The next morning, the trio had gone to the church, Alena trailing behind nervously. "I'm sorry, but I can't show you what you're asking about," the priest said with a shake of his head. "What would you want to go there for? It's a pathway to nothing but death."
"It's a pathway to Rhone," Alex corrected firmly, "and we need to get to Rhone to defeat Hargon. We're of the three houses of Loto."
The priest let out a low whistle, looking between the two. "The three houses? Then I guess it wasn't a rumor that the three of you were travelling about."
"Nope, here we are," Nikado said cheerfully. "I'm Nikado of Lorasia, this is Alex of Cannock and Ameko of Moonbrook. Will you let us see it now?"
The priest hesitated. "Even if I wanted to, I can't. The door is locked and sealed by the door's curse. No one can get in."
In response, the prince pulled out the little necklace of keys, holding them up. "Yes we can."
The priest stared, and then finally sighed, turning toward the back of the church. "I don't like the idea of doing this."
"We'll be fine," Ameko told him. "Please unseal the gate."
The priest sighed, but motioned for them to follow, the man leading them to the basement. "This church was built over the gate to protect it. Here, the power is the strongest," the man stated, picking up a torch and carrying it with him. "If a monster tries to pass through without permission, they'll be shredded to bits."
Alena shuddered at that. "It's probably best that she not come with us," Ameko noted. "We don't want to have to negotiate for permission if we're in a hurry."
"I'm fine with that," Alena said hastily. "I don't think I would be of much use in the gateway to Rhone. But I feel terrible waiting for you here."
"Sorry to make you wait on us," Nikado said, putting a hand on the healer's head. "But if you know anything about the gateway, that would help us."
The healer folded up two of its tentacles, like a human folding his or her arms, and considered. "The gateway is a long cave connecting the valley of the gates to Rhone. There are other gates linked to the strongholds of Hargon, but I don't think there's a lot of traffic through there. The gates are mostly used for low-level monsters, like me," she explained. "The ones that do the most travelling to Rhone are the generals, who can get through the barrier directly. Anyway, the eye of Malroth is needed to open the gate, although I'm not sure how."
Nikado nodded, glancing over at Alex. Although the man was pretty sure that the evil energy had been drained by the curse placed upon him, he had elected to take no chances, keeping the item himself and not handling it with his bare hands again. "The cave's very long," the healer added, "and there are a lot of dangerous monsters in existence there. Mostly undead and constructs, things that don't care where they live as long as they're following orders. You need to be very careful. I've heard there's zombies and robosters."
"Robosters?"
"Big metal creatures that think of nothing but killing intruders," Alena warned. "There are also spells in place to keep people from getting close. Please be careful. I don't know what those spells are, but I wouldn't trust my eyes alone. And I don't know what Rhone is like or what lies beyond. But it's filled with Hargon's elite, some of the most powerful demons in the world."
Nikado nodded. "Thank you for warning us. We'll be careful." He nodded to the priest.
"I'll wait for you here, then," Alena said, backing away. "I know you'll return!"
"Stand back," the priest instructed, opening the iron gate with the enchanted key. With a creak of long-unused metal, the gate slowly swung open, and the group could see into the dim interior, lit only by arcs of lightning bouncing around the runes in the floor, walls, and ceiling. "Is this a side effect of sealing the gate?" Alex wondered. "Or is it to prevent access?"
"Both. This gate is one of the strongest in the world," the priest said with a shake of his head. "Are you sure you want to go?"
Alex frowned, then cast out a hand. From the floor, a line of ice sprang up, arcing as it formed a bridge over the electrified floor, leading straight to the gate. "That ought to do. Don't seal the gate behind us, in case we need to return."
The priest stepped back, still frowning, and Alena waved a tentacle as the trio crossed the bridge, disappearing into the gate.
The place smelled of poison, and Alex cast the stepguard again, pulling Ameko from the gate. Nikado followed, resting on the patch of safe ground. "I'm okay. Did anyone notice us?"
"I don't think so. That priest wasn't kidding when he said it was powerful," Ameko said with a frown. "It's almost unusuable. I'm glad Alena didn't come, I don't know that her body would even survive the trip."
"Makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Nikado said, getting to his feet and leading the way out of the small room they were in. From the outside, they could see that a small temple had been built around the gate, housing the place from the sky. Nikado put a finger to his lips, and pointed ahead of them. Tending to the temple were a pair of gremlins, busily occupied in cleaning out the nooks and crannies between the pillars and the corners of the walls. Alex nodded agreement, and the three royals moved forward, slipping into the woods beyond.
"So we're in the valley," Ameko muttered as Alex consulted the map. "Now where?"
"From what Alena said, I would guess that most of the gates would be here, on our end of this valley," Alex said, pointing. "So probably, the entrance to this gateway is on the other end."
"That sounds logical, but how do we find it?" Nikado wanted to know.
"Let's see who else is around," Ameko suggested. "Keep low and see who else comes to use the cave. Though it makes me wonder, if this place is used by low-level monsters, how do they get past these killing machines?"
"I don't know. Who populates a gateway with killing machines?" Alex gestured as he spotted a group of monsters.
The group was unusual in that it was chained together, largely consisting of slimes. "Get a move on," the arch demon behind them shouted, cracking a whip over their heads and causing them all to cower in fear. "If you're lucky, I won't feed you to the zombies."
"You know," Nikado muttered to himself, "I wonder if any monster that comes up here is supposed to make it through."
"It might be better to be eaten by zombies than face Hargon," Ameko observed. "Let's follow them."
The two princes nodded their agreement, and Ameko led the way, keeping low as the arch demon led his slime gang along. It was slow going, as slimes were not naturally fast moving and further hindered by the chains circling their bodies and the whip cracking over their heads. They followed them through a poisoned swamp laying next to a steep mountain in the range, the slimes crying out as the toxic liquids leaked into their bodies. The arch demon, apparently oblivious to the poison, produced an Eye of Malroth, pressing it against an indentation the stone cliff wall.
Nikado's eyes widened as the ground rumbled, exposing the entrance to the cave as it rose from the ground. "In you lot go," the arch demon shouted, gesturing for the ill slimes to follow.
"Say," Ameko murmured. "That arch demon, think we can take him?"
Alex gave her a look. "What is it with you and saving slimes?"
"I don't like a bully."
Nikado drew his sword. "Neither do I. If we take him by surprise, we might be able to do it. Let's move quickly," he said as the gate began to rumble down, closing back again.
Alex threw out a stepguard, and the three charged into the cave, the entrance sealing behind them. The cave, they discovered, was surprisingly lit, phosphorescent moss lighting the walls. Spotting the archdemon ahead of them, Ameko nodded to Alex, and the pair charged up fire between them slamming it against the arch demon with enough force to knock him over. "Hey--" he protested, before Nikado brought his protesting to an end with the blade of his sword. The slimes let out a collective terrified cry, huddling together.
"Hey, it's okay," Ameko reassured them. "We're here to help, we--"
There was a rumbling noise underneath their feet. "What the--" was as far as Nikado got before the floor collapsed, sending slimes and royals to the ground below.
Unlike the previous floor, the place was pitch black, the only light from the moss in the floor above. Alex lit a fire, holding it up. "Everyone all right?"
"No. We're in trouble," Nikado said, pointing. All around them, Alex could see zombies, stumbling toward the source of the light. Throwing out a line of fire and lighting the poisonous liquids on fire, Alex hoped it would buy them a little time. "Ameko?"
The woman was sitting on the ground, the Water Robe repelling the poison easily as she held the slimes in her lap, trying to heal their wounds and remove the poison swiftly. "Ameko," Nikado said in alarm.
"They won't last if I don't do this now," she muttered, keeping her hands still.
Nikado raised his sword. "How much time do you need? Hey, don't wander off," he told one of the slimes as it hopped off her lap, absorbing something shiny into its body.
"Sorry," it apologized, hurrying back to Ameko.
"Just give me a few seconds longer," she replied, her tenseness making her voice snap.
"I'm not sure we have that long," Nikado muttered, pulling out a torch from his bag. "Alex, give me a light."
The man obliged, and Nikado swung it at the zombies that came too close, keeping them at bay. "Okay, let's go," Ameko said, picking up the slimes. "You lot stay on me and don't let go."
