A340, 12000 meters AGL, 2500 Kilometers from Lothern Festtag, 26. Vorgeheim
"Another tea Frau Garrolin?"
"Thanks, that would be nice."
Silva had found that the Germans made many different kinds of lifeless hells; this one was one of the worst. She was confined to a seat that was comfortable enough, but she had nearly no space to move, to stretch her legs or anything. If she wanted to get up she had to perform gymnastics and sleep had been prevented by a combination of noise and the inability to lie down properly.
She was quite irritated already and her abraded nerves were somehow additionally stressed when Aeolus watched the stewardess who refilled his glass with water with more than a little interest. Silva thought she bordered on fat and she had ridiculous-sized breasts. Ah, men were all the same.
"Something bothering you, Silva?"
"No, not really. Well actually yes Ottokar. How can you stand to spend 12 hours in such seats. I mean if we would have forced Haratak into one of these for the same time he would have told us all we wanted to know without the hassle. And are all your stewardesses like ..this?"
"Don`t complain too loudly about the seats-out budget does not cover business class but at least we got Premium Economy-if you go to the rows in back they have even less legroom."
"Oh my, that must be horrible."
"You get used to it sooner or later. And for the stewardess, well these days there are very few openings for members of flight crews, so Lufthansa is spoilt for choice. And so they can staff the planes with the most beautiful and actually clever ones. None of them speak less than three languages and they are chosen for their ability to hold an educated conversation."
"Uh, you think she is beautiful?"
"Err yes, quite so. A bit slender for my taste, but yes."
"You are all the same, are you not?"
"Same what?"
"Men!"
"Probably, but I do think the Lady doth protest too much…"
"What?"
Palace, Lothern, Sigmarstag 27. Vorgeheim
The place was a place of dazzling architecture, brilliant artwork and breathtaking beauty. It managed to be all of that without being too ostentious or frilly-it was just that everything inside had just the right shape and was in just the right place. It was lit in the best possible way and so clean that you could probably eat from the floor in the janitor`s storeroom.
The palace had a throne room that allowed the courtiers to stay in the wings, the applicants to wait for their turn and the King and Queen being the center of it all. A room full of history and art, of memorial deeds and despicable treachery.
Ottokar Proktor, Aurelius, Aeolus and Silva were not in it, but in a much smaller room of equal but different aesthetic brilliance which none of them admired. The reason for that sat at the head of the table and while she was no taller than Silva her presence filled the room completely.
Silva was actually happy that she was not the focus of the High Elven Queens attention as she was of a frightening intensity even when she appeared to be interested instead of hostile which she might easily have been given the presentation by Ottokar Proktor.
He had projected pictures, videos and documents against the white wall and a grisly thing this had been. He had combined the results of their inquiry with pictures from Monschau and that was not easy to watch. Silva had seen some of the pictures for the first time and while she was no stranger to the battlefield she was aghast that the dead were often old and frail. How had the Wilf Hunt been abused in such a way.
Still, even this presentation had come to an end and her attention came back to the German.
"You majesty, in conclusion we find that Moravel had the opportunity, the means and the motive to order the ritual that brought the Wild Hunt to Germany. We therefore ask that General Moravel is questioned about his involvement and if the suspicion that he is involved with this confirmed, then he should be rendered to the German government for prosecution."
"This seems to be a very thorough investigation, even if I did not know some of the methods you use. Very interesting, really. Yes you have done your homework Herr Proktor and I have to admit that General Moravel makes a likely suspect. He has nurtured a deep hate of both Druchii and you Germans ever since the defeats the Dragon Prince`s suffered against the Druchii armed and led by Germans."
"German Renegades your majesty that we sought to bring to justice. As we have learned in the meantime they were killed in a dispute with their Druchii employers"
"So you say Ottokar Proktor and some of the reports I receive concur. Yet some reports state that some Germans are still in the Witch Kings employ and that some of the manufactories are still active."
"That is interesting to hear. Would it be possible that we compare our finding in some way?"
"I am sure that Aurelius will be able to broker a fair deal between us in that regards. Yet-while I will agree that Moravel would have the means and the motive it does not seem like him."
"Why so your highness."
"Moravel is a very accomplished leader of cavalry Herr Proktor, one of our finest. Combat on horseback suits him well. Have you ever fought like this?"
"I am afraid not you highness."
