Warwick watched Malroth and Lily with annoyance in his eyes as they hunted for some stupid fish when Moonbrooke was in trouble. He was about to harp at them more when Lily was nearly pulled from her position. Had it not been for Malroth holding onto her with an arm wrapped around her middle, the builder would have been pulled into the rushing waters beneath them. "Did you catch it?!"

Lily was reeling in as fast as she could, giving it slack when the fish fought back harder, then resumed her reeling as Malroth began to move backwards, pulling Lily away from the ledge. The two fell backwards, eyes wide as Lily hugged a giant red and blue fish. "We did it! We did it! Gillian is gonna be in shock!"

"That thing is fucking huge." Malroth gasped, watching as Lily opened her pouch. "Wait- won't it just… die in there?"

"No, no. I have pockets full of water in here that I've been storing the fish in." Lily laughed as she looked back at Malroth.

"Next you'll tell us you have mountains in there, too." Warwick deadpanned, glaring down at the builder.

"Yeah…? I could rebuild Moonbrooke ten times over with the shit I got in here." She shrugged, leaving the two boys to gawk at the tiny pouch on her hip as she climbed her way back up to the bridge and waited for them. "Any day, please! It's colder than a witches britches up here!"

"What's a witch?" Malroth mumbled as he climbed by Warwick.

The three changed back to powie yowie's before they took too much more damage from the cold, only for Lily to freeze in her tracks. "That's a… a…"

"Troll." Malroth snarled as he stood behind Lily, his fury body bristling as he stared at the giant monster inside of the tower they were headed towards. He gave her a little push, urging her forward. "C'mon, we'll trick these cobweb brained idiots and then make our way out, just like we always have."

Lily made a small noise but led the way into the tower, they hadn't made it very far when the green troll looked up from his club. "I not know you… you new guards? Rumor say tricksy humans transform into monsters and sneak around sneakily – like sneaks! If you see any friends acting funny, you tell me." He grinned at them as he picked at his club. "That's if you survive to tell tale. You so super-puny, even puny humans could beat you! Gur, hur, hur, hurrr!"

"I'd rather be puny than pug-ugly. Come on, you overgrown bogey, out with it: what's the Scare Force's biggest weakness?" Malroth growled next to Lily, meeting the deadly gaze of the troll.

Lily gave a worried look to Malroth, wishing he'd let her do the talking, but the troll leaned down, snarling at Malroth. "Weakness no secret. Their weakness cold! That why we guard super chilly treasure here for them. Make sure no tricksy human find it!" The troll looked back at a chest that was just on the stairs above them. "But why you ask about weakness? Me think you very fishy…" He leaned back, letting out a rumbling laugh. "Me see who are you really! Oi, you!" He pointed to one of the smaller monsters, saliva flying out of his mouth as he let out a roar. "Bring the shiny!"

"Yeth, thir! Right away, thir!" The gremlin closest to them quickly fluttered away, only to come back with a very familiar mirror.

"By the devil…" Warwick gasped, throwing his arms up to shield his face as the mirror shined bright in their faces.

"Graaaaaargh! You tricksy humans?!" The troll jumped back from them, snarling at the trio.

"Dammit!" Lily looked down, panic catching in her throat as she stared at her human body. She looked up, seeing the giant club coming down for her head. She fell backwards when a body hit hers and suddenly Malroth was standing in front of her, his club holding off the trolls. "Mal!" As quick as she could, Lily scrambled to her feet and pulled out her sword, eyes narrowing on the monsters that surrounded them.

The two worked together with such ferocity that Warwick had to stop and stare for a moment. They took out the troll with ease, and then Lily was running at Malroth, getting ready for their big attack. Warwick looked over, seeing the skeleton and the gremlin in front of him, the last two monsters. The attack was meant for this space. He jumped away from the skeleton and behind the pillar, protecting himself from the bone splitting hit that Lily and Malroth achieved.

"That wasn't so hard." Malroth purred as Warwick slowly peered around the pillar. "Why did we bother with all that sneaking around in the first place?" He shrugged, frowning when he looked over, seeing Ra's mirror on the ground nearby. "I guess we did learn one thing, though. Somehow, they got Ra's mirror, how in the hell did they get their grubby mitts on it?"

"You entrusted it to Anessa, didn't you, Lily?" Warwick stepped out from behind the pillar, a stern frown on his lips. "Then my suspicions are true… though it pains me to say it…" He walked over to them, hanging his head in regret. "The spy in Moonbrooke castle – the human among us whose allegiances lie with the monsters – it must be Anessa."

"Say what?!" Malroth gawked at Warwick, giving off a nervous laugh. "You can't be serious."

