Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 03 Pt. 01

They all laughed at him and they separated. He headed to the barracks and the guys looked at him. Travious's uncle Elios commented, "You look better. I thought you looked close to death."

Travious smiled and dropped the pieces of metal on the table, "I would have been if they had not gotten those out of me."

The guys got up and looked at the metal, "That came from your armor and it was inside of you?"

Travious nodded, "Sundering weapons fucking hurt. Goldeagle found over 20 of them in that group we killed."

Goldeagle looked at him, "That number is over 50 now. I had the guys check a larger area and some were buried under pieces of bodies. They will check again after the fires go. So far there has been no further movement into the valley."

Travious nodded, "He is waiting for us to finish cleaning up his last failure. Least the troops turn and kill him."

He looked at Fangs, "You can come too. Maybe there will a human male or two who will want to fuck the shit out of you."

The guys laughed and Fangs got up, "Good, I have been feeling a bit constipated."

The guys laughed while Travious just turned and left after picking up the metal fragments, "Goldeagle, get me a couple of those sunder weapons. Big ones that humans would like. Make it four as I hope to visit both sites today."

He nodded, "Making friends."

Travious nodded, "Also showing them what we are up against in this engagement."

Yola came in, "She is fit to be tied and is getting dressed. Twin girls, a battlemage, and an enchanter. Boy Toy actually puked after hearing the news that he was a father."

Travious nodded, "I better talk with him. One expecting father to another."

He walked across the yard and got to the door just as his sister threw it open to come and find him. He grabbed her hands as he surprised her. He picked her up and off the ground by both wrists. "Behave yourself. You were going to jump into his bed regardless. I just took away that point of indecision from you."

She squirmed and he looked at her. "I told you I would help you. I would not deter you and I did not stand in your way."

She stopped squirming and sighed, "How did you know I would go through with it?"

Travious smiled, "Because you loved him. Paladin's ability, innate because of our code. You have probably been wanting this guy for over 30 years. Explains why you did not leave the Academy years ago."

She nodded, "Let me down now."

He did so after pushing her into the room. He took her arms and put them around him. "I almost died yesterday."

She nodded, "I know the ladies told me that when I told them I was going to kill you."

He looked at Fressa, "Pull out my crystals. Make sure Boy Toy is in here before you activate them. She pulled him out of the small side room he was dressed in but looked a little green.

He looked at him, "You want me to continue to call you Boy Toy? You have a name, right?"

He nodded, "Eldus Greentree."

Travious looked at him, "The town planner?"

He nodded. "My father. He married a couple of wood-elf women and here I am."

He smiled, "Named after my Grandfather. A great man who had a vision for the future. Has she told you the story of our father?"

He shook his head. Travious looked at him, "He died from being poisoned. After he found the evidence against the Dragon Council of Nine. He helped forge the Alliance with the Metallic Dragons and found the location of the Forge. He led the assault to get that forge which was on an island in the Deep Sea. He managed to kill a lich, several Half-dragons and jumped into the mouth of a Draco-lich. He was a battle mage; a storm born.

The lich had poisoned him during that struggle. He died hours later in the Palace. He was made a Duke, an Admiral, and found the very device we needed to stave off the dragons when the civil war broke out. All before the age of eighty-three. Along the way, he married and his wife later had 3 children after he passed. My question is now that you have something to lose, are you willing to help fight for their future? For the future of the elven people?"

Eldus looked at Kirra and then nodded, "I watched your fight on the field when those Ogres came toward us. You halted their progress and Fangs told me to wait. He wanted to watch you in action on the field. He told the dwarves of your feats in training and they watched as you nearly danced your way around then took those blows. Blood was flying. We saw you roll forward.

Then he charged you as you got on your feet. You rolled under him sending your blade cutting through his bowels. The rest was less dramatic. When I heard you did that over and over again on your broken shoulder from those blows. I realized I may not be able to do what you do, but I should be involved in helping with this threat."

Travious nodded and threw a ring at him, "Identify it."

He looked at it, "A ring of polymorph but with a necromantic component."

