In the Old Kingdom...

It was the late afternoon in the Old Kingdom. Quora and Fafnir sat in the king's lounge in the castle, discussing magicks over tea. A servant arrived with a platter of treats for the two, and the subject soon took a delightful turn. Tarts in various flavours were on offer, with fillings made of fruits, nuts, and berries from across Aveldan. Their smell was irresistibly sweet, but Quora wasn't sure what to think of the treats. Fafnir took a bite of a raspberry tart.

"You simply must try one, Qorrametz!" said Fafnir, "The shell crumbles, and the filling melts in your mouth. Wonderful things, these!"

Quora eyed a tart with a vibrant yellow filling with apprehension. A lemon tart, Fafnir told her - as if that helped; she had never heard of lemons before. Pressured by Fafnir's excitement, Quora slowly poked her finger into the yellow filling. She brought her finger to her mouth and lapped up the filling. Sweet, with a hint of sour. She shoved the rest of the tart into her mouth with dilated eyes. Quora nodded her approval.

"One way to try it, I guess!" Fafnir guffawed, "Let's have another one."

As if he had to ask.

Next, Quora eyed one of the raspberry tarts Fafnir was reaching for. She pushed his hand out of her way and shoved the tart into her mouth. When the flavour of raspberries glided on her tongue, her heightened sense of taste nearly made her head spin with delight.

"Oh, you." Fafnir shook his head, smiling.

"Fafnarok? Qorrametz? Are you there?"

Quora and Fafnir froze when they heard her voice - Moonfang was coming!

"It's Muunfareng," Fafnir whispered, "I'm supposed to be eating healthier! We'll never hear the end of it if she catches us eating these!"

Quora eyed the platter of tarts, "Quickly, we need to consume the evidence!"

"Good idea!"

Quora and Fafnir shoved tart after tart into their mouths. When they saw each other with faces messy with crumbs and cheeks stuffed with tarts, they noticed how silly they looked. They laughed, making the mess of crumbs worse.

Moonfang's face when she caught them giggling like this made it all worth it.

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Reminiscing about better days was the least Quora could do to distract her from her situation. Dreamford had promised a fun time slaughtering hobgoblins for her, but after a stroke of awful luck, she was stuck in Campbellton Gate's dark and dank dungeons with him. To make matters worse, Thedus had been thrown in the same cell, and the hobgoblins chained Quora, Dreamford, and Thedus's cuffs together, binding all three together by the wrists. There was only one way this could get any worse.

"So get this," joked Thedus, "The Beast of Myrellia, King Dreamford, and Myratel's Chosen walk into a bar. The bartender says: are you here to raze the bar?"

"Thedus, shut up." Quora and Dreamford had gotten used to replying in unison.

"I'm trying to devise a plan for us to escape this place," Dreamford said. "Your attempts to make light of our situation are appreciated, but kindly stow your jests."

Thedus pointed at Quora, "You mean...W-with her?! You know she's a huge, bloodthirsty monster, right?"

Quora grinned, "Is that any way to talk about a poor, defenceless woman? Your goddess must be proud. Is she here with you now? Tell her I said hi."

Thedus frowned, "Ah...She's, uh..."

"Not surprising." jabbed Quora.

Dreamford's head snapped up, and he pushed up his glasses with his wrists, "Enough, you two! As much as you'd like to murder each other, we must work together. Besides the case for Thedus, we don't know what Stragor plans to do with us, and it's best not to find out."

Thedus and Quora exchanged glares. With heavy sighs, they looked to Dreamford with anticipation.

"A good start, to be sure." said Dreamford, "Now, listen close..."

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A lone hobgoblin was patrolling the dungeons of Campbellton Gate, carrying a heavy blade. Its footsteps made no sound, which made it all the easier to hear the clattering of cell bars. Curious of the sound, the hobgoblin went to the cell where all three of Stragor's prisoners had been thrown and found the woman running her handcuffs against the bars to and fro. The hobgoblin stared at her, and she stared back as she kept at her rattling, the spangles on her clothes jingling as she went.

"I'm hungry!" the woman said in the most annoying and childish tone she could muster, "You have to feed me, or I'll tell Stragor!"

The hobgoblin continued staring, unmoving.

The woman raised her fists and started banging her cuffs on the cell bars, "Can't you hear me? Stupid! Goblins are so stupid!"

The shadowy creature hissed and reached into the cell and grabbed the woman by her wrist. She yanked back with unexpected strength, pulling the hobgoblin and smashing its helmed head against the bars. She grabbed the hobgoblin's wrist and continued shoving and pulling back and forth, repeatedly hitting the hobgoblin's head until it collapsed and dropped its heavy blade.

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"Excellent!" Thedus cheered and stood up, "Now we just-"

Quora picked up the hobgoblin's sword and held its edge to Thedus's throat. He glared at her stoically. He raised his cuffed fists and knocked the sword aside before rushing Quora and smashing his cuffs into her face. She yelped in pain and dropped the sword.

