Charcoal and Embers

By Talmid, some time...

1

This was not the Morcia he remembered.  It had only been five years since thedude had locked Sir Talmid away, and evidently a lot had changed in five years.  For one thing, it was obvious some sort of industrial revolution had occured during the knight's absense.  The capital city had always been modern, in a medieval sense, but now there were cars and streets and neon lights adorning the city, which Sir Talmid now found himself wandering about.

thedude must have done this, Talmid thought bitterly.  He knew what modern technology was, as he'd lived among it for a time in his youth, so it wasn't much of a shock to him to see cars as much as it was much of a shock to him to see cars in Morcia!  It was out of place, to say the least, and it probably troubled the planet's native people terribly, were they not used to it by now.

Sir Talmid thought much of people, not just the people of Morcia, but also of his comrades, who were people too.  Valiant people, strong and brave at heart.  The last battle against thedude was so far ago, which had displaced him from the rest of the knights.

Talmid scowled at the cobblestone sidewalk, the last material remnant of the world transformed by thedude.  Every step was painful on his bare feet as he followed his nose to a bread cart.  How could he call himself a Sir and a knight now when he was reduced to less than a peasant?

"Wou'd ye like to buy some bread?" the fellow behind the cart addressed to the only person there.  Talmid looked up, inspecting the man.  He was an old man with a worn cloak over his shoulders, but even the few white hairs on his balding head looked sprightlier than any bit of Sir Talmid.

The man waved a loaf of moldy bread, the sight of which caused Sir Talmid's stomach to burn.  Unfortunately Talmid had neither any money or a working voice box to explain so, but upon viewing his potential customer for another moment, a spark of recognition flashed in the bread man's one opened eye.

"Come now," he hissed.  "Quickly!"

2

Sir Talmid could not talk, but he could think, and he thought as quickly as he could follow the bread man, who rushed him into an alleyway.  A virtue of occupied Morcia was the looming threat of being discovered by thedude's forces.  Disdain for thedude, while obviously not publicly voiced, was probably very present among the people of Morcia, Sir Talmid was willing to bet.  So Talmid chose to trust the bread man, who still held onto the moldy bread, which the knight was still interested in getting a piece of.

The high-walled alley opened into a dirty courtyard.  Smashed pottery and wilted bushes lay disposed in the shadows, along the stone walls and under second floor balconies.  The bread man beckoned, and Talmid followed him to the stoop of an unwashed house.  The man knocked three times, waited a beat, then knocked twice again, a secret code possibly.  The sound of locks opening greeted Talmid's ears, and the door swung open.

"Oh, Michel!" a woman cried from the doorway.  "You are back early!"  While her graying hair was as distressed as her voice, she wore a well kempt dress with no creases that Talmid could see.  She looked over the man's shoulder to the knight, and then her hand flew to her mouth.  "Goodness!  Is that who I think it is?"

"Yes, Eline." the bread man, identified as Michel, said.  "Now let us in and call Ember!"

The woman nodded and rushed aside, and Michel pulled Talmid into the house, shutting the door and slamming the locks into place.  He then lead Talmid to a bench in the small, neatly kept dinette.

"Father?" a young man called from nearby in the house, and a man who's physique matched his voice entered.  He was tall and lean, his blond hair neatly curled, but most notably was the old sword in his hands.  The sword was rusty and unsharpened, but still a sword.  He fixed his eyes on Sir Talmid.  "Who is this?"

"He is a great warrior from a great time," Michel said to his son, "and now he is our guest.  Serve him while I secure the house."

3

While the man of the house rushed away, the son poured Sir Talmid a glass from a pitcher of cloudy water.  The knight drank it, while his host leaned back against the table, resting on the sword.  "'A great warrior from a great time'," the young man repeated.  "It has only been five years since you took our king and gave Morcia to thedude," he said, "if you are who you appear to be.  Sir Talmid, right?"

Talmid nodded.  The water helped his throat greatly, and he huffed a "Yes."  He held out his empty glass, and Michel's son refilled it.

"And how should we know you're not one of thedude's spies?" he demanded.

The knight took another swig of cloudy water, then chuttered out, "What would thedude want with thine family?"  He held out the empty glass again.

The man laughed.  "Like I would tell you."  He refilled Talmid's glass one more time, then left, leaving the knight alone in the dinette, until Michel and Eline returned, with a young girl.

"Sir Talmid," Eline whispered, her head bowed.

Michel held the girl's shoulders.  "We present you our daughter."

Talmid set down his glass.  "Whateth?"

"Ember is a very intelligent, very obedient, and very gifted girl." Eline said.  Her eyes were pleading.  "You must take her with you."

Sir Talmid looked down at the little blonde girl.  She was half his height!  "I am sorry," he said, "I fear I do not understand thee."

Michel let go of his daughter and placed a firm hand on Sir Talmid's shoulder.  "We understand you will fight thedude and save Morcia," he stated, "but you cannot do it all alone.  Ember will help you, in ways you cannot imagine now."

"You must take her with you." Eline begged.  "She can be the greatest knight Morcia will ever see if you teach her."

Sir Talmid's gaze went from Michel and Eline, to the girl, and to the door, and back to the girl, Ember.  She was silent, and didn't make eye contact with him.  She couldn't even be older than ten, by the look of her!  What help could she provide him?  What help indeed, he wondered.

4

Michel turned and yelled.  "Julius!"  When his son, the young man, Julius appeared, sword in hand, Michel said, "A knight needs his sword," and took the sword.

"But how are we to protect ourselves?" Julius protested.

Michel presented the sword to Sir Talmid.  "We will not need to, anymore."

Sir Talmid smiled, not entirely pleased by all the praise he was receiving, especially because he knew he wasn't in much shape to do much protecting.  "I thank thou," he said, "but thy son raises a concern, thou needeth this sword more than I."

"I agree, Michel." Eline said.  "The knight does not need a sword.  He has Ember."

Sir Talmid had almost forgotten her.  Operating under his field of vision, she had moved over to his side, and looked up at him, expectantly.  Confused, and still not entirely convinced of the valuable assistance the family claimed their daughter had, Sir Talmid only nodded and took Ember's hand.

"Where will you go?" Michel asked, unbolting the door.

"I hath friends," Sir Talmid said, "I must find them, and with more numbers we can fight thedude."

He opened the door, and found himself face to face with the barrel of a Wormholer.  It was held in the hands of a Rogue Space Marauder, accompanied by a squad of four more Space Marauders, five heavily armed and heavily armored soldiers of thedude's police force.

The lead Marauder's helmet crackled.  "Put your hands on your heads and exit the house."

Sir Talmid glanced around.  The entire family, Michel, Eline, Julius, and Ember, and himself were in the doorway, in the line of fire, with only a rusty sword.  Attacking the Marauders was obviously futile, and escape seemed impossible.

"Exit the house." the Marauder repeated.  "Now!"

Lifting his hands up to his head, Talmid stepped out first, the Marauder making room for the knight to exit the doorway.  Once he was outside, the Marauder pushed him face down to the ground.  The other Marauders grabbed his legs and pulled him across the ground towards the nearest wall.

5

While the lead Marauder read out charges on "counts of treason, harboring a fugitive, assisting a fugitive, plotting treason," the two around Sir Talmid lifted him up, then threw him against the wall.  The knight wasn't modest in crying out, as his fragile body did hurt.  His face was starting to bruise, making it painful to open his eyes.  The two Rogue Marauders stepped back, their Wormholers raised.

Someone shouted from the direction of the house, and the firing squad turned, distracted.  Sir Talmid pushed off against the wall, and right before the Marauders could fire on him, he landed on one, tilting the weapon upwards just as the Marauder fired, discharging the deadly blasts of energy harmlessly into the clouds.  The second Marauder aimed his Wormholer, but was too close to his comerade to risk firing.

Sir Talmid delivered a punch to the Marauder's face plate, the force of which pushed the Marauder backwards.  The knight stayed with him.  The other Marauders only needed a clear shot to smash him, and he wouldn't give them that.  The Marauder he grappled with fought back, attempting to kick Sir Talmid at his knees and bring him down, but in doing such a maneuver the Marauder lost half of the footing and balance crucial to staying upright in a struggle.

The Marauder's arms flailed, losing hold of the Wormholer which Sir Talmid acquired.  He let loose four shots, a blast for each Marauder, save for the one at the knight's feet.

He aimed his new weapon at the Space Marauder.  "Howeth did thou know I was here?" he shouted.

"thedude knows everything." the Space Marauder said.  He tilted his head, as if receiving a transmission.  "Lord Vladek is coming soon.  You will all be destroyed."  He then laughed, a horrible sound distorted by his space helmet's breath mask.

- Sir Talmid, Knights of the Old Speech Founder

6

Sir Talmid silenced the Marauder with a stun blast, then crouched down to rummage in his utility bag.  He pulled out a communicator, which he tossed aside, then picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder.  He went through the other Marauders as well, collecting flash bangs, firecrackers, and various potions and food.

The distant sound of approaching thunder rumbled through the air.  "Thou must leave Morcia," Sir Talmid said to the family.  "Doth not take the Wormholers, they contain tracking devices."  He shouldered his own Wormholer.  "I will lead thedude's forces from here."

Michel nodded.  "There is an passageway beneath my house, we will leave through there."

"We have relatives in Aquila," Eline said.  "We will not be alone, Sir Talmid, and neither will you."

He felt a presence by his side, and indeed, Ember stood there.  Sir Talmid felt he would have to keep her.  "At least keepeth thy sword by thy side," the knight said.  "A sword has been the tool of saving me in times of need."

The family of three retreated back to the house, locking the door and going their own way, and Sir Talmid slung his Space Marauder bag over his shoulder.  Wormholer in his hand, and Ember walking behind him, he made his way through the alleyway and into the city center.  He dropped the Wormholer there.  Reinforcements were not yet in the area, but he ducked into another side street anyway.  The farther from people he was, the less of a chance he would be identified, especially by thedude's forces.

His priority was clear: Get out of Morcia.

The quickest way to accomplish, he surmised, was on a loyal steed.

"Hath thou ever ridden a horse?" Sir Talmid asked.  He looked back, just to confirm Ember was still there, as she did not reply.  He shook his head, then darted through another courtyard to one of Morcia's lesser market places.  It was largely deserted now, but the signature whinny of a horse told him that he was not without luck.

7

A woman peered out of the peephole, then gave a shout of surprise, opening the door and letting Sir Talmid and Ember in.  "You're back!  How?" she asked.

"I hath not the time to explain," Sir Talmid said hurriedly.  "Is thy husband home?  I needeth a horse."

The woman crossed her arms.  "He has not been home for years, ever since thedude issued a draft for workers.  He had no choice.  But I am perfectly capable of providing you with a horse."

With that, she lead Sir Talmid to the home's stable.  Some of Morcia's hosues, especially those built near market places and commerce hot spots had stables under their roofs.  This house, belonging to a trader named Barque, for Barquecclesiastes, was a place Sir Talmid often went to when he needed a horse in the past.  Barque could be reasoned with, for the right price, but the knight had no experience with his wife.

She led the two of them, Talmid and Ember, past several empty stalls to the last one, where a single cream colored horse was eating hay.

"This is my one and last horse," Barque's wife said.  "I have no need for it, since I'm not going anywhere until Barque comes back.  It is yours."

"I thank thee graciousness." Sir Talmid said.

"Her name is Fabrizia and she will cost ten thousand in the new currency." the woman said.

The number worried Talmid, but he hadn't an idea what the 'new currency' was.  At least he could buy some time.  "What is this new currency?" he asked.

"thedude has implemented a new economic system across Miltiregnum.  All commerce is mandated in the new currency, known as DudeCoins." the woman explained.  "Now hand over ten thousand DudeCoins, and this horse is yours."

Sir Talmid pondered how to explain to Barque's wife that he didn't have ten thousand DudeCoins.

Suddenly she said in a voice completely different, almost dulled out, soulless, "You can, have the, horse for, free of charge."

The knight's eyes widened.  Something had changed, and he didn't like it.  He turned to Ember, and then it all became clear.

8

Talmid decided that before Mrs. Barque could reconsider, he would take the mare, even try his luck at getting a saddle and bridle, and go.  He opened the stable door to let Fabrizia out, equipped her, then reached for Ember, straining to boost her up enough.  He was glad that his strength was returning, but gradually.  He was far from his peak potential in his current state, and he was nowhere near as fit as he was in the good old days.  Once Ember was mounted, he climbed upon the horse and they were off.

The sky above Morcia was still gray, and now rain was falling.  Sir Talmid could hear the sounds of military-grade boots on the streets nearby.  He didn't want a confrontation with thedude's army.  He guided the horse through all the shortcuts he knew, just to keep the chance pf encountering a platoon of Rogue Space Marauders, or worse a Red Mythran, as low as possible.

The great wall signifying Morcia's city limits began to loom above the buildings.  There was only one way in or out of Morcia, through the city gate.  No doubt it was heavily defended by thedude's forces.  His alleyway exited out onto the road leading to the gate, and indeed, a squad of Space Marauders were there, and they all aimed their Wormholers at him.

Sir Talmid was ready.  He reached into his bag, and pulled out a Flash Bang.  "Close your eyes," he said to Ember, then he tossed the stun bomb.  Immediately a field of bright white light filled the gap between him and the Space Marauders.  Their visors would take a moment to adjust to the light, but Sir Talmid had nothing between his face and the explosion.  He nudged Fabrizia to go faster, seeing nothing but her mane flipping around in front of him.  He heard the distinctive exhaust noise of several Wormholers revving up, about to fire.

Suddenly they were out of the gate, charging down the road through Morcia's surrounding grassy plains.  It was not as Talmid remembered it, but he hadn't time for sightseeing.  A large Paradox tank was in his path.

9

The tank's laser barrel was already aimed right up the path that Sir Talmid and Ember were traversing down, so the knight elected to bail.  He nudged Fabrizia off the road, totally avoiding the tank altogether.  Tall grass whipped and cut at the knights legs, as he guided Fabrizia past the lumbering vehicle, urging her to go faster.  Already they were moving faster than the tank could aim, but Sir Talmid did not want to take any chances.

He could hear the tank's engine of dark Imagination revving up as it began to pursue.  Sir Talmid weighed his options.  He could guide the horse in a zig-zag pattern until the tank caught up to them.  He had some weapons which would probably put little more than a dent in the tank's armor.  He also had Ember.

