Knights of the Olde Speech - User contributions [en]

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20190909033911

2019-09-09T03:39:11Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "JDI! It's great to see/read you again. It has been years! Of course we don't see you as a jerk. Although I would have liked to have seen some KOTOS art by you, I can complete..."

JDI! It's great to see/read you again. It has been years!

Of course we don't see you as a jerk. Although I would have liked to have seen some KOTOS art by you, I can completely understand if that's something you are not going to do right now. I think weÂ allÂ will respect that you want to have your character separate from the KOTOS story universe. (And I assume the Duckz Roleplay universe as well) I think we'd be the jerks if we read your message and then refused to; this seems important to you, for you to come back to address it.

Even if you are not going to be contributing writing or art, do you think you'll be stopping in to chat every once in a while? Whether or not you do, we are happy to see you. If you intend to use your character in something original, I wish you all the best! Your strong imagination always impressed me. God bless!

Talk:The Legend of LolimÃ³n/@comment-28545920-20190807193028

2019-08-07T19:30:28Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Finally caught up on reading this story, and oh my goodness, I love it! There's so many beautiful words and sentences! Besides the lovely writing (which really is just such a ..."

Finally caught up on reading this story, and oh my goodness, I love it! There's so many beautiful words and sentences! Besides the lovely writing (which really is just such a pleasure to read) the story is fanatstic!Â I need to get Kal to read this. He likes these sort of stories too.

The beginning was the hardest for me because there were so many names, dates, and places. I've never been really good with that sort of thing,Â so I can't really be of any help with continuity like FFFFFplayer or Strider, but reading through it was definitely worth it as the story went on.Â I can't help but cheer for all the heroes.Â It was so tragicÂ when Marion's attendantÂ came to theÂ camp!

I had honestly forgotten how much I liked reading this sort of writing style. Excellently done, Lolimon! I hope you write more/moar soon!

Talk:Teaser Shorts/@comment-28545920-20190728035555

2019-07-28T03:55:55Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "* Bush rustles * At first I thought that Sarah was the same as the one from your other stories, but I see she has a different last name, although it is notably similar. Unles..."

* Bush rustles *

At first I thought that Sarah was the same as the one from your other stories, but I see she has a different last name, although it is notably similar. Unless she is an alternate version? :O

Talk:Memes/@comment-28545920-20190624043711

2019-06-24T04:37:11Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Okay, who made the breaking news bit in which, apparently, I abused the @Everyone feature in a very masculine manner?? :P"

Okay, who made the breaking news bit in which, apparently, I abused the @Everyone feature in a very masculine manner?? :P

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Update, I Suppose/@comment-28545920-20190605044024

2019-06-05T04:40:24Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Thank you guys for your kind comments. It makes me glad to read them! I do also hope to be able to contribute a little bit here and there, but of course, we'll see how that wo..."

Thank you guys for your kind comments. It makes me glad to read them! I do also hope to be able to contribute a little bit here and there, but of course, we'll see how that works out. Mainly, I'm just glad to be more active than I have been!

User blog:Jonna Friesian/Update, I Suppose

2019-05-31T03:46:16Z

Jonna Friesian: Blog post created or updated.

Greetings again Knights. I feel like I need to update you all and a blog post seems the most effective way of reaching everyone at once.

Since going mostly inactive last year, I have had quite a lot of struggle with what I was supposed to do. I was convicted that I needed to give less of my time to KOTOS stuff, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do instead. That was my main frustration. I spent over a year waiting and seeking the alternative, asking God what task He was now going to give me, with no response. That's a really long time to be out of sorts and feeling distant from God, but that's exactly what happened. So I kind of pushed my discontent to the back corner and forced myself to wait for some opportunity to be led to.

Until a few weeks ago, there was no change. Finally Jesus got it through my thick skull- I'm not supposed to wait around for a to-do list of Christian things to accomplish. He is not a God of "things you get to do for Me", but a God of a personal relationship.Â I needed to turn my attention away from "doing stuff for God" and towards being closer to Him.Â He was and has always just been after my heart. That has, apparently, been an extremely difficult lesson for me, seeing as over a year since this startedÂ I am only now understanding. He cares about saving people, not what the peopleÂ can do for him. Do I still hope I get to accomplish things in His name? Yes, and I'll still be seeking opportunities. But now I realize that was not the point. I needÂ to be content in Him, instead of waiting for fullfilment in tasks given to me. The joy in following these opportunities comes from knowing I belong to Him, not the other way around.

Since realizing this, I have felt a lot more at peace, especially concerning creative endeavors. Perhaps the greater portion of all my writing has beenÂ in LMB/KOTOS, and suddenly departing from that entire world made it very hard to write. I have hardly written since the end of 2017; every time I tried I would just run out of will or excitement a few sentences in, and I'd end up just closing out the whole document feeling worse than when I'd started. Now that I am feeling so much more at peace, I've been finding writing easier again, and it makes me happy to return to that, albeit not at the same level of activity yet.

Which leads me to the more update-like part of this update. I will be participating a little more in KOTOS again, although as I said before, not at the same level of activity. This is primarily due to two reasons: One,Â I don't want to put my involvement in KOTOS in a position where I would be tempted to make it more important than GodÂ in my heart. With God's guidance however, I see that KOTOS was never really the problem- it was me with my skewed priorities of course. Reason number two: I have another test I am studying for, and it is indeed an important test. So I need to be spending plenty of time to focus and study for that. Because of these reasons, a lot of my "increased activity" is not going to be apparent at firstÂ because I'll be reading mostly. Gotta catch up on a lot of stuff it would seem. :P

I know we don't all have the same views on God and Jesus. I'm grateful that I have the freedomÂ to talk to you guys about my beliefs and what has been happening withÂ me, and not feel like I have to walk on eggshells to explain. I don't want this to sound preachy, only honest. I appreciate you guys reading it through.
[[Category:Blog posts]]

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20190517161343

2019-05-17T16:13:43Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: For some reason, Wikia keeps telling me to try posting again, even though the post succeeds. And by the looks ..."

<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: For some reason, Wikia keeps telling me to try posting again, even though the post succeeds. And by the looks of it Talmid is getting the same issue.</div>
The same thing happened to me. Thus why I am here today, instead of in three months, so I can check and make sure it actually posted. :P Now I remember why I don't like how buggy the wikia can be! :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20190517041129

2019-05-17T04:11:29Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "That moment when you realize you have free time to go read Savants. So you log onto the KOTOS wikia because you realize you don't have the POA wikia bookmarked, and logically ..."

That moment when you realize you have free time to go read Savants. So you log onto the KOTOS wikia because you realize you don't have the POA wikia bookmarked, and logically it would be easy to find a link to POA from there. Except you can't find Harold's profile where you KNOW the link is, so you spend several minutes struggling to find that. Once you've found the profile you realize that today is Harold's birthday. So you decide to wish him a happy birthday and maybe spam cake emotes for old times sake. So you open another tab to the Discord, except Discord needs you to verify your identity or something because you ate all the cookies. That takes several more minutes of struggle. Finally you log into Discord. There are several DMs and you panic. Trying to focus, you put those aside for now and click on the KOTOS channel. You do not see any birthday good-wishes but you don't worry about it, probably they would be on the POA wikia, because logically it would make more sense to discuss it there anyway. You click on the POA channel. There's no birthday good-wishes there either. You start to panic again. You realize you don't know if Harold is as transparent about his birthday on the Discord as he is on the wikia and wonder if it would be a violation of privacy to publically announce it. You admit this doesn't make sense, becauseÂ Discord is if anything MORE transparent than the wikia, so it would probably be fine. It is at this point you realize that it is not even Harold's birthday anymore by London time.

You give up. You still manage to get a little bit of reading time out of this disaster, although not as much as you'd like because INTERROGATION SCENE AHHH but it's better than nothing. You just decide to put something up on the KOTOS wikia Discussion thread because apparently it's sorta being used again, and that solves the problem of the whole Discord question. You wonder if you should put it on the POA wikia but shut that idea down before you can think too much about it.

'''HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAROLD!!!! I MANAGED TO MAKE THAT WAY HARDER THAN IT HAD TO BE!! :P'''

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Changing Seasons/@comment-28545920-20180212052910

2018-02-12T05:29:10Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "I'm trying to reply to N_B on Strider's blog post but the wikia is determined to sabotage me. So I'll try replying here instead. @N_B: I have not studied that verse but it is..."

I'm trying to reply to N_B on Strider's blog post but the wikia is determined to sabotage me. So I'll try replying here instead.

@N_B: I have not studied that verse but it is certainly relevant. Thank you for mentioning it! And if we have encouraged you with our writing, or made you laugh, then you have done the same for us a hundred times over. Thank you so much for being an amazing friend all this time, and for sharing your writing with us.

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Changing Seasons/@comment-27324808-20180204162134/@comment-28545920-20180212050829

2018-02-12T05:08:29Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Thank you, Talmid. You've been there since the first chapter of my first story, and the fact that you've become and stayed my friend since that moment nearly six years ago mea..."

Thank you, Talmid. You've been there since the first chapter of my first story, and the fact that you've become and stayed my friend since that moment nearly six years ago means a lot to me. I'll pass the message on to Kal- I know he'll be glad to hear it.

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Changing Seasons/@comment-28549248-20180204183259/@comment-28545920-20180212050050

2018-02-12T05:02:19Z

Jonna Friesian:

Please don't say that I am destroying your plans.Â Do youÂ think that sentence does not hurt me? Do you think I have not cried my own tears?

What ever made you think that the Duckz Chronicles, FFFFFugatives, the podcast, etc.Â didn't mean immense amounts to me? Of course I realize the predicament my inactivity creates for these. That's why I say I am not walking away forever. If I can't be here to participate now, then I hope very desperately I will be able to in the future. I want to be a part of these things! If I get the chance I plan to take it.

I think I have not used the correct wording to express some things. When I talked about silliness and goofing off, I meant in all theÂ goodÂ ways those words can be used. I meant silly as in good, sweet, innocent, and not taking things so seriously that we can't have a good laugh at ourselves. I guess I forgot that word has a lot of negative connotations around it nowadays. When I said goofing off, I just meant having a good time, hanging out and not getting hung up overÂ staying on topic if the conversation took a hilarious turn into randomness. I never meant that the KotOS series/roleplay/etc has no value to me.

I have not given up writing. It means a lotÂ to me that you still remember that conversation, and also that you would remind me of it now. Thank you. When you say we have a long-standing friendship, it is very true. You have always encouraged me, been kind and honest about my writing, and frankly out-witted me in most of my attempts at being witty. We have always gotten along well and that friendship is very important to me to. And by the way, you had better write that story, because I'm still waiting for the English version to come out so I can read it. :P

I am glad to say that as far as jobs go, I like mine so far. But there are a few points here I disagree with. You say I should not listen to what I think God wants for me, for I could be misled. If I do not listen, how will I ever hear? Of course we do not want to be misled, and one must be careful of that as you say. But I don't think that not listening is the right answer to the problem, rather that discernment is, something of which I pray for. You also say that I could not be unhappy about things God calls me to. That sounds very simple and ideal- but it is not always what I have seen in obedient people whom I admire,Â or in my own life. Two and a half years ago my family had to move. I didn't want to. However I knew that where I was-Â the only homeÂ I'd ever known, a place among friends and familiarity- was not where I was supposed to be. And it hurt so much to be obedient and submit to moving; yet I can see how God has blessed it now. I didn't think of it as something to do in order to achieve happiness, and some parts still hurt in for their own reasons. But I have no doubts that it was what God was asking me to submit to and that it was the right thing.

