Erin threw the Skull at Nolan's feet.

"Hello to you too, Soulstone," the boy replied, picking it up and examining it. "Faster than I thought. She must be why." He nodded towards Lily.

"Actually, I just watched from the sidewalk," Lily quipped. "Erin cut a rotting fodder in two. It was pretty neat!"

Nolan shrugged and pocketed the Skull. "Whatever. It'll make my grade soar either way."

"Whoop-de-fucking-do," Erin muttered. "I'm soooo happy that I could help."

"No need to be sarcastic," Nolan chuckled. "Anyway, go find the other students. Maybe the trolls have some info."

"I'll be right back," Erin said. "Wait here, Lily."

Nolan and Lily watched together as Erin strolled down the street, sword in hand. She walked right up to a troll and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Why doesn't she just blast the brute?" Nolan said. "What an-"

The two watched as Erin planted her sword in the troll's back. It dissolved into dust.

"-idiot," Nolan finished in a quiet voice.

Erin rummaged through the troll's dusty remains and picked up a piece of paper. She strolled back into Festival Park and dropped it in front of Nolan. Nolan picked it up without saying anything.

"A cyclops letter, huh," he muttered, scanning the paper. "Addressed to M."

A chilled wind blew through the Park.

"Ah," Nolan said, pocketing the letter. "Seems the cyclopes kidnapped the students."

"What!?" Lily screeched.

Nolan held out a hand. "Calm down. We won't do ourselves any favors if we panic." He held his chin with two fingers. "Hmm... this is out of my hands, I think. I'll go inform Professor Drake. When I tell him how those students got themselves kidnapped while I was-"

"You might want to rethink that," Erin interrupted.

Nolan paused. "I mean, you should have the honor of informing our great professor. It'll get you some good extra credit."

"Wimp," Erin grumbled, sheathing her sword. "C'mon, Lily."

"Hey Erin, your pocket's glowing," Lily pointed out.

Erin looked down. Since she wasn't in school, she wasn't wearing her uniform. Instead, she had on a simple long-sleeved dress with an attached cape. Fortunately, it had decent pockets. One of said pockets was glowing. Erin dug around until she found her bar. "Looks like it filled up again," she said, turning it over. A shimmering number seven winked up at her.

"Wow, you've been filling it up pretty fast, huh." Lily sounded impressed.

"I try." Erin pocketed it again. "We should hurry to Professor Drake."

"Kidnapped students." Lily nodded, her face pale. "You don't think... he has anything to do with this, do you?"

"The letter was signed M, so, um... duh?" Erin offered a shrug.

The two quickly crossed into Olde Town, and from there the Shopping District. It wasn't until they had reached the Commons that they ran into someone.

"Ow!" Sarai fell from the force of Lily plowing into her.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" Lily squealed, holding out a hand to help Sarai up.

"It's my fault," Sarai apologized. She ignored Lily's hand and started picking up papers that had fallen with her.

"Hey," Erin greeted. "How's Firecat Alley going? Wasn't Justin with you?"

xxxxxxxx

"Well..."

"Justin, come on, I said I'd do this for Penny," Sarai said. She tugged at Justin's sleeve.

Justin sighed. "Fine," he said, turning towards the Dark Cave. "But we're going to go see Gretta after this, okay?"

"That's fine," Sarai said, nodding. "We have a lot to do after all."

"Like take out the constructs."

"And collect elf arrows."

Several duels, one lost ring, one samoorai sword, one Sleeper's Timepiece, and four arrows later, the two stood outside Gretta Darkkettle's door. Justin could smell the heavy incense from here; it made his eyes water.

Sarai wrinkled her nose and leafed through the papers she was carrying. After every battle, Sarai had been filling them out. "Oh, look at that, I've got all the data I need," she said in a cheerful tone. "Better go deliver these to Penny. Tell me how it goes!"

"Sarai, wai-" But she was gone.

Justin faced the door. "Please don't smell as bad as I think it does inside," he muttered, pulling the door open.

It was worse.

xxxxxxxx

"...And that's how it went," Sarai finished.

Erin stared at her.

"What?"

"You sneaky little theurgist," she said, playfully punching Sarai on the shoulder. "I can't believe you hung Justin out to dry."

