Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 01 Ch. 35

I am going to fire on the Grizzly. Hunter and Annette go for the trapper, have him step into any of his own traps if you see him. Compel him. Silver Moon, you will have a target when I light this grizzly up. Ready yourselves."

Eldar turned and faced toward the Grizzly and he heard it breathing and he heard its heartbeat increase. It faced him from what he could tell. He took aim and fired. His arrow streaked through the woods.

The arrow went straight into the mouth and exploded in liquid fire. Silver Moon fired off at the lit target while Hunter and Annette went after the poacher. The Grizzly pawed at its face trying to dislodge his first arrow and turned to flee. Eldar put a second arrow into the side for the kill shot and the bear dropped.

Hunter flushed the guy out. He turned around, jumped on his trap, and screamed. Hunter and Annette secure the prisoner and Silver Moon put another arrow into the bear just to be sure. They went in with ropes and he looked at this bear and it has to be 3x the size of the one that attacked him on his first trip from the city.

He looked at his apprentices, "Get your horses and ropes as well. It is going to take a lot of effort to get it out. Lieutenant Walder ride back and get Skinner. Tell him we just took down a monster Grizzly."

The Lieutenant rode off and he looked at the guy in his trap. Hunter just unhooked the chain and left the guy's leg stuck in the trap.

He was a Moon Elf and Eldar looked at him, "Poaching and trapping are both illegal in these woods. What right do you have to be doing it?"

He looked at Eldar and spat. "You kicked your family out. Where did you expect us to go when you left us nothing?"

Eldar looked at him, "I grew up that way and I made something of myself. How many with you? We will not take that trap off until you tell us honestly? Disowned Silvertree family member, likely from one of the assassin's kin. They got nothing. Let us start walking. Just have him walk with that on until he answers."

Eldar, "I do not want him knowing your abilities. Just let me know if he is being honest."

They worked to pull the Grizzly from the woods and Silver Moon looked at him, "I want a bow like yours!"

He nodded, "We can work that. Some like ones that explode but I wanted it to stick and burn the target like lava."

Hunter looked at it, "Not one shot but still in the dark."

Eldar nodded, "That would have been a menace to the villages."

Hunter nodded.

They got the Bear close to the road. Eldar heard the hoofs of Centaurs approaching. They look at Eldar, "Need a hand with that?" He looked over at the prisoner. "He is a disowned member of my family poaching in these woods. He is not alone. He has his foot in one of his own traps. Would you take the rope and take him for a walk up the road and see if he wishes to start talking?"

The Centaurs laughed and took the rope from Hunter. The man looked panicked. He screamed out, "There are five others! We have a camp. We take what we catch to our families living in the city."

He looked at him, "Where is this camp at? Point it out on this map. He handed the map to one of the centaurs and then he pointed to a location on the map.

Annette put manacles on him, "He is scared and honest. Yet he is hiding something. Something major."

Eldar sighed, "High and big trees. Could easily make a camp in them. Give the rope back to Hunter. Hunter, take the trap off. How did you evade the centaurs?"

He looked at them. "We used magic. Spider climb, fly, invisibility, and levitate to get into the trees and hide."

He looked at the Centaurs, "Go see the Captain in the wood elf village and get 12 wood elves who are good at capture. I want them alive and I want to know what you find in the camp. Then I want it monitored for the next few weeks to make sure nobody comes in looking for them.

Have Tranosa get contact information on where to find these family members and let them know the loved ones are dead or serving prison sentences at hard labor. Tell them to get a job and to stay out of these woods. Let's head back."

The Centaurs looked at the bear, "This thing has been attacking our village off and on for the last 10 years. You gained favor with the centaurs by killing it."

Eldar looked at him, "We are going to have one of our men skin and clean the body. I would like to send the skin back to your elder. Let him know we will continue to look after his people as well as the other fey folk in this forest."

He nodded, "That would be well received."

Eldar sighed, "We have a lot of troops to feed, including your guys. The meat will get spread around to improve morale until we can get some cattle farmers to move into the area."

He nodded. "Help us get this back into town and we will send the skin and 100 pounds of meat back with you to your people." They grabbed the ropes and helped us to drag it back.

