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“Call the captain! A large group is approaching us!” Shouted the guard at the beastmen camp. Hundreds of Humans and Beastmen alike were coming from the field and into the camp, they were all in bad health and were promptly being helped by the soldiers.

The camp was on high alert after it, all soldiers were ready to fight as a retaliation from Argos was certain. They were fortifying their position with holes for protection against spells and creating more murder holes to trap the undead for an easy elimination.

But after the last prisoner entered the camp, there were no signs of any Argonian troops. Nothing followed the escape. Amidst the prisoners on the camp, was Riou searching for Camus.

“I want to see the other Northman that arrived earlier” The beast soldier looked at the human that approached him with surprise.

“The other humans? They are in that tent” he pointed to a medium-sized barrack.

Riou went for it and found two beastmen soldiers guarding it. “The Northmen are here?”

The two soldiers nodded “They are restricted to this barrack and you can’t enter without the captain’s approval”

“Camus! Are you ok in there?” suddenly Riou shouted at the tent startling the beastmen.

“Riou!? You are finally back! We are fine… we have been held in this tent, but they are treating us well with food and water” said the Northman from inside.

“Good, I’m gonna get you out. Hang in there”

The two soldiers looked at each other and shrugged, not expecting them to talk like that. After all, the orders were just to not let the humans out and roaming the camp.

“Who do I talk to let them go?” asked the human once again to the guards.

“You will have to talk to the captain. He is over there coordinating the effort to accommodate all these people.”

Riou nodded, he went towards the commotion. A young lion was commanding the soldiers and positioning the people that arrived. The beastmen were given food and clothes, the humans were just given water and sent to wait at an open ground. When he finished giving the orders to the soldiers nearby, Riou approached.

“Captain… I want to take all the Northmen back to their boats, they are leaving, can you order your men to gather all of them by the camp entrance?”

The lion looked at the human with a frown “And who would you be? You don’t look like one of the prisoners that arrived”

“I’m not… I’m a Northman in charge of getting these men out of here.”

“You were the one that freed them? The one behind that assault?”

“Yes…”

“Huh! A lone human? Do you want me to believe that?” the lion mocked the human.

“I have a good party of mercenaries close by. They are very efficient on these rescue missions”

“Huh… is that so?” The lion pondered for a moment, it made sense what the human spoke, and more importantly, the sooner the humans were gone the better it would be for their provisions.

“Well, the king told me to get rid of these useless humans as soon as possible, less mouths to feed the better after all… I suppose I can gather them for you to take them away. Soldier! Gather all the humans, they are leaving soon!”

----------------------------------------

Oyran, the king of the Beastmen, was already an old lion. His hair was completely white already but despite his advanced age, he was a bulky, healthy man, his arms and torso were big and seemed made of steel. He was in top shape despite his age.

“That spell must have damaged your damn head after so long! Are you saying you didn’t see who freed you?”

“I know my king… but I’m telling you what happened. When that maddening buzzing stopped inside my head and I came back to my senses, the Argonian sorcerer was laying down in the middle of the camp in a pool of his blood. The undead were all destroyed and the commotion was already happening, all prisoners were fleeing and I just followed along.”

“We received prisoners before you came. They told us someone would hit the mining camp and free everyone. I didn’t believe it when I heard it…This must have been a coordinated attack, or this is an Argonian trick. Otherwise, you all would be attacked by the fortress, a group this big running past them? They would surely attack”

“I think they tried my lord… but they didn’t succeed” “What do you mean?” A soldier enters the tent “Permission to speak my lord, the scouts returned, you said to inform you at once”

The king glanced at the old tiger he was talking to and turned at the soldier “Speak”

“Over 400 undead bodies were found between the path of the prisoners and the fortress, no signs of battle.”

“400?!” the king turned to the tiger.

“Like I was saying, they tried… They came in large groups but as they were approaching, lights came out of their eyes and mouths and they just fell to the ground.”

The king growled “Ha! Magic… probably from some human Mages. But why wouldn’t we see them coming? No, we would have noticed a group of human mages moving about our land.”

“I didn’t see any of them, but it's possible if they were in low numbers,” said the tiger.

“Low numbers? A large attack like this at the break of dawn? The mining camp and then 400 undead? No, this was done by a well-trained party of mages. The humans must have put together some special forces. But what I can’t accept is that no one saw anything. That’s just Impossible!” The king turned to the soldier once again “Makrel! Bring me those damn humans again! The ones who came first and warned us about the others, they must know who was behind this attack.”

“My lord, the humans are leaving… they are rallying to the camp exit”

“What? Who gave the order to release them?”

“The captain, by your command to get rid of them”

“But now I’m commanding to bring those prisoners to me! They are still here aren’t they?”

“Yes, by the border of the camp, they are preparing to move north as soon as possible”

“Helen!” Suddenly a lioness appeared, kneeling beside the king. “Nobody leaves until I get my answers, bring the humans that are in charge to me” The lioness nodded and quickly left the tent. “Makrel, send the soldiers to help as well. If human mages are involved we don’t know what to expect.”

Riou was at the exit of the camp with the Northmen. They were eating and drinking to regain their strength and prepare for the journey back.

“We will move north, let’s avoid the black cemetery and go the easy way back”

Camus nodded “Where are the others? You weren’t alone attacking the mining camp, were you?”

“They were returning first, there are more people that need help than me”

“I see… I must thank you again for all this help, I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t appear when you did”

Riou opened his bag and handed a big round crystal cut in half to Camus and then another smaller orange one, “Guard these with you, this one is a portal and the orange one is a communication stone, keep it handy at all times”

“I never seen a portal stone this big, can it reach to Thanes?”

“I think so… I believe Argos is using them to get reinforcements from the south of the desert. That’s why it’s so difficult to push them out of these lands. They are not stranded here as everyone believed it”

“So that’s why… to think they can go all that distance, their mages are very good”

“Probably better than we think… Camus once you are back to Thanes, set this portal on a room that we can use, we will keep a passageway between Thanes and Allard just in case something happens. I think we can use all the mobility we can get now. I will set one in Khargaz as well, just in case.”

“That will put us in equal footing with Argos. That will save us quite some time if we ever wish to come back to this damned land.”

Suddenly many Lionesses began to appear around the Northmen. They were older looking with scars on their faces, arms and legs, rips on their armors, and dents on their swords.

They looked battle-hardened veterans and surrounded Riou and Camus quickly.

“Damn… What now?” asked Riou, starting to get bothered by all the events that keep happening.

One of them approached “The king wishes to see you, both of you, follow me.”

Riou looked at Camus and sighed “This doesn't look too good” he noticed the many guards and lionesses around.

They were escorted to the king. The old lion was waiting for them in his tent. “Ah, finally… Now I do wanna hear what you have to say. Tell me, what happened.”

Camus looked at Riou that stepped forward, “Well, the mining camp was attacked, the guards were killed and the prisoners escorted back to this camp.”

The king didn’t like his tone “And by whom?”

“By me” replied the human.

“You? A single human went behind an Argonian fortress, traveled far behind enemy lines, and took down their main mining camp? Alone?”

“I meant that I’m the one that coordinated the attack. How or in which way I accomplish it is not in question. Only the results matter”

“No… in this land we can’t be too carefree. I need to know how you snuck past my soldiers and my people without anyone realizing you were there”

“Well, we walked… Why am I to blame if it were your people that didn’t see us? That doesn’t make much sense”

The king forced a smile “Beastmen can’t be tricked like that, that’s why…”

“It is as it is… the fact remains despite what you wish. I don’t see what’s the issue here. The place is big, there are hundreds of paths we can take. Why are you so bothered?”

“Because nothing gets past a beastmen!” shouted the king quite angered.

Camus leaned in and whispered to Riou “Their pride might have been hurt… they never got past the fortress before… not to attack like this at least”

“Fine,” said Riou. “If you wanna know, I have special mercenaries hired for this effort. They are experts in infiltration and rescue missions”

The king narrowed his eyes “And where are these mercenaries now?”

“Waiting for my signal, there are other people I want to protect beside me”

“And yet, you came here personally?”

Riou sighed “For someone that just got a lot of his missing people back, you are not too happy, are you? I thought you’d be glad to have them back.” “You are talking to a king, watch your mouth,” said one of the soldiers nearby with a higher rank.

The king waved at the soldier “I see… and those symbols in the sky, was it you're doing too?”

“Yes”

“So a few human mercenaries managed to sneak into Argonian territory, go far south and destroy their mining operation, making their way back with all prisoners while defending them from over 400 undead from the fortress?” The king smiled and even laughed a bit.

“By all means, I have to meet these mercenaries!” he said quite sarcastically, looking directly at Riou. “Or perhaps they don’t exist at all, and maybe, this is just some clever Argonian trap”

Riou sighed “Do you want me to call them here? I wasn’t planning on it, but it can be done”

“Yes… and if they are as strong as you claim, we won’t have any problems.”

“Fine,” said Riou harshly, clearly not liking the way the king was speaking to him. But he noticed that Oyran seemed quite irritated and on edge. Even after freeing so many of his folks, he had no gratitude. Which was quite strange, Riou imagined he’d be better received after the feat, if he knew, he wouldn’t have even come to that camp in the first place after freeing them.

