Chapter Fourteen: Rainfall

"Alright, quick check! We got our umbrellas?"

"Check!" said Willow. "With cute patterns, too!"

"Good! Snacks and water?"

"Check!" said Gus.

"Great! How about glyphs, in case we run into trouble?"

Luz held up a small stack of paper. "Check!" she said.

"Awesome! So, we're all set then?" said Tia. "Oh, wait. Do we have our incredibly talented and frankly adorable tour guide?" After waiting a moment for the confused trio to ponder that, she placed her hand on her chest. "You bet your butts we do! Let's go!"

Tia set off down the street in the direction of the forest, with Willow, Gus, and Luz following. Bartleby and Aargharet waved at them from the door. "Good luck on your adventure!" said the former. "And be careful out there, okay? It looks like it might rain…"

Luz turned back to give a quick wave as she departed. "Thanks, we will!" She scampered off to join the rest of her party. "Okey-doke: Operation Rescue King, part one of...hopefully one is a-go! This'll be perilous, most likely dangerous, and possibly even hazardous, but it'll all be worth it to get our baby boy back!"

"Those words all mean the same thing," Gus pointed out. "I mean, I agree with you, but...about the baby boy thing, that is. Um...go team!" He created a small firework to emphasize his point.

"How about we save the celebrations until after we find King?" suggested Willow. "And speaking of perilousness, did anyone pack the maps? Because I didn't."

"Nope, not me," Luz said. Gus shrugged as well. "Should we go back?"

"Ah, we don't need no maps!" said Tia. "I've been doing this since I was little-I know this forest like the back of my hand!" She looked down at the back of her hand to demonstrate. "Hmm...have I always had this freckle?"

Gus and Willow shared a glance, uncertain at how this would all turn out.

"...Yup. It's definitely gonna rain alright," Mandrake said, confidently leaning on a tree. "No doubt about it now."

"Oh?" Caelano stood in a clearing behind him, along with Loxton and Grace. "And what makes you so sure?"

Mandrake gently ran his hand along the tree truck. "The trees speak it," he said quietly. "It's in the air, in the wind. They can feel it, and whisper it to me…"

"Yeah, and 'er little 'prophecy' said so," Loxton said, motioning to Grace. "Plus, any moron can see the clouds over there."

Mandrake sighed in frustration. "Every time I try to be all mystical...Whatever. Come on, Caelano, let's go get ready for the human."

"Hold on, why me?" Caelano asked. "What happened to your little dream team with Grel?"

"Hey unless you'd rather babysit Grace…" said Mandrake, shrugging.

Caelano glanced back, before sighing, and approaching Mandrake. "Fine. But only because you're slightly less intolerable than she is."

"OI!" shouted Loxton. "You can't just dump this senile old biddy on me! Don't I get a say!?"

"Well, if you didn't wanna get stuck with Grace duty, you shouldn'ta lost the coin toss," said Mandrake.

"What coin toss!?" cried Loxton.

"The one I had earlier, without your knowledge," Mandrake said. "We'll see you two back at the castle." He strolled further into the woods, his reluctant partner following.

Loxton looked down at Grace with annoyance. "I have seen the end of days," she stated gravely. "The Titan will rise from its slumber, casting us all into the depths of the Boiling Sea-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture," Loxton mumbled, guiding Grace forward. "I think it's past your bedtime…"

"Now then…" said Mandrake. "All we need is the piece de resistance. Do you have the spell ready?"

"Of course." Caelano took a deep breath, and held her hand out in front of her. Concentrating, she slowly drew the spell circle, finally thrusting her palm outwards. In a swirl of light blue energy, the illusion was created.

"Hmm...not bad," Mandrake said. "It looks just like the real thing. I certainly can't tell the difference."

"And this is just from memory," said Caelano. "Let's just hope the human is as easily fooled as you are."

"Indeed," said Mandrake. "Now then...let's go catch a human." After a brief pause, he realized what Caelano had meant. "Why do you have to be like that?" Caelano grinned back at him.

