Chapter 786: Power (1/2)

“Dwarves. Lots. The Taleen were still around, protected or imprisoned by the One without Form, depending on who you ask,” Ilea explained.

“An interesting revelation indeed. And yes, Hunters in the Descent will be interesting. The current ecosystem lacks roaming predators. It will help many find awakening,” the Meadow sent. “What do you plan to do with the Taleen?”

“Their cities are still around, though I suspect many will choose to remain in Io. They have built their life there, though surely there are those who would wish to expand their horizons,” the Executioner said.

Iana and Chris appeared nearby, teleported by the Meadow.

“Aki?” Iana asked immediately, looking at the silver machine.

“It worked,” the Executioner said and bowed. “As you assumed.”

Iana jumped and pumped her fist towards the ceiling. She laughed and hugged Chris, kissing him before she ran to Aki. “Can we go to Iz? I need to see it. The Sphere, and the sphere guardians.”

“Can she approach without the keys?” Ilea asked.

“Not too closely, though the surface of the Sphere won’t be interesting. I have plans and blueprints however. We should discuss that first, but I promise I will answer all your questions,” the Executioner said. “And call in a meeting of the Accords. The Sentinel of Akelion would like to join your efforts,” he said with a glance to Claire and Catelyn.

“Of course,” Claire said. “I’ll arrange it. Can we use the soul forge to meet? There are too many people around outside.”

“Go for it,” Trian said.

“Thank you. Too much to consider. Cat, get your council,” Claire murmured before she vanished.

“Sure, sure,” the fox said. “Meadow? Can you get me to my den? I’ll see you all soon.” She smiled and vanished.

“I will check on Riverwatch and the Headquarters,” Trian said. “Ilea, let me know if the meeting starts and I’m not around. If you’re staying of course.”

“I’ll be here,” Ilea said, waving at the man.

“Great, see you then,” Trian said. “Oh wait, you have a gate to Riverwatch?”

She summoned it and pointed.

“Thanks,” he said and stepped through.

“I need a bath,” Kyrian said.

“Need a gate?” she asked.

“No. I’ll use the public ones,” the metal mage said.

“You want to be there for the meeting?” Ilea asked.

He looked at her and shrugged. “Kind of done with world changing events right now, but sure, let me know when it starts.”

“Will do,” Ilea said with a smile, walking towards the black grass of the Meadow.

Aki left with Iana and Christopher.

“Finally. Some peace and quiet,”Ilea murmured, patting the Fae that was drooping over her shoulder.

Violence?

Ilea teleported to the crystal tree and sat down, leaning her back against it. “Right. There has been a lack of fighting for a while now. Don’t think I’ll get back to it for a few days or so.”

The Fae looked at her with its large lack of eyes.

“You’re not a puppy. You’re a terrifying eldritch space being. Don’t try to look cute,” Ilea said.

Resistant

Find

Violence, the Fae sent and floated up.

“Good luck on your hunt, little one,” Ilea said, smiling as the Fae waved and vanished.

She could see the direction it moved to, the spell residing for a while. Might be interesting to follow it around.

“You’ve changed,” the Meadow sent. “I did not want to mention it in front of the others.”

“I walked through a pretty intense hallway,” Ilea said and summoned a meal. “Should I read you the skill description? Something about astral magic.”

“Ah, that would explain it. Arcane and now astral as well. Remaining relatively human through it all. It’s quite interesting. I did meet a human astral mage recently, but your change feels more subtle. Downright natural,” the Meadow spoke.

“You make it sound alright,” Ilea said. “I don’t feel too different. But I’m open to look into some training. Now that the Taleen are dealt with, I think I can focus on abilities and magic again. In between killing Kohr demons of course.”

“You don’t plan to slow down?” the Meadow asked.

“The Architect is still around. He hasn’t made a move yet but I don’t want to be caught at a lower level than I could be. Plus with the Hunters free of a purpose, it’s only a matter of time before some higher leveled elves make their move. And then there’s the Source. If anyone finds out about that, we’ll have to be ready,” she said.

