"So you really are leaving me to take care of the home all alone again?" Suiv asked Yilka outside as Lapis was tying his dogs to the reins.
"Yes. And when we return, we can all return to our real home." Yilka assured to his aunt.
"And if you don't return?" Suiv asked.
"You'll have less mouths to feed." Yilka replied.
"And less hands to carry lumber and game home." Suiv reminded.
"We've gone through this before. We can't stay here! All the time we chop down these trees faster than they can grow back, just to stay warm here. We need to get our land back. And the dream of making the tribe one hasn't died in me yet. Maybe it has in you, but not me. They want to build their sky spoiling machine in our village and make our brothers dig out the cavemoss that runs it. This is a fight that I'm willing to give my life for. Our brothers have suffered for a long time. Should they suffer any longer?" Yilka asked and began raising his voice the longer he spoke.
"Alright, I got it..." Suiv began to speak.
"Was it for nothing that our forefathers plowed their land on the hills? Was it for nothing when they defended their land against an unbeatable invader? Was it for nothing when they rebelled against that unbeatable occupier? No! It must not be for nothing! They and their precious land have suffered under the heel of an adversary for too long! They must not suffer any longer! Our creator wouldn't allow it." Yilka poetically recited.
"You sound too convinced to persuade now." Suiv said and sighed.
"You are right. And when we return, you will know that it's time to return home. So have hope." Yilka told Suiv.
"I had hope the first time you lot left. You came back without my daughter. Then Vena came back wounded and useless. Which of you will come back this time?" Suiv wondered.
"I don't know. But if we try nothing, we will all perish here slowly. I'd rather die on the path to freedom." Yilka said and turned his back on Suiv.
He faced Lapis who had finished reining his dogs and was already waiting at the reins while Degolani was already sitting on the sled.
"Are we ready to go?" Yilka asked Lapis.
"Me and Dego are ready. Are you and Nofa?" Lapis asked.
"I am ready right about... now." Nofa said as Blueberry brought her book to her from her home cave.
"I am ready. I have all I need." Yilka said and slapped the cudgel hanging from his belt.
"So do I. You and Nofa can sit on the back row. Me and Dego can sit on the front row." Lapis said and looked at his staff that was standing upright in the sled's front row.
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As the sled was on its way towards west, travelling along the forested landscapes by the mountains, certain things had to be made clear.
"We will have to get off the sled once we get into Haimana. The Continent Crosser has made the place so warm that there is no snow there. We may have to get a boat from Peikor, the southernmost city in Haimana. Then we can sail to the grand capital Lupiller." Lapis suggested while controlling the sled.
"Is it a big city? Would anyone there know your face?" Nofa asked from the back.
"With the way my face has changed, I'm not sure. But just to be safe, you lot should get the boat and once you have it, I should guide you from under the surface. The waters will be safe for you, and anyone who tries to stop you along the way will be swept away quickly and precisely." Lapis promised.
"The only one of us remaining three who speaks the local language there is you, Dego. It's up to you to get us a boat. We don't have money with us. Does Lapis have any?" Yilka said.
"Not with me as of this moment. That's why I'll find a Vastusarian boat close to you, and it'll be up to you to take it over." Lapis suggested.
"We can do it." Yilka said straight away.
Nofa looked at Yilka with a bit of uncertainty, but then turned to look at Lapis.
"Yes. We can do it." She said.
She then looked back at Yilka as if she had something to ask.
"What you said to your aunt back there before we left. It sounded very poetic. Had you been working on that, or are you really that fast?" Nofa asked.
"It wasn't me who thought if it." Yilka said and handed Varma's book of poems from his belt.
"Oh. Well, I may as well look what else she has come up with. I do worry about her every day too." Nofa said and opened the little book.
"I have questions." Degolani said from the front.
"Ask away." Lapis said.
"If the King has holy magic, can we use it ourselves to help Venamo?" Degolani asked.
"If we could somehow enchant the feign flesh we gave him, he could recover quicker. But I don't think the Holy blessing can be taken by force. It can only be given by Leri herself." Yilka answered.
"Hmm. Shame." Degolani said and pondered other things.
"It's a shame that we couldn't get anything out of Venamo. He has faced Pushkrilleri before and he would know what to expect from him. We don't know anything about him or his palace, other than its whereabouts." Lapis said.
"That's why we may have to dig up anything we can get, from anyone who's willing to talk. And if anyone's not willing to talk, we can make them willing to talk." Yilka said.
"Perhaps that's what we should have done long ago." Nofa added.
"You're right. We always thought he was just a man with an enchanted sword." Yilka replied.
"Mind you, when I found him, Venamo had an enchanted armour piece on him that had been pierced. An enchanted weapon can't puncture anything that is also enchanted." Lapis told everybody.
"Back at the Lehrean islands Varma got one of those stones that turns into a bow of pure light. It was able to puncture the airboats that had the glow of Holy magic around them. Could it be that Pushkrilleri has such a weapon?" Nofa wondered.