I don't want to stop contributing to these things that are dear to me, with friends who matter even more to me. But it's a question of disobeying or obeying, no matter if it makes me happy presently or not. So it's notÂ that obedience should ''make'' me happy, but that I should be happy ''as an act of''Â obedience. An obedient heart ought to be a joyful heart,Â and that is something I struggle with in this. I don't know if I am properly explaining how I feel about this, and I want to echo your request to not be offended, because that is definitely not what I want to happen.

I could almost find it funny how I knew someone would rememberÂ that post and put it up here. Since I'm not leaving entirely, I say itÂ doesn't count, but I knew it would appear nonetheless. Yeah, things will be different after this, and I'm scared too. I'm scared I'll manage to lose you guys like I've lost friends before. That fear makes it all the more desperately important that I don't lose you guys.

None of this has been useless to me. None of it has been "silly" as in trivial and pointless. You say you're determined to persuade me to return orÂ that the KotOS are something great- I'm persuaded, FFFFFplayer, not because of your speech, but because of our friendship. I pray the door will open so that I can allow more time for the KotOS without those around me suffering for it.

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Changing Seasons/@comment-28549248-20180204183259/@comment-28545920-20180212050050

2018-02-12T05:00:51Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Don't say that I am destroying your plans! Do youÂ think that sentence does not hurt me? Do you think I have not cried my own tears? What ever made you think that the Duckz C..."

Don't say that I am destroying your plans! Do youÂ think that sentence does not hurt me? Do you think I have not cried my own tears?

What ever made you think that the Duckz Chronicles, FFFFFugatives, the podcast, etc.Â didn't mean immense amounts to me? Of course I realize the predicament my inactivity creates for these. That's why I say I am not walking away forever. If I can't be here to participate now, then I hope very desperately I will be able to in the future. I want to be a part of these things! If I get the chance I plan to take it.

I think I have not used the correct wording to express some things. When I talked about silliness and goofing off, I meant in all theÂ goodÂ ways those words can be used. I meant silly as in good, sweet, innocent, and not taking things so seriously that we can't have a good laugh at ourselves. I guess I forgot that word has a lot of negative connotations around it nowadays. When I said goofing off, I just meant having a good time, hanging out and not getting hung up overÂ staying on topic if the conversation took a hilarious turn into randomness. I never meant that the KotOS series/roleplay/etc has no value to me.

I have not given up writing. It means a lotÂ to me that you still remember that conversation, and also that you would remind me of it now. Thank you. When you say we have a long-standing friendship, it is very true. You have always encouraged me, been kind and honest about my writing, and frankly out-witted me in most of my attempts at being witty. We have always gotten along well and that friendship is very important to me to. And by the way, you had better write that story, because I'm still waiting for the English version to come out so I can read it. :P

I am glad to say that as far as jobs go, I like mine so far. But there are a few points here I disagree with. You say I should not listen to what I think God wants for me, for I could be misled. If I do not listen, how will I ever hear? Of course we do not want to be misled, and one must be careful of that as you say. But I don't think that not listening is the right answer to the problem, rather that discernment is, something of which I pray for. You also say that I could not be unhappy about things God calls me to. That sounds very simple and ideal- but it is not always what I have seen in obedient people whom I admire,Â or in my own life. Two and a half years ago my family had to move. I didn't want to. However I knew that where I was-Â the only homeÂ I'd ever known, a place among friends and familiarity- was not where I was supposed to be. And it hurt so much to be obedient and submit to moving; yet I can see how God has blessed it now. I didn't think of it as something to do in order to achieve happiness, and some parts still hurt in for their own reasons. But I have no doubts that it was what God was asking me to submit to and that it was the right thing.

I don't want to stop contributing to these things that are dear to me, with friends who matter even more to me. But it's a question of disobeying or obeying, no matter if it makes me happy presently or not. So it's notÂ that obedience should ''make'' me happy, but that I should be happy ''as an act of''Â obedience. An obedient heart ought to be a joyful heart,Â and that is something I struggle with in this. I don't know if I am properly explaining how I feel about this, and I want to echo your request to not be offended, because that is definitely not what I want to happen.

I could almost find it funny how I knew someone would rememberÂ that post and put it up here. Since I'm not leaving entirely, I say itÂ doesn't count, but I knew it would appear nonetheless. Yeah, things will be different after this, and I'm scared too. I'm scared I'll manage to lose you guys like I've lost friends before. That fear makes it all the more desperately important that I don't lose you guys.

None of this has been useless to me. None of it has been "silly" as in trivial and pointless. You say you're determined to persuade me to return orÂ that the KotOS are something great- I'm persuaded, FFFFFplayer, not because of your speech, but because of our friendship. I pray the door will open so that I can allow more time for the KotOS without those around me suffering for it.

User blog:Jonna Friesian/Changing Seasons

2018-02-04T04:07:04Z

Jonna Friesian: Blog post created or updated.

Salutations, knights. I'll try to keep this short and sweet because I have a tendency to ramble. I'm afriad the time has come for me to sign off in regards to a lot of things, around here. No, I'm not dying. :P But I am not going to be able to contribute with writing, drawing, etc. in the future like I had hoped. Earlier this week I was very convicted that I am not spending my free time how I should be. In fact I've been fighting that feeling for a while. You all know I am a Christian. I feel led by Jesus to be spending less time goofing off, and more time looking forward to what God has for my life; and I don't think this is it. I'm employed full-time now (bet you guys didn't see that coming! :P) and my time has gotten more limited. And now that it's come down to choosing between giving what's left of my time to the KotOS, or giving my time to my family, I of course need to be there for my family. There has been a season- a very long season- in my life during which I could spend time being silly (in the good sense of the word) with you guys, on the LMBs, wikia, discord. And that was perfectly fine. Much to my disappointment, that season has ended, and I'm called elsewhere. It's probably harder for me to cope with than it is for you guys. :P I'm not leaving forever, but I didn't want to pull a Thingguy and not give you a heads up. I'll still pop in once every blue moon, more or less. I just won't be able to keep up with all the exciting things happening, or write for the wikia. If you want to reach me, you can let Strider know, or send me a DM on discord, or let me know on the wikia. I'll see it eventually and reply. Strider has his own standpoint on all this, and he's made his own post explaining his point of view.

Perhaps the day will come when God opens a new door and I'll be able to participate once again. There is NO WAY I am going to shut myself off from that possibility. But if it doesn't/until that day comes, thanks for letting me join in all the stories, drawings, and roleplays. They've inspired me greatly. Thanks for goofing off with me, and tolerating me when I didn't act very nicely. Thanks for caring enough to migrate over several websites just so we could all keep in touch. As far as online friends go, you guys are the best of the best, and I am grateful.

Fow now, farewell; at least until the next time I log on.

God bless.

P.S. Wikia formatting, how I loath you.
[[Category:Blog posts]]

MediaWiki:Community-corner

2018-01-11T18:59:32Z

Jonna Friesian:

'''Welcome to Wiki Activity!'''

Drumr's chapter is finally finished! We can actually continue with SA now! WRITE FASTER, EVERYONE! 
Oh hey, you're actually writing. Well it's about flipping time! :p
 
I still haven't got my CHEESE!
 
GEEZE
 
Do the Geeze bring the CHEESE?
 
Having received the Cheese, I can now say... "MOAR CHEESE!"
 
Bad Writer's Block is bad. Where are Talmid and Luke going again?! They have pretty much nowhere to go! Whatever, I write anyway. WRITE WRITE WRITE WRITE.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
 
Jonna, what is this shame of four full stops together? I have taken the liberty of erasing the fourth. You're welcome.
 
Bah Humbug. This is now more a discussion than a community corner...WHICH WE HAVE!WE HAVE A GENERAL DISCUSSION! :P
 
Using General Discussion is not as fun as using this thing, which is like a ninja conversation, because it hides in plain sight! Just because I like LU pirates better than LU ninja doesn't mean I can't appreciate the ninja elements of this conversation. I am also not above sneakily sneaking things back to being how they are supposed to be, like a certain arrangement of punctuation that needed re-correcting.
 
Yeah! We discuss where we like and we corner communities where you don't! We're free! We're wild! We're limitless! You can't tell us what to do, but we can tell what you're doing. Trying to limit us! But we are unlimited! We are ROWing ROWing, fighting the power, doing the impossible, seeing the invisible... But only if we want to. You can't control us! You can't contain us! YOU CAN'T CONCEIVE US! For we are too awesome for a simple mind to grasp! We are beyond comprehension. We are beyond infinity! We are beyond and above! We are beyond beyond! We are beyond abusing our freedom to use four full stops that mean nothing in the place of an ellipsis! Anyone who does that should be ashamed of themselves! I may be contradicting myself by speaking of freedom and limiting at the same time... but I am FREE to do so! All hail the FREE PERIOD! The Free Period which demands that no punctuation is used in even numbers. Because it is free. And that is its will. PERIOD!
 
You're right! How could I have been so thoughtless? While three periods is good, four is better, but UNLIMITED PERIODS IS BEST!! Just like having two exclamation points is best!! And don't even try to put a limit on those two exclamation points, because that would be self-contradictory. Thank you for showing me the truth of the free period! Now it is truly free! ENDLESSSLY..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................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MediaWiki:Community-corner

2018-01-11T18:58:35Z

Jonna Friesian:

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Merry Christmas Eve/@comment-28549248-20171225140715/@comment-28545920-20171228172506

2017-12-28T17:25:06Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Thanks! I'm pretty sure she's spoken a few times already."

Thanks! I'm pretty sure she's spoken a few times already.

User blog comment:Jonna Friesian/Merry Christmas Eve/@comment-29171447-20171225022450/@comment-28545920-20171228172415

2017-12-28T17:24:15Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "But what about wrapping paper? Is that more or less edible than edible paper? :P"

But what about wrapping paper? Is that more or less edible than edible paper? :P

User blog:Jonna Friesian/Merry Christmas Eve

2017-12-24T22:04:09Z

Jonna Friesian: Fixed paragraph spacing

I was looking through some old files and found this old story, which doesn't actually have a name. Basically, I had started writing it a long time ago, gave up, let it sit for a few years, finished it in summertime some previous year, and only just now found it in time to actually post it at Christmas time. So this story is actually really old, especially the first part, which is so heavily laden with description it's terrible. :P Anyway, Merry Christmas, everyone!

A pair of strange eyes peered over the windowsill, sparing a confused glance for the decrepit, excessively peeling paint that encrusted the wooden window frame. Then they focused into the ancient building and waited for their sight to adjust to the dimly lit interior. Shredded bits of paper drifted in reluctant, halting circles around the old, creaky room, gently caught in a circling current created by the lazy ceiling fan as it droned quietly. Wrinkled strips of tape were stuck to some of the dilapidated fixtures of furniture throughout the room, the pieces of tape badly twisted up and seemingly mauled until they were completely unusable. In the middle of it all, a huge piece of paper lay on the floor with a small, tattered box sitting on it. The edges of the paper were jagged, torn, and the box looked equally abused. A fluffy, pink pillow was flung on the ground nearby the box, looking very bright and out of place; but wait- it was moving! It was no pillow- it was a sitting duck!

Super Duck grumbled incoherently at the dark brown box that sat so insolently before her. Her patience was running thin. Inside of the box was a Christmas gift for her acquaintance, Alo Nosh. However, getting it all wrapped up for the holiday had proven to be quite a trial so far.

Initially, Super Duck had needed to find a place where she could wrap her presents without anyone seeing her do it. But it was almost impossible to find a place where no one would ask her what she was doing. Eventually she had come here, to an old, abandoned shack in an entirely different dimension, where she could prepare in peace.Â Alas, she had not realized how difficult it can be to wrap gifts when one only has a beak and two wings! Having no fingers, she had to use both feet and wings to manipulate the cheery Christmas-themed paper into the correct shape, and because she lacked the ability to use scissors, she had to gnaw through the paper to trim it to size. It had left a bad taste in her mouth and the paper disturbingly damp.

