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Tia, Castor, Jafa, and Enide reached the edge of the forest in the middle of the night. They were scolded by the stable master when returning the exhausted horses but the group ignored them, equally as exhausted. They trudged through the quiet streets with slumped shoulders; saddle sore and soul weary.
"Should we wait for morning to tell Safuc?" Jafa muttered.
"Do you honestly think you could sleep right now?" Castor felt chilled to the bone and not just because of the cold night.
"That's no excuse to give the old man nightmares." Tia walked around them, hugging the jug tight. “We can tell him in the morning."
Enide rubbed his face. "After everything we just saw?"
Tia stopped, looked over her shoulder, and shrugged. "He needs the rest, in my opinion."
Jafa sighed and turned to back to her tent without saying another word and Castor went to follow Tia for a few steps before stopping.
"What are you going to with the," He cleared his throat." With him?"
"Find out his name." Tia kept walking. "Then we can put him to rest."
-
CASTOR WAITED OUTSIDE Safuc's tent until Drayfus came out to get fresh water to make the morning tea.
"Oh!" Drayfus was startled for a moment but looked relieved to see him. "When did you get back?"
"Very late in the night." Castor yawned, moving to help Drayfus but was shooed away. "We didn't want to wake you."
"You have my thanks. He has been working very hard." Drayfus saw Jafa and Enide approaching and gave them a nod. "Feel free to go in. He's awake. I'll be along with breakfast."
Castor waited until Jafa and Enide joined him before entering the tent, seeing Safuc taking a set at the lower table in his common area to allow his weary bones to rest on soft pillows instead of a chair. Even with cushions, the chairs were not as comfortable as the pillows for his aching back.
Safuc looked up at the trio and frowned. "I would be happier to see you if you did not have such dark expressions."
They joined him at the table. "It was a worthwhile mission, sir." Castor found it hard to look the old Muri in the eyes, uncertain about saddling Safuc with this horrid information.
Before any of them could start, Tia opened the tent flap, allowing Drayfus to enter first with a steaming tray, following behind him with a pitcher of hot water. "Mornin'." She said to the group, sitting between Jafa and Safuc with a heavy sigh. "Who wants to go first?"
When no one volunteered, Tia launched into the tale from the beginning to the gruesome end. "It's looking like the queen has a way to get rid of us without even touching us." Tia munched on a strip of crisp bacon as she spoke and the others picked at their food.
There was stunned silence around the table as the implications of their little excursion sank in. Safuc looked heartbroken and left his breakfast untouched. "This sounds like a nightmare."
"Do you have a record of what happened to that man?" Drayfus asked.
"I wrote it down.” Castor said and handed a wrinkled scroll to Safuc. “Maybe we can find a reference to this in the books at the castle.”
"Good." He looked up at Tia. "Are you feeling up to more work? If the queen is up to something magical, it would help us to study the old magic of Grey City."
Tia had to give Drayfus credit for jumping right to finding a solution while also being vague enough to keep those voices a secret. "I'm fine. Let's do this."
"In the meantime, we should employ more practical defenses." Jafa took a long drink of the tea, grateful for Safuc's taste for energizing rather than calming tea. "We should start prioritizing weapons, asking for volunteers to be trained to defend the city, and double time completion of the outer wall. That may be our last line of defense if an army that makes it to the forest."
"My apprentices are sharp and excited to learn the trade." Enide smiled, proudly espousing the skills of his students. "They've made impressive farm tools. Making weapons isn't that far of a leap forward."
Castor balked, visibly confused. "Would it even be possible for such a small group to produce enough-"
"Excuse me!" Karina burst through the tent flap, a baby strapped to her back and a toddler on her hip. "My apologies for interrupting but, it's ready!" The round-faced woman smiled brightly, a bit out of breath but almost shining with glee. "Come see! We took every consideration Drayfus recommended!"