Skinner and cook showed up with a wagon and got it turned around. He gutted the bear and cleaned it up and got it into the wagon with a lot of help. I look at him "Give the Centaurs the skin and 150 pounds of that meat to take back to their people. It has plagued them longer."

Skinner smiled and went to work.

He looked over at Cook, "Going to be a long night taking care of this meat."

She smiled, "We can pass some of it to the camp of workers. They can cook it up for the people. We will keep half of this and get it to our troops."

Eldar nodded, "Sounds like you got this then. Centaurs, split up get the stuff back to your village but get the Wood-elves moving to close down that camp."

They nodded and split up to take care of that. They kept moving and Eldar took pity on the prisoner, "Cook, keep an eye on this prisoner, have him ride next to you.

Have a cleric look at his wounds. Tell them to leave the scars as a reminder. The rest of us double-time home. Lieutenant Walder, stay with the wagon to ensure the workers do not riot to take all the meat."

He laughed and nodded.

"I am looking forward to a bear steak for morning meal Cook."

She smiled, "That can be arranged. I will get one for each of your ladies as well. Your apprentices can split one."

They smiled at her as they rode off. "Charlemagne and Annette, you can fly with that armor. I gave you the rings for feather fall. If you want to join the hunt feel free. Charlemagne shot off toward the wood elf village. Annette looked at him, "Not that hungry for the action."

They got back to the house and took care of the horses. He gave them an apple each for the extra work of pulling the bear.

He looked at Hunter, "What was her answer?"

He smiled, "You know the answer. She will travel to the city tomorrow."

He smiled, "We will need to organize a hunt for the event, especially the mass wedding feast with two villages and some guests from the city. Let Cook know I want it perfect. Anything she needs from the city she gets, to make this a feast to remember. Tell Tranosa I need to see him."

He rode off to get Tranosa for him. He left the door open and cast up the silence on the house. He walked in, "Ignoring me now."

Eldar smiled, "Close the door the house is silenced. For the big event, I need to ask for something special. I want 4 squads with their lieutenants and the Captain that is leading them to be in the village. Armor shined, clothes and cloaks cleaned and they have to have bathed. Two squads on horseback and two on foot."

He looked at me, "What is going on?"

He looked at him, "As a General, it is an order. As your friend, we may have a couple of royal visitors' teleport in for the event without royal guards. From two Kingdoms."

Tranosa looked wide-eyed at him, "I will handpick the men and women to form these squads. I will leave the dwarves out due to their aversion to bathing."

Eldar sighed, "If they ask, tell them I want a formal parade of men and women for this event. They will be facing a Goddess. Make sure the units on horseback know the command to make their horses bow for when I call out to take a knee."

He nodded, "Thank you for the heads up on this one. Beats getting it last minute."

Eldar chuckled, "We have had a few of those. You also got your first prisoner to deal with and the possibility of 5 more. Poachers. Charlemagne went on the raid."

He grumbled, "Where do I put them?"

Eldar looked at him, "They are casters so magical shackles and keep them in a tent under guard for now until we build a jail. But we got them for at least a year. We get an account of what they have in camp, we will add a year for every animal."

He nodded, "You made that promise."

Eldar nodded, "I wonder how much of this is my own doing. They are disowned Silvertree members who got nothing because their Elder ordered assassinations."

He sat beside Eldar, "You followed the law for those two assassins. You stripped all of their assets."

Eldar looked at him, "Does not make me feel better about it. That are a lot of people to put on the street. The Queen ultimately signed the orders. I trimmed or eliminated 4 houses counting my own. As soon as I marry the Crescent Moon sisters that will be another house gone. All in the span of months not even years. People are in awe or fear me.

Very few see me for who I am. Instead of what abilities the Gods have given me. I have to put on this facade every time I throw the word 'Duke' out. The only reason I did not turn it down is it allowed me to put 600 more to work as a protection force.

That cut the area in half where I absolutely needed the blades. It also protected some of the most able-bodied men and women from being conscripted into the Army. The big thing that makes me the occasional diplomat is my knowledge of everything I have read."

He chuckled, "There is more to it than that. You have an air of confidence that drives the troops, a commanding presence, and confidence in your actions. You also have a code of honor that you are strictly bound to. You are a good person and others see that in you. Some despise you for it."