“I thought you didn’t want to be some kind of guardian,” the Meadow said.

“It’s not like I don’t enjoy the training and fighting. Aki should be able to deal with most things now, if he’s accepted and all. Low level elven attacks, monster attacks, summoned demon invasions. At least if he’s as capable as I think he is,” she said.

“The Sentinels are getting quite a bit of work done too, as are the war machines of the Pit. I was surprised with their efficiency. Greed is a powerful motivator it seems, and quite a few of them are at least as risk loving as the Sentinels,” the Meadow informed.

“Oh really? I haven’t kept up with the reports to be honest. There’s so much of it,” she said, sighing.

“Of course. The teleportation gates dramatically raised both the efficiency of reporting as well as the efficiency of non space magic adventurers. They are all moving, exploring, and fighting,” the Meadow said. “I believe a meeting of the Accords was due anyway. A few major points added to the list to be discussed. As to the Source. Aki is sharing quite a bit of information with me and the enchanters right now. I believe it to be more than adequately guarded. The keys are the only reasonable way to challenge him.”

“Right, speaking of. Which metal do you prefer?” Ilea asked.

“I’m quite fond of iron,” the Meadow said.

“Great, here you go. I bestow to thee, oh great Endless Meadow, the Iron Key. May you keep it safe for millennia to come,” Ilea said and summoned the artifact.

“These are not only meant to guard the Sentinel of Akelion, they are also a sign of great trust. A diplomatic gift. Do not give them easily,” the Meadow spoke and made the artifact vanish.

“Of course not,” Ilea said. “I’ll put a lot of thought into who gets them. One for you. One for violence. One I’ll bury in Kohr. Some I’ll try to destroy, three for the elven kings, six for the dwarves, or was it more?”

The Meadow slapped her with space magic.

It wasn’t particularly effective.

“I’m starting to get resistant to your shit,” Ilea said.

“Maybe I should get up and hunt some monsters then,” the tree spoke.

“Please don’t. You’re terrifying enough as it is,” she answered. “Don’t think it matters much who I give the rest to now that you have one. If you fall, I don’t think Aki can stop whatever is coming.”

“I’ll be honest, burying one in Kohr doesn’t sound like the worst idea,” the Meadow said. “Perhaps within a device specifically made to interfere with the enchantments that allow for its detection.”

“Knock yourself out. You have one key to experiment on,” Ilea said.

“We will try. Beside the three dozen new projects Aki is suggesting. Modifying the Taleen teleportation network to meet our security standards is the first step, excluding the destinations near the elven domains,” the Meadow said.

“Why exclude those?” Ilea asked.

“Someone has to go there and modify the gate. It’s not a simple process. Aki’s Centurions can do it but it could arouse suspicion. We would like to keep the Domains in the dark about all of these changes for as long as possible,” the Meadow spoke.

“Sounds reasonable. I met one of them by the way. An Oracle,” she said. “I think you would like them. Their magic is… fucked up. But I don’t know if they travel much.”

“If you ever get the chance of setting up a meeting, though I don’t know how well I could contain such an entity here. If it impressed you, I would imagine their very presence could wipe out the people in this domain,” the tree said.

“Probably, yeah. Suppose you’ll get some interesting people to talk to anyway. More of them. Ancient elves and dwarves,” she said.

“Another step towards my total control of the realm,” the Meadow said.

“Your hearts aren’t in it,” Ilea said. “What’s wrong?”

“I… please don’t laugh…” the Meadow spoke.

“What? Of course I’ll laugh. What do you expect from me?” Ilea said.

“Then I won’t tell you,” the Meadow said.

“Out with it, old tree,” she said and knocked her knuckles against the crystal.

“Very well. Between all the beings around, all the questions, the conversations, the research of Twin, Owl, and now everything Aki is sharing… I believe I have… found my limits,” the Meadow said.