"His father was chosen by Leri herself. He must have been granted the holiest of weapons as well, and Pushkrilleri must have inherited it." Lapis theorised.
"That doesn't bode well for our chances." Nofa pointed out.
"It only means that we won't need armour to slow us down, since it wouldn't protect us in any way." Yilka added.
"Well, that's one upside of it. But we do need to know more about him before we can face him." Lapis reasoned.
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As the journey west continued, the skies got blacker and the snow got thinner, and the dogs had to put more and more effort to pull the sled. By the time they had gone around the lake of Kemioki by its northern shore and gotten to the territory of Haimana, the snow was gone and the dogs had to pull the sled on mud. That was never going to work, and everybody knew this, so they hopped off the sled, and Lapis ordered his dogs to take a rest.
"Now what?" Nofa asked.
"Now we need to walk to the nearest settlement to get a carriage to any settlement by the shore. From there we might get a boat. I recommended Peikor before because I know for sure that Vastusarian boats dock there. Quite a long way from here to there. Decuti, the academy city would be closer, but I think we should avoid going there." Lapis answered.
"Great. I knew it'd come to this at some point. All we can do is walk now." Yilka stated.
"And I'll walk by your side as long as it takes." Nofa said to Yilka encouragingly.
"Wait! Do you see?" Degolani asked everyone and pointed to the west.
Black smoke was rising in the western flatlands. The thing creating the smoke was unmistakable.
"The Continent Crosser is passing through here! And it's coming this way! That's how we'll get to Peikor in no time!" Lapis exclaimed and untied his dogs from the reins and took his staff and began running with them towards the Continent Crosser that was speeding in the distance.
"Well, come on then! We have to catch it before it passes!" Nofa said and handed Blueberry to Degolani.
Degolani just looked at Nofa in confusion.
"Let her take your fingers, and you can hold Yilka and Yilka can hold me." She told the big man.
"Like this?" Degolani said and wrapped his long arm around Yilka's torso.
"Yes, like that." Nofa said and then she and Yilka grabbed each other with both arms almost like a hug.
Blueberry then took to flight, and as she reached where Lapis was already running, Lapis put his staff between his teeth and grabbed on to Nofa's ankle and also joined the ride. As they all passed Lapis' dogs, they both sank their teeth into Lapis' boots and also joined the ride, and off they all went towards the Continent Crosser.
"Are you sure your arm can carry all this weight?" Yilka shouted to Degolani as his own arms struggled to hold on to the weight of Nofa, Lapis and two dogs.
"It has to!" Degolani shouted right back.
"I'll hold on to you, Yilka! Do the same!" Nofa exclaimed.
"I'll never let go of you!" Yilka exclaimed right back.
As Blueberry flew as fast as she could, the band could already hear the noises coming from the Continent Crosser as it sped through the flatlands.
"Don't fly to where it currently is, Blueberry. Fly to where it's going!" Nofa commanded to Blueberry.
The butterfly seemed to understand it, and changed course. Everybody flying with Blueberry could already see the rails, and they also saw the Continent Crosser approaching where they were headed.
"Can she make it there in time?" Yilka shouted while doing his everything to hold on to Nofa.
"Yes she can!" Nofa shouted right back.
"The pesky bug better make it!" Lapis mumble shouted while holding on to Nofa's ankle with his all and holding his staff between his teeth.
"Don't call the ruler of life a bug!" Nofa shouted.
"We will get there!" Degolani shouted.
And then the Continent Crossed flashed ahead of their eyes, but despite this, Blueberry kept speeding forward, and once it reached the rails, she dropped Degolani and everyone he was holding on to. The whole flock fell on top a soft pile of cavemoss at the very last car. Everybody was breathing hard and staying still.
"Did we make it?" Nofa asked Yilka as they were both on their sides and still holding on to each other.
"I still hear the noises of the cursed machine." Yilka replied.
"We are in!" Degolani exclaimed and looked over the edge.
"Friends, we are on our way! And we don't have to stop in Peikor, because this bad boy goes all the way to Lupiller! We will be there quicker than we thought!" Lapis told everyone.
"But we still need to learn so much more about Pushkrilleri." Nofa said.
"And another thing we need to do. We need to destroy this damned piece of metal once we're at our destination." Yilka suggested.
"If it stops by the shore, I can easily send a big wave to destroy it." Lapis suggested.
"Do that." Yilka replied.
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And so, the Continent Crosser rode across the Haimanan flatlands and crossed a primitive drawbridge into the province of East Vastusar, the capital province. The big machine made stops in all settlements, and at those times, the freeloaders had to keep quiet and hope that their car wouldn't be left behind or inspected. To their luck, it wasn't. A night passed as the machine made its way north along the shores of the capital province, and come morning, an unmistakable sight waited in the distance. The same grand city built on a hill that Venamo had seen before, but the others hadn't.
"This surely has to be it." Nofa commented as she and Yilka were looking over the edge.
"This is indeed it. I have seen drawings of this city in books and this is precisely how I remember it." Lapis commented from behind.
