Maria sat in the dungeon.

Not in a cell, no, across from one. Her leg was folded over one another, and she was slumped forward, held up only by her hand, from which her elbow pressed sharply and uncomfortably into her knee. Chariot was at the end of the torch-lit, stone corridor, speaking to one of the Berlington guards. He looked just as tired as the rest of them were, with bags under his eyes, and his helmet tucked under his arm. He was bent over a wooden table, scribbling ink onto a piece of parchment as he questioned Chariot.

Tanalia leaned against the wall beside Maria, resting one of her feet against it as she stayed with her arms folded. From the looks of it, she was sleeping, her eyes closed, and her chest rising and falling gently. Maybe she was just resting. That didn’t sound too bad. After such a long day, Maria was ready to sleep in until the sun went down again. She knew, however, that she was stuck here for the foreseeable future, until the report was finished, and they could leave.

“How much longer is this going to take?” Tanalia groaned.

Maria shrugged. The Oracle was slumped over in the cell across from Maria, watched over by two more Berlington guards. Bandages had been wrapped around the Oracle's head to shield his now empty eye sockets. Maria would admit that she still felt a tinge of guilt for what they did, more so burning down a church, seeing as that was directly her fault. However, she had overheard Chariot stressing that the Oracle had destroyed the church in his attempts to kill them. She hadn’t lied about Maria’s involvement, she just skewed the truth.

When the townspeople had snapped out of the spell, there was a lot of confusion on the street. Many Berlington guards came rushing over to the fire to assist with the chaos. Chariot was more than happy to explain to them everything that the Oracle had done, and seemed eager to get him transported to the nearest dungeon. Then there was the matter of Rynec. Maria had managed to pry the Oracle's crystal eyes from him while he was still unconscious, but while they waited with the crowd of people for the authorities to come over and assist with the Oracle, he slipped away. There was no trace of where he went, or what even happened. She figured he must have retreated before the Berlington guards arrived. A part of her deep down hoped to never see the boy again, but another part of her figured she might someday.

The guard over by Chariot muttered something illegible that caught Maria’s attention. He stood and walked away. Chariot soon the two, and sighed. “Alright, we’re allowed to talk to him now. They’ll be transporting him to the dungeon beneath the castle. He’s likely going to be tried for conspiring with an enemy of the region.”

“What’s the punishment?”

“Depends. If there’s substantial proof, a hanging. If not, he’ll likely be held in a cell until he grows old… well, older.”

Maria pursed her lips and stood up. She approached the cell, and the two Berlington guards stepped aside. They gave Maria a polite nod, before marching off down the hallway of cells and turning a corner to follow the guard who had previously left.

The Oracle was left alone with the three, separated only by a set of bars.

“Seriously, what were you thinking?” Maria asked.

“I already explained myself to you,” the Oracle said after a long pause, glancing away from them. “There’s no need to repeat it.”

“It doesn’t excuse what you did.”

“You are right. It does not. No answer I give you will.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Maria muttered. “Alright. Just make this easier on us. Where is he?”

“You know I cannot tell you that.”

“You absolutely can.”

“I would be betraying his trust.”

“Like how you betrayed the trust of the church?” Chariot growled. “All those people who came to see you believed in you to help guide them, and you tricked them to do your bidding. And for what?”

“So that I may serve the Ringleader as he had instructed. He did not simply give me that stuff out of the kindness of his heart. He is a man of riddles and games. He enjoys toying with those around him. That is what he needed from me. To toy with the people, and put them under a spell so that one day they would follow his commands.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He did not say.”

“I don’t believe you,” Tanalia said.

“Don’t believe me then. I am telling you the truth when I say he explained very little of his plan to me. I do know not how he intends to find the demon king's treasure, I just know that is his goal. Once he unlocks the map to the treasure, he will gain powers the likes of which the world prays to never see again.”

“How did you even warn him about us?” Maria asked.

“When I tried to observe him with my crystal eyes, everything was a blur. At least… he was. The world around him I could see as clearly as my own reflection in a mirror. He was somewhere, with the key. I saw flashes, visions of him obtaining it. You three were there, in a courtyard, with Eardwulf. I saw a glimpse of what he had done to him. In all my life I had never seen anyone hurt Eardwulf like that. The Ringleader was powerful before he had obtained the map to the demon king's treasure, but if he finds it, he would be unstoppable.”

