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Magnus stepped forward with building ire as he asked; “You’re sure it’s him?! You KNOW it is?!”

Ralph took two more shots, then set the glass down. He needed to give the alcohol time to kick in before he drank more, but drink more, he would. Anything to blank out the past few weeks..

“Aye, it’s him, but.. I remember Richard well, and his face looked similar to the King’s. The body was.. It was like a walking corpse was covered in gallons of clumping black paint. It left a trail of the filth like a snail... I have Never smelt something so rank in my life..”

As Ralph continued, Marie’s mind fought for survival against the void of despair threatening to swallow her. The creature he was describing wasn’t human, but she knew in her gut that it was, in fact, her husband.

‘Oh, Ric.. What Happened to you? Why does it have to come to this? Why did you try to kill Magnus? Why did you attack Marco? Why did you run to the north with the stupid spear?! Just... Why?’

As old wounds were ripped open, Marie tried to stay focused on the conversation. She would use it as a distraction, but it didn’t alleviate the pain in her chest. That was something she had simply learned to cope with over the years.

“When it left, we scouted the building. There’s a room at the end of a long hallway.. I think it must’ve been the throne room or something.. There was something shining in the middle of it. When we got closer, I realized it was the spear, but..”

As Ralph paused to fight back the trauma, Skye was inwardly flipping out. ‘Oh shit, oh shit, ohh, shit! The dream I had durin’ our honeymoon! Which means..’

.....

“The moment we stepped foot inside the room, that, that-thing howled like it was dying.. It didn’t sound human, but it did.. Look at my arm! Just thinking about it,” Ralph shook all over as he finished speaking.

Skye knew exactly what he was talking about. The noise it had made in her dream.. ‘Ima surprised I never had a nightmare about it. That thing was so.. grotesque.’

Seeing his wife shutter similarly to Ralph, Tidas knew what she was thinking about. Everything Ralph was saying, Skye had already described to him a year ago. As he continued, Tidas’ heart sank.

Still staring at his wife, a torn expression covered the prince’s face. It was a mix of pain and resentment. ‘This has to do with the Catalyst legend.. And there’s nothing I can do to stop it..’

While gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Tidas refocused on Ralph’s report; “The Highlanders tried to fend it off, but Nothing worked! They had weapons I’ve never seen before; guns, and things that explode, but NOTHING worked! To be honest, sir, I.. I don’t know if it can be killed.”

Magnus inhaled sharply; “What do you mean ‘can’t be killed’?! Any man can be-”

“That’s what I’m saying Your Majesty: Tis no human any longer! A human wouldn’t.. There were children’s bones mixed in with the rest!”

Marie gasped as her hand went to her mouth out of horror. Tears welled up in her eyes, prompting Magnus to go to her side. His own countenance wavered as heart-wrenching sorrow forced the king to turn away from everyone for a moment.

As Marie’s sobs filled the room, Tidas asked Peggy to go fetch some tissues for his aunt. When she came back and handed them to Marie, she thanked both Peggy and her nephew for their kindness.

Tidas nodded with a small smile, but didn’t speak. He fumed over the pain his uncle was causing his family, and once again found himself silently swearing to hunt him down, and end him. No matter what it took...

Once Marie and Magnus had collected themselves, Skye poured them tumblers of whiskey. She’d asked Peggy to get them after she’d brought back the tissues. Shots were Not enough for this.

After everyone was given their own glasses, Skye asked; “Is that what happened to you and Petrie? Did ye come straight here after?”

Ralph and Petrie shared a glance, then Petrie explained; “Na, we went back home with those that had survived, and the few dead we managed to get away with.. We’d gone there with thirty, but only twelve of us came back. Three weren’t alive..”

“Then why did you two look half-dead?” Tidas asked out of confusion.

“Remember the name I said before? Drexel McLeod? His oldest laddie was with us. We didn’t manage to bring his body back, either, so he blames Murdoc for his death. He didn’t really care about him, but he’s more than happy to to use his death as a political tool.”

“Drexel opposes Murdoc every time Tidas or Lucas attempted peace talks. His wife is a pivotal Mystic to our people, and he uses her good standin’ as a pedestal for himself. On his own, he doesna carry much say, but if she’s at his side when his mouth starts flappin’, people generally agree with him.. He’s a crafty bastard..”

Lucas, who had been quietly watching and listening the entire time, now spoke; “I’ve met the man on a few occasions. He’s the murderous and connivin’ type that enjoys his job.. Least that’s the impression I get from him. Murdoc hates him, and I can understand why now..”