"This is how their capital city looks like. Our land's biggest city is nothing compared to this. Fighting against them in a war was always hopeless." Yilka commented as he watched the the city that reaches to the skies and lights itself with airboats surrounding it and has a rail system going up and down its streets.
"We can end it here." Nofa said and put a reassuring hand on Yilka's leg.
"Yes. We need to learn anything we can about Pushkrilleri here." Yilka replied.
Once the Continent Crosser stopped itself by the city, the band knew that it was time to hop out. Degolani hopped out first, and caught everybody else who hopped down after him. Only the dogs remained on the pile of cavemoss.
"Come on, dogs. Come down from there!" Lapis whisper shouted up to the pile of cavemoss, but his rented dogs only looked down at him, yawned and laid down.
"Fine, you were no use anyway." He then whispered to himself.
He then noticed Yilka, Nofa and Degolani all looking up and seeing the hill city and the mighty palace at the top of it. Hearts beat faster, knowing that this is where it would end, whether for them, or for the King.
"Let's begin." Lapis whispered to the others and began walking away from the station and into the streets of the city.
They noticed how mopey everyone on the streets looked. It was easy to understand, since they lived in such a dark city, but then there were also those who looked angry inside. A deep voice of a man standing on a barrel by the street corner echoed in the ears of everybody, but Lapis was the only one of the four who could understand it.
"The rebels who have seized the powers of the Father of Waters is still out there, but they will be hunted down like the rest of the rebels. Let the executions of these worthless rebels be a reminder for them, and for you, that the end the Kingdom of Greater Vastusar is the strongest, and no resistance to the new way and new hierarchy will ever win out in the end. I know that times are hard after the terror wave, but remain strong, citizens. The city takes care of its own. We will rebuild. We will work together, and we will win!" A man in partly gilded mail robes shouted to the townsfolk as the heads of ten Uhmak rebels were on pikes around him as warnings.
Yilka and Nofa wished they could understand what the man had said, but the heads on pikes reminded them of how Vakevata had promised to execute them and the others. Lapis felt nervous, knowing that him seizing the powers of water was a known fact around here. Lapis just kept his head low to hide his gills, but blending in was hard to do when being with a man as tall as Degolani, and with a woman with such a rare hair colour as Nofa's. Suddenly he felt somebody nudging at his pant leg. He looked down at who it was and saw a man with a bowl haircut and a handlebar mustache.
"Got any money?" The man asked.
"No." Lapis answered and yanked his leg free.
"You look like you do. You also look like a damn fish." The man then said.
"Go to work if you need money." Lapis told him.
"This is my work."
"This?"
"Yes. This is how I live."
"By bothering others as they pass by? And what would you even use the money for?"
"To double it in the casino over there."
"So that's your plan to get off the streets?"
"That's right! Every day I come here to ask for money and then I go try to double it in the casino. When I've spent it all there, I come back here to ask for more." The strange man explained.
"And have you ever won anything in that casino?" Lapis asked.
"No, but one of these days I will. The next attempt might be my big score. I can't quit now." The man said.
"Something tells me that the casino is rigged." Lapis warned the man.
"It's not rigged! Tired of everybody saying that it's rigged." The man grumpily replied.
"There he is! The usurper of waters!" A civilian shouted from somewhere after hearing the argument going on.
"Blasted." Lapis quietly said as panic rose on the streets.
Every street guard rushed over and pointed their spears and crossbows at Lapis and his companions. And if that wasn't bad enough, they then spotted roof guards on many of the roofs around the area. All the roof guards began shooting at the freeloaders, but before anything could hit them, Lapis formed an electric dome around himself and his companions. The dome of electricity bounced away the long metallic arrows, and every other arrow and bolt that hit it from any direction.
"Very bad!" Degolani exclaimed.
"Well, how do we get out of this then? How long can this bubble last?" Nofa asked Lapis.
"Long enough that I can get us somewhere safe." Lapis answered.
"Won't they be able to follow us?" Yilka asked.
"How about I cast a big wave here right after I find a safe spot for us?" Lapis suggested.
"What? It's a whole city with lots of folk who live here! You'd destroy them all!" Yilka replied.
"Well, what other way do you see to get out of this predicament? We're surrounded and getting shot at from every angle." Lapis asked.
"How about we all grab the staff, Blueberry carries the staff up and away and Lapis forms a bubble around us from all sides?" Nofa suggested.
"That would certainly work..." Lapis admitted.
"Then do it!" Nofa ordered as the dome was being showered by bolts right in the middle of the street as civilians were throwing rocks at the dome too.
"Everybody grab a hold!" Lapis commanded.
Everybody did as he told and grabbed a hold of the staff. Nofa gave Blueberry the command to do the same and to lift them all up. Once everybody's feet were off the ground, Lapis made the dome into an all encompassing bubble that protected the party from everything that was launched at them.
"We could go all the way to the palace this way, but we still need to learn more about the King." Nofa reminded everyone while hanging on.
