Thea followed Clemiticus, attempting to make as little noise as possible. For they had begun their important mission of stealth. The task was no easy feat. With a bard that never shuts up and a sarcastic red fairy who refuses to stop arguing, the secret mission seemed dangerously close to failure.

“Come on. Melly is about to enter the city,” Thea whispered, exasperated. “We will get spotted if you two don’t shut up!”

Clemiticus chuckled while Skittles looked disapprovingly at the young town planner.

“The defences are nothing but proximity beacons and deaf stone guards.” Skittles explained.

Thea stared back at the fairy, confused. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” she asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be sneaking in?”

Clemiticus nodded. “Like ninjas!”

Thea shook her head. “Ninjas are invisible and don’t make sounds.”

Clemiticus took a moment to think it over, then corrected, “Ninjas who are loud and easily spotted.”

“In other words, not ninjas,” Thea said.

“Precisely! Ninjas that aren’t ninjas. Non-ninjas!”

“Could we, for the love of Fanswald stop saying ninjas?” Derrick shouted, clearly irritated.

“Sorry,” Clem said, looking guilty.

The dwarf let out a breath of annoyance and turned to the high, impregnable walls.

“So where are we entering through again?” Derrick asked.

Skittles looked left, then right. Pointing to a rocky outcrop in the walls the red fairy directed them towards the servant’s entrance on the eastern edge. This was the only sure route to enter the city undetected.

“It gets rarely used, but there is a steel door that way,” Skittles explained.

“Steel?” Derrick asked. “You didn’t tell us it was made of steel!”

“You didn’t ask!”

Derrick shouted a string of dwarven curse words before Thea put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, I think it will be ok!” she said.

Clemiticus smiled.

“Town planner and demolition expert!” he said cheerfully. “Sounds like a plan!”

Derrick remained unconvinced. He twisted his multi-tool in his grip and stared at the fairy in suspicion.

They made their way semi-sneakily towards the wall under the shadow of the magical ship. As soon as they lost sight of the vessel over the walls, an alarm signal boomed. From above, Melly’s shouted orders and a barrage of cannon balls shot into the city streets.

“Alright, that sounds like its go time!” Clem said.

They all ran for the steel door. The climb up to the servant’s entrance was covered in large, loose rocks. Presumably from being discarded after its construction. This made the climb even more tedious yet the trio made it to the top, with not too much difficulty.

“Ok Thea you 're up!” Clem said as they arrived at the steel door.

It seemed to be as thick as the wall itself. However, Thea knew looks could be deceiving. She approached the door and pressed her fingertips over its surface. It was cold to the touch and looked almost new. Even though the Queen was supposed to be their mortal enemy, Thea couldn’t help but admire her style in architecture.

Her mind shifted as she gathered her thoughts. Okay, this feels like it won’t be thicker than the walls so it should just fit.

“Ok, I think I got this!” Thea said, grinning.

“Can you make a lock pick?” asked Derrick.

“Going to blow it up with a turret?” Clem suggested.

Thea shook her head. “Let’s go with door number three!”

“And that is?” Clem looked confused.

“Your favourite, Loot!” She said, laughing then commanded, “Select item steel door, add to inventory!”

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The steel door instantly vanished from sight revealing the open passage into the city.

Clemiticus burst out cackling and said, “That’s cheating!”

“Hey!” Thea called out, offended.

“You’re one to talk,” added Derrick. Giving the bard a look of disapproval.

Clemiticus shrugged. “Fair game.”

“Shall we?” Thea asked, gesturing to the opening.

“Seriously, you guys are bat shit crazy!” Skittles commented.

Clemiticus shook the red fairy’s cage. “And don’t you forget it!”

Thea felt giddy. The door had been just as thick as Thea estimated. Judging by the hole that was now in the wall, it was slightly under a foot thick. An excellent piece of steel she could definitely use later.

As the trio moved through the threshold, they spotted the distracted forces now aiming spears into the sky. They were bulky humanoid statues with only basic limbs. The only distinguishable features were that each of them housed a hand size red gem in their chest. Thea wasn’t impressed. Yes, they were stone warriors kind of like robots, however they had little moving parts and from what she could see they were extremely stupid.

Each time they threw a spear they didn’t recalibrate instead they kept on trying the same failed tactic over and over.

I would've made these things way smarter. Thea thought.

“Alright, this is when we run,” Clemiticus said. It sounded like he was finally taking the battle seriously. “We need to get all the way to the palace as soon as possible!”

Thea nodded.

Without another word, the bard took off sprinting in the wrong direction.

