ã€ŠKing Jend&#x2019;s Loyal Creaturesã€‹


 Chapter 1: Delivering Party Invitations

    Translated from the High Goblin by C. Comstock.

    Based on the original text by Dame Dyra Kayleth and Professor Lash Grdkr

    Translator''s Notes:

    This book is based on a text popular in the Kingdom of Pelsa, where I unexpectedly found myself after a physics mishap some time ago<sup>1</sup>.  All the sagas of Princess Wyndyn were being reprinted in honor of her assumption of the throne and, I suspect, to drum up interest in preparation for SFAC''s initial public offering.  The historians swore to me that the text portrays the events in a manner that is at least reasonably close to how they actually happened.

    The text is the first of four sagas written by Kayleth and Grdkr. The authors were directly involved in many of the events, and carried out interviews with other participants, including Vatharians and (they claim) Deymater Herself, in an attempt to ascertain and then accurately depict the events that would become so famous and determinate in the history of the northern lands.

    I learned High Goblin during my stay in Pelsa, in a manner similar to the one described in the text. Since my return, however, I have had few translation resources available to me for the technical and military vocabulary, so I have tried to do my best to reflect the terms in Modern English.  The names of the elven Dances of Order and Chaos did not translate directly into English, so I have used the names of the human dances most closely resembling them.  The term ¡°conga line,¡± for example, conveys what I believe is an accurate sense of the traditional elven court dance.

    As a final note, a warning to the readers:  I believe the Kat''sheth are the same beings called the Cat-Sith of the Scottish Highlands in our own realm.  It seems that the evil of these cat-demons spans many realms of existence.  Part of the reason I undertook the great labor involved in this translation was to help the humans better understand the potential dangers of the creatures. I suspect they may be behind certain recent political developments.

    <sup>1</sup> I would encourage university administrators to place physics labs far away from other campus buildings.  Certainly, putting a new physics laboratory next to University Parks could have been better thought through. I thank the university administration though for the 15% discount they offered on tuition for my first term back after the mishap.

    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    <h3 style="text-align: center">Chapter 1: Delivering Party Invitations

    ¡°Okay, yes, it is possible you were right.  I may be slightly overdoing it,¡± admitted King Jend to his queen, who was standing on the battlements as they looked down on the guard force assembling in the courtyard.

    ¡°Possible?  Of course I¡¯m right!  You always overdo it.  For the love of the Goddess, you can¡¯t step outside without overdoing it!¡± agreed Queen Aida.

    The great orc king raised his considerable voice in reply.  ¡°I most certainly do not always overdo it!  I marshal my forces as strategically necessary and apply them at critical points.  Which is exactly how we conquered and tamed this kingdom!¡±

    The queen closed and reopened her elven eyes slowly.  A number of the birds and some of the ivy turned and looked at King Jend with exasperation.

    ¡°The kingdom was tamed a decade ago, and the girls are just going for a ride!¡± said the queen.  ¡°They will be gone half a day if they take their time and won¡¯t be outside of the areas of the patrols.  You really don¡¯t need to constantly hover over them.¡±

    ¡°Why are you bringing my powers of levitation into this?"  Jend asked as he landed back on the battlements.  "You know that I can supervise their training better when I am positioned above; it increases my viewing range.  You just can¡¯t get over that anything not directly connected to some shrub is in any way valuable, and you disregard ...¡±

    Aida raised her hand and her seasonally brown eyes glowed green, causing her husband to reconsider and stop talking.

    ¡°Oh just stop already.  Wyndy and Myla will be fine.¡±

    As the royal couple and half the castle staff watched, a military company of some power was forming in the courtyard.

    Beside her mount, in her army uniform, Crown Princess Wyndyn stood naturally at attention, as she had been doing since she could stand.  Her sister Princess Myla and Myla¡¯s own mount stood behind her and to the right.  Wyndy called her royal guard to order.

    ¡°Cavalry, join formation!¡±  Six goblins mounted on large wolves rode forward.  Three took positions in front of the princesses and three behind.

    ¡°Close guard, join formation!¡±  Four furry creatures, buggebears, looking like a cross between a man and a brown bear, appeared as if out of nowhere.  They were at the side of the princesses before the command was fully spoken.

    ¡°Aerial Reconnaissance Team, take flight!¡±  Two small shapes launched from behind a castle tower.  They made a pass over the assembling guard, and the creatures, who looked like bats the size of a human child, hovered in the air for a moment to salute.

    King Jend said to his queen ¡°The bat-folk are a good addition to the guard.  I¡¯m glad I added them.  We should expand that squad.¡±

    ¡°You added them?  You?  The girls trained the bat-folk and had to work on you for months before you gave up and let them join the army.¡±

    A low growl formed in Jend''s throat.  ¡°Yes, they did mention the idea, but I had long before spotted the potential of the creatures and had been making plans for those two.  I have plans for the whole tribe!¡±

    ¡°Right. Your plans so far have consisted of finally giving up being stubborn, then listening to your daughters.  They¡¯d been training them for five months before they even brought you the idea, and you wouldn¡¯t listen until the demonstration! Finally, you allowed it.¡±

    ¡°I did not ¡®allow¡¯ it,¡± said the large orc king. ¡°I commanded it. They strengthen our forces and give us capabilities the humans do not have.  I am the king and commander of the great armies of Pelsa, lest you forget.¡±

    ¡°Yes dear, you are our kingdom¡¯s great commander. Worth five of any of the humans¡¯ commanders.  Your daughters listen to your every word, and obey without question, due to your obvious great wisdom.¡±

    She tapped his arm and he reflexively leaned down so that she could give him a kiss on the cheek.

    Kiss given, the elven queen continued. ¡°I did look into expanding the Aerial Reconnaissance Squad, but their tribe is small and there are not many more of the bat-folk in the kingdom. We may be able to talk with Duchess Rhoswen about it, if we want to pay her a visit.¡±

    - - - -

    Well at least my father landed.  It''s hard to be taken seriously as a military commander when your father is levitating above you, thought Wyndy, as she attempted to order her friends around in public without looking ridiculous.

    ¡°Subcommander of the guard, come forward!¡± she commanded. A black wolf with a backpack and a red fabric collar quickly trotted out  and took position behind the princesses and the goblins.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    My gods, but we are just delivering party invitations!  We could be halfway to Nicodo''s grove by now.  Even as Wyndy¡¯s thoughts grew more frustrated, she remained standing at attention, using the best military discipline that their father had worked to instill in his daughters.

    ¡°Personal bodyguard to the heirs, come forward,¡± said Myla, Wyndy''s younger sister.  Wyndy had wanted to spread the embarrassment around, so had insisted that Myla do some of the commanding.

    A massive, yet sleek, hyena sprung from the pedestal she¡¯d been perched on, and with a couple more strides took up position next to the wolf.   She was wearing a stylish scarf with the letters SFAC written out in a repeating pattern.  The wolf growled slightly.

    Oh, Myla, thought Wyndy. You have Helnae wearing your scarves now too?  This is supposed to be an official state mission, not a fashion show. Can¡¯t any member of my family be reasonable?

    Wyndy instinctively turned to hiss at her sister, but caught herself in time, remembering to finish the calling of the guard.

    ¡°General Garaxas, assume your command!¡±  A large orc on a massive black horse came out of the gate and rode to the front of the guards.  He was dressed in plate armor so black it seemed to absorb all light.  His long black sword was sheathed over his back.  His helmet was shaped like a human skull.  Raising his visor, he smiled at the princesses, and saluted.

    Garaxas looks happy, at least.  He is probably thinking we''ll get fed at each stop as we deliver the invitations.  He must be bored in the castle.  Not many enemies for real fights anymore.

    Wyndy returned the salute to Garaxas and checked to make sure her guards were ready and in formation.  Everybody was, so she started riding, calling out as she did, ¡°Company ride forward on my pace.  We have invitations to deliver! As the Sky Father said, ''Do not mess it up!''¡±

    Wyndy knew it was excessive, but it was hard to argue with her parents. Her and her sister¡¯s mounts alone would really have been sufficient, given that they were giant wolves, faster than most horses and with the added and sometimes important advantage of being able to rip apart a troll in three to five seconds.

    Their names were Shadow and Fluffy.  Myla¡¯s giant wolf, the younger and more adventurous of the pair, was Fluffy.  Wyndy¡¯s wolf was Shadow, an older gray wolf with a wife and grown pups.  He was larger and everybody said he was very fierce, but the girls knew him mostly as a seeker of good meals and a demander of scritches.

    There was as much difference in the princesses. Wyndy was, at age eighteen, already well taller than her elven mother.  She had her father¡¯s long sunset-shaded hair, and her mother¡¯s delicate features and pointed ears. Her orcish heritage could be seen in her bluish skin tone, her strength, and that her canine teeth were longer than a human''s would be. You would not want to call them "fangs" anywhere in her impressive range of hearing, though, as her native sorcerous talent was suspected of being stronger than even that of her father, and she could already manage a pretty good lightning bolt. She often performed wonderful pyrotechnic tricks at birthday parties.

    Myla, a year younger and four inches shorter, had their elven mother¡¯s seasonally brown hair and eyes.  Her teeth and ears were slightly more pointy, and her command of magic tended toward the abilities their mother possessed. And while she wasn¡¯t planning on ruling the kingdom, she was already working on building an empire.

    Three hours and two stops later, they¡¯d arrived at Nicodo¡¯s grove.  No roads ran there, just the barest trace of a deer path guided the way.  It was late morning, a clear day, but they were deep enough in the forest that it seemed like twilight. The wolves loved the trip.

    As they arrived at the grove, the princesses and their guards dismounted.  The bat-folk of the Aerial Reconnaissance Team stayed in the air, scanning the area and their planned path ahead, as the girls had taught them.

    "Greetings, Sir Nicodo!¡± Wyndy said in her best diplomatic voice as she and Myla walked toward the ancient tree.

    Most people, walking near Nicodo, would see just a large Northern Red Oak, taller than a house, with a thick trunk and branches.  But Wyndy and Myla could, of course, recognize their Uncle Niky.

    As the princesses approached, Nicodo''s bark rearranged itself, forming a face.  He was sporting a particularly magnificent mustache, twirled at the ends.  Myla smiled.

    He raised his roots and took a few steps toward the girls.  Four of the other trees in the grove did likewise, arranging themselves in a semi-circle behind the mighty knight of the realm.  Three saplings, coming up to about Wyndy¡¯s waist, toddled around behind them, while an older tree tried to usher the saplings away from the clearing and to the nearby stream.

    Nicodo bent his branches to salute the princesses, as the rest of the grove bowed.

    Wyndy had known Nicodo since she was a baby. All the young creatures particularly loved Sir Nicodo. He and his grove were skilled in great and complex arrangements of their branches, intertwining them in ways to be just challenging enough for the little creatures, but still keeping it safe, and able to catch anyone who lost her grip. He sheltered them with his leaves when the weather turned bad.

    He usually called the crown princess "Wyndy," and called Myla ¡°Little Nut,¡± but today was speaking in a rather formal tone.

    "Greetings, fair Princess Wyndyn.  Long may your family reign.  Long may they continue to bring our land the safety we''ve come to enjoy.  We thank them, and you."

    "Thank you, honorable Sir Nicodo, knight of the realm," Wyndy said with a curtsy.   "My father and mother send you their heartfelt greetings. They have sent me and my sister on the mission to invite you and your grove to the celebration of the spring equinox, to be held in the commons of Lagar''s Haven, and in the castle, three days from now."  She handed him a scroll from the satchel she kept at her side.

    Wyndy knew the formal speech must have been odd for Nicodo, as it wasn''t something that came up very often.  Their father himself didn''t go for much formality, at least among his knights and commanders, whom he already knew would die for the kingdom.  But the princesses had been rehearsed by their mother, in her ongoing quest to fancy-up the place.

    "Yes, Your Highness.  It is the greatest honor.  I will certainly attend, along with others of the trees. Long may your father and your mother reign."

    Princess Wyndy was quite happy with the response, and for a moment her face lost its serious look and broke out into a grin, which she quickly got under control and returned to her formal tone.

    "On behalf of ourselves and the king and the queen, we thank you greatly, Sir Nicodo, and our father extends his full appreciation to your grove for your long years of service to the country, land and kingdom."

    Nicodo smiled as one of the saplings wandered up and hugged Myla¡¯s leg.  She patted the little one¡¯s unruly top leaves.

    The moment didn¡¯t last long though, as the bat-folk flew in as fast as their wings could take them, which was pretty fast, and landed just behind the princesses.

    ¡°Princess Wyndyn, Princess Myla, we have a report,¡± Addie said as her legs touched the ground.  ¡°Kirkko and I saw humans, a bit ahead, riding toward the village of Grendom.  They seemed to have captured a goblin.  He was on the back of one of their horses.  I think he is a hostage.¡±

    Princess Wyndy turned quickly to the scout.  ¡°Humans!  Here?  Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Completely sure, Your Highnesses. I know their sounds.  These were humans, three of them.  Riding horses, going very fast, straight at Grendom.  They all had weapons.¡±

    ¡°Any carts or wagons?¡± asked Myla.

    ¡°No, Your Highness, just the humans on horses.  Three men, riding fast. And their hostage."

    Myla''s eyes flashed as she said: ¡°There is no way they can be traders, and the pirates wouldn¡¯t be either on horse or near Grendom.  An attacking band doesn¡¯t make any sense ¨C they¡¯d have to be crazy to attack with only three people.  Grendom is mostly goblins. They¡¯d be dead before they made it past the gates.¡±

    Considering their escort, Wyndy knew they¡¯d have no trouble with three humans. It might even be interesting.  She felt that, as princesses, it could well be considered their job to look into these sorts of things.

    ¡°We need to go see.¡± said Wyndy. ¡°Anikga lives in Grendom. So let¡¯s make sure they are all okay.  There could be a reason the humans came, and we should hear that before, you know, before any misunderstanding.¡±   Anikga was the daughter of the village chief, and a dear friend of the girls since they were all toddlers.

    She turned to their goblin escort. ¡°Private Zegs and Private Wolds, come here,¡± Wyndy commanded.  The two goblins rode over quickly.

    ¡°I need you to go back to the castle, directly and swiftly.  No side trips.  Tell my parents that humans have been spotted approaching Grendom, and we are going there to investigate.¡±

    The girls ran to their own wolves, mounted and began to ride in the direction of Grendom, as their escorts joined in. Nicodo waved as they left, looking both proud and a bit worried for the girls.

    As they rode off, at a speed their parents would have been surprised the girls could manage and would certainly never have allowed, Myla rode close and said to her sister   "Wyndy, you sounded ridiculous. ''Honorable Sir Nicodo.'' Oh please. We''ve known Uncle Niky since we were babies.  He usually sees us covered in mud.  You sound like some idiot Vatharian talking like that."

    "Maybe he sees you covered in mud, since you usually are."  Wyndy poked Myla with her rod, adding an additional small spark for emphasis, almost knocking Myla off her wolf.  Then she made it ahead, setting off a further race between Shadow and Fluffy.  Fluffy liked to show up the other wolves, whom he could almost always beat in a race through the forest.  Shadow just liked to race, and hoped there was something tasty to eat at the end of the race.  A human would do.

    The giant wolves were smarter than other wolves and could understand the princesses and the goblins when they were paying attention.  Shadow was sure he had heard something about humans in the village.  He raced ahead, Wyndy urging him on, with Fluffy behind, and the rest of the goblins and buggebears following; a streak of fur though the narrow paths of the forest.  Garaxas, on his horse, trailed behind.

 Chapter 2: The Circle Invokes the Gods

    "We bow to You, Deymater, Great Mother of the earth and us all.  We offer you our souls, our life, our substance, which You have fashioned from Your ground."  Queen Aida spoke first alone. Then the others of The Circle joined in and they spoke the invocation together.

    "We bow to You, Earth Mother.  Teach us as we carry out Your will.  Teach us to be the guardian of Your creation,¡± said Jorildyn, a tall, thin male elf old enough to have gray hair, matching his gray eyes.

    The members of The Circle, clad in their basic brown robes, had gathered in their most sacred spot: a clearing in the woods, a mile from the castle and the town.  It was where a great battle had been fought twenty-three years before.  In the battle, The Circle had first joined the free orc army to defeat the wizard Lothar, who had enslaved almost all of the region.  Almost.

    "We raise our eyes to You, Deymater.  Give us the sight to understand the majesty of the forests.   Lead us along the wise streams, free from enemies and away from the blades that cut flesh and trees," said a red-headed female elf, Emmyth<sup>2</sup>, who really meant it.

    The exhortations to the Great Mother went on for a while.  There was a lot to cover. Thrur and Berian, an orc and a human, were beginning to look impatient.  All the elves though were having a great time and were planning on being there all day.  Elves had very long lives, so needed to come up with things to do.  The troll member of the circle, Elly, often tried to mediate between the various groups on scheduling issues.

    After they¡¯d put enough work into it to show they really cared, the Great Mother granted a vision to the circle. This had been happening often recently, giving rise to a lot of theories among the participants as to why, accompanied by a certain amount of smugness.

    The visions of the Great Mother generally showed one of Her aspects.  Sometimes multiple aspects, if the Mother were feeling particularly chatty.  Few mortals could, of course, hope to see and comprehend the Great Mother in Her entirety without going mad, so the visions were limited to small glimpses of Her Majesty.

    This morning the vision that appeared was that of the Mother Who was immensely proud of how brave and strong the members of The Circle had turned out to be.  The Great Mother took them in Her arms with approval, and The Circle understood they were good looking and dressed smartly and had turned out alright.

    The vision continued and they saw Her in all Her glory reminding them that they had promised to clean their room and do the dishes and take care of the earth, but instead here they were hanging out with their friends listening to music and they really needed to get their errands done.  The officiants felt chastened and silently made a vow to do the dishes more punctually.

    That aspect of the Great Mother transformed to the related and almost-the-same aspect of the Mother Who Took Care of You and Changed Your Diaper and You Really Should Keep That In Mind.  The Circle felt the great love of their Mother and vowed anew to repay Her care and that they really would get the dishes done immediately after the meals.

    The vision continued as the Sky Father, Teyspater, appeared.  This didn¡¯t happen very often, despite The Circle''s channel being to both members of The Old Couple.  For reasons The Circle constantly debated, the Sky Father let Deymater do most of the talking to the mortals.

    Their theory was that Teyspater was an enigmatic god, concerned with the running of the heavens and knowable only through the flash of lightning and the thunder of the storm.  Teyspater was happy with that theory, and allowed The Circle to teach it, even if  it wasn''t the full truth.  He could actually be quite chatty with mortals that were doing things that interested Him, it was just that He found most of the worshippers of the Circle to be a bit preachy, overly earnest, or just boring.  While the Great Mother was happy to be nurturing and had the patience to care for the trees as they grew, the Sky Father was much more a god that helps those who help themselves sort of a god.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    And today He was in a hurry and wanted the channel closed.

    So, with motivations unknown to those gathered, and on which they would speculate for the next month, the Sky Father also appeared.

    He appeared in an aspect that Queen Aida had not seen before, and that the scholars of the circle would record in haste immediately after the ceremony.  They saw Him, looking somewhat surprised as He came into view, and He cared for them and He sang them a lullaby but He really wished they would go to sleep already so that he could go out with his buddies.  There was a big game on, and he needed to head out soon.  They saw the Great Mother reminding the Sky Father that it was still just morning for the mortals. He changed tack and instead commanded the mortals to go forth and have a great celebratory feast, and get on with it immediately, and let¡¯s end the whole ceremony now.

    At least two 30-page treatises would be produced in the next week on the visions that The Circle had just had.  One of these is now considered canon and known as The Third Treatise of Elder Baakon of the North.  It discusses the power of the joint vision of The Old Couple, and laid the theological basis of the ¡°Feast of The Big Game'''' that is still celebrated prior to the Equinox in the northern lands with great hunts and a country-wide patriotic barbeque and worship ceremony.  Sadly, though, this was the last of Elder Baakon¡¯s writings, as he died in a freak walking accident a year later.

    The other treatise suggested that the visions showed the gods were more like mortals that had previously been supposed, with their own concerns and schedule, and that maybe we shouldn¡¯t bother them so much. Perhaps instead we should listen quietly for those times when they wanted to chat with us.

    But that wasn¡¯t a popular idea with her ceremony-happy companions. The writer, a young elf named Dyra, thus found that she was getting on people¡¯s nerves in The Circle and she eventually left to found a shipping company.  The shipping company was blessed with uncanny good luck, never had a wreck, and grew to be quite a powerhouse in the region.

    The ceremony ended quickly and excitedly after the pronouncement of the Sky Father. The officiants hurried off to prepare a feast, as their god had commanded.  They forgot about doing the dishes.

    As the members of The Circle left the clearing, Queen Aida remained.  She sat quietly in meditation, focusing the residual power left from the channel to the gods.

    After a few minutes of meditation, she had focused enough power to allow her vision to leave her body and travel across her young nation.

    Her vision was drawn first to her daughters as they talked with the trees.  One of the saplings sensed Aida watching, and wandered over to Myla to grab her leg to alert her.

    She shifted quickly away, focusing on their growing town.  It was a beautiful day, and Lagar¡¯s Haven was busy, the ships were loading, every table at The Inappropriate Unicorn was full and its patrons were hungry.

    Her sight flew along the river and up the mountains to her brother-in-law Duke Juhka in his Bronze Citadel. He and Duchess Leyad were preparing for the trip to the capital.  The Citadel¡¯s volcanic springs were filled with happy bathers, even a few human sightseers.

    She felt there was still a great well of power left from the channel, so the queen made use of it and stretched her vision still farther, to the warmer lands.

    Her perception entered Vathary, just to the south of her kingdom.  She could sense the fair city of Keley, their gateway to what trade Lagar¡¯s Haven had with the humans.  The city was bustling and its merchants were happy.  Peace in the North brought prosperity to both lands. They could grow rich and old together.  Her sight traveled further on, along the long roads of Vathary.  She reached its capital, Carstones.

    Her mood turned dark.  There was a great evil in the capital.  A corruption she had not sensed in decades.  The vision ceased, as if something had noticed her and put up a wall to stop her view.

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>2</sup>Translator¡¯s Note:  I spoke with Emmyth during my visit. She revealed that the northern badlands now known as Pelsa had not been their first choice of where to settle. They¡¯d been exiled from an elven kingdom for heresy, and later chased from a human confederacy for both heresy and being generally annoying. Emmyth had almost been beheaded in the capital¡¯s main square. They claim it wasn¡¯t their fault. Then they¡¯d landed in Pelsa when their escape ship floundered.  They told me it was all the Great Mother guiding them to their destiny.

 Chapter 3: Meeting Humans

    Grendom was a village of about four hundred creatures, with stone and brick outer walls that would not have looked out of place in a southern market town.  There were two large wooden gates, usually left open, and wooden towers that reached to four stories on either side of the gates.  The houses of the town were improving with each passing year, with solid stone houses of two or three stories now surrounding most of the main square.  A new part of the town, to the north of the square, featured the latest in modern Pelsan architecture, growing tree houses.  This morning, half the square was occupied by a market, leaving the gates and walls with few guard creatures.

    The villagers had seen the two bat-folk fly over the village, their large wings easily spotted on such a clear day, and so suspected there might soon be visitors from the capital.  A number of them went to the north gate, and sure enough caught the whiff and then saw the approach of the princesses and their guards.

    The village creatures did a general bustling out of their houses and headed to the north gate to greet the princesses.  The children of Grendom were always happy to see the giant wolves.  Everybody loved giant wolves.  The village children especially loved Shadow, as he would ride them around and play tug-of-war against the village.

    It wasn¡¯t uncommon to see the princesses in the village, so they didn¡¯t expect anything out of the ordinary.  A couple of the goblins in their guard were from Grendom and had been due a visit to their mothers. The villagers certainly weren''t expecting Princes Wyndyn to scream ¡°Guards to the south gates!  Humans approaching!  To arms now!¡± as she and the guards rode in.

    Anikga, a young goblin and daughter of the village chief who had known the princesses since they were all toddlers, had come out to greet her friends.  But upon hearing Wyndy¡¯s orders, she quickly turned and led the villagers to the southern walls.  Two dozen goblins and assorted orcs prepared their weapons and waited, scanning the road for the threat the princesses had announced.

    The bat-folk spotted them first, as the three humans made the final turn in the forest before the approach to the walls.  They folded back their wings and began to dive.

    - - - -

    One moment Count Rassler and his men and their guide were mounted, approaching the village;  the next there was a smoosh, two dark streaks were seen in the sky, and Rassler and Vastien found themselves on the ground.  Vastien¡¯s squire Greymil was behind, still on his horse, along with Mirko, the goblin who was showing them the way.

    Rassler looked up and saw what looked like two beautiful young women approaching. This would normally be a good thing, but in this case they were rather cross and surrounded by an electrical storm, with blue crackling bands of energy circling their arms and concentrating on the ends of their rods as they prepared to electrocute him, which was a bad thing.  Further, he saw that, if they missed, the women were backed up by a small army, led by a giant gray wolf, that surrounded him and his group. The army included a number of large growling beasts that looked hungry.  Those that were not growling and baring teeth were pointing spears.  A few were farther back, just grinning, which was somehow worse.

    From what he understood of politics in this land just north of his, Rassler suspected he knew the identity of the women preparing to incinerate him.  Rassler decided to not use his noble commandy voice, but to try to be charming.

    ¡°My ladies, you are as beautiful as they say.  Princess Wyndyn!  Princess Myla! I am glad we have finally found you!¡±  He said this in Common Vatharian, so not all the creatures understood him.  The princesses did though.

    ¡°Okay, do not eat him,¡± commanded Wyndy to her guard creatures.

    The giant gray wolf stepped back, but continued growling, causing Rassler to think about what he had done.

    Wyndy pointed her rod at Rassler, vivid blue sparks still running towards its tip, and said, ¡°What are you doing here?  This is our territory and you have taken one of our citizens hostage. You will free him this instant or I will electrocute you and it will be painful.  I am sure you know you are not welcome here.  Unless you are a sightseer or registered trader my father has approved."  She paused, considering, then continued, "which I do not think you are.  So really you need to explain what you are doing, and I advise that you do it very quickly.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    The goblin who had come with them was down from the horse, and had put himself between Rassler and Wyndy, trying to protect him, even as he was shaking.  He said, "No, please Princess Wyndyn, please.  They are with me.  I brought them here. I am Mirko, of the West Tunnelers. I work in Keley but some of my family is here. I would not betray your father, or you."

    Wyndy did not lower her rod, which continued to spark as she looked at Rassler and then back at Mirko. "Why by all the gods did you bring three armed humans here?"

    Rassler spoke, talking quickly as he was more nervous than he wanted to admit.  ¡°My lady, we are fleeing the evils of Vathary.  I am Count Rassler, the lord of the March of Flai Drary.  My squire Greymil and my loyal servant Vastien are the men with me.¡±  He indicated the two tall men with him.

    Vastien was a middle-aged, balding man with a cook''s belly.  He wore a sheathed dagger and carried a shield, but didn''t look like he knew how to use it. The other human, Greymil, looked like a teenager, shy and trying to blend into the background, but tall and impressively strong.  Both stood a few inches taller than Rassler, but neither had his flowing brown hair and handsome dark eyes.

    Rassler continued, ¡°I am the rightful ruler of the march, in fealty to the rightful king of Vathary.   But the new ruler, King Neydon, sent men to have me arrested. I''d have probably been executed if I¡¯d stayed.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe you did something to deserve it¡± replied the younger princess, Myla.

    ¡°I swear by all the gods. I have done nothing to him or against the country.  I am an honorable and innocent man, and I ask for your protection.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve come here for our protection?  Our country is supposed to protect you?¡± the older sister asked.

    ¡°My lady, I beg of you.  Our city of Keley has traded with Pelsa for many years. I¡¯ve considered relations friendly and profitable for both sides.  Trade was growing!  Until the old king''s death, which happened much earlier than it should have.  The new king has all the old biases.  He turned against me!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t do something to him?¡± asked Myla. ¡°I mean, sometimes I offend people and I don¡¯t even know I¡¯ve done it.¡±

    ¡°No! Really! I¡¯ve barely spoken to him.  I think my enemies at court poisoned him against me.  Perhaps led by his chief counselor.   He¡¯d been trying to stop our trade with you.   If you can just keep me alive, maybe I can make the new king see reason.  All of you here in the north would benefit too."

    "Keep you alive?  Is somebody after you? Is that why you were riding so fast?" asked Wyndy.

    "We are pursued by a whole company of the king''s men.  They want my head.  I think we are only a couple of hours ahead of them."

    "You have brought a company of Vatharian soldiers to Pelsa?" She was looking at both Rassler and Mirko. Her staff began sparking more strongly, bolts of electricity striking and spreading over the ground.

    "I didn¡¯t mean to bring them.  We were riding for our lives.  If they catch me, they will kill my men and I''ll be in a dungeon until I renounce my title.  And then they will probably kill me anyway.  I did not have many options.¡±

    Rassler very dramatically clasped his hands in front of him, beseeching the princesses.

    ¡°But your father is popular in Keley despite being a, well ¡­ well popular with our merchants. They say this kingdom is ruled fairly and they are treated justly and not cheated.  So I had some hope that he, and your great selves, might help."

    ¡°How did you get past the border patrol?¡±  Myla said, her eyes still very focused on Rassler.

    ¡°We saw no border patrol, although Mirko went ahead at the border and said he had explained our plight to them.¡±

    Mirko nodded adamantly.

    ¡°Since we crossed the border we have scarcely seen anybody.  The route took us through a small village about two hours ago, but it was empty. Vastien thinks he saw some shadows moving in the forest, but we¡¯ve not been attacked until now."

    Wyndy turned to her guards.  The large orc commander was next to her, his black sword still pointed toward Rassler.  Rassler saw what he thought were two other humans with her:  A man of average height and build, showing the beginning of some gray hairs in his otherwise blondish hair, and a tall sleek woman with short orange hair and dark skin in a gray silk dress who stood eye-to-eye with the orc commander.  Wyndy spoke to the commander and the two humans, who seemed to Rassler to be lieutenants of sorts.

    "Garaxas, Helnae, Adane; what do you think?  Why weren''t these three caught at the border, and who do we have there who would be dealing with the company of invaders?"

    The orc was the first to reply.  "On this road, it would be Commander Histel and his squad at the border.   I don¡¯t know why or how Rassler was let though. Histel should have a force of about twelve.  If it is really a full company invading, Histel and his force won¡¯t be able to deal with the invaders themselves.  If we went to help, with this full force, we have a good chance of at least slowing them, or perhaps a successful ambush.  I advise we head south now and meet up with Histel¡¯s squad.¡±

    Garaxas looked over to the older blond man. ¡°Can Adane send the signal that we are approaching, and ask them to find us?"

    Adane responded, "Yes, we would need to.  Most of Histel''s company are buggebears.  They are hard to find.  Even I have trouble tracking them. I have a guess on which of their camps they¡¯d be using for this, though.  I can guide us.¡±

 Chapter 4: Humans Invading

    ¡°What in the Nine Hells was that?¡±

    Sergeant Cloyd and the Vatharian guardsmen under his command in the rear of the formation had dismounted and were marching backwards, as three in the last row had already disappeared.

    He had told Sir Hargest that crossing the border to pursue Count Rassler was a bad idea.  Cloyd had met some of their soldiers before, at a Pelsan embassy outreach day, in which a group of visiting orc and buggebear border guards had tried to teach his squad buggebearovite crafts, dances, and the traditional buggebears game of "hide-and-where-the-hell-are-they-o-we-give-up."  Some publicity goblin in the Pelsan embassy had thought that a good idea, and his now-former lord, Count Rassler, had agreed.

    In truth, the crafts hadn¡¯t been a big hit with the squad. They found the study of turning skulls into painted drinking mugs rather disturbing, even if only giant snake skulls had been used during the crafts day.   Afterwards though they all went out drinking and the orcs and especially the buggebears had impressed for both their beverage capacity and their arm wrestling strength. Even more impressive was that the buggebears had been right sneaky bastards.  Every time you turned around, there was one right behind you.  Still, decent fellows, overall.  Cloyd still had his skull drinking cup and used it fondly for brewing tea on cold nights.

    They were now a couple of hours into the territory of Pelsa, and things were going decidedly weird.

    The horses seemed nervous, as did all the men except Sir Bowen himself, who kept driving them on.  A mist periodically appeared, then would disappear after a random interval.  A giant wolf appeared every ten minutes or so, first ahead, then behind, then close, then far.  Six men out of the fifty who had entered Pelsa had disappeared:  four city guardsmen who¡¯d made up the back row of the formation, the two scouts that had been sent ahead.

    Next to Cloyd marched Private Efrog Kemble, who looked a picture of despair.  His leather armor hung on him loosely, with the guard tabard over it covered in mud.  All his clothing was soaked,  and the young man couldn¡¯t stop shivering while he marched.  His thick brown hair was matted to his head.

    Cloyd knew he himself looked about the same, with the addition of thirty years and forty pounds.  He felt worse than he looked, and guessed his men felt likewise.  The ones who hadn¡¯t disappeared. Yet.

    Cloyd was considering how to best disobey orders and make a run for it back to Keley with his remaining squad when the giant wolf appeared out of the mists at the top of the ridge to their right, and that didn¡¯t entirely help his mental state.

    Everyone in the invading force looked over at the giant wolf, and the crossbowmen took aim, awaiting orders.  Those others who hadn¡¯t already drew their weapons.

    Behind him, Sergeant Cloyd heard a thud and a muffled ¡°humfakhafra.¡±   When he turned around, there was a gap where a soldier should have been in the formation.

    ¡°Oh, hells.  They got Private Kemble! Look alert men!  The buggies must be right next to us!¡± Cloyd called to his squad.

    Further calls went out and the entire column halted.  Cloyd and the dozen men closest to him stepped into the underbrush off the path, poking it with their swords, searching for what might lurk there.  As each moment passed, Cloyd had less and less hope of seeing Kemble alive again.

    Suddenly the giant wolf appeared again, on the ridge, but much closer, just a dozen yards away.

    Cloyd glanced to his right and suddenly felt himself enclosed in a fuzzy warm darkness.  He tried to scream out but felt a furry paw over his mouth.  He was picked up and carried quickly into the forest.

    After a minute, his capturer removed his paw and Cloyd could see was surrounded by monsters.  There were four buggebears: seven-feet tall, covered in dark fur, teeth the size of his fingers, hands like bear paws, only with longer claws.

    The large spotted one directly in front of him said ¡°Cloyd, hey man!  It is great to see you!  How is Elsy?¡±

    The monster raised his paw as if to strike, its muddy claws just a few feet from Cloyd¡¯s face.  It took Cloyd a second to process what was going on, but then he too raised his hand, and gave the monster a hesitant high-five.

    ¡°Oh thank the gods, it''s you, Dorchy!¡±  Cloyd breathed out slowly, trying to steady himself.  ¡°Whoa, guy, you really scared the hells out of me!  You should have let us know it was you all messing with us.  We¡¯ve been terrified since we crossed the border.¡±

    Cloyd remembered Dorchy from the Buggebear and Orc Outreach Day he¡¯d attended along with many of the City Guard in Keley.   Cloyde had come in last in the buggebears¡¯ ¡°Sneakiest Human'''' competition, while Kemble had won.  Cloyd and his wife, Elsy, had later hosted Dorchy and his wife Amanka for a sailing trip on Elsy¡¯s family¡¯s fishing boat, which the buggebears had been nervous about at first, but then seemed to enjoy as they got used to being on the water.

    The formerly missing Private Kemble was standing next to the monsters, and somehow Kemble still had his sword in his scabbard.  One of the buggebears was scritching a giant wolf.  The wolf licked Cloyd across the face and gave a couple of wags with her tail, which Cloyd hoped meant they weren¡¯t about to eat Cloyd.  Or, alternately, he wondered if it might be a taste test. Its intentions were not clear.

    Cloyd wanted to make sure. ¡°Right. Dorchy, I surrender, by the way.  I have a sword at my side, a dagger, and ¡­ Where¡¯s my crossbow, I had a crossbow too.  You can have them.  Just tie me up, I won¡¯t resist.¡±

    Kemble patted his sword. ¡°Sarge, I think they are letting us keep our weapons.  I mean, I guess if we don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡±

    ¡°Kemble, you¡¯re okay?  They haven¡¯t hurt you?¡±

    ¡°No, sarge.  Of course they didn¡¯t hurt me.   It¡¯s Dorchy and the guys!¡±

    The other three buggebears waved.

    ¡°Oh, you guys, right, I¡¯m really sorry we crossed your border. We didn¡¯t want to! I swear by all the gods!¡± explained Cloyd.

    The brown buggebear with white spots, whom Cloyd remembered was named Private Maalik, answered in a silky voice, with the same almost-native accent that Dorchy had.  ¡°You didn¡¯t want to? Then what in the hells were you doing? You should not have crossed the border without permission!  It was kind of rude.¡±

    ¡°Look, it wasn¡¯t my idea. Very much not my idea. Or anything any of the city guards wanted to do.  We knew it wouldn¡¯t go the way they thought it would. You see, the knights Sir Bowen and Sir Hargest showed up at our barracks yesterday and commandeered our whole squad.  They said we needed to help them catch Count Rassler.¡±

    ¡°Was Rassler the young human male who rode past the border with two humans and our guy Mirko?¡± asked Dorchy. ¡°Our boss said to let them pass.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Yeah, that''s probably Rassler.  I actually like the guy. He seemed good for a noble, and all.  But the knights said he was a traitor to King Neydon and needed to be brought in, and there were over forty men with them and only eight of us at the station., so we had to join their hunt.  They didn¡¯t even tell us where we were going until we found ourselves riding across the border with those bastards. And then you guys started terrifying us! ¡±

    The monster shrugged and raised his paws in exasperation. ¡°I mean, terrifying you all was the whole thing we were going for.  And capturing.  I think we have most of the guys from Keley we know now.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I assure you that me and my men will behave honorably as your prisoners!¡± Cloyd said, beginning to suspect he might yet live, and preferring being a prisoner of reasonable monsters to  following crazy human knights on an invasion.

    ¡°Oh, you are not our prisoners.  Just behave yourselves. No more invading,¡± said Dorchy.

    ¡°But, if we are not prisoners, what is this? What is going on?¡±

    Kemble joined in.  ¡°Sarge, I think this is a rescue mission.  We¡¯ve been rescued!¡±

    "Yes, we are rescuing you from what will happen to you if we don¡¯t rescue you,¡± said Maalik. ¡°Like if King Jend or Queen Aida found you humans invading, and we hadn¡¯t gotten you out yet, you all would either be blown up or eaten by plants.  In either case there wouldn¡¯t be enough left of you to make kebabs. And you are some of our favorite humans, so we wouldn''t feel right about eating you."

    "Um, yes, and I thank you,¡± Cloyd said.   "That is very thoughtful of you.  I appreciate it.  And if the situation were reversed, I hope and trust that my men would do the same."

    ¡°Well, our male human guests,¡± Maalik said, ¡°we would be happy if you just didn¡¯t invade our country.  Were we not good neighbors?  We let your merchants in, we sold you iron, we kept our dragons from eating your sheep. Our goblins vastly improved your water and the sewers. What have we done to provoke this incursion?¡±

    ¡°As far as I know you didn¡¯t do anything.  I think this is a Vatharian problem. It just spilled over and dragged us all into it.  The new king has something against Count Rassler, and rather than show up and face the accusations, Rassler made a run for it.  Into Pelsa.  Sir Bowen said we needed to bring Rassler back dead or alive.  Said it would be fast and easy. I don¡¯t think he thought you all would fight back.¡±

    Dorchy stepped in and started motioning the group to move toward where a stream cut through the forest.  ¡°Rassler is being watched, and it will fall to our leaders as to what to do with him.  Your Sirs Hargest and Bowen need to be taught a lesson, however, and that is our job.  I¡¯ve just heard the report that the last two men from your squad have been rescued, so we are ready to head to the meeting point, where our commander, Sir Histel, is preparing his attack.  The rest of your men should be there, Sergeant.¡±

    Cloyd and Kemble fell into line among the buggebears, as they headed north, following a path running slightly upwards, along a stream bed.  Cloyd thought he was being very quiet, but he got a few stern looks from the buggebears and was told that he was making too much noise three times in the twenty-minute journey.

    At a point near the start of rocky hills, the humans were blindfolded.  A few moments later, Cloyd felt a cool dampness that told him they were stepping into a cave.  With no wind it became even quieter than before.  The blindfolds were taken off and they went through the cave for another ten minutes, almost unable to see a thing, as the only light was a small torch they gave to Kemble to hold.  They came to the cave exit, and in the large cavern right inside the cave mouth Cloyd was greeted by the rest of his squad, who¡¯d been playing cards, except for two of the men who were taking a nap.

    Corporal Derfel Goff, an older, wiry man, who¡¯d been in the Guard a good deal longer than even Cloyd, stood up first, gave a brief salute, and started heading to Cloyd.

    He was beaten by Private Fithen, a large young man who rushed over and grabbed Kemble and gave him a big bear hug.  He then started towards Cloyd.

    ¡°Sarge, you''re here!  You made it!  We were worried about you!¡±

    Cloyd backed off a bit before the young man could give him a hug too, but he was genuinely happy to see his whole squad alive and well in the cave.  An hour ago he¡¯d been sure they were all about to die, and here they were, safe, although perhaps prisoners of sorts.  He wondered how the knights and their Royal Army¡¯s men-at-arms were faring.

    ¡°Guys, it is very good to see you.  Any injuries, or are you all whole?¡±

    Fithen replied in his loud voice, ¡°No, Sarge, we are doing great.  A couple scratches, I have a bit of a rash, and we all smell, but the Pelsan guys have been great to us.  We have some venison stew left if you want some.¡±

    Cloyd spotted the food and went to get a bowl, as Goff handed it to him.  He was getting a bit slow, now that he was older.  Usually, guardsmen spotted food right away.  ¡°Yeah, I might just have some.¡±

    When Cloyd was just a few spoonfuls into the stew, Corporal Goff sat down next to him and motioned toward the door of the cave.  The buggebears seemed distracted, as another group of their comrades were arriving.

