Book 2: Chapter 54 (Patreon)

Leanthun returned before the elevator hit the floor. He whispered into Arandir’s ear. Orrin clenched his fist as the older elf grew angrier the longer his nephew talked.

“They would not dare.”

Leanthun bowed his head and spoke toward the ground. “What should we do? He’ll be here within an hour. There isn’t enough time to—”

Arandir gestured and Leanthun stopped talking.

“Arandir, what is going on?” Madi asked.

The elf held up a hand to forestall her, mumbling to himself with his eyes closed.

“Sir, we’re trying to be polite here, but if you keep us in the dark…” Orrin threatened vaguely. He didn’t make the threat specific, as he didn’t quite know what he could or would do but Arandir had agreed to help.

“Leanthun, tell them what you told me. I need a minute to think.” Arandir rested his forehead against his staff and began to murmur too softly for Orrin to hear.

“Either part or the full council, minus Arandir, have assembled and are holding court over whether to turn the [Hero] over to Odrana in exchange for leaving the elven forest alone. They have decided that he is too biased and voted him out of the decision. They are using one of the council’s other meeting locations to discuss the fate of your friend.”

“What?” Madi and Orrin shouted at the same time. Madi continued while Orrin pulled up his [Map]. “Why would they do that after he gave them the Quest? Does their word mean nothing?”

“How many places could they be at?” Orrin asked instead. “We can check them all if we have to.”

“There are hundreds of fallback locations and meeting places. We couldn’t search them all.”

Orrin tuned him out and began scanning for Daniel. They had disbanded the party when they got back, mostly to kick Arandir and Leanthun out of receiving any group System announcements. He tried sending a party invite to Daniel again with no response.

“All but one of those who received the Quest are dead,” Leanthun continued explaining to Madi. “Lord Sanerris took to the field with a cohort of his best and slew them all. He sent one back with his demands. He wants either the [Hero] or my uncle. The council would never turn over an elf but they might turn over Daniel.”

Arandir groaned and went to one knee. Leanthun rushed to his side. “Uncle, that is enough. Do not push yourself.”

“It is worth the cost,” the elf got out through gritted teeth. “Almost… there.”

Orrin felt the same weird energy that he’d always felt from Arandir coming off him in waves. He was playing with the System in some way. Orrin wanted to use [Analyze] but remembered the last time he’d tried. Something inside told him it would be a very bad idea to use at this particular moment.

Madi turned to Orrin. “Pull up your [Map].”

He had to dodge her spear point when she moved to grab his arm. “Watch out. I tried that already. I can’t find Daniel in a sea of people.”

“The council is now an enemy. Imagine them turning Daniel over. They are no longer friends or random people, they are monsters trying to attack your friend.”

“Huh?”

“Try it, please,” Madi begged.

Orrin zoomed out of his [Map] and focused his thoughts. White dots spread out everywhere, too many to count. He focused on the man that Arandir had tossed across the room and imagined his smug face throwing Daniel to the wolves.

A white dot flickered on the far side of the Matriarch tree. It only moved for a split second but Orrin kept his eyes on the location.

“Leanthun, there is a row of houses near what looks like a fountain or spring of water about a mile northwest of the big tree. Do you know it?”

Leanthun looked up from his uncle and frowned. “You haven’t been to that part of our city but yes, I know what you are talking about. There is a communal pool built out of the remains of—”

“I don’t care about what it is. There is a building or treehouse, I don’t know. It’s… two streets north of that pool and one street over. Behind a building that looks bigger than the others and is shaped like an x. Do you know it?”

“That would be the holding area behind the Justice Hall,” Arandir groaned. “I do not know if that is where Daniel is being held, but that is where the council is meeting.”

“How do you know?” Madi spun back around, almost clipping Orrin again.

She is dangerous with that spear. I need to have a talk with her about proper weapon safety.

“I have lived a long time, dear. I have many powers but this is not one I will share.”

“Argue about it later,” Orrin threw out a party invite to them all. “Accept the invite.”

“We will need to be swift.” Arandir pushed himself taller using his staff. He accepted the invite, as did Madi and Leanthun.

“I can use [Teleport], so I’m going to bring us up into the Matriarch tree branches,” Orrin explained, pointing to the big tree in the middle of the forest clearing. “One of you needs to point out which building I need to target and then I’ll do it again and bring us right on the roof.”

Arandir’s look of surprise was almost worth all this hassle. “You can what?”

The four of them stumbled as they landed on the roof of the Justice Hall, the elf’s version of a courthouse. Well, Orrin and Madi stumbled. Leanthun and Arandir appeared to be out for an afternoon stroll. Orrin drank a mana potion. Teleporting himself and three people twice this close together was a drain on even his large mana pool.

“We will speak with the council while you get your friend,” Arandir said, waving his staff in a circle. The air around them swirled in a haze of lights and a cloud of fast-moving wind coalesced in front of them. He beckoned them on the floating cloud. “Good luck to you.”

Madi held tight to Orrin until they landed on the ground.

“Don’t wait. If you get a chance, all three of you need to get out of here,” Leanthun whispered as he unhooked his weapons. “We will do our best to find you if we survive.”

“Hold up,” Orrin slid to a stop. “What do you mean, if we survive? You aren’t going to fight your own people, are you?”

