Chapter 3217 Silverspire (Part 2)

Chapter 3217 Silverspire (Part 2)

"Without Creation Magic, everything I put into the tower can't be recovered. Only the metal comprising the tower is being refined, not the metal inside the tower. On top of that, even with all of Yaga's tricks, the refinement's speed is just double that of a regular mine."

"Back to your question about why the Tree kidnapped Solus." Lith inwardly sighed in relief. "I have mostly conjectures as well but I hope that by sharing my memories and pooling up our minds we can figure out the Tree's endgame."

He extended his hand with the palm down, the emerald glow of a mind link faintly visible.

"You can watch as well, guys, but it's not pretty. I'm warning you." Lith said to his family.

"If I have to watch my son risk his life again, I want at least to know the reason." Raaz placed his hand over Lith's, quickly followed by everyone else.

Lith shared Solus' memories from Setraliie after M'Rael had bonded with her. He replayed her interactions with the World Tree and the words they had exchanged.

Then, Lith showed them the battle between the elves and the creature born from his fusion with Solus. This time, gore and violence were a necessity because the white cores needed to witness the same things the Ygdrasill had seen to figure out their thought process.

Once the battle was over, Lith replayed the final part of his last mission with Strider, starting from the arrival of the elf and cutting the memory off before the Zouwu decapitated Lith.

"Gods." Raaz said, his face pale as the blood drained from his face.

The others fared even worse. They were either ghost white or green, doing their best not to puke. Only Tista and the white cores were unaffected.

"Here's what I think." Lith said. "The Yggdrasill isn't interested in the tower. As Silverwing pointed out, if that was their goal, Yaga would have been the best choice."

The Red Mother turned to her friend, hoping she would tell Lith to call her Lochra, but the dislike was clearly mutual.

"The Tree picked Solus because of the fusion and because, unlike Yaga, Solus can be imprinted. It allows them to control her every thought and action without the need to persuade or coerce her. M'Rael used his bond with Solus to use her like a tool and I'm sure that the Tree can do much worse."

"I'm not." Dawn walked out of the hunting cabin, wearing the white linen robes of the Desert. "My brother and I spent quite a lot of time teaching Solus how to attack and defend telepathically from an unwanted host.

"The bonding with M'Rael was quite traumatic and you are not the only one who likes to plan ahead. Didn't she tell you?"

"You're right, Mom. I'm sorry."

A snap of Baba Yaga's fingers opened a Warp Gate from the local elementary magical school to the palace.

"Uncle Lith!" Leria and the triplets tackled his legs, forcing him to conjure an air shield to keep them from hurting themselves.

"Big brother!" Aran just lifted his arms, asking to be picked up.

"Welcome back." They said in unison.

"Thanks, guys." He took Aran and put him on his shoulder. "I missed you a lot. How are you doing?"

The children ignored his question and bombarded him with their own.

"Was the mission hard? Are fairies pretty? Where were the fragments of the Rainbow Compass hidden?"

Lith swallowed a massive "The what now?" and used his best poker face to make up answers to their questions without revealing he was playing it by ear.

"Where is Aunt Solus?" Aran asked.

"The fairies needed her help with restoring their land so she stayed behind." Lith replied. "But she's coming back soon. You know that we can't stay apart for long."

The children were satisfied with the answer and started asking when Solus would return and why she didn't answer her communication amulet.

"Guys, I'm sorry but I'm exhausted. I just got back and I'm starving. Fairies eat nothing but morning dew and honey. Also, I must call Aunt Zoreth. I need her help for one of my experiments."

"That won't be necessary, Featherling." Salaark appeared out of thin air.

She had remained out of the reunion not to intrude in a moment she had not contributed to making but now it was ruined and one more person made little difference.