The Valen castle was easy to leave, though Storm was subjected to a few mocking jeers for getting his hopes up. What Xandus had said must have gotten to him a bit. Storm had quite the dark expression on his usually carefree face. They didn’t have time for a heart to heart even if Storm was willing to talk about it, but Ruena needed to be sure he was ready for action.

“Don’t worry,” Storm told her before she could ask, “It won’t affect the mission. I just don’t like it when people can see through me like that.”

So he was just uncomfortable. Ruena could accept that. Once they returned they did some testing on the next prototype of the secret weapon. This one was more official but was missing basic cosmetics and practicality they would need to take it on an actual mission. Again, it worked well, but seemed to have a strange reaction to things Soral made.

After a while Janon theorized that it wasn’t because Soral’s magic was immune to the device, but that the device avoided his enchantments because the magic powering all of their magic batteries was his. In other words, it mistook Soral for its power source. It was a relief to discover that it wasn’t because Soral was some kind of insane anomaly. Jazz also confirmed the new secret weapon worked on his magic, though he didn’t seem particularly happy about it.

Now all that was left was some last minute touches and checks. They reviewed the plan and some training situations that might come up during the mission, and Ferris geared up to join them. Unfortunately, they had not had enough time to make a remote switch so he would have to personally escort the secret weapon.

With absolutely perfect timing, as soon as they were prepared a strange letter appeared from mid air before Ruena with the seal of the Valen King. The paper used was the same deep purple as Xandus’s eyes, and the writing was in the same shade of silver as his hair. Was this some kind of flex of his Valen traits?

“Dearest Commander, I have excellent news! I found a wonderful class that can teach you the ways of chess,” it read, “I will be holding it in a manor near the outskirts of Valen to cater to your outsider origin. Here is the time and address. Don’t be late! P.S. Don’t be afraid to bring some friends. The more the merrier.”

After the brief letter were the details of location and time. Without a doubt this was the very manor they were trying to infiltrate, and the timing was perfect too. She wasn’t sure what she thought about his method of entry, though. The manor was sure to be on edge with the presence of so many foreign guests, and it would be difficult to slip away from the supposed class unnoticed. Still, it was better than breaking in on their own.

Just in case, she decided to treat the letter as an invitation so she would not be stopped at the door after Xandus went through so much effort to arrange this for them. Finally, after spending so much time preparing, they could strike. Ruena could feel a sort of impatient excitement rise within her as she stared again at the date and time written in the letter.

“Are you ready, Soral?” she asked her partner.

“Of course,” Soral replied, “Let me meet the Valen King next time. He seems like a fun guy.”

“A fun guy who can cut straight through to your darkest secrets in an instant,” Ruena reminded.

Soral puffed his chest out proudly. “I have no secrets,” he announced.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. There was his past as a thief, the thing with his cousins, and whatever crimes he ended up committing by accident on a daily basis. Ruena had to stop herself from retorting, but he likely heard her thoughts anyway. If he did, Soral didn’t seem concerned by it in the slightest, happily humming away.

“Do you think we will have a chance to learn some chess before we go?” he asked.

A new idea struck Ruena and she smiled. “You will,” she told him. Soral had a way of drawing people’s attention, “I am going to need you to try very hard to learn chess and befriend everyone else in class. Do what you do best.”

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“And then when my moment comes, poof! I will vanish,” Soral finished for her, “I can do that easily. Just make sure you call for me the moment you need me.”

“Of course,” Ruena promised.

Before they knew it a large group of them stood before the gates of the manor. Rosalie and all of her team were there, of course. In fact, the only people who hadn’t come were Janon and a few of the newer recruits who weren’t ready to face something on this yet. Ferris was clearly the most uncomfortable, despite the clothing perfectly tailored for his extra arms that Soral had gifted him.

The manor guards almost screamed when they saw the huge crowd approaching, but had no choice but to let them in when Storm shoved the letter in their face. For the time being, he was sticking close to Ruena in case the Valen would listen to him better than a human girl.

Even before they had arrived the class had already become so big that it had taken over the courtyard clearly meant for training. The location was far from central, but it would be easier to slip away and it was actually closer to the hidden entrance. The amalgamation of beings was so bizarre already that no one even glanced twice at Ferris with his extra arms. The situation was perfect in every way.

“Wow! So many game boards!” Soral exclaimed, looking around, “And so many cool looking people! I can’t wait to get started!”

A reptilian looking man that Ruena could only guess was some form of half transformed dragon wrapped an arm around Soral’s shoulders. “Why wait?” he beckoned in a deep, gravelly voice, “I will give you the honor of joining my table.”

“Sounds great!” Soral agreed and followed him right over.

The other Warriors tried their best to follow his lead and mingle with the crowd. They had to at least pretend they were here for chess so they wouldn’t draw unneeded suspicion. Ruena ended up being dragged to Soral’s table so he could brag about how amazing his partner was, and Ferris took to a table that had another many armed guest.

At this moment everything seemed peaceful and fun, but Ruena could not forget that they were standing on top of a prison that held countless victims of Gero’s greed. No matter what happened, she would make sure that it would end that night.

==========

“Why didn’t you just let them meet me?” Knott asked, “I could have helped them in without all of this nonsense. It is my manor, after all.”

Xandus shook his head. “How could I let you get involved in a trap that was clearly set for you?” he asked, “Have you forgotten? I see you as a dear brother of mine. Had you not left your manor unattended for so long our enemies would not have had the chance to turn it into a den of evil.”

Knott sighed. “You know my Rosa cannot handle living in civilization. It makes her nervous,” he told him, “Poison dragons aren’t exactly the most popular. Besides, I was busy trying to rescue my family. Do you really think we can trust them?”

“I played chess with her, Knott,” Xandus told him, “You know better than anyone that no one can hide anything from me after a good game of chess.”

“She agreed to play a game?” Knott asked, a bit surprised, “Most humans won’t engage in rituals with a Valen. Did you have to trick her?”

“No. She knew exactly what she was getting into,” Xandus chuckled, “I have no doubt she can save your son, my friend. She is full of righteous valor without discrimination. Rather than fear towards your wife and her poison, she feels anger towards the greed seeking to exploit it. I promise you have nothing to fear. I can feel the mark of the chosen on her.”

“That old legend?” Knott asked, “It’s been a while since I heard it. Do you really believe there are those whose very existence sends ripples through the universe?”

“Why not?” Xandus asked with a manic giggle he usually saved for guests, “We are Valen. Shouldn’t we enjoy mysterious legends and secrets of the soul? Whether it was the mark of a chosen of the universe or just someone tied to prophecy it doesn’t matter. That girl is destined to become someone incredible and I intend to help her. But first, I need to make sure the castle is clean for darling Ryn’s return.”

“Does that mean that you will finally put an end to this crazy act of yours?” Knott asked.

“Who knows? It is so much fun to be crazy,” Xandus told him, “However, I will become sane long enough to eliminate the rot festering in my palace. I have reason to believe he is the one who sold out your wife and son as well. To think there would be a Valen so overcome by greed that he would forget our heritage.”

“Will you set them loose?” Knott asked.

Xandus let out a dark chuckle. “Of course. The White Pawn is hungry. How can I deny him such a delicious meal when his duty has always been to dispose of traitors?”