The story of the Elf Queen

* * *

The Royal Palace, despite its name, was not a palace as such. In the sense that it wasn't just a very large residence of the crowned ruler, where he lived with his retinue and family, as in some human countries. In the case of the Forest, it was a huge complex of buildings, both integrated and freestanding. Here were the main buildings of all departments that governed the life of the elven state, residential buildings for residents and guests, barracks of a separate battalion of the Palace Guards, some of the best workshops, and several educational institutions of various kinds, including magical. And of course, it was the most important logistical hub, as the palace complex was home to several portal arches, including some of the largest.

Every day, a considerable amount of cargo passed through them, both transit cargo and cargo destined for the Royal Palace, which consumed a colossal amount of food alone. In addition to cargo, some passengers needed to visit the Capital of the Forest or to get through it to another place. Because of this, the portals did not stand idle. Since their work consumed a lot of energy from the natural magical sources on which the Royal Palace was built, their schedule was strictly regulated and scheduled for weeks in advance. Who, when, and through which archway would arrive and who, when, and through which archway would depart. They were the responsibility of a separate department, which also monitored their condition, carrying out scheduled and, when necessary, major maintenance. Over the millennia of the Forest's existence, this logistical mechanism had been honed and perfected to a state close to the ideal. And now, the “Quarantine” interfered in this well-adjusted and almost continuously working mechanism quite unexpectedly for the absolute majority of the inhabitants of the palace, stopping it at full speed. Hardly, abruptly, and without any intelligible explanations from the Secret Guard who had announced it.

To say that this caused surprise and serious discontent among the inhabitants and guests of the Royal Palace would be an understatement. No one understood what was going on, and everyone demanded answers and explanations. And considering who lived and worked in the Royal Palace, these explanations had to be given willy-nilly. As it happened, this duty fell on Sivila's shoulders, not Third's. Although, the Head of the Secret Guard was not to be envied right now either. Immediately after the quarantine was announced, the queen returned to her chambers, and since then she had never been able to even exhale. Because her entire complex of communication amulets did not stop for a second, moreover, the number of calls continued to increase. Some of them could be transferred to Fiorel, who briefly explained the situation, but some had to be answered personally. And there were more than enough of them. And the calls came not only from those in the palace but also from all other parts of the Forest. There were even a few people who came from the Human lands. And all of these calls had to be answered by Sivila.

"I understand your displeasure, but I ask you to understand this. The decision to conduct this exercise was initiated personally by the Head of the Secret Guard."

The Supreme Emissary's face in the reflection of the artifact mirror on the queen's desk remained virtually unchanged, remaining as suavely displeased:

"I heard you, Your Majesty. In that case, perhaps you know how long this “exercise” will last and how far it will go?"

Without a wavering voice and also without a change in her face, the queen replied to the chief of the diplomatic department:

"I cannot tell you that, as the Secret Guard is in charge of everything. I, like you, am in my chambers and cannot leave them until the end of the exercise."

The Supreme Emissary subtly bowed his head and replied with the standard diplomatic courtesy:

"I understand, Your Majesty. Please keep me informed and let me know as soon as it is possible to re-establish communication with the rest of the Forest."

"Of course, as soon as I have any information from Third, I will let you know immediately."

Saying goodbye to the Forest's chief diplomat, Sivila extinguished his reflection in the mirror, only to immediately switch to the next call. A brief ripple and the face of the Supreme Treasurer appeared before her. Bowing briefly, the queen said politely but firmly:

"I'm listening and I'm going to ask you to get right to the point."

A faint smile appeared on the face of the person in charge of Forest's finances, and he bowed briefly and said:

"Of course. How long will the Quarantine last, Your Majesty?"

"I have no way of knowing that, these drills are conducted by the Secret Guards."

The smile grew a little wider on the Supreme Treasurer's face:

"I see. In that case, I assume they will also be paid for from the current budget of the Secret Guard?"

