"Are you?" Envy turned around to look toward Ed, eyebrows raised. "How about that. We're the same age. I've never met anyone as old as I am. Least not since I left the den." He admitted, looking satisfied with this new information, but it vanished when Kire mentioned that Ed had grown close with Aera. He fell quiet, thinking this over. Though he decided not to comment. Hhe figured Ed wouldn't make his way back to the moon court anytime soon, and any warnings he thought to offer were moot.

"I wouldn't mind a detailed telling of it." Envy requested as he ducked quickly to the side, avoiding a short part of the cavern, apparently sensing it before it smack his head. "Few have been to see it, and any of my kin who approach are killed on sight. For that reason, I am glad that Ysaryn has been brought back in good spirits. Though it would seem our mutual friend is not so up beat."

While Narda apologized for her reaction to Gavin, Envy turned his face toward her. "The apology should not be directed at me." He pointed out. "I also hope that all of your other men and women keep their hands off of him. If its necessary, I will have him kept in the mountain caves, but with the rest of us now here, I would rather not punish him like that."

He ducked to the left, into a small, poorly made tunnel of rocks held together with some sort of natural adhesive, and it opened into a wide chamber that smelled heavily of roast pork smothered in herbs and a thick broth. There were a few elves sitting around, nibbling on small portions of their own. Three of the Amrian soldiers had already found their way in, and Envy paused at once, listening hard to try to sort out where everyone sat.
"If you'd be so kind to help me find a place to sit?" Envy asked, holding out his arm for Narda. "If I step on anyone its really going to hurt."

The elves, while apprehensive, rose to cut more portions of the meat off the large beast over the hearth, setting it on a large platter for the newcomers to pick off their desired share. Once everyone was sitting, the door on the other side of the hall opened, admitting the fuschia haired elf with the wicked smile. Back in her leathers, her hair rebound in her usual neat braid, Ysaryn raised her hands to splay the four ceramic bottles wrapped in twine. "Kombu!" She declared, and the shadow elves raised their hands, taking the bottles, save for one, which she waved before the Armians. "Our drink." She introduced. "Strong. Made of seaweed."

She gathered a few small cups from the shelf on the wall, she handed them out and filled them, Envy declining with a wave of his hand. Gathering her own plate, Ysaryn sat cross legged across from the others. "Will knock you on you ass." Ysaryn warned with a crooked smirk. "Try not to take challenge, or you fighting tomorrow will be shit."
"Yes, do try to avoid falling unconscious for the night." Envy grinned, cautiously picking at his own plate. "I would like to -wait, why are you fighting tomorrow?" He asked, turning toward the Amrians, his brow furrowed.

As they explained, his frown only deepened. "Then I repeat, do not drink too much, so I can be confident you'll all be returning in one piece. As well, I imagine taking your people home will require a level of focus." He added to Kire, his clouded eyes pointing in her direction.
Ysaryn only chuckled and took a swig from the bottle before shoving a fair amount of pork between her teeth and her cheek. "Kirai too stubborn to let them get risk." She decided. "But, Kirai also to stubborn to decline drink..."
Envy wrinkled his nose, the Kombu reeking heavily of salt and of the seaweed from which it was made. "Just don't ask whats in it." He warned, containing his meal."
"Who cares?" Ysaryn demanded. "Gets your drunk."

"You have my word, nothing will happen to Gavin," Kire put in. Ed frowned again.
"Is he the Gemini?"
"Mmhmm. But Ed--"
"I know." Ed sighed. "I'm not going to charge at him. We'll talk about him another time, though I surmise we will meet him soon. Are you taking him back to Amria?"
Kire shook her head. "He doesn't want to yet."

The smells of meat greeted them as they approached the dining hall, and Ed's stomach immediately growled. The women laughed, and Ed chuckled along with them. "I missed meat more than I thought," he said sheepishly. The three Amrians inside immediately rose to their feet upon seeing them; Kire gestured for them to be at ease and resume their meal.

At Envy's request, Narda grinned and linked arms with him. " Don't know about you, but this is the first time I get to walk arm in arm with somebody," she said, as she carefully led him to an unoccupied spot, sitting beside him. Kire and Ed, after getting their portions, sat not far from the other two. Before they could begin, Ysaryn burst in with what Kire assumed was drink. She was back in her usual garb, and her relief showed in her wolfish grin.

"Seaweed?" The Amrians gave the bottle a wary glance, with Kire blushing a bit at Ysaryn'd description of her. "Yes, I can't be too drunk for that," she affirmed.
"Mmhmm." Ed looked skeptical as he ate. "None of you also need to see her drunk."
"Shut up," Kire hissed, feeling her ears go hot as her blush spread. She looked at the bottle. "Just a taste."
"And so it begins," Nard said, grinning. She turned to Envy. "You don't drink, or perhaps just for tonight?"
Kire, beside her, sniffed the cup where Ysaryb had put a little liquor. She took a sip, swallowed immediately, then coughed. "That--that's strong," she said in between coughs. "And it tastes a bit familiar. Can't place it. Maybe just seafood."
"Ha! Ysaryn knows you pretty well!" Nard thumped Kire's back.

"Oh, I see her drunk." Ysaryn declared proudly. "She talk and talk and talk, and gets very friendly, no? Like a cat?" The elf winked at Kire. "I would not mind to see again."
"Mmm," Envy said, his attention shifting between them before he heard Narda's question. "Don't drink, I'm afraid." He answered. "Inhibitions and all that. The tobacco is all I allow myself, really. Unless its a weak wine."
Ysaryn studied Envy, realizing she had never seen him drink at all, and wondered if it would be worth it to try. Her attention was turned to Kire as she coughed, her smirk reappearing.
"No more, or you will not make it to bed." Ysaryn ordered, though there was the unmistakable hint of a challenge in her voice. Then she perked up, looking around. "Where is the grumpy one?"
"Which one?" Envy asked, chuckling.
"Either." Ysaryn twisted, looking at each of the dozen or so faces that were sitting in the hall.
"I'd guess they're just in another hall." Envy commented.

Ysaryn fell quiet a moment, pulling apart the tender pork on her plate, her fingers quickly coated in grease. "They were not kind to him. Either of us, really." Ysaryn said suddenly in elvish. A few of her people silenced and looked over. "They kept Rulitus in a cage, magic suppressant wards. For me, I had bracelets so I could wander freely, but he refused, so they didn't let him roam. I don't think he slept for the duration we were there."
Envy hummed. "He'll be fine. A little sleep and he'll resurface, I assure you." He promised, reaching forward to gently pat Ysaryn. As he couldn't see, he simply lifted his hand, and Ysaryn gently pushed it back down, as if to say she hardly needed his comfort.
But her people continued to watch her, ire crossing some of their expressions. "They caged you?" One of them said.
"What makes them any different than the men in Cordon?"
"They have no right!"
Ysaryn and Envy both straightened, sensing the rising tension. "That is enough." Envy insisted.
"We don't answer to you!" One of them snapped.
"But you do answer to me, and I am also saying to drop it." She snarled right back, baring her teeth. The males shrank back a little, though they still looked cross. "They did not put me in a cage to violate me or sell me. They put us all in a cage to suppress our magic. Then we were let out." Her nostrils flared. "You challenge Envy again I will make you count the grains of sand all day."
The elves hissed at her, leering at Envy while they went back to their meal. Ysaryn, looking grumpy, took another drink from her bottle. Envy pursed his lips together, sighing.
Then Ysaryn rose to her feet, taking the Kombu. "I need air."
"Ysaryn, its pouring rain outside." Envy pointed out.
"Still air!" She answered before vanishing outside. The group of elven males looked over again, glaring.

Envy exhaled noisily. "Not all a peaceful trip, I take it?" He asked as he glanced toward the other three, yet unaware that Ed would have understood. "She tells me that your magic was suppressed. I can't imagine that felt pleasant. I've only felt that once, when Ruli was practicing his wards. Its like being under a massive amount of water." The Kartaian shifted his shoulders uncomfortably at the memory. "Kire has magic, does that mean you do, as well, Ed? Or even you, Narda, I haven't asked. I hope I'm not prying by doing so."

Ed and Narda both turned to Kire, who turned beet-red at Ysaryn’s description of drunkenness. “Shall I tell her?” the giantess said, and Kire spat off a few curses in Taakalon to tell her, no, Nard should not tell whatever embarrassing story she was gleefully reminiscing at the moment. When Ysaryn forbade her to drink more, Kire frowned, but nodded. It wouldn’t do for her to act a fool in front of her soldiers, anyway. For good measure, though, Ed took the cup from her with a sly grin.
“You, my good man, have more discipline that the Wyvernling,” Narda replied to Envy with a laugh.

The Amrians fell silent, however, when Ysaryn and Envy began conversing in Elvish, followed later by a tense exchange between them and the other Shadow-Elves. Kire didn’t need to understand the language to know they were upset. Her gaze shifted to her three Amrian subjects, who had grown quiet, too. They seemed to be listening; while not proficient like Ed, they would have recognized the language and some of the sentiment behind their statements. “What are they talking about?” Kire whispered in Taakalon.
“They were talking about Rulitus and the magic suppression. They are upset that Ysaryn was caged. She and Envy are telling them to stop their complaints.” Ed paused, then turned to his cousin. “So which one of them was responsible for capturing her and making them slaves? Ikegai, or the Gemini?” His voice was calm, but Kire could sense the intent behind the question.
“Ikegai. Wholly him. He had already allied himself with native slaver scum here, too.”

