As predicted, the lighthouse was within sight within the afternoon, towering over the nearby ocean. "There's no light," Ameko observed. "Wonder if it's functional?"
"Either that, or they just don't turn it on," Alex said with a shrug. "Let me find a close landing point, and we'll go inside."
Ameko and Nikado nodded to him, the man casting the anchor and the woman furling the sails as they made land. Jumping out into the damp sands, Nikado looked up at it. "Wonder if there's anyone here at all."
"There may be. I doubt they're human, though. Probably monsters," Alex observed.
"I'd say that'd be right," Ameko said, pointing as a couple of monsters appeared at the entrance, rushing out at them.
Nikado sighed, drawing his sword. "And here I was hoping we'd have a nice, peaceful crawl up the tower."
"Is that ever the case?"
Monsters swiftly dispatched, they entered the tower, looking around. "More in the ancient language," Alex said, pointing to the floor. "Looks like this lighthouse ran on magic."
"But now that magic's gone?"
"More likely, it's turned off. There's probably a switch around somewhere. I wouldn't worry about it," he added. "We're here to find this crest. Ameko, do you hear anything?"
She put the Echo Flute to her ear, pausing, and then she gave him a thumbs up. "It's louder than before. Coming from above."
"How far above?"
"Not too far, I don't think. I don't know for sure, it's hard to tell." She lowered the shell-shaped magical item, letting it return to its place around her neck.
"Then I guess the only direction to go is up," Nikado said. "And that appears to be the only set of stairs leading the way."
They climbed up the sets of stairs the found, each floor only having one up to the next floor. Despite that, there was no trace of the seal they were looking for. "What does this seal look like, anyway?" Ameko grumbled as she kicked a monster out the window.
Alex shrugged. "I've only heard passing references to them. They don't state exactly what they are or what they look like. Let's go up to the next level."
Nikado led the way up the stairs, and looked around. They had reached the apex of the tower, the central light in the room dim. On the far side of the room, he could make out a set of stairs going down. And near the light, he could see an old man, being beset by drackys. "Oh! Help!" the man shouted as the drackys flapped around him.
"Hey!" Nikado shouted. "Leave him alone!" Alex and Ameko came up the stairs with weapons drawn, joining him.
"Uh-oh, it's humans!" the drackys yelped in unison. "Run away!" And then the flew out a broken window, quickly disappearing.
Alex frowned at the monsters as Nikado knelt next to the old man. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"I knew...that you would be coming," the man wheezed, sitting up. "You're the princes and princess, right? Of the three houses of Loto?"
"Yes, we are," Ameko answered. "Who are you?"
"The guardian of this lighthouse," he said, getting to his feet with some effort, "though as you can see I'm not the only visitor. I know what you've come for. The Star Crest is here, in this tower. You need that, yes?"
"We do," Ameko said, "but it's hidden away somewhere. We haven't been able to find it."
"It is hidden," the man agreed, "carefully so. Follow me and I will lead you to the seal."
Alex put a hand on Ameko's arm as she moved to follow Nikado and the old man down the stairs. "Be on your guard," he murmured. "Something's wrong here." She gave him a quizzical look in response, but he said nothing further, moving down the stairs. Putting her hand on her wand, she followed.
The old man led them back down toward the ground floor, across several narrow passages across the outside of the tower. "Do you always cross these things, sir?" Nikado asked, eyeing the edge warily.
"Yes," the old man replied with a shrug. "You get used to it."
"I don't think I could ever get used to this," Nikado said with a shake of his head.
At last they ended up on a room that had no further sets of stairs, perhaps on the second or third floor, the man gesturing to the single chest in the room. "Here's the chest. Please, open it."
Alex frowned as he looked around the room, and Ameko pulled a bit of fire to her hand in preparation. Nikado moved to do so, opening the chest. In response, it bared its teeth at him, trying to snap down on his arm. "Mimic!" he shouted in alarm, drawing his sword and attacking the monster.
"I knew it," Alex muttered, turning toward the old man. He brought the sword up just as the old man dropped his cloak, revealing something that was definitely not an old man. "Die, human!" the gremlin shouted, only to be sternly rebuffed by the flat of the sword's blade. "Oof!"
"Get them!" came another shout, and then three more came bursting into the room, all jumping for Alex. Ameko gave one a swift kick in the face with a snort, letting Alex set another one on fire.
"Nikado," Ameko called over to the other prince, "stop playing with the Mimic and come help us."
"Easy for you to say!" he shouted back, finally managing to stab the thing in its oversized mouth, causing it to go still. Flipping open its "head", Nikado peered inside, pulling out something. "Got it!" he said triumphantly, holding up the small disc engraved in the shape of a five-pointed star.
Ameko knocked another gremlin in the head, tossing him onto the pile. "C'mon, boys!" one of the gremlins shouted. "We gotta get 'em!"
"They'll never learn," Ameko said to Alex. "Shall we just burn them and be done with it?"
"Stop it!" came another voice, and then something white dashed by them, throwing arms out in front of the pile of injured gremlin. "You're bad! You shouldn't be mean to the gremmins!"
This got a stunned blink from all three. Standing in front of the gremlins and looking quite mad was a girl of perhaps seven or so, clothed in a cute white dress with her long blonde hair cascading down to her legs, glaring at them as only a seven year old can. "Stop picking on them, you bullies!" she protested.
"They started it," Nikado replied.
Ameko gave him a look. "Are you seriously arguing with the five year old?"
"Well, they did!" the prince said with a huff.
"Adelaide!" one of the gremlins snapped at her. "We told you to stay put."
"But they were being mean to the gremmins!" she protested.
Alex sighed. "We won't be mean anymore as long as they're not mean. Fair?"
