User blog:Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter/Scattered Ashes Chapter XXXIX

Chapter XXXIX

“What a faccia! What a chin! What a figure! Your majesty! I can see it right now! Imagine a statue that would capture you in all your brilliant glory! My hands itch to sculpt it!”

“wat iz dis?” thedude asked from on top of his throne.

“As they said, your majesty, they're sculptors. And apparently they want to make a statue of yours”, Lord Vladek replied with a resigned attitude, pointing to the man and his wife who were seeking attendance with thedude.

“No, no, no! Not just one statue. Wouldn't that be a waste? We think that the whole of Britay should be decorated with such a jewel as the handsomeness of our King. Then all citizens of Britay will know the perfection of features that blooms right in front of me”, the middle-aged man continued passionately, gesturing keenly with his hands as he did.

“end waht u wonts form mi?” thedude enquired.

“Why surely, your Majesty, I thought you would be most pleased were I to ask for your permission in such a matter as this that would affect a whole kingdom. But in addition there is the issue of funding. While truly I believe that your greatness deserves, no begs to be immortalised, I am afraid that my wife and I cannot venture to go through with this on our own. But were your Majesty to sanction this project, then your handsomeness could shine upon this world and bless us all”.

“y dont teh wymen speks?”

“She is shy, your Majesty. A very talented sculptor indeed and a beautiful woman without whom I could not imagine my life. But very shy before strangers and especially royalty. But you must not question her dedication. She is indeed most passionate about building your statues”.

“iz dat sho?” thedude muttered to himself. He didn't like the look in the woman's eyes; it seemed proud, even defiant. thedude then turned to Vladek, “Vladrik, wy du hi tok fani? his widr”.

“They're Adilians. A minority that lives in south-eastern Morcia. I've talked to you about them before”.

“teir difrant. mi dasn lik dafrent. mek sur ter rez texs in suthistarn morsha”, thedude then turned to the sculptors again. “y u edilan in brateh?”

“Oh but you see, your Majesty, my father was a merchant and very young still he travelled to Britay and it was there where lack would have it, he found love in the prettiest Adilian girl, who'd also moved to Britay when she was very young. And indeed I wouldn't rest till I was married to an Adilian woman myself and that's how I met my principessa, whose story is similar to mine”.

“hrm. fain. i fink baut it en disided me leiks id. do it”, but then he looked at the wife again and saw the still burning fire in her eyes, so he added: “bat ur gits teh maneh, nat de wamyn”.

“As you wish, your Majesty”.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

Almost five years later and dozens of leagues away, a group of five Knights of the Olde Speech (one unconscious), an apprentice wizard, two defectors, a resistance fighter and an elite warrior (along with a few horses) were approaching a city. It had been agreed upon that before they headed to Orlan where they hoped to reunite with the other Knights, they should stop by Evereed to purchase supplies enough for their unexpectedly big company. However, once they left the mountains behind and came near the city, a question arose.

“We can't all enter the city. They'll notice us instantly”, Major pointed out.

“That's true. Then, who goes in?” Tain asked.

“Is there any of us who isn't an escaped prisoner?” Moira enquired.

There were a few glances shared between the members of the group and soon they realised they truly consisted mostly of people who'd escaped from some prison or another. Even Sharpie had been briefly at the hands of thedude's men. It was only Drumr and one of the Thingguys who raised their hand in response.

“Nathanael, it doesn't count if you've got the same face with an escapee”, Jonna told the Thingguy – it had been decided that for the sake of everyone preserving their sanity one Thingguy would be called Thaddeus and the other Nathanael.

“Great, so the only people here who haven't ever been captured are a permanently unconscious man and a wanted criminal. Not much to go on. We'll have to risk this anyway”, Major concluded.

“Peragrine is out of the question anyway”, Tain said revealing no emotions. “He'd certainly cause a commotion”.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, man!” Perry replied. “What do you think I'd do?”

“I don't know but it's sure to cause a ruckus”.

“He's got a point”, Drumr agreed.

“Well then any volunteers?” Sharpie asked. “My leg doesn't allow me to. I won't be able to run, if we need to”.

“I'd like to go”, Jonna said.

