“Scotty thought he heard a noise just outside the house we were in,” David Fitz, the one in charge of the scavenging team said to Loch, looking a little nervous to be speaking directly to his clanchief. “We’d gotten your warning about the elves and thought it might be some of them trying to ambush us. Jane looked out the back door but didn’t see anything, so she snuck around to the side. The rest of us went out the front, hoping to get a chance to run for it. Turned out we surprised this guy and his friend,” David pointed at the elf who was now standing, held by two of the Clan’s guardsmen. The elf was glaring daggers at David. “Had a pretty rough fight and we managed to kill the other with Jane coming up behind this guy and knocking him out long enough for us to hogtie him. Figured you might want one to talk to.”
Loch looked over at the elf. Dressed in leathers, the scavengers had taken all the obvious weapons. Hands were tied behind the elves back, his legs tied with a bit of rope with just enough extra for the elf to walk awkwardly. One of the scavengers knew how to tie someone up, Loch wondered how but quickly dismissed that thought. He really didn’t want to know. The elf’s long hair was held in a ponytail. It was an odd colored brown, not a shade Loch was used to seeing. Brown mixed with gray and a bit of green. Blue eyes glared at Loch. The elf was silent, not bothering to fight his captors anymore.
“You did great,” Loch said, clapping David on the shoulder. “All of you,” he continued, making sure to make eye contact with each of the team members. None of them had gotten out of the fight with the two elves without an injury. Luckily none were severe. “Get some healing, food and rest.” He turned to one of the other guards that had joined the small, but growing, crowd at the gate. “Tell Susan they get priority for healing and tell the kitchen to give them extra helpings.”
“Yessir,” the guard said, saluting.
“Thank you Lord,” David said.
“No, thank you.”
The four man team walked up the hill, following the guard. Loch thought to ask them about anything they had managed to grab before running into the elves, but held off. They were tired, hurt and bringing back the elf was better than anything else they would have found.
SILVER BARK SCOUT
Evaluate measured the elf around Level Ten. According to Elora, a Scout was a Common Class for the Silver Bark, Uncommon for Loch’s Clan. Level Ten Scout put this elf low on the hierarchy. He was sacrificial.
And foolhardy.
Loch walked closer to the elf, who was a couple inches taller. Using the height, the elf glared down at Loch, trying to be intimidating. It didn’t work.
“You were hoping for a couple of easy kills, right?,” Loch said, knowing the elf would understand him thanks to the Connection. “Go back to Hoskia Silver Bark and hope that killing some of us increases your standing in the Clan?”
The elf tried not to respond, but Loch could see it in his eyes.
“But you got yourself captured,” Loch continued. “No going back to the Silver Bark for you. You failed. The Silver Bark will kill you,” Loch smiled at the elf. “But we won’t.”
Loch stepped back, motioning for the guards to take the elf away.
The two holding him pretty much pulled the stumbling elf with them, feet trying to find purchase but being dragged most of the time. Two other guards followed. Others were already inside the school, preparing the storage closet for their new guest. Elora was there, waiting to interrogate the prisoner.
They walked past Kelly and the other two Valkyries, the three studying the Silver Bark. They had an elf in their column, none knew what Clan she was from. The last name, Barkfall, had not been one that Elora or Cerie knew. That didn’t mean Senora Barkfall hadn’t been a member of the Silver Bark Clan, just that the Barkfall name wasn’t high up in the Clan rankings.
Loch stopped next to Kelly, taking her hand.
“What do you plan to do with him?,” she asked.
“Hopefully we can get some updated info from him,” Loch answered as the four of them started walking back toward the school. “But chances are he won’t talk. He’ll be more scared of the Silver Bark than us and even if he did renounce the Silver Bark Clan, the Connection prevents them from revealing everything. Elora can’t tell us about some of the inner workings of the Clan.”
“That’s interesting,” Kelly said.
“I wonder if that’s why Senora doesn’t talk about her former Clan much,” Lisa, one of the Valkyries said.
“Naw, Senora’s just a bitch,” the other one said.
All three laughed.
“If he does renounce the Silver Bark, will you accept him into the Clan like you did Elora?,” Kelly asked, looking up at her husband.
Loch looked up the yard at the elf as the guards escorted him into the school. It was a good question. They had almost made it to the doors before he answered.
“No,” he said, wanted it to have conviction but knew Kelly would hear the lack of it in his tone. “Elora had just been a scout. She hadn’t intentionally harmed any humans. This elf was about to harm my people. Even if he renounces the Silver Bark, he won’t have a place in Clan Brady.”
