The black ships surrounded them on all sides. Dungii an ant, the rest fleas in comparison. Before the Koru could react, a lighting bolt struck down a man from nowhere. Then another and another, spreading panic through their ranks.

“It’s Eio he’s distracting them, they may not have noticed us yet,” said Thramuny.

“Aletha, let’s cast our illusion,” said Vlux

“Already on it,” Aletha had Binary spinning above them. Vlux began chanting an incantation, making the form of a storm bird surround Binary. Using the twin orbs Aletha could create the effects of a storm. Making the intimidating illusion seem real.

“Great work, almost looks like my transformation, you missed one major detail.” Paouni said as he patted his peg leg.

“Uncle what happened to your leg,” asked Ang.

“You don’t remember? They don’t call me Paouni The Bear for nothing.”

“So where is everyone? Are my parents still alive?

“Your father is right here.” Paouni hands the axe back to Ang. “Your mother can explain things better than I can. For now, I gotta make sure you’re safe.” Paouni climbs to the top of the mushroom and begins singing while drawing many runes in the air. He assumes his storm bird form and joins the illusion.

Uncle was the storm bird and the bear. My mom is alive.

“C’mon, let’s get up there and commandeer a ship,” said Haxx.

Gron opened Phalanx and set it into the water. “Hop on everyone.”

“What about Aletha and Vlux,” asked Ang?

“Vlux and Aletha have to maintain focus to keep their illusion up. Besides, Dungii will keep them safe, right?” said Gron.

“Murp.”

They jumped onto Phalanx grabbing the long handle for support. Haxx put Boa in the water and used it like a rudder to propel them toward the closest ship.

“Everyone hold on we’re going up,” said Gron. A few of his marking lit up, and he launched them into the air. The air snatched out of his lungs Ang couldn’t scream. Thramuny had the same mortified expression. Haxx and Rux recklessly jumped off to the shock of the enemy crew. Rux swung Sluice sending out its dark disabling flair, rendering the crew comatose. Haxx sent Boa slithering after the rest. More men came climbing up from below deck. Gron stuck the landing, Ang rolled off. Thramuny immediately sprang into action. She fought ferociously. Her long hair swinging wildly as she blasted men overboard with concussive force from her hands. Ang heard a metal clink behind him. He pivoted to see Gron locked in combat, defending against a sword attack.

“Some help would be nice boy,” said Gron. Ang threw Home at the man’s head, knocking him overboard. Once they defeated all the troops, Haxx sauntered up to the steering wheel.

“I’ve always wanted to pilot one of these things,” said Haxx. He pulled a lever that folded the sails back, making the vessel streamlined and submersible. “Brace yourselves we're going under.”

Ang grabbed hold of the rails as they plunged beneath the surface. The ship dove deeper and deeper. Ang held his breath, the water pressure steadily increasing. Then, Haxx steered the ship straight up. Ramming an enemy vessel from below, nearly splitting it in half. As the ship sank, the men jumped overboard. Dungii, with Vlux and Aletha secure on his back, swam over and begin pummeling them. Eio picked them off from above, and storm birds stirred the lake and sky. Suddenly a horrendous noise reverberated through the air. It pierced right to the bone, sending sharp pain through their bodies. All the pixie’s collapsed, leaving only Ang and Thramuny barely standing. Ang witnessed his uncle fall out of the sky. They captured Dungii, Vlux, and Aletha in a net. Their ship sinking, Ang and Thramuny struggled to maintain consciousness. The last thing Ang saw, as he glanced to the shore, the hideous twisted form of the wailing beast.

#

Dungii barely escaped capture. He swam fast soon arriving at the opposite shore. He turned and watched as his friends were chained and loaded onto a prison wagon. He paced back and forth. How could he rescue his friends? Skimming across the surface of the lake, he noticed Kiliyi approaching. He ran to greet her, but upon reaching the shore she forced him back into the bushes.

“Meep! Meep meep meep, meep.”

Kiliyi raised her front leg and gently stroked Dungii to calm him. A second Kiliyi appeared startling Dungii until he recognized this as Kiliyi’s carapace. She wove a rune onto its back and sent the carapace off. They then cautiously made their way closer to the prison wagon. Dungii’s antenna stood on end; someone was nearby. Kiliyi crawled out of the bush and waved into the air. The form of Eio appeared. Though he silent and only half visible, he displayed distress in the jagged way his wings fluttered. He lowered himself close to the ground. Kiliyi crawled on his back and turned invisible.

“Meep meep.”

