General: This update is thanks to exninja and Lord of the Tsurani for their reviews

Jinx: Yeah thanks you two.

General: So how are you holding up?

Jinx: I'll feel a lot better when we get out of the Wasteland.

General: You and me both.

Jinx: Okay disclaimer time. You want to do it?

General: I do not claim this epic story, it belongs to Sunjinjo on deviantart I am the humble host on fanfiction. Jinx and the other OCs are her creation.

Jinx: Enjoy.

Ancient power, new purpose Part 2

Darkness replaced blue light effortlessly, but it didn´t bring any comfort.

For the travellers in the Wasteland the remaining hours of the day passed in a haze. They left the lake far behind and travelled north, led by Florian. As the night fell everyone was glad to make camp and get some sleep, though for some even that was a problem. Even Sayron lay awake for a time, plagued by memories and painful muscles. His eyes flickered and changed colour in irregular ways.

Jinx fell asleep almost instantly, though it bordered on unconsciousness. She kept shivering, and her sleep was undoubtedly full of nightmares.

As all the servants of darkness had eventually fallen asleep, the only one who wasn´t one rose from his place and picked his way between the sleeping bodies, across the cracked black rock. He climbed a nearby slope and went for a plateau outside the sights of the others. There, Florian Greenheart closed his eyes and concentrated.

Almost instantly a sky blue light bloomed up, and the shape of a slender, magnificently dressed woman appeared. Fay smiled and there was pity in her slanted eyes as she saw the state of her most trusted lieutenant; covered in black dust and small injuries, and clearly exhausted. "How are you doing so far, Florian?"

"Milady," Florian spoke softly but urgently, "with all due respect, but you don´t want a pact with Sayron of the Netherworld. I beg of you, think your plans through one more time."

Fay frowned. "It´s the only way, Florian. With him by our side we have a far greater chance to overthrow the Emperor, you know this."

Florian looked deep into her eyes. "Milady. There is another way. I agreed with you at first, but now I´ve travelled with him I´m sure it´s not a good idea to make him our ally. My proposal is simple – we allow him to find the shards, you restore the object for him, and then you let him descend into the Sanctuary, towards the Shrines… and him."

"The Lord of the Deep," Fay nodded slowly. Her frown deepened. "It is an idea, but is it really the way…?"

"Have no pity, milady. He´s a heartless murderer and will turn against you without hesitation when the Empire is history."

Fay nodded. "I will think about it. Thank you for your advice."

"I only wish the best for you," Florian answered, gravely serious.

"I know." Fay smiled. "Try to get some sleep. Good luck, Florian."

"Good night, milady."

Fay dissolved in the light she´d arrived in. Florian tiredly rubbed his eyes and sank down against the black rock. He looked up, wishing there´d be stars visible between the circling black clouds. Complicated. Everything was so very complicated. Everything was entwining.
But he´d succeed.

He hadn´t succeeded.

This was Whisper´s first thought as he awoke hours later and saw the round face of a blue hovering above him like a pale moon. He´d fallen to his death. He´d lost. Scythe was the horde leader now.

He scrambled up and stared beyond the blue Minion. The way things looked in the web told him matters had returned to normal. If the ranks had the new shape he expected, he´d missed the recognition – the moment when the clan bowed and lowered their ears for the new leader.

He´d never do that for Scythe.

Green Minions weren´t known for their honesty, but this fight had been wrong. Ignoring Ramul, challenging an equal without parlay… he´d never lower his ears for Scythe.

A large black spider descended from the web in front of him as he approached it. Whisper knelt down before his mount. She was visibly saddened; her pedipalps were folded timidly beneath her body and she hung low between her legs. The Minion laid a hand between her large red eyes and smiled weakly. His spider reminded him of one upside of the fact he hadn´t made it; if Scythe would have lost to him, he might have done something to his beloved mount. He could do that to Scythe´s spider, of course, but he felt it wasn´t the time for revenge yet.

If only because Ramul deserved a part in that, too, for what´d been denied him.

Darkness lay over the gorge where the travellers of the Wasteland had made camp. But it wasn´t like that for all of them.

One of them was still awake, and where his yellow eyes pierced the dark he saw whirling blue lights. His right shoulder was burning with icy fire. Gloob was completely still, except for the convulsions that shook him every now and then. His eyes were open wide, though they´d been closed for much of the day, and contrary to his former comatose state he seemed to be fully awake now.

A faint wisp of green flickered in his eyes. The yellow kept pushing it back, however, so it couldn´t bloom to cyan.

Gloob might be seeing blue lights; he was fighting the influences of the bite with everything he had left in him. He desperately tried to hold on to Soaker´s healing magic, so he wouldn´t stray further into the madness that awaited him. He did so with his mind, however, for all his muscles were limp and he couldn´t lift a finger. This was a battle he´d never fought before, and he was losing.

As the rest of the horde slept around him, the once strong brown Minion lay perfectly still, with eyes wide open, and waited for the dawn.

Dawn came, blue and miserable.

There wasn´t much food left. Sayron forbade them to turn to the meat of the Wasteland itself, because how long would it take them to mutate then? And so they all travelled on as good as empty stomachs, worsening the situation – certainly because Jinx had been forced to tie Gloob to her back now. He couldn´t even hold on himself. Sayron didn´t comment, and Jinx and Stripe refused to leave the brown behind, so nothing was changed.

After a few of the longest hours since the start of the mission Florian suddenly leaped forward. "There´s a shard close by," he spoke hastily. He ran up the slight slope they´d been climbing and reached the top. Sayron and the rest joined him and looked down into a small valley, half surrounded by cliffs. The Overlord groaned.

The valley was mainly flooded by ooze, the way water floods a swamp. And the air was filled with croaking, cackling noises, unmistakably made by birds.

In the middle of the valley, on a piece of dry rock, was the inviting glow of a shard. Around it, however, lay a maze of nests and roosts, and between them dozens of huge birds tended to their own business. They were clearly flightless, but very capable of attacking, and marked with a naked, glowing blue chest and eyes.

