When Steve regained consciousness, it was already the next morning. The sun shone high in the sky, revealing a rather peculiar sight. Steve was in some kind of encampment, as there were numerous dark brown and green tents scattered around the clearing he was in, deep in the woods. The next thing he noticed was the silence. Usually you could always hear car traffic, helicopters, or planes in the background no matter where you were, even in the middle of nowhere. But for some reason he couldn’t hear a thing, apart from the birds twittering and the inhabitants of the tents going about their business.

The next thing Steve noticed was that he was tied up. Someone had tied a rope around both him and the tree, pinning his arms to his sides and preventing any escape. He started struggling against his bonds, but he could hardly move. What he did notice was that he was wearing his street clothes again instead of the tux. He wriggled his hands into his right pocket and located his pocketknife, which had been a gift from his grandfather and he never went anywhere without. It was a folding pocketknife, so it wasn’t easy to spot unless you were actively searching. Miraculously, it was the only thing he still had as everything else in his pockets had been stolen.

After checking for witnesses, Steve pulled out the knife, wriggled his hands so that they were close enough to open the knife, and then did so. Once it was open, he checked again to see if anybody was watching before getting to work on cutting through the rope. A nearby movement startled him; he looked around and realized someone was watching him. A young girl, around eleven or twelve years old, was tied to a nearby tree, although the girl was tied up differently from him, since her hands were tied behind the trunk rather than being forced to her sides. He hadn’t seen her at first because he hadn’t been looking at the trees themselves. She had shoulder length dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and was watching him with interest. Some small hair clips kept her hair from covering her ears and she was wearing some old-timey medieval-style clothes. Specifically, it was a tunic, although Steve didn’t know why she was wearing it. What was this, some kind of renaissance festival? The tunic was brown and dirty, which helped her blend into the trees. Maybe that was why he hadn’t seen her initially. It was long-sleeved, with a collar, and went down to her mid-thighs, under which she wore a pair of leggings. On her feet she wore a pair of brown leather boots.

The way the girl was watching him was beginning to creep Steve out. Her clothes and the whole situation were making him a bit panicky, and the way the girl was looking at him wasn’t exactly helping. “Do you mind?” he asked at last, not able to concentrate.

“Well, it’s not as though there’s anything else to do,” she replied, apparently enjoying Steve’s discomfort. He noticed with a jolt that she had a bit of a strange accent. It sounded kind of British, although there was something else mixed in he couldn’t identify. The girl was also breathing heavily, sounding like she was about to have a panic attack. She kept moving her hands back and forth, as if attempting to use the tree itself to saw through the rope.

Steve knew that if he escaped, he wouldn’t have a clue where he actually was, which would be a problem. “Do you know how far we are from Appleton?” he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

“I was knocked out when they brought me here, so I don’t know where we are,” she replied, still watching him with interest. Steve got the distinct impression that he was being toyed with, and he didn’t like it. He was starting to lose patience too. It wasn’t really like him to lose patience, but both Hannah and now this girl both seemed to instinctively know how to push his buttons. Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking straight. Yeah, that was probably it.

“Why are you here, by the way?” he asked politely, keeping his temper down.

“I think it’s supposed to be a ransom of some kind. I don’t get why it had to be me, though…”

The girl struggled against her bonds again, concentrating with all her might on something before slumping back down. “How about we get out of here, huh?” he asked once she’d quit straining.

“I’d have done that already if it was possible,” she said flatly. “But they put something in my food that’s keeping me from doing anything, and they took my knife.” She concentrated again, like she was trying to use the force of her will to bust her way out. “How do you plan to escape then?” she asked, again slumping back to the tree trunk.

“Well, I have a knife of my own, so I was going to try and cut myself out…”

The girl stared at his hands, looking at the tiny knife he was holding. “No way! They didn’t even search you?”

“I guess they just missed it,” he admitted.

