Kai stepped forward and roared. The force of the sound drove back the elves and made them cower. When he was done, he shouted, “Fetch your king, you vile worm, or I will declare a state of war between the dragons and the elves here and now!”
The branches of the tree behind the elves rattled and several of them fled in terror. All around them, elves emerged from trees to see what the commotion was.
A voice called down from the balcony, “Why do you scare my children, Kaibonostrum?”
Lorian whispered, “That’s him. My father.”
Kai spoke to the elf who was walking down from the balcony. “Your children need a lesson in manners, Majesty.” The elf who’d spoken shrank back even further, staring at the ground. The look on his face promised retribution.
The elven king came to a stop in front of Alexander. “Ah, the new human king. Alexander, I believe. I have heard much about you. I am Dothvanielen, Lord of the Elven Kingdom. Welcome.” The king bowed his head slightly.
Alexander decided to be gracious. “Thank you, Majesty. It seems you already know Prince Kaibonostrum. This is my future queen, Lady Jules.” He waited while the king acknowledged her. “Also my treasurer, Lola of the Broken Mountain clan. Lady Sasha of Elysia and second of the Greystone Guild, our strategist and healer. And of course, you know our Chief Scout and General, Dothloriandal.”
The king acknowledged each of them with a slight motion of his head, except Lorian. To him, he said, “I did not think to ever see your face again, Dothloriandal.”
“Were there not a dire need, I would not have, Father. This is no longer my home. I came here out of respect for King Alexander.”
“What dire need?” the king asked.
Kai growled in his chest. “Your petty games grow tiring, elven king. Do not pretend that our messengers have not spoken to you about the rise of the drow wizards. Or that you do not know of the battles fought in Antalia and Elysia in recent weeks. Your spies are as good as anyone’s. If you persist, I will nullify any agreements between the elven and dragon kingdoms and we will depart now. We haven’t time for your posturing.”
Kai’s voice was hard steel and flames lit his eyes as he spoke. Even Alexander wanted to step away from his friend. Lola broke the mood by laughing. “Ha! I hear’d all me life about the terrible elves and their haughty ways. I thought me old da were just pullin’ me leg. Turns out, yer exactly the stuck up, self-centered arses he said ye’d be!”
This time it was Lorian who laughed as the king looked enraged. “She’s got you there, Father. I’ve never seen such lack of courtesy from our people. Even when your lackeys drove me from the forest for being a half-breed embarrassment. Have our people sunk so far?”
By this time, a large crowd of elves had gathered in the nearby trees and walkways that ran between them. At Lorian’s words, many of them nodded and murmured in agreement. The king took note of this and his face grew red with rage. He looked down at Lola. “I expect as much from my bastard son. But you, a lowly dwarf, dare to speak to me so in my own kingdom?” He drew a dagger from his belt and took a step toward her. Alexander stepped to the side and placed a hand on the king’s chest. “You’ll not touch her, Majesty. Take a breath and calm yourself. It was your people who started the animosity here.”
The king threw off Alexander’s hand, a snarl on his face. He turned, as if to attack Alexander instead. Alexander threw up his magic shield without a thought. When the dagger bounced off the bubble, he leaned back and kicked the enraged king in the chest. There were gasps of surprise from the surrounding elves.
Three of the original group of elves who stood behind the rude one instantly drew bows and aimed them at Alexander. They never had a chance to fire. The moment the king stepped toward Lola, Kai had begun to assume his dragon form. As the arrows went up, he unleashed dragonfire. The flames engulfed the archers, the first elf who’d spoken, and the elven king. A moment later, they were nothing but ash.
Dead silence reigned in the forest. Thousands of elves had just witnessed the death of the king at the hands of a dragon. Kai turned his head left and right, looking for more threats. When none made themselves apparent, he called out, “You all saw Dothvanielan draw a weapon and attack the King of Elysia. Does anyone deny this?”
Thousands of heads shook in unison. So Kai continued, “Where is the heir to the throne?”
