#longer chapter

As my life update impacts the blog one I'll start with a little life update.

Life Update then :

As you may know, I was unemployed from January since this week. I was living on my savings but now I'm struggling a lot with money, I have to call my bank in order to negociate some kind of credit extension before I get an advance on my first pay but I will only get it after May 15th. That means I totally depend financially on my roomate which is not the best situation. In order to be able to buy food for the next couple of weeks, I sadly decided to introduce the tips option here. This is not meant as a cry for help, my roomate is actually okay to help me, but it's a solution for now (even though I feel already terrible to do it U_U). So, what will happen to the blog now that tips is optionnal ? I will delete the tips option mid May when I'll get my finances on track again.

Blog Update :

Well, nothing will change :)

As mention above, this is totally an option and if you follow me, you already know that all my content will always be free. As I don't have time for cc making right now, I won't do early access content or else. You can tip only if you want and mostly if you can (like you're a super rich heir who don't know how to spend daddy's millions .... If you struggle like me, keep your tip to treat yourself please ♥) Basically it's like donating to an author you like to read or a singer you like to hear I guess.

For the content of May I've planned to continue DH2. Episode 1 is ending this week (probably today as I'm working on the next parts) and episode 2 will start. I've also planned more edits and maybe lookbook as I've been enjoying doing these a lot lately. I've also planned to reblog more stuff and I'm working on a ressources page (finally !).

I hope you're all fine and well, surrounded with love ♥ if you ever feel the need to talk, interract or just vent, feel free to dm me anytime.

Seth gave a joyless laugh, “Plenty of mistakes to go around. If the Sphinx happens to die, will that open the new prison? Asking for a friend.”

“No, the prison will remain closed,” Agad said, finally a little amused, “I do not think you would be able to let him die, and that’s fine. But if he happens to die, there are enough already constructed locks in place that the demons of Zzyzx will remain sealed. If the Sphinx comes under your power, save him because you are good, or do not save him because he has harmed those you love and will continue to do so for his own benefit. Do not worry about Zzyzx.”

“Noted,” Seth said. Agad finished breakfast and Seth led him to the War Room.

“I also examined the barrel here,” Agad explained as they walked, “The other half appears to be deep underwater.”

“Why would they do that?” Seth asked. “Did anyone touch the letter we left?”

“Your letter remains in place. An interesting response, and I see only advantages in it. The letter remains physically here, my only recommendation is to make it waterproof so when they pull the barrel up and remove the letter, it doesn’t get ruined by surrounding water. Which answers your other question. They didn’t destroy the barrel, which means they likely intend to use it again.”

“Can you find it?” Seth hoped. “Even a general location would help narrow down the search.”

Agad was already shaking his head, “It’s too deep, and somewhere protected. I can’t get a read on it aside from the fact that it is deep enough that the pressure would kill a human.”

“Great,” Seth said, running a hand through his hair. They approached the War Room, and Seth sat down with Agad across from him. Grandma and Grandpa were already there, and rushed to greet Agad. They updated him on Tess running around the preserve with the Cloak of innocence. Agad gave them the same information about Kendra.

“Any other leads?” Seth asked when everyone was caught up.

“Not quite,” Agad said, “I was unable to gain contact with the Fairy Queen, so we are waiting to see if her connection to Kendra remains strong. No further leads on Bracken either. The only good news I have is that Warren and Vanessa managed to help the caretaker regain a foothold of the Crescent Lagoon sanctuary.”

“I have Bracken’s horn,” Seth said, blinking. He was glad that his friends had some success, but they were okay, Bracken was not. He pulled it out of his emergency kit, “Kendra gave it to me before she lost her memory, along with the medallion and a bunch of information she was keeping to herself.”

“Bracken did say that he had re-established full connection with his horn,” Agad said, “May I see it?”

Seth nodded and offered it to the wizard. Everyone was silent as Agad’s brow pinched in concentration.

“The connection is weak, it feels as though he is under water. No, underground and under water,” Agad said, snowy eyebrows rising, “I would not have been able to tell had I not recently examined the barrel, but working around the water, earth and darkness, I can sense that he is not currently in pain. He seems…bored. He can’t sense me on this side of the connection. But…I would venture to say, he’s at approximately the same depth as the barrel. Within a couple hundred feet of each other.”

“Good,” Grandma said, “Ronodin is handling everything from a master base. There is a good chance Kendra is near them as well. Can you tell Bracken anything about Kendra being near him?”

Agad concentrated, then shook his head, letting out a shaky breath and lowering the horn. “At most, I might be able to push his subconscious thoughts in a certain direction. But I’m positive thoughts about Kendra already haunt him. His last prison ended with her after all.”

Uggh, of all the times to be a lovesick dummy. “Ronodin wants the horn,” Seth said, “That’s what Kendra told me, and I think he tried to get her to give it to him at the Dragon feast.”