“If you do get out, will you take me with you?” she pleaded. Her eyes got real big, and Steve knew he was being guilt-tripped.

“Fine,” he agreed. He couldn’t exactly leave her behind to face their captors’ wrath for his escape. He would’ve helped her out whether she’d asked or not.

“I’ll keep a lookout,” she promised. “Oh, sweet freedom!” She concentrated again on whatever it was she was doing, which from Steve’s view looked like she was having a migraine.

Steve rolled his eyes before starting to gnaw away at his ropes again. It took a good while since he didn’t have much leverage, but he finally managed to sever one, at which point the rest of his bonds fell down. As he stepped out of the ropes, the girl looked at him, eyes wide. “What?” he asked, a bit confused by her reaction.

The girl just shook her head as Steve approached her, muttering, “It’s nothing.” Since Steve had more elbow room this time and the only rope was the one binding the girl’s hands behind the tree, it barely took five minutes before he’d freed her. The moment she was free, she dropped to all fours, took several deep breaths, and clutched herself tightly. “I really really hate being confined,” she explained to Steve, who was watching her silently.

“So, you said something about losing your knife?” Steve asked as she stood up and brushed herself off.

“Yeah, we need…be quiet!” she suddenly snapped, dragging Steve by the collar into a nearby bush with surprising strength. Two people were nearing them, talking loudly. As they passed their hiding place, Steve got the shock of his life. The people were soldiers, about five and a half feet tall and dressed in medieval suits of armor and carried short swords. But that wasn’t the most shocking part. Neither man wore a helmet, so he got a good look at their faces. They had dirty, dark green skin, like a reptile’s, although it wasn’t scaly. It was so shocking a sight, the girl had to clamp a hand over his mouth to prevent him from shouting out in surprise.

The two soldiers were so deep in conversation they didn’t even notice the empty ropes, despite the prisoners being what they were talking about. “Did you hear?” asked one. “The girl we got isn’t actually the princess! It’s really weird, isn’t it? We invaded the Palace with specific orders to kidnap the younger girl of the two. She had a crown, so we all thought she was the Princess, but it turns out she’s not!” He spoke in a similar English dialect as the girl Steve had just freed, although the dialect was slightly different.

The other guy wasn’t about to get shown up. “What about this, then? He brought a kid in this morning loaded with all kinds of that technology stuff. I think we’re going to auction it off later on to some Human dealers. How about that?”

“Maybe they’ll sell the girl’s crown along with it, then. The Princess has a million crowns anyways, so it’s not as if she’s ever going to come looking for it!”

The two soldiers walked away, laughing mightily. The two teens watched them go, both seething. “We’ve got to get your stuff back,” said the girl once the coast was clear. “And we need weapons, in case we get jumped when we escape. That little knife of yours isn’t going to do anything against an army of Goblins.”

“That’s what those things are?” Steve asked incredulously.

“Yep,” said the girl, eyeing the two Goblins. “Now let’s get your stuff before those Goblins do something horrible to it.”

Steve, although still full of questions, was forced to comply since the girl had already run off. Sneaking into the encampment was incredibly difficult, to say the least. The slightest misstep would inform the whole camp that they had escaped and would put them on high alert. Goblins were everywhere, either joking with friends, practicing fighting, or simply going about their personal business. It might have been an interesting sight if the Goblins’ weird appearance didn’t scare the crap out of Steve. To him, they might as well have been aliens.

After slipping through a couple of empty tents as shortcuts, they finally made it to the center of camp, which was, by far, the liveliest part. Here there was actual organized swordplay going on, overseen by a man dressed in black robes from head to toe. He was clearly Human, since his skin wasn’t dark green, although his face was concealed by a hood. He stood partway up a hill, observing the proceedings silently. He said nothing, preferring instead to simply watch.

“Now what?” Steve asked the girl in a whisper. They stood inside an unoccupied tent, peering through the space between the flaps. Behind the man he could see his missing stuff, a gold crown, and a large knife with a bone handle resting on a table. There was also a red messenger bag, which Steve unfortunately recognized as Hannah’s.

