"It'll be okay, Natalie. Lady Victoria and the others will protect us and as soon as Lady Dawn and the other Travelers return then we'll have absolutely nothing to fear."

She cradles her toy with a child's reckless care. Only a slight tug from gravity will have it--- a floppy rag doll girl dressed up in soft, leather armor with a tiny shield and sword tied to its hands---tumbling to the floor. The young girl named after her mother stares off into the distance.

The Tailors made a few of these toys as a way to make use of the colorful scraps of odd bits and pieces, but the children took to them with wide smiles and tight embraces.

This particular one, Lady Sunset Olbekket, has protected and comforted her charge since Higo and has never lost a battle with fear.

None of the non combatants cower in the Town Hall that shelters them. Instead, they ready healing supplies, delicious food, and ammunition. What little aid they could provide or advantage they can impart, they prepare for. It's true that they feel as though they lack that little spark of courage that the reserve units seem to have and that the soldiers and Travelers have in brilliant abundance. But that lack certainly doesn't leave them quivering in their boots behind the defenses.

Hovering over the simple carriage once used by Sonny when she was still in her dungeon core form, young Natalie squeezes Lady Sunset one more time before placing her next to her restless sister, "It's okay, Roma, Lady Sunset and I will protect you."

From a storage ring, a set of wooden armor is drawn out and the young girl equips it along with the matching pair of a wooden sword and shield. She closes the visor on the helm and the other children with similar sets do the same.

This doesn't slip past the notice of the adults, especially their parents, and mother Natalie grips tight her own security blanket in one hand, the Quartz given to her by the Traveler Ardacen. Still full of Spells and ready to go, she brings it up to her chest as her other hand grasps her husband's hand. She finds comfort in its tension and more than just a glimmer of hope in his eyes. They gaze out at the maze of walls, traps, and empty battery emplacements disperesed throughout the front half of The Keep.

Natalie offers a prayer in her heart to any god that would hear it, that they would not have to use them. That her eldest daughter not find herself in a situation where she would have to keep her promise to her sister. That the toy armor wouldn't have to be tested by actual combat.

Just the thought of being in that dungeon again gave her the shivers and her husband pulled her in closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. If it weren't for the others, for Ardacen's timely appearence, who knows what might have happened back then. Will he appear again, out of the blue, from where ever it is he might be?

They may be immortal, but how can the Travelers be so brave? To face danger with broad smiles and witty banter? Then again, how does Lady Victoria do it? Kona? Serenity? Elsbeth? The soldiers? The reserves?

Natalie sighs. She sees that spark in her daughter and it fills her with admiration and maternal fear.

Distant rumbling and explosions cause them all to drop in quick crouches and gasps. Heads turn on swivels and they hesitate to move.

A weathered voice from the back pulls their attention, "Come now, everyone. You know the drill."

It's Sofia who takes on the figure of matron among the non-combatants. As old as she is, she still does her best to work hard when she can and inspires the others to do similarly. She was the one to first whip them out of feeling sorry for themselves in Rentas Dungeon and the one to delegate every day chores for people to stay busy.

"If you're not going to fight, you're going to work. Are you going to make me do everything?" She loads something into her storage ring, twisting it on her boney finger to make sure it stays on, and points her cane at the children. "You older kids know what to do with the younger ones. Make sure you have plenty of food and water. You there, Heleno. You are in charge, keep everyone in line."

A tall, Half-Elf boy nods his head, one of the only kids without a helmet of some kind. His long hair normally kept loose to brush over his back and shoulders is now tied up in a simple top knot taught to him by Elsbeth. The Lunar Elvn men wore top-knots when hunting or in battle while the women only ever wore theirs braided during very special occasions like a wedding.

Over the hustle and bustle, they could hear the effects of Serenity's Spells and see said lightning through the aperture like some kind of horrendous storm. Several loot sacks even fall through the opening and hit the ground with puffs of dirt. Moments later, a new sound intrudes upon The Keep and everyone stops to listen as it grows louder.