Eldar laughed as did the ladies who were upstairs and listened in on the conversation. Eldar stood and looked up, "I am going to be the good Master and check on my apprentices. Dorothy, you get to come with me. I will wait for you outside."

They giggled at the reference.

He stepped out of the house and waited for Dorothy while Tranosa headed off. She was out in about fifteen minutes, "Putting all this stuff back on is a pain."

Eldar nodded. "Especially when you have 4 others playing grab-ass on you. The house was silenced so this was nothing I heard."

She turned red, "Why did you need me?"

He smiled and started walking, "We are going for a walk because my apprentices are split. You have people to meet."

She looked at him, "Like who?"

He walked up to one of the bigger houses in the village and knocked on the door. A lady opened the door and smiled. He gave her a little nod, "Is the Elder Captain in?"

She nodded, "He is getting up from his chair now he heard the knock."

The elderly elf came down the stairs and looked at us, "General, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Eldar smiled, "As one of the Captains, I thought you should meet another Captain. This is Dorothy and she is to become one of my wives. She is skilled with bows, longswords, and riding. She is the Captain for the last area I needed to take care of and that is the new town. She will also be a point of contact for you if you have any issues.

Charlemagne is still dealing with getting you and your people paid. If you come across any problems or have an idea shoot it to her. She sits in on the Gray Blade Meeting anyway and she can ensure it gets heard by a lot of the senior leadership."

He nodded, "Good to meet you, Dorothy. Glad he is getting that rounded out to get the protection force to full strength."

Eldar sighed, "There is a strike going on a poacher's camp, we caught one earlier. I took down a 1,200-pound grizzly just west of the village near where we caught the first poacher."

He looked a little startled, "Thank you for doing that. I hope nobody was hurt."

Eldar smiled, "Took it down from range with my new bow it put a dent in him. He looked over and he saw a fireplace log. He pulled out his bow so he can see what it did. He looked at me, "Don't go hitting any trees with that thing."

Eldar smiled, "I rarely fire into the woods, and when I do it is usually at night with a focused shot at the creature's heart. My first arrow went straight into the bear's mouth and did that.

The second was a side kill shot into the heart."

He nodded, "Well I would still be careful."

Eldar smiled, "That is why I did not get one that causes an explosion."

He smiled. Eldar waved to him as they left.

He looked at her, "The Captains in the two villages are elderly but they are in charge of the village militia which now gets paid by the crown to do what they already did."

She laughed, "Smart use of resources. Without taking their people away."

He nodded, "Occasionally they cross boundaries. The Centaurs go everywhere which I like because there is the section of woods just north of the river that I have them pay special attention to. Keep an eye open for any infiltration units that get through the patrols. We have been sending some wood elves into the centaurs' area because of poachers' use of trees to evade them. That is where Charlemagne went."

He opened the door to the Moon Ray home. "You see this is the other home I bought from my apprentice. I gave her a sword for it. Which I will be taking back so I will probably give an account with money in it so she can buy stuff when I take her to the city."

Apprentice Moon Ray looked up from her reading, "Thank you, Grand Master."

He looked at her, "If I checked your room right now would it be in order?"

She shook her head. He smiled, "I am not inclined to check tonight but I will tomorrow morning."

She nodded, "Understood, Grand Master!"

He looked, "We are off to check on Strong Oak in the other village."

They took the walk past Silent Falls, "That is where the swords will be done and our marriage. It is a holy site. I am not going to ask you to worship elven deities but I will ask that you respect them, like kneeling when I ask you too. That will happen at the wedding. The sword ceremony is a different matter. You will be frozen in place like the rest of us."

She nodded, "Have never seen a god or goddess before so that would make me a believer for sure when I see some of the amazing things that they can do."

He smiled, "You will see that with these relics we wield."

They entered the village and he knocked on the door and the Elder answers, "You! You know it is late and you got your wife and Centaurs traipsing through looking for more of my militia?!"

Eldar smiled, "Yes Elder Captain. This is Dorothy who will become one of my wives at the big mass wedding after the sword ceremony. She will handle the protection force responsible for the area around the new town.

