"They came out of nowhere", Dalia was almost crying. Her entire body trembled even though the entire thing had happened two days ago.
Luxa's face was still as stone. She and Gregor were sitting next to Howard, Hero, Kent, and Chim, and she was firmly gripping Hazard's hand.
When Henry had arrived back at the Fount, around a day after he had received the letter, he had been surprised to find them there. Luxa had explained, she had planned to show Gregor and Hazard around more, especially the planes around the lakes, that surrounded the settlement. They had already been at the Fount, when it had happened, and had postponed their departure back to Regalia immediately, that had been scheduled for today, upon hearing of the incident.
Susannah was visibly shaken as well, York had an arm around her, his face was tense and worried. He was probably blaming himself, Henry thought, after all, he had most likely been the one who had sent Stellovet out with Dalia in the first place.
The governess cleared her throat. Henry noticed she was staring at the floor – she was probably feeling as guilty as him. "There... there were three rats, they surrounded us before we even knew what was happening. Tyler and Orin were dead within seconds, the guards, that were supposed to protect us."
She started kneading her hands. "Their leader stepped forward towards me, while the other two restrained... Stellovet and dragged her off. She was screaming and kicking, but..." Dalia's voice broke and she started sobbing, "the... the leader grabbed me and... and..." she entirely burst into tears. Howard, wearing a grave expression, stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "It is not your fault, Dalia, please speak on."
It took her a second to gather herself before she was able to continue – "He grabbed me and... and told me they would send me back, to deliver a message to you", she looked at York and Susannah, "and you as well, Your Majesty. They... they said they knew you were here, and that I should warn you." Luxa's face grew even more dire when Dalia addressed her.
The governess cleared her throat – "If you ever wish to see your cousin... and your daughter again", she first glanced at Luxa, then at Stellovet's parents, "you are to send...", her gaze met Henry, "the Death Rider to the gnawer arena at the outskirts of the Firelands. If you instead alerted the army, she would die within hours, he threatened." Dalia wiped her eyes, "He further said I should mention that...", she hesitated, still looking at Henry, "Longclaw sends his regards. Whatever that means to you."
Henry and Thanatos exchanged glances. They had been the ones who had wanted to hunt Longclaw down, but instead, he had turned it around and caught up to them. They had waited too long, and now, others had to suffer because of their feud.
Henry stepped forward. "It means a lot, actually. This guy, Longclaw, he's... an old friend of ours, who we should have taken out long ago, but now he's dragged all of you into our feud. We apologize for that."
It hadn't been easy to say this, but one gaze at York and Susannah, another at huddled together Hero, Kent, and Chim – and a last at trembling Dalia were enough to make him wish he had slit Longclaw's throat back in the ice caves.
York raised his voice, it was drenched with concern and pain. "I have heard that name before... Longclaw. Wasn't he a general of Gorger's, whom the king banished for trying to usurp him?"
Henry nodded. "But seems like exile has only made him stronger. Last time we saw him, a few months ago, he had a whole armada of followers. We did kill most of them by collapsing the cave that they were in, but it seems like he has already regained his strength. I am certain he is out for the crown of the gnawers, as certain as I am that he wants our heads on poles in front of his new palace." He exchanged a grim look with Thanatos.
"You mean to say, this whole fiasco with kidnapping Stellovet is a trap... for you?", Luxa suddenly spoke, "That seems a little far-fetched, don't you think? Why doesn't he target you directly? Why take the detour through... my family?" Henry was barely able to hold her firm, inquiring gaze.
"I... I have no idea. Maybe he believes we are too elusive for a direct attack, and... I mean, how else would he lure us in? It's not like there are many things he could use against us... the few non-human friends we have are well-protected", he thought of Teslas and the nibbler colony in the jungle, the rats would have to pass the Vineyard of Eyes to get to them.
Then there was Kismet, but he thought it was easier to traverse the Vineyard then to mess with her. "And then there is you all", he threw Luxa a glance, "The... how did you call it, Gregor?", he pondered for a second, "the questers."
Luxa silently stared at him for a second, then she shrugged. "I suppose you will walk into his trap then. To save my... cousin."
Henry exchanged another glance with Thanatos. "We are not only doing this for Stellovet", he decided, "this is also our chance to finally get Longclaw. The world would be better off without him."
"Well, do it for whatever reason you want, I am doing it for my sister", a different voice suddenly spoke and all heads turned in Howard's direction. He had stepped forward, regarding the Death Rider quickly. "I am coming with you."
Henry had already opened his mouth to protest when York addressed his son. "I wanted to suggest you accompanying them myself, thank you, Howard. Please make sure your sister is brought home safely."
