“Going to Mal-Ravanal’s fortress to deal with whatever is there is a problem for after we talk with Thrandolil and get the circlet back. It’s not a right-now problem,” Tric declares. “But um, silly question here, Kachen… Do you think those inactive forces are currently active with the rest of the undead army?”
Kachen closes his eyes, dismayed at the thought. “I hope not. I don’t think so.” With a glance at Heppa, he continues, picking his words carefully. “The um… undead forces that I uh… saw active seemed to come from the Bitter Swamp itself.”
“Okay, yeah, that makes sense. You’re right,” Tric says. This topic needed to be broached with Heppa at some point, but he does not want to expose Kachen’s explicit involvement.
“Wait, an undead army? Where?!” Heppa hastily pulls out her maps, too focused on the new information to realize that Kachen and Tric were talking around further details.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Tric says calmly. “From the Bitter Swamp, just like he was saying.”
“They were attacking the orcs, and I took advantage of that to escape,” Kachen says.
“A whole army?” Heppa demands.
“It was quite a few,” Kachen admits.
“More than a couple, you said,” Tric agrees.
“That’s a bigger issue than I originally thought,” Heppa says, scribbling on her map. If the undead are fighting the orcs, there is a good chance they are engorging their ranks with the fallen. Who knows what the size of the undead force will be come spring! Lord Volas urgently needs to hear about this.
“Orcs, undead… there are a few things we need to deal with there,” Tric says to Kachen. “I imagine you’ll want to be part of that. We can reach you via the Parting Glass again?”
“Do you have an idea when you will take action on this matter?”
“Springtime. First thaw,” Tric replies.
“That’s when the armies will be gathering,” Heppa says. “And Terwaen, Tric’s sister. And our grandparents. We don’t really have large forces in our forest that I know of, but Lord Volas may have other resources.”
“I will not be heading back east, not for the winter. The hills are too exposed to the elements. I plan to lay low somewhere for study and practice,” Kachen tells them.
Tric fishes around in a pouch and produces a peanut. “If you give Mate this, he should hopefully be able to find you later.”
“Where is your bird?” Kachen asks, glancing around.
The magpie has not yet returned from his patrol. Tric calls for him, and the black and white bird flaps out of the ruined house, something clutched in his talons. When he settles in front of Tric, they see that he has a piece of paper. It has a gold-embossed seal with some ribbon embedded in the wax, so they can see why it drew the magpie’s attention. It must have been buried in the rubble and only recently exposed. Perhaps it was in a fancy chest that cracked open when the ruins of the house settled a bit more. Tric gives the document a quick read. “Well, if you’d like to bum it in here,” he tells Kachen, nodding at the ruins, “we’ll let you stay rent free.”
“What is that?” Heppa asks.
Tric starts, “This is the deed to the… elvish embassy? No, elvish consulate of South Tower—it’s not in the capital, after all.” He fishes a pen from her writing kit and makes a few amendments to the document. Turning back to Kachen he says, “You’ll be responsible for all maintenance and fuel. Don’t ask us for any repairs.”
Kachen gives a small smile. “That suits me quite well. No one is likely to come bother me in a place as collapsed and ruinous as this.”
“Wait, so it’s just ours now? Because we have the deed?” Heppa asks.
“Yeah, that’s how it works with humans,” Tric tells her.
“Don’t we have to tell somebody? What if someone comes to mess with it?” Heppa presses, incredulous.
Tric hands Kachen the paper. “If anyone gives you trouble, you’ve got the deed right here.”
“Stay under the tree, I guess,” Heppa suggests.
Kachen, though, eyes the building thoughtfully. He is no stranger to making camp in rundown buildings. “You’ll make good absentee landlords,” he tells the elves.
“Well, you’ll have plenty of space to practice your sword skill,” Heppa says brightly.