Hingar smiled with a certain pride. “Indeed, that’s true, Earthman,” he said. “But even more importantly, almost no one in the Empire is even aware that Woodhaven exists. The precious few who have seen it and tried to tell others about the city are laughed at as fools. After all, how could an entire city be hanging from a few trees?”
“Indeed,” Pandora said, as she was marveling at the scope of the city just as much as me. “This is the first I’ve ever heard of a Darkwood oak tree.”
“The less the Empire knows about us, the better,” Layla said. “Now let’s hurry. We have to speak to the council.”
The hustle and bustle in the hanging streets of Woodhaven were dizzying, with enough commerce to rival Silverton, or an even larger city outside of the woods. I took note, however, of certain wood elf guards who seemed to be wearing blindingly bright golden armor.
Hingar laughed when he caught me gawking. “Surely, you mistake that for gold, don’t you?” he asked.
“Well yeah,” I said. “What else could it be?”
Hingar laughed again, then called out to the stout guard, who came at once. “Soldier, show this outsider your tree sap armor,” Hingar said.
“Yes, captain,” the wood elf soldier said.
I marveled at the armor, which indeed resembled golden armor, yet the closer I got, the clearer that it was that the armor was forged from thick tree sap. It was a medium armor set, yet appeared just as sturdy as any heavy armor.
“The Darkwood oaks bless us with arms and armor,” Hingar said, then pointed to the similarly colored weapon on the soldier’s hip.
The soldier grinned a prideful grin as he unsheathed the weapon and handed it to me.
DARKWOOD AMBER LONGSWORD
WEIGHT: 6 LBS
DURABILITY: 4000/4000
ENCHANTMENT: 2000/2000
“Damn, that’s an impressive blade,” I said as I handed it back to the soldier.
The soldier took his weapon and returned to his post and we resumed our walk to the council chambers.
“Darkwood amber weapons are some of the rarest in the realm,” Pandora said. “In all my years, I’d only seen two or three others. Of course, I never knew they were forged in these woods. I thought they’d been crafted by some mystic armorer.”
Layla nodded. “Lighter than steel, just as effective against the undead as silver, and easy to enchant for any mage with any wits about themselves,” Layla said.
I was about to ask where I could get one of those amber weapons, but before I could, we arrived at the council chambers.
The soldiers there opened the gates and golden light spilled out from the magical flames as we entered.
Chapter Six
Only when we stepped into the chamber did I realize that it was located inside the great, hollowed-out trunk of a Darkwood oak.
“This tree in particular opened itself for us ages ago,” Layla said.
“So, the wood elves didn’t carve this out?” I asked.
Layla shook her head. “Of course not,” she said. “The wood elves have a special relationship with these trees. The Darkwood oaks allow the elves to live among their mighty branches. In return, the wood elves protect the oaks from hostile outsiders.”
Inside, there was a large table that had been created from a variety of twisting vines and thick tree roots. Around the table, three wood elves sat in elegant robes woven from flowers. Two females and one male, each one considerably older than the other elves that I’d seen so far, and they stared at me with an even sharper sense of hesitation than Hingar did.
Layla stepped before them.
The older elf woman with the hood of her robe pulled about her face nodded to us. “Councilwoman Layla, greetings,” she said.
Layla nodded back to her. “Councilwoman Indra,” she said. “I bring before you, as well as Councilman Dragil and Councilwoman Kehlya, the Champion of the Mananymphs.”
Layla gestured to me and the three older elves gasped.
“Surely, this can’t be!” Dragil said. He was a wrinkled old elf, but he had a kind look to him. “Is that…the Soulguard?”
I held it up for the council to see. “It is,” I said. “I was summoned to this realm from mine by the Mananymph named Ciara. It’s my mission to make sure this realm is safe for every Mananymph to walk free. Along with that, it’s my mission to topple the Emperor and bring freedom to his citizens.”
Councilwoman Kehlya looked a bit younger than her counterparts, but she had more of a stern look to her. “And what business do we have entertaining enemies of the Empire, hm?” she asked gruffly.