The three witches and one human pushed on through the thick brush in their way, led on by their ever-confident guide. "Okay...I think we've seen this tree before," Tia said, examining the side of a nearby oak. "Did we get turned around or something?"

Willow emerged from a bush, pulling bits of twig and leaf from her hair. "You tell me," she replied, "you're the expert."

"Here, I'll mark it," said Gus. He drew a spell circle, causing a blue X to appear on the tree's trunk. "There, that should do it."

"Great!" Tia said. "Now we'll know if we…uh..." The reason for Tia's sudden silence was that she had just noticed five or six identical marks beside the recent one. The gang stared at the tree covered in Xs for a moment.

"...Huh," Gus said. "I guess we have been here before. Several times, from the looks of it. ...How did I not remember this tree?"

"Same tree or not, we have to keep moving!" said Luz. "King's out here somewhere, alone and scared, and if we can't get to him before that storm starts…" She trailed off, before steeling herself with a deep breath. "No. We'll find him."

"We will," Willow assured her. "Tia? You're the small creature expert. Where could a little demon like King take shelter from the boiling rain?"

Tia scratched her head as she thought. "Well, let's see… Most animals out here either hide in or under the trees, and the bigger ones usually can just shrug off the rain no problem. I'd have to say under a rock, or in some exposed tree roots."

"Okay, that gives us something to go off of," Willow said. "If King's still out here, he's probably hiding somewhere like that. So if we…"

"Of course, that's just for wild animals," Tia continued, despite Willow gesturing to her to stop. "If we factor in that King is familiar with the modern witch lifestyle, he wouldn't be afraid to enter houses like most animals would. And even with his small size, he could easily have gotten halfway across the Isles by now-"

"Uh, guys?" said Gus, sounding somewhat worried.

Luz instantly perked up, heading to his side. "What is it? Did you see him?" she asked. "Where is he!?"

"No, it's...it's here." Gus pointed out to the distance, where the boiling rain was beginning to fall. The burning liquid poured from the sky, sizzling the treetops and creating a haze of steam. Making matters worse, the clouds were rapidly making their way towards the group. "Looks like a bad one, too."

"Good thing we came prepared," said Willow. "Umbrellas up, everyone." The four quickly unfurled their umbrellas, which extended a rainproof barrier over them.

"Ooh, tingly!" said Luz. "Also, handy!"

Soon enough, the storm reached them, washing over them with a wave of humidity, even with their protection. "Everyone good?" asked Tia, having to shout to be heard over the torrent. "No leaks?"

Gus glanced at his companions, calling back "No, I think we're all good here. Now the only problem is finding King in all this…"

"All the more reason to double our efforts!" cried Luz, hopping up onto a nearby boulder. She peered off in all directions, but even seeing a few feet ahead was difficult in the haze the storm created. "Come on, King, where are you?" she asked softly.

And then, against all odds, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. A tiny black figure darted out of the undergrowth and into the distance. Though she had only seen it for a fleeting moment, Luz had no doubt in her mind who it was. She leapt from her perch and gave chase.

"King!" she called, running after the shape. "King, over here! Come here, you'll be safe with me!"

"Luz, wait!" said Gus, as he and the others followed after her. "Slow down! It's too dangerous to get separated in this weather!"

"But that was King!" Luz shouted, still running after him. "It had to be him! I'd recognize those little footsteps anywhere!"

"It was probably just an antabbit or something!" said Tia. "Stop before you run into something dangerous!"

Luz took a breath; she knew the risks, but with King in danger, she couldn't just ignore it. As she ran, she pulled a light glyph from her pocket, activating it. With the small bit of added light, she was able to see just far enough ahead of her to see the shape: it was unmistakably King. Her heart ached to see him out in the storm like this...but why hadn't he noticed her? She decided he must be too panicked.

"King! Over here, please!" she cried. But he must have still not heard her, as he continued scampering through the forest. Including through a tree.

Luz yelped, stopping mere inches before running headlong into the tree in question, before continuing her pursuit. She wondered what had happened for a moment, before brushing it off. He must have just slipped under the roots or something. Either way, she had a more pressing problem; despite his tiny legs, he was somehow putting some distance between the two of them. Luz held up her light orb, and was just barely able to make out King's retreating form.