Without flinching her face, Sivila groaned doomfully to herself. Even though she wasn't directly involved in the Forest's finances, she'd been queen for almost three and a half thousand years. And she knew how much it cost to keep the barriers that covered the entire palace complex and each of the buildings cut off from the rest of the world and from each other. No, of course, these expenses could be charged to the emergency line item. They fell under them a little more than completely. But such a thing required, given the size of the expenditure, the full Forest Supreme Council to convene and report in detail on what the treasury reserves had been spent on and why. And it would not be desirable to hold such a report until the operation was completed and the enemy's accomplices had been identified. But it was impossible to leave the Secret Guard without half of the funds for current needs. Oh...

"I believe so. If Third doesn't agree, we'll have to hold another extraordinary meeting of the Council. Or we could wait until the scheduled meeting, if the situation permits, and discuss it there."

The Supreme Treasurer nodded faintly with an understanding smile:

"I heard you, Your Majesty. If these “drills” do not take too long, there will be no need for an extraordinary meeting of the Council, and we will be able to discuss everything at the scheduled one. That will be all, I dare not disturb you further."

After saying goodbye, the queen finished talking to the Supreme Treasurer, and his reflection in the mirror disappeared. It was immediately clear to all the more or less intelligent leaders of the Forest that this was not a drill. But it was also impossible to announce to the public that there were agents of an unknown enemy in the palace. Not yet. Oh, when would it end? As soon as the reflection of the chief financier of the Forest disappeared, the mirror rippled again. A moment later, the face of another elf appeared in it. Like all firstborns, he looked very young, with long straight blond hair and piercing gray eyes. Eyes that had seen a lot in his extremely long life. On his head, he wore an elaborate and enchanted wreath of pure gold. Well, this challenge was to be expected.

"Sivila."

Her husband and father of all five children bowed his head in greeting. When he called the queen by name, he put all officialism aside at once.

"Iardahl."

As she bowed her head in return greeting, the King of the Forest asked in an extremely polite yet demanding voice:

"What's going on at the Palace?"

In an equally polite voice and without flinching a single muscle, the queen replied:

"The Secret Guards staged a surprise drill, practicing a “Quarantine” scenario."

For a few seconds, she and her husband stared silently into each other's eyes with the same politely unperturbed expressions. Then Iardahl spoke:

"I have to say, it was quite a surprise."

"That's the point of surprise drills. If you let everyone know about them in advance, they will be completely useless."

"Indeed. Perhaps there was some reason for this suddenness on the part of Third?"

"I suppose so. You know as well as I do how serious he is about his work. And that he never does anything for nothing."

"Indeed. In that case, I would be most grateful if you would ask him what prompted him to set the whole Forest on alert?"

"For sure, but knowing Third, I believe we will only learn that reason at the meeting of the Forest Supreme Council.

"All right, then. In that case, that's all I wanted to know. If you need help with the “drill,” contact me immediately."

After saying goodbye to her husband, the queen extinguished the artifact mirror and exhaled in relief. Taking the glass of water Aneta held out to her, Sivila took a few greedy sips, then resumed her official and unruffled appearance. And accepted another challenge.

"I'm listening."

The elf with short dark hair and light purple eyes reflected in the mirror nodded briefly in greeting and got straight to the point:

"Your Majesty. I request your verbal confirmation of the order you have received to give full cooperation to the agents of the Secret Guard within the Quarantine."

"I confirm the order you have received and add the confirmation of the Elder Enchantress Mirael. Until the end of the exercise, you and your men will be under the command of the head of the Secret Guard. Accept."

After receiving confirmation from two of the Forest's top leaders at once, the commander of the separate battalion of the Palace Guard nodded briefly and immediately cut the connection. Sivila, on the other hand, switched to the next caller. And then to the next one. And the next. Because there were plenty of elves who wanted to know what had happened in the Capital. And there were only a few working channels of communication with the Royal Palace. Sivila was one of them. All the others were under the direct control of the Secret Guard and were strictly official. So the entire information load fell on the queen's shoulders. The most difficult was the first few hours when the flow of calls seemed endless. However, after the information about the exercise spread, the number of calls decreased noticeably, although they did not disappear completely. Then, however, their number increased again.