“You're quite recognisable though, as the former princess. Are you sure?” Thaddeus argued.

“I'm sure. It's been fifteen years since I was last a princess. The people are as likely to remember my face as much as any of you, I'd reckon”.

She would not be stopped now. She'd spent a long time away from action, once hiding then imprisoned. Now that the flames of war were to be lighted again, she wouldn't let herself be pushed aside again. She'd only need to muster her courage once more.

“Then in that case, I'm going too”, Thaddeus decided.

“And I as well”, Nathanael added.

“With the two of you looking identical, you'd be much more likely to draw attention to yourselves”, Major reasoned.

“As I have done in the past, I'll stand by Jonna's side”, Nathanael responded.

“And I'll certainly not leave her alone with the impostor”, Thaddeus continued.

“It would be much more sensible to send someone like Tain and Moira”, Major insisted.

“Actually, I'd rather not go”, Tain muttered quietly.

“I've told you before, Tain, you need to work on your agoraphobia. Being a runaway defector is not an excuse for being lazy, you know”, Moira told her friend.

“Fine then. If you're so decided to get caught, you can go. Don't expect reinforcements when you're thrown into the brig though”.

“Don't worry. We're perfectly capable of escaping on our own”, Nathanael assured Major.

“It won't be the first time”, Thaddeus agreed.

“As long as we don't have to watch Barney's show this time”, Jonna said with concern.

Everyone agreed, some from experience, that that was indeed a very bleak worst case scenario.

Entering Evereed was a strange experience for Jonna. For one thing, there was the nervousness from having to pass through the guards –thankfully their disguises which attempted to conceal their features as conspicuously as possible got them through. For another, seeing the city after years truly surprised her. It'd been transformed since the times of her father's reign.

First of all, the great Wall of Evereed that was the pride of all Evereedians had been reduced to rubble and even that had mostly been removed. Jonna remembered hearing how that wall had never fallen since the time it was built after the defeat of the Morgai. Now, it was gone.

The inside of the city was radically changed as well, though. She'd heard that the war and the famous fire of the sixth year of thedude had left Evereed once again in ruins and that to a great extent it'd been rebuilt as a brand new city, but she'd never expected that. All of the stone buildings which used to make up the majority of the city and which were very standard for Morcia, perhaps even beyond had disappeared. Replaced by some uniquely different wooden buildings. Often painted in shades of red, blue or yellow. With wooden posts supporting balconies or the shelters of porches. And most curiously, many of these buildings had flat roofs. There was a wide road in crossing through the middle of the city and all buildings were lined up at its two sides. Jonna had never before seen a city like that.

She didn't know if Thingguy had been there before during his journeys, but neither of the doubles showed any surprise as they walked on. Jonna followed suit. Walking down the main road, Jonna noticed people loitering outside doors or going around their business and realised they were as changed as the city was. Some items of clothing she saw a lot were their wide-brimmed hats, those trousers she thought were called jeans and a variety of coats she hadn't seen before. Some residents of Evereed also wore some kind of handkerchief around their neck. It might have been just Jonna's impression, but she thought that aside from their clothing the people of Evereed also looked rather rough, their faces quite stern. They certainly were staring intensely.

“Sir Sharp said there's a bar of sorts here whose owner is friendly to the KOTOS”, Nathanael said quietly so that he wouldn't be heard.

“We should be able to ask for supplies there”, Thaddeus finished the other Thingguy's sentence.

“Don't do that. I can speak for myself”.

“I was going to say that first, you know”.

“But you didn't”.

“Cut it out, you two”, Jonna interrupted. “They're already staring at us, we don't need to attract more attention than necessary”.

Under the gaze of the townspeople, they continued. Jonna suspected that was because of how much they stood out from what they were dressed in. She certainly felt this wasn't a very welcoming place.

Following Sharpie's directions they soon found the place. The word “SALOON” was written on its front with big words. They entered through some strange double doors that only came up to chest level and found themselves in the warm atmosphere of a busy bar, with the smell of alcohol and smoke in the air, chattering, laughing and the sounds of a piano filling their ears. Yet, as soon as they got in everyone stopped talking almost instantaneously as they turned to look at the newcomers. Only the piano continued, not letting the place go silent.

