The Fenimeldiyaan: Rogue Time - Chapter 3

Gerald considered his horrible luck as he lay on the ground, his broadsword feeling like the weight of the world on his back. For some reason, every enemy seemed to single him out as the easiest prey--probably since he didn't have any magic. And at this moment, he was surrounded by the sickly-sweet scent of blood. What was that about?

Sitting up, Gerald saw that he was surrounded by chickens. Lots of dead chickens. Groaning, he stood up and faced the man now staring at him--evidently the chicken farmer. The man raised his pitchfork. "Chicken killer! Die, Albionite!"

Gerald really did have rotten luck.

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Dorrie read what River had written then wiggled her dirty bare feet and stretched them out in front of the fire. “Me name be Dorota Cadogan but friends call me Dorrie. And I’d like to be friends with both of ye. Ye seem like decent young women. As to whether I can help ye regain yer memories, dear River, I would say that memories be tricky things. The ones ye’d rather forget keep on haunting ye, while the ones ye wish to keep alive tend to prove elusive”.

“Do you have any magical powers?” River wrote.

Dorrie grinned and patted the girl on the arm affectionately. “Nothing like yers” she stated. “I dabble a little and I have an Elediyaan crystal bond, but me skills be modest. I mostly work as a midwife, helping to deliver the next generation kicking and screaming into life. Tis such rewarding work. I also practise a little herbalism and I can cast a few minor spells. Apart from that, I be an expert hunter and skinner”.

At the word “skinner”, both girls flinched.

Ignoring their discomfort, Dorrie spoke again. “And what about ye, dear Rachel? What brings ye to these parts? Ye look like ye be used to far finer accommodations”.

Rachel hesitated, wondering how much to tell the overly curious old woman. She opted for a safe, non-committal answer. “I came here to visit Iereth and to get away from everything. Sometimes it’s good to have a break”.

“Aye, ye be right there, dear” Dorrie concurred. “Tis why I were on me way to visit me good friend Molloy. To take a break from me work and reminisce over old times. We were childhood friends but our lives took very different courses, like these things often do. She’d recently given up practising law and moved over here from our native Viria. Tis a strange decision to take, mark ye, and I were curious to find out why. Then I got set upon by bandits as ye know, and I find myself here in yer most delightful company”.

River held up her book. “Do you know anyone who can help me get my memories back?”

Dorrie chuckled. “Not personally. But so I hear, the ones with most knowledge about the nature of memories be a sect of sorcerers known as the Chronomages. They can manipulate time itself, reaching into the equations which go to make up everything we see around us. But they be a secretive bunch and I’ve no idea how to go about contacting them”.

The word “Chronomage” seemed familiar to River but she had no idea where or when she had heard it before. Something deep within her subconscious nagged at her, but whatever it was remained tantalisingly out of reach.

The three women lapsed into comfortable silence, waiting for Iereth and Will to return.

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Andreas writhed in agony and clutched at his head. Someone had taken power from him without his consent. Instinctively, he reached out for Anwyn, trying to contact her, but he could not find her pathways. This disturbed him greatly, for their connection was so close that they could always find each other, no matter how far apart they were.

Realising that Elaine was staring at him, he regained his composure, bowed politely and introduced himself. “I be Lord Andreas Cesario, friend to Gerald and Morgan. We met a while back on a previous mission and we’ve been on a few other adventures since then. As for how to get them back, I’ve tried to trace their mind signatures, but so far, I’ve not been able to reach them. I also be trying to get hold of me wife, for her powers be far greater than mine. I guess the most obvious and practical thing would be to start searching the castle. Meantime, I’ll keep trying to reach them with me powers”.

“I’d rather be doing something, anything, than standing here helplessly” Elaine said. “But I’ve been accused of thieving and I’m sure someone will recognise me if we go roaming around the castle”.

“Not necessarily” Andreas said, with a sly grin. “A transformation spell should take care of that. Them pretty silver eyes be far too noticeable. Let’s make ye look more ordinary”.

Fortunately, he still had enough power to effect the transformation spell. Elaine’s outline shimmered and wavered, resolving itself into a new person. Instead of the striking redhead, a woman with plain brown hair and brown eyes stood there.

“Not even yer own family would recognise ye now” Andreas proclaimed, taking a device from his rucksack and holding it up to her. He had set his customised computer tablet to show a mirrored surface so that Elaine could see her changed appearance.

“You weren’t joking when you said ordinary” she commented, running her fingers through her brown hair. “Let’s get going then”.

