`I seriously doubt that she would... Wait...'
He touches his temple on the left side of his head. It seems Ghaubel has noticed us, and now she is speaking to them through magical means.
`Well?' I ask.
`You can go.' says the guard after a while, and he orders the others to step aside.
They open the large door for us, and we enter. We pass through the small courtyard and arrive at the main entrance of the fortress. Sil Velies is a large, massive structure, made of fairly simple architecture, but constructed to withstand massive attacks. No wonder Mel' was never able to take this place. Ghaubel's magical power combined with the construction of these walls has been a steady obstacle in Mel's path. I think once Mel' even sent around a hundred dragons here at a time, and they couldn't break through.
As we arrive at the main gates of the fortress, the door slowly opens, and a night elf woman appears in the doorframe. Clad in a spectacular purple silk gown, she approaches us slowly. Her long black hair flutters in the gentle wind. The little bitch truly is a beautiful sight. Except for that annoyed look on her face...
`What are you doing here, Zack?' she asks, getting straight to the point. So straightforward. I always liked that about her.
`Won't you even say hi?' I ask, smiling.
She frowns, and then she looks at Flora. The frown fades from her face, and genuine interest occupies it instead.
`Well, now. I rarely see you in the company of my kind.' she says to me.
`Yeah, I know. But that's not my fault, mind you...'
`Right...' she says, then she turns to Flora. `Who might you be?'
`I'm Flora.'
`Why are you hanging out with this... this... I don't know what to call him, really. No word is crude enough for that.'
`Ghaubel, come on!' I exclaim. `Are you still angry at me?'
`What do you think, Zack?' she asks.
`Listen, regardless of all of that, I need you to help me out. If you recall, you owe me. Why don't we settle your debt today?'
She eyes me with suspicion, and then frowns.
`So be it. Follow me. I assume you want something only I can give, right?'
She turns around and walks back into the stronghold, not even waiting for my answer. We follow her. She leads us straight ahead through a set of corridors towards the chamber she calls the Observation Room. As we get close, I whisper to Flora.
`Pay attention to the ceiling.'
She nods, and shortly after Ghaubel leads us into the chamber.
The Observation Room is a large, circular chamber, with a very strikingly decorated ceiling. The ceiling is covered by what seems like a painting of Draconia. But it is much, much more than that.
`Alright, Zack! What do you want?'
`Find me a mage, Ghaubel!'
`What kind of mage?'
`All I know, is that his name is Drabangar. He hangs out with the lizardman bounty hunter Grenshaur. They have met several times in Draconia. I'm sure you can find him.'
She sighs.
`You're not giving me a lot to start with. This won't be easy.'
`I don't care if it's hard. As long as you can do it, it's fine by me.'
`Oh, alright! Go, go, get out of here! I need to be alone for this. You're breaking my concentration.'
`Oh, am I?' I ask, smiling.
She frowns.
`Why don't you just go eat something in the kitchen while I look around. I'm sure you can find it.'
`Thanks, I'm full. But if you have some coffee...'
*
Flora and I walk out of the Observation Room and I try to guide her to Ghaubel's kitchen. After some wandering around, I finally find it. I kick the door open and we walk in.
`Want some, coffee?' I ask, as I start rummaging around in the cupboard.
`What?' asks Flora.
`Never mind. I'm sure you wouldn't like it... Eh, fuck it, she doesn't have any!'
I sit down on one of the chairs and rub my eyes.
`What is she doing in there?' asks Flora.
`Did you see the ceiling?'
`Yes. A well detailed painting of Draconia.'
`It's not a painting, actually. It's a birds eye view of Draconia.'
`What?'
`You know, it's quaint how they call her a witch, when she's not exactly an all powerful wizard. She's not your typical night elf, actually. She doesn't like to do her dirty work herself much. She never even bothered to learn how to fight. Well, she can fight with a staff, but she's not too good with it. Even with magic, she was lazy to evolve to a high level.