Loch tried to make it sound solid with conviction but knew Kelly, at least, would hear the lack of it in his tone. He could say it now, but when it came time, what would he do? A Clanless elf, alone, would not make it long on Earth. It might be kinder to just kill the elf. Part of him hoped the prisoner wouldn’t renounce the Silver Bark. That would make things so much easier.
They couldn’t return the prisoner to the Silver Bark. That would be as good as killing him. As far as Loch knew, there were no human prisoners, so an exchange wouldn’t be possible. Not like this prisoner was worth anything to the Silver Bark.
Loch hoped the prisoner would give them some new information, it would make whatever he decided worth it.
Kelly squeezed his hand, giving him a smile. That simple gesture let him know that she would support whatever he chose.
They hadn’t discussed anything beyond the generals of what they had all been facing since the separation, but reading between the lines of Kelly’s story Loch knew she had to make some hard decisions along the way. Just like he had. It came with being a leader in this new Connected World. The world was harder and the leaders had harder decisions to make. There was no way around it.
Loch could see a bit of that hardness in Kelly’s eyes. They were haunted, just in the depths, much like his must look. She had quickly accepted his decision to let the girls fight. No arguments or questioning. She understood it had to be done. He could tell she hadn’t liked it, anymore than he had, but she hadn’t been there, hadn’t been in the situation, and trusted in him to make the right decisions.
***
“They have prisoners,” Elora said later that day.
After she had interrogated the elf prisoner, Loch hadn’t asked what she had said or done, they had convened in the meeting room. It was crowded with the full Council, Kelly, and the invited Roger, Davis and Drew. As the leaders of the three strongest parties outside of Loch’s own, they needed to be involved in the discussions.
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“Taskil Dewleaf..,” she started, only to be interrupted by a snicker.
All heads turned to Roger, who was leaning against the back wall. He stood up a little straighter when he realized everyone was staring at him. Loch glared, causing Roger to shift a little in embarrassment. He looked down, not saying anything, as Elora’s elven eyes stared at him. She didn’t glare with anger but with disdain.
“Taskil Dewleaf,” she started again, staring right at Roger and daring him to do anything. The older man wisely didn’t. “Said they arrived about a week ago. He didn’t know where they came from or how they were captured. As a low ranking member of the Clan when not out on assignment, he was confined to the edges of the Silver Bark camp. He did say that several of the prisoners looked wounded. There were more women and children than men.”
That was the news Loch had been fearing. It might help explain why the Silver Bark had been seemingly pulling back. Once Clan Brady had started being more on the offensive, not reacting but actively hunting the Silver Bark resources, it made sense if they had prisoners. Hoskia Silver Bark would want Loch to overextend his forces with minimal losses to the elves and then reveal the prisoners, forcing Loch to fall back and keep falling back. Hoskia wanted to make Loch think they were winning before pulling the surprise.
“How many?,” Ed asked.
“Taskil counted ten, but wasn’t sure if there were more or if the Silver Bark had captured any others in the days he was away from camp.”
“What about the rest of their forces?,” Darren Holmberg asked.
“He was able to confirm what we had guessed,” Elora replied, looking a little uneasy.
As Elora had renounced her place in the Silver Bark Clan, the Connected System had prevented her from being able to reveal too many of their secrets. The Connection’s way of keeping things competitive. She hadn’t been able to give specific numbers, just general estimates. As a prisoner of war, Taskil Dewleaf, had similar restraints but not as tight or explicit as Eloras. He could reveal more.
It had bothered Elora, that she could not be more helpful to her new Clan. Loch had assured her that they didn’t want her for her knowledge of her enemies, they wanted her in the Clan for everything else she brought and for herself. That had affected Elora deeply. Being wanted for who she was, it was something new to her. Something she had never experienced in the Silver Bark Clan, where worth was determined by what a person could do for the Clan itself.
She knew that others in the Clan, even though they didn’t say it outloud, were angry that she was unable to provide more.They felt that by taking her in, she owed them everything she knew. Loch didn’t feel that way and hoped he’d convinced Elora that she didn’t need to worry about it.
Looking at how uneasy she appeared, which was rare to see any emotion on the elven woman, he realized that it bothered her a lot. Having the prisoner, who could reveal more direct intelligence on the Silver Bark camp, was bringing those emotions to the forefront.
“Do we know where in the camp the prisoner’s are?,” Drew asked.
“Taskil was able to reveal that.”
“Could it be a trap?,” Darren asked. “We just have this elf’s word for the prisoners. Would the Silver Bark have let him be captured just to create this myth about them prisoners?”
“Why would they do that,” Roger asked, his normal gruff voice back after his bit of embarrassment. “So what if they have prisoners…,” he started but stopped, once again receiving glares from almost everyone in the room.
