Chapter 24 Horance

Chapter 24 Horace

The Snagar, upon returning to Cornith, reported their encounter outside Nirvana. Through the Simean Elves, Lord Rupert and Captain Phillip du Bois were able to look telepathically into the mind of the lead Feline, and follow the skirmish on the cliff.

“My lord,” said Phillip, “I’ve a most unusual development to report.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve seen thorgh the eyes of Gorzon, a recent skirmish in the Valley of Men. A party of his warriors had an elf trapped and were about to finish the job, when interrupted.”

“Go on.”

“A woman, wielding a fiery staff, intervened and struck one of the felines. It exploded;

“This I have to see for myself,” said Lord Rupert, jumping to his feet. "Come, let us sit together at the conference table.

When the three were seated, a Simian Elf, stepped behind each and placed his hands alongside the temples of the principeles. Then Gorzon dropped into a light trance and from his memory the events of the night along the river were illuminated once more.

“First, we see the Elf cut off by two Snagar," said the Captain. "Gorzon here, is coming up from behind. Through his eyes we can now identify the woman with the brand. Look, as she approaches and strikes. Note the violence with which their bodies explode as pieces fly everywhere.”

“I'll be damned!” exclaimed Lord Rupert.

“Next we see the Witch,” continued du Bois, " Aiding the elf, She takes his sword, brandishing it, holding the Snagar at bay. They move backward out onto the cliff overlooking the river. Note the wild look in her eyes as she holds the pride at bay."

“She certainly has them intimidated,” agreed Lord Rupert.

“Now we get a good look at the blade. It’s a two handed sword, used by warriors of old; hardly something you'd expect an Elf to be carrying. If you look closely at the hilt, you’l see that the settings that once held jewels, are empty."

"Could this be the sword of Orwald, that recently slipped through our fingers?”

“It could well be... I wonder what happened to the stones?”

“If this is indeed the sword of Orwald, Rupert continued to speculate, "the gems have been removed, perhaps scattered about, to keep them from falling into our hands.”

“That could explain it,” Agreed Phillip.

“Dear God, look Now, she raises the blade on high... Unbelievable, the lightening that passes through her body.

Look at her hair standing out.... see the energy pass through the hilt. It lights her up...you can see her bones..."

"I see, I see! A fizzure is opening and they're falling back into the darkness. How far down is the river?”

“Fifty feet at least. With the storm raging and night falling you can’t see the water from atop. Gorzon told me thre was a horn was trumpeting, you can hear it in the distance, the Militia was coming. He barely had time to gather the dead and wounded and flee West to the border.”

“Simply amazing," said the Commander, "I’ve never before seen anything like it.”

“I knew you’d be interested,” said Phillip.

“Return the Elves to their kennels, while we ponder the implications,” said Lord Rupert. “What do you make of it?”

“I think the Elf was indeed carrying the sword of Orwald. It was a stroke of fortune that the Snagar chanced upon him and gave chase. While we were off in the wrong direction, the sword was actually being spirited by this lone elf.”

“And what of the stones? The ruby and the other gems?”

“I suspect they're now in one of three places; Scattered about the ground, in Middleton or recovered and carried off into the forest."

“Since their value is beyond measure, we must thoroughly examine the first two possibilities. However, even more intriguing is that red eyed Hag.”

“What do you make of her, My Lord?”

“Rumors have persisted for a long while that the Witches that once ruled Nirvana did not perish with their husbands but have continued their line to this very day. It’s said that they still roam about, yielding the magic that once gave them great power; I've heard it said that they'll not rest until they recover the lands they once ruled.”

“You believe this possible?"

“Until seeing what we just witnessed, I would have dismissed such a liklihood. Now I’m convinced there might be some truth to it. That Witch wielded some powerful magic. We did not imagine her staff and the carnage it caused. What a coup it would be to get our hands on her.”

“I have some thoughts on the matter.”