Ysaryn had disappeared, and Kire sighed. “Not entirely, no. I did not like the wards, myself. They siphoned all my energy away and made me all stupid. I had to leave my Ring with Ruli just so they can let me move around without the bracelets slowing my body and mind.”
“Her people’s anger is understandable,” Ed said to Envy. “Anyone who has known chains wouldn’t be happy about their Chief’s daughter being restrained. Our friends back home can attest to feeling similar.” Narda grunted in agreement to that.

“No, you’re not prying,” Ed said in response to Envy’s question about magic. “We can’t do what Kire could do, but it is understood that magic is lying dormant within our bloodline. In varying degrees, this is true for every Amrian, though it manifests differently. The Gemini have an affinity for blood magic, as you perhaps already know. But it takes hard work from sorcerers, hedge witches, alchemists to make magic work back home, minus the benefits of a gods-given trinket like the one my cousin has. Tradition believes magic went to sleep the day the Wyvern warlords killed off the last dragon of Amria many, many generations ago.”
“Same goes for me,” Narda said as she continued to eat. “I’m an aberration. They say giants—even taller than you or I, Envy—roamed Amria when gods, dragons, and all manner of mythical beasts roamed the world aplenty. To get someone as tall as I am in my family is very rare. Not as impressive perhaps as claiming blood descent from actual fucking dragons though,” she added, grinning at her two companions.

Envy arched an eyebrow at the mention of Kire acting stupid under the enchantments effects, wondering how such a reaction occurred, exactly. When Ruli had been practicing, as he said, he felt pressure squeezing him, but he'd kept his mind. However the Amrian magic worked, it was certainly a few degrees different.

"Here, I don't believe humans have magic." Envy admitted as Ed explained that such a thing was dormant in all of their blood. "Short of a few sly of hand tricks and cons, things that put on good entertainment and empty a pocket or two. But magic like you've witnessed I have only seen produced by those with elven heritage. Likewise, in different degrees." He added.
Turning his head, he looked toward Narda. "Are you saying your family is shorter than you are? I can't imagine the surprise when you just continued to grow." He blinked, trying to imagine as much for a moment. "Kartaians are always tall. Take Rab, for example. He was probably taller than the average man before he was what they would count as an adult. Though he is far shorter because of his mixed blood. I have no such excuse. I'm just short." He grinned, showing his teeth before he bit into the last of his pork.

Slowly, the shadow elves rose and filtered out, muttering among themselves about the decent dinner, and about the fishing that would present itself as soon as the storm passed. Envy listened idly, then looked around to the other three. "So, you're taking some of your citizens back tonight. More tomorrow. Then this gate ordeal. After that, what is next?" Envy wondered. "Don't tell me we'll be waiting another quarter of a year for you to make an appearance. I may have to keep your giantess for company and incentive."

Narda chuckled. “A very big surprise,” she replied. “And considering that we age quite slow, it took, hmm, two decades before the growth spurt took effect. My mother, bless her sweet heart, she was particularly concerned about how I would marry. The men mostly feared me, you see. But it is a good advantage to have. Separates the wheat from the chaff, as they say.”
“Their loss, my good lady,” Ed put in with a wink.
Narda laughed, then nudged Envy. “Oh, don’t you worry, you’re tall enough for me. Just the right size,” she said playfully. Kire almost coughed out the pork she had swallowed.

The Amrians continued their meal as the rest of the elves finished theirs and left. Kire pondered Envy’s question. “I would love to visit when I don’t actually have some pressing matter to ask your help with. Can’t have you thinking I’m only dropping by when I need something. And you can keep Narda, by all means,” she added.
The giantess snorted. “I would love to not see your face and hear your whining for a few months. Envy is already much better company. Finally, someone I can talk to without having to look or bend down,” she teased back, ruffling Kire’s hair with greasy fingers, earning her a few curses from her friend.
“It might be a while though,” she answered after grumbling at her giantess friend for a bit. “I can imagine the family needs time together once Ed returns. And it depends on the status of our stalemate with the Gemini. We might get ready for the big push soon.”
“And then you’ll decide if you’re keeping the throne,” Ed said. Kire turned to him, brows raised. “Your people are loyal, as you’ve seen from our soldiers here, and we both know you have nothing but their best interests at heart. But your armies can’t fight for someone with weak resolve.”
“My resolve isn’t weak. I fully intend to take back the empire,” Kire said firmly. Ed raised a hand.
“I know, Kire. I didn’t mean to question that. We’ll speak of that later, when we’ve come home.”

They finished their meals, though Narda took her time. Kire and Ed told Envy a more detailed recounting of their time in Lithilote as they ate. Afterwards, Kire stretched, then stood up. “Thank you for the lovely meal, Envy. Ed and I have to go gather the others so I can take them back, along with the fallen. After that, I’m going to need some rest. Old man here needs his beauty sleep, too.” Ed shook his head at the teasing.
“I’ll stay here,” Narda said. “Don’t much fancy walking out there in this weather.” Kire nodded, and the cousins approached the other three Amrian soldiers, speaking to them in Taakalon. They nodded, then left the chamber to gather their comrades, Kire and Ed following behind. Narda watched them leave before returning to her meal. “For a man who has lost his city and more, you are holding yourself together very well. Not many can say that with pride,” she commented to Envy. “It’s a lonely position to be in, I imagine.”

Kire and Ed were back in the caves, waiting for their soldiers. Soon, the first eight who would be making the journey with her tonight showed up, bowing to the Empress. After asking after their wellbeing, Kire told them what the portal would feel like, warning them that it was a totally different kind of discomfort to Shadow-walking. There was some apprehension after that description, but none voice it out loud. When they said they were ready for it, Kire called three to her side, two to one coffin, while she and the third shared the load for the second. They disappeared in a blue flash, the other soldiers gasping. Several minutes had passed before Kire returned. “Elva and Jan rounded on me,” she said. “But Elva’s happy, even if she was grumpy about the sudden guests.” The next two trips went more smoothly, now that Elva and her attendants were ready to receive them. Elva had asked about Ed, and Kire promised to deliver him with the rest of the soldiers tomorrow. When Kire left, Elva was already fighting tears.

“How are you holding up?” Ed asked as soon as Kire returned. The Paladin was catching her breath, a hand held up to give herself a moment.
“I’m fine. Little winded, a little headache, but other than that, I’m good. And you?”
“It still feels a little—unreal,” he admitted. “Come on. I need an actual drink, and I want to check on the rest of them before we turn in. The others gave me directions to the other dining hall.”
“Gods, yes.”

Though the rain had let up a little, they were still soaked by the time they reached the other hall. Only a few more soldiers were still there, though they, too, looked like they would turn in soon. After getting used to the nocturnal schedule of the Raielwen, then suddenly interrupting that with a hike through the outskirts of Lithilote and enduring Shadow-walking, they were exhausted despite their excitement. Kire could smell the seafood and fondly remembered Ysaryn’s cooking. The Wyverns talked to the remaining soldiers and told them that the first transport was a success, and after that let them go about their business again or to go sleep.

Envy grinned, flashing teeth, before he shrugged his shoulders. "It is not as easy for me as I let on." He admitted. "Losing my eyesight was a lot easier than losing so many friends, and my home. I have good sense of smell and hearing, plus enough around me I trust to help me get around. That is what gets me through. Everyone here who have survived." He fished into his pockets, searching for his cigarettes. "If I falter, so will they. So I don't allow myself to do so. If you would be so kind." He held the cigarette to Narda, gesturing toward the fire. "Would you like one?" He added thoughtfully, opening his wooden box again to offer one to the giantess.

With the box tucked back into his pocket and their cigarettes lit, Envy shook his head. "I don't say much with pride. With the exception of pointing out that I am certainly not lonely. I keep good company, both domestic and foreign." The Kartaian grinned, his words rising as smoke in the warm chamber.
"And you? With all that is going on in your home at the moment, do you find yourself lonely? Or is having people like Kire and her family, or your ship mates, enough?"

They talked for a while more, the Kartaian finishing his cigarette before he rose to his feet, offered his hand to Narda to at least pretend to walk her out into the cave again. "You should rest." Envy insisted. "Tomorrow is bound to be trying in one way or the other. And I am aware of how much energy our bodies consume." He grinned, guiding her to the tunnel out that would lead them nearest to the house they had been offered. "If you do decide to remain here, I will be glad. But if you return, as would be understandable, I will look forward to your visits, as well."
His hand grazing her arm, Envy tucked her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "Good night, Narda. I'll see you off tomorrow before you run off for danger."

By morning, the storm had subsided, leaving the beaches swarming with boats full of elves eager to cast their nets. Envy was awake, loitering just inside a tunnel, enjoying another of his cigarettes as he conversed with Zeke. The latter of the two had a cup of coffee in his hands, the smell of it filling the chamber.
"Morning." Ruli grumbled, finally waking and strolling in.
"There you are." Envy said, turning toward his voice. Zeke took another drink, refraining, for once, from slipping away. "I had wondered when you'd appear."
Ruli only groaned and rubbed his face before combing his hair with his fingers. "I could have slept a few more days. I want to sleep a few more days." His eyes zeroed in on the coffee Zeke held. "The others awake yet?"
"Not that I have seen." Envy answered with a smirk.
"Haha." Ruli said tiredly. "I'm going for a pot." He shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged outside.