"How else could the monsters have Ra's mirror in their possession? She must have told them where she had hidden it, if she didn't simply hand it over to them herself." Warwick rubbed his arms as if trying to warm himself against the cold air that ran through the tower. "I have had my doubts about Anessa for some time now. I volunteered to join you on this mission in the hope of finding proof of her subterfuge."

Lily walked over to the mirror, picking it up. She glanced back at Warwick and Malroth, seeing the frowns on their faces. "We should talk to her, I'm sure there's a good explanation of this-"

"Will you hold off, actually? I don't want to spook her, nor the townsfolk. Give me some time to formulate a plan?" Warwick pleaded with the builder as she walked up the stairs and grabbed four small crystals from the chest.


Lily and Malroth once again stood at the top of the gates, watching as the soldiers placed the last few bricks of the blueprint. Lily glanced over when Anessa joined them, a warm smile on the soldiers face. "Excellent work as always, Lily. I hope these contraptions finish our foes off quickly." She looked out beyond the fortifications though, her eyes growing sad. "However, I fear the Scare Force will not be the last enemy we have to face. There are more of them out there, I feel it."

Malroth gave a small nod, agreeing with Anessa's assessment. Anessa turned back to Lily, holding her hand out for Lily to shake. "We may never win this war, but we can still fight. Together."

Malroth crossed his arms over his chest when Lily shook Anessa's hand. He leaned into Lily, his lips against her ear as he whispered. "Lily, do you really think that she's in league-"

"Is everything quite alright, you two?" Anessa frowned as she pulled her hand away from Lily's. "I would rather you not look at me so askance. If there's something you want to say, just come out and say it."

"Ness… I need to know. Where did you put the-" Lily started, only for her words to be cut off by a rumbling that would have sent her to her ass had Malroth not been there.

"Lily…" Malroth let out a rumbling growl, an eagerness in those dangerously red eyes. He looked down at her, an odd look on his face. "Before we give the fight of our lives… don't take this the wrong way, Lils, but all those gizmos you've invented, they're incredible… really…" He was barely able to hold back the throaty growl in his throat as he spoke. "But when it comes to actually clobbering these monsters, that's my job. If you think these contraptions of yours can replace me, you've got another thing coming." He stepped away from her and towards the edge of the wall, his eyes narrowing on the field beneath him. "I'm sick of everyone tiptoeing around me, treating me like I'm worthless. It makes me want to smash shit to smithereens! Lucky for you, that's what I'm good at!"

Lily's jaw was slack as she watched him jump down and run out into the field to wait for the Scare Force. "Who the fuck told you all that?!" Her hands balled into fists as she looked down, seeing Warwick watching her from the signal fire, a grin on his lips. She choked back the pathetic whimper that started to leave her when she looked at Malroth's back, watching that stupid club swing in the air. "Have I really been making you feel that way? I just… wanted to keep you safe…"


Even with all of the contraptions, the people of Moonbrooke still had to double down to get rid of the robotic monsters. Esther was having a hard time keeping up healing those that needed it, even with the help of the newer cleric recruits. Lily wobbled on her feet, feeling the effects of blood loss due to the gnarly gash on her arm and back where a robot had caught her off guard.

"Not bad, Builder! Not bad at all! But how will you fare when I cast Kaboom and turn your little castle to ashes?!" Lily looked around, eyes narrowing as she waited for the stupid Archdemon to show himself. She turned, looking back at the people of Moonbrooke. The look on their faces told her she needed to run, to get away from the spot she was in. A blazing heat scorched her back as the ground trembled beneath her feet. "What say you, Builder? Think you can handle this heat?"

"LIIILYYYYY!" Malroth burst away from the group of fighters that had backed away to catch their breath, his breath was coming so hard and hot that Lily could see if rushing from his nostrils. His club dragged along the ground as he ran at Lily and the monster behind her. When he pushed off the ground, spinning in the air and down towards Lily and the beast, she tumbled away, colliding with the wall that surrounded their battlefield.

Lily risked looking back, seeing Malroth taking the Archdemon on by himself for a moment, giving more hits than he was receiving, and then Zara was fighting alongside him, which encouraged other soldiers to join in. Lily tried to roll over, but Anessa was suddenly blocking the view of the fight. "No, Lily, we need to get you patched up, my friend." The soldier carefully lifted Lily off the ground and trotted back towards the castle, a tightness in her shoulders as she let Esther and another cleric lead the way into the medicine room so they could help the builder.


A week had passed since the battle with the Archdemon and everyone was in high spirits, but those spirits seemed bittersweet to Lily. She sat at the table in the kitchen, one arm in a sling as it was still healing from the hard battle and a good majority of her body was bruised or had new cuts. She glanced over as Esther brought her a bowl of soldier's stew, a smile on her face. "I'm glad you're up and moving around, my lamb."

