“You! Who are you?” the priest shouted. The man trotted toward Jim and Kalandra. His bony finger extended beyond his sun beaten robes as he shouted again. “Did you hear me? Why can’t I sense you?”

Jim panicked. On instinct, his arms shot outward toward the approaching priest. Jim’s hands opened and the hard packed street below the priest’s feet suddenly began to ripple as water.

“Wha-” was all the man could utter before he was swallowed by the earth. To the surprise of Jim and Kalandra, the crowd behind him had been facing the opposite direction as they pressed through the city gates and didn’t appear to notice. After all, it was generally better to look away from priests and their dealings, lest you be the target of their ire.

Jim gasped. Though it had taken little of his power to do it, his heart had already been beating out of his chest with fear. He stumbled forward from the temporary loss of strength but was caught by Kalandra. “Suffocating under the sand. What a miserable way to go,” she said as she helped him to get his bearings. They both hurried forward into the crowd to escape deeper into enemy territory.

***

The gentle tinkling of water mixed with laughter echoed through the trees at the edge of the Ll’tal village. Alia sat in a comfortable hammock made of interwoven vines and covered in a blanket of beautiful geographic shapes laid over pine needles. Emat had assured her that pine needles were actually an excellent deterrent to many species of bugs and pests.

In her arms, she held her two daughters. The oldest, by a few minutes, was sleeping to the soothing sound of the nearby brook. The second made cooing sounds as her young eyes drank in the sights and sounds of the world around her.

In the brook, some crewmen laughed and played, forgetting for a moment their worries. Standing near her hammock, Emat said, “I’ve never seen adults so…”

“Childlike?” Alia said.

“Yes,” Emat replied, nodding. “They are as happy as children.”

Alia smiled. “Well, where we come from, water’s rare. And where there are rivers, they’re heavily guarded. To be able to not only drink freely but also bathe in it well, it’s certainly put them in a good mood.”

“Well, it is agreeable to see them escape their toils, if only for a short time,” Emat said. The tone of his voice betrayed something else though.

“Is something wrong, Emat?” Alia asked.

Emat hesitated before answering, “I am afraid so. I have just returned from a jalaana… a council of elders.”

“And?” Alia urged him.

“I’ve come to tell you that today is your last day in our village,” Emat said. His eyes hung with sadness.

Alia sat up in her hammock. The second baby had fallen asleep now, so she placed both carefully in the comfortable bed and laid a blanket over them. Turning to Emat she asked, “Did we do something to offend you? Is it them? Some sacred stream or something?” She pointed at the splashing soldiers.

“No, certainly not,” Emat replied chuckling. “You see, the Ll’tal have lived in this forest since the dawn of your history. During that time, we have never revealed ourselves to mankind. It was not your time. That isn’t to say other humans had not found us in the past.”

Alia squinted but said nothing.

“Some daring souls, you would call them explorers, have wandered this deep into the forest on occasion. All were… given to the dragons.”

Alia nodded. “Then, when Jim and I wandered into your village, why didn’t you do the same to us?” she asked.

“You were ma’al. Awakened as you say. It is the awakened that have kept us hidden from you for all these years,” he replied.

“I don’t understand,” Alia said.

“Nor are you meant to. Not yet,” Emat replied, sighing as he did. “It is because your crew too are awakened that you have been allowed to stay as long as you have and it is because of them that we have permitted you to use this place as your… what did Vachir call it? Base of Operations.”

“And we thank you for that,” Alia said. “These days, there aren’t many safe places from the Prophetess.”

“Indeed not,” said Emat. “But, I’m afraid, we must close this place to you. As your crews grow and as more people know of our existence, the risk of being exposed to the world becomes greater. We can not allow that.” He sighed again. Alia could never really tell when he sighed or purred. “Today is your last day here. You must find another place to hide.”

Alia thought for a moment before answering, “Well, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised. This day was bound to come sooner or later.” She extended her hand to shake Emat’s paw, but as he reached up, she changed her mind and embraced him. “Thank you, for everything.”

“Hmm,” Emat said as a mischevous smile exposed his sharp teeth.

“What?” Alia asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just… I thought you would have put up a struggle.”

“You know,” said Alia as she placed her fists on her hips, “I’m not as disagreeable as Jim or my crewman would have you believe. I’ve even been accused of being nice on occasion.”

They both laughed, though Emat’s was more of a cough.

Reaching out, he purred and softly stroked her hair. “We will meet again before the end, child.” With that, he turned and walked back toward the village. She couldn’t be sure, but Alia thought she saw tears in his eyes.