"No! The gremmins aren't mean. You're the bad ones!" she protested, pointing at him.
Ameko gave the gremlins a look. "Why do the lot of you have a human locked up in this tower?"
"She's ours!" one of them protested heatedly, scampering to his feet. "She's ours, we found her. We take care of her. You try and take her and we will kill you."
"We have no interest in taking on a child," Alex stated. "How do we know you didn't kidnap her?"
"She came to us. She was washed up all ashore. You remember, 'Laide?" another gremlin said to the little girl. "You were tiny, weren't you?"
"'Laide was tiny!" she agreed with a sunny smile.
"Does Hargon know you've got a little human girl?" Nikado asked with a frown.
"No, and he's not going to find out," one of the gremlins said, tone carrying a dangerous undercurrent.
Nikado raised his hands. "I'm not going to tell him, don't get so worked up. But how are you going to keep her a secret?"
"We've done fine so far. Hargon never comes out this way and neither do his generals. Though that may change since you came," he added bitterly. "Now that we've got heroes tramping about trying to get the Star Seal."
"That's all we came for," Ameko stated, "and you can't really stop us from taking it. Unless you want this little girl to see you fighting again?"
The gremlins looked at each other, and though their faces were monsterous and not humanlike in most aspects, they were still clearly depressed at the idea of their human child being discovered. "Let us just borrow it for a while," Nikado said. "We'll return it once we're done."
"But what if they came looking for it?"
"You're gremlins. Use a trick," Ameko said firmly.
Nikado turned to the other two. "Let's go. We've nothing more to gain here. You be good, okay, Adelaide?" he said with a smile to the child.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Meanie!"
"Are you sure?" Ameko asked as Nikado led the way outside the room. "Leaving that little girl there?"
"She isn't harmed," Nikado replied, "and Alex is right, we can't afford to be distracted by taking care of a little girl. After all, we can make deals with monsters, right?"
Ameko frowned, but nodded slightly. "Hargon could come looking out here, you know. What then?" Alex pointed out. "What if they find her?"
"They're gremlins," Nikado answered with a smile. "They'll use a trick."
Alex sighed and wondered how they had gotten themselves into a new sort of mess this time. From Tantagel, he had consulted the map and decided on Osterfair as their next destination. Osterfair was an island nation, relatively untroubled by monsters since most of the landbound ones had difficulty getting out to the somewhat small island. Supposedly, they had also made peace with the local monster populations, leaving the city safe despite not having a priest. So they had heard.
Well, truth hurt sometimes, he thought sourly, giving a futile tug at the bars in front of him. The bars were made of iron, but thankfully someone had removed the curse on them some time prior. After all, having captives locked up infinitely made for a spoiled game.
Upon arrival, the three royals had been greeted warmly and welcomed to a meal, which had turned out to be laced with a sleeping drug. The next thing he knew, he was in a cell, without his weapons or armor, and Nikado and Ameko were nowhere to be seen. He supposed that they too were probably down here somewhere, locked up as he was. Aboveground, he could hear the occasional scream and other loud noise as victims were tossed to the monsters. A game, the king called it, a fighting game.
Rubbing at a temple in frustration, Alex went over what else he knew. The cells were small, barely large enough for one person, and spelled in a number of ways, most notably being impervious to magic. On a regular basis, one of the cells would be opened by skeletal soldiers, the pair carrying off the unlucky sap. They would be easy enough to dispose of with magic, but the collar fastened around his neck prevented his magic from flowing properly. A collar. What am I, a dog?
Alex tapped a finger against one of the bars as he recalled the image of the king in his mind. There were no small details out of place that he could find, nothing that he could figure out. Was the king a human who had made a deal with the monsters, after all? Perhaps not in the way they had expected, he added sourly.
Nikado. Ameko. He was starting to get worried about the pair. He hadn't seen them since he had woken up in this underground pit, and he had no way of knowing where they were, whether they were injured or safe. Had they already been in one of the fighting games? Were they hurt or killed? As long as someone survived, they would be able to be revived...so Alex resolved to stay alive. Besides...I don't want to put that kind of expression on Nikado's face again.
He was still wondering where that thought had come from when the gate opened, the two skeletal soldiers holding spears to his throat. "You come now," one rattled out, jerking about as it spoke, enough that Alex worried about the safety of his throat.
No sense in doing something risky. Alex nodded, rising and letting them guide him out, one taking a position in front and one behind, both poking him with spears to keep him going the right direction at the right speed.
They emerged, and though it was nighttime overhead, the large open area was well-lit with torches, illuminating a coliseum of sorts, with the king on his throne high up, as if perched like a gargoyle. In the other seats, he could make out the shape of monsters, and humans as well, the latter looking mournful, as if they had been forced to attend. "Let the games begin!" the king declared, raising an arm.
Alex turned as he heard the sound of a heavy gate sliding open, and before he could blink something came slithering out of the hole in the wall, flicking his tongue at him. Oh, crud. A dragonfly, Alex thought to himself, really wishing he had his armor, his sword, his magic, anything. The monster hissed, darting forward, and Alex jumped to the side, placing a hand to brace himself as he landed.
Something underneath his hand moved and he jerked it back, jumping in time to see a set of teeth in the sand, slithering back underneath. What is that? Alex ran through the list of monsters he had heard of, but that didn't match anything. Not that he had time to do a study, he thought as he dodged back from the dragonfly, the creature snapping at him with its teeth. Still...if I can figure things out, I have a chance.
Alex kept a hand on the ground as he moved quickly, feeling out the vibrations in the sand from his own footsteps as he moved away from the lizard, tumbling forward. After a moment, he could feel a rumble, the creature under the sand moving after him. Waiting, he jerked his hand up at the last second, teeth brushing against his fingertips before they fell back in the sand.