Sarai laughed nervously. "I hate heavy incense, and Gretta's house is chock full of it." She pointed ahead, to where a dark-skinned girl loitered, dressed in ratty clothing. She was fidgeting a little and kept glancing around. "Anyway, Penny's just over there. Oh, one more thing, Erin - does your friend know how to Whisp?"

"Yes!" Lily jumped into the conversation. "I'm Lily Mythmender, pleased to meet you!"

"Alright," Sarai said, nodding. "We realized we didn't have a way to Whisp to you since, you know..." She looked down at the ground.

"It's fine, it's fine," Erin said, shrugging. "Go chat with Penny. I have to go face Professor Drake." She made a face.

"Good luck." Sarai waved and hurried up to Penny, whose face lit up as she saw Sarai approaching. Erin watched as she looked through the papers. She and Sarai laughed about something. Erin smiled with them. It was good to see Sarai making friends.

She was about to keep walking when she heard the word "Malistaire".

Within seconds she was up next to Sarai. Penny's big brown eyes looked startled. "Oh, hello," she said in a Marleybone accent.

"Don't mind me, please continue," Erin said, nodding.

"Sorry, she's a little weird..." Sarai apologized. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Oh, that story that's been going around, you know?" Penny said. "How Malistaire left in a storm and the Death school disappeared six months ago?"

Erin snorted. "That's old news."

"But the rumors that he's plotting to destroy Wizard City?" Penny said, her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why? And are those even true?"

Erin glanced at Sarai. "...We're not Dragons, so we don't know," she said truthfully.

"Not like the Dragons would tell us anything anyway," Sarai added.

Penny bit her lip, and then her eyes lit up as she pulled a letter from her robes. "That reminds me... do you know anyone in the Spiral that travels a lot? I've got a letter I'd like delivered home..."

Sarai snatched it up. "Leave it to me, Penny."

"Thank you, Sarai," Penny said, smiling.

"You two have fun," Erin said, rejoining Lily.

Lily looked confused. "What was that all about?"

"Sorry. Been getting paranoid when I hear his name lately." Erin shrugged it off.

Lily nodded. "To Professor Drake!" she cheered. The two crossed into Ravenwood, and Erin breathed in the delicious smells again. She loved the campus, she loved it so much. They turned left, passed the Life building, and stepped into the Myth building.

Professor Drake was grading homework at his desk. He glanced up as the doors opened. "Do you have business, Miss Soulstone and Miss Mythmender?"

Erin dropped the ransom note on his desk in response. Drake's eyes flickered from his work for hardly a second "I see. The situation is quite grave, yes?"

"Yes. So we need your wise and excellent counsel," Erin said, nodding.

Drake raised an eyebrow. He ripped a clean piece of parchment off of a blank scroll and scribbled a message down. Then he rolled it up and tied it with some twine. "Here. Take this to Mister Darkwood in the Shopping District. Time is of the essence, as you may have guessed."

Erin nodded. "Let's go, Lily."

"Right!"

"Miss Soulstone," he said as the two turned. Erin glanced back over her shoulder. "I have an additional task for you that you may as well hear about now."

"Yeah?"

Professor Drake rose from his desk and looked her in the eye. "I understand that you will need some educational material during classes, as you have a most unfortunate disability that bars you from participating, yes?"

Erin assumed that was a drawn out way to say You don't do shit in my class and nodded.

"I'd like you to research the Wumpus - a dangerous, underground-dwelling creature," he said. "Find a book at the library. But don't ask that dratted librarian for help - Marleybonians are all bark. Understood?"

"Yup."

"Away with you, then," he said, sitting back down. "Return without it and I'll expel you."

"What!?"

Professor Drake did not answer. Lily had to drag Erin out.

"Erin, we need to get to the Shopping District, right?"

Erin sighed. "Right. Let's make that our first stop." She shook herself out of her disbelief and the two sprinted towards the District at full speed.

xxxxxxxx

"That enough info for you?" Natalie grumbled, leaning back on her broom. She'd spent the last several minutes explaining the tactics of the undead in detail, and needless to say she was irritated.

"Hmm..." Duncan leaned on his staff. "Yeah, I think that's enough. Thanks."

