"Wallace, perhaps now that you've got a handle on magic, I could teach you something about drawing," Valentine observed.

That got a laugh out of the table, despite the imminent crisis, and I sighed in exasperation.

I pointed to the map as I'd copied it into our communications books, "Hey, it gets the point across okay," I insisted, "We've got the three major cities here, and all the rest stops we know about, along with the mountain range and its passes. This here is the hotel, on top of the chunk of foundation, on top of the hill. Northwest is the little castle type thing that represents the dungeon theme park, and northeast from the hotel is the village with its palisade and thatched huts."

"What's this one here?" Cassius asked, "It's just a big question mark."

"When we first arrived, Wallace and I spotted a campfire in the distance," Val explained, "It was high enough that it must have been just within the mouth of the pass to Caniforma."

"So there's another rest stop on this side of the mountains?"

"Probably," I agreed, "I don't know how close it is to the village, though. Just remember, the map is more about the links between each rest stop than it is the actual distance between each one. The question mark and the village look close, but they're probably a couple of days away from each other."

"Once we know more I shall update the map to be more comprehensible," Valentine promised.

"Hey, this started as your map," I retorted, "If there's any issues with comprehensibility-"

"Children, please," Phoebe cut in, "The map is sufficient for our needs, let us deal with the matter at hand?"

"Right," I grimaced, "Cassius, how quickly can you put together a ramp down? It doesn't need to be fancy. We just need a way to get Regina down to ground level."

The sphinx raised an eyebrow, "Am I to go with you, then?"

"I wasn't aware we'd decided to go anywhere," Phoebe noted.

"We can't afford to sit around and wait for things to happen to us. The Baroness was a manageable problem as long as she was isolated, and we knew where she was. But not only have we lost track of her, she's also well positioned to take both the village and the Prince's little hangout. If she does that, she'll suddenly be a hell of a lot less manageable."

"Not to mention that Temerity would be required to go through us if she wanted to strike at the Baroness," Val added.

"We need to go after her before she can get comfortable. It's bad enough with the Prince running the village, suddenly adding two dozen soldiers to the mix is not going to make life easier for us."

"A dozen and a half," Phoebe clarified, "And she's short a knight."

Felicity glanced nervously between Phoebe and me, "Who's all going?"

It was something I'd given quite some thought. I'd be going obviously, physically only Regina was anywhere close to a match for me, and my magical talents were coming along nicely. I was also mostly in charge, and someone would need to be present to make the final call on what to do about Constance.

I knew Val would react poorly to being left behind, but that wasn't why she was coming. Aside from respectable magical abilities and her general handiness with a gun, she was politically savvy, and that alone was worth having.

Regina was a fucking tank, and the only reason we weren't leaving immediately was to have her join us.

Even with them short six soldiers, as Phoebe had pointed out, that still meant they outnumbered us by a significant margin. I hoped to avoid a fight, but we needed to be ready for one, and that meant bringing Regina.

Amity was her own sort of dangerous in a brawl, what with all the retractable claws, but she was also our only medic. Valentine had returned from Parabuteo with more healing ointment, but it only did so much. The ointment aided recovery, but one had to be alive to recover, and that's where Amity came in.

I'd not seen it for myself, but from what Val had told me and what I saw of the way Phoebe carried herself, I trusted she could handle herself in a fight. She was likely our most skilled spellcaster as well, and magic was one of the few areas where we were better positioned than the Baroness.

Finally, there was Cassius and Felicity, who would be staying behind.

Even if I didn't have my doubts about Felicity's abilities, she was nervous enough to be a liability regardless. We needed to be ready to go in hard. If we were constantly looking over our shoulders to make sure Felicity was keeping up and hadn't gotten scared, then we'd only get hurt.

Cassius would be staying behind for much the same reason. If we couldn't count on him to be willing to shoot to kill, then he had to stay.

"You and Cassius are staying," I told the tattooed elf, "I'll leave you the battle rifle, the rest of us are going as soon as we can safely get Regina out of the base."

Regina tilted her head side to side, "If you judge it necessary, I would be willing to take the risk," she offered, "It is likely I could endure the drop without too much injury."