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Jaek watched through her spying crystal, changing the view at intervals so that she could see the fruits of her labours. She giggled on seeing the lame mercenary and the plump sorcerer ending up in the wrong place. Too bad that the annoying Carpathian had come to rescue them, but she soon fixed that by messing with the equations again.

She checked up on the green-haired healer and the red-haired thief, watching them wandering around the market stalls in search of food for them and the three women. That was boring, since the thief was not even making any attempt to steal anything.

She returned to looking at the three women in the healer’s house, listening to their conversation. The old ugly one had lied about being attacked by bandits and was obviously not to be trusted. Her ears pricked up at the mention of the word “Chronomage”. Perhaps she could have some more fun here. She decided that she would seek out the mute girl and offer to help recover her memories, so she fixed the pattern of the healer’s house firmly in her mind and effected the translocation.

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“Someone be coming” Dorrie announced, standing up and touching the hunting knife on her belt.

“Probably Iereth and Will coming back from the village” Rachel said.

“No, dear, tis a translocation. Travel by sorcery” Dorrie corrected. “Can’t ye feel them?”

River nodded.

A moment later, a tall young woman materialised in the room with them. Her long straight hair was pure white and her eyes were such a pale grey as to be almost colourless. Her skin was pale too, with a hint of blue. She was dressed in a tight-fitting black jumpsuit with a black cloak over the top. She spoke in an unfamiliar accent. “You wanted a Chronomage?”

“You planned this!” Rachel accused, glaring at Dorrie. “You two are working together!”

Dorrie shook her head. “I’ve never met her afore, though she be lovely to look at. Rather young for a Chronomage too, unless she’s turned back time to keep herself young and beautiful. Some of them do that, ye know. Vanity and all. Either that or she only be an apprentice”.

At the mention of the word “apprentice”, Jaek felt the impulse to hurl an energy strike, but she managed to exercise her self-control. Injuring or killing the old woman would not endear her to the mute girl.

She adopted a haughty tone. “I am Jaekatha Love-in-Idleness-Curiosity and I come from the planet Losintho. I have never met this woman before. I was sent here by the High Council of Chronomages for the purpose of helping River Meer to recover her lost memories”.

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"Hold that," Iereth said, piling another package into Will's arms. The thief certainly was good at balancing many things without dropping them. Iereth wanted to make sure he used that talent rather than the one for retrieving things.

"Reth," Will said, sounding quite agitated.

"Almost done," Iereth said while he shuffled through his pockets for his purse. Ah there it was!

"Your hair," Will whispered.

Iereth looked up and patted his head. The hood was down and his grassy hair available for many to see. In fact, the farmer in front of him had his jaw hanging low. Iereth gulped and quickly replaced the hood, but it was too late.

"You there!" Someone called, their voice brimming with authority.

Iereth dropped a few coins on the stall and said, "Will, go on ahead. Do not drop a single crumb!'

If only he could do such fine things like translocation, but such magic was far too complicated and would take days. Instead, Iereth dared yell four words. In an instant, his whole body was invisible, spare his clothing.

"Fair enough," Iereth said before running off.

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Ben found a very nice graveyard. He parked the carriage a small distance away and motioned for his undead friends to follow him. If there weren't any graves available, as there never were, it would be a long night of digging.

But when he came to the graveyard, he found something quite fantastic. A store house! No digging would be necessary! Just leave the undead there, and the grave keeper would do his duties (if he were a good grave keeper that is). Ben sauntered up to it and spotted a barred window. Curious, he crouched down. A set of extravagant green eyes met his.

"You don't look dead," Ben noted.

The person on the other side frowned. "I'm not supposed to be... Your friends there don't look alive."

Ben looked back and smiled. "They aren't supposed to be."

"Right," The man said. "Here tell me you aren't supposed to be here."

"I'm not supposed to be anywhere," Ben said. His eyes then narrowed. "Can they not come inside?"

"Inside?" The man bit his lip, and Ben worried he would say no. Then it would be a long night of digging, and as much as Ben loved taking care of the dead, he hated digging even more.

"If I'm out, they can come in here all they like! Lot's of room for five..."

"They'll be corpses," Ben said coolly. His eyes then widened. "We can use this space?"

"Yes! Of course! Just help me out!"

"Will do!" Ben said with a crazy smile on his face. He moved away from the window and talked to the spirits residing in the poor robbers. None of them were opposed with the idea, although one noted something was odd about the man named Morgan.

