Notes: 1) If you see this story anywhere but Literotica it isn't supposed to be there. 2) Because of shorter chapters, this is being posted in chunks. 3) This is the last chunk of Hammer and Feather. I hope you've enjoyed reading the stories as much as I've enjoyed writing them! There are a few things I didn't tie up with a bow but I am working on a few follow-up stories.
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*Sixty-five*
"Would you like to wait with me?" Cyran offered Ezphine a smile as most of the others left with Silfeya. "I was considering visiting my cousin's chamber. It-"
"Come with me." Ahevhethrah's command made him turn to follow without thinking. "Both of you."
A door opened in front of them and Cyran stepped through, the rocky shore and black lake were something he'd heard of but never seen. The sight of the water sent a shiver down his spine.
"You have no need to fear the water." The pale elf waiting for them looked mildly amused.
"My cousin is fearless, anything she fears is something to chill the blood."
Nimphon smiled faintly as he shook his head. "I am grateful for the lend of her."
"I will speak to both you and Orsas of my grandsons when this matter has come to an end. They require my permission to make arrangements with you both."
"A discussion for another time, I agree. Isca attacked Navisse and destroyed her temple."
Cyran took a step forward, "Amtalia? The children? If Belthamdir-"
"How was she able to enter? Without an invitation she should not have been able to trespass, even Syreilla required an invitation." Ahevhethrah cut him off.
"Finwion gave the invitation as he did for Syreilla."
"Has he been helping her the whole time?" Cyran felt his hands curling into fists.
"No." Ezphine folded her arms and looked at Nimphon carefully. "Only Rielle helped her, I'm sure of it. Rielle gave me black dust made from this water to use in making chains and chattered the whole time about the others. When Odos got out of the first set, Isca put him in the stronger ones intended for Atos and chained me with him in the little hole she'd had me carve out. She pulled me out to work and put me back in until the day she put me back and Odos was gone."
"Syreilla pulled her father out." Cyran nodded.
"She should have waited and taken me with him."
Ezphine looked a little sour but Nimphon looked far more annoyed.
"Speak, the children will remain quiet."
"Navisse went with the mortals in her charge to keep them safe. They were entrusted to her and she takes such matters seriously as does Syreilla. Your Golden Rook promised to send Navisse back to me unharmed and she surrendered herself to Isca, giving over her talons to earn a promise of their safety and to allow one of the children to remain at her side."
"Belthamdir." Cyran nodded.
"Braigon. If Isca harms her niece there will be only ash left of the human armies. Syreilla wishes to protect the boy strongly enough that she made no effort to defend herself when Isca stabbed her with her own talon. She didn't flinch or cry out but I could see the pain she was trying to conceal.
"Isca will try to force you, Ahevhethrah, or the dwarves to trade Syreilla's Eye for some promise of safety. It cannot be given to her. She will harm the child. The other stones she's taken for power, this one she wants for the pain she can cause with it."
"It will not be given over." The King of the human gods inclined his head. "I will speak to the dwarves myself."
"Vedhethrah would never allow it." Cyran frowned.
"I met him." Ezphine nodded slowly. "I think you're right. He made the dwarves nervous. If they did something that he saw as a threat to Syreilla he'd give them a good reason to be."
"We chose the more reasonable of the two." Nimphon smiled faintly. "Fetch the child safely back and Navisse as well."
"She said..." Ezphine's brow furrowed. "She said that sometimes the way in is through a cell door. Syreilla let herself be caught twice. Are you certain that she didn't this time?"
"Syvezar would know." Cyran mulled the question over. "She's deeply attached to her dragons."
"This is not the path she wanted to walk. There were others that would have been less painful." Ahevhethrah was frowning with his hand in a pocket that Cyran hadn't noticed before. It faded from sight once his hand came back out of it. "It is still a path that will lead to the desired outcome. There are preparations that I must make." He glanced at Cyran and Ezphine and smiled ruefully, "Go. Speak to Syvezar and Vedhethrah, there are things they must do as well."
A door opened next to Bone White at the elf's gesture. Cyran inclined his head respectfully and passed through it. Ezphine followed and looked around the encampment with a frown.
"Lord Cyran has returned!" An elf shouted cheerfully and then came to offer a bow. "Your ears, my Lord..."
"They've been lent to me, mine are with Kwes so that he can disguise himself more easily. He and Syreilla have work to do."
The elf laughed and bowed again, "May they have all the luck they need."
"She makes her own and I have no doubt he does as well. We need to speak to Syvezar."
"We?"
Cyran turned and noticed that Ezphine was only barely visible.
"My friend is shy. Will you ask him to meet us at the tent in the circle?"