"Cavalry is all about rapid advances and daring charges. There is not much room for feints, camouflage and subterfuge. It is all about heart, about riding directly at the enemy and glorious combat: this is Moravel. If you are correct, which I cannot say either way, then the General would have tried his hand in a very subtle and complicated stratagem. I do not believe he has this in him."
"It is said that defeat is a better teacher than victory your highness. Maybe the good General has learned the value of subtlety from his defeats at the hands of the Druchii?"
"Be that as it may, you are at the wrong place Herr Proktor."
"Why is that your majesty?"
"Even if were to agree to the findings of your investigation, and again it was very thorough I am the wrong person to approach. General Moravel is Moravel of the House of Imrik, which means that Prince Imrik of Caledor is his liege. I cannot rule about the General in either way, this is the right and responsibility of the Prince of Caledor. Presently I have no power in this matter."
The clearing of an Asurian throat was loud in the silence that filled the room.
"Yes Ambassador Aurelius?"
"Your majesty is obviously aware of the negative feelings that Prince Imrik has for all things German? He would never agree to an interview with General Moravel, let alone sending the General to Germany for to face prosecution."
"As you say Aurelius, I am very much aware of this, but such are the rights and prerogatives of a Prince of the Realm. And especially in the current situation the King and I are unwilling to interfere in such a matter. The new programs of industrialization that my husband instigated have much potential yet they also cause great unrest. German companies profit greatly from these programs Herr Proktor."
"I am aware of the economic realities you majesty. Yet somebody is manipulating the forces of two great powers here and this has the potential for great conflict, especially if it were to happen again. And we Germans are very unhappy if our civilians are killed, there is a rising demand for action."
"The civilian were slaughtered by the Asrai, not the Asur. Certainly even you can see the difference."
"Yes your majesty, and then we have this.." A hand indicated the projection on the wall.
"Which many would call circumstantial evidence and forced confessions. Don`t get me wrong Herr Proktor, I think you conducted a good and honest investigation. Yet I do not see that it will move Prince Imrik and my hands are tied in that matter."
"This is not a favorable result you majesty."
"I am aware of that Herr Proktor, I really am. But what can I say-the General has retreated himself from the public to his lodge in the Valley of Triumph, a very lonely place where he is rarely confronted by the relatives of the good Asur he lost. It is said that he believes himself to be the target of Druchii assassins and brigands that supposedly did not leave with Malus Darkblade`s army. I do not believe that the Druchii are such a grave threat, but this is a big country and hard to control.
A sad case our General Moravel, really. I would really like to give you access to him, but unless you are Prince Imrik or a Druchii brigand, I fear this is impossible."
"I see your majesty and this is indeed a sad case."
"I knew you would understand me Herr Proktor. You know that you start getting a certain reputation is some circles in Ulthuan?"
"No you majesty, I did not."
"Well, I do believe you will live up to it. I will leave you to your devices then Ladies and Gentlemen, the affairs of Ulthuan await me."
Silva ad Garrolin managed to hold her temper till they were back at their rooms in the German embassy.
"So this is it? You have identified the instigator of this outrage that saw Orion himself killed and are content to do nothing? Or will you apply for Prince Imrik for added humiliation? Why do the words of the Asur count for so much more than those of the Asrai with you-is it because of the profit the trade with them brings?
And no matter what you do in that regard, do you believe now it is safe to return Orion`s remains?"
"Are you finished with your rant Frau Garrolin?"
"No, I am not but-oh."
"Oh indeed. I think we now all agree that the High Elven queen has offered us a way to Moravel, a way that will not complicate their internal political problems any further. But to make it happen we first have to return to Germany and you have to contact your queen. I need some of her warriors to make it happen. Do you think that she is willing to provide them?"
"To bring down those who used her husband as an unpaid mercenary to do their bidding? You will receive anything she can provide."
"Sounds good, let`s do it."
Silva`s newfound enthusiasm stayed with her until she realized that this would mean another 12-hour flight to Germany.
Berlin, Markttag 29. Vorgeheim
Professor Lucke read a report that had the potential to make him smile, a rather rare thing these days. The newly minted Secretary of Economics had been a professor of economics before and an adherent of the ordo-liberal school.
Any activity by the state to interfere with commerce was to be suspiciously watched and well regulated. The way Germany`s finances had been managed during the last years had filled him with dread and were obviously fumbled by his social democratic predecessor.
Germany`s debt as a fraction of GNP had risen from barely below 80% to a lofty 135% during the last years and better housekeeping was necessary to bring that back to a more manageable level.
