Twist woke up with a start on the couch in the dining room with a blanket over him. He looked around and realized Tenacia wasn't here, then quickly got up and ran to the entrance room to find his friend, there Delphine was still hanging on the hat rack.

“Hey! Don’t leave me behind! That mutt left me behind to the docks! I don’t want to be doomed to an eternal damnation of reading to bratty kids!” she shouted.

“Oh I don’t know, reading to children sounds fun” Twist chuckled as he picked up Delphine and placed her over his hat again. He looked in a mirror next to the rack and wiped his face with his cape. Twist then turned and quickly strolled to the door that led to the docks, it was already open so he went right through.

The dock was one of only things made of wood around the Inn and the board creaked as Twist walked on it. He spied Tenacia talking with Abasi, next to the myrmeke was her sister Abarshi who held a wooden box. Twist noticed that Tenacia now had new some clothes: a dark blue tunic with blue slacks and a black traveler's cloak. She had spent some extra money from their work to redress, her old clothes being thoroughly dirty at this point. She was also assured by Abasi that this new set of clothes were all waterproof.

Next to them floating in the water was one of the larger regular boats, on closer look it was made of some sort of chitinous substance, almost as if the whole thing was a hollowed out cricket of some kind. It was long and low to the water and two pairs of oars stuck out of its side; it was like a big canoe.

“This baby will get you wherever you need to in Oshea” Abasi said proudly “Made from the armor of the great water hoppers! The oars are strong enough to be fast but designed to be easy to push! Where are you folk going?”

“To Fatana, then to Stygia” Twist said, tipping Delphine instead of his hat by accident, who then immediately growled at him.

“Ahh hello Twist! For doing such an excellent job at the rush, me and my sister are happy to impart some vital info: look for the ponaturi ruins, those little curs tried to wage war on the boggles of Stygia a long time ago and were beat back. The ruins of their military bases remain though and go right up to Stygia, one of which is just north of Fatana!”

“Why thank you for your generosity!” Twist exclaimed, his eyes flashing with joy.

“Heck yeah, you guys have been a major help!” Tenacia agreed “If we ever come back down, we’ll be sure to rest here”

“Don’t mention it, you guys have a safe trip!” Abasi said winking and walking off.

Abarshi tossed placed the crate in the boat “This vox contains enough rations to last you two for over a month. I do not understand why you need so much, but I will not question for customer confidentiality is an unwritten rule of the myrmeke.” She said, she turned to Twist “Twist, you are sure you do not wish to join my kitchen staff? You are merely a bit sloppy, your potential to be an amazing cook is high”

“Thank you again for the offer Abarshi, but I have vital things I need to do and my own goals for a job… But I have a sister who taught me everything I know I can recommend!”

Abarshi nodded in interest “Please do so when possible. Safe travels” Abarshi lowered herself into a sort of bow with all four of her legs bending, then she rose back up and went back to her inn.

Twist and Tenacia looked at the boat they purchased.

“Alright, ready to set sail… Or set oars as the case is?” Twist asked Tenacia.

Tenacia inhaled deeply and exhaled “Twist, I will level with ya… I hate water. It terrifies me”

“I had a hunch”

“Yeah so... So please forgive any sort of whining or screaming I might do”

“It is no problem! Your fears are valid, for indeed many horrible things dwell in Oshea’s waters” Twist said warmly, then he set foot on the boat and got in position to row. He took the rows near the boats back and right next to where the big bag of food sat.

“That was almost comforting” Tenacia said, chuckling nervously as she extended a leg to get into the boat slowly…. Very slowly.

“Get in the boat!” Delphine shouted.

Tenacia gave a little “Eep!” fell over into the boat, causing it to sway back and forth. She grasped the rows near the front of the boat.

“Want me to be the only one to row Tenacia?” Twist asked with raised eyebrows.

Tenacia corrected herself and grabbed the oars she was near.

“Nope! We both row, that will get us outta here faster”

Twist smiled and nodded. The began to row.

They hit the dock.

