"Velcome back! Knights of Ardonia!" Hasan greeted them warmly. "I take that the battle vas von easily? You all came back in so schort a time!"
"Our attack failed, Hasan. It was chaos." Ria said quietly, leaning on her spear for support. "We anticipated more Nether forces to arrive, but still we were overwhelmed. Many of our knights died today."
"That's not all." Abbigail said, sliding down from Luna's neck. "Skorch took two of my Enderknights as prisoner."
"Worse still," said Hubris, grimly sheathing his sword. "We lost Masani during the fight, and Skorch took her friend Lira as a 'pet', whatever that means."
"Us Magnorites fight on solid ground, not hanging from trees or on loose soil." Borgen said, holding up the battered tips and bruised body of his pickaxes. "Many K'arthen soldiers died today."
"The Nether vill komm back to Cydonia?" Hasan asked.
"Most likely." Hubris said. "However, with the beacon deactivated, they will have to cross K'arthen first and the endless dunes. They will have a hard time."
"So what's our plan now?" Asked Grek.
"The original one." The Tidesigner replied. "We find the Prime Songs before the Deathsinger does."
"Alright." Ria thought for a bit. "I don't think he's gonna go wandering around and just come across one. He must be looking for that engineer, what was his name, Fred? Um… George?"
"Frederick." Said Hubris.
"Yes, him." She whirled around. "We must go back to Ataraxia at once."
"So… what should we do now?" Nikka asked as they walked out of the camp.
"I think we should go back." Lucan said. "Felden is our home. We can't just abandon it. I mean,' He scratched his head, "I guess we sorta did when we retreated with the Knights but it was either that or the Nether."
"How? It's not exactly safe to just march back into Felora." Nikka asked. "The Nether must control the roads and forests."
"I have a plan. We might need to stay in Meridian for a while. And, I doubt you are going to enjoy it." Lucan winked.
"Which part? The plan or the stay?"
A carriage rolled by, the horses kicking up the sand from the ground. Nikka wiped her face, spitting out mouthfuls of it.
"I don't like sand." She complained. "It's coarse. It's rough, and it gets everywhere." She took off her coat, shaking dust from the inside.
"Well, that settles it. You aren't going to like either part." He took her coat and slapped it clean, sending more dust flying across the street.
"Ria? Are you alright?"
Senn found her sitting on a pier, staring out at the horizon. The setting sun painted the water and sky a bright young orange. Fish leapt out of the waves, dancing in the ocean. Far away, a sailboat roamed towards open sea.
"What happened today," She slowly spoke, "was my fault." She leaned on Senn's shoulder as he sat down beside her. "I planed the strike to be on today. I gave everyone only a few hours to rest. I," She held Senn's hand, feeling his warmth. "Led us through the beacon." She felt Senn's arm around her shoulders, caressing her, comforting her. "How can I live with that?"
"Have you ever played a game of Gomuku?" Senn asked gently. "It's a game of two players placing pieces on a square grid. Whoever gets five pieces in a line first wins."
"Not really, were those one of your hobbies back in the village?" Ria tingled his fingers with hers.
"Well, I only started playing after Galleous took me in.." Senn replied. "Besides reading and tinkering in the forge, that is."
"What about it?"
"Well, sometimes the winning move is laid down at the very start of the match." Senn explained, "The outcome cannot be changed once those pieces were placed."
"So you are saying that the war's outcome is already determined?" Ria looked up.
"No. I believe we will win, no matter how it started." Senn said quickly. "But did you realize what a Nether army invading on foot means? Like today?"
"They don't have the beacons?" Ria seemed more tired than she already was.
"That they set out probably a few days ago." Senn explained. "It was never our fight to win."
They sat in silence, taking in the tranquility of their surroundings.
"What will you do after all this is over? The War, I mean." Ria asked softly.
"I'm not sure." Senn looked at the open sea. "I promised Grek we would go looking for other Jaggarthans, but another side of me tells me to move into a hill and… start a family." His antlers blinked.
"Mm…" Ria touched her stomach, her antlers dancing. "Maybe I would like a baby girl. I can teach her everything I know."
"Or a baby boy." Senn gazed wistfully at the sun. "I'm not sure I'm ready to be Osivian just yet."
Ria chuckled. "Perhaps you will turn out more like Thalleous, being away all the time on adventures."
"No, Ria. As long as I draw breath, I will always be by your side." Senn leaned down, and their antlers exploded in a brilliant orchestra as they touched.
Abbigail woke in the middle of the night. Something kept nagging in her mind. She sat up. Denny was snoring gently from across the room. Hasan had generously offered them separate chambers, but after that day, she wanted to stay close to her only remaining knight.
Saxon and Trevor! How are they going to rescue them? Where are they kept? What stands guard? They know nothing except that Skorch has them. She looked back at Denny, his freckles rising and falling as he breathed. His ginger hair glowed gold in the dark as the silver moon slanted through the window. She can't lose him. Not the last of her knights.
Her knights? That thought suddenly struck her. Was she so used to the role of an Enderqueen? Life used to be so simple on the farm. Hunt, labor, eat, get scolded by Mr. Finch that she was "just a farmer." But no. As blissful as that life sounded, she cannot go back. The world is at stake. She has shouldered so much responsibility as she chased after Luna's egg. She should go back to sleep, but the images of the day's battle, Lira being collared, men dying before her eyes, flesh torn from its body, filled her head, stopping her from rest.
Might as well take a walk. Abbigail stepped out into the crisp night air. Dew drops clung to the tree leaves, refracting the moon's silver beams. The dry desert winds felt surprisingly chilly and… wet? She rounded a corner to a small barn and peeked through the doors. Luna was fast asleep, cuddling with Thunderdome, His wing draped over her, like a canopy over a cat. The puffs of smoke coming out of their nostrils clashed and mixed, blowing the dust away on the floor. The city was silent, unlike her inner self.
