Chapter 2

Silor had spent much of the next three months after that horrid council session at the bards headquarters in Butcherblock Docks. His wife, when she discovered the reason he had left, that he was against killing Tamalain had sent a notice of separation and had his personal items dumped over the edge of the city platform they had lived on. Several of Silor's Guild headquarters staff that had been sent to collect the guild leaders gear had arrived just as the last few things where being tossed over the side. The executive officer in charge while Silor was absent sent most of the group ground side to recover as much as they could before the scavengers could snap it up. It was only then that he approached and addressed the irate woman.

"Why in Brell's name are you doing this to Silor. He has always been good to you and treated you well Ginna."

"Why? Why, do you even have to ask you singing idiot. He still loves her and never truly loved me. He always kept an eye out and an ear open as to how she was doing. Always stopping by to visit and catch up if she was in town." She glared at the man and continued when he didn't respond. "I had checks run on her, she was a hussy according to my contacts. She was seeing the little cheat on the side along with half the instructors at Trueshot.

"Councilor, I think you have been badly misled by these so called sources. I have met her and worked with her a few times. Never once had she shown interest in any sort of affair."

"Says you fool, she is a threat to all the world and my now former husband says we are wrong about her." She spat at the bards feet, but he neither moved nor flinched at her rude treatment. "I have heard what she was as a child. A corruptor and temptress of the innocent, murderer of those that had the best interest in the Feydark. She caused the unjust exile of several families and that is unforgivable."

"You wouldn't happen to be referring to the Thornbreak insurrection would you," he asked quizzically. "He did attempt to overthrow the council and start several wars as you might recall."

"She murdered my father in cold blood when he tried to see to her safety and care," She spat back. "As to the rest, the winner writes history, the family sees it much differently.

"Child, you have the strangest and most twisted view of history, you are aware of that I am sure. The fact is, you are here against council orders now that you have shown yourself. Your entire clan went into exile of their own free will after what your father did girl."

"I am the last vestige of the Thornbreak clan in the Feydark fool. The rest are dead at the hands of the dark Elven and D'Lere. I am going to restore the family name and crest to greatness. Through me the elven will rise up and claim all the lands as our own. I will also have my revenge on those that tried to destroy us all."

He looked at the woman he once knew as Ginna Songweaver in horror. He backed away and prepared his defenses for an attack he felt must be coming. She just snorted in derision and turned away, "Your not worth the effort it would take to kill you, I will see to you and the rest of the council all at one time." She returned to her home and slammed the door shut, he heard the bolts slam home, locking the door tight in its frame.

He quickly fled the platform on the fourth level of the city and tracked down his people on the ground as they finished gathering all of Silor's effects that had survived the four hundred foot fall from above. He stopped at one of the Fey Queens guard Stations and reported events. They assured him the situation would be dealt with forthwith. "She is insane and on the council. I fear that the Thornbreak insurrection and the council war were just a foretaste of what is coming. I need to contact Winter, she has recently had a serious change of heart on the matter of the Arrowmarks. Prepare a shipping crate and get this sent out on the next available caravan to the Docks."

"Yes sir," said one of the assistants. They finished tracking down the last few salvageable items and hauled them to the nearest Shipping station.

Brandon Riverice knew that bad times where coming, but how bad he couldn't be sure. Winter had known Tamalain as long as Silor had since she was from the same village as well. The journey across the massive tree city took over three hours and he had to stop and rest at one point. He sat and watched children play at one of the many little parks high up in the tree. He felt that if Ginna were allowed to complete her plan, even in part, all these children would suffer for the failure of those in charge to act and stop her and her minions, whom ever they might be.

~Butcherblock Docks~

Three days after the great tossing as the event became known had happened, Winter arrived at the Docks to track down Silor with the news he needed to know about. She finally found him at the headquarters of the Bard Guild runners house. The receptionist quickly let her boss know he had an important visitor, one that is on the "I will kill them list if they have the unmitigated gall to come here and try to see me," as he had put it several months earlier. Up to this point, nobody had visited from Kelethin.