    Goff said quietly to Cloyd, ¡°Look, Sarge, they¡¯ve been preparing to attack the other Vatharians.  I think they are linking up with another group of the monsters, so it won¡¯t be long now.  It looks like they are just going to leave us here.  When they head out, do we make a run for it, or attack the buggies from behind?¡±

    ¡°Goff, I¡¯d always thought you were the smart one of the squad.  No way in the hells are we going to try to attack the buggebears ¨C we are deep in their territory and they would massacre us before we got our swords out of our scabbards.  This isn¡¯t our fight anyway.  You and I served Count Rassler loyally for years.  I was in his personal guard for two years.  He¡¯s okay. Bit of a rascal, but treated me and the men all right.   Now we got two knights, claiming to represent the king - a new king we hardly know and who has never been to Keley - showing up and getting us out of our beds and ordering us to help them with what is probably the worst idea I¡¯ve heard in my life.  I¡¯m not going to risk my life and yours on this idiotic adventure.¡±

    ¡°Sarge, yeah, but our guys are human, and we need to go back to Keley.  King Neydon is still our king, and bad things happen if you don¡¯t do what your king says.  Sir Bowen is close to the king, they all say.  If we help him, it can help us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, man, I know very well who Sir Bowen is.  He was in Keley two years ago when we did the training on border defense with the Royal Army.  He was an arrogant bastard then, as he still is now.  He has no idea of what the creatures of Pelsa can do, and what they are like.  He thinks Pelsa is made of vile cowards, who steal babies, hit you from behind, and run away if you fight back.¡±

    Cloyd paused as he realized that the part about them hitting you from behind was accurate, but that was still a very sound reason to not attack buggebears while in their own territory.

    Goff tried one more time.  ¡°I¡¯ve known you a long time Cloyd, and you¡¯ve often asked my opinion, even though you outrank me and all, and I appreciate that.  I¡¯m just telling you that we can¡¯t be on the wrong side here.  We got to choose right.  Think of our future in Keley.  I don¡¯t want to have to come live with the monsters.¡±

    ¡°Corporal Goff, really, I have heard and understand your advice.  But I have made up my mind.  We were taken prisoner, brought here under guard, and we have no chance of escape.  Everyone here can testify to that.¡±

    Private Talfryn Bivens, who¡¯d been nearby and listening, looked over, nodded, and said ¡°Oh, yeah. Very, very true.  I was on the Outreach Day.  I saw them in action.  We¡¯d make it maybe a hundred feet before we were killed.  We wouldn¡¯t even see it coming.  No way I¡¯m going to attack the buggebears.  They treat us better than Bowen did anyway.¡±

    ¡°You see what I mean, Goff? You need to rethink things.  We are just going to wait this one out here, lay low, and then head back as a squad when they let us.

    ¡°Okay, Sarge. But isn¡¯t it ¡®if they let us?¡¯   Are we really sure we aren¡¯t prisoners?¡±

    ¡°Goff, if they wanted us dead, we¡¯d already be dead.  And they know Vathary doesn¡¯t care about us, so we aren¡¯t worth anything in ransom.  Some of the knights might be though.¡±

    Bivens smiled.  ¡°I¡¯m almost rooting the buggebears on.¡±

    Cloyd looked over at Bivens.  ¡°Steady there.¡±

    Goff didn¡¯t say a thing.

    Outside the cave there was a lot of commotion.  Even some shouts in what sounded like a greeting.

    Cloyd and Goff stepped outside the cave to see what was going on.  At first glance, it looked like a pack of wolves had arrived.  At second glance, they saw there were goblins mounted on the wolves, plus a hyena for some reason, and they were led by one of the biggest orcs ever seen, on a massive black horse.  At third glance they saw that the last wolves to arrive were much bigger than all the rest, and there were two young women riding them.  Riding a horse next to the two young ladies, just where you¡¯d expect him to be, was Count Rassler.

    Cloyd sighed.  ¡°Dammit Rassler, you are supposed to be running for your life, not picking up women¡­¡±

    An older buggebear, with gray fur and wearing a black silk waistcoat stepped forward and saluted the orc, then kneeled before the young women. The whole squad of buggebears kneeled with him.

    Goff counted the newly-arrived wolves and their companions.

    "Yes, okay, you are right.  Forget I said anything,¡± he said to Cloyd.

 Chapter 5: Riding Dragons Is Difficult

    King Jend was falling again.  Duke Klajo Nohara the Mighty dove after him, but only managed to accidentally whack Jend with his tail as he passed by.  Tumbling through the air, Jend concentrated to invoke his powers of levitation. His fall slowed, but he still hit the ground with considerable force.

    Jend laid on the ground, spread-eagled, contemplating the clouds and his sanity.  Klajo, the massive dark red dragon Jend had been trying to ride, circled down, landed near Jend, crawled over and looked down on his king, checking to see if he were still alive.

    Above the dragon, in the heavens, Jend, with his sorcerous perception heightened by the near-death of the fall and the great pain covering every inch of his body, could perceive Teyspater, the Sky Father.  Teyspater was laughing at Jend, as were the other gods with him.  Jend could make out Thorsin, Admi, Doaris and Neptos, all of whom seemed amused by the action. Mana changed hands. Thorsin was annoyed. Teyspater had bet against Jend.

    <i>Bite me,</i> Jend thought to his god, whom he''d served faithfully all his life.

    <i>You are my loyal servant; you are blameless and upright. You fear your god and shun evil</i>, he heard in reply. <i>You also take yourself very seriously.</i>

    <i>Yes, I serve you loyally.  So was this really necessary?</i>

    <i>Jend, you did this to yourself.  We were just watching.  You though are great entertainment, something to observe while we wait for the battle of the revolutionary serfs against the oligarchs in Ushos to get going again. You wanted to ride the dragon as you aim to impress.  Don¡¯t blame the consequences of your own actions on the gods. </i>

    It had started well; they¡¯d been rising together through the clouds.  Jend riding in a saddle they¡¯d had custom crafted for Klajo¡¯s back.  They could look down on their kingdom and see all the way to the mountain range to the east that held Duke Klajo¡¯s home cave and his keep.  They glided toward the shore, over the forests to the north of Pelsa¡¯s capital city, Lagar¡¯s Haven.  The wind had picked up there along the sea, winter¡¯s sudden gusts still making appearances this far north. Klajo banked a bit harder than normal away from the sea, and to ride the winds higher.

    The straps on the right side had broken, and while the saddle stayed on the dragon, Jend did not.  He tumbled toward the forest, spinning.  He was wacked by the diving dragon¡¯s tail, but he finally managed to balance himself and invoke levitation to slow his fall, somewhat later than was ideal.  He¡¯d need to improve that spell too.

    ¡°Well, no broken bones,¡± said the great dragon, as he  inspected Jend, his fallen king. ¡°You''re in the right shape, not on fire.¡±  The dragon put his head to Jend¡¯s chest.  ¡°Still breathing¡­Jend, speak to me.  Your wife will kill me if you¡¯re dead.  Please speak to me.¡±

    ¡°I am here.  By the wrath of the gods, I am King of Pelsa, and I live yet.¡±

    ¡°Well, um, excellent, sire.  Shall we have another go?  I felt that one was really working, well, right up until it wasn¡¯t.¡±

    Jend still lay on his back, contemplating the sky.  ¡°No.  We have both had enough for today, have we not?  And the saddle needs to be fixed.  Not just that, it needs improvements.  I will think upon this and remove its weakness.  We have made progress though.¡±

    ¡°Yes, definite progress sire.  Still, though¡­¡±  Klajo looked like he wanted to say more, but then went silent.

    ¡°Still what dragon?¡±  Jend said, perhaps more harshly than he¡¯d meant to.

    Klajo started to open his mouth, but closed it again, looking bashful.

    Jend rose, slowly inhaled and tried to calm himself.  He decided to be a wise monarch, and not take his royal frustrations out on a poor innocent dragon. A dragon who was one of his closest friends.

    ¡°Klaj, you can speak openly with me.¡±  Jend dusted grass and dirt off his trousers. ¡°We¡¯ve been friends a long time, and we¡¯ve been through a lot together.  I don¡¯t blame you for the fall. Just tell me what you are thinking.  I value your words.¡±

    ¡°It is that we need to get this right. Maybe one more try. My wife and daughter know that we are trying this, and after the last time, my daughter was smirking at me.¡±

    "Well, my daughters smirk at me every time I talk."

    "This time though, when I left the cave and when they thought I was gone and couldn''t hear, they chortled."

    "Chortled?"

    "Very loud chortling.  Flames burst from Kladska¡¯s nose."

    "It isn''t good when the women chortle at their men.  It means we''ve done something very seriously stupid," Jend wisely noted.

    "Indeed,¡± Klajo agreed solemnly.  ¡°In my one hundred and eighty years on this planet, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that when women think what their men are doing is ridiculous, the women are most often right, as painful as it is for me to admit that.¡±

    "Yes, but for the love of all the gods don¡¯t tell them that¡­. So, we are probably doing something wrong.  I need to think more about this.  Redesign the saddle, perhaps."

    "Yes, and on that sire, I may have some insight, if you might be interested¡­."

    This amplified Jend''s annoyance from the fall and the chortling.  "I''ve already asked you to share your thoughts, so share them, you reticent wyrm!"

    "Well okay already then sire.  But remember you asked.  I think I saw Scarlett with a humanoid riding on her back last week.  It was late, near Lagar''s Haven, and as soon as they spotted me, they hid.  But I believe what I saw going on was dragon riding."

    "That doesn''t sound so bad,¡± said Jend. ¡°It is good to know it can be done. If we can''t get it right, we could even ask her how she made it work."

    "I wish she hadn''t done it though, not without consulting me so that I can supervise.  She could get hurt or hurt somebody. Scarlett is still so young," explained Klajo.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Scarlett over thirty-five years old?  She was already out of the nest when I first met you¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, but that is very young for a dragon.  She is still very vulnerable, still learning.  And sometimes I¡¯m not sure about her judgment.¡±

    "We do need to let our children go, though. Have their own space and all.  That is what my wife keeps telling me.  I guess it might be true.  Did you get any hint of how she does it?  Has she made her own dragon-riding saddle?" asked Jend.

    "I didn''t suspect at first, but Scarlett has taken to wearing a scarf around her neck.  I asked her about it, and she told me it was ''the newest fashion for dragons, a great scarf,'' whatever any of that means.  But then I saw the receipt for the scarf back in our lair.  It was very expensive and made of a blend of unicorn tail-hair and giant spider silk.  Stronger than the strongest steel, according to what the proprietor wrote on the receipt. The invoice was from the high priestess of Hista¡¯s temple, made out to the company SFAC.  The receipt also named the person who helped design and arrange for the production."

    Jend felt a chill coming down his back.  He said somewhat sharply, "And what name was on the receipt?"

    "It was your Princess Myla.  And it looked like Myla I saw riding on Scarlett.  Wrapped up in the great scarf."

    Jend almost exploded.  ¡°Myla can¡¯t just go around riding dragons without my permission!  And my close supervision!  She can get hurt!¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, riding dragons does seem to be tricky for humanoids.  We¡¯ve established that previously, I feel.¡±

    ¡°What the hells was she thinking?¡±

    ¡°The mind of my own daughter remains opaque to me, sire, much less the mind of your daughter.¡±

    ¡°Completely irresponsible.  I will ground her for a year!¡±

    ¡°To ¡®ground¡¯ a daughter means that you don¡¯t allow them to ride dragons?  Am I understanding you correctly, sire?¡±

    ¡°Yes, dragon riding is now completely out!  It was out before too, but now it is more out.¡±

    ¡°But sire, perhaps if we inquired about the use of this ¡®great scarf,¡¯ perhaps we could make progress ourselves? Should we not perhaps¡­¡±

    ¡°No, we should not perhaps!  I will definitely not ¡®perhaps¡¯ use great scarves to ride dragons! And neither will Myla!  I command it!¡±

    There was rustling in the trees.  Both males looked over at the noise.

    - - - -

    Queen Aida was an eagle.  Not figuratively speaking.  She''d taken the form of a large, brownish-red eagle and flown south-west from Lagar''s Haven, staying near the coast, along the large forests that blanketed much of her realm.  She had a pretty good idea where her husband was, and what he''d been up to.

    She enjoyed flying, and normally would have taken her time and gone farther, to the islands or to the mountains, but today she urgently wanted to talk with her husband. As she neared him, she flew down from the clouds, circled the crash site, and landed on one of the lower branches of a large evergreen.

    She changed, and was again an elf.  She spent a minute making sure all the feathers were gone and getting her hair back in place.  Transforming into an animal and back messed up your hair.

    She took a moment to get herself together, focusing upon the Great Mother¡¯s Meditation Against Laughing at Men (Too Often), a meditation that she often recited to herself:

    "Do not laugh at the men.

    They do not take it well,

    And this man has had his ego bruised already today.

    If we laugh at them too often, they stop doing

    Their funny men things, and then

    One of our major sources of entertainment will be lost.

    So I shall not laugh at them any more today,

    However much they deserve it."

    She did smile.  Nothing more though.

    The males looked over as she entered the crash-site¡¯s clearing.  They looked as if they''d just been caught at something. Jend tried to look busy fixing the saddle.

    "Love, but you are back early.  And how did you know we were here?" he asked.

    "You know I can sense you whenever you are in contact with the earth.  In this case, you contacted the earth particularly hard, so much so that it startled me."

    "Oh, right.  Can you do that with the girls?"

    "Most of the time, no.  I have tried, but it only works if they are standing on the ground and in one place for a long time.  Their presence on the earth is more discreet than your big hulking self. You blot out cities," explained Aida.

    Jend looked pleased to hear that.

    "But there is something I need to talk to you about."

    "Right now, love?"  Jend was a brave king and liked to face danger head on.

    "Yes, right now, dear.  I sensed a sinister force,¡± Aida said.

    ¡°Is it the giant sea serpents again?¡± Jend interrupted.   ¡°I told you I¡¯d get rid of those.  You don¡¯t have to remind me every month. You know we are forming a navy and¡­¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t the sea serpents! You know we gathered The Circle today."

    "The Circle?  Sure, yes, of course. I figured you¡¯d be there all day, so I thought I¡¯d come by when we were done here.  Did something go wrong?   You¡¯d prepared for that all week.  Is there somebody that you need me to talk to and motivate?"

    "No, no, our Circle is fine, that is not the issue¡± Aida shook her head. ¡°I felt something dark, something just completely wrong, in Carstones.  Vathary may be under assault ¨C there is a presence there that should not be, and I do not know what it means. A corruption the like of which I have not sensed since we defeated Lothar."

    "Well, there is a new king there.  Lots of changes, I¡¯m sure,¡± Jend said.

    ¡°This was not just a new king.  This was not something human, or even natural. It was something demonic.¡±

    It was at that point that Private Zegs and Private Wolds, two goblin soldiers whom Aida distinctly remembered having sent off as guards for their daughters, arrived.  They came in at high speed on their wolves and had to brake quickly to not collide with their monarchs.  Zegs and Wolds leapt off their mounts and saluted. The exhausted wolves made for a shady spot to lie down.

    "King Jend, Queen Aida, we have a report from the Royal Princesses.  Humans!  Three armed humans entered the kingdom!"  They stood at attention, continuing to salute.

    The king and queen, and their noble dragon companion, stared at the goblins for a dozen seconds.  When the goblins didn''t say more, Aida propted "Please continue, and please explain where our daughters are."

    "Yes, our queen.  We were visiting Sir Nicodo, and the Aerial Reconnaissance Force reported that three armed humans were in the kingdom, riding toward Grendom.  The princesses sent us to report to you."

    Jend, Aida, and Klajo breathed out and their posture became more relaxed.  Jend said "Well, three humans can''t be so bad, and the guards should easily be able to handle them. Perhaps just some of the ¡®sight seers¡¯ we are getting recently. Maybe we can head over there and investigate the situation?"

    "I agree three doesn''t sound so serious,¡± Aida said.  ¡°But, still Jend, one of us must go there straight away, just to be sure.  Perhaps also to make sure the humans themselves are not incinerated.  Or to help deal with them if necessary.  The girls are sensible, generally, and can control their powers well¡­.  but I think I¡¯ll just fly over there now?"

    "Why don''t we all?  After all, our saddle works now, we''ve just been making small modifications."  Jend paused, and turned back to the two goblin guards, who were still at attention.  "Private Zeg, Privat Wolds.  At ease."  The two goblins shifted to the at ease position, arms behind their back and feet a foot apart.  "Now, please tell me how you knew where to find me?"

    ¡°Your Majesty, it was Lord Klajo the Mighty''s daughter, sir!  Lady Scarlett, she told us, sir.  She saw us riding hard to Lagar¡¯s Haven, and she flew down and questioned us.  When we explained the human invasion to her, she directed us here.  Told us exactly what path to take, she did.¡±

    ¡°Are <i>all</i> of the females of the kingdom tracking my location?¡±

    They all paused and reflected.  Neither the goblins nor Aida either knew the answer or ventured a response.

    Jend turned to Klajo ¡°This does imply your daughter was watching us, although from where I don¡¯t know.¡±

    The great dragon pondered for a moment. "Or she has figured out some other way of knowing where her parents are. I will have a talk with her.  She is clever, and bends magic to her will better than I do."

    Aida didn''t wait. She was already an eagle, flying toward Grendom.  Jend finished his tightening of the repaired saddle rope and climbed on.  Klajo took flight, following Aida''s path, although going easy on the turns.

 Chapter 6: Shadow Wants a Tummy-Rub

    Corporal Luna had been enjoying the human invasion so far. Her job, as the giant wolf assigned to Sir Histel¡¯s company, had been to surprise and frighten the humans. The distracted humans were then easily grabbed by the buggebears.  She thought it great sport.  If you can¡¯t eat something, you can at least tease it and scare the hells out of it.

    On the last pass she¡¯d smelled something which had made no sense ¨C the cloak of the leader of the invading humans had a whiff of Kat¡¯sheth about it.  It was as if that knight had been in contact with one of the cat-demons recently.  But the Kat¡¯sheth had long been wiped-out from the north.  As Luna trotted back to camp she pondered if it were really possible that they¡¯d returned, and how one would have left its hair on the cloak of a Vatharian knight.

    She arrived back at Histel¡¯s field camp just as the princesses arrived.  She loved the princesses, and started walking toward them, when another giant wolf appeared in front of her, vigorously wagging his tail in greeting.  He was mid-sized for a giant wolf, handsome with dark brown fur speckled white, and thicker fur around his neck like a mane.  His fur was well-groomed and shiny ¨C he was known to use fur oil after baths.

    ¡°Heyyyyy, girl.  How you doing?¡± barked Fluffy.

    <i>Oh, hells, it¡¯s Fluffy,</i> Luna thought to herself.  Her tail didn¡¯t return the wag.  Fluffy believed himself to be the Sky Father¡¯s gift to the female wolves.

    Fluffy came a bit closer, moving in for a sniff.

    Luna made a guttural growl, followed by curling her lip to show her teeth, and two quick snappish barks.  In Northern Pointy Canine, the language of the wolves and foxes of the area, it meant ¡°Don¡¯t even think about sniffing my butt, Fluffy.¡±  Of course, in Eastern Tearing Canine, the related dialect of Luna¡¯s mother, the same phrase translated as ¡°Fluff-head, if you even attempt to sniff my butt, I will not only bite your nose but then I will go for the throat.¡±

    Fluffy was a well-educated wolf who could bark both dialects.  He stopped, and his tail drooped.

    Luna spotted Shadow, and bounded over toward him, giving him a big lick across the face.  She¡¯d known Shadow for years and had only respect for him, as did all the wolves.  Shadow¡¯s tail wagged back in greeting as he responded with the canine bow.

    Fluffy worked to recover the initiative, so said, ¡°Luna, it is good to see you.  I understand you have a problem with armed humans here.  Have you been able to eat any?  Can we help you all out?¡±

    ¡°Fluff, we are not eating the humans,¡± she said sharply.  ¡°We are just teasing them.  We are rescuing a few that we like from the bad humans.  Sir Histel told us not to eat any of either group.¡±

    Upon hearing that they weren¡¯t eating the humans, Shadow wandered off, presumably looking for another source of food, or at least a place to lie down.

    Fluffy was still trying to talk with Luna.  ¡°Well, are we supposed to grab humans too?  We came to help you.¡±

    The two giant wolves turned their attention to the princesses and the officers who were conferring with Sir Histel.  The werewolf, Major Adane, was there too, but Luna thought him rude so didn¡¯t feel like going to greet him. Werewolves were tricky to deal with in social situations.  They didn¡¯t always understand proper wolf etiquette.  They didn''t understand sniffing as a social greeting at all, for example.  Luna had tried to sniff his butt once, just to be polite, and had come within a hair¡¯s breadth of being turned into a were-human.  The thought of how close she came to being forced to transform into a human at the full moon, and wear clothes and take showers, still gave her shudders.

    The princesses and officers were all gathered around a map Sir Histel laid out on a table.  They began discussing ¡°ambush points'''' and ¡°hostages,¡± but it seemed clear that they didn¡¯t want to kill the humans as that would be an ¡°incident.¡±

    An ¡°incident¡± didn¡¯t sound so bad to Luna, but she generally felt that the princesses knew how to best handle things.   ¡°Ambush points¡± sounded like good fun though.

    - - - -

    Cloyd and the non-sleeping members of his squad were outside the cave, observing the enemy officers¡¯ meeting from a distance, and trying to figure out what was going on.  Then a giant wolf Cloyd would later learn was named ¡°Shadow¡± walked over toward them, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and a vaguely hungry look on his face.

    It was a creature out of Cloyd¡¯s nightmares.  It was big, it was bad, it was a giant wolf, and it had laid down a few feet from him, on his back with its tail wagging lazily.

    Kemble looked back to Cloyd, a worried look on his face.  ¡°Sarge, I think it wants us to rub its tummy.  What do we do, Sarge?¡±

    ¡°Well, Kemble, when a giant monster comes to you and demands tummy rubs, I think the best thing to do is rub its tummy.¡±

    ¡°It could tear me to bits in three to five seconds!¡±

    Shadow seemed to understand the guard¡¯s reluctance, and responded with what sounded like a short high whine, followed by a longer low growl<sup>3</sup>.

    Cloyd, as an officer of the Keley City Guard, had trained in intercultural communication, and understood at least the basic point.  He began to rub Shadow¡¯s tummy.  The tummy was large, really too much for one guardsman to handle, even with both hands. He ordered Kemble to join in.  Shadow relaxed to enjoy the tummy rub.

    Kemble had a dog, so partially out of habit and partially out of wanting to keep the large monster happy, he started in with ¡°Oh, yes, who is a good boy.  Who is a nice doggy?¡±

    Shadow growled slightly at Kemble at the word ¡°doggy.¡± Kemble quickly switched to ¡°Sorry, yes, I meant, who is a massive ferocious wolf?  Who can snap off my head within five seconds?  Very very scary giant wolf.  Yes, you.  Yes, you are the ferocious wolf, yes you are!¡±

    Shadow¡¯s slowly waging tail showed he was happy with that.

    A few other of the braver members of the City Guard joined in, working on the area behind his ears, which Shadow clearly greatly approved of.  His eyes rolled back in his head, and he made a noise that was as close to a purr as a giant wolf can get. Overall it was a successful exercise in intercultural communications.Stolen novel; please report.

    After several minutes of scritching the giant wolf, Cloyd sensed someone approaching.  He looked up and saw his former count, who was maybe still his count, walking towards him and the squad.  Cloyd and his men stood at attention and tried to look presentable.  Cloyd tried to rapidly calculate whether they were supposed to obey the count or attempt to capture him.

    When the tummy-rub stopped, Shadow flipped over to his belly and looked to see what had happened.  He saw Count Rassler approaching and seemed to understand that Rassler had been the cause of the interrupted tummy-rub.  Shadow growled at Rassler, baring his teeth.

    Rassler took a step back from the growling wolf. He was thus at something of a distance when he addressed Cloyd.

    ¡°My good man, Cevyn Cloyd.  I think you are Sergeant Cloyd now if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡±

    ¡°I am indeed, my liege.  You raised me to the rank of sergeant two years ago, you did.¡±

    ¡°And it was well deserved.  I remember your loyal service as part of my personal guard.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord.  It was an honor, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Now, Sergeant Cloyd.  We find ourselves in a certain confusion now.  A confusion that I am certain can be cleared up, so we can all return to our positions in Keley.¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lord.  It can be hoped we all get out of this alive, my lord.¡±

    ¡°Right, good man.  Exactly.  We all want to get out of this alive. So I wanted to ask you for some help, if you might join me over where Princess Wyndyn is finalizing her plans.  She wanted to discuss a few small issues with you.¡±

    ¡°With me, my lord?¡±

    ¡°She told me to bring you specifically, Cevyn.  Do help her.  It can make this easier for everybody.  Her Highness is trying to avoid killing anybody.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m certainly all for that, sir. I will try to help there. How should I behave?  What do I tell her?¡±

    ¡°I would really suggest being respectful.  Very respectful.  She may look like a girl, but she and her sister were about to incinerate me when we first met.  I¡¯m still not sure they trust me.¡±

    <i>Sensible girls who clearly understand men,</i> thought Cloyd.

    ¡°But be honest with her. Be assured that you are not being a traitor to our nation.  She has told me she just wants to get the Vatharians off her land without violence, if possible.  I believe her.  You are helping your fellow soldiers by helping her accomplish that.¡±

    Cloyd felt there were varied levels of being a traitor here. He asked himself where his loyalty lay, and quickly concluded that it was primarily to his own survival and being able to get home to his family.  He¡¯d also like the men of his squad to survive, if possible.  Vathary and Pelsa could sort the rest of it out without his middle-aged pudgy self.

    Cloyd followed Rassler over to the makeshift table, which consisted of a few planks placed on a tree trunk and a pile of rocks for support. There were some maps with markings that were covered up as Cloyd approached.  The taller of the two girls had striking sunset-colored hair and orange eyes that seemed to spark when she looked in his direction. She stepped away from the table and walked towards him.  At her side, a step behind, was the sharply dressed gray-furred buggebear with the silk waistcoat they¡¯d seen earlier, and the largest orc he¡¯d ever seen, in jet-black armor, his massive sword still in his hand.

    Cloyd tried to guess which of the three he should be most worried about.  Given the obvious deference the two great monsters showed her, Cloyd decided it was probably the girl.

    The princess spoke in Cloyd¡¯s native language of Common Vatharian with just a hint of an elven accent. ¡°I understand you are Sergeant Cevyn Cloyd, from the Keley City Guard.  You are a native of Keley, have a family there, and have served Count Rassler for some time.¡±

    Cloyd did a courtly bow, or the best approximation of one that he could manage.

    ¡°Please understand then, Sergeant Cloyd, that I and my soldiers here are motivated for this all to end without bloodshed.  That would cause an incident between our nations, and we¡¯d been doing so well recently, I think it would be a shame to mess it all up over a small misunderstanding.  An issue that Vathary can just sort out amongst themselves and leave us out of it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness,¡± said Cloyd, with another small bow.

    ¡°Now, to help us do this, I wanted to get your opinion on the leadership of the invaders, and the general courage-level of the men.  I want to know how easy it would be to just scare them off.¡±

    ¡°Oh, miss, yes, we were already about to turn around and make a run for it.  Certainly we in the City Guard have zero faith in the two knights leading this adventure.   I don¡¯t know the Royal Army as well, but they didn¡¯t seem happy and convinced that any of this was a good idea.¡±

    ¡°So, will they fight hard, or run away?¡±

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t obvious that they can win, I think most of the men will just run away if they can escape and the knights can¡¯t stop them.¡±

    ¡°The knights are leading it.  I understand it is Sir Bowen, and along with a younger knight we don¡¯t know.  Will they fight to the death?¡±

    Cloyd thought for a minute and took his best guess.

    ¡°The younger knight is Sir Hargest. Honestly, he just seemed very nervous to us.  Wasn¡¯t exactly inspiring confidence in his men.  I think he will run away if you give him a reason to.  Sir Bowen is another matter.  He is the new king¡¯s man, and doing his bidding.  He will try to fight, but, while he is arrogant, he isn¡¯t a complete idiot.  He thought this whole thing would be easy, and you all would run away and not dare attack a force from Vathary.  I tried to tell him it might not go that way, that Pelsa was well-lead, but he didn¡¯t want to hear it.  I don¡¯t know about that guy.¡±

    ¡°Understood, and I thank you for your help.  Sergeant, just one more question.  Is there a wizard with the invaders?  Understand, we won¡¯t hurt the wizard, but we would then need to neutralize him to make sure he doesn¡¯t hurt others.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes miss.  Bowen has a wizard with him.  Blond guy, about forty, in a black cloak and tunic. Mostyn is his name, I think.  They keep him towards the middle of the formation as people kept getting nabbed.  He said he was casting something to try to stop the buggebears, but whatever he tried didn¡¯t work.  He didn¡¯t seem all that impressive a wizard to me, to be straight about it.  Seemed like some random minor noble who had a tutor once and could say a few words in the Old Tongue.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your help, Sergeant Cloyd.  We do appreciate it.¡± Wyndy turned to leave.  Cloyd had a request himself though.

    ¡°It is just, well, Your Highness, could we make a humble request?¡±

    Wyndy turned back to Cloyd. ¡°You may make a request.  I will listen to it.¡±

    ¡°Could we escape, miss?¡±

    ¡°We haven¡¯t officially taken you prisoner.  Just wait an hour, then you can go back to Keley.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but, it will be difficult for us back with the Vatharian officers if we just walk out with all our equipment, miss.  They would think us traitors.  Traitors who had an arrangement with your folks.  They might try to blame us.  Maybe we could stage it a bit so it looks like we had to fight our way out?  A little bit at least?¡±

    Wyndy stepped back and spoke to Sir Histel.  ¡°Can something be arranged?  Can we get these people out of here, maybe stage something so Cloyd¡¯s men think they had to do something to escape, and it looks better for them back in Vathary?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness.  We cannot spare many buggebears, but we have one wounded who can¡¯t fight anyway.  He can get them to the other end of the cave, and they can run away from him there.  They will be near the road back to Keley.  We could ask Mirko to help guide them. With any luck, many of the Royal Army will be running that way soon too.¡±

    ¡°Please make it happen, Sir Histel.  Also, as you heard, we will need to start off with the anti-wizard plan we discussed.  It sounds like he is in the middle of the formation.  Can you spare the buggebears to do it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course, Your Highness. On both issues.  We will make it happen.¡±

    Wyndy walked back to Cloyd. ¡°Sergeant, you may just be able to escape from my forces.  A buggebear will contact you soon with the arrangements.  I wish you a pleasant escape and a safe journey back to Keley.¡±

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>3</sup> Translator¡¯s Note:  In an interview later with Shadow and his son Spike, Shadow revealed to me that he had growled  ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to eat you today, but if you don¡¯t rub my tummy now, I might pee on you.¡±  He also told me that this episode had given him a more positive opinion of humans, except for Count Rassler.

 Chapter 7: Wyndyâ€™s Plan

    Wyndy left Cloyd.  She and her senior officers headed back to where the others were waiting at the makeshift command table they¡¯d set up.

    She knew they didn¡¯t have much time.  If Histel was correct, the Vatharians were about thirty minutes from reaching Bastian¡¯s Bend, a narrow place in the road, with rocky crags on both sides, and certain things the Pelsan forces had prepared in case of any invasion.  That meant she needed to give the order within the next ten minutes.

    The princess considered just leaving the decisions to the military officers.  Garaxas outranked Histel, so she could just let him make the plan, while she watched.  It would be easier for her, and she wasn¡¯t at all sure of the best plan to take.  If she let Garaxas decide, she knew that most of the invading humans would probably die, but there would be few or no losses of her loyal creatures.  Or, she could take an additional risk, give the orders to Garaxas and Histel, and try to prevent the deaths of all those young men, while hoping the restraint by her forces didn¡¯t cost them.  She knew her parents ruled by virtue of being seen as very reasonable and fair, avoiding force and bloodshed where possible. Coupled with the backup plan of extreme violence if reasonableness failed.

    Wyndy looked around the table at her officers.  In addition to the orc and buggebear commanders, there was her sister standing next to Major Adane and their personal guard, the werehyena Helnae, currently in human form and wearing her silk travel dress.  They had been examining the map and looked up as Wyndy approached.

    She decided to proceed as she¡¯d seen her father do: Ask for everyone¡¯s opinion, let them say their piece, then decide for herself and do it.

    ¡°Well, everyone.  We do have a wizard we need to take out first.  And as for their morale, it is as Helnae predicted:  According to the guard sergeant, the human soldiers are already close to turning around and running away. This has pushed my own thoughts toward the second plan, but I am still considering both options. Before I make my decision, I want to get your last thoughts and advice.  We need to move quickly, as we only have a few minutes before we need to leave for the ambush point.  Let¡¯s start with Major Adane.¡±

    ¡°Of the two possible plans that have been discussed, while I think both are prudent and represent sound military thinking, the VFM plan to scare them away rather than kill them is preferable.  We should seek to keep this an isolated skirmish, and not provoke a full war with Vathary,¡± said Adane. ¡°Nobody would benefit from a full war.¡±

    Histel raised his paw and said, ¡°Yes, but they have already provoked us by invading.  If we attack with full force as per the BDA Plan, we will make them rethink ever invading again.  We also minimize the risk to our own forces. We are outnumbered almost two-to-one.  Even with the advantage of surprise, and that our warriors are superior, it could be a tough fight, if the humans show the courage to fight us.  We need to hit them hard from the beginning, before they can react.¡±

    Helnae looked over to Adane before saying ¡°I understand the danger, but I will second what Adane said.  If they are not frightened by the VFM plan, we can always pull-back and attack with deadly force later.  Attempting first to scare them off does not close any options for later.¡±

    Myla had been looking at the sky for a moment while the others spoke. ¡°You know, I was leaning toward the plan to attack to kill, but I just spotted Scarlett between clouds, so I think I know how to add something more to the VFM plan.  I¡¯d go with that, with the addition of Scarlett...¡±

    Adane looked surprised at her suggestion.  ¡°Ah, okay, but, Scarlett?  I mean, it''s Scarlett.  We don¡¯t need to involve her in this battle.  It is really okay. We¡¯ll be fine.¡±  Histel and Garaxas nodded inappropriately vigorously in agreement.

    ¡°What is wrong with Scarlett?  I mean, she is actually an officer in the Pelsan Air Force.  Isn¡¯t she?¡± said Myla.

    ¡°Well, yes, yes she is.  But that is the Air Force.  They think a battle is dropping a rock from four hundred yards up.  They hardly like to get within crossbow range.  And the officers in the Air Force put Scarlett in charge of the uniforms and ¡®community outreach,¡¯ which I¡¯m still waiting for them to explain to me,¡± Adane said, a look of slight disgust crossing his face with every reference to the Air Force and especially to community outreach.  ¡°They themselves won¡¯t let her near a battle.¡±

    ¡°No, Scarlett is clever and strong, major.  She will be fine,¡± replied Myla.  Wyndy nodded and tried to look supportive of her sister, but she did share many of Major Adane¡¯s doubts.

    ¡°Scarlett gets squeamish hunting for sheep.  The tame sheep we herd toward her family¡¯s keep,¡± noted Garaxas.

    ¡°Yes, well, that is true.  But still, she can help us!¡±

    Garaxas made a slight bow.  ¡°I will defer to you, Princess Myla.  If you can convince her to join the attack, I support it.  You have to make sure she doesn¡¯t fly away when things get going though.  That would just embolden them, and we¡¯d have twice the fight on our hands.¡±

    ¡°I can do it.  I will talk with Scarlett, and she will join us and fight hard, whichever way it goes.  I think she will help, and it makes the VFM plan stronger.  It will succeed!¡±

    Garaxas put his hand over his heart, in the form of the loyalty pledge of the army to the king and queen.  ¡°If both sisters are of the same mind, it is clearly a sign from the gods.  I will obey whatever you say, but, if you ask my opinion, I agree with Princess Myla that your VFM plan is the better way to proceed.¡±

    Wyndy nodded to Garaxas to acknowledge his pledge and comments.  She had just one more thing to ask.

    ¡°General Garaxas, you know my parents well.  What would my father do in this situation?¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, I think he would do just as you are, and take the risk to try to prevent deaths, even if they are invaders.¡±

    ¡°And what would my mother do?¡±

    Garaxas squared up his shoulders, opened his mouth as if to speak, paused, and then answered.  ¡°Princess Wyndyn, I think you already know that your father has the heart of a diplomat and an organizer.  He believes everyone can get along, and he is usually proven correct.  Sometimes he encourages people to get along by threatening to incinerate them if they don¡¯t, but that is the exception, not the rule.  Now, with your mother, you may not have seen it, as we¡¯ve been at peace for so long, but your mother has the heart of a warrior.  While her land and people are safe, she is calm and trains and builds.  But when either is threatened, she strikes fast and hard.  I have served with her in battle.  So, I can confidently say that if your mother were here, the invaders would already be dead.  Their bodies would be reclaimed by the soil to serve as food for the worms, trees and flowers. Not a man would escape, or even make it ten paces before being struck dead, once her attack began.  And her attack would come from behind and by surprise.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Wyndy blinked three times. ¡°Right, yes.  I¡¯ve seen some of that approach to clutter in the castle.  Yes.  I thank you all for your thoughts.  I have decided how to proceed.  Commanders Garaxas and Sir Histel, please give the orders for Operation Very Frightening Monsters. Hold Rassler and his men here and proceed with the escape of the Keley city guard and the scouts at your discretion. Let¡¯s head out. I will see you at the ambush point, in the positions we discussed.¡±

    As they walked from the table, Myla said to her sister, ¡°So we are trying to be scary, right?  Should I change my appearance?  I could be bigger and ugly.¡±

    ¡°No, save your magic for controlling the tree roots.  You are ugly enough anyway.¡±

    Myla barred her fangs and made a rude gesture to Wyndy, but smiled.

    Wyndy hissed back, then asked, in a more serious tone, ¡°You can handle that area, from that distance, with the roots, right?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m sure.  But I think I can do it.  I¡¯ve managed larger areas in practice.  I¡¯ll get at least some of them.  Will you be okay?  Can you summon that much force?¡±

    ¡°It is just like you said.  I have done it in practice, and the gods know our father makes us practice enough.  I¡¯m adding something to it though.  It will be a little more complicated, but I¡¯m pretty sure I can do it.¡±  Wyndy smiled.  It was a forced smile though.  ¡°You be careful now.  Don¡¯t come in too low, and you know what crossbow range is, so watch it!¡±

    Wyndy gave her sister a hug, and then searched the sky. ¡°You will call Scarlett now?  Will you go with her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll signal her now.  Fluffy can help you all.  I¡¯ll ride on Scarlett.  If she stays low enough, I can still lead off with my roots and vines trick, before you do your thing.  You be careful yourself!¡±

    Wyndy called Shadow, mounted up, rode over to her soldiers, and led the group toward the meeting point.   Shadows eyes glowed silver, and a shimmering translucent silver armor covered the wolf, with plates of force reaching up to cover and protect his rider.

    ¡°See you after the battle.  It looks like we¡¯ll be late getting home!¡±  said Wyndy to Myla as she departed.

    - - - -

    Myla had a certain whistle that she used to signal her best friend so that they could go hang out.

    Myla had seen Scarlett flying nearby earlier.  She guessed Scarlett had probably heard about the invasion and was looking for her and would certainly still be about.  Myla whistled, waited a minute, and whistled again.  She spotted Scarlett, a beautiful dragon of a color befitting her name.

    Hearing the whistle, Scarlett made a quick turn and came in for a landing in the small clearing in which Myla stood.  She also saw that her dragon friend was wearing her new scarf.  She looked great in it, and Myla was sure her design would catch on among the younger, hipper dragons.

    As Myla ran over, Scarlett asked ¡°What is going on?  I heard three humans were near Grendom, but then I flew down here and I saw at least forty on the road. All with weapons!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the day didn¡¯t go like we planned. We are now well behind on delivering the invitations.  My parents are going to be angry.  At the moment though, I need you to help me repel the Vatharian invasion.  It shouldn¡¯t take too long, if Wyndy¡¯s plan works.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?  We are repelling an invasion?  That isn¡¯t really my style.  Girl, you really expect me to start frying the humans?¡±

    ¡°No, there is a trick to it.  Wyndy wants to repel the invasion without killing anybody, even the Vatharians, if we can help it.  We are going to try to frighten them into surrender or running away.¡±

    ¡°Well, you two are the princesses.  I hope you know what you¡¯re doing, hon.  Try not to get us all killed, right?"  Scarlett''s voice quivered.  She''d not been in a proper battle before.

    "Wyndy''s plan seems good to me, and the officers liked it, so it must be okay.  It will be only a little dangerous, I promise.  Your scales can deflect arrows, right?"

    "Maybe, I mean, I''m not that old of a dragon.  And that wasn''t exactly the most confidence-building question I''ve ever heard, you know princess?  Can''t you shield us with your shiny green magic shield spell thingy?¡±

    ¡°My shields aren''t really very strong.  My mother says that I need to concentrate more¡­¡±

    ¡°Then concentrate girl!  And Myla, hon, anyway, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m really that frightening.  I¡¯m more of a fashion monster. Look at my new nails and tell me I¡¯m a frightening monster!¡±

    Scarlett stretched out her arm and extended her long claws, which were painted a pleasant light blue.  It must have taken quite a while.  The nail salon in Lagar¡¯s Haven was set up for a very diverse client base, and generally did quality work, no matter what the species.  Myla thought them a bit on the expensive side though.