She crawled off and beckoned for Dungii to follow. Together they climbed on Eio’s back, and all became imperceptible. Carefully they floated by the caravan. Through the bars of the wagons Dungii could see their friends. In the wagon closest to them, Ang, in a nervous sweat, sat next to Haxx. Haxx struggled against his restraints. Every now and again, when the wagon swayed, he saw the heads of the other two pixie’s he assumed must be Gron and Rux. The rest must be in the other wagon. From their angle a huge black box obscured it, pulled by many large horned beasts of burden. Dungii knew that whatever made that horrible sound was in that black box. He hoped to never hear it again, let alone see it. Dungii grew evermore impatient as night fell.

“Meep meep, meep meep meep.”

Kiliyi warned against revealing themselves too soon, she reassured him they had to do this carefully. Finally, they traveled over a ridge until they could see the fortress of the Koru-Ation. A dark and twisted, yet vibrant place, sleek towers grazed the sky, the streets full of humans, and creatures working alongside them. The caravan traversed the streets to a fork in the road, where they took the large black box in one direction and the wagons the other. They reached another fork where one wagon traveled right, the other left. Dungii kept his eyes and antenna focused on the wagon he knew held Ang. It turned closer to the center of the fortress. A large facility surrounded by many tall buildings, like a valley encircled by jagged peaks. Dungii wanted to leap off and bash through the walls when the wagon disappeared into the building, but Kiliyi again reassured him they would get them out. Cautiously they floated around the facility looking for an entry point. Then at the top of a corner tower he saw a crack in the ceiling they could squeeze through.

“Meep meep meep.”

Eio positioned himself just above the opening. Kiliyi lowered herself through the hole and waited for Dungii to follow. He turned to Eio.

“Meep Meep Meep.” Eio dimly surged and gave a competent flap.

“Meep Meep.”

Dungii climbed down the thread through the hole and greeted Kiliyi on top of a stone gargoyle. Their mission, to save their friends, but first they had to locate them. They crawled along the stone wall, past two conversing troops. Many Imdrina signatures filled the fortress, making it difficult for Dungii to sift through them, but as they traveled further in, they heard a voice yelling.

“You fools should a killed me at the shore! When I get out of here, I’m gonna bury all of you!”

Dungii recognized the loud voice of Haxx.They found a hole where his voice could be heard yelling indiscernible curses at his captors. Kiliyi could barely squeeze through the hole. Dungii retracted his mushroom, compressed and elongated his body, and just barely fit into the opening. Fast as they could, they traveled the length of the wall following Haxx’s booming voice. Once they got closer, Dungii could pick up their distinct signatures and now had a more accurate idea of their location. Finally, they reached a point where through the wall Dungii could detect Ang and the pixie’s.

“Meep.”

Kiliyi carefully traced her red fire rune on the wall. Upon activation, it produced a small spark that made a hole just big enough for them to squeeze through. Through the opening, they saw their friends chained to the wall. Dungii almost ran through, but Kiliyi grabbed his tail. Annoyed he turned around to see her making chopping, slashing and jabbing motions; it took him a minute, but then he understood what she meant. They would need their weapons to have any chance of escape. Dungii remembered the very strong and distinct signature Hue gave off. Focusing, he could faintly make out its approximate location somewhere just below them.

“Meep meep.”

Dungii took the lead, traveling further down the walls of the fortress. They came out of an air duct where they saw, laid out on a large stone counter in a square room, the Ardin. Three armed men stood over the weapons examining and arguing over who would take which one.

No way around it, Dungii and Kiliyi would have to take them out. Dungii readied to launch himself. Kiliyi anchored her silver silk to the wall. After a beat, they simultaneously flung themselves into the fray. Dungii bashed the head of one man. The other two looked to see what flew past. Kiliyi wrapped her silk around one man’s neck and landed on Home. Activating it, she knocked out the remaining man. With the three men dispatched, they now had to figure out how to get the weapons through the thick wood door. From behind the door they heard muffled screams and the sound of a whiplash. The lock turned and in the doorway emerged the silhouette of Thramuny.

“Dungii, Kiliyi, I’ve finally found you two. I have already cleared the way to our allies. Let us take their arms to them.”

Dungii dug his roots into the ground and assumed his large form. Thramuny loaded the weapons onto his back.

“I fancy this one, I’ll borrow it,” said Thramuny picking up Boa.

Thramuny placed the last Ardin on his back. Ready to free his friends, Dungii smashed through the wall. A grisly scene lay before them, the bodies of men strewn about. “It’s acceptable if you are loud, I will defeat all that come. We must go up through that passage.”

They ran up a wide tunnel, Dungii in the rear, Thramuny in front, with Kiliyi on her shoulder. Several men appeared at the end of the tunnel to halt their progress.

“Boa, Snake! Uh… do snake things. What did he say? Strike!”

