Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 09

He is not giving us guidance on everything, just enough to let us know where he would like us to go. We should start on those tunnels today or tomorrow at the latest."

The Copper King sighed and nodded, "It is never one of my kind being selected to be the champion. Maybe next time."

---

Mercian set his crystal down to the eye, "As the King likes to run operations without me or my input, I will be unreachable except through House Silvertree when I choose to contact them."

He looked at Mercian, "The King is not going to like that."

Mercian looked over, "He told me to go hunting. I cannot do that if he is scaring away the game."

Mercian got Anama'Losgadh and then mounted up, "We are going hunting."

Mercian went out of the shelter, "Deactivate."

Mercian teleported to the main gate. "Activate. He rode through with his bow in hand. He got several hundred yards down the road and turned into wood elf territory. They kept a good clip going. He slowed down and started listening. He detected four elves in the tree and one coming toward him on the ground. Still several hundred feet out. That one was on horseback.

He thought, "Do you know whose Horse is approaching?"

Mercian heard back, "Your cousin Zornna. The former Duchess you do not like."

Mercian sighed. They pressed forward and he tracked her position. She tried to circle and get in behind him. He finally sighed, "For a ranger, you are not very stealthy, cousin."

She did not answer. He thought, "Let us take her for a run."

Mercian heard laughter as Anama'Losgadh took off into the woods deeper. They cut through several thickets of trees. He saw a wood elf up in a tree.

He dimension doored up next to them, "She has you hunting me?"

The unidentified elven archer looked at him with a bow in hand, "She said you could not be trusted."

Mercian nodded, "Ask your elder or the hunting party I was with when we found the drow. She lost her title to her brother not because she cared about the woods. She lost it because she could give a shit about you, me, or anyone else. Telling the King there are too many of us. She wants a war to kill elves off in favor of the woods. Get your facts straight. That included keeping magical gear away from your militias. How much does she carry?"

She came riding into the area trying to figure out where he went. He looked down and her arrows were wet. He thought, 'Is she using poison.'

He dimension doored behind her on the ground. "Using poison these days? You know that is bad for the meat."

She turned to fire on him. Mercian dimension doored next to her and pulled her ass out of the saddle.

He signaled the one elf to come down. She rolled back and came up with a dagger and a sword. Mercian looked at her poisoned blades, "You should know I am immune to poison."

She swung at him wildly as he pushed her to the ground. "What is wrong with you?"

She rolled up and her thrusts had more purpose. He had yet to draw a weapon. She came in with an overhand slash while thrusting with her dagger.

Mercian grabbed her arm and broke it behind the elbow on her dagger arm. She seemed upset that her horse did not attack. Then she spotted his horse. She went for a throwing dagger with her sword hand. He took her to the ground. He manacled her hands together. Her dagger was back in her hands. Mercian took it from her and she had stabbed Anama'Losgadh with that throwing dagger as he saw the blood. He dimension doored next to her. She sent him a message, "So tired."

She went down. She was alive but unconscious. He went over and got his cousin. Mercian took her to Anama'Losgadh and teleported them both to Porzcosa. All activity stopped when he threw her down. The elder came out and Mercian looked at her, "She is using poison on the elven war horses. My horse wears reigns to protect from it but she still sleeps."

He handed him her dagger, "Her arrows were coated in it as was her sword and dagger. If my senses are not lost it is nightshade poison."

The elder looked at her and checked her scabbards and quiver. He shook his head, "What do you want to be done with her?"

Mercian sighed, "Tell the herd what she has done." He took the dagger and identified it.

He sighed, "Dagger of disease, like the sword of pestilence Charlus managed to survive. Just not a relic."

He walked over and teleported his horse to the church. Mercian looked at the acolyte, "I need someone who can remove the curse and cure disease. My horse got hit with a diseasing weapon."

He ran inside and came back with a cleric. He sat there and healed her up. 20 minutes later and she came out of it. Mercian helped Anama'Losgadh to get back to her feet.

He handed the dagger to the cleric, "Tell the Duke it was thrown by his sister. She is in Porzcosa in manacles. She also coated it them in nightshade poison."