"We don't even know who would know enough about him." Yilka added.
"Somebody in the actual palace might." Lapis suggested as the bubble rose higher and higher along the hill, catching the attention of all roof guards as well.
"Not like there's any safe landing places anywhere here either!" Nofa added.
"But look! The palace has watchtowers around it. Landing on one of those would be safest!" Yilka pointed out and nodded towards the tall watchtowers along the mighty palace.
"Blueberry, take us to that tower over there!" Nofa told her butterfly.
Blueberry carried the bubble all the way up to the palace and over its fences, and up to a watchtower where a guard couldn't believe his eyes as he saw an electric bubble carrying four people approach him. He shot a bolt at it but it only bounced away, the bubble landed in front of him and disappeared. Degolani grabbed the guard by the legs and dangled him by the legs over the edge.
"We needed answers. Ask him." Degolani said to his fellows while hanging the unlucky guard by the legs.
"Thank you, Dego. Well then, your authority..." Lapis began and quickly blocked an arrow that was headed his way with an electric shield.
"...what do you know about the king who lives in this palace?" Lapis then finished his sentence.
"He never comes out. I'm not meant to know anything about him. I only guard the premises!" The guard answered in panic.
"Never comes out, you say? Who is someone who might see him personally?" Lapis interrogated.
"He doesn't even eat or shit! Not even servants need to enter his hall which is right behind that broken window there." The guard admitted.
"There you go! You did know something more about him. What else do you know?" Lapis asked and poked his staff at the guard's chest to make him swing a little.
"H-his advisors live in the second floor of the palace. They meet with him to discuss matters of the Kingdom. They've seen him." The guard further admitted.
"Marvelous. Dego, get him up here." Lapis said.
Degolani lifted the guard back on safe ground and left him sitting on his backside.
"Now be a good boy and stay quiet." Lapis warned and tossed the guard's crossbow down from the tower.
Right then, a bell rang as another watchtower guard shot a bolt at a bell down on the courtyard.
"Let's go find some advisors and find out what they know." Lapis said and began climbing the steps down with Degolani following him.
"Before we follow them, look at this." Nofa said to Yilka and pointed at the scenes from the top of the watchtower.
Before them they saw the destruction that had been caused by the wave that Lapis had unleashed on the city. The foundations of buildings remained, but not much else. Big tents had been built on the roads to house those who lost their homes, and rebuilding work had began on the ruined foundations of the destroyed houses.
"You think..." Nofa began to ask.
"Lapis did offer to send a great wave here to destroy the Continent Crosser, and he didn't care one bit about the lives it would take." Yilka stopped her with.
"We're already here. We can't reject him now." Nofa reasoned.
"You're right. He'll have to get his after this is over." Yilka added.
"Need a little help down here!" Then came a call from Lapis who was down on earth having a standoff with six palace guards who had their spears pointed at him and Degolani, who were both shielded inside a dome of electricity.
Yilka and Nofa used the help of Blueberry to fly over the guards and flank them. They landed behind the guards, but they weren't as slick as they thought. The guards noticed them, turned around and now pointed their weapons at them. The six guards began charging towards Yilka and Nofa with spears but as they were charging, Lapis trapped the guards inside a dome of electricity. Two of them had their spears touch the barrier and paid the price for it. The other four stopped what they were doing and stuck their backs together. But not for long, since the inside of the dome began sparkling with lightnings that struck everything inside, while being contained within the dome. The dome shone brighter than anything in the dark vicinity, and nothing inside the dome could be seen with how densely the lightnings inside were striking, and by the time the dome disappeared, nothing but bones and pieces of armour and tips of spears remained where it once was.
"Inside now!" Lapis commanded as arrows from the other watchtowers were still flying down at them all.
Nobody stayed to argue with him, but rushed to the doors of the palace. They were locked, but Yilka prepared to break the doors with his Beast Slayer. He smashed the door repeatedly but not even a splinter broke away from the door no matter how many times Yilka hit it.
"It has that white glow around it. We need to open it some other way or find another way in." Nofa told him.
"Damn it! We're being chased here and now we have to start picking locks?" Yilka complained.
Right then, the doors were kicked open from the inside, and everybody standing outside of it got knocked down. Out came man in a silver mask and black armour carrying a big battle axe.
"You! Didn't expect to see your faces here again. The usurper of the powers rightfully belonging to the Crown has walked to the site of his own execution. Did you come to give the Crown what rightfully belongs to it?" Vakevata asked.
"Your voice. You're that scumbag traitor Vakevata. Now here fighting the battles of a king who sees you as a pawn. You've picked your fight. Now fight for what you stand for, and we will do the same." Yilka said as he used his cudgel to leverage himself up.
"I have picked my fight, but do not mistake me for a pawn. The Crown's forces are useful for our ends. I've picked the winning fight, and the fight to bring forth a new type of world that simple tribals like you wouldn't understand. Now stand up! Die in a fight at least!" Vakevata taunted with.