Is it one of her Spells? Or an actual storm? Snow falls through the opening, but it drifts in gently so probably not. What could it be? Another monster?

Loud, but not deafening, like a million fist sized bees, the sound ceases to grow in intensity as if the thing itself has made its home just overhead. A shadow looms in from the aperture and less snow falls inside. Something large is blocking part of it. Now, if it was something they had to worry about, wouldn't Kona and Serenity be blasting it with Spells? Just as suddenly as it appeared, the sound stops and the world is still.

Everyone remains glued to the spot, only theirs eyes move, searching all around for a hint of what is going on. A voice calls out from above. A burnt out, calloused voice that was all at once familiar, terrifying, and vexatious.

"Don't one of you mouth breathing, bird brains have the disk Spell to get us down from here?"

Mika.

How someone so old and supposedly so wise can blame others for not knowing something she easily could have learned is flustering for the others, but it is something they've all come to expect. Another voice in an exasperated, yet still gentle sort of shouting answers her.

"I told you to stop using that term, you old Gallow Bat. And for the fifth time, I have the Mover's Disk Spell, but it's a Ritual Spell and it takes a couple minutes to activate. So please, for all our sakes, keep your panties on."

Lydia, the snowy white owl Faunus' voice lowers with every word she speaks, trying to concentrate on the magic circle she manipulates with hand gestures lying on the ground in front of her. The feint blue lines turn and the hieroglyphics cycle through in rapid succession.

"By Pavaros' tits, not another one. As if Kona and Serenity weren't enough… Coulda sworn Lady Vic was, too, but that blue, hot head proved me wrong."

"I am not a lesbian! Not that there's anything wrong with that… but that's not the point!"

Descending like crass deities from an obnoxious otherworldly realm, the explorers use an almost two dimensional, silver disk to float down from above. Large enough to fit seven of them with room to spare, Sonny choosing to instead use Meteora, Lydia and Mika stand on opposite ends and continue to bicker.

"Yeah, can't be. I've seen the way you've leered at the Boy Blue. Think Lady Vic is the sharing type, better think again."

They devolve into a shouting match as Gorm jogs up to meet them. A grim silence washes over them as they notice the serious look on his face. Sonny floats down with a hand to her ear cuff, motions for the Kobolds to hop aboard, and nods to the head chef before taking off through the aperture. Much to the chagrin of the squeeling Dola, Sonny doesn't hold back on the speed.

Gorm clears his throat, "We're under attack. The others are holding them off at the Grey Lady, but only three people have the ability to close the bridge. Two of them, are Vanished."

Eyes turn with trepidation towards the young, Lupine Faunus. Her fingertips temple in front of her chest as the realization also dawns on her. They tap against each other, gaining momentum as they match the pace of her heart. The ever present Coaster perched on her shoulder shrinks back from the implied mission, head shaking in disbelief. Then, his gaze ultimately lingers up at his new owner's face

"How-- How fast can we get there…?" Her lithe voice weighs heavily among the listeners. Her hands continue, as if her heart would stop the moment they do. She thinks about what she would need for such a dangerous assignment. Each mental question she goes over causes her right ear to twitch.

Better armor, for one thing? Some kind of weapon? She's a Cleric, so maybe a wand? Can she wield one of the Thunderstrucks? A shield? Does she have any combat related Spells or Skills?

Would she have to kill people?

Her mind begins to spiral and her knees lose what little strength they had keeping her standing upright. A slight ringing in her ears is all she hears as a concerned Gorm's lips move but nothing comes out. Coaster, sensing something is wrong, pokes at her cheek with a light blue sycthe arm. As her vision grows blurry, those around her wear faces of concern.

Like pushing over a tower of blocks, she looms forward and then tilts dangerously backwards without signs of stopping. A few people move to catch her, but halt and stare at her mid lunge. Or rather, they stare at something right above her.