The practice that the state-owned KfW bank borrowed from the Bundesbank to buy treasury notes smelled of financing the state by central bank, something Lucke abhorred. On top of that the inflation was roughly 4.5%, far too high in the professor`s mind and needed to be reduced. It would be even higher if not for the remnants of rationing, another practice he had vowed to abolish as soon as he took office.
Yet, the first part of the debt raise against the GP had not been the result of more debts but of a GNP that dropped like a stone for the first two years after the Weltensprung. An economy that was so much geared to exports had to reinvent itself and even at the breakneck pace it had done so it had not been easy.
That part was thankfully over, by now the GNP was on the rise again and would probably regain pre-Weltensprung levels in a decade or two. But at least the rise and the confidence that things were improving was there and that was worth a lot.
The second part was not so easy-reduce spending. When he had entered the government he had proposed, actually demanded, to cut the space program down to reasonable levels. This manned spaceflight thing was surely just a PR stunt.
Until he had learned that it wasn`t, that it was a life-and-death matter and that even more money had to be spent there.
The only time he had mentioned that one could reduce spending for the military the Freisinningen lost nearly 2% in the polls or about 20% of their electorate. In the end military spending was reduced, but only as the Skavenblight campaign was over and a measure of peace had broken out.
There were some bright spots-unemployment was down-as so many things had to be made in Germany again that had been outsourced. And more and more raw materials were no longer restricted supply. One of the reasons his colleague Henkel was arranging for huge strategic stocks was to regulate prices a bit, otherwise a vicious boom-and-bust cycle was on the horizon.
And then there was this: The treasury had just received a clean 5 billion marks. The German government had auctioned off all the movies that they had received as a part of the data exchange with earth. Who would have thought that "Avengers", "Skyfall" and "X-men" would bring so much money. Yet the networks and cinemas knew that the Germans were starved for additional movies done on a big budget and Hollywood know-how and had bid accordingly when the rights were sold.
There was the idea to sell the patents for processes and products that various researchers at Rungholt developed with Nathan the AI.
Maybe he could meet some of his goals, even if not the way he had planned.
LZ 51, 700 meters AGL, Bäckertag 20. Nachgeheim
The airship was an interesting one. The biggest variant of the NZ-line of airships it was by far smaller than "Enterprise" or the Zeppelins of old. Yet while she had half the mass and size of the old "Graf Zeppelin" she had the same engine power and far better aerodynamics. That made for a very fast, maneuverable airship of very long range.
The 500hp diesels that powered her were derived from car engines and already very quiet. Yet in this particular ship they were in specially insulated cabins and breathed against water cooled exhausts.
When she was at more than 300 meters even Silva failed to hear LZ-51 from the ground at cruise speed. Her lower sides were as dark as advisable and so the only note of her passing was the temporal blocking of some stars from view.
Silva da Garrolin checked her appearance in the mirror again, and it was as alien and ridiculous as it had been the last ten times she had done so. Her hair was a deep lustrous black now, the color of a raven`s wing. Her skin was even paler than normal and the many layers of dead materials the Germans called cosmetics made her lips appear thinner with a cruel slant.
While all of that was acceptable her outfit was not. Made from leather and black silk reinforced with steel in places it barely covered her. She could understand not to have cloth on unarmored skin-cloth in wounds tended to fester-but he cut of her garment was more guided by the wish to enhance her figure in obscene ways.
She had heard that the ones usually wearing this garb were using it to intimidate the weak with their sexuality. Maybe they were comfortable with that or even gained satisfaction from it, but to her it was an embarrassment. The top of her breasts were barely covered, her stomach was bare and when she moved her legs the wrong way a slit allowed anybody to see her legs all the way.
From the corner of her eyes she saw another member of the team. He sported a more sensible set of armor made of chain mail and boiled leather. It would have been practical if not for several spikes and sharp ridges. He wore a nasty-looking bow, a short sword and a whip with metal woven into the braided leather.
The black hair and makeup made it hard for her to recognize him for a second until the pieces of the puzzle clicked. The eyes of the Elf followed the lines of her attire to the points where they met the flesh.
"Don`t say it Aeolus, do not even think it."
"Say what-that this Druchii stuff looks god on you?"
"Let me guess-you think less is better right?"
"With you for sure."
"Ah-men."
She made her way forward where a couple of German members of the team checked each other's gear. They too wore Druchii kit and had been made to look like them, yet they looked far less convincing that the Glade Guards provided by Ariel and made up by Germans.