But even the most valiant efforts had been futile. The gift remained unwrapped, and it had been half an hour already. Soon her friends would notice her absence and begin searching for her, and then she would have to either come up with some cheesy cover-up story or admit to them that a roll of red and green tree-pulp had thwarted her! How embarrassing that would be! The thought renewed her determination, and she waddled back towards the box with an authoritative swagger.

"I will conquer you," she promised in a mutter, her vow interlaced with a few quiet quacks.

Just before she could redouble her efforts, a sound from outside the shack distracted her. Immediately thereafter someone knocked on the door!

"Oh no," she said grumpily, "they noticed! Quack. Now I'll have to use that cover-up story...." She waddled to the door and swung it open, taking a deep breath in preparation to deliver her long, intricate, and sadly unconvincing fib. But when she saw the individual at the door she stopped short.

"FFFFFKitty?!" Super Duck cried, aghast.

"Meow," confirmed FFFFFKitty. This cat... er, duckz.... er, cat-duckz-thing, was in fact, the owner of the strange, feline eyes which had so curiously observed Super Duck at the beginning of this story. "Hello, Super Duck, my old comrade."

"Wha- you- you- how- quack!" Super Duck spluttered, before getting a grip and drawing herself up to the full not imposing height of her duckz self. "Quack! What are you doing here?! I thought you had joined the LEGO Friends!"

"They gave me the day off, of course, so I thought I'd drop in and see how you're managing without me. I see you're not doing too well."

Super Duck blushed, but thankfully it wasn't visible through her feathers. "Yeah, well, I doubt you could do any better. Quack! You don't have thumbs anymore."

"True," FFFFFKitty sighed remorsefully, glancing down at her wings. "Sometimes being a duckz is just so... just so fowl!"

Super Duck rolled her eyes at the pun, not caring to find out if it was intentional or not. "Quack. Well, I know you came here for something, FFFFFKitty. Quack. What is it?"

FFFFFKitty shuffled her flat duckz-feet around, avoiding Super Duck's gaze. Finally she admitted in a grudging meow, "I, uh, came to ask you to help me wrap my presents for the Friends. I haven't been able to do it myself, and seeing as we used to always wrap our presents together, I thought, maybe...." she trailed off.

"Hmpf! The way I remember it is that you would always lie down on the wrapping paper as soon as I rolled it out, and stop me from being able to wrap anything at all! Quack!" Super Duck huffed. She tried to look away haughtily but failed to be very convincing. She glanced back at her once-friend and added, "Quack. Though, if you agreed to help me wrap MY presents, I guess maybe I could help you with a few. Quack."

FFFFFKitty pretended to be displeased with the arrangement. "Ah, alright, if there's no other way." She immediately bustled inside, dragging a sack of presents with her and starting to pull things out. "So, I wanted to wrap Mia's first...."

Several hours passed as the two duckz busily wrapped, tied, taped, and put an unnecessarily large amount of snowflake stickers on their gifts. It was still difficult to get the job done; yet between the two of them they managed to wrap all the presents, even if it looked like it had been done by a couple of birds. Because, well, it had. Finally, all was finished, and FFFFFKitty picked up her sack of presents as she headed for the door. Just before closing the door behind her, she paused and glanced at Super Duck.

"Thanks. I guess. And, uh, please don't tell any of the Friends that I asked you for help. I'd never live it down."

Super Duck nodded. "Quack. Don't tell any of my friends. Quack. Or any of my enemies, come to think of it. Especially my enemies. Quack."

FFFFFKitty grinned sinisterly. "Ah, but gossip is so fun."

Super Duck glared at her old sidekick and facewinged. "I knew this was a bad idea! Quack."

With little chuckling meows of sinister amusement, FFFFFKitty left and flew away to Heartlake City, or wherever the Friends were having their Christmas party. Sighing, and knowing that the story would be all over half a dozen dimensions by the next day, Super Duck gathered up her gifts and flew away to wherever her friends (and possibly also enemies) were having their own Christmas party.Â
[[Category:Blog posts]]

User blog:Jonna Friesian/Merry Christmas Eve

2017-12-24T22:00:13Z

Jonna Friesian: Quack

I was looking through some old files and found this old story, which doesn't actually have a name. Basically, I had started writing it a long time ago, gave up, let it sit for a few years, finished it in summertime some previous year, and only just now found it in time to actually post it at Christmas time. So this story is actually really old, especially the first part, which is so heavily laden with description it's terrible. :P Anyway, Merry Christmas, everyone!

A pair of strange eyes peered over the windowsill, sparing a confused glance for the decrepit, excessively peeling paint that encrusted the wooden window frame. Then they focused into the ancient building and waited for their sight to adjust to the dimly lit interior. Shredded bits of paper drifted in reluctant, halting circles around the old, creaky room, gently caught in a circling current created by the lazy ceiling fan as it droned quietly. Wrinkled strips of tape were stuck to some of the dilapidated fixtures of furniture throughout the room, the pieces of tape badly twisted up and seemingly mauled until they were completely unusable. In the middle of it all, a huge piece of paper lay on the floor with a small, tattered box sitting on it. The edges of the paper were jagged, torn, and the box looked equally abused. A fluffy, pink pillow was flung on the ground nearby the box, looking very bright and out of place; but wait- it was moving! It was no pillow- it was a sitting duck!Â Super Duck grumbled incoherently at the dark brown box that sat so insolently before her. Her patience was running thin. Inside of the box was a Christmas gift for her acquaintance, Alo Nosh. However, getting it all wrapped up for the holiday had proven to be quite a trial so far.Â Initially, Super Duck had needed to find a place where she could wrap her presents without anyone seeing her do it. But it was almost impossible to find a place where no one would ask her what she was doing. Eventually she had come here, to an old, abandoned shack in an entirely different dimension, where she could prepare in peace.Â Alas, she had not realized how difficult it can be to wrap gifts when one only has a beak and two wings! Having no fingers, she had to use both feet and wings to manipulate the cheery Christmas-themed paper into the correct shape, and because she lacked the ability to use scissors, she had to gnaw through the paper to trim it to size. It had left a bad taste in her mouth and the paper disturbingly damp.Â But even the most valiant efforts had been futile. The gift remained unwrapped, and it had been half an hour already. Soon her friends would notice her absence and begin searching for her, and then she would have to either come up with some cheesy cover-up story or admit to them that a roll of red and green tree-pulp had thwarted her! How embarrassing that would be! The thought renewed her determination, and she waddled back towards the box with an authoritative swagger.Â "I will conquer you," she promised in a mutter, her vow interlaced with a few quiet quacks.Â Just before she could redouble her efforts, a sound from outside the shack distracted her. Immediately thereafter someone knocked on the door!Â "Oh no," she said grumpily, "they noticed! Quack. Now I'll have to use that cover-up story...." She waddled to the door and swung it open, taking a deep breath in preparation to deliver her long, intricate, and sadly unconvincing fib. But when she saw the individual at the door she stopped short.Â "FFFFFKitty?!" Super Duck cried, aghast.Â "Meow," confirmed FFFFFKitty. This cat... er, duckz.... er, cat-duckz-thing, was in fact, the owner of the strange, feline eyes which had so curiously observed Super Duck at the beginning of this story. "Hello, Super Duck, my old comrade."Â "Wha- you- you- how- quack!" Super Duck spluttered, before getting a grip and drawing herself up to the full not imposing height of her duckz self. "Quack! What are you doing here?! I thought you had joined the LEGO Friends!"Â "They gave me the day off, of course, so I thought I'd drop in and see how you're managing without me. I see you're not doing too well."Â Super Duck blushed, but thankfully it wasn't visible through her feathers. "Yeah, well, I doubt you could do any better. Quack! You don't have thumbs anymore."Â "True," FFFFFKitty sighed remorsefully, glancing down at her wings. "Sometimes being a duckz is just so... just so fowl!"Â Super Duck rolled her eyes at the pun, not caring to find out if it was intentional or not. "Quack. Well, I know you came here for something, FFFFFKitty. Quack. What is it?"Â FFFFFKitty shuffled her flat duckz-feet around, avoiding Super Duck's gaze. Finally she admitted in a grudging meow, "I, uh, came to ask you to help me wrap my presents for the Friends. I haven't been able to do it myself, and seeing as we used to always wrap our presents together, I thought, maybe...." she trailed off.Â "Hmpf! The way I remember it is that you would always lie down on the wrapping paper as soon as I rolled it out, and stop me from being able to wrap anything at all! Quack!" Super Duck huffed. She tried to look away haughtily but failed to be very convincing. She glanced back at her once-friend and added, "Quack. Though, if you agreed to help me wrap MY presents, I guess maybe I could help you with a few. Quack."Â FFFFFKitty pretended to be displeased with the arrangement. "Ah, alright, if there's no other way." She immediately bustled inside, dragging a sack of presents with her and starting to pull things out. "So, I wanted to wrap Mia's first...."Â Several hours passed as the two duckz busily wrapped, tied, taped, and put an unnecessarily large amount of snowflake stickers on their gifts. It was still difficult to get the job done; yet between the two of them they managed to wrap all the presents, even if it looked like it had been done by a couple of birds. Because, well, it had. Finally, all was finished, and FFFFFKitty picked up her sack of presents as she headed for the door. Just before closing the door behind her, she paused and glanced at Super Duck.Â "Thanks. I guess. And, uh, please don't tell any of the Friends that I asked you for help. I'd never live it down."Â Super Duck nodded. "Quack. Don't tell any of my friends. Quack. Or any of my enemies, come to think of it. Especially my enemies. Quack."Â FFFFFKitty grinned sinisterly. "Ah, but gossip is so fun."Â Super Duck glared at her old sidekick and facewinged. "I knew this was a bad idea! Quack."Â With little chuckling meows of sinister amusement, FFFFFKitty left and flew away to Heartlake City, or wherever the Friends were having their Christmas party. Sighing, and knowing that the story would be all over half a dozen dimensions by the next day, Super Duck gathered up her gifts and flew away to wherever her friends (and possibly also enemies) were having their own Christmas party.Â
[[Category:Blog posts]]

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171210051150

2017-12-10T05:11:50Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Finally finished archiving my/Strider's/Kal's creations. I also archived the Godzilla Burger. I'm to exhausted to think of anything else to archive. :P I'm also too exhausted ..."

Finally finished archiving my/Strider's/Kal's creations. I also archived the Godzilla Burger. I'm to exhausted to think of anything else to archive. :P I'm also too exhausted to spell properly.

WHO NEEDS SLEEP? NOT ME. I'M FINE. FUNCTIONING FABULOUSLY.

I'm going to need coffee tomorrow. Except coffee never works for me. Then, I'll get a tasty one and consider it consolation for not getting proper sleep for the past 3 weeks. Oh no I'm rambling this always happens when I get too tired.

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171207034047

2017-12-07T03:49:44Z

Jonna Friesian:

Oh great, I just realized now I have to archive my creations, and they won't even tell us what day they're taking it down. I'd better do my archiving and goodbyes quickly just in case. I'll archive Strider's and Kal's creations too.

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171207034117

2017-12-07T03:41:17Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Oh great, I just realized now I have to archive my creations, and they won't even tell us what day they're taking it down. I'd better do my archiving and goodbyes quickly just..."

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171207034055

2017-12-07T03:40:55Z

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171207034047

2017-12-07T03:40:47Z

Talk:REALITÄTÄ/@comment-28549248-20171204145728/@comment-28545920-20171207001048

2017-12-07T00:10:48Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "My two cents on the NF age discussion: I feel that the allowance for ages should be 17+. It seems like a reasonable middle-ground to me, but I forget what ages various charact..."