Vekavata raised his hand and signaled the sharpshooters in the towers to lower their weapons. Yilka, Nofa, Lapis and Degolani stood side by side, ready to fight the foe ahead of them.
"His armour and mask are enchanted. Be careful where you hit him. The back of his head is exposed." Nofa said to Yilka next to him.
But the time for talking had ended, and Vakevata charged forward with an swing from up to down, aimed at Lapis. Everybody moved out of the way and the big blade of the axe sank into the pavement. Degolani wrapped his big arms around Vakevata's neck from behind. Vakevata yanked his axe from the pavement and stood straight. He grabbed his axe from the lower end and from right below the blade, and raised it over his own head and over Degolani's head and pressed the pole against the back of Degolani's neck. He applied pressure and caused intense pain on Dego's neck, forcing the big man release the choke hold. He then flipped around and released a sideways swing of his axe aimed at Dego's ribs. Before he could make contact, Degolani caught the axe by the pole and struggled with Vakevata for it. Vakevata heard steps behind him and foresaw an attack aimed at the back of his skull, and so he let go of the axe and faced the attack. He blocked a shot from Yilka's cudgel with his gauntlets and the two stared off as the Beast Slayer ground against the gauntlets.
"Give up already. Even if you beat me, you won't make it out of here. You're too outnumbered. Your bones will end up in the catacombs under the palace, where they will be forgotten in the dark with the rest of the Crown's enemies." Vakevata threatened Yilka as their faces were close.
"We're not outnumbered, because everyone who fell when fighting for the tribe's freedom is still here with us." Yilka said and gritted his teeth.
Lapis finally saw an opportunity to send a lightning at Vakevata now that he was distracted, but to Lapis' dismay, his staff had ran out of power. He decided to be brave and go hit Vakevata in the back of the head with the end of the depleted staff. He made contact and then began choking Vakevata with it. Vakevata began struggling with Lapis hanging on his back. Vakevata being the taller one, he began carrying Lapis and running around with him. Yilka and Degolani wanted to attack, but they couldn't get a shot at the back of their foe's head because Lapis was on the way.
"Get off him, Lapis. We need to get a hit on him!" Yilka shouted.
"I... almost... have him!" Lapis shouted back and kept choking his foe.
But Lapis didn't have him. Instead he got a bolt of a crossbow shot at his back from up high. The bolt went all the way through him and collided with the armoured back of Vakevata. The bolt was enchanted, and when the two enchanted items collided, the shockwave sent Lapis flying. He landed on his side while the bolt was still in his gut.
"Lapis!" Degolani screamed and rushed to the aid of his brother.
Vakevata began running towards Yilka, but his foot made a hole on the ground and he got stuck for a moment.
"Got him!" Nofa shouted as Vakevata noticed the wicked red glow coming from the pavement.
Yilka flanked behind the adversary and aimed at the back of his skull, but before Yilka could land a killing blow, Vakevata struck his elbow into the every man's weak spot and incapacitated Yilka for just long enough to break himself free. Vakevata picked up his axe and walked carefully not to break any more of the ground that Nofa had weakened and kept his front facing towards Yilka as he retreated inside the palace. Nofa spotted a sharpshooter in a tower aiming at Yilka and so she rushed towards him. She tackled him to the ground and saved both of them from being hit by a bolt.
"We need to get inside! The door is open! Dego! You too!" Nofa commanded.
"I can't leave him!" Degolani shouted back.
Nofa and Yilka raised each other up and came to drag Degolani up from where he was kneeling, but he wouldn't budge.
"Just go, Dego. Nothing you can do to help me now. Don't stay out here." Lapis told Degolani and then spat out some blood.
"No! I will not leave you like you left me!" Degolani shouted back and then picked up Lapis with one hand.
They all ran into the palace where Degolani put Lapis on the floor. Heavy steps could be heard upstairs, giving away the position of Vakevata, but that was not their concern now.
"Stay strong." Degolani told Lapis who was looking weaker by the moment.
"You have to survive, Lapis. If that sharpshooter ends up being your killer, he'll be the ruler of waters. That power can't fall in the hands of the enemy anymore." Yilka told him.
"And how am I going to survive this anymore? That... shot did some bad damage." Lapis said and spat out blood.
"You can't die now! We can't afford that!" Yilka demanded.
"If you don't want them to have my powers, then kill me yourself." Lapis requested.
"No!" Degolani exclaimed.
"It's better in your hands than theirs." Lapis replied weakly.
"Dego, go kill the sharpshooter who shot Lapis." Yilka told the big man.
Degolani processed the command for a moment, but then understood. An anger lit in Degolani's eyes and he rushed outside the palace and let out a primal battle cry.
"You see that blood on the floor? That's from when I hit the masked man in the back of the head. Follow it." Lapis told Yilka and Nofa while sitting against a wall.
"Can we leave you here?" Nofa asked.
"If I die, my powers will go to a good man. A better man than me. I've used them wrong. I've..." Lapis struggled while speaking.
"We know. And if he gets your powers, I know he'll use them well. We'll go after Vakevata and find out what he knows." Yilka promised.
