Katrina Turned to look at Delmos. She had been waiting for nearly twenty minutes for him to finish his conversation with Captain Urik, and even her Cro’kan was getting bored enough to try and wander. They had reached their destination in only a week of hastened travel. Being mounted, and not having to worry about being attacked made for a much more pleasant trip. The village was called Vul Req, and it was where Koh had insisted that Illya, the daughter of the former Hego Agron, was being held captive.

Delmos finished his conversation with a salute, and rode up beside her holding a leather bag.

“About time, I almost left without you.” Katrina huffed.

“No, you didn’t.” He said with a grin.

“What’s that?” She asked, looking to what was in his hand.

“This.” He held it up, “Is a big bag of coins. Urik was kind enough to bribe us to keep our encounter with him secret.” He chuckled. “Looks like he wasn’t supposed to be returning so soon from the front.”

“That’ll come in handy.” Katrina shook her head. “Koh? Where to now?”

The spirit materialized on her lap and looked around the Cro’kan’s thick neck. “We must enter the village… she is at the manor of the lord here…”

“Alright then.” Katrina strode forward. “Let’s get this over with.”

The two approached the wall of the village slowly, but with the confidence of Sterion. These agents were apparently very cold, and dedicated entirely to their missions. Orange clad Volsung warriors saluted them as they approached, asking for their paperwork. Without a word, Delmos lifted the scroll with their king’s seal and the gates were opened to them without hesitation.

“Carry on, my Lords.” The guard said, bowing to them as they entered the village.

Delmos cursed under his breath as they passed the weary villagers, who looked to the dirt below them.

“They’re terrified of us.” He said, anger boiling over. “What are these Volsung bastards doing to them?”

“I don’t know, but it can’t be good.” Katrina shook her head and pressed forward. There wasn’t anything she could do for these people now, but she made a solemn promise to help them get their home back.

They rode slowly through the winding streets of the village, until they reached a large spiral structure near the center. Judging from the guards assembled around it, and the extravagance not seen anywhere else in the village, Katrina guessed this was the Lord’s manor. The two of them halted their Cro’kan and gave them to several servants that approached. They strode up steps and up to several guards who looked less than happy to have been interrupted from whatever menial task they were doing.

“Papers.” One of them said, bluntly.

Delmos pulled the scroll with the King’s seal on it out of his bag and grabbed the cloak of the guard. “Is this how you greet your betters?” He shoved the guard, and spat on the ground. “We have been sent here by the King himself, and you insult us with such a disrespectful greeting?”

The guards around bowed their heads, fixing their wrinkled and unkempt uniforms and armor. “My apologies my Lord!” The Dae scrambled, “It has been some time since we received anyone of importance here, please forgive us.”

“I don’t care for your excuses, fool. Tell the Lord of this village that Sterion have come to see them. And hurry, we’ve been on the road for days and have little patience.” Delmos crossed his arms and waited, while the guards stumbled to enter the structure. Several minutes passed, and finally a servant came out to retrieve them. They were led up several flights of stairs, and found themselves before a large study. Within was a beautiful Dae, who sat behind a large desk with statues and scrolls sprawled across it. She stood and bowed her head slightly as they entered.

“Good day my Lord and Lady, I am Lady Vurllia of House Morri, the Lady of this quiet little village, Vul Req. How may I be of service to the King’s agents?”

Delmos turned his head to the servant behind him and glared. “Leave us, and close the door.”

The servant hesitated for a moment, glancing to Vurllia who seemed calm, but also startled by the sudden request. Vurllia nodded in agreement, and the servant left, closing the door behind her.

“It’s been some time Vurllia.” Delmos said, looking to her, grinning. “You don’t recognize a member of House Regios?”

“I don’t… what are you…?” She squinted, looking closely at Delmos’ face. “Delmos?” She asked.

“In the flesh.” He bowed

“What…? How have you…? This is impossible, how are you here right now? In the middle of enemy territory! Disguised as a damned Sterion!?” Vurllia sputtered, and sat down in her large chair, letting out a long breath.

“None of that is important now.” He said, “What is, however, is Illya. We know you have her.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Illya?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “How did you know that?”

“Let’s just say I have insider information.” Delmos pointed to Katrina, who let her own disguise fade away.

Vurllia’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. “A… Spirit-Sent…? We… oh my…”

“I know this is a lot to take in, Vurllia, but we don’t have much time. We’ve come to get her out of here” Delmos stepped forward. “You are welcome to come with us, by the way. Before the Volsung could blink, you’d be far out of their reach. You could travel with us to Vul De Mar.”

“I appreciate the offer Delmos, but I can’t leave my people here.” Vurllia clenched her fists on the table. “The Volsung are cruel taskmasters.”

“Is it like this in Vul De Rah?” Katrina asked, fearing the worst.

Vurllia smiled at her. “No, I was there to meet with several Rexunii officials last week. They seem to be treating the people of Vul De Rah with respect, so long as they swear allegiance to Rexun and the new coalition. I heard it was due to the council of Lord Reku… eh, King Reku now I suppose. The Rexunii are much more accommodating to our people than these savages here.”

“Robert…” Katrina said, hatred clear in her voice.

“Never mind that.” Delmos interrupted them. “Can you bring Illya out? We should really get going.”