"Yes, mistress," they said in unison.
"Mistress? I seem to be hitting all the odd titles today," she muttered. "How do we get out?"
"I see stairs over there," Alex said, pointing. "Let's try it."
Nikado nodded, and then the three ran, feet splashing through the poison as they bolted for the stairs, the zombies stumbling around at the base of the stairs. "What next?" Nikado asked.
"Back to the entrance. We need to get these slimes out of here," Alex said, gesturing. "There's the hole we fell through. It should be just over here."
As they approached, the entrance opened again, and a demon of some sort smiled at them, the monster surrounded by several others, including a few monsters they couldn't identify. "Hello, humans," he said with a grin. "Fancy meeting you here."
Nikado didn't respond, charging the demon and aiming for the monster's throat. He gasped in surprise as the monster deflected the blow with a finger, claws tearing into the armor Lithrik had enchanted and deep into his flesh. "Now," the demon said, licking blood off his claws, "shall we do this the easy way, or the fun way?"
Nikado got back to his feet, Ameko and Alex calling fire to their hands. The demon laughed, and then all of them sprang at once, seeking to beat the trio to death. Nikado switched the blade to his other hand, striking at the monster again, and this time he replied by catching the blade in his hands, snapping it in two. The other monsters deflected the fireballs and infernos with little effect, knocking the other two to the ground. "Mistress!" the slimes yelped, cowering as the monsters hovered over her.
"Get down!" a voice shouted at Nikado, and then the area was filled with smoke, the monsters coughing. Nikado let himself drop to the ground, fumbling for Alex's hand, and something pulled him up, tossing him over something. The sound of a familiar whuffling gave him realization even through the loss of blood and the poison that seeped into his wounds through the hole in his armor. Roybealle? Teslian?
Grabbing the woman and ignoring the slimes clinging to her, Teslian grabbed Alex, and then tossed something while the smoke still hung in the air, and Nikado shut his eyes as the world whirled around. "What the hell happened to the lot of you?" he could hear Teslian's voice. "What are you lot, mad?"
"That monster caught us by surprise," he next heard Alex grunt out, coupled with the sounds of his stumbling footsteps on a stone pathway. "He was too strong."
"Of course he's too strong. That's Pazuzu, the leader of the northern forces," Teslian snapped. "He's the one that's responsible for all the atrocities on the Lorasian continent. Did you think he'd be a pushover?"
"I didn't get a look at him last time, let alone fight him," Alex's voice replied.
There was the sound of an aggravated sigh. "And what's with the slimes?"
"We're with the mistress!" a chorus of voices proclaimed. "Don't hurt her, you human bully!"
"I'll hurt the lot of you if you don't shut up," he growled, and there was squeaking in response, with the sound of rustling fabric, the sound of a multitude of slimes seeking cover.
"Enough," Alex said. "Nikado's been badly hurt and poisoned and Ameko isn't conscious. We need to get inside and get them help."
"That's what I came here for," Teslian said, and the thing Nikado was on--Roybealle?--moved, the sound of hooves on stone reaching his ears. "You lot just had to rush into Beran, didn't you?"
"We didn't rush anywhere. We...." Nikado tuned out the rest of the argument as he felt his consciousness slipping away, wondering briefly if he should say anything about the possibility that he was dying. No, they probably already knew, he contented himself, and let himeslf lapse into unconsciousness.
The next thing he knew, he was laying on a bed and Alena was peering into his face. "Ah, Nikado!" she greeted, looking cheery. "You had us worried. How do you feel?"
"Fine, I guess," he sat up, putting a hand to his shoulder. He didn't seem to be wounded, but the scars were still there, running down his arm and torso. He shuddered at the close call. "So that was Pazuzu, huh?"
"You're really very lucky," the healer said. "Shall I tell the others you're awake?"
"No need. I'll go see them myself," he said, swinging his long legs over and standing up, pleased to find there was no weakness in them. I guess I'm getting used to being terribly injured, he thought dryly.
Alena led the way, but he didn't have to guess where the others were, for he could hear the voices arguing as he got close. "Why are you protecting them? They're monsters," he could hear Teslian's voice first.