She will be a point of contact if you have any issues. I gave the order to get your men because centaurs are lousy at climbing trees. A group of poachers has set up a camp in some trees. Charlemagne will still be the contact for getting paid."

He nodded, "Well at least this time you did not come looking for more of my militia."

Eldar smiled, "Also part of my protection force. They have the skills we asked for them to aid in this area. We do not need poachers. It is bad for all of us."

He nodded, "I hear you. Well, it was nice to meet you, Dorothy."

He closed his door hard.

Eldar looked at her, "Really pleasant elf, he was especially nice tonight."

She laughed as they walked on. "I was not joking. He has always been a rather bitter and sometimes cruel man toward me because of my being of mixed birth. For him to say nice to meet you to a human is good behavior for him.

This village has been a strict wood-elf village. Mixed birth children are not looked upon favorably. The new laws will take some time to get through but my apprentice will help with that. He is mixed blood and his great aunt is my grandmother and Elder."

She nodded, "So many pieces moving around to make the picture fall into place."

He smiled, "You are the first one to put it that way but you are correct. I am dealing with the ideas and hopes I had for the elven people. Now they are starting to happen. You and your sister will help with that because your half-elven children will pick up moon-elf or wood-elf traits. Any half-elf of wood elf traits would be sought after here because of the shortage of men to women.

They are more accepting of you than Charlemagne because our children will be moon elves. Same for Annette, at least with you and your sister they will get a chance at half-wood elf offspring."

He knocked on the door to the Elder's home and she answers the door. He looked at her, "I came to check on my Apprentice."

She smiled, "He is sitting here reading."

He looked at him, "I am going to ask you the same thing I asked Moon Ray. If I check on your room is it in order?"

He shook his head. Eldar smiled. "I do not feel like going to check tonight but I will be tomorrow."

He nodded, "Thank you, Grand Master."

He looked at his Grandmother, "Things are crazy with finding rooms for everyone but we hope to start moving people into the inn and soon. He will be back with Moon Ray. I thought you would like the time to visit with him and find out how I am doing as a trainer."

She laughed, "I do ask him about that but he is happy to have a trainer. Not just any trainer, the best trainer, and a relative."

Eldar smiled. "I was explaining to Dorothy that her offspring could be half-moon or half-wood elf and because of that, she would be more accepted than my current wives in this village. Those children could help to rebuild the wood-elf population."

She nodded, "Change is slower to take place here. You overlaying the current militias into your protection forces helped. As does the new oven. I love mine because I have less dust to worry about."

He smiled. "Well, this was just a quick bed check, a chance for Dorothy to meet the other Captains. Which is why she is traveling with me. She will become the Captain of the new town protection force. She can fill out the rest of our forces to bring us up to close to full strength if not full strength. You have a good night Grandmother."

She smiled and nodded. He walked away with Dorothy, "Since my wedding, she has been filled with regret over how I was treated and being shoved into the Academy. Something that was actually in my mother's will and she had no say in the matter as I did not even know her then. I explained it helped to shape who I am, someone who wants to see that change. Now I have the means to effect change. Help elven society as a whole."

She hugged into him on the long walk back, "You do so much for those around you. What do you do for yourself?"

He smiled, "Find time to love and laugh. Seeing my vision for the people unfold. Making babies."

She smiled, "Oh Doc said there was one surprise with Rachel. She is carrying two sets of twins."

He chuckled, "Of course she is, well that means I will have to talk with my officers about modified schedules for when I get her off of a horse and working on training troops for a while when she is closer. I am doing the same thing with Keyno."

She nodded, "That is wise and compassionate of you."

He smiled, "She is strong but carrying four is a bit scary. Compared to the standard two we seem to be having."

She laughed, "You do seem to have the effect on people."

They walked back into their home to find all of the ladies were downstairs, "Doc is upstairs with Charlemagne."

He flew up the staircase. He got to his room and Charlemagne was sitting up. She has a few abrasions and Doc was working on her leg. She looked at him. "Flying is not so easy and it does not allow me to hold onto someone easily. Then feather fall does not work well if you have someone grappled. The guy broke my fall but it broke my leg. Doc has got the bone set, but he will run out of healing magic. He helped to heal up others first at my insistence."