Chapter Two
Vuui clutched onto Tracey like a lifeline, not sure what to make of the strangeness of the situation at hand. Whatever she had fought was somehow connected to the unconscious man in her arms, and something told her she wasn't going to like what she was going to find out when she was finally given answers. The rush from Nightmares wings flapped down beside her, the wind from his wings sending dirt and debris sailing through the air around them as he landed. Andras quickly jumped off him once they landed, rushing to Vuui's side instantly in order to assess the situation.
"What happened?" Andras collapsed to the ground beside the pair, looking back and forth between Vuui and Tracey, checking each of them for injuries.
"I'm not sure," tearing her eyes off of Tracey Vuui turned to Andras, "We were headed home from the festival when I spotted that barrier over the camp- "
"Naturally you had to investigate it of course," Andras remarked condescendingly.
Rolling her eyes Vuui continued, "Naturally. I sent Nightmare after you as soon as we landed, the area practically reeked of magic," Tracey twitched in his unconsciousness seeming to wake but quieted once more when Vuui touched his forehead with the tips of her fingers, "that should help him rest a bit. He will need all the energy he can get when we take him in for questioning."
"Speaking of that, what exactly happened when I got here? You froze everything and released your true form. That's not something you do on a daily basis, let alone a yearly one." Andras stood and began to survey the area, seeming to look for clues as to what could have happened.
"I had no choice," at this Andras stopped her looking to stare at Vuui in slight shock, "the barrier was too strong for me in my suppressed form, so I took off my limiters. Thankfully no one was around to see it at least, that's the last thing I would need given, well – you know." There was a respective silence between the two women for a moment, each baring a knowing look of remembrance to days long past. "When I transformed though I was able to get through easily… freezing the world was just a safety precaution in case of anyone coming across the area who wasn't you or myself. I gave a little slack though so that you and Nightmare wouldn't be frozen, you know how much he hates that." Vuui rubbed under Nightmares chin at that, eliciting a string of contented purrs from the beast.
"I was attacked almost instantly when I broke through, the creature was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was massive, with oily acidic skin that burned at the touch. It didn't have a face at all, just a giant mouth," Andras gasped loudly, "I barely managed to fend off the beast and take it down completely. The problem is, that it wasn't a beast at all," she looked down at the still slumbering man on her lap, "It was Tracey. As soon as I had destroyed it he had appeared, almost out of thin air. This wasn't a possession; it would have spit him out if it had and left slime and gunk everywhere. No, this was him."
Silence weighed around the small group in the Logging Camp, the only sound coming from the flock of birds overhead and the foxes and bears from the forest around them. Not being able to stand the eerie quietness around them any longer Vuui gently placed Tracey to the ground and stood up, stretching and wincing from the burns along her thighs. At her wince Andras quickly noticed the burns and rushed to her side, pulling out some of the enchanted bandages from her pocket and placing it upon the wound and closing it almost instantly, the skin as unmarred as it had been before.
"You know we will have to contact Talvish about this," Andras crumpled the used bandage in her palms, "it sounds like the other cases that have been cropping up as of late."
"I know," Vuui knew quite well what the case looked like, even if she had not encountered the attacks in person herself before. It was the same as all the cases with the demons over the last few months. Citizens suddenly turning into monstrous creatures that held magic beyond normal measures who seemed to exude darkness and destroy everything in their wake. When the Alban Knights eventually arrived to the scene the 'demon' would be disposed of and then the person would be taken into custody, most of the time the individual in question being in league with Cessair and his group of rebels. Looking down at Tracey's sleeping face though, Vuui couldn't feel that something was off this time. Everyone in Ulahd knew the keeper of the Logging Camp, he was friendly, helpful and loyal. Him being in league with Cessair seemed unlikely at best, but in these times anyone could be an enemy at this point. Vuui only hoped that a real investigation would be held and that he wouldn't be sent immediately to an early execution like the others had.
"By the way," Andras spoke, breaking Vuui from her thoughts, "you're going to want to see this." Pulling out the flyer that she had taken earlier that day from her inside pocket Andras handed over the wrinkled folded paper to Vuui's outstretched hand:
Everything's a Lie!
Do not listen to the falsehood's of
The Kingdoms 'Watchdogs'
They are against us!
They will destroy us!
The demons are the work
Of the so-called 'Soldiers'
And 'Knights' who defend us!
Cessair is here to save us!
Rally milletians! Rally and Fight!
Fight against the tyranny of the Gods
And their patriarchy! Rise against
Those who are here to kill us all!
As Vuui scanned over the flyer and read the incredulous lies printed upon it; she couldn't believe her eye's and the audacity of what she saw at the bottom of the page. Right below the text of the flyer were not only her picture with her rank and title listed below it but Andras's, Talvish and any other ranking official that worked for the kingdom listed neatly in multiple rows leading all the way onto the back.
