They found Daktor and his cavalry formed up outside the entrance to the mine. The men in black sat astride a pack of female lizard mounts fitted with leather tack. At their center was the giant field marshall in his armour mounted on the bull. The heavy chain of the bull clinked in the quiet as it shifted its bulk. Lance bearers flanked the marshall. The lance hafts, in deep stirrup cups, held the lances high like flagpoles. Pennants trailed from their tips and rippled in the breeze that snapped and flicked black lightning bolts on a red background. In the rear sat a large man with a heavy crossbow. The men were spread amongst the broken boulders and clockwork parts on the canyon floor. Snow spun and danced in the confused eddies to come to rest on black cloaks.

Big Crunch had made his way to the front of the men and faced the marshall. Everyone that came out of the mine stood behind him in the entrance. The children were nowhere to be seen.

“Daktor,” the princess said. Her voice was strong and rang out loudly. “I hold you in contempt of The People for the murder of my father, the ambassador, and my attempted murder. You will surrender yourself to your men and return with me to face trial.”

Daktor stared at her, his helm as unmoving and silent as his men around him. Unaccustomed to the cold, the mounts shuffled and stamped underneath their riders.

Somewhere behind the cavalrymen, metal began to bang against metal as the wind shifted direction. It was a lonely sound that belonged in this canyon at the end of the world.

“Your answer, Field Marshall Daktor. I am waiting,” the princess finally said.

She wasn’t sure if his hand had moved ever so slightly, if the command had been whispered, or if it had been previously ordered to occur at a certain time, but when the field marshall shifted just slightly, the crossbow fired.

Big Crunch became a blur of motion. Faster than a striking snake, he moved and was in front of the princess with a steel crossbow bolt protruding through his upper arm. She looked up into his thick, squat face as he grimaced. His tusks seemed to grow longer as he smiled at her before he turned to face the cavalry.

“At least she gave you the option. Don’t forget that Daktor,” Big Crunch said.

The field marshall ignored him, and with a gesture, his cavalry moved forward.

Big Crunch raised a halting hand. Blood dripped from the barb of the bolt to splatter bright red into the white snow.

“Now, boys!” he said. “Fair rules of combat say you heed my warning!” He was loud and quick enough that some of the men stopped their mounts. “Those openings in the rock there above the doors are stuffed full of working auto-turrets.” He pointed to the windows, and a few of the men looked. “They are set to fire at a certain distance. At what distance, you are wondering? Well, you there in the front will soon find out.” The cavalry stopped its advance.

“I do see a turret up there, sir.” A man on the far leading edge said as he peered up at the canyon wall.

“He is bluffing,” Daktor replied. “Those auto turrets don’t work. There is no power here.”

“The mine has power,” the princess said.

“Don’t balk, men. Move forward. Take them. Any ammunition in those turrets would be rotten and dead long ago.”

“Well, ok. Maybe. Who would like to find out? But that’s not your only problem. If any of you know your vaults, you know this one is locked down by smart locks. There is no way in. If you take us now, this vault will be sealed forever.” He turned and pointed to the two birds that stood on the stairs with Jazzy. “And there is your proof that we can open it—two new bird brains from today. You want the rest of what is inside? You need the commands for the locks. I can give that to you.”

“We have seen the birds. We know the vault has been opened,” Daktor replied. “I negotiate with no one. You will give me the lock commands, or I will take them from you with pain.”

“You’ve twice tried to kill the princess. We know you will not let us leave this canyon alive,” Big Crunch said.

“In my experience, under torture, even when they know they will die later, creatures still talk.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The princess answered this time, “I’ll tell you, Daktor, from what I just saw on how these smart locks operate, that way will never work. Your only way forward is to come to an agreement with us.”

Daktor fell silent.

“You let us leave, and the princess comes with us. I’ll give you the mine and the vault,” Big Crunch said.

“Daktor,” the princess said. “You will turn yourself over to me. The men that are loyal to The People in your cavalry will help me return you for trial…” Laughter drowned out the words of the princess. The cavalrymen laughed. It was boisterous laughter, the sound heard at a happy gathering, not what you would expect to accompany the talk of torture.