"Yeah, I'll be taking that," said Thedus, picking up the sword.

Quora's voice was nasally from Thedus's blow, "Damn you..."

"Qorr-" Dreamford corrected himself, "Quora, stop it. You performed admirably. Thedus, if you please."

"You got it!" Thedus said. He located the padlock holding the cell shut and slipped the sword through the bars until he could touch the blade to the lock's shackle. After a few awkward blows, the blade bit through the shackle and the lock clattered to the floor.

"Alright," said Thedus, "Now let's cut these chains."

Dreamford shook his head and noted the black metal their chains had been wrought from, "Adamantium. Incredibly tough metal that only exists in the Shadowsteppe. Simply put, we'll all be old by the time you cut one chain."

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Thedus nodded, "Then, how do we get these off?"

"Worry about that later," Quora said as she shoved past Thedus to kick the cell door open. Very satisfying.

Dreamford led the way out of the cell, noting his familiarity with his nation's architecture. When a hobgoblin rounded a corner and raised its sword, it was left to Thedus, who sidestepped its vertical cleave and held its sword down with his boot. Thedus tore into the creature with his sword, and it let out a shrill shriek as it died that echoed throughout the dungeons.

Thedus looked to the others, "Uhh..."

"That was unexpected..." Dreamford said, "We need to hurry."

Quora pried the hobgoblin's sword out of its hands, and the three rushed around the corner and through the halls of the dungeons until they came to a three-way split. In the darkness of each direction, they could already see the gleams of hobgoblin helms approaching them.

Dreamford shouted, "Left!"

Quora and Thedus charged down the left corridor with their blades raised, nearly dragging Dreamford behind them. Thedus expertly thrust his blade into a hobgoblin's chest before it could strike. Quora brutally smashed her blade into a hobgoblin's helm, leaving it a crumpled mess.

"Your edge placement's off," Thedus said to Quora.

"Who asked you?"

"Er, I just...Never mind," uttered Thedus. More hobgoblins were coming from the front; Dreamford called out more who were organizing and approaching from behind. Destroying the hobgoblins before them was all Thedus and Quora could do to avoid becoming surrounded, but more and more came on. Soon enough, the three were giving ground and being pressed back to back, with Dreamford turning away strikes with his armour and cuffs as best he could.

Quora was outraged at her situation. She had been fighting relatively well beside Thedus, but her swings had become desperate, wide, and unpredictable. Thedus had to back off and support Dreamford to avoid being cleaved in two. She made a horrible mess of the hobgoblins who dared approach.

I am not dying here...!

A shrill horn sounded from the ward outside. The shadowy hobgoblins pulled away from the three escapees, and suddenly the chaos in the hallway ended. A commotion could be heard outside, and a particular sound made Thedus perk up.

"...Barking?" asked Thedus, "It can't be..."

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In the ward...

"What is going on out there?!"

King Stragor had made Campbellton Gate into his forward base in Aveldan, with its keep as his quarters. When he heard the sound of smashing wood outside, he stormed out from the keep to investigate from up the inner battlements. He saw his goblins had gathered in a disorganized mob and were chasing something. It had grey, shaggy hair and a wagging tail. It barked at the goblins, apparently irritating the creatures to the point of pursuing it.

"A...A dog?!" shouted Stragor, "Bring it to me. I'll skin it for its audacity!"

The dog ran to one corner of the ward, barked at the goblins, and then ran away when they got too close. The goblins were unmindful of their surroundings in their pursuit, ripping tents and knocking over crates of supplies, ruining their contents. Stragor had seen quite enough. He brought up a horn made of umbrakamppos bone and blew into it. A horrible, screaming tone that rattled even the goblins and made the dog pause. Stragor leapt down to the ward and found the dog before him. He drew his wicked blade, the dog snarling defiantly at him.

"Nowhere left to run, you mangy thing." Stragor menaced, "My forces will arrive to block off all escape, and then I'll be free to-"

The dog barked loudly at Stragor and bolted between his legs and out of Campbellton Gate. Stragor lost his balance and fell on his behind. He groaned as he collected himself, only to find a mob of goblins crawling toward him.

"Stop!" Stragor commanded, "I command you to stop!"

Stragor felt the weight of his goblin horde as they trampled over him to get at the dog, his protests muffled beneath a mass of shadow.

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With the hobgoblins ordered to back away, Quora, Dreamford, and Thedus were all but free to exit the dungeons. They had come up the stairs and through a short hallway that led to the ward, where it seemed like a battle had occurred. It was almost night, and shredded tents, smashed crates, and barrels littered the ward, with hobgoblins wandering around and assessing the damage. Other hobgoblins dragged their lesser cousins back into the ward by the legs.

