Caged, beaten and bound for two days, with barely edible scraps for food. That trice damned ram. When I got out of here, I would tear Surrion apart with my bare hands. “Chief, cough once if you can hear me.” The voice was barely audible, but it was obvious it was Tarsja speaking. I coughed once. “Listen, yesterday Lurin sent a runner towards Therinos to inform the Duergar about what’s going on. If we are lucky, they might help, since they owe you and Narja a debt.”

A decent plan. Besides, Surrion wasn’t a warrior, heck most of us weren’t. I doubted Surrion could contend with against a seasoned Duergar warrior. I coughed. “You approve then. Narja was certain you would. Bah, the guards, gotta go, Chief.” A few moments later, two Herbmaster tribesmen entered the tent my cage was in. They didn’t find Tarsja, nor any trace of her.

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The march was slow, the rains had ceased, but once we reached the lowlands, the soaked ground quickly turned into a wet and muddy slop that slowed us down. “Boss, seems there’s something movin’ t’wards us, fast too. I reckon it’ll be ‘ere within the next 5 minutes if it continues at its current pace.” Another tribesman, perhaps, but if so, why? I looked over at Alu, who, noticing my glance shrugged and looked as surprised as us.

Nothing planned on their end, then. I turned back to the scout. It was either Pock or Pebble, but their gear made it hard to tell them apart. “Right, have everyone to be alert, but we won’t stop.” The scout nodded and hurried off. So, now what? Bah, who cared? Right now, I was more interested in finding those durned Beast-kin, so I could talk to Ursus and hear what he knew about the kids. If they caused her any amount of… Hmm, nah they wouldn’t, not with Moor there. Well, we could cross that bridge if we got to it.

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“I’ve seen strange things in the dungeons of Lady Labyrinthia and Yrsha, but this forest is something else.” Shaluna looked around as we walked. She seemed nervous. I gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She looked up, her glum expression shifting into a gentle smile. Seeing her calm down made me feel warm and strangely happy. “I’m not surprised. Fey forests have an otherworldly power of their own. Don’t get careless, as things here might not be what they seem.” She gave a quiet nod and wrapped her arms around my own, hugging me close.

We were making good time as we entered the forest at sunrise, which was far earlier than expected. Then again, I made everyone march through the first night, rather than rest, and compensated with magic to ensure they were all in top shape after only a single night’s rest.

That aside, the forest was quiet, far too quiet. I would’ve expected an envoy or something by now. I didn’t like this, but I had my orders. “Everyone, stay sharp until we reach the entrance. I don’t like the lack of fey one bit.” The response was silent salutes, to not make more noise than necessary.

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“I’m going, uncle, and that’s final. Dad’s out there.” Uncle was glaring back at me with a frustrated expression. “And I’m telling you, you’re not. Gran’s a trained warrior with decades of experience. You’d need to be a dragon, or it’s equivalent to stand a chance against him in a fight. And you certainly are not.” I shot a glance at Sarirrva, who, to my surprise, nodded. “When your father and mother came to my lair for the first time to broker the agreement, I didn’t take kindly to their intrusion. However, he held his own and with the aid of Yunika fought me to a stand-still. He’ll be fine.”

Why didn’t they… wait, I could hazard a guess. Mom was always overprotective of me, even when during her most extreme training, I was only left battered and bruised. I never sustained serious or lasting injuries. There was no way she would let dad brag about being able to fight Sarirrva to a standstill. So, I wouldn’t get ideas of glory into my young and impressionable head and run off in search of adventure.

“Seriously, talk about double standard…” Uncle patted my back, and as I looked at him, he had a warm smile on his face. “It shows just how much they care for you, kid. Besides, if I let you just run off like that they’ll skin me alive, literally in your mother’s case.” I couldn’t disagree with that assessment.

Uncle reached up and rubbed my head. “Tell you what, I’ll ask Labyrinthia about sending us to Gran via magic if things take a turn for the worse for him, alright?” I hesitated for a moment. Thin, with a heavy sigh, I agreed. This was the best concession I’d get out of uncle on this matter, no doubt.

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“Boss, let me present Linja. She’s a scout from the Reedrunner tribe. She’s apparently been looking for us for a while now.” We had stopped to let the exhausted Beast-kin rest. She looked utterly exhausted, with her brown fur matted and dirty. “I bring ill tidings from the camp.”

She seemed better after receiving some much-needed water, but her voice was still cracked and hoarse. “Ill tidings? So, what disaster has happened now? I doubt they’d send a runner for us if it was a minor thing.” I looked at the girl who, despite being closer to three times my height, shrank away from my gaze. Huh, skittish lil thing. “Surrion, the chief of the Herbmaster tribe, has staged a hostile takeover of the campgrounds. Chief Ursus has been imprisoned and Chief Narja is under house arrest. Anyone who even looks at the Herbmasters funny gets beaten within an inch of their lives. They’ve gone mad the lot of them.”