"Stop picking on the mistress!" one of the monsters shouted, and then let out a squeal, presumably as Teslian frightened it.
"They're slimes, they aren't harming anyone. See?" replied Ameko. "If they aren't hurting anyone, there's no reason to kill them."
"Yeah! What the mistress said!"
"They're monsters. That by default gives them a reason to kill humans," Teslian said coldly, the man glaring down at the slimes huddled behind Ameko in terror.
Ameko wasn't intimidated in the least bit. "Not all monsters want to hurt humans. Lumping them together and trying to destroy them all is no better than what Hargon's gang is trying to do."
"Don't say something like that again," Teslian said in a low tone.
"I'll say it as often as I need to, because it's the truth." Ameko drew herself up, the woman only a few inches shorter than the trader, meeting his eyes evenly. "I know you're from Murkbythe. You don't get to play the pity card with me, Teslian. I'm from Moonbrook. I got to see my father and my entire family murdered by monsters, and I'm the one that's standing in defense of these slimes. Don't you think there's something wrong with your attitude if I'm the one defending them?"
Teslian turned in disgust, running into Nikado. "Let's calm down," Nikado said in a low tone. "A life is a life. There's no need to get worked up about it. Teslian, I'm glad you came to help us."
"You're welcome," the man snorted, still visibly angry from his conversation with Ameko. "Your wound okay?"
"My wound's fine, but the armor isn't." Nikado sighed. "I don't know if it's repairable. And I lost another sword."
"You need stronger equipment," Teslian agreed. "Unfortunately, that armor was strong. I'll see if I can have it repaired. As for the sword, if you have money, I know a good blacksmith in Wellgarth. He'll give me a deal on it, especially when I tell him what you're trying to do."
Alex let out a sigh from his end of the room. "We have money. I may as well ask you for a new sword, too. This one isn't at its optimum strength. I'd hate the thought of having it broken as well."
"Understandable," Teslian said with a nod. "All right, I'll pick up the swords and see if he can repair this armor."
"If he can't, the original maker might be able to," Nikado added. "He's Lithrik, of Osterfair."
"I'll keep it in mind."
"He's a demon, by the way," Ameko spoke up. "He's also the priest of Osterfair."
Teslian shot her a dark look. "Here, mistress," one of the slimes spoke up, offering her something shiny. "I found this in the cave. You can have it. As thanks for saving us."
"Thank you," she said quietly.
"You lot are adorable," Alena said with a smile. "We'll need to give you names."
"Names! Names!" The slimes bounced up and down excitedly in place.
Ameko turned over the item in her hands, then her eyes widened. "Alex, look at this."
He walked over to her, and then took the item, holding it up in the light of the room. "It's the Life Crest. I'd bet money on it. What does the Echo Flute say?"
Ameko picked it up, putting it to her ear, then nodded. "It's making a sound, all right. That must be it."
"Huh," Nikado said, raising his eyebrows. "Who would've thought a crest of life would be buried in the muck among the undead."
"Good thing for us slimes like shiny things," Ameko shot in Teslian's direction before patting the slime on top of its head. "Thank you very much. This is something very valuable that may help us defeat Hargon."
"Aw, shucks," the slime managed, its body turning red.
Nikado grinned. "Then we'll meet you back here in a week or so, Teslian. Will that be enough time?"
"I don't know. Depends on how long it takes to repair the armor and if I have to go to Osterfair. Why a week?"
"Because with this," Nikado gestured as Alex pulled out the other four crests, examining them, "we have what we need to go have a conversation with an elemental."
"An elemental?" Teslian echoed. "All right, I'll try and be back by then. Don't be late."
"There's the cave," Alex said, pointing. "As the new Dragon Lord mentioned, it's surrounded by shoals. Crap. I guess we should have thought that through a bit more. Are we taking a swim?"
Nikado made a face. "Do we have to swim?"
"You're a descendant of the house of Loto, the opponent of the tyrant of monsters," Ameko told him firmly. "You shouldn't be thwarted by a little water."