    ¡°Your nails look great!  But for today, think of them as Tactical Assault Nails.¡±

    ¡°But, oh, please no, I don¡¯t want to get blood all over them.  Do you know how much these costs?  And my father would ask questions.¡±

    ¡°Lady Scarlett, you know, if we are very frightening, the humans will run away and you won¡¯t get any blood on your nails.  And give yourself some credit already.  You really can be frightening when you want to be. It is possible to be fashionable and still be fierce ¨C I¡¯ve seen soldiers spend hours pressing their uniform pants and jackets and trimming their mustaches ¨C most of those army uniforms are more complicated and ornamented than my ball gowns. Certainly a lot more ribbons and dangly things. The elven officers are particularly bad.  They have garters for their socks!¡±

    Both ladies paused to consider the implications of military officers wearing garters to hold their socks up.

    Myla continued ¡°They put on their full-dress uniform and strut about the city, to show everybody how fashionably fierce they are. They think it impresses the women.¡±

    This seemed to somehow reassure Scarlett. ¡°They certainly look like colorful birds.  Does it impress the women? Is that what you humanoid chicks go for?¡±

    ¡°Well, they are at least entertaining, and it is nice that they try, I guess.¡±

    ¡°So, I¡¯m supposed to be fashionably fierce?  Good-looking, yet scary?¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly like that. Channel the anger of women of the ages!  Angry women can be plenty scary.  That should do it,¡± said Myla.

    ¡°Should we make this SFAC¡¯s new branding?¡± asked the dragon.

    ¡°Well, if we win this battle, we can use it on our ads at the festival,¡± replied Myla.

    Myla wrapped the great scarf around the dragon¡¯s neck and her own legs and waist to act as a harness and prepared her binding spell.  Scarlett checked to see that she was secure and spread her wings to take off.

    "Right, that is a good idea, princess.  I am so channeling the spirits of angry women!  Hold on, here we go!"

    As they launched into the air, Myla said ¡°We need to pass over Bastian¡¯s Bend quietly at first so that I can do my thing with the roots and vines.  Approach at tree level and try to stay below the ridge line.  On Wyndy¡¯s signal, we fly up, and you can do a big fire show.  Then land near them.  Make it as impressive as you can.  Maybe try to say something scary to them in your best loud dragon voice.  Don¡¯t burn anybody though.  Unless the humans stand and fight.¡±

    ¡°What will Wyndy¡¯s signal be?¡±

    ¡°I will tell you when she signals.  But you¡¯ll know it when it happens.¡±

    As they turned toward Bastian¡¯s Bend, Myla waved at Count Rassler below.  He watched the girl as she rode off on the dragon to give battle to the small army chasing him.

 Chapter 8: The Humans Should Have Thought This Through

    Sir Bowen of Maelor, knight of the realm and member of the Vatharian King''s Guard, looked over what was left of his force, and yet felt that things were starting to go his way.  The abductions had stopped with his men''s heightened vigilance and the changes to the formation he''d ordered. The horses had calmed, and they were now riding fast, making good time.

    He only worried if they could catch the traitor Rassler before they reached the monster village marked on his map, which he estimated was less than half an hour ahead.  He didn''t know the speed Rassler managed ¨C he might have made it faster than Bowen''s force and could already be at the village, or he might have faced equal harassment and would then soon be in range.

    His orders had been to bring back the count dead or alive, but the king had seemed to have a slight preference for alive, as then they could then have a trial and properly disown Rassler before his execution.  Bowen himself could be in line for some of Rassler¡¯s lands ¨C  and those lands were huge.

    Bowen reasoned that there was a good chance Rassler was already dead, killed by the same beasts that had been harassing his company as they advanced.  The beasts seemed too scared to take on Bowen''s force head on, but Rassler with just two men with him would be an easy target, one even those cowards could not resist.

    If Rassler were not already dead, Bowen thought the most likely scenarios were that Rassler would either be denied entry to the monster''s village or captured upon entering it.  Bowen felt confident though that the villagers would ransom Rassler easily.  Bowen had two hundred Vatharian gold sovereigns to offer.  Failing that he was certain that the threat of violence from a company of the elite of the Vatharian Royal Army would be convincing if the village thought his gold insufficient.

    The road they were on wound through a dense evergreen forest in a valley with hills on both sides.  Many of the hills would have been climbable by men or even horses, but at certain points there were high rocky crags rising on one or both sides.  They''d seen a handful of caves in the hills.  A stream ran just to the right of the road.   Winter was barely changing into Spring, so patches of snow still covered most of the ground. Much of what was left was muddy.

    The formation rode around an outcropping to a part of the road that had steep crags rising on both sides, and a place where the road crossed the stream and needed to be forded.

    Bowen said to Sir Hargest riding next to him.  "Damn them.  Why didn''t the scouts report this?  This terrain is perfect for an ambush.  Let''s order a halt."

    "Bowen, you remember the scouts disappeared an hour ago, right?"

    It all clicked with Bowen.  "Halt, halt the formation!  Ready, weapons out."

    Bowen stopped his company at almost exactly the spot that Histel had predicted he would.

    The sudden order to halt brought some disorder to the ranks, as they reigned back horses that had been in a fast trot up until that point. As the order got passed, the men started to draw their swords and looked back to Bowen to see why they¡¯d stopped.

    The men in the front two ranks yelled out as they noticed roots rising from the hard earth of the road, twining up around the hooves of their horses. A few vines reached down from the trees, swiping at the heads of the soldiers.  The horses in the front ranks started backing, except for one that was well caught by the vines and another that bolted into the woods in panic, unseating his rider.

    The second two ranks disappeared as trap doors opened in the road below them, and five men with their horses fell into a five-foot-deep pit. The ranks behind them backed quickly.

    A buggebear and two massive wolves sprang from a hidden cave entrance, and moved to grab Mostyn, the company¡¯s wizard. They¡¯d emerged close to where the wizard had stopped, but it was still a number of strides to get to him, even for bounding giant wolves and a towering buggebear.  As the first wolf sprung in an attempt to knock the wizard down off his horse, Mostyn let loose an array of shining magic bolts.  They struck the beast straight on his chest, stopping his leap, sending him down and pushing him back some yards. The wolf rolled into a large brown wounded furry ball.

    Mostyn turned to counter the magic animating the roots and vines, but never got a chance, as he was hit by the second wolf and knocked off his horse. As he crashed to the ground the buggebear¡¯s paw wrapped around his head, covering his mouth. The monster¡¯s other arm pinned Mostyn¡¯s arms.

    Bowen looked back and saw that eight other buggebears emerge from their hidden cave and fling nets over the soldiers near them in the middle or the formation.

    Bowen and Hargest brought their horses about, swords drawn, and prepared to charge the buggebears.  The men with them in the middle and back of the ranks who hadn¡¯t been trapped in nets or pits readied their charge also, and the crossbow men in the back took aim.

    Part way up the hill, a darkly-clad witch sat astride a giant gray wolf, both surrounded by a shimmering silver shield.  The witch¡¯s eyes lit with electric sparks, and the sparks spread across her body and arms.   Electric bolts sprung from all her fingers toward the Vatharian soldiers.  The electricity flowed primarily into the raised swords of the soldiers and into their metal helmets, shocking and stunning most of the company.  Those who could dropped their swords and flung off their helmets.

    The horses were now in a complete panic.  Some were caught by the grasping roots, some stunned or angered by the electric shocks, and all were trying to escape.  The soldiers who remained seated on their horses struggled as best they could to keep them under control.

    That was when the dragon arrived.

    Over their heads, the red dragon made a low pass, first with a long breath of fire over the company, and then with small, concentrated flame-strikes just to the right of Bowen.  On her back rode another witch ¨C a young woman with long brown hair with green-glowing eyes.  The dragon landed on a rocky outcropping part way up the hill, near the electrical witch, and the dragon yelled out to the invading soldiers, in pleasantly-accented Common Vatharian:

    "Um, hi everybody!  We thank you for your visit. It was nice to see you all, but you really need to leave now.  Please turn around and head back south at your earliest convenience!"Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    <i>That was rather a weird thing for a dragon to say,</i> thought Bowen.  <i>Is the beast mocking us before its attack?</i>

    A couple of the crossbow men who¡¯d been aiming at the buggebears did have the presence of mind to target the dragon.  The first crossbow bolt hit the shimmering green magic shield that was protecting the dragon and her rider. The shield then disappeared.  The second crossbow bolt glanced off the dragon¡¯s scales, leaving a scratch.  A third bolt was incinerated mid-flight by the dragon¡¯s breath. The beast became annoyed.

    "Okaaay, THAT WAS VERY RUDE!" spoke the dragon in an increasingly loud voice. The first words were barely above her normal speaking voice, but by the time she''d gotten to "rude," her voice had deepened and boomed through the hills.  Even its echoes shook the ground.  Her young rider gave her an encouraging pat on the back.

    "I am Lady Scarlett Nohara!  The gods are my witness.  I gave you a chance. Everybody saw.  NOW WILL YOU PLEASE LEAVE!¡± She breathed more fire into the sky as she turned to the crossbow men that had shot at her and said ¡°Leave or be an appetizer.  I am not going to ask again.¡±

    The Royal Army¡¯s crossbow men flung down their weapons and ran for it.  They were joined by a dozen other soldiers, a few of which had managed to stay on their horses and were now ahead in the retreat.

    Bowen quickly considered his options.  Most of his men were fleeing or trapped.  His wizard was nowhere to be seen.  He¡¯d lost his sword and helmet, his armor was still sparking and beginning to burn his skin.  The ground at his feet had been scorched by dragon fire.  His horse had bolted and was probably halfway back to Vathary.  Up the hill were two witches, one on a fire-breathing dragon and one on a giant wolf.  They were flanked by what looked like a wolf-human hybrid on one side and a large growling hyena on the other.  Walking down the hill, weapons raised, were a dozen orcs and buggebears, yelling a war cry in their monstrous language<sup>4</sup>.  Approaching from behind were four goblins mounted on wolves.

    Sir Hargest was at Bowen¡¯s back, facing the goblins.  Hargest had also lost his sword and had picked up a stick he¡¯d found on the ground and was holding it threateningly at the approaching monsters.  Of their other men, only five remained standing beside him.  A couple had daggers, one had retrieved his sword, and the other two had nothing but bare fists.

    The dragon loudly asked the witches, ¡°Is it okay for us to fry those last humans?  You said we could if they fought back. They were really very impolite!¡±

    The monsters took another few steps, closing the circle around Bowen and his remaining men.  There was no doubt in Bowen¡¯s mind that they were prepared to kill him if he tried to fight. His men had a frost fairy¡¯s chance in the lowest of the hells of beating them.  He saw no options but one.

    Bowen held up his hands and dropped to his knees.  He instructed the other men to follow him, and they dropped their weapons and also went to their knees.

    The witch on the giant wolf approached him.  He saw now that she appeared to be a young woman, and was beautiful. He was unable to imagine such a beauty having applied herself to the study of magic long enough to have mastered the forces used against him.  Perhaps, he thought, she was in reality an old crone covered with a powerful glamor.

    Still though, a woman, and from what Bowan thought of women, he figured flattery might work with this witch.

    ¡°Miss, I, I ask you for mercy for me and my men.  I hope and trust that your wisdom and kindness are as great as your beauty.¡±

    ¡°You address me as ¡®miss¡¯ and say I¡¯m beautiful. You should see me in a crown.  I am Princess Wyndyn of the Kingdom of Pelsa. Tie him up and take him away.¡±

    - - - -

    As Bowen and many of the Vatharian soldiers were being bound by the orcs, and the remainder of the human soldiers fled south, an eagle arrived and circled the area.

    Aida took in what she could of the scene.  She was proud of her daughters but also really angry.

    They had defeated their foes, driven the enemy soldiers before them, and she could hear the lamentations of the men even from two hundred feet above.  All of that was As It Should Be. She thought the younger knight particularly whiny.  These human soldiers had clearly never been tested before, yet somehow thought they were up to an incursion into a kingdom led by powerful magic-wielders and populated by an assortment of creatures that humans considered to be monsters.  Idiots.

    But why did the girls think they had permission to go off and lead an assault against two score invaders?  She had never told them that was allowed.  She¡¯d been meaning to have ¡°The Talk¡± with her girls about men and leading them into battle, but thought she had another year or so before it was necessary.

    As she circled, she saw there were wounded, and not just among the humans.  Two buggebears had been stabbed, and her puppy Fluffy lay curled up on the ground, as Luna and Myla huddled around him with bandages.  Aida landed immediately, returned to her elven form, didn¡¯t even take time to straighten her hair, and ran over to Myla and the group around Fluffy.

    ¡°Fluffy!  Is Fluffy okay?¡±

    ¡°Oh, hi Mom,¡± said Myla.  ¡°Wyndy and I are fine if you were worried.  We repelled an invasion.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes, I saw.  Well done.  Is Fluffy okay?¡± Aida was rushed to Fluffy¡¯s side, and cradled his massive head in her arms.

    Fluffy made low whining noises that roughly translated as ¡°Oh, the agony!  The pain!  I may never walk again!  My times frolicking in the meadows are over!¡±

    Myla explained, ¡°Fluffy seems stable, but he took a direct hit from two magic bolts.  Maalik and Zilreth also have wounds, if you can look at them.¡±

    "How did this happen?  Why was our puppy involved in this?  He is just supposed to be your mount.  He isn''t a battle wolf!"

    ¡°Well, he thinks he¡¯s a battle wolf¡­. Fluffy was very brave, Mom.  We knew we had to take the wizard out of action so that he couldn''t dispel my roots grabbing them, or what Wyndy was planning on casting to electrify all the metal.  Fluffy led the charge to take down their wizard.  He was first out of the cave, and almost had him.  He got hit, but the team succeeded. Which was good, as otherwise this battle could have gone a very different way.¡±

    Aida knew she had perhaps too much of a special place for Fluffy in her heart.  Aida had been the one to bring the giant wolves to the side of Pelsa, and they''d been great allies ever since.  She¡¯d known Fluffy''s mother well, and had long run with her in the woods.  Fluffy had been the runt of the litter, although Aida had never told that to anyone.  Aida had looked into the eyes of that cute harmless little thing, barely fifty pounds, and thought it would make a fun companion for her young daughter.  She was proud Fluffy had grown up so strong and brave.

    ¡°Oh, the light!  The gods are calling me to the great hunting ground in the heavens! I see the bright-winged maidens!¡± Fluffy continued whining in Northern Pointed Canine, in which of course Aida was fluent. Indeed she had helped codify the language and co-wrote the textbooks for the wolf-pack schools. The hardest part had been when she¡¯d had to mediate between the giant wolves and sly foxes over whether "Animals We Can Eat" should be its own grammatical gender.

    Aida turned the wolf over to get a look at the seriousness of his wounds.  They were not bad.  Certainly they must hurt, but they were nothing threatening life nor limb.

    She began to channel the healing power of nature, her eyes and hands glowing green, and focused the energy to heal Fluffy.  It only took a moment.  He had lost some hair on his chest, and the areas of the wounds would be red and tender for a week, but he was fine.

    ¡°You are a very brave wolf, Fluffy.  And you will live.  Try to take it easy for the next week,¡± Aida said as she patted him on the head and scritched behind his ears.

    Aida left to tend the other wounded.  Luna looked relieved and gave Fluffy a lick across the face before trotting off to help guard the prisoners with Shadow.  Fluffy waited a minute to see if any further head licks or tummy rubs were coming.  When it was clear they were over, got up and trotted after Luna.

    _____________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>4  </sup>They were yelling, ¡°Do not mess it up¡± in their language, High Goblin.

 Chapter 9: King Jend Arrives, Gives Out Party Invitations

    As Fluffy joined the other wolves, a dark form with massive wings flew in, landing at the crest of the hill, higher on the same crag that Scarlett had landed on earlier.  It was Lord Klajo.  He let out a great cry that could be heard many valleys away.  On his back was the ruler of the North, King Jend, who looked about and tried to make sense of what was going on.  He''d been expecting three humans, not the aftermath of a battle.

    King Jend''s loyal creatures saw the landing and their lord levitating off the dragon and in passing they thought it did indeed look awesome, a proper look for the king of their fierce land.  But they were busy disarming and tying up the already-vanquished enemies, so only a few were able to turn and give a proper salute.

    Princess Wyndyn rushed over to where her father and her honorary uncle had landed.  Jend walked toward her and they met on a cliff on the hillside, overlooking the battle site.

    Jend said "Wyndy, I saw the lightning strikes and there are a dozen human soldiers down there!  Are you all okay?"

    "Oh, we are fine.  Don''t <i>worry</i>.¡±  Wyndy used the same tone of voice she used when explaining why she was late getting home. ¡°The lightning was from me.  It powered an electrical field I built over the invading force.  Their weapons conducted the electricity, shocking the soldiers if they attempted to hold them.  The effect on their metal armor was also interesting, as it heated up and delivered stunning shocks to the soldiers wearing it.  It worked even better than I''d planned."

    Jend stared at Wyndy as if she''d been speaking a foreign language ¨C one of the weird ones like the Sea Elves spoke for which you needed two pages of text to show every possible form of any particular verb.

    "You need to explain more.  I don¡¯t understand what happened."

    ¡°So, there were like fifty soldiers from Vathary, led by two knights, right?¡±

    Jend nodded.

    ¡°And they were invading, chasing after Count Rassler, who was running away, right?¡±

    Jend nodded again.

    ¡°And so we spent a bit of time grabbing the invading soldiers that the Histel¡¯s guys knew and liked.  To, you know, protect them. And Myla and I were nearby so we came over to help and I decided to lead.  And then the invaders were getting close to Grendom, so we ambushed them and we won!¡±  Wyndy raised her hands in a happy motion, then pointed down to the battle site.

    Jend looked again at where the prisoners were being gathered and bound.  ¡°Wait, I only see a dozen prisoners. Did you, well, incinerate the rest of them?¡±

    "No, father, get a grip!  I''m not going around incinerating people. The rest are running away, back to the border.  We had decided to let those in the back who ran to get away if they ran fast.  We didn''t have enough soldiers to watch all the prisoners anyway. Scarlett and some of the buggebears are observing them now to make sure they go quickly and encourage them occasionally. The knights, the wizard and some of the soldiers who were in front we have as prisoners though."

    "What?  Why?" Jend stuttered as he tried to take it all in, especially the fact that it appeared his little baby girl had just led a war band and defeated a larger force from the Vatharian Royal Army.

    "Well, as per your own instruction, Father, I know the importance of good relations with Vathary, as you have always stressed in our lessons.  <i>Repeatedly</i> and at length.  I thus made the judgment that attempting to stop the invasion with no or minimal deaths was the ¡®prudent course of action,¡¯ as you would say.  So I went with a plan to frighten and disarm, in order to force retreat and surrender.  We did the shocking them thing, the grabbing vines thing, buggebears and orcs springing up with nets, goblins on wolves, and a particularly frightening part in which a sorceress flew in on an angry fire-breathing dragon! It was so cool!"

    Jend had now pieced together what had happened, even if it conflicted greatly with his previous understanding of reality and possibilities.   This conflict between what had happened and his understanding of reality left him greatly agitated.

    Like many males who consider themselves manly men, Jend would not admit he was afraid of any woman, except of course for his wife.  He understood in principle that his daughters could be powerful warriors and lead armies, but it wasn¡¯t an idea he thought he''d ever see the practical implementation thereof.

    ¡°Listen young lady.  I distinctly remember asking you to deliver invitations to a party.  Leading a warband of orcs and buggebears while riding a fire-breathing dragon to attack a company of human soldiers led by two Vatharian knights was not part of the assignment!¡±

    ¡°Well, <i>I</i> was not riding a dragon.  That was Myla.  <i>I</i> was riding a giant wolf.¡±

    Jend thought and said more calmly "Oh, well, in that case I guess it is okay."

    Wyndy looked at her father, surprised by his sudden calmness.

    ¡°Of course that does not make it okay!¡± Jend continued, raising his hands as sparks flew off them, his voice getting louder.  ¡°What in the hells were you thinking?  Shadow is a companion to help keep you safe.  You were not meant to ride him into battle as you led an ambush on enemy knights!¡±

    ¡°Well, I mean<i>, </i>he is a <i>giant wolf, </i>father!  It doesn''t seem so inappropriate to ride a giant wolf or even a dragon into battle when our kingdom<i> is being invaded and all</i>.  It isn''t like I asked them to invade.  They might have reached Grendom if we hadn''t stopped them.  And if I hadn''t taken command, there might have been people killed, which would have caused all the problems you¡¯ve lectured me on, plus the people being dead, right?  You should thank me!¡±

    ¡°Wyndy, you need to be careful with yourself.  The kingdom depends on you. No more leading war bands or dragon riding for either of you! You are the future of the kingdom!¡±

    ¡°Sure, yes, the kingdom will depend on me to vanquish its enemies. So I think I should be able to vanquish enemies when I want to!  I¡¯m sure other princesses get to vanquish enemies.¡±

    Histel and Garaxas had wandered into earshot and had overheard the last part of the exchange.  They sort of nodded along in agreement with the bit on vanquishing enemies.  They were all for that.

    But Wyndy was just getting started. ¡°And, Father, I might add that this human invasion shows our southern defenses to be inadequate.  There is no way they should have made it this far.  We need to increase Histel¡¯s force.  <i>Obviously.  </i>Probably also some sort of border keep, like the humans have. Myla and I can¡¯t ride down here to repel invaders every week, now that you are against dragon riding, <i>Father</i>.¡±

    Seeing how things were going, Histel had already disappeared and was back checking on the captives.  Garaxas was doing the best he could to sneak away while wearing his full plate armor.  He creaked as he sneaked.

    Jend realized that Wyndy sounded just like him.  Even worse, she was right.  He hated that. His anger grew.

    He growled at his daughter.  She bared her fangs at him and hissed.  Then she stared at him, unblinking.

    Jend turned to walk away and shook his fists at the heavens as he cried out in rage: "AAAGHRG!  DAUGHTERS!"  Lightning flashed from his fingers and arced up into the clouds.

    He felt that the Sky Father replied to him, with <i>First off, stop that!  Secondly, yes, I know.  I really really know.  All fathers face it.  You don¡¯t have to go about attacking innocent clouds.</i>

    Jend looked back to Wyndy and pointed his index finger. ¡°Battles are right out.  You are not to lead any more military campaigns without my express approval, little miss!  And no dragon riding and no attacks with electrical storms. I command it!¡±

    The Sky Father had millennia of experience with both mortals and with daughters.  He tried to share his wisdom with Jend, who could sense the Sky Father saying to him <i>Jend, that isn¡¯t going to work.  You can¡¯t stop daughters from doing what they want by just ordering them to stop.  You need a different approach. Try giving them enough authority and work to keep them busy.  I gave my daughter control of the moon and the tides, and now she doesn¡¯t have as much free time to stay out late with her friends. It is a win-win.</i>

    Jend didn¡¯t seem to be paying attention, so the Sky Father tried one more time.

    <i>Look, it works with kids in general.  For example, Thorsin, my youngest son.  He wasn¡¯t the most responsible child.  I tried to think of what to give him, as most of the good things had already been taken.  Then I thought, how about thunder?  And he really got into it. Now thunder has increased by fifty-two percent in three of the realms!  He is becoming very hard-working.  I may give him lightning soon.</i>

    Jend was arrogant and continued to ignore the sound advice of his god.  It was difficult, being a god.  You¡¯d give clear guidelines and instructions, make sure they write it down, but then your followers somehow manage to end up with eight versions of the same guideline, and would fight about which one was slightly better worded.  And after all that the gods still had to listen to the wailing of the mortals and them rending their clothes and everything when they disregarded those instructions and blamed the gods for the consequences.

    A few of the creatures in the valley below applauded the lightning display, which had admittedly looked pretty cool.  The prisoners also took notice and moved more quickly into the rows that the goblins were herding them into.  Sir Bowen, now in his undershirt and with his hands bound, had watched and seemed to realize who Jend was, and by implication who the young woman he had spoken with was.  He looked to the ground and was glaringly obvious in his attempt to look as innocuous as possible.

    Jend had started a calming breathing exercise that The Second Speaker of the Circle, Jorildyn, had taught him.  He noticed the activity of the prisoners and saw the coat-of-arms on the shield of the older of the captured knights, and he came to realize he had a better idea.

    "Wyndy, how about you and I walk down and inspect the prisoners?"

    Wyndy, surprised by the suddenly calm voice of her father, quickly replied "Yes, yes.  We should do that.  That is probably an important thing to do.  Here, follow me on this path."

    As she guided him along the winding and obscured path down the hill, Jend said to her, so that only she could hear, "You know, I am very proud of you.  You avoided killing, and you led your men instead of handing over the responsibility and running back to the castle.  We need to talk more on how you disarmed your enemy with electric strikes.  I did not teach you that, as far as I can remember, so I am very interested in understanding how you came up with the idea."

    Jend had not taught her the technique because it was not one he knew, and indeed hadn''t even thought possible.  Even now, as they walked up to the prisoners together, Jend couldn''t figure out how to replicate it.  That level of fine control was very difficult. Jend thought that if he had tried it, the most likely outcome would have been half the men dead, plus scorches on the landscape that his wife would have complained about for months.

    They passed the three giant wolves, who had gathered around the clothing of the knights.  Shadow was sniffing Bowen¡¯s shield. As far as Jend could tell from his limited knowledge of Northern Pointed Canine, they seemed to be barking something about cat-demon hairs.  The wolves were always going on about non-existent mythical cat-demons, so Jend didn¡¯t see why it should be different today.

    Jend and Wyndy neared Bowen and the other prisoners, so Jend switched to speaking in Common Vatharian and said in a commanding voice, "Now, my daughter, please present to me these Vatharian men you defeated so quickly and so easily."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Jend announced it loudly as they came up to the Vatharians. He assumed his royal persona, the formal face he presented to the public during times when ceremony was called for.  Wyndy switched to royal-mode herself.

    ¡°Yes, noblest father dear.  We found these men, dressed as members of the Vatharian Royal Army, trespassing in our lands.  The two at the end of the line claim to be knights, and certainly seemed to be the leaders of the gang.¡±

    They walked in front of the Vatharian soldiers.  Jend walked slowly with his hands clasped behind his back, looking each prisoner up and down.  Wyndy walked in front, gesturing to the prisoners and occasionally poking one with her rod to get them all standing in a straight line.

    ¡°Hmmm... yes, I see.  And tell me daughter, how long did it take you to vanquish them?¡±

    ¡°Well father, they did make a good try at fighting us.  Their wizard even managed a spell before he went down.  The battle lasted almost three minutes.  Perhaps a few of the men held out for nearly four minutes before they ran away or surrendered! To be honest, father, my force was disappointed. They had been hoping for a greater challenge, something they could tell their children about this evening.¡±

    Jend smiled.  ¡°Well, some modest sport, at least.  Still, better than that last lot did against you.¡±

    The ¡°last lot,¡± had just been training dummies, and the training dummies had actually held out slightly longer, but Wyndy continued to go along with her father¡¯s strutting in front of the captured Vatharians.  Especially now that the knights were obviously listening and pretending not to.

    ¡°Indeed Father Maximus.  But after such training as we¡¯ve had from you, wherever shall we find a worthy opponent on which I can properly exercise the great skills you¡¯ve given us through your long and wise tutelage?¡±

    Jend stroked his chin thoughtfully.  ¡°It is truly a problem.  One we must think on.¡±

    As they approached the knights at the end of the line of prisoners, Jend continued ¡°But you know, my daughter, I really must give you credit for not incinerating all these men on sight.  You showed great restraint.  More perhaps than I might have shown. Vathary should know that they are in your debt.¡±

    She smiled.

    Wyndy pointed with her rod at the two knights and the wizard at the end of the line of prisoners.  She made sure to have her rod sparking with electrical energy, with an occasional bolt arcing to the ground for emphasis.

    ¡°These men were the leaders, Father.  They say their names are Sir Bowen and Sir Hargest.  They are accompanied by this man, Siarl Mostyn, whom they claim is a War Wizard in the Vatharian Royal Army.¡±

    Mostyn was bound, gagged, blindfolded, and tied to a tree, with his every move watched closely by a goblin.  Bowen and Hargest had been stripped of their weapons and armor, their hands bound behind them.  They straightened up and stood tall as Jend and Wyndy approached.

    Jend walked up to Bowen and stood just a foot away.

    ¡°So, you are Sir Bowen of Maelor.,¡± Jend said as he looked down at the human knight as if he were something a wolf had coughed up.  ¡°And, Sir Bowen, do you know how our lives are intertwined?¡±

    ¡°I do, Jend.¡±

    ¡°You do, what?¡±  Jend glared at Bowen, his eyes flaring ever so slightly.

    ¡°I do, King Jend, Your Majesty,¡± said Bowen, as he considered his position more carefully.

    ¡°So how is your father Sir Eagor doing?¡±

    ¡°I am sad to report that he died two years ago, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°How unfortunate.  My condolences.  I am sorry for your loss and that I did not get to kill him myself.¡±

    Jend felt legitimately sad, but wasn''t sure himself as to which part he was sad about.

    ¡°Thank you, um, Your Majesty," replied Bowen, "but, know that he never held anything against you personally. You know he was just following the orders of honored King Drace.  When you won, he was happy for Vathary to trade with you."

    "So first you invade my kingdom, and then you lie right to my face?  In front of my impressionable young daughter, who is not accustomed to the deceit of Vatharians?"

    "Your Majesty, I am an honorable man, and I speak the truth."

    ¡°Your father was a friend to Lothar, and the person most responsible for the Vatharians providing aid to that evil wizard.  His estates personally provided weapons and food to Lothar¡¯s armies.  Armies that killed a third of my tribe.  Whole convoys of ships left Vathary¡¯s cities bound for Black Rocks with supplies that kept that tyrant¡¯s forces on the field of battle.¡±

    ¡°That is not how my father said it happened.¡±

    ¡°And yet that is how it happened.  Sometimes parents lie to their children, you know.¡±

    Wyndy nodded.

    Jend reached down and clasped Bowen¡¯s shoulder.  ¡°But it gets late, and we must get you and your men out of the middle of this forest.  Be assured that you will not be mistreated in my kingdom.  I will not take revenge on you for the crimes of your father. Nor I have any wish to get involved in Vathary''s latest intrigues.  We will take you and your men back to our capital, probably just for a few days. We will return you in exchange for a modest ransom and reparations, which, as you know, is customary in these cases.  And that will be the end of that.¡±

    Jend started to walk away, but had a further flash of an idea, and turned back around.  ¡°Until your ransom is paid, you are our guests, if you behave as such.  I hope it will be a pleasant visit.  It is an auspicious time, and I would not have it disturbed by this recent unpleasantness.  There is a national celebration in four days, the Equinox, the start of our new year.  Today we are giving out invitations, and to you two I officially extend invitations to the celebration.  Wyndyn, might you have one of the invitations to give to our guests here?¡±

    Wyndy did indeed still have the satchel at her side.  She reached in and took out two of the invitations and handed them to her father.  Jend presented the two slightly rumpled scrolls to Sirs Bowen and Hargest. She looked satisfied in discharging at least a part of her original duty of the day.  Jend knew both that she faced a busy day tomorrow and that she would work however many hours it took to complete her mission.

    ¡°You know, why don''t we just take care of the ransom message now, as I am very busy here ruling Pelsa, so we should get this underway.  Of the soldiers here, is there one you can suggest as a messenger?¡±  Jend indicated the Vatharian Royal Army soldiers, who were standing with their hands bound, ready for the march to Grendom.  Their horses were tied to trees nearby.

    Bowen indicated one of the men ¨C an older man with short black thinning hair and a large scar running down the side of his face.  ¡°That man, Sergeant Humphreys, is a good choice.  Dependable, no nonsense, good rider.¡±

    ¡°Right, done.  Now for the ransom.  How about ten gold sovereigns per soldier, plus fifty for the wizard, plus two hundred for each of you?¡±

    Jend spotted a look of surprise and a slight upturn in Bowen¡¯s lip upon hearing the ransom amount.  He suspected he had just set the ransom much too low. But he was too proud to correct himself, and thought it maybe for the best anyway.

    After a pause, Bowen responded.  ¡°It is really not my place to comment, Your Majesty.  I do not seem to be in a position to argue with you.¡±

    Jend smiled again.  Perhaps the day was turning out to be satisfactory.  He turned to Wyndy and asked, ¡°So, what are the plans with your prisoners now, my daughter?¡±

    ¡°We can send the messenger you suggested with the ransom demand back to Vathary, on his horse.  The rest of the prisoners are to be marched to Grendom, and then put on wagons to transport them to Lagar¡¯s Haven.  They should arrive by late-evening, and we can hold them partially in the dungeon, and partially in the town jail, I think.¡±

    ¡°That is a good plan, Daughter.  Make it happen.  These two knights though, we will have them stay in the rooms at the armory.  Keep them under guard, but they can move about the city.  The rest of their men can have one hour per day in the city ¨C under guard of course.¡±  Jend turned back to Bowen and Hargest. ¡°And I will see you two at the celebration.  I will send guides for you tomorrow, to show you about our fair land.  I trust you will behave as honorable guests as we await the payment of the ransom?¡±

    Bowen started to say something, but Hargest spoke more quickly. ¡°Yes, Your Majesty.  We will.  And we thank you and the princess for your mercy.¡±

    ¡°Good, done. Then I will see you again at the celebration.¡±

    The messenger was sent, and the men led away with the other prisoners for the walk to Grendom. The horses were roped together and taken ahead by two of the goblins, a couple of the wolves helping to herd.  Shadow walked directly behind Bowen, sniffing at him, curious about his smell.  Kirko and Addie flew ahead to warn the town and have them start preparing the wagons.

    Seeing that the preparations were well in hand, Jend looked around for Klajo, who seemed to have gone in search of his own daughter.  In the sky to the south, Jend could see the two dragons flying near each other.  They had turned back to the site of the battle, so Jend expected their arrival soon. He was looking forward to getting back to his capital.

    It was then that Count Rassler rode up, accompanied by two other humans and the buggebear guard guiding them.  Jend took one look at the handsome young human male and realized that his day maybe wasn''t that great after all.

    The count seemed to spark Queen Aida''s interest, and she finished up on the tending of the wounded and came to join her husband and elder daughter.  The count stopped near him, and he and his two men dismounted and bowed before the royal family.

    "I am Count Rassler of the March of Flai Drary.  I am at your service, King Jend, as are my men Vastien and Greymil.  We thank you and your family for your protection from the Vatharian soldiers."

    Jend took a brief look at the count and said, ¡°So, this is the noble that the Vatharian army was chasing?  Excellent, since we have him we can just send him back to bring this whole event to a conclusion. Right. A tidy end!¡±

    Wyndy stood shocked for a moment, and then quickly recovered and moved between the two men.

    ¡°No, Father, please.  We need to keep him here, to keep him safe!  If he is sent back to Vathary they will just execute him.¡±

    ¡°Well, there could be sound reasons for which they want to execute him.  He may well deserve it.  Let¡¯s have him bound!¡±  Jend felt that Rassler''s crime of being a handsome young male within one hundred yards of his daughters was certainly a crime serious enough to justify detention, perhaps execution.

    Jend eyed Rassler¡¯s squire Greymil and wondered if he should also have that young man detained for the same crime. Vastien he gave a pass, on the basis of being older and not handsome.  He could live.

    Wyndy came to the conclusion that her father wasn''t just showing off, but really meant it.  ¡°No, Father, no!  You can''t!  I mean, please, consider¡­"

    Aida intervened "Jend, honeybear.  If I might speak with you in private for a minute."

    The petite elven queen guided her large king a short distance away from the group and spoke to him quietly.

    "You remember of course that your own mother fled to this land, a land she and your father later named Pelsa, fleeing threats of execution for sorcery.  Your wise and noble father helped her flight and took her in.  Would you now turn your back on this Count Rassler, being deprived of his rightful lands and position due to similar machinations in our cruel and uncivilized neighboring land?  Your loyal creatures know you as a wise king who stands up for what is right and provides justice for all!"

    <i>Again, </i>thought Jend. <i>That elf gets her way, again. </i>

    King Jend was proud of the society they had put together over the last twenty years in the lands of Pelsa.  He had, though, made the basic first-time monarch mistake of believing his own public relations, and valued the ideas they had written all over the public buildings of the land.  Values of Justice, Freedom, Tolerance and Letting People Get On With Their Lives Without Freaking Out About What They Did in Private.

    Jend looked into the wise, loving eyes of his wife and glanced over to the pleading eyes of his daughter. They knew that he was incapable of knowingly disappointing either of them.  For a basically good man the attempt to live up to the expectations of the women he loved was more binding than any chain.

    ¡°Fine.  Whatever. You two win.  As you always do.  He is our guest until I decide what to do with him."

    Jend and Aida returned to where Rassler, Wyndy and the others were waiting.  Jend walked straight up to Rassler and grasped his hand, much more strongly than was really required.  Rassler crouched and looked like he wasn¡¯t sure if he were being welcomed or assaulted.

    Jend said in a cheery tone, "I have changed my mind.  Count Rassler, I welcome you to our Kingdom of Pelsa.  You are our honored guest.  And just in time for our national celebration!"

    Jend looked over to Wyndy and then looked down at her satchel, clearly signaling something.  Wyndy was somewhat stunned by the sudden change in her father, but quickly recovered and silently handed Rassler an invitation she took from the satchel.

    Rassler held the invitation in his hands for a moment, as Wyndy and Aida looked on expectantly, and Jend impatiently.  Rassler finally realized that he was supposed to unseal and open the scroll, so did, and saw that The Royal Family of Pelsa was inviting him to a party at the Royal Castle in three days'' time.

    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.  I am honored.  I will certainly attend¡­¡±

    Jend cut Rassler off.  ¡°You can bring your men too.  Since we are having humans this year, we might as well have a bunch, do it properly.¡±

    Vastien bowed and Greymil followed his lead.  Both looked worried.

    ¡°I will now go and survey the retreating soldiers from my noble dragon,¡± Jend exclaimed, back in his trying-to-impress-the-public mode.  ¡°Princess Wyndyn, please escort these men back to Lagar¡¯s Haven, where they can stay in the guest rooms of the castle.  Lower floor.  Please also supervise the prisoners¡¯ transportation.  Your sister should help.¡±

    Jend walked away, leaving the crowd behind, and headed up the path on the crag to signal his dragon friend.

    He met his daughters later as the wagons with their prisoners arrived in Lagar¡¯s Haven.  The newly instituted ¡°Feast of the Big Game¡± was still going on.  The members of The Circle declared that their god¡¯s declaration of the Feast must surely have been a portent of their country¡¯s stunning victory over the invaders.

    - - - -

    Sergeant Cloyd and his men were resting at the side of  the road just over the border as the fleeing Royal Army soldiers reached them.  The city guardsmen had left shortly after they¡¯d seen the lightning storm.  Cloyd and Kemble had arranged with the buggebears to be lightly bound, taken through the cave, and then left near a campsite while their captor cooked.  The group managed to "sneak" out and recover their weapons which had conveniently been left nearby.

    Mirko had appeared as arranged on the path and guided them south via a deer path parallel to the main road.  Mirko wanted to get back to his job and fellow goblins working in Keley, so thought that "escaping" with the Keley city guardsmen was the most innocuous way.  He got them to the border, and then headed off when he saw the Royal Army men approaching.

    It was a group of retreating soldiers that had been gathered by Sergeant Humphreys.  There were about twenty of them, many with their weapons, and a few still with their horses.

    When the Royal Army soldiers were within earshot, Cloyd called out, "Good to see you made it.  We were looking for you.  We had a right hard fight getting away from the buggies.  We made it though.  How did you guys do?"

    Sergeant Humphreys rode closer and spoke softly so that only Cloyd and a few of his guardsmen could hear.

    "Oh, better than I expected this adventure to go.  We are all still alive, at least."

    "What happened to Bowen and his little buddy?"

    "The nobs? Yeah, the two nobs and the rest were taken prisoner.  They were being treated all right. Or were when they let me go to deliver the ransom message."

    The two groups of Vatharian soldiers traveled together to Karthmere Hold, the keep on the border, where a man was waiting to hear their report.

 Chapter 10: The Human Kings Counselors Have It All Figured Out

    Kyant, official Second Counselor to the Great Sovereign of Vathary, King Neydon, was having an excellent morning.  The king was busy supervising the preparation of his stable of race horses for the afternoon''s races, so he wouldn''t be calling for Kyant anytime soon.

    Even better, a fresh batch of financial reports had come in from the seven cities of the kingdom, so Kyant had a whole morning, afternoon, and evening planned of sitting in the castle''s kitchen by the big fire, sipping the endless cups of tea the kitchen staff provided, while reading page after page of tax and tariff collections, the city workers'' pay, the public works spending, and what remained of the cities'' approved budgets.  He would be able to reconcile this to the separate amounts reported in the treasuries, compare it to his projections, and order audits wherever there was a discrepancy.  It was really far more fun than a human should be legally allowed to have.

    His plans for the day were cruelly thwarted when he noticed his fellow counselor, Dravon, walking quickly past the palace kitchen in the direction of the Royal Stables.  Dravon carried a set of scrolls, which was odd as he had not brought any recent message to Kyant.

    Kyant suspected Dravon''s destination, and to whom he was going to talk, and had a prediction for the subject of the talk.  Kyant knew he should be there, as last time Dravon had an hour alone with the king, an arrest warrant had been issued for a loyal noble in an important borderland territory, with the accusation based on nothing but rumors.  Rumors Kyant himself found borderline ridiculous.

    Kyant then reluctantly gathered up his beloved reports, locked them in his office, and did a rather undignified speed walk down to the stables.

    As expected, the First Counselor Dravon had lured King Neydon away from the horses, and into the tack room of the stables.  Dravon had a scroll he''d unrolled and was reading a report to the king.

    Dravon¡¯s short dark hair was in a state of disarray, as it so often was.  Kyant wondered why the king listened to Dravon.  Kyant was a former army officer, so felt to his core that anybody with messy hair should not be taken seriously.

    "What we know so far, my king, is that Pelsa sprung a trap, using a hundred monsters and fell beasts, which descended upon the brave soldiers of Vathary.  We think Sir Bowen and Sir Hargest were taken hostage, perhaps with a few others.  Most were not so lucky though. Eighteen soldiers of the Royal Army were eaten raw, and two further men were fried and made into sandwiches for the monsters to consume for lunch the next day!"  Counselor Dravon paused his reading and shuddered.

