Mira’s blade chips crystal, and…nothing. The heart remains intact. Ren’s jaw goes slack. Why isn’t the heart breaking? Why…?

A sudden neigh jolts him from his thoughts, and Ren looks up to see the Horseman having dissipated his wall of fire. H-How did hell did it do that? With a mere swing of his sword? His steed whinnies, rearing back on its hind legs, ready to crush Penny under its hooves—

An arrow whistles through the air, flying straight at the horse and stabbing it in its flank. The horse screeches, leaning from the impact of the shot, but it manages to remain upright. The Horseman on the other hand, almost falls, arms scrabbling to cling onto the equine’s neck. Gridel grabs another arrow from her quiver and nocks it.

“Ren! Catch!” Penny shouts.

Ren’s gaze snaps to her. Drawing her arm back, Penny punts the crystal as hard as she can. It flies in a graceful arc, slamming right into Ren’s arms and chest, the man almost toppling over. He waves Ifrit, conjuring a ball of fire, and he hurls it at the Horseman.

The Horseman deflects the fiery ball with his sword, and it changes trajectory, crashing into the ceiling. The children scream and disperse, as the fireball fizzles into ashes and dust. Gridel looses a few more bolts, while Penny sprints towards them, leaping over piles of debris and ducking under low, ruined overhangs.

“Ren, you and Penny get out of here,” Gridel says. “I’m going to get Tiv.”

Ren nods. “We’ll meet you outside. Don’t die.”

Gridel smirks, and she takes off, weaving past the throngs of frightened and panicking children. If the Horseman noticed her breaking away, he doesn’t move to confront her. Instead, he continues after the two Luminaries, but Ren is already back in the storage room and clambering up the ladder.

Penny follows closely behind, slamming the door shut as soon as they’re both through it. Not that the Horseman can’t just bust it down with his ungodly strength, though. The child that Gridel accosted is still lying in the corner, out cold. He’ll live, but Ren and Penny won’t if they don’t get out of here fast.

Ren doesn’t stop climbing till he’s at the top of the ladder. He hauls himself over the edge with one hand, grunting at the soreness in his muscles. Penny makes it just as the door bursts open, and the Horseman enters the room without his steed.

“We’re meeting Gridel at the entrance,” Ren says breathlessly. “Hurry!”

Penny lifts the lid, dragging it over the manhole and trapping the Horseman underneath, if even for a split second. She and Ren take off for the temple. It is just when they are about to arrive that they see Gridel emerging from the palace, Tiv tottering along by her side, his spear still in hand.

“Gridel!” Ren calls, waving to her.

Gridel opens her mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a sudden slam of metal against metal. Ren glances back. The Horseman emerges from the hole in the ground, sword at the ready. His shadowy face obscured by his helmet, but Ren can almost imagine the furious snarl behind all that metal.

“Beville!” Gridel screams. “Go back to Beville!”

What? With the heart? Wouldn’t that just be putting the Bevillians in danger? And yet, there is no other place for them to run to. They’re only four people, one of them being a child, fighting out here in this tundra, with a bunch of other children at the Horseman’s mercy. Oh God, nothing ever seems to go their way. What to do, Ren? What is there to—

A roar screeches across the sky, and a sudden gale blows. Ren looks up to see a dragon of sorts. Or a wyrm, as Mavell called it. It resembles Nidhogg in every way, shape and form, apart from colour. This wyrm is the colour of a deep forest-green, though its wings take on a pure, lilac hue instead.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding them. Fighting the Horseman with three people is hard enough, but with another boss, and a wyrm, to boot? That’s practically a death sentence. Ren isn’t sure they can survive this, unless—

“Luminaries, get down!”

A silky voice speaks in Ren’s head, bouncing around his skull like a screensaver icon. He does not recognise it at all. Who could be speaking to them? Surely, it can’t be…

Well, it told them to get down, so getting down is what they’re going to do. Ren grabs Penny by the arm and yanks her to the ground. They flop onto their bellies like puppets with their strings cut. The chill of the snow soon seeps past the thin material of Ren’s robes and under his skin, leaving Ren shivering.

The dragon descends, a ball of energy gathered in its mouth. The Horseman’s steed barrels out of the temple the same instant the dragon launches its attack. The ball shoots out from its mouth in a beam of light, incinerating the Horseman where he stood. Once the light subsides, what remains of the Horseman is only a pile of… of dust…

“W-What… What was that?” Penny cries.

Ren holds his arms up to shield his eyes from the light. The green dragon hovers just above the ground. It looks at them with shining eyes, casting furtive glances from Ren, to Penny, and then to Gridel and Tiv.

“Come, Luminaries and companions. Onto my back. Hurry, before the Horseman returns.”

Before Ren can even consider his options, Penny is already running towards the dragon. She scrambles up the scales and pulls herself onto its back. She holds a hand out to him. “Give me the heart!”