It takes Lavina a moment to come around. Her big, brown eyes roll back down and try to focus on the faces above her. She's not on the ground like she thought she would be. She's being held up at an angle and her feet are barely brushing the floor.

"You okay, kiddo?" Richter asks, one hand cradling her head and shoulders and the other holding up a waterskin.

"Yeah, like, what's the matter?" The more often than not chipper voice of Rachel is now quite somber and toned down.

Her eyes shift to the third person, Lady Dawn, and once more her heart starts to accelerate. They both attempt to speak at the same time and only laugh awkwardly when they do. Gorm approaches them and gives Dawn a salute.

"Commander. Our forces are currently being forced away from the Grey Lady and will be falling back to Kes Mud sooner than we thought. Kona and Serenity are en route, as well as Sonny and Squad Mithril."

"Does that mean Project Icarus was successful?"

He nods and motions to Mika, Lydia, and Lavina, "They just arrived, ma'am."

As planned, the three players withdraw Nightmare mount cards and summon them. Gorm tosses his Whisper Ear Cuff to Dawn who proceeds to equip it.

"Get in touch with the lieutenant, ma'am. She withdrew to Kes Mud early due to complications."

"Thanks, Sergeant," Dawn says, pulling on the reigns. She calls out to the crowd, "You all know what to do. Keep each other safe in here. Load up the vardo and, if The Keep is breached, then get it and yourselves up into the airship and make your escape. Do not resort to the emergency tunnel unless absolutely necessary."

She strikes her chest with her fist in salute, followed by Richter and Rachel, and everyone returns the salute.

Dawn sends a notice to everyone present before taking off towards battle with Richter and Rachel in tow.

[Major Quest Received: Enemy Down the Road

[Major Quest Updated: Enemy Down the Road + Revenge II

[Major Quest Received: Vengence is Delivered

[Dez Driftwood and Angus Elder have amassed an army to wipe out Linqs. Defeat the army, but do not let Dez or Angus escape the battle. In the "The Keep" location do not let more than 5 buildings be destroyed and protect all the present citizens.

[Killed Dez Driftwood 0/1 and Angus Elder 0/1. Kept buildings safe 5/5. Kept citizens safe 1/1. Skeletal Hydras destroyed 3/3, Skeleton Army defeated 1/1, Hobgoblin Army defeated 1/1

[Rewards and Punishments will be based on goals reached or failed.]

***************

One of the very first things constructed in Kes Mud, aside from simple clay shelters, was a park right in the center of it all. The woodlands surrounding the make-shift city were too dangerous for people to take casual strolls, enjoy a picnic, or simply partake in recreational activities.

Along with trasplanted trees, flowers, and grass, they also added benches, tables, a couple grills for cooking, and a replica of the Coronus Castle playset. The park was supposed to be their version of Lady Anne's garden with the idea that some day the whole town would be just as green and lush. Even though Kes Mud ended up being a temporary encampment, seeing as they no longer needed it after discovering The Keep, there was still the plan to keep it as a sort of home away from home. It's much closer to the dungeon, the grove guarded by the Atlas Boa, and the pond and waterfall after all, and it would make transporting everything safer and more organized.

That way, it would have a better purpose than as the first draft for the ideal city of Linqs. But for now, it's no better than an oversized landmine.

Hiding inside one of the buildings designated "Small House 3," Victoria focuses on her breathing while being tended to by Milli and Haro. Seated at an abandoned, wooden dining set, the Lieutenant keeps her fists tight on the table. Uncomfortable as she is, she isn't in pain by even a sensative person's standard of measure. She can, however, see how this would be easier if one were asleep and it would be possible to sleep through such an ordeal.

"Milli help deliver Kobold egg baby before, Lady Victoria. Maybe same process for people? No worry. Privacy good. Battlefield no place for baby." She moves to check on Haro who stands near a window facing the street leading to Kes Mud's entrance. He has his shield up and crossbow peaking just above it.

