Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 07

Two sheets of quarter-inch mithril in perfect circles. Two squared in a 4-foot configuration on all 4 of them. I will be in and out, getting my gear out of dimensional spaces. I also need 6 of each of the following in 3,000 gold piece values."

He handed her a list of 20 gemstones. Zirra looked at him, "That is a lot of money."

Charlus nodded, "I have some coming in as well. I am technically suspended from training. That was to help someone's bruised ego and give me time to put these pieces together. I have work for my two enchanters. They are wanting into my better graces. I can open up abilities for them that are not in your book."

Zirra nodded, "I have a small enchanter's book that is separate from that."

He looked at Zirra, "I would like to see what you have on that."

Zirra went to her room and came down and he flipped through pages, "Keep this book locked away. This one is for limited distribution. Direct from the Queen. Not a spell but the enchantment of that skill."

She nodded, "I gathered that. I know it. Should I destroy it?"

Charlus thought, "No secure it. If something happens to me then you can aid Brimium and Zirrian. If they stay with the house or sign on to do work for the palace then give them access to it. They read it way back when and want it but I told them not until they were adults."

He pulled the rod out. "I created a rod with the meta-magic enchanted into it if we need it. I also gave one to Majisa today."

Gia nodded, "Nice and you got suspended for that?"

He smiled, "Not telling the Queen what I was doing that would upset the Dragons. I laid out my plan and Queen Goldeagle understood the need. Again, it is more of a ruse to subdue someone's bruised ego."

Gia nodded, "I will work with Zirra and get these to you as soon as I can from our connections."

---

Juna 18th 8588

Being suspended put him out of the loop on what was going on with the investigations. He finished the displays in 5 months. He seated them into the long boomerang-shaped tables. He checked for fit and then packed them up in a portable hole. His pieces were enchanted.

His siblings were happy as he got them included in the project and had the consoles ready for enchantment in days for the shields when the time arrived. Gave them time to build their skills as well.

He did inform them it would be some time before they could actually build this sphere for the project. He took his pieces out minus the tables and chairs at the moment. Charlus packed them up and contacted his instructor, "Greeting wise one."

He heard him chuckle, "Greetings wise-ass one. When are you coming back to training? The Queen told me you took a leave of absence to reflect on your actions."

Charlus nodded to himself, "I took some time to reflect on my crafting efforts and I may curtail them some going forward. I am still debating that idea. I have also been reflecting on my etiquette. The Dragon Queen, Majisa, felt like I was making a threat at one point. Not my intention. Just trying to get a better spirit of cooperation. When may I return?"

He chuckled, "I am at the palace now. Queen's Audience Chamber. She smiled at your comments."

Charlus smiled, "Yes, I think I have all of my major crafting done for a while. Unless you want me working on something specific. I have been keeping up with my combat, strength, and acrobatics skills. We have a course here built for training Blade Singers that I have had total uninterrupted access to. I am doing Quadruple spinning flips now without injury from 40 feet up. Our acrobatics course is better than the one we have at the training ground."

Charlus heard him laugh, "Stern will be annoyed by that but that is his problem. Get to the palace and contact the Queen when you get to her chamber."

He let the crystal go dark and stored the portable hole inside of his armor. He went to the door and the guard let him out. He teleported to the palace district entrance and walked in with little to no issues.

He teleported to the front of the palace and walked back to her Audience chamber. "Your Majesty, I have arrived."

The doors opened as he walked in. Queen Goldeagle smiled at him, "This is your private file that is filed under your coded reference name. I have added your commendations. Your list of things for the investigation got you and Stern an additional commendation as he tackled the leads you brought him. I actually gave him a second one for bringing the investigation to a close. They found a tunnel and sealed it up that got them into the market district."

Charlus sighed, "Your Majesty, not to be disrespectful but it is not closed. It does not explain how they got from the market to the palace district. Give me two days and let me see if I can find the holes. I will set up in the Silvertree house main entryway and have the guards avoid the upper area or I would need a building to start from with a secure lockdown. Preferably in the palace district as that is where it will move too."

