Welcome back Ladies and Gentlemen. I have returned with another exciting and well written chapter. I decided to split the writing of this chapter over two days and I have to say that it helped. I didn't feel rushed to try to produce something over one 10 hour period but instead over two 10 hour periods. I feel that it worked a lot better and the chapter flows really well. So I hope you guys enjoy.

P.S. This chapters band was Blink-182

Chapter 12

4 days later

Sweat ran down Gregor's brow and into his eyes. It was warm and it stung, but he didn't stop. His sword cleaved through the still air as he dashed from target to target, landing quick blows on whatever lay within his reach. His dagger flashed in close quarters encounters, planting itself into a joint or around a piece of armor. His right hand slashed deep wounds into the enemies' chests, arms, and stomachs. Several stood before him and he rolled between their legs, coming up behind and opening wounds along their weakly armored backs.

A small wall loomed before him and he half climbed, half jumped over it, landing on another enemies back, stabbing his dagger through the soft tissue and into the neck. He leaped off and took a few steps forward before leaping as high as he could into the air. His bottom landed squarely on the large back of a purple bat as the dove back into the action. Artemese dove and spun towards targets, dodging between enemies as Gregor sowed mortal wounds as if he were planting seeds in a field. His sword moved like a scythe, clipping limbs from bodies and heads from torsos. What he missed was cleaned up with his dagger. There were two targets left on the field one on each side.

Artemese zoomed past and Gregor's sword slammed into the armored chest of the foe. The blade stuck tight and prevented him from pulling it out to hit the next target. In the time it took him to get his dagger to his right hand they had passed the target. Gregor was determined to hit it. He spun his body around, grabbed the tip of the dagger, aimed and threw in a fluid motion. The blade soared through the air, spinning blade over handle. A thud told Gregor that the throw had hit the target square, blade first. The bat landed on the ground and Gregor hopped off. His weapons needed to be retrieved so he raced over to the dummies.

His dagger was buried into the back of the straw dummy, right between the shoulder blades; the blade buried almost three-quarters of the way in. He wrenched it out and ran the ten yards to grab his sword. The steel blade had pierced the steel armor due to the force of the blow and the speed at which the pair had been flying. It took even more force to remove the blade. The steel of the chest plate gripped the sword like a vice as Gregor pulled it out. The sound it made was excruciating for his ears to hear. He placed it back on his hip once it was back in his possession.

"That was excellent, Gregor," a voice said from behind him. He spun around and saw Mareth walking towards him. Gregor threw up a quick salute to his superior before he advanced towards his friend. "That was the best I have ever seen any pair run the course since Eisen did it a few years ago. I have your official time as well. I took you just under two minutes. Your best I assume."

"Yea," Gregor huffed out. His body ached and was sore after his time in the Arena. He had run the course several times that day alone. Each morning he had it set up for him, so he could work on his agility and his speed, his accuracy with both weapons when enemies were on multiple sides, and his ever growing skill with Artemese under him. "I didn't expect to see you here today, Mareth. Thought it was your day off."

"It is, but I have something for you," Mareth replied reaching into his pocket and pulling out a draw string pouch. The clinking of metal on metal told Gregor what was in the bag before Mareth even handed it to him. "This is your first weeks soldiers pay." he said as he placed the bag into Gregor's hand.

"Thanks," Gregor mumbled as he pulled the string and opened the pouch. He could see three different types of coins in the bag, each varying in size. He pulled one of each out and examined them. They each were made from a different metal, but he couldn't determine the kinds. The faces of each had a picture of something. The smallest had a face, the second had a sword, and the largest had a picture of the palace.

"This is the money we use. There are three types of coins: the pound is the largest and worth the most, then there is the shilling, and finally the pence. Ten pence make one shilling and ten shillings make one pound." Mareth explained holding each coin up in turn. "Your pay is five pounds, seven shillings, and nine pence."

Gregor nodded as he counted the coins to see if it totaled up right. The names of the coins also seemed familiar. It reminded him of the British monetary system of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Just each coin seemed to be worth different. Instead of twelve pence to a shilling it was ten and instead of twenty shillings to a pound it was also only ten. They seemed to have simplified a system they had used before they moved down here.