    "This was despite Sir Bowen having entered under a flag of truce and having asked the Pelsa border guards for diplomatic passage, which the treacherous monsters agreed.  It turns out that they were using that promise only to lure the men from Vathary farther into Pelsa, so that they could fall on them in a sudden ambush."

    "The trap was sprung by two old orcish hags wielding demonic powers, one riding an ancient, scarred wyrm who incinerated the front row with fires from the depths of hell.  The men had thought they''d been granted diplomatic passage, and had pulled back the scouts.  They were thus unaware and unsuspecting of the approaching horde.  We have reports that Rassler rode in after the battle, an honored guest or possibly a co-conspirator, to ascertain that the Pelsa horde had done his will."

    The king had been listening while selecting the bridles and saddles for his horses that were to race that afternoon.  He noticed Kyant had arrived and turned toward the second counselor, a general look of annoyance on his face.

    "So, Counselor Kyant, what think you of this unfortunate event, and how do you advise we should best take revenge?  And given that it is you, I''m sure you will want to do it inexpensively."

    Kyant had not had much success in convincing Neydon of anything recently, a few budgeting issues aside.  Kyant decided to give it another try though.

    "Well, sire.  I suspect there may be more to the story. We should not rely on this one report, of which I do not know the origin.   Relations have been good with Pelsa for years now.  There were no increasing tensions, just increasing trade, and increasing tax revenues from that trade.  We''ve even had visitors, just ¡®sight seeing,¡¯ crossing the border both ways, without problems.  So, I would ask if we could talk directly to a selection of the men involved, and to Sir Bowen when we secure his release.  We could bring them here tell their tale in front of us all."

    As the king turned his back and went back to preparing the gear, Dravon spoke directly and loudly to his fellow counselor.

    "Kyant, but you have always been so naive!  You insist on seeing only the good in people, so deny that Pelsa is, at its heart, a collection of monsters ruled by witches and warlocks.  They have only a veneer of civilization, the thinnest veneer!  This event shows their true colors.  We need to issue a warning, and prepare a force to get our men back, if any still live."

    Dravon turned back to the king and indicated a section of the scroll.  "If you might look, sire, I have here the ransom demands.  They bit off one of the guardsmen''s arms, and chewed it up in front of him, but left him another arm to carry their demands back to us."

    "Demands?" the king looked back at Dravon with the sides of his eyes.  "What do the monsters ''demand'' from Vathary for our own men, captured in diplomatic service?"

    "They ask for five thousand gold sovereigns for Sir Bowen, four thousand for Sir Hargest, and one thousand for the wizard, Mostyn. Plus a hundred gold for each of the soldiers who remain alive in their dungeons.  It is unclear how many are still alive and how many have been eaten.  They also say the men will be tortured daily until we pay."

    "Those demands are outrageous,¡± replied the king. ¡°Okay, maybe reasonable for Bowen, given his lands.  On the high side, perhaps.  Hargest is a younger son, with no lands and, between us all here, no real prospects of any.  I might pay three hundred, but any more is absurd.  Let them keep the men.  Even Bowen.  Honestly, he is annoying, and he failed me on this mission."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Kyant was horrified on many levels, but tried to say what he could to salvage something.  "Your Highness, I really might advise that we should make an attempt to get Bowen, Hargest and the other men back.  If we don''t, it will reduce morale in the military.  After they are given a couple of days, and if I spoke with them directly, the leaders of Pelsa may see this isn''t a sensible path for them and be more reasonable.  If I might be permitted to travel there and speak with ¡­"

    The king cut off Kyant.  "Really Counselor Kyant?   You once served the army and then this kingdom well, and I admit you have a better understanding of our taxes and expenses than I do.  However, I too have really found you hopelessly naive.  You attribute human emotions and decency to a veritable herd of beasts.  Cannot you see that their primitive minds are working as hard as they can to mock us here in the civilized realms?"

    Dravon nodded vigorously. "We really must deal with them, sire.  Their ambition only grows.  They now style their primitive tribal positions and their bastard warlord as ''king'' and the most vile elf witch as ''queen''.  They name a fire-breathing and man-eating dragon a ''duke''.  It shows they think themselves the equal of the human kingdoms of the civilized lands.  And if they think themselves our equal, we all know that the next thought in their warlord Jend''s head, assuming he is capable of complex thought, is to expand his kingdom south and finally get decent farming land.  I''m sure he spreads his lies throughout his tribal lands, and perhaps his whispers are even what led to the issues and disloyalty in Flai Drary.  He may have been courting Rassler to support his ambitions for some time.  I don''t think it is any surprise that Rassler fled to Jend for safety.  Rassler must be part of Jend''s conspiracy!"

    "Conspiracy?  What conspiracy?" Kyant said.   "I doubt they''d even spoken.  Rassler was just running for his life after we sent soldiers to arrest him. Going north was probably his only option.  I can''t think of another that he had."

    Dravon squared up opposite Kyant and pointed at him, his finger just a few inches from Kyant¡¯s nose.  "Again, Kyant, you just betray your naivet¨¦.  It is painful for me to watch you deny the obvious.  Our king must know of these plots against him!"

    The king shook his head. "Indeed, Counselor Kyant.  I must ask why you try to deny that the March of Flai Drary and Jend were involved in a conspiracy against me?  Really, it is obvious that they were. How else can these events be explained?  We were clearly right to suspect Rassler."

    "But, sire, we have not examined what the evidence is to support these claims.  If I learned anything in the army, and in your direct service, is that inaccurate rumors travel faster and are more easily believed than the truth.  And the more wrong and scandalous the rumor, the faster it spreads."

    The king began to reply, voice rising, "Kyant, just shut your mouth and, we really need to talk about..."

    Kyant was saved by the arrival of Earl Martain, who entered the room.

    "My brother!  How goes it?  Are you ready to see your horses dominate again today?"  Earl Martain entered with a flourish and went to hug the king.  Martain was much what the king wasn''t; tall, athletic, with luxurious blond hair and equally luxurious greetings.  He was in his early thirties, like the king, but most on meeting him would have guessed him to be in his early twenties.  The king they would have figured for over forty.

    Earl Martain was not Neydon''s brother, as Neydon was an only child, but was the closest thing he had to one, as they''d grown up together.  Martain was the only one Neydon let hug him.  Anyone else, other than Neydon''s wife Queen Zofia, was not allowed within three feet, and an attempt to hug would probably lead to at least the stockade, or even execution for particularly egregious hugs.

    "It is good to see you, Martain," Neydon said.  I''m almost done.  Bring the jockeys in, and we can get going.  I was just finishing up with these two.  An unpleasant business.  You heard what happened to Bowen?"

    "No, what happened to our man Bowen?  Is he all right?"

    "Currently prisoner in ''Pelsa'', of all places."

    "Pelsa? The monster badlands?  How''d he end up there?  He wants to lay claim to some tundra?  Another of his weird schemes to get more land?"

    ¡°No, he was in Our service. We sent Bowen and Hargest at the command of a force from the Royal Army to Keley to arrest Rassler. But the scoundrel did not stand like a man and answer the accusations.  Instead he fled to Jend, the warlord to the north, with whom he is clearly in league.  Bowen took his men across the border in pursuit of Rassler, and thought he had safe passage, as Dravon here can explain.  But Jend had a couple of dark witches with a force of monsters attack Bowen and his men. Most of our men ended up eaten.  Now Bowen is most probably being tortured in a dungeon in that collection of shacks that passes for the monster capital city.¡±

    Dravon raised his hand, ¡°And, sire and my lord Martain, if I might add, we have also received a report from a spy we have in Lagar¡¯s Haven, stating that Sir Bowen is being forced to attend a dark demonic ceremony worshiping Jend and his witch-wife¡¯s twisted version of the gods, taking place on the Equinox.  Just a couple of days from now.  We must hope that Sir Bowen and Sir Hargest survive the ceremony, and do not have their livers removed and sacrificed on the witches¡¯ altar!¡±

    ¡°Wow,¡± said Earl Martain.

    They all paused and looked at each other.

    Martain thought hard and said, ¡°But we need to get the horses to the track!  The jockeys are ready.  And you, my brother, will not just be loved as our wise king today, but loved as the ¡®Speed King¡¯!  Your team is looking very strong today, so let¡¯s not delay, but go conquer!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Martain, you are right.  Enough of this. Let¡¯s get to the track.¡±  Neydon turned to the two counselors. ¡°You two, out.  We¡¯ll talk more of this tomorrow after Our lunch. I must go now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sire,¡± said Kyant, hoping the day''s delay gave him enough time to figure out what was really going on.

    As he headed toward the door, Dravon said, ¡°Your Royal Highness, it is just, well, we should give a response to the ransom demand.  Bowen and Hargest¡¯s lives may depend on it, and they perhaps do not have much time.¡±

    Neydon let out an audibly loud sigh of frustration and impatience.  ¡°Yes, yes, yes.  I know.  But we can certainly not meet the warlord¡¯s crazy and insulting ¡®demands.¡¯  But, yes, I know we must take care of our knights, and I do care for them.  So, let us say, we offer four thousand gold sovereigns for Bowen, four hundred for Hargest, a hundred for the wizard, whatever his name was, and fifty for any other man they haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± Neydon watched as Dravon wrote down the amounts. ¡°Do you have all that? Yes, good.  Get it dispatched, and don¡¯t bother me again until tomorrow.  If they don¡¯t accept the ransom, get your other men ready. Now, goodbye to both of you, and do try to come to the races.¡±

    As they exited, Dravon said to Kyant, ¡°So that will be a total of five thousand gold sovereigns.  Counselor Kyant, you''ve heard it commanded. If you could accompany me now to the treasury, I will withdraw the funds and get them to an envoy I trust.  He will take the money to Pelsa and free our men.¡±

    A withdrawal of five thousand gold caused Kyant physical pain to even think about, but he had heard the king first-hand.  He walked with Dravon to the Royal Vaults.

 Chapter 11: Count Rassler Learns About the Local Culture

    The day after the battle at Bastian¡¯s Bend, Rassler didn¡¯t see much of the princesses.  He was dimly aware of seeing them in the courtyard in the early morning, carrying two satchels of scrolls and setting out with their wolves and goblins, along with an escorting dragon for some reason.  They didn¡¯t appear again until evening, arriving back exhausted and then stomping off toward the baths while their wolves rolled over on their backs and slept.  The one he understood was called Fluffy then headed down to the town, and the one called Shadow headed toward the kitchens.

    The day had not been a loss though.  The castle goblins took them on a tour of the fortress grounds, and made sure they were satisfied with their rooms.  They were fed a large breakfast and a larger lunch.  The highlight was the visit by a pair of young tailors, one a tallish goblin and the other a shortish elf, so about the same height. They measured Rassler, Vastien, and Greymil  and promised they would return the next day with a "selection of general daywear as well as special festive clothing for you fine gentlemen."

    Indeed, the next morning, not long after another large breakfast, a package with four sets of clothing arrived in each of their rooms.  The attire ranged from a couple of simple but well-fitting casual tunics and trousers to a more complex and elegant ensemble one might wear to a nobles¡¯ party, to finally a very formal coat, waistcoat, trousers and silk scarf, which Rassler supposed was intended for the Equinox Celebration the next day.  All of it was of the highest quality and had a perfect fit.  The design was much less frilly and not nearly as ornate as what the style was in Vathary at the time, but instead went for an elegant but simple, almost stark, look.

    While Rassler was trying on the somewhat-formal party clothing, there came a knock at the door.  Opening it, he was greeted by Princess Wyndyn who smiled at him and said "Count Rassler.  Good morning to you!  The festival will start soon, so it is time to show you around!"

    Rassler quietly thanked the goddess Hestia that he''d been surprised while well-dressed<sup>5</sup>.  "Princess Wyndyn, but this is as pleasant as it is unexpected.  I would be very happy to see your fair city.  Shall I bring my men?"

    "Oh, do not worry about them.  Sergeant Dorchek is in town, and he volunteered to take your two men to the festival and introduce them around.  Dorchy is considered something of an expert on dealing with humans."

    "I had thought the celebration wasn''t until tomorrow, but again, thank you for that consideration for my men, my lady. "

    "Tomorrow is the official formal party in the Great Mother¡¯s honor at the castle, on the day of the Equinox. But today the town festival starts.  It takes place across most of the town, and there are booths, and games, and great food, and music!  It runs for three days.  You will like it, I promise."

    "That sounds wonderful.  I am very excited to see it.  I am honored to go with you, princess.  It is just you and I that will be going?"  Rassler asked, the anticipation evident in his voice.

    "Well, my father suggested, since you are being hunted by an entire human kingdom and all, that Shadow should go with us.  He said it was then fine for me to take you to the festival."

    Rassler looked further down the hall. There, to his horror, he saw Shadow sitting at the end of the hall by the stairs.  Shadow looked directly at Rassler and licked his lips.

    "You see, my father and Shadow talked, and Shadow pledged to keep a very close eye on you.  You will be perfectly safe in the festival!  Shadow is well known as one of the most ferocious of the giant wolves!"

    Shadow continued looking directly at Rassler and slowly nodded his head.

    "But just as a secret between us here, I can tell you that Shadow is really a big sweety."

    The giant wolf, who still maintained unblinking eye contact with Rassler, shook his head side-to-side.

    Rassler tried not to let his nervousness about the wolf show, but Wyndy could still pick up that he was clearly uncertain about the situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said.  ¡°There is no way that those Vatharians can get you! In addition to Shadow, you¡¯ll be surrounded by orcs, goblins, buggebears, dragons, trolls, awakened trees, bat-folk, and other giant wolves!  Many of them are in the military and are trained killers. Some are armed to the teeth.  Others just have really sharp teeth. So you will be perfectly safe.  It will be fun!¡±

    Count Rassler would normally not go out among his human subjects in even the most secure parts of his fiefdom without a minimum of six trusted guards, so a street festival in Pelsa guarded by only a single giant wolf of suspect motivations was something of a stretch for him.

    Every bit of his self-preservation instinct told him to stay in the castle.  But, well, the princess was beautiful, and beautiful women have sort of ability to shut down what few good judgements sensors young men possess. Not to mention that Rassler knew the woman''s parents might be able to get Rassler''s lands back, should they so wish.  So Rassler finished buttoning his coat, and stepped out with Princess Wyndyn to go into the town.  Shadow followed closely behind.

    "Also, I am a sorceress and can incinerate eighty percent of targets at ninety yards within one to four seconds.  And the last exam was two months ago, so I am probably better than that now."

    "Brilliant,¡± he said. ¡°Good to know.  I will certainly keep that in mind."

    As they emerged from the castle Rassler saw that where previously the hillside leading to the castle had been kept bare, it was now densely covered in trees.

    Wyndy asked him "Would you like to travel down to the town by the road, or by trees?"

    "Trees? How can we travel ¡­"

    But a moment after Rassler had said "trees" the branches nearest him moved quickly, grabbed him, and began passing him tree-to-tree down the hill.  He screamed, but then saw Wyndy walking lightly on top of the branches, as the trees formed a path for her.  She smiled at Rassler and pointed to a large branch in front of her, where the trees gently set him down.

    "Some of the trees here are awake, you see.  They can move and are, of course, full citizens of Pelsa."

    "Right, good.  So they do hillside transportation?"

    The tree they were standing on answered him, speaking with an accent that evoked the sound of leaves rustling. "Just for the Equinox celebrations.  A few of the groves volunteer and take turns.  We can make a path down for you to walk, or we can pass you down the hill if you hold out your arms like this."  The tree raised two of its higher branches perpendicular to its trunk.

    Rassler was getting his bearings, standing on the branch, and using a few smaller branches at his side for balance.  "Thank you for the offer.  Perhaps I will try to walk down the path of branches.  Our fair princess seems good at it."

    The branches started to form a pathway from Rassler down the hill.  Wyndy patted one of the branches and said "Thank you, Vetev.  I hope Briza and your saplings are doing well!"

    The tree answered, "Thank you, Your Highness.  They are indeed growing nicely, by grace of the Great Mother.  I will pass them your regards."

    Wyndy advanced down the hillside.  Stepping from branch to branch from tree to animate tree, balancing easily even in her somewhat formal dress and shoes.  She looked back and motioned Rassler to follow.

    The tree let go of Rassler''s shoulders, but kept protective leaves close as Rassler took a tentative step along the branch.  As he did so, it bent to the right to connect to the next tree down the hill.

    As he approached Wyndy, she pointed to a group of giggling elf and orc children acrobatically swinging down the hill.  "You see, the kids love it!  This was always my favorite part of the Equinox."

    Rassler and Wyndy headed down the hill via the forming path of branches, Rassler gaining in confidence as he went.  A few times he came close to falling, but found the trees raised other limbs to catch and support him.  He was almost enjoying himself.  On the ground below, Shadow bounded down the hill, staying a few yards ahead of the pair in the trees.

    They caught up to his squire Greymil and the buggebear Sergeant Dorchek who were also making their way down the hill via the branch path formed by the trees.  Greymil, Rassler¡¯s squire and not much more than a boy himself, seemed to find it great fun, even traveling by swinging from limb to limb in some of the places, chasing after Dorchy.

    Rassler¡¯s cook Vastien didn¡¯t seem to be having as good of a time.  Rassler spotted Vastien well away, still well up the hill and walking down the long staircase.  Vastien wasn¡¯t one for pathways high amongst the trees.

    Wyndy herself didn¡¯t swing so much as glide along the branches, never a step out of place or even a hint of being off-balance.  Rassler wasn¡¯t sure if she were employing magic, or had just grown up dancing lightly through the treetops.

    They reached the bottom of the hill, emerging from the small, moving forest near an amphitheater. The open-air auditorium consisted of an oval on the ground, on which was built a wooden stage, surrounded by twenty rows of seats.  There was an open gate through which a steady stream of creatures entered.  Wyndy joined the queue to enter, and Rassler noticed many in the crowd nodding to her with respect, and that there were more than a few of curious stares directed at him.

    As they entered the seating area a herald-orc called out something.  Wyndy quickly turned to Rassler and translated ¡°Oh, they are welcoming the heroes from the battle.¡±

    Rassler started to raise his hands in greeting, but before he could two of the orcs lifted Wyndy onto their shoulders. Four of the buggebears lifted a slightly-surprised Shadow to theirs. The crowd went wild.  The entire arena rose to its feet and began loud cheering, howling and stomping, while Wyndy waved and Shadow wagged to the crowd.

    Rassler was ignored until a couple of minutes into the cheering when the herald-orc yelled again, this time speaking in Common Vatharian so that Rassler could understand, ¡°And we should also welcome our guest, the human noble saved by the princesses and their mighty forces:  Count Rassler, a good human who was driven from his home by bad humans!¡±

    The crowd gave a cheer for Rassler too, although much more subdued.  One of the larger orc women seemed moved by his fate and loss of his home, and came over and gave the count a big hug, tears flowing at the thought of the poor lost human.

    They were soon shown to a seat, in a central section with a nice view.  The creatures cleared out an area for the three to sit, with Rassler alongside Wyndy and Shadow right behind them.

    A pack of giant wolves was coming on stage and forming into a choir.  They were joined by two normal-sized wolves, three particularly large foxes, a brown weiner dog and a very scruffy terrier. As the choir formed into lines they did a few warm-up howls, working to bring their tuning into sync.

    When the choir looked ready to begin, Wyndy leaned over to Count Rassler and whispered into his ear.  ¡°The first piece is called ¡®The Lament of the Hunting Wolf¡¯ and it is one of the great wolf classics.  It is considered central to their culture.¡±

    The choir went silent, and a spotlight focused on a young male giant wolf, center stage.  Rassler recognized the wolf as the one called ¡°Fluffy,¡± whom he¡¯d seen wounded after the battle.  Indeed Fluffy wore a bandage over his chest, and looked quite proud of it.

    There were a number of female giant wolves in the front rows who looked at him with big eyes, entranced.  Rassler noticed that most of these wolves wore shirts that had the letters ¡°SFAC¡± written on them, and many had stylish silky scarves.

    Rassler indicated Fluffy and said to Wyndy ¡°That is one of the other wolves from the battle, right?  He seems a very serious wolf.¡±

    Shadow made a soft growl, followed by two quick coughs.

    Wyndy replied to Shadow, ¡°Hush.  He¡¯s worked hard on this.¡±

    Fluffy began to howl, a low soft howl that soon raised in pitch and strength. After a dramatic pause, the rest of the choir joined in with a stunning five-part harmony of howls and yelps.  Rassler felt the sound reverberate deeply in his very being, a primordial feeling that told his humanoid self to flee immediately.  That Shadow sat just behind Rassler, breathing down his neck, intensified the impulse.  It was all Rassler could do to stay seated.

    Wyndy translated for Rassler as the wolves continued:

    ¡°My mother told me to keep my tongue in my mouth while running,

    But I was hot.

    The temperature was above freezing!  The snow was melting!

    I let my tongue dangle down.

    So low did it dangle.

    While I was chasing the deer, I bit my tongue.  Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    Ouch! That really hurts!

    Ouch oooouw

    Oooooowwww!

    How can I do wolf stuff while my tongue hurts so much?

    I cannot run fast with this pain!

    I certainly cannot chomp down on my prey!

    Now the deer are laughing at me, as they speed away.

    Woe is to me.  I will not eat this afternoon.¡±

    The audience loved it, and Fluffy and the choir received a resounding standing and flying ovation.

    Rassler nodded as he considered the impact of the Lament.  ¡°Well, okay.  I think I get what they are saying, and I can see why that might be important to a wolf.  Maybe though it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t translate any more.¡±

    Wyndy seemed to understand that Rassler might not have fully internalized the song¡¯s complex layers of meaning.   ¡°I may not be doing it justice.  Some things get lost in translation.  In Northern Pointed Canine, it rhymes!¡±

    Rassler wasn¡¯t sure that the rhyming was the issue, and it must have shown on his face, as Wyndy continued, ¡°You know, I just finished reading <i>Howl: Deconstructing Giant Wolf Songs and Poetry ¨C Understanding the Earth Mother¡¯s Sylvan Philosopher Pack</i>.  It''s a really great book, by one of our top young orc academics, Professor Grdkr.  If you¡¯d like, I can meet you after breakfast tomorrow and we can go over the book and the latest thinking about Modern Canine Expressionism.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yes. That would be very, well, nice,¡± Rassler said.  ¡°I''m sure I would enjoy learning more about wolf expressions.¡±

    Shadow snorted, and then made a low growling noise, to which Wyndy replied, ¡°Shadow, again? Just hush.  And she does understand giant wolf culture!  Just because you don¡¯t doesn¡¯t mean you need to go around complaining about her book.  All the other professors agree with her!¡±

    Rassler wasn¡¯t sure what Shadow had said, but he agreed with him.

    Shadow made another growling noise.

    ¡°What giant wolf empire?  That¡¯s a myth!¡± said Wyndy.

    Shadow started to reply, but had to go silent as The Pelsan Canine Choir started their second song, a more up-beat and positive-sounding piece.

    ¡°This is called Ode to the Moon¡¯,¡± explained Wyndy<sup>6</sup>.  ¡°It is another great canine classic.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it sounds interesting.  Right, just to ask, are we staying here long?  Maybe we should see the rest of the festival?¡±  Rassler felt impatient. He used his handkerchief to wipe giant wolf drool from the back of his neck.

    Wyndy was enjoying the show, and she didn''t seem to be able to work out why Rassler was uncomfortable.  ¡°Well, we should stay until they finish.  They are only doing three songs anyway.¡±

    ¡°Is there a program?  How do you know they are only doing three songs?¡±

    ¡°The wolves only have three songs.  These two, and ¡°Let¡¯s All Go Hunt!¡±  Although I understand that Corporal Luna is working on a fourth one about how tasty meat is.¡±

    They stayed for the last song, which seemed to be a crowd favorite as all the wolves in the audience,  and even many of the orcs and buggebears, seemed to know the howls and sang along on the later choruses.  By the last noises even Rassler was ready to head out for a hunt with the pack.  Shadow and many of the other wolves in the audience had joined the choir onstage, in a near-frenzy of fur and, for some reason, scarves.

    "Why do so many creatures have scarves here? Is that some national thing?" asked Rassler as the applause, stomping, and barking died down.

    "Yeah, scarves.  That¡¯s mostly my sister''s doing.  She is very business-minded. And now, after the great scarf in the battle¡­ well, scarves are a thing.  We''ll go by SFAC after the show.  We can get you one!"  said Wyndy.  She then watched as a horde of younger creatures climbed on to the stage.  "Oh, you''ll like this.  It is the first year schoolers!"

    Rassler had been standing, hoping they could leave while Shadow was on the stage howling.  But Shadow had returned and saw that Wyndy was sitting down, ready to watch the young creatures'' performance.  He put his paw on Rassler''s shoulder and firmly pushed Rassler back down into his seat.

    A young buggebear, barely five feet tall, stood on a raised platform in the middle of the stage, holding a potted flower.  He yelled out something in a language Rassler didn¡¯t understand, and two young goblins at the edge of the stage held up signs, one in which was clearly written in elvish, which Rassler could read a little, and one which was written in Common Vatharian, which read:

    ¡°I am the great General Jend.  We lost the battle at the Bronze Citadel.  Now we make our final stand against the wizard Lothar.  But we need allies who are friends of the Earth Mother to defeat Lothar.  What should we do?¡±

    Another child, this one a tiny elf girl stood at the front of the stage and sang a short song.  The goblins put up cards reading:

    ¡°I am the Great Mother.  I will send my most devoted and talented followers, The Circle, to help General Jend!¡±

    A group of children and pups of a variety of shapes and sizes climbed onto the stage in and formed a circle around a single larger orc girl, who gave a speech in what Rassler could tell was the elven language, speaking a lot more fluently than Rassler himself could manage in the language.  The card goblins held up new cards reading

    ¡°I am Aida, and with the blessing of the Great Goddess I can channel the power of nature.  We will help you defeat the evil wizard Lothar and his almost-as-evil son Dretter!¡±

    Jend gave Aida the flower.  What looked like the rest of the school class came on stage, and formed into two ¡°armies¡± that growled at each other for a moment, and each sang a short song.

    An orc child dressed in a cloak and with a long beard stood before the child playing Jend and made a short speech.  The cards read:

    ¡°I the Sky Father tell you General Jend:  This is your chance, do not mess it up¡±<sup>7</sup>

    All the children cheered the Sky Father¡¯s speech.

    The performance went on to show Jend and Aida¡¯s army defeating the wizard, with the wizard and his evil dragon having a very dramatic death scene center stage. The children of the wizard¡¯s army surrendered and joined the victorious side, forming one big group.  Lothar¡¯s son Dretter was shown sneaking off and vowing revenge, as the show ended with a big group song to much applause.  The only mishap was when a young dragon, part of the ¡°good¡± army, accidentally lit the scenery on fire.  The attending teachers had the fire out almost instantly, though.

    The card goblins held up their final card.

    ¡°So children, listen to your parents!  For the evil Dretter still lurks and will come grab you if you do something bad!¡±

    As the children ran to their parents in the audience, Rassler, Shadow, and Wyndy filed out of the amphitheater.  Rassler asked Wyndy about the show.  ¡°I heard Elvish being spoken in parts of the show, but most of it was in your other language. Does everybody here understand the same language?¡±

    Wyndy replied, ¡°Of course, yes.  We speak High Goblin here.  That is what most of the show was in.  It was a language that my parents worked on, and made the language of their kingdom.  It was based on the trading language of the tribes of the north, and has some words from Orcoi and some from Cave Goblin, which themselves were related languages anyway.  The trade language was somewhere in between the dialects, so they made it into the full and standard language.  It does have a lot of words borrowed from Common Vatharian and Modern Elven, although we say them our way.¡±

    ¡°But part of the play was in Elven, and the orc girl spoke it well,¡± Rassler said.

    ¡°Of course! Here in Lagar¡¯s Haven, the schools are bilingual.  We have classes in both languages, although more in High Goblin than in Modern Elven. Some study Common Vatharian too.  In the villages, they have to have at least a couple of hours of Elven per week.¡±

    Rassler had suffered through hours of Elven classes himself, to little effect.  He said ¡°But it must be very hard, to have orc and goblin kids get anywhere with Elven.¡±

    Wyndy turned them down a street, heading to what looked like a large metal hut.  ¡°The orcish and the elven languages are related, so it isn¡¯t so hard to learn one if you know the other.  Very different pronunciation, though.  Four thousand years ago it was all one language, and then they started splitting off as the groups moved apart and lost contact."

    "Elves and orcs spoke the same language?  How was that?"

    "They spoke the same language because they were the same people. Ask my mother.  She can explain it.  She was born and raised an elf, then married an orc guy, so she knows everything about all the languages and all the peoples."

    ¡°The orcs and elves were the same people?  Where did they live?¡±

    Wyndy held up her hands in a stop-right-there motion. ¡°Oh, no, no. No! The Elvo-Orcai Homeland problem?  Don¡¯t even bring that up.  My mother banned further theories on that subject, as the scholars were getting really intense about it. There were many injuries.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but what about goblins? Can we ask about their origins?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, goblins are basically just short orcs, but neither group likes to admit that.  Their languages were already mutually comprehensible.¡±

    She tapped her finger to her throat, and said ¡°But that reminds me.  Myla set up an appointment for you with Bedo, so that you can understand us better. Then we won''t have to spend the whole festival speaking Vatharian.¡±

    ¡°Who is Bedo?¡±

    ¡°Bedo is Myla''s boyfriend.  Also a very clever young wizard.  One of the best of our generation.¡±

    ¡°He can''t possibly be as good as you, my lady.  I heard what you did at the battle.¡±

    The look on Wyndy¡¯s face was either a sigh or a smile.  ¡°Yes, you are a charming human male, but you only speak one language, so you can''t think properly.   It¡¯s true that I am better at incinerating things than Bedo will ever be. If you want something blown up, people think of me, or my father.   We blow up stuff.  I¡¯m told that¡¯s important for a monarch¡­. But Bedo is very clever with the less violent applications of magic.  He is a great scholar, like his own father before him.¡±

    She led them a few blocks through the city, until they came to a large square. Or more of a hexagon. It was surrounded by a jumble of buildings, from single-story wooden ones, looking like they''d been built a hundred years ago, to tall stone buildings which any southern human kingdom would have been proud of.  Rassler figured one particularly imposing building to be the town hall.

    Food stands had been set up around the square, and Rassler could smell smoke, charred ash, and food cooking, in about that order.  Creatures of every size and shape crowded around the stands, and at the makeshift tables that had been setup in the spaces in between.

    The stand closest to where they entered was manned by two elves and a goblin.  Rassler could make out the name of the stand, written on a banner in Elven: ¡°Tastes of Dhu''Nemos.¡±

    At a table nearby, a young orc girl was bringing her father a roast carrot from the elven stand.  The father, a large orc warrior, looked with worry at the elven carrot.  He made a good attempt to smile and cut off a bit of the carrot, inspected it closely, and put it in his mouth.  His daughter looked on.

    ¡°Oh, look, they brought fresh southern swamp peet!¡± Wyndy pointed at a park at one side of the square with a number of trees.  Really too many trees for a small park, all crammed in together.  ¡°That is the Tasty Dirt area.  The sign says there are two specials today:  The Southern Swamp Peet and the Western Grasslands Long-Composted.¡±

    Rassler didn¡¯t see anything even resembling a sign, but he took Wyndy¡¯s word for it.  It didn¡¯t seem the type of thing she would joke about.

    From the park, Rassler could hear the sound of birds chirping, insects buzzing, and a strong wind, even though it wasn¡¯t a windy day.  The trees were swaying side-to-side, in sync.

    ¡°Wait, are the trees dancing? Is that music?¡±

    Wyndy patted him on the shoulder, proud of his growing observation skills. ¡°Yes, exactly.  The music is what we call ¡®Ambient.¡¯  The younger city trees especially love it.  Both the awakened and the non-awakened types of trees.¡±  Wyndy sounded happy that Rassler was beginning to understand the cultures of her native land.

    From the other side of the square came a noise that sounded like a thousand years of pent-up rage, being released into the air in the form of screaming, banging, and the act of forcing defenseless string instruments to emit loud screeching noise.

    Rassler expected to see a major and unnatural catastrophe. ¡°By the gods, what is that noise?  Are those people okay?¡±

    Wyndy was already heading in the direction of the sound, beckoning Rassler and Shadow to follow.  ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Hompa Chompa!  It¡¯s an orc custom. They are making the ¡®Call to Dance¡¯. It will start soon.  Let¡¯s go watch.¡±

    ¡°What was the noise for?  Are they trying to scare off the weak?¡±

    ¡°Well no, but really yes.  It isn¡¯t the music that does it, but it¡¯s the dancing that is a test of fitness and strategy. It will come in a minute, after this first song is over. ''''Wyndy had now climbed on to Shadow, and rode him across the square.  The crowds parted either out of respect for their princess or because she was riding a giant wolf.

    Rassler walked quickly behind them to keep up. ¡°Oh, that was music?¡±

    ¡°Yes, of course silly.  Once we get you to Bedo, you¡¯ll be able to understand the words and appreciate it more.¡±

    ¡°Right.  Well, I like the tune,¡± Rassler lied.  ¡°It is very spirited.¡±

    As they got closer to where the noise had come from, Rassler saw that there was an area in the cobblestones marked off as a dance floor of sorts., on which twenty orc couples, well armored,  were stretching.  They were joined by two dwarven couples, in full plate mail.  An unarmored buggebear couple joined in as the last to make it to the dance floor.

    Next to the dance floor was a raised stage, on which a group of orcs, dressed in black with hair almost as long and dark as their cloaks, prepared to play.  Rassler noticed their faces were painted with black and gold paint.

    The dance-off began with a few minutes of courtly circling and spinning, which would not have looked out of place at a ball held for the noble families of Vathary.  In contrast to the sound the band had made earlier, this was music and it was calm, with a moderate three-count beat.

    Then came a pause, in which the instruments stopped except for the three orc drummers, who started playing more loudly, with sharp increase in the tempo.

    Along with the increase in tempo, there was the first casualty on the dance floor.  An orc couple dressed in red, in clear coordination with one of the dwarven couples, both launched at an orc couple wearing matching green helmets.  The targeted couple tried to dodge with a spin, but each member of the pair got hit head on by one of the charging couples, and they were hit hard off the dance floor, colliding with one of the trolls in the audience.

    The onlookers roared their approval, and the pace of the music picked up again.  The other instruments joined the drummer, and the singer began a very deep and throaty song.

    An orc couple charged the buggebear pair, but missed. As they turned for another run, they were themselves directly hit by a couple that had charged from across the dance floor, and were booted out.  They careened in the direction of Wyndy, but Shadow blocked them.

    Rassler held his hands over his ears.  ¡°Why is it so loud? <i>How</i> is it so loud?¡±

    Wyndy shouted at him, ¡°Bedo crafted the instruments to be louder than normal.  It¡¯s a magic thing. They can get even louder!¡±

    ¡°And the voice?¡±

    ¡°You see the cone the singer is shouting into.  That¡¯s been enchanted too.¡±

    ¡°This Bedo doesn¡¯t like people?¡±

    ¡°He is maybe just a little teeny bit anti-social.  We¡¯ll go meet him right after this.¡±

    A few more couples, including one of the dwarven couples, were knocked off the dance floor in a large-scale collision caused by the orc couple in red scoring a direct hit on another couple, launching them into a third.  The crowd cheered, and the band increased tempo again, playing a new song that was even angrier than the last one.

    ¡°What is this song called?¡±  Rassler asked Wyndy over the noise.

    ¡°Gods save the Queen,¡± Wyndy yelled back.  ¡°It is about how much they love their queen, since she isn''t a human being, and they want the gods to protect her.  They are telling the humans that they mean it, you know?¡±

    ¡°So they don''t like humans?¡±

    ¡°They are okay with humans. There are some lines on how they are fine with human sight seers and the money they bring, and thank the queen for that.¡±

    ¡°A patriotic song then.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. We are considering making it our national anthem.¡±  Wyndy slid off Shadow¡¯s back and was almost bouncing with excitement as she watched the dance-off.

    ¡°Perhaps give it some more thought before you do anything rash, my lady.¡±

    ¡°Well, someday you may understand our rich cultural traditions,¡± Wyndy said, a slight frown on her face. ¡°But, now we have to fix you! Let''s go visit Bedo!¡±

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>5</sup>The goddess was nearby and replied ¡°You''re welcome. My high priestess trained them well, no?  Come by the temple and see our latest designs.¡±  But Rassler did not hear the goddess.

    <sup>6</sup> <b>Translator¡¯s note:</b>  I saw the choir perform when I was in Pelsa.  They now tour under the name ¡°Colonel Fluffy¡¯s Pelsan-Vatharian All-Star Quadruped Qhoir.¡±  They have six songs, and still perform ¡°Ode to the Moon,¡± for which I saw the following lyrics in the concert program:

    Hey

    Hey

    Hey everybody, the moon is out.

    Look at that shiny moon!

    It is out now!

    We must howl at the moon.

    We are wolves, so it is the thing we do.

    Moon-howling, yeah!¡±

    <sup>7</sup> <b>Translator¡¯s Note:</b>  They claim that the Sky Father said this to Jend before the battle with Lothar.  They took it as a divine commandment.  ¡°This is your chance, do not mess it up¡± became the state motto of the Kingdom of Pelsa, and they use it on their coat-of-arms and their money.

 Chapter 12, Part 1: The Intensive Language Course

    Wyndy escorted Rassler toward a booth set up on a street just off the main square. In the booth stood a tall, very pale young human, with long black hair, bloodshot eyes, and lips as red as blood. Next to the human was a creature with the head of a deer and the body of a man. Large antlers sprung from its head, reaching almost to the roof of the tent. Both wore pitch black robes and beckoned to Rassler as he approached. Both had human hands, with sharp pointed nails painted black.

    ¡°You are courtly enough and all, Count Rassler. But you don''t speak High Goblin. We need to fix that!¡± explained Wyndy. She seemed even more excited about the ¡°fixing¡± than she had about the dance-off.

    Rassler recoiled from the beckoning hands. ¡°What are you going to do to me? Tell me exactly how you mean to ¡®fix¡¯ me!¡±

    The deer-man threw his hand up in the air. ¡°Oh, for love of the gods! We were just saying ¡®hi.¡¯ Get a grip on yourself, Vatharian human!¡±

    The darkly-clad human continued to move his hand in a beckoning motion. ¡°Do not fear us, Vatharian. We will give you understanding. Come and see.¡±

    Wyndy went up, gave a big hug to both, then put an arm behind each of their backs and pushed them a few steps toward Rassler. She grabbed each of their right arms, and held them out as if for Rassler to shake their hands. ¡°Count Rassler. Let me present to you two of our most talented young wizards. This is Bedo,¡± she waved the young human¡¯s arm, ¡°and this over here is Marthor, Son of the Wild Hunt, but everyone calls him Bobby,¡± she said as she waved the arm of the dear-man, who looked pained as soon as his nick-name was mentioned. ¡°Now, Bedo and Bobby, please explain the simple and painless procedure we are going to perform.¡±

    ¡°The procedure¡­ yes, it is a fine procedure and extremely painless. We are going to cast a spell on you, and then you''ll be able to speak and understand High Goblin. It won''t hurt. You just need to pay attention, listen carefully, and keep your mind open to the spell. It''s a great day for it too, as we are at the Equinox, when the gods roam the earth. Magic is more powerful in these periods, so the spell should be even more effective now. Maybe you''ll have better pronunciation or something.¡±

    ¡°Okay, that sounds good. I agree with your proposal. How do we do it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he agrees does he? How nice of him,¡± Bobby said.

    Bedo was back to his dark wizard pose. ¡°Understand this, Mister Count Vatharian, or whatever sort of noble you are. This wasn''t my idea, and I do this only at the request of our fair princesses Myla and Wyndy. Understand the trust they are placing in you, to reveal this knowledge and give you this understanding. I only hope you live up to their trust.¡±

    Wyndy''s almost ever-present smile dropped. ¡°Bedo! We can trust him. I saw the army that was after him. It is clear he isn''t going back to Vathary. And what are you worried about anyway? What is the knowledge of our language going to reveal to him?¡±

    ¡°It reveals everything. He will now understand what is really going on here.¡±

    ¡°But we have human sight seers all the time. What more is he going to learn that they don''t already see.¡±

    ¡°The sight seers don''t speak our language. They can''t read the signs. They can see the streets, the buildings, see that the town is clean and people seem busy. But they don''t really know what we are doing, what we are thinking, and what we are building. But now Rassler will understand.¡±

    ¡°Okay, whatever, I royally note your concerns. Can we get on with it now? I think Myla has already covered your fee, or do you have more ominous warnings to make and more wizard-posing to do?¡±

    ¡°As you wish, princess. We will give this Vatharian the knowledge!¡± Bedo made a dramatic gesture with his arms, as Bobby closed the tent and cleared a space on the carpet.

    They sat cross-legged on the carpet, and motioned to Rassler to join them. As soon as he did the two wizards grabbed Rassler''s hands and quickly tied them to a table leg. When Rassler opened his mouth to protest, Bedo stuck a piece of cloth into his mouth.

    ¡°This spell is called ¡®Intensive Language Course.¡¯ You are about to have three years of language lessons condensed into ten minutes. Brace yourself. And bite down on the cloth.¡±

    Bedo and Bobby reached over and grabbed their subject¡¯s head in a vice grip. Their eyes glowed white. A great torrent of language started flowing into Rassler.

    These are the four grammatical genders. A table is masculine, while an unmarried woman is neuter. Chairs are masculine. Children are neuter. Frogs are feminine, unless it is a specifically masculine frog. Here is the list of the most common three thousand words, which you will now memorize, along with their gender and declension pattern, and whether the word is hard or soft. There are seven cases, and each case has eight different standard declensions, depending on gender and hardness. Here are the fifty-six standard patterns, followed by the twenty-seven most common irregular patterns.

