3)---------- In Which, Kormag reveals his plan

3)---------- In Which, Kormag reveals his plan.

Kain, feeling restless, found himself wandering though Castle Baron in the middle of the night, looking for a snack. Instead, he found Rosa sitting at the kitchen table, massaging her temples and looking as bereaved as he'd ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, as he sat across from her.

She shook her head.

"I can't believe I did that," she mumbled. "I know he had to go . . . I knew it then . . . but I was too snobby to even say goodbye . . . "

"You weren't snobby," Kain assured her. "You were more bratty."

"Bratty?"

"Carried on like a complete brat."

A deep sigh escaped her.

"I know. Now I feel really bad . . . Kain, he's all alone hunting down that thing! I mean . . . Cami ran a sword through its head, and it still survived! What if . . . what if Cecil . . . I didn't . . . "

Kain grinned softly.

"Don't worry about Cecil, Rosa," he assured her. "You know as well as I do that he's very capable of taking care of himself."

She glared at him.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Oh, believe me, I'm on the verge of panic."

"Kain . . . "

"Really, Rosa, he'll be fine. This is Cecil we're talking about."

Rosa dropped her chin to where her arms were crossed on the table.

"I know. This is Cecil we're talking about. So why does that not seem very reassuring?"

He shook his head.

"Because this is Cecil we're talking about. We should both be frantic. But that won't do us any good. Cami passed out after a little less than a day. We don't know how long we have, and we have to keep everyone cool in case something happens." He glanced at the purple splotches spreading across his hands and shuddered.

She reached across the kitchen table and gripped his arm.

"What if he doesn't come back in time? What if by the time he returns, if he returns, we're already . . . already . . . decomposed into loaves of bread?"

He took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Then the survivors certainly won't be hungry for awhile," he explained gently.

"That is just sick."

"Yeah, I know."

"But what if - "

"Rosa! Stop 'what if-ing'! We'll deal with whatever happens. Now shouldn't you go get some sleep? You could probably use it."

"I tried." Her expression was even more downcast than when he had first entered.

"What's the matter?" he inquired, searching her features for a sign.

She sniffled, and Kain suddenly knew that he was in for a piece of romantic drabble. Inwardly, he winced.

I really am not cut out for the romantic drabble bit . . . come on, Rosa, don't do it to me.

"Among everything else going on . . . this plague breaking out . . . all the hostility between us and Eblan . . . strange new monsters popping up . . . then I try to sleep, and Cecil's not here, and I don't know which is worse, being so scared, or being so lonely . . . "

Kain sighed.

. . . she did it.

Rosa started crying softly, and he got up and went over to her, noticing that she'd been very moody lately. He put his arms around her and held her, not tightly, just enough to hopefully calm her down.

"Pull yourself together," he told her, gently, trying not to show a sudden bout of impatience. "Everyone's depending on us."

"I know . . . I know . . . " she sighed. "I am just . . . not having a good day!" And she suddenly jumped to her feet and bolted from the room.

Looking after her and shaking his head, Kain wondered what was going to happen next.

When Rydia felt herself waking up again, the first thing she realized right off was that it was wet. Very wet. No, not wet, but damp. Damp and murky. Murky and Damp. Yuck.

She forced her eyes open and found herself sprawled on the damp and filthy floor of a dark room, her hands and feet chained to the wall.

I'm in a dungeon, her mind informed her. Why am I in a dungeon?

The chains were long enough for her to get to her feet and look around a little more. It was a small cell, very damp, very, very damp, with nearly no light, a ratty-looking bed, one tiny window, and a door.

It was to this door where she went, peering through the window. Catching sight of the guard posted outside, and rapped her knuckles against the door.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "What's goin' on?"

The guard ignored her.

"Hey!" she repeated. "Where am I? Why'm I here? Where's Edge?"

Not the guard turned and glared at her.

"Silence, murderer!" he snapped. "You know very well why you're here! You were brought to the Eblan Dungeons after being apprehended for the slaughter of King Edge of Eblan, and now you're awaiting further sentence."

"What's my current sentence?" she inquired, blinking.

"Life in there."

"Oh." She blinked again. "Wait a second! I didn't kill Edge! Euh . . . wait a second!! Another one! Edge - you're telling me Edge is dead?!"

The guard had turned away, however, and would say no more to her.

Realizing that she would get no more out of him, she sat on her dirty bed and thought.