Narda grinned at Envy as she smoked beside him. Like Edward, Envy had a manner about him that was both kind and authoritative, though he seemed more paternal than the Amrian. She had yet to see the elf angry or in a darker mood, though, which made his remark about inhibitions a curious one. She could easily see how Kire would gravitate towards Envy, given the way she and the Wyvern cousins had lost their parents. When Envy asked to have his cigarette lighted, and offered one for her, Narda gladly took him up on it. She sat back beside him as they smoked, lazily watching the smoke rise with each exhale.

“It can be lonely, yes. Even before the usurpation. But like you, we draw strength from each other.” She replied after a pause. “I don’t know if she had told you about this, but the last time the Gemini tried to open a world gate, it created the Black Storm, which killed many people besides those sacrificed to the blood ritual. Kire’s parents perished, along with some other members of the Wyvern family. That’s how the crown was passed to her, and why the remaining cousins are close to each other. I met the Wyverns sometime later after that, at a dark point in all our lives, when we’ve all had to step into the roles we were to inherit, grappling with losses. It does help a lot, yes, to have such friends as they. And our shipmates, too—they had all come from dire situations, and so found a new family onboard. But sometimes, when a strong bond was formed out of loneliness, there are days when the darkness can get too heavy, and all that you can do for each other is to be lonely together.”

Narda chuckled, shaking her head. “Forgive the rather melancholy response. Lives as long as ours, you accumulate as much sadness as happiness. The former, sometimes a smidge more than the latter. So I say, fuck the fates, eh? I try to take what happiness I can get. My friend Kire—and most of her family—they don’t quite know how to do that part yet. Not even Edward, who seems the most even-tempered of the lot.”

She enjoyed the conversation a while more until it was time for them both to retire to their own quarters. She took his hand as they walked back out to the cave, chuckling again at his remark about how much energy they needed to sustain themselves with their size. “I will have to come back to Amria, but I will definitely pester Kire to let me visit.” She smiled warmly when she felt his hand grazing her arm, and grinned when he took her hand to kiss it. “Good night, Envy. I will look forward to your send-off, then.”

The next day, Narda was glad to note the storm had passed. She rose early, as usual, and had expected to be the first one up. But when she stepped out of her room, Edward had just come from the bath. “Good morning, milady,” he said with a grin as he dried his hair. “Did you enjoy Envy’s company? You seemed rather charmed by him yesterday.”
“He is charming,” Narda replied, returning his grin. “Walk with me? It’s a lovely day.” The both of them didn’t need to ask when Kire would rise; given how tired she had been from yesterday’s portals, they had expected her to sleep deeply. Besides the fact that Kire was, well, Kire. Edward obliged, and after he tossed his towel quickly into his room, they walked out to greet the sunrise. “Can’t sleep much?”
Ed shook his head. “Not for lack of trying. I hadn’t been able to ask yet, how is your family? Does your father still rule the Wild Meadows, or has the lordship passed to you?”
“Ha! It should have, but the old man doesn’t know how to retire. I am in no hurry; the raids we conduct with the crew keep me plenty busy.” They spoke in Taakalon, with Narda catching Edward up on other news from her side of things. “Will you look at that. Lovely view, don’t you think?” They stared out at the sea, illuminated by the early sun. “Let’s hope they have coffee in the dining hall.

By the time they had refilled their second cup and were halfway through breakfast, Kire finally joined them, a little bleary eyed. “That seaweed taste from Ysaryn’s drink—it’s stuck in my mouth,” Kire said, going straight for the coffee, her face looking rather dejected at the thought of having woken up with that being the first sensation she had registered. Ed and Narda shook their heads as they made room for Kire to join them.

His coffee enjoyed, Ruli stepped outside of the hall to climb a set of stairs and sit in an empty courtyard. It was camp from the night's rain, but he cared little as he drank his coffee and watched the sun rise over the green beech and the soft white beach below. He was cold from the morning wind, but it was slower and less agitated than what carried the storm. The coffee helped, each sip warming his stomach, and the sun on his face was something he'd dearly missed from being in Aera's court.

Ruli sat alone, enjoying his morning drink and the view that accompanied it, until Ysaryn sat beside him with a huff. At once, she folded her arms and her legs, and Ruli raised his eyebrows at her in question.
"I knocked on your door last night." She said with an edge to her voice.
"I was sleeping."
"Soundly, apparently."
He smirked. "What did you want?"
Ysaryn turned her lovely face toward him, and Ruli froze, wondering what it could have possibly been that she'd look so annoyed over missing out. "I did not like being caged again."
"I did not like the idea of being put in cuffs."
She blinked, studying his face, gathering from that comment that he'd worn them before. She knew so very little of his past, same as everyone else. Her gaze fell to his wrists, but there were no scars on his wrist that suggested he'd been chained. Ysaryn had only seen his arms a few times, and knew there were many other scars from the life he made of thieving and fighting, but nothing around his wrists. Perhaps it was just a phobia.

"So what did you want?" Ruli asked again, sipping his coffee.
"To spar." She admitted. "To take control. Know I can win. I knocked on Zeck's door, after, but he refused."
"Why would he refuse to have his ass handed to him by a pretty elf in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know, either." Ysaryn sighed, and Ruli chuckled. Her eyes narrowed at him. "You were teasing!"
"Of course." He nodded. "No one wants to go out in the pouring rain to be picked on by an angry elf."
Ysaryn huffed and adjusted her weight on the bench. "My men would have."
"Then you should have asked them." Ruli pointed out, earning a glare. "Look, if we don't find any combat today, I'll spar with you as long as you need." Ruli promised, rising to his feet. "Let's go see how the others are waking, and we'll go."
Ysaryn wiggled again. "No. You made fun of me."
Ruli chuckled and wandered off, feeling her annoyance follow him for his nerve at walking away.

"There you lot are." He said, sliding into the second hall he came to to find the Amrian officials. He sidled in, refilled his cup, then sat nearby. His gaze went from Kire to Narda to Ed. "Hey." He said to the male. "We haven't been formerly introduce, I'm Rulitus. Everyone calls me Ruli." He did not offer his hand to the empress's cousin. Sipping his cup, instead, Ruli narrowed his gaze at Kire. "Did Ysaryn give you her weird alcohol last night?" She reeked of that unique taste seaweed had.
Giving his head a little shake, he dismissed the topic. "Speaking of Ysaryn, I partially hope theres something to sic her on at the gate today, as apparently she's looking for something to stab." He jerked his chin toward Kire. "You look like you know the feeling, maybe you can get her to calm down."

“Everyone calls you Ruli? I thought your nickname was ‘Grumpykin’,” Kire said in between sips of coffee. “You look better.”
Ed offered an amiable smile in response, though his gaze was scrutinizing Ruli as he spoke. “Glad to finally meet you under better circumstances. These two call me Ed.” He likewise didn’t offer his hand.
Kire’s nose wrinkled at the memory of the seaweed homebrew she had tasted. “She did. I just had a sip. That’s—it’s—very—”
“Terrible,” Narda put in with a chuckle. Kire looked around as if expecting the elf to hear the insult to her drink and give her a beating. Kire finished her current cup and went to get food, hoping to wash down the taste.
“Be careful what you wish for,” she said as she ate. “Where is she right now? I can tell her I’d spar with her afterwards, if everything goes smoothly today. But there is a strong chance we’d find something at the gate, even if it had been dormant these past nine months. Magic that powerful always leaves some sign or other. There were reports of a great fire, or a flash like lightning, the day Ed and his soldiers had supposedly died, and rumors of swathes of Gemini-occupied territory being occupied by monsters.” She sipped from her mug, then thought it over. “Once, a whole town that had sheltered the Gemini had gone mad. Not that different from what happened to Cordon three months ago. You never know with gates.”

The other Amrian soldiers arrived for their breakfast, each one giving a polite bow to the former Empress, who greeted them in turn. “I think I can finish transporting them in two trips. Leaves me—two, maybe three portals just in case, depending on what we encounter at the gate.”
“Is Envy awake? He told me he’ll be seeing us off when we go to the gate,” Narda asked Ruli; Ed grinned knowingly at her.
“He should be; it’s not too early, I think,” Kire said, thinking aloud. “As soon as they’re done with their breakfast, we’ll move. Gods, I hope it isn’t going to be like the mines at least.”
Kire clearly was eager to get on with the day. The moment it was clear that the rest of the Amrian soldiers had finished with their breakfast and have sufficiently woken, Kire got up and went to gather them. Ed, having just finished his own meal, followed along with Narda. “Be back in two shakes,” Kire said to Ruli. “Whoever’s coming along, we’ll meet them at the main cave.”

Now that they were all refreshed, and Kire was at a hundred percent, bringing the remaining seven was easier. Having been forewarned, Elva, Janes, and the attendants were able to receive them smoothly. “And Ed?” Elva asked, even though she already knew the answer.
“I promise, after one more bit of business,” Kire replied with a grin.
She reappeared in the cavern with Ed and Narda standing by. At Kire’s behest earlier, the giantess held onto the map they were given by their guide, and Kire spread it out on the floor, mouthing Aera’s instructions as she scanned the markers the princess had placed on the map. West, then angle southwest.

