Chapter 8

Tamalain took her Cadets on a tour of both old and new Kelethin. The oldest building to survive the fire happened to be the bank of Kelethin. Since it was one of the few stone buildings the Elven had built in the tree, it survived the fires. The roof was new as the old one had suffered sever fire damage. The inside was exactly as Tamalain remembered it though. She had visited it a few times during her time at the old academy when she needed spending money.

The following morning they returned to the forest floor and retrieved their well- rested horses. The ride to the Steamfont pass went without incident and she was finally able to report in. She delivered a complete report of all the events that had taken place on this mission. The station head was amazed that they had made it to Kelethin in one piece.

Shortly after arriving and reporting in, she received a message packet addressed to her. The letter inside contained new orders for her and the cadets to return to the Upper Glenn's via the road. She needed to report to Mayor Jordan upon arrival. After nights rest, they departed for home.

"Any idea what that is about," asked Mersinis, pointing to the packet?

"No idea at all. He may just be giving me my next milk run is all."

"Well it could be worse."

"How could it be worse?"

"He could put you behind a desk again?"

"Cadet, if he even suggests that, I will turn him into spiced Elven chops for the Kobalds to snack on."

The three laughed for a second until they realized from Tamalains look, she wasn't kidding.

"Ok, bad idea, how about working us to death at the gym instead," Both the guys groaned at that thought. "Hey, you two aren't much better off than me, so stop whining."

"That I will do happily, now let's get going, we have a lot of miles to cover today."

The four riders had their horses up to canter and made it to the Swayback Inn by nightfall, much to the pleasure of the Inn Keeper. "It has been quiet all along the road since you settled the issues of the road bandits. All the merchants are grateful for your help too. I did hear this and think you should know about it. A bard runner came through this morning from the Upper Glenn's, he reported several dozen caravans are forming to bring folks back to the Faydark. He said it is mostly farmers, tradesmen, and merchants."

"That is interesting news indeed. We will keep an eye out for any trouble on our way out. Now for some of that wonderful stew you make and a nights rest. We are a full week behind and have to make up as much of the time as we can."

The Inn Keeper quickly had their dinner served and they were off to bed. The night was quiet except for a brief thunderstorm passing through so their sleep was peaceful deep. In the morning light, the air was clean and clear, the breeze cool and comforting, the kind of day that made for easy riding. Tamalain listening to the birds for a few minutes didn't hear anything that indicated problems, so they rode out in the first hour.

The roads were a little wet and muddy in places that the road crews had not reached in some time. They made note of the locations and would report them to any caravans and repair crews they came across. By late afternoon the same day, they reached the Quanet river bridge; the Brownies were just finishing the repairs as they arrived.

Tamalain dismounted and approached one of the brownies. "Private, if you would be so kind, could you please direct me to Colonel Bogey."

The Brownie came to attention and saluted, "YES MUM, Right this way MUM." He headed towards a small tent at a fast march.

Tamalain smiled and nodded her head at the way they acted and spoke. A minute later, she met with Colonel Bogey. She came to attention and saluted, "Captain Arrowmark reporting sir."

"Ah, if it isn't the spider killing civil war stopper herself, what have you to report?" Tamalain gave him the locations of the road damage and obstructions.

"When I was a child Colonel, my father, Axeman Arrowmark took care of this regions roads and bridges."

"Did he now, yes ... Oh my, it's you then. My apologies, Lady Arrowmark. Might I inquire, will you be staying in the area for a few days?"

Tamalain wasn't sure of what to make of the Lady remark, so she didn't pursue it right then. "No Sir, we have to be on our way. Did the Bard runner give you the word on large scale caravan movements in this area very soon?"

"No Mum, he didn't even slow down for us, thank you for the warning though, I will have to send a runner to Kelethin for extra support on road maintenance."

"Might I suggest that you ask the Elven if some of them would be willing to join your work crews? If they need employment, they might be interested in the work."

"Now that captain is the best suggestion I have had in many days. I will ask if we see any of them, and I will pass word to inquire should any of the other companies see them as well."

"Now Colonel, as much as I would love to stay and hear how things went after the exodus, I really must be on my way. Too many miles ahead and not enough time to enjoy them."

"On your way then Captain, you have done the Fay a great service and I will help speed you on. Remember, the Bogey March will speed you along, bard or not."

"We will keep it in mind, but too much speed and we will miss threats that need to be dealt with."

"Hmmph, good point, on your way, dismissed."

Tamalain quickly returned to the cadets and they rode on until sunset. While passing the area of the spider battle, the party saw the remains of the mess they had made. Small insects and scavengers had already cleaned up the smaller spider corpses. Strangely though, nothing had touched the queen's carcass.