My two cents on the NF age discussion: I feel that the allowance for ages should be 17+. It seems like a reasonable middle-ground to me, but I forget what ages various characters were in already-written canon, except for Perry. (If Strider wasn't so opposed to just changing Perry's birthdate, HE WOULDN'T NEED TO HAVE THIS RIDICULOUSLY COMPLICATED BACKSTORY :P ) And I remember we tried to account for the minimum NF age being something like that. Maybe we accounted for it being 16? Well, 17 is better in my opinion.

And I've run out of time to explain anything else, so that's that I guess. :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171207000117

2017-12-07T00:01:17Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "I think we all saw it coming, even if we didn't know when it would happen. Too bad the Godzilla Burger is going to be lost... again. Maybe we should just rename the Discord ch..."

I think we all saw it coming, even if we didn't know when it would happen. Too bad the Godzilla Burger is going to be lost... again. Maybe we should just rename the Discord channel and be done with it. :P Still, it's rather depressing to see the gallery go.

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171121210502

2017-11-21T21:05:02Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: OH MY BRICK, THIS IS AMAZING!!! Is this what ..."

<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: OH MY BRICK, THIS IS AMAZING!!! Is this what you told me about Strideer?</div>But no. You said that needed scanning. I wonder what Jonna drew for you. 
</div>
Wait, I drew something for him? I don't remember this. Oh yeah, that thing! That's probably also going to need to be touched up digitally before it'll be ready. :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171117044227

2017-11-17T04:42:27Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Stirling Silverstine wrote: Totally unrelated note: I present the Llama Song... IN PO..."

<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Stirling Silverstine wrote: Totally unrelated note:

I present the Llama Song... IN POLISH!

http://dai.ly/x38atr8

You will have to skip to 7:48 for the song in question.
</div>wat 
</div>
It doesn't make any more sense if you listen to it in English.

MediaWiki:Community-corner

2017-10-27T02:52:04Z

Jonna Friesian:

MediaWiki:Community-corner

2017-10-27T02:51:09Z

Jonna Friesian:

Talk:Walter James Day/@comment-Jonna Friesian-20171027024554

2017-10-27T02:45:54Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Consider me very confused. :P"

Consider me very confused. :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20171012022551

2017-10-12T02:25:51Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "*You are busy doing wikia things * *Wait. Did something move in those bushes over there? It kind of looked like a cardboard box? * *No. There's nothing there. Probably just ..."

*You are busy doing wikia things *

*Wait. Did something move in those bushes over there? It kind of looked like a cardboard box? *

*No. There's nothing there. Probably just a wild internet cookie. *

*You resume being busy doing wikia things *

INTERNET THOU HATH BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG I MISSED YOU. Except, I didn't really have time to miss you, internet. And I'm not going to have time to miss you until... *buffering signal as I contemplate * maybe Feburary. So...

Yeah. This is not a return-to-activity notice, just checking in, checking to see if the wikia was still alive (apparently it is "ish") and checking new internet connection. It works pretty well. I now return to endless studying, cleaning, unboxing, etc.

Thread:FleetCaptainT/@comment-27324808-20170918011126/@comment-28545920-20170918030057

2017-09-18T03:00:57Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Krill strikes again! :O"

Krill strikes again! :O

Talk:Out of Left Field/@comment-29171447-20170917183617/@comment-28545920-20170918025955

2017-09-18T02:59:55Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Thank you! :D The story occurs in the year 3039, which according to the timeline would make thedude 40. You bring up good points about his age. However, he'd have to be 14 in ..."

Thank you! :D The story occurs in the year 3039, which according to the timeline would make thedude 40. You bring up good points about his age. However, he'd have to be 14 in PD at the oldest, in order to be in his twenties by the time of SA, which doesn't give much room for him to create such a powerful following and incite a faction war pre PD. I think, since we are dealing with stories happening over such a large span of time, the fact that he is older may be unavoidable. His maturity levels definitely do not seem to match someone going on fifty, though! :P

Talk:Out of Left Field/@comment-28549248-20170917095935/@comment-28545920-20170918025152

2017-09-18T02:51:53Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Thanks! :D"

Thanks! :D

Talk:Scattered Ashes, Volume Two - Being the Second Installment in the MMOS KOTOS Series/@comment-28545920-20170918025102

2017-09-18T02:51:02Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "That traitorous, double-dealing meaber! :P"

That traitorous, double-dealing meaber! :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170917051132

2017-09-17T05:11:32Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "I'm not entirely happy with how the SA chapter ended up, but overall it's pretty decent and I'm glad I finished it before moving! Also, I wrote a short story today, because I ..."

I'm not entirely happy with how the SA chapter ended up, but overall it's pretty decent and I'm glad I finished it before moving! Also, I wrote a short story today, because I wanted to write that before moving as well. Yes, the title is totally irrelevant to the story.

Now, I officially go into mostly inactive mode until sometime mid-October. I'll be peeking in every once in a while, not often though.

*Climbs into a cardboard box *

Cya all soon!

Out of Left Field

2017-09-17T05:07:01Z

Jonna Friesian: Bonus.

Out of Left Field

''Written by Jonna on 9-16-17''

Lord Barney woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. It was playing his theme song, just like it did every morning.

Barney got up happily, humming along. He did all of his morning chores with cheerful diligence and checked them off of his Chore Chart.

âI made my bedâ¦ check! I brushed all my teeth, flossed and used my dinosaur mouthwashâ¦ check! Oh goody goody goody!â He checked off the rest of his morning chores, elated by his own discipline. âNow letâs see whatâs on my calendar!â

All of the IMPORTANT days were on his calendar. He took a look at them to see if anything special was happening today.

âOf course, every day is special!â he giggled.

Then he gasped. Indeed, today was more special than the average special day! For today was his best friend in the whole worldâs birthday! Today, His Grand Magnificent Highness thedude the Totally Radical was turning the respectable, illustrious age of forty!

âOh boy oh boy! The big four-oh!â Barney fairly squealed with delight. This was a huge milestone birthday- the perfect chance to show his best friend how much he cared!

âIâll throw a party! Thereâll be cake, (but not too much so that our teeth donât get sick) and balloons (but only small balloons so no one floats away) and Iâll getâ¦ the perfect gift! (But not quite too perfect so that next year I can get something even better!) Hooray!â He rushed out of his room to get started.

+++

The first thing Barney did was to instruct his personal assistant, Soandso, to get all the party supplies and invitations set up and squared away. The first thing Soandso did was to instruct HIS personal assistant to get all the party supplies and invitations set up and squared away. The first thing that assistant did was tell HER assistant to get the all the party supplies and invitations set up and squared away. The first thing that assistant did was to instruct his coworker Carson Flemming to do it all.

âWHAT.â Carson barked.

âCome on man, you owe me a favor. Please? This is like the worst job ever,â Barneyâs assistant Soandsoâs assistantâs assistant begged.

âYouâve got to be kidding me! Iâm not going to stand around blowing up balloons like a moron all day!â

âDude. Remember the time I helped you with the denture incident?â

Carson grimaced. Everything in his bones screamed against this. âFine! This makes us even, okay?â

âSweet! Thanks, buddy.â

âIâm NOT your buddy!â Carson snarled at Barneyâs assistant Soandsoâs assistantâs assistant.

Smoke was practically pouring out of Carsonâs ears as he walked into the party store. He bought lots of thedude-themed balloons- already blown up of course- blue and white streamers, and a whole lot of party hats. He frowned, remembering the days when party hats were pointy cones instead of the red baseball caps they were now. Party hats were stupid either way, he thought. In addition, the store was having a promo that week, so he also got three pairs of licensed, authentic thedude overalls for free.

After he got all of this and plenty of other birthday party materials, he brought it all back to the palace. Lord Barney told him which room to set things up in, and he got to work. Lots of other servants came and helped, all having been redirected from their usual jobs by Barney. Finally, all was ready.

Barney told everyone to hide as Vladek went to tell thedude that there was a surprise for him. When Vladek, trying to hide the pained look on his face, finally led thedude in, everyone was ready.

âSURPRISE!!!!!â everyone exclaimed at a cue from Barney. Carson blew into a party-blower, a deadpan expression on his face.

âu shoodnt havâ thedude said.

Barney came shuffling over, leaning back and forth as he walked, presumably because his head is so heavy. On top of his head was the additional weight of a red baseball cap party hat. âHappy Birthday, friend! Now itâs time for me to sing you the birthday song!!!â

A few of the servants made a break for it right then and there. Others held out until the second line of the song. A stalwart (or deaf) few stayed, smiling blandly and clapping along, Carson among them. He waved the party-blower in tune to the song, eyes staring straight ahead in rage. As much as he hated this, he really didnât want this favor hanging over his head anymore.

âNow it is time for presents!â Barney announced. âI got you one that is just super-dee-duper!â The dinosaur presented a large box to thedude. thedude reached for it, pulled off the lidâ¦

and a puppy jumped out!

âArf!â it said, wagging its tail. Its tongue hung out, slightly retracting every time it took in a breath, and its huge brown eyes seemed to embrace the world in soft dog sort of way.

âo noesâ thedude said, âai am alirgik 2 dawgsâ

At that point, even Vladek bailed. No way was he going to take the fall for this. Now only Carson, thedude and Barney were left. Barney was blissfully ignorant of thedudeâs pain.

âDonât worry! I read somewhere that spending time with dogs will make the allergies less effective! Reading is such a great way to learn!â

âu do nawt undrstahnd. ai am going to feel ahwful beecauze ov it!â

âPuppies make everything better!â

âdats not haow alirgees wrkâ thedude fumed.

It was hopeless. The puppy started running all about, whining, sniffing, licking its lips and barking happily. Barney chuckled, overjoyed with his own generosity. thedudeâs eyes began tearing up and he sneezed. Carson felt like kicking the puppy out of a window. A very, very high window. Alas for him, things were about to get worse.

Thedude pointed at Carson. âyousâ he ordered âu r in charge ov dis pupy naowâ

A slow, wan smile of horror grew over Carsonâs face.

âAs you wish,â he managed to strain, teeth clenched so hard his veins were popping.

Barney was waddling towards the cake, still obliviously joyous. thedude went to go get some tissues. And Carson was left with the dog, who scampered right up to him.

It sat down and tilted its head, moving its ears towards him, then backwards, then seemed to flick them in all directions like twin haywire satellites taking everything in. It was unspeakably adorable.

Carson Flemming was immune to adorable. He had spent a lot of time building up an innate resistance to adorable by watching endless cat videos and hitting the dislike button for each one. Now, his heart was so callused to anything even remotely cute, that resisting this puppy was effortless.

Nearly.

Sort of.

You know, it just wouldnât stop wagging its tail.

NO! Carson thought with a steely resolution. I will not get sucked into thinking this puppy is cute! He firmly picked up the puppy and brought it to one of the many spare rooms. He put the puppy bed, the food dish, the water dish and the many puppy toys into the room. Barney had really outdone himself when it came to this stuff; it was a veritable wonderland for the puppy.

Carson looked down to find the puppy chewing on his shoeâ¦ while it was still attached to his foot.

âThis is going to be a very long day,â he said, grinding his teeth.

+++

Time passed and the puppy grew up into a dog, as puppies are prone to do. Barney visited her every day, making sure she was well taken care of. As for thedude, he mostly tried to stay as far away as possible. Carson also tried to stay away, but it was hard when all the other coworkers were constantly doting on the dog. She was sweet and friendly and loved all the attention. She also had a mischievous streak- several pairs of slippers went missing all around the palace since she arrived, all never to be seen again. Carson knew it was her, although he never found where she buried them and so couldnât prove it. Eventually, the dog was granted a royal status and her own title. Lulu, the Royal Canine of thedudeâs Palace. Barney assigned the title. He had originally wanted it to be âLulu, the Royal Canine of thedudeâ but thedude had disagreed on account of the allergies.