Ren passes it to her, and Penny hugs the crystal against her chest with one arm. It’s Ren’s turn to climb on, and he helps to hoist Tiv up from where Gridel’s lifting him into the air. The moment Gridel’s on the dragon is the moment the dragon takes to the skies. A gush of icy wind greets them, and Ren ducks his head, trying not to shiver.

They meet the chill head-on. The dragon does not even flinch, beating its massive wings as it whisks them away from the palace. Ren’s ears hurt, and his cheeks sting. If they don’t get any warmer, any closer to the ground and out of the clouds, he’s going to get frostbite. Mark his words.

As soon as he thinks that, the dragon lands. Or, well, as close as it can get to landing. It’s ferried them a distance from Beville. Not near enough that they can be seen by the guards, but it’s not too far a trek either. In fact, Ren knows this place—it’s the fork in the road between Drasil Mountain and the village that Beville apparently gets its medicine from.

“This should be far enough. I apologise for not being able to bring you farther.”

Penny is the first to climb off, stumbling to the ground, the Horseman’s heart in her hands. She cups one of her ears, and she touches her nose, before turning to face the dragon. “It’s all right. I’m sure we can make it back from here.”

Ren lands with a light thump against the snow. He helps Tiv down, and Gridel jumps off as well. He looks up at the dragon, who peers down at them with a sort of tenderness. Almost like a mother looking at her children.

“Who are you?” Gridel asks, approaching the dragon. “Why did you help us?”

“I happened to be passing by,” the dragon says. “I sensed that you were in trouble, and I—”

“Hold on a minute,” Ren says, raising a hand. “How’d you know that we were the Luminaries? That’s what you called us the first time, right? The Luminaries?”

The dragon snorts. “That, I did. Who else would be fighting the Horseman with such vigour, when so many people have resigned to their fates?”

Ren frowns. What is that supposed to mean?

“For now, I shall return to my humble abode, in the village of Gyldon. If you wish to seek me out, I will be there.”

And with that, the dragon flaps its mighty wings and whips up a blustering whirlwind. Ren throws his arms up to shield himself from the force. When it subsides, and when Ren peers up at the sky, it’s gone. The dragon has left, its serpentine body slithering though the sky like a snake through water.

Just who was that?

“You okay?”

Ren looks over to where Tiv is tugging on the hem of Gridel’s shirt, peering up at her with a concerned pout.

“I’m fine,” Gridel says. “It’s just…” She sighs. “I feel like I’ve heard that voice before… A long, long time ago.”

“You came here last time? To Frosgott?” Ren asks.

Gridel shakes her head, but she hesitates in her answer. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, uh, I think we can talk more about this back in Beville,” Penny says, wrapping her arms around herself. “It’s freezing out here.”

“Yeah, and the Horseman’s definitely coming after us,” Ren says. His gaze falls on the crystal in Penny’s hands. Its colour is not as vibrant as the ones that Ren remembers. In fact, it almost looks like it’s frosted over, as though there is a thick piece of glass that separates them from the heart. “We’ve got to figure out how to crack this thing open too.”

Met with unanimous agreement, Ren leads the way back to Beville. They are going to get back to Vane and Zan, and then they will decide on their next course of action.

*

The house soon comes into view, nestled in Beville’s residential district. However, what stuns Ren are the two official-looking people standing in front of the house. They are dressed in black coats, swishing around their ankles as the wind blows. He doesn’t recognise them at all. Who are they, and what the heck are they doing there?

“What’s going on?” Penny wonders. She breaks into a sprint, with Ren, Gridel and Tiv right behind her. When they get closer, Ren hears a familiar voice, one laced with venom.

“Leave, or I will have to use force.”

He is answered by a haughty cackle, followed by a female voice who demands, “Don’t you know who I am, traveller? You have no chance at winning against me.”

“I don’t know who you are, and frankly, I do not need to know. You have threatened the life of a child, and—”

She is interrupted at the foursome’s sudden appearance. Penny pants, a hand clutching her chest in an attempt to calm her heart. Ren skids to a halt behind her, almost bumping straight into the other two officials. He peers over her shoulder, to find Vane with his sword held out in front of a woman. The latter is dressed entirely in black, in the same kinds of robes that the officials are wearing.

The woman turns at their presence, and her smile only grows wider. “Ah, the other occupants of my house, I presume?”

“Your house? Mavell told us that no-one stayed here anyone, which is why we were allowed to,” Gridel says.

The woman smiles. “It seems that you are ignorant as to my position as well.”

“Your position?” Ren asks.

“Minister Doraviel Berg,” she says. “Governing minister of Beville. I control everything that happens in this fine city.”

Fine city. How interesting. What part of this city is “fine”?

“Whatever is the matter, Minister Berg?” Penny asks. “Why the sudden notice for eviction?”

Berg nods. “Finally, someone willing to have a civilised conversation.” She clears her throat. “It has come to my attention that there have been vagrants living in my property, without my knowledge, and refusing to pay a single cent.”

