Tales of the Aggronaut

NaNoWriMo 28 – The Puppeteer

November 29, 2013 by Belghast

NaNoWriMo 28

I am so thankful that I pushed on forward and finished up before yesterday. After coming home from the holiday madness I was not in any state to write. I still have one more chapter to finish, so hopefully today I will find some peace of mind to do just that. This is the next to last chapter and I still have yet to write the one that ties the pieces up and talks about what the folks are doing after the events. As always nothing has been edited, and I plan on sitting down to do that after the new year. Here is a rundown of the story so far.

28 – The Puppeteer

The night sky looked angry, it was as though it knew what was in his mind. He reached into the folds of his thick red and gold robe, retrieving a small circle. Numbers flashed across its surface swirling in and out of view. The hour was getting late and there was still no sign of the assassin. It was unlike Shandor to not be punctual, and this was a trait he had come to expect from him. The master would not tolerate such a delay, so why should he. As the indignant rage built up inside of him he heard a noise behind him. The assassin had slipped into the room without opening the door or breaching the window. Betweeners as their accursed sidestepping he thought as he turned to meet the man.

“Do you have it” the robed man asked impatiently looking at the pack on the back of the assassin. The other slowly took the pack down producing a pouch handing it to the robed man. Slowly he opened the pouch and the room was filled with the soft glow of orange abbreviated by brief flashes of blue. The stormfire crystal was complete and as he held it in his hands he could feel the power coursing from it. With such power came great temptation with a mere touch of his fingers and a short incantation… all of that power could be his. He quickly closed the bag, knowing the master would flay him for even thinking such thoughts.

He placed the pouch in a pocket buried within the folds of his robe. No that distinct honor would be that of the Master, and he would never know of the moment of weakness just felt. He slightly to face the assassin looking him directly in the eyes “Do you have the other?”. The assassin walked over to a table, placing down his pack and lifting out a great brass cylinder. The construction was delicate of ancient dwarven make. The assassin removed a clip from the top of the container pulling up on it, removing the brass shroud.

There within a glass tube filled with a slightly glowing greenish ichor sat the head of Baigan Derrow, traitor to the courts of Avalon. “Are you quite certain it is fresh?” the robed man asked looking over the face of the fallen shade. “Yes, I slipped it into the casing moments after removing it. The flesh was still quite warm as I flooded the chamber with the conductive liquid.” The assassin replied stepping back from the container. The master would be pleased, he knew that he would want to read the thoughts of the traitor to determine if there was anything he kept hidden away in that brain.

“Sir there is the matter of my payment.” The assassin spoke up making a gesture with his hands to indicate the expected currency. Shandor was a loyal contractor and could be trusted to execute all instructions to the letter. This was a hard thing to find, and of course was worth quite a lot. The robed man crossed to his desk pulling out a fat sack that jingled as he crossed the room again, placing it in the hands of the assassin. “I am certain you will find this more than you requested. Just think of it as a bonus for the length of time spent in the company of that fool.” The assassin took the coins placing it down in the bottom of his pack and slinging the satchel across his back once more.

“Just as you had said, the Elfen and the human showed up moments after I had taken the head.” Shandor remarked while walking towards the door. “If there is nothing else, I will be going.” The robed man shook his head slowly “No that will be all, you are as always a faithful and honorable assassin. Should we need your services again, I know how to reach you.” The other nodded as he disappeared from sight silently in a puff of purple smoke. No matter how many times he saw a betweener shift like that, he could never really get used to the sight. Things had gone according to the masters plan.

He moved to the table, picking the brass shroud up and sliding it back down over the glass chamber. Taking the pin he refastened it and lifted the entire apparatus from the table. Slowly and carefully he walked holding the container out beside him as though afraid it would somehow taint him through its mere presence. He moved down the carved stone hallway entering a small room on the left with a dim green glow. There were a series of containers just like the one he carried in his hand. Each one sat down on a shaft with a series of cables leading up from it into the ceiling. He sat down the container and it seated in the slot making a distinct click as it finally locked into place.