Soaker came standing next to Sayron. "I´ve heard stories about these. They´re called boombos."

In the throne room Gnarl shook his head. "I hadn´t expected they were still alive. They were unpredictable in the best of cases. Get Zap," he spoke to a Minion walking past him with a broom. "They´re going to need advice from an expert."

The advisor looked on as the brown ran to the floating rock. The past day, Kniff had departed for the barracks on that same rock, his ears limp and his eyes only faintly glowing. He´d reacted with incredible relief to the fact Jinx was still alive after the ooze hole, but Jagged´s transformation had only made him more concerned about her fate. It surprised Gnarl he wasn´t back already, but he could imagine Kniff needed some time alone, with just the mortal fear in his own head.

The bond between that Minion and the horde leader kept puzzling him. Why was the human girl that attached to Kniff? And why did the little runt return so much love?

The advisor groaned as the floating rock returned. Zap and the messenger weren´t the only ones on it. There was a tuque hat, too.

More important was the fact the old blue Minion was present with information about the boombos that´d been gathered first-hand. Zap was the last survivor from the caves near Angelis, where the blues had hidden before Vessperion had found them. There they´d survived with the huge birds for years, and only because of their resurrecting talents. Blues and boombos were arch enemies now.

Zap, Kniff and the messenger gathered around the pool. Gnarl rose, walked over to Kniff and dragged him along by his elbow, with a grip surprisingly strong for his age. "If you so much as try to get to the pool," the advisor hissed, "I´ll make sure you´ll never see Jinx again. I´ll make you clean the dungeons with the doors closed if I have to. Shut your trap, leave me alone, and don´t try anything funny."

Kniff nodded quickly, without even opening his mouth. Gnarl sighed and gave him a last deadly gaze. Then he turned to Zap, above the pool where Sayron could hear. "Zap, I´ve sent for you because our Master has dealings with an old acquaintance of yours."

Zap peered into the pool near-sightedly. His rubbery lip slightly curled in revulsion. "Boombos."

"Yes."

"Be very careful, Lord. By the look of it they´re settled in this valley. When they´re nesting these birds are even more aggressive than normal." He shivered. "And they´re very dangerous at best."

Gnarl looked through his Master´s eyes more carefully. "I believe these are considerably bigger than those below Angelis… and Unholy Lord, are those teeth in their beaks?"

"They´re glowing blue, too. Don´t let them injure you."

"…and claws on their wings! What did the ooze do to them?"

"I´m glad I´m not standing there."

Sayron coughed briefly. "Guys, this isn´t encouraging me…"

"Sorry, Sire. Zap, what would be the best way to get to that shard?"

The blue Minion kept staring into the pool. "I remember the day Lord Vessperion came to our cave and managed to distract the birds long enough to get our entire clan and the Hive outside. He sent Minions of the other clans to steal eggs. All birds instantly turned against the egg thief, and didn´t think of us anymore. Quite a lot of Minions died that day, and I´m still grateful to every one of them."

Sayron hummed in thought. "Those Minions died. But I have something better than running browns." He turned around and looked at Jinx, with eyes rippling in a grin.

Jinx looked up. "What? No! I´m not bait…" Even as she said it, she realized she in fact was, and Sayron was nodding at her.

"Yes, you are. You and the reds." He turned to the blues. "Soaker, Miko, Floater, Eel; steal four eggs, as fast as you can, and get to Jinx and the reds. Do it quickly. Please stay alive. Jinx, boys; position yourselves on the cliffs above the ooze. Distract the birds as long as you can." The Overlord turned to the last blue. "Drip. You´ll go for the shard."

The blue saluted enthusiastically. "Yes, Lord!"

"Don´t die. This applies to all of you."

Jinx sighed and released the rope with which Gloob was tied to her back.

"Good luck," Zap´s soft, gurgling voice resounded through the mist pool. Soaker nodded curtly. Then the four blues ran for the valley, and split up as they went so they made less of an easy target.

Soaker got hold of an egg first, from a nest on the edge of the colony. Despite that, a bone-tough, hooked beak cleaved through the air and almost through his back, and the parent bird immediately came after him. Others raised their heavy heads and even the sleeping birds opened their small, blue eyes. Large clawed feet splashed through the murky ooze. The colony was slowly coming into motion, and they didn´t only go for the blue replacing leader now making off with the large speckled egg in his arms.

Eel jumped to the sides to avoid the approaching birds on his way to his own target nest. One of the boombos spread his wings unexpectedly, and the Minion would have lost his left eye if he hadn´t ducked in time. Now three bloody scratches ran across his eyebrow ridge. He zigzagged on and landed in a nest spread-eagled, breaking some eggs as he went.

Glowing yolk and half-formed embryos came to light. He grabbed one of the intact eggs and immediately ran off again. In the meantime, Soaker threw his egg up to Fever, hanging from the cliff by his feet and climbing up as fast as he could as he caught the egg. The boombos started to climb the cliff at that point, cumbersome, but aided by their wing claws and beaks. Eel reached the cliff and flung the egg up to Simmer. The red uttered a crackling laugh and used all his skill to stay ahead of the birds as Eel rushed to safety.

The increasingly angry boombos forced Floater to stay at the edges, but he managed to get to his own egg without too much trouble. It was just a little run to the cliffs, and Hoarse could depart immediately.

Now the birds spread into three directions, but the way was still shut for Drip; the blue couldn't run to the shard unhindered. For that, an egg would also have to be kidnapped to a point directly behind the shard, and that was the most difficult of everything. Miko looked over the nesting place with fearful eyes, but then gathered his courage and ran for it. He dodged and turned like mad as every bird suddenly turned to him, and slid through the ooze on his belly three times to escape between the large feet. The birds were plump and dense and ran into each other in large clouds of feathers and ooze in their hurry to get to the cliffs. Miko was caught between them once and the stiff feathers choked him on all sides, but he was already gone before the beaks could get to him.

