The bolts clanked on the marble floor after some bounced off my Ice Wall. Chain Lightning wouldn’t be enough to kill orcs, but I didn’t want it to anyway. I simply casted it a few times to stun them, then conjured even more Ice Walls to block everything but our orc visitors and followed it up with level two Divergence, effectively knocking them all towards the walls. Kor’zha came out after and bound them to said walls whilst they were still stunned.

The situation was quickly sedated. Well, that’s what was skittering about my vainglorious and egoistic mind before a harrowing steel bolt burrowed into my arm, piercing through it and kissing my ribcage. The shock numbed the oncoming pain for a few measly seconds. The usual composure I touted was capsized off its breech and full – almost – attention was steered in the direction of the hidden orcs.

Once Kor’zha noticed I was hit, he went underground immediately and began immobilising the enemies outside with dexterity akin to a mongoose. I stumbled a bit as the agony began inhabiting my arm, and as the pain increased, so did my ire and desire to slaughter; that feeling manifested in an Ice Javelin. Only after the spell struck an orc in the chest, had others finally began taking action. The mages’ mana behind me began flaring.

Mom flew past, my eyes only catching the afterimage of her blur, the very essence and embodiment of speed and precision personified by her gave me a mystical chilling fear. I, like everyone else, was booted from any train of thought. Almost like a charm cast upon us, we were forced to behold the alacritous movements of one Mary Archibald. Her aura oozed an unparalleled killing intent that made us all freeze, every ounce of instinct we had gripped our hearts and threatened to squeeze if we moved even an inch.

In just a few seconds more than five orcs were already fatally stabbed by her dagger, yet they just stood there, like they weren’t falling by the second; they refused to defend themselves and dropped like flies.

My mind was ripped apart by three different steeds of execution. One was the almost haunting realisation that with the mere emanation mom gave, she was no stranger to taking lives and underneath that loving smile and affection was a demon I had yet to truly behold. Another, the eerie and enigmatic actions – or lack thereof – of the orcs as they stood by, dumbfounded, until a revitalising yell from one that seemed to be the leader of this band of brigands. A hasty battle ensued, with Volt and I acting as support for Mary. The third horse that separated the very fabric of rationale was the fact that orcs, a race that had laid low and lived far for decades was actually here, in Aquan, at the Ashfur celebration.

What the hell is this? Is this because of those orcs in that village? Did I cause th–

“–ic!” I heard the latter half of my name and got jumped out of my thoughts. “Eric!” mom shook me by the shoulder.

“Y-yeah, mom.”

“I have an obligation to protect the VIPs so I can’t be with you guys. See to it that your friends are safe.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The councilmen gave the crowd an assurance of safety after Kor’zha made proper, albeit temporary bindings for our prisoners.

Attendees were only allowed leave after the authorities secured the scene but some of us were asked to stay back. My parents and I were part of the selection. This being the case, I asked that Hydra stay with Dawn and her parents for the night, as we were unsure if there were other orcs lurking in the darkness. Pyro, Volt, and Violet came along with Kira, who’s more than capable, seeing that she’s an Apostle of the witch, but to be safe I sent along Phoenix with them. Kor’zha also kept watch over August and Shyla.

After idling for about half an hour, the head of police, a small and unassuming man simply asked that the members present attend a meeting the next day. The nature of this meeting was not disclosed, but quite obvious anyway.

Noon the next day, we sat around a table, about a dozen of us, thirteen if we included the inviter, Carl Rawlings, head of police.

“Good afternoon everyone,” he grabbed our attention as he walked to his seat at the head of the table, “I’d like to get to the point immediately. I’ve asked you all here to undertake a mission, one sanctioned by the government. However, I cannot give information on this mission until everyone has agreed to do it. Know that it will be dangerous should we stray from the plan, but there will be a handsome reward. The journey is expected to last no more than three months,” he paused, “if,” he emphasized, “we stick to the plan.”

“So, guess this is about those orcs you told me about last night?”

Yup, I answered Donna, who eavesdropped on our meeting whilst she was in my mind again. Why did I even resurrect her?

“Now, I must stress, should things not go the way we intended, there’s a high chance of casualties. Those who do not wish to participate, please indicate by a show of hands.”

A few people raised theirs, and so did Flynn, but quickly put it down when he realised mom and I didn’t raise ours. “Are you two sure about this?” he leaned over. “I’m getting a bad vibe from this.”

“Eric is going regardless of if we go, and I’d rather be there with him. Although I guess I needn’t worry,” Mary pointed out. Despite her iron hold over us, she was quite trusting.

There weren’t all strange faces around. The Garran siblings and Aldis were present, along with three other councilmen I recognised from my suspension. The other three, I didn’t seem to recall them from anywhere around Aquan.