The robed man unfastened to pins on either side of the container and the front panel of the brass shroud slid away revealing the face of Baigan once more. Reaching up he took a bundle of cables down from the ceiling, fastening each clamp onto one of the bolts sticking out from the top of the brass tube. After each clamp had been fastened the liquid in the container began to churn making bubbling noises as he sloshed and swished about the head. Baigan took a permanent place in the machine as the heads eyes began to open and mouth move in slight motions. The master would not be able to access his every thought and desire.

He looked to the container to the left,. to the head of Astanax the traitor to the Order. The robed man was giddy thinking about the secrets he must have told the master. The Order of Merlin hiding right under their noses and the library of knowledge that was now theirs to plunder. There was still one thing that did not make sense to him. Why had the master bid for him to help the girl escape. Would it not have been better to dispose of her and the son of Astanax? “it is not my place to question the master. The master is all knowing, all seeing. The master will lead the way.” He chanted the mantra pushing away the thoughts from his head, letting the rhythm of the words purify him.

He turned away from the containers and the moving faces contained within them, to a desk set into the far wall. Sitting down at it he drew towards him a large crystal on a pedestal. Placing his hands on the base he closed his eyes reaching out through the crystal to someplace else, someplace dark and powerful. The crystal flickered to life and within its many facets there displayed was a shadow shrouded figure seated on on a throne. “Is it complete Karrek?” the voice in the crystal demanded. “Yes master, the traitor Baigan has been connected to your machine. The assassin has also delivered to me the stormfire crystal.” Karrek smiled broadly as he delivered the good news.

“You are as always my faithful servant Karrek. Keep the crystal safe until I come for it.” The crystal dimmed and with it vanished the image of the master. Karrek had pleased him, and this meant he would be rewarded. Still he could not shake the feeling that there was more to the plan of the master than he could ever understand. The human girl, Pico, had to play some key role in his greater symphony. There were so many questions running through his head, but as he pushed them away he convinced himself that the time of the master was near. The threads of fate were being stitched together one by one.

He left the small room and moved back out into the main chamber, crossing it to stand upon the balcony once again. Karrek looked out upon Brittagus, the colony trapped in time, exiled from humanity. The exile of the wizards was soon to end. The Wards would fall and with them the Master would claim his place as the ruler of the new world. Karrek his loyal servant would be rewarded at his right hand. All of the death and pain would be worth it when the new glorious world rose like a phoenix from the ashes of this hollow one. Karrek raised his hand to his cheek as a small tear of joy dripped down it and onto his hand.

NaNoWriMo 27 – Rising Light

November 28, 2013 by Belghast

NaNoWriMo 27

Happy Thanksgiving to you guys, and as you can tell by the banner I managed to get over the 1200 words to “finish” the novel last night and win NaNoWriMo. It has been a wild ride and at this point I am a mixture of happy and exhausted. I got used to writing every single day with my blog experiment, but there is just something different about changing from writing freeform blog style posts to trying to write prose. I am mostly just drained at this point. While I am “done” with the contest goals I still have one more chapter to write. Probably after the festivities of Thanksgiving I will sit down and knock it out. There are still a few more chapters to post on the blog so stay tuned over the coming days for the official end.

If you are wanting to catch up, here is the rundown of the chapters so far. Nothing at all has been edited.

27 – Rising Light

Bemel knocked an arrow drawing back his hand and aiming his bow carefully. He let loose a battle cry as the arrow flew from his hand rushing off over his bow and flying across the battlefield striking the Ort general beneath the chin. This sent the head of the arrow crushing up through his jaw and borrowing into his skull. The great oaf stumbled a bit as though he could not comprehend what had just happened. In the hundreds of years since the Winter War, the Orts had forgotten the precision of the elfen archers. As the struck general tried helplessly to claw free the arrow, the finality of the act finally caught up with him and he toppled over like a great tree crashing down upon the ground.

At the sight of their fallen leader the Orts began to route, fear getting the better of them. They charged off in all manner of directions, but the Valkore were quick on their tail hunting them down. They had taken the battlefield but not at an insignificant cost. Bemel looked to either side and there lay a few sasquatch and valkore who had felt the sting of death. But where lie a relative few, there lay hundreds upon hundreds of Orts. The enemy was unprepared for the resistance they posed, and their defenses crumbled under the three prong strike.