“We’ll have to distract them somehow,” the girl began thinking out loud. “What did you say your name was again?” she asked suddenly.

“I didn’t, but I’m Steve.”

“Steve, huh? Well, all right then, Steve. I think I’ve got an idea. Do you see that big bonfire over there?” She pointed to the other side of the clearing, where an enormous bonfire was blazing near the man in black robes. A metalsmith was using it to forge new weapons. Two more Goblins watched over it with a bucket of water, looking fearful.

“What do you plan to do with that?”

“Well, all Goblins have a mortal fear of fire, since Goblin blood catches fire really easily. That makes them really nervous around it. Goblins soldiers are trained to repress that fear, but I bet they’d panic if something that was on fire surprised them. So what if we did something to that bonfire to scare them?”

“We could flare it up or something, if we could get close enough,” Steve suggested.

“Excellent idea,” the girl agreed. She flicked her fingers, as if expecting something to happen, ignoring Steve’s questioning look. When nothing did, she looked dejected. “I keep forgetting I can’t do that right now. I guess we’ll have to get close to it and think of a plan.” They retreated back into the tent to brainstorm.

Steve didn’t like that idea at all. His plan had been to spray gasoline or something on it from a safe distance, but that was out of question. Now that he was calming down a bit from being tied up, he actually realized how incredibly stupid it was, since there wasn’t any gas or way to pump gas anywhere around. Besides, they’d probably get seen if they tried that. “Maybe we could try a different approach,” he suggested. He picked up a nearby bow and said, “If one of us fired some arrows at some of these Goblins, it might create enough of a distraction for the other to grab our stuff and run.”

The girl cocked her head at him. “I thought we were in this together, Steve,” she said, sounding amused. “Not to mess with your plans or anything, but I’d kind of like to live until the end of the day. Just so you know. Incidentally, can you even shoot?”

“I’ve done some archery at Scout Camp,” Steve admitted. “But just for fun.”

“You really don’t think these things through, do you?” she remarked sarcastically. “I’ll come up with the plan, then. What we need to do is lure the Goblins away so they don’t see us and take our stuff back. I still think the best plan is to use the bow, but I have to admit that I’m not very experienced with it, either. I’m a girl, you know.” She said this last part in such a way that indicated that for whatever reason her being a girl wasn’t what she would’ve liked. She looked down at her feet for a moment, as if steeling herself, before looking at him again and saying, “But just because I barely have any experience doesn’t mean I can back down!” She snatched the bow out of his hands and picked up a nearby quiver of arrows. “Sneak across the clearing and hide somewhere out of sight near the table. In a couple of minutes I’ll cause a distraction of some kind. Use it to grab our stuff and escape back to the trees where we were tied up.”

“I can do that,” said Steve, poking his head out of the tent flap and mentally calculating the route he’d have to take. The black cloaked guy had disappeared now, so it was just Goblins around. He picked up a nearby short sword and scabbard and belted it on over his jeans. “So what are you going to do?”

“I’ll come up with something,” she said, flashing a grin at him cheekily, which did little to reassure him. “Just meet me at the trees where we were tied up during the mayhem and everything will be fine!”

Steve still wasn’t reassured, but at this point he could tell that arguing was pointless. “Fine,” he replied, submitting.

“OK,” said the girl, attempting to string the bow. “We’re friends now, so call me Nadine, OK Steve?”

“Sure, Nadine,” said Steve. They exchanged a final glance before she ducked out of the tent and disappeared. Steve soon followed, taking care to stay concealed. It was slow going since Steve had to dash from cover to cover, but it didn’t take as long as he thought it would.