Henry's head jolted in his direction, mouth agape. "B...but...", but Howard ignored him and turned to Luxa. "Don't you and the warrior want to join us as well? We could use all the help we can get."
Henry blinked a few times, trying to process that if he wouldn't do something now, his revenge mission against Longclaw would turn into a full-fledged mini-quest.
Luxa shifted in her seat nervously. "I... didn't this Longclaw say to not alert Regalia?" It was obvious she did not want to risk her life for Stellovet, who had bullied her in the past. Not that Henry could really blame her.
But then, a different, tiny voice spoke. "This girl... is she our family?" Hazard was squeezing her hand, looking up at her with his emotional, green eyes.
Luxa stared at him for a second, unable to answer. Howard did for her – "You... yes, you both are related to her. To us. And besides, he only warned of sending the army, not the future queen herself."
"Then you should go help save her", the little boy continued, "as you would save me. You... would save me, wouldn't you?"
"Of course", Luxa's voice was breaking, she threw a last glance at Hazard, then looked up at Howard. "Fine. Gregor and I will come."
The Overlander next to her jolted around, looking like he wanted to say "I never consented to that!", but when he saw Luxa's pleading eyes, Gregor sighed. "Fine. Boots is in Regalia anyway, with mom, and... this, this won't take longer than like a few days, will it?" He eyed Henry.
The exiled prince pondered, "The arena... that is in the uncharted land east of the jungle, I know my way around there fairly well. It's maybe two, three days if we fly, depending on how many breaks your fliers need and what route we decide on."
"In the uncharted land...", Luxa murmured, "Can you lead us?", and Henry nodded, "I can. And I will."
Howard furrowed his brows, mumbling something about how it was madness to follow the lead of an outcast, and that into unknown territory, but he was clearly overruled.
Then, someone else cleared her throat suddenly. "I will come too. This whole fiasco wouldn't have happened, hadn't I taken Stellovet out. Had I... protected her better." All eyes were now on Dalia, who had spoken and Stellovet's parents exchanged glances.
"It is decided then", York concluded, "go will the Death Rider, Howard, Luxa, Gregor, Dalia – and their fliers, Thanatos, Ares, and Aurora, I assume? My son has no bond anymore, neither does Dalia, but three fliers will surely suffice."
"The less people the better, actually", Henry muttered, but nobody took the hint. He sighed – this was just fantastic. Now he feared he would have to babysit a whole party of people who traversed the lands for the first time, and would surely act as a trouble magnet, as usual.
"Come, Death, we should decide on a route", he poked Thanatos. "You others go pack... if you really need to all come..." He glanced at Howard, but Stellovet's brother didn't even notice. He was already shoving Gregor and Luxa out of the room, to prepare for the trip.
Gregor fumbled around with the straps of the backpack he had been given. This time, he hadn't had the opportunity to look through the museum in Regalia to prepare for the journey. All he had was a singular flashlight with two batteries, that he had packed for the trip to the Fount, and the small one Mrs. Cormachi had given him, around a year ago.
Gregor sighed. He was just happy he wouldn't have to explain this trip to his mom. She was safely in Regalia – well, as safe as she could be, with the plague still in her system. And while he usually disliked being separated from Boots, now she was with his mom, so it was alright.
The plague... he wondered when she'd finally be rid of it. Gregor felt like an eternity had passed since she had last been home, although if it had not even been a year. Still... a year without his mom at home was a year too much, he thought.
He was over the moon that Ares was finally out of the hospital though, even strong enough to come with them on this trip. Gregor still vividly remembered the image of Ares that had made him throw up, back when he had first seen him in the hospital. He had had almost given up hope, but Ares had pulled through. Gregor smiled, of course, he had.
"Are you coming? The Death Rider called, he said he wanted to discuss the route with us", Luxa suddenly stood in the doorway to the room he had been sleeping in, over his visit at the Fount.
Gregor sighed. "Why did you even drag me into this? Like, why... why are we going on this trip at all?" He furrowed his brows. Gregor clearly remembered Howard's sister, how she had made that remark about Henry to Luxa. "You don't even like Stellovet, do you?"
It wasn't like he wanted her to die or suffer by the claws of the rats, but he thought the Death Rider and Howard could just as well go save her on their own.
Luxa sighed. "I... How would I have explained refusing to help save someone from my family to Hazard?"
"Not all family is good family though. We can be related to someone bad, too." He primarily thought of Henry and his betrayal.
Luxa sighed, apparently she had gotten the hint. "I know. But...", she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "at some point... I realized I had lost so much of my family that I decided I did not want to lose any more."
