Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 08

She nodded, "Thank you for asking him to take me up. He held me tight and they rolled over a couple of times to show me what that was like. I found it fun."

Charlus nodded, "You going against another dragon and you will not feel that.

It will be scary but you will be ready by that point. Your job is to help the dragon. The dragon decides where you will go but it is a partnership."

She nodded, "Thank you."

He walked down to the general store. He set a thousand gold pieces down. "Get these people clothes, weapons, and anything else they think they will need. I will be back shortly. They will bring it to you and you add it to the cost. If you need more, I will handle that but it should be enough.

He pointed, "Find what you need. Take it to the elf and he will add it up. I have paid for it. Weapons and clothes today. That table will feed over 200 people three times a day and the same goes for the other shelter. You need no food or cooking supplied right now."

They nodded and went into the store. He looked at the King, "They will shop while I return you to your kingdom, your Majesty. Just need them to set teleport open."

Charlus pulled the crystal to the Duke, "Need teleport open so I can take the King home."

He replied, "Open."

The King nodded, "It is open."

Charlus teleported him in. He noticed the half-dragon right away. He asked the King who was not wearing his glasses and the general who had taken his off yet again. "This is your court wizard?"

He nodded. Charlus walked forward smiling, "Good to meet you."

He thought, "Varus'Nor left hand!" He left Moon Fire off to make a mess of this place.

His sword was in his hand as he turned his upper torso. Charlus came in hard from the right and came back with the sword's god strike ability. He came around and took his head clean off as blood shot out from the severed neck. He cleaned and sheathed his sword. As the heart slowed but still pumped the blood out of the body a few seconds longer.

He looked at the General who watched his strike. He walked over and pulled off the ring. He backed up and put the ring on to display the blue half-dragon for the King and he looked shocked, "I will take this one away."

Charlus checked his bag and pulled out another 584 of the rings.

Charlus shook his head as he stored them away, "He might have captured those like the other man. I seriously doubt it. One less for you to worry about. They were an arm's length away from assuming you, Your Majesty.

Those glasses would help you if you fucking bothered to use them. Thank you for once again proving my point at your incompetence. I will report this issue back to the Elven Queen."

He nodded and put them on. Charlus stepped back and teleported away. He contacted the Duke, "I am back, thank you for that. I am happy to be rid of him. I killed his court wizard while I was there. Pulled another 584 rings, plus the one he was wearing."

Duke Strong Oak chuckled, "Not wearing the glasses?"

Charlus sighed, "Correct." He let the crystal go dark. He looked at a guard. "I am looking for a good strong young stealthy stallion. My last horse was killed on a mission for the kingdom."

He nodded, "I relayed the message."

Charlus nodded, "I got these ten and the King is gone so you can go back to normal duty."

He nodded, "Thank you."

Charlus walked in. The guy looked at him, "Need another 200. Some picked up ranged and melee weapons."

He nodded and set the money down for the clerk and he smiled. He took them all down to the Academy. Charlus looked at the guy at the desk, "I need to see the Magister down here. Sir Silvertree. I work for the Queen."

He picked up a crystal and she came down in a huff, "People usually come to me!"

Charlus spoke in the dialect, "This is the lady who oversees this Academy."

She looked at the strange faces. Charlus put his hands on the girl, "Freed slaves going into the service of the Alliance. This one is dangerous. I call her Butterfly. She is an untrained battle sorceress capable of casting a fireball like effect with little range to it. She is a danger here. She needs to be trained."

She looked at Charlus, "We have an admittance policy here she would have to go through."

Charlus smiled and pulled out a crystal, "Your Majesty, I have a couple of things to report."

He heard her laugh, "Is one of them taking the head off the human court wizard in a blink of an eye one of them? Leaving it a bloody mess?"

Charlus smiled, "Partially, I also pulled another 585 of those fucking rings and this prick stood right next to the King's throne. The second issue is of those 10 potential agents I found an untrained battle sorceress.

She wishes to become a Dragon Rider which pleased this Human King. I am getting pushback from the Magister here concerning an admittance process for this 10-year-old human girl if I had to guess."