"A question if I am allowed."
"Go ahead."
"Where did you get all that Druchii stuff?"
"Most of it from the Battle of Papenburg I hear, the former owners have no more need for them. A bit from Hag Graef."
"And you don`t think that guns will give you Germans away?"
"There are reports that the Darkies have used them in Ulthuan, but they are a last resort. Hope we do not need them.
"Thank you."
"Something is wrong, you looking at me like that?"
"No, not at all, thanks."
A bit farther forward she met Ottokar Proktor.
"You would have made a good Druchii witch."
"I did swear to myself that I turn the next guy who tells me that into a frog."
"Ah, can this wait till after the assault?"
"I`ll forgive you if you answer a question."
"Shoot mylady."
"What did you do with these two?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don`t play coy-these two Germans you brought. They smell wrong-not sick, but not totally human."
Silence
"Ottokar?"
"Ah well-you would ask too many questions to the wrong people. I gave them a chance."
"What do you mean by that."
"Both flunked their trials for the KSK. Mentally very fit, flunked the physical part by about that much."
"So?"
"So I took the publications of some Shallya`s cult healers and some other stuff and found myself a Jade Mage. Showed him the goods and he went for it. He made the mitochondria in their cells a bit more effective and raised their red blood cell count considerably. They are a lot stronger now and their endurance is improved.
They volunteered for a couple of missions and then get them a chance for another trial-if they still want it."
"You play with high stakes Herr Proktor."
"Tonight we all do. So is everybody ready for the Druchi assault on poor General Moravel?"
"My people are."
"Good, we will reach the landing zone in 30 minutes."
Valley of Triumph, Ulthuan, one hour later
Moravel of the House of Imrik watched the red fluid in the glass in front of him. The wine had just the right degree of murkiness to indicate the earthen taste that he liked so much. He could taste it, anticipate the way it would run down his gullet and set a fire to his stomach.
And more than the sweet taste and the warmth it would the feelings of guilt and inadequateness that haunted him ever since the thrice-damned Druchii mercenaries and their German leaders came to Ulthuan.
Moravel had commanded the Dragon princes in the absence of Prince Tyrion then. He had commanded the finest cavalry in the known world. Horses that were so far above lesser steeds that they might as well be a different species. Arms and armor made so well as to bring tears of envy into the eyes of the lesser race`s artisans. Yet the heart of the unit were the soldiers so well-trained, so motivated, so courageous. As Tyrion`s executive officer he had handled the day-to-day business with them for centuries. He had trained them for war, equipped and prepared them the best way he knew. He had done so for centuries and knew his Elves so well.
His mind`s eye showed the faces unbidden, those noble faces that would age no more, laugh and cry no more. The faces of those that the mercenaries had murdered within the space of two weeks with their German-made weapons. And he had been unable to exact revenge then, being held back by Tyrion time after time.
Oh how much he yearned to drink this glass and many more of them like he had done so often these last years. He needed the relief, relief from the pictures in his head and the screams that accompanied him wherever he went.
Yet he would not indulge himself. He had been warned that his fears were not flights of his imagination or fantasies of a broken mind. The Druchii were about and they wanted to finish what they had started during the last campaign and kill him.
The warning had been another proof that he was not alone. There were others who thought like he did and sure that the Phoenix King was badly advised. Who were sure that he was not a write-off whose failings had killed countless Princes but a stalwart who had been used as a scapegoat.
And now he had a chance to show them, he would trap his would-be assassins and display them to the world. He had ordered a squadron of his household cavalry into the woods not far from his castle and doubled the number of guards at the walls. He would trap his would-be killers between the two forces and kill them without mercy.
LZ-51, very close, a few minutes later
Silva watched the Guards before her step into the darkness and disappear. They had trained with the rappelling gear often enough and it was easy enough to use. Put the hook into the cable, step forward and trust those who had designed it to slow herself down sufficiently.
Yet in total darkness, above a forest she had never seen and close to enemies that would kill her on sight it was a different preposition than during preparation.
She knew she was watched by far too many people including this Aeolus who would surely smirk at the slightest sign of hesitation. She stepped before the steel rope, pressed the hook into the cable, felt the punch on the shoulder and jumped into the darkness.
She learned to breathe again when she was indeed slowed, managed to keep her stomach quiet when she was turning around the rope and flexed her legs enough when she hit the ground.
A German with a bulky headgear made sure she shed her rappelling gear before she assembled with the Eternal Guards.
The voice in her head startled her as every time.
