Scattered Ashes, Volume Two - Being the Second Installment in the MMOS KOTOS Series

***@ ‎09-15-2016 through 09-20-2016, Sir Talmid wrote:***

### CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

After dragging the incapacitated Mythran around the building's corner behind some barrels, Talmid returned to the door and inspected the doorknob, and seeing no visible locking mechanism or booby traps, gripped the handle.  Interestingly the door opened, unguarded and unlocked, the Dark Mythran being a lock enough to anyone who wasn't a trained knight at least.

Without looking back, Talmid raised a finger and gestured behind him.  Then he slipped into the warehouse.

It wasn't discernible through the boarded up windows, but the forcefield containing the map piece and Lord thedude's other secret articles maintained an ominous present within the building's armored walls.  Ten feet away from the door, separating the warehouse entrance from its aisled goods, the forcefield was tinted red like a Dark Mythran and transparent like glass, like a large window spanning the thirty feet from the ceiling to the floor with a little empty space at the top where the roof arched.

Noting that gap, Talmid figured that grappling hooks could get someone up and over.  But Talmid was on the ground, so they would have to find the forcefield controls instead.  And he had to be watchful, since Vladek's guard could be anywhere.

Turning right, Talmid inched along the wall, and he was keen to dart past aisle openings.  The electrical crackle of the forcefield helped smother his footfalls.  A thick metal pillar, decorated in stone, lay ahead, one of four that supported the warehouse at its corners.  Talmid quickly darted behind it, where he found what he was looking for: a hiding place.  He crouched down, steadied his breathing, and there he waited for Rascus's cue.

On cue, Marty and Rascus left their hiding spot in the bushes and crept towards the warehouse.  Marty couldn't help but feel conspicuous as they ran, their bodies low, across the parking lot.  His feet sounded especially loud slapping on the tarmac, and Marty tried not to run too fast.  Meanwhile Rascus was slipping soundlessly through the air and seemingly much speedier.

"Rascus!" Marty hissed.  "Please wait!"

"Speak up, I can't hear you!" the green knight answered back.  "I mean keep it down, you're being very stealthy!  Good work!"  Then Rascus was around the doorway and into the warehouse.

Five seconds later Marty was inside, and he turned left.  Metal stairs lead up to an observation room, and Marty tried really hard to climb them as noiselessly as possible.  The stairs clanked with each cringeworthy step.  When he reached the top, Marty saw that the door was ajar, and he entered it with bravery.

In the center of the room was a card table, around which four Shadow Knights sat on Samsonite chairs.  Marty sighed in relief to see that they were slumped over a game of solitaire, knocked unconscious, the work of Sir Rascus.  Shelves and desks lined the room's edge, with the windowed wall side having control panels lined with levers, dials, and buttons.

"One of these must control the forcefield." Marty said.

"Disable it then," Rascus said, looking around the small room's dimensions, "and quickly.  Did you know I'm claustrophobic?  This room is too confining for my acrobatics.  I already stubbed my toe."  Rascus gave each Shadow Knight another whack for good measure, while Marty got to work.  He began pulling random levers.

All the lights turned off.  So did the forcefield.

"In there!" Talmid heard a voice yell out, and then a squad of Shadow Knights ran past his hiding place, their flurry of footsteps headed down the way he came, for the observation room.  Talmid heard a shattering of glass followed by several thuds; no doubt Sir Rascus was putting Shadow Knights on the floor.

The knight shook his head.  This wasn't his idea of a stealth mission, but at least the force field was down, and so were the lights.  Steeling himself, he got up and ran around the pillar.  He entered the nearest aisle, the darkness hiding him.  He almost brushed against a standing Shadow Knight at an intersection, but his back was to him so he made it past unnoticed.

Then he saw the platoon.  Sir Talmid barely ducked behind cover before they could see him.  Then he peeked out again.

Ten Shadow Knights and a rotating Barney Bot stood in the center of the warehouse, where everything was cleared out.  They stood in a circle around a pedestal, with a piece of parchment atop it.  Whatever they were guarding, they knew it was important.  It had to be the map piece.  Since they were looking in all directions, there was no secret point of entry, except...

Glancing back at the observation room, Talmid could tell that Rascus and Marty were no longer there.  Then when panning back, he happened to still be looking up, and he saw a green shape climbing along the underside of the roof.

Sir Talmid smiled.  Rascus was getting the drop on the Shadow Knights.

The green knight dropped suddenly, soundlessly, right into the center of the group to take the parchment.  Not even the Barney Bot detected the movement, but it was about to turn on Rascus, who was effectively trapped now, so Sir Talmid chose that moment to run out with a battle cry.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhh!!!" Sir Talmid screamed, charging the group.  The Barney Bot swung away from him, since Marty also ran out from nowhere, and began to shoot rockets at Marty, while the Shadow Knights spun in all directions, confused by the echoing of Sir Talmid's voice in the warehouse.

Sir Talmid bodyslammed the first Shadow Knight into one of his comrades, then engaged another in a sword duel.  Things were blowing up all around the warehouse as the Barney Bot continued to target Marty, who ran as fast as his legs could wherever there was an opening.  The rockets made high pitched whining sounds and detonated on contact with everything they hit, and the Barney Bot was laughing too.  It spun suddenly and Sir Talmid barely jumped over its metal tail, which tripped a few Shadow Knights instead.  Rascus was nowhere to be seen.

"RASCUS!" Sir Talmid called out.  "I hope thou art escaping!"

"Pity me!" a voice called back, and then Sir Talmid saw the green knight lying on the ground, halfway to the nearest aisle entrance, prone and unmoving.  "I appear to have been caught!" he moaned.  A Shadow Knight stood above him with a tazer.

The Barney Bot decided to stop shooting at Marty and hit Sir Talmid on the head instead.

\*\*\*\*

"This was supposed to be a stealth mission." Sir Talmid groaned when he awoke in the observation / control room.

A Shadow Knight, the only one in the room, grabbed the knight's chin.  "You can make this easy for yourself," the dark knight threatened.  "Tell us everything and we won't torture you."  It was the same knight who had captured Rascus, since he held a tazer menacingly.  Or tazers were now standard equipment for Shadow Knights.

Talmid eyed the weapon.  "I am not keen to tell thou anything." he said.

"Good thing you don't have to tell us anything," the guard said, "just give us what you stole."

Talmid frowned.  "Whateth?"

A familiar voice spoke up behind Sir Talmid's head, and he had to crane his neck to see that it was Rascus.  "Give him the map, man!" Rascus said.  "It's hopeless!"

"I don't have-"

"I told them you have the map." Rascus hissed.

"Oh." Talmid looked at the guard again.  He got an idea.  "It's in my pocket."

The guard aimed the tazer at him.  "The green man said you had booby traps.  Take it out yourself."

"You must untie me first." Talmid reminded him.

Glaring at him, the Shadow Knight slowly untied Talmid's right arm.  Once him arm was free, Talmid began to slowly reach into the right pocket of his trousers, while maintaining eye contact with the Shadow Knight, who stared back menacingly.  Talmid's eyes narrowed, so did the Shadow Knight's.

"Hurry up." the guard growled.

"Remember," Talmid explained, "I have to bypass the booby traps."

The staring contest continued until all of a sudden Rascus stood up.  "Thank you!" he exclaimed to the guard with a bow.  "The entire time you have been focused on Sir Talmid, I have been sawing out of the ropes restraining me with the sharp points on my armor.  Now I am free."

The Shadow Knight angrily rushed Rascus, who bent down lower until the Shadow Knight was practically on top of him, then he grabbed the evil Knight's legs and threw him over his back against the wall, knocking him out.

After being untied, Sir Talmid asked, "Do you have the map?"

"I threw it to Marty." Rascus said.

Talmid didn't wait to ponder what action 'threw it' connoted to.  He went for the door.

"Where is Marty?" he asked.

"I don't know."

  The reason only one, also not particularly bright, Shadow Knight was left to guard the two prisoners was because all the other Shadow Knights and the Barney Bot were searching for the third intruder.  Marty, pressing his body as flat as possible, could barely breathe in his hiding spot - not only was he afraid to, he was physically unable to, since he had slid himself under a metal shelving unit in one of the aisles.  Many Shadow Knights had run past his location in the ten minutes since, and he was very, very scared.

He also gripped a paper airplane that had divebombed him in the head.  He had barely looked at it before hiding.

Marty had barely begun to relaxed when he heard footsteps approaching again.  These ones were slower.  Methodic.  Systemic.  Getting closer.

He was too scared to scream about the Barney Bot that was about to get him!

Then a set of hands grabbed his right arm and he was pulled into the open.  Marty squeezed his eyes shut and would have screamed for real if another hand covered his mouth.  Then he realized these hands were soft.

"Your arm was sticking out," Rascus chided him.  The green knight and Sir Talmid were there, and Marty breathed out raggedly, relieved that he was not about to be blown up.  "I'll take the map now."

Marty looked at him, confused.  "I don't have-"

Rascus grabbed the paper airplane from his clenched hand, and somehow it didn't rip.  Looking at it peculiarly, Rascus unfolded it, refolded it, and then threw it.

Talmid wanted to yell at him, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

But he had thrown it not a moment too soon, since then Shadow Knights appeared at the aisle end.  Sir Talmid and Rascus raised their swords, which they had retrieved, and prepared to run but more Shadow Knights appeared at the other aisle end, blocking them off.  They were surrounded for real.

Heavy footsteps thudded towards them, and then the Barney Bot joined the first group of Shadow Knights.  Its eyes glowed red, and it leveled a chaingun at them.  "L0RD VL4D3K H4S G1V3N M3 P3RM1SS10N TO D33ZSTR0Y Y0U." it said.

Now Marty could contain himself no longer and he screamed.

Rascus threw a wad of sticky putty to cover the Barney Bot's 'eyes', but unfortunately not its mouth.

"WH4T TH3 BR1CK." the Barney cursed.

"Hit the deck!" Rascus said and he and Talmid threw themselves to the floor, dragging Marty with them, while the Barney Bot opened fire and blindly smashed all the Shadow Knights that were behind them.  When the Bot ran out of bullets, the three of them turned around and tried not to trip over the smashed Shadow Knights, some of whom were starting to rebuild, and then around the next aisle towards the front of the warehouse.

A Shadow Knight stepped in front of them but was taken down by a swing of Talmid's sword.  The entrance was in sight, twenty yards away, and the other Shadow Knights were ten paces behind them.

Suddenly the lights turned on.  Looking up, Talmid saw that the guard who had captured them was in the observation / control room, and grinning evilly while he stood over the controls that would turn on the force field.

"Turn on the force field!" a chasing Shadow Knight hollered.

"This might hurt!" Rascus warned.

Electrical generators whirred to life, red lines lit up on the walls, and then a forcefield began to descend from the ceiling.  Talmid was in the front and ran under it with room to spare, then he turned around, fearing the worst for his teammates.

The forcefield descended quickly and Rascus grabbed Marty, spinning on his heel and using his momentum to punt Marty through the gap.  Then Rascus slid under the forcefield Indiana Jones-style just before it touched the ground.

Talmid sighed and nearly fell to his knees with relief.  It had been close, but now they were seperated from their pursuers.

"Turn off the force field!" the Shadow Knight screamed.

That was the last they heard of him since Talmid, Rascus, and Marty immediately ran out of the door, and once they were outside they kept running down the Morcian streets for a very, very long time....

*End of Chapter.*

***@ ‎09-22-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

### CHAPTER THIRTY

“So now we have the two map pieces?”

Mattias glowered at the torn map, disregarding Jakyo’s question for a few moments.

“So it would seem.” He eventually said.

Rascus rolled his eyes. “I could have told you that.”

“Yes, well…” Mattias held the two pieces together, as if waiting for something to happen. “It appears to be broken.”

“Can’t you just hold the pieces together, like you’re doing now?” Asked Joe, hesitatingly.

“No, you don’t understand.” Sighed Mattias. “This map has magical properties, and is the only way that we can get the upper hand on TheDude and the advanced technology of his men. But it’s not working…”

“Probably because it was torn.” Reasoned Santis. “The question is, how do we fix it?”

“I do not know for certain.” Confessed Mattias. “But perhaps the one who gave me the map can help you.”

“Who gave you the map?” Pressed Talmid, anxious to get going.

“I’d say… hmm… yes, it was about ten years ago. A young alchemist gave it to me.” Declared Mattias, at which Marty, Joe and Jakyo all gave a start.

“Did you… did you say alchemist?” One of them said, but Mattias waved the question off casually.

“Yes, yes. He was quite an agreeable fellow, actually. In any case, he gave me this map, at least the main portion, a decade or so ago. He told me that if I needed anything, he’d be here.” He pointed at the map. “This village, between Orlan and the Scary Mountains. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to get there on foot.” He sighed, gave up trying to piece the map together through willpower alone, and gave the two portions to Talmid, who stowed them away in his pocket.

“So who wants to go?”

***@ ‎09-24-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### CONTINUING CHAPTER THIRTY

\*\*--\*\*--\*\*

“How come we ended up having to go?” Grumbled Danju.

“It was luck of the draw, Danju.” Pointed out Talmid. “Anyway – “ he coughed, not used to long walks after his stints in prison “- consider yourself lucky. I had to go, again.”

“Well, both the Thingguys went off to rescue Jonna, and Lucas is still recovering.” Said Santis, even his neutral tone taking on a hint of irritation. “You’re the only Knight of the Olde Speech available at the moment.”

“You make it sound like he was chosen for this, and that we didn’t jus’ draw sticks outta my helmet.” Danju grumbled.

“I’m more curious about where we even got all those sticks from, and in such convenient lengths.” Santis countered.

“I coulda broken them anyway.”

Talmid was content to listen to the knights converse, as they reminded him of himself a decade and over ago. It was as if his and his friends’ youthful optimism had been reborn in the souls of these new four warriors. But, eventually, the trail ended and the trio found themselves…

“Where exactly ARE we?” Santis wondered out loud as the knights surveyed what was in front of them.

A cliff, towering high above them into the sky.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be a village here?” Talmid pointed out.

“Probably moved or somethin’. Wasn’t Mattias given the map, like, a decade ago?” Asked Danju.

“Yep.” Confirmed Talmid. Danju sighed.

“Whatever was here musta moved. With TheDude n’ his eyes everywhere, it ain’t surprising.”

“The question is where to?” Declared Santis, forlornly.

“Where too, indeed?” Talmid concurred as he approached the rock face. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about the rock – in fact, it looked *too* natural. Something about it seemed off…

***@ ‎09-24-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### ALSO CONTINUING CHAPTER THIRTY

“They’re here.” Santis stated abruptly, startling his companions.

“What makes you so sure?” Nitpicked Danju. Santis indicated the surroundings with his hands.

“We were told that there would be a village here, and yet when we arrive there isn’t one. Not a trace. Don’t you get it? *Not a trace.*” He emphasised the words. “Even when purposefully destroyed, villages can leave remains that stay standing for decades. Here, there’s no proof that a village was ever built in the first place.”

“So how d’we know they’re here and not somewhere else?”

“I highly doubt this alchemist would have forgotten to make sure his intel was accurate when telling Mattias of all people where he would be situated.” Santis placed his hands on his hips, and began to scan his surrounds. “They’re here, alright.”

Talmid frowned, and turned his attention back to the cliff face, absent-mindedly picking at his tattered jacket as he did so.

“So how are we supposed t’get their attention, anyway?” Danju grumbled. “Where are we supposed to knock? I’m not seeing any doors.”

His question was answered, however, when there was a low grinding sound. A tiny, almost completely inconspicuous hole appeared in the cliff face. Inside it appeared to be just more dirt, but Talmid peered closer nonetheless.

“We’re not with TheDude.” He stated. “My name is Talmid, and I am a Knight of the Olde Speech. We wish to speak to the alchemist who gave our ally, Mattias, a map ten years ago.”

“Uh, Talmid? Why are you talking to a wall?”

***@ ‎10-07-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### STILL CONTINUING CHAPTER THIRTY, I WOULDN'T SAY I'M NEARLY DONE YET

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, a far louder grinding could be heard as a portion of the cliff face first slid back, and then slid open, revealing a tunnel and a pair of stairs that descended into the unknown.

“Do we follow?” Danju spoke.

“Follow, we do.” Confirmed Talmid and led the way into the darkness.

“You ever wonder how long this stuff takes ta make?” Wondered Santis, out loud, as the trio continued to walk with only the odd flickering wall light preventing them from being in total darkness.

“About ten years, perhaps?” Danju said with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“I would never have guessed.” Talmid decided to join in, allowing himself a smile as he did so.

“Ain’t a wonder they call you “the smart one”.” Santis tacked on.

“At least I can consider myself renowned for my intellect.” Declared Danju, his words haughty but a sly grin on his face nonetheless. “Physical strength is far more common, I have found.”

Instantly, the passageway was filled with noise as Santis, outraged, tried to defend himself and his strength against Danju’s words. Laughing, Talmid continued to put one foot forward in front of the other, wondering if perhaps there was still hope after all.

***@ ‎10-10-2016 though*** ‎***10-23-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### SA SA SA

\*\*--\*\*--\*\*

Talmid himself wasn’t sure how long he had been walking in the almost-darkness, Santis and Danju as his back. Time seemed to become irrelevant and he couldn’t help but wonder what he was leading the other knights into. His doubts were brought to the forefront of his mind when an engraved metal door began to loom out of the darkness, blocking the bath.

“Who wants to knock?” Santis queried. Talmid gave a weary sigh.

“We’re not drawing straws.” He declared, before moving forward to knock.

It was the voice that prevented him from doing so.

“Don’t try to run.” It echoed out around the passageway. “Put your hands above your head.”

Talmid saw the glint of steel out of the corner of his vision, and heard a gun cocking behind him, and decided to listen, stretching his tender arms into the air. To his sides, he saw the others doing the same.

“You say you’re working with Matthias?” The speaker continued, stepping into the light of the nearest torch. Turning his head, Talmid could see a figure slightly shorter than him, clad in jeans and a waist-length jacket, open to reveal a red shirt similar to his. The girl (for it was a she) also had shoulder-length choppy hair the colour of blood, and a pair of bottle green eyes that were currently staring directly at him. Also pointing in Talmid’s direction was the pistol she held in her hands, a line of sight positioned between his eyes.

“Yes.” Talmid’s voice was a course whisper. “We have…” He trailed off, and instead drew the two pieces of map from his pocket. The girl’s eyes widened.

“That old thing?” She questioned. “Let me see.”

Grimacing, Talmid offered no resistance as she reached forward and plucked the paper from his hand, and watched as she frowned, peering at the torn paper in great detail whilst still aiming her gun at him.

“Well?” Santis exclaimed after several long moments had passed. She shrugged and pocketed the map.

“Sure, I guess I believe you.”

“Much appreciated.” Danju nodded.

“So why did you come here, anyway?” She continued.

“We need to fix the map.” Explained Danju. “If we have any hope of standing against TheDude-“

“So, you want to fight TheDude?”

“That is the idea.” Admitted Talmid. The girl grinned.

“Well, finally!” She exclaimed. “We’ve been waiting ten years for this!” Without explaining anything further, she shoved past the knights and slammed a clenched fist against the door.

“Yo! Al!” She hammered on the metal again. “They’re cool! Open the door, already!”

The door creaked on its hinges and began to swing open, prompting the girl to push the knights backwards. Inside, Talmid could see the beginnings of what looked like a huge cavern.

“What even IS this?” Santis gasped, echoing Talmid’s thoughts.

“Just our little hidey-hole.” The girl grinned and began to march through a final tube of rock before stepping out onto a metal platform, followed by the others. She flung her arms out wide.

“Welcome!” She proclaimed. “To the guild!”

Behind her was definitely one of the more unconventional hideouts Talmid had seen in his time on Militiregneum. An enormous gulfing cavern opened up behind their apparent guide, the blackened earth illuminated by the golden light of hundreds of torches and lanterns. Mounds of earth, with what looked to be doors and windows, rose up from the ground and out of the walls, with stairs and ladders connecting them to each other and ensuring that nothing found itself cut off.

“What is all this?” He heard Danju exclaim from behind him.

“I told you!” The girl exclaimed. “It’s the guild!”

***@ ‎11-09-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### CHAPTER PART SOMETHING

“That ain’t a description.” Santis muttered darkly, but she paid him no heed.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to Iamos.” She indicated with her hand and began to walk through the almost maze of structures.

“Who?”

“You said you wanted the map fixed. He’s probably the only person who can do that. He’s also kinda in charge here, so… you know…”

“Is he the alchemist?” Talmid cut in, not wanting to be led on a wild goose chase.

“Well, I don’t know about “the”, but he definitely is A alchemist.” The girl revealed, before walking on.

Talmid nodded. “Good a place as any to start.” He turned to Santis and Danju. “Come on.”

\*\*--\*\*--\*\*

Stones and clods of dirt crunched underneath Talmid’s feet as he walked, with the red-headed girl leading him and Santis and Danju at his back. Groups of muscle-bound men kept passing them by, deep in their own conversations. Talmid himself couldn’t stop looking around, puzzled by one question.

“So… how was this place built?” He ventured.

“Alchemy.” Came the answer.

“And how long, exactly, did that take?” Picked up Danju.

“I don’t know… I guess it was a month before everything was finished.”

“A month?” Santis repeated in surprise as Talmid surveyed the enormous cavern in a new light. “No way.”

***@ 11-09-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### CHAPTER PART SOMETHING PART II

“Yes way.” The girl declared. “Not a lot of people know that alchemy is actually really useful for a lot of stuff.”

“Not tha’ we’d hear anything.” Santis pointed out. “Everyone I know thinks that alchemy’s cursed, or somethin’. Certainly, they wouldn’ like ta learn more about it.”

“Well, that’s their problem. Alchemy’s just a thing, like science, or bioelectrical manipulation, or… magic.”

Talmid noted the hesitation in her voice as she said this final word. “What was with that hesitancy?”

She shrugged. “Everything has a dark side. Magic isn’t an exception.”

Only then did Talmid notice that she was unconsciously clutching her shoulder with her free hand as she was speaking, fingernails digging into the leather of her clothing. A brief time passed before she seemed to shake herself out of the depressive state. When she spoke again the energy to her voice had returned, albeit slightly forced.

“Anyways, we should be just about here.”

She stopped in front of a door build into the wall at the far end of the cavern, knocking six times in a pattern.

A hoarse voice called from within – “Akane?”

***@ 11-27-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### CHAPTER 327

“Yo boss.” The girl – Akane – called from without. “Brought some visitors for you.”

There was a long sigh.

“Show them in.” The alchemist eventually spoke.

Akane’s first reaction, apparently, was to kick open the door and gesture with an arm, giving a sarcastically haughty bow as she did so.

“After you, gents.” She chirped.

“Much appreciated.” Croaked Talmid as he stepped through the doorway, Santis and Danju behind him.

Once inside, they were greeted by…

Not whom they had been expecting.

The first notable thing about the alchemist was how terrifyingly *young* he looked – for all he had heard, Talmid had expected a wizened old man to greet them, but this person couldn’t have been older than thirty, some ten years younger than Talmid himself. He carried himself like a young man, too, standing up straight as the trio entered, and staring directly at them. A light brown overcoat was hung on his shoulders like a cape, and trailed down to his shins, flapping slightly as he rose. Underneath that, Talmid caught sight of a worn purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, with some kind of pendant hung around the alchemist’s neck.

A mop of scraggly dark brown hair, grown out over time (perhaps due to a lack of scissors), hung in messy bangs over his forehead, almost completely concealing the long thin line of a scar that marred the skin above his right eyebrow. His eyes, a gunmetal blue, were the only part of him that looked as old as Talmid had expected. There were prominent bags under them, and were partially obscured by a pair of half-moon glasses that sat crooked on his nose.

The alchemist’s brow furrowed.

“And what business do you have here?”

***@ 12-12-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### STILL CHAPTER 2...8? IDEK

"Important business."  Danju replied, doffing his helmet.

"We've come to talk about fighting against TheDude." Croaked Talmid. "And... about fixing this."

Akane looked up, and gave a start.

"Oh, right!" She bounded over to the alchemist, who wore a look of mild exasperation as she approached. On the desk he had previously been sitting at, pages and pages of handwritten notes lay in seemingly unorganized piles, rolls of parchment on the ground and piled high on the wooden surface. A single candle lit the surroundings, and without the light shining in from outside the room, it would have been rather dark indeed.

"Look what they found!" She exclaimed, holding out the map pieces to the alchemist, who raised an eyebrow.

"Both of them?" He mused, looking up at Talmid for an explanation.

"We broke into a compound to retrieve one piece, and Matthias had the other one."

"Mm." The alchemist nodded. "Okay, I see."

"We need the map intact. Without it, we won't stand a chance against TheDude's forces. This is the kind of advantage we've been waiting for for fifteen years." Danju urged. "Can... can you fix it?"

The alchemist looked up again. "Yes, and also no."

There was a brief silence.

"Huh?" Barked Santis.

"Technically, I CAN fix the map." The alchemist explained, taking the pieces from Akane and handing them back to Talmid, who was shocked to find them now joined seamlessly together.

"How did you-"

"Alchemy, but don't start celebrating just yet." The alchemist deadpanned. "The map works through a magical enchantment. I can fix the physical map the enchantment is bound to, but I can't actually restart the enchantment."

"So... we came all this way fo' nothin'?" Santis growled.

"I wouldn't say that." Counted the alchemist. "Personally, I doubt the enchantment could have been repaired without the map being one whole piece, so you didn't come here for nothing."

***@ 01-02-2017, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:***

#### aarsjdghaklsdjgjkash;g

"Don't look down!" Akane chided the trio of knights. "You made progress!"

"Precisely." The alchemist agreed. "Now, fixing the enchantment... well, it might not be so simple. You see, from what I've gathered - and feel free to correct me if I muck something up - the map was, ah, created by a man known as the Grey Wizard. When he wrote the Book of Morcia, the map was one of it's pages. The trouble is, that was a long time ago. The main question we now face is who, if anyone, has the magical capabilities to repair the enchantment."

"So there's a "we" now?" Talmid voiced. "Does that mean... you're with us?"

"That, it does." Voiced the alchemist. "I've been organising this resistance of mine for a while. It's about time I put it to use." He smiled for the first time. "I also have friends in high places."

"So what's the plan?" Akane asked.

"We're going with them, Akane." The alchemist revealed. He turned back to his table. "Just give me a moment to pack some of my more relevant research, and then we shall convene with the rest of their group."

"And what about the rest of the guys here?"

"They'll stay here, until I say otherwise. Our men are nothing if not self-sufficient."

"I... ok." Akane nodded, before turning to the assembled knights. "Gents, mind giving us just a moment."

"Of course." Danju nodded, and the trio stepped outside the room, shutting the door behind them. After hearing the wooden rattle that signaled privacy, Akane turned to the alchemist.

"You think this is a good idea?"

He nodded. "We've been hiding long enough. It's about time I do what I actually set out to do."

"We don't have to go through with this."

"Frankly, I think I've contracted cabin fever. This will be good for me, if nothing else."

"Yeah, but I..." Akane lowered her head, frowning. "I'd rather stay."

The alchemist sighed. "You know as well as I do that we can't compromise. I'm sorry..."

"But your word is law."

CHAPTER END

### Chapter XXXI

"Dewin Brentis?", King Matthias seemed skeptical. "Never heard of him. If he was so good, so that he could mend the enchantment wouldn't he be more known?".

After Iamos -and his friends- had been welcomed by Matthias, they had begun discussing the matter of restoring the map's enchantment. Akane and two other of Iamos's companions named Daiyu and Horatio were occupying a wall of the room, watching the others talk.

"I wish Strange Odd Shadow were here", Talmid said.

"Dewin is not very well known, but he's learnt from the best. He apprenticed under the Grey Wizard himself", Matthias and his four knights seemed impressed. "If anyone knows how the enchantment of the map works, he'll be the one. But who is Strange Odd Shadow?".

"You might have heard of him with other names. Wiz Ardon. The Peculiar Enchanter", Talmid replied.

"Doesn't ring a bell".

"He was a magician we met during the Syntax War and who helped us then. However, we haven't heard news of him ever since he sneaked inside thedude's castle fifteen years ago".

Rascus, Danju, Jayko and Santis listened curiously as well. They hadn't been there to know of the Peculiar Enchanter or the other events during the Grammar War, though they must have heard some things from Matthias.

"Wasn't he called the Wandering Wizard, too, in the past?" Matthias wondered to himself.

Iamos heard him, though, "Oh yes, I've heard of the Wandering Wizard. He visited Cheinir many years ago and left it with quite the reputation. If he's lost, though, he won't be of any help. I know where to look for Dewin Brentis".

"You said he was the Sorcerer's apprentice", Matthias spoke. "No one knew the Sorcerer's hideouts, though, and I expect the same goes for his apprentice. So, how do you know where to find him?".

"I met a man once. He was from Britay and he was looking for a way to make technology work again. He was searching for a wizard to help him. And he found Dewin. Don't ask me how. I don't know. But I talked Morgan into telling me how to find him".

"And what is he like?" Jayko asked.

"I have no idea".

"What?" Santis, Talmid and Matthias exclaimed in sync.

"I never visited him. I did not see how it would be any use to me at the time. I don't need magic. I have alchemy".

"Then, why did you ask the Britayan?" Marty wanted to know.

"Because I thought it might turn out to be useful information later. And it did".

"And you remember the way?" Jayko asked.

Iamos raised his eyebrow and looked at Jayko slightly menacingly, conveying his message in this way. Jayko stepped back a little, looking at where Iamos's left hand and half the forearm were missing. He tried not to show it, but he was actually a little scared of the alchemist.

"Are we done discussing this?" Iamos asked in a tad weary manner.

He did not get a reply, because at that time another person entered the room. It was the Guardian.

"Excuse me if I am interrupting", he started, "but I am coming with some news".

"Good or bad?" Talmid asked his hand immediately touching the hilt of his sword.

"Both. Your friend is in good enough a state to walk. He is mostly recovered, but you shouldn't push him just yet". At that point, Talmid noticed Luke appear from behind the Guardian and smile at him weakly. "However, the Paradox Rogues have been tipped of your presence. You have five minutes at most".

No one lost time to ask the Guardian how he knew or why he hadn't said that first. They all rushed to draw weapons or grab something.

"Quickly, through the back door”, the Guardian prompted them.

However, as Talmid began to make for the back door like the others, someone's hand prevented him by gripping his arm. For a moment, he thought the Rogues had come early, but it was only the Guardian.

“A moment please, Sir Talmid”.

Talmid wondered what could be so important, but he stayed.

“About your friend, Luke. The illness he had... it was not natural. It was caused by humans. Someone poisoned him”.

The Guardian confirmed a suspicion that had passed through his mind. He thought of the two Thingguys. Could one of them be a traitor? It was very possible, but Talmid couldn't tell a difference between them. He couldn't just decide one of them was an impostor. And as his feelings for his friend Thingguy warmed his heart, he couldn't imagine either of them betraying him. It probably wasn't that.

“There are still some Rogues coming this way”, the Guardian reminded him.

“Oh right. I'll keep this in mind”.

He started running, but he stopped at the doorway and looked back. The Guardian had stayed put.

“Aren't you coming?”.

“I'll stay here to hold them off”.

Suddenly, someone banged on the door. The small minifigure that helped the Guardian appeared and looked at them worriedly.

“Go!” the Guardian said and Talmid began to run again.

He caught up with the others outside the backyard.

“Where have you been?” Luke asked.

“The Guardian wanted to tell me something. Let's go”.

They only got to walk one block before the Paradox Renegades appeared. Talmid and Luke assumed fighting positions, but before they could do anything two square plates of paved road and soil emerged fro the ground and sandwiched the Rogues on the walls of the houses on either side of them. One single Rogue escaped, but Horatio, the black-haired fairly tall man, seized him and then launched him away.

The knighs' mouths were gaping open, but they did not cease their run. They all moved forward leaving the cursing Rogues behind them. They met some more Rogues later, but again they were able to deal with them easily. Eventually, they reached Orlan's wall. The gates had been closed, as the guards had been informed of their presence in the city, but Iamos just made a square hole in the wall and they passed through it. Then, when a dozen of Rogues and Shadow Knights made to follow them, Iamos restored the square piece to the wall and blocked their passage.

Until the gates had been opened again, the pursued band of people had gotten too far to catch up to. Yet, there were still other measures of dealing with them. A machine gun, somewhere on the wall, started firing and bullets rained on them. Their armour, those of them who had any, was useless to them and the projectiles were too fast even for Iamos's alchemy to fully protect them. Joe, Danju and Akane were injured, but none of them too seriously.

Soon enough they got out of the gun's range and then Matthias made them stop.

“We need to split up!” he said. “If we're all together, they'll find us with ease. Besides, I can't wander around Morcia, while you have to”, he looked at Talmid and Luke.

“The Lost Void is the nearest place to hide and that's where they'll look first”, Danju spoke wincing at the pain of his injured leg.

“We should avoid that by all means”, Matthias said.

“The magician lives on the Scary Mountains. That's where we're headed” Iamos said.

“Very well”, Matthias spoke, “then the best thing I've got to do is go south. Santis, Danju and Rascus will come with me. Anyone else who may wish can do so, too. Jayko, you stay with the others, so that you may lead them to my hiding place, if the map is not fixed”.

“I think we'd better stick with Sir Talmid and Sir Lucas”, Marty said to Joe and Joe agreed.

“And I suppose the rest of you will follow Iamos”, Daiyu and Horatio nodded, the former's eyes darting to the alchemist; Akane stood up from the ground looking perfectly well, some red steins being the only sign that she had ever been hit. An inspection of the terrain under her feet revealed a few bullets discarded around them.

“Well, I suppose I'll have to join Iamos”, she said.

“I'm pretty sure I saw you get hit”, Santis noted with surprise. “How...?”.

“Would you prefer me to be wounded?” she asked.

“Well, no”, Santis awkwardly replied as the conversation didn't go as he could have foreseen.

“Long story. The short version is it doesn't take just a few bullets to smash me”.

“Very well. This is goodbye then. I wish you the best of luck. Our hearts go with you”, Matthias interrupted wanting to get started on this journey as soon as possible.

“May ye be safe”, Sir Talmid replied.

They spoke words of farewell to each other and then Matthias with his three companions departed for the south.

“We should get going, too”, Iamos said. “Their technology will bring them here faster than we can walk”.

“I can hardly walk”, Joe said with his hands on his leg

“We can't tend wounds, yet” Talmid spoke. “It's not safe”.

“Let me help you with that”, Horatio said and lifted Joe on his shoulders with ease.

“Let's go then”, Luke uttered.

And so they began their journey towards the Scary Mountains as fast as they could go with Luke having just recovered from a serious poisoning and Joe being carried by Horatio. There weren't many woods in that area of Morcia to make for cover, so they were constantly looking behind them lest thedude's minions would appear suddenly and sneak up on them. For now, though, no one came.

“Wait a second”, Luke said after he had gotten up to date and Jayko and Marty stopped walking, “No, keep walking. It's just... aren't these the Athelas Mountains you're leading us to?”.

“No”, Iamos replied, “They're the Scary Mountains”.

“And if those are the Scary Mountains, then where are the Athelas Mountains?” Talmid got into the conversation.

“Actually, I think these are the Fire Hills”, Jayko added.

“No, no these can't be the Fire Hills”, Joe talked from Horatio's back. “These must be the Footsore mountains”.

“You're wrong. This is where we light our beacons to send messages to the Aquilones, so these can't be other than the Fire Hills”.

“But these are not hills, they're mountains”.

“I think if you tried to climb them, your feet would get very sore”.

“They're quite spooky, though, aren't they?”.

“Danju would know to tell us”.

Iamos lost his interest in the conversation very soon, but Daiyu staying right beside him and Horatio only half a stride of his behind them were looking over their shoulders at the knights who were arguing on the name of the mountains. Akane didn't looked back, but she was listening.

Daiyu turned to Iamos and said in a quiet voice, “It's almost like the people who formed this place's geography forgot to communicate with each other”.

Iamos gave a short laugh, “True”.

Long afterwards, when the conversation about the mountains' name had long lost the privilege of new arguments and thus slowly died down, Luke turned to Jayko.

“Jayko, tell me. How did Matthias find you four?”.

“Find us? He didn't find us. Our families have been serving the kingdom for hundreds of years”.

“Then, how come we didn't meet any of you or your relatives at the time of the Syntax War”.

“Oh, it's a long story, you know, and I quite don't understand all of it. We are actually much older than we look. We were at our youth thirty years ago”.

“What?” Talmid and Luke exclaimed.

“Yes, you see we were there to see Vladek first betray King Matthias. Did you know he actually kidnapped him and then held a tourna... I'm getting out of topic. Well, we fought Vladek and defeated him more than once. But in the end he used some kind of magic that had us sleeping for years without aging. Then, four years ago the sleep curse was broken and we woke up at the Guardian's doorstep. Why did it break? Beats me. But it happened. I'm still confused with all the changes, but I'm getting used to it”.

“Wow!” Luke said and Talmid whistled.

“I know”.

They had finally reached an area where more trees grew and they felt safer at their cover. However, at the same time Talmid felt that there was something wrong about the fact no one had pursued them, yet. They had been on an uncovered area walking with moderate speed and not too far away from a place swarming with their enemies. Why had no one appeared to look for them? He finally decided to share his feelings of uneasiness.

“Hey guys, don't you think it's weird that no one has come after us, yet?”.

“Why? Do you want them to come after us?” Joe replied.

“No, but...”.

“I think we should be glad we haven't had any encounters with them, yet”, Marty cut him off.

“Yeah, but don't you think that it'd be more logical if they'd searched everywhere and thus come after us?”.

“We've had the luck of outsmarting them. Does it really matter?”.

“Actually, I agree with Talmid”, Iamos talked from the front. “They can't be that stupid not to have searched the area. And if they haven't appeared yet, it can only mean one thing?”.

“Which is?” Jayko asked.

“That they're planning something even worse”.

However, no sooner had he finished saying that, a Barney-Fighter appeared from the distance and flew above them in staggering speed, barely slower than sound allowing them a two-second warning. They all fell down, hoping they wouldn't be seen. The starfighter passed by them and did not return, but maybe that was, because of its momentum.

Either way, once they reckoned it was safe, they got up and started running away from that spot.

“Look like you jinxed it”, Jayko said.

“They're here now, are you happy?” Marty asked Talmid.

“I wouldn't say that's the word that describes my current mood”.

“Shut up and keep running”, Luke exclaimed.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

While the heroes can't be sure what exactly is happening, we, as outsiders, have the ability to look a little further away and have a peak at the activities of a woman dressed in the red and black sorceress's clothes. The woman had stooped, examining the ground carefully. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for, because she got up and looking towards the Scary Mountains -or is it Athelas Mountains? Or Fire Hills? Or Footsore Mountains?-, through the trees she said, “That way”.

None of the Paradox Rogues accompanying her, dared to question her, even though some of them might have wondered why the Knights of the Olde Speech would head for the mountains. They would not dare do so on the average day with Miss Kull, but lately she seemed very grumpy and cross. From time to time she would mutter to herself, “Did all these things have to happen after the wizardboy escaped?”. And so they just followed her.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

It took them a few days to reach the foot of the mountain on foot. There had been more incidents of Barney-Fighters or helicopters passing over them, but nothing more exciting than that had happened on these occasions. The uneasy feeling remained, but at least now they'd approached their destination. Iamos led them to the Ghost Passages and from there they began their ascent on the mountains.

“Brings back memories, doesn't it?” Luke said as they proceeded in the narrow snake-like path.

“Yeah. Those were the good times. Though they're a little fuzzy in my mind. For instance, I can't remember whether Hycra was there or not”.

“I know what you mean. It's like how I can't remember how Sir Sharp survived from that gatlin gun attack by Vladek”.

“We were so young, then”, Talmid said in a nostalgic way. “And we hadn't known pain, yet”.

“It did not last long, did it”.

“Reality had to swoop in and mess everything up”.

“You know, Talmid, I'm so glad to see you alive. I thought we'd lost you that day on the Strait”.

“I thought I was lost, too. And then I thought I'd be imprisoned forever. But here we are and fate has given us a second chance. I do not intend to fail this time, you know. I have failed the people of Morcia too many times. And I'm tired of getting captured all the time”.

“Do you think there are more Knights alive out there?”.

“I'm counting on it. If you, Thingguy and Sharp managed to get away, I'm sure more of them did. And with this map, we can find them and assemble them again. We will no longer be scattered”.

“Let's see if we can get it fixed first”.

“I met Squeaky once, you know”.

“Really, he's alive? But where did you meet him? I thought you'd been captured all these fifteen years”.

“Not all. I escaped once. About ten years ago. I managed my best to stay free and rally a movement against thedude, but alas, I got captured again. During the time, I met Squeaky. I found him amongst some scavengers”.

“I did not know that”.

“I guess there are many things that happened we don't know about, because thedude silenced the news”.

“Yeah, for all we know the Noodle Brothers could have attacked some random farm house or something as ridiculous as that”.

They laughed and continued walking. At nightfall, they camped, and then the next day they left the Ghost Passages. They were now walking in pathless ground and even walking itself was sometimes so hard, they had to concentrate wholly on that and there was little talking. Through dense bushes scratching their arms and legs, rocky areas, where you had to watch not to trip or else you might cause severe damage to your head, narrow passages between a cliffside and a ledge, through ascent and through descent, through trees and through open areas, they followed Iamos, who would from time to time search for a sign, unknown to all others.

At some point, Iamos got out in an opening on a rock, protruding from the mountain and began looking around searching for something. As the others appeared behind him from the trees, all of them in a state of untidyness, they looked at Iamos expectantly. However, Iamos remained silent, examining the landscape below, the rocks in front of him. He did not do anything else for a long time.

The others disappointed by the delay and gradually bored by the lack of activity, they sat aroundIamos on the safest spots -though that didn't say much. Talmid and Luke would repeatedly look into the forest behind them, fearing Paradox Rogues might appear any time. The delay was making them very nervous. Hopefully, if anyone followed them they'd have more trouble than they did passing through the harsh wilderness.

Akane suddenly got up and examined Iamos, who looked like he did three hours ago.

“Well”, she said. “What are we looking for?”.

Iamos did not reply immediately.

“A sign you wouldn't spot easily. It takes more than just looking. It's easier to find for someone who's learnt in the arcane arts”.

“Well, your alchemy doesn't seem to make it any easier for you?”.

“Akane, you know as well as I do that this stuff is complicated. Just trust me, and don't distract me, okay? I think I've got it, but I can't be sure if I can't focus”.

They all turned their heads at him almost with excitement. They anticipated the moment he'd speak and Iamos was slightly annoyed knowing all these people were hanging from his words.

“Yeah. It's that way”, he finally said pointing to one of the neighbouring mountain tops, seemingly no less ordinary than any other.

“How are we to get there?” Jayko asked.

“We'll have to go back in the forest and make an arch. Unless you can fly, as the hawk on your crest would suggest”.

There were several moans. No one wanted to go back into these dense woods, with roots sticking out everywhere and sharp branches threatening them at their every move.

“We're close now. So, I suggest that in you go”.

“How exactly did you see that this was the right direction?” Joe asked.

“Even when most subtle, unnatural forces leave their signs. When you have studied such things as magic or alchemy -sometimes even science- it is easier to discern the prints of such forces, whatever their nature. The mountain top doesn't look it, but I think there's magic done on it”.

The final part of the journey ensued. They got through the forest and started a downward march. Soon enough, they were going up again, climbing one of the mountain tops they'd be viewing before. They had to go up and down or around some more tops before they reached their final destination.

Even there, though, they had to look for the entrance to Dewin Brentis's home. If you asked any one of them, except Iamos, they'd say the summit was absolutely normal and uninhabited. As night approached, it got even more chilly than it already was that autumn day high up on a mountain. Many of them began to shake involuntarily.

“Iamos. Can't we do this any faster?” Luke asked looking at Daiyu and Jayko who looked specially affected by the cold.

“We are looking for an entrance that is invisible to sight, indeed, to all of our senses. I'm doing what I can. Even Morgan said that I'm on my own finding a way in”.

“Much help he was”, Akane commented.

“Don't you think you should have mentioned this earlier?”.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not”.

And then as suddenly as that, the ground opened up below their feet and consumed them all. And this was the end of all of them... Only it wasn't. Instead the fellowship ended up in a barren room of stone walls, not all of which were entirely vertical or straight.

“Greetings, everybody”, a voice said. “Welcome to my humble abode. Now, tell me how the brick did you find your way here and what do you want from me?” the voice continued with more hostility.

Talmid tried to locate the source of the voice, but the ceiling had closed up above them and now the room was dark. He finally made out the figure of someone standing up, on the contrary with everybody else who were on the floor after their fall.

“We are the Knights of the Olde Speech and friends. We come here beseeching thy help in a problem that hath occurred to us”, he spoke.

“The Knights of the Olde Speech, ha? I've heard of you. How did you find me?”.

“A man named Morgan was kind enough to tell me how to reach this place”, Iamos replied.

“Oh yes. I remember him. Quite an unreasonable fellow; he wanted me to undo my master's enchantment. And he was supposed to keep the secret of my location. Nevermind that now. What exactly is your problem?”.

“This is our problem?” Talmid said conjuring the time-worn map out of his backpack.

Talmid expected the magician to ask what was wrong with it, but instead he exploded in a fit of rage.

“What have you done to it? You hooligans! How dare you defile the makings of my master! Where did you find that? Why did you rip it from the book? Why did you break the enchantment?” he bellowed in a high-pitched voice.

“We didn't do this!” Luke responded to the accusations, forgeting all notions of olde speech. “This is how we found it. Actually, it was ripped in two when we found it, but we mended that”.

“That's hardly helpful considering that this won't fix the enchantment of the map at all? Did you think that magic is that simple?”.

“No. That's why we came to thee. We wish thee, if thou couldst oblige us, to restore the enchantment. We need it to fight thedude”.

“thedude you say? I thought it was impossible. He's already gotten too powerful”.

“Not if all who oppose his rule unite against him. Wilt thou offer thy assistance?”.

“I'd be gla-”, he started saying, but then he seemed to remember something and stopped. “On one term. I get to keep the map”.

“You know we need it, right?” Jayko asked.

“Yes, of course. I mean that after you use it, I keep the map, whether you succeed or not, you need to make sure it comes back to me. It belonged to my master after all”.

Talmid considered this for a while. It would be fine if they'd kept the map, but it was honest to give it back to Dewin. Besides, if they defeated thedude, they'd probably not need it anymore. He shared his views with the others and they agreed.

“Fine”, Luke finally said. “'tshall be as thou sayest”.

“Good. Shall we move to a more comfortable room?”.

“Thought you'd never ask”, Akane replied.

They all followed Dewin into some sort of living room. Being underground and cave-like made it look a tad unusual. The magician lighted some crystal balls that shed sufficient light to the room. The minifigures finally had a chance to examine him more closely. He had shoulder-length straw-coloured hair and was wearing square glasses that framed his brown eyes. He was a rather short fellow and his robes seemed to strech a little in the area of the abdomen. He must have been in his mid-thirties, but the expression on his face made him look as if he still felt like a teenage apprentice.

“Which ones of you are KotOS?” the magician asked.

“I am Sir Talmid and this is Sir Luke. We have also met Sir Thingguy, but he's on a mission currently”, Talmid said, thinking it was unnecessary getting into the trouble of explaining about the double Thingguys.

“So, the three Founders of KotOS have been joined anew. That explains the recent peak of carrier pigeon activity”.

“What do you mean?”.

“They are sending messages about your meeting”.

“No one saw us”.

“You will be surprised how many unseen eyes and ears the public has. Now, give me the map. I need to examine it more closely”, Dewin said.

Talmid handed him the yellowed piece of parchment and Dewin received it with ritualistic awe and care, a look of admiration on his face.

“So, can you fix it?” Luke asked.

“I have no idea”.

“What?!” several of the group exclaimed.

“I'm not as good at magic as master was -he always used to say I was barely mediocre- and I don't the enchantment so well. If only I had the other pages... You haven't had any of those, do you?”.

“What other pages?” Talmid enquired.

“You don't know? This map is but a page of the Book of Morcia, written by none other than master. The book would contain some pages about the map's enchantment, which would be very helpful in mending it. Well, not necessarily, considering pages have been known to have been removed from it”.

“Don't you have the Book since it was your master's?” Luke asked.

It was Jayko who answered, “No. The Book of Morcia is in possession of Vladek. King Matthias owned it once, but it was stolen”.

“You are misinformed, it seems”, Dewin replied. “The Tales of Sir Leos, speak of how he acquired the Book through many dangers for Morcia's sake, thousands years ago. That's how Matthias got it. Yet, the Book *was* held by Vladek, but no more. After one his defeats he seemed to have lost it, because it later appeared in the hands of a rich Aquilone collector”.

“Shall we find him then?” Marty asked.

“Alas, you'd be too late. The collector was robbed long ago. Disrespectful, ignorant thieves who had no idea the worth of what they held defiled the Book, for pages of it were found lying in the emptied vault afterwards. To this day, I have managed to acquire three of its pages, after a lot of research and at a great cost. The major part of the Book, however, remains lost to all of us. No one heard of it ever since”.

“So, what do we do now?” Joe asked. “Did we get through all of this at vain?”.

“Now, now, don't be discouraged, yet”, Dewin replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose, as they had slipped down during his rage against the thieves. “I might be able to do something. I still have the Book of Ankoria after all, though it contains quite different magic in it. Give me a day and I'll tell you what I can do. Until then, I say you should go to sleep. I'm sure it must have been very tiring coming here and it's night now”.

Iamos and Daiyu -their arms next to each other, their fingertips slightly bent, so that they touched each other's- chose one of the most spacious rooms and Akane and Horatio occupied it with them. Martin, Joe and Jayko shared another room. Luke and Talmid slept together.

Or not... Luke slept. Talmid remained awake, various thoughts swirling in his head, each of them fighting to occupy his mind. Finally, after two hours of restlessness, Talmid decided he needed some fresh air. He got up from his bed and silently walked out of the room, so as not to wake Luke. Still, he accidentally stepped on his scabbard, which he had carelessly left on the floor, close to his bed. In response, Luke mumbled, “Mffgridmtrans”, in his sleep, but did not wake.

As Talmid wandered about the cavernous halls of Dewin's home, he wondered why would a lonely hermit have such a big dwelling. He searched for a long time, until he was effectively lost, before he found a way out. He slipped through the crevice and was immediately met with some refreshing cold air. He looked back and the crevice had disappeared, concealed by magic.

Then, he looked around him. The spot provided a great view of the mountain range. He examined the spiky mountain tops, deemed Scary by the locals. However, as he focused his gaze further and further down the line of mountains, he felt an odd sensation of zooming through the air with his eyes until he saw some very distant mountains in great detail.

He thought he recognised the place. He had been there before. Last time he had escaped, he'd passed through there, accompanied by a small army and his two young companions. As those thoughts occurred to him, like as if waiting to be summoned, minifigures appeared on the distant mountainside. They were fighting... Half of them Paradox Rogues, the other half Knights. He recognised a young man named Tom among them and then his father. His gaze drifted a little higher and he saw himself! And a little girl called Ember and a Barney Bot.

How could he be seeing this? This had already come to pass. It had almost been ten years since then. He wondered what had happened to Tom and Ember and all these soldiers. It became too painful to look at them any more. He removed his gaze from the mountains. The bizarre effect stopped, but not the heavy feeling on his chest.

Unconsciously, his eyes scanned over the green, then desertous landscape of Morcia until they met with more mountains. This had been the direction the Thingguys had been headed. The Moorlands lay behind those mountains. Just as he thought that, the sensation of zooming began again. This time his gaze went over the other mountains, even though he normally couldn't see anything, but stars beyond them. He now saw four minifigures and a horse walking from west to east. Two of them bore the face of Thingguy, the horse being of course Deadbeat, and the third he did not recognise. However, his heart jumped at the sight of the fourth. He had not seen Lady Jonna for almost fifteen years. Despite her not looking very good after her years of imprisonment, Talmid was jubilant to see her again, free and maybe happy. Did this mean the Thingguys had succeeded?

However, it did not end there. For then he saw more minifigures appearing in the distance headed for the group of Knights, horse and stranger. They were being followed! He should help them. He thought of shouting to warn them, but then he remembered he was in fact a huge distance away.

“This is a spectacular house, isn't it?” a voice suddenly was heard and the minifigures were lost from Talmid's sight.

He searched for them for a moment before replying, but all he could see now were tall mountains. He turned around to see Dewin examining him.

“This never was master's favourite place of residence, but he did live some years of his life here and his magical presence remains heavy on it. People visiting might sometimes experience odd phenomena”.

“Visions?” Talmid asked.

“Why sure”.

“And what do these visions show? Are they true?”.

“That is hard to say. For the visions might be of many things. They may show what was or what is; what might be or what might not be; what could have been or what will never be. They may show one's desires or they may show their fears. In magic, things are often uncertain”.

