Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 08

All of those who held title would be executed. I would recommend that you pull from the paladin order to take over your key roles in the military. Before you leave here you go with a poison detection and immunity item. To ensure you cannot be poisoned and will be alerted if an attempt is made.

These glasses are to be worn at all times by you, your General, and your Court Wizard which we will vet with a psionic to find their true heart in the matter and to ensure they are loyal to you. If you use the Paladin order then your general will have already been vetted by your own gods.

If you choose someone else, then what we do for him will be what we do for your wizard and essentially all of your top advisers. You get new ones, we will want to vet them immediately. Non-negotiable for 3,000 years. We are looking out for the safety of the elven kingdom and ensuring you surround yourself with good people. Do you have children?"

He nodded, "Three."

Charlus looked at him, "Have more. You get corrupted, your immediate family loses the title as well."

He chuckled, "My wife lost her fertility after the last child."

Charlus nodded, "Then marry a second wife. It is permitted under elven law. In fact, I would look to add that to your people's laws when you become King. If only in the case where the first becomes infertile. I could be introducing another 20,000 humans from the Far East into your society.

Slaves I helped to free while traveling. Usually at the end of a blade as your cousin found out."

Charlus stood there and shifted into a few forms he did not use anymore and then back to himself. "I can infiltrate just about anywhere in human society and escape if cornered."

As he dimension doored behind him. Charlus startled him when he continued, "I am the diplomat who is overseeing this solution to your problem, but I am also capable of much more. When I say 'ours' I mean the Alliance in that regard, not just the elven people. Is this a solution you can live with?"

Fredrick looked at Queen Goldeagle and nodded. He went forward and bent a knee to her. She got up and tapped him on either shoulder. "You are a Sovereign Prince for your people in this land. When you establish your own Kingdom, you will bend no Knee to us. Choose your successor wisely. Write your will and the Dwarven King can hold it as they have been neutral in this event."

She looked at Majisa, "For the next several months could you put a dragon protection detail on him until he brings his kingdom in line."

She nodded, "A detail of 40 will be here shortly. Wise to not use elves for that."

Queen Goldeagle nodded, "Have them appear human. Have your paladin order assume control over your military and relocate them to the end of the southern land bridge. Start building along there on the other side, Charlus has a location or locations for you to look over.

Get the former King's 'Queen' here now. She will sign a letter acknowledging that all of her children are from different men and as such has no right to your family title."

Charlus held up a hand, "Your Majesty, all of the human royals should be assembled and a cleric of Tyr can divine the paternity and name the fathers of all 7 of her children. Her fraud in this regard exposed before them all. I will go as your representative along with the security forces she is bringing in.

She can try to claim to hold the title but to do so is tantamount to an attempted coup and she will be executed for her efforts. I will take action immediately if this is the case. The children turned over to the paladin order to be raised. That would be my recommendation on that issue, Your Majesty. Be they, clerics or paladins, in the order. This frees you up to deal with Elven Court matters."

She looked at Charlus, "I want my scribes here and these bodies removed. Guard Captain please see to this."

They spent most of the day with him finalizing the details of the deal. Dragon messengers intercepted the messenger and ordered the ship back to port under orders from the Alliance. It was the fastest transfer of power on paper in Elven history. The Paladin order was advised of their orders.

They had to kill the second and third in command but the rest stood down after they saw they were no match for the 6 paladins let alone the hundred plus that rode in. The next morning, Charlus went to the palace by horse, after the dragons returned him to Charlus's home. Charlus thanked Majisa for that.

He gathered with the sovereign prince who was mounted up and dressed for court. They teleported to just outside the ugly keep. They approached the doors and the guards looked at them and held out a hand.

Charlus looked at him, "Your King is dead. This is the true heir and new ruler of your people. Stand down or the 40 dragon guards will answer the challenge."

The guard did not know what to do so they moved out of the way. The 'Queen' was on her throne. The paladin representative arrived. His new general and a few clerics. They joined them as they walked further into the court.