“Clem wrong!” Thea called out to him, then paused when Derrick held out a hand.

“Should we follow?” Thea asked.

The dwarf shook his head. “Let him go! We will run straight for the palace,” he said. The dwarf's eyes were determined. A fire had been lit within him and she knew it needed to burn.

“I’ve known Clem long enough to let the crazy fool to do whatever he wants. But that doesn’t mean we have to follow him!”

The dwarf then turned towards the palace. Thea knew the truth of it. With Clemiticuses’ crazy luck stat, she didn’t doubt that he would beat them to the castle. Derrick then sprinted with a speed no other dwarf could match.

Running through a courtyard behind him, Thea realised that none of the stone soldiers around them had noticed them. Even when Derrick pushed over a tower of them and even after they all smashed into pieces, not a single warrior turned in their direction.

Melly had taken their full focus, allowing the duo to cruise through the city with no major conflict. Derrick ahead took cheap shots at nearby soldiers that were in their way, easily smashing the gemstones on their chests. The stone warriors crumpled to the ground as the magic that controlled them dissipated.

The only danger came from Melly herself and her overzealous cannoneer team.

Luckily for the dynamic duo, they could clearly hear Melly’s commands from above, calling out each barrage ahead of time. The surrounding houses were empty without doors or furniture. They looked to be constructed just for show. This allowed for perfect cover.

Thea wondered as she ran past dozens of empty houses. Why is this place so empty? Are the homes for the stone warriors?

“Fire!” Melly shouted above.

Thea ducked in behind the dwarf into a large empty house just in time to dodge another cannon barrage.

Derrick poked his head out just as the dust wafted over the battlefield. Ahead was a narrow bridge high over a dark moat that led toward the central district of the city and the castle beyond.

The dwarf sprinted forward. Thea spared no thought as she followed. Far below the bridge was a mass of cold and dark water. Its surface rippled with the movement of something massive. She didn’t want to find out what it was. Clenching her teeth, she focused on her footing and following the dwarf, counting each step as she ran.

As she made it across the bridge, a shadow fell over the city.

Looking up, she spotted giant wings and red eyes. A stone dragon was fixated on their ship.

“Derrick!” she called out.

“I know!” he replied. “Keep going, Melly will handle it!”

The dwarf sounded confident but her intuition told her otherwise. The battle’s dial had just been turned up to eleven.

Thea searched her surroundings. Before them stood two rows of richly adorned villas. These too looked empty, yet incredibly fancy. What the hell is with this place? She thought.

It was if the entire city was one giant holiday resort but failed to bring in customers.

“Bloody hell!” Derrick swore.

Thea then saw what the dwarf was looking at. Their infuriatingly lucky bard was ahead of them barely sweating and looking far too calm.

“Where did you guys go?” Clem asked.

Thea pointed the way they had just came. The path was filled with utter destruction. Bodies of stone statues littered the floor and buildings crumbled from the barrage above. The Sound of battle and carnage still echoed from the other side of the bridge.

Both Thea and Derrick were covered in the grime and dust of their short yet harrowing journey.

Clemiticus pointed towards where he had just come from.

Thea swore.

There before them was a sign that read:

Inner city light rail.

The bard had taken a train.

“Seriously?” she asked, then glared at Derrick. “That’s the last time I follow you!”

Derrick attempted to give her an apology but couldn’t through his own breathlessness.

“Come on, slowpokes! Time to storm the castle!” Clemiticus said cheerfully.

As soon as he took another step into the inner-city, a red light flashed.

They had tripped a second proximity alarm.

“Uh oh!” Clem said.

The floor trembled and cracked open.

From the ground emerged a single massive stone guardian. It was far larger than any they had seen before. Instead of a head, the guardian bore a giant gemstone between its shoulders. Each arm was as thick as tree trunks wielding a long and dangerous spear in each hand.

“How are we going to break that thing?” Derrick asked, staring at the gemstone.

Clemiticus shrugged. “No clue.”

Thea rolled her eyes. She wasn’t in the mood for this.

“Step aside boys!” Thea called out.

She looked directly above the stone guardian and imagined building a house in the sky.

“Open inventory, select and place item: Steel Door!” she directed.

The door materialised far above them and without foundations or hinges the steel door fell.

They watched in silence as the giant guardian spun its weapons, ignoring the falling object above.

Crunch!

The dense weight of the door shattered the gem in an instant. A burst of red energy poured out of the stone as the enchantment failed and the guardian tumbled to the floor.

Derrick and Clemiticus shared a cautious look.

Thea turned, smiling at the others.

“Ah! I feel better now!”