"Trojan one, all elements have disembarked. Are you ready?"
"Ready and willing Horse one."
"Then make your way to the assembly point."
The "wireless" was built into her headband, the same had been done to the helmets of the others. His was a risk, but the advantages had been ruled to be worth it.
Others races would find being placed inside an unknown forest at night intimidating and disorienting. To her and the Eternal Guards it was a much more inimical environment than the well-lit airship had been before.
They made their way through the woods at a pace one would normally associate with a formation of soldiers marching on a decent road. There seemed to be no haste, there was no sound, just bodies which managed to push themselves quietly through opening that others would not have seen in broad daylight.
When she reached the edge of the woods she finally had the goal of this operation is sight. It was not an especially imposing fortress, more a manor with a moat, high walls and a drawbridge-and that was down at present.
"Trojan one has reached assembly point Horse one."
"Noted Trojan. Stay until further notice, Trojan two is not in position yet."
The guards assembled around her when she kneeled on the floor and thrust her right hand into the loose soil between a couple of trees. This was not Athel Loren which would have given her unlimited support, yet no Asrai would ever be alone as long as he or she was in a forest.
She felt the many trees around her, the roots they had in the earth. She heard the dance of predator and prey, of feeding and looking after the young. She felt the moisture in the ground and the remains of many rituals in the empyrean. And she heard the horses. The small snorts that cleared noses, the stomping of hooves and the creaking of leather.
The source of these sounds was not the manor, it was to her left by at least a kilometer.
"Otto-err Horse one, this is Trojan one. I sense horses, maybe Cavalry to my left."
"Trojan one, there was nothing on the last overflight, but we`ll check again, stay put."
There was nothing but for the sounds of the forest and Silva`s beating heart.
Then the wireless came alive again.
"Trojan one, this is Horse. You were right, there is a group of mounted soldiers of some kind assembling close to a glade, must be reinforcements for the target. Seems like upwards of 50 or so. This is too many and target may have warning, we have to break this off."
Silva could feel the forest around her, the dead places occupied by the haughty Asur, the animals they allowed to live and the season she was in. The summer that was to turn into autumn and finally winter. The winter that might not have Orion inside the Oak of Ages and the ones using him like a puppeteer alive and gloating.
"When can we mount another assault Horse one."
"Unknown, currently risk is unacceptable."
"It is unacceptable to leave these alive and Orion in your clutches."
"So?"
"So we will kill these horsemen for you."
"Permission denied Trojan one, the risk is unacceptable."
"The risk that the Asur and your government officially learn of this is much higher if we do not go on Ottokar Proktor. I will not leave until this deed is done and who knows, maybe I am captured."
"Trojan One, we do not have the forces to kill the cavalry."
"Watch me."
The Asrai Spellweaver turned to her people. She was glad of the darkness, not only because of the protection it gave. It also allowed her to remember the warriors she was about to send to their deaths as proud Asrai and not as cheap Druchii caricatures.
"The enemy has more forces here than foreseen, we need to kill some cavalry, two kilometers from here. Could be 50 or more, we still have to kill them quickly or we will not be able to attack the castle. The Germans do not think that we can do it, so what do you say?"
It was dark in the forest, dark enough to hide the Asrai`s black armor and gear. There was still enough light to reflect of a dozen sets of teeth which were suddenly exposed.
Oskar Proktor`s face was just lit by the monitor before him and the features seemed as unmoving as stone. Inside a murderous rage at Silva and his inability to get her to follow orders was barely held in check. All what was left now was to see if the Asrai in her group were properly killed before he could attempt to evacuate the others. The screen displayed the infrared presently and what it showed was interesting enough to filter through his emotions.
He had marveled at the speed the Wood Elves had traversed the forest before, yet now they were approaching their doom at a speed that was close to a full run-through dense brushwork.
Yet that was only half of it. The more remarkable thing was what happened to the forest itself.
Delyagar of the House of Imrik was the epitome of an Elven warrior. Clad in armor that protected without slowing down, wielding a lance that was long enough to bypass the infantry`s spears without being too heavy and sitting on a horse without peer he was willing and able to meet any enemy that might be out there.
He led General Moravel`s household guards down the hidden path that connected the damp caves they hid in for most of the time to react to the latest Wild Geese chase. During the last week the alarms had been infrequent but many and never had there been anything more substantial than a couple of boars that went through the brushes.