The Queen looked at them, "What is he doing here. He is in the army and not permitted in court."

Charlus looked at her, "Your King is dead and this is the rightful heir. Before he died, he wrote out his confession, to stealing my personal property, from the Alliance Overwatch I built and he took it to a secret bunker he had built in elven lands for an eventual invasion.

He also went into too much detail on his sex life and time with children being a favorite of his, including the ones you squeezed out with you watching and participating apparently. He confessed he was infertile from birth and none of your children are heirs to even consider.

You can be pulled from that throne or step away, using your own volition. Know the 40 guards on the outside of this contingent are dragons, not elves, and not humans. The Paladin here is the new general of your military which has been relocated as part of the deal he struck with the Elven Kingdom."

She looked at Charlus, "My children are the heirs."

Charlus walked up unmolested and put manacles on her hands. "You are hereby charged with attempting to usurp the power of the Human people. I said 'people' because the kingdom has yet to be built."

He pulled her up and out of her chair, "Bring the 7 children here. There are 3 clerics of Tyr here to divine the paternity and to name the names of those who fathered the children."

Varus'Nor alerted, "Danger everywhere."

Charlus looked at his escorts, "My danger sense on my sword just went off please watch them closely. Any that wish to challenge me one-on-one I will take on. As part of this deal, the heir is a Sovereign Prince to the Elven Kingdom. He will be building a city away from this area, I have shown him two viable sites each with their own issues and advantages. Who is the accountant here?"

A man raised his hand, "I am the economic adviser."

Charlus nodded. "What is the current balance of your Human coffers?"

He looked at Charlus, "That is classified."

Charlus looked at him, "By who? Human law is suspended. I am the diplomat who oversaw this deal. Now give a balance or I will bring in a psionic to pull it from what is left of the mush you call a brain."

He looked at Charlus, "Just under 12 million."

Charlus asked him, "Based on current expenditures how long did the kingdom have before being insolvent?"

He looked at Charlus, "Maybe 5 years. We have had no room to expand for so long yet our population has grown."

Charlus nodded, "You will aid in the transition of those funds to whom he finds that is suited to the task. Who are the military advisers and diplomatic advisors?"

Two men came forward, "Your service will be examined by a psionic to ensure your loyalties are not divided. You can, of course, resign your positions instead."

The military advisor stepped back, "I will challenge you here and now!"

Charlus nodded and drew his blades. He walked forward, "Three."

He looked at Charlus, "Three what?"

Charlus looked at him, "The number of pieces of your body that will have to be carried out of here." He scoffed at Charlus. Charlus parried his first shot, "One." Then his second, "Two." He came in with an overextended two-handed strike at Charlus with his bastard sword. Charlus blocked it with his secondary weapon, spun in, and cut him from his groin to his neck while taking his head off with his secondary sword, the vorpal sword.

After it finished going through and the two parts of the body fell. He sheathed his swords after cleaning them. He called out, "Three."

He looked around, "In the Elven Kingdom, you do not just become a diplomat. You are taught and go through decades of training. Part of that training is being escorts, pages, scribes, and whatever other tasks the diplomat assigns. All are trained to be a bodyguard and are skilled warriors and or mages.

I am a battle mage. My area of expertise is communication. I just communicated that what is happening here is a done deal and very real. Your King, general, and court wizard were all conspirators. I killed the wizard and the General.

I left the execution for his crimes to the new Sovereign Prince Vladius Fredrick. All titles here are revoked except for Knights. Those titles are suspended. You can petition to be reinstated at the new palace once the construction of it is finished.

Your petitions will be better received by supporting his efforts in getting this new city built. By actions, not money! The poison pill to this deal is the Prince. If he dies and has no heirs then you will find that access to that 50 billion is gone.

You would be deemed a rogue state and driven out of these lands at the end of swords or if necessary. Dragon Riders will turn it all into ash as the King attacked the Alliance. This new deal keeps the people alive and secured under the Alliance and it will extend to the new city he will be building.

