell me that is so important that you must risk a long imprisonment.” Justin looked worriedly at the door.

“Can no one hear us?” he asked. The elf looked at him.

“Why do you ask?” he replied.

“Because we must show you a secret.” Glevanne looked slightly puzzled, but assured the children that they were indeed alone. Justin gave a sigh of relief, and took out the note, handing it to the elf. He looked at it. With a glance he knew it was the one he had tried to send by hand to the princess. His gaze darkened, and he looked at the three humans.

“Where did you find this?” he asked sharply. Duncan spoke.

“We found it laying aside the road.” He said truthfully. Glevanne softened.

“Ah. Then you do not know what happened to the elf that was delivering it for me?” he asked. They all shook their heads. “That is a pity. He was,” he stopped and re-said his thought. “He is one of my most trusted servants.”

“We be verra sorry we dinnae ken where yer servant be, but we knew tha’ ye’d most likely not want just any person to pick yer note to Shetta up, so we thought we’d find either ye or Shetta an’ deliver it.” Duncan said quickly, forgetting himself in the presence of a highly ranked elf. Glevanne smiled, liking the honest humans more and more.

“I thank you for your concerns, they are much appreciated in times like these.” His face darkened again. “Most letters are not private any longer, and I especially wished this one to remain so. You helped in that way, I am very grateful.” He paused a moment, his eyes going from one of the children’s face to the next. He found all the faces to be honest, and loyal. This pleased him, for this was the type he needed for the mission to be done. His gaze rested at last on Justin, and he spoke his daring plan.

“You are aware of the contents of the letter?” he asked. Somewhat guiltily, Justin, Duncan and Mary nodded their heads. He encouraged them with a smile. “Then you know that it is an urgent message?” he asked again. They again nodded. He again looked in all their eyes, deeply. “Can you deliver it for me?” he asked. There was a long silence, and the three siblings exchanged looks. They silently agreed on their answer. Justin spoke for them.

“Aye, we will.” He said. Glevanne smiled again.

“Then, here.” He placed the note back into Duncan’s outstretched palm. “Take this back. I believe Valkin will be available to escort you to the princess’s quarters. She is safe from the king for the moment.” He sighed as he said this, a soft shadow coming over his face. He turned around. “You may go, and my blessing goes with you.” The siblings exchanged another look, and turned around, going out the door. Suddenly, Glevanne called out to them.

“Wait!” he said quickly. The trio looked at him in surprise. He scribbled something down onto a piece of paper quickly. “Take this to her as well.” He said, and shoved the new note into Duncan’s hand as well. The elf turned from them and his frame shook slightly with sobs as the door closed behind the siblings.

Valkin was waiting for them, just outside the door. He looked into their faces, reading their thoughts.

“You have a mission.” He said simply. “Is there any way I can help?” The children looked at him, gratefully. He took this for an answer and quickly added: “Dusak could help too, he is always longing for adventure.” Again, the siblings agreed to this, any help they could get they wanted. Valkin led them silently down the stairs again, spoke to his brother-in-law, and turned again to the children, a smile lighting up his features.

“He will come.” He said. There was a collective sigh of relief from the children. Dusak came up behind Valkin and gave them a grin.

“j hesik flenitt.” (I want adventure.) He said, “demis de aknef.”  (This place is dull.) Mary and Valkin laughed with Dusak, but the boys gave a confused smile to the group. Quickly, Mary translated, and soon Vinea joined them and let Dusak know that she had made dinner for all of them. She looked at the three children and smiled.

“I made enough for them, too.” She said. Justin and Duncan both rubbed their stomachs, hungry at just the mention of food; they hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, let alone dinner.

During dinner, Duncan leaned over to Valkin.

“How many elves ken our language?” he asked. Valkin thought awhile.