There was an awkward moment during which everyone's eyes were on them. Then, the Thingguys walked on and the spell was broken. Everyone started talking again, but Jonna wasn't sure they'd forgotten about them. They made it to the bar where the bartender was wiping a glass with a washcloth –as all bartenders must stereotypically do all the time.

“What can I do for you?” the man asked.

“I'll have a beer”, Thaddeus said.

“Me too”, Nathanael added.

“And we'd like to know if you can help us get supplies for a journey”, Jonna finished.

The bartender examined them with a stoic expression for a moment before he got a bottle and poored two glasses. He passed them to the two Thingguys and then spoke, “You understand that this isn't a safe town for strangers to walk so openly in?”

Sharp had said that the owner of the bar was friendly to the Knights. Was that the bartender or someone else? Was that advice or perhaps a threat? Had the man realised who they were? If he had, what about the rest?

“Sometimes one's got to defy any dangers to get what they want. I'm sure you would gladly help a stranger”, Thaddeus emphasised the word as if he meant something else.

“And if that's not enough we can always pay you for your trouble”, Nathanael spoke as he sipped some of his drink.

“If you tell me what you need, I'll see what I can do about it. And then there's something else you might be interested in”.

While the Thingguys discussed with the bartender what supplies would be needed, Jonna turned her gaze back at the customers of the... saloon, was it? Every once in a while, one of them would look their way. And their looks weren't pleasant. Jonna wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

“If that'll be all, then let me call Tommy. Hey Tommy!” the bartender called –it would seem that the Thingguys had settled things with the bartender. “While Tommy gets the things you asked for, it'd be advisable that you lay low. Though... there's something else. You should talk to G, the pianist, about it”.

The pianist? What was this all about? Jonna's eyes switched to the piano and the man playing it. She had to stop herself from exclaiming in surprise. What was this? She could hardly believe this. First Sharpie and Seton, then this. That was some wicked luck. Looking at her companions, she could see in their faces they must be having similar thoughts. Nathanael thanked the bartender and then they all made for the piano.

He looked quite older, his black armour was gone and there was a pair of sunglasses rested on his face. But that was unmistakably him. Sir Grongringro-eth. What was he doing in that place playing the piano? Actually, scratch that. She'd been telling stories as her cover; that wasn't too much of a stretch.

“Gr... I mean G. Um hi!” Jonna greeted him, uncertain how to address him in the midst of a busy bar.

There was something strange in the way that Grongringro replied without looking at any of them. In fact, now she thought of it the way he was playing the piano with his eyes not turned at the keys but in a random direction as if he was disinterested in what he was doing was off as well.

“Excuse me, who is this?” and that was strange, too. There's no way he wouldn't recognise them.

And then Jonna noticed something else. The sunglasses worn indoors, especially at a place like this, seemed odd as well. And with a closer examination, she found that the sunglasses couldn't perfectly hide a patch of red skin on his face. A scar... It finally dawned on Jonna.

Grongringro was blind.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

“Have you heard about the Adilian sculptors?” Mrs. Abbott asked her friend, Mrs. Bishop.

“What sculptors?”

“thedude has apparently hired a couple of Adilian sculptors to build his statue all over Britay. Rumours say they intend to make one for every single city, town and village of the country. But they’ve already built more than one for Camelot”.

“Oh my, how much is that going to cost?”

“I have it on good authority that thedude has given them ten thousand pounds for the project”.

“Ten thousand pounds?!” Mrs. Bishop was awed by the sheer thought of that amount –she wasn’t particularly poor herself, but that was what even the richest of gentlemen needed a year to make. “Why my dear Mrs. Abbott, that is absolutely scandalous”.

“Quite so. And I thought my daughter was too vain, to think that such a vast amount would be spent on such a frivolous task. Certainly, there was so much more that could be done with that kind of money”.

“And who are the sculptors undertaking this?”

“Just some Mr. and Mrs. Crocetti who grew up in Britay even though they’re Adilian”.

“I sometimes wonder who would it be that so readily serves such a distasteful man. It’s understandable if you submit to him –after all what else can you do?– but isn’t this a little extreme?”