“You? I will turn myself over to you? You? You are not a princess of the people. You never have been. Those red seer eyes of yours... and here you stand with a lizard man! The People are lost to you. They will never be yours to lead. The counsellor and I will command. You travel with a gargoyle cub! The most dangerous twisted breeding ever created! I have spent my lifetime in this armour hunting down beasts and eradicating them. And to have you, our princess, take sides with one of these killing creatures. You are no longer of The People. You never were. You were always a mutation against the proper ways.”

“You said you killed my father, Daktor. You and the counsellor together.”

“You lie,” Daktor said. “You try to mislead my men.”

“I have witnesses that were with me when you admitted this. They will speak at your trial.”

Big Crunch spoke, “There is still the other option. That option allows you access to the smart locks…”

“You have made your proposals. Now I make mine. Those that give us total cooperation may pass freely from this canyon,” the marshall proposed.

“Now you tell the lies, Daktor. I believe that as much as the chance of two moons rising. You would slaughter anyone who cooperated with you. You would just do it later. Let them leave, think they were free, and then tonight, at their fires, your men would appear and kill them. It has been done before. I have seen the remnants of your ‘negotiations’ in the dead and crushed villages when I rode with my father.”

“All my actions, and that of my men, are on behalf of The People and their edicts. No one may deal with the mutated and the beasts as people. Defects such as you must not be allowed to spread. It is how things are done. Cleansing. And what about you, Princess? Do you really know the beasts you take up with? This gargoyle cub, this lizard? Do you know what The Beast has done? Do you know its past?”

The princess looked at Big Crunch and then back to the field marshall.

“The Beast has guarded this redoubt for a long time, and the secrets that reside within. The last treasure for mankind’s survival, it was said.”

“Ah. It is not that simple. He himself is a deceiver. A liar. Have you not learned the story of your own counsellor…?”

Big Crunch held up that hand again, the same halt sign. The crossbow bolt in his arm no longer dripped blood. The wound had healed.

“What you say is true. I do owe the counsellor a great debt. I owe him the greatest apology for an injustice I have done him. I have carried this with me, and I will seek him out and ask for his forgiveness. I betrayed him…” Big Crunch’s voice had grown heavy with guilt. The princess turned to him, hearing the shame in his voice. It surprised her. She hadn’t expected this.

He spoke aside to the princess, “Yes. It is true. Long ago, I wronged him.”

“You killed his guards. Imprisoned him. Lied to him,” Daktor said.

Big Crunch nodded slowly. The princess felt her heart grow heavy. She felt the shame she saw in the big lizard man. His voice came choked and strained as he spoke.

“They hunted me… I was always hunted… as I have remained hunted. They approached me one night in the darkness. I was lucky, for they had been tracking me, and in the darkness, they came on me suddenly and thought they were talking to a man.” He laughed sorrowfully. “They even asked me if I had seen any sign of a beast they were hunting. They were fools. Young and eager. In their group was a new bird brain. By the time they realized who I was, it was too late for them, and they would not yield. The bird looked so lost. So pitiful. I couldn’t leave it. It was so young… It was still learning, and its mind was confused. I thought I could teach it good things. Teach it goodness. I protected it and dealt with his addled mind. I deceived him, yes, and he became my closest friend. And it is in my future to ask his forgiveness.”

“How…” The princess went to ask, but her mouth was dry. “How…”

“I have not stopped living with this guilt, Your Highness. Never has it left me. It was the machine that came to my cantina that night. The machine that changed us all. After that, Casket must have remembered. He left the next day. I can only hope the choices I made to deceive him have not led to all this hatred, all this evil he has made.”

Big Crunch took a step towards the field marshall, and with a resolute tone, he said, “I challenge you to personal combat. If you win, I will give you this canyon, the mine, and the locks. And we will all be your prisoners.”

“You give your oath that you will pass me command over the locks?”

The princess placed a hand on Big Crunch’s arm. “That is gargoyle armour he wears. It is nearly impervious,” she whispered. “You can’t beat him.”

“This is our only chance.”

“Even if you take him, his cavalry will crush us.”

“His men are sworn to him, but possibly the one other thing they will honour is champion combat.”

Big Crunch turned back to the field marshall, and in a loud voice, he said, “Beat me one-on-one in champion combat, and the locks are yours.”