Crossed

Chapter 11:

We had walked back to The Residence, Fir had told me one of the Dragon Guards had taken him to my house, however I was in no mood to get on one of their backs to be taken back. We were quiet on our walk, there wasn't really much to talk about anyway. When we reached the ruins Queen Meadow had been waiting for us. She looked happy to see us but frowned a little when she saw my bag. "Welcome back," she says, smiling again," I am so glad you decided to come, we have some food for the meeting," she says and we follow her, me still quiet and Guard Fir speaking to her, filling her in on some details he got from the Dragon Guards, I wasn't really listening.

After a little while everyone who the Queen's wanted to be at the meeting was settled in the library. Queen Mirialla had observed me, or most likely my bag, when I followed Queen Meadow and Guard Fir inside, she didn't ask about it. "The reason we asked you all to come here," Queen Mirialla starts," we have thought of an idea to lure the Slain inside the ruins." "Have they found them?," Ardian asks. "Not yet, however Guard Fir just told me how one of the Dragon Guards seems to have found a lead to where they could be in hiding as of now," Queen Meadow says.

"Then why are we having this conversation at this moment?," Ardian asks, clearly annoyed he could not yet go back to doing his thing. "Because, if they can find them then we need to be prepared to lure them in," Guard Fir tells him, matter of the fact why didn't Ardian think of that? He would have known that, would he not? "What is this plan you are speaking of?," I decide to ask. "Well, since last time we had two Archimage Necromancer's working this part of the plan as well, we could need you and Ardian to work together, what you both would have to do is pushing out little of your magic. Since we know the Slain's react to that," Queen Mirialla starts to explain.

"So basically you want us to sacrifice ourselves?," I say," They will not leave us unharmed." "We will make sure they won't hurt you," Queen Meadow says," Fir and I are trained to work with Death, most likely in different ways than the two of you are, if you are trained that is?" I think for a moment," is that all we have to do then? Or is there more?" "Once you two have effectively caught their attention and we have captured them here, Ardian will make sure they get into The Middlegrounds again," Queen Mirialla says," the new portal should not take much longer, is it?," she looks at him. "It should not, no," Ardian says.

"How will our safety be guaranteed?," I ask. "Fir and I will make sure of that, our Speciality is in Death Magic, we are as well partially formed from magic rooted in Death itself," Queen Meadow says," we are closest to it, we know the magic best. We know how it moves and what it wants. We can manipulate it well enough to help the both of you in and out of The Middlegrounds safely," she explains. "Go into The Middlegrounds?," I look from one Queen to the other. "That is the plan, yes," Queen Mirialla says," that way we can ensure the Slain's will enter it." "You did not mention this part to me earlier when we spoke about this," Ardian says. "I thought you might have wanted to run off if I did," Queen Mirialla says," however, we can ensure both your safety this time around, last time we did not have a plan but we do now."

"Is there anything else we should know?," I ask. "I would have to contact my Territory," Queen Meadow says," we will need one of our associates to be tracked down and brought here," she says. "If I might ask, who?," Queen Mirialla asks. "An Elv," Queen Meadow answers," she should be about five hundred years old by now. She became an associate by the hands of my Aunt Cedar," she says," she is her maker." "What do you mean?," Ardian asks. "We, as Saprophyte, can create creatures from lost souls," Queen Meadow explains," during the war six hundred years ago some of the souls passed could not cross over into the Afterlife. My Aunt found few of them roaming around and created a bond before creating her an Elv."

"What even is an Elv?," Ardian asks. "A magic user who can only become life by the hands of a Saprophyte, not much different from human Archimage's however their living mechanisms work slightly different. But, before we trail off even further, I will contact my Territory shortly to make sure she gets here as soon as possible," Queen Meadow says," last I heard she decided to take residence in nearby forests, slightly away from civilization." "Okay," Queen Mirialla gets up," we will have a short break before dinner, I expect everyone to be there."

I was walking around the ruins for a bit when I stumbled upon a small camp. It looked like where the Saprophyte's were staying during the night. "Oh it's you, good evening Archimage Wren," I look behind me and see Queen Meadow walking up to me. "Hello," I say," I didn't mean to come here, my apologies if I interrupted anything..." "No, it's okay, you didn't interrupt anything my dear," she says with a smile," can I help you with anything?" I shrug but take off my bag," could I ask for some advice?" "Of course, please take a seat," she gestures towards a part of broken wall and I take place.

"What can I help with?," she asks with a smile. "Is it worth it?," I ask. "Is what worth it?," she looks at me. "All this? I was planning on leaving to another territory, to where my family is, I don't know if I should stay or not," I say," because if not, then I rather go to my family, they are the only one's left." She smiles, a sad smile," I understand," she says," listen, I cannot force you to stay here, neither can Queen Mirialla. After all every decision you make is yours and you know what is best for you. I would understand if you want to leave and I would not blame you if you did. Follow your instincts."

"I don't know what that would be, outside of that I made a contracted Deal with the Queen a few years back...," I say. "That is okay," she says," if you want to, you could stay here with Fir and I for the night? Just let everything be what it is and see what tomorrow tells you," she offers. "If you are sure," I say, she nods," okay then... I'll stay here then."