He could run on as good as unhindered for a moment, but the second time his luck had run out. Miko tripped as one of the birds cut him off and fell face-first into the ooze, yards from a nest; then the boombo raised his heavy beak to let it descend upon the blue´s back and kill him –

– but not before Miko had been yanked away and lifted off the ground.

"Don´t scare me like that! Come on, get that egg!"

Miko, in his sudden flying position, was just clear enough to grasp below him and get hold of an egg. The boombos screeched in fury, but he was out of their reach; he flew over their raised heads and snapping beaks and in the direction of the cliffs.

Then he realized what had snatched him.

Jinx quickly hauled in her rope. As she reached Miko she lifted him to her back and soared along the cliffs to right behind the shard. "Hey! Beauties! Come over here, I´ve got the egg! Don't mind those glowing guys, they´ve probably boiled your eggs by now! You might be able to save this one!"

The birds turned more of their attention to her and streamed together below her, to try and climb up. Slowly a path was freed from Drip to the shard…

The little Minion ran.

Jinx and the reds did everything to keep the boombos´ attention and make sure they kept climbing. Drip wasn´t out to get an egg, but he´d certainly be killed if too many birds noticed him. The young Minion managed to dodge a few and tripped once, then he could grab the shard and run back. He lured four birds with him, but Sayron and the others made short work of them. The Overlord took the shard. "Jinx! Lead them back!"

"Aye, Lord!"

"No, wait!" Zap´s voice suddenly resounded. "Boombos are very protective. They´ll follow the eggs, and otherwise the thieves, they have to be returned!"

"Jinx!" Sayron roared. "Don´t come back! You´ll take them with you!"

Jinx looked down. The birds on the ground were following her with almost her own speed, in the direction of the Overlord. Some of them had already seen Sayron and now stormed for him and the horde. There were far too few Minions to withstand the boombos if the entire colony would turn against them…

"Run, Lord! I´ll put the eggs back!"

Sayron nodded and turned, to run off with heavy steps. Florian was a green and golden flash as he made off even faster. Stripe was the only one who kept standing; he flung Gloob towards Soaker and then jumped for the front most boombo himself, to throw it back into the group with more than its former speed. That slightly slowed the approaching birds.

Jinx descended the cliffs in a flying rush and picked her footholds with care – as many as possible consisted of the heads of climbing boombos. On her way she picked up the eggs of Hoarse and Fever; she could just fit three eggs in the crook of her arm. Simmer, the most agile climber, descended with her. Jinx tried to banish the horrible symmetry with Parch´ death from her mind.

They landed at the foot of the cliff with dull thuds. Above their heads, Hoarse and Fever sprinted away along the walls.

Jinx exchanged glances with Simmer. The red´s eyes were wide and glittering brightly. "Shall we throw them?"

"Don't want to break them," he sizzled. "Roll?"

"Worth a try," the horde leader grinned nervously. The boombos were approaching swiftly through the ooze. If the heavy beaks wouldn´t crack their spines, then the ooze-covered feathers would mean their demise.

Simultaneously, they rolled their eggs towards the birds. The front two spread their wings over them immediately and screeched threateningly, but the rest kept going. Jinx and Simmer flew up the walls again.

The boombos followed.

"They´re furious," Jinx realized. "They have to kill something. They´ll only stop if there´s been blood."

The birds that´d gone after Sayron had turned around. The egg thieves were up for grabs.

"I´ll go," Simmer muttered.

Jinx stared at him. "Simmer. No."

The red looked down at the climbing boombos. "Have to distract them."

Jinx wanted to grab his arm, but then realized he´d burn her. Simmer was about the let go of the rock.

Then a light flashed past them, straight down to the ooze.

"Hoarse!"

The large red Minion landed at the foot of the cliff, just out of the ooze. The boombos turned away from the two climbers.

Higher up the rock-face Fever stared at the red horde leader. The look in his eyes was unreadable. Hoarse looked back at him for a moment, then the boombos forced his attention down to more pressing matters.

He was still agile, even though he´d been at the front line for years and had gone through everything coming with the position. He jumped up and ran across heads, necks, lumpy bodies and spread wings towards the middle of the ooze marsh. Every now and then his feet touched the ground, but it was always solid rock. Jinx and Simmer looked on, captured by disbelief and fear.

Hoarse looked back once. Even from this distance Jinx could read what was in his eyes. Go. I´m sacrificing myself, what part of that don´t you understand?

"Thank you," she muttered. Then she turned away and shot back across the cliff. Simmer followed a moment later.

A cry echoed away across the marsh.

Jinx and Simmer landed in the black dust and looked around wide-eyed.

There, amongst retreating boombos, lay the body of a red Minion. Steaming blood flowed from a huge wound in his back. The red leader had died for them.

But he lay spread-eagled atop a nest. And his skin was of a fiery red, not pink.

In Mortis´ Well, a flaming soul floated down.

Jinx smiled weakly as she cast a last glance over her shoulder. Then she ran after Sayron and the rest, Simmer and Fever on her heels.

That night a gurgling resounded from within the camp outside Nordberg´s walls. It quickly changed into screams and incoherent roars. Not long after, the Minions on the bell tower started ringing the alarm bells, and everyone in the city was awake. No one needed to ask what was going on.

Seffec was dressed in half a minute and ran outside as he was still buckling his armour in place. Masud, Omari and the others joined him. The Ruborian leader took the lead and sprinted to the gates, to halt there and stare at the camp for a moment.

The screams were bloodcurdling.

"Come on," he commanded. "Sethos, Abasi, take some of your men and make sure nothing gets into the city." The two nodded and stayed behind. Seffec and the others ran on, accompanied by a growing group of Minions, their eyes glowing in the dark. Their feet scrunched across the half-frozen ground – this time of year, there was more than a little night-frost. Some red Minions melted it in their footsteps.

"Masud, Issa, get those ladders with your archers."