    Rassler tried to keep up. Why four genders? Why was a house masculine? Rassler felt his brain was about to burst. Why did the location need a case in addition to the preposition, and why eight different patterns? What in the hells is ¡®Dative?¡¯ People can¡¯t really figure all that out while speaking, right? They must be kidding with those consonants. Can lips even make that noise? Doesn¡¯t it hurt your throat to say that?

    The four genders are: feminine, neuter, masculine active things, and masculine inactive things. Human nobles are considered masculine inactive things.

    Oh, that was just rude. Rassler wondered if he had offended the language in some way.

    Nouns are either soft or hard. ¡°Noble¡± is a soft noun. It follows the third minor soft declension pattern, like ¡°slime¡± or ¡°cabbage.¡±

    ¡°I demand that you change that. A noble should be considered a masculine active thing. Change that at once!¡±

    You can¡¯t argue with a language. I don''t care what you think.. I control how a whole nation thinks, so I care not for the opinion of a mere mortal. As punishment for your impertinence, you must now memorize the Genitive Plural forms of the soft adjectives!

    Rassler reeled as he was assaulted by the Genitive Plural. Even leaving out how rude the language was being to him, the intensive language course was the most unpleasant minutes of Rassler¡¯s life to date. He began shaking, sweat dripping from him, his shirt drenched, as the language-learning process continued.

    The adjectives change form too, depending on the gender of the word they modify, and whether it is genitive or accusative.

    Who had thought up this hellish system? What sort of sadist had codified it? Why were they allowed to do this to innocent people? They taught this language to children?! How did the gods allow this?

    The definite articles have their own system of declensions, and there are five types of definite articles. You must also learn these eight indefinite articles, each of which behaves like an adjective and whose ending changes depending on which of the four genders the noun it modifies has, and its case. Here are the forms for the nominative plural!

    Tears ran down Rassler¡¯s cheeks. His hand remained tied, but he tried to cover his ears with his arms to keep out the onslaught of indefinite articles.

    The cloth fell from his mouth, and he began muttering the future tenses of the three standard verb forms and the most common irregular verbs.

    ¡°Make it stop,¡± he tried to scream, but he got the imperative case wrong, and nobody understood him. He was doomed to continue on to the completion of the course. He thrashed, attempting to escape, but the wizards held him firmly.

    Oh, trying to stop the learning process, are you? Just for that, you are going to get an extra lesson on possessive adjectives!

    Rassler opened his eyes, to see Shadow staring down at him, watching him shake in agony. Shadow tilted his head to see Rassler in agony from another angle.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Rassler tried again with the imperative case. ¡°Kill¡­ the¡­ wizards,¡± Rassler managed to say to Shadow, this time getting the conjugation correct. Shadow looked over at the wizards, paused for a moment, and then let them continue.

    I previously presented the subjunctive present and past cases. Do not confuse it with the conditional tense, which has a separate set of endings that you will now commit to memory!

    Rassler saw Wyndy arrive back in the tent, now carrying a bowl of food. She munched as she stood next to Shadow, watching the human twisting under the linguistic torture, the two wizards holding him down having the time of their lives as they inflicted Intensive Language Course on his helpless Vatharian noble self. Rassler began to feel as if he really were a masculine inanimate noun.

    Wyndy said to Shadow, ¡°Hmm.. If Rassler is writhing, he is on the conditional.¡±

    Shadow nodded solemnly. It looked like he did not approve of the conditional tense. Rassler agreed with the wolf.

    Right, now it is the time for pronouns. There are only eight base forms in the nominative case.

    ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t sound so bad,¡± thought Rassler.

    But when you consider the declensions across the seven cases, and whether the pronoun follows a preposition or not, there are forty-two forms that you need to learn. For standard spoken usage.

    Rassler, lying on the carpet with his hands tied to a table leg, wished he had stayed in Vathary and face death, rather than endure learning High Goblin.

    And now we¡¯ll finish up with words you¡¯ll use to order food in an inn.

    Finally, the torrent of language slowed, until it was a mere vocabulary flashcard review.

    The two wizards removed their hands from Rassler¡¯s head, looking quite pleased with themselves and what they had done. Their noble victim lay jabbering at their feet.

    ¡°My lady, it is done,¡± said Bedo, as he stood and bowed to the princess.

    Rassler emerged disoriented from the ordeal. They started to untie his hands. Rassler grabbed Bedo''s arm tightly, and asked, ¡°By all the gods, but that was awful¡­¡± He laid down on the carpet, and rolled to his side, his head still pounding.

    He paused, and started to speak again, and this time the guttural sounds of High Goblin came out. The spell had worked. He faced the two wizards and spoke his first sentence in the new language. ¡°Will speaking this language give me throat cancer?¡±

    ¡°That really doesn''t happen very often. You will be fine. Writing in the formal style will make your brain ache, though. Avoid it if at all possible,¡± Bobby replied.

    Bedo nodded. ¡°Yes, to save your mind from a descent into madness, the course only covered the basics of High Goblin Formal Writing. I warn you: Do not go deeper! If you get to Academic Writing, turn back, or you will come to question the very purpose of language and become unintelligible to everyone around you!¡±

    Rassler made a mental note to never, ever even think of studying Academic Writing, as he slowly stood up and began to look around. The world looked the same but sounded completely different.

    Now he would know their secrets, and be able to fully discover the complex nature of the society and culture of the Kingdom of Pelsa. Perhaps the ordeal would reap a reward, and he could come to understand the values of the peoples of this land. He could use that to convince its leaders to help him retake his own land. Equally importantly, he could better woo the beautiful woman standing near him, who had hitherto been inexplicably showing little or no romantic interest in him. Perhaps if he were witty in his new language that would do the trick.

    There was a sound. Rassler could understand! Someone was calling out in High Goblin. It was coming from the next tent.

    ¡°Grubs! Grubs in sauce! Very hot! Very tasty! But be careful, if you eat too fast, it will melt your tongue. Come get our grubs in sauce. Best grubs in Lagar¡¯s Haven!¡±

    Rassler turned to the wizards. ¡°Grubs?! They eat grubs here!¡±

    Wyndy quickly put the bowl from which she¡¯d been eating under one of the wizard¡¯s hats. ¡°Yes, grubs. In a spicy sauce. The goblins like them. Just the goblins. And some of the orcs like them too. A few others, maybe, I don''t know. We won¡¯t make you try them though. I know a place with human food that we can go to for lunch. We¡¯ll go there. And eat human food. Because that is what I like to eat.¡±

    Rassler legs remained wobbly. He sat down at the table and tried to calm his racing heart.

    He saw the paper that was on the table. It read, in High Goblin, ¡°You too can do magic! Come study at the Cradel College of Magic!¡±

    ¡°The two of you?! And this tent? You are recruiting?¡±

    ¡°Look, we have to find more students somewhere. I mean, we can¡¯t just send birds out to bring back random children, can we?¡± said Bedo.

    ¡°No, of course not. That would be a terrible way of recruiting,¡± Rassler agreed.

    ¡°Yes, and the yield of the accepting students would be very low and our ranking would go down!¡± added Bobby.

    ¡°Wait, what? The wizard schools are ranked?¡±

    ¡°We will not speak of such horror on this, a festive day!¡± Bedo and Bobby looked at the ground and closed their eyes for a moment.

    Then Bedo continued, ¡°So, at the Equinox Festival, and later in the year at the Solstice Morning, the school sets up this booth, and a couple of the students come and teach the kids some basic tricks. Those that get it quickly, and show some power, we try to recruit.¡±

    ¡°His father is Duke Cradel, so Bedo usually has to be one of the ¡®volunteers¡¯ at the stand. He convinced me to come this time too. He said it would be fun. We are in the same fraternity, so I thought I had too,¡± explained Bobby.

    ¡°Oh, they have fraternal organizations here in Pelsa too? I was in one during my year in university. Omega Pi. Which is yours?¡± asked Rassler, as his senses continued to return to him.

    ¡°We are in Phee Phi Pho Phum. I''m the First Speaker. It¡¯s the best fraternity at the University of the Northern Lights,¡± replied Bobby as he raised the side panels of the recruiting booth.

    ¡°There are only two fraternities at UNL,¡± said Wyndy. ¡°The other one is mostly Engineers and they recently blew up their house, so, yes, it is ranked lower.¡±

    ¡°What are these ¡®Engineers¡¯ and why do they blow things up?¡± asked Rassler.

    ¡°For the first part of your question, I''ll explain later, and to answer the second part of your question, well, we really just don''t know,¡± said Wyndy as she put on her cloak and prepared to depart. ¡°Well, thank you boys, and we¡¯ll see you tomorrow at the dinner! Have fun!¡±

    Bobby had one last piece of advice for Rassler. ¡°Try to speak and read a lot this month. Then you may retain much of the language. If you don¡¯t practice, you will forget everything within three months and hardly be able to say good morning.¡±

    Rassler was still in something of a daze as Wyndy took his arm and escorted him down the street. The world looked newish as he gazed around the street, enjoying his new High Goblin reading skills.

    His eyes were drawn first to an oddly skinny giant wolf with pamphlets in his mouth. He stood under a banner that Rassler happily read, in High Goblin, ¡°Great Wolf Running Club. Now open to all species. Come run with the wolves!¡± The wolf had one of his paws wrapped in a bandage and a headband holding back his ears. Rassler took one of the pamphlets to read.

    Slightly further along they passed a booth with a sign reading ¡°Skin, Fur, Tooth and Claw Care!¡±

    The booth was centered around a bubbling pot of mud, with an older gray orc stirring the pot. She said to Rassler, in Common Vatharian, ¡°It is sulfuric mud, with volcanic ash! Very good for both skin and claws!¡±

    Rassler, wanting to show off his new language skills, and wanting the orcs to understand he was an important noble, answered back in the most complicated High Goblin that he could manage. ¡°Thank you, great madam of the orcs, for your offer of majestic generosity of the flowing bloods of earth.¡±

    Wyndy grimaced and tried to explain, ¡°He is just starting to learn the language, he still hasn¡¯t quite figured out the words to use. You know, lots of study of vocabulary lists!¡±

    She whispered to Rassler, ¡°Simple words, just use simple words. Don''t strain. Nobles don''t really have their own way of speaking here.¡±

    But the orc mud-seller was very excited to hear a human speaking, or trying to speak, High Goblin., and perhaps had some sympathy for him from her own Modern Elvish classes in school. ¡°Wowwwww! You speak High Goblin! Hey, everybody, this human speaks Goblin!¡±

    Passers-by began to stop, and a small crowd began to form.

    Rassler wasn''t yet ready to speak like a commoner, so thought carefully about how to ask his question, and said. ¡°What is the purpose of this petite stick with the fuzzy ending, miss vendor?¡±

    The crowd cheered the sentence in High Goblin spoken by Rassler. One of the young buggebears patted him on the head.

    ¡°It is a ¡®tooth brush.¡¯¡±

    Rassler stared at her. What she had said made no sense. He wondered what had happened to his language skills. He feared he might end up less-than-completely impressive to the onlookers.

    There were a few murmurs in the crowd. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know what a tooth brush is!¡±

    A small goblin girl took her finger and rubbed it on her teeth, trying to show Rassler how it worked. ¡°Mister, you need to keep your teeth clean. It is important. At least until your adult teeth come in.¡±

    The sales orc nodded. ¡°You rub it on your teeth to clean them. And you use this cream.¡±

    The crowd continued to murmur. ¡°Humans don¡¯t use tooth brushes?,¡± then ¡°Are they savages?¡± ¡°Maybe this is why their teeth are so weak and dull¡­¡±

    The sales orc held up a small metal file and offered it to Rassler. ¡°We also have tooth files, to help keep them sharp. Don''t overuse them though.¡± She pointed to her own incisors, shiny white and very sharp.

    Wyndy started looking through the collection of tooth files of various sizes on the table. She quickly stopped when Rassler looked over.

    ¡°Thank you, miss vendor ladyness, but I¡¯m afraid I do not know how to use them. Or the tooth brushes. In Vathary, we use cloths to clean our teeth in the mornings.¡±

    There was a rumble of murmurs from the crowd, with a general consensus that teeth cloths weren''t a great idea.

    The sales orc was still hoping to sell something to her now-favorite human. ¡°Oh, but you must take this anti-Ethereal Tick cream! The ticks are out already! It is early this year. You must be careful or they will take all your magic!¡±

    Rassler looked over at Wyndy.

    ¡°I''ll explain later,¡± she said quietly in Vatharian. ¡°They won''t get you anyway unless you go into the deep forest. Annoying parasites, but they probably won''t be interested in you.¡±

    Rassler looked around at the crowd, and did notice that the general state of their teeth was both very shiny white, and generally very sharp. They looked at him expectantly. He reached down and chose one of the smaller tooth brushes.

    A cheer went up from the crowd

    The sales orc was a very happy orc. ¡°Oh, you can have that for free. Introductory sample. Tell all your human friends to come over here and get one. We can do a special line for humans, if you like it.¡±

    Wyndy and Rassler thanked the orc and departed to cheers from the crowd, many of whom lingered, picking out new tooth brushes of their own. Rassler waved his new tooth brush to the crowd as he departed.

 Chapter 12, Part 2: After Surviving the Intensive Language Course, He Learns Their Secrets

    They used Shadow as cover as they left the dance-off,  walking down what looked like the main street.  The festival was in full swing, and the street was full of creatures.  A line of tents were set up all along the street.

    Rassler¡¯s attention was drawn to three tents they were passing on the left. Rassler recognized the purpose of the tents.  They were military recruiting booths.

    The first had two orcs in what Rassler had to admit were impressive uniforms, in front of a painted banner showing a mounted orc, goblin and wolf charge on a formation of human soldiers.  Half the humans in the picture were depicted as running away, and the ones that stood up to the charge looked pretty scrawny and were clearly about to be overwhelmed.  The two orc recruiters were in discussion with a younger orc and two goblins.

    The sign read:

    <b>Join the Army!</b>

    <b>  Fight your enemies in hand-to-hand combat!</b>

    <b>  Your strength against their strength  </b>

    <b>  Bite them on the neck!  </b>

    <b>  Pummel those bastards into the dirt!</b>

    <b>Be the beast you know you can be!</b>

    <b>  Grrr!</b>

    The creatures at the second booth were in the process of hanging an even larger banner with a picture of the dragon he''d seen in the battle.  It showed her breathing fire as she swooped down on a squad of human soldiers, her brightly-painted claws about to rake a crossbowman.

    At this booth was a beast that looked like a half-bird half-horse wearing a vest adorned with military medals.  She was talking to a young copper-colored dragon, on which was sitting two of the bat-creatures similar to the ones that had knocked Rassler off his horse two days earlier on his approach to the village.

    <b>The sign read,  </b>

    <b>Join the Air Force!</b>

    <b>Drop things on your enemies!</b>

    The spokes-dragon was calling out ¡°Much less dangerous than the army!  You can drop our new exploding weapons, and fly away and have a nice dinner!¡±

    Rassler, as a count, had been forced by his father to go through military training, and got the point quickly.  "You are building an aerial army!  That is brilliant.  None of the human lands have anything like it."

    "Yes, we call it the Air Force.  It was my uncle''s idea.  You met Scarlett yesterday.  She is one of the officers.  It is just a few dragons right now, plus a couple of hippogriffs, and this young wyvern, Frotiss.  Myla though went on about how we need to add dragon-riding goblins to it, so that they can drop things on our enemies.  Things that explode.  She talked about it for like, an hour.  My father says he will allow it, so we need some goblins now.  Some of the older army officers don''t really like the whole thing though."

    "Dropping exploding things on people isn''t the most honorable way to fight, but, yes, it would add a lot to your attacks.  The Vatharian would have a really hard time to counter it. I supposed you''d have to watch the range of the crossbows and ballistas."  Rassler stroked what beard he had, wondering if he might yet return to rule the March of Flai Drary.

    "Oh, get real. Of course we tested the ballistas against moving aerial targets, and I assure you that ballistas have no chance.  They''d never be able to hit a dragon at anything beyond two hundred yards, and even if they did, at any normal flying height they''d have lost most of their force and wouldn''t hit strongly enough to penetrate even a young dragon''s scales.   The humans can try though."

    Rassler saw a booth further along that had an orc and a goblin in blue uniforms in front of a table with a map of the area and a few blue and green banners.  Rassler read the largest banner.

    <b>Join the Navy!</b>

    <b>Live in cramped conditions on a ship with creatures who aren''t allowed to wash!</b>

    <b>See what the ocean is like in a storm!</b>

    <b>Occasionally shoot a ballista at something!</b>

    Rassler read the sign and advised Wyndy: ¡°I have done some work recruiting for our military, and I don¡¯t think their slogans will be very effective.  They may need to think about it more, and repaint their sign.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it works though.  Many of the goblins and orcs still don''t approve of bathing, and miss the feeling of the cave and the old smells.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right.  Of course,¡± said Rassler.

    ¡°Two members of The Circle joined the Navy reserve after they heard about what the storms were like at sea.  I hear they are getting really good at channeling the winds. Overall, the Navy is growing nicely. It isn''t big, but we have a kraken."

    "What?  You have a what?"

    "You know, a kraken.  Massive giant creature with tentacles, can destroy ships in seven to ten seconds.  My father made a deal on ''joint cooperation and mutual defense'' with her.¡±

    ¡°You could destroy half the navies of the world with a mon.., a creature like that.¡±

    Wyndy looked at him with what can only be described as worry.  ¡°But we do not want to go around destroying navies.  We just need to keep sea serpents and pirates away from our harbors.  And anyway, I''ve met her. She''s really very nice.  Imelda¡¯s her name. Mostly worried about her children, and she was getting a bit tired of hunting, so we are helping her out in exchange for coastal defense.   I helped design the mosaic we did for her cave.¡±

    ¡°Mosaic for her cave?  Right, of course that is what krakens like.¡±

    ¡°It was all very sparkly!¡±

    ¡°Krakens like sparkly things.  So many things I never had to deal with in Vathary.¡±

    ¡°But you did.  You paint your ships bright colors and polish every bit of metal you can.  It provokes the attacks.  The kraken can''t resist.  You all really should be more careful, and not tempt the poor things like that.¡±

    ¡°Should I ever make it back to Flai Drary as a free man, I will be sure to let them know.  If not, we can maybe just keep this secret between us.¡±

    ¡°You should meet her son too.  A bit of a dandy among the young kraken, but a proper gentleman.  You''d like him.  He came by the harbor a few weeks ago for a tenti-cure.  It took the entire salon staff all day, but he seemed happy with the results.  He left a nice tip."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Rassler spent the next minute just staring at her.

    He figured King Jend could probably get him his county fiefdom back in a week, if Jend wanted to.  And Rassler had derived that the way to get Jend to want to do something was if Aida or Wyndy wanted him to do that thing.

    Rassler had trained with the Royal Vatharian Army, and knew it to be big and to be generally competent.  Plus, Vathary was a much larger nation. But Vathary¡¯s army consisted of either men on horseback or men on foot or men on ships.  Not the variety of that Pelsa could field.

    After passing the booths, Wyndy turned down a side street. Rassler and Shadow followed as she walked two further blocks and around a sharp corner.  As he rounded the corner he almost ran into a sign as tall as he was.  It had words in at least five different languages.  The ones he could read in High Goblin and Common Vatharian both said:

    <b>Scarves For All Creatures</b>

    <b>Our Necks Unite Us! </b>

    <b>Different Lengths for Different Shapes!</b>

    Next to the words was a painting, clearly quickly done, of the dragon he¡¯d seen at the battle, with Princess Myla riding on her back, wrapped in a great scarf and wearing a shirt emblazoned with ¡°SFAC,¡± which Rassler had not remember her wearing at the battle.  In the foreground of the painting it showed panicked Vatharian soldiers running for their lives, while in the background a number of orcs and buggebears struck poses in their SFAC shirts and scarves while they pointed at the Vatharians with amusement.

    Behind the sign there was a tent with four tables stacked with shirts and scarves.  The tent was full of mostly youngish female creatures queueing in front of the tables to buy shirts and scarves.  At the entrance to the tent the company¡¯s spokes-orc called out to the passing creatures on the street.

    Rassler saw Princess Myla working the stands, doing her best to deal with the press of young creatures urgently seeking to buy scarves.  Behind her, the dragon Scarlet kept watch over the lockbox and counted the money as it came in with her surprisingly dexterous claws.

    ¡°Yeah!  You came!¡± Myla screamed as she ran to hug her sister, the two girls bouncing up and down for a moment as they embraced.  Scarlet joined in, throwing her wings around both girls.

    Myla then stood back and contemplated Rassler.

    She said to him in High Goblin, ¡°So, how did it go with Bedo?  Are you one of us now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my lady.  I, um, thank you for arranging that most interesting experience.¡±

    ¡°So it was okay?  You seem to understand what I say, yes?  You understand everything spoken around you?¡± asked Myla, pointed to random labels in the booth.

    ¡°Bedo¡¯s methods were, let¡¯s say, effective. I understand the words, but I can¡¯t say I understand everything that is said.  Bobby told me that I need to practice a lot this month.¡±

    ¡°Bobby warned us about that, so we got you a present!¡± said Myla, as Scarlett picked up a large book with a black leather cover that they¡¯d had in a box behind the stall.  ¡°It¡¯s called The Guardian of the Ring.¡±

    ¡°I am honored, princess and madam dragon.¡± Count Rassler paused and opened the cover.  He was proud to see that he could indeed read the words. ¡°What is the book about?¡± he asked, as he flipped through the pages.

    ¡°It is the story of the brave and selfless goblin who guards a terrible magic ring that could, if it fell into the wrong hands, destroy the world.  The ring is stolen by a short naive human, who then bands together with larger and not-much-more-intelligent humans in order to take the ring directly in the direction of the evil wizard who could use it for his dark purposes.¡± said the dragon, moving her claws in a circular motion next to her ears ¨C the universal sign of craziness.

    ¡°Wait, I know that legend.  We have a version of it in Vathary.  But the human Ring Fellows had to destroy the ring!¡±

    ¡°I think you know the story from the human perspective.  Humans don¡¯t take goblins seriously,¡± said the younger half-orc half-elf princess.

    Scarlette continued. ¡°Luckily, the guardian goblin works very hard and tirelessly to track the ring, and gets it just in the nick of time, before the small humans let the evil wizard seize it.  The guardian goblin puts the world before his very life, and selflessly jumps into a pit of molten lava to make sure the ring is destroyed, saving the world through his sacrifice.¡±  She covered her eyes with her wings in sadness and in respect of the sacrifice of the noble guardian of the ring.

    ¡°It is a good book.  We all have to read it in middle-school,¡± said Myla.

    ¡°It will help you understand our culture,¡± explained Wyndy. ¡°Goblin and orc children are raised to emulate the values of the guardian of the ring.  We are taught to live up to his example!¡±

    ¡°I will then read it eagerly,¡± said Rassler.  ¡°I am learning so much of your culture today.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s important, yeah,¡± said Myla.  ¡°And now you should learn about our latest fashion!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll start your fashion education with a tour of our magnificent shop,¡± the dragon said as she indicated the small, crowded booth the humanoids were standing in, ¡°and then our friendly partner temple! The girls can take you inside.¡± She nodded to an old stone building just behind the booth, across a small square.

    ¡°We design and sell scarves and shirts,¡± Myla said as she held up a particularly colorful scarf and showed it to Rassler. ¡°Scarves are very important, you know, this far north.  Totally essential. But we are just getting started, so we don¡¯t weave the cloth ourselves.  Our partner is the High Priestess of the temple behind us, the second oldest temple in Lagar¡¯s Haven.  I present The Temple of Fashion!¡±

    Rassler stared at her for a second, again unsure if he was understanding the words correctly. ¡°It¡¯s a temple, like, to the gods?¡±

    ¡°That is generally what temples are to, yes.  Although we did almost build a Temple of Food.¡±

    Shadow whined something sad in response to that, and Myla replied to him ¡°Yes, I agree, they should have built the Temple of Food.¡± She scritched him behind the ears to console him.

    She then turned back to Rassler. ¡°Anyway, yes.  Its official name is the Temple of Elemental Fashion of the Great Goddess Hista and Her Creative Power.¡±

    Rassler shook his head. ¡°But she¡¯s not the goddess of fashion.  Hista, whom I think is clearly the goddess we call ¡®Hestia,¡¯ is the goddess of the hearth and of weavers, granting warmth to the home and skill of hands to the women.¡±

    Wyndy corrected him as the princesses escorted him across the square to the temple. ¡°Maybe that is all you give her in the south. But here we properly appreciate her.  She is first of all the Goddess of the Dawn, weaving the colors of the first light of morning as she dances her celestial dance across the sky, in the chariot pulled by the Twins.  Through her display every morning, she inspires an appreciation of beauty, and gives us mortals fashion sense.¡±

    ¡°Okay, yes, Hestia is associated with the first light of morning, but that doesn¡¯t mean she guides fashion.  At least that is most certainly not what I was taught by the priests. They say that she helps with the crafts of the home. She is the obedient daughter of Jipater, the Lord of the Skies and Giver of Laws.¡±

    ¡°Well, She is the daughter of the Sky Father, although we say His name as...¡±

    But Rassler kept going, reciting the creed of the Vatharian Church: ¡°Jipater, the Sky Lord took as his consort the Goddess of the Harvest, Dimeter, whom he impregnated with his holy seed and She gave birth to the twin chariot warriors who carry the victorious sun across the sky, and Thorsmi, the mighty thunderer whose hammer smites the enemies of the Church, and Admi, who guides our generals and army in its wars, and ..¡±

    ¡°Oh, please just stop.¡± Myla held out both hands.  ¡°First off, ¡®Dimeter¡¯ is really said as ¡®Deymater,¡¯ and She is the Great Mother, who provides for us all.  I don¡¯t know why you demoted her in Vathary to some sort of accessory to the men.¡±

    ¡°Well, She is important too!  If Jipater is angry with us, if we have not obeyed his rules, She will strike our farms with blight.  But our priests make sure that doesn¡¯t happen, and help the king stamp out heresy in the kingdom!¡±

    Wyndy, who¡¯d been speaking calmly up to now, lost it and went at Rassler. ¡°The gods were created as the first creatures first became conscious and started to know the world.  The gods were the universe itself trying to help, personified in a way mortals we could understand.  They fashioned themselves in the way of a family, to help and protect the creatures of the world.  In Vathary, you have perverted this, you have tried to make our protectors and comforters into controllers, the henchmen and enforcers of the human leaders in authority.  You use their image to keep men under control, to make people obey the king and priests.  It is an abomination."

    Rassler paused and walked quietly for a moment, then murmured ¡°I can see why your mother and her followers were kicked out of Ushos.¡±

    ¡°Why? I mean, they were mostly working as healers.  I never understood why they wanted them kicked out.¡± said Myla as she started up the temple steps.

    ¡°Well, if I were to say even half of what you¡¯d just said in any of the other kingdoms or the empire, I would be declared an apostate and stripped of my titles and condemned.¡±

    ¡°Well, they condemned you anyway. Even having just gone along with their system. And here is the entrance to the temple! It is the headquarters of the Cult of the Fashion-Histas, so beware,¡± said Wyndy.

    ¡°Beware?¡± Rassler hesitated, and stopped moving toward the temple door.

    ¡°Oh yes,¡± Wyndy continued, now speaking in a hushed voice. ¡°Sionia showed up four years ago after she got exiled from Dhu''Nemos, and became a priestess and restarted Hista¡¯s temple three years ago.  We discovered that before that she had been a famous bard in the elven lands, and her musical skills had developed to the point that they¡¯d become a form of sorcery.  When she starts singing, it is hard not to dance.  You may see. In Dhu''Nemos she had a rabid following and would have concerts in which half the city would go and dance all night.  It shook the earth. Some buildings fell. She claims it wasn¡¯t her fault. The elf king decided she had to go.  So, yes, be wary of Sionia.¡±

    The doors swung open, and Rassler heard music.

 Chapter 13: The Temple of Fashion

    Sionia watched through the peephole as the princesses, Shadow, and their human companion approached the temple. She got into place, and signaled her acolytes.

    The four entered the temple, and The Cryer of the Craze called out:

    ¡°Her Chicness, The High Priestess of Fashion, Judge of That Which Is Cool, Arbiter of the Trends, The One Who Makes Sure Sexy Never Leaves, Her Holiness Sionia Seghi of the Western Forest!¡±

    From behind the curtain, the forest elf Sionia made her entrance. Her tan skin unblemished, her legs long, her waist impossibly small, her long reddish-brown hair silkier than silk, her dress stunning and even above the ankles. Sionia thought it was nice of the Royal Family to visit to pay their respects. She considered them, especially the girls, among the most fashionable. Excellent role models to help her seriously upgrade the wardrobes of the kingdom.

    ¡°All Hail the Goddess Hista, She Who Clothes US and Makes Us Look Fabulous. All bow in respect of the goddess, for we are not worthy! Oh, sorry, except for you two, princesses. The Goddess has anointed you as among the worthy!¡±

    The temple musicians were on the opposite side of the sanctuary: three orcs with drums, an elf with a harp, an orc with a mandolin, a buggebear flutist, and a goblin with a lute. They started up a fast-paced song as Sionia entered and walked down the holy catwalk toward the visitors.

    The temple attendants, two rather tall and stunningly fit orc women, indicated to Rassler that he should probably bow now. He was a bit slow, but made a deep bow after the orcs pointed the large ceremonial bronze needles at him. Needles which were as long as Rassler''s forearm, and very sharp.

    Neither orc made the slightest move toward Shadow, who was sniffing around at the side of the room. Sionia thought Shadow always looked great anyway.

    ¡°Welcome friends! You look wonderful! Oh, I love the dress! So Equinoxy!¡±

    As she got to the end of the catwalk, Sionia, Myla, and Wyndy screamed happy screams and ran to each other, hugged, and made air kisses, in a repeat of the scene a few minutes prior at the SFAC booth.

    ¡°Wyndy, our dearest. I heard you looked very stylish yesterday while vanquishing our enemies, and protecting our lands from the mortal danger of the invading humans! And Myla, capturing enemies while wearing scarves is now the rage of Pelsa! We are going to make so much money! May Hista clothe you in her blessings!¡±

    ¡°Sionia, on behalf of the King and Queen, we thank you for keeping the people of the kingdom looking so fine! ¡±

    ¡°But what have we here,¡± Sionia said as she turned toward Rassler. ¡°Wyndy, what a fine hunk of invader male you have brought us. And one with some style!¡±

    ¡°The tailors that you trained did what they could with him. They did nicely, yes. This one wasn¡¯t invading though. He is one of the good humans,¡± said Wyndy.

    Sionia continued to appraise Rassler, looking at him as though he were a racehorse for sale. ¡°Hmm.. Even better. Good humans, yes. You know I am getting the sense that humans will be in fashion in the new season. We women of Pelsa thank you for sparing their lives and bringing them to us.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ but enough about humans. How are you feeling about the show tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Oh, dearest, we''ve been practicing all day. It will be something like Lagar''s Haven has not seen before!

    ¡°Not seen before? Okay, but remember my father has forbidden you to use your bardic powers to compel people to dance. He thinks the performance last year got out of hand,¡± said Wyndy.

    Sionia honestly hadn¡¯t thought it all that bad. She¡¯d gotten the party going, and everybody had a great time. Garaxas lost five pounds. That orc could really get down.

    ¡°Sionia? You heard me, right? No magic compulsion to dance!¡±

    ¡°But, Wyndy, when the rhythm gets going, it really isn''t my fault. I am just a channel of the expression of the Goddesses!¡±

    ¡°Sionia, you know my parents are really very tolerant, and encourage all the creatures of the kingdom to express themselves. But after the line-dancing incident last year, they both, well, especially my mother, want more decorum this year.¡±

    ¡°Princess Wyndy, Princess Myla, you can trust me. The performance of the Fashion Temple Musicians, will cause no disturbance. It will still be fun though!¡±

    Sionia had something even better planned that the show last year, and she didn¡¯t want to be expelled from this country too. Not when her holy work was going so well. She lived to see Pelsa as the best-dressed kingdom of the realm! Once Wyndy ascended to the throne, she expected whole new levels would be reached, and Pelsa¡¯s styles would reign supreme over the world!

    Sionia smiled and clasped the princesses¡¯ hands. ¡°But you will come to the after party here at the temple, yes? It would not be as fabulous without you! The kingdom needs you!¡±

    ¡°Honestly, it will probably be the highlight of the evening, other than your performance, of course. After four hours at dinner with my father¡¯s friends, the after-party will be gods-sent.¡±

    ¡°Bedo can come too, right?¡± asked Myla. She was very fond of Bedo, but hadn¡¯t really integrated him with her SFAC and Fashion-Hista friends. He was a wizard, and she still needed to work on socializing him.

    ¡°Certainly. An interesting project you have with that young man. He has potential. If he comes all in black again though, we¡¯ll make him change.¡± Sionia considered the possibilities for a line of wizard-fashion. Something loose and comfortable, to allow spellcasting, but looking like something out of this century. Dark robes were very dawn-of-agriculture. They looked like shamans, not professional modern sorcerers. Bedo had provided great service to the musicians of Pelsa, though, helping them be louder than they ever could before.

    Sionia turned back to Rassler and smiled. ¡°But we must attend to our new human guest. Shall we do a tour of our temple?¡±

    ¡°I would very much be honored to have a tour of your sacred place, your holiness.¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°And you speak Goblin with such a pleasant accent! Ah, but I really sense great possibilities for humans this season!¡±

    ¡°Possibilities...¡± Rassler started, but was interrupted by Sionia, who grabbed him by the arm, and led him deeper into the sanctuary.

    ¡°So, back in the olden days, long before Jend and his army conquered it, Lagar¡¯s Haven was a pirate and smuggler town. It had a good harbor and the Vatharians didn¡¯t try to come this far north, due to the orc and buggebear tribes. And then the evil wizard Lothar, of course¡­.¡±

    Rassler would later learn that the guidebooks describe the remodeled sanctuary of The Temple of Elemental Fashion as a ¡°masterpiece of the Orc Deco esthetic¡± and ¡°the pinnacle of interior design of the 1580¡¯s.¡±

    But even without a guidebook to tell him that he should be impressed, Rassler still looked impressed with the temple.

    The walls consisted of alternating panels of saffron and crimson, inlaid with thin lines of bronze forming a repeating geometric representation of dresses, coats, and cloaks. Thin lines traced their way to the ceiling, where a new pattern, tracing out the spinning wheel of a loom covered the main circular dome.

    The lines of bronze continued through the six long windows on the side of the sanctuary. The pattern in the window changed to depict a dancing Goddess surrounded by the wheel of the sun. From her dance the first rays of the dawn shone on the figures of flax and grazing sheep.

    The lines from the ceiling and walls then combined at the end of the sanctuary, at the beginning of the catwalk, becoming a single large bronze needle, on a wall of descending shades of dark blue.

    As Sionia led the group by the great bronze needle, she continued. ¡°Those pirates only had two temples here in the town. The temple of our Sea Uncle, Neptos, for obvious reasons, and this one, to Hista. They honored her so that she would provide strong sails and warm, dry clothing. We think this temple may go back as far as two hundred years. Not much has been added to it, as it was considered secondary to The Temple of Neptos. Until recently of course.¡±

    Myla added her own note to the tour: ¡°It is said that Hista was one that influenced the pirates, bringing to their minds influences from other realms, on the possibilities of dress. That is why our scholars believe the pirates dressed in the bright colors and showy styles that they were famous for.¡±

    ¡°The gods bring ideas from other realms?¡± asked Rassler

    As they approached a large circle carved into the stone to the right of the needle, Wyndy answered Rassler¡¯s question, with the same tone she¡¯d used when trying to educate Rassler earlier on the true nature of the gods. ¡°They are the gods of all the planets, of all the realms that exist. They hear and see everything everywhere, and the parts they like, they try to spread around the other universes. It is said that they are still doing it, influencing us even today, in this our new modern kingdom!¡±<sup>8</sup>

    Next to where Shadow was now napping, Sionia pointed at a stone circle inlay on the floor. It was big enough for a man to lay down inside the circle, and clearly very old. The edges were black, like volcanic rock, and the red inlay inside the circle seemed to spell out something in a very old language that none of them could make sense of.

    ¡°We think this circle goes back to the earliest times of the temple, and was probably used for summoning, or a focus for sorcerers and the high priests teleporting. It may be a way they had of fast travel to and from the south.¡±

    Wyndy added, ¡°Shadow told me that they were built by the Kat''sheth, who once ruled here.¡±

    ¡°What are these Kat''sheth?¡± Rassler asked.

    ¡°Cat demons, unusually evil, who can appear in human form. Shadow says the wolf legends tell how the Kat''sheth used to be very strong in the area, and through the northern mountains. Shadow even claims Lothar was a Kat¡¯sheth arch-demon!¡±

    ¡°Cat demons of unusual evil? I don''t think they exist. Your wolf is telling you stories. It sounds like just anti-feline propaganda from the canines. It was probably wizards who built the circle.¡±

    Wyndy nodded. ¡°Maybe wizards, yes, but we haven¡¯t been able to get the circle to work. The magical arts of teleporting have been lost, or at least lost to us. Or, well, can your wizards do that in Vathary?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve certainly never heard of it, princess,¡± said Rassler.

    ¡°Well, maybe our school will figure it out, and revive the art. It would be quite something, no?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be able to send men, materials so quickly. Your trade and influence would grow,¡± said Rassler.

    Sionia interrupted. ¡°Anyway, we keep the old stone circle in case the wizard guys can get it working again, but let¡¯s take you to the industrious part of the temple, where we create the fashion.¡± She ushered them through the door near the circle, into the next room.

    The second room of the temple was larger and starker than the first. It was filled with looms and creatures sewing. Many were working on the scarves and shirts for SFAC, as could be seen from the logo embroidered on the clothing.

    As they entered, a girl at one of the holy looms looked over. On her loom there was a very colorful pattern emerging of yellow, orange, black and green blobs and squiggles. Rassler¡¯s eyes grew confused as he tried to make sense of it.

    Sionia walked the touring group to that loom and introduced the girl. ¡°This is Atsih, who just came by yesterday. You can see from her work though, that she is very talented. I love the pattern, don¡¯t you!¡±

    Wyndy and Myla looked at the cloth on the loom. Myla was clearly excited about it. ¡°This is very good. Could we use this for scarves?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, my princesses.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Atsih. You seem young. You¡¯re about my age, no?¡±

    Atsih answered back with words projected directly into their minds. I am older than time itself. I was already ancient when the first of the elvo-orcai looked up and wondered at the dawn, and danced in the celebration of the day. I helped them to conceive sewing, giving them the skill to craft clothing to protect themselves from the cold winds as they spread out over the earth.

    Myla blinked and looked again at Atsih. Atsih then answered her anew. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m seventeen, Your Highness, and I¡¯m just here over the Equinox while my family is in town. I like weaving. It can be very creative.¡± She giggled to emphasize that she was definitely a humanoid girl.

    Myla started to ask another question, but it was then that the doors to the outside burst open, and a young orc entered and yelled into the room.

    ¡°Come everyone, there are these two human knights taking on our elves and orcs at the archery competition! Come fast!¡±

    ¡°Oh, let¡¯s go. It will be fun, and I¡¯ve been here with the looms too long today. I need to get out and see the festival. Especially as this dress is on point.¡± Sionia started toward the door, signaling the Fashion-Hista acolytes to join her.

    With the distraction they forgot all about Atsih. Wyndy said ¡°Well, I still need to take Rassler through the rest of the town, so I think we¡¯ll skip the archery competition. I¡¯ve met those knights already anyway. We will go by the Inappropriate Unicorn later though for human food. If you¡¯d like some too, come by.¡±

    ¡°Well, I need to get back and sell scarves,¡± said Myla. ¡°Scarlett doesn¡¯t do very well selling to the public. Sometimes she gets frustrated when they take too long. Earlier today, she almost roasted a goblin.¡± Myla then hurried out the door and back to her booth.

    ¡°Well, I will take my leave then, as I need to see how these new human guests do against our archers. We¡¯ll catch up later, Wyndy. See you at the Unicorn!¡±

    With that, Sionia and three of her fashion acolytes flung their soft ivory-colored cloaks over their shoulders, preparing to leave for the archery competition. As she left, she passed Shadow, who was again sniffing around the area of the teleport portal in the main sanctuary.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Shadow,¡± she said to him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll catch those evil Kat¡¯sheth someday.¡± She gave him a quick hug, and headed to the door. The elves believed the Kat¡¯sheth to be just a myth, but, well, you never knew.

    ________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>8</sup> Translator¡¯s Note: The theory of cross-realm fashion transference that Wyndy proposes here sounds plausible to me. I mean, when you think about it, the idea that fashion designers are sent ideas by the Goddess based on what they see happening in other realms is the only sensible explanation of many fashion-trends. To the best of my knowledge, so far no academic research has been done on the topic. I suggest it as a possible topic for doctoral dissertation in either fashion design or physics.

 Chapter 14: Unusually Evil Felines, Plotting

    The Kat¡¯sheth leader sat on the railing of a balcony of the Royal Palace of the Vatharian king.  To the Kat¡¯sheth, he was known as Lord Small Ears. The humans of Vathary called him Councilor Dravon, and thought he was a human.

    He hoped to soon be elevated to the title ¡°Big Ears,¡± the title his father had held, but first he needed to retake the northern lands.  Or at least make it to ¡°Middle-Sized Ears¡± if he could retake part of the lands.

    He sat and licked his paw.   The body of the bird he had killed and mutilated lay nearby, on the balcony floor.  Dravon knew it was time for action.  The attack needed to go tomorrow.

    Finally Boalgaroz arrived.  He hopped up to the railing and sat next to Dravon, their tales moving slowly side-to-side, in sync.

    They spoke in their native language, Small Evil Feline.  They were both in their normal form, looking very much like the common house cats seen in the country.  Dravon was gray and black with a white mark on his left paw, while Boalgaroz was orange, fluffier, and had faint white and gray stripes.