I see. So it can't sense me unless I touch bare skin to the ground, Alex reflected, jumping back as a fireball from the dragonfly got too close. He winced. I really wish I could cast a healing spell right now. No time to be distracted.
The dragonfly buzzed its wings, hovering above the ground for a moment before it darted at him, and as it came, Alex jumped, landing lightly on the creature's back. It didn't seem to be dragged down by Alex's weight, which put a little crimp in his plans. Pulling off his belt, he slung it around the dragonfly's neck, then let himself drop from its back, using his entire body to put pressure on its neck, choking it. It stumbled forward, unable to support all the weight on its neck, and let itself drop rather than be crushed. Jumping back on its neck as it crashed into the dirt, he tried to pin it down, pulling off a shoe to attract the sand creature.
Within moments, it had resurfaced, puncturing Alex's foot with a tooth and the dragonfly's neck with the rest of its teeth. Squealing at the mass suddenly trapped in its mouth, the sand creature tried to sink back again, and Alex pulled it up by force, observing it. Ah, an Antlion, he thought, looking around for a moment. Well, they must want him to kill this one, too. Keeping the creature at arm's length, he lifted one of the dead dragonfly's arms, bringing the clawed hand down on the antlion. It squealed as its carapace was cracked, trying to get away all the harder, and Alex beat at it again and again until it stopped moving, the man panting for breath, his hands and arms numb and aching.
There was an uproar in the stadium as the monsters booed, some looking to jump into the stadium and attack him next. If they were allowed to do that, Alex noted, he'd probably be dead very quickly. But the king raised a hand. "We have a new returning contender!" he announced. "Tomorrow, we will have him face the champion."
This got cheers from the monsters, and the humans all looked distraught or were openly weeping. Alex didn't bother resisting as the skeletal soldiers dragged him off, feeling too tired to protest. He was asleep by the time he hit the cell floor.
When he awoke again, he could hear murmured voices. "Who's there," he muttered groggily, rubbing at his face.
"You beat the dragonfly and antlion," a voice from another cell whispered. "And you beat the king slime before, didn't you?"
"Yes," he said, rubbing at his face. "Who's there?"
"We're other prisoners here, like you. Although we are not as skilled and brave as you," the voice continued, and in his exhausted state he wasn't even sure if the voice was male or female. How long had passed since his return to the cell? He voiced the thought aloud, and the person on the other side of the wall answered. "It's been several hours. It's probably midday outside."
"So they only have these competitions at night, right?" Alex said, leaning against the wall and taking a look at his foot. He hadn't managed to retreieve his other shoe, and now the wound on his foot was dark and ugly, leading him to worry that it might be infected. If only he could heal!
"Yes, every night," the prisoner continued. "Usually it is the human that does not return. This time was different. It's not often that a human returns."
"Who are you? Travellers? Or did you live here? Why is the king doing this?"
"A bit of both, we are. We don't know. The king was not terrible, before. He always liked games. But not like this."
Alex sighed, closing his eyes. "I came here with two companions, a man with long black hair in a ponytail and blue eyes, dressed in blue, and a woman with the same, dressed in red. Has anyone seen them?"
"Not that I know of," the prisoner replied, "but word does not travel far here. The guards punish us for talking."
"Am I getting you into trouble?"
"They are not here right now. They are probably preparing for tonight. They will send you out again, the voice said, and this time he could hear something sliding along the floor. "Here, take this. It's all I can offer you."
He reached out, and winced as he cut his finger on the tiny blade, curling his fingers around it carefully and pulling it back in. The blade was little more than that, barely three inches long. He threaded it carefully into his belt. "Thank you. I'll find a use for it. Does anyone know about this champion?"
"He's an old saber lion," the prisoner told him. "He's never lost a match. But I think you might have a chance. I heard you were very clever. What is your name?"
"I'm Alex," he said quietly. "Yourself?"
"Alex. I shall remember that name," the voice promised. "My name is Lithrik. I wish you well."
"Thank you. I won't fail," he replied.
"Then sleep now. You will need your strength."
Night came, or at least he assumed it had, for the skeletal guards were back again to retrieve him, dragging him forward forcefully into the arena. The excitement for the monsters was even higher; apparently the saber lion performing was a rare instance and hadn't happened in quite some time. Setting his jaw, he looked around.
"Ladies and gentlemonsters," the king greeted, his voice carrying over the small arena, "the new challenger is back, and ready to take on a new fighter. I present to you: the champion!"
Cheers erupted as a gate rolled upwards, and the large reddish beast padded out onto the sand of the arena, baring its fangs as it yawned. "I hear you think you're pretty hot stuff, boy."
"You have no idea." Alex recalled to mind everything he knew about saber lions, trying to formulate a plan.
"Ah, but that's not the only part!" the king shouted, and the crowd of monsters roared its appreciation. "Not only is this daring challenger so bold as to take on the champion, he has even brashly offered to do it while there is a distraction! Behold!"
Alex turned, and then his eyes widened as he saw what the king was presenting. Nikado was dragged out onto the king's dais, the prince gagged, blindfolded, and bound tight enough for the sharp ropes to cut into his skin. "Hang him up," the king instructed. "In the interests of having an interesting battle, when the fight slows down, this human will entertain us instead. Watch!" He nodded to the skeletal soldier behind him, who brought a whip down on Nikado's back, the man jerking with pain and surprise. The king spread his hands. "Now we will never be bored! We have a multitude of things up here to amuse ourselves with."
Alex ground his teeth, wishing painful things against the king right then. He was trying to keep Alex on edge, keep him from stopping to analyze the situation, and therefore get him dead quickly against this monster. With a sinking feeling, Alex realized that he was probably going to have to make Nikado suffer in order to survive the situation. "Focus on yourself, boy," the saber lion spat out. "You have no time to worry about others."