"I'm sorry that I can't be of any more use." Lapis apologised.
"You did enough. And a little too much. Now rest." Yilka told him.
"I will. And you will fight." Lapis wished back and closed his eyes.
Nofa and Yilka couldn't feel bad for Lapis, knowing what he had done, but they both knew how Degolani would react when he saw this, and that's what they were both more worried about. And just in time, Degolani came back through the door, with blood on his fists. Degolani walked over to Lapis and looked down on him with tears in his eyes. Yilka knelt next to Degolani.
"He's still breathing. We can't go back now. All the guards in town are alerted. All we can do is win here, and maybe then the city guards will lower their weapons." Yilka reasoned to Degolani.
"You're right. They must pay for this!" Degolani replied.
Yilka gave Degolani a hug and tapped his back when he saw how much pain the big man was in.
"We're this close to ending all of this. Just stay strong and give your everything." Yilka said.
"We make them pay. We end this." Degolani said.
Yilka pulled away from the hug and stood up, as did Degolani.
"Then we have to follow this road of blood on the floor. Let's go. And we do need to get going." Yilka said and saw how outside a horde of city guards busted through the front gate of the palace's premises.
The three of them began running deeper into the palace following the blood on the floor. It wasn't a consistent trail, but a drop here and there was enough to lead the way. After running across many hallways and opening many doors, the path of bloodstains led the three of them to a large double door with the royal crest on it.
"We should have asked Lapis what the sharpshooter told him about the King. But this is it. This is where Vakevata went, and I have a bad feeling that this is where the King is too. If anywhere, he'd be here." Yilka said to the others.
"They have to pay." Degolani said and clenched his bloody fists.
"So is this where we die?" Yilka asked Nofa.
"No, because we haven't yet done what we wanted to do after we win." She assured.
The two looked at each other for a moment and communicated without words. Once Yilka had gathered his courage, he faced the doors and kicked them open. The three of them entered a great hall with a big table in the middle, a colourful and broken and large window on the wall, and King Pushkrilleri standing in front of his big white transparent stone that was attached to him. Next to him was Vakevata Vinia in his full armour, standing ready with his axe.
"No more running! No more hiding! This is where we fight, and where you die!" Yilka shouted as he marched forward with his cudgel in hand.
"Greater warriors than you have tried. And failed. Do you think you have what it takes to kill something you don't even understand? How cute, you don't even have enchanted weapons. But what good would they be against someone who was created out of a Leri stone?" Vakevata taunted from where he was standing.
Yilka wanted to say something back, but he was only confused by what Vakevata said and how someone could be created out of a Leri stone.
"Oh, does your simple tribal mind not understand what I said? Do you understand what a disadvantage you have? You are not dealing with your own kind here. You are not dealing with what the records call Pure people. Our noble king Pushkrilleri, whose name means Leri's Miracle, was willed into existence by his father who was gifted the biggest Leri stone of them all. Do you think Leri would give something like that to anybody else than the most powerful king the created world has seen? Not even weapons enchanted with Holy magic can work against anything crafted from Leri stone. I don't see a Leri stone on you. Those of your kin would never get their hands on one. You are filth! Wasting good land for your primitive lifestyles and worshiping a goddess that made you as flawed as you are. We are this close to rising above the indifferent goddess, and you want to stop us?" Vakevata spoke.
"We want to free our brothers, and we want to one our tribe. We want our skies, lands and seas the way they were carefully made in Leri's and Rari's wisdom. We want our homeland out from under the heel of a ruler who thinks absolute submission to him is the only way to peace. From Kemioe to the Kyra mountains we want to draw a border with a sword, and we want to till the lands our forefathers did. We want to snap the shackles and tear down the walls that prevent our tribe's lordship. We know that you won't back down no matter what we say. You know how this has to end." Yilka spoke back.
"Indeed I do." Vakevata said and walked down the steps.
Vakevata charged forward with a sideways swing and targeted it at Yilka. Yilka ducked, and Degolani hit Vakevata in the back of the head with his fist. Vakevata flipped around and swung at Degolani who jumped back to avoid it. The momentum of the swing couldn't give Yilka a chance to aim at the back of the head before Vakevata was face to face with him again. Degolani once again hit Vakevata in the back of the head, and once again Vakevata turned around and swung his axe downwards this time. Degolani moved to the side to avoid it, and the axe broke the floor. Vakevata knew that Yilka was behind him and left his axe standing on the floor to shoulder tackle Yilka to the ground. Vakevata went to stomp Yilka's head who kept rolling to avoid the stomps. Degolani pulled the axe from the ground and when he did, Nofa noticed the hole it left on the floor.
"The floor is hollow." She stated to herself when she saw it.
Degolani screamed and charged at Vakevata with the axe, but Vakevata heard it coming and spun around quickly to punch Degolani in the chest. Degolani flew back, and the axe was dropped on the ground, and Vakevata picked it up. Yilka sprung up and tried to attack Vakevata from behind, but Vakevata countered by hitting the blunt end of the axe's pole into Yilka's ribs while Yilka's arms were raised in the air and ready for a downward strike.