“I know exactly what you mean. It is unfortunate that our King has no charm at all. I can’t imagine anyone gladly serving him. But I suppose those eastern folks are more fond of him”.

“Now, Lionel though there was a King who looked the part”, and the conversation proceeded to diverge from the original subject of the Crocetti’s work.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

Explanations had ensued between their group and Grongringro and he’d soon realised who they were. They had since moved to a more private room the owner had shown them to, so they could discuss more freely. They’d told Grongringro how they’d gotten there and explained the Thingguy issue –as best they could.

In his turn, Grongringro related how he’d wound up in Calibus Tower and how he was wounded in an explosion during the raid of the tower. He’d lost his sight after that. Some years of wandering alone trying to make do had followed, but eventually his journey had led him to Evereed where he got a job as a pianist.

“The Raid of Calibus, ha?” Thaddeus muttered to himself and his self replied, “You’re not the first victim of that incident that I hear of”.

“So, does this mean the gang’s getting back together?” Grongringro asked.

“You bet”, Nathanael spoke. “You’ll no longer be a Lonegringro”.

“But you shall be a Gangringro once more”.

Grongringro grinned. “I’ve waited long for this time. To-eth battle-eth we-eth go-eth then-eth!” he pointed his finger forward.

“The door is the other way genius-eth”, Thaddeus corrected his friend.

“Are you making fun of a blind man? How insensitive? Don’t you know this is supposed to be a dramatic moment for my character?” Grongringro was received with some quizzing glances.

At that point, a knock came at the door. Tension rose to the room as everyone turned towards it, but then they heard the voice of Tommy, the young assistant of the bartender, “It’s me Tommy. I’ve brought the stuff you asked for”.

They relaxed and Jonna opened the door. The young boy came in, carrying a few big bags. The two Thingguys rushed to help him with them.

“How much did they cost you?” Nathanael asked, while he looked inside one of the bags.

“About thirty florins”. Nathanael got a wallet from one of his pockets, counted thirty one florins and gave them to the boy, one extra for his trouble.

“Wow! It’s not often one sees actual golden coins around here these days”, Tommy marvelled.

“Then, what do you use for money?” a perplexed Jonna asked.

“Banknotes”.

“Banknotes?”

“They’re little sheets of paper printed by banks instead of coins”, Grongringro explained to an even more confused Jonna.

“Paper for money?” Jonna whispered to herself, astounded.

“In any case, if you are to leave town, I’d advise to do it quick. It’s gotten busier outside and I think you know why that is”.

“Yeah, if I know this city at all, everyone here will be ready to jump on you”, Grongringro concurred. “We really should be going”.

“You’re leaving, too, G?” the boy asked.

“I’m afraid adventure calls, Tommy boy. Hopefully, something will come of it. I guess this is goodbye”.

“On we go then”, the Thingguys declared. Thaddeus had arranged the supplies, so one could carry them on their back. He and Nathanael walked out with them on their backs. Tommy rushed after them, to get back to his work. Grongringro followed slowly using a cane to probe his surroundings and Jonna came last.

However, they were not to go far for as soon as they went back to the saloon’s front, Nathanael bumped onto gruff-looking man. He had an unshaven face with reddened goggling unblinking eyes and a mouth stinking of cigarettes and whatever he’d had for lunch. Two more men were at his sides wearing menacing grins on their faces.

“Well, well, well. Look what we’ve got here”, he spoke with a rasp voice. “Why, do my eyes deceive me or is that one of those kotor guys?”

“Your eyes don’t deceive you Jim. It’s him”, one of the sidekick thugs said.

“You’re in the way”, Nathanael responded simply.

“And you’ve got a lot of nerve to walk in here with a bounty on your head for a thousand florins”.

“But Jim, don’t both of them have the same face as the poster?” the other thug asked.

“All the better for us. Sheriff better pay double for them both”, Jim replied and he drew a gun out of the holster on his belt; it wasn’t like the big complicated guns the Paradox Rogues wielded, but it was a gun nonetheless.

“Put that gun down, Grim Jim”, someone else from the crowd said drawing her own pistol. “These people are our only hope right now”.