Redoubling her efforts, Luz sprinted after her friend. Her heart was now aching in more ways than one, but she kept on running. Even after King disappeared into the distance, she kept on running. Even when she realized she could no longer hear her friends behind her, she kept on running. It was only after she was completely out of breath that she fell to her knees, panting. "King...where...where are you?" she wheezed.

After allowing herself barely a few seconds of rest, Luz got to her feet and continued after him. She stumbled over tree branches and slipped on mud, but never fell, and never lost her grip on her umbrella. Soon, a shape came into view, and although her vision was blurry, the color gave it away. "K-King?"

It was unmistakably the King of Demons himself, perched atop a pile of rocks. He turned around, his eyes meeting Luz's. But as the relieved girl hurried forward to embrace him, he scampered off, vanishing beneath the rocks. Luz darted forwards, crouching beside where he had last been. There was a small hole under the rocks, leading into some sort of tunnel or burrow.

"King, can you hear me?" she called down the tunnel. "It's Luz! I know you're scared, but come with me! You'll be safe, I promise! I can take you back home, and we can have hot chocolate, and talk about what to do next, and...and…" Something didn't feel right. She wasn't alone. She stood up, and saw two figures approaching.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to join us: it's the human brat again!" Mandrake and Caelano strolled into view. The latter was protected by an invisible barrier over her head, with the rain pattering against it like glass. The former created an archway of vines as he came forward, repeatedly wilting and being replaced. "What did you think of my friend's little illusion? Looked just like the real thing, didn't it?"

"You…" Luz glared at the two Inquisitors. "Where's the real King!?"

"Somewhere safe," said Caelano. "Speaking of which, I'd appreciate it if you don't escalate this time like you did with Loxton. Or like the Owl Lady did. Come quietly, is what I'm saying."

The girl didn't answer, instead reaching for one of her glyphs. "Luz!" She turned around as her friends came into view. "There you are!" said Willow. "You can't just run off like...that…" She and the others stopped in their tracks when they noticed the pair facing Luz.

"Ugh, of course!" groaned Mandrake. "This can never just be a simple grab-and-go, can it? It always has to be some big production!"

"You didn't answer my question," said Luz, a fire glyph in her hand. "Where is King specifically?"

Mandrake and Caelano glanced at each other, and back to Luz. "How about a trade?" suggested Caelano. "We'll tell you where King is if you tell us where Eda is."

In reply, Luz hurled her glyph at her. Caelano simply split into two copies, which rejoined after the fire had sailed between them. Gus, Willow, and Tia, some looking more confident than others, readied spells of their own by Luz's side.

Mandrake shook his head. "You see? Big production!" He clenched his fist, causing the branches on all the nearby trees to curl upwards, reducing protection from the rain. "Let's get this over with."

Caelano made the first move, spreading her wings and darting towards the four. Luz slapped an ice glyph into the ground, with the illusionist narrowly avoiding the row of spikes that erupted upwards. Gus went invisible, while Willow ran at Mandrake, sending a flurry of brambles in his direction. He summoned some thorny vines of his own, slicing through them.

Tia, meanwhile, hid behind a tree. "I'm not much of a fighter, you guys!" she said. "I don't know if you need me to help, or what, but…"

Several Guses appeared. "It's fine, we should be good," one of them said. Caelano sent a magical blast towards him, causing the illusion to vanish into smoke. "We handle things like this on a fairly regular basis," said another.

Mandrake darted around Willow's vines, continually summoning more of his own for protection against the rain. As he got closer, Willow readied a spell, letting loose right as he was on top of her. A tree branch shot up from the ground, throwing Mandrake back and out from under his canopy.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he complained, summoning more vines as his body sizzled from the droplets. "Alright, that's it!" A large, bright-pink praying mantis covered in flowers emerged from within Mandrake's head, crawling down his arm. He held out his hand, a staff extending from his palisman. The mantis' claws extended, turning the staff into a scythe, which he prepared to swing. "Time to do some reaping!"