Not that Ben cared even the slightest. Walking back to the window, he crouched down and said, "Now, it would be very wise of you to move away from those bars."

The man did not hesitate. Ben's smile grew, and the man stepped further away. Ben pulled a sheet out of his paper and muttered, "Oh I've been waiting to do this!"

He cut his hand and watched in amusement as the page turned black. A small cackle fled his lips as the ground rumbled. Oh how he enjoyed summoning!

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Lias was on his way back to his meagre cave when he heard the obnoxious screaming. "ALBIONITE!"

His ears perked, and, he would deny it, and amused smile spread across his face. Albionite? He wanted to see one!

He swiftly ran down the street and to the scene of the chicken slaughter. Lias stopped, seeing only a man laying on all that wasted food.

"Cursed Albionite!" the farmer yelled, picking up his pitchfork.

Lias's eyes narrowed. He did not doubt the farmer's ability to be stupid, but if Lias had any respect for humans, he had it for those who raised chickens. He might as well assume the human was not wrong.

And assume that human soaking up old chicken blood was an Albionite.

The Albionite stood and the farmer raised his pitchfork. Well there it was. Another reason why Lias believed humans were stupid. Always killing creatures they didn't like. Why kill off the being just yet?

Lias hissed as his body lengthened and grew into that of a huge, silver scaled serpent. Still growing, He slithered forward and rammed the farmer onto his back. He then snatched the Albionite in his mouth and slithered towards his cave, ignoring the fires of the farmer, townsfolk, and the very disgruntled Albionite.

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Ramsey coughed, rubbing the dust out of his eyes. He winced as he struggled to lift his aching body from the cold stone floor. A wail from his left egged him on, and the elderly gentleman rushed over to help his wife up.

"Are ye alright, love?"

"Certainly not!" Elspeth roared. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Indeed," Ramsey muttered, whipping around. The thick, dark smoke had cleared, but that was only the beginning. Upon reaching Andreas, Ramsey suddenly understood why. "Where are the other two men?"

"Vanished," was Andreas' response.

"Seems as though some dark magic is afoot," Ramsey narrowed his eyes, scanning the room. "Hey, what'd ye do with Silvereye?" He suddenly met eyes with a strange woman - a rather ordinary-looking one at that, with mousy brown hair and chestnut eyes. Once she began to speak, however, Ramsey breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm right here," Silvereye whispered, her voice filled with despair. "I finally reunited with Gerald and Morgan, only to have them pulled away from me."

"And it be due to some higher power, by the look of it," Andreas commented.

Elspeth snorted, eyes flashing red in the near-darkness of the dungeon hall. "An' did ye hear what that 'higher power' said about this man, Ramsey? Said he was some Hindustani spy!"

"I be no Hindustani spy!" Andreas scoffed indignantly. "I be Varathusian," he told the elderly couple proudly, stroking his moustache in deep thought.

"Never heard of it," Elspeth said, yawning. She eyed Andreas' moustache with distaste. Elspeth hated moustaches with a passion. 

Ramsey rounded on his wife. "Elspeth, Varathusians are the ones who-"

"We may not have much time," Andreas cut in. "Elaine and I be heading out to search the castle. Gerald and Morgan could be anywhere by now."

Elspeth scoffed, adjusting the hem of her floral robe. "Sounds like a lost cause ta me."

"I'm in. We're here to help," Ramsey informed Andreas and Silvereye. "These bones may be old, but they've still got bite in 'em. I won't be slowin' ye down."

"I will," Elspeth muttered. Ramsey didn't doubt that fact.

"Then we'll leave ye behind," Andreas sighed, gesturing for the others to follow. "This way."

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Will dared to glance back as he shoved through the crowd, balancing Iereth's many packages. Why did the man have to buy so many things?

He spotted Iereth--or at least Reth's clothes -- running in the opposite direction. Well, it was a bit of an improvement over the green hair, at least. But if Will knew where Reth was going--which he did--he'd run right into the guards coming from the tavern down the street. And, although the people considered him to be a spectre, the guards might not be so superstitious.

Making up his mind, Will handed the packages to one of the more trustworthy vendors. "Hold this!" He flipped a coin in his direction--courtesy of a wallet he'd "found" just before Iereth had started handing him packages. "And there'll be more if those are still there when I get back."

Pushing back through the crowd, Will tried to reach Reth. The only thing he accomplished was getting spotted by the merchant he'd taken the wallet from earlier. "Thief!" the man hollered. 