Looking across the field he saw that Morrow and Josah were advancing on the fort, and he decided to join them. The Valkore and Sasquatch could get their revenge and track down the straggling backbreakers. Bemel thought that it was time for them to rescue their queen. Prepared for a fight they rushed the open porculus only to find the halls of the keep relatively quiet. “This does not seem right. There should be Ort here as well protecting Baigan.” Bemel said looking over at Josah. The other nodded “I don’t like the feeling of this.”

Morrow held her hammer out in front of her slightly, as if ready to swing at a moments notice. She had a score to settle with Baigan and would not be denied her justice. She lead the pack as they wound through the hallways that echoed with the sounds of battle still raging outside. However oddly she heard no sounds emanating from within. The trio wound down the main corridor leading to the audience chamber, where they assumed Baigan would have set up his makeshift throne room. As they entered the chamber they heard the echo of footsteps coming down a hallway to the west of the chamber.

They paused preparing for battle, as a group of figures came into sight. She could not hardly believe her eyes as the group came into view. She screamed in joy “Merowyn! You’re alive!!” as she saw her sister. The big woman threw down her hammer and ran screaming across the room tackling her sister and wrapping her big arms around her. “Jace, Kale.. you guys are alive too?” She said when she noticed the rest of the group. “I was afraid you two did not make it out safely, that Baigan had maybe finished you off.” She let go of her sister letting her down to the ground.

Merowyn caught her breath panting slightly as she responded. “We are fine, it is good to see you too sis.” Jace ran over to Morrow giving her a big hug, and then noticed behind her standing with Josah as Bemel. Where was Benj, was he not with them? “It is good to see you guys too, where is Benj? Is he with you?” Jace said eagerly. Morrow shook her head slowly “We don’t know where he is, we were seperated at the farmhouse” From behind Jace there came a loud scream. It took them for a moment to realize it was Kale. She had her hands to her sides staring up at the throne, screaming madly.

The entire room turned to look at the throne as well and a few other shrieks happened. There in the throne slumped over to one side, was the headless corpse of a man. Josah dared to walk up to the chair and examine him, and upon further inspection it appears to be Baigan. The body looked drained, as though the life was sapped from it. Josah looked around on the ground and behind the throne, but there was no sign of the mans head. It was missing, but curiously his staff was just laying there topled to the floor.

“I am not sure what the meaning of this is. He attacked us outside and then escaped. We were pursuing him when we ran into you.” Merowyn said with a shocked look upon her face. “Who could have beheaded him in those few moments?” She looked around the chamber expecting to see the attacker still there, but there was nothing. The chamber was empty other than the group that had assembled at the same time. She picked up the staff noticing the orange crystal still intact and shimmering brightly. She carefully twisted the crystal and it slid out of the staff mooring easily. “I believe this is why you all came here?” Mero said holding the crystal carefully in her hands.

“In order to break the bond we need four” She said looking at Morrow, Josah and Bemel. “Lets free her before any more time has wasted.” She held the crystal out in front of her, and slowly the others moved to array themselves with the four cardinal directions. They each reached out holding onto the crystal. “Now concentrate.” She said as she reached out with her mind letting it flow through her body and out through her fingertips and into the crystal. She pictured Queen Bethilda in all her glory, standing there in front of them. Bethilda had a smile upon her face, like she was happy to see her.

Beth and her had always been friends, but she was afraid the other would judge her and her decision to leave the court of Avalon. Instead all she felt from Bethilda was warmthy and happiness. In her mind Bethilda ran over to Merowyn, wrapping her arms around her giving her a bright and warm hug. It was as if the sheer power of summer was radiating from her hug, warming every inch of Merowyn. As she opened her eyes she watched as the crystal pulsed violently. The warmth radiating from it was almost painful as she withdrew her hand.

The crystal hovered there in the air as the others backed away from it. It began to spin around on its axis. It twirled there like a top, as it began to enlarge in size slowly. They stepped back again as the heat coming off of it was almost too much to bear. As they moved away it began to expand rapidly quickly taking the size of a human twirling there on the stone floor. In a flash of light, the crystal cracked along its facets sending a rain of shards down. There in the center of this explosion stood Queen Bethilda with a warm smile upon her face.