On the other side of the clearing, Steve found a new hiding place in a bush, where he had a clear view of the table. While he was waiting for Nadine to do what she was going to do, his thoughts turned towards her…quirky personality. She was a bit irritating, but in a good way; it was something that was hard to actually dislike, although her immaturity did get on his nerves. What he found most annoying was that she had asked for his opinion on every single thing they’d done, which was completely opposite from Hannah, who hardly ever asked for a second opinion. Hannah’s asking him how to get into the newspaper building had obviously been a one-time thing, since she had barely let him get two words out.

Steve was broken out of his thoughts by a single arrow arcing through the air and, miraculously, slamming into the top log on the fire. The log shifted slightly, making the two water barrel Goblins look around nervously. They attempted to tell their commander about the arrow, but the shaft and tail had burned away already and he couldn’t see anything. Dismissing them, he shoved them aside rudely, spilling their water everywhere. The barrel dropped onto the fire, where the tar sealing the gaps between the wooden slats caught fire immediately, followed by the wooden barrel itself. As the barrel rolled off the fire and down the hill towards the field, the three Goblins panicked like little girls and ran through the fighters, shoving other Goblins aside. It might actually have been funny if there wasn’t a flaming barrel rolling around.

The Goblins had at this point completely screwed up the ongoing drills, which allowed the other Goblins time to look around and see what the commotion was. When they saw the barrel rolling their way, there was a domino effect as the Goblins panicked, bumped into other Goblins, and the new Goblins noticed and panicked. Within seconds it was like a Black Friday sale where the newest must-have gadget was marked 80% off.

The remaining Goblin commanders, who were apparently made of sterner stuff than the regular soldiers, attempted to restore order, but nobody was paying them any attention whatsoever. As soon as the commotion got bad enough, Steve quickly dove out from behind cover and grabbed Hannah’s bag. The bag, which was surprisingly heavy, went over his shoulder, within which he placed the rest of the stolen items. Then he hightailed it back into the maze of tents. He had come and gone so quickly that no one even realized he was there.

The trip back through camp was made significantly easier due to the fire hazard. Word of the fire had spread through the entire camp in a matter of minutes, and the Goblins were so worried about it that none of them paid him any attention. He ran right out in the open, meeting up with Nadine at the treeline very quickly.

“That was amazing!” Nadine exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement like a girl half her age. At least, he assumed that since he didn’t know her actual age. “I was aiming for the arrow to fall onto the practice field and distract them, but it turned out better than I’d hoped! It was pure luck!”

Steve dumped the bag on the ground and began checking its contents as she continued congratulating herself. Everything was where it was supposed to be, including Hannah’s tablet computer and a bunch of books, which explained the weight. “Here’s your knife back, Nadine,” said Steve. He tried to hand it to her, but she was doing some sort of victory dance and wasn’t listening. The sound of footsteps from the tents forced Steve to drag her behind a fallen log to hide. A large group of Goblins ran out from camp, carrying enormous wooden buckets.

Once they were gone, Nadine breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Sorry about overreacting,” she apologized, embarrassed. She grew really quiet again, before silently taking her knife back from Steve. “You got the circlet, too, right?” she asked hopefully.

“Yep,” said Steve, showing her the golden crown he’d picked up. It was modest for a crown, but still fairly heavy.

“Yes!” she said loudly, jumping up and down again. “She’d kill me if I lost this.” Despite the situation, Steve smiled; he was actually kind of enjoying Nadine’s childish antics, despite them being somewhat annoying. People at home hardly ever acted like that. He put the circlet on her head, which made her stop the silly antics and look surprised.

“Besides that though,” said Nadine, taking off the circlet and putting it on her belt, “we need to get out of here. It’s only a matter of time until someone realizes we’re missing.”

“You’re right,” Steve agreed. They both nodded and began walking through the forest.

At first, they walked in silence, both still recovering from the Goblin ordeal. After the sounds of the camp had grown fainter, Steve pulled out his phone to call for help, but he couldn’t get a signal. The built-in GPS was also apparently malfunctioning, since it didn’t have a clue where he was. He was eventually forced to turn it off and put it away.

