Rolling Shadows - Chapter 9

The Grand Council, commonly know as The Twelve, were the rulers of Eleslthinor. Of course the elven leadership was not simply these twelve, there were others that dealt with the more day-to-day decisions. It was however The Grand Council that decided upon the most important aspects of the society, the rest being delegated to the smaller councils.
The Grand Council had been founded shortly after arrival in what became Eleselthinor. The elves had traveled long from their first home in El'eleciln. The first group were elected and conducted their affairs as the The High Council had in El'eleciln had.
For their council dwelling they gathered together the staffs from those of their number who had died on their journey. These staffs, instead of becoming the usual thin branched tree, unified into one large tree, This became known as the Jewel Tree. Called so because it shimmered like a glistening jewel when the sun court it. Up in the high branches was where the council assembled. Their were thirteen platforms, one in the center and twelve around it. The council didn't have an official leader. The de-facto leader was the one who had served the longest. Today that leader was Gwothin. She stood in the center platform and spoke to the council.
“The manticores have been seen flying above our skies,” she said softly, “we must decide what to do. They have not attack us directly yet but the day will come.” She bowed her head and returned back to her platform on the outer edge. Another of their number stepped forward. This elf was far younger. Even for an elf she spoke quietly as she explained herself.
“We would be fools to ignore that which does seemingly not yet effect us, for if we wait till that day we may find ourselves very much alone.” She paused for a moment to nods of agreement, “then we shall send emissaries to the fauns to assist them in their war.” The elf returned to her platform and another approached the center. This was Cha'clin, before serving on the council he had served in the Wardens. Cha'clin was effectively in charge of all military matters.
“I agree with Councilor Soth,” he said referring to the previous speaker, “I will send a message to the Wardens and we will send help to the fauns.”
Gwothin took her place once more in the center. “It is decided then. We have been quiet for far too long. Allowed too much evil to continue unchallenged. The mission to the spirits continues and with their help we will prevail,” she held up her hand, “I know that they have not come to our rescue before but contact has hardly been attempted since our arrival here.”
It was at that moment that the red orbs flew through the canopy and landed at Gwothin's feat. She bent down to pick them up and with her magic the information the orbs contained was sent to the assembled.
“Cha'clin,” Gwothin said, “send them the help they require.”

Dwarf warriors came rushing out of the cave. They carried with them crossbows, their armour was think and bulky. They had barely been outside a moment before the fired to the sky. The flurry of bolts headed upwards. Unguided by any magic they simply traveled in a straight line, so either they met their mark or they did not.
As he looked on Nayrath was gladdened to see some of the bolts bringing manticores from the sky. Those manticores that hit the ground were approached by dwarfs – who smashed their skulls with their large hammers.
“We can help them.” Nayrath said,
“Perhaps we can take a tail from one of the dead,” Cassy said.
“We won't be that lucky, they'll see us coming,” Nayrath said, “though its worth a try. Let's go.” He thrust his hand across the magnification screen, disappearing it.
They moved off putting their staffs into a nose dive. The air rushed passed them as they plummeted, the ground rushing up towards them. They were tight together as they fell and broke away each heading for a different manticore corps. The manticores noticed them, they rose away from the dwarfs towards the elves, preventing them from reaching the ground.
“We'll do this the hard way,” Nayrath said, “form up towards me.” The two followed him, close by. Shaydon whispered a spell as she dodged a disemboweling shot from a manticore. Her whispered spell produced a blue orb which she threw down to the dwarfs.