"I'm not going to stop caring about my friend just because you tell me to," Alex growled.
"Then, boy, you'll be dead quite soon enough."
Alex didn't reply, fingers twitching as he eyed the cat, debating the best course of attack. The king stood again, gesturing for another skeletal soldier to bring forth a gong. Picking up a mallet, he banged on it, the hollow, dreadful sound ranging out across the arena. "And begin!" the king declared.
Alex moved slightly to the side, eyeing the saber lion as he continued to calculate possibilities, figure out the best course of action. Across the arena, he could hear the sound of a whipcrack, and he winced reflexively, distracted by the thought of Nikado. "Well, if you don't want to get this party started," the cat declared, "I will." Bunching up its powerful muscles, it leapt for him, aiming for his throat.
Alex ducked underneath, rolling forward and getting back to his feet in a hurry, backing away. Think, Alex, think, he commanded himself, not taking his eyes off the cat as another whipcrack went through the air. Thinking had always been his strong point. Now, it seemed sort of ironic that he couldn't think his way out of the situation.
The cat turned, grinning slightly before it bunched up again and pounced. Alex could see the attack coming, but even so it was difficult to dodge due to the sheer speed of the cat. He let himself fall to the side, kicking up some sand as he did so, squirming away from the cat against the sand. At least he was assured that there were no antlions in the sand this time, as nothing attacked when he put his bare skin against the ground. The saber lion must have wanted the victory and the glory all to himself.
Alex got back to his feet, trying to concentrate, even as another whipcrack almost caused him to turn. Think, Alex. What did he have that he could use? He had the tiny piece of a blade, still in his belt. He had his hands and his body, although admittedly that would do very little damage against a saber lion. He had his magic, if only he could get the collar off. And perhaps, if he could figure out a way to use them properly, he had the fangs and claws of the saber lion, its powerful muscles, that he could potentially turn against the beast.
"Looks like the challenger is leaving his friend to suffer!" the king's voice crowed out. "Looks like we need to step up our efforts a bit!" Moving to the man, the king picked up a red-hot poker, placing it against the captive prince's skin with a gentle, almost loving touch. Even with the gag, Alex could still hear the muffled cry, and he turned in alarm.
The saber lion took the opportunity to pounce, and Alex barely managed to dodge in time, the claws slicing through his shirt sleeve and part of his shoulder as if it was a hot knife through butter. Alex put a hand to the wound, and almost wished he hadn't, the flesh tender and painful. At least now I know how sharp a saber lion's claws are, he thought to himself with a scowl. Whatever good that does me. Focus, Alex. The sooner you get this done, the sooner they'll have to stop torturing him. Now then, what was the easiest way to accomplish that? Alex considered his strengths. He was relatively well-balanced as far as fighting went, having a decent range of spells and being handy with a sword. It didn't seem like there was much chance of getting a sword here, but his magic... Alex eyed the cat, considering what he knew of the collar around his neck that bound his magic. Could he get it off? How? How tough was the material it was made of, was it spelled? If the king knew he was going to try and get the collar off, he would probably do something to stop it, which meant Alex had one chance at this. In the words of Nikado, this situation really sucks.
The saber lion grinned, then pounced at him again, this time aiming to bite down on the man's leg. Alex barely scooted back in time, planting his bare foot in the creature's eye socket. It let out a hiss of pain, backing away for a moment, then glaring at the human. "Quick reflexes, boy. I'll give you that. But you'll need more than that to best me, so you haven't a chance."
"I'm hardly a boy," Alex replied, trying to focus. Behind him, he could hear Nikado's gagged scream as the brand was used again and again, and Alex forced himself to block it out of his mind, trying not to think about his friend bleeding and burned. Yeah, Alex. Great train of thought to get on. I know you can't make up your mind exactly how you feel about him, but this is not a good time in the least to be thinking about saving him. You have to do that by killing this creature. Back to the problem at hand. The collar. Alex considered, an idea slowly beginning to form in his mind.
The saber lion reached out with a claw, closing the distance swiftly and swiping at him with a lightning-fast paw, drawing deep lines of red in a move that was intended to hamstring him. Alex let out a little growl, finally going on the offensive, aiming for the cat's uninjured eye with a clenched fist.
The cat almost seemed to smirk as it moved its head down, out of the way, and then batted at his own head, knocking him to the ground. He saw stars for a moment, and rolled to his hands and knees, trying to get back to his feet. The movement was thwarted as the cat placed a paw on his back. "That was silly, human," he purred, forcing Alex down with his heavier weight.
The prince knew he was in trouble. Pinned on his stomach, he was defenseless to anything the cat might try. Desperate, he managed to worm the blade out of his belt, stabbing it down against the cat's paw. Keeping a tight grip on it as the cat jerked its paw back, he felt blood trickling down between his fingers, keeping his fist clenched. "Oh, I applaud you, human. I didn't expect that," the cat said, head kept low and ears forward as it stalked toward him, circling. "I like it when my prey gives itself half a fighting chance. It makes it more interesting. I haven't had this much fight in a while."
" That happens when you imprison terrified villagers and travelers and kill them for sport," Alex replied. "I'm not like them."
"No, the cat agreed, "you're not." And with a roar, he pounced again, throwing the full force of his weight forward. This time Alex moved back, but it wasn't enough, and the cat landed on him, forcing him to the ground. Alex let out a cry at the pressure on his stomach and the slamming of his back against the sand which suddenly seemed as hard as stone. "It was a good hunt, human," the cat said as it placed its claws on his throat, Alex putting a hand up as he tried to stop it. "But far too short."