The reason was banal. The fact the drills were not really drills became clear to some of the palace's residents and guests before noon. The complete lockdown of the entire palace complex, including a ban on any movement and cutting off the vast majority of communication channels, still fit into their framework. But it was a bit difficult to write off the drills as a general inspection of ALL those who were on the palace grounds. Especially very specific checks. As a result, there were more and more elves who wanted to know what was really going on in the Capital. Sivila couldn't tell the truth but she couldn't ignore some of these calls either. Fortunately, everyone who needed to know was satisfied with the rather transparent hint that everything would be explained to everyone in the near future. And luckily, it was not necessary to shave off the hair of everyone in the palace like Tiantrel. Knowing what to look for, how and where to look, the Secret Guard agents, with the support of the battalion of the Palace Guards, who had been checked first, as well as the Elder Enchantress and a few of her apprentices, quickly searched everyone in the palace.

It took all day and all night and lasted until morning. By then, it was clear to everyone in the palace that this was not a drill. But no one thought to openly resent or even challenge the Secret Guard agents supported by the Palace Guards. At some point, everyone began to realize that something really serious had happened, if such inspections were taking place. How was this possible, given that everyone had been quarantined and communications were restricted is a mystery. It wasn't until the sun rose again over the Forest that Sivila was contacted by Third and told that the Quarantine could be lifted. He also asked the Queen to arrive at the Secret Guard Corps as soon as possible. The head of the elven special services looked tired, but his voice sounded firm and his gaze was full of determination. Nodding, Sivila announced to the palace's inhabitants that the exercise was over and the Quarantine Mode was lifted. She also thanked everyone for their understanding and reminded them that such drills were being conducted solely for the good and safety of the Forest. Which, as you know, are above all.

Almost immediately, all the Supremes, or their deputies, who were on the palace grounds at the time the Quarantine was declared, informed her that they understood everything perfectly well. But they would very much like to discuss the details of the exercise at the next meeting of the Forest Supreme Council. Or in private conversation with her and/or Third. The Supreme Emissary was particularly insistent. After that, everyone began to clean up the mess that had been created by the fact that the capital of the Forest had been cut off from the world for almost twenty-four hours. Sivila herself also had a lot of things to do, but there was no way to deal with them right now. Which meant that she would have to cut back on her schedule and sacrifice sleep again. It's exhausting. And she wish she could just go to bed. Ah, dreams.

Sivila forced herself to get to her feet from the soft and comfortable chair. The queen yawned loudly and looked longingly at the window, where a new day was beginning. With great difficulty, Sivila kept herself from moaning out loud. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. Shutting off all communication amulets and locking herself away in her bedroom. Instead, she let her girls and Fiorel rest (lucky them!) and went with Astra to the Secret Guard building.

She had to use her disguise amulets several times while moving through the service corridors of the Palace. Because the capital of the Forest was like an anthill. And there were plenty of people who wanted to talk to her “urgently, right now, it's very important”. And many conversations could not be avoided and it would be necessary to find time for them. But later. Tomorrow. Maybe the day after tomorrow. Now there was something much more important. Half an hour later, in a roundabout way and under disguise, Sivila reached the Secret Guard building. There she was met and escorted to the right place by two tired agents. The meeting room was already occupied by Third, several of his subordinates, including Twilight, Mirael in the company of most of his fellow gifters, and Luaval in a full set of Dungeon Hunter armor. The dark elf had to be pulled out of his newfound home, which he wasn't too happy about, but he didn't show it. They all looked as tired and exhausted as Sivila herself. The fatigue of the masters of magic was especially noticeable, as it was obvious that they had used up their reserves for the day and not just once. With a short nod to all present, the queen lowered herself into a vacant chair and said:

"Please tell me that all this nightmare we have given ourselves and the whole capital was not in vain?"