“Last time one of their kind passed from Evereed, thedude burnt Evereed down because we didn’t give him up. Not this time!” a third person cried arming himself with his own weapon.

In the duration of a few seconds, the situation escalated further with half the customers getting up and getting one thing for another as weapons. The owner yelled that there was no fighting to be done in his saloon, but at that moment exactly someone decided to break their bottle on the head of the person standing beside them. Mayhem ensued.

Nathanael ducked to avoid the bullet fired by Grim Jim and charged forward, pushing Jim away from him. One of Jim’s goons tried to tackle him, but he received a punch from Thaddeus. The other goon made to fire at them, but in a flash Nathanael had drawn his sword and disarmed the man.

“It would appear I have brought a knife to a gunfight”, he laughed.

“A really long knife”, Thaddeus remarked while unsheathing his own sword and striking someone on the head with its hilt.

In the meantime, Jonna had been using her sword to hack and/or slash anyone that came near her or Grongringro. Grongringro unsure what to do stood in the midst of the brawling people, trying to avoid getting hit by stray bullets. Looking at him and Jonna, Thaddeus noticed Grim Jim coming towards them, returning from where Nathanael had thrown him.

“Grongringro, behind you!” he yelled.

“Where?” Grongringro turned around in confusion and accidentally hit Jim with his cane, pushing him into a hole which had inexplicably opened in the floor during the brawl.

“This went well”, Thaddeus dodged a table that’d been thrown across the room. “We should get out of here before we get shot”.

“I can help with that”, someone’s bass voice said and Thaddeus felt himself being raised off the ground. Looking down, he found he’d been picked up by a giant of a man. No sooner had he discovered that than he was flung in the air and through the saloon’s window.

He felt the glass shattering and cutting him as he was pressed upon it, shortly before he landed at someone’s feet. That someone happened to be a suit and bowler hat wearing man aiming a revolver at him. Thaddeus kicked him in the shin and as the man found himself falling, Thaddeus managed to snatch his gun.

He got up and prepared to go back in in search of his companions, but at that moment Grim Jim walked out of the bat-swing doors. Their eyes locked, Thaddeus cursed his bad luck and the other man’s swift return to the fight and then they both brought their guns forward preparing to shoot.

There were three sounds in quick succession.

Click.

Thump.

Bang.

Thaddeus had pressed the revolver’s trigger, but there was only a click, as the pistol temporarily malfunctioned. Shoot, he cursed, quite literally. Following that, Nathanael emerged from the saloon and jumping through the doors, pushed Thaddeus’s opponent, causing the thud. Finally, Grim Jim’s firing at the same instant resulted in the third sound. Due to Nathanael’s timely interference, the bullet missed him.

It was an odd feeling as he realised that the impostor had saved him, but then the fight continued and he snapped out of it. The thug delivered a punch to Nathanael’s face and aimed his pistol at him. From such close range, there was little chance he’d miss. Before he could fire, though, another gunshot was heard and a bullet hole appeared on the left shoulder of Jim’s shirt. Jonna had arrived after Nathanael, holding a gun.

“Nice shot”, Thaddeus commented, while getting the gun out of the hands of the writhing Grim Jim .

“I was aiming for his arm”, Jonna deadpanned, as she turned back to grab an emerging Grongringro by hand.

“Close enough”.

“I meant the other arm”.

“Oh! Okay, then not so much”. Together they started running to leave, Jonna pulling Grongringro with her.

Grim Jim’s goons came out the door and saw their wounded leader on the ground and then the Knights escaping. Yelling threats, they came after them. Their group broke apart. Thaddeus jumped behind a barrel, just in time to avoid a bullet. From behind his cover, he saw one of the thugs pursuing Jonna towards another street, while the other was eyeing Grongringro menacingly. He couldn’t find Nathanael.

“G, over here!” he shouted, while firing at the thug.

Grongringro who hadn’t been sure where to head jumped for him, while the other man looked back at him angrily before returning fire. Thaddeus’s distraction had worked and Grongringro made it with him.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but here have a gun, too”, Thingguy handed the other Knight Grim Jim’s gun.

“What am I going to do with it?” Grongringro exclaimed, though he accepted it anyway.