“Mom!” cried Jace as he ran across the room wrapping his arms around the queen and squeezing her tight. She returned his embrace collapsing against him. She was weakened but he helped support her body keeping her upright. She said in a weak voice “I’ve waited your entire life for you to call me that” She closed her eyes for a moment, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. “I only tried to protect you from harm, I always loved you from a far.” Jace found himself crying as well. “I know, its okay, we are back together now”. He squeezed her tighter, and within moments they were joined by Josah, Bemel and Morrow in one giant embrace. It hurt not to have Benj here, but he had most of his family back. Things really were going to be okay.

“We have to get you to safety my Queen.” Josah finally said as they broke away from the embrace. “We have taken the field, but it is not safe here for you. We are on the far side of the Sunwall. There is time for us to catch up once you are safe in Avalon.” He said motioning to Bemel to begin preparing to leave the castle. He turned to Merowyn “Please come with us, you don’t have to stay… but please let us know you are safe.” Merowyn looked at Josah and then again at Morrow “I… I will come with you. But I am needed by my people” she said motioning to the sprites arrayed around her. “They can of course come too, we can talk about what happens next after the queen is safe.” She nodded exchanging glances with Dobin and the rest of the sprites.

The fort would need to be searched, and information gathered. But that would all wait for another day. The Valkore were owed this justice, after being driven from their homelands by the Trogjan. Fort Kraken had been a Valkore outpost, a remnant of the final battles of the Winter War. They should be the ones with the honor of securing the keep Josah thought as he made his way to the sunwall. He had summoned a Hearthship, a much larger versions of hte skimmers designed for transporting a large number of troops. He watched as Morrow and Jace helped Queen Belthilda on board. They had managed to take the field, but he feared this was the opening volley in a new Winter War. He would instead revel in the fact that he had both his sister and his wife back safe, and that would be good enough for today.

NaNoWriMo 26–Betrayed

November 27, 2013 by Belghast

NaNoWriMo 26

I had the grand goal of finishing up last night, but in the end I just did not quite have the steam to push across the finish line. However I did manage to get to 48,723 word count. This puts me roughly 1200 words away from 50,000 which I am certain I will make. At this point there are two chapters left that I planned to write. Even if I do make it over 50,000 I will go ahead and write the two chapters I feel need to be there to finish off the novel. I am shocked at just how well overall the pacing has worked. I honestly expected to be “done” and come up way short of the target goal.

Here is the story to date for those wanting to catch up. Found out last night I have a contingency that is waiting for me to finish before starting. Hopefully they all realize just how raw the novel is!

26 – Betrayed

The castle facade was hidden behind a wall of thick smoke streaming up from the strew carcasses of the metal machines that previously guarded it. The skyship payloads had found their targets and sent a scattered mess of gobbley mechanics trying to vain to repair them. Behind the black cloud Merowyn knew lay a portculus, and hopefully in the confusion they could slip into the castle proper relatively unnoticed. She raised her hand waving the gathered group of valkore and her sprites ahead into the dense hanging smoke. They moved along silently ajusting their course periodically to miss a frantic mechanic.

They could see the wall of the castle when the smoke began to break a bit. From directly ahead of them there came a bolt of fire streamed with little rivulets of lightning coursing up and down its length. The bolt missed Merowyn barely but she managed to react and raise a barrier spell moments before the next one would have struck her. Instead it bounced off the barrier sending it careening into a gobbley warmachine causing another fury of sparks and even more black smoke to belch up from it.

Peering through the smoke she recognized her attacker as Baigan, son of Oakswurv and the Winter Prince. Jace and Kale had told her about the events of the farmhouse, but until she saw him herself she had not quite believed that one of the councils children would betray them. When the next of stormfire came, she pushed out on the shield and sent it deflecting back in his direction. The bolt struck at his feet causing him to jump back slightly. Seizing the opportunity of his momentary distraction she pushed the barrier harder sending it out in front of her like a wave of force. The shield struck Baigan squarely in the chest knocking him back pressing him against the castle wall.

He tried in vain to hurl another bolt at Merowyn but she quickly raised another barrier sending it crashing down upon him. How could this be, the power of stormfire was the most destructive magic known in the wildlands. How could a simple barrier spell be getting the best of him. He needed time to regroup. He threw a bolt of stormfire at the ground beneath one of the crashed warmachines sending up an explosion of parts. Reaching out with the power of the north wind he directed the cloud of machinery down upon Merowyn and the others.

