Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 02 Pt. 01

Your father suspected it was a type of focused strike. The Gods locked all of the blades with the summon to either hand. Your Father did the mind control because of the increase in psionics. More importantly for protection from the Lich."

He thought back to the sword, "Did my father ever talk to you about me? What his thoughts were. You spent every day with him. You were probably the closest confidant he had who is still alive."

The sword responded, "He was heartbroken at the loss of your mother. He found it hard to be around you for the longest time because of the constant reminder of what he failed to do that now fell to your hands. The Gods added the undead bane at the last ritual. He expressed his belief that you would be the next wielder, he was in awe of the power you could manifest.

He was happy in a way that they ruled you were too young to compete in the tournaments. He played a part in that by ruling on that for the local Academy. He feared you might hurt someone badly, or kill them. You tested off the charts in magical aptitude. The other Academy did not want you in the mix.

They were fighting for their collective lives to stay relevant. When the first arcane mimic hit and a 5th year beat their field of 30-year mages it was the end of the tournaments anyway.

You would have brought it sooner if you had seriously killed or maimed someone. You were and are still rather emotional about some things. The gods wanted you kept out so he could prove the Blade Singers training needed to change. That was also a part of it.

He heard of your frustration and plan to leave the Gray Blades and told General Goldeagle to make use of you immediately, as he did not want you heading off to find that lich before you were ready. He was proud of the day you were Knighted and had been talking with your sister about promoting you up for a few years now.

He wanted to get you out of the field and in a training position. He did worry if he did that, that you would leave Blades instead of being sidelined again. The druids were threatening to take action if there was a repeat of your destructive nature in that battle.

He threatened to have them removed from the Duchy one body part at a time if need be. They backed down. We never discussed why he did not visit you while you were at Fort Ash. He knew you felt imprisoned but he felt he had no better solution and he hated the idea of you pursuing this lich.

This creature he failed to destroy and now the task would fall to you. He felt trapped here in a way by the Lady of Dream's visions of how bad it would get for him if he tried to pursue the lich. He once said he would not ask one of his troops to do a job that he would not do himself if he was the best qualified to take it on. He felt as though you would be qualified to do it when the sword was in your hand.

He did not voice it to me. I sensed he knew he was going to die going into that fight but it was his destiny to ensure that champion was off the field and it would set you on your way to your destiny. He did not spend a lot of time talking to me about family. Except for the loss of his wives and those he trained. You should pick a power that you would lock-in in the event of your death"

Brannar should not have been surprised about the gods' involvement in the decisions but he was. He thought back, "Right now I would probably go with the immunity to fire. I might change one to add my lightning immunity. Not sure about that yet.

If he had promoted me to be a teacher I would have left the Blades. I did that job for 35 years. If I wanted to remain a teacher I could have. That would have been a faster way to push me away. Instead he just enjoyed ignoring me and holding me back."

Karti'Ros responded, "He did not enjoy it, he felt as though he failed you. I agree, of all his children he did not work or spend enough time with you to generate a positive influence upon you. Yet, he did not enjoy the way he handled it.

That assessment is not accurate. I would know as I would have questioned him about that feeling if it ever occurred. I would say your concern that he feared you and what you could do was accurate."

He saw Silver Moon riding back, "I got us aboard a ship leaving tonight at high tide weather permitting. They expect us to help fight if they get attacked. They know you and I are casters but they do not know what kind of caster you are."

Brannar looked at her, "What is the weather permits issue?"

She looked at him, "Wind for the sails to get over the outer reef at high tide which lasts about an hour."

He looked at her, "Let him know we can get out tonight. I can cast gust of wind to fill his sails to get us out of this cesspool of a harbor."

She smiled, "That will score points for us. Only two of us can go below deck to see to the horses once we set sail."

He nodded, "You and I would be best. Not sure how the Elven War Horses would react to being in a cargo hole that long with us not visiting."

She groaned, "Alright, we'll play it your way on the horses as you have a point. They also do not know you can speak their languages. We will keep it that way until the need changes."