“Not just in magic”, Talmid sighed.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Luke did not have a quite night either. He might have managed to fall asleep, but sometimes sleep is more dangerous for one's mind than the alternative.

Luke quickly entered the realm of dreams and suddenly he was not Luke anymore. He was a white-haired, bearded man walking inside a forest. The scorched pieces of smashed monkeys lay all around. What monster could have done this?

The scene changed. He now had a difference appearance, but somehow he knew he was the same person. He was on top of a huge gray thing. Countless Paradox Rogues and their walker vehicles appeared out of the jungle continuously. He looked at his comrades, brown-skinned men mounting on elephants -as was he, he realised now- and he hoped they'd make it.

Maelstrom blasts, rockets, arrows and more projectiles filled the air. He moved his wooden staff and lightning was conjured out of it, disabling a Paradox Walker. The elephants, forming a steady line, were trampling on anyone who dared come too near. Elephanters on foot appeared in many numbers from behind the elephants and charged at the enemies.

The battlle was going on their favour. They had withstood the Renegade threat for many years and even though they'd been forced to abandon the Strait, the tides seemed to be turning. thedude's forces would be driven out of Elepharia. And after that was done, they might be able to free Morcia, too...

Red blurs appeared on the sky. He did not recognise them at once, but when they began conjuring destruction upon the Elepharian forces, he knew the Red Mythrans. There were many of them and they wreaked havoc among them. The elephants who did not get smashed began to run amok, trampling Rogues and Elepharians alike.

Everything had changed in one moment. They were now losing. He tried to face the Mythrans, but they were too many. There was a red flash and a lightning bolt came his way...

He was now flying on a broomstick, leaving Morcia behind. Elepharia was lost, but thedude was now attacking Nordland. Maybe he could be more help there. He passed over the Athelas Mountains, every single cell of his body screaming at the coldness of the air so high up. Once they were behind, he lowered his altitude. His broomstick reaching great speeds, he'd soon be on the North Island.

But then something else distracted him. There was a man in Aquila waiting for him. Even though he was flying too hight to see minifigures on the ground, he perceived the man's presence in a way that went beyond sight. He began to descend. He knew he would have to.

There was the man, standing on Aquila's coast, facing away from the sea, looking at him, a stern expression on his face. And then as he landed he was met with the immenseness of those yellow eyes...

Luke woke up. He was sweating, despite the chilly atmosphere. The dream had distressed him quite a lot. He tried to remember the details, but the more he did, the more they slipped away. In the end, the only thing that remained to haunt him was those yellow eyes. He did not know what followed after seeing them, but he knew they meant trouble.

As he calmed down, he noticed Talmid was not on his bed. Where was he? Had he wandered off, or was this some elaborate trap on the part of Dewin? He got up and out of the room to look for him.

He didn't have to look long. He'd only turned once when he met with Talmid and Dewin.

“Talmid! I woke up and you weren't there”.

“I wanted some fresh air”, the other replied and seeing Luke's expression he added, “Sorry”.

“It's okay”.

“Come on. You should be sleeping. It's only a couple of hours till dawn”.

Dewin accompanied them to their room.

“One more thing. Would you mind telling me who's your magical friend?”.

“Magical friend?” Luke asked. “What do you mean?”.

“You don't know? The moment you came in here, I felt a strong concealment charm on you two, though only were my suspicions confirmed that I was left alone with you two”.

“What does this mean?” Talmid enquired.

“It means that somewhere, you've got a powerfully ally, Sir Talmid. And they want you to remain hidden from thedude”.

And with this puzzling speech, Dewin turned around and left. None of the two knights got any more sleep that night, as they worried about even more than they had had at the start of the night.

“We are lucky”, Dewin said. “I think I can fix it”.

Everyone cheered, even Talmid who was beginning to feel the effects of losing one night's sleep.

“It's a good thing that the enchantment was only broken and not fully removed. I believe I can mend it, but duplicating it would be a different thing entirely. However, now, I've been browsing through this”, he showed them a thick black leatherbound tome with the silver letters “Booke of Ankorya” on it, “amd I think I've found a way to mend it”.

“However”, he emphasised the word, so that the cheers would stop, “it's going to take time. More than you are allowed to stay put or idle”.

“What are you getting at?” asked Joe.

“I mean that staying here, waiting for me to finish is not an option. Not for the Knights of the Olde Speech”.

“I lived in the same place for fourteen years and nothing happened”.

“Yeah, but now all of thedude's army and enforcers have been alerted to your recent activity and they're searching for you like never before. They'll find you sooner or later. Sooner if you stay here”.

“Isn't this place supposed to be magically protected?” Jayko asked.

“thedude has his own magicians, from what I hear. They can get through them”.

“So, what dost thou suggest we do?” Talmid asked.

“Whatever you think will help your plans. I believe you want to free Morcia from thedude, don't you? Go do that! Meanwhile, I'll work on the map and inform you when it's done”.

“How wilt thou contact us, though? We might be anywhere”.

“With these”, Dewin produced three pigeons from a bag.

They mostly looked like normal pigeons, but closer scrutiny revealed their texture not to seem real. They also stayed eerily still.

“What are those?”.

“They are designed to transmit and receive message alike. I have another one that will allow me to talk to you when you are gone. Thus, I shall lead you to the locations of whatever or whoever you wish to find”.

“Why are there three?” Akane asked.

“I thought you might want to split up to cover more ground in shorter time. They can also carry messages for you, either written or vocal, but try not to send them on too long distances. Their magic will wear off. Any more questions?”.

“Yes”, Jayko said. “Why don't we use that more?” and he pointed to the Booke of Ankorya.

Dewin was shocked by the idea.

“Aside from the fact that this is the most dangerous book in all seven kingdoms of Militiregnum? or that I'm not going to let anyone misuse it? Perhaps, the fact that even the most learnt in magic or even I, who has been apprenticed by him, cannot decipher more than a tenth of the Sorcerer's books. Master was very secretive and unhelpful towards others. Not only are his books written in a dead language, but every single page is filled with riddles and there is not one sentence in them that means what it says”.

“Hardly helpful at all”, Joe muttered to Marty and they laughed; they stopped short, though when they were reprimanded by Dewin's furious gaze.

“Fine, fine. I get it. Don't mess with the book”, Jayko said.

“Good. Are we to depart, then?” Talmid said having pocketed the pigeons and wishing to change the subject.

“Not quite yet. I'd like some of you to stay with me”.

“Didn't you just say we should leave?” Marty asked.

“I said the Knights of the Olde Speech should leave. The rest of you I think are unknown to thedude as of yet. The problem is by coming here you've probably already led them here”.

“All the more reason for us to leave”, Joe replied.

“Really? And what of me? Have you forgotten that you want me to make you a map? Will you leave me unprotected? I can't handle thedude's agents on my own”.

“I suppose 'tis fair that we do not abandon thee”.

“I want the alchemist”, Dewin said.

Iamos examined the magician for a moment, then said, “Fine”.

“I suppose that means I have to stay, too”, Akane sighed, though she did not explain why.

“I don't wish to part with you”, Daiyu told Iamos looking deep into his eyes; then she looked at the others looking at her and got self-conscious, her cheeks' colour increasing in redness.

“What about you, Horatio? You don't have to stay”, Iamos asked.

Horatio considered the alchemist for a moment, then spoke, “I guess I'd rather stick with you”.

“That's quite the bodyguard, but if all of you wish to remain here, I don't have a problem”, Dewin told them.

Farewell time ensued. Iamos ensured them he'd want to be part of the big stuff about to happen, so they should wait for him. The Knights of the Olde Speech, Marty, Joe and Jayko packed up and took their leave.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Menaya Kull, looking young as ever, watched as two of the wanted Knights appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by three more minifigures.

“Where are the other two ones?” the sorceress mumbled to herself.

“Shall we engage, Miss Kull?” a Shinobi asked.

“You know your orders. Let them go. But we shouldn't let them out of sight. You, make sure to follow them”, she commanded the Shinobi.

“Not the rest of us?” another Rogue enquired.

“No. *We* shall attack the others. thedude was clear. Let the KotOS go, the other ones can be smashed. We shall make sure they don't have safe havens to go back to”.

“When shall we attack, then?”.

“We shall let Knights get away, so that they don't realise we're here. But, at dawn, we strike!”. . .

***@ 01-07-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:***

### Chapter x (not a number :P ) - Actual Chapter 32

The night was dark and rather chilly, as was a usual night in the forests of Morcia. A cool wind whistled through the dark trees as Drumr moved along the bushes along the side of the dirt road, staying completely silent such as to get the element of surprise should any opponents spring up.

He was what you might call a rebel, fighting a war against the ruler of the land whom he had deemed unfit for the throne: thedude. Unlike many other of these freedom fighters, however, he was fairly well-equipped, gathering quite a payload of gear after possibly several months fighting Vladek's woodland forces.

The road which he was following cut through the forest like a dagger, tearing it in two. It was the primary road, if you could even call it that, into the swamps through this small forest. On this road he had felled several considerable patrols, cutting them down without a quarter given.

Today, however, he had a certain goal which he was determined to accomplish. He had heard that Princess Jonna, heir to the throne of Morcia before thedude's takeover, was being held in a camp in the swamps. He had prepared for three or so weeks, knowing that that if she was free, it could turn the war in the favor of the rebels, and possibly free one of the last remaining Knights of the Old Speech.

***@ ‎01-07-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:***

#### Chapter x (not a number) Part II

He sighed not for the first time, wishing they were still alive. Vladek and thedude had defeated the entire order, with Talmid, Jonna and Thingguy in captivity and the rest supposedly dead. No word on the legendary order of Knights had been heard since.

Drumr knew though that pondering on the thought would only slow his progress, and today that was definitely not something he could afford. He has already pre-determined that a hit-and-run strike strategy had the highest hopes of a success, especially since the apposing force most likely consisted of several hundred soldiers.

He raced along the road at sprinting speed, not stopping for anything. However, after perhaps four or five minutes of running, he reached a fork in the road. Coming from the left side were two soldiers, who he observed more closely as he drew his sword, sensing a battle was drawing near.

As Drumr looked more closely at the duo, he observed the fact that they were not lightly armed. They looked identical, which he found just a bit strange. Twins, perhaps, although they were not a common sight to see. But nonetheless, they were soldiers of Vladek and he needed to take them down in order to continue on his way.

He crept up and found out they were in deep conversation, based on hand motions most likely an argument. He decided to dart across the road behind them quickly to spook them; demoralized enemies stood less of a chance when he made his attack.

***@ 01-08-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:***

#### Chapter x (actually 31, but who wants that?) Part III

He darted across the road and one said, "Hey, shut up for a moment! Did you hear that?" He drew his sword, pointing it in Drumr's general direction.

The other one responded, "Yeah, maybe some of your buddies in the army coming to take us out," drawing his sword as well.

"Don't play innocent, we both know you're the imposter!"

"At least you imposters have a sense of humor these days! You make me laugh so much!"

Drumr had no idea what they could possibly be talking about, but decided to proceed with his attack. He crept up behind them and darted across again, attempting to scare them into rash actions.

"There it was again!" the first one said, pointing with his sword at the spot where Drumr has previously darted across the road.

"I know!! Stop back seat walking!" the other growled, holding his sword up in a defensive position.

"You're back seat walking!"

"But I noticed it first!"

"But I said something first!"

Drumr very nearly groaned to himself for two reasons. For one, they were becoming increasingly annoying by bickering with each other, probably over some petty nonsense. For another, these two weren't getting spooked like normal soldiers would get, which put him at a disadvantage. Deciding that he should move in before they detected his path, he jumped out of the bushes behind them and swung his sword in a wide arc towards them.

***@ 01-08-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:***

#### Chapter x (Not a number(I don't wanna call it 31 :P )) Part IV

Both of them heard him coming and wheeled around, their eyes going wide as the sword came around. They both raised their swords at the same time, managing to deflect the blow. Not wasting a moment, Drumr kicked one of them backwards and brought his sword down on this other one, and there was a loud clang as the opponent raised his sword to deflect once more.

Getting angry at the fact that they refused to just be smashed, Drumr flipped over the first one and drew a secondary sword from his backpack in an instant, attempting to stab at both of them at the same time. And yet again two swords were deflected right back at him. He kicked the legs out from under one and  leaped into battle against the second. He disarmed the second one after a short confrontation, but before he could strike the final blow he had to move his swords to deflect a blow from the rear, as the first had recovered.

Wheeling around, he tried to kick the first, but to his surprise the enemy dodged his attack, using the opportunity to launch an attack of his own. Drumr barely got his sword up in time, and yet again he was forced to spin around and deflect a blow to the rear, as the second opponent had recovered his weapon. And suddenly he found himself in one of the stickiest situations there was: Holding back two opponents at once on opposite sides.

Suddenly one of his swords dropped as the strain of holding back one of the opponents made it give away. Realizing he couldn't win a battle on two sides with just one sword, Drumr flipped backwards, landing out of the mess and grinning.

*Brick*, he thought to himself, *There's no way I can win, they're too good. Against one of them there's a chance, but two?*

"You two aren't half bad. It's been a while since I've actually had to try."

@ 01-10-2017, Sir DrumR02:

#### Chapter x (nut a number (too lazy to change to 31)) Part V

*Running out of time, gotta think fast so I can be on my way, I don't have time for this...* Drumr thought to himself, formulating a plan. The two started to approach him slowly, holding their swords out in case he attacked again. Drumr's brain whirled, trying to think of a way out. One of them charged, then the other. And Drumr had an idea.

As they came towards him, he planted his feet firmly in the ground before springing upwards. The one that had taken off first hit a tree head-first and groaned in pain while the other barely stopped in time. Drumr landed behind him, and swung his sword, which the enemy blocked without any apparent difficulty. The other swung around as Drumr swung his sword again at the two of them, and the stopped it with a double block. Drumr sprang back and prepared to leap in again.

They held firm and one said, "My name is Thingguy the Second, and in the name of the Knights of the Olde Speech I tell-eth you to stand aside!" That same instant, a loud thud was heard and both of them looked at each other with wide eyes, a bit confused. For not ten feet away, sprawled on the ground before them, was Drumr's sword.

"Did that guy just drop his sword?" one of the Thingguys asked.

"Looks like it. But I wouldn't question it," the other said, shrugging.

"You're Thingguy?" Drumr asked, a bit perplexed as his mind whirled with enough thoughts to drive somebody mad. *I was told the Knights were dead... But they aren't...*

"I'm Thingguy. He's an imposter sent by thedude," they said at the same time, pointing at each other.

"Alright..." Drumr muttered, unclear of what was going on. *That must have been what they were arguing about earlier.*

"Don't believe him! He's an imposter!" one of the Thingguys said, growling at the other one.

The other Thingguy replied, "Don't believe him! He's a spy sent by thedude!"

***@ 02-05-2017 through 02-28-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:***

#### Chapter x, part x (not the Roman numeral)

"Don't believe him! He's an imposter!" one of the Thingguys said, growling at the other one.

The other Thingguy replied, "Don't believe him! He's a spy sent by thedude!"

Drumr just shook his head and said, "I don't know what's going on, but you look identical, and if there was some way to tell who was an 'imposter' I'm sure you would have tested it already. So what are you here for?"

The two replied at the same time: "We were sent by Sir Talmid to find Lady Jonna!"

"That's why I'm here as well. What a coincidence," Drumr stated, picking up his sword and sheathing it.

"But how do I know I can trust you?" one of the Thingguys said, scratching his head in confusion.

"Easy. You don't know if you can. You can only ever take my word for it. But whether you trust me or not, we have a common goal."

~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~

After a bit of walking, the trio came upon the marshlands, exiting the forest. And luckily for them, somebody had had the sense to put a road in long ago, especially since most of the marsh was knee-deep sewer-like water.

A loud neigh was heard as Deadbeat, who they had previously called out of the woods, stepped into the marshy water and it splashed all over him. After the battle which had happened, the two Thingguys had called the horse out of his hiding place in the bushes. Apparently before the fight they had him hidden there while they inspected the road.

Since he knew this territory well, Drumr led the two Thingguys across the marsh, knowing that time was not on their side. While they were running, a short conversation started up. "So, you obviously know who we are," one of the Thingguys said, racing along behind Drumr.

"Yea," Drumr said, not stopping to look back.

"But who are you? We're supposed to work with you, but we don't even know your name," the other Thingguy said.

"My name is Drumr, I'm a solo rebel. Been fighting Vladek's forces here for Brick knows how long."

"Are you from Morcia?" the other Thingguy asked.

"No," Drumr replied, before continuing "I came here chasing a lead across the galaxy, but these clowns blew up my ship. So I ended up stuck here, and over time I learned the story of this land. That's why I do what I do now. But as soon as this nonsense is over, I have to continue on my journey."

The two Thingguys glanced at each other before sprinting even faster after their new ally.

After running for about fifteen minutes, the trio finally came across the camp where Vladek had his forces positioned. Hiding behind a small slope in the mucky terrain, they watched as an eerie fog set in, cloaking the camp.

Drumr eyed the camp from a distance with his spyglass and scowled, ducking back down with the Thingguys.

"What's wrong?" one of them asked, peeking over the hill.

"It isn't a standard camp. It has a completely different layout than the ones I'm used to raiding. In other words, I have no idea how to navigate it."

"And?" the Thingguys said, both of them peeking over the hill now.

"Unless you've seen this camp design before, we're going in blind," Drumr said, scouting out the camp yet again.

"There!" one of the Thingguys said, pointing to a small crevice. "Ambush party, with a patrol behind them!"

Drumr looked over to where Sir Thingguy was pointing and noticed that indeed he was correct.

"Good eyes," Drumr complimented before turning his attention back to the main entrance.

Guarding the entrance were two wooden towers, each holding three archers loaded with arrows. At the base of the towers stood two swordsmen, both heavily armored.

An eerie fog set in and Drumr looked around suspiciously.

Drumr growled and stated, "I don't like this fog."

The two Thingguys looked at him like he was crazy and one said, "What do you mean? It's just fog."

"I don't like fog. It brings back bad times."

"What happened to you because of fog?" one of them asked, peering over the hill.

"I almost lost my two friends to fog."

The two Thingguys looked at each other before turning back to face him as one said, "Either way, we should be going."

"Agreed, if we stay here for too long it's almost certain we'll be spotted," the other replied.

"I think I've located our way in," Drumr said, pointing to the front gate. "See the two guards? We'll have to drop them fast and move on before the archers can get a bead on us."

"What's the plan inside?" one of the Thingguys said, peeking over the mound at the camp.

"We'll need to somehow split into two groups. One will need to hold off the enemy while the other scours the camp for Lady Jonna."

One of the Thingguys replied with a sour look on his face "Splitting up will most likely end poorly, but I guess if it's the plan, I will try to find Jonna."

The other bolted upwards and retorted, "I don't trust you to do it! I shall go with you to make sure you do not betray us!"

The other grumbled, "I don't believe you'll still be pretending to be the real Thingguy by the time we separate, but I'm prepared to smash you when you betray us."

The two stared at each other with narrowed eyes, yet no more words were spoken.

A light shuffling was heard, and their eyes widened as they realised Drumr wasn't there.

Realising where he must have gone, the two Thingguys peeked over the mound. Drumr yelled a battle cry and charged, taking out the two guards before rushing inside, dodging the arrow fire as he ran into the camp, disappearing into the fog.

Both Thingguys facepalmed and whispered, "Idiot!" before leaping over the mound to chase after him.

Drumr entered the camp, not knowing exactly what he should expect or what he could expect. But he did pray that Vladek was not in the camp, for that would set them back tremendously.

He grinned and thought to himself, Vladek ain't so scary. I've seen worse. A part of him snickered, I've smashed worse...

He hoped that the Thingguys had found their way into the camp relatively easily, because he had not gotten in unnoticed. He grimaced at this as he ran from his pursuers. Far too many to even hold ground against.

He ducked around a small wooden shed, then proceeded to duck inside of a convenient door which he just noticed. Quietly shutting the door, he heard angry soldiers rushing past as they tried to find him.

He sighed and thought to himself, And I thought these things only happened in movies...

After making sure it was safe to leave the small building, Drumr made haste to do so, bolting from the shed to attempt to find the Thingguys, and hopefully Lady Jonna as well.

He narrowed his eyes. He felt an odd sense of power coming from somewhere in the fog, which had thickened so much that he could barely see three feet in front of him.

His worst fears resurfaced. If Vladek was here, that would be more than an issue. That could be that end of their journey.

He looked around in his belt for something to at least aid him in the fog a little bit, but the closest thing he found was a pair of broken night vision goggles.

"What the heck did I do with my flashlight?" he wondered out loud, checking all of his pockets.

He remembered suddenly where he was, and quickly ducked to the side as several soldiers rushed past him, talking to each other trying to triangulate his location.

He knew he hadn't much time, so instead of waiting around, he rushed to the side and continued the search.

After several minutes searching, Drumr was almost ready to give up. He felt like he had scoured the entire camp, and had found nothing but dead-ends and soldiers searching for them.

Then a voice boomed out of the fog, and Drumr knew he had been spotted.

"You seriously hope to bust in here, and then escape?" a voice boomed out of the fog. "Pathetic."

"I'm guessing you're Vladek," Drumr shouted into the fog, glancing around.

"That is correct. I cannot believe that even with the aid of some Knights you would be so stupid to charge head-first into my camp."

"You don't scare me," Drumr said, glaring into the fog in the general direction of the voice.

A booming laughter was heard, followed by him saying, "Don't make me laugh. If you aren't afraid of me, then you have some issues."

"I don't believe I have 'issues', but I do have one with the fools that blew up my rocket."

"I suppose only one with great reason would be so stupid as to charge in here blindly. Now, feel lucky that you all did. You now all have the honor to smash by my hand. Witness true power before your final breath is stolen from your body."

Drumr rolled to the side, just in time, as a bulky figure hurled right past him and back into the fog again.

His eyes flew open as flashbacks hit him. Two bodies on the floor. An evil laugh. Weak. In pain. Unable to stand. A fight in the dark and his fear.

*Fear.*

He dodged to the side as a kick came from behind, and Drumr prepared to strike, assuming his foe off balance. But Vladek had obviously anticipated the move, and spun around, kicking Drumr in the chest.

*Weak.*

The rebel was knocked to the ground, and only a swift barrel roll saved him from being crushed by Vladek's sword.

*Helpless.*

Drumr started to thrust his sword at his opponent, but before he could Vladek threw a mighty punch to Drumr's head, snapping something and almost completely crushing his ear. Drumr staggered and tried his best to stand, but could barely keep his legs straight underneath him.

*Can't stand.*

Vladek was lightning fast, not about to loose his chance to attack fiercely. He kicked Drumr in the chest, and the rebel howled in pain as he felt a sickening crunch. He fell to his knees, raising his sword just in time to stop the smashing blow. However, in doing this, his sword flew from his hand, clanging off into the distance at the edge of his vision, which he noticed was now badly blurred.

*Pain.*

The sword came down again, and Drumr prepared for the blow. But instead, he heard a clang, and saw a blurry Thingguy holding a sword against Vladek. He knew he was about to pass out. He faintly heard explosions and wondered what was going on as battle cries rang up around him. He felt the other Thingguy's hand grab his shoulder and start hauling him towards the camp entrance as swords clanged around them before everything went black.

*I fought the demon in the dark. And I failed.*

*Again...*

~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~

Dreams hit Drumr like a wave. He saw things that he never wanted to see again.

"Why the brick is there fog inside the tower?" Exeter yelled as the fog continued to thicken until visibility was almost non-existent.

*We had just got back from our mission, me and my team... Rocker, Neon, Smart....*

Drumr got an eerie feeling and decided to go check the main room when all of the sudden an explosion was heard. The tower shook with the force of the blast and rubble flew everywhere as Drumr realized the explosion was on the floor they were on. A second explosion shook the tower as the wall was blown to bits and the fog thickened.

*I know what's going to happen!*

Drumr stumbled out of the room and into the hallway with shrapnel from the wall throbbing in his skin as he realized he was hit multiple times. He started to fall lower and lower to the ground as he walked, hugging the wall of the hallway to give him balance. He stumbled ever farther forward and into the main room when he saw a horrendous sight.

*Let me out of this dream!*

Three Nexus guards were smashed upon the ground in front of him, and as he kept moving he saw something he never wanted to see.

*Pain.*

Smart was lying on the ground, and Neon was leaned up against the wall groaning in pain. Rocker was standing over them with a sword in his hand.

*Suffering.*

"Rocker..." Drumr wheezed in pain as he struggled to draw his sword. Rocker turned and grinned.

*Helpless.*

"Yo, Boss. What took you? Bad weather?" he said as he gestured towards a row of fog machines he had planted in the room.

*Rocker... You traitor...*

"You... Little...." Drumr could barely stand as he gasped out the words. Sword drawn, he trudged towards Rocker, who grinned ever more.

"You know, Drum," Rocker spat as he kicked the pained knight to the ground, "I have always hated being here. Being bossed around and serving politicians. I'm done doing that. I've found a new ally. They're going to make me a powerful man, if I smash your team." A sharp pain was felt as Drumr took another boot to the side and he gasped for air.

*I'm going to fail, aren't I?*

Rocker turned to look at Neon, who was reaching for her gun, and slashed her gun with his sword after stepping towards her. Neon grabbed his arm and pulled herself up, trying to punch but missing and landing face-first on the floor. Drumr could not watch any longer. He stood, reinvigorated, and charged with sword in hand. Rocker blocked it as it came down upon him and Drumr leaped back, holding his sword at the ready.

*I can't win... And I know it.*

"You know, Boss, I've always wanted to do this. You shall be slain by me and I will have what I desire and deserve!" he shrieked as he launched himself at Drumr, spinning around midair and bringing down the sword. It hit Drumr's sword and the two stared each other down, their swords creating sparks as they held them in suspense. Rocker broke off and whirled around to aim for Drumr's legs. The knight stepped back and blocked, holding his ground but not able to gain any either. Rocker leaped back and snarled.

*He's a maniac..*

"Not bad, Boss! I thought this would be easy after I blew you to bits!" he snarled as he pulled out a remote with a big red button on it. He pushed it dramatically, and a chain of explosions rumbled through the tower as Rocker grinned and said, "I'm gonna Rock this place!"

*I never found out how many were injured or smashed...*

Drumr, seething with anger and forgetting all pain, yelled, "You shall not!" and leaped into battle. His sword was blocked, but fast as lightning he pulled it back, whipped it around, and Rocker barely blocked before he would have been hit in the legs. Drumr whipped it around yet again and hit Rocker's arm, cutting it and causing him much pain. A laser hit Rocker's knee and Drumr looked behind him. Smart was sitting on the ground with a laser making a weak grin. He gave Drumr a thumbs-up and prepared to fire again.

*Pain. So much pain...*

In the time where Drumr turned around, Rocker recovered and swung around, injuring Drumr in the hip and causing him to nearly scream in pain. Drumr scowled and swung his sword again. Rocker blocked it and the two sat in a stare-down, glaring at each other with nothing but hatred in their eyes. Drumr broke the confrontation as he jumped into the air and swung around, their swords clashing again as he flipped over Rocker. Rocker wheeled around as Smart fired and missed his shot, and sent a pellet of knockout gas towards Smart. It hit its target and Smart slumped over.

*They were almost killed because of fog... They couldn't see Rocker...*

By this point Neon was starting to recover as she grabbed her spare gun. She cocked it and took aim at Rocker. The gun fired and the flare hit its target right in the chest. However, Rocker simply spat and kept fighting. Neon collapsed in pain and did not attempt to fire again. Drumr and Rocker clashed yet again as they both knew that this fight would only end with one of them still standing.

*I hate fog.*

Drumr and Rocker both leaped back and panted for breath. Drumr gasped for air before charging back in as Rocker clutched his chest where he had been shot. At that moment his knee where Smart had shot him gave way and he collapsed onto one knee, trying desperately to stand. Drumr knew the fight was over. Rocker could not continue. Only one of them was still standing. Although, that wasn't the case as Drumr grinned and then collapsed. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a patrol of soldiers. And not Nexus soldiers.

*I fear fog...*

~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~

He was on a planet. Or rather, a moon. That's what it looked like, anyway. He shook his head as he thought, *Am I dead?*

In the distance he could just make out two rockets. He almost tripped over himself as he rushed over to them, seeing two people standing looking at a planet. He almost fell over as he realized that that was Morcia from space.

The first was a female daredevil, who stated "Do you think he'll be alright?"

The second was a male engineer, who slung his hammer over his shoulder and said, "He'll be fine. He has new friends, he's not alone."

"Are you sure we shouldn't assist him at least some?" she asked the engineer, drawing her pistols.

"This is his fight, not ours. He will face challenges, but he will pull through as long as he sticks close to his friends."

"New friends, huh?" the daredevil said quietly, considering this for a short while.

"You are not alone, Drum. We are not with you for this battle, but we don't need to be." The engineer and the daredevil both looked his way and smiled, and he started to feel the dream fade.

His face lit up as he saw his friends standing there, looking straight at him.

"You're never alone, Drum," Smart said as he started to drift away. "It's one of your blessings."

*I just want to go home.*

"Smart! Neon! I will find a way off this planet!!" he shouted into space as he started to wake up.

*But I have a job to do first.*

"Now wake," Smart said, looking at him intensely.

"And rise to the challenge," Neon finished and blasted him with her guns, waking him up.

~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~\*~

When Drumr came to, he was alone yet again, lying in a small clearing surrounded by towering oak trees and lush, fluffy bushes.

*Did the dreams end? Was that all just a dream?* he thought to himself.

He struggled to try to stand, and immediately, one of the Thingguys was there saying, "Whoa, slow down, and definitely stay down. You're pretty badly wounded."

"Did we win?" Drumr asked weakly, barely able to speak.

"Yes, and Jonna is here as well. The imposter is still here too, though I'm not as happy about that. We even have a few guests."

Drumr sighed with relief before continuing, "I've never fought someone with such skill before."

Thingguy nodded and replied, "It's never a good idea to attack Vladek alone."

Drumr heard footsteps and looked up. The other Thingguy was approaching.

The other Thingguy came over and whispered in the ear of the first. His eyes narrowed a little bit and he said, "I will be right back."

The two walked away, and Drumr could barely lift his head to see where they were going.

"Get a bit of sleep. We need to set off as soon as possible to meet up with Sir Talmid and Sir Luke. And we need all the help we can get."

Drumr awoke in the morning to nearly no pain. He just rested there for a few minutes before getting up, surveying the clearing completely.

The clearing was no more than twenty feet in diameter, roughly circular. In the middle was a single oak tree, surrounded by four mighty boulders.

To his right, Jonna and the Thingguys looked to be attempting to cook something. One of the Thingguys was kneeling next to the fire with a pot in his hand, hanging it over the fire, while the other Thingguy and Jonna stood opposite him.

He started to slowly walk over, noticing that he was definitely not fully healed. As he did, he started to hear conversation.

Lady Jonna and the two Thingguys were sitting around a fire, cooking something that Drumr didn't know was edible or not. One of them was stirring the stuff while the other was standing, apparently keeping watch.

"Hey, Drum," the standing Thingguy said, looking over in his direction.

"Is everybody alright?" Drumr asked, scanning the group. The standing Thingguy had some bandages on his arms but it looked like he was fine. The others had no visible injuries.

***@ 6th of May 2017, Sir fffffplayer1 wrote:***

#### Chapter x, Part Placeholder

"Oh. Sleeping beauty's awake", one of the Thingguys, who seemed not to have noticed his being awake earlier, "Yeah. We're alright. And as you can see, we've grown in numbers, too", and he pointed to some unknown people sitting by the fire as well, constituting a small crowd

"Hullo there!" a man featuring longish wavy brown hair, bright green eyes and a green trenchcoat of sorts, scratching his goatee and yet speaking in a rather boyish and excited manner, "Happy to make your acquaintance. I am Peragrine Wanderthistle the Exuberant", and he stretched his arm for a handshake, while he got up.

However, Drumr's eyes were focused on the man sitting next to Peragrine. He had badly cut raven black hair and an ill-shaven face, but what set him apart was the Paradox Rogue gear he wearing (minus the helmet). Drumr was confused. What was he doing there among revolutionaries? He knew that all Paradox were not evil, but that wasn't the case in Militiregnum. He staggered a few steps back, while the man turned to the greenclad Peragrine and questioned, "The Exuberant?".

The words, "I thought it was fitting since I'm a wizard now", barely registered to his ears as he made his confused thoughts.

"Hey", the man suddenly addressed him with an edge on his voice, "Got any problems?".

"Problems?".

"The kid's hand's hanging in front of you and you're just staring at me".

"Well, you...", he looked at his gear up and down, while Peragrine protested, "Kid? Remember I'm older than you!".

"Don't sweat it, Drumr. Tain's on our side", one of the Thingguys spoke from behind. "Just a kleptomaniac!".

"Not a..." the man protested weakly, but did not finish his sentence, looking at Thingguy uncomfortably.

"Oh. Sorry... I guess", Drumr was not sure he understood, but if the others trusted him, there must have been some reason.

He finally shook Peragrine's hand and sat down with the others. There were three more people he did not recognise. One of them was a black-haired woman with a blank fatigued expression next to the man apparently called Tain. Next to her was an also dark-haired man who looked like he once had had a healthy strong body, but had stayed immobile in a cell for too long. His eyes were a tad too bulging. Finally, on Peragrine's other side a man of dirty blonde hair was seated. It was apparent that he was giving a desperate fight to keep his appearance personable, but tragically failing. His face did not shine with any particular joy.

And then there was Lady Jonna. She was not in prime condition, but she did not seem to be much affected by her prison years, other than the sorrow in her unfocused green eyes. She did not seem to be paying attention to what was happening around her, as the breeze blew her brown hair lightly. Only at times, her gaze would turn to one of the Thingguys and a faint smile would form.

"So, that's Moira, Tain's friend and this is Major, an old pal of ours we just happened to find in the Camp", the other Thingguy introduced the ones on Tain's right.

"And you are?" Drumr asked the last person.

"Me? Oh, I am Carson and I am just loving it being here. It's not like someone forced me or anything" he spoke sarcastically and his eyes darted at Tain venomously, "Now that this lovely introduction, can we eat this food you're making!"

"It will just be ready in a minute", the cooking Thingguy replied impatiently.

"So, can someone fill me in all the details? Where did all these people come from?".

"Well, remember the part where you tried to fight Vladek and failed miserably?" the sitting Thingguy asked.

"Yes", Drumr said as the painful memory came back.

"Well, me and the impostor were searching for Jonna at the same time. We had just found a building that seemed to be a lot more well guarded than others, when I noticed you struggling to survive. I rushed to save you and then BOOM! Half the place exploded, little by little. And out of the flames, two figures emerging. One of them moving his hands and causing more explosions to happen, the other shooting his wormholer at anything that escaped the first one. Peragrine and Tain. Vladek was distracted and I managed to snatch you from him", cook Thingguy narrated as he distributed the food.

"Meanwhile, in the now half-collapsed aforementioned building, I had found Jonna and Major, too. Leading them out, I reunited with the impostor and joined forces with our Dei Ex Machina, who'd found their own prisoner friend, Moira. In all of the mayhem, there were many more prisoners running about and escaping, but these three were the only ones sane and unpanicked enough to follow us. After getting out, Tain went and found Carson where he'd tied him up and now we're all off to reunite with Talmid and Luke".

"I just can't believe this is happening after all this time", Jonna spoke. "And yet, I've been waiting for this moment for all of these fifteen years".

"All of us have... well except the impostor".

"Agreed. You wanted to betray us all along".

Another quarrel began between the Thingguys and Drumr returned to his own thinking. He thought about the princess's words. Was revolution really starting? And if it was, how would it end? Was there a chance they would all be free again? Drumr couldn't tell. And he couldn't do something about revolutions right now. So, he did the next best thing he could do. He took a bite of his meal.

*@ the 23 of July 2017, Sir Stirling Wrote:*

### Chapter X: A Long Walk Makes for Long Conversation - Actual Chapter Thirty-Three

"Ok, so! Recap!" Peragrine said to Drumr, standing up with a bowl of stew floating in front of him. He pointed to Moira on his left and went around the circle. "This is Moira, Tain, Drumr, MajorQ, Thingguy 1 and Thingguy 2, Jonna, and Carson. And I am Perry."

"We already knew that," said Major.

"Yeah, but Drumr didn't."

"Thank you," muttered Drumr, still trying to process it.

"What I would like to know is, what is everyone's plan? It might be wise to stick together, but only if we can all agree." Major said.

Thingguy 1 broke off from his argument with Thingguy 2. "Oh, I and the Imposter are taking Jonna back to Orlan." "To see her father." The other added.

Jonna nodded, smiling.

Major looked at Tain and Moira. "What about you two?"

The two looked at each other, and reached some silent conclusion. "Wherever the war effort takes us."

"I object!" barked Carson. Tain and Moira turned to look at him.

"You can't drag me any farther! And certainly not into any variety of warzones! Why, THIS was bad enough! Tying me up in a tree while you went and got your *girlfriend*-"

"You tied him up in a tree?" Moira asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, it wasn't a pretty sight, I'll tell you that," Peragrine said.

"**HEY**! LISTEN!" Carson yelled. "I'M TALKING ABOUT MY LIFE HERE!" Next to him, Jonna leaned away from his forceful shout, while Thingguy 2 reached over with his wooden Cook's spoon to try and bop him on the head. Carson dodged, and instead grabbed the round part of the spoon. The two began tugging on it, but were quickly stopped by both Tain and Major who grabbed those closest; Tain grabbing Carson, and Major grabbing Thingguy 2.

"I REFUSE TO BE DRAGGED AROUND LIKE LUGGAGE, *ANYMORE!*" he yelled.

"Stop yelling..." Tain warned, speaking into Carson's ear.

"OR **WHAT?** YOU-"

Tain clapped his hand over Carson's mouth, which Carson quickly yanked away, and started yelling again. Tain covered his mouth a second time, but when Carson removed it and began yelling again, Tain make a quick fist-jab at his face.

"Stop yelling."

Stunned, Carson complied.

Tain looked at everyone else, as they looked at Tain and Carson. Peragrine was looking down, apparently shamefaced. Major walked around the fire to Carson. "Carson."

Carson refocused and looked up at Major, who was about a head taller.

"Yeah, *what*."

Major weighed his next words carefully, all the while taking glances at Tain.

"Your worries are validated, but you must also have the intelligence to understand our worries concerning you. If there were some way to trust you, we might be a bit more lenient with you. But so far, you have given Tain, and also, the rest of us, whom you have just met, no reason to give you any quarter. As you know, Tain has told us why you are here, and that adds to our mistrust of you. If you wish for things to get better..."

"I'll have to *trust* you guys?" Carson scoffed. "A bunch of *jailbirds?* I'd ne-"

"I was *going to say*," Major remarked forcefully. "...You're going to have to earn that trust."

"Earn it?"

"As in, work for it."

"How?!"

"A change of additude would be a good place to start."

"Not yelling." Added Tain.

Drumr stood up and began gathering empty wooden bowls on his way to Carson, then dumped them in his lap. "Mayhaps you could clean these off in the stream?"

"He can't go alone." Tain remarked.

Peragrine jumped up. "I'll go with him!"

"Good," agreed Major. "Meanwhile, the rest of us should break camp. Now that Drumr's awake, we need to get moving. We've stayed here too long already."

Jonna stood up. "Does that mean we are all going to Orlan?"

"Right now, it seems like the best place to start," Moira said, banking the fire.

~~~~~~~~~

There wasn't much to pack up, and soon the whole contingent was trekking through the wilderness. Between the 9 of them, they only had 4 horses. The ladies got two, Drumr got the third, who happened to be Deadbeat, despite his protests that he was quite fine, and Tain tied Carson onto the fourth.

"Oh, how generous of you," he said, dripping sarcasm as his ankles were tied to the stirrups.

Tain said nothing, while others responded.

"You're welcome," said Major.

"You could walk," said Thingguy 1. "With tied hands and a rope harness around your middle," added Thingguy 2.

"Wow, that'd be humiliating!" Peragrine said, nearly laughing at the thought, but not quite.

Tain took hold of the lead rope to the horse that Carson was tied to, and began walking along with everyone else. Towards the Capital, Orlan.

Towards the second strongest seat of thedude's power.

And towards their strongest hope, The Guardian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peragrine strolled along with his new friends. They were all so strong, so different, yet, all a little similar. He found that if he tilted his head and glared a certain way, he could see them differently. Sort of like a vague readout, like a mood ring would 'read' one's mood. Of course, he couldn't understand what it all meant, but he liked trying to figure it out. Carson would complain every so often, even saying the very cliché *'are we there yet'* a few times. Perry suspected he was just trying to get attention, much like Thingguy 2 and 1, who had been set apart, one at the rear and one at the front, to keep them from arguing. Thankfully, they had agreed, saying they wanted as much distance between the two of them... of course, that started another bicker-batch about how the whole kingdom-*planet*-**galaxy**-***universe***-***multiverse*** was not big enough for two Thingguys.... Major broke them up with saying they should start with 'this whole party.'

Major was very hard to read, and while friendly, he also seemed serious, contemplative, and hiding worry.

*'In fact, everyone's a little worried, one way or another...'* Perry realized. '*Well, I 'spose there's good reason. The whole planet's in a battle.'* Peragrine chuckled to himself. *'And we're field running it!'*

"Something funny?"

Peragrine looked up and saw that Drumr had drifted towards him. "Oh, I was just thinking about how we're all bound together by fate."

Drumr raised a curious eyebrow. "Fate?"

"Yeah, can't you feel it?"

Drumr thought back to his strange dream... "Fate." He muttered, contemplating.

"Yeah! It's like a great big story, which we're all being mashed into. It's a strange feeling, like our self-will has been messed with, and we're just pawns in the big story of life. Ever feel like that?"

A new voice came in from Perry's right. " 'All the world's a stage... ' " quoted Jonna, as she slowed her horse to walk even with them. It was a splotchy strawberry and white... Horse. Perry didn't know much about horses, but he was sure that was a rare blend, that pattern and color.

"They don't call History 'His'-Story' for nothing," she added.

Perry smiled and nodded. "There you go! A pun as irrefutable proof of our existence!"

This elicited a light laugh from Drumr, and the two men continued the conversation.

Jonna looked down at this young adult from her perch. He was wearing a leather jacket that flowed out at the waist down, trailing to his ankles. It was somewhat like a trench-coat, but different. It was tightly tucked from the waist up... He was dressed like someone who wanted to be able to talk himself out of a fight, without sacrificing the option of one. However, something was off about him. His words and demeanor did not fit, somehow. And, she vividly remembered his powerful magic he had used when they had all escaped. . . Something was not adding up.

"Peragrine?"

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been practicing magic?"

"Oh, about a few months now."

Jonna raised her eyebrows. "A few months only??"

"Well yeah, before that I was in prison."

"Yes, you told us that before, you escaped from Thunderclap with Tain there, and a few others, right?"

"Yeah! Vorpal, No-Name, Loden- great guy, you should meet him- Burnie, Emily, who was Stirling's sister, oh, and there was his brother, Peter, and Bethany too-"

"HOLD IT!" yelled another voice. It was Thingguy 2 from the back of the group. Apparenlty, the threesome's conversation had slowed them down, but Thingguy wasn't worried about their speed. "Did you say 'Stirling?'

"Yeah...?"

"As in, Stirling Silverstine?" Thingguy's eyes went large like saucers.

"Yeah...!"

"YOU'RE the Venture-Leaguer he'd always talk about?!"

"YEAH!" Perry, Jonna, Thingguy and now Drumr were all stopped, and everyone else began to pause and look back.

"OH MY **BRICK**, STRIDER'S GOING TO *FLIP*." Thingguy yelled, commencing to fling his arms into the air, and run around randomly. "OTHER ME, GET THE JEEVES OVER HERE."

"What's the big hullabaloo, you nut-job?"

Thingguy 2 grabbed Thingguy 1's shoulder and pointed rigidly with his other hand. "THAT'S THE VENTURE LEAGUER STRIDER WOULD TALK ABOUT DAY IN AND DAY OUT."

"WHAT?! NO WAY!!!"

"WAY!"

Both Thingguys turned to Peragrine, total shock on both their faces. Then Thingguy 1's face recovered. "Wait, hold the horses, how come we didn't recognize him before?"

The other recovered and both pursed their lips and cast dubious glances at a now equally shocked Perry.

Major called out from ahead. "Can it wait?"

Both Thingguys waved a distracted hand at him. The whole world would stop while the two thought.

"It's the goatee." 2 deduced.

"No, we are not unfamiliar with facial hair, we'd of seen through that." 1 reasoned, as he stroked his unshaven beard.

"You need a trim, you caveman."

"You too, hairy beast." 1 snapped his fingers. "Magic. The VL kid didn't have magic. That's what threw us off."

"Did he do that on *pooouuurpose*?" 2 queried as he slid his vision back to Perry.

"Ah, no," Perry assured them. "Might I add that perhaps age might have a factor? I doubt Stir described me as a *'young man, fashionably dressed and quite debonair'?"* He spiffied his coat and looked heroically off to the horizon.

"Eh, the goatee kills it," Thingguy 2 declared.

"I'd say it was a combination of a whole bunch of things, Drumr interjected. "But the Major is right. Walk and Talk."

Peragrine pointed a finger at Drumr. "The man's right, of course. Both of you!" he remarked to Drumr and the further Major. He and the two thingguys resumed their forward momentum, but after a moment, he did a 180 turn, and began walking backwards, (or was that still forwards?) while continuing his conversation with the unshaven duo.

"So, how has Strider been these past 15 years?"

~~~~~

Jonna listened with one ear as she focused on steering her steed. Her old friend Thingguy, now mysteriously split in two, made twice as good a storyteller as he regaled the equally mysterious mage-boy with exploits less recent than the ones he had already told the night before when they had been waiting for Drumr's recovery. She marveled how much her friend had labored, worked, planned, defended and exploited thedude's reign all these years, while still remaining relatively hidden, and still free!

And yet... Would it be enough? She could hear his fervor, his excitement, both of which she shared, but there was also.... desperation. *Would it be enough???*

After awhile though, the egotistical boasting between the three men got to be a bit too much, and she rode forward, out of immediate hearing.  One thing was for sure; no matter the outcome of this, she would have new stories to tell.  Everyone here had such exciting material! It all rather paled to her experience... The only time she had tried to be daring, she had basically failed, gotten captured, and now had just been rescued after waiting for practically forever. . . Still, she counted her blessings. Anything was better than being captured by Vladek. She wasn't sure why she hadn't been directly delivered to thedude, but it was almost preferable to the rare visits from her jailer, Vladek the Poisoner.  Her mother's killer.

*Oooh,* how he made her skin crawl! Even if she hadn't learned of the depths of his evil history as the traitorous adviser to her father, she would still despise him! His silver-forked tongue, his perfect manners, so polished, so refined, so **FAKE** whenever he came to visit her. He resembled nearly *everything* she hated about court life, and SO much more. The double-mindedness, the facade of peace, the duality of every little detail...

She was proud to be able to say that she had never said a single word to him.

Shaking off the unpleasant memories, she looked at her new allies. Real Allies. Well, at least honest allies, in Carson's case.

~~~~~~

They rested very little, making decent time considering their collective states. As the sun began to dip into the horizon, Tain looked back at the group.

Dusty, beat, and practically stumbling over each blade of grass, he knew  they had to find a place to hunker down and hide for the night. Well, except for Carson. He was already asleep and limp as a dead fish on his horse still being led by Tain. The only people still talking were Perry and the two Thingguys still doggedly trading war stories as they lagged at the back of the group. At least they weren't arguing...Much.

His even brow furrowed ever so slightly, but it was not unnoticed by the woman on her horse beside him.

"Tain?" Moira's voice called him softly.

Wiping the trace of worry from his stoic face, he turned back around and up, into the eyes of Moira.

"Tain, what is it?"

Brick, how could she tell?

Before answering, he looked back, beyond the party, in the direction of the camp. No longer could he see the smoke that had been there earlier. Whether it was the fading light, or because there was nothing to see, he couldn't tell, but he feared the latter.

"We're not far enough," he said, quiet, but matter-of-fact. Thedude's or Vladek's forces could still overtake them at any moment. Reflecting on this truth brought the brow down again.

Moira stared at her rescuer. Her greatest friend in the whole universe... And perhaps the only person she truly trusted on this planet! And yet, she wondered if he felt the same way... He was so distant... Pre-occupied. And she was sure it was more than just their immediate danger; everyone felt that pressure. That's why they had come as far as they had! There had to be something more weighing those shoulders down. They should be squared! Proud! That's the Tain she knew. Brilliant and Knowledgeable. Quiet, but not this quiet...

"Tain, we're all doing the best we can. What else can we do?" she reasoned.

He nodded wearily in reply before flashing her a thankful, if weak smile, which she returned. Then he jogged forward towards Major, the leading man.

*"Perhaps I'm just biased, or my memory of him is off,"* she thought. But if that was the case, and she was more worried about him than she should be, then so what?  She didn't care! She hadn't seen him in forever, it was nice to have him, of all people, to find her.... In fact, she realized, she wouldn't of had anyone else take her away from there. . .

"Oh Tain? Wait." She called. Cantering up towards him, she leaned over in her saddle to give him a kiss as he turned around... and proptly slipped off her saddle to land right atop him.

"Moira-!"

"Oof!"

The procession stopped as Moira's horse nickered softly in confusion. *(Did the silly human just try to ride the other silly human? Silly humans, horses are for riding!)*

"Oh Tain, I'm sorry," she muttered, now flushing.

"Moira..."

"I guess I'm still weak in the knees-" clumsily, she got off of him an sat on his left, her legs all rubbery from riding and general prison-treatment.

"Moira." He slowly got himself into a similar sitting position.

"I mean, Not quite strong enough in- Um..." now she was brushing him off, pulling debris out of his hair.

"Moira!" he repeated, wrapping his hands around hers and pulling them down.

"Yes, Tain?" she said, just now looking directly at him.

Suddenly, words were not important. Nothing was, but him.

Tain suddenly found that he liked Moira's eyes. Alot.

"Hey. Making out?"

Tain and Moira both turned to the newly awakened Carson and his tired horse, both of who were leaning over looking at them with the same bored expression. They both glared back with their own separate dagger-eyed looks. Unfortunately, all Carson saw was Tain's typical 'Mask of No Emotion' and Moira's...

"Woo! Tain, your girlfriend looks HOT when she's mad!"

"WHAT?!" was her reply.

Major had been observing quietly, but now he jumped into action, anticipating a brawl. Something they could not afford to have right now. Leaping in between Carson and Tain, he turned around and took in the slightly shifted scene.

Tain was still, while Moira had stopped short of storming into Major to get at her taunter. Major was pleasantly surprised. He had expected Tain to react rashly, not the girl. Perry was somehow holding two angry Thingguys back, who no doubt thought they were acting chivalrous coming to the lady's rescue. Drumr fingered his sword, but remained on his horse. Jonna was simply observing Carson with a detached look of disdain, as the troublemaker looked around at everyone else, and smiled maliciously, quickly covering it when he saw Major standing next to him.

Major had made a decision. "Carson."

Carson started looking everywhere but Major.

"You have now lost the privilege of speech. Someone get me a gag."

This announcement got Carson's attention. "WHAT?!"

Tain pulled out a handkerchief. Jonna withdrew her own. Both Thingguy's ripped a length off of their shirts with self-righteous zeal. Peragrine withdrew a strip of duct tape from seemingly nowhere. Drumr pulled off a bandage. Moira was too busy smiling smugly at Carson.

Accepting Tain's cloth, Major began gagging the now raging Carson. "If you are going to hurt people with your tongue, then you will be rid of it. Notice how everyone is so eager to hurt you... Just as you hurt them."

Carson gave Major the stink-eye, then rolled his eyes sarcastically as he continued some muffled (probably dirty) rant.

~~~~~~

The entire group was in high spirits now that Carson had gotten his just desserts. Everyone thanked Major for his wise judgment. Pretty soon, they reached the foot of the Brawychus mountain range. Major went ahead of the group, and found a cave a short ways up. He peered in.

Sadly, it was very small, and he could see the back wall from here, even in the fading light coming from his right. It would not hold them all.

Turning to go back down, he saw Peragrine skipping up to meet him.

"How's the view?"

"Not good, kid. Somehow, we have to stay hidden here tonight, all crammed, or continue on, tired as we are, up these foothills, into the mountains proper..."

Perry peered into the cave, and confirmed what he was being told. He nodded. "Ok! I'll see what I can do." And with that he walked into the cave, and began absently trailing his fingers along the rough walls.

Major watched, a little confused. What did Peragrine think he could do?

Shortly thereafter, Tain came up. "What news?"

Major pointed to Peragrine, who was poking the back wall repeatedly.