“I shudder to think of why he wants it,” Agad said, then offered it back to Seth. “If he wants it badly enough, he’ll find whoever has it. He will likely be more willing to deal with you, knowing how much you want Kendra back. He will also suspect that you have it if Kendra does not. If he contacts you, use your judgement, rely on your grandparents and allies, contact me, and do not endanger the world.”

Seth took it and nodded, placing it back in his adventure kit, silently thanking Agad for placing the lead back in his hands. He would have thanked him out loud, but didn’t want Agad to rethink the choice.

There was a knock on the door, and Knox opened it, letting Tess fall through. “Seth! Seth! I saw the nice dragon! It was so huge!”

Nice dragon? Oh, she left with Eve and they went to see Dromadus. That’s okay then.

“Tess made it back,” Knox said, following her. Patton Burgess’s stingbulb shut the door behind them.

“We took turns flying the winged mounts and walking along the road, over all a very short trip,” Patton said, taking a seat next to Seth. “We heard about Kendra losing her memory. I’m so sorry.”

Patton offered his arms for a hug, and Seth took it, squeezing tightly.

Patton smiled and patted Seth on the back, returning the hug. “Don’t get too attached, I only have a day left.”

Seth released him, “I know,” Seth said, “But I’m glad you’re here while you are. Kendra was kidnapped by Ronodin and the Sphinx working together, and we’ll take any help you can give.”

“Hey, I deserve a hug too,” Doren protested, and both he and Newel tackled Seth in hug, ruffling his hair, before settling back like nothing had happened.

They went through yet another round of catch-up, as Tess squeezed herself in between Knox and Seth, fairly bouncing while waiting to tell her story.

“Tess, this is serious,” Knox scolded, “Kendra’s in a lot of trouble.”

“I know,” Tess said, holding still, “But the fairies at Fablehaven told me all about Bracken and Kendra. Bracken is like, this super cool fairy prince who likes Kendra and totally saves her all the time. And Kendra has a bunch of wicked cool powers from the Fairy Queen, they’re going to be okay until you and Seth rescue them, if they don’t rescue themselves.”

Not how Seth would describe them, Kendra spent a lot more time saving Bracken than the other way around, far as he knew. He was surprised that the Fablehaven fairies were that nice about Kendra though. He wasn’t the only one.

“The fairies said that?” Grandpa asked.

“Well, they said Bracken pitied her, not that he liked her,” Tess admitted, “but that’s what girls always say when the cool boy likes someone else. And they said that the Fairy Queen gives Kendra powers to do stuff for her, and the Fairy Queen is the most powerful person ever. So everything is going to be okay. Really, we need to worry about us.”

Attention snapped to Tess like a guitar string.

“The Dragons are planning to attack us. Tonight! Dromadus doesn’t know how, but he heard them acting like they already won,” Tess explained. “I was supposed to tell Seth. Oh! And don’t tell anyone who told us about the dragons, that’s a secret.”

“Tess,” Knox said slowly, “That’s the kind of thing you say right away.”

“But it’s rude to interrupt people,” she said, confused.

Seth stood up, and he saw Grandpa raise his eyebrows in surprise. Why was he surprised? This was Seth’s job, after all, for a little while longer anyway.

“Okay Agad, welcome to the next round,” Seth said, “Did you check the magical defenses? How are they holding?”

Agad shared an amused look with Grandpa, who just nodded. “I did. The protections seem more secure than ever, even more than when I was caretaker here.”

“The Dragons are certain of victory, but will be unable to mount a frontal assault,” Grandma mused.

“Is Celebrant being hasty?” Patton asked, “From what I understand, dragons with losing streaks don’t stay king for long.”

“Perhaps Dromadus is toying with us,” Marat offered, “His help is rather unexpected.”

“I don’t think Dromadus would do that,” Seth said, “When Kendra and I met him, he seemed kind of like the Fair Folk. Didn’t want the sanctuary to fall, but not gonna do anything about it. And if he isn’t right, and the dragons don’t attack, there’s nothing to gain. If he lied, we wont trust him in the future.”

Marat tilted his head, acknowledging Seth’s statement.

“Anything is possible,” Agad said, “It could be that Dromadus is working with Celebrant, and they are hoping to find a weakness as we scramble to cover ourselves.”

“We have to treat it like a real threat,” Seth decided. “Whatever we show, it can’t be worse than them coming after us when we are unprepared. Possible weaknesses?”

“We should go over our magical defenses one more time,” Marat suggested, “Review the treaty and see if there is anything we missed. It is possible we have a traitor in our midst that will grant them access.”

Unfortunate, but true. He hoped they had been careful enough, though he hadn’t been around much to make a good guess himself.

“What about the barrel?” Knox asked. “We know where that is now, right? Could that be the weakness?”

Agad frowned, “It feels out of character for Celebrant to brag of a victory achieved by allies on the other side of the barrel, but we should not discount it. It is currently the greatest hole in our defense.”