"What is this?" Angrily shoving the flyer back to Andras, Vuui ran shaky fingers through her hair.
"I'm not exactly sure. They were posted everywhere this morning."
"We need to get rid of these immediately, I need you to rally as many soldiers as you can and get them to sweep the entire kingdom for these and destroy them before any damage is done." Thoughts of what might and might not happen raced through Vuui's mind, everything seeming to lead to recipes of disaster. "Take Nightmare with you and go, I'll meet you in Tara with Talvish and Eirawen and we will discuss the matter then in more detail along with what I encountered today. We need to make sure Tracey remains in our custody no matter what, so be prepared." With that Andras saluted and took off, jumping back on Nightmare and bursting forward into the sky and heading to Taillteann to rally the troops and spread the word of what they needed to do.
Not waiting to see them off Vuui quickly summoned Fury, the second of her familiars – this one being made entirely of flame – grabbed Tracey and threw both him and herself along Fury's back and taking off into the sky, soaring like a fireball towards Tara….
Nightmare soared effortlessly through the wind as he and Andras made their way towards Taillteann, racing to the military camp in record time. Coming closer to the walled village the duo slowed down, steadily making their way beyond the gates and above the square when Nightmare abruptly stopped. "What's wrong," Andras soothed the beast beneath her, scratching under its chin even as the dragon growled threateningly at something down below. Sensing the danger, she quickly looked down and cursed.
"Be ready," drawing her sword Andras ushered the familiar to the ground and jumped off, the steel of her sword gleaming violently against the afternoon sun, the appearance of her and the roaring bone dragon behind her stopping the riot surrounding them in its track.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Not knowing the trouble that Andras and her familiar were in Vuui made way to Tara, quickly flying through the air even with the extra weight of Tracey added with them. She didn't even hesitate to land in the garden of the castle, simply going above the parapets and towers and bypassing everything and anything in her way so that she could get to Eirawen quickly. If Tracey was going to stay alive she needed to talk to the Princess first before sending for Talvish. "Go to Pencast and deliver him this," pulling out a spare paper and quill Vuui quickly scribbled down a message for sanctuary to the priest and placed it in Fury's beak, "be quick and stay with him until I return. If anyone tries to take him you grab him first and head to Price, he will know what to do from there." With that she swatted the phoenix on its rear and the beast took off, a trail of fire chasing after it as it flew away. Taking a deep breath Vuui composed herself, visibly straightening with her shoulders pulled back, the complete picture of poise and control, then strolled forward into the castle and headed for the throne room.
Carefully opening and closing the doors of the throne room Vuui cleared her throat in order to make sure that her presence was noticed then approached Eirawen who was talking with one of the guards. "Your majesty we need to talk," drawing the Princess's attention to herself Vuui continued in a quieter tone, "in private."
With a nod Eirawen flicked her wrist, sending the guards away, then relaxed on the throne, "What is the matter General?" Standing a bit straighter Vuui quickly explained the situation, starting with the flyers that Andras had found and ending with her encounter with the demon version of Tracey in the Logging Camp. After finishing Eirawen checked her nails for a moment, inspecting them one by one, then gave Vuui a pointed look. "And you are bringing this up with me instead of Talvish why General?" Her tone may have been sickly sweet but Vuui could still feel the heat behind her words. She was stepping into dangerous territory at this point but she had to push forward regardless.
"Tracey is a good man, he would not side with the likes of Cessair no matter what. As of late with the influx of attacks from the demons the people who were 'supposedly' working for the enemy never received a fare trail nor were they tested for any magical experimentation," pausing for a moment Vuui took a deep breath, "I would like to keep him in my custody given the circumstances, especially considering I have spoken of my concerns of Talvish's organization in the past and have been ignored thus far. They are naive to the point of harming us all and have made no head way except for their ability to defeat the Girgashiy, which is exceptional in that regards, but have not been able to locate nor stop Cessair's ever growing efforts." She then handed the flyer to the Princess, watching the expressions cross over her face as she read over the crumpled paper. "This is only the beginning, it will only get worst from here on out and by then it may be too late."
Handing back the flyer to Vuui the Princess paused, considering the situation at hand before speaking, "And what, pray tell, Vuui do you intend to do to rectify this situation. You do not simply think that I will believe for a second that you would just be keeping the keeper of the Logging Camp in your custody for no reason do you?"
Seeing the opening for her plan Vuui didn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation, "No my liege I do not. I believe that by figuring out what was done to Tracey that I will be able to track down Cessair and his forces and end this once and for all. This war has lasted long enough."