    A maid was just inside, cleaning up the bedroom.  She looked out on the balcony and saw only two cats, sitting on the railing, meowing at each other.  Dravon was somewhat disappointed in the maid ¨C he had assigned her to his personal chamber because she liked cats, but she had only seemed to have an aversion to him when he was in his natural cat form.  She was bothered by the bird killing too.  She didn¡¯t know it was him, of course, but he preferred the humans that had natural reverence for cats.  When the Kat¡¯sheth took over, those humans would have higher positions than the rest of the humanoids.

    Dravon turned to the newly arrived cat.  ¡°Cousin, are all the preparations made?¡± he meowed.

    ¡°They are, Lord Small Ears.  We will be ready for the attack in three nights, as you instructed,¡±  Boalgaroz meowed back, sitting proudly.

    ¡°Good, but there is a change, which you will need to accommodate,¡± said Dravon.  ¡°I am changing the time.  You and your team go tomorrow night.  I read the entrails.¡± Dravon motioned with his paw to the dead bird on the floor.  ¡°Tomorrow night is auspicious.  Right at the beginning of the second watch. That is when the attack should happen.¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow is the Equinox.  Won''t the tree huggers be at their most powerful?  That is a night of power for the Great Mother.¡±

    ¡°I cough up a hairball at the so-called Great Mother.  I care nothing of her power.  Her followers will all be drunk after their pathetic celebration.  It is the perfect night to strike.  It is the first step for the Kat¡¯sheth to take back our land.¡±  Dravon¡¯s tail twitched excitedly. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°As you say, my lord.¡±

    A bird had landed insultingly close to Dravon and Boalgaroz, at the other end of the balcony railing.  Dravon considered killing it on general principles. He watched it for a moment, then turned back to his cousin.

    ¡°I have sent Lord Glasco on to Lagar¡¯s Haven, acting as the official envoy of the Kingdom of Vathary.¡±

    ¡°Did you give him the money?!¡±  Boalgaroz asked, a question Dravon also considered disrespectful.

    ¡°No, of course I haven¡¯t given him the ransom money!  That money is ours, for our cause.  No, Glasco is just going to tell Jend that our king wants him first to check the health of the prisoners.  He¡¯ll say they heard they were eaten, and needs to see that they are alive.  It is reasonable, so I''m sure the idiot monsters will let him see the prisoners, and then he¡¯ll know where to direct you to.¡±

    ¡°Is Glasco trustworthy?¡±

    ¡°Again questioning my judgment, Boalgaroz?  You do that again, and I will sear off your tail. Glasco is perfect for our task.  He is from an old family, and still thinks himself great and powerful. The family was powerful, back when Glasco was young, but he has been a terrible steward of his own estates. He now has barely two gold coins to rub together.  I have been helping him out for years, so he is entirely at my mercy.  He will do what I tell him.  He even understands some of the danger he is in, but he is still doing it. You can trust him for this mission, although don''t let him know what you really are.¡±

    ¡°So I should contact him when I arrive?¡±

    ¡°Yes, the rest of the plan remains as discussed.  You use the teleport circle in the old weaver¡¯s temple, which will be empty at that hour.  Glasco will be waiting either outside the temple, or at The Bleeding Edge,¡± explained Dravon.

    ¡°What is ¡®The Bleeding Edge¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It is an old tavern, popular with the mercenaries and the traders who need them.  It was my favorite place to go.  It is near the River Gate.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so we teleport into the old temple, sneak out quietly in pairs, find Glasco, and he will tell us where the prisoners are.  We then go and release them, killing as many guards as we can, and get Bowen and the other prisoners back to the teleport circle.  And if I can¡¯t release the prisoners, we kill the prisoners.¡±  Boal sounded confident.

    ¡°Exactly.  It would almost be better that way, as we¡¯d blame their deaths on Jend, and that would help us get this war started.¡±

    ¡°Well, how do you want it?  I don¡¯t mind killing a few additional humans.  They get on my nerves, all of the hairless apes.¡±

    Dravon thought about the issue. ¡°Rescue the Vatharians if it can be done without too many problems.  Above all,  don¡¯t risk yourself or them finding out what you are.  If a couple of the humans die, then they die.  Until the humans again worship us as gods, they don¡¯t have our protection.¡±

    He licked his paw again, then pointed his tail at Boal.

    ¡°Only the two knights may be worth taking some risk for.  Bowen¡¯s family has long supported our cause, and he has supported me in front of the king.  He is useful. The young knight Sir Hargest is poor, so can be bought, and if we save him from the dungeons of the orcs, he will be well disposed to help us and our cause.   Bowen and Hargest are probably being tortured as we speak.  It is, after all, what I would do.¡±

 Chapter 15: Invader Humans Go Sight Seeing

    Sir Hargest was finding that being a prisoner of war to be fairly pleasant, at least so far.  His main complaint was that the food was a little on the spicy side.

    And Hargest was from deep in the countryside of south-eastern Vathary, where they liked to spice up the food.  Certainly a lot more spicy than in the capital of Carstones.

    But even by Hargest¡¯s standards, the food the orc cooks had served them had been spicy.  The first day they¡¯d been served porridge with fruit for breakfast, which had been fine, if somewhat peppery.  For lunch they¡¯d had a stew with bread, which looked much like dishes they¡¯d get in Vathary.  But the taste was very different ¨C the meat had been long roasted, and almost melted in his mouth, but it had also been inundated with hot spices, so by the third bite Hargest had tears forming in his eyes and by the fifth bit he¡¯d already drunk the pint of water they¡¯d given him.

    No torture other than that, though.  His father had always told him that orcs were savages that tortured their victims, and then ate them.  Then his father had said that as a third son with no inheritance Hargest needed to get off the estate and go make money in the military, so sent him off to fight those orcs.  Never had he mentioned that orcs were snappy dressers.

    For the first day they¡¯d been kept in the barracks.  He and Sir Bowen were given new clothing and had been allowed to check on their men from the Vatharian Royal Army who¡¯d been taken prisoner with them.  Everyone looked fine, except that their wizard Mostyn had been kept bound and gagged, only freed for short periods and then only with a spear at his back and stern warnings against even thinking about casting a spell.

    On the second day they got word from their orc guards that they were going to be allowed to go to the festival for a couple of hours, but under ¡°special¡± guard. The orcs didn¡¯t explain any further.  Then, in mid-morning, two people arrived to meet him and Bowen.

    The first looked human, but Hargest knew exactly who he was, although they¡¯d never met.  Mal Adane, better known in Pelsa as Major Adane, the subcommander of the castle guard, had been born in Vathary to a noble family, with a large estate near Carstones.  Adane had famously been revealed as a werewolf when, on the night of a full moon, a professional monster-hunter had almost caught Adane, in wolf form, attacking a sheep.  Adane was wounded but managed to make it back to his house.  The next morning, thirty villagers and the monster-hunter had bashed down the door and ransacked Adane''s keep, searching for him.  Adane had barely escaped and headed north.  The monster-hunter had many coins tossed to him for his efforts and Vatharian bards still sung the song of the valiant hunt of the werewolf.

    And here he was. Smiling at them. After having almost eaten them just two days before.

    Next to the werewolf, stood a tall human-looking woman with dark skin and orange striped hair. Hargest was pretty sure though that she had been a large hyena who¡¯d also been ready to eat him in the battle.

    Adane stepped forward and offered Bowen his hand to shake.  ¡°His Royal Highness, our King Jend, has asked us to show you gentlemen around our fair city.  And you are in great luck, as we are having a rather lively festival just now.  It will be most diverting.¡±

    ¡°So if you boys would just follow us, we¡¯ll get this tour started, and we¡¯ll try to make it painless for all of us,¡± added the suspected werehyena.  ¡°My name is Helnae, formerly Queen Helnae, and I¡¯m a personal guard to the princesses.  If you obey my instructions, then nobody gets hurt.¡±

    The tour group headed down the hillside by the stairs, while beside them a bunch of orc children were playing in the trees they had had growing on the hill.  Hargest thought he should advise the orc king to cut down the trees to clear the site-lines for the castle¡¯s archers and ballistas, and remove cover for any attackers, but then he remembered the orc king was the enemy.

    In the main square of the town, there was some sort of riot happening on one side of the square, which Hargest figured was in protest for or against whatever the orc on stage was screaming.  He then saw two dwarven warriors bashing into two heavily armored orcs, and then two other orcs retaliating by attempting to bash into the dwarves, so Hargest assumed factional violence was breaking out.   Helnae and Adane didn¡¯t seem bothered by the riot and its accompanying mass bashing, but they also didn¡¯t offer an explanation.  It must be that this sort of thing just happened around here.

    Hargest thought that it was amazing this kingdom stayed together, and didn¡¯t break out into a massive civil war, with all these different species.  It was hard enough even in Vathary to keep a civil war breaking out, and that was just between groups of humans, as Vathary had long ago banned elves and dwarves.  They did allow some goblins to work in the sewers, but that was different, since no humans were going to keep the sewers clean.

    The group steered clear of the riot in the town square, and took Bowen and Hargest to have a snack of some tasty meat in a spicy sauce.  Hargest wasn¡¯t sure what kind of meat it was ¨C Helnae just said, ¡°Oh, you know, one of those meats we like.  I don¡¯t know how to say it in Vatharian.¡± Anyway, Hargest thought it tasted like chicken.  Even spicier than the breakfast had been, though.

    They wandered the booths of the festival for a while more.  Hargest was somewhat tempted to go for a giant wolf ride, but Helnae informed him it was really just for the children, and if he tried he¡¯d probably be eaten.

    Helnae seemed to judge that sufficient festival wander had been done, and led the group out of the town gates, by where the river met the sea.  Across the river, next to the beach there was a long cleared area, marked off with ropes.  Targets were being set up.

    ¡°What is going on there?¡± Bowen asked.

    ¡°Archery.  At all four great festivals of the year, they have an archery competition.  It¡¯s open to everyone. Many great archers come from across the kingdom.  We can go watch.¡±  Helnae motioned them to follow her toward the bridge, to head toward the archery range.

    As they stepped on the bridge, Hargest said ¡°Do they let humans compete?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Adane stopped and looked at Hargest, as if he were looking at a small, misbehaving child. ¡°You want to compete?  You¡¯d be going up against some of the best elven and orcish archers we have.  They¡¯ve been training since they were first able to hold a bow!¡±

    ¡°And so have I. Long before I was a knight, I was hunting at my brothers¡¯ side.  My family had a title, but a title didn¡¯t provide any food.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.  How sad, you had to work¡­ So, Lady Helnae, what do you think?  Shall we sign up Sir Hargest for our modest game?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± reasoned Helnae.   ¡°It should be entertaining for everyone.   Our wise king told us to entertain the humans and make sure they don¡¯t get killed, and I don¡¯t see how taking part in a competition with seven armed orc warriors could be dangerous, so, why not? I¡¯m sure King Jend will be delighted.¡±

    ¡°So it is decided.  We will sign up our guest here,¡± said Adane.

    ¡°Guests,¡± said Bowen.

    ¡°Guests? So, you will take part also, Sir Bowen?¡±

    ¡°I will.  And I will demonstrate that we in Vathary also know how to string a bow.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. You are brave gentlemen.  This will be the talk of the town, I¡¯m sure. May you represent Vathary well in this more pleasant application of the martial arts.¡±

    ¡°We will demonstrate that the Vatharians are skilled in the arts of war.  And that we bear no ill will to Pelsa.  We came only to capture a criminal.¡± Bowen looked serious and noble as he said it.

    ¡°Yeah, it is like that,¡± added Hargest.

    ¡°Now then, If you would accompany me, we will find the clerk, and you humans shall be entered in the battle against the orcs, again.  A more friendly battle this time. I hope it goes better for you.  Certainly it can¡¯t go worse.¡±  Adane smiled, perhaps a bit too broadly, as he said it, and turned dramatically toward where the judges were setting up.

    After twenty-two minutes of formalities in dealing with the organizers, a lot of which was spent trying to get the humans¡¯ names and titles right on the paperwork, the group stood just outside the archery range as Adane explained what was about to happen.

    ¡°There are ninety-four competitors signed up for the first round.  That means there will be twelve heats.  Sir Bowen, you are in the third heat, and Sir Hargest, you are in the forth.  Each heat will have six or seven other competitors.  The top two go through to the next round.¡±

    ¡°How is it scored?¡±

    ¡°One point per hit.  In this first round, you will have twenty arrows.  There will be targets in the lane marked in front of you.  The targets are wooden boards painted red and all start lying down, until a goblin mechanism causes them to pop up.  The target will be up for five seconds, and you must hit it while it is up.  There will then be a pause of four to seven seconds, and another target will pop up. There are targets at fifty, one hundred, two hundred, and two-hundred and fifty yards.¡±

    Bowen unsuccessfully tried to hide his surprise.  Fifty or one hundred yards was fine, but two hundred or more was hard to hit, especially without much time to aim.  An archery competition in Vathary was who got closest to the center of a fixed target at seventy yards away, with twenty seconds to make each shot.

    Hargest seemed fine with it.

    Helnae joined them, a great bow in each of her hands.  ¡°I surely didn¡¯t expect to be saying these words today, but, boys, I¡¯ve brought you some toys!¡±

    She handed each of them a large black bow.   The weapons were heavy, made of dark woods with bone at the ends and on the handle.  Bowen tested the weapon, and found it a heavier draw than any Vatharian bow that he was accustomed to.

    ¡°These are orcish great bows ¨C one of the most powerful weapons that exist, but please don¡¯t tell the other Vatharians. Most humans won¡¯t be able to string them, much less fire them.  But, if you are strong and skilled, then these are great weapons that will strike fear in your enemies, just before you shoot them through the eye!¡±

    ¡°That is quite a bow,¡± said Hargest.  ¡°If I win, could I keep it?¡±

    ¡°Well, we''d have to ask King Jend.  I mean, you are a prisoner and all.  We don''t usually give prisoners our best weapons.¡±

    ¡°They should be ransoming us in the next couple of days.¡±  Hargest said it more confidently than he really was.  Would the new king really spend money to ransom the two officers who had led forty Vatharian soldiers into a trap?  Not that Hargest had that much to go back to.  He was landless and his career in the Royal Army wasn''t off to the best start.

    But maybe he could do something to redeem himself.  ¡°Is there a place I could practice with the bow?  I''d like to get a feel of it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.. Indeed.  Let me ask the clerk.  They may let competitors get in some practice shots before the contest begins.¡±

    A few minutes later, a goblin led Hargest and Bowen out to the archery range for a practice round.  There were already three young orcs on the range, ready to take their own practice shots.

    The crowd had been milling about, chatting loudly about gods knew what, until Bowen and Hargest stepped out onto the range and notched their first arrow.  Both eyes of every creature around the range were suddenly fixed on the two humans, and all conversation stopped. Hargest could hear the breeze blowing and the soft crash of the waves on the beach, but not a sound otherwise.

    The first targets appeared, at a hundred yards, and both Bowen and Hargest missed, while the orcs hit theirs right in the center.  The next target appeared at two hundred yards, and the humans missed again.  There was a murmur of commentary from the crowd.

    On the third shot, at fifty yards, Hargest hit the target solidly and Bowen got close.  After that, the humans'' results improved, and they finished the practice round with Hargest with a score of twelve and Bowen with ten.

    Helnae came to collect her prisoners, as a scattering of applause was heard from the crowd, and the next batch took their places for a practice round.  About a third of the crowd could be seen running off.

    ¡°Well boys, that wasn¡¯t bad, but to advance to the second round, you will really need at least seventeen, maybe higher.  You two sure you want to stay in the competition?¡±

    ¡°Hells yeah, I¡¯m still in,¡± said Hargest.

    They turned to Bowen.

    ¡°Yes, of course I¡¯m still in.  If the orcs can do it, I can too.¡±

    In twenty minutes, the first real heat started.  The competitors were six orcs, both male and female, a female elf, and a tall gangly creature that Hargest guessed might be some sort of troll.

    A lot of creatures were arriving in the spectator stands and on the viewing area on the hill nearby.  It was clear that the word had gotten around that humans, and bad invader humans at that, were taking on Pelsa¡¯s own archers.

    Adane looked around the stands. ¡°This is the largest crowd I''ve seen come to watch our archery competition in at least a decade.¡±  He paused, as if considering the possibilities. ¡°We should most definitely invite Vatharians to attack every year, and then make the prisoners compete.  The ticket sales could be remarkable. I do say.¡±

    When Bowen¡¯s heat started, he found himself pitted against six orcs and an animate tree. Bowen was so focused on the targets that he barely noticed that he was competing against the local vegetation.  Bowen scored 14 out of 20, putting him fifth of the eight competitors in his heat.  The tree and one of the orcs went through to the next round.

    The crowd was generally respectful, although there were a few young orcs laughing loudly at each of his misses. There was a general applause and polite cheer directed his way when he exited the archery range.

    Hargest hardly paid attention to Bowen''s results, as in the stands he saw a group of beautiful women enter.  There were four of them; two orcs, a goblin and an elf.  All were stunning, and well-dressed.  The crowd parted to make way.  Their leader, the elf, was looking right at Hargest.

    Sir Hargest stood tall and saluted her as he gripped his bow and headed out to his lane on the archery range.

 Chapter 16: The Inappropriate Unicorn

    After escaping the Temple of Elemental Fashion, Wyndy and Shadow escorted Count Rassler through the docks and then other parts of the town.  Basically the whole town really ¨C it wasn¡¯t that big of a town.

    Rassler was getting a bit hungry, but hadn¡¯t recovered from the discovery that grubs-in-sauce was a thing, so avoided the food and drink stands.  He did enjoy an acrobatic display, and collected tourist pamphlets for the volcanic springs at the Bronze Citadel and sea elf guided undersea tours of the kraken¡¯s cave.  He planned to use the pamphlets to test and improve his reading skills.

    They spoke mostly in High Goblin, which was further exhausting for Rassler, and the brain power required to process the conjugations and declinations added to his hunger.

    ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve done well, and we¡¯ve seen the best parts of our city, so let me reward you with a nice meal of human food.  It is just down this street,¡± said Wyndy, as she turned onto a street in which Rassler could smell smoke.

    There was an inn ahead, with a boisterous crowd inside and the smell of roast meats about it. The sign on the inn read ¡°The Bleeding Edge¡± and had a picture of a short bloody blade.

    ¡°Is this where we are going?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no.  The Bleeding Edge is an Engineer¡¯s tavern.  We aren¡¯t going there.  I told my father I would keep you safe.¡±  Wyndy and Shadow both sped up to get past the tavern more quickly.

    Wyndy pointed at a sign hanging off a building further along.   The sign had a picture of a sitting unicorn, with its arms crossed and looking annoyed.  ¡°The smuggler¡¯s tavern down the street is much safer.  We are heading there.¡±

    Shadow sounded relieved.

    Three goblins and a couple of dwarves came out of the door holding a metal globe, just big enough to fit in the dwarves hand.  They brought it out to the middle of the street and set a string on the bottom on fire, then they all ran away from it.  Wyndy and Rassler ran behind Shadow, who covered his eyes with his paws.  The globe exploded with a very large boom for what hadn¡¯t been a large object, blowing two of the goblins back to the wall by Wyndy, almost hitting her.

    The group of dwarves and goblins, whom Rassler figured for some sort of fire cultists, hugged each other and started jumping up and down, chanting:

    ¡°En-gin-eers, En-gin-eers

    A danger to ourselves

    And everyone around us!¡±

    They chanted it together four times, each time louder, then cheered.  Some goblins were watching from the tavern window, and they cheered along.

    As they entered the tavern, the smallest goblin called out ¡°And also to our enemies! We are also dangerous to our enemies!¡±

    This new idea was met with approval from the other goblins and deserves. ¡°Yes, arrh, our enemies better watch out!¡± Rassler couldn''t tell if it were a goblin or dwarf that said it.

    As the group re-entered the tavern, Rassler could hear the whole building erupt in another round of the chant.

    Wyndy grabbed his arm and dragged him past The Bleeding Edge. Rassler didn''t resist, but was considering faking a headache to give him a reason to return to his room at the castle.

    ¡°I''m amazed that they managed the prototype so quickly though. I guess it¡¯s good they were all in town for the festival.  Myla will be pleased.¡±

    ¡°Prototype?  That was something that they were supposed to build? You aren''t angry?¡±

    ¡°Worried, oh yes. Angry, no. The royal family asked for a new explosive device, crafted in a size so that goblins riding on dragons can drop them easily on our enemies.  The devices are called ¡®bombs,¡¯ and we were previously on version ¡®E¡¯, which was a large bomb for dragons to carry in their claws and drop.  What you just saw would be the new F-Bomb. It is smaller, and ready for goblins to drop.¡±

    Rassler considered himself a military expert, and pondered the implications of the technology. ¡°You are going to have goblins dropping F-Bombs while riding dragons?  Your enemies will know you are serious and run away in fright.  They will truly stand no chance. I''d almost enjoy watching. ¡±

    ¡°Yes, the new bombs may turn out to be one of our greatest weapons.  We will drop many in order to vanquish our enemies.  None will even dare oppose us!¡±  Wyndy blushed as a slight cackle escaped her.

    Wyndy paused to collect herself and turned to Rassler, and spoke in a lowered voice.  ¡°And these are only the start.  We are still working on them, and in a couple more versions we may really have something of extreme destructive power.¡±

    Rassler still wanted to know more about these dangerous cultists he''d discovered entrenched in the town, cultists that seemed to offer a lot of potential. ¡°So Engineers are basically all crazy dwarves or goblins?¡±

    ¡°Yes..  I mean, ok, there are also a few orcs and a few humans.  But mostly dwarves and goblins.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t they fight?  I mean, dwarves and goblins were enemies for centuries, right?¡±

    ¡°The thing is that they make too much money.¡±

    ¡°The Engineers make a lot of money?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they have done well, despite some, let¡¯s say, unfortunate mishaps.  And our roads and buildings are getting so much better. We have running water in the castle kitchen and our bath. The mines are doing really well.  So much gold!.  I mean, what are we even going to do with all that gold!?¡±  Wyndy shook her head, perplexed.

    But she quickly recovered from her worries, and continued. ¡°The dwarves and goblins had trouble at first, getting along, but then they started making money and realized that if they worked together, they¡¯d all get rich.  Now they are friends, and wealthy.¡±

    ¡°I guess that keeps people from fighting ¨C if they know they can make good money and have a good life if they don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s kind of the story of our whole kingdom, really.  I mean, this used to be badlands.¡±  Wyndy waved her arms, indicating the whole city and the whole land.

    She became even more animate. ¡°But after the Elves helped my father and his orcs defeat Lothar, they started working together.  The elves were great at growing things, and the orcs and goblins were driven, and worked hard.  There was no longer any wizard to steal what they built.  The land bloomed!  So the elves and the orcs got rich together.  And I hope that greed continues to win out over bias and hatred, so that I get to grow old. Long may I reign over a happy, fat kingdom where greed has defeated prejudice!  Once my parents get bored and decide to retire, of course.¡±

    As she spoke, she pulled him past The Bleeding Edge and reached the inn further along with the sign of the unicorn.

    "But here is the place.  It used to have a different name and sign, but my mother threatened them and they changed it.  Now it is called ''The Inappropriate Unicorn, Who Was Once Worse But Is Now Really Trying Harder Your Highness.''  It has some of the best human food in town.  The owner is a human, so it is very authentic."

    Shadow waited outside on the porch, but looked in through the window to make sure the humans didn¡¯t get up to any shenanigans.

    The inn was populated mostly with orcs with pony tails and intricately crafted facial hair, along with a group of  goblins dressed entirely in black, with blackened paint around their eyes.  Many of them were drinking a strange, dark beverage. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    One of the orcs was holding a large piece of paper on which was printed ¡°Pelsan Gazette, Afternoon Edition.¡±  Just below the banner, Rassler could read the headline ¡°Human Noble Learns About Dental Hygiene, Buys Tooth Brush.¡±

    ¡°Really? Already?¡± asked Rassler to no one in particular.

    A number of the orcs looked up at Rassler as he walked through the room.  One of them made a tooth brushing motion, and gave him a thumbs up.  Rassler knew from the Intensive Language Course that the orcish thumbs up sign was based on an old sign the archers made before battle, signifying ¡°One shot, one kill.¡±  Rassler assumed it was meant as a sign of approval.

    They walked further into the inn, where Rassler could see that there were a number of humans around a table in the back corner.

    Rassler realized he recognized the humans.

    He said quietly to Wyndy, speaking in High Goblin.  ¡°It¡¯s Bowen. Should we leave?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to go back and try our local food from the food stands?¡±

    Rassler suddenly found courage. ¡°You know, I can be civil to them.  It isn¡¯t like they will try anything.¡±

    The human group consisted of Bowen, Hargest, and the two Pelsan officers Rassler knew ¨C Adane and Helnae.  The humans and were-creatures had been supplemented by the High Priestess of Fashion and three of her acolytes.  Rassler noticed that Sionia was seated quite close to Hargest, and Hargest was wearing a medal and had an orcish great bow with him.  He and Sionia had the bow laid across their laps, as if cradling their baby.

    The group was engrossed in a conversation and didn¡¯t take notice of Rassler and the princess as they approached.

    Bowen was saying, ¡°Look, I understand your point, Lady Helnae, but it was clear that the Ring Fellows had to destroy the Power Ring in a volcano.  So their actions make sense, and you are being too harsh to them.¡±

    ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that there is more than one volcano on earth.  I mean, just here in Pelsa we have three.¡±  Helnae gestured north and then west, in the direction of the two nearest volcanos.

    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Adane. ¡°The volcano near the Bronze Citadel has simply brilliant thermal springs and the most delightful mineral waters.  You gentlemen simply must give it a try.¡±

    ¡°That is true,¡± agreed Helnae, ¡°the springs are great, but to get back to the point, the Human Fellows could have just looked at a map, right?  I¡¯m sure there were other volcanoes around. They really didn¡¯t need to take the ring directly to the kingdom of the evil wizard.  That was just poor strategic planning!¡±

    ¡°Well, they were trying to save the planet! Do not ignore those men¡¯s great bravery and dedication,¡± replied Bowen.

    ¡°They should have had a woman in the Ring Fellows.  A woman would have stopped and asked for directions to another volcano,¡± said Helnae as Sionia nodded in agreement.

    ¡°But it needed to be in that particular volcano,¡± insisted Hargest.

    ¡°No.  These guys just didn¡¯t understand geology.  They could have asked the Lava Wyrms.  All volcanoes are connected to the same source deep underground.  Magma is magma.  Any volcano would have done. The humans were just being drama queens about it.  That whole thing could have been over much sooner, and much more safely.¡±

    Bowen looked up, and as soon as he saw Wyndy he jumped out of his chair and backed to the wall, reaching for a sword that wasn''t there.   ¡°She''s, she''s here.  She followed us.¡±  He turned toward Wyndy ¡°Please know, Your Highness, that we are not causing any trouble!¡±

    ¡°<i>Relax</i>.  I''m not going to incinerate you <i>today</i>,¡± Wyndy said as she held out her arms to show she had no weapons. Her words and gestures did nothing to reassure Sir Bowen, who backed further away.  ¡°Humans, you are so jumpy.  I mean, just because I electrocuted you once doesn''t mean that I''m going to do it each time we meet.¡±

    Hargest tried to stand up, but Sionia forced him back down.  Instead, she stood up and ran to Wyndy.

    ¡°Wyndy, you came!  Oh, I need you to meet my new human male!¡±

    ¡°Him? Yes, we¡¯ve met.¡±  Wyndy waved a princessy wave at Hargest.  Bowen stayed away, with a chair between him and the royal sorceress.   ¡°Welcome, Sir Hargest, Sir Bowen.  I hope you are enjoying our town and our festival.  I see that Adane and Helnae have introduced you to our high priestess and her acolytes.¡±

    ¡°Wyndy, dear, she introduced herself.  Don''t put this on me,¡± said Helnae.

    Sionia stood up and went to hug Wyndy.  Sionia had an ever-so-slight blush, the first time Wyndy had ever seen her blush.

    ¡°I''m so glad you didn''t leave any scars on them when you vanquished them.¡±

    Hargest stood up to greet his vanquisher.  ¡°Greetings Your Highness, and thank you for your hospitality. And for showing us mercy yesterday. Indeed, you left us with few scars, other than the electrical burn marks on my back.¡±

    Sionia looked shocked.  ¡°Oh, Hargy, don''t worry.  We''ll talk to The Circle and get you all fixed up.¡±

    First Wyndy looked at the SFAC-branded scarf that Hargest was wearing.  Then she registered that he was holding a weapon.

    Wyndy pointed to the orcish great bow that Hargest was holding. ¡°Why exactly is the prisoner armed?¡±

    ¡°He was in the archery competition.  Oh, and he shot so well!  He made it through the second round and will be in the semi-finals tomorrow!¡±  Sionia was almost bouncing with excitement about a competition that before today she hadn''t known existed.

    ¡°Oh, yes, that is interesting.   And perhaps helpful.  I''m sorry I missed that.  But still, could you hold the bow?  It doesn''t look quite right if our prisoners of war are going around armed.¡±

    ¡°Yes, princess, as you command.¡±  Sionia then turned and leaned on  Hargest. ¡°Hey, Hargy, I''m going to hold your¡­bow.  Give me that big bow of yours!  I will keep it until y¡­¡±

    Wyndy cut Sionia off.  ¡°No! No!  Just no!  You are a High Priestess and you two just met and just, just stop!¡±

    ¡°Right, you are right, Your Highness.¡±  Sionia leaned in to whisper to Wyndy.  ¡°Did you see the muscles though? Oh my gods!  Muscles are very much in fashion this year.¡±

    Wyndy grabbed the bow and handed it to Helnae.  Wyndy then grabbed Sionia and took her to the entrance of the kitchen, away from the others.

    Rassler tried to make sense of the implications of Sionia and Hargest¡¯s new romance. Here he was, a major noble, whom ladies in his native land had swooned for, and he didn¡¯t feel the princess was even taking him seriously.  But yet, this landless knight had managed to interest a beautiful high priestess on his first day of freedom in the city.

    He stared harder at Hargest.  He wasn¡¯t really as handsome as Rassler, but the muscles were bigger.  And Hargest just had a military bearing that Rassler couldn¡¯t imitate.  Hargest just looked the part of a knight, leading a charge.

    That must be what the ladies of Pelsa liked.  It was a harsh land, and Wyndy¡¯s father had been a general, had earned his kingdom with a sword.

    Rassler decided he needed to show Wyndy that side of him.  The military leader side.

    But as Rassler was contemplating what a military leader he was, he also came around to contemplating that he was now left with Bowen and Hargest in the dining room, without Wyndy to protect him.  He followed the two women to the back of the inn.

    As he approached them, he heard as Wyndy scolded the high priestess. ¡°Sionia, grab a hold of yourself.  This city is full of well-muscled males of all shapes and sizes.  Why are you acting like this about some human?¡±

    Sionia replied, saying, ¡°But he is a human! I mean, wow, so exotic!  I¡¯d hardly ever talked to a human before, and then you brought us a bunch of them, and now we can check them out!  It is the will of the gods! And that Hargest, he is so cute, like a kitten, but all buff!¡±

    ¡°Or stupid.  They invaded a kingdom populated with thousands of orc and buggebears and all sorts of creatures with only fifty human men.  I mean, he can''t have that much going on upstairs.¡±

    ¡°Well, our Sir Hargest says they weren¡¯t really trying to invade.  And anyway, dearest, intelligence in males is overrated.  It is much better for everyone involved if they just listen to what the woman tells them to do, without thinking about it too much.¡±

    Sionia had laid down a proposition, against which Rassler was happy to hear Wyndy raise countervailing evidence. ¡°Males are not fashion accessories.  Some can be very useful. My parents, for example, have a partnership.¡±

    ¡°Your father is the king though, it is different.¡±

    ¡°And my mother is queen.  And neither of them could have done it without the other. And they still like each other, despite being married so long.  They specialize.  He is really good at scaring people and at blowing things up.¡±

    Sionia had her own counterpoint. ¡°Well, Hargy is really good at being pleasant to look at.  He¡¯s a good archer.  And he seems to be a proper male.  He knows how to behave. The invasion was not his idea, so he is maybe not as dumb as you think.  Just loyal.¡±

    They both then looked over and saw Rassler had followed them into the back.  They smiled at him, and Sionia waved.

    Rassler was trying to come up with something witty to say to defend the honor of men, but then noticed that his two men were cooking in the kitchen.  He left the two women and walked toward the large grill in the back.

    ¡°Vastien?  You are here?  And Greymil?¡±

    ¡°Oh, hello sir,¡± said Rassler¡¯s squire Greymil, as he stabbed and turned over a chicken on the grill.  Vastien looked on and directed.  ¡°It¡¯s good to see you sir.  You¡¯ve come to eat here, yeah? Or were you looking for us?¡±

    ¡°Hello my lord,¡± said Vastien.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m cooking, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°I can see that you are cooking.  But why are you cooking?¡± asked Rassler.

    ¡°We needed jobs, didn¡¯t we?  I mean, we aren¡¯t going back, are we?¡± replied Vastien.

    Rassler was offended by Vastien¡¯s lack of faith, but was happy that at least today he¡¯d be eating a meal prepared by his old cook.  That gave him some confidence in the food of the inn.  Vastien had never poisoned him in twelve years of service back in Keley, so Rassler figured he was okay here.

    Greymil, Rassler''s maybe now-former squire, looked to his count, worried. ¡°Are we sir?  You think we are going back?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m working on it.  Maybe.  I don¡¯t know.¡± Rassler himself wished somebody would tell him.  Certainly Jend¡¯s Kingdom of Pelsa had more than enough military power to restore Rassler to his county.  He just had to convince the royal family.  Which meant convincing Princess Wyndy, and then maybe her mother.

    ¡°Working on it, yeah.  Well, let us know how that goes for you.  My lord.¡±

    ¡°Coming north was your idea, Vastien.  Remember?¡±

    ¡°Aye, sir.  I was trying to save your neck.  The guards told me the warrant was for you dead or alive, which always means they¡¯d already decided,¡± Vastien replied in a low voice.

    ¡°Indeed.  And I thank you.  It has worked so far.  I¡¯m alive, we are all alive.  And, it may still work out and we¡¯ll be back in our fair city of Keley in a month.¡±

    Rassler still had faith in his ability to impress and woo the princess. And he had a new plan on how to do it.

    ¡°Sure, my lord. A month.¡±

 Chapter 17: The Party

    ¡°Oh, but my lady, you should have seen this wave!  As tall as your castle towers.  It was most awesome!  Me and my surf brothers road it for three miles! Our sea lions at our sides!  But then I collided head on with this huuuge giant squid.  Tentacles everywhere.  That squid had no flow. He grabbed for me, he totally wanted me for lunch, but my Surf Bros slashed, and my sea lion Gro-dog bit that tentacle way hard.. You should have been there! And then the squid tried¡­¡±

    Wyndy didn''t pay much attention to the rest of the story, as her eyes wandered around the great hall.  It was difficult sometimes, being a princess.  Especially the older princess.  Myla got to do pretty much whatever she wanted, while the older princess had to get ready to rule.

    Today, Wyndy had been at two hours of the ceremony to honor the Great Mother at the Equinox, an hour at the festival handing out awards, and was now forced to attend the banquet.   Myla had spent most of the day selling scarves and then with her boyfriend.  ¡°We are working on new spells,¡± she¡¯d said. Sure.

    On one side of Wyndy was Sir Krdknre of the Sea Elves, and on the other was sat Count Rassler, who wasn''t being any more interesting.  He''d been talking about his estates and his time in the army and leading squads of cavalry and his crossbow, or something like that.  This felt like it was going to be a very long evening.   At least until the after-party.

    She didn¡¯t know what had happened.  Rassler had been almost charming the day before.

    Wyndy had made it through almost an hour of their stories before zoning out and becoming lost in her thoughts. <i>Oh, by all the gods, even the unimportant ones like Thorsin, but wow male nobles are tiring!  I''ve tried, I''ve tried.  The gods know that I''ve tried.</i>

    There was a thunderclap outside.  It was from close by, maybe a few hundred yards from the castle gates.  It hadn''t been raining.

    <i>You too, Thorsin?  Really? My gods, but these fragile egos¡­ Fine, Thorsin, sorry about thinking you are unimportant. You are an important god too.  I take back most of the bad things I thought about the gods today.</i>

    Wyndy tried again to join in the conversation with the males.  ¡°There was this time that thirty zombies and a ghoul attacked a school trip we took to visit the University of the Northern Lights.  I had to blow up the zombies before they could eat the other students.  My sister, who is, of course, also a powerful sorceress, slowed them down and had the branches rip off some of their legs.  It was still a bit tricky to incinerate them in time before they started trying to eat the teachers¡¯ brains.  I had to work quickly.  Masses of flames were flowing from my arms and eyes.  You should have been there!¡±

    Rassler and Krdknre didn''t have a response, but Somebody Else did, as loud thunder rumbled around the castle. The guests started to look around.

    <i>Yes, I get it Thorsin.  You are an extremely powerful god of thunder.  That is definitely a big deal.  I mean, what would we do without thunder? Storms would be really quiet and very unimpressive.  Thunder, wow, so strong!  Yes, how very very powerful you are!</i>

    It occurred to Wyndy that as she grew in power as a sorceress, she needed to keep her thoughts better shielded.  Strong magic gave a sorcerer a sometimes too-direct connection to the gods.

    Krdkrne spoke across Wyndy to Rassler.  ¡°So, I would like to try your crossbow sometime, but have you ever hunted with a trident?¡±

    Wyndy continued her earlier story. ¡°Of course, I was thirteen at the time.  I¡¯m much better at blowing up my enemies now.¡±  It didn''t seem the men were listening.

    The musicians had started, playing a courtly three-step dance, and the first to the dance floor were Sir Hargest and Pelsa¡¯s own High Priestess Sionia.  As they started dancing a number of other couples left their tables and made for the dance floor.

    Sir Bowen had been seated next to a tall, fit orc woman that Wyndy recognized as Klea, one of the Fashion-Hista acolytes.   They''d been engrossed in a long conversation, but now she took his hand and led him to the dance floor.

    <i>Brilliant.  I hope my father feels we are being super extra civilized enough.  Way more civilized than the humans¡¯ kingdoms.  We are being so civilized that we are treating our prisoners better than our crown princess.  Maybe I should have incinerated the human invaders after all.</i>

    Neither of the males seated next to Wyndy made the least move to ask her to dance, which she was both happy with and annoyed about.  Instead, they were discussing whether horses or killer whales made the best mounts.

    <i>Well, obviously the answer is that giant wolves make the best mounts.  But why are we torturing our crown princess, exactly?  Somebody remind me how this benefits the kingdom?  And don¡¯t tell me it builds character.  I already have enough character.  </i>

    Sir Hargest could clearly dance, and was able to keep up well with Sionia.  Wyndy noticed that he still had on his archery semi-finals medal.  He was more the talk of the town than the actual winner, an equally dashing young orc named Garteek, who was also on the dance floor.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    <i>Oh, gods.  Myla''s marketing is getting to me.  Maybe I can trade her, and she can run the kingdom and I''ll run a fashion brand.</i>

    Sionia and Hargest were interpreting the three-step courtly dance in innovative ways. Innovative in how to dance that closely to each other, and in a dance that didn''t require contact of any parts except the hands.

    <i>Would those two just get a room already?  We need to implement an ordinance against overt flirting during state functions.  </i>

    Sionia and Hargest were now spinning each other quickly around the dance floor, wrapping and unwrapping from each other with every twirl.  Wyndy noticed that Hargest had the attention of many of the female creatures at the ball.

    <i>It isn''t that Sionia gets the coolest guys.  It is that she finds a guy, then declares him to be the coolest, and all the other women believe her!</i>

    Myla and Bedo joined on the dance floor.  They danced the dance in a more traditional style, just hands touching.  Up until Bedo gave Myla a long kiss.

    <i>Why does my father put up with this?  </i>

    She glanced to where her parents were sitting, only to see the two of them looking each other in the eyes and rubbing noses. It was so cute. After all this time, it was still obvious that they adored each other. Was that his hand reaching for her waist? Wyndy felt nauseous just looking at it.

    <i>Oh my gods no!  Not my parents too.  Could the gods please make them stop?  What kind of example do they think they are setting for the impressionable youth of our kingdom!  How is there justice in this world when I am sat here between the hunting bros while our prisoner is kissing our high priestess and my parents are acting like teenagers.  They¡¯ve been together twenty-three years ¨C they have no right to act like this!  </i>

    Wyndy hazarded another glance at her parents, only to see her father kissing her mother¡¯s neck, while she giggled.

    <i>Why am I made to suffer like this?  This is a festive occasion.  How dare they do that!  I hope my friends don¡¯t see them.  Oh, gods, Sionia noticed them and is smiling about it.  Now her and Hargest are rubbing noses.  Please gods make it stop. </i>

    Then Wyndy realized that the gods would not make them stop.  The gods had no interest in doing so.

    <i>The problem is the Equinox itself.  It starts spring, and spring makes everybody go crazy. It is the Great Mother, with her birds and her bees, putting these thoughts into everybody''s head. No wonder the population had been growing so quickly. This whole Equinox thing is just a fertility festival! Next thing you know they will start using pictures of bunnies and eggs to really get the point over to the people.   When I¡¯m on the throne we¡¯ll have a much smaller festival at the Equinox, and instead put more into the Winter Solstice, which is a much more respectable festival.</i>

    ¡°Yes, I get that horses are dependable companions, but a killer whale is just that:  a killer! It will attack your enemies and attempt to eat them.  It is like having another Surf Brother at your side!  Your horses would lose in a battle with killer whales.¡±  Sir Krdknre was arranging the vegetables on his plate to show sea-battle tactics as Rassler looked on as he seemed to be trying to figure out how human horse cavalry would fare against sea elf killer whale cavalry in battle.

    Sionia passed Hargest off to a trusted acolyte so that he could continue to dance, and she headed toward the platform at the end of the hall, as it was her time to begin singing.  A light shone on her, and she began to sing a slow goblin love song.  The crowd on the dance floor grew.

    <i>Time to make my escape</i>, thought Wyndy.

