Sofie didn’t answer him, drawing her knife and holding it towards the militia. They stumbled back, a show of cowardice that matched their lack of will to fight. Her eyes, however, were not on the militia but the kobold. Raazin, they had called themselves, and if all she had heard was true he was responsible for what was going on with Taevenburg. A sinister intent laid in those slitted eyes, one that she had promised to help silence.

Cameron had gone quiet for Maria, her brother having mentally exhausted both of them in his attempts to push back in front. A heavy breath and dazed mind kept her off focus, the feeling nearly enough to wish she hadn’t stopped her brother in the first place. Nearly, for she knew that such reckless rage would have been the death of them both.

“Well, are you gonna answer me?” Raazin asked Sofie. He walked away from Lucas and towards what was doubtless a makeshift residence for himself. A station with vials and other equipment Sofie didn’t recognize sat upon a table, a small bed to the right of it. “You are the one that entered my abode without permission. I think you owe me that much.”

“I’m pretty sure we owe you nothing,” Sofie told him. “Destroying the livelihood of an entire village, and going further in this virus that has affected the village youth,” She pointed her spear at the kobold. “All you need to know is that you stand before the Lord of Terror. You’ve wronged one of my companions, and I’m here to see you pay for doing so.”

Quiet filled the cavern, Sofie’s words bouncing off the walls. That echo faded away, but it was soon replaced by the quiet chuckling of one kobold. That chuckling turned into corpsing as Raazin found himself unable to hold in his laughter. Sofie wasn’t sure if the response was something she should be insulted by or not. Even before he spoke, she knew exactly what he was laughing at.

“You? You are the Lord of Terror that the Council of Peace fear so much?” Raazin asked. He did not give her time to answer. “If it is you then no wonder that damned council had such an easy time defeating your predecessors. You're built like a toothpick!”

Sofie did her best to keep herself calm, knowing this was not the time to let anger get the best of her. Unknown to the human girl who stood against him, he had some respect for that. Not a lot, but it was so rare to see one of the higher species keep calm from such a simple insult. He smirked, though none could see it under the robes save for Maria.

“Do you expect the Lord of Terror to be some mass of muscle?”

All attention turned to behind the militia, Sofie unable to see who it was that spoke but easily recognizing the voice. She smiled, watching Elenise effortlessly jump over the group of men, turning towards them as she landed. She drew her sword, her other hand holding a small ethereal orb similar to that of what Raazin had held earlier. The major difference being hers was pitch black glow. Sofie didn’t recognize it, but knew that it had to have been magical given what she saw the kobold do earlier.

“Do you think that all that is necessary to change the world is brute strength?” Elenise asked, continuing from where she was before making her presence known. “That alone would take down no one, especially not the Council of Peace.”

“I have no idea who she is, but I like this elf,” Cameron said, Maria giggling a little at her brother's words.

“Good to see you Elenise,” Sofie said. “How did you know we were here?”

“Harper and I might have eavesdropped on your conversation with the wyrmret earlier,” Elenise admitted. “Sorry about that, but it seems I was right about you walking into a bad situation. What exactly is going on here?”

“That kobold made a virus that is destroying Taevenburg’s crops. It also killed that man's kid,” Maria said, tilting her head towards Lucas, who was now standing but still gripping his shoulder. Elenise looked at the wyrmret’s in confusion, taken back by how different they sounded from earlier. “Name is Maria, the idiot Sofie was talking to earlier was my brother Cameron.”

“Wha- idiot!” Cameron cried out. Maria smirked at her brother’s reply.

“Sounds complicated, so I’m gonna just go with it,” Elenise replied. Sofie nodded in agreement. The elf turned to the kobold, her look turning sour as she thought about what Maria just told her. “Let me guess: you’re one of Falketh’s underlings, aren’t you?”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of my master,” Raazin said. “Yes, it is by his will that I carry this out. If the “higher species” refuse to grow, then what is wrong with wiping them out? Whether they said yes or no, their suffering is the will of the so called “lower races”.”

The words sounded too familiar, too disturbingly true to the world Sofie once called her own. For someone to see a childs murder as okay, for him to claim it to be someone elses will, was despicable.

As if to drive her heartrate through the roof, her mind recalled the messages that the Nazi’s blasted through Kiev. They had promised safety when no doubt secretly plotting the death of every Russian, Ukrianian, or other ethnic group who had called the city home. This wasn't exactly the same, but there were hints of that same line of thought in Raazin’s words.

“If that is how you think then it isn’t worth hearing anything more,” Sofie told the kobold, her voice showing hints of hatred. Maria and Elenise look at her with worry, only for Sofie to turn to the wyrmret with a look of determination on her face. “Maria, Raazin is yours. Elenise and I will take care of the militia and join you once they’ve been disarmed.”

“Real quick, one word of warning,” Elenise chimed in, eyes turning back to the militia who had braced themselves after Sofie’s words for the coming advance. “Kobolds have a mental link to the dragon they serve, and that means that Falketh will know if he dies.”