He and his fellow Dragon princes were far too good to let their guard down by much and they scanned the forest around them for threats with fine Elven senses. They were looking for bits of metal and cloth, for sounds that did not belong and the movement that would signal the attack. They could be forgiven not to look at the brushes, the vines and the roots. These inoffensive things that made the forest and that only needed to be avoided.
The brushes that suddenly rolled to places that they had not occupied minutes before, vines that reached for legs and roots that pulled huge, living trees to block paths that had been clear.
Delyagar was no mage, yet even he could feel that a lot of magic was worked close by. Her raised his hand and made several hand turns above his head to signal his column to close up when his horse shied from something. Looking forward he found a tree where none had been before. His mind was still trying to make sense of that when screams of horses and Asur broke out at the far end of the column.
"Signal "to arms" and "rally to the flag".
The Dragon Prince released the lance that was useless at such close quarters and pulled his sword from its scabbard. Turning his horse to the sounds of fighting he looked for the other riders to form up the little bit the path allowed just to find that the path behind him was as blocked as it was in front. He was closed in with just his color party for support and his chest filled with ice when he saw the trap that closed around his soldiers. His horse whined and shied from something that turned out to be thorny vines that tried to entangle it`s legs. Delyagar hacked downwards and parted the offensive plant without effort just to repeat the feat on the other side as well. He was just coming up from that in time to see the black shadows separate from the brushes that grew alongside the path.
They wielded long, wicked looking spears and plunged them into every vulnerable spot that presented itself. Horses reared up and tried to fend off the attackers with hooves, swords flashed to parry the strikes. The wet gurgling breaths of the dying were drowned in the shrill screams of wounded horses.
Delyagar managed to stop a serrated spearhead a hand`s width from his throat with his shield and tried to lean forward enough to reach the spear wielding Druchii. The attackers stepped back and struck his weapon forward. The Asur had no chance to block as the strike was not aimed at him, striking the neck of his horse instead. No shrill scream of pain came from his beloved mount; a sickly gurgle indicated that the last breaths were upon it. Jumping clear of the dying horse he hammered the spear away and pushed forward to kill the brazen attacker. His sword managed to hit a pauldron but was deflected upwards. Delyagar was about to push, having closed with the spearelf when a terrible burning pain in his chest made breathing impossible.
He looked down to see his breastplate pushed forward by something from inside his chest and that was the last he saw in this life.
Silva was pasty faced and cold sweat dropped from her brow when she pushed herself into another spell. The forest answered her call and twigs, branches and other, sharp edged wooden pieces flew through the air and found soft flesh as a resting place. In most cases the force was not hard enough to kill the victims outright, but it distracted and slowed them enough to make them vulnerable.
She kneeled on the soft ground again and felt every pebble and twig that wanted to mar her skin. She used the force break to get some idea about what was happening. The screams had moved further along the line that had been a path not so long ago and became fewer. The cavalry had been strung out and divided into many small groups by her spell and the Eternal Guard had taken advantage of the horsemen bereft of mutual support and mobility.
They found her when she was slowly getting up and somebody held a wineskin in front of her. Drinking deeply she counted the souls that showed up in her magesight and winced. She knew she had been sending warriors to their deaths but it hurt.
Wearily she pushed the button that connected her to this Ottokar again.
"This is Silva, do you see any more horsemen we have to kill?"
"Trojan One, no, there are none left. Go to Trojan two, we have to finish this soon. And take care that we can pick up your dead."
"Understood."
Silva leant on one Guard for the first part of the trip before she was capable to walking by her own again. The thought that the twit Aeolus would see her weak made it nearly easy.
They found the second group where they were supposed to be, a couple of hundred meters from the back side of the castle.
One of the Germans pointed her to the small depression in the ground that held most of the pretend-Druchii. Aeolus bent over to her.
"How many?"
"Four and one who came back will not be able to do much."
"Sorry to hear that."
"They did well and they died in a forest. They will not be alone."
"If you say so. I talked to Ottokar, and we will have to change plans-the two prong approach is out. We can only mount a diversion, but for the assault we need to go in together."
"So when do we start?"
"We already did. Look there, close to the small boulder."
Even Silva was unable to see much of anything there until she went to her magesight. Only then did she see something and a little later two warriors crawled into the forest`s edge. They stood up only a few meters from the assembly point and removed a great lot of twigs and leafs from their clothing. The two Asrai could have made the trip in half the time probably, yet of they could not have performed the German`s task.
"Ok, we are set. I can ignite at an time, so get ready."