Vic breathes out a sharp laugh through her nose, "We won't make it to The Keep in time, so this'll have to do. Thank you both for helping me, but depending on how long the others can hold the bridge--"

Off in the distance, a cacaphony of throat-rending yelling, metal ringing, and Spells and traps exploding can be heard. Like an in-bound marching band, the noises become louder and clearer as they get closer to the town.

Vic places a hand over her belly, "If you're anything like your father, you have a lot of work to do on your timing."

A few beads of sweat trickle down her forehead and it doesn't go unnoticed by the pale yellow Kobold. "Soon, Lady Victoria, soon. We move you to bed. You likely fall asleep then and better on bed."

How anyone could sleep at a time like this would be anyone's guess, but she complies with the knowledgeable lizard lass and stands. Immediately, her vision tunnels and what little she can see undulates as if she were in a drunken stupor. Stablizing herself on the table, she can no longer make out what Milli is saying, only taking in muffled shouting. A clawed hand guides her quickly to a bedroom with a cot used for mid-day naps during Kes Mud's construction.

As her breathing slows and eyes slam shut, Vic understands that she isn't exactly falling asleep, but more likely passing out. All the tension of the moment leaves her like beer from a freshly tapped barrel of Frost Dragon Ale. The thought of a mug of that cold, delicious brew causes her to involuntarily lick at the corner of her lips. Her mind jumps to the time in Lady Anne's garden where everyone in Linqs shared a glass and they ate the most delicious fruits.

Her muscles relax to the point where she could barely turn her head to one side, let alone lift up her hands to defend herself. A tiny voice by her side tells her to let the sleep carry her, but not to be gone too long. They need her here.

She needs *him* to be here.

Although Ardacen had spoken of chance and uncertainty, she knew the odds were too stacked in her favor. She knew that that man would find a way, as he always has, to come back to her. Something may be holding him back, perhaps even a member of the Pantheon, but even they are mearly a pot hole in his road home.

Then again, should he arrive before the baby, he might get to name it as custom dictates and that might be reason enough for him to be delayed…

With that final thought, her lights go out.

"Good, Lady Vic sleep," Milli folds her hands over her stomach and pats them with a claw. She moves over to Haro and asks him for a quick report.

"Others coming, Team leader. Haro see Tamu and Dila, but they no see Haro."

She lets off a sigh of relief, "Good. Want Squad together. You can get them here?"

He nods, peaks out the doorway as he was taught, and uses his shield to lead the way towards the others. At the same time that he does this, Milli covers him with her crossbow, sweeping the street and only finding Conner taking his position in the tower. She watches Haro tap the others' shoulders from their sides and, without looking back, they fall back to Small House 3.

After a brief discussion, Milli transfers her Huntsman Spider Barrel to Dilla and posts her on the roof with Haro as her defender and backup. Tamu will help protect Victoria with Milli. If baby humans are anything like the eggs, the little one should arrive soon and shortly after Vic will awaken.

Milli was looking over Vic's face, when several, heart-stopping roars shake the entire valley…

***************

Kona and Serenity arrive just as the hob forces were allowed to take over the Grey Lady. More of them make it across the bridge than they originally estimated, but thanks to the batteries set up on the waiting side and Elsbeth's ranged attacks they were still able to diminish the threat by a noticeable amount. The Kobolds let the soldiers fall back first as they emptied their bolt boxes. Stalled on the bridge, one of the hopes was that someone would be available to activate it and send a good portion of the enemy into the drink or get smashed in the folding pieces. It would also have prevented more of them from coming across, though the Hydras were not taken into account at the time. Still, they were too large to traverse the bridge and, instead, acted like bridges themselves for a majority of the Skeleton army. This, of course, creates very attractive targets for AoE Spells.