Technically, Lulu now outranked Lord Vladek in royal status, a fact which he abhorred and did his best to ignore at all times. Not that it mattered- Lulu only wanted to play most of the time. Which she did. Except for that time she saved King thedude's life, but that's another story.

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170917025343

2017-09-17T02:53:43Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Wow, I only now got the badge for making five edits? ....... The shame is almost too much to bear."

Wow, I only now got the badge for making five edits?

.......

The shame is almost too much to bear.

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

2017-09-17T02:51:19Z

Jonna Friesian: Chapter 34! Or was it 35?

{{More_augmented_Story_Infobox|title1 = Scattered Ashes, Volume Two|posted_on = 09-15-2016 to Present|author = The Knights of the Olde Speech - Credited by Chapter|previous_suggested_manuscript = Scattered Ashes, Volume One|previous_suggested_story = Scattered Ashes, Volume One|next_suggested_story = Star Trek Talmidon: the Movie|next_suggested_manuscript = Rise of thedude|chronologically_previous_manuscript = Scattered Ashes, Volume One|chronologically_previous_story = Scattered Ashes, Volume One|chronologically_next_story = The Rhoddwr Marwolaeth|series = The MMOS KotOS Series|previous = Scattered Ashes, Volume One|next = Book the Third (Not yet written)|type_of_story = Main Story|canon_status = Full Canon|date = 3042 AF (15 Yt)|location(s) = Morcia
The Guild
The Moorlands|characters = ...If we fill out this box... :P|image1 = SA Cover-by Haroldosaur-Colored by Jonna.jpg}}

'''''@ â09-15-2016 through 09-20-2016, Sir Talmid wrote:'''''

=== CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE ===

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All the lights turned off.Â So did the forcefield.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<nowiki>****</nowiki>

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

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

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

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

Talmid frowned.Â "Whateth?"

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

"I don't have-"

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

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

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

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

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

"Hurry up." the guard growled.

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

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

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

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

"I threw it to Marty." Rascus said.

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

"Where is Marty?" he asked.

"I don't know."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now Marty could contain himself no longer and he screamed.

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

"WH4T TH3 BR1CK." the Barney cursed.

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

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

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

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

"This might hurt!" Rascus warned.

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

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

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

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

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

''End of Chapter.''

'''''@ â09-22-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

=== CHAPTER THIRTY ===

âSo now we have the two map pieces?â

Mattias glowered at the torn map, disregarding Jakyoâs question for a few moments.

âSo it would seem.â He eventually said.

Rascus rolled his eyes. âI could have told you that.â

âYes, wellâ¦â Mattias held the two pieces together, as if waiting for something to happen. âIt appears to be broken.â

âCanât you just hold the pieces together, like youâre doing now?â Asked Joe, hesitatingly.

âNo, you donât understand.â Sighed Mattias. âThis map has magical properties, and is the only way that we can get the upper hand on TheDude and the advanced technology of his men. But itâs not workingâ¦â

âProbably because it was torn.â Reasoned Santis. âThe question is, how do we fix it?â

âI do not know for certain.â Confessed Mattias. âBut perhaps the one who gave me the map can help you.â

âWho gave you the map?â Pressed Talmid, anxious to get going.

âIâd sayâ¦ hmmâ¦ yes, it was about ten years ago. A young alchemist gave it to me.â Declared Mattias, at which Marty, Joe and Jakyo all gave a start.

âDid youâ¦ did you say alchemist?â One of them said, but Mattias waved the question off casually.

âYes, yes. He was quite an agreeable fellow, actually. In any case, he gave me this map, at least the main portion, a decade or so ago. He told me that if I needed anything, heâd be here.â He pointed at the map. âThis village, between Orlan and the Scary Mountains. It shouldnât take more than a few hours to get there on foot.â He sighed, gave up trying to piece the map together through willpower alone, and gave the two portions to Talmid, who stowed them away in his pocket.

âSo who wants to go?â

'''''@ â09-24-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

==== CONTINUING CHAPTER THIRTY ====
<nowiki>**</nowiki>--**--**

âHow come we ended up having to go?â Grumbled Danju.

âIt was luck of the draw, Danju.â Pointed out Talmid. âAnyway â â he coughed, not used to long walks after his stints in prison â- consider yourself lucky. I had to go, again.â

âWell, both the Thingguys went off to rescue Jonna, and Lucas is still recovering.â Said Santis, even his neutral tone taking on a hint of irritation. âYouâre the only Knight of the Olde Speech available at the moment.â

âYou make it sound like he was chosen for this, and that we didnât jusâ draw sticks outta my helmet.â Danju grumbled.

âIâm more curious about where we even got all those sticks from, and in such convenient lengths.â Santis countered.

âI coulda broken them anyway.â

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

âWhere exactly ARE we?â Santis wondered out loud as the knights surveyed what was in front of them.

A cliff, towering high above them into the sky.

âWasnât there supposed to be a village here?â Talmid pointed out.

âProbably moved or somethinâ. Wasnât Mattias given the map, like, a decade ago?â Asked Danju.

âYep.â Confirmed Talmid. Danju sighed.

âWhatever was here musta moved. With TheDude nâ his eyes everywhere, it ainât surprising.â

âThe question is where to?â Declared Santis, forlornly.

âWhere too, indeed?â Talmid concurred as he approached the rock face. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about the rock â in fact, it lookedÂ tooÂ natural. Something about it seemed offâ¦

'''''@ â09-24-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

==== ALSO CONTINUING CHAPTER THIRTY ====

âTheyâre here.â Santis stated abruptly, startling his companions.

âWhat makes you so sure?â Nitpicked Danju. Santis indicated the surroundings with his hands.

âWe were told that there would be a village here, and yet when we arrive there isnât one. Not a trace. Donât you get it?Â Not a trace.â He emphasised the words. âEven when purposefully destroyed, villages can leave remains that stay standing for decades. Here, thereâs no proof that a village was ever built in the first place.â

âSo how dâwe know theyâre here and not somewhere else?â

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

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

âSo how are we supposed tâget their attention, anyway?â Danju grumbled. âWhere are we supposed to knock? Iâm not seeing any doors.â

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

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

âUh, Talmid? Why are you talking to a wall?â

'''''@ â10-07-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

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

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

âDo we follow?â Danju spoke.

âFollow, we do.â Confirmed Talmid and led the way into the darkness.

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

âAbout ten years, perhaps?â Danju said with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

âI would never have guessed.â Talmid decided to join in, allowing himself a smile as he did so.

âAinât a wonder they call you âthe smart oneâ.â Santis tacked on.

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

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

'''''@ â10-10-2016 though '''''â'''''10-23-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

==== SA SA SA ====
<nowiki>**</nowiki>--**--**

Talmid himself wasnât sure how long he had been walking in the almost-darkness, Santis and Danju as his back. Time seemed to become irrelevant and he couldnât help but wonder what he was leading the other knights into. His doubts were brought to the forefront of his mind when an engraved metal door began to loom out of the darkness, blocking the bath.

âWho wants to knock?â Santis queried. Talmid gave a weary sigh.

âWeâre not drawing straws.â He declared, before moving forward to knock.

It was the voice that prevented him from doing so.

âDonât try to run.â It echoed out around the passageway. âPut your hands above your head.â

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

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

âYes.â Talmidâs voice was a course whisper. âWe haveâ¦â He trailed off, and instead drew the two pieces of map from his pocket. The girlâs eyes widened.

âThat old thing?â She questioned. âLet me see.â

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

âWell?â Santis exclaimed after several long moments had passed. She shrugged and pocketed the map.

âSure, I guess I believe you.â

âMuch appreciated.â Danju nodded.

âSo why did you come here, anyway?â She continued.

âWe need to fix the map.â Explained Danju. âIf we have any hope of standing against TheDude-â

âSo, you want to fight TheDude?â

âThat is the idea.â Admitted Talmid. The girl grinned.

âWell, finally!â She exclaimed. âWeâve been waiting ten years for this!â Without explaining anything further, she shoved past the knights and slammed a clenched fist against the door.

âYo! Al!â She hammered on the metal again. âTheyâre cool! Open the door, already!â

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

âWhat even IS this?â Santis gasped, echoing Talmidâs thoughts.

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

âWelcome!â She proclaimed. âTo the guild!â

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

âWhat is all this?â He heard Danju exclaim from behind him.

âI told you!â The girl exclaimed. âItâs the guild!â

'''''@ â11-09-2016, Sir Haroldosaur wrote:'''''

==== CHAPTER PART SOMETHING ====

âThat ainât a description.â Santis muttered darkly, but she paid him no heed.

âCome on, Iâll introduce you to Iamos.â She indicated with her hand and began to walk through the almost maze of structures.

âWho?â

âYou said you wanted the map fixed. Heâs probably the only person who can do that. Heâs also kinda in charge here, soâ¦ you knowâ¦â

âIs he the alchemist?â Talmid cut in, not wanting to be led on a wild goose chase.

âWell, I donât know about âtheâ, but he definitely is A alchemist.â The girl revealed, before walking on.

Talmid nodded. âGood a place as any to start.â He turned to Santis and Danju. âCome on.â

<nowiki>**</nowiki>--**--**

Stones and clods of dirt crunched underneath Talmidâs feet as he walked, with the red-headed girl leading him and Santis and Danju at his back. Groups of muscle-bound men kept passing them by, deep in their own conversations. Talmid himself couldnât stop looking around, puzzled by one question.

âSoâ¦ how was this place built?â He ventured.

âAlchemy.â Came the answer.

âAnd how long, exactly, did that take?â Picked up Danju.

âI donât knowâ¦ I guess it was a month before everything was finished.â

âA month?â Santis repeated in surprise as Talmid surveyed the enormous cavern in a new light. âNo way.â

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

==== CHAPTER PART SOMETHING PART II ====

âYes way.â The girl declared. âNot a lot of people know that alchemy is actually really useful for a lot of stuff.â

âNot thaâ weâd hear anything.â Santis pointed out. âEveryone I know thinks that alchemyâs cursed, or somethinâ. Certainly, they wouldnâ like ta learn more about it.â

âWell, thatâs their problem. Alchemyâs just a thing, like science, or bioelectrical manipulation, orâ¦ magic.â

Talmid noted the hesitation in her voice as she said this final word. âWhat was with that hesitancy?â

She shrugged. âEverything has a dark side. Magic isnât an exception.â

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

âAnyways, we should be just about here.â

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

A hoarse voice called from within â âAkane?â

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

==== CHAPTER 327 ====

âYo boss.â The girl â Akane â called from without. âBrought some visitors for you.â

There was a long sigh.

âShow them in.â The alchemist eventually spoke.

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

âAfter you, gents.â She chirped.

âMuch appreciated.â Croaked Talmid as he stepped through the doorway, Santis and Danju behind him.

Once inside, they were greeted byâ¦

Not whom they had been expecting.

The first notable thing about the alchemist was how terrifyinglyÂ youngÂ he looked â for all he had heard, Talmid had expected a wizened old man to greet them, but this person couldnât have been older than thirty, some ten years younger than Talmid himself. He carried himself like a young man, too, standing up straight as the trio entered, and staring directly at them. A light brown overcoat was hung on his shoulders like a cape, and trailed down to his shins, flapping slightly as he rose. Underneath that, Talmid caught sight of a worn purple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, with some kind of pendant hung around the alchemistâs neck.

