Chapter 211: Prep For War; Stress

With everything finally over on my side of the chaos at least, I set some elves free and hand them the keys to the others while I head towards the familiar one from earlier. 

I have many, many questions for him.

Brought off the chains that kept him shackled I approach, still with Hastra by my side.

The woman had gone mute after a while, especially after she identified the blood skewered Baron to be one of the main instigators to the little rebellion against Kaylin albeit still one of the many idiots the ran off in fear.

I think I may have gone overboard with my meting out of punishment, at least in front of her tender, naive eyes.

Still, we move and she doesn't fall behind. Hopefully seeing me kill so many humans doesn't stop her from serving my purposes with fervor.

"Hello," I greet the panting half elf laid tiredly on the ground. His wrists are red and sore, a testament to how fast they were re-enslaved. 

I'm beginning to wonder if elves are truly ay worth the value I put on them. Especially if a few humans with an idiot leading them can so quickly subjugate their entire populace without any magic.

"You..." he groans, struggling to get off his side but ultimately failing.

I tilt my head at this, every second I spend looking at him reduces the faith I have in the elves working as the bulk of my army.

But there's always hope, or at least I'd like to think that, "After all that's happened to the Elven North... Why didn't you lot put up a fight when the Baron and his goons came at you?"

This is what troubles me, has the fighting spirit of the Elven North been estinguished with the loss of their leaders?

I mean it's pretty traumatic to have the hands of your role model cut off for crying out in rebellion, but just because they failed to save their own hands, that doesn't mean you'll lose yours as well. Or does it?

"I have nothing to say to you." he spits.

At this I frown deeply, "Nothing? Truly nothing?"

He stares right back at me, challenging and foolishly unyielding. The urge to slap him back nearly overwhelms me but Hastra speaks first.

"Not even a thank you? A show of gratitude for saving you from the mercies of men you could not overcome?" her voice is strained as thought she were forcing herself to speak out at him.

Still in resistance, he spits at her feet, "Why in heavens name would I thank a man? Why? It is still his kind that forced me into a position to be saved!" he utters the last word like it's poison and slowly rises to his feet.

Like last time, he towers over me, but he's far less intimidating now, he is no more than and overgrown weed that has yet to be pruned.

And there will be pruning.

"It's obvious that you are incapable of saving yourself much less anyone else." I start, he flinchs at my words and makes to speak again, but I continue, "But I'm more interested in those who have fought for the freedom of the elves time and time again, I'm asking about Yelenia and Daria."

His face turns sour at the mention of their names but I have no time for his internal debate. 

Lighting my hand with green mists of mana I step towards him, and he shrinks back, "I don't have much time to waste on you. Where are they?"

He takes some more steps back and sighs, "they anticipated this" he starts. "they came in moments before the baron and his men came in"

And what did they do? ' I ask. They must have done something.

He glares heatedly at me, like I'm the cause of all his sufferings and strife. I scoff but he responds

"they said we should bear with it. They took all that could fight, all that were willing anyway and left to the southern part of the city"

"we haven't seen them though" hastra steps in saying. "yelenia and Daria as well as whoever else were with them are no where to be found."

He looks away, shaking his head, "I don't know where they would have gone but, they elft us here, they said they were going to prepare and assault of some kind. I'm not sure what they meant by that, after all the enemy we should have been facing was already enroute!"

I frown deeply at this. According to Kaylin's reports this doesn't sound anything like the Yelenia I've been told about. Running away?

Strange.

"so they left you at the mercies of the baron then?"

He sneers, this part of the story must be truly infuriating by the swollen look he has on now. I don't mind it though, with a wave of my hand, flickering the green must shrouding it he comes to his senses and answers.

"Yes, basically that's what they did," I feel a but coming on, "but, they did say we'd be fine in the end, that... That you were on the way."

I can't help the gigantic shit eating grin that splits my face, much to the chagrin of the tall half elf.

"well, at least they were right on one point!" I clap. "but where did they go off to? And where the fuck is Maylin?"

He looks up at the mention of the name, he knows something.

"spill. What happened to Maylin? Where is she? Are all elves just up and leaving?"

I expected to see Maylin and her camp if underbelly elves and mixtures of other minor races camped outside the city just like I left them, but apparently not.

She's breaking her promise to me by leaving without me speaking to her fold. Not that I believe there would be a high turn over rate of her elves to mine, but an attempt shoukd be made.

This is also very unnerving because as he said, Yelenia picked up all the good, useful elves that were willing and capable of fighting. And she left with them.

I stare up at the elf and he has still yet to reveal what I asked.

"Why did you stay behind?" I start, snapping him out of his own useless machinations.

"what?"

I nod, "You heard me, why did you stay behind? Yelenia called for those who were willing and able to fight. Whatever fight that may have been... It was a fight of the elves and yet... Here you are."

He pauses at this, as if just realizing himself the point I'm driving at.

"I stayed behind to protect the elves who couldn't fight!" he suddenly exclaims. "I stayed behind to fight the baron and his goons!"

I shake my had in pity of him. He doesn't even truly know himself.

"Yiu stayed behind because you're a coward, a coward far more comfortable living in under the boots of a human, perhaps because beneath that boot is the only place you've known and you cannot imagine, or deal with the idea of being truly free."

Wherever those two may have gone with my elves they've atleast given me a surefire way of knowing who is ready to die fighting and who isn't.

I look back through the elves. After setting themselves free they'd gathered behind me for some reason. And now they stand, eager to hear my words up from the platform I stand on now.

But what I see are a weak, broken people with no spine. Especially in the one I'm speaking with.

A man of no resolve, only empty words, threats and spits.

I look through the crowd of gathered elves and knw that anyone who has the strength and might to fight here simply doesn't have the will to do so. They are just like him.

"enough of this." I tell him "where is Maylin? She and her camp were supposed to be out there but there's nothing."

Fortunately this time he doesn't waste my patience with nonsense and simply answers me in a low, subdued voice "she left about three days ago, when the snow began to fall."

He looks up at hastra, "I think the ady of the city should know where her mother is off to better than I. But all I know for sure is that the snow made things Unbearable."

I nod. "so you're saying they could've gone up nother then"

He shrugs, 'maybe. But I think you better ask your friend kaylin. She would know."

I look to hastra for confirmation and she nods.

"Yes, thy did speak around that time. But what the contents of their conversation may have been... I don't know."

Exhaling as for the first time in a long time I feel a headache coming on, I rub my temples and turn my back on the half elf.

"well, that's one mystery solved... Albeit partially, now all I need is the location of yelenia and the others."