"It should be completely legal to be thwarted by a little water," he sighed, but put a hand to the backup sword he had obtained. "Should one of us stay back and watch the ship?"
"I like the idea of us going down together better," Alex said with a shake of his head, taking off his own armor and leaving on his plain clothes, keeping the sword of Loto at his side. "We don't know what this elemental is like. Besides, I want to see it for myself."
Ameko nodded, threading her wand through her belt and removing her shoes. "Take off your shoes, Nikado. You'll swim better without them."
"I don't think 'better' is really a word that qualifies," he grumbled, but took them off, watching as Alex slid down a rope attached to the ship, landing on the shoals. "Be careful of where you step," he instructed. "This stuff can slice up your feet or poison you, and healing in the water would be awkward."
"This just gets better and better," Nikado muttered, sliding down and joining the other man, Ameko bringing up the rear. "Let's just get out there and get this over with."
"Don't worry, it's not a long swim," Ameko told him. "We'll go slow. If you get tired, float on your back."
He nodded, following Alex into the water. After a few strokes of trying to mimic the man's movement, he sighed, resorting to a dog paddle. "How did you get so good at swimming, Alex? Cannock isn't that close to the ocean."
"My brother would take me out and teach me," Alex said. "I tried to teach my sister, but she's a terrible swimmer."
"Nice to know there's two of us."
"Stop being so pessimistic," Ameko instructed him. "It'll drag you down more surely than your own ability will, and besides, it's not like you."
He sighed, and stopped talking, focusing on Alex's back, letting Ameko swim next to him at a slow pace. The water was cold, and smelled overwhelmingly of salt, leaving a salty taste on his lips as he kept his head above water. "Looks like it's just a set of stairs going down," Alex said, pulling himself onto the pedestal and offering Nikado a hand up. "See, you didn't drown."
"I can't wait for the trip back," he muttered, looking down at the stairs at their feet, the lapping waves sending a little water spilling down the stairs. "Looks like it'll be slick. Let's be careful."
Alex nodded, and Nikado stepped down the first step, keeping a hand on the wall as he went down. The stairs spiraled down, and as they entered the structure, they could see the walls below were made of glass, revealing the ocean around them. "Wow!" Ameko exclaimed, pointing at a massive shape in the water. "Look at that! It's huge!"
"Makes you glad you came out here, doesn't it?" Alex said quietly, smiling as a fish swam right by his face.
Nikado smiled back, staring at a star-shaped creature pressed against the glass. "It certainly is something. Though it makes you wonder why an elemental of fire would be around all this water."
"I think I know," Ameko spoke up. "Have you noticed? The stairs are warm under our feet."
"Now that you mention it, yes. But what about it?"
"It's also dry down here, even though the water has nowhere to go but down. And the air is warm. I think this place is located over a vent in the ocean."
"You mean like a volcano?" Alex questioned. "That would make sense."
"If we have to deal with lava, I am not equipped for that," Nikado grumbled, then smiled as a school of fish went darting by the window. "They certainly are used to this place being here. I wonder how long ago it was made? And yet it doesn't look worn by age or time."
"It's ancient, that I'm sure of," Ameko spoke up. "The magic feels very old."
Alex nodded. "There are probably spells in place to keep this place in one piece. One crumbling piece could let in a leak which would destroy the whole place. There are probably a lot of strong spells in this place keeping it looking the way it does."
"Appropriate for an elemental," Nikado said as the stairs ended, opening up into a room.
Like the stairwell, this place was walled with glass, even more unusual creatures seen from the soft lighting that illuminated the outside. Long strands of humongous seaweed grew here and there, forming a forest that other creatures darted in and out of. The room itself was the same white marble as the rest of the structure, only plainly trimmed with gold, the floor stepping down into the center of the room. "Look," Ameko said, pointing ahead. "There are indentations in the floor. Five of them."
"It must be for the seals," Alex said with a nod, going to a corner. "This pattern matches the one on the star crest," he observed, tracing his fingers over the stone before dropping the seal into place with a tink.
"The moon crest is over here," Ameko said, and he tossed her the crest, the princess sliding it into the slot.
"Here's the water crest," Nikado spoke up, taking the next seal and placing it inside.