"Thanks for bringing this to me. I guess I'll go run it back to my room, take a quick bath, and then grab some food. I'm famished." Gregor said quickly as he walked past Mareth over to Artemese. It was true though. He had been in the arena for several hours that morning and had done extensive work. His stomach was empty and he needed something to fill him back up.

"I will see you then, Gregor," Mareth said as Gregor hopped onto Artemese's back and soared out of the arena. Sweat still ran down his face and his eyes still stung from the saltiness. He took his sweat soaked shirt and unstuck it from his body to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. It helped some, but he could still feel it burning around the edge. Just something he would have to deal with until he cleaned himself up. The city below seemed no more urgent or worried than normal, even with the impending war coming. The news had reached the citizens two days before, but other than worried mutterings the streets looked the same.

Artemese dropped into the high hall, wishing Gregor a good day before he flew away back over the city. Gregor watched just a second longer before he turned on his heel and walked down through the palace. While the city itself had seemed at ease, the palace was in a rush. Servants hurried passed carrying bundles or rushing to help in a storeroom. The palace was storing up supplies in case of a siege or something along those lines. The best weapons were being made and stored in the armory and the other store rooms.

Outside Gregor's room was a bundle of swords. He carried them into his room and laid them on the floor. He had asked for extra swords because of how much he was dulling his in the arena. If he had only one extra blade he would be content. But he would determine that later. Gregor opened the drawer on his bureau and dropped the money pouch into it. There was almost nothing in the drawers besides a pair of sandals and one change of clothes. Gregor didn't have many items that he cared about besides his blades which he always wore on him now.

He quickly left his room and went to the nearby bath. His sweaty clothes peeled off his body and he left them in a heap on the floor. The water ran over his body and he dunked his head down into it, rubbing the sweat from his eyes. His hair had pieces of the dummies stuffing in it and they flowed down river with the water. He rubbed his body down in soup and scoured the sweat and stink off his body. After just a few minutes, Gregor smelled like a spring flower and was as soft as a baby's bottom.

Gregor walked alone through the halls. He seemed to be spending a lot of time by himself, away from the company of people. He was in the arena with Artemese or walking the halls alone or eating with no company. Everyone was busy deciding on tactics and checking on progress. They were training soldiers or working in busy rooms full of maps and little chess pieces deciding where to fight. It left Gregor plenty of time to think about everything he was learning and being told.

Nerissa's words from four days before still echoed in his head: "Please be wary about your feelings for my cousin. There are things that may happen if you become too close to her and her to you. The upcoming conflict will not be easy either. Be careful and make sure you watch your back." He still hadn't determined what she had meant. If she had been talking in riddle or literally. The words could be hiding a meaning besides to simply watch behind him. It ate away at him, yet he still hasn't told anybody about it.

Deep in his thoughts he hadn't realized that he was right outside the dining room. the smell of food tantalized his nose and his mouth started to water. He stepped inside and saw that he was slightly late for lunch. Everyone was already eating as there wasn't time to wait around. He glanced at Luxa as he went to his seat and he got a return glance. She stared at him her anger apparent in her eyes. And Gregor knew why.

It was after Eisen's ceremony and Gregor had been sitting with Luxa in her chambers when he had brought up what he saw in Eisen's eyes. She dismissed it because he was gaining a fair amount of power. He was becoming the second in command of the entire army. That meant he only had two people to answer to. That gave him a lot of power. Or that was her argument.

Gregor had said it was different. He seemed to be lusting for more. It was just that kind of look. A look he had seen only one other time. Gregor said it before he could stop himself. On accident he compared Eisen to Henry. Luxa balked at his statement and then slapped him. Both had done something uncalled for. He shouldn't have brought up Henry at all, and she shouldn't have slapped him. She immediately kicked him from her chambers and had remained mad at him.

And on top of that, her only free time was in the mornings when Gregor was spending time in the arena. He had sworn that he had seen her watching from the stands, yet she still remained angry at him. That was obvious in her eyes every time she looked at him. And those angry eyes were staring right at him at the current moment in time.