The archers quickly climbed up along the camp walls, made out of sharpened tree trunks. Nobody could get out. That would only be possible if it was clear everyone was healthy. And tonight was the least probable moment for that decision to be taken.

Seffec hoisted himself up and looked over the walls. His heart sank.

Everywhere in the camp, chaos reigned. The tents and shelters of the people of the Wasteland had been thrown over for the main part, the cloth torn, the sticks broken. Dark puddles of blood gleamed in the moonlight. Some pairs of white, glowing eyes turned his way.

"Archers… fire."

More eyes turned to him, but half a second later the screaming started again, with new power and a new tone. This time blue, lightly glowing blood sprayed through the air. Seffec spanned a small crossbow himself and tried not to think of who these people had been just the night before. He shot everyone with glowing eyes, and together with the other archers they kept going until they stopped moving.

The mutants had lost all intelligence, so they kept flowing towards the Ruborians, trying to climb the walls and making it very easy to kill them all. Not one of them thought of seeking shelter. As they finished, the camp was silent.

Seffec flung a rope and then himself over the wall and thudded down onto the hard, frozen ground. His boots rustled through sticks and leaves as he walked through the camp, soon followed by his men. He had both his sword and crossbow in his hands, ready for a second round.

"Are there any survivors?" Masud whispered at his side.

"Hopefully." Seffec looked around with narrowed eyes. He thought he heard faint voices…
Further away, at the other end of the camp, some tents had fallen over each other, so a large surface of cloth lay spread across the ground. He yanked it up.

Fearful eyes gazed up at him, and that fear barely diminished as the men, women and children saw he was no mutant. All in all, barely ten people had made it out alive.
"Nobody´s injured? Nobody´s been bitten or contaminated in other ways?" Seffec´s eyes softened. "Good."

"We arrived last," an emaciated man whispered breathlessly. "We didn´t have the cursed land that deep into our bones yet. The rest did." Tears streamed across his sunken cheeks, and even as two others hoisted him to his feet he could barely stand. "It was a massacre…"

"It´s over," Seffec tried to comfort him. "You´re safe now. You can go and live within the city walls." He looked around. "Issa, would you go and get Abasi and the others? We´re going to need them – I want the bodies buried tonight."

The archer nodded and ran off.

That night only the sound of shovels to rock hard, cold soil resounded. The camp was changed into a mass grave.

In the two days that followed the Overlord and his followers were being led east. And with that, towards the huge leaning shadow on the horizon where the sun was supposed to rise, if the sun had existed in this realm of shadow to begin with.

Vessperion´s Tower dominated their view every time they looked up. Every time the Minions´ eyes lit up. Every time a shiver of nervous expectation ran down Jinx´ spine. And every time Sayron´s eyes lingered on his father´s domain a little longer. It was impossible to tell what he felt.

Of the fifteen Minions they´d started out with thirteen remained – twelve, if one didn´t count Gloob. Jinx was secretly glad she was carrying him on her back, because this way she didn´t feel inclined to open his eyes and check the colour. She fiercely hoped they´d find a Minion gate soon. Maybe there was still time to heal him with that energy, or send him back to the Netherworld and the influence of the entire blue clan. They´d also be able to call Hoarse back. Mortis had already brought him back from the dead, and the red leader said he was very glad he´d just died. He wasn´t the only one to think so.

Jinx started to see similarities between Giblet and Fever. The powerful red Minion hadn´t liked the fact of the leader´s death at all, and he´d definitely hadn´t wanted to take over. He hadn´t lifted a finger to command Simmer.

Until now, there hadn´t been a way for Gnarl to send out a digger. But at the start of this day he´d reported he´d felt a suitable area, about half a day´s travel away from them.
And so the old Tower came closer and closer. The land around them started to rise in irregular rock formations and gorges – once the passes and valleys Vessperion had looked out over from his high throne.

At that moment Jinx looked up again and looked past the middle-sized ooze pool they were heading for. At the other side, the rock seemed to have taken a strange shape. She narrowed her eyes – it resembled part of a staircase, turned over and overgrown, but a stairs nonetheless…

"Lord…"

Sayron looked up. He frowned. "What is that?"

Jinx carefully walked around the broad pool and studied the large stone slab. It indeed was part of a staircase. And this close to the Tower, it could only have come from there. She looked around. Not far from the slab lay a fragment of a statue – a black arm, inlaid with golden details. She strode on. There seemed to be other parts, including a hooded face with a mouth cloth as Sayron wore one as well…

On her back, Gloob opened his eyes.

Jinx bent over and dug out the face. Golden eyes looked at her from within a dark, black marble face. She knew those eyes.

"…Vessperion?"

"Jinx!"

She spun around, but at the same moment a suddenly immensely strong arm yanked back her head. Nails cut into her cheeks and throat. A hiss resounded close to her ear, and from the corner of her eye she could see a blue glow. Fear engulfed her as she realized what had happened, and what that glow exactly was. She tried to cry Gloob´s name, but it were his claws muffling her voice.

Then something else jumped on her back and dragged off the finally mutated Minion. The next moment two shapes rolled across the dust-covered ground next to the stairs. One of them was bigger than a brown Minion should ever be, had a skin flecked with blue, and an overlarge mouth dripping with drool. The other was almost as large as his opponent, wore a centurion´s helmet and bore a large scar along the middle of his back.

Both of them were rolling down the sloping soil in the direction of the ooze pool.

Jinx scrambled up, wiped the blood from her mouth and jumped after them. "Stripe!"

The former leader rolled over until he was on top of Gloob and hit him in the head. Then he gripped Gloob with his legs and yanked him and himself away from the ooze. He wanted to draw his sword, but Gloob didn't give him the chance; he bit into Stripe´s arm up to the shoulder. Stripe screamed, and rightfully so; as Gloob let go and licked his lips with a blue tongue, the arm was limp and clearly broken.

Jinx threw herself between them and tried to push them apart, but didn´t succeed – this was a fight between Minions, one over the edge of madness and the other teetering on it.

