At the Guild Hall the next morning, George took one look at Mindy’s pale face and red eyes and shook his head. “Late night?”
“No, actually I think I slept soon after sunset.” Mindy remembered.
At the next table, Remian was meeting with Joshu. “Your mission is to find Craggy Falls and map the way to it. It is a top priority and you can choose your own companions from anyone who is willing.”
“Anyone? Anyone at all?” Joshu asked. “Even Charlie?”
“You can ask if he’s willing.” Remian nodded. “But you have to tell him that it’s roughly five days away.”
“Why not?” Charlie called over from the next table after. “Arnold’s going to take a week to repair my equipment anyway. I’m stuck until then.”
“What about the priests? The ones with healing powers? And the Legion?”
“Like I said. You can a
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Kingdom of the Weak 69. Swearing
Frankly speaking, today was the worst day anyone could have picked to threaten Remian.Not only had he lost the western settlement (which had been built at his expense), he’d gotten a big new debt to Charlie, plus the mystery bugging him all along had led to a sleepless night and a scarce few hours of sleep this morning. Remian was feeling very grumpy. Despite having two cups of coffee and some well-cooked (overcooked?) bacon and sausages (made from grounded Blood Rabbit meat), he still wanted to bite somebody.Instead, he led an army of wolfcats and lynxmice and let them do the biting.The ‘Deep Desert Den’ was an hour north into the desert on Mindy’s airship. The Foresight flew low, barely ten feet off the ground, Miik and his clan scurrying alongside while Carrie and the wolfcats ran on ahead. The wolfcats went ahead and started early. By the time they arrived at the Deep Desert Den, Carrie’s three packs already had a pile of kil
Kingdom of the Weak 70. Getting a handle on things
“I thought there weren’t any other Tier 5’s in Shadowflash Fief!” Remian protested.[Back then, there weren’t. But now it is widely known that Spike has invaded twice and Shadowflash has not shown himself. Therefore, there are now challengers.] Carrie shifted uncomfortably. [We can no longer avoid a showdown. Unless you can subdue them yourself, one of the new challengers will be the new lord. That could be very bad for you and the other humans in this fief, very bad indeed…]“And how exactly do I challenge them? Single combat?” Remian guessed, grimacing.[No lord ever stands alone. It will be your pack against theirs.]“So I get to bring everyone?” Remian gaped. “I can bring a whole army?”[Anyone willing to fight at your side.] Carrie nodded. [Also be aware that there is no limit to future challengers. To be the Lord, you must not only win, you must defend your rule foreverm
Kingdom of the Weak 71. The Pit
By the time Remian arrived on site, Daring Drum was in a very, very bad mood.He roared. He cursed. He swore. He used a lot of bad language that none of the humans except Remian understood. He squirmed and struggled valiantly…All to no avail. DD was, to put it mildly, stuck. The pit wasn’t very roomy in the first place. Deep, but not all that wide; the giant boar was stuck head-first in the hole, with his backside upended, legs pinned tightly in the shaft.“Surrender!” Remian called down. “Acknowledge my claim as the Lord of this Fief, and we’ll free you!”Actually, looking at how the boar was stuck, Remian had to wonder if it was even possible to get the boar out of there.[Never!] Daring Drum roared. [How dare you treat me as a common pig, to give in to the whims of humans! You…!]The tirade went on for quite a while, with very colorful language (for a Wild, anyway) echoing around the pit
Kingdom of the Weak 72. Conditions
“They’re alive!”It was amazing, but somehow, when they dug through the cooling lava layers, the Burning Bull and the Diamond Bristle Boar stirred and groaned.They had to tie them to the Sky Barge to haul them out of the pit.Now they lay side by side, groaning and twitching on the ground. Bellower’s fire was practically reduced to embers, he flopped around weakly, his breathing hoarse. DD’s entire bottom half had been burned, plus he’d been gored in the bum. It was incredible that either of them even survived until now; Remian had to admit, he was impressed.“How did they do it?” Remian marveled. “How did they live under such conditions?”[Fire essence.] Carrie sniffed Bellower, then turned to DD. [Earth essence.]Bellower managed to open one eye and look at Remian. [Human… give me fire… and I will let you off for one year…]“We’re way past