“Sorry! Wrong direction!” Twist said.

“Hey I did it too, no prob!” Tenacia laughed.

“I hate you both” Delphine growled.

The rowers reversed the direction they were rowing, now going away from the Inn and dock.

Below them and the waters of Oshea, Lionel and Klamka walked through an especially damp and foggy cavern, the grumbling sound of water could be heard above, and the cavern sparkled with water droplets.

“Makes me wish we could stop to do some sightseeing” Lionel remarked.

“Shut up Lionel, We need to move. We can’t let our targets get any more of a lead” Klamka quickly replied.

Lionel looked at Klamka in concern. After Twist and Tenacia had gotten away, with Twist stealing Klamka’s bombs as an extra kick in the teeth, she was more fervent than ever to get them. They had been traveling non-stop without rests. Lionel wanted to take a load off, but most of all he was worried for Klamka.

“Princess, we may want to rest here. Its peaceful and we got plenty of fresh water”

“We need to keep moving. We must find the noctav and half-dwarf”

“And what do we do when we reach them and we are exhausted? We lucked out last time since we had a slime. As much as they’ve been running from us, they are dangerous fighters. We gotta make sure we are in tip-top shape”

“Shut up Lionel” Klamka hissed, giving him a wide-eyed glare behind her helmet, then she continued her march.

Lionel sighed, and continued to follow Klamka.

Twist and Tenacia kept up the rowing for several minutes, though eventually Twist’s arms got severely tired.

Tenacia looked behind her when she heard his labored breathing “You can leave all the rowing to me Twist, my arms could use a good exercise anyway” Tenacia told Twist, noticing the noctav’s fur was drenched with sweat and his face was curled up in a grimace.

“Th-thanks” Twist breathed and let the rows go “Aaaagh, my arms are on fire!”

“That’s good! You gave those arms a good work out” Tenacia chuckled.

Twist laid back into the big food bag, he reached into it and rummaged through it. He pulled out a small bottle of juice and popped off the cork, taking a big swig.

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“Y’know I was wondering, do you not know how to use water magic? I know there are spells that move boats forward without use of rows or a sail after all”

“Nope, never trained in water magic” Twist responded “I mostly specialize in Air and Time as you know. Even for a seventh child of a seventh child like me, getting a hold on more than two elements is tough. Not impossible mind you, though I will hardly be trying to master a third element right now given I need to brush up on casting Air and Time again”

“How many elements are there anyway? I know about the basic four; fire, water, wind, and earth and all that, but beyond that my knowledge is kinda ehh” Tenacia asked.

“I would be happy to explain!” Twist said with a smile, always liking to explain things “So here is the rundown: there are thirteen elements, eight are the terrestrial elements, the ones most closely tied to the mortal plane, to our existence, and the easiest for mages to manipulate; fire, water, earth, air, frost, wood, mind, and body. I think the first four are self-explanatory, frost is control over cold and ice, wood is control over plant life, mind is the control of one’s mental energy and the emotions and thoughts of others”

“Psychic stuff basically” Delphine interjected from the top of Twist’s head, having gotten tired of Tenacia’s head.

“Exactly! And Body is the manipulation of flesh and blood… Yes, it is just as disgusting as it sound.” Twist remarked, seeing Tenacia’s face scrunch up and stick her tongue out.

“Yeah, that sounds disgusting” Tenacia said with a wince.

“The other five elements are the transcendent elements, elements that are just as base to the universe as the terrestrial, but all transcend our understanding… Hence the term transcendent! They are time, space, spirit, void, and aether”

“Gotcha” Tenagia said, interested “I get time, I’ve seen you use it. Space makes since too, dimensional stuff. What about the other three?”

“Spirit is the control over souls and spectral energy”

Tenacia’s face further blanched and she shuddered “Necromancy?” she asked.

“Now to be fair, spirit magic itself isn’t evil! It just tends to be abused and misused by awful people, using it take souls and, indeed, make undead creatures”

“And void?”