“Elves,” Detek declared. He finally thought his people might have a chance. He aimed his crossbow and fired. The bolt shot passed its target. He swore and prepared another shot, as he was about to fire he saw his previous bolt still airborne, evidently under a spell. It did hit, with a little assistance. He was ready to fire again when a blue orb landed at his feat. Its shimmering and changing surface made it clear this was magical. He was however unsure if it had come from the elves or the manticores. His question was soon answered as a voice bellowed from it, “get your people inside, this will protect you.
“Sir, sir,” he called, “we have protection from the elves.”
“Fall back,” his superior said, apparently recognising the orb. The dwarfs ran back towards their caves, they entered them. Detek dropped the orb in the entrance way. He was unable to disguise his fear as the manticores approached the entrance. They didn't reach him, they seemed to hit nothing and fall back in a daze. He ran into the cave. However in the main chamber there was still a battle to be fought. The manticores had entered earlier and now the dwarfs fought them inside. Here their was a slight advantage that the manticores couldn't simply fly out the way. Nevertheless they still had their magic, Detek watched, frozen with fear for a moment, as a manticore shot shattered a Dwarf hammer. He was about to head to them to join the fray when suddenly he could sense the blue light behind him. Whatever that thing had been that the elves gave him was glowing now. It reached forward with many tentacles and grabbed the manticores inside and threw them out of the cave. He stood against the wall as manticores passed him flying passed higgledy-piggledy, not under their own control. They hit the manticores still trying to enter the cave then, the orb glowed once more, disappeared and became a dome around the manticores.

Five manticores approached the elves. Nayrath gave orders for the others to move away from him, as they split away he said one last order, “uniforms.” He was sure by this point that help was certainly on the way, being inconspicuous had been a short lived requirement. As they headed off in their respective directions a wash of colour came over them and they were once again dressed in their dark blue Warden uniforms.
Nayrath lead the manticore section away, he turned leading the manticores high up, keeping in mind the ceiling of their abilities. He drew his sword, gripping with his legs.
Meanwhile Shadon and Cassy tried once more to head to the ground, only to be met by more manticores coming from the tavern. They headed up giving themselves some distance.
Nayrath spiraled upwards. The Manticors slashed, but found only air, they used their magic, but Nayrath was too quick. Nayrath fired a spell which hit the nearest manticore, he hurtled to the ground with a hard smack.
The mantiocores from the tavern favored Cassy and followed her.
Shaydon followed the line of manticores that perused Nayrath. They headed upwards, Nayrath sent spells behind him, Shaydon sent spells ahead. Soon they had eliminated the group.
Cassy sped away from her perusers, leveling off she turned round whispering to her staff. On command it produced spiked projectiles, like house-chestnuts, which it shot at the manticores. Two hit a couple of manticores right in the forehead sending them to the ground. The other projectiles swung round back towards their enemies. One manticore fired and destroyed the house-chestnut that might have killed him. Cassy told her staff to keep the manticores at bay while she looked down for another opportunity to snag a tail.
Manticores perused Nayrath, only a few seconds after he had shaken off the others. This time they came in from several directions. Holding his sword out he came to a stop, spun around, and swung his sword over his head and around him. Some manticores flew away from the whirling elf others were cut by the end of his sword.
Shaydon was still with him and in the confusion she cut the tail end off of one of the beasts. It yelped in pain and fell unceremoniously to the ground, not able to fly with its equilibrium lost.
The tail end was cough by Shaydon's staff, in one of is spontaneously sprung vines. Then at that moment manticores closed in on her, she swerved to avoid them. She was successful in evading, but in the process the staff lost its grip on the tail.
“Get it back their!” Nayrath yelled, a mind the slashing and biting.
Cassy watched as it fall, she gripped her staff with her legs and drew her sword, having sheaved it for a particularly tricky manoeuvre. The end of the tail was falling poison spines first, the heaver end. She nipped it with her sword causing it to turn, just for an instant. She grabbed it by the safe fleshy end. Whispering in their sweet language she said; “Find where you are needed!” With the spell the tail sprouted wings and flew off at high speeds. Cassy watched it for a moment.
One of the manticores turned his attention to her, the jewel in its paw glowed, she dived leaving her staff.
Nayrath sheaved his sword as the manticores closed in. His whispered to his staff. From inside his robe he pulled two daggers. They looked more ornamental than functional. They had a shining blade, in line with the handle and orbs on the end of the hilt. Nevertheless these blades were not ornamental. He handed them to his staff's outstretched vines. He was soon beset by three foes. Between the fighting of he and his staff he dimly caught sight of Shaydon's clean cut of the tail. Then later he saw it drop. He yelled something out of instinct, but couldn't have told you what it was a moment later.
Cassy was only off her staff for a second at the most. She had dropped her sword. However the staff had saved her by rapping its vines around her middle and lifting her back on to it. She called her sward to her, which arrived with a little more force than she had intended, then headed to help Shaydon and Nayrath.
“Face that way!” Nayrath ordered Shaydon. Their staffs prepared themselves. They grew the horse chestnut like projectiles they had previously and began to launch them at high speeds. They would all meet their mark eventually, but the elves remained outnumbered. As a manticore was hit, Nayrath caught sight of Cassy coming up to assist.
“Complete the mission,” Nayrath yelled.