Kingdom of the Weak 73. Spies everywhere
The day arrived when Charlie’s Roving Albatross was repaired… or at least, repaired enough to fly around.“It’s holding together with patches and jellyfish-glue, but it should get as far as Fal’Herim.” Arnold pointed. “The whole fuel conversion system is gone for good, but if you power it manually, you should be able to get it to move. I wouldn’t push it, though, so go easy on the throttle. Stay below the halfway point and you should be able to avoid a breakdown.”“Right. Let’s go pick up the adventuring team.” Mindy turned to Tim. “Are you guys ready?”Tim glanced over his band of merry lynxmice and nodded. “Ready!”Remian, Mindy and Tim got on the airship with Vigil and a squad of lynxmice. Remian invited Carrie to join them, but the moment he did, she had her claws out dug deep into the ground and absolutely refused to get on board. Candice and Denise joine
Kingdom of the Weak 74. Mandy and Mindy Again
“There’s nothing wrong with you.” Dr. Marakovichi Von something-or-the-other, triple Master of Equinox Studies, Thermomagy and Meteoromagy, and retired captain of the Ashdale Royal Expeditionary Navy, made his verdict after twenty minutes of looking through all of Remian’s reports. “Then why all the tests?!” Remian burst out over the breakfast table. “Their notes indicate that you kept saying something was wrong with your magic, and it was out of control, but all their tests say there’s no problem at all.” Dr. Mar pointed. “Therefore, they speculated and sent you on different tests to see if the problem lay elsewhere.” “In other words, they have no clue what the issue is?” Remian groaned out loud. “I spent a whole day and all my cash just to find out that they don’t know?!” Charlie barked a laugh. “You wouldn’t even have found out that much if Dr. Mar hadn’t explained it to you.” “These doctors are useless!!” Remian roared. All that time and money spent for nothing! NOTHING! “May
Kingdom of the Weak 75. White
Shame. Mandy felt it weighing down on her like a wet blanket. Again and again, she was haunted by a memory of her reaction to Mindy’s excitement. The very idea of returning to the Frontier, of facing another Beast Wave… just thinking about it made her bones hurt, as if they remembered being broken. She felt vulnerable. So very vulnerable. But to reveal her fear and vulnerability to Mindy, of all people! How could she face her younger sister any more? No! She had to regain her senses, regain control! She had to be the older sister and protect Mindy! And Mandy already knew the best way to protect that excitable younger sister of hers; simply take her away from danger. Didn’t she see how the other kids here thrived? Didn’t she see how safe and happy they were? They were running around without fear! They were wearing clean clothes, gaining weight, and nobody needed bandages or plasters every day! She could have that too; Mandy was willing to work for the Meadows Household in whatever c
Kingdom of the Weak 76. Just a little more
Remian got back to Frontier Town by Fryday noon, and met Tim at the airport-in-construction. “Tim! Any signals from the south?” Remian asked directly. Tim nodded. “Five columns! It’s Spike…” he trailed off. There was a sudden, strange silence. Remian blinked to realize everyone meeting the airship at the airport was staring. Right. He kind-of expected that. Turning, he half-smiled, half-grimaced as he said, “Everyone… meet Lydia and Phoebe Kites.” The two sisters waved in greeting. “Hello!” “H-hello…” Tim managed. At least he managed that much. Remian himself remembered the first time he met Phoebe. He hadn’t managed much more than that. Phoebe was stunning. Remian had to admit it. He had met pretty girls before; Mandy, for example, was a head-turner no matter which city she was in. But Phoebe was jaw-dropping, feet-tripping, eye-widening, heart-skipped-a-beat beautiful. Max and Marcus were carrying a crate toge
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