The Spy Master looked over, "How much room do you need?"

Charlus thought, "At least a quarter of the size of the upstairs conference room. To house the 2 large tables and a couple of chairs."

He nodded, "You can come to my private home. How long will it take to get there?"

Charlus looked at him, "The tables and chairs are the big pieces. In order for me to do what I want I need to put up some additional diamonds inside the shield. They are already enchanted. They just have to levitate it in place, turned invisible, and made permanent. I could be set up in 6 hours. I am assuming the Queen filled you into my plan?"

He nodded, "She told me it even revealed some of the secret rooms in our training facility."

Charlus smiled, "I will show you that after we address this problem." He nodded. "I would need the palace and your location's teleport blockers turned off for a few seconds to get the big pieces in the room. I was prepared to put those crystals in place today if needed. I think it is needed."

The Spy Master nodded, "Contact me. I will be at my house."

Charlus nodded, "When I contact you, give your crystal to someone who does not have a non-detection item on, I can teleport directly to you. I tapped into how to do that through a communication crystal. I demonstrated with an object to the 2 Queens. The former Queen of the Silver Dragons had that ability."

He looked at Charlus and handed him a crystal he recognized, "Contact Stern when you are ready. I will have him take his off. I want him to see what you have been working on for the last several months."

Charlus nodded, "Do you want to tell him I have it first and that he should meet you?"

He took it and contacted Stern, "Come to the Palace, Queen's Audience Chamber. Enigma will have your crystal for a few hours. He has a special project he has been working on."

Charlus walked out and switched rings after leaving the palace to become invisible. He flew up and set the first two in the Palace District. He went to the Market District and repeated it. Then the lower end Roc District. He stayed invisible while in the air and used a wand of fly to get them all perfectly aligned according to his map. He got home and pulled the tables with the embedded controls. He got help standing them on end using the chairs to help support.

Charlus contacted Stern, "Hello Stern. I need teleportation brought down in the palace district and the house you are in."

Stern chuckled, "I was waiting for this call. He is not here. He is leaving the 2 of us to work together on this."

Charlus sighed internally, "I still need those down and you without a non-detection item on."

Stern snapped, "I know the instructions. Wait!" Finally, he returned. "Do it."

Charlus used the rod to expand and teleported next to him.

Stern got on his crystal and had them close the teleport access into the district. He looked at Charlus, "Have a relaxing time?"

Charlus smiled, "Your assistance to get the tables set would be appreciated."

Stern helped him to get them down. He set the chairs in place. He used telekinesis to take the four panels out all at once. He got them on the tables putting the bottom one in place. He physically seated in the others. The circles on either side of two square panels. He activated the controls. We watched the three diamonds on one light up on the display.

They did the same on the other console and the three lit up. Charlus looked at Stern, "We activate these two rubies on three."

He looked at Charlus, "Would it not be easier to have them closer to do them at once?"

Charlus shook his head, "Once turned on it takes 2 people to bring it offline. That is why they are so far away. They respond to touch and they will not respond to necromancy or magical control. It has to be living elves and not the same person. Security measures."

He nodded. Charlus counted off.

They slid them up and they locked in place as they did them on each of the 2 consoles. He watched the two triangles appear on all of the displays. They overlapped in a perfect six-pointed star. He looked at it and smiled. "They are invisible. In the sky. For the 6 they look even but they are set at different altitudes for a planned future expansion of this system."

He showed Stern the controls. "The consoles talk to each other. They each control 3 markers. With this, we can pick it up at altitude as well as below ground. Up to 3 miles below the surface if we wished. It extends out ten miles over the outer walls of the city.

Dynamically builds the city structures or underground structures." He looked at Charlus, "Really?"

He nodded, "This is what I spent the last several months building. I want to ask you something. What do you know of Jarron Silverleaf?"

He looked at Charlus, "Worked our external spy activities throughout the world. Through the Knights. Brilliant man. He had more commendations than I care to count. Especially after the first champion came on the field. Every time he did something that impressed Jarron got credit or blame for it. Yet he was an outstanding agent. Why?"

