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Tidas fought back the urge to punch Genie; “Why?”

“Because I would like you and Skye to have lunch with me,” Genie replied with a normal voice, but Tidas could feel that something was off.

Before he could say anything, Skye’s voice rang out from behind them; “Oh, I think now’s the perfect time ta have a wee chat.. I’ve had enough excitement fer the night, and wish ta get some sleep.. After we talk a bit.”

“I suppose you’ll have to owe me a rain check on our singing and dancing then?” Shasta more stated than asked as she and Lawrence came up behind Skye.

The guards had carried the King back to his quarters, so the two came over to see what was happening. With Skye and Tidas gone, they would retire as well. The twins had left a bit before their cousins due to their young age, and were most likely torturing their nanny while she tried to put them down for bed.

The Highlanders also decided to end the night, which had Murdoc cracking up laughing. When Petrie asked what was so funny as he draped an arm around a merchant’s daughter’s shoulders, Murdoc replied; “It just...tickles me that that dobber got kicked out, and we’re all leavin’-hahaha!”

The group grinned at the serendipitous ramifications, then Skye looked at Genie; “Yer comin’ wit us ta talk first. Ima not givin’ you the chance ta pop off somewhere, and say that ya forgot our meetin’..”

Genie folded his hands behind his back; “I think it’s a bit late for-”

.....

“Goodnight everyone! Tidas love, Genie: follow me,” Skye had said Genie’s name in a way that left no room to argue.

With a small sigh and a sympathetic look from Murdoc and Petrie: Genie followed Skye and Tidas out of the banquet room...

************

Marco watched Skye and his brother leaving with an inner smirk. He had found out everything that he had hoped to learn, and then some. As he chatted about unimportant things with his supporters, Marco went over all of the information that he was able to gather..

‘Skye didn’t seem to detect the minuscule amount of magic that I used to convince Father. Or the bit I used on the Highlander King during the game.. I knew that it was a risk, but the statistics I gathered on her and Tidas’ new capabilities was worth it.. I’ll definitely need more than just sealing cuffs to subdue them..’

As the group he was with started to chuckle, Marco let a bubble of laughter escape him. He was so pleased with both what he had learned and himself that he let it go without thought. As his supporters stared at him, Marco waved at them to continue the conversation..

‘I wonder what they wanted to talk to Laos about? No matter.. Skye is developing much quicker than I thought she would. I need to make sure that the preparations for the second part of my plan are in place, or things might get messier than necessary..’

Marco put the thought to the side, and announced that he was retiring for the night as well. He told several of his minions to keep an eye on the Highlanders, then left with Sheri in tow. As he moved quickly down the hallway, Marco asked questions, and issued orders to Sheri..

“Are the men in place for the next move?”

Sheri nodded; “Aye, My King. As soon as you give the order, they’ll snatch up the General’s family..”

“And what of Doctor Stein’s problem? Has our good doctor resolved the storage issue?”

Sheri slowed slightly in her pace; “Not exactly, My King.. He says that the Decoms aren’t suited for manual labor, so digging tunnels would be pointless. He said that there was one other possible solution, but he needed to run some tests first.”

Marco stopped walking, and turned to face Sheri; “We Need to store them outside of the major cities and towns, or the second phase of my plan won’t work. Tell the good doctor to figure it out within forty-eight hours, or he’ll be called the dead doctor instead.”

Sheri had dropped to her knee as soon as Marco had turned around to look at her. His magic was growing stronger, so his influence was as well. As she tried to look up at him, Marco asked; “And what about our partners? Are they getting along?”

Sheri took a breath of relief, then replied while still looking at the floor; “Norvis is handling it. The Sync King wanted a personal audience with you, but he has since calmed. Norvis assumes that he’s heard of the Highland Raid results, and is trying to figure out your motives.”

Marco leaned over Sheri, making the shard in her neck pulsate in ways that both scared and endeared her to him. He stood quietly a few moments just hovering above her, then he asked; “Has Ahriman figured out how he was going to get into Sai undetected?”

“Apparently he and Doctor Stein are working on it together on their down time,” Sheri replied while trying to keep the fear from her voice.

Marco’s tone dropped an octave; “Stein shouldn’t have any extra time right now.. Follow me.”

As soon as she saw Marco’s shoes move away from her, Sheri stood up, and followed after her King. They lost the Fae that were following them, and entered the secret passageways. As they went towards the stairs leading down to Stein’s lab, Sheri pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket with a small vial..

She popped the cork and poured the liquid onto the scrap of fabric, then held it up to her nose. The smell had become unbearable to her lately, so she always carried a tiny vial of peppermint oil with a handkerchief. If she didn’t, Marco would beat her for throwing up again.