However, the few things she can do with her mind, she can do extremely well. For example, she can briefly charm powerful creatures, and make them do her bidding. Even dragons. For another thing, she's a scryer. A damn good one. As far as I know, the best elf scryer alive. Sewareld Worriil was very proud of her at a time, and rightfully so! You see, with the help of that magical painting you've seen, she is able to see everything in Draconia.'
`Everything?'
`Yes. Everything. Everything that happens now, and everything that happened within the past month. Yes, you heard that right, she can even see past events, although only as far back as roughly a month. She cannot see through walls, but she sees everything that takes place on the surface. That's what makes her so hard to beat.
I don't know how much you know about her past, but she came here around four centuries ago at the order of Sewareld Worriil. Back then, a powerful night elf warlord reigned over this place. He was considered a traitor, as he was one of the first to make a pact with the dragons at the time when the lessers of Draconia wanted to break away from Ess'yer.
Worriil knew Ghaubel's powerful scrying skills well, that's why he chose her to be the one he'd send here to take over. He wanted her to reestablish the link between Ess'yer and Draconia, to take a hold in Draconia once again, so that they could strike back at the dragons. Ghaubel did in fact kill the warlord, but she doublecrossed everyone. Both the dragons and Worriil. She took over, but she proclaimed that she'd bow to no-one.
Worriil slowly accepted his bitter defeat, and decided to simply abandon her to Mel's dragons. He actually hoped to be the laughing third who could eventually watch Ghaubel and Mel' destroy each other. He wasn't so lucky. Without his support, Ghaubel had no real power to go on the offensive. Mel' has been trying to take down Ghaubel for the past four centuries, and she can't do it because the fortress is so fucking well defended. But Ghaubel can't counterattack, she doesn't have enough resources. The surrounding elven settlements are under her rule and protection, but that's it. She cannot expand her territory. So, it's a stalemate here. What she has been doing in fact, is waiting for Mel' to attack Ess'yer, thinking she could eventually watch Mel' and the Supreme Council weaken each other, and then be the laughing third who would strike at the right moment and steal the victory. That's why she's been so contempt with simply holding her ground for so long.
Do you know why it is that she can hold her ground so well with such few troops around? You know, she only has around fifty soldiers or so at the fortress, but there is place enough to keep around five hundred here. With her scrying skills, she can see if Mel's army mounts an attack, and she is able to summon many more troops from the settlements in her little land through magical means well before the dragons could reach the stronghold.
The way she can tell if an army of dragons fly towards this fortress, she will also know exactly where they intend to strike. She can take countermeasures beyond the summoning of additional troops, such as charming a few of the dragons. Mel' simply can't risk to send her entire army here at once, so Ghaubel only ever has to contend with a few dozen dragons at most. With the tactics she can employ, she usually has the battle won by the time the dragons arrive here. Yeah, she's that good.
And you know what? She can even trace magic patterns. Powerful mages often have a specific aura around them. Something that can be recognized, and traced. She will find one of the places where
this Drabangar guy met up with Grenshaur, and then she will trace the sucker to his lair. She may not be able to see into his lair, but she will find it. That's all we need.'
`Can she really do that?'
`Absolutely.'
`Do you expect her to actually do it?'
`Yeah! Why?'
`She wasn't particularly pleased to see you.'
`No, she wasn't. She hates me.'
`Now there's something new...'
`No, I mean she really hates me. You see, Ghaubel and I had a relationship a little over two hundred years ago.'
`Are you joking with me? You and her?'
`Yeah, it was a mistake, but I was young. Anyway, it only lasted a short time, until she found out that I taught her brother about the Dark Arts. She and her brother had an argument about black magic and they've not been on speaking terms ever since. She blames me for that to this day. She was furious when she found out that I was the one who taught him black magic. That's when we broke up. Though I guess we'd have broken up anyway eventually. She's a real bitch...'