"And here's the sun crest," Ameko added, holding out her hands for the seal and catching it, placing it inside.
"This means," Alex said, approaching the center, "that this must be for the life crest." Letting it drop from his fingers, it fell into place perfectly with a 'tink'.
Ameko and Nikado both took a step back as the five seals lit up, the four on the corners emitting beams of light that pointed toward the center. "Alex, get back," Nikado instructed, and he joined them, watching as the fifth seal added its white light to the pyramid shape, the addition causing white light to pour out from the shape, forcing them to avert their eyes.
The sound of a sigh rolled around the room, whipping their hair around from the power behind it, although the wind itself seemed gentle. "Who is it," a soft voice whispered, "that summons me?"
"The descendants of Loto," Nikado called out, squinting against the light. "We've come to ask the elemental Rubiss to fulfill the pact she made with our ancestor."
The pyramid of light seemed to dim enough that they could look at it, though they couldn't make out anything inside. "Your names, children," the voice whispered, seeming to carry the sighing quality with it.
"Nikado of Lorasia," the first prince stated firmly.
"Alex of Cannock."
"Ameko of Moonbrook."
"Nikado of Lorasia, Alex of Cannock, Ameko of Moonbrook," the voice sighed, the power stirring in the chamber again. "I know of you. What need have you to come here?"
"We're trying to defeat Hargon," Nikado addressed the elemental. "We need your power."
"Hargon," the voice whispered. "Yes, Hargon. But he is but the tip of the evil that has begun to emerge again. He is searching."
Ameko frowned. "What is Hargon searching for?"
The light finally died down, but when it was gone, they could still see no sign of the person they were talking to. "To understand, you must understand the nature of this world, children," the voice continued, sounding stronger than before, "though it puts the world in peril to do so. You must never share this knowledge."
"We understand," Alex said. "What is the nature of this world?"
"This world...From a certain point of view, it is naught but a dream," Rubiss's voice continued.
"A dream?" Alex echoed with a frown. "From what point of view?"
"From the one who is dreaming. The one you would call the god of this world, who has created all within it. He dreams the hills, the mountains, the flowers and the trees. He has dreamed of your coming. He has dreamed of the world that will shape you."
"I don't understand. Are you saying that we have no free will?" Ameko asked. "Why are monsters rampaging out of control, if he dreamt up everything?"
"Can you control your dreams, child? Even a god is subject to the rules of his own mind. When the god tired and slept, this world came into being. The trees from his desire to grow, the humans from his desire to play, the monsters from his desire to create. But those creations are not controlled by him, any more than you are. That is how Hargon has obtained power. He has learned," Rubiss whispered, "of the secret of this world. With that knowledge, one would be able to break free of this world, and become a god of their own. But Hargon does not understand the risks. If the creator god were to awake...."
"Then everything would vanish," Alex said quietly. "And if he tries to break free, it could wake the creator god."
"That is correct. The closer one becomes to a god, the closer he comes to awakening. He is trying to obtain a greater power than myself, who is a part of the creator god."
"A part of the creator god?" Ameko questioned.
"Yes. I am a reflection of a part of his subconscious mind, the part that responds to dreams. However, by existing here, I cause his presence to become more awake. That is why the seals are in place, to prevent such an occurence from happening casually."
"So that's why we needed the seals," Nikado mused. "And why you won't show yourself, right?"
"That is correct. It is more safe this way, with the instability the world has already attracted. Because of this, my role is limited in what aid I may give you."
"Then tell us," Alex said. "What is Hargon waiting for? If he is trying to awaken the creator god to gain his power, why did he hide the seals he had? Why didn't he try to use them himself?"
"He may, when the time is ready. There are other seals in place as well, to keep the creator god from awakening. That is what Hargon is searching for. If he should find it, he would be able to achieve his goal."
"Where... No, you can't tell us, can you?" Nikado spoke up. "Because if anyone knew, it would put him closer."
"That is correct."
"Then we'll just have to defeat him first," Nikado said firmly. "What help can you give us, Rubiss?"