Third, who was sitting opposite the queen, calmly said with a nonchalant face:

"It was not in vain."

With a snap of his fingers, the head of the Secret Guard touched the controlling amulet, and a three-dimensional image of two human men and one woman, an elf and an elfess, appeared above the huge table where everyone was sitting. All of them were unconscious, naked, and wearing a full set of suppressive and magic-blocking shackles. And all five had their hair shaved bald. On the back of each of their heads was a glowing white light symbol similar to the one Tiantrel had. But there were fewer lines running from it down their bodies, and fewer symbols in key places. And the symbols themselves were much more simple and minimal. Especially in humans. Looking closer, Sivila recognized both of her kin. Members of the diplomatic corps, both of them trusted assistants to Senior Emissaries. She didn't know the humans personally, though she had seen them before. Not surprising, considering the number of people in the palace. Turning to Third, Sivila spoke briefly:

"Report."

The head of the Secret Guard made himself comfortable in his chair and spoke in a calm voice:

The discovery of Tiantrel in Kuordemar came as a complete surprise to me. On the other hand, it answered a number of questions. In particular, where Vinatir's patrons were getting some of their information from. It was also immediately clear that her loss was equally unexpected to them. Alekhar's raid on Morgrave confused everyone, not just us. Which meant they were extremely likely to react. It was only a matter of time. Especially since Tiantrel had left too many traces and attracted too much attention. And her rescue by Luaval was a more than obvious signal. Thus, I assumed that our opponents would soon learn that Tiantrel was in our hands and would try to correct their mistakes. And in order not to repeat the same mistake as with Vinatir, I took some measures.

Touching the control amulet again, Third projected a three-dimensional schematic image of the palace. It was quite detailed, showing even the areas that were closed. Many would pay very dearly for such an image. With another flick of his fingers, evenly spaced glowing green dots appeared all over the palace. After enlarging the image of the enclosure that the Secret Guard occupied, its Head continued:

"My analysts concluded that our opponents could reach Tiantrel directly with an extremely low probability, close to negative. There are too many layers of defense and cross-checks. And too narrow a circle of people who have access to it or even know about it. The only really real chance to eliminate her was a very powerful, calibrated, and narrowly focused impact. Targeting Tiantrel in advance and precisely. This was the only way our opponents had a chance to break through the defenses of the laboratory where she was being held. But such an action has a significant drawback. Two, in fact. The first is that it can only be done at close range, otherwise, it won't be able to break through the defenses. The second is that it would be very noticeable. Especially if you prepare in advance and know exactly what to look for."

Another snap of the fingers, and the image of the palace changed again, a row of yellow ones was added to the green dots. Which were concentrated mainly around and within the Secret Guard buildings. Including in the laboratory where the injured agent was.

"Agents from Darendil's team have been continuously monitoring Tiantrel since the moment Luaval handed her over to us. They were supported by two separate teams, organizing a cross-search network. Everything was ready to calculate and intercept possible impacts. At the same time, various scenarios for the development of events and counteraction to them were worked out. Two were considered the most likely. An attempt to immediately eliminate Tiantrel or an attempt to organize an escape. The first option seemed most likely, but our opponents tried to organize her escape."

For a moment, a faint shadow ran across Third’s face:

"I must admit that we underestimated the degree of threat that Tiantrel posed after what was done to her. If it had not been for the measures taken in advance regarding the portals, she could well have escaped."

“No one expected that she would be able to blink,” Darendil shook his head. “There are very few who own such a technique of spatial magic, and even fewer have honed it to such a level. Tiantrel was never one of them. This came as an extremely unpleasant surprise for us. Fortunately, there were no deaths, but almost a dozen were wounded, including two in critical condition."

"We were saved by the fact that she primarily sought to get to the portal hall, and not to fight,” muttered one of the Secret Guard agents present in the hall, “How was this even possible? Doesn't it take decades of practice to blink at this level?"

