by Beaux Riley
…The unfortunate death of Lizoke Adestrin is a loss to us all…
“If only they knew.” Asa thought to himself. He looked up and noticed as they passed, each guard brought themselves to attention. Kimura and Caliya seemed highly invested in their conversation, which was too low for Asa to listen in on.
As the three men continued to follow Kimura and Caliya slowly up the stairway, Asa motioned to Crowlis and Cray. The two had been too preoccupied with the sights.
“I think we need to have a discussion about our absence from the world. The Ela’syn could spread word of our being less than dead.” Said Asa.
“Perhaps having a society to back our cause will allow us to come back to life?” Asked Cray. “Alone, I get it. We’re unsupported by the guardians at Midian. We’re guests there. We could really make a turn around here.”
“Wouldn’t it be good to be able to tell our families that we’re alive?” Crowlis added to Cray’s point. Cray acknowledged this, lightly tapping the taller paladin’s chest. Crowlis gave the slightest smile.
“My father is the only family I have. He’d never talk about my mother.” Said Asa, now looking towards the elf Princess and the lone paladin chatting. “How about you two?”
“Lizoke is my adopted cousin. Her family is also all I have left.” Said Cray. Each of them considered the bizarre librarian. She’d always been off in her own world, stuck in a book, or genuinely not trying to be aware of the world she was in. It made sense now.
“She’s surrounded by her people here.” Said Crowlis.
“I’m sure they’d have come to claim her within all this time.” Cray then stopped for a moment in realization before running up the staircase to catch up to Crowlis and Asa. The four finally made up to the throne room’s entrance.
The group came together, only to be stopped by the royal guard. Several elves dressed in black armor and helms held the paladins and the Princess from proceeding to the inner sanctum of the wooden castle.
"The King has asked you to bring Kimura and Kimura alone to the council meeting within." Verroth Windplain, the captain of the Royal Guard of Ela'syn stood between Caliya and the other paladins from proceeding.
"Why should they be excluded, Captain?" Said Caliya.
"Our Lord has simply requested this as Kimura is a Vathran and knows of the situation better than his students." The captain stated, trying to be kind in his words. Verroth's brown hair could be seen through his black helmet, which had been in the shape of an eagle's head. He stepped aside, giving clear invitation to Caliya and Kimura, who had remained silent until this point.
"If this is the only way to gain an audience with King Dawnsent, I'll abide. But I am not the leader of the Paladine. I am a teacher." Said Kimura to the captain.
"I've no control over this, Paladin." Verroth said, his polearm pointing towards the inner sanctum.
"Asa, everyone, just follow their instructions. This is their home, we're visitors here." Said Kimura. Asa gave an uncomfortable nod, which Kilo scoffed and tapped Asa on the shoulder.
"If these people know anything about beverages, we ought to get some. This entire situation has me angry." Kilo said to Asa in a whisper. He raised his thumb in acknowledgement. As the teacher and Princess were escorted by the guard, the doors to the inner sanctum were closed and the guard returned to their positions. Verroth, however, returned to them. He focused his attention to Asa.
"I presume you are the leader of this group. We have some escorts who would be happy to show you around Ela'syn." Verroth motioned and several servant-looking types wearing tight black clothing that showed off many of the females’ figures. A total of three elves and one who was not an elf. The group was entirely surprised to see someone other than an elf present among them, a dwarf.
"This is Milla. She is one of the few survivors of Stoneholt. She'll be showing you around as well." Verroth bowed and went back to his duties. Milla stood no higher than four feet in height which was quite obvious by the escorts she’d accompanied. Angaea bowed to her and was quickly met with that same gesture from Milla.
"I’ve always wanted to meet your people, Madam Milla.” Angaea said excitedly. Her disposition changed right at that moment. She reached out for Milla’s hands and held them tightly shaking them up and down. Milla continued to listen to the overly ecstatic Angaea. “I heard so much about dwarven craft and architecture. You have some amazing people from your race to construct a place like…Oh I am sorry, I prattled off again.”
“Worry not. Stoneholt was a thing of beauty. It’s taken me a few years and a bit of talks with the elves here to come to terms.” Said Milla, patting the top of Angaea’s hands.
