Chapter 17

Judging by the time since sundown, Azkadellia estimated they had arrived just before midnight. Cain instructed them to wait in the safety of the vehicle while he met with Commander Bowen to sneak them into camp. The longer they kept their presence a secret, the better. Glitch stood ready at the open door, prepared to attack at the first sign of trouble. The sisters too were ready, hands clasped between them.

After what felt like hours, a lone lantern could be seen advancing, two figure faintly illuminated. Glitch hopped out once they were closer and Cain reached into the vehicle, his hand extended toward DG to help her down. As her sister disappeared out of view, Az braced her hands on the door frame to hop down when an unfamiliar hand suddenly darted out of the dark, the owner of which was obscured by the shadows.

She stared at it a moment, initially not comprehending what this person could mean by it. Was there something she needed to hand out of the car before exiting? She was rarely out of the company of her family and friends and with the one time exception of Jeb, no other dared touch her. Slowly, understanding dawning, she reached down to take the offered assistance. The owner of the hand bent at the waist as her feet touched the snow, a clear "Your Highness," falling from his lips. When he straightened, Azkadellia saw he was only a few inches taller than she, with wavy dark hair and what seemed to be a permanent 5 o'clock shadow.

"This is Commander Bowen," announced Cain from her side, gesturing toward the man. She stepped back and eyed him in his entirety, taking notice of the sword he carried at his hip, the impeccably pressed uniform, and finally a pair of mildly amused brown eyes. Azkadellia realized with a small amount of alarm, her hand still rested in his as she had not removed it yet.

"Pleased to meet you," she replied in her her most polite, emotionless voice before moving forward to link arms with her sister.

The General and the Commander led them quickly and quietly to what was supposed to have been her parents accommodations. There were exact maps of the country side displayed on a large table in a common area.

"Here," started the Commander, motioning to a marker on the table, "is where they were taken. The men consistently report the creature's moving Northwest-"

"Toward the Unmoving Mountain," finished Cain, deep lines etching his face in a frown.

Commander Bowen nodded confirmation.

"Why do they call it the Unmoving Mountain?" asked DG.

"No life has ever been spotted on it...no animals, no trees, not even a frost iris, and they're everywhere," answered Glitch.

"That's where he is then?" asked Az, leaning to get a better view of the map after a quick glance at her sister.

"Yes," replied DG, "Ozma wound have done anything to keep her subjects away from him. A spell to ward off all life seems like her handywork."

"Ozma?" asked Bowen, eyes jumping from DG to Azkadellia.

"We suspect these attacks have been carried out by a creature named Roquat the Red, imprisoned by Ozma herself."

"The Gnome King?" Bowen asked, looking incredulous with a small smirk on his face. The expression faded as he took in the serious expressions of his new companions, "You're serious..."

Az skimmed the map once more before speaking.

"Gentlemen, my sister I suspect we will be attacked as soon as Roquat realizes we've arrived. We think we should fortify the camp tonight in any way possible. After the battle, we will act as if Cain and DG were killed, allowing them to slip away to the Unmoving Mountain to locate our parents. We will follow behind, guided by the trackers they will leave and lead an assault on the mountain to allow them to escape, and, if all goes perfectly, hopefully take down our opponent."

"DG and I'll be ready. But Princess," began Cain, pausing to get Azkadellia's attention, "once we are gone, you'll have an awful large target on your back."

Azkadellia gave a tight smile.

"Not much bigger than usual," she replied but Cain had looked away.

"Bowen, I'm placing her under your protection-"

Azkadellia scoffed, "I don't need protection-"

"An ancient evil King has kidnapped your parents and wants you dead," Cain deadpanned.

"Az, it's just another set of eyes watching your back since Cain won't be there to do it," implored her sister.

Azkadellia ground her teeth and glanced at the man in question. The young commander made her uneasy for a reason she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"And you trust him?" she asked Cain after a moment of silence.

"If you please, Your Highness," interrupted Commander Bowen, stepping forward "You have nothing to fear from me. If I thought you were the sorceress, I would have killed you already. "

Glitch leaped forward toward the man, arms out ready to attack but was stopped by Raw who pushed his friend back with placating look.

"Consider yourself lucky, guy!" he shouted, making the 'I got my eyes on you" motion with his fingers.

"Easy there Glitch," said Cain, clapping a hand over his shoulder and nodding at Raw.

The Viewer advanced on Bowen who unsnapped his sleeve, rolling it up to his elbow. He held his arm out, never breaking eye contact with Azkadellia who stared daggers at him. Raw gripped his arm a little more forcefully than his usual and closed his eyes to read the commander. After few moments, Raw released him and gave the Commander a small smile before turning to the others.

"He will not harm Azkadellia."

"Great!" announced Bowen, smiling broadly and patting Raw on the back, "Now that's settled, what about these fortifications? Where do we get started?"

"Uh... well..." began Azkadellia, looking to DG for some help.

"Yea... uh... we're going to need everyone's shoes."