"How about we make it," Alex gasped out, "a bit longer?" With the blade still in his hands, he swiped at the creature's nose. It let out a howl as it jumped back, and Alex felt momentarily grateful that he had remembered that bit of feline anatomy, even as blood from the claw's grazing ran down his neck. More importantly was that the collar, which he had swiftly moved over one of the cat's claws, had been torn away in its sudden movement.
It was almost like being in the dark and having the sun come out. Alex felt power rushing back into his body, making his entire form tingle, and he swiped at his neck, running a healing spell over the scrapes. "Now it's more of a fair fight," he said with a slight smile. "Want to try again?"
The monsters were in an uproar, the king standing up. He had to kill the cat before the king tried to use Nikado against him, tried to keep him as a hostage. Focusing his power to himself, Alex held out his hands.
The cat knew it as well, and moved to end the battle, running forward and extending its claws toward Alex's neck. The man responded with blue fire on his fingertips, pushing away the cat's arms with his own. The cat let out a scream as the blue fire quickly spread down its fur, rolling about in pain as the flames consumed it completely, quickly only leaving a blacked shape behind. It was a good thing he had explored that Inferno spell with Ameko, he thought to himself, even if she'd been uncomfortable with it. He decided he'd keep the details of this victory from her. Turning toward the king with a little of the blue flame on his hand, he stated calmly, "Now let him go."
The monsters let out a roar, pressing against the stands, ready to enter the arena themselves and fell the impudent human. Alex had a brief moment to note that if he was going to be attacked by every monster in the stadium, at least he'd take down quite a few with them. Nikado was still alive, and he could at least hope for the other man to survive long enough to escape Osterfair with his body.
As the thoughts rolled through his mind, the king raised a hand, frowning down at the victorious prince. "Bring him inside," he declared, settling back into his throne. "I'll deal with him myself. Bring this one, too." He gestured to the bound prince at his side, and the skeletal soldiers brought down Nikado, taking him back out of sight.
The doors opened, some skeletal soldiers approaching cautiously. Even they knew the blue flame could put them in a world of hurt, although regular flame would be equally effective against them. Alex considered, then lowered his hands. "I'll come with you," he stated. "Any of you make a wrong move, and I'll destroy you. Keep your distance."
They did so, and Alex felt slightly reassured in his command of the situation. A human in control of magic was a very deadly force against them. Letting them loosely ring him, he followed them inside, the monsters around the arena booing and making noise. Alex ignored them as he went inside, using his hand not holding the blue flame to heal his other wounds.
The skeletal soldiers led him into a room underneath the stadium, which appeared to be some sort of guest area, perhaps for champions waiting to enter the arena. The king was standing in the room, with Nikado laying nearby, still gagged and bound. Alex glanced to the man to reassure himself that Nikado was all right before fixing his eyes on the king. "Why have you brought me here?"
"Because I told him to," a voice said, and he slumped, falling back against a nearby chair. Out from behind it, a figure with a sword emerged, though the weapon was held low. Alex's eyes widened as he saw the woman that met his eyes. Although it seemed she was half-monster, with a long, furred tail and handlike feet, she was also quite beautiful as well, resembling nothing in her face or figure of the purple magic baboons she must have drawn blood from, given her long purple hair. "Well done, warrior. You are Alex of Cannock, are you not?"
"I am. You are?" he asked, keeping the flame well-controlled on his fingers.
"I am Aeun, of Osterfair. I thank you for your help in defeating the Saber Lion," she stated. "He was quite the thorn in my side, as it was."
"Aeun of Osterfair," he repeated, stumbling over the name a bit. "Who are you?"
She gestured to the man behind him. "His daughter."
"So you're the princess of Osterfair, then."
"That would stand to reason, wouldn't it?" She crossed her arms, putting the sword away as she did so.
He let the flame die down from his fingers at last, going over to Nikado and slicing off the bonds with the tiny blade. "Nikado," he said, shaking the man's shoulder. "Are you all right?"
The man coughed as the gag was released, then looked up at Alex, managing a tired smile. "Hey, Alex. Had better days."
"Good. Don't talk further," the other prince instructed as he began healing Nikado's wounds.
"I apologize on the behalf of Osterfair for your friend's suffering," Aeun told him seriously. "My father," she added a glance toward him that caused him to shrink back, "is a coward who tries to please the monsters."
"Do you not have a priest here?"
"We did, but he was imprisoned. I mean to go fetch him, now that the Saber Lion is out of the way. The Saber Lion is, well, was, Hargon's delegate to our island."
"So the monsters here side with Hargon?" Nikado asked, looking up at her.
She shook her head. "Most of them don't. However, there is a lot of pressure to say you do, regardless of how monsters feel about him. He isn't called the tyrant of monsters for nothing. Osterfair has always lived in peace with our monster allies; I'm proof of that, as are others. We do not like to be intimidated by his kind."
"We have a friend that came with us," Alex said, "a woman named Ameko. Do you know of her?"
"I believe she is down in the prisons. However, it will be tough getting to them. The only entrance is guarded by a cyclops."
Alex frowned. "I didn't see a cyclops when I was down there."
"He's put away when a prisoner is brought up for a fight."
"And if they win the fight, they're brought back?"
"Yes... What are you getting at?" The woman raised her eyebrows.
Alex smiled. "Then no one will raise an eyebrow at a prisoner coming back, will they?"
"No, they won't," she agreed, "but you're one person, and you won't be able to get back out without a fight."
"I'll go down into the prison and look for my ally. She's a magic user as well," Alex explained. "If you give Nikado back his sword and wait for our signal, between the four of us, we should be able to destroy him."
The woman considered. "It's sound. I can have Father order the skeletal soldiers to take you back. If you see my priest down there, will you bring him up as well?"