"Jeppeli Tepeeli!" Nofa shouted to cast as spell, which got Vakevata's attention.
Her plan worked, and Vakevata began charging towards Nofa. Vakevata didn't see the red glow coming from the floor around Nofa, and he blindly charged at her with a downward strike. The floor cracked badly when Vakevata struck his axe to it. Nofa ducked out of the way and ran further away.
"Dego, pick him up and slam him down!" Nofa shouted to Degolani who had just gotten up.
Vakevata let go of his axe to turn around and face Degolani who was charging towards him. When the two big men met, they wrestled for control. While they were doing that, Nofa hit Vakevata in the back of the head with her book, which was just enough to give Degolani the upper hand. Degolani wrapped his arms around Vakevata's waist and hoisted him up. He walked a few steps back while carrying Vakevata who still kept struggling and then Degolani tossed Vakevata forward. Vakevata landed back first next to his axe on the cracked floor, and the floor gave out. Vakevata and his axe fell down to the blackness of the catacombs under the hall.
Yilka got up holding his ribs and faced Pushkrilleri. Nofa came over to Yilka to help him up, and Degolani stood by them to face the King together.
"YOU... HAVE COME... FAR! BUT NOT... FAR... ENOUGH!" Pushkrilleri shouted in his harsh voice.
The King's challengers couldn't understand a word of what he said, but that was not what they were worried about. They were more worried about the bony spikes on Pushkrilleri's skin growing longer and longer, and multiplying and branching out even. Ahead of them was a monstrosity of a man with long, thin, and sharp limbs growing out of his head and chest and back.
Nofa quietly pronounced a spell to make the King weaker, but when she did that, white smoke came out of him, letting Nofa know that her spells wouldn't work on him. At least not directly.
"Ae, Rari. Lahe meffe karkhe synfus!" Nofa shouted, and the whole hall became black.
All the lighting inside the hall was now useless. All the torches, candle poles and chandeliers couldn't bring a drop of light to the room that was darker than the city outside the palace.
"WHAT... HAVE... YOU DONE?" Pushkrilleri exclaimed in his confusion as he couldn't see a thing.
"Nofa, what did you just do? It's all dark." Yilka asked.
"It's to help us. Look at him. We can still faintly see him. No kind of Wicked magic can defeat the power of a Leri stone, not even this spell. The purpose of this spell is to hide everything, but it can't hide him. He can't see us, but we see him." Nofa answered.
Yilka and Degolani squinted, and indeed they saw their foe faintly in the blackness.
"Just stay away from the hole on the floor." Nofa warned.
Without warning, Pushkrilleri's new limbs began blindly striking down everywhere, and puncturing the floor wherever they landed. The King's challengers ran everywhere they could to avoid the raining strikes, and the floor quickly was filled with punctured holes. Yilka managed to hit his Beast Slayer on some of the limbs coming his way, but his hits had no effect. One of Pushkrilleri's sharp limbs pierced the forearm on Degolani, and then raised him high in the air. Up there in the heights, Degolani made a smart, but painful move when he struggled enough to get the sharp spike to penetrate his forearm fully, allowing Degolani to slide down along the long limb and get all the way down to come face to face with the King. Degolani used his free arm to punch the King's hard face while his other arms was still pierced by a long spiky limb. The punch had no effect, and only hurt Dego's hand, but it did break the skin to reveal the King's skull that was made of Leri stone.
Elsewhere in the hall, Yilka hung his weapon on his belt and used both arms to grab one of the spiky limbs that struck the floor. He held on to it with both arms, and when the limb was raised, Yilka slid down along it. Pushkrilleri felt someone sliding down his limb and tried to strike Yilka with the other spiky limbs, but Yilka was sliding down too fast to get hit. The limb that Yilka was sliding down on was connected to the King's head, and at the root of the limb, Yilka was in perfect position to grab the King's neck. That was precisely what Yilka did. He grabbed the neck around his arms, got behind Pushkrilleri's back and then took his Beast Slayer. Yilka then used his cudgel to choke Pushkrilleri from behind.
"Your bones are hard, but even you need to breathe!" Yilka shouted while choking harder.
The limbs of the King tried to fish Yilka away, but they were too long and not bendy enough to get him. They only kept puncturing the big Leri stone that was not far from the King's back. The King was getting desperate. He used his numerous spiky limbs to pick up the heavy stone, and smashed it against his own back with intention to crush Yilka. The cudgel warrior however saw it the whole time and moved away in time. As Pushkrilleri was repeatedly smashing the Leri stone against his own back, Yilka noticed something.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡur89ymDFZX
"It's hurting him. His bones crack when he does that. Leri stone can only be harmed by something else made out of it." He thought as he listened and watched.
The King then made an unexpected move as he spun around. The Leri stone attached to him hit Yilka and caused him to fly several steps. When Pushkrilleri heard the thud of Yilka hitting the floor, he knew where his enemy was. Nofa came to drag Yilka further away from Pushkrilleri.