Travious nodded. "The body is stored in that ring. That was the body of a female elf. The body that is stored within that ring now is of a Female Ancient blue dragon. That body is now what will appear when that ring is worn."

He handed it to Kirra. "When we are done with this our dragon friends are going to set up a special extra-dimensional room for you to try this out. As you are with child use your new lover to test it out, I don't trust necromancy not to hurt you. See how much of the dragon you can control. From breath weapon to flying.

I was told by the Lady of Dreams that an arcane could make it work for training our half-dragons. There are several who will be Dragon Riders. The two of you would become very special trainers and researchers. That will look into everything dragon-related.

From gathering blood from the blue dragon to working on enchantments to aid the riders. You are an academic and I am giving you a chance to make a difference. In the meantime, you need to get dressed, He rides with you, sister. We are going to visit the humans. Little chance of combat but it might happen. We will be using these two teleporter locations. The first you know. This one.

Do you know this one? He shook his head but Kirra looked at him, "Have gone to that one. While you were gone, I helped to finish destroying the barricade."

He smiled, "Good thing I am taking you both. Let me know if there is a future Mrs. Greentree or not sister."

He dropped the crystals and Kirra gave him a sly smile, "He had already asked me before we found out."

Travious smiled, "I knew the time in the field would help you to grow a sack!"

The ladies laughed as he stored the crystals. He opened the door, "Do not ask Doc. Else everyone will know from Eagle-eye. On the other hand, that may not be such a bad thing. You would get a gift package with enough lube for at least a year. Maybe."

Kirra smiled, "Go away, brother."

He smiled and pulled out the Crystal, "Good morning Aunt."

She groaned, "There is no good time to have sex with you around."

Travious smiled. "I thought you should know my sister is pregnant and engaged. Make sure Eagle-eye knows to set her up with plenty of lube and a spare cock ring in case she wears the first one out. I know you have worn a couple out."

Ziria laughed, "Only three. I just got him a new one and he is using it at the moment! I will make sure she gets the message but until they set a date, I will just have her get those items for her."

Travious let the crystal go quiet as Kirra spoke, "Could you embarrass me any further?"

Travious nodded, "I could have told the King while he is in open court. Shall I?"

She shook her head, "Just go."

Travious left her there and Shi'Drakon came out of the stables and a guard came out, "Your horse just fucked all the mares."

Travious nodded, "Good, he deserved the release. The mares will all have foals if the Lady of Dreams is correct."

Travious hopped up on Shi'Drakon. "Make sure your Commander knows."

He waited for his team to get together and Commander Goldeagle walks up, "ALL of them?"

Travious smiled, "Lady of Dreams wishes. He will nail every Elven warhorse mare we have. None of the studs will breed until this one is dead."

He looked at Travious, "Then she has a reason."

Travious nodded, "When the time is right you will know it."

He looked at Travious, "I gave those weapons you asked for to your fighters to carry. Two of each. A one-handed and a two-handed."

Travious nodded as the rest of his party gathered Goldeagle backed away. He looked over, "Eldus, take us out of here." He nodded to Travious.

---

Eldus was glad to see Travious did not hate him as much as he thought. Heck, he turned his sister into his lover and soon to be wife, something he never thought he would have.

---

They had returned to the battlefield and Travious looked at the group. "Kill any orcs but watch area of effect spells. Our human allies might have scouts in the area."

They turned and rode toward the barricade at a swift but manageable pace.

They rode through the burnt-out remains and saw humans at a barricade off in the distance. He had them slow to normal riding speed. They continued forward normally until one of the humans rode out toward them, "Halt and state your business."

Travious held up a fist for everyone and rode toward him but stopped with some distance away, "I am Travious Silvertree Knight Paladin, Champion of Corellon Larethian."

He held out his papers to him, "This is a small part of the group I command. We are an Assault team known as the Shadow Riders. All of the explosions and screaming orcs you have heard over the last few days were caused by us and a couple of squads from the Gray Blades who are now patrolling the northern half of the valley. I wished to speak with whomever you have in charge here to brief them on where things stand in the valley."

He handed Travious documents back to him, "Follow me."