"I will. What's his name?"
"His name is Lithrik. He'll be of use to you as well. Are you going in without a sword?"
"It might tip off the guards," he replied, "but if you have a knife, I'll take that."
She tossed him one from her belt, the other man catching it one-handed. "I'll wait for your signal, then," Nikado said. "What should I watch for?"
"A fireball to the back of its head."
Nikado snorted in amusement, shaking his head. "Your odd sense of humor crops up at the most interesting times, Alex."
"I'm serious. I'll meet you in a bit."
Once the skeletal soldiers had guided him back down, Alex had quickly used a firebane to burn them all swiftly, before they could raise an alarm. The prison was patrolled at lengths by other skeletal soldiers who quickly met the same fate. He didn't have much sympathy for skeletal soldiers; they were barely intelligent and mostly created by enchanters or other magic using monsters for dumb, free labor. His first stop was to find Lithrik, the priest who he had talked to, that had given him the small blade. He had to return it, after all.
Arriving back at the cell he had been originally taken from, he looked to the one next door, peering in through the door. It was so dark he could barely see the figure in the back, wrapped in a cloak. "Lithrik?" he questioned.
The man looked up, and Alex thought he saw a smile in the dim light. "Alex, right? I had a feeling you would win. Brute force alone never saves the day, you know."
"I'm quite aware. I've come to return your knife," he stated, "and thank you. It came in handy."
"You're welcome. So the Saber Lion is dead? Does Aeun know?"
"Yes. She sent me down here to get you." Alex emerged with the keys he had taken from one of the skeletal soldiers, trying the first one in the lock. It didn't budge, and Alex growled, moving on to the next.
"Count the notches," Lithrik explained, "they'll tell you which one matches which door. There should only be five on the ring; skeletal soldiers can't really count higher than that."
"They didn't expect someone smarter than a skeletal soldier might catch on to the system." Alex shook his head, finding the key.
"Of course not. Brute force doesn't solve much, not that they'd believe it. That's why Hargon is such a bother," he sighed, standing up as the door opened. "Of course, he does have enough brute force to make a pest of himself."
As Alex opened the door, letting torch light into the cell, he could see that the man he had thought was wrapped in a cloak was actually wrapped in wings; large white ones that expanded farther than Alex could reach from fingertip to fingertip. "Ah," he said with a stretch, "it feels good to be out of there."
Alex frowned as he looked over the man. "You...don't have any human blood?" he questioned. "But you look human."
"Mostly through some spells I cast on myself. Partly for a lark, partly because archdemons aren't terribly attractive and I didn't really fit the image. All they use their magic for is explosions. It's disgusting." The demon shrugged, looking at Alex. "Does it surprise you?"
"Only in that I wasn't aware monsters could learn the priest spells. Particularly the barrier one, given that it's designed to repel monsters."
"Oh, rest assured that I have no fondness for that spell whatsoever," Lithrik agreed, "but yes, I am capable of performing it. It's part of the reason Aeun strives to make peace with the monsters. Or was until that Saber Lion and his contingent of Hargon hanger-ons arrived and threw everything out of whack."
"I see." Alex looked him up and down. "Out of curiosity, why priest spells?"
"I like a challenge."
"We'd better get going," Alex stated, looking around before handing Lithrik his small blade back. "We need to find my ally, Ameko, so we can launch an attack against the cyclops."
"Against the cyclops? It should hardly be difficult, but I'll help you search. I haven't heard anything from my sources, so I believe I know her general whereabouts. Follow me," Lithrik said with a wave of his hand. "And if you could keep those skeletal soldiers off me, I'd appreciate it."
"Don't priests know spells to destroy them?" Alex questioned.
"Yes, but I'm not terribly fond of combat." Lithrik led the prince down a flight of stairs, then another, coming out in a poorly lit part of the dungeon. "Here we are. I doubt he wanted to make use of her."
"He wanted to make plenty use of him," Alex muttered to himself.
"Oh? Did you have another ally here?"
"A man, I mentioned him before. He's with Aeun," Alex stated, looking around the cells before lighting a fire, holding up a torch. "It's pitch black in here."
"Be careful," Lithrik cautioned. "Gases like to live in the dark."
"Can't be any worse than a wraith," Alex muttered.
The demon looked at him, interested. "A wraith? Fascinating creatures, those. Have you met one?"
"Only insofar as we saw it in a mirror before it was exploded," Alex replied. "You talk a lot."
Lithrik scowled. "You're not supposed to look at them in a mirror, that's the point."
Alex didn't reply as he checked the cells, peering in each one. So far, they all seemed to be empty, until he arrived at the last one. Inside he could see the figure of a woman, but was unable to make our her figure from the dirt and mud that covered her. "Oh, ick," Lithrik declared, pointing at the wall. "Giant slugs have been here. Even worse than gases."
"Ameko?" Alex called softly, then turned a fireball onto the lock, melting it away. Going inside the cell, he shook her shoulder, frowning in worry when she didn't respond.
Lithrik knelt next to him, then made a 'tsk' sound. "Looks like a vampirus has already had its way with her. The Saber Lion had a posse of them, so she was probably used as 'entertainment'. It's so vulgar what some monsters will do."
"Can it, Lithrik. Will she be all right?" Alex was beginning to confirm to himself that his initial assessment of Lithrik as a full monster had been correct; there was nothing human about his thinking.
The demon huffed. "She'll be fine once someone feeds her and gets her clean. Are you seriously going to--ugh," the demon winced as he backed away, Alex pulling Ameko out of the slug muck and pulling her onto his back. "That's absolutely horrifying, not to mention the noxious smell."
"Would you do the same for Aeun?" he asked, moving toward the way they had come.