"Focus on flying, love. I'll hit the Hydras and Skeletons." Serenity's choice of using a wand versus a more powerful staff is made that much clearer as she wields it with practiced ease from behind Kona. As nimble and accurate as Brandy is with her gun, she is a Spell-slinger extraodinaire while riding passenger on the broom. Of course, her trust in Kona's flying ability and her defensive Spells allows her to focus entirely on offense. Her only hangup is the speed of which she drains her MP, although Seren has a much higher modified MP Regen than everyone else. Including a bonus from a dessert dish that is reminescent of a croissant covered in colorful icing and candied fruits, it sits at 41MP after a 5second wait for a total of four hours (01:17:44 remaining).

Kona doesn't have time to warn her as she pitches, rolls, and yaws to avoid horse-sized bolts of dark energy in the shape of yawning skulls. Used to the erratic flying of her love's early days of getting used to the broom, Serenity's tight leg grip as well as an arm wrapped around a slender waist keeps her from falling from unnexpected twists and turns.

From an ornate, golden chariot, a furious Dez Driftwood aims his staff at the duo and fires salvo after salvo of the Colossal Shadow Bolts. His twisted scowl burns with hatred as a thin veil of recognition sets over it. His will manifests itself through his army as short bows and abyssal black eyes turn towards the sky.

Swarms of arrows follow soon after and it's all the two can do just to avoid being shot out of the air. With quickly dwindling MP, Kona chances a quick pass at the archer companies while Serenity chain casts bolts of lightning and AoE Spells that detonate into scorching, high voltage domes of electricity. Several Skeletons dive to intercept incoming bolt Spells and Dez barely bats an eye as they fall apart, dropping their loot sacks. Diving behind the chariot and trying to avoid getting caught up in the aerial assault, they spot the only other non-goblinoid, living figure.

Had it not been for the lustrous Mithril guitar, Kona wouldn't have been able to put a name to the handsome, yet panicky face of the well-dressed man. He looked more the part of a Bard than ever before, and she recalls the story Ardacen told them about the library dungeon and Angus' displaced "time echo" self.

A flash of worry that maybe Angus was being forced to continue working beside Dez now was quickly diffused as, feeling safer behind the opulent vehicle, the Bard struck his guitar and a thunderous force slams into the Mana Dome like an enraged Adult Gorshix.

With a grunt of pain, Kona's face screws into gritted concentration as she tries to fly and dodge while her MP drops to dangerous levels. Her mana battery necklace pulses with blue light as the little bit of spare MP barely keeps the Mana Dome from shattering.

"Forget it, love," Serenity commands as she taps Kona's shoulder, "We need to recharge."

She hisses through her teeth, but agrees with a head nod. Dropping all pretense, Kona flies off away from the battle. As they fly off, Dez and Angus reconsider their attack plan.

Dez gains a brief instance of clarity, eyes darting about the ground in thought, he orders his forces to divide. The battlion of hobs and gobs will continue to chase down the Kobolds and the handful of soldiers. Crushing that many should be as easy as treading over a slug with the wheels of the chariot. Stepping off said chariot and cutting one of the horses loose to mount it, he leads the undead to see if he could find another route to where they're heading.

"Dez?" Angus asks, "The Travelers should be back at the tower by now. Should we send for them? We could force them to fight for us."

The Halfling spits on the ground, "Useless lumps of meat. They would only get in my way and steal my XP. Besides, they would take too long to get here."

"What about William? He can teleport to locations he's invited to now and he's pretty much the only one of them who would follow our orders, coerced or not."

Still scowling, he finally agrees and adds to tells him to let the rat mage know he will be aiding the hobs since most of their magical support was taken out while trying to storm the bridge as well as in that open field set-up. Angus plucks a few notes from his instrument and the strings glow a dim blue as do his ears and lips.

"Will? Are you back yet?" Several seconds pass and he nods to himself. "Wonderful. Now, we need you here to lead the hobgoblin forces."

Another few seconds pass and Angus rolls his eyes with a smirk. He glances at Dez.