“Call them, now”

Riou sighed “I need to go outside for that”

The king nodded and walked with him outside. Riou purposely opened up his bag and picked up a random stone from it and pointed his finger towards the north.

A blue line was immediately formed, like something was shot from his finger and went extremely high in the sky and then changed directions to move forward in a straight line, exploding here and thereafter a long way, forming a square with a Y inside of it.

The king nodded “Well, that confirms one part of your story… human mage”

“I never said I wasn’t a mage. They should arrive soon now.”

They went back inside the tent “Now, tell me mage, who are you?” asked the king.

“Riou Brahm”

“Brahm… yes, the Northman that controls the gold. Now, what I want to know is what a rich man like you are doing in the Beastmen lands, alone”

“At first I came on business... I managed to put together a new product, enchanted armors, and weapons of the highest quality. I came here to make deals to start selling to your people. But when I heard lord Camus was taken prisoner by the enemy, I couldn’t stay put. I decided to take action on my hands and came down here, personally, to free him”

“Lord Camus… I know this name. Isn’t it the son of Thorwald? Is that you?” he looked at Camus “You were captured as well? Hahahaha!” The king laughed mockingly at his expenses “You Northman have no clue how to deal with Argos, don’t you? Thorwald, that fool! He let his son get captured! That’s too good. I have to tell Zegrath and Varos about this!”

But suddenly the good mood of the king took a turn “Well, since we have the prince of the north here… I’d like him to answer something. Why did your men attack the caravan with supplies from Khargaz? If you were starving, you should have asked for it. I’d gladly send some breadcrumbs your way”

“We never stole anything from you, we brought plenty of food and we even hunted when we needed meat. There is plenty of hunt in these plains… such action would be more befitting oft cowards that flee from combat”

“Flee? What are you talking about? Are you implying my men fled? We never even saw your kind in battle in the first place! If we step into the battlefield is to win it!”

Riou quickly intervened “On my way here I found Argonians wearing Northmen gear, guarding grain and other food supplies. Argos might have done something similar with the beastmen gear to stir hate between your two forces.”

“Preposterous, Argos never dared to move out of the great graveyard. You are lying!”

Riou shook his head “Argos has hands and influence to Allard and the North, to think they are cornered in the south, losing the fight and without reinforcements, its plain stupidity. I have proof that’s not the case”

The king growled and moved closer to his face “Watch your mouth little human! I’ve been battling all my life against them, they never set foot outside of the black graveyard and now you come here and tell me you know them better than I do?”

Riou just sighed and glanced at Camus.

“My king!” A soldier came from the door “Urgent news from the capital”

“What now?”

“Seems like Zegrath has been sent to the cages and the Lion’s clan is preparing to choose a new leader”

“What?! Is this a joke? This is not the time for that, soldier”

“It’s not a joke my king… Matriarch Diata's messenger came delivering the message. Your son, Zegrath, has been defeated.”

“That’s just impossible”

“The matriarch Diata asks for your immediate return. The message was urgent.”

“This makes no sense! Zegrath wouldn't possibly lose”

Riou contained a smile after hearing the news and the king instantly turned and stared at him “You… this was no coincidence, was it? First the prisoners and now this. Why do I feel that you have a hand in this issue as well?”

“You give me too much credit, but I confess that this news does not surprise me”

“Ho, how so?”

“I’m well aware of the dissatisfaction over Zegrath’s ruling of the Lion’s clan, I’ve heard a lot about it”

The king narrowed his eyes at him “Dissatisfaction? There is no dissatisfaction… he is the strongest after me, so it’s his right to rule the clan.” He narrowed his eyes, suspecting the human even more “You know that interfering with a clan’s structure is a serious crime in these lands. External influences are forbidden”

“I said I heard about it… I didn’t do anything regarding it. I don’t even know this Zegrath... But I did hear that Therese was coming to face him”

The king turned to a lioness that was behind him “Therese, who is this?”

“The one Zegrath exiled, my lord”

“The exiled… I told Zegrath to not make enemies out of the Lionesses, they will always come to bite back. But still...” He looked at Riou, analyzing him and pondering on his words. He couldn’t feel any threat coming from the human he couldn’t feel anything from him which was not right from a mage and raised his suspicions even more.

He looked at Camus with quite an angered look. “Still, a lioness alone couldn’t have taken down my son. She must have had some help… someone might be wanting to undermine his power and put someone else in charge… maybe someone wanting to profit, someone that wishes to sell its merchandise on our lands and just need a strong, influential clan to help him establish his product on the market.”

Riou shrugged “I don’t need that kind of help… my product stands on its own, it is that good”

The king could sense that the human was very calm, his tone, his heartbeat and there was not a drop of sweat. Oyran went silent for a moment, thinking.

“Your mercenaries, when they arrive, they can take the Northmen back on their own, can’t they?”

“Yes?” said Riou, quite surprised by the question.

“Prepare my mount, once I’ve seen these mercenaries we will be returning to Khargaz.” The king smiled at Riou “And this human will be coming with me”

The soldiers quickly approached Riou with cuffs and chains. He didn’t fight and let the soldiers restrain him.

“King Oyran! This is absurd! This man just saved hundreds of lives and you are putting him under chains? Where is the famous beastmen honor? Have you no shame for your acts?” urged Camus seeing the disparity of the Beastmen king actions.

“Silence or you will be next!” He turned to Riou “And your mercenaries better show up soon or you won’t live to travel back to Khargaz!”

Riou shook his head “They will come… but Is this necessary? I don’t mind going with you back to the capital, I did what I came to do”

The cuffs suddenly shined with the green light revealing Argonian runes “Ohh, mage cuffs?” said Riou, mildly impressed.

“Yes… I don’t trust you human mages, this way you won’t be able to use your spells to attack or escape”

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A group of 5 arrived at the camp, two gray cloaks, and three blue ones. They approached the soldiers silently and just one of them spoke as they approached the soldier guarding the entrance “Where is our master?”

The soldier brought them in front of the King’s tent.

The five cloaked ones were surrounded by Beastmen soldiers, 20 veteran Lionesses and even the king himself that came out of the tent followed by Riou

But the moment the group saw Riou coming from the inside of the tent, in chains, they immediately drew their swords and rushed to attack.

“Stand down!” quickly shouted the trader.

Blades of the cloaked ones were dangerously close to the king and a few other officials nearby. The lionesses protecting the king flinched when they realized what had happened, they didn’t even have time to react.

Those strangers in cloaks had such a killing intent that even the king could feel the shivers down his spine. He smiled brightly and was very pleased to see that action. Strangely enough, he seemed to be enjoying himself far too much.

Riou added “It’s fine… you are here just to escort the Northmen back to the shore where their boats are. That’s all”

The group of cloaked ones nodded in silence and put their weapons back, returning to their initial formation.

“Impressive, they are quick and have no fear, even surrounded by an army of Beastmen they dare to bare their fangs,” said the king glancing at one of his lionesses. “I want to see more,” the lioness nodded and pulled her sword from its sheath.

She was fast, her mana was fully running through her body. She moved fast and attacked with deadly intent against the cloaked one in front.

Her sword was met with a block from behind him, another one of the cloaked ones blocked her attack. Then another one approached her from the other side, grabbed her wrist, and disarmed the lioness. Another one came from behind and grabbed her neck and forced her down. In the ground, she was completely subdued in a couple of movements, her arms and legs were restricted and she was captured.

“Very , very impressive… I never saw these techniques before. Who are these mercenaries? I might want to hire them myself!” said the king.

Riou smiled “I don’t think you can afford them, King”

Oyran forced a smile “At least now your story seems more credible now. Let’s see if it continues that way once we reach the clan’s house.”

The King walked past Riou “You better watch your tongue when addressing me. You are lucky that I’m in a good mood now after seeing strong people in action. But even your mercenaries won’t be able to protect you from me if I discover you had anything to do with happened with my son, you better remember that”

“Don’t worry… I can take care of myself just fine”

The king walked away “I’ve seen enough, let’s leave now! I want to get back before the afternoon ends!”

It was quite a distance to travel so quickly, Riou wondered how they would do that. But a few soldiers began to prepare some ropes around a wood beam that stood up in the middle of a field. With their strength, they pulled up a wood carriage very high through that pole.

A couple of the soldiers go to a small lake beside the camp and whistle loudly while taping on the water. A large being suddenly began to emerge from the water and walked on its own beneath the wooden beam. The soldiers promptly lowered down the three-piece carriage on top of its back and strapped it to it tightly.

They fed it large amounts of dry grass, the beast chewed it up in a couple of bites. In moments it was ready to travel.

It had six legs and looked like a stretched, furry elephant. Two big round eyes and square teeth could be seen as it chewed the grass with its big mouth.

“A baby Tallahar?” said Riou, smiling at the beast.

“Baby? This is a full-grown adult! They don’t get any bigger than this” said one of the soldiers.