“What do you propose?“

“Next month it will be tax time for the Valley Provience. In the process everyone will be required to present themselves. I will have the royal artist draw likeness of the Witch. We"ll have the tax collectors study it. If she appears we can carry her off, and bring her back to Cornith.”

“It’s an idea that has merit and certainly worth a try. However, I don’t want to stir up a whole lot of unwelcome notice. We’ve already failed in our initial attempt to secure the sword of Orwald. We can only hope that the Republic doesn't find out and call us to account. Now we have another opportunity and hopefully we can this time… redeem some of our ineptitude. What are you planning?”

“I was thinking of a small elite force, numbering not more than twenty-five. A platoon of scouts under de Ritter. He has a good head and has served us well in the past. We can disguise them as scavengers and they can caravan with the Gypsy’s of the Carnival. Once they are in the area they can scour for signs of the jewels and if the woman is identified, they can snatch her up and bring her back to us.”

“I’ll leave the details to you. Make whatever preparations you need…and see it done.”

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In the dungeon beneath the fortress at Cornith. A solitary elf sat in the corner. A voice intruded into his solitude.

“Great father, I have news of interest to report.”

“What is it my son?”

“Today, three of us were summoned to make telepathy.”

“And who were the principles?”

“Lord Rupert, Captain du Bois and a Snagar named Gorzon.”

“And what did they wish to learn?”

“Gorzon was returned from the Valley of Men, West of Tristan Forest where his Pride, had pursued an elf. They wished to gaze into his memories and witness for themselves exactly what occurred.”

“Go on.”

“The elf they were chasing was rescued by a Witch swinging a fiery brand. She took his sword, raised it on high and summoned a bolt of lightning onto its tip. Once the fire passed through her, she plunged it into the ground and the cliff fell away into the river.”

“What was their reaction?”

“They were astonished. The captain went to some length pointing out magic of the Witch and what happened when she swung the brand.”

“This was?”

“That when she touched it to a Snagar, the beast exploded.”

“What else?”

“They were also very interested in the sword she used to hold the Snagar at bay.”

“Interested?”

“Yes, they speculated that it might be the sword of Orwald, however they noted that the jewels were missing.”

“What else?”

“At that point we dismissed. Are you pleased great one?”

I'm always proud of my children. Give my love to your everyone.”

“Yes Father.”

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The Council at Tristan meets.


“What do you make of the report?” asked Kulrick

It’s a surprising development,” answered Ubocastor. “I would not have anticipated the Snagar reporting failure. However, he did lose several of his warriors.”

“What will they make of all his?”

"They’ll be curious…I suspect they’ll try and learn more about what’s happening in the valley. I don’t think they’ll try anything heavy handed, but anything short of that is a possibility.”

“They must have gotten a good look. Seen Cateyln and Morgolic. Beyond that we can only speculate.”

“Make sure Varnack stays on his toes. If they send an armed force, have a plan ready to evacuate Liope and our Elves.”

“A wise measure,” replied Ubocastor.

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That evening Cateyln stayed up late listening for a knock at the door. Sure enough, she heard the faint rap and went to answer. Uta was at the door with a small darkly clad female elf. A chill passed into the room.

“Cateyln, allow me to introduce Mooky.”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” said Cate.

“The pleasure’s mine. It’s an honor to meet the queen mother.”

“Come, Liope is anxious to meet you.“

They climbed the stairs to Liope’s room… Beamer sat at the door with his sword across his lap.

“Who’s the sassy looking imp?” he inquired with a wink.

"This is Mooky," said Uta, “See if you can’t try being nice to her.”

“What’s she doing here?”

“She’s here to sing a lullaby.”

“Important business indeed, "he answered sarchasticall.

They entered the room.

“Mooky, this is Boomer and Goober, who are part of the security force that protects the Queen. The handsome one is Young Jernigan, the Queen’s husband. Mooky, this is Liope, mother of the Dark Sister, you’ll be attending.”

“It’s so good to meet you,Mooky,” said Liope, “Come over here to the edge of the bed and let me introduce you to my babies.”