“The manipulation of darkness and nothingness, it is by far the strongest element but also the hardest to control. Since really, how to control something that technically isn’t there? Honestly void annoys me”

“And the thirteenth element aether?”

Twist paused for a moment “Tenacia, I am sorry, but I know nothing about aether. The only thing I can think of to say is it is probably even stronger than void”

“No prob Twist” Tenacia said comfortingly, then looked up at Delphine “Got anything to say Delphine?”

“I don’t know anything about it, Tenny!” Delphine angrily answered “All I could give you is rumors I have heard and theories I have”

“Thanks anyway” Tenacia replied, then she smiled wryly “Also really? Tenny? That is the nickname you are sticking with?”

“Would you rather me call you Shorty, Fatty, or Dwarfy?”

“Alrighty, Tenny works”

“So does that mean we get to call you Hatty?” Twist asked, a mischievous smile curling his lips.

“No! I’m the only one who gets to come up with nicknames”

“Why do you get the monopoly on nicknames?”

“Because it’s all I have at this point” Delphine said grimly.

Twist chuckled at this, then his ears twitched.

"I hear something... Tenacia, change course, go starboard"

"Alright, which way is starboard again?" Tenacia asked. Given her hatred of water, she wasn't knowledgeable of boats or boating terms.

"To the left! I hear something important!" Twist said, his eyes flashing.

Even further below, the Brass Behemoth was making its way up through Lethes via a huge stalactite. Within the bridge, Karogoz and Zelos were having a meeting.

“We need to head for the bat and half-dwarf!” Karogoz said “Those two idiots have taken fare too long, we need to make sure those two escapees are caught!

“We cannot afford the time” Zelos solemnly said “We must make it back to the surface as soon as possible, with the reliquary full of souls, we should abandon Plan A and simply pursue Plan B”

There was a loud ringing, the two of them turned to the phone on its pedestal.

Zelos picked up the phone “Yes, Master Ahrimus?”

“Pursue the vagabonds” said Ahrimus’ voice “They must have the rune”

“Are you confident they have the rune?” Zelos asked carefully.

“Of course they do, why else would it be gone from the city?” Ahrimus retorted “The noctav must have it, he was the last thing in the city not frozen in time and we knew the rune was there”

Zelos admitted this made since, but he was still hesitant “Master, is this a theory or do you have proof?”

“I have found him and I can sense the magic of the rune on him” Ahrimus said, “They are at the deep dwarf town of Hymirik and about to leave it”

“You certainly took a quick interest in them Master” Zelos remarked.

“If they have the rune, I should. Do you doubt me?”

“I only wish to ensure that your plan succeeds Master Ahrimus” Zelos quickly said “After all, we have the reliquary, why not find what we need next and complete Plan B?”

“I make multiple plans for a reason” Ahrimus answered “If one fails, the other can succeed. To have just one plan is to invite failure. Now pursue the vagabonds and get the rune”

Zelos tried to argue further, but a strange feeling overcame his mind. It was as if hands were gripping his brain and forcing themselves down to his mouth. Zelos’ mouth said something, but Zelos was not doing the talking.

“Of course, Master, whatever you say” Zelos’ mouth droned.

“Very good Zelos” Ahrimus said with a pleased tone. Then there was silence from the phone and the strange feeling left Zelos’ mind.

“The Master wants us to go after the bat and half-dwarf” Zelos announced, putting the phone back and rubbing his head from the ensuing headache.

“Excellent” Karogoz cackled, “Revenge will soon be mine!”

"We must be ready Karogoz, don't get too excited" Zelos said, "This Brass Behemoth is a construction of fire and metal, it is going to struggle immensely in Oshea"

"That is easily solved with a bit of ice magic" Karogoz chuckled.

For once, Zelos actually smiled.

The great slimy form of Batokl oozed through a tunnel, heading to his meeting with the Underworld gods. Then suddenly, he felt something awful. His form coiled up and he shuddered, if he had a spine a massive chill would have gone down it.