"He's going to do something, but I don't know what. This is the best cover we're going to find tonight. Everyone's too tired to continue the climb, I'm guessing."

Tain nodded, following Major's gaze to Perry. Peragrine was now knocking on the stone, listening for something.

Suddenly, Tain realized what Perry was going to do, and he quickly shoved Major back in the direction down and to the side of the cave enterance. "Don't stand here," he said simply.

Major complied and turned around, stopping everyone else as they were coming up the softer incline to the side.

"Hey, what's going on?" Thingguy 1 asked as he got crowded between Major's arms and the horses behind him.

Major looked at Tain for an explanation, but before he could say anything, a loud blast broke the natural silence, followed by large chunks of rock flying out of the cave, and over the immediate small precipice.

"Much better!" came Perry's voice. A few more, less impressive, cracks and crashes followed, then the young mage appeared from the entrance. He was very dusty, but had a big grin on his face.

"WELCOME HOME, EVERYONE!"

~~~~~~

Well, it was hardly a home, but to the hot and tired travelers, it was right about perfect. Pretty soon, everyone was inside. Even the horses. Of course, the cave now seemed once again very small when shared with so many people, but (with Carson gagged,) there were no complaints. There was still room to lie down, so long as one didn't start doing fake snow angels. As everyone else began unpacking the light comforts they had, Major stopped Drumr from pulling out his tinderbox.

"We should probably forgo that tonight."

Drumr paused for a moment, then shook his head in agreement. "But we still need light," he said, beginning to look around.

Peragrine overheard. "I can do that! That was one of the first things I learned after escaping prison!"

Drumr considered the odd statement. "That sounds like such a strange thing to say..."

A few indecipherable mutterings later, a small mint green orb appeared in front of the mage. Then he shooed it, like he would a squirrel, and it went to the top-center of the cave, where it stayed.

"A little less," muttered Thingguy 2, who was already dozing off.

Peragrine muttered something as if he was lightly chiding a child, and the light dimmed.

Meanwhile, Tain had released Carson from his perch on the horse, in favor of shackeling him hand and foot.

Carson's feet now had a lenght of cord about a foot in slack between, and his hands were bound together in front of him with the lead rope to the horse. In this way, the horse acted as an imperfect stand-in for a better anchor to tie to.  Still gagged, Carson had just glared the entire time Tain had been re-arranging the bonds. In return, Tain had never said a word, much less looked at him.

Now Carson sat as everyone else began settling down. The long, exhausting walk was sending everyone to sleep very fast. Just as he began to doze off, sitting in the middle, just enjoying not being doubled over on the stupid-smelly horse he had decided to call 'Dimwitt', Drumr sat down next to him heavily with a small sack.

*'What are you doing?'* muffled Carson, though it came out: "Wrrrf rrr hhr hrrng?"

Drumr smiled pleasantly, but Carson couldn't tell if it was sincere or not.

"You want a biscuit, Carson?"

Ok, perhaps derogatory...?

"I got everyone else one. It's not much, but without being able to go hunting or make a fire, you won't get much else. Still, they're pretty buttery considering they've been in my pack for a few weeks now."

Carson had been hooked at 'biscuit', despite himself. His gag was now significantly more wet.

" 'course, the other guys want to tell me that if you say anything naughty, I'm supposed to replace that gag and not give you any more," he said, almost sounding serious. Or was he serious? Carson was having trouble reading him. It was probably the unholy green light.

Whatever, Carson hated them all. Even without his gag, he wouldn't be able to speak... EVERYTHING HE WANTED TO SAY WAS *'BAD'*. What *was* there about his current situation that WASN'T?!

Still, he nodded his assent. Buttery biscuits were better than pride, right about now.

Drumr nodded, and took the gag off. Carson worked his stiff jaw around a bit, then spat.

"I think there was really old perfume on that thing." *'-or maybe it was just Tain's B.O.',* is how he finished the sentence in his head.

Drumr shrugged, then feed him a tasty biscuit bite. It was very dry. After he swallowed, the prisoner asked. "Anything to drink?"

Drumr withdrew a canteen, and gave him a sip. Water.

This continued on for a little while. A bite. A sip. A bit. Another sip. Carson soon got into the rythm, and in no time at all the buttery biscuit was gone. Drumr wiped his hands, replaced the Canteen lid, and grabbed the gag.

"Wait!" Carson said.

Drumr turned to Carson with a raised eyebrow of suspicion. "What is it, Carson?"

"I haven't said anything rude."

Drumr thought back. It's true, he'd be quiet... He turned and looked at Major at the entrance, and Tain, who was talking- well, mostly listening- to Peragrine.

"Alright," agreed Drumr. "No gag. I'm going to give this back to Tain now." Drumr looked back at Carson with a hint of a smile hidden under alot of suspicion.

"Sleep well, Carson."

Carson nodded amiably. Anything to avoid that utterly wretched gag. "Oh, and Drumr."

"Yes?"

"I named the horse."

"Oh? What?"

"Dimwitt."

"Dewitt?"

"Yeah, Dimwitt."

"Dewitt. Cool."

"Glad you think so."

"I do. Goodnight, Carson. Goodnight Dewitt."

The horse nickered in it's sleep.

~~~~~~~

Later that night, Carson awoke to something poking him in the ribs. "Yeah, what?" he began sourly, as he opened his eyes. Peragrine's light had disappeared and now only the starlight and strong moonlight lit the front part of the cave. Very little light got back to where he lay. He turned to his left where the sound of snuffling came from, but didn't see any shadowy figure standing above him. Wait, there it was, right next to him! He jumped, and the thing separated into two shadows. Or, wait. One was Drumr's bag of biscuits... The other... He could make out small bull-like horns, large white buck teeth, and large nocturnal eyes.

Whatever it was, it chattered softly, backing up from the now upright Carson. His first instinct was to scream bloody murder, wake everyone up, there was some hideous beast here about to eat him!

But then a crazy thought popped into his head. Looking down at himself, he realized he was covered in biscuit crumbs from his hand-less meal earlier. Looking to the entrance, he saw that Peragrine was asleep on watch. Much like everyone else.

Quietly, for the dual purpose of not scaring the buck-toothed creature, as well as not waking anyone, he unzipped the pack of snacks, and pulled out a biscuit. The creature was instantly sniffing and snuffling, coming closer to Carson, who laid back down. Holding the Biscuit between his hands, he refrained from panic as the heavy, horned, beaver-like creature climbed up on his chest and began chomping through the biscuit... and the rope...

Now that it was right in front of his face, Carson got a better look at it. It looked very much like a beaver, except for the weird bull horns, but it's disposition reminded him more of a curious mole. Then it dawned on him. An old memory. This was a Meaber, a mythical creature he had read about somewhere, probably in a library, in younger years. Probably from one of those books he used to read, authored by some silly old hermit called 'Hinose Pinchmoney' or something like that. He was always writing stuffy legends and fairy tales.

Perhaps there was something in that biscuit... Was he hallucinating?

A small snap brought Carson back to the present. The Meaber had bit through! Nearly finished with the biscuit, the Meaber began licking up the smaller crumbs, then continued to snuffle Carson's shirt for more, which there was plenty of.

Carson could barely contain his eagerness to be off, but he knew that if he just shoved the creature off, he might make it mad. Make it scream, or whatever it is that Meabers do. So he just lay there, waiting... Free, and yet not free.

A few hours passed. Carson noted Thingguy 2 replace Peragrine on watch, as the Meaber continued to stay hidden in Carson's collective shadow, licking buttery crumbs. The small shuffling and snuffling being hidden by the collective snoring of best-left-unidentified parties. Then, finally, the creature couldn't find any more, and hopped off of Carson's stomach. Carson turned to glare at the creature, but it was ... gone... Then he turned his attention to the guard, Thingguy 2.

He was gone too!

Carson thanked his lucky stars, literally, as he saw that even his escape route would be clear *and* lit. Wasting no time, he leaned over and undid his foot rope-shackles. Then he reached into the snack-sack, thinking about grabbing a biscuit to go. . . *'Or why not take the whole thing?'*

So he did. Grabbing the sack, he tiptoed through the sleeping forms to the exit, where he peeked out cautiously. Good thing too, for there he was. Thingguy #2, taking a deep breath of night air, staring at the distant stars.

Carson grumbled in the silence of his mind. How was he going to get past him? Suddenly, some grumbling that wasn't his came from the Snack-sack, followed by shifting weight, and ... Chittering?

Without a second thought, Carson chucked the half-open sack at Thingguy, and the Meaber who had been contentedly snacking on buttery biscuits, now screamed (so Meaber's DO scream!) at the top of it's voice, attacking poor Thingguy with all it's animal ferocity. Thingguy, a hardened knight, and capable swordsman, alas, was not prepared for this nightmare, and was knocked down by the weight of the creature, yelling the call to arms as he and the Meaber tumbled down the descent!

Carson could not help himself as he ran off into the night. He laughed loud and hard. He was **FREE!** Free to do whatever he wanted.

Free, physically . . .  and morally.

*@ 9-16-17 Lady Jonna wrote:*

### Chapter Thirty-four the Untitled

“Ow!” Marty complained. “Ow! Ow!”

“Stop complaining,” Joe ordered.

“But I’ve got a rock in my shoe and it really hurts!”

Joe, Jayko, Lukas and Talmid all stopped impatiently so that Marty could get the rock out of his shoe. They’d been walking down the north side of the mountain for a few hours now. While Jayko and Joe seemed to be in their element/ready to hike all day, sirs Lukas and Talmid were doing less well since they were still recovering from illness and prison life. Marty was continually getting rocks in his shoes so they had to keep stopping.

“Where should we go now, anyway?” Jayko asked.

Talmid and Lukas exchanged glances. “Right now, the most important thing is to put distance between us and Dewin while he fixes that enchantment,” Lukas pointed out, “but if you have any ideas as to where we should head, feel free to say them.”

“Anywhere that thedude can’t reach us!” Marty said strongly as he finally fished out the sharp pebble that had been bothering him. He threw it down the incline angrily.

“What areas does thedude control now, anyway? Are there even any nearby places we could consider somewhat safe?” Talmid frowned.

“He controls pretty much everything now,” Lukas said.

“Even Nordland?”

“Yeah. Why?”

Talmid grimaced. “I suppose ‘twas too much to hope. I thought we might find an ally there. During one of my escapes I joined forces with some Nordeners who piloted huge machines called ‘skyboats’, though I doubt they’ve survived thedude’s attacks since.”

“Skyboats….” Jayko thought uncertainly. “That sounds familiar. I think Mathias mentioned them once.”

“Are they still active, then?”

The rookie knight shook his head. “Mathias didn’t say." Talmid thought for a moment.

“Even if they don’t have any airships, there might be minfigures who are willing to join in the battle against thedude. We need allies, after all. Still- it might be too slim of a chance to risk going there, not when the map is nearly complete.”

Marty finally spoke up. “It’s also really far. Will our messenger pigeons work so far from Dewin’s… house?” He frowned. “Cave? Domicile? Abode?”

Joe picked up the conversation while Marty trailed off into a synonym crisis. “Yeah. We don’t want to be too far away, otherwise the pigeons won’t work and we won’t know when to come back for the map.”

Talmid nodded. “Good point. Keeping in contact with everyone in the Sorcerer’s mountain is a priority. Finding recruits is just additional; the main thing is that we divert attention from Dewin in case anyone has been… following us.”

Everyone looked around warily, but saw nothing in the tree and rock filled surroundings. Motivated once again, Marty shoved his shoe back on and the five of them continued north.

“You know, we could split up like Dewin said,” Jayko suggested after a little while.

“What do you mean?" Lukas asked.

“One group could stay halfway to Nordland and keep in touch with the Sorcerer’ mountain, while the other group could go head into Nordland. They might not be able to contact Dewin, but they can contact the first group, in effect keeping everyone in communication.” Jayko looked pleased with the simple ingenuity of his plan.

Talmid frowned. In theory it was a good plan. He just couldn’t figure out the best way to split up the group. He needed to keep an eye on Lukas to make sure he continued to get well from his illness. At the same time, he needed to keep an eye on the potential poisoners. He glanced back at Joe and Marty who were just behind him. Joe gave him a thumbs-up. Marty was looking down at his shoe again and shaking it every other step, as if another stone had gotten in somehow.

Talmid turned back around. There seemed no good way to split everyone up. If he and Lukas went together in one group, he wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on both Joe and Marty. If he and Lukas went separate ways again, one or both of them would be alone with potential enemies.

Then there was Jayko. Matthias had trusted Jayko, so Talmid felt he should trust the rookie knight too. But Lukas-Thingguy had trusted Joe and Marty - and no matter how much Talmid valued Thingguy’s instincts, there was still the matter of the poisoning lingering uneasily.

If I can’t trust Thingguy’s friends, maybe I can’t trust Matthias’s friends either, no matter how dependable they seem, Sir Talmid mused. He sighed audibly. What a cynical way to look at things!

“’Tis too much of a long shot. Currently, we shall only divide our numbers if it becomes unavoidable,” he told the others. Joe shrugged and nodded agreeably. Jayko, however, had a look of concern on his face and began to object. “If there are recruits in Nordland, they could….” He trailed off as a noise came from behind them.

It wasn’t one of the normal sounds you’d hear in the forest, like leaves rustling or birds warbling. It sounded as though someone had dropped something, and it had landed with a conspicuous muffled thump on the pine needle carpet.

Everyone but Lukas all cast wary glances up the treacherous, overgrown mountainside. Lukas didn’t because he was busy staring off to the side.

“For sooth,” he whispered, “I believe I hath espied a spy.”

All heads swiveled in the direction Lukas was talking about.

“I don’t see anything,” Joe said. Then one of the shadows moved.

Jayko instantly jammed his helmet on and was about to burst after the retreating shadow, but Talmid grabbed his arm. “You might end up running straight into their main force!”

“But if he gets away, their main force is going to run straight into us!” Jayko insisted. “We can catch him!” He shouldered off Talmid’s hand and bounded away, remarkably quickly. “Come on!”

“Jayko, thou must stop! We can’t keep up with you, and we don’t want to split up yet!” Lukas exclaimed, lapsing out of olde speech.

“Just Joe and Marty then!” came the voice already nearly out of hearing.

Joe and Marty looked at each other uncertainly then rushed off after Jayko. “We’ll be right back!” “Stay here!” they assured the knights, then disappeared into the trees.

Sir Talmid threw up his hands in frustration. “Why doth not kids listen these days?” he said.

Jayko raced after the figure dodging through the trees ahead of him. He recognized the person as one of those strange Shinobi rogues that served thedude. They were reportedly the swiftest soldiers in the army- indeed, this one was very fast. Jayko put on an extra burst of speed and started catching up.

The Shinobi looked over his shoulder and saw he was being pursued. He zig-zagged through some bushes and took another look behind him, but the blue knight had gotten even closer.

Jayko saw the Shinobi falter and slow marginally. Putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he readied himself to attack. However, just before he was in range, the Shinobi disappeared into a cloud of shadow.

“What on Militiregnum?” Jayko exclaimed. Then the Shinobi appeared out of a shadow to his left. He started towards the figure, but it disappeared again, only to reappear to his right, further away this time. The knight stepped in that direction even as the mysterious Shinobi disappeared a third time… and didn’t reappear.

Breathing heavily, Jayko looked all around him. Blast these technological enemies and their fancy toys! There was little way to tell what direction the spy had gone. In fact, Jayko was starting to feel a little turned around in general. Which direction had he come from?

The sun made picturesque streams of yellow light as it filtered through the leaves overhead. There was lots of mysterious pollen- or dust- or who knows what visibly floating in the soft beams, which briefly threw concerns over air quality into question, but Jayko was not the sort of person to notice such things. Instead, he noticed his companions finally showing up.

Marty was panting as he came close enough to be heard. “Did you catch ‘im?” he wheezed.

“No.” Jayko was thoroughly disappointed in himself.

A strange whirring sound came from above, almost too quiet to perceive. They all looked up. It was hard to see with so much of the sun getting in their eyes, but the sky didn’t look exactly right- it was as if they were viewing it through water. Which made no sense. Why would the clouds be distorted and ripple like that?

“That’s odd,” Jayko noted.

Still looking up at the little patch of sky visible through the tress, he heard Marty and Joe quickly exchange words in frightened undertones.

“I don’t think-“ he heard one say, and even as he turned to ask them what was wrong, something hit his helmet with tremendous vigor. The metallic sound reverberated inside his helmet and seemed to penetrate his very skull, making his mind throb as he staggered. The back of his head felt as though it had been hit by one of those accursed automobiles he saw on the street sometimes; nonetheless his helmet had done its time honored job. He regained his footing and twisted around, sword hissing as it sprang out of its sheath, until he saw who had attacked him.

“No, how could-“ he began. His hesitation cost him. Jayko was struck on the head again, and this time his helmet could not shield him enough to keep the blow from knocking him unconscious.

“What-eth?!” Sir Talmid exclaimed. “Jayko hath been captured by the enemy?!”

“Well, there goes any chance of a Nordland vacation,” Lukas commented.

Marty, breathing hard, nodded. “Joe and I had just caught up when the Shinobi scout knocked him out. There was a ship cloaked right above us, and they put him inside of it. Joe and I managed to hide until it left! What do we do now?”

Sir Talmid thought quickly. Had Joe or Marty turned Jayko over to the enemy? Or was this an elaborate trap arranged by all three of them?

It didn’t matter either way. King Mathias had placed his knight under Talmid’s command, and that meant that Talmid was responsible for the rookie’s wellbeing. He owed that much to Mathias, at least.

“We must go save him. In which direction did the ship fly?”

“We’re pretty sure it went this way.” Joe pointed.

“Sir Lukas, I must speak with thee,” Talmid said in a low voice, grabbing his friend’s shoulder as Joe and Marty went ahead. “I don’t think we can trust those two.”

Lukas seemed dubious. Nevertheless he took the words of his long-time friend very seriously. “Why not?”

“Before we left Orlan, the Guardian told me that your illness wasn’t natural.”

“I should hope not. I’m not THAT old yet!”

“Luke,” Talmid urged his friend to pay attention, “one of them poisoned you.”

“Really?” Lukas looked shocked.

“Besides us, the only ones there were Joe, Marty and…” Talmid trailed off.

Lukas was silent as they thought about the implications.

“Come on, guys!” Joe called quietly.

“We need to get to the bottom of this impostor-Thingguy mystery,” Lukas said solemnly. “But right now, we can’t leave Jayko in the hands of the enemy if we can help it.”

Talmid agreed, and the two of them hurried after their “allies”.

Jayko blinked as a blaring spotlight barraged his eyes. An equally disruptive voice blared in his ears, effectively waking him up.

“Tell us your favorite color!” someone roared at him.

“What?” he said.

“Fine then!” the voice replied, still at a level loud enough to shake buildings. “If you won’t cooperate, we’ll just have to find other ways to make you tell us what we need to know!”

Jayko tried to rub his eyes, then realized his hands were tied behind him. “Am I being interrogated?”

“We’ll ask the questions here! Now tell us… what is your favorite animal?!”

“Um, falcons?”

The sound of a pencil scratching on paper came from somewhere else in the room. The sound paused, and a squeaky voice piped up.

“Uh, Mr. Barnes-“

“That’s SIR to you, insubordinate!”

“-okay, Sir, couldn’t we have figured out his favorite color and animal by looking at his shield?”

“Never question a superiour officer! Get back to transcribing!”

The scratching sound resumed.

“Where was I? Right. Where were you the night before the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox?!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Playing dumb, eh? Well, that won’t get you anywhere! Once Menaya comes, there will be nothing you can hide!”

Jayko squinted. “Can I at least get some sunglasses here?” Those were one of the more useful inventions thedude had imported to Morcia. Secretly, Jayko thought they looked awesome but would never admit it before his fellow knights.

The transcriber brought him a pair, which helped considerably even if it didn’t block all of the light. While they waited for this mysterious Menaya person, Mr. Barnes continued to assail the rookie with all the skill of a hard-boiled officer.

“What’s my name?!”

“Were you the one who stole Lord thedude’s royal slippers eight months ago?!”

“Remember, according to Law #12, you are permitted to remain silent while we question you! But you’d better not!”

This went on and on, and eventually Jayko started wondering what was keeping the mentioned Menaya, and if her interrogation tactics could possibly be any worse.

@ ***15th of July 2017, 5th of August 2017, and 17th of September also 2017 Sir Ninjago\_Builders wrote:***

### Chapter Thirty-five

Carson was unhappy. For one, his name made him sound like he was the son of a car. For another, he had been running for a few hours now and had stubbed each toe at least once and ran through what was probably poison ivy or poison oak or just pure undiluted poison and also ran into a bear (not of the nine-headed man eating sheep variety, though) and then he ran into an invisible tree. (It’s called a chatreeleon). Anyone would be unhappy in his situation. After all, it must be horrible to have a name like Carson.

(Apologies in advance if your name is actually Carson. Carson isn’t all that bad of a name. It’s just people like Carson that give it a bad name.)

“Hah! I have escaped!” Carson enthusiastically exclaimed. But his enthusiasm died a bit as he realized that he had nowhere to go! He was an enemy of both thedude and KotOS.

“Well,” Carson said to himself. “Anything’s better than being a prisoner. Except for a desk job. Because when you have a desk job, you’re a prisoner to society."

After wandering through the woods for a while, he noticed a plume of smoke rising through the treetops some distance away. Realizing that he had no idea where he was, and also that he was more than likely going to die lost in the woods unless he acquired directions to the nearest town, he decided to check out the source of the smoke to see if it someone who wasn't his enemy.

In a clearing in the woods was a bonfire around which over a hundred armor clad men were sitting. Five people with especially important looking armor were huddled together in discussion. Carson stayed at the outer edges of the clearing, hidden in the bushes, to avoid being seen, and listened to their discussion. The guy with the fanciest looking armor, who was presumably their leader, said to the rest

“So when Vladek’s forces march down this bend in the road, we’ll engage them. Then, while they’re distracted with our frontal assault, the light brigade and archers, who will have been hiding in the woods, will attack them from behind, and they will be completely surrounded.” He turned to one of the other guys who was part of the discussion and said “Henry! You’re in charge of the Light Brigade. Larry! You’re in charge of the archers. George! You will be among the frontal assault with me. Your job will be to assess when Vladek’s forces are the most distracted, and then signal the light brigade to attack when the time is right.”

“Uh, Sir Durman?” the man named George asked. “Will Vladek be with his men? Because I don’t think we’ll be able to defeat Vladek.

“Hah! Of course we could defeat him! My strategy is flawless! However, it just so happens that Vladek won’t be there. This is just a small convoy of his men who are carrying weapons and supplies to his main camp. We won’t have to worry about Vladek.”

George breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alrighty then! Now that we’ve decided on our course of action, I will inform our men!”

The leader, Sir Durman stood up and stood on a wooden supply crate.

“Attention soldiers! This will be a hard battle! But I know we will prevail! Our foot soldiers, along with our heavy brigade on horseback will begin the front assault on Vladek’s forces as soon as then reach the turn in the road here,” he unfurled a map and pointed to a bend in a road. They have us slightly outnumber, so you men will have to show the ultimate bravery! Then, while the troops are distracted, the light brigade will charge in from behind and attack them! And the archers will provide them cover! Remember archers: we are very low on supplies, including arrows. If this attack succeeds, then we will be restocked with the supplies we raid from thedude’s convoy. However, until then, you will have to make sure that every arrow takes down an enemy. Not a single arrow can be squandered! And for the Light Brigade: keep in mind that victory rests on your soldiers! We are depending on you to effectively flank the enemy and capture those supplies! We are the great No More thedude Group Army! We cannot be defeated!!! And we shall fight to the death if need be, because nothing is worse than being a prisoner!”

“Except for a desk job!” a soldier called out.

“Well of course; when you have a desk job, you’re a prisoner to society. Now let’s get those supplies!”

“YEAH! WHOOHOO! LET’S GET ‘EM!” all the soldiers cheered.

Deciding that he didn’t want to be anywhere near the battlefield, Carson began backing away from the encampment. But alas, Carson stepped upon a twig!

Over 100 heads swiveled to look straight at carson.

“State your business! Why were you spying on us?!?!?”

“Erm, I, uh, I’m just a normal citizen who hates thedude just like you. You know, I was just hanging around here cause I was so impressed with your epic plan to defeat Vladek’s soldiers.” Carson gave what he hoped was a convincing smile.

“Oh. Is that so?” Sir Durman raised an eyebrow.

Carson kept smiling nervously.

“Well that’s great! We need every man we can get for the upcoming battle!” Sir Durman plopped a helmet onto Carson’s head and thrust a sword into his hand.

“You’ll join the foot soldiers participating in the frontal assault.”

Sir Durman roughly patted Carson on the back and motioned him toward the rest of the foot soldiers who were standing together.

One of the foot soldiers raised a hand in greeting.

“Yo new guy,” he said gruffly. “I’m Jordon, the leader of the foot soldiers. The casualties will be the greatest for us foot soldiers, but the glory will be the greatest as well! Let’s move out!”

Carson gulped.

~ ~ ~

Henry, Larry, and George were finalizing their plans for the epic flank by the archers and the light brigade.

“You ever thought about why it’s called the light brigade?” Henry inquired.

“Obviously because we fight for the light, against the dark forces of evil!” George answered promptly.

“Oh, I thought it was supposed to be kinda a contrast between the light brigade and the heavy brigade,” Larry commented.

“That’s quite offensive though. It’s a lot politer to refer to it as the weight challenged brigade,” George replied.

Henry nodded knowingly in agreement.

“Well, I must be off to join the foot soldiers and heavy brigade so that I can send you the signal from there,” George said.

“Wait! How will you give us the sign to attack Vladek’s troops?” Henry inquired.

“How about you shoot a flaming arrow into the sky, sorta like a flare, which will let us know that we should attack,” Lary suggested.

“No, that won’t do.” George said, shaking his head. “Sir Durman stated each arrow will have to take down an enemy. Not a single arrow can be squandered, you know!”

“Yes, of course,” Henry agreed, nodding knowingly.

“No, instead, I must send you The Sign of the Eagle!” George exclaimed.

“The Sign of the Eagle?! What is that?! How will we recognized it?!” Larry asked, awestruck by how epic The Sign of the Eagle sounded.

“The Sign of the Eagle will become apparent to you when the time is right,” George said sagely. “You will know it when you see it.”

~ ~ ~

A short while later…

The foot soldiers and heavy brigade had already engaged Vladek’s forces, and the battle was close. While Vladek’s forces had both superior numbers and superior skill, the The No More thedude Group Army made up for it with their unmatched ferocity and bravery in battle. However, the The No More thedude Group Army had not yet revealed their trump card! The light brigade and archers ready to flank Vladek’s forces!

Henry and Larry waited tentatively for the anticipated Sign of the Eagle. So far, they had not received it. Then, off in the distance in the middle of the battlefield, Larry spied George signaling them! George flapped his arms up and down, calling out “Ka-caw! Ka-caw!”

Larry’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. “IT’S THE SIGN OF THE EAGLE!!! THAT MUST BE IT”

Henry stroked his beard. “No, it can’t be,” he stated. “Eagle’s don’t make a “Ka-caw!” sound! Crows make that sound! Eagles make a “Screech!” sound! And they don’t flap their wings! They glide majestically! Like so!” Henry held out his arms and glided majestically in circles while screeching at the top of his lungs.

“We must wait for the actual Sign of the Eagle,” Henry advised. “George must be making a crow signal instead to throw off Vladek’s forces, so that any enemies that may see him will be confused!”

“You’re right!” Larry exclaimed. “How could have I been so blind?”

~ ~ ~

Needless to say, with neither the Light Brigade nor the archers flanking the enemy when they were needed to do so, the brave yet intellectually challenged No More thedude Group Army was defeated and captured by Vladek’s forces.

So, once again Carson was tied up, except this time, by the other side. And also, he wasn’t alone this time. Sir Durman was tied up to his right, and Henry was tied up to his left.

“Henry!” Sir Durman cried out, clearly upset that his intricately crafted plan had failed. “Where was the Light Brigade?!?!?! What happened?!?!?!?!?”

“We never received the Sign of the Eagle, sir!”

“...the what?”

“The Sign of the Eagle! It was the signal that George agreed to send to us when we should attack! But we never received it! We just received some crow signal.”

“You know, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. But no matter, while we may not have won this battle, we earned glory and honor, which is a victory on its own! The foot soldiers and heavy brigade fought valiantly!”

“The...what?” Henry asked, scratching his head. “What’s the heavy brigade?”

Sir Durman looked at him in disbelief.

“Oh!” Henry exclaimed, as it dawned on him. “You must mean the Weight Challenged brigade!”

~ ~ ~

Carson was extremely nervous. While nothing was worse than being a prisoner, this was ESPECIALLY true for being a prisoner of thedude. If you weren’t experimented on, you were sent to a labor camp. Carson didn’t look forward to either option. Still, on the bright side, he had made it through the battle relatively unscathed. He’d only been stabbed a couple of times in probably not vital organs. Thanks to his natural cowardice and ability to run away from danger, he had fared much better than the majority of the foot soldiers.

Suddenly, the Meaber from before returned to Carson’s side! It had remembered him, and was here to rescue him!

“Yes, Meaber! Bite through these ropes and get me out of here!”

The Meaber ran towards Carson whose arms which would have been outstretched if they hadn’t been tied behind his back...and then he ran right past Carson.

“Wait! Where are you going?! Come back! Don’t you remember me? It’s me, Carson! I gave you a biscuit!”

But the Meaber ignored him. It trotted on past and headed straight to a Paradox Rogue! The Rogue crouched down and held out a biscuit and the Meaber ate it right out of his hand!

Carson gasped.

“That traitor! He was working with the Rogues the whole time! Why, I bet he didn’t even care about me! He conned me out of those biscuits, knowing that even if he set me free I would only be caught again a short while later!”

Also a bunch of fire ants crawled all over him and he caught on fire.

Then the wind shifted.

It was a small shift.

It wasn’t even consciously noticeable.

But it caused everyone to feel a bit on edge and look around to see what was up with that.

Then, everyone heard a faint whirring, and a steady “whoosh woosh woosh” like something was turning in the air. The whirring grew louder, and the steady “whoosh whoosh whoosh” did as well! The whirring and the whooshing seemed to pass right over Carson’s head! And then Carson saw a Womholer spin through the air and smash the Guard nearest to him. There was a moment of shocked silence as both prisoners and guards tried to register what had happened. And then suddenly there was tons of whooshing all directions as a barrage of spinning Wormholers whirled through the air! Carson squinted in the direction from which the spinning Wormholers were coming from, and saw a hooded figure dashing in and out of the shadows, throwing Wormholers at Vladek’s forces whenever he appeared! But the guards were ready for the attack this time, and most of Vladek’s forces narrowly avoided the whirring sawblades. However, not all of the Wormholers were aimed for the guards. Some of them sliced through the chains of the imprisoned soldiers, freeing them. Despite being weaponless, the now free No More thedude Group Army soldiers attacked the armed guards with their bare fists. Now that the freed prisoners had joined the fray, the hooded figure was unable to continue throwing Wormholers lest he hit one of the No More thedude Group Army soldiers, so instead he lept up on top a supply wagon to give a motivational speech.

“Fight for your freedom!” the hooded man called out in deep, raspy voice. “We cannot let thedude’s tyrannical rule continue any longer! Fight to the death if you must, for there is nothing worse than a desk job!”

“Except for a desk j--oh, um, I thought you were going to say something else.” The soldier who shouted this looked at the ground sheepishly.

Through the power of bravery, ferocity, and spinning Wormholers flying through the air slicing enemies in half, the rebel soldiers were victorious.

“That was epic!” George exclaimed.

“Yes, I am,” the mysterious cloaked figure replied in his deep and raspy voice.

“Why is your voice so raspy?” Sir Durman asked.

“I must disguise my normal voice with this epic voice in order to preserve my secret identity.”

“Who are you?” Larry  asked, awestruck.

“I’m am… Serious Man! ‘Cause I kick serious brick!!!”

With that, Serious Man threw a smoke grenade onto the ground. By the time the smoke had disappeared, so had he.

“Remember,” the epic, raspy voice called out from the darkness. “You either die a Hero or live long enough to see yourself get a desk job.”

The weird, hooded, Wormholer-throwing guy reminded Carson of something; he just couldn’t figure out exactly what. And wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

\*\*\*

@***19th of January 2018 ya boi Haroldosaur wrote:***

### Chapter 36 or something

The night closed
in, similar to the way a cat might close in on a mouse. The sun's dying rays
illuminated the mountainous skyline a brilliant gold. Snow-capped peaks cast
blackened silhouettes upon the skyline, casting shadows that ran for miles in
their wake. Upon a rocky outcrop, Menaya Kull surveyed the mountain that
doubled as the hideaway of Dewin Prentiss. Though the wizard's apprentice had
evaded TheDude's forces for many a year, he had finally been cornered. And, to
make things better... Ghost Hand was with him.

Menaya smiled, in
spite of herself. She had heard rumours of Ghost Hand's prowess as an
alchemist. Supposedly, he was good enough to rival the Fire Fist. If that were
the case, he would be quite tricky to apprehend. Once again, she briefly
lamented the Wizard Boy's loss. But no matter. She had been quite skilled
enough before being granted access to power. She could manage without him. She
would defeat the Apprentice, and Ghost Hand, herself.

She furrowed her
brow. The only catch was the lack of knowledge surrounding Ghost Hand's
companions - the fact that he *had* companions
notwithstanding. She wanted to believe that her troops would be able to handle
them, but if there was one thing she had learned in her years as a Paradox
Commander, it was that the only person she could trust to get the job done
properly was herself.

"Prepare
yourself, Apprentice." She spoke out loud. "Your last hours are upon
you."

\*\*\*

It had been, Iamos
pondered, a bad idea to bring Akane along. Never mind the fact that her not
coming was a physical impossibility, it had still been a bad idea. The problem
was not that she had taken a disliking to Dewin Prentiss - given his squawking
and indignant manner, it was easy for someone to slip into thinking negatively
about the wizard's apprentice. The problem was that Akane was very... vocal
about her opinions. If she liked something, she wouldn't shut up about it -
Iamos reckoned he knew as much about Akane's partner as he did his own sister -
but she'd be almost as vocal about whatever she disliked.

This, of course,
meant that she and Dewin had done nothing but snipe at one another whenever
possible, while Iamos, Daiyu, and Horatio were caught in the middle of it all.
Iamos himself figured that it wasn't the best idea to disturb the man who was
supposed to be fixing the important magical artefact, but it didn't seem to
negatively affect the man's work ethic - so he let it be for a time.

That being said,
thought Iamos as he rolled his eyes, when one's attendant says to one's host
that she'll "kick his arse if [he's] talking out of it", it's
appropriate for one to take action.

"Alright,
Akane." Said he, standing up and staring his guard down.
"Simmer."

Akane, for her
part, looked about ready to punch Dewin, but grunted and took a step back
nonetheless. Dewin fixed Iamos with a strange look.

"You ought to
keep her under control." He said, sounding harsh as he did so.

"It's funny
how you think that I have "control" over her." Iamos responded,
doing his best to remain unmoved despite Dewin's harsh words. "She's a
sentient human being who can think for herself."

"I was
referring to your authority." Dewin, too, remained unmoved. His voice
lowered, and his stiff shoulders - which had previously been hunched up so far,
he had looked neckless - began to relax. This was presumably as a result of
speaking to someone who wasn't emotive and angry. "By all accounts, you
have a lot of it. I was hoping that you could exercise some of it over
her."

"Where have
you heard that?" Asked Horatio, shifting their position as they did so.
They were leaning against the wall, with their arms folded - the picture of a
sedate personality. Only the gleam in their eyes revealed any inner emotion.

Dewin harrumphed to
himself before replying, causing Iamos to narrow his eyes in turn. The wizard's
apprentice hadn't been particularly kind to any of them, but he seemed to have
something akin to a grudge against Horatio. Off the top of his head, Iamos
reckoned that it was because of the immoral way homunculi were created - but
that shouldn't have reflected badly on a homunculus themselves. (At least, in
his opinion.) It was the main reason why Akane was so angry at Dewin to begin
with - his incessant prickliness towards her friend.

"Once again,
the kingdom of Morcia has many eyes, and sources of information." He said.
"A number of them have referred to the newest-risen alchemist. Iamos, the
ghost hand. That's you - or am I wrong?"

Iamos observed
Dewin's gaze flicker briefly to his stump, and then back to his face. Though it
was hard, he did his best to maintain eye contact with the other man. The
apprentice's eyes were sunken slightly into his head, flecked with sleep and
heavy with bags as a result of the effort he had put into fixing the map thus far.

"No, you're
not wrong." Iamos said. "I don't know who came up with the moniker,
but it's what I seem to be known as nowadays."

"Hey, quick
question." Akane interjected. She had taken a seat on one of the room's
chairs, and sat with her back to the fireplace. Her blood-red hair was
illuminated by the dying light. "Why are you gabbing with us instead
fixing the map?"

Instantly, Dewin's
shoulders rose back up. Another time, Iamos might have laughed - the tick of
annoyance made him look like an overweight turtle.

"Insolent..."
He hissed, then rolled his eyes. "The next stage of the repair process is
automatic. My presence isn't required, so I thought I'd come in here and get
some more books and research materials."

"Great job.
Super productive." Said Akane sarcastically, though she was fixed with a
disappointed stare from Daiyu - who was sitting at Iamos' side.

"Akane, I
think you're being too harsh." She said. Iamos nodded in agreement.

"Most of his
lack of productivity can be attributed to the time he's spent arguing with you.
Not that I'm saying either of you are in the right or wrong, but backing off
might be the best strategy if you want him to work productively."

Akane glowered at
the pair of them, before folding her arms.

"Whatever,
mums." She spat.

Dewin, for his
part, simply nodded assent.

"This is the
authority I was talking about." He explained. "Much
appreciated."

"Sure. I have
a question." Iamos stated, realising that something had been bothering him
for a time. Dewin raised an eyebrow, but otherwise gave no dissent. Instead, he
idly waved a hand. His ill-fitting robes dangled from his limb as it moved.

"Why did you
want me, of all people, to look after you?"

He wasn't quite
sure what he had been expecting, but the question seemed to give Dewin no pause.
The apprentice immediately jumped into an explanation. It was strange to
observe how muted and controlled his actions were when he wasn't indignantly
screeching at someone.

"The fact of
the matter is, *alchemist*-" he
placed harsh emphasis on the word "alchemist", and Iamos
involuntarily flinched. After years of relative acceptance, he should have been
able to get over the sign of prejudice easily - but it still brought back bad
memories. Daiyu appeared to notice this, and slipped her hand into his, giving
his fingers a comforting squeeze. He squeezed back, trying to convey his
appreciation.

Dewin had either
not noticed Iamos' discomfort, or didn't care, for he continued to speak
regardless. "If I had to be protected by someone, it might as well be a
fellow user of the arcane arts. And alchemy, much as many are loath to admit,
is one of them. I'd rather have you watch my back than a group of old men with
swords."

"You don't
sound very confident in their abilities." Observed Horatio. "Aren't
you supporting their defeating TheDude?"

Dewin looked as
though he had drunk a mouthful of lemon juice. "It's all just a fight
between old men with swords, if you think about it." He explained. "I
don't doubt their ability to rise to the occasion. What bothers me about the
whole affair is that TheDude and his immediate subordinates possess authority,
which they are abusing with the intent to - amongst other things - kill me, and
endanger my master's work. I should like very much to avoid both of those
scenarios."

He looked at the
fire, then at one of the books, then gave a start.

"Good
gracious! I should get back to the map!" Hastily, he grabbed a cluster of
scrolls and powerwalked out of the room, stuffing the research under his arm as
he did so.

The door of the
room slammed shut, the wood rattling slightly in its way before stilling. A few
moments passed, and Akane stretched and groaned.

"Stars
above." She muttered. "Does anyone else not like him?"

Horatio shrugged.
"I consider myself neutral."

"Whilst I
wouldn't consider him likable," Daiyu admitted, "you didn't really...
help matters, Akane."

Akane, for her
part, remained silent for a little while, staring at the ground and hunched
over in her chair. Eventually, she grimaced, and let the words "I
know" slip from her lips.

Iamos shared a
glance with Daiyu. Concern was etched on her face - brow furrowed, lips
downturned. And though Iamos was still unsure exactly how he could tell, her
eyes - dark lilac, rounded and long-lashed - seemed to say everything. He
couldn't remember ever finding it hard to look into those eyes.

"Let's not
worry about it now." Iamos heard himself say, even as he and Daiyu
continued to stare at one another. "Let's just... call it a night."

"Hmm."
Horatio mused, standing up to their full (impressive) height. "It seems
early."

"Maybe."
Acknowledged Daiyu, being the first to break eye contact, and turning to face
the other two members of their party. "But we've... well, quite a long
day. I think we could do with a rest."

"Besides,"
Iamos felt compelled to add, "we're supposed to be *protecting* Dewin. We need our rest, in case TheDude's forces find
us. And we should be trying to get along with him."

Even he could tell
that it was the wrong thing to say, as Akane slumped over further, and
Horatio's brow furrowed. Daiyu cast him a glance that was somewhere between
worried and unamused.

"Yes,
well," she said, acting as damage control, "we can worry about that
later."

Everyone awkwardly
nodded, and Iamos and Daiyu stood up as one.

"We'll, uh...
go now." Iamos muttered. "See you all in the morning."

"Night."
Akane managed as the two walked out of the room.

"I wasn't
wrong, though, was I? We need to be on guard for attack."

"We do, but it
wasn't what they... what we needed to hear."

"What should I
have done, then? Been silent on the matter? Let them forget why we're
here?"

"Not
necessarily, just..."

Daiyu trailed off.
Iamos turned around to look at where she was standing, in the centre of the
darkened room. With no sunlight, the only source of luminance to be found was a
single candle in one corner, which flickered ominously every few seconds. Their
room was the largest available, but was still slightly too small for two
people. With the silence of the night, and the closed door, it was easy for
Iamos to imagine that it was just the two of them, in their own little world.
It didn't make everything better, but it helped.

He sighed, casting
his eyes downward. He hated this feeling. His lack of understanding was a
hinderance, no doubt about it, but it always felt worse for it to be pointed
out. It felt like a physical weight on his shoulder or neck, and it was a
struggle to raise his head in order to meet Daiyu's gaze once again.
Mercifully, she didn't look angry with him. She just looked kind of tired,
which was logically better than wrath.

It felt worse,
though. Like she was tired of him. He didn't want that.

"I'm
sorry." He said. Try as he might to put the emotions that he knew he was
feeling into the words, they sounded so bland to him. He sounded emotionless,
like he didn't care.

"It's
ok." Daiyu said back. She sounded like so many emotions all at once, and
he envied her. She must have seen his despondency, because she stepped forward.
"Iamos? Iamos. Look at me."

He did. He didn't
have to look up - he did whenever they were close, because she was taller than
him - but instead levelled his gaze, meeting her eyes. She smiled.

"It's
ok." She said. "It's not the end of the world. Honestly, it's not
even that big of a deal. I think... I think that, even if you could have timed
it better, it was still something they needed to hear."

The weight began to
lift off Iamos' shoulders - not that he found himself at peace. "It's very
complicated." He managed to say. Redundant. Why would he say that? The
same thought he had had his entire life?

Daiyu softly
laughed. "Oh, I've heard that one before." Her smile faded, but the
glimmer in her eyes refused to die. "I know it's not much consolation, but
believe me when I say that it's hard for a lot of other people, as well. It's
like..." she paused, as if considering her words, before speaking up
again. "Look, people are complicated. Relationships are complicated. It's
a fact of life. But nobody of any worth is going to fault you for trying,
ok?"

"Yeah."
Iamos nodded. "Thanks, Daiyu. I... I love you."

It always made him
happy to say that.

"I love you
too." Daiyu stepped forward again, and hugged him before he could react.
"And I'm proud of you." She continued to speak, and Iamos let himself
bask in her words, like a lizard sunning itself on a rock. "You've made so
much progress since we first met, you know? You've come really far, and I know
it's hard for you."

"Credit where
credit is due," said Iamos, who felt as though he ought to say something
too. "I think you've come quite far, as well. Less, uh... nervous. Shy.
You're more confident, which is good. And... I don't know. Confident."

Daiyu laughed
again, pulling out of the hug and looking him in the eyes. "Well, it's not
like I've completely changed. It helps that we're close. We know each other
better, which makes everything seem less... intimidating. Scary.
Besides..." she raised an eyebrow. "I remember someone telling me
that I should have a bit more confidence in myself."

"Glad to see
you've taken my advice to heart." Iamos could feel himself smile. He
wasn't quite sure how he felt about his smile. It felt a bit weird on his face,
and whenever he smiled too much, he'd close his eyes. (For some reason.) Daiyu
didn't seem to mind, though, which helped.

"You've proven
yourself to be suitably wise." Said Daiyu. "I figured that advice or
yours might turn out well for me."

Already, Iamos was
beginning to miss the feeling of contact between the two of them, but said
nothing. However, Daiyu moved forward again. How was she able to sense things
like that? To understand him, without him having to say a word? In a lot of
cases, people being able to do that to Iamos had been an annoyance, or an
outright detriment. With Daiyu, however... it was special. It made him feel
special.

They kissed, then
pulled apart. Daiyu smiled for a bit, but then her expression contorted into
one of almost desperation.

“Can we really do
this?” She asked him. “Can we win?”

It was a difficult
question, to be sure. Iamos pondered it for a moment, still clasping her
shoulders as he did so. The re-emergence of the knights of the old speech, he
reasoned, was the catalyst for his action. And the action of a lot of others,
it seemed. There would certainly be enough revolutionary forces, if all
gathered under one banner, to defeat TheDude. But whether they would unite was
another matter entirely.

“I don’t know.” He
admitted. “But I think… I think what we *can*
do is never give up. The truth of our universe is what we choose for ourselves,
right? We have the potential to change the world. You, and me, and our friends,
and the knights, and everyone who so wishes. We’ve just got to… be practical
about it, I guess.”

Daiyu sighed, and
Iamos felt a shudder go down his spine. Had he said the wrong thing, again? But
then she smiled, and he suddenly felt as though (in spite of their dubious
situation) that everything was going to be alright.

“Thanks.” Muttered
Daiyu. “I think… I think I knew, but I, uh, needed to hear it anyway. You
know?”

“Vaguely.” Said
Iamos, nodding in an uncertain manner. “Vaguely. Are you, uh – are you okay?”

“Optional.” Daiyu
replied, which made him laugh. “It’s kind of a stressful time, but… this *is* war.” She stopped laughing, instead
opting for a smile, and walked past him. “Now, come on. Let’s get some rest.”

Iamos couldn’t find
a reason to disagree.

Mornings didn’t *normally* start with explosions. Not
normally. And yet, Iamos felt himself jolted out of his stupor with the
undeniable sound of an explosive blast. Daiyu all but jumped up beside him,
panic in her eyes.

“What the…?” She
didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t need to. Iamos got the message well
enough. His own eyes were still half-lidded shut with sleep, and he rubbed
them, dazed. He felt surprised and annoyed, but not panicked, which he supposed
was useful. He was curious, though. Who was attacking them? Presumably someone
working for TheDude – who else? Why would they be attacking? The map. It had to
be. The map was still in their care, whilst the Knights had already left. But
did these people know that the knights had left, or did they-

“Iamos!”

He was shaken out
of his thoughts by the sight of their room’s door jolting against its hinges.
Someone was outside, trying to batter it down. Trying to get in. Fully awake
now, prompted by the apparent gravity of the situation, Iamos grabbed a shirt
and pulled it over his head before focusing on the ground in front of the door,
which was solid rock. It rose, blocking off the wooden door in an instant.

“That should buy us
some time.” He heard himself saying. There was no immediate response from Daiyu
– only muttered curses as she hastily dressed herself. (Iamos had no such
issue, having all but slept in his clothes. (Shirt notwithstanding.)) Shoving
his arms through the shirtsleeves, Iamos grabbed his long leather coat from the
peg it had been hung on beside his bed. He let the leather fall onto his
shoulders, taking comfort from the familiar weight it brought, before turning
to Daiyu, who was hurriedly tying her shirt’s neckline with one hand, and
gathering her hair into a ponytail with the other. As always, he tried to
remember the sensation of doing something with both hands at once. It was
becoming more and more foreign each day.

“Should we find the
others, or the map?” She asked him, getting straight down to business. He
nodded in appreciation of her readiness.

“Map.” He said.
“Both would be nice, but the others can take care of themselves. Presuming that
these guys work for TheDude, if they get their hands on the map, all of our
work will have been for nothing.”

She nodded back. “I
hear you. Do we know where the map is?”

Iamos hesitated,
the question desperately rattling around inside his head. They didn’t know
where the map was!

“I… Dewin must
know.” He eventually managed, suddenly realising that he needed shoes (and
lunging for his own). “We have to find him, and get both him and the map out of
here.”

Daiyu nodded,
before casting an anxious gaze towards the wall of stone that blocked off their
doorway. By now, the clattering had turned to a dull thunk, indicating that
whoever was on the other side had reached the rock behind the door.

“Should we… lower
the barrier?” She asked, slightly hesitantly. Iamos shook his head vigorously.

“In a moment.” He
said. “I need to put my shoes on.”

“You’d better not
do the shoe dance.” Said Daiyu, as an afterthought, but it seemed to be too
late. Iamos had stood up and, not willing to fiddle with the laces and straps
on his boots, had begun slamming the tip of his shoes into the ground, manually
pushing his foot into the footwear.

“Iamos, hurry up!
Now is not the time!” Daiyu sounded quite exasperated, which didn’t seem fair
to him. He *was* hurrying.

“It’s because-”
\*THUNK\* “-I’m trying to-” \*THUNK\* “-be quick-” \*THUNK\* “-that I’m-” \*THUNK\*
“-doing this!”

By the time he had
managed to slip into his shoes, Daiyu looked outright cross. Any other time,
Iamos would have listened to her concerns and tried to rectify his habits based
on them. Today, however, there was no time to spare.

“You’re going to
damage your shoes.” She muttered, as he took his place in front of the barrier.

“So I’ve heard.” He
muttered back, cracking his knuckles (as he had learnt to do with just one
hand) as he prepared to manipulate the stone.

They had had
similar conversations many times.

“Are you ready?” He
called out to her. The hammering only increased in volume, presumably because
their voices had been heard.

“Probably not,” She
admitted, bouncing around on her heels from adrenaline, “but go ahead.”

Iamos nodded, and
suddenly the stone was no longer there. A trio of soldiers stumbled into the
room, their red-and-black armour and high-tech equipment classifying them as
the soldiers known as Paradox Rogues. Ignoring the cry of “Where did the wall
go?” that came from one of the rogues, Iamos focused again, and electrical
crackling rang out around the room as small flickers of blue danced around. The
rogues, still dazed, were suddenly pulled together by their own metal armour. A
clang of metal rang, out, and Iamos ambled over to the trio, which were now
hopelessly stuck to one another.

One of the rogues
raised their blasters, but the next second, it was suddenly pulled against the
rogues own chestplate, stuck fast by some invisible force that left the rogue
unable to point his weapon at the alchemist. Iamos sighed through his nose, and
then turned to Daiyu.

“You coming?” He
asked, shoving his hand into his pocket.

“One sec.” Daiyu
turned to the rogues. The stony ground rose up around them, forming a
pseudo-cage and rendering them *doubly*
unable to move.

“Okay, let’s go.”
Iamos said, upon seeing that Daiyu had secured their opponents. She nodded, and
the two jogged forwards – out of their room, and down the corridor. The only
light was provided by flaming torches embedded into the walls, which cast long
and shimmering shadows down the hideout’s hallways. The pair ran alongside one
another, listening out for the clangs of metal and gunshots that acted as
pseudo-guides, giving them a rough idea of where things were happening.

“Did Dewin ever say
where his room was?” Said Daiyu as the two ran. Iamos realised that no, the
apprentice hadn’t.

“He… never
mentioned it. But I have an idea.” He realised out loud. “If he knows that
we’re under attack-”

“He probably does.”
Daiyu interrupted. “I feel like he’d notice this.”

“Right.” Iamos nodded
in agreement, because she was probably right. “Anyway, he’d probably go and
defend the books-” He was cut off again, this time by Daiyu launching herself
at him and knocking him to the ground. A blast of indigo energy shot over their
heads, illuminating the corridor as it continued on its merry way. Looking up,
Iamos saw a lone rogue holding a blaster, in the process of wheeling around to
aim at his targets. He was never able to take aim – the floor under him
suddenly jerked upwards, sending him flying, and the wall closest to him jutted
outwards. The stone slammed into the rogue, sending him careening through the
air and into the other side of the corridor. He bounced off the wall, and lay
still.

For a moment, Iamos
and Daiyu both lay silent. Eventually, Daiyu exhaled.

“Okay, we probably
shouldn’t try to take someone out at the same time.”