"Child," Sir Talmid addressed, turning round to face the girl, and look over her at the approaching tank, "doth thou possess the ability to divert this tank?"

Ember didn't respond.  Her expression was blank.

"Some help you are," Sir Talmid muttered, ignoring the old speech as he instead pulled Fabrizia into a sharp turn.  Directly ahead of them were the unattended farmlands of a Morcia past - Sir Talmid had expected a field of tall corn stalks to take cover in, but corn could not survive without a farmer's intervention, so instead there was a large open area, a horrible place to hide.

The tank was louder now.  Again Sir Talmid aimed Fabrizia, this time towards the forest.  The trees were thick and close enough together, a tank would not be able to fit through, but a horse could.

The forest was around 5000 feet ahead from his mental calculations.  Sir Talmid doubted they would make it in time, and he risked a glance back at the tank.  Its weapon was already aimed directly at them.  They wouldn't make it.

"Ember, thy superpowers would be-eth of great assistance right now," Sir Talmid said, then the tank fired.

An energy blast the size of a cow struck the ground directly behind them, blowing Sir Talmid, Ember, and Fabrizia into the sky.

10

In his moments soaring the blue sky, Sir Talmid thought that he was in heaven - he was, according to some definitions of the word heaven, but he soon became aware that he was very much alive when he fell into a tree.  The branches whipped at his face, their spindly leaves biting into his skin.  But they slowed his descent.

He made a loud thump upon striking the ground.  It was relatively soft, but it still sent a wave of pain through his entire body.  For several moments the knight lay still.  He breathed slowly, and then picked himself up.  He reached for a nearby trunk to lean on, as he tested his legs.

A crunching of leaves against the ground alerted Sir Talmid to another presence in the woods.  He crouched behind the tree, listening as the crunching grew closer, and he was able to discern hoofbeats.  He spied the horse, it was not Fabrizia.  This stallion's coat was dark gray, like charcoal, and his rider wore a dark brown cloak, obscuring his face.  But as the horse passed, the rider turned in Sir Talmid's direction.

The knight stiffened, hoping that he would remain undetected.  But logic dictated that if he could see the rider, then the rider could see him.  Sir Talmid reached into his bag, for a flash bang or a firecracker, but his hand just flailed, aimlessly.  The bombs must have fallen out during his fall from the sky.

The horse stopped, and Sir Talmid prepared to run.  He had been spotted!  But perhaps he could ambush the rider, who disembarked and began to take tentative steps towards the tree Sir Talmid hid behind.

"Who-eth be there?" the rider called.  "You- I mean thou have-eth nothing-eth to fear, eth!"

Sir Talmid facepalmed.  If he were not still trying to hide, he would have laughed at this man's fail-eth at enunciating old speech.

The man was almost upon the tree, and Sir Talmid prepared to jump him.  He let out a battle yell, which then turned into a pained yell as the man raised and swung a dagger, its flat striking the knight in the head.

11

Sir Talmid hit the ground again, dazed.  While he stared up at the sky, the man stepped into his vision.  His hood obscured all but his mouth, which was shaped like a shocked O.

"Deareth me!  I apologizeth greatly!" the man cried, pulling back his hood to reveal a plumage of fiery orange hair, atop a youthful face with bright blue eyes.  He reached down a hand to the knight, which Sir Talmid accepted.

"I hopeth that I haveth not hurteth thou!" the young man continued to speak after Sir Talmid was sitting up.  "I did noteth realize that thou were thou, the Sir Talmid!  The Sir Talmid!  I begeth thours forgiveness!"

A dizzying feeling rung through Sir Talmid's head, and he felt like lying back down again as his vision doubled.  "And who art thou?" Sir Talmid asked, trying to keep his eyes on both of the man's faces.

The young man, who couldn't be older than twenty, smiled smugly.  "I art Thomas Tomson, and thou can call me Tom.  Most importantly, I art a Knight in Training."  His chest puffed up with that.  "How would thou rate my knightliness, Sir Talmid?  I still cannoteth believe that it is really thou..."

It hurt Sir Talmid to think, but he decided it wouldn't hurt too much to give Tom a thoughtful answer.  "Thou did well, in defeating an injured and unarmed knight.  However, thou require substantial training in linguistics - until your training is sufficient, thou can cease attempting to speak in the old tongue, in that regard thou art a failure."

Tom's face turned downcast, and Sir Talmid got to his feet.

"Buteth- I mean but, Sir Talmid," the fiery haired teen said.  "How can I train my old tongue without practice?  And you can teach me!"

"I apologize," the knight said, starting to walk for the path, "I am on an important mission, and I shant take on another apprentice, in fact I just became rid of the last one!"

"You said you're injured and unarmed," Tom persisted, running to Talmid's side.  "You can't go on like this, without help.  I can help you!"

Sir Talmid sighed.

12

Sir Talmid was eager to take his leave of the crash site and all that was there, including Tom, so he began walking along the path.  Then he turned around and went the other way, with Tom following.  Finally he stopped, and looked around.  He had absolutely no idea what direction he was facing - he didn't have a compass and due to the sun hiding behind the clouds, there were no shadows either which he could use to determine east and west.

Perhaps, thought Sir Talmid as he eyed the young man at his flank, this Thomas Tomson can help.

The knight turned to him.

"Can thou kindly point me towards Evereed?" he asked.

Tom nodded.  "I can do more than that, I can escort you there.  Ever since the Knights of the Old Speech disappeared, many bandits have sprung up in these wooded parts."  He looked down at the dagger which he still held in his hand, and then swept back his cloak, revealing a broadsword at his belt.  "I was actually looking to take some down, maybe police this forest, you know, as part of my Knight training."

"Admirable." Sir Talmid said.  "Fine, thou can accompany me."

Tom beamed, and he led Sir Talmid to his horse.  "Climb aboard, then.  I have more than enough supplies to support us.  The town of Evereed awaits!"

Tom mounted, and Sir Talmid climbed on behind him.  However before they went, the more caring side of Talmid wondered where Ember and Fabrizia had landed themselves in.

"Before we go," Sir Talmid started, "I said I hath rid myself of a previous apprentice - this previous apprentice is of importance to me, and I must find her, to ensure her safety in these dangerous woods."

"Well," Tom said, "what's important to you is important to me.  Do you have any idea where your apprentice could be?"

Stroking his beard, Sir Talmid mused aloud, "An explosion sent myself, my small apprentice, and our horse into the air.  The horse is heavier and has more mass, so it probably landed farther ahead of me.  My apprentice could have fallen off the horse midflight, like me, or she could have stayed with the horse.  Likely she fell off the horse well before I did, so we should head back the way I landed.  As I art now aware of the directions, I can conclude that we should first search northwards."

Tom nodded at the knight, his eyes wide with awe.  "I do not deserve to share in such wisdom!"

Sir Talmid shrugged.  "Anyone could hath thought that."

The younger man set the horse in motion, and they proceeded north.  Sir Talmid kept an eye on each of their sides, searching for a sign of Ember, or worse bandits, while his ears listened for any telltale rustling of leaves or the neigh of a horse.  He heard none of those things, only the thud-thud of Tom's horse on the worn dirt path.

There was something special about Ember, that was obvious, and Sir Talmid had finally placed it.  She had an influence over those around her, able to bend them to her whim or the whim of her agenda.  For this, Sir Talmid was glad she was on his side.  As to how she had this ability, there were a number of chilling possilibities behind that.  Was she 100% minifigure, or did she have some Mythran blood?  Or could she be possessed by a smashed spirit?  Maybe she was in constant communication with it, and so that's why she didn't talk?

Maybe I will never know, the knight thought.  But I must find her and then go to Evereed.  I know I hath friends who live there, and I will be able to heal in safety.  I will build up my strength, then with a sword in my hand, I will confront thedude and restore goodness and truth to Morcia, Elepharia, and all of Miltiregnum - or smash valiantly.

Grasped in his thoughts of glory, Sir Talmid reacted slower than he would have liked to Tom's cry of, "Look out!"

13

They were in a precarious section of the forest, with a tall cliff face to one side, and a steep downhill slope to the other, leaving a thin path just wide enough for a small carriage to traverse, but single file.  As it was, when a boulder came rolling down the cliff to rest directly in front of them, followed by several masked minifigures popping up along the roadside, there was not much for Sir Talmid, Tom, and their horse to do if it involved running.  They had one option of resistance, Sir Talmid realized, and that was to fight.

The knight reached instinctively to his side, but for a sword he did not have.

"Here!" Tom said, drawing his broadsword and handing it to the knight, before withdrawing his choice of weapon.  "I fancy myself a dagger."

Sir Talmid took note of their surroundings.  The path was blocked on one side by the boulder, and now bandits filled the other way, and were closing in quickly.  More bandits were atop the cliff and working their way down.  While not as elaborate as others' Sir Talmid had seen, it was an effective ambush, and they'd traveled right into it.

The bandits themselves looked to be carrying little to no armor, favoring lightweight and soundless leather, but they were armed with nasty looking weapons of the knife type.  And there were many bandits, Sir Talmid could see, with six currently surrounding them.

Sir Talmid gave his new sword a quick spin, and then aimed it at the nearest attacker, assuming a sword fighting stance.  He had not fought with a sword in many years, and as such he worried that he lacked finesse, but he tried not to let his troubles show.  Now was not the time to fail, though he did not expect these knife-wielding bandits to be much trouble, even to an injured knight.

"You can drop your sword and do this the easy way!" the lead bandit said.  "Getting smashed over money matters would be a shame."

"Agreed." Sir Talmid said.

The bandits charged.

14

Their primary objective being to subue the horse, only two of the six bandits actually aimed their knives at Sir Talmid.  But the knight responded with several quick jabs, driving the whole of them back for a moment, as he tried to stay between them and Tom, and keep close range, up close and personal combat to a minimum.

The group wisely split, and faster than Sir Talmid could turn around, there were bandits behind him.  He retreated out of the trap, spinning his body and twisting his sword, disarming one of the bandits and bringing another one down with a timed kick.  The rest of the group now focused entirely after the knight, pushing him back to the road's side with the steep downhill slope.

He was able to keep the bandits at a little distance with the length of his sword, but it would not be effective and eventually he would tire, so Sir Talmid switched to the offensive.  The knight struck out at one, allowing the rest of the bandits to rush in, but another swing of his sword sent half of the bandits running off the road's edge and down the hill.  He then swept another one off his feet, and allowed the second of the last bandit to grapple with him until he, too, was thrown off the road.

Sword in hand, Sir Talmid turned to the last bandit.  The knight prepared for him to rush him as well, but then this man smiled, and drew out his own sword.

Sir Talmid raised his eyebrows, and allowed the bandit to strike first.  They locked swords, and with a quick spin of Sir Talmid's, the bandit was removed of his weapon.  The knight then pushed him off the road.

"How fare thee?" Sir Talmid asked, turning to Tom, who stared openmouthed at the knight who had by himself fought off six bandits, five of which now hid at the roadside, and one who was playing dead on the road, who Sir Talmid stepped over to.

As the knight approached, the bandit suddenly reached for the knife which he lay beside, but Sir Talmid was faster.  A swing of his sword sent it flying into the trees.

"Faileth," Sir Talmid admonished, holding his sword in clear view of the bandit on the ground.  "Now, hath thou encountered a mare and a child in these parts?"

"What?" the man asked.  "I'm sorry, I don't speak Spanish.  Hablos English?"

The knight narrowed his eyes.  "I speak the royal tongue.  My inquiry stands, hath thou seen a girl?"

"I don't speak Russian either." the man whined.

Sir Talmid grabbed the bandit and threw him over the road.  He then rejoined Tom, and mounted the horse.

"We will find another path around this blockage." the knight grumbled.

"Or we could just push it off the road," Tom suggested.

"That would work too."

Upon clearing the road, they continued on their way.  This time, Sir Talmid paid attention to his surroundings, not allowing himself to get lost in thought.  He was sure there were other bandits around, just now they dared not confront the knight with the sword.

"I wonder if that bandit did know anything about your other apprentice," Tom said.

Sir Talmid shrugged.  They had been traveling quite awhile, and the sky was starting to darken when he heard the whinny of a horse off in the woods.

15

"Is that your horse?" Thomas asked, as they approached the source of the horse's noise.  Hidden behind a wall of trees, undetectable from the road, was a large and two-story log cabin.  Its windows were covered up with metal bars of some advanced alloy, which looked to be much stronger and rigid than any other part of the house.  On the property's lawn, consuming a bush, was the mare Fabrizia.

Sir Talmid quickly jumped off and secured the horse.  As he did, he stared up at the house, narrowing his eyes

"This house concerns me." he said.  "Once in a time, I was detained in a house of similar design."

"During the war?" Thomas asked.

"The war hath not ended."

To Tom, the knight handed Fabrizia's reigns.  Then he made his way to the house.  "Thou stand guard," Talmid said.  "I'm going in."

The cabin's heavy, metal door wore several locks of different types, but none of them were activated, and the door was pushed slightly ajar.  Sir Talmid held his sword close, and with his other hand he pushed the door in softly, with minimal creaking until there was a passage wide enough for him to fit inside.

He slipped in, entering a small entrance hall, stretching the house's length with open doors at its sides, and a stairwell.  The knight breathed softly, listening for any other noises.

He heard light footfalls from the first room to the left, and the knight inched soundlessly to its doorway.  Looking inside, he could make out many maps and parchment papers pinned up to the part of the wall he could see.

Gripping his sword, Sir Talmid pushed open the door and stepped in.  The room seemed to be a map room, or a planning room, indeed with a number of maps draped upon the walls in between bookshelves.  A large table was in the middle of the room, with several books, loose papers, and writing equipment stacked upon it.

Standing at it's head, looking over the table, was Ember.

16

"There thou are," Talmid muttered, but he did not rush to Ember's side.  He instead stepped over to a section of the wall, with a noticeboard, upon which was pinned a portrait of a man's face Sir Talmid knew very well.