Charlus looked at him, "You see what I am doing here for the city. I want to do it for the external world. I am not looking for or wanting the Spy Master's job because he is focused on the internal. Right now, he is half-blind because the information coming in from the dragons is sporadic. That was what my father's 'mission' was supposed to be.

I have the skills to do it; if I can avoid being hunted then I can help to build this network on a larger scale. For more things than necromancy potentially. It depends on what the dragons do. They have the ability now but they also have their own city and palace to watch over.

We need to strengthen that alliance or duplicate the capability and the number of eyes on it. We need to get agents on the ground. To do that we have to know what is out there. What is guarding the other end of the land bridge? We need to take scouting teams in and work to find like-minded humans and reclaim the world for peace.

For now, I am working on putting the tools in place to try and make your job a few steps easier for when you take over. I am not trying to show you up. I am trying to show that I am capable of doing the external. To rebuild the Knights.

Can we work to end this passive-aggressive relationship? Realize our sights are set on two different targets. You can see what I am doing here; some of it is over the top for the city. But out there in the field. That is a different matter."

---

Stern looked at what was in front of him and what Charlus just told him. He knew he did not have a global answer. Charlus had that in front of him now. Smaller-scale and focused. If he could expand it, then he might succeed in what needed to be done.

He sighed internally as his main reason for hating Charlus was the very thing in front of him. His skills were suited to the external world and he just came to that realization. Charlus was an ally and not a threat to the job he hoped to take over. He just had to see where this kid was going with things. Charlus just laid it all out for him.

---

Queen Majisa was called into the Dragon's Overwatch and looked at the display. She sighed, "Damn it. Assemble the Council. He is a month early from what he predicted but he built it. He could build a copy of our Overwatch if needed."

The General who oversaw the system looked at her, "Is this enchanter a threat?"

The Queen shook her head, "No Bahamut gave them access to Draconic magic and he is just demonstrating that his non-threat to build what the elves needed can be done by him. I have to convince him not to do that. If our God gave them the capability, I am sure there is a reason.

I wish I knew if he was a champion but that will not be known until they are adults. We have to try and be there for that meeting. I need to know who the champion is, I have a feeling it is still in House Silvertree. Yet this child, he is not an adult, yet, but he is building that now and that took mythic spell casting to accomplish. Just like the other things he has built."

The general looked over, "A child built this?"

She nodded, "With a mind like Eldar and works for the Queen's Diplomatic Service, in training for it anyway. You have not seen what he can do with communication crystals. The child is a genius and a prodigy at the very least and our champion confirmed he is not a champion, at least yet."

She headed off to put this before the other members of the Council.

---

Charlus looked at the screens, "You can search a different level from me. I am checking the subterranean." He nodded. Charlus took it all the way down and it looked very solid. He took it up slowly and saw a couple of open pockets in the ground.

They were not connected to anything and made a note on location. He brought it to 8 feet below the surface and stopped. He looked over at his display. Stern was at the street level for the palace district. He noted 20 in the area. Charlus looked at him, "It does not tell the difference between a weapon, ring, undead, or another item."

Charlus looked at his map, "We have three breaches at 8 feet under in these areas." He marked them on the map. "That is just the palace district."

Charlus looked at him, "You want to contact the Spy Master? We should show him what we are finding."

He nodded and got on his crystal. Charlus kept searching level by level. He found 15 breaches around the city. Some came up in businesses. He noted the locations of everything. They worked while they waited for the Spy Master to arrive.

The Spy Master deliberately delayed coming. He wanted those 2 together, working the problem. He walked in 3 hours later and looked at them, "Enigma, this is your device. Explain it to me."

Charlus looked at him, "The surfaces you are looking at came from 4 20,000 gold piece diamonds, over a mithril backdrop across the 4 displays. Altered into a very thin even surface. That allows us to see tunnels and gaps in the ground.

