Moon Whisper- Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Kylian, sir. I have received contact with our operative inside the council. It seems that Lucy and her orcs were killed recently.”
“That’s disappointing news, Shelly. What shall we do?”
“I suggest we send one of our own ‘little devils’ out to kill them.”
“It’s an interesting suggestion, Dread, but who would we send?”
“I was thinking maybe one of the lower-ranking followers, like Cain.”
“Yes, I agree. Cain would annihilate those Noleveo once and for all. However, there is the chance that they will have more with them. The Noleveo of the Druids must not be contacted before we get there.”
“I understand, sir. Have Cain advance towards Laiqua?”
“Yes, but have him take his brother, Abel, with him.”
“Very well.”
“Commander, is it wise to send men after men to fight these Noleveo?”
“It may not be the best course of action, but our forces are not powerful enough to take Mardiosta on at the moment. So do not doubt me, Marilyn.”

“So how was the trip through the forest, boys?” Thomas asked.
“It was interesting. We got attacked by some orcs halfway through,” Zeke replied.
“What? How many?”
“Ten, but we killed them already.”
“I don’t understand how they got into the forest.”
“Doesn’t Laiqua do periodical sweeps of the forest?”
“Yes, that’s what I don’t understand. We knew about Náro was sending several messengers to other cities in the region.”
“Now stop with this talk. I will not allow negativity mess of my magic,” Elena said.
“Alright, dear.”
“Mom, can you come with me for a moment?” Zeke asked.
“Sure, dear. James, keep an eye on the fire. Supper will be done soon.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The two walked outside the villa to Elena’s garden near the back. Beautiful roses and daisies filled the large fields.
“What is it, honey?”
“The orcs that attacked us had a demon with us. That demon scarred Joseph and Raine with a demon mark. None of my magic or Cora’s could heal them.”
“Well, I would have to see how bad it is, but I will heal them.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“It’s good to have you boys around again. I miss you two around the house.”
“I know. But you have Dad.”
“He’s always busy with the council and that leaves me with my magic.”
“So why is James there?”
“Oh, James didn’t like living at home with his father anymore. So I took him in. Since then, he’s been helping me while I am with child.”
“You’re having a baby? When did you find out?”
“I saw the doctor a few weeks back. I was feeling real sick and needed a better antidote than what I had.”
“Does Dad know?”
“No. Besides James, you are the only one who knows. I plan on telling him soon though.”
“Congratulations, Mom.”
“Thank you, Zeke.”
“Honey, why don’t we throw a party tomorrow night and invite the city?”
“I don’t want to be cooking for everyone!”
“Not a problem. Cora said she will gladly help you!”
“Alright, if you want.”
“Great, I’ll start inviting the city!”
“Let’s head back in.”

“So, Dad, I need to talk to the Elders here about something.”
“Elders? They forfeited all control to the Councilate many years. The High Elder died a few days ago.”
“Damn. Then do you know if they talked about the Noleveo?”
Thomas stopped with a spoon full of food near his mouth. The expression on his face showed great fear when Zeke said that word.
“How do you know that word?”
“High Elder Carter told us about them.”
“I haven’t heard that word since you two were born.”
“Then you know about them?”
“Yes, and I am glad you know about them. I take it you all know who you are?”
“Well, Cora doesn’t. Hopefully you can get a hold of someone from Nar for us.”
“I can try, but I can’t guarantee will get a hold of him.”
“If you want to contact Budi, one of my fellow ninjas is nearby. He can be there and back in two days passing.”
“Alright. Send him this message for me.” Zeke handed her an envelope with a red seal on the back.
“I’ll get this to him right away.”
“So, is Lia in town?”
“Not yet. Her father said she would be home tomorrow morning.”
“Is it possible we can talk to her and the council at the same time?”
“You mean?”
“Yeah, she’s one of us.”
“Wow. I never would have guessed.”
“Nor did I until Carter described her to us.”
The group sat there in silence as the duster started to clean the area around them.
“Well, it’s getting late. We should head to bed guys.”
“Yeah, we should too. I’ll talk to the council tomorrow and see if you can address them.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Everyone in the house went to their rooms and fell asleep for the night, always wondering what will happen in the day’s to come.