"Again?" the crowd muttered.

Apparently that merchant was unpopular among thieves, Will thought with a grin. His grin faded when he saw the soldier who had initially spotted Iereth's green hair cock back his arm, a rock clutched in his hand. "Reth!" Will shouted, trying to make himself heard over the crowd. "DUCK!"

Unfortunately, Iereth didn't get the message in time. Probably because the blasted fat merchant had drowned Will's voice out. The rock left the man's hand, and he had to be a good shot. It collided with the back of Iereth's head, and Will winced as his friend came back into sight, green hair and all, and toppled to the ground.

Another unfortunate--Will's shout had drawn the attention of the guards to himself. He tried to get away, but the fat man grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Not today, thief," he spat.

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Not that long after, Will found himself tied back-to-back with Iereth in a tower room of the castle. A knife was in his boot, the only knife they hadn't taken from him, but with his ankles tied to the chair he was forced to sit in, he couldn't reach it. Iereth was in a similar position. Whether he was conscious or not, Will didn't know.

"This is all your fault, you know," he told him, not knowing if his friend could hear him.

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Gerald had been through some weird things in his life; getting abducted by some giant snake was definitely one of the strangest. Unable to reach the massive broadsword on his back, he cursed his helplessness, trying to squirm out of the snake's grasp. He tried pounding on the snake's nose, yelling, and cursing, but it did him no good. 

The snake brought him into a cave and spat him out. He nearly fell into the pond in there, but somehow stopped himself. Regaining his feet, he grabbed at his broadsword, only to see it clenched firmly between the snake's teeth. Great. An intelligent snake. 

Gerald didn't back away. He'd heard once that animals were just as scared of people as people were of them. Well, here's hoping they were right. "Listen, mate," Gerald said. "I dunno what ye want of me, but if ye'll just shove aside, I've got t'get back to the castle at Albion. Me friends be waiting there for me." He hoped.

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Morgan knew summoning spells. He'd cast more than he ever wanted to in his life. And he knew that they very rarely worked out the way the caster wanted them to. "Wait!" he yelled, knowing it was too late.

The wall crashed down, and something big and black roared through, slamming Morgan against the wall and grabbing him by the throat. "No, no no no," Morgan said, gasping for breath as the spectre doubled its grip on his throat. His control was slipping. 

And then it did slip. The ropes around his wrists and ankles disintegrated, and Morgan's eyes took on a darker colour. Speaking in another language, he barked an order at the demon, which quickly backed off. Waving his hand, the demon disintegrated and went back into the summoning hole.

Morgan doubled over, coughing as he tried to regain control. He tried to establish a connection with Andreas but failed. Fine, then. He'd have to do it himself.

Morgan cast a magic prevention spell over himself. It wouldn't last long--only an hour--but it would help him regain control. Hopefully. Breathing slowly, Morgan raised his head, scowling at the boy who had summoned the demon. "Next time," he said through gritted teeth, "don't summon a demon to solve a problem."

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Rachel glanced at River. Her eyes were wide as she looked at Jaek, an unreadable expression on her face. Rachel, however, was not inclined to trust either of the women. "What in the world is going on here?" she asked, and was ignored. A flush came to her cheeks as she realized the young girl was getting more attention than she was.

"You can really help me?" River wrote, brown eyes pleading.

"That's what I'm here for."

Slowly, River tucked the borrowed book under her arm and went to the girl. "Alright, then. I'm ready."

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Elaine stayed with the older woman, helping her along. It didn't seem right to leave her behind. Elspeth grumbled about the stairs, but Elaine was as stubborn as her sister. They reached the top of the stairs, and Elaine motioned to a door nearby. "If they're holding Gerald and Morgan, it won't be in the prison. This is the tower prison," she explained.

"Ye been here before?" Andreas asked, looking amused.

Elaine smiled shyly. "Once or twice," she said vaguely. "But if they're anywhere, they'll be up here."

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“We’ll need do a mind merge” Jaek explained. “I have to be able to see into your mind in order to find out what memories are missing before I can attempt to restore them. I have to warn you, it will feel very strange but I’ll try to be gentle”.

River nodded. Jaek directed her to sit cross-legged on the floor. When they were both seated, the white-haired Chronomage placed her hands on the sides of River’s head, just above her ears, and instructed River to do the same to her. She then initiated the mind merge while Rachel stood nearby, hoping that she would not have to intervene. Dorrie had returned to her comfortable place by the fire, apparently unconcerned by what the Chronomage was doing to the mute girl.