The demon thought seriously about it. "She is human, so I suppose she'd do the same for me. So I'd feel obligated to help her out in return. She's done quite a bit for me, you know. Still, I sure wouldn't be happy about it."
"I'm not saying I enjoy the smell, but Ameko is more important to me," Alex stated.
Lithrik frowned, then shrugged. "Is she your lover?"
"No."
"But you love her?"
"Possibly," Alex said with a shake of his head. "Why do you ask?"
Lithrik only shook his own head in response. "I will never understand humans."
Making their way up the stairs, they approached the exit to the prison, and they could feel the vibrations as the cyclops ahead moved around in a bored, lazy fashion. "I said I'd start with a fireball to the back of the head," Alex stated, pulling a little fire to his hand. "If you have any good tricks, bring them out."
"I did say I didn't like combat," Lithrik protested as Alex tossed the fireball, the spell impacting smoothly on the cyclops's head.
The monster turned with a "graagh" sort of noise, bringing down a fist in rage against the two. Behind the creature, he could hear Nikado's footsteps, charging toward the creature.
Beside him, Lithrik sighed, then spread his wings, stepping forward. Meeting the creature's eyes, he muttered a single word that Alex recognized from the ancient language, although the meaning was lost on him. The monster froze in its tracks, entranced by the archdemon. "There you are," Lithrik said without breaking eye contact with the monster. "You may now do with him as you wish."
Alex looked over at him. "I thought you said you didn't like combat."
"I don't. Why do you think I put a stop to this?"
Aeun leapt forward, hopping onto the creature's back agilely, bringing her sword down through the creature's head. It came off in a smooth stroke, dropping to the ground with a squishing sound, the neck spraying ichor everywhere. Lithrik grimaced as he was covered in green goop. "When I said you could do with him as you wished, this was not exactly what I had in mind."
"You complain too much, Lithrik," Aeun stated, wiping her sword on the body before nodding to him. "Good to see you."
"You as well, Princess."
She nodded. "Our next stage of affairs is to request the monsters to leave Osterfair for the moment while we work on sorting things out with Hargon's goons. Those that don't leave will, unfortunately, be in a world of hurt. We also need to take care of your friend," she added with a look to Ameko. "Again, I apologize for your treatment, on behalf of Osterfair."
"You would do well to tell her when she wakes up," Alex stated. "She's probably going to be quite irate."
"Understandably so. Come, Lithrik," she stated with a wave of her sword. "We have things to do."
"You're such a brute, Aeun," he complained as he followed.
"Odd pair," Nikado noted as he joined Alex, touching a hand to Ameko's cheek to check on her. "Wonder how those two got involved with each other."
"Same reason any man will follow a woman around. Let's get Ameko somewhere safe."
Getting the monsters out of the town had been a trial, and Lithrik had erected the barrier, although it was obvious that it was painful to him. "It's not so bad once it's up and stable," he said, looking a little pale nonetheless. "So, what do you want from me now? Antidotes, decursing, anything? I even know the revival spell."
"I'd like a spell to rip your king a new one," Ameko growled. As predicted, the woman had not been happy, although Alex suspected it might be because she was shaken and a little frightened by the experience. Vampirus feedings had a way of messing with you, so he had heard; things seemed to sparkle for days on end, among other problems.
"Oh, I doubt he'll be king much longer," Lithrik said with a wave of his hand. "Aeun's needed an excuse to take the throne from him. This will do quite nicely. In my opinion, he's lucky he kept his head."
"Thank you for waiting," Aeun stated as she entered the church, bowing to the trio of royals. "I hope our hospitality has improved. Now, I understand you three are trying to do something about Hargon?"
"We mean to defeat him," Nikado stated firmly. "We're currently looking for the five crests to summon the elemental, Rubiss."
"One of them is here," Ameko spoke up, gesturing to the echo flute which was now back around his neck. Their possessions and equipment had been hastily returned, which gave Alex no small sense of relief. The sword of Loto was now back at his side, which gave him a sense of ease. "Isn't it, Aeun?"
"I had a feeling that you would need it," Aeun stated, fishing it out of a bag attached to her belt and holding it up before tossing it to Ameko. Like the Star Crest, it was a small plaque about the size of a palm, though this one was in the shape of a crescent moon. "That's been in the family for generations," Aeun stated, "being guarded by the royal family. If you don't mind, when you're done with it, I'd rather like it back."
Alex nodded. "We understand."
"There's something else that might interest you," she stated, "and this you can keep. Lithrik, where's the gaia armor?"
He pouted at that. "But I wasn't done with it. I'm still trying to figure out how to enchant the shin guards to ward off flooding, and--"
"It'll do for now."
The demon sulked for a moment before getting up, returning a short while later with a box, setting the pieces down on the table. "This is the gaia armor," Lithrik said. "It's a great piece of work of mine, if I do say so myself. First, the breastplate is--"
"Let them figure it out for themselves," Aeun cut him off, "or we'll be here all night, and they probably want to get a move on before they get caught up in the monster-human negotiations. Am I wrong?"
Alex shook his head. "Do you know anything about the other crests, where we might find them?"
Aeun shook her head. "We don't have a lot of trade with people, but I can tell you that the easiest place to reach from here is Zahan. It's a tiny little speck in the corner of the world, but it's a good fishing village. We do a fair bit of trade."
Alex opened up his map, pointing to the spot after a moment. "You'll have access to the southern continent from here. This is Wellgarth," she told him, "the locked city. The place is underground and sealed with a gold door, so good luck getting in. Over this way is Tuhn, which is a royal pain to get to and doesn't have anything particularly remarkable. And here is Beran, the water city. It's set in the middle of a whirlpool."
"A whirlpool?"