Each display connects to 3x 6,000 gold piece diamonds in the sky. All at different altitudes for an expansion effort I am planning. Then these 2 connect to each other. Through those 2 rubies on each of the 2 tables. It takes 2 to start it and 2 to turn it off properly. Our security has to protect it from hammers. The diamonds and rubies have 6-tier encryption on each, 3-tier in each direction.

Each of these two tables can handle 6 diamonds each if we expand the capabilities we want. For tunnels and necromancy, we could get by on 3 if something happened that someone stole 1table. It would track the movement within the city unless they put it in an extradimensional space.

Two gemstones on each console do not move. One is for searching tunnels and structures. They support the dynamic maps for buildings and tunnels. The other is for necromancy. We can adjust elevation from 3 miles below to 10 miles above and away from the diamonds.

We add more and we can expand it and extend the range. This should not die if I die. Each piece had been made permanent with two God Locks. Joys of having another enchanter in the house to get them to cast that combined spells over several days. I let her know I could not tell her what I built.

I just needed her to God Lock them and it was for the Queen. She asked no questions. She is one of my grandmothers, and caretakers if you will, Zirra Silvertree. She helps to oversee those working house enchanting projects and she knows Draconic mythic enchanting. I used this one on the right and searched for anomalies below the surface and found 15 tunnels with 3 coming directly into the palace district."

Charlus went back below 80 feet and there were 3 more that looked like giant-sized tree openings. "Those are on both sides of the shield. You could teleport right into the palace from this one."

He pulled it up. The Spy Master nodded, "Those 3 belong to our spy network."

Charlus nodded, "Are they at least guarded or warded?"

The Spy Master smiled, "Not much air in those areas. You have to bring a bottle of air to get through it. We can and should set up some wards. I did not expect you to find those. I now see them as vulnerabilities if the dragons can do this as well."

Charlus nodded and took it deeper. "There are two open pockets in the granite. At 2 miles down and at 3 miles down. The size of a small home. My guess is they are major gem deposits. The one at 3 miles could be bigger, we do not have a full image of it. It should be investigated for mapping purposes."

The Spy Master sighed, "You think there is a chance of a problem there?"

Charlus nodded, "If it is part of the ceiling over a major drow city it would be a problem. They are secondary to the 12 surface tunnels we found. Several come in under businesses.

Used for or previously used for smuggling but they have no exits but extend beyond the shield. Then there is what he is looking at and that is active necromancy signatures. They could be a ring, a weapon, or in a display case."

He reached into his bag. "I had time to make 10 of these with my siblings' help; I only had to enchant very specific parts. They have a range of 400 feet and will point in the direction of necromancy. They could point in circles if there are several nearby. It will go to the strongest source in a few seconds. How many have you gotten?"

Stern looked over, "Hard to count with so many moving. A couple hundred at least."

Charlus looked at the Spy Master, "Did you want to show the Queen this?"

The Spy Master looked at Charlus, "For what purpose?"

Charlus looked at him, "To illustrate how bad it is, allow her to decide what forces she wishes to use to go after these because they are all in the city. Some are ancient weapons on a wall or a set of caster gloves sitting in an old chest. There are no laws against owning those so breaking into people's homes to look for them could be a problem.

City guards, army, royal guards, our group. Some kind of mixture. She would have to make that call. There are too many for us to take on ourselves. We set off a massive dragon attack in the city and she is not going to be happy. She would likely be very pissed at us for doing so."

He chuckled and looked at Stern, "We will need her direction. Give us time and we will focus on the palace district first."

Charlus looked over things, "Some of these are stronger than others. I want to check something."

He looked at the map and focused on one section. He pointed, "You see that faint signal there?"

The Spy Master nodded. "If I am right that is the Moon Blade Family Moon Blade. It is in the top three of Moon Blades. You can bet that muddies the water some as well. I knew Moon Blade had to be stored.

In a bag of holding to get through the shields when blocking necromancy is activated. It can, the current ones, be turned on and off and those swords are a reason that was a good idea in the larger scheme of things."