“Get to me now!” Mero yelled already extending out a protective barrier and wrapping it around them. The others managed to get inside the bubble moments before a stream of debris crashed down on the bubble trapping them under a dome of spent machinery. Merowyn strained at the weight crushing down upon her bubble, sensing her struggle the sprites clamped around her just like they had done before. She became a luminescent sculpture of green light as the little fae gave back some of the light she had given them. Emboldened by the strength surging into her… she pushed with all her might upon the barrier and with an eruption of force the pile of machinery flew off in every direction raining down upon the frightened gobbley who were still hopelessly tending to their creations.

When the dust cleared Merowyn looked around frantically expecting another round of attacks from the traitor. Instead she saw nothing, he had vanished, most likely into the castle. She took a moment to catch her breath as the others made their way up to the portcullis. The gate was down and no matter how much Kale tried she could not budge it. When she finally gave up on lifting it she began pounding the door with her great big fists, each blow causing the door to echo like a drum.

Jace grabbed her arm trying to stop her, the knuckles of her hands already bloody and cracked from pouding against the dense wood. “We will find another way Kale, you aren’t doing anything but hurting yourself” Jace chided as he tried to think of another way. Merowyn said he was a wood binder, and that was why he could change his staff into a sword. She said he could also manipulate wood and other living and once living things. He wondered if that included a wooden gate on a castle. While he didn’t really understand the specifics of why he could do what he could do, he understood the basics and that was enough to try.

He managed to get Kale to stop, and moved in front of her placing his hands on the wood of the gate. Reaching out with his mind he tried to meld with the wood, sense it, feel it moving behind his fingers. He closed his eyes and imagined the wood of the door parting for him, peeling apart at the grain moving to one side and leaving a wide opening. As he visualized the change in the door he heard a creaking noise and as he dared to open his eyes he watched the wood slowly bending to his will. Cracking down the grain and slowly folding back until there was a warped opening in the door just big enough for them to pass through.

Kale looked at him dumbstruck “How did you do that?” Jace shrugged slightly “Merowyn said Benj and I were woodbinders… I just took a leap of faith that it meant any kind of wood… not just my staff” He was as confused by it as she was, and quite honestly completely surprised by the success. Standing there it felt as though the ground was rushing up at him, and then moments later he realized that it was him falling to the ground. Kale rushed to his side helping him back up. “Are you okay?” He nodded wearily feeling completely drained “I guess it took a bit out of me, I will be fine.”

His head was spinning but as he stood there assisted by Kale the world began to right itself and stopping moving around so violently. Within a few moments the dizzyness had passed, but he felt as though he needed to stand completely still for a few minutes just to make sure. He looked over at Merowyn and similar the Sprites were helping her up. I guess these abilities they had, came with a bit of a price. He was certain they would both be fine they just needed a moment to rest and recover before going further. If they were to encounter Baigan in this state they would both likely end up dead.

Using the shower of machinery as cover Baigan had indeed escaped into the fort and was now streaming through the halls on his way to the throne room. Passing Orts along the way he screamed “Get to the western facade, defend me you oafs!!!” The magical exchange had drained him greatly as well and he needed to gather his strength. Shooting down the skyships and then the exchange with Merowyn had tapped a good bit of his power. He needed a moment to rest and then he could finish them off after the Orts were done with them.

He ascended the stairs leading to the throne and collapsed down into his chair. How could this have gone so wrong he asked himself. Did he not have the most powerful army at his command? Was he not able to wield the most destructive magic? How could these misfits be tearing his army apart at the seams. The Orts were undisciplined brutes, that had to be it… they were not used to fighting without cheating. The Trogjan never fought fair, and they rarely had to defend. They were almost always the aggressor. He had simply miscalculated their strengths.

He could still be the victor. His superior magic would be the key. He had to regain his strength so he could strike down these fools with his mighty storm fire. As Baigan sat there trying to rationalize away his failure he felt a sensation unlike any he had ever experienced. He felt a coldness against his neck and a pressure. He found himself unable to speak, and there was a flurry of movement as at the last moment he finally realized it was a blade slicing into his neck.

