Hyvrlat’r navigated the forest with the swiftness of an expert tracker. He had been given a command, which was now his only imperative, in the brief confrontation he had with the abomination before he was allowed to escape. The command he had been given was clear: return home and make it look like the attack succeeded. Then come back and follow our orders.

And so he did. He went back to the King, and reported that the attack had succeeded, but that all High Elves were dead. The king mourned their death, and the obnoxious pacifist faction made sloppy use of this piece of news to further their own cause.

The sad truth was that, unless he personally intervened, the idiots of the pacifist faction were too incompetent to stop what he had set into motion. The king would listen to them, and dismiss their claim that sending the High Elves had been a tremendous mistake. Then, galvanized by the pyrrhic victory, the king would turn to him and ask him when he would be ready to leave again and lead an attack on the humans with the full might of the elves at his disposal.

To stamp them out once and for all, and rid the region of their taint.

Ironic. The moment he could have finally had all he ever wanted was also the moment he did not want it anymore.

“It would hardly be a wise decision.” Hyvrlat’r said. All heads turned to him. “A steep price has been paid. And a lesson, learned.”

Now he had their interest. Deep inside himself, Hyvrlat’r knew that he was lying no more than he had been lying all this time. The only difference was that his main goal had shifted, but all his wits and strategies were at his full disposal.

“We have underestimated the humans, my King. Ten High Elves, each one of them irreplaceable, paid with their lives to kill just two humans. We cannot afford to be reckless. They are expecting us now.” False. But the king had been made to think that the war was being waged against humans in general, and not against two lone adventurers with no affiliation to the guild.

“Let us wait. We have the gift of time. Humans do not. And as their memory fades, we will build our power, and strengthen our ranks. After this generation passes and any memory of our attacks fades with it, we will return. We will set fire to their homes, kill their children, and rid the world of their magic.”

The king and everyone in the grand hall had clapped their hands at him then, and the elven people of the forest gathered around the Sprout to ask for boons and blessings, and went to train. More High Elves would be produced, and a war would be waged decades from now.

Then, humanity would surely be truly stamped out of this region.

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Hyvrlat’r grinned. Even though he was not commanded to do any of this, his superior intellect was able to reinterpret the directive he was given. Turning a binding statement, and a destructive loss, into nothing more than a setback.

With his population focused on the sole task of building an army, and with the first part of his command fulfilled, Hyvrlat’r returned to the forest. His orders, unbreakable words etched into his consciousness, compelled him to help the humans.

But he would find a way to make them pay for what they did. He was, after all, Hyvrlat’r. And his intellect was far superior to that of an abomination of a boy playing god with powers he did not understand.

***

“Make it look to Kainen like you had a change of heart. Do not tell him of my power to influence minds.”

Hyvrlat’r struggled as a new command was inscribed into his brain, words imprinted indelible forever to be with him. But it was still fine. The command lacked finesse and, as such, he could still very much operate within its bounds.

Had it been the Scarlet Sorceress uttering such commands, he would have had no more free will to speak of. And he would have been none the wiser. Unfortunately for the boy, he was no Scarlet Sorceress, and his magic was sloppy.

“Of course.” Hyvrlat’r said.

And when they met with Kainen, he was smiling the smile of a lascivious merchant.

“Your presence in this forest is taint, filth.” Hyvrlat’r said, exaggerating his ways under Kainen’s careful scrutiny. Unlike the boy, the man knew much of how people worked. “But fighting you is pointless, and I do not want more elven blood on my hands. You want to cross the forest, yes? There are paths only Trackers know. I can lead you to one such path, escort you out, and rid this forest of your presence.”

“Great!” The boy, an awful actor, replied all to quickly and all to eagerly. The man, however perplexed he might have been, let him speak uninterrupted, showing Hyvrlat’r the true power dynamic.

With this acknowledgment, only one last part of the psionic command was left to fulfill.

Follow our orders.

The error in the statement was that it said our and not my, which meant that the boy had relinquished part of his control without even noticing.

Even though implicit, he had his orders from the boy. And leaving the forest was all the boy wanted. At the same time, Hyvrlat’r had not been ordered silence, and while he dared not utter a word in the presence of the boy, he did speak when he thought he had the right angle to.

It was right before the last stretch that would lead the trio out of the forest that the occasion presented itself.

“Here, you will find a path that leads right to the base of the mountains.” Hyvrlat’r said.

The boy beamed a smile. So naïve.

“You will not follow?” The armored man asked. Hyvrlat’r suppressed a frown.

“I cannot.” He said, voice like silk. “The others would get suspicious. It is perfectly safe, do not worry.”

“We can handle anything on the path.” The boy interjected. Hyvrlat’r knew that his presence was making him on edge. “Thank you for leading us here.”

“Ah, but first!” Hyvrlat’r said, holding up a finger. “Let us rest.” Hyvrlat’r said. “My way back is long, and you will not have much time to rest once you leave the forest, I fear.”

The armored man narrowed his eyes, but once again said nothing. The man’s silence confirmed what Hyvrlat’r had come to understand from observation. The man was following the boy, waiting for something.

He could be the something the man was waiting for.