She was whacked back and hit the stairs with her head.

As she looked on, powerlessly, the two rolled down growling, screaming and bleeding. There was nothing she could do as Gloob pushed his opponent down into the ooze.

Even Gnarl and Sayron gasped for breath.

Jinx uttered a scream of despair. "No!"

The former leader jumped up in a fountain of ooze. He stared at his claws lengthening so rapidly the blood came dripping from his fingertips. His bones creaked and he screamed in pain as his stance changed and he was forced to hunch over, but his voice was changing as well; his deep, rasping yell audibly became low and gurgling. He threw back his head and shut his eyes.

As he opened them again he was staring straight at Jinx with an empty, glowing blue gaze.

She stared back, her eyes wide, and slowly shook her head. "No… no…"

Behind Stripe, Gloob hoisted himself up and stepped from the pool as well. The ooze dripped off the two huge Minions. Stripe tore off his helmet and threw aside his sword.

"Sire," Gnarl swallowed.

Sayron was on his way. He kept his sword low and stepped swiftly around the pool to position himself in front of Jinx. It was clear she couldn´t fight – she seemed to be in shock.

He raised his weapon and swept it in a low curve to decapitate Stripe, but the Minion was faster; he rolled out of the way, jumped around his former Master and clawed himself up along his back. Before he could sink his teeth into Sayron´s neck, however, a green flash shot for him and flung him towards the remains of Vessperion´s statue. Ramul was slicing away at Stripe like a whirlwind.

Another Minion had been just as quick. Simmer had climbed the rubble and was now flinging flame after flame at Gloob. The ooze on his skin hissed and bubbled away, and the mutated Minion started to notice the burns. He screamed as Simmer´s fire blinded him in one eye. Fever joined in, and a few seconds later Gloob had changed into a fireball, screeching and clawing at his own body in an attempt to extinguish the fire. He didn´t succeed. He smacked down into the dust, as his scorching flesh retracted from his bones.

In the meantime Stripe had flung Ramul away, but the green had evaded the ooze and had gotten away in invisibility. He´d come back, with Stabbit in tow, and had succeeded clawing off Stripe´s arm at the elbow. It didn´t stop the gigantic mutant, however.

Now the reds turned against him as well. Jinx and Sayron stared at the battle, not able to look away. The only one not fighting was Aches; even the blues ran forward in an attempt to push the brown mutant down. He swatted them away like insects. Even with just one arm left Stripe was still the most ferocious Minion who´d ever set foot in the upper world.

Ramul was on his back. The rat fur on his shoulders was on fire. Blue blood dripped from the corners of his mouth and flew around with every move. But the worst were his eyes – blue, empty, and staring straight at Jinx.

He finally sunk to his knees.

"Stripe," she whispered.

His claw shot out, and an uncontrolled spasm flung Ramul from his back. Then he shivered one last time, and fell silent. The glow of his eyes faded.

Stripe was dead.

Kniff stared into the pool wide-eyed. Tears glistened in the corners of his eyes.

All was silent in the throne room. Quaver and the others were all looking down in disbelief, and even Gnarl seemed shocked to the bone. Stripe had been the leader for years, seemingly indestructible, always ready for action. Most horde members owed their lives to him. As Jinx had taken over, he´d still unofficially been their leader, because he´d advised Jinx and taught her to take on the ways of a horde leader. She´d always treated him as a superior.

Now she was alone. And Kniff knew exactly how she felt right now, because he himself felt the same pain of that gaping wound.

Before his eyes the horde leader fell to her knees in front of the body and buried her face in her hands.

Sayron had waited until she was finished.

He´d let her dig a grave, for both Stripe and Gloob. He´d allowed it because he knew how important Stripe had been to her; he, raised by the brown clan, had felt something similar for the old leader. Admittedly, even though he´d been raised by them, he´d never felt as attached to them as Jinx was, but he´d agreed Stripe deserved a grave, and shouldn´t just be left behind.

They travelled on, and even Stabbit was quiet. The Overlord had made it very clear to Florian certain mockeries weren´t approved of as Jinx was still digging the grave.

Gnarl reported he´d gotten Scabies and Glottis ready to replace Stripe and Gloob. They were waiting to come to the surface as soon as Sayron found suitable soil for a Minion gate. That time had yet to come, however.

They found more remains of the old Tower, as they were getting increasingly close. They also found another shard. They had ten in total now, including the two already stored in the Netherworld.

Sayron gazed up at the Tower. "Elf."

"Yes, Scourge?"

The Overlord repressed a growl. "Where is this Sanctuary of yours, anyway? I want to be able to find it even if you kick the bucket."

"Hidden where you´d never dare search," Florian answered. He was silent after that.

In the evening they found another shard, lying by itself on a little island of solid ground in the middle of an ooze pool. As Sayron approached it, Gnarl had told him to stay still. "Sire… you won´t believe me, but this is suitable soil…"

Four closely packed Minion gates had dug their way out of the ground. Sayron had been disappointed by the fact it was impossible to call up a Tower Gate, but he´d made camp nonetheless, after he´d summoned reinforcements; Hoarse had been brought back, and Scythe had come up as the new green leader. Ramul had briefly looked at him and then curled up on the other side of the horde.

Scabies and Glottis, too, had come up, together with the two shards that´d been stored in the Tower. Both browns were clearly mourning for Stripe and Gloob; their ears were low and mainly Scabies was looking nothing like his old self. Him and Gloob had been close friends. He´d left his parrot in the Netherworld, and he was clearly lonely without it.

Jinx curled up on the edge of the horde and stared at the Minion gate across the black sand. She missed Kniff more than ever.

In the Netherworld Gnarl slowly descended the stairs to his quarters in a lower level, where his Iron Maiden stood. His ears hung low. It hadn´t been a good day, and even he wasn´t unaffected.