Travious signaled everyone to follow and he did not object.

He looked at Travious, "When the fortifications went up, we did not know what to think. We thought they might be having an internal conflict but nothing came until you. Then all of the smoke today."

Travious nodded, "They are burning the bodies of the dead enemy."

They rode in front of a command tent. An older battle-scarred man stepped out. Travious looked at him and nodded. The escort told him who Travious was. He called the man General.

The General looked at him, "What is your rank?"

Travious looked at him, "I am a Knight Paladin, I carry no rank nor will I ever carry a rank as you know it. I work for the Gods and the King directly. I have a little under 30 that report to me currently. We had almost 24 of the Gray Blades follow us in to stretch their horses' legs and enjoy some action for a change.

We cleared the valley floor of around 15,000. We lost no lives. Except for one of our elven war horses that got hit by a boulder when it was too near the southern valley wall. We set up multiple teleportation locations and mapped them. The next day they sent in another 12,000 non-grunts who set up in the center of the valley. We got our dwarven allies to bring in some explosives.

We took 3 casters to take all of those explosives and teleport them over the enemy at 1,000 feet. As the first barrels hit our casters teleported in. They laid waste to those on the outer edges. The only rider on the field was me. I rode in on a hill before the explosives hit and had all eyes on me when my horse screamed to the heavens. Then everything blew up. I rode in and took down 20 with the aid of my Elven warhorse and friend Shi'Drakon."

He patted his side. "About 300 were seen retreating back into the mountains with images of the lone rider."

The General laughed, "You fucked with their minds."

Travious smiled, "What I discovered during that battle was more shocking. Sergeant, can you bring two of those weapons forward?"

He took them and dropped them on the ground. "What they were using. We have pulled over 50 of them off the field. He reached into his bag and withdrew the top half of his suit of armor he had stored.

He held it up for him to see. "I was wearing this armor. Heavily enchanted and it smashed through it like a cheap rock. Those are for you. You can check them out yourself. He put the armor back in the bag, "It took a team of casters and clerics to keep me alive. They pulled these," He held out the metal fragments, "From my body when I was ordered back to the Palace in five minutes. You know how Kings get. You destroy over 25,000 with a team of 50.

No loss of eleven lives. If he could have thrown a title on me, he would have. As a Knight Paladin, I cannot take a title or a rank. Part of our code of conduct. He was nice enough to replace my armor."

The guys laughed and the General picked up the big two-handed sword. He looked at one of his aids, "Hold up a shield." The aide held up a big tower shield. The general brought the weapon down on the shield and stopped when his aid screamed.

Travious got down from the horse and walked over. He has a deep gash in his arm but the bone was not broken. He grabbed his arm and sent some healing magic into his arm and they watched as the wound closed. He looked at the aid, "I can fix the wound but I'd make your General pay to fix your armor."

He heard laughter and the General looked at Travious, "You really are a Paladin."

Travious nodded, "I am."

Travious looked at the General, "The leader is another champion. I believe he is an enchanter evoker.

The weapons you hold. If he has been producing them in mass they would cut through your troops. You need the support of the Gray Blades and the Shadow Riders. I am planning on visiting the other blockade now and giving them a couple of these weapons as well. Please pass my best regards to your King when you speak with him. Give him your honest assessment of what will happen if an army comes in wielding these.

I hope he will support our efforts to deal with this problem before it becomes your problem."

Travious got back on his horse and rode over to his group. "If your men would give our caster a little room we will be going now."

The General nodded and he looked at the shattered shield the aid held. Travious looked to Kirra and she took them to the other circle back in the orc valley.

It was closer to the barricade and they rode forward slowly and voices called out, "Stop and state your business."

He ordered his men to stop. He rode forward a bit further. "I am Travious Silvertree Knight Paladin, Champion of Corellon Larethian, Leader of the Shadow Riders. We invaded this orc held land with the approval of King Thornlord in Grand Falls. I came to see your commanding officer to share information."

He saw a man emerge from the debris of the barricade. A scout. The guy looked at us, "We have wounded up here. The attack the other day caught some of our scouts."

