Thea looked up as the Dragon let out a mighty roar. The hunters above fell as their mounts lost consciousness.

“Derrick!” Thea shouted.

“I know!”

Without another word, Thea ran and ripped her schematic book from her belt. She would have only one attempt and she needed to make it count. Flicking to the back of the book, she found what she was looking for.

Golden feathers shook violently as the Alicanto plummeted. The Mistress astride the beast, tried desperately to wake the poor creature. Thea was going to use these on the Queen but now she had no other choice.

Thea scanned over the page and commanded, “Install turret one: Ultra fan!”

A huge wooden gizmo whirled to life and faced upwards. Fan blades spun instantly, sending a torrent of air upwards.

“Install turret two: Net-o-Matic, target all surrounding villas!”

The second contraption shot out a wide net like a spiderweb. The corners of which plunged into the stone, fastening the ropes in place. The Net-o-Matic didn’t stop there and continued to fire net after net, securing the ropes each time it fired.

I hope this will do! Thea thought.

Unfortunately, Thea’s third turret would be useless in this situation. She crossed her fingers and looked over her handy work, hoping that it would be enough.

Mistress Maim kept trying to wake her golden bird but with no luck. Andy fell directly towards the nets and the Ultra Fan. Thea gasped as the first net ripped in half and the second tore from the wall.

“Keep firing you stupid thing!” Thea shouted.

The Net-o-Matic didn’t need instructions. It never stopped firing nets once it was summoned.

Andy fell as net after net wrapped around him, clinging desperately to the surrounding buildings. The animal companion was just about to hit the ground when its momentum finally decelerated, then stopped a foot above the ground.

“Thank the gods!” Mistress Maim said with a shaking voice.

Thea let out a sigh of relief, then looked over to see if Derrick had the same result.

The tinkering dwarf stood laughing with his arms crossed at his handy work. Brian, however, wasn’t so pleased. A large dwarven-enhanced trampoline stood underneath the unconscious form of the bouncing Wolpertinger. The poor creature was continually springing up and down with an exasperated hunter hanging on helplessly.

Clemiticus looked between the two successful rescues, then pointed towards Derrick.

“He wins!” Clem said.

Thea scrunched up her nose. “Bull crap! Mines safer! Derrick’s looks like it's going to kill them!”

Clemiticus concentrated on the Wolpertinger, his head slowly turned up then down then up once more. Brian didn’t look happy at all.

“True, I might have to disqualify him.”

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“For what?” Derrick asked. “What are we playing?”

Thea shrugged. “No idea.”

They turned to Clemiticus for an answer and of course; he gave no explanation. Instead, he pointed towards the castle and shouted, “Onwards to victory!”

“Whatever mate!” Derrick said as they followed the over enthusiastic bard.

They left the poor hunters in a somewhat safe state, then ventured to climb the steps of the ominous castle. Thea looked over the structure and guessed the style looked kind of Gothic. Flapping in the wind were two large red banners with dark symbols. They were fitted either side of wooden doors.

The Queen's favourite colour scheme, she presumed.

Clemiticus held the red fairy out in front of him, unceremoniously swinging the cage like a bell. The bard kicked the doors open and strode in. The hall was massive, with many doors on either side and alcoves between each. The marble floor was decorated with a long red and black carpet, while the walls were bare.

Above them hung dark chandeliers with onyx gems mixed with rubies. The Queen had a very particular style and taste.

What’s this woman’s deal? Thea wondered.

“Now this place looks like it’s got a bunch of loot!” he said eagerly.

The dazed fairy nodded, then said, “All you need to do is kill the Queen, and the loot is yours!”

Thea shook her head, confused.

“Wait,” she said slowly, trying to gather her thoughts, “Aren’t you the Queen’s fairy? Why would you tell us to kill the Queen?”

Clemiticuses’ expression turned suspicious. “Yeah, that sounds weird,” he said.

“She’s crazy!” Skittles said defensively. Looking desperate, it continued, “She made me do terrible things! She’s the evil Queen!”

“And that’s enough for a death sentence?” asked Thea.

“I thought we needed to confront her and defeat her!” Clemiticus added.

Skittles shook his head, then said, “No you must…”

“Fairy!” Clemiticus called out, interrupting the lesser apparition.

The other fairy appeared, then looked disapprovingly at its red counterpart.

“Yes, master?” asked Fairy. Its blue face looked eager to be helpful.

“Hey bud, can you tell us what we must do with this Queen quest thingy?” Clemiticus asked.

The fairy nodded, then recited, “The secret of the evil Queen! The rewards of this quest are rated as ascended Legendary. You will receive the sum of one million gold each after completion."

“You are currently on the quest chain: Confront the evil Queen. To do this, you must travel north and make peace with the Ocean Lord…”

“I think that means you Thea, so thanks!” Clem interrupted and bowed towards her. “Milord!”

Thea nodded. “You’re welcome?”

Fairy nodded then continued, “Secure a boat and sail over the great ocean and confront the Queen!"

“Ha, see confront, not kill!” Thea said.

“No, no. no!” the red fairy said, looking very nervous. “You must kill!”

Clemiticus shook the cage as hard as he could.

“You are not listening silly fairy!” Clem shouted, “There’s no way that…”

Doors burst open, revealing the slender form of a woman with dark hair and a crown on her head.

“… We are killing the Queen!” he finished.

The red fairy smiled at its luck.

“You wish to kill the Queen?” the woman shouted. “You Godlings come to my house and threaten me, even here! The nerve! Skittles, what are you doing? Where have you been?”

“What’s a Godling?” Thea asked.

The Queen wore a tight black dress and black lace gloves with heels to match. She was pale, beautiful and looked to be in her thirties.

“Silence!” the queen shouted then threw her arms up. Statues all around the hall appeared from alcoves with glowing eyes. Each wielded a spear and wore thick steel armour covering their precious life-giving gems.

“Uh, oh!” Thea said.

“Hey! There seems to be a misunderstanding,” Clemiticus said. It was a feeble attempt to calm the woman. “You tell her Derrick!”

Derrick didn’t respond. He stood silently staring at the woman completely speechless.

“What do we do?” Thea asked. She took a step backwards, unsure of the situation.

“Nugget out of the way!” the Queen ordered.

“Nugget?” Clemiticus asked.

“See she is crazy! Kill her quickly!” Skittles yelled.

The Queen's eyes flashed dangerously. Simultaneously, the steel knights surrounding them raised their weapons and moved into formation.

“No one is killing anyone!” Thea yelled.

“Silence, Nugget!” the Queen shouted.

Thea turned to the dwarf and noticed he somehow looked strangely bashful. “What’s wrong?” she asked him.

Clemiticus turned and took one look at the dwarf then laughed.

“What so funny?” the Queen asked.

Just at that moment, Melly and Nuecus burst into the hall behind them. Thea turned to see the entrance was blocked by a giant floating blue head. Melly ran towards them and aimed her bow and the Thaumaturge his staff. The party had assembled.