“Sorry if I sound rude, but where are we going exactly?” Steve asked.

“I’m going home,” said Nadine. “You’re welcome to join me. Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. I bet Father could arrange to get you home.”

Home. “Mom and Dad must be worried sick,” Steve thought to himself. “What day is today?” he asked suddenly.

Nadine had to think about it. “It’s Sunday, I think. Or is it Monday? I lost track of time. Does your apparatus not tell you that or something?”

“I was just double-checking,” said Steve. What she’d said worried him significantly, since he’d left on a Friday. Then a thought crossed his mind. “Wait, how come you called it an apparatus? I’d think anyone our age would know what a cell phone is.”

Nadine stopped. She looked to be on the verge of saying something, but she stayed quiet. Finally she blurted, “I…don’t really think I’m the right person to tell you. Besides, I'm only twelve, so I don’t really know much of anything.”

“Try me,” said Steve. Nadine, however, said nothing. She instead began her intense focus again and began muttering something too low for Steve to hear. Nadine was tall for her age, which was a bit jarring since she looked older than she was. “What are you doing?” Steve asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Nadine’s eyes jerked open. “It’s better if you didn’t know. It’ll make it that much harder for you to go home.”

“I’ll take my chances,” said Steve, now slightly annoyed. It was apparently pretty evident in his tone, because Nadine noticed at once. She stopped walking and shook her head wildly with her hands over her ears, refusing to say anything. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, and she looked up at him. “I didn’t realize you were so uncomfortable with it.” Seeing her act like that made his annoyance pretty much evaporate.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” she conceded as they began walking again. “It’s just that I can’t tell you. In reality, I’m not supposed to know. If I told you, Father would find out I’ve been disobeying his orders and listening in to his secret meetings.”

“Who is your father?”

“Oh, he’s the Council Chairman. He represents the city.”

“What city?”

“Robertston. See, there it is!” They had just come to a river, and in the distance near the river’s mouth was a medieval-looking city, with a rather elegant looking castle topping it off. The city itself was surrounded by high stone walls, with several large roads leading to large gates.

“So, how do we get there, your highness?” asked Steve teasingly.

Nadine glared at him. “I’m not the Princess, you know. Even the Goblins knew that. She’s probably in the Palace right now wondering where I am. Or maybe she’s helping Father organize search parties. We’re really close, so she won’t rest until I get home.”

Well that explained why she’d taken off the circlet. “You know her well, then,” Steve remarked.

“I’ve known her for years. Father’s been Chairman now for eight years, so he was always in and out of the Palace. After he took on more duties after the…incident, my family moved into the Palace permanently.”

Nadine had become so engrossed in her thoughts she had to receive prodding from Steve to get on the way. “Right, so how do we get there? I’m not swimming there carrying this.” Steve jostled the bag around.

“Well, you can bet they’ll be looking for us by now, so we should probably avoid the roads. If only we had horses, though, we could…” She was interrupted by the approaching footfalls of horses, as if they were expecting her to say that. “Hide!” she hissed, pulling Steve into the trees again.

A group of seven horses rode out of the woods. They were ridden by men in metal armor, each carrying a sword at their belt. Their shields had symbols of a large silver deer painted on them. When they reached the river, they dismounted to allow their horses to rest and take a drink.

Nadine breathed a sigh of relief. “You can relax, Steve,” she whispered. “They’re soldiers in the Marisian Army! What luck!”

It was then that Nadine jumped out from behind the rocks, scaring the living daylights out of all of them. The first to recover was their leader, who strode over to her at once, his hand leaving his sword hilt as he did. “Miss Nadine!” he exclaimed. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine Captain,” she said, and all of the other soldiers breathed sighs of relief.

“You must come back with us at once, Nadine!” said the Captain. “Your father is very worried about you.”