This was enough for Tamalain to call a halt to investigate. With swords drawn, they slowly approached the body. It did not smell of decay and Tamalain noticed the rear end had healed, it was not dead, and it knew they were there. Tamalain did not give it a chance to react. She did a forwards jump and drove her sword down through its head, pinning it solidly to the ground while she unloaded her entire mana pool into a lightning blast. The Queen Spiders head exploded in all directions and the body quickly drained of all its fluids.

Not willing to take the chance it could recover again, they burned the body to ashes. "That is creepy Captain, how did it live from all the damage we did to it before?" asked Ren'retere.

"That Cadet, I don't know. It was a major monster in the area and they do tend to be a bit harder to kill. I guess we just didn't kill it hard enough the first time."

They all got a good laugh from that, remounted and rode on until sunset. The following morning they had only been riding for an hour when they encountered the first caravan. Tamalain could tell from the wagons and cargo that these folks happened to be farmers. She wanted to know why they were moving and singled the caravan leader to hold for a moment.

"Well miss, we heard that the roads are open and mostly safe now. My kin and I have wanted to move back to the places our families farmed before the fires. The soil should be in fantastic shape by now and ready to grow bumper crops next season."

"Well I wish you good fortunes in your endeavors. I would like to know what you did with your farms."

"We sold the land to the city to deal with. It is all good lands and ready to plant next spring. The home though we broke down and brought all the building materials for use here."

"Do you suppose others might be moving as well?"

"I did hear that a few other families were thinking of coming home now. I think the wood is calling us Ma'am. I feel better now than I have in ages once we passed into the trees."

"Well then, I won't keep you any longer. By the way, should any of your folk feel the urge, the Brownies are the road repair crews now and they will need help if the traffic goes up to much."

"Ma'am, we have several boys that show no interest in farming, but did a pretty fair job at working the roads and lanes around the farms and town. I will see that they get in touch with the proper folk after we are set up."

With that he singled the caravan to roll onwards, he also remembered the road rules and stayed to one side, keeping the other clear the oncoming and passing riders. Tamalain did the same and they rode on towards the border only a few miles ahead.

At the border, they felt a compulsive urge to stop. "Captain, do you feel it, like something telling us not to leave," asked Ravensclaw? "It is almost a physical force, pulling me back."

Tamalain closed her eyes and felt the pull. She understood it immediately. It was the call of the Faydark to her children. Returning the plaque had set it in motion and all the Elven would feel the urge to return home. She called to the wood, "Faydark, I will return when it is time for me to do so. Call the others home, I have promises and obligations to complete. I will return, as will the three with me. Allow us to pass please."

The cadets looked at her as if she had lost her mind, until the urge to turn around suddenly faded to a faint call in the backs of their minds. "This is just getting crazy," said Mersinis. "What is going on Captain, why are we feeling this calling?"

"Once I set the plaque fulfilling the promise, the forest started calling to the Elven, it will become stronger everyday. I have asked that it allow me to complete what I have to do first. Come on, we need to move out and return the Glenn's now. Jordan will need to contact the council right away."

They rode hard, arriving at the Northern gate an hour after sunset. The guards opened the gates and let them pass, for they could feel the pull as well. She told the cadets to take their horses to the stables; she would see them in a few days about gym time. She found Jordan outside the City Hall talking with several merchants, almost begging them not to go yet.

"Jordan, we have to talk, we haven't much time before this movement turns into chaos. The Fay in Kelethin will not be ready to take the entire Elven population all at once."

He looked at the merchants, "Please, hold off departing until we can get things organized for a slow, steady return."

"Very well Mayor, we will wait a week but the call, it is so strong. It feels like a hand is pulling me towards the Wood."

Tamalain had a thought, "Ask the feeling to give you time, that you have to complete what you are doing here first, it may ease off a bit. It did for me when it stopped the cadets and I at the border."

The merchants each looked inside themselves and asked the feeling to give them time. All but one had a sudden feeling that the hand had released them, but would snatch them up when it was time. The one though, "I must go, I have to pack and prepare my supplies and inventory, staff and family to move. I could almost hear it as a voice calling me. I don't understand."

Jordan looked at him, "You can go. A slow even departure is better than a mass exodus. Tam, you have any idea on what is doing this?"

"When did this feeling start Jordan, exactly when. Was it after I left? If so when did it begin."

He thought about the timing for a moment, looked at the merchants, "About mid morning two days after you departed."

"That arrogant old bastard," she scowled, "A gift I would like he wrote, that old Necro was a royal bastard after all. That is about when I returned the plaque. He set a stone pet to wait for me to return the plaque, and in it, the new monolith it built has another enchantment. A compulsion if you will. That has to be it."

"What Necromancer Tam, what are you talking about?"

"Remember the stone golems that were assisting the farmers in the early days, he created them and could program them. He set a trap for me."