The thug was walking towards them, but Thaddeus fired again and he dodged back and hid behind a post. The two of them continued to shoot, keeping each other at bay, but not getting any hits. Eventually, though, the goon pulled the trigger once more but nothing happened. He tried again and the gun still didn’t fire.

“Ha! He’s out of ammo!” Thaddeus celebrated.

However he immediately found that that had been premature for the man simply reached for another pistol from a second holster.

“What are we going to do when you run out?” Grongringro asked.

“Actually, I think I only have one bullet left”.

“You’re good with the bow, your aim should have been good!”

“If it’s that simple, why don’t you try it?”

“Fine, but don’t get mad if the blind man beats you to it”.

They waited for the ruffian’s next move and sure enough he appeared from behind the post to shoot once more. Just after he’d fired, though, Grongringro jumped up and shot Grim Jim’s gun towards where he’d heard the gunshot. As the irony of life would have it, the bullet struck the thug on the leg. Thaddeus, seizing the chance that the man’s surprise presented, fired his last bullet and this time he got him on the stomach. The thug stood there for a moment in shock, before falling unconscious.

“What happened?” Grongrigro asked.

“You got him and then I did, too. He’s down”.

“First try!”

“I hate you”, Thingguy replied to Grongringro’s smug smile. “Come on, let’s go. We need to find the others”.

They got up and Grongringro placed his hand on Thaddeus’s shoulder. They were about to leave when he realised, five more people had arrived and were pointing guns at them. Apparently, more of the brawlers had noticed their absence and the fight had moved outside.

“If you move, we’ll shoot you. Come with u-” one of them started saying, but then someone else screamed.

“Everybody run! The sheriff’s here!”

As soon as they heard that, everyone on the street as well as the five people threatening them scattered and ran away. Thaddeus looked at Grongringro quizzically and when he remembered that Grongringro couldn’t see his expression asked “What are they so afraid of?”

“Up”, Grongringro, who himself had a concerned expression, pointed his finger to the sky.

Thaddeus looked up and there it was. A hovering Barney Bot that was wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a star-shaped badge had appeared over the buildings.

“We should all be friends!” it declared. “And you are not all friends!”

It stopped before the saloon and floated still for a moment, before a cone of flames erupted from its arm and engulfed the building. In a matter of seconds, half the saloon was on fire.

“No!” Thingguy yelled. There were still people inside. The bartender was inside. Tommy was inside. Many people who’d done nothing wrong (probably).

There was no hesitation. Before Grongringro could realise what had happened, Thaddeus had already covered half the distance. Then, he went inside.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

The man was walking down a street parallel to Central Street. He’d been curious when he heard about some strangers coming to town, but when word of a brawl reached him, he became really interested. He could hear of the commotion from there even, three blocks away. He wondered who those strangers could be to cause such a commotion.

And then three people turned around the corner one after the other. A woman, who didn’t seem like she belonged there, was running at the front, trying to avoid the shots of the man following her, who was just your typical Evereed thug. Finally, the second pursuer was another man with thick red facial hair, who also looked like a stranger.

After the initial shock, the man smiled looking at them.

“She’s here”, he said.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

The woman watched as the finished product of her works was placed in the middle of the plaza. It was the final one. Her last statue. Even if she wanted to make more, there was no longer any time. For the special occasion, she’d coloured that one.

“So, we’re done then? Took us five years, but we’ve finally gotten one of these in every town, every city, every village of Britay. Well, not so much us as you, signora. If you were to do so much on your own, I wonder if I was even necessary for the plan”.

“We needed your charisma. You know that if it’d just been me I couldn’t have convinced thedude to agree to this. He wouldn’t like me as much as I don’t like him”.

“That’s not false, I suppose. I still can’t get over the fact that not only we managed to pull this off, but we did it with his funding. What I’d give to see his face when he finds out about this. So, shall we celebrate, signora, on a job well done?”

“Celebrate? No! Our work is not nearly over. Everything begins now. thedude’s waiting”.