Mirael answered him:

"I suppose that all the necessary knowledge was directly put into her head, the rest was compensated by the “structures” applied to her body. It’s difficult to say more precisely; what they did to her still needs to be studied. This may take years."

"You will be given such an opportunity, you can be sure of that,” nodded Third.

"Speaking of portals,” said one of the gifted ones invited to work with Tiantrel, “How did it happen that she was even able to activate the portal arch? Shouldn't they be immediately blocked in case of an alarm so that they are basically impossible to use? Is there a special system, an emergency circuit break, and other measures just in case of such situations?"

"They should, and there is a system, and the measures are prescribed" Third answered as if nothing had happened.

"Then why didn't it work?!"

"Because I told so."

"What?!"

In response to the astonished exclamation, the Head of the Secret Guard spoke in a completely mundane voice, almost devoid of intonation:

"Isn't it obvious? To find out where she's going to try to run to."

"And where was she going to jump to?" Sivila asked interestedly.

"To a place in the northwest of the Forest, not far from the borders with the lands of Human and the northern ridge of Undermountain. A special task force moved to the area as soon as it received the coordinates but found no one. At the site, they were able to discover a small and well-hidden tunnel-type portal and a complex of masking and tracking amulets. Or rather, what is left of them. As soon as the detachment moved, our opponents destroyed both the portal and all the amulets. Hounds are working there now, but they are unlikely to find anything; the tracks have been covered very thoroughly. Even if it is possible to track where the portal was aimed, then by that time there will be no one there. Most likely, this escape route was prepared long ago and in advance. As if not by the hands of the late Vinatir. But let's return to Tiantrel."

Third, snapped his fingers again, and several red dots appeared on the image. One on the territory of the main palace complex, in one of the service premises, which was located on the territory of the nearest building to the Secret Guard building. Several more points were located in the Emissary Corps and a couple in one of the residential buildings for human servants.

"When our venerable magic masters managed to discover what had been done to Tiantrel, I immediately put all the involved groups on maximum alert. In case our opponents realize that their disguise has been revealed and they begin to act. Apparently, they really did just that. The immediate impact was made by Milena, one of the senior maids..."

The image of a human woman glowed red.

"...while in this office space. We managed to figure him out very quickly, and Darendil, together with his subordinates, carried out the capture."

Above the table appeared an image of the palace's utility room, one of the storerooms where supplies for cleaning rooms and washing floors were stored. There, in the far corner, at a small table, Milena was sitting on a simple stool. Like all human servants, she was a rather pretty woman, with neatly combed, shoulder-length hazelnut hair and an immaculate black and white senior palace maid dress. But on her forehead, she was wearing a magical diadem, with dimly glowing precious stones. And in her hands lying on the table, she was tightly clutching something glowing. On the table around her were several amulets laid out. As far as Sivila could tell, it was a well-made piece of kit designed to conceal and enhance magical connections at medium distances. A very desirable thing for any understanding secret service agent, no matter what country.

In the image, all the amulets glowed barely noticeably, even weaker than the stones in the diadem or what the maid was holding in her hands. This indicated that they had been attacked with magic negators, with great power, and more than once. The maid along with a hundred tables was completely surrounded by a translucent sphere of stasis. A very complex, but extremely effective spell. Although, it requires a lot of energy both to create and maintain.

"And immediately it became clear that Milena was just a puppet, controlled from a distance. They urgently began to establish where the threads led. It was also found out quite quickly, which, as it became clear later, contributed to the introduction of the "Quarantine" mode. To be more precise, the activation of the cut-off barriers."

The image above the desk changed again. Instead of a storeroom, there was a well-furnished office, as there were in all the buildings, particularly in the emissary building. The only thing that stood out from the general picture of the elven diplomat's workplace were several sets of amulets and a couple of stationary artifacts neatly arranged on the desk. As in the case of the maid Milena, all of them were intended to create a secure connection, but over long distances and were of excellent quality, as far as Sivila could judge. Except that some of them had been deliberately disabled. At the table sat the owner of the office, an elf in white and blue robes of a diplomat. Or rather, he was half-lying back in his chair, with his mouth open and his eyes rolled back. He wore a magical tiara on his head, which shimmered dimly with gems.