"Oh yes, I remember now. He set a golem to create a new home for the plaque then, and it has a calling enchantment?"

"Yes, that is what I think is going on. You need to spread the word to the Elven everywhere outside the Faydark. Tell them to ask for time; that is all they need to do. Those that need to go can go, the rest can hold off until things are set up for them in the Wood. Jordan, the Wood is calling us to come home."

Several weeks later at the gym near the academy.

"Captain, do you always lift so much on the bench," ask Ravensclaw.

"Actually, I had to increase it a bit this morning. When it gets to easy, I increase the weight. Don't worry, work enough and you will be doing the same. Now lift those bars kids, work those bow arms."

She smiled as she heard the grunts, groans and straining as the cadets entire class had joined them on this venture. The PT instructors complained at first, then when the students started out performing them, the complaints ceased as they fought to keep up.

During the third week, she saw a familiar face in the gym. "B'rill," she called. She set her weights down and ran up to him. He was rather surprised when she pulled him into a hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It is good to see you again. Where have you been? I expected to see you in here the first day I started this impromptu class."

"That is why, it is your class. Tam, you are looking more fit every time I see you. I hear that we have you to thank for the sudden urge to return to the Faydark."

"Not me B'rill, the old Skinstitch. It seems he set this up to help us go home as a people."

"Well, what ever the cause, the academes are all getting set to move soon. The urge is solid and no amount of begging on the part of the staff seems to help."

"That is a good thing then. We have to go home, I miss the Wood B'rill, I miss it so much it hurts."

"I know Tam, I feel it too. It grows stronger every day. I sought you out here to deliver a message from Jordan. There is a massive caravan from the docks, over two thousand Elven on the move over the next week coming through. You and many others are being reactivated as guards to control traffic and keep trouble makers from raiding the wagons."

"B'rill, I think I have the perfect extra forces for that duty right here, right now."

"Cadets?"

"Yes, Cadets. I was a third year when all this started, I think with a good brief and a senior guard or staff with three cadets each, it would work."

B'rill thought about her suggestion for a few seconds and smiled. Now he took advantage and gave her a kiss on the mouth that left her standing stunned. "Have to run Tam; you may have solved the manning issue we were facing." He ran out the door and disappeared.

Mersinis whispered, "Norrath to Tamalain, come in Tamalain."

Tamalain shook her head and looked around. "Well, what are you staring at, get lifting, you may be needing those muscles sooner than you planned."

That evening at the Bath's, Tamalain and Farleo were discussing the call. "I feel it a little bit Tam, but not serious, just a whisper in the wind. I guess I will be out in the cold for a while yet."

"You have to admit, you do run a specialized service, not a common one. I visited one major bathhouse while on the patrol run and learned a bit. They have enchanted steel ingots to heat their water. Their operating cost are a fraction of yours. No coal or wood needed to heat water."

"I looked into that and what the enchanter wanted would have set me back twenty years financially. I just couldn't afford to go that route."

"I know why he wanted so much cash up front; you are not part of the families. Those in the Faydark are the ones that stayed behind or slipped back in later. You are not the only merchant that ended up screwed over by that bunch. Fortunately, they won't be a problem for some time. The house leaders involved are being tried for attempted murders and conspiracy. One is up for murder of the Royal heir to the Fay throne. In fact you knew her quite well, I met her the first night I came in here to soak a broken tired body."

"Oh my goodness, you mean Stera Moritew? She killed a child?"

"She kicked him headfirst into a wall. Suffered brain damage and died that night. She also broke the wings on the youngest daughter before they could stop her. As punishment, Stera Moritew is going to be fed to the heart tree at the center of the Valley. That is something the Fay managed to keep from us from the beginning. The chamberlain explained that once dropped into the tree center, the sap keeps you alive for several months as it slowly dissolves the subject as food. Very painful I might add."

Farleo shivered, "I wonder how many other trees in the Wood are like that?"

"None, I asked that myself. The Heart Tree is unique and one of a kind. They are not sure that it is really a tree or some other creature that just looks and acts like one."

"Well as long as it doesn't want to eat just anybody, I am fine with it."

"No direct danger at least Farleo, the Fay keep it well guarded and protected from outside interference. Now I need a bit of soak. I leave as guard on a merchant caravan down to southeastern Kelethin, by the old city. I will have a few cadets with me to back me up, but I don't foresee this bunch wanting to cause me any problems after what has happened."

"Enjoy your soak and I hope to see you when you get back. Have a safe trip."

"I intend too." Tamalain lowered herself into the hottest pool and allowed the intense heat burn its way into her sore muscles.

On the Astral Plane, The Dragon of the Sky, Veeshan looked down at Norrath and was not happy. Something very much unplanned for had just begun and she saw no way of stopping it. She flicked a claw, summoning all the lesser gods to her presence.