The cleric ran off for the Keep. Mercian mounted up and teleported back to Porzcosa. He looked at the elder sitting with her. She sat defiantly. Mercian looked at her, "Your brother will come and deal with you. That dagger is an abomination of nature."

She looked at Mercian, "Disease is natural."

Mercian nodded, "Did you stab yourself with it to go through the effects?" She glared at Mercian. "I am going back out to gather your other weapons."

He teleported back out and the elf was there. He looked over, "Careful, she was using nightshade and the dagger was a diseasing dagger. No telling what her other weapons will do."

He looked at Mercian, "I do not believe you."

He sighed, "Check with your Elder. Pick up the gear."

He did. Mercian rode next to him and teleported him in the middle of the village, "Elder, have you learned anything?"

He sighed, "Other than she wants you dead by any means possible?"

Mercian got down and reached over. He undid his manacles. Mercian looked at the boy, "She has lost her ranger abilities. Easy to confirm. All she has to do is heal herself. Keep those things away from her."

He backed away with the swords and bow. She growled, "Give me my weapons!"

Mercian looked at her, "No."

Mercian walked over and gave her a training bow and clean quiver of arrows. "Go ahead. Wait, you cannot heal your own arm, fallen ranger."

Mercian set her arm none too gently and then healed it. He looked at her, "Back to basics for you. Once again proving you are a complete fuck up."

He took the weapons from the boy. He identified them, "All diseasing weapons. What ranger ability did you use to craft these?"

He waved her on. "I will drop these down here. That way you do not attack anyone else with them. You want a shot at me then we will do this cousin."

He took her dagger and cut his palm with it and threw it on the ground. He looked at her, "I am immune to diseases. It was what Charlus added to the sword."

She looked scared at that announcement. Mercian looked at her, "Go ahead and grab your weapons but I draw my swords and you will die quickly."

He walked away from her weapons. "Your cause is not righteous. You think there are too many elves then you should take your own life. Free one up for those that care about life. Show the village the right way to throw away your life. You got two options. Sit there until your brother arrives. He takes you away to be judged or pick up the weapons you were just begging to have back."

She sat there until her brother arrived. Mercian looked at him, "Diseasing weapons sword, dagger, and the throwing dagger. Nightshade poison. On arrows and blades. She used the returning dagger on my horse when I refused to draw a weapon and fight her. She has no ranger abilities.

Get her a non-magical sword, dagger, and bow. Banish her from the Elven Kingdom. Send her south. Else kill her. If she had been named Silvertree she would be laying on the ground next to her severed head. The special purpose of the blade is to deal with corruption in the family."

Duke Neriah looked at him and sighed, "My blade has that as well. I am being told she has to die for her crimes."

Mercian looked at her, "You still want those blades and face me standing or sitting there and forcing your brother to kill you?"

She got up and walked over and grabbed her sword and dagger. "If I am dying, I am taking you with me."

Mercian nodded, "You are free to try child."

That pissed her off. She came in with the same high overhand swing. He rolled under and drew his blades and sent her head flying from her shoulders with a scissor cut from behind.

He never turned Moon Fire on so her blood just shot everywhere. He cleaned the blades on her body and sheathed them. He walked over to her brother, "When you see her mother, she can blame me if she wishes. You did not have to kill your own sister. I would have killed my uncle but his son did it for me."

He nodded, "She is still dead and I would have had to do it."

Mercian nodded, "Not today, your fight is out there. With the drow. She did not take that seriously. Now I am going hunting."

He nodded as Mercian mounted up. He went riding back into the woods. He came to a stop. He thought, "This is my life to just keep killing. There is no room for love in all of this."

He heard the Lady of Dreams behind him, "You have not looked for love."

Mercian nodded, "I do not disagree, but I question if I am even worthy of loving someone with the ease at which I kill others. The enemy or family."

She sighed, "I cannot show you, love, because of that agreement."

Mercian looked at her, "It was back there on her brother's face when he watched me take her head off. He loved his sister."

She held her head down for a moment. Mercian started riding forward. She called out, "WAIT."

He stopped. She looked at Mercian as she glided across the woods toward him. "Love is there for you; you won't let me tell you who or where."

