25 Eletha pt.3

While Eletha and the other scouts were traveling they heard rumors from barkeeps, patrons, mercenaries and common folk about the demons that have come to invade from hell.

She also heard about how they wiped out an entire village and how the high-king decreed to ban all travel away from the nearest fort from the demon portal.

"They sound like common bandits." Verhima Commented.

"Not part of the Valecan religion but if what we all think about demons are true, wiping out villages seem to be in character." A scout replied.

"The barkeep at the inn said they have only destroyed one village." Says Eletha.

"Not from what I heard from the guards and other travelers, number vary but they've wiped out more than one." The scout replied.

"This is the thing about rumors, there's a glean of truth in them but they are still unreliable." Leena said while brushing aside a strand of hair from her face.

The rumors kept getting grimmer and grimmer as they got closer to the capital. They even saw a hanging of a man who reportedly turned back to the old Valecan Religion in the light of the demon invasion and was reported to the guards who charged him with hearsay and was sentenced to death by the gallows.

Besides the rumors and the hanging, the scouting parties didn't encounter anything else of interest, it even seems like the bandits the usually prey on the road are trying to get back to society (which means giving up information to the guards and joining the army) for the sake of redemption while some were more foolhardy and got bolder.

They eventually reached the Capital and headed to the Palace where they were escorted to an audience with the high-king in his throne room.

When they reached the throne room the high-king was there, sitting with his hands on the armrest of his throne and with a neutral look on his face. They stopped a respectable distance from the high-king and bowed down to show respect.

"Your highness, a delegation from the Enclave have arrived." Their chaperone announced.

"Ah welcome, I am sure that you have heard the news of the demon invasion correct?" The king asked.

"Yes your highness." The scout leader replied.

"Good, now while you might've heard the rumors about their power I can assure you that the Valecan army can take the demons on, but I care for my soldiers and would like to have and edge against them instead of sending many brave men to the grave. The king snapped his fingers and a servant came in with a cart of... metal things.

She wanted to know what those things were but remembered the proper etiquette to only speak when spoken to by the high-king.

"These are from the weapons of the demons, my head mage will explain more." The king motioned for a robed man to come forward.

"Ah yes, these seem to be the residue of whatever the demons use. We have tried to detect what manner of magic they used but have come up empty-handed..."

The king then nodded to the head-mage and looked back to the group. "We will allow you to research these weapons and keep the knowledge if you so wish but, as agreed you must assist us against them when the time calls for it."

"Yes your highness." Was the scout leader's reply.

"Oh and these demons bleed." The king said before dismissing the court.

Later, At The Private Research Room For The Enclave.

Eletha, Verhimia and Leena were left behind by the scout group to research the weapons while they go out and try to assess the foe's strength.

"Yes, It is indeed made out of brass... and there seems to be residue of some sort of fine material albeit in a very small trace." Leena said as she did her magic with the object.

"Have you figured out what it is?" Verhimia asked while studying the small brass objects.

"No... its completely alien to me." She responded.

"Have you found anything Verhimia?" Eletha asked.

"Yes... they all seem to have a dent at the bottom part that were made by something small but with force."

Eletha was an expert in detecting magic and communication magic while Verhimia was an expert in machine-making and Leena being the alchemy expert of the three. Eletha just came from the dungeon where a battle took place between the palace guards and the demons and she retrieved a small sample of the dried demon blood for Leena to investigate while at the same time looking for possible traces of magic that the demons used.

"Alright, give me a moment as I investigate the blood." Leena retrieved the sample that was merely a stain in a clean sheet of cloth and activated her magic. She seems to focus completely on it before deactivating her magic and gave her two friends a confused look.

"They are the same as a human's."