In front of him, right on the floor, leaning back against the guest chair, sat his elf colleague. Her violet eyes were wide open but staring nowhere, her long brown hair was disheveled and slightly disheveled. The reason for this was immediately obvious. She clutched a magical tiara in her right hand, which was also shimmering faintly. Her mouth was ajar, and from the corner of it, a string of saliva was dripping onto her chest. Spheres of stasis also surrounded both elven diplomats. And both had trickles of blood dripping from their noses, staining their blue-and-white robes.

Milena was controlled by Senior Emissary Arendal's assistants, Enear and Antael. But we have not been able to find out who was controlling them. By the time they were attacked by Darendil's squad, our opponents had already realized the attempt to save Tiantrel had failed and tried to cover their tracks. Fortunately, they didn't succeed. As I said, the cutoff barriers got in the way. Both Enear and Antael were under direct control, and in such a case, an abrupt interruption of communication affected them in a very painful way. At the time of Darendil's arrival, Enear was unconscious, Antael semi-conscious. Further inspection revealed that their human personal servants were also 'structured', but apparently had no part in Tiantrel's escape. No other 'structured' were revealed during the total check. Such are the results of the Quarantine.

There was a deafening silence in the hall. Everyone was thinking about what they had heard. Sivila sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. Five agents. Not that many, but not that few either. And that's just the ones we've been able to track down. Speaking of which.

"Have you detained Senior Emissary Arendal?"

A barely noticeable shadow ran across Third’s face again:

Senior Emissary Arendal, who represents the Forest in the territory of the Theocracy of the Sun, left the representation in Iyastar early yesterday morning and fled to an unknown destination with his trusted human secretary. Where he is no one knows. His duties have now been taken over by his first assistant and deputy. The representatives of the Priest-King have declared their complete non-involvement in his disappearance and their willingness to assist in the search. Their offer has been accepted, but I doubt we will be able to find him.

"Everyone needs to be checked..."

"We're on it, but so far we haven't been able to identify anyone "structured". Arendal's first assistant was clean, as were the other members of the office."

Folding her arms across her chest, Sivila said with annoyance:

"We checked him! Immediately, as soon as it became known that Tiantrel was compromised. Do you have any idea how they were able to cheat the checks?"

Having become gloomy, Mirael nodded:

"Now we have a rough understanding. And it lies in the fact that all the "structured", as they are now called by Third's easy hand, did not deceive anyone. They did not even suspect their condition, remaining fully capable and full-fledged individuals. We assume, so far it is only a theory, but the most plausible, that at the right moment, they were either taken under direct control or introduced through the "structures" of the necessary settings. Then, all compromising memories and suggestions were removed through the same "structures" and replaced with neutral ones. And thus, they successfully passed all checks and even took oaths."

"But such effects leave traces! They should have been noticed! There are tests specifically aimed at such things, methods, why didn't anyone notice anything?"

Ziandar, who looked no less grim and tired than the Elder Enchantress, spoke up:

"The reason lies in the skill with which the victims were “structured”. Each of them,” the master of the School of Branding pointed at the images of elves and humans, ”is without exaggeration a masterpiece of magical art, pulling a certification work of archimagister level, at the very least. And in several disciplines at once. They allow you to operate the victim's consciousness in the widest spectrum with the minimum of effort and at the same time leave virtually no traces. Standard checks are not designed to detect traces of the work of someone of the level of an archimagister. Or rather, even an archmage. I doubt even most enhanced checks would detect “structures”. In order to detect such a thing, one would either have to know exactly what to look for and how to look for it or use rather specific and very costly methods of verification. For now, this is also a guess, but perhaps a manual review of memories can reveal inconsistencies or small gaps, but you can't check every memory that way. In addition, these “structures” were additionally concealed by alchemy in the hair. But we have good news."