After the few who weren’t interested left, Rawlings started, addressing the crux of this mission with the first word to escape his wiggling moustache.

“Orcs,” he said, “they’re a race of keen instinct, brute and raw power, and a carnal savagery unseen in even the most sadistic criminals I’ve ever come across. They’re also a race that hasn’t appeared before us for a little over twenty years.”

“Are we going to war?” Keagan asked brazenly, shaking us into attentiveness.

“No, they may have invaded our lands but they haven’t done enough to warrant a war. But we are preparing for it. The big cities have made it clear that there should be talks first. Even if they wanted to fight, official word must come from the royal court first.”

“You don’t need a team of this size for something as simple as talks,” Flynn placed his fingers on the table, wrist up, “and we’re not enough for a mission involving combat. And Frankly, the fact that I’m here…”

“You’ve caught on Mr Archibald,” Rawlings admitted. “Your mastery of stealth is second to none. Your skills are imperative to this mission. The rest of us are merely arms for hire, so to speak. This mission is top secret, and I’m afraid that the objective is something I must once again protect. All I can say is that what we’re about to do, if found out, can drive a wedge between the royal family and Aquan,” he began sweating a bit, clearly nervous to convey his message when our eyes pressed against him so relentlessly. “Allow me to reiterate, the reward will be, heftily paid. Knowing this, will you all continue?”

Interesting. It’s so ‘top secret’ that he can’t even tell us what we’re about to do until we commit. Plus, he mentioned the royal family. What do you think?

“Accept his mission. I’d like to know their plan, and who’s pulling his strings.”

You’re concerned…

“Of course, I am.”

Two of the strangers left, and the Garran siblings were on edge about it too, but couldn’t yet make a decision. Meagan looked directly at me, and not a second later Keagan mimicked her behaviour. They remembered their queen on our trip to the Rim. After a few seconds of scanning their faces, mom and dad decided to pull me aside for a bit.

I motioned for the Garran siblings to follow and assured my parents it was fine, “The Ashfur team already knows about Donna.”

The five of us parlayed a bit, “Well?” Meagan inquired, “is she with you now?”

I gave them all a nod, “She’s concerned about the one who sanctioned this. For now, we accept the mission to see what’s going on.”

We came to an agreement – thanks to Donna – then returned to the table to hear exactly what our mission was.

“The royal seal. We need it to forge written permission so that we can break the treaty without repercussions.”

I gulped. He’s a madman! The royal seal?! If we’re caught stealing that… I rubbed my neck in dismay of the obvious consequence.

“Okay, yeah, I know you said it could get us in trouble–”

“But there’s no way,” I cut Flynn off, “we’re stealing that without knowing who sent for it, and what the reward for it is.”

Dad nodded in agreement. At times, we were oddly, almost terrifyingly similar. Rawlings froze, noticeably uncomfortable with the very mission, but sucked it up, “One hundred thousand,” he said, to which I mentally sighed at, but then he said “each.” That was almost three times the reward for Ashfur! Just how deep were their pockets? Just how bad did they want that damn seal? “As for the name behind this,” he closed his eyes, “minister of defence, Anton Du Bois. We leave at dawn, three days from now at the west district’s gate. Dismissed.”

Rawlings spoke to the Order of Mages regarding the departure of Flynn, the Garran siblings, Aldis, and I.

“Just to clear things up,” I said, preparing tea in the kitchen after we got home for Meagan and Keagan whilst Flynn and Mary kept them company, “I’m going because Donna’s important to me,” I said, throwing a quick glance at the worried queen. We returned home to discuss the details – or lack thereof – in this venture. “I know you all have your loyalty to her, but no one’s forcing you to go.”

“Enough with that one-man army heroism thing,” Flynn dismissed, “you might be able to blast your way into the palace but then you’d just be focused on fighting security, so how would you ge– oh,” he caught on to my scheme of sorts.

“Oh, what?” Meagan asked, eager to hear the plan.

“Two people, me and Eric,” Flynn explained, “that’s what he’s suggesting; to go with the bare minimum of people. In a way, I agree because there’s no need for everyone to get mixed up in this.”

“It could be anyone,” I set the saucers with tea down on the table, “it doesn’t have to be me, but I feel like it’s personal, so I’d rather it be Flynn and I.”

“You forget there are more people involved than just us,” Keagan pointed out, “even if you and professor Archibald goes, the others will probably see it as you taking the opportunity to seize their reward.”

Hmm, he has a point. Even if I explained it to them, it wouldn’t make much sense to them. I couldn’t just tell strangers about Donna after all.

“Also,” mom inhaled the aroma of her tea, “there’s absolutely no way I would let you two go alone. It would also make our employer uneasy.”

It was decided then to go with the original plan. Donna hadn’t much to say, even whilst she was present for all to see.

