"I promised you when you came here," Ashlynn said as she reached into the pouch at her waist for a folded piece of paper along with a few sprigs of tender, young branches and small pinecones taken from a much larger and older tree. "I didn't bring you here to fight in my wars. You've always been honest with me and open about your reasons for leaving the Emerald Kingdom behind."
"I didn't ask you here because I wanted to borrow the power of the Engineer of Destruction," Ashlynn said firmly. "And I'm not asking you to join my coven because I need someone who can bring death to our enemies. Virve and I can do that just fine, as can Heila and Ollie. What we need from you is something else," she said as she unfolded the paper to reveal a sketch of a slender tree shaped like the long blade of a spear or the point of a lance, rising high into the sky.