"You didn't write any of that down," Natalie pointed out. "How're you gonna remember it all?"

"Eh, don't worry. I have a good memory. So, anything else?"

Natalie glanced up. "Hmm... well, they were using Storm magic, but-"

"What?" Duncan stood up straight instantly. "The hell? That doesn't make sense, where did they learn that?"

"Why are you asking me? I thought you were the expert around here."

"Oh, ha-ha. Go ask Susie, she lives here. She might know something."

"...She's literally just up the ramp. Go tell her yourself."

"Nah. She hate my guts. Has ever since I killed her pet piggle by accident."

"UGH." Natalie dismounted, walked thirty feet to Susie, and explained the situation.

"Oh, so... Duncan needs my help?" Susie flushed a little. Natalie blinked.

Oh no. Oh no. You have GOT to be kidding me. "Please leave your schoolgirl crush out of this and get to the point."

"Crush? Ahaha, what crush? Anyway..." Susie cleared her throat, and Natalie rolled her eyes. Girls.

"Duncan's right, in a sense. Undead don't usually use Storm magic, so someone must be teaching them. But I saw some of them wearing some weird medallions. Why don't you grab some of those and show them to Duncan?"

"...Why can't you?"

Susie laughed. "I can't go up to a necromancer! What would everyone think?"

Natalie groaned. Diviners and their stupid standards. She returned to Duncan, snatched up her broom, and set off searching for undead to slay. Er, reslay. The miller was up there anyway, and she had stuff for him. And, of course, he had something else for her to do. Was this ever going to end?

Jeez, Natalie thought, Erin's probably having more fun than I am.

xxxxxxxx

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S JUST FUCKING LAUNDRY!?"

"ERIN PUT DOWN YOUR SWORD."

xxxxxxxx

Sarai reentered the Alley to find a charred-looking Justin waiting for her.

"Magma men," he muttered. "Charred knife. For Gretta."

"Ah," Sarai said, tracing the Life symbol. It solidified into a sprite, which circled Justin. His wounds began to fade.

"Thanks." Justin stretched and held up a blackened knife. "Skeletal warriors, too. For that dumb pocket harpsichord. I already got one bone."

Three finger bones later, Sarai and Justin stood outside Gretta's home again. "You're coming in with me," Justin said.

"But-"

"No buts." Justin grabbed Sarai's wrist, kicked open the door, and pulled her inside.

Sarai's eyes started to water; the smell was worse than she thought. All the different herbs were mixing together, creating a stench so thick she could almost see it.

A wizened old lady stood in the corner of the room. Her beady eyes lit up at the sight of Justin. "Ah, my boy, you brought me what I asked for?" She tilted her head. "Who's this pretty lady?"

"S-Sarai S-Summerglade," Sarai managed to choke out.

Justin thrust the charred knife and the finger bones into Gretta's eager palms. "There. Here's what you wanted. Now talk."

"My my, what an impatient young lad." Gretta's eyes glittered as she glanced over the bones. "Mmm, yes, these will do just fine. Now then..." She turned the knife over in her hands. "Seems a banshee cursed the elves. You'll need to find her-"

"Shocker," Justin muttered.

"-and cut off a lock of her hair. Perhaps Private Quinn will know of any banshees that inhabit the area."

"...You live here, shouldn't you know that?" Justin pointed out.

"Do you know how often I leave my house, young man?"

"Wh-what about the f-finger bones?" Sarai coughed.

"Ah, yes. I still need something for the soundboard. Obsidian from the magma men should do." Gretta waved a hand. "Leave, then."

Sarai dragged Justin out. "Oh, thank gods, fresh air," she whimpered.

"This is so boring," Justin complained. "Jeez, I bet Erin's having more fun hacking stuff to bits than we are playing errand boy."

xxxxxxxx

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WUMPUSES DON'T EXIST?"

"Miss Soulstone, please lower your voice. This is a library."

xxxxxxxx

It took another twenty precious minutes, but Sarai and Justin finally collected enough obsidian. Justin lost at rock-paper-scissors and grudgingly returned to Gretta's house, freeing Sarai to speak to Private Quinn. She was crouching over a fireflower bush when Justin returned.

"You really like flowers, huh?" he said.