Mooky put her hands on Liope’s stomach and started…then she began to swoon and then jerked awake with a startled look. Tears came to her eyes…

Uta rested her hand on Mooky's shoulders... " Are you allright,” she inquired?"

“This is the most wonderful and awful moment of my life.”

Liope felt a surge in her stomach, as if Hatie were about to leap out of the womb. Holding her belly she began rolling about in the bed.

“Sing to her Mooky…. Sing to her….are you OK Liope…what’s happening?”

“It's like they awoke from a nightmare. Hatie is delighted and Baltus is groaning.”

“Sing! Mooky…. Sing!”

Mooky begins to sing and chant and gradually the contractions begin to subside.

“Something’s wrong Uta, something’s wrong….Baltus is really getting upset...”

“Beamer…. Go and get Lilith,” ordered Uta.

Liope begans to cry as she held her stomach.. Lilith rushed into the room.

“Lilith, enter into Liope and see if you can’t calm Baltus down.”

Lilith joined hands with Liope and her body became still. Liope began rocking back and forth and slowly settle down. For the next half hour Mooky continued to sing and chant until at last she stoped. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she is hysterical.

“Take Mooky to the Citadel, Jernigan,” ordered Uta, “Liope tell Lilith to return to herself.”

Young lead Mooky out the door and Lilith woke up.

“Whew!” Signed Uta…“Was that exciting or what?

"I don't know how else to describe it, answered LIope.

"I think its time everybody got some sleep…especially Liope.

“That goes for everyone, Liope replies, as she drifts of to the first blissful night’s, sleep she’s had in weeks.

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It took a day to trek up the mountain to the Temple. When she arrived Bedelia was greeted by Millicent, a cousin of Cateyln, Patron of the Nirvana line.

"We don’t get a lot of visitors up here. For the record please tell me your name."

"Bedelia."

"Nice to meet you, I’m Millicent. I do most of the scrying during the week and on the weekend Gertrude comes up and spells me."

"I studied a lot about Scrying in school, said Bedelia, "but 've never seen the process at work. Can you show me?"

"Sure, but don‘t ask me how. The magic that set the bowls into alignment is some old mage work. Come into the temple and I’ll show you everything I can.

The “Temple” was something of a misnomer. It looked more like a stone barn. At the center on a raised platform stood a round table with a large bowl.

"This is it," said Millicent. "There are incantations for sending and receiving. When a message comes in, steam rises off the bowl. I deliver the appropriate response to the face of whoever is sending the message. We can talk to one another and pass a verbal (message). For written messages there is another format (incantation). I pour an additive into the bowl and a piece of scry-velum. The message appears on the Velum and I take it out and let it dry for a few minutes. The details of the process are secrets of the Coven but what I'm telling you is pretty much common knowledge."

"Wow!" said Bedelia. "What’s the range to this thing? "

"I have no idea. I do know that they're connected to the Elves and Dwarves and at least one other location."

"Where’s that?"

"I don't believe anybody really knows, but from time to time a message appears and that's a really big deal. We call those a Prophesy."

"How often does one come along?"

"Not often, maybe once a century."

"Wow!"

"Wow is right. We got one last month and the Coven has been abuzz trying to figure it out."

"What did it say?"

"There’s a copy over there on the message board."

Bedelia walked over and began reading the Scry-Velum posted on the board.

Prophesy

Before Redemption Eve
The chosen, shall conceive
From a long distinguished line
Returning from a distant time
Take heart, behold a sign,
Before Redemption Eve.

Eight Infants born to reign.
Six Mothers bear the pain.
Four husbands back from dead.
Two sisters, dark with dread.
Two, antithesis instead.
Before Redemption Eve.

Harkin hope, banish doubt;
Let the horns and heralds shout,
Get ready for the coming fight
When the minions of the night
Come, unexpectedly to light…
Before Redemption Eve

Nirvana, the dawn is near.
Three virgins face their fear
One barren ’til of late.
Together abide and wait
That long anticipated date.
Before Redemption Eve.