“Why does he always worry?” Nadine scoffed. “Anyways, I had help escaping from the Goblins. Despite his looks, he’s trustworthy.” She beckoned for Steve to come out, which he did. The Captain looked at Steve oddly, but didn’t comment. “Steve, this is Captain Mark Goddard.” Nadine introduced them.

“Pleased to meet you,” said Mark gruffly. “Now, I’d say it’s high time to get back to the Palace. Miss Nadine, you’re with me. Steve, you’re with Bill.” He pointed to one of the soldiers, who motioned for Steve to join him. Steve noted that this soldier had been the only one to not immediately go for his sword when Nadine had appeared. There was only the one saddle, so Steve had to ride bareback.

“If you’re worried you’re gonna slip off, I suggest you keep a tight grip on the saddle,” Bill suggested. When the horse started moving, Steve hastily took his advice; the road was a bit bumpy and the heavy bag wasn’t helping much.

“It’s lucky you guys were here,” Steve remarked once they’d put some distance behind them.

“We’re lucky we found Nadine,” said Bill. “Half the army’s been scouring the forest looking for her all night. I was beginning to think I’d be camping again tonight, too. So I guess we helped us both out, huh?” He laughed a bit at that, and Steve half-heartedly joined in.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Steve asked.

“The capital, Robertston. The Chairman is really anxious to get his daughter back. She got kidnapped by Goblins, you know. Right out of the Palace grounds! Chairman Jameson knew instantly they’d gotten the wrong girl, though. See, both Miss Nadine and the Princess were out in the grounds, but somehow Miss Nadine got hold of her crown, so the Goblins mistook the two.”

“Actually, that might not be the case,” said Steve. He explained to Bill that the Goblins knew that they’d gotten the wrong girl, but Bill just brushed him off.

“You must have misheard them. Having the Princess as a hostage would’ve been the much better scenario for them. They’d have more leverage. Goblins aren’t stupid, so that must be the reason.”

That annoyed Steve, but he didn’t want to press him since he wasn’t familiar with Human-Goblin politics. “So, you know about the Goblins?” he asked.

“Doesn’t everybody? They’re just one of the many races that inhabit this land. They have a specific craft they’re known for and they’ll trade with just about anyone. I admit their government needs work, but Goblins themselves aren’t that bad. They just have a tendency to work for anybody if they get paid enough.”

“There was a guy in black robes leading them. Do you think he was paying them?”

“I hope not,” said Bill darkly, ending the conversation. Steve had a suspicion that Bill knew more than he was letting on, but he wasn’t about to start demanding answers out of a guy he just met that was armed with a sword.

They were both silent until they emerged from the trees onto a main road. Farmers, horses, carts, and wagons would generally move aside to let them pass, much like most car drivers moved aside for cops. “Tell me something else,” Steve said suddenly, struck with inspiration.

“What?”

“Where are we, exactly?”

“I can give you the exact answer or the short answer. Which do you prefer?”

“The exact answer,” said Steve enthusiastically.

Bill thought a moment before replying, “Now that I think about it, I’m not at liberty to give you the exact answer. Where we are is the Robertston West Road, in the kingdom of Marisia. We are going to meet Chairman Jameson, our interim ruler until the Princess comes of age. Then I shall return to my post as gatekeeper for the West Gate.”

“That told me almost nothing,” said Steve in exasperation. He would’ve thrown his hands in the air if he could’ve, but he was still holding on to the saddle. He was sitting in a terrible position, and he wouldn’t have said no to a break just about then to relieve the pain.

Bill suddenly started talking again. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but you’re not from here, are you? Are you from Industria?”

“Industria? Where’s that?” Steve asked curiously, having not heard the term before.

“Industria is the land of industrialization and technology across the sea. I think the official name is Europia or Africania or something. Anyways, it’s where Humans are from. Two hundred years ago, they sailed across the sea and started new lives here. I’ve heard it’s a place of wonder, but also of war and chaos. It’s also full of persecutors. That’s why our ancestors left. They were being burned for being themselves and resisting authority, and we’d had enough of it. So we left.”