"Haha. Everyone's such a comedian today." Ruli said, though he smirked behind his cup. "I suppose that's a compliment. Passive way of admitting I looked like shit the past few days." He grunted, turning his coffee cup idly in his fingers. "Its a terrible drink, really. But it gets your head swimming quickly, so there's a perk to choking it down."
"And I'm not wishing for anything. She is." Ruli pointed out, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. "She's outside. I've already promised her I'd spar with her when we return. Assuming she still needs to burn through the aggression. I swear, her kind self-destruct when they don't have an outlet for their violence."

After he'd gotten up to grab a small plate of breakfast, Kire mentioned taking the last of Ed's men to Amria. Ruli took another sip of his coffee, turning his attention to Narda shortly after. "Mmmhm. He's in the caves." He said, pulling his bacon apart with his fingers to eat in pieces. "He'll see us all off before we go, I'm sure."
He missed the smile Ed gave to Narda, oblivious to the interest between one and the other giant.
When Kire rose and said she'd go, Ruli nodded, downed his coffee and the last of his breakfast, and rose to his feet. "Meet you in there." He said to the remaining two before he slipped back out again and into the sun-bright city.

After taking a moment to detour to his little house for his sword and, he knew Kire would comment on, his boots, Ruli returned to the caverns, trying to pat down his ornery hair. Ed and Narda were already present, Envy standing near the giantess. Ruli supposed Envy enjoyed having someone to compete with in height. Zeke and Ysaryn were still no where to be found.
"Back to that spot just outside the border, right?" Ruli said, shifting his shoulders and rolling his neck as if expecting to roll directly into a fight.
He turned when he heard the familiar lilt of Ysaryn's voice as she grumbled at Zeke, who walked in beside her. He gazed at the group of them in silent plea to get her to leave him alone, his cheeks splotched in redness from whatever she had growled at him.
"Ys." Ruli said, and the elf rounded on him.
"That is not my name." She said sharply.
Rolling his eyes, Ruli reached out, beckoning her near. Zeke looked grateful that she accepted and moved to stand beside the blond. "Stop picking on him."
"He's a big boy." Ysaryn sniffed.
"If you want to pick on a 'big boy', pick fights with Envy."

Envy only chuckled as Ysaryn crossed her arms. "Are you all ready?" The Kartaian asked. "I don't want to fret and tell you all to be back at a certain time mark, but please do not linger more than you need to." He requested, tilting his head slightly to listen for each of them where they stood.
"We'll be alright." Zeke said.
"Mmm. Clearly we're all too stubborn to die." Ruli said casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Months here, and he still wasn't used to the lower temperature, even after the time in the chilly mountains. "Two to each of us." Ruli said, reaching for Ed and Kire. Ysaryn, in turn, offered her hands to Zeke and Narda. "We'll be back." He promised to the largest of them, before they vanished, pulled into the nothing.

The woods in which they arrived were slightly dimmer than the bright coast, the sun not quite over the horizon here. Ruli dropped his passengers and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, his eyes shifting at once to the Lithilote border.
"After you." Zeke said, gesturing to Kire, her hand pointing westward. "Ysaryn, you're our scout again, Ruli and Narda, take the rear."
"Make friends with a pretty elf and suddenly he thinks hes the boss." Ysaryn complained, drawing her blades. She rolled her shoulders, loosening her joints.
"He always thinks he's boss." Ruli commented. "Its half the reason he was the boss in Ziad. No one wanted to argue."
Ysaryn chuckled, and Zeke gave them both a dark look. He didn't have to understand to get the feeling they spoke about him. "You want to take control?" He snapped at Ruli.
"I thought I'd leave that to the empress." Ruli answered casually, and Ysaryn flashed a crooked grin.
Zeke frowned, then threw up his hands in dismissal as he walked. Still, Ruli fell into place toward the back of the group as they walked, silent so Ysaryn could listen over the sound of their feet.

Kire nodded at Ruli’s question, then turned when they heard Ysaryn and Zeke join them. Ruli was right about her mood; she was raring for a fight. Admittedly, Ruli was also right about Kire knowing exactly how that felt, but she wasn’t going to say that to him. “Believe me, I don’t want to linger any longer than I have to near a world gate,” Kire said to Envy.
Narda grinned at the Kartaian. “Save a cigarette for me,” she called, before taking Ysaryn’s hand. Kire and Ed took Ruli’s, and a heartbeat later, they were gone.

It was still a little dark and chilly when they emerged in the woods. Kire gestured westward, about to give instructions when Zeke had beat her to it. “You two are a lot alike,” she commented to Ed quietly, before she turned to the rest of the party again, hearing them bicker behind her. Ed raised a brow, having heard the conversation in Elvish at the start of it. “Lovely. We haven’t even found the gate yet,” Kire muttered softly, then, louder for the others, “tell me again why I brought the rest of you along?” She turned, speaking in Taakalon to Ed and Narda before taking the lead. Narda fell back, guarding their rear, while Ed stayed by Kire’s side.

They kept heading west, Kire silent, paying attention to any magic signatures just as she had when they were looking for the wards around Lithilote. But like Aera mentioned, after a while of trudging through the woods Kire started to feel something. She pointed at an angle southwards and continued on. Nothing had assailed them yet. Somehow this just made Kire more wary.
“What do you feel?” Ed asked.
“Tingling. And my nose itching. And my nape. Like someone is pointing a knife at it.”
Not twenty minutes after that, Kire stopped mid-step. Behind them, the forest appeared the same, but not far ahead, the trees grew closer together, twisting, some intertwining so close to each other they blocked out ways forward. A cold breeze blew through them, and Kire’s face twisted in disgust. It smelled like the mines, except, unlike Gavin’s previous signature or Ikegai’s, this one had the strong smell of decayed earth. “See a way in?”

They found a grove of trees that weren’t too tangled up with each other. Kire silently checked on the rest of the party before proceeding, hacking at errant vines that were in the way. “Try not to touch anything,” she said, as they ventured further into the grove.
“Kire,” Ed murmured, gesturing at her. When Kire looked his way, her eyes widened. Both cousins touched their noses.
“Shit.” Kire wiped the blood that had trickled out of her nose with her sleeve, then checked to see if any had fallen to the ground. Ed had done the same, and both were relieved to see that they hadn’t spilled any blood yet onto the soil. The bleeding would stop soon, she knew, but seeing as it was only the Wyverns whose bodies reacted in this manner only served to confirm that this was true Gemini magic behind these twisted forms.
Narda saw it too. “Every time a Wyvern enters Gemini territory in Amria, that happens,” she explained to those near her. “Holdover from older, deadlier times, when they’d erect more potent versions of the wards.”

Animal sounds echoed throughout the forest, but they seemed unnatural, echoing as if from some faraway place. Though it had begun to grow lighter in the woods outside, in here it was as if they were stuck in eternal dusk. Kire found something propped against a tree ahead that looked to be rusted metal. When she approached, she recognized a breastplate with the Wyvern insignia on it, though more disturbing was the fact that it wasn’t so much propped against a tree as stuck in it, as if it had melded with the wood. Kire’s eyes followed the lines and grooves on the bark, her mind picturing faces in the whorls where there weren’t any. She glanced at Ed as she straightened up again and saw a look on his face that she had seen on her own as well. “It’s not your fault,” she whispered. “You didn’t abandon them.”

Ed nodded, his expression grim. Kire was about to continue forward when she saw shapes ahead, the smell of decay wafting towards them, not unlike the smell of the dolls. Only these had the decaying smells of the forest mixed in with the taste of rust in her mouth. Red eyes peered from the shadows that advanced, and as they drew nearer, Kire could see what they were more clearly. Wolves. Only they looked sick, rotting in places. While some looked like they were mutated canines, there were a few whose bodies didn’t look quite right hunched on all fours, as if they had been forced into these shapes by pulling their bodies apart and putting them back together. In some of them, she caught the glint of metal; a few had pieces of armor still wrapped around their bodies.
“Here’s your fight, Ysaryn,” Kire growled, her sword in hand, getting ready. The wolves snarled and leapt at them.

Ruli glanced ahead at Kire when she muttered, smirking. Ysaryn fell into place beside Zeke, who looked thrilled about it. They didn't speak, letting Kire get a feel for the magic she sought as well as allowing Ysaryn's ears to pick up anything unusual. Kire was the first thing to detect anything, her direction changing suddenly. When Kire told Ed what she sensed, Ysaryn turned her head to glance at Ruli over her shoulder.
"Was it like that in Cordon?" Zeke asked beside the elf, and her fuchsia eyes shifted to him. "Not for me." Ysaryn admitted. "But I do not sense like they do."
Zeke hummed. "Not good, either way."
"Is good." Ysaryn insisted. "We are going correct way."

Not long after, they approached the enclosed knot of trees, and could smell the decay in the air, Ysaryn bristled, unsheathing her twin blades. "Too cold, even for the forest." Ysaryn whispered. She turned around to look at Ruli again. "Do you think those things are inside?"
"I don't think your people will have fallen victim here." He reassured, reading the fear on her face.
Indeed, her large eyes then turned to Ed, wondering what would have become of any of his men that remained.
"Head forward." Zeke instructed of the elf gently. "Eyes open."