The woman looked up from the statue to the building behind it. The half-ruined tower of Doloren, destroyed during the sacking of Kingston, stood there proudly. Even then, it’d never given in to let the intruders in. No one had managed to remove it from the location. That grandiose symbol of the old lived still, albeit damaged. And so, looking away from it and towards the east, the Witch of Kingston smiled. It was time.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

Jonna stopped to rest. At some point, she seemed to have lost the thug that had been pursuing her. She didn’t know when or where. She’d been preoccupied trying to get away and the bullet wound she’d received on her leg wasn’t helping.

More importantly, where were Thaddeus, Nathanael and Grongringro? She’d been separated from them, too, apparently. Would it be safe to search for them in all this mayhem? Her pistol had run out of ammo, too. A quick examination revealed only a dancer dressed in flashy red and black colours. Jonna made to pass her by, but then the dancer conjured a knife from somewhere in her dress.

“Not you too”, Jonna was exasperated.

The woman threw the knife at her, but Jonna managed to dodge it and drew her sword, pointing it threateningly. “Still think that was a good idea?”

The women stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, evaluating the situation. Then, the sound of an explosion came from the direction of the bar and in those moments of surprise and confusion, the dancer ran away.

“What the brick is going on there?” she asked no one in particular.

Keeping her sword ready, she started limping back towards where she’d came. It’d be dangerous, but she was more likely to find the others there. She turned around a corner and into another street, slightly busier than the empty one she’d been on before. She scanned the people there and to her relief recognised one of them as Thingguy – Nathanael, she realised after some further consideration. Nathanael saw her, too, and started running towards her.

It might have been that seeing Thingguy made her relax and lower her defences or that she was just getting tired from the exercise and the injury, but when someone’s arms closed around her waist from behind and raised her from the ground it took her completely by surprise. Her only warning had been the widening of Nathanael’s eyes, but that had come too late, too. All of a sudden, she’d found herself on top of a horse galloping at full speed. The dumbfounded Thingguy was left behind before he could react.

Shoot! She’d been kidnapped! The man riding the horse was wearing the signature hat of the city and a bandanna around his neck, brough up to his nose, so she couldn’t make out his face very well.

“Haha! I saved her!” the man exclaimed.

“What do you mean? You kidnapped me!” Jonna tried to strike the man with her sword, but she was shaking too much due to the horse’s movement and couldn’t aim well.

“Keep that up and we’ll both fall to our deaths”, he said as he dangled precariously on the saddle to dodge her attacks.

Jonna ignored him and kept swinging at him. One of her attacks struck hit hat, pushing it away from his head and the removal revealed… green hair?

Jonna looked aghast at the impossible sight before her. “Hello Princess!” Chase Powers smiled. “I’ve come to rescue you”.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

As the sun came closer to setting, the unease among them grew more and more till it was almost tangible. It was natural that Jonna and the Thingguys wouldn’t come back immediately, but the longer they did not, the more anxious everyone became that they’d been caught. Tain’s face was as hard to read as ever, but he was the only one who didn’t betray any nervousness in some way or the other. Peragrine himself couldn’t stay put if his life depended on it. They had long ceased any attempts at conversation. He wanted to speak as he felt oppressed by the silence, but feeling the heavy atmosphere around him, even he couldn’t bring himself to do it. So, he simply occupied himself with trying to predict when Major would look in the direction of Evereed.

Before the other three had headed for Evereed, they’d hidden in a small forest near the city to wait for them. Hours had passed and with the sun hidden behind the mountains it was getting darker and colder. Through the trees, Perry looked at the orange sky and thought it looked like it was on fire. Could he set fire to the sky with magic? If not him, could Steffan do it? Then again, he had no idea where Steffan Rhyffed was. But magic, ha…? Could he use it to find out where Thaddeus, Nathanael and Jonna were?