"Which one is it?" Sivila asked doubtfully.

"There simply cannot physically be many such “structured” ones. Such a complex procedure simply cannot be put into mass production. Each of them is a manual work, in this we and our colleagues are unanimous."

"Do you have any substantial justification for that?" Sivila asked with the same hesitation.

Instead of Ziandar, Third answered her:

"The fact that we all haven't been treated like this yet. If they could do this on a large scale, we'd all be walking around with these designs on the back of our heads by now. I'm pretty sure these five are the result of a lot of hard work. My agents are already figuring out when, how, and where they may have been processed. Such a procedure, according to our honorable masters, is bound to take time and a solid magical laboratory. That narrows the scope of the search. Their connections and contacts are also being worked out. And we've already found out something interesting."

Another snap of the fingers and an image of an elf with short-cropped hair like a huntsman in the uniform of a Forest Guard appeared above the table.

"First deputy commander of the first regiment of the Forest Guard. And also Antael's longtime lover. Most likely, it was through him that our opponents received information that allowed them to successfully infiltrate the Forest, bypassing Forest Guard patrols and their secrets. He is not “structured”, most likely there was the usual indiscretion, multiplied by relatively standard agent methods of obtaining information. He's already being checked for the slightest trace of mind-affecting alchemy or magic."

It took a lot of effort for the queen to hold back a doomed sigh. No doubt about it. The source of a good half of the Forest's problems was just that kind of stupidity. The enemy was far more powerful, dangerous, and cunning than she had realized.

"It is necessary to check all their contacts, as well as possible connections with the elves previously abducted by Vinatir..."

"We're working on it."

"Good. Anything else you were able to find out or find?"

"Oh yes."

Another barely perceptible shadow ran across Third's face. With another snap of his fingers, a new image appeared above the table. Blinking several times, the queen did not immediately realize what she was looking at. She was brought out of her stupor by Luaval, who whistled merrily and said:

"I like it, I need to order the same one, only portraying my wife. And perhaps in full height."

Sivila choked and gave her agent, or rather her full-fledged vassal, a stern look. She wasn't the only one. He didn't pay any attention to it or pretended not to, and continued to look at the image of Tiantrel that appeared above the table. Or rather, as it became clear at a second glance, a small sculpture of her made of an obscure material. It was slightly larger than a man's palm, judging by the metric displayed next to it. The Secret Guard agentess was presented in a rather spicy pose. Completely nude, sitting on her butt and spreading her legs wide apart with her legs bent at the knees. With her elbows out to the sides, she used her middle and index fingers to pinch her nipples, pulling them back a little. She had an expression of complete bliss on her face, her azure eyes rolled back, her mouth open and her tongue sticking out. The miniature sculpture (or rather figurine) was made in great detail and with many tiny details. From the toes to the eyelashes and eyebrows. Turning to Third, Sivila asked:

"What's that?"

But instead of the Head of the Secret Guard, it was Mirael who answered her:

"As far as we could understand, this is a variant of the control artifact, tied entirely to Tiantrel. With a very wide range of functions, as far as we can tell from the weaves embedded in it. We've barely looked at it, but I can already say that it's a masterpiece of artifacting no less than the “structures”. It's how they were able to reach Tiantrel even through all the barriers and defenses."

"I dare hope you took all possible care with this “masterpiece”? If they were able to use it to communicate with Tiantrel, then it has the functionality of a communication amulet."

"Of course. No direct contact, only two-step inspection methods, a full set of isolation barriers, and a separate room with the maximum degree of protection. It's all protocol for dealing with the most dangerous cursed artifacts."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mirael, but I would still ask you to take all, absolutely all, even the most seemingly unnecessary measures."

"Good."

Nodding, the Queen turned to Third and asked:

"Is there anything else urgent that needs immediate attention?"