She looked at Charlus and, in her dialect, she told him, "In 3 months."

Charlus smiled, "She is a danger to the town as she can cast a fireball effect at random with nearly no range to it."

The Queen sighed, "Magister, please work to get her in there today. She has no family and is going into our service. She will need a translator to work with her and get her language skills up in elven and common. She is admitted Magister. Evaluate her and get her the right people. Commander Silvertree will be checking on her progress."

The Magister sighed, "Yes, Your Majesty."

He put the crystal away and looked at her, "I leave her in your care. She has others who are staying nearby that I freed recently, she knows how to get there. She needs any supplies I will cover them. She has talent, now is the time to shape it. She understands some common but not a lot yet."

She nodded, "I will take care of her."

Charlus looked at Butterfly, "Who do you worship?"

She smiled. "How did you know I worshiped someone?"

Butterfly smiled, "I worship Mystra. It is like she calls me."

Charlus nodded. "There is an all faiths human church down the road. You can pray there if you like."

She smiled, "Thank you for letting me know."

He thought, "She is a human champion in the making. It makes sense."

He heard back from Corellon Larethian for the first time in 20 months, "Yes, I believe you are right about that one."

Charlus took the rest of them back to the shelter, "Set access to all here, Moon Blade holders, and the girl I call Butterfly. Include my wife Trilia as well."

He looked at them. "I showed you the amenities. The first step is to work your muscles and to eat to build up your body strength. The Falls in the training area can help with that."

They nodded as he put the lever on high. Charlus left his bags and jumped in with his armor on and swam for twenty minutes and touched the wall.

He floated back rapidly and exited from the water and reclaimed his bags. He walked over and turned it back down. "As you get stronger, increase it. I saw two bow wielders. I will get our wood elves in the local guard to help train you, maybe at the keep. I will talk with the Duke here. He has access."

They all nodded. Chan Qui smiled, "It has been a long time since I felt a measure of safety. I never expected anything like this. Thank you for showing us the food and how to get it. The guy who brought us here got called away. Never came back. You though keep coming back and seeing to our welfare. Not slaves."

Charlus smiled at her, "As friends."

She smiled and then hugged him. He whispered, "You search for love and open your heart you will find the right man or woman."

She whispered back, "What if he is an elf?"

Charlus backed up. "I have a wife and we are allowed, multiple wives. Things are going on as she is due any day now. Until that is settled, I cannot consider another in my own heart. She is carrying 4 of my children and has been here while I searched the world to find out the state of things. Your fertility is not a deal-breaker. Your compatibility with her would be."

She looked at him, "You can fix my fertility?"

Charlus looked at her, "I don't know, it is highly unlikely. I will check to see what our healers can do for you if that is something you want. Right now, my mind is not in a great place in that regard as I am waiting on my wife to give birth.

I am not looking to add a mate at the moment, that may change in a few months. I know your name but I will call you Black Eagle. Because I see the fighter inside of you ready to explode out. Then there is your beautiful black hair."

She smiled, "What do they call you?"

Charlus smiled, "Enigma, which means a lot of things. Mystery or difficult to figure out."

She nodded, "Describes you well."

He smiled and left them to their own devices. He walked downstairs to a young shadow steed stallion. He looked at him, "I am giving you the longest name that I have given any of my horses. Shi'Lar'Gerona Gerona for short."

He heard him laugh, "Shadow Sky Ruler. I find it funny but Gerona for short is fine. You must like the sky."

Charlus smiled, "We will have a lot of time in the sky as I check all of the security systems for the elven people." He pulled out his saddle and reigns from a storage bag of holding and saddled him up. Charlus looked at him. "This will provide protection from poison and arrows you just have to watch out for claws and teeth."

He chuckled, "The herd all went to the woods around the falls when the rocs were here. Staying in the woods. They think of us as food."

Charlus sighed, "I worried about that but the dragons kept them away from that location. We used a lot of teleportation to keep them contained along with the lighthouse beams."

He mounted up and teleported to the main gate. He pulled a crystal, "Duke Strong Oak, can you spare a couple of fighters and archers to assess the skills of those in the shelter? It would be appreciated. They have a training ground in there they can show you. I need to know what I got in the way of talent."