“Agreed.” Iamos
(who had moved the floor, but not the wall) said, before struggling to his
feet. The cobbles felt uncomfortably cold under his bare hands. “Anyway, yeah.
I think he’ll be in that library area we were in earlier.”

“I hear you.” Daiyu
said, even as she began to delve into thought. “However, he might prioritize
the map – and we aren’t sure where that is.”

“Damn it.” Sighed
Iamos. “I mean – good idea, but I hope you’re wrong. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Daiyu
nodded in solidarity as the two began to run again. “I kinda hope I’m wrong
too, to be honest.”

Iamos nodded, not
really wanting to talk anymore. Things really had gone to chaos quickly – their
priorities now were the map and their team.

Speak (or think) of
the devil, and it may appear, however – Iamos ground to a halt as the door in
front of them (that led to the library area, if he remembered correctly) was
all but blown off its hinges. A body was flung backwards with the explosion,
landing at Iamos’ feet. This body had very distinctive red hair.

“Akane!” Iamos
yelled, panic kicking reflexively. He needn’t have worried. Despite, amongst
other injuries, the knife embedded in her forehead, Akane looked perfectly
unbothered by the situation, even grunting a greeting as she rose to her feet.

“Someone in there
has a pretty good arm, I’ll tell you that.” She hissed as she grabbed the knife
by the hilt and, without any further delay, proceeded to swiftly tug it out of
her head. A splash of blood accompanied the movement, and the liquid splattered
on the floor as Akane swung the blade around in her hand, far more casual than
one might expect. A hissing noise could be heard from her forehead, and the
tell-tale shimmer of grey light revealed that the wound had already completely
healed. When Akane turned back to the duo, the only sign that she had even been
in trouble was the fast-drying blood still caked on the top of her face.
“Though they probably didn’t count on things like that nor really working on
me.”

“Probably not, no.”
There was an air of humour in Daiyu’s voice as she turned to face the doorway.
Through it, Iamos, could see several fast-approaching figures.

“What’s the plan,
boss?” Akane raised her fists and turned to Iamos, who scratched his chin
thoughtfully.

“Did you,
perchance, catch a glimpse of how many people were in there?” He thought for a
moment longer. “I mean, when I say “people”, I mean hostiles. How many hostile
people-”

“No time for
semantics.” Daiyu interrupted, as the “hostiles” began to swarm the corridors.

“Okay.” Iamos said,
even as the ground around them began to, in essence, swirl around them. Hard
rock replaced itself with softer sand, and the approaching soldiers stumbled as
the essence of the ground changed under their feet, throwing them off their
balance. Iamos looked around, hastily. In an ideal world, he’d be able to catch
the soldiers’ feet in glass, but the splinters of door weren’t enough to create
a fire intense enough to heat the sand into glass. That had been plan A. Okay,
plan B would suffice.

Every time Iamos
focused in order to perform alchemy, it was like he was plunging his head
underwater. By this point, he could all but block out ambient sounds, and –
though it could have just been his imagination being fanciful – his eyesight
seemed to blur as his surroundings lost their relevancy. All he was registering
was what he could potentially manipulate, and all his mind was processing
(aside from his most immediate surroundings) was in what ways he could
manipulate things. This time around, the simplest solution was to decrease the
air pressure around the guards rapidly enough to knock them out.

And so he did.

The soft thud of
metal and flesh hitting sand seemed almost too peaceful for the circumstances,
but Iamos didn’t dwell on it. He was sprinting through the door, having just
remembered to return the pressure to normal before heading forwards. Priority
one: secure the map. Priority two: secure Dewin. Priority three: secure
Horatio. Priority four: escape. If soldiers had just been in the area, he would
have been tempted to take up the defensive, but the fact that they had made it
inside Dewin’s hideout meant that it had been compromised. Even if they were
able to fight off the soldiers, their position was still known. They would have
to leave.

Diving into the
library, Iamos was forced to stall as a wave of fire arced outwards, throwing
up a rock wall as it washed to the edge of the room. A moment passed, the fire
dissipated, and Iamos lowered the wall. The source of the fire had been Dewin,
who was frantically fending off Paradox soldiers in the centre of the room. One
hand outstretched, the other holding a book, he appeared to be yelling spells
in order to defend himself. Iamos could see what appeared to be the map tucked
into a pocket of his robes.

“*Caelum raptora, defendere me*!” The
apprentice bellowed, and from the air a silhouette – no, the shape – of a giant
eagle appeared. The bird let out a soundless screech, before diving forwards
and knocking aside soldiers in a defensive arc. Dewin turned around, perhaps
sensing a new presence, and did a double take when he saw Iamos standing in the
doorway. “You’re alive!”

“You sound
surprised.” Remarked Iamos, even as he took in the scene. There was a gaping
whole in the ceiling area, through which the rogues were getting in. Iamos
focused, a stone pillar grew out of the ground and straight to the whole,
blocking it off, and the flow of enemies was plugged. Dewin’s bird continued to
attack the soldiers, even as Akane and Daiyu passed through the door and into
the fray. Akane still held the knife that had hit her in her head, and she used
this to wildly attack a trio of soldiers near the far edge of the room. Daiyu
broke the rogues away from one another, shifting the ground under their feet
and creating barriers to cut them off from one another, so that Dewin and Iamos
could pick them off one by one.

“I was under the
impression-” Dewin huffed as he conjured a glowing blue orb in his free hand.
He lobbed it towards a rogue – it shattered, and encased them in ice. “-that
you had been murdered in your beds. I would have come to check on you, but I
was… busy.” He ducked as a gunshot rang out. “Besides, I think we can both
agree that the map,” he patted his pocket, “takes priority in this scenario.”

Iamos nodded, but
then noticed something. “You seemed to be doing fine before we got here.”

“The redhead was
with me.” Admitted Dewin. “Besides, I highly doubt that this is the extent of
the force sent to defeat us. They’re likely softening us up so that they can
crush us with stronger forces later on.”

“You’re quite
right.” A voice rang out. Startled, Iamos turned to see a woman stepping out of
the shadows. How had she stayed hidden? Possibly magic. *Probably* magic. She stepped forward, raising a glowing staff.
Holding it to the air, a beam of green light shot upwards and destroyed the top
of Iamos’ pillar, opening the way for a fresh wave of paradox soldiers. She
fingered a vial that was hung around her neck, full of a lime-coloured liquid.

Definitely magic.

Akane burst out of
her corner, no sign of the rogues she had been fighting. She eyed the newcomer
with a sort of weary disgust.

“God, how gaudy can
you get?” She exclaimed. “You can’t even get your magic to match your colour
scheme – and is that a pointy hat?”

For his part, Iamos
wasn’t quite sure how provoking the enemy was much of a strategy, as this
newcomer turned towards Akane. Even though he was almost on the other side of
the room (some meters away), he could still make out the anger on her face.

“Akane!” He called.
Too late. The woman lowered her staff and fired off another beam of green
light, which blasted right through Akane and into the opposing wall. Akane fell
to the ground and started swearing, shaking her fist angrily at the woman –
who, upon seeing the frantic activity, dipped her weapon slightly. Iamos made
out the words “supposed to be dead”.

“Iamos!” Choked
Akane from the floor. “I was trying to *distract*
her, you *idiot*!”

Oh, that’s what she
had been planning? Hell with it all, how had he been supposed to know that? She
had no right to be angry with him. Well, maybe a little right, but still – no!
This wasn’t good. He shook his head, gritting his teeth. He had to *focus*.

“Iamos?” The woman
turned towards him, a twisted smile breaking across her face. Her eyes and
staff were both emitting a lime green light, and Iamos clenched and unclenched
his fist in anticipation. “The ghost hand! I was wondering when I’d find you.”

“What were you
planning to do once you found me?” Iamos dared to spit out, eying his
surroundings cautiously. He could tell that Daiyu was behind him – presumably
poised to attack, just as him. Dewin was staring at the woman with panic in his
eyes, and Akane was dragging herself to her feet as the hole in her stomach
healed.

“The *plan* is to kill you,” the woman swung
her staff idly as she eyed him down, “but I’m not the kind of fool who
underestimates her opponents – especially considering your companion’s seeming
immortality.”

Akane glowered in
her general direction. The woman turned her head and smirked, before waving an
idle hand. Akane was blasted backwards into the wall, the blow echoing across
the room. Iamos winced. Though Akane could not die, she could still feel – and
be incapacitated by – pain. The woman turned back to Iamos, folding her arms in
a too-casual manner. “We’ll just have to see what happens.”

Iamos didn’t bother
with a reply. Instead, he turned to Daiyu. “Take Dewin, and the map, and find
Horatio. I’ll hold them here.”

But-” Daiyu began
to protest, before being cut off as Iamos hastily turned to Dewin.

“Lead them to an
exit, or make your own.” He turned back to the woman. “Me and Akane will come
and find you.”

“So confident.”
Crooned the woman as Dewin began to head for the door, pulling Daiyu with him.
“I intend to make you eat those words.”

Iamos raised his
head, and *focused*. The air pressure
began to fall around the woman – he didn’t want an elongated fight, he wanted
to secure the area. The woman however, wave an arm, and a wave of green energy
blasted her upwards, out of the danger zone.

“Whatever you’re
trying,” she warned, “*don’t*.” Then,
suddenly, she moved again with a other burst of propulsion, back onto the floor
and in another direction. The woman was breaking into a run – heading for the
door – she was trying to cut Daiyu and Dewin off – what could he do? The entire
library floor rippled as a dome began to encircle the doorway, slicing between
the woman and her quarry, and rounding around to the other side of the door,
cutting it off completely. She would have to break through there to go after
the map, and Iamos didn’t plan on giving her the time. Placing his hand on a
nearby bookcase, and stretched his other hand out. The bookshelf crumbled to
dust, the tomes falling to the floor in a crowd of dust, and a jet of flame
sprayed towards the woman, who jumped backwards to avoid the attack.

She grimaced. From
the dragon-headed staff, a pair of violet beams emerged in an arch, giving it
the appearance of a two-bladed scythe. A violet-and-green aura began to
surround her.

“*Dechreuwch gyda chi, alchemist*.” She
breathed, and the apparition of a dragon clawed its way from the tip of her
staff, bellowing a roar. The size of a lion, is clawed the ground as it fully
emerged – translucent, purple, and smoking with energy, but seemingly solid as
it left white mars on the ground with its claws. There was little doubt in
Iamos’ mind that this creature was real enough to tear him to shreds if he
wasn’t careful.

“*Rip ef i ddarnau*!” She said in a
commanding voice, and the dragon bounded forward, wings carrying it through the
air as its legs propelled it along the ground. Iamos’ gaze flickered around the
room. Alchemy was the manipulation of the world around one – what did he have
to hand? Rock, lots of rock, that was good. There was a large group of rogues
still in the room, though they appeared to be hanging back. Presumably, the
woman would not appreciate interference – or perhaps they thought him doomed,
and not worth the effort to attack. Either way, they possessed a large amount
of metal weaponry.

He focused again,
with the ground turning to sand below the dragon’s feet. Unfortunately, this
did not work to slow it down as he had intended, and it leapt towards him with
its jaws outstretched. Iamos barely had time to withdraw his remaining hand
into his coat sleeve before lifting his arms to take the blow, shoving them
into the dragon’s jaws. The enchantment on his coat protected his arms from
injury, but he still recoiled – if he wasn’t careful, the force behind the
apparition would break his arms, shielding or none. He blinked, then noticed
that the woman was sprinting towards him, scythe outstretched. Now he
understood. The dragon served an ulterior function as a distraction. In a surge
of strength, Iamos pushed back and to the side of the dragon, shaking it off as
it tumbled from the change in trajectory. His attention turned to the woman –
he probably only had seconds – and ensured that the floor in front of her
reared up to knock her sideways, into the opposing wall. The dragon clawed at
his arm, and he stumbled, but stood firm as he turned his attention to the
conjuration. Grabbing a bookcase, he channelled the potential energy into the
ground, before raising up his creation. A rock spear, tip metallic and sharp,
rammed into the dragon’s underbelly, propelling it upward. It screeched once,
then fell limp, fizzling and fading until it had vanished.

The woman pulled
herself up, angrily waving off any attempts to help by the nearby rogues. She
fixed Iamos with a psychotic glare, and he blanched, a shudder shaking off the
last of the bookcase dust from his arm.

“How did you do
that?” She demanded, pointing at him with her staff-scythe. “Your arms should
have been crushed?”

Logically, it was
never a good idea to reveal too much about oneself and one’s fighting style.
Iamos, however, had always struggled to resist answering direct questions.

“It’s the coat.” He
explained. “It’s enchanted – it may look and feel like leather, but it’s as
tough as steel.” As he talked, he kept an eye on Akane – who seemed to have
gone unnoticed (or ignored) by the newly-arrived rogues. She was still curled
up and lying down, unmoved from where she had landed after being blasted away
from the woman. What Iamos wasn’t sure about, however, was whether she was
still genuinely in pain, or simply biding her time. He would have asked, but if
the soldiers HADN’T noticed her, he wouldn’t have wanted to give away her
position.

“That’s magic.” The
woman stated, an unreadable expression on her face.

“So?” Iamos
shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant fashion.

“*So*?” Repeated the woman, incredulous.
“You’re an alchemist!”

“That doesn’t mean
I have to be bound to alchemy exclusively.” Iamos explained, wondering (not for
the first time) why people made such assumptions. “I am, at heart, an
alchemist, but if magic is going to give me an advantage that alchemy can’t
necessarily provide, I’m going to take it.”

The woman snarled,
stretching out her hands.

“*Gael ei ddinistrio*!” She hissed, as dark
purple lightning began to form around her forearms. Iamos held up an arm
defensively. The electricity flickered, glowed brighter, shot off sparks, and
then bounded towards him with a single bolt. He focused – the lighting was
heading towards him – it needed to move – if he could just re-temper the air
around it –

The lightning leapt
and jolted, repositioned in its course; but still heading towards him. He
raised an arm reflexively, and was knocked backwards as his coat absorbed the
attack. Tumbling along, he choked as the air was not out of his lungs. He had
miscalculated – the lighting the woman had created was, unbelievably, *hotter* than regular lighting, which
meant that he hadn’t been able to redirect it the way he might have any other
bolt. Before he could rise, however, he caught sight of something else.

Another film of
green light was building up in the woman’s hands. Iamos’ reaction was almost
reflexive, and the ground closed around the woman, entombing her in an oval
cocoon of earth that was almost immediately shattered as she fired off the
light, which whirled towards him through the air. It was slower than the
lightning, giving him time to dodge – and dodge he did, diving out of the way –
but when he looked back, the light curved and twisted around in mid-air, moving
back towards him. His gaze flickered to the woman. She had to be controlling it
somehow.

Ducking to avoid
the light, and sliding over the desk, past the still-warm fireplace, to put
some distance between him and herself, he brought up another earthen wall between
her and him. This time, whatever connection she had created was severed, and
the light died. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“*Drowynt marwolaeth*!”

Rock bucked and
flew through the air as the woman erupted skywards, supported by a miniature
tornado that was a deep purple in colour. Lighting flashed and sparks flew onto
the ground. One sparked a fire on one of the tomes, and it was all Iamos could
do to use another blast of earth to separate the burning book from the rest.
Dewin’s potential fury aside, losing so much ancient magical knowledge probably
wouldn’t have led to anything good.

The woman’s tornado
drew closer to him, now intense enough to carve a trail or niche into the floor
where it moved. What could he do? He peered at the woman’s form. Did she have
any metal on her? Not apart from her staff – her *staff*! She had picked it up again, and was using it to create the
tornado! He focused – the ambient electricity inside the tornado became an
asset – it was a matter of giving the staff and some other metal object a
strong magnetic pull – the staff was tugged from her hand and flew towards the
metal pendant around his neck. He deactivated the magnetic flow, and then
turned his torso to the side, watching the staff fly past him and onto the
floor, landing with an echoing clang. The tornado dissipated as quickly as it
had appeared, and the woman fell to the floor. Predictably, she rose quickly, looking
more annoyed than ever. The rogues were still in the corner, looking
increasingly eager to jump in and finish what their leader had started. One
even took a step forward, but the woman hissed at them, and they stepped back
in fear.

“Interfere, and
I’ll tear you to pieces!” She hissed. Iamos furrowed his brow, as he watched.
Even though pride was natural, and even though his opponent not accepting help
certainly wasn’t doing *him* any harm,
there was still something distressing about the mentality that she had adopted.
It was ineffable, to him, but it bothered him nonetheless. Maybe ineffability
was part of it.

The woman turned
her attention back to Iamos. The intensity of her gaze was still there, but
some of the intimidation was wearing off. It felt as though the gaze was too
much of a build-up – she hadn’t managed to defeat him yet. Like a promise that
was never fulfilled.

Suddenly, her image
disappeared into thin air, and Iamos felt a blow behind him. He wheeled round –
there was nobody behind him. He looked back to where the woman had been. There
was nobody there, either. Another blow hit him, this time from the side. He
knew even before he turned that he wouldn’t see her – was this another spell? A
flash of purple. The blow this time was stronger. He turned to the staff – it
was gone. She must have picked it up again. Was she now using it to hit him? He
saw something of a purple flash, and was this time able to deflect the blow,
sending it sliding off what remained of his left arm – but she remained
undetectable.

A wash of air.
Suddenly his trouser leg was burning with a painful indigo flame. He moved to smother
it, and was cracked on the back of his head by what could only have been a
heavy metal staff. Dazed, he managed to smother the flame on his leg with his
coat just before keeling over, because *ow*,
being hit over the head with a metal staff had been extremely painful. Damn it.
He had been caught off guard. Spades.

He looked up,
vision blurring. She reappeared, standing over him, twirling the staff in her
hand as she stared smugly down.

“I expected… better
from you, to be honest.”

He tried to do
something – anything – but it was no good. His head was ringing too much. It
hurt too much. He just couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t even retort – he
opened his mouth, but all that came out was a wet gasp. He spat on the floor by
her feet. It was unbecoming, for both of them, but he didn’t care. The room was
still spinning, and a cold fire was burning in his veins as he pushed his hand
under his torso and tried to propel himself upward. He rose into something of a
kneel, but then the scythe blades of her scythe were placed under his neck, and
he stopped.

“Like I said
earlier,” she crooned, eying him with those poisonous green eyes of hers,
“don’t try it.”

He still had no
retort, but that was fine. He leant backwards, pulling his coat to his neck so
that her lunge (upon seeing movement, she had attacked) was reflected. At the
same time, he *focused*. The earth
shifted under her feet, just a little. As she stumbled forwards, he focused
again, and the spit he had spat seconds before froze, creating a small pool of
ice for her to slip on. And slip she did. Iamos rolled to the side as the woman
tumbled forwards, face first, dropping the staff. He rose to his feet, cursing
as the ringing in his head intensified – he would be performing no more
alchemy. He dove for the staff.

She looked up,
blood pouring from her mouth. She must have bitten her tongue when she fell.
She yelled in anger as she saw him grab the staff with his hand. He held it in
front of him. What could he do with it? Could he even do anything with it? Only
one way to find out.

“*Waterfall*!” He yelled, hoping for some
kind of stream to knock the woman back. Instead, a wave of water shot from all
sides of the staff, knocking *him* back
as well as the woman. Dazed, he spat out a mouthful. It was warm. Disgusting.
On the plus side, she looked as dishevelled as him – her hat had been blasted
off, and her robes were sodden, clinging to her thin frame. Why had the spell
affected him too? She *had* been
speaking another language. Maybe that was it. Something had backfired. Ah,
well.

“No-one,” Hissed
the woman, standing on shaky legs to stare him down, “touches my staff and
lives.”

Normally, Iamos
would have been more bothered about laying hands on someone’s possessions.
However, the blows to his head had drained his patience.

“You should have
thought of that before taking it into battle with you.” He spat. “Besides, I
don’t know if you’ve really noticed – maybe your conceit has you blinded – but
it’s been established that I’m not someone who plays by the “rules”.”

She snarled. He
snarled back, fed up with the whole affair. How *dare* this woman not only attack his friends and try to steal from
them, but take such sadistic pleasure from it? How *dare* she?

The earth rose
again, a twining spiral, carrying the woman upwards. She might have tried to
fight it – Iamos didn’t notice anything. Maybe she needed her staff to do
magic. No-! A green glow shone throughout the room as the earth shattered, and
the woman dropped to the ground. The vial that had been around her neck had
shattered, and the resulting air pressure was enough to blow her hair
backwards. She stood defiant and angry in front of Iamos.

“Hear me, Ghost
Hand!” She said, sounding – ironically enough – a lot more controlled than she
had in the past. Perhaps she was so angry that she couldn’t even show it
anymore. Iamos wouldn’t know, though it seemed a likely guess. “For costing me
time, making me look like a fool, and forcing me to use so much of something I
have a *very* limited supply of-” She
jabbed a thumb to the broken vial, voice rising into a shout. “Know that on
this day, it will be I, Menaya Kull, who will end you!”

“Menaya Kull.”
Iamos repeated, staring her down in turn. “We shall see what happens.”

A flash of green
light.

Menaya teleported –
either through magic, or through moving fast enough – directly in front of
Iamos, before punching him solidly in the chest. The pressure was eased by the
magic of his cloak, but he was still forced to stumble backwards. A pain shot
through his chest. Had he cracked a rib? Maybe. It was hard to tell.

She attacked again,
darting forwards. She made no move towards her staff, instead using her hands
to go on the offensive. A spiral of green energy wrapped itself around her
hand. Iamos forced more rock to rise, and her hand bored into it like a drill,
forcing Iamos to duck to avoid getting his face torn to shreds by her raw magic
power. Running a few steps backwards, his gaze began to wander again. There was
still some wood, for fire. What could he do with that?

Plan A.

As Menaya struggled
to pull her arm out of the rock, she turned furiously to face Iamos. Raising
her free hand, she fired another stream of green light towards him. Wise to the
trick, however, he focused, and the wall rocketed past him to block the light. It
kept whirring for several seconds, with Iamos constantly raising more earth to
replace whatever was being melted, but eventually, the noise died down. He returned
the rock wall to its original position, as part of Dewin’s room. There was a
smoking molten patch in the wall, now. He could use that.

The bookshelf
nearest to him crumbled to dust, and he focused on the patch of ground in front
of him. It fissured, weakened, and crumbled to sand. He then focused on the
wood he had disintegrated, plus the heat from her light attack, and sent it
into the sand – creating a large oval of glass in the floor. By this point,
Menaya had just about finished digging her arm out of the wall. Green energy
gathered by her feed, presumably as she prepared to jump towards him. Just as
she moved, he acted. The glass shattered and, propelled by air currents, flew
towards Menaya. However, by clapping her hands together, she created a wall of
lime energy that repelled all of the glass, sending it flying across the room.
Iamos was forced to cover his face with his arms to ensure that none of the
glass hit him there. While he was distracted, however, one shard embedded
himself in his thigh. He grunted. Plan A had backfired.

Menaya extended her
hands. A new staff – one made from pure energy – formed in her hands, and she
fell towards him with it extended, ready to impale him with a fresh set of
blades. There was still lots of water at their feet. Thus commenced a
spur-of-the-moment plan C: the water rose up between them, and just as Menaya
fell into it, the heat was drawn away, and it turned to ice. And there she was.
Stuck in an ice block, mid-attack, eyes still moving and furiously staring at
the fatigued alchemist.

Iamos might well
have enjoyed the victory more, but the ringing in his head returned, and he
sank to his knees again. His left thigh still had a shard of glass in it, and
his ribs were still hurting. It was getting hard to breathe. The rogues were
still milling around, unsure of what to do, but Iamos reckoned that wouldn’t last
long. He tried to rise. He couldn’t. Damn it.

He heard a voice.

“Iamos!”

It was Akane. Through
vision blurred with tears of pain, he could see her silhouette. There was a
gunshot, then a pause, than a cry of pain from a throat that wasn’t Akane’s.

“Try that again, pal,
and I’ll do worse.” He heard her say – but faintly, as though she were on the
other side of a shut door. There was some kind of ripple amongst the soldiers,
and then the parted, letting Akane sprint through. Iamos laughed, in spite of
himself. When they had been sent to murder, what were they supposed to do
against an opponent who was literally unkillable? The next moment – or few
moments, he wasn’t sure – he felt someone lift him to his feet. Then, Akane’s
voice was in his hear, uncharacteristically soft.

“Easy there, boss.
Remember – you *can* die.”

“Right.” He sighed.

There was a crack.

Iamos reflexively
wheeled around as, in one movement, Menaya dropped to the floor and lunged forward.
Instead of the staff of energy, she had conjured up a single blade around her
arm, that she was lunging forward with. She was trying to stab him. Iamos came
to the realisation with a surprising calm.

There was a thud,
and an unpleasant sort of gurgling noise. Akane had stepped in front of him to
take the blow, and had been stabbed somewhere in the abdomen as a result. She
gritted her teeth, but managed to focus enough to pull an enraged Menaya
closer.

“What was it you
said earlier? Oh, right. *Don’t try it*.”
With that, she pulled the blade out of her stomach (which was almost instantly
replaced with grey light and a hiss) and pushed Menaya away by the face. She
tumbled backwards, landing roughly on the rocky floor.

“You’ve failed, Menaya.”
Continued Akane, sounding more incensed than Iamos could have managed. “Even if
my friend doesn’t have the energy to fight any more, I do. And I can take
whatever you throw at me. And I’ll wear you down until you’re nothing but a useless
bag of human parts before finishing you off. Though-” she gestured dismissively
to an obviously fatigued Menaya. “-it looks like you aren’t far off that stage
already.” Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t follow if you know what’s good for you.”

Perhaps she was out
of green magic, and getting her staff would have required more movement than
her energy levels would have permitted. Perhaps it was the humbling of such a
defeat. Perhaps it was paralysing rage, or some kind of twisted fear. But, for
whatever reason, Menaya made no further moves against the duo as they exited
the room, Iamos pulling down a segment of the sphere he had made around the
door before sealing it up after they walked through. For now, at least, there
was peace.

“You *dumme røv*. That was risky, you know
that? Sending the others away.”

Iamos rolled his
eyes as Akane dragged him unceremoniously down the corridor. “It would have
been riskier to keep the map near her – she could have snatched it and run.” He
argued. His speech devolved into a coughing fit, and Akane’s face flashed with
anxiety. She began to force them forwards faster.

“And look at you.”
She tutted, not dissimilar to a mother fussing over an injured child. “Glass in
your leg, and I’m guessing your hand is on your ribs for a reason?”

He nodded, speech
no longer seeming so appealing. It hurt. She sighed.

“Guess I’ve been
rubbing off on you.” She muttered. “Only, you aren’t quite as durable as I am,
are you?”

There was movement
in the corridor up ahead. Akane stopped for a moment, and then continued to
walk. It must have been friendly.

“Yo!” She yelled. “You’re
here!”

“Yes, we are.”
Dewin’s unmistakable clipped tones rang out through the corridor. “What ha-”

“Iamos!” Daiyu’s
voice rang out through the cave, echoing like the chime of a church bell, ringing
out at a funeral. At least Iamos’ hearing was unaffected by his head spinning. If
anything, it had been amplified. He flinched, suddenly realising how loud
everyone was being.

“It was a pretty
intense fight.” Akane explained. “I… I wanted to try and help, but I don’t know
if I would have been able to do anything useful. It was all just too fast.”

“That’s what happens
when the arcane arts clash.” Agreed Dewin, sounding less grumpy than Iamos had
heard before this point. “Here, let me take him. I can’t remember a lot of
healing magic off the top of my head, but I can see what I can do.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Akane
gently lowered Iamos onto Dewin’s stooped shoulders. Iamos, for his part, marvelled
at how people could come together when faced with a common enemy – at least, he
did before realising something.

“…ratio?” He
croaked. “Where’s Horatio?”

“They’re here.”
Daiyu reassured him. “They’re just guarding the exit. We were coming back when we
found you.” As if on cue, two gunshots and a yell rang out, and Horatio called out:

“Have you found
them?”

“They’re here!”
Daiyu responded, before turning to Dewin and Akane. “Come on, let’s go.”

Neither of the
other two said anything, and Iamos felt himself being carried away to the exit.
He would have protested, because it was degrading, but he wasn’t going to risk
hurting himself any further and expend the minute amount of energy he still had
just for the sake of his pride. Instead, he sighed and closed his eyes. All
things considered, he figured that at least a little bit of rest was justified.

Just a little.

...

***@ ‎04-03-2018 Sir fffffplayer1  wrote:***

### Chapter XXXVII

Little birds of white and gray colours flapping their wings and skimming through the skies with purpose. Going North, going South, going West, going East. Flying through sunshine, flying through rain, flying through mist, flying through storm. Passing over valleys, over mountains, over forests, over sea. Carrying the messages of a whole Empire, the messenger pigeons traversed all of Militiregnum without fail.

Other methods of communication had been introduced to the previously medieval world with thedude's arrival, but considering that thedude was the main provider of all of them, they weren't considered the safest routes of communication for important messages. On the other hand, the imperial officers were pretty sure that their communication was being monitored by rebellious forces as well. In that sense, carrier pigeon was one of the few methods to send messages that had a chance of not being intercepted by enemies. And in that recent time of turmoil, pigeons flew in the skies more than ever.

One of them was crossing the mountains to the west of Morcia, a tavern in Kingston of Britay its destination, where it would cause, by means of its delivered letter's contents being read aloud by a drunk man, a red-haired woman to assume a surprised expression and mumble “Four? How could it be four? But... that woman had said...” and leaving a few customers hanging she'd take off in search of a trusted friend of hers.

While still near the mountains, another pigeon passed the first one by speedily. Carrying a message from Bert Gerdy to Gary Gerdy, conveying Bert's shock at a successful escape from the Moorlands Camp as well as his confusion and amazement at Lord Vladek's disregard when he, Bert, had told the Lord that he'd seen the escapees head south rather than to the northern passing where Vladek said they'd catch them.

While said pigeon arrived in Orlan where Gary Gerdy lived, more pigeons were leaving the former Morcian capital. One of them left for a long journey across the Fire Desert. Eventually, reaching Cheinir, it delivered its message to a woman dressed in red and golden silk, who read it with a neutral expression. Even so, when she departed to write a few letters of her own in response to that, the two Barney Bots that always accompanied her did ask if she was okay.

When eventually, though, with much cunning those letters were sent, one of them headed back towards the west. When it was to arrive in Thunderclap City, new plans would be set into motion, but until then more pigeons flooded the Fortress's mailbox, the message of which all caused great irritation to the red-cap and blue-overalls-wearing man who ended up hearing through his subordinates. Although the people who sent those letters varied, their content was invariant and the man did not need to hear of the rumours about the Knights again and again.

From within the same fortress, a pigeon took off from the hands of a nervous-looking black-haired assassin. The pigeon travelled over Morcia's grassy meadows to end up in the hands of a green-haired man, resulting in the man turning to look towards a mountain range in the horizon with a decisive expression.

Another pigeon's arrival in a saloon in a nearby city caused the bartender to share a few words with the pianist, who raised his eyebrows in surprise. The exchange was followed by the bartender's writing of a letter and attaching it to the leg of his own carrier pigeon. From one city to another, the bird was received by a woman in Orlan, who transmitted a signal in a secret frequency, caught by a scavenger ship currently floating over the jungles of Elepharia.

Outside of Orlan, a hurriedly written message by an old, injured, armoured man left for a camp residing in a forest, populated by people wearing green colours and jovial expressions. From them the message was passed on further to a man in blue armour striding down a rural road and a crew member of a pirate ship, sailing through the raging battle-tormented waters of the Suidam sea. The news caused the whole crew to rejoice and go back into the fight with renewed vigour. The captain, however, took his time to send a letter of his own.

However, he was too late as at the same time the future recipient of said letter was already signing 'Rìoghail' on a piece of parchment in response to hearing news herself. And the piece of parchment, given to one of the winged messengers, soon arrived in a house upon a mountain. And it carried more news than most other letters being sent at that time, so that the resulting joyous commotion was of the most notable ones around Militiregnum.

The news that so much convulsed the world of Militiregnum were of course of the four KOTOS founders' reunion. It is uncertain where and how the information first reached the people, but during events of such magnitude, it is hardly unexpected if the trees and rocks themselves sprout ears, eyes and mouths, which would serve both acts of gossiping: receiving the news and then spreading them, too.

Some people were confused by the news. There had to be a mistake, as the founders of the Knights of the Olde Speech had always been three and they found no method through which such fact could have changed. Still, they should be alert for big things might be about to happen, nonetheless. Fewer people, namely an aforementioned redhead and perhaps those she spoke to about it, found some meaning in the rumour. For even though, they didn't quite understand it, they remembered words spoken about it before it'd come to pass. And they knew the importance this signified. But the majority of people were largely unaffected by the number of founders reported in these messages. It'd been fifteen years since the Knights were active and people had forgotten the details. What mattered to them was that it was *the* Knights of the Olde Speech coming back.

Meanwhile, returning to Thunderclap, two more carrier pigeons came in, but these brought news from Menaya Kull and the Moorlands. And they were no good news. When a bald man in futuristic armour passed them on to the aforementioned man in a red cap and blue overalls, there was a significant amount of curse words, verbal abuse against Menaya, Vladek and the bald man, incessant yelling and generally the expression of dissent, all of it uttered with a complete lack of grammar and spelling. There was a subsequent discussion as to what there was to do in which the angered man took part exclusively by shouting. A solution was eventually found, although only after every person other than red-cap-man had been thoroughly insulted.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

A crowd had gathered to hear the words of Lord Barney as he stepped up on his podium. An audience, Barney preferred to think of them as. He examined his *audience* for a moment and saw that all sorts of people were interested in listening to him. Men, women, children, adults, elderly. He was quite satisfied at how many people had turned up. The fact that it'd been mandatory had nothing to do with it, of course. Barney smiled for the cameras. Even those who could not make it could watch him on TV.

He coughed once and the sound being magnified by the microphone had the desired effect, that is to silence the few who thought it was fine to chat when such an important official was about to give a speech.

“Hello everyone!” Barney greeted the crowd cheerfully. “I'm happy you could make it”.

As they'd been taught by many previous speeches, the people used the subsequent moment of silence to return the greeting, as politeness demanded. A man neglected to do so and was discreetly removed from the crowd- audience.

“I am happy... but there are some people that are making me very very sad. Some of you may have heard rumours about them. A group of people calling themselves Knights, speaking in a secret forbidden language known as the Olde Speech. They may say they're fighting for a righteous cause, but in fact they oppose our benevolent ruler, thedude. They are anarchist terrorists who will stop at nothing to plunge our happy society in chaos. They will even run holding swords, let alone scissors”. Barney took a moment to let that horror sink in. “We should all be friends... But I am afraid to inform you these people do not wish to be friends with us.

“Recently, their leaders united and they are now preparing an attack against the state. They have in fact already broke into the Moorlands prison and recruited dangerous criminals to their cause”, by now even the people's fear -respect!- of Barney could not suppress a generalised murmur of worry. Barney raised his voice slightly. “Despite the hard times we're in, we must not panic. Remember that we should all be friends. And if we are, nothing can hurt us. Our army is prepared to deal with the terrorists and they shall not damage our peace and harmony. They shall be captured and taught the ways of friendship. Even so, only united can we stop the threat as soon as possible. That is why, we ask of you to report any suspicious activity you see immediately. Together, we shall spread the message of friendship throughout the planet!” Barney finished his speech and bowed to the subsequent cheering.

Commander Borock -or thereabouts, cloning makes matters of identity rather confusing, but the bald man felt that he could at least wear the last name of Borock, even if he wasn't the same person as the last Commander- relaxed a little. Barney had only slightly editted the speech he'd been given. Frankly, all this business had very bad timing what with the preparation for the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth already putting everyone on edge. But then again, he couldn't voice this thought, as it'd been thedude's plan to put an end to the Knights of the Olde Speech for good that had brought on this chain of events. He could simply be anxious for himself.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

There was one final pigeon to be sent during those days. Or rather a final one to be spoken of at the moment. Said pigeon flew from a house upon a mountain to a cave on the foot of a mountain. Or more accurately outside that cave. A group of people and four horses was standing there talking about something with troubled expressions. Jonna, Thingguy, Deadbeat (and three friends), Major, Drumr, Tain, Moira and Peragrine. It'd taken some looking, but the pigeon had eventually found them. It descended to deliver the note it'd been given, but upon closer inspection, it noticed there was a problem. It'd been instructed to deliver the note to a very specific person. But closer inspection revealed there to be two of them. Now, you may wonder how the pigeon recognised them in the first place when it hadn't seen them once in its life before. But that is hardly relevant to the story. We are not here to answer the big questions of life (the universe and everything).

What is more important is the confusion of the bird upon finding a pair of Thingguys instead of a single copy, as is the usual case with people. The pigeon considered not delivering the message in these outrageous conditions, but it soon realised that this would be greatly unprofessional. If it couldn't cope with problems arising during the job, it would not be hired easily. So, eventually the bird decided that the best course of action was to land in the middle between the two recipients.

That spot was occupied by a third person at the moment, so the bird sat upon their shoulder. Major, for that was the person, turned his attention from far into the distance to the bird. He tried to take the little piece of paper off the pigeon's leg, but the bird wouldn't let him. Even so, he noticed the words “Lean Guy” written upon it.

“... no point in going after him now”, Tain, the Paradox-themed soldier, was saying. “We won't find him and it'll waste our time”.

“Could he be any trouble, though?” the younger one, Drumr, enquired.

“Hard to say. I don't know how Carson will act and I don't know how the enemy will react to that. We can't do anything about it, though, so we should probably move on”, for the person who'd dragged Carson through half of Morcia, he seemed awfully unaffected by the fact he'd escaped. What he actually felt was lost on the rest of the fellowship.

“Perhaps, we should have treated him better than that”, Jonna, the once princess of Morcia, said frowning.

One of the recipients was about to say something, but Major cut in, “Perhaps, but something else has come up”, he pointed to the pigeon, which none of the others had noticed until now. The full spectrum of interest, confusion and worry appeared on the faces of the gathered people. “I think it's for Thingguy. It won't give the paper to me”, Major added. Lean Guy wasn't the hardest code to crack.

“Give it here then”, the two Thingguys said at once, extending their arms to take the message, but then turned on each other.

“He means me, impostor!”.

“No, the message's clearly for me. Major said so”.

Jonna interjected, “This is getting tiring. You take it”, she pointed to one Thingguy at random. With a very self-complacent expression, the selected Thingguy approached Major and the bird and much to the bitterness of the other Thingguy, the messenger extended its leg in offer of the note. Thingguy read it in silence, while the pigeon flew away, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“So, what does it say?” Drumr asked.

“The impostor's listening, I don't think I should read it out loud”, the letter-Thingguy said, his eyes two narrow slits.

“Hey, give me that. You shouldn't be reading my letters”, one Thingguy struggled with the other for the note, but it was Peragrine who actually took advantage of their distraction to seize the piece of paper.

“Mr Eggie Liten would like to invite Mr Lean Guy to his house for a humble lizard's meal”, he read. “Lizard's meal? What does this mean? Who even is this Eggie guy?”.

“Eggie Liten, you say?” the Thingguy that had not already read the message said. “So, he's in the lizard house!”.

“What? You know about Eggy's lizard house?” the other Thingguy was taken aback.

“You know about Eggie?” the first one was also surprised.

“Who's Eggie?” Jonna asked.

“The spy shouldn't hear”.

“I'm not telling the impostor”.

“But we really should find Eggie”.

“You sure would like to know where he is... But he's right, meeting with Eggie would be good”.

Everyone but the Thingguys seemed to be confused. Tain decided the Thingguys could sort this out on their own, if they wanted to be so secretive about it and sat down on a rock. Moira sat next to him and gave him a smile to which he responded with a nervous look. Peragrine and Drumr engaged into a guessing game where they asked Yes or No questions about Eggie Liten. The Thingguys, however, would be vague, bluff, lie, bluff about lying, lie about bluffing, disagree, change their answers upon hearing what the other had said and all in all be very unhelpful. Jonna and Major were thoughtful.

“Is Eggie a lizard?” Peragrine asked.

“Well, his house *is* a lizard house”.

“Only on Tuesdays”.

“Well, actually that'd be Thursdays”.

“Well, I didn't want to say it's Mondays, but since you saw through my bluff”.

“But is his food good?” Drumr enquired.

“Nah, it's the worst”.

“It's junk food”.

“Actually, he cooks very well”.

“He's a chef, but he can never make a decent dish”.

“Does he by any chance wear green clothes and try to put smiles on people's faces?” Peragrine took his turn.

“He doesn't work in the circus”.

“But he is a clown”.

“The circus kicked him out, because he was *not* aclown”.

“He's got this very good show, though. You're gonna love it if you see it”.

“Is he Morcian?” Drumr stated his next question.

“Only by a third”.

“Third star to the right, then you go straight till you find a tree where you turn left. Go on for about two hours and that's where he's from”.

“What?”

Deadbeat neighed something and both Thingguys started arguing with him. Drumr looked concerned, but Peragrine was enthralled. The novice wizard was going to say something, but then Jonna finally interrupted the guessing game, “And you know how to take us to Eggie?”.

“If he is indeed in the lizard house”.

“To which I know the way”.

“And where is that again?” Moira wanted to know.

“It's nearby”, both counterparts said at once.

“But what if it's a trap?” Major asked.

“Hmm. Didn't think about that, but...” one Thingguy started.

“We deal with it”, the second continued.

“Shall we get going then? We've already wasted a lot of time”, Tain interjected.

“What about Carson?” Peragrine remembered their escaped co-traveller.

“As I said, there's nothing we can do about him”.

“We can hope”, Moira replied.

It looked like Tain was about to say something, but he stopped himself. Peragrine looked a little sullen. The rest didn't notice either. They simply began making preparations to leave.

The Thingguys along with Deadbeat led the way. It is amazing how they managed to argue about the way when they actually agreed on what it was. Deadbeat's comments -or what sounded like he was commenting- and the Thingguys' replying to him only made the scene more comical.

Drumr and Peragrine followed close by, engaged on an argument over whether the Thingguys were insane or not. A conversation which moved on to trying to guess what exactly was up with Thingguy being double. Evil twins, evil clones and evil mirror-people from the mirror-dimension were all mentioned.

Jonna and Major were walking behind them, silent, not voicing their thoughts, which they seemed to have in abundance. Jonna looked at the two Thingguys. Thingguy had been her friend and teacher in the days of olde. She felt there had been *some* connection between them, then, whatever kind it had been. Now, she felt like it had been shattered. She was happy to be free and happier still to see Thingguy. But she couldn't help feeling disappointed. Feeling sad for something she had lost. She'd dreamed for years of finding her old friends, of seeing Thingguy and the others again; she'd dreamed of everything being like it had been before. But she'd dreamed a fool's dream. Nothing could be the same again. After fifteen years of being fugitive, story-teller, prisoner, Jonna was not the same person as her fifteen-year-old self. She'd grown, she'd changed. She'd experienced how grim the world could turn. On the other hand, the two Thingguys seemed unaffected by all of this, time and darkness alike. No... It wasn't they hadn't changed. They were laid back and funny back then, but now their behaviour was almost child-like. Jonna didn't know how to talk to those Thingguys anymore. It was as if a veil had been lifted between them, separating them. And then there was the constant fear of betrayal. If one of the Thingguys was a fake... She couldn't bear to think about it.

Major walked on. He did not know how he found the courage to do so. Eleven years imprisoned by thedude had not been easy. He'd soon lost any hope that his living nightmare would end one way or the other. Tortured day by day, he grew apathetic. Life, death and the pain in between did not matter any more. They'd all been reduced to a single thing for Major and in the end even the worst of tortures couldn't produce any more cries, of which he'd run out. When that happened, he was simply left to rot. But he could no longer feel happy for it. He'd already been reduced to a living corpse, a lifeless shell of a man, a ghost, a twisted image of what he used to be. Life and Death, Peace and Turbulance. He could no longer appreciate any of them. So, it came to him as a great surprise when he sprung to action upon being freed. Was there something inside him that wasn't dead? Was it that his instinct of self-preservation was that strong? No. He knew he'd lost that a long time ago. Could it be the seeking of revenge? No. He had no passion anymore to be after that. He was no longer capable of happiness or sadness. So, why did he care? Eventually, he'd come to the conclusion he was doing it for other people. Those who were still alive needed him. The feeling of compassion, not required in his solitary life all these years, had not been summoned to be killed much like his other emotions. But that was it. He could remember a life of friendship and in the sake of that, he would help. But when all was over, he did not know what would happen to him...

Tain and Moira were the vanguard of the group. Tain carried a gloomy expression, though it wasn't a lot darker than his resting face. Moira watched him silently, a bit concerned. Tain had always been the silent type, but ever since they reunited he seemed a lot more distant. In the past, he'd always shown some warmth even through his intoverted ways. Now, it almost seemed like he was avoiding her. As she was thinking about it, Moira realised all the more how she wanted to spend her time with him. But the more she tried to understand how Tain was feeling, the more he pushed her away. Moira tried to find the words to speak to her friend, but it was Tain who broke the silence.

“Moira”, he started solemnly. “The Thingguys are now leading us to a friend of theirs, possibly a fugitive, maybe even a revolutionary. Or they're leading us to a trap. Either way, the pathway following them leads to a direct confrontation with thedude. All of these people here have their reasons to want to fight thedude. But what about you? Do you truly want to go down that path? It's not too late to leave now”.

“Tain... What are you saying?” Moira was dumbfounded. “I was imprisoned by thedude's people”.

“Perhaps. But that's only reason enough to escape. Not to fight back. You were once one of the Paradox Rogues. How can you so easily decide to fight againt thedude when once you were willing to fight *for* him? Why did you join the Rogues?”.

“Why... I... It's the same as everyone. It was just the popular thing to do at the time, I guess. Besides, you were a Rogue, too”.

“I was... And I feel the greatest shame for it. But I was practically forced to join by my father! I never wanted to be part of any war. But in my attempt to get away, I became a murderer, Moira. I killed... and that is unacceptable. But now that I have blood in my hands, I must make it worth it. I cannot live an undeserving life with that weight on my shoulders. I must fight, to free this world, in order to justify this blood even that small little bit. That is why I fight. But why do you?”.

“I... fight because you fight, Tain. I would follow you anywhere”.

“No... That won't do”, Tain looked sad. “You need to have your own reasons. You can't go out there, to the battlefield without the proper drive. Moira, you couldn't understand my reasons for leaving the Rogues back then. That wouldn't happen if you didn't have any belief in the cause of the Renegades. Why did you join?”.

“There was no reason! Why does it matter anyway?”.

“It matters. Because if you still believe in the same things, how can you fight thedude?”.

“All this years I was in the Moorlands, I had a lot of time to think. If I didn't understand then, I understand now. I see why you did what you did. Back then... I was angry. Morcia. Thedude had brought it to its knees. What Aquilone wouldn't be glad to see that? Were we not raised to hate all Morcians? Didn't the Morcians humiliate Aquila on a war not so long ago? Didn't they kill my father in that war?” Moira paused for a moment. She'd never shared that bit of information. “Wasn't thedude, defeater of Morcians a beacon of hope? Our own government was failing. He was promising to free us of the Easterlings, too. Why wouldn't we follow him? It felt like he was the only future. And in a way he was, I suppose. But now I understand, Tain. I can see how he's a horrible person, supported by more horrible people. I can see what he's done to Militiregnum. I can see that it doesn't matter where you're from. thedude has managed to unite us, but unite us in our hatred against him. How can you say I might still believe the same things I did then? How can you think I could be so blind? Do you have no trust in me at all?” by now tears were rolling down Moira's cheeks.

“I... Ah! I didn't... That's not what I...” Tain mattered awkwardly. He had not anticipated the conversation to go that way. He didn't know how to react.

“Hug her”, someone whispered to his ear with an air of wisdom. He didn't know when Peragrine had approached them or how much he'd heard, but he was there now. Tain looked at him briefly, then at the upset Moira and he awkwardly stretched his arms out and around Moira with almost robotical movements. They came to settle round her waist. Moira did not push them away, but instead wrapped her own firmly around Tain. She placed her head on his chest and stayed there for a while.

Tain didn't know how long he was supposed to hold her like that. Most of the others hadn't realised they'd stopped and kept walking. At the same time, he didn't want to stop the embrace prematurely. In all of his anxiety about the whole affair, he almost didn't notice the warmth this hug made him feel. Usually, he didn't like the touch of others on his body. It unnerved him, especially on the shoulders and neck. But this time, he felt it wasn't so bad to hold Moira. It was kind of pleasant. Made him feel more well... warm was the best word Tain could find. And that led him to do something he'd never expected to do. He held Moira more tightly and he did not want the embrace to end anymore. But then, Moira looked at his eyes and she was smiling faintly for some reason.

“Perhaps, we should be going”, she said.

“Yes, we should”, Tain replied after a moment's hesitation and they broke apart. “And Moira... I'm sorry”.

The girl just smiled more widely -why? Wasn't she crying just moments ago? Tain didn't get much time to process this as the girl -having seemingly recovered now and gone back to her usual confident, decisive self- then pulled him by the hand to go after Peragrine, who had now left them behind.

Thusly, their hike continued for some hours. They were climbing up the mountains, so they couldn't ride the horses. Eventually all conversation ceased as everyone's energy was focused on the hike. Their progress was slow but in the end when the sun was going low, one of the Thingguys announced, “We're close now”.

“Be on the watch”, the other said.

Everyone grew nervous and many hands reached for weapons. Tain got his Wormholer ready. If this *was* a trap, it could get really ugly. The party continued on their way. Some minutes later, the group found themselves on top of a mountain peak. And below them a flat plateau lay. A single wooden hut lay in the centre of it. They'd made it there.

The fugitives grew tense and they shared glances with each other, everyone expecting someone to take the first step and no one doing it. Finally, the two Thingguys started simultaneously, but then something else happened. The hut's door opened and someone got out. The person's attire resembled that of a Paradox Rogue, but it was green and different in its details. Tain did not know what to make of it, but...

“Sharpie!” Jonna's cry took everyone by surprise, perhaps because they were all just about to break the silence themselves.

Sharpie? Sharpie? Sharpie...? Sharpie Thunderflare? Was it the legendary Daredevil of Lightning, another one of the Knights? He examined the man more carefully. He wasn't wearing anything on his head, so his messy hair and excited expression were there for all to see. Furthermore, Tain noticed he was limping.

“Jonna! Hey! I thought you were captured! Thingguy and... Thingguy? Okay, some explaining is due here”, Sharpie responded, but his smile barely faltered.

“Why didn't you tell us it was Sharpie?” Jonna asked the Thingguys.

“Because of the spy, of course”, the dual Knights answered in unison.

“Of course...”.

The Thingguys and Jonna rushed towards the man, Sharpie, but the rest were not fast. There were many questions Tain wanted to have answered, but felt it wasn't his place to ask in the midst of this reunion. He could only assume it was the same for the others. However, a glance over his comrades revealed that there was only an expression of admiration on Drumr's face, while Peragrine barely kept himself from jumping up and down.

“Another daredevil!” he exclaimed.

“You're gonna have to do some explaining as well, though, Sharp”, Major addressed Sharpie with a thoughtful expression, walking slowly towards the man.

Major seemed to know this guy, too. Well, Major *had*  worked with the Knights during the Grammar War, so it was only natural. Anyway, there was no point just standing there. He should follow the others, too.

“Explanations? Oh, you mean this?” Sharpie pointed to the hut behind him, as everyone approached. “That's just the Godzilla Burger! The KOTOS's secret base!”

*Godzilla Burger? What sort of name is that?* Tain thought.

“It doesn't look much like a secret base, though”, Drumr pointed out. “It just looks like a small wooden hut”.

“That's what it wants you to think it is... Oh wait. Who are these people? Should I have not told them about the Burger?” Sharpie sought an answer on the other Knights' faces.

“It's fine. It's him you should be wary of”, one Thingguy pointed to the other, stopping in front of Sharpie.

“And him”, the other Thingguy showed the first upon his own arrival.

“Care to share the story? Last time I saw you, there was only one Thingguy that I knew of”.

“There's not much of a story, really”, Jonna said, before either Thingguy could answer. “Apparently, there just seem to be two of them now. Their memories are the same up to two months ago, though”.

“Two months ago? But that's when...!” Sharp gasped.

When Sharpie did not continue, there was a short silence in anticipation of more information. But then it was broken by another voice.

“Erm. Excuse me, but who is this person exactly?” Moira asked reluctantly.

Everyone's eyes diverted to her.

“Sharpie Thunderflare, Taker of Dares with the Power of Lightning and Knight of the Olde Speech, at your service”, the man began to bow, but then winced in what Tain assumed must have been pain. Between that and his limp, Tain wondered if he was injured.

“You're a Knight... And you said this house... the Gorrila Barrier-”, Moira considered Sharpie's response, but was interrupted.

“Godzilla Burger”.