I shook my head, "And if you did get hurt, we'd be even worse off than we are now. I won't ask you to do that, Regina. We'll get some version of Cassius' ramp built, then we go. Not before."

"Uh, so I get the ramp thing," Cassius began, "But maybe I should go with you? I bet it'd help a lot to have another gun along."

I frowned and opened my mouth to speak, but Val interrupted before I could get a word in.

"Perhaps the rest of us begin preparations for our journey," she suggested, "And the two of you can hammer down the specifics."

"Yeah," Cassius nodded, "Yeah, that'd be great."

I made an unconcerned gesture, "Sure."

The others rose quickly, ready to attack their tasks. Only Regina appeared at all unsure of herself, but Amity was quick to swoop in, and in short order, the two were striding away with purpose.

Realizing what Val had done, I turned to Cassius and gave voice to my suspicion, "You haven't talked to Rohesia, have you?"

Cassius leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table with his face in his hands, "No."

"Well..."

I mulled it over. On the one hand, I understood his situation was kinda fucked. Not that I knew how to get him out of it, relationships not being my strong suit. But on the other hand...

"Sorry buddy, but you're just gonna have to deal with it. There's a small army of soldiers running around our back yard, and I don't know where the hell they are or what the hell they're doing. I get that untangling your relationship issues will suck, but I've got other shit to focus on right now."

"Can't Felicity keep an eye on them?"

"Yeah, and watching her back will be you. It's bad enough I'm leaving just the two of you here, or four I guess. I can't also expect Felicity to defend the place while she's busy trying to babysit."

"And what am I supposed to do if someone does come along?"

"Tell them to fuck off, and if they don't fuck off, shoot at them until they fuck off. You don't need to kill anyone, but you do need to do a convincing job of almost killing them. Just make sure to save the brass if you do use the rifle, Amity says she might be able to reload some cartridges for us down the line."

He jerked his chin at me, "Is that it? You don't think I'm a hard enough dude to shoot someone?"

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"I think you'll find it a lot easier to make that call if you're defending yourself than if we're out hunting down the Baroness," I admitted.

Cassius pounded his fist on the table, "Well yeah. It's not a fucking game, man. It's pretty normal to think that it's fucked up to dome a guy when he's just minding his own business."

"I'm not disagreeing with you. You're right, it's normal," I agreed, "The rest of them are used to this kind of thing. They grew up in a kill-or-be-killed world. Hell, Phoebe and Val went looking for it. I don't expect a university student from Oakland to suddenly become a hardened killer. Stay here, do nerd things, let the rest of us handle this."

"But you're cool with this?" He demanded, "I've been living the rustic life for a couple of years now, you haven't even made it a couple of months, and suddenly you're the fucking iceman?"

I shrugged, "I've known for a while that I'm not exactly normal. You're a good guy, Cassius. You shouldn't be in any rush to go get more blood on your hands."

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Spurred on by the sudden urgency, and willing to spend the extra hours needed, if only to keep away from Rohesia, Cassius had a finalized design for us by late that afternoon.

With Regina keeping watch from atop the hotel, the rest of us worked below to fell trees so that Val could drag them back with the truck. We drew only from those trees not within the hotel's safe area, as they were renewed on a nearly daily basis by the mists.

The ramp would be parallel to the wall, though not built against it. The gap between the ramp and the wall would be about as wide as the ramp itself.

With the slope parallel to the wall rather than pointed away, potential enemies wouldn't be able to use the ramp itself as cover as they approached. It also meant a hard right turn as they reached the landing and then went to cross the drawbridge, hopefully complicating the use of rams and the like.

Not that we were going to build the drawbridge any time soon. By that evening we had enough lumber to get started, and got as far as using Move Earth to dig in the foundation before we stopped for the night.

Even Val didn't have the energy for after dinner shenanigans. Instead, the little fey curled up next to me, kissed me good night, and passed out.

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The next two days were no easier than those that had come before. We rotated people through jobs as much as we could, hoping that a little variety would make it a little less miserable, but it was still hard labour at the end of the day. Even magic could only assist so much, as every log used for spells instead of construction was one more we had to collect.