"Horse one, this is Trojan one. We are set and we will begin the assault in 15 minutes then."
"Trojan one, acknowledged, go ahead."
She watched some of the Germans move off and winced at their clumsiness. By human standards they were probably quiet enough yet to her fine-tuned senses they could have brought a brass band along. They carried rifles that were much different from the ones they normally used. She had been told that they were the same used by the Druchii mercenaries, but
Now she could only wait. They had discussed sneaking up to the castle, but it seemed unlikely that an alert enemy would miss them all. So she tried to regain breath and strength while she waited for everybody to gain position. She watched the walls in front of her and only occasionally could she see a small flash where a defender showed a bit of bright metal between the slits in the embrasure.
And then the shots began. The "bangs" were louder than anything else around the castle, yet they were quite a bit from her. If it meant that the defenders would put their reserves into that part of the wall or if it just made them double alert she could not say. She could just hear her breath and the thudding in her chest. Still she got up and ran. Ran into the cleared space around the castle, the clear space that offered no cover at all. The first sign of an arrow that came her way would be the pain of its impact. She simply had no control about this and had to take her chances like the others who were much better armored then her.
She heard the first malevolent hiss of the arrows when she was still two hundred meters out. The first scream of one of hers did not take long, even these Asur knew how to use a bow and the hisses grew louder with each second. There were different ones as well, the ones that were fired at the Archers exposing themselves a bit. She doubted that any would be hit and could just hope it would distract them.
The shout was in German, yet everybody had trained long enough that the reaction was instant.
"Runter" brought everybody down and Silva buried her face into the ground, using her arms to protect her head. If the shots were loud before the explosion was much louder. And while the rumble was still in her head things were falling around her, things that could kill. Yet the hisses had stopped and so there was only one thing to do. She stumbled when she regained her feet and then she ran. Her head was full of the sound of her labored breath and the thunder of the heartbeat, her sight fixed on the breach that had appeared where a wall used to be. The rubble left by that wall that fallen nicely into the ditch and formed a ramp. She was about to jump to it when she was held back from behind.
Hissing like a cat she turned to face Aeolus.
"What."
"Let the guys with the armor go in first."
"Like you?"
"No, like the ones that just do it. You take out the assholes of the turret over there."
The fireball that scorched the top of the turret lit the courtyard that was full of fighting and the dead. The explosion had thrown rubble inside as well as outside and many defenders had been brought low by it. Even so the survivors put up a fight, but they did not have the time to form up. The best they had managed was a ragged group that was surrounded by the spear wielders that had managed to get inside the courtyard.
Shields locked with slender swords raised above them they looked formidable and would be hard to crack open without nasty losses. She was about to make up her mind about it when the first Asur dropped, clutching his throat. He was followed by another and a third managed to stand before he dropped in severe cramps.
Looking around she found two of the Germans that Ottokar had put into the assault group work the repeating crossbows favored by the Druchii. The arrows did not have the penetration of Asrai weapons, yet the poison on the bolts could match anything the Wood Elves used.
A forth defender was dropped before the rest broke with a shout and ran towards their tormentors. They had not far to run, a few dozen meters at most. Yet to run they broke what had preserved them so far, formation. The Asrai were upon them immediately and the long spears found that targets denied them by shields and swords so far. Stabbing through flesh and armor with weapons that were designed to hurt and bleed as much as to cleanly kill elves killed others like them they hated even more than the Germans who had brought them to the killing.
Silva found herself face to face with an Asur that had lost sight of his original target and barely managed to turn his sword thrust with her staff. She angled her staff against the attackers knees when his shield collided squarely with her chest and dropped her to the ground. She was out of breath, out of a weapon and about to die when her attacker dropped forward with an arrow sticking out of his back.
She regained her feet without help to find the battle at its end. Walking between the dead and wounded she heard a subdued swearing that emerged from the biggest knot of bodies. Its source was Aeolus who knelt beside a fallen Asur. The elaborate armor told the story before the blood-covered face gave it away.
Moravel, General and target of the operation would not answer any questions, nether if he were asked politely or under torture. The blood that filled his mouth hinted at the nasty chest wound that a spear had ripped through a gap in the armor.
Silva`s head was empty of any thought. The whole operation might have been for nothing by this stroke of bad luck. If they could not prove that the old Asur had ordered the ritual the Germans might not accept the danger posed by Orion would be over. What on earth could they do to achieve that?