"It's all thanks to you, your healing kept me from-"

"The Goddess seems to have a plan for you, my lamb, I was just a vessel in which she urged that plan forward." Esther kissed the top of Lily's head, grinning at the builder. "I saw Malroth training with the others yesterday, that's good."

"Yeah, that fight… while he still scares them, that fight helped solidify the fact that he's on our side. He's even been dealing with Warwick better, which was the most surprising." Lily shrugged, a sharp whimper leaving her when she did. "I never had my arm in a sling in Furrowfield."

The two looked up when the door opened and Warwick stepped in, he paused, giving them a warm smile. "Esther, Lily. I'm glad you're up and moving. That means we're even closer to seeing everyone's dreams come true. I doubted your power of creation, Lily, when we first met. But with you on our side, my dream – everyone's dreams – I think will come to fruition." He held up a hand, his eyes squinting as he let out a harsh sneeze that left him shaking his head.

"Oh, my!" Esther let out a small laugh as she shook her head. "Gesundheit, Warwick."

Lily dropped her spoon, eyes wide as she shoved herself up from the table. She let out a weak cough, as if she were trying to dislodge something that was choking her up. The taste of magic stirred in her belly as she gripped her head, panting as panic loomed over her.

"Lily."

Something clicked in her head when Warwick said her name and her entire being relaxed. "I'm okay, sorry."

"I was going to say, His Majesty has a favor to ask of your creative powers. There is something he'd like for you to build." Warwick reached out, a hand on Lily's elbow to help steady her. "He asks you to build a dungeon beneath the castle grounds. We may soon need to use it… Perhaps in the hidden storeroom below the garden?" He looked her over, touching the arm that was in the makeshift sling. "Lily, I think you tore a stitch." He gave Esther a solemn look as he helped guide Lily to the priestess. "Would you see her taken care of? Perhaps she could use one of the vials the King has prepared for her?"


Malroth sat next to Lily as she got her stitches fixed, she seemed quiet; more so than normal, as she sat there with a pout on her lips. "I won't lie, Lils. I should be happy, now that the Hargon Zeroes have been dealt with… but I've got a funny feeling things are about to take a turn for the worse…" He leaned back against the wall, his head making a solid 'thump' noise. "Do you have a gut feeling right now?"

"Hmm." Lily gasped when Esther smacked at her hand when she went to move the arm that was being worked on. "Well, no… we just have to keep looking forward, taking everything one step at a time."

Esther looked between the two friends as she finished up the last stitch on Lily's arm. "There, all finished. No more using that arm to push yourself up. Do I need to wrap it more so you can't move it?"

"No, no. I promise I'll be good, Sister."


Malroth stretched his arms over his head, his spine popping in all the right places as he moved. He looked around the room, not seeing or hearing Lily. He gave a frown but shrugged some, perhaps she was getting cleaned up, she hadn't been able to clean up properly since the fight like the rest of them had since the fight against the Scare Force. He hopped onto the bed, grabbing the old magic tomb that Lily had found months back when she had cleaned out that old wizard room down beneath the garden.

The writing in it was small and rather sloppy, forcing Malroth to squint and pull the book in close to actually read it. He flipped through a few pages, looking at the hastily drawn things in there, none of them made a lick of sense to him. Though, there was one that appeared to be a wicked looking sword, he'd have to ask Lily about that one when she came to lay down.

Malroth's eyes fluttered open some time later, he hadn't remembered falling asleep, but that stupid old book had been boring, and it had made him tired. His eyes slowly adjusted to the faint torch light in the room, his heart stopped for a moment when he realized there was something on his wrists and thick metal bars before him. He jerked on the manacles on his wrists, snarling out of surprise when his shoulders protested to the sudden movement. "Where's Lily?!"

"Around." Warwick was sitting on the stairs the led down to the new dungeon, his emotions neutral as he stood up and walked to the cell. "You're too dangerous, Malroth. You'll hurt her and everyone around her. Besides, I can't have you getting in the way."

Malroth struggled against the manacles, but some form of magic kept him from breaking the chains that bound him. "LIL-YYYYY!"

"Why would she come down here? To see you?" Warwick gave a cruel chuckle as he slid his hands into his pockets as he turned to go back up the stairs. "She's the one that built this for you, you idiot."

Malroth stared at Warwick, body numb as the blue haired male left him alone in that damned cell. "You little bitch! If you touch her… I will rip you limb…

from fucking limb!"

Warwick shut the door behind him as he slid into the small workshop, a hand brushing the soft black and blonde hair from Lily's face, frowning at the tears the welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Lily… Anessa convinced His Majesty that he's too dangerous to walk free, and I… I cannot refuse a direct command from my King."