"Legoboy." the knight said softly.  A bold black X was painted in one corner of the parchment, indicating something had happened regarding Sir Legoboy.  Smashed, perhaps? Sir Talmid thought grimly.  Pinned up alongside Legoboy's portrait were drawings of other brave men and women Sir Talmid knew: Sir Thingguy, Sir Luke, Sir Lady Jonna, Sir Grongringo, Sir Spak, Sir Hycra, Sir Sharp, Sir Lady Ruby, and other knights of the old speech.  Sir Legoboy was not the only one with a bolded X that most likely marked his smashing, the brothers Sir Shard and Sir Blaze had them too.

Sir Talmid stopped reading then.  He moved on to the table, which carried many detailed sketches, undetailed sketches, and notes which read things like, "horses missing near Talonjay; possible Mathias presence in Elepharia; - and - possible Enchanter sighting in Aquila".  Written in the freshest ink, Sir Talmid could discnern, was the note, "Talmid escaped, possible sighting in forest of Evereed".

The knight touched his finger over this writing.  The ink smudged.

"We art known here." Sir Talmid said, reaching for Ember.  Then he had an idea, concerning the neatly stacked notes and papers across the room.  Whoever resided in this house, obviously someone malignant, was very careful in organizing their documents on the knights of the olde speech.  Perhaps it would slow them down if their things were to go missing?

"Bring me a bag," the knight ordered, and Ember scampered off, quickly returning with a canvas bag which Sir Talmid stuffed handfulls of the notes into.  Some of them had longer, paragraph length writing upon them which the knight wanted to read.

Very quickly the bag was full, and Sir Talmid ended his heist with a flip of the table.  The remaining papers either slid off or were sent flying, all into a disorganized mess on the floor.

"Now we can go." Talmid said, and he grabbed Ember and fled for the door.  In the foyer, he found a rack of weapons he hadn't seen previously.  There were no conventional weapons, only newfangled blaster pistols and the like.  He pulled off two, then pushed Ember outside and mounted the both of them on Fabrizia.

"Hath anyone been around?" the knight called to Thomas.

The young man nodded.  "A merchant cart, but none of the occupants took notice of this house - it's very well hidden!"

"And so should we be," the knight said.  "I hath a feeling we should avoid Evereed and any other well populated places.  Thomas, thou hath been of great assistance, and thou can leave now if thou like."

Thomas smiled.  "Sir Talmid," he said, "I'm afraid you don't know me.  For five years I've tried to be a knight of the old speech, protecting this road and butchering the old tongue.  But now I don't need to try anymore.  I have with me a living, breathing Knight of the Olde Speech.  I'm staying with you."

The knight admired Tom's dramatic speech.  He must have rehearsed it several times over while Sir Talmid was in the house.  "So we proceed," Sir Talmid said, "to Elepharia.  Perhaps thedude's reach will not be as strong there.  There is one main road that goes through this forest, Evereed, and the hills along the way into Elephanter territory, but we will not use it."

"So how will we go there?" Thomas asked.

Sir Talmid turned Fabrizia in a seemingly aimless direction, deeper into the forest.  "There art another path beside the main road.  It is called the wilderness.  That is the path we shall take."

Thomas nodded.  He didn't look daunted, but Sir Talmid knew of the dangers the wilderness held.  Out in the open plains and hills, there would be no people to attack them, and no people to help them....

17

The knight and his two apprentices on their steeds moved as swift as the sun over the face of Morcia.  Traveling to the south east at a brisk pace, Fabrizia and Tom's dark horse named Angel were as tired as their minifigure riders by the time Sir Talmid called it a night.

By the time they had cleared the forest made it into the plains, the sky was already dark.  The night was moonless, only distant stars offering pinpricks to light up the sky.

"And there's Epsilon 55c, in the Nebula Constellation," Tom said, pointing to a stellar object too far for Sir Talmid's tired eyes to discern.  The knight's eyelids had already dropped, and he rolled onto his side.

Tom pouted.  "I can understand... no, I don't understand Ember here, why she's ignoring me, but you?  Does anyone appreciate my knowledge of the stars?"

"Well if thou art so restless and alert," Sir Talmid said, "thou can have the night watch.  But some people art trying to sleep."

"Suit yourself," Tom said.  He picked up his dagger from where it lay by their campfire, and relocated himself fifteen feet away.

"And what of you, Ember?" Sir Talmid inquired, towards Ember's presense behind his back, near where the horses lay.  Under their lumbering breaths, he could hear the young girl's light puffs in the cold season's air.

Sir Talmid didn't expect her to reply, so he was content with the sinking of his consciousness into the realm of sleep.

He awoke in the hour before dawn with a layer of frost covering his blanket, his exposed skin, and everything else exposed on the ground.  The fire was reduced to an emberless charcoal, and the knight felt like going back to sleep when he heard again what had roused him.

A low droning sound made its way through the air, changing in pitch but getting gradually louder.  The knight stood up, reaching for his sword and looking around.  He could not immediately discern what direction this sound was coming from, and once he did he looked up too late.

Heavy boots slammed into his face.

18

Hitting the ground jerked Sir Talmid into the realm of the three "A"s: Awakeness, alertness, and awareness.  He was no very aware of the pain in his face.  He was about to push himself back up when a cutting kick was delievered to his side, pushing him onto his back.

Just from that kick, Sir Talmid felt like he was on the verge of smashing, but his eyes adjusted to the dark form standing above him.  His attacker looked like one of thedude's typical helmet wearing weirdos, as in he was wearing a Rank 3 Space Marauder helmet and body armor.  But this guy also had a jetpack and rocket boots, which he used to sear Sir Talmid's chest as he hovered over his body, aiming what looked to be a mini-Wormholer at the knight's head.

Something whooshed through the air.  The Jetpack Marauder jerked slightly, and suddenly a dagger was embedded in the mini-Wormholer's barrel.  Tom.

Yelling, Sir Talmid leaned up and grabbed the Marauder's legs, and the Marauder reacted by blasting upwards under jetpack power and kicking out, trying to dislodge the knight.  Indeed, he realized he was slipping and could not grip on the Marauder's armor.  The Marauder in the meantime had reached for another weapon, a laser pistol, and aimed it at Sir Talmid.  His arms burned from his weight as he held on for life at these heights, but even if he survived the laser blast, he would not survive the fall.

A lser pistol fired, but it was not from the Marauder.  The blast came from the ground, striking the Marauder's jetpack and sending him and Sir Talmid careening to the ground.  Again, this saving maneuver was from Tom, who had found Sir Talmid's acquired laser pistols.

The impact with the ground was not smashingly hard, and Sir Talmid hoped the fight would evolve into a battle of strength, in which he could probably overpower this Jetpack Marauder.  But before Sir Talmid could pin him, the Marauder fired his rocket boots, sliding away and at the same time firing his laser pistol at the knight in close range.

The only thing that kept the laser blast from striking Sir Talmid was luck, he was already moving in a direction away from the blast and the Jetpack Marauder's aim was slightly off.

The Marauder continued to rocket boot away at ground level, towards the center of their camp, and Sir Talmid engaged foot pursuit.  The Marauder couldn't see where he was going, and thus slammed to a stop against the legs of Angel, Tom's horse.

Sir Talmid reached where his sword lay.  He picked it up, then charged towards the Marauder, who raised the laser pistol.  In that instant, Sir Talmid expected the blast to strike him and positioned his sword to fall upon his attacker if the knight was smashed.  But then the Marauder let out a cry, his aim going wild just as the trigger was pulled.  The laser blast was shot harmlessly into the air.

Standing behind the horses, Sir Talmid could see Ember, her arms outstretched and aimed at the Marauder.  The Marauder's arm swayed uncontrollably, under Ember's influence.  Sir Talmid watched, amazed, and Tom ran up to his side, laser pistol in hand and aimed at the Jetpack Marauder.

"What do we do?" Tom asked.

"Disarm him." Sir Talmid said.

All of a sudden, the Marauder fired the laser pistol again, and this time it struck its target.  Both Tom and Ember cried out - Tom, as the laser sank into his chest, and Ember as the Marauder stood up, overpowering her mental grasp.  In an instant the tide of the battle had been turned in the Marauder's favor.  He now pointed the laser pistol at Sir Talmid's chest.

The Marauder spoke, but the voice Sir Talmid heard was not the voice he expected from one of thedude's helmet wearing weirdos.  It was feminine.

"So now it is time for you to smash." the woman declared.  She squeezed the trigger, but the laser pistol clicked.  Out of battery.

With a swing of his sword, Sir Talmid sent the Marauder to the ground, and he touched his sword to the weak spot in her neck armor, just under her helmet.  Now the battle favored him.

The Marauder lay on the ground, defeated not by the combined forces of Sir Talmid, Tom, and Ember, but by a low battery.  His clan's lack of combat ability troubled Sir Talmid, but he took advantage of the woman Marauder's defeat regardless.

"Who art thou?" Sir Talmid demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" the woman retorted.

"I could smash thou in an instant, as thou live is worth nothing.  Be glad I art keeping thou alive for this moment!"

"If my life was worth nothing, you would have smashed me already."

Sir Talmid sighed, recognizing he could not win a battle of wits either.  "So be it.  Thou art obviously an elite minion of thedude, hunting down and murdering thedude's unwanted persons.  And I doth not need thou to tell me that."

Tom lay on the ground, his previously clutched laser pistol lying at Sir Talmid's feet.  The knight picked it up, aimed it at the Marauder's head, and squeezed the trigger.

The laser blaster only clicked, out of battery.

"I art better than thedude," Sir Talmid said to the Marauder.  "I shant smash thou."

"Ironic," the Marauder spat.  "You hold yourself to antiquated morals of good and bad, but even to commit an act for the greater good accomplished by smashing me, your morals only hold you back."

"Contrarily," Sir Talmid said, "they only hold thou back from an afterlife in..." his morals kept him from uttering anything further, and he didn't have to.  He rotated his sword and swung the flat of it against the Marauder's helmet, knocking her out.

19

Sir Talmid was somber.  He sat atop Fabrizia with Ember in front of him, and Tom's horse Angel trotting in tow, held by a rope.  Tom himself was slumped over on his horse, barely conscious but alive for now.

They had spent the afternoon returning to the forest with its treetop covering, where the mysterious jetpack Marauder and any of thedude's other helmet wearing weirdos could not detect them from the air.  But the forest would only have travelers (if any), bandits, and wild and potentially dangerous animals.

Tom had taken a direct laser strike at close range to the chest.  Evidently it must not have fried his vital organs too much, or he would have smashed already.  But Sir Talmid knew it was dangerous for him to be in this weakened state while he healed.  Only a little more damage could result in his smash.

Despite the risks, Sir Talmid knew they needed to go to Evereed.  Even with thedude's forces there, Sir Talmid could possibly blend in.  Scratch that, he couldn't blend in anywhere with people because everyone knew his face.  He'd promised to save Morcia and Militiregnum from thedude's forces and all other evil, and he'd failed.  He was surprised that so many of the people he'd met after his escape still looked up to him.  Somehow they still believed in him, while he barely believed in himself right now.

He told himself that they were more likely to survive in Evereed, with friendly people and their assistance, than being alone in the forest.

At last, as night was falling, the tall wooden gates in the surrouding wall of Evereed came into view at the end of the road.  Ember had dozed off and Tom was muttering in his restless sleep.  Sir Talmid parked the horses, then strode up to the gate.  A hand on his hilt, he raised the other and knocked on the gate's little window.

A Paradox Sorcerer stuck his head out.

"Good night." Sir Talmid said, and he plunged his sword through the window.

20

The Sorceror dodged with amazing speed, retracting his head back into the gate and shutting the window.  Sir Talmid stepped back and quickly mounted Fabrizia, expecting the gate to open and an army of Rogue Space Marauders, Sorcerors, and Shinobi to run out and smash them all.

But the gates remained closed, and Sir Talmid began to replay what had happened in his head.  Maybe he had hit the Sorceror and he was now smashed?  Or the Sorceror was too scared of the mighty Sir Talmid to do anything?  Or thedude's army had something stronger they would send out against Morcia's most wanted....

A wailing sound suddenly filled the air, rousing Ember and having no effect on Tom.  Sir Talmid gripped his sword and nudged Fabrizia towards the forest.

The wailing became louder, and then the most fearsome of thedude's army came charging out of Evereed, simply passing through the gate like a ghost.  But this was no ghost.  Theoretically, ghosts cannot return fully to the realms of the living, and thus cannot physically interact with the people within.  But this could do anything it wanted.  It had unmeasurable power, able to conjure up any item to aid it in battle simply for the fun of it, since Red Mythrans are the most powerful and most evil of beings to exist.

Faster than any creature, the Red Mythran was instantly less than five feet from where the knight stood.  Its glowing red body illuminated the trees, giving them an infernal glow.  It stretched out its arms, red glowing orbs forming in its hands, charging up as it prepared to vaporize its target.  It set its sights on Sir Talmid, who dove off Fabrizia and ran for the gate.  The Red Mythran followed, and upon reaching maximum destructive power it let out a blast of dark energy.  The knight was barely fast enough to avoid being smashed by the massive stream of energy, which proceeded to obliterate the gate in a climactic explosion.

So Sir Talmid wished, as the Red Mythran charged up its unmeasurable power again.

21

It took Sir Talmid several moments to realize that the Red Mythran was no longer shooting at him.  It launched three more blasts of its dark energy in the direction of the gate, which was all it took until splinters stopped flying.  After those blasts, the gate was no more and Sir Talmid crept out of his hiding place.

From atop Fabrizia, Ember had a concentrating gaze on her face.  The Red Mythran, obviously under her control, was guided back to Evereed's entrance.  With an infernal wind conjured up by its powers, the flames were blown out and the entrance cleared for Sir Talmid and company to enter.

Sir Talmid quickly went to the horses and lead them on foot after the Red Mythran.  He kept his sword out and at the ready, within reason.  Inside Evereed, waiting to greet them, was many of the town's occupants, its townspeople and various traders from other places, and in front of them was an entire army of Rogue Paradox soldiers.  They were primarily Space Marauders, but there were a number of Shinobi and a few Sorcerors, however none of them engaged the knight and his apprentices; to do that, they would have to get through the Red Mythran first.

Its arms were outstretched, its powers charged up and ready to fire.  Even a hundred traned Sorcerors could not match the power of the Red Mythran, and none of the Sorcerors here tried.  Sir Talmid figured they were unsure of how to react to this new dynamic.  Red Mythrans were the strongest faction of thedude's army, but they were few in number and quite sparse across Militiregnum.  They did not follow orders, they simply destroyed any destroyable enemy.  And now the only Red Mythran in Evereed was on the side of Sir Talmid!