Arandir smirked. “It will not be much of a fight, I am afraid. I trained most of the council myself at one point or another. Nonetheless, it is never wise to believe everything will go according to plan. Rescue your friend and return to Dey. We will find each other again, fellow Administrator.”

For the first time since meeting Arandir, Orrin realized the distrust and strange feelings regarding the elder elf were from the weird powers they both had. He was actually good people, trying to do what he believed was best for the elves but not at the expense of his own honor. Arandir was going to help them rescue Daniel and hadn’t asked for anything in return.

Orrin stuck his hand out. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you sooner. When this is all over, maybe I can help you figure out a way to bring Administrators back.”

Arandir took Orrin’s hand and squeezed. “Keep your skepticism but trust yourself. I believe you will do what is best for the world.”

Madi hip-checked Orrin. “Buff us up.”

Orrin cast his spells, drinking a mana potion to top himself off. He was still running [Mind Bastion] but didn’t want to blood cycle unless it absolutely necessary.

“Everybody ready?”

Leanthun answered by kicking in the door to the holding area behind the courthouse and rushing in. Arandir followed close behind with his staff held out in front of him.

“They could have just said yes,” Orrin complained. He and Madi ran inside.

Orrin was prepared for anything. When Madi had told him that Daniel was taken, he’d begun having flashbacks of finding his friend tied up in a tent. He wasn’t sure how many of the elven council members were going to be waiting for them or if the Odrana leader, Lord Sanerris would be there already. He summoned a [Fire Sword] in one hand and an [Ice Sword] in the other, ready to take on everything they threw at him.

What he did not expect to find was Daniel sitting all alone in the middle of twenty holding cells. He was tied to the chair but nobody else was present.

Leanthun and Arandir were searching corners for the elders.

“Hey O, took you long enough,” Daniel said with a grin.

Madi tackled Daniel, knocking the chair backward.

“Ouch, watch it,” he complained, as she began pulling at the knots to untie him.

“Why did you go off with them? What were you thinking?”

Daniel frowned. “Sorry, Madi. One of the elves who so politely asked me to come meet the council threatened to firebomb the house if I resisted. I knew you were awake and could probably get out but I knew this shithead was probably sleeping.”

Orrin sighed. Daniel was calling him names. He was worried about the situation he was in but still felt comfortable enough to mess around.

“Orrin, take Daniel and leave. Now!” Arandir yelled from the back of the room.

Orrin made it two steps before the back door exploded, sending wooden shrapnel at all of them. Orrin was knocked to the ground. Madi covered Daniel with her body.

Orrin had already cast another [Ward] on all five of them before the dust settled, crawling over the debris toward his friends. He reached out his hand and grabbed Daniel before casting [Teleport].

It failed.

“They have a teleportation ward,” he croaked. The dust was in his throat and he swallowed to clear it. Instead, he started coughing.

“Arandir and Leanthun. Why am I not surprised to see you here?” a voice from the door spoke.

Orrin glanced up and saw a handful of elves come in the broken doorframe. He recognized Devdan and Gwynnestri, along with two of the other elders. He hadn’t caught their names before. The one who spoke wasn’t an elf but a human man. He stood tall but stayed behind the council members.

“Sanerris, I will kill you for this,” Leanthun threatened but did not move. The four members of the council stood waiting between them, each holding weapons or staffs of their own.

“This would have been so much easier if you had simply agreed to help me,” Lord Sanerris said, pushing his fingers back through his golden hair. His clothes gave no indication of his class and he wore no weapons but Orrin felt the distinct aura of a predator on the leader of Odrana. “Now it has to come to this. Kidnapping the [Hero], yet again. I knew you would come running once I trapped your new little pet.”

“What are you doing, Arvin? I have told you before, my powers would be of no use to you,” Arandir sighed, leaning on his staff and ignoring his traitor elves surrounding him. “Gwynni, what have you done?”

Gwynnestri wore heavy armor and held a two-handed sword that looked like it could stand up against Gertrude in length. “Arandir, my job is to protect our people. A human, especially a human [Hero] is no concern of ours. Let Lord Sanerris have him. He agreed to pull back his forces if we do.”

“Oh Gwynni, do you believe him so easily? This man will not be appeased. He will always seek more.”

Sanerris’s smile grew larger. “Oh, but it is true. Why would I need you, when I can have him instead? He gave you a Quest to defeat me, didn’t he? Is he really a [Hero] or something else? I have heard so many interesting rumors about him. It is one reason I wanted him so badly in the first place. I can wait for you to come to me. You will come to me, once you learn what I know.”

Gwynnestri glanced over her shoulder. “Sanerris, take the idiot [Hero] and go. Pull your people away from our forest and never darken our trees again.”

Daniel stood up from where he had been lying. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his back with a loud yawn. “I think that you are all forgetting something very important here.”

He snapped his fingers and Gertrude appeared in his hands. “Do you like that little trick? I haven’t had the chance to try it yet. [Summon Weapon] is cheap but I thought I might need it someday. Like if I ever wanted to convince a bunch of idiots that I’m helpless and then kill them all once they rounded themselves up for me.”

Daniel bent his knees and took a ready stance. “Oh, wait. Is that what I did here? I guess this [Hero] is a little smarter than you thought.”