The night before, Glyn and everyone else sits gathered in the dining room as Glyn holds out his King Piece. Everyone’s Pieces emerge as Glyn examines them. He looks at Miller and Mila as Mila nods. Miller holds his Pawn Piece towards Mila and it changes transforming into a Queen Piece.

“Wow!” Everyone yells out.

“So, what, we have two Queens?” Fiona asks.

Faye nods. “I want to be Queen next.”

“That’s not what’s happening. Right?” Miller says.

Glyn sighs. “No, you’re not a Queen. So you don’t have to worry about that, besides its only temporary, anyway.”

“So, what’s happening?” Mila asks.

Glyn smirks. “It’s a feature of the Pieces. Specifically, of the Pawn Pieces. Pawns are the weakest pieces one paper but like all the other pieces, they have their unique abilities.”

“Like changing shape?” Miller asks.

“Like borrowing power,” Glyn says.

Miller holds out his hand and flames burst from his fingertips. “This is….”

“Mila’s flames. Or at least a copy of them.”

Mila’s eyes widen as she stares into the flames before they fade away and Miller’s Piece returns to normal. “So I can copy Mila’s fire abilities?”

“Right. The Pawn Pieces can temporarily turn into the other Pieces. When transformed, you can copy the abilities of that person. For example, using the copy of the Queen Piece you can use a copy of Mila’s power. And the copies are weaker than the original.” Glyn explains.

Fiona stares at Mila. “So I can use your, huh? I always wanted to play around with some fire magic.”

“Before you do it randomly. It takes a lot of your own Mana to keep up the copied ability. Almost twice as much as it would for the original user. And if you use too much power, you’ll burn out of your Mana and end up in a state like me.”

“We’d pass out huh?” Miller asks staring at his Piece. “So why tell us this now?”

“I imagine most of my competitors would save such a tactic for later in the war. We’d be revealing our hand and what skills and abilities the higher ranked Pieces, alongside your abilities. But we don’t have much of a choice, considering how small our forces are.”

“This is kind of last minute, too. Would we be able to use this effectively?” Miller says.

“Think of it as a last resort. We can’t be sure what we’ll be up against. But one thing I know for sure is that Fenwick is going to throw a sizable force at us tomorrow. If we’re going to make it through this, our only option is to overpower them.”

“Trust me, we got that,” Fiona says.

“We won’t go down without a fight!” Faye says.

Tan nods. “We’ll try our hardest and fight with everything we’ve got.”

Otso nods. “Just worry about your part of the plan. If you were to lose in the end, despite everything, our efforts are for naught.”

“Otso’s right. Isn’t Glyn’s part of the plan more dangerous? At least we’ll have the home-field advantage.” Rufus says.

Ivar smirks. “This is a reckless plan, no matter what side of the plan you're on. But I guess it’s the only option we have.”

“Come on, everyone, we have to hold strong no matter what,” Sam says, turning to Miller. “Isn’t that right Captain?”

Miller takes in a breath. “Mila, Glyn, the two of you better not lose no matter what!”

“Of course, Brother!” Mila yells.

Tisha smirks. “I feel like we’re being ignored, Zanrit.”

Zanrit nods. “Yes, it feels quite lonely.”

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

Glyn smiles. “Come on, all of us have a pivotal role in this. So win or lose, let’s all try our best. Although I hope we win in the end just for my sanity.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll hold up on our end, just focus on what you need to do.” Miller says with a stern look on his face.

“Calm down Miller. I know I can count on you, especially with something like this. So Miller, win this battle. I know you can do it.”

In the present, Faye and Fiona run through the halls cutting down the mercenaries running through the manor. One mercenary throws out a fireball as Fiona runs ahead, swinging her ax. The wood on the ax grows around the blade as Fiona swings the sizeable chunk of wood, breaking through the fireball. Faye comes in from behind Fiona, swinging her claws and shooting out splinters that run through the mercenary, pinning him to a wall.

“That Elven magic is pretty fun to use,” Faye says.

Fiona nods. “I’ll have to thank that pointy-eared asshole when she gets back.”

As the two stand around, more mercenaries pack the halls with a pair of women in armor standing at the front of both groups.

“But first we’ll have to make sure we can get out of this mess,” Fiona says with a smile.

Faye laughs. “Let’s go wild!”

The two charge ahead, attacking both groups as arrows and magic fly out at them.