Kormag stood facing the assembly of the Eblanian citizens, shamelessly flaunting his magical skill of melodrama.

"Yes," he finished. "It is with a heavy heart indeed that I should be the one to inform you all of this . . . few were closer to the King than I was . . . but now that he has been destroyed by the hand of the Baronian Caller, it is our duty as good citizens of Eblan, to launch a full-out attack against the Kingdom of Baron, and seek our revenge!"

The crowd loved it. They'd been born and raised hating Baronians, and although each of them knew well that Edge had opposed any violence against the other Kingdom, they all figured it only natural that they now attack and destroy every last stone in Cecil's castle.

When they had dispersed, Kormag turned to his fellow conspirators and smiled.

"Now," he said, "now the story finally begins. Enough with plot development and flashbacks that make no sense. The tale starts here."

"But," spoke up the Cook, "we don't know what happened to King Edge! He could still be alive!"

"As long as they don't know that, it doesn't matter," Kormag said dismissively. "And if he shows up, destroy him."

"Yes sir. What about the Caller?"

Kormag waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh, I don't care! Does it look like I care? Keep her in the dungeons - we can't have her escaping; that would cause trouble, and she's probably more good to us alive than dead."

The Cook raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Morale."

"Whose morale."

"Mine," Kormag replied, shuddering. "Anymore, I'm not sure I'd be willing to trust a Baronian to stay dead once killed. This way, we know where she is."

"Don't you get it?!" Uriat whined. "With the Kingdom in this state, Eblan is sure to take advantage of our weakness and - "

"Shut up!" Rosa snapped. "I am sick and tired of listening to this!! Unless you have something useful to say, Uriat, why don't you just get out of here?! I could be doing far better things than listening to this! In fact, I have a sudden urge to iron my boots. Do I have to leave, or will you? Because ironing boots is just silly."

Uriat sniffed and left the room with great dignity.

Rosa sighed and plopped on her throne.

"Why do we even put up with that guy . . . "

"That's what I keep wondering," Kain agreed. "Maybe you should just fire him."

Rosa frowned.

"I'd never thought of that."

"Ironing boots . . . that was a good one."

"Thank you."

A Guard entered the room, looking as confused as ever.

"Your Majesty, there's a crazed woman out here insisting that she has to see you on very urgent business."

Sighing again, Rosa figured that it couldn't be much worse than everything she'd already dealt with.

"Let her in."

She and Kain were surprised when Cami's mother barged in.

"You gotta do somethin'!!!" she shouted. "Do somethin' about Cami!"

"What's the matter?" Kain instantly inquired.

"How is he?" Rosa added.

Cami's mother glared at them both and crossed her arms.

"He's grown a tail."

"A TAIL?!?!"

The expressions that filled their faces are better imagined than described.

" - and from then on, every day of my life was spent cookin'! Cookin' for all them ungrateful slobs, but I still done it, I always done it, and I done the best I could to support me and my boy, and I don't none see why a good boy from a hardworkin' family should be stuck like this . . . "

Kain and Rosa had long since stopped paying any attention to the old woman's ranting as they followed her to her house.

Pushing the door open, Kain rushed inside, searching the tiny house for his affected student.

" . . . but a tail?! Why a tail?! His Pa spent years tryin' to grow a beard, why couldn't Cami grow a beard? Why'd he grow a tail? Not natural, you know, for boys to have tails . . . "

Lori peeked out of a doorway and gestured to Kain.

"In here, Sir," he called in a wavering voice.

"What are you doing here?" Kain asked quietly, entering the room where Cami lay unconscious with Lori hovering about.

The boy shrugged.

" . . . "

Kain conceded to that and figured that there were more important things to worry about than why Lori would be here instead of his own home. Rosa entered the room and he flagged her to the bedside.

"It's a tail, all right," he confirmed after looking Cami over. Not only did he have a tail, but the purple splotches were no longer discernible. His entire body was purple, and somewhat scaly. It was as if his natural skin had been replaced.

Rosa shook her head.

"Yes . . . the same type of tail that was on the monster. I wonder . . . " and she trailed off.

"Wonder what?" Kain and Lori both asked at the same time.

Rosa pushed herself up and began to pace the room.

"I don't know. I'm still wondering." She continued pacing.

Kain pulled off one of his gloves and felt the boy's purple forehead.

"He's not fevered," he said. "Not hot at all. But he's sweating up a storm."

"He's been like that all night," Lori said.

"What time is it?" Rosa interjected.

