Chapter 83

Roxanne, Arwen and I teleported via Loegria and Kurukshetra to Verenestra’s residence in Keldravan on Tír na nÓg. We were expected and were escorted directly to see the Queen and the Consort, allowing Arwen to joyfully greet her parents first before getting down to business. We were soon joined by the neuro-technologist, Artello, who was working on various means to shut off a Fae’s magical abilities in a manner similar to that that his ‘Artello cap’ did for humans. The man was now in his 70’s, though didn’t look it, and for a Loegrian was merely in late middle age as they reckoned things. He had turned down several offers by our community to rejuvenate him or make him a Mage; such was his dedication to curing all manner of brain trauma and mental issues amongst the Loegrians. He simply said that he’d get around to it when he retired, though was showing no signs of slowing down as yet. Also attending was Astrid representing the Seer group as well as (presumably hidden) several Drow guards.

“John, Roxanne, good to see you,” he greeted us cheerily after formally greeting the Queen, consort and princess.

“You too, my friend,” I returned the greeting. “I’m told you may have a breakthrough if Oonagh refuses to co-operate.”

“Yes, though I’m somewhat ambivalent of the morality of this as there’s a chance, admittedly low, that it could cause irreparable brain damage to her,” he replied with a frown.

“Yes, we know,” Verenestra replied. “This is why we have not insisted on its use, nor put any pressure on you to do so.”

“Until now,” Artello added.

“Yes, circumstances have developed where the information Oonagh has may be vital to concluding a war against the Vultoqi before they can expand beyond a single world,” William replied.

“Yes, I was given access to the reports,” Artello frowned. “A most dangerous enemy indeed.”

“Well, John and I will be going to speak to her soon as apparently he’s the only one that she has said she’ll have any dealings with,” Roxanne replied. “I’m not sure why this is and I can’t see why she’d give us the information we want, but it’s the only opportunity we’ve been offered which doesn’t involve your device.”

“I will observe. So far we’ve never seen her give any voluntary information away, simply requests couched as demands,” Artello noted with a wry smile.

“True enough,” Verenestra added with a grin. “Though she’s now given up on getting the guards to call her ‘your majesty’.”

“Yes, the Drow guards simply told her she’d never been their Queen, just a customer seeking a service,” William chuckled.

“Where’s she being held?” I asked.

“An adjunct of the Arrondistrium ... our prison, that we had built on Jingol to add an extra layer of security,” Verenestra replied.

“Hansol kept there too?” Roxanne asked.

“No, he was executed shortly after we got to the bottom of the Akmonii affair, along with the five arch traitors. The rest are incarcerated in the main Arrondistrium awaiting their sentences to begin once the Vultoqi are defeated and neutralised.”

“How are Ginfio and Ilvana?” I asked.

“Rebuilding their relationship. He retired from an official position in my government and spends his time on Malnos with his wife. She’s also pregnant, so I do believe things are well on the mend,” Verenestra replied with a happy smile.

“How does this device work, Artello?” Arwen asked.

“Fae brains work very differently from human ones, so the cap had to be designed to neutralise a certain quantum control by the brain itself as there’s no gateway to the function as there is with humans. Problem is Fae brains rely on other quantum emanations to control certain functions efficiently which is why they’re affected more by these Null fields you use; turn the device up too high and you get localised brain damage from the area being affected, that is overloaded from another unaffected and that’s irreparable. Take it too far and they die. I believe I’ve found a happy medium, but it’s not as if I’ve really had anyone to experiment on except for the few prisoners that Verenestra condemned after the plot against her. We got it right on the last one, but there’s a difference between male and female brains too and he was male,” Artello explained.

“I see. You can try it on me if you want,” Arwen offered.

“It is still experimental and dangerous, Princess Arwen. So no, I wouldn’t advise it,” Artello replied, quite shocked.

“The Seer gestalt can protect my mind and this does strike me as being important.”

“Arwen, please think carefully about this,” her mother warned whilst William looked anxious.

“Perhaps we had better wait at least until Mage Roxanne and I have spoken to Oonagh,” I temporised as I recognised all the signs of a determined Arwen push to get her own way.

“I believe you are correct in this, John. Arwen, as your mother and as Queen I believe that the time to test this will only come if Oonagh is unhelpful,” Verenestra stated, more or less putting her foot down.

“Yes, mother,” Arwen replied demurely, though fooling no one.

“Artello, you are not to ‘experiment’ on Arwen without my express permission,” Verenestra more or less ordered the man, who accepted it graciously.

“Of course, Queen Verenestra. I would ask you anyway.”

“Astrid, have the gestalt keep an eye on my daughter too, I know her well enough to realise that she’s very good at getting her own way when she wants to.”

“Of course, your Majesty,” she replied with a wry smile.

“When can we see Oonagh?” I asked, bringing the subject back to its original purpose.

“Tomorrow morning. I’ve informed Taqual and he’s made all the arrangements,” William replied.

“Under Null?”