Castor stood first, relieving Karina of the older child to give her a better perch on his shoulders. Jafa followed and Enide carefully lead the elder out of the tent before putting Safuc on his back to keep up with Karina's excited pace. The matron went on and on about the shallow steps, sloped entranceways, and connection to the new water system Castor had tirelessly explained inch by inch to ensure the elder Muri could have every comfort they could provide.
The two-story home was as close to the castle as infrastructure would allow before renovations on the castle could begin in earnest if there were any spare able bodies once this crisis was over. The only stairs were the ones leading up to a private apartment for Drayfus.
"Now you don't need that tent anymore." Karina smiled while Safuc looked around in awe.
"This is amazing," He said. "I couldn't imagine the day I'd ever have a home like this."
"You deserve it."
"We all do." He patted Karina on the arm. "But we have a crisis to attend to before I can move."
At her confused look, Safuc began relating the horrid tale Tia and the others had brought back with them.
-
KING BASTION CALLED General Tavers late in the evening. The general didn't dare show up out of uniform or show any fatigue. The king didn't summon his generals on a whim. If a call came in the middle of the night, it was very important.
Tavers knelt when he entered the throne room and the action allowed him to cover his discomfort upon seeing the queen smiling from her place beside him. "I am here as requested, your excellency."
"Prompt as usual, General Tavers." The queen's voice reminded him of spilled lamp oil and made him want to take a bath. "A model of discipline."
"It is my pleasure to do my duty, my queen."
"Up off the floor, General." The king waved him over to the table where he had maps spread of the area around Grey City. "As I had hoped, the queen has devised a way to deal with the Muri in their little hideaway."
"I will need to accompany your army as my little trick cannot be done from too far away." Queen Anasia's lips turned down slightly at the cluster of parchments on the other side of the table. "None of the other kingdoms have faith in our plan so, I trust your numbers will be enough?"
"Most assuredly, madam." Tavers had to hide his shock and dismay at the queen heading out with his army. If she got so much as a scratch on her, he was certain the king would have him executed.
The queen touched his arm and he could swear he felt his entire body shake. "Worry not, General. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. But if it will ease your worry, King Bastion will be there to assist."
It did quite the opposite. Both rulers on the battlefield? With their heirs too young to take the throne should the worst happen?
"Have faith, General Tavers." The king handed him a scroll with his orders on them. "Just follow orders and Grey City will be but a laughable footnote in history."
"Of course, sire." And Tavers took his leave, heading out of the throne room at a quick pace. He read the scroll and went right to his offices where a messenger was waiting for him. "Gather the senior guards from all the villages and tell the soldiers to mobilize and be ready to march at the king's order by sunrise. Full armor and ranged weapons are a priority. When we march on Grey City," He swallowed as the messenger looked confused. "Our queen will also be in attendance"
The messenger paled but didn't argue, running from the room to deliver the message.
Tavers went to ready his own armor and supplies to be prepared to march across the hot sands to Grey City. It kept him from letting his mind wander about Queen Anasia's plans and how they may be connected to the nightmarish screams coming from her private rooms. He almost felt pity for whoever was on the receiving end. But he would do as ordered, bring the Muri to heel, and eliminate the threat of Grey City once and for all.
-
WHILE RESTING IN BETWEEN scrolls, Castor left Tia in a soft chair while he went through the books left behind by Jeshe. They were all in the modern tongue but the spells and concoctions were baffling. He did pull out a few tomes that referenced binding and tried to compare them with what Tia was able to translate so far.
"Anything interesting?" Ciro appeared at Castor's shoulder, smirking when he jumped in shock.
"I didn't get to thank you for the tip about what you felt in the city." Castor sighed, turning back to the books. "Though we haven't found a way to deal with it."
"It?" Ciro looked at his nails. "Not a very helpful description."
"Were you planning on being helpful?" Castor looked up at the little god in one of the rare instances of Ciro in a taller position. When Ciro didn't take the bait, Castor shrugged. "The queen is using some spell to use the brands to;" He struggled to find the words to describe what he saw. "It's like an infection or poison. It turns the body into ashes."