Gregor was silent at that. He suddenly remembered how many people she had lost already, her parents, Hamnet... and Henry. It was perfectly understandable that she would try to hold on to anyone who was left, be they mean like Stellovet.
"Besides, if I understood the Death Rider correctly, this Longclaw could be a dangerous future enemy. If you have truly averted the Bane's fate of becoming the new king by sending him to Ripred, maybe the world would have Longclaw take his place. I must do everything in my power to avoid that, I have to protect my people." She sounded grave serious as she tugged at the golden ribbon around her head.
Gregor sighed. He understood her decision, at least to an extent. Though he still wanted to ask why she had dragged HIM into the quest, he decided to remain silent for now. He saw the worry in her eyes and thought she had enough problems already.
"Hey, it'll be fine, okay?" He carefully put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get through this. We got through everything so far, didn't we?"
She threw him a short smile. "Yes. We did. Thank you for... coming with me, too. I realize you did not make that decision yourself."
Gregor shrugged, pretending to be fine with it. "Eh, it's whatever. I can't just send you away with a bunch of strangers, even if Howard is there, can I now?"
Luxa looked up. "Do you not trust the Death Rider?"
"Do you?", Gregor asked, after some hesitation. Luxa averted her eyes. "I... I do not want to. I have no reason to. I mean", she hesitated, "we do not even know his real name. But strangely enough, I found that I do."
"I think he's a good guy", Gregor said, hand still on her shoulder, "He saved me and Twitchtip, back on the waterway, remember? And he did it without even knowing us or having any reason besides saving a life. A bad person wouldn't do that, don't you think?" Gregor suddenly remembered what she had disclosed to him in the jungle, how he reminded her of someone she... used to know, like she had said.
Luxa hummed approvingly, before turning around. "They will be waiting for us." Gregor nodded and they stepped out of the room, starting to walk towards the main hall.
"Alright, after some consideration, Death and I have agreed on a route that should be safe. Should be, because what is really safe, here in the Underland." The Death Rider grinned a little, before unrolling a big map across the table in the main hall. Gregor had to suppress an eye-roll. The outcast was not wrong.
They were all standing around the map now, the space around the table was so crowded, Gregor felt Luxa's shoulder touching his on the left, and Ares' fur brush his right side. On Luxa's other side were Aurora and Dalia, next to Ares stood Howard and Thanatos, the Death Rider in the middle.
The outcast now took out some sort of pencil, leaned over the table and drew an "x" on a spot beyond the map, somewhere east of the Fount. It lied behind the jungle, apparently, and Luxa asked "Will we have to cross the jungle to get there?", but he shook his head.
"Death and I agree that it is safer to travel on the outskirts of the Firelands. We can follow the border of the two lands almost exactly until we reach this tunnel here", he drew a line, leading away from a different "x" he had marked, south of the arena.
"The "x" here marks the citadel, a crawler colony we know fairly well, and the line leading away from it is a big tunnel called Path of Styx. It leads further into the Firelands, but it has many side-entrances and -exits. Instead of taking the detour through the citadel, we enter it through a passage about here", he drew a shorter line, about almost exactly where the Path of Styx crossed from the designated Dead Land territory into the Firelands.
"And that tunnel is safe?" Howard raised an eyebrow.
"Fairly. For Underland-standards." The Death Rider grinned. "I mean, I've traversed it many times, with and without Thanatos. We'll be fine. Besides", he raised an eyebrow on Howard himself, "it's not like you HAVE to come."
Howard was silent at that, and the outcast turned back to the map. "We can fly from here to the Path of Styx in one go, it'll take a few hours but the way is fairly safe. From then on, things get a little tricky."
He explained that the Path of Styx itself was big enough for the bats, but the side tunnel, they would have to exit through, was fairly narrow. "The fliers won't fit, especially Ares and Death. But the pass is not long, that is narrow. Maybe half an hour on foot. We will have to carry them. Just be ready for that."
Luxa and Gregor exchanged glances. "Is it not easier to take the long way around?", she finally asked, eyeing her bond Aurora, who uncomfortably shifted at the thought of being carried.
"Is it so bad?", Gregor whispered to Ares, and his bat shook his head. "It is unfamiliar, that is all. But it depends much on how you carry us."
"It would cost us an additional day", the Death Rider said. "We'd have to take the detour through the entire Path of Styx to the citadel. I assume we do not want this trip to take any longer than absolutely necessary?"
Gregor shifted nervously. He definitely didn't like the idea of an avoidable detour. "Is there any way to carry the bats comfortably?", he asked.