The knight wondered how long Ember could hold this up, and whether that would last as long as the Rogues' uncertainty.  He needed to use the time he had.

Sir Talmid called in a loud voice, "If there art a healer in Evereed, come forth!"

22

For a brief time no one exited the crowd, but eventually an old Evereedan farm man stepped forwards.  He held his hat over his chest, like some sort of protection against the powers swirling around the town square.

"I- I know some livegi- giving po- potions," the man stuttered.  "I can brew the- them in m- my- my house."  He nodded and gave a thumbs up, more to himself Sir Talmid figured.  "I'll j- just be right back."  With that the man fled.  The crowd did not look eager to let their scapegoat escape, but the tension in the air seemed to ease a notch.

Sir Talmid stepped to Fabrizia, next to Ember.  Her thin arms were still outstretched, but now he could see lines of sweat on them.  "Hold on, at least as long as they do," he said quietly, keeping an eye on the Paradox Rogue's army.  The Red Mythran did not so much as twitch, its energy charged up to maximum and maintaining.

Likely, the knight thought, the Rogues had signalled to a commanding officer for orders.  Obviously they had not contacted thedude, or they would be smashed already, because thedude's order would be on the lines of, "deeztroy deh sutpid nite naow ! .!"  Sir Talmid wondered how much longer the Rogues would last without firing a single shot.  It would only take three hits to completely disable all attacking members of his party, but mutual destruction was assured if Ember had the Red Mythran destroy the town, something it was surely capable of.

The farmer returned and Sir Talmid motioned for him to step over to inspect what he had.  He had a few wet rags soaking in a pot full of bristles, cattail reeds, what looked to be some strands of a creature's hair, and potatoes.

"Food for the road," the farmer whispered, and he took out a rag to rest over Tom's forehead, and then two more for his arms.

Sir Talmid did not ignore the possibility that this farmer had malignant intentions, but he also knew that few people if any liked thedude's occupation, and many would help if they could to aid their liberation.

23

"T- take this," the farmer said, turning to Sir Talmid and handing him the pot.  "It is an en- endowed br- brew, and it will cure y- your sick.  Now leave this town."

Sir Talmid nodded, and mounted Fabrizia while the man ran away.  "Ember," the knight instructed, "thou hold- no, I will hold this pot."  He balanced it on his legs, luckily it was unheated.  "Keep the Mythran inside the square for as long as thou art able."

The knight guided Fabrizia into a backwards step, leading Angel and Tom with him until they were outside Evereed's wall, or what was rest of it in this section.  Upon clearing it, they turned tale and fled at full speed down the path.  Sir Talmid turned his around a few times, watching the town grow farther and farther away.  The Red Mythran remained in its place, maintaing the standoff for at least as long as Sir Talmid could see.

Five minutes after Evereed was out of view, Sir Talmid turned into the woods where they would stay for the night.

Tired, Sir Talmid dismounted, took the pot off of him, and attended to Tom.  His rags remained tied securely around him, and to the knight's surprise a healthy color had returned to the young man's previously faint looking face.

"Tis really working," the knight said.  He then turned to Ember, who still had her far off look.  As he neared her, he saw that her eyes were glistening, rolled slightly, and unfocused, and every part of her he could see was covered in a layer of perspiration.

"Ember!" Sir Talmid called, and she turned to him slightly.  He thought for a second, then said, "Thou can release the Red Mythran now."

Her arms dropped, and the southern sky was lit up in a red explosion of light and sound that could be seen and heard from thedude's castle in Morcia.

"wat wust dat !" thedude said, roused from his sleep by the explosion.  He had dozed off the throne, but now he was wide awake.  Around him, his soldiers and aides scrambled to their computers, radars, and sensors, trying to answer his question.

24

Like gossip in a gaggle of geese, news of the Red Mythran's destruction spread farther from Evereed than thedude would have liked.  If he'd had his way, the news wouldn't have gone anywhere.  He'd have ordered Evereed's destruction sooner than let such an embaressment be known across the planet.  Fortunately for Evereed, the news was already across the planet, so there was no point in destroying the town anymore.  For this thedude was displeased.

A meeting had been called in theuserper's castle.  The dark knight Vladek, a Barney Bot, several Paradox Rogues, a trio of mouthless Red Mythrans, and of course thedude were seated around his table in the war room.

"sar tamlids escaypeyd haz gon fur tu lung" thedude stated, looking every of the room's occupants in the eyes.  His own eyes burned brightly with hate.  "eet eez tyme fur heem tu smahs . so wy hav no he been smahsed yet"

The Rogues' leader, a bald, baritone voiced man known as Commander Borock, placed a data pad on the table.  It displayed what appeared to be one of thedude's helemeted weirdos.  "This is MIkhaila," Borock said.

"ah knoe whu shee ees" thedude snapped.  "ah apiunteyd hor to hor poseyshin as teh seycond in comand of teh poredocks rouge armee"

"Yes of course, your excellency." Borock amended.  "So I believe Mikhaila is credible when she says she failed her mission in destroying Sir Talmid, only because she was defeated by a little girl."

"WAT" thedude exclaimed.

Borock placed another pad on the table, showing a young, blonde haired girl.  "This is Ember.  Our records place her as the child of a family we just took into custody, for treason."

"den she mast be smahsed as weel" said thedude.  "i want hur deezatroyed"

"That is the problem," Borock admitted.  "The girl, Ember, appears to have a superpower.  It is she that caused the destruction of Evereed's Red Mythran.  Even Mikhaila was unable to destroy her."

"den dees cals for a nuw plan of ackshon" thedude said.  "all aveyluble resorses ar to focus on deeztroying embur"

"But your excellency," Vladek spoke up, "all of our available resources are being spent on developing the Unverse Drive, and loading the Rhoddwr Marwolaeth to your specifications.  We should not let a mere child get in the way of our plans."

"ah dont cayre" thedude said.  "mah word ees fynal , und ah want sur tamlid deeztroyed nAow ! .  eef embur stands een ar way she weel be deeztroyed by all meens necosarie "

"We'll get right to work then." Vladek said.

"Perhaps there is another way." Borock interjected.  "Ember is, as Vladek said, a 'mere child'.  Maybe, rather than destroying her, we need only to turn her to our side.  A being with her superpower would be of much use to our interests.  With her in our grasps, we may even be able to harvest her powers for ourselves."

thedude took out a hankie from one of his overalls' pockets and blew his nose for several seconds.  When he was done, he said, "awriyt borck, tri eet yor way . bat ah steel wahnt a way to deezteroy embur so beegin alocayting resorses . "

"Yes, your excellency." both Vladek and Borock said.

"good " said thedude.  "thees meetyng ees deesmeessed . "

25

A restful night helped to restore the health of Sir Talmid and crew.  By mid-morning of the next day, they were ready to travel.  Not to Evereed, obviously.  Rather, Sir Talmid decided, they would make their way west towards the seacoast.  They would keep going through way of the forest, hidden from the sky and protected by shade, for as long as the world allowed.

"The Knights of the Olde Speech was always prepared." Sir Talmid explained as the trio rode.  "We had a secret base not too far out, in the mountains.  It is called, 'Godzilla Burger'."

On his horse alongside Sir Talmid's and Ember's, Tom scratched his head.  "What's a 'Godzilla Burger'?"

Sir Talmid shrugged.  "It is a name one of the knights came up with, Sir Sharp.  The house belongs to Sir Sharp, actually.  He was very kind to offer it as a secret base of operations for us.  I wonder if he will be there to welcome us."  At that last thought, the knight turned silent.

"So you think there might be other knights there?" Tom asked hopefully.

"Perhaps," Sir Talmid answered.  "However I wouldeth not allow myself to become too hopeful, just in case of any disappointments."

"Hope dies last." Tom said.

Sir Talmid sighed, and the two men returned to silence.  Ember was always silent.

• * * *

There was one instance where they met the road, and after looking both ways, they crossed it uneventfully.  From there, there would be another ten miles at most of forest to the west, before entering the Desert of Morcia.  Farther away, the other side of the desert met a northwards section of the sea, separating Morcia from the empty no mans' territory of Ankoria, once under the dominion of Vladek.

It was not Sir Talmid's intention to travel to Ankoria, though he did give the possibility thought, as a knight must always be prepared.  He doubted any rational ruler would waste resources on such an empty territory.  No one lived there to be enslaved.

But thedude was not a typical ruler, and he had technology on his side.

26

After two nightfalls and two sunrises, the trio arrived at the entrance to an uphill mountain pass, five miles of rocky terrain east of Ankoria.

"Fore of this point," Sir Talmid cautioned Tom and Ember, "the wear of travel will increase threefold.  We must lose the luxury of our horses, as many paths are too steep and narrow to navigate except on foot.  We will be tired more, and make less progress.  But up there," the knight gesture at the point of the nearest mountaintop, "we will find refuge, and maybe meet some friends."

"I don't see why you couldn't have established your secret base at the bottom of the mountain," Tom said, craning his neck upwards, "rather than all the way up there."

Sir Talmid snapped his fingers.  "That is exactly why we established it up there." he said.  "You don't want to go, and neither do any enemies."

"I do want to go," Tom explained, "I just don't want to climb the mountain to get there.  Neither does thedude want to or need to, since he can fly."

Sir Talmid did not admit that he had not thought of that.

"We shall rise." he only said, and Tom dismounted his hourse and Talmid dismounted Fabrizia.  Ember remained on horseback, as Sir Talmid held the horse's reigns and lead the group up the first steep incline.  The ground was mostly solid, with a few slippery pebbles that slid, crunched, and bounced with each step of minifigure and horse.

After elevating ten feet, the path flattened to a less noticable incline, winding between tall canyon walls and twisting left and right at random moments.  The path was so fine in so many areas, it was hard to imagine that it had not been carved by man, woman, or sentient beast.  Rather, it had been formed naturally, by whatever definition of nature so held by the reader.

Except for at noon, the sun's glare was obscured by the canyon walls, and its heat was not felt.  At only two hours past midday, Sir Talmid called for a rest, and the group stopped to eat for a time, before continuing.

The pace was slow.

27

In a boring amount of time, the minifigures reached a position on the mountain both level, flat like a plateau, and colonized: a small wooden hut stood alone and undisturbed under a mounty outcropping.  Invisible from the sky, and surrounding by treacherous mountain peaks spiking into the sky in all directions, Tom's intellect agreed that Sir Talmid's position was excellent strategically, although his legs did not agree, and his mouth sided with his legs.

"Some stairs would have helped." Tom said.

Sir Talmid nodded, wiping the sweat of drudgery off his brow.  "Yes.  At this point, I would even sell my imagination to thedude for one of his escalators."

Tom gave him a funny look, to which Sir Talmid held up a hand to his apprentice; 'twas a joke.  The knight's head hurt, an ailment he gave no indication of on their rise; as the strongest angle in their trifecta, he had to appear strong for Tom and Ember, he reasoned.  Well, maybe Ember was stronger, but Sir Talmid was uninteresting in field testing her abilities now.  Now he wanted to get in the hut, find his keys, open the locked door, and rest on a bed.

Sir Talmid approached the door and kicked it hard, to fall against the stone with a thud, a method of keyless entry since he had no keys.  For a moment he stood still in the doorway, eyes closed and breathing heavily, until the tired knight, too, fell against the stone with a thud.

• * * * *

From his castle, watching the flames rise over the direction of Evereed gave thedude no satisfaction, so he did not watch them.  He was writing a letter instead, upon which it was written: "mai kimoony cations r melfonshoning so i hav too yous dis stoopid meens of kimoony cation to tell yous dat yous must not stahp deeztroy ing places unteel sor tamlid eez deeztroyed"

thedude leaned back and gave his tired wrist a few rotations.  He then fed the letter to a nesting messenger pigeon, which promptly flew off into the night.

thedude needed Sir Talmid captured.  I need character space.

28

Sir Talmid had no plan.  What he was going to do, he did not know; as for what he had to do, that he did know: defeat thedude.  Over a fire pit outside the cabin, the knight prepared dinner: old grains found inside the cabin, preserved in the mountaintop chill, along with some tuberous growth kept in his backpack, boiling in a pail of water.  He brought it into the cabin.

The shack provided living quarters and little else, individual sleeping rooms were sectioned with hanging rags, a number more able to be deployed for more company.  Tom was in the foremost, sharpening a sword, and Ember was somewhere out of view.

"Dinner is served," Sir Talmid announced, and the girl scampered into the room, followed by Tom.  "It art time we discuss a plan.  With the three of our minds, mayhap we may form one.  I hath not yet given up on the possibility of meeting allies.

Tom asked between chews of tater, "Know anyone in these parts?"

"No." Sir Talmid said.

The knight studied Ember.  As usual she was silent, and her face said nothing.  "Hath thou a word to say, Ember?" Talmid asked.  Of course she said nothing.  Apart from her strange power, the knight still knew little of her.

"We need strength." the knight continued, a possible plan starting to visualize in his head.  "Believe it or do not, I may know a place nearby where we may find allies.  I hath friendships beyond with fellow knights, good men who served under King Mathias, and now under thedude."

Tom stopped eating.  "Guardsmen?" he asked.  "Generals?"

Sir Talmid nodded.

"Are you sure we can trust their loyalty?"

"thedude hath not done good for this world," Sir Talmid said.  "Few selfish folk would truly support him, and all else either openly or secretly oppose his dictatorship.  After our defeat at the Skyfalls, many in the King's army took the option to serve thedude in return for their lives.  Few know that knights remain in hiding, and thedude's press makes sure to undermine hope in our return."

"If you show Mathias' men that you are alive and fighting," Tom concluded, "we might be able to spurn a rebellion."  The young man's eyes brightened, and the slight curve of his lips became a rare grin.  "We might even inspire other knights out of hiding!"

Sir Talmid snapped his fingers.  "Yes."  He turned around to his backpack, and removed a map of Known Militiregnum.  The map reminded him of Sir Shadow, as it was he who had given Sir Talmid this map at a point during their few travels.  The map was enchanted, redrawing itself every month with updated information on the Known World, as it was traveled by Official Adventurers.  It could also reform itself if ripped.  All official adventuring had ended when thedude usurped the throne, so Sir Talmid's memory of the map's appearance years ago told him that the unknown world remained unknown.