Something about what Knox said bothered Seth. They know where it is now. They weren’t dealing with the Sphinx, but they kind of were. What had the Sphinx done in the past while they thought they were safe? And what was it about Knox’s statement that bothered him?

There wasn’t the textbook method: create a problem, send a friend to help, friend is a traitor. This was a different tactic. The Sphinx liked to stay one step ahead, control the board from both sides, and make threats to force you into action when you’d really just like to sit on your winning streak. Seth thought about the stories he had shared with Knox. Sometimes he planted a traitor, and sometimes the Sphinx sent invisible assassins after you because he already knew where you were going to be. Sometimes he let demon dragons out of their prisons when you weren’t looking.

“Guys,” Seth said, a sick feeling in his stomach, “Hey,” he stopped Marat and Agad in the middle of their discussion about magical defenses. “Bad thought. Someone was controlling Mendigo way before when the barrel was first stolen, right? Probably Ronodin, since he’s been hanging around the preserve and making deals with the Dragons. We thought the person left with the barrel, but it was in the basement the whole time.”

He waited for someone to deny what he was hinting at.

“Ah,” Grandpa Sorenson said, “I see. Between the time the barrel was lost and found, both sides of the barrel were out of our control, and Mendigo was available on our side to assist a sleeper agent.”

Grandma, Tanu, and Agad all looked like they were about to throw up.

“What are you saying?” Knox asked.

“Seth is suggesting the possibility that someone is already here, but remaining hidden,” Marat clarified, “An insightful observation and deduction.”

“Celebrant could claim credit for successfully distracting us,” Agad admitted, “Not as good as a frontal assault, but enough for him to claim the win. Especially if he can claim the kill. If the enemy is hiding near the Blackwell, it would be nearly impossible to sense them around the aura of the undead.”

“The question is,” Grandma said, “whether the source of the threat is already here, or will it come through the barrel yet. I am loathe to give up our only connection to Kendra.”

“Any way we can make sure we aren’t being listened to, Agad?” Grandpa asked.

“Not that I can create without knowing our spy and what he is using,” Agad said, shaking his head. “We will have to plan even though we may be spied upon.”

“There can’t be a bunch of them,” Seth decided, “I can see through most hiding spells, and I haven’t seen anyone. I can’t get around distractor spells, that was Kendra’s half…” he looked down at Tess, fairy struck, who was sitting still and paying attention like a good girl. Plans were starting to come together “Let’s not talk about everything here. I want everyone to split into groups. Agad, Marat, where’s the best place to examine the magical defenses?”

They shared a look, “The tower where the Roost used to be,” Agad said at last. “The protections still form a small dent there, where a dragon may come closer than other area.”

“Okay, head to Seth Tower, I’ll meet up with you after.” Seth said. It was energizing, being heard and listened to. And to actually be doing something! The brothers nodded.

“Tanu,” Seth said, “I want your potions ready by dinner, whatever happens, you’re going to need to be stocked and ready to go.” Several people caught his emphasis, but didn’t say anything, just like he wanted. Well Tess asked, but Knox shushed her.

“I would appreciate an assistant,” Tanu said.

“I’ll help,” Patton said, standing up, “Unless you have a job for me elsewhere.”

Seth shook his head, “Helping Tanu is perfect.”

He turned to Grandma and Grandpa, “I need you guys to work with the staff. Let them know we’ve been warned of a threat, organize extra lookouts and patrols, organize a watch over the barrel, that kind of stuff. We don’t know what direction the threat coming from, so we cover as many directions as possible.”

Now it was time for Grandma to look amused, and Grandpa to look proud.

“Understood Seth,” she said. “We will retreat to the Winter Study to plan. Henrick will be back soon, and his help will be invaluable with this. We should wait to inform the staff until after he joins us.”

“Great idea, go for it. Er, where’s the Winter Study?” Seth asked, trying to remember from their tour.

“Directly below Kendra’s bedroom,” Agad said. “On the first floor.”

Seth nodded, he’d knock on doors until he found the right one.

Seth turned to his remaining players, “And finally: Doren, Newel, Tess, and Knox. I have a very special job for you. Wait outside the door while I make sure of something with Agad.”

“That’s our cue to leave,” Grandma said, patting a hand on her husband’s leg.

“The abundance of caution while in command suits you,” Grandpa said, standing up. He put his hand on Seth’s shoulder as he passed, “I’m proud of how you’re handling this situation.”

Considering a little over a week ago, he’d gotten a stern lecture about endangering his cousin and the consequences to trying to trick magic, this was quite the change. Grandpa smiled, and walked past him. There was a small lump in his throat. This feeling was why Kendra always did her best to make people proud of her. It was rarely sent his way.

Tanu and Patton also left, then the satyrs and his cousins went just outside the door.