The outcast nodded. "I have already asked Susannah and York to provide us with foldable litters, the fliers should be perfectly fine." He threw Thanatos a glance.
"And from then?" Howard asked. The Death Rider turned back to the map. "There is a lake at the end of that passage, we will make camp for the night there. The next day, we should reach the arena in maybe half an hour's flight. But I assume you all want to be refreshed when facing the enemy, and the lake is the safest place to camp around there. If you don't disturb the pinchers, that have their territory on the other side of it, that is."
Ares must have noticed Gregor's confused face and whispered "Pinchers. Some call them... lobsters, I believe. They are usually reclused, they aren't hostile per se, but they don't like intruders."
Gregor started kneading his hands. Great – giant lobsters too, now. What would be next? Snails? Scorpions? Dung beetles?
The Death Rider asked the bats if they wanted to depart right away or get some rest first. Ares, Thanatos, and Aurora said they were perfectly fine, so he suggested the humans slept during the flight.
Gregor helped load the food, they would take, into two big backpacks, as well as the bags tied around Thanatos' lower body. "That's a useful contraption", he commented to the Death Rider, who was staring at the map again.
He grinned. "Wait until you see what we are working on at the moment. It's not fleshed out yet, but soon."
Gregor smiled, "I guess I'll see soon then", left him to his thoughts and approached Ares, after having heaved one of the bags onto his back, together with Dalia. "I'll be riding with you if you don't mind. Howard will ride with Luxa", she addressed his bat.
Gregor exchanged glances with Ares. "You are welcome to do so", the big black bat said, and Gregor and Dalia mounted up.
He had not exchanged many words with the young woman yet, in truth, he had been introduced to her once, before today, and that had been it. Gregor thought she was maybe nineteen or twenty, short and somewhat delicate looking, but quite pretty. Her hair was tied to a braid that was fastened around her head into an intricate-looking updo.
But now that Gregor saw her up-close, he couldn't help but notice the big, purple circles around her eyes and realized she wasn't just lean, but extremely skinny, to the point where it looked unhealthy.
Despite how bad she looked, she had thrown him a big smile, and he wondered if Stellovet's abduction had been harder on her than she let on.
Gregor glanced over to Aurora and saw Luxa tug at her sword, and Howard sorting through a medical kit. He had not had the opportunity to talk to him much, over the last months, but his mom, who had gotten to know him during their shared stay at the hospital had said, he had talked about becoming a doctor.
When Gregor eyed Howard now, he clearly saw the marks the plague had left and understood why he wanted to make helping the sick his life's duty, after having almost died to a disease himself. "Maybe you'll be a doctor too, someday", his mom had said, and Gregor had only shifted uncomfortably. He had not even remotely considered what he wanted to be when he grew up. He always felt like he already had a job – warrior.
But someone with any kind of medical expertise would be useful on a quest, Gregor thought, and found he was happy Howard had at least found his true calling through the plague.
Soon, Ares and Aurora had lifted off, after Thanatos who followed the river for now. Gregor turned to catch a glimpse at Luxa, but all he saw was Howard's back, as Ares was flying a little behind Aurora.
"So, who is he, the... Death Rider? Do you know him any better than I?" When Dalia addressed him, Gregor almost shrieked. "I... well, he's... uh...", he had never been good at talking to strangers.
After some stammering, Ares saved him by taking over explaining how they had first met the outcast over the waterway. Gregor continued, fired up by his bat, how they had seen him again in the jungle and how he had led them through the Vineyard of Eyes.
When he had finished, Dalia giggled. "He has told us versions of those stories, but I assume yours are more truthful and less – well, exaggerated, if that is the correct word?" Gregor chuckled, he could imagine the Death Rider was the kind of person to exaggerate on their heroic stories.
"But we haven't seen him in forever, before he suddenly showed up at the Fount, maybe two months ago. He seems so... changed." Gregor had never dared ask the outcast what had happened, in what had been more than half a year, after he had helped them in the jungle. But when he had first seen him again, two months ago, he had barely recognized him.
It hadn't just been that his hair was longer and he wore new clothes, it had been... more than that. There was something... new, and almost... dark, in his eye, like it had seen terrible things. Further, Gregor had noticed, now almost every inch of the parts of his skin he had seen was covered in fresh scars. His arms, his hands, and even his face. He had wanted to ask what had happened to him, but he had never found the time or opportunity.
Further, he had not heard him complain about his eye anymore, like he had back in the jungle. Hadn't he even claimed it rendered him almost unable to fight? Now he carried with him a sword as tall as Gregor himself and even though he had not seen the outcast fight yet, why else would he have it? Had he found a solution to his problem? How and when?