He pointed at a representation of mountaneous terrain.  "We art here," he said, "in the Mountains of Dread, Scary Mountains, Bryniau Marwolaeth, this place has many names.  We want to go here."  He moved his finger to an icon of a tall tower.  "Point North is a watchtower, they used to report back to the castle with Messenger Pigeons.  Undoubtedly they now use thedude's methods of communications..."

"Fax machines." Tom said with a dramatic shiver.  "They are dreadful."

"Yes." Talmid said.  "The place is far out, even the official roads are treacherous.  Many of the King's forces probably still operate the tower.  Tis what I am betting on."

"When do we leave?" Tom asked.

"After another night's rest." Sir Talmid said.  "The Rogues will obviously have a presence at all of the watchtowers, it is only a matter of how many are there, and how we subdue them."  He glanced at Ember.  "We leave tomorrow."

The night was well into its darkest hours, before a peculiar sound awakened Sir Talmid.  Whorp, whorp, whorp.  Bathed in the bright light of the full moon, the knight threw off his covers and grabbed his sword, only for a large gloved hand to grab the knight's mouth from behind, followed by his shoulders.  His movement about to be restricted, Sir Talmid thrust his elbows backgrounds and tried to spin around.  He almost got a glimpse of his attacker, and then the light disappeared.  It was not from the moon, but from a floodlight in the sky.

Whorp, whorp, whorp.  The sound continued, and Sir Talmid swung his sword behind him.  The broadside hit someone, and the hands disappeared, allowing Sir Talmid motion.  In the darkness he ran through room dividers, rags and rugs falling onto him.  He threw them off, nearly running into a silhouette he barely recognized as Tom.

"We art under attack." Sir Talmid said.

Then a heavy object struck his head and a darkness darker than dark filled Sir Talmid's eyes.

29

When Sir Talmid awoke, he was surprised to find himself lying in a lavish four poster bed.  Polished wooden walls and a closed door were the only things confining him in a fairly small room.  Rubbing drowsiness out of his eyes, he stood up and swayed slightly, but not due to dizziness.  He had a vague sense that he was moving.

He opened the door and stepped out onto the lefthand side of long, trapezoidal deck.  Morning sunlight and a chill air greeted him.  The deck stretched for about fifty feet ahead, made of canvas mostly, separated by wooden beams serving both for frame support and for walking upon.  The whole structure ended at a decoratively styled railing looking out to... where?  The sea?  But the air did not smell like salt, and it was much too thin.

The Womp, Womp, Womp sound was everpresent, and a quick glance to his left showed Talmid its source: A large multi-bladed propeller spun with its slow engine presumably one of many engines.  This one was mounted on a support beam extending under the railing, and below to another deck.  It was here that Sir Talmid looked over the edge, and saw what concluded his theory: Looking out and over, he saw mountaintops, the tallest of them level with the railing's flowery edge, and the lowest of them far below, with only open air between them.

He was on an airship.

Sir Talmid racked his brain for anything he knew about this fabled method of transportation.  History books told him that few kingdoms had interest in "The Great Airship Project", excluding Morcia.  Rumors said that the Elephanters had built a functional floating machine powered by hot air.  Rumors also that it caught fire.  Looking around, Sir Talmid wasn't exactly sure what was keeping this machine, the one he was on, up in the air, but it seemed a lot more sophisticated than Elepharia's rumor machine.

The knight put his thinking on hold when a hatch in the deck opened up next to him and a man climbed out.

30

"Ay, I was just looking for you." the man said when Sir Talmid turned to him apprehensively.  "No need to be alarmed sir, you are in good hands.  My captain wants to see you."

He looked youngish, with swept dark hair and a pointed chin; he was not teenage young but not middle age old either, somewhere in between Sir Talmid guesstimated.  Since when was he good at guessing ages, and since when was it important?  The man's voice had a funny twang, and Sir Talmid tried to place the accent, since he did not know it.  And since he didn't know it, he couldn't place it.

"May I ask where we art?" the knight asked, as he stepped towards the hatch which the man gestured him too and began climbing down its ladder.

The man smiled.  "She's called Teessiess Almidón."

Sir Talmid furrowed his eyebrows.  "Who?"

"The airboat we're on." the man clarified.  "The SS Almidón."

"Oh, right.  'Tis a practice to name steeds, even non-living ones." Sir Talmid mused as he reached a floor.  "I guess it can apply to boats... airboats."  The ladder still continued down, indicating yet another deck below, but the man indicated him off here.

"Surely you have a name too?" Sir Talmid asked him once he was down.

"I am called Taggart." the man said.

He lead him down a 'hallway': a metal catwalk framed with flimsy plywood walls, even complete with paintings and portraits hung up.  Sir Talmid inspected them quickly.  Some of them were familiar to the knight, like a copy of the Mona LEGO, but others were not.

They made it to a door, through which they entered a wide, windowed room overlooking the environment.  Shelves, benches at the walls, a fish tank, and a center Morcian wood table decorated the room.  Sir Talmid was elated to see Tom and Ember seated there, alive and looking well.  There was also another man.  He had long, sandy beige colored hair in a low ponytail, and wore a stern expression on his mustachioed, otherwise shaven face.

The man was quick to move, approaching Sir Talmid and extending his gloved hand, which the knight took.  "Greetings, Sir Knight." he said earnestly.  "I am the Captain of this Nordener skyboat, I'm sure Taggart has already told you the name.  We have much to discuss when it is time, but first we should introduce ourselves."  He pointed his chin at Tom and Ember.  "I've already met your friends."

Sir Talmid nodded.  But before he spoke, he continued his thought for a bit.  For a long time, he'd wondered about the state of his mission, and the companionship of his friends, and keeping them safe.  They were all far from home, and traveling farther still.  And this diversion only proved that Sir Talmid was in control of nothing.  He knew what he had to say.

"I was Sir Talmid," he said with a sigh, "Knight of the Olde Speech, protector of Morcia.  But now, I wonder how deserving I am of the title, as I have bungled my journey in its entirety, and I have shamefully brought these two children with me."

At this, Tom stared at Sir Talmid with widened eyes.

"So," he continued, "thou- you can call me Talmid.  I am a Sir no more."

Tom slumped noisily in his chair, and the Captain stroked his stubble while Talmid continued.  "So yes, before we continue, I would like to entreat your honor: I am still on a mission to save Morcia from an evil power, and restore the kingship to King Mathias.  For the sake of the mission, I need to get to Morcia's mountain watchtower.  But it is my mission, and mine alone, so I supplicate: my companions need not be put in anymore danger by my actions.  I ask that you please set them off at the safest village you can think of."

"No!" Tom shouted, rising to his feet.  "We've been with, we are with you all the way.  You're not strong enough on your own, we can only win together."

Talmid looked to ignore him, and he said to the Captain, and to convince himself, "Please consider what I have said.  Right now, there is nothing more important to me than keeping good people safe.  And I cannot keep my friends safe by putting them in anymore of the danger associated with my mission."

He closed his mouth and sat down on a bench.

The Captain continued stroking his stubble.  Silence reigned, except for the whirring of the Almidón's propellors over everyone else's silent breathing, except for Tom, who was audibly fuming.

"You say interesting things, Sir Knight... Sir Talmid." the Captain finally spoke.  "I have heard you, and now you will hear me.  I am a Captain of a skyboat.  I understand the importance of order, and I can hear in your voice, see in you that you have none.  You can't have order by ignoring your identity.  I understand that everyone makes mistakes, which you admit to have done - so, maybe you are not a good knight, yet you still proceed with your mission.  That means you are a knight, and you need to realize that, if you are to maintain order."

Talmid sighed.  "Fine.  I art a knight.  Call me Sir Talmid."

The Captain nodded.  "Now, just explain to me a few more things about your mission.  You say you're restoring Morcia's kingship, id est King Mathias, from an evil.  You wouldn't happen to mean thedude?"

Sir Talmid nodded.  "He is a tyrant."

"I know that.  I can tell you the Nordeners don't like him either.  His soldiers have bad trade manners." the Captain said.  "And you need to get to a watchtower?  Is that part of your mission?"

"'Tis the plan," Sir Talmid said.  "The most distant of watchtowers are still manned by the King's army, I think I can sway them to rebellion."

"Fairly foolhardy," the Captain said, "an oxymorous plan for a man who wants to do everything by himself, and not spread danger to others.  But I see why you think it could work.  I will join you."

Sir Talmid stared at the Captain in surprise.  He was sure he looked stupid, too, with his jaw agape and his eyes blinking.  He shut his face, then opened his mouth again to speak, "Why?  I am honored, Sir- but I do not understand how this matter concerns you?"

The Captain crossed his arms and crossed the room.  "I will just say," he said, "I have relations to Morcia.  It would benefit my people to see Mathias as king again.  And I repeat, your mission is foolhardy.  It's terrible.  There is no way you can get into a watchtower alone, take it from someone who's tried, and that's with a formation of skyboats."  The Captain chuckled.  "But I've had some time to form a bigger, stronger fleet, and now you're here."

He stopped pacing, and faced Sir Talmid.  "I will join your mission, Sir Talmid.  We will overthrow thedude, restore Morcia, and restore Mathias.  The Nordeners, or at least this ship of them, is with you."

Tom stood up.  "I'm with you too." he affirmed, staring admirably at the Captain, and glaring at Sir Talmid.

Taggart, who was still in the room, went to stand by his Captain.

Sir Talmid said one more thing as he prepared to conclude.  "And thou art sure the rest of thy crew will follow you?" he asked.

The Captain puffed up his chest.  "We Nordeners are a people of family and honor." Taggart said.

"Then 'tis settled." Sir Talmid said, a look of pride plastered across his face.

As they prepared to leave the room, another voice, high pitched and soft, permeated the shuffle.  "How come I don't get a say in the matter?  Your plan is stupid, Sir Talmid." it said.

Sir Talmid turned to a corner of the room, where the fishtank sat atop a pedestal.  Inside it, a small fish stared him head-on, and it fish could give death glares, this one was barely holding back.

Sir Talmid recognized the guppy.  "'Tis good to see you too, Squeaky." he said.

31

After the Knight and his companions had returned to the bunks, Taggart turned to his Captain and whispered quietly, "I never knew you had relations in Morcia, beyond typical trade relations.  I don't suppose it's something you want to delve into now."

The captain nodded.  "You know me well, Taggart.  There is a time when I may tell, but it isn't now."  He gripped Taggart on the shoulder, squeezing lightly.  "You'll be the first to know, my first mate, my good friend, Killian Mac Taggart."

Taggart returned the gesture with a smile.  "Don't think you're the only one with mysteries yet to be told."  He chuckled.  "I, for one, have got some secrets of my own.  I'll bet everyone on this ship has secrets."  He looked the captain straight in the eye.  "And last but not leastly you've got the biggest of them all, Captain Saitham."

• * * *

"I can't believe we'll be getting a real fight." Tom's eyes said without him having to open his mouth.  Sir Talmid understood the eyes widened, mouth hanging open silently expression worn by his older apprentice.  After all, Tom had already spoken those words with his mouth, and now his eyes just reflected it, repeating it.

The lad was obviously excited, and Sir Talmid couldn't blame him.  A long time ago, he'd been amazed by the stories of long, drawn out battles between massive armies, complete with careful planning by each warring kingdoms' attempts to outwit each other.

Looking out the crew lounge's rear window, in the back of the topmost deck, between cabins, Sir Talmid could see the small flotilla of Nordener skyboats that had formed behind their Captain's.  The overall ingenuity of their designs amazed the Knight.  They were made of basic materials, engines, and balloons, yet they sailed with grace, only the mountains below and the clouds above.

A messenger pigeon suddenly entered the longe and printed out a message next to Sir Talmid.  The knight read it.  It appeared to be battle plans, calling for flanking and cover of the Almidon, as they were about to drop off ground forces.  Looking up and out the window, Sir Talmid discerned many more pigeons flying to the other ships.

Then an explosion rocked the room, sending everyone sprawling to the floor.

Bursts of light and shadow flashed across the room.  Flak, Sir Talmid realized.  Picking himself off the floor and pulling Ember to her feet - Tom was already up and grasping a wall - Talmid darted to the door, looking out to the front of the ship.

The deck obscured much view of the ground, but Sir Talmid recognized a tall, dark presence a thousand feet beyond the rails as a Watchtower.  They'd made it.  They'd arrived so quickly, it was amazing and awe inspiring.  Airships are truly the way of the future, Sir Talmid mused, before another flak burst to the rear of the ship threw him across the front of the deck.

Sir Talmid figured it might be easier to stay prone until it was time to jump ship, and soon enough he felt a hand on his shoulder.  It was a crewman, fully dressed up in armor, mail, and a sword.

"We're past the outer defenses," he said.  "We're to disembark immediately."

---

They disembarked in a landing craft, Sir Talmid, Tom, the Captain, and some of his swordweilding crew, headed for the ground.  It was safer than storming the top floor and making their way down, since it was rumored that charges were placed in the tower, which could blow off invaded sections.  The Captain wanted few casualties.

It was only outside, in full view that the magnificence of Morcia's Watchtower could be entirely perceived.  It was a massive structure, gracefully narrow in width but staggeringly tall in height.  thedude had ordered some additional defenses placed outside the structure's courtyard, but otherwhise the tower remained as it had for hundreds of years.

33

The watchtower's thick stone structure, armored and interlocking across multiple layers, was designed to be impregnable.  Like a castle, the main entrance was hidden behind a wall across a moat, crossable only across a drawbridge.  Defensible windowed rooms and offshooting towers were situated well above the height of ten persons combined.  Sir Talmid was familiar with the structure of watchtowers, he knew each room had enough weapons to hold off entire ground armies.  No doubt thedude had upgraded them with the capability to fend off airborne armies, as well; a reality off-world was a reality here, as well, evidence being the Nordener skyboats.

Based on this knowledge, Sir Talmid wondered, in between duels with the Paradox Rogues, why these weapons had stopped firing.