Steve was about to respond, but by now they had reached the gate. There was a massive queue as everybody was being thoroughly checked, but after a few words from Captain Mark they bypassed the line completely and rode through.

Once inside, it was a swift ride towards the Palace. After winding through the maze of streets, they entered a square in front of the Palace gates, which were shut and guarded. Within the square, numerous people were going about their daily business. A huge multi-tiered marble fountain stood in the middle, on the top of which was a statue of a beautiful woman wearing a crown who was extending her hand downwards towards the street.

Steve didn’t have much time to admire the statue since they quickly rode into the Palace grounds. “This is as far as I go,” said Bill, motioning for Steve to hop off. He did so gingerly. Captain Mark descended also and after helping Nadine down, he gave his horse’s reins to another soldier and the other six rode off.

When they entered the main doors of the Palace, Steve had his breath taken away. The place was huge, with tall ceilings, large arches framing the doorways, and long corridors, each with numerous other corridors branching off of them. And that was only what Steve could see from the Entry Hall. “I’ve already contacted my superiors, so they should be expecting our arrival,” said Mark. Before Steve could ponder how he’d done that, Mark was whisking both him and Nadine away.

Just like the city outside, the Palace corridors were filled with twists and turns, resembling a maze. At least it wasn’t far to the destination. They stopped in front of a set of elegant, unpainted wooden doors. Mark seized the knocker and rapped it three times. The door opened at once to reveal a teen, a little older than Steve, standing there. He had short black hair in a medieval buzz cut and dark eyes. He called into the room, “She’s here, Father!” before standing aside.

The room they entered looked like an old-fashioned meeting room. There were two long tables facing each other, with six seats each. All twelve men sitting in the seats were watching the procession silently, their faces expressionless. At the head of the room was a raised podium, at which stood a balding man in red robes, who looked like an older version of the boy who’d opened the door. Mark stayed at the door with the teenage boy, who had taken a seat in one of two chairs near the door. Although the other chair was empty, Mark did not sit down.

There was an awkward silence as father and daughter stared at each other. Then the Chairman said, “It’s so good to see you, Nadine. I’m glad you made it home all right.”

Nadine was silent at first, conscious of all the eyes on her, before replying, “It’s good to be home Father. I rather hated being captured by those Goblins. If Steve hadn’t been there as well, I’d probably still be tied up in their camp.”

The Chairman turned his attention to Steve for the first time. To Steve’s surprise, the Chairman’s face showed the emotions of shock and fear before morphing into surprise and gratitude. He quickly recovered himself. “Yes, thank you for your assistance, Steve. Now, there is the simple matter of reward. Paul!” He directed this last part at the boy by the door, who jumped up at once. “Take Nadine to our rooms and help her get settled. Captain, you are dismissed.”

After a few “Yes sirs”, they all cleared out, leaving Steve alone to face the council. Then the Chairman locked eyes on Steve. “Is something wrong, sir?” Steve asked politely.

“Walk with me,” the Chairman said suddenly, stepping down from the podium and heading towards the main door, beckoning for Steve to follow. “I’ll return in a while,” he informed the Council members, who looked at him questioningly. “Come,” he said quietly, leading Steve away from the Council Chamber. Steve had only been in the Council Chamber for about ten minutes, but in that time the Palace had completely changed. Now, instead of the odd person moving around, the hallways were full of people moving about, carrying trays of food. Steve had to stick close to the Chairman’s shadow to avoid getting left behind. At least the fact that he was following a person of importance meant that everybody moved aside for them, so they didn’t spend much time wading through traffic.