Rubolgs accursed axe, first Void invaders and now madness in the ranks. Just great. “That won’t do. Ursus has information I need. Bah, I’ll knock some sense into that durned fool Surrion one way, or another.” I stroked the scabbard at my side, where my masterpiece was. The blade still lacked a name, but it would surely earn one soon enough, even sooner if that durned chief got in ma way.

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Slyvanport, a den of injustice and corruption hiding under a gossamer thin veil of law and civility. A large contingent of Sworn blades had flocked to the city over the last few days, along with many Justicars and Paladins of my own clerical order. All with a singular purpose. “Lady Justina, we are ready to begin.”

I turned my attention to Sarvus, a Half-Dragon that had inherited the position of Lord Paladin after his father, Bareth passed away. “The guilty will be found and punished, the innocent will be protected. Order shall be restored to Slyvanport, a city that has long gone without.” He gave a Salute and began dividing the assembled Sworn Blades, Justicars and Paladins into groups. Meanwhile, I looked at the assembled civilians and officials who were watching

Already I could see several minor criminals among them. However, their crimes were of desperation or fear, their punishments would be light. Not so for the corrupt officials or hardened lawbreakers. The full weight of the law would descend upon them. With a silent gesture, the Justicars, Paladins and Sworn Blades moved away from the square and into the dilapidated streets of the once great city. This would be a massive undertaking, but I would find the root of how this corruption and tear it out at the source. And yet, despite my conviction, I couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this.

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The carriage door opened and Izrah entered, her youth and vitality regained. “Your faithful servant greets you, Mistress.” She knelt down on the floor of the carriage, her head bowed. Such a devoted servant. I made the right decision regarding her. “I see you survived, good. Consider your failures forgiven, then.” I could see a slight shiver go through her, elation, no doubt. I looked out the window to the slowly moving army.

“It would seem I picked a bad time of year to hold this campaign. The ground is soaked and turns to mud too easily.” Izrah, flinched for a moment, apparently deciding whether I blamed her for not knowing about this. “Hmm, well, no matter, a few more days mattered not. Besides, if we had come at another time, the wretched Beast-kin would have been scattered all over. But now they are in one place.” All in one place, so easy to corner. “Have the scouts found this “Festival Ground” the charmed beasts mentioned?”

Izrah hesitated again, before she shook her head. “The river is long and with the muddy ground and wild beasts roaming about the scouting has become complicated. It is as if the plains themselves have turned against us.” Hmm, Izrah might be correct in her assumption. The gods had long since declared me unfit to exist, and with news of our arrival, it was obvious they would interfere. She might be the one behind it all as well, that wretched goddess.

I paused for a moment. When did I learn-? Ah, right, of course. From back then. As much as it irked me, I learned much from my brief association with her. It wasn’t more than a few moments we were one, but from that short time I gained access to so much of her knowledge and certain traits. Patience was among them, and with that patience, I spent over a century plotting my revenge.

However, not everything went as planned so far. Losing my vessels was an unfortunate and unforeseen blow, and to a mortal barely old enough to not be an adult. The lack of information about her powers also annoyed me. Then she got in my way again in the elven forest, costing me my best and oldest puppet. Was it mere chance, or deliberate tampering that our paths continued to cross? Hmm, food for thought, hard to say when that loathsome goddess might be involved.

I broke out from my brooding as I noticed Izrah shift ever so slightly to keep her balance as the wagon suddenly shifted. The horses were having a hard time making this trip comfortable, given the soggy mess our march created.

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Being used as a vessel by a god felt… weird really, really, weird. I was still conscious, but everything was distant, and dreamlike. In this state, I felt calm and placid. So despite not having any agency over my own actions, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was just along for the ride, and I was content with that, it felt… natural.

The moment Inlas let go, I collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. I felt like I just finished a marathon where I had sprinted the entire way. “This… is getting easier, I’m not fainting on the spot now. Still feel like I have run for a week straight though.” Lady Inlas leaned down and offered me a hand. “You’re getting the hang of it faster than expected.” She dragged me to my feet and guided me to a small table where two teacups were waiting.

As soon as I sat down, I gently lifted the cup and took a sip. The fatigue melted away after the first swallow. “This tea of yours is incredible.” Inlas took a sip of her own. “It’s not I who made it, but Medino, his healing brews are always effective and taste great, as an added benefit, it allows us to train faster, so a win-win.”

Medino, Inlas always smiled gently and gained a slight blush when she mentioned him, yet I couldn’t recall meeting him. Then again, considering I always fainted after being used as a vessel by Inlas until now, he might have arrived and left while I was out of it. “Milady, since we’re resting, mind telling me what happened to Pearl when she arrived here. I have picked up bits and pieces, but I don’t know the entire story.”

Inlas put down her own cup and looked thoughtful for a moment, her expression turning darker. “It’s a part of the past I am not too keen on remembering, but I suppose you should know. I can’t tell you everything, only what I know from my perspective, so if you want the full story you’ll have to ask her yourself.” Fair enough. “That’s acceptable.” Inlas nodded and began the tale.