Gregor found himself searching for the Death Rider in the darkness ahead with his eyes, as they flew. He was carrying no light and yet Thanatos seemed to know the way. Gregor himself had also decided to conserve his batteries and trust the bats for now.
He and Dalia agreed to lie down and sleep for a while, eventually, they managed to arrange themselves with each other so that they lied back to back, after a little toing and froing. Gregor fell asleep almost immediately, to his own surprise. But the day had been long and he had been more tired than he had realized, so he dozed off very quickly.
When Gregor opened his eyes again, he was lying on solid ground. In the light of the campfire someone had lit, he saw the silhouettes of Ares and Aurora, pressed together for sleep, against the opposite wall. Thanatos was hanging a little to the right, his eyes were closed too.
The rest of the group had assembled around the fire and when Gregor rose, the Death Rider turned around to him, holding what turned out to be a pot with some sort of stew, that smelled delicious.
"Want any dinner?", he grinned, and Gregor quickly took a seat between Howard and Luxa. They were already enjoying the meal and Luxa mumbled it was some of the best quest-food she had ever eaten.
"Where... are we now?", Gregor mumbled, glancing around. They had made camp in some sort of cave, it was fairly big and had several exits. "Are we in that... Path of Styx already?"
The outcast grabbed another plate and brought it to Gregor, along with one for himself. "It lies just ahead, actually. We simply need to follow that tunnel and it will lead us straight in. But the fliers were tired, so I decided to make camp here and continue tomorrow."
Gregor stared into the tunnel opening, slightly uncomfortable. But the Death Rider interrupted his dire thoughts by asking – "Sandwiches, anyone?", and everyone immediately helped themselves.
Dalia, who had apparently helped prepare the meal, took the empty sandwich plate to be washed and only then sat down with them. Gregor remembered she was considered a servant, and therefore expected to do the chores, even on quests.
He glanced at Luxa, remembering how Mareth had been the same, both during the first and the second trip, and how she and Henry had not even known how to make themselves a sandwich.
He decided to ask if Dalia needed any help with the dishes after dinner, but the Death Rider took over, he and the young woman collected the empty plates, he stored the food away and she washed them. His sympathy for the outcast rose. At last, someone who is not conceited to the point where he treats servants as lowly, he thought.
"Alright, bedtime everyone! The fliers already lie sleeping, you should follow their lead." The outcast called, not overly loud, as to not wake the bats, but still commandeering enough. "I will take first watch, later I'll wake Death to take over for me."
Gregor looked at him, in the dim light of the fire, and noticed he looked fairly exhausted himself. He had most likely spent the entire flight planning the trip, while Gregor had slept through most of it.
"Hey, I... I could take the watch instead", he raised his voice and everyone turned to him. Gregor nervously shifted, "I slept through most of the flight, so I'm not tired. You should get some rest yourself."
The Death Rider eyed him, as did Howard and Luxa, Gregor noticed. He realized they were probably still thinking about how he had fallen asleep during his watch on the waterway. "Hey, I am not tired, I just said. I can –"
Then, someone else interrupted him – "If you take first watch, I take second. I slept a lot as well", Dalia's voice was clear and determined.
The outcast put his hands to his hips. "It's settled then. Gregor takes first watch, Dalia second. Everyone else – to bed. Now."
"Hey, who made you the boss, actually?", Howard grumbled, but the outcast shot him a glare. "Your future queen over there asked me to lead you. I took the liberty to interpret "lead" as more than just "show you the way". If you have any problems with that, over there is the way back", he pointed towards the exit of the cave. "Be my guest."
Howard simply shot him a death glare before reluctantly lying down.
"He sure knows how to make Howard hate him", Luxa chuckled, after the Death Rider had extinguished the fire and lied down next to Thanatos to sleep.
Gregor nodded. "He... he is fairly bossy. But at least he does not consider himself above chores. Dalia would have had to do everything herself, hadn't he helped, just because she's a servant."
Gregor noticed Luxa shifting uncomfortably. "D... do you think I should have offered my help?"
He realized he had made her feel bad and quickly added – "No, I think it's fine, I just... I just thought it was nice to see he helped her."
"That is true", Luxa answered.
They remained silent for a while. "Gregor I'll go to sleep, okay?", he heard her voice again, maybe a minute later. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
He agreed. "Well, good night then."
Gregor remained sitting next to her, eyes wide open, determined to stay awake. Maybe, he thought, he could try and practice echolocation. The thought almost made him giggle. As if that would ever work.