“It’s true,” Indra added regretfully. “Councilwoman Layla plays a risky game by involving us in the affairs of folk who don’t dwell in these woods.”
I cast a worried look toward Layla. She gave me a subtle nod to reassure me, then spoke up again.
“This Earthman is a noble warrior,” she began. “Not long ago, he stood side-by-side with the wood elves of Silverton.”
Kehlya waved her off with a tiresome scowl. “And why should I worry about the affairs of city elves? They have no love for their own kind.”
Layla tried to suppress her smile, but she failed. “You shouldn’t worry, Councilwoman Kehlya, but rejoice, because it was during this battle that the Earthman slayed Woodhaven’s long-time nemesis, the Spriggan King.”
At that, Indra and Dragil rose to their feet, their faces wide with shock.
“So that’s why we’ve seen so few hostile spriggans in these lands lately,” Indra said.
“A blessing, to be sure,” Dragil added. He ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper beard. “Tell us then, Layla. What is the Earthman doing here, specifically?”
Layla took a deep breath. This was her shot. “He’s come here because he needs our aid,” she said. “The men and women of Homehold are currently under Imperial occupation. The same goes for the men and women of Silverton, which, I’ll remind you, has a sizable population of your brother and sister elves.”
Kehlya sat there with her arms crossed, looking like she’d rather spit on me than ever smile at me. “The Earthman comes to the wrong city looking for allies,” she said. “We can’t spare a single warrior, not with the darkness in the heart of the forest hounding us.”
Layla nodded. “That’s true, Councilwoman Kehlya,” she said. She looked back at me, winked, then turned back to her colleagues. “Which is why the Earthman has pledged to march into the heart of the woods and slay the Fairy Mother for us.”
Kehlya laughed bitterly. “Quite impossible!” she shouted. “There’s not a mer nor man in this realm that could stand against her might!”
“None except the Earthman,” Layla said. “Just days ago, the Earthman went head-to-head with the Dark King himself, who’d been waging war on behalf of the Emperor upon Homehold.”
The council fell silent at that. Indra and Dragil exchanged shocked smiles, though Kehlya still looked unconvinced.
Now, Pandora joined Layla before the council. “Aye,” Pandora said. “And the Earthman has also slain three powerful lich lords. He was the key in our defense of Homehold, when roughly thirty-thousand ghouls under the Necromancer charged our gates. And before that, he dueled with the vampire lord Aegis Winterhollow and lived to tell the tale.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I have a decent resume under my belt,” I said.
Hingar, who’d been standing well behind us, now moved up to the front of our group. He bowed before the council. “I haven’t yet had the time to inform the council that, less than an hour ago, thirty werewolves came to attack our city.”
Another round of gasps from the council. Kehlya was beginning to look incredulous.
“I speak the truth,” Hingar continued. “And as a longtime captain of the Woodhaven guard, I speak truly when I say that this Earthman threw himself into the werewolf horde without hesitation. Aye, if there’s a warrior who might have a chance against the Fairy Mother, I believe we’re looking at him now.�
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Now, Kehlya rose to her feet, her face twisted into an angry snarl. “Even if all this is true, so what?” she barked. “We’ve survived all these long years and endured the Fairy Mother’s wickedness. I say we can continue doing so.”
“But he offers us the chance to drive back that wicked shadow once and for all,” Indra said.
Kehlya waved her off. “And in turn would beg us for an army! Why should we care if the Emperor crushes their petty rebellion? He’ll never find us here.”
“So you’d rather hide in this tree, fearful of the Emperor’s ire?” Layla said. She shrugged. “Either we hide here for the rest of our existence, praying that the Empire never discovers our cities. Or we allow the Earthman to help us and, in turn, we help him. He offers long-term peace, rather than long-term fear. My fellows on the council, I ask that we vote on this matter at once.”
“I’ll agree to a vote,” Indra said.
“Me as well,” Dragil echoed.
Kehlya spat and fell back into her chair. “Let’s have a vote, then.”
Layla turned back to us. “The council votes in secret. Please, friends, give us a moment,” she said.