We worked through Dark Even' and late into Last Light, stopping long after the sun had gone down. It was far from complete. Made up of a series of logs cut to size and laid lengthwise it wasn't at all smooth. The truck might have been able to make it up despite that, but would never make it across what stood in for the drawbridge. Cassius had some plans for a more permanent solution, but at the moment all we had was a single log that had been cut down the middle and then glued back together with Shape Plant to form a rough bridge about three feet across.

Thirty feet off the ground, just the idea of walking across it scared the hell out of me, but Regina didn't hesitate. Cassius and I had hardly laid it down when Regina tested it with a paw and having decided it was acceptable, bounded across and down the ramp. Though the sun had gone down hours prior, she was joined immediately by Amity, and the two chased each other around until Regina was exhausted and Amity needed a recharge.

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We rose late into the false-morning of The Long Night, and Amity took care to ensure that we all ate our fill. Particularly Regina, who she delighted in feeding by hand. Regina, for her part, played it off well. Somehow appearing not like an overgrown pet, fed from the dinner table, but more akin to royalty, lounging back while a servant feeds them grapes.

With the morning meal done and provisions packed, we left Cassius and Felicity to contend with the village girls and clambered into the truck.

The cab at least was three across, so Val, Phoebe, and Amity didn't have too much trouble. Phoebe and Amity were larger than most men, so they were a little short of elbow room, but they at least fit.

Not so much the case for Regina and I, who felt like a couple of salmon packed into a sardine can.

I sat with my back against the cab, and an arm swung over the roof. While the six-foot bed was just long enough for Regina to lay down in, so long as she didn't mind her paws hanging over the tailgate. Pressed in by Regina on one side and the side of the truck on the other, I was glad it was only for a few hours. If the time came to take a longer trip, we'd need to work something out.

We headed straight for the dungeon theme park, reasoning that if Baroness Constance were to stay anywhere, it would be there. The trip need not have been so long, the park only being an hour or so away even over rough ground. But we wanted to approach with stealth, which meant not turning on a pair of giant headlights to announce our presence.

Instead, Amity drove, using her sophisticated visual sensors to guide us by amplified starlight.

She drew to a stop in the dead ground behind a hill, distant enough for the engine noise not to carry, and close enough for us to walk the remaining distance.

We dismounted and gathered on the reverse slope to observe the theme park in the distance. Only a single building was illuminated, the rest of the fabricated town utterly dark. No lights seen through window curtains, and none of the sky-glow I'd expect to see if the street lights were on.

I realized, somewhat wryly, that the Baroness had received the hotel room she'd been hoping for when she'd first arrived on her doorstep. The single illuminated building was an inn. It was three stories, each of which jutted out a foot or two from the one below, and had a peaked roof.

A few months ago I would have leapt at the chance to vacation somewhere like this. Now though, doing it for real, it did not seem quite as exciting.

"Val, Phoebe, Amity, you three are the stealth team," I instructed, "Regina and I aren't sneaking anywhere, so we're going to walk right in the front door. If we can come to a peaceful arrangement, then great. Otherwise, you three will be ready to jump in when shit goes down."

"I mean no disrespect to Regina," Valentine began graciously, "But if the intention is diplomacy, then perhaps I should attend in her place. After all, I don't believe Regina is easy to notice when she is mindful of stealth. The village went months without catching so much as a glimpse of her."

"The giant speaks the truth," Regina intoned, "A town is a different matter than a forest. To say nothing of the difference between a handful of hungry peasants and several trained soldiers."

I nodded my agreement, "The plan is simple. As far as they know, Regina and I walked here, alone. We're here to talk with Constance, and Regina is my bodyguard. You three will only intervene if a fight breaks out. In which case we're going all in. They outnumber us three or four to one, so we've got no room to be gentle."

"Keep close to Amity. Make sure she has room to use the rifle. If you can, try to set up on the roof across the street. But the main thing is, don't get seen. If a peaceful solution is possible, I don't want that to go out the window if they spot you three skulking around."