The knight counted four squadrons of the common Space Marauders to leave the castle and subsequently be blasted into suppression and scatter under the supporting fire of the Nordener ships.  The few who made it past the rocks and into the valley, including the more agile Shinobi and Sorcerer warriors, were easily defeated by Sir Talmid's superior swordmanship.

"Five!" Tom called.

"What?" Sir Talmid replied, ducking beneath a stream of poorly aimed Wormholer fire, and prepared to sneak around his rock cover and disarm its source.  When he swung around it to engage his target, he found the wormholer on the ground, and a throwing knife.

"Six!" Tom tallied.

Sir Talmid sighed.  The recreation his apprentice associated with fighting reminded him of more blissful times.

WIth no more Rogues in sight, he turned his attention back to the tower.  A volley of rockets, fired off from one Norden cruiser and impacted the largest spire.  A brilliant burst of light escaped its windows but the stone walls held.  Sir Talmid reasoned the largest room with the best radio range was most likely to contain the large, bulky Nexus Force-spec communications device thedude would have installed in each tower.  Its destruction would allow them to enter undetected by the rest of Militiregnum.

He counted a minute of relative silence, with no more commotion from the Rogues, before making a dash for the drawn bridge, Tom and presumably Ember behind him.  He passed the tower's fallen Barney bot, destroyed by the Nordeners, and several smashed or injured Rogues who gave no resistance.  The one Rogue who did stand up spun his weapon the wrong way and smashed himself.  Isolation in the watchtower must have dampened their fighting skills; thedude would not be pleased.

Once inside the tower, Sir Talmid and company met no resistance on the ground floor.  He ran for the elevator and pressed the button, then dashed up the stairs as stealthily as possible.  On the next floor, a group of Rogue soldiers had their eyes on the clanking elevator, and they were quickly defeated.

Sir Talmid hoped these were the last Rogues in the tower, but decided they were easily defeatable enough that they could take the elevator.  They took the elevator to topmost floor.

The elevator doors parted in a futuristic style, revealing an open-air room and a bridge.  A blast of wind threatened to carry away anything light, and Sir Talmid's cape billowed as he and Tom began to make their way across the turmoilous bridge to the command center.  Ember, however, seemed to have no qualms crossing the bridge.  Her hair at its traditional length did not even twitch.  Suddenly the wind stopped, and Sir Talmid didn't have to guess why.

Sir Talmid entered the bridge... command center. "Report," he said very captainly.

Inside the command center were various electronic devices, and sitting in front of them were about ten men of various ages above twenty-five to seventy, their hair and beards umkempt.  They wore the traditional blue, grey colored and streamlined clothes of Morcian mountees.  And by the widening of their eyes and the excited speed at which they stood up, they were all amazed to see Sir Talmid.

"We are the only ones here," one man with a middle-aged face and graying hair said.  His silver belt buckle, an upgrade over the others' brass, signified his position as squad leader.  "All of thedude's forces ran out at the first sign of attack, and they have all been defeated."  He turned to face each of the guards, and they shared some sort of silent agreement, before he turned to Sir Talmid and said, solemnly, "but it's too late for us to join you and fight thedude.  He is already on his way.  Circumstance is against us.  We received a visit from one of thedude's elite Barney Bots.  North Point's Barney Bot went outside, but the elite Barney Bot, who we subdued and locked in the closet, told us that thedude was notified."

Sir Talmid imagined this was a time a more dramatic person would rip out his or her hair.

Then, surprisingly, the man turned to Tom, and said, with a look pride on his smiling face, "Regardless, it is always good to see you again."

Sir Talmid turned to Tom as well, surprised to find the young man looking very surprised as well, as he replied with a tone mixed with worry, confusion, and disappointment.  "Father.  I did not expect to see you... here, or anywhere, again.  After you disappeared."

The young man's eyes filled with tears as he began to spill his own side of a dialogue, Sir Talmid knew, was well rehearsed.  "I trained myself to be a Knight, to serve goodness and honor, to be not like my father.  Because my father left us, a most dishonorable act!"

34

Unlike the story of Ember's family, whom Sir Talmid hoped were safe in Aquila, the knight had not learned much of

anything about Tom's background other than his surname, Tomson.

"Is your name Tom as well?" Sir Talmid asked the elder.  With what time they had left before thedude's arrival, he may as well break the ice that had hardened over the father's previously warm visage.

"I am Thomas the fifth," Thomas Tomsdad confirmed to Sir Talmid, without taking his gaze off his son, "but tell me, son, is that what our family thinks of me now?  The one who left?  I joined the army!  You'd agree that's very honorable?"  His son nodded.

Both Toms were definitely very confused by now.  Both their faces bore the same confuzzled expression, easily detectable by all else in the room.  "That is what they thought of you," Tom said, "what they think now, I don't know, since our village was transformed into a base for thedude and we were displaced.  Separated."  His eyes scrunched together in a funny shape as he thought.  "I've been searching for them ever since... I guess that's what I've really been doing.  I told Sir Talmid here, and I told myself that I was training to be a Knight of the Old Speech."

"Good on you!" his father said and gave his son a big clap on the back.  "What better way to fight thedude and save our family than become the best you can be at doing so.  By the way, our family is in Debreksberg, eastern Morcia."

"How do you know?" Tom asked.

The father smiled.  "For one thing, our family has an estate there, and it's been our emergency plan to go there if the farm fails.  Second, I'm a member of thedude's army and I researched our family's whereabouts.  Evidently they register as citizens of that town.  But it seems there are other matters to take care of before we can go visit them.  Now we can work together."

"Excellent." Sir Talmid interjected.  "I can hear thedude coming."

"T'was a joke," the knight said, "in poor taste at that.  But we must go, now.  Take what weapons we have - and, Mr. Tomson, since you know how to use these devices, if you could leave a message for thedude that we're headed west, that'd be great."

"I'm on it." the older Thomas said.

"Why would we do that?" Tom asked, perplexed.

The knight turned to his companion.  "We're headed east."

Upon exiting the tower, Sir Tamid noted that the Nordeners had gone, their aircraft far away and out of sight.  He sighed.  Their work together was probably over, for now, but it was good to now that another faction existed with whom they may ally with in the future.

"We'll descend from the Aquilan side of the mountains, then we'll sneak east towards the next watchtower." Sir Talmid planned.  "If we liberate it, that's greater numbers on our side, and we will be close enough to the Capitol to attack it."

"Into the belly of the beast." Tom said.

"That is if all goes well." Sir Talmid said cautiously.  "We may need a place to lay low and hide, for perhaps an indefinite time.  The mountains have many crevices, and I'm counting on that, because I've run out of hiding places I know."

...

The injured were carried off on stretchers, and the smashed removed, their weapons and armor collected for recycling.  Paradox Rogues had reached North Point and stormed it, an hour after BU-15, the Barney Bot inspector, sent off its smashing transmission.

"No survivors in the tower.  We found a message," a squadron leader said upon exiting the castle and approaching his superiors.  His Space Marauder armor complemented his tall and broad stature, similar to Commander Borock, whom thedude has sent personally to capture those who were, most obviously, behind the attack.  "deh stoopid nites of deh old spinach , sor tamlid and deh leetul gorl embor" thedude has said.

"Let's hear it." Borock said, rubbing his head in concern.

Borock did not like this situation, nor how thedude would react upon learning more details.  He looked around the battlefield and at the tower in dismay, taking in the rocket craters and fire damage to the tower.  Sir Talmid's child companion, Ember, was more powerful than they had thought!

"It says," the Rogue relayed, "that 'Sir Talmid & company left, bearing negative fifty degrees from North'sEnd point'.  That's the outpost directly north of here."

Borock rubbed his head harder.  "That's west.  There's another watchtower in that direction.  Harbinger Point."

"Awfully complex," said another voice, female.  It came from a helmeted rogue, dressed in an all black, lighter material version of the Space Marauder outfit with less spikes and less armor, favoring some level of agility.  Borock was not a scary leader, but Mikhaila gave off an air of uncertainty, fear, and mystique.  "Who left this message?" Mikhaila demanded.

"It is signed Major Lupin, ID 090912;2:11, the commander of the squadron stationed here."

"But he is lying outside of the tower, smashed." Mikhaila said.  "Quite smashed.  Very smashed.  Incredibly smashed.  He did not send this message.  Sir Talmid is heading east."

"How can you know that?" Borock demanded, turning to his subordinate.

"East is anywhere than west.  Sir Talmid is trying to trick us, and he's failing." Mikhaila said.  "Cease searching the area, there's nothing left for us here."  She headed for their APC.  "We're going east."

The Rogues boarded and prepared to move out.  "That's not in your authority to order!" Borock shouted.

Mikhaila whirled on the Commander and in an instant had her face right in front of his.  She seemed taller than him, and in that moment bigger, stronger.  The eternal blackness of her visor filled his face; he could not see hers.

"thedude has no more faith in you, Commander Borock." she said.  "thedude has made me leader of the Paradox contingent.  He has granted me power over more than you can possibly know.  You know nothing of the extent of our plans.  Prove that you can at least follow the orders of those who are better than you, and you may remain a useful finger in thedude's hand.  You know what that means."

"Of course." Borock said, not hiding his upset tone.  "And by what title should I call you, the most powerful, most rudimentary, most importantly my superior Mikhaila?"

"Just Mikhaila will be fine." she said, and turned on her heel back to the APC.  "Set the transmitter to maximum, tell the second and third Rogue platoons to fall back and establish a perimeter around the Capitol.  Barney Bot units will search the mountains east of our position.  Sir Talmid and his traitorous band will be found as soon as possible."

35

They camped in a cave that night.  They were a band of thirteen: Sir Talmid, Tom, Tom's father, the other nine soldiers, and herself.  Overlooking the Great Plain of Aquila, the atmosphere was calm, for once, allowing Ember to ponder a less pressing aspect of their predicament.  She appreciated that neither the knight nor his apprentice were overly inquisitive about her.  They were curious of course, but not intrusive.  They knew so little, she knew so much, and there was so much to tell, but when and to who?  She would have to tell someone soon, since they were all running out of time, in more ways than they currently knew.

  In the morning, the crackling sounds of a campfire, the light thuds of fancy footwork, and the metal clanks of parrying swords awoke Sir Talmid.  For a second, the knight was surprised at how heavily he had slept through the night until now.  He scrambled to his feet and immediately identified the dueling parties, then he relaxed.

  "Hasn't your honorable companion trained with you, at all?" the elder Thomas chided, easily stepping away from all of Tom's attempts at swordly contact.  When the father did strike with his sword, it was slow enough for his son to parry it with a decent amount of force, but nothing the older, stronger man couldn't counter.

  "I like throwing weapons." Tom admitted.  "No, you're right, we haven't done much one on one training.  It's only been real combat, with a lot of strategic thinking."

  "Good.  Use those wits to determine which of my strikes to counter, which to avoid, and when to strike back." his father guided.

  Sir Talmid sighed.  He joined the rest of the men around the campfire were breakfast was prepared.

"Where is Ember?" Sir Talmid asked as he noticed she was not present.  "The little girl?"

  "We haven't seen her." one watchman said inbetween mouthfuls of steak.  "Right lads?"

The others nodded and murmured in affirmation.  "Who is the little lass anyway, Sir Talmid?"

Sir Talmid shook his head.  "I wish I knew.  I had not glimpsed her prior to my escape, nor have I heard of anyone like her; and I know a lot of stories."  He thought back to times past.  He remembered their first stand against thedude, valiant but ultimately destined to fail, five years ago.  He'd fought alongside men and women but no one as young as his silent 'apprentice' now, if he could call her that.  As Tom's dad pointed out, he had not been a very good teacher lately.  Everything was a mess.  He sighed.

  There actually was another character of whom Ember reminded him of, but Sir Talmid had not seen this other person for decades.  There could be no connection betewen them, Sir Talmid was sure of that.

But he still remembered the past.

...

Through his thermal binoculars, the Rogue Shinobi detected a heat presence, consistent with that of many minifigures, inside a cave on Aquila's side of the Athelas Mounts.  He, and many other Shinobi Rogues, had been hand picked to scout the mountain and report their findings to Mikhaila.  Now that they knew were the knight had emcamped, they would certainly be ordered to engage.

Back at their base camp in a valley between mountains, Mikhaila was handed a report via Messenger Pigeon.  "This archaic method of communication is crude, but useful." she said, followed by a sigh that was not heard through her helmet's mouth filter.  The Barney Bots were experiencing technical difficulties.  Everything was a mess with that accursed curse, and the Rogue Sorcerors had not yet figured out a way to reverse it.

"So the Tyrannosaurus Bots are unable to verify that it is indeed Sir Talmid in that cave." Mikhaila said to herself.  To the currently assembled Rogues, she ordered, "Tell all forces, move in and capture Sir Talmid.  Any mistaken smashes will be dealt with personally by thedude.  If possible, capture the girl as well.

"As for the rest of them," Mikhaila continued, "you may destroy them in any way you see fit."

The assembled Rogues raised their weapons in affirmation.  Copies of the recorded message to the Messenger Pigeons, one copy for each squad.  The birds flew off, carrying the orders to engage.

"Move out." Mikhaila ordered.  And their squad of ten went forth.  Anyone present in the mountains would hear the sounds of boots all over the mountains from many places at once, but they would not hear the Shinobi, who sneaked closer to their destination faster than the others.

They reached the cave quickly and assembled together, scanning the entrance and watching the shadows for movement.  This was the correct cave, but they did not immediately see any minifigure presence.  They crept into the entrance, their eyes peeled, Rank 3 Katanas in hand, leggings silent against the rocky floor.

Upon reaching the end, confusion and uncertainty began to fill the still air.

"Report." the squad leader ordered, breaking the silence.

"This cave still registers as hot," a Shinobi carrying equipment said, "but it's focused behind that wall."  He pointed to the farthest wall of the cave, a slab of moss covered rock.

The leader nodded.  "Smash it."

Two of the Rogues proceeded to rush the wall, and their Maelstrom infused Imagination powers barely had to scratch the rock before it exploded out towards them in a burst of flame.  A fireball billowed out forth from its containment, set off like a bomb, and quickly filled the cave.  It was an ambushing trap and they were caught in it.

Their powers protected them somewhat from the damaging heat, and as they ran to find the exit the Shinobi wondered how such a trap had been laid.  The Athelas Mountains were volcanically inert.