The sun arose from the east into the boys room, where Joseph was snoring loudly as ever, lying on his stomach. Zeke stood by the window looking into the forest near the house.
“Boys, wake up,” Elena said.
“Uhh, five more minutes, please, Mommy?” Joseph whined.
“Joseph, come on now. Breakfast is ready.”
“Let him sleep. The mark on his back is hurting him so much mentally.”
“Oh, Zeke. I didn’t know you were awake. I assumed you were Raine.”
“Raine went out with Cora to help with the guards.”
“How thoughtful of them. Well, come on down for breakfast.”
“Mom, you said you would heal Joseph.”
“Oh, you are right. How forgetful I am. Ok, Tesi saeri shyl!”
In an instant, the spider mark on his back was gone.
“There. Now he’s better than ever.”
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
Zeke turned around and looked out the window again. The thoughts running through his mind were clouding his judgment more than he thought.
After a little while, he tried to wake Joseph up, but failed to do so. He, then, headed down stairs, where a bountiful breakfast lay on the table for them.
“Wow, Mom. You’ve been cooking all night?”
“No, just an hour this morning. Now, don’t eat all of that. Some of it is going to be for some early party folk.”
“I understand.” Zeke prepared a small plate and sat down in the kitchen. “Where’s Dad? Off to work?”
“No. He left early to invite the whole town to this party of his.”
“Well, I can’t blame him. It’s not everyday his sons come home and tell him they will be heroes.”
“You alright with all this, Zeke?”
“I don’t know anymore, Mom. At first, I thought it’ll be great seeing the world and kicking some butt. But when Joseph and Raine were hurt, I lost my confidence in this quest. But I don’t want to show that to the others. I want to keep their morale up.”
“You have a big heart, my son. I know it is dangerous, but you gave to remember to have faith in your friends, your family, and yourself.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Mrs. Galanodel, I finished the laundry for you.”
“Thank you, James. Why don’t you take a break and walk Zeke to the Naïlo’s house?”
“Will you be alright?”
“Of course, dear. It’s not like I am going to fight a thousand rampaging giants now.”
“Ok, Zeke, you ready?”
“Let me grab something and I’ll meet you by the gates.”
Zeke ran back upstairs, where Joseph was still asleep in bed.
“Joseph, wake up. It’s late in the morning.”
“Let me rest, Zeke.”
“C’mon, Joseph. Let’s see if Lia’s home.”
“Alright, I’ll meet you there.” Joseph fell back asleep.

Zeke walked back downstairs and headed out the door. He walked around the fountain in the middle of the walkway and stopped by James.
“You ready, James?”
James didn’t respond. Instead, his face turned white and he fell forward. Zeke ran towards him and caught him before James hit the ground.
“James, you alright? James?” Zeke tried to call out to him, but got no response. “Somebody help me please!”
“There’s no reason to panic. He’ll be alright.”
“Who’s there?”
“Someone who has been watching over you for quite a while now.”
“Show yourself now!”
Two figures appeared right before Zeke, wearing white cloaks and what looked like heavy armor.
“Who are you?”
“I am One who is in charge of keeping the Noleveo safe from harm,” one of the two responded.
“How do you know that word?”
“Your destiny has been foretold to us on Oira for generations.”
“You’re from the ethereal plane?”
“Yes, and we came to warn you of some trouble that lie ahead of you,” the other one replied.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve been sensing deception in the Laiqua council for a few months now. We believe that a spy is working for the Qualinosta.”
“You sure? My father works for the council and hasn’t seen anything wrong.”
“It’s only a hunch, but we came to warn you if anything does come around.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Good. One more thing before we leave. We have been tracking some of your enemies and found some lurking in the forest.”
“Who? I have plenty of enemies if I am a Noleveo.”
“Some people who want you dead for what your predecessor has done.”
“You mean those homunculi?”
“Yes.”
“Are they a danger to us now?”
“No, but Echuiver and I feel we should warn you nonetheless.”
“Echuiver? You’re the Awakener, Rith, aren’t you?’
“Smooth, Namna. Why don’t you expose us to those Qualinosta fools now why we are out in the open?”
“Sorry, Rith. I figured he wouldn’t know your true name. Besides, you froze the area so that we could appear here.”
“Our names came from the elves. Of course he would know.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about your appearance here.”
“That’s not what concerns me, Ezekiel. It’s how fast some of these rumors can get out.”
“Would you stop worrying and let’s go? We still have one more thing we have to do before going back to Oira.”
“Alright. Ezekiel, your friends will be facing many obstacles in your quest. Do not let your guard down at any time.”
“Understood.”
“We’ll keep an eye on you guys.”
Within an instant, they were gone. Nothing had changed since they arrived. Zeke spun around to see if anyone had seen anything.
“Zeke, you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You okay, James?”
“Yes. I must have blacked out for a moment.”
“You seem fine. C’mon, let’s go over to Lia’s house.”
“Okay.”
The two of them walked over to Lia’s house down the road. The sky turned a beautiful blue as the skies parted and the sun came down on them.

“That was an informative talk you gave him, Rith.”
“At least he is informed on our presence.”
“That is true, but you might have given him too much information.”
“Not enough, I’m afraid. I sensed an oncoming attack on them in three days time. But not a solo attack. Two of them are advancing.”
“You sure about this?”
“Yes. Apparently, Kylian sensed our arrival and sent his troops to faces us.”
“And what about the homunculi?”
“They are dormant. They are doing some careful reconnaissance near their house. But they appear to be planning an attack.”
“Have Ambar to watch over the homunculi. You have one more job before you are done for now.”
“I know. But they might expect us to interject.”
“It doesn’t matter. We need to stop him and now.”
“Enyalie, we have found Magic, Druids, and Ninja near Thiniarl.”
“Can you send them to Laiqua?”
“Gladly.”
“Thank you, Estel.”
“You want me to perform the ritual while I am down there?”
“Yes. I don’t trust the council.”
“Understood.”