This money came from Duke Silvertree my brother and Queen Goldeagle splitting the cost of this fund. This was my suggestion to save your people as he committed an act of war. We do not want to be forced to destroy you because of poor leadership.

We would rather have you build a new city, stay with the Alliance, and the protection it provides. Be a beacon of hope to the other human societies that have been dealing with unending wars for over a thousand years.

You will attract those who wish to join you. Those who will wish to destroy you. Any army comes at you the Alliance will have forces to aid you. We have the Alliance Overwatch. We will monitor for necromancy and other threats and deal with it in a measured response."

Someone asked the question, "What is a 'measured' response?"

Charlus looked at him, "If it is an individual who has had a ring put on them to be a sacrificial lamb we would attempt to subdue and get the ring off. If his body is just a robe for a spy, half-dragon, or chromatic dragon. We would kill them and then purify the rings to release the spirits and souls captured by that ring.

I have pulled 1,700 from two humans in the last 4 days. Your former court wizard was a half-dragon with almost 600 rings. The man who wanted my position and system had the other 1,100 rings. Doubt me and I will dump them on the floor and you can pick them all up and count them. That does not count the 2,743 I brought back from my 20 months of travel.

By all rights, the elven army could have come in here and pushed you out of this area for what occurred. While seizing what was left of your coffers. Instead, we want a strong human partner in this fight. We are giving you a second chance but there had to be a measured response. We need safety.

Your army has been relocated to the south end of the land bridge. To watch over the people there as well as the new construction site for your city. They would be detected if they tried to turn on him while he is here in this Keep you have called a Palace. When his palace is ready the people here have a choice.

Stay and live under elven law or relocate to the city. The one place I took special exception to was the Paladin garrison here. The order of the Rose and my family have a history. I ensured the site was declared a holy site in the name of Tyr.

The garrison can remain or they can move closer to the city. They are free to travel within elven lands. You might ask why the exception. Long ago the order was not chaste but they could only have sex in a marriage.

Silver Rose was an abandoned elf-blooded found at the door to the garrison. She became a paladin to the order and eventually married Brannar Silvertree. Together with other Knights of the order, they reclaimed the Eternal Forge.

Fighting several Draco-liches and chromatic dragons with the aid of the Metallic dragons. She eventually switched deities and became the mother of paladins in the Elven Kingdom. That changed recently to 2 paladin orders in our kingdom. In short, they have honor."

The nannies arrived with the children and the audience of former nobles gasped as the names of some of them were called out by their royal titles. They finished and looked over, "In accordance with the agreement hammered out the children will go to the paladin order to be raised with the family name of the actual fathers. No titles from the parent will be recorded."

He looked at the human Queen, "How do you wish to die?"

She spat at Charlus.

Charlus pulled only Varus'Nor and yelled out, "Moon Fire on." Charlus grabbed her by the hair and cut off her head before her body hit the floor he spoke, "She attempted to usurp the Prince. Thereby the elven Queen. That is a death sentence. We will be monitoring all former nobles."

He dropped her head in the lap of her corpse. "If you want your titles back when he becomes King then earn them under him. Hereditary titles will be extremely limited. Also, you should know that elven law allows for plural marriages.

Picking up a second wife is permitted to grow your population when you relocate. You will have space to grow south of here. Or a second husband. Especially if the first one was infertile. Grow your families because money is nothing and family is everything. My family has had centuries of service to the crown.

The money we used came out of a trust fund we cannot directly access but there are clauses to allow for doing what we did. Hidden clauses but they are known by my family blade. I explained my idea for your people. Varus'Nor told me what clause to activate. Yes, I am standing here pissed off. I was robbed, attacked, challenged, and spat on in the last 2 days.

Yes, I am helping to finance it because my brother the Duke does not know when a clause could be activated. The sword does. I went for the greater good and got you a chance for a fresh start and room to grow. Our Alliance and protection still stand. When I leave here the dragon guards will remain for months. Maybe years.