“Take out, but don’t kill then,” Maria said, able to figure out what Elenise was hinting at with relative ease. “Got it, but after what he did I’m gonna be rough on him.”

Raazin, despite hearing this, smirked and conjured the same orbs he had earlier, prepared for whatever the wyrmret did. She was not the one to strike first though, Sofie being caught off guard as Elenise suddenly vanished like a ghost. She reappeared behind one the four militiamen that had cornered her in, grabbing ahold of the shirt collar of one and practically throwing them behind her. They managed to stay on their feet, though it didn’t matter as Elenise found it easy enough to rip the spear from their hands and toss it into the river.

Not about to let the elf get overwhelmed, Sofie threw the spear she was holding to the side and charged forward. The militia man she targeted tried to strike as she closed in. Her pupils once again swallowed the whites of her eyes as it happened, the replication state activating once again. The sight unsettled the man she faced, one hand softening it’s hold of the spear as he stared at Sofie. Seeing her chance, Sofie followed Elenise’s example and, though it took far more force, managed to rip the spear from the man's hands.

With one gone, she turned to the other two… only to realize that they had disappeared from sight. She then watched as the man she took the spear from took a few steps back before running away. Her eyes turned back to normal, the cave suddenly feeling a lot less congested. Raazin ground their teeth together, the actions of the militia taking his focus off of his magic and causing the orbs to dissipate.

“Worthless,” He said. “Humans truly are worth-”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Having taken his eyes off of her, Maria launched herself at the kobold and grabbed him by the hood of his robe. Using her forward motion to her advantage, she tried to throw him to the ground. She only managed to cause Raazin to stumble back slightly, the kobold managing to pull away with only a small bit of his robe ripped apart. Spitting it out, Maria launched at him again, Raazin catching her by the snout and throwing her back across the river.

“Not gonna lie, was kind of hoping he was as incompetent as the militia,” Cameron said. “Guess he ain’t your standard kobold.”

Maria didn’t respond, instead getting straight back on her paws and attempting to launch herself at the kobold again. Instead, she let out a yelp. Her left wing had refused to follow her body. Looking back, she saw the true purpose of throwing her across the room. The gray orb that had frozen Lucas’ arm in place before now held her wing. Raazin had just caused her to tear the muscle connecting her wing to her back.

“Cam– Maria!” Sofie called out, rushing to the wyrmret’s side. The orb of magic removed itself from her wing. “You good?”

“Hurts like hell, think the muscle’s strained,” She told the Ukrainian, doing her best to get back up.

The sound of laughter brought all attention to Raazin, who looked as if they had gone insane. He held both hands out, gray orbs in each. Elenise grimaced from afar, knowing that any attempt to strike him would end up with one of their limbs being frozen in place. She doubted that her own magic would catch the kobold by surprise after revealing her cards against the militia. She swore under her breath at that realization.

“That is right, stay right fucking there,” Raazin said, snout pulled into a sinister smile. “I’ll give you credit, little dragon, for getting the jump on me. However, a human loving type like you is nothing compared to one of Falketh’s agents,” He didn’t notice as Sofie’s attention was drawn away from him and to his right. All his focus was on Maria. “I, Raazin, am just one of my kind planning the downfall of this country. No, of this continent! With the technology gifted to us by our master, we are invincible. You hear me? Invinc–”

The “invincible” kobold was cut off by a fist to the face, sending him to the ground and knocking him clean out. Maria looked to see who had done it, being greeted by a pissed off Lucas standing over the unconscious form of Raazin. He rubbed his shoulder, doing his best to smirk in the direction of Maria. Feeling a sudden nervousness and fear to talk, she forced Cameron into taking control of the body.

“Sis! You can’t jus- ow,” Cameron said. His words got cut off as he tried to stretch his wing, a tinge of pain erupting from the muscle’s around the bones connecting his wing to his back. “Okay, yeah, that is gonna need time to recover.”

“We’ll get it taken care of,” Sofie told him, doing her best to give a smile in comfort. “If Elenise is here then no doubt her husband is too, and as merchants I’m sure they have something we can use.”

Lucas turned back, picked up the unconscious kobold, and tossed it across the river in front of Sofie and Cameron. The Ukrainian and American looked at said kobold, and then to Lucas. Cameron was able to see the tears welling in his eyes, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the pain Lucas felt in his shoulder or from something else. He collapsed to his knees, Cameron moving to get up only for a hand to block his visage. He looked to see who it belonged to, finding the elf that Sofie had called Elenise standing above him. Cameron sighed, motioning for her to do whatever it was she was planning, and Elenise once again used her own magic to suddenly appear before the man's side. She placed a hand on his back.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Elenise told him. “I’m a victim of Falkreth’s hatred too. Nearly everyone I knew died because of the bastard,” She wrapped the hand that was on his back and pulled him in. “I’m sure your son is happy knowing what you have done today.”