It took them a short time to find a route inside the cluster, cutting their way in through the unnatural brush. Spotting Kire and Ed, both, with blood oozing from their noses, Ysaryn and Ruli both raised their fingers to their upper lips. Dry. Puzzled, they looked forward until Narda explained.
"Is it painful?" He asked the Wyverns.
"This isn't Gemini territory." Zeke argued.
"Not that point." Ysaryn said to the dark haired man. "Their magic has claimed this land for them. Stained it."
Zeke wrinkled his nose. "Is ... this what Ziad is like, now?"
"No." Ruli said shortly, cutting the conversation short.

The first sound of the animals, Ysaryn whirled. The trees made their voices echo oddly, and she couldn't sort out which direction they came from.
"What the hell is that." Ruli wondered. He was only familiar with desert animals, and these sounded ... terrifying.
Ysaryn shifted her arms to keep her muscles ready, her eyes searching the trees. Kire and Ed gravitated toward the edge, peering at bits of old metal, Zeke following their line of sight to the breastplate. He paled the moment he realized what it was. Who it had been. He stared at it, remembering that, nearly nine months ago, his own men had perished under flames and stone. His head ached in phantom pain from the crush of his helmet, and he turned around to find Ruli staring at him, guilt soaking his features.
"I'm sorry." Ruli whispered.
"Now is not the time." Zeke snapped back at him.

"Tsst." Ysaryn hissed, and heads turned her way, then followed her gaze to the creatures that appeared.
Ruli blinked at them, trying to sort out what, exactly, they were. He would have guessed dogs of some sort, but they looked like no breed he'd ever seen, though he knew the list was small. "Did Ikegai start experimenting here?" He asked quietly.
He drew the blade Kire gave him, and, to his left, Zeke drew his own sword, the weapon well cared for despite Zeke's idleness the last few months. "Are you still able to fight?" Ruli asked.
Zeke squared his shoulders. "I can't believe you'd insult me with a q-"
"Zeke!" Ruli said firmly, demanding an answer.
The former soldier exhaled. "No. Not like I could before."
Ruli clenched his jaw for a moment. "You can hate me as much as you want, but you're hating me for a few more decades." Ruli whispered. "If you feel like you're losing, say the word, and I'm taking you back to the cliffs. Someone needs to watch them."
Zeke turned his head to leer at the blond, but offered no objection.

Upon hearing the invitation, Ysaryn grinned, baring her sharp teeth, and stepped toward the creatures, snapping her jaw at them with a deep growl. A challenge. They leapt forward, and the group threw themselves into the defensive, cutting through any of the wolf-monsters that drew to near. Ysaryn was a whirl of metal and fuchsia. Ruli and Zeke, toward the back, were slower; Zeke's form and energy weren't as sharp and quick despite his habitual training. Ruli was simply unaccustomed to using a blade, though even he would rather not get within reach of the monsters and those teeth. If he tried to use his Touch against these abominations, who knew what he'd feel answer his conscious.
He kept one eye on Zeke as they fought, his other on the movement of everyone else. He had already seen Kire and Ysaryn fight, both women skilled and lethal. Ed fought as Ruli expected, trained and perfected over years, decades, as Ruli recalled their longer life. Narda was a force to be reckoned with, her swings powerful enough to knock the mutant things off their feet.

"We go forward?" Ysaryn called to ask Kire over the sound of snarling and blades sinking into fur and flesh. Strands of her vibrant hair were falling from her braid, the plait itself falling in her rapid movements to drop in the usual cord down her back. She'd have worried, but none of the monsters could get passed her blades.

They pushed forward, making their way toward the sensation only Kire could feel calling, though they knew they were going the right way. Ysaryn began Walking, jumping small distances to throw off the wolves that continued to come at them. They snapped and snarled at her, and she growled and howled at them in return, taunting them and drawing their attention enough that the others could pick their kills. Everytime she vanished, Ruli felt his pace quicken, worried that she'd make a wrong move, like she'd done at the edge of the desert by stepping into the thorned plant. The poisonous thorned plant, he reminded himself with dread.
Envy really had been disappointed in that portion of the retelling.

His fear came to light not fifteen minutes into their advance, the air filled with the reek of soiled blood and decay. Ysaryn's agonized shriek tore across their battles, and Ruli and Zeke whirled to find her on the ground writhing, clutching her head. Her hair, much shorter, was strewn about her face as she twisted and screamed, the ends of it stained black. Some ten feet to her right, one of the monsters had the rest of her braid in its jaws, its head jerking back and forth in the predatorial way dogs shake their catches to kill.
"Ysaryn!" Zeke shouted, shifting his position to reach her. Behind him, Ruli did the same, growing closer, the elf's screams echoing over the growls and snarls.
"Tell her to breathe." Ruli instructed as Zeke crouched over her to fend off the monsters that tried to pick at her legs. "Watch her kicks."
"Whats wrong with her!?"
"She Walked." Ruli panted, jabbing at a wolf that went running for the two, forcing it to redirect itself. "A ... thing .. had her hair. Walking when something is pulling on you ... she's lucky it only ripped through her hair." Ruli vaguely recalled severing the limbs of some of the men in the Cordon warehouse as they tried to subdue him. He turned toward them both, trying to make sure that her hair was indeed all that the botched magic had cut. "Imagine all the worst headaches you've had at once."
Zeke was muttering reassurances to the shadow elf as she cried, clutching her head.
"It will pass, but tell her to breathe." Ruli said again, circling Zeke as he stood guard. "We need to move. Can you lift her?"

It took him a moment, Ruli circling and guarding the two, before Zeke was able to rise with Ysaryn bent over his shoulder. The wolven monsters grew daring, trying to swarm as Zeke was bent over her, a few getting close and drawing blood. Ruli continued to keep close once Zeke was upright, clutching her trailing after the Armians. Ysaryn's shrieking died down, but she gripped her head and whimpered. Zeke repeatedly reassured her, but Ruli couldn't hear the words over the wolves.

The three Amrians threw themselves into the fight, like it had only been just yesterday all three fought together on the same battlefield. Kire’s Ring flashed blue as she hacked through the mutated canines as fast as she could. Ed guarded her flank, his skills with the blade honed by his years. He had been, after all, one of Kire’s first swordmasters, and he had absorbed the Raielwen’s skills during his time with them. Narda took up the rear guard, her battle axe cleaving through the pack that had circled the group, stopping their attempts to herd them in and trap them. “Forward!” Kire yelled back to Ysaryn. The Gemini signature was strong, filling her senses, but something else, some other sensation, came at her in waves. Familiar. Kire’s eyes widened. Portal winds.

Ed decapitated a wolf that had gotten too close to Kire. “Do you feel it? Where?”
“To the right.”
Kire pushed forward, and Ed and Narda cut through the wolves, picking up her slack when she paused to ascertain the direction of the energy signature. Ahead of them the ground sloped, and the trees around the base of it would help funnel the wolves or force them to break their swarming. Before Kire could point it out, a loud shriek rent the air. “Ysaryn!”
“On it,” Narda grunted, making her way back quicker to the men, hacking the nearest ones with her axe and clearing the way for the two of them, filling the space Zeke left now that he was occupied with carrying Ysaryn. “If you need to fight, I can carry her,” she said, her back to them as she guarded them from attacks.
“If she’s compromised, take her back to the cliffs,” Kire yelled over her shoulder. What she heard in reply instead was a string of angrily shouted Elvish. Kire frowned. “What did she say, Ed?”
Ed, despite the situation, barked out a laugh. “You really don’t want to know.”
“Fine. Nard, grab her, we’ll make a run for the slopes. The rest of you cut a path through.”

Without another word, the giantess grabbed Ysaryn and hoisted her over her own shoulders, then followed Kire to the incline she had pointed out. Ed ran ahead, clearing the way, Kire taking up rear guard this time. The trees grew close together here, and Narda had to cleave through some obstruction with her axe until she went through. Kire lagged behind, dealing with the wolves until everybody behind her had made it through the narrow passages through the trees and onto higher ground. After a while, however, the wolves, still snarling, began to slink off. “Wish we had a fire going,” she muttered under her breath, picking off the remaining wolves now that they too had to pass through a tighter space. “See anything?” she called out as she made her way towards them.
“Well,” Ed said, transfixed, as they stood on the crest of the small hill. “Found your gate.”

Below them, the twisted thicket spread out, but just beyond this grove was a bright blue glow, a disk of swirling light as tall as Narda and as wide as three people side by side. The light flickered, the size fluctuating smaller and larger, casting shadows on the surrounding trees and giving off the illusion of movement.
Kire gaped at it for a moment before turning to check if more animals would attack, her blade stained with their corrupted blood. No animals went forward. That can’t be good.

Ysaryn scratched at Narda as the giantess took her out of Zeke's arms, baring teeth as she swore venomously. The motion of being handed over made the ache in her head rear agonizingly, and the elf grabbed and squeezed her skull, squeezing her eyes tight. Zeke loitered near the two women, while Ruli jogged ahead to take up the space in the middle, guarding the Armians as they seemed to switch positions. Zeke helped guide Narda through, pulling apart branches and cutting thickets when the giantess couldn't reach, thanks to the elf in her arm. The fact that neither of them could understand the language she snarled to no one in particular a blessing.

Ruli, sword in his left hand, a large stick in his right as a baton, helped Kire fight off the last of the wolves, squeezing in through the gap made just before the Empress, his eyes beyond her as the wolves, the monstrous abnormalities, made their attempts at her. "Almost in." He informed her, backing away to give her space.
He inhaled once she was through, giving a few swipes at the wolves to make sure they retreated. As Kire and Ed turned to face the gate, Ruli remained near the space they had squeezed through, watching for any more.