"Yeah," she said, standing up. "Fireflowers are easy to care for. A dry environment and a lot of sunlight is all they need to thrive. Anyway, Private Quinn thinks Bastilla Gravewynd is our culprit."

"I need to get fire rosin from Dark Cave," Justin grumbled.

"I'll help you with that, then," Sarai said, nodding. "We'll take care of this harpsichord business and then we'll take out Bastilla."

"Sounds like a plan." The two started running, dodging arrows the size of pencils as they hurried along the streets. It didn't take long for them to duck into the relative safety of Dark Cave.

A few lights were flickering in the dilapidated houses. The streets were dirty, and an overbearing shadow seemed to have settled heavily on the streets. Justin shivered. It was cold on the street, which wasn't surprising seeing as all the torches were out.

He heard a whimper next to him and glanced at Sarai. Sarai seemed quite uncomfortable... of course! The Death energy that made Dark Cave feel so gloomy had a worse effect on Sarai than it did on him.

"Maybe you should go wait at Gravewynd's tower," he said.

Sarai shook her head and her face set into a determined expression. "N-no, I can d-do this."

"If you say so," Justin said with uncertainty. He scanned the road up ahead and pointed. "Look, our job's easy. Three barrels, all grouped together."

Sarai nodded. "L-let's get them." She took one step forward, then another, then another, then ano-

The air whistled, and Sarai ducked as a spade struck the stone just above her. Justin lunged forward and snatched the spade out of the air before looking in the direction it came from. The spade's owner, a rotting fodder, let out a menacing groan and stepped forward to retrieve its possession. Justin pulled out his wand and summoned Thomas. The thundersnake hissed and prepared to strike.

Just then, a firecat leapt forward and clawed the fodder in two. The fodder shrieked and dissolved into dust. A golden, sparking medallion clattered on the ground.

"Last one!" a familiar voice said. The voice's owner came out of the shadows, picked up the medallion, and...

"Natalie!?"

"Justin!? Sarai!?" Natalie blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"

Justin pointed to the barrels. "Fire rosin. Why are you here?"

"Storm medallions," Natalie replied, holding up the medallion that the rotting fodder had dropped. "According to Duncan, the fodders aren't supposed to be able to cast Storm magic. These should tell us who's been teaching 'em. Somehow. You okay, Sarai?"

"F-fine," Sarai muttered, picking up one of the barrels. "L-let's just... go."

Natalie tilted her head before she blinked and nodded in understanding. "Mm. You better get her out of here, Justin. I'll see you later today." She turned on her broom and flew off down the street. Justin figured she was going to leave through the Cyclops Lane entrance, which meant...

"Hey! Natalie!" Natalie stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "Did you see Erin on your way here?"

"No, I didn't see her," she called back. "If I do, I'll let you know."

Justin nodded. Natalie flew away. "Okay, Sarai, let's get out of here."

Sarai nodded. "L-let's."

Justin took two of the barrels and together they started rolling them out of Dark Cave. Justin was a little concerned about Erin, more so now that he knew Natalie hadn't spotted her. She could've been in danger for all he knew.

Nah, he decided, she's Erin. She'll be fine.

xxxxxxxx

The doors to the Myth School slammed open.

Erin stomped in, pulling a large white sack behind her. She dropped it onto Professor Drake's desk.

Without looking up, Drake said, "Yes?"

"Wumpuses. Don't. Exist," she growled.

"So you talked to the librarian?"

"You had me pick up laundry."

"I'll give you another chance. Run along to the Hedge Maze and bring me some truffula leaves."

"Your students are in danger."

"I'll expel you if you come back empty-handed."

Erin withdrew her sword and sliced the bag open. Professor Drake's clean clothes spilled onto the desk.

Professor Drake paused and finally put down his quill. "Alright, if you're that concerned," he said. "Why don't you bring a message to the headmaster?"

"Why don't you tell him yourself?" Erin retorted.

"Because I, unlike you, am quite busy." Drake scribbled a message out, folded it up, and handed it to the redhead. "Shoo."

"If this is another laundry run, I'm cutting tomorrow," Erin grumbled.

"It's not like you do anything anyway," Drake said as she slammed the double doors shut.

This was stupid. She was wasting her time. She should just storm the castle and rescue the students herself.

