2637 Thorny Ways (Part 1)
"A lie by omission is still a lie and…"
The nagging went on exactly as Lith had predicted, just changing the position of a few words and the phrasing here and there.
"Guilty as charge. I'm a jerk, okay?" He snorted. "Feel free to team up with Kami and rip me a new one once we get back home but before we come to that, do you mind telling me another way to sway the Parliament of Leaves?
"New or not, sane or not, I don't trust the World Tree after what his predecessor did to me. Also, if the elves accept their offer, they might as well become extinct since they'll never leave the Fringe ever again, and fixing Jiera will be much more difficult."
Solus frowned and flared her nostrils in annoyance as her brain worked at full gear to give him a proper answer. The problem was that she found none. The elves had no reason to trust the Council, let alone the humans.
Abandoning their home based on the words of a stranger was a potential disaster of which they had every reason to be wary. The only way to drag them out of the Fringe was to show rather than promise something worthwhile enough to take such a risk.
"Fine. I forgive you only because at least this time your plan didn't involve killing anyone." She grunted, crossing her arms and legs as she sat down on a smooth rock.
"Anytime, Solus. Anytime." Lith replied with a smug grin on his face. "Now, before I take my turn at talking with Mogar, I'd like us to pool our brains and decipher the meaning of your visions.
"As Friya has confirmed, the same questions receive the same answers, no matter who's asking. To get Mogar to give me a glimpse of their hand, we need to find a different angle from which I can work."
"Tomorrow." Friya said, her stomach gurgling loudly. "Making those circles took us a lot of time and mana and meeting Mogar was no joke either."
"Agreed." Solus snuggled on Lith, relieved from his life force replenishing the strength she had lost by using so much magic in his absence. "I have a massive headache and I feel like I could eat a whole roasted cow and ask for seconds."
"About that…" Faluel said as the Emperor Beasts' stomachs made the cave vibrate with their grumblings. "We need food and rest. Between getting inside the Fringe and the rituals, too many of us are worn out.
"We need our full strength in case M'Rael sends someone to make us disappear or if the negotiations fail and we need to fight our way out."
"Agreed." Ajatar said. "Taken one at a time, a bright blue-cored elf is not that much of a threat to any of us except for Nalrond. No offense."
"None taken." The Rezar nodded.
"Facing hundreds of them, however, is a different story. They have the home advantage, can imbue their weapons with spells making arrows deadly, and the more of us leave the Fringe the more dangerous they become.
"We can't have Friya and the others take part in the meetings to not stir the hatred from the War of the Races but we can't have them get to safety either. We need backup and someone covering our retreat if things go south."
"Then this leaves us with only one question. Do we eat inside or outside?" Quylla asked.
Those who had been holed up in the caves wanted to breathe some fresh air while those who had been to Setraliie wanted to remain underground, afraid that teams of scouts might be looking for them and find their camp.
"There's no point staying hidden." Aalejah shrugged. "If the elves come here and look with Soul Vision, they'll see our true form and spot us no matter what kind of cloaking arrays we set.
"Even worse, the more arrays we set, the easier will be to spot us."
The group ultimately decided to eat outside and sleep inside, using magic solely to cook and dissipate the smells.
"So, what do you make of the updated answers?" Solus asked while wolfing down her second serving of beef stew.
"I have no idea why both sides of Nalrond have to bleed, but I'm afraid I know what the answer to my life force means." Lith sighed.
"Okay, what's that?" Nalrond slouched his shoulders.
No one had managed to make sense of the vision that was supposed to hint at how to merge his life forces.
"Well, it's kind of obvious." Lith replied. "The first time we assumed that the solution to my problem was Arthan's Madness, but that was before Kolga proved to me that I can't just pump more life force, I also need to seal the cracks.
"Jormun confirmed to me that the real answer was the Golden Griffon and its Unwavering Loyalty array. After the destruction of the lost academy, however, all that's left is the Madness and its ungodly price."
"Meaning?" Solus tilted her head in confusion.
"Think about it. Thrud needed clones of herself and the method to grow them has been lost with her death. I have no clones, just the next best thing." Lith massaged his temples, hating even the thought of those words.
"Your daughter?" Ajatar was flabbergasted. "It makes sense. Half of her life force comes from you and it's bound to be compatible with yours. Mogar must be sick in the head to propose such a disgusting act."
"It wasn't a proposal, just an answer." Faluel countered. "Mogar doesn't make miracles, they simply show you the way, no matter how thorny it is."
"Also, what's the role of Quylla's mentor?" Morok asked. "Why is he in the vision?"
"I have no idea." Lith half lied half said the truth.
He had long since suspected that the secret behind the Master's success in restoring the Eldritches to life was Forbidden Magic. He had no proof of it nor had he ever suspected Vastor to have retrofitted the Madness, but it made sense.
It was after their first fight with Thrud that the Eldritch-monster hybrids had appeared. It was after raiding Orpal's palace from the knowledge he had amassed about the Mad Queen that Zoreth's condition had further improved.
Lith didn't like the thought, but refusing to look at the truth just because it was unpleasant would have been beyond foolish. Yet he couldn't share his worries with anyone since his destiny and the Professor's were tied.
Not only because of Zinya, but also because of Solus. Bytra and Zoreth knew her as Elphyn and things could go really bad if his sworn allies became enemies.
Lith looked at Solus, wishing he could tell her how happy he was for her for meeting her parents. Even without the mind link, he could feel how heavy her burden was and how much she needed to share it, yet it had to wait.
"What about you two?" He asked Friya and Faluel.
"First of all, I want to thank my little apprentice for her thoughtfulness." The Hydra ruffled Friya's hair. "Judging from her vision, we have so many things in common that she's almost a daughter to me."
