Month: August 2022

Elise takes Gerdan’s men with her own to hunt down Ryker and his men, holding up in an old warehouse on the river, where they hope to make a quiet escape with Annastaria as their captive. Meanwhile, Rolek must convince Dylen to let him go, and save Annastaria, before Elise and her group walk into a trap…

The dark cloud had finally let down the rain it was holding, covering the entire woods in another downpour of cold rain and now even lightning accompanied the growls of thunder. But it was only a quick drop of heavy rain, returning once more to light showers and overcast. Gerdan stopped the group just as the muddy road met the main highway, which had very few cars passing on it every several minutes. For Gerdan, it was yet another missed opportunity to ambush them, and one Elise refused to take. He couldn’t shake from his mind what Rolek warned them of before he was taken away. 

The dirt road led up beside a bridge that stood over a natural canal, which had water running through, likely from the rain. Their height advantage was gone, and so was most if not all their ambush opportunity.

Gerdan felt a turn in his stomach as he watched the convoy rapidly gain distance. Once the convoy was on the highway and starting off, Elise jumped out from the trees and onto the road, followed by Gerdan and the others. They watched the convoy drive off, and with it, Gerdan’s hopes of saving Erene. But Elise didn’t seem to be hindered in any way. Her gaze at the distancing convoy did not waver, and she turned to one of the officers with her to speak, “Make sure our men down that way are ready for Ryker’s convoy to show up. If he does not within the next twenty minutes, they turned off the road.” The man nodded, and went to work, while Elise turned to Gerdan to speak, “You know the woods and forests that way?” Gerdan nodded. “Good, I need you and your men to help the rest of the way. If that convoy is not found just before it gets to Auton, it means it turned off somewhere into the forest again. You’ll be helping us coordinate with the airships to hunt it down.”

Elise’s voice did not give any indication that she didn’t know what she was doing. It was some comfort for Gerdan, but he still couldn’t get out of his mind the idea that sending Rolek off was a mistake. “If they aren’t going into Auton,” Gerdan said, “there’s a pair of old warehouses northeast, just before you get to Auton near Galssan River. They’ve been abandoned for some time.”

“Then that’s where we’ll start. Move out.”

Dylen, with just one other officer, kept Rolek ahead of himself, flanking him on both sides and keeping him in front of them. Every step into the drenched and soggy forest was another step that felt as though a tightening tension of discomfort was squeezing them. Rolek sensed an unnatural silence from Dylen. He suspected it was his hesitation and concern for Elise’s orders. That would work to Rolek’s advantage.

“You’re making a big mistake.” Rolek said, “Your power-crazed boss back there’s gonna get that whole group killed, and you’re going to lose the elf for good.”

“Stay quiet!” Dylen answered, “I don’t like this anymore than you do, but she’s right–we’re not soldiers; we can’t just set up ambushes and reign down gunfire on people.”

“That’s quite a change in attitude from a few moments ago.” Rolek probed, “Wonder what’s changed, if anything at all.”

“I said, keep your mouth shut.”

Rolek suddenly spun to Dylen, causing him heart to skip as he nearly walked into the tall man. “I know your gut’s twisting inside you.” Rolek said, looking Dylen in the eyes.

“I said, keep moving!” Dylen ordered.

“Come on, cat-man. I could’ve easily broken out by now and taken both of you down. But I haven’t, and you know why?”

“All I know is that you’re threatening an SIU agent, and if you say anything more–”

“It’s because I know, deep down, you know what your boss lady back there is doing is insane, and it’s going to get her and the others killed, and you will lose the elf.” Dylen was forced to pause at the conviction on Rolek’s tone. “There’s that look.” Rolek said, “That look I saw earlier. One very peculiar to someone like yourself. You’re a young man of action; I’ve seen those eyes before. Every step back is like a step into sinking sand. Come on, man–I’ve fought those people already. It doesn’t matter if the boss-lady has the numbers, or the backup, she’s gonna get torn to shreds by Ryker, Lance, and most of all, his pet master, which none of you’ve faced.”

Dylen looked at the other officer, who was even less sure than he was. He looked back at Rolek, “Are you seriously suggesting I disobey my orders?”

Rolek chuckled, “You definitely remind me of someone I once knew. You wanna know who?” Rolek paused, but Dylen wouldn’t entertain the question. Rolek pointed his thumb at himself, “Me. Follow orders, do as you’re told, get on fine–all that crap. Orders are all dandy, until they come from someone who doesn’t have the mindset and the instincts to make the right call.”

“And you know the right call? What is it, exactly?”

“Freeing the elf, of course. We need to get her out, and the only way you’re doing that is if you ambush that convoy, set a distraction to force them to split up, and allow the elf and me deal with Ryker’s pet master.” Rolek paused again, watching Dylen contemplate the idea in his mind; he could tell Dylen was tempted, and Rolek admired it in him. It definitely reminded him of himself. This young man, whoever he was, had the right kind of instincts. “I’ll do the ambushing.” Rolek continued, “Let me run up there and work my magic, you follow me, and when your crazy boss-lady asks later, you tell her I overpowered both of you and broke free.”

Again, Dylen paused. He was sinking in temptation. He looked at the other officer again, who wasn’t helping Dylen decide. He looked back at Rolek again, “You sure you’re going to get the elf out safely?”

“As long as you guys provide the right distraction. You come right behind me, split off on my signal. I’ll do my thing, and they’ll stop, spread out and come after me. That’s when you guys jump in.”

Dylen took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was even contemplating what he was thinking, but at the same time, he knew it had to be done. He didn’t want to live with the fateful decision that he let a madman make off with a young elvish girl, and worse, that he got Elise killed in the process. He nodded, and at the nod, Rolek darted off, back east. Dylen watched him with impressive speed disappear into the forest. 

“You realize what you just did?” the officer said.

Dylen looked at him. “I realize what both of us just did.” He turned back to where he last saw Rolek again. “Let’s hope it works,” he added.

Before Dylen and the other officer could make their next move, they heard the bushes behind them be slashed; the two turned quickly at the startling noise and saw Oden and Bastillina coming through the trees. “Dammit!” Oden cursed as they stopped at the sight of Dylen, “Told you we were moving too fast!”

“What?” Bastillina complained, “I told you that!”

“How’d you two get away from the others?” Dylen asked.

“A little distraction.” Oden answered, “But I guess the jig is up now, huh?”

Dylen paused, looking at Bastillina, who glared back at him. He noticed she kept her left foot slightly ahead of the right. He remembered what she apparently did to the inn, and what the others said about her. But more than that, he saw love, and determination, driven to action. He couldn’t ignore it. She was going to find Erene; she broke out of the safety of custody to do it, and she was surely not about to let two ordinary officers stop her. 

Dylen sighed, looking at Oden. “Your friend Rolek just took off right now,” he said, “back into the woods after them.” Oden froze. For a moment, he didn’t believe what he was hearing. “Come on.” Dylen said as he started back into the woods, “They’re gonna need your help.” Oden and Bastillina didn’t know what to think, but an opportunity seemed to clearly present itself. They looked at each other, hoping to find affirmation to follow Dylen in the other’s face. Looking at each other was enough, and they went after him.

Rolek flew through the woods, strafing past trees and thick brush, ignoring the rain beating against his face and sogged, dark hair. He controlled his breathing, sure to pace himself so as not to exhaust his strength, which he knew he needed for the confrontation that was sure to come with Jorum. The air was cold, and the faster he ran, the more it would plague his throat and lungs. He stopped every few dashes to see his surroundings, to make sure he was not spotted, and to ensure he didn’t miss hearing any sounds he ought to be listening for. He saw no persons in the woods, nor any engines or cars of any kind. 

He found the hill where he last saw Elise and the others, and they too were nowhere to be found. There was nothing to find here, and he pushed forward, following the road east for another half a mile before the trees opened and the muddied road went up to the highway, next to a bridge. His eyes were drawn to the mud; footsteps that led up to the highway, and he knew to whom they belonged. But the footsteps seemed to go up the highway and end there, along with the muddied tracks of the convoy.

“Dammit.” he cursed to himself, “That dumb chick let them go.” He paused, taking a few moments to catch his breath, collect his thoughts, and to wait for Dylen to catch up. Instead, he heard a different voice.

“Rolek!” Oden was heard calling out. Rolek turned around, with eyes almost widened at the baffling voice..

“What the hell ‘re you guys doing here?” he asked as Oden, with Bastillina, Dylen and the other officer came in front of him.

“What do you think?” Oden replied, “Here to save Erene.”

Rolek turned back to the highway, and to his despair. “That’s going to be a lot more complicated now.” he said, “The boss-lady let them back onto the highway, and from the looks of it, they went east to Auton and eventually back to Carzat.”

“What’s doe’s that mean?” said Bastillina, looking back and forth at Rolek and Oden, despairing over their uncomfortable silence.

“It means we’ll need a ride.” Rolek replied, “If we ever hope to even find Erene again.” He looked at Dylen, “No offense, but your boss doesn’t know what she’s doing. I get you guys got rules, but dammit, sometimes that stuff ‘ll get you killed, like she’s going to do right now.”

“Now’s not the time to panic or complain.” Dylen answered, biting his tongue at Rolek’s insult to Elise. But he had to put aside his personal quarrel. “We’ve got a group waiting to stop them before they reach Auton.”

“It’s not gonna be enough.”

“If this Ryker guy’ i’s trying his level best to avoid even detection, it’ll work. He already took a big risk going through a drenched back road over the smooth and fast highway to get around what he must’ve known was us in Mennix. He’s desperate to remain undetected. That means he’s gonna do it again.”

“And what exactly are you expecting to do? Lure him into a trap?”

“Before we came to Mennix, we already had reason to believe he or the Intero were active in the area. So we set up the roadblocks before we left Cymroyl. If Ryker’s gonna try and avoid us at any turn, he’ll drive off into the forest again; if we move now, we can catch him wherever he runs off to.”

“It doesn’t sound like you know where he’ll go.”

Dylen shrugged before replying, “No, but the airships will have an idea, and those won’t be hard to spot if we just keep moving east.”

Rolek went silent, and stirred Bastillina’s anxiety further. For once, she was looking to him for hope, and there was uncertainty in his eyes. Finally he shook his head slightly, “You better know what you’re doing, cat-man. Because if you’re wrong, we’ll never see Erene again.”

Dylen again bit his angst at Rolek’s scorn. “Follow me.” he said, walking past them and taking the lead.

The convoy was moving steadily east on the highway, with little traffic in their way. The road was smooth now, and the engine hummed, making it even more difficult for Annastaria to stay away. She drifted in and out of a light sleep, trying to stay awake, but unwilling. “Ryker!” the radio voice came in, waking Annastaria, “We got airships up ahead.”

Ryker had his eyes on Annastaria, which increased her discomfort. “As I would’ve suspected.” he said, “The Oenkev and SIU are nothing if not predictable.” He reached over and took the radio to speak, “Alright, gentlemen–you know the drill.”

Annastaria sat up once he finished speaking, afraid of what he meant, and he didn’t seem interested in telling her what the plan was. For another few seconds they drove, and a voice over the radio spoke, “Turning out now.” Only a moment later did Annastaria feel the truck turn right and once more, onto shaky ground. Her eyes were heavy, but she couldn’t sleep; her body was in an involuntary alert mode. The only thing she knew was that somehow, for some reason, they were back off the main road again. She could half-hope and desire that they would actually be caught by the SIU, but it seemed Ryker was ahead of their attempts

“Where are you taking me?” she asked.

“Out of the way of the pesky SIU.” Ryker answered, “As well-intended as they may be, we don’t need them to make things more difficult for us.”

It was another five or so minutes of once more driving on some kind of rugged terrain, and finally, the rumbling stopped as the gears screeched the truck to a stand-still. The engine was cut off, and men in the truck stood up, including Ryker, and the driver and passenger. Ryker pressed a button on his remot; Annastaria tensed, prepared for another shock. But instead, she felt the chains holding her hand casings between her knees release. She raised her encased hands in front of her, wanting to see them again, but could not.

“Time to go.” Ryker said with a grin. Annastaria returned his grin with a vengeful glare, but he paid it no serious thought. He nudged his head in a kind of signal, and two of his men reached in and grabbed her by the arms, and escorted her out. Her eyes adjusted to the light, which was only dim sunlight through the overcast. The rain had stopped, but the drenched trees still let loose rainwater onto the truck, their persons and the old warehouses they parked in front of. There were two of them sitting next to each other, both made of red brick. Annastaria recalled seeing many of them in Levaan, but never expected to see one out in the woods.

“What are we doing here?” she asked.

“Just holding out for a bit.” Ryker said as he walked past her, “Until we can get our ride back to Carzat going.”

The two men holding her nudged her, signaling her to move. She knew Jorum was behind her somewhere, and that resisting their demands at this point was fruitless. She walked behind Ryker, and the rest of his group, including Jodel and Harris. Every step closer to the warehouse on the right felt like she was walking deeper and deeper into a dark place, down farther and farther into the unknown, and the reality finally came to her mind: she was scared. Ryker talked as though he knew how to take the prime power from her; she refused to believe it, but he seemed so sure that she didn’t know what to think. Would it kill her? Would it be unbearably painful?

The disturbing thoughts were interrupted when she saw, parked closer to the warehouse entrance, four more wagon cars that were most clean and meant to impress. There were more people inside, and they must have been friends to Ryker. There were two men guarding the entrance, both with small machine guns in hand, with familiar attire. It was a pair of Lance’s men. They didn’t seem surprised to see Ryker, and stared Annastaria down.

Annastaria was escorted inside, which was about fifty feet wide and seventy feet long, and was lit up by lamplights from the ceiling that stood about thirty feet high in a pointed arch design. The lights illuminated the main sections of the warehouse with yellow tint. Towards the center-back were another group of men that Ryker continued to walk towards, and his company, with Annastaria, followed. The closer she drew to these men, and one in particular, the more she dreaded what she perceived him to be. 

He had a cigarette in his hand, which Annastaria could already smell just twenty feet away. It was the loudmouthed aenman gang leader, who nearly killed her just the other day. He stood in the midst of several men, as though clearly waiting for Ryker, and never taking his eyes off of Annastaria. She had to fight to maintain a straight face, but something was wrong. She was scared. She couldn’t defend herself, and her mastery was still paralyzed. In a strange twist of irony, she found herself hoping Ryker had enough sway over this wrathful man’s temper, to keep him from strangling her to death.

“Well, well,” taunted Lance, before taking a puff of his cigarette. He held his breath in, and blew out the smoke before speaking further, “Fancy meetin’ you here, aye? Seems I get the last laugh after all.”

“Keep a lid on it, Lance.” Ryker rebuked, “No one’s laying a finger on our prize.”

“You said that once already,” Lance replied, for once taking his gaze off Annastaria to set on Ryker, “when you decided it was a bad idea to mess with a royal, or whatever the hell she is. Yet here she stands, in cuffs. If she is a royal, like you said, we’re already screwed…” He turned back to her to continue, “So where’s the harm in putting a few bruises on that pretty face?”

“I’m not doing this with you right now, Lance. She remains as she is.” A brief silence followed as Lance took another puff of his cigarette, still with his eyes on Annastaria. She turned her eyes away from him, but could still feel his gaze on her; she could tell he was imagining what manner of evil he wished to do to her, the likes of which, she did not want to think about. Ryker turned to one of the men in the warehouse, “How long till the boats are ready?”

“At least twenty minutes, sir.” the man replied.

Ryker sighed, walking to a chair to sit. “Well, let’s not waste anymore time.” he said with a sigh of relief, “We need to be out towards the Rip as soon as possible. The SIU has airships moving in to start looking, and make no mistake, gentlemen, they will find us within the hour if we’re not gone by then.” As he sat, he looked at Annastaria with a grin, “Fortunately, we’ll be long gone.”

She hated that grin, but it was better than looking at Lance’s nefarious stare. “Sir,” asked Jodel, stepping forward, “what do we do with the girl in the meantime?”

Ryker paused to think, looking at Annastaria again. “She must be tired.” he said, “Surely you can find her a place to sleep.” Annastaria wasn’t sure what to think of the strange act of charity from Ryker, but she wouldn’t relent her stare towards him.

Jodel found the request awkward, and didn’t know how to carry it out exactly; he looked at Annastaria, causing her to look at him with the same awkwardness, which felt like an agonizingly long time. But he gave her a nudge of his head to follow him; she reluctantly followed, keeping her peripheral vision on every person she could, especially Jorum and Lance, all the while, concealing the fact that she was hearing whispers again. 

She recalled the spirit she encountered in the forest near Mennix. It’s dwelling place must have extended even this far out, or something related to it. She knew too little to be certain. All she did know was that something haunted these woods, and it was not friendly.

“Stay here.” Jodel ordered, having led Annastaria to a corner of the warehouse, in a dark area on a long chair. She stared at him, but only for a few seconds before she went to sit.

“We should be leaving, sir.” said Goate to Lance, who was lighting yet another cigarette.

“Didn’t you hear the mad scientist?” Lance answered, “We’re out of here in twenty minutes, along with that cursed elf.”

Goate looked around with an unsure face before replying quietly, “Some of the men are spooked by this place, sir. Talking about feeling something here.”

Lance looked at Goate with a souring face. “Take it easy, Goate–and you can tell that to the boys, too. It’s just an old warehouse in the woods somewhere.”

“I’m just saying, sir… There’re stories about these woods, and they don’t come from us, but nearly everyone in the area.”

“Spooky stories spread because people tell them. The way they die is to stop telling them, and stop thinking about them. Now get your crap together and check on the parameter!”

Goate went silent. With Lance’s scorn still on him, he acknowledged his command and took leave. Ryker observed silently with Jorum, amused by it. He turned to Jorum and whispered to him.

Elise led Gerdan and his group, still splintered, closer to the warehouses he spoke of, moving more freely and quickly, knowing the rain had stopped, at least for the time being. Once the groups had arrived, it was time to plan their big move. Gerdan and Elise both personally saw to the recon, sitting on a hill southwest of the warehouses, some fifty yards away. “There’s the convoy truck.” Gerdan whispered, looking through his binoculars.

“And many more cars.” Elise added, “Definitely the Intero… And I’m certain they have Erene in there.”

Gerdan hesitated to speak further, but the itch of Elise’s decision from earlier about Rolek was too much for him now. He turned to her to speak, “Ma’am, I know you’re clearly in charge here, but I have to strongly suggest reconsidering Rolek’s idea from earlier.”

“Are you suggesting I release an arrested man? And allow him to take control of my unit?”

“Not at all, ma’am; you can freely arrest him if you like. But these warehouses are on the Galssan River, and go into the Rip. They may likely be preparing to make their exit by the river. If we try and just announce ourselves to arrest them, we’ll have to fight our way through, and by then, I’m almost certain they will have Erene on a boat and cruising halfway down the Rip and into the sea, where we’ll lose them.”

Elise paused–a good sign to Gerdan. She was actually considering the idea. Then she turned her eyes back to the warehouse facility to scan more. “Looks like we might be able to hook around the northeast. If we can get a group to cut through that point, we should be able to stop any outgoing boats trying to head north into the Rip.”

Gerdan smiled, knowing what Elise was saying then. But he put his excitement away to stay focused. “Okay,” he answered, “You take your group to the front. I’ll take my boys around back.”

“You sure? Your men aren’t exactly equipped to perform suppressive fire.”

“That’s why we’re better off not going straight in, like you guys. The hills hook around with us to the northwest. I can have some of my hunters set up sniper positions up there, hidden in the trees, while the rest of us close in as quickly as we can.”

Elise nodded, and admired Gerdan’s tactical thinking. “Okay.” she said, “I’ll gather my people, and you get yours. Wait until the airships arrive, and until you probably hear gunfire, alright?” Gerdan nodded, and the two retreated to the main groups to relay the plan.

“Ma’am,” said one of the officers near their radio, “the airships are sixty seconds out.”

Elise nodded, anticipating their arrival. She gave Gerdan a nod and signal to take his men around the northeast, and they set off quietly. She split her group up and began her approach to the front gate of the warehouses. For some reason, the words of Rolek began to ring in her mind, more intensely as she drew nearer to the gate. She was never so tempted to prepare an ambush, and to go in guns blazing. There was something about this group that was different; it was likely because of the uniqueness of the man they were after, along with his interest in a wood elf.

What she could expect, she didn’t know, and she stopped just feet from the main entrance, hiding in the bushes. It was guarded by four Intero thugs, all casually walking about the checkpoint entrance. One of her officers came sweating towards her, trying to control his loud breathing. “Ma’am,” he said with an unsure tone, “are we really gonna just charge in there?”

“I’m afraid we are, corporal.” she answered, not taking her eyes off the men casually walking about the main gate, “Don’t worry, the airships are coming in. Once they’re here, we jump out, weapons drawn.”

The others heard and while they were silent, their minds were in chaos, wondering what they were to expect. The Intero were not the surrendering type, more than willing to kill police officers, especially when they are emboldened by numbers.

Ryker was conversing casually with some of his men, calm as ever, watched carefully by Annastaria, who hated to see him so calm. But she kept recalling to herself the need to be patient, like air; remembering her own training. Air does not attack, it counters, it moves around the force that tries to strike it. She had to think the same, and wait for her moment to counter attack. Already she could feel some tingling in her arms and chest–her magicka points were restoring, which Ryker didn’t seem aware of. Apparently, he seemed ignorant of the fact that elves recover their mastery faster than average aenmen masters.

But her ears perked up to a strange sound. First it was in the form of a faint tremor that she could feel. A car engine? If so, it was not one in or around the warehouse. But it slowly grew and grew, and the more it did, the closer it felt, and the less and less it sounded like a car. She lost her focus on everyone else in the warehouse as she tried to understand the sound more. It was as if it was not even on the ground, yet was heard through the ground. Another sound began to emerge from within the growing tremor; it was some kind of pattering sound, and after only a few seconds, an echo of it could be heard bounce about inside the warehouse.

It was then that a loud “Hush!” was heard by one of the men, silencing everyone, even Ryker. Annastaria’s focus returned to her immediate surroundings, and at the silence of the others, the pattering echoes and the engine were even more vivid to her ears. The others stood up like pricked hairs, turning every which way to determine the source.

“It can’t be,” said one of the men.

“Is that…” said another with a hesitation, “An airship?”

“Sir!” a voice from the radio sitting on a table a few feet from them panicked, “We got airships coming in from the north! I repeat, we got airships coming in from the north!”

Ryker bolted to the radio himself as fast as his face turned to panic. He stumbled even to grab the walkie talkie device to speak. “How many?” he said.

“There’s two of ‘em, sir! And they each got bloody floodlights!”

Ryker turned to the others, with his eyes wide enough that they were clearly seen by Annastaria from across the room. For a moment, she felt a sense of satisfaction within herself, knowing that he was caught off guard. “What do we do?” said one of the men in the room.

“What do you think?” he snapped, “Get the boats ready–now!”

“But sir, we can’t outrun an airship on a boat.”

“I don’t wanna hear it!”

A faint pop was heard, once again silencing everyone as the airships drew closer and closer. Then another pop, and more, like popcorn cooking. The radio came in, and the sound of static, chaotic noise with it, “We’re taking fire outside the gate! We need backup!”

Ryker slammed the table before he turned to the men behind him, “Dammit! Get out there and help those idiots! Somehow the SIU got here way faster than we planned!”

The men panicked, but scrambled to the door. Jorum remained unnaturally calm, however, and as long as he remained in the room, Annastaria’s optimism remained still. Only a few seconds later, a floodlight came in through the ceiling windows as an airship fluttered overhead, shaking the warehouse around them. “This is the Cymroyl police!” the intercom system went out, “You are under arrest! Drop your weapons–now!”

Ryker turned to Lance, who was lighting yet another cigarette in a strange calm. “What the hell are you doing standing around for?!”

“I’m telling you, man,” Lance said, “this elf chick ain’t worth the trouble. If there’s anything cursed in these woods, it’s her. Let me off her now, and let’s get out of here.”

“How about I have Jorum squish your head like a piece of fruit? Get your ass out there and fight off those damned police!”

Lance hesitated, and intently so just to protest Ryker’s power trip, taking a puff from his fresh-lit cigarette. But he stabbed Ryker with a finger before saying, “I want fifty percent of your profit for this–you hear me? You’ve got the next ten minutes to decide, when I come back, and if you haven’t yet, I’m blowing her brains out.” Lance shoved Ryker out of his way and stormed off to the entrance.

Ryker took a moment to catch his breath, or at least he tried. Annastaria watched him silently and carefully. The only ones left in the warehouse were Ryker, Jorum, Jodel and Harris. Ryker was moving back and forth, unable to keep still, and brushed his hands through his hair. He gave out a sigh before he stopped suddenly, looking up at another flood light passing through the windows. Then he turned towards Annastaria, looking her directly in the eyes, and immediately she felt as though she was sinking. He walked towards her, only increasing her anxiety.

“Jorum.” he said, “Go out there and make sure the SIU and the Cymroyl police are handled.”

Jorum gave a single nod, and without question walked off. For some reason, his footsteps gave a thud more prominent than anyone else to Annastaria. She watched him move farther and farther away, and with each second, felt the air around her clear. But with Ryker, Jodel and Harris now surrounding her, she turned her eyes to Ryker, who stood in front of her now.

“My dear.” he said in a fake sense of calm, “I’m terribly sorry for all of this. This was not expected. But rest assured, you are in the company of these two gentlemen.” Annastaria remained silent and watched Ryker hand the remote controlling her special handcuffs to Jodel. “No one takes possession of this.” Ryker said to Jodel, “No one. If she gives you any problems, give her a little shock and she’ll calm down.”

“Where’re you goin’?” said Jodel.

“I’m gonna check on our boats, and then… I need to make a phone call.”

Annastaria noted that last remark from Ryker, but as before, refused to say anything. She didn’t want to give away any hints that she was plotting her escape. All she needed was for Ryker to step away. As long as Jorum was nowhere to be found, she could easily take these two down again, free herself, and if possible, ambush Ryker when he was alone.

Annastaria has been captured by Ryker and his pet master “Jorum”, while the others are brought into police custody. Ryker attempts to convince Annastaria to join his cause to ‘maintain balance’ in the world. Meanwhile, Rolek takes point in Elise’s hunt for Annastaria and her captors through the forest, a most fortunate event for Rolek to escape custody, but will Elise trust his judgment? Or will her ‘by the book’ nature get Annastaria killed?

Ryker’s convoy, consisting of two wagon cars and a single cargo truck trudged through the deep woods, along the now muddied road, which began to cling to the wheels, seemingly bringing them down into the ground. The windshield wipers were flailing left and right to keep the windshield from being overcome by pouring rain, and they were forced to use their headlights in the middle of the morning just to see what was in front of them.

A jerking thud in the muddy road, followed by a thunderous roar awoke Annastaria from her sleep. Her weary eyes came to slowly and as they focused, she saw herself in a small, metal and dark room that was bouncing left and right, with the unceasing pattering of rainfall outside. Things previously separated into two of themselves came together the more she realized she was asleep. She tried to rub her eyes, but her hands were caught by something, preventing her. Her eyes went wide as she looked and saw her hands encased in some metal device, chained and bolted to the floor. Her head looked every which way and saw four men with her in the car; one of them was Ryker and another was Jorum.

“There’s no need to panic.” Ryker said with a grin, as a frightened Annastaria tried to back away from him up the wall. She couldn’t feel her mastery, and looking at the lifeless eyes of Jorum, she remembered that he paralyzed her magicka system.

“Wha–where am I?” she asked.

“You’re in my protective care, my dear.” answered Ryker. Another thump from the road, temporarily dampening his grin, “Assuming our own convoy to safety can keep us safe from the storm and woods.”

“Safety? How is this safe? You have me trapped in this… thing!”

“Interesting pair of handcuffs, yes? They’re designed for masters. You see, simply handcuffing a master is not enough to keep them. These have a magnetic modification to them that distorts and disrupts a master’s ability to use their power.” Ryker paused and leaned in, “And you, my dear girl, have a very special power.” Annastaria pulled away in futility as Ryker reached over and grabbed her bare right arm to show her her own enchantments. “I imagine these are not simply neat little tattoos.” he said. She yanked her arm away from him, sneering at him. But he grinned and leaned back again, “They’re certainly not elvish engravings, that’s for sure.”

“When my elders learn of what you are doing,” said Annastaria, “you will be found and dealt with justly.”

“I’ve been doing some thinking about that, and I’m not so sure that will be the case. Like you said, your people have no idea what I’m doing down here, or really who I am. This operation is so secretive, even to them, that even by the time they learn about you and what we’re doing… it won’t matter.”

Annastaria swallowed once, maintaining her stare, but it weakened slightly. “And what is it that you plan to do?” she asked.

Ryker grinned, looking at Jorum for a moment, which only made her want to pull away more. “My dear,” he began, “I believe I know who and what you are. Back at the hangar, when I saw you fight for the first time, you reached for the artifact, and it activated as you grabbed it. The artifact is of prime energy; it contains a particular power that only a prime can acquire… It called to you.” He paused to see what she would do, but she wouldn’t speak.  “At first I didn’t believe it,” he continued, “I think I was in sheer, unreflective denial about it… But not long after, it really struck me. There was only one reason why that artifact called to you. And I noticed how you covered your arm. Well here it is, bare before me, and look what’s hiding beneath… You’re a prime.” Annastaria’s silence encouraged excitement from Ryker. 

“Amazing!” he continued, “Never in my life did I believe I would see a real, true and living prime! You know the most amazing thing? The legends speak of you as gods… But you’re like me, another human, with two eyes, wavy hair and the average body of a young woman… But I see it in your eyes, dear.”

His excitement subsided for a moment as he paused again, looking down to ponder. “It’s a shame, really.” he said as he looked up at her again, “I don’t suppose you’ll want to help me, will you?” Annastaria continued to glare at him as the truck bounced back and forth over the muddy road. Ryker forced a smile. “I see.” he said, “God! What an absolute shame that you have to be in the midst of the zealots. No doubt they’ve taught you the foolish war between aenmen and their kind. They’ve brainwashed you into their thinking.”

“You do not know of what you speak, aenman.”

Ryker chuckled, “You see? That’s what I’m talking about. You’ve been conditioned, little lady. Those zealots are collecting all the artifacts in the world they can find, so they can amass all the power of Eldreon to retake the north, and eventually lift the curse of Aaerogelden–and you? You’re just another artifact they will use to take over the world again.”

Annastaria nearly burst out at him in anger, but knew she was constrained from doing any harm, and even if she could, Jorum was sitting only a few feet away, silent but ready for anything. “Your anger and desire to kill me only proves how much you know I’m right.” Ryker said with a grin that gnawed at her.

“And what would you do with the secrets of Eldreon?” said Annastaria, “Why should the aenmen be trusted with what they’ve failed to understand?”

“A fair point.” Ryker replied, “One I’m fully aware of.” He leaned in again, “You see, my dear, the world is on the brink of collapse, that we can agree on. That’s why it needs saviors. It needs the primes; it needs you, and the others that are surely out there. The old elvish kingdoms fell and they fell because the elves are not so different from we aenmen. At the end of the day, you’re still human, like the rest of us, and you share the same desires for power, just like we do. Don’t you think it’s time we realize that, and work towards a greater future? One that does away with allowing a single monarch, or a single ruler, a single council, such as the Magistry, to govern all?”

“What kind of future are you speaking of?”

“One where men take hold of their own destinies before God. One of justice and peace, where the government exists to ensure that men live peaceably with their fellow man; they don’t go to war for political and cultural differences. We can work towards that greater future here in Enussia, and show the rest of the world it can be done.”

“And you need the primes to do this?”

“Of course! Every great movement needs inspiring leaders to show them, and to be a piece of that great future here now. You could help me, my dear–you are the prime I’m looking for… It is no coincidence that God has brought you here to interfere with my plans. This is a divine appointment!”

Annastaria could hardly believe the words she was hearing. When was an aenman scientist interested in religious concepts? She tried to figure out in her mind if he was serious or even insane. But before another word could be spoken, they all felt the truck stop, causing the lamp from the ceiling to move back and forth., and the engine, though still on, quieted. “What’s going on out there?” Ryker asked, incentivising the other in the truck with him to go to the radio.

“What’s happening?” the radio operator asked.

It took a few seconds for a reply to come in, “The front car is stuck. Gotta get it out.”

Ryker rolled his eyes and took the radio to speak into it, “Get it done fast. We do not want to be caught in these woods!” Ryker turned to Jorum, “Get out there and make sure things go smoothly. No magic, though, in case we’re not the only ones who can track magic out here.”

The back doors came open, and the large Jorum rose up, forced to keep his head low to the ceiling. Annastaria backed away as best she could while he walked past her, giving off a strange and unsettling sour smell. She saw his skin up close for the first time, which seemed dry and the sight of which made her feel itchy over her own skin. Finally his unpleasant presence was past her and out of the back door, leaving her and Ryker alone.

“I apologize for all of this.” he said to her, “You must be so uncomfortable right now. I promise you that Jorum means no harm.”

“What have you done to him?” she darted quickly at him.

Ryker paused, trying to formulate an answer. “I am merely preparing him,” he said.

“For what?”

“What he must be ready for, of course. We need icons, and leaders for our cause.”

“You mean that you are trying to make him into something he is not.”

Ryker paused again, impressed with her well-placed assertion, but also put off by it. His smile returned then as an answer to her charge came to mind. “Concerned with him all of a sudden, are we?” he said, drawing silence from Annastaria, “Well, if you’re so interested in having his ‘suffering’ end, you know who can stop it, don’t you? Be the prime I need, and he won’t have to be.”

“I am not your pawn for your desire for power.”

Ryker chuckled, “I’m somewhat hurt, truly; that after all I just told you, you still act in defiance. I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised. I expect nothing less than unyielding, ruthless loyalty to the zealots… But that doesn’t change the fact that you have something I need.”

“Unfortunately for you, you cannot have it.”

“That’s what you think. You’ve been living under a rock too long, my dear; you don’t know what we in the modern world can do with technology on our side. Your prime power will be mine, and soon enough, the girl.”

Annastaria nearly froze at the words uttered; she knew exactly what he meant. She could only hope that Bastillina was smart enough to stay angry at her, and stay away. Ryker saw the panic in her eyes. “Yes, her.” he said slowly, as if to stroke Annastaria’s conscience with discomfort, “The one who blew up half the inn. The power that girl displayed is unlike anything I have ever seen… Maybe she’s a prime, no? I can’t wait to find out.”

“How bad for you.” Annastaria answered, “She will likely be far away from here now.” She looked down as she contemplated and sank into the despairing thought. “I would be far away if I were her.” she added.

“Aw, don’t be so hard on yourself. Relationships always have tension, that’s how they grow. No, I’m sure she’s not about to run away from you; you’re her only true hope here, I can tell. You’re going to help bring her to me, and when she comes, we’ll all be one happy family.”

“No!” Annastaria snapped, trying to break free from her bonds, but having no success, “Eannas eskoto mu!” she cursed as she pulled and pulled. 

Ryker took hold of a remote, pressing a button, and immediately, Annastaria felt her arms stiffen, and her chest buzz, causing her teeth to grind together in agonizing discomfort for five terrible and lengthy seconds. When her arms were released from the force, she nearly fell over as she gasped for air. Her breathing intensified as her heart began to pound in her chest. 

“That didn’t look so good.” Ryker mocked, holding the remote up, “A little extra restraint I had put in those hand restraints of yours. They’ll make sure you don’t get too feisty. And they’ll also help me extract your prime energy.”

Annastaria didn’t know whether to believe him or not, or if she heard what she thought she heard him say, but her entire body was strained and weak. All she could think of was Bastillina, and how she hoped the girl, along with Oden and Rolek, stayed away. And yet the more she urged this desire on in her mind, the more it punished her with her misery. She was alone, and all she wanted was to see them again, and talk to them.

Oden was escorted to the car holding Bastillina, after he had convinced them to let him stay close to her. There was little else for him to do, it seemed. Bastillina saw him approach from the distortion of the rain to the window. The door came open and he entered the car cabin as fast as he could; though an umbrella helped keep him dry, he was still wet, causing Bastillina to somewhat move away. He let out a breath as he made himself comfortable in the back seat next to her, while Bastillina sat awkwardly, feeling as though something ought to have been said between them, but she didn’t know what.

“Some morning, huh?” he said. Bastillina was only further confused on what to say. “You okay, kiddo?” he asked, “Come on, talk to me.”

Bastillina didn’t look at him, and acted as though she was far away, though he knew she heard him. The question stirred so many potential answers in her mind, and she didn’t know where to begin. She didn’t know what to think anymore. “I just…” she began, “I just hope she’s okay.”

Oden paused, looking away, hoping to find the right words to respond with. He was still angry with Erene, but he didn’t want Bastillina to see it. Somehow, her sorrow felt heavier than his anger. “I’m sure they’ll find her.” he said, drawing Bastillina’s big blue eyes to himself, “They’re out there right now, with Rolek–and if anyone can track someone, it’s that guy.”

Bastillina paused again as Rolek’s name came up, stirring a whole new set of thoughts, and just like before, she didn’t know which to like and which not to. “She told me to stay away from him.” Bastillina said, “And not talk to him.”

“I’m sure she’s said a lot of things… Things that were meant to protect you. But Rolek’s not such a bad guy, to be honest.”

Bastillina looked at him with a slightly sour look. “But he wants to capture you for a reward. And he attacked Erene.”

“True.” Oden said, looking away for a moment, “But… I don’t know… Let’s just wait and see what happens.” Oden couldn’t get out of his mind the genuine care in Rolek’s voice as he told him to watch over and stay close to Bastillina.

“This doesn’t make any sense!” the girl blurted out, “I don’t know what to believe about anyone anymore! Erene lied, but… but she protected me. Rolek’s a selfish jerk, but he’s looking out for us? Ugh! At least back home I knew people were who they were.” Bastillina stopped herself as she began to realize more of what she was saying. “Although,” she continued, “now that I think about it… a lot of my friends back home were strange, too. Even my uncle Leno seemed to want me to go to church every week–we all did… Toby was the worst driver ever, and he still wanted me to learn how to drive properly.”

As she began to recall these things, Oden was left to ponder himself about the strange characters even he knew, including Dean, who being a drug-dealing alcoholic, was chivalric in his nature, and more than anything, wanted to protect his girlfriend from any threat. “I suppose people are complex,” he said.

Bastillina didn’t know what to say, and she went still seemingly, staring off near Oden’s feet. Like timber, she fell over then on his shoulder. “What if…” she began, but hesitating, “What if there’s more to Erene than what we’ve seen? Maybe… through all the elvish stuff… she’s like us? Trying to find a home, trying to make friends, and family.”

Oden sighed as he contemplated those ideas. “It’s hard to imagine a zealot having no family.” he answered, “They’re a very tight-knit group, so I’ve heard.”

“Then why is she all the way out here? Away from that home? Why would she put up with us so long?”

“I don’t know.” Oden answered, almost forgetting to answer at all as he pondered further. He knew deep down, in spite of her own lies, he missed her, even her yelling at him for how he was. What if there was more that he wasn’t seeing? What made Erene the way she was? He knew what made him the way he was; things he hardly shared with anyone, including Bastillina and Erene. He knew he was complex. Maybe Erene was too. “Maybe we ought to find out, huh?” he said, drawing Bastillina’s eyes to him. He smiled at her, “Maybe we ought to help Rolek find her.” It took a moment, but a smile began to glow from Bastillina’s face. She didn’t need to say ‘yes’, he knew what her answer was. But he looked out the windows at the four officers that were just outside. “We just need to figure out how to get out of here first.”

“We’re going to escape custody?”

“Well, if we don’t, we’re no help to Rolek, are we?”

“How are we gonna do that?” Bastillina asked, looking at their surroundings with Oden.

Oden was quiet for a moment as a thought began to pull together in his mind. He wasn’t sure how much of it he liked, but he looked at Bastillina. “You willing to do a little magic?” he asked her. He saw the question paralyze her for a moment.

“I…” she hesitated, “I don’t know. I’m not very good at it, and I just end up blowing things up.”

“That’s kinda what I need you to do. We need to start a little fire; can you at least focus on something?”

Bastillina tried to conceal her internal panicking, and began shaking her head, “I… maybe.” Oden didn’t know what to think about her unsure answer, and stuttering. But she went still again, as though she began to think. With her eyes wide, she looked up at him, “I think I might have an idea.” She raised her hand, and snapped her fingers and startled Oden with a small flame above her thumb.

“Whoa!” he said, “That’s… real cool… Now how is that going to equal the kind of pop we need?”

It was only a few seconds later when one of the officers outside the car began to see a yellow flashing from within, and then a loud thump on the door. The others converged on it as the back door flew open with Oden and Bastillina leaping out amidst a ploom of smoke. “What happened?” cried one officer as they let the two up, “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine!” Oden gasped and coughed, “It was an accident!”

The rest of the officers scrambled to tend to the growing fire coming from within the car.

“Get back!” the officer ordered, pushing Oden and Bastillina back from the burning car. Bastillina tripped as they stepped back, slowly falling out of the focus of the officers. Oden pulled her up by the arm, and they moved past another cruiser when Oden’s eye caught his bag with Annastaria’s on the hood of the car. He reached out and snatched both, and taking Bastillina by the hand, the two dashed into the woods.

Elise and the main force of the authorities, mixed with the deputies of Mennix and the regional police, endured the sogging rain pattering the woods all around them. Thunder continued at intervals to roll through the area, keeping them from any ease amidst the strange fog and the sense of a presence that was not the others around them. Rolek was ahead of them, alongside Gerdan, stopping at the dirt road that passed through the woods. “Anything?” Elise asked, straight and blunt.

Rolek knelt down to the tracks to examine them with Gerdan. “These aren’t the tracks of any heavy duty car.” Gerdan noted.

“Not some of them, anyway.” added Rolek, “You got at least one hefty ride with this group.”

“Could that mean more men?” asked Dylen.

“Could be.” Rolek answered as he stood up, “Either way, these tracks are telling me they were through here about twenty minutes ago, and judging by their formation, came through just before the heavy rain.”

“Is that important?”

Rolek looked at Dylen to answer, “It means that further tracks might be harder to see.”

“Which means we need to stop wasting time here.” Elise replied as she swept past them.

The air grew colder, and another dark cloud hovered over the trees, tinting the area in a colorless chill. The storm sent more faint, thunderous rolls through the woods; all the while, Rolek looked left and right, keeping his attention on each of Elise’s men, and Gerdan’s, plotting his escape, while keeping focused on finding Erene.

“What do you know about Ryker?” asked Elise, interrupting Rolek’s plotting.

“Me?” he asked, “What makes you think I know anything?”

“You’re involved with all of this in some way, aren’t you?”

Though the air was cold, this woman’s interrogative nature seemed to emit a kind of heat that pressed on Rolek, who began to think quickly, hoping to avoid revealing his direct connection to Ryker. “Yeah, not intentionally. Like I said, I was just delivering a bounty on Oden.”

“And yet, here you are, helping to find the elf, when for all intents and purposes, she’s got nothing to do with your bounty.”

Rolek paused and looked to Gerdan, whose eyes were pressing on him with an uncomfortably inquisitive look. “Do you want my help finding your elf, or not?” he asked, “Because I could have, and I still could just turn around and go the other way.”

Elise stopped then, and everyone else stopped with her. “The other way?” she said, “Not a chance. Help or no help, you’re not going anywhere.” 

Rolek smirked, annoyed and impressed with Elise’s unyielding arrogance. “I feel like there’s something you want to say to me, ma’am.” he said, “Where I’m from, we don’t really care for people dancing around the bush.”

“Alright… Since we want to be upfront here; it’s obvious you’re keeping information from me. Still, I’m curious: a bounty hunter who only works for the highest bidder doesn’t hesitate to help Oenkev and SIU authorities find someone who, as far as I can tell, is not offering any kind of reward for helping them.”

“Implying what? People like me aren’t as ill-natured as you seem to think ma’am.”

“I’m quite aware that random acts of kindness still move through people like you. But you seem insistent upon hiding your reasons why.”

“If you must know, she does kind of owe me something.”

“Ah… So it’s not out of goodwill after all.”

Rolek shrugged his shoulders, “Depends on how you look at it, I guess… But like you said, we’re wasting time, no?”

Elise paused, silently judging Rolek. He could almost feel her scorn, and knew he had to figure out a way to get out of this before the end of the day. Finally, as though he was allowed to breath again, Elise gave the order to continue moving. Rolek continued with them, relieved that he was still able to conceal his intention to keep Elise from discovering who Erene truly was. If the SIU or Oenkev authorities discovered it, it threatened an international conflict.

Annastaria was left alone in the truck as Ryker stepped outside to continue yelling at the others for delaying their drive. She could hear his voice, muffled but mostly unintelligible through the steel walls of the back of the truck she was in, with no idea where she was. The rain had relented some, pattering lightly on the top and sides; it made her tired, along with the shocks she endured from the cursed hand casings she had that made her his prisoner. 

She lowered her heavy head down, and the silver necklace her father gave her fell out, dangling just under her face, and sparkling in the small light she had. The sight of it brought her back to the moment her father gave it to her. She remembered the wind, and the cold, and the warmth from her father’s hug to her, how it took her away from the cold air of the Sarke lands, and Ellumar’s softened eyes towards her sister as they said goodbye. She promised not to let them down, taking the necklace with a sacred vow. It was her greatest chance to prove to her clan that she was one of them, and now she failed. 

The worst part was that she played only a miniscule task in the whole thing. For all intents and purposes, she was probably given this particular part only because she was a relic that needed protecting; something to hide away in a hallowed room somewhere, an object to be used, not a person to be loved, admonished, encouraged and cherished. 

She nagged and nagged for a chance to prove herself, and when she got it, all it really was in the end was just a bone, a treat to distract her. But even such an insignificant task, she couldn’t keep. She failed her people: Errnos was right, her aenman side was too strong. She got too close to them in just a matter of days, broke so many creedal rules and now faces the irreconcilable consequences.

Yet who did she fail? She felt the tug of Oden and Bastillina now; their essence mixed and struggled against the essence of her clan, and how important they were to her. Either way, to all of them, she lost. She couldn’t live up to her clan’s demands, and she couldn’t even live up to the pitiful standards of aenmen.

The back door flew open, disturbing her peace; her heart began to race as she was startled out of her slow descent into a tired sleep. It was Ryker who stepped inside with Jorum, immediately stuffing the small compartment with their unwelcome presence. “Excellent news!” Ryker said, “We’re moving out!”

As if the drivers were waiting for him to say that, the engines roared and the three cars and the large truck holding Annastaria were off, still pushing slowly through the muddied road. At that moment, Annastaria confessed it in her heart; she couldn’t hide it from her mind anymore–she hoped and wished, and even prayed silently that somehow Oden and even Rolek would find her. 

She hoped, though faced with despair, that despite her deception, they would be a better person than she was. All she could think about was Oden’s scorn. It shocked her at first, and even to think of it, it still had a paralyzing effect, but she knew he was right. He was honest with her, and she continued to lie to him. Worst of all, her lies, she knew, could only have pushed Bastillina away. What better example was she setting over Leno? She may never see the girl again, leaving Annastaria to wonder and even dare to doubt her ‘creeds’ that she lived by and got her here.

“You must think I’m a terrible, wicked aenman.” Ryker said, observing Annastaria’s despondent stare towards the floor. The words caused her to snap from the trance and her eyes darted up at him, but she said nothing. Ryker, still with his smile, leaned back in his seat, “The truth is, my dear, what I’m doing is saving this world from itself. Saving it from self-destruction.”

“You deal with criminals.” Annastaria said with a sneer, “Nothing you say to me makes anything that you truly do better.”

Ryker chuckled lightly, annoying Annastaria. “A necessary evil, I’m afraid.” he answered, “One I’m sure if you probed hard enough, you would discover the same concept in the elders of your own tribe.” Annastaria’s eyes, which had drifted away again locked onto him once more. “You have much to learn about the real world, my dear.” he continued, “Closed off in those cold mountains does nothing for you except prevent you from seeing the truth, and that’s why you’re where you are right now. That’s why you’ve failed, and I’ve won. That’s why your friends abandoned you. You think you know it all, and that the world is so black and white; it’s either good or bad.”

Annastaria grew tired of being lectured by this arrogant man. She turned her whole face to him. “If you are so smart and know so many things,” she said, “why do you not stop annoying me with your babble, and tell me what it is I am apparently missing?”

Ryker was stunned by the words. But his smile quickly returned to fruition. “Very well.” he replied, “Yes, I’m working with Lance and the Intero–a mafia, criminal organization here in Oenkev. But while men like him are certainly terrible men, men like him keep the balance.”

Annastaria could almost blurt out the word blasphemy and kick him if her own feet were not restrained. “How can such a man as he maintain balance?”

“How do you think the evil that lurks in the shadows–and you know of what I speak–is kept at bay? Sure, we can say it’s because of law and order, and the inquisitions of the Magisterium, and the legacy of the Ubyassen Empire, but those are the extreme measures that are required when the balance can’t be restored without violence. Once it has been restored, it is maintained by a world of men in various places of power, battling and struggling for more. Lance is one of those men. The criminal underworld will always exist, my dear, in a world of free men, and it must exist; it’s part of how God keeps order.”

“I do not know of this god you speak of, but he is not Artharos, that much is certain.”

“You can call him what you wish, but you know as well as me, that even your own scriptures, passed down by the divine council itself, tells us that Artharos, the God of gods, is supreme in all affairs, including time and human governments.” Annastaria went silent, refusing to entertain the madness she perceived in Ryker any further. He watched her silence for a moment, trying to discern what she was thinking. 

“I’m guessing you came from the Sarke region.” he said, once more drawing her eyes to him. She wouldn’t answer, but he saw in her face that she knew he was right. “I figured as much.” he said with a confident smile, “That means you had to come through Mennadesh, which is closed off from Oenkev due to its civil wars, and its potential weakness to the Sarke region and the growing Vale threat. You would have had to smuggle your way across the border, therefore. No doubt you used one of those groups, then.”

Annastaria refused to speak, though her anger at him intensified. “Yes,” he said, his smile seemingly growing, “you did use those groups to get here. You see? You’re not so different from me, my dear… You know those groups are funded by the Intero? Yes, men like Lance assist those ‘righteous’ organizations in getting people smuggled across the border… You wanna know why?”

With a tired glare, Annastaria looked up at him. “Do tell.” she hissed.

“Who knows!” he blurted out, tossing his hands up and laughing, “There are so many reasons! The Intero likes to use cheap labor for their minor works. Having illegals here who aren’t documented allows them to give those people wages they cannot bargain with. Other parties pay the Intero to assist getting certain individuals across the borders for reasons the Intero won’t ask; just pay them and they’ll get your man through the checkpoints. All they need is a proxy group that is willing to do it, and who better than folks zealous for the cause of helping poor refugees? Folks who truly believe in the cause of autonomy and freedom. And now tell me, my dear, who is right and who is wrong?” He waited, but Annastaria had no answer; she refused to show him any sign that she never heard anything like this before, and didn’t know how to even react to it, whether or not it was true.

Ryker shook a finger at her, “You see? The balance. A world of free men demands men like me, and men like Lance to maintain it.”

“I do not understand why you cannot have a world without them.”

Ryker chuckled, “Still so much to learn. That’s a nice thought, but it died with your elvish kings ages ago. It tried to resurrect itself in the Ubyassen Empire and crashed and burned. The truth, my dear, is like I told you already–our kind, humanity, is inherently evil. We always desire power; the ancient empires collapsed because either the emperor or the king’s inherent evil drove him mad and turned him into a tyrannical monster, leaving death and misery in his wake. Or the people, in their decadence, caused the whole thing to crumble. Or, they rebelled, because no one likes to have another man order them around; our natural inclination to such things is to rebel against it, and rebellion, though liberating, always upsets the balance, and always leaves a vacuum–the likes of which nature abhors. The only true answer is to remove the sentiment towards absolute power, restore it to God himself, who rightly owns it, and allow men to be free under that rule. But with that always comes the consequences, such as men like Lance.”

“Such a well-thought babble of words and lies.” Annastaria hissed again, “You must feel proud of your blasphemous philosophy.”

Ryker’s smile didn’t relent at Annastaria’s attempt to insult him. “Like I said, I don’t expect someone like you to understand… Maybe in time you will. But let me ask you this: Who would you rather have ruling the world? Criminals like Lance, who, though evil and selfish, nevertheless hold to some form of structure, and can be bought to maintain order and peace, or a mad, zealous revolutionary determined to burn it all down so that from the ashes a new monster arises to devour the world? Because if you want to live in the best world we can make, the Lance’s of the world are the ones you choose. History shows that monarchs and empires always lead to utter ruin. Man was not meant to possess that kind of power.”

“So you mean to truly allow one form of wicked man to reign over another?”

“It’s better than the alternative. Like you, I would like to live in a world that was without sin. But we don’t have that world, my dear; we never have, and we never will, not unless God himself intervenes. What we have is this, and we must make the best of it that we can. I dare you, my dear–you seem like a smart young lady–I challenge you to find me one instance of the power of the world given to a single entity, or a single man, that ever ended well.” He paused again, waiting for Annastaria to respond. She couldn’t think of anything; all the examples she had to draw from, even from the sacred scriptures that showed peace in the ancient elvish empires, eventually crumbled, and the prophets always revealed that the crumble was due to the decay of the elvish society, not from the outside world. The world outside was able to conquer the elves because they had crumbled within, had turned from the gods, and most of all, Artharos.

“You see?” Ryker continued, “There is none… But fret-not my dear; it doesn’t mean that we have no order at all. Far be it from me to advocate anarchy. That’s why I tell you we need a system where power is distributed, spread out, so man cannot possess the absolute power he was not meant to have. The Lance’s of the world will meet their ends, and they will face justice. But to live in a world of balance and freedom, they are necessary evils… That is what I offer you.”

Annastaria sat silent. She was overwhelmed with his words, and never heard anything like what he was telling her. She refused to believe it, but she didn’t know how to reject it. Somehow what he was saying had conviction, and he was right in one thing, there was little if any instance of empires and kingdoms of the past ever ending well. She stayed silent, not wanting to talk to him anymore, and held within herself justification for her detestation of him and his worldview by what sat to his left, Jorum, a master tortured by this man’s twisted and ruthless pursuit of what he saw as justice and truth. Not even the elves would do such a thing. Would they?

The Oenkev authorities and the Mennix deputies were in splintered groups, scattered about the woods when they heard the engines somewhere in the distance begin to vroom and start off. For a moment, some of the men thought it could have only been thunder, but the feel of the small tremor produced by the engines slowly drifting away dispelled that idea. “Those are trucks.” said one as the group stopped in their tracks to listen.

Only a few seconds later did Elise and her group come hastily through the woods to meet them. “Did you guys hear that?” asked Elise. 

Just as they confirmed, two of Gerdan’s deputies also hastened to them. “Ma’am.” said one, “We’ve spotted three trucks southeast of here, about three-hundred yards. Rolek and Gerdan are in pursuit right now.”

“We need to catch up to them, now!” Elise ordered, and the urgency in her voice energized the group to pace more quickly, following the faint sound of the engines, “And tell Rolek and Gerdan not to engage until I say so!”

Dylen’s group caught up and being a kamorjien, he had a natural speed about him, even just jogging along with the others that put him ahead of them. The sound of the engines drew closer the more they sifted through the woods. They moved carefully and yet quickly, hoping not to be seen. They came to the muddied road and stopped, looking southeast, where their eyes caught about twenty feet down the road, the convoy moving east. Elise looked as close as she could to see the license plate, but it was too far away, and obscured by the rainfall. A short and quiet whistle caught her ear, and her head darted up the hill and cliffs, north on the other side of the road. She saw what looked to be Gerdan, waving a hand, with Dylen next to him. “Come on!” Dylen whispered loudly.

Elise and the three men with her sprang from their position, but with their heads down, darting across the road; their boots splattered and sent mud up and around them, and in just a second, they were in the bushes, moving up the steep hill. “Where’s Rolek?” she asked.

Dylen pointed behind himself, “Just on the other side of this hill. The road hooks around and follows it. We’ve got an opportunity right now to ambush them, ma’am.”

Elise paused, and nearly too long. “Take me to Rolek.” she ordered.

Dylen nodded, and turned with Gerdan, leading Elise further up the hill as another roll of thunder shook the ground around them; another storm was coming, it seemed. It took another minute before they reached Rolek, hiding in the bushes over a cliffside that looked down some thirty feet to the muddied road. All the while, they could hear the convoy steadily progressing along the road, like a beast growling as it prowled the forest. 

The light that glowed and illuminated the front of the first car grew along the trees, more intensely every second until it came from around the hillside, followed by the large cargo truck, and another smaller escort car behind it.

“You think she’s in there?” Gerdan asked.

“Just under positive.” Rolek answered.

“We’ve got the high ground.” Dylen whispered, “And it doesn’t seem as though they see us.”

“Control yourself, Dylen.” Elise answered, “We’re not soldiers, for god’s sake. We’re SIU.”

“And what would you suggest?” Rolek asked, looking at her with an amused smirk.

“I suggest we settle down and try to catch this whole group at once. Get some backup via airship, in case some try to escape into the forest.”

“And when they attack, what then?”

“Protocol, Mr. Rolek–as always. Is that a problem for you?”

“I’m just saying. Right now, you’ve got the element of surprise. If you just walk down the road a little farther and shine your guns and lights in their eyes, you throw that away.”

“Like I said, we’re not soldiers.”

“With all due respect, ma’am, I’ve gone up against these guys before; they’ve got a mutated master who bested both myself and the elf–at the same time. These guys are not going to just put their hands up and surrender, I guarantee it.”

“Thank you for your concern, Rolek, but your work here is done. You helped find the elf, and there she is… We’ll take it from here.” She looked to Dylen to speak further, “Take him back to Mennix to await transportation back to Cymroyl.”

Rolek looked back, and saw the hesitation in Dylen’s eyes. It only prompted him to smirk more. He could easily break free right now and run, but doing so would surely leave Erene alone, and it would completely ruin their element of surprise. He had another idea come to mind. He chuckled and turned around to be led by Dylen back to Mennix.

“Gerdan.” Elise said, summoning Gerdan’s presence before her, “How far until this road reaches the main highway?”

“Another mile at least.” Gerdan answered, “Why?”

“I think this isn’t all there is; the Intero is involved, and I believe this convoy is going back to them. We’re gonna tail them back to the Intero, call in backup and kill two birds with one stone.”

Gerdan nodded, but he looked back once, unsure if Elise made the right call about Rolek. There was nothing he could do, especially knowing the SIU was calling the shots. This head agent seemed not in the mood for any diversity of opinions, and to disobey meant heavy consequences, even though had a nagging itch in his mind that Rolek was right. Reluctantly, he led Elise and the rest of the group farther east, to find the highway, turning one more time in hopes to see Rolek. He was gone, and with him, Gerdan’s confidence in their success.

After discovering the haunting of Mennix, Annastaria returns to town only to find an unwelcome party harrassing Oden and Bastillina. But Jodel has more than a threat against them, but to show them who Annastaria really is...

The rain had stopped, leaving Mennix with just a dreary overcast by the middle of the day. Rolek and Oden remained in the inn with Bastillina close by, waiting for Annastaria to come back. Deputies and innkeepers were tending the damage while they contemplated how to contact authorities over it. Magical destruction was something that made the Oenian authorities reluctant to come to these parts. 

One of the deputies came towards the three after about an hour. Bastillina dreaded their approach, feeling the scorn they hid for her. “Well,” he began with a sigh, “we’re going to have to call the authorities at some point.”

“If there’s anything we can do,” Oden said, “any money we can give to help fix this place, please let us know. Otherwise, it’s probably best if we left.”

The man didn’t respond immediately, pausing to think. It made Rolek nervous. “We’ll see.” he said, “We can’t make any major decisions without all the deputies present, which means we have to wait for Gerdan to return. Just sit tight for now.” After he finished, he left them alone again.

Bastillina was given a jacket by someone, and she wore it over herself to cover her left arm. She didn’t want to see it, and she knew some of the dark veins were appearing on her right. She kept feeling the need to rub her arms, as though they itched. Oden saw her discomfort. 

“You okay?” he asked.

“My arms.” she said, “It’s like one of those itches that you can’t get. What’s going on with me?”

Rolek remained silent, unsure if he should tell her what it was yet. She would find out eventually, and she had a right to know, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it; something prevented him. Maybe it was the fear of inciting panic in her, and he would rather the burden fall on Erene. Maybe it was because he didn’t know how she could suffer these effects of Corruption so quickly, and telling her she was being gripped by it without telling her how would only make her panic more. He didn’t like not having the answers.

“I shouldn’t have gotten angry.” Bastillina said, catching Oden and Rolek off-guard. She looked up at Oden, “When I yelled at her this morning… I don’t know why I did that. All she did was help me, and kept me safe… And I just yelled at her.”

Rolek rolled his eyes. He was tempted more than ever to tell her the actual truth ‘Erene’ was hiding. It became harder and harder for him to keep it to himself. But another group of men approached them as they sat and waited for an uncertain amount of time. Oden paid them little attention until they were clearly coming towards him, and when he got a look at them, his heart nearly fell in his chest. 

“Good morning, friends!” said Jodel with a smile, as he stopped in front of them, and to his right and left was Dean and Harris. Oden wanted to speak, but he couldn’t make words, and sat awkwardly silent. “No words?” Jodel said, “I think you owe me and my friends here at least some form of kind gesture for how long it took to finally catch up.”

Rolek kept himself calm, though he knew seeing these guys again was bad news. “Well you guys look… wet.” he said to them.

Jodel smirked off Rolek’s taunt, “Quite bold coming from a double-crosser.” he said.

“So harsh.” Rolek replied, “But don’t talk as if you guys are all innocent. It’s all business, boys, nothing personal. Although, I never liked guys who highlight their hair into goldy locks.”

“We got nothing more to talk about.” Oden said, looking at Dean.

“Actually we do.” Jodel said. He looked to the room Bastillina was previously staying in, and saw the remains. “What in the gods happened there?”

“None of your business.” Oden struck back, “You three better get lost.”

“Or what? You gonna send your bounty hunter on me? Have you ever stopped to think about how ironic it is that he’s your protector?” He paused a moment, looking at the three of them. “Speaking of protectors… I don’t see the elf here anywhere.”

“That’s also none of your business.”

“I think it should be your business to know who she really is.”

Bastillina’s growing anxiety paused at what Jodel was saying, but she kept quiet, and ready to attack them. “What the hell are you talking about?” Oden asked.

“You ever stopped, just for a moment, to think about who she is? Where she comes from?”

“A few times… But that doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, I think it does, actually.” Jodel replied with a chuckle, “And I bet even Rolek over here has a good idea… Don’t you, Rolek?”

Oden and Bastillina looked at him now. He kept his eyes on Jodel, but could feel their eyes on him. He didn’t know what to say or do, but before anything else could be said, Jodel pulled the glass dagger from his jacket and tossed it onto the table, startling Oden. “What the hell is this?” he asked, taking it in his hand.

“That’s a glass blade.” Jodel answered, “Ever heard of it? If not, I’m sure Rolek can enlighten you both.”

Once again, Oden and Bastillina turned to Rolek for answers. “I don’t get it.” Oden said, “What is this? And why would you know about it?”

Rolek sighed, and hesitated to look Oden in the eye for a moment, “Glass blades are rare.” he answered, “As in, they only come from particular places in the world. They’re made of a special crystal growing in the mountains in the east, northeast and sometimes south. They’re made by the zealots, which they use for their arrows, swords and other weapons.”

A strange silence followed; Oden waited for Rolek to explain further, but it seemed as though that was all he had to say. He looked at Rolek and then Jodel, and back and forth one more time. “What?” he began, “What’s that mean–are you saying Erene is some kind of… zealot? That’s insane! She didn’t tell me where she came from, but–”

“But she came from the east, didn’t she?” Rolek said, leaning towards Oden then, “That’s where one of those clans comes from, you idiot. You didn’t make that connection?”

“And what? This is hers? How can you prove that?”

“Those blades only come from the wood elves, Oden! Where else is your boy over here gonna get one of those?”

The inn’s front doors came open then, and Annastaria and Gerdan rushed in at the sight of the rising smoke. “Enrick!” Gerdan shouted as he came inside, “What happened?”

Oden and Bastillina immediately set their eyes on Annastaria, who looked at the damage and then at Bastillina. Like a mother to a child, Annastaria ran towards her, not even recognizing Jodel and the others. “Are you okay?” she asked, her panic seizing control of her breathing.

Bastillina felt comfort for a moment, and nodded that she was okay. Oden, however, remained quiet, and Jodel watched the scene unfold with amusement. “Speak of the devil.” he said, drawing Annastaria’s attention, “You’re just in time.”

Annastaria looked at Oden once and then back at Jodel, “Who is this?” she asked.

“Me?” Jodel said, “My two friends here are good friends to Oden… Or at least, we were. But maybe we can change that, by showing Oden who the real enemy is here.”

Annastaria looked at Oden again, “What is he meaning?” she asked.

Oden hesitated. he didn’t want to confront Annastaria with anything, he didn’t want to believe anything ill about her, and the whole time he was with her, he never asked about who she was because he was afraid she would cast him away. But he had to this time. With his hand shaking, he set the blade gently on the table, and sat still to let Annastaria see it. Her eyes went wide, and she swallowed, but said nothing for a moment. 

“What is this?” she asked.

Oden paused, absorbing the question for a moment. “That’s it?” he said, “That’s all you’re going to say… What’s this doing here? You know what it is, don’t you?”

She looked at Rolek, who refused to get himself into this. As far as he was concerned, she owed it to Oden to tell him the truth. “It is a glass blade.” she answered, keeping herself calm, “A rare type of weapon.” An awkward silence followed.

Jodel could see she wasn’t going to speak further, and he shook his grinning head. “One used by the wood elves,” he added, “Forgot that little part, didn’t you?”

“What are you speaking of, aenman?” she snapped, “And who are you?”

“I think a better question,” Oden intervened, “is who are you?” The words were like a spell, stunning Annastaria. Oden stood out of his seat and squared with her.

“What sort of foolish question is that?” she said back, “How could you ask of me such a thing?”

“That’s not yours?” Oden said, pointing at it.

“Of course it is not!”

Oden paused, and the room fell silent once more. He looked at Rolek, who once again stayed quiet, but his facial expression clearly indicated the judgment he was making in his mind. “If she’s really telling the truth,” Jodel intervened, “then we ought to have a look in her things… Seems fair to me.”

“Leave, fool!” Annastaria snapped again, “I do not know who you are, but you are not welcome here!”

“I think he has a point.” Oden intervened once more, and once again, leaving Annastaria stunned.

“How dare you.” she said, her glare scorning him.

Oden felt the intensity of it, but he pushed it off himself, “You went through my things. You questioned me.”

“Because you lied!”

“And you’re not?” he threw back. Again, the room was silenced. But Oden wasn’t finished, “You know something, Erene, I may have lied–and you’re right–I lied! I lied to you, and I lied to Bella. And because I lied, you had every right to do what you did, for her safety, as well as for whatever else you’re doing, but at least I owned up to it! And you know what?” he grabbed his leather back and slammed it on the table, pointing stiffly at it, “You can go through this again if you want! Come on, Erene–do it! You know why I can say that?” He dared even to step closer to her now and say directly, “I got nothing to hide anymore.” Annastaria stepped back from him, as if he was something allergic to her. “What about you?” he added. But even then he wasn’t finished, “Come to think of it… What exactly are you doing here?”

“I told you.” Annastaria replied, “I am looking for my family!”

Jodel chuckled as he grabbed Annastaria’s bag and placed it on the table, “Well then,” he said, “if that’s true, then we’ll open this up here and find no glass blades hiding somewhere in here, will we?”

Annastaria lunged her right arm out with an airburst that blasted Jodel and the other three away, as well as the table and all their things.

“Buurda’kameen shen-feli!” she cursed.

Bastillina stumbled away from the blast, nearly struck by Annastaria’s burst of rage, while Oden was skinned and tumbled to the ground. Annastaria stepped forward, ignoring the terror in Bastillina’s eyes. “En’esh fen me’kalarem, aenvaer!” she said, with her eyes set on Jodel, who was still picking himself up. Before any more curses could be uttered, she felt two arms grip her around her neck and pull her away. Oden looked up, and saw Rolek performing a rear-naked choke on her. She demonstrated surprising strength for her size, trying to pull herself out of it, but Rolek’s grip wouldn’t give way.

Annastaria had only seconds before she would be out cold; she dropped herself, pulling Rolek down until she got on her knees, and threw him over and off herself. Rolek tumbled, but sprang up as fast as he fell, knowing she would be attacking him as he had experienced before. 

She sent a tremor through the wood, splitting it apart as it burst towards him, while sprinting at him herself. Rolek reversed the tremor, and strafed left as she came towards him, dodging her onslaught and engaging in combat. Like before, she was fast, but Rolek noticed this time, she was angry, and she was over-extending herself; not as patient as before, waiting for an opportunity. He landed a shot to her gut, forcing her back, but she threw a fist, which he grabbed. She threw her other hand, and he grabbed that as well, and using his sheer body weight, pushed her backwards into a pillar.

“Stop it!” he shouted, hoping to pin her down with the power of his words as much as his own strength.

“Ean… el met paken kuuretmu!” she grunted, refusing to even speak aenian at this point. It was like she was a totally different person, not aenmen, but a zealot. She leaped up, and knee him in the chest, forcing him to bend down. Annastaria broke free of his grasp and kneed him in the face, but with the adrenaline rushing through him now, he found the strength to push forward, and barreled into her, forcing Annastaria to the ground, and from there, tried again to subdue her, instead of fighting.

“Stop!” screamed Bastillina, and with it, a flashing light and charges of electricity blistering the area. An explosion burst out from where she was, sending Rolek and Annastaria tumbling away another few feet into the bar counter. An unsettling silence followed; everyone was focused on Bastillina, who seemed to be centered in the inn, with chairs and tables either pushed aside, or destroyed completely. Her eyes glowed again as she looked at her smoking hands.

The inn doors once more burst open, and this time, were breached and appearing from the breach was a tall, pale and bald man. It was him. Bastillina stumbled to the sound and gasped, turning to see him as his eyes set themselves upon her. Annastaria and Rolek picked themselves up, and were forced once more to stand side-by-side against Jorum. 

“We’ll finish this later.” Rolek said quietly to her, but he scorned her with the words. Annastaria paid little attention to the words, though they struck deep. She used her anger produced by them to channel at this haunting, pale man.

As Jorum’s feet thudded, step-by-step past Dean who was launched near the entrance, he looked ahead, anticipating the upcoming fight. Dean pulled himself up and saw Annastaria’s bag only a few feet away from him, tossed aside along with himself, and its content spilling out across the floor. He nearly froze at the fortunate sight, and with the elf distracted, he crawled towards it and took the artifact in his hand. But as he reached, he caught Oden off to his left, charging at him. Before Dean could stand up properly to fend Oden off, Oden barrelled into him and threw him to the ground, and the artifact tumbled towards the door. The two struggled to gain the top for control, to beat the other down. Oden wanted nothing more than to pound this man’s face in. He was a friend, and he betrayed Oden. And now Oden’s only real friend, he discovered, had betrayed him as well.

But Jodel snatched the artifact and grabbed Harris who went to help Dean. “No!” Jodel ordered as he pulled Harris back, “Dean and Oden got some bonding issues to settle. We got the artifact–Jorum will handle the rest.”

Harris hesitated for a moment but agreed, and the two left as Annastaria and Rolek engaged Jorum, preventing him from getting closer to Bastillina. 

“It’s over, Oden!” said Dean, looking down at Oden who he had pinned to the ground, “The SIU is on its way right now. They’ll be on this place in a matter of minutes! And with Jorum? It’s inevitable!”

“Inevitable what?” Oden grunted back.

“The elf, and the kid.”

Oden’s struggling relented for a moment as the words sank in, “What kid?”

“You know who I’m talking about–the girl. Ryker wants the girl. Whatever she did this morning? Let’s just say its power surge even gave Jorum a headache.”

Oden had enough, and roared as he pushed Dean off himself. Their momentum pushed back and forth, neither able to gain an advantage over the other. Both managed to get to their feet, but still wouldn’t let each other go, until Dean tripped over Oden’s footing, falling back but pulling Oden with him and they tumbled outside, onto the patio into another downpour of rain. In the scuffle, Dean pulled himself away, carrying Annastaria’s bag with him, and the two squared off.

“Damn you!” Oden screamed at Dean, “You were my friend! I trusted you!”

“Oh give it a rest, will you?” Dean shouted back, “This was never about friendship, Oden! You and me? We were doing business! We just happened to work together! Don’t you get it? Get your twinkling, stary brain out of those fantasy stories and look around! The Uprising damned these lands; Febia’s about to fall, and it will reach this place. There’s no more valiant efforts to save humanity, and to return to the old ways. That’s long gone, along with the primes.” Dean’s preaching, although it’s oratory power subsided due to Dean being tired, nevertheless burned in Oden’s mind, “I don’t care for all that superstitious legend stuff, but I’ll tell you one thing the new prophecies got right: this land is cursed. It always will be. The Berchazians tried to unite the lands, but crumbled under their own tyrannical, ultranationalism; Armadon tried to provide a united empire and the Uprising tore it to pieces. Now the EU tries it and look what’s happening in Febia.”

He paused once more, allowing himself and Oden to catch their breaths, as well as their mental soundness. “There’s only surviving now, Oden,” Dean continued, softer now, “don’t you see? The gods have forsaken us. Artharos has forsaken us. That elf in there? She betrayed you, and yeah, I betrayed you too, but at least I’m being straight with you right now.” He still had Annastaria’s bag in his hand. He tossed it at Oden, allowing what was left inside to spill on the ground in front of Oden. “There.” Dean said, “There’s your so-called ‘friend’. That’s who she really is… She’s been using you, Oden. She doesn’t care about you, and she doesn’t care about the aenman world. She’s a zealot, a member of the old elvish order; a people who don’t know when to quit, when to realize that their dream of a restored kingdom has gone, and their own scriptures say it–people who have and will kill to restore that order, including you.”

There was no hiding it now. Oden stared at the contents spilling out of Erene’s bag, trying to bring himself to accept what he was looking at. It was strangely difficult. It was a leap he couldn’t take, even if it would save his life.

“I bet she never even told you her name.” Dean continued, sinking deeper into Oden’s mind, “The elves want a revolution from the east, the Febian revolutionaries want one from the west… In the end, what’s the difference between either of them? If you know any better, Oden, you’ll leave her and them behind, and come with me.”

With the focus of Annastaria’s air mastery, and Rolek’s rock manipulation, as well as his use of air and magic energy, Jorum was forced to battle them on two levels, to engage with the nature of the swiftness of air in persistent movement, and rock with stern, static power. He was pushed back briefly, but with a surprise counter-attack, was able to strike Rolek by pulling out a chunk of rock from beneath him, launching Rolek into a pillar. Annastaria did not relent, and didn’t care about Rolek anymore; she blasted him with airbursts, but he moved with and through them, almost as fluently as she did, and reverted the airbursts back at her.

Annastaria ducked and dodged, but Jorum used her forced defenses to close in, swinging a kick to her head that she barely dodged, but before she could even rise back to her feet, was struck with a knee to her ribs, stunning her. Jorum sent a blunt elbow at her, indicating to Annastaria that he didn’t intend to do serious damage to her, only enough to put her down. She crossed her arms as the blow came in, still crippled from the knee and the elbow strike blasted her away with a combination of an airburst. Annastaria flew into the inn counter, leaving Jorum to once again set his eyes on Bastillina. As he drew closer to her again, he was struck in the left arm by a bullet, and the sound of the shot blistered the walls. Jorum looked up, unphased by the wound.

It was one of the deputies, aiming a pistol at him. Others came down with their rifles and fired them at Jorum, who whipped out a blazing thick whip of fire at them in the blink of an eye. The inferno consumed the staircase, giving them only a moment to leap for their lives out of the way. Just as Jorum sent the blaze at the deputies above, he felt a blunt force smash against his lower-left abdomen. His body crippled at the shock of the blow, and he looked down to see Bastillina, with a broken piece of wood, and roaring exhales attempting to beat him down with the wood. She struck him one more time in the left leg, but as she brought the beam back once more, Jorum reached out and with just his right-hand palm, grabbed the back of her head and threw her to the ground.

Annastaria pulsed with rage, and she ignored the pain her back felt from crashing into the hardwood bar counter and lunged at Jorum. Her disregard for caution and quiet swiftness made her like a tornado coming at him. He turned to her ambush and dodged her onslaught and used her carelessness against her, catching her in an armlock that threw her to the ground. Annastaria’s left cheek smashed with the wooden floor to her chest, paralyzing her respiratory system and leaving her incapable of taking in air.

A cough managed to puff out of her mouth, and she stumbled to get up, but Jorum towered over her and Bastillina. Once again, his eyes stared down at her, and overwhelmed her with fear. Bastillina ran past him to Annastaria, crying out to her as if hoping her words carried strength for her, “Erene! No! Get up!”. But Annastaria was broken and crippled.

Bastillina’s fear turned to anger and she spun around to deliver all her rage into Jorum with a hammering fist. But he caught her small hand with his larger arm easily, and with a finger in his free hand pressed against her chest, sending a shock through Bastillina. Her body clenched up before she collapsed, kept from falling only because Jorum held her up with her clenched fist. He reached down to grab Annastaria, but more gunshots were heard, and the wooden floor around them began to burst open. The shots caused Jorum to stumble, and lose his grip on Bastillina. Rolek leaped from the shadows then, and pushed his rage into a powerful tremor that went around Annastaria, and burst in front of Jorum. Though he saw it, he lost Bastillina and she tumbled away.

As Jorum came back to the ground, he ambushed Rolek with a left-handed slash that sent a magic-burst out to him. Rolek prepared a proper anti-magic warp, but the projectile burst into ice shards mid-flight. Rolek braced himself for the impact, knowing his anti-magic warp would not stop elemental attacks; he was pelted viciously, scrapped and smitten, burned and slashed by the shards before an airburst finished him off, sending him once more into the bar counter. 

Jorum turned and saw Annastaria picking herself back up, readying her right hand in a formation he was not about to allow her to complete. He launched himself at her, and just before she could complete the spell formation in her hand, and finish the Nagush words, he grabbed her right hand with his own, pushed it down, and drove his right elbow into her jaw.

Dazed from the elbow, and with her right arm subdued, Annastaria beat his right abdomen with her left hand, but it did little. Before she could strike again, her throat was clenched by his left hand and she was lifted from the ground. Jorum extended his right-hand index finger and pressed it against her chest, sending the same shock through her as he did Bastillina. She felt the surge pulse through her body, striking all her magicka points and paralyzing them, leaving her barely conscious. He threw her over his shoulder, and made towards the entrance.

Dean and Oden were locked in mental combat before they were ready to clash again with fists and grunts of struggle and pain, but the engines roared around them; three large, black wagon cars ran down the main road like three trains, and stopped just in front of the inn. The car doors flew open, and Elise, Dylen, along with two squads of police poured out and aimed their pistols at them. 

“Down on the ground!” Elise ordered.

Oden and Dean gave one last stare at each other, as if trying to squeeze in one last mental battle before they were forced to surrender the fight, and they put their hands up, turned, and faced the police. Dylen repeated Elise’s words, and both men slowly went to their knees and onto the ground. It only took a few seconds before they were swarmed by the police, arrested and pulled out to the cars.

When Jorum saw them close off the entrance, he stopped. There was no getting out that way. He turned around, and dashed towards the back. His lengthy limbs gave him a wide stride that carried him across the inn floor in a matter of two seconds, far too quick for Gerdan and the others to readied their weapons and fire. 

Before they knew it, he was gone. Only a few seconds later did Elise and the rest of the police swarm the area, demanding hands and surrender. Gerdan and the deputies identified themselves quickly, and made it down the stairs that were still functioning, without weapons. Rolek’s back and neck were stiffened, which meant that when the adrenaline wore off, they would ache even more. He knew he was beaten, and surrendered quickly.

It took another few minutes before they found Bastillina, hiding in the stairwell opposite where Gerdan and the others were. She fought the officer holding her by the arm as he and another dragged her out to the inn floor. “Let me go!” she demanded.

“Hey!” Elise snapped, moving towards them swiftly, “Take it easy with her!” Bastillina didn’t know why, but she felt compelled to calm down as Elise took control of the situation. The officers loosened their grip and let Bastillina go. “Are you okay?” Elise asked, “Don’t worry, my name is Elise. I’m with the Special Investigations Unit. You must be Bella… We’ve been looking for you.”

Bastillina paused for a moment, and Elise could see the confusion and terror in her eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. “Is that who you really are?” Bastillina asked.

Elise was startled by the question, but she wanted the girl to trust her. “Of course.” she said, taking her name badge and handing it to the girl, “See? That’s me, and that’s my name, right there.”

Bastillina looked carefully at it. She considered the possibility of making fake identities, but she didn’t know how to identify one. As she looked, Elise noticed her left hand, and the dark veins faintly seen up her forearm.

“What happened to your arm?” Elise asked.

Bastillina panicked and she retrieved it, pulling her jacket sleeve down over it. “Nothing.” she said.

“Are you sure? That looks troubling… Did someone do that to you?”

Again, Bastillina went silent for several long seconds. “I don’t know.” her shaky voice confessed, and her eyes welled up. She thought of Erene, how she helped her, saved her life, and took her out of being trapped in Levaan, showed her how to use her power, and showed her only a glimpse of the world beyond. It was like her heart was melting, and beating faster to stay alive. She was stung, and she didn’t know what to think of this woman standing in front of her. She somehow reminded Bastillina of Erene, and she didn’t know if she was comforted or if she wanted to curse it. 

“Hey…” Elise said softly, taking Bastillina in her arms for an even softer yet warming embrace, “It’s okay. You’re okay now. We’re going to get you out of here, okay?”

Dylen stood with the deputies and innkeepers who began to explain everything that happened, watching Rolek, Oden and Dean be taken away in handcuffs. “Agent Dylen!” an officer called out, drawing Dylen’s attention. He walked towards him as the man handed him Annastaria’s backpack.

“What’s this?” Dylen asked.

“Not sure,” said the officer, “But it’s got some interesting items in it. Thought you and your partner over there might want to see it.”

Dylen examined the contents, and discerned quickly what he was looking at. He thanked the officer and took the backpack, saying no more to him, and signalled Elise as she was escorting Bastillina outside to the police cars. Elise gave the officers instructions for Bastillina and went to Dylen. “I think we may have our suspect’s backpack.” Dylen said, showing Elise what was inside.

Elise could hardly believe what she was looking at. They looked around, ensuring no one would see what they were doing, and set the backpack on a table to look closer. Elise found the book Istvan gave Annastaria, while Dylen found the case holding the glass knives. “My god…” Dylen said in a hushed voice, “I never thought I’d ever seen one of these… You know what this means, right?” he asked as Elise opened the book and skimmed through it.

“Yes…” Elise answered, half-focused on his question, while her eyes were fixed on the contents of the book, “I know what it means.” Dylen paused at how she uttered those words, as if she was under a spell. “I wonder what this means, though.” she added.

“What is it?” Dylen asked.

Elise was slow to respond; her eyes were still focused on the book. “I’m not sure.” she answered, “I can’t read anything in it; it’s in some form of elvish.”

“All the more reason to believe our elvish suspect is from the zealots, I fear.”

Elise said nothing for a moment, shutting the book, sending dust out into the air, “But we still haven’t caught her.”

“Well we know she was here, and very recently. I bet her friends would know where she’s gone.”

Elise couldn’t agree more, and now it was time to set their focus on the others. They took Annastaria’s bag, and everything that was in it, and stepped outside. Before they could reach Oden and Rolek, however, an officer stopped them, “Got some bad news. The storms up north have the roads blocked due to flooding. Only way back east is to go down south around Galssan Lake.”

The news was less than ideal for Elise, but she had no intention of going back until she had the elf in custody.

“See what you can get out of Oden and the others.” Elise said to Dylen, “I’ll go talk to the girl.”

Dylen nodded, and the two separated. He was escorted to the car that had Oden in it. The officer guarding it stepped aside, opening the door for Dylen. There Oden sat, but seemed not to be where he was. He was staring off into the car’s center console area, with his hands cuffed behind him. 

“You must be Oden.” Dylen said, hoping to strike up some conversation. No luck. Dylen looked around for a moment before continuing, “Look, Oden–and I know you’re Oden… I don’t know what you did to end up here, or why you’re running from the mafia, and truth be told, we’re not actually here to arrest you specifically.”

“You will when you find out about me.” Oden spoke. But he still kept his eyes away from Dylen.

“Probably… But if you help me find who we’re looking for, I’ll see what I can do about making whatever it is you’ve done less bad.”

Oden was silent again, and battled within himself whether to indulge this SIU agent or not. “And who might that be?” he asked.

“We know that you, and your two friends we’ve arrested aren’t the only ones you were travelling with. There’s an elf that’s been with you.” Oden could almost snarl at the mention of her. “She’s the one we’ve been looking for. Finding you is how we’ve been tracking her. Now we have you, and she’s gone. I think she was here, with you guys this very morning, which means you know better than any of my people where she was last seen.”

Oden took a moment to absorb the question, and consider where to begin. None of it mattered; he only had one answer for Dylen, “I have no idea where she is.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I mean, she was here just as you guys showed up.”

“What were you doing on the front porch of the inn with your other friend?”

“You mean used to be my friend… That was Dean. I’ll save you the details about that; just know that Dean and I got into a fight when you guys showed up. We ended up outside while Ryker’s proxy pet master stormed the inn and started wreaking havoc. That monster’s unbeatable. But I don’t know what was going on inside the inn after that.”

Dylen paused to think for a moment. He cross-referenced Oden’s words in his mind, but found himself out of questions, at least for now. Now was time for him to ask the others.

Elise stepped towards the car she and Dylen were driving; she intended to take the girl home personally. Bastillina had a blanket over her shoulders to keep warm, and all she could think about was Erene, and how she missed her, but also how she felt betrayed by her. She didn’t want to think about it, but couldn’t stop. Every road in her mind that led her away from the thought always led her right back to it.

“Hi there.” Elise said as she knelt down to level with Bastillina, “How are you feeling?”

Bastillina hesitated, keeping the blanket over her. “Cold.” she said.

Though finding Erene was a priority for Elise, here and now, she only wanted Bastillina to be safe. But she still had an elvish zealot to find. “Bella,” she began, “I know you’re going through a lot right now, and it’s something a kid like you should never have to go through… But I need you to help me out right now with finding the one who did this to you. The elvish girl who took you from your home… Do you know where she is?”

Bastillina looked at Elise then, as though she was struck. “She didn’t take me.” she said, “And she didn’t hurt me… Except… Well she did, but…”

Elise waited to see what else she would say, but Bastillina lost her words. “I know, dear.” Elise said with a mother’s voice, “I understand.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Bastillina snapped, pushing through her confusion, “I mean… she lied to me, and Oden. She told us she was a friend, and she helped me.” Bastillina raised her left arm for Elise to see fully, “This? She didn’t do this to me–I did it! I don’t know what I did, or how to make it go away, but I did it! Erene was trying to help me. Then I find out she’s someone else and… And now I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Elise paused, recovering herself from Bastillina’s outburst. If what Bastillina was saying was true, then finding Erene to give her own explanation of all of this was important. “You know what I think?” Elise began, “I think what we need is to find Erene, so she can explain herself… Help me find her, Bella… Do you know where she went?”

Bastillina thought and thought, having to dig into her memory. She found it strangely difficult to remember what happened only less than an hour ago. “I think…” she began, “I think she was kidnapped… By this big, ugly, pale spook, who was bald–and a master. He’s been hunting us for days.”

“Do you know his name?”

Bastillina shook her head, “No. But he’s got these weird tattoos all over his body. He’s a monster, and he tried to take me… But he got Erene instead.”

“Do you know where they went then?”

Bastillina shook her head again, leaving Elise with all she could get. But it was something to work with. “You have to find her.” Bastillina said as Elise stood up, “You can’t let them hurt her. I know she’s done some bad things, but… but she’s a good person.”

Elise didn’t know how to respond to Bastillina’s statement; she wasn’t sure herself what to think of this elf anymore. Elise nodded, and stepped away, finding Dylen talking to Rolek, who told Dylen the same thing Bastillina told Elise. “Is the kid okay?” Rolek asked.

“She’s fine.” Elise answered, “Just shaken up.”

“That’s good.”

An awkward silence followed, but Elise had a question of her own for Rolek. “So how’d you end up with Erene and Oden?”

Rolek leaned back in his seat with a small smile, “Truth be told, I’m a bounty hunter.”

“Are you? Why do we have a bounty hunter in custody, then?”

“Well… I’m not exactly an ‘honest’ bounty hunter, if you know what I mean. Anyone who’ll pay me to find someone, I’ll find them. And I’m damn good at it, too.”

“And what, were you sent to find the elf?”

“Her? No, of course not. None of us had any idea she was here. From what I can see, we ran into her by sheer, blind luck, or by bad omen, depending how you look at it. I’m collecting a bounty on Oden.”

“Where are you delivering him to?” asked Dylen.

Rolek paused then, made to stop by his instinct to protect himself. “The people who were going to pay me,” he said.

Elise narrowed her eyes slightly. “You’re not going to tell me who it is, are you?” she asked.

Rolek smirked, “All due respect, ma’am, I’d rather talk through a lawyer about that one. All I’ll tell you right now is I was collecting a bounty on him for someone.”

Elise didn’t give up her glare at him, beaming as she stood over him sitting in the car seat. “It’s really pointless to remain quiet.” she said, “I already know who it is. It’s either Ryker or the Intero, both of whom are working together. But fine, keep your mouth shut, if you think it’s going to help you at all.” Rolek only continued to smile, but was impressed with her persistence. Elise looked away for a moment as she continued, “So you were hired to find Oden and bring him to said employers, but not anymore?”

“Things got a little complicated. Long story short, I was with a few other scrawny little punks hired by my contractor, one of ‘em I see you caught with us. A worthless bunch they are, nothing but scoundrels who know nothing about how to track someone, much less how to catch them. When I learned they were going after Oden who had this elite elvish master as his protection, I knew these dudes were in way over their head… So, I saw an opportunity.”

“What kind of opportunity?” Elise asked.

“The kind where I let them get their asses handed to them by the elf, and swoop in to collect Oden in the middle of it. Of course, as they underestimated his bodyguard, so did I. Long story short, I tracked them, caught up with them, and here I am.”

“Interesting story, but that doesn’t seem to line up with how you got here, though. Because you have your prize sitting right over there in that squad car, and nowhere before then did you think to take it.”

“Well, the elf had the artifact I needed for the full reward that Oden was carrying. I had to figure out how to get it from her, and then nab Oden. Was working on that, but then that damned ghostly dude showed up and kicked my ass, yet again.”

“What artifact?” Dylen asked.

“The one that my contractor wants.”

“What’s this contractor want with an artifact?”

Rolek shrugged, “Why the hell would I know? I’m just returning what they claimed to have lost. That’s it.”

Elise and Dylen looked at each other, and could both sense the need to step away and talk. They left Rolek alone and walked back towards the inn. “So,” Dylen began, “let’s put all of this together. We’ve got an Intero mafia boss and a crazy scientist guy working together… How does that work?”

“Ryker’s been forced underground for some time.” Elise said, “That means he’ll have to use proxies to help him do what he intends to do. So he hires the Intero to help keep him a secret in Carzat.”

“But why Carzat?”

Elise paused to think before answering, “I don’t know… What I do know is that he wants Erene for something, which can’t be good… We need to find her, and quickly.”

“How? Where ‘re we gonna to look?”

Elise looked around the scene to think, until her eyes landed on Oden again. “The guy Oden was fighting with when we pulled up.” she began, “Oden says he was working with Ryker. He must’ve been part of the group that ambushed them. I think we should have a chat.”

Elise and Dylen approached the car holding Dean, finding him in a similar way Oden was. He watched no one in particular as the scene was assessed, with the rain slowly coming down again. But his eyes found something to fix on when Elise and Dylen came to him. “I swear, officers,” he said, “things are not what they seem.”

“Oh, I think we see that.” Elise answered, “We’ve spoken to the others and so far, it seems like this little scenario is as strange as they get. There’s just one other thing that’s missing.” Dylen noticed Elise’s tone was different. She was much more direct with this guy; this was an interrogation, not simply gathering information. It must’ve been her investigator’s instinct, which he would ask about later. “We’ve got almost every key suspect responsible for why I’m over three-hundred miles from my home in Levaan; I just need one more and she happens to have been kidnapped.” Elise stepped closer to impose herself more, “I think you know where they are, and you’re going to tell me.”

“What?” Dean protested, “That’s insane! I’ve never met these people!”

“That’s not what Oden said.” Dylen quickly objected, “He says he knows you, and the bounty hunter claims to know you as well.”

“Lying to me is only going to make life worse for you.” Elise said, “According to the others, a band of thugs sent by a guy named Ryker came down here for someone, who they managed to grab. I’m betting that’s the elvish girl I’m missing, isn’t it?” Dean went silent, and shifted his eyes between Elise and Dylen, trying to find something to say. “I thought so.” Elise continued, “Oden’s fighting you on the porch, so whatever ‘friendship’ you two had before, it’s not doing so great now, is it? Somehow you ended up working for Ryker and the Intero boss in Levaan. You’re caught, boy, with no way out. So, here’s the deal: As I see it, I walk away from this conversation in one of two ways, either with you spilling everything you know to me, or with you going to prison for a long time, which I will personally see to, and maybe the Intero won’t get you in there… maybe they will… But, if you give me everything I want to know about where they took her, I think I’ll show some grace. It’s your call.”

Dean remained silent, once again looking at both of them, and going back and forth between what to do. Finally he gave a sigh and shook his head. “Screw all of this.” he said, “What the hell ‘ve those guys done for me? They’re taking her back to Carzat, with the artifact.”

“Do you know what road they’re taking?” Dylen asked.

“I’m assuming the same one we used to get here, which was Market Road 46 to I-7, going east.”

Dylen and Elise looked at each other. “They couldn’t have gotten past the roadblocks.” Dylen said.

“Roadblocks?” Dean asked.

But Elise and Dylen didn’t answer him. They hastened away to find the deputies again. Gerdan saw them move back to the inn and went quickly to meet them, sensing the urgency. “You’re Gerdan, yes?” Elise said.

“That’s me, ma’am.” he replied, “What is it?”

“We know where they’re taking Erene. They’re heading back up towards Cymroyl, to I-7 that will take them straight back to Carzat.”

Gerdan shook his head as he replied, “Not possible. The roads closed down a little over an hour ago.”

“We came in after our suspects.” Dylen said, “Just before the roads closed. How’d we not see them or their cars?”

“They must’ve parked their convoy somewhere in the woods so they wouldn’t be seen.” Elise added.

“It’s not entirely impossible to go through the woods.” Gerdan said, sending Elise and Dylen into a pause, “There’s a small road that goes through the forest. If they’re smart and anticipate the roads, there’s a good chance they’ll go through there.”

“The rain won’t affect that road either?”

“It would, but it’s not an official road, so it can’t be closed off. And most people would do well not to use it in this weather.”

“They would if they’ve gotta get somewhere in a hurry.” said Dylen.

“Mr. Gerdan, you know this area better than everyone else. I want you with me while we send the rest of the officers up the main road to see what they find. Show me where this road is, now.”

“Gladly, ma’am. But I think you should have Erene’s friends come along.”

Elise was half-turned around when Gerdan surprised her with that statement, causing her to stop and look back at him. “And why would I do that?” she asked.

Gerdan shrugged, “They seemed to work together. I don’t know their history, ma’am, but especially Rolek, the taller one with the beard. I think he could be a good help.”

Elise looked at Dylen, but said nothing. She walked out of the inn, while Gerdan went to quickly collect some deputies to help, feeding off Elise’s urgency. The rain was pouring yet again, but Elise ignored it, storming towards Rolek’s car while Dylen began giving out the new orders. Oden saw the officer’s change in their demeanor, seeming to go alert as they converged on their cars, and he looked to and fro for answers of some kind. Elise stepped towards Rolek. 

“You,” she said, “so you said you’re good at tracking people?”

Rolek paused for a moment, trying to anticipate where she was going. “I am.” he answered confidently.

Elise hesitated. She couldn’t believe what she was even contemplating. “If we move now, we can catch your elvish friend before they get out of the woods.”

“What makes you think they’re in the woods?”

“The roads are out, and they’ll want to be as far away from here with their prize as possible.”

“So you need my help?”

“Only to find them.”

“That’s it? What‘re you gonna to do when you run into the big pale guy? I doubt he’s just gonna roll over when you point your little guns at him.”

“Help us track them, and we’ll take it from there–got it?”

Rolek paused again to think. He smiled and stood out of the car, surprising Elise as he lowered his now freed hands, with the handcuffs in one. “Alright, then.” he said, “If it helps the elf, I’ll help you find her.”

“How in the world?” Elise stuttered as he handed her the cuffs.

“What?” he said as he stretched his aching back, “These? Easy to break free from when you’re a guy like me. I was actually just waiting for us to hit the road for my chance to escape, but I can’t leave the elf to the kind of fate she’s got coming for her. Now… Are we gonna get started, or waste time standing around here?”

Elise glared at him, but set aside her animosity. “We’re gonna follow Gerdan and his men into the woods.” she ordered him, “You will assist them. Now get ready to move out.” Elise wasted no more time after the words and walked off.

Rolek was left alone, and saw an opportunity to go over to Oden, as his car was still left idle. He moved quickly, dodging officers and others as they scrambled and came to Oden. “Rolek?” Oden said, “How the hell are you free?”

“They’re using me to help find Erene.” Rolek said.

“What? Where’d she go?”

“She was taken by that Jorum guy. Grabbed her just before the police showed up.”

“How’d you get them to let you help?”

“No idea, actually. But I’m not complaining.”

Oden was silent for a moment. He thought about Annastaria again, and how she angered him. But for some reason, he couldn’t help but worry for her. “You’re going to help Erene?” he asked, “Why?”

Rolek smirked, “I’m a man of my word. I still have a duel with her to do.”

“Okay… What about me? And Bella?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Right now, hang tight, and keep her close.”