"Run away from here." Yilka said to Nofa as they looked at twelve long sharp limbs above them, ready to strike down.
One of the limbs struck down at Yilka's foot and nailed it to the floor before he could stand up.
"Just run away! We lost! Go home!" Yilka shouted at Nofa in great pain.
"I won't!" Nofa screamed and began prying the sharp limb away from Yilka's foot.
Right then, another sharp limb nailed Nofa's hand down to the floor.
They were both trapped now, but Yilka kept swinging his cudgel at the thin limbs with undying defiance. His hits had no effect.
"Why? Why did you try to help me?" Yilka asked Nofa with defeat in his voice.
"Because I couldn't live with myself if I left you to die here." Nofa replied while trying to yank her hand free and gritting her teeth.
Yilka felt the tip of a sharp limb caressing the skin of his neck, and Nofa felt one on her back.
"We lost." Yilka admitted.
"We did." Nofa seconded.
"And my greatest regret is that I'll never get to embrace you they way I wanted to." Yilka admitted.
"Wherever we go after death, I'll seek you there." Nofa replied.
"And I'll do the same." Yilka promised.
"Nofa... take this darkness away. I want to see you before I pass on." Yilka requested.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYiOCjYGIY
"Yes. I want that too... Khatora synfus, menge pors." Nofa quietly said.
The darkness vanished, and the room was once again lit the way it was before. Yilka and Nofa both ignored their wounds and only looked at each other as the spikes began piercing the outer layer of the skin on their necks.
"Thank you for being in my life." Yilka said quietly.
But then, everybody in the hall heard something that caught their attention. A screech resounding across the skies. Pushkrilleri freed Yilka and Nofa from his limbs so that he could defend himself. He didn't even care that Degolani was still punching his hard face. He was scared. Another screech echoed in the skies, this one closer than the last one. Everyone in the hall began feeling how the air got hotter, and another screech echoed, this one yet even closer. Then, a big black bird with red feathers on its wings and fire in its tail crashed through the broken window. It flew straight to Pushkrilleri faster than he could react, and sank its talons into the skin of his shoulders. The large bird picked up Pushkrilleri and the stone he was attached to. Degolani slid across the long limb and fell to the floor with a hole in his forearm, but at least he was free now. Pushkrilleri was not. He was being slammed into walls while trapped in a bird's talons, and the Leri stone attached to him was making holes into the walls as it collided with them. The bird dropped Pushkrilleri on the floor, not having done a bit of harm to him.
"FINALLY... I CAN KILL YOU... MYSELF!" Pushkrilleri said.
But then, the big bird began burning, and the light of the burning made the whole hall too bright to see anything in. Once the burning ended, Varma was now where the bird had been, with her shining bow ready and aimed.
"Through the long, dark, cruel and cold night of suffering, all of Leri's created world will fight." She recited and shot a shining arrow into Pushkrilleri's shoulder, and it went straight through.
"And when the call of the morning crane echoes, as if the lid of the skies itself was resounding..." She continued and flew around the hall while avoiding the limbs of the King.
"... the created world will awaken into a bright, hopeful, blessed and happy..." She continued and aimed her arrow.
"Life!" She finished with, and shot at arrow through Pushkrilleri's body.
The shining arrow went right through him, and hit the big Leri stone behind the King. The arrow cracked the stone in half and extinguished its glow.
Pushkrilleri's new limbs suddenly all stopped working and fell limp to the ground. He stood up while the shining arrow was still in him. When he was staring at Varma who was flying still ahead of him, Degolani snuck behind him and snapped the limb that connected him to a shard of the Leri stone. Pushkrilleri screamed in pain as the limb snapped the bone. He turned around and tried to punch Degolani in the chest. His punch had no effect. Degolani now saw bone in the spot of the King's face that he broke. His skeleton was now made of bone instead of Leri stone now that the stone had been broken. Degolani picked up the King by the throat and chucked him closer to Yilka and Nofa who had now gotten up.
Pushkrilleri looked at Nofa and Yilka, and then snapped two of his now useless spiky limbs. He held the snapped spikes like weapons, one in each hand and frothed at the mouth.
"I... CAN STILL... FIGHT!" Pushkrilleri defiantly screamed.
"And like the meager grass always rises from under the winter's snow, so does the proud tribe rise from under the heel of those who seek to eat it..." Varma began reciting while flying around.
Yilka looked up at Varma above, and picked up his cudgel. He began limping towards Pushkrilleri with his injured foot, and with anger inside. He knew the words that Varma was reciting.
"... and with wrath and love in its chest, it will demand its freedom..." Yilka continued and hit both of Pushkrilleri's weapons away from his hands.
"... and strike down its eater..." Varma continued and drew her bow back.
"... with righteous anger!" Both finished with at the same time, as Varma shot another shining arrow into Pushkrilleri's ribs and Yilka struck his cudgel into the skull of the King.
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