The assassin had been completely silent, and his aim true and steady. In a single flash of motion Baigan the traitor was no more, and the other was sliding his head into a leather bag and dropping it into a pack on his back. Reaching out to a pouch on his waist he removed a large crystal, one much larger than the one used to trap the queen, but relatively similar in design. The assassin touched the crystal to the chest of Baigan’s lifeless and now slightly twitching corpse. The room erupted in a cascade of lights that vacillated between a deep cyan and a warm glowing orange.

When the light had faded the assassin stood there holding a crystal that contained a deep fire within it and underneath the surface pulsed with jets of lightning. The stormfire crystal was complete, and the master would be pleased. The assassin slid the crystal back into the pouch at his waist. He looked at the corpse of Baigan and frowned slightly. It was troubling to see any shade die, even a pompous and arrogant one like him. The masters plan however is absolute, and he would get the crystal to him before high night fell. With that the silent shadow of a man slipped out of the throne room, and melded with the corridors rushing out of the castle and into the dim twilight.

NaNoWriMo 25–Serendipity

November 26, 2013 by Belghast

NaNoWriMo 25

I was a very bad person yesterday. I ended up resting on the laurels of the weekends progress. I do however intend to remedy that tonight and maybe make a push for the goal line. It seems like each time I get too far ahead I let myself relax and skip a day. I started off this two chapters ahead and over time that lead dwindled to nothing. However at this point I am less than 5000 words away from the finish line and hopefully tonight I can buckle down and finish.

Here is the tale so far for those catching up, once again posted raw and unedited.

25 – Serendipity

Merowyn had been badly wounded from her act of sacrifice to free her wildfae children. As a result Jace decided that they should spend the light in the keep and hopefully by morning she would be able to move on. The sprites lovingly nursed her throughout the night, wrapping themselves around her, and in the morning she seemed invigorated. Jace did not really understand what had happened, but he was happy to see that she was doing well and seeming in better spirits than he had seen her on the journey. He was also happy to see that Dimcy more or less was doing well.

Her sacrifice the day before had also had consequences, but it seemed that she had been reborn as a child version of herself. The younger Dimcy seemed to be quite a bit more playful than her previous self and delighted in buzzing around their heads as fast as she could making a little halo of flame. Kale delighted in this and as they walked Dimcy spent most of her time resting on the large girls shoulder. It was the love of Kale that rekindled the firesprite and the bond only seemed to grow stronger.

As they exited the keep Jace noticed that a large storm had appeared shrouding the Fort in the distance. As they moved closer to it he began to hear sounds from within the mists. It sounded as though a battle was waging. He looked over to Merowyn and she returned his it with a worried glance. “Someone is fighting at the Fort” Jace said feeling like he was stating the obvious. “I sure hope they are friendly, and not an even worse army than the Orts.” Merowyn could not imagine who would be striking against the keep. The elfen armies were in a state of disarray after the Winter War, and no other standing army had the power to strike back against the keep. The Valkore were powerful enough but they were scattered in individual clans, and seemed to lack the will to band together against anything after being driven out of their homelands.

The Sasquatch were also powerful enough, being able to wield the power of their earth where their shamanistic geomancy. But they were scattered and tribal and once again lacked the force of will to join together to face anything head on like this. Merowyn wondered who could possibly be behind the strike, and if they would be willing to help them achieve their own goals. “We have to continue, and hope for the best.” She proclaimed as she pushed forward with her army of sprites in tow. “Too much rests on us reclaiming the queen and protecting the summerwall.”

As they neared the keep they heard a great commotion from the western face as something erupted in fire sending great plumes of smoke rising up from the ground. Jace could see what looked like a boat hovering over the fog bank. “What is that? Some sort of airship?” he said pointing up at the shapes above the fog bank. Mero looked at where the boy was pointing and sure enough it was a fleet of Valkore Skyships. “I guess that answers the question, the those are Valkore skyships. They are dropping fire down on something below them.”

Merowyn watched in horror was she saw a bolt strike out from the fort and hit the ship in its hull sending it crashing to the ground. She was uncertain if she just saw what happened. Another bolt came flying out catching another ship and sending it to the ground. She watched the magic more closely this time. She saw a plume of flame wrapped in lightning. It made sense, but that meant that the traitor had managed to harness the power of the queen. “They are using stormfire!” she yelled fear lacing her voice.