“No, just cuffed, which means you won’t be able to read her mind. Still, you should be able to read Oonagh’s visual cues relatively easily enough, you’ve been around Fae quite a bit, though never assume for a minute that she’s telling you all the truth.”

“How is she taking her captivity?” Roxanne asked.

“Well, she’s gone from screaming abuse and scheming, to writing a rose tinted memoir ... and scheming,” William chuckled. “She still acts like the queen of all creation with anyone she speaks to, though is a tad more polite when she realised people simply wouldn’t come back and she was getting starved for company.”

“A bitter lesson,” Roxanne replied with a grin.

“I suspect so, though she won’t speak to Verry or me, or Arwen either, I suspect.”

“Well, it will be interesting, if nothing else,” I shrugged as the conversation on Oonagh ended and we went over the current situation on Draenoric and Vultoq.

We were escorted by Taqual and Usanna themselves when we portalled into Jingol to see Oonagh. For them this was mostly to see how their children, Ilzik and Esira as well as Ilzik’s fiancée, Lenna, were getting on as reports from the frontline as it were, were intermittent.

“The missions they are on are very important, but also very dangerous. That said, I cannot think of anyone better to do them than the Dökkálfar,” Roxanne summed up the situation.

“These Vultoqi seem a terrible foe,” Usanna said quietly.

“They are. The adelshaut are each the equivalent of a very powerful Mage. Though with a few limitations such as teleporting, which leaves them vulnerable due to the internal energy exchange. But your son and daughter know this and we have adapted ways to deal with their powers.”

“They have been told to be careful,” I added. “Their job is to scout for weaknesses, not engage the Vultoqi. We have the Alliance and the Yr’ch forces to do that if an opportunity arises. Nor would we abandon them if things went wrong.”

“Let us hope they are successful,” Taqual nodded. “Ah, here we are. Usanna and I will wait in the ante-room for you. I wish you success.”

We bade them farewell and then were escorted by a guard through the beautifully maintained grounds to another doorway and through into a comfortable room to await the presence of Oonagh. Nor did we have long to wait before the former queen was escorted in through another door and ordered to sit opposite us with just a table width in between us as the guard left.

“Greetings, Oonagh. I’m told you wish to speak to me?” I began politely.

“You, yes, her, no,” Oonagh replied icily.

“All visitors have to be accompanied; you either deal with Mage Roxanne or a guard or don’t deal at all,” I replied. “Those are the rules; I’m in no position to break them. The same goes for you.”

“I am aware of the rules,” she replied acidly and relapsed into a thoughtful mood. Eventually she stirred, obviously having considered the situation and her needs.

“Very well,” she huffed. “It has come to my attention that you are fighting an old, old foe of creation, the followers or creations of a Power called Suruchael.”

“We know it as Säräquyael or Sarkal, the followers being the Vultoqi,” I replied.

“You cannot defeat them, not their higher forms,” Oonagh stated.

“I believe we have a method, but why do you say we cannot? Is this merely an opportunity to gloat over our possible destruction?” I queried.

“I would die too, something I have no desire to do,” she shrugged. “There was a book, written by an ancient mystic of the Daoine who was thought mad. He described them and a weapon that was supposed to be able to kill them. It was a work of fantasy that I read as a child.”

“If it’s a fantasy, why ask to speak to me?”

“It appears it may actually have been prophesy as it describes and names those whom you fight. I’m offering to help you to balance the scales somewhat with regards to their current position of superiority to you.”

“You’ll pardon me if I’m reluctant to believe this. I know fine well if you had a knife, you’d try to stab me with it,” I replied sardonically.

“Oh, I’d want something in return as well,” she replied with a slight sneer.

“That’s the Oonagh I remember.”

“Nor would I attempt to kill you. It would gain me little.”

“That’s not the Oonagh I remember. Now, what is it that you want?”

“The freedom of Jingol.”

“Not something I personally could offer,” I shrugged.

“But you have influence with those who do.”

“I may have, but it would depend on what you’re offering. Plus why only Jingol? Why not Tír na nÓg?”

“There is no way they would permit me to run free on Tír na nÓg, but Jingol at least is sealed off by their own consent.”

“I can only ask, though I can’t imagine Verenestra granting it, nor the Dökkálfar liking it. It may be that they’d see it as an attempt to link up with their very few rebels and regain power,” I countered.

“I would swear a Calvagh to not leave, nor seek or influence power. I simply wish to walk in the open air again.”

“You’re lucky you weren’t executed,” Roxanne broke in.

“And become a martyr? Verenestra is not so stupid.”

“We can only ask. It depends on the information you supply,” Roxanne shrugged.

“Ask the returned Fae for the book called The Deceitful Weapon. Read it and then if you’re ready to deal, come back to me and I’ll describe how to make one.”

“We had thought of banishing them to the Outer Realms,” I added.

“Are you willing to sacrifice so many of your own to empower the transference?” Oonagh asked.

“If necessary, plus we’d need to know how you got Irin to co-operate.”