He glared, "When I decide the need changes. I work for the Queen, not you. I agreed not to expose you but I will have a say in my life."

She sighed and nodded. "He would be a handful to deal with as he has shunned the Knights. She got a private message from the Queen letting her know to give him room to breathe. His whole mission depended on them working together.

Besides, she needed him at the destination to help with local diplomacy. To provide sexual services to some of these warlords' daughters. Because of the culture. If they wanted negotiations to go well and quickly. He would probably enjoy getting laid. His father did.

She did not think he would mind and she was not about to bring it up now after the blowout with the Dragons. Then again it might be another fight. She needed time to figure out how to address any pushback he might have and the cause of that if it did occur."

They got the horses onto the ship and stowed below deck and they had them doubled up, "Well Silver Moon, looks like yours will have to go with mine. He will fuck the others to death if left in a stall with him."

She looked at Brannar, "So I can expect another foal?!"

He smiled, "Or two."

She laughed and they got the horses brushed down and stall door closed. Zea'Trans went straight to mount her.

Brannar looked at her, "He is a horny fucker."

She laughed and they headed back on deck. They sealed the hole and she went to talk to the Captain. The others went below deck to quarters and he stood behind her.

Someone tried to wave him over to go below. Brannar ignored him. He walked over and in broken common, "Below deck, go."

Brannar turned to him, "No."

He pointed to Silver Moon talking with his Captain. He moved back to the door and waited and Silver Moon looked at Brannar, "They want everyone off the deck until they are situated in the middle of the harbor. They will bring us up an hour before high tide."

He followed her below deck and rested in his room while he waited. His roommate was Silver Moon's lover and he has his shit scattered everywhere, especially the heavy armor. Brannar just had the saddle below the bunk. 2 hours later she came to take him up top.

He looked out, "How long until high tide, how far out is the reef, and how fast does he wish to go?"

Brannar understood him but was forced to wait for her to tell him.

She looked at him, "Forty minutes until high tide, He will signal when he wants you to cast. He is only putting the mainsail up."

Brannar looked at her, "If that is what he does I cannot guarantee the main mast will not break. It would be better if I split across the main and front."

She looked at him, "You sure?"

He nodded at her. "He will need to calculate out the speed he will get from both sails. For the timing. Expect them to be full. If he wants to sail in a tight circle in the harbor for the next forty minutes I could start now. He can judge for himself, but he will need the second set of sails or this ship will lurch hard. Especially when the mast snaps."

He looked around at the crew as he picked his spot on the deck, He saw her coming, "Tell the guy in the crow's nest to secure his hat and hold tight when we start."

She yelled it to the Captain, he heard his comment and he laughed. Wrong thing to do.

She came over, "I am going to regret saying this but he said to give it your best shot."

Brannar laughed at her. He saw the front deck was cleared and he extended both hands with one toward each sail. The crew and Brannar slid back a good 5 feet. He allowed for this and they could hear the strain on the mast. The Captain adjusted the sails so they took in less of the gust and they spent a good 30 minutes circling in the harbor and then he lined up the ship and had them bring the sails to full. They cruise right over the reef.

He asked her, "How long does he want me to keep this up? I will need to eat in about an hour. Also, tell him I held back my best. That would have likely broken both masts which I was trying to avoid."

She laughed and went to talk to the Captain.

She came back, "The Captain thanks you for not breaking the ship and he said an hour would be nice. Said we are traveling at around four knots."

He nodded. "I noticed he stopped laughing. Let him know it would be closer to 6 knots if the cargo hold was not so full. Remember what I am and what I studied."

She responded, "He may try and offer you a job."

Brannar laughed, "I told Jarron I could get a job out here easily. Come and get me when we are ready to eat."

She laughed, "The guys below desk are probably already seasick."

He smiled, "I do not see that as a problem for me."

An hour later she returned and tapped Brannar on the shoulder. He couldn't help myself, "Ah mom, just 5 more minutes pleaasssee!!!"