...Which was exactly why, an hour later, Erin found herself crawling through the Maze's hedges, cursing all the way.

"Umm, miss?" Lady Oriel said hesitantly. "You aren't by chance looking for... truffula leaves, are you?"

"...They don't exist, do they."

"They do not."

Erin pulled out her sword.

"Hold your temper, miss! Perhaps Ivan can help...?"

"I'm kind of in a hurry," Erin muttered. "But thanks, milady." She sprinted out of the Maze. Now that that was out of the way, she needed to get to Headmaster Ambrose to inform him about the missing students.

xxxxxxxx

Natalie dropped several Storm medallions at Duncan's feet.

"The hell are these?" he muttered, picking one up.

"Medallions," Natalie said curtly. "The fodders had them."

Duncan blinked. "The fodders? Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Well, if I'm gonna figure out who gave them the medallions, I'm gonna need some lumina crysta-"

"UGHHHH."

Duncan gave her a weird look. "...Talk to Blad Raveneye. The mill produces lumina crystals. In the meantime, I'll-"

"No." Natalie held out her hand. "Just. No. Stand there. I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, Natalie returned to Duncan with a darkened crystal in hand. "It's been drained of power," she said. "Explain why. Now."

"Er, okay," Duncan mumbled, leaning on his staff. "Um, someone must be helping them, but we still need a charged crystal. Maybe the scarlet screamers-"

"Done." Natalie mounted her broom and flew off. Duncan closed his mouth.

Natalie crossed the bridge and flew along the street, stopping at a triton statue. She waited until a scarlet screamer passed and sniped it with a fireball. The third scarlet screamer to fall victim to this dropped a lumina crystal. Natalie darted into the street, picked it up, and returned to Duncan.

"Do your stuff. Now."

"Give me that," Duncan muttered, snatching the lumina crystal from her hands. He fished a Storm medallion from his pocket and muttered something under his breath. The crystal flickered. "Of course," he murmured, looking up at Natalie.

"Of course what? Give the messenger some insight," Natalie growled. "That is, assuming I'm still playing messenger."

Duncan ignored that. "Tell Susie that the Harvest Lord's got her brother."

"Who?"

"Just tell her."

Natalie groaned. "For fuck's sake, why can't you tell her yourself? You know she has a crush on you, right?"

"Yeah," Duncan said, shrugging. "It's not like it'd ever work between me'n her. And she knows it. Anyway, I'm only here for the extra credit. I'd rather not involve my love life." He waved a hand. "Go tell Susie."

Natalie stared at him for a moment. "...I think you're wrong," she finally said.

"Eh?"

"I think you're wrong," she repeated. "You can't date her because she's a diviner and you're a necromancer, right? That's your line of thinking, right? That's stupid."

"Wh-"

"If you like her, then ask her out," Natalie said firmly. "I'll go talk to her, and I'll go take out this Harvest Lord. And then when this whole mess is over with, you can ask Susie Gryphonbane out to Elik's Edge."

For the first time since she'd met him, Duncan Grimwater seemed at a loss for words. Then he flushed. "N-now hang on a sec-!"

Natalie giggled. "See ya, Duncan." She swerved up the ramp to talk to Susie.

One short angst-filled conversation later, Natalie flew past Duncan once again. This time, though, she didn't stop. No, this time she kept flying on, studying her map to find her way to the Harvest Lord's Tower.

It was time to put an end to this.

xxxxxxxx

"Truffula leaves?" Ivan breathed. "There's no such thing..."

"I know," Erin growled. "Just tell me what I have to do to get Drake off my back."

One of Ivan's branches bent down within arm's distance. "Take some of my leaves and tell Cyrus that they are from the mythical truffula tree," Ivan whispered. "You did well to see through his tricks..."

"Uh-huh," Erin muttered, plucking a few leaves and bowing, as was customary. "Thanks, Ivan, you're a real help."

"Anytime..."

Erin pushed her way into the Myth school. As she thought, Professor Drake was still grading homework at the desk. She stomped forward and dropped the leaves on the parchment he was skritching remarks on.

The effect was even better than she hoped. "T-truffula tree leaves?" he sputtered. "I-impossible!"