`She has a brother?'
`Yeah. His name's Eric.'
`Eric? You don't mean Eric Shyrn, do you?'
`I do. Eric Shyrn and Ghaubel are brother and sister.'
`What?!'
`Well, it's not exactly common knowledge. Not even Worriil knew. But it's still true. It's a funny story actually. You see, she and her brother have been quite ambitious since they were born and hatched a plot to take control of the elven nation from Worriil. Ghaubel, or as she was known at birth, Chiara Shyrn, was born a very gifted scryer. Her talent showed itself at a very young age. With skills like that she could have risen to a powerful position swiftly, but she decided to keep her power secret. She and Eric were thinking that if no-one knows that they are related then they can both fight their way into powerful positions independently, and while one of them openly betrays Worriil and keeps pressure on the old sucker, the other one can seemingly stay loyal to him and stab him in the back at a crucial moment.
So, Chiara Shyrn took up the name of her grandmother, becoming known as Chiara Ghaubel, or just plain Ghaubel. Then she showed the world how good a scryer she is and she became one of Worriil's most trusted lackeys. Meanwhile, Eric joined the Enforcers and slowly fought his way up the ladder aiming to one day become Worriil's right hand man. Then came the time when Ghaubel betrayed Worriil. The old loser tried hard to deal with her for over a century but he couldn't get the job done. Then Eric finally made it to be the Commander of the Enforcers and Worriil was glad to have such a skilled and tenacious right hand man, not suspecting that he was the traitor's brother. Just as Eric and Ghaubel had planned all along.
The plan was that Eric would eventually manipulate Worriil into going after Ghaubel personally, and then when Worriil least expects it, Eric would betray him such that he and Ghaubel could kill him and take over. Of course, none of this could happen after Ghaubel got so pissed off at Eric for studying the Dark Arts that she outright refuses to talk to him ever since... Well, her loss, ha ha! Now Worriil's dead, Eric took his place and while he can't make much use of his new title, it's Ghaubel who really saw nothing from this shift in power in the end. As I said, her loss, ha!'
`How would you know all this? And... You taught Eric Shyrn about the Dark Arts?! How could you?!'
`I know all this because she told me in her rage when she told me to fuck off two centuries ago. As for Eric, I taught him because he was a talented kid.' I tell her, shrugging my shoulders.
`How the Hell could you teach black magic to an asshole like him?!'
`He's not that much of an asshole. He's got some admirable qualities, actually.'
`You're completely fucking insane...' she says, shaking her head.
`Nah, I just like to have fun! Teaching him was a fun little experiment, to see if I could actually pass on the knowledge I have. It worked better than I expected. But I felt it was a boring process, so I likely won't do it again.'
`You really could have chosen another student.'
`Nah, why? Eric was so willing, and what do I care if I pissed Ghaubel off with it?'
`If she hates you so much, why would she help you?'
`Many years ago, she needed some... professional help. I mean, the assistance of a black magician. She did not want to ask her brother, so she called me instead, despite all the ill feelings she has for me. I helped her, and told her that in exchange, I would want a favor in return, sometime in the future. She agreed. I never asked for anything, I didn't need her help. But now, the favor she owes me comes in handy.'
`Do you think she can be trusted?'
`Nah, not really. But she will keep her word in this case, I'm sure.'
`Right.' says Flora with a frown, and then she sits down.
`Tell me something.' she continues. `From what you tell me, it seems to me that she dislikes black magic.'
`That she does, just like nearly all night elves.'
`This is what I'd like to know. What is the reason night elves abandoned black magic? Do you know?'
`As a matter of fact, I do. I suppose you're asking because you don't. Am I correct?'
`Yes. Night elves refuse to talk about it to anyone. Even to wood elves.'
`True enough, they try to keep it secret. I only know because Eric told me. When he asked me to teach him, I wanted to know why he wanted to learn the Dark Arts in the first place, given how his kind despise the Dark Arts.