As they came close to the stairs, Marco stopped and turned towards Sheri as he asked; “Did you find Skye and Tidas to be faster?”

“Aye, My King. I think that their perception has gone up as well, thanks to that game,” Sheri replied with her eyes locked on the floor.

Marco stared at her quizzically a moment; “I understand that you care for Skye.. You do remember that I am going to save her, right?”

Sheri nodded; “Aye My King, but.. Is what’s down there necessary? A lot of people are going to die..”

“A lot of people will die either way. This way we can keep it at the minimal amount of casualties. Those that die will be the ones who side with my brother.”

Sheri swallowed hard, then actually looked Marco in his black eyes as she asked; “And what if over half the kingdom sides with him?”

Marco’s features didn’t move, but somehow still became harder as he replied; “Then over half of the kingdom dies. I will not tolerate traitors.. Understand?”

Sheri felt death’s icy grip reaching out within Marco’s words. She had considered betraying him, but felt an intense pain course through her whenever she did. Marco had warned them that they would die if they betrayed him, and Sheri knew that it would be due to the shard in her neck if she did.

It gave he magic a boost, but also clouded her moral judgement to be swayed however Marco would want her to choose. Cutting herself off from her family and friends, to killing people that she knew didn’t deserve to die. Sheri had done it all without flinching for her King’s sake. The hold was so tight that she even got a wave of nausea whenever she addressed Magnus as her King.

As they descended the stairs, both Sheri’s anxiety, and the stench began to grow unbearable to her. Marco didn’t cover his nose and mouth until about halfway down, but even he had to do it once they’d come so close. As they went down the long hallway and into the massive room, Sheri glanced around..

The Decoms, or regular undead soldiers numbered in the tens of thousands now, and stood grouped together and unmoving as they passed. The Skulls, which looked like animated skeletons covered in black tar, were the real problem. They weren’t as docile as the Decoms, and numbered around thirty thousand.

They were being stored at another site outside of Dragonhorn, but there were people close by that could easily stumble upon them. They weren’t as still as the Decoms, and reacted to sudden movements quickly. They had already killed a few people, and would draw attention to themselves soon if they weren’t moved.

Marco had covered for it by blaming the Cu Sith for the disappearances, but that only stalled his worries for a few weeks while they proved that the Fae wasn’t to blame. If they didn’t find a large area to store their army, then the chances of being discovered went up a hundred fold.

“Doctor Stein! Where are you?!” Marco called out with a placid tone.

“I’m over here! Busy, busy, busy! I’ve made a new Goliath to add to the ranks! What can I do for you, My King?”

When he came into view, Doctor Stein was up on a ladder, sewing along the neck of a massive zombie. It stood at least eight feet tall, and had patchwork body parts. As Sheri inhaled in her handkerchief deeply, she asked; “Did you...did you sew parts together to make them bigger?”

Doctor Stein beamed; “Excellent deduction, dear! Like this arm for example: I found two relatively the same size, then connected their tissues, muscles, and bones together! It’s kinda like a puzzle, if you think about it. The only problems I seem to run into is their circulatory system.. I mean they don’t need it, but when I don’t fuse them: they fall apart! It’s so weird..”

Sheri quirked an eyebrow at him; “Everything you just said, and That’s the weird part to you?”

As the doctor flashed her a grin, Marco interrupted them by asking; “Sheri said that you had tests to run before you could find an appropriate storage area for my army: what tests?”

Sensing his King’s irritation, Stein replied; “There is a place about three miles outside of Dragonhorn’s vineyard that we could easily store the Decoms in, but there is a small problem that I believe is an opportunity in disguise..”

“Go on,” Marco stated as he waved the Doctor on.

“Have you ever heard of the Folly Caves? The ones that are said to be home to orcs, orges, and goblins?”

“You’re fucking joking, right?” Sheri exclaimed after taking a giant whiff of her hanky.

Doctor Stein grinned cheekily; “Not at all, dear! I think that we could turn them to our side! Well, at least some of them.. the ones that want to live. The rest we can add to our ranks. But there is one problem: the Goblin King..”

There’s a Goblin King?” Marco asked with a touch of disbelief in his voice.

“Aye, My King. It’s said that he used to be one of the Fae Empress’ bodyguards, but we don’t know for sure. All we do know is that any Fae in that area disagrees with the Fae royal family on a key issue.”

“....And that is?” Sheri asked, irritated with the doctor’s need for theatrics.

Doctor Stein grinned evilly; “Whether humans should be hunted and eaten or not..”