“
Just keep an eye on him Madeira. If anything should happen to make him question what has transpired, he may take matters into his own hands.”
“
Yes, I will be vigilant. Do not worry, I have a good understanding of how his mind works.” Madeira looked at the entire group. “Are any of you hungry? I am famished after all this excitement and I would like to introduce you all to Isogorrean fare.” They all nodded.
It had been a busy morning.
They sat at a large hall table eating and trying out the Isogorrean foods. It proved to be quite spicy to some. Wollfen was enjoying the new tastes, but Dark was having a tougher time of it. It was a little too different for her liking. Madeira spoke up,
“
I have given the King three days to get organized. I will then take an envoy of his to Port Cholandra and get the siege stopped. Once that happens you and the rest of your companions will be able to return to Kassandrea and deal with your next task.”
“
Thank you Madeira, is it your wish for us to wait here the next three days before moving off?” Madeira did want the support.
“
I would like that yes. While we have dealt with the initial fight for ascendancy with Alexis, I cannot be totally sure there won’t be challenges from other power bases. I would like that time with all of you here until I have organized all levels of the sorc hierarchy with those that are loyal to me.” Wollfen agreed it was a good idea.
“
Very well, but I think it be best we remain in the shadows then and confine ourselves to this immediate level for the duration. The less any possible usurpers know about us the better.”
Later that day Dark and Wollfen sat together in a quiet moment of reflection. Wollfen was wondering at how even in the most urgent of situations you could be spending a lot of time sitting around doing nothing. It seemed that life was a lot like that, moments of extreme actions interspersed with much longer times of the mundane.
He looked to Dark sitting by him. She too was off in deep thought and he wondered what might be going through her mind. It was probably the revelation of Drexus being his long lost wife. Drexus, he had loved her so. It had taken almost a hundred years to get over her. Meeting Dark had been the best thing to happen to him since then. Finally when he gave his heart and soul to this blonde haired beauty sitting beside him, he had soon after been taken away to this far away land to have Drexus thrust back into his life.
That first meeting had been a shock when he had realized who the Queen was. He had covered his feelings by dealing with the immediate situation and focusing on her actions over the last one hundred years. She hadn’t acknowledged him for who he really was. It had been after that first meeting he knew something was very wrong with her and the elves had paid no heed.
They had disposed of her like some broken instrument. Drexus didn’t deserve the death she had gotten, not like that. He really couldn’t stomach the way the elves had acted. They always prided themselves on being more cultured and more enlightened than all others. From now on he would be more cautious about their dealings not only with him but others too.
On the third day Madeira fronted Wollfen and the elves.
“
It seems my reign is almost guaranteed. There have been no real rumblings of resentment within the clique for my ascendancy. So today I will travel with the envoy to Port Cholandra to put an end to the siege. What will you be doing?”
Wollfen spoke on behalf of himself and the elves. They had already agreed to return to the enchanted lands and make preparations there.
“
We will all return to the elven city and do what is needed there. Once the siege is lifted I would like to teleport directly there. Could you meet me in the Isogorrean camp?”
“
Yes of course that would speed things up greatly for all of us. I will teleport there a day or so before you are ready to move.”
“
Agreed, well then Madeira, I hope you all the best on your trip, we shall see each other very soon.”
He moved forward and gave her a quick hug which she appreciated. It wasn’t the best of etiquette but then a lot of things were going to change in the near future now that Madeira was in power.
Wollfen, the elves and all his companions gathered before Madeira. He gave a final nod and using his original teleport crystal they winked out. Madeira turned away safe in the knowledge that all would be set right very soon. She traveled with four sorcs and six of Captain Serhatnan’s men to the King’s castle. There she was ushered in to see the King at his throne, a high-ranking officer waited with him.
“
Good afternoon Queen Madeira, I hope all is well?” King Eunades was on the best of behavior today.
“
Yes my King, we shall be setting things right very soon, this is your envoy?” The King nodded.
“
Yes, this is General Orazan, one of my closest advisers. He knows the Warlord very well. You will have no problems getting the army to follow orders with him.”
Madeira was glad to hear it. The King held out a scroll to Madeira and she accepted.
“
This scroll has the specific orders necessary to bring the entire war to an end. It has the King’s own seal on it and should only be opened by the Warlord himself. If the seal is broken, then he will not believe anything that is written within.” Madeira was quite well aware of how these things worked.
“
I will not make that mistake,” She stood back.
“
I am ready to leave now.”
The four sorcs and six guards stood close to each other and placed hands upon one another, Madeira motioned to the General to do the same.
“
Hold on and do not let go until the journey is ended. If you let go then you will be lost in eternity.”
“
Very well, I am at your disposal.”
Orazan reached out and took hold of the sorcs hand. Then without any pause they were gone.
The King sat there in thought. It still surprised him when they appeared and disappeared. It was something new to him and would take some getting used to. He hoped all would turn out well at the other end. The entire future of the empire depended on it now.
In Port Cholandra Warlord Josayus stood with a number of his generals in conference when the contingent of soldiers and sorcs appeared. They all cried out and went for their swords. General Orazan called out immediately.
“
Stay your weapons! I am here with the new Queen of sorcs at the behest of the King!”