“Oh, but they do… this one is nothing compared to what I’ve seen”

The soldier looked confused, there was no way for a Tallahar to be any bigger than that.

The king approached and waved to it, the Talahar kneeled instantly. The king jumped on its leg and then it’s back. Quickly entering the first carriage. Riou was escorted to a rope ladder on the back and was put into the third carriage with a soldier guarding him.

Once everything was set, the Tallahar was set to go. It moved quickly through the land and unimpeded by any terrain. With his large body and long legs, few predators would dare to attack it. The trip wouldn’t take long, Riou smiled and leaned back at the comfortable seat of the carriage. He looked at the soldier with him “So, the king is something else. He didn’t even flinch with a blade being drawn towards him”

“That’s not enough to take down our king, no blade can cut him”

“Is that right? He seems like a tough one…”

“Our king has been blessed by the strongest earth elementals blessings. His skin and muscles just can't be cut down and they are naturally stronger than rocks! Perfect defense and a powerful attack... Our king has no equal”

“An elemental blessed him? A real one? Sounds like a great story” he was getting comfortable on the carriage to listen to the soldier.

“You don’t know about Oyran’s blessing?”

“No… care to tell me? We have time don’t we?”

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Maximilian sighed “This is nothing like anything I’ve seen before, the spell is like a seed that was planted in the mind and quickly started to create roots. That’s why if you just pull it or cut it out abruptly it will damage the mind. Our heads are too delicate to suffer such a trauma.”

Max scratched his head “But it’s a good thing that we have a spare collar, I can run some experiments... I will start it right away, but I will need some supplies and some time.”

“We will get everything you need.” Arthas nodded to a blue cloak nearby “Help the magus, save no expenses and resources to get whatever he needs” Arthas then opened the portal for the Village.

“And send Riou to see me when he is back, I will need his help as well.” he turned to Therese and nodded “Therese, I’m sure we will be able to save Leona, I won’t stop until I have a found a way” She nodded thanking the mage, the great Magus smiled at her and crossed the portal, returning to the village.

Arthas gave the crystal to the blue cloak “Set a new jump point nearby. We shouldn’t take much longer here”

Eileen sighed and looked at the locket once again, but this time, to her surprise, the arrow was just as big as when he first showed it to her and seemed to be pointing to the entrance of the Villa.

“Look! I think Riou is close by! He must have heard of the feast tonight and is coming!” But before they could celebrate Diata appeared on the door. “The king has come to visit us, I want you to meet him. Can you please come to the main hall?”

The group looked at each other “Prepare yourself, the king will want to know what happened with Zegrath. And he will not like to hear it” Said Therese to Arthas.

“I’m not the one that needs to prepare, after all, it was you that won over him. It won’t change my position on the subject”

Therese smiled “It won’t change mine either, so our agreement stands?” Arthas smiled and nodded.

“I will hold you to that then, let’s see the king” she added with a smile of her own.

Diata waited with the group at the great hall, right beneath the statue of the great white king.

The doors opened and 20 veteran Lionesses walked inside the room taking the position for the king’s arrival. As Oyran entered the room, Diata and Therese promptly lowered their heads to him, followed by Eileen.

Seeing her doing it, Arthas, Bellica, and Attia resisted a bit but ended up following along.

“Mother… I received a strange message. I hope that’s some joke to get me here quickly, where is Zegrath?” he asked looking around.

“I’m afraid it’s not a simple jest, your son has succumbed to powers beyond his comprehension and was corrupted by them. That sword of his changed him greatly in ways he could not be redeemed and today he is no longer the person we knew.”

“Nonsense. Where is he?”

“Zegrath was removed from the Villa, he is on the cages”

The king frowned and nodded “Those are grave accusations, are you aware of that?” he glanced at the strangers beside her.

“I am… Zegrath has fallen into disgrace. He had been abusing his power as a clan leader for a long time but just recently he had crossed the line. He used an Argonian collar to create an assassin for his cause. He began killing our people and removing those who opposed him. Not only that, the person was Therese’s disciple. He put her in such a position, blackmailing her because he feared her power. He used inexcusable ways to try to capture her… there is no honor left in him”

“You must be out of your mind, Zegrath would never do any of this! This makes no sense… Where did he even get an Argonian Collar? And who was this person he used it?”

“I don’t know where he got it… but he used it on Leona, a wolf girl that studied under Therese for several years. She is now doomed on the bedrooms, waiting for death”

“Bah… a wolf girl? Assassin? You went far with that mother. You are senile… A wolf is not worthy of our concern.”

Arthas frowned and glanced at Therese that was restraining herself to appear calm.

Diata narrowed her eyes at the king “I think you have been on the frontlines for far too long… It is clouding your judgment, as your mother, I will forgive the words you just said. No one should be subject to such wicked spells and I’m sure you agree with that.”

“It’s just a wolf… And I don’t believe Zegrath would fear anyone or use any underhand methods to win against whoever it was. He was strong enough to stand tall on his own, he had no needs for assassins or any of this you were talking about.”

Therese contained herself to not address the king disrespectfully. Arthas noticed her intent, still, he could not understand why wolves were seeing so low. In his village, there were no stories of such discrimination. On the contrary, wolves were always ferocious warriors and elated on all legends. Most of the heroes of the old stories were mostly Lions or Wolves.

“But Zegrath threatened everyone in here, he was out of control! He had to be imprisoned. He and most of his guards are loyal to him.”

“His guards too? Loyal men and women doing their jobs and you restrained them too? Are you out of your mind?!”

“No, and my order stands! Only Grimas is left to be taken, but it's only a matter of time for the lionesses to find him,” said Diata, quite angered as well.

The king looked at the ones beside her “So that's how it is… Not only my son, but all his supporters were taken out. And I suppose these strangers were the ones to help you see things this way… Outsiders and exiles.”

Oyran took a good look at them “They were the ones that poisoned you against my son” She shook her head “I was aware of his changing ways for a long time, but it was nothing like this. He was completely out of himself now Oyran. He wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore. It was only after these brave lions came to our clan that we could finally see him for who he was.”

“Lions? You must be a senile mother… Half-bloods and a human? You couldn’t possibly...” Oyran sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe it… You were manipulated and deceived.” He then looked to one of his guards at the door “Bring him”

Suddenly Riou appears through the door being pulled by chains on his arms and feet.

He smiles and waves at the group quite happily, shaking the chains binding him.

Arthas, Attia, and Bellica lost it instantly the moment they saw him like that. Their eyes flared, the spells holding their presences were shattered as their concentration was gone. Their killing intent inundated the room instantly and their massive presence almost made Diata and the other lionesses faint.

Quickly all other lionesses of the Villa approached the hall to see what was going on there as everyone sensed the huge presence that suddenly appeared inside the villa.

The king was very surprised by the sheer power displayed by those three. Still, he was not scared in the slightest, confident in his abilities despite anything else.

He smiled brightly and looked at the human “I think this answers my question from before. You were involved… so consider yourself dead” The instant the king said such a word, Arthas was ready to obliterate the King. Riou immediately looked at Arthas shaking his head slightly and very seriously.

Arthas took a deep breath, calming himself down. But the girls were not as easy to contain. Their eyes continued to flare up watching every move of the king without even blinking.

The king laughed “Great responses, so you were part of this human’s group! It all makes sense now. I knew there was something strange about this human. My guts are never wrong”

Diata was terrified “What is this humongous presence? Why couldn’t I feel it before?” She looked at Arthas and the Girls in a mix of awe and a bit of fear, while moving closer to Therese.

“You didn’t feel it because they weren’t as angered before…” said Therese calmly.

Diata noticed how calm Therese was at that strange situation, she had experienced such presences before “Even so, we need to stop this! They can’t fight!” urged Diata.

“Don’t worry Diata, they won’t fight” said Therese looking at Riou, who was very comfortable even in chains. She could see that he and Arthas were exchanging glances, having an unspoken conversation of their own.

“I know that they vouched to protect the human trader, but there must be a better way to solve this. Can’t you do something to calm everyone down? I’m sure Oyran will listen once he sees what happened to his son”

But the king addressed everyone once again “Now, all that remains is to speak to Zegrath, after all, is cleared up, I will see the punishment for those who plotted against his rule. Especially this human.”

Diata shook her head “You will see when you talk to him. Zegrath has become weak, he shamed himself with dishonorable acts and was heavily punished! Therese and the others showed nothing but valor and bravery! You have my word my son, I was there and I could not recognize my grandson anymore… but you too, you will realize it once you look into his eyes and see nothing left of the proud Lion he once was”

The king narrowed his eyes “We will see about that… Prepare the Tallahar to move, I’m going to the Cages” he then glanced at the three very powerful presences in the room and then to the human trader “And bring him, I don’t want him out of my sight until I pass judgment on him...”

As the soldiers were to take Riou and pull him, Arthas had to hold Attia and Bellica back as Riou looked at them and smiled “It’s fine, don’t worry!”

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Riou was being pulled by the chains while looking at Eileen, she seemed fine and so he was relieved “Talk to you when I’m back! This shouldn’t take long” he said to her with a smile.