So he told me all about that old tale. Ages ago, when magic was discovered, elves were among the first to master the Arcane Arts. When black magic was discovered not much later, the elves tried that, too. In time, this lead to the separation of wood elves and night elves. Night elves slowly started to change.
They turned pale and sickly. They had great magical power, but they became very fragile. This prompted them to change their lifestyles, adopting an ancient philosophy of war: the purity of body, mind, and soul. They sought to improve themselves in every aspect imaginable. Over time, they overcame their sickness and their weakness. A thousand years after the separation, they were the masters of close combat.
You'd think adopting that philosophy was a great improvement. Indeed, it was. But they never stopped to pursue black magic. They sought to become great fighters and great mages at the same time, and they still saw more in black magic than in arcane magic.
As eons passed, black magic became a part of them. For some reason, it effected them in a totally different way than humans. Before they realized it, they became dependent on black magic energy. It was like a drug. They needed more and more of it. It started to drive them insane.
The ones that had been practicing the Dark Arts for longest, started having delusions, hallucinations. They thought they could gain more black magic energy by eating the brains of other black magicians. They started hunting younger night elves. They killed them, cracked their skulls open, and ate their brains. The dumbass cannibals thought they'd grow stronger. Of course it didn't work.
They started growing more and more insane, until they finally turned on each other. They were still very sure that the brains of other night elves were the key to greater power. The fact that it didn't work made them think they needed the brains of more powerful black magicians, and that's why they started slaughtering each other.
In the end, only one was left standing. When he realized that this brain-eating thing just doesn't want to work, he went incurably insane. In a mad rampage, he started slaughtering any and every night elf he came across. Until eventually, he was killed.'
`Bloody night elves... It doesn't even surprise me...' says Flora.
`Well, it's not their fault that the elven body has such an inconvenient reaction to being exposed to black magic energy for long. Anyway, thousands of night elves died during this time of cannibalism. The survivors clearly understood that if they don't abandon black magic, they, too, will end up as delusional, runamock madmen eventually. They were disgusted by the events that took plac
e, and so they abandoned the Dark Arts forever. The past was buried forever and kept a deep, dark secret.'
`Eric Shyrn told you all of this?'
`Yeah. I made him tell me, in exchange for my tutelage.'
`If he knew all this, why would he choose to pursue the Dark Arts?'
`He thinks he can avoid this fate. He thinks that he can augment his body such that these ill effects will not appear in him.'
`Has he succeeded?'
`I have no idea, but if he's still alive in a couple of thousand years, it will become clear, haha!'
Suddenly, I hear some footsteps from outside, and shortly afterwards Ghaubel appears in the door.
`Come to the Observation Room.' she says. `I think I found something.'
*
We enter the Observation Room, and Ghaubel points to the ceiling.
`There, Zack! That's what you're looking for.'
The ceiling now shows the lively image of a large clearing in a forest. There is some old abandoned crypt in the center of it.
`That was quick!' I tell her. `Where is it?'
`In the western edge of Draconia.' replies Ghaubel.
`Are you sure that's him?'
`Yes. Whoever hides in there has met Grenshaur three times in the past month. This is whom you seek.'
`How did you find him?'
`Let me spare the details, alright? Just get out of here already! I tire of your company...'
`Oh, I see, you did it so fast just so I'd leave sooner, huh?'
`What do you think, Zack?'
`Alright, we're leaving. But just so you know, if that ain't the guy we're looking for, I'll be back!'
`Don't worry Zack. He's the guy you want. Absolutely certainly, he's the guy you want...'
The artifact
Somewhere in Draconia, present day (1 day and 13 hours before Twilightfall)
Ghaubel showed me the exact location from a bird's eye view, and then Flora and I left Sil Velies. I teleported us to the designated location, and now here we are, just a short way from the entrance of the crypt.
Twilightfall Page 10