She laughed and translated the joke to the Captain who laughed. He gave it a few more minutes and backed off. Brannar nodded to the Captain before going below deck where he heard a lot of puking going on. He knocked on Silver Moon's door as he knew she was sharing a space with Silver Rose.

Silver Moon answered the door, "I see you got to play for a few more minutes. Most of these guys were puking before we left the harbor."

He looked over at Silver Rose who was still in her heavy armor, "The smell in that harbor was enough to cause that. You need help getting out of that armor. You will sink like a stone in this water."

She got up on unsteady feet. We worked undoing the straps on the top of her armor, "Removing this extra weight will take some of the strain off of your body. When you are feeling better try out the leather."

She nodded. He helped undo the straps on the lower section of her armor and removed them and helped her back to a seat. He threw the contents of her chamber pot out the porthole. He cleaned up his hands, the pot, and her face with a little magic. He sat her on her bunk so she was facing forward. The direction the ship traveled.

"This is the direction the ship is pointed. Now I know you are not feeling like eating but I want you to try something."

She looked at Brannar and he pulled out a piece of fruit. "The first time I had one was at the market. Sweet, but not acidic. It should help with your stomach. Try a piece at the very least it will help to get that taste out of your mouth."

She ate a small piece and he left the rest of it with her. Brannar worked on repairing the rest of her straps on her armor. "I figured it would be best if I got them done one set at a time."

She gave him a hint of a smile and she ate another small piece. She looked at Brannar, "It felt like we went in a circle for an hour."

Brannar looked at her, "It was close to half an hour. The Captain doubted the strength of my spellcasting ability. Also, my request for a second sail. I did not want to snap the main mast or tear his sails." Silver Moon left the room. "You are in luck. I do not take advantage of women who are ill. Also, just so you know. You are the only woman I have ever kissed. Yours were the first breasts I have run my hands over.

When I tell you 'I have never said or done those things before.' I am not lying to you. I lived in a Keep with half-naked consorts of my father would go walking down the halls. 6 wives were crazy. Then he got married again to another 6 women 2 days before he died. Another 12 siblings and 6 widows I do not know floating around that Keep. I was ready to leave."

She looked at him, "Why are you telling me all this?"

Brannar looked her in the eyes, "Because you are a beautiful woman who I was instantly attracted to. You have my heart. I do not want you to think I did what I did earlier because it is commonplace for me. You are the first person I have done anything with. People were scared that I would fry them, my father and sister would kill them, or both. I was out of bounds until I left to see Jarron and then you were there to greet me."

She smiled, "Thank you for the insight, you kind of blew my mind this morning. I stood there trying to figure out just what happened. It was a first for me, both things. We should take it slow."

Brannar smiled, "I would like to, but I do not know if I have the control to keep it from advancing faster."

He stood, "On that note, I hope your stomach is feeling better. I will try the same thing with the guys, Except for the soft expressions of affection."

She laughed, "That would be funny to see."

He smiled at her, "Let me see to the others."

He left and she thought, 'Even when I am a mess and sick, he still wants me. He bared his heart to me and did not make a move on me. Instead, he tried to ease my discomfort and clean me up. To make me feel better. Gods, I wish I knew how I felt about him.'

Brannar spent the next few hours as he fixed armor and cleaned up puke. He got them to sit on the one bunk and faced the direction the ship was going and gave them a banana to split. He got to his room and found it locked. He used the knock spell to unlock the door.

He stepped into the sight of the Lieutenant banging Silver Moon on his bunk. He stood there, getting angrier at the invasion of his space but did not stop them. He stood there and waited for them to finish. The man pulled back and Brannar felt a bit inadequate.

No wonder there were so many half-elves. He figured his 7 inches was good. This guy packed at least 10 and it was 4xfatter. Looked like a long fat ale bottle.

He clapped, "Thank you for the show. I would say I have seen it before but with what he is packing I can say I had not seen that before. By the way, you have a copious amount of seed spilling out of your gaping cunt. I took care of everyone's armor except for the two of you. I figure you can do the mending while you are doing the cleaning of MY bunk."