"Is it, Professor? Is it really?" Erin leaned on the desk, grinning. "It's not that hard for a girl who you tried to get expelled. That note was a nice touch."

Drake inspected the leaves closely. Then he looked up at Erin. He seemed to have regathered his composure. "It seems you have done the impossible, though these leaves are strikingly similar to Ivan's leaves..."

Erin whistled.

"Well, you've done well, but you've yet to prove to me that you're actually a conjurer."

"Hey!"

Drake held up a hand. "Wait." He reached into his shirt and pulled out a small yellow gem. "Take this to Unicorn Way. If you can summon a minion, come back and report it to me. I'll inset this gem into that special sword of yours."

Erin paused. "...And what'll that do?"

"You'll see. Now go."

Erin muttered a few choice words under her breath and left the campus. Unicorn way wasn't a far walk, and she took Rainbow Bridge across the river. Crossing Rainbow Bridge gave her shivers; maybe it was the waterfall, or the rumors that it was cursed. But there was always something about the bridge she had never liked. In any case, she made it to Unicorn Way without any problems.

She wasn't able to walk more than a few feet into the Way before she felt a sharp tug in her gut and stopped. Erin fell to her knees, gripping her side, as the wind picked up and flowers sprouted out from the cracks in the stones.

Before her eyes, a unicorn galloped into existence. It whinnied and bowed.

"You... I... did... you...?" Erin wheezed as the pain in her gut faded.

The unicorn gave a soft whinny in response. It trotted closer and gently touched Erin's shoulder with its horn. The pain in her gut faded. Erin stood up and stroked the unicorn's muzzle. The unicorn trotted in a circle before vanishing, leaving behind only a few flowers.

Erin picked up a flower. It was her only proof. She turned and sprinted back to Ravenwood, kicking open the doors to the Myth school.

This time, Drake looked up. Erin only had to hold up the flower she'd gotten for him to drop his quill pen.

"I... I see," he muttered. "It seems that you have some... potential after all."

"You doubted me?" Erin grumbled.

"I did not," Drake said. "Well, Miss Soulstone, it seems that you are rather determined to spend time in my class." He held out a hand. "You have proven yourself. Please show me your blade."

Erin drew her sword and set it down on Drake's desk. She put the gem, which was now emitting a gentle glow, next to it. Drake set to work, and a few minutes later he held up Erin's blade. The yellow gem had been set into a hollow in the hilt that Erin hadn't noticed before.

"This gem's activated by your power," he explained. "If you choose to use it, it should transform the magic the blade absorbs into Myth energy. That should prove more powerful than reflecting your enemy's magic back at them."

Erin took the sword; she could feel new power humming through it, and the blade's aura had changed. Had the sword even possessed an aura before? Now it did, a soft, pulsating, golden one. "Thanks," she said, surprised. "But... why didn't I get this before?"

Drake seated himself. "The Headmaster works in strange ways," he replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I do need to get back to grading these papers. I'm sure yours will be most torturous to do."

And he was back. Erin sheathed her sword and left, scowling.

Whatever, she didn't have time for Drake's weird bullshit. Erin crossed to Olde Town. Cyclops Lane wasn't that far, and she returned to the park without incident.

Lily was napping against a tree. Erin had left her there after the laundry episode. She had said she wouldn't fall asleep, but Erin had learned at this point to take those kinds of things with a grain of salt.

"Hey," she said, prodding Lily's shoulder. "Wake up."

"Hmmmmglp?" Lily slurred, twitching.

Erin sighed. "I wasn't gone for that long. You shouldn't even be asleep in broad daylight."

Lily stretched like a cat. "But it's warm out, it makes me sleepy," she whined. "You took a while, anyway. Did delivering that bag of goods really take that long?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Erin muttered. "Anyway, we should go. I had to run around a bit before Ambrose actually told me who we're up against?"

"Is it General Akilles?" Lily asked as they started to walk.

Erin blinked in surprise. "Yeah, how'd you guess?"

"General Akilles is the general of the cyclopes," Lily explained. "The trolls and cyclopes that are everywhere? They came to deal with the undead infestation, but after they drove the ghouls and skeletons out they ran rampant. And General Akilles is the one leading them all. So if anything weird's been going on, it must be General Akilles' fault."