“Because they know we’d have to rescue them,” Loch said.
“No,” Elora said, drawing all the eyes back. She was staring at Roger, but not in disdain, but more understanding. “He is partly right.”
She looked around at everyone in the room, finishing with Loch. She made sure everyone was paying attention.
“The Silver Bark are not like you,” she said. “Most of you,” she corrected, stealing a glance at Roger. “You automatically think about rescuing the prisoners. The Silver Bark would never do that. They would never risk more of their forces to rescue those captured. They would view the imprisonment as punishment for allowing themselves to be captured.” She paused, once more looking around the room to make sure she still had their attention. “But what they would do is use the prisoners as bargaining pieces.”
She let that sink in before continuing.
“It is possible that the Silver Bark hoped Taskil would be captured to reveal the existence of prisoners,” she said.
“I thought you just said that the Silver Bark wouldn’t risk their people to rescue prisoners. We’re supposed to think they’d willingly sacrifice their people to just tell us there are human prisoners?,” Ed asked, leaning back in his chair, fingers tapping on the armrest.
“Taskil is a low ranked scout,” Elora replied with a shrug. “To the Silver Bark, he isn’t worth much. Losing him to pass along a message is worth it for them.”
Ed shook his head, sighing.
“So hard to understand that kind of thinking,” he muttered.
“Not worth trying to exchange him for some of their prisoners?,” Darren asked, not sounding hopeful.
“None,” Elora answered. “Taskil would refuse because he knows that as soon as he returns to the Silver Bark camp, his life will be forfeit.”
“Damn, your elves are harsh,” Roger said.
Elora’s head snapped up, eyes full of anger as she glared at the man. He tried to step back but couldn’t, the wall stopping him. His eyes looked a little wild, unsure of what was about to happen.
“They are not my elves,” Elora said, slowly, each word coming out in a glacial calm that was scary. “That is just one of the many reasons why I gladly gave up most of my power to leave the Clan.” The anger left her eyes, a teasing smile appearing. “You and I are about the same Level now, but if we had encountered each other before I renounced the Silver Bark, I was much higher Level and would have easily killed you.”
Roger looked around at the others, everyone obviously ignoring him. He took a step from the wall, anger rising due to embarrassment.
“Now see here missy,” he growled, pointing a finger at him. “If you think you can take me, you’re welcome to try.”
“There would be no try,” Elora said, looking back down at the map. “Taskil did give us the location of two more Dungeons on the north and western side of the camp….”
“Hey,” Roger growled. “Don’t ignore me.”
He took another step forward. Elora didn’t react. Loch did though. He stood up, staring at Roger.
“Settle down,” he said, voice calm.
Roger glared at Loch, looking like he wasn’t going to listen. He winced, reaching up to rub at his head, like he had a headache. Eyes slightly unfocused, he looked around again, settling on Loch. Roger took a step back.
“Yeah, sorry, it’s just…,” he trailed off, leaning against the wall.
Loch waited a moment before sitting back down.
“Mark those Dungeons for the future,” he said, looking down at the map after stealing another glance at Roger, making sure the older man wasn’t going to move. “They don’t do us any good now, we’d have to cross too much Silver Bark territory.”
He leaned back, wondering what their next move should be.
“How will the Silver Bark treat the prisoners?,” Alison Crawford asked. She never spoke much in Council meetings, unless it was directly related to the Clan’s Dungeons and Adventurers.
“Not well,” Elora answered. “They will not kill them or cause them to be harmed enough to risk life. They are too valuable as bargaining pieces. At least for now. That will not last though. At some point what it costs the Silver Bark to feed and house them will outstrip the possible return.” She sighed, looking around the table once more, ignoring Roger. “Remember, to the Silver Bark Elders, everything is a transaction. If it is not favorable to the Silver Bark, they will not do it. Right now, the prisoners have value. They will not always.”
Loch looked down at the map. The new Dungeon locations were marked off along with all the others they had found, the ones they’d taken from the Silver Bark and the ones they hadn’t touched yet. He knew they couldn’t continue their plan of taking away Resources but it would get riskier. The Silver Bark were biding their time before striking back. The existence of the prisoners changed everything.
Loch knew they could just wait for Hoskia to reveal their existence. Knowing they existed, Loch’s people could prepare for the revelation, have plans in place to deal with it. But when would that be? How badly would the prisoner’s condition be by that time?
He knew he couldn’t let them suffer. The plans had to change.
He just wasn’t sure how.
“Come up with some ideas on how to free the prisoners,” Loch said, looking around the room. He could tell by the way everyone looked, none would have any ideas. He couldn’t blame them. It was a situation none of them had ever been in before.