His meal was placed in front of him mere moments later, and Luxa averted her eyes back to her own plate. It happened so fast that Gregor was certain no one noticed it. Tension between the two of them at this time could be the worst thing. It would distract Luxa from her job and it could push Gregor away. Yet he knew it wouldn't. It would only draw him in closer.

When Gregor looked up, he saw three pairs of eyes looking at him. Eisen, Mareth, and Vikus all had worried look on their faces, but when they saw Gregor look up their eyes all dashed back down to their plates. Except for Vikus. He instead looked at everybody.

"I have good news today. York and Susannah will be returning to Regalia this evening." The news brought everyone to attention. They were the last two important people in the ruins of the Fount. They had stayed behind to finish scouting every inch of their city before coming back. It seems as if they had finished. The bats flying in with survivors had ended just two days before. The hospital was still filled to the brim with them and it kept the staff busy. Many had already been released. Some were guards and they joined the city guards in the barracks. Others were living in the palace. Gregor rarely saw them though. They were in other parts of the palace and they didn't use the same baths or areas as the rest of the palace.

The news brought both good and bad thoughts. It was good to have a great tactician and fighter in York, coming to aid in the battles. And Susannah was a great doctor, so she would join her son in the hospital helping with the wounded. The bad thing though was that there was nothing left to search in the Fount. There were no more survivors left. There was no reason to stay in the ruins of a city.

The news did little to spark conversation among the diners. Everyone was consumed by their own thoughts, their bodies just naturally spooning food into their mouths. Nobody made eye contact or even attempted to speak to each other. The mood, which should have gotten happier with the news, grew more solemn. Gregor himself felt an added weight on him just because he knew that there was nobody else coming back alive. For days they would see bodies floating down the river, and they all knew it.

Gregor's appetite was long gone by now, and he just swirled his spoon around in his food. He dropped it and pushed his dish away, done with his meal. Before he could stand and excuse himself a man walked through the door. He was wearing a simple uniform and carried a satchel on his shoulder. It reminded Gregor of a mailman.

"I apologize for the interruption, Your Grace. A scout has reported a sighting of stingers entering our lands and moving in the direction of Regalia. He reports their numbers at about twenty." He spoke and stood at attention waiting for the queen's response. Luxa looked to Eisen and Mareth for a decision.

"I suggest we take a small group of troops and investigate. If they want to talk, we talk. If they want to fight, we fight," Eisen spoke. Luxa looked to Mareth next. "I second that, Your Grace."

"It is settled then. Eisen go and prepare your men. I must prepare as well. You are dismissed Roger," Luxa spoke. The messenger bowed low before he walked calmly from the room. Eisen was out of his chair as soon as the man had left. Luxa was out of hers just as quick. Gregor started to rise and Eisen shot a quick glance at him.

"Not you, Overlander. This is a simple mission. Your talents will not be needed." With that he dashed from the room, his voice audible as he ran from the hall casting orders. Gregor slumped into his chair, his face showing disappointment. He pulled his bowl back to him and started to eat the luke warm stew again. He was trying to hide his internal fury at being left behind. Luxa needed him there for council and protection. Especially against something as dangerous as a stinger. He was the one who had spent the past days training tirelessly just for a moment like this. And yet he gets left behind.

The gears in his brain started to grind against each other as it started to piece things together. Eisen was second in command and that meant he was the field general. Perdita would be there as well, but it was his job to command the troops. He didn't want Gregor there to even attempt to usurp his power or his respect, even if it meant leaving his best fighter behind. It also was his way of showing Gregor he was in charge, and that Gregor shouldn't assume he was going on every mission and to every fight.

Vikus and Mareth had left over half an hour earlier and Gregor still sat at the table, his bowl empty. He didn't want to get up and see off the party. The entire thing left a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. A party of stingers enter human lands for no reason and without invitation while the species are obviously on bad terms with each other. And that was an understatement. It didn't make sense to send such a small force to try to talk with them. Especially if they didn't speak English. Yet he figured he should see off those that were to face the foe, while he stayed back and fought stuffed dolls.