Eileen nodded but she was very concerned “We need to do something. What if the king doesn’t see things the same way as Diata does? What if he takes Zegraths side? You saw how he spoke about Leona”

Arthas just shook his head “We wait… Master has his plans, we would only get in his way. Now we need to make this two calm down” Whispered Arthas looking around, seeing all lions and lionesses of the Villa looking at them with a mix of awe and fear.

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The king entered the third carriage as they moved towards the cages, he pointed at the soldier guarding Riou to get out.

Oyran sat down and smiled at the trader “How does it feel? Knowing that I’ve seen through your plan on a first glance? Zegrath will be freed and you and your mercenaries will be dealt with”

“I heard about your Blessing… An absolute defense and the strength to shatter mountains. You seem very confident about it.”

“Of course I am”

“But the story… it doesn't make sense, you know? In the middle of the battle, after being mortally wounded, you managed to impress a strong earth elemental that emerged from the ground, in the middle of the battle, and granted you his blessing, saving you from death? Nah, that’s very far fetched. I doubt the elementals can even see what we are doing here… if they even exist that is.”

“Still the fact remains, I survived, my strength doubled and I can’t be harmed.”

Riou smiled and leaned in towards the king and sniffed the air as if he was a beastmen “Then why am I sensing Argonian magic coming from you?”

The king got angered instantly and raised his claws, threatening the trader. “You wanna die now human?”

Riou smiled “Did I strike a nerve?”

Oyran smiled and even laughed “Ha! I’ve decided on your sentence, I will let Zegrath kill you, that way he can recover his honor by killing the one behind his downfall.”

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A chalice shattered in the stone wall, staining it with a splash of red wine that dripped from the wall to the velvet carpet.

A man in a noble outfit, with many detailed golden lines engraved in its dark fabric strides in the direction of a small diamond-shaped crystal on a pedestal, inside of a magic circle. One of his eyes turns red with a black vertical pupil as he touches the crystal. Instantly the image of an old and gray man appears.

Surprised, the old man turns to face the man in black.

“Lord Dahmer? It’s an honor to be called by you”

“I just heard that we lost our main mining camp, that the prisoners were freed and the Northman are now retreating to their icy holes! How did you lose this many things in just a matter of a couple of days? What were you doing, Gehar?”

“But… but my lord, I can’t leave the fortress. You know my presence is required for the amplification to work. And after all that happened, the undead we had left were just not powerful enough to see the enemy on our lands nor prevent the escape”

“Undead? Why didn't Fahuir stop them?”

“The immortal Fahuir… well… he was sent on a mission, and perished my lord”

“Perished!?” the exalted man in black calmed himself hiding his anger very poorly, his red eye bled a single drop that ran through his face “This is not the moment to tease Gehar, I’m not in the mood for such things… you know far too well that those filthy beasts won't have the power to fight against an Immortal.”

“But My lord… Fahuir received an order from Lord Harmon directly… he requested that the immortal and our best troops and undead were reallocated. I don’t have the details. But all our Hounds, Blood Hunters, Flamebats, Clerics and even the Lich lord Seria and the Immortal Fahuir himself were sent… and none returned. I fear they are all dead, my lord.”

“It’s not like Harmon to interfere with this fortress. Did he order it himself?”

“Yes, my lord”

“Gehar, where was this attack?”

“I don’t know my lord, he said a woman would come here and take the forces… since they did not return. I assumed the worse”

Dahmer's eye begins to twitch, more blood tears begin to appear and cross his face. He takes a deep breath and continues “I suppose lord Harmon has already assigned a substitute for them, when do they arrive?”

“I don’t know my lord… I haven’t received any contact yet, yours is the first one.”

Dahmer laughs and puts his hand on his eye.

“Nobody expected them to die. So I think nobody was assigned. I’m afraid that we are without a proper guard my lord, one that can engage in the collector, that is. Not to mention that the undead that remained here are just too weak to do anything”

“This is a dark day for the magnificent Argonian Kingdom… such a thing cannot be overlooked. Very well, I better go myself before the beasts give up on the fight altogether.”

“My lord, you will come personally?”

“Yes… been too long since I’ve taken a good look at my fortress. Not to mention I promised Lord Eremir 1000 sacrifices until next new moon.”

“That’s quite a lot, my lord…”

“That’s true… perhaps I shall bring one of the knights with me.”

“May I suggest Master Berzerath? He is very well versed with the spear. He would do wonders fighting within with the collector”

Dahmer smiled “Very well, prepare for our arrival… I don’t want to stay very long, so increase the pulse frequency of our crystals to the maximum. I want those beasts out of their minds and ready to die at the collector as soon as I arrive.”

“Are you sure my lord? To increase the pulse even more than this might be dangerous…”

“I don’t care, do it as I say, Gehar”

“Very well, master”

As Dahmer was about to close the connection, his eye sparked briefly and he returned to Gehar “Wait…”

“Yes, Lord Dahmer?”

“Why can’t I see my pets in the fortress anymore?”

Gehar forced a smile “We had a small problem a while back…”

“Problem?”

“The new beast… the one with many legs and the dark brown fur. It managed to escape its cage, on its way out, it killed all the others and even managed to escape the fortress”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?”

“I… Well… with everything that happened… It might have slipped our minds, my lord”

“Incompetents… a shame we won’t be able to see it in action, I heard it is one of the deadliest mindless beasts there are. It kills in a very distinct way. I was hoping to study it with the help of a few beasts… I guess I will have to find another thing to pass my time then.”

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The king entered the Cage in the middle of the Lion’s clan forest just with Riou, pulling him by his chains while everyone else was waiting outside. He didn’t want anyone else to see his son behind bars.

They moved deep into the cage dungeon until only darkness remained, a place without any sunlight. A place that only a lonely candlelight dares to stand alone against the darkness of that place.

Deep inside that corridor, in the very last cell, was Zegrath.

“Zegrath? Why did they put him here… of all places, Zegrath? Are you there?”

The king forced the door open, disregarding the key that hung by the wall nearby the lock “Zegrath! I came to get you out of this cage” said the king even before laying eyes on his son inside that cell.

As their eyes finally crossed, the wicked smile that appeared on his son bothered the great king deeply. Still, he maintained his composure and looked at Zegrath with more care. Zegrath seemed pale and smaller than he remembered. His eyes were of a redder color, fully opened and with an opaque glint of light to them. Far different from the golden, shiny eyes of the pure lions.

Zegrath seemed quite agitated once the king entered the cell, he twitched every now and stared at the king in silence.

“I heard of what happened, you were ambushed by this human’s mercenaries, weren’t you?” He pulled Riou inside and in front of Zegrath.

Riou took a good look at the fallen prince and frowned. “So, you are Zegrath? You are nothing like what I was expecting.” But the lack of response and even reaction surprised Riou greatly.

His eyes pulsed in a bright blue color for a moment and he looked carefully at the fallen prince “Something is not right with him… can you sense it, king? This strange madness eating away his soul?”

“Shut it human, you can't escape your fate. No matter what you say now, nothing will change.” he turned to his son once again “I brought him so you could exert your revenge and recover your honor, my son.” Zegrath smiled, way too happy for his own good. “Sword… I need my sword...” finally said Zegrath.

The king smirked and unsheathed his weapon to give it to his son. “You can use mine for the moment”

Riou looked at Zegrath's strange behavior. His eyes, his actions… “I’d watch it if I were you, because I don’t think your son is in there anymore,” said Riou, looking at the prince.

The king twitched his head and stretched his neck while closing his eyes, Riou noticed him even growling silently while doing it.

“Say what you want… but you will die even if you are right” The king's tone was completely different than moments ago. Even Riou could tell that the king and Zegrath just became much more aggressive and angered for no reason.

But Riou just ignored the king's words for the moment and turned back to the dark wall behind him, whispering into the darkness “Umbra, can you take a look at this for me? Is this the tainted mana from the Abyss that you spoke of? Is it affecting them?”

The king was far away in his thoughts, Zegrath as well seemed spacing out. Something was definitely affecting both of them.

A small red eye appeared on the dark briefly and disappeared without a trace. “No… There is no dark corruption in this realm. This poor soul’s lust for power was what brought his demise. He allowed his soul to be the fuel of his power” said the dragon voice startling the king and Zegrath back into the moment.

“What was that?” asked the king looking around.

“What was what?” Asked Riou smiling.

Oyran then looked at Riou and back at the wall as if sensing something was just there. “What kind of sorcery was it? I heard someone speaking” He said looking at Riou’s hands, but the chains were there and working properly, the runes were active, it couldn’t have possibly been a spell done by the human.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, I didn’t hear anything”

He looked at Zegrath but he couldn’t possibly give any sane answer at that point. He then glanced at Riou’s hands “You couldn’t have cast any spell… then, how did you do that? Whose voice was that?”

“Are you hearing voices? What did they say?”

Suddenly Zegrath grabbed the sword from the king’s hand, Oyran held it momentarily by reflex and looked at his son once more before letting the sword go.

Zegrath stepped back, laughing sterically looking at the blade at his hand “A blade! Finally!” his mood then shifted, he begins to get sad and then angered “But It’s not the same… Why is it not the same? Where is it? Where is my sword!?” he mumbled very disoriented while the king watched him carefully.