"Not yet. There is a lot of work to be done now, not just for one day, but there is nothing urgent right now. But it is already clear that we must prepare for work in Iyastar. Every lead we have leads to the land of the sun worshippers."

"Wonderful, I just missed the beautiful city over which the sun never sets,” Luaval sighed philosophically.

"In that case, I suggest we all rest at least for a few hours,” the queen ignored the words of her now vassal, ”The past twenty-four hours have been extremely hard and we are all exhausted."

The queen's proposal was approved unanimously by all those gathered, and the elves began to disperse. The day was just beginning, there was plenty of work to do, but right now Sivila was determined to spend at least six hours in bed.

* * *

Somewhere around the same time.

The small and very well-protected room was very noisy and tense. The people gathered around the round table shouted from their seats one after another, interrupting each other:

"This is a disaster!"

"Do you realize what you've done?!"

"We've lost almost every agent in the Forest!"

"We should have just finished that pointy-eared whore!"

"They don't just know now, they've got the control key in their hands! It's..."

"Doesn't matter anymore!"

Curator's sharp and decisive shout silenced his interlocutors, interrupting the flood of accusations and outright panic that had begun after he had reported the failure. Without giving them a second thought, he said, trying his best to speak calmly and confidently:

"Yes, I admit, what happened in the Forest was my fault, she really should have just been killed. But keep two things in mind. The first is that it's far from certain that the effects would have been fatal. It is quite possible that the elves would have been able to save her by preventing or partially leveling the decay procedure. And two. I really wanted to save one of our dear Master's masterpieces. You all know very well how he doesn't like his creations to be... broken."

A shadow ran across the faces of all the silenced interlocutors, and some who were most panicked frankly flinched.

"But, as I said, it doesn't really matter! The loss of most of the agents in the Forest is unpleasant, but no more. Even considering the fact that they fell into the hands of the Sharp-Eared along with one of the control keys."

"Not paying attention to the whispers and murmurs among his interlocutors, Curator blurted out without letting anyone interrupt him:"

"Because Master has completed his main work!"

After these words, there was complete silence. Satisfied with the effect he had produced, Curator looked at his interlocutors with an attentive gaze and said:

"The elves have served their purpose and are no longer of interest to us. Now we must focus on our main goal."

Now everyone had truly forgotten about the fiasco of trying to save the pointy-eared whore (damn Vinatir!), turning their full attention to it. One of Curator's interlocutors, who was as unhappy as everyone else about the failure in the Forest, but not losing his head in fear or anger, asked slowly and thoughtfully:

"Are you sure his creation will work? It's ... unprecedented."

"When we met in person, Master assured me that his creation would work perfectly if used correctly. But, he especially emphasized this, when used correctly. All we have to do is prepare and strike at the decisive moment. Just one precise blow."

There was silence again, but this time not for long. Another of Curator's interlocutors also came forward and asked:

"Do you have any ideas on how we can make this happen? There aren't a lot of suitable... candidates. And it's not easy to get to them."

A faint smile touched Curator's lips:

"Oh, yes, it is. But we've been preparing for a long time. And soon we'll have the perfect opportunity. Of course, it won't be easy, but with careful preparation, it's more than possible."

Again the whispers, but satisfied. No one even remembers the failure with the pointy-eared girl, and understandably so. In the face of what's coming, one big-eared whore is nothing.

"What exactly will be needed?"

"A lot of things. For starters..."

Further discussion took more than an hour, but in the end, Curator was exhausted but in high spirits. It's coming. Soon enough. Long years of preparation and labor will pay off not just with the trio, but a hundredfold. No, a thousandfold. They just need to prepare thoroughly, think everything through, and organize. There should be no mistakes, everything must go perfectly, and then...

"Sir."

Turning to the aide who had distracted him from thinking about the work ahead, he looked at him questioningly.

"Master would like to speak to you."

There was no trace of the high mood left.

* * *

A heavy loss for the Elf Queen.