Unknowingly, her feet took her to the docks. Wandering across the piers, she noticed a small speck of light on the furthest pier. It was almost completely white, with just a faint shade of blue. As she approached the pier's entrance, she saw that the light had come from two Ardoni figures, leaning on each other. "It must be Senn and Ria." She thought. "They must be… having a moment together."
Her heart suddenly ached. Will she ever be like them? All her life, she had been isolated, perhaps for her protection, but alone nonetheless. There were only two people about her. Mr. Finch and Darlene. Even Darlene was sometimes a distant friend, that she had to trek through the woods to meet.
Then it clicked. Alistar had triggered it. The moment he walked up in his elegant stride, wearing splendid robes, and kissed her hand, she had fallen for him. When he helped her up in the air, saving her from a deadly fall, she relied on him. At that moment, she wanted to be with no one else.
But then, that same night by the campfire, he pushed her away. He went too far with his grand plans and crossed her line. Not to mention how he stabbed her though the chest. That same evening, however, she bonded with Denny, who was also a farmer before. And he insisted on saving Thunderdome, which, now that she considered it, was something she was too foolish to see. Will he? Be?
Her wandering footsteps took her back to her room. No, now is not the time to consider the life of her own. Now is the time to save the world. If only they could somehow find someone from within the Nether forces, then everything would be simpler. She watched Denny's stomach rise and fall as she drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
"Stop!" Lira struggled. "What are you doing!" The black skeletons around her did not say a word. They pinned her hands and feet to the wall with shackles as they cut away her clothes.
"An animal does not wear clothes, do they?" Skorch strode in through the cell door. "So why does my pet resist me disposing of its clothes?"
"I am not. Your pet!" Lira pushed through her clenched teeth.
"You know, I could simply call in a Wither and… take control of you," Skorch walked closer. "But it's more fun this way." He grabbed Lira's exposed breast.
"Eek! Unhand me!" She shouted.
"Now, let me tickle this little pink beanie on top." Skorch stuck out his tongue and slid it playfully over Lira's nipple. "Mmm… tasty. I wonder why Felinas have this… organ?"
"Ah-en!" Lira moaned. "It's… none of your business!"
"Oh, it's squishy." Skorch opened and closed his hands. "Is this why Felina girls are so scrumptious? Oh, And it goes up and down too."
"Ah- Ah-!" Lira's moans grew louder.
"Music to my ears!" Skorch grinned. "Now, let me explore further…" His other hand slipped to Lira's crotch. Weaving his fingers, he groped around.
"Now, there should be a sensitive spot, right about… here." He pinched.
"Aaah!" Lira threw back her head and screamed.
"Huh?" Skorch pulled his hand up. There was a white liquid on his fingers. "What is this?" He sniffed. "Oh, I see. My little pet is excited." His grin turned into a cackle. "It's a shame that Netherans don't… reproduce the same way humans and Felinas do. The main course smells… so delicious."
"Get away from me!" Lira managed through her moans.
"Sh-sh-sh, my pet." Skorch cooed. "We are going to be here all~ night~ long~"
"Stop pacing around, Trev." Saxon complained.
"Why should I?" Trevor returned. "There's a war going on. And we are being held captive behind enemy lines." He whirled around. "If you think that stone bed you are sitting on is so comfy, then stay there and quit yapping!"
"Heh." Saxon grimaced. "There's not much to do in a prison cell except wait. I've been there before."
Trevor snickered "Because of your blackmarket potions business with the Legion? When we first found you, and the Legionnaires came in, I knew there was something fishy about your little shop." He stopped pacing. "How can someone not make a dime, as he claims, in one of the kingdom's capitals, and still own a shop?"
"Open your eyes, Trev." Saxon drawled. "You've been living in an ivory tower for too long. The world is a sneaky place. And when you work for the Legion, you don't go to jail because you work for them. That is always part of the deal."
"Then what did you go to jail for?" Trevor demanded. "Did you make one of those… um… altercation potions Allistar mentioned?"
"Actually, no." Saxon grinned sheepishly. "It was because…" He turned his eyes away. "I might have added something to a guy's drink."
"What were you trying to do?" Trevor sat down next to him.
"I was… trying to… persuade… his girlfriend to er… spend the night with me." Saxon scratched his face hard.
There was a moment of silence, then Trevor burst out laughing. "Seriously? You saw a pretty girl, something clicked, and you had a plan, and, hahaha, you picked the wrong glass?"
Saxon punched Trevor. "It's not my brightest move, okay?"
"MAN! Haha!" Trevor chortled. "You are lucky to be alive! People are usually super protective of their gals."
"Well, given that he was passed out, I don't see how that's luck." Saxon said, somewhat sheepishly.
"That's gotta be one of the dumbest ways to go to jail I've ever heard of!" Trevor had tears in his eyes.
"And you?" Saxon snapped. "You are not exactly the perfect student so far as I can see. You can barely enchant a sword when they found you!"
"No, I was not." Trevor became silent. "Me and my cousin played plenty of pranks on people, like swapping out the lapis in the classroom with blue glass beads. Man, that was a time worth retelling my entire life. The explosion on the tower was like fireworks!"
"Explosion?"
"Oh, that tower has been rebuilt so many times over the centuries it's basically a mosaic." Trevor grimaced. "'Course, the detention that followed was pretty darn harsh too."
"Did they lock you in the castle's dungeons?"
"No."
"Sweep the corridors for a month?"
"No, something much, much worse." Trevor held Saxon by his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Help the new Dark Enchants professor autograph his fan mail."