As he disappeared from sight, a small shape slipped through the enormous gate to the throne room. Yellow eyes lit up. A little claw was outstretched to the portal on the ceiling.
Nobody noticed as lighting struck.

In the upper world a single brown Minion climbed out of the gate on the small island. He laid the long plank he´d taken with him across the ooze and cautiously walked over it, towards the group of sleeping horde members huddled together a little further.

Jinx lay on the edge. The Minions lay down beside her. It didn´t take long before the grey eyes opened and she met his gaze.

"…Kniff…?"

He smiled. "Hi."

"No, you shouldn´t be here…"

He placed his claw on her hand. She fell silent.

"…I´m glad you are."

He snuggled up against her and she enveloped him in her arms. No one else noticed, but for two horde members the night was slightly less dark.

Hidden where you´d never dare search.

Sayron´s eyes were closed, but they were open somewhere else. They were glowing, not orange, but a nervous yellow. And they stared into another flaming pair.

"Use your head, son. Both of you. You didn´t inherit your brains from strangers."

Sayron was standing in front of his father, a flaming, armoured form filling even him with awe and fear. Still the Overlord managed to take his eyes off him long enough to look to his side. There was Jinx, smaller and more fragile than him, but glowing in the light Lord Vessperion emanated.

The Overlord of times long past laid his hands on their shoulders. "I´m sure you´ll do great. You´ll find that Sanctuary… because you do dare to search there. Now go."

The flaming form faded. Sayron outstretched his hand to him, but everything around him went black now the light had disappeared.

"Father…!"

Blue light flooded in as Jinx opened her eyes, early the next morning. For a moment she remained still, curled up in the black dust covering her from head to toe, her eyes open wide. Then she raised her head, very slowly.

She lay on the edge of the horde, the sleeping Minions, Florian and Sayron behind her. Kniff still lay against her. Still, it wasn´t one of them who´d caught her attention.

On the island that had borne four Minion gates the night before, now glowed something resembling a living extension of the ooze around it. A large blue ball, pulsating lightly, and unmistakably an enormous slug… but bigger than any Jinx had ever seen before, even larger than the ones at Atrej´s lake.

The feelers were retracted. The slug clearly hadn´t been hungry, but tired.

The question was if that was still the case.

The horde leader looked down to her sleeping friend. She didn´t know what Kniff had been planning, but she´d wanted to send him back to the Netherworld as soon as possible, before Sayron noticed he was here. She groaned weakly. All this time, as Jagged, Gloob and Stripe had been taken from her, the blues weakened further and further and the fatigue claimed her, as she acquired small injuries she could barely heal from exhaustion, as Florian nagged away at everyone´s nerves, all this time Kniff´s safety had been her comfort. And now, even that was taken from her.

The huge slug would only give up the gates if it was challenged. Jinx knew Sayron wouldn´t do so. Kniff´s return wasn´t worth that fight.

She swore silently and felt fear and anger well up, dark and bitter.

Kniff stirred. A moment later his yellow eyes blinked open. "What´s wrong?" he mumbled sleepily.

Jinx closed her eyes, then looked at him. "You can´t go back. Look."

The Minion looked up and saw the slug´s huge form. "Mm." He looked up at her again.

"Wasn´t going back."

"Kniff…"

"Seen enough. Not leaving you."

Jinx sighed. Still, she couldn´t prevent herself from smiling slightly. One of them had had their way considering their opinions at the beginning of the journey, and it wasn´t her. Her status didn´t guarantee everything. "This is the way it is, Kniff. But I´m keeping an eye on you."

"Keeping both on you."

Now she was really smiling. Then, however, she looked to the side and frowned. "I´d better wake Sayron. We have to get out of here." She rose and carefully stepped over the sleeping Minions. She resisted the urge to kick Florian – the elf would probably make enough noise to wake the slug – and crouched down at the Overlord´s side.

"Lord."

Sayron mumbled something. Jinx laid a hand on his arm. "Lord Sayron?"

"…Kelda…?"

The horde leader briefly grinned, but wiped her face clean as the orange eyes opened. "No, Lord, it´s me. I´m sorry, but we´d better leave…"

Sayron looked past her and saw why. "Well spotted. Wake the Minions." He reached over Aches and grabbed Florian´s face, so he covered his mouth with his metal gauntlet. The elf jolted fiercely and uttered a muffled scream, but then saw where he was. The green eyes acquired a poison gleam. Sayron let go.

In the meantime, Jinx awoke the horde, and a little later they left with improbably little noise, for Minions. Behind them the gigantic slug remained fast asleep, and before them an inky black mountain darkened the sky – a mountain bearing the weight of Vessperion´s Tower.

Sayron felt strangely elated that day. He´d seen very well there was a new brown Minion with the horde, one with a tuque hat he knew all too well and who stayed by Jinx´ side at all times, and he´d also noticed Gnarl was grumpier than normal, something which was bound to happen if he didn´t get his way. But Kniff wasn´t causing any trouble this far, and he had a glowing sensation in his chest he hadn´t felt for a long time, and which he hadn´t expected in this land. It was the feeling he got when things ended.

They had eleven shards now. Gnarl had estimated, taking into account the size of the shards and that of the original Tower Heart, there should be around ten shards. The advisor had raised it to twelve now.

One more to go. And he knew, in some way, the Last Sanctuary wasn´t far away. It was something in the way Florian acted; the way his eyes rested on the horizon, his tense attitude…

That day they travelled faster than before, and the few slugs and mutated sheep they encountered didn´t stand a chance. The formerly drifting group now had a shade of a goal in mind, and it made them more dangerous and determined than ever.

At the end of the day, as the glow on the horizon grew dim, Florian joined Sayron at the head of the horde. "I feel the last shard is close, Scourge. The presence of the others makes it almost impossible to sense, but I feel it." The elf said it proudly, but Sayron didn´t show any token of appreciation. He nodded and strode on, the light in his eyes slightly brighter than before.

"How far?"

"Always closer than you think," was the answer, and the elf slid back behind him.

