"Slow down. Slow down." Vela raised a hand, sighing as she tried to fit it all together. "That's an awful lot of information for an operation that lasted a few hours."
Moon didn't hold anything back. He told the team everything about the spire and the commander, including the secret chamber and the treasures it had held. There was no reason to hide it.
The Association was going to learn all of it eventually, he'd signed the transparency clause himself, and full disclosure was part of the deal. If the Association would know, his own team knowing first didn't cost him anything.
"So you're telling me," Vela said slowly, "that the spire runs on... the heart of a true elf."
Moon nodded.
"Yes. I believe so. When I took it out, the whole structure started collapsing almost immediately, and it wasn't the explosives that did it. The only thing that changed was the heart leaving. That can't be a coincidence."
Vela went quiet for a moment, thinking.
"Can we see the heart?"