Seth walked close to Agad and lowered his voice, “Tess is Fairy struck, can she see through distractor spells?”

Agad nodded.

Seth smiled and nodded as well. He whispered. “Can you bring the treaty document to the tower?”

Agad shook his head, “It is locked in a box in the Winter Study. The medallion opens the box. I recommend against moving it.”

Seth looked at Marat.

“I agree, with my brother. We have the contents memorized, we should only consult them upon need.”

Seth nodded, then stepped back.

“See you at Seth Tower soon.”

The two of them left, and Seth took a moment to fling himself on the couch and groan. The energy had left when everyone else did. Leading was such hard work! For the millionth time, he wished Kendra had let him turn the key. Sure he’d be kidnapped and being trained into an evil Shadow Charmer right now, but Kendra was so much smarter than him, she would have figured out about the intruder way before.

Probably because she had better judgement than him and didn’t usually trust terrible people right off the bat. And like she said, people usually had enough confidence in her to just trust her with important stuff.

The door creaked open, “Uh, Seth, did you have a job for us?” Newel asked.

Seth got up and went to the door. Remembering from his first day, he used the medallion to unlock a desk drawer in the corner, and pulled out a key ring, slipping it into his adventure pouch.

“Yeah, follow me, I don’t know how much of the keep Tess and Knox got to see,” Seth said, “And it’s a good time to get an updated map of it, in case we come under siege. It’s possible the Dragons are just going to stare us down until we run out of food. Any of you got any talent at drawing maps?”

There was a pause as Seth led on.

“I’ve dealt with a fair amount of treasure maps in my day,” Doren admitted, “And I’m not a shabby hand with a pen. I can draw.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, “Start with the storerooms in the basement storerooms, where the barrel was before, then the dungeons, then the ground floor. If you can get through those floors by lunch, that’d be great, but make sure to do them all. I want you three to go with him, and look for anything that seems suspicious. Look through the dungeons, but if any of you touch the Blackwell, or the chain next to the Blackwell, I’m throwing all of you inside it,” Seth said.

Seth had led them into the library and started pulling out loose sheets of paper, “Doesn’t matter how small. If it seems out of place, make a note of it.”

“Are you sure this is the best use of our time Seth?” Newel asked dubiously.

Seth grinned, “It’s a very good use of your time.”

Seth started writing on various blank papers, while they all watched him. He turned to his younger cousin when he was finished.

“Right. Tess? I want you looking for pictures and weird things on the walls.”

On this sheet of paper, Seth had written:

Every single time you see a person or creature, point at them, say something nice about them, and ask if you can talk to them. Knox will either say that you’re busy, or that the person isn’t there. Nod and keep walking every single time. Don’t let anyone know what’s written here, keep it a secret. Put a clean sheet on top of this one.  

“Here’s a list of the things you should look for. This is an old castle, there might be secret passages that we need to find out about before someone sneaks in,” Seth said, handing her the paper. She immediately started reading.

“Knox, you’re looking up higher, pay attention to cold or warm drafts and the items in the rooms, make note of which ones have weapons, look for places where the intruder could be staying,” Seth said, handing him a piece of paper that read:

Tess is going to ask to speak to everyone she sees. She has magic eyes like Kendra. If you see who she’s pointing to, tell her that you’re too busy to bother them. If you don’t see who she is pointing to, tell her that there’s no one there and you don’t have time for games. Make notes, but don’t engage.

He turned to Newel, “Your job is to make sure no one runs into walls while writing stuff down, and make sure to explore everything. Bring the cool stuff back to me, so that our item troll doesn’t try to keep it for the shelves.” Seth said, spouting nonsense. “Write down where you find it though, in case Agad says we need to return it or unleash another apocalypse.”

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission,” Newel nodded with a salute. Seth handed him a paper that read:

If someone was listening to our meeting, they are going to be following you. Watch for them. Tess and Knox are going to be acting weird, just ignore them. You’re on protector duty.

And Seth handed fully blank sheets to Doren, “And, of course, you’re on the map. Here’s paper, pens, clipboard, and scotch tape. Everyone know their job?”

The four of them looked excited as they nodded. “Good,” Seth said, “Meet back in the War Room after lunch.”

Doren and Newel slung another salute. Tess tried to copy them and slapped herself in the face. Knox just rolled his eyes.

They left, and Seth debated between going to check up on Grandma and Grandpa, or heading straight to Seth Tower.

His grandparents couldn’t set anything in stone without Hendrick, so he’d head to the Tower. He’d be able to see Henrick coming back, and take him to Grandma and Grandpa when the Alcetaur arrived.

Up at the tower room, Marat and Agad were waiting for him.

“So, magic defenses in place?” Seth asked.

Agad nodded, “Perfect, just like I said twenty minutes ago. Mind explaining more of your plan?”