    She batted her eyelashes at a handsome orc male at the next table.  Wyndy knew he was a friend of Bedo''s at the University of the Northern Lights.   As instructed by her eyelashes, the orc university-male came to ask Wyndy to dance.

    Rassler didn¡¯t look pleased with her departure.

    <i>Well, he¡¯ll have a chance to think about what he has done</i>, Wyndy thought as she stepped onto the dance floor with her new partner.

    And she was still on the dance floor three songs later when Sionia introduced the Elven Dance of Chaos.

    ¡°Thank you, thank you all for coming.  You''ve been a wonderful audience,¡± Sionia began. ¡°And you all look great!  So much style in this room.  This may be the most fashionable hall in all of the continent of Wendir!¡±

    This brought many cheers and some amount of posing from the audience.

    ¡°I''m sure you all remember the Elven Dance of Order from last year,¡± Sionia continued, as her words brought more cheers and a certain number of gasps to the room.

    ¡°This year, we are going to dance the other side of the cycle ¨C The Elven Dance of Chaos.¡±

    Excited murmurs broke out across the room.  She glanced at her parents, and saw that her father was staring at Sionia as if he could incinerate her just by looking at her, which indeed he actually could. But Sionia was still alive and he hadn''t moved to stop her, so Wyndy thought that a good sign.

    ¡°Now you are all familiar with Limbo, a place that is neither among the heavens nor among the hells, but a place where elemental chaos reigns supreme!  If you are sent there, it is a place that is hard to escape from, with only a narrow and low exit that you must cross with only your feet touching the ground of Limbo.  You must lean back, and no other part of your body can touch the exit.  Only if you can obtain true Balance, can you leave Limbo!¡±

    The crowd cheered again, especially the elves.  Attendants began clearing out the center of the dance floor, and two large orcs holding long swords moved in.

    Sionia continued, ¡°Among the forest elves, we fear this Limbo.  We are told we might get trapped there if our sorcery goes awry.  But we train to escape it, through the Dance of Chaos.¡±

    Another cheer went across the room.  Wyndy was getting properly nervous though.  Last year''s damages had run into the thousands of gold, and Wyndy had promised her father that Sionia wouldn''t repeat that this year.

    The orcs with swords stood six feet apart, and pointed the swords at each other.  They then lowered the swords to the height of their navels, as one of the fashion acolytes motioned couples to form a line.  Sionia began singing as the musicians played a fast-tempo song from the southern elven lands.

    Behind her, Wyndy saw Sir Hargest taking off his jacket, preparing to join the line of people dancing under the swords.

    She said to him, ¡°First you try to best the orcs at archery.  Now you think you will beat the elves at their traditional dance of chaos?¡±

    ¡°Limbo!¡± yelled Sir Hargest, and the battle was joined.

 Chapter 18: Ballroom Dancing Is Not a Form of Torture

    Lord Glasco was arriving late, which pained him.  He was under strict orders to have the audience with Jend this very evening, and to find the location of the prisoners.  There had been some delays at the border, when three buggebear had appeared shortly after his carriage crossed into Pelsa.  Only after an hour''s discussion, presentation of his diplomatic credentials and a long explanation of his mission, was Glasco allowed to proceed, although even then only with a buggebear riding along.

    The biggest delay though had come due to the accommodation. Counselor Dravon had told him to stay at the inn with the beastly name of ¡°The Bleeding Edge,¡± saying it was a calm place with ¡®traders and such,¡¯ but upon entering, Glasco had found it full of goblins and dwarves in what must have been the loudest common room he¡¯d ever seen ¨C one that looked more like a factory workshop than a room for dining.  Much of what he saw looked dangerous and disturbing, especially the part where a large metal hand had grabbed his luggage

    Glasco transferred to the inn down the street, with the equally odd name ¡°The Inappropriate Unicorn.¡±  This inn was at least run by humans, and it was much quieter.  Indeed, he had met a most interesting human cook there, with whom he had had the most insightful conversation.  The conversation had cost another twenty minutes, but Glasco felt it was well worth it.

    Now, with evening already setting, Lord Glasco was disembarking from his carriage in the inner courtyard of the castle, in front of the doors leading to the great dining hall.

    As he climbed down the steps, a human approached him.  The human was in late middle-age, blond, and dressed in dark robes, and flanked by two impressive looking orcs in full armor.

    Glasco started to walk past the guards toward the door to the hall.

    ¡°I am Lord Glasco.  I am here on official diplomatic business on behalf of King Neydon of Vathary.  I demand to see Jend immediately.¡±

    ¡°I am Major Adane, and I am in charge of the security of the castle this evening.  There is a special event, you know.¡±

    ¡°So they style their tribal forces as if it were a proper military.  So you have ¡®majors¡¯ and such?  Do you also have lieutenants?  Are there monster ¡®corporals¡¯ too?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.  That giant wolf in the shadows behind you is Corporal Luna.  Why don''t you turn around and make a proper introduction?¡±

    Glasco turned around, only to see a giant wolf head about two feet behind him, staring at him.  The giant wolf head was attached to the rest of the giant wolf, crouching low and ready to spring.

    Glasco spun and tried to jump back, only to trip and end up seated on the cobbles, his hose now muddy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ how unfortunate,¡± said Adane as he reached down to help Glasco up. ¡°I guess you''ll just have to go back to your inn and get cleaned up.  You can come see the king tomorrow afternoon.¡±

    ¡°No.  But I need to see him now.  It is very important, and time is of the essence.¡±

    ¡°Lord Glasco, I must inform you that this is not the most opportune time.  The king and his court are at the celebration of the Equinox. I would really suggest your meeting could wait until tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°What, are they busy sacrificing our soldiers to their witch gods?  I think that my mission, from the large and powerful Kingdom of Vathary, certainly warrants me interrupting their tribal ceremony.¡±

    This elicited a low growl from Corporal Luna, still just a tail''s length behind Glasco.

    Glasco reworded his request. ¡°I mean, I am sure that your king would like to receive the message I have from my king, without delay.¡±

    ¡°Fine Glasco.  Fine.  And coupled with the respect I once had for your family, I feel inclined to let you in.  Walk with me.¡±

    Glasco followed Adane toward the entrance of the great hall.  As they approached, he could hear loud music with pounding drums coming from inside the hall.  There were occasional shouts and screams from what sounded like a large crowd of creatures just inside.  Glasco wondered to himself if he would live to ever see the like of day again.  He silently cursed Dravon and all of his choices in life that had brought him to this point.

    Adane raised his hand, and the doors to the great orcish hall opened.  Glasco paused for a moment to muster his courage, and stepped inside.

    On entry to the hall, his first thought was, ¡°Why do they have trees inside the hall?¡±

    His second thought was, that while the men were dressed in the similar, somewhat toned-down silken stockings and coats with lace that the male nobles dressed in back in Vathary, many of the women were being rather risqu¨¦ ¨C most of the women¡¯s dresses revealed ankles, and some even showed a hint of knee!

    His third thought was that it was all just as he had feared.  It seemed the monsters were indeed engaged in some sort of dark ceremony in honor of their primitive gods.  Along the tiers of the hall, the eyes of three hundred of every fell creature Glasco had heard of were focused upon two orcs with swords in the center of the main room, as unarmed couples approached, holding hands.

    Glasco took a few steps down the stairs, heading to where the ceremony was taking place.  His path was blocked by observers and he struggled to get through.

    He called out, ¡°By Jipater, I say!  What is going on here?¡±

    Near him stood a petite goblin woman in what Glasco considered a rather fetching black and silver evening dress, with mistletoe woven through her hair and shapely ankles revealed.  She answered him in pleasantly-accented Common Vatharian.  ¡°It is the Eleven Dance of Chaos. It is called ''The Limbo.'' Look it up.¡±

    Glasco had no idea where one would look up such a thing, and he had no reference library at his immediate disposal. ¡°Well, I have never heard of it.  It looks beastly! They are torturing my countryman!¡±

    ¡°Tsss, You¡¯ve never heard of it?  Oh, my.  I guess somebody doesn¡¯t spend as much time with the high-class elves as we do. All the cool humanoids know the dance.¡±

    To his horror, Glasco spotted some of his Vatharian men, evidently forced into the dark ceremony.  There was Sir Hargest, surrounded by the creatures, without a formal coat but wearing just a white shirt, partially unbuttoned, and dark trousers. He was standing in front of the two orcs, who stood about five feet from each other, holding out swords pointed at each other, parallel to the earth, at just under waist height.   Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Hargest held hands with a rather lovely elven woman and they began moving toward the swords, as the crowd cheered and the tempo of the orcish drumming increased.  They leaned back, tilting their heads all the way back, exposing their necks.

    Bowen, holding hands with a tall orcish woman, was next in line behind Hargest and his partner.

    ¡°Are they going to sacrifice them?  Are they going to torture my men?  This must be stopped!¡± Glasco yelled out.  Only the goblin woman next to him heard him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have ballroom dancing where you¡¯re from?  Ballroom dancing is not a form of torture! I don¡¯t know why the men are always acting like it is!¡±

    Then she paused and looked at him, checking out his outfit from head to toe.  She frowned slightly at the mud on his stockings, but otherwise seemed satisfied with him and said ¡°You know, humans are very much in fashion this season, but they¡¯ve all been taken.  Would you like to have a try at the dance with me?  We can go as a pair.¡±

    Glasco declined the offer to dance and instead ran screaming down the steps toward the raised table where the orcish king and his elven witch were sitting.   ¡°Stop!  Don¡¯t kill him!  Stop the sacrifice!¡± Creatures began to make way in front of him as he ran.

    Hargest and his elven companion had just passed under the swords, which they cleared by a good half foot.  Bowen and his own female companion were preparing for their attempt.

    As Glasco ran toward the king and queen, about fifty creatures, including two of the dragons, sprang up and moved to block him.  Glasco was quickly put into a hold by a couple of the orcs and buggebears, with the spike of a dragon¡¯s tail poised a foot from his chest.  Glasco stopped any attempt to move.

    The band stopped, and everyone in the great hall turned to look at Glasco and then at Jend and Aida.  Jend turned to the new human entrant, a flash of anger on his face.

    ¡°Sorry, but who are you exactly, and why are you disrupting our gala?¡±

    ¡°I am Lord Glasco! I am here as an emissary of His Highness, King Neydom of Vathary!¡± he said as soon as the buggebear holding him removed his hand from Glasco¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Okay, but why were you screaming just now?  And couldn¡¯t you have waited until tomorrow?¡±  Aida asked.

    ¡°Tomorrow, after you¡¯ve tortured and sacrificed our Vatharian men in your ¡­ ceremony.¡± Glasco had meant to say something rather harsher, but before he spoke had also decided he wanted to try to make it out of the hall alive.

    There was a murmur of laughter through the hall.  Even Jend started to show signs of a smile.  The creatures holding Glasco freed him and started returning to their tables. One of the buggebears patted Glasco on his head as he left.

    ¡°Nobody is getting sacrificed today. The Vatharians are fine,¡± Jend said, and then turned to the table where most of the captured soldiers were eating.  ¡°Are you not enjoying yourselves?  Isn¡¯t the food good?¡±

    The soldiers raised their beers toward the king amid a chorus of ¡°ayes.¡±  A few of the orc women sitting with them also cheered.

    ¡°We even let your wizard come!¡± said Jend, pointing to Siarl Mostyn at the table with the other Vatharians.  He looked too tipsy to even remember a spell.

    ¡°It is just a dance, Glasco, stand down, you are embarrassing our species,¡± yelled Sir Bowen from his place near the center of the hall.  ¡°We just have to try to pass under the swords without falling.  It is called ¡®The Limbo.¡¯ We were doing well too, before you interrupted.¡±

    ¡°Well King Neydon had been informed of disturbing things, and sent me to check on the condition of the men before we even consider paying a ransom!  I demand to see them now!¡±

    ¡°But you literally just saw them,¡± said Aida, as she pointed to the table where the soldiers were. ¡°They are right there. Oh, and your Sir Bowen you¡¯ve heard from, and young Sir Hargest, who has made quite an impression, is there with our High Priestess Sionia.¡±  Hargest and the stylish elven woman who was evidently some sort of priestess waved.

    ¡°Hmm¡­yes, they are.  Yes. Right there.  Indeed.¡±  Glasco worried on how he would report this to his contact, whom he was supposed to meet and guide to the prisoners in just a few more hours.

    ¡°They seem fine to me,¡± said Jend. ¡°Can we perhaps proceed with the dance now? Maybe you would like some food? We have specially arranged to have some human food here tonight. They tell me it is tasty. As human food goes.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, but, before we pay the ransom, we wanted to see they were being treated well,¡± Glasco said as he tried to figure out what to do.  ¡°I would need to see where you are keeping them?¡±

    ¡°Hey, Vatharian soldiers!  Are you being treated well?¡±

    There was again a general chorus of ¡°ayes¡± from the soldiers and their companions.

    ¡°There you go.  You can pay the ransom, enjoy the party, and tomorrow you and all the Vatharians can be on your way back to your homes, and that will be the end of that,¡± said Jend.

    Glasco had not been given any money to pay any ransom.  He had been only supposed to determine the location of the prisoners for His Majesty¡¯s Master Agent Boal and the Royal Assassins. He didn¡¯t want to let that on though.

    ¡°Well, King Jend, I will not pay any ransom today.  I must inform my king of our men¡¯s health, and then we will discuss the matter with the treasury and then, perhaps in a couple of weeks, I can...¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± said Jend.  ¡°You are not going to pay the ransom and take your humans back?  We need to watch them and feed them for further weeks?¡±

    The elven woman who had been with Hargest ran over, and pushed Glasco aside.

    ¡°King Jend, Your Highness!  If Glasco isn¡¯t paying the ransom, and if he''s still for sale, can I buy Hargest?¡±  asked the woman, whom they¡¯d called the High Priestess Sionia.

    ¡°It''s a ransom.  Not a sale,¡± said the queen.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. How much is the ransom then?¡± asked Sionia, as Glasco looked on, at a loss for how to respond.

    ¡°I¡¯ve set the ransom for Sir Hargest at two hundred gold Vatharian sovereigns,¡± said Jend.

    ¡°That is just twenty-five gold per ab!  The Great Mother be praised for her gifts!   I¡¯ll take him!¡±  The priestess looked very happy with her prospective shopping.

    ¡°But Sionia, honey.  You can''t buy men.  We don''t allow slavery or serfdom in our kingdom.  You have to control the men using other means.  You, of all people, should understand that,¡± said Aida, a look of exasperation on her face.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.  You are right.  Of course you¡¯re right,¡± replied the crestfallen Sionia.

    ¡°You know I''m sitting here, next to you, right?¡± said Jend.

    ¡°Yes dear.  Who could miss your big, powerful masculine presence!  You dominate the room!¡± replied Aida, smiling at him, as she patted his leg.

    Jend sat back, satisfied.

    ¡°So, as I was saying, we can¡¯t sell him to you, but, let me think.¡±  Aida leaned over and whispered into Jend¡¯s ear.  He whispered back. She gave him a kiss. Jend sighed and stood up.

    He called out to the room in a loud voice. ¡°Let it be known that I, King Jend of Pelsa, in honor of our national festival, on a day holy to the Great Mother and to the Sky Father, do hereby command that our prisoners be released.  They are free men, as of now!  I declare that the ransom demand is now removed, as they have been honorable guests, and clearly the King of Vathary needs the gold a lot more than our prosperous kingdom does.  Let him keep his gold, and use it to feed and clothe his poor citizens!¡±

    There was a general cry of ¡°hurrah¡± from around the room.  The Vatharian soldiers raised tankards in a salute to Jend, then quickly returned to talking with each other and their new acquaintances.

    Sionia asked, ¡°So this means I can have him for free?¡±

    ¡°Yes, free!  They are free!  I hereby set all the Vatharians free. No ransom, they can all just go¡± said Jend

    He then turned to Lord Glasco. ¡°So, yes, tell your king to keep his money.   You and all the Vatharians soldiers we took in the battle can all go back to your homes tomorrow morning.  Our cooks will make you breakfast and then you can all get out of my kingdom!¡±

    The music started up again, and the dancing continued for some time.

    Glasco remained at the party for another couple of hours, attempting to determine the location the Vatharian men were staying.  He joined them for drinks and human food, and they told him.

    He had three dances with the goblin woman he¡¯d met on the stairs, and two dances with an older, elegant orc lady who said she ran the country¡¯s university, which he promised to come visit.  He enjoyed himself immensely.  It was one of the better parties he¡¯d been to in the last many years.  Something like the parties his mother used to give for the gentry of half of the country, back when his family had the money to do that.

    Glasco felt a pang of guilt that he was trying to help the assassins, when the Vatharian soldiers were already free. Perhaps he could head off the assassins, and they could just hang out at the pub together for a while? So none of the orc lads would be killed.

    He reluctantly left the party when he realized the time of his meeting with Agent Boal was fast approaching.

 Chapter 19: The After-Party, feat. The Vatharian Assassins

    Senior Agent Anwas Eynon of the Vatharian Assassination Service walked in on his boss, Master Agent Boalgaroz, known more popularly by his call sign, ¡°Boal.¡±

    Boal was standing in front of his office mirror, checking his hair.  Again. Agent Eynon had noticed Boal checked his hair quite a lot, and despite that his hair was still often messed up. Eynon had no idea what Boal did to keep messing up his hair.

    ¡°Ah, Agent Enynon, is everything ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander.  The men are waiting for you by the teleport focus.¡±

    ¡°Excellent, and exactly on time, as you always are, Eynon,¡± Boal said as he walked out of his office and to the stairs down to the sorcery chambers, deep beneath the castle.  ¡°Again, I am pleased that you and your men were able to accommodate the schedule change. Counselor Dravon performed a divination, and it told him that today was the auspicious time to attack.  I think that is worth bringing the mission forward.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, sir.  I have the greatest respect for Counselor Dravon.  If he says tonight is the night to attack, I have full confidence in the mission.  Sir.¡±

    They entered the chamber where the teleport focus was.  Eynon''s seven men were arrayed around the inlaid-stone circle in the floor.

    Eynon had chosen the best men he had for the mission.  All were trained killers and men who would fight to the death for their king.  Well, all except the intern, Teifion Belvin.  The thing was that four of the assassins had not returned from their last mission to kill a Vatharian dissident in Ushos, so Eynon was a bit short-staffed.  Intern Belvin looked the part, though, so Eynon was sure Boal wouldn''t notice the newest trainee had been included.

    The men were dressed as well-to-do merchants, the idea being that they would not attract much attention in Lagar''s Haven, where human merchants were seen increasingly often.  The other option had been to have everybody dress in black, but in their experience, nine men dressed in black trying to sneak down a street at night got a lot more notice.  Eynon still got sick to his stomach when he thought about <i>that</i> mission, from two years ago.  Half the team had been captured, and harshly mocked as ¡°oh, so sneaky¡± before being returned for a ransom.

    However dressed, Eynon still knew his men were deadly.  Strong and young, they could move more quietly than a rat, could poison like a snake, and were all masters of the blade.  Except the intern, of course, but he was sort of okay.

    Boal looked at the team with approval. ¡°Listen men.  One last time before we go through:  We arrive in the old weavers¡¯ temple.  It will be empty, although locked.  We pick the lock, and then move out into the city in groups of three.  My group first.  Our contact, whom you know, will be nearby outside, if he judged it safe.  Otherwise, we head to the inn.  The contact will inform us where our soldiers are being held captive.  We go there and free them, killing as many of the orcs as we can without raising a general alarm.  The primary target is Sir Bowen, but we will free as many of the other men as we can.  It is a festival day there, so we expect the guards may well be drunk.¡±

    There was a soft ¡°yeah, let¡¯s do it¡± from the assassins at the mention of freeing their countrymen from the grasp of the evil orcs, and then Boal continued, ¡°We can give the freed prisoners the extra clothing you have with you.  We then head back as quickly as possible to the weavers¡¯ temple.  I will then teleport us back here.  If something has happened to me, you should scatter and make it back to Vathary on trading ships or with caravans as best you can.  In particular, the Vatharian ship ¡®The Red Herring¡¯ is currently docked in Lagar''s Haven, and the captain has been warned he may be contacted and will provide you aid.¡±

    The men nodded, a look of grim determination on their faces.  They knew that maybe not all of them would be coming home<sup>9</sup>.

    ¡°Take hands. Ready?¡± asked Boal, as he grasped the hand of the two agents next to him.

    The agents replied ¡°ready¡± in unison, and grasped hands.  They stepped into the circle together, as gray and white whiskers of light spread out from Boal and wrapped around the eight men.  They faded out of existence in the sorcery room in Carstones, and faded back into existence in the stone circle in the Temple of Elemental Fashion in Lagar¡¯s Haven.

    They¡¯d been expecting silence, but instead their ears were overwhelmed with the noise coming from the walls.  The room they were in seemed empty, but from the next room, just on the other side of a thin door, they could hear very loud music played to a pounding beat.  The whole building would shake slightly on the downbeats.  Three of the assassins began nodding along on the beats.

    ¡°What the hells?  I thought this temple was supposed to be empty?¡± Eynon said, his words directed approximately toward Boal.

    ¡°It was.  Our intelligence was evidently faulty. Now see what is happening on the other side of that door,¡± replied Boal.

    Agent Garold Magard and Eynon very quietly and sneakily opened the door, just a crack.  They peered into the second room.  It was a larger room, full of creatures, and most of them were dancing maniacally to the loud music.  There were orcs, goblins, elves, some large furry things, something really large and red towards the back.  He estimated that two-thirds of the dancers were female.  They closed the door and turned back to the other assassins.

    ¡°It may be a cult ceremony.  It looks like a cult ¨C They are dancing as if possessed and most are wearing the same shirt, with High Goblin symbols spelling out a strange word¡± said Eynon, who had studied scripts and languages as part of his Senior Agent training.

    ¡°What do their shirts say?¡± asked Boal.

    ¡°SFAC sir.  Some sort of arcane word of power, I think. My guess is that it¡¯s probably used as an invocation in their anti-human cult, sir.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ cultists pledged to this unnatural SFAC power!!¡± said Boal. He thought for a moment, and turned to the rest of the squad. ¡°Agents, I want you to kill as many of the cultists as possible.  Prepare weapons and get ready. On my signal.¡±

    ¡°But, sir, it''s mostly women, and they don¡¯t seem armed.  We don¡¯t kill non-combatants, unless they are in the way of our mission,¡± explained Agent Magard. ¡°Many of them are pretty, too.¡±

    ¡°Their prettiness doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Boal. ¡°I gave you an order.  I judge that they are a danger to this mission.  And need I remind you that I am a sorcerer and am worth ten men in battle. Prepare your weapons.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I really must warn you, that the room was full!  Perhaps fifty more of the monsters. Orcs, goblins, other things I¡¯m not even sure about. There may have been a dragon in the back. We may get many, but it would be a fight and some would escape, and they might warn others.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine.  Sheath your weapons.  We¡¯ll go out the other way,¡± said Boal, clearly not happy about it.

    As the assassins began to put away their blades, Intern Belvin asked ¡°Hey, guys, is that giant wolf supposed to be there?¡±

    He pointed toward the back of the room, opposite the door they¡¯d been preparing to open. ¡°I mean, you guys are aware that there is a giant wolf crouched down over there, watching us, right?¡±

    Belvin hadn¡¯t yet completed all his training, so was more observant than the other assassins.  The government liked to select trainees for intelligence, observation skills, and the ability to think on the fly; then they trained them into blind obedience.

    Nine heads simultaneously turned to look toward the other side of the room.  There was indeed a massive gray wolf, teeth bared, crouched down and ready to spring. He seemed to be calculating how many seconds it would take to kill each of the assassins, and how many seconds he would need between each chomp.

    It was Magard who summed up the situation: ¡°Oh, shit!¡± he said.

    The wolf sprung, but at that same moment the door to the work room opened, and three female arms reached in and grabbed three of the assassins.

    As they grabbed him, Eynon could hear one of the women scream ¡°Human males!  I knew I smelled them. There are human males in here!  Ladies, come get yourselves a human male!¡±

    Further orc and goblin women rushed in the door, grabbing the rest of the men. Enyon assumed this meant they were about to be ripped to shreds or otherwise sacrificed to the SFAC power the cultists worshiped.

    The giant wolf had sprung, but before he could chomp down on Agent Carey, one of the goblin women intervened and grabbed the agent¡¯s head, which was already in the wolf¡¯s mouth. ¡°No, Shadow!  No chomping!  He is mine!¡± she yelled, while she pushed the giant wolf back.  The wolf whined a loud complaint as the women took the males through the door.

    As he was dragged into the dance hall, Eynon couldn¡¯t see what had happened to Agent Boal.  He did see one of the orc women grab a fluffy orange cat, and bring it into the dance hall to show everybody.  Eynon couldn¡¯t believe he had not noticed both the wolf and the cat.

    The assassins were dragged into the center of the floor, and the tempo of the music increased.  Eynon said a prayer to Jipater to protect him in this, his time of greatest need.<sup>10</sup>  He tried to reach for his blade to defend himself from the mass of orcs around him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    But he was unable to reach his dagger.  Instead of going to his belt, he felt his hands moving skyward, and his legs began to move in time to the beat.

    Intern Belvin had been dragged onto the dance floor right next to him.  Eynon shouted to him, ¡°They are cultists!  We need to get out of here!  Retreat!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t retreat sir!  We are dancing!¡±  Belvin yelled back, as he clapped in time to the beat, a pretty orc girl dancing beside him.  Belvin looked back at Eynon and yelled, ¡°You dance really well commander!¡±

    Indeed, Eynon had tried to resist, but the beat overtook him too.  He launched into a complicated dance sequence, like he used to do back at the harvest festivals in the village he grew up in. He looked toward the band, and the singer, a beautiful elf.  She reminded him of his first love, Delana.  Eynon lost himself entirely in the dance.

    - - - -

    The goddess Hista had been enjoying the time with the mortals at the after-party.  She didn''t get out so much, with needing to keep the world clothed and warm and all, so spending some time dancing with her cultists was good fun and a nice change of pace.

    She watched as the eight human males were dragged into the room and onto the dance floor.  She knew what they really were and had a flash of worry for her followers.  Then she considered the assembly of orcs, goblins, giant wolves, and buggebears in the room, plus the dragon of course, and figured it would probably be okay, unless her cultists danced the assassins to death.

    ¡°The Great Mother has sent us human males!¡± screamed out one of the dancers.  There were shouts of glee as the human males were pulled further to the center of the dance floor..

    Hista looked directly at the earth and spoke quietly to it.  ¡°Mother, did You do this? The party was a bit short on males, but this really wasn''t a good idea. People could be hurt!  Eight assassins at the after-party! Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, my Prickly Woolen Wonder,¡± She heard Her Great Mother answer back from the earth itself.  ¡°I just tweaked the timing, as this way it was more entertaining, and may lead to more creatures, not fewer.  Entrails are a terribly inaccurate and beastly method of divination, don¡¯t You think?¡±

    ¡°So, this is one of your fertility things?¡±

    ¡°Thimble!  You wound me!  Not everything I do involves fertility.  But, yes, yes it was.  It is appropriate at the Spring Equinox, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Mother!¡± yelled Hista at the Earth.

    Hista spotted Shadow, searching around the room in a panic.   He had found Wyndy, and then Wyndy started examining the newly-arrived humans and stopped dancing, helping Shadow search for something.  Hista saw what they were looking for.

    <i>So the Kat¡¯sheth have returned to the North, </i>thought Hista to Herself.

    ¡°Look at the kitty I just found!  It was in the sanctuary!¡± one of the orc women was shouting to her friends as she held the newly discovered feline up for the women to see.

    Hista walked over to the group of women with the cat.  They were petting it and there was a general consensus in the group that it was a very cute kitty, but the orange cat looked unamused and struggled to get away.  Shadow was also heading toward the cat, as quickly as the giant wolf could make it through the dancing crowd.

    ¡°Oh, I''m sorry, did my little cat Boal get away?  I told him to stay in the sanctuary and sleep.  I''m really sorry,¡± Hista said, as Atsih, in the voice of an orc girl.  She reached and took the cat in her arms.

    The cat looked momentarily relieved to escape the group of women, but then he saw Hista''s eyes and realized whom She was.  He began to struggle, glowing red with heat as his cat body became lava.  Hista didn''t let go, but opened the door and stepped outside into the street.

    Shadow had reached Hista, and tilted his head to get a better look at the struggling cat-demon, as it tried to escape the goddess¡¯s clutches.  He bared his teeth, ready to strike, as bolts of fire shot from the cat toward the wolf.  The bolts never reached the wolf, prevented by some force that diverted them.

    Shadow was giant wolf royalty and so obviously knew who Hista was.  He asked her, ¡°Goddess, please, I must kill the Kat''sheth you hold! It is my oath. You know how long we¡¯ve fought to protect our land from the demons.¡±

    ¡°Hello, The Shadow, Our dear friend.¡±  She held the struggling demon by the scruff of his neck, while she reached with her other hand to scritch Shadow behind the ears.  ¡°But, I cannot just give him to you to kill.  It is against The Rules.¡±

    She held Boal up and looked at him in the eyes.  ¡°However, I also cannot have you interrupting the party at my temple.  That is also against The Rules, Boalgaroz.  And very cheeky!¡±

    She slapped Boal on the nose, and then threw him thirty yards down the street.  The cat-demon landed on its feet, back high, fur raised, eyes glowing.  Hista pointed at it and made a motion to shoo it away. Boal turned and bolted down the dark streets of the town.

    Shadow took off after the Kat¡¯sheth.  Hista watched as they rounded the corner, the cat a few yards ahead but with Shadow gaining. Shadow collided with a confused-looking older human man who¡¯d been lingering near the temple, knocking the human down into the mud.  Shadow didn¡¯t stop to apologize, but continued on after the orange cat.

    - - - -

    Meanwhile, Wyndy was trying to pull Hargest off the dance floor.

    Shadow had warned Wyndy that the men were Vatharian assassins.  Wyndy had checked it out, saw that the newcomers were armed and could well be assassins, and had told her sister.  Myla and Wyndy then huddled with Scarlett in the back about what to do.

    The three women made the decision to start pulling creatures off the dance floor, free them from the dance, and put together a team to deal with the assassins.

    So, as Shadow chased Boal through the streets of Lagar¡¯s Haven, Wyndy and Myla were there, dealing with Hargest¡¯s dance-mania.

    ¡°Hargest!  There are Vatharian assassins in the room!  We need your help! You must stop dancing!¡± yelled Myla over the music.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop dancing!  This song is too good!¡± he yelled back.

    ¡°But Sir Hargest! There are Vatharian assassins!¡± yelled Wyndy.  ¡°AS-SAS-INS!  HERE!¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah, there is one over there.  I know him! That¡¯s Garold Magard!¡±  Hargest danced toward Magard and waved.  ¡°Hey man!  Great to see you!  Glad you could make it!¡±

    Magard was dancing rather closely with a cute goblin girl.  He looked up and yelled back ¡°Hargest, hey!  Good to see you dude! Great to be here. Great party! We are here to rescue you from the orcs and goblins!¡±

    ¡°Oh, cool, right.  We¡¯ll catch up later then.¡±  Hargest danced back toward Wyndy, as Magard went back to dancing with the goblin.

    Wyndy directed Scarlett to reach her claws out, pick up Hargest by his jacket, and bring him back over to the side for Wyndy and Myla to try to talk some sense into him.

    Scarlett held Hargest suspended about a foot off the floor, but Hargest didn¡¯t notice.  He was still moving his feet to the rhythm and his arms were still in the air, clapping on the second and fourth beats.

    ¡°Sir Hargest,¡± Wyndy yelled, ¡°Concentrate!  I can free you from the dance.  But you must recite the Goddess Doaris¡¯ Litany Against Dancing.  Say it with me now!¡±

    Scarlett lowered him until he was within Wyndy¡¯s reach.  She gripped his forehead, fighting to keep him in one place amidst the shaking, shimmying and swaying.

    She yelled out the words, as Hargest repeated them.

    ¡°I must not dance.

    Dance makes you happy.

    Dance is the little joy that brings total exhilaration

    I will deafen my ears to the music

    I will permit the beat to pass over me and through me

    My butt will not shake, nor will my hips twitch

    And when the beat has gone past, I will tell myself

    But I don¡¯t feel like dancing.  There¡¯ll be no dancing today.¡±

    After the first recitation of the Litany, Hargest began to slow, and his clapping was no longer on the beat.  Wyndy gripped him harder, and they repeated it in unison.  Hargest¡¯s feet stopped moving and his butt stopped shaking.  Again they said the Litany.  A sad, calm look came over Hargest¡¯s face.  He was no longer dancing.  Scarlett put him down.

    ¡°Now, Hargest! Pay attention!  Get Helnae, and then we need to tell Sionia.  I have a plan,¡± said Wyndy. ¡°Do you remember the elven Dance of Order from last year?¡±

    - - - -

    Running through the dark streets of Lagar¡¯s Haven, Shadow was hot on the trail of the cat-demon.  He¡¯d closed to within ten yards, and rounded the corner where he could smell the Kat¡¯sheth.

    The orange cat had stopped, and was facing Shadow, back raised. The cat¡¯s tail twitched, and a black tentacle extended from the tail, attempting to strike Shadow directly across his chest.

    Aida had had twenty years to prepare her guardians for such an event ¨C the return of the corruption magic of Lothar.  Shadow, as a paladin sworn to protect the land from demons, had been the best of her students among the wolves.

    Shadow¡¯s ears twitched while his eyes glowed silver.  Translucent magic silver armor covered and shielded his body.  The black tendril impacted and the armor flared bright white.  Shadow was blown back ten yards, but otherwise unharmed.

    Boal¡¯s tail twitched again.  He hissed ¡°Orange cat energy!¡± as he channeled the forces of corruption, and another black tentacle spun out from the demon-cat.  Shadow tried to dodge, but it hit him on his back left leg, partially penetrating his armor.  Shadow¡¯s magic silver armor started to fade out.

    In so much pain that he could hardly see, Shadow ran back, escaping around the corner and trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the Kat¡¯sheth.  The cat trotted after him, tail raised.

    His back leg started to give out after a hundred yards.  He wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun the Kat¡¯sheth.  He concentrated and tried to re-conjure his armor.

    He needed help.  But he was a wolf, so he could summon help.

    Shadow pointed his nose to the sky and let out a loud howl.  A howl with the message that hadn¡¯t been heard in the land in over two decades.

    - - - -

    Back at the after-party, Fluffy hadn¡¯t done very well with Luna, but was having better success chatting up Storm, who had been impressed with his performance with the choir the day before.

    Suddenly though, the wolves at the party heard the faint sound of a howl, even through the music and noise of the dancing.  Their ears alerted and they froze in place to listen.  It was the howl telling of one of the greatest dangers to the canines of Pelsa: The return of the Kat¡¯sheth.

    Within a few seconds, Fluffy, Storm and Luna were out on the streets, as were another sixty canines.  Giant wolves, normal wolves, sly foxes, normal foxes, and the smarter of the town¡¯s dogs joined them.  They howled together to amplify and spread the message, and then set out around the city looking for the scent of their ancient enemy.

    Luckily, the first to arrive at Shadow¡¯s side was a small brown wiener dog named Vaup.  Vaup normally lived in the Old Forest with Duchess Rhoswen, but liked to come to town to perform with the Pelsan Canine Choir during the festivals.  He¡¯d been at the party at the castle, but hadn¡¯t yet gone to bed as he felt he needed to mark a few more streets.

    The weiner dog sorcerer reached the wounded wolf paladin just as the Kat¡¯sheth raised its tail again.  The dog sneezed and a strong green shield covered Shadow as the black tentacles lashed against it, the wolf unharmed behind the shield.  The wiener dog barked and a blast of green force threw the cat-demon back ten yards.

    From all around came the sound of barking canines, as they closed in on the location of the Kat¡¯sheth.

    The orange cat turned and ran back down the street, heading toward the River Gate.

    ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>9</sup> <b>Translator''s Note: </b>And, well, they weren¡¯t wrong.

    <sup>10</sup> <b>Translator''s Note:</b>  According to the creatures of Pelsa, The Sky Father has a well-developed sense of humor (as everybody who has contemplated existence has probably also noticed).  He chuckled at the assassin¡¯s prayer as the cultists pulled the human males to the dance floor.

 Chapter 20: Explaining the After-Party to Her Father

    General Gaxaras walked briskly into the dining room while Jend was just sitting down to breakfast to tell him the news.

    ¡°Eight elite Vatharian assassins attacked an after-party at the Temple of Fashion last night.  Wyndy, Myla, Helnae and Scarlett were there.¡±

    ¡°My gods!  Is there anything left of the assassins?¡± asked Jend.

    ¡°The women spared them. Sionia performed the music for the Elven Dance of Order, and had them dance in a conga line to the barracks prison.  A couple of them have injuries from the high-kicking and hip shaking, but generally I understand a good time was had by all,¡± Garaxas reported.

    ¡°Conga-dancing, no!!!  I expressly forbid that dance after the incident last year.  The Vatharians will think us monsters!¡±  Jend tried to suppress the memories of the conga-line at the previous year¡¯s Equinox festival that had ended up with over eighty percent of the inhabitants of Lagar¡¯s Haven dancing in a line that weaved through much of the town. He had ached for days.

    ¡°The high priestess felt that having to deal with eight assassins was an extenuating circumstance, so she and your daughters danced them to captivity, sire.¡±  Garaxas understood Jend¡¯s aversion to the Elven Dance of Order.  Garaxas had hardly been able to walk for a week after his involuntary participation.

    ¡°Did this have something to do with all the howling last night?¡±

    ¡°Yes sir.  The canines claim that there was a Kat¡¯sheth with the assassins.  Shadow led the search, but they report that the Kat¡¯sheth escaped into the forest.  Some of the wolves are still searching for it as we speak.¡±

    Jend held his head in his palm. ¡°I probably should have listened to the canines¡¯ warnings.  I fear they may be correct.  If they are, it might explain some of the behavior we¡¯ve seen recently from the Vatharians.¡±

    ¡°Indeed, sire.¡±

    ¡°Still, if Wyndy and Myla managed to capture the assassins alive, then the girls again showed great restraint and wisdom. We may yet avoid serious bloodshed with Vathary, despite the plots of the Kat¡¯sheth. A war would destroy so much of what we have built.  Maybe everything we¡¯ve built,¡± said Jend.

    ¡°It is true.  I don¡¯t like to admit it, but sometimes the strongest thing you can do is continue to offer peace, despite their attacks,¡± Garaxas said.

    Jend continued, ¡°They girls came out alright, didn¡¯t they.  They are fair and thoughtful leaders.  The kingdom will be in good hands with my daughter in power.¡±

    Upon the mention of ¡°daughter,¡± Wyndy suddenly appeared in the doorway, followed by Sir Hargest.

    Jend raised his voice and began to interrogate his daughter. ¡°Do I understand that you and your sister went somewhere after the Equinox Party last night?  An unauthorized ¡®After-Party,¡¯ in which you left yourself vulnerable to attack by assassins and evil felines? Is my understanding correct?¡±

    ¡°Father, <i>really</i>,¡± Wyndy replied. ¡°We were <i>fine</i>.  We had lots of friends with us.  And we stopped the Vatharian plot and discovered that the old circle in the Temple of Fashion still works.  Well, it did until we disabled it this morning.¡±

    ¡°Well, I guess it could have been worse.  You did not kill the assassins, but imprisoned them, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes father.  We knew you¡¯d prefer that.  And many of the women at the party thought the humans were a gift from the Great Mother and would have been angry with me if I¡¯d incinerated them¡­. The problem now is that we are running short of space to store the prisoners.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°But we just freed the others.  Aren''t they heading back to Vathary today? Also,¡± Jend said, switching to speaking in Vatharian and pointing at Hargest as he entered, ¡°weren¡¯t you one of the prisoners?  Why are you here?¡±

    Wyndy answered for him. ¡°Well, you saw that he met Sionia, right... So he''s on our side now.¡±

    ¡°Right. Brilliant.  Thank you for letting me know.¡±  Jend let out a long groan, and shook his hands at the earth.  ¡°The Equinox is always such a weird time of year.  It is very difficult to govern in the spring. The citizens are just not serious.¡±

    Hargest reported. ¡°Four of the soldiers and I would like to stay in Pelsa, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Four.  Just what we needed¡­..  Humans, hmm, how to make them leave?  Have any of our academics written anything on getting humans to go the hells home?¡±

    General Garaxas thought for a moment. ¡°Not that I know of, although if we provided them a grant to study it, I''m sure that they...¡±

    ¡°No.  Oh gods, no more grants for the academics.¡± Jend turned back to Hargest.   ¡°Look, I really feel it would be better for everyone involved if you Vatharians would head back to Vathary, perhaps later today.  We could provide a wagon and...¡±

    ¡°Father, please.  He helped capture the assassins last night, and Sionia would be devastated if he left.  She''d spend months singing sad songs about her lost boyfriend and the scarf she gave him and it would be a disaster of epic proportions!¡± explained Wyndy.

    Jend was an experienced king and understood the danger. ¡°Wow, yes, you are right, my wise daughter.  We really can''t have that.  None of the psych¨¦s of the creatures of this kingdom could take that.  Hargest can stay.  The other freed humans too, if they want to.  I delegate this to you, Wyndyn.  Find the humans some sort of work here. You are of age now, so you can pick up more duties.¡±

    Jend paused, and thought for a moment.  He remembered, somewhere from the back of his mind, that someone, he couldn¡¯t remember who, had suggested giving daughters more work, so that they had less time for parties. Then he smiled ¡°You can be the kingdom¡¯s new Minister for Human Affairs. You can decide when to free batches of human prisoners.¡±

    ¡°I don''t think we can free the assassins anytime soon.  We need to first figure out why Vathary keeps sending soldiers, and what their ultimate intentions are,¡± Wyndy said

    ¡°But by freeing the assassins, we may reduce their need to send more.  They were trying to rescue the others, so if we could get them all out of the kingdom, that may solve the problem,¡± Garaxas said.