“Yeah that. It's the Knights' secret base?”

“Pretty much”.

“Then how come I don't know about it?” Jonna asked with a tone of accusation in her voice.

“Come to think of it, I don't think anyone other than me, Sharpie, Talmid and Luke know about this place”, a Thingguy responded. “Sharpie told Luke about it when he first joined and Luke told the two of us after we escaped from thedude's house back then... But I don't think we got to tell anyone else”.

“I built this as my base of operations when I first arrived in Militiregnum and later donated to the Knights upon joining, you see”, Sharpie explained.

“But how did you know Sir Sharp was here?” Tain asked -it seemed to be fine now. “Or that it was him at all?”.

“Well, that one's easy”, one Thingguy said.

“He said 'lizard's meal'”, the other continued.

“Godzilla's basically a lizard”.

“And they sell meals in the Godzilla Burger diner”.

“But that's not a diner”, Drumr argued.

“Well, the original Godzilla Burger is!”.

“As for knowing it was Sharpie...”.

“Eggie Liten”.

“Edgy Lightning”.

“Sharpie Thunderflare!”.

“Nearly unbreakable code, am I right?” Sharpie boasted, but the silence that followed might have been an indication that not everyone was in agreement.

“Well, Sharpie. How's the leg?” one of the Thingguys enquired.

“Healing. Slowly. I suppose climbing up the mountain didn't help, but I can almost walk normally now”.

“I'm actually surprised that you made it all the way to this place with that leg”, the other Thingguy cut in.

“Are you hurt?” Jonna was worried.

“Was. Courtesy of the lovely Lord Brocktree. But I've almost recovered now”.

“Bro... Brocktree?” Jonna's eyes widened; bad memories seemed to reflect upon them.

“He was after the Grammar Sword. Probably, the only reason he didn't finish me off. Speaking of which, Thingguy... I mean Thingguys. What happened after Brocktree wounded me? I lost consciousness and when I woke up everyone was gone”.

The Thingguys' faces grew sullen.

“We'd better get inside”, they both said.

Talmid-Thingguy sat back on his chair, not paying a lot of attention to Sharpie's explanation. He'd already lived through the events, he did not need the narration. Three months ago, he'd come to know that thedude was in a frantic search for the Grammar Sword. It took him a while, but he finally found Sharp and warned him of the danger. Unfortunately, he had not realised he was being followed himself. Brocktree attacked, injured Sharpie and... and he took the sword.

“And that's the part where I end up unconscious. Thingguy, whichever of you is the real thing, should know the rest”.

“I'm the real one”, he and the impostor both said.

“Just what's the deal with this?” Sharpie asked. “There can't be two Thingguy, can there?”.

“In theory yes”, Jonna answered. “But in practice, there don't seem to be any differences between them. Luke and Talmid couldn't make heads or tails of this either, according to them”.

“Luke and Talmid... So, the rumours are true then. The three... no, the four founders did meet again”.

Jonna smiled, “Kinda makes you nostalgic, doesn't it? Thinking we could all meet again”.

“Oh yes. Actually, I have a surprise for you. But before that”, the daredevil turned to the Thingguys, “What about Brocktree and the sword?”

Talmid-Thingguy opened his mouth to reply, but then he found himself closing it. There was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He barely registered Luke-Thingguy's response that Brocktree took the sword and took off with a rocketship. Yes, that's what had happened. But for a moment he'd hesitated, feeling as though there was more to it.

“And what happened to you? Why did you leave?”.

“I... Ah...” an expression of uncertainty on Luke-Thingguy's face mirrored exactly how he was feeling at that moment.

Why *did he* leave? Why did he part with Sharp? Looking back, he could not find any memories of making that decision or doing it at all. All this time, he thought of these events, thinking he knew; the story was obvious. But the more he thought about it now, the more he tried to access those memories, the more he realised there were pieces of the puzzle missing. What was going on?

“I don't... remember”, Luke-Thingguy expressed his own shock as well.

He knew what the concerned looks Jonna and Sharpie shared meant. They meant “Something is up” and “This is suspicious”. But he *wasn't* the spy, he wasn't the impostor. So, they couldn't be suspicious of him, right? He looked at Sharpie trying to remember. He was there then, too, so maybe if he focused... He remembered Sharpie's look of distress that time, he remembered seeing him struck by that bulky guy. If he just focused... Accompanied by a surge of pain over the left half of his body, a single image flashed in his mind. Sharpie lying on the ground at his feet, bleeding and he... He was holding a sword. Right above Sharpie... What?

Jonna found that the sight of her old friend fainting was enough to disperse all thoughts about the possibility of his being a fake. Her worry of betrayal was replaced with her worry that he might not be okay.

“Thingguy!” she cried as she watched him collapse. That Thingguy had been silent all this time, but it was apparent from his face that he was going through the same experiences as his counterpart, who had just admitted to have memory loss. Yet, at the same time, the one that'd spoken had not fainted. Instead, he looked at his doppelgänger with surprise and concern -which was odd considering their antagonistic relationship.

Jonna rushed at the fainted Thingguy's side, but by that time he'd already opened his eyes again. He shot upwards and looked around at the others in confusion.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Oh man! You did the Seton!” the other Thingguy snickered despite his former worry.

“I did wha... Seriously? Now, I'm never going to hear the end of it”, faint-Thingguy replied, while Sharpie joined in the snickering.

“You're... okay?” Jonna questioned.

“I'm feeling okay”.

“Well then, don't worry us so!” Jonna spoke in an aggravated voice. “Still, why did you faint, though?”.

“Probably not getting enough salt”, Thingguy responded nonchalantly. “That is after all... the life of a fugitive!” he added dramatically.

*He acts like he's fine, but is this really okay? The two of them seemed rather disconcerted right before he fainted. Is Thingguy hiding something? What does this meant? What does this mean?*

“Speaking of Seton, Sharpie, hadn't you mentioned something about coming across him last time we met?” non-faint-Thingguy remembered.

“Hmm. I did say I have a surprise for you, didn't I?”.

His skin looked rather pale, almost white. His face was blank of an expression; his eyes closed; his mouth ever-slightly opened. His arms were neatly placed on top of his torso as if someone else had arranged them. He lay on his bed still, covered by blankets, all motion taken away from him. It was as if he was dead. But if you looked closely for long enough you could notice the slow and tiny rise and fall of his chest. Breathing. Not dead. Seton was asleep. Infamous for his tendency to pass out, Seton was out even now, after so long.

“He's been like that since the Skyfalls”, Sharpie explained. “Apparently, when he saw Talmid struck down he couldn't take it. He fainted and then just didn't wake up... Or so they told me. I found him in an abbey three years ago. No idea how he got there, though”.

They were all gathered around Seton's bed taking in the sight of his commatose body after Sharpie led them to his room.

“Didn't you ask?” Drumr interrupted.

Sharpie sighed. It had all happened so fast. “The abbey's gone now. And with it so is the answer to that question. There's no helping it. The monks did speak of a legend, though. They said that Seton will only wake up when Talmid himself comes to call him”.

“Do you think it's true?” one of the Thingguys asked.

“Well... nothing else that I tried worked, so...”.

*So, that's my last hope. I've got to believe in that. Because if I don't there's no future for Seton...*

“Anyway, I've come to the Burger several times through these years. When I needed to hide or there was no other place to go, I came here. Never stayed long, though, so as not to give its location away. But with Seton I couldn't wander the land anymore. So, I brought him here. They haven't found us, as of yet”.

“Hmm” Peragrine seemed thoughtful. “Kinda reminds me of Sleeping Beauty”.

For a moment, there was only the sound of imaginary crickets and then, “How can you say that with a straight face?” Drumr protested.

“It *is* a lot like Sleeping Beauty, though”, faint-Thingguy shared a knowing glance with his counterpart and then... “III know you!”.

“I walked with you once upooon a dream!”.

Thingguy was always a cheerful fellow. Having two of them... it was strange. And yet at the same time, why did everyone act like it was so normal? Sharpie wondered, even as he did it himself.

The Thingguys' out of tune singing filled the room and relieved it of tension, tension building up from many things. It was hard to focus on all the darkness before that jovial scene. And yet Major was mostly unaffected when he approached Sharpie.

“I did not wish to interrupt your reunion, but things seem to have paused for now. I still have a question for you, you see. How did you know where to send that pigeon? How did you even know we were anywhere close at all?”.

“News of your break-out have gotten out, it's nothing to be surprised about. I received a letter from an acquaintance of mine saying you'd be seen heading this way. So, I sent the pigeon”.

“Seen? By whom?”.

“Dunno. But if it was an enemy, I guess we'd have already found out, don't you think?”.

“Maybe”.

“On another note”, Sharpie continued. “Who are these guys again?” he pointed to Peragrine and Drumr as well as the silent Tain and Moira.

Having returned to the main room, gotten the introductions over with and explained the circumstances of the Founders' meeting, the Godzilla Burger eventually grew quiet. Everyone was considering all that had been said that day. There was lots of it. The Godzilla Burger, the Thingguys' memories, the Grammar Sword, Seton, the Founders and Matthias coming together. In the end, Sharpie broke the silence.

“So, it's time then? When all's said and done, what's important is that it's time. Time for the rebellion”.

Everyone's attention turned to the daredevil. Rebellion... No one had really said it, but they were all thinking it. Maybe it wouldn't happen right away. Maybe it'd take a lot of time to plan and prepare. But when so many people opposing thedude were getting together, wasn't it inevitable that they would start cooking an uprising? The Founders had reunited. The Knights were being gathered again. Matthias had showed up. Rebellion was coming.

There was no immediate response to what Sharpie said, but their silence was one of assent. It was apparent in their faces when they exchanged glances that they all understood this.

“Well then...” Jonna said. “Let the rebellion begin”. . .

***@ ‎01-04-2019 Sir James  wrote:***

### Chapter Thirty Seven and a Half

'Rebellion'

Peragrine stepped outside of the wooden Hut. It was stuffy in there
with all those people. Not that he was against crowds, but... I mean,
come on, it was a HUT. Like, a very large hut, but still, didn't feel
that way when you put in 9 people. Or was it 8, technically? Whatever, 8
 bodi- no, he'd forgotten Seton. Whatever, 10 plus. 10, give or take a
twin.

Also, there wasn't anything exciting going on anymore. Everyone
had actually run out of stuff to say. They were all brooding, one way or
 another. Even the two Thingguys. Various poses of thought. Distracted.
Utterly boring.

So like Stirling.

Peragrine glanced up at the night sky.

*It must be like... 2 in the morning, or something.* He mused. Not that it mattered. No one else was sleeping here at the Godzilla Burger. Not after Sharpie had said the 'R' word.

***Rebellion.***

To Peragrine, that word rang of even greater adventures, more
friends and foes to speak of, more stories, and generally more
excitement! But he also knew that for a lot of people, the word was
filled with danger, anger, maybe a little fear, and definitely a lot of
hurt and pain.

Peragrine's gaze wandered down to the ground at his feet. It was
pretty rocky, right to the edge of the plateau. Peragrine supposed this
spot would be more picturesque in the spring and summer, but right now
it was pretty bleak.

Except for a single purple poppy, sitting right by the edge.

*Hmm. That one must have survived all its friends, thought*
Peragrine as he walked up to it. 'After all, unless my farmboy herb-lore
 is out of date, isn't this a clustering plant?

Sure enough, as he got closer, he saw the remains of many dead purple poppies all along the ridgeline.

*Hmm! But not this one, no sir!*

He crouched down and took a closer look at the survivor. Indeed,
it was very vibrant, practically unmarred. He marveled at how it seemed
to have it's own little starlight spotlight, how it swayed and bounced
so gently in the wind coming off the plateau. How it's petals looked so
soft and floppy, like a hound-dog's ears.

Peragrine closed his eyes, and felt for the plant's energy. It
took a minute, because he really had to focus and tone out everything
else, but eventually, he could see the dim light that represented the
little living flower.

*Awesome.*

He was about to open his eyes, because he didn't really have any
plans to do anything with the energy, just wanted to see it, but then he
 saw even smaller lights... all below his feet.

*Huh?*

Intensifying his inner focus, he looked all around him and saw little tiny dots of light that spread off to his left and right.

As he peered at these lights, other, similarly minuscule lights
began crowding his vision, but these ones moved. Through the air, along
the ground, in the gro-

"OH!" He opened his eyes.

Bugs! Insects! And those other little lights, Seeds! Seeds were under the ground, all waiting for spring to arrive!

Peragrine giggled to himself, happy with the thrill of discovery.

Turning back to the single current poppy, he bowed.

"Thank you, m'l-"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Bleaugh!" cried Peragrine, nearly hopping off the ledge as MajorQ came up. "You surprised me."

"Oh. Sorry."

Peragrine motioned to the flower. "I was talking to the poppy."

Major took a moment to make sure what he'd heard was accurate. He pointed at it. "The flower?"

"Yeah!"

He stared at the kid in front of him as he began rambling.

"Did you know that there are tons of seeds of this poppy just
under the earth, waiting for spring? It's going to look beautiful when
they pop up! But until then, we just have this one here, who's been
really tough and lasted all this time!"

Major glanced back down at the flower as the kid rambled on about
 having learned about plant-life growing up on a farm. It was a purple
flower, which reminded him of Maelstrom. It also seemed very lonely.
But, as the kid had just said, it wouldn't be very lonely for much
longer. If only it could hold out that long.

Common sense told him it wouldn't, but then again... Recently, he
 hadn't been running on common sense. No one in their right mind would
run off with this crazy bunch of dysfunctional psychos, (even if some of
 them were old friends,) and try to mount a rebellion against a man
who's power commanded Red Mythrans, literal Armies, and nearly the
entire planet they were standing on.

So maybe if he could hold on with his friends, new and old...

...Maybe they'd make it through the last of winter, and raise a Rebellion.

"We're just like this flower." Major said aloud.

Peragrine paused his monolouge. "Pardon?"

"Change is coming, and with it, us. Just like this flower, right
now it might seem like we're all alone, but there's people everywhere on
 this planet that are unhappy with thedude's reign, I'm sure." Major
sighed as he looked around at all of the dead remains of the other
flowers. "It's only a matter of figuring out how to make them sprout."

Peragrine sighed. "Yeah. Me an' Tain an' Carson have been
travelling a bit, and there's places here and there that aren't happy,
but then there's also a lot of people who are totally sold on thedude.
It's kinda freaky."

Major nodded. "Dictators can have that effect. I'm certain that
some people only see the advancement and stability he's brought to their
 countries. None of the war, or cruelty, or discipline."

"But, thedude is wrong, right?" Peragrine said, staring right at
Major, who looked up and stared at him. "I mean, I've never met him
but-"

"Yes, Peragrine. thedude is an evil man. I have met him. He is
obsessed with power, and subjection of the entire world. He tried to
overthrow the Nexus Force before, as you know. I don't know his personal
 reasons, if he has any, but know this for a certainty: thedude is an
evil man, who will spread his evil wherever he goes." He turned away
from  Peragrine's gaze and stared into the night horizon. "It may be
necessary to end his life this time, if we have the chance."

Peragrine blinked. "Uh, well... Um, yeah, I guess."

Major looked back up at Peragrine, and saw his surprise and
reluctance. This young man acted half his age. And yet, it seemed he was
 their resident wizard.

"If only you could have met Wiz Ardon. He would be able to help
you with your magic," Major said, swiftly changing the subject. "Though
it is impressive how much I've seen you do already."

Peragrine rolled his shoulders smugly. "I mean, I've learned a
thing or two. I've gotten some help here and there. But... Yeah. It
would help to have a real magician teach me," Peragrine admitted. "I got
 the basics, but..." he shrugged. "I still feel like there's more I can
learn."

Major nodded. "There certainly is. I remember Wiz once summoned a dragon."

Peragrine's eyes went wide. "Wha?! Like, a whole living breathing dragon, or like, the image or-"

"Real enough to turn the tide of the battle. Though it did fly away afterwards, if I remember correctly."

The two men stared into the sky for a minute. Then Peragrine asked, "What was he like?"

"The dragon?"

"No, Mr. Ardon."

Major smiled dimly. "I'm certain he'd just prefer Wiz. He'd
probably make some snarky remark about not studying magic for x amount
of years just to be called 'Mr.'"

"Was he a kinda grumpy Wizard?"

"Hmm. No. The best word would be Eccentric, but that's not quite
right." Major thought for a moment. "He wasn't like any magic-user I'd
ever met. Magic came quite easily to him, or so he made it seem. But he
was always quite distracted. Like he was busy taking care of a dozen
different things. Sometimes that would make him sound terse, but that
was just because he was busy, mentally, if not physically."

Peragrine nodded. "So, like, he was the expert right?"

"He was the only battle-mage in all of KOTOS."

Peragrine's eyes oogled. "Coooool. So, if he was like, super 'leet, did he ever *heal*?"

"Heal?"

"Yeah. Mend wounds. Fix things. Build, not destroy."

Major gave it another thought. "He did build things. Used
creative powers. But, Um, not often. He mostly was destructive. Not that
 I really knew him much. He may have had that ability and we just never
got to see it, seeing as we were fighting a war."

Peragrine seemed marginally disappointed. "Not even like a bruise or nothing?"

Major sighed. "It was all years ago kid. Honestly, after all this
 time, I only remember his biggest displays. The big explosions. That
Dragon instance. Him shooting lightning from his hands. His ***darn-awful*** swordsplay." He chuckled hollowly.

"His swordsplay?"

"He was... well, no, he was decent. But compared to the rest of
the knights, he certainly was one of the worst. He used his staff more
than his sword."

Peragrine smiled. "Did he wear a hat?"

"Oh yes, he would say no Wizard is complete without a hat. He wore an awful fabric thing that he called a hat."

Peragrine scratched his head. "I've tried to find a hat, but nothing really fits."

Major looked Peragrine up and down. "No, I think you're not a
hat-wearing wizard. You're different. First Builders help us when I say
you're just as different as he was." Major shook his head. "Maybe it's
just a natural wizard thing to stick out like sore thumbs."

Peragrine shrugged. "Maybe!"

The sound of feet on gravel alerted both guys to another person approaching. It was Lady Jonna.

"Hey. What are you guys doing out here?"

"Talking." "Just talkin'!"

"Really? What else is there to talk about?" she asked, a little incredulity sneaking into her voice.

"Peragrine here asked me about the Peculiar Enchanter," answered Major. Peragrine nodded enthusiastically.

"I was hoping to hear a little about healing magic. It's sorta my weak spot right now," Peragrine admitted.

It was hard to read her features in the night. The moonlight had
become blocked by clouds, and the lights from inside the Godzilla Burger
 behind her put her features in silhouette. But she shrugged her crossed
 arms as she said, "I'm afraid most of us know next to nothing about
magic, much less anything as complicated as healer's magic. From what I
understand, you have to have a deep knowledge of the human body to heal
anything other than simple cuts and bruises."

"Oh," Peragrine said, thinking of his past experiments where he'd
 tried to do just that. It still didn't make a lot of sense in his head.
  He'd never had to know how fire worked to light up a whole building,
or the exact measurements and mass of a staff to conjure a magical
construct of it. Why would healing be any different?

Jonna shivered. "It's getting cold out here, I'm heading back in. You guys should too, soon. We all need to get some rest."

Peragrine gave a thumbs up, and Major nodded, adding, "I'll be in shortly."

As Jonna walked back to the Godzilla Burger, the two men took to staring back up at the black sky.

"Why do you want to learn healer's magic, Peragrine?"

Peragrine shrugged. Then he sighed. Then he glanced down at the poppy. At some point, one of it's petals had fallen off.

"I mean, as much fun as it is to blow stuff up, I really wish I
could heal. Ever since I've gotten my powers, I've always told myself
that I would only use them for good. And, yet, even though I try my
best, it's really hard to keep it in check sometimes. People have still
gotten hurt. I mean, it's not always my fault but-"

"But if you had enough control to use your powers to heal, then you wouldn't feel helpless about it."

Peragrine tilted his head sideways. "Eh. Sort of. Not so much
helpless as clueless. I know I can do it, I just don't know how...!"

Major sighed. He wished he had something more encouraging to say, but all he had was, "Give it time, kid. Give it time."

Peragrine glanced at Major, before bobbing his head in the affirmative and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, yeah. Ok."

They both stood there pensively awhile longer, before Major
announced he was going inside. Peragrine followed. As the two men walked
 back into a largely sleeping Godzilla Burger, they both privately
wondered who of this group would see the end of this rebellion...

And who wouldn't.

***@ ‎??-??-2018 Sir Talmid  wrote:***

### XXXVIII

XXXVIII

  “This way,” as Joe pointed led north with a slight eastward bearing, so Sir Talmid, Sir Luke, Joe, and Marty traveled, headed yet for the Athelas Mounts.  Saving Jayko was their priority and following further deliberation, as the knights needed something better to occupy the time than listen to Joe and Marty, it only became a stronger priority.

  “We’re still getting closer to Nordland,” Luke had said.  “So we might yet encounter recruits from there.”

  Discreetly, so Joe and Marty did not hear, Talmid had shared in whisper to Luke, “In this general direction is where I last encountered a Watchtower command ten years ago.”

  “After that much time, can we rely on them still being active?”

  “No, but it’s not the only thing we art grasping at straws for.”

  A sigh from Luke.  “That is true.”

  “Although the last thing I told them was to lay low and wait.  So it is possible they are still waiting.”

  “And what of the girl called Ember, you told me about before?”

  “I hope she is out there, free, for her own benefit as well as ours, and I think we’d know by now if she was taken by thedude.”

  “So the only thing we know for sure is our own intentions, which is that we are saving Jayko and that we hope to recruit others on the way,” Luke summarized.

  Talmid nodded in assent.  “A rebellion needs momentum and mass.  We leaders can provide the momentum, but we’re nothing but a little thorn in thedude’s side without numbers.”

  “Especially when our numbers are so easily taken away,” Luke said ruefully.

  “How can we realistically rescue Jayko, after all?” Talmid said, a little more louder.

  “Hey I have an idea!” Marty shouted.  “Let’s send a Messenger Pigeon to him and follow the pigeon!”

  “Yeah!” Joe shouted as the Knights turned around to face them.

  “One doesn’t simply get a pigeon, or follow one,” Luke said, then he walked into a tree.

  Talmid shook his head.  “Keep up, you two,” he chastised, even though the two friends (and possible traitors) had not fallen far behind.  The Knights had no realistic fear of that happening so long as they could hear them babbling about various things.  So despite their annoyingness, Talmid and Luke had not told them to shut up.  Not like they would have listened anyway, and not listening had gotten Jayko captured in the first place.

  Talmid had just turned forward again when Marty screamed, “Wait, Sir knight!” so he had to turn around again.  Fluttering near Marty was a butterfly.  “Is this a pigeon?” he asked.

  “No, that is a butterfly,” Talmid grumbled.  “I said keep up!”

  “He’s mean.” Joe said.

  “Shut- I mean keep up!” Talmid said again, slowing only to let Luke catch up.

  “We are keeping up!  Sheesh.” Joe said.

  “There’s a snake in my boot!” Marty cried.

  “What chance have we of catching a flying ship?” Luke asked.

  Talmid shook his head again.  “None, really.”

  Marty gave a blood curdling scream.

  “If those two whippersnappers keep whippersnapping, the ship is more likely of catching us,” Talmid huffed.  For all they knew, they could be screaming because they were trying to get them captured on purpose.

  “That’s it!” Luke exclaimed.  “That’s how we get on the ship and rescue Jayko!”

  Talmid rubbed his stubble.  The plan had merit for being much more likely of getting them to Jayko, except for one problem.  “How do we get the ship to come back to us?” he asked.

  “We just hope the Paradox are still watching us.”

  *They just might be*, thought Talmid, *and watching very close.*

  The forest had followed a decline and suddenly spilled into an open valley, once a riverbed, on the other side of which were the first rocks of the Athelas mountain range.  *Somehow*, Talmid thought, *I keep running into this place.* The knights paused to consider their plan.

  Talmid whispered to Luke, “We are being led into Aquila.”

  “The first kingdom to ally with thedude,” acknowledged the other knight.  “Still, it’s better to have a direction than no direction.”  Neither knight wanted to say it, but saving Jayko seemed hopeless.

  Marty and Joe stumbled out of the forest.  “Is *that* a pigeon?” Marty asked, pointing at a hawk.

  “Messenger Pigeons can be found in municipal buildings and post offices.” Luke said.

  “Then we should go to a municipal building!” Joe said.

  “Yeah!” Marty agreed.

  “You realize all municipal buildings in the area will be run by thedude?” Talmid asked.

  “So?” Marty responded.  “It’s the only realistic way of finding Jayko!”

  “It’s our responsibility to get Jayko back, because we failed to keep him safe!” Joe said.  “If you won’t come with us, we will go ourselves!”

  “Ye’d be captured for sure,” Talmid said sardonically, “if you even know where the next town is.”

  “Honestly,” Luke said, “it’s not a bad plan, this pigeon plan.  I think we should go to the nearest town and get a pigeon.”

  Joe and Marty fist bumped then tried to fist bump Talmid and Luke, but the knights were discussing the road ahead.

  “If my memory serves me, the nearest ‘town’ is an Aquilone settlement on the other side of the mountains, but on our side of the river,” Talmid said.  “It’s so small it’s not on the maps.  In fact, there’s many small Aquilone settlements around the river.  Since we don’t even know where we are, we could run into any of them.”

  Luke sighed.  “After climbing these mountains.”

  Joe smiled.  “And there will be pigeons.”

  *So they can send a message to thedude*, Talmid thought cynically.  “Yes, so we can send one after Jayko.”

  “I cannot climb this mountain.”  Suddenly Luke fell to knees, a pained expression on his face.  While Joe and Marty ran to assist the knight in lying down, Talmid unsheathed his sword and spun around, placing himself between Luke and the forest boundary, scanning for any enemies.  After more seconds of the forest sounds, and no visual or auditory evidence of a disturbance in them, the knight sheathed his sword and turned back to Luke.  But he had to take no chances.

  Luke grimaced from his supine position.  Joe had put a bag under Luke’s head as a pillow and Marty was starting to pull up his shirt and look for an obvious wound – but there were none.  “It’s the poison,” Luke said.  “I’ll have to stay on the Morcian side of the border.”

  “If you are staying,” Talmid decided, “we are all staying.”  He would not leave his friend, not after fifteen years apart.

  He should have realized Luke was in no state to flight.  He cursed his oversight, which had swept in with everything else happening so fast.  This changed things, and Talmid’s responsibility had to be to protect who he could still protect, so Jayko would have to fend for himself.

  “No!” Luke shouted with surprising strength.  Even though he was in no doubt a lot of pain, he still had strength of voice and clarity of mind.  “Sir Jayko needs you three.”  He fixed Talmid a determined glare.  “The two of us are here now so we have to decide together.”

  “How can you stay by yourself and avoid being captured?” Talmid demanded.

  “Or taken by the bushes!” Marty gasped.

  “I know many things about avoiding capture,” Luke groaned as he sat back up with Joe’s help.  “It’s how I was Sacul for fifteen years.  I’ll disguise myself and head to the nearest Morcian town.  This poisoning is only a nuisance.”

  “You’ll still need help,” Talmid insisted, but he wondered if he could trust Marty and Joe enough to send one of them with Luke?

  Luke smiled.  “You, Joe, and Marty wouldn’t exactly fit in my disguise, would you?  Besides, *you* need all the manpower and wits to get Jayko back.  Storming a ship is not exactly easy.”

  “Luke is right,” Joe said, “you need us.”

  “See, he gets it.” Luke said.

   *That doesn’t say much*, Talmid didn’t say aloud for not to offend them.  “Alright, Luke.  We’ll cross the mountain and get a pigeon.  But we will get another pigeon to you, and you will send that pigeon back to us and get a pigeon when you reach the next Morcian town, whichever happens first.”

  Luke nodded.  “With certainty.”

  “We should really carry pigeons,” Joe said.

  Talmid rolled his eyes.  “When you’re carrying pigeons, you’re carrying everything inside the pigeons too, which very soon comes out of the pigeons.”

  Joe shrugged.  “Small price to pay to not be in this situation.”

  “Don’t underestimate the pigeons!” Talmid warned.  “One pigeon is bad enough.”

  “Having no pigeons is worse!” Marty shouted.  “We could be following Jayko by now!”

  “Stop shouting!” Talmid ordered.  *At least they are passionate, or was it all an act?  I could be less cynical and pessimistic,* thought the knight.  He stared into the faces of the wide eyed men, giving each a few seconds to study them.  Thingguy had trusted them, and they seemed eager to save Jayko, like really eager.  Luke seemed to trust them too, a decent amount more than Talmid, or maybe he too kept his thoughts to himself.

  One thing was certain.  To pull off rescuing Jayko, Talmid would have to trust them a lot more.

  He didn’t like it.  “Alright.  Luke, we will send word to you.  Joe, Marty, let’s go.”

  Crossing the crags of Athelas wasn’t a hard feat, depending on the time of day.  They stuck to the beaten path at first which consisted of sloped, slippery paths between tall rock walls and at some steeper points carved stone staircases.  The rock walls provided crucial shade on their path because they were not called, in some nomenclature, the Fire Mountains for nothing.  The rocks could become dangerously hot to the touch and in numerous eroded locations, form actual furnaces.

  “Look for places where the lichen doth grow not,” Talmid advised the two men, “and *avoid them* *with your life*.”

  By midday the sun beat down on the backs of their necks and if not for high altitude wind gusts they would have been quite cooked.  Their sweat steamed under their clothes and drops of it fizzled upon contacting the stone below them.  If they stood in one place for too long their boots could literally melt to the ground.  *It was a good thing Luke was not with them*, Talmid recognized.  With the poison still brewing in him, the heat would probably kill him.  The other knight was wise.  He would miss the man dearly.

\*~\*~\*~\*~\*

  Staying on the Morcian side of the mountains allowed Luke to return to the forests once he returned to his feet and set about walking again.  The shade protected him from the son.  Dressed in Sacul’s clothes, the knight hoped he did not look like a knight, and more like a simple traveler.

  Still he had to be cautious.  It was no secret the frequency of highway robbery and banditry had increased with the deposition of the kingdoms.  thedude’s forces could fly and drive and no sane person would attack them, or want to be near them, making the average wayfarer an easy target.  Luke had his sword, but he kept it hidden under robes that reached to his ankles.

  He wanted to reach a town and get to an inn.  *Maybe*, Luke thought, he could do some investigating into rebel movements.  Talmid had said there were former Morcian soldiers laying low in these parts.  They just needed a knight to rouse them.

  It came as a surprise when that town came into view so fast.  He supposed he should have been used to it.  Forest villages, built under the shadows of leaves and hidden nestled between the towering trunks not sacrificed for their constructions, (indeed, Morcian building practice was to take trees from one part of a forest then drag them to a whole other place, then allowing the disturbed area to grow back and hide the fact that anything ever happened there) happened to come up on people like that.  There was also no obvious road leading in or out, but it was a populated town none the less.  Luke could hear the voices of tradesmen and market people, and farm animals.

  If he wanted to lie low from thedude, this was the perfect place.

  He wondered if anyone else here shared that sentiment.  It was imperative he find out.

\*~\*~\*~\*~\*

  Talmid, Joe, and Marty had choses a reasonably fast route to cross the mountains and within the first hour they were descending to Aquila, and in the fertile plains before them, a settlement was clearly visible.  At this distance the houses were mere brown specks and the roads drawn like pencil scratches.

  “Civilization!” Marty cried.  “Water!  My canteen is nearly empty!”

  “We shall attend to that first thing,” Talmid resolved.  He too needed a drink after listening to more of Marty and Joe’s babble.  *Something alcoholic*.

  They were faster down the mountain now that they could clearly see their destination.  The path was no less dangerous, but there was slightly less sun on the northern side of the crags and they were understandably in a hurry.  But before leaving the mountain completely, they hid behind a rock wall and took turns disguising themselves.  Joe untied his hair and Marty put on a ranger’s cap, while Talmid donned eyeglasses, replaced his rider’s clothes with the trousers and vest of a scavenger, and quickly shaved the center of his beard.  He was not a fan of muttonchops but he would be fine until he saw a mirror.

  They reached the town an hour later and headed straight for a Tavern N’ Inn ran by a Mikey Baloney N’ Brothers.  Mikey Baloney was bartending when the knight and Joe and Marty entered, and he immediately narrowed his eyes at them.  “More foreigners!” he shouted, and all manner of heads lazily turned to face the newcomers.  People with glass eyes and sinister eye caps, feather capped members of the local Aquilone militia, Paradox Rogues with Paradox helmets.

  For a moment the tavern was silent.

  “Welcome!” Mikey shouted.  “We love interstate commerce!”

  Talmid breathed a sigh of relief.  They were not meant harm, yet.  The other guests returned to their business, even the Rogues, although they were slower to do so.  They ordered drinks and settled to a table near the door, and wordlessly, stirring his drink and staring broodingly into it, Talmid wondered what they were to do next.

\*~\*~\*~\*~\*

  The village people were all too kind to show a wary traveler named Sacul to their inn.  From the decoration and aesthetics, Sir Luke could tell this was as undisturbed a Morcian village he could get.  An old fashioned Heater shield, adorned with the lion’s flag and blue-gold colors of Orlan, was set suspended on the wall opposite the window.  In his window, the flowerbox grew a pleasantly tangy smelling grass, and he kept the window open to galvanize his room with it, as intended.  Otherwise the aroma of a boiling, well spiced vegetable soup rose to waft through all the inn’s rooms.  Luke hadn’t had to pay *too much* for the accommodations.  The only evidence of thedude’s dominion was, among other small trinkets hanging over the door, was a gold threaded tassel with a red metal baseball cap on the end.

  There was a knock on his wooden door that made the charms and whatnot all rattle like wind chimes, and Luke answered it.  “Come in!”

  It was opened by a scruffy looking servant girl, with blond hair worn down.  One of the innkeeper’s daughters, Luke presumed, for inns of this size were typically family run.

  “Hallo sir,” the girl said properly.  “Was just making certain you’re settlin’ in a’right.”

  “It’s all good,” Luke said, “thank you.  I am Sacul.”

  She looked about fifteen.  What a time to be born.

  “I know that, sir.”  The girl obviously checked the names of everyone residing under their roof.

  Luke smiled.

  “Oh!  You want my name.  I figure that’s why you introduced yourself to me.”  The girl seemed to consider for a moment, and in that moment, standing in the doorway, she seemed to study him from the distance.  She studied his clothes.  She studied his face.  “My name’s Eva.  Eva Tomson.”

  *Tomson*, Luke wondered.  Was he meant to know the name?

\*~\*~\*~\*~\*

  “Think those Paradox are the same Paradox from the other side of the mountain?” Marty whispered in Talmid’s ear.  “The ones that captured Jayko?”

  Among the small group of tipsy Rogues that had just gotten up to leave the tavern were a few of the typical Space Marauders, a few Sorcerers, and a few Shinobi.

  “Possible, but doubtful,” the knight responded, before looking out a side window to follow their path.

  There was a ship outside the window, large, black, with red stripes, with its landing ramp extended and a procession of soldiers lined up at its side.

  “Actually very plausible,” Talmid corrected himself.  This was not good.  How did they miss the ship before, unless they had just arrived?  Or had they only now dropped their cloak?  “Seems we can skip the Messenger Pigeons.”  Unless that was a different ship, but that was unlikely.  thedude had few ships operating regularly near the surface.  Few had lasted very long.

  “One way to find out for sure,” Marty said.  After filling up on some water that they all pretended was clear and hoped was completely sanitary, they went to the post office with a simple letter addressed to Jayko, and that was it.  It was just a small piece of paper with Jayko’s name on it, which when rolled up would comfortably fit in a pigeon’s talons.

  In the post office they had to ring the bell to summon the pigeon handler to the service window.  Several fat pigeons were roosting all throughout the room behind him, and he looked quite harried to see them.  “I- thank you!” the man gasped when Talmid handed him a letter.  “It’ll be mailed in the morning!”

  “What?!” Talmid exclaimed.  “But you have plenty of pigeons-”

  “They are not available!” the man screamed.  “The pigeons- you might think I control them, but they are in charge of me!  I am merely their feeder, their caretaker, they are the overlords!  What they don’t want, they won’t do and I cannot change that!”

  “What is this!” Talmid demanded, putting his hands on the window bars and gripping them threateningly.  “We need this message to go out now!  If you do not supply us with a pigeon, we will just take a pigeon ourselves!”

  The man shrunk back.  “No!  You can’t just take a pigeon!!”

  Talmid stepped back to aim his boot at the door next to the window.  The man jumped to the side just as the door was kicked down, sending several pigeons into panicked flight.  At once Joe and Marty dashed inside and began grabbing at the flying, round, cooing things.  Joe jumped triumphantly.  “I got one!  Aaaaah!”  The pigeon handler jumped on his back and yanked his hair.  In the ensuing scuffle Joe had to release the pigeon to defend himself from the handler, who in the struggle fought much like a pigeon would, if it were the size of an ostrich.

  Meanwhile Marty managed to grab and latch a pigeon to his chest before racing out of the room.  “Let’s go!” he shouted, rushing past Talmid and out of the post office, while Talmid ran the opposite direction, into the service room, and yanked the pigeon handler off Joe.  The man stumbled into a shelf which tipped over, spilling rolls of parchment and letters fluttering to the ground.  Then the two of them vacated to join Marty.

  Now with a pigeon in Marty’s hands, they could find Jayko, right?

  “Deliver this to Jayko,” Talmid ordered the pigeon, holding out the letter.

  The pigeon bit his finger.

  “Gah!”  Talmid leaned in closer to the pigeon and fixed it with a death glare.  “Deliver this paper or I’ll get you fired!”

  The pigeon laughed.

  “Deliver the paper or you’ll be cooked!” Marty threatened, grabbing a fork from somewhere on his person.

  The pigeon startled and grabbed the paper in its beak before flying out into the street.  Talmid, Joe, and Marty watched it made a wide, wingspread bank onto a straight path up the ramp of the ship to disappear inside its bulkheads.

  “There’s our answer.” Talmid said.

  A moment later there was an electrical crackle from within the ship and the pigeon came flying back out to arc with an anticlimactic *whomp* to the ground, where it lay unmoving.

  They all grimaced.  “I do hope that thing is still alive.” Joe said.

  Talmid was not sure.  “They can take a bruising.”

  “At least we know Jayko is surely aboard that ship now.” Marty ventured.

  “Yes,” Talmid said.  “We do.  But who else knows?  Why is that ship here?”

  “What do you mean?” Marty asked.

  “It’s just a suspicion, but that ship must have had a good reason to take Jayko here rather than straight to Orlan.”  Talmid’s face compressed.  “Someone must already be here, or coming here from nearby.  Someone important.”

  Talmid faced the two of them.  “We need to get Jayko out before that person arrives.”

\*~\*~\*~\*~\*

  Luke was invited to brunch at the inn and as the only dormer presently, well, present, he was to dine with none other than the innkeeper and his family.

  The dining room was the same room which guests entered and signed in, before heading down the hall to the first floor rooms, or up the stairs to the second floor rooms.  The furniture were simple wooden structures, carved and hand built tables and chairs, with small, appreciable cloth cushions for the latter, probably sewn by hand as well.

  “Most of the other residents are out working at this time,” explained the innkeeper.  He was a gray haired man looking in his late fifties, possibly sixties, of average height with a broad chested build.  Luke could believe this man had built this inn himself, as Luke had built Sacul’s inn back in Kilmer.  The man had the muscle mass to show it.

  The innkeeper, Mr. Tomson, smiled at Sacul as he served out plates.  As he talked, his daughter set out forks and small knives.  “You are completely welcome here, Mr. Sacul, but I am curious, what brings you to Athlten, this quiet village in the middle of Morcian nowhere?”  Then an older woman, his wife, placed plate heaped high with pancakes into the center of the wooden table, and Luke was momentarily lost for words at the sight of their deliciousness.

  “I’m… traveling,” Luke said.  “I am a traveler.”  That sounded lame.  He considered what he could safely say, to be interesting, without incriminating his partners.  “I was traveling with friends, but we decided to separate not far from here.  They wanted to climb the mountains, but I took ill, so we decided I’d make my way here.”

  “Very interesting,” Mr. Tomson said, setting down a water jug and pouring himself and Luke glasses.  “Mountains; you speak of the Athelas mounts?”

  Luke nodded in between sips.  The water was good.

  “I cannot imagine what people would willingly wish to go up there,” Mr. Tomson said, shaking his head, but still smiling.  “There is an established path nearby leading into Aquila, used mostly by traders, and raiders.  But you have interesting friends if they want to go to Aquila.”

  “I suppose,” Luke said, “we can travel more freely between the kingdoms, now that we are all, ah, united under his majesty.”

  “The more foolhardy of us.”  Mr. Tomson still smiled, although he had not necessarily agreed with Luke’s statement.  “Of course, bandits and raiders are more prevalent more than ever.  For our sake, we have an established local militia trained to deal with them, should they for some reason desire to raid us.  And I’m sure our ‘friends’ the Aquilones have, as well.  I bid your friends safe travels in these treacherous times.”

  “Thank you.”  Luke watched as the innkeeper’s wife and daughter took seats beside the man, and he noticed that one more set of table settings was placed before an empty seat.

  Eva responded to the direction of his gaze.  “Tom comes variably.”

  Her mother fixed her with a glance, as if some unspoken questions were not meant to be given spoken answers.

  Suddenly uncomfortable, it was all Luke could do not to make the feeling obvious on his face.  He continued to drink and took some of the pancakes.  He wanted to learn more about these people he was staying with.  If he had to wager his life on it, he would bet they were anti-thedude.  Most people who were adults before the war were, and rightfully so.  He was a tyrant, and compliance was conscripted.

  “Eva,” Luke started.  “If I may,” he added, for her parents.  “You look like you were not born before The War.”

   They all knew what War he spoke of.

  “That is true,” Eva’s mother said, her expression kept passive.

  “I have traveled a great deal,” Luke said, “seen many places, met many people.  And I know many stories.  But after the war, I settled down.  I started an inn of my own, in fact, in a village called Kilmer.  But since then I have not had much chance to share such stories, especially with someone who would actually hear something new from them.  All my friends,” he laughed wryly, “are as old as I am.  No doubt you hear many things told of events in the current time.  With your permission, would you like to hear about what it was like… before?”

  “Before The War?” asked Eva.

  “Before thedude.” Luke said, before noticing his slip up.  “His Majesty,” he appended hastily.

  Mr. Tomson had a funny glint in his eye.  “Go ahead…” he said.

  Luke considered the task before him.  There was no backing out now.  “Before His Majesty came to rule all of Militiregnum, the kingdoms were separate rulerships.  They were called the Four Great Kingdoms.  The Kingdom of Morcia was ruled by King Mathias Moracol; the Kingdom of Aquila was ruled by a Royal Family, their last king as called Jork; the Kingdom of Ankoria was, and remains, a desolate wasteland.  And Elepharia was a beautiful place, with the Elephanters, and of course, elephants.  Such wonderful creatures.”  He breathed wistfully.  “Of course, Elepharia also had the Skyfalls.  I cannot tell of Elepharia without the Skyfalls.”

  At the mention of Skyfalls, the innkeeper seemed to listen more attentively.

  “What are Skyfalls?” asked Eva.

  Luke shook his head sadly.  “They are nothing but stories, now.  Militiregnum had two moons, Kapern and Lyra.  The two traveled around our planet’s equator, Lyra closer and Kapern farther.  They would tug at each other immensely, pulled in a tight, almost circular path right over the Equatorial River, which is across the land of Elepharia.  But it’s not a completely circular orbit.  And for one week every year, when the moons came low enough to the river, Lyra so bright and Kapern so yellow behind her, the water would rise, straight into the air, like waterfalls suspended in the sky, traveling in reverse.  And if you went there, you could fly, too.”

  Luke could see in Eva’s eyes she was picturing the scene.  Luke had encountered a small brook before arriving in Athlten.  No doubt about it, she was picturing the water rising out of that little brook.

  “The equatorial river in Elepharia is wider than five houses laid side by side,” Luke described.  “And deep enough to fit two.  And all around it are open plains.  Imagine miles, and miles, of grass and rolling hills.  Miles to see the skyfalls from a safe distance.  Flying is fun, but no one wants to fly too high.”

  “Indeed,” the innkeeper agreed, “to fly too high means a long fall down.”

  Eva turned to the gray haired man.  “Have you seen the Skyfalls, Father?”

  Mr. Tomson turned to his wife.  They exchanged a look, and he turned back to his daughter.  “Yes, I have.”  Then he turned to Luke.  “And I believe Sacul, here, has too, for he describes a picture exactly as what I saw…”  He was staring at Luke’s face with such an attentive, seeking gaze.  He was looking for something to recognize.  The glass in the man’s hand suddenly fell to the tabletop, nearly teetering off the edge before grabbed it.

  “Sacul,” the man repeated with understanding.  “Of course.”

  Luke thought of the Morcian army shield decorating his room upstairs.  Then he continued his story.  “A battle was fought in Elepharia, fifteen years ago.  It was the battle that ended the war that started when his majesty, thedude, arrived here.  Or at least, from my perspective, it was the end of the war.  There were two sides in that battle.  Our king, thedude, was not yet king of Militiregnum, but he had convinced the Elephanters to help him fight King Mathias of Morcia.  There is a reason Orlan is thedude’s capitol.  Mathias was the toughest of the kings for thedude to vanquish.  King Mathias was not alone, you see.  He was a wise king.  He had a strong army.”

  “Not strong enough…” Mr. Tomson muttered.

  “And he had help, as well, because that is the right thing for people to do when they cannot do something alone.  They ask for help.  King Mathias called on the Knights of the Old Speech.  And it was in Elepharia, during the Skyfalls, that the Knights of the Old Speech were defeated.”

  Luke closed his eyes.  “Some of the Knights were killed.  Others captured.  Others, we believed, still managed to escape.  And this is apparently true, now.  I’m sure you’ve heard some very current rumors about the Knights returning.”

  When he opened his eyes, Eva was staring at him utterly enraptured.  “I have.”

  “Believe me, the rumors are true.” Luke said with conviction.  “The Knights have returned.  The founders freely lead them.  And their mission is to restore King Mathias, and overthrow thedude, but not by themselves.  I have seen with my own eyes, the people who have joined them in their fight.  The Knights send a message to all who listen.  Years ago, they said the time will come, and that time is now.

  “The time has come.”

  The door to the inn burst open and heavy boots strode in.  “Father, mother, Eva-“ permeated the deep, steadied voice of a mature young man.  “Oh, my apologies!” said the man.  “I did not expect company.”

  The Tomson’s son strode to the table side, took a seat, and helped himself to five pancakes, halving the tower.  He had orange hair like the color of a summer horizon, or a roaring fire, and bright blue eyes that made eye contact with his father, mother, and sister, the smile lines pulled taut around his eyelids.

  Then the orange haired man, who could not be younger than thirty, stared at Luke and extended a hand.  “I am Thomas Tomson.”

  He took it and shook is firmly.  “I am Sir Lukas, founder of the Knights of the Old Speech.”

  Thomas’s arm fell limp and Luke could only hold it and watch as the man fainted, falling face first into his pancakes.  No one could get enough of them.

**@‎24-01-2019 Sir fffffplayer1 wrote:**

### Chapter XXXIX

*“What*
 a faccia! What a chin! What a figure! Your majesty! I can see it right
now! Imagine a statue that would capture you in all your brilliant
glory! My hands itch to sculpt it!”
*“wat iz dis?” thedude asked from on top of his throne.*

*“As*
 they said, your majesty, they're sculptors. And apparently they want to
 make a statue of yours”, Lord Vladek replied with a resigned attitude,
pointing to the man and his wife who were seeking attendance with
thedude.

*“No,*
 no, no! Not just one statue. Wouldn't that be a waste? We think that
the whole of Britay should be decorated with such a jewel as the
handsomeness of our King. Then all citizens of Britay will know the
perfection of features that blooms right in front of me”, the
middle-aged man continued passionately, gesturing keenly with his hands
as he did.

*“end waht u wonts form mi?” thedude enquired.*

*“Why*
 surely, your Majesty, I thought you would be most pleased were I to ask
 for your permission in such a matter as this that would affect a whole
kingdom. But in addition there is the issue of funding. While truly I
believe that your greatness deserves, no begs to be immortalised, I am
afraid that my wife and I cannot venture to go through with this on our
own. But were your Majesty to sanction this project, then your
handsomeness could shine upon this world and bless us all”.

*“y dont teh wymen speks?”*

*“She*
 is shy, your Majesty. A very talented sculptor indeed and a beautiful
woman without whom I could not imagine my life. But very shy before
strangers and especially royalty. But you must not question her
dedication. She is indeed most passionate about building your statues”.

*“iz*
 dat sho?” thedude muttered to himself. He didn't like the look in the
woman's eyes; it seemed proud, even defiant. thedude then turned to
Vladek, “Vladrik, wy du hi tok fani? his widr”.

*“They're Adilians. A minority that lives in south-eastern Morcia. I've talked to you about them before”.*

*“teir*
 difrant. mi dasn lik dafrent. mek sur ter rez texs in suthistarn
morsha”, thedude then turned to the sculptors again. “y u edilan in
brateh?”

*“Oh*
 but you see, your Majesty, my father was a merchant and very young
still he travelled to Britay and it was there where lack would have it,
he found love in the prettiest Adilian girl, who'd also moved to Britay
when she was very young. And indeed I wouldn't rest till I was married
to an Adilian woman myself and that's how I met my principessa, whose
story is similar to mine”.

*“hrm.*
 fain. i fink baut it en disided me leiks id. do it”, but then he looked
 at the wife again and saw the still burning fire in her eyes, so he
added: “bat ur gits teh maneh, nat de wamyn”.

*“As you wish, your Majesty”.*

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Almost
 five years later and dozens of leagues away, a group of five Knights of
 the Olde Speech (one unconscious), an apprentice wizard, two defectors,
 a resistance fighter and an elite warrior (along with a few horses)
were approaching a city. It had been agreed upon that before they headed
 to Orlan where they hoped to reunite with the other Knights, they
should stop by Evereed to purchase supplies enough for their
unexpectedly big company. However, once they left the mountains behind
and came near the city, a question arose.

“We can't all enter the city. They'll notice us instantly”, Major pointed out.

“That's true. Then, who goes in?” Tain asked.

“Is there any of us who isn't an escaped prisoner?” Moira enquired.

There
 were a few glances shared between the members of the group and soon
they realised they truly consisted mostly of people who'd escaped from
some prison or another. Even Sharpie had been briefly at the hands of
thedude's men. It was only Drumr and one of the Thingguys who raised
their hand in response.

“Nathanael,
 it doesn't count if you've got the same face with an escapee”, Jonna
told the Thingguy – it had been decided that for the sake of everyone
preserving their sanity one Thingguy would be called Thaddeus and the
other Nathanael.

“Great,
 so the only people here who haven't ever been captured are a
permanently unconscious man and a wanted criminal. Not much to go on.
We'll have to risk this anyway”, Major concluded.

“Peragrine is out of the question anyway”, Tain said revealing no emotions. “He'd certainly cause a commotion”.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, man!” Perry replied. “What do you think I'd do?”

“I don't know but it's sure to cause a ruckus”.

“He's got a point”, Drumr agreed.

“Well then any volunteers?” Sharpie asked. “My leg doesn't allow me to. I won't be able to run, if we need to”.

“I'd like to go”, Jonna said.

“You're quite recognisable though, as the former princess. Are you sure?” Thaddeus argued.

“I'm
 sure. It's been fifteen years since I was last a princess. The people
are as likely to remember my face as much as any of you, I'd reckon”.

She
 would not be stopped now. She'd spent a long time away from action,
once hiding then imprisoned. Now that the flames of war were to be
lighted again, she wouldn't let herself be pushed aside again. She'd
only need to muster her courage once more.

“Then in that case, I'm going too”, Thaddeus decided.

“And I as well”, Nathanael added.

“With the two of you looking identical, you'd be much more likely to draw attention to yourselves”, Major reasoned.

“As I have done in the past, I'll stand by Jonna's side”, Nathanael responded.

“And I'll certainly not leave her alone with the impostor”, Thaddeus continued.

“It would be much more sensible to send someone like Tain and Moira”, Major insisted.

“Actually, I'd rather not go”, Tain muttered quietly.

“I've
 told you before, Tain, you need to work on your agoraphobia. Being a
runaway defector is not an excuse for being lazy, you know”, Moira told
her friend.

“Fine
 then. If you're so decided to get caught, you can go. Don't expect
reinforcements when you're thrown into the brig though”.

“Don't worry. We're perfectly capable of escaping on our own”, Nathanael assured Major.

“It won't be the first time”, Thaddeus agreed.

“As long as we don't have to watch Barney's show this time”, Jonna said with concern.

Everyone agreed, some from experience, that that was indeed a very bleak worst case scenario.