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

The alchemistâs brow furrowed.

âAnd what business do you have here?â

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

==== STILL CHAPTER 2...8? IDEK ====

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

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

Akane looked up, and gave a start.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There was a brief silence.

"Huh?" Barked Santis.

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

"How did you-"

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

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

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

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

==== aarsjdghaklsdjgjkash;g ====

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You think this is a good idea?"

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

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

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

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

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

"But your word is law."

CHAPTER END

=== Chapter XXXI ===

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

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

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

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

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

"Doesn't ring a bell".

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And what is he like?" Jayko asked.

"I have no idea".

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

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

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

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

"And you remember the way?" Jayko asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Quickly, through the back doorâ, the Guardian prompted them.

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

âA moment please, Sir Talmidâ.

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

âAbout your friend, Luke. The illness he had... it was not natural. It was caused by humans. Someone poisoned himâ.

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

âThere are still some Rogues coming this wayâ, the Guardian reminded him.

âOh right. I'll keep this in mindâ.

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

âAren't you coming?â.

âI'll stay here to hold them offâ.

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

âGo!â the Guardian said and Talmid began to run again.

He caught up with the others outside the backyard.

âWhere have you been?â Luke asked.

âThe Guardian wanted to tell me something. Let's goâ.

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

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

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

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

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

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

âWe should avoid that by all meansâ, Matthias said.

âThe magician lives on the Scary Mountains. That's where we're headedâ Iamos said.

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

âI think we'd better stick with Sir Talmid and Sir Lucasâ, Marty said to Joe and Joe agreed.

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

âWell, I suppose I'll have to join Iamosâ, she said.

âI'm pretty sure I saw you get hitâ, Santis noted with surprise. âHow...?â.

âWould you prefer me to be wounded?â she asked.

âWell, noâ, Santis awkwardly replied as the conversation didn't go as he could have foreseen.

âLong story. The short version is it doesn't take just a few bullets to smash meâ.

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

âMay ye be safeâ, Sir Talmid replied.

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

âWe should get going, tooâ, Iamos said. âTheir technology will bring them here faster than we can walkâ.

âI can hardly walkâ, Joe said with his hands on his leg

âWe can't tend wounds, yetâ Talmid spoke. âIt's not safeâ.

âLet me help you with thatâ, Horatio said and lifted Joe on his shoulders with ease.

âLet's go thenâ, Luke uttered.

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

âWait a secondâ, Luke said after he had gotten up to date and Jayko and Marty stopped walking, âNo, keep walking. It's just... aren't these the Athelas Mountains you're leading us to?â.

âNoâ, Iamos replied, âThey're the Scary Mountainsâ.

âAnd if those are the Scary Mountains, then where are the Athelas Mountains?â Talmid got into the conversation.

âActually, I think these are the Fire Hillsâ, Jayko added.

âNo, no these can't be the Fire Hillsâ, Joe talked from Horatio's back. âThese must be the Footsore mountainsâ.

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

âBut these are not hills, they're mountainsâ.

âI think if you tried to climb them, your feet would get very soreâ.

âThey're quite spooky, though, aren't they?â.

âDanju would know to tell usâ.

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

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

Iamos gave a short laugh, âTrueâ.




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

âJayko, tell me. How did Matthias find you four?â.

âFind us? He didn't find us. Our families have been serving the kingdom for hundreds of yearsâ.

âThen, how come we didn't meet any of you or your relatives at the time of the Syntax Warâ.

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

âWhat?â Talmid and Luke exclaimed.

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

âWow!â Luke said and Talmid whistled.

âI knowâ.

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

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

âWhy? Do you want them to come after us?â Joe replied.

âNo, but...â.

âI think we should be glad we haven't had any encounters with them, yetâ, Marty cut him off.

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

âWe've had the luck of outsmarting them. Does it really matter?â.

âActually, I agree with Talmidâ, Iamos talked from the front. âThey can't be that stupid not to have searched the area. And if they haven't appeared yet, it can only mean one thing?â.

âWhich is?â Jayko asked.

âThat they're planning something even worseâ.

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

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

âLook like you jinxed itâ, Jayko said.

âThey're here now, are you happy?â Marty asked Talmid.

âI wouldn't say that's the word that describes my current moodâ.

âShut up and keep runningâ, Luke exclaimed.




<nowiki>~~~***---***~~~</nowiki>




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

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




<nowiki>~~~***---***~~~</nowiki>




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

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

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

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

âWe were so young, thenâ, Talmid said in a nostalgic way. âAnd we hadn't known pain, yetâ.

âIt did not last long, did itâ.

âReality had to swoop in and mess everything upâ.

âYou know, Talmid, I'm so glad to see you alive. I thought we'd lost you that day on the Straitâ.

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

âDo you think there are more Knights alive out there?â.

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

âLet's see if we can get it fixed firstâ.

âI met Squeaky once, you knowâ.

âReally, he's alive? But where did you meet him? I thought you'd been captured all these fifteen yearsâ.

âNot all. I escaped once. About ten years ago. I managed my best to stay free and rally a movement against thedude, but alas, I got captured again. During the time, I met Squeaky. I found him amongst some scavengersâ.

âI did not know thatâ.

âI guess there are many things that happened we don't know about, because thedude silenced the newsâ.

âYeah, for all we know the Noodle Brothers could have attacked some random farm house or something as ridiculous as thatâ.

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

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

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

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

âWellâ, she said. âWhat are we looking for?â.

Iamos did not reply immediately.

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

âWell, your alchemy doesn't seem to make it any easier for you?â.

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

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

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

âHow are we to get there?â Jayko asked.

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

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

âWe're close now. So, I suggest that in you goâ.

âHow exactly did you see that this was the right direction?â Joe asked.

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

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

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

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

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

âMuch help he wasâ, Akane commented.

âDon't you think you should have mentioned this earlier?â.

âPerhaps. Perhaps notâ.

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

âGreetings, everybodyâ, a voice said. âWelcome to my humble abode. Now, tell me how the brick did you find your way here and what do you want from me?â the voice continued with more hostility.

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

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

âThe Knights of the Olde Speech, ha? I've heard of you. How did you find me?â.

âA man named Morgan was kind enough to tell me how to reach this placeâ, Iamos replied.

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

âThis is our problem?â Talmid said conjuring the time-worn map out of his backpack.

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

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

âWe didn't do this!â Luke responded to the accusations, forgeting all notions of olde speech. âThis is how we found it. Actually, it was ripped in two when we found it, but we mended thatâ.

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

âNo. That's why we came to thee. We wish thee, if thou couldst oblige us, to restore the enchantment. We need it to fight thedudeâ.

âthedude you say? I thought it was impossible. He's already gotten too powerfulâ.

âNot if all who oppose his rule unite against him. Wilt thou offer thy assistance?â.

âI'd be gla-â, he started saying, but then he seemed to remember something and stopped. âOn one term. I get to keep the mapâ.

âYou know we need it, right?â Jayko asked.

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

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

âFineâ, Luke finally said. â'tshall be as thou sayestâ.

âGood. Shall we move to a more comfortable room?â.

âThought you'd never askâ, Akane replied.

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

âWhich ones of you are KotOS?â the magician asked.

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

âSo, the three Founders of KotOS have been joined anew. That explains the recent peak of carrier pigeon activityâ.

âWhat do you mean?â.

âThey are sending messages about your meetingâ.

âNo one saw usâ.

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

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

âSo, can you fix it?â Luke asked.

âI have no ideaâ.

âWhat?!â several of the group exclaimed.

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

âWhat other pages?â Talmid enquired.

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

âDon't you have the Book since it was your master's?â Luke asked.

It was Jayko who answered, âNo. The Book of Morcia is in possession of Vladek. King Matthias owned it once, but it was stolenâ.

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

âShall we find him then?â Marty asked.

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

âSo, what do we do now?â Joe asked. âDid we get through all of this at vain?â.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

âVisions?â Talmid asked.

âWhy sureâ.

âAnd what do these visions show? Are they true?â.

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

âNot just in magicâ, Talmid sighed.

 

<nowiki>~~~***---***~~~</nowiki>

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

âTalmid! I woke up and you weren't thereâ.

âI wanted some fresh airâ, the other replied and seeing Luke's expression he added, âSorryâ.

âIt's okayâ.

âCome on. You should be sleeping. It's only a couple of hours till dawnâ.

Dewin accompanied them to their room.

âOne more thing. Would you mind telling me who's your magical friend?â.

âMagical friend?â Luke asked. âWhat do you mean?â.

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

âWhat does this mean?â Talmid enquired.

âIt means that somewhere, you've got a powerfully ally, Sir Talmid. And they want you to remain hidden from thedudeâ.

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

 

âWe are luckyâ, Dewin said. âI think I can fix itâ.

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

âIt's a good thing that the enchantment was only broken and not fully removed. I believe I can mend it, but duplicating it would be a different thing entirely. However, now, I've been browsing through thisâ, he showed them a thick black leatherbound tome with the silver letters âBooke of Ankoryaâ on it, âamd I think I've found a way to mend itâ.

âHoweverâ, he emphasised the word, so that the cheers would stop, âit's going to take time. More than you are allowed to stay put or idleâ.

âWhat are you getting at?â asked Joe.

âI mean that staying here, waiting for me to finish is not an option. Not for the Knights of the Olde Speechâ.

âI lived in the same place for fourteen years and nothing happenedâ.

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

âIsn't this place supposed to be magically protected?â Jayko asked.

âthedude has his own magicians, from what I hear. They can get through themâ.

âSo, what dost thou suggest we do?â Talmid asked.

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

âHow wilt thou contact us, though? We might be anywhereâ.

âWith theseâ, Dewin produced three pigeons from a bag.

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

âWhat are those?â.

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

âWhy are there three?â Akane asked.

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

âYesâ, Jayko said. âWhy don't we use that more?â and he pointed to the Booke of Ankorya.

Dewin was shocked by the idea.

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

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

âFine, fine. I get it. Don't mess with the bookâ, Jayko said.

âGood. Are we to depart, then?â Talmid said having pocketed the pigeons and wishing to change the subject.

âNot quite yet. I'd like some of you to stay with meâ.

âDidn't you just say we should leave?â Marty asked.

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

âAll the more reason for us to leaveâ, Joe replied.

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

âI suppose 'tis fair that we do not abandon theeâ.

âI want the alchemistâ, Dewin said.

Iamos examined the magician for a moment, then said, âFineâ.

âI suppose that means I have to stay, tooâ, Akane sighed, though she did not explain why.

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

âWhat about you, Horatio? You don't have to stayâ, Iamos asked.

Horatio considered the alchemist for a moment, then spoke, âI guess I'd rather stick with youâ.

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

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

 

<nowiki>~~~***---***~~~</nowiki>

 

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

âWhere are the other two ones?â the sorceress mumbled to herself.

âShall we engage, Miss Kull?â a Shinobi asked.

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

âNot the rest of us?â another Rogue enquired.

âNo. ''We ''shall attack the others. thedude was clear. Let the KotOS go, the other ones can be smashed. We shall make sure they don't have safe havens to go back toâ.

âWhen shall we attack, then?â.

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

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

=== Chapter x (not a number :PÂ ) - Actual Chapter 32 ===

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

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

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

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

'''''@ â01-07-2017, Sir DrumR02 wrote:'''''

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You're back seat walking!"

"But I noticed it first!"

"But I said something first!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@ 01-10-2017, Sir DrumR02:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An eerie fog set in and Drumr looked around suspiciously.

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

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

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

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

"I almost lost my two friends to fog."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fear.

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

Weak.

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

Helpless.

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

Can't stand.

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

Pain.