Zegrath looked with crazed eyes at the king and then at Riou and his chains, “You! You will be the first!” and lunging at the human trader Riou, desperately trying to slash him with that blade.

As the sword was swung with deadly intent at the trader, the king grabbed it in mid-air with his bare hands. Without any trouble or damage to them. “Wait…” he said, looking at his son very concerned. Zegrath tried desperately to break off Oyran’s grip, pulling and pushing the sword, but it was too strong.

“That voice… it implied that he did this to himself, that he allowed his soul to be consumed in exchange for that power. That damned sword! It was all because of that sword!” Said the king while looking at his son.

“I heard it was a very powerful blade, maybe that was the price to wield it… Unfortunately, there is no way to restore a broken soul. And without it, the body will also perish, he doesn’t have much time left”

The king sighed, he seemed to be calming down and recovering his temper. “What happened to you, my son? How come you became like this? You were my pride” holding the sword in place with one hand, the king went with the other to Zegrath’s face. The prince flinched expecting a hit but the king was gentle and just laid his hand on his son’s face.

The mad prince began to struggle, desperately trying to get away from the old lion but without letting go of the sword. He couldn’t budge the king’s grip in any way.

Suddenly, Oyvar let go of the sword and let Zegrath go. The prince stumbled back and fell at the dark corner of the cell with a confused expression.

“So weak… This thing cannot possibly be my son, Zegrath is already dead” said the king, turning away and leaving the cell without giving Zegrath a second glance. Riou watched the prince for a moment. The broken lion sat on the corner like a frightened rat holding on to the sword-like his life depended on it “Why do this? Was this even planned? Did you really acquire that sword by chance? What am I missing? Why do I feel this was all calculated?”

Riou moved out and closed the broken door behind him as well as he could before going after the king at the main corridor.

“That thing is not my son,” said the King, looking towards the exit of the Cage.

“The sword was cursed. He probably knew it, but in the end he wasn’t able to throw all that power away”

“That sword, I was so proud of him. He ripped it from the hands of an Argonian Berzerker after a decisive battle, a fight for the legends. Zegrath was a strong lion, my son was something else when he was younger, I dare say he was even stronger than me at his age. But look at him now.”

As they stepped out the Lionesses waited with expectation, but the king just moved silently towards his traveling beast.

“King… do you mind?” Riou showed him his cuffed hands.

Oyran stopped and looked at him “Did you hear that voice too? Tell me the truth”

Riou nodded.

“Was it your doing? Did you say those words?”

He shook his head.

The king found the response amusing “The Brahms and their mysteries… I heard many things about your clan over the years. And all those stories start to make sense now.”

The king turned towards the Tallahar “That voice, was it another human mage?”

“No…,” said Riou plainly.

“It wasn’t even human, was it? That’s why you denied hearing it…”

Riou just smiled. “So, are we good?” he showed the chains once again.

The king nodded at his response “No… we are not. If you and your people hadn’t come, my son would still be alive.” he jumped on the Tallahar and shouted down to the soldiers. “Free him… and let’s return”

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On a quiet alley inside Khargaz, Grimas waits impatiently by the shadows, avoiding the gazes of the people passing in the main street.

“I received your message,” said another one entering the alley from behind him.

“Finally. You will help me to get out of this place. Get me passage in a boat and I will give you five gold coins… that will be enough to buy back some of your friends. Am I right?”

“Are you leaving, lord Grimas?” The man removed the hood showing the scar and the grayed hair.

“I am… my allegiance to Zegrath didn’t pay up in the end. I knew he was over the edge but I didn’t think someone stronger would appear. The matriarch, they will lock me up for good after all I did for him.”

“Zegrath is gone? Did someone beat him?”

“Didn’t you hear it yet? He was defeated… The clan will have a new leader soon. But enough of that, go and get me a boat passage to the human lands. Quickly”

The wolf nodded and approached to get the coins. The moment he reached for the pouch, the wolf grabbed his arm, a blade fell from his sleeve and the wolf stabbed the lion on the stomach.

“What are…” Grimas stepped back trying to stop the bleeding. “You just doomed all your friends… who will employ you now?” His vision began to get clouded “Poison?”

The wolf smiled “A funny thing happened when I went back to see our kids by the shore village… They said a human trader, dressed in black clothes left many gold coins at their door. Imagine my surprise, there aren’t many traders with that description and with that much coin after all.”

“So you came to kill me? What about your brethren? You will leave them as slaves?”

“No… I managed to save enough from the past jobs and with the coin from that trader plus these in your hand... I will be able to free all of them. After that, only one will remain for us to save.”

“After everything I’ve done for you!? Do you dare to bite me back? Damn wolf, I should have expected it”

“Let me thank you for everything, master Grimas, for all the famine, disease, and cold nights you made our children suffer while their mothers and their fathers worked as slaves in some of your friends' houses. No longer a Wolf will suffer under the lion’s hand. Now you will be the ones to pay for our suffering”

“Wait… I have more coins, we can still fix this. Help me and I can make you rich.” The poison was already weakening the lion’s body, he couldn’t stand up anymore and fell to the ground.

The wolf crouched beside Grimas, with his dagger he slowly pierced the lion’s heart. “You may be a lion, but I can’t trust your words anymore… we are done” he grabbed the coins and the money pouch from Grimas and left the dark alley.

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“Oyran, my son… are you back already? Have you seen Zegrath?”

“I saw him… what remains of him at least. But I’m tired now, we will talk tomorrow after I put my head in place. Arrange everything and come to meet me at the castle. I will be waiting” The king left with his soldiers and bodyguards.

Diata nodded and changed her gaze to the human trader that was now freed from the chains.

“It is good to see you are out of those chains. I knew my son would see reason, for more than it pains me, took us far too long to realize what was happening to Zegrath.”

Riou nodded “The cost of the power was too much, still, Zegrath was willing to pay it”

She nodded “I’d like to meet you in more favorable circumstances”

“Thank you, so you are the King’s mother? Won't that make you the former queen?”

“It does, but once my time was done I changed roles. Now I’m just Diata, the Matriarch in charge of the Lionesses’ training.”

“A pleasure to meet you Matriarch Diata” Riou lowered his head in reverence for the elder.

“I believe you would like to meet your party, but I’d like to talk to him in private for a moment before that, if possible. I won’t take much of your time”

“Sure…” Riou glanced at her with curiosity and was escorted to a room with chairs and a desk.

Cups with some tea were prepared by the servants and put on a small table near the seats “Please, sit down, do you want some tea?” she picked up the teapot.

“Thank you”

“I heard so much about you, I was looking forward to meeting you in person,” said the Elder with a smile. “Which family do you represent?”

“Brahm.”

“Oh, a Brahm? I’ve heard of them for a very long time. No wonder you can afford that kind of equipment and such strong people to be with you.” She put down the tea.

“I’d like to thank you for bringing Arthas and the girls to these lands, if it weren’t for you, we might have never met them. They are special ones, I had never seen people that could hide their presence so well, not at that level of power at least. Especially Arthas, I’d be lying if I say that I didn’t want him to be the clan leader, maybe even the next King... with him on our side we may even be able to finally put an end to this war” she said watching the trader’s reaction closely.

Riou smiled “If you want to thank someone, thank Eileen, she was the mastermind behind our visit here. She insisted to come to see her master, I merely tagged along”

Diata smiled and nodded, the trader didn’t even bother with her comment of taking Arthas off him. “I see… Her bond with her master is indeed very strong, you may not know it yet, but because of her deeds of valor, she was recognized as a Lioness. Not only her, all of them were integrated into our clan, they can stay here if they wish” the elder once again, took a sip of the tea while watching the human reaction very attentively.

Riou was quite surprised and happy for them “Really? I didn’t know that… wow, that’s quite an achievement! I’m happy for them, especially for Eileen, a human to be recognized as a Lioness is no small feat at all. I need to congratulate her properly when I meet her again”

Diata was quite pleased by his responses, he didn’t become defensive nor made any counter comments. He seemed genuinely happy “Which brings me to my main subject” Diata signaled for the lioness outside with a nod. She entered the room with a large chest in her hands, putting it down on the ground near Riou.

She opened it to show him many gold coins, jewelry, and precious stones that were inside of it.

“I believe they are under your employment, I’d like you to release them. Especially Eileen... completely” said the Matriarch looking at him seriously.

Riou was not understanding where that was coming from.

Noticing his confusion she continued “Eileen told me you two were engaged, I’m not very knowledgeable of the human customs, but I’d hope to be able to free her from any duty or promises that she might have with you. Of course, you would be greatly rewarded for it”

He got surprised but began to understand it “Right… just one question, is she aware of this?”

“How long have you known her? How come you two became engaged? Pardon me for asking, it's just, to me, you two are so… different.”