Mercian nodded, "The reason for that is I will know it when I see it. Nobody can tell me I will love someone with a 100% certainty. Except for a parent's love for their child. Then that is not always the case for everyone. Eldar found it without you having to point him at it. At least for his first two wives. The other four were not planned. Was there something else, dear Lady?"

She shook her head, "Not right now."

Mercian rode away past several easy deer and went deeper into the woods north of the falls but south of the city. He heard their heartbeats before their hoofs. He stopped, "I know you are there. 7 of you. No need to circle me."

He looked over as the first centaur came into view. Mercian nodded to him, "Did I wander across some invisible boundary? The Elder in Porzcosa gave me permission to hunt though I have shot nothing as of yet."

The centaur looked at him, "You have scales."

Mercian nodded, "I am a dragon-blooded sorcerer and a ranger. The Champion of Corellon Larethian."

He nodded, "Solonor said we would find you out here."

Mercian nodded, "I am sure many Gods are watching my every move. I just talked with the Lady of Dreams a couple of hours ago. Did you have a message for me?"

He nodded, "He said you needed to find a balance."

Mercian looked at him, "Telling me I should be out looking for women instead of hunting."

The centaur laughed, "That would be an odd inference."

Mercian sighed, "I cut the head off my cousin a few hours ago and brought down an uncle a few months back. Because of corruption. I have killed corrupted gold dragons and red dragons. As well as a drow champion. The word is killed. If everything I do is kill and I need balance then it would stand to reason that love is what he is suggesting."

He nodded his understanding, "I could see that given what you told me."

Mercian nodded, "The world does not stop for me and the drow are still a threat. As are the dragons aligned with them. They are on the plains south and to the west of here. In three surface villages under shields like this one but dark to block the sun."

He nodded, "I will alert my chieftain."

Mercian nodded to him, "Safe journey and happy hunting."

Mercian turned southward but east and continued for another hour and stopped. Mercian thought, "What should we do Varus'Nor?"

He heard Varus'Nor respond, "It takes a toll. Find someone to share the burden with."

Mercian chuckled, "Easy for you to say. You are made for one purpose. I am wondering if I am as well."

Varus'Nor knew he had no response to that statement as he could not reveal who he had been. Advising him on love would not be possible.

They heard Anama'Losgadh, "You have the capacity to love. You care for me very deeply. You just do not open yourself up to the idea."

He thought back, "Do you love? Do you marry?"

He heard her respond, "Love yes. The one we mate with. Sometimes. Marriage is not our way."

Mercian thought, "You are in Corellon Larethian corner that I need to get laid."

Mercian heard Anama'Losgadh laughing, "Yes. I am."

Mercian continued on for another hour. He never fired a shot. It got dark and he teleported them to the fourth floor of the inn and took them inside, "Set entry to only me." He rode her back to the falls. He fed her and brushed her down. He went to bed trying to put the pieces together. The gods left him to his own thoughts. He awoke, prayed, fed his horse, and ate.

He thought to her, "Only the gods know where I am at the moment. Wonder what would happen if I spent a few months in here."

Anama'Losgadh thought back to him, "I would stomp you to death."

Mercian smiled, "I believe it. But then the sword and you would be trapped in here with me. Food would be scarce for you as it is not designed to respond to psionic communication to get food. Something to add to the Journal, get someone to research it for the future to ensure your species survival in one of these if they get trapped."

He got dressed and packed up to go. He rode out of the shelter, "Seal portal."

He teleported east up the trade road and went south into a section of deep woods. He listened and all was silent. Even the wind stopped.

He felt it as the ground shook. It came from the west and lasted several minutes. He looked at the two crystals he had. He pulled one, "What happened Glimmer?"

He heard, "We collapsed those tunnels along a five-mile stretch. We cut off their progress. We hit it from both ends and went toward the middle. They are launching storms over the area now sink that tunnel even further. They will hit it again tomorrow morning."

There was a loud explosion off in the distance. He asked, "What in the 9 hells was that?"

She sighed, "Best guess? A cache of dwarven explosives going off. I will contact you back."