“I doubt it,” Lucas said, gripping his pants with his fingers. “I’m the one that negotiated the deal with that damn lizard. I thought we had stopped him, that all we would have to do was suffer a shortage of crops and deal with the consequences,” The tears finally started to fall, head dipping forward as he cried. “Yet still I got my son killed, and likely more children in Taevenburg are gonna die now for what I did. How am I to… how am I…”

Lucas couldn’t finish what he was saying, his throat so overwhelmed with the wish to cry that he could speak no longer. He fell forward, Elenise’s arm falling off of him in the process. The way the man cried in front of her was an unfriendly reminder of her own experiences. Experiences that she had been able to push to the side and tell herself that she couldn’t change what had happened. Yet as she looked at Lucas that long dead wish returned to her mind, and she found herself nearly crying with him.

As if a sign from the Oracles, the watchers of worlds and history that were revered across Evra, Elenise suddenly felt a burning sensation in her hand. She gripped it close, turning the back of her palm towards her as she saw an ethereal chain manifest itself on her hand. She knew what it was, her eyes looking to the girl from another world that stood on the other side of the underground river. She smiled, knowing that now she had a legitimate chance to change things so that no one ever felt that pain again.

“Hey Lucas,” Cameron said, Elenise looking to see he had made his way over to them when she wasn’t looking. Judging by the grimace, the pain in his wing hadn’t gotten any better. “Oscar… is still alive.”

“Don’t try and fool me Cameron,” Lucas told the American. “I was the first one awake this morning. I went into his room, and I saw he wasn’t breathing,” He slammed a fist onto the cave surface, regretting it as he instantly grabbed his hand in pain. “He isn’t alive Cameron, you know it just as well as I do.”

“You remember how I came here right?” Cameron asked him. A spark of realization hit the man as the American continued to speak. “Well, if I’m here and Sofie is as well, then that means that this stuff is probably standard and we just don’t realize it. Obviously something went wrong with us in the resurrection process for my sister and myself. Something outside of my sister and I ending up in the same body,” He turned to Sofie, who tilted her head in confusion as to what Cameron was talking about. “The point is, while I can’t guarantee Oscar remembers, he is most definitely alive out there somewhere. He’s safe, and can’t be harmed again.”

Lucas allowed the thought to sift in his mind, still crying but oddly more calmed by what Cameron had said. The thought of never seeing his boy again still hurt, but the idea that he was safe and possibly didn’t remember the pain he suffered was strangely calming. It didn’t change the tears, the guilt, the sadness he had over the thought he was likely what led to his son's death, but it was an improvement.

That was all Cameron could ask for. He knew first hand that guilt wasn’t something one got over in a week or even a year. The feeling of one's pain and sorrow always tried to come back, and he had some that lived rent free in his own mind. Some that his sister hadn’t known until recently, and some that they both shared. If he could show someone a light at the end of it all – if he could help them just a little bit – he would be happy. Didn’t matter what body he was in.

“I… think I need some time to myself,” Lucas said.

Cameron nodded and looked to Elenise. Despite not knowing each other, she didn’t need words to know exactly what it was the American was thinking about. She got up and, before Cameron could stop, was picked up by her. The action sent waves of shame and dysphoria through him, barely able to stop himself from crying from an act that felt inhuman and wrong. He could feel his sister inwardly enjoying it too, which only made him feel worse.

“Sis, I think I’m gonna need some time too,” Cameron said, and just like his sister had done before, he shifted control to her before she could speak. Elenise looked down at the wyrmret, putting them down as she finished crossing the river.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked.

“I would say no but… my brother hasn’t exactly been the most thrilled to be in this body,” Maria said, giving a sorrowful smile to the elf. “There was no way you could have known, don’t feel bad. Though, we should probably focus on what to do about that piece of shit right there.”

Elenise, Maria, and Sofie all looked back to the kobold that lay knocked out before them. The wyrmret was right; leaving them unattended was not a good idea. Given he had been revealed for his misdeeds, Elenise knew that the undying loyalty of a Kobold to their master could only make things worse for Teavenburg. Sofie was the first of them to come up with a solution, and looked up at Elenise.

“Hey, you and Harper have any free rope on you?” Sofie asked the elf. Elenise nodded. “I’m heading to the capital. I’m sure that they would be happy to have a criminal brought to justice, and would hopefully give me a little more time than I expect I currently have to enjoy being here.”

Elenise gave a nod. “Yes, I should have some. Wait here and I’ll go get it.”

With that Elenise took off, not noticing that Maria had laid their eyes on her right hand before doing so. Elenise held it in front of her as she faded out of sight of Sofie and Maria, thinking how she was going to tell Harper. He would understand, she knew that, but there was that ever-present fear in her birthed by how her species had treated those who obtained the Sign of Fog.

She shook her head, refusing to remember the stories of what some had done because of said treatment.