It was with some regret that Cassy turned herself around to head back through the forest to La'ingif and Tha'lif. Looking behind her she soon noticed she was being pursued, by five manticores, She and her staff were both tired.
They thrust on for a short way, over tree stumps and through branches but soon she felt herself beginning to loose speed. Her enemy were getting closer, they had recently left their new barracks and would not become tired for a long while. It was in that moment that Cassy decided that it was time to stop running. She had to face them now, rather than draw them into the pixie lands and endanger others. She turned off her course for deceleration and came to a stop in front of her perusers. Then as if it was the most natural thing to do in this circumstance, she got off her staff and sat, cross-legged on the ground. She tried to meditate, however briefly. Then the manticores arrived. They landed just ahead of her, and began to prowl around her.
“Today is your death, Elf,” one of them snarled.
Progress indeed, thought Cassy, the manticores had moved from killing to taunting – then killing. “No.” she said defiantly, “well see what Ella has to say about that,” she tapped her staff.
“There is one of you and...”
“Two, of us,” she interrupted the manticore calmly.
She stood, her staff in her right hand looking over the five manticores that prowled around her. The enemy looked unconcerned. She span her staff around like a baton and it sprouted vines grabbing two of the enemies and bashing their heads together. One of the remaining manticores lept at her claws out. She moved out the way firing off a spell with her staff. The vines of the staff retracted and she handed each one a dagger. She span the staff around with twists of her wrist. The knifes flailing wildly. The manticore tried to get to her but got slashes across his face. The manticore failed to notice her muttering and suddenly the jewel in the staff glowed and they were hit hard into trees. She smiled in a brief flash of emotion, mounted her staff and continued on at a leisurely pace.

The ground around the Miner's Bounty was littered with dead. Shaydon, Nayrath and their staffs were becoming exhausted. It was true that the manticores had been unable to touch them, and only five could comfortably attack at any given time. There were many more of their enemy. Then their were still the manticores bottled up in the glowing dome prison.
“They will soon escape,” Shaydon said.
“I know,” Nayrath said, he considered his last words, but all that came to his minds were clichés. Then before he joined with other soldiers in saying those words he notices blue specks on the horizon. The reinforcements they had requested.
Suddenly the manticores were hit by a barrage of spells, they tore through their wings and they fell from the sky. The elf reinforcements were lead by Unthrin Balshall. She brought her staff alongside Nayrath.
“Good to see you, ma'am.”
“Glad we could help.”
“Those manticors are going to free themselves soon,” he indicated the dome on the ground.
The elves headed down to the ground a safe distance from the dome. They didn't have to wait long. The manticores broke through their cage and growled as the flew from it. This time it was the elves turn to be the pursuers. They followed the manticores as they attempted to flee, firing at them with all the weapons they could. The manticores tuned and fought. The elves, now with the advantage of numbers quickly defeated them.
They touched down.