“Well, all the Elves in the castle must know your language or they can’t get a job here. There’s a few others milling about, and most Elfin school children are taught it as a second language, but with communicating, we mostly speak in elfin tongue.” He said. Duncan sat back in his chair, satisfied with an answer, but Justin now turned to Valkin.

“Can we, Duncan and I, learn it?” he asked. Valkin looked at him with a smile.

“Anyone who’s willing enough can.” He said. Justin was also satisfied.

The conversations continued, but altogether too soon, Valkin arose from his seat and said that it was time to go.

After an affectionate farewell from Valkin and Dusak to Vinea, the group left.

The Silver Flower: Chapter Two

Have fun reading the next chapter!

Chapter Two: The Kingdom

  Mary gasped, and her hand gently reached out and touched the beautiful thing.

“It be so pretty.” She said, her eyes shining. “Where did Old Elliot get it?” Justin’s eyes smiled at her.

“He got it from an elf. I dinnae ken which elf, fer their be quite a lot.” He said. Mary smiled.

“I’d like to meet the elf tha’ made this. Maybe if I became its friend, it’d make me one.” She said, fingering the delicate artwork. Justin smiled.

“Well, we may, we just may, meet the elf tha’ made it. But we need to get started findin’ the elf, before it be too late. Remember, this is a warnin’ note. Shetta Gloriheem, whoever that be, be in great danger until we let it know it’s in trouble.” He walked towards the door.

“Where do we start?” Duncan asked. Justin stopped and turned around.

“I dinnae ken. Where do ye think we ought to start, Mary.” He directed his question at his younger sibling. She thought for a moment.

“I ken tha’ elves like rings of stones, so why don’t we make a ring of stones, deep in the forest, and sit in the middle to wait fer the Magical Folk to find us. They will  ye ken, they’ve eyes everywhere.” She said all this quickly, unlike her usual behavior, and her brothers listened carefully. “Also, we mustn’t, under any circumstance, fall asleep inside the circle, if we do, then the elves will kidnap us and bring us into their own land, they dinnae like children to meddle w’ things they consider sacred, and we be children.”

After this the three children secured permission to explore the wood behind their house, and they quickly found the much needed clearing. It was more difficult to find all the stones they needed, but they busily searched for them until the circle was complete except for one stones worth. As much as they searched, they could not find another stone. Suddenly, Duncan put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the stone he had found in his shoe. It fit perfectly. The children sat down inside the middle of the ring of stones and waited in silence.

Darkness came and they all felt sleepy. Mary kept the boys awake by pinching them every once in a while.

The silence was suddenly broken by a multitude of tiny voices. All three were instantly wide awake, adrenaline surging through their veins. The voices came closer, and soon the children realized that they were surrounded. Small torches were lit, and they began to be able to see the host of Magical Folk in front of them. Their spokesmen came forward, an elf man of at least six feet. He held a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. He spoke to the children, his voice strong and brave.

“What are you doing in our wood, inside a sacred stone circle?” he asked in their language. Justin cleared his throat and looked at his sister. Mary stepped forward very carefully.

“Be any of you Glevanne Addets?” she asked quietly, her soft words flowing over the multitude. There was a session of whispering. The spokesman, after discussing a while, looked up at the children, his harsh voice softer.

“Glevanne is not with us at this moment, but he is one of us. How came you to know him?” He asked, his voice filled with honest curiosity. Mary was careful in her reply.

“We have only just heard of him.” She said. “We came here to look for him. I beg yer pardon fer not warnin’ ye, but we need to speak to this Glevanne Addets.” She spoke with a desperate earnestness as her eyes swept over the Magical Folk. Elves are not hard hearted, and they never like to see someone cry. Mary’s desperateness touched their hearts, so the spokesman went up to her gently, his hand rested on her knee.

“We know you are frustrated, why don’t you come to our kingdom and rest until Glevanne can meet you in private?” he asked, his tender eyes meeting Mary’s. A small smile of hope appeared on her face, and all the elves smiled as she did. Slowly arising to her feet, she allowed the spokesman to show them the way. They let the rest of the Magical Folk get a head start.