She was going through the motions as much as anybody could do that while working healing magic and at the end of both her mental as well as physical capabilities when she was approached again by Kiovar, one of the Eternal Guards that had made it.
"Aeolus asks you to come, he thinks they found something."
"Did he say what?"
"No, just that it might "tickle your fancy" as he put it."
"Oh this…ah well, I`ll come."
She felt her exhaustion with every step that she took through the old manor. It was well kept, aesthetically pleasing and as dead as any building used by the Germans. She walked by portraits of noble-looking Asur, by statues of beautiful beings and tapestries that probably held the sagas of Moravel`s family.
The deeper she got into the castle the less she saw and the faster she walked without realizing that she did or why. She was just pulled forward with ever-increasing speed till she was nearly running.
She passed a room that was probably the General`s study and through a door that was probably hidden before somebody had applied an axe to it. The small room behind it had cupboards and several chests that probably kept riches.
She only had eyes to the earthen pot that held a small green sapling in it. It looked a bit off-too gnarly to be young and it already held several budding acorns that should have been impossible from something so small.
Yet while the little plant was unimposing in the real world it did shine in the empyrean like a beacon. Silva was at her knees before the plant before she knew that she was about to do so.
It seemed unharmed but for a cut that might have yielded a fully-grown acorn.
She did not move for what seemed an eternity and was not. She was roused from her reverie by Aeolus
"Is this what I think it is?"
"If you think this is a cutting from the World Oak, then yes, you are right. Why did I not see this from far away?"
"Look at the walls, they have sigils. I`d say this room is well warded against magical eavesdropping."
"Yes, yes you are right. How did you find it then?"
"My father has a similar room that he believes I do not know about. And I would not be too surprised if every Asurian manor has such a thing as the old families all have something to hide. I just lucked out finding it so fast."
"You did well Aeolus of the House of Ethelorne. I am in you debt."
"Only if we can get Ottokar to see that this is the source of the beacon."
"Will you help me with that?"
"Yes, I will. This thing needs to stop before the relations between Ulthuan and Germany become really strained."
"Then let us do this."
LZ-51, two hours later
The German airship was as dead as it was before, yet Silva felt none of it. To her the cutting radiated a warmth and life that made her feel better then she had during the last weeks.
They only thing that kept her from walking on the clouds was before her and that "thing" was Ottokar Proktor.
He had not mentioned her refusal to obey orders once, only inquired whether the bodies and "suspicious" equipment were accounted for. She had wondered at that till she used her gifts to get a look through the Empyrean at Ottokar and shivered when she returned her sight to the material world.
She had seen the decision-making in the German`s head and knew by how little she had escaped a quick death. She was more useful to Ottokar alive-for now.
She could not leave for Athel Loren quickly enough, but there things still needed to be done and promises to be fulfilled.
"So you say this is a cutting of the World Oak, Silva."
"Yes, without a doubt. Any spellweaver knows the Oak like her own breath and this is a part of it."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So how was that used to place the beacon?"
"The laws of contagion state that a part of the whole can influence the whole. Somebody used this to influence Athel Loren`s needs. It probably took powerful spells and terrible sacrifice to make this happen, but once you have such a powerful key it is possible."
"So this could happen again."
"Until today we did not even know that such a thing could exist as it should not. It is probably very old, maybe even going back to the times when the Asur left the Old World. Now that we know such a thing can be done we will ward against it."
"I do not know."
"Ottokar, if more of these things were about and they would be easy to use wouldn`t you think that that they would have been used before. Granted, against the German armed forces Orion did not fare so well, but against nearly anybody else he would be a very heavy hammer to wield. And here he has been used to sow discord between you and the Asrai at the very least and most likely against thee Druchii. Now I do not care what you do to our misguided cousins, but a war against the Asrai is against the interests of Germany and the Reiksbund."
"Don`t you think that I thought about that myself Aeolus? Otherwise I would never have set this op in motion, the gains far outweigh the risks. Yet how do I convince my political masters of it?"
"Maybe get someone from the Imperial College of Magic to vouch for it?"
"Are you crazy, I would never give these dabblers into the art access to a part of the World Oak."
"We would not give it away Silva, they could examine it, that would be all."
"Ariel would never agree to that."
"So, don`t tell her, we won`t."
Silva looked at the two faces before her as if she had never seen them before.
"You really mean that, right?"
"Think we could ever get anything done if we told our respective bosses about it?"
"Oh you…men. But yes, if that is the only way, then we should do it. But soon."
"I do believe that can be arranged."