There were murmurs and more head shaking. Finally, an elven ranger stepped forward. He took a knee before Kai and said, “Prince Kaibonostrum. We all witnessed the happenings here this day and attest that you acted as you must to defend the human king. I regret to inform you that both the heirs to the throne have been murdered. The princess just last week and her brother the prince more than a month past. We believe the drow to be responsible for both murders.”
Kai reverted back to human form and indicated that the ranger should rise. “What is your name?”
“I am former commander Ithaniel of the King’s Guard. I was relieved of my post shortly before the prince’s death. Myself and the entire guard were dismissed. The elves you… dealt with just now took our places as the king’s protectors.”
Kai looked thoughtful. “Not all of the heirs are dead, Commander Ithaniel. Before you stands Dothloriandal, son of Dothvanielan. And, apparently, your new king.”
This time the reaction from the crowd was much larger. There were angry shouts and cries from every side. Kai roared again to get their attention. “IS THERE ANOTHER?” he shouted. “IS THERE AN HEIR WHO WISHES TO STEP FORWARD?”
He waited in silence for a solid minute. Then he called out, “Then Dothloriandal is the rightful king. Is there anyone out there who wishes to challenge him for the throne? From the look on his face, I don’t think he wants the job. Maybe he’ll just give it to you.”
Again he waited, and again no response. Kai and Alexander both looked to Lorian, who looked sick to his stomach. But he stepped forward and addressed the elven ranger. “I remember you, Ithaniel. You were always kind to me as I underwent the ranger training. You pushed me harder than the others, I think. But not out of malice. Am I wrong?”
Ithaniel bowed his head, then raised it with a smile. “You were one of the best younglings that I’d ever seen. But you had a chip on your shoulder. I tried to beat it out of you, or make you so tired you’d forget about it.”
Lorian laughed. “Well, I thank you for your efforts. And as my first official act, I restore you and the rest of the King’s Guard.” Ithaniel took a knee and let out a single shrill whistle. Within seconds, fifty elven rangers dropped from the tree and took a knee around their new king. Ithaniel looked up. “Though we were unwanted, we held to our oaths as best we could. We have never been far from our king.”
Kai nodded. “I regret that I had to remove him in such a manner. Let us retire to the king’s chamber and discuss the immediate future. Are any of the old king’s advisors present?”
Ithaniel searched the trees and pointed to several elder elves, who began to step down to join them. As they moved, he said, “They too were dismissed. Two who objected too strenuously were executed as an example to the others.”
When ten elders had joined their group, Lorian led them back up the ramp and into the tree. They walked from tree to tree for several minutes before approaching a massive old giant of a tree. Lorian took them inside. There was a long table with ten chairs on each side. Lorian took a seat at the head of the table and the others arranged themselves. Elders on one side, Alexander and party on the other. The rangers secured the door.
Kai said, “I did not want to say this in front of your people, as it might have caused a panic. The elves who first approached us were tainted. They smelled of drow magic. Which is likely why they did not want to greet us properly. They were afraid of exposure.” A murmur went up among the elders. Ithaniel nodded as if that answered some questions for him. Kai continued, “In case you’re wondering, no one here shares that taint. Though I’d be surprised if those I disposed of were the only
ones here.”
Alexander looked grim. “First things first. Elders. You are the leaders among your people. Do you accept Dothloriandal as your king? Half-blood and all?”
They looked to each other, then one near the center spoke. “We would do so. But I fear the people would not. They are afraid now because of what has transpired today. But the prejudice against the king’s blood would fester.”
Lorian spoke up. “I have no desire to be king. I will serve until a better choice can be found. Then I will step down. My place is in Elysia. My one condition for stepping down peacefully will be that the alliance and trade agreements I establish with Alexander and the dragon kingdom as well as the human and dwarven kingdoms will be upheld.”
The elder cleared his throat. “It is clear that the drow have become a threat. To all of us. We would welcome an alliance. We remember the last war with the drow wizards. No kingdom can stand alone. As for a better choice, we already have one, Dothloriandal.” His eyes, and the gaze of every elder in the room, fell upon Ithaniel.
