FOREX, IOLITE
Two days before the attack on Iolite
Hilda, the captain of the army forces in Forex, was bored out of her mind. The princess always gave her chores, but since she left, there was a tinge of loneliness within her. The knowledge pod handed to her was burned to crisp after the contents were uncovered.
The princess’s plan was simple. Negotiate separately with the drow assassins in the mountains of Mensa, Aleval and Faeryl. Those two were the only assassins in their reach that could morph into a demon, perfect for an infiltration mission like this. Even smelled like them. Both were able to speak in Abyssal, a tongue used by demons. Between the two assassins, Aleval was known for his survival skills, fooling death once or twice. Faeryl was well known for his stealth, but he can’t turn into a demon for a long duration.
Given their strength and weaknesses, Aleval was tasked to infiltrate the bases unseen, while Faeryl would be intentionally captured by the most gullible enemy. One that moved its lips more than its action. After obtaining enough information, they would use the teleportation circle to return to the royal capital.
There were only two things the Princess wanted: who was their leader? How were they getting the never-ending supply of troops?
If Aleval and Faeryl were common elves, things would have been easier. But both were stubborn and arrogant. Hilda was instructed to remove their tax payment to the royal capital for the next millennium. Them, and their descendants included.
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Demons were supposed to be shut tight in the Abyss, with no access to. In time, Iolite would have won. But a century has passed. After a mere five decades, stronger forces with generals were raging over the battlefield. In time, the aid of the Gods wore thin.
Hilda held the ring in her hands. There was one more task left for her: which was to send the ring to Lady Gloria.
Lady Gloria wanted peace and quiet, so her house was located beyond the edge of the forest, near to the mountains of Mensa. Hilda walked on the hilly trail leading to a collapsed building.
Fairies were gifted with dark vision. At the sight of the rubble, her eyes glimmered in dark yellow. With this spell, any form of magic would come to light. Traces of magic were lingering in the air. All forms of elements were present in the air. Fire, ice, earth…
Lady Gloria would definitely put on a fight. It wasn’t your everyday bandits that did this. Hilda started murmuring her incantations. Her nose started to a snout resembling a dog, while her ears grew slightly longer and furrier. Her purple wings disappeared as she crawled down to all fours.
From a fairy form, Hilda turned into a wolf.
Stealthily, she walked over to the rubble, picking up unfamiliar scents while checking for traps. One of them reeks of the Abyss. Following the trail, she found the remnants of the two warriors. The cog’s insides were almost unrecognizable, deformed beyond belief. At the tip of one of its blades, she smelled blood.
Hilda caught Lady Gloria’s scent mixed with the scent of another person on a long vine that extended towards a section with lesser rubble. She hurriedly ran towards it, praying to Alhor that she would be fine. The scent ended up in a trapdoor to the basement.
Hilda morphing back into a fairy. “No, no…” she muttered. She tugged and pulled the trapdoor open. She ran down a spiral of stairs, only to find her basement empty. Traps were triggered or dismantled. Her usual hermit-like setup vanished. How would she explain this to Princess Lucia or the royal family?