He stood, holding a long dagger in his right hand and a small buckler in the left, ready to fight. On entering the office, Winter saw this and stepped back across the doors threshold. "Silor, I have news, stay your hand until I speak what I came to say."

"Why should I you hateful woman," he snarled.

"Not hate Si, fear. Blinding fear of what she could do, did do in fact."

"What has Tamalain done now that is so horrible that you would risk my displeasure."

"Well old friend, their are several women now that are a problem. Tama being one but not of immediate concern. It is your now ex-wife that is the problem."

He seemed to slump a bit and set the dagger and shield on the desk, "Come in then and have a seat and tell me what that insane bitch has done now."

"Well, she tossed all your possessions over the side of the platform. Fortunately Riverice arrived in time to stop the scavengers from stealing it all. It is in route by caravan now. Silor, are you aware you married the blood daughter of Thadius Thornbreak?"

Silor went pail and grabbed the waste basket and began to wretch. Winter went around the desk and held the basket for him and waited for him to settle down. "That was not funny Winter, not funny at all," he snarled at her, his hand resting once again on the dagger.

"It wasn't a joke Si, she declared herself three days ago, and is taking over the council even as we speak. It's the Thornbreak insurrection all over again. Be damned glad Tama is stranded halfway around the world. What she would do now does not bear consideration"

"I thought I heard that the druid rings were about to be reconnected before I left."

"We thought so too, but something has gone very wrong with the ring on Zek recently. We had a link and were almost ready to push the first portal to it, but it will not accept any inbound singles. We are being blocked for some reason."

Silor thought about what this could mean, between the weather and sea preventing any ships from departing if they intended to sail their; now this news, the gods had decided to lock out that land and keep what ever was happening there isolated. "Tama is on her own then, may the gods aid her if she needs it, she isn't a threat to them anymore."

"I didn't know about that before Si, if I had I would never have called for her destruction. As it is now, there isn't much any of us can do with that vengeance minded madwoman running things in Kelethin. The Guild leaders and school proctors have sent word out to all the villages and communities to be on the alert for trouble."

Silor stared at Winter with bleak eyes, "We both saw what happened last time Winter, this will be worse, much worse. Have the Combine spires been reactivated yet?"

Winter was slightly taken aback by the sudden change of topic but answered, "Not yet, we haven't been able to set up the connections from our end at all. We need somehow to get a person with a few connection stones to Antonica and Commonlands. Then the hookups can be made and travel will resume. But for now we are stuck until the weather lets up."

"You're a Wizard, you can port if you want to any known location."

"Maybe I could have before skyfall, but not anymore. I would need a point of contact or a solid link to the spires in the area I am shooting for."

Silor smiled at her then opened a drawer in his desk. He pulled out a small box and placed it on the desk, opening it to show a group of white and purple stones. "See if any of these will help, I was a bit of a rock hound when I was young, before the academy days. I was able to convince a few traveler to bring me stones from the spires from around the world. They were also one of the few personal items I took with me when I left home."

Winter gently ran her fingers across each stone, when she found the one that seemed right, she gently picked out the dark purple stone from the box. "This is the only one that seems genuine Silor, you got gypped on the rest, it is an Antonica spire stone too. Feel up to a long road trip?"

"Might be for the best, let me get my gear together and we can go to the spires if need be." Without another word he headed to the back of the office to a narrow staircase leading up. She followed him to his quarters and watched as he packed his travel gear. It was when he opened a large chest and began pulling out musical instruments that she began to realize he wanted to leave these lands for all time. "If the council can't deal with her, then it deserves to fall. You must have figured it out by now Winter, when Tama stopped the two previous attempts to take over everything, it seems she only delayed the inevitable. I just need to grab some travel rations and water and we will be ready to go." He then spent a few minutes tuning each instrument for best performance.