They all hesitated and watched on. Josayus looked to them.
“
Greetings General Orazan. You have given us quite a surprise. How is it that you managed to travel here?” The general explained quickly not wanting to waste any time.
“
Our new Queen Madeira has abilities far beyond the old one. She can transport anywhere she wishes in an instant. We have only just now left Razadan.” Josayus turned to Madeira. He knew her well.
“
Queen Madeira, you have finally achieved your goals. I congratulate you.” Madeira bowed her head.
“
I thank you Warlord Josayus for your kind words. I can also tell you we have come here specifically to give you new orders regarding the campaign here in the Kingdom.”
As she spoke Madeira produced the scroll and held it out to him. The Warlord accepted it and broke the seal. He began reading as he unrolled it. The rest of them stood there in patient silence watching on. At one point the Warlord raised his eyebrows and looked up to Madeira.
“
Is this true? We are to end the campaign?”
“
Yes Josayus we have been wasting our time here. There is no grand prize.”
He went back to reading and when the general was finally finished he let out a big sigh.
“
We have been here almost a year now, it seems such a turn around.” He thought quietly for a moment then turned to General Orazan. “I have not had lunch today, all of a sudden I feel hungry, General, would you like to fill in all of my subordinates and get the ball rolling for me?”
The General was only too happy to oblige.
“
But of course, it shall be done.” The Warlord turned to Madeira.
“
My Queen, I have not been home in over a year, would you please join me and fill me in on how things have changed?”
“
I would be only too happy to do so.” Warlord Josayus waved to his own guard.
“
It is alright, you may stay here. I will travel with the Queen’s guard. I am sure they will suffice.”
The Queen and her entourage moved off with the Warlord to his dining quarters and General Orazan turned to the other Generals in the room. They began conferring on what was to be done next. It would not take long to organize things.
Madeira and her entourage sat down at the Warlord’s request and he called for food to be presented. It only took a few minutes for a number of attendants to arrive back with trays for all. Josayus turned to Madeira as they sat and ate.
“
So tell me of the developments in Isogorr, what has changed?” Madeira swallowed her mouthful before speaking.
“
The previous Queen has been deposed. She was getting more and more erratic with each passing week. Something had to be done. I was able to make my play and take over. There was bit of conflict but that was dealt with too. Things are back on an even keel again.”
“
That is very interesting, but I have to say, we are on the verge of making a major push here, why would we pull back now?” Madeira gave an explanation.
“
The former Queen lied about any riches to be found here. There really isn’t anything to be found that warrants our continued involvement. We would continue to be throwing good money after bad so to speak.” Warlord Josayus nodded.
“
Yes I can see the reasoning behind that. It really is a pity though, we have had many successes here. It would have been good to finish them off.”
The two of them spoke for a while longer and finally finished their snacks. Josayus invited Madeira and her group back to the war room to finish up the arrangements and she agreed. They walked back towards the room at a sedate pace. There was no rush and Madeira was enjoying this chat with what she realized was a handsome man. He had always been courteous to her and since her revelations on the boat trip back to Isogorr she looked at him with different eyes. She wondered, could he be a decent man? What would he be like in bed? Maybe if things turned out well and they met again back in Isogorr she might just find out.
As Madeira and the Warlord drew level with the last of the columns of the hall to the war room, there was a cry.
“
Now!”
From behind each of the columns appeared soldiers armed with loaded crossbows. The surprise was complete as Madeira’s entourage of four sorcs and six soldiers were cut down by a fullisade of bolts. Madeira had no time to react as she was hit full in the face by Josayus’ fist. She was knocked to the ground unconscious and bleeding from the nose. Josayus looked around and spied General Orazan.
“
Good work General. It went off without a hitch.”
He looked down at their prize. The scroll he had been given earlier had indeed spoke of their plans to stop the war. What it also had was the King’s wishes to spring a trap to be carried out by General Orazan. It was why he had gone off with them to eat a meal. It gave the General time to get things ready when they got back. The King’s plan had played out just as he had wanted and now they had the new Queen in their grasp. Madeira could not have known that the High Sorc in Port Cholandra would be in on it. Josayus bent down and searched Madeira finding the crystal.
“
This must be kept in a safe place until we know what to do with it or work out how it works. Tell the High Sorc to administer the drug to dampen her mind. Also have her transported to the dungeons below. The King has plans for her.” He turned to his soldiers, “I want this mess cleaned up immediately.”
After that he went to his quarters.
In the elven kingdom Luthein was briefing the King on how things had gone in Isogorr. Wollfen and his companions paid their respects and made off. They ended up once again standing outside on a walkway looking around them. It was always an impressive sight to be high up above the ground.
“
Okay, I have decided that all of us should be fitted for armor just as I am, I will go see Dhee about seeing each of you in turn. I will take Dark with me in case she wants to start immediately. I would think the rest of you can file in two hours apart during the day.” They all took note of Wollfen’s expectations. “You can all go off and do your own thing for now. You know your way around. I will see you all later.”
They said their goodbyes and left.
Dark and Wollfen walked off to Dhee’s forge and entered it. Dark noticed it was very hot in there. A raven-haired woman was working over an anvil as they entered, was this the elven smith? She looked up as they moved closer and smiled.