“You know, for someone who doesn’t want to talk, you sure are talking a lot,” Tanalia said.

“I cannot reveal where he is to you. That would jeopardize him.”

“Rather than help us stop the rise of a new demon king, you would rather defend him and stay on his side?”

“I know the destructive power the demon king can bring upon this world. If ever he is to rise again, then it would surely spell doom for us all. He is already powerful. There is no stopping him. Back in that theater, after I left you, did you even stand a chance against him?”

Maria paused for a minute. “No.”

“Precisely. Eardwulf is a powerful spell caster. I have borne witness to a great number of his feats. If he was taken down so easily by someone like the Ringleader, then as I see it, we are, and will always be, on the losing side.”

“That still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense as to why you’re with him, rather than against him.”

“I made my choice. Accept it and move on.”

Chariot scoffed and took charge of the interrogation. “You mentioned that the demon king can rise again?”

“In spirit, yes. It was rumored that before the fall of the Moldark, he uttered a phrase, a message, something that no one has been able to decipher. Some theorize it to be a spell ensuring that one day he may return in spirit. We don’t know how, and we don’t know what would come of it— But I have foreseen the return of the demon king.”

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

“And now that you’re plan failed, help us stop the rise of the demon king,” Maria said.

The Oracle sat in abject silence, slowly turning his head to glance in their direction. “It would not benefit me to betray him.”

“Dude, you’re screwed either way. Do the right thing and help us save lives.”

The Oracle was again silent for a good long while. He sighed and shook his head. “After leaving the three of you at the Ringleader's hands, Horst brought me to the ringleader fortress.”

“He has a fortress?”

“No quite. North of Berlington is the ruins of Trumhere Fortress. Before the battle of Berlington, the demon king had seized the fort, and destroyed it in the process. It was a grand marvel when it stood tall, as large as a village, with towering stone walls. Now it is nothing more than a husk of its former self.”

“Trumhere Fortress?” Maria muttered and looked at Chariot. “Like the story of Trumehere, you told me?”

“Mhm. The fort was built in his honor.”

“Ah, I know what you’re talking about,” Yarina said. “The tale of the knight who had his chest caved in. You female knights wear front clip bras now because of it.”

Maria’s eyes widened. “Wait, that story was real?”

“Of course it was,” Chariot said. “Anyways, the siege of the fortress was swift. The demon king's army overwhelmed the soldiers inside, killing every one of them. It was merely a stepping stone to them.”

“Yes,” The Oracle said slowly. “And now The Ringleader has a camp settled in its ruins.”

“You said it was north?” Maria asked.

“A day ride.”

“It’s always a day’s ride,” Maria sighed. “It’s never an afternoon walk, it’s always a day.”

“Does he have any kind of army?” Chariot asked.

“Nothing human. Shadow Jesters, old soldiers from the demon king's army, and monsters roam the camp and surrounding fields.”

“I think we handled the Shadow Jesters easily,” Maria said. “So long as we assault his fort in the daytime, he can't summon them, right?”

“I have little experience with them,” Maria said. “I helped out a bit when they were constantly attacking the nearby villages of Oxfell, but yes, they only came out during the night.”

“Then we attack during the day. We’ll only have to worry about the soldiers then.”

“I’ve never done battle with the demon king's soldiers,” Chariot said.

“How many of them are there?” Tanalia asked the Oracle.

“I cannot say. Perhaps around seventy soldiers.”

“Wait,” Maria said. “If he has had soldiers all this time, why is he attacking the villages around Oxfell with Shadow Jesters? Why didn’t he send them to fetch the key for him?”

“The Ringleader is a man of games,” The Oracle explained. “He enjoys toying with his enemies, confusing them, playing games with them, using them to do his bidding. He has a small army at his disposal, but he would prefer to keep them guarding the fort, while he alone manipulates the world into doing exactly what they want. It’s more fun for him that way.”

“Sounds like he was just making it more complicated on himself,” Maria said.