Vurllia stood and walked past them out the door of the study. Several more minutes passed, and thudded steps could be heard as Illya ran into the room and skid to a halt before the two.

“Kat! Delmos!” She yelled, tears in her eyes. She ran towards them and hugged them both in a bone breaking embrace. “I thought you were all dead! By the spirits, you came back for me!”

“Sure.” Delmos said, struggling to get out of her grip.

“It’s good to see you’re alright Illya.” Katrina said, tears forming in her eyes.

After a long minute of emotional sobbing from Illya, she pulled away and sat against the wall on a couch.

“How’d you get out, Illya?” Katrina asked, “When we got overrun, I thought you were in the Palace.”

Illya sniffed, and wiped tears of joy from her eyes while she answered. “They were ordered not to kill any nobles, only assemble us for the Rexunii. I was with Vurllia, who said I was her daughter, back from the Libreos of Artistry in Baa’Yega. She’s still there of course, keeping far away from this madness.”

“No one recognized you? You didn’t come across Robert? Or anyone?” Katrina sat down next to her and hugged her.

“No, I was mostly hidden by the nobility here… I owe them all so much…” Illya rested her head on Katrina’s shoulder, still fighting back tears. “I thought I was all alone… I didn’t think I could go on…”

“We’re here now.” Delmos said confidently. “We’re going to get you back to Boros. It’s going to be a long trip though, so I hope you’re ready for sleeping under the stars for a while.”

“Anything is better than living under the heel of these savages.” Illya sat up straight and looked at both of them. “I met… Alektor… well, not face to face, but I saw him.” She took a moment to calm herself, then continued. “The man who killed Oros… who destroyed everything I love, is in Vul De Rah. And I will do anything to get as far away from that monster as I possibly can.”

“Wait.” Katrina said in disbelief. “King Alektor is here, The king of Rexun?”

Illya nodded slowly. “He’s here… living in my father’s… in our palace.”

Katrina could see the rage in her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to kill that man.

“Delmos.” Katrina said, resolve on her face.

“No.” he shook his head. “Don’t even think about it, Kat.”

“Why not?” She spat, “That son of a bitch deserves to die for what he did.”

“Because that son of a whatever you just said, killed Oros! The strongest warrior in Vul De Rah besides Agron. And then he killed him too! You think he’s just going to sit there and let you kill him?”

“He won't see me coming, Delmos.” She said,

“Wait, Kat.” Illya pleaded. “You can’t be serious. Trust me, I would love to see him dead for what he did to us, but it just isn’t possible. He’s far too dangerous, and you don’t exactly blend in.”

Katrina smirked, then closed her eyes, letting her power flow over her. Again, she took the appearance of a Dae woman, and Illya was left stunned.

“That’s… something.” She said, at a loss for words. “When did you learn to do that!?”

“It’s a human thing… eh, I think.” Katrina looked again to Delmos, who was standing with his arms crossed.

“Still no.”

“I don’t need your permission, Delmos.” Katrina turned to Illya, “Go get Vurllia, we need to figure this out.”

“Kat.” Delmos took a deep breath, calming himself. “I like you; I really do. But you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes. If you travel to Vul De Rah, to kill Alektor, you will be putting us all at risk. How is Illya going to be reunited with her brother? This is nothing but a fantasy, and I do not recommend it.”

“Katrina thought for several seconds, then looked him in his yellow eyes. They seemed more tired and weary than she had ever noticed before. “Delmos, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You saved my life at the Palace, helped nurse me back to health, and have been a good friend. Which is why I’m doing this, myself.”

Delmos scoffed and shook his head. “You are so stubborn.”

“This is as close as I’m going to get to him if I go with you to Vul De Mar. I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror knowing that people are dying every day because of him. Our people are suffering, at the hands of monsters, Delmos.” Katrina realized that she referred to them as ‘our’ people, and knew that, that is how she truly felt. She was a part of this world now, and was fully invested in the people she had come to love and respect. “I’m going… I have to do this.”

Vurllia stepped in from outside the room. “I couldn’t help but to hear your… conversation… please forgive me, but I must agree with the Spirit-Sent. I am not sure of the King’s level of power, but if there is any hope at all to end this… well, it would be to kill him.”

Delmos shook his head again, his face donning a weary and irritated look.

“If he is killed, the entire coalition would fall into chaos.” Vurllia continued, “As far as I can gather, some of the clan leaders are vying for power. Alektor only ascended to High King because of how he put this all together. With him gone, there would be infighting and that would pave the way for an adequate counterattack.”

“Yes.” Katrina agreed.

“That still requires you to go in there and do it.” Delmos said, “That’s the part I’m not keen on, of course they would crumble if he fell. I just don’t want you to go and get yourself killed.”

“Delmos.” Katrina walked over to him and put her hands on his face, cupping his cheeks. “You’re a good man, and I’m in your debt, a hundredfold.” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his forehead. “But I’m going to do this, and you need to get Illya back to her brother.”

Several tedious seconds passed as Delmos contemplated. “Kat...” He sighed, “Only the forehead? I’m sure I deserve better than that.”

Katrina chuckled and stepped away, looking to Vurllia. “Can you get me into the city?” She asked.

“Yes, we can leave right away.” Vurllia said, as she clasped Katrina’s hands. “Our hopes are with you.”