"Of course, my Lord." The baffled elf bowed again and hurried away.
"Syreilla doesn't hide either," Ezphine murmured with a faint smile as she walked with him toward the tents.
"I've never tried it and I suspect it goes against my cousin's nature. She only hides when she's stealing something. Even then I suspect she doesn't hide as much as you would expect."
The forge goddess laughed softly. "Orsas said something like that."
"Perhaps you could teach me?"
"You want me to teach you?"
"Of course. One thing I've learned from Syreilla is that lessons can come from anyone at any time. My father sent me to her for an education and she gave her word." He breathed a laugh, "'You can rely on a Rook.' Even when she wasn't present she saw to it I had teachers. She told me that when you teach you find the gaps in your own knowledge, it's as beneficial to the teacher as it is to the student. I doubt there's anything that I can offer to teach you in exchange but I'd be glad to share the things she's taught me."
"She's young but she taught me a few things and we learned more together." Ezphine started to smile. "She's hard to be angry with. If she'd pulled me out of that hole the way she did her father I'd have never learned the things I did."
The circle of colorful tents came into sight but before they reached them Tirnel approached with a grim expression.
"Lord Cyran, my son, my granddaughter-"
"Kwes was well when I last saw him." Cyran studied the elf's face. "I traded ears with him so that he would have less difficulty-"
"Where is he? Where are Belthamdir and Amtalia? Some of the other children have also vanished but we were told-"
"They're safe." Syvezar cut the man off and placed a hand on his shoulder. "They're with Navisse."
"I need to speak with you privately." Cyran gave his cousin a pointed look.
"Something has happened." Tirnel brushed off the half-dragon's hand. "I felt it. I dreamt my father stood with his hands on Belthamdir's shoulders. He's-" The elf's voice cracked.
"Come with me." Cyran frowned and pulled the elf with him as he spoke quietly. "He was brought back as one of Syreilla's birds, a white crow from Nimphon to aid her. She sent him with me to aid me and I have sent him to watch over Belthamdir. I do not wish to concern anyone here about things that they may not need to worry over. Syreilla and Navisse are with the children."
Tirnel took a breath and stepped into the tent, blinking as Ezphine ceased hiding herself.
"Ezphine, goddess of the forge, this is Kwes and Syreilla's mortal father, Tirnel, and her husband, Syvezar, god of purification and rebirth."
"What has happened that you needed to come here to speak to me?" Syvezar eyed him curiously.
"You felt nothing from Syreilla? The huntress violated Navisse's temple."
Tirnel sank to the ground and Ezphine helped the elf to the edge of a bed.
"Navisse has gone with Amtalia and the children to keep them all safe and when Syreilla learned of it she..." He swallowed and then pressed forward, "She surrendered herself to secure their safety. She gave up her talons and permitted herself to be stabbed with one to be allowed to look after a child named Braigon."
"Braigon... Braigon Aeben?" Tirnel looked stunned. "We thought he was dead along with his mother, Ellother Milien. Emlinor will need to know his son is alive."
"Ellother? An elf by that name was with the elves the dwarves rescued." Ezphine rested her hand on Tirnel. "Syreilla sent Nali into a camp with orders to kill all of the soldiers to save her. I heard the Fellwives talking about how hard Lady Rook is to have sent a child to do such a thing, but the things the dwarves found... they understood why it needed to be done. They said she shouldn't be allowed to have a child as a priestess."
"Sweet little Nali?" The elf shook his head. "Syreilla wasn't allowed to be a child. She may not understand why it's wrong. But," he looked up at Ezphine incredulously, "the child succeeded?"
"She laid wards that gave those dwarves who followed after her nightmares."
"Syvezar-" Cyran tried to steer the matter back to Syreilla.
"She isn't afraid." The half-dragon stood with his eyes closed. "She's worried about Amtalia and the other children because they're out of her sight but, if events unfold as they should, there should be no lasting harm. At the moment she's waiting, impatiently, for the next event. Braigon is safe and with her, Belthamdir is with Navisse and Finwion. Olthon is watching the clever boy carefully and he perches on Belthamdir's shoulders to comfort her."
Cyran felt himself relaxing. "She intended to be caught?"
"This isn't the path she wanted events to take but she was aware that it might be the one we have to go down." Syvezar opened his eyes and gave Cyran a small smile, "She doesn't understand why we worry over her. She's the Golden Rook. It annoys her that they took her tools but she's a thief to her core. No chains or cages can hold her when she decides otherwise."
Ezphine snorted a laugh. "She'll probably try to make her tools out of torch smoke if they let her sit long enough."