“Sure,” Seth said, “Grandma and Grandpa are doing exactly what I said they were. Running the past week from Blackwell made them the best people for that, until Hendrick gets back to help. Tanu is also doing exactly what I told him too.

“I sent Tess, Knox, and the satyrs looking for people hiding themselves with distractor spells, but they look like they’re creating a fresh map of the lower floors. Tess is pointing out everyone she sees to Knox, Knox is telling her that they’re too busy to talk to anyone and taking note of the people that Tess sees that he doesn’t. Because they’re the group doing the most suspicious work, I’m hoping any spies here are following them, letting the rest of us get things done. Newel is on the look out for someone following them, and thinks that’s what he thinks they’re doing. Doren is actually creating a map.”

Seth was rather proud of that plan, and feeling pretty ingenious for coming up with it in only ten minutes.

“Once again, not bad,” Agad said.

Seth gave a dry smile, “I learned from the best teacher. The Sphinx betraying me and my friends over and over. After this, I’m going to do my own sweep, trying to see through the shadows while shadow walking.”

“Might I recommend also holding your unsheathed sword at the same time?” Marat said. “That is the sword of Tregain, yes?”

Seth glanced down, “Oh that’s right! This sword helps make people look away from me, especially bigger creatures. I’ll definitely do that.”

“A very pro-active plan,” Agad said, “I will admit to not even considering the idea of someone hiding in the Blackwell. The barrel messes with the traditional rule of only allowing visitors a single night of stay, as that magic is activated upon crossing the boundary.”

“I do not believe that is all to our caretaker’s plan,” Marat said, amused, “I believe he feels he will do more for our mission elsewhere, and intends to return the mantle of caretaker to me.”

Agad gaped, then turned, “Is this true, Seth?”

Seth nodded, “Celebrant is no longer co-caretaker. The issue we came here to solve, the weakening barrier, is fixed. There’s no problem with Marat being caretaker, according to Dromadus, so long as he stays in human form. I’d be a lot more useful helping track down Kendra and Bracken.”

“Before you go any farther,” Agad said, holding up a hand, “There are things I wish to disclose to the caretaker of a dragon sanctuary. The remaining lines of defense after the sanctuaries fall. We can continue to discuss your possible resignation afterwards.”

Seth hopped onto a wide window ledge, “Okay, hit me. What else we got before the next apocalypse?”

“These secrets should not be repeated,” Agad warned, “Except to your most trusted ally at the time of greatest need.”

Seth glanced at Marat, who nodded, “I am already aware of the provisions my brother speaks of. Do not worry.”

“The first is why Dragons from fallen sanctuaries have yet to invade the mortal world,” Agad explained, “There is a magic item, perhaps the most magic item in existence —”

“More then the Wizenstone?” Seth asked, eyebrows raised. He was starting to suspect that there wasn’t an actual standard for how ‘magic’ an item is.

Agad paused, and Marat chuckled. Agad continued, “No, I suppose, not greater than the Wizenstone. Possibly it’s equal. I would not like to test either object against the other. The skull of the first dragon that ever lived, Abraxtus, is more heavily ensorcelled, than any other object I have ever come in contact with. It is called The Sovereign Skull. It takes all the disbelief in magic that all mortals generate, and creates a repulsive barrier against dragons. This is our absolute last line of defense, and must be protected at all costs. Only a few wizards know the location, and that information will never be divulged for its own protection.”

Seth nodded, “Can I have the name of a wizard that does know? Just in case.”

Agad looked him straight in the eye. “No.”

Seth nodded, “That’s fair. Sounds like we’re hoping it doesn’t get that far.” As though they had ever had any luck in that department.

“Another line of defense: the Dragon Slayers,” Agad said.

Seth grinned, “The Somber Knight was so cool. A bit of a downer, but a real life-saver. He’s still a bit…messy, after rescuing Kendra from being dinner. You’re talking about the ones at the other six sanctuaries, right?”

Agad nodded, “In addition to the other six at sanctuaries, there are five others that have been living in the world, waiting to be called upon again. It will take a while to wake them up, but Celebrant declaring war was the key.”

Seth nodded, “You did the same thing with the dragon preserves that you did with the demon prisons. How are these guys at handling immortality? We sure they didn’t try to off themselves?”

Agad said, “They all already had experiences with extended lifespans, so hopefully we are rousing them from a pleasurable retirement. And then there is a line of defense you are slightly more familiar with: the three treasures in the secret dragon temples.”

“Right, gauntlets that control dragons. Every dragon in a hundred miles comes by to kill you if you look at them funny,” Seth recited, remembering Thronis’s warning.

Agad nodded, “There are two other items, and two other sacred temples guarding these items at dragon sanctuaries. The harp that can send any dragon to sleep, and the shield that can defend against any dragon’s attack. These items were necessary to winning the war against the dragons the first time, and now that we’re facing war again, we need them back.”