***

The sun dipped low in the sky behind a humid haze as it set to the southwest, over Green River. Jim could see the figures of the city guards against the blazing disc as they paced the inner walls of the Upper Quarter. Suddenly, a loud bell sounded from Emberlight Temple, the last temple to the old gods left in the city.

The bell signaled the end of another day for the laborers, peasants, and craftsmen. He could almost feel a collective sigh as the streets began to fill with tired workers. Ahead, the grey brick buildings of the diplomatic quarter came into view. Their light colored stones were a contrast against the tans and whites of the mudbrick Alliance buildings.

There was a squeal to his right. Jim turned to see Kalandra clapping her hands together excitedly. “What’s up?” he asked.

Pointing down the street, Kalandra replied, “See that building? The one with the tiny spire? It’s an old church that was converted into a museum a few decades back. It was one of my favorite places to visit when I was younger.”

“Oh, very interesting,” Jim replied with more than a little sarcasm. He glanced again at Kalandra who was looking at him with a questioning stare. Finally, he relented. “Ok fine, I guess we can spare a few minutes to go look at a bunch of dusty relics.”

“Yay!” Kalandra exclaimed, clapping her hands together again. In that moment, she looked more like a child than a young woman. Thoughts of seeing Alia again and his soon to be born children brought a smile to his face, though not without a hint of guilt.

A minute later, they reached the museum. As he opened the door, Jim nearly ran face first into a very startled old woman. “Oh dear!” she exclaimed as she stumbled backward. As she did, she nearly fell but was caught on her blouse by Jim’s strong grip.

“I’m sorry about that ma'am,” he said.

“As well you should be!” the woman exclaimed, brushing herself off. “Don’t you-” her words caught in her throat as she finished straightening herself out and looked up at them. “Oh dear. I am so very sorry your graces or rather your priests ummm I.”

Jim had forgotten that he was still dressed as a priest. This time, Kalandra had opted not to say anything and was remaining hidden inside the oversized hood of her robe.

He cleared his throat, “I uhh. I’ll overlook this infraction this one time. But please uhhh I mean. Leave us!” The woman didn’t wait to be told twice. Picking up her stained dress, she rushed through the door to the back room.

“Acting is really not my strong suit,” Jim whispered when he was sure the woman had gone. “We’re lucky she was so scared. I could’ve used some of those legendary talents of yours you know.”

“Driscilda Banks,” Kalandra whispered back.

“Pardon?”

“That woman. I recognized her. Her name is Driscilda Banks. She tutored me during my elementary years. She was an employee of my father’s. He found her in a small town near the Protectorate city of Shining teaching history in a local prep school. He hired her and brought her on to teach me personally.”

“Really? You father must be rich,” Jim said.

Ignoring him, Kalandra continued, “As someone in the printing business, he felt it was important that I know my history if I was to one day take over for him.”

“So, why so shy? If you know her-”

“Are you kidding?” Kalandra whispered. “If she saw me, our whole cover could be blown. We can’t let anyone know who we are. We’re miles into the city. If someone were to give us away, escape would be… well, I really don’t want to find out.”

“I see your point,” Jim said. The pair began to walk around the small museum. It was little more than a converted sanctuary of a forgotten god, but Kalandra stopped in front of every artifact to read the information pamphlets that had been glued to slabs of wood with a manza wax adhesive.

“Wow! Look at this one!” she said. Jim, who had been looking at a red tinted scimitar on a display mount called “The Crimson Blade.” He walked over to stand next to Kalandra in front of a large piece of petrified manzawood. The artifact looked like part of a plank that had been torn off of a ship.

Kalandra bent down to read the pamphlet aloud.

This is a genuine piece of the ship belonging to the explorers known as the “Golden Ones.” On June the 32nd of the year AF8620. The heroes Jonathan Stalwart of Dyelita, Desiree of Stronghold, Felix of Torchlight, and Autumn of Cario Village discovered the first yellow ether cubes and ushered in a new golden age for Ruin. This piece of their ship is one of the last surviving pieces of their legacy.

Kalandra’s face twisted into a look of disgust.

“What’s wrong?” Jim asked.

“The words. They’ve been changed,” she replied. “Look.” She ran her hands across the bottom of the parchment. It was frayed in places. “Someone has ripped off the bottom half of this information. It should have added something about their sacrifice in protecting the League city of Gateway against an attack by the Prophetess. It marked the beginning of the first crusade in fact.”

