“Who is in charge of you,” Loch shouted out.

He sat tall on Jarl, Breaker’s Banner Activated and shining behind him, casting the morning’s light with a green tint. The banner was a show of power, Loch hoped they wouldn’t need its buffing capabilities. Kelly sat on Light to his left. Harper and Piper a little behind on the right, sitting on their horses. Cerie had gone back into the Codex Band, which Piper had hidden within her sleeves. Behind them were Drew and his people, spread out but not hiding. In front of them all were Elora and Casian, who looked nervous. He tried to project an air of confidence but everyone could see he was failing.

Elora wasn’t. She stood proud, hand on the hilt of her sword, staring across the fifty feet or so into the Silver Bark camp. Most of the Silver Bark stood at the edge, around the few remaining tents, evidence of fire visible across the ground. They glared back. Some with outrage, some with curiosity. Elora met all those glares, not backing down.

“Who is in charge,” Loch yelled.

None of the Silver Bark moved. They knew what it meant that Loch was appearing and not Hoskia. Finally one of them stepped forward. He’d been at the edge, along the front line. Loch used Evaluate.

SILVER BARK MIDWARDEN

The elven man’s strength felt comparable to Harpers. Maybe a little weaker.

“Who are you?,” the elf said.

Loch sighed. The elf wanted to play games. He was in no mood for that.

“Stop,” Loch said, holding up a hand. “You know I am.”

The elf started to say something but Loch pointed at him, Onyx appearing in his hand. He’d been weaponless and then he wasn’t.

“Stop,” Loch said again, voice commanding. “If you can’t negotiate for the Silver Bark then leave.”

The elf glared, hand reaching for his sword.

“Enough Glarian,” another voice said, one a little older and calmer.

The Silver Bark parted, allowing a robed man to walk forward. He held a staff in his right hand, but he didn’t need it to walk. The elf had long gray hair that hung down far past his shoulders. His face was unwrinkled, but his eyes showed years of life, centuries of life. If Loch had seen the elf alone, he never would have thought him old, but seeing him next to the other Silver Bark, his age was apparent. It was an odd contrast, one that Loch found unnerving.

“You are Lochlan Brady,” the elf said, coming to stop next to Glarian. “And if you are here, that means Hoskia and the rest of our Clan have fallen.”

Loch dismissed Onyx, relaxing on top of Jarl. He wanted to get down, sitting on the giant horse put him above everyone else. He didn’t like looking down on them, but he knew how it appeared so stayed astride. Without looking over his shoulder, Loch signaled.

Graham, from Drew’s party, walked forward with the bundle that had been tied to Jarl over his shoulder. It was long, covered in a dark colored blanket. Stopping about midway between the two groups, Graham dropped the bundle. Inwardly Loch winced. That wouldn’t go over good. Glarian’s hand hovered near his hilt. His eyes said he wanted to attack. The older elf reached up, putting a hand on Glarian’s shoulder, holding the younger back.

Crouching down, Graham pulled out a knife. He quickly cut along the blanket and the ties that held it wrapped. Pulling on the loose end, he stood up. The dead face of Hoskia Silver Bark was revealed. Murmurs went through the crowd of elves. Loch tensed, waiting. Most of the Silver Bark were warriors or fighters of some kind, archers and some would be casters. He did see elves in more common clothes, not carrying weapons, wands or staves. Elora had said there was a sizable number of servants in the camp, lower Leveled and lower Ranked in the Clan.

If the Silver Bark were going to attack, it would be now, after their dead leader was revealed. No one moved except Graham, who stood up and backed away. He walked backwards, dagger still in hand, eyes on the Silver Bark. Once he passed Loch, the man visibly relaxed, but didn’t sheath his dagger.

None of the Silver Bark said anything, all eyes shifting back to Loch.

“Your portal is shut down,” he said, pointing into the camp where the glowing hole between worlds had been. “Your people will not open a new one. They will know you have failed.”

“We have not failed,” Glarian growled. “We can still kill you and complete our mission.”

Loch stared at the elf. He projected his Presence, letting it wash over the camp. Glarian took a step back, his gaze faltering. Finally the elf looked away, staring at the ground, avoiding looking at Hoskia’s body. The older Silver Bark took a step back from but managed to continue to stare at Loch.

“You have slain Hoskia Silver Bark,” the old elf said. “I suspect it was one of your people that shut down the portal and stole the stone,” he continued, eyes flicking to Harper. Apparently she hadn’t been as stealthy as she had hoped. They knew she was the one that had taken the Portal Stone. “We are trapped on this planet and without leadership as I assume Loric Greenspire is dead as well.”

“He is,” Loch answered.

“I see the oathbreaker,” the old elf continued. “But why is that one here,” he asked, pointing at Casian. “And where are the rest of the Clan that had accompanied Elder Hoskia? Dead I imagine.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“No,” Loch answered, seeing the old elf’s eyebrows raise in surprise. He could hear murmuring from the elves in the back. They had expected all their fellow clansmen to be killed. “There are about a dozen still alive and being escorted back to our Clanhold as prisoners.”

“To be treated harshly no doubt,” Glarian barked out. “You have no honor.”

“To be treated better than you treated yours,” Harper shouted, stepping forward. She glared at the elf, pointing accusingly. “I saw how you treated your human prisoners. They were starved and beaten, locked into a small cage and left outside.”

Glarian looked offended. Loch suspected that it wasn’t what Harper said but more she was the one saying it. Glarian couldn’t believe someone as young as Harper would speak to him in such a way. He was proven right when the elf spoke again.