River found herself lying on the floor in an unfamiliar room. She had been transported back to her childhood, apparently. She was looking up at the two boys who were standing over her. One of them was of a plump build with mean little eyes and slightly greasy hair escaping from its neatly bound tail. The other was thinner and his hair was in a similar style but more neatly arranged. “Hold her down, Furio!” the bigger boy ordered. River struggled but the boys knew what they were doing. They seemed organised and efficient, going about their bullying tactics with a practised ease. The bigger boy’s fists pounded again and again, punching River in the stomach and chest repeatedly. Both boys laughed at her discomfort. Finally, the bigger boy delivered a vicious kick to her stomach, causing her to double up in pain and cry out. They walked away, still laughing.

More memories followed, mostly of the two boys playing their cruel games with her. From what she learned, it seemed that she had been born into a wealthy, privileged family who lived in a large mansion set in vast landscaped grounds. Among the more pleasant memories was one of her sitting on a man’s lap watching moving images on a screen. She realised that the man was her father, who loved her dearly. 

One memory jarred with her. It was evidently not her own, for it showed the elderly Dorrie leaning over another woman, casting some kind of spell. A voice sounded inside her head. “Ask Dorrie how she got her crystal bond, for she was most certainly not born with it, nor was it implanted by a Crystal Mage”.

Jaek broke the mind merge. “That’s enough for now. Recovered memories can be overwhelming, so tis best to do it in small stages. I expect you’ll have plenty to think about, so I’ll leave you to do so. I shall return later when you’ve had a chance to digest the memories and rest”.

Her body was already shimmering and dissolving before she had finished speaking. River stood up, reaching out in a futile attempt to stall the Chronomage, but it was too late. She had gone, leaving River with more questions than answers.

River collapsed into a chair, feeling as though she had been trampled beneath the hooves of a herd of cattle. Her mind whirled, trying to make sense of it all. 

“What happened?” Rachel asked, leaning over her with a sympathetic look on her face. “Did she hurt you?”

River fumbled for her book. “She didn’t hurt me but I don’t understand most of what she showed me. She said something about Dorrie and a crystal bond. I’m confused”.

Rachel turned to Dorrie. “We need your help. Can you explain about these crystal bonds? We don’t have them where we come from, you see. River needs to know because of something she saw in her restored memories”.

Dorrie gave a brittle laugh. “Ye be wanting me help now? Only a short while ago, ye were accusing me of plotting against ye. Ye need to make up yer minds, dears”.

River turned to a fresh page, hiding what she had shown Rachel. She wrote the word “Please” and gave Dorrie an imploring look.

Dorrie grinned. “Alright. I can never refuse someone who be needing help. In the Fenian Galaxy, which includes me home planet of Viria, there be such a strong connection betwixt each planet and its people. A form of symbiosis, ye might say. Some people, supposedly twenty percent of the population, be born with fragments of crystal embedded in their DNA sequence. This gives them special powers. The nature of those powers depends on which type of crystal be embedded. There also be a sect of sorcerers, known as the Crystal Mages, or Vyrdigaan Mages, who take promising children and implant them with artificial crystal bonds. They ain’t as strong as natural bonds, so most times they use more than one type of crystal for the implantation process. Mine be Elediyaan, gives me ability to shapeshift and meld with most substances. Twas a gift from a friend on her deathbed. Y’see, I never inherited me Ma’s Elediyaan bond and me dear friend were aware of that. So when she were close to passing, she told me to extract it and so I did”.

Both girls listened intently, but Rachel still felt suspicious. There was something about Dorrie that she could not trust, although so far the woman had done them no harm. She hoped that Iereth and Will would return soon, for she no longer felt safe.

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Andreas took out his lock-picks and set to work on the door of the tower prison muttering to himself. “Call this a prison? Me youngest grandchild could break in here easily”. He had the door open in under a minute, peering around it cautiously to make sure that there were no guards in the tower.

When he was satisfied that it was clear, he pushed the door open fully. Elaine and the older couple followed him into the tower room. 

Two men, one with green hair and the other with red hair, were tied to chairs, positioned back-to-back. The green-haired man appeared to be unconscious, his head slumped forward. The red-haired man turned to stare at the four people, unsure as to whether they had come to rescue or torture.

“Seems I was mistaken” Elaine said, trying not to show her disappointment.