Winter remain silent, regarding her friend with sad eyes. When she finally spoke, it was with a touch of derision, "So you are just going to run away, and let that insane bitch destroy everything we all fought so hard to protect?"

He didn't even pause while answering, "Yes, I will walk away and let it all fall. This has been coming since before we were born woman. Old Tamalain died because of what these same families tried then. Unless you hunt down the entire line, and all its offshoots, it sprouts anew, just like weeds in a field. So yes, I will walk away and let it go. We will stop at the Trade coalition headquarters to give them warning, but that's all." He closed the door and headed down the stairs settling his pack and gear as he went. "It has been long in coming Winter, and I plan to not be around to watch Kelethin burn."

She followed him down and waited as he handed the leadership off to his second and walked out without a look back. He first stopped at a supply store that carried the travel foods he said he would need, then as he started out towards he fountains to fill his water bags, Winter asked him to wait. She pulled out her purse and purchased herself a weeks worth of the same rations Silor had bought. As she exited, his look asked the silent question, "I am coming with you," was all she said and followed him to the local mariners bell to return to Kelethin.

~Loping Plains, Sombourn Village~

The hooded hunter approached the alter with great trepidation, he had very bad news and he didn't think his chances at surviving the day were good. "Sire, I bring word on the expedition results." He waited until the voice answered, then became fearful.

"It is good news I expect."

"No sire, bad news."

"Speak." The voice was a dead cold sound now.

"When we arrived at the site, the scouts reported the prison gemstone was gone. Locals said it vanished when the magic storm hit. It must have been a solid magic stasis field sire. The storm wiped it out along with many other spells. He is somewhere out there, with the whip sire." He took several steps back from the alter as the curtain rustled. "I have asked that all my scouts and sources keep their eyes and ears open for him."

The being seemed to sigh, "No blame falls on you for this, but you did right on setting the watch. B'rill will need a place to hole up, so keep an eye out around the Trueshot. That is all, go now and find my whip."

The scout fled, not believing his luck at still being alive. He would finish setting his spies, then he would wait, he was very good at waiting. His time spying on the Arrowmark during her recovery had given him the patience to do that.

~Trade Guild headquarters in Kelethin~

The pair that waited in Warren Arrowline's outer office came as a surprise to him since he knew them both well. It was their garb that surprised him more than anything else about them. They were both decked out on full battle and travel gear. "So what brings you two to my humble office, and looking like your ready for war no less." He offered seats, but they declined.

Silor spoke quickly, "We just stopped in to give you a heads up about Ginna. She is about to start an Elven civil war with the council backing her. You might want to move your family out of Kelethin for their safety until things settle down Warren."

"If you are referring to the Thornbreak girl, she will be dealt with shortly I am sure, the Fey Queen put her foot down and said enough is enough. She has opened the rage box Silor and pulled out the paddle. You know what that means, she ordered your ex-wife be brought before the court for lessons in manners."

Silor and Winter both laughed, but it wasn't a humorous laugh. It was more of a cold, bitter snort. "She will be in hiding by now, protected by at least two of the trade families Warren, you should know that."

His face fell and all levity vanished. "I know that Silor, but I can hope can't I. I have sent word out that providing aid and cover for her would be a very bad idea, but the Reaver Clan has a bone to pick with the Fey Queen over the previous events." Changing subjects, "You're planning to leave the Feydark, I can tell. I understand why in your case Silor, but why are you going Winter?"

Winter looked him coldly in the eye, "Warren, in a way Silor and I have been at the forefront of the battle against these forces since we were children. Tama was the leader of the fight then, but we all, the Gang of Nine did more than just play. It is time that those of us that are left get the hell out of the way while we still have our heads and allow the new generation suffer the pains of growing up."

Warren smiled, "Then I have a favor to ask of both of you. I have a guest that needs an escort out of the Feydark. He knows there are those that would seek him out and destroy him for what he carries, interested? In fact I think you both know him from way back."