Seth tilted his head, “Did they already get new guardians for the temple here at Wyrmroost? Cause we killed them, and its not like those were your ordinary, everyday dragons, and no one besides Gavin and Thronis knew we went there for the obsidian waste key.”

“It would be foolish to assume they aren’t guarded,” Agad said, considering carefully, “Though it is also strange that Celebrant has never ranted against your party for that affront. The answer is that I do not know.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about the predicament.

“Well,” Seth said, “How buried is the translocator? Me and Kendra have been in the temple treasure room, we, er, I, for the moment, could grab the gloves and come back in a snap.”

Marat spoke up, “Bringing the translocator back into play at this time would be a dangerous move. That item is really too powerful. Dragons in human form could use it to escape the sanctuaries without a fight.”

Agad nodded, “All the artifacts are currently inaccessible. We used the Chronometer to hide the translocator, the sands of sanctity, and the occulous six more years in the future, waiting for us to finish designing the vaults. The Font needed to remain in the present, to support our first immortal, but that is the only artifact accessible. At least, until the Sphinx made off with it during his escape. Good thinking, but unfortunately untenable.”

A horn sounded from the parapet over the gate.

“That means a dragon is coming, right?” Seth asked, turning around in the window. “Raxtus maybe?”

“It means official visitors,” Marat clarified, “It certainly has been seeing its use this week. It also announced the arrival of the carriage from Stormguard.”

“Got it,” Seth said, standing up, “Anything else you need to tell the current caretaker of wyrmroost about the grand scheme of defenses?”

“No, those are our three lines: talismans, dragon slayers, and The Sovereign Skull,” Agad counted.

“Okay, I’ll keep those in mind, and never tell anyone, unless I absolutely have to,” Seth said, drawing a cross over his heart for good measure. “My plan is simple. Celebrant is a great big ego, right? He hates Kendra for insulting him, and it’s embarrassing that he keeps losing to a couple of kids. He’s getting help, he’s getting desperate, no matter what his plan is, right?”

Agad nodded.

“So, I’m going to offer him one last insult as caretaker,” Seth said with a grin, “His little rebellion isn’t even worth my time. After we deal with our guests at the gate, I’m going to do my sweep of everywhere while walking through shadows. Then I’m going to give being caretaker over to Marat, and we’re going to leave, with the barrel. That’s Blackwell’s biggest weakness, and it doesn’t need to be here for us to use it. I’ll leave Marat with a parting note to read to Celebrant, letting him know that we have better things to do.”

Agad started chuckling, moving his hand to cover his mouth when it didn’t stop.

“Boom,” Seth said with relish, “Biggest weakness removed, whoever is in the castle has to figure out how to kill Marat, who’s going to be a lot harder to kill than me, I get to go after Kendra, and we throw one last insult over our shoulder.”

Agad continued to laugh, but the most Marat gave was an amused look.

“And how exactly do you intend to leave?” Marat asked, “The walkway between the typical entrance and the Keep will not be guarded for this trip.”

“We have some pretty cool rides,” Seth said, “Not sure you saw them when Patton came in, but Kendra met up with a fairy godmother and boom, the luvians we were riding all have wings. We’ll need to make it so they can leave the sanctuary with us, but if they can make it through the sky on a festival night, they can probably get us past the barrier. We’ll have to ask them of course, but I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. They strike me as adventurous.”

“I would like to make one suggestion,” Agad said, wiping a tear from his eye, “Leave in peace, no one attacks at all, and leave before night falls. I’m sure they intend to strike in the dark. You leave two hours before sunset, and Celebrant likely wont have time to demand to know what you’re doing. Use Tess’s cloak of innocence to see you safely past the barrier.”

“Oh, that is wicked,” Marat chuckled. “But we have dawdled enough. The horn summons the caretaker to official business.”

---

Jackie had been able to come home early because he had classes canceled. He’d gotten the text on the way to the final class he had for Fridays. The teacher had just randomly canceled it, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

And he had the weekends off now, at least until around summer training. He could hang with Michael, and he had more energy to do things with him.

The elevator was working, which was great news for his ankle, and he made it up to his apartment, shutting the door behind him less carefully than normal. “Michael, I’m-“

His eyes widened as he noticed something going on at the kitchen table, half out of his jacket. There was a bunch of Little Bits up there, and they scattered after a second. He rushed forward, eyes darting over the table. Michael was lying in a heap, and he thought he saw blood.

He slammed his hands down on the edge of the table, and they stumbled back, scattering around the table. He grabbed the threads trailing down from the side of his table and yanked them roughly out. He didn't even care the hooks were bent as he tossed the handful of string aside.

Jackie started corralling the strange Little Bits into a group, pulling people over to a group near where he stood and keeping them in a loose circle with his hands. Once he'd gotten everyone he quickly glanced around to see if there was anything to contain them with.

He saw a large mason jar, empty and in the drying rack. It'd do for now.