Gregor stood from his chair, his butt asleep and aching. He trudged out of the room and into the high hall. While he had expected to see a large group of soldiers waiting to take flight, he only found four people on fliers. Luxa and Eisen were mounted side by side and behind them were two others. They appeared to be higher rank members of the army and not just the basic infantryman. There weren't many others to see them off. Gregor stood with Mareth and Vikus off to the side. It was just about time for them to leave.

Luxa looked over at Gregor, her face losing its hard edged anger. She cast him a smile before Aurora flashed her wings and was into the air. The other three bats followed suit and flew out over the city. Suddenly a cloud of fliers appeared behind them as the remainder of the men flew out behind them. They cloud vanished around a bend in the cavern and disappeared from view.

"Do not worry so terribly, Gregor," Mareth spoke as Gregor walked over to the balcony.

"I am not worried."

"You do a bad job at hiding it. There are many capable men and women with them, Gregor. Plenty to keep Luxa safe. Your skills are not always needed for every mission. Even Ripred does not go on every mission. There is time for you to make your mark and to prove yourself. Your training will make you invaluable when the time comes." Mareth kept talking, but Gregor stopped hearing when he was reminded Ripred was not going either. It just made his bad feeling in the pit of his stomach ache even more. Something as going to go wrong fast and he would be needed. He could just feel it.

Mareth left Gregor when he realized the younger man was not listening. Gregor had hoped for it. He needed to be alone to be able to sneak out of the palace. The high hall was empty and there was no one in any of the adjoining hallways. Gregor walked calmly through the halls to not draw attention to himself, as he walked to the armory. There was no way he was going to attack massive stingers without some kind of armor. He passed a few servants and a bed headed Hazard, who didn't stop long to talk. Apparently he had just woken up because the castle was so busy nobody bothered to wake him.

Gregor made it to the empty armory without any more stops and he slipped inside. The walls were adorned with armor and weapons of all sizes and colors. Suits of heavy plate stood low to the ground and lightweight leather hung closer to the ceiling. His attention was drawn to the armor in the middle. It consisted of a mixture of leather and metal and fit his mobility along with how much he was in the action. His eyes glanced along each piece looking for something that looked like it would fit. A shin guard looked about right, so he took it off its hooks and held to his shin.

"Can I help you?" came a voice from Gregor's right. Gregor jumped and dropped the guard onto his foot, metal side down. He hopped back, grabbing his foot and rubbing his toes. His head spun and looked at the woman standing in the doorway.

"Hi there, Miravet," he said casually.

"What are you doing in the armory? I was not told you were being armed or armored."

"Yea, I'm not. I came to look for what I could possibly wear when I do go into battle. It would be better to be prepared, then to waste possible precious minutes looking for proper armor." Gregor's answer sounded as dumb as dumb answers came. It had just blurted out of his mouth and he was mentally kicking himself. There wasn't a shot in the world Miravet would buy that.

"Yea, that seems logical. Come, I will help you," Miravet answered to Gregor's surprise. As she walked past him he caught the sly smirk that she had on her face. And then he felt that much better. The weight that he hadn't noticed fall over him was lifted. There was someone here that wanted him to go and wanted to help him. "What color would you like? Black like you used to wear or perhaps a red or white."

"Umm, red sounds good," Gregor stammered out, the question taking him by surprise. He took a few steps and was met with a measuring tape wrapping itself around his head. Miravet lifted his arms, measured his legs, checked his waist size, and measured his shoulders all without saying a word. She came back moment later with a set of armor, the metal black, but the leather a deep red. Almost blood red. Gregor loved it.

"Here you are. Tell me later if you like the armor," Miravet said as she placed the armor in his hands. She walked towards the exit and paused for just a moment. "If anyone asks I didn't help you." She left but not before giving Gregor a quick wink.