He knocked on a board behind his desk and a hooded and heavily cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows. As he stepped into the light, he pulled the hood back and smiled at the amazed and stunned pair. It was B'rill, teacher and trainer at the Trueshot Academy.

B'rill looked at his two former students then smiled, "Well, well, well, look what little mice have crept back into my life." Both just stared and their jaws moved but no sound came out. He decided he needed to shock them a bit to bring them back to some sense of reality, then he felt the whip snicker at him. He thought back at it to remain silent and dormant or he would use the dragons bain dust on it again and seal it in a bag full of talcum powder. The whip went silent. "Wake up you two, I need escorts, not zombies."

Silor spoke first, "Your supposed to be locked in the Drakota stasis field sir. How did you break free, and with the whip, I felt it a second ago."

Winter answered his question, "The storm, Tamalains magic crushing storm collapsed the old spell, that has to be the answer."

"Very good Winter, got it in one. Silor always was a bit slow when shocked like this. Now before you ask, I'm hiding because several parties have been actively attempting to gain access to the dragon spine whip." He pulled out an evil looking length of dragon sinew.

It had been drawn as a single piece from the break point in the neck to the tip of the tail. The handle was composed of six pieces of the spine itself. About two feet from the tip, another small bone had been woven into the cord and twenty four two foot long bits of barbed sinew, attached to the end of each flail was a barbed spike from the spine of the beast, making it the single most deadly weapon either had ever seen. Winter took a step back while Silor peered at it more closely, then fell back when an evil sibilant voice whispered in his mind. He went pale and swore quietly.

"Better to not try too study it to closely, the mind in this thing is not insane as the entire suit was, just raw evil. Actually, more of a lawful evil so long as I am bound to it and it to me."

The whip now spoke up for all of them to hear it, "The suit got several bits of my mind that should have been destroyed when my body went. But the girl did a good job on sealing it all away. I can't even feel it, much less summon it to me like those idiot Orcs next door and that overly bright zombie want me to do."

"How can you know about any of this B'rill, the stasis field should have cut you off from everything, even the passage of time." Silor had finally gotten his mind and mouth back into a working order.

"Strangely enough, I was locked out of my body, forced to be a spirit if you will." He seemed to shudder, "But I was not able to interact with the spirit or mortal worlds. So I just wandered around and listened in to plans, plots and other assorted events of good and evil." B'rill sat down in a proffered chair and motioned for the kids to sit as well. "I was there Winter, right at the end. I saw what that monster did to her in full. That a single Orc still lives anywhere at all is a mystery to me." He went on and told them in detail what had been done to Tamalain in those last horrible hours. Before he finished, Silor had tears running freely down his face and Winter had fled the room and could be heard retching violently in a chamber bucket in the next room.

When Winter had recovered herself, she returned and asked that he finish. "It was when he drove his spiked member in to her body, raping her open that the damage froze her heart, in effect killing her that I was kicked back to the stasis field, the storm shattered the ancient spell, freeing me instantly. It was in that last instant though I saw what may very well be her true form. I still hurt thinking about it." He sat a moment, gathering his thoughts on how to continue. "It is said that to view a god in it's true form, not the avatars they let us see will drive a mortal to insanity. I think I had the briefest glimpse of what one may look like."

"Once I was back in my body and free, I spent most of the next week battling the mind of the whip. It had been hurt by the storm and I was able to eventually overcome it and take control of it. I am bound to it and it to me in a way that no other living being has been bound to another before. If I die, it dies, if it is destroyed, I will die. We both would prefer to go on living for a very long time thank you very much."

There was a quiet knock on the office door, Warren called for the person to enter after giving B'rill a few seconds to close his robe and pull his hood up. The assistant entered and handed Warren a folder, "This is the report on the Fey iron mines you requested sir." He turned to leave, realizing he had interrupted an important meeting of some sort.

"Thank you Sand, I will get to this shortly. We are almost finished here I think." Sand nodded and closed the door on the way out. "Now, where were we."