As Mandrake and Willow traded blows, Luz and Caelano continued to grapple as well. The blue Inquisitor flew above the battlefield, illuminated by occasional flashes of lightning, while Luz hurled glyphs in her direction. She repeatedly swooped down towards the human, those same glyphs keeping her from getting too close.

"Hey! Over here!" The numerous Gus copies did their best to distract the two Inquisitors as well, firing magical blasts at them. Mandrake paid them no mind, but Caelano couldn't help but fire back. "You call those illusions?" she said. "I've seen more convincing parlor tricks!"

"What, like you can do any better?" taunted one of them, before being blasted away.

"Actually, I can!" With a spell, Caelano split herself into three copies, each one taking to the skies. All of them continued divebombing Luz and Guz, still solid enough to dispel the Gus clones. One of them found the real one, slicing through his umbrella with her talons.

Gus' shield faltered, and he nearly dropped his umbrella entirely when some of the ran burned his arm. All of his remaining illusions disappeared as he hid beneath what little protection his umbrella still offered. Luz immediately ran over to help, but was held up by one of Caelano's doubles as the other two grew closer.

"Come on, Tia, do something!" Tia urged herself. She cast a spell from her place away from the fighting. "Please work, please work, please work…"

"Gus!" Willow, meanwhile, opted for a much more immediate strategy. Quickly throwing up a massive tangle of vines to distract Mandrake, she then closed her eyes and called upon every last drop of her magical reserves. A green glow surrounded her as her eyes shot open, glowing as well. As her power spread throughout the forest, all of the trees began to unfold, their branches covering the area completely, and blocking out the rain. Willow landed back on her feet, panting from the effort.

Mandrake stopped cutting through the vines for a moment, stunned by the display of power. "What…?" he said quietly.

Caelano agreed. "How is that possible?" she said.

"That's Willow for you!" Gus said. He dropped his umbrella to the ground, no longer needing it, before turning invisible. As Caelano's clones searched for him, the real one fought with Luz.

Moments before Luz's fireball could hit, Caelano conjured a barrier, dispelling the attack. "You give up yet? 'Cause there's more where that came from!" Luz said, preparing another fire glyph.

Caelano only sighed. With both hands, she drew a massive spell circle before her, throwing her arms outward as it was cast. Suddenly, a shadow spread across the battleground, consuming everything other than her and Luz. The two were alone in a black void, all sights and sounds from the outside world obscured. "There. That's better."

"What did you do!?" shouted Luz. She threw her fire glyph, but it simply passed through Caelano, her body flickering as it did so. She calmly walked forwards, undeterred by the attack.

"Now...how about we talk about this like civil adults?" Caelano said calmly. "Unlike my brute of a partner, I don't have anything to prove. Now, you, I can't speak for, but I imagine you would like me to answer your question about King?"

"That depends," Luz said, scowling. "Are you gonna give me a straight answer this time?"

"Certainly. We have him."

"You...you have-"

"We got word that Shrike captured him not long ago. He's being held as we speak, but I'm not at liberty to tell you where. But I can tell you that I can take you to him if you surrender."

"And why would I!?" Luz hurled another glyph at Caelano, who simply vanished. Luz looked around for where she had gone, throwing another glyph when she found her, to similar results. "I'm not gonna give up just because you told me to!"

"So be it." Caelano snapped her fingers, and several ropes shot up from the ground, wrapping themselves around Luz's arms and legs. "This will be much easier if you don't struggle," she said, as Luz did just that. "I don't like Mattias or Belos any more than you do, but-"

"Then why are you working for them?" Luz asked, annoyed.

"Because, as I have been trying to explain to you, there are some things in this world that you can't fight," said Caelano, growing annoyed as well. "Sometimes it's better to realize when you've been beaten, like you so clearly have. So shut up, stop resisting, and let me bring you to Belos so he-"

Caelano's tirade was interrupted when a black shape suddenly knocked her to the ground, dispelling her illusions. The surroundings returned, Luz realizing that she wasn't tied up at all. Caelano lay on the ground, her mask having fallen off, wrestling with a hellhound.