"This couldn't have been him..." Thedus said in disbelief.

Dreamford tilted his head, "Who?"

"Duster..." replied Thedus, "How did he find me out here..?"

A hobgoblin walked up to the three escapees. It tilted its head in curiosity but then returned to its task.

"I don't know who Duster is, but it appears he has saved our lives," Dreamford said, pushing up his glasses. "Come, we're nearly free, and these creatures seem distracted by this mess."

The three reached the gates, where King Stragor appeared to lie flattened. He struggled to sit up, and he saw the escapees before him. They raised their swords, but Stragor waved them down.

"Great, my outpost is ruined, and my prisoners managed to escape." lamented Stragor, "Including my trump card against Dreamford."

He stood up and sheathed his sword. "I do not care—slight setbacks. I will find a way through Dreamford's shield, and his kingdom will burn. I do not have the keys to your shackles, but you have proven resourceful enough. I'm certain you will think of something."

As he strode past Quora, he produced the Visions he had apparently confiscated and pressed it into her hands. As she discarded her sword and took the Visions, Stragor leaned and whispered into her ear.

"I know what you are. An alliance will benefit us both."

Quora watched Stragor stride into his ruined outpost. She felt a tug at her wrists and smiled darkly when she turned and followed Thedus and Dreamford.

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The three had put a reasonable distance between themselves and Campbellton Gate and found a wooded thicket to build a makeshift camp and sit down. Perhaps drawn by the fire, Duster, excitedly, managed to find and join them. The dog settled down by the fire after giving Thedus his share of kisses.

"I didn't imagine he'd come..." said Thedus.

"Are you not affiliated with Duster?" asked Dreamford.

Thedus shook his head, "No, he just...started following me one day."

Meanwhile, Quora was on her knees with Duster, giving him a well-deserved share of belly scratches. Duster was on his back, panting heavily and enjoying the attention.

"Who's a good boy? That's a good boy!" Quora's voice was low, "Who would let these idiots burn if it meant I had you? Ooh, yes, yes..."

Dreamford looked to Thedus, "Consider affiliation with him. He is clearly a good boy."

"Heh..." Thedus smiled as he watched Duster get lots and lots of love, "So...about these cuffs."

"My thief should find me soon." Quora said, smiling at Dreamford, "I will make him pick these locks."

"You called?"

As if on queue, Eramus stepped into the light of the fire. He looked perplexed when he saw everyone had been cuffed and chained together. His eyes widened when he saw King Dreamford.

"Whoa, uh..."

Quora cleared her throat to call attention to her cuffs, "He will do nothing. Eramus, get my cuffs off."

The thief obliged and got his lockpicks out. After a few moments, Quora was free and rubbing her sore wrists. He gestured to Thedus and Dreamford, but Quora shook her head.

"Hey, man, don't leave me like this!" Thedus pleaded, and Duster added a whimper to help make it convincing. Eramus shrugged and freed Thedus. He went and stood before Dreamford and closed his fist over his lockpicks.

"That is Tremulon at your hip." Dreamford said, "Though driven by Quora, you are complicit in stealing from me."

"That's right, milord." said Eramus with a grin, "And you're not getting free until you pardon me."

Dreamford grit his teeth and stood up, "You think you can negotiate with Dreamford's king?!"

Eramus nodded slowly, "If you could magick your way out of those, you would have already. So yes, I do think so."

Thedus looked at the negotiation with confusion, "Yeah...Duster and I are just going to go if that's fine."

Quora grabbed Thedus by the arm, "No, you can repay the thief by staying a little longer."

"But why would..." Thedus put two and two together regarding his blessing's effect on magic, "Oh..."

Eramus and Dreamford's negotiating continued, "I can reward you in other ways, but I am not above the law."

"Didn't you kill old Fafnir over a disagreement?" reminded Eramus, "With the laws I know, that puts you behind bars, but here you are. I don't think we observe the same laws, is what I'm getting at."

Dreamford let out an exasperated sigh, "You've made your point. I still cannot pardon you."

"Then you're stuck. Too bad." Eramus put away his lockpicks and went to Quora, who had released Thedus. Myratel's Chosen and Duster bade farewell and left the camp. Eramus produced the Circle of Onyx that he had been ordered to steal and showed it to Quora. She ordered him to stow the artifact and leave the camp. When Eramus was gone, Quora looked back at Dreamford with a wicked smile.

"Order him to free me, Qorrametz." Dreamford glowered.

Quora shook her head, "Adamantium is incredibly tough and known for its immunity to magick. Besides, you heard what he said."

"Do not embarrass me in front of my subjects."

Quora laughed, "You have done that yourself." she waved a hand and turned to leave, "Enjoy the walk home, Dremfrrdon."

She left the camp to join Eramus to the shouted protestations of Dreamford behind her. It was music to her ears.