Winter was now more curious than afraid, "You said their a number of parties interested in capturing this weapon?"

"Yes, several that I learned about in my travels. All but one can be ignored at this point. It is a zombie that has me worried. It is fully intelligent and awake. The storm did discommode it for a few weeks, but it recovered quickly. From what I heard from its random mutterings, it was raised by Mayong Mistemoore. He used a body he had stolen from the old Upper Pass Village. If this were to ever come forward, it would start a civil war in Kelethin in a matter of days." He stared into the distance for a minute then continued. "My real concern is that should one certain woman learn this one still lives in any way, this part of the world would be laid to waste as she hunted him down."

Silor was perplexed for a moment, trying to recall any other time than the one he knew of that Mistemoore may have visited his home village. "I can only think of one time he appeared and did a body snatch B'rill. That was the day Tama cooked Thornbreak for attempting to kidnap her and kill her mother, are you saying he raised Thornbreak from the dead?"

B'rill was grim, "Yep, that is exactly what he did, the arrogant, stupid son of a bitch. Thadius had been dead less than an hour, so his spirit remained mostly intact in the mortal realm. Now it wants the whip to get revenge against all that wronged him in life." B'rill's grin did not help the young adventures much. He faced his protector, "Now, Warren I am in your debt for hiding me from the spies Thadius has all over the place. But it is time I left the Feydark and all the lands around her until the current situation is resolved once and for all time."

Warren stood and bowed slightly to his friend, "B'rill, it has been a pleasure and honor to help you. You taught me far more than I was willing to learn in school, and it was your greatest student that put me where I am now. So I'm the repaying a small part of the honor debts I feel I owe. You owe nothing other than escaping Kelethin alive and completing the task set before you." Arrowline held out a hand to B'rill, who rose and clasped the proffered hand and shook it gravely, then smiled a slightly evil smile. "Just think, if Tamalain ever makes it back here, what is happening now will be a walk in the park compared to what will happen when she finds out the Thornbreaks are back and gunning for her."

Warren looked very worried at that thought, then dismissed it. He shook B'rill's hand once more and escorted them to the front room as they made ready to depart. "Take care of him you two, he is almost as important as Tamalain now." Both simply nodded and headed out the door, B'rill re-donned his cloak and hood then followed them out into the city.

~Elven Council Chambers~

Ginna Thornbreak entered the council chambers and waved her arms casting an enchanters mesmerize spell on the members seated around the large table. She received a shock when the entire membership turned in their seats and told her to stop messing around and sit down in rather loud and rude voices. Her spell had failed for some unknown reason. The Asire, or dark Fey as they are called by others had taught her that spell and it was supposed to be un-resistible. The lights in the room went dim for a few seconds and all the other members vanished. She was trapped in an illusion of some sort she realized. But before she could act to try and escape the effect, the doors slammed open and the Fey Queen and ten Elven guards stormed in.

"Don't even try to cast little girl, your Asire magic is just about as effective as a match in a storm," said the Queen. "If this is some plot by her wickedness the Dark Queen in Neriak, it was doomed to fail by her using such an idiotic child as you. I allowed Silor to marry you just to see what you would do." All the guards looked at her with something less than pleasure at that admission. "It was necessary at the time," she said without looking about, "but he is free of her and I will ask that Her Majesty, The Lady Tama not hold this against him."

Ginna looked on, not in despair, but disgust. "You stupid little winged freak, you and your goodie, goodie attitudes. You have no power over me at all, I allowed you to control my sight when I came here," she lied with forced bravado. She made several sharp gestures, casting a bolt of lightning at the Queen, intending to kill her and the guards. She got a real shock though when the queen whipped up what looked like a wooden paddle, the kind used to blister the bottom of a bad child and swung it like a club or bat. It caught the bolt and hurled it back at Ginna. She dove out of the path of the bolt and cast ice at her enemy and again had to scramble to avoid being caught in her own attack. "The Green brothers built these and made them so wonderfully, don't you think." The Fey Queen readied herself for the next cast, holding the paddle like a player in a game she had seen humans play at times.

