Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonfable, or any of the associated characters.

Summary: See previous chapters.


CHAPTER SIX

The world around her was trembling slightly, and there was the sound of dripping water, as though ice was melting rapidly. Vaneria opened her eyes, "Mmphhtbb…"

… OK, so being muffled by ice spoiled the dramatic effect more than a little. Her muffled protest turned into a muffled scream as the ice cracked and shattered.

Vaneria picked herself up from the bottom of a large hill and looked around. The woods surrounding Oaklore were one of those timeless places, where decades could pass without change. "Wha… what happened? How long was I frozen for?"

The Mage was promptly knocked over by a dragon who was clearly in a big hurry, but it didn't get far before an arrow impacting near the base of a wing brought it down, disappearing into the trees. This was not what Vaneria had planned immediately after thawing out from being a human iceblock, but that couldn't be helped. Oh, well, time to test if her mage skills had frozen with the rest of her. Y'know… after she found a way down from the cliff.

Vaneria turned to take the long way down (most Heroes would have simply jumped off the cliff), and came face-to-face with three fighters in unfamiliar armor. The only distinguishing factor was the rose design at the base of their weapons. The leader glared. "Well, well, where did you come from?"

One of his minions stared. "The ice crystal… it's broken…"

The leader straightened up from his battle-ready stance, revealing that he was holding a long chain. "We should take her back to Astrid."

Vaneria glared right back at them. "I have no idea who you are, but I'm not going anywhere in chains!"

She charged as the leader yelled a very cliché "GET HER!"

The impending fight was interrupted by another voice from the trees. "I don't think so!" The fighters went down and stayed down as a familiar figure slung his hammer back over his shoulder, "Ha ha ha, too easy…"

Vaneria's eyes widened. "Rolith! Whoa, thanks!"

Rolith's eyes bulged. "Vaneria! Hurry, there's more of them in the woods!"

Vaneria sighed and followed him, wishing that people would stop mistaking her for having her her brothers' attitude toward fighting. Not five minutes out of the ice, and she was already being dragged into a fight.


She tried to keep the Captain of Oaklore in sight, but it wasn't easy, until she heard a shout of "Unhand that Moglin!"

The voice was too old to be Atrix, so she assumed that it was Rolith. Someone else yelled back, "That Moglin is a magical creature!"

Vaneria skidded to a halt just in time to avoid being flattened by a flying Moglin. She sighed again. Moglins were nice and everything, but there were times when their overly-cheerful attitude made even the nicest person want to give them a good kick.

Since she had a good half-hour before she could no longer play the disorientation card, Vaneria indulged herself and punted it back, smiling at the wail of "Whyy iiiis iiit aaalllwaaayyys meeeee….!"

One quick encounter with a random thug later, Vaneria faced Rolith, who was older than she remembered. "Vaneria, you're finally free! You've been frozen for years!

Vaneria almost choked. "Years? You couldn't melt me out? Oh, my library is going to be in such a state…"

What had happened in the meantime? Her parents, her brothers, Skysong, Zhoom, her library… were they safe? Rolith gave her a reproachful look, "Warlic started you thawing when he finally got free from his own prison. Your brother only thawed out last week! We've needed you, Vaneria… every Hero we can get. A lot has changed since you've been frozen."

Vaneria groaned. It had been years since she had been frozen, apparently, and somehow it still hadn't sunk in that she was not a Hero, and never wanted to be! She was about to snap exactly that when Twilly burst out over the top of her. "The Cult of the Rose is trying to stop Magic!"

Vaneria stuttered to a halt. The Cult of the Rose? She had run into the occasional idiot who staged one-person rallies about magic being a bad thing, and Jaania certainly hadn't been quiet about her opinions, but… "Stop Magic? How?"

Rolith interrupted again. "There's no time now, Vaneria. Head up the path to Oaklore and talk to Maya when you get inside. Whatever you do don't mention magic at the gate, and keep Skysong hidden if she finds you!"

Oaklore was not much changed, except for the new and overwhelming presence of the Order of the Rose, and all of the original residents walking on eggshells. Vaneria stopped only long enough to greet Maya and catch up on what had changed in her absence, before she practically ran for Falconreach.


It was worse than she had thought.

Her father had been recalled to Swordhaven, and her mother, once a ninja, had gone with him in case the Order of the Rose tried anything. The house was in a good state and her brothers were there (a mixed blessing), along with several new house guests.

The population of Falconreach had tripled with the number of magical refugees who had fled from areas where the Rose held sway, so Vaneria only stayed long enough to get a few changes of cloths and track down Skysong.

To Vaneria's minor indignation, Skysong had made a very determined effort to get her out of the ice... And then wandered off to find something to eat. Still, at least her dragon had done her best, and had periodically returned with Fire dragons (before the Order of the Rose had started hunting them) to try and melt her out.

Her brother's dragon hadn't lasted a day before it went looking for someone to feed it.

Hugging her dragon and bartering for some dragon food with a now-teenage Aria, Vaneria headed for the Sandsea.


Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly (Nomads could simply up and leave if they didn't fancy the political climate) the Sandsea was not as affected by the Order of the Rose as most places.

Sek-Duat might have been a despot and a tyrant, but that would have been the same whether he was a Lich or one in a dynasty, as he had pretended. On the other hand, they remembered the Hero who had defeated the Lich, and the quiet Mage who had been their librarian and Lore-keeper, and who had focused on making life better once Sek-Duat was gone.

To outlaw magic would be to forbid the return of the closest thing the Sandsea had to a national Heroine. On top of that, reportedly, Zhoom had made it very well known that he would take it personally. Vaneria felt a surge of affection for the Ranger who had become her lover only a month before she was imprisoned, replaced by a surge of worry when she discovered that he had vanished three years after the Order of the Rose showed up.

