All will be revealed soon
Story is slowly running towards its conclusion...
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"Halt! Who goes there?" One of the sentries around the army camp had spotted them
"I am C'al-Vyn, member of the Conclave, Warden of the Southern ocean, Sovereign Prince of Spires. I am on a mission from the Phoenix King. And I must speak with Lord Teclis as soon as possible."
"Which Phoenix King would that be?" the sentry asked.
"Which one do you think? Now, unless you want to explain to Lord Teclis why we are late, I suggest you let us pass." With that, Spires urged his horse on, past the sentry who stood staring after him with his mouth hanging open.
They rode through the camp towards the biggest pavilion they could find, reasoning that whoever was in charge would be there. A perimeter of mixed White Lions and Black Guard stood watch around this pavilion, eyeing everyone who so much as looked in their direction.
"I doubt you'll get past them as you did with that sentry back at the edge of the camp," Bob said.
"There is a time for bluff," Spires said, "and a time for proper form."
Spires walked up to the largest White Lion. He stopped three paces away and gave a short bow. "Well met. I am C'al-Vyn, Sovereign Prince of Spires. I am here to see Lord Teclis on an urgent matter concerning the Vortex."
"Do you have an appointment?" the guard asked.
Spires straightened. "No, I do not. This matter only recently came up. I humbly request an audience. I would be much obliged if Lord Teclis could see me on short notice."
"Wait here." The White Lion nodded to the guard standing next to him. Then, he turned around and went towards the tent.
Spires turned around and walked the few paces back to his companions.
"And now?" Anlar'Sel asked.
"Now we wait," Spires said.
"That doesn't sound like much of a plan," Bob said.
"If we want information, and from a reliable source, then it's the best chance we have."
It turned out they didn't have to wait long. Perhaps an hour had passed when a liveried servant approached them and bade them to follow him. He led them to a smaller pavilion slightly removed from the central tent.
Inside a frail elf sat behind a writing desk bent over some papers. He waved them towards several stools placed to one side as he continued his writing.
The rest of the pavilion was sparsely furnished. A large rug covered most of the floor. To one side a narrow field bed was placed. On the other side stood a drinks cabinet, in which stood several bottles of what looked like fine Sapherian wine.
Spires sat in one of the indicated stools. He placed his hands on his legs, palms facing upwards. Next to him, Anlar'Sel fidgeted in his seat, impatient to continue.
Finally, the feeble elf looked up. His eyes showed a power which belied his withered body. "Ah, the Prince of Spires. I wondered about what had happened to you."
"My lord Teclis," Spires said as he stood up. He gave a small bow. "Thank you for seeing us on such a short notice. What brings you to this place at such a time?"
"Spires, always playing the great game. Never giving out information before getting something in return," Teclis said with a shake of his head. "If you want it that way. I'm here for the same reason every who comes to this place is. The Vortex of course. Now, what brings you here."
"As you said, The Vortex. I have information which could be of vital import."
"Well, out with it. I haven't got all day."
"As I am sure you know, The Vortex is failing," Spires began.
"Yes, I do know. Even the lowliest apprentice in the Tower would know if they bothered listening to the winds. What of it?"
"I think I have a way of repairing the damage done to it. Of restoring it to its former glory."
"Restore it? Why would I want to do that? Is that what you think we are doing here?" Teclis said with a small chuckle.
"What do you mean?" Bob asked, disbelieving. "What else would you do with the Vortex?"
"The old ways are dying," Teclis said. "The Vortex is slowly unraveling. And with the increased magic, the chaos gods are on the rise. We have failed. Caledor's plan so long ago failed."
"It is not over yet," Spires said. "We can still mend it."
"We don't need to mend it. We need to unleash it, harness its power." Teclis said. "With that power, we can beat back the tides of chaos. I can lead the Asur back to greatness and we can claim our rightful place as masters of the lesser races. I can right all the wrongs and avenge the hurts that have been dealt to us over the centuries."
"That power isn't meant for one person," Spires replied. "The Vortex was put in place precisely for that reason. Don't you think Caledor Dragontamer hadn't considered this?"
"Caledor didn't see what I have seen." Teclis said. "With this power I can overthrow the chaos gods. I will banish them forever."
The chaos gods aren't banished so easily," Spires said. "They thrive on such conflict as you want to unleash."
"I was afraid you would think that. If you aren't with us, then you are against us. I am sorry for this, I would rather have you on my side." Teclis stood up and seemed to double in size as he threw out his arms and started an incantation.
Bob and Anlar'Sel fell backwards out of their chairs and tried to scramble away. Spires stood calmly, arms folded over each other, waiting on Teclis.
In moments Teclis fell silent, his incantation finished. Nothing had happened. With a frown on his face, Teclis started another spell, even more powerful then the last.
"Let me stop you before you make a fool of yourself, Teclis," Spires said. "Allow me to show you a trinket made by Caledor himself." Spires reached inside his uniform and pulled out the Null Stone. He strode towards Teclis.
"Your magic won't do you any good. This building block of The Vortex drains all your spells and incantations. And with this I will mend The Vortex."
Spires held out the Null Stone in his left hand for Teclis to see. Fear showed on Teclis's face. With his right hand, Spires lashed out and hit Teclis on his head, knocking the frail elf unconscious.
"Let's quickly finish him off," Anlar'Sel said. "Then we can get out of here."
"We will not," Spires said. "He was a great elf once. In a way, he still is. I will not let anyone hurt a fellow Asur unless there is no other choice."
Spires turned away and walked toward the exit of the tent. "We got the information we came for. Now, we need to get out of here. And fast. Alar'Sel, this is your speciality. Lead the way."
The trio walked out of the tent as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves. Anlar'Sel stopped at one of the guards. "The prince of Spires has given lord Teclis much to think about. He asked us to tell you that he doesn't want to be disturbed for any reason for the next hour."
The strode on, weaving between the rows of tents so that they were soon lost from view. They hurried past campfires and tents through the massive army.
They had perhaps covered two-thirds of the distance towards their horses when horns sounded. They had been found out. The hunt was on. More and more horn calls went up. All around them elves looked up and sprang to alertness, grabbing weapons and gear. Everyone started looking for enemies. Confusion was all around. The trio ran on.
"We have intruders in the camp" Teclis's voice seemed to be everywhere, ringing out over the army. "Three spies from Tyrion are moving through our camp as we speak. They must be stopped at all cost. They are armed and dangerous."
They were almost clear. They could see their horses standing ahead, near the sentry who had initially admitted them. Then, a unit of elves barred their way. "Hold!" one of them said. It was the sentry they had passed when they came into the camp. "I knew something was wrong when you entered. Surrender or die!"
The trio hardly slowed their pace. Anlar'Sel pulled a pair of throwing daggers from his belt and hurled them through the air. One of them lodged itself in the throat of the sentry. The other stopped in the stomach of his left neighbor. Bob swept out his sword. He hit one elf in his shoulder and parried the stroke of another. Spires ran straight for where the sentry had fallen. He jumped at the right neighbor of the sentry, knocking him down and rolling on. Getting to his feet, he elbowed another elf in the back of the head.
Then they were through. With a last sprint they left the confusion behind and reached their horses. Mounting, they kicked the horses into a gallop and they fled out of the camp.