    Wyndy shook her head. ¡°No, not yet. The assassins now know about our Strategic Dance Capabilities, and we can''t have them reporting that back to Vathary, not until we know this is over!¡±

    ¡°Right, fine, clear out the last batch of prisoners and send them on their way, and then make sure the new batch is comfortable,¡± said Jend, with a wave of his hands as if to dismiss the issue and pass it on to his daughter.

    ¡°One other thing, though. One of the assassins, Garold, is asking if he can stay.  He was dancing with Zelma, who is this cute goblin woman, and they really hit it off. She brought him a care package this morning and, well, she is a school teacher for the first-year students and everybody likes her and we don''t have the heart to tell her that she can''t keep her Vatharian assassin.¡±

    ¡°No!  Now this has gone too far. And, I mean, they just met! That¡¯s it! I¡¯m going to ban spring.¡±

    ¡°Well, are you going to tell her?¡± asked Wyndy.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not.  Fine. You win. You are the Minister for Human Affairs.  Do as you think right.  But, if he stays, no more assassinations! He has to get a proper job.¡± ordered Jend.

    Wyndy and Hargest sensed that this was probably the best time to leave, so Wyndy grabbed a pancake, and then grabbed Hargest and led him out of the room as she ate it.

    - - - -

    Not long after that meeting, Princess Wyndyn supervised as Lord Glasco loaded the freed Vatharian soldiers into his coach for the trip back to their homes. The ones who wanted to go home, at least.  To Sir Bowen she personally presented the reins of his own horse, along with his sword and the medal he won for second place in the ¡°Invited Guests¡± category of the previous night¡¯s Limbo Competition.

    The group crossed the border late that night.  They were tired from the trip, and some still had headaches from lingering hangovers, but they were otherwise in good spirits.

    As they rode into Keley the next morning, Counselor Dravon was there to meet them and have a chat.

    It took Boalgaroz three days of hiding and running from the pack hunting him, but he eventually made it to one of the other teleport foci that the Kat¡¯sheth had hidden throughout the North.  He was thankful for Lothar¡¯s foresight in having expanded the network.

 Chapter 21: A Cat-Demon Shares His Thoughts

    The Great Temple of Jipater the Sky Lord was considered one of the great architectural wonders of the Kingdom of Vathary.  Its spire, at one hundred and seventy-seven yards tall, dominated the main square of the Vatharian capital of Carstones.  Scholars thought the temple to be the tallest building in the world.

    Its centerpiece was a statue of the Sky Lord, a statue as tall as a three-story building.  It showed the god as an older man with a long wise beard and robust build.  The Sky Lord held his mighty spear, pointed at a statue in the back of the sanctuary, a statue of a ten-foot-tall demon, surrounded by its orc and goblin allies.

    The temple ceremony of the Holy Day of the Sky Lord¡¯s Plow had been going on for two hours, and was nearing its conclusion.  The ceremony marked the beginning of the planting season for the farmers in Vathary, and was considered the third-most important holy event in the Vatharian liturgical calendar.

    The High Priest of Jipater looked over the four hundred finely-dressed congregants as he brought his sermon to a close.

    ¡°.... and so, people of Vathary, we must pray that these monsters at our borders, monsters who grow bolder every day, can be held back.  We pray our just king will not allow them to burn our cities and destroy our crops.  I have faith, great faith, that Jipater will help our armies hold back the beasts, and will guide our generals as they defend our people and bring glory to our gods.¡±

    The priest paused and bowed his head to the statue of the Sky Lord, and then turned and bowed to the king.

    ¡°And now our great king, will shine a light in this dark time, and lead us in the Prayer of the Rains!¡±

    King Neydon patted Queen Zofia¡¯s leg and rose from his throne overlooking the sanctuary. He walked briskly to the speaker¡¯s balcony, and opened the scroll with the word of the prayer to Jipater.  He read to the congregation.

    ¡°Our Lord on High,

    Holy is your name

    Bless us with your rains

    Cause them to wash over the land

    Command your strong twin sons in their chariot

    To pull the sun across your sky

    Bringing your light to make our crops grow

    Make your followers strong

    Grant us wealth and success

    And give us new lands to plough for your glory

    In your name we pray, Jipater

    Our Sky Lord.¡±

    He paused for a full three seconds, and then raised his hands in a gesture of blessing, and called out ¡°Now, my people, depart in peace and we wish you abundance for the season!¡±

    The congregation remained standing until their king returned to his queen and they walked through the door in the back of the sanctuary, into the priests¡¯ administrative rooms.

    ¡°Great prayer. You shot it straight through the center, my brother!¡± said Earl Martain, who had removed his priest''s robe and was putting on his fur-lined crimson cloak.  ¡°The people will be talking about that for month.¡±

    Earl Martain had been given a position as a priest by King Neydon.  This allowed him to use the tithes and offerings from the Sky Lord Temple in Martain''s county of Riverford for whatever purposes he, as head priest of the county, considered appropriate.  Martain tried to keep the spending in line with the holy purpose for which the offerings had been made, so only used part of it to fund his personal lifestyle, and used a lot of the rest of it for his keep and retainers.  Some of it went to roads and keeping up the town and the temple.

    But the downside to being a priest meant that Martain occasionally had to do something priestly.   As Martain didn''t like going back to Riverford if he could avoid it, he usually fulfilled his obligations by helping out in the Great Temple in Carstones during the top-five holy ceremonies.  The temple was busier at those times anyway, and Martain got along with the other priests of Jipater, most of whom were from noble families, so it was an arrangement that worked out for everybody.

    ¡°Will you come up to the palace with us?¡± Queen Zofia asked Martain.  ¡°The servants are preparing a special Holy Day dinner, and some of my family is coming.  I can show you how the goblins have installed running water in the kitchen.  And, my sister will be there. ¡±

    ¡°Certainly, Your Highness.  It would be an honor,¡± Martain said as he bowed to his queen.

    The guards opened the back door of the temple, and went out onto the street to make sure there were no threats to the royal family.   The king, queen, and their earl stepped out of the temple toward their waiting royal carriage.

    Counselor Dravon was waiting beside the carriage, papers in his hand.

    ¡°Oh gods, Neydy.  I don''t think I can deal with Dravon today.  Two hours of praising the Sky Lord, and now Dravon?¡± said Queen Zofia quietly to her husband.

    ¡°It will be fine.  The ride to the palace is only ten minutes, and I''ll order him away after that.  Besides, I am expecting his update on Bowen and the issue with the monster lands.  We need to decide what to do about that count, what''s-his-name?¡±

    ¡°Rassler?  It was Count Rassler who fled north, I think¡± answered Martain.

    ¡°Yes, that is the guy.  We need to decide what to do about him.  Even with him absent, I think we are supposed to have a trial or something, and then we take his lands and I can give them to whomever I want.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    This certainly sparked Martain''s interest.  ¡°Well, I don''t mind hearing what Dravon has to say,¡± said Martain as they walked to the carriage.

    Dravon bowed as the three of them approached, and held the door as they climbed into the carriage.  He sat down next to Martain as the carriage started moving.

    ¡°Wait, stop.¡± ordered the king to the driver, without much enthusiasm.  He''d seen Counselor Kyant running to catch the carriage, and thought it would look bad for the people of the city to see a royal counselor chasing the royal carriage through the streets.

    The carriage stopped, and Counselor Kyant climbed aboard as quickly as his aging knees would allow him to.  He sat down next to Dravon as the carriage started moving again.

    Dravon began his report ¡°It is even worse than I thought, Your Highness. The monster kingdom has come under the influence of an evil cult leader who was expelled from the Dhu''Nemos for her path of destruction.  Glasco infiltrated one of their ceremonies where they were about to sacrifice Sir Hargest to demons of Chaos.  One of the cultists even tried to get Glasco to participate in the dark ritual.  I am afraid that we may not see some of our brave Vatharian men ever again!¡±

    ¡°Wow,¡± said Martain.

    ¡°Glasco came with the ransom, which their chieftain Jend confiscated, without releasing the men.  I am sorry I ever suggested we pay the ransom, sire.  I had only been thinking of peace between the kingdoms, but it appears that even my modest faith in Jend was misplaced.¡±

    ¡°All the money is gone?¡± asked Kyant.  ¡°And we don''t even have the men back?¡±

    ¡°Well, we did manage to free many of the men.  As a precaution, I had placed Agent Boal and Agent Eynon and his team in Lagar''s Haven, just in case something went wrong with the ransom payment.  I had not fully trusted the orc king and his witch queen.  It was fortuitous, as when Glasco was stripped of the ransom and witnessed the ceremony preparing to sacrifice Sir Hargest, he was able to escape and alert Boal.  Their team then managed to free most of the Vatharian''s from their captivity, although we lost a couple of the agents along the way.  So, I am happy to report that those brave men did manage to free Sir Bowen, and others.  I fear we may never see Sir Hargest again, though.¡±

    ¡°The barbarians!¡± yelled Queen Zofia.  ¡°How dare they sacrifice our men to their evil orc gods!¡±

    ¡°Sire, I should also talk to Sir Bowen, if he is now returned.  I can offer you a separate opinion on how things progressed and..¡± started Counselor Kyant, before Dravon cut him off.

    ¡°Oh, but Sir Bowen is still in Keley, recovering from his ordeal.  I would suggest, sire, that we give your honorable knight some time before forcing him to go through Kyant''s inquisition,¡± said Dravon.

    ¡°It isn''t an inquisition!  I just want to talk with him so that I can get some insight into...¡±

    ¡°Just let the poor man be, Kyant,¡± said the king. ¡°I''m sure what Dravon is telling us is accurate, and that Dravon has carried out his interview already with Bowen with the usual thoroughness we expect from our First Counselor.  And, after all, if it were not for Dravon''s foresight in having the agents ready, we would not now have our loyal Sir Bowen back, and he would be facing the same fate as poor Sir Hargest.¡±

    The carriage was now approaching the palace, and the king was eager to conclude the conversation, lest it intrude upon his dinner time.

    He signed and asked Dravon, ¡°So, First Counselor, what action do you propose we take, to deal with Jend and his upstart ¡®kingdom¡¯ on our northern border?¡±

    ¡°I am afraid that I must recommend that we invade, Your Highness.  Anything less will just prolong the danger, and let the monsters grow in strength.¡±

    ¡°I myself was thinking of that, Dravon.  However, I am not sure I am ready to take that step.  We can only invade if we are sure we can be successful.  I don''t want to get too many of my soldiers killed.  We also have the threats from Ushos in the south to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Indeed sire.  But I have given this some thought, and I can promise you a quick victory.  Consider that Vathary has a population of two-and-a-half million people.  Pelsa has not even a tenth of that!¡±

    ¡°Yes, but they are monsters!  Orcs, dragons, bear-creatures,¡± said Queen Zofia.

    ¡°They are monsters, but we humans are as strong as most of them.  We think their population is about one-third goblins, one-third orcs, and one-third everything else.  One of our human soldiers can easily take on two goblins, and, if he is well-strained and armored, is also a match for an orc.¡±

    ¡°But they have dragons!  Big, man-eating dragons!¡± said the clearly-worried queen.  The king thought it a weakness of women that they were seldom as excited about military action as men.

    King Neydon smiled.  ¡°At the suggestion of our wise Counselor Dravon, we have been cultivating contacts with dragons on our southern borders, and we believe we have come to an arrangement with two families.  For an appropriate number of flocks of sheep, over the next two years, we should be able to count on the support of five adult dragons to support our army.¡±

    ¡°And, of course, with the Magic Institute of Carstones supporting the effort, along with the war wizards already part of the Royal Army, we should have at least double their wizard support,¡± added Dravon.

    Earl Martain furrowed his brow, not convinced by this plan. He glanced at the conselor and asked, ¡°Dravon, how many soldiers will we need? And who will you need to call up for this attack?¡±.

    ¡°Indeed, sir, we will need to call up the entire army. This includes calling on all the knights and counts.  That should give us about thirty-five thousand men-at-arms.  Pelsa probably has less than forty-thousand males of military age in the entire land, and only a fraction of those will fight.  I doubt they will manage to field fifteen thousand against us.  Maybe twenty thousand if they go through mass conscription, if they can manage to supply food for that many.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don''t know about this,¡± said Martain. ¡°I get that we outnumber them, but, still, it seems pretty drastic, over just a couple of soldiers.  We can just take Rassler''s lands and be done with it.  Let him stay there.  Not our problem.¡±

    Seeing Martain''s hesitation, Neydon also gave a bit of pause. ¡°Are you sure about these numbers, Dravon?  They might have more soldiers than your estimate. And people fight hard against invaders.¡±

    ¡°Sire, not only do we outnumber them ten to one, but a lot of their population won¡¯t fight.  The elves will flee at the first hint of violence, back to their southern forests.  The dwarves likewise  have no commitment to that land of their ancient enemies.  Humans, like their arch-wizard Cradel will either stay out of the fight, or come over to fight alongside us, as they will benefit from the return of human rule in the north.  Even many of the orc tribes once fought against Jend and his tribe.¡±

    ¡°Their women will fight though,¡± said Kyant. ¡°So more than fifteen thousand soldiers may take the field against us.¡±

    ¡°I doubt it.  And anyway, perhaps a few of the troll women might be a force, but any average Vatharian soldier should be able to handle five females of the orcish or goblin races.¡±  said Dravon, shaking his head.  ¡°And I would strongly note, sire, that if they do force the women to fight, that is yet more evidence of the barbarity of the monster lands, and thus another reason we need to strike them. We know that females of all species are much more docile and don''t tend to aggression.¡±

    Kyant shook his head. ¡°I don''t think I agree with you on any of that.  I think their women will fight. And, there is another thing..¡±

    ¡°Oh, what is it already, Kyant.  Are you just trying to delay things now?¡±

    ¡°No, sire.  It is, well, Pelsa doesn''t allow slavery, and even abolished serfdom.  They even have voting for and elections for many positions, so, we are talking about a free people.  Free people fight hard.¡±

    The king was getting angry, as freeing the serfs was a much more dangerous idea than the existence of a monster kingdom across the northern border.

    ¡°Are you saying we should free our serfs?  You, of all people, wanting us to collapse our economy?  Really Kyant? ¡°

    ¡°No, sire, of course not.  I am not arguing for that, I am just pointing out the monsters may come in number and fight hard,¡± said Kyant, now in a panic, ¡°We just don''t know, so I really must strongly recommend against this.  A war would be very costly, in both lives and material. And then we may not win.  We simply do not know Pelsa¡¯s capabilities.¡±

    The carriage was now pulling up in front of the main door of the royal palace, and a nice dinner awaited them.  King Neydon had the choice of either ending the discussion now, or inviting his two counselors to dinner with them.

    ¡°Let''s end this discussion now.  Vathary is going to war against the ¡®kingdom¡¯ that calls itself Pelsa.  Total war. Mobilize the army, and put out the call to all the nobles. Kyant, figure out how to pay for it, and then it''s back to the army for you. With that, gentlemen, I bid you goodbye.¡±

 Chapter 22: The Bronze Citadel Is a Must-See

    Duke Jukha and his wife were relaxing by the pool in his second-favorite of the steam caverns.  His favorite cavern had been booked by a large family of buggebears, who were currently in the middle of a long soak in the Bronze Citadel¡¯s deservedly famous volcanic-heated pools, after which they had the salon booked for the rest of the afternoon.  It took time to wash, condition, dry, and properly brush the whole family.  It was really a lot of fur.  Even the pre-teens were as tall as an average human man, and their fur was thick enough to survive the long winter months of the north.

    He could have gone to the large pool in the central cavern, but he had decided against it.  Bookings had been pretty strong recently, and the cavern was the most popular area among the younger creatures.  It could get pretty loud in there, and the lines for the slides were usually long.

    He turned to his duchess, the pearl of the orc people, Leyad, and said ¡°The thing is the humans.  I¡¯m still not used to the humans visiting.  I know I could have the whole group of them thrown into the pit of lava within five minutes of giving the order ¡­.¡±

    Leyad interjected, ¡°Oh, but don¡¯t do that or even say it aloud.  It is bad for business to throw guests into fiery pits of lava.  Unless they give bad reviews.¡±

    ¡°Well, I was speaking hypothetically, of course.  I am not planning on throwing any guest into any pit, of lava or otherwise. Although thinking about the issue of the reviews, I do feel that the young hobgoblin stag party would not have been missed.  I¡¯d heard that when they were back in Lagar¡¯s Haven they bragged to everybody at the Unicorn about how they trashed their room and ordered around the staff as if they¡¯d owned the place.  That group I should have thrown into the pit of lava.¡±

    ¡°Right, yes, I remember them.  It would have been fine to throw at least a couple of them in.  Nobody would have blamed you, and it would motivate future guests.  Maybe once in a while it is okay, and it may even improve our ratings. But not the humans though.  We have only a few human visitors and I do think we could really expand that market.  Things have been really good with the humans recently, and every time I¡¯m in Lagar¡¯s Haven it seems there are more ships from Vathary.  We should perhaps visit Keley for shopping ourselves in the summer, and to spread a bit of publicity about our mineral pools and the expanded spa.  The cavern tentacle monster does a really good deep-tissue massage, and I think humans go for that sort of thing. ¡±

    There was an overly loud knock at the door.

    ¡°Sir, sir.  Your niece is here.¡±

    ¡°Here?  Why?¡± asked Duke JukhaUnauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Have her wait for us on the veranda.  We''ll be right up,¡± said Duchess Leyad.

    In a few minutes, the duke and duchess were attired in their favorite, most comfortable ducal robes, and came out onto the veranda to greet Princess Wyndyn.

    The veranda was a ledge in the largest cavern under the Citadel, overlooking the lava falls and the Great Lava Pit.  It had a very nice restaurant.

    Wyndy was being served afternoon tea, as she watched the lava wyrms splashing about.  She stood up to greet her aunt and uncle, first standing like a dignified royal for a moment, and then giving up and running over to give them hugs.

    ¡°Aunty L!  Uncle Juk!  I missed you all.  And the Citadel is looking great!¡±  said Wyndy amidst the hugs.

    ¡°It is great to see you dear.  And, yes, we''ve been working to fix things up.  We''ve added more slides in the heated pool room, and we have a giant octopus now that makes it into a wave pool and gives rides to the younger creatures, and the tentacle monster is usually booked two weeks ahead, and it is all just going so well,¡± said Leyad.

    ¡°I''m sorry that I''ve come to mess up your lives, at least for a while,¡± said Wyndy.  ¡°You''ve heard about the latest issues with humans at the border with Vathary?¡±

    ¡°Yes, we were there at the Equinox Party.  We saw the ones you captured.  Seemed like okay guys, for humans at least,¡± said Jukha.

    ¡°Oh, and we captured some more that evening.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes.  Well done.  You are an excellent human-capturing niece,¡± said Jukha. ¡°We are proud of you.¡±

    ¡°And we thought it a nice touch that you didn''t torture them or kill them, but instead found dates for them,¡± said Leyad.  ¡°I know humans can be tiring.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Juk, Aunty L.  But the thing is, despite our efforts to treat the humans well and send them back, our spies report that the Vatharians are massing an army to invade us.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?  By all the gods, why would they want to do that?¡± asked Juhka.

    ¡°Our theory is that the Kat''sheth have gained some influence over the human king, and are pushing to invade.  The canines said they tracked and almost caught a Kat''sheth the night of the Equinox Party,¡± explained Wyndy.

    ¡°What in all the hells is a Kat''sheth?¡± asked Leyad.

    ¡°Cat-demons of unusual evil,¡± replied Wyndy.

    ¡°Why do cat-demons want to use humans to attack Pelsa?¡± asked Jukha.

    ¡°We aren''t really sure.  It may just be a general evil and greed thing.¡±

    ¡°Well, okay, but what do you want us to do?¡±

    ¡°My father is calling a meeting of the Council of Lords and the Council of The Elected on Moon-Day next week.   As you are both members of the Council of Lords, he asked you to attend.  That is the official reason for my visit,¡± said Wyndy.

    ¡°We will certainly attend,¡± said Jukha. ¡°But is there also more to your visit?¡±

    Wyndy nodded.  ¡°Yes. It is to tell you my father''s plan, and ask your help and that you start preparing the creatures and manufactures of the Citadel.  He will ask the councils to approve a general mobilization ¨C calling up every creature in Pelsa who is able to fight or help with supplies.  He wants that to be a vote, to see that the people are behind him.  If the vote goes his way, then we will assemble the largest army Pelsa has ever seen and march to meet the invaders.  And who knows, maybe they will then reconsider.¡±

    ¡°And if the vote doesn''t go your way?¡±

    ¡°Then my father and I will lead an army of whoever will come with us to meet the invaders.  We may still have a chance.¡±

 Chapter 23: University Rankings Are Very Important

    The University of the Northern Lights was growing. It was starting to become impressive to look at, and not just for its location in a high mountain valley.

    The older part of the university had been built upon Duke Cradel''s keep. The Wizard Cradel had ruled the small valley from his keep for decades, eventually swearing fealty to Lothar in return for being mostly left alone to do his research, as long as certain taxes were paid. After Lothar''s fall, Cradel had surrendered to Jend and Aida, with one provision: That he be allowed to continue his magic research, and continue to keep training his apprentices. The newly royal couple had agreed, and in the following years they''d built upon it, first providing the funds to turn the keep into a proper College of Magic, then adding the College of Healing to go along with it, creating the University of the Northern Lights.

    A more generally scholarly college was added a few years later, and then, more recently, the College of Engineering.

    It was a beautiful early spring day as Princess Myla and Lady Scarlet flew in on their mission, so Scarlett first took them on a pass over the growing town, now the fourth largest town of the kingdom. The keep was still there, although with half of the walls removed and with its main hall turned into a lecture hall. From the keep grew the rest of the campus, a collection of almost two dozen buildings and three large inhabitable trees. Most were built about two large squares, with some of the research buildings spread part-way up the mountain, well away from the town, as is sensible for both magical and engineering research.

    They landed at the designated campus dragon-landing pad, where they were met by Professor Lash Grdkr, a bookish orc academic in her early thirties. She wore a fur-trimmed cloak in the blue and green colors of both the university and the nation.

    ¡°I will be with you today as Acting Dean and the representative of the College of Writing and History and Other Things on the board,¡± the professor said as she met Myla and Scarlet and began walking with them toward the administration building.

    ¡°What happened to Dean Lagor? Is she ok?¡± Scarlet asked.

    ¡°She is on a historical research project, and is currently in a tomb, battling some sort of horror. A few of the grad students and one of the security guards have gone to help her penetrate further into the tomb. They will then hold the demi-lich in place long enough for her to conduct the interview.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± said Myla. ¡°Would you like us to go help her, after the board meeting?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it is necessary. It is just a paper for a journal, and she already has a co-author,¡± said Professor Grdkr. She paused for a moment, and continued, ¡°Which reminds me. Do you think you might join us here as a student, Your Highness? You are seventeen now, and usually the students join at sixteen. You''d love it here, and we¡¯d love to have you.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know, my parents think that we need to be with them to learn all the royal family types of things, and they are good teachers themselves,¡± replied Myla.

    ¡°But there are so many possibilities here now. You could take classes at three of the colleges here: The College of Healing, of course, and the Cradel College of Magic, where your friend Bedo is, and in our new management program at CWHOT: Entrepreneurship in Formerly Evil-Wizard-Ruled Regions. Or, you, Lady Scarlett, might be interested in that program.¡±

    ¡°Would I need to take the Intro to Healing classes?¡± Myla asked.

    ¡°No, you would probably test out of the first two years of Healing.¡±

    Scarlett lowered her head to have it between the two chatting humanoids. ¡°But back to the other thing you mentioned¡­. What is your Entrepreneurship program like?¡±

    ¡°We are trying to do something really new, for students to develop modern perspectives across the arts and magics. It encompasses not just magic and management but is fully cross-disciplinary and includes practical, commercial uses for engineering. Next semester we are adding necromancy to the humanoid resources portion of the program,¡± explained Grdkr.

    ¡°You know my mother doesn¡¯t approve of necromancy. Something about it being an unholy abomination,¡± said Myla.

    ¡°Oh, she will come around if wage inflation starts to bite. You know, labor shortages are manageable if you use outside-the-box thinking!¡± said Professor Grdkr.

    ¡°The program sounds interesting,¡± mulled the dragon as they continued walking. ¡°What do the students think of it so far?¡±

    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t ask them, but they will like it, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    They reached the main hall. The meetings of the College Board were not usually held there, but given that they''d known that Scarlett would be coming, they''d thought it a good idea for this meeting.

    Inside, Myla saw the members of the board seated around a large circular table. She knew them all: Duke Cradel, who was her boyfriend''s father and, more importantly for this meeting, Dean of the Cradel College of Magic. To his left was Emmyth Fenmenor, Dean of the College of Healing, and her mother''s lifelong friend. She was still a member of The Circle, and Myla thought she could probably count on Emmyth as an ally in the meeting.

    Across the table, about as far from Duke Cradel as they could be, were the co-deans of the College of Engineering, Engineer Rukael Redbane, an older dwarf with a short gray beard, and Engineer Ciarxai Clufs, a male goblin in his mid-thirties. Myla knew they¡¯d recently been testing an improved catapult with a much longer arm and counter-weight, and she knew they might be eager to see how they performed in the field.

    Professor Grdkr sat down next to Engineer Clufs.

    Between the two groups sat Alu''iza Komtogk, who was theoretically a distant cousin of some sort to Myla, a powerful sorceress and leader who had ruled the orcs of the Black Rocks in the far northwest of the land. She''d been a vassal of Lothar, and it had taken quite a lot of bribery, threats, and convincing to bring her, her town, and her tribe over to Jend and Aida''s side in the wrap up of the war. She was an older orc, approaching ninety years of age, but still strong and vital ¨C Her blue skin showed scarcely a wrinkle, and her long green hair had only occasional flecks of black. She, more than anyone, even Cradel, had built UNL into what it was, and she was very protective of it.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    None of them, even Emmyth, looked at all happy to see Myla and Scarlett.

    Chancellor Komtogk briefly nodded her head to acknowledge the arrival of the royal princess, and said ¡°We know why you are here, Princess Myla and we have been discussing your family''s request. We have some questions before we can add it to the board agenda.¡±

    Well, isn''t this just peak Kingdom of Pelsa? Two orcs, a human, a dwarf, a goblin, and an elf are all working together to be stubborn and ungovernable, thought Myla to herself as she walked in and stood before the table.

    Komtogk made a great show of putting down the scroll, and said, ¡°So you want us to send a representative to some ¡®vote¡¯ your father is having. Then, if it is successful, you and your father will want us to have every professor and every student above the age of eighteen leave their studies and go to help him deal with something as basic as national defense. Some the government was supposed to be able to take care of based on our tax payments? So our taxes are not enough and now you want to interrupt our vital research here?¡±

    The university and its board members don¡¯t even pay taxes. I understand now why they didn''t send Wyndy here. They were too worried that the College Board would be incinerated. Perhaps Scarlett and I can incinerate them anyway¡­. It isn¡¯t like the College Board would be missed.

    Instead of allowing her intrusive thoughts to take over, Myla responded as she had rehearsed, ¡°The nation of Pelsa is in a time of great need. This is perhaps the biggest threat the country has faced since its founding. On behalf of all its creatures, we ask for your aid. It benefits all of us, and, after the threat has been defeated, you and this university will be able to continue your important work.¡±

    Also, bite me, thought Myla as an addendum to her statement.

    ¡°Exactly why can¡¯t Jend just work out some sort of peace with the humans. Surely we could just buy them off, or something? Don¡¯t humans just want gold?¡± Komtogk said, to general agreement around the table.

    ¡°While the king and queen have worked hard to maintain good relations with our human neighbors, which you well know, in this case we believe that the Kat¡¯sheth may be influencing the human king¡¯s actions. Are you familiar with the Kat¡¯sheth?¡±

    There was a murmur around the table, and Myla could see engineers were quietly asking Professor Grdkr something.

    ¡°Yes, princess, of course we here in this institute of learning are familiar with the Kat¡¯sheth. They are cat demons that are unusually evil,¡± replied Chancellor Komtogk.

    ¡°Right, of course.¡± said Myla, but Komtogk¡¯s words had caused a question to occur to Myla. ¡°You say ¡®unusually evil.¡¯ Is there, like, a normal amount of evil?¡± Myla wasn¡¯t completely up-to-date on the latest academic research in Evil Studies.

    Cradel stood up and began to pace around the room. ¡°Yes. We at my College of Magic, in conjunction with our esteemed colleagues at CWHOT, have studied and ranked the various evil beings in the realm. Anything over 7 and up to 9 BBU¡¯s on the Evil Scale is considered ¡®unusually evil.¡¯ A normal amount of evil is between 2 and 4 BBU¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°House cats are 1.8 BBU¡¯s on the Evil Scale, for example,¡± added Grdkr. ¡°With a standard deviation of 0.5.¡±

    ¡°And what are the Kat¡¯sheth?¡± asked Scarlett.

    ¡°8.7 BBU¡¯s,¡± replied Cradel.

    ¡°My gods! That is almost 9!¡± Myla was very disturbed by their high rating.

    ¡°And they have a larger standard deviation than house cats, just over 0.8,¡± added Professor Grdkr.

    Our kingdom is in more danger than I had realized, thought Myla.

    ¡°That is even worse,¡± said Scarlett. ¡°They have a large standard deviation!¡±

    ¡°Aye, we hate large standard deviations,¡± said the dwarven engineer.

    ¡°Large deviations can be managed,¡± said the goblin engineer.

    ¡°We must stop them!¡± said Scarlet.

    The engineers started murmuring questions to Grdkr again. Emmyth put down her quill and backed her chair away from the table.

    ¡°Yes, we must stop them,¡± said Dean Emmyth. ¡°You can count on the support of the College of Healing. We will be there with you in any battle! Even two decades later, I am still a second lieutenant! We will help you vanquish our enemies, we will heal them to death, we will¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Komtogk interrupted, rather loudly, ¡°as per the statues of the University of the Northern Lights, any decision for actions of the university outside of those enumerated in Section 7.2 of the statues must be decided unanimously by the College Board.¡±

    After a short side-conference with his college colleague, the Engineer Redbane ¡°You and the nation have the support of the College of Engineers, Princess Myla.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, let¡¯s get the humans!¡± added Engineer Clufs.

    ¡°CWHOT supports the princess¡¯s request,¡± said Professor Grdkr.

    ¡°I¡¯m not convinced,¡± said Duke Cradel. ¡°I think we need further consideration before we make such a decision. Sending the students and professors to war is very different than the mission of this institution of higher learning, and I do believe we should pause and have a few days to consider the implications.¡±

    Scarlette spoke up, in her best deep, threatening dragon voice, just like her mother had taught her ¡°I should mention, that The Royal Princess Myla, and myself, were considering donating ten thousand Pelsan Gold Tails to the University. We would endow the SFAC Professorship of Applied Magic.¡±

    Cradel leaned toward Komtogk and said to her, ¡°You know, I suppose we can vote for Jend¡¯s idea and send a few students. We could make it a new class, Combat Wizardry 201, and the final exam will be the defense of the country against invaders. If they survive, it will be recorded as a ¡®B+¡¯ on their transcript, otherwise it will be recorded on their transcript as an ¡®F,¡¯ and they will need to retake the course.¡±

    Komtogk replied ¡°Hmmm... yes, that is perhaps a good idea. Maybe a few of the students, for class credit, for one semester. From the Colleges of Magic and of Healing. Do you think we should lower their tuition for the semester if they take part?¡±

    ¡°Oh, gods no!¡± said Cradel. ¡°We can add a combat training fee. And a combat experience fee. And they will be required to buy their armor from the university store.¡±

    There was a general agreement around the table.

    ¡°We can add it to our year-end bonuses,¡± said Komtogk.

    ¡°Hmm, good idea,¡± said Clufs. ¡°Sending students to war is indeed a lot of extra work for the administration.¡±

    Professor Grdkr raised an additional point: ¡°I would note that the Vatharian side will certainly contain many wizards from the Magic Institute of Carstones. If it is known that our side has numerous wizards from the University of the Northern Lights, and we win, then UNL''s ranking will surge above that of MIC.¡±

    Something of a light came on in Komtogk¡¯s mind. She thought for a moment and said ¡°Only if we win. But do we think that Jend has a real chance to win? Vathary is a lot bigger and can field a lot of men.¡±

    ¡°We all know Jend, and we all know Aida. And now they have Wyndy and Myla and have had twenty years to build Pelsa and the loyalty of all its creatures. Furthermore, let''s then add the professors and students of this school to that force. Who do we think will win?¡± Redbane asked.

    Cradel had still been pacing, but in considering the possibility of rising in the rankings, he stopped and looked out the window toward the south. ¡°I''ve always wanted to smash those arrogant MIC bastards. They were horrible to me at my thesis defense, but there were too many of them to incinerate them at the time. And this could put us in the top five.¡± Cradel looked excited for the first time that day. Indeed, it was the first time Myla had ever seen him looking excited about anything. ¡°Let¡¯s do it. Let¡¯s throw everything we have at the Vatharian bastards! Everything. I will fight alongside Jend myself!¡±

    ¡°We should design a new scarf with the UNL logo on it. These university people are more cultish than the Fashion-Histas,¡± whispered Myla to Scarlett as the deans danced around them, cheering in ¡°UNL, UNL¡± with manic blood-lust.

 Chapter 24: The Emperor in The Old Forest

    ¡°We must leave you here.  It¡¯s almost dawn.  And we will not enter The Old Forest in any case,¡± said Berholt, Master of the Wild Hunt, to Shadow, Fluffy and their bat-folk companions.  ¡°I dare not cross Duchess Rhoswen.¡±

    ¡°My companions and I thank you for the transport,¡± said Shadow.  Fluffy wagged his tail and the bat-folk Addie and Kirkko waved their wings.

    The Master of the Wild Hunt, appearing as a large orc with antlers, tipped his spear in respect to Shadow.  ¡°Please pass on my regards to Bobby.  Tell him that we will pass by UNL during the Spring Break, if he¡¯d like to come with us for an evening.¡±

    ¡°I will certainly tell him, honored Berholt,¡± said Shadow, as he turned to leave.

    Fluffy was saying goodbye to one of the spectral hounds of the Hunt.  ¡°But really Sydsala, we could use you in the Pelsan Canine Choir. We need another soprano, and if you were with us we could do some spirituals too,¡± Fluffy said as the ghost hound wagged her tail goodbye and faded away with the rest of the Hunt.

    ¡°You think she¡¯ll come?¡± asked Fluffy to Shadow as they trotted toward the entrance to the Old Forest.

    ¡°I think I need a nap,¡± said Shadow.

    It had been Shadow¡¯s idea to travel with The Wild Hunt north to the Old Forest.  The Hunt traveled quickly, whisping through the forests and hills, not entirely of this plane.  Certain mortals could travel with them, if they were strong enough.  Shadow and Fluffy, and others of their lineage among the giant wolves, were honorary members, so accepted to the Hunt.

    Over the last night, they had covered a distance that would normally have taken the giant wolves five full days.

    But the speed came with a price to pay.  The price was the physical toll that the travels took on mortal bodies.  Many who tried to travel with the hunt died of exhaustion the next morning.  Shadow and Fluffy were members of the Great Wolf Running Club though, so they were okay.  Barely.

    The two bat-folk had survived the ordeal by clinging to Shadow and Fluffy¡¯s backs.  That left them fresher than the wolves.  They took off toward the entrance of the Old Forest, toward their home.

    The entrance was a pass between two large hills.  A babbling brook ran through it, near the middle, and trees covered the small valley and the hills on both sides.

    Great mufflon also covered the hills ¨C large sheep with large, curved horns and dark fur.  They stood silently and still, the guardians of the entrance. Despite their size, most creatures would not even notice them until they were almost upon them.

    ¡°Xhel?  Is that you?¡± asked Addie as they flew toward the great mufflon standing in the middle of the path. She spoke in the language of the Old Forest.

    ¡°Addie, Kirkko!  You¡¯ve returned,¡± said Xhel.  ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve brought wolves.¡±

    Giant sheep were not terribly fond of giant wolves.

    ¡°It¡¯s Shadow and Fluffy!  You know them.  They¡¯re cool. And we are all here on official business,¡± said Kirkko.

    ¡°Of course.  Now that you are part of the Pelsa military and all.  We don¡¯t have to salute you, right?¡± the mufflon asked the bat-folk.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not really ..¡±

    ¡°Oh, I suppose it will be fine,¡± said Xhel.  ¡°I¡¯ll send word ahead.¡±

    The great mufflon trotted back a dozen yards, and headbutted a tree twice.  At the base of the tree, a large mole wearing blue workman¡¯s clothes appeared.

    ¡°Molly, go and tell Vaup about our guests,¡± he indicated the two bat-folk and the approaching wolves.  ¡°They are government wolves.  They say it¡¯s official business.¡±

    The mole disappeared back into the hole.

    Xhel stepped off the path and indicated to the wolves that they could pass.  Shadow and Fluffy trotted into the oldest forest of the world, one that had not been touched by civilization since the world began.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    As they moved deeper into the Old Forest, the trees became even larger.  The smaller trees, white-barked birches and tamaracks, were the height of a castle¡¯s tower.  The larger trees, the red cedars and aspens, were three times that size.  Shadow felt like a very small wolf in a massive forest.  He also felt eyes constantly watching him.

    A herd of large deer trailed them for a few minutes, the children gapping at the giant wolves as their parents shouted out warnings.

    After the deer lost interest, a flock of the bat-folk flew above the wolves and their companions. Addie and Kirkko flew up to meet them, and flew among the flock for some time.

    A number of willows were near a pond.  It first looked like it was very windy, but then Shadow realized that they were just having an argument.

    Vaup met them a few miles into the forest.  A large, hairy and very wild-looking boar was with him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve secured an audience for you with Duchess Rhoswen,¡± he said to the travelers. ¡°We¡¯ll get you all some water, and you can have a nap, and she should make it to the central meadow within the hour.

    ¡°Emperor Shadow-of-the-Mountain, and Warrior The-Raised-Fluff-of-Furious-Anger, it is good to see you.  I believe though I know the reason for your visit. I wish it weren¡¯t so.¡±

    Shadow and Fluffy made deep bows before Duchess Rhoswen.

    Few of even the most learned of the creatures of the Kingdom of Pelsa knew what the duchess was, or how old she was.  She looked something like an orc, but also something like an elf.   Her skin was not one of the shades of brown of the elves, living in their southern forests, but in the blue-green shades of the orcs or the northern wastes, while her hair was long and the color of chestnuts, like that of the forest elves.

    She spoke in the oldest tongue, a language few even realized existed, much less understood.  Shadow did though, although as a giant wolf he couldn''t form the consonants clearly, so he answered her back in Wilkwos Ghereti, the language of the ancient wolf empire.  Fuzzy, from a more junior branch of the giant wolf former imperial family, could just about manage to keep up.

    Shadow spoke first. ¡°While you honor us, we no longer use the title ¡®Emperor.¡¯  The Northern Canine Empire<sup>11</sup> is long gone, destroyed by the cat-demons.  I make no claim to its long-dead throne.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Lord Shadow.  I hope I have not caused offense,¡± said Rhoswen.

    ¡°Duchess Rhoswen, you could never offend me, or any of the wolves.  You have long been a great ally to us.  My grandmother told me how you fought beside our pack as wave upon wave of the Kat¡¯sheth¡¯s army attacked our capital,¡± barked Shadow.

    ¡°It is true. And I was proud to stand that day beside Empress Mountain Storm.  Only three centuries ago.  I am sorry we failed.  I am glad she was able to save as many of her people as she did.¡±  Rhoswen looked aside.  The memory still bothered her.

    ¡°And I¡¯m glad you were still able to protect the Old Forest, even as the Kat¡¯sheth ruled so much of the nearby lands. Until we ended it in Lothar¡¯s time.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy, and we are all glad Aida and Jend and their allies defeated him.¡±

    ¡°It was a great day for the northern lands, when the sword was run through that cat-demon¡¯s neck,¡± agreed Shadow.

    ¡°So now, you serve Jend and Aida?  Is this what the canines want?¡± asked Rhoswen.

    ¡°Yes.  They freed the land, where we couldn¡¯t do it alone.  I am proud to fight alongside them, and to protect their heir.¡±

    ¡°And we here are glad for the protection they¡¯ve given us.  We have spent these many years in peace, and the land and its creatures are bountiful,¡± said the duchess.  ¡°But, my honored guests, you are here on a mission.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I fear our ancient enemy has returned to these northern lands.  They seek to destroy our new kingdom before it becomes too powerful.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.  I also sense their presence behind the recent events.  I had thought they¡¯d been destroyed with Lothar¡¯s defeat.  But they are back, and I understand that they¡¯ve managed to get influence over the new king of Vathary.¡±

    ¡°Bastards!¡± said Fluffy, one of the few words he could say properly in Wilkwos Ghereti.

    Rhoswen smiled at Fluffy¡¯s remark. ¡°And so what do King Jend and Queen Aida ask of us here in the Old Forest?¡±

    ¡°They first ask that you come to the assembly,¡± replied Shadow.  ¡°There, they will ask that we commit our full force.  Every creature who cares about their nation.  Every single one.  All are useful, either in fighting, or spying, or helping to bring supplies.  Whether they fly or swim or walk.  We need everyone we can get.¡±

    ¡°Jend had promised to leave us alone, and to protect us.¡±

    ¡°And he has done so.  And he will continue to do so, if the nation survives this. But he asks for your help.¡±  Shadow bowed again to the elder one.

    ¡°While I myself know the importance of the call, I must consult my friends here.  I will ask all the creatures of the Old Forest. I will answer at the assembly.¡±

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    <sup>11</sup> <b>Translator¡¯s Note: </b>The existence of the former Northern Canine Empire is now generally accepted by scholars. It is thought that the common canine hobby of digging is left-over as a reflex from the empire¡¯s agricultural practices. An orc scholar has written that the wolves have over-sold this civilization with the use of the term ¡°empire.¡±  That orc scholar was bitten at a conference by the giant wolf adjunct professor Willow.  This led to Prof. Willow being denied tenure.