Boa launched itself into the group of men and wrapped firmly around the front man’s neck, threatening to pop his head off. The other men pulled as hard as they could to pry it off. Thramuny with a flurry of punches and kicks knocked them out. Once the last man asphyxiated Boa relinquished, its hold and went rigid.

“Yes, I very much like this staff, hurry this way.”

They turned down the hall until they made it to the cell where Ang and the pixie’s were being kept. Thramuny took out a key and opened the lock.

“Thramuny, Dungii, Kiliyi, damn it’s good to see all of you, and you got the Ardin’s, brilliant!” Boisterously exclaimed Haxx.

Kiliyi got to work, carefully applying thread to the cuffs, and burning them off, starting with Ang.

“Thanks Kiliyi, I knew you were coming.” Ang walked over and hugged Dungii, he nodded to Thramuny and picked up Home and Hue. Gron picked up Phalanx, Rux took Sluice.

“This is a very nice weapon,” said Thramuny as she reluctantly handed Boa to Haxx.

“Maybe if you’re good, I’ll give it to you,” jested Haxx. Damn, who did all this.”

“I did,” responded Thramuny.

“Geez what did they do to piss you off. I might have to give you Boa for all this work,” said Haxx.

“You can’t just give an Ardin away like that,” said Rux.

“I’m sure Boa and Thramuny will get along just fine,” said Haxx.

“I think we do, anyway they deserved what they got,” said Thramuny.

“So what’s the plan, do you know where we’re going, and where’s everyone else,” asked Gron.

“Eio is above us, using his perception to give me a rough idea of the layout of this fortress. Vlux, Aletha and Paouni are being held in another part. We must fight our way through,” said Thramuny. Once outside, they ran past the bodies of men beaten by Thramuny during her own infiltration. Soon they made it to the building where Eio was sure the others were being kept.

“This is my specialty, let me handle them,” said Rux. He stepped back and sliced a hole into the darkness. Ang swiveled his head, looking around for where he disappeared to. Gron directed his gaze up to the tower above, he saw the silhouette of a man fall over. When a nearby guard walked over to inspect, he too collapsed. Followed soon by the next man who went to investigate. Finally, the man in the opposite tower collapsed. The entrance clear, Rux reappeared from the point where he disappeared.

“Impressive what did you do,” asked Thramuny.

“I stepped into the night, it’s like holding your breath can’t stay there long.”

“C’mon let’s get the others and get back to Brexcen. Everyone’s waiting for us,” said Gron.

They made their way into the facility. Haxx and Gron eager to take the lead. Gron used Phalanx to block against the next group they encountered, while Haxx sent Boa to take them out. Thramuny yelled out directions as Eio fed them to her. Once they were close enough, Dungii could narrow down the location, and before long they were at the cell containing, Vlux, Aletha, Paouni and three other captives.

“You guys are here! Hurry get us out,” said Vlux. Kiliyi began burning their cuffs off. Ang ran to his uncle.

“Uncle, you’re not allowed out of my sight. I have a ton of questions I need to ask you.”

“Haha, I’m sure you do, boy. I’ll tell you everything I can when we get back to whatever that pixie land is called.”

“Brexcen,” said Vlux.

“Dungii my saviour, when I saw your body crumble I knew you had escaped and would come for us,” said Aletha.

“Murp Murp.”

“Everyone got their weapons. Let’s go,” said Vlux.

“Wait, what about them? We can’t just leave them,” said Ang.

“I agree with Ang,” said Thramuny.

“Ang remember when I told you about the Satke, and how they’re the reason the Koru know about Brexcen,” said Vlux.

“And how did the Koru know to catch a whale song to invade Brexcen,” said Haxx. The Koru would have found out about us and found a way in one way or another Vlux. We can’t keep blaming others for our decades of growing complacent in the security of Brexcen. We used to protect these lands until we hide ourselves away at the source of the Grand Lakes. I say it’s about time we took a stand. No reason we can’t all live in peace like in the old days, there’s plenty of space for everyone.”

“You wanna save them too, fine. How do we get them and us out of here? There’s only a handful of us and the Satke have been abused, tortured, and starved for years now. None of them will be in any condition to help fight; they’ll just be dead weight.”

“They’re using Rhinoceros to pull the wagons and do much of the heavy manual labor. I’m sure they would like to be set free, you can convince them Vlux,” said Aletha.

“You know what, let’s just bust out the whole prison. You guys realize how ridiculous you sound.” Kiliyi leapt onto Vlux’s shoulder. “Not you too...are you serious?”

“What is she saying,” asked Ang.

“That they’re here.” They could hear several voices yelling down the hall. “I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about them.” Vlux pointed to the wall.

They emerged from every pipe, every crack, every crevice, of the entire facility. Innumerable, countess, they are the swarm, they are, the Daughters of Kiliyi.