“Well, I would guess that since the Alliance is more or less under the heel of the Holy Land these days, your old teacher felt it was best to conceal that bit of history to protect her own life,” Jim said.

“Ignorance is a tool of the slavemaster to retain the enslaved,” Kalandra said. “It was my father who taught me that.”

“Speaking of which, we really should get going,” Jim said. “It’s almost night and every minute we wait, we run the risk of being found out.”

Kalandra nodded and made for the door. Just as they were leaving, Jim turned one last time to look at the Crimson Blade. “Ahh what the hell,” he said, grabbing the sword from its stand before making a quick exit. “Good swords don’t belong in a museum anyways.”

***

Though Green River was at the southern end of the huge city, the cries of cicadas and frogs filled the air. Night had begun in earnest and the broken moon crept over the horizon, silhouetting a turngun emplacement upon the eastern inner wall. The machine glowed a faint yellow as the ether cube at its heart pulsed.

The diplomatic quarter was empty of travellers, save Jim and Kalandra. It was passing ten and most residents had gone to bed. As they turned down the last street, Jim heard a gasp escape Kalandra’s lips. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“There it is,” she replied, pointing ahead, “my father’s house. And… oh! The light is still on. He must be working late into the night again.” There was still familiarity in her voice, as if she had just been there.

“Jim, I think we should stop in to-”

“Absolutely not!” Jim protested. “I know you miss your dad, but the risk is way too high. We have to stick with the plan. Get the ambassadors and escape through the tunnels.”

“I know the plan,” Kalandra said. “But, I think it would be far less risky if we use our guy on the inside.”

“Your dad?”

“Yes. My dad. He has connections. He could ensure that we get out through the tunnels without a tail. Or he could throw the city guard off our scent while we escape, or…” Kalandra stopped and took a breath. “Ok, nevermind. Yes, I do want to see my father. I’m sorry. You wouldn’t understand. You don’t have a family.”

Her words stung more than he would have expected. If we escape, I will have a family, he thought.

“Alright, listen up,” Jim said, trying to hide his frustration. “This next part will probably be better with just one of us going in there anyways. Why don’t you pay a visit to your father, and I’ll meet up with you after.”

Kalandra’s face beamed, but then grew dark as she thought it through. “No,” she said, “I appreciate it, but we really should stick together.

“You’re sure?” Jim asked. “Because, I can handle-”

“No,” Kalandra interrupted. “I… no, it’s best we don’t visit him. When the priests came to retrieve me, it was hard on him. I’m sure he’s spent the last year trying to forget about me. If I saw him, it might give him more grief than he could handle.”

“Or hope,” Jim said in a matter of fact tone.

“That could be worse,” Kalandra replied.

Jim saw a battle taking place in Kalandra, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. “Alright. In we go then,” he said. “If Fredrickson’s information was on point, there will be a guard outside their room and a guard walking the perimeter of the house.”

Suddenly, there was a sound of heavy footsteps in the direction of the Protectorate embassy house. Jim and Kalandra scurried to the side of the road where a hip high stone foundation held up a rot iron fence well above their heads. A man in Alliance uniform marched past, breach rifle in his right hand, nocked into his shoulder in typical marching fashion.

“So, we going with the ‘surprise attack from behind’ option?” Kalandra whispered as she pressed her body against the cold stone.

“I’ve been thinking about that actually,” Jim replied. “After your little brush with acting this morning, a fine performance by the way, I think there’s an easier option.” Kalandra raised her eyebrow but said nothing. Jim continued, “Let’s walk right up to the guy, feed him a line of bullshit about being here on mission or whatever, and you knock him out.”

“I’m not much of a fighter. Maybe you sh-”

“No,” Jim replied. “I mean with your awakened power. You are a fire awakened. Isn’t that one of your guy’s tricks?”

“I’m not even sure I know how,” Kalandra said. “I can barely conjure a fireball. Using mind heat, that’s what the priests call it by the way, was a second year acolyte ability. They never got that far with me.”

“Try it on me,” Jim said.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, try it on me,” he repeated. “I’ve seen Alia, I mean, the captain do it a few times. From what she tells me, it uses very little of your power and the effect is short lived. Besides, as an earth awakened, I should heal through it in just a minute or two.”

“You must be joking,” Kalandra said. But Jim had already seated himself under a small manza tree that was growing nearby.

“Place your hand on the side of my head,” he instructed.

“Jim, what if I… boil your brains or something? I can’t take that risk,” Kalandra said as she knelt down beside him.

“Well,” Jim replied with a shrug, “just don’t do that. They may not be much, but I need my brains.”

Kalandra snorted and quickly covered her mouth, afraid she would alert the guard. “You’re crazy and I’m crazy for actually doing this,” she said. “Oh gods, here we go, I guess.” She placed her hand on his left temple.

“Concentrate,” Jim said. “Think of your power like a flow of water from a pipe. First, release a very small amount of-” he never finished that sentence.

***

“POWER!” Jim shouted as he shot upright. Just as he did, a pair of hands dragged him back down and he fell on his rear end with an OOF.

“Oh gods!” Kalandra half whispered half screeched, “you’re alive. I thought I killed you.”

“Wow!” Jim exclaimed. “That was a hell of a thing. Like a hammer to the head.”

“How are you feeling? Are you blind now? The captain’s gonna kill me,” Kalandra whimpered

Jim rubbed his head and placed his other hand on Kalandra’s shoulder to reassure her. “Well, I can’t say I like the headache much, but I’m fine otherwise,” he said. “I did say to release a very small amount of your power didn’t I? Or did I? I don’t remember.” He chuckled.

Kalandra raised her arms defensively. “I did! I hardly used it.”

“I can see why they teach it to you in the second year then,” Jim said. “That’s quite an asset. All we earth awaked get is rapid healing… and yeah the whole ability to move tons of soil and rocks.”

Jim’s vision finally cleared and he looked to see Kalandra staring back, deeply upset. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I tend to be a bit too straightforward when I should use uhh. What did Alia call it? Tact. I’m fine. Really.”

Kalandra took a deep breath and stood up. “Don’t ever ask me to do something like that again,” she said. Before Jim could respond, she had walked away toward the entrance to the gate. Jim scrambled after her.

***

“Are you sure about this?” Vachir asked as he gripped The Liberator’s aft railing. Behind them, the green carpet of the Black Forest was quickly retreating into the distance as the mountains fell away beneath them and gave way to the vast dune sea.

“Yes,” Alia replied, though not without a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “The Unaligned League is the closest we have to friends and we can’t hide anymore. We’re going to have to take an active role in this war.”

To the south, Rock Bottom had not yet appeared, but they were making good time with a rare northern wind at their backs. In the captain’s quarters, one of the female crewmembers who had volunteered to watch over the newborns, was happily laughing and playing with the two infants. Alia had taken the momentary lull in maternal duties to stroll the ship and check in on her crew.

While she was nursing, Vachir had volunteered to take over most of the administrative duties that came with captaining a ship. Handling disputes, disciplining lazy crew, and organizing ongoing repairs, these were all things he was comfortable with. Though he was a ground pounder, Alia appreciated how well he’d taken to the similar responsibility of overseeing her ship’s crew.

“Speaking of the League,” Vachir said, pulling Alia from her thoughts, “when we arrive at Rock Bottom, I’d like to head into town with Sandra and a few crew to recruit some more hands for both ships. That is, if you still plan to extend our ranks to non awakened.”

“I do,” said Alia, nodding. “Rock Bottom isn’t much of a naval town, but I’m hoping we can cobble a handful of professionals together. And with the spoils of coffee and spices, we should acquire enough coin to get the ships back into full working order.” She paused and then added, “Not that the crew haven’t been doing a fine job repairing our ship under your watchful eye.”

Vachir chuckled. “Well, I’m a soldier at heart, and always will be, but I know how to ‘motivate.’ That’s a skill necessary to any leadership position.

Alia turned toward the bow and began walking. Vachir followed alongside. As they went, she filled him in on the nuances of organizing a crew and answered questions about the far less adventurous aspects of captaining. Soon, they had reached the forecastle and were looking south.

“Do you see that?” Alia said, squinting and pointing ahead.

“Yes,” Vachir said. “Looks like… smoke? Or perhaps a haze.” His eyes went wide. “Oh no.”

“And it’s in the exact direction of Rock Bottom,” Alia shouted, as she turned and rushed toward the pilot. “Jonas, let’s see if we can’t get a bit more speed out of The Liberator. And send a signal to The Hurria to make full speed for Rock Bottom. They may be in trouble. And Vachir I-”

“Way ahead of you, Captain,” came Vachir’s reply. He was already rushing down the forecastle stairs. “I’ll see if I can’t ‘motivate’ a few more KPH out of the engine crew.”

The smoke on the horizon thickened and again, The Liberator flew into the unknown.