The morning of departure came quickly. I managed to gloss it over with my friends that it’s just a family vacation; despite their acceptance, they didn’t believe a word of it. It rained that morning, and coupled with the sun’s absence made for a frigid air about the place.

The party consisted of my parents, the Garran siblings, Aldis and three other councilmen from the Order. There were also three others I didn’t recognise.

Carl Rawlings got us all stabled horses but I promptly refused mine, mainly because I suck at horseback riding, but at least I could keep up with Levitate. We embarked on our quest after everyone set their horses, into a mostly silent journey. Despite having the same objectives, the mere nature of humans was to group off with who they’re comfortable with.

Aldis and the three councilmen had the vanguard. The three strangers kept in the middle and my team was at the back.

Suddenly, one of the strangers slowed their pace to join us. She turned her face to me, revealing a freckled nose and brown hair, “Hey, gliding kid,” she said, looking down at me, “isn’t that tiring?”

“Nah, it’s actually really comfy.”

She giggled, “Is that so? I feel like leaving the horse and riding you instead,” a frivolous smirk crept on her face.

Why did she say it like that?

“I wonder why…” Donna replied in sarcasm.

“I’m Nayla, nice meeting you.”

“Likewise, Nayla. I’m Eric. I hope we get along,” I greeted. She rode back to her group shortly after.

The day after we came across two paths. One led towards the mountains and the other lead into a small forest. Aldis paused and in turn, the entire party did. He was our navigator thanks to his previous adventures, back when he didn’t walk at one kilometre an hour. The geezer faced us, “The mountain will put us three hours ahead, but it’s dangerous. One slip and you’re gone. The forest is much slower but much safer, except for the occasional beast or two. Nothing we can’t handle. A show of hands for the forest, if you please.”

Not one hand was raised, so we went to the mountains instead. With the day just starting, the morning light didn’t burn our skins off. The path we walked on was not as perilous as Aldis made it out to be; I figured we would’ve had to abandon our steeds to cross but it wasn’t necessary.

Our journey was peaceful, the only discomfort being the occasional trickle of sweat down my face. Well, that was until a camouflaged magic projectile smashed into the road we were walking at, destroying the path of the hind group, my group. Dad lost his footing, as the ground beneath us rocked uncontrollably and began falling into the precipice. Mom dove after him and I dove after mom.

Don’t! I yelled internally at Donna. I could feel how bad she wanted to come out but we couldn’t afford giving the other party members any hint of suspicion. The Garran twins were a bit in front of us so they were able to stay on the ledge with everyone. I could see mom approaching dad as she pulled her arms and legs in to catch him, but as she neared him, a figure snatched him from under her nose. It was so fast I couldn’t even see the face.

She missed him by just a few inches. Thankfully her panic made her forfeit her diving position so that I was able to catch up to her and use Levitate. We floated the rest of the way down into a deep valley, almost an abyss. Hardly any sunlight touched the surrounding marsh-like areas. We were a long, long way down. Vines as thick as my arm wrapped around the overarching rocks with muddy swamp waters lying dormant below. We hovered over that eerie blackened water.

This place, doesn’t look like a natural formation.

“Yeah, we should leave this place now. I sense a foul presence in these waters.”

That’s probably just the stench in this place. I took a good whiff in and quickly came to regret that decision. The place was a disgusting bog that boasted a terrifying silence, an unnerving stillness.

Mom began trembling, a weakness quite uncommon. It shook me out of my head and instead projected my thoughts upwards. To go directly up was the only option we had. I focused on how to do that, and as my mind zoomed-in on the way to do it, a low rumbling noise shook the echoing walls of this swamp.

So, what’s this? We ‘bout to die or wh–

A huge jaw appeared from beneath the murky waters. By huge I mean inescapable. It wasn’t a matter of dodging, but surviving. The toothless jaw was closing in on us, the three tongues just a few feet away. I held onto mom even tighter and casted level two Divergence a few times in order to push those encasing jaws away from us. The minute I saw an out, I glided towards that direction and made the largest Ice Wall I could, going down into the waters and forming an arch facing whatever monster that was.

If only we could just fly out of here!

“Um, Gale can.”

Gale! How could I forget?! I wasn’t used to having her around as yet so she completely slipped my mind. The albino owl landed us atop the path our expedition once traversed, but no one else was there.

“Couldn’t they wait? What the hell happened?” I thought out loud.

“We were attacked in a disadvantageous position. It would make more sense for them to run for now.” She took a deep breath and tightened her grip onto me, “Eric, I’m going after Flynn.”

“Why are you stating the obvious? Of course, you are,” I replied.

“I don’t think you understand, honey. The person that took Flynn was an orc. I placed a tracker on him and he’s heading straight for an orc stronghold. There’s going to be a lot of killing.”