She had heard of it in legends but never thought that a person could actually wield such power. “Baigan has harnessed the queen and is now using the most destructive of magics, the combined strength of summer and winter. He is using stormfire and is destroying those ships.” She watched as a group of ships broke off, diving down below the fog bank for cover. They sped along the ground for a long ways and came to a stop on a flat spot just ahead of them. “We need to go see if anyone is hurt” yelled Jace already breaking into a run heading towards the ship.

As Jace got to the ships, he saw a woman in leather and fur armor disembark the ship, sword drawn and held high as though she was rallying her crew. Following closely behind her was another woman with black hair, bright pink highlights and dressed in a manner he was not expecting for the shadowlands. She was from his world, there was no mistaking it… and the Doctor Who t-shirt if nothing else was a dead give away. He waved his arms while running screaming “Is everyone alright? We can give assistance!”

Pico watched as a boy and very tall girl closed in on their location. Much to her shock she recognized both of them. One of the dirty secrets of the watch was the fact that they kept files on all betweeners. While they might not know the significance of each they cataloged their abilities. The boy was Jace, he was a known woodbinder but had not really come into his own ability at the last the file was updated. The girl was Kale, she was half ort and with it had all the powers of a small giant. Her 6’10” stature tended to make her stand out as being something different. She wondered what exactly they were doing, and why they were being followed closely by an Elfen woman and literally hundreds of forest sprites.

Barret stepped in front of Pico raising pointing her sword out in front of her and staring down at the oncomers. “Who are you? What side are you with?” she screamed making sure the others understood her clearly. Jace slowed his pace and held his hands out to his sides showing he meant no harm “We didn’t know there were sides? We are coming to save my mom… err the Summer Queen.” he motioned to the keep “We have to get in there and save her. Can you help us?” Jace looked at the captain pleadingly.

Barret lowered her sword and could not suppress a chuckle. “It seems you are a bit behind the times boy.” She motioned to the fog behind her “There is a battle waging, and we too have come to rescue this queen and save the summer wall. We have a joint force of Valkore, Sasquatch, Elfen… “motioning to the army of sprites behind him “and it appears we have a whole slew of Wildfae as well, all trying to accomplish the same task.” She looked at her crew, and they gazed to the other ship crews that had begun to assemble. “We do have a few wounded, we would appreciate any assistance. When everyone is bandaged up we can push to the fort and cover you.”

Merowyn motioned to her sprites and they spread out throughout the crowd mending those that could be mended and stabilizing those who could not. Pico rushed up to Jace and held out her hand “Hi, I’m Pico”. She gave a sheepish grin “I did not expect to see betweeners here.” Jace thought for a moment, Kale had used the term before but he never really thought that he too was a betweener. Kale had joined him and whispered in his ear “I think she is with the watch, be careful” Jayce nodded and looked Pico over carefully. He had also heard about the Ward Watch from Kale, and was a bit leery.

“How exactly did you get here Pico?” Jace questioned trying to make small talk as the sprites tended to their the Valkore. “It’s a really long story, one we don’t really have time for right now. Hopefully after this is over though Bemel will hold true to his word and get me back home. If not I might need to beg one of you betweeners to shift me across.” Jace looked dumbfounded and replied quickly “Did you say Bemel? He’s okay? He’s here?” Pico nodded “He is leading up the strike from the south. This entire alliance was his idea.”

Jace’s mind reeled, maybe they all made it out okay from the farmhouse. “What about Benj, Josah and Morrow?” He had watched Oaks fall to Baigan, but maybe the others were fine. All this time he had expected the worst. Maybe everything was going to be just fine. “I’ve not heard the name Benj, but there are two other Elfen named Josah and Morrow. They are leading up a force of Valkore striking from the east.” She looked at Jace with a puzzled look on her face “Are they family of yours?” Jace nodded with a wide smile “Yes they are, they are my aunts and uncles.” Jace hoped that Benj was fine as well, surely we all ended up here at the same time for a reason. For the first time in a long time he felt like maybe everything was going to be just fine.