CoE The Last Shapeshifter

Chapter Twenty Four

The clanging of flamberge on claymore rang through the dark tunnel as Nicko and Jack sparred. Neither were winning, neither was more skilled than the other. Left handed grasp met common right handed grasp. The two of them circled each other, attacking and then backing off. Defending and attacking.

Then Nicko pulled out the double ended glaive and Jack's red eyes immediately widened even further. She didn't know they would reach widths of that sort but they did as he backed off from Nicko's grinning face.

"Okay I'm calling it there." He said, panting so hard his chest was almost concave with every heaving breath. Nicko stuck out her tongue at Jack's announcement as he plonked to the ground away from the fireplace. Zyith clanged to the ground beside him. He reached for the corner of his shirt and wiped his red face with it, sweat ran down his back and down his neck, clustering in the gap between his collarbones where there was a slight divot.

Nicko shrugged at his notion of giving up and instead began to twirl both Ardis and the glaive in each of her hands. She visualised an opponent in front of her and swung with both of the weapons in unison, slicing the imaginary sparring partner in half and hitting the pieces before they even reached the ground beneath her feet.

"Hey Nicko. How are we going to kill the King? You said he knows all your disguises so you can't sneak in." Jack said, thinking out loud while Nicko sliced at the invisible opponent, twirling here and there, blocking and attacking each in their own turn. "How else are you going to get him?"

Nicko paused in the middle of her sparring and sat down, hand already searching for the water skin to ease the desert that was her throat and mouth. She sat, panting on the dusty stone ground for a long moment, thinking through all of her options.

"We could try and attack the Seasonal Fortress itself." She suggested, standing back up again, glaive in her right hand, Ardis in her left as per usual.

She didn't have to look over at Jack to know that his face was currently scrunched up, either in thought over the matter or distaste at the idea; proving that it was a truly horrible one.

"First off, remember the walls?" Jack said, with sarcasm dripping from his voice. Nicko turned her head and glared at him, mid spar with her invisible partner. Well... more accurately partners now as she had added two more to the number of opponents. Jack raised his hands in a mock surrender movement before continuing.

"And even if you did manage to get past the moat, and the walls, the only way to get around without being seen is the servant's tunnels, which are a maze within themselves. No we need a better plan than that one. More reliable too." He said slowly, as if he was drafting, re writing and planning out every single word that he said.

Nicko continued in her sparring, turning left and right, moving forwards and back. All the while either defending herself with double or single handed blocks or attacking with either Ardis or the double ended glaive. She had been training with the glaive as Faya would no longer need it, from the one time that she had Jack had rushed into the Old One's cavern from the large thud that they had heard. Nicko had snuck back one other time after that to find Faya hovering above the Old One, doing what looked to be throwing the wind at him. Her eyes had gone from their normal green to a glowing silver and her hair had come out its tight performer's bun.

"What if we lure him out?" She suggested in between heaving breaths. She sheathed the glaive and Ardis and sat down a few feet away from Jack, away from the fire and its heat. She had another mouthful from her water skin while she waited for Jack's reply.

For once he was thinking about it hard, rather than replying instantly as he did when Nicko first met him.

"That actually could work." Jack said, surprised at his own words. "The only issue is that if we get him out, he will bring the army with him, as big as he can manage. Possibly even bring the dragons into this." Jack thought out loud, his voice reaching Nicko's ears with a hint of respect.

"Then we bring our own army. Bring them to the Summer Plains, near the Unnatural Mountains and we can have some troops in the passages, waiting to flank him." Nicko replied, her breathing a little more under control than it had been before.

The two of them sat in silence, trying to figure out the answer to a problem that had a high price to pay if they were wrong.

Jack opened his mouth, as if to say something; but then shook his head and closed it again. Nicko's mind was racing, the puzzle pieces just weren't fitting together. Where would this rebellious army come from? How many would be willing to go against the King?

"Romanka." Jack said out of no where. Nicko turned to him, her mouth opened and grinning.

"That's genius Jack!" She exclaimed. Jack smiled and shuffled where he sat. "The town has a lot of people and the people know other people. And since they all are willing to even live in a town hiding from the King they'll be willing to fight!" Nicko said, getting excited at the fact that the puzzle pieces were finally falling in together. She stood up and began to pace back and forth, deep in thought.

"What about the dwarves?" Jack suggested, also getting up but instead of pacing, leaning against the stone wall behind him.

Nicko stopped pacing and turned to face Jack, her hand pointing in front of her from tracking her trains of thoughts.

"We could bring the dwarves into this and have them in the tunnels in the Unnatural Mountains, ready to ambush the King's army. They know those tunnