The Warriors of Gavainsilla: The Assassins Corps

Chapter One
“Parry and thrust!” Sir Jacob called out. He was instructing a group of soon-to-be warriors. He watched with satisfaction as his fifty students followed his instructions perfectly.

“Great work, now take a break.” he called. The warriors sighed in relief and sat on the ground. They set their swords down at their sides and leaned back on their extended arms in the field.

The sun was up high by now, and Jacob knew from his own experiences as a warrior trainee that you would get started in the morning, work for five hours and then rest during the time when the sun was highest, in order to keep the warriors from heating up.

Jacob heard his name being shouted in the distance. He shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted at the figure that was racing across the field towards him. Once the figure was within twenty feet, he recognized it as his good friend, Sir Trevor.

Jacob shook hands with his friend. Trevor was a bit short, but extremely muscular. He had a broad chest and blonde hair that shone in the sun. He had green eyes that intimidated even the strongest warriors in Gavainsilla. Gavainsilla was a large kingdom. A castle stood at the top of a mountain, with paths winding down from it towards the village. The villages were surrounded by a stone wall with a portcullis and strong wooden doors that encircled the mountain.

Outside the walls were some smaller towns and villages and a few farming settlements. The borders were cut off at a wide river with a slow current. The river was shared with another kingdom nearby, known as Cottonia, named so because of its main industry, cotton.

Jacob brushed his red hair back with his hand. “I thought by now you would be eating everything in the mess hall.” he said, smiling.

“Very funny. The king wishes to see you in his quarters and has sent me to take over your drills.” Trevor replied.

“Did he say why?” asked Jacob.

“No, he just said it was urgent, and that you must see him immediately.”

“Well, no point in standing here then. Give them another fifteen minutes for break. They worked an extra hour today and they deserve the rest.” Jacob said.

Trevor nodded. Jacob grabbed his satchel and trudged down the hill that led from the training field.

…

“Throw it.” Ryan said. The page nodded and tossed the walnut into the air. Ryan loaded an arrow onto his bow and raised his arm to a forty-five degree angle. He waited one second, and then released the arrow. The walnut, having been leisurely sailing through the air, was knocked from its path as the arrow slammed into its center. The page ran to inspect the walnut.

“It split clean in half!” he said astonishingly. Ryan smiled.

Ryan was only four-foot-six, not very large. But his muscles built up over time from repeatedly drawing his bowstring and rapidly loading arrows.

He had green eyes and red hair, with several freckles decorating his face.

For seven years he had been an archer. He used his archery when hunting animals or stopping thieves in the villages. He wished that something big would come up soon, something his archery skills would be needed for.

A second page ran forward.

“Ryan,” he said, “the king wishes to see you immediately in his quarters.”

“What for?” asked Ryan. Ryan’s voice was rather deep. He was twenty four now.

“He only said that it was urgent.” the page replied. Ryan sighed. He put his bow inside his house along with his quiver of arrows, and headed up the path towards the castle.

…

Sir Michael was nervously drumming his fingers on the smooth desk in the king’s quarters. The king had exited just moments ago to find the chef so he could get food for them.

Sir Michael wasn’t sure what this was about. His good friend Sir Jacob sat in a lavish chair with golden armrests, red lace cushions and soft yellow pillows.

He seemed to sink into the chair’s cushion from his weight. Jacob was rather tall and muscular with bright red hair. Several freckles were on the bridge of his nose. His satchel full of drill instructions lay at his feet, in case the king wished to look at them.

Michael had blonde hair, blue eyes, and he was rather small. He was an expert in swords combat and could use a bow rather well. His sword, in its sheath, was on his left hip connected to his belt. He wore brown wool pants, a white long-sleeved shirt, a brown vest, and a brownish-black jacket with white trim.

Sir Jacob wore his chain mail, with a white shirt that bore the kingdom’s symbol, a turquoise hawk with talons extended, carrying a writhing green snake in its right foot.

The king’s quarters were extremely comfortable. Lace cushions were on the four chairs gathered around the wooden table, and a similar chair was set by the desk in the back corner of the room. A large bed was on the opposite side, with the main table in the center.

Just then, the two friends heard a door open and close. They turned in their chairs to see their friend Ryan walk in and take a seat.

“Do either of you know what in the world is going on?” he asked.

Jacob shook his head. “The king said he would return shortly with the jester and a platter of food and drink.” he said.

“Oh no, the jester? You mean that incredibly annoying one with the silly mug?” asked Ryan.

“No, the charming one with the large muscles… of course it’s the annoying one! It’s the only one the kingdom’s got!” shouted Michael.

“Quiet, I think the king is coming back.” said Jacob. Just then, the king opened the door, followed by the jester. The jester, Chris, had a skinny diamond shaped head with cracked red lips, dull green eyes, and a crooked nose from when he fell down the stairs and landed on it.

He was not very tall, but taller than Ryan was. He wore a silly combination of an orange wool shirt with yellow stripes on it, and a pair of lime green pants.

The king had blonde hair and whiskers were beginning to grow on his chin. He was a rather large man. He was muscular and had long legs. He wore a shirt similar to Jacob’s, only this one had a crown on the hawk’s head and a white robe had been sewn into the collar. The robe had a gold trim. The king held a tray full of chicken and beef and fruit and vegetables. There was also some coffee and tea set out in large pitchers. Each person received a cup. Everyone ate and drank generously.

After everyone had eaten, King Kennedy cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. Once he was sure he had it, he went on.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice. Yesterday I received a message from King Harvey. The letter told of reports of several robberies in many of the larger villages. But these are no disorganized robberies. They are attacking and stealing things from the kingdom’s most valuable agricultural and livestock villages, making food in the kingdom scarce. This seems to be an organized attack that is being purposely executed on the kingdom’s most important areas in order to starve its men and weaken its forces. The kingdom of Dresmund needs assistance.” the king explained.

Dresmund was an important kingdom. Its ground was perfect for farming making it an agricultural-based kingdom. This was important to the country of Vorgandal.

“All right, so why don’t we send several men down to reinforce the kingdom’s defenses?” asked Jacob.

“Because, whoever is responsible for this, they are framing Gavainsilla for it.”

Chapter Two
“How?” asked Jacob.

“They are dressing people in our uniforms and stealing from and attacking the kingdom.” the king replied.

“Well, what are we going to do?” asked Michael.

“We are going to send you four undercover, to find out what is going on.” he explained.

“Wait, four? What do you mean by four?” asked Ryan.

“Chris will be accompanying you.” the king said.

“Are you sure? He isn’t really the ‘field agent’ type, I guess you could say.” said Jacob.

“I know. But he has been appointed to bring a document to King Harvey.”

Jacob sighed. “You expect us to protect him?” he asked gloomily.

“Yes, I’m glad we’ve reached an understanding. You will leave tomorrow afternoon. It’s at least a day’s ride to Dresmund. Oh, and once you find the town that is to be raided next, I want you to send me a message. I will have fifty of my men go to ambush the robbers. This will prove that we aren’t the ones guilty of it.” the king said. “Now, go and get ready.”

The trio stood up and saluted to the king before marching out the door.

Chris leaned towards the king. “I had no knowledge of me going. When were you planning on telling me?” he asked.

“Right now. So my timing was perfect, you are dismissed.” the king said quickly, trying to avoid an argument.

The jester sighed and stomped out of the room.

The king smiled. He enjoyed getting the better of his annoying jester.

…

Sir Michael slipped on his disguise. It was a purple, fleece, sleeveless vest with a gold colored shark on it. The shark was the kingdom of Dresmund’s symbol, chosen because they have spotted many sharks in their harbors and seas. The kingdom got most of its income from selling its healthy crops, large fish, and livestock.

Sir Michael also wore brown pants, also made of fleece. The attire he was wearing was the basic uniform of a sentry for the kingdom. Jacob was dressed similarly. Ryan wore a white button-up shirt under a brown vest. He wore brown, wet pants as well. Ryan was supposed to be disguised as a fisherman.

Chris was disguised as a page, dressed in a sentry’s outfit but with leather shoes and a yellow cloak.

The four of them, accompanied by two Gavainsilla warriors, were riding their horses to Dresmund.

Michael’s horse, Blur, was brown with a white muzzle and black mane. He got his name from his speed. They said that if Blur happened to run by you, you wouldn’t be quite sure of it until you felt the breeze that his speed left behind.

Jacob rode on his horse, Cyclone. Cyclone was a jet black horse with jet black mane, and that is where he got his name, because he was as dark as a stormy cyclone.

Chris rode on one of the steeds from the king’s stables, in order to convince more people that he was a page.

Ryan rode his red horse, Inferno.

“So,” said Jacob, “can we see that document the king gave you, Chris?”

Chris shook his head. “The king said no one is allowed to see it except me and King Harvey.” he replied.

“I see. How are you planning on presenting it to him?” he asked.

“Oh, um, well…”

“You don’t have a way, do you?”

“Um, no.”

“Well, first you should say hello to the king, since he is in higher authority. Then you will introduce yourself and explain why you are there. Then hand him the document, and after he looked over it, begin your debating over the issue.” Ryan explained.

“Debating? I don’t think I should argue with him…” Chris said.

“You’re not arguing you’re trying to convince him to agree with your idea.” said Jacob.

“Hey, I think we’re at the outer garrison towers.” said Michael. The four of them and the two escorts were standing in front of a large gate with wooden towers on each side. A crank above the gate would open the gate once they were granted access.

A long wall went in a circle around the castle that was in the center. Outside that wall was the villages and towns, and then another wall was constructed outside those. They were currently at the outermost wall.

“Identify yourselves!” A man called from the left tower.

This was the tricky part. They were all assigned fake names to use, but if the garrisons kept track of their men well enough, they could find out whether or not there were soldiers under the fake names in their army.

“I am Sir Nicholas. I was sent along with my companions to escort this page to Gavainsilla in order to settle the issues that they have been causing here.” Sir Michael called up. “The page now returns with news from Gavainsilla for King Harvey.”

The man in the tower nodded. “One moment!” he called. The window he was peeking out of had curtains drawn in front of it and he vanished. Moments later, he came out a small door at the bottom of the tower. He walked over to the group.

“Present your documents, please.” he said. Chris pulled the document from his satchel and handed it to the man. The man looked at it briefly and nodded.

“You’re clear to enter. Paul, open the gate!” he called up.

A man emerged from another door and walked along the top of the gate where the crank was located. He yanked on the crank hard and the wooden gates slowly creaked open.

“Thank you. We’ll be on our way now.” said Jacob. Chris remounted and they rode through the gate.

…

“I am sorry, Ally, but I can not allow you to go to settle our disputes with the Caranians, it is simply too dangerous. Besides, I have enough to deal with right now, what with Gavainsilla robbing our villages.” King Harvey said to his daughter, Allison.

King Harvey sat on his throne, which was mounted on a dais in the back of his large throne room. A red carpet led from the doors on the opposite side of the room to the base of his throne.

King Harvey was a rather old king. His brown hair was beginning to show signs of gray in it, and his skin was beginning to wrinkle. His face had dark brown eyes and he rarely smiled. He preferred to find one way to solve an issue and make that the only way. His sleeveless purple shirt with a gold shark on it was over a white, long-sleeved fleece shirt and his yellow cloak was unceremoniously draped across his shoulders. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he pulled the right side of the cloak back over his shoulder. When it fell back down again, he sighed and rose from his chair, allowing the cloak to simply fall off of him as he walked from his throne.

“Father, I’m twenty three, and I still have never left the inner wall. I need some elbow room.” she explained. Allison had brown eyes, like her father’s, but they didn’t have the same hard, deadly serious look in them all of the time. Hers were fuller of joy and beauty. She was not very tall. She had ash-blonde hair that fell over her shoulders. She wore a purple dress with gold trim.

“I already told you, no.” he said tiredly. The princess sighed. She knew that you just can’t change his mind. The king stood in the center of the room now.

Allison was about to speak, when a timid knock came on the door.

“Hm? Oh, yes, come in!” the king called, making a dismissive gesture towards the door. The door creaked open and the king’s secretary, Larry, poked his head in. “What is it?” the king asked.

“A royal page is here to speak to you, your highness. It is concerning our issues with Gavainsilla.” Larry replied.

King Harvey nodded. “Let him in.” he said. The door opened wider, and the king saw a somewhat tall man with blonde hair. He wore the uniform of a page, but pages seemed surer of themselves. This page was darting his eyes left and right, his lower lip trembling slightly.

The king smiled, knowing that this page would most likely not put up a fight. “Come in, welcome…” the king began.

“Hm? Oh, sorry, good morning, your highness. I am Christopher, although most call me Chris.” the page babbled.

The king sighed, and spread his hands to let the page know he could continue. “Oh, right, um…” the page said, fumbling through his satchel. He produced a rolled up document with a red ribbon on it.

“Right here. This is from King Kennedy.” Chris said, handing the document to King Harvey.

“Ah, yes, the king of Gavainsilla. Yes, I’ve already decided on that issue. My army will march there and demand that he give us compensation for the damages done, or else we will attack.” the king said, unrolling the document.

“Your highness, I suggest that you find another way. Something could go wrong if you send your whole army, and there are easier ways to handle this.” Chris explained.

“Oh, really? Well, please, explain these alternatives to me and I shall consider them.” King Harvey said. He didn’t really mean it. This was how he always dealt with pages. He would pretend to be interested in their suggestions, and then simply go on with his own plan.

“For example, if word got out to the Caranians that your army had abandoned the kingdom, they could come and attack your undefended castle. That and the fact that Gavainsilla is not the kingdom that attacked your villages.”

“You are lying! The robbers that attacked us wore uniforms from Gavainsilla! Obviously they are the culprits.” King Harvey shouted.

“They are not, I assure you. Look at the third paragraph in the document. It is a news article from when twenty of Gavainsilla’s men were attacked by a band of brigands. The robbers stole only the uniforms and left all of the gold the Gavainsilla soldiers had been carrying. Therefore, those were probably the people that robbed your villages.” Chris replied.

“How do I know you did not just make that up?” the king challenged.

“Because King Kennedy told me in person and he even had three witnesses of the attack. Therefore, you should take care of the problem here instead of looking to blame someone else.”

The king went to speak, but found he was wordless. He realized that the page was right. King Harvey clenched his fists in anger of losing to the page.

“Very well. I will summon fifty of my men to attack the brigands.” he said. Chris nodded.

“King Kennedy has also agreed to send some of his men in order to assist you with the problem.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll let the gatekeepers and sentries know. Have the men assembled along the walls. You see, at night, the robbers will scale the walls, maybe kill some sentries, and then get into the kingdom and attack. Then they will simply climb back over and leave.” the king explained.

The page nodded. “I will tell them. Thank you for agreeing, your highness, I will be off, now.” Chris turned to leave, but then turned again and gave the king a deep bow.

The king was extremely embarrassed. He had lost to the page and now his original plans were shattered.

“Princess,” the page said, bowing to the king’s daughter. The page exited the room shortly after. The king turned slowly and went back to his throne and sat down.

Allison thought hard about what had just happened. Then, she had a brilliant idea.

Chapter Three
“How did it go?” asked Ryan as Chris exited the throne room.

“Rather well, actually. He had decided to forgive King Kennedy and instead of blaming others he will now solve the problem himself.” Chris replied.

“I guess you really embarrassed him.” said Jacob.

“Definitely. In fact, I even bowed to him at the end. I feel that it left him more appalled at the fact that even though I knew he wouldn’t show much respect, I definitely did.” said Chris smiling.

“Well then, let’s go celebrate. Let’s go to the Golden Crab Tavern tonight.” Ryan said. The four of them nodded at the idea.

They left the castle and went through the inner wall into the towns.

They were currently in the town of Sirloin, where the Golden Crab was.

They entered the tavern and took a seat in the center table. The four of them ordered some smoked trout with garlic, onions, beans, and cheese stuffed inside. Their food arrived later, and the aroma made their mouths water. They dug in, and before they knew it, the whole fish was gone.

“You know, Trevor probably could’ve eaten that whole thing just by himself.” Jacob joked. They all laughed at his joke, and then set some gold coins on the table before exiting. It was at least ten o’ clock now, and they still needed to find an inn to stay at. They walked down the street and found one.

After paying to stay for the night, they went to their rooms and fell asleep.

…

The four of them walked down the stairs and into the main area of the inn. The innkeeper, Andrew, was wiping the counter with some water and soap.

“Ah, there you are.” he said smiling.

He pulled out several plates full of bacon, eggs, and freshly baked bread.

“Which one of you is Chris again?” he asked as they sat down to eat the food.

“I am.” said Chris, raising his hand.

“A page stopped by earlier this morning and said that the princess wishes to speak with you.” he said.

“Me?” Chris replied.

Andrew nodded.

“You should head over once you’ve finished your breakfast.” he said.

After eating, Chris packed his things and set off towards the castle.

…

“You wanted to see me, princess?” asked Chris, entering the throne room. The king was not in the room at the time.

“Yes. I need your help convincing my father to allow me to go south to Carania. And seeing that you’re the only person that has been able to change his mind about anything in a long time, I was hoping you would agree.” Allison explained. Chris nodded.

“Sure. When?” he asked.

“In thirty minutes, he will return from breakfast in the dining room. That should be a good time. He’s always happiest when he’s eaten.” she said, smiling.

“Thirty minutes, sure.” he replied.

“Thank you.” she said, leaving the room.

Thirty minutes later, the king arrived in the throne room.

“Ah, hello, um, what is it, Colin?” the king said.

”Chris, its Chris, your highness.” he replied.

“Ah, I remember you from yesterday. What brings you back?” King Harvey questioned.

“Well, I thought that you may need help with your Carania problem, so I thought that you should send someone, probably from the royal family to make it more official. You could have them bring a treaty to Carania.” Chris explained.

“I would, but I have to stay here and-”

“Your daughter, your highness. I meant her. She has been cooped up here for quite a long time and from what I can see, she is more than qualified for it.” Chris interrupted.

“Oh, right, my daughter, um, Ally.” the king said. “Yes I agree, she has been in the castle for quite a long time. Perhaps it won’t be a bad idea to give it a try.” he said.

“But sir, I really… wait, did you just agree with me without debating about it?” Chris asked. The king laughed. He had a newfound respect for his pages and now considered their ideas greatly.

“Yes, I’m sure of it. I’ll have the stable boy Trent know that a horse carriage is to be immediately assembled.” the king said.

“Um, good choice, your highness. I’ll be off now.” Chris said bowing.

“Yes, and you do realize that along with ten of my men you will be going as well, don’t you?” King Harvey queried.

“What!? I mean, o-of course, your highness. I’ll go and get ready.” Chris said, stepping out of the room.

Chris closed the door and sighed.

“What just happened!?”

…

The princess climbed into the back of the carriage. Two horses and a driver were at the front of the wagon, and ten men on horseback were around, riding alongside the carriage. The page, Chris, was riding in the back on his horse.

She smiled as the party exited the inner wall. She looked through the window at the villages and towns that before were dreams to her. She admired everything they passed.

Finally they passed through the outer wall and turned due south.

Chapter Four
It was later that day, and the king was discussing defense techniques for the night’s attack. The sentries had found a pattern in the brigand’s attacks and were convinced that tonight was the next raid. They were on top of the wall now.

“It will be dark out, so why not have all of the men hide under black cloaks and crouch down below the wall here, and when the brigands get to the top of the wall, we spring out and attack?” asked one sentry.

“What is your name?” the king asked.

“I am Sir Nicholas.” the sentry replied.

The king nodded. “I like the way you think. Here is what we will do. On one side of all of the cloaks that the sentries and warriors wear, it is yellow. But the other side is black so they can wear it in the night.”

Sir Nicholas, Sir Michael’s alter ego, nodded in satisfaction.

“You should also know that there are places along the way to the wall that would be perfect for an ambush. We can set up archers there to fire at passing enemies.” he said.

“Great idea! I’ll notify the archer commandant.” King Harvey said, turning to go down the stairs from the wall.

“How did it go?” asked Jacob, walking over to Michael.

“I think it went rather well. I think Chris may have taught King Harvey a little something about respect.” he replied.

Jacob laughed.

…

Night came quickly, and now all of the Dresmund and Gavainsilla soldiers were in place, concealed in their dark cloaks.

Down in a cluster of trees outside the wall, the archer commandant, twenty of his men and Ryan were waiting to fire at the oncoming robbers. The robbers did not arrive in a large, clumped group as they had expected. Each robber stood at least ten feet from the other and kept themselves scattered out, making them harder targets. The first one came out from a few bushes across the road. Ryan, bow already loaded, looked at the twenty other archers still putting arrows on their strings.

“What’s taking you so long? I started at the same time as the rest of you.” Ryan whispered.

The robber began to move silently and swiftly along the path, almost seeming to glide. Ryan pointed his bow in his direction.

“Permission to fire, sir?” he asked the commandant.

“No. Wait until the last few come out. Kill them, and their partners will not notice they were shot. Shoot one in the front, and they’ll know where we’re at.” the commandant replied.

The commandant was very tall, with auburn hair and a broad chest. His legs were very long, and even though he was large, he was extremely agile. Ryan admired the way he was handling the situation. The first robber was almost at the bottom of the wooden wall. Once he made it, he grabbed onto the wall, and began to ascend. “How is he doing that? There are no footholds or handholds for him to hold onto.” Ryan whispered.

“They must be expert climbers to be able to do that.” the commandant replied.

Jacob allowed himself a quick peek out from under his cloak and down on the ground below him. He saw a few robbers beginning to climb.

At least seven more were currently passing by the trees where the archers were stationed.

“Permission to fire, granted.” said the commandant.

Ryan fired an arrow straight into a robber’s throat, and he went down with a choking gasp.

The last five robbers were emerging from the bushes, and they went down under a heavy rain of arrows. One arrow struck a robber in the thigh, but he didn’t go down. Instead he threw off his cloak to reveal big black wings, a beak, and sharp talons. The wings extended out of its shoulder blades, and at the ends of its arms were human hands, but the rest of it was covered in feathers.

The face turned towards the archers.

“What is that thing?” one archer cried.

“I don’t know, but let’s shoot it!” yelled another. Every arrow that flew missed as the bird took off and flew for the wall.

On the wall, three robbers had already been killed. Once the first one reached the top, every warrior threw off their cloaks and drew their swords.

But something was very strange about the robbers. Some had fur all over, with claws and fangs. Others had scaly green skin and carried jagged blades.

Soon they saw the bird woman flying up to the wall. Sir Jacob swung his sword at it and landed a blow on its left arm. It shrieked like a crow.

“Caw! Caw! Retreat! Retreat now! There are too many! Caw!” she shrieked.

Jacob was wide-eyed as he heard the creature speak to the robbers as if they were warriors, not robbers.

Then he realized that they were warriors. She grabbed one of the lizard-like creatures and flew off. The rest of the monsters were already killed by the sentries and soldiers.

Cheers of victory went up from the soldiers.

“C’mon Jacob! We won! Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” asked Michael.

…

The carriage had entered the Crooked Forest, a few miles south of the castle of Dresmund. These twisted woods were rumored to be haunted by ghosts and goblins and other creatures, but it was the only way to Carania. Roots twisted along the path, threatening to trip the horses that the soldiers rode.

“It’s terrifying in here.” said Chris.

“It’s rumored to be the home of goblins and werewolves and hags. Luckily, they’re only rumors.” said a soldier nearby.

Or so he thought they were rumors. Up in the trees above him, a scaly green humanoid lurked, waiting to attack. The creature had a long pointed nose, a slick tail, and carried a sword that had several spikes sticking out of the edge of the blade.

It slid down the tree trunk as the carriage passed by and leaped forward, onto one of the horses. It beat the rider with its sword and then jumped onto the roof of the carriage.

Princess Allison peered out the window, but all she saw was a dead rider lying by the road, and only heard the astonished shouts of the other soldiers.

The goblin climbed down the side of the wagon face down and pulled a branch that was tied to its back off. It stuck the branch into the wheel of the carriage and the wheel shattered, causing the carriage to stop immediately, landing on the ground with a jolt.

The other soldiers were killed by the goblin as they came at it.

The goblin looked around. It was sure that there had been an eleventh rider, dressed like a page. It looked towards the exit and saw the rider and its horse in the distance. The creature shrugged. Even if he told anyone, they would not dare to come into the forest.

The goblin tore the curtains that were in the back of the carriage off, and instead of finding gold and jewels, it found something else.

It climbed in, the princess standing against the back wall, reaching for the drawer of the desk to her left.

The goblin recognized the girl. The goblin, Ashlyk was her name, had been spying on the kingdom of Dresmund for quite some time now, and knew this was the princess. Ashlyk knew that the princess would be perfect for ransoming. In return, the king would have to give his beloved kingdom to the creatures of the forest, so they may begin their dominion over Vorgandal.

The princess opened her drawer and produced her steel dagger she carried with her always. She poised, ready to attack.

Ashlyk walked towards her, unfazed by the small dagger she had. Ashlyk’s sword was perfect for disarming enemies. All she had to do was parry their blade, so that it wedged between two of the spikes on her sword. Then she simply would pull away, and the enemy’s weapon would fly from their hand.

But instead, the princess threw the dagger at Ashlyk, and it embedded itself in her hip. Ashlyk recoiled in pain, pulled out the dagger and continued forward.

…

“Good evening, Crowla. How was tonight’s raid?” asked Ashlyk as the bird woman landed.

“Horrible, those Dresmund soldiers destroyed our force.” the hag replied in a hoarse cry.

“Well, I believe we no longer have to raid the towns.” Ashlyk said.

“What do you mean? How else are we going to take over Dresmund?” Crowla replied.

“Ransom, Crowla my dear. You see, after you left, I went out for a little stroll and spotted a carriage, and I found- one moment while I pause for effect-” “What did you find!?” the hag shrieked. Ashlyk sighed.

“The princess of Dresmund.” she replied.

“Caw! What?! That’s impossible!” Crowla shouted.

“See for yourself. I’ve got her tied up inside the cave.” the goblin replied. A small rock formation with a cave in it was in the large forest.

Crowla walked to the cave and entered.

There was the princess, with her hands and feet bound and a gag in her mouth.

“You see?” Ashlyk said.

Crowla nodded approval. “Yes, this is splendid. But we’ll have to take her to a faraway location. The kingdom probably knows by now that she is here, and this close to the kingdom would make it too easy for them to rescue her.”

“I agree. There was only one other survivor of the attack, and by now he has probably informed them of the location.” Ashlyk replied.

“Once we move her away, we can hire the Assassins Corps to kill anyone who dares try to rescue her until the ransom is paid. It’s brilliant!” the hag cheered.

“We’ll still have to get Kristen on board, but that should be easy.” Crowla said.

“As long as Yoho doesn’t know.” Ashlyk added.

“Ah, yes. He’d much rather take her as a slave, so we must keep this a secret.” Crowla said.

“Now, let’s discuss the second location. I recommend Stellimia.” Ashlyk offered.

“No, Stellimia is too far north, and cold is not good for birds.” Crowla replied.

“How about that other country far west, Mistoria?” Ashlyk said.

“Yes, that will do. Any rescuer would have to travel through Gavainsilla, Cottonia, Manuther, the entire country of Stellimia, Kentroland, and if we take her far enough west, a good piece of Mistoria. When shall we go?” the hag asked.

“How about after you tell me what the heck is going on here!” someone yelled. The two monsters turned towards the exit of the cave to see Kristen leaned against the wall. Kristen was a witch. She had pale skin, dark brown eyes, and wore a black robe with dark blue cloaks. Her hair was a light brown.

“Oh, Kristen, there you are. Um, I raided a carriage and found the princess of Dresmund in it, and now we were planning on ransoming her.” Ashlyk explained.

“Good idea. Mistoria will be your hiding place, I assume?” Kristen asked.

Crowla nodded. “When should we leave?” she asked.

“Immediately. It is night, so it should be easy to sneak past Dresmund undetected.” the witch replied.

“Then let’s go.” said Ashlyk, cutting the ropes around the princess’s ankles. Ashlyk yanked Allison up to force her to stand, and then she ushered her out of the cave, sword point at Allison’s back.

Kristen and Crowla lead them down the path to the edge of the woods, to begin their journey to Mistoria.

…

Princess Morgan of Gavainsilla had her own problems. She was unable to find her little brother, the young Prince Jake. Her father, King Kennedy, wanted to speak with her and her brother, and she had to find him.

Morgan had brown hair, like her mother’s, and sparkling blue eyes identical to her father’s. She wore a blue gown.

“Excuse me,” she asked one of the ladies of the castle, “have you seen a ten year old boy run through here, Prince Jake?”

Lady Callison, the one she had stopped, nodded. “I saw him in the kitchen. He grabbed one of the bread loaves and then ran into the dining hall.” she replied. Morgan nodded. “Thank you.” she said, rushing to the kitchen.

She dashed through the kitchen, apologized for nearly knocking over the chef and his tray of hot stews, and then went into the dining room.

“Jake, where are you?” she called. The young prince sprang up from under the table, holding a half-eaten loaf of bread.

“What are you doing?” Morgan questioned.

“I’m hiding from the chef. You should’ve seen the look on his face when I grabbed the loaf right off the tray he was holding!” he shouted.

“Quiet down, and come with me. Father wants to speak with us.” she said.

“Why?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

…

“Children,” the king began, “you do know of the events that happened last night, don’t you?”

Morgan and Jake shook their heads.

“Well, some brigands wearing uniforms of Gavainsilla soldiers have been leading raids on Dresmund, but last night, one of the farms in our kingdom were attacked. I know that you two enjoy going out to the markets near those farms, so I wanted to discuss something with you. When I was about your ages, I learned how to fire a recurve bow and use a sword. So, you will both be taking archery lessons. Morgan, you’ll practice sword craft and Jake, you will learn knife fighting.” the king explained.

“Really!? That sounds amazing!” Jake shouted.

“Father, are you sure about this?” Morgan asked.

“Yes. If you’re in the market and brigands attack, I want you to be able to defend yourselves. Your lessons start tomorrow morning. Now it’s late, you should go and rest.” the king said, obviously leaving no room for arguments from the children. The two children hugged him and left his quarters.

…

“What do you mean the carriage was attacked!?” shouted King Harvey, slamming his fist on his armrest.

Chris had returned an hour earlier with news of the attack on the carriage by a goblin. He now stood before the king in the throne room, and although he was quaking in his boots, he did his best not to show it.

“Your highness, a goblin captured your daughter.” Chris said.

“Preposterous! You must have been seeing things, Cory! I bet it was those Caranians coming to ransom her!” the king yelled.

“Your highness, first of all, my name is Chris. Second of all, we were in the Crooked Forest. Those rumors about goblins and hags may not be rumors after all.” Chris said calmly.

The king grunted. “Show me proof.” he said.

“There were no other survivors! Only the princess and I survived!” Chris argued.

“Exactly, and you did nothing in your power to protect her!” the king ranted.

“Sir if I hadn’t come back, no one could have told you of her capture and you’d have lost her forever. But instead you know about it now, and you know that your daughter was kidnapped. In fact, you know she is safe! The attack the other night, there were goblins there, so obviously the creatures in the Crooked Forest want to take control of Dresmund, and now they can ransom your daughter to do that. Therefore, they wouldn’t hurt her.” Chris reasoned.

The king calmed himself. There were, in fact, many reports of monsters at the scene of the raid the other night.

“All right, Cody, I’ll comply with your tall tale about this so-called goblin. You and four others will go to rescue her in that forest. If you find no evidence of her being there, then you will go to Carania and begin a search there.” the king said.

“My name is Chris, your highness. And who will be the other four?”

“That Sir Nicholas, I rather like him. He executed those plans the other night wonderfully!” the king said.

Oh sure, he remembers that name, and it isn’t even the man’s real name! Chris thought.

“And the other three, well, I’ll let him decide that.” the king finished.

“Good plan your highness. When shall we leave?” asked Chris.

“Tomorrow morning.” the king replied.

Chris nodded.

“You are dismissed, Charlie.” he said.

“Your highness, my- oh never mind.” Chris said, exiting the room.

Chapter Five
“So, Ryan and Jacob are definitely coming, and… I can’t think of anyone else for the third spot.” said Sir Michael.

Chris had told him about the situation and his conversation with the king, and now they were making arrangements for who would go on the journey.

“Hello, friends.” a familiar voice said.

The two of them turned to see Trevor standing in the door.

“Trevor! When did you get here?” asked Michael.

“I came here with the group of Gavainsilla soldiers that were helping defend the villages from the raid the other night.” he said.

“Well, now that you’re here, we’d like to ask you something. The princess of Dresmund was kidnapped, and we need three strong warriors to go on our journey to rescue her. How would you like to come?” Sir Michael asked.

Trevor nodded. “Sure. Who else is coming?”

“Jacob and Ryan are coming along with you, me, and the jester.”

“Good. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. I’ve already packed the basic needs, such as food and water, but it’s up to you to pack your own belongings.” Michael explained.

“I’ll get right on it.”

…

Allison’s hands were now tied in front of her, with the ropes around her wrists and forearms.

Her three captors were already out of Dresmund, now traveling by night through Gavainsilla. They had recently begun ordering the other creatures of the Crooked Forest to raid villages in Gavainsilla so that the three and their captive can easily sneak through the kingdom.

The monsters had stopped to make camp. They had traveled all night, and now they were going to rest for the day.

They had entered a small farmhouse and killed the farmer and his wife so they could make camp in it.

Ashlyk reentered the farmhouse holding a dead pig.

“Crowla, throw this in the fire and cook it. I’m going to see what kind of crops they have around here.” she said briefly, exiting again.

Crowla grunted angrily and snatched up the pig by the left leg, walking to the fireplace.

Kristen sat on a chair next to a small dining table. Allison was forced to sit in another chair far from the exit. Allison narrowed her eyes to see a force of cavalry ride by the farm.

She had a risky idea.

“Help!” she shouted. Kristen furrowed her eyebrows. After a few more of Allison’s cries for help, she realized that their were soldiers nearby.

“Crowla! Shut the door!” she shouted. Crowla dove at the door and slammed it.

The cavalry heard the shouts and were now riding towards the farmhouse.

“Open up!” the leader shouted.

After several shouts at the house, he dismounted and walked to the door.

“Open up!” he shouted, pounding his fist on the door. He sighed when no reply came and took out his sword. He dug the blade in between the door frame and the hinges and pulled. The door snapped off and he rushed inside.

He saw a blonde woman tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth. He looked around, but saw no one else.

He made his way towards the girl. He reached to cut her ropes, when a black figure swooped down from the ceiling and clutched sharp talons around his waist. The figure made a bird-like shriek and threw him into the wall.

The other soldiers, sensing their leader was in danger, rushed into the house. A scaly green thing leaped onto one of them, repeatedly slashing him with the jagged sword it held. Another woman, wearing a robe and blue cloaks, thrust a liquid at the soldiers from a pot she held.

As the liquid splashed onto the men they began to melt, and soon all that was left was their armor and helmets.

None of the men survived.

“That was close. We need to keep her quiet. We can’t afford any more near mistakes like that.” Crowla said.

The other two creatures nodded.

“We’re just near the border to Cottonia. Should we just cross it now?” asked Ashlyk.

“Yes. I know it is a risk, but if anyone else saw that, we don’t want to be here when any more soldiers show up. Let’s go.” Kristen said.

They rushed Allison out of the house, running towards the river.

But they didn’t see the little boy by the river, practicing archery.

…

Jake’s teacher had been teaching him archery by the river, and had left to get more arrows, as many had snapped during the first practice session.

Prince Jake shielded his eyes from the sun, spotting a figure coming towards him.

He thought it might be his teacher, when it turned out to be four figures. One was dressed in robes and cloaks. Another had leather armor on over scaly green skin. Another had what appeared to be black feathers on it, constantly molting. The fourth figure was being dragged by the green and feathered ones. It appeared to be tied up and was wearing a yellow dress. The figures stopped a few yards away from him.

“Look, a guard!” one yelled.

“That isn’t a guard, it is a mere child.” said another. Jake realized they were talking about him.

“He is a witness, however. Let’s kill him and get across the border, now!” the one in robes yelled. The feathered one took flight and dove towards Jake.

Jake clumsily loaded his bow and fired. The arrow arced up over the creatures head.

The creature was now only ten feet from him, and nearly had him in its clawed feet when a figure stepped in front of him and swung a short sword at the creature, slicing its bird-like foot. It cawed the way crows do, and flew away, diving again for another attack.

Morgan, holding her sword for another attack, watched as the bird woman came back. But before she could strike again, an arrow came out of nowhere and impaled itself into the monster’s thigh. It shrieked and flew away, across the river.

In all of the confusion the other three figures had crossed the river as well, and now they were in Cottonia.

Jake’s teacher, Gabe, lowered his bow after firing an arrow into the monster. He dashed over to Morgan and Jake.

“Are you children All right!?” he asked.

“Yes, we’re fine. Thank you.” replied Princess Morgan.

“No problem. Jake, why don’t you take the rest of the day to relax? You too, princess.” Gabe said.

Morgan nodded. She planned on telling her father of the event that just occurred.

Chapter Six
The group left Dresmund at nine o’ clock. They had been traveling for an hour and expected to reach the Crooked Forest soon.

“So it was a goblin that kidnapped her?” asked Ryan.

“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.” replied Chris.

“Right. Anyways, here we are.”

They were at the scene of the carriage raid. The carriage lay on one side, with a fractured wheel and a desk and chair lying beside it.

Ryan looked around cautiously. “When did this happen?” he asked.

“Two days ago.” Chris replied.

Ryan nodded. “If they were to ransom her they’d take her to a faraway location to prevent any rescuers from finding her. But perhaps they left a clue of some sort. Such as these footprints.” he said indicating the footprints in the damp mud.

“One track leads deeper in, and four lead out. My guess is that this goblin took her deeper in and got a few buddies to take her to a second location.” he said.

“So, we follow the tracks that lead out?” asked Trevor.

“No. We are going to search for clues deeper in. Let’s go.” Ryan said, racing alongside the footprints. The other four followed him. They went in about a half mile deeper when they found a rock formation.

“The tracks stop here at this cave entrance.” Ryan explained. He went inside.

“There is some cut rope lying on the ground. I’m guessing they used some to restrain her. And there is a sharp stone lying here by the wall.” he said, picking the stone up.

“Hey, I think I found something.” said Michael.

Ryan spun around to see Michael pointing at a carving in the wall.

It said: Mistoria.

“That’s it! While they weren’t looking, she carved the location into the wall with the stone!” shouted Ryan.

“Too bad you won’t be alive to get there.” a hoarse voice said. They turned to see a dozen scaly green creatures armed with long daggers standing at the cave entrance.

“Attack!” one called. They all poured into the cave.

Ryan loaded an arrow and fired into the mass of goblins, taking one down in a heartbeat.

Michael and Jacob were dueling several of the goblins with their swords, and Trevor was throwing knives at them.

The jester cowered in the back of the cave.

Michael slew the last of them and the group rushed out of the cave.

“What do we do now?” asked Trevor.

“Now we have to get out of here before any more monsters show up. Then we need to tell King Harvey of the location. Then we need to tell King Kennedy, and go to Mistoria to rescue her.” Jacob said.

“Good idea.” Chris said. Then, they dashed for the castle of Dresmund, filled with an urge to get out of the haunted forest.

…

The three monsters and their captive traveled through Cottonia and Manuther, and were now in Stellimia, a country west of Vorgandal.

They had stopped at a camp near the border.

“You stay here and watch her. I will speak to Amol.” Kristen told Crowla.

She walked into a large tent nearby.

Amol wore black cloaks to travel undetected in the night. He had several throwing knives strapped around his waist, a bow and quiver full of arrows, a short sword at his side, and an array of poisons in his satchel. He had dark skin and black hair.

He was the leader of the Assassins Corps.

“Kristen. I’m glad to see you. You always come with rather interesting assignments.” he said.

“I need your entire group of assassins for this assignment. I’ve captured the princess of Dresmund, and King Harvey could very well send entire armies to rescue her. I need you to kill anyone who dares to try and rescue her before I ransom her.” Kristen explained.

“All one hundred and fifty assassins!? You realize this will be a rather hefty fee.” Amol replied.

“Yes, but once the ransom is complete, I’ll have plenty of money to give you, and so as long as your men do their jobs, you’re guaranteed to be paid.” she said.

Amol nodded. He knew this was true. And Kristen had paid him every other time she had an assignment for him, so he trusted her.

“Very well. We will begin our work tomorrow.” he said. Kristen nodded.

“Good. I want no one to interfere.”

…

The group was in Gavainsilla, having already told King Harvey what they found out. They were now in King Kennedy’s quarters.

“A goblin, you say?” the king asked.

Chris nodded. “We were attacked by some goblins while in the forest as well.” said Jacob.

Lady Beyer, the king’s advisor, sat at the table as well. She had sandy brown hair and she was quite tall. She wore a blue dress.

“Your highness, there actually have been several reports of goblin sightings during the raids on our villages.” she added.

The king nodded thoughtfully. “Then perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to go by this evidence. So you five will being going to Mistoria?” the king asked.

“Yes, to rescue Princess Allison.” said Michael.

“Good. Not only will you be doing her and her father a favor, but by doing this you’ll smooth things over with Dresmund. When are you leaving?” King Kennedy questioned.

“We hope tomorrow morning. We need rest after riding all day from Dresmund to here.” said Trevor.

The king nodded. “Before you get rest, you may want to speak with the new jailer, Demitri. He has been questioning some of the goblins that were captured during their last raid. He may have useful information for you.” the king said.

The group nodded their thanks. They were about to leave when Princess Morgan threw the door open.

“Father, I’m sorry to interrupt, but earlier today Jake and I were attacked!” she shouted.

“Attacked? By whom?” he asked urgently.

“A bird lady, some witch, and a goblin. They had a captive with them. She had blonde hair and was wearing a yellow dress.” Princess Morgan said.

“That sounds like Princess Allison.” said Ryan.

“Which way were they going?” asked Jacob.

“East, across the river into Cottonia.” she asked.

“Well are you All right, Morgan? Are either of you hurt?” the king asked, alarmed.

“Yes, we’re fine. I fended the bird woman off until Gabe shot it in the leg and it flew off.” Morgan answered, somewhat annoyed by her father’s concern.

“Thank goodness. Why don’t you get some rest, Morgan? You’ve had a crazy day I imagine. The rest of you had better go see Demitri while he’s still awake.” the king said, dismissing them all.

The group made their way down the marble stairs and into the courtyard. They went across the courtyard and through another door. In that room there were several jail cells going in a circle around the center of the room. Several doorways led to the tops of towers where more jail cells were located.

The new jailer, Demitri, sat in a chair in the center of the room, holding a chain in one hand and a lantern in the other. On the small table next to him was a dagger.

The dagger would be used in case any of the prisoners escaped. The chain was for the same purpose.

The only light in the room came from a few torches on the wall and Demitri’s lantern.

Demitri was tall with curly black hair. He wore glasses and leather armor over his brown vest and white shirt.

In the cells were several criminals.

“What do you want?” he asked angrily.

“The king said you had goblins locked up here.” Trevor replied.

Demitri nodded. “Yes, I’ve got some. They’re up in the towers. Now get out! I’ve got to get some shut-eye.” he said. He laid the chain across his lap and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

Ryan stomped up to Demitri in his chair. He grabbed the jailer by his collar and hoisted him out of his chair; despite the fact Demitri was taller than him.

“Listen,” said Ryan, “we want answers. You’ve been questioning the goblins, right?”

“Yes.” said Demitri, pushing Ryan away. “Why do you care?”

“Because we need information. What did they say?” Ryan asked.

“They said ‘don’t mess with the jailer, he has a dagger for a reason.’” Demitri replied. Ryan stared blankly at the jailer.

“They didn’t say anything, just a bunch of goblin gibberish. Now if you’ll excuse me, a jailer needs a proper amount of sleep if he’s going to sit here and watch prisoners all day long.” Demitri said angrily, sitting back in his chair.

Ryan sighed. “This guy has nothing. Lets go.” he said. The five of them left the dungeon, disappointed at the lack of information the jailer had.

Demitri opened one eye and looked around; to be sure they had left.

He stood up, took out his set of keys and opened the door to one of the towers. He locked it behind him and went up the winding stairs to the top. Another door was at the top. He unlocked it and went inside.

“Did you tell them?” a goblin said.

“Not a thing.” Demitri replied.

“Good. Here’s some compensation for your troubles.” the creature replied, dropping a bag of gold into Demitri’s hand.

The jailer smiled as he sifted through the bags contents.

“Now, about breaking us out?” the goblin said.

“Tomorrow night we will. Those five soldiers will be gone by then, and no one will suspect a thing.”

Chapter Seven
Kristen, Crowla, and Ashlyk had traveled far from the assassin camp, taking their captive with them.

Allison was now dirty and tired from the hard traveling through the rocky mountain areas of Stellimia. At times, Crowla would carry Allison in her clawed feet.

A few assassins that were assigned to take areas in Stellimia had followed the monsters, some of them stopping at their posts once they reached it. Two assassins still traveled with them.

Their names were Jean and Robert.

Robert was a large muscular man with light skin and blonde hair. He had several throwing knives that had been dipped in poison strapped to his belt, a few chains for strangling, and a special kind of crossbow that some of the assassins used.

The cross bow didn’t fire arrows; instead it fired a spiky ball, like a mace, with a chain connected to one end. When fired, the ball would launch out with the chain following behind it. The other end of the chain was connected to the crossbow. The chain would unravel from the pulley that was on the crossbow until the chain runs out, which is when the ball would stop in its path. The ball could launch twenty feet. It was best for short range, but if you’re an assassin, you’re not going to let your target spot you. It was mostly used from behind.

About sixty of the assassins in the Assassins Corps were permitted to use one, since they showed the most skill with it.

Jean was smaller than Robert, with dark skin and black hair.

He had a sword at his side, several daggers strapped around his belt and hidden in his boots, and a sling.

“So this captive of yours… does she have anything of value with her? Gold or jewelry?” Jean asked.

“I don’t know. I think she has a few rings.” Kristen responded. Jean smiled. Kristen sighed. “Yes, you may have them.”

Jean nodded and walked over to the princess.

He began slipping the rings off of her fingers.

“Stop that!” Allison shouted. Although her hands were bound, she delivered a smack to his head that sent him staggering.

“Hey!” Robert yelled, aiming his crossbow at her.

His finger closed around the trigger, when Ashlyk stepped in front of him.

“She is the only way you’re getting paid. Kill her and Amol will not be happy with you.” Ashlyk said.

Reluctantly, Robert lowered his crossbow. Jean slipped off the rest of Allison’s rings, tucked them in his satchel and walked to the front of the group.

“Well, this is my stop.” Jean said. “Good luck.”

Kristen nodded. She knew she would need it.

…

It was late at night in Gavainsilla. Everyone was asleep except for a few sentries and the jailer, Demitri.

Demitri waved to one of the sentries as he passed by them.

“I’m going to the kitchen to get some food. I’m awfully hungry after watching prisoners all day long. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” he said.

The sentry, Sir Shipp, nodded.

Demitri walked across the courtyard and went inside the main area of the castle. He went up a tower and out onto the balcony. The tower was at such an angle that none of the sentries could see it.

Demitri took out a forty foot long rope. He tied one end to the balcony rail and then tied the other end to an arrow. It was a special lightweight arrow designed to glide along the air in order to carry ropes that may have been tied to them. He loaded the arrow into the recurve bow he had and aimed it a few feet above the window that was in the goblin’s tower prison quarters.

He loosed the arrow and watched it glide thirty eight feet across the courtyard and impale itself just above the window of the tower.

He took his lantern and rose it up, then blocked the light with his hand briefly, and then set it down.

The goblins in the tower saw him do this, and knew that was their signal.

They had filed away the bars on the tower window earlier and placed the severed bars in the empty spaces so it would appear nothing happened. The goblins now removed the bars. A first goblin climbed onto the window sill and pulled on the rope to determine if it was able to hold his weight. He grabbed on the rope with his hands and swung out of the tower. He gradually swung across the rope, until he finally reached the tower that Demitri was at.

Several other goblins followed him, and soon they were all out of the prison and on the balcony.

Demitri led them down the tower and opened the door.

The sentry, Sir Shipp, had begun to wonder when the jailer would return and had gone to find him.

He now saw the jailer holding a recurve bow and with a dozen goblins behind him. Sir Shipp realized what had happened.

“Guards!” he shouted, running from the doorway. He went across the courtyard to where a bell hung on a post. He began urgently ringing the bell.

Several lanterns were lit in the towers where sleeping guards had woken up. Within minutes, the courtyard was full with guards, without armor but armed with swords and bows.

“The jailer has broken the goblins out of prison! We must catch him!” Sir Shipp called to the half-awake guards. He told them where the jailer went and they ran inside the castle, searching for him. Sir Shipp stayed in the courtyard.

“Thank you for distracting the guards. We left the castle in all the confusion.” said a voice behind him. He spun around to see Demitri and the goblins standing there.

Sir Shipp ran to tell the other guards. “Stop! They are out-” he fell to the ground before finishing, one of Demitri’s arrows sticking in his left arm.

Even though he hadn’t called the guards, they heard him shouting and had come down to the courtyard. They all poured out the door, running towards Demitri with weapons drawn.

Demitri reached behind his back and unslung his special crossbow. He aimed and fired the mace that was loaded on it, and caught one of the guards in the throat, killing him. Other guards got closer though, so Demitri swung his crossbow so that the chain connecting it to the mace would fly up. The chain wrapped around some of the guards’ throats, strangling them.

Demitri reloaded the crossbow and fired the mace into another guard. The goblins, now armed with weapons, killed the remaining guards.

“Who are you? I thought you were just one of Yoho’s warriors.” a goblin said.

“No,” replied Demitri, “I’m an assassin.”

…

“Your highness,” Sir Shipp said, “the jailer, Demitri, last night he escaped with a dozen goblins. He is most likely working with them.”

Sir Shipp had woken up in a small farmhouse. His arm was bandaged where it had been shot with an arrow. Apparently, after Demitri left, the farmer and his wife found Sir Shipp in the courtyard and took him to their house to tend to his wounds.

He now stood before King Kennedy, explaining last night’s attack, as he was the only survivor.

The king nodded. “I’ve had enough with these goblins. If Sir Michael and his team do not rescue the princess by the end of the month in two weeks, I will be forced to declare war on these savage creatures.” King Kennedy explained. Sir Shipp nodded.

“A wise choice. We are losing too many men in their attacks and we can’t hold off many more raids with our dwindling number of sentries.” the sentry commented.

“Oh, that reminds me, I’ve asked the commandant of the sentries, Sir Maneno, to allow my daughter to spend a night with the sentries. She has been taking sword craft and archery lessons and I want her to see what it’s like on the field. I’ve also asked him to assign you as her mentor.” King Kennedy said. Sir Shipp nodded.

“I would be honored, your majesty. But what am I to do if a real attack comes during her experience?” Sir Shipp asked.

“I’d expect you to get her to safety. If you are unable to reach safety in time, then I expect you to guard her with your life.” the king replied. The sentry nodded.

“Now go rest, that arm wound of yours looks rather energy draining.” the king said. Sir Shipp bowed and then exited; seeking a warm blanket in his bed at home, for the arm wound had been draining.

Chapter Eight
The five riders were slowed down by the large crowd of Cottonia people.

The market day in Cottonia was always busy and crowded. Occasionally two men would get into a fight and a riot would break out. Cottonia soldiers were put on duty to stop any riots. They wore, over their chain mail, a shirt made out of cotton, with a bull emblem. The bull was red and had horns raised, and had one foot kicking out in a threatening gesture.

The warriors of Gavainsilla and the jester were mounted on their horses, but cavalry was uncommon in the kingdom of Cottonia and therefore people tended to ignore the horses.

The horses struggled to make their way through the crowd.

Several shouts came from the stalls.

“Corn for sale! Fresh corn!”

“Milk! Milk! Get it while it’s fresh!”

“Tuna and trout! Imported right from Dresmund! Tuna and trout for sale!”

“They sure do like their market days, don’t they?” asked Ryan.

“They sure do. I mean, who wouldn’t? They have them at least five days a week, and everyone always needs something.” said Trevor.

“Not necessarily. I haven’t needed corn or milk or fish because I bought enough of it to last me a while.” said Ryan.

“What do you mean? If they didn’t need things, why would they come to market day?” asked Trevor.

“Maybe they had some fight earlier in the week and this is a good place to do it. I mean, everyone goes to market days and if you look around, lots of fighting is going on.” replied Ryan.

There really was fighting and arguing, all around them.

“I only have three pieces of silver, I’ll give you that much.” one person said.

“No, my price stands firm at ten silver pieces.” said a second.

“See? Bargaining and arguing everywhere!” Ryan said.

“Yes but these people have come to bicker over prices and product condition, not about why someone didn’t go to your party or who ate the last slice of ham at dinner last night. You just don’t dwell on things like that!” replied Trevor.

“Really? May I remind you that last time I lost your scabbard you went on about it for three weeks?” Ryan said.

“Oh, I- wait, you lost my scabbard?! You said that a thief had stolen it while you were on that mission in Massucha, and it fell off a cliff after he fell to your arrow!” Trevor shouted.

“Oh, right, I forgot I had decided not to tell you about that. Well back to the subject, you did dwell on the fact that I-”

“Stop changing the subject! You lied to me about losing my scabbard! Tell me, what really happened?” Trevor asked.

“Me changing the subject? Our original subject was about arguments and how you’re being a hypocrite when you say dwelling on things isn’t good, when you do just that. If anyone’s changing the subject, it’s you!” Ryan replied rapidly.

“Stop that! Just tell me what really happened to my scabbard? I remember I lent it to you for that mission because you needed something to put your sword in, which was part of your disguise during the mission. What happened?” Trevor asked.

“Well, you already know I lied to you so I might as well tell you what happened. The Massuchans had discovered that I was a Gavainsilla archer undercover, so they had backed me up to one of the cliffs in the region and were threatening to push me over. I had only one arrow left. So I did something crazy. I fired the arrow into one of the warriors, ducked spears that two others had, and then I punched them both in the face, out cold. The other one was getting away, and I didn’t want anyone else to know I was there, so I threw the scabbard at him. It bounced off his head, and knocked him out. But then it spun over the edge of the cliff and fell.” Ryan explained.

“How could you do that?” Trevor shouted.

“If I hadn’t, he would have told the Massuchan king and they would’ve caught me and killed me!” Ryan yelled.

“You know, Ryan, I’m glad you stopped them from killing you.” Trevor said. Ryan nodded. “Because otherwise I’d have never known, and then I wouldn’t be able to kill you myself!” Trevor shouted.

The two warriors leaned towards each other on their horses, trying to land a blow on the other. Jacob rode his horse in between them.

“Stop. You two are being ridiculous. Trevor, you have a new scabbard, don’t you?” Jacob asked. Trevor nodded.

“Then why fight? All scabbards are the same. Oh, and by the way, you just proved Ryan’s point.” Jacob said.

“What point?” Trevor replied.

“You’re a hypocrite.” Jacob said smiling.

Trevor sighed, knowing he had been defeated.

The crowd began to thin out. “Hey guys, I think market day is over.” said Michael.

“No, it’s not. Look!” shouted Chris.

The crowd had formed a circle. Two men who had become enraged at each other about the tax on cotton had begun fighting. One man had a black eye and the other had blood trickling from his mouth. The one with the black-eye threw a punch into the other man’s jaw, causing more blood to spill from his mouth.

A guard of Cottonia was entering the circle that the crowd had formed. He placed his hand on one man’s shoulder.

“Sir, stop, please come with me or I will have to use force.” the guard said, indicating the spiked wooden club in his hands.

The man grimaced at the guard and then threw his elbow into the guard’s face.

“This has gone on long enough.” said Ryan, loading an arrow.

“Don’t fire. Allow the law enforcement of this territory to try first.” said Jacob.

The guard hit the man on the back with the butt of his club. The man stumbled. Then, his opponent, seeing that he was disoriented, threw an uppercut into the man’s throat. The guard stepped forward and warded the man off. The man clenched his fists and then called out a few names. A few other men, strong and large like him, stepped out into the circle to assist him. The other Cottonia guards were struggling to get through the crowd to help stop the fight.

Ryan looked at Michael. “Only a warning shot.” Michael said. Ryan nodded, and then fired the arrow.

The arrow struck the ground in between the legs of one of the burly men. The man looked around, to find the one who had fired it. He singled out a man with red hair, holding a longbow with a quiver full of arrows slung across his back. The man started toward Ryan.

“Friends, I’m beginning to think this is now our fight.” Ryan said, turning his horse to retreat from the large man. The sudden turn of the horse caused many of the bystanders to back away, blocking the man’s path momentarily.

Jacob dismounted and moved into the small circle the people had created. Ryan was riding slowly on his horse away from the circle.

Jacob unsheathed his sword. By now the man had pushed his way past the people and now confronted Jacob in the smaller circle.

In the larger circle, the men had beaten the guard into unconsciousness. They all cheered in triumph, when someone else stepped into the circle. Michael had his double-edged sword unsheathed, glimmering in the afternoon sun. The men laughed, knowing that this small man could not stand up to the six of them. One man charged forward.

Michael sidestepped the man’s clumsy charge and hit him between the shoulder blades with the butt of his sword, knocking the wind out of the large man. The man collapsed, winded.

Several of his comrades pulled out their weapons.

Most of them had knives, but two had maces. The crowd began to back up; knowing weapons meant a messier battle.

The crowd’s sudden withdrawal pressed the man in the smaller circle closer to Jacob.

As the man stumbled, Jacob stepped forward and delivered a heavy smack with the flat of his blade to the man’s chest.

The man collapsed on the ground, struggling to suck in air after the blow. Ryan was now dismounted and stood on top of a stack of baskets. He leaped up onto the roof of a stall, and then Jacob saw why. One of the muscular brutes had caught up with him and was now chasing him up onto the roof. The balcony of a tavern was near the roof, and Ryan swung over the rail and onto it. He leaped from there onto another stall roof. His agility was enough to keep away from the large man.

The man slid down the house of the stall and landed on the ground, unharmed. He began climbing barrels up to the stall of the next roof.

Ryan looked around quickly. There was some firewood strapped to the roof so that if market day went into the night, the merchants would have something to keep warm. Ryan now undid the strap and the logs began rolling down the roof, knocking the surprised man off the barrels and onto the ground.

Trevor and Michael were now easily knocking out the men in the large center circle. Two attackers ran towards them. Trevor and Michael rolled out of the way, and the two caught each other in the heads with the blunt butts of their maces, knocking each other out.

Several of the Cottonia guards had reached the circle, but seeing that the two Gavainsilla soldiers had things under control, they stood at the edge of the circle.

The crowd, after all of the muscular men had been knocked out, realized the fight was over and now went back to their bargaining and purchasing.

Trevor and Michael sheathed their blades as Jacob and Ryan joined them. They mounted on their horses to continue on through the crowd.

“Excuse me, gentlemen!” a guard shouted. “Thank you for settling that. There were not enough guards to take on those men. Also, after we loaded them onto our horses, we found that their purses were full of stolen jewels and money.”

“No problem.” Trevor replied. They began to ride forward again when the guard stopped them.

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to take you to see our ruler, King Liam. There have been many revolts against him for these cotton taxes and I’m sure he’d like to reward you for stopping that fight.” the guard said.

The warriors exchanged glances. “I’m sure we could spare an hour.” Chris said. The other warriors nodded, and they followed the guard out of the market. They went along cobblestone streets that led through another town. After going through the town, they rode up the winding path up to the castle.

The castle was constructed of stone and iron. A portcullis was raised as the group approached the gate. Once the portcullis was up, the large gates swung open. They entered the courtyard that was just in front of the gates. They followed the guard across a small stone bridge that went over a stream that ran through the courtyard.

Through a pair of double doors was the dining room, with a winding staircase leading from that up to the throne room.

King Liam sat on his throne which was mounted on a dais in the back of the room. He wore a red shirt with a bull on it, and a black robe sagged across his shoulders. A golden crown that had a small ruby carved into the shape of a bull’s head on it sat upon his head. He had a thick layer of brown hair and black, narrowed eyes. He was very tall and spoke with a booming voice, fit for giving speeches.

“Your highness,” the guard said, bowing, “these warriors have just stopped a riot in the market.”

“Another one about the cotton tax?” the king inquired.

“Yes, your highness.” the guard said nervously.

“What else is new? Those people are being extremely ungrateful!” the king shouted.

Chris, disguised as a page, asked the king, “Why are you taxing the people, your majesty?”

“Why shouldn’t I? The neighboring kingdoms of Cottonia are being raided. So, I taxed the people for their cotton because then I could get money to build better defenses and create weapons and armor for our sentries! I will not allow my kingdom to be raided. If my people would rather have their crops and merchandise stolen than pay a tax, then so be it! If they don’t pay the tax, they’ll be attacked. The tax will stand firm where it is.” King Liam ranted.

“But don’t you see this is causing more harm? Your people are revolting against you.” Chris explained.

“Yes, but no other kingdom has done anything to help me defend my kingdom, so my people will have to take on it instead!” King Liam shouted.

“Your highness, I would gladly take a letter to King Kennedy about this, and he will supply you with money and supplies, I am sure of it. Cottonia and Gavainsilla have been allies for a long time. King Kennedy would be glad to help.” the jester said.

“Really? You’re sure of it?”

“Of course. I only need you to write a letter to him with your seal. In a few weeks, he should have supplies coming to you.”

King Liam nodded. He summoned his secretary and told him to fetch him some paper, ink, and a quill. The secretary returned shortly. King Liam rapidly wrote the letter and then pressed his seal into the paper. The secretary gave it to Chris and he tucked it into his satchel.

“Now you can stop taxing the people.” Jacob said.

The king nodded again. “I hereby renounce the cotton tax. Please, spread the word.” Once the five of them left, word rapidly spread of the tax being lifted.

An escort of Cottonia guards led the group until they reached the border of Cottonia, and the group rode into Manuther.

Chapter Nine
It was ten o’ clock at night in Gavainsilla. Princess Morgan dressed in a sentry uniform of leather armor, a steel helmet designed to look like a hawk beak was on it, and a black jacket, was trying to get used to her uncomfortable uniform. The helmet was a bit large and sat lopsided on her head, the rough leather rubbed up against her soft skin, and the jacket’s sleeves extended over her hands. She rolled up the sleeves. Linked to her belt was her sword in its scabbard. Sir Shipp, her mentor for the night, invited her to sit in one of the wooden chairs set up in the courtyard. She sat down and leaned back, feeling the rough wood against her back. “So, um, what exactly do you do out here?” she asked him. “Well, I sit out in the courtyard for a few hours, ready to guard the castle if an attack comes at night. Up on the walls several other sentries march back and forth, keeping an eye on the land outside the castle. Then, at increments along the wall, there are towers. Archers are inside the towers to defend the castle. Also, the Sentry Commandant, Sir Maneno, sits up in that tower all night. In a few hours, someone will come down to the courtyard and we’ll take his place at his post in the towers. Then, after two hours, we are relieved by two other sentries and we get to go to sleep until morning.” Sir Shipp explained. Morgan nodded. “Anything you do for… I don’t know excitement and fun?” she asked. “Well, sometimes I draw in the dirt with this stick. And other times I will play Skipper.” he responded. “Skipper? What’s that?” the princess questioned. “Its a little game I made up. Would you like me to show you?” he asked. “Sure. It’ll be much better than sitting here doing absolutely nothing.” she replied. “Okay,” he said, standing, “here is how you play. I use my shield as a target. I lay it down here in the grass and then take ten paces away from it. Then, I skip a rock at it by throwing it at the ground at an angle that will make it bounce. See?” Sir Shipp said, demonstrating it. “If I land it in the shield within a certain number of throws, I win. Then the next round, I take an extra five steps away from the shield, and do that every round. But with two people, each person gets three throws and whoever has it closer to the shield at the end wins. But if you land it on the shield, you automatically lose in a two player game. Want to try it?” he asked. She nodded, rising from her seat. They both got similarly sized and shaped rocks. “Ladies first.” Sir Shipp said, taking a step back. She threw the rock about two feet at the ground in front of her, and the rock bounced once, twice, three times before rolling to a stop, five feet away from the shield. “Okay, now it’s my turn.” the sentry said, stepping forward. He threw the rock three feet in front of him, hoping for it to bounce farther than hers. It bounced three times, but each bounced a longer distance than Morgan’s. The rock, instead of rolling, came to a dead stop on the ground as it plummeted from its final bounce. It was four feet away from the shield. He gestured for her to go. She walked up to her rock, picked it up and threw it four feet in front of her, hoping for a longer bounce past the shield. The rock bounced twice, and then rolled to a stop a few inches from the shield, but on the opposite side of the shield that she was standing on. Sir Shipp nodded with satisfaction. He retrieved his rock and threw it six inches from his feet. It bounced almost straight up, but arced slightly. It landed on a narrow part of the rock causing the rock to bounce awkwardly to the right, but sending it another five feet. His rock had landed three feet from the shield, but he knew he could catch up with the princess. “You have to throw the rock. It doesn’t matter how close it is to the shield, you have to throw it.” he explained. She picked up the rock and did an underhand toss so that the rock went up and over the shield and landing an inch closer to it on the other side. “You never said I couldn’t underhand toss.” she said. “No, I suppose I didn’t. Fair enough.” he said. He picked up his rock and tried an underhand toss similar to hers, but he let go of it too early and it flew farther than he had intended. There was a clang as the rock landed in the shield. He stared blankly at the shield, knowing he had lost. “Well, for a beginner I must say you are very good. I’ll have to rule out underhand throws in the future.” he said smiling. They shook hands and he congratulated her on her win. He picked up his shield and refastened it around his arm. Another sentry arrived. “Sir Shipp, it’s time to rotate shifts.” he said. Sir Shipp nodded. He led the princess up a set of stone stairs up onto the wall. He led her into one of the towers. Two archers and a sentry were sitting on a set of benches in the tower. Sir Shipp was handed one of the bows and the quiver of arrows and the archer left. The other archery weapons were given to the princess. “So, Sir Shipp, how’ve you been?” the sentry asked. “Very good, thank you, Sir Maneno. Apparently the princess here is a Skipper champion.” Sir Shipp replied. “Oh, is she now? She and I will have to go one on one sometime, then. Good evening, princess.” he said. Sir Maneno had short, curly, black hair, some whiskers on his chin, and dazzling blue eyes. He was almost always in a good mood. He was tall. He used to live in Carania, so he tended to use lots of contractions and tended to pronounce his e’s as if they were supposed to make the short i sound. “It’s a wonderful night, isn’t it princess?” he asked. She nodded as she looked at the clear night sky, filled with glittering stars. Suddenly, an arc of light shot across the sky. “What was that?!” she asked. “What was what?” asked Sir Shipp. “This light just flew across the sky. Do you know what it was?” she asked. “Ah, it seems you’ve spotted a shooting star. They fly across the night sky. To see one is said to be good luck. Or at least, that’s what everyone’s saying nowadays. You see, many people used to think it were bad luck. They thought the lights came from superstitious creatures that had come to make their lives terrible. But of course, now we know that it is just a star.” Sir Maneno explained. Morgan nodded in awe of the shooting star. “Good luck, you say?” she asked. “Oh, yes, extremely good luck. It’s very rare you ever see one of those.” the sentry commandant replied. Morgan sighed, hoping that the good luck would really happen to her.

…

Princess Allison saw the shooting star as well, and was now wishing good luck would come to her as well. The rocky, mountainous area of the country was now behind them. Robert had left the group long ago, having reached his post. The three creatures had made camp for now, and Allison now had her hands and feet tied to a pole behind her, forcing her into a kneeling position. The monsters gave her very little food, only some bread and an ounce of water. Her gag was refastened around her head now. Her captors now made jokes around the fire. Those were their mistakes. They had built a large fire in the dark night, and they shouted loudly. That is how Stellimian soldiers found them. “You three, stop where you are… wait… those are monsters!” a soldier shouted. “It doesn’t matter. They are trespassing on the king’s grounds. The six of you, go and restrain them.” said another. The soldiers advanced on the monsters. Kristen stood quickly. “Wait! We’ll make you a deal!” she shouted. “A deal? What do you have in mind?” the soldier asked hesitantly. “Our leader, Yoho the Sorcerer, has great magical powers. His armies are large, organized, and deadly. If you let us go and ally with him, he will use his magic to make the soldiers of Stellimia extremely powerful!” she replied. In fact, Yoho had been wanting to ally with the Stellimian forces for a long time. He knew in order to take over Dresmund he would need a powerful fighting force, and the Stellimians, with their excellent siege machinery and outstanding archers, were a valuable ally. The soldier considered this. You will have to consult King Aurillo. We will take you to see him.” the soldier said. “Excellent.” Kristen replied. The Stellimian soldiers escorted the three monsters and their captive to the castle of Stellimia. They entered the large castle. The soldiers led them down a winding staircase and into a room with several cells. “Wait, I thought you were taking us to see the king!” shouted Ashlyk. “Right, like we’d actually bring three dangerous monsters before the king. Lock them up.” the soldier said. The other eight soldiers pushed the four of them into a jail cell. They all had their hands locked into chains that hung from the wall above them, except for Crowla, whose hands were covered in feathers. Instead she had her ankles chained to the floor. “How long will we be in here?” asked Allison, who’s gag and ropes had been removed by the soldiers. “Well, as of last year, the punishment for trespassing on the king’s grounds is ten years. So you will be in here for ten years.” the soldier replied. “But that’s insane!” cried Crowla. “Hey, with monsters like you raiding villages in nearby countries, the king is playing it safe.” the soldier said, walking out. His group followed him up, leaving the four prisoners in the dimly lighted dungeon. Allison tugged uselessly on the chains that held her arms up. “Don’t bother. These are secure.” Kristen said. “Kristen, can’t you use your supplies to create a potion to melt through the chains?” asked Ashlyk. “I could if my hands weren’t chained and if we hadn’t left all of our supplies back at the camp.” Kristen replied. “Then we’re stuck here then, for ten years.” Allison said.

Chapter Ten

Manuther was a large kingdom as well. The symbol of this realm was the rose. Many flower gardens were grown here. The group had already passed by many beautiful farms with flower gardens. The group had covered lots of ground, and was nearing the border to Stellimia. Stellimia, actually used to be part of Vorgandal, but the king, King Aurillo, had turned many Vorgandals to his side and they revolted against the other kingdoms. Soon, that part of the country simply broke off and created a new country, Stellimia. The travelers were tired from riding through the hot sun. They stopped at an inn and ate and drank generously. Their horses were being kept in a small stable near the inn. They slept through most of the night, when they heard loud neighing coming from the stables. The horses were probably becoming restless, so the five of them went back downstairs and outside. When they went to the stables, they found goblins tugging in their horses’ reins. “Hey, get away from my horse!” shouted Michael. Then, he saw the figure that had mounted his horse. The figure had curly hair, a crossbow with a mace on it, and wore glasses. “It’s the jailer! I knew he was up to no good!” shouted Ryan. Trevor and Jacob were dueling the goblins. Demitri unslung his crossbow from his back and fired it. The mace flew past Michael’s head, barely missing him. Ryan tackled Michael to the ground when he noticed that the chain was flying towards Michael’s neck, threatening to strangle him. The chain flew over them, and then dropped to the ground as Blur finally bucked Demitri off of his back. Two goblins and Demitri were the only enemies left, so the jailer quickly retreated into the woods with his two allies. The owners calmed their horses, and then decided that they should head off again, just in case Demitri came back.

…

“Prisoners, you say? Bring them to me. I’d like to see them.” King Aurillo told his soldiers. King Aurillo Jr., who was currently king, was the son of King Aurillo Sr., who had started the country of Stellimia. King Aurillo had black hair and pale skin. He had black daunting eyes that were always halfway open, as if the king wasn’t concerned with anything. But he had heard that one of the prisoners was a beautiful blonde, and he thought she’d be perfect to marry his son, Prince Ian. The king was also a bit stout. “Yes, your majesty.” the soldier said, hurrying out of the room. A few minutes later, the prisoners came in. They all had their hands chained behind their backs, although a bird-like one had a metal leash around her neck. “These are the ones that trespassed on my grounds?” King Aurillo asked. “Yes, your majesty.” a soldier replied. The king nodded. “Names. Tell me your names.” he ordered. “I am Kristen.” the robed one said, mockingly curtseying as she said it. “I am Ashlyk.” the scaly one replied. “I am Crowla.” the feathered one added. “I’m Allison. I’m the princess of Dresmund.” the blonde one answered. King Aurillo’s eyes widened. If she was a Vorgandal, then surely she could not marry his son. “I didn’t ask if you were the princess, did I?” he responded. “Well, no, I just thought-” “Thought what? That I was dumb enough to release you because you were simply a princess? Ha! All Vorgandals are my enemies, which puts you on my bad side. For that, I hereby sentence the four of you to life in prison!” he shouted. A mumble went up among the soldiers. “You can’t do that simply for us being from another country!” Ashlyk screeched. “Of course I can, because you’re in my country!” the king shouted. “Get them out of my sight!” he shouted. The guards quickly ushered the prisoners out of the room and back into the dungeon. Their hands were now enchained above them. “Nice work, now we’re stuck here for life!” shouted Kristen. “Kristen, that isn’t true. I got something from that guard.” Ashlyk said, jingling keys in her hand. “Well done Ashlyk!” Crowla commented. The goblin undid her chains and then stood up and unlocked her companions’ chains. She then unlocked the cage door, and they stepped out, ready to make their escape.

Chapter Eleven

The guard looked around casually. He didn’t expect anything to happen. But then the door to the dungeon next to him swung open and a jagged sword darted out, slitting his throat. Ashlyk led the others out of the dungeon. Knowing that Allison would try to escape once they left the dungeon, Kristen tied her hands behind her back and pushed her along. They made their way to the throne room undetected. King Aurillo was not in there. “He must have gone up to his quarters for the night.” Crowla suggested. They left the room and made their way up the large spiral staircase, up to the king’s quarters. Kristen picked the lock and they walked inside, relocking the door once they were in. The King shot up from his chair. He still wore his robes and the shirt that bore the symbol of Stellimia, the tiger. The tiger was chosen as a symbolization of the aggression and rage that the Stellimians fought with when they were first breaking off from Vorgandal. “Guards!” he shouted. Crowla dove at him. “Quiet or I will tear your throat out!” she threatened. “What do you want?” he asked quietly. “We want your armies to form an alliance with Yoho the Sorcerer’s armies. In return he will grant your armies extreme power and strength, and the Stellimians will be feared across the land.” Kristen said. Aurillo thought about this. Even though there were monsters in his bedroom threatening to kill him if he didn’t do it, he actually wanted to do it. “Very well, I will ally with you. But I’ll need to sign the proper documents.” he agreed. Kristen handed him a slip of paper. He signed it quickly and handed it back. “Good. In return, you will allow us to go free, allow all monsters to be in your realm, and you will fight alongside us in battle. Agreed?” Kristen asked, putting out a hand. “Agreed.” King Aurillo said, shaking her hand. The monsters left with their captive immediately and once they exited the castle, they continued on their journey through Stellimia.

…

It was a day later when the warriors of Gavainsilla arrived at King Aurillo’s castle, but not the way they had planned to. They had found a cave to rest in, and when Stellimian soldiers found them, they were outnumbered and cornered inside the cave. They were taken prisoner on the spot. Their hands were chained behind their backs and then they were quickly escorted to the castle. Ironically, they were chained up in the exact same cell that the monsters and Allison had been in just a day earlier. They were sentenced to life in prison for trespassing and being Vorgandalans. The thought of being discriminated was angering to the five of them. But later that day, they were taken to King Aurillo. “Your highness, we don’t understand why-” Chris began, but was interrupted when a guard told him not to speak to the king unless spoken to, emphasized by a crack across the back with a spear shaft. “You five are Vorgandalans. I understand there is a captured princess you are after. Therefore, according to my conditions under alliance with the monsters, I am to send you to the Assassins Corp camp where you are to be held captive. So… guards throw them in the carriage and take them to the Assassins Corps!” King Aurillo shouted, leaving no room for argument. The five of them were loaded into the carriage and the carriage drove off. “All right, plans for escape?” asked Trevor. “Well, they have our weapons, so those won’t do us much good, and we have to escape before we get to the Assassins’ camp, because any means of escape there would mean death. I mean, they are assassins. So, the windows are barred off and the doors are locked. So, we could try to file away the bars, but we have nothing to file with. Another one is to pick the lock, but the lock is on the outside. We could try breaking the doors right off their hinges. We have some metal poles here, so we can shove them between the door frames and hinges and simply push on the pole.” Michael said. “Or we could do this.” said Ryan, holding one of the metal bars. He shoved it through a gap in the bars. He pulled back and then shoved it through hard, causing it to shoot out the window. The bar landed in between the legs of a horse riding near the carriage. The horse tripped over the bars and the rider tumbled off. Other riders around the carriage stopped, and when they realized what had happened, they unlocked the carriage doors to give the prisoners a good talking to. They weren’t expecting Jacob to be standing there, leaping out of the carriage and barreling into the soldiers. He got a hold of a sword and began fighting while his friends made their way out of the carriage. All of the soldiers of Stellimia were then shoved into the carriage and locked up inside. Having spotted a cave nearby, they pushed the carriage into the cave and then released the horses that were pulling it. After retrieving their weapons, they went back down the path to the castle. “This time we’ll need to be more cautious when we get near the castle. Apparently King Aurillo is allied with the monsters so we’ll need to be sure to avoid him.” said Ryan. They went down a different path leading around the castle so they wouldn’t be caught. But they didn’t see the two figures hiding in the trees along this path, waiting to ambush them.

…

Jean had seen the five of them escape the wagon, and he quickly rushed to find Robert. After telling Robert what had happened, they agreed to ambush the five rescuers and kill them. They now waited along the path. Jean had three throwing knives in his left hand, ready to throw them. Robert loaded his mace crossbow and loosened his dagger in its sheath. The five warriors passed by Jean. Robert was stationed farther up the path so that when the assassins stepped out, they would have the five warriors surrounded. Jean saw Robert step into the warriors’ path, and Jean copied him, surrounding the warriors. “Do you think they are more Stellimians?” one asked another. “No, they don’t have Stellimian soldier uniforms on. That one has a crossbow just like the one Demitri had.” said the one with the bow and arrows. So they already ran into Demitri? Jean thought. How did they get out alive? “Excuse me, who are-” the page asked, but then Robert fired his crossbow. The red-headed swordsman swung his sword to knock the mace off course, but got the blade tangled up in the chain. Robert pulled back and the chain ripped the sword from Jacob’s hands. Ryan fired an arrow at Jean. Jean darted to the side and quick as a serpent, snatched the arrow out of the air as it flew near him. “I’ve never seen anyone move so quickly!” Ryan shouted in awe. Jean threw his three knives all at once in a sweeping sideways arc. The knives flew out at different angles. One buried itself into Michael’s calf, another flew into Trevor’s thigh, and the other missed Jacob due to his quick sidestep. Blur, Michael’s horse, reared back and kicked Robert in the chest, winding him. Jean unclipped his sling from his belt and loaded a lead stone about the size of a softball into it. Trevor was now only a few feet from Jean. Instead of attempting to launch the stone, Jean made a wild swing with it to try and crack Trevor across the head with the large lead projectile. Trevor ducked and swung his sword in an arc above his head in his crouched position. The blade cut through the sling’s soft material and the sling fell apart. As a result, the lead stone flew away and disappeared into the bushes nearby. “Guys, we need to split up and lead them away!” Michael shouted. He and Trevor ran into the woods on the right side, while the other three ran in the other direction. Robert chased after Michael and Trevor, and Jean chased the others. In the woods, Michael was hiding from Robert behind some trees. He felt hot and was sweating a lot. Before he knew it, he passed out. Trevor passed out as well. There was poison on the knives Jean threw and it got into Michael and Trevor’s bodies. Robert found them both, and figuring they were dead, left to meet up with Jean. Ryan was later cut by another one of Jean’s knives and he fainted as well. Jacob and Chris were still running from Jean, but fell into a ditch while running. Jean caught up with them and, looking down into the hole, threw the poisonous daggers into them. Jean met back with Robert at the path. “How did you do?” asked Jean. “They seemed to have died from your poison daggers. We should be fine.” Robert replied. “I killed the others too. All right, now let’s get back to our posts.” Jean said. Robert nodded and they left, all thoughts of their dead victims having left their minds.

Chapter Twelve

“Where… am I?” asked Ryan to no one of particular. He had just woken up lying on a bed in a farmhouse. He had a wet cloth resting on his forehead and his arm, where he had been cut by one of Jean’s daggers, was wrapped in a bandage. He sat up in the bed, removing the wet cloth on his head. A bookshelf was across from the bed and next to that was a door. He rose, staggering from nausea. He clumsily made his way to the door and opened it. He entered a small kitchen where a farmer and his wife sat at the dining table, sipping coffee. “Oh, look, he’s awake! How do you feel my boy?” the farmer asked. The farmer looked to be about forty. He was tall but scrawny. One tooth was missing on the bottom of his mouth. The man slurred the s sound and talked with a Caranian accent. “Fine… um, where am I?” asked Ryan. “Oh, you’re at our farmhouse. My wife and I found you in a field in Stellimia when we were traveling home from selling our crops there, and we saw you were hurt, so we took you home and fixed you up.” the farmer explained. “Uh, where exactly is home? I mean, what country am I in?” Ryan asked. “Carania. Come sit down and have some coffee.” the farmer replied. Ryan sat down at the table and drank some coffee. “HI!” the farmer’s wife exclaimed. She shouted so loudly, Ryan nearly spilled his coffee. “Um, sorry, but my wife has some… hearing problems.” the farmer explained. Ryan nodded. “What condition was I in when you found me?” Ryan asked. “WHICH CHICKEN EYE DID BEN POUND? TREY, THIS BOY IS TALKIN’ NONSENSE HERE! WE DON’T KNOW NO BENS, DO US?” the farmer’s wife shouted. “No, Paula, he was asking how bad he was when we found him.” Trey, the farmer, said into his wife’s ear. “OH! WELL, YOU HAD POISON IN YOU, SO WE HAD TO CLEAN YOUR WOUND OUT!” Paula shouted. “Poison?” asked Ryan. “Yes, poison. You’ll be groggy for a few days, but the poison is gone from your system, so you should be fine.” Trey replied. Ryan nodded. He remembered everything that happened, the princess being captured, the riot in Cottonia, and the assassin’s ambush. But now he realized that he was far from his friends right now. “Did you find anyone else when you found me? There is a page from Dresmund, and three Gavainsilla soldiers, one with red hair, two others with blonde hair.” Ryan explained. “A PAGE FROM EDMUND, A FREE GREEN SALOON, A DEAD BEAR, AND MOTHERS WITH POND PEARS? TREY, THIS BOY JES’ WON’T STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE!” Paula yelled. Trey sighed, not bothering to translate Ryan’s actual words for her. “No, no one else was around. Just you.” he replied. Ryan sighed. “Well, I need to go find them. They’re my friends, and they need my help.” Ryan said, rising. “Oh, no you don’t! You’re still too weak to go out riding! You need to rest for a few more days before getting on the road again.” Trey said, blocking Ryan from the door. “All right, I’ll stay and rest. But only for three days. Then I have to find my friends.” Ryan said. “WHY DOES HE HAVE TO GRIND THE FENCE?”

…

Jacob rubbed his eyes before opening them. A bandage was around his thigh. A girl in her twenties knelt in front of him, rubbing a wet cloth against his forehead. “Oh, you’re awake.” she said. As his vision came into focus, he saw her dark brown hair was braided. She had blue eyes and she was very tall and elegant. Are her ears… pointy? Jacob thought. “Who are you? Where am I?” he asked. “You are in the Elf Kingdom. I am Princess Lauren. My father, King Logan, wishes to see you as soon as you’ve eaten. Here,” she said, laying a bowl of broth before him. Jacob sat up and sipped the broth. After finishing, she helped him stand up and she led him out of the tent he was in. Several elves walked by, carrying baskets and supplies. The princess led him into a large tent that was a dazzling blue color. He entered the tent and saw the king sitting criss-cross style on the floor, next to Jacob’s friend Trevor. “Ah, your friend is here. Come, sit down.” the elf king said. The elf king had a friendly smile, green eyes, and light blonde hair. A crown made of leaves and twigs was on his head and a tray of tea was set out in front of him. Trevor had a bandage on his thigh as well. “Jacob, are you feeling better?” Trevor asked. Jacob nodded and sat down. “Hello, Jacob. I am King Logan of the elves. The elves found you alongside a road, filled with poison. Luckily, we cleaned your wound and counteracted the poison, so you should be fine.” King Logan explained. “Thanks. Where is this kingdom, exactly?” asked Jacob. “The elves have been secluded in the woods of Stellimia for a long time now. Ever since King Aurillo Senior broke off from Vorgandal and formed this country, the elves have been forced into hiding. Many of our elves have perished or been held captive by the Stellimians, and we do not have the numbers to wage war on them.” the elf king said. Jacob nodded. “That is, until Trevor offered me some advice.” Jacob looked at Trevor. “What kind of advice?” he asked. “To use the element of surprise on the Stellimians. We were thinking about conducting ambushes on their men during the night.” the king explained. “I expect the two of you will help with this once you have recovered. Speaking of recovery, the two of you should go and rest.” he said, dismissing them. They left the tent. “Trevor! What were you thinking?” Jacob exclaimed. “I was thinking we should do something in return for the elves since they did help us. Besides, the Stellimians are allied with the monsters from Crooked Forest. If the elves fight the Stellimians, then the Stellimians won’t be able to help out the monsters.” Trevor explained. “That’s actually a good idea. All right then, let’s give it a try. What kind of weapons do the elves have?” Jacob asked. “Mostly bows and arrows, but most all of them are trained with a sword. A few of them have been trained to wield axes. Oh, and all of them are good at setting traps.” Trevor answered. Jacob nodded. “Then why don’t we set up traps at all of the entrances and exits in King Aurillo’s castle. Whenever guards or sentries go out, they’ll be trapped or killed. That could help to gradually lessen their numbers. Then, when the initial attack is ready, we’ll have the entire elf archers positioned in the mountains nearby. Higher ground means higher advantage. Each archer unit will be accompanied by a swordsman to ensure the archer is safe. The ones with axes can chop down trees from where they are hidden, causing the trees to topple onto the Stellimian forces.” Jacob suggested. Trevor nodded. “We’ll just have to have King Logan approve of it.” Trevor said. “All right then. After dinner, why don’t we tell him the plan?” Jacob replied. “All right, sure. Those monsters will be surprised when their allies never show up.” Trevor said, smiling.

Chapter Thirteen

Elsewhere, Michael and Chris were bouncing on their bellies as the horses they were laid on galloped across the rocky mountain ranges. They were found by a band of Epalaychian thieves. They had been captured by the thugs and tied to the horses. Epalaychia was a country full of rocky, unstable mountains and hills. The mountains were rather easy to climb on foot, but on horseback it was more dangerous. Luckily, the horses in this country adapted to the craggy mountains and were nimble and agile on the rocks. The whole country was a mountain range. The Epalaychian people all had light skin, and a strange accent. They all slurred their l sounds and tended to make the ‘oi’ sound when there should just be an ‘i’ sound. “Hey boss, where are we takin’ these two again?” a thief asked. “Back to camp, of course. There they will be held prisoner by Mathias.” the thief leader replied. It was the third or fourth time the thieves had mentioned Mathias, but Michael and Chris didn’t know who it was. Later that day, they reached the thieves’ camp. Michael and Chris were pulled off of the horses and then put into stockades. “I’m going to go and get Mathias.” a thief said. A few moments later, he came back with Mathias. Mathias was a tall man. He had brown hair and a bushy beard. He had brown eyes and had a hammer in his hand. The hammer and axe were favored weapons of the Epalaychians. Mathias nodded. “All right. These two seem like good warriors. Good enough to go into the Melee Match.” Mathias said. “Tonight.” A cheer went up among the thieves. Melee Match was a favorite event in Epalaychia. Two strong warriors would go up against two other warriors. It was a team battle. The thieves knew Melee Match meant a good meal, a good fight, and a good night. “Who will they fight against?” asked a thief. “They will fight… Ike and… Lucas.” Mathias announced. A cheer went up. Lucas and Ike were two of the strongest warriors among the group of thieves. The thieves estimated it would be a quick fight. An hour later, a wooden fence went around a circular area. That was where the combat would take place. Michael chose a sword for his weapon. Chris chose a spear, although he wasn’t sure how to use it. “Just poke them really hard in the chest with the pointy end.” Michael explained. Chris nodded. They stepped out into the ring. Lucas and Ike emerged from the other end. Lucas had armed himself with a hammer, and Ike chose a two-handed broadsword, meaning it was very heavy and would have to be handled with two hands. Michael noticed that their heavier weapons meant more damage, but less speed. The spear and single-handed sword were much lighter and faster weapons. “Okay, if they swing at you, duck or jump back away from them. The spear has long range so you should be able to attack them without getting too close. I’ll handle the swordsman; you handle the one with the hammer. Got it?” asked Michael. “Um… sure.” Chris said. “Ready… and… begin!” Mathias’s shout rang across the field, marking the beginning of the match. The two Epalaychians raced forward, weapons brandished. Michael raced forward as well. He stepped aside Ike’s first sword swipe, a cleave that was going straight down. The heavy sword blade thudded into the dirt and got stuck in the ground. While he struggled to pry it out, Michael swung his sword at Ike’s chest. The flat of the blade knocked Ike back. The sudden impact finally freed the heavy broadsword from the ground. Ike fell on the ground and before he knew it, Michael’s blade had sunk into his chest. Ike’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he lay still. Chris, meanwhile, was trying to keep his distance from Lucas’s hammer. The butt of the hammer had already caught Chris on the head. Chris lunged forward with the spear, only to miss and fall on the ground. Lucas raised his hammer, only to have Michael’s blade parry it. Chris stood up and, not knowing what to do, threw the spear. The spear sank into Lucas’s throat and the large warrior let out an agonizing shriek before crumpling to the dirt. “Was I supposed to do that?” asked Chris. “The winners! Um…the prisoners!” Mathias said, not knowing their names. “Excuse me, Mathias. We’d like to challenge you to a battle. If we win, we go free. If we lose, then, well we’d be dead if we lost so…” Michael said. “You’d like to challenge me?” Mathias bellowed. Michael nodded. Mathias would have refused, seeing as Lucas and Ike were dead, but the other thieves cheered so much that he couldn’t back down. “I accept. We will begin the fight in five minutes.” Mathias said. Michael cleaned the sword he had and then sheathed it until the match began. Chris got a new weapon this time. It was a chain to whip enemies with. Mathias chose a mace instead of a hammer, since he knew that hammers were not effective on the two warriors. Mathias saw that the two of them were much smaller and that the irritating one was unsure of himself unless the other one told him what to do. Mathias figured he had the upper hand here. They all stepped into the ring and the fight began. Mathias instantly ran across the field towards the other two. Michael and Chris stayed where they were. Mathias brought his mace down to kill them, but they both stepped aside and the mace hit the ground. Michael stepped out to the side and hacked at Mathias, cutting the thief’s arm. Mathias turned to attack Michael, but Chris lashed his chain and the chain wrapped around Mathias’s legs. Chris pulled hard and tripped the thief. Michael raised his sword and brought it down, ending the battle suddenly. The thieves in the audience watched in disbelief as their leader was defeated. “We win, we go free.” Michael said. Originally, the thieves would kill the two warriors for killing their leader, but Epalaychians always stood true to their word, and they all stepped aside to allow the warriors to leave. Chris and Michael left with their weapons and their horses, south towards the border to Stellimia. Once the two figures were gone from the thieves’ sight, one turned to the rest. “Well, they’re free now, aren’t they? We’ve stuck to our word. Nothing is stopping us from killing them now.” a thief said.

…

The three monsters, after traveling through the very narrow countryside of Kentroland, reached Mistoria. They were planning on taking the princess to a castle on the westernmost side of the country. They’d keep her hidden in a dungeon there, and they already had an ‘in’ with the king there, so they would have no problem with the guards there. Unfortunately, they found a group of Yoho’s spies. If they were spotted, then Yoho would soon know that they had the princess. They snuck around the group of spies, hoping they would not be spotted.

Chapter Fourteen

Ryan fired another arrow and it struck into the center of the bulls-eye. “Amazing! You’re really good with that bow of yours.” Trey commented. “Thanks.” Ryan replied, loading another arrow. “Y’ knows, at the rate you’re recovering, you could leave tomorrow. Of course, Paula and I will pack some things for you for your trip.” Trey said. “That sounds great, but you two have been so kind to me, taking care of me and feeding me… I wish there was something I could do in return.” Ryan said. “No thanks is… wait, actually there is something I could use your help with.” Trey replied. “What is it?” asked Ryan. “Y’ sees, there’s been a bear ‘round these parts, and it’s been eatin’ all my sheep and goats. Do you think you could go and shoot it wi’ your bow and arrows?” Trey asked. “A bear?” asked Ryan. “A bear, I’m certain of it. I even seen it wi’ my own eyes. In fact, I even been near its cave in the woods. What d’you says you and I head down to the bear’s cave and kill it? It’d be mighty helpful.” Trey said. Ryan hesitated. “How big is the bear?” he asked. “Oh, about, well I’d say six feet tall!” Trey said, raising his arms to demonstrate its height. “All right, sure. Tomorrow morning, you and I can go into the woods and shoot the bear.” Ryan said. “WHY DO YOU TWO BE GOIN’ TO THE WOODS AND LOOTIN’ A HARE? THAT THERE’S NONSENSE!” shouted Paula, who had just come outside to see them. “No, Paula dear, we’re going to kill the bear.” Trey said into her ear. “OH! Y’ MEAN THE ONE THAT’S BEEN KILLING MY SHEEP AND GOATS AND SQUISHING MY CROPS UNDER ITS BIG FEET?!” she shouted in reply. “Yes.” Trey responded. She nodded. “DINNER IS READY!” she called as she went back inside. Ryan and Trey followed her inside to eat dinner.

…

The next morning, Trey grabbed a spear and Ryan grabbed his longbow and arrows. Trey said that if they needed to get to close quarters with the bear, a spear would be just the thing to hold it back. The plan was that Trey would keep the bear distracted with his spear while Ryan shot the beast. They rode on horses through the forest until they reached a clearing where several fallen trees were crossed over one another to form a teepee-like structure. “That’s the bear’s cave.” Trey said. “Watch out for bear cubs… if there’s a cub ‘round here, there’s bound to be the momma bear nearby.” Ryan nodded and went behind the bush he would be firing from. Trey walked cautiously towards the cave, spear pointed forward. Trey jabbed the end of his spear into the cave entrance, hoping to stick something. He pulled it back out, and then picked up a stone. He threw it inside and listened. He heard the echoing of the rock’s landing. He waited a few seconds, expecting to hear a bear growl. The growl never came. He signaled for Ryan to come forward. “Momma and the cubs aren’t home. Looks like they left hunting. So here’s what we’ll do. You go into the cave and when the bear’s come back, shoot them before they go inside. I’ll wait on the outside of the cave to be sure they don’t get away.” Trey said. “Okay.” Ryan replied, going into the cave. Trey waited outside, around the corner of the cave. Ryan sat in the smelly cave for a few hours. He had eaten lunch inside the cave, and decided he’d use his leftovers as bait. He hung it from the cave ceiling by a rope in hopes of creating a distraction for the bear while he shot it. Soon he heard a growling nearby. “Hey, the bear’s back.” Trey whispered into the cave. Ryan nodded and loaded an arrow onto his bow. He pulled the bowstring back and aimed towards the entrance. Soon he saw a six foot tall fuzzy brown figure in front of the cave. The bear growled and then dropped onto all fours, crawling inside the cave. It sniffed and looked up, spotting the meat that was hung there. The bear cocked its head, wondering how the meat had gotten there. Then it seemed to shrug as it went back on hind legs to reach the meat. The towering figure’s movement exposed its heart, and Ryan fired his arrow. The arrow sank into the bear’s chest and the beast stumbled backwards. It looked at the arrow sticking in its chest and fell down, dead. A bear cub was outside the cave, but Trey stabbed it with his spear. “All right, looks like that does it.” the farmer said. But then another growl rang throughout the forest. He turned and saw a seven foot tall bear with brown fur. “Well, looks like Papa Bear has finally shown up.” Trey said. Ryan rushed out of the cave and loaded an arrow. The bear dropped on all fours and began barreling towards Ryan. Another deadly area besides the heart was the eye. Ryan aimed at the eye, but waited for the bear to come to five feet away before firing. The arrow went into the bear’s eye, and the monster fell to its side and died. “Wahoo! I ain’t never seen shootin’ like that before!” Trey said, celebrating their victory.

…

Jacob and Trevor were crouched behind some large rocks next to some elves. They watched intently at the castle entrances, to see if the guards would trigger any of the traps the elves had just finished setting. A sentry that had his post at one entrance stepped farther out to get some more space. Then, he fell into the camouflaged hole that had been dug there. He fell right onto the spikes that jutted out from the bottom of the pit, killing him. Two other sentries saw what happened from their post along the wall above the pit, and raced down the stairs to investigate. They reached the entrance, stopping abruptly once they saw the pit. They turned, to see a blanket-like structure swing out from the wall towards them. The blanket was woven by the elves out of leaves and vines, and then covered with spikes. The spikes drove into the two guards as the blanket wall hit them. The dead bodies fell backwards, right into the pit. Several other sentries went down there. They removed the blanket to avoid being stabbed. They stepped around the pit, and looked down into it. Then, two elves, hidden behind nearby rocks, straightened the rope that they held. They swept it backwards, causing several more guards to tumble into the pit. The guards were not killed since the dead bodies cushioned their fall, but the elves stepped out from their hiding place and drove spears into the guards, killing them. The other guards that hadn’t been killed yet were fought by the elves and eventually killed. One elf had been wounded and the other now helped him back to their hiding place. A commotion went up throughout the castle. The two elves returned to Jacob and Trevor. All of the traps had been sprung. They were done for tonight.

…

“What are you doing traveling through Mistoria, Kristen?” a spy asked. The monsters had been spotted by the spies and were now being questioned. Luckily, the monsters had hidden their captive among the rocks so that the spies would not know. “Oh, well, we were actually just in Stellimia. We formed an alliance between the Stellimians and Yoho’s men. We were just searching for him now.” Kristen lied. The spy nodded. “He is currently hidden in the Wolf Woods, farther north, up by the river. We can take you there now if you’d like.” the spy said. “Oh, sure.” Kristen said. As the group of spies began heading north, Crowla quickly flew over to where they hid the princess so that they could bring her along, but hidden in the small wagon the spies had with them. But when she got there, she found nothing. Princess Allison had escaped.

…

Allison had sawed through her ropes with her knife, and once she was untied, she ripped the gag off and hurried off, in the direction of Vorgandal. But Yoho the Sorcerer had gone out for a stroll, and spotted her climbing amongst the rocks. “Stop!” he shouted. Yoho had short brown hair, a square jaw, fat lips, gleaming brown eyes, and a broad chest. He wore flowing black robes with red trim. Allison turned at the sound and saw him. “Oh, gosh…” she mumbled, climbing faster. Yoho, seeing she would not stop, flicked his hand at her and she vanished, she reappeared next to him, where he took a firm hold on her shoulder. She brandished her knife and sliced at him, making a cut in his right arm. He shook his head. “Now, is that any way to treat someone?” he said. He shouted a spell of some sort and the two of them vanished again. Later, Kristen and the spies arrived at the Wolf Woods. She saw Yoho sitting in a throne magically made out of vines and stumps. He had a chain in one hand. The chain went around the back of his throne where the rest of it was hidden. “Ah, daughter, you’ve arrived.” Yoho said. Kristen rolled her eyes. “Yes, father, I’m back. On my way here by the way, I finally made that alliance with the Stellimians.” she said. “Good. Good.” he replied, tugging on the end of the chain. Out from behind the throne came Allison. Her hands were bound to the other end of the chain. She held a silver tray in her hands that had several fruits on it. Yoho selected a fruit off of the tray. “Father! What… what is she doing here?!” shouted Kristen. “She is my new slave.” he said simply. “But dad, that’s the princess of Dresmund! The kingdom we’re trying to take over! Don’t you realize what this means!?” Kristen shouted. “Um… it means that she is a very… special, slave?” Yoho said unsurely. “No, you idiot! I’ve been dragging her through country after country trying to bring her here so we could ransom her and take Dresmund! I hired all of the Assassins Corps, fought warriors in every country, escaped a Stellimian dungeon, and, and now you’re just ruining that whole plan just to make her your play thing?!” Kristen shouted. “Wait… ransoming her in return for the kingdom of Dresmund… what a brilliant idea!” Yoho announced. Kristen smiled; glad she had earned her dad’s approval. “I am so glad that I thought of it!” he exclaimed. Her moment of glory was over. “What are you talking about? I thought of it. I even brought her here so we could do it!” Kristen shouted. “Now, Kristen, no taking credit for others’ ideas.” her dad said. “What? But, I… oh, forget it.” she said, shaking her head and walking away. One of Yoho’s spies, a goblin, scribbled out a ransom letter and then gave it to Yoho. Yoho sent the letter to Dresmund via teleportation spell. “Now, Kristen, Ashlyk, you two take the prisoner to that cage over there.” Yoho said, indicating a cage made of sticks and branches. Kristen and Ashlyk grabbed Allison’s arms, which were now bound with chains, and took her over to the cage. They shoved her inside and locked it. “And now, to muster our forces. We need to be ready to travel to Dresmund, so…” the sorcerer said. He struck the butt of his staff on a rock and a loud ring went out. Seconds later, hundreds of goblins and werewolves and young witches began coming out of caves and tree houses, gathering in the clearing, brandishing their weapons. “Let’s go!”

Chapter Fifteen

Michael gave Chris a boost so that he could reach the small tunnel they found in the cave ceiling. They had only been traveling a day when the Epalaychian party caught up with them, threatening to kill them. The thieves were now just outside the cave they had chased the two Vorgandals into. Chris grasped the walls of the tunnel and hoisted himself inside. Michael leaped up and followed him. The thieves raced inside the cave, to find nothing. Michael and Chris had released their horses. The horses were gone now, but they were well trained and knew that they were to immediately return to Gavainsilla. The two Vorgandals were now crawling their way through the tunnel. Soon, a light came into view as they neared the exit. Chris pulled himself out of the exit, which was on top of a rocky hill. Michael followed close after. There was no sign of the thieves. They climbed down the hill and continued towards Stellimia. “That… was… close…” Chris said, panting. “Well, we just got to keep going. I’d say we’re nearing the borders. We should be there by tomorrow.” said Michael.

…

“I PACKED YOU SOME MEALS! THEY SHOULD LAST YOU THROUGH AT LEAST A WEEK!” Paula shouted. “Thank you,” Ryan replied, taking the basket she held out. He set it in front of him. He was on his horse now, ready to leave. “Wait, just a moment!” Trey shouted. He ran out of the house and handed Ryan his bow. “I think you may want this, right?” the farmer said. Ryan nodded his thanks. He knew he had forgotten something. “All right, you be careful now. Don’t go talkin’ to any strange folk, y’ hear? Also, come back and visit sometime.” Trey said. Ryan smiled. “Thank you. I will.” he replied. “YOU’RE NAME AIN’T WILL! YOUR NAME’S RYAN!” Paula exclaimed. Ryan laughed. “I’m definitely going to miss that.” he said sarcastically. “All right, well, bye!” Trey said. Ryan turned his horse and galloped away. But he couldn’t help turning in his saddle and waving one last good-bye to the farmer and his wife.

…

The letter arrived on the floor of King Harvey’s throne room very suddenly. His secretary picked it up. “King Harvey!” he shouted. “Yes, yes, what is it?” the king said half-heartedly. “It’s a ransom letter from a sorcerer named Yoho…” the secretary replied. “Oh, really, people will claim anything these days…” King Harvey said dismissively. “It says here that he has your daughter and that he will continue to hold her prisoner until you fulfill his demands…ownership of the whole… kingdom.” the secretary stated. “That letter… my daughter really is being held for ransom? This is just… horrible.” the king said, burying his face in his hands. He sighed. “Get me a quill and paper… I’d… I’d like to write a letter.” “But, sire-” “Did you not read the letter? My daughter is being held ransom and they sent the ransom letter. Obviously they’re positive they won’t lose. This means the rescue party has failed. Now, get me that quill!”

…

“Now, let’s go.” Jacob whispered. The elf party moved out. They had decided that after several nights of enemies falling to their traps, they were ready for an initial attack. Jacob led a party of ten elves, all armed with bows and swords. King Logan was in this party. Trevor and his party of two hundred elves waited in the forest. Once the first party killed the sentries and secured the climbing ropes and ladders, Trevor’s party would climb over the wall and into the castle to attack. Jacob led his party over to a postern gate in the side of the castle wall. Logan fired an arrow into the guard at this gate. The guard fell and the elf party moved to the gate. They all formed a one by one line and went through the small gate. Jacob and Logan cautiously ascended up a flight of stairs leading up onto the wall, while the other elves stayed behind at the gate. Jacob slipped out two cords of rope and handed one to Logan. They both approached behind two guards side by side. Jacob quickly put the rope across the guard’s throat and pulled in opposite directions, constricting the guard’s air passage. Logan did the same to the other guard. The two guards passed out from lack of air. They weren’t dead, but unconscious. Jacob pulled a sword from one of the guard’s scabbards and threw it to the right, making a loud clattering noise on the wall’s stone foundation. Other guards nearby heard this and rushed towards the sound. Logan and Jacob retreated down the steps. Now all of the guards were distracted and away from their posts where Trevor and his elves would set up the ladders and ropes. While the guards weren’t looking, Jacob signaled for an elf to fire an arrow. The elf wrapped a rag soaked in oil around the tip of the arrow, lit the rag on fire, and then fired the flaming arrow from his bow. The arrow arced straight up and over the wall. None of the guards saw it, but Trevor, who was watching intently for it, saw it rise into the night sky and he signaled for his party of elves to move out. The elves inside the castle fired their arrows into the clustered group of remaining wall guards. The guards went down with quiet shrieks and choking noises as the flock of arrows impaled into their throats and chests. Trevor and his party were at least one hundred yards from the castle wall. The elves in his party had three scaling ladders with them, six elves carrying each one. Several other elves were pushing along their new siege weapon. Two wooden posts laid out horizontally on a wheeled platform were being pushed on by ten elves. On top of the wheeled platform was a wooden framework, like a cage but with a missing side. The missing side was on the back of it. Inside the framework was a five foot by five foot box attached to a rope. Three elves were on the wheeled platform, ready to pull on this rope, which would raise the box higher along the framework. The box would then open and ten elves would come out of the box. The box would then be lowered again so that ten more elves can go inside. The siege weapon was a bit like a half-built siege tower. It had wide gaps in the framework and the tower, instead of a ladder to climb up to the box, had a pulley system. It was believed that the pulleys would make it easier to lift the elves up to the wall. As the elves neared the wall, they raised their ladders. Several elves threw ropes up to the walls. Jacob’s party secured the ropes to the wall and even used some to secure the ladders to the wall. Elves began climbing up the ladders and ropes, up onto the wall. The elves inside the half-siege tower began pulling on the rope, raising the small room inside. Then, the elves inside the room pushed the door open and ran out onto the wall. “What next, Jacob?” asked Logan. “Now we need to secure the armory. If any more guards come out, they won’t be able to access their weapons. Then, we kill any enemy that bears a weapon. It is possible some of them keep their weapons in their rooms, so some may have a sword.” Jacob explained. A group of about twenty elves rushed down the stairs of the wall to secure the armory. Meanwhile, in his quarters, King Aurillo was looking out his window. He saw many ladders being put up against the wall and warriors climbing up the ladders and into his castle. His castle! He could not believe what he was seeing. He rushed out of his quarters and ran towards the nearest door, banging on it furiously. His son, Ian, threw the door open, half asleep and half annoyed at his sudden wake-up call. Ian had light brown hair and green eyes. He was tall, though a bit stout, like his father. “What?” he asked in an angry tone. “What? Oh, nothing much, just the castle is being invaded!” King Aurillo barked. The shout brought Ian to full attention. “I’ll alert the soldiers immediately!” Ian said, quickly saluting and rushing towards the stairs. King Aurillo went into his quarters and picked up his set of armor that he always kept with him. He shouted for his secretary and minutes later the secretary was helping the king into his armor. Once he was finished, he grabbed his sword. His sword was made out of bronze, as all of the Stellimian swords were, and was double-edged with a golden hilt and leather-bound handle. The butt of the sword was gold carved into the shape of a tiger’s head, Stellimia’s symbol. In forty minutes Ian had rounded up all of the castle’s soldiers. One hundred sixty two men were armed and ready for battle. They all stormed out into the courtyard, Aurillo and Ian at the front of the formation. “Front rank, shield wall formation!” Ian called. Instantly, twenty seven shields swung out into the front of the formation. “Second rank, pressing formation!” Ian shouted. Twenty seven men, who made up the second rank, pressed inwards towards the center of the formation, while the one on either end of the rank swung shields out to the side to cover the side of the formation. “Three and four, copy!” Ian yelled. The third and fourth ranks did the same as the second rank. “Five and six, ranged formation!” he called. The last two ranks took two steps back from the main formation. The fifth and sixth ranks were armed with bows, so in order to work with bows they needed space, which is why they stepped away. They charged out of the courtyard and into the main area, where they found one hundred eighty elves ready for them. The other twenty elves were guarding the armory. “Fire five and six!” Ian commanded. The rear ranks raised their bows and fired. Seventy four arrows flew into the air. “Counter fire!” Logan shouted. All of the elves raised their bows and let their arrows fly. The elves’ arrows were fired with deadly accuracy. King Aurillo watched in disbelief as every Stellimian arrow was knocked out of flight by the elven arrows, while any elven arrows that didn’t hit in mid-flight slammed into one of his men. Ian looked back to see nearly the whole fifth and sixth rank go down under the enemy fire. “Second rank, roof formation, three and four, copy!” Ian shouted to his troops. Eighty one shields were raised over the Stellimians’ heads to cover them from enemy arrows. “Elves surround!” Logan shouted. Elves! Aurillo thought. The elves spread out and went around the Stellimian formation, forming a circle around them. “Open fire, forward!” Logan shouted. The elves fired straight forward, causing arrows to go under the shield roof and into the unprotected sides of the enemies. At least fifty men died and thirty were wounded by the fire. Ian realized that he had only a small number of soldiers left. “Signal a flag of truce. I would like to speak to these elves.” King Aurillo said. “Truce flag, get it up.” Ian whispered to a soldier. Soon, a flag of truce went up. Ian walked up to Logan. “Why are you attacking us, elf?” Ian inquired. “Do not address me as ‘elf’. I am King Logan of the Elves and you shall call me so.” Logan said. Ian nodded. “Yes of course. Why have you come to attack us, King Logan of the Elves?” Ian asked, adding a hesitant bow afterward. “Because you Stellimians have taken our land. We were driven out when you Stellimians broke off from Vorgandal.” King Logan explained. “And, you would like it back, I assume?” Ian asked. Logan nodded. “Well, I’m sure my father wouldn’t mind signing something to grant you a portion of your land back…” “A portion? Ha! I do not want pieces of it. I want you Stellimians to give me all of my land back. You may keep your castle and a small amount of land outside your castle. We will allow you to go through our land, but not for hunting. If we find an armed Stellimian in that forest, we will strike him down with our arrows.” Logan said. Ian sighed. “I will consult my father about this.” he said, turning. He walked to his father and told him what Logan wanted. Moments later he returned. “My father, King Aurillo Jr. has agreed to compromise with you. You may have half of your land back, while the Stellimians keep the other half. Agreed?” the prince said, putting his hand out. “Agreed, but I would like to have possession of the eastern side of the country.” Logan said, quickly shaking Ian’s hand. “What? No! The Stellimians need that area to travel to Vorgandal and invade it!” Ian shouted. “Too late, you have already shaken hands on it.” Logan said. Ian opened his mouth to speak, only to find that he could not argue. He sighed. “Father won’t be happy about this.” he mumbled, walking away. Jacob and Trevor joined Logan. “It is done. We have our land back- or at least half of it- and your borders have been secured. The Stellimians should be of no issue to you now. Is there anything else we can do for you?” Logan asked. “Well, we were separated from our friends. Do you think you could take us to them?” asked Trevor. “Yes, of course. Where do you think they went?” Logan asked. “I don’t know.” Jacob replied.

Chapter Sixteen

Logan and the elves had just returned from the castle. They were in the forest now, in the elf camp. “Father!” shouted Lauren as she ran to Logan. “What is it?” he asked, concerned. “While you were away two weary travelers arrived and they are both bearing the same symbol that Jacob is.” she replied. Jacob’s eyes widened. “Where are they now?” he asked. “I showed them to some tents where they could rest.” she replied. He ran towards the tents, Trevor following him. They searched every tent until finally finding two tents where their friends were. Michael and Chris had finally made it back to Stellimia and were now each in a tent. “You made it back!” Trevor shouted. “Yes. We were captured by Epalaychian thieves. We fought for our freedom from them, and then went straight back here. I killed a thief with a spear.” Chris said proudly. But no one listened to him. They were already inquiring Michael about what had happened. Once they were done, Trevor asked Logan if the elves could prepare their things for immediate departure. Logan ordered some elves to pack the warriors’ belongings… and Chris’s too… and an hour later they were all saying their good-byes. “Thank you for helping our people.” Logan said. “I bid you farewell and good luck.” he said. “Thank you for helping us. You saved us from the poison, provided us with hospitality, and blocked the Stellimians from Vorgandal’s borders. We couldn’t possibly repay you. Thanks.” Trevor said. “All right, now let’s hit the road!” shouted Jacob. As they exited the forest, Jacob mumbled, “I can’t stand farewells.”

…

“What are we to do now, father?” Ian asked. “It’s so simple, Ian. The elves have taken the half of our country we need to travel through. So we’ll just go around their land. It will delay us a bit, but if we leave earlier than planned, we should still make it to Dresmund on time to help Yoho. Besides, it’s much easier this way. We can just travel through the open countryside of Carania and attack Dresmund from behind instead of dragging our armies through the crowded kingdoms of Vorgandal. If you think about it, they’ve done us a favor.” King Aurillo explained. “Ah, yes, I see it now. Brilliant idea, father. I’ll tell the soldiers that we are to leave tomorrow morning.” Ian said, turning to leave. Aurillo nodded. They couldn’t lose now. The next morning, all of the soldiers were rallied from their rooms in the castle and their homes in the towns and villages in Stellimia. They were all armed with bows and arrows, swords, shields, maces, axes, and spears. Stellimians loved carrying around every weapon possible to dominate enemies. They were all mounted on a horse or put into a horse-drawn wagon and they went out of the castle and began journeying south. At least one thousand Stellimian soldiers and archers were marching to Carania. They planned to chop down trees in Carania and use the lumber to make battering rams and catapults along the way. Ian and Aurillo were mounted on horses at the front of the army. Behind them were fifty ranks of heavily armed men. Each rank had twenty soldiers lined up in it. Once the Stellimians reached Dresmund, they planned to dismount their entire army and attack on foot. Stellimians disliked fighting on horseback, especially the archers. They traveled a full day until they finally crossed the Carania border and began to head east along the border. And the lone rider, armed with a longbow and a quiver of arrows, saw it all.

…

Ryan watched in disbelief as the one-thousand strong army marched by. He had concealed himself in the bushes. He recognized the tiger symbol as the Stellimian symbol. He also saw King Aurillo riding on a jet black stallion at the front of the large army, his sword unsheathed and raised just to show-off. What King Aurillo’s men didn’t know was that he had never used the sword, and never actually intended to. The army rode by on their horses within ten minutes. Once Ryan was sure they had gone past, he crawled out of the bushes and signaled for his horse to get up from its crouched position. Ryan remounted and rode north, towards the border of Stellimia. He figured that he would cross the border in less than a day, being a lone rider. That night he gratefully ate a delicious stew Paula had made for his trip. It was frozen, but after setting it in the fire for a few minutes it thawed out and became a delicious meal. He dipped pieces of garlic bread into the stew. The scent of beef, beans, carrots, and a savory broth rose from the bowl. Ryan sighed at the relief the meal gave his empty stomach. Once he was finished, he cleaned up the bowl, as it was the only one he had brought, and packed away his things. He whistled and his horse came seconds later from its grazing area a few feet away. Ryan remounted onto the horse and continued riding. He decided that now that he was full, he had the energy to ride a bit longer before finally resting. He rode at least a half mile more before dismounting and rolling out his bedroll. He dropped comfortably onto it and immediately fell asleep. He woke up in the middle of the night. It was very dark out, so Ryan decided a fire would provide enough light and warmth to go throughout the night. He built a fire and fell back asleep. Later, his horse started to loudly neigh, so he sat up and opened his eyes. It was morning now. The fire had been snuffed out by the cold wind. His horse was thrashing around. Ryan, finally awake, realized the horse was trying to warn him. He stood up and looked around. The area was very flat and open, so he had no trouble seeing for a long distance around him. Soon, he spotted a blur of motion to his left. He turned as he heard a low growl. A gray wolf was crouched a few feet away, its threatening eyes on him. Ryan slowly leaned down in an attempt to pick up his bow. His quiver was already strapped to his back. The wolf growled loudly when he made the movement, so he froze there, not daring to move. After a few moments he heard more growls. His horse began to move more alarmingly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw more wolves, all slightly smaller than the first wolf. Ryan slowly reached back towards his quiver. If he couldn’t shoot them with an arrow he could always stab them with one. Luckily, the wolves did not acknowledge the slow movement he made. He whistled a high pitch note and the horse stopped thrashing around. Then Ryan whistled at low pitch and the horse lowered its stance. The high whistle meant calm, and the low whistle meant defend. If any wolf got near the horse, the horse would kick it. Ryan slowly pulled an arrow out of the quiver and held its shaft, right above the feathered fletching. He got into a knife fighting stance. The wolves growled and began to edge closer. Ryan lowered his stance as the wolves got closer. The largest wolf saw the movement and pounced at it. Ryan couldn’t turn quickly enough to stab the wolf, but luckily his horse kicked it with its hind leg, knocking the wolf out of the air. The other wolves began charging and pouncing, having sensed that the battle had begun. Ryan stabbed one with the point of his arrow and pulled it back out of the wolf’s throat. His horse had kicked two of them. One bit him on the calf, drawing blood. He smacked the wolf away with the back of his hand before stabbing it. The other two wolves retreated a bit, seeing what damage had been done to their comrades. The two wolves crouched, growling in a low tone. Ryan faced them, poising his arrow’s point downward. The larger wolf was trying to kill Ryan’s horse, but the horse shooed it away with its front leg every time the wolf charged. He stabbed the wolves that his horse had kicked, now leaving the two small ones and the bigger one. He attempted to reach for his bow, but one of the wolves charged at him. He rolled out of the way, snatching up his bow at the same time. He hit the wolf with his bow, knocking it aside. Behind him, the other wolf was charging. He whirled around and caught it with the tip of the bow. The wolf retreated a few feet back before charging him again. This time he let the wolf get three feet from him. When it leaped to tackle him, he threw his right arm up, sticking the arrow into the wolf’s throat. The wolf’s dead body, which was still in motion from the leap, flew past him and landed unceremoniously on the ground. The other wolf ran away. He turned to see the larger wolf standing over the dead body of his horse. His mouth dropped open. How could this have happened? He loaded an arrow onto his bow, and before the wolf could look up from its new kill, it had an arrow through its stomach. Ryan sighed. It would be much harder to get around and carry his things now that his horse was dead. He took the saddle off of the horse along with all of his things. A few spare arrows and a roll from Paula’s pack had fallen out, and he now replaced them in their packs. He put the spare arrows in his quiver and slung the food pack across his other shoulder. He clipped a pack containing fire-making equipment in it onto his belt. These were the only things he really needed to survive, so he left the remaining things there. He walked about a half mile before finally reaching the borders to Stellimia. He crossed them with extreme caution, in case any Stellimian soldiers still roamed around here. He headed back towards where they had been attacked by the assassins, in hopes of finding his friends.

Chapter Seventeen

“Send this message to Amol. I think he needs to know about this.” Jean said to the messenger. The messenger nodded, tucking the message into his satchel and riding off. “I just don’t believe it.” Robert said, shaking his head. “It’s just impossible! How did they survive the poison knives?” Jean asked of no one of particular. “Well, those elves that attacked Aurillo’s kingdom the other night seemed pretty handy with magic. It is possible they cured the poison.” Robert said. “I suppose so. Do you have your crossbow ready?” Jean asked. Robert nodded, raising the mace crossbow. Jean pulled out several knives, with blades shining. “Are those new, Jeanvic?” asked Robert. Jean looked at Robert with narrowed eyes, as he hated when people called him by his actual name. “Yes. Brand new. I bought them last week in Cottonia. There is something special about these knives though.” he said. He turned the knife upside down so that the butt of it was pointing up. He flipped the butt out, which was connected by a small hinge. “Inside the handle is acid. It will burn through flesh, glass, metal, wood, and leather. Handy, isn’t it?” he asked, flipping it shut again. “How does it not melt through the knife handle though?” Robert asked. “Well, you see, the handle is- oh! Here he comes! Get down and be quiet.” Jean said, crouching behind some rocks. Robert got down next to him. They watched as Ryan shuffled by, horseless. “Looks like our wolves did what we wanted.” Robert said, nodding. “Quiet.” Jean responded. Ryan went past them, and then they quickly climbed down. “You just didn’t want to die, eh? How are you feeling about it now?” Robert called as they entered the path. Ryan turned, loading an arrow. “Nice, a ‘catch phrase’.” Jean said sarcastically to Robert. Robert shrugged. Their side conversation gave Ryan the opportunity to fire his arrow. The assassins leaped aside to avoid the arrow. The arrow’s shaft skimmed Robert’s arm, leaving a scratch. Robert grimaced at the pain, and then, seeking revenge, aimed his crossbow at Ryan. Ryan fired another arrow that lodged into one of the chain links on the crossbow. Robert fired and the mace launched out, but was caught on the arrow. It stopped short and thudded into the dirt. Robert struggled to pull it out. Jean rolled his eyes at Robert’s thoughtless rage. He unsheathed a dagger and charged towards Ryan. But Ryan fell before he could reach him. Ryan was sprawled on the ground, unconscious, at the feet of Demitri, who held a club in one hand. “Demitri.” Jean mumbled angrily. He and Robert constantly competed with Demitri. It seemed that Demitri had won once again. Demitri bent down and began tying Ryan’s hands with rope. “What are you doing, Demitri? We’re supposed to kill him!” Jean shouted. “You’re wrong this time, Jeanvic. We need to know how many people are actually coming to rescue this princess Allison. Don’t you think this person would know? Exactly, that is why I’m taking him prisoner.” Demitri said, not giving Jean a chance to answer. Robert stepped over to join Jean after finally reloading his crossbow. “I thought you were supposed to be in Gavainsilla freeing the goblin prisoners.” Jean said, challenging him. “I already did. When I was done, I felt like I haven’t beaten you at anything in a while, so I figured I’d come and see how you’re doing.” Demitri taunted. Robert clenched his fists. “Listen, we’re not going to take that from you!” Robert shouted, stepping forward. Jean blocked his path. “Oh, really? That’s funny considering you have been for ten years now.” Demitri teased. Robert grunted angrily through clenched teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to take this prisoner to Amol.” Demitri said, turning away. He threw Ryan onto the back of his horse, climbed into the saddle, and galloped off. “I can’t stand him.” Robert said. “Neither can I, but remember, he is part of the corps. We need to work with him, no matter how much the both of us would like to pummel his little smug face. Let’s go.” Jean replied, turning in the opposite direction as Demitri. Robert hesitated before following the small dark-skinned assassin back into the mountainous terrain of Stellimia.

…

Lauren watched intently at the dirt path. She was waiting for the deer to come back into sight. She had her bow and quiver of arrows with her. She saw the head of the deer peek out from behind a large boulder. Its head rose up and snapped to the right. Lauren recognized this movement. It meant that something else in the area had frightened it, possibly a predator. She looked at where the deer was looking and saw a brown horse ride by. A man with a strange looking crossbow and several knives was on the horse. He wore glasses and had curly dark hair. On the back of his horse was another figure. It had red hair, and wore a Gavainsilla archer uniform. He also had a dark blue cloak and a quiver of arrows slung across his shoulder. His hands were tied behind his back. Lauren waited for the horse to gallop out of sight before running back to the elf camp. “Father!” she shouted as she neared Logan’s tent. He came out of it, a concerned look on his face. “What is it?” he asked. “I was out hunting and I saw a man with a bizarre crossbow, glasses, and curly black hair. On the back of his horse was a Gavainsilla archer with red hair, and he was tied up. He seemed a bit short. I think it might be one of Jacob’s friends.” she replied. Logan nodded. “Then we must ride out after Jacob and tell him.” he said. “I will get my horse. You wait at the edge of the woods.” Logan said, walking towards the stables. Soon the two of them were at the edge of the woods, ready to ride out. He turned to Maria, his secretary, who had followed him there. She was short with black hair and light brown skin. “You’re in charge until I return, Maria.” he told her. Maria nodded understanding. Logan and his daughter set out on their horses at a fast gallop. Jacob had left that morning, so he figured that if they went fast enough they could catch him in a short amount of time. They rode to the clearing where they had found Jacob and Trevor. Logan found tracks on the ground. Their friends had been there. He followed the tracks. It was late at night when he spotted a campfire up ahead. The two elves galloped towards the campfire. They saw Chris, Michael, Jacob, and Trevor gathered around the fire. Chris was telling really bad jokes while the other three ate and talked about their adventures. They stopped when they heard the galloping of hooves. Michael turned to see Logan and Lauren standing over him. The two elves dismounted. “King Logan, Princess, Lauren, what are the two of you doing here?” asked Jacob. “Oh, sorry, it’s just that… we didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” “Hello, friends. I have news that will help you find your friend.” Logan replied. “Really? What is it?” asked Chris. “I saw him on the back of a horse. A man in a brown vest had captured him. The man also had glasses, curly black hair, and a weird crossbow.” Lauren said, describing what she saw. “What was strange about it?” asked Michael. “I wasn’t close enough to see it clearly, but I think it had a mace clipped onto it.” she responded. “That sounds like Demitri.” Trevor said. “He is an assassin for the Assassins Corps.” “He will probably take Ryan back to the assassin camp.” Jacob said. “Well, we’d like to help you rescue him.” Logan offered. “I’m sorry, King Logan, but you have helped us enough already. We couldn’t ask you to do this.” Jacob replied. “We are friends, Sir Jacob. We are not simply people that pay each other through favors. Friends help friends no matter what, Sir Jacob, and that is what the elves, as your friends, wish to do.” Logan said. “That and sneaking into a camp full of deadly assassins is no easy feat. We’d need a lot of people to get in there.” Michael said. “Who said anything about sneaking in?” asked Logan, grinning.

Chapter Eighteen

“There are only four other rescuers. No others.” Ryan responded to Amol’s question. Amol put down the club he had been hitting Ryan with. “Now you see how easy that was?” he said, turning to Demitri. “We don’t need him anymore. Kill him.” Then he walked out of the tent. Demitri drew a dagger and walked towards Ryan. He was about to stab Ryan when Amol rushed back in. “Demitri, get your weapons, a scout has reported that elves have breached the northwest perimeter! Hurry!” he shouted running back out. Demitri sheathed his dagger, grabbed his crossbow and ran out. Ryan, now that he was alone, made his move to escape. He extended his leg for an arrow from his quiver. He was tied to a chair so he had to use his legs. He kicked one out and then clamped it between his legs. He raised his legs and leaned forward. He clamped the arrow shaft in his teeth and with drew. The, using his mouth, he set the arrow on the seat of the chair next to his left leg. He finally grabbed it in his hand and began sawing. Outside, twenty two assassins and nineteen assassin trainees were armed with an arsenal of weapons. They stood at the barricade they had set up behind the damaged northwest gate. The elves behind it were slamming at it with tree trunk battering rams. The barricade shook several times at the impact. Jacob was helping push the half-siege tower that the elves had made it. The plan was to distract the assassins at the northwest gate while they used the siege tower to enter through the southwest wall. Finally, they had set up the siege tower up against the wall. Jacob and Michael climbed into the tower and got inside the box that would be lifted. The elves heaved on the rope to hoist the two Gavainsilla warriors and ten elves inside the box up the tower. They finally reached the top and the door on the box was opened. The twelve warriors poured forth from the box and onto the wall of the assassin camp. The assassin camp was made up of many tents, but had a wooden wall with two gates surrounding it to keep out any unwanted visitors. They hurried down a flight of stairs and onto the ground. Behind them, Trevor was leading another group of elves up the siege tower and onto the wall. Jacob looked around. “Where do you think they’re holding Ryan?” he asked. “How about over there?” suggested Michael, who was pointing at a nearby tent. Ryan emerged from the tent. “Ryan!” Jacob said happily. “Quiet, do you want the assassins to hear us?” Michael warned. “We already did.” a voice said. They turned to see Amol standing at the top of another flight of stairs. He had a sword in his hand and a mace crossbow slung across his back. At the other end of the camp, there was a loud crack as the battering rams shattered the barricade to splinters. The assassins began firing crossbows and recurve bows, throwing knives and daggers, lashing forward with whips and chains, attempting to kill the oncoming enemy. Amol watched in disbelief as a flock of arrows flew through the doorway, impaling themselves into his assassins and their trainees. Several assassins ducked for cover from the arrows. Amol clenched his fists and raced forward down the steps, wildly swinging his sword. Several elves ran to intercept him, but he knocked them away with ease. Demitri, Jean, and Robert ran to assist him in battle. Soon Jacob and Robert were dueling with their swords, Trevor was dodging Demitri’s mace crossbow, Michael and Jean were fighting with knives, and Ryan was firing arrows at the raging Amol. The elves at the gate, having killed the remaining assassins, rushed to fight with them. Within minutes, the four assassins were surrounded. “Surrender, Amol. Break your alliance with the monsters and we will allow you to live.” Logan said. Amol smiled. “I’m in it for the money, elf. If you’d like, I can say I killed all of you and yet didn’t. Just get out of my camp and leave the Assassins Corps alone.” Amol announced. Logan nodded. “Elves, we have won. Let’s go.” Logan said. The elf army left the camp slowly in a large mass. “Amol, we can’t lie to the monsters! They have unthinkable powers.” Jean advised. “That is why I lied to the elves and in no way am I even thinking of lying to the monsters, Jean.” he replied. “Are there any more trainees?” he asked. “Some were deployed with their masters to see what the field is like.” Robert answered. “Promote them all to full assassin; we need replacements for the ones we lost. Also, round up the assassins.” he demanded. “Why, Amol?” asked Robert. “Because, now the assassins will form their own rank and join the monsters and Stellimians in battle to take Dresmund.”

…

“And you killed the wolf with just the arrow? You didn’t use the bow?” asked Chris, astonished at Ryan’s story. Ryan shook his head. “Amazing.” Chris breathed. They had left the elven camp for the last time earlier that day. It was close to evening now. They had decided to make camp for the night. “You know,” Jacob said with his mouth full, “this Paula you talk about is good with cooking.” He gulped the stew gratefully. “I still can’t believe you shot two bears. You know, they say you shouldn’t shoot a bear.” Michael commented. “Well, they also say you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full, but hey, we’re all doing that right now.” Ryan joked. They all laughed at his joke and then cleaned up their things. They rolled out their bedrolls and laid on them. “Hey, do any of you remember which direction we were going in?” asked Trevor. “Of course, we were going west to Mistoria.” Jacob replied. “But does any of us know which direction is west right now?” asked Trevor. “Well, if you don’t know, you could always look at the North Star.” Ryan said. “The what?” replied Trevor. “The North Star. The North Star is always in the north. So if we face the North Star and then turn in the direction west would be, we’ll know which way is west.” Ryan answered. “It amazes me what people will believe these days.” Trevor said, rolling over on his side. Ryan rolled his eyes at him before closing his eyes and going to sleep. That morning, they continued west towards Mistoria.

Chapter Nineteen

Sir Maneno smiled at his opponent. “Are you ready?” he asked. Princess Morgan, dressed in a sentry uniform, nodded. It was eight days since she last went out with Sir Shipp on the sentry shifts. She had been challenged by Maneno to a game of Skipper. Sir Shipp laid the shield in the center of the courtyard. The princess and the sentry commandant walked to opposite ends of the courtyard. “All right, here are the rules. You can’t land your rock in the shield at any time, or you automatically lose. After five turns, we will measure the distance of the rocks from the shield. The closest rock wins. No underhand tosses.” Sir Shipp explained. He stepped back so he could referee the game. “As always, ladies first.” Morgan tightened her grip on the stone. She threw it down hard at the ground three feet in front of her. The rock bounced once, high up. It landed six feet from the shield and four feet from Morgan. “Go Morgan!” shouted her brother, Jake. He had been invited to watch the game, and he now sat in a wooden chair along the edge of the courtyard. Maneno produced a round stone from his pocket and threw it one foot from himself. The rock, having a round shape, bounced forward five times, going one more foot with each bounce. It landed four feet from the shield and six feet away from Maneno. Morgan was surprised at his throw. “Your turn, princess.” Sir Shipp reminded. Morgan nodded and walked over to her flat rock. She picked it up and then threw it at a sideways angle. It bounced awkwardly on the narrow edge, causing it top fly three feet forward and land one foot from the shield. “Sir Shipp… is… is she allowed to do that?” Sir Maneno asked. “I didn’t say she couldn’t at the beginning of the game, so I will allow it.” Sir Shipp replied. Maneno nodded. He grabbed his round stone and threw it two feet in front of him. It bounced another two feet, and then bounced over the shield, landing one foot from the shield on the other side, next to Morgan’s rock. “The game is tied. Three throws remain for each of you. Because of how close they are, the next throw must be away from the shield.” Sir Shipp announced. Morgan threw her rock one foot in front of her so that it would not bounce too far from the shield. It bounced one more foot and then stopped three feet from the shield. Sir Maneno threw his rock one foot as well, but his bounced twice. It landed about six inches farther than Morgan’s rock. “The next throw must be towards the shield. It is the princess’s turn.” Sir Shipp declared. Morgan threw her rock in a sideways angle again, causing it to skip along the grass diagonally to the shield. It landed a foot from the shield on the shield’s left side. Maneno tried throwing his rock similarly, but because of the different shape it didn’t bounce as far and fell three feet short of Morgan’s rock. “This is the final turn. The closest player wins.” Sir Shipp reminded. Morgan lifted her rock off the ground and dropped it straight down. The rock bounced a few inches forward and stopped two inches from the shield. Maneno stared blankly at it. “She finds a lot of loop holes, doesn’t she Sir Shipp?” he said. Sir Shipp nodded, smiling. Maneno picked up his rock and tried dropping it like she did. Instead, because of its round shape, the stone bounced forward and landed into the shield. Maneno shook his head. “Well, it was a good game, princess.” he said, shaking her hand. He placed the stone in his pocket. “Why put it in your pocket? It belongs on the ground.” Morgan said. “No, because this… is my lucky rock. Never lost a game with it… until tonight.” he replied, walking away. Morgan’s eyes widened as she realized he had been cheating. “He was cheating, Sir Shipp!” she shouted. “It doesn’t matter, you still won. Besides, luck is more of a superstition than an actual thing. There was probably nothing lucky about that rock at all.” Sir Shipp explained. She nodded. “So that shooting star that I saw… it won’t really grant me luck?” she asked. “No, unless of course, you believe it will. If you believe something will happen, and then do things to help it happen or at least help yourself continue to believe it will, it most likely will.” the sentry said. He yawned and stretched his arm, as the other was still bandaged from the injury he received from Demitri’s arrow. “Well, our shift is over. Let’s get to bed.”

…

“Finally! After a week and three days of traveling we finally made it to Mistoria!” Trevor shouted. “I’m…really…tired.” Ryan panted. “We all are. But look on the bright side, we’ve made it. Now we just need to follow the tracks and rescue the princess.” Michael declared. “Great…but can we…rest…first!?” Ryan asked. Michael nodded. “I don’t see why not. We’ve been traveling non-stop all day and all of last night. Let’s set up camp.” he responded. Chris and Jacob pitched the tent while Trevor started a fire. Michael and Ryan rolled out the bedrolls and made some coffee, as well as heating up some of Paula’s meals. They ate generously, and would’ve eaten more if Chris hadn’t reminded them they would need plenty more for the return journey, as well as extra rations for the princess. They all agreed and cleaned up their dishes. They laid on their bedrolls for a while before finally dozing off. Early the next morning, Ryan woke up, rising from his bedroll. The others were still asleep. He looked around. It was very foggy. He worked on setting a fire, but found that last night’s fire didn’t leave enough fuel for another one. Ryan tried using flint and steal, but with the fog found it difficult. He gave up on a fire and grabbed his bow. He slung the quiver across his back and headed out. He was planning on scouting the camp perimeter and hopefully finding some breakfast to shoot, preferably rabbit. He investigated the ground. The whole ground was littered with hundreds of tracks, some overlapping others. They were all headed in generally the same direction. He recognized some tracks as human, and others as goblin, but most of the footprints were nothing he had ever seen before. He went back to camp. The others were awake now, and trying to make a fire. A small glint of sunlight shone through the fog and reflected off of the steel Jacob held. Within seconds a small fire had started. They threw more kindling and fuel on it and soon it shone with a brilliant light. They could now see through the fog more clearly. “Good morning, Ryan. Catch anything?” asked Chris. “Nah. But I did find several tracks on the ground. They’re going in the opposite direction as us.” Ryan reported. “Maybe the monsters brought the princess somewhere else.” Trevor suggested. “Impossible. There were hundreds of them. Hundreds of tracks. My guess is that it is an army.” Ryan replied. “Most likely. What tracks were there?” asked Jacob. “Some were human, others were goblin. There were several more, but they were nothing I had seen before.” Ryan answered. “An army of humans and monsters? Sounds like Stellimians. Is it possible they set up a rendezvous point here in Mistoria?” asked Michael. Ryan nodded. “Then where do we go? Do we follow the army, or keep going where we think the princess could be?” asked Jacob. “Well an army would be going into battle. They wouldn’t take a prisoner with them. They probably left Princess Allison at a camp somewhere in the country, along with a few guards.” Michael answered. “So we continue going west?” Jacob inquired. “Yes. Our mission is to rescue the princess. Besides, we’re more lightly equipped. If we rescue the princess soon, we’ll be able to travel faster than that whole army and hopefully warn the nine kingdoms of Vorgandal.” Michael explained. The rest of them nodded in agreement. “But what if we don’t rescue the princess in time?” asked Chris. Michael looked at him crossly. “We will never allow that to happen.”

Chapter Twenty

The messenger dropped to the ground, dying and yelling in horror and agony as the acidic liquid melted through his flesh, revealing his skull, which was now tinted a dull green color from the magic spell. Yoho pulled the message from the poor messenger’s satchel. It was wrapped in a purple ribbon. He unwrapped it and rolled the message out. He read it quickly. He smiled. “Oh, this is perfect.” he said to himself. He turned to face his army. “Men!” he shouted. “And monsters…we’ve finally done it! Pack your things, we’re traveling double time! Now!” he commanded loudly. His army was sent into a panicked rush as they prepared to leave their new camp. Yoho looked at the message and smiled once more. Then, he smelled a foul stench of burning flesh. He looked at the dead messenger on the ground. “And someone, get rid of this thing.” he demanded, kicking the corpse in the ribs.

…

The group had packed up their things and was now heading west again. “Where do you think their camp would be?” Trevor asked. “Well, to make it harder for rescuers they would most likely take her to a camp far to the western border of the country.” replied Ryan. “So, we just keep going west?” asked Trevor. “If we want to eventually find it, yes.” Ryan replied, studying the ground for tracks. “Why don’t we just ask some people in a few towns if they’ve noticed any monsters in a certain area? It will help us find the camp faster.” suggested Michael. “Good idea. The first town we come to, we’ll ask around.” Ryan replied. “What are you looking at?” asked Jacob, looking over Ryan’s shoulder at the ground. “Well, earlier I found a knife lying here. It was a Dresmund knife. My guess is that the princess dropped it to try and leave a clue for us. I’m looking to see if she has left anything else. Also, these monster tracks are quite interesting. Some of these are huge. Some are extremely small. I’ve been sketching some of them and trying to make guesses as to what they are.” Ryan answered. Jacob nodded. “Well, that one looks like a half-dog half-human footprint.” suggested Jacob. “The soldier that was leading the princess’s carriage through the Crooked Forest said that there were rumors of werewolves there. Maybe it is a werewolf track.” Chris supplied. “It seems possible. I mean, if goblins exist, why not werewolves?” Ryan agreed. He drew a picture of the footprint in his notepad and then rose to his feet. He put away his notepad. “Michael, do you have a map of the region?” asked Ryan. “No, I’ll buy one in the next town though.” Michael replied. “Why do we need a map?” “Well a map would help us find a town, now wouldn’t it?” Ryan replied. “There is a tall tree over there. If one of us was to climb it and get a view of our surroundings, we could spot the nearest town.” suggested Trevor. “All right then, who here is the lightest and smallest?” Michael asked. “Trevor is too heavy and I’m too big.” Jacob said. “So it’s down to me, Chris, and Ryan.” Michael confirmed. “Which one of us is shortest?” asked Chris. “I’m the shortest, but I’ve never climbed a tree before. It should be someone with experience.” Michael replied. “I climb trees all the time.” Ryan supplied. “Yes, but I’m the lightest and although I don’t climb trees all of the time, I’ve climbed a good amount of trees in my lifetime.” Chris argued. “All in favor of Chris climbing say I. I! Motion carried.” Michael said quickly. They traveled to the tree. It was a large oak tree with hundreds of large branches. It was forty feet tall. “All right, you should only have to climb about halfway up. Find a good area where you can see clearly to the east. Look for any towns or villages.” Jacob commanded. Chris shinnied his way up the trunk until, about seven feet up the trunk, he grabbed onto the lowest branch. He hoisted the rest of his body onto the large lower branch and then reached up for the next one. For five minutes he continued this pattern, until he reached the thinner branches. At this point he began using the branches only to hold his hands and feet, never anything more. “You’re about fifteen feet up, keep going!” called Trevor. Chris stumbled on a branch, nearly falling. Another one snapped under his foot and he fell about two feet before quickly grabbing another branch. He continued up the tree and soon saw a clear space for him to look through. He climbed up higher so he would be at eye level with the opening and gazed through it. He could make out a small speck on the horizon, which he guessed to be a town. He began to carefully descend back down. He reached the lowest branch, but, not realizing it, he put his foot down for another foothold only to plummet the last seven feet onto the ground. He stood up, rubbing his head. “Ouch!” he exclaimed. “Well, did you see anything?” asked Jacob. “Again, ouch! And yes, I’m fine, thank you for asking. I saw a small speck on the horizon. I’m guessing it is a town.” informed Chris. “Good! Then we’ll head there.” Michael stated. The group began to ride in that direction again, Chris still rubbing his head from the fall. They reached the town late in the afternoon. Michael purchased a map. They all split up and agreed to meet back in the town square at night. They traveled on the cobblestone streets, asking people in different parts of town if they had heard or seen anything. When they met back up, they reported their findings. “One man said that he had seen a goblin camp south of here, but then again he was also telling me that the broom he was holding was his uncle, so he’s probably not the best resource.” Jacob reported. “Everyone thought I was crazy, and one woman hit me with a stick.” Chris said, a bruise on his cheek. “One family said that a werewolf pack was seen raiding a town farther north.” Trevor supplied. “No one answered me. They thought I was trying to joke with them.” said Ryan. “I didn’t find anything either. It seems that Trevor has found our only lead. There are two towns north of here, according to the map. Which one should we search first?” asked Michael, studying the map. “I think we should search the one closer to it. It is more likely that this town would hear news about a closer town than a farther one.” Jacob replied. Everyone nodded in agreement. “All right, now why don’t we find an inn and rest? We can leave tomorrow morning.” Ryan suggested. “Good idea.” Trevor agreed, stretching his arms. They quickly found an inn, paid for their rooms and rested for tomorrow’s journey.

…

The next morning they left the inn after eating breakfast. They set out north to the closer town, which was called Goldfield because of the fields of wheat that were grown there. They reached the town by noon. They began to ask people about raids. Many people ignored them or told them there were no raids there. A few of them said that packs of wolves would sometimes kill their sheep and on occasion kill people. “Do you suppose they could be…werewolves?” asked Trevor. “It is possible; there are many legends of werewolves in Mistoria.” one man said. “But if you are in to that kind of superstitious hogwash, there is only one man that will be able to answer your questions. His name is Rick, but everyone calls him Crazy Rick. He lives on the corner across from the stables. He has a purple lantern hanging next to his door. I don’t know how the flame turns purple, probably some alchemist formula. He does study alchemy, after all. Anyways, you won’t be able to miss it.” the man replied. “Thanks.” Trevor said, walking away. “Okay, so apparently a man named Crazy Rick lives here and he seems to know a lot about monsters and magic. So let’s go see him.” Trevor reported to his friends. They followed him to the man’s house. The windows were all smashed except for one in the top left corner. The door was painted a green color. A purple lantern hung by a hook next to the door. Dead plants were in the garden, but the lawn was in perfect condition with very healthy grass and flowers. Jacob knocked on the door. “Um, sorry, but Rick isn’t home right now! I am his maid and I am the only one here! Come back later and he probably still won’t be here!” a high pitched voice shrieked. It was obvious from the tone of the voice that it was really just Rick pretending not to be home. Jacob banged on the door again. “All right, all right, I’m coming!” a voice shouted. The sound of a dozen locks being unlocked came from the other side of the door. The door swung open. A tall man with unruly red hair stood at the door. He had yellowed teeth and one blue eye and one brown eye. “Who are you and what do you want?” he demanded. “We want to speak with you. We heard that you know a lot about monsters and magic and we were wondering if you could answer a few questions for us.” Jacob answered. “Oh! Well, it is always nice to meet people with similar interests, yes it is indeed! Come in!” Rick said, going back inside. Once everyone was inside, he locked several locks on the door and then pushed a couch up against it. “Um…” Chris said, confused. “Oh, sorry, just better safe than sorry you know. I never know when monsters or sorcerers or angry villagers might come to my house, so…” Rick explained. “Oh, right, absolutely genius. I’ll be sure to do the same thing when I get home.” Chris said sarcastically. “Well good. It is always a pleasure for me to help and teach others how to keep out monsters, yes it is indeed.” Rick said, not sensing the sarcasm. Rick’s house had a large pillar in the center, with four rooms surrounding it. There was the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and the main entrance area, where they now were. A closet door was in the main entrance room. Purple lanterns all hung from the ceiling along with golden medallions, garlic cloves, and strange looking pebbles. “Now, what questions do you have for me?” Rick said, pulling up a chair. The other five sat down as well. “Have you seen any werewolves running through the town at night?” asked Jacob. “Oh, yes, and very large werewolves at that.” Rick replied. “Which direction were they headed in?” asked Jacob. “They were headed farther north, towards the forest where I figure they live.” Rick replied. “Well, thank you for answering. We’ll just be going now.” Jacob said, standing up. “Oh, wait! Sit down, sit down, there is something I want you to see.” Rick said, rushing to another door. Jacob sat back down reluctantly. Rick went into the closet and came back out holding a lantern with a yellow glow. “In here is my most prized possession.” Rick explained. “It is a fairy.” he said. The five of them took a closer look and saw a small humanoid creature. It wore a gown made out of leaves and vines. It had long, dark blonde hair and silver wings. It glowed with yellow light. “A fairy? Amazing.” said Chris admirably. Rick nodded. “I’ll make some coffee. You five can look at the fairy while I do.” Rick offered, walking into the kitchen. “I wonder if it talks.” Trevor stated. “Of course I can talk you nut job! Now can you get me out of here?” the fairy shouted. “Whoa! It can talk!” Trevor said. “Oh, and you can hear! Good! Now listen. That crazy guy captured me from my home. I need to get back home. Can you help me get out?” the fairy asked. “Well, with an attitude like that…” Trevor began. “Oh, come on, Trevor! Let’s help out this poor thing!” Chris interrupted. “Oh, fine.” Trevor said. “Hey, what’s your name?” asked Michael. “I’m Erin, the fairy. Everyone says I’m a bother and that I insult people a lot. Can you believe that?” Erin replied. “No, really? Anyone who thinks that must be crazy.” Michael said sarcastically. “I know, right?” Erin said, ignoring the sarcasm. “It amazes me how many people here don’t understand sarcasm.” Trevor said. “I’m back with coffee.” Rick said, entering the room. He poured five cups and gave it to them. “Aren’t you going to have any?” Ryan asked. “No, I had some earlier.” replied Rick. They all took sips of the coffee. Ryan passed out with the first sip. “Ryan, are you o-” Jacob dropped to the ground before he could finish. “Wait, what’s-” Then the other three fell asleep too.

…

When they woke up they were all tied to their chairs. They were still in Rick’s house. “Where’s…where’s Rick?” asked Ryan. “Over here!” Rick called. He was standing by the door, smiling. “What happened?” asked Michael. “That coffee I gave you was drugged! I heard you talking about helping my fairy escape. I can’t let you do that!” Rick shouted. He laughed and fell on the ground, spinning in circles. “Okay, so he really is insane.” Jacob said. “Uh, why else would I want to get the heck out of here?!” shouted Erin. Rick stopped spinning, stood up, and went upstairs. “Can’t fairies use magic?” asked Trevor. “Yes, but there are a few things that counteract fairy magic. They are glass and leather. That is what this lantern is made of.” Erin said. “All right, so we can’t use magic to escape. How about our weapons?” asked Trevor. “I can’t reach my arrows.” Ryan said. “I don’t have enough space to draw my sword.” Michael said. “I know what to do. I’ve got a knife in my back pocket. I’m going to try to get my chair over to yours and you pull the knife out and use it to saw through the ropes.” Jacob explained. He scooted his chair back to Trevor’s chair. Trevor grabbed the knife and began cutting. Once he was done, he cut everyone else free and let Erin out of the lantern. Rick came back down the stairs. “What? You escaped!?” he exclaimed. He began growling and shouting. His blue eye twitched several times. After a while he began laughing loudly and his whole body began shaking wildly. He pulled a lantern down from the ceiling and hurled it at Ryan. Ryan ducked and the lantern shattered. The purple flame set the wooden pillar on fire. “Don’t breathe in the fire’s smoke! That is what made him go insane!” Erin warned. They all held their breath and made their way to the door. Trevor found an axe by the door and used it to smash the locks. He pushed the door open and everyone rushed out. He slammed the door shut on Rick and propped the axe up against the door. Rick pounded on the door but couldn’t get out. The next morning, several people found Rick laughing to himself and pounding his head on the floor. They dragged him away to the local prison so he wouldn’t hurt anyone. By that time the five warriors and the fairy had fled the town, now traveling north.

Chapter Twenty One

“What do you suppose those things are?” asked Jacob, squinting at the figures. They had traveled a good way north, and now saw a group of figures a few hundred yards away. “I don’t know. But we should proceed with caution, we don’t know if they’re enemies.” Michael said, drawing his sword. Ryan loaded an arrow on his bow. They began walking north again, towards the group of figures. “Those look like… goblins!” Ryan shouted. In the distance, they saw the figures turn toward them. Several shrieks went up and jagged swords were drawn from the goblins’ scabbards. Ryan fired an arrow from his longbow, killing one of the goblins. The rest of the goblins rushed forward, raising their swords. Jacob and Trevor drew their swords. “What can I use for a weapon!?” complained Chris. Trevor rolled his eyes. “Here, use this dagger.” he said, tossing the weapon to Chris. Chris dropped it clumsily and attempted to pick it up again. Ryan had killed three more goblins with his arrows by the time they had reached the group. Michael and Trevor began to hack at the goblins with their swords. Michael killed several of them, but at the same time got many cuts from the goblins’ swords. Erin used her magic to freeze one of them in a block of ice. Chris had killed one with his knife, but then he threw the knife at another one and missed, disarming himself. Jacob had killed several more with his sword and Ryan shot the rest. “Ryan, should we follow their tracks? They could lead us to the camp where the princess is held.” Jacob asked. “Good idea, Jacob.” Michael commented. “It looks like they are heading northeast. Let’s go.” said Ryan.

…

Allison had an escape plan. She had been working on it for a few days now, and she finally had one. She was still inside the cage made of branches. She had gotten her chains off using a knife she had been given on her lunch tray. She now looped the chain through a bar on the cage door. She pulled the chain back into the cage and threw it up. It went through a gap in the cage ceiling, and when it fell back in it had looped around the ceiling. She pulled the chain downwards, using it as a pulley. It began to lift the cage door a little bit before finally snapping the door off of its hinges. She released the chain and the door fell, leaving it open for escape. She grabbed the chain again so that she would have a weapon, and stepped out of the cage. The splitting sound of the cage door had woken up Crowla and Kristen. Kristen smacked Ashlyk with a stick, waking up the goblin as well. They exited the tent and saw Allison escaping. “She’s getting away!” shouted Kristen. Crowla cawed several times and swooped towards Allison. Allison whirled around and whipped Crowla twice with the chain. Crowla soon grabbed the chain and yanked on it, pulling Allison to the ground. Allison looked up to see Ashlyk standing above her with her sword raised. “Ashlyk! Don’t harm her!” Kristen ordered. The goblin girl lowered the sword, but kept it poised for attack. “See? We’ve nothing to worry about. She couldn’t possibly escape!” Crowla stated. Kristen nodded, but her worries returned when Crowla let out a painful shriek. An arrow was embedded in her right wing. She dropped to the ground, cradling the wounded arm. Kristen looked at the forest entrance to see four warriors, a page, and a fairy. “Rescuers? I’ll have to reconsider paying Amol.” Kristen said angrily. She grabbed her staff and performed a spell. A wall of flame appeared between the rescuers and the monsters. Allison was still on the ground. “What are we going to do? There is a witch in there that just blocked us out with fire!” Chris shouted. “Well then, I bet you’re glad you have someone with you who also knows magic.” bragged Erin. She used a spell to douse the flames. The warriors raced into the forest. Ashlyk leaped forward and began to battle Jacob and Trevor with her sword. Michael drew his sword and Kristen raised her staff. The two ran towards each other. Chris went over to the injured Crowla and began kicking her. Ryan helped Allison back up and then he began to fire arrows at Kristen to help Michael battle her. Kristen burned several of the arrows using magic. Ashlyk was losing badly to the two swordsmen. Trevor and Jacob finally stopped when Ashlyk fell to the ground. “It’s dead.” Trevor said. “She is dead!” shouted Kristen. Kristen used a spell that caused the vines on the trees to wrap around Jacob and Trevor. “Oh great, now we’re stuck up here.” Trevor complained. “Don’t worry Trevor; you can eat your way out.” Jacob joked. “I promise, if we ever get out of these vines I am going to kill you.” Trevor threatened. Jacob laughed at his threat. Michael was rolling under fireballs that Kristen launched. Allison grabbed the chain that was lying next to her. Ryan ran out of arrows and was now trying to attack Kristen with his knife. Crowla was lying on the ground, trying to protect her injured wing. Chris had stopped kicking her and was now trying to cut Jacob and Trevor down from the trees. Allison waved to Michael and pointed to the chain. Michael nodded, understanding her plan. He ran towards Kristen and began to mockingly jump around in front of her. She missed every time she fired a fireball at him. She became furious, and that was just the distraction Allison needed. Allison jumped forward and wrapped the chain around Kristen’s neck, squeezing it hard. Kristen dropped the staff and tried to pry the chain off of her throat. Soon her sight began to blur. The lack of air made her body go limp. Allison unwrapped the chain. “Is she dead?” asked Michael. “I don’t think so. She’s probably just unconscious.” Allison replied. “Thank you all for saving me.” They all replied with a chorus of ‘no problems, any times, and your welcomes’. Trevor and Jacob got down and Ryan chained Kristen’s hands behind her back. “We should take the witch back to Gavainsilla.” Michael suggested. “And take the princess home to Dresmund.” They left the forest and began their long journey back home to Vorgandal.

Chapter Twenty Two

Demitri had been sent back to Stellimia by Amol to ensure that absolutely no more rescuers were coming through there. He soon spotted the five rescuers, a fairy, the princess, and Kristen, who was chained. Demitri unslung his crossbow. He ran to a rock near their camp and aimed his crossbow at Ryan. “Ryan, look out!” the fairy exclaimed. Ryan turned and saw Demitri. Demitri fired quickly. Ryan leaped out of the way, and everyone else scattered. Michael, Trevor, and Jacob all drew their swords and attacked Demitri. Demitri ran around them and grabbed Allison. “Stop! Or I’ll kill her!” he shouted, pointing a dagger at her throat. “I am really getting tired of this.” Allison said. She threw her head back, smacking into his head. He stumbled back, dropping the dagger. Allison picked up a stone and smacked Demitri on the head with it. He dropped to the ground, unconscious. “Looks like we have two prisoners, now.” said Trevor. He and Jacob bound Demitri and dragged him into their camp. “Nice hit.” Michael said. “Thanks.” Allison replied.

…

“Well done, soldiers.” said King Kennedy. “Yes, we did rescue the princess, but there is also an army of one thousand Stellimians going to Dresmund!” Ryan shouted. “What? We must go to Dresmund immediately then. I’ll alert the Gavainsilla army.” said Trevor, leaving the king’s quarters. “There is also an army of five thousand monsters and sorcerers going to Dresmund as well.” Allison stated. “That must be where all of those tracks came from.” Ryan said. “And the jailer, Demitri, he turned out to be an assassin?” asked King Kennedy. “Yes. We put him in jail along with a witch named Kristen, who is apparently the daughter of the evil sorcerer, Yoho.” Michael reported. “Well, I say that your mission was a success. Take Princess Allison back to Dresmund. Trevor will arrive later with the Gavainsilla army so we can defend against the Stellimians.” the king said. “But we don’t have enough men to stand against six thousand enemies, especially if many of them know magic.” Jacob said. “What if we were to form up all of the armies of the nine kingdoms of Vorgandal?” Chris asked. “It would take weeks to do that. With the combined forces of the Gavainsilla and Dresmund soldiers we should be able to at least weaken their forces before they finally defeat us. But we just can’t allow that. What are we to do?” the king asked. “Maybe we should confront King Harvey about this. It is his kingdom, after all.” Jacob suggested. “Good idea. Talk to him about it when you return there.” King Kennedy said. “We will, don’t worry.” Ryan said. They left the castle and mounted on their horses, riding to Dresmund.

Chapter Twenty Three

The warriors arrived at the borders of Dresmund to find hundreds of people roaming there. They spotted the king sitting on a stump. “Father!” Allison shouted, running to him. “Ally!” he replied, standing up. They both hugged each other, glad to be back together. “Oh no. This means that…” he began. “You’re welcome, King Harvey.” Michael said. “Sir Nicholas, thank you so much, but… I feel so foolish.” King Harvey said. “Father, what’s wrong?” asked Allison. “I thought that the rescuers had failed, so I had a messenger bring Yoho a letter saying that I agreed to his terms… he just arrived a few hours ago and demanded that everyone get out of the kingdom within an hour or they would be taken prisoner. And now, the monsters and Stellimians are in control of Dresmund.” King Harvey explained. “My real name is Sir Michael, by the way. I can’t believe that this happened. Your people will have to live in Gavainsilla, but until then the people of Gavainsilla and people of Dresmund will have to work together to find a way to get your kingdom back.” Michael explained. “Would King Kennedy be all right with that? I know I haven’t been the best friend to him lately, what with all of the blaming for the robberies.” King Harvey said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have a problem with it, your highness.” Jacob said. “Thank you. I will tell the people that we are to leave for Gavainsilla immediately.” King Harvey said, walking into the crowd. Minutes later, everyone was packed and now began their short trip across the borders and into Gavainsilla.

…

Yoho dropped the bag of coins on the desk. Amol snatched it up and peered inside, smiling. “The rest of the Assassins Corps requires payment as well, but we will talk of this at a later date.” Amol said. Yoho nodded, taking a seat at the desk. “Did anyone see you sneak the assassins in to the castle? Any of the Vorgandals?” Yoho asked. Amol shook his head. “We snuck in through the back. No one could have seen us.” the assassin replied. “Good. I want your men to take the night shift for guarding. An attack at night is more likely, so I want only the best on guard at the time.” Yoho ordered. “I’ll tell them.” Amol said. Suddenly, Jean entered the room. “What is it Jean? Yoho and I are in the middle of a conversation.” Amol said, annoyed at the interruption. “Sorry, Amol. The people of Dresmund have just left the kingdom. It seems they will be going to Gavainsilla. Also, Jared was spying at the Gavainsilla castle. Apparently they have captured Demitri and Kristen.” Jean reported. “They have captured one of our best assassins!?” Amol shouted. “They have captured my daughter!?” Yoho exclaimed. “Yes, I’m afraid so.” Jean replied. “This is just terrible. Have they interrogated either of them?” Amol asked. “No, both of them were unconscious.” Jean responded. “Good, we don’t want the enemy to know that the assassins are here.” Amol said. There was a knock at the door. King Aurillo entered. “Ah, King Aurillo, we were waiting for you.” Yoho said. “Yoho, I have information concerning the elves.” Aurillo said, sitting down at the table. “The Vorgandals will want their castle back, and the place where they can get a good army is the elves.” “Then kill the elves! Burn their homes! I don’t care what you do; just make sure they can’t help those Vorgandals!” Yoho commanded. Another knock came from the door. “Who else is interrupting?!” Amol yelled. Crowla entered the room. “Yoho, I have good news.” she said. “Well finally someone has good news!” the sorcerer exclaimed. “The goblin spies have discovered who is really calling the orders. According to them he has put together a plan for how to get Dresmund back.” Crowla said. “That is not good news!” Yoho shouted. “No, it is, because right now, he is going back to Gavainsilla, where Jared is waiting.” Crowla explained. Yoho smiled. “Good, so we won’t have to worry about him. What is his name?” Yoho asked. “Michael.”