“There be a lot of strange stuff going on around here” Andreas stated, going over to the prisoners. He took a tiny dagger from his pocket and proceeded to slice through the ropes which bound them. “For a start, someone be messing with me memories. Of course I know about the Silvereyes. Gerald be married to one of them. How could I have forgotten that? Yer sister, Elsa. I only met her once, but it ain’t like me to forget, especially given her unusual eyes. I got a good memory for names and faces, due to me profession. Anyways, let’s be introducing ourselves”.

Andreas went first, then Elaine, and finally Ramsey and Elspeth. 

“I’m Will Scarlet” the red-haired man told them. “And this is my friend, Iereth Rivensteil”.

“We’d best not tarry in this place” Ramsey warned. “Ye never know when guards might arriv

“Aye, let’s get going” Andreas agreed, lifting the unconscious Iereth from the chair with a surprising show of strength for such a small, skinny man. He hoisted the limp form of the healer over his shoulder and strode out of the tower room, the others following.

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Andreas led the way through the castle with some guidance from Elaine, who was somehow a lot more familiar with its maze of corridors than most. Andreas wondered how this could be, but the question would have to wait for a less dire situation. 

"Where to now?" Will asked when the group arrived at a rather ominous-looking stairway. 

Elaine bit her lip, her newly-brown eyes scanning the corridor for possibilities. Maybe Gerald and Morgan were being held in another room nearby. They would have to find the two men soon, or risk being caught by the king's guards. 

"Ramsey?" Andreas asked, stroking his moustache. "Be this the way ye came in?" 

The old man frowned. "I cannot remember." 

"Well isn't this just peachy?" Elspeth groaned, rubbing her ankle and nearly tipping over in the process. Elaine put out an arm to steady the old woman and Elspeth took it gratefully. "Ye'd better hurry up and remember, Ramsey. Me feet are killin' me."

"I don't mean to rush things, but we should keep moving," Will grimaced as he glanced over at the unconscious Iereth, still draped over Andreas' shoulder. Elaine eyed the poor young man's vibrant green hair, a hint of a smile upon her face. Magic could do some interesting things to people. 

Andreas nodded. "We'll be out of here as soon as we find our missing friends."

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After peering into every room they encountered on their way through the castle, the group had become desperate. 

"What if they're not in the castle?" Will voiced the question that had been on the tip of everyone's tongues. 

Andreas hoisted Iereth's body higher up on his shoulder. "It be possible. What do ye think, Elaine?" Andreas asked. "Do we risk descending the stairs?" 

The young woman thought for a moment. "Do what you will, but I'm not leaving without Gerald and Morgan."

Andreas nodded, earning him an exasperated look from Will and Elspeth.

"Ye can't be serious," Elspeth narrowed her eyes.

"Shh!" Ramsey suddenly sputtered, pressing himself up against the nearest wall. Following his glance, the others noticed a faint glow coming from the mouth of the stairwell: a torchlight. 

"Well, at least we know we aren't going down there," Will said flatly. 

"You're right," a sudden voice barked. "You're not going anywhere!" 

Will barely had time to pull his knife out of his boot before the guards were upon them. They slammed him and Elaine against the wall, making the two cry out in pain. Andreas knelt, resting Iereth upon the ground and planting himself between the guards and the unconscious young man. 

"Stop!" Ramsey yelled. "Let them go. Ye remember me, don't ye?"

The nearest guard looked the elderly man up and down before shaking his head. "Never seen you before." Raising his voice, he snarled, "Seize them!" 

"Blithering buffoons!" Ramsey called out. "I spent me life serving this kingdom and this is the thanks I get?" 

"Best not make us angry," Elspeth growled, eyes flashing. Despite her words, the old woman seemed to be enjoying the moment more than anyone else. "Now, Ramsey?" she inquired.

"Now!"

Ramsey tore off his tunic and trousers, and Elspeth threw her floral robe to the ground. Before the guards could blink an eye, two enormous red dragons towered over them, their ebony horns scraping the stone of the ceiling above. Andreas, Elaine, and Will stared at the beasts wide-eyed. Elspeth flexed her claws, causing the guards to shriek out in surprise. They grasped their weapons, preparing to strike at their new enemies with all they had. 

"Run, ye foolsss!" Elspeth called out behind her as she and Ramsey converged on the guards, letting out short jets of fire in warning. 

"We'd best do as she says!" Andreas scooped up Iereth, gesturing for Will and Elaine to follow.