Riou pondered for a moment on his current situation trying to make sense of it “Well… I met her when I was younger, back in Allard. I stayed a few days at her family house... But it was only a few months later in Thanes that we ended up engaged, family stuff you know. Still, it was long ago… and now we just recently met again and she asked if she could travel with me… this is the first trip we are doing together since we found each other again”

Diata nodded “I see… And you already had Arthas and the girls working for you by that time? I understand now… this trip was to grant her wish to come here to see her master” Diata nodded as if understanding everything “You seemed a good man, I can sense by your voice that you care for Eileen. So, would you consider releasing her and the others from their duties?”

Riou sighed “They are not for sale if that’s what you are implying” he glanced at the chest.

Diata shook her head “I don’t wish to buy them, I just want to free them from any duties they might have acquired. I want them free to make their own choices from now own without attachments”

Riou nodded a bit relieved “Well, they are already...” Diata didn’t let him finish his sentence and looked at the door, two more chests came inside as filled as the first.

“How much do you want so I can hear a yes from you?”

He scratched his head “I think you have the wrong idea here, like I was trying to say, I don’t own them, they are not bound to me, I’m not forcing them to do anything. If they wish to part ways with me, all they need to do is to say so.”

Diata widened her eyes in surprise “Even Eileen?”

“Especially Eileen, I’d never hold her down or force her into anything. If she has other plans, she just needs to say it”

The Matriarch looked at him quite surprised “And you wouldn’t require any compensation for that?”

“I’m rich enough as it is… Her happiness is all I care about, all of them, they are like family for me”

She smiled “I’ve misjudged you. Despite your... condition, you seem to be an honorable man. For that, I apologize. I can see now why warriors as strong as they were willing to help someone like you”

“Thanks? I guess?”

“Eileen will be happy to hear this…” Diata was very excited with the news.

Riou was surprised by her reaction “So, she wants to call off the engagement?”

Diata nodded “I’m sorry to inform you, but she fancies another male”

He was shocked to hear that “She does?!”

Diata sighed “I didn’t want to be the one to break this to you. But it’s natural for a female like her to seek someone with greater power. You should have expected it to happen when you paired her with someone as special as master Arthas.”

“Master Arthas?”

“He showed great care for her well being as well. And now that she was recognized as a Lioness, she can follow our traditions. But I had noticed that her sense of duty and loyalty to a former promise was holding her back in that regard. With this conversation, I just wanted to clear the way for her to do as she pleases.”

Riou blinked a couple times in silence trying to make sense of all that.

“You don’t need to be ashamed, Master Arthas is a Lion amongst Lions, he is the embodiment of what all males should strive to be. His presence alone, when freed, is breathtaking… I even had to stop a few of our young lionesses to pledge to him. They were about to talk to Attia and Bellica to ask for that honor.”

Riou smiled brightly “Really?!” He contained himself not to laugh and returned to a more serious tone “I mean, if that’s what she wants…of course I won’t be on her way, nor his.”

“Splendid! It’s about time for our festivities to start, let’s join the others and bring them the good news”

Diata stood up and guided Riou through the halls towards the open garden where the party was being held.

“I like you, Riou Brahm, you are not like the humans I’ve met before. And I’m certain you will find another mate in no time, one more aligned to your standard” mentioned Diata in a good mood as they walked.

Riou forced a smile.

Many tables were put in the open garden in the middle of the clan house, several Lionesses and lions of all ages were attending. Diata guided Riou to a very special table, far away from the center. He could see everyone sitting there. Arthas, Therese, Eileen, Attia and Bellica were all sitting down, they seemed very concerned, probably waiting for Riou's return.

Still, they were the ones being exalted at the center of the place.

When Riou arrived with Diata, the group immediately noticed him and moved to his encounter.

Riou waved and smiled “I guess I missed all the action,” he said, glancing at Therese. She was smiling faintly at him from the table.

“Please, sit down with us, we have a lot to talk about!” suddenly said Arthas, trying to give him his seat at the most highlighted chair.

“I want to know what happened here, especially why the necklace was activated” he looked at Eileen. She was wearing clothing like the other lionesses there, but she didn’t seem injured or wounded.

Eileen approached him and took his hands “The chains… they are gone, that means you were cleared of the accusations?”

“I guess so, Zegrath was in a bad shape, even the king had to admit that a simple fight would not put him in such a condition. He doesn’t have much time left, his soul is quickly fading away”

“This is bad then… we have even less time than we thought” Said Eileen, quite concerned.

Diata waved for Riou and called him from one of the tables in the far back. “Mister Brahm, your seat is ready” beside Riou’s seat was another human, a blond man with long hair.

Riou looked at the group and shrugged. “Please, sit down everyone, I have an announcement”

“Let’s talk soon after this, ok?” said Eillen as Riou nodded and the party went to their seats.

Riou sat beside the blond man “Hey, I’m Galan… so you are the merchant!”

“Hi…” said Riou, with no idea who that was or why he was there.

“So you are the lucky guy engaged to her?” He pointed to Eileen that was turned and staring constantly at Riou from the main table, she seemed to want to talk to him with some urgency. “Oh man, you must be filthy rich” his eyes found the black crest on the ring and his eyes widened. “No way! You are on the line for the main house of the Brahms? That explains so many things!”

Riou forced a smile and nodded, not paying too much attention to him, he was trying to understand what was going on and why Eileen was so concerned.

“I’m an entrepreneur myself, the best human hunter in this region. Wouldn’t you have some job opportunities for someone with my talent, wouldn’t you? Are you looking after some specific beast? Leather or claws? I can get you anything, or anywhere... for a good price, of course.”

“Galan, he’s a guest and is not interested,” said a Lion in front of Galan.

“Nonsense Kasif, all merchants like a good opportunity” he turned to Riou once again “I know everything there is to know on these lands, been everywhere even beyond the front, I know all about all Argonian camps and their cities”

Riou's interest sparked “Have you been by the fortress to the south of that black graveyard?”

“Of course, I’ve seen it all… The fortresses, the undead camps their mining camps”

“Mining camps? There are more than one?”

“Yes, they have a heavy mining operation on those mountains… I don’t know exactly what they mine there, but it's something delicate. Something that the undead can’t dig with their senseless hands. That’s why they use live prisoners for the job”

Riou nodded with a smile “I heard that as well, what else do you know about the south of the border?”

“I even traveled to the great desert entrance and saw the walls of the Argonian capital on this side of the land”

“Is that so… did you take a look inside of it too?”

Suddenly Diata got everyone’s attention. “The king returned to the capital, he was tired from the travel back but requested that we talked tomorrow at the castle to solve the new Clan’s leadership needs. But that’s not what I want to talk about today” she said beside Arthas and Eileen. “After talking to mister Brahm, he explained to me the situation” she looked at Riou and smiled.

Arthas, Eileen, Attia, and Bellica looked at each other confused.

Diata nodded and continued “He told me that his group has no contractual obligations with him and are free to do as they please at any time. This means that all of our new clan members are free to stay with us, even you Eileen. Your engagement is undone and now, as a Lioness, you are free to choose your mate as you see fit”

Eileen instantly looked at Riou with widened, angered eyes.

Feeling the burning anger from the princess Riou quickly added “I said IF, IF she wants to break the engagement she can do it… I just said that I wouldn’t be the one holding her down, that’s what I said! In those precise words”

A bit bothered by his interruption but elegantly smiling at him l“Yes mister Riou, that’s why this engagement is now undone and Eileen can...”

Eileen stood up immediately “Wait a moment!” She then smiled at everyone, standing up and going towards Riou looking at him with piercing eyes “Can we talk? In private” she promptly grabbed him by the hand and took him to the garden nearby, away from everyone.

Diata watched as Riou forced a smile while being dragged away. She was utterly confused by Eileen's strange actions.

“What’s going on? Why would she say something like that about the engagement? She has nothing to do with it” Eileen asked him.

Riou shook his head “You tell me! I just arrived! It was the old lady that took me to a room and told me that was what you wanted. In her exact words… ‘Eileen fancies another male’” he tried to mimic the elder’s way of talking “That’s what she said. She told me you were a lioness now… oh, congratulations by the way. That’s such a great achievement. I remember how you were excited when you met Syldis for the first time and told me the story about her becoming accepted by the bear clan. This is quite an achievement, you must really have impressed them, didn’t you”

“We will get to that, don’t change the topic!” Eileen sighed “I can’t believe Diata said that. She has been pestering me with it too, even after I told her that she was wrong, she continues to insist on it”

Riou chuckled a bit “She said that you wanted to be with ‘Master Arthas’ and that I was kinda in the way. She then tried to buy me out with 3 chests full of jewelry and coins… but you know me, I’m a nice guy. I’d gladly step away if you wanted me to… so do you want me to step away?” he asks her, looking at her suspiciously and hiding a smirk.

Eileen sighed “This is not the time for joking around. Diata must want us all to stay here and is clearing all obstacles so that we can’t say no. But still, I don’t have the slight idea why she thought that I was interested in Arthas.”

Riou nodded, smiling with forced relieved expression. She narrowed her eyes at him with a smile, knowing he was still playing with the whole situation.

“But I do feel like I missed everything… Therese is free, Zegrath was dealt with and you are a lioness… Tell me how did that happen?”