In the courtyard, Rufus runs around, being chased by two armored women as he struggles to avoid their attacks. As they come in close, he holds out his hand, throwing a fireball that knocks the two back.

“This is dangerous.” He says.

One woman charges in, swinging a sword toward him. But before the attack hits, Otso comes in and blocks the attack.

“Aren’t you supposed to be inside?” Otso asks.

“Sorry, I was running away from some mercenaries,” Rufus says, laughing.

Otso pushes the woman back as Ivar leaps in, knocking the other woman back. Ivar stares at Rufus and shakes his head.

“Go guard the supplies or something. If they steal our stuff, we’ll be in trouble.”

Rufus sighs. “Fine. This fight out here is getting too intense for someone like me.”

Otso nods. “Just stay safe, okay?” He runs off, leaving Rufus alone as Ivar joins him in returning to the fight.

Rufus sighs as a trio of mercenaries rush toward him. “I do wish they’d put more faith in me.”

He turns around and shoots out a fireball toward the mercenaries, knocking one back. He charges in below and knocks the other two onto the ground before running ahead.

“Although they might have a point in keeping me off of the battlefield.” He says, jogging ahead.

Elsewhere, Miller continues his battle with the Knights as they strike at him with incredible force. He counters them blow for blow with his burning sword, knocking them back, but slowly loses ground to their electricity-enhanced attacks. As the fire around his sword weakens, the pair notice and charge forward together, swinging their blades. Their swords collide with Miller being knocked back, but Luna rushes in, throwing a punch toward Miller’s face and forcing him into a wall.

The two stand over him as he catches his breath, forcing himself up as he tightens his grip on his sword.

“I’m impressed a pawn like yourself can keep up the fight against us for so long,” Mika says. “It’d be a shame to kill you, so how about you play nice and we take you as our doggy?”

Miller laughs. “Like I’d ever work for someone like Fenwick.”

“He’s not perfect, I’ll admit, but he’s someone worthy of taking the throne. That is what I believe in.” Luna says.

Mika laughs. “Do you think your Half-Elf is worth being king?”

“I’ve never left this island my whole life. I cannot speak on if someone is worthy enough to be a king or not. But I know one thing for sure: he is determined to accomplish his goal and I will see his determination through.”

“I can respect your resolve. But you’ve lost. Tell us where that Half-Elf is.”

Miller laughs. “I already did when we were engaged. He isn’t here.”

Mika’s eyes widen. “He’s not on the island.”

“Well, where would he go?. You don’t think?”

“That damned Elf.”

Miller laughs as he holds up his sword. “Glyn’s going to take down Fenwick with his own hands.”

“We’d like to see him try,” Mika says.

“We’re leaving. If the King isn’t here, we have no reason to be,” Luna says.

Miller grabs his sword. “I won’t let you.”

“Come on doggy, you're half dead. What can you do to us in your state?” Mika says with a grin on her face.

Luna nods. “You’ve proven yourself a powerful warrior. Just give it up. Your injuries are to... Wait, you're not injured at all.”

“What?”

Miller laughs. “Let me tell you a secret about my sword. It takes a lot of blood to use properly and even more to do this!”

He stabs his sword into the ground as burning metal spikes shoot out of the ground, knocking the pair back. Before they land, Tan and Sam come on smashing into the pair and knocking them to the ground.

The two join Miller as the three stand over them. “Welcome to Jubert Island. I hope you’ll enjoy your stay here because it’s going to be a long one!”

“This whole thing was a trap,” Mika says.

Luna laughs. “Fine. We’ll break our way out. A handful of Pawns are no match for all of us!”

“We’re not just Pawns,” Tan says.

Sam smirks. “We’re Pawns with a drive that’ll topple the strongest of Pieces.”

Miller laughs. “We have a mission to fulfill and until it’s done, we’re not backing down!”

Luna’s body explodes with electricity. “I could say the same thing.”

“Then let’s continue.” Miller holds out his sword as it bursts into flames. “I’ll keep going until I run out of blood.”

“And I’ll keep going until my body turns to ash!”

The two charge at each other again, swinging their blades and clashing as they draw toward each other. Tan and Sam rush towards Mika as she joins the fight as the fighting continues across the manor.

Elsewhere in the village, the Elder sits in his home tapping his cane against the ground.

“Such a reckless plan. Those young warriors.” He shakes his head as his tapping stops. “But I guess that’s the best you could do considering the circumstances. For their and our sakes, you’d best be safe out there, Glyn.”