Hingar led us out of the council chamber and the door shut beside us. I smiled confidently. “Well shit, that was easy,” I said.
“Easy?” Hingar asked.
“Yeah,” I answered. “We’ve obviously got three votes in our favor.”
“You’re mistaken about that, Earthman,” Hingar said. “The council’s vote must be unanimous, or else the measure fails.”
I sighed. Once again, it seemed as though nothing would come easy for me.
*****
“Ten bucks says we get no army out of the deal,” I said to Pandora as we waited outside.
“Then we’ll find another way to defeat the Emperor,” Pandora shrugged. She smiled at me then rested her head on my shoulder. She twisted her fingers tight around my hand and gave it a squeeze. “The important part is that we’ll do it together.”
Once again, as always, Pandora was proving that she was my rock throughout all these ordeals. As much as I loved her sisters, Pandora would always have a special place in my heart. I slid my arm around her waist and kissed her.
Then, the council chamber doors swung open. Layla came out, shaking her head, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
“It doesn’t look like the vote went our way,” I said.
“Not quite yet,” Layla answered. “Mother Gaia, damn Kehlya!”
“What’s the deal?” I asked.
“While the rest of us voted, naturally, to aid you against the Empire in exchange for defeating the Fairy Mother, Kehlya has certain caveats she once you to tend to.”
“Alright then,” I said. “I’ve dealt with a million headaches so far, I can handle a few more.”
Until then, I hadn’t noticed the weapon she had strapped to her back. She unhooked it and thrust it my way: A Darkwood amber longsword!
I grinned broadly as I held the weapon up and inspected it. “So the deal is I need to bring this sword with me?” I asked.
She nodded. “She demands that you cut off the Fairy Mother’s head with that blade, then bring the severed skull back to prove it.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I can make that happen. So, the hell with it. Let’s move out now.”
Layla sighed. “There’s one more thing, something you’ll find considerably more taxing.”
“What’s that?”
“Once you slay the Fairy Mother and take her Spirit Stone, Kehlya demands that you return to the council chamber with the stone.”
Again, I laughed, because I would have done that anyway upon returning. “Sure, that’s no problem at all.”
“But Earthman, when you return, she’s going to demand that you wield the stone before her,” Layla answered, with a look of worry on her face. “She wants you to prove that you’re truly the Champion by using the stone, right before the council.”
I sighed. “Ah shit,” I said, because that just might have been a problem.
I could wield a Gaia Stone or a Gaia Gem, sure, but in doing so, I ran the risk of critically wounding myself. Back in the Imperial City, in the library, I’d wielded the Storm Gem against the Imperial Legion troops and weakened myself so much that I could hardly walk afterward.
What was worse, the stones and gems weren’t like most enchanted items. They were damn dangerous to wield around anyone you didn’t want to harm. In fact, when I donned the Storm Gem in my battle against the Necromancer, the only reason I’d been able to use it without causing accidental destruction – both to those around me and myself – was because I’d temporarily become a vampire lord.
Now, I could only laugh.
“Alright, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” I said. “If that’s what I need to do to gain your help, then you’re goddamn right that I’m going to do it.”
Layla’s worrisome look softened a bit. She laughed in relief, even if she still harbored some reservations. She turned to Pandora. “How has this one not killed himself yet?” she asked.
“Because, so far, your sisters have been there to stop him,” Pandora said, and they laughed, despite the grim, uphill battle that was yet to come.
*****
When I wondered aloud if we should wait until morning to delve deeper into the forest, Layla just chuckled.
“Night and day are irrelevant in the deep woods,” Layla said. “You’ll see.”
We started out shortly after we’d gotten something to eat. Hingar led the way, over the long, winding walkways and skywalks over the forest floor.
“I’ve got patrols out among the deep woods,” he said. “You may run into them. Also, I’ve instructed them to light magic flares if they run into any werewolves.”
I grit my teeth as I stared off the side of the skywalk, into the impenetrable darkness that was waiting for us. The idea that we were walking into a pitch-black forest that just might have been infested with werewolves wasn’t exactly appealing.