The armor fell out of his arms and clattered to the floor, missing his feet by inches. He picked up a shin guard and unstrapped it before placing it on. He pulled the straps tight around his boots and placed the other one on his other leg. It was a bit more difficult to get the chest armor on though. It strapped on both sides and was in two pieces. He worked the straps on one side so that it opened kind of like a book. He placed his body where he thought it was supposed to go and tried to pull the straps shut. By either luck or magic the straps pulled tight, and he buckled them in place. A pair of leather gloves had metal on the back to protect his knuckles and his forearms, so he pulled them on and tested his grip. It felt like his sword was trying to slide right out his hands. The gloves came off and his dagger came out. With a few quick strokes the gloves were fingerless just below the knuckles. He slid them back on and tried his grip again. It was perfect.

"Artemese!" Gregor shouted out over the city as loud as he could. His helmet was tucked under his arm as he tried to stay out of view of any passerby's. It would only seem a little odd to see a man in full armor standing and waiting for a flier. "Artemese, are you there?"

The loud flapping of wings told Gregor that the bat was nearby. He looked up and saw the purple bat fluttering down towards him, controlling his wings so as to not smack his friend in the face with them when he touched down.

"Overlander, how can I be of service?"

"You ready for a fight?" Gregor asked eager to get going, the anticipation dripping from his voice. Artemese noticed Gregor's armor then and he let out a bat laugh. "Huh huh huh. It seems we are heading off after the queen then. I was wondering how long it would take you."

Gregor climbed on and the pair took off, right as the soft sound of sandals on stone met his ears. Artemese shot off faster than he had ever seen the bat fly. They had cleared the city wall in less than half a minute and were zooming through caverns. "The stingers entered near crawler lands. It will take but an hour to reach our destination."

It was less than hour when the sounds of battle could be heard, filling the cavern. Gregor sat bolt upright coming to attention. He had been laying on his back looking up at the ceiling of the cavern, noticing cracks and crevices, hidden cave entrances, and massive stone columns that hung down dozens of feet. Now though he had his helmet on his head and both weapons in his hands.

It was not even a minute more when light started to illuminate the cavern. It was dim, but it allowed Gregor to see the battlefield below him without needing to echolocate. The fighting looked bad from above. There were twenty stingers like the scout reported, but only two of them lay dead. the rest were in the process of laying waste to the soldiers Eisen had brought. Gregor could see that the two dead stingers were near Eisen and his ever flashing sword. After a quick count of the dead he realized that there was less than half of the men still alive.

"Artemese, we gotta get down there and help. Fly wherever you feel comfortable. I'll just follow your lead." Artemese didn't respond in words, but with actions. He swooped down towards the nearest stinger which was about to crush a soldier. The bat flew low over the stinger and Gregor swiped his sword down towards the stingers pincer joint. The sword pierced the weak shell easy and sliced through the soft tissue beneath. The pincer fell from the body, but Gregor was already on the next target. All he saw were the joints of the stingers in his vision. His sword flashed and cut through three leg joints, dropping the next stinger to its side. A yellow-green blood gushed from the stumps and coated Gregor's sword.

Artemese kept darting from stinger to stinger, Gregor inflicting non mortal wounds to each insect. But it was becoming harder for Artemese to fly between the massive insects. The two had the element of surprise at first and that was gone now. Tails and their deadly stingers swung for them and Gregor had to go on the defensive to stop the deadly barbs from piercing him or his flier companion.

"Regroup, Artemese! Go up!" Gregor shouted as his rager sensation left his body. It was becoming too hectic to weave between the massive creatures. As Artemese flew to a safe height, Gregor inspected the damage he had done. Three more stingers lay dead and others were in the process as they were either without their weapons or were more or less immobilized due to several missing legs. "We can't fight like that anymore. One of us is going to get killed. Put me down and help however you can."