"By Elysia, what was that?" Batokl said aloud, shivering. The god of slime had felt something horrible move nearby. His eye looked around wildly, trying to find what could have cause such an awful feeling. It was the sort of feeling an animal gets when they realize a predator is nearby.

Batokl took a good look around where he was and used his slimy body to sense the tremors of everything in the neighboring tunnels and caves... He found nothing of note, all there was were harmless animals and monsters that would be far more terrified of Batokl than he was of them.

What was that? Batokl thought. As soon as it was here, it was gone! Was that what they call a portent? An omen? I had never felt such a feeling of danger and... Hatred... Absolute hatred...

Batokl oozed at a speed that would make any slug envious.

I must tell everyone! He thought. That was the feeling! The horrible feeling Dolora had! It was the Dark Presence! Its moving upwards toward Oshea! This meeting needs to be done yesterday, the mortals of Oshea are in danger! And Twist and Tenacia must be warned too, it heading straight for them!

Klamka and Lionel kept on with their fast pace, both growing more and more tired. They spanned nearly a mile’s worth of cavern in record time, but soon both knights were panting heavily.

“Klamka, we need to rest” Lionel groaned, his legs shaking and barely keeping stable.

Klamka gave no response, though soon slowed.

"C'mon Klamka, we need to stop... Klamka?"

Klamka was leaning against the wall.

"Well I am glad you rested, but are you okay?

Lionel took off Klamka's helmet, her eyes were closed and she was completely out. She had passed out in exhaustian.

The two sat in silence for a while, the dripping of water the only sounds for a while.

Klamka broke the silence “Lionel, what are we going to do? We have no clue where the noctav or half-dwarf are in Oshea, and the moment we get up there we have no way to find them”

Lionel placed a comforting hand on Klamka’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry princess, we’ll figure something out, I’m sure of it” he said, then started to get a campfire ready.

Klamka thought and thought, trying to fight through the fog of her mind. The fog of tiredness only grew heavier, then she fell asleep.

“They are close, continue down the tunnel then go left”

The voice nearly woke up Klamka.

“That is… What is this? What is going on? Who are you?” Klamka growled.

She spoke in her sleep, Lionel looked back Klamka, now in even greater concern.

“Listen to me, I am Vashinar, the god of the Grand Faloon. Listen to my words and your enemies will be delivered to you” the voice said.

“You… So you do exist… Foul spirit, what is your plot?” Klamka hissed.

“I am here to help you, I know where your targets are”

“And why haven’t you helped before?”

“Your mind is strong, not even I could bypass its great defenses to speak with you”

“Oh really? So my defenses are weak now, is that what you are saying?”

“You are in dire straits are you not? Your mind is spent, and you are lost, you are at rock bottom”

Klamka kept growling, Lionel stopped in making a campfire and walked bck to her.

“Klamka? Are you awake?” Lionel asked, "You okay there?"

“Just shut up! I don’t need your help infernal spirit! Go away!” Klamka shouted, making Lionel leap back.

“Do you have any other option? Do you have a plan to find your targets? Do you intend to fail your mission and disappoint your father and fail your country?”

Klamka grounded her teeth.

"I will tell you where to go..."

Klamka went silent, listening to Vashinar.

Lionel placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Klamka, please calm down! It's okay, we-"

“Lionel"

Klamka’s stern voice echoed through the cave. Lionel backed off, raising his hands. Klamka slowly got up.

“I know how to find them” Klamka murmured.

“You do? How?” Lionel asked.

“SHUT UP! JUST… Shut up… I know how… Just rest and get ready to go”

Lionel saw Klamka’s haggard form, he wasn't sure whether she was on the verge of exploding or passing out.

“Okay, I’ll trust you” Lionel said, giving a weak smile.

Klamka just nodded then sat down again.

“Have no fear my child” said the voice of Vashinar, “With my help, you will complete your mission and return to your kingdom a true hero”

Lionel continued to look at Klamka in great concern. Something felt off, something wasn’t right. Lionel looked around the dark cavern, he felt as if someone had been watching them both.