"T-the spell worked!" Tia said, as proud as she was surprised. "I did something! Hey everyone, I did something!"

"Yeah, you did!" said Luz, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Get off me, you ugly monstrosity!" shouted Caelano, trying to throw the angry hellhound off herself. As it continued trying to bite her, their struggle led them to the pile of rocks that 'King' had disappeared into, knocking them over and revealing more of the tunnel. She finally managed to throw it off, attempting to cast a spell, but was met with only a flicker. She looked momentarily surprised, before glancing at her fallen mask and growling, something Luz took notice of.

Willow, meanwhile, continued her battle with Mandrake, whose scythe was giving him an edge. A chance look over at the revealed tunnel made her pause, almost giving Mandrake an opportunity to ensnare her in vines, only averted when she controlled a tree branch to slice through them. "Wait a minute! Everyone, time out!"

"What!? You don't get a 'time out!'" said Mandrake, lunging towards her scythe-first. She quickly summoned several shrubs in front of her, but Mandrake sliced through them effortlessly. However, she was nowhere to be found once he did so. As he looked around, confused, Willow emerged from her hiding spot behind a nearby tree.

Willow crouched down, placing her palm down on the grass, getting a feel for the surrounding area. Her suspicions confirmed, her eyes widened. "Everyone, stop fighting!" she shouted.

Unfortunately, nobody listened. Caelano, still fighting with the hellhound, managed to scoop up her mask and place it back on. She created her illusion: a massive slitherbeast, roaring to scare the hellhound away, pounding the ground for good measure. Mandrake, realizing where Willow had gone, leapt over to her, narrowly missing with his scythe, which embedded itself into the ground.

"Stop, don't you get it!?" Willow shouted. "We're standing right on top of a-"

But it was too late. The combined strain from the fight had finally grown too much for the land to take, and with a loud rumble, it gave way beneath them all. The forest floor crumbled, opening up into an enormous sinkhole.

Nobody had time to react. Almost everyone found themselves falling underground before they could do anything. It was only Caelano, with her flight, and Tia, who was far enough away, who weren't swallowed by the earth.

"G-guys?" When the dust settled, Tia surveyed the damage. "Anybody? Can you hear me!? Say something if you're okay!" She shined a light spell down the hole, which went down far too deep to see the bottom. "Oh...this isn't good…"

"...and that's how the Boiling Isles were made!"

The Bat Queen's three children looked up at Kade in awe, hanging on to every word of his story. At that moment, he heard the telltale flapping of large wings that signaled the kids' mother's return. He closed the book, placing it back on the shelf as he made his way over to the cave's entrance.

"...probably built hundreds of years ago, maybe thousands," the Bat Queen said, landing just beyond the cave. Eda touched down beside her.

"It didn't look that old," she replied. "Still, there was definitely something familiar about those murals…"

"Great timing!" said Kade. "I was just about to make some lunch for the little ones."

"Ah, perfect!" Eda walked up, handing Kade back his staff before pointing at him. "Quick: If I said the phrase 'Given towards akar war,' what's the first thing that pops into your mind?"

"Um…" Kade thought for a moment as Mr. Crawly perched on his head. "Probably that you're having some sort of episode."

"Har har," Eda replied. "So, we found the place, and it's some sort of temple. Who or what it was dedicated to, though, we don't know. Something about a war, and whatever 'akar' means."

"That definitely is a conundrum," Kade said. "Sounds to me as though we'll need to consult an ancient archive of knowledge, accessible only to the worthy."

"You know of such a place?" asked the Bat Queen, skepticism in her voice.

"It is spoken of in legends," he continued. "According to the ancient texts, it is known only as…the Bonesborough library."

Eda rolled her eyes and groaned, despite wearing a small smile. "Sounds like this journey's right up your alley, bookworm! Later, though...Mama's hungry."

"Yeah, of course," Kade said. "In the meantime, why don't you two tell me about the temple? What did it look like? Were there any booby traps?"

The three of them headed into the kitchen as Eda and the Bat Queen recounted their findings to Kade.