Magnus snorted derisively, but didn’t say anything. He was still annoyed that Lucas had continued his dealings with the Nomads when they were considered a threat. His defense of ‘more supplies means less raids’ had spared him of Magnus’ wrath, but his ire still sparked occasionally.

“Drexel’s plan was to kill us, blame it on you Southerners, then attack ye when ye came after yer uncle. There’s scouts linin’ the boarder waitin’ for ye to cross so they can notify the army-”

“Since when do the Nonads have an Army?” Magnus asked with surprise in his voice.

“Highlanders, please.. And who ever said that we didn’t?”

Magnus shook his head, unsure of what to say. As far as they knew, the people that lived in the north were Nomadic Tribes that moved all over. They assumed this because there were no cities or towns; just tiny villages here or there, and they never stayed in the same place too long.

Thinking back to what Ralph had said about their weapons, Magnus was beginning to wonder if anything they knew about the Highlanders was accurate.. ‘Based on all of my interactions with Petrie, and everything Lucas had told me: I think the Highlanders are hiding something..’

‘Petrie is far more intelligent that I thought he’d be, and from what Ralph just said, they have weapons that might rival ours. But if that’s the case, why haven’t we seen them before? Are they recently created? Did they find an ancient site? Do they have their own Jakub Yeager?!’

As thoughts bombarded the king, Petrie continued in earnest; “If ye go into the Highlands, Drexel’s gonna use the chaos from the ensuin’ fight to kill Murdoc. If he doesna find a better opportunity before then.. Please! We gotta figure out a way to save him!”

Tidas had a contemplative look on his face as he spoke; “Murdoc has most likely been told that you are dead by now. I don’t think he’d believe otherwise without seeing you in front of him, and breathing. You and Ralph could ride ahead of the army and warn Murdoc of the betrayal, then we could corner them before the fighting even starts.”

Petrie thought for a moment before he commented; “Aye, that could work as long as we don’t get caught.. Which is gonna be hard to do, if not impossible. Not much cover in the Highlands to sneak about under.”

Tidas smirked; “I think we can help with that. Don’t forget that we were enemies a short while ago.. We’ve been working on a way to deal with that..”

Petrie wanted to ask what he’d meant, but Tidas added; “I’ll send word to cancel the trials for now. We can hold them after the Highlands have been dealt with-”

Skye was about to tear into her husband, but Magnus spoke first; “Are you crazy? We can’t cancel now! The Mage Trials start tomorrow! We can’t postpone them now, the entire kingdom will riot!”

“There’s no time! If Murdoc is killed before we get to him, then all hope for a bloodless peace with the Highlanders will be lost! We can’t afford to wait-”

His ire skyrocketing, Magnus yelled at his youngest; “We can’t afford to be too hasty, either! Literally! Do you have any idea how much revenue we’ll lose if we cancel now?! How angry all of the delegates will be?! We can’t afford-”

Tidas snapped back; “LIVES are on the line, and all you can think about is money?!”

“Whether you like it or not, the money from the Mage Trials keeps Alconians alive! The profits from the trials cover over thirty percent of our yearly expenses. That means that thirty percent of our people will DIE come winter time without that revenue! If I have to choose between the Highlanders and my people, then my choice is Obvious!”

The tension in the room was so thick, Skye felt like she was suffocating. Thinking rationally as they bickered, Skye realized the obvious. Clapping her hands together loudly to gain their attention, Skye proposed a compromise:

“Even if ye sent out the orders right now, it’d still take two days to ready everything. Everyone will gather for the trials anyway, even those not on duty. Ye could have the regular military pick up the slack on the protection details for the delegates, and re-route the mages to begin preparations. Most of the equipment and supplies are already set to go, so just have them gather and load everything while the trials are goin’.”

Tidas knew Skye was right, but still spoke spitefully; “You just want to participate-”

“Take care of what you say, laddie. If anyone’s character is irreproachable, Tis me daughter’s. Ye know she speaks the truth..”

Tidas knew he’d screwed up as soon as the words had left his mouth. Skye’s eyes had turned hard as her arms crossed over her chest.

Walking over to her, he apologized; “I’m sorry Skye.. I just feel like I should be doing something! Not sitting here drinking whiskey..”

Petrie scoffed; “How do ye think I feel? Listen to yer bonny lass, prince. She’s got a good heart, and a good head on her shoulders.. But nothin’ stoppin’ us from plannin’ ahead..”

Tidas kissed the top of her head, but knew he was in for a scolding later. The accusation was unfair, and he knew it. Looking at Skye, he spoke in a low voice; “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

Skye didn’t even look at him as she replied in a hard tone; “Aye.. We’ll discuss it later, husband..”