“So you have some kind of interest in building, Angie?” Jaya prodded at Angaea. Jaya had her hair ruffled by Angaea in a manner of endearment.
“It was my love, as much as Lizoke over here likes to read and write.” Angaea said, waving her hand down the staircase, memorizing its design wither her fingers. Milla motioned them over, bringing Angaea to her attention.
“As Verroth over there was sayin’, let’s get acquainted with this big city.” Said Milla. “Now where to begin…”
“I’ll take a stiff drink, if my weak counterpart here can keep up.” Kilo slapped Asa hard on his back, making him turn towards the silver-haired woman in anger. Milla laughed whole-heartedly.
“I think you and I’ll get along great, lass. What’s your name then?” Ask Milla.
“Kilo Dans Thou. It’s a pleasure.” The two greeted one another. Milla took the two down to what ended up being her living quarters. A small ways from the massive staircase that the royalty resided, were the servants quarters and what appeared to be modest space to live. Trees much larger than anything Kilo or Asa had ever seen, now surrounded them. A stone pathway that lead to the stairway behind them now pushed itself all the way into a slope. The citizens of Ela'syn lived in some hollowed out trees, while others lived in homes built onto the higher reaches of the elder trees. To bring some perspective of the circumference of these homes, Asa believed it would take at least four people holding hands around the base of the Oaks just to get around it.
Milla's home was happy at the middle of a tree's height. They were required to climb a ladder to enter it, which it wasn't too much trouble. Within her home contained two beds, a small table and random belongings, including a modest library of ten or twenty books. Kilo noted to herself to not let Lizoke anywhere near Milla as to not have the dwarf swamped with literature.
Milla walked over to her bed and opened what looked to be a hollow hiding place. As Asa and Kilo looked around, they could see remnants of Stoneholt's glory. Gold creations of small dwarves, jewels and what looked to be a crown. Kilo dared not ask if it was Kaydren's as it hung from a nail in the wall.
A small portrait that was clearly a painting of two dwarves revealed itself to be Milla and seven other dwarves. Kilo stared deeply into the portrait. The dwarves seemed happy. They were dressed in formal wear, emblazoned with emeralds, rubies and generally showing off the treasures they'd mined from the mountain city. Milla stood out in the picture. Her hair was braided like a halo around her head and she was dressed in a white robe, smiling. Kilo looked at the woman that stood before them now, seeing a sense of depression, although it was well hidden to the untrained eye.
"So lads, a drink?" She plopped down two golden goblets, beside a silver one. Milla took from a jar in her other hand and popped the cork open. The smell of soot and burnt food came from the contents of the jar. It reminded Kilo of overly cooked apples. The color of the mystery liquid was green and looked more appealing than it smelled, which the normal case with most drinks was as Kilo remembered it.
“Ick." Asa coughed a bit as the contents of the goblet travelled down his throat. He did his best not to choke any of it out or cough. Kilo laughed uncontrollably and she took a dive in it herself. She made the same sound, but this time it was after she took a long drink. Both Asa and Kilo felt warmth flood their ski
n.
"Good eh? It's my family's recipe for apple cider. Strong apple cider. Actually ridiculously strong rotgut with apples thrown in at some point." Milla took a couple of swigs of her own cup to no effect of Asa or Kilo. The two looked at one another.
"She's clearly not of this world." Said Asa.
"Scarier than the Char." Joked Kilo. Milla laughed a half-hearted laugh.
"Milla, do you mind if I ask you a question about Stoneholt?" Said Asa, taking another swig from the cup. He gagged again, still not getting used to the potency of her unusual beverage. She looked up at him, her eyes were hazy and she was slow to respond to him.
"I think you can have that courtesy." She said, not knowing what to expect.
"Why did Kaydren murder every dwarf during the Char's occupation? What could he have meant to gain from it?" Asked Asa. The words were sharp and she lowered her head for a moment and rubbed her face with her free hand. She scratched her chin and began to speak.