Jackie tried to be quick as he stepped away from the table, and when he stepped back, he was unsurprised to see them try to scatter. He slammed the jar down over top of two people who were close together. They fell and he scraped them into the jar, flipping it upright.

The others were plucked up and dropped into the jar he was holding at an angle.

After a moment, the table was empty, and he glanced at the ones he'd caught. Five adults, three males, two females.

He grabbed a lid and screwed it on, setting the jar aside for the second, not enjoying the adrenaline buzzing through his blood. He carefully glanced back over the table, eyes scanning for his boyfriend. "Michael? Wh... where'd you go?"

There was nothing. It was like he vanished. Jackie knew that he hadn't accidentally placed him in the jar, he'd checked faces. Jackie carefully touched the place he'd last seen Michael laying, and there was a little smudge of blood, hardly enough to cover his fingertip, and he felt overwhelming concern.

"Mike?" He glanced around at the floor, scared that he'd fallen. "A-are you okay? Where'd you go?" Biting his lip, Jackie started to move things around on the table, checking behind and under things. Soon all that was left was the jar and the care package box. "Michael, I... I didn't mean to scare you... you were in trouble and I-"

Behind the box that the books from the care package had arrived in was three people, and they had Michael. The biggest male was blond, and he had Michael in his arms, taking timid steps away. There was a silver haired man who stared up in unabashed terror, and a woman who stood with a needle in her hands.

Jackie placed the box to the side, and he was unsure how he was supposed to proceed. He started to reach for them and the one carrying Michael dashed off. Jackie lunged, knocking the table, and he managed to scoop the other two up in one hand, a sting of pain made itself known, and he dumped both of them into his flannel shirt pocket.

After removing the needle from the base of his thumb, he reached for the one carrying Michael. He had stumbled and fallen, terror in his eyes as Jackie gathered the two of them up.

With a glare, he plucked Michael from the strange Little Bit's grip and studied him carefully.

There was a bloody nose, and a little dribble of blood was from the corner of his mouth as well. And when Jackie lifted Michael's shirt, he saw bruises. The little guy looked to be in worse shape than their first meeting. These bruises were fresh and angry.

"Oh Mike. We've really gotta stop meeting like this." He started to bring Michael up to his lips to try and ease the nerves the Jackie felt, when he heard a terrified shout.

"Leave him alone!" Jackie glanced down and he saw the little blond guy squirming frantically in his grip. "Don't you dare touch him, you monster!"

"What's it to you?" Jackie tightened his grip a little, still careful to not crush the Little Bit.

"Put him down!" He pushed against the finger Jackie had against his chest with his one free arm. "Let go of me!"  

"And why should I? Your one of them, aren't you?" He glanced towards the jar. "He's told me why he got thrown out, beaten. I should toss you in there with the rest of them."

"No!" He struggled harder, but there was almost nothing that it did against Jackie's skin. "We are not one of them! My family and I were trying to save him from the stupid lynch mob, you - you brute!"

Jackie realized he could feel the two other Little Bits in his pocket, struggling. He would check on them, but both hands are full. "Listen, when Michael wakes up, he'll pardon or condemn you, now, if you'll excuse me." He nudged his pocket open a little wider and stuck him inside.

"Bastard!" The Little Bit shouted as Jackie dropped down into the pocket. He patted it smooth and went to grab medical supplies from the bathroom, being as careful as he could with Michael.

After gathering up a few soft washcloths and the first aid kit, Jackie went back to the table. It had the best light.

---

It wasn't a minute later when Jackie realized that there was no way he was going to be able to help Michael. He was too big, fingers far too clumsy. He tried dabbing the blood off Michael's face with the corner of a cloth, but he couldn't tell if it had done any good.

He folded up one of the cloths and set Michael on it, leaning back and breathing heavily. Jackie rubbed his neck awkwardly and then slammed his face into his hands. "Fuck!" The swear came out almost like a bark. Michael needed someone his size to help him.

He glanced down into his shirt pocket and he saw the blond guy being consoled by the woman and the older guy. Jackie bit his lip and softly spoke up. "Would you... would you really help him?"

Three tiny nods.

He gently scooped them out and set them on the table, and he spoke softly so as to not frighten them anymore. "I'm... I'm too big to help him.... would you please help him?"

They nodded before the silver haired one turned and limped over to Michael, kneeling by him. He checked out the injuries as they were, whispering to the other two Little Bits. Jackie glanced down at his hands, concern growing in his chest.

Did... did I do that? Did I squeeze his leg?

As his mind went down that rabbit hole, staring at his hands in abject horror, Jackie found that there were more injuries sustained to himself than he thought.

Besides the little bead of blood from where the woman had stabbed him with the needle on the base of his thumb, he noticed there were other pinprick injuries, tiny stab wounds from Little Bits trying to defend themselves, and even across one of his palms a long, thin line that slowly oozed blood.