The two Dragoons just stared at her.

"I think - yes, it must've been seven hours. I'll be back. Kain, you stay here with the boy." And she charged out of the room.

They watched her go, then turned their attention back to Cami, who hadn't so much as twitched the whole time.

"Lori," Kain asked again, "what are you doing here?"

Lori shrugged again, sullenly.

"Is your family all right? Is something wrong?"

"They're perfectly fine!" the student snapped with sudden intensity. "That's why I'm here! They shut us kids out so the plague wouldn't come in!"

Kain winced.

"Ouch, that hurts," he said sympathetically. "People do strange things when they're scared . . . "

"Strange? They shut out eleven of their twelve kids. That's not strange, it's just wrong."

"Eleven of you?" Now Kain was really startled. "Well, where did the others go?"

Lori shrugged once again.

"I dunno." And he fell silent.

A slight grin crossed Kain's features for a brief moment, as if this brought back some vague childhood memory. He gripped the boy's shoulder reassuringly.

"Hang in there, Lori. We'll think of something."

Lori looked at him like he was absolutely nuts.

"Haven't you noticed?! Not to be disrespectful or anything, Sir . . . but haven't you been paying attention? It's the same story all over the city! Anyone with the faintest hint of purple has been pretty much kicked out of their homes! The whole Kingdom's in an uproar, you know. Just an hour ago, I saw an angry mob go by with torches and pitchforks."

Kain winced again and tried to scratch his head, but succeeded only in banging his fingertips painfully against his helmet.

"Ow. No. I hadn't realized things were getting out of hand. We've been trying to figure this out back at the Castle."

"Have you figured out anything?" the boy inquired with a sudden hopefulness.

"Somewhat," Kain replied with a shrug. "Rosa's working on an antidote, but even if it works, there's likely enough to use as a test and that's it. Cecil's hunting down the monster you guys fought. We need its blood for a cure."

Lori shuddered.

"You mean one person's going up against that thing alone?"

"Yes, one person," he replied in a stern voice. "One person who happens to be Cecil. He can handle it."

Lori shuddered again, running a partially purple hand through his hair.

"I hope so."

Light.

Yes! Yes, finally, I'm through -

Darkness.

Dang it.

Light, a sputter, darkness, more light, and then -

"Oof!!" Edge exclaimed as he hit the hard ground with a thud and rolled a few yards from the force of his impact. He shook his head and jumped up to his feet. "Dang that stupid sword . . . you can't trust anyone anymore . . . where am I?"

Looking around, it took his addled senses a moment to acknowledge his location.

"Oh yeah! I'm home!"

And he moved down from the grassy hillside to the city below. A good bit of apprehension filled him due to the circumstances under which he'd been warped from his Kingdom, and he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't be shot on sight, but he had to find out what had happened to Rydia.

Eblan had suffered terribly under the Redwing attack that had driven its citizens underground. In fact, there hadn't been enough left standing of the town to even consider a town. After Zeromus had been defeated and the war with Baron had finally ended, the people had slowly begun to rebuild their city, but for the most part, people were living in tents and small, makeshift cabins in the remains of the city walls.

As he approached this gathering of dwellings, he noted the two guards standing rapt at attention at what was left of the gate.

"Hey, bozos!" he snapped.

They made no indication of having heard him.

"Yo!" he snapped, louder. "I know you may not like me, I know you may have tried to kill me and all, but you at least owe me an explanation!"

They still seemed to ignore him.

Edge seethed.

"Listen, you punks - "

But when he made to grab one by the collar and threaten his wellbeing, he yelped in astonishment as his hand went right through the guard. Staggering from surprise, he couldn't help himself from falling right through not only the guard, but the gate.

He lay there, a person and a door cutting right through him, and tried to think.

"Crud!" he suddenly exclaimed. "I'm a ghost!!"

The revelation startled him, and he jumped back to his feet.

"HEY!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs at the guard. "HEY, UGLY!!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME?!?!?!"

" . . . "

"Great." Edge felt a little faint. "Just great. I'm a ghost. Just great. Just peachy." His knees gave way beneath him and he sat down heavily. "I'm a ghost. Okay, so I'm a ghost. I would not have predicted this." He gave his head a quick shake to settle his spinning mind and tapped his chin with his finger. "Now what?"

After thinking for a moment, he got back to his feet, squared his shoulders, and stalked through the guards, through the gate, and to the castle. He still had to find some answers.