"I can do this all day child, you on the other have just used most of your mana on those two simple attacks. You are poorly raised and trained girl. It is time to end this, and you." She gestured and suddenly Ginna was pulled to her feet by and invisible hand and held in place. Her arms were pulled down and behind her back, preventing her from acting at all, but the queen had erred in leaving her mouth unfettered. She uttered a word of command and the hand released her abruptly, dropping her to her feet.

Before the Queen could react, Ginna launched a fire attack, not at the Queen, but at the guards. That's when she found out exactly how powerful royal guard enchanted armor really could be. The fire struck and burned, yet not a hair was harmed on any of them. In a few seconds the fire faded and they closed in to bind her. Numbers and size beat her anger quickly, she was bound and gagged to prevent another such escape attempt. After a moment of study, the Queen ordered her blindfolded as well. "She has been trained as a courser, so even her eyes are a weapon if proper care is not taken. Take her to the upper isolation cell. None are to enter that area until it is time to take her to Trial and punish her." The Queen almost turned to leave, then stopped. She walked around behind the Elven female, ordered the guards to bend her over the nearest chair and hold her down. For the first time in two hundred and seventy five years, one of the paddles saw the use for which it was truly meant.

~Inner Platform group, Level Five, Kelethin~

Silor and Winter led B'rill towards the nearest shops to outfit him for travel, when B'rill noticed something odd. He looked without turning his head under the cloak and quickly moved to lead Silor and Winter to the nearest shop, even though it had nothing they needed. "Just follow along you two, or we will never leave this platform alive, much less the city. I will explain in a minute once we are safe, or as safe as possible now that we are outside." They followed him silently as he took them from one shop to the next without stopping.

He looked out the front of the leather goods shop he had stopped in and started looking at packs once he decided it seemed clear. After a few minutes of digging around the stacks of gear, he saw a stack of medium sized packs and picked one that looked like it would suit his needs. He paid for it in gold then they moved outside. Looking around, he gestured for them to remain silent and act as guards following their charge. They did so, both wondering what was going on, but decided to wait until he was ready and able to explain his behavior. With four more stops at assorted stores, B'rill had a simple but effective travel pack made up and started for the nearest ramp down from the city.

They descended three levels before he paused to tell them about the watcher he saw. "Silor, I think you knew about Tamalains being spied on during her recovery after the Dracota fight and beyond." Silor nodded and his face suddenly showed surprise. "Yes, he's back and seems to be watching for me now. I spotted him just before I led you off through the extra shops. He must not be allowed to find me or we will never be safe, no matter were we go."

They continued on in silence until they reached the last ramp down to a hilltop along the edge of the city. What they saw at the bottom of the ramp was not something they wanted nor needed to see. Several dozen Orc Pawns, a smaller breed of Orc, being led by the larger Grunts; They had attacked the ramp guards and destroyed several of the ground side merchants in just a few minutes. The city guard had not been able to respond yet so the Orcs had made it nearly to the top of the ramp already. Silor pulled out his sword and readied his buckler, Winter hefted her staff and prepared several lower level battle spells. She didn't want to burn down the tree, so she kept it weaker than she would have liked. It was when B'rill opened his cloak and pulled out the whip that things went crazy. He started it whirling around over his head, it's purple spines making a multi-tonal pitched whine and roar that hurt the ears and made the heart shudder. It was the sound of a dragon diving in for the attack. The Orcs went into a frenzy trying to reach him, but he lashed it out driving the twenty four tips straight though the nearest Grunt. That is when B'rill, yelled, "Get over here, " and yanked the whip backwards. He had drawn a large dagger and as the Orc flew towards him, he neatly side stepped and slashed the blade across the neck of the helpless Orc. He flipped the whip and the spines pulled free before the Orc hit the ground, and he started it spinning over his head again. "Who's next," he called out in a powerful voice.