“Maybe, but he revels in a challenge. While he spoke to me about using the minds of the people to spread chaos here in Berlington, he played a game of chess with me. He wanted me to read his mind, and predict his moves. It was the only time I could ever glimpse into his head, but even something as small as predicting the move of a single piece took energy from me.”

“We’ll be sure to give him a challenge this time,” Chariot said. “What about Horst? Where is he?”

“I do not know what has become of him. After the theater burned to the ground he fled. I haven’t heard of anything.”

“You can’t see him?”

The Oracle titled his head. “No… I cannot. Not anymore.”

“I mean when you had them, you didn’t think yo track him down.”

“It wasn’t my business. Besides, I was occupied with the people. If you do somehow find him, he won’t talk easy.”

“I don’t know, I was able to get him to open up to me pretty easily,” Tanalia said with a sly grin.

“The only other time I spoke to him was while we were at the Ringleaders fort. He was conversing with the Ringleader. I didn’t quite make it all out, but he mentioned something called the Sands of Time. The Ringleader is looking for it.”

Tanalia groaned. “He’s not satisfied with the map?”

“I don’t know why he wants it, but he’s looking for it.”

“You’re telling us that with your ability to see people’s past, present, and future, you never looking into Horst’s mind to learn more?”

“It was not my place to intrude. I needed the Ringleader to trust me. Poking around through his subordinate's heads would not have been a good look for me.”

“How would he even know if you found out more than you were supposed to?”

“He would have. Believe me.”

Maria sighed. Trumhere Fortress. Of course, she hadn’t heard of it, but hearing that it was so close by filled her with some sense of relief. The Ringleader was close by, they didn’t have to thankfully spend months tracking him down. But something was swelling in her gut, twisting her intestines into a knot. They were going to get their asses beat again. She knew it. From the sounds of it, getting to him alone was going to be a challenge. They had gotten stronger, but there were still only three of them. Against an army that size, she didn’t like the sounds of their odds.

“Thank you,” Chariot said the Oracle. “I think we’re done here.”

Maria nodded and turned away without saying another word to the old man. He only sat in silence, turning away from the three as they left.

“So, what’s our next move?” Tanalia asked. “If he has a small army there, then what chance do we stand?”

“Little,” Maria said. “I might have a plan though. We’re just going to need some help assaulting the fort.”

“I wouldn’t mind a little help,” Chariot said.

“Then I’ll message them, and see if they want to help us.” Maria opened her chat window.

Maria: Hey, are you still in Berlington?

As the three moved past the Berlington guards, they turned to the trio and nodded. “Are you finished with your lines of inquiry?” one of them asked.

“We are,” Chariot said. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course. If you don’t mind us asking, would you three happen to know anything about an incident at the church this morning?”

Chariot and Tanalia paused as Maria kept walking ahead.

“What incident?” Tanalia asked slowly.

“We had some reports of people attempting to break into that church. They apparently stole a carriage and drove it recklessly in an attempt to flee.”

Chariot was about to open her mouth before Tanalia grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her along. “Nope. We haven’t heard of anything like that. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re tired and need our rest.”

“Right. Good evening to you three.”

Chariot and Tanalia hurried along to catch up with Maria. Maria finally received a notification from her message window.

Irra: Why?

Maria: Are you?

Irra: Yes. Why?

Maria: Can we meet up? I need your help with something.

Irra: Can it be in the morning?

Maria: Sure. I’ll meet you in the guild hall for breakfast.

Irra: Fine.

“Alright, we’re meeting with Irra in the morning.”

“Irra?” Tanalia said. “Seriously?”

“She and her party can help us. We’ll talk to them more about it during breakfast. We just can’t tell them about… certain aspects of the quest.”

“You mean about you?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

“Speaking of you,” Tanalia said very, very slowly. “You said you would do anything I want for a night.”

“I… did. Now?”

“Mhm. Get washed up, and I’ll meet you back out on the streets.”

Chariot shook her head. “Whatever you two are doing, I don’t want any part in it. I’m going to bed as soon as I’m done washing up.”

Tanalia pats Chariot's shoulder. “You go ahead and go that. Maria and I are going on a little walk.”

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