"For added defense, so I hear, although they do have a priest, of course. Beran is populated by lots of strong monsters, so you'd best be careful if you're going there."
Alex nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your help."
"No, thank you," she said with a shake of her head. "Come back if you have any other need from us. Or," she added with a grin, "you feel the need to have another little arena battle, champion."
The prince of Cannock shook his head. "I think I'll retire."
Zahan was unusual, Nikado quickly noted. Not because of anything that was there, but rather, what wasn't. There were no men in the village at all, only women. "It is a fishing village," Ameko noted as Alex brought the ship to the dock, letting the woman hop off and tie it up. "The men are probably out on a trip. Look, there's only a couple of small ships here. These would be used for local travel."
"Like over there?" Nikado pointed at the monolith, then frowned.
"Is something the matter?" Alex asked.
"Yes, well, no. Not the matter, I just...ah!" he recalled. "Now I know why it seems familiar. That monolith has a traveller's gate that leads back to Lorasia."
Alex checked his map. "I think you're right. How did you know?"
"How do you think I knew? I used to train out there, you know. There weren't any monsters out there, so it made a nice change of pace." Nikado hopped down onto the dock, looking around. "Ah, someone's coming. Another of the women."
Except that the woman, this time, turned out to be a man, a broad-shouldered man taller than any of the royals by a couple of inches, his hair long and loose around his face and shoulders. "Greetings, visitors," he said spreading one of his arms wide. The other, restricted by a sling, nonetheless came out as much as he could. "Welcome to Zahan. My name is Domani. What brings you out this far?"
"Hello, Domani," Nikado greeted. "I'm Nikado, and these are my friends, Alex and Ameko. We're on a mission to defeat Hargon."
"Defeat Hargon? I wish you luck in that, it would be terrific if you succeeded. Is there any way our village can help you?"
Ameko, who had been listening to the Echo Flute, shook her head. "Isn't one here."
"Just rations and water," Alex said. "We'll pay you fairly."
"I couldn't charge for those on such a noble quest! We'll have your ship supplied and looked over while you're here. In the meantime, we welcome you to stay and enjoy the local scenery."
Nikado smiled up at the friendly man. "What happened to your arm?"
"Ah, this? Well, it's a bit embarrassing, really," he said with a laugh. "It's a long and boring story, so I won't bother you with it."
"Are the other men out on a fishing trip?" Alex asked.
Domani's expression fell at that. "Yes...Admittedly, they are a bit overdue, but they should be back any time," Domani said brightly. "Is there anything else I can answer for you?"
"Ah! Do you have any silver doors?" Nikado asked, holding up the key.
Domani considered, then nodded. "Why, yes, we do, actually. It leads into the old storehouse. I'm not sure what's in there, though. If you'd like to see, I'll show you."
"Waaah! Domani!" came a cry, and a little girl came running up to him, clinging to his leg. "The dog's being mean again!"
"Ah, Fia," he sighed, cuddling the girl in a one-armed hug. "I did say to leave the dog alone, right?"
"But he must be hungry!"
"Here," Nikado offered, "how about I go help you feed the dog? I love dogs, we used to have one at my home. I'll protect you if he gets mean."
"Yay! Thanks, mister! Hey," she added after a moment, backing away and scrutinizing him carefully. "Who are you, anyway?"
Domani chuckled at that. "Don't be rude, Fia."
"Oh, right," she said in the tone of a child who is being corrected. Taking a curtsey, she introduced herself, "My name is Fia and I live in Zahan. What are your names?"
"I'm Nikado and I'm from Lorasia," he explained. "This is Alex, from Cannock, and Ameko of Moonbrook."
"I've never heard of any of those places," Domani confessed. "You must have come a long way."
"I'll tell you more about it," Alex said, pulling out his map. "Nikado, you can go help the girl feed the dog."
"That's right at his level," Ameko quipped.
"You hush," he scolded firmly before smiling at Fia. "I'll help you. Is Domani your friend?"
"He's my big brother," she said, leading the way boldly. "I don't have a lot of friends my age."
"If you don't mind friends that aren't your age, I'd love to be your friend," Nikado offered.
Fia smiled at him brightly before pointing out the dog, handing him the plate of food. "There it is."
"Here, boy," Nikado called softly, and the dog's ears perked, the creature trotting toward him.
It certainly was a big dog, he noted; no wonder the girl had been frightened. "Wah!" she yelped as it grabbed her sleeve in its teeth, giving it a slight tug. "Protect me, Nikado!"
"Let go," he ordered the dog firmly, and to his surprise, it did so without having to be requested again, the dog now latching onto Nikado's sleeve and giving another tug. Frowning, he let the dog pull him along, the animal leading the way before it finally turned, sitting down.
"Is he doing a trick?" Fia wondered, holding out a hand for it to shake a paw.
The dog ignored her, thumping his tail against the ground as it looked at Nikado expectantly. The prince frowned, looking the dog over, and then he stopped as he spotted something glittering in the grass. Picking it up, his eyes widened in surprise. "Hey--"
"Heh heh heh," the two heard a voice laugh from out of the dog's mouth, and then it walked away, tail held up high.
"That's a weird dog," Fia observed slowly. "I think we'll name him Loki."
Soon the group was on course again, this time heading for Wellgarth, with the little gold key around Nikado's neck. "I still don't think that was a dog," Alex said with a frown. "But was it a human, or a monster?"
"It could have been a monster. There wasn't a priest in that village," Ameko pointed out.
"True, but...Why would a monster want to give someone in Zahan the key? Or us?"
"You know, Nikado, there are sometimes just things that don't need explaining. The important thing is that we can now get in to Wellgarth," Alex said, pointing the ship ahead. "And that's where we're going next."