He could see how happy she was because of that title. “To be honest, I don’t know for sure… I spent a lot of time talking with Diata and then we had to deal with Zegrath, it wasn’t easy, He was really strong. After it, after they saw our abilities Diata made the announcement.”

“I see… Diata was once queen after all. She is used to having her will followed”

“I just wanted to make my position clear to her.” She smiled at Riou and squinted her eyes “After all, I don’t intend to let you get away from me that easily”

Riou smirked “I don’t intend to go anywhere, my princess… still, I guess you should tell the old lady that. More emphatically this time.”

“Yes… I will be much more direct this time” Eileen grabbed Riou by the cheeks and kissed him in the middle of the garden as everyone could see them.

Eileen stopped suddenly and moved back “Wait! We don’t have time for this right now… Leona needs help!”

“Hum?” Said him coming back to the moment after getting surprised.

“Zegrath put a mind control collar on her and bound her fate to his… and you said that his time is running out, that means Leona’s might not have much time left as well”

“A collar?”

“Her mind is trapped, we even called Maximilian here to see if he could help, but he needed to do some tests and went back to the village to work on it”

He nodded “Where is she?”

“In her room, let’s go see her” Eileen then glanced at Therese, the great Lioness observed them from the table very attentively, she knew Eileen would make a move soon and take Riou back to see Leona.

The princess once again grabbed Riou’s hand and moved towards the guest quarters.

------------------------- Table’s view

Everyone watched as the two discussed, Eileen seemed passionately speaking her mind at first while the trader listened and seemed cornered. It was clear who had the power in that relationship.

Her mood gradually improved after they talked a bit and both were quickly smiling at each other. But then, suddenly, Eileen just kissed the human trader in the middle of the garden and in front of everyone.

Diata widened her eyes “Oh my… but I was so certain that.”

Eileen then suddenly grabbed his hand and walked towards the rooms.

“By the elemental mother of nature! Was I that mistaken?” said Diata as she watched Eileen taking the male by the arm and pulling him into the bedrooms. She was perplexed by the scene.

Therese stood up and smiled at the elder “time doesn’t forgive anyone Mother Diata, I remember a time where nothing went by you”

“I know, still, I thought that I was still the same Therese, my age didn’t slow me down, it gave me more experience… I just don’t know what happened this time, I was so sure to be helping.”

Therese shook her head “They were made for each other Diata, that girl has been chasing that man since he was a young boy. You thought he was the one seeking her? But in reality, it was her the one that went on the effort to tie him down to her”

Diata was confused, “Is that so? But how come? She is so strong and he… well, let’s just say that he is not male a Lioness would choose.”

Therese smiled faintly at her and put her hand on her shoulder tenderly “I will check on them and give them some proper talk, this is not the time for a mating call”

“Please do, I need to apologize to her for my mistake”

Attia and Bellica looked at each other with surprise and then at Arthas “Mating call?” Attia whispered to him, very surprised, ready to stand up and go after them too. But the Lion just shook his head, “The queen is taking him to see Leona, Therese said that to make a point to Diata misunderstanding” he whispered back to them, both nodded, calming down.

“I’m sorry master Arthas, I thought I was helping… but it seems I misread the situation completely” said the Matriarch to the Lion.

Arthas just shook his head “When that man is involved, nothing is what it seems to be. Don’t worry Matriarch, we all already knew about their connection.”

“But I still can’t believe she’d chosen him… it’s hard for me to comprehend that”

“I met Eileen just recently, but after seeing them both together, even in this short while, I can see that she likes him. Regarding him… well, we’ve been together for a while now and I can attest that there is no one else in his heart, but her”

Diata nodded, nobody got offended by her mistake which only proved to her, how close that group was.

----------------------------------------

Therese entered the room. Riou was already focused at the collar on Leona’s neck, touching it and looking at it with care.

She looked at Eileen and smiled “You’re not only stronger, but much bolder than before, that will certainly give Diata something to think about.”

Eileen smiled briefly and glanced at Riou.

“But is there a problem? You seemed distressed when you looked at me” Added Therese.

“Yes, Riou saw Zegrath while with the king, he said that he was dying in the cages. He don’t have much time left”

“But how? Why?”

“His soul is mostly gone it seems, with his death, maybe his soul didn’t return completely, or the sword consumed it when tried to revive him… what we know now is that he won’t last long”

She nodded and approached Leona “So what do you think? Can we save her?” asked Therese.

“Well, it’s Argonian, I don’t have much experience with it. So can’t tell you much more than that yet. Eileen said it's used to control a person, but is not just that simple.” He extended his hand over Leona’s head. “The spell is invasive to the mind, it rooted itself on her head in a strange way. I have never seen anything like it” said Riou, looking and putting his hand over the collar.

“That’s what Maximilian said… Do you know any way to help her?” Therese asked Riou expectantly.

“Maybe… but I need some time” he replied while analyzing the collar, frowning at the small green stones around the necklace and the pattern drawn from them to the metal. “Interesting… They know about mana circuits too. I thought I was the only one… Damn, Argos is proving to be much more advanced than I expected.”

Therese sighed as her hopes were going away. She turned to Eileen “Maybe we should go see the magus… I know it’s early but maybe he discovered something”

“Well… we could do that, but I don’t think it would be of any help anymore” Riou raised the open collar on his hand.

“Why?” Eileen said turning to him, surprised by seeing the collar in his hand already.

“Because I removed the collar already”

Both quickly went to Leona. She was sleeping profoundly, breathing, and very alive.

“She is alive… Did you break the spell?” Eileen asked, approaching her on the bed.

“It was more complex than I anticipated, but nothing that I could not track with a bit of time” he then touched Leona’s forehead with his finger and she immediately opened her eyes.

Therese called for her and touched her hand “Leona?”

The wolf turned her head slowly, as if awakening from a deep sleep “Master? What happened?” she slowly sat down on the bed, her eyes were full of life once again.

Therese turned towards Riou not believing what he just did. “How? You said you had no understanding of Argonian magic… you said you needed time”

Riou just shrugged “I did… It took me a while to figure out how to reverse-engineer the mana circuits. When I understood how it operated I managed to stop the spell and invert the mana flux. That way, the roots of the spell receded gradually and without any damage”

Therese turned to Eileen, but his statement also made no sense to her. Whatever he did was deemed to be impossible to be accomplished.

The princess just smiled and looked at Leona “Do you remember anything?”

“We arrived at the beast lands… after that… nothing. Eileen, why are you here? Wait, where am I? Why am I so tired?” Leona seems a bit out of herself, still coming to her senses.

Riou agreed with her “She does needs rest, her body was strained to the limit after all this time”

“What happened?” she asked.

“You were taken prisoner and controlled by Zegrath” Answered Therese quite relieved to see Leona talking again.

The wolf looked down as if trying to remember.

“You were away a whole year,” Therese added.

“That can’t be right” she looked around and noticed the strange man very close to Eileen.

“Eileen? Who is this?” She looked with more attention and began to recognize the face, eyes, and especially the smell. “It can’t be… Riou?” She shook her head by the shock “How long did you say I was out? He is a grown man now!”

Therese sighed relieved, Leona was back to herself “One year and it was long enough… But his change is another story that I also wish to hear sometime soon. But for now, you should rest Leona. We are at the Lion’s Villa, everything is fine now and we can talk about all that happened when you feel better” said Therese standing up and turning towards Riou.

“Once again, I’m in your debt… first the sword and now this. If it weren’t for you, I don’t want to think what could have happened to me and her.”

Riou smiled “But I did nothing… after all, I just arrived, the one that did all the work was her” he pointed to Eileen.

Therese looked at Eileen “I know, but I also mean it, I have a debt to you both that a lifetime might not be enough to pay you back. So if you accept it, I’d like to go live within your village with Arthas. To be of service from now on just like him.”

Riou widened his eyes and looked at Eileen very surprised “Did I just hear that right?”

Eileen nodded and whispered to him “Therese kinda… well, she sort of claimed him for her”

“Claimed!? What? And I missed that!? Oh no… I should’ve been here to see that! Dammit! My boy is growing so fast!”

Leona shook her head and laid down once again on the bed and closing her eyes “I must be delirious, I just heard Therese has a mate”

Therese bluntly added “I hope you don’t mind that I took him for myself without asking”

Riou chuckled “Oh no, I don’t mind, I don’t mind at all. If he is happy, I’m happy for him… It was about time he settled down, I couldn’t be happier by his choice either”

She smiled already knowing his reaction to it. She then continued in a more serious tone “I lived most of my life outside of these lands, I wouldn’t feel right to be back here now… So me and Arthas decided to remain by your Village and I will help as I can”

“It’s not like it’s my Village… you know, I was hoping Arthas would eventually become the chief there again. But it’s been difficult to convince him. Maybe you can help me with it?”

“No, the strongest must be the leader”

Riou laughed at the abrupt response of the Lioness “Oh boy… the memories are coming back now. I forgot how you were strict about some things”

“I’m the most tolerant of all lionesses”

Riou glanced at Eileen and chuckled. “You deal with her from now on…” he looked at Therese and smiled at her “You are a friend Therese, your help and presence is always welcomed, whatever you and Arthas do, it’s more than fine with me.”

