Lady of the Eye and Ear

By Shawn O'Toole

Dame Aylith the High Elf is a questing agent in the Ministry of the Eye and Ear. Adventurous by nature, she uses her prowess to serve and protect those who would live in peace. The dark elves of the Uncanny Court are exiles bent on war and vengeance. When a dark elf ambassador initiates a scheme that would entice the dwarves to neutrality, Aylith is tasked with assassinating him. Unfortunately, she must do so in the City of Peace, thus, she must be discreet. Aylith's problems worsen when her little sprite friend insists on helping.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shawn O'Toole
• Release date: Sep 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301042425

Shawn O'Toole

Shawn O'Toole is an avid reader who expresses his love of literature by writing his own. Though his favorite works are classical fiction, most of his actual reading is historical or scientific non-fiction. He combines his inspirations to create yarns that are fantastic yet believable. He is restless and eager, so one need not wait to delve into his adventures.

Book preview

LADY OF THE EYE AND EAR

by

Shawn O’Toole

SMASHWORDS EDITION

*****

PUBLISHED BY:

Shawn O’Toole on Smashwords

Cover Art Illustrated by:

Shawn O’Toole

Lady of the Eye and Ear

Copyright © Shawn O’Toole 2013

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this story, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Your support and respect for the property of this author is much appreciated.

This story is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

*****

LADY OF THE EYE AND EAR

*****

Chapter 1

Call to Peace

The Isle of Peace was a kingdom where all the races and kingdoms of the Inner World were welcome. Elves, dwarves, gnomes, trolls and even monsters came together and mingled in this land of discourse.

Madam, a short, stout she-dwarf addressed the tall, slender nymph beside her, we have long since made peace with the dark elves. Unless they break our pact with them, we shall not align against them.

They have not made peace with you!

They keep their word and do not tread upon dwarfish land. We are content with a peace such as that.

The elf’s long, willowy form looked so delicate to the broad, solid dwarf. Still, that narrow face, its sharp, perfect features, pointed ears and bright, emerald green, slanted eyes were so weirdly beautiful! Oh, and to hear the elf’s lovely, melodic voice delighted the dwarf as if song.

Aylith was a high elf, blond and fair-skinned. Reverend Mother, her mellifluous voice addressed, they incite the monsters against you!

The she-dwarf snorted, The monsters have always been against us.

"Reverend Mother, we seek, not a pact for war, but rather an alliance for the sake of peace. The enemy has faced your strength and is wary to do so again. They shall trouble neither of us if we are together."

Mother Crystalline sneered, "We have already fought them and their monsters. We shall not forgive that your elves did not join us!"

"Please, Crystalline. I myself fought alongside your people for the sake of your people. What I ask is for the sake of us all."

The she-dwarf sighed. I like you, Dame Aylith: You served my people well. I trust you, but I do not trust the resolve of your people. Convenience is too important to your elves.

Crystalline, I only ask that you ponder my words. The dwarf nodded. Thank you.

Petite, willowy creatures emerged from the woods and hurriedly surrounded them! They were elves and female, but much smaller than Aylith. They were sprites (lesser fays). Each was uniformed in a black, leather corslet worn over a blue, sleeveless body shirt, and black, leather boots and bracers. Their skin was yellowish-brown and the lustrous black hair of each was pulled back and fastened into a bun. These little nymphs were dark elves– and they were soldiers. Each of them wielded a two-edged short sword with a very long grip. They sneered or smirked at the high elf, their green eyes cold with malice.

Crystalline exclaimed, "What is the