Yet, the wood elves were prepared for the dark, as I’d soon find out.
Hingar handed each of us an amulet that radiated a magical yellow glow.
WOODHAVEN SUNSPARK AMULET
CONSTANT EFFECT: MAGICAL SUNLIGHT ON CASTER
CHARGE: 10000/10000
A nifty item, for sure. The wood elves must have been good enchanters to keep the enchantment charge so high. And, even if we drained the amulets, I was more than capable of recharging them myself.
We all put the amulets around our necks. “Are you sure this won’t just attract more monsters to us?” I asked.
Layla nodded. “Oh, it will draw a few,” she said. “But it’s better to draw some of them to us, rather than stumble upon them in the dark.”
A good point, no doubt, but I had an idea.
I told everyone to wait up, then had Hingar walk about twenty yards back before I cast the spell.
This was my first time ever trying to combine spell effects into a brand new one. I opened my Second Sight.
SPELL CREATION
STEP ONE: CHOOSE EFFECTS
FIRST EFFECT:
SECOND EFFECT:
ADDITIONAL EFFECTS AVAILABLE WITH SKILL INCREASES
Interesting. I hadn’t attempted to use my spell creation options. Hell, up until now, it hadn’t even occurred to me that I had them.
Focusing on my magical energies, I scrolled through my spell effects until I found what I wanted.
FIRST EFFECT: MUFFLE PARTY (MOVEMENTS/SPEECH/MAGIC EFFECTS)
SECOND EFFECT: CAMOUFLAGE PARTY
Alright. I shut my eyes tight and felt the magic coursing through my body, particularly within the Soulguard. I closed my armored fingers into a fist and grunted.
SPELL CREATED!
GAMELORD’S HIDE ALLIES
EFFECT: MUFFLE LIGHT EMITTED BY PARTY PLUS CAMOUFLAGE FOR ONE HOUR
“Earthman, what it is you’re doing?” Layla asked.
At that, I
merely winked at her, then cast the spell between the three of us. Twenty yards behind us, Hingar let out a loud chuckle as we vanished from sight, along with the glow from our enchanted Sunspark amulets.
“An interesting trick, Earthman!” Hingar called out.
Of course, the light from our amulets would only be muffled to those from afar. For me, Pandora, and Layla, the light was still as bright as ever.
I cast dispel a moment later, and we reappeared to Hingar.
“I’m starting to get the hang of this war mage stuff,” I said, then we followed Hingar the rest of the way.
Chapter Seven
My custom camouflage spell worked wonders, at the expense of draining the shit out of my mana. That wasn’t a huge deal, as my mana regenerated at a fairly high rate. Still, this disappointed me. It meant that I couldn’t simply wade into a horde of enemies while nearly invisible, because casting the spell would limit my capabilities to use effective offensive spells.
Either way, the spell came in handy. We walked for hours, unmolested, though the deeper we got into the forest, the more monstrosities we saw.
We passed lumbering spriggan elders surrounded by small armies of spriggan sprites. We even saw a battle between those living trees and a force of the more-primitive Darkwood elves fifty-strong. Arrows were flying everywhere and the spriggan elder was smashing the elves from the trees, and that was manic enough, until a large horde of insane goblins fell upon both forces and routed them all.
The Darkwood oaks gave way to more and more sickly trees. These sick trees were huge enough, but most were dead, with their dried roots exposed, and the trunks groaned under their own weight, as if they were about to tip over.
The deeper we got, the more palpable the wickedness became.
It was so thick that I thought I could reach out and touch it. The almost complete darkness of the woods made me feel like I was on another planet, or perhaps at the bottom of an ocean trench. I wasn’t sure how Layla was able to judge which direction we were walking, because to me, everything looked the same.
There was a tense few minutes when we stumbled onto a large group of Darkwood elves. These twisted cousins to the normal wood elves were feasting upon several slain animals, gnawing on raw flesh and fat without bothering to cook it.
Monstergirl Quest Book Three Page 5