He glanced at the Little Bits trying to help Michael and he felt very guilty when he saw a thin line of blood against the woman's back from where he grabbed them. It must have gotten on them when he grabbed them... in his fist.

Jackie glanced over at the jar, and saw the five of them feeling out the glass, testing its strength.

Michael was going to be pissed when he woke up and saw what Jackie had done.

He carefully opened the medical kit, trying not to loom, and grabbed the triple antibiotic ointment and some small bandages. "If you guys need anything to help him, tell me." He started to apply bandages to the little bleeding areas on his hands.

"I think the best he can do is rest." The silver haired man spoke up. "He is bruised, but I do not think anything is broken."

"That's good." He nodded, and his heart just felt heavier and heavier as he looked at what he had done. This was a gross abuse of his size.... but he was just trying to protect Michael. But what if he just crippled somebody who was actually trying to help?

Fuck me.... I can't believe I'm so fucking stupid.

"You guys... you guys could go now if you want to."

---

Ash felt indignation of all things when he heard the human dismiss them. How dare he assume that he would abandon Michael again?

"I'm not leaving!" He got to his feet from where he had been kneeling by Michael. "I will not leave him again."

"Ash." His father grabbed his arm, pulling him in close to whisper in his ear. "This might be your only chance to warn somebody that we've been discovered. Get out of here. While you still can."

"Then you go, I'm not leaving Michael." Ash's eyes did not leave the human, even though he had to turn his head to whisper back. Ash really didn't like the guilty look on that human's face.

"I need to stay to ensure Michael will be okay. Your mother will not leave as long as I'm within the reach of a human. You've got young legs, you must go."

"The last time I left Michael like this, he became a pet for this human. Who knows what fate could befall him if I go again. There is nothing that can make me leave now."

"Fine, then stay." He pulled away and turned towards the human. "We will stay. I - I'm a healer. I need to assess the injuries again when he's conscious and he can tell me what hurts."

The human nodded and sunk down a little further in his chair. "Do you know when he'll wake up?"

"I have no clue, but it shouldn't be long. I think it was because of the emotional shock of everything happening at once. He seemed... surprised to see my son, not to mention so many things happened so fast I think it just overwhelmed him and he fainted."

The human nodded and sunk down a little farther. He seemed worried. At least he cared about whether or not Michael was going to be okay.

But then again... humans really cared for their pets.

---

A few minutes had ticked by, and Jackie was doing everything he could to not just get mad at himself or the Little Bits he'd stuck in a jar.

He'd asked the Little Bits that were trying to help what had happened, and they told him what they'd seen, which was them beating the shit out of Michael. He was trying to not be mad and yell and throw things, because that was very easy to do and he didn't want to be in a rage when Michael came to.

Jackie also knew he'd abused his size enough already. No need to make it worse.

He had his forehead resting on the table, scrolling through his phone underneath it, eager for a distraction. After a little while, he stuck the phone in his pocket and sat up. "What are your names?"

"Robert." The Silver haired man spoke up. He'd been pacing around the table for a little while, tense, and giving the place where Jackie sat a wide girth, not wanting to get too close.

"Abby." The woman sighed. She'd been cleaning off the two needles that belonged to the little family.

"Asher... though everyone calls me Ash for short." The blond finally had uncurled from his little huddled position he'd taken up next to Michael.

Ash?

Oh no.

Oh shit.

"Ash as in... Michael's boyfriend from the colony?"

"The very same." He squeezed Michael's hand before looking up at Jackie. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Oh fuckdammit!

"No, I don't have a problem with that... I'm into men too." He sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his face. "Are any of y'all hungry? I can get you something."

They gave him a nod, and Jackie started messing around in the cabinets, throwing something together for them.

This was bad. That was Ash. Michael's ex-but-not-really boyfriend, and he’d manhandled him.

After Michael had told him the circumstances surrounding his banishment, he'd told him about Ash, and it had been very clear from his description of the guy that Michael still liked him, and now here he was, like a knight in shining freaking armor. Here to rescue Michael from the stupid giant who didn't know how to control himself.

Michael had assured Jackie previously that what had happened between him and Ash in the past didn't affect the way that Michael loved Jackie now. Michael told him that he knew he wasn't going to be seeing Ash again, so it was okay, he was over him.

But Michael was not over him - at least, he still had feelings about him - and he was the right size and blond and handsome, while Jackie was a royal screw up who manhandles every Little Bit he sees. Michael was a rational being, if he had the chance to get with Ash again, he would definitely leave Jackie.

He should leave me. It'll be safer that way. He thought while he grabbed bread out of the cabinet. I'm such a fuck up. I'm too big.

Jackie put his head against the cabinet, thoughts racing and heart hurting, taking deep breaths to stop himself from crying. If Michael wanted to go, be with someone his own size, Jackie wasn't going to stop him. He'd just have to let him go.