Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave and Anneliese sat on the sandy coast of the Bloodwoods, staring out across the vastness of the ocean that divided this continent from others. Orion stood a healthy distance away, guarding them diligently while giving them space to speak alone. They faced the suns as they faded beyond the horizon, hueing the waters purples and oranges.

But there was one more with them. Onychinusa sat on a rock, watching the calm ocean lap gently against the sea. Where there had once been a bloody stump, now there were clumps of blackness. She was once again able to access her A-rank ascension after being struck by the emissary’s foul magic. That had made Argrave quite nervous, if he was honest. But as Anneliese promised, she caused no trouble. She had been quite rowdy and interrogative, which surprised him a fair bit, but after a time she settled down.

“Been a long while since we could afford to do this,” Argrave reflected.

Anneliese removed her gloves and sunk her hand into the sand. She picked up a handful and let it fall piece by piece. “And I think it is the last time we will, until Gerechtigkeit is perished.”

Argrave reached out towards some stones, sifting them until he found a flat one. He took it in hand, aiming the flattest, roundest bit down, and then tossed it with some spin. Though it had been from an awkward position, with the strength offered by the enchanted armor it skipped well over twenty times before dipping into the ocean. Off to the side, he saw the calm Onychinusa straighten, her eyes widening after his display of stone-skipping.

“I had been remaining quiet about this, but your talk with Ganbaatar reminded me of things,” Anneliese continued. “You said that what we experienced here was what Mozzahr, the Castellan of the Empty, experienced in the abandoned dwarven cities. Gerechtigkeit forced the early advent of a god.”

“…and you’re thinking that he won’t have experienced such a thing, and thus when he and his Ebon Cult come, it’ll be different than I remember it,” Argrave filled in the blanks, then threw another stone.

Anneliese watched the rock jump dozens of time, and then sink into the water before she answered, “Yes, that is what I thought. What we endured here was a nightmare. Some loose ends remain, but altogether… it was a better end than I daresay we hoped for. And Mozzahr… he dealt with a scenario like this. He dealt with it alone, without the help of the elven gods as we had.”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s way cooler than me.” Argrave shook his head, offering Anneliese a flat stone. He saw Onychinusa watching the stone in his hand.

Anneliese ignored his humor, asking, “Will he still come if he does not endure an attack? Will his forces be stronger or weaker? Will they come earlier or later? These are questions we must answer,” she finished, taking the stone from his hand.

Argrave watched as she rose to her feet, then took proper posture to throw the stone. It skipped ten, twenty, thirty times, at which point the skips came so quickly he lost count. It sunk into the ocean out of sight.

“I know it’s a concern.” Argrave rose to his feet with her. “But there isn’t much information I can give you. The player can’t even access the depths of the earth until the midgame, so I can predict how fighting Gerechtigkeit down there might’ve changed him.”

flat ones. She picked a heap up, and then walked to Onychinusa, whose eagerness to try was practically radiating

the title, the wealth, et cetera. But he wasn’t someone that could focus on those things while forgetting about the responsibilities. That was much of why he went

role of king completely to prepare for the coming war with the nation underground—the Ebon Cult. Argrave had great personal strength. With the five imperial tomes in his arsenal and spirits to fuel the spells, he was a match for any magic user. Their power was so great it was small wonder Emperor Balzat, their author, sought to

corners of Berendar, seeking to make this land their holdfast in preparation for Gerechtigkeit’s advent. The kingdom itself needed to be strengthened at this point.

head back and steal Elenore’s credit, like always,” Argrave

it skipped only three times, but she

and draining the

asked, “And

with Anneliese,

future, but he supposed it made sense that this

should follo—” Argrave began, but trailed off when he caught a glare from

be welcome at our home,” Anneliese instead said

tossed another stone. It plunked into the water without skipping, and she frowned while looking at her

return, why don’t you come with us? That way, you can

Onychinusa looked into

Argrave wished to say, though kept his mouth shut. They need a place to take root, right? I know just the spot… we can build a

you, did they not?” Anneliese instead counseled while Argrave thought to exploit. “But if need be, perhaps you should talk to them. They care for you.

again, repeating,

think now is the time to bring back Durran and Galamon into the fold. Hiopefully, whatever task they dealt with in their homeland is well and done… and if not, we have the means

good to talk to the both of them again. I’m sure Galamon will

he seemed utterly resolute with whatever he intended in the Burnt Desert. I do

across the ocean fast enough it was difficult to track. It hit the ocean, bouncing high, and then kept skipping again and again until it faded far out of sight. Onychinusa slowly

beyond the horizon.” Orion held his hand above his eyes to shield