"No." Ysaryn said, writhing and scratching at Narda. "No, off," She insisted, and the moment her knees hit the ground the elf vomited, heaving on the uneven ground.
"You going to live?" Ruli called.
"Fuck you." She answered.
He glanced over his shoulder to smirk at her, and caught sight of the gate below them. Forgetting the passageway, he turned, gaping at it, moving to step beside Kire. "Is that it?" He asked, awed, though he squinted at the pulsing light. "I didn't expect it to be so, ... pretty."
Zeke, casting the occasional glance behind to ensure they're assailants were truly gone, shook his head. "It gives me the creeps." He said firmly, rubbing his arms as if to chase away gooseflesh.
Ruli glanced down, dropping his stick at his feet before he moved to sheath his sword. It was then that he noticed the dark colouring on his sleeve that wasn't as dark as the corrupted and decayed blood of the monsters. Pushing his sleeve back with his free hand, he blinked at the bite mark in his forearm, the fangs punctured deep.
"Do you think those things are rabid?" He asked, flexing his arm. More of his blood oozed out, so he sniffed his arm to try to tell if it was clean.

Kire stared down at the world gate. It was smaller than she had expected, but she knew it was no less dangerous. Before the brightness could burn into her eyes she looked away, at Ysaryn, to see if she was alright. Narda let her go, shaking her head as the elf vomited. “This one’s feisty. Could give you a run for your money, Wyvernling.”
Kire smiled briefly at that, before turning her attention to Ruli, frowning again as he examined his arm. She squinted at the injury, touched his arm as she observed it. “Fuck.” She clicked her tongue, lips pursed before she looked up at him when he asked his question. “I don’t know. But I’m more worried about other things.” She looked pointedly at him. No doubt more than just a drop of his blood had spilled onto the ground. “Don’t go down there. Any of you. I’ll check on it, see if there’s a way to close it from this side. If anything changes, get out. I mean it,” she said, seeing the objection in the Amrians’ eyes.

She turned her back to them, already halfway down the slope when the portal flashed blue. “Kire, stay back!” Ed yelled behind her, sliding down to go after her. But the portal had already grown bigger, and the swirling blue light grew more violent in its movements.
“Turn back! Now!” Kire yelled, but at that point she had been engulfed by the brightness. It felt like her portals, only this time she could feel her own body being yanked through a large windswept passageway, rather than her whole being dissolving as it squeezed her through a whirlwind tunnel. She screamed, but she couldn’t hear it over the thunder of portal energies sweeping around her. She closed her eyes, hanging onto consciousness, until at last she felt her body thud and skip through soil. She heard her sword clanking onto the ground.

It was mid-day, wherever she was. Kire was panting heavily, one arm shielding her face. After catching her breath, she clambered onto all fours, then stood on shaky legs. What is that sound? She felt the ground shaken by thunder, until her mind finally caught up to what she was hearing. Horses. Kire whirled around, expecting to see her companions but instead came face to face with an army. Her army. Amria, thank the gods. They were surrounded by a mountain range; on the other side of that, and two weeks’ ride south, was the occupied Capital.

The soldiers, upon drawing near, took one look at their empress and halted, orders barked down the line. They were in borderlands, she knew; this was one of the demarcation zones between occupied Gemini lands and the ones the Wyvern empire controlled. Immediately the officers disembarked and knelt. “Your Grace, we didn’t expect you back so soon for your rounds, forgive us,” one of them said. “Do you need a tour of camp? Have our plans to hold the line and patrol changed?”
“I wasn’t here by design. I got called here by Gemini magic,” she said, looking around still for any sign of them, as if expecting Ysaryn or Ruli to shadow-walk the rest of their party to her. She swallowed the panic that threatened to rise inside her I can’t lose Ed again. I can’t lose any of them. Gods forbid any of them ended up behind enemy lines. “I need your help. I’m missing five companions. Two are Amria: Lady Narda the Countess of Wild Meadows, some of you have seen her with me. Giantess, hard to miss. The other you should be familiar with. Lord Edward.”
She knew this would be a surprise to them, but she didn’t have time to explain now. One of the lieutenants offered a place for her on his steed, and Kire took it. “The other three are strangers to Amria, which is why finding them is paramount. Relay the word along to our forces down the valley. My estimate would be that they might have landed anywhere within two miles of here, give or take a few. We need to hurry.” She hoped it was two miles; the world gate was clearly unstable.
“One more thing. If you see a bright blue light, keep your men away!”
--

Ed knew how this had felt before. Once. The winds that seemed to sear and tear at his flesh, the blinding light, and, finally, the sensation of being spat out onto the ground. Only this time, it seemed he had landed on somewhere wet. He found himself in a forest, but this one at least smelled normal. Alive. Decaying forest detritus without the rot of blood magic permeating it. Something else, too, pulled at his senses. As he stood up, checking to make sure he hadn’t broken anything, it began to sink in. He had been to this forest before. He looked up to see the end of a mountain range and he recognized its peaks. “I’m home,” he breathed, his heart thudding in his chest so much he thought it would burst. His eyes grew wet with tears.

He would celebrate later. Right now, he needed to find the others. Things had changed a lot during his nine months away, and he didn’t want to risk getting stranded for too long somewhere that was occupied Gemini territory by accident. He heard a rustling behind him, and he immediately picked up his sword, readying himself for either friend or foe.

--

Narda had been knocked back by a blast of energy from the portal, almost rolling down the slope from where they had just come. “Kay! Ed!” The giantess coughed as she struggled to her feet. Gods, it felt like a blast of fire; she was surprised to find herself whole, without burn marks. Gods-be-damned magic! She looked around wildly and found she was alone, save for Zeke. “No…” She scrambled back up the hill and looked down. She didn’t like what she saw. No Kire, No Ed. No Ruli or Ysaryn either. Even the gate had disappeared, and the area around it looked scorched. Narda growled, then saw something at the epicenter where the gate had been. Amrian runes branded onto the ground, shining faintly blue, forming a rune circle.

She looked back at Zeke. “Are you hurt?” she asked. “I have a feeling I know where they are. The portal must have taken them back to Amria.” Her face looked grim, pointing to the runes. “We’ll have to break that circle, I surmise. Before that portal flairs up again. If they’re in Amria, Kire can find them, but this world gate shouldn’t be opened on this side again.” Around them, the haunted thicket looked deader to her somehow, as if the portal had leeched what twisted life was in them.

Ruli lowered his arm and shrugged. He couldn't feel it, which he hoped to be thanks to his adrenaline and not some bizarre side effect of the monsters. Envy had a fair amount of supplies, and Sid was around to help once he needed, it could be dealt with later. Kire was right, other things were far more pressing. Gazing down into the pit that held the gate, watching it as she began to make her way toward it.
And then it flashed blue.
"Kire!" He shouted, same as Ed. And, same as the Wyvern captain, Ruli jumped into the pit, reaching for her. If he could grab her, grab both of them, he could at Walk them back, retreat away from whatever was happening. Kire, realising the danger, turned and rushed back toward them, and Ruli paused, hesitating, his arm outstretched. Her body began to waver, to warp, as the portal lurched and swelled. A few more feet and she could grab him, and he could get her back. Ed was further up the hill already, but Kire... "Move!" Ruli shouted at her, hoping she would try. He heard her scream, and, in a final moment of manic, he turned to rush up behind Ed, toward the others, when he felt the portal grab him.

He felt the wind rush from his lungs as the magic squeezed him; Ruli writhed, trying to break free. "Go home!" He tried to shout at the others, to Ysaryn, who watched on her knees with her eyes wide in fear. Ruli shouted at them again, but his voice was ripped away. It was no use trying to paw at the ground. There was nothing to grab onto. Nothing for Ruli to reach for before the portal tore him from the forest.

He landed somewhere with a heavy thud, and he had trouble inhaling for a few terrifying seconds before he took in air and breathed. Ruli opened his eyes to see trees, and figured, maybe, he'd Walked back out of the nightmare knot after all. He closed his eyes again, gathering his nerves, before he rolled over and pushed himself onto his knees, readjusting the sheathed sword that dug into his side.
This is not the Lithilote woods. Ruli blinked, mouth slightly open, as he looked around. These were trees he didn't know, cool air that smelled different. "Kire?" He said quietly, wondering if she had somehow grabbed him, after all, and portalled them both somewhere safe. But there was no sign of her. No sign of anyone. Slowly, Ruli got to his feet. He'd lost a boot, and he took a few cautious steps toward the escapee to slid his foot inside before he took an appraisal of his surroundings.

Trees. Alright. He had been around those before. Mountains. Definitely not the mountains he'd grown used to seeing lately. Bright blue sky, with a brighter sun. At least it wasn't raining. He spun in place, looking for any signs of anyone else; footprints, a pathway, broken leaves, and found nothing. He couldn't hear anything but the leaves rustling lazily and some strange insect screaming. Okay. Not a good sign that even the bugs were afraid.

Inhaling, finding his torso sore, Ruli pictured the woods again, just outside of the tightly-spaced knot of trees, and tried to Shadow-Walk. He could feel the magic purr through him, his veins going cold as his body tried to do as he asked, but his head roared in discomfort after a second of trying. Exhaling, Ruli stopped, took a few breathes, then tried again. This time, he pictured the cliffs, his little house.
Another headache, another failed attempt.

