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.She returned the captain's look."As you wish, my king.""Good.I will need the both of you on the same side if we are going to guide Erlkazar out of this in one piece."Both nodded, but they continued to stare at one another, refusing to look away.The sound of footsteps on the marble floor broke the awkward silence.The king waited for the senator and the captain to break their gaze with one another before looking up himself to see that Quinn had returned.The king's bodyguard escorted the late queen's tailor.The impeccably dressed old half-elf walked with the aid of a cane, and Quinn held his arm, helping him finish climbing the stairs."Plathus," said the king, relieved by the tension breaker and genuinely glad to see an old familiar face."It's been a long time."The half-elf, his back hunched from a century of bending over a needle and thread, ambled to the king and took his hand in greeting."Too long, I'm afraid," replied Plathus."Your clothes are looking quite shabby."The king smiled."I see you haven't lost your charm.""No, no," said the half-elf."I've lost much of my eyesight, and many of my teeth, but not my charm." Reaching into a pocket on his vest, Plathus pulled out a tiny pair of spectacles and placed them on the bridge of his nose."Now," he said, looking the king up and down."What sort of garment did you have in mind?""Actually, Plathus, I have asked you here for another reason."The half-elf lifted his nose."Oh?""Yes," replied Korox."I want to know if you've ever heard of or seen that." He pointed to the floating black mass hovering over Llorbauth.Plathus followed the king's outstretched arm and gazed out over the balcony."Oh my." The old half-elf lost his balance and tottered sideways.His spectacles fell from his face, shattering as they hit the marble.Kaden, Quinn, and the king all dashed to catch him, but they weren't fast enough, and Plathus spilled to the floor.His cane slipped from his hand, bouncing several times,and the harmonious knock of the solid silverwood filled the chamber."Are you hurt?" asked the king.The old half-elf seemed confused and a little dazed.He checked himself over, looking in each of his pockets before nodding."No, no.I don't think so."The king and Quinn helped him back to his feet.Plathus grimaced sheepishly."Thank you," he said, dusting himself off and trying to regain some of his dignity."So I take it you've seen this before," said Korox, handing him back his cane.The old tailor pursed his lips, seriousness written on his face."Not with my own eyes.But I have heard of it, have met others who have seen it hang in the sky.""Do you know what it is?" asked the senator."What it wants?""It is called the Obsidian Ridge," said Plathus."At least, that is what we called it at the time.What it wants, I do not know.""Do you know where it came from?" asked the king.The tailor shook his head."No.All I know is that no one will speak of the terrors that follow the arrival of the dark citadel.To speak of them gives them life.Makes them real—flesh and blood from shadow and hate.""How long ago did it last appear?""It's hard to say." Plathus thought for a moment."I was only a boy, and the elves who spoke of it were old themselves.Perhaps a hundred, two hundred years ago?" He shook his head."Did it appear here?" asked the senator."In Erlkazar?""Erlkazar had not yet been conceived.It was still part of Tethyr, and the Crusaders who liberated her were not yet born." He shook his head, a grave look on his face."No, this very thing appeared over Calimshan.""What else can you tell us?" The king was growing moreand more nervous with every word the old half-elf spoke."Just that you are right to be afraid—terribly afraid of the Obsidian Ridge.""That's all you have to say?" said Senator Divian."That we should be afraid? You know nothing else to say?"The old half-elf leveled his gaze at the senator, the stern look of a disciplinarian about to scold a disobedient child."I know that we are wasting time standing here talking." He turned back to the king."We're in for a fight.And not a quick one.You'd do well to make preparations to defend Llorbauth." He bowed his head before his king."My lord, the battle has not yet started, but I do believe we are at war."+++++An entire unit of the king's army rode out from the palace.Five hundred men strong, they carried the royal flag of Korox Morkann at their head—the twin red wyverns slithering as the fabric was pushed by the wind.Polished to a high shine, their armor reflected bright in the afternoon sun.The war-horses donned the livery of the kingdom of Erlkazar.The riders carried long swords, their hilts tied symbolically shut with peace ribbon.It was the king's great hope that they would not need to use their blades—not against this foe, not today, not ever.The peace ribbon had been the compromise he had made to appease Senator Divian.If his army was going to ride out to meet this threat, at least they could arrive with the illusion that they were willing to negotiate.Or so the senator argued.The shadow of the Obsidian Ridge had grown longer as the day had gone on
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