“Ithaniel is of a royal line. Not your father’s, but an older line. Deposed eons ago by your great-great grandfather for his part in an unnecessary war with the dwarven nations. A war that cost many hundreds of our people’s lives.”
Ithaniel bowed his head. “This is true. But I am no king. I was trained from birth to protect the king, not replace him.”
Alexander looked at Kai, who shrugged. Then he looked to Lorian. “What do you think, Lorian?”
The half-elf clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. “As I said outside, Ithaniel was good to me when he didn’t need to be. When, in fact, it would have been better for him to treat me as the others did. And when my father shunned him, he and his men stood their posts as best they could. That showed loyalty and honor. And his men follow him without question. So he is a leader, whether he admits it or not.”
The elders were all nodding along. “Would our people accept him?”
The lead elder smiled. “He is of the blood, and already a hero among our people.”
Lorian looked to Ithaniel. “Will you swear on your life that you will serve our people better than my father did? That you will honor the alliance we establish, and help to defeat the drow wizards and their armies?”
Ithaniel knelt. “I swear by the gods of Io that I will serve our people to the best of my ability. That I will serve honorably, and will uphold the alliances and agreements with the human, dwarven, and dragon kingdoms. We will fight together, and die together if need be.”
A flash of white light engulfed Ithaniel and thunder rolled through the forest.
Kai nodded, as did Alexander. Lorian said, “I hereby abdicate the throne of the elven kingdom in favor of King Ithaniel. May he reign forever.”
The elders echoed, “May he reign forever!”
Alexander said, “Then it is official. Lola here will work with you on trade agreements. Kaibonostrum already had a treaty drawn up, which has been signed by the dragon king, myself, Charles of Stormforge, Margaret of Antalia, and Thalgrin of Broken Mountain.” Kai produced the treaty and handed it to Ithaniel. The elf nodded and began to read as Lola and the elders spoke quietly across the table. Alexander got the attention of one of the elders. “Do you have a portal here in the city?”
The elder nodded. “Not far from where you landed.”
Alexander said, “We have established a network of portals between all of the kingdoms in the alliance, so that we may transfer troops quickly to support our allies when needed. Or supplies during a siege. If you will allow it, we will ask Fitzbindulum to come here and attune the portal.”
Kai shook his head. “There is no need. I will see to it, with your permission?” The elders looked to their new king, who nodded his head.
“Of course.”
The discussions continued as Kai left the table. One of the rangers was detailed to escort him. Kai stopped at the door. “If I come across more of the tainted?”
Ithaniel thought about it. “Point them out to your escort. We will make note of them and deal with them quietly tonight.”
Kai and his escort disappeared. Ithaniel finished reading through the dragon’s treaty and called for the attention of the elders. “I have read this document, and find no objections to any of its content. I hereby signify our entrance into the proposed alliance by signing this treaty.” And he did just that.
Hidden Quest Completed: Cleanse the Realm
You and your allies have discovered and removed an influence that threatened the Elven Kingdom from within. You have further installed a new king who is uncorrupted and will rule the kingdom well. And the Elven Kingdom has been brought into the alliance. Quest Reward: 80,000XP. Reputation gain with the Elven Kingdom.
Your Reputation with the Elven Kingdom has increased to: Friendly
The notification of the hidden quest completion surprised Alexander. He supposed it was a necessary part of completing the larger World at War quest line. Regardless, experience was experience. The quest and the killing of the king and the other elves had already taken him halfway to level 71.
While the others chatted, he took a moment to review his character sheet. He’d gained several levels in recent days, mostly from the battle with the demon army. And he’d neglected to assign attribute points.
His glass cannon imbalance was getting out of hand. He decided to put four points each into Stamina and Strength and four into Dexterity to bring it up to ten. He added a point to Luck and two points to Charisma. As a leader, he figured he would need it. Then he put two points into Agility. The remaining eight points he decided to save.