"A promotion and matching pay since you'll be 'leading' the army of hobs?" He couldn't hide the derisive tone in his voice and comprehends the impatient growl coming from his friend's throat.

"Yes, yes. Just get down here now or you'll end up in the hole with your friends." Angus plays a few notes, ending the call and glowing lights. "If you like, you can go ahead and take your forces right and circle around while William and I continue forward. We can hit them with a pincer move where ever they're hiding."

Dez grumbles to himself about not liking the idea, but not being in a better state of mind to strategize he concedes to the idea of letting Angus take all three Hydras as well as half the archers and a majority of the skeletons to follow William and the hobs.

The dozens of Giant Skeletons, Skeleton Archers, and the rest of the Calcified Skeleton Soldiers should be more than enough to handle Winters and the paltry forces he might have been able to muster. Dez licks the corner of his lips as he fantasizes about the moment his crushes the Blue Mage's Life Crystal, once and for all.

***************

Ashes and dust.

Splinters and rubble.

Evidence of a place that once was an area of leisure and recreation lays out in pieces. A wooden beam lays across several others like a fallen soldier, dented heavily near one end and jutting misaligned "teeth" out of the other as if something massive had slammed into it and broke it unceremoniously. Another beam still has a single edged axe biting into it, the handle cracked and covered in yellow blood.

Unlike its name's sake, this Coronus castle has been breeched and broken as easily as a pile of dry leaves. Intended to be a kind of militia from birth, Hobgoblins were trained from the beginning to be well-disciplined soldiers. Or at least, that was the intent.

Nothing could quell the red hot, furious embarrassment burning within them for being thwarted and routed by Kobolds, the lowest of the low, even more useless than their goblin brethren. This rage spurred them further and faster than proper battle acumen would dictate, spreading out their forces into non-existent lines until they approached Kes Mud in ones and twos.

Of course, this made them easy targets for the defending forces. Accessing the caches hidden in the town, the Kobolds and soldiers refilled their storage rings and bolt boxes, drank potions, and readied the special trap detonating Spell Cards they prepared what seems like months ago.

The plan is to lure as many of the enemy into the town before letting the whole town erupt in a plume of elemental destruction. Fire, lightning, arcane, shadow, and even radiant damage would cleanse the whole town, and, unfortunately, level it in the process. The initial intent was for both undead and hob forces to be caught up in the blast, but the limited space and way the forces fractionated at the bridge, as well as the Linqs warriors having no way of maintaining observations of the enemy's movements made it difficult to gauge the optimal moment of which to spring the trap.

That plan, however, would still have to wait for two things. More of the enemies would have to be within the town limits for the trap to be most efficient. And, Lady Victoria would have to either be moved or awake and mobile enough to escape with the others. All the while, it would have to constantly appear that they are fiercely maintain control of Kes Mud.

Precariously balanced on the edge of a knife as they faced the sparce amount of advanced attackers, the defenders will quickly become overwhelmed when the main force arrives, outnumbering them scores of units to one of their own.

"Here, take Milli's boxes," the pale yellow Kobold shouts and throws her bag up on the roof to Haro. "If enemy get inside, I use swords and shiny vine." She jumps into an open window, back in the bedroom.

She glances at the prone Victoria and her dimly glowing torso. In mere moments, the baby should arrive and things can move forward as planned. The sounds of intensifying battle just outside causes Milli to withdraw her rapier. Tamu nods at her and aims his crossbow out a window with tightening grips.

A strange sound pierces the air. Strangely familiar and wholly out of place, melodic notes from two violins playing in harmony drifts gently over the battlefield just like the snow.

"What happening, guys?" Milli shouts up at the roof through the window.

"Sonny!" Dilla exclaims and Milli can hear the thumps indicating excited jumping, "And Mithril! And- And! Dilla see Kona and Serenity come back from bridge!"

And just like that, even amidst the raging sea of battle, the snow seemed that much whiter and the future seemed that much brighter.