Eventually, the Chairman led Steve outside the Palace entirely, before finally stopping near what looked like a bomb crater in a rear courtyard. “This time yesterday, this impression did not exist,” the Chairman began. “It was created when the Goblin army swarmed the grounds and took Nadine away. Thanks to you, she was swiftly returned. That means you must be rewarded. Before you ask, I will go ahead and tell you. Your reward will be your safe return to Industria.” Seeing the puzzled look on Steve’s face, he continued, “Do not look so surprised boy. As Chairman, I am privy to much information that the average person is not. For example, I know that Industria is not across the sea as most people believe. Instead, it is another world entirely, accessible only by Portal. Your choice of attire clearly indicates that you are from there. It is therefore my duty to send you home as soon as possible. What is your surname, incidentally?”

Steve looked at him, impressed. “Dodson. Have you had visitors before, then?”

“Occasionally. Most are not at all pleasant to be around, I can assure you. However, you have a different look about you, boy. By saving my daughter, who you didn’t know and most likely didn’t need to save, you have earned my trust. Normally Industrians are immediately jailed because of their propensity for violence and mistrust until they can be returned home, but you don’t seem to have that, so as Chairman I’m waiving that law for you. Don’t make me change my mind.”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” said Steve quickly, wary of the Chairman’s change in tone. If this guy was the only reason he wasn’t in jail, it would be smart to not make him mad. “By the way, why do you keep Industria a secret? Not all of us are bad.”

“Industrians see this place as a paradise compared to their homeworld. They wish to exploit our resources, invade us, or give us advanced technology to upset our society. That is why we have a no tolerance policy for Industrians, and why we send them home. The risk is simply too great.”

Steve had to admit he had a point. “So, how am I going home?”

“By Portal. They are how our worlds connect. I’ll go search the catalogue to find a reasonable Portal so that you may be sent home as soon as possible. I only ask that you stay the night. I intend to throw a ball to celebrate Nadine’s return home, and it would be a great shame if you were not able to attend. We will provide you with suitable garments to wear as well as a room in which to stay.”

“I…I guess I’ll stay,” said Steve, taken aback by the sudden request.

“Very good then,” said the Chairman. He turned to leave, but then, remembering something, he said, “That’s right, I’ll need to hold on to your possessions while you are here, to discourage theft of your belongings. Industrian items tend to show up on the black market a little too frequently, I’m afraid.” Steve shrugged, and then handed over Hannah’s bag, his phone, wallet, and keys. He figured it was OK since he couldn’t use them anyways and he’d get them back before he left. The Chairman seemed nice enough, and he owed Steve a favor for saving his daughter.

“By the way,” Steve interrupted, “the bag belongs to a friend of mine. I didn’t have it with me when I came here, so it probably means that she is probably around somewhere, too.”

The Chairman’s eyes grew wide. “There is another Industrian loose in Marisia? What is the girl’s name and what does she look like?”

“Her name is Hannah and she has dark skin, black hair, and black eyes,” said Steve.

“This is a problem,” said the Chairman, pondering what he’d just learned. “If your friend is indeed here, then that means I cannot send you home until she is found as well. After all, you are the only person who knows what she looks like. There is also the issue of her appearance. You mentioned that her skin was dark, yes?”

“Well, yeah,” said Steve.

The Chairman shook his head. “I fear for her life, then. When the Emperor first took over, he divided the land into three provinces. Marisia, where we are, is mostly forested and was populated mostly by fair-skinned people. Even after our secession from the Callistian Empire and we formed our own kingdom, the Kingdom of Marisia, our people still hold grudges against any person with darker skin due to the association with the Callistian Empire. I will send out search parties, but I fear we may already be too late. Was she not in the encampment with you and Nadine?”

“No,” said Steve. After seeing Hannah’s bag, he had kept an eye out for her, but she had been nowhere to be found. The chatting Goblins hadn’t mentioned her, either.

“Then she may be in another Goblin encampment. Or perhaps not. No matter what, I will make it my priority to find your friend.” The Chairman smiled at Steve as he shouldered Hannah’s bag. “Fear not, young Steve; if your friend lives, we will find her. You have my word.”

Steve nodded and the Chairman called over a maid to escort Steve away.