Soon, the elfish kingdom came into view. The sight of its beauty made all three children stop in awe. The spokesman assured them it was quite safe, and they took his word for it.

He looked at them approvingly, and beckoned them to follow him. He informed them that his name was Valkin Tredhale, and he was one of the king’s messengers. Justin walked next to him on one side, Mary on the other, and Duncan followed, warily scanning the crowd of elves following them. Valkin noticed his uneasiness.

“Haflit! Haflit! Gredha blettash koona Glevanne Addets!” He yelled. Immediately, the elves all backed away, in fear and awe. Justin looked quizzically at Mary.

“What did he say?” he asked in a loud whisper, forgetting that Valkin understood their language. Mary thought for a moment, her mind translating the elfin speech into something her brother would understand.

“Very roughly translated, he said something like this: ‘Back! Back! These are outsiders who want to visit Glevanne Addets!” She said, after a pause. Their guide looked at her in surprise.

“You know the language of our people?” he asked. Mary blushed

“Only a very wee bit,” She said honestly. “I was taught by an old man in our village that kenned yer people.” Valkin frowned slightly as they continued their journey up to the large castle. He turned suddenly to Mary.

“Do you know the meaning of my name?” he asked. Mary thought for a while, her lip between her teeth.

“Doon’t it mean somethin’ like Finch Moor?” she said after much consideration. Valkin looked at her, gazing deep into her eyes.

“Yes, it does. My name in your language would be that.” He removed his gaze and looked into the sky. “Your knowledge of our people is great. Who taught you these things?” Mary looked over her shoulder at Duncan, who gave a slight shake of his head.

“I would prefer not to say.” She said slowly. Valkin looked sharply at her again. Duncan, being at the back, was quiet through all of this, himself deep in thought. Hearing the name of their guide in his own language reminded him of something. If only he could remember what. It came to him at last, during one of the random days at Old Elliot’s house, they were talking about the Magical Folk, and the old man mentioned how their name system worked! He had remembered. Excitedly, he tapped Valkin’s shoulder. The guide turned.

“I think I ken how yer names work!” he said. Valkin raised an eyebrow.

“You do?” he asked. Duncan nodded vigorously.

“Aye! It be like this: First names of boys be either the names o’ trees, the names o’ water, or the names o’ birds. First names of girls be either the names o’ flowers, animals or berries. Last names are land formations like mountains or valleys. Am I right?” He said all of this in a rush, to get it out before he forgot again. Valkin listened silently as Duncan’s words came out in a tumbled fashion. These humans were like none other he had ever watched. It made him feel glad that some of their kind still cared enough to teach the younger generation about his people. After Duncan’s flow of words stopped with his breathless question, Valkin smiled.

“Yes, you are right.” He replied, and continued leading the three children up to the castle, himself still puzzling over the children’s knowledge of the Magical Folk.

They at last reached the massive gate of the castle. Valkin walked up to it fearlessly and slapped it with the flat of his hand as hard as he could. Justin, Duncan, and Mary winced as the sound vibrated through the castle.

Here is a teaser for another book I'm writing: The Silver Flower

Sorry, nothing much happening in the Eddy Household, (actually, we've just put on a missions conference at our church so in reality, we've been crazy busy, but that's beside the point), on to the subject at hand: *clears throat* I have decided it is high time that I make another blog post on one of my stories. (By the way, 'ken' means 'know' and 'dinnae' means 'don't' in Scottish brogue, which is what most of the characters speak since it is a story in Scotland, so in case you're confused...hopefully you aren't now! :)
So...ready or not, here it comes:

Chapter One: The Message

It all began when Justin and Duncan, the blacksmith’s twin sons were taking a walk down to the small Scottish village on the edge of a great forest. Duncan asked if he could sit down to remove a stone from his shoe, and his brother let him. As he removed the annoying stone, Justin saw a scrap of paper with strange markings written on it, on the ground beside him. He picked it up, shoved it into his pocket to look more closely at it later, and promptly forgot all about it. 