The way Ciro's face darkened made Castor instinctively shrink away. He snatched the books from Castor and flipped through the pages. He slipped his fingers into the pages he wanted to save and went for the shelves again. "This isn't something you can stop once it's been started. It's a vile corruption of the original binding spell; which was a clumsy mess to begin with." Ciro slammed a blank sheet of parchment on the desk in front of Castor. "You wanted a god's intervention? This is as close as you're going to get." Ciro shoved a collection of books onto the table. "You're going to have to block the spell."
"I'm no magic user!" Castor struggled to balance all the books in front of him while trying to comprehend all the symbols on the pages.
"I guess you'll have to add this to your ever-expanding skill set." Ciro pulled over a chair and started pointing to different spells.
"What the hell is going on?" Tia came over to the table rubbing the side of her head. "I just needed a couple more minutes."
"Ciro seems to think we can make a defense against the queen's spell." Castor picked up his coal and started to make some notes based on what Ciro was pointing to.
"Can't you just remove them?" Tia shrugged. "Being a god and all."
"No," Ciro didn't look up from the books. "Anything I would do would end up more painful than you could imagine and likely be ineffective."
Sighing, Castor looked at the pages in front of him and shook his head. "All of these things would take too much time to learn. The queen could attack any day."
Something tickled in the back of Tia's brain and her eyes lit up. "The best you can hope for is a protection amulet if you are in need of something fast." She said, two voices coming from her lips.
"Thank you, Master Felicia." Castor had gotten to know some of the old souls residing in Tia. "How would we go about making one?"
"You have what you need in front of you." Tia's eyes went out and she swayed on her feet. "Gods, I wish they gave me more warning."
Castor returned to the books and Ciro had him write out a simple amulet able to be constructed with what they had on hand: some herbs smashed into a fine powder and poured into a leather pouch.
"Okay, let’s test it." Castor held the little bag in his hand and stepped back from Tia. "This should keep your ribbon from hitting me."
Tia summoned her ribbon and sent it straight towards Castor's chest. The glowing blue strip flew through the air and was blocked by a yellow flash that knocked Castor off his feet.
"That's crude but it will have to do." Ciro picked up the gasping male with one hand.
"Castor!" Enide ran into the room. "A hawk returned with a message. The king is mobilizing his army to march on Grey City with the queen. They're expecting to leave within the next few days."
Tia and Castor looked at each other and frowned. "What kind of numbers are we talkin'?"
"Not sure but the other kingdoms aren't getting involved."
"They're probably hanging back to see what happens." Castor dusted himself off and rubbed his aching shoulder. "Or they're as afraid of the queen as everyone else and don't want to march with her."
"How are we with weapons and soldiers?" Tia asked.
"Two thousand at most." Enide didn't look happy about any of this. Part of him hoped just getting to Grey City would be the end of it. He should have known the humans wouldn't just let them go without a fight. "We should assume we're outnumbered."
"Very few can use it as a weapon effectively enough to bother using it in battle." Castor went to the front door of the castle and motioned for Enide to follow. "We'll have to make due. Get everyone together and we'll set up camps in the forests to be ready when they get here."
"Wait a second." Tia ran up to them and pulled Castor back. "You need to work on those charms. We can't get one for everyone but you can try and make a bunch. As many as you can."
"But what about-"
Enide patted him on the shoulder. "We can handle it. Jafa can help get people their weapons and Kasira can get supplies ready. The wall is almost complete and that will free up more Muri to help defend the city."
"Come on," Tia went back to the table. "You keep making these things. I'll get some more materials and help. Ciro are you gonna-" Tia looked back and found the little god gone. "Of course." She rolled her eyes. "Guess he's maxed out his help for the day."
-
CIRO WAS BACK AT THE edge of the forest in the highest tree watching the kingdom. The daft woman who was messing with such dark magic was coming here. He would get a good look at the little speck who would dare to do this but leave it to the Muri to set things right. It was only fair considering it was similar magic that caused their downfall in the first place.
'It will be interesting to see how this mess turns out.' He thought as the familiar rumblings of war filled the air.