Charlus heard him chuckle, "I got contacted by the Magister about your putting the Queen on her."

Charlus rode away from the gate. You in a secure location?"

He sighed. "Best I can do is put some distance between me and the guys here.

Charlus sighed, "Teleport to the main gate. Your guys left teleportation open."

He sighed. "Be right there." He rode toward Charlus and Charlus whispered to him, "I believe that girl is extremely powerful. Champion powerful."

He backed off and looked at Charlus, "I will keep an eye on her. I will get with the Magister when I get back. Find out about the assessment and contact you."

Charlus nodded, "I am on my way to see the Queen. I will ride through the city while you go to the tower and check on that."

He sighed, "Alright, but only because you feel it is important enough to see the Queen immediately. There is more you are not telling me."

Charlus nodded, "Yes there is. Always assume that is the case."

Charlus rode through the gate and the guards were sure to have their glasses on. He noted again that the divine non-detection allowed his blade to pass through with no problem. That hole in the shields concerned him. He made his way through the market and into the palace district. They checked his papers and he passed through.

Charlus had a crystal buzzing. He pulled it and heard Duke Strong Oak, "Something is going on with that girl. The magister believes she is a gestalt battle mage and battle sorceress."

Charlus sighed, "Train her for both, she may be young in an elf's eyes but she will be an adult in just over 8 years. She will absorb magic like crazy. Do not temper it. She will likely not let you temper it. Just accept you have a very gifted caster in your midst. Human even. She may manifest spells you never have seen before. Learn what you can from it but do not interfere."

He let the crystal go dark and stopped in front of the Palace. He got down and walked into the palace. The Queen was in court and talked with a couple of nobles.

He nodded to her and walked to her Audience Chamber and waited at the door. 20 minutes later she arrived. He pointed and she secured the room. He looked at her, "I am 99% certain that human girl will be a Champion of Mystra. She tested as a gestalt. She said she sometimes feels like the Goddess is talking with her. Battle Mage and Battle Sorceress. I told them not to temper her. If anything, learn from anything she does that is extraordinary."

The Queen nodded, "A champion of the elven god of magic pulls a girl out of slavery who is a champion of the human god of magic. When did you suspect?"

Charlus smiled, "When I asked her who she worshiped and she asked 'how did I know she worshiped a god.' She told me who and that she sometimes hears her. I just talked with Strong Oak who I warned. He checked her assessment. I think the Magister is shocked at how right I was."

She nodded, "The Magister did not contact me, she is supposed to contact me anytime a gestalt is found."

Charlus nodded, "I know, but she is also a human. Might have muddied the waters in her eyes. A cleric of the Lady of Dreams should visit with all of them and divine fertility. One woman lost her fertility due to being raped to produce a half-dragon.

She wants to see if there is anything that can be done to fix her. Down to cutting out the damage and using regeneration on her if needed. Remove scars where they can on all of them."

She sighed, "That is extreme."

Charlus nodded, "She is also attracted to me and I am finding myself attracted to her. Yet, I may not pursue another wife depending on what happens with Trilia."

The Queen sighed, "I know now what a multiple-partner relationship would be like. I brought on a hand-maiden who is infertile and extremely attractive. We are seeing how well she likes us before taking the step of broaching the subject."

He nodded, "She has been vetted?"

She nodded, "Mother was an elf-blooded and the father did not recognize the child. She is a moon-elf gold-elf mix. With the chest and ass of her human side. She is gorgeous. I mention this because you somehow knew about my afternoon with the mothers. It was educational."

She turned red and smiled. He bowed to her, "Silvertree's live to serve the kingdom, Your Majesty."

She laughed at him and shook her head. "I will send this cleric and check all of our new arrivals. I will get Strong Oak to get all of them. I want to know about this gestalt. Is she someone you are interested in?"

Charlus laughed, "She is 10, in a few months. I know she likes me because I saved her and got her into the Academy. Also got her on the back of a dragon for a ride and she loved it.