He was stuck here. Wherever 'here' was.
"Dammit." Ruli whispered quietly to himself.

Noticing his arm still bled, Ruli reached up to tear his left sleeve off, wrapping the cleaner part against the bite wound and tying the fabric tightly. As he did, he tried to think of what to do. It had been a very long time since he found himself lost, unable to use his magic to get him anywhere. Then, he had known in which direction to run, even if vaguely. Here, he knew nothing.
Using his teeth to tighten the knot of his makeshift bandage, Ruli rose, shuffled his feet through the single droplet of blood in the dirt to hide it from view.
His only guess on what to do; go downhill. Water would travel in that direction, and eventually, if he was lucky, he'd find a body of water, and be able to follow it to a city or town. He turned his feet south and started walking, watching his steps to avoid leaving a trail.

~

Ysaryn came to and smelled dirt. It coated her nostrils and she exhaled at once, feeling the light dust blow outward. She opened her eyes, and the blurred world spun for a unnervingly long amount of time before she focused on some nearby plant. An ugly plant, she decided. With a muffled groan, Ysaryn put her hands under her shoulders and pushed, her body objecting to the strain at once. She bit her lip to silence the swear that threatened to slip off her tongue.
On her knees, she got a better idea of her surroundings. Woods. Midday. She inhaled, smelling flora she wasn't familiar with, dirt, healthy trees, some burrowing creature somewhere nearby, and sweat. But not her sweat. Ysaryn turned and pushed herself up onto her feet, wobbling. Her shorn hair swung into her face, and she lamented her long braid.

Reaching out, Ysaryn grabbed a branch of some sweet smelling shrub and pulled it aside, revealing Ed to be the person she could smell. He stood, combat-ready, his blade pointed in her direction. "Please." Ysaryn panted. "I would fuck you up. No blades, does not matter." She gestured to the empty sheathes at her sides.
Warily, she stepped towards him, bracing her hands on her knees once she stood nearer, her head bowed. "I did not like that." She admitted to the feeling of ... whatever had happened. She wasn't sure. One moment, she was on her knees, watching Ruli and Kire disappear into the blue light, the next, she'd simply tried to stand, to obey his order to get them all home, when she felt ... ugly. That was the only word she had to describe it. Squeezed and pulled at once, upside down and inside out, too much too fast.

Blinking, she looked up, her brow furrowed. "Where we are?" She asked Ed. Now that he didn't looked ready to run her through, he looked relieved. Almost happy.

~

Gods Above, it all happened so fast. Kire moved, the portal flashed and opened its maw to devour her. Then Ruli. Then Ed and Ysaryn. Then, nearly as that had happened, the gate disappeared in a pulse of power, leaving an unnatural stillness in the clearing.
Zeke found himself braced against a tree, his blade and Ysaryn's dropped at his feet. He stared, shocked and confused, at where the portal had been, at where the others had been just seconds ago. His heart pounded.
"Hurt?" Zeke was slow to react, but her words brought him out of his shock. Be here. Assess. Regroup. Zeke touched his torso, his head, his thighs. "No, no, I'm not. I..."

Narda explained her theory, that the portal had taken them to her homeland, and Zeke felt a wash of relief, at least. If that was, indeed, where they had been taken, then Kire could bring them back. She had left herself energy to portal, he heard said, they'd be back soon.
As the giantess pointed to the circled branded into the forest floor, Zeke nodded and pushed himself onto his feet. "Right." He said, gathering his own blade and making his way towards it. Ysaryn's blade he tucked into his belt, hoping they wouldn't cut through it.
"Wait," He turned back toward Narda. The air smelled horrible here without the push of the air that the portal had made. "What will happen when we break it?" He wondered.

Cautiously, his body oddly sore, despite being unharmed, Zeke picked his way down. "You really think they're in Amria?" He asked his last companion. "Kire screamed. Why do I think its alarming that she screamed? Hasn't she used these before?" They reached the bottom, and he stretched out his arm to draw his blade across the nearest rune.

If he’s close, I can trace his signature. Same with Ysaryn, Kire thought, as the battalion escorted her back to camp. She had visited this camp a week before she and Narda showed up at the mountain refuge. Though most of the family was in the far North for their safety, particularly on account of the younger cousins and Elva, who needed to be present for her people, Kire herself would move from The Green Wench to the major camps. Already at her orders officers began orienting scouts and any man or woman they could spare for the search. They had found a fresh steed for Kire to use, though when they offered her a tent and refreshment, Kire refused.

The riders and scouts were to be sent out in two opposite directions, scouring the area she had indicated. “What if we get news that your allies had found themselves in enemy territory?” one of the officers asked.
“Then you come straight to me with the information. I will deal with it myself.”
“One more matter, Your Grace, regarding the issue we’ve encountered. Earlier today we’ve finally confirmed reports of enemy spies and which passage through the mountains they had been using, and we’d sent reinforcements to watch this place. In case your allies are on the other side and extracting them would require stealth, we could use this passage. The Lady Myka had also insisted on joining the hunting party for the spies, given that The Wench had tracked their covert mission.”

--

Downhill, their passage obscured by rocks and heavy foliage, two figures emerged, conversing in heated Taakalon. They knew they had been discovered, and the Wyvern soldiers had already captured their other spies and found one of the ways through the mountain they had used to pass through undetected. The mountain afforded them many passages, which allowed them to escape the hunt, but they knew it would only be a matter of time before the mountain was sealed off from them. They needed to rejoin the other Gemini forces soon with the information about the nearest encampment and their movements.

“Hey, thank you for that,” a voice called down to them from her perch. A woman, about the same age as Kire and dressed in deep greens, grinned down at the two spies. “We were wondering where you two went. One of your friends had been pretty loose-lipped, you see.” From various other hiding places, other women had emerged, flanking the two men.
“Myka!” one of them called. “There’s one more we missed. Uphill!.

--

Thank the gods, Ed thought, seeing Ysaryn as she stepped through the shrubbery. He grinned at her first words to him, even if it was a threat of sorts. He sheathed his sword and stepped closer, looking her over. “I didn’t like that, either. Kire had me come along a coupe of times to use the portal she summons with her Ring, and I did not care for the experience either. I don’t know if this was better or worse.” She met his gaze, and Ed could barely stop himself from grinning giddily. “We’re in Amria. I recognize these mountains. I’d see them every day from a distance, at the Capital.” He pointed at one of the mountain ridges. “Over the other side, thereabouts. Somewhere that way was where my soldiers and I had first disappeared.” And where Earnest was killed. Ed turned away, scanning the rest of the forest. “If they were pulled in with us, they couldn’t be too far. Just like me and the people under my command, we’re scattered, but hopefully within a couple of miles of each other.” Which was still a great distance to try and find individuals, especially when half their number did not come from Amria.

Ed started moving east, keeping an eye out for Ysaryn in case she was still wobbly on her feet. “Our other potential problem depends on if this part of the country is still under Kire’s command, or was part of the territories the Gemini and their allies had seized. If we keep moving this way, we should find a small town. We’d know from there which occupying force is keeping the peace. Ideally, we’d hope to run into the rest of them before then. How are you feeling? Are you up for a long walk?”

--

Narda was just about to bring her axe down onto the rune circle when she paused, pondering Zeke’s question. “I don’t actually know. I am not a sorcerer, so all I know would be basic knowledge, whatever else Kire and her cousins would discuss.” Narda frowned at the symbols. “Magic,” she muttered, shaking her head. “A rune circle’s magic is usually broken when the circle is. Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be repercussions to destroying it. Tch.” His other questions made her frown deepen, and she gripped her axe, hating how helpless she was at the moment.

“You’re probably right to fear anything that shakes Kire to the point of shrieking,” the giantess assented, sighing. “But her portals are different. The Ring on her finger, it allows her to use portals with precision, like a finely tuned weapon or instrument. She can appear and reappear at a certain place she has pictured or traced almost accurately. This,” she said, gesturing at the runes, “is like trying to stopper a tornado, it seems.” She may not be a sorcerer, but Narda had listened to Kire and Daryll go back and forth about the Ring too many times for her not to retain some knowledge. Narda watched him draw his blade across the first rune and realized she was holding her breath.

Nothing. Narda listened carefully. The twisted forest was quiet, for now, so Narda bent down, similarly etching her blade across the glowing marks. By the fourth rune, Narda straightened up, axe at the ready. The smells around them shifted, the rot more pronounced. She heard the noises of the wolves again, but something else was different about the forest. “It’s a lot less dark now,” she noted, before the first wolf appeared over the slope, snarling and snapping as if plagued by insects swarming around its head. The wolf ran down the slope, then tumbled, skidded, until its twisted body slammed against one of the trees at the bottom. It struggled to its feet, snapping at Narda and Zeke, but clearly it didn’t have the same kind of focused killing intent as it had earlier.

Narda raised her axe and sliced the creature’s head off. “Something has snapped within this place,” she said, noticing how the trees looked much drier and more ashen now. “But we aren’t out of the woods yet. Do you think the elves would take us in? I have confidence Kire will return with our comrades, but there’s no telling how soon that would be.”