It depends on how well you adapt to your new status in society. You want to be nobles, then get in the game, be heroic, and noble and earn that title. I am Sir Silvertree. I may one day be Duke Silvertree. As you can tell I have the ear of the Elven Queen. Before I go. Any questions?"

A lady asked, "What did he do?"

Charlus looked at her, "It is in his confession. The prince has it and will distribute copies."

Any other questions." One guy looked at Charlus, "What class are you?"

Charlus looked at him. "I am a battlemage. As I stated. I am a diplomat who specializes in communication. I was on assignment to see if I could find any form of government stable enough and friendly enough to expand our human alliances.

Set up trade. Anything. The report I gave the Queen was 3 volumes thick, over 2 feet tall when stacked, and dealt with constant chaos. I found no stable friendly human governments beyond this now broken one."

Charlus looked around and nobody else wanted to talk. He went out and rode out of the city and teleported to Base 1. A silver dragon was there. He looked at Charlus, "Who are you?"

Charlus stuck his hand over and opened the shelter. "The Knight commander. Coming to collect a few personal items. Why are you here?"

He looked at Charlus, "Guard duty to see how badly this base is compromised."

Charlus nodded, "We could just set a display on our Overwatch to do that and leave it up."

He nodded as Charlus rode inside, "Seal portal."

Charlus went around and emptied five hiding places. He rode out, "Secure shelter. Remove all access except for myself and the heir to my sword. Base One I am knocking."

Charlus heard back, "This is Base 2."

Charlus smiled, "Base 1 has been killed by our human allies. Base 2 became Base 1. This is Commander Silvertree."

He replied back, "The door is open." Charlus teleported in and dismounted.

He positioned the consoles and put one over the base, "I want this console cleaned and manned. That one is an overview of where Base 1 was located. I want to know about any movement in that area immediately. How goes the hunting?"

He nodded, "The palace and Capital are clear, they are tracking a few in Quatarsia. Centaurs are over them right now as they are traveling together and headed into wild elf lands. Charlus paused.

"Contact them and ask them to monitor but not engage. Unless they threaten the local population. I want to see where they go."

He nodded, "What are you thinking?

Charlus looked at him, "Are they headed to Base 1 or here? Is it random?"

He nodded, "Understood."

Charlus looked at him, "Get me a trajectory in an hour for which way they head."

Charlus went into his shelter and had a few people milling about. He looked at them "You working or just off shift?"

He shrugged, "I was supposed to work at Base 1. They told us this was 2."

Charlus yelled out, "THIS IS BASE 1. The other base was compromised. It is dead. All consoles are here. If you should be working. Find an empty workstation get with the lead on duty to take an area. If you do not know I am the Knight Commander."

Charlus left his horse there and went into the master and someone was sleeping in his bed. Charlus kicked the bed and he looked up at Charlus, "What?"

Charlus looked at him, "What are you doing sleeping in my room? I am Knight Commander Silvertree."

He looked up, "I was told to just grab a room."

Charlus looked at him, "Grab another now and get out of my sight. I have not had a good day and I have killed 4 people in the last 2 days and overthrew the human government."

He nodded and got his stuff and left naked. Charlus activated the crystals in the room and opened three compartments and secured the stuff from the other base. He undid the crystals, walked out, and mounted up. He rode out of the shelter and the one kid waved him over.

He pointed. "They have been traveling straight; they just left the woods. They were moving fast. They are headed for us."

Charlus pulled out the crystal, "Majisa, I got three fast movers in zone 72.

They are headed straight for us. We need to capture at least one figure out where they are getting their information."

She sighed, "Will see what we can do. I have 8 going to that location. Charlus watched as three stopped. Charlus looked at him, "They ditched their rings. I am headed out there."

The elf at the console asked, "You been there?"

Charlus shook his head, "No but I can see coordinates."

The elf on duty looked at the screen, "There are three more. Moving fast. I think they are fighting."

Charlus nodded and brought them in at two thousand feet and flew toward the fray but low. His sight picked up a ring and he found the other two. He mounted back up and thought, "Gerona, tell them to get them to the ground, they are wearing necro rings. Probably for another life."