Once home, Duncan reminded his forgetful brother, and they took it out to study it further. After looking at it closely, they figured out this:

Glevanne Addets

j klos gresu digumsy defletsu yesfes shera

tu Shetta Gloriheem

They puzzled over this for a while.

“What sort o’ language be it?” Duncan asked. Justin merely shook his head.

“I dinnae ken. Could be fairy talk, or maybe elfish.” He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. “All I can make oot be two names. See here?” he pointed to the top and bottom of the message. “It say ‘Shetta Gloriheem’ an’ ‘Glevanne Addets’ plain as anythin’. Unless it be the name o’ a place, which also be possible.” Duncan was pleased at the progress his brother had made.

“Do we ken anyone in the village tha’ kens the language o’ the Wee Folk?” he asked. Justin looked up, his eyes brightening.

“Aye! I’ll bet Old Elliot ‘ould ken it, he knows more languages than any other in our village! If anyone ‘ould ken t’would be him. Let’s go an’ talk w’ him.” Quickly, before any could stop them, the two boys rushed down the street.

Justin and Duncan were special friends with the old man, him being almost a second father to them, and his knowledge of the Magical Folk was invaluable to the boys. They spent many happy afternoons listening to the retired hunter’s accounts with fairies, elves, dwarfs, and talking animals. (though these were so rare, that Old Elliot had only one story of them.)

The old man’s house soon came into view, and skidding to a halt, the boys let out a whoop, their traditional greeting, to let him know they were there. Almost immediately there was a response, and Old Elliot came into view. His wrinkled face broke out into a smile as he recognized them, and he ushered them into his home.

“Young Justin and Duncan, what a pleasure to see ye lads. What brings ye here on such a fine afternoon to see an old man like me?” He said, sitting them down on a few of the chairs he brought over to the table. Their eyes shone, and Justin spoke first.

“Mr. Elliot, sir, my brother and I found this scrap o’ paper aside the road, and we be thinkin’ ‘tis fairy or elfish, but we dinnae ken fer sure. Be we right?” he set the paper down on the table, and watched as the old man looked at it closely, his eyes squinting to see the small letters. After a long while, he motioned the boys closer.

“Aye, ‘tis Elfish. Ye be verra lucky to’ve found it lads. Not many do. Keep yer eyes oot, and ye may be seein’ some elf folk.” The twins exchanged a look, hardly daring to hope.

“What be it sayin’?” asked Justin. Old Elliot got out some of his own paper, and found a quill and ink. He set it down near the paper and began to explain what the elfish message said.

“These first two words be a name: Glevanne Addets. Doon a line be the message: the lower case ‘j’ could be ‘I’ or ‘me’, I be thinkin’ ‘tis ‘I’, fer the ‘j’ be lower case. Then is ‘klos gresu’ which be ‘be sayin’ or ‘be comunicatin’. Next be ‘digumsy difletsu’ which be ‘take warnin’ or ‘take heed’. Following this is ‘yesfes shera’ which is ‘ye be’ and ‘in danger’. Lastly, ‘tu’ which is simply ‘to’ an’ ‘Shetta Gloriheem’ which is also a name. Altogether this note says, roughly translated:

“From Glevanne Addets. I be tellin’ ye to take warnin’ fer ye be in danger. To Shetta Gloriheem.”

“So this here note be a warnin’ from an elf to an elf. The next thing I’d do is find the elf tha’ this here belongs to an’ warn it as soon as possible.” He finished this and looked at the boys gravely. Justin and Duncan paid close attention to what Old Elliot said, and when he finished, they sat in silence for a little while.

“How should we go aboot findin’ the elfish folk?” asked Duncan, breaking the stillness. Old Elliot smiled.