Penny bows. “We apologise for the inconvenience that we’ve caused. We’ve been in want of a place to stay after having spent much time on the road. We would like your permission to stay for just a little bit longer—”

“I’m not running a charity case here,” Berg says, stabbing a finger in Penny’s direction. Ren resists the urge to turn his nose up at that. Penny, on the other hand, does not even so much as lose her patient smile. “I’m not letting freeloaders stay for nothing.”

“We’ll, of course, pay up,” Penny says. “Just name your price.”

Berg’s eyes twinkle. “A tempting offer, young lady. But I doubt that you can pay what I ask of you. It’s a humble sum to myself, but as for you lot, perhaps… it just might be a little too much for you to handle.”

“Just say it already,” Gridel grumbles.

Berg harrumphs. “Fine. I request merely two thousand gold pieces. Per night, if you are to stay here.”

“Two thousand!” Penny cries. “For a house such as this, surely the price is a little… exorbitant?”

Berg shakes her head, her locks following her movements. “How quaint. You think that I would rent my property out for free? Seeing as you’ve stayed here for two nights already, I ought to take that four thousand gold pieces, if you don’t mind.”

“That’s daylight robbery and you know it,” Ren says. Berg regards him with an unamused glare. It lasts for only a split second, because she schools her expression immediately.

“Being in Mavell’s favour doesn’t mean that you are in mine,” Berg says. “If you can’t pay up, then I suggest you pack your bags and leave. I’ve no patience to lend to fools.”

Well, that’s that, then. They’re going to have to find somewhere else to hole up in. Somewhere where the Horseman cannot find them, for starters. Even Penny knows defeat when she hears it. No matter what they say, Berg will not accept it, which makes arguing pointless.

“Come on,” Penny says. “Let’s leave.”

Berg smirks—oh, how Ren wants to wipe that smirk off her face—and she stands to the side to watch. Vane packs up all their things, whatever bits and bobs they’ve left lying around, and gathers them into his arms. Trailing behind him is Zan, who glares daggers at the minister.

“Well, it looks like you’re going to head off now,” Minister Berg says. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay in Beville.”

Wait, what? Is she just kicking them out of the city?

“If I ever see you around here again, it’s another two thousand gold pieces for the entrance fee.”

That bastard…

Penny places a hand on his arm. “Leave it. She’s on some kind of power trip or something.”

“But it’s not—”

“Look, whatever the minister’s got going on, we’ll settle it after we deal with the Horseman, yeah?” Penny says. “If the Horseman finds us, we’re screwed.”

“What are you whispering about over there? I thought I told you to leave.” Berg titters, and another rush of frustration surges in Ren’s chest. But Penny is quick to drag him away. Him and Vane.

The six of them walk down the residential district, and down high street, till they can no longer see the house nor Minister Berg. Now that they’re at the outskirts of the city, they’re at a loss of what to do. Any moment now, the Horseman would come for them, and besides, those kids are still in the palace, at his mercy.

“Well, what the heck are we supposed to do now?” Ren asks. “We’ve lost the house, we’ve lost our traveller’s pass or whatever…”

“There is only one place to go,” Gridel says, holding up a finger. “We’ll have to go look for that dragon. Maybe it can shed some light on how we may get rid of the Horseman’s heart.”

“Wait, a dragon?” Vane glances from Ren, to Penny, and then to Gridel. “Have you been doing battle with another one?”

“Look, there’s no time to explain,” Penny says. “We’ll tell you when we get there.”

“Get where?” Zan asks. It’s the first time she spoke since they returned. “Where are we going?”

She’s raised a good point. Where are they going?

“The village of Gyldon,” Penny says. “That’s where the dragon said to find it, but…”

“Wait, Gyldon? I’ve heard of that before.” Zan’s eyes grow wide. “That’s where Hal came from. He said that the village is over there yonder, if we take a right at the fork.”

Penny smiles. “Really? Wow, we’ve really struck gold, huh.”

“Struck gold?” Zan frowns.

“Yeah. Like, you’re with us, and you know where to go,” Penny says.

“Hey, I knew too,” Tiv huffs, folding his arms. “Why is it Zan who gets to be praised all the time?”

Gridel reaches over to tousle his hair. “We’ve praised you a lot too. Don’t get greedy.”

Zan sticks her tongue out at Tiv, and Tiv glares indignantly at her. For some reason, they remind Ren of himself and Penny, back when they first met. They certainly weren’t hostile to this degree, but the dynamic was pretty similar.

In any case, the village of Gyldon happens to be the settlement where Beville gets its medicines from? How interesting. Perhaps there are many things to be learned there. About the dragon, about Beville, and about Hal. The village seems to hold all the secrets, all the answers to their questions.

“Well, let’s go, then,” Gridel says. “Before the Horseman catches up to us.”

Without farther ado, they trudge on through the snow, leaving the cursed town of Beville behind them. Till the Horseman’s heart is gone, he will most definitely come alive again. And here’s to hoping that the dragon, or someone in Gyldon, will be able to help them out.