“Our prisoners are cattle,” he said, not noticing Loch’s rising anger. “They are nothing and are treated as nothing. The Silver Bark you have are Classed. Mid or higher ranking in the Clan. They are honorable Connected. In the eyes of the Connection..”

“Enough,” Loch growled, voice filled with power. He jumped down off Jarl, walking forward to stand before Glarian. The elf took a step back. Loch glanced at the old elf, who didn’t move but Loch could see the fear in his eyes. Turning back to Glarian, he locked eyes with the elf, not letting Glarian look away. “I do not care about the Connection. Those were people, not cattle. There is no honor in treating people weaker than you as lesser. Your power doesn’t make you special.”

He stopped talking, staring at Glarian, daring the elf to say or do anything. The Silver Bark Midwarden took another step back. Loch turned to the old elf, waiting. He didn’t say anything either, eyes no longer feared but considering.

“Your people will be returned to you when your former prisoners make it to our Clanhold safely.”

“We cannot be held accountable for what happens to them once they leave our camp,” the old elf stated. “There are monsters in the woods after all.”

“Then you shouldn’t have taken them prisoner,” Loch said.

“So you hold the lives of our people hostage over the safe passage of yours,” Glarian accused, trying to go on the offensive. He glanced behind him, not seeing much support from the elves.

“Yes,” Loch said. “They were no threat to you but you still took them prisoner for what? Slaves? Like you don’t have enough of that with your own people. We know how you treat those lower ranked in your Clan.”

Glarian looked like he wanted to say something but Loch continued to talk, not giving him the chance.

“As for trapping you here?,” Loch said, stepping to the side so he could look between Glarian and the old elf, focusing on the other Silver Bark in the camp. He raised his voice so it would carry. “We took the Portal Stone but we are not the ones that trapped you here. That is your people, your Elders. They wouldn’t have helped you once it became known that we had killed Hoskia and stalled your efforts at expansion. They would probably have shut off the portal themselves wouldn’t they? Decide that Earth wasn’t worth the cost of Resources.”

No one, not even Glarian, spoke up or contradicted him. Loch continued.

“That is the truth and you know it. The elders don’t care about who you are. They only care about what you can do for them?”

“Are you any better?,” the old elf asked. “In the Connection, if you are not useful, you are useless. Everyone has their roles and some are beneath others.”

“No one is useless,” Loch said, turning to face the old elf. “Everyone has their roles but that does not make anyone beneath any one else. The strong do not gather power to make themselves stronger, they gather power to aid those weaker, to protect others. Those that cannot fight, they grow and harvest the food, they build the homes. They do things that the fighters cannot.”

“That sounds naive,” the old elf said.

Loch shook his head, looking at the elf with pity. He turned back to the larger group of Silver Bark.

“Your fellow Clanmembers will be returned,” Loch said. “If they chose to return.”

That sent more murmurs through the crowd. Glarian turned back, angry eyes scanning the crowd. No one paid him any attention. The old elf looked at Loch shrewdly, with a little confusion.

“I will give you all the same choice that I gave them.” Loch paused, making sure every elf was looking at him, including Glarian and the old one. “You can renounce the Silver Bark, join Clan Brady and you will be treated fairly. You will be asked to work for the Clan as a whole, not just those above you. I am the Clanchief but I am one of many in the Clan. No one is greater than the other. Together the Clan is a whole. You will work for the betterment of the Clan and that will include the betterment of yourself.” He paused again, looking through the crowd. Some appeared angry, but there were some that seemed to be considering his words.

“Lies,” Glarian said, turning back. He didn’t appear to like the wavering of some of the Silver Bark. “Pretty words to lure us into a trap. You will just kill us or put us to work as slaves.”

“You are the one that lies Glarian Coldstalk,” Casian said, stepping forward. “Or more accurately you believe the lies spoke by the Elders.” He held his hands out to the side. “Maybe Lord Lochlan speaks lies as well, but I for one am tired of the Silver Bark. Can you, can anyone, say that our lives are better by being part of the Silver Bark? Are the lives of our family? We follow their rules and hope that our actions lead to a better reward for our family Clans but does it ever?” He paused looking at the elves beyond Glarian and the old one. “Has it ever? Our slightest fault causes harm to our families. Our greatest gain does nothing.” He shook his head. “We have failed here. There would have been no help coming from the Silver Bark. They would have closed the portal, stranding us here. No matter what, we were never going home. It is best for our families if we never go home to face the unwarranted discipline of the Silver Bark.”

“You, yourself, have said that we failed,” the old elf pointed out. “How can the discipline be unwarranted?”

“Serio Graybranch, how is it our fault that the expedition failed?,” Elora asked. “Whose commands did we follow? Who decided our every move?” She pointed at the body of Hoskia Silver Bark, forgotten on the ground. The wind had blown leaves over it, obscuring his face. She looked at the elves, moving down the line, catching the eye of everyone that would look at her. Some looked down, ashamed. “The reason I renounced the Silver Bark? I was to be punished for the death of Goriat XXX, a fool who stepped into the field of the Crone Dungeon. My family would be punished. Why? For something beyond my control? I could not stand to be part of the Silver Bark anymore. And now I am not. And I am better for it.”

“But as you and Casian keep saying, our families will be punished for it,” Serio, the old elf, said. He spoke calmly, but Loch could tell from the slight changes in his body language that he was wavering. His last few statements seemed to be the elf playing devil’s advocate. Wanting Elora and Casian to prove his statements wrong.

And so she did.