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

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

Again...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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

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

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

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

I know what's going to happen!

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

Let me out of this dream!

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

Pain.

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

Suffering.

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

Helpless.

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

Rocker... You traitor...

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

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

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

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

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

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

He's a maniac..

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

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

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

Pain. So much pain...

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

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

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

I hate fog.

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

I fear fog...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I just want to go home.

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

But I have a job to do first.

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

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

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Problems?".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'''<nowiki/>'''

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

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

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

"We already knew that," said Major.

"Yeah, but Drumr didn't."

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

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

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

Jonna nodded, smiling.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"OR '''WHAT?''' YOU-"

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

"Stop yelling."

Stunned, Carson complied.

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

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

"Yeah, ''what''."

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

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

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

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

"Earn it?"

"As in, work for it."

"How?!"

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

"Not yelling." Added Tain.

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

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

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

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

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

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

<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

Tain said nothing, while others responded.Â

"You're welcome," said Major.

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

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

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

Towards the second strongest seat of thedude's power.

And towards their strongest hope, The Guardian.

<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

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

"Something funny?"

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

Drumr raised a curious eyebrow. "Fate?"

"Yeah, can't you feel it?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Peragrine?"

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been practicing magic?"

"Oh, about a few months now."

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

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

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

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

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

"Yeah...?"

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

"Yeah...!"

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

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

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

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

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

"WHAT?! NO WAY!!!"

"WAY!"

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

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

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

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

"It's the goatee." 2 deduced.

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

"You need a trim, you caveman."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<nowiki>~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

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

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

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

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

<nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

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

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

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

"Tain, what is it?"

Brick, how could she tell?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Moira-!"

"Oof!"

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

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

"Moira..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Â

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

"Hey. Making out?"

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

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

"WHAT?!" was her reply.Â

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

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

Major had made a decision. "Carson."

Carson started looking everywhere but Major.

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

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

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

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

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

<nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

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

"How's the view?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"WELCOME HOME, EVERYONE!"

<nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

"We should probably forgo that tonight."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

''<nowiki/>'What are you doing?''' muffled Carson, though it came out: "Wrrrf rrr hhr hrrng?"

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

"You want a biscuit, Carson?"

Ok, perhaps derogatory...?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Wait!" Carson said.

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

"I haven't said anything rude."

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

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

"Sleep well, Carson."

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

"Yes?"

"I named the horse."

"Oh? What?"

"Dimwitt."

"Dewitt?"

"Yeah, Dimwitt."

"Dewitt. Cool."

"Glad you think so."

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

The horse nickered in it's sleep.

<nowiki>~~~~~~~</nowiki>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He was gone too!

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

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

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

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

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

Free, physically . . . Â and morally.

<nowiki>~~~~~~~~~~</nowiki>

Insert ''Chapter x, Part Placeholder The Second'' (Actual Chapter 34) Written by Ninjago_Builders. See ''Scattered Ashes: The Lost Chapters'' for the "PD Canon" version until the edited version is released.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

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

=== Chapter Thirty-five the Untitled ===

âOw!â Marty complained. âOw! Ow!â

âStop complaining,â Joe ordered.

âBut Iâve got a rock in my shoe and it really hurts!â

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

âWhere should we go now, anyway?â Jayko asked.

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

âAnywhere that thedude canât reach us!â Marty said strongly as he finally fished out the sharp pebble that had been bothering him. He threw it down the incline angrily.

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

âHe controls pretty much everything now,â Lukas said.Â

âEven Nordland?â

âYeah. Why?â

Talmid grimaced. âI suppose âtwas too much to hope. I thought we might find an ally there. During one of my escapes I joined forces with some Nordeners who piloted huge machines called âskyboatsâ, though I doubt theyâve survived thedudeâs attacks since.â

âSkyboatsâ¦.â Jayko thought uncertainly. âThat sounds familiar. I think Mathias mentioned them once.â

âAre they still active, then?â

The rookie knight shook his head. âMathias didnât say." Talmid thought for a moment.

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

Marty finally spoke up. âItâs also really far. Will our messenger pigeons work so far from Dewinâsâ¦ house?â He frowned. âCave? Domicile? Abode?â

Joe picked up the conversation while Marty trailed off into a synonym crisis. âYeah. We donât want to be too far away, otherwise the pigeons wonât work and we wonât know when to come back for the map.â

Talmid nodded. âGood point. Keeping in contact with everyone in the Sorcererâs mountain is a priority. Finding recruits is just additional; the main thing is that we divert attention from Dewin in case anyone has beenâ¦ following us.â

Everyone looked around warily, but saw nothing in the tree and rock filled surroundings. Motivated once again, Marty shoved his shoe back on and the five of them continued north.

âYou know, we could split up like Dewin said,â Jayko suggested after a little while.

âWhat do you mean?" Lukas asked.

âOne group could stay halfway to Nordland and keep in touch with the Sorcererâ mountain, while the other group could go head into Nordland. They might not be able to contact Dewin, but they can contact the first group, in effect keeping everyone in communication.â Jayko looked pleased with the simple ingenuity of his plan.

Talmid frowned. In theory it was a good plan. He just couldnât figure out the best way to split up the group. He needed to keep an eye on Lukas to make sure he continued to get well from his illness. At the same time, he needed to keep an eye on the potential poisoners. He glanced back at Joe and Marty who were just behind him. Joe gave him a thumbs-up. Marty was looking down at his shoe again and shaking it every other step, as if another stone had gotten in somehow.

Â Talmid turned back around. There seemed no good way to split everyone up. If he and Lukas went together in one group, he wouldnât be able to keep an eye on both Joe and Marty. If he and Lukas went separate ways again, one or both of them would be alone with potential enemies.

Then there was Jayko. Matthias had trusted Jayko, so Talmid felt he should trust the rookie knight too. But Lukas-Thingguy had trusted Joe and Marty - and no matter how much Talmid valued Thingguyâs instincts, there was still the matter of the poisoning lingering uneasily.

If I canât trust Thingguyâs friends, maybe I canât trust Matthiasâs friends either, no matter how dependable they seem, Sir Talmid mused. He sighed audibly. What a cynical way to look at things!

ââTis too much of a long shot. Currently, we shall only divide our numbers if it becomes unavoidable,â he told the others. Joe shrugged and nodded agreeably. Jayko, however, had a look of concern on his face and began to object. âIf there are recruits in Nordland, they couldâ¦.â He trailed off as a noise came from behind them.

It wasnât one of the normal sounds youâd hear in the forest, like leaves rustling or birds warbling. It sounded as though someone had dropped something, and it had landed with a conspicuous muffled thump on the pine needle carpet.

Everyone but Lukas all cast wary glances up the treacherous, overgrown mountainside. Lukas didnât because he was busy staring off to the side.

âFor sooth,â he whispered, âI believe I hath espied a spy.â

All heads swiveled in the direction Lukas was talking about.

âI donât see anything,â Joe said. Then one of the shadows moved.

Jayko instantly jammed his helmet on and was about to burst after the retreating shadow, but Talmid grabbed his arm. âYou might end up running straight into their main force!â

âBut if he gets away, their main force is going to run straight into us!â Jayko insisted. âWe can catch him!â He shouldered off Talmidâs hand and bounded away, remarkably quickly. âCome on!â

âJayko, thou must stop! We canât keep up with you, and we donât want to split up yet!â Lukas exclaimed, lapsing out of olde speech.

âJust Joe and Marty then!â came the voice already nearly out of hearing.

Joe and Marty looked at each other uncertainly then rushed off after Jayko. âWeâll be right back!â âStay here!â they assured the knights, then disappeared into the trees.

Sir Talmid threw up his hands in frustration. âWhy doth not kids listen these days?â he said.

---

Jayko raced after the figure dodging through the trees ahead of him. He recognized the person as one of those strange Shinobi rogues that served thedude. They were reportedly the swiftest soldiers in the army- indeed, this one was very fast. Jayko put on an extra burst of speed and started catching up.

The Shinobi looked over his shoulder and saw he was being pursued. He zig-zagged through some bushes and took another look behind him, but the blue knight had gotten even closer.

Jayko saw the Shinobi falter and slow marginally. Putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he readied himself to attack. However, just before he was in range, the Shinobi disappeared into a cloud of shadow.

âWhat on Militiregnum?â Jayko exclaimed. Then the Shinobi appeared out of a shadow to his left. He started towards the figure, but it disappeared again, only to reappear to his right, further away this time. The knight stepped in that direction even as the mysterious Shinobi disappeared a third timeâ¦ and didnât reappear.

Breathing heavily, Jayko looked all around him. Blast these technological enemies and their fancy toys! There was little way to tell what direction the spy had gone. In fact, Jayko was starting to feel a little turned around in general. Which direction had he come from?

The sun made picturesque streams of yellow light as it filtered through the leaves overhead. There was lots of mysterious pollen- or dust- or who knows what visibly floating in the soft beams, which briefly threw concerns over air quality into question, but Jayko was not the sort of person to notice such things. Instead, he noticed his companions finally showing up.

Marty was panting as he came close enough to be heard. âDid you catch âim?â he wheezed.

âNo.â Jayko was thoroughly disappointed in himself.

A strange whirring sound came from above, almost too quiet to perceive. They all looked up. It was hard to see with so much of the sun getting in their eyes, but the sky didnât look exactly right- it was as if they were viewing it through water. Which made no sense. Why would the clouds be distorted and ripple like that?

âThatâs odd,â Jayko noted.

Still looking up at the little patch of sky visible through the tress, he heard Marty and Joe quickly exchange words in frightened undertones.

âI donât think-â he heard one say, and even as he turned to ask them what was wrong, something hit his helmet with tremendous vigor. The metallic sound reverberated inside his helmet and seemed to penetrate his very skull, making his mind throb as he staggered. The back of his head felt as though it had been hit by one of those accursed automobiles he saw on the street sometimes; nonetheless his helmet had done its time honored job. He regained his footing and twisted around, sword hissing as it sprang out of its sheath, until he saw who had attacked him.

âNo, how could-â he began. His hesitation cost him. Jayko was struck on the head again, and this time his helmet could not shield him enough to keep the blow from knocking him unconscious.

---

âWhat-eth?!â Sir Talmid exclaimed. âJayko hath been captured by the enemy?!â

âWell, there goes any chance of a Nordland vacation,â Lukas commented.

Marty, breathing hard, nodded. âJoe and I had just caught up when the Shinobi scout knocked him out. There was a ship cloaked right above us, and they put him inside of it. Joe and I managed to hide until it left! What do we do now?â

Sir Talmid thought quickly. Had Joe or Marty turned Jayko over to the enemy? Or was this an elaborate trap arranged by all three of them?

It didnât matter either way. King Mathias had placed his knight under Talmidâs command, and that meant that Talmid was responsible for the rookieâs wellbeing. He owed that much to Mathias, at least.

âWe must go save him. In which direction did the ship fly?â

âWeâre pretty sure it went this way.â Joe pointed.

âSir Lukas, I must speak with thee,â Talmid said in a low voice, grabbing his friendâs shoulder as Joe and Marty went ahead. âI donât think we can trust those two.â

Lukas seemed dubious. Nevertheless he took the words of his long-time friend very seriously. âWhy not?â

âBefore we left Orlan, the Guardian told me that your illness wasnât natural.â

âI should hope not. Iâm not THAT old yet!â

âLuke,â Talmid urged his friend to pay attention, âone of them poisoned you.â

âReally?â Lukas looked shocked.

âBesides us, the only ones there were Joe, Marty andâ¦â Talmid trailed off.

Lukas was silent as they thought about the implications.

âCome on, guys!â Joe called quietly.