With the additional levels, he’d hit 70. Which meant he needed to find Fitz and receive more training. A thought struck him. He hadn’t seen Fitz in several days. Since before the demon battle. Granted, he’d been offline for a couple days, and he supposed the wizard could have stopped by while he was gone. Still, he would make a point of looking for him when they got back to the keep.
Alexander noticed Ithaniel looked as bored as he was with the trade talks. So he asked the king if he’d like to go for a walk. The two of them left the meeting room and strolled along a raised walkway, looking down at the forest floor. Alexander started, “Will there be a coronation celebration?”
Ithaniel grimaced. “I suppose there must be. We elves do like our formalities.”
Alexander halted, pulling a bit of obsidian from his bag. First, he shaped it into a ring. Then he closed his eyes and imbued the ring with the same Undying and Heal spells that he put into his people’s dragon pins. Only this time, he continued to channel the heal spell until the ring told him it was full. A king in a situation where he’d taken a fatal blow would need to be as close to full health afterward as possible. He handed the ring to the king. “An early coronation gift. May you reign forever.”
Ring of the Eternal Reign
Quality: Unique
Should the wearer of this ring receive a fatal injury, the ring’s magic will restore and hold them at a single health point. Any further damage taken will result in the wearer’s death. In addition, use of the healing spell contained within the ring will restore 10,000HP. Each spell will only work once before having to be recharged.
Ithaniel looked at the ring and his eyes widened briefly. “This is a valuable gift indeed. Thank you, Alexander. I look forward to a long friendship between us.”
The two kings walked and talked some more as Alexander brought Ithaniel up to speed on the conflict with the drow wizards and the Dark One so far. Eventually, they returned to the room where their people were gathered. Lola smiled at Alexander, saying, “It be done.”
Servants appeared with elegantly carved wooden cups and pitchers of elven wine. Everyone received a glass, and Ithaniel raised his in the air. “To the new alliance!” The others echoed his toast and everyone drank.
The entire group walked back to where they’d started, then a bit farther to where Kai waited by the portal. The c
rowd of elves had not dispersed, seemingly fascinated by the dragon prince. Kai looked to Alexander and nodded. The portal was tuned to allow access to all the allied kingdoms, except, presumably, the dragons’ home city. Kai’s ranger escort went and whispered into Ithaniel’s ear.
The lead elder raised his hands, seeing they still had an audience. “Let it be known this day that we recognized Dothloriandal as the legitimate heir and new king!” He paused as there was grumbling and shouting. “Let it further be known that in a demonstration of great honor and wisdom, King Dothloriandal abdicated the throne in favor of Ithaniel!”
The change was immediate. There were cheers and cries of joy. Flowers were tossed down from above as Ithaniel raised his hand in acknowledgement. The elder spoke again. “There will be a coronation one week from today. Prepare yourselves!” The cheering continued as the elders bowed their heads to Alexander, Kai, Lorian, and Ithaniel before departing.
Ithaniel hugged Lorian, then shook hands with Alexander. He bowed deeply to Kai. With the public formalities over, Alexander activated the portal to Elysia’s keep.
Ithaniel said, “Please, I would like you all to attend the coronation.”
Alexander smiled. “Lady Jules would literally kill me if I passed up a chance for her to get dressed up and attend a party. We’ll be back in a week.” He leaned in close to whisper, “If you need us before then to address your drow issue, send a message through the portal.”
And with that, Alexander and his party stepped back into Elysia.
Chapter 4
Allies
Silverbeard appeared as they stepped through, having been notified that a portal was opened. “How’d ye do?”
Lola snorted. “Alexander ‘n Kai scolded them snooty elves, killed the king. Lorian were king for about five minutes, then made a good lookin’ ranger elf the new king instead. We got a treaty plus good trade agreements. There’ll be plenty o’ elven wine in the cellars soon!”
The rest of the group laughed at her interpretation. Silverbeard took it in stride, just nodding his head. “Well done, then!”
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