Erin was silent for several moments.

"Is something wrong?" Lily asked.

"So..." Erin started. "You're saying that you could've told me the whole time that it was General Akilles, and I didn't have to go on that wild goose chase for the last hour?"

"Yup. Why?"

"I'm gonna kill him," Erin grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's have a chat with Nolan." Erin started walking, and Lily was given little choice but to follow.

Nolan was leaning on his staff, snoring a little bit. Erin leaned over and ripped it out from under him. The boy almost fell off the stand. "What- whazza-"

Erin laughed. "I'm back. We're dealing with General Akilles. It's up to us." Well, me, she added in her head. Nolan didn't seem like he was any help in a fight, nor did he seem willing to get off the stupid stand.

Nolan considered this information while Erin handed his staff back to him. "Up to us, huh? Professor Drake must really trust me..."

Erin facepalmed.

"Anyway, we need to get to his keep. A warhorn's pass should let you through." Nolan gave her a smug grin. He didn't seem to think Erin could take on a warhorn.

"Uh huh. I'll be right back." Erin turned tail and walked off.

"Ha, just watch, kid, she'll never-" Nolan's gloating was interrupted by loud, terror-filled bellows. Erin returned shortly after with a pass in one hand and a horn in the other.

"Where'd you get the horn?" Lily asked.

Erin shrugged. "The warhorn tried to charge me, so I jumped on him. Guess the horn came off in the process." She looked up at Nolan. "There isn't a problem here, is there?"

"...No," Nolan muttered. "You should go show that to Romulus, the guard. He's a few piggles short of a pen, so there shouldn't be a problem. Take down Akilles, and then he should be honor-bound to free them. You... can do that, right?"

Erin glanced at the sword at her side. "Yes? I took down Rattlebones without a problem."

"Can I come with you?" Lily asked.

"No, Lily, you shouldn't, it'll be dangerous," Erin responded. "I won't be long. Keep an eye on Nolan and make sure he doesn't steal any more glory, 'kay?"

"Hey!"

Lily laughed. "Okay, Erin. Stay safe."

"I will." Erin gave Lily a small salute and started running towards the keep. This wasn't going to be as easy as she'd pretended, but hey, that didn't mean it wouldn't be fun.

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It had taken far too long, but Shelus finally had his stupid pocket harpsichord and Bastilla Gravewynd was on her last legs. All Justin had to do was throw the final blow.

Naturally, him being Justin, that was far easier said than done.

Justin knocked over another bookcase trying to evade Bastilla. "Sarai, a little HELP would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!" he yelled.

"I-I'm trying!" Sarai stuttered, tracing the Life symbol. A leprechaun sailed out of it on a rainbow, throwing his pot of gold at the banshee. The banshee screeched as she was pelted with small gold coins. She turned, snarling, and swiped at Sarai. Sarai sailed backwards and hit the floor.

The banshee turned back on Justin and unleashed an unearthly screech. Justin winced and covered his ears. The glass on the tower windows shattered, and Sarai yelped as she tried to avoid the falling shards.

Justin slashed at Bastilla with his wand. It worked, and she stopped screeching. "Okay lady, you need to take a long nap!" he growled. "...again! Sarai, the glass! Now!"

"Okay!" Sarai picked up one of the longer, more dangerous-looking glass shards and hurled it at Bastilla. Justin leaped out of the way as it tore through the banshee like wet paper. Bastilla Gravewynd let out one more wail as she dissolved into mist.

"Okay, that was harder than I thought it'd be," Justin muttered, panting. "Are you okay, Sarai?"

"I'm fine," Sarai muttered, holding her hand behind her back. "I'll try to heal you, Justin, she threw you into the wall pretty hard."

Justin glanced at the large crack in the stone. "Nah, I'm fine," he said, bending so his back wouldn't complain nearly as much.

But Sarai was already casting a healing spell anyway. A sprite flew out of her Life symbol and circled Justin and Sarai a few times before flying out the broken window. Justin could already feel his pain easing, and a cut he hadn't noticed on Sarai's hand fading.

"Let's go tell Gretta," Sarai nodded, holding the lock of hair she'd ripped from the banshee's head earlier in battle. "She'll want this, right?"