Entering
 Evereed was a strange experience for Jonna. For one thing, there was
the nervousness from having to pass through the guards –thankfully their
 disguises which attempted to conceal their features as conspicuously as
 possible got them through. For another, seeing the city after years
truly surprised her. It'd been transformed since the times of her
father's reign.

First
 of all, the great Wall of Evereed that was the pride of all Evereedians
 had been reduced to rubble and even that had mostly been removed. Jonna
 remembered hearing how that wall had never fallen since the time it was
 built after the defeat of the Morgai. Now, it was gone.

The
 inside of the city was radically changed as well, though. She'd heard
that the war and the famous fire of the sixth year of thedude had left
Evereed once again in ruins and that to a great extent it'd been rebuilt
 as a brand new city, but she'd never expected that. All of the stone
buildings which used to make up the majority of the city and which were
very standard for Morcia, perhaps even beyond had disappeared. Replaced
by some uniquely different wooden buildings. Often painted in shades of
red, blue or yellow. With wooden posts supporting balconies or the
shelters of porches. And most curiously, many of these buildings had
flat roofs. There was a wide road in crossing through the middle of the
city and all buildings were lined up at its two sides. Jonna had never
before seen a city like that.

She
 didn't know if Thingguy had been there before during his journeys, but
neither of the doubles showed any surprise as they walked on. Jonna
followed suit. Walking down the main road, Jonna noticed people
loitering outside doors or going around their business and realised they
 were as changed as the city was. Some items of clothing she saw a lot
were their wide-brimmed hats, those trousers she thought were called
jeans and a variety of coats she hadn't seen before. Some residents of
Evereed also wore some kind of handkerchief around their neck. It might
have been just Jonna's impression, but she thought that aside from their
 clothing the people of Evereed also looked rather rough, their faces
quite stern. They certainly were staring intensely.

“Sir
 Sharp said there's a bar of sorts here whose owner is friendly to the
KOTOS”, Nathanael said quietly so that he wouldn't be heard.

“We should be able to ask for supplies there”, Thaddeus finished the other Thingguy's sentence.

“Don't do that. I can speak for myself”.

“I was going to say that first, you know”.

“But you didn't”.

“Cut
 it out, you two”, Jonna interrupted. “They're already staring at us, we
 don't need to attract more attention than necessary”.

Under
 the gaze of the townspeople, they continued. Jonna suspected that was
because of how much they stood out from what they were dressed in. She
certainly felt this wasn't a very welcoming place.

Following
 Sharpie's directions they soon found the place. The word “SALOON” was
written on its front with big words. They entered through some strange
double doors that only came up to chest level and found themselves in
the warm atmosphere of a busy bar, with the smell of alcohol and smoke
in the air, chattering, laughing and the sounds of a piano filling their
 ears. Yet, as soon as they got in everyone stopped talking almost
instantaneously as they turned to look at the newcomers. Only the piano
continued, not letting the place go silent.

There
 was an awkward moment during which everyone's eyes were on them. Then,
the Thingguys walked on and the spell was broken. Everyone started
talking again, but Jonna wasn't sure they'd forgotten about them. They
made it to the bar where the bartender was wiping a glass with a
washcloth –as all bartenders must stereotypically do all the time.

“What can I do for you?” the man asked.

“I'll have a beer”, Thaddeus said.

“Me too”, Nathanael added.

“And we'd like to know if you can help us get supplies for a journey”, Jonna finished.

The
 bartender examined them with a stoic expression for a moment before he
got a bottle and poored two glasses. He passed them to the two Thingguys
 and then spoke, “You understand that this isn't a safe town for
strangers to walk so openly in?”

Sharp
 had said that the owner of the bar was friendly to the Knights. Was
that the bartender or someone else? Was that advice or perhaps a threat?
 Had the man realised who they were? If he had, what about the rest?

“Sometimes one's got to defy any dangers to get what they want. I'm sure you would gladly help a *stranger”*, Thaddeus emphasised the word as if he meant something else.

“And if that's not enough we can always pay you for your trouble”, Nathanael spoke as he sipped some of his drink.

“If you tell me what you need, I'll see what I can do about it. And then there's something else you might be interested in”.

While
 the Thingguys discussed with the bartender what supplies would be
needed, Jonna turned her gaze back at the customers of the... saloon,
was it? Every once in a while, one of them would look their way. And
their looks weren't pleasant. Jonna wanted to get out of there as
quickly as possible.

“If
 that'll be all, then let me call Tommy. Hey Tommy!” the bartender
called –it would seem that the Thingguys had settled things with the
bartender. “While Tommy gets the things you asked for, it'd be advisable
 that you lay low. Though... there's something else. You should talk to
G, the pianist, about it”.

The
 pianist? What was this all about? Jonna's eyes switched to the piano
and the man playing it. She had to stop herself from exclaiming in
surprise. What was this? She could hardly believe this. First Sharpie
and Seton, then this. That was some wicked luck. Looking at her
companions, she could see in their faces they must be having similar
thoughts. Nathanael thanked the bartender and then they all made for the
 piano.

He
 looked quite older, his black armour was gone and there was a pair of
sunglasses rested on his face. But that was unmistakably him. Sir
Grongringro-eth. What was he doing in that place playing the piano?
Actually, scratch that. She'd been telling stories as her cover; that
wasn't too much of a stretch.

“Gr... I mean G. Um hi!” Jonna greeted him, uncertain how to address him in the midst of a busy bar.

There
 was something strange in the way that Grongringro replied without
looking at any of them. In fact, now she thought of it the way he was
playing the piano with his eyes not turned at the keys but in a random
direction as if he was disinterested in what he was doing was off as
well.

“Excuse me, who is this?” and that was strange, too. There's no way he wouldn't recognise them.

And
 then Jonna noticed something else. The sunglasses worn indoors,
especially at a place like this, seemed odd as well. And with a closer
examination, she found that the sunglasses couldn't perfectly hide a
patch of red skin on his face. A scar... It finally dawned on Jonna.

Grongringro was blind.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

*“Have you heard about the Adilian sculptors?” Mrs. Abbott asked her friend, Mrs. Bishop.*

*“What sculptors?”*

*“thedude*
 has apparently hired a couple of Adilian sculptors to build his statue
all over Britay. Rumours say they intend to make one for every single
city, town and village of the country. But they’ve already built more
than one for Camelot”.

*“Oh my, how much is that going to cost?”*

*“I have it on good authority that thedude has given them ten thousand pounds for the project”.*

*“Ten*
 thousand pounds?!” Mrs. Bishop was awed by the sheer thought of that
amount –she wasn’t particularly poor herself, but that was what even the
 richest of gentlemen needed a year to make. “Why my dear Mrs. Abbott,
that is absolutely scandalous”.

*“Quite*
 so. And I thought my daughter was too vain, to think that such a vast
amount would be spent on such a frivolous task. Certainly, there was so
much more that could be done with that kind of money”.

*“And who are the sculptors undertaking this?”*

*“Just some Mr. and Mrs. Crocetti who grew up in Britay even though they’re Adilian”.*

*“I*
 sometimes wonder who would it be that so readily serves such a
distasteful man. It’s understandable if you submit to him –after all
what else can you do?– but isn’t this a little extreme?”

*“I*
 know exactly what you mean. It is unfortunate that our King has no
charm at all. I can’t imagine anyone gladly serving him. But I suppose
those eastern folks are more fond of him”.

*“Now,*
 Lionel though there was a King who looked the part”, and the
conversation proceeded to diverge from the original subject of the
Crocetti’s work.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Explanations
 had ensued between their group and Grongringro and he’d soon realised
who they were. They had since moved to a more private room the owner had
 shown them to, so they could discuss more freely. They’d told
Grongringro how they’d gotten there and explained the Thingguy issue –as
 best they could.

In
 his turn, Grongringro related how he’d wound up in Calibus Tower and
how he was wounded in an explosion during the raid of the tower. He’d
lost his sight after that. Some years of wandering alone trying to make
do had followed, but eventually his journey had led him to Evereed where
 he got a job as a pianist.

“The
 Raid of Calibus, ha?” Thaddeus muttered to himself and his self
replied, “You’re not the first victim of that incident that I hear of”.

“So, does this mean the gang’s getting back together?” Grongringro asked.

“You bet”, Nathanael spoke. “You’ll no longer be a Lonegringro”.

“But you shall be a Gangringro once more”.

Grongringro grinned. “I’ve waited long for this time. To-eth battle-eth we-eth go-eth then-eth!” he pointed his finger forward.

“The door is the other way genius-eth”, Thaddeus corrected his friend.

“Are
 you making fun of a blind man? How insensitive? Don’t you know this is
supposed to be a dramatic moment for my character?” Grongringro was
received with some quizzing glances.

At that point, a knock came at the door. Tension rose to the room as everyone turned
 towards it, but then they heard the voice of Tommy, the young assistant
 of the bartender, “It’s me Tommy. I’ve brought the stuff you asked for”.

They relaxed and Jonna opened the door. The young boy came in, carrying a few big bags. The two Thingguys rushed to help him with them.

“How much did they cost you?” Nathanael asked, while he looked inside one of the bags.

“About
 thirty florins”. Nathanael got a wallet from one of his pockets,
counted thirty one florins and gave them to the boy, one extra for his
trouble.

“Wow! It’s not often one sees actual golden coins around here these days”, Tommy marvelled.

“Then, what do you use for money?” a perplexed Jonna asked.

“Banknotes”.

“Banknotes?”

“They’re little sheets of paper printed by banks instead of coins”, Grongringro explained to an even more confused Jonna.

“Paper for money?” Jonna whispered to herself, astounded.

“In any case, if you are to leave town, I’d advise to do it quick. It’s gotten busier outside and I think you know why that is”.

“Yeah,
 if I know this city at all, everyone here will be ready to jump on
you”, Grongringro concurred. “We really should be going”.

“You’re leaving, too, G?” the boy asked.

“I’m afraid adventure calls, Tommy boy. Hopefully, something will come of it. I guess this is goodbye”.

“On we go then”, the Thingguys declared. Thaddeus had arranged the supplies, so one could carry them on their back. He and Nathanael walked out with them on their backs. Tommy rushed after them, to get back to his work. Grongringro followed slowly using a cane to probe his surroundings and Jonna came last.

However,
 they were not to go far for as soon as they went back to the saloon’s
front, Nathanael bumped onto gruff-looking man. He had an unshaven face
with reddened goggling unblinking eyes and a mouth stinking of
cigarettes and whatever he’d had for lunch. Two more men were at his
sides wearing menacing grins on their faces.

“Well,
 well, well. Look what we’ve got here”, he spoke with a rasp voice.
“Why, do my eyes deceive me or is that one of those kotor guys?”

“Your eyes don’t deceive you Jim. It’s him”, one of the sidekick thugs said.

“You’re in the way”, Nathanael responded simply.

“And you’ve got a lot of nerve to walk in here with a bounty on your head for a thousand florins”.

“But Jim, don’t both of them have the same face as the poster?” the other thug asked.

“All
 the better for us. Sheriff better pay double for them both”, Jim
replied and he drew a gun out of the holster on his belt; it wasn’t like
 the big complicated guns the Paradox Rogues wielded, but it was a gun
nonetheless.

“Put
 that gun down, Grim Jim”, someone else from the crowd said drawing her
own pistol. “These people are our only hope right now”.

“Last
 time one of their kind passed from Evereed, thedude burnt Evereed down
because we didn’t give him up. Not this time!” a third person cried
arming himself with his own weapon.

In
 the duration of a few seconds, the situation escalated further with
half the customers getting up and getting one thing for another as
weapons. The owner yelled that there was no fighting to be done in his
saloon, but at that moment exactly someone decided to break their bottle
 on the head of the person standing beside them. Mayhem ensued.

Nathanael
 ducked to avoid the bullet fired by Grim Jim and charged forward,
pushing Jim away from him. One of Jim’s goons tried to tackle him, but
he received a punch from Thaddeus. The other goon made to fire at them,
but in a flash Nathanael had drawn his sword and disarmed the man.

“It would appear I have brought a knife to a gunfight”, he laughed.

“A really long knife”, Thaddeus remarked while unsheathing his own sword and striking someone on the head with its hilt.

In
 the meantime, Jonna had been using her sword to hack and/or slash
anyone that came near her or Grongringro. Grongringro unsure what to do
stood in the midst of the brawling people, trying to avoid getting hit
by stray bullets. Looking at him and Jonna, Thaddeus noticed Grim Jim
coming towards them, returning from where Nathanael had thrown him.

“Grongringro, behind you!” he yelled.

“Where?”
 Grongringro turned around in confusion and accidentally hit Jim with
his cane, pushing him into a hole which had inexplicably opened in the
floor during the brawl.

“This went well”, Thaddeus dodged a table that’d been thrown across the room. “We should get out of here before we get shot”.

“I
 can help with that”, someone’s bass voice said and Thaddeus felt
himself being raised off the ground. Looking down, he found he’d been
picked up by a giant of a man. No sooner had he discovered that than he
was flung in the air and through the saloon’s window.

He
 felt the glass shattering and cutting him as he was pressed upon it,
shortly before he landed at someone’s feet. That someone happened to be a
 suit and bowler hat wearing man aiming a revolver at him. Thaddeus
kicked him in the shin and as the man found himself falling, Thaddeus
managed to snatch his gun.

He
 got up and prepared to go back in in search of his companions, but at
that moment Grim Jim walked out of the bat-swing doors. Their eyes
locked, Thaddeus cursed his bad luck and the other man’s swift return to
 the fight and then they both brought their guns forward preparing to
shoot.

There were three sounds in quick succession.

Click.

Thump.

Bang.

Thaddeus had pressed the revolver’s trigger, but there was only a click, as the pistol temporarily malfunctioned. *Shoot*,
 he cursed, quite literally. Following that, Nathanael emerged from the
saloon and jumping through the doors, pushed Thaddeus’s opponent,
causing the thud. Finally, Grim Jim’s firing at the same instant
resulted in the third sound. Due to Nathanael’s timely interference, the
 bullet missed him.

It
 was an odd feeling as he realised that the impostor had saved him, but
then the fight continued and he snapped out of it. The thug delivered a
punch to Nathanael’s face and aimed his pistol at him. From such close
range, there was little chance he’d miss. Before he could fire, though,
another gunshot was heard and a bullet hole appeared on the left shoulder of Jim’s shirt. Jonna had arrived after Nathanael, holding a gun.

“Nice shot”, Thaddeus commented, while getting the gun out of the hands of the writhing Grim Jim .

“I was aiming for his arm”, Jonna deadpanned, as she turned back to grab an emerging Grongringro by hand.

“Close enough”.

“I meant the other arm”.

“Oh! Okay, then not so much”. Together they started running to leave, Jonna pulling Grongringro with her.

Grim
 Jim’s goons came out the door and saw their wounded leader on the
ground and then the Knights escaping. Yelling threats, they came after
them. Their group broke apart. Thaddeus jumped behind a barrel, just in
time to avoid a bullet. From behind his cover, he saw one of the thugs
pursuing Jonna towards another street, while the other was eyeing
Grongringro menacingly. He couldn’t find Nathanael.

“G, over here!” he shouted, while firing at the thug.

Grongringro
 who hadn’t been sure where to head jumped for him, while the other man
looked back at him angrily before returning fire. Thaddeus’s distraction
 had worked and Grongringro made it with him.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but here have a gun, too”, Thingguy handed the other Knight Grim Jim’s gun.

“What am *I* going to do with it?” Grongringro exclaimed, though he accepted it anyway.

The
 thug was walking towards them, but Thaddeus fired again and he dodged
back and hid behind a post. The two of them continued to shoot, keeping
each other at bay, but not getting any hits. Eventually, though, the
goon pulled the trigger once more but nothing happened. He tried again
and the gun still didn’t fire.

“Ha! He’s out of ammo!” Thaddeus celebrated.

However he immediately found that that had been premature for the man simply reached for another pistol from a second holster.

“What are we going to do when *you* run out?” Grongringro asked.

“Actually, I think I only have one bullet left”.

“You’re good with the bow, your aim should have been good!”

“If it’s that simple, why don’t you try it?”

“Fine, but don’t get mad if the blind man beats you to it”.

They
 waited for the ruffian’s next move and sure enough he appeared from
behind the post to shoot once more. Just after he’d fired, though,
Grongringro jumped up and shot Grim Jim’s gun towards where he’d heard
the gunshot. As the irony of life would have it, the bullet struck the
thug on the leg. Thaddeus, seizing the chance that the man’s surprise
presented, fired his last bullet and this time he got him on the
stomach. The thug stood there for a moment in shock, before falling
unconscious.

“What happened?” Grongrigro asked.

“You got him and then I did, too. He’s down”.

“First try!”

“I hate you”, Thingguy replied to Grongringro’s smug smile. “Come on, let’s go. We need to find the others”.

They
 got up and Grongringro placed his hand on Thaddeus’s shoulder. They
were about to leave when he realised, five more people had arrived and
were pointing guns at them. Apparently, more of the brawlers had noticed
 their absence and the fight had moved outside.

“If you move, we’ll shoot you. Come with u-” one of them started saying, but then someone else screamed.

“Everybody run! The sheriff’s here!”

As
 soon as they heard that, everyone on the street as well as the five
people threatening them scattered and ran away. Thaddeus looked at
Grongringro quizzically and when he remembered that Grongringro couldn’t
 see his expression asked “What are they so afraid of?”

“Up”, Grongringro, who himself had a concerned expression, pointed his finger to the sky.

Thaddeus
 looked up and there it was. A hovering Barney Bot that was wearing a
wide-brimmed hat and a star-shaped badge had appeared over the
buildings.

“We should all be friends!” it declared. “And you are not all friends!”

It
 stopped before the saloon and floated still for a moment, before a cone
 of flames erupted from its arm and engulfed the building. In a matter
of seconds, half the saloon was on fire.

“No!”
 Thingguy yelled. There were still people inside. The bartender was
inside. Tommy was inside. Many people who’d done nothing wrong
(probably).

There
 was no hesitation. Before Grongringro could realise what had happened,
Thaddeus had already covered half the distance. Then, he went inside.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

The
 man was walking down a street parallel to Central Street. He’d been
curious when he heard about some strangers coming to town, but when word
 of a brawl reached him, he became really interested. He could hear of
the commotion from there even, three blocks away. He wondered who those
strangers could be to cause such a commotion.

And
 then three people turned around the corner one after the other. A
woman, who didn’t seem like she belonged there, was running at the
front, trying to avoid the shots of the man following her, who was just
your typical Evereed thug. Finally, the second pursuer was another man
with thick red facial hair, who also looked like a stranger.

After the initial shock, the man smiled looking at them.

“She’s here”, he said.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

The
 woman watched as the finished product of her works was placed in the
middle of the plaza. It was the final one. Her last statue. Even if she
wanted to make more, there was no longer any time. For the special
occasion, she’d coloured that one.

“So,
 we’re done then? Took us five years, but we’ve finally gotten one of
these in every town, every city, every village of Britay. Well, not so
much us as you, signora. If you were to do so much on your own, I wonder
 if I was even necessary for the plan”.

“We
 needed your charisma. You know that if it’d just been me I couldn’t
have convinced thedude to agree to this. He wouldn’t like me as much as I
 don’t like him”.

“That’s
 not false, I suppose. I still can’t get over the fact that not only we
managed to pull this off, but we did it with his funding. What I’d give
to see his face when he finds out about this. So, shall we celebrate,
signora, on a job well done?”

“Celebrate? No! Our work is not nearly over. Everything begins now. thedude’s waiting”.

The
 woman looked up from the statue to the building behind it. The
half-ruined tower of Doloren, destroyed during the sacking of Kingston,
stood there proudly. Even then, it’d never given in to let the intruders
 in. No one had managed to remove it from the location. That grandiose
symbol of the old lived still, albeit damaged. And so, looking away from
 it and towards the east, the Witch of Kingston smiled. It was time.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Jonna
 stopped to rest. At some point, she seemed to have lost the thug that
had been pursuing her. She didn’t know when or where. She’d been
preoccupied trying to get away and the bullet wound she’d received on
her leg wasn’t helping.

More
 importantly, where were Thaddeus, Nathanael and Grongringro? She’d been
 separated from them, too, apparently. Would it be safe to search for
them in all this mayhem? Her pistol had run out of ammo, too. A quick
examination revealed only a dancer dressed in flashy red and black
colours. Jonna made to pass her by, but then the dancer conjured a knife
 from somewhere in her dress.

“Not you too”, Jonna was exasperated.

The
 woman threw the knife at her, but Jonna managed to dodge it and drew
her sword, pointing it threateningly. “Still think that was a good
idea?”

The
 women stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, evaluating the
situation. Then, the sound of an explosion came from the direction of
the bar and in those moments of surprise and confusion, the dancer ran
away.

“What the brick is going on there?” she asked no one in particular.

Keeping
 her sword ready, she started limping back towards where she’d came.
It’d be dangerous, but she was more likely to find the others there. She
 turned around a corner and into another street, slightly busier than
the empty one she’d been on before. She scanned the people there and to
her relief recognised one of them as Thingguy – Nathanael, she realised
after some further consideration. Nathanael saw her, too, and started
running towards her.

It
 might have been that seeing Thingguy made her relax and lower her
defences or that she was just getting tired from the exercise and the
injury, but when someone’s arms closed around her waist from behind and
raised her from the ground it took her completely by surprise. Her only
warning had been the widening of Nathanael’s eyes, but that had come too
 late, too. All of a sudden, she’d found herself on top of a horse
galloping at full speed. The dumbfounded Thingguy was left behind before
 he could react.

Shoot!
 She’d been kidnapped! The man riding the horse was wearing the
signature hat of the city and a bandanna around his neck, brough up to
his nose, so she couldn’t make out his face very well.

“Haha! I saved her!” the man exclaimed.

“What
 do you mean? You kidnapped me!” Jonna tried to strike the man with her
sword, but she was shaking too much due to the horse’s movement and
couldn’t aim well.

“Keep that up and we’ll both fall to our deaths”, he said as he dangled precariously on the saddle to dodge her attacks.

Jonna
 ignored him and kept swinging at him. One of her attacks struck hit
hat, pushing it away from his head and the removal revealed… green hair?

Jonna looked aghast at the impossible sight before her. “Hello Princess!” Chase Powers smiled. “I’ve come to rescue you”.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

As
 the sun came closer to setting, the unease among them grew more and
more till it was almost tangible. It was natural that Jonna and the
Thingguys wouldn’t come back immediately, but the longer they did not,
the more anxious everyone became that they’d been caught. Tain’s face
was as hard to read as ever, but he was the only one who didn’t betray
any nervousness in some way or the other. Peragrine himself couldn’t
stay put if his life depended on it. They had long ceased any attempts
at conversation. He wanted to speak as he felt oppressed by the silence,
 but feeling the heavy atmosphere around him, even he couldn’t bring
himself to do it. So, he simply occupied himself with trying to predict
when Major would look in the direction of Evereed.

Before
 the other three had headed for Evereed, they’d hidden in a small forest
 near the city to wait for them. Hours had passed and with the sun
hidden behind the mountains it was getting darker and colder. Through
the trees, Perry looked at the orange sky and thought it looked like it
was on fire. Could he set fire to the sky with magic? If not him, could
Steffan do it? Then again, he had no idea where Steffan Rhyffed was. But
 magic, ha…? Could he use it to find out where Thaddeus, Nathanael and
Jonna were?

Peragrine
 closed his eyes and started concentrating, getting in touch with his
inner energy, at the same time trying to probe his surroundings with his
 mind. He tried to remember what the energies of his companions had felt
 like and reach for them. He focused on Jonna, Thaddeus, Nathanael,
Evereed, attempting to picture them in his mind. His eyebrows furrowed
from the effort. He sat like that, trying to project his energy onto the
 others’ or the reverse for a few minutes. He was just about to give up
when he realised he could feel a little flow of green from his closed
eyes. He focused on that and tried to strengthen it and suddenly the
energy flooded his mind. The darkness of his eyelids was replaced by a
bright light and as he thought of the Knights, their images popped into
existence before they disappeared again. He could feel their energy now.
 It was there, though he didn’t know where *there* was. He tried to
 connect to them and picture them and all of a sudden flames erupted all
 around him. They engulfed him and he felt them burning as they touched
him. He was filled with fear and anxiety. He thought he might die…

It
 was over in an instant. He jumped up, opening his eyes, hearing someone
 scream. It took him a moment to realise he’d been the one screaming
after which he stopped. He looked at his hands. A few seconds ago, he
was pretty sure he was on fire, but they seemed to be fine. And yet it
couldn’t have been his imagination. He could still feel the burning
sensation, albeit faintly. And that fear? It was like from a dream. He
couldn’t quite remember it, though he knew he’d felt it. It seemed
foreign to him now. Had he succeeded? Was that someone else? Had his
interference caused that? Were they hurt because of him? Then, it
occurred to him he was being spoken to.

“Peragrine! Are you alright? What happened?” It was Tain’s voice. Was that concern in his voice? Oh Tain, so touching!

“I’m okay. I think… I was trying to use magic to find out if the others were fine. And it didn’t exactly go smoothly”.

It
 had gone dark by then, so he couldn’t tell that clearly, but he thought
 he could see relief on his comrades’ faces. He felt a little warm
inside, knowing they cared.

“So… did you see anything?” Sharpie asked.

“Not quite… I only saw flames. And felt like someone was afraid”.

“That doesn’t sound so good. Maybe we should go find them”, Drumr seemed ready to charge into Evereed.

“Let’s not be hasty”, Major disagreed. “Even if they’re really in trouble, we can’t just barge in without a plan”.

“Hey! What’s that?” Peragrine pointed outside the forest (they were not that deep within it).

Something
 orange had appeared outside Evereed, glowing brightly in the darkness
of the night. Everyone looked that way and their eyes grew wide.
Something was up. Grabbing his Marauder helmet, Tain walked out of the
woods to investigate. The rest followed, staying within the cover of the
 trees, watching Tain put on the helmet and setting to zoom at the
orange thing, which had by then grown.

“Look, another one appeared!” Moira exclaimed. “What are they?”

As she’d said, almost ninety degrees from the other orange object around Evereed, a second one had appeared.

“They look like flames”, Perry suggested, remembering his earlier sight.

“Peragrine’s right”, Tain said. “It’s Paradox Rogues… No, Elite Rogues. They’re using flame-throwers to set fire to the grass”.

“What are they up to?” Drumr asked, fear in his voice.

“From the looks of it, I’d say they’re surrounding the city with flames, so that no one can escape”, Major replied calmly.

“Elite Rogues?” Moira asked sounding worried. “Does that mean…?”

“I’m looking”, Tain responded.

Peragrine
 didn’t understand what they meant, but things seemed pretty serious
anyway. They had to intervene. His magic could even things out, maybe.
He was about to suggest that when he saw Drumr running out of the
forest, having gotten his sword.

“Drumr,
 no, wait!” Major yelled, but the boy didn’t seem to listen. “Come back,
 we need a plan! DAMMIT!” with that he went after the young swordsman,
having had the foresight to keep his arms on him.

“This went to heck pretty fast. It’s freestyle, I guess”, Sharpie said, leaving the trees, too.

Well,
 there wasn’t much to it then. Freestyle was right up his alley anyway.
Perry felt the fizzy soda pop within him smoothing out as it spread to
his limbs. He was already following the others in the open when he heard
 Tain cry out something.

“No! It can’t be!” he said. “Not her!”

Peragrine turned around to see what’d happened. Moira, who was still there too, looked at him with terror in her eyes.

“What happened? Who is it?” he asked.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

“Commander!
 All squads are in position and advancing. ETA for complete
encirclement: three minutes, thirteen seconds”, the Elite Rogue
reported.

“Good”,
 she replied watching the tongues of flames released by her subordinates
 meeting the ground. “The Knight Thingguy and his companions cannot be
allowed to escape”.
The leader of the Elite Paradox Rogues; the Commander of the Paradox Contingent; Mikhaila advanced towards Evereed. . .

### **ALMOST DEFINITELY CHAPTER 40**

Iamos was in bad
shape.

As they fled
through the mountain pass that Dewin had promised would lead the to safety,
Horatio carried him on their back, and Daiyu winced every time his position
jostled or shifted. Once, a boulder had broken off from somewhere and come
careening towards them, and if Dewin hadn’t stepped in when he had with some
magic, Iamos and Horatio would probably both have been killed. As it was, Daiyu
reckoned that several of her hairs had been turned grey by that incident alone
– and the stress of the several long hours that they had spent running over the
border had caught up to them. Even the ever-confident Akane was flagging; she
still, of course, pushed ahead, and used herself as live bait for the
occasional mountain lion, but she was much less enthusiastic about it than
normal.

It was clear, if
Daiyu’s limited observations were any indication, that Iamos needed some actual
proper medical help. They’d done the best they could at fixing up the leg that
had been stabbed with glass, but there was a bruise on his ribs that wasn’t
going away, and he’d been in and out of consciousness since his fight with
Menaya. Dewin had given him a quick magical examination and determined that
there was no lasting damage to Iamos’ brain, and that what he needed was time
to rest – which had also been fairly promising to here. He’d probably survive –
Daiyu flashed back to his arm, which had been ruined beyond repair, and how
it’d been amputated, and shuddered, and tried to not let herself get sucked
into the bad memories of pain and guilt. He’d definitely survived worse, that
was for sure.

Ironic, how she
could turn thought of Iamos getting hurt *worse*
than he already was into a positive.

“How much
fuuuurther?” Akane whined from the front. “My legs are invincible but it sure
doesn’t feel that way!”

Dewin, who
definitely hadn’t warmed to Akane with time, scowled at her. “We’re almost over
the mountains.” He said grumpily. “Once we’re over, we’ll be in Aquila, and
we’ll be out of TheDude’s immediate jurisdiction.”

“Yeah, but that *tæve* and her
goons are still gonna be on our asses.” Akane countered, not sounding thrilled
at the prospect.

“Language!” Daiyu
scolded automatically. She couldn’t, off the top of her head, remember exactly
what “*tæve*” meant, but she’d spent
enough years in Akane’s company to know that it wasn’t anything good.

Akane sniffed.
“Whatever, *mum*.” She said “mum” the
same way she said “*tæve*”, which
didn’t do Daiyu any favours in the confidence department. For a moment, she
felt herself falter. But then she stopped and took a deep breath. Iamos was out
of commission for now. She had to step up.

“If we can just
lose Menaya and her troops-” Daiyu said breathlessly as the group began to
descend down a rocky slope, “-we’ll be in good company. Though TheDude is
popular nowhere, you’d be hard-pressed to find a nation that collectively hates
him more than Aquila.”

“Why’s that?” Asked
Akane, even as she tripped over a rock and landed on her face. “*Lort!*”

Daiyu stumbled
over, but Akane held up a hand. “I’m fine.” She growled, steam rising from all
the places she’d cut herself open. “Explanations, please.”

“I- right.” Daiyu
nodded. In front of her, she saw Horatio and Dewin cut a path down the what
looked to be the final big slope of rock and onto a much flatter-looking field
of grass. “Right. Okay. Well, Aquila allied itself with TheDude initially, and
I’m pretty sure they helped TheDude beat Morcia and the Knights of the Olde
Speech at the battle of Skyfalls.”

Akane stared at her
blankly as she laboriously crawled to her feet. “And we’re going there.” She
confirmed. “Why?”

Daiyu sighed.
“Well, TheDude didn’t honour his alliance with them, and ended up attacking
them, and destroyed their capital, Glasted. We were there when that happened,
do you remember?”

Akane’s expression
remained blank, and Daiyu sighed again.

“Don’t worry about
it.” She assured her. “The point is-”

“Oh yeah, we were
there!” Akane gasped, interrupting her and jumping up. “Yes! I remember now!
The glass citadel-! Oh, that was a day and a half.”

Startled, Daiyu
didn’t do anything for a moment, before eventually standing back and nodding.
“Er- yes. And that’s why Aquila now really doesn’t like TheDude.”

Akane shrugged as
she restarted her journey down the mountain. “Sounds like they have no-one to
blame but themselves.” She reasoned. “If they trust TheDude? Idiots, all of
them.”

“Maybe.” Daiyu
admitted – not really wanting to incriminate and generalize a whole nation, but
also not wanting to disagree with Akane.

“The important part
of that,” interjected Dewin from in front of them, “is that the Aquilans feel
short-changed. And they hate TheDude now more than most. So now that we’re
here, it’s more likely we’ll be helped than hindered by the populace.”

“The general
populace, maybe.” Daiyu agreed as she slid onto the grass, and took a moment to
savour the feeling of something *other*
than painful rock beneath her feet. “But we’ll also have to be careful of the
nobility.”

“What about them?”
Asked Dewin, sounding annoyed at the idea that she knew something that he
didn’t. Daiyu strained herself to remember what she’d learnt over her studies
of the Kingdoms of Militiregneum.

“They’ve…” she
eventually said, “they’ve essentially used TheDude coming to power to further
their *own* power. Taking advantage of
the fact that Aquila is unstable, and no longer has a king, and just done
whatever they wanted. They’ll probably see it as in their best interests to
help TheDude, which means that we’re going to have to avoid interacting with
them.”

There was a
moment’s silence as the walk continued. Then, Akane muttered:

“Bastards!”

The night drew in,
and Iamos got no better. By the time the group arrived at the first sign of
civilisation they could see – an isolated farmhouse – everyone was in agreement
that they were going to stop there, spend the night there, and attempt to treat
Iamos there, even if they had to throw out and steal from whoever was inside.
Privately, Daiyu disagreed with the whole “throw out and rob the original
occupants” suggestion, but Akane and Dewin sounded like they were in agreement
for once, and she didn’t want to step on that.

Coming up to the
door of the house, everyone looked at each other for a few uneasy and socially
awkward moments before Horatio stepped up and pounded on of their fists on the
door. Daiyu couldn’t help but feel that Horatio, who was well over six feet
tall and carrying a wounded man on their back, wasn’t the best choice for a
first impression, but there was no time to ponder the matter any further as
there was a creak behind the door.

In a flash, the
door opened, and a spear, flimsily-made – barely more than a sharp rock tied
onto the end of a stick – was jammed outwards. The spear hit Horatio in the
gut, and both Daiyu and Dewin yelled in shock. Horatio, thankfully, was
unphased, and pulled the spear out of them before gently yet firmly wrenching
it from the grasp of their attacker. Though Daiyu couldn’t see their front, she
knew from experience that where there would normally be some kind of bleeding
wound, on Horatio there would only be a mar, or slit, like the sort you would
get on a clay pot if you poked it with something.

There was a muffled
gasp of fear from whoever held the spear, who had apparently seen it as well.
Horatio’s voice remained even as they spoke:

“We mean you no
harm.” They said, trying to sound soothing.

“Go away!” Came the
response.

“Ugh.” Akane
scoffed. “We don’t have time for this.”

She stuck her head
around Horatio to glower at whoever was in the doorway. “Look.” She said,
sternly. “We are on a tight schedule and our friend is hurt; we need to treat
him. You can either give us help, or you can let us kick you out, and sleep in
these fields for some days. Your choice.”

“Akane!” Daiyu
could restrain himself no longer – she tried to look imposing as she marched
forward, and allowed herself a slimmer of satisfaction as Akane was forced to
crane her neck to look up at her. “We can’t just force someone out of their
house…!”

She turned to see
who was in the doorway. A short girl with a lean build and long dark hair was
still pointing a spear at them, though on her face was an exceedingly fearful
expression. She held the spear in only one hand; the other was leaning on what
looked like a rudimentary crutch. The reason became clear with another moment’s
observation, as Daiyu saw that her leg on that side was covered in a splint,
and looked slightly twisted.

The girl opened her
mouth.

“L- leave us
alone!” she said, the fear in her voice almost breaking Daiyu’s heart.

“We cannot.”
Replied Dewin, stiffly. “Our matters are those of the future of this entire
continent, and must take priority.” He took a step forward, but Horatio turned
and held out a hand (using the other hand to make sure that Iamos didn’t fall
off of his back. Dewin looked up and blinked in surprise before his face
twisted into a grimace. “Ungrateful creature!” He scolded, but Horatio turned
to stare at him.

“It wouldn’t be
right.” They said, softly. The words stopped Dewin and Akane in their tracks –
the only sound was the ragged breaths that the girl in the doorway was taking.
Then, from inside the house, came footsteps.

“Son of a
motherless goat, what is happening down here?” Came a raspy voice. “Musta,
who’s-”

A woman came into
view, aged gaunt and with matted grey hair – she stopped dead when she saw the
numerous figures in the doorway, and the girl pointing her weapon at them. A
moment’s silence, and then she darted forwards with a speed that defied her
apparent age, and snatched the weapon from the girl.

“Musta!” The woman
scolded. “I have told you to tell me if we have intruders.”

Daiyu held out a
hand, but the elder woman was already pointing the spear at them in a rather
professional – and intimidating – manner.

“State your
business!” She ordered, sounding scarily no-nonsense. Her face was scarred, and
her eyes were a beady yellow. It was quite the intimidating picture.

“We mean you no
harm.” Horatio said, still sounding calm in spite of everything that was happening
very quickly around them. (Daiyu, on her part, was already fidgeting with and
intertwining her fingers.) “We are passing through, on an important journey.
Our friend is hurt and we need somewhere to rest. We were hoping that you would
be willing to help us.”

The old woman eyed
their group with suspicion. Daiyu, still worried about Akane and Dewin’s
apparent plan to kick out the house’s inhabitants, could only admit to herself
that that suspicion was warranted.

“And if we refuse?”
She asked.

Dewin tensed, but
Horatio bowed their head.

“Then we will be on
our way.” They said, simply. “We could not in good conscience force you to help
us.”

“I mean, we could.”
Akane muttered. Daiyu nudged her, and she stopped talking.

The old woman kept
the spear lowered for a moment longer before pulling it back up and away from
the group. Daiyu exhaled in relief.

“Is that your
injured?” With the spear, the woman indicated to Iamos, on Horatio’s back.
Horatio nodded, and the woman sighed through her nose.

“Bring him in.” She
ordered. Horatio obediently bowed under the door and stepped into the small
house, followed after a moment by Akane, Daiyu, and Dewin. Out of the corner of
her eye, Daiyu saw the young girl – Musta – hobble over to a nearby wall and
pick up another crutch, before placing both under her arm and working her way
forwards after the rest of the group.

“I’m Kellastua.”
Said the woman, with little preamble, throwing the spear over her shoulder and
to the ground. “Musta is my granddaughter.”

“Nice to meet you.”
Daiyu greeted. “My name is Daiyu – and I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Don’t thank us
yet.” Kellastua muttered as she pushed some battered metal plates off of a
table and let them fall to the floor with a metal clang to make space for
Iamos. She paused, and then eyed the group with a suspicious squint. “Does any
of you know anything about healing?”

“I do, a small
amount.” Daiyu offered. She’d picked a bit up over the years. The woman looked
at her, scrutinising- and then shook her head.

“A small amount
isn’t enough.” She decided. “You’ll only get in the way.” With that out of the
way, she turned to Horatio. “Lay him down.” As Horatio complied, she turned her
attention back to the rest of the group. “What’s wrong with him?” She snapped.

For a moment, most
of everyone was too stunned with how this woman had completely taken charge to
actually reply. Daiyu was the first to recover herself.

“He was in a
fight.” She explained. Kellastua made a derogatory scoffing noise with her
mouth, but said nothing, so Daiyu decided to press on. “He was impaled in the
leg by some glass – right leg. Upper thigh.”

The old woman
studied the wound wordlessly.

“…As well as that,”
Daiyu blurted out, “he’s hurt his ribs – *and*
he was hit on the head. The fight was a day ago, and he’s barely been conscious
since then.”

“Oh, just one thing
after another with this one.” Kellastua muttered. She snapped her fingers and
pointed at Musta. “Fetch me my washcloth. And get the bandages as well.”

Wordlessly, Musta
hobbled off. Daiyu realised that their group wasn’t doing anything to help, but
was hesitant to offer, on account of how Kellastua had been dismissive of her
help already.

“I’ll keep watch.”
Horatio said after a moment had passed. “I don’t need to sleep.” With that
having been said, they turned and walked back out of the door, into the night.
And then there were three. Daiyu wasn’t sure what else to do. Leadership, she
mused to herself, was definitely very difficult.

“Is there nothing
we can do?” She asked. Kellastua sounded unimpressed as she replied:

“Nothing. I’d say
to make yourself at home, but this place is a dump, so the best I can advise
you is to make sure that no cockroaches get in your shoes, and to try and find
somewhere warm to sleep. And if you try to take anything that isn’t yours, or
threaten me or Musta-” her yellow eyes flashed with suppressed rage. “I won’t
hesitate to drive the whole pack of you out myself.”

Daiyu, shuddering
slightly, decided that she wholeheartedly believed her, and turned wearily to
Akane and Dewin – neither of whom looked particularly happy with the situation.
She felt a wave of self-doubt crash over her.

“Come on.” She
muttered, feeling very despondent all of a sudden. “Let’s try and find some
place to sleep.” She wandered up the house’s rickety stairs, looking for a bed
to collapse on…

Iamos awoke with a
start, gasping and pawing at air with his remaining hand. Everything was dark.
Where was he? Where-

Someone yelled
something. A name? He didn’t hear it properly, but he *did* hear their proceeding words: “He’s awake!”

*Who are they talking about?* Iamos wondered, blearily, before realising that
it was probably him. Blinking furiously, he squinted into the darkness and
realised after a moment that there was actually some light in the room after
all, in the moonlight streaming in through the windows to his side. He raised
his hand and began to rub his eyes, sighing in agitation. There were footsteps
around him. He tried to sit up, but a hand held him down.

“I suppose it’s
technically a morning, so “good morning”.” He heard someone grumble. “Though it
would be a stretch to refer to this as “good”, if you asked me. Not that anyone
does.”

“*Isoäiti*!”
Protested someone else. “He- he probably doesn’t know where he is.”

“I don’t.” He
wheezed in confirmation. There was a momentary silence.

“Ah, so he’s *properly* awake.” Said one of the voices.
“You’ve been in-and-out of consciousness for a little while now. Getting hit on
the back of the head as hard as you were will do that to you, I think?”

“You… you mean me?”
He asked. The voice scoffed.

“Who else could I
be talking to?” They asked. “The only other person in the room? Is Musta. And
she has the sense to not get herself hurt as badly as you have-”

“*Isoäiti*,
please.” The other voice said. Was that “Musta”? Iamos let his eyes adjust to
the light. He could clearly make out two figures, now, facing him and
silhouetted against the moonlight. One was leaning strangely, and it took Iamos
a moment to discern that they were leaning on- on some kind of sticks.
Crutches.

“If everything’s
under control down here, I’m going to go upstairs and get some sleep.”
Continued the voice. “Musta, you’re welcome to join me. It’s late. Well, early.
Whatever.”

“In a moment.” Musta
replied. The first person (it was a woman, Iamos was fairly sure, although he
didn’t want to assume) shrugged and made their way out of Iamos’ field of
vision (and, after a few more moments, he heard the creak of them walking up a
flight of stairs).

And then there were
two.

“Uh.” Iamos
ventured after a few awkward moments had passed. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Replied
Musta.

The silence
continued.

“So, uh, any chance
you could tell me where I am?” Asked Iamos, glancing around. His surroundings
were unfamiliar. “And where my friends are?”

“They are mostly
upstairs sleeping.” Musta said. “The tallest one is standing guard.”

“The tallest one?”
Asked Iamos without really thinking. Musta nodded in response.

“He carried you
here.” She explained.

Iamos nodded
sagely. *Probably Horatio, then*.

“Sorry to intrude.”
He said. “I- well, I presume we needed a safe space to recuperate. We kind of
fought a… what was she, a wizard? Warlock? We fought one of those and some
other people as well.”

“You fought them?”
Musta sounded a little shell-shocked.

“I mean, I fought
the wizard.” Iamos amended. “Which is why I ended up like this.”

Musta didn’t say
anything in reply. Iamos sighed through his teeth. It wasn’t as though he’d
ever been particularly proficient at making conversation, even if he’d
improved. He had no idea what to do, and he didn’t think that walking away
would simply be an option (that being his optimal strategy for handling
situations such as this one).

“You, uh…” He tried
to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. “You can talk to me. If you
want. I know we don’t know each other, but I- I mean, you can trust me. If
that’s what you’re worried about.”

Abruptly, however,
Musta turned around and walked as well as she could to the window. He caught a
glimpse of her face as she walked: she seemed to glow in the sliver of
moonlight that illuminated her. Her eyes looked to be a pale blue, though he
couldn’t tell for sure.

She stopped, and
stared out at the moon and stars.

“You… You’re on a
journey.” She said, abruptly.

Iamos blinked in
surprise, but it wasn’t as though she was *wrong*.
“I, uh- yeah.”

She didn’t reply
immediately, instead continuing to be pensive. Iamos was suddenly reminded of
his friend Miyuki – though they hadn’t seen each other in person in a long
time, he was hit with a wave of deja-vu. Why, he wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it
was that quiet thoughtfulness. Or because both of them were short. Probably a
mixture of both.

“I almost…” Musta
began. Paused, then began again. “I wish I could go with you. Join you on
whatever it is that you’re doing.”

“Why?” Iamos rose
up, startled, not sure how to react. Why did she-? Did she not way to keep
living where she was? She didn’t *know*
what they were doing, he didn’t remember telling her, so how…?

Musta turned back
to him.

“I just-”
apparently lost for words, she paused and chewed on the end of her thumbnail
before starting again. “I’ve barely left this house for half a decade, is all.”

Well, that… that
sucked?

“That sucks.” He
voiced. “But I don’t think you’d want to come with us. Really. I appreciate how
you might feel the way that you do, but I almost died. I wouldn’t want to put
you in danger.” Ah, yes, he mused to himself. The ever-logistical, ever-logical
Iamos. Breaking another heart with his logic.

Something in her
eyes hardened.

“When I was eight,
I almost died, myself.” She explained. “A tree fell on me while I was out in
the forest, with my brothers.”

She had brothers?
Iamos hadn’t seen anyone else. Then again, he reasoned, he didn’t remember
arriving, so for all he knew, these brothers of hers could be sleeping
upstairs, or something along those lines.

“I’m-” he began,
then stopped. He knew as well as anyone that apologies from people for things
like that felt hollow. In fact, as he remembered some of the looks he’d
received when he’d lost his own hand, he probably knew *better* than most.

“It was *isoäiti* who saved me.” Musta continued.
“Treated me, helped me fight off the infection that threatened my life. But at
a price.” She glanced down at one of her legs in disgust. It was the right,
Iamos noted – it looked, for lack of a batter word, wrong. Like it had been
twisted around and then never put back in quite the right place. “From then on,
to my family, I was so delicate that I’d shatter if I was breathed on. And I…
was forced to stay behind as, one by one, my family left and never came back. First
in support of TheDude, and then-” she stopped, catching herself as if she’d
said too much.

“It’s fine.” Iamos
managed to say. “I don’t like him much either.”

Musta’s face
shifted into what might have been a smile for a moment, before dropping again.
A heartbeat passed. She looked Iamos in the eye. “So… I know danger, and loss. Whatever
your journey is about…”

“Well, there’s a
bit more too it than that.” Iamos confessed, rubbing the back of his head
nervously. Musta looked perturbed. He eyed her. He’d barely noticed over the
course of her story, but her expression had become contorted. As though she was
hurt.

“I’ve been
waiting.” She confessed in a miserable whisper. “All my life.”

“…For what?” Iamos
asked.

“I don’t know.”
Musta said. “But I’ve always believed that I’ll know it when it comes.”

Neither of them
spoke after that – at least, not for a while. Eventually, Iamos focused back on
Musta, having realised something.

“Why… why would you
tell me all this?” He asked.

Musta looked at him
oddly, like she hadn’t quite understood the question.

“You said I could
trust you.” She said, simply.

Iamos laughed. He
stopped himself quickly, of course, not wanting to wake anyone else up, but
still. He laughed. Musta had the appearance of a person most baffled, however,
so he quickly shook his head and pulled himself together.

“Sorry, it’s just…”
he spent a moment figuring out how to phrase it. “When I said you could trust
me, it was more in the vein of “I’m not going to attack you in the middle of
the night”. Less “you can pour out an abridged version of your life story to
me”.”

Musta flinched
strongly enough to lean back on her crutches. Of *course* he’d said something wrong.

“That being said,”
he said, trying to backtrack, “I… I respect you. And what you’ve been through.
And I hope…”

Musta was looking
at him again.

“I hope you find
what you’re looking for.” Iamos told her. Honest as he did so.

Musta nodded, and
began to walk away without another word. Hoping he’d said the right things,
Iamos lay back down to try and get to sleep. Though he thought, for a moment,
that’d he’d heard a whispered “thank you” carry across the emptiness of the
room.

Daiyu was awoken in
the morning by water being poured on her head. Blinking and wiping her suddenly
sodden hair out of her eyes, she blearily muttered: “Hello?”

“Hello yourself.”
Came a sharp voice. Looking up, Daiyu saw Kellastua standing over her with a
half-empty bottle of water. “You’ve been asleep long enough, I thought.”

Daiyu wanted to say
that she didn’t remember making a schedule, or *asking* to be woken up, but bit her tongue and simply began to rub
all of the water off of her face as Kellastua moved past her and poured the
rest of the bottle into Akane’s mouth, which was open in her sleep. She awoke
with a start.

“*Tæve*!” She choked out.

“Language.” Daiyu
muttered, before returning her attention to Kellastua. As if sensing the
attention, Kellastua stopped where she was and turned to face her. Daiyu gulped
nervously.

“Is my- our- our
friend.” She managed. “How is he?”

Kellastua shrugged.
“Well enough, I suppose.” She sounded nonchalant. “Not in any immediate danger.
I’ve bound his ribs and leg – provided there’s no infection, those’ll be fine.
And he awoke in the middle of the night, as well, which was a pain in the ass
to deal with.” She rubbed the back of her head, suddenly looking very weary.
“He can probably leave straight away, but from an objective perspective, it’d
be healthier for him to stay for another day or two, just to make sure that
there’s no chance of infection.”

“Another day or
two…” Daiyu echoed, thinking the information over. Could they afford that much
time?

“Hey.” Akane
lightly kicked her (the two were practically sitting next to one another).
“He’s awake. Did you miss that bit?”

“He’s-” it was only
at that moment that the reveal that Iamos was awake hit her. She practically
jumped up on the spot, and Kellastua stepped back in a surprise that Daiyu was
used to seeing as she rose to her full height. “Can I talk to him?”

However startled
Kellastua may have been at Daiyu’s size, she recovered quickly and shrugged her
shoulders.

“No health risks
off the top of my head.” She admitted. “Go ahead.”

Daiyu ran out of
what she now recognised as a bedroom and down the house’s stairs. She caught
sight of Iamos almost immediately – he was sitting up on the table, drinking
out of a bowl as Musta stood (leant?) nearby, an indiscernible look on her
face. When he saw her, his eyes bulged and he almost chocked on what he was
drinking.

“Daiyu!” He
managed, setting the bowl aside behind him.

“Iamos!” Not
waiting on propriety, Daiyu stumbled forward and crashed into him. His mouth
tasted of leaves, and she kissed him only for a moment before pulling back and
embracing him. “You’re alright!”

“I’m alright.” He
confirmed. “Some rest and a bowl of herbs-” he shuddered, and she felt him
vibrate in her arms “-and I’m good to go.”

Well, that
explained the leaf-taste, at any rate. Daiyu decided that she’d spare him the
embarrassment of bringing it up.

“Apparently, “good
to go” is a little too optimistic.” She confessed as she broke away from him,
looking into his eyes. “Kellastua thinks it’d be safest if you stayed here,
just to make sure that your wounds aren’t infected, or anything like that. And
she’s probably right – for all we know, that… that woman might have poisoned
you during your fight. We don’t want to find that out the hard way once we’re
back on the road.”

“…Who’s that?”
Iamos asked, after a moment’s hesitation.

“The woman who
healed you.” Daiyu explained gently. Iamos blinked, then nodded.

“Right, right.” He
said. “I never- I never caught her name.”

“No, I didn’t think
you did.” Daiyu admitted with a small laugh. Iamos smirked at her in return,
before turning to Musta, who had been awkwardly watching the proceedings from
the sidelines.

“I…” he struggled,
a little, to get the words out, but they came in the end: “I mean, you’re
name’s “Musta”, right? I’m not goofing that up?”

“…Y- Yes.” Not to
be outdone in uneasiness-around-new-people, Musta didn’t immediately confirm
her name.

*Hopeless, both of them*, Daiyu thought to herself good-naturedly – even
if she couldn’t help but wonder when the two had gotten to know each other. Not
that it mattered much-

A yell came from
upstairs. Daiyu shrieked and jumped backwards, only feeling slightly less
scared when she recognised the voice as Dewin’s.