They rounded a bend in the path, which had led through a rocky gorge – a gorge in the mountains around the Tower. What they saw was an unhindered view of the crumbled bastion, but slightly lower their eyes were blinded by a sparkling light in the clearing where the gorge ended.

A shard – larger than the others, shining brightly in the evening light.

Jinx rubbed her eyes. A faint smile tugged at her mouth. It was almost as if she could see the world in that shard, the world she would be able to return to when the Heart had been completed. She ran forward and took the final piece from the dust. With a tinkling sound it landed with the others, in the dragon leather sack on her back. Strangely enough, it still wasn´t heavy at all.

"Now, elf, where is the Sanctuary?" Sayron asked.

It remained silent. Florian didn´t answer, but stared at something behind the Overlord.

Sayron turned.

There, on a ridge, against the backdrop of Vessperion´s Tower, stood a tall, broad man in golden armour and a red cloak. Before Sayron´s eyes more figures stepped up to the ridge – archers and soldiers in green and blue tunics, with square shields, long bows and uncovered swords. On both sides of the gathering legion two Sentinels stepped into sight. Somewhere close by, the roar of a Gargantuan resounded.

Sayron turned as if stung. The gorge was blocked by more soldiers.

"Ambush!" he roared. "Back! Pull back! Jinx, up those walls!"

The horde scattered immediately, and as if that´d been the signal the soldiers jumped down to the clearing. Arrows thudded down into the dust and ricocheted off the black rock walls.

Jinx, already hanging from her rope and climbing up, swung left and right to dodge them, as Kniff firmly held on to her back. "How?" she panted. "How in Vessperion´s name did they get this legion here? How did they know we were here…?"

Below her, Sayron and the horde ran back through the gorge, killing soldiers left and right, but some Minions were already injured and Glottis lay dead in the gorge, four arrows in his back. Jinx´ head shot up as she heard the Gargantuan´s roar again, up ahead of Sayron.

"They knew," she muttered. "In some way, they knew."

She looked back and started. There, in the clearing, surrounded by soldiers on all sides, was a small green and golden figure. They´d lost Florian.

"It´s that elf outlaw!" the centurion shouted in triumph.

"Mercy! Mercy! Please have mercy!" Florian cried. He´d unsheathed his sword, but was clearly too blinded by fear and despair to actually use it. Jinx almost felt sorry for him.

"We have no need for mercy, elf… we have justice. To the Arena with him." With those words the centurion turned his back on him, and two soldiers grabbed the elf´s arms to drag him away.

Florian raised his face to the sky. "Fay! Save me! Fay!"

Nothing happened. Before Jinx´ eyes the elf disappeared from view behind black rocks. The horde leader nodded once as if in parting, and then swung after the rest.

Sayron had chosen another path. Halfway through the gorge the wall had collapsed, and he was now painfully climbing the rubble. Jinx realized where he was headed, and her heart skipped a beat. She looked back, into Kniff´s eyes.

The Minion nodded, eyes wide in excitement. "Going to see it."

Jinx caught up with the Overlord. "Florian´s been taken!"

Sayron looked up and nodded. She caught Gnarl´s voice: "Ha! Well, saves you having to kill him, Sire…" The advisor fell silent and then swore loudly. He had good reason, because the ascending mountain path was blocked by hastily built barricades. "Master, I could swear someone betrayed our heading… but I can´t imagine who did so, because we barely know where we´re going ourselves."

Sayron and the Minions threw themselves into the barricade, and the wood quickly gave way. In the time they needed, however, soldiers had appeared on the other side. There even was a Gargantuan with them, the creature they´d heard before.

The battle with the soldiers was short but bloody. Sayron acquired some deep cuts and stab wounds in his arms, and his armour was dented inwards as the Gargantuan rammed him against the mountainside. It was Ramul who took him out; the green stood on the verge of the ravine, a challenging leer in his eyes, plainly inviting the twisted creature to thunder for him. The Gargantuan, simple as he was, did so. The green simply jumped for his shoulders, his back, and over him, and the Gargantuan plummeted off the mountain.

What followed was a tiring race to the top of the mountain. Barely further away than the previous bend in the path were the soldiers they´d escaped from earlier, and they didn´t have a moment to catch their breath – they had no time to lose. The reds and Jinx followed along the mountainside, flinging small stones and boulders back to block the way or hit the soldiers whenever they could. The Empire´s troops were determined not to return empty-handed, however. They must have been waiting here for weeks, but still they seemed to be in perfect health, in contrast to Sayron and his horde. The Minions started to wear out, and so did the Overlord.

Then Jinx almost slipped off the mountainside. She had another rope, and she didn´t fall, but it made her realize the possibility she had right now. She hung there for a fraction of a second and stared up. Then back.

Green tunics were coming around the bend.

Simmer halted and looked back. Jinx met his eyes. "Don´t wait! Go!"

The red nodded and sprinted on. Jinx clenched her teeth and flung up a rope. She caught a crack between two rocks, where her weapon was rendered stuck. Then she pulled loose her other rope, so her entire weight was suspended from the rocks. She swung to and fro to shift the force. She looked back briefly. The soldiers had almost reached her, but even closer were Kniff´s yellow eyes. "This is going to be a tricky one, buddy."

His claws tightened around her shoulders.

The rocks above her shifted and slid off the higher mountain ridge, taking other, larger boulders with them. Jinx´ rope came free and she fell, the avalanche immediately following her.

She hit the ground hard, scrambled up, dragged Kniff with her and ran.

In a cloud of black dust and rubble the avalanche thundered down on the mountain path…

Sayron had halted a little further as the roar of the falling rocks had reached him. Ignoring everything Gnarl shouted at him, he turned and ran back to where they´d left Jinx as fast as his injuries allowed him.

The billowing dust forced him to narrow his eyes. He coughed, despite his mouth cloth.
A little shade staggered from the black haze, towards him. Sayron´s shoulders sank in relief as it became apparent it was no soldier.