"Right," Justin said, slipping his wand back into his belt. "Let's go."

It wasn't far to Gretta's incense-swamped house, and she was certainly pleased with the hair. She did something strange with a candle and handed it over to them. "This candle should break the curse on the fire elves, hmmm?"

"Okay, sure," Sarai nodded, eager to get out of there already. Gretta Darkettle operated in strange ways; most of her methods were unorthodox. Sarai didn't know how she felt about using this candle, but oh well.

"Thanks for your help," Justin muttered, offering Gretta a wave. The two of them bolted from her home and back down into the park, where Private Quinn awaited.

"What's this?" Quinn asked, studying the candle.

"Apparently, it can break the curse," Justin said.

"Hmm... here, give me a moment," Quinn said, pulling a vial from his pocket. He added some sort of solution to it from a flask and then dropped the entire candle into the potion. Then he corked it, shaking it thoroughly. "Here," he said. "If I did this right, this potion should cure the fire elves.

Justin took the vial and held it away from his body. The Wizard City Brigade wasn't exactly known for their potion-making skills. "Alright... what should we do with it?"

"Subdue some of the fire elves and make them drink it. Then go find Alicane, he should be in the Theatre." Quinn pointed further down the street. "The other elves, cursed or not, should follow Alicane's orders anyway."

"Wait, if the other elves will follow Alicane's orders, why do we need to bother subduing the other fire elves?" Justin asked. "Since once we break Alicane's, he can just distribute the antidote to the others."

"Son, it'll be mighty hard to reach Fireglobe Theatre with all the fire elves on your tail," Quinn chuckled. "You'll be doing yourself a favor, freeing some of them first."

"Alright, I understand," Justin grumbled. "Let's go, Sarai."

"Right," Sarai said, nodding. "Let's just rush it."

"Good idea." Justin drew his wand and led the way. He remembered how to get to Fireglobe Theatre from just last week, when he, Natalie, and Kane had gotten trapped.

Justins and Sarai sprinted down the sidewalk, throwing attacks at the fire elves that shot at them. They only stopped if they managed to down one of them to give them the antidote. They didn't stop to see if it worked, because if they stopped for more than a few moments, the arrows would start raining down.

Just before they turned the corner to the Theatre, Justin tripped.

"Justin!" Sarai braked hard and turned around, hurling an imp at the nearest elf to keep him away. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Justin groaned, picking himself up. "I just fell down is all."

Sarai helped him to his feet. "Come on, we need to hurry. The sun is setting."

It was true. The orange sky was darkening. But curiously enough, the way to Fireglobe Theatre was bright. Sarai wondered if Firecat Alley always kept it lit up, but there hadn't been a show there in months. An uneasy feeling dug into her gut. "Come on," she said, running without even checking if Justin was following.

"Hey, wait up!" Justin ran after her. Sarai disappeared around the corner, and Justin followed only to crash into her. "Hey, what gives?" he demanded, managing not to fall down this time.

Sarai only pointed in the direction of the Theatre. Justin looked. "Oh no..." he breathed.

"We need to hurry," she murmured. "Before Fireglobe Theatre burns down."

xxxxxxxx

...wow that took forever to post! Whoops.

Hi guys! Long time to see! I seem to take forever to update, huh? Anyway, review response time real quick before an important announcement!

catluvvergal010: Yeah, magic racism gets pretty annoying, especially to necromancers. In-fic, it's gotten a lot worse since Malistaire left. I'll be sure to check out your fic!

Ammaarah01: Oh yeah, Alia and Leesha are assholes. Leesha's a lot worse actually, since she's a lot more blunt about it. Alia's one of those people that goes "I'm not racist, but..."

Yeah, racist doesn't really fit, but it's the closest thing I guess.

Zhia: Sorry for that coincidence that my Alia shares your wizard's name! ^^;; And yeah, Luke Skywalker is a reference to exactly what you're thinking. It's also a reference to the ridiculous number of Luke Skywalkers that are running around. I might be using that for a joke later. c;

Anyway, important announcement time: This fic is being moved onto Ao3. If you're not familiar with the term, that's . I have an account there, and as we speak I'm transferring chapters over. I've linked it on my profile page, so go there!