“Wha- what-?” She
began, before the apprentice stormed downstairs, his face soaked in water. And *oh*, it all made sense now. She tried to
force her heart to stop beating so fast as he stormed up to her and Iamos.

“We cannot spend
another night in this… this *dump*!” He
protested, furiously trying to scrub away the water, which had made his
already-greasy hair look even more bedraggled than previously.

“I resent that!”
Kellastua cried as she descended the stairs (a bit slower than Dewin, on
account of her age). Her voice was strong. “You said that your journey was an
important one – I believed that you would want to be awake early.”

Daiyu, on her part,
had no idea if the aged woman was being genuine, or if she had just poured
water on all of their faces for fun. Her musing, however, was cut short as
Horatio stepped back in through the door.

“I heard loud
noises.” They said. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s
fine.” Iamos assured him, before adding: “I think.”

Dewin was still
fuming where he stood. “The *hospitality*
that we have been subjected to,” he growled, “can hardly be considered such.”

“Oh, boo-hoo.”
Akane drawled from the top of the stairs. “Some lady threw water at your face.
Is that the biggest problem you have right now? I envy your perspective.”

Dewin looked even
angrier, and Daiyu began to worry that a fight was on the verge of breaking
out.

“Alright, enough!”
Iamos interrupted. Eying Akane with annoyance, and Dewin with a sort of
scolding look, he winced and began to sink back onto the table. Without really
thinking about it, Daiyu darted to his side and held an arm out for him to lie
on.

“Thank you.” He
told her, before fixing his attention back on the assembled group. “Alright,”
he said, “the first thing we need to know is how far away any pursuers are.
Dewin, is there any magic you can do that would give us an idea of that.”

Dewin, his
expression evening, furrowed his brows.

“Not off the top of
my head.” He confessed. “Perhaps if I-”

It was at that
moment that Daiyu realised something.

“The map!” She
blurted out. All eyes were drawn to her, and she felt herself falter. Iamos
must have sensed it too – he held out his hand, and she took it with no
hesitation. Giving her hand a comforting squeeze, he looked over to her and
nodded with a smile. Buoyed, she spoke again:

“We- we should
check if the map is repaired.” She spoke mostly to Dewin, her tone questioning.
“If it *is* repaired, we would be able
to use it to see where they were.”

Akane and Horatio
both nodded – a “yes, good idea” sort of nod. Dewin didn’t look as enthusiastic
but he didn’t sound nearly as angry as he begrudged:

“Yes, that would
work.” He frowned. “Though, of course, that is dependent on whether or not the
map is indeed repaired.”

“It’s been, like, a
day.” Akane reasoned. “More than that, even. Surely the process would have
finished by now?”

“Only one way to
find out.” Iamos pointed out. “Dewin?”

Dewin nodded, and
pulled the map out of his pocket, unfurling it in one fluid movement. Everyone
– except, of course, for Musta and Kellastua – eyed it with baited breath.
Dewin squinted at the paper.

“It looks the
same.” He replied.

Akane snapped her
fingers and, when Dewin turned around, indicated with her fingers. Dewin’s face
contorted in disgust, but after a moment, he stepped forward warily and made to
hand her the map. She grabbed for it- he pulled it back and glared at her in
affront. Never one to be outdone, she glared back. Iamos loudly and
purposefully sighed. Neither Akane nor Dewin appeared fully chastised, but
Dewin handed the map back and Akane took it evenly before opening it. She
glared at the map, and then loudly said:

“Map! Where is
Menaya Kull and how far away from us are her and her forces?”

There was a very
faint sound, a sound that Daiyu remembered from years previous- a faint scratch
of quill on paper, accompanied by the trill and hum of magic at work. Akane
frowned at the map, and then turned to face everyone else with a surprisingly
(and slightly worryingly) stern face.

“Alright,
everyone.” She said. “I have good news, bad news, and worse news.”

“The map works?”
Gaped Dewin, looking about as earnest as Daiyu had ever seen him. Akane nodded.

“That’s the good
news: whatever you did to the map, it works again.” She said. “The bad news is
that it has retained its attitude.” Flipping the map to show everyone, Daiyu
saw the words “*So much for a “welcome*
back”! I hope this Kull character gets to you.*” It was slightly disturbing,*
to be told that a map hoped she’d die, but it was in keeping with the sarcastic
and brittle personality (if one could call it that) that the map had exhibited
when they had used it in the past.

“Akane,” said
Iamos, “what’s the worse news.”

Akane sighed. “The
worse news? Kull is close.

Perhaps ten minutes
away.”

***@ ‎08-09-2019, Sir fffffplayer1 wrote:***

### Chapter XLI

It was the ninth year of thedude’s reign and the Pirate City of Karahkos was bustling with life. Corsairs from all across the Suidam Sea and beyond had gathered on the buccaneers’ island that day. From the Bread Pirate Roberts and the Dread Pirate Westley to the legendary Grandfather of Buccaneers, Ol’ Captain Mbwahari; the renowned Covel ‘Freebooter’ Talon and the vicious Hadden Damien; everyone’s favourite explorer, Godric Oldham and the sweetheart of the sea, Blanch ‘Mutiny’ Virion; a full rainbow of Beards and the whole variety of missing eyes, legs, hands as well as double noses. Everyone was there.

It was one of those miraculous situations where everything could go haywire real bad real quick real easy and yet somehow it worked. Despite this huge gathering of the morals-lacking, often bloodthirsty, more often feuding-with-each-other criminals of the sea, the instance of that day was one of the very few things they all respected. Maybe.

For on that day, the summons of the Pirate King were issued. The Pirate King was one such important person, you see. Well, not really. There was no real authority to such a title and the very existence of it was a curious phenomenon. Despite that, a Pirate King is not to be underestimated: to acquire the title one must be a strong and impressive man -yes, man, sorry, this is a medieval world, did you expect otherwise?- respected (feared) by all. No fear is enough to hold down the unruly and often dumb corsairs, though.

And yet to ignore the traditional Meeting of the Pirates, planned by the Pirate King, is to slight the buccaneers’ customs and their code, one of the few things they hold value of, and therefore make an enemy out of everyone. And as such on the occasion of such summons, all Corsair Captains of the West and their companions converge to the city of Karahkos whereupon they play nice for as long as they have to. Usually.

Old man Mbwahari, Godric Oldham and Draoi Steach were walking down one of the paths of the exotic city leading towards the central square where the Meeting would be held.

Cup of rum in hand -for waiting till the Meeting itself to get drunk was a lot of preliminary time during which you could be drunk wasted; a mindset shared by many of the Meeting’s attendants-, Oldham gestured animatedly -losing many a drop of his rum in the process- while he spoke, “Now, what could Marlowe be thinkin’ of callin’ us hither? Unless he wants a bloodbath”.

“Ain’t it obvious? Same as all. He bin worryin’ ‘bout thedude, he has”, Steach replied confidently.

“That would be a valid concern, but why do you sound so certain?” Mbwahari asked.

“I’s bin in contact withim recently, ye see”, Steach explained.

“You’d better not been puttin’ any strange ideas in his mind!” Goldham remarked. “thedude, though… What will he be tellin’ us? You think he wants us to join him? Cause I follow no King, Pirate nor Morcian”.

“Can ye e’en call him Morcian?”

“I don’t think Marlowe would hold the Meeting if all he wanted was for us to join thedude. He’s not that stupid to think that that would succeed”.

“Nah, no one likes thedude, Marlowe either… rrgh”.

Upon arriving at the square, the three of them received a lot of hearty greetings, hostile glances and attempted stabbings in the back. However, soon after the introduction of the new element to the equation that they were, the crowd went under control once again and thankfully there were no casualties –‘Fishy’ Brent doesn’t count as he was only presumed to be dead after the retaliation of Old Man Mbwahari until a week later, upon which he suddenly woke up and attempted to escape his burial\*. Mbwahari, Goldham and Steach were some of the last arrivals of the day, so it wasn’t long afterwards that everyone was presumed to be here –they weren’t, but don’t expect pirates to be the best at arithmetic.

It was about then that Marlowe –he also had a last name, but no one really could ever come to remember what it was; or was Marlowe the last name and they forgot his first one?– the Pirate King made his appearance. A platform was built on one side of the square for such occasions and the crowd was gathered all round it, illuminated by skull-shaped torches –after ages past, no one recalled if they were actual skulls. Marlowe appeared before them walking on that stage. As the most important person in the not-so-room (at least that’s how *he* thought of himself), it was natural that he was dressed to impress with lots of gold, lots of colour and some palm tree leaves, all around exactly what was needed for him to look tacky.

Upon seeing him, the crowd immediately ceased their buzz of chattering and whispering… in favour of an uproar of yelling towards Marlowe. Whether they were shouting insults or cheering him didn’t matter, because he couldn’t make out any of it. Marlowe motioned for them to quiet down and through the sheer force of his charisma, it only took five minutes for that to happen. Satisfied with the result, the Pirate King coughed for effect, something he was in the habit of doing as he thought it added to his air of importance, and he started his speech.

“Friends… enemies! Acquaintances and frenemies, enemies pretending to be friends and friends pretending to be enemies. Everyone! Welcome to this Meeting of the Pirates! I hope you’ve all been enjoying the booze!” He got some cheers in reply.

“Now I’m sure you’ve all been wondering why I called you here today. The answer is simple. You may or may not have heard of it, but North Island has fallen to thedude. What that means is that thedude controls the world now. The world of the land, that is. I don’t particularly care about that myself. Who rules the land or doesn’t, it does not concern me. Pirates bow to no King”, said the Pirate King.

“*However*, as with all kings of the land, thedude is not satisfied with just controlling the land. He’ll soon come after the sea as well. *Our* waters. He’s already passed some new anti-piracy laws. What makes thedude different to other kings, however, is the great power he possesses. He did take over the world after all. I’m sure you all hate each other’s guts, but what *I* hate the most is when foolish kings of the land try to enforce their laws on me. And I believe you all hate it as well. thedude wants to wipe us off the map. I say nay to that. Let *us* wipe *him* off *our* waters. I called all of you here today to ask that we join forces in fighting our common enemy. Divided, we shall perish. But united, we can send him back to the hell he came from! We are corsairs, bloody hell. No dude, no king, no emperor shall ever strike us down! For we are better than them. We know the sea better than them. We rule the sea better than them. But we need to fight together for our strengths to be effective.

“So, I ask of you now. WILL YOU FIGHT WITH ME?”

Mayhem ensued.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

“Chase! What are you doing here?” Jonna was positively shocked.

“As I said, I’ve come to rescue you”, Chase smiled like one would who’d unexpectedly accomplished their goal sooner than they thought and felt satisfied about it and perhaps a little full of themselves.

“But… how are you here? After all this time… When did you come back?” Jonna took a deep breath trying to sort out all the questions in her mind. “But more importantly… Why are you kidnapping me?!”

“Kidnapping you? I just saved you from that guy who was chasing you!”

“That *guy* was Thingguy, my comrade! A Knight of the Olde Speech!”

“What? So you weren’t being transferred to a different prison and escaped when a brawl broke out?”

“No! How’d you come up with that...? Chase!”
“What?”

“Stop the horse!”

“Oh… Oh right!”

Chase pulled the reins of his horse and it quickly came to a stop. Chase turned around to look at her with an awkward smile on his face.

“Well, that was… Oops. Uhm, glad to see you again?”

“Glad to see you, too, Chase, but shall we sort this out later? Right now, we need to regroup with the other Knights”.

“Roger that”, Chase had his steed turn around and then run back the way they’d come from. “As for your other questions. I came the same way as last time. And I’ve been here for about a month now. Been touring the sights, you see”.

Chase… here. That was unexpected. It was more than four years since they’d met. Since they’d last seen each other. That time, Jonna had sunk into the abyss watching Chase and his eyes full of terror and sorrow get farther and farther as she fell until he completely disappeared from her vision. That time, he must have walked into a portal to who knows where? That time, it had been she who’d made him promise to return. She remembered that. And it was a promise she’d often thought of and put her hopes in.

But she’d eventually learnt not to expect much of it. Surely, Chase wouldn’t come back after all this time. Who would if they’d finally found a home after searching for one for so long? No, she didn’t expect him to come. Her promise was selfish and she forgave Chase for allowing himself to finally rest easy, as he often did in her mind. But here he was now right in front of her in the flesh. He’d remembered her. He’d come back. To fulfil the promise he’d made with her. She inexplicably felt a warmth in her chest.

“You look… older?” was the conclusion all of Jonna’s thoughts finally reached.

“Yeaaah, that’s a little awkward. You see, turns out time flowed with double the speed where I was. But that’s for the better really. Means you only had to wait half the time I needed to come back”.

“You mean, it’s been what? Ten years for you?”

“Well… yeah, I guess”.

“Huh!” it’d been ten years and he still remembered her. He still came back. The feeling in her chest intensified. Then, she remembered though, “Is Neil and Brooke also with you?”

The figure of someone was now visible ahead of them. They seemed to be running towards them, but also looked rather tired by it.

“’Fraid not. They stayed back this time. After all, one can’t be carrying their newborn around in adventures”.

Further inspection upon approaching the person revealed him to be Thingguy, Nathanael probably.

“They had a baby!”

Several more figures appeared behind him as they turned around a corner.

“Remind me to show you a picture of him later. Worry not, though, for as promised I have come with just as good company to help us”.

They were Paradox Rogues.

“I’m sure you’ll love the Away Team”.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

He couldn’t wait to consult Chase. One of the strange machines he’d come to know as Barney Bots had just up and burst a building into flames right in front of him. Was he supposed to just sit and watch the robot spread death and destruction? Hell no! He had to protect these people. It was, after all, the honourable thing to do. And Qrow Rayne, member of the aforementioned Away Team, was all about honourable.

“Hey, you stupid people pile of junk!” he yelled out to the Bot while coming out of his cover. “I’d heard the people ruling this place were evil, but I’d never imagined you’d do something so horrible as open fire at civilians without even a single warning. And you call yourself a sheriff? Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”

The Barney Bot, which had been previously preoccupied with watching the flames with its cold robotic stare, waiting to shoot anyone who came out of the burning saloon, while playing Barney’s theme song as loudly as his speakers could to fix the mood, turned around to face him and raised its machine-gun-loaded arm to aim at him.

Before the shower of bullets could strike him, Qrow swiftly dodged and covered behind one of the many conveniently placed barrels that the city of Evereed possessed. The Barney Bot undeterred came after him releasing more of its fire upon the barrel, which couldn’t do much to keep them away so as Qrow came really close to the touch of the flames.

“Someone its own size? Then, why did *you* step up?” a voice he knew very, no, considerably well remarked as the flames suddenly stopped coming. “If you’re going to start unnecessary fights, at least leave the fire-using fodder to me”.

Alizarin Rayne, fellow member of the Away Team, fire-starter extraordinaire and Qrow’s sister, had stepped out as well and despite her complaint she seemed to be grinning as she forced the Bot’s flames to be pushed backwards unto itself. Red hair and red overcoat on, her appearance certainly was thematically fitting for someone who had been granted exceptional fire-based powers from a gem.

“Th15 5c3n4r10 3xc33d5 th3 5c0p3 0f my p4ram3tr3s”, the Barney Bot, bathing in its own flames, declared evidently confused as the music it was playing started to cut off in frequent intervals.

“There’s more where that came from”, Alizarin replied, clenching the fist of her extended arm, upon which the flames turned blue.

The robo Barney, unable to take the heat finally decided to stop spewing fire, but not before one of its thrusters failed and it came tumbling down on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Alizarin quickly covered the distance, grabbed her weapon –a hybrid of nunchucks and gun of her own invention– and swung it several times, firing whenever the barrel/second stick of the nunchaku lined up with her target. Keeping it busy with the bullets as soon as she came close, she prepared to punch it with her free arm, aiming right for the head and creating a light explosion upon impact. In retaliation, the glowing hot Bot responded with a punch towards the stomach, a collapsible blade added in for good measure. However, as the blast provided the first spark Alizarin used it for a pyrokinetic thrust. As a result, the force caused the Barney Bot’s head to fly off its body while the force’s reaction pushed her backwards on the opposite direction, allowing her to avoid the punch, but still get a light cut on her arm –and no burns due to the amazing heat resistance her abilities provided her.

“And that’s how it’s done”, Alizarin bragged as she landed on her feet and turned to look at Qrow, who had in the meantime abandoned the company of the burning barrel and approached them.

Yet, as soon as she’d let her guard down, she realised something was wrong. The music was still playing! She swiftly turned back only to find the beheaded robot’s fist heading for her face at a high speed. With quick reflexes, Alizarin countered it with a strike of her gunchucks, the shot’s knock back stopping the attack. At the same time, Qrow’s timely intervention of cutting the bot’s other arm with his broadsword –Fallout he called it– prevented Alizarin the fate of becoming comparable to a colander. With a fluid motion following her counter, the fire-user delivered a punch at the bot’s chest and with the assistance of some self-generated fire power blew the thing’s heart out –or whatever closest to one this robot had. After this, the oversized construct proceeded to drop to the ground with a heavy thud, music cutting off for good this time.

The two siblings remained on guard for a little longer, watching to see if the robot was perhaps feigning, but when nothing happened, the silence was broken not by them, but by a small crowd of people who appeared seemingly out of nowhere –everyone had disappeared after the Barney Bot arrived after all– who started cheering.

“I didn’t realise we had an audience”, Qrow stated as he examined the excited Evereedians; they must have really hated that robot, not that he blamed from what little he’d seen of its actions during his stay in Evereed, the climax of which had been that day’s incident.

“They must have been watching from the crooks and crannies they hid in”, Alizarin remarked, as she produced some bandage from a pocket to apply on her injury.

“Is it bad that we drew so much attention to ourselves? I don’t think it works well for our plan”.

“Well, can’t help it now”.

“Excuse me!” one of the locals had approached them; judging by the sunglasses and the walking stick, there was a good chance he was blind. “I heard that one of you defeated the Sheriff by manipulating the flames. I’ve got a friend who went into that building on fire to help the people inside, but hasn’t come out in a while. Since you seem to oppose thedude, too, would you mind helping a comrade in need?”

Alizarin grinned smugly, “You’ve got the just the right person for the job. It shouldn’t take long for me, so sure I can spare the time. *But* you’ll owe me one for this”.

“Perfect, thanks. His name is Thingguy. Please hurry”, the man urged her.

“Don’t you worry”, the fire lady stated as she approached the saloon.

A small group of people, looking tattered with black patches and scorched holes in their clothes, was gathered outside; presumably the people who’d already managed to escape.

“You can’t go in!” one of them said “You’ll just be trapped like the other guy”.

By now, a wall of flames blocked the entrance and the windows, but Alizarin merely snorted, raised her arm and the flames flew towards her in streams that disappeared into a ring she was wearing –which ring happened to feature a red gem on it.

“What’s happening?” the blind man whispered behind her.

“She’s absorbing the flames”, Qrow replied.

Soon enough, the door was clear of flames and Alizarin, raising the red kerchief she was wearing on her neck to match the spirit of the city up to her neck, walked towards it –after all she was the master of the fire gem, not the smoke gem.

“Qrow, stay here in case enemy reinforcements arrive”.

“I know, don’t order me around”.

And then, flame girl was inside. Qrow looked back to the man who’d asked their help. His clothes were in the way so he couldn’t be sure, but the swordsman thought the man’s body looked strong enough. If not for the fact that he was blind, he would probably make a good fighter. Hadn’t he said he was against thedude? Right when the silence was about to turn awkward, Qrow spoke up.

“So, you’re opposed to thedude then? What’s your name?” he asked, while his gaze was turned to a couple of Evereedians who’d started kicking the Barney Bot’s head.

“It’s Grongringro. Or rather Sir Grongringro-eth I should say”.

“Grongi-what?”

“Siiigh. I thought you might say that. Well, and you are?”

“Qrow Rayne. My sister who went inside is Alizarin. You said you’re a sir, are you a knight of this place?”

More people had joined in harassing the robot head now and it was quickly being reduced to a messy mass of metal whose original image was indiscernible.

“Not to any official capacity. Really when you think about it, we’re just a bunch of guys arbitrarily calling ourselves knights honestly”.

“We?”

However, before Grongringro could give an explanation they were interrupted by the sudden arrival of a squad of purple-clad soldiers. Paradox Rogues, one of the main military forces of the planet, also doubling as a police force post-conquest. Qrow and his companions had avoided fighting them so far, but they’d seen plenty of them during the month they’d spent there. Well, there’s a first time for everything.

“Who was it that attacked the Sheriff?” one of them, presumably the squad leader, enquired in an authoritative voice. “Refuse to answer and we’ll arrest everyone on sight”.

“One moment, Sir Grongirgno. I’ll be right back”.

Before the bystanders could give in to the pressure and rat him out, Qrow began to walk up to them slowly, trying to stand his already tall and muscular stature as intimidating as possible. Feeling the gazes of all the people present on his back, he made for the Renegades, who were now watching him closely.

About halfway there, the squad leader spoke up, “Who’re you? Are you from out of town?”

“You could say that, yes”, Qrow smiled knowing the Rogue would never guess the truth.

“Identify yourself”, the squad leader pointed his big gun at him threateningly.

“I’m Qrow Rayne of the Away Team”, Qrow declared proudly.

“Are we supposed to be impressed?” one of the other Rogues mocked.

“Are you the one who attacked the Sheriff?” at that point Qrow had reached the Renegades and come face to face with their leader.

“And what if I am?”

“Well then, I’d have t-” before the man could finish his sentence in one swift motion Qrow pushed the leader’s weapon aside with his left arm and drew his sword with the right, managing a cut across the man’s chest.

A commotion of surprised yells, curses and hurried attempts to shoot at him followed. Qrow instantly ducked to avoid the projectiles and jumped at the Rogue in front of him, tackling and stabbing them. Turning around right after, he threw a knife he carried on his belt on someone trying to attack him from behind. Moving in zigzags to dodge the blasts of the enemies, he approached some Rogues who were at a distance with him, felling two more of them with a couple of slashes. Jumping away and never staying still, he drew on his sword’s hilt, which collapsed to reveal a hidden handgun inside. Pointing it to a group of Rogues who were too far to reach quickly enough, he fired at their guns –their armour would most likely stop his bullets. At that point, the only Rogues remaining standing –Qrow had tried to make sure his blows weren’t lethal, but would keep his enemies down for the time; he was that kind of guy– either carried melee weapons or damaged ones. He could catch a breath.

“Will you just let me fight alone?!” he suddenly shouted, turning to the watching bystanders. “Or will you fight for your freedom also? This is *your* city. Will you not defend it?”

There was a moment of silence when nothing happened. The Renegades were still hesitating to attack him, but now they were also eyeing the Evereedians with concern. The Evereedians themselves looked torn. The inaction might have continued, but then someone else intervened.

“That’s right! Do you not remember when these same people burned Evereed to the ground”, it was Sir Gorgnirgo. “Once again, they’ve lit the flames that endanger our home. The smoke rises from outside the city, too, I’ve been told. Will you just allow them to burn it again? Will you allow them to do with Evereed whatever they want on their every whim? Or will you fight? And protect your home. Protect your families. Protect your ideals and protect the way of the free man! We’re Evereedians goddamnit! We fight for what we care about! And if you fear, I understand. But understand this. As Sir Grongringro-eth I assure you, the Knights of the Olde Speech will have your back. We are here to fight with you! And we’ll take back Evereed from thedude! Who’s with me?!”

What Qrow, a stranger among strangers, couldn’t do even with his impressive show of strength this man with better knowledge of the place and its people had managed with just his words. Collective cheers came from most of the gathered people and as if moving as one, the people of Evereed quickly produced their guns and all started firing at the Rogues, who hadn’t been sure how to deal with the situation. With bullets raining upon them, even the Space Marauder’s advanced armour couldn’t protect them forever. Realising the battle had turned on them, those who still could ran away. Some people went after them, some decided it wasn’t worth it. Qrow was among the latter.

He smiled. He most likely could have taken the remaining soldiers on his own, however rallying the locals to fight would do far more damage to thedude’s reign than he ever could alone. Chase had said, after all, their end goal was to free Morcia itself, so seeing as he’d already come out in the open, he’d decided to just embrace it. He had to thank Sir Grongringo though, for in the end it was through his charisma that it’d been made possible.

“I’m back”, he announced while he walked back to the knight. “Great speech, by the way. It was certainly helpful”.

“You were pretty impressive yourself. Couldn’t quite catch all the details, but from what I gathered, you kicked butt”, the blind man replied

“You said you’re a Knight of the Olde Speech? I’ve heard of them”.

“Indeed. And you said you’re of the Away Team? Never heard of you. With that skill and the intent to fight, I wonder how come”.

“It’s a long story, but the gist of it is we’re not from around here. I’d give you more details, but we should probably prepare for more enemies incoming”.

As if on cue, several more Paradox Rogues appeared at that moment from both sides surrounding them. This time, they were a lot more than he could handle on his own.

“Dammit Thingguy, you’ll have to wait!” Sir Grongirgno said under his breath.

Qrow looked back at the building in flames. Alizarin had still not come back, although it looked like more people had come out of the saloon. He wondered what she was doing, but couldn’t spare to give her more than a moment of thought.

Additionally to the Rogues, something else drew his attention towards the sky. It was the sound of music. Music all too familiar. He couldn’t forget the obnoxiously mismatched song. Sure enough, he spotted a figure hovering in air. With the badge of DEPUTY resting on its chest, the Barney Bot approached with eyes glowing red with evil.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!”

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

He saw her. She saw him. They stared at each other. A good distance between them still, they stood opposite each other examining their respective opponent, waiting to see how they’ll act.

“Mikhaila...”

“Rogue Square”.

“We meet again. This time, I won’t let you hurt people”.

“I see Moira’s with you, too. Haven’t you been enjoying too many prison breaks? I’m going to put a stop to you right here and now. But before that, you’re going to tell me where all your friends from Thunderclap are”.

Their attempt to sneak up on her and attack before she knew they were there had failed. Mikhaila had been all too ready for it. They’d have to fight her head on. Leader of the Paradox Rogues and most skilled among her kind, Tain wasn’t sure if they even had a chance.

In the background, he could still see where Drumr, Major and Sharpie were engaged with several of the Elite Rogues, but Tain had tuned them out, focusing entirely on Mikhaila –and the three of her lackeys that were still with her. He, on the other hand, had Moira with him, but merely equipped with a sword she was just standing a little behind him for now, uncertain how to help.

Mikhaila attacked first. Drawing her two pistols from their holsters at lightning speed that would make Evereed proud, she rapidly fired several blasts, not bullets nor lasers, but something of a Maelstrom nature, as was fitting for a member of the Paradox (albeit a Rogue). Tain dodged them easily, rolling out of their way. Proceeding to retaliate with his wormholer, however, he found that Mikhaila was no longer in her previous location, having used the distraction to close the distance with her jet boots. With her coming right at him at a staggering speed, he could barely avoid the swing of her retractable blade equipped arm and as a result lost his balance and fell.

Brave despite her circumstances, Moira charged right in time to prevent Mikhaila killing Tain. The Rogue Commander easily dodged Moira’s less than masterful attack and with a jet boot assisted spin delivered a kick right on the girl’s face, sending her to the ground.

“You’re a disappointment Moira. You had great potential, but you let your emotions get in the way. Now, you’re even resisting. Pitiful”; not one to let herself be distracted with speeches, Mikhaila made sure to block Tain’s next attack and strike back with a stab of her leg blade at his sheen as she said that.

The leader of the Elite Rogues might have killed them right then and there, but then something happened that interrupted her. For Tain wasn’t sure if he and Moira could defeat Mikhaila. But he, too, had his own secret weapon. Little lights, almost like stars, appeared all over them. They shone brightly for a moment illuminating them all and then fell to the ground, akin to shooting stars, upon which they exploded. Mikhaila expertly manoeuvred her way away from the bright explosions using her jet boots, but her subordinates –who for some reason had not helped her at all so far– weren’t as lucky (although luck had nothing to do with it, but you know, it’s an expression). One of them received a direct hit and was knocked out, the other two avoided the full blasts, but were still injured. Tain and Moira, on the other hand, had been spared for the stars had struck around, but not on them.

“Did you make a wish, Tain?” Peragrine appeared from some nearby bushes dramatically illuminated by the last of the fireworks as well as the flames the Rogues had made.

Instead of being impressed by the entrance, Tain merely wondered if it had been a good idea for Peragrine to reveal himself, but then reconsidered that Mikhaila would have found him anyway –even if she didn’t have heat vision–, so he decided not to keep it against him if they ended up all dying.

“Oh? Isn’t this Menaya’s pet? I’m sure she’ll be pretty grateful if I return him with a bow on top. But I don’t think she’d mind if he’s missing a limb or two”, Menaya said, but chose to kick down the getting up Tain instead.

The other elite Rogues finally decided to do something –perhaps they didn’t consider Tain and Moira threatening enough to warrant their attention as long as Mikhaila was on the scene– and fired several blasts at the young wizard. Rather than dodging them, Peragrine chose to intercept them with his hands, where upon touching them they were snuffed out of existence.

“Do not bother with him. I can handle the three of them. Help the others capture Major and the Knight”, Mikhaila ordered as in an instant she flew towards him.

Peragrine created a blast to keep her away, but with timely manoeuvres Mikhaila simply flew over it and came down towards him with a kick aimed at the head. A barrier blocked her, but Mikhaila was undeterred and simply used it as a standing point from which she fired at him with her pistol until she found where the barrier ended. At the same time, without looking, she fired in Tain’s direction to keep him busy.

Having found the edge of the barrier, the Commander jumped with a flip and landed by Peragrine’s side. She made to fire her gun, he prepared to block. But Mikhaila didn’t fire. Instead a purple gas was released from her suit’s arm and covered the wizard.

“NO! Perry get out of there! Don’t breathe it!” Moira yelled, in the meantime having approached one of the unconscious Rogues to take his weapon.

Realising what Moira was planning, Mikhaila fired in her direction to stop her. Tain, finding an opportunity, finally managed to strike back and Mikhaila had to dodge before she could actually hit Moira or the weapons. Peragrine came out of the cloud of mist coughing and even as she was under fire, the elite Rogue used the opportunity to clobber him in the face, sending him flying. Moira, in the meantime, had taken hold of a blaster and was running towards them, aiming the blaster at their enemy.

“Did you breathe it?” Moira shot three times. “It’s supposed to suppress one’s Imagination powers. I bet it works on magic, t-”.

Before Moira could shoot anymore or finish her sentence, Mikhaila jumped over Peragrine, activating her boots, flying at the girl faster than she could react, evading Tain’s shots and kicking her hard in the stomach. The force was so strong that Moira was sent back in an arch and fell on the ground several metres away from her opponent.

Gasping for air and feeling excruciating pain in her abdomen, she tried to stand up all the same. Upon doing so, however, she realised she was not alone. She’d almost forgotten, but her other allies had also been fighting nearby. Major, Sharpie, Drumr were standing with their backs on each other were surrounded by four Elite Rogues. Several bodies were lying on the ground around them, but she couldn’t tell if they were dead or just unconscious. She could tell, however, there was a lot of blood. On her three allies also, especially Major. Drumr’s injuries were visible, but she wasn’t sure if Major and Sharpie were bloodied by their own blood or not. She could guess, though.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Major was saying. “And you call yourselves Elite Rogues? You lot have grown soft. Back in the Faction War, I’d fought simple Rogues that were more skilled than you. If you don’t defeat me now that my muscles have atrophied and I’m out of training, when do you expect to?”

Moira watched the man as he spoke and there was a strange fire in his eyes. They still seemed hollow and yet murderous. He looked dangerous. He looked scary. Being covered in blood didn’t help. Sharpie had his gear’s guns, but Major was still holding a sword. She wondered how he’d made it so far only with that weapon against the Rogues. But just as she thought that, Major attacked and she got to see for herself. He moved so fast, you wouldn’t expect he had been incarcerated with no chance to exercise for ten years. He easily dodged the enemies’ blasts or even deflected them with his sword and had soon covered the distance between him and one of the Elites. The sword was swung fast and with expertise; even though the Rogue tried to escape with his jetpack, Major managed to damage it and send it out of control. The Rogue was unlucky and flew right into the flames.

Moira was in awe. Looking to the others, she saw Sharpie had also injured one of them. He saw her, too, and despite the ongoing battle turned to approach her. One of the Renegades tried to attack him, but the Daredevil swiftly avoided the hit and disarmed the Rogue with a kick. Before the Paradox Rogue could continue getting in his way, Major appeared and engaged him. Sharpie crossed the remaining distance to her, his limp strangely having disappeared –was he just enduring the pain?

“Come on, get up”, Sharpie kindly said as her offered her a hand.

“How?” Moira asked as she got up with his help. “How?” she repeated pointing to all the fallen enemies and Major now fending off against two of the Renegades in hand-to-hand combat –somehow they’d all been disarmed.

“Well, I *am* a Knight of the Olde Speech, after all. Gotta live up to the name. And Major… Well, I do think he was even called a hero back in the day”. Sharpie paused for a moment. “In any case, are you good to fight?”

“I think so, but… I don’t know if we can beat her”, Moira finally looked back to the fight she’d left: Peragrine was trying to keep Mikhaila off of him with weak fire blasts, barriers and the manipulation of rocks, but inhaling the purple gas, even for a little, had had its toll on his magic; Tain, on the other hand, was watching from a distance on his knees.

“Hang in there then, we’ll come to help as soon as we’re done with these ones. Stay alive till then”, and with that Sharpie left her to help Major and Drumr.

Moira was still in pain, but she made for the other three nonetheless. She watched the fight as she did. Perry barely managed to keep away from Mikhaila using any tricks he could think of and even then she occasionally got a hit in. She, on the other hand, appeared to be unscathed. Tain’s face –now visible for his helmet had been removed– was white. Something seemed to be wrong with him, since he didn’t try to intervene at all. Additionally to that, he had many open wounds now, despite his armour, that she did not remember from before.

Halfway there, her feet stepped on something which she discovered was the blaster she’d dropped when Mikhaila sent her flying. Taking it in her hands again, she aimed at Mikhaila hoping to use the element of surprise in her favour. However, she and Peragrine were moving too fast to get a clear shot. She watched them for a few seconds, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and sure enough there was a moment when Peragrine jumped a supernatural jump away from the Rogue Commander, putting some distance between the two of them. Seizing the chance, Moira shot several times, stopping Mikhaila in her tracks. Nevertheless, the woman still evaded the blasts and turning around towards her fired a pistol different to the ones she were using before.

“No!” Perry yelled reaching his arm towards her; Mikhaila’s projectile, whatever it was, exploded to little shards. “That’s what she used to paralyse Tain”.

However, that moment of distraction –and Moira’s hesitation– cost him as in an instant the Elite Rogue had crossed the distance between them and was slashing him with one of her blades, leaving what appeared to be a superficial but wide cut across his chest. Moira made to stop her with another blast, but the weapon chose that time to malfunction: there were a few sparks and then a puff of smoke rose from it.

“Damn it! Cursed curse!” she cursed, abandoning the broken gun and making for the two combatants. She didn’t know what she could unarmed –she couldn’t even remember where her sword was, let alone retrieve it in a timely manner–, but the thought that the shaken Perry might make a mistake and get killed or incapacitated compelled her to run nonetheless.

Yet, before she could reach them, two figures appeared from above landing between them. The Elite Rogues must have escaped from Major’s group using their jet packs.

“Commander. We’re the last ones left. At this rate, the fugitives will escape”, one of them said with his muffled voice.

“Useless! Even though, I knew you were the weakest of the squadron, I didn’t expect you to be so absolutely useless”, Mikhaila was not happy.

“So, you’re the leader?” a new voice came. Looking its way, Moira saw Major had arrived along with Sharpie and Drumr whom he was supporting. “Let’s see if you’re any better than your soldiers”.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

*Hadden Damien walked with a firm loud footstep as he entered '**the strange vessel that their enemies called a ship. It was a curious thing that didn’t look like a ship at all, from the outside nor the inside as he found out now. Even though he knew they were a completely different kind of ship known as a spaceship and he himself had seen one fly and yet he couldn’t help but note how different they were to the ships he knew. Made of metal, no mast and the deck was covered; not to speak of all the futuristic '**contraptions full of buttons and blinking lights that the invaders liked so much and he did not understand at all. '**The future was scary.'** And yet as he moved through the ship and looked at everything, he grinned with satisfaction.*

*“Smithson, report”, he commanded his first mate who’d been following him around.*

*“Of the four enemy ships stationed here two were destroyed and two were captured. Our own casualties amount to fifty-three dead, twenty-five wounded, two ships destroyed, three damaged. Captain Talon is now inspecting the other captured ship”, Smithson answered.*

*Apparently unaffected by the news of '**their losses, Damien smiled a'** nasty smile, '**revealing a golden tooth'**.*

*“'**Fools, preparing their forces on the coast, right where we could reach them. '**The height of our losses '**is regrettable, '**but with this victory we won’t have to lose so many again. With these ships, we’ll counter their advantage. Heh! This is fun. Let’s capture more and make sure thedude never defeats us”.*

*“But Captain… We don’t even know how to sail this sort of ship”, the first mate '**argued'**.*

*“Heh. That will be no problem, dear Mr. Smithson. Lead me to the '**captured soldiers'**”.*

*Five people dressed in the Paradox attire were tied in an important-looking room at the front part of the ship. A few of Damien’s crew members had been left with them to guard them.*

*“'**Are you the pilots?” he asked one of them and his subordinates quickly proceeded to remove the gag from his mouth.***

*“That’s right. What’s it to you?” the man replied in a gruff tone.*

*“'**You five are going to tell me and my men everything about flying this thing”.***

*“And what makes you think we’ll just tell you?”*

*Damien produced a knife and admired it and its clean gleaming look for a moment. Playing his thumb on the edge of the blade, he spoke “You know you’re not the only people we’ve captured. We kept you here because we deemed you were special, but if you like we can easily arrange it so you join your friends to the plank”.*

*There was a look of horror in the man’s eyes –his companions’ also–, “You can’t do this! We’re war prisoners. There are laws agai-”*

*Damien’s eyes looked almost manic as he exclaimed “Do you think I care about laws?”*

*“This is inhuman!” '**the man objected, as the pirate captain removed his thumb from the knife and pressed it on the man’s neck just hard enough so it wouldn’t cut.***

*“Yes, it is”, the knife danced on his skin.*

*The '**future was scary. Yes, that was true. But not to him. For if you master the future, you’ve got nothing to be scared about. And then the future’s not scary. It’s exhilarating.***

*A single drop of blood rolled on '**the man’s'** neck, “Now… tell me everything”.*

*~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~*

As soon as Alizarin entered the saloon, she felt the overwhelming heat surrounding her. It didn’t particularly bother her, though; it only vaguely registered with her as a difference in temperatures, as one would notice the difference in smell upon entering a room with its own characteristic savour. What *did,* however, concern her was the scent of smoke that immediately struck her nose. Laying low to avoid inhaling too much of it, she proceeded deeper into the building.

It didn’t take her long to find people. Judging by how close to the door they were, they must have tried to escape, but their path to the exit had already been cut off by the flames. Although they were covered in ashes and their clothes were scorched in varying degrees, they appeared to be mostly fine. They were certainly all conscious and that was pretty important.

“Can you all walk?” she asked.

Four of them nodded and one pointed to the fifth and said she could carry him. Indeed, if they had not headed for the door yet, it was because of their surprise at seeing the flames disappear when they’d been about to lose hope.

“Good, then go outside. Are there more people?”

“Upstairs… he headed upstairs”, one of them said pointing to what Alizarin presumed was the direction of the stairs.

“I’ll go get him then”, she reassured them with a cough. “Now get out”.

He headed upstairs? Then was he that Thingguy person? Most likely. But that also meant there might be more people upstairs. That would be troublesome since she couldn’t carry them all in one go.

“Well, Alizarin, you’ll just have to make do somehow”, she told herself and picked up her pace in the direction she’d been shown.

With no concern for if the flames touched her –her clothes were specially made to be as fireproof as she was–, she ran through the room, jumped over the bar and found the staircase. She climbed up the steps, three at a time until she reached the landing. There, she came upon someone lying on the floor. He had a sword strapped to his belt and his attire was foreign to Evereed. On closer inspection, though, Alizarin realised he was still conscious. His eyes were open and looking up the stairs towards the upper floor; he was slowly trying to move his muscles, but had already been affected too much by the hell-fire environment to be able to move properly and make it any far.

Lowering to his level, she picked him up from the shoulder, all the while reassuring him, “Don’t worry. It’ll be all right. I’ll carry you outside now”.

“N- no!” the person objected. “Th… there’s more people...” he was having trouble speaking, so he finished the sentence by weakly pointing upwards.

Alizarin cursed inwardly. Her fears had turned out to be right. If she carried him out first, it might be too late for the others afterwards. But if she prioritised the other people, it might endanger the one she’d found already. She had to find a way to do this in one go.

“Are you Thingguy?” she asked.

The person nodded.

“Good, Thingguy, I want you to hold on to me tight. Don’t let go no matter what. I’ll get you out of here *and* save the others, so you gotta help me in that and hold on, can you do that?”

“Yes”.

Awkwardly trying to support a man who was bigger than her, Alizarin bent her knees as low as possible. Then, she launched herself with flames produced from her feet as her legs straightened up and tossed her to the air. In an instant, she rocketed over the stairs and landed on the next floor. Thingguy, who’d barely been able to hold on, looked at her in mild surprise.

Not wasting any time, Alizarin started exploring the place. She quickly found herself in a long corridor with many doors on its one side. There was a lot more smoke on that floor, though, which seriously hampered visibility. Finding a window, she opened it, hoping the smoke would go out of it and the air would clear a little.

“Thingguy, I’m going to put you down for now, but I’ll come back for you. Lay low and try not breathe the smoke. Here, tie this around your mouth”, she handed him her kerchief.

Being able to move more freely now, she started running down the corridor. In an attempt to clear her line of sight somewhat and lessen the burden anyone there would be in, she swiped her arm and the flames in the hallway extinguished.

“Is anyone here?” she shouted, but there was no reply; most likely anyone left there was unconscious by now.

Without any other choices and as swiftly as possible, she opened doors and looked inside, in search of people who might be there. However, before getting to check many rooms out, she stumbled upon two figures collapsed on the floor, not in any of the rooms, but in the corridor. Alizarin proceeded to lift the two Evereedians, placing them on her shoulders and then make her way to the window by which she’d left Thingguy. Although the two unconscious bodies she carried slowed her down and even made her step a little unstable, she used small bursts to propel her feet forward and go faster. Finally, getting to her destination she left the two people by Thingguy’s side where the air had really cleared slightly. Then, she went back.

Run. Door. Empty. Door. Empty. Run. Door. Door. Door. Empty. Empty. Empty. She had to hurry and see if there was anyone else. She couldn’t leave the others for too long, too. There weren’t many rooms left. Two more doors. She opened the one and was greeted by fire. With a movement of her hand she snuffed it out and looked inside. A man was there, unconscious and surrounded by flames sizzling his body. Quickly getting rid of the fire, Alizarin picked him up and hurried to the other door. That room was bathed in flames as well, but it didn’t take her long to figure out there was no one there.

The rest was a rush. Carrying the last person to the window where everyone else was gathered. Thingguy looked better than before, she noticed, and he was standing up, albeit supported by the wall.

“This is the last one. I’m going to take you outside now”, Alizarin informed him as she lifted one of the two Evereedians she’d carried before to her shoulder. “Grab on”.

“Are you sure...”, he coughed, “you can do this?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan”.

Thingguy and the other person she took hold of in her arms. With four people weighing her down, Alizarin couldn’t even take a step forward. But walking wasn’t the plan. Once again flames spurted out of her feet, she somehow managed to assume a stance as if she was going to sprint and with all her strength and fire-power she could manage she jumped and blasted off through the window. For a moment, they were flying. Thingguy, amazed, looked at her and the trail of flames she left behind her. And then it occurred to him.

“That’s right. I never asked. Who are you?”

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Some blocks away and a few minutes earlier, Chase was faced with the very same question and he too was asked by a Thingguy. However, that’s where the similarities in their situations stopped for Chase had instead found his neck threatened by Nathanael’s sword, still drenched in the blood of the Paradox Rogues he’d made short work of. Indeed Chase had been very impressed until the sword was pointed in his direction.

“You’d better not give me any weird diseases with that”, he dead-panned.

“If I cut you that’d the least of your worries”, Nathanael replied.

“Thingguy stop! He’s my friend!” Jonna intervened.

Thingguy looked surprised and perplexed. He lowered his sword a little, but not completely. “Your friend? But he kidnapped you!”

“Yeah, that was a bit of a misunderstanding. He thought he was saving me. Anyway, why don’t you hide that sword? He’s a friend and he’s here to help”.

“Fine”, Nathanael grunted and for some reason he didn’t seem all that pleased with the situation, nevertheless sheathing his sword. “Who is this guy anyway?”

“Thingguy, this is Chase. He’s from another dimension. Chase, this is Thingguy. Or one of them anyway. You may call him Nathanael”.

Both men looked confused.

“Another dimension? Like an actual alternate world? Do they really exist?”

“One of them? I’ve heard of Thingguy before, but I thought there was only one”.

“Thingguy, yes. It’s a long story, but five years ago when I was captured I was actually with Chase when he’d first come to our dimension”, Jonna explained. “And Chase, yes. It’s a long story, but we’ve somehow wound up with two Thingguys right now”.

“You were together and you let her get caught?” Nathanael questioned Chase rebukingly.

“I tried my best to save her. And here I am now”.

That’s right. It’d been ten years, but he was back. He had travelled through literal universes to find Jonna. Whatever that Thingguy guy said, he wouldn’t let anything get in the way of keeping his promise.

“A little late for that”, Thingguy mocked, but then Jonna grabbed both him and Chase by the ears.

“Boys please. I am no damsel in distress to be thought of in terms of being allowed to get caught or being saved”, Jonna interjected unamused.

“Ow ow ow! That’s not what the number of times I’ve been given a mission to find you indicates”, Nathanael disagreed.

“Thingguy!” Jonna sounded a little mad. “Let’s not have this conversation right now. There should be more Rogues coming”.

“You’re right. These guys seemed to be headed for the saloon. There’s probably a commotion there still. We should go help. But at this point… we might need more fighters. Hey Powers”.

“And here I thought we were on a first name basis, you’re paining my heart”, Chase joked.

“Can you fight?” the Knight asked picking up the blaster of one of the felled soldiers.

“Um, sorta?” Chase didn’t sound very sure of himself.

“Good”, Thingguy handed him the weapon, almost without waiting to hear his answer.

“Uh, okay...”, the other-dimensioner awkwardly mumbled for a moment before he found his confidence again. “Hey, you said you wanted reinforcements, right?”

“Why, do you have someone in mind?” Jonna asked.

“I might just do. Follow me”, Chase told them, setting off in a new direction.

“Are you sure this’ll work?” Nathanael asked as they started following him. “I don’t want to waste time when we need to hurry”.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll convince them. I’ve gotten to know some people after all while I’ve been here”.

“How long have you been in Evereed anyway?” Jonna asked.

“A week now. Finding directions to a faraway prison without raising suspicions turns out to be a rather troublesome task”.

“Speaking of troublesome, what do you think this smoke that’s surrounded the city is? Do you think it has anything to do with Sharpie and the others?” Jonna pointed in the distance.

For indeed while it was to hard to make out exactly what it was in the night there was an eerie atmosphere to the city as the darkness of the horizon was unnaturally devoid of stars.

“I don’t know, but it’s not for good. I get the feeling our Evereed troubles are just getting started”, Thingguy spoke gloomily.

“They started a fire all around the city? That’s concerning”, Chase muttered.

“You don’t know that it’s a fire”.

“Whatever it is, we’ve got to hurry and do something about it”, Thingguy concluded. “Is it still far… wherever we’re going?”

“No, we’re almost there. You see that house?”

Chase had led them a few streets away, where he finally stopped before the door of the house he’d pointed to and started knocking.

“Johnson! Hey Johnson!” he started yelling. “Open up, it’s me Chase! Hey, I know you’re there, why don’t you open the door to a friend? Are you worried about the Rogues? Come on, man. Weren’t you telling me the other day that you wanted to stick it to the man? That you’d do it, if only the Knights or someone as important came back? Well, I’ve got Sir Thingguy and Princess Jonna with me, why don’t you come out and say hi?”

Silence. No one answered or opened the door.

“So much for that”, Nathanael sighed.

“Let me try”, Jonna interjected, walking to the closed door by Chase’s side. “Hello, can you hear me? My name is Jonna. I used to be the princess of Morcia. I know I shouldn’t be asking your help after all the times I failed to protect you and our whole nation in general. But this nation needs you nonetheless. The city needs you. There’s no one left to protect it, but the people of the city themselves. Those who took over reigning our land, those who should have been protecting it, are turning on it instead. There’s no one left. Only *you* can fight. For yourself. For your family. Your friends. Your nation. And everyone. Will you help us?”.

There was a moment during which everyone held their breaths waiting for something to happen. And then the moment passed, because not everything happens right when you expect it to. The man Johnson after all had to cross the distance to the door, unlock it, pull the latch and finally open it. It’s not an instant process, you know. But it’s a process that took place nonetheless and Johnson came out.

“Are you really Princess Jonna?” he asked meekly.

Jonna smiled, “That’s me. Though I don’t think I’m that good of a princess”, she muttered the second sentence mostly to herself. “And that’s Thingguy. We’re going to fight. Will you fight with us?”

“Chase, where did you find those two?” Johnson had a shocked expression, while he processed what was going on.

“If I tell you I just bumped into them, will you believe me?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll join you”, he finally said enthusiastically, his thoughts having reached conclusion. “We’ll all join you. We’ve all been waiting for this. I’ll tell my friends. I’ll tell everyone. I’ll call them to fight with you”.

“That’s a man!” Chase approved. “Make sure to tell Gerard and Jethro, too. Jane and Murray as well. And tell Murray to bring that gun he bought from that retired Rogue. We’ve got a few more visits to make ourselves, but let’s meet by the bank, near the commotion”.

“Yes, of course! Right away!”
“As for us, we have some more people to see”, Chase grinned to his companions.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

The enemies had them outnumbered and outgunned. There were more than double the Rogues than there were Evereedians –not to speak of the machine gun mounted cars they’d arrived with– and even with Qrow on their side, the chances of victory seemed slim and it would surely require many sacrifices, too. No, Qrow knew that daring a fight now would be a terrible choice and he almost regretted stirring everyone up earlier, fearing they might recklessly choose to fight still.

“Everybody slowly place your weapons to the grounds and then your hands behind your head”, someone ordered with their voice bellowing loudly through some form of speaker their helmet probably provided. “You’re all under arrest”.

No movement to obey the Renegade’s order was made, but nor was it to attack his soldiers. Everyone stayed still and quiet, probably unsure how to react, waiting for someone else to make the first move. If just one person acted, then everyone else would follow suit. That was the feeling Qrow got. And he could surrender now to be and example and save those people’s lives before they did anything rush or the Rogue Leader ran out of patience. But at the same time there was something inside him stopping him. It wasn’t just his personal sense of honour that absolutely forbade any such shameful act, but he also felt that if he gave up now, after everything that was said earlier, these people would forever lose hope: they would never raise their heads again, never fight for their freedom. This battle would be lost before it got a chance to even begin. And so Qrow was as undecisive as everyone else. Judging by his frustrated grimace Sir Grongringro-eth looked to be having similar thoughts.

“What is this? Why’s no one moving? Come on, lay down your weapons, *now*, or we’ll start shooting”, the commanding officer spoke again threatenigly.

To back up his threats (even further), some of the Renegades, on the opposite side from the leader, started preparing a laser cannon –or was it a plasma cannon? Maelstrom cannon? Qrow wasn’t quite sure, but it looked plenty intimidating either way– they’d brought with them. The Barney Deputy floated over the people, music playing, ready to interfere at any suspicious move. There was a fearful stir among the Evereedians, but they still didn’t move to surrender. Qrow was in cold sweat. He couldn’t see a way to avoid tragedy.

“Are you deaf? I said *NOW!* Fine with me, let’s see how a taste of our guns will change your mind. Fire the cannon once!”

The cannon wasn’t ready yet, but it soon would be. Any moment now, tragedy would strike. Or the people would give in, which would in itself be a rather unfortunate scenario. Someone made to kneel and place his gun on the ground. Then, there was a blast and everyone’s attention was diverted.

“What?” the commanding Rogue yelled and his voice resounded throughout the street.

A window in the burning saloon had just blown up and out of it had emerged… a conglomerate of several limbs and heads, crossing the air powered by a most impressive fountain of flames. Or at least that’s what Alizarin and the people she’d rescued looked like as they moved fast in an arc over the ill-lit street. People’s eyes, on both sides, followed them until she stopped and redirected the flames downwards and decreased their intensity, so as to land.

“Stop right there!”

“1d3nt1fy y0ur53lf!”

“It’s the fire lady!”