Artemese consented and flew down to just a few feet above the ground. Gregor leaped off and landed on the ground on all fours. Before he knew it a stinger was attacking him. The large tail came whipping over the stingers body, its sharp stinger flashing down. With the speed of a rager, Gregor side stepped and flashed his sword out. It clipped just below the stinger, cutting through the shell and into the poison gland. The stinger let out a hiss of pain and charged at Gregor, pincers open, ready to crush right through him. Gregor leaped up and landed on the pincer, scampering over and onto the stingers back. He sense the tail coming down and he threw his sword up to black it. His sword caught the foot long stinger right before it landed on his back. With his window open, he took his dagger and rammed it down into the shell, right above the eyes. The foot long blade went clean through down to the hilt. The stinger stopped struggling and collapsed dead. Gregor leaped off, drawing the blade out of stinger as he went and noticed that several of the eyes were bulging out of the head from the force of the blow.

The stingers numbers were dwindling, but so were the humans. He watched as a stinger went clean through a man's head, and his body lifted up and tossed over twenty feet away. A woman screamed in agony as her body was crushed clean in half when a stingers pincers got ahold of her. There were perhaps 10 humans left against the remaining 10 stingers. He whipped his head around and saw Eisen stick his sword right through a stingers face while inside the range of the tail. The tail fell away a mere foot from striking Eisen in the head. Make that 9 stingers.

Another stinger fell under an attack from four soldiers, one landing the final blow through the top of the shell as the others distracted the tail and pincers. Gregor brought himself back to the reality of the situation when he heard a hiss behind him. The largest stinger was moving towards him, and Eisen was running towards him as well. But Eisen was shouting something. Gregor pushed the other noise aside and listened.

"The queen is under attack!" Gregor heard and he turned to look at where Eisen was running. Luxa was facing a stinger almost as large as the one moving towards Gregor. And she was alone with her thin blade drawn. Gregor's feet started to pull him towards her the other stinger forgotten. His feet pounded along the blood soaked ground, his boots sticking and covered in the dust and grim. The hiss of the stinger was right behind him and he had one choice. He stopped spun and drew his left hand back. The dagger flew from his hand and spun towards the target. The blade passed between the pincers and sunk into the stingers face, right through one of the eyes. It dropped to the ground dead on the spot.

But Gregor hadn't waited to see what happened. As soon as the blade left his hand his feet were carrying him closer to his love. The sound of the battle was gone as his rager side took full control of his body, pushing him as hard as possible. Adrenaline started to flow even more than before as he felt his body accelerate even more. Then it happened.

The stinger's pincer knocked Luxa's sword from her hand. She was weaponless and had nothing to block the stinger's stinger as it whipped it down. Gregor was only a few feet away as the tail started its deadly path towards its target. Without thinking, he jumped and put his shoulder into the tail. It knocked it aside and it missed Luxa by inches. Gregor recovered and cut the tail clean in half, the stinger falling to the cavern floor. Quickly he jumped on the shelled creature and ran to the head. His sword sunk deep into the shell and flesh, going so deep it didn't budge when he tried to pull it free. He felt the stinger shudder as the blade pierced it. "that was close," Gregor thought as he looked at Luxa. He could see she was shaking from surviving death by mere inches.

"Hey, Luxa, you're alright now" Gregor said trying to calm her down. He looked and saw the last few stingers either dying or fleeing back out of the tunnel. Eisen plunged his sword into the last living stinger and realized that the encounter was over. And the humans had won. He returned his attention to Luxa and he saw her pointing behind him.

"Gregor, look out!" she shouted, her voice coming back to her. He had just enough time to turn his head before the half of the stingers tail still connected to the body slammed into his left side right on the ribs. He flew to the right and slammed into the cavern wall. His head ached and he could feel blood running down over his ear. He lifted his left arm to check his head and a sharp pain sent shocks through his body. He could tell his ribs weren't right. when he breathed he could feel them moving more than normal. They pushed out more than normal. But at least they weren't knocked out of place. His vision started to blur from the pain in his head. It kept escalating and was reaching a point where it would be unbearable.

A hand rested against his cheek and turned his head. Gregor could barely make out anything, but he did see Eisen stabbing the stingers corpse several times in fury. A pair of purple irises locked onto his and a mouth moved, but he never heard the words as he lost consciousness.

Well that was fun, right? Nice bit of action at both the beginning and the end of the chapter. So what do you guys think of it? Leave a review.

Question: What will be the first thing Gregor sees when he wakes up?