"I'll keep them out of trouble," Amity promised.

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What began as a cool night breeze, gently rustling the leaves overhead, soured as the scent of death and decay crept into the air. It made the air feel hot and cloying despite the chill and ruined what had been, at least for the moment, a pleasant walk in the woods.

Regina was an enormous shadow beside me in the dark, and I kept a hand on her shoulder as she led me towards the source of the smell.

There were six more bodies, all elves, none of them female. As before, they'd been stripped of gear and weapons. Whoever had killed them had the same idea as ourselves, leaving the bodies in the low ground to be carried away by the tide.

"Thirteen remain?" Regina guessed.

"Maybe fewer," I murmured, and scribbled a short note for Val and the others, "Come on, let's circle to the side a bit. I don't want them knowing we came through this way."

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Regina and I made no attempt to hide as we reached the beginning of the cobblestones. I spied two men further down the road, but one of them held a torch, blinding them to us. So I lit one of my own, though the light mine gave off was magical, rather than the product of oil-soaked rags.

By the time I'd looked up from the torch and returned my gaze to the road before us, they already had their sights set on us and were fast approaching.

The two of us waited at the end of the street, and while I couldn't match Regina's look of regal condescension, I thought I pulled off 'bored and disinterested', pretty well.

We exchanged a few short words, and the guards led us to the inn. At a look from Regina, one of them rushed to open the door for us, and we ventured within.

Seated near the fire, with Prince Guillerme on her knee, was not the Baroness, but the bodyguard who'd accompanied her to our meeting.

She bounced him on her knee, and the Prince blushed as she stroked his hair.

"Lord Wallace," she beamed, "I don't believe I was properly introduced at our last meeting. I am Dame D'Amore, and I believe you've met the Prince already. You have something to say to Lord Wallace, don't you, your highness?"

She ruffled his hair, and the Prince seemed to shrink down a little.

"Ah, yes. I just wanted to apologize for my behaviour previous. I was disrespectful to you and your vassals. Furthermore, I hope you will convey my sincerest apologies and most heartfelt regrets to Charlotte."

"Her name is Amity."

"Yes, sorry, of course, Amity."

"And who might your companion be?"

I looked to Regina, using the motion to cover a glance around the room. None of the Prince's people were present, and aside from the Dame, there were five soldiers. Which left six soldiers and one Baroness unaccounted for.

"This is Regina. I believe the Prince is familiar with the stories of her by now."

"Well met, Regina."

"That remains to be seen."

"Not easily impressed, I see," Dame D'Amore noted, "No matter. The Prince has more than apologies to offer, doesn't he?"

She lowered her lips to his neck, and he nodded quickly, "Y-yes. Present the Baroness to Lord Wallace."

Two of the soldiers left, only to return a moment later with the Baroness. Stripped down to her shift, and hog-tied, they deposited her in front of me, squirming and grunting through her gag.

"Keep her as a pet or plaything, or give her to Temerity," Dame D'Amore offered, "She is yours to do with as you please. And there's one more thing, isn't there, your highness?"

"Yes, um-" the Prince stood, and the Dame slapped him lightly on his backside.

He strode forwards with what grace he could muster, and dropped to one knee, "Lord Wallace, I, Prince Guillerme, would swear fealty to you. I would swear to take your friends as my friends, your foes as my foes, and your cause as my cause. In gratitude for your protection, I would pay tribute, such that you desire, to provide for the rule of this land."

I saw only indifference in the soldiers standing nearby, and I supposed one liege lord was much like another so far as they were concerned.

Regina, I took to be equal parts wary and pleased, though she'd not taken her eyes off Dame D'Amore.

The Dame, still relaxing in her chair, regarded the kneeling Prince with quivering anticipation, though she fought to hide it.

The Prince, for his part, seemed to be entirely out of his depth. I found neither resentment nor rebelliousness in his features, and I judged his gesture of supplication to be genuine.

And then there was the Baroness. Half naked, bound and gagged, and laying at my feet. She fought against her bonds, but I saw the fear in those eyes.

Wow, Val will be disappointed she missed this.