The Order of the Rose had not made a good start in the Sandsea by accusing Vaneria, as a Magic-user, of indirectly being the source of all their problems, but the Village was not a large one, and the Order of the Rose was gaining ground through sheer numbers.

A bonus was that the Sand Elves were the only obviously magical beings around, other than the various monsters, and they had evacuated into the deeper desert when Zhoom disappeared. Occasionally one showed up and led some Rose Warriors on a merry chase, before vanishing back into the eternal sands.

A Hero would have charged in and demanded answers, especially as to Zhoom's whereabouts, but that would have drawn too much attention to her return. Vaneria put on a simple hooded cloak like that worn by all Sandsea travellers with any sense, picked her plainest staff to carry, and wandered around the Marketplace making discreet inquiries.


To her surprise, it didn't take long to run into Intex, an old sort-of-friend that she had worked with on occasion before. Vaneria did have to stifle a laugh when she saw Hellebore disguised as a very grumpy looking cat. Vaneria pushed back her hood, "How in Lore did you get that disguise on your pet?"

Intex spun around, brightening, "Vaneria! It's good to see you again! As for Hellebore, trust me, it wasn't easy."

Vaneria laughed, pleased to see her occasionally-flighty friend again. "I was trying to find out what has been going on since I was frozen. People seem reluctant to talk about it, but from what I did find out, it sounds bad,

Intex grimaced. "That's putting it mildly. Well, it's been almost ten years since the whole mess with Wargoth ended, and the Order of the Rose showed up six months later, and Sek-Duat made a bid for resurrection a few months after that."

Vaneria cursed loudly, drawing a few shocked looks. "I know he was a Lich, but I had really hoped to have seen the last of that scumbag."

Intex shrugged. "Afraid not. Anyway, the Sandwitch and the locals got hold of your notes and took him down hard, and issued a statement that they had replaced him with a Great Queen whose magic was much more favourable, and the fact that she was temporarily occupied in a block of ice wasn't going to change that... Oh, hey, did you know that Zhoom had royal blood?"

Vaneria nodded absently. "Well, I heard rumours about his father being descended from a Sandsea Royalty/Sand Elf union on the wrong side of the sheets, and his mother was a... I think seventh-cousin to the Sand Elf Queen, but... Anyway, back to the story?"

Intex shook herself, part of that being news to her. "Anyway, you two being together apparently strengthened your claim..."

Vaneria spluttered, not having quite connected the dots. "Wait, they elected me as ruler? I'm just a Lorekeeper! What the blazes were they thinking?"

Intex sniggered. "That you were doing all the stuff that Royalty should have been doing, without a second thought, according to what the innkeeper said when your brother reacted the same way. Besides, they're a bit traditional out here."

Well, no-one could argue that. The Sandsea had been ruled by a Great King or Queen since before they even built settlements, and King Alteon's ancestor never got around to annexing it, which was why no-one ever sent in an army of Mages and Paladins to take care of Sek-Duat long before Vaneria had even been born. An army that hasn't been invited is called an invasion, and no-one wanted Sek-Duat using it as a cause to turn the civilians of the Sandsea against the Rebels.

The newly-realised Queen shook her head, trying to focus. "Anyway, Sek-Duat failed to make a come-back?"

Intex nodded. "Yeah. Zhoom disappeared about five years ago, but everyone assumed that he had gone to organise the remaining elves or work on getting you back, so they didn't worry at first. At least, not until two months ago."

Vaneria frowned. "What happened then?"

Intex looked a bit guilty. "I got news that the Order of the Rose was up to something, from some guy who calls himself Cinquefoil, in Surewood. Kinda cute. I went to do a bit of investigating in an old tomb, and ran into Sek-Duat in really bad shape. Then..."

Intex's voice had been rising, and a Rose Guard on the other side of the plaza was starting to give them suspicious looks. Vaneria tugged on the Hero's arm. "Let's go to the Blue Lotus. I'll buy the first round."


Vaneria's supply of gold had been piling up a lot of interest while she had been frozen, so she wound up buying not only the first round for her and Intex, but also the second and third for the evening crowd.

By that point, Intex was flirting with a bandit and the other patrons were getting chatty, especially when they realised who she was. There was probably something twisted in the fact that the first court she held was over drinks at the local Inn, but it couldn't be helped. At least she found out that the Sandwitch had taken care of her library until the Rose forced her out, at which point the duty was taken over by a rotating roster of villagers.

The bandit Intex had been flirting with (good to know that her horrible taste in guys was still going strong) finally keeled over drunk, and the disappointed Hero rejoined Vaneria. "So, where were we?"

Vaneria took a sip of mulled wine. "You were exploring a tomb and found a severely beat-up Sek-Duat."

Intex took a swig of her own drink. "Oh, right. Well, he heavily implied that the Rose were behind Zhoom's disappearance, and outright stated that Zhoom was the last descendent of his liaison with a Sand Elf back when he was still mortal. Freaky, huh?"

Vaneria's eyes had turned into chips of emerald ice. "Not quite the word I would have used. Did you manage to confirm that the Rose were responsible?"

Intex leaned away slightly. "Aside from this Guard, Yasimi, saying that she certainly wouldn't shed any tears over him if he was dead, no. The rank-and-file don't seem to know much about the important operations, and the higher-ups aren't as accessible."

Vaneria frowned. "Damn. Is there any good news?"

Intex shrugged. "I'm going to confront Yasimi about the pyramid and Sek-Duat in the morning. Maybe the direct approach will get better results."

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A/N: Yeah, it's been way, way too long since I last updated this story.

Life got in the way, then I wondered if it was even worth continuing since no-one seemed to be reading it, much less reviewing.

The next chapter is partly done, though I make no promises in how long it will take to be posted.

Thanks,

Nat