A hiss of power whipped through the chamber. "Hargon has amassed a defense around his castle in preparation of your coming. You will not be able to slip past it. It was designed for you." The lights around the room dimmed, and from the centerpoint of the pyramid, hovering above the life seal, a shining globe appeared, taking shape in the form of a small bottle. "This is a piece of my power which can break through the power that he has amassed. Release it inside his castle, when you determine that the time is right. Hold out your hands, child of Loto."
Nikado did so, and the glowing shape flew to him, landing gently in his hands, the glow shattering as it touched his skin. In his hands, he could see the bottle, a chain strung around it to hang around his neck, a bit of fire flickering inside the bottle. "Thank you, Rubiss."
Another breath echoed around the chamber. "It is all to hold up my pact with Loto."
"What was his end of the deal?" Alex asked quietly.
"The pledge of his life to the service of the good and creator god," the elemental stated. "The power of the forbidden knowledge. And the pledge of his blood to the continued protection of this world. His power lives on inside you," she continued softly. "Do you understand?"
"It's a lot to think about," Ameko murmured. "It really is delicate, isn't it? One wrong step and we could end up waking him ourselves and destroying everything."
"I have faith in the children of Loto to exercise the proper caution," Rubiss spoke. "That is why I have shared this power with you. Do you have any other questions to ask of me?"
Alex considered, then shook his head. "We have an idea of what we need to do, and how to do it. We just need to figure out the details of how, and I don't think you can help us with that."
"Correct. I can only tell you to journey to Rhone. Everything lies there," she whispered. "Take the seals and hide them. And be careful. All of you must take care of the others. That is the purpose for which the three houses were formed; so that no one hero would have to stand against the great evil again."
The lighting returned to normal in the room, and the seals ceased to glow in their indentations. Alex walked over, picking up the life crest. "I guess that's as much as we need to know."
Nikado nodded. "Then let's get back to Beran. I want to defeat Hargon before he has a chance to find this other seal."
As promised, Teslian was in Beran when they returned, the man clearly uneasy at their delay. "I've been waiting for you," he greeted them, Roybealle fluttering nearby and munching at some grass. "I got the swords, and the blacksmith was able to repair the armor. But neither he nor your demon in Osterfair were able to fix all the spells attached to it, and the blacksmith said that spot's going to be weak. He couldn't tear the entire thing apart to repair it properly without ruining all the protective spells, so be careful."
"We appreciate it," Nikado said with a nod, accepting the armor and sword. "We'll have to make do with what we have here. We don't have any time to waste."
"You're going back already?" Teslian asked with a frown. "Are you sure? You nearly got killed last time."
"We'll be fine," Ameko said with a nod. "We have to be. That's all there is to it."
Teslian shook his head. "Things that have to be and things that are aren't necessarily the same thing. Still, if you're going, I'll wish you all the luck you can get. You're going to need it to get to Rhone and to Hargon."
"We know. Don't worry about us," Nikado said with a smile. "Oh! Can you do us another favor?" He pulled out the bag holding the seals from Alex, handing it to Teslian. "Can you return those?"
"Sure, I suppose," Teslian said slowly, looking at them. "Where to?"
"The star one goes to the gremlins in the lighthouse where we signalled for you," Nikado told him. "The moon goes to Princess Aeun of Osterfair. The water should be returned to Talira in the Moonbrook ruins, and the sun should go to the Fire Monolith. Do you know where that is?"
The trader nodded. "I should be able to handle it. Leave it to me."
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"You owe me nothing. Just defeat Hargon."
"We will." Nikado turned to the healer. "Alena, we'll see you soon, okay?"
"Good luck, Nikado, Ameko, Alex," she replied, clasping each of their hands in turn with her tentacles. "I believe in you."
"Mistress! Come back safely!" one of the slimes declared, the others bouncing up and down. "We'll wait with our big sis Alena."
"Big sis Alena! Big sis Alena!" the others echoed, bouncing up and down.
Ameko sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You lot behave. I hear one word about you causing problems, and I'll tan your little blue backsides, understand?"
"Don't worry, Ameko. I'll keep them in line," Alena reassured. "Take care on your journey."
They nodded, and Alex turned toward the gate, casting the bridge of ice again. Nikado gave the group a smile. "We'll see you soon."