Peragrine closed his eyes and started concentrating, getting in touch with his inner energy, at the same time trying to probe his surroundings with his mind. He tried to remember what the energies of his companions had felt like and reach for them. He focused on Jonna, Thaddeus, Nathanael, Evereed, attempting to picture them in his mind. His eyebrows furrowed from the effort. He sat like that, trying to project his energy onto the others’ or the reverse for a few minutes. He was just about to give up when he realised he could feel a little flow of green from his closed eyes. He focused on that and tried to strengthen it and suddenly the energy flooded his mind. The darkness of his eyelids was replaced by a bright light and as he thought of the Knights, their images popped into existence before they disappeared again. He could feel their energy now. It was there, though he didn’t know where there was. He tried to connect to them and picture them and all of a sudden flames erupted all around him. They engulfed him and he felt them burning as they touched him. He was filled with fear and anxiety. He thought he might die…

It was over in an instant. He jumped up, opening his eyes, hearing someone scream. It took him a moment to realise he’d been the one screaming after which he stopped. He looked at his hands. A few seconds ago, he was pretty sure he was on fire, but they seemed to be fine. And yet it couldn’t have been his imagination. He could still feel the burning sensation, albeit faintly. And that fear? It was like from a dream. He couldn’t quite remember it, though he knew he’d felt it. It seemed foreign to him now. Had he succeeded? Was that someone else? Had his interference caused that? Were they hurt because of him? Then, it occurred to him he was being spoken to.

“Peragrine! Are you alright? What happened?” It was Tain’s voice. Was that concern in his voice? Oh Tain, so touching!

“I’m okay. I think… I was trying to use magic to find out if the others were fine. And it didn’t exactly go smoothly”.

It had gone dark by then, so he couldn’t tell that clearly, but he thought he could see relief on his comrades’ faces. He felt a little warm inside, knowing they cared.

“So… did you see anything?” Sharpie asked.

“Not quite… I only saw flames. And felt like someone was afraid”.

“That doesn’t sound so good. Maybe we should go find them”, Drumr seemed ready to charge into Evereed.

“Let’s not be hasty”, Major disagreed. “Even if they’re really in trouble, we can’t just barge in without a plan”.

“Hey! What’s that?” Peragrine pointed outside the forest (they were not that deep within it).

Something orange had appeared outside Evereed, glowing brightly in the darkness of the night. Everyone looked that way and their eyes grew wide. Something was up. Grabbing his Marauder helmet, Tain walked out of the woods to investigate. The rest followed, staying within the cover of the trees, watching Tain put on the helmet and setting to zoom at the orange thing, which had by then grown.

“Look, another one appeared!” Moira exclaimed. “What are they?”

As she’d said, almost ninety degrees from the other orange object around Evereed, a second one had appeared.

“They look like flames”, Perry suggested, remembering his earlier sight.

“Peragrine’s right”, Tain said. “It’s Paradox Rogues… No, Elite Rogues. They’re using flame-throwers to set fire to the grass”.

“What are they up to?” Drumr asked, fear in his voice.

“From the looks of it, I’d say they’re surrounding the city with flames, so that no one can escape”, Major replied calmly.

“Elite Rogues?” Moira asked sounding worried. “Does that mean…?”

“I’m looking”, Tain responded.

Peragrine didn’t understand what they meant, but things seemed pretty serious anyway. They had to intervene. His magic could even things out, maybe. He was about to suggest that when he saw Drumr running out of the forest, having gotten his sword.

“Drumr, no, wait!” Major yelled, but the boy didn’t seem to listen. “Come back, we need a plan! DAMMIT!” with that he went after the young swordsman, having had the foresight to keep his arms on him.

“This went to heck pretty fast. It’s freestyle, I guess”, Sharpie said, leaving the trees, too.

Well, there wasn’t much to it then. Freestyle was right up his alley anyway. Perry felt the fizzy soda pop within him smoothing out as it spread to his limbs. He was already following the others in the open when he heard Tain cry out something.

“No! It can’t be!” he said. “Not her!”

Peragrine turned around to see what’d happened. Moira, who was still there too, looked at him with terror in her eyes.

“What happened? Who is it?” he asked.

Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)***---***Wiz Ardon, the Peculiar Enchanter (talk)

“Commander! All squads are in position and advancing. ETA for complete encirclement: three minutes, thirteen seconds”, the Elite Rogue reported.

“Good”, she replied watching the tongues of flames released by her subordinates meeting the ground. “The Knight Thingguy and his companions cannot be allowed to escape”.

The leader of the Elite Paradox Rogues; the Commander of the Paradox Contingent; Mikhaila advanced towards Evereed. . .