---

Glimmer went into Dragon Overwatch and looked at the shields. The explosives had breached a quarter of a mile under the shields but they had cut off access to those tunnels. She headed for the council chamber.

---

The crystal went dead and Mercian started riding west and sighed, "To hell with it." He teleported in front of the Keep in Quatarsia. Mercian looked at the Guard, "What do you know?"

He shook his head, "Everyone was heading west after the first explosion."

He rode toward the southern border when the next one hit and Mercian went into the air to look around. He thought, "Not again."

He pulled a crystal, "Glimmer!"

She responded, "We are kind of busy here."

He yelled, "Considering your land is like a mile in the air I would say you are busy. I thought that device got destroyed!?"

She sighed, "It did. We are not really that high a few hundred feet at the moment. They are flying the whole kingdom. The council voted to move further out from elven and dwarven lands. It changes nothing."

Mercian looked at the crystal, "It affects your response times."

She groaned, "Alright that is true."

Mercian sighed, "How far away is away?"

She groaned, "Hard to say." She could not tell him to the other side of the distant mountain range. As she was barred from telling him and she was in the Council Chambers.

He thought, "Corellon Larethian do you have a thought on this at all?"

Mercian got no response. Mercian got back down to the ground and got outside of the shield and started flying again. The house crystal went off, "Mercian, they want you back at the Palace."

Mercian responded, "Not yet. I am looking at something. He flew higher and looked over the plains. He saw the three-domed villages from here. It was early in the day but it was getting dark out. Mercian looked up real quick like and back.

He pulled out the crystal to Glimmer, "What can you tell me about the sun going dark?"

She sighed, "They are extremely rare in this world. Once every 8,000-9,000 thousand years. It is called an eclipse and it will last most of the next 3-4 day most likely."

Mercian yelled, "Perfect fucking time for dragons and drow to strike from underground! Did you know this was coming?!"

She sighed, "We have been preparing for the eventuality, but we had no solid date for it."

Mercian asked her point-blank, "How much support can we expect?"

She groaned, "We have to wait for a request from your King."

Mercian nodded, "By the time he sends you a request the entire southern woods will be destroyed. I just saw a hundred or more dragons pouring out of that area!!"

She sighed, "Let me check with the council." He loaded up both hand crossbows for autoloading, twenty rounds each.

He contacted the house crystal, "Tell the King his southern border is about to be decimated!! He needs to activate all aerial defenses in the south-west quarter. If he wants me there, he will have to allow teleport all the way to the palace!"

A few seconds later and the south-west defenses came online. He called out and went lower, "Activate lighthouse straight west."

The voice came back, "You are cleared straight to the palace."

He teleported to the fourth floor and rode right into the war room." He looked at the King, "Overwatch still active, Your Majesty?"

He nodded, "Lighthouse to the west just went up."

The King's crystal lit up from the dragons, "Your defense system is messing with our shields!"

Mercian walked over, "We had no way to plan for your land to be flying because it was dragon business, Your Majesty. The best we can guess, we have over 300 dragons in range of that net with another 100-200 in traps below it. That is 500+ dragons with no dragon aerial support versus these dragon targets.

We had no choice but to turn on every defense we had in that region. We drop it and we are dead! You need it down and we need help with dragons."

The crystal went dark and the King looked at him, "That bad?"

Mercian nodded, "Worse! Glimmer told me this is an eclipse; the sun will be blacked out for 3-4 days! They knew it was coming, they were planning to move 'away' from us but no information on distance. Right now, we are not hurting them. They are far enough out and beyond where the beams are crossed.

The problem they got is they cannot go up and they have natural obstacles affecting where they can go. Like the distant mountain range in that direction. They could not get past that right now. Any army you can get down south you should deploy as well as all able bodies casters, Your Majesty."

Mercian pulled a crystal and stepped out, "Deactivate" He teleported to the eyes, "Activate" He went into Left Eye and looked at the defenses they had up. What they had that could be used.

"Left Eye to Overwatch inform the King if we have the shield weapon operational, they should use it to plug the hole to the south, south-west. Use the beam between six and seven but below it!" He grabbed all of his crystals, "Keep this going as long as the dragons let us have it as we have pissed them off."