Aided by Kniff, Jinx worked herself up, coughing and waving the dust away. She grinned broadly. "So much for the ambush."

"Nice work," Sayron grinned. His eyes flared. "Jinx, thanks to you there´s nothing left between us and the Sanctuary!"

Jinx´ eyes shot up. "Do you think…"

"The place where I´d never dare search?" Sayron followed her gaze, and his eyes misted over. "Where else than my father´s bastion? They say a hurricane has a stable, calm eye. If that´s the place where the Tower Heart exploded… maybe there´s a stable zone. Fay barricaded herself in the only safe haven in the middle of the most dangerous realm on earth. It seemed like a good possibility, and Florian´s been leading us in this direction for days, so…"

"Nice work," Jinx echoed. "We´re a great team." She pulled Kniff over and grinned. "We´re going to make it, aren´t we? World domination?"

"We´ll enter history next to the Darklords themselves," Sayron smiled.

A cough resounded from empty air. "Forgive me for interrupting this touching moment, but shouldn´t you be hurrying up? It won´t take long before more soldiers climb over their dead little friends, you know…"

"Yes, Gnarl." Sayron winked and turned around. Jinx and Kniff were quick to follow.

The climb was long and tiring. But with every next step, everyone knew what they were doing it for, and the Tower coming closer and closer was – even now – emanating a strange, almost macabre attraction none of them could resist. Sayron now knew the call he´d heard in his dreams hadn´t been the Heart, but this bastion; it´d always been his father´s voice.

The voice of Lord Vessperion, Master of the Five Abysses.

The Tower appeared to have been partly swallowed by the mountain. Eventually they were standing directly below an entrance, only parted from it by a winding path, in many points blocked by rubble. The entrance seemed to be a balcony, with pillars in the opening. Maybe it was a place from where Vessperion had looked out across his conquered lands.

Sayron started walking in a faster pace. They turned the path´s many windings, and half an hour later the Overlord stepped over the edge of the balcony. As Jinx and the others worked themselves in on both his sides, he turned and looked out over the Wasteland.

Black peaks clawed up at the sky from everywhere. Dark clouds swirled across the land below him. The pools of ooze were outstretched plains of shining blue from here, or little pinpricks of light.

Up here it was deathly quiet; no cawing of Ruborian vultures, no calling of mutated animals or humans. Just the rushing wind, neither warm nor cold.

Sayron sighed deeply and turned back.

They were standing in Vessperion´s throne room.

Many of the old pillars had fallen and damaged the floor. Part of the wall behind the throne had been wiped away, so the blue light on the horizon fell in. The throne itself was overgrown with tentacly plants, as were many of the corners of the great hall. Sayron slowly walked over – around a round hole in the floor that had probably been the mist pool of old – and stroked past the weathered armrests, the once magnificent, high back…

"Lord?"

He turned around. Jinx was standing at a winding staircase, leading down. She leant against the wall, and inches from her hand sprouted a plant with glowing blue leaves.

Sayron´s face split in a grin. "I knew it."

In the Netherworld Gnarl stared down into the mist pool with hazy eyes. Memories flowed over him, some involuntarily. Back in the old Tower from where he´d left in such a rush, more than twenty years ago, all the clans with him, the Hives roughly strapped to carts…

Next to him was someone else, looking down with the same expression. She almost never came up, but for this occasion, it was another story. Velvet smiled faintly. "At last, I get to see the Tower on the inside. Ah, all those years of wondering what Vessperion denied me…" She pursed her lips. "Well, I don´t want it anymore. Not with all that twinkly elvishness in there."

"Do you see now? Vergal, be ashamed of yourself!"

"Synn, would you be so kind as to shut your mouth?" Vergal smiled sweetly at the female Darklord. "Of us three, you´re most closely related to the empress of the Last Sanctuary."

Insulted to the bone, Synn shut her mouth.

The horde had just finished a long climb, but now they were in for a descent at least as long. Their way through the dark, ruined Tower and the mountain on which it was built was, however, lit by increasing quantities of glowing vegetation, and after a while the rock walls around them opened up and the stairs spiralled down through open space.

As Jinx arrived at that point and was able to look around freely, she could do nothing else than gasp for breath.

The air tinkled and hummed with magic. The gargantuan cave in which they emerged was filled with floating lights. Below them lay a true forest, interwoven with wooden platforms and arbors, partly overgrown with vines. The air trembled with the wingbeat of fairies and the chittering of gnomes. The horde tried to see everything, but it was clear this Last Sanctuary stretched down for miles, maybe even as deep as the Netherworld itself. This cave was just the beginning.

Sayron reached the final steps and strode onto solid rock – though his boots immediately sunk away in a lush carpet of dark green grass, mingled with lightly glowing flowers everywhere.

A little way above them hung a light wooden platform with an elegantly crafted balustrade. As the Overlord looked on, a sky blue light bloomed up.

"Greetings, milady!" Sayron bowed with a grin.

Fay´s bright blue eyes slid over the group. "Where is Florian?" she asked softly.

As the queen descended to them over a living wooden staircase, Jinx let the dragon leather sack slide from her shoulders. "He´s been taken captive by the Empire, milady. I´m sorry."

An expression of intense sorrow crossed Fay´s face like a shadow. She lowered her head. When she looked at them again she seemed to have composed herself. She reached Jinx and took the sack.

"You may rest here. I will restore the artefact for you."

"Thank you, milady."

As they walked across the thick grass towards some hammock-filled arbors to get ready for the night, Jinx felt her legs grow weak, but her heart jumped and soared far above her.

Their journey had come to an end.

And another was about to begin.

General: So we found a new use for elves. Use them then leave them for the enemy to deal with.

Velvet: The Dark Tower…

General: I remember the stories. Lord Vessperion and Mistress Rose

Velvet: A pity he didn't have the sense to choose me over my sister.

General: Be careful would you, don't insult the previous Overlord like that.

Velvet leaves

General: She still creeps me out. Okay, please review people.