She put her hand on her chest and lowered her head.

“But, if you don’t mind me asking, why Arthas? Sure there are more young and handsome lions around here than him.”

“I liked him. He is different and undeniably strong. Even with that sword you created, I wouldn’t be able to match him if we fought seriously. I lived for far too long to let a chance like this to pass. Also, he seemed very receptive to my approach”

“Was he? This land changed him… back in the village, he was quite hard on the girls”

Therese nodded “He spoke of the village and the harsh years you two spent together. Especially how he became stronger after meeting you”

Riou was shocked once again “You guys are already talking about these things? How many days was I off? How long have you two been seeing each other? When did you have the time to...” he looked at Eileen but she just shrugged, not knowing they were so close already.

“We do move quickly,” Said Therese with a smirk.

Riou nodded to her “Lightning fast… damn, I need more details!” he looked at Eileen that promptly leaned and whispered “I will tell all I know later”

Therese continued “What’s important now is that Leona is safe. Let’s give her some time to rest, in the meanwhile, I will handle Diata and the leadership details. For now, let’s just enjoy the festivities and rest for a bit” replied Therese with her usual smile. “I will bring you food and water shortly, Leona you just rest there.”

The wolf nodded, “And something strong… I can’t believe you met someone, Therese. I will need some hard liquor to swallow that down”

“I will bring you the best one, we both will drink it together later”.

They left the room and were moving back to the festivities, Riou leaned towards Eileen filled with curiosity “Arthas and Therese… I never imagined. He was always so reserved back in the village. He changed a lot since he came here, first was that Catwoman and now Therese. I can barely recognize my boy”

Eileen agreed “You should’ve seen when he killed Zegrath… it felt like he was not on control of his actions, his mind was not all present and all lionesses kneeled to him when he released his presence amongst them”

“You did say he revived… the sword did it, right?”

“Yes… maybe not all of him returned after that”

“Hum… power over life, sounds like an Argonian gift after all. This is concerning, but if this was all planned, why would they give a weapon to the enemy? What benefit would give them to strengthen Zegrath’s position in these lands?”

Eileen shook her head, not knowing the answer to that.

They became silent for a moment as they continued on their way back, Riou lightly bumped Eileen’s shoulder gently. “So… I leave you for a couple of days and again I receive the news you have a new fiance. I’m noticing a pattern here”

She looked at him noticing he was playing with her “Then maybe you shouldn’t leave, so that wouldn’t happen”

Riou was impressed “Touché”

“What?” she smiled at the strange word.

“Nothing… just an expression. I will explain it to you over that dinner you owe me”

“I think we can’t wait that long… there is a lot we need to talk about. Maybe after dinner tonight? ”

Riou smirked “Sounds like a really good plan”

They were back at the festivities, everyone in the table watched them with widened eyes, some of the younger ones giggled and whispered to each other.

“Why is everyone looking at us like that?” asked the princess.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe because of the kiss?”

“No, a kiss wouldn’t create this commotion, would it?”

Therese approached them from behind “I told them you two went to the rooms to have a little fun”

“You said what?!” Eileen almost lost her composure out of embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, I said I’d prevent anything from happening and we weren’t away that long either. So it’s all fine”

“That’s not the point…” Said the princess quite red in her cheeks.

Riou just smiled and walked back to his seat while staring at Arthas with a grin from ear to ear. The lion sighed and smiled awkwardly already knowing that his master knew all about Therese by now.

After exchanging some words with Therese, Eileen went back to the table, she pulled a chair and moved it all the way to sit beside Riou.

Diata waited for her and cleared her throat before standing up and addressing her “I’m sorry if I had the wrong idea, I was just trying to help. I guess human customs are still beyond my understanding.” said Diata trying to amend things with Eileen.

“Don’t worry Diata, no harm was done and we already resolved this” said Eileen with a smile.

Riou heard from his other side, the blond human spoke to his ear “The elder underestimated the power of wealth, am I right?” poking Riou with his elbow. “They know about the Brahms, but they don’t know the extent of their influence. The lions have no idea how much power you have over the other kingdoms.”

Riou forced a smile and leaned towards Eileen and whispered “Who is this guy beside me? Why is he here? Why does he keep talking to me?”

“Galan? He’s like that… but he helped Arthas to get here and also helped to fight against the Argonian attack”

“So you fought Zegrath and there was an attack?” Riou wanted to inquire further but they were interrupted as the food began to be served, everyone waited looking at Therese and Arthas.

The young merchant smiled from ear to ear once again observing them in the other table.

The great lioness and Arthas on the other hand, were staring at Riou that just shook his head very slowly, showing them a devilish smile.

“You are enjoying this aren’t you” whispered Eileen, he nodded very slowly while his eyes kept watching the two.

“He won’t pick first…” whispered Arthas to Therese that smiled faintly “Then I wait” she replied very calmly while smiling back at Riou.

Noticing her master’s reaction, Eileen leaned at Riou “I think Therese will not break”

“She has to, I’m a simple human trader amongst lions” he whispered

“Don’t you remember? She doesn't care about any of that”

Riou’s smile quickly vanished “Damn… been so long that I keep forgetting who am I dealing with here. She is not like the folks from the Village” Riou moved his head, while looking at Arthas, pleasing him to do something.

Arthas, compelled to abide by his master disguise, forced himself, once again, to pick first. The great Lioness looked at him disapprovingly. Immediately his hand stopped midway, he was having an internal fight.

“Even if he moves, I don’t think she will ” whispered Eileen to Riou once again.

Moments of awkward silence passed as everyone watched them both with confusion. That situation couldn’t continue.

Realizing the focus was beginning to shift, Riou got fired up “I just helped Leona and she can’t do one tiny little favor, can she? Fine, she wants to play, we will play”

“She is honoring you in her way, you know? That's a great sign of respect, not provocation” said Eileen.

“No, she’s provoking all right” He closed his eyes briefly and then looked up, lightning crossed the skies, the bright light blinded everyone momentarily and the thunder followed quickly and loudly, shaking everything around them. Getting everyone’s attention instantly.

When their eyes returned to the table, Therese’s plate had food in it, everyone then began to serve themselves in the proper order.

Riou smiled victoriously at Therese. She looked back at him not quite admitting defeat. She waited patiently, until he picked the food for last, and then proceeded to eat the food herself.

----------------------------------------

After the feast, the group finally gathered to talk at the gardens.

“Master! It’s good to have you back! I wanted to go sit with you, but Arthas said we shouldn’t” Attia was finally able to address Riou. Both lionesses seemed overly happy to have him back.

“What happened that took you so long to return?” asked Arthas.

“A lot happened actually, I found Thorwald and Camus, they should be on the way back to their camp and will depart back to Thanes. I also had a good look into the battlefield and the first fortress city… and now I’m even more confused than ever. Argos is just dragging this war out. I just don’t know why yet.”

“You wish to investigate it?” asked the half-lion.

“Yes, I want to take a better look at their fortress… maybe take it down and see how they react to it.”

“I will go with you,” said Eileen as Attia and Bellica nodded as well.

Arthas shook his head “Master can go and come back in less than a day if he is alone… for more powerful than you are queen, you still nowhere near the level needed to accompany master’s speed”

She looked down, Eileen knew that she was still lacking.

“Well, we are not in a hurry, right? If you don’t mind we can take our time to travel there” Said Riou, noticing that she wanted to go.

Arthas smiled “Well, if that’s your wish master.”

Therese nodded while looking at Arthas “While they go there, we both could use the time to talk to Diata and sort things out with the king.”

Riou nodded and turned to Eileen, Attia, and Bellica “So, what do you say?”

“Yes!”

“Ok then, we can leave tomorrow if we are done here. But, how do we do this? Can I stay here too or should I get back to the city?” Riou looked at Eileen and Therese.

“He can stay with me, we have a lot to talk about” promptly said Eileen glancing at Therese that smiled “Well, as long as he is not caught on the female wing. Remember you are a lioness now and no male is allowed on the female side of the Villa once the night bell rings and vice versa.” said Therese.

“Can’t I stay with him in the guest area?”

“You’re not a guest anymore…”

As they began discussing that, Diata approached followed by Galan “There you are… I came to inform you that your rooms are ready. Shall we show you the room in the guest wing?”

Riou looked at Eileen, not too thrilled by Diata’s invite “Well… I think this is a good night then?”

Bellica and Attia were going after Riou when Eileen pulled them back “You two stay here, you heard Therese too”

“But, but… someone should guard his room” Said Attia as Bellica nodded vehemently “I could go and hide, the guards wouldn’t find me…”

Eileen smiled and shook her head “He will be fine inside the Villa and you too need to rest, besides, it would look strange… they think you are pledged to Arthas, remember?”

Attia and Bellica looked at each other and sighed disappointed “That’s true.”

Riou had been awake for far too long, he required a good night's sleep. As Diata showed him the room and he laid on the bed, he instantly passed out, falling asleep.

The night bell rang and the Villa went quiet, only a few guards and watchers remained awake and walking down the corridors.