He rode forward and dismounted, "Fressa and Gia, join me." He looked at the scout, "Show me." He walked back into the debris and followed him. They had three men who were burned badly. He looked to find the worst of the three and he held his hand and sent healing energy into him.

He looked at Fressa and Gia, "Start with the other two. I am going to cast a few healing spells on this man."

Travious cast a couple of his highest-level healing spells and he was almost good as new with just a bit of scarring and some missing hair. He looked at Travious, "Your people did this?"

Travious nodded, "Nobody from the human side was supposed to be in the valley at all. We coordinated with your King."

He sat up, "Well that did not get passed to us. Thank you for the healing."

Fressa and Gia finished him up and cleaned up some of the scars on the guy he had been working on. He looked at his unit, "Now the Gray Blades are patrolling the northern end of this valley. That includes this area. Can you take us to who is in charge now?"

He nodded. "They are about a half a day that way."

Travious sighed, "UNTA. Any other surprise patrols we will run into?"

He shook his head, "We were sent to scout the explosion."

He got up on his horse, "Everyone double up. We are not taking half a day to get to your camp. He pulled him up in the saddle with him and walked them through the debris. "We will need your guys to hold on tight."

He chuckled and then saw he was not joking once they cleared the debris. He nodded to the group "Shi'Drakon Biatus Evanill Aisiaon." They took off.

The scout he was carrying asked, "What do you feed these things?"

He smiled, "Oats, apples, exercise, and combat."

He chuckled, "Well I know why our horses are not moving that fast."

Travious smiled, "These are Elven war horses. They will take us faster and further. When we blasted a hole through the valley, we made it to just around the corner of your second blockade. Before teleporting back for the midday meal, so the length of the valley in just over five hours. Of course, we were not doubled up at the time."

The scout chuckled. About two hours later they slow up as they approach the camp. A rider approached and they dropped down to a normal rate as he saw the scouts he had with him. He looked at Travious, "Follow me."

They follow this man into the center of this very small camp. They lowered the men down. A female with slightly graying hair stepped out. She seemed genuinely happy to see her scouts. She looked at Travious, "You must be the elf the General spoke of."

He nodded, "Apparently a few of your men got hurt when they investigated the explosions along the orc line. Our teams came in to finish destroying the barricade on that front. All three of them are destroyed now. Did you not get word we would be operating in the orc-controlled valley?"

She nodded, "But we never expected you to get that far let alone all the way down."

He sighed, "We cleared over ninety percent of the valley. Gray Blades are patrolling the northern half of that area.

My men are setting up more teleportation locations while watching for movement out of the mountains. We brought you a couple of the weapons we left with the general." One of his fighters rode up and dropped two weapons on the ground and she looked at them, "The General said he about cut one of his men's arms off."

Travious smiled, "The top half of that tower shield fared much worse than the aide's arm. Why are you camped so far from the entrance to the valley?"

She sighed, "Anytime we tried to move in closer we would keep losing men on watch, and food stores would get poisoned. Until we lose two squads, they do not send replacements."

Travious got back up on his horse, "That the General or the city?"

She smiled, "A bit of both. Moving a single squad along this section of the road is treacherous. With us being between cycles they have seen no need for urgency."

Travious sighed, "There is a proposal before your King that extends Gray Blade control. Patrols from your northern border to your first town down the road. Cotton Web is it."

She nodded, "Not much of a town; it is what it is."

Travious smiled, "I will take my leave now. We have to get back and check on the status of the valley. You take care now."

He turned his team and got away from the camp. He nodded to Eldus, "Fort Ash."

Travious looked around, "Commander Goldeagle around?" He nodded and he got down, "fika" Shi'Drakon heads into the barn and he headed upstairs to Goldeagle's office.

He knocked on the door and an elven woman stood there hiding behind the door. "I am looking for Goldeagle."

She smiled, "He is asleep, soldier. You will have to come back later."

He stopped her from closing the door. She glared at Travious, "What is your problem, soldier?"

Travious looked at her, "I am not a soldier. I do not work for the General. I work for the Gods and the King. Now, who might you be?"