âWe need to get to the bottom of this impostor-Thingguy mystery,â Lukas said solemnly. âBut right now, we canât leave Jayko in the hands of the enemy if we can help it.â

Talmid agreed, and the two of them hurried after their âalliesâ.

---

Jayko blinked as a blaring spotlight barraged his eyes. An equally disruptive voice blared in his ears, effectively waking him up.

âTell us your favorite color!â someone roared at him.

âWhat?â he said.

âFine then!â the voice replied, still at a level loud enough to shake buildings. âIf you wonât cooperate, weâll just have to find other ways to make you tell us what we need to know!â

Jayko tried to rub his eyes, then realized his hands were tied behind him. âAm I being interrogated?â

âWeâll ask the questions here! Now tell usâ¦ what is your favorite animal?!â

âUm, falcons?â

The sound of a pencil scratching on paper came from somewhere else in the room. The sound paused, and a squeaky voice piped up.

âUh, Mr. Barnes-â

âThatâs SIR to you, insubordinate!â

â-okay, Sir, couldnât we have figured out his favorite color and animal by looking at his shield?â

âNever question a superiour officer! Get back to transcribing!â

The scratching sound resumed.

âWhere was I? Right. Where were you the night before the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox?!â

âI have no idea what youâre talking about!â

âPlaying dumb, eh? Well, that wonât get you anywhere! Once Menaya comes, there will be nothing you can hide!â

Jayko squinted. âCan I at least get some sunglasses here?â Those were one of the more useful inventions thedude had imported to Morcia. Secretly, Jayko thought they looked awesome but would never admit it before his fellow knights.

The transcriber brought him a pair, which helped considerably even if it didnât block all of the light. While they waited for this mysterious Menaya person, Mr. Barnes continued to assail the rookie with all the skill of a hard-boiled officer.

âWhatâs my name?!â

âWere you the one who stole Lord thedudeâs royal slippers eight months ago?!â

âRemember, according to Law #12, you are permitted to remain silent while we question you! But youâd better not!â

This went on and on, and eventually Jayko started wondering what was keeping the mentioned Menaya, and if her interrogation tactics could possibly be any worse.

<nowiki>***</nowiki>

To be continued, we think.

[[Category:Stories]]
[[Category:Stories by KotOS]]

Thread:FleetCaptainT/@comment-27324808-20170910225852/@comment-28545920-20170914031119

2017-09-14T03:11:19Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">TheBuildersOfNinjago wrote: Yay.</div> N_B you're alive! :D"

<div class="quote">TheBuildersOfNinjago wrote: Yay.</div>
N_B you're alive! :D

Thread:FleetCaptainT/@comment-27324808-20170910225852/@comment-28545920-20170910232533

2017-09-10T23:25:33Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Chapter!! :D Evil Cyclone is evil."

Chapter!! :D Evil Cyclone is evil.

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170909014253

2017-09-09T01:42:54Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Of course, feel free to print it out. I'm glad it is being put to good use! :D"

Of course, feel free to print it out. I'm glad it is being put to good use! :D

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170902022628

2017-09-02T02:26:28Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Stirling Silverstine wrote: <div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote..."

<div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">Stirling Silverstine wrote: <div class="quote">Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter wrote: <div class="quote">FleetCaptainT wrote: Happy Stromling Day!

Remind me why September 1 is Stromling Day again? [[File:Tounge Smiley.png]]
</div>CONFOUND THE AMERICAN DATES!!! I've been led on. All this time I was wrong. It isn't Stromling Day (anniversary of Servant of Darkness's beginning) today. The 9th of January is. Now, I don't know. Is the 12th and the 29th enough to call for a Septemberfest?
</div>Eh. Not really. If you found 3 to 5 or more AMs that started in this month, then I'd be on board, but really, I doubt we were ever taht active in september. I suspect we are more historically active in October. :P</div> I'm not sure about October, but if you want me to look at single AMs, I shall. Let's see.

Does TDD count? It's prologue was on August, but the first chapter was on the 6th of September. Meh. Doesn't really count.

TRH Act 3: 9th of September

The Speeling Manuscript: 10th off September

This story is called 'Harold didn't want any more Rises'

AM topic creation:29th of September

The Fall of the Gemini: 30th of September

Talmid also noted Transdimensional Maneouvers began on the 16th of September.
</div>
Good enough for me. Happy Septemberfest! :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170829014213

2017-08-29T01:42:14Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "The draft looks awesome, Talmid! :D Welcome back, FFFFFplayer! :D"

The draft looks awesome, Talmid! :D

Welcome back, FFFFFplayer! :D

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170823031122

2017-08-23T03:11:23Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "Try this one, it should last for 24 hours:Â https://discord.gg/DSteM4Â I hope this thing works!"

Try this one, it should last for 24 hours:Â https://discord.gg/DSteM4Â

I hope this thing works!

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170821040706

2017-08-21T04:07:06Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "<div class="quote">FleetCaptainT wrote: Marvelous!Â A grid is something I've left out even on my last Galaxy Maps... I should really check the Discord more.</div> Thanks..."

<div class="quote">FleetCaptainT wrote: Marvelous!Â A grid is something I've left out even on my last Galaxy Maps... I should really check the Discord more.</div>
Thanks! I keep forgetting to check Discord. :P

Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-31417650-20170628020234/@comment-28545920-20170820044903

2017-08-20T04:49:04Z

Jonna Friesian: Created page with "On Discord Strider mentioned he wanted a better way to describe the locations on a map, so I decided to make this. It's crude but it should work fine. Afterwards, I realized I..."

On Discord Strider mentioned he wanted a better way to describe the locations on a map, so I decided to make this. It's crude but it should work fine. Afterwards, I realized I had inadvertantly crossed out "The Uncrossable Sea". How ironic! :P

[[File:The_Detailed_Map_of_Miliitregnum_with_Text_with_Grid.jpg|thumb|left]]

File:The Detailed Map of Miliitregnum with Text with Grid.jpg

2017-08-20T04:45:56Z

Jonna Friesian:

Morcia

2017-08-19T21:40:40Z

Jonna Friesian: Replaced "Morcian capital, which does not have a name yet" with "Morcian capital Orlan"

[[File:FFFFFPLAYER'S MAP OF MORCIA.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Wiz Ardon's Map Of Morcia and surroundings ]][[File:Sir Talmid's Higly Esteemable Map Of Morcia.png|thumb|300x300px|Sir Talmid's Original Map of Morcia (The one that started it all.)|left]][[File:Map of Militiregnum Highlighting Morcia.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Sir Harold's Expanded Map, with inset of Morcia|left]][[File:Map of Militiregnum Harold Morcia Localized Talmid.png|thumb|300x300px|Basically the same thing as the map to the left, but with more Morcian towns added by Talmid.]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Morcia is one of the greatest Western Kingdoms or at least it used to be in times of old. Even now, it seems to be the biggest of them all. Its boundaries are more or less the mountains in the North, the Sea and the river in the West and South and the Farmlands in the East. If we connected all the watchtowers with one line we'd have a better idea of its boundaries. The northern boundaries have often changed in the many wars between Aquila and Morcia but the Aquilones have never gone beyond the Athelas Mounts and the Morcians have never gone beyond the river, while the Lost Plains have always belonged to Morcia. Significant places in Morcia are its capital Orlan, the Calibus Tower inside one of the forests, thedude's house next to the bigger one, Evereed below the Desert of Morcia, Godzilla Burger at the western mountains, the Lost Plains and the Lost Void. We can also find the yellow-brick road." (Militiregnum Map)

== Geography ==
Morcia contains a diverse range of geographical formations and environments. The land contains many great plains suitable for farming, as well as central forests, surrounded by an eastern desert, the Athelas Mounts and Scary Mountains to the north, and the Equatorial River to the south. The Bewitched Forest to the west separates Morcia from the wastes of Ankoria.

=== Points of Interest ===
These include locations in and out of but relating to Morcia.

==== Towns ====
* Orlan, the Capitol of Morcia
* Evereed
* Brinkpoint
* Somna
* Leer
* Halfay

==== Towers & Forts & other interesting places ====
* [[Calibus Tower & Estate|Calibus Tower]]
* [[Thunderclap Keep]]
* Watchtowers (see below)
* Godzilla Burger
* thedude's house

==== Natural Forms ====
* Equatorial River
* The Forests
* The Lost Plains
* The Lost Void
* Athelas Mountain Range / Fire Mountains / Scary Mountains
* The Uncrossable Sea

== History ==
Morcia was
<nowiki> </nowiki>the first of the Four Great Kingdoms of Militiregnum to be founded (The
<nowiki> </nowiki>Four Kingdoms being Morcia, Elepharia, Aquila and Britay) hundreds or
even thousands of years ago. According to almost forgotten tales, the
original citizens of Morcia (and the other Great Kingdom of the West)
originated from Crux, as opposed to the peoples of other lands like the
Eastern Empires and Nordland, who have been in Militiregnum even longer
and are supposed to be indigenous to it. It is because of this, that
these four lands have similar languages with the ones of Cruxians, as
has been noted by the Witch of Kingston, though it's still not
explained, how they remain almost identical to this day. The Witch of
Kingston has also studied the link of the two planets, which is stronger
<nowiki> </nowiki>in Britay and which must have been the original means of the people of
Crux tavelling to Militiregnum.

Morcia has a long history, most of
<nowiki> </nowiki>which is however forgotten by most people. Few remain that remember the
<nowiki> </nowiki>Epic Past of Morcia, and indeed nowadaus Morcia seems to be in its
Medieval Age in more ways than one.

=== The Rulers ===
In the past, the Kingdom of Morcia was ruled by kings who passed the throne on to those they saw fit, until the King Arstus II imposed a traditional order, that succession be continued by the first born. This resulted in a bout of civil war between supporters of Joanna, Arstus's true firstborn, and supporters of his second child, Verdik the Murderous, who was his first son. With Arstus's passing, the kingship was ultimately passed on to Joanna, who would go on to be remembered for good as Queen Joanna the Just. (Rise of the Traitor)

For a hundred years worth of generations, the royal family would continue to rule Morcia undisturbed, ending with the reign of [[King Matthias]], until the tyrant [[Lord thedude7500|thedude]] captured Morcia (Perpetual Doom). The kingdom is now policed by Paradox Rogues and Barney Bots under the command of Lord Vladek the Traitor, as well as other elite agents who few live to remember. thedude's influence is felt even beyond the borders of Morcia, and his technological advantage leave him unable to be defeated. The former king Matthias is now exiled.

=== Conflict ===
Morcia's history is rife with conflict, disputes, and wars with the neighboring kingdoms. The kingdom's enemies include Britay to the west and the Easterlings to the east, who were historically defeated in Artus II The Defeater's reign, and the Aquilones, long-time enemies from the north who were at last subdued for a time during the reign of King Mathias.

Undeniably the worst, most tumultuous war to affect Morcia was the Syntax War, in which the tyrant thedude's technologically superior army overthrew the kingdom and ousted King Mathias. Factions from the Aquilone Civil War as well as Lord Vladek the Traitor assisted thedude in his takeover, and the Easterlings too aligned themselves with thedude. An unknown naval power provided boats for thedude's army in the final battle of the Syntax War, the Battle of the Skyfalls.

=== The Watchtowers ===
These tall, towering structures were built after Garast I The Fearsome's venture into Ankoria, and the cursing of the land by the Sorcerer who was driven out. Accursed beings appeared, and the kings of Morcia desired a defense against them. Watchtowers can be found at all of Morcia's borders, manned with soldiers and complete with the provisions, rooftop gardens, and defenses to stand indefinitely.
[[Category:Locations]]

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File:The Detailed Map of Miliitregnum with Text with Grid.jpg

Morcia

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