He closed the door and went into the dining room and waited for her to show up.

She looked at Suttor and he was red-faced. Sutter looked over, "I want to cut the fuckers balls off."

Silver Moon looked at him, "You will do no such thing. You will not lay a hand on him because he will kill you if you try. He might try to just injure you and kill you. I helped to train him, he is an incredibly powerful battle Mage and he wields a Moon Blade. He is elven and my code requires me to protect him. That means you would be fighting both of us.

I agree his comments on our genitalia were over the top. I should not have put you in the same room with him. A locked door would not stop him from getting in. Even a magically locked door. I will talk with him and see if I can get him to apologize for his comments. He has been stressed by those who lead the Knights, and by the nature of this mission as it is 6 members of his family. What is this comment about his bunk?"

Sutter looked over, "I picked that one when I came in. He left no gear in here except a saddle under the bed and I did not feel like moving my armor so we are technically fucking where he is sleeping."

She rolled her eyes, "Alright I'll clean this up and go and talk to him. You stay off of his bunk."

---

She arrived about a half-hour later. Brannar had his feet up on the bench, "This space is not conducive to good sleep. I figured I would check it out. It will not work."

She looked at him, "I can understand you being upset but the comments you made about his and my genitalia went a bit far."

Brannar nodded, "Yep it was stretched far and with that length, he went far. If you are expecting me to apologize for giving you shit for fornicating on MY bunk in my room that is not going to happen. I would say the problem is your problem, not mine. Might I suggest that putting the two of us into the same room was a bad idea?

If anyone can unlock the door to their own room I can. If you wanted someone who you could lockout, he should have been bunked with a non-paladin private from his own group. Unless you are expecting Silver Rose and me to bunk together, which I am sure she will love to death. Seeing how I have made it known I am attracted to her.

If you did that then it would look like she was set up by you as we have a long history of knowing each other. You would be doing me no favors in that scenario. Why don't we talk when you figure out how you wish to respond? I am going to get some rest in MY room. Maybe you could take your boy toy down to your room. Give Silver Rose the evening show."

Brannar got up and walked out the door on that end of the room while she struggled to find words. Silver Moon was frustrated and went back to her room and pulled the crystal out for Jarron. She held it and thought, 'I am going to be a commander for the Knights. I cannot control one of my former students because he won't listen to me. All because I am a member of the Knights and take my direction from dragons directly or indirectly at times.'

She activated the crystal to Jarron. He sighed, "You know what time it is?"

She replied, "Other side of the world. I am having issues with a battle mage, not in the Knights on this. It was either contact you or the Queen on the matter."

Jarron sighed, "She has already ripped into me for having my guys try to poison him, to get him shackled so we could control the narrative and get him to talk. She made it clear. Work with him but do not try and control or imprison him."

---

Brannar went into the room and the Lieutenant was sitting there naked, "Do your men have a fancy name for you like 'meat' or 'snake'? Or should I just keep calling you her boy toy?"

He looked angry, "She said she was going to talk to you about your derogatory comments."

He nodded, "She did. I just told her there was no fucking way I was apologizing for her failures."

The sword alerted, "Danger."

The man started to jump from his bed, "Karti'Ros right hand Moon Fire on."

Brannar extended his arm just enough to cut off this idiot's momentum. "SIT your ass down! I believe she probably told you of these swords. She might have told you I carry my family blade. She may not have told you I am not here representing the Knights. I am here to find my siblings.

My father had a habit of cutting logs into two-inch strips to show people what this blade could do when it passes through flesh. You can imagine what it could do to your cock. Pulling this sword was a less violent solution. So back to your name?"

He glared at Brannar, "Lieutenant Sutter."

Brannar looked at him, "I will just call you Sutter then. You notice I never use your rank. I am an effective Captain if I chose to embrace the jolly line everyone is singing in the name of the Knights. As it is, you are lucky I am not your boss. You would be sleeping with the horses."