“Y0u k1ll3d th3 5h3r1ff!”

“She will save us!”

“Y0u 4r3 n0 fr13nd!”

“Cannon is ready to fire, sir!”

“Pr3p4r3 t0 b3 3l1m1n4t3d!”

“Make any move and we’ll open fire!”

While she landed, there was a commotion with multiple people speaking at once as they tried to deal with the newly introduced factor that was Alizarin. Without stalling any moment to process what was going on, the flame manipulator let go of the people she had in her arms and let the other two drop from her shoulders. She got up from the kneeling position in which she’d landed.

“Not a moment of rest with you guys, ha”, she muttered to herself and without warning two curtains of flames extended from the burning building separating the Rogues from everyone else.

“Take cover!” Qrow shouted and all hell broke loose.

Instantly the Deputy started firing its machine gun at her and Alizarin began running to evade the stream of bullets that closely followed her. She reached a wall and using it as a standingg point, she leaped with a fire boost towards the Barney Bot. The Evereedians moved in many different directions, some of them seeking cover, some picking up the weapons of the soldiers Qrow had rendered unconscious, all of them together causing mayhem. The Rogues’ projectiles appeared from the other sides of the flames where they’d started blindly shooting their weapon wherever hoping to strike their targets through sheer numbers. With most of the people having evacuated the open space of the street, however, the inaccurate shots were mostly ineffective.

As for Qrow himself, he took Grongringro by the hand and pulled him to safety as well. It was a pity the man was blind. He’d heard of the Knights of the Olde Speech from Chase and more so after he’d come to this dimension. They were revered by many as great fighters and their last hope for liberation –though there were also people who weren’t as fond of them. Yet in his condition, Grongringro didn’t look like he could contribute much to combat. Having secured him, though, he could rest easy and go into the battle without worrying about him.

He looked for Alizarin and saw her approaching the Deputy. However, she apparently had been affected by all the smoke she’d inhaled more than she thought, for her reflexes were marginally too slow and she got punched in the stomach by the Barney Bot before she could strike herself. She unceremoniously dropped back to the ground where the robot would have filled her with holes if Qrow hadn’t jumped in in time to get her out of the fray.

“Are you okay?” Qrow asked as he carried her with the rain of bullets chasing them.

“I’m fine. I can walk for myself”, she replied, even though the blood trail starting on her lips indicated that the blow she’d received was a rather serious one. In spite of that, Qrow knew his sister could take care of herself and so he complied, hiding behind a post to let her down.

Without pausing its machine gun, the Barney Bot turned its head towards some of the Evereedians who’d started responding with fire towards the hidden Rogues and it launched three rockets in their direction. Alizarin, watching from behind the post, quickly proceeded to snuff out the flames that propelled the explosives and leaving them to the influence of gravity. Qrow, however, who feared they still might cause damage, dashed to them and gently but surely redirecting them with his sword, sent them towards the already burning building where they exploded.

He made to return to cover and consider his strategy, but then he saw a lilac light which was showing even through the flames, coming from where the Rogues were. The Rogues and their cannon…

“Look out for the laser-plasma cannon!” he yelled towards Alizarin, fearing the Bot might be secretly guiding the Renegades to shoot it in her direction.

“Wait, is it a laser or a plasma cannon?” Alizarin enquired.

“I don’t know!”

Suddenly, the light turned into a purple ray that shot through the flames and towards Alizarin just as Qrow had thought. The woman made a backslapping motion and halfway through the ray redirected towards the Deputy, who managed to dodge it, though.

“It’s plasma”, Alizarin declared, satisfied with herself and her powers which were just varied enough –after rather intensive training– to allow her this trick.

“Y0u 4r3 b31ng v3ry n4ughty!” the Barney Bot exclaimed in a passive aggressive manner. “W3 sh0uld 4ll b3 fr13nd5!”

“’tis thee who is up to mischief, o thou vile mechanical fiend”, a new voice spoke confidently and for some reason using somewhat archaic expressions. Wait! Archaic? Was that…?

“Th3 K0T05!!!” the Deputy shrieked as it quickly turned to follow the source of the voice, which seemed to be above them, perhaps the roof of the building opposite the saloon.

Indeed, one figure appeared in the air, swiftly leaping from the building and then another. Before the Bot knew what’d happened, both its head and legs had been cut off. After their moment of grace as they came to a stop mid-air with the robot breaking to pieces behind them, the swordsman and swordswoman came crashing down. Having said that, roughest landing of all was that of the metal Barney, whose thrusters had been removed. After all, the two others managed to soften their landing by bending their limbs and rolling after impact.

“Now, everyone, go, go, go!” the man, a redhead, shouted and suddenly there was noise and movement everywhere. Several more people appeared on the rooftop, holding rifles which they immediately started firing in the direction of the two groups of Renegades. One of them, in fact, had a gun that looked like a Paradox-themed sniper rifle which fired thin and short violet rays. At the same time, Qrow could hear the sound of gunshots, people yelping in surprise or making battle cries coming from the other side of both flame curtains as well. Several Rogues finally decided to cross the fire walls to their side, which they hadn’t dared until then even though their suits allowed them to do so with little danger (that is, in the case of the Marauders), and were now visible to them. The sound of a machine gun could be heard in the distance.

Qrow was amazed. Out of nowhere when no one expected them, all these reinforcements had arrived and neither they or the enemies had suspected anything. He didn’t know how many there were, but in just one instant Qrow’s hopes were back. Just who could have pulled that off?

“Hey, that’s Thingguy!” Alizarin pointed to the swordsman who’d slashed the Deputy’s neck and was now stabbing its decapitated head.

“Aye!” he responded. “And who art thou? How dost thou know me?”

“Thingguy, wasn’t he the guy in the saloon? What’s he doing there? All fine and dandy”, Qrow was confused.

“Oh, thou must have met my doppelgänger. Do not fret. That man is but an impostor”.

“What?” Alizarin sounded unhappy at the idea she’d gone through all that trouble for an impostor.

“Don’t listen to him, it’s a misunderstanding”, Grongringro intervened from where Qrow had left him.

“Don’t get distracted, Thingguy”, the swordswoman pointed to the body of the Barney Bot, which beheaded and missing the lower half of its legs was still somehow operating.

Having modified what remained of its legs to be able to walk with them, the Deputy pointed its fingers at them, shooting Maelstrom blasts from them. The two sword fighters skilfully evaded them while approaching it and attacking it. The Bot was more prepared this time, though, and parried their strikes, blades appearing on its arms.

“You two, are you just gonna stand there and watch?” the second Thingguy person talked to them even as the Barney’s blades started spinning, clearly forgetting his Olde Speech. “Aren’t you on our side?”

“That’s right!” Qrow muttered, realising that in all this chaos he had forgotten all about fighting himself. “I’ll help those two, Alizarin, why don’t you know go assist against the Rogues?” Qrow told his sister, before realising she was already gone, headed for where a group of Renegades were huddled together as they received fire from both sides.

Qrow made for the Deputy and its two opponents, but before he could get to them, someone else spoke, “Well well, did I just… hear the voice of my impostor?”

The other Thingguy, the first one, the singed one had approached them unnoticed and unsheathing his sword, struck the robot, which was already barely warding its two other enemies off, down.

“Now, how do you like that? I stole your kill”, he smiled a dopey smile, before his knees gave in and dropped to the ground.

“Thaddeus, what happened to you?” the woman was worried.

“Oh nothing much, you know, the usual...”

The sound of a car’s revving and then a series of screams interrupted Thingguy as one of the cars the Rogues had brought suddenly appeared through the flames and drove though the group of Renegades that had gathered on their side. The person manning the machine gun turned it around and showered the ones who’d been spared with bullets. The driver, a green-haired man, mostly for his own good declared “Better than fighting, stealing stuff is what I excel at!”

“Chase?” Qrow recognised the leader of the Away Team.

“Oh hey, Qrow!” Chase responded while stopping the car. “So that’s where you are? Uh and there’s Alizarin. Always fighting the good fight. Great, couldn’t ask for anything better. Hey, Thingguy, I think we’re just about done on this side”.

“They seem to be wrapping up on the other side, too”, Jonna noted. “Is that your friend, Chase?”

“Ah yes, Alizarin”, Chase replied seeing who she was pointing at. “The one I told you about. And that’s Qrow”.

“Hey Chase, can you explain what exactly is going?” the latter Raine asked.

“Yes, of course. Well, you see… I found Jonna!” the absolute joy with which that sentence was uttered, showing on his face shining brilliantly was enough to amaze Qrow, even if he hadn’t even known who Jonna was and why they’d come to that dimension in the first place.

“*That*’s Jonna! We did it, then? We found her? Man, how lucky did you get?”

“Very very lucky, I suppose”, Chase’s smile didn’t fade.

“Chase! What have you been telling your friends about me?” Jonna blushed a little at their somewhat extreme reaction to her person.

“What? I didn’t say anything bad”.

It was about then that the two walls of flame disappeared, just as quickly as they’d originally been conjured up. Everyone turned their heads to Alizarin.

“It’s done”, she said, making Qrow feel bad that he didn’t really do anything after the reinforcement arrived.

As Chase had reported, the battle had ended on one side of the street and with Alizarin’s help, it had soon been won on the other as well. With the flames gone, the street was revealed to be a horrible mess filled with bodies, some of which might have just been unconscious, but it’d be a fair assumption that most of them were dead. Qrow grimaced. He realised what had to be done in cases of war, but he still did not take joy in seeing people dead, even his enemies. All the more so when there were also the bodies of a few of his allies mixed in. As this sight was revealed in its full nature, there was a moment of silence before anything else was said. Perhaps it was in respect, perhaps it was in horror. Or perhaps it was so they could say their prayers for the dead. Maybe it was all three, but regardless it was soon over.

“All right everyone”, the healthy Thingguy called out to the revolutionary Evereedians. “I am afraid, this isn’t over yet. We just faced the west side response team, but as I am informed the east side troops are still very much intact and could be mobilised any moment now. There is also the mysterious occurrence around the city. I know you must all be tired. You might want to rest, to celebrate or to mourn, but we have no time. We must prepare for the next strike whenever that comes. We’ve chosen to fight and that is what we must now continue to do until we’re victorious. We’ll take back Evereed. Defend it from the enemy. And then use it as our stepping stone to take back Morcia and put an end to thedude’s reign! Who’s with me?!”

The cries of the excited Evereedians resounded loudly in the silence of the night.

“Then, let’s be quick everyone. We need to build barricades as soon as possible. Gerard, can I leave it to your care? Great. I need someone to put out the fire on this building. Not you, fire lady, I need you for something else right now. Yes, Johnson, Jane, please organise this effort. Chase said your name is Alizarin, right? I need you to investigate what’s going on around the city. Since I suspect it might be a fire, I need you on it as quick as possible. We’ve got some allies waiting outside Evereed and we need to make sure they’re fine. Look for Major or Sharpie. Jonna, can you take her to them? Thanks. Alright, as for the rest of you, we need to figure out our numbers, exactly what equipment and weaponry we’ve got in our hands, who can use what, what advantageous positions we can use, recruit more people. Walk me through it please, I’m new here after all”.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

Mikhaila eyed her opponents viciously. Only Major and the Knight, Sharp, were still left standing. The Rogue Square had gone completely unconscious. The wizard was now finally getting to really feel the symptoms of the gas she’d used, with not only his magic being obstructed, but the natural functions of his body being disturbed altogether; he hadn’t passed out for he’d only inhaled a little of it, but he was very weak nonetheless and could hardly stand, let alone fight. Moira and that other boy were already injured enough that a few more wounds had put them out of the fight, no challenge. On her side, she’d also lost one more of her subordinates, although she didn’t particularly care. It didn’t make much of a difference to her.

The remaining two opponents, however, were being rather troublesome. Although she’d been fighting them alone for a while now, she had barely been able to touch them, let alone beat them. She had a landed a few hits sure, mostly on Sharp, but the two men still had a lot of fight in them. They’d also been unable to harm her or her last Elite, perhaps the only good soldier she had brought with her. It appeared to be a stalemate of a situation and that frustrated the Rogue Commander. She had confidence that she could win eventually of course, but if she was delayed too much, the situation might change in the favour of their enemies or her other targets might escape.

“I must admit you have some impressive skills”, Major spoke from a distance as he, too, examined the situation for any openings. “Your moves do seem familiar, though. Have we perhaps fought before? Were you in the Battle of Blood Raven Mansion?”

The Elite activated his jetpack flying all the way to Sharp in order to cut him down with his scimitar, but Sharp parried all his attacks with his own sword (they had both been disarmed of all their ranged weapons) even as the Rogue performed a somersault over and landed behind him.

“Yes, you’re right. I believe we crossed paths when you attempted to capture thedude”, in that same instant when Sharp was attacked, Mikhaila fired several blasts with her only remaining pistol, which the Knight was barely able to dodge and at the cost of a cut on the shin.

As Mikhaila’s attention was briefly turned towards Sharp, Major lifted a rock with his foot and launched it towards her visor-concealed face, “You’ve certainly improved since then”.

Mikhaila scarcely had to move her head to avoid being hit by the rock, but in that short moment that her vision was blocked, Major had crossed the distance between them and was swinging his sword at her. Mikhaila dodged and retaliated using the four blades that were attached to her arms and legs, “That is only natural, Major. Then, I was but a simple Elite soldier. Now, I command the entire Paradox Division”.

“A most ambitious career, I see”, Major attacked with most advanced techniques, but lacking the muscle strength to pull them off perfectly and defeat her.

At this moment, though, their exchange was most drastically interrupted when the flames in the background parted, creating a passage through which two figures were seen. One of them stayed behind, but the other walked over the path of scorched grass as if the heat emanating from the fire wall was nothing.

“Is any of you Major or Sharpie?” the redhead asked while taking in the scene.

Everyone had stopped fighting –and moving altogether, for that matter– uncertain how this newcomer factored in the dynamics of the two sides. Mikhaila was sure she wasn’t an ally of hers, but from the looks on her opponents’ faces, she could see they didn’t recognise or trust her either. Finally, Sharp seemed to notice the person that’d been left behind and recognising her, he was prompted to answer “Yes, that’s us”.

“I see, so he was right to be worried. But damn, you’re really in a bad shape. Are these Rogues giving you trouble?”

Just as Mikhaila had feared, the fight taking too long had turned against her. She didn’t know how powerful this girl was, but she knew that she’d somehow opened a way through the flames and that was certainly something to reckoned potentially dangerous.

“You could say that”, Major replied. “You want to give us a hand?”

Instead of an answer, the newcomer created several tongues of flames originating from the wall of fire that extended towards Mikhaila and her subordinate. Both of them avoided them by flying away, but the flames pursued them still. Mikhaila came to a conclusion.

She activated her radio in order to speak to the Elites dispatched in other positions around the city, too, “An unidentified high-level threat has turned up. Fall back. We’ll regroup at Point Beta”.

She could clearly see that with this new girl’s appearance the tides had turned for good. Mikhaila was a confident person, but she was also a realist and she undertstood she could not win this fight. Retreating far from the group, her assumption was proven right and the tongues stopped following her (and the last Elite). The girl was only interested in driving her away to protect her injured allies, not eliminating her.

Well, that was regrettable. It looked like they’d have to do this the hard way.

The flames in a good distance from them faded and disappeared. The newcomer and Jonna behind her approached the group, examining the whole scene of their several injured allies and the bodies of the many Elite Rogues. It was fairly gruesome.

“Oh my God, is everyone okay?”

“With proper care, most of us should be”, Major gave his assessment, “But I don’t know about Tain. He’s been shot with an unknown paralysing substance that could be dangerous. How’s things on your end?”

“We found Grongringro and some other friends”, Jonna said. “But we were recognised and a brawl broke out that turned into a fight with the authorities. We won for now, but this is becoming a fight to free Evereed and we’re fortifying ourselves”.

“Since it’s come to this, we should prepare for the worst. The Commander will return with reinforcements surely, possibly a full army”, Major explained as he lifted Tain and then Drumr who were both unconscious. “Quickly, get any essential weaponry you’ve dropped so we can get going”.

“I need to go back and bring Seton and the horses, you guys go ahead without me”, Sharpie told them as he picked up his guns and ran towards the woods.

With Drumr and Tain carried by Major, Perry and Moira supported by Jonna and Alizarin, as Jonna’s companion was proven to be named, respectively they started their way towards the city. Major looked at the ring of flames encircling the city. It had diminished in size now as whatever the Rogues had done for it to burn so much was starting to lose its effect, but the flames weren’t fading out completely. Someone would have to put this out later. It’d be a hell of a task. Maybe, this Alizarin girl could do something about it, though.

In the time it’d taken for Alizarin and Jonna to get out of the city and back, the area around the burned down saloon had transformed. Barricades had been placed to block all streets leading into the area their group controlled. Guards were placed on barricades and buildings alike, with weapons from medieval to Paradox level distributed amongst them. Inside, a far larger amount of people than what they’d left behind were busily bustling about in order to strengthen their defences furthermore. In the centre of it all was Nathanael who was commanding everyone, often resorting to consult Grongringro, Chase or some other local of Evereed. He had already set up a centre of operations, in the house of some Evereedians who’d volunteered it as well as a makeshift hospital wing in the building next door where all of the wounded had been placed in the care of a doctor and a nurse whom they’d found amongst their ranks.

In that kind of environment, the group led by Major had arrived without incident (with the process having been sped up once Sharpie caught up with them and they used the horses to carry the injured). As soon as Nathanael saw them, an expression of relief showed in his face.

“Thank Crux, you’re all… fine”, he pronounced the last word with uncertainty as he noticed his friends didn’t look that fine at all, but he didn’t stop since their being alive was good enough in itself.

“Take the badly injured ones to the hospital wing immediately”, he instructed and some Evereedians rushed to take Drumr, Tain, Perry and Moira there. “Major, what happened?”

“We had an encounter with Mikhaila, the Rogue Commander and her cronies. They were encircling the city with fire, probably so no one could escape, so we picked a fight and it didn’t go so well. Mikhaila fled, but she’ll be coming back with more forces”.

“Dammit. She might even bring spaceships into this. I knew we’d have to face a full force eventually, but I hoped it wouldn’t have to be so soon… Well, that settles it, we need reinforcements from outside Evereed, too. As many as we can get. Does anyone have any ideas on how we could contact people outside of here?”

“Hmm. Let me see…” Grongringro thought. “Is there a problem if thedude’s people get the message, too?”

“Probably not, since they already know we’re here”.

“In that case, I might just have an idea”.

~~~\*\*\*---\*\*\*~~~

During the quiet night lit only by a half moon well into its course on the sky and the multitude of stars, the small fleet led by Captains Godric Oldham and Blanch Virion steadily sailed in the rather calm waters near the coast of south-western Morcia. They had just been engaged in a naval battle two days ago, crashing over half of the fleet that thedude had been trying to secretly muster in the coasts of Ankoria. They’d only let the rest of it escape for their own fleet, currently consisting of nine normal ships and three starships, was headed to regroup with three ships commanded by Covel Talon near the Ynyswerdd island, for they were threatened by the sudden dispatch of four Paradox spaceships in the Penhrunig peninsula.

In her ship, *The Shrieking Siren*, ‘Mutiny’ Virion was intensively studying a map of the area and the positions of several fleets on it. She could hear the merry sounds of her crew members chattering while they drank booze to get through the cold night, but she had them mostly tuned out. She didn’t notice when their merry-making noise (or their groans as they kept at their work) all of a sudden came to a stop and were replaced by an almost absolute silence, barring the sound of the waves breaking onto the ship’s hull, the flapping of the sails as they were blown by the wind, the squeak of the ship as it swayed one way or the other and the engines of the spaceships flying above them.

So when suddenly the door opened with such force that it banged upon the wall and three or four of her flustered crew mates entered the cabin, she was rather surprised and accidentally knocked down an ink bottle, spilling a good amount of its ink on the table and getting a few dark spots on her precious map.

“What is this, all of a sudden?” she asked in a slightly rebuking, yet composed tone.

“Cap’n, ya got’ter listen ter this!” one of them said showing her the small radio he was holding.

She hadn’t realised this till he pointed it out, but the little device had been playing its audio all this time. Someone was speaking, a man, Blanch listened curious to see what had gotten her men so excited.

“… We need reinforcements for this upcoming battle. I repeat. This is Sir Thingguy the Second of the Knights of the Olde Speech. I am here with Princess Jonna and more allies. We’ve barricaded ourselves in west-side Evereed, we’re hoping to take over the city. However, we need immediate reinforcements before thedude’s main forces strike. For anyone listening to this broadcast, please send help as soon as possible. We’re fortified in Evereed city and have accumulated a sizeable force, but still need more manpower to face the full threat. This is Sir Thingguy, for everyone in Morcia listening to us, this is the time to rebel. The Knights of the Olde Speech have returned and we need your assistance now. Do not rush into reckless moves. Send targeted help. We’re here in Evereed, starting the spark of revolution that shall spread the flames of freedom all over the planet. Focus your efforts here with us. United, they cannot beat us. Truth and freedom shall emerge victorious in the end. Please, send reinforcements here in Evered as quickly as possible. I repeat...”

The message continued in the same manner. Mutiny looked up from the radio and to her crew members’ faces. Their eyes reflected the one question they all surely had in their mind right now, “What do we do now?”

“Well”, Blanch started, replying as if they’d really spoke the question. “The man said it himself. The time to rebel is now”. . .

\*What ‘Fishy’ Brent’s actual fate was after that remains unknown to this day. Hal the Butcher relates that he proposed they just continue the burial nonetheless, but his suggestion was shot down. What happened afterwards is missing from the records, however, and is known as the second biggest unsolved mystery of the time. The first mystery was that of the ugly bearded mermaid that Captain Everard ‘the Surgeon’ Vossler acquired for decorating the bow of his ship. According to Bob Cholmondeley, the real mystery about it was why the mermaid stank so much all the time. By happenstance, Captain Everard Vossler was also in attendance of Brent’s burial.

***On 08 08 2020, Talmid wrote:***

### XLII

With the looming descent of nightfall, so fell a plan into place. The first step involved a street youth, desired for his or her keen observation of the operations of the others of the locale. Nördonower, which was the name of this Aquilone settlement nestled along the former kingdom’s side of the mountains, had its share of street children, for better or worse. The second step was catching one.

They were larger than pigeons at least, so grabbing one ought to be easier, an otherwise cheery man thought dismally. His encounter with the pigeons of Nördonower earlier that day still haunted him, evidently. But what else could a loyal man named Joe do, but remain loyal to the plan and to his friends who stuck him with this part of the plan? At least he hoped they were his friends. Marty was his friend, for sure. As for the knight called Talmid, he acted like a friend, but Joe knew he didn’t actually trust him or Marty, as much as he tried to pretend otherwise for the sake of someone or another, probably himself, that narcissist. But Joe didn’t need this knight’s approval, he already had that of Sir Thingguy if he cared about a knight’s honor that much. What Joe really cared about was his own honor, since leaving Jayko to get captured sucked, and Joe more generally reminisced, quite painfully, about his own failure to prevent Jayko’s capture. He and Marty agreed they owed it to rescue him. Which involved capturing a street rat.

*Right*, Joe told himself, as he crossed the dirt road toward the edifice of the building he spied. The sunset cast on it a yellow hue. He homed in on the row of trash barrels partially blocking a low, dark, and dirty alcove, the perfect nook for a street rat, and maybe some real rats. Conveniently, a shiny triangle – the musical type – hung at the nook’s entrance. The knight had reckoned aloud that street rats were a hirable bunch, which was already obvious to Joe, and the triangle reinforced this. He tapped its edge noisily, and as he’d predicted, some number of real rats scampered out of the alcove, screeching and skittering to escape the tinging. Then grimy palms grabbed at his face.

They covered his eyes and his mouth, so he didn’t dare scream lest some of the dirt contact his tongue and he’d accidentally eat it. They were small hands, of the street rats of course, multiple of them, Joe figured, as he was a grown man and he was aware that he was being pulled downward. They giggled and made hushed sounds as well in a language he couldn’t understand – the language of children – as he was lifted and carried along to who knew where.

“Peak a boo,” said a little voice, and the hands were lifted off Joe’s eyes and he quickly rubbed them himself with his own eyes to get out the grime.

The children surrounded him in a candle lit, hutlike structure of sorts, with a low roof that he’d bump his head on if he stood up. He’d been seated onto a low chair, somehow.

“Why are you here?” asked the foremost child, a dirty, scraggly haired thing of indeterminate pigmentation and gender.

“This is no way for a kid to live,” Joe protested. “All of you. Where are your parents?”

“You knew what you were looking for,” the child cooed. “You rang the bell. Now, answer the question. Why are you here?”

In the process of being captured himself, Joe had forgotten the plan. He smacked his forehead, trying to remember it. Oh, that was it. Yes, rescuing Jayko from his own capture. Which involved a street rat for some reason? Oh, that was right, for information.

“We want- I mean I want to know when the Paradox resupply their spaceship,” Joe said.

The kids giggled. “Pair o’ ducks,” someone said.

“The Rogues?” Joe tried. “His majesty thedude’s soldiers?”

“The soldiers,” the children harmonized. “They resupply at fortnight.”

“At fortnight?” Joe asked. “How soon is that?”

“Tonight at night,” the first child said. “Now, let’s dixcuss our payment.”

“Of course,” Joe said, reaching for his satchel. “I have money- hey, where’s my satchel?!”

“You need to give more money,” the children said.

Joe nodded. “Send one of your lot with me, and my associates will pay you whatever you want.”

The children nodded in agreement. Then they grabbed his face again. After a short, unseen ride, he was deposited back in the street, he could feel the wet dirt on his behind. Then his eyes were uncovered. The sun had set, and he needed to get back to Marty and Talmid to give them the news that time was running out.

A small voice giggled behind him. “Tag, you’re it,” it said.

Joe ran for his life.

~\*~\*~\*~\*

Luke tasted blood in his mouth. It dripped from the back of his nose, irritating his throat and keeping him awake as the night wore on. As night had fallen, so had the onset of his poisoning’s symptoms.

The Tomsons cared for him. Chicken soup, still warm from the stovetop, adorned his bedside table, although unseen in the cover of darkness, as he’d extinguished the candle in a vain attempt to incur sleep. His entire body ached. He twisted and turned, trying to find comfort in the mattress, but he always felt like he was teetering on top of it and about to fall off.

With no other choice, Luke shimmied over to the bed’s corner, picked his head up and over the cannonball post, said a prayer, and let his head drop. When he opened his eyes again, it was morning.

Someone had checked on him during the night, evidently, as he’d been repositioned under the covers with the back of his head nestled in a pillow, and a cold compress tied to the goose egg on his forehead.

“You’ve been out four days, sir,” said a voice. Turning, Luke saw Eva standing by the window, in the process of tending to the flowers when she’d turned around and noticed him awake.

“Four days?!” Luke repeated, immediately reconsidering his rash decision. To him, it had seemed only a moment ago. He scrambled to get out of the bedsheets. How selfish he’d been, thinking only of himself, even in his moment of weakness, when the revolution was outside. He needed to check for messenger pigeons from Talmid, and Thingguy, and Dewin – if only he could get out of the bed without entangling himself further.

“I was only teasing,” Eva said. “It’s only the next morning.”

“Thank God,” Luke stopped struggling, and no longer panicking he was able to methodically extricate himself from his linen prison while Eva evacuated the room for him to dress in privacy. The iron tinge of his own blood no longer rested in his mouth, thankfully. Hopefully it was gone for good.

Back in the inn’s first floor, both Thomas Tomsons greeted him from their table. “Come have breakfast with us, Sacul,” the elder greeted him, with respect to the others occupying the inn that morning, men and women of Athlten, many farmers, hunters, and militiamen, who did not yet know the weight associated with Sir Lukas’s true identity now pressed down on them all.

Eva returned with silverware for Luke and herself. “If you please, sir,” she addressed Luke, “I bear a story as well, that I should like to share with you.”

The younger Thomas snorted. “It had better not be a ridiculous one.”

“Chew with your mouth shut,” Eva rebuked her brother. “I asked the knight, not you.”

Both Thomases raised their eyebrows as some of the nearby guests turned to regard ‘the knight’, before returning to their own meals.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“I’m sorry too,” her brother responded. “I shouldn’t be rude to you.”

“I’m glad you two know to respect one another,” their father said, “most of the time. Sacul?”

“I’ll hear the story,” Luke accepted.

“Thomas used to tell me this one to scare me,” Eva began, giving her brother a devilish look before turning seriously to Luke. “There’s a witch in the woods.” She paused, waiting for Luke’s response, which he realized after a moment.

“Oh dear,” he said in between sips of water. “Is she a good witch, or a bad witch?”

“Good and bad,” Eva said. “Everyone I’ve told is afraid of her – I was, too, when Thomas first told. But then I thought to myself, all the fear is made up, because no one who’s afraid has actually seen her. So she could actually be a good witch, just misunderstood.” She made a face. “Or just made up.”

Luke nodded and set down his glass. “So, wait, that’s the story?”

Eva shrugged and looked to Thomas, who shrugged as well. “It’s what you make of it,” her brother said. “It’s tough to set the record straight when you’re not given a voice to speak for yourself.”

“So is there really a witch in the woods?” Luke asked.

“I guess not,” Eva shook her head while Thomas nodded.

“There kind of is,” he affirmed.

“Thomas!” Eva scolded.

She pushed Thomas while he leaned towards Luke. “So you told us you already knew about us,” he said quietly. “Did your companion tell you anything else about his… journey? Who was with him?”

Luke thought back. Perhaps his brain was still recovering from its self-inflicted concussion, because recalling his last dialogue with Sir Talmid was like trying to remember a dream. It was dreamlike, being reunited with the other Knights. It *had* been his dream, after all, in the other sense of the word. Then it came to him.

“Ember.”

~\*~\*~\*~\*

Light filled Sir Talmid’s cramped confines. *Daybreak, at last*, he thought, before realizing that made no sense. Night had only just fallen. He’d only just loaded himself into a barrel, which was then placed on a loading cart for stocking the Paradox spaceship with, and then jostled around for a few minutes before being left for some time, but not enough for day or even dawn to have come. No, someone had lifted the lid off his barrel. If he stayed still, maybe they wouldn’t discover him.

“Wait a second,” said a voice above him. “What’s this-”

Talmid threw his weight against the side of the barrel, knocking it over and spilling himself out. Then he launched himself into the legs of whoever stood next to it, tackling them to the tiled ground. It was a man in Paradox grunt clothes, of course. Why they still wore fifteen year old uniforms was beyond him. Regardless, Talmid was quick to punch the daylights out of his face until he was out cold, then he up-righted the barrel. Lifting with all his strength, he hoisted the man into the barrel and repositioned the lid, before looking around.

He’d made it onto the ship, obviously. He was currently in a cargo hold, with no else visibly present, but hopefully Joe and Marty were also with him, probably still hiding if so. Many more barrels and crates were positioned around the room, most of them secured to pallets or the walls with straps and hooks.

Someone pounded on the door. “The heck was all that noise? Don’t make me come in there!”

“No mistakes, just happy little accidents,” Talmid sang back. “The barrels needed resorting anyway.”

“So long as you get it done before the sorceress arrives,” the voice responded gruffly. “She wants out of here ASAP. Soon as she’s here, we’re taking off, secured loads or not!”

Thinking thankful prayers, Sir Talmid rushed to the other barrels and took their tops off one by one. He found Marty first and helped him out, then he found Joe shivering in a cold sweat.

“I’m claustrophobic now,” Joe clattered the words out.

*Now?* Talmid thought. He gave him a slap on the back for confidence, and then the ship lurched.

“Are we taking off?” Marty asked as the engines audibly spun up.

“Now?” Talmid thought out loud.

“What’d they say about a sorceress?” Joe asked worriedly.

“Surely it means trouble,” Talmid said. “We need to find Jayko.”

“Yes,” Marty nodded.

“Jayko needs us,” Joe echoed.

It was possible the Rogues were just testing the engines. Regardless, they were on board and that meant they had much better chances of getting to Jayko than before. “Come along,” Talmid said, heading for the door. Then he stopped. “Fifteen year old uniforms.”

“What?” Marty questioned.

“We can’t just waltz out there looking like this,” Sir Talmid posited.

“Why? I thought our disguises were working,” Joe argued.

Talmid facepalmed. “Out there, when we looked like every day do gooders, they worked,” he explained. “In here, we need to look like Paradox. Check the crates for fresh uniforms.”

“How will we recognize ourselves?” Marty asked. “You could kill me by accident. Or I could kill you by accident.”

“I believe that,” Talmid lamented. “Now do as I said.”

Marty rolled his eyes. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I found some,” Joe said, pulling out freshly laundered shirts and slacks with Paradox striping.

“Let’s put them on,” Talmid said.

“What, I have to get naked in front of you guys?” Marty protested.

Talmid facepalmed again. These guys were insufferable. “There’s closets,” Talmid pointed. “Every second we waste here is a second that Jayko needs us.”

“Yeah, Jayko needs us,” Joe repeated.

Miffed, Marty took a suit and opened the closet. “Hey, there’s guns in here.” He brought some out for them.

“That’s fortuitous. Nice find,” Talmid congratulated him. “We could need them.”
The ship lurched again but upwards this time, before periodically rocking back and forth.

“We’re definitely taking off,” Joe observed.

“Then the awaited hath certainly arrived,” Talmid deduced. He stripped out of his scavenger’s garb and threw on the Paradox crew uniform then and there, holstering a sidearm. Joe did so as well, perhaps the closet would trigger his claustrophobia. When Marty emerged from it, he was fully equipped in Space Marauder armor, and Joe pulled his gun out before realizing who it was.

“You almost shot me!” Marty yelled, flipping up his visor.

“Just be sure to ditch the armor before we leave,” Talmid reminded, “it can be used to track you.” Then he donned and Joe donned chest plates as well. Reasonably disguised, armed, and protected, they could now hope to rescue Jayko from doom without dooming themselves.

~\*~\*~\*~\*

Not far, perhaps only ten minutes away from the spaceship’s last berth in Nördonower, an enchanted map tasked with locating a certain Sorceress began to redraw itself, as the Sorceress’s presence withdrew, faster and farther, from Aquila, over the mountains to Morcia, and then towards Orlan.

~\*~\*~\*~\*

“He’s been kept awake,” the thin-haired and bespectacled man reported to his superior, the Sorceress, while escorting her to the spaceship’s brig.
She was not in a mood to talk, so she only grunted affirmatively to the Rogue officer’s, his name didn’t matter, retelling of interactions with their new prisoner. “His attitude is biased to cooperation, but given time to think, he would resist. With sleep deprivation his restraint should be diminished. I’d continue with the next stage, would it not be insubordinate to your presence-”

“Do you think I’m an interrogator, Mister-” Menaya Kull whirled on the Rogue, whose name still escaped her. That ultimately didn’t matter either. She grabbed his shoulder and his form stiffened, no doubt from experiencing a multifaceted paralysis of sorts, both by her magical powers infiltrating his nerve impulses and by his fear of doing anything but submit to his superior. “-Mister Barnes. Yes. You do think that’s why I’m here.”

She had failed her old orders. Wounded, numbed, and to that effect emotionless, she had appealed to the magic of logic, a skill which like magic, most people were not gifted with. The logic reminded her of her loyalty to her master Thedude. Based on this, she’d dutifully sent an update by Messenger Pigeon to the castle. Soon afterward, Borock had written her back: Rendezvous back with her craft and return to Orlan for reassignment. What wasn’t mentioned, but still included, was her punishment, of course. Thedude needed to speak to her. She needed speaking to. She deserved whatever Thedude had for her. But he was a reasonable leader, cognizant of her continued utility to her. Everything would be alright for her, if it was in Thedude’s plan. Borock had skipped to that part like so, after all. Reassignment, he’d written.

“Miss… Kull…” Barnes’s rasp brought her back to the present.

Her vigor renewed, Menaya did not let go of Barnes, but relished in the situation she’d put him in. “Yes, you may speak.” It was fun to see him try, while idly, she continued poking around his nerve fibers, following the axons in his brain. Indeed, he had taken a prisoner, quite opportunistically, for him. Or for her?

Barnes’s body shuddered. “The prisoner… awaits you…” His eyes rolled back into his head but he continued standing, observing his brain’s last orders to his body. Menaya admired his loyalty, practiced even as her interface to him drained him like a parasite. Loyalty was the way things worked. The layman was loyal to the magic, the magic to the Sorceress, the Sorceress to Thedude.

Perhaps there was a silver lining to these events leading to her recall to Orlan. Even if the Rogues’ prisoner was an imbecilic bloke no worse off made braindead, at least the process of getting him to that state would be fun.

Menaya rubbed her fingers on Barnes’s cold shoulder and in a mutter intoned, "*Yiwkli yiwhtu yimo, kitlwidu.*" Then she continued to the brig, with Barnes sleepwalking after her.

~\*~\*~\*~\*

The fresh air of the outdoors further helped clear Sir Lukas’s mind as he followed Thomas Tomson and his son, Thomas Tomson off the beaten path and deeper into the abyss of Morcia’s woodlands. Passing through several literal walls of trees, Luke could only hope the men knew their way back, for even in a fully recovered health, Luke would have great difficulty tracking anything through this thicket. But the Thomas Tomsons seemed to know where they were going, and they were fellows of Sir Talmid, so Luke certainly trusted them.

“She’s had to stay hidden,” the younger Thomas revealed. “Even from our own militiamen and militiawomen. But we’ve checked on her, and cared for her when needed, which hasn’t been often. She’s been able to care for herself.”

The thicket suddenly opened into a small clearing, containing a little lake and firepit, amenities accompanying the main object of the site, a sturdy looking log cabin. Its windows were drawn and the door shut, but on a different layer in the air than the buzzing of the insects, chirping of rodents, and singing of the birds, he became aware of a tinny hum, rising and falling and at times pausing and restarting, almost like a voice, but with indiscernible words.

He heard a deadbolt unlatch and the door opened inward, but no one stood in the entryway.

“She’s welcoming us,” the elder Thomas interpreted.

“So we should enter,” Luke suggested.

“She knows us,” the younger Thomas said, “but not you. We’ll introduce you, and you’ll make your case.”

“Case,” Luke echoed.

“Aren’t you here for a cause? The Knights need allies. *We* need allies. You may find a powerful ally in Ember. Just remember you need to do the talking.” Thomas gave him the rundown.

Luke swallowed his anxiety and accepted his onus. This, too, was a moment he’d long awaited. He tried not to think about the repercussions either way, to better ease his attention. He could do this.

The Thomases entered the cabin first. “Ember,” called out the younger man. “This is Sir Lukas, a Knight of the Olde Speech, one of their founders in fact. And a friend of Sir Talmid.” Then they stepped aside for Luke to enter.

It was unlit and therefore dark in the cabin, still with its drapes shut, so Luke did not see far at first, until a candelabra on the far wall spontaneously ignited. The warm orange and red glow illuminated a woman, dressed in a plain Morcian villager dress, seated in a small armchair and staring straight ahead, in their direction but not at them, maybe through them but not stopping at anything behind them.
Thomas the younger nudged Luke. “Talk,” he said.

“Right,” Luke nodded. “He’s right,” he repeated. “Ember, I am Sir Lukas, Knight, and I’m not going to repeat anything you already heard. I was with Sir Talmid, as soon as just yesterday, and before that, as long as fifteen years ago, when we fought alongside King Matthias at the Skyfalls, after which we were defeated and dispersed by Thedude’s forces. But coming back to yesterday, we split up because of my injuries, but we were on an important mission – several, in fact, but for now I’ll only burden you with mine. We art in need of assistance. Though some of us Knights are reunited, we learned fifteen years ago we could not defeat Thedude ourselves. Today, it is no different. By ourselves, we stand no chance. But we are not alone no longer. Thedude has made his influence and infamy known across all the Kingdoms, the Seas, nay the entire planet and perhaps beyond. There are many more now who want him defeated, but they do not know how to start. We need a spark to ignite rebellion. Skilled, able, honorable people who will take the first steps to achieving what is right, defending our peoples, and motivating the rest to follow. Of these capable, critical people, I know of few, but in our short time together, Sir Talmid told me of you, Ember, and how you helped him in his efforts overthrow Thedude ten years ago. Now, I am here to beseech your aid again.”

Sir Luke paused, and then accepted to stop, for there was nothing else to say. Perhaps more old speech would have helped, if he remembered it enough not to butcher it. Then again, maybe Ember wouldn’t have understood it. He studied her young face, which, along with the rest of her, hadn’t moved or appeared moved by his speech. The woman said nothing either.

Aside from the Thomas’ and his own labored breathing, there were no other natural sounds to be heard in the cabin. But that tinny hum intensified then, surging. Perhaps that was her response. Luke could only barely detect it, like it wasn’t there. Attempting to concentrate on it only made it slip away, like a floater, but more elusive. When it suddenly stopped, Ember stood up, and marched for the door. Outside, as seen by the Tomsons and Luke who were quick to follow, she continued walking in a seemingly random direction. But it wasn’t random. Something distant seemed to flash from that direction. Several seconds later, the trees began to shake from it, and then they heard a bang.

“Get the militia,” Mr. Tomson ordered to his son, who ran off from where they came. To Luke, he looked for direction. “Your orders, Sir Lukas?”

So, Luke realized, the revolution had begun, as far as Ember and Mr. Tomson were concerned, so he believed it as well. “We follow Ember,” he said, rushing to catch up to her.

~\*~\*~\*~\*

Sir Talmid, Joe, and Marty were making their way through the spaceship’s vertical mobility shafts when they were forcefully knocked into the edges of the tubes, but not strongly enough to have lost their holds or been turned into meat pies.

“That was too violent to be a deliberate landing,” Talmid said, and having taken the lead, redoubled his efforts to climb to the next level, which according to the ship’s map contained the brig. He noticed they were no longer climbing directly up, but also upside down slightly.

Once they reached the exit, they spilled out into a conundrum. The ship seemed to have capsized as the floor, ceiling, and walls were tilted at a steep angle, and red lights flashed indicating danger. The engines had stopped. Some Paradox personnel were rushing about through junctions, while others tended to injuries and repairs.

“Let’s not mind them,” Talmid advised, *and continue on our mission.*

At least the ship no longer rocked as Talmid, Joe, and Marty rushed through the corridor, as it was no longer conspicuous to hurry. They soon came up on a door labelled ‘Cell Block’, which was sealed shut and apparently unopenable using normal means, with the ship in its crippled state.

Then the metal of the door itself deformed, before flying off its own track out into the corridor and barely missing them. Out stepped a woman in black and red Sorcerer robes, looking moderately young but not juvenilely so, with jet black hair and a piercing gaze not presently directed at them. A chill followed her as she stormed past the assembled, and thankfully continued past. There seemed more about her than a regular Paradox Sorcerer.

“Come on,” Talmid urged, resisting his own curiosity to look back, and led Joe and Marty into the cell block. Within were many rows of gated alcoves, with only basic utilities, small cots and commodes. Most of them were empty, fortunately, and only one man in a Paradox officer uniform minus any headgear was present, standing outside the last holding, in which they sighted Jayko.

Talmid stepped past the man and looked at how to open up the cell, while Joe stood guard. Marty minded the man, however. “Are you okay?” he asked him, but he didn’t respond in any way. “There’s something off about this guy.”

“Just worrying about Jayko,” Talmid said, finding the lock system for the gate and proceeding to blast it off with his sidearm. He threw the gate open and grabbed the young Knight by his shoulders. “Get up, kid, we’re getting you out of here.”

The blue Knight’s face twisted but he kept his eyes closed. “Wanme sleep…coulnd sleep…” he muttered.

“Marty, help me lift him,” Talmid instructed. Marty gave a last look at the zombie man before coming over and picking up Jayko’s legs. Trying not to be awkward, they managed to lift Matthias’s Knight off the cot and begin moving out.

“I’ll scout,” Joe said, taking the lead. They were almost out of the cell block when the Sorceress reappeared at the end of the hallway. She incanted something and then Joe was on the floor, writhing and howling as his own skin started tugging itself off his flesh. Joining in the screaming, Marty dropped Jayko’s legs and unholstered his wormholer, letting a stream of bullets unwind at the Sorceress, but none of them hit her.

“I thought I recognized you lot,” the dark woman cooed. “And making away with our prisoner? How disobedient.” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “I let you go before, but it would seem I am just meant to kill you.”

With only his sidearm, which was probably useless, Sir Talmid dejectedly threw it at the woman. Not expecting that move, the arcing pistol hit her in the face, and she stared at him in shock. “Stupid Knight!” she admonished. “You’ll suffer for that.” A red mist surrounded her as she began to enchant.

The floor suddenly shook as the entire ship lurched again, but not from the engines, which were still dead, disrupting Menaya’s spell and sending them all off balance. The environment continued to tip and shudder as the screeching and clanking of metal parts coming apart got louder and closer. Then the ceiling was ripped off, exposing sunlight and forest debris turn up around the ship’s resting place.

A woman thudded down, as if falling from the sky, in front of Sir Talmid, Joe, Marty, and Jayko, between them and the Sorceress. Since she was facing away from them, they could not see her face or recognize her, but she had long blond hair well past her waist, almost as long as her dress. Her bent legs straightened and her arms outstretched, aimed at Menaya, who expression betrayed her surprise at the newcomer, but it quickly turned to glee.

“I know of you,” Menaya said with a dangerous smile. “Of course it was you. Bringing down a spaceship, of course you can do it. You can do anything. We’ve known that since you destroyed a Red Mythran.”

*Red Mythran?* Talmid thought. That seemed familiar to him, even though he didn’t recognize this new woman either, or the Sorceress for that matter. The newcomer didn’t say anything in response to her taunts, but the Sorceress continued talking regardless.

“I’ve been waiting for this a long time,” the Sorceress cracked her knuckles and began conjuring a new mist, violet with amber streaks. “We’ve had ten years to develop countermeasures to you, while you’ve done what, grow up?”

“And grown more powerful,” came a new voice, from an old man in hunter’s attire who’d climbed up to the top of the felled spaceship, now looking down through the new skylight. “I wouldn’t underestimate her powers.”

With amazement, Talmid recognized this man, and with that he realized by extension the young blond woman could be none other than Ember.

“And who do you think you are, old man?” demanded Menaya. The mist around her hands began shaping itself in the man’s direction. Mr. Tomson cocked an arrow in response, and Menaya uttered a curse. Mr. Tomson was picked up as if by a wind gust and thrown towards the other side of the ship, but not by Menaya’s hand. Mid-air, he released the arrow, which embedded an inch from Menaya’s foot.

“Rusty!” Mr. Tomson rebuked himself as Ember set him down past the other edge, clear of Menaya’s sight.

Realizing what happened, Menaya turned her attention back to Ember, who with a flourishing gesture yanked up the floor between herself and the Sorceress, cutting the malicious woman off from herself, Talmid, and the others. Talmid scrambled to his feet, he’d spent more than enough time on the ground, and helped pick Joe and Marty up, along with Jayko who had awoken.

A circle drew itself on the floor that had become a wall, which then turned to ash within the circle and Menaya jumped through. “*Yiwkli gael ei grynhoi*!” she shouted while still airborne, a finger pointed at Ember, and the space around the girl, and presumably Ember herself, was turned to stone.

The rock prison shattered instantly, revealing Ember unscathed. As Menaya landed, walls of flame suddenly shot up around the Sorceress, conjured by Ember, but the Sorceress stepped through them like it was nothing and headed towards her opponent, who conjured shockwaves in her direction instead. “*Gael ei leihau*,” Menaya intoned, and the waves stopped as Ember buckled, enduring the effects of the magic, but it was only momentary.

A mega shockwave threw Menaya across the corridor, on a trajectory to impact with the gate of one of the cells, but the bars twisted to allow her passage through, before morphing back to straight, as if to trap her. Menaya was back on her feet immediately, uttered something, and the entire gate vanished, remanifesting sideways in the air around Ember’s, Talmid’s, Joe’s, and Marty’s necks. Its weight pulled them to the ground.

Striding confidently, Menaya began her approach again to be bodyslammed by Jayko. “You fool!” she said, and with a twirl of her hands projected a shield around herself, repulsing Jayko and setting him on fire, but the flames were extinguished not a second later by Ember, who also liquified the gate. An arrow from Mr. Tomson, who returned to the fight, disintegrated on impact with the shield. It had been aimed for Menaya’s heart. He ducked back out of view as she turned angrily to him, but her magic was not limited to line of sight.

“*Dewch yma*,” Menaya enchanted, and Mr. Tomson came flying back over the edge and continuing on a path towards the Sorceress, while extending a murderous hand. At the same time she cast a spell at Jayko, who was charging her again, which turned his legs backwards and landed him on his back, and turned Talmid, Joe, and Marty’s guns into dust. Ember reached out, pulling Mr. Tomson in the opposite direcion, but Menaya’s spell did not let up, to the effect that he was kept still in mid-air. “*Yma dimond ypen*,” Menaya added quickly, and the man’s head was yanked off his body.

“Damn you!” Talmid yelled. Perhaps it was a stalemate between Menaya and Ember, but for the rest of them, staying around meant uncertain death. “We’re getting out of here,” he ushered to Joe and Marty, directing them to climb the tilted ship out the opened ceiling, while rushing for Jayko. Seeing their efforts, Ember sent a wind to lift all four of them out of the crashed ship. They were whisked gently to the ground outside, where an assembly of men and women in civilian clothes had gathered.

“Sir Talmid!” shouted an orange haired lad, Thomas Tomson, the Knight’s former apprentice. “This is the milita!”

“We’re getting out of here,” Sir Talmid repeated, not braving a glance over his shoulder as he rushed into the assembly, Joe and Marty carrying Jayko behind him. “You heard me! Tell everyone to retreat!”

“What?! But we just got here!” Thomas followed Sir Talmid, but the rest of the Morcians stood about and uneasy.

“We don’t stand a chance against their Sorceress,” Talmid grunted. “Ember seems to be holding her off, but we already have dead.”

“Ember?” Thomas repeated. “But Sir Lukas and my father are with her!”

“Sir Lukas?!” Talmid repeated now. He glanced backward, but it was no use, he couldn’t see inside the spaceship. He hadn’t seen Lukas at all. As for the elder Thomas… “Trust me on this, we need to regroup with the rest of our allies, assess our individual strengths and weaknesses, and come up with a battle plan.” He rubbed his forehead backhandedly. “Things are worse here than I thought.” He should have realized the possibility that just as the Knights could have powerful allies in the likes of Strange Odd Shadow and Ember, so too could they have powerful enemies.

“What about Lukas and my father?” Thomas reiterated.

“I haven’t seen Lukas,” Talmid stated, “and your father… he-”

“He’s dead, isn’t he.” Thomas realized. “We were too late-”

“Numbers or not we can do nothing against the Sorceress!” Talmid shouted. “We already tried, your father was killed and Jayko is disabled, and we will all die if we don’t leave now!”

“You heard the Knight!” Thomas yelled to the assembled Morcians. “Everyone out!”

~\*~\*~\*~\*

News of the crashed Paradox spaceship reached Athlten as quickly as the town militia, led by Sir Talmid and Thomas, was able to return to it. Also reaching Athlten was a small squad of ten Paradox Rogues complete with a Barney Bot painted navy blue. They occupied the village square, not going much anywhere else. As the militia had been quick enough to leave the crash site, it was not yet suspected that the militia was ready to rebel.

“Why are they doing here?” Sir Talmid wondered, looking out the Tomson’s inn at the new arrivals. They holed themselves up there along with a few of the militiamen from before, still yearning for combat, while the rest had returned to hiding in their daily lives.

“Word is there’s been an uprising,” one of the militiamen shared, “picked it up over radio, and Thedude has dispatched a contingent to every village, town, and city in Morcia as a precaution, even those that have never given him trouble, such as us.”

“Do you know where this uprising occurred?” Thomas asked.

“Evereed,” responded the man. “In fact, the broadcast came from a man called Thingguy.”

Talmid’s heart jumped. “My fellow Knight. We must go there.”

“I say we fight there,” Thomas said, eying the Rogues outside.

“Aye,” agreed the militiaman. “In honor of your father, and all of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and everyone else made victim to Thedude.”

“For Morcia!” cheered another man.

“For freedom!”

“Down with Thedude!”

They burst out the door and were upon the Rogues faster than they could realize what was happening. The Barney Bot, too, was quickly overwhelmed. Pelted by many arrows and slammed by swords from every direction, it failed to choose any specific target and fired at random. Someone was able to grab its gun arm and tilt it at its own head, blowing it off. It continued firing of course, but eventually its metal body was pierced and some critical circuitry severed.

“There are many more villages between here and Evereed,” Thomas said. “Thedude’s strategy is foolhardy, he’s spread his forces too thin. If anything, we’ll pick up more allies as we go.”

“Then we will keep fighting,” Talmid agreed. “Until we have won, or been killed in battle, we will never stop fighting.”

***To be continued, we assure.***