"The entrance is gone!" a Rogue shouted.

"Hunker down, boys and girls." the leader ordered, spawning an Everlasting Anvil of Armor. The others followed suit.  "We're having a campfire and it's gonna last awhile."

36

"There thou art!" Ember heard Sir Talmid call to her between the heavy puffs of his breath.  Eventually he reached the crest of the mountain where she was, "I hath been, searching, for thou.  Thou can hear the boots from here."

  Of course she could hear them.  She heard other things, as well.  She held up a hand to the knight, and he continued speaking until she concentrated on the necessary thoughts for him to see the action - at that point he saw her gesture, and he stopped to listen.

  The crackling was low, but distinct in the quiet.  It seemed to be coming from beneath the ground.  "I hear... fire." Sir Talmid said in a hushed tone.  Now that he was listening, he heard other things, too.  Of course there was the clanking of armor coming up the valley from the west, but if he concentrated more, he could hear platoons at the paths to the east and the south.  There was also an out-of-place, low volume, whining noise in the air, almost like an insect, but more like an engine - and it was very close...

  Sir Talmid turned and rasied her sword, before making sweeping strike up through the air over his head.  It hit something with a metallic clank, followed by a visible shield repulsion that pulsed through the air, knocking the knight backwards.

  Ember swung around to face the distortion.  Sir Talmid had heard the presence, but somehow she hadn't.  Now that it was marked, she imagined an adequate attack against this invasive force.  Storm clouds materialized in the sky, and a lightning strike arced down - 5 billion joules was enough to overload the repulsive shield.  There was an explosion of light and energy, both Sir Talmid and Ember dove for cover behind the terrain.

  When it faded, and Sir Talmid and Ember stuck their heads over the rocks, he saw a Barney Bot swaying in the wind, barely hovering as it sunk towards the ground, its cloaking device destroyed.  It saw him too, and its eyes flashed red.

Its right arm swung forward, rocket launchers loaded and ready to fire.

"We should all be friends." the Bot said.  "Sorry for your loss."  Then it fired at Ember.

Instead of missiles, a stream of Maelstrom infused, purple tinged gas was blasted out towards the rocks.  To counter it, a strong blast of wind from Ember directed the cloud back towards the Barney Bot, and to Sir Talmid, but to no effect.  Sir Talmid had no idea yet what the gas was supposed to accomplish, but he could figure it out later.  He lunged for the hovering Barney Bot and swung his sword to remove it of its arm - but the repulsive shield was still active and his sword encountered an invisible resistance, stopping in mid air.

The Barney Bot turned its red eyes to the knight.  "You are a bad friend." it said and punched him away, back to the ground.  The knight's sword was knocked from his hand.

Then, another lightning strike appeared in the sky, but it stopped just as it reached the Maelstrom gas cloud - it fizzled to nothing, with no harm to the Barney Bot.  Sir Talmid figured it out then; whatever the gas was, it resisted Ember's powers.  The inclusion of Maelstrom was evidence of Paradox Rogue involvement.  It was the work of Rogue Sorcerors, and work it did.

The Bot's repulsive shield did seem a bit weaker than the first time he hit it, so Sir Talmid returned to his feet and, picking up his sword along the way, ran for the robot again.  This time it brought both of its armored hands with bladed-edged wrists down, which the knight blocked with his sword.  A horrible metal on metal sound filled the air.  Sir Talmid couldn't win in a strength battle, not in the time it took for the gas to fade and he could get Ember's help.

"Run!" he shouted to the girl, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her dart for the mountain pass back to their hideout.  It was risky but he lifted up his foot while he still had the standing, and launched a kick to the Barney Bot's left foot's engine

Somehow it did something, and the Barney Bot pitched sideways as it overcompensated - it was reacting slower than it should be, nor was its repulsor shield having much of an effect anymore.

He kicked the machine again in its center, then it surged forward, bodyslamming Sir Talmid to the ground again, but missing him with its blades.

"Do you know how long it took to get into position." the Barney Bot complained.  "My thrusters are malfunctioning."

"Oh well!" Sir Talmid said.  He grabbed a rock and threw it at the Barney Bot's head - it bounced off, but it knocked the Barney Bot off course even further.  Poor thing.  He darted down the path after Ember.

He arrived in time to join an explosive battle between Mathias's guard and the approaching Rogue contingents.  They were holed up in an area of flat ground, with paths coming up from multiple directions.  Rocky outcroppings and boulders at various points on the surface provided cover from the Rogue's ranged weapons, which suppressed any motion from the cover.  The soldiers did launch some firecrackers back towards the Rogue, but it was offensively insufficient.

Sir Talmid met up with the Toms.  He was assured to see Ember with them.  A purple mist hovered in the air and infected the raindrops, which Sir Talmid knew by now rendered Ember's powers inert.  That the Rogues knew more about Ember's powers than he did troubled him a bit.  They would have to fight the old fashioned way.

"We need to lure the Rogues into melee combat." Sir Talmid said.

"They're not doing that!" Tom said.  "And when did it start raining?!"

"I know!  I have a plan."  Sir Talmid signalled to the soldiers, and pointed down one path from which Rogue fire was not coming from.  Under the cover of Flashbangs, groups of soldiers darted for it, some slipped on the rain slick rocks but they made it.

Sir Talmid had consulted with the enchanted map previously - the path would lead them to a narrow corridor with many outcroppings - only close combat would be possible there, but it ran the risk of frag bomb assaults from a higher ridge.

After all the soldiers, with Tom's father at the lead, had moved back, it was just Sir Talmid, Tom, and Ember left.  "Come with me," he said, and lead them up a a side path that overlooked the corridor.  They took cover and waited.  The rain provided poor visibility, but they watched the edge of the ridge intently.  Any enemies that tried to come up here and fire down at the melee fighters would be defeated by Sir Talmid and company - that was the plan, at least.  Ember envisioned a wall of wind blowing away from them, towards where the Rogues would approach, to preempt and counter the Rogue's debilitating gas.  

It took a minute before the Rogues realized that their targets had moved back, and they pursued accordingly.  The most of them entered the corridor and were immediately assaulted by Mathias's men.  Swords struck armor and weapons were discharged - the royal army was well trained.  A team of four Rogues did come up the path, and as they hefted their Wormholers and headed to the edge of the corridor, Sir Talmid and Tom rushed over, and with the element of surprise quickly defeated them.

"What's this?" Tom asked, holding up a small, gray and orange container of bricks that had fallen from one Rogue's backpack.

Sir Talmid inspected the kit.  It had an Assembly logo.  "It's adevice from the wrong faction.  It's Assembly certified, we can't build it - how in the universe could the Rogues have cracked that?"  He thought for a moment.  "Actually, if they can build it..."  He grabbed one of the fallen Rogue's hands and put the kit in his fingers.

It promptly transformed into a pile of normal sized elements, which, with the power of Imagination, Sir Talmid and Tom were able to build into a Rank 3 Assembly Personal Fortress.

Two more teams of Rogues, this time including many Sorcerors, appeared over the ridge.  "Take the gun!" Sir Talmid shouted, and Tom climbed in.  His shots were wild at first but the Rogues dove for cover or ran back out of sight.  A firefight began, with both Wormholer shots, magical blasts of energy from the Sorcerors, and gas cartridges launching over the ridge or out from cover towards them.

  A damaged Barney Bot descended from the storm clouds as well.  "My friend." it greeted Sir Talmid.  "You left too early.  The fun will begin now."

  A discharge from Tom's guns blasted the Barney Bot to the elements and it spoke no more.

37

Different shouts, exposed, without helmets separating them from the air, rose up from the corridor in which the royal army was battling the Rogues.  Sir Talmid risked a glance away from his current assailants over the edge, and saw what was causing the change in atmosphere, from an endurable battle to a losing fight.  Two particular members of thedude's army had entered the chasm and were defeating the guards in melee combat - taking them out in one-on-one and even two-on-one.  One wore the lower armor of a Space Marauder but his bald, scarred head was exposed: Commander Borock.  The other wore a simple black outfit for uncompromised mobility and had a gray helmet over her head: Mikhaila.

  "Keep these guys at bay," Sir Talmid ordered his two companions.  Tom nodded and continued blasting away with the personal fortress; Ember lobbed jets of fire over the battlefield, creating both a physical and visible barrier between them and the Rogues.  It would diminish the effectiveness of their thermal visors for sure.

  Sir Talmid then ran for the edge of the cliff and made his way into the close quarters of the corridor.  He landed behind Commander Borock, just as the Rogue leader turned around to engage him.

  At the same time, Mikhaila dispatched another of Mathias's soldiers.  Tom's father was next, and he began to duel the elite Rogue.  Sir Talmid could not go to assist, as his path through the narrow corridor was blocked by the large frame of Commander Borock.

  "At last, Sir Talmid." Borock said, gritting his teeth.  "thedude is very eager for you to return to him.  It's time to complete his orders."

  Sir Talmid took a defensive stance.  "He sent thou personally!  I'm honored by the importance.  However, it would be such a shame for you to fail."

  The Rogue Leader smiled, then lifted up a strange Paradox weapon the Knight had not seen before.

It contained two dangerous looking devices attached to handles on short, dark, metal chains.

"These are the Blades of Chaos." Borock introduced them.  "The Nexus Force had not yet introduced them at the time we... took leave of them.  I, however, was given a prototype due to my stature and fame among the Paradox faction.  Sir Talmid, I have slayed hundreds of Elite Dragons in the most harsh environments on Crux Prime.  Not to mention, I am the man who lead my faction through the Last Civil War.   My achievements attest, I will succeed to bring you in."

The Commander seemed like a vain man, searching for honor among ranks where it mattered not anymore.  Yet the ex-Nexus Force soldier did look to have a powerful weapon in his hands.  Sir Talmid did not doubt he knew how to use it.

"Let us see about that." Sir Talmid said, and launched into an attack.

With a swing of his arm, Commander Borock's right hand weapon was roused to life.  Its chains glowed purple and extended backwards several feet, before swinging forwards, the blades of its ninja-star barely missing the knight's head as he ducked.  Borock engaged his left hand weapon as well, a twin bladed scythe, which swung around Sir Talmid's torso.  The chain wrapped around the knight and then shrunk down to a tight length, reeling him in towards the Paradox Commander.

"A most powerful weapon." Borock said as he pulled, assisted by the dark powers.  Sir Talmid gasped and stuck his feet into the ground to gain leverage, but he could not stop his skid towards doom.  Borock exchanged his ninja-star for a typical Space Marauder pistol, set to stun.

"I'm afraid your little crusade is over, Sir Talmid." Borock continued.  "Time to put you out of your misery."

"Tis not a crusade - not just a holy war," Sir Talmid managed to gasp out.  His arms were unnaturally pinned to his sides by the chains.  "This fight is for all the good in our people, in our world, against all of your evil - and my last breath will be taken in goodness."  He strained as he reached into his pocket for a plot device.

His hand closed around the object.  He could feel its odd, chilly warmth and he knew it was glowing light blue, the color of Imagination, because he'd seen it work before.

In an instant, it broke the chaotic chains that bound him and they disintigrated; the twin bladed scythe fell to the ground.  Borock was knocked off balance by the backlash, and Sir Talmid grabbed his sword.

"Thank you!" Sir Talmid said aloud, feeling especially grateful to the old friend who had given him the hewn piece of Imaginite.  That was so long ago... he turned his attention back to Borock, just as he fired off the stun blast.  It bounced off the wall but grazed Sir Talmid's right shoulder.  His sword fell, and the knight grabbed at his arm; it went numb.

Borock raised the remaining half of his Blades of Chaos, the ninja-star device, and prepared his arm for a swing at Sir Talmid.    "I'm not supposed to smash you," Borock said, "but if you don't stop resisting, I may have no choice."

"You never have a choice with thedude." Sir Talmid said.  He picked up his sword in his left hand, then ran for the wall.  He ran up the small ground level slope, then jumped for the other side.  His right arm was nothing but a dead weight now, and he snagged the outcropping with the fingers of his left hand around the hilt of his sword.

The ninja star embedded itself in the wall next to him - a miss, obviously aimed for him.  It's chain swayed and slithered like a dangerous snake, wanting to strike.  Sir Talmid pulled himself out of the corridor and onto the higher ground.  The chain tightened, puling Borock up as well, and then he landed in front of Sir Talmid.

The Knight and the Paradox Rogue continued to duel.  Borock swung and the remaining Blade of Chaos struck out, which Sir Talmid dove to avoid being struck with.  The chain, as if having a mind of its own, chased after him through the air, extending and twisting itself as the dark power pleased.  Sir Talmid swung his sword at it and landed a weak hit - the chain wrapped around the blade and yanked, pulling the knight up into the air and spinning him back to the ground.  He landed with a thud.

Sir Talmid winced at the ache in his spine as he rolled over slowly and pushed himself to his feet.  He dragged his sword after him.  He was not left handed, so he stood no chance against Borock this way.  He turned around to face him.

Borock's grip on his deadly weapon tightened.  The chain glowed with anticipation.  "You should surrender now, Sir Talmid." he stated.  "You are only alone up here."

"I am not." Sir Talmid said.

Lightning arced down from the sky and turned the Paradox Commander to dust.

38

Tom and Ember rushed to Sir Talmid.  The knight was bruised and battered from fighting the Barney Bot and Commander Borock, and his arm was only now starting to tingle, in the painful pins-and-needles way.  He wasn't sure how effectively he could fight - and if he could be any help fighting thedude's remaining forces.

"Don't worry about me," Sir Talmid said.

"The Rogues stopped advancing up the ridge." Tom reported.

"Then go and help your father!" Talmid pointed to the corridor.

"What?" Tom spun around worriedly.  There, his father and Mikhaila still dueled viciously.  She did not carry a weapon, rather she wore weaponry - attached to her suit were blades, which she used in conjunction with her acrobatic agility and jetboots to blitz the elder Thomas.  He was armed only with a sword, which was of no use to attack Mikhaila, let alone defend himself.

Tom rushed into the corridor, while Ember summoned her abilities - but the corridor was like a trench and held the gas which rendered her powers inert.  Commander Borock had made the mistake of climbing out after Sir Talmid, where the skies were clear.  Sir Talmid doubted Mikhaila would make the same mistake.