Nothing happened. Zeke, still frozen, glanced to Narda to see if she could see or hear anything he could not, or if she sensed anything different. When nothing continued to happen, Narda joined him in running the swords through the runes, erasing them from their place on the earth. Each time he destroyed one, he glanced up nervously.
"I never had a grasp for this stuff." Zeke admitted. "Ruli and Envy are naval deep in it, but its like trying to understand a foreign dance routine when you don't even have legs." He shook his head. While he didn't have the same outlook as Narda did on the subject, being stranded here when he knew nothing about what they were involved in didn't help his mood.

As she mentioned it was a lot less dark, Zeke glanced up, turning to look through the canopy of trees. "Smells different, too." He pointed out, then he spotted the wolf. Inhaling, Zeke lowered himself into a defensive position, ready, but seconds of watching the creature told him there was little danger.
He relaxed, but only slightly. Just because one lost its coordination didn't mean all of them would. "Maybe the magic ... turned off." Zeke ran his fingers through his hair, knowing how stupid that sounded. "They might. Aera gave me a pin that will mark us as friend, and I'm sure she'd allow us a bed and bath." Bath was what he hoped for, presently, the unnatural blood sticky on his hands and face. "Or, maybe they'd give us a tent. I'd be slightly more comfortable in the woods on a bedroll where I can hunt and eat meat."

Zeke started up the hill. "We're ... at least three thousand miles from the cliffside city. Nearly two days walk from Ziad. Nearly seven from the mountains where we'd been living. There's really little chance of us getting anywhere on our own without some sort of help." Zeke calculated out loud as he dug his fingers into the reeking soil to hoist himself up.

~

"Much worse than my way." Ysaryn grumbled, slowly standing upright. She tucked her hair behind her pointed ears, then pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Amria. Ysaryn made some guttural noise. She could deal with the shock of being in an entirely different world later. Ed knew where they were. They could find help. Find Kire and Ruli. And go home.
When he pointed toward the mountains, explaining that he knew their faces well, the elf lowered her hands to glare at them, her eyes narrowed slightly. As if everything here was an enemy and it was an insult for her to look at.
Except Ed. Who turned and pointed, explained his theories like some giddy child in a sweets shop, listing his plan to get the most out of his trip. He seemed confident the others would be nearby, and casually began walking in a decided direction.

Exhaling, Ysaryn wordlessly followed, her head aching with each step. She listened to him list his thoughts, her fuchsia gaze shifting to his blond hair and blue eyes. "Do not insult me." Ysaryn growled at him, walking beside him at a steady pace, albeit a slower one.
"So, you say we are either safe or not safe. I, a magic holding elf from a different world. And you, the cousin to the chieftess our enemy made to unseat, who look very much like her. Possibly in Gem-en-ai hold?" She pursed her lips at him. "Gem-en-ai, who use magic holders for blood spells, and will kill Wyvern blood on sight?" She clicked her tongue at him. "If you get me killed in this world, I will find a way to claim revenge." The elf threatened him again, her hands at once flexing to rest on the hilts of her blades. She sighed once more when she remembered they were missing. She couldn't decide if they lost in the clearing from when she went down, or if someone had grabbed them for her. Not that it mattered; they weren't presently here.

As they walked, Ysaryn reached up to pull at one of her severed strands, frowning at the dark black colouring at the end. Like her hair had been devoured by the shadows she used to travel so easily. She'd heard Ruli mention the catastrophe of Walking incorrectly. Your body leaving to travel quickly away when parts of you remained, caught or pulled by something less willing to move. She'd heard of severed limbs, open skulls, bodies split in two.
She hadn't pinned her hair correctly, and a seconds delay, or a slightly more firm tug from the wolf. "I'm lucky to be alive." Ysaryn commented idly, tossing her strand over her shoulder with the same flick of the wrist meant for her longer hair. The much shorter strands just fell back around her face, unwilling to remain behind her shoulders.

~

Ruli froze, hearing the voices, his eyes wide as he listened. He couldn't understand a word of what they said, but it sounded vaguely familiar. Was it the language Narda and Kire spoke? Ruli's gaze shifted through the trees. Could be. Didn't sound anything like the dramatic language of their new neighbours by the sea. Nor did it sound like the choppy language of the northerners.
If it was her strange language, what did that mean about his location?

Female voices though. Ruli thought about it for a moment, considering he couldn't even attempt to be charming, here. The fact that he didn't speak the language was a large problem.
However, Kire, Narda, and Ed all speak the common language. Maybe there was a chance.

He didn't get to debate it for long. More raised voices, and the sound of footsteps approaching cut his internal debates short. Ruli raised his hands, eyes trained on where the sound was coming from, studying the face of the woman who emerged. Then another, flanking him, their body language declaring they were not only capable of a fight but prepared for one.
"I don't speak your language." Ruli said slowly, looking from face to face. Beyond, he caught a glimpse of two men, likewise flanked by the women who were dressed to blend into their surroundings. Even if he didn't speak the language, he knew what that sort of dress was for. Hunting. "I don't know if you speak mine. But I have no desire to be captured, today. Sorry."

A shift of his foot and Ruli disappeared, stepping into the shadows, the crispness of it here in what he presumed to be Amria slightly different. Thinner.
He reemerged in the same spot he'd been at when he fell from the gate. Ruli's feet hit the ground and he bolted, running through the woods toward the west, now. It was one of the things he recalled Zeke mentioning in case his men ever got lost. North or west if you're in the woods. Downhill if you're in the mountains. Since hunters, slavers, kidnappers, who knows, were downhill...

He ducked beneath a low hanging branch, tearing through the trees as quick as he can to put distance between himself and the others.

Narda grunted at the thought of having to travel any of those distances. “I too would rather be eating meat after what he had just gone through. But first, we have to get out of this forest.” As they cautiously made their way back through the way they had come earlier, Narda noted how the trees nearest to the portal earlier looked deader than those ahead of them. Under the sunlight though, everything looked lifeless, really. Still sinister, but not as bad as it had been when they first entered. More wolves headed their way, but these were fewer, and Narda was able to dispatch them easily. They scared more easily, too, while a few broke off, disoriented and mad like the one she had killed earlier.

“Do you think the elves would find a way to destroy this place?” she asked, as she hacked her way through some of the more stubborn trees. “Even if the magic has gone from the place, if I were them I would rest easier if this forest was razed to the ground. Let new life grow over it without—all this,” she said, gesturing around them. “Three more behind you, stay sharp.”

She all but pushed one tree aside with one arm; it almost crumbled under her touch, as if real death and decay were finally catching up to the forest. “You fought well today,” she said with a grin. “You’d get along well with our crew. Did Envy train you to fight?”

--
“My apologies,” Ed said, stopping to look at the shadow elf beside him. “Merely a habit to be concerned with any warriors’ wellbeing.” He had a playful smirk on his lips before looking back ahead of them. Her concerns were understandable. “Correct on most counts. I would venture to say, however, that if they recognize who I am, I am more valuable to them as a hostage. And I am confident you are quite hard to kill. Kire chooses her friends well. Mostly,” he added, his thoughts going briefly to Rulitus, whom he hadn’t decided yet how to feel about. “If I do get you killed, you are very welcome to haunt all my days henceforth.”

He glanced her way again, seeing her fidgeting with her hair. While traveling through Shadow-Walking seemed easier than Kire’s portals, this was a reminder to him that anything involving magic had consequences. There was no ‘easy’. He nodded idly when she spoke in Elvish. “Let’s hope your luck holds,” he replied softly. “I don’t intend on dying so soon after coming home.” He paused, looking about, recognizing this portion of the forest as he observed the bend in the stream, the way the mountain peaks looked. He followed the stream until he found, some distance away, the forest thinning out into farmland. He could see pens for animals, though his attention was on the horses. Beyond the farms, he could see the town protected by tall wooden barricades. There were banners flying from the barricades, and Ed grinned, seeing the green and gold fluttering in the wind.

“Looks like our luck did hold.” Ed grinned back at her. “We’re in Wyvern land.” He paused in thought, then turned to her. “[i]Can you Walk us closer? Or I can go forward on my own first while you stay hidden.” While these were allied lands, there was no telling what was going on behind those walls.

--

Myka’s comrades circled Ruli as the rest of the party converged on the two Gemini spies. The women were ready to pounce, even as he spoke in the common tongue and told them he didn’t know Taakalon. Myka glanced up, observing him, her gaze falling to the glinting saber at his hip. That looks familiar. Most understood what he said, but before he could be questioned, he disappeared. “Shit!” Myka yelled, having just caught up with them. “Half of you escort the men back to the Wyvern camp. Strike them down at first sign of danger. The rest of you, spread out! Capture him alive! He doesn’t speak Taakalon, I need to question him.”

How could he disappear like that? Was he like Kire? Myka thought, racing through the trees uphill. Or was this a new Gemini trick? No, something in her gut told her this was different. From the brief observation they made of him, he had an injured arm, and if he didn’t speak the language he was very, very far from home. How could he know the common tongue but not Taakalon? Somebody ahead of her shouted that he was making a run due west. Loud whistles and ‘bird calls’ sounded from her comrades, answered from a distance by other whistles. He may have gotten the lead, but he’d be surrounded soon if he kept going in that direction, and he would encounter a barricade too, even if he slipped past the rest of the Wench crew.

Ahead of Ruli, Myka’s crewmates received the signal. If all went well, their sisters would herd the man to a corner, towards a few traps they had set for the spies. If he went left, he’d stumble into a pit they had hidden. If he continued straight, he’d be trapped against the barricade. To his right, the rest of the Wench would flank him.