I pointed her to the multi-faith church for humans if she was interested and she thanked me. She becomes an adult, we will see if there is something there. I will be a hundred percent certain enough when I get her an amulet. I will talk with Zirra on that one."

She nodded, "She is talented."

Charlus started giggling and the Queen slapped his arm, "That way too. Time for you to head home."

Charlus paused, "I am worried about this human King. He asked questions about essentially leaving the Alliance over my stance on the Alliance Overwatch. I told him that his people's participation would only be allowed after we vetted the candidates because they failed in that area.

I could see him going rogue at some point. Something we need to consider. I also need to go to Base 1 first. I told them I would stop by and seal the base. Until Trilia wants to make that our home after the delivery."

She sighed, "I can contact Base 1."

He shook his head, "I want it secured after the human infiltration. Again, I am not that trusting of them at the moment and I am still concerned they might have done something to compromise that base that we have not found yet. Something to look for."

She sighed and nodded, "Get going and I will get them to lower the city and palace teleporter in two minutes. I assume you got a new horse."

He nodded, "Needed to get back in the saddle. I will forgo the teleporter assist. I need some time riding, Your Majesty."

She nodded and unsealed the room. He hurried back to his horse.

---

Queen Goldeagle pulled up a crystal for Majisa, "I need you secure."

Majisa got to her quarters alone and secured it, "Something wrong?"

Quen Goldeagle gave her a rundown of King Rosenthrawl's visit and the way Charlus went after the man and his general to show their ineptitude. The infiltration issue the dragons were already looking into and the fact he took out a court wizard who had another 500+ of those damned rings.

Yet the King and General refused to use the glasses. Queen Goldeagle sighed, "He sees this human King going rogue and we know they are infiltrated. From what I have read, there are times where warnings are given to rules, not to act. But to get them set for a major shift that they foresee happening."

Majisa sighed, "I wish I could say that is not true but having been married to the Knight Paladin before the return I will tell you to take those warnings as a brace yourself for what is to come. Nothing actionable other than clearing their lands and from what you told me he wants our dragons doing it, and not the elves. I will get them started tomorrow using our system. We need that under control and quickly."

---

He rode out of the city. He pulled the crystal, "I am knocking"

He heard, "Door is open."

Charlus teleported in with his horse. He looked at his dragon representative, "Did Dragon Marks get checked for?"

He nodded, "We checked for everything, from magical auras, wards, communication crystal left behind. All of it. I think they were slow in implementing because we would see dragon marks. There was a push going on to remove dragon representation here."

Charlus nodded, "Well I set it as part of the condition for setting this up to get you more involved in the Knight's aspect. Is your partner in the other shelter female?"

He nodded. "I need her to go to Quatarsia and get with 10 I brought in and have them checked. They have not been stripped down and checked and the ladies went through horrors with getting raped by chromatic dragons.

I think a female with Strong Oak would be best at the moment. One is at the Academy. The Duke can get her in and make an introduction. They have plenty of rooms to do it privately." He nodded, "I will tell her when I return."

He looked at him, "Are both shelters secure?"

He nodded, "We took their gear back for intelligence and the shelters are secure. Except for sleep and food, they have not been used."

Charlus nodded and opened his. "Secure portal to my access only."

Charlus went to the other one. "Secure portal to my access only."

The dragon looked at him, "You know the dragon who created that one would be able to override it."

Charlus nodded, "I know but that is not the point." He set the new crystal in place as he pulled the other two crystals, "Base Two I am knocking." He looked at those two, "With me." They got beside him. He got a response, "Door is open, commander." He teleported over.

He looked at the other crystal, "Activate." Then he looked at the dragon, "Try to enter Base 1." He tried and he nodded, "You tied a communication crystal into a teleport blocker."

Charlus looked over, "I want an analysis of all four Palaces working outward and contacting Overwatch if you find anything in the Elven capital. Work with those that need to handle it locally if you find anything. I have gathered over 1,700 rings since I returned.

Mostly from our humans, the infiltration is bad and Majisa is supposed to be handling cleaning the human side up yet again. The human King wants nothing to do with me or my system being used to monitor his activities.