A sound made the knight's hair stand on end, and Sir Talmid turned to see another squadron of Rogues heading up the path.  "Don't enter the corridor," Sir Talmid said, instructing Ember, "but hold them off here."  He then ran after Tom, who had begun to engage Mikhaila.  She dodged one of his throwing knives, which streaked past her helmet and clankered off the wall.

"Stay back, son!" his father called.

"Actually," Mikhaila said, "I appreciate the change.  Focusing on one target is boring."  She gained altitude, then dove at Tom, knocking him hard to the ground.  With barely a cry, he hit the rocks in a way that could only have been painful.  Then he was silent.

Mikhaila hovered over Tom and prepared her arm for a swing, ready to deal his ending strike, but then Sir Talmid slammed into her.  He wasn't sure if he'd been cut by her blades, they made her difficult to grab without slicing himself, but he only needed her off his apprentice who would otherwise certainly have been smashed.

Mikhaila kicked him off.  "I'm not taking you for a flight again, Sir Talmid." Mikhaila said, hovering up and out of his reach.  "The modifications I've made preclude such a foolhardy move."

"We have already smashed Commander Borock!" the knight shouted.  His arm was almost working again, and he pointed his sword up at the Rogue.  "Continue with this assault and thy fate will be the same, if thou do not leave us!"

"Leaving is a good idea." Mikhaila admitted.  "The Red Mythrans are already on their way.  My goals were only to capture you, and the girl, and smash everyone else - but the Mythrans will smash all of you.

"I will offer you an ultimatum, Sir Talmid." Mikhaila continued.  "Bring yourself to the top of the mountain within the hour, just yourself and Ember - separated from anyone you want spared.  Anyone else with you will be smashed.  This is not an opportunity for a last stand.  If you try to escape, the Red Mythrans will destroy the entire Athelas Mounts.  It is well within their power to do so.  If thedude didn't want you alive, you'd be very smashed by now."

Sir Talmid and Tom's father shared glances.  He turned to his apprentice.  Tom looked injured and he hadn't moved from the ground.  His father was breathing heavily; the battle left him sore and fatigued.  Others in their party lay around or stood, tired and not up for more fighting.  Sir Talmid hoped they could walk.

"And what if," Sir Talmid asked, "we decline you here and now?"

"Then we will continue to fight," Mikhaila answered, "and I will destroy your friends one by one."

"And in that time," Mikhaila continued, "the Red Mythrans will arrive and destroy you, if I do not call them off; which I will not do without an agreement to our terms.  Even if you do manage to smash me, the Red Mythrans will still destroy you - and any place you think you can hide in.  They are a volatile bunch, those Red Mythrans, you know."

Sir Talmid wanted to scream to the wind, but he held off.  Instead he grabbed his head between his hands and sank to his knees, shouting internally to the storm that brewed in his head.  If Mikhaila was right about the Red Mythrans, and her logic was sound, then there was no way for Tom, Tom's father, and the remaining soldiers to survive.  This would be the end.  But her offer was enticing - it was out of character for a servant of thedude to give them a way out.

Sir Talmid looked around again.  Tom still had not stirred, and the soldiers looked at him, expectantly.  They put their lives in the knight's hands, in his choices.

He hated it.  He squeezed his eyes shut.  In the last war, in all times past, he'd never been the only leader.  Most recently, he'd been one of three.  He did not like making a decision without others to help him.

Sir Talmid breathed.  He opened his eyes and stood up.  He looked up at Mikhaila.  He looked her straight in the eyes, where they were supposed to be behind her visor, anyway.  He set his jaw and delivered his answer.

"I accept the ultimatum."

... Mikhaila had left, and Sir Talmid's last sight of Mathias's men was battered, injured, bruised, but alive.  Tom, unconscious, was carried by his father.  He had delivered his last instructions to him before he left to fulfill his obligations.

"Disappear," Sir Talmid had said.  "Hide anywhere, but make new lives for yourselves.  Do nothing treasonous to the public eye.  If you continue to resist, do it quietly without getting yourselves smashed - you need to be alive, to be there when the time comes, and a public war is declared against thedude.  And the time will come!"

The elder Thomas had nodded.  "It was an honor to fight alongside you again, Sir Talmid."

Sir Talmid had raised his eyebrows.  "Again?"

Thomas had laughed.  "I didn't always live in a tower.  I was with you from the beinning, up to the Skyfalls.  I was one of the survivors, obviously."  He stepped closer to the knight.  "There is another thing I should tell you - since I was there, I did, first hand, see the escape of other knights.  They are still out there, and you are right - there will be a time when they return."

Sir Talmid closed his eyes and sighed.  He prayed they would not wait long.  He had turned around and prepared to ascend the mountain.

"Also," Tom's father continued, "thank you for taking care of my son, and for bringing him to me.  In all of this, that is what has meant the most.  Goodbye, Sir Talmid."  That was the last thing he heard from him, and together with the last thing he saw of them, it made a pretty bleak picture of the now.

But it left open the potential for brightness in the future.

39

Sir Talmid watched the sun set as he made his way up the mountaintop pass.  Along the way he'd found Ember, who joined him at his side.  They walked in silence, but the knight's mind was active - he was playing with time, an amount of which he did not know if he had.  In this time he formulated a plan.

Ember was powerful.  Sir Talmid had not yet seen her limits, if she had them, but he was counting on her abilities of illusion.  Laying low should ensure the survival of Tom and the soldiers.  With some adaptation, the same could be used for Ember, and perhaps Sir Talmid as well.

When they reached the mountaintop, a small, open mesa overlooking the Athelas Mounts, with the great plain of Aquila in the northern horizon and a hint of Morcia to the south, Sir Talmid had his plan sorted out, and he turned to Ember.

"Our ticket off this rock is in Mikhaila's transport," Sir Talmid explained, "sort of.  We have to let Mikhaila think we're with her for thedude to call off the Red Mythrans.  With the Red Mythrans removed, we're free to walk off this mountain and go into hiding!"

"But we'll be in Mikhaila's transport, captured and stunned!" the knight argued.  "So how do we escape that?"

"It is exactly as I hath spoken.  Mikhaila only needs to think we're captured, when in fact we art not."

"Ah, so you suggest the use of illusions?  Illusions of us to be captured by Mikhaila?"

"Precisely.  Ember and I will hide in a cave, while Ember manipulates the illusions.  The Red Mythrans will be gone, and then we'll be safe to go- ow!" Sir Talmid stopped talking to himself and turned to Ember, who had hit him.

"What is it?" he asked.  Did something in his plan not work?  Did she know something he didn't?  "What's wrong?"

With her finger against the dusty ground, Ember drew an image of two minifigures, one with a sword, the other at half height - himself and her.  Beneath them she drew a mountain.  Then she extended her arm and two feet away she drew a castle.  Halfway between the castle and the mountains she drew a box with wings, the transport ship.  She looked up and gestured to the knight, pointing to their figures and depicting their illusions boarding the ship.  She drew a circle around her mountaintop figure's head, then a squiggly line that extended from the mountain to the transport ship, towards the castle.  Halfway there she lifted her finger abruptly, and proceeded to draw lines around the transport.  Then she sketched fire, flames, doom, smashing.  The end of them.

The finished picture was a bit messy, but Sir Talmid had seen it in the steps of being drawn, so he understood it.  Ember was telling him there was a distance limit to her powers.  Once the transport reached it, their bluff would be called.  And Sir Talmid knew that transports could move fast.  They wouldn't have enough time.

"Then it is, indeed, exactly as I said." Sir Talmid said quickly, as the gears in his head resumed turning.  "Yes.  'Our ticket off this rock is in Mikhaila's transport'.  We shall still utilize illusions, but by maintaining a close distance to them, we will be able to maintain them.  We only require disguises."

At that, a set of Paradox Space Marauder outfits fell out of the air into Sir Talmid's hands, courtesey of Ember.

If there was something demeaning in wearing the clothes of the enemy, Sir Talmid tried not to feel it as he began to put his set on.  Without the assistance of Paradox-aligned imagination, putting on the gear required a lof of fumbling and finagling over his knightly garb.  But in the end, this is what had to be done.

"These will do nicely." Sir Talmid said.

****

Ember created their illusions, and she and Sir Talmid, disguised as Rogues, hid over the edge of the mountain to wait for the transport to arrive.

It appeared in the horizon shortly, a large, stone gray flying machine.  It had two large wings at its sides, and extending backwards from the cockpit were two long prongs connecting the craft's tail, with four rudders, a rear wing, and two large engines.  Without those repulsorlift engines, Sir Talmid wasn't sure how the thing could fly.  It was as long as two stagecoaches and just as tall.  Beneath the cockpit, protruding from the craft's bulky 'belly', was its transport section.

(to see the transport go here us.LEGO.com/en-us/gallery/upload/2b0ce0a0-f95f-48f2-a3b3-7c362ca3a362?xml=1&showmedia=1&width=800&height=486)

As soon as it was within landing distance, Sir Talmid noticed its guns angled and rotated to aim at their illusions, who stood upon the mesa.  From behind the mountain path, Sir Talmid and Ember could see but not be seen.  They watched as the craft completed its landing and its bay opened.

A fan of Paradox Rogues ran out.  Quickly surrounding their illusions, the Space Marauders trained their blasters and Wormholers, while the Shinobis and Sorcerors held up their katanas, wands, and orbs.  Being focused on them, it was easy for Sir Talmid to gesture to Ember, and they both ran from cover to stand behind the Rogues.  No one noticed - they blended in perfectly.

Then Mikhaila exited the transport.  Despite wearing a helmet that obscured her face and hid her expression, Sir Talmid thought she walked with a pleased gait, a smooth stride that was fast but not rushed.

Sir Talmid tried not to feel too worried.  Despite her stature, Ember's disguise remained a typical height.  They'd slipped in and there was no reason to think there was a deception.  Perhaps he could share in Mikhaila's laxness.

As far as everyone was concerned, everything was proceeding according to plan.

****

Mikhaila was pleased to have recaptured Sir Talmid, and she had the girl, as well.  She knew others in thedude's army who would be pleased to get their hands on a being so powerful, magical.  This was a success.  She had been successful.  thedude would be pleased, so she was pleased.

To share in the glory, she stopped out of earshot of the prisoners and held up a transmitter to her face.  She radioed thedude.

"I have them, master." she relayed.

"xselend ." thedude replied.  "bot wy hav yu knotye t brot dem tu mai . breeng dem tu mai ."

"Immediately, master." Mikhaia cooed, and turned off the transmitter.  Then she approached the prisoners.  "Hands on your heads!"

Wordlessly, the knight and Ember complied.  A Shinobi stepped forwards to bind their arms in that position.

"It's good that you are not resisting," Mikhaila said, tilting her head from Ember, who stared straight ahead, and the knight.

The knight said nothing.

"You may say be silent as well." Mikhaila sanctioned with a nod.  "For now.  You will have plenty of moments to speak later.  And scream."  She smiled to herself, picturing their interrogations and the information they would receive, then turned on her heel back to the transport.  Behind her the Rogues prodded the prisoners, and they all shuffled into the transport.

Mikhaila knew thedude, and with Borock gone, she felt a promotion was in order.  She knew thedude would feel that way as well.

"Go." she said to the pilot.

So the transport took off, taking them to Orlan.

40

Sir Talmid watched in describably growing concern in the small gap betwixt the blinds before his face the pace of the Paradox Rogues on Hummingbird Street.  One platoon knocked on the front door of the house a block away, another marched down the road's center from the opposite direction, scanning the passerby for their target: him.

Also growing was his realization that whatever he was going to do, he needed to act on it fast.

Talmid withdrew from the drapes, and turned around to face his host.  "Barcle," the knight again addressed him, "I know what I need to do.  And I need your help."

The anxious horse salesman jumped at their resumed conversation.  "What are you going to do?  And how does it involve me?  What are you going to make me do?" he wailed.

"My old friend," the knight soothed him, "All I need is for thou to stay out of the way."

Barc's face went from sweating anguish to nervously twitching bewilderment.  "What ever do you mean, Killian?"

"For thy safety," Talmid said, moving for the far wall to the door to the stables, "I beseech thou to prithee not stop me from blowing up the castle."

Talmid exited, and Barclecciastes spun around, as befuddled as ever, when a knock came on the front door.

"Nobody's home!" he hollered.

A laugh came from the other side.  "If there weren't anyone here, who would be here to answer us?" the Rogues asked.

Barc facepalmed, and shuffled over to his side of the door.  "Apologies," he called back, "I am a talking door."

"Excuse us, then," came the Rogues' last response, before the door was blown off its hinges.  Now standing in front of an again very scared Barc, the Paradox's 5 person platoon leader asked very curtly, "Where is Sir Talmid?"

....

Talmid's horse whinnied over the hushed murmur of Morcia's marketplace's crowd, as the creature itself gallopped over the cobblestones.  His tone, his worn but identifiably knightly attire, and familiar face, recognizable to the populace, prompted them spread apart to give his horse room to travel.  When a few Paradox Rogues ran up to pursue him, the crowd coalesced again to stifle their movements.  thedude's soldiers could only shout and yell curses in the direction that Talmid escaped towards - then they became cheers as the Rogues knew what lay ahead: the castle of Orlan, where an entire battallion of thedude's army lay waiting.

They wouldn't be cheering if they knew Talmid's plan was to blow them up.

What I have in my coat pocket, the knight had realized, is a very powerful piece of Imaginite.  The raw power innate to this crystal, if affixed to a weapon - or if suddenly released - could bring down the entire castle.

Sir Talmid also realized he was was putting a lot of faith in a piece of Imaginite.  The particular crystal was more like a talisman to him, and visuall not more than a pretty artifact.  But it was also a source of power, of usable imagination, the driving force behind minifigures, behind people, and when harnessed for such purposes, weapons.

The Imagininite was given to him a long time ago, when he was younger.

Sir Talmid let one hand drop from his stolen horse's reigns to reach into his pocket and feel the crystal's smooth surface.

It was given to him by someone important in his younger life.  For the longest time, until only a short while ago, he'd seen it as nothing more than a remembrance to that earlier time.  And for that reason he didn't want to part with it.

But more recently it had also saved his life.  When Commander Borock would have smashed him, he had subconsciously reached for into his coat, and the Imaginite had given him strength.

Now he knew he had been given a weapon.