"Immortality. Or the means to gain it, if you will." Said Milla. "It was a legend among all dwarves. I doubt any of you would have ever come close to knowing about it. There are objects in this world that were lost long, long ago. The greatest treasure in all of Ethra, was the Blood Diamond.
"A diamond mined by slaves doesn't seem all that legendary. No offense." Said Kilo as she didn't watch her tongue in the slightest.
"It's the contents inside the diamond that make it valuable, paladin." Said Milla. "It contains the blood of a god." Asa and Kilo stopped drinking and slowly sat their cups down. "Aha, so that got your attentions? Yes, I believe that is what the sisters promised him. Why would any man who could become a god himself, care for anyone but his own well-being?"
***
"...And that is what lead to this meeting, Kimura." Talus said to the lone paladin.
"That would make it far easier than getting myself arrested." Kimura said, agreeing with the dwarf. Talus pushed across the table they sat at with Illoke, Caliya and a few councilmembers, a jagged stone with red writing on it. Kimura had never seen something like this before. "Is this the 'rune magic' you spoke of?" He picked it up and eyed it until he saw a glow from his hand. It appeared to be draining away at his Light and Kimura immediately pushed it back at Talus.
"That my friend, is only a minor stone. Imagine a prison filled with these, lining the walls. You paladins would be dead within hours." Said Talus grimly.
"That's what awaits in Imrosyn?" Kimura finally asked, after several moments of feeling his hand numb. A small glow reassured him that his power was restored in his right hand.
"I helped build a couple hundred cells beneath the ground there. If, and I am drawing this line very hard, here, if you believe your paladin friends are there...they are not of any use to help you fight the Char." Talus returned the Rune to his jacket, eyeing Kimura.
Kimura crossed his arms, contemplating how to answer.
"This doesn't only affect you. If what Kaydren created in Stoneholt was really true. There is possibly a way the Char can supersede the totems they are dependent on now. I looked into it for the past year. It is possible to absorb elements like the Light and even the druidic power the Ela'syn." Talus said, noticing the unease of the elves. "I'm sorry, everyone. I am sorry for my brothers and sisters turning traitorous. Milla and I have sworn to bring them to justice..."
"You couldn't have known that it would come to this." Said Caliya.
"Daughter, are the troops ready?" Asked Illoke. Caliya nodded to her father.
"We can be ready to leave within the hour." Caliya proudly stated.
Kimura stood, followed by Talus.
"The entrance I told you about is on the eastern side of the city. It's an old mining shaft that has long since been abandoned. Assuming it isn't sealed off, I can open it with my runes." Said Talus. "We should be into the lower bowels of the prison with that tunnel, in only a few hours."
***
Angaea and Jaya had been escorted by an elf whose name they'd forgotten. She wore a tarp over her front. Jaya and spoken with her and learned that she was in charge of trimming some of the plants as well as helping grow the different fruits and vegetables of the forest. Immediately Jaya had taken fancy to the elf, leaving Angaea to sit and watch the two talk about plant life.
"This is the Sycussen root. Planting this with fruits actually helps strengthen the roots and makes the fruit the tree yield tastier treats." The elf spoke. Jaya brushed her hair aside and listened intently. "You've told me that you have many corn crops in Midian, correct?" Jaya nodded. "Then this might help you out. Depending on how much time the council takes with your friends, we can always come back to teaching you more lessons." The woman said, happily seeing Jaya in the gaze of a young child learning.
"How did the King manage to produce a bridge from the roots of the trees to Stoneholt?" Jaya immediately asked, trying to prioritize the right questions for her new teacher. The elf paused. She couldn’t think immediately on how to answer Jaya’s curious question.
“Illoke is of a long line of powerful sorcerers and druids. He can commune with nature in a way I’ve only dreamed of.” The elf said. “But you command something just as powerful, do you not?”
“I’m sorry, what’s your name?” Jaya asked, not directly trying to avoid the question.
“I prefer to be called by my nick-name. Een.” Een said giggling a bit.
“Yes, Miss Een, I control the Light.” Said Jaya.
“Through that, you can envelop the Light into plant life, can you not?” Asked Een.
Jaya wondered what Een meant by this question. She placed her hand on a plant, allowing the Light to draw from inside her. The plant instantly blossomed into a larger version itself.
“You made a simple tomato plant blossom in mere moments. Amazing.” Een said. “With others learning this, we can ensure we’ll never run low on food during the winters.”
“Something actually came good from my abilities in botany?” Jaya asked in amazement. The elf nodded. Angaea reached out to Jaya’s accomplishment and plucked a fresh red tomato. She ate it, noticing how well it tasted.
“Impressive.” Angaea said with half a mouth full of the fruit.
“Not practical for combat.” Said Crowlis. The three women looked at him with cold stares. He turned his head away, muttering to himself. “I’ll be wandering around a bit. See you two, soon.” Jaya waved Crowlis off without seeing where he was going.
Crowlis continued out of Ela’syn city, passed the hollering and hooting that came from Milla’s home with Asa and Kilo. Sounds of cheering and orders being shouted to the elves from the very top of the stairway could be heard on the wind.
***
The moonlight could be seen just barely through the trees as Crowlis looked closely. It had to be closer to midnight. He didn’t know how long he’d been wandering. It had to have been several hours at least. The forest was massive and the lights of the city, were too far to see. He had been using his Light as a means to see through the thickness of the forest.
All of a sudden, he turned to the sky and saw darkness. It was only a moment ago that the moon helped him as he wandered. The forest began to grow darker, until even the Light couldn’t keep him seeing in front of his own face.
“Who is there?!” Crowlis called out, reaching for his shield.
“A friend.” A figure called out next to his ear. Crowlis turned his head and saw nothing.
“Well, ‘friend’, do you have a name?” Crowlis continued to look around. His glowing orb in one hand and the shield at the ready, in the other.
“I’m the man your teacher sought for so long. I know what is to come. Call me…” The voice trailed off.
“Serict.” Said Crowlis, as he turned around to come face to face with the older man. His appearance began to change as the Light shown on his face, as though the magic was being absorbed by him. Serict’s outer appearance went from an older man to a man in his prime. The gray hair became a strong black and his wr
inkles disappeared.
“If I had prizes, you’d have won.” Serict wore completely black robes and a hood could be seen around his neck. “I know you are Averian. How’d you like to come back home, see your family and leave this false crusade?”
“I’d have wasted the last three years of my life for an easy way out.” Said Crowlis.
“You hide in the shadows, and yet you claim to control the Light. Kind of hypocritical, don’t you agree?” Serict argued.
“The Char would find me. They have the beacon…” Crowlis said contemplating.
“See, I can see it in you. You want to go home. There is so much about your power that your teacher has withheld. I alone, know the Light’s true purpose. I can free you of its grasp and allow you freedom. At a cost.” Serict offered his hand, no longer seeing Crowlis on the defensive.
“What cost?” Crowlis asked, the idea infesting his mind.
“You’ll help me kill Kimura, and I’ll free you. Moreover, they will.” Serict pointed behind Crowlis, and much to the paladin’s shock, he saw Vinesca and Sinesca standing very close to him.
“Hello, Archen.” Said Vinesca.
***
"I welcome each of you to this very unusual gathering." Said Illoke. "We have been presented with a crisis of substantial proportion. As the Char have grown in strength, through the means of the rune lords that have gone rogue, we are presented with a problem. I'll hear out everyone's opinion in resolving this, beginning with Talus."
There were a small number of people assigned to this meeting, mostly elven council members that Kimura had never formerly met, though Illoke, Caliya and Talus were all present directly to his opposite. They sat at a large round table, fit enough for twenty, but only seating six. The newer company included two elves who would be helping Talus from start to finish on the stealth invasion of Imrosyn. Mal’ka and Shaeth listened intently. They were quiet and it struck Talus unusual that they were twins. Both with short and neatly cut chestnut colored hair and eyes of deep blue. Their sharp faces and slender physiques were noted by Talus. His eyes tended to wander every elf he saw within the city. The only differences one could tell from either elf, was the partially missing left ear on Shaeth. It looked as though it had been cut off from a sharp blade. Talus considered this as one could not properly tell the ages of elves. He could be looking at someone who was a hundred or even thousands of years older than him.