“Ah, noo tha’ ye’ll have to find oot fer yerselves. I found them by accident, but it’ll likely be different fer ye. The Magical Folk, elves included, like the human world to niver ken what they be up too. Ye’ll likely be surprised at whichever way they decide to let you find them, fer ye will be found, there be noo doubt aboot tha’. The best way is to keep yer eyes open, and yer ears sharp. The best o’ luck to ye boys, here be a token to keep w’ ye always. An elfish folk gave tha’ to me, an’ said tha’ it’d protect me from the spells o’ the evil wishers in my life.” He placed a small silver pendant in Justin’s hand as he spoke. It was in the shape of a small flower. They thanked him, Justin slipping the silver flower into his pocket. They bid the old man a fond farewell, and headed back to their home.

Justin walked a little ahead of Duncan, his brow furrowed, deep in thought.

When they arrived home, they were greeted by their younger sister, Mary. She was a small wisp of a girl. Delicate, some may have called her, but her brothers had a fierce sense of protection over her, and she was the one person other than Old Elliot they knew would keep their secrets.

“Ye be late.” She said quietly, a small smile on her face. Justin put a finger to his lips, a silent indication that he held a secret. She quickly repeated the same sign back to him, letting him know that she would keep silent on the matter until a safer time. The siblings exchanged knowing smiles, and they walked into their home together. Mrs. Grant was preparing their supper. She paused as the boys and Mary walked in.

“It be aboot time yer here.” She said, proudly watching her sturdy boys sit down and begin to fill their plates with the hearty dishes she had prepared. “I be hopin’ ‘t’ain’t cold.”  The twins uttered hasty apologies, and waited with folded hands for their father to arrive. Mr. Grant, the village blacksmith, soon came, and he to hurriedly washed his hands, removing his work apron. Sitting down at last, after kissing his wife and daughter on the forehead, his way of thanking them for the meal, the meal started. It consisted of potatoes, fresh greens from the family’s garden, corn bread, and salted pork. The boys quickly filled up as more and more of the good food found its way into their mouths, and were soon unable to eat any more. They left the table after having obtained permission, and Mary watched her brothers go before beginning to clean up after the meal. Mrs. Grant also watched them go, her eyes darkening.

“They be up to somethin’, Steven.” She said to her husband, as he finished his supper. Pausing, Mr. Grant’s eyes met Mrs. Grant’s and stayed there.

“Aye, I ken. Doon’t they always be up to somethin’?” he asked. Mrs. Grant sighed and nodded her head. Mr. Grant smiled at her. “Let them be, they’ll outgrow adventure soon enough. I did, but before my adventurous spirit died it led me to you.” He stood and engulfed his wife in a hug. “And ye ken yer worth it.” Mrs. Grant smiled, her husband’s words reassuring her. Supper was soon over with, and Mary went up to her brother’s room as soon as she could. They let her in, closing the door softly behind her.

“What be yer secret?” she asked, her eyes alight with curiosity. Justin and Duncan showed her the note. She read it quickly. “It be an elfish message. A warning.” Her brother’s mouths dropped open.

“Ye ken elfin talk?” Duncan asked. Mary blushed.

“Only a wee bit. Old Elliot showed me one summer.” Justin whistled.

“Would ye like to come w’ us in our search fer the elf this belongs to?” he asked. Mary eyed him suspiciously.

“Be ye askin’ me only because I ken elfin language?” she asked. The two shook their heads.

“Nay!” Duncan burst scornfully. “Ye ken we were goin’ to ask ye anyhow. We always like yer help when it comes to finding things.”  Mary’s temporary frown turned into a smile.

“Then I be comin’.” She said. The twins grinned at her. Justin put his hand in his pocket suddenly.

“If ye be comin’, then ye need to know what Old Elliot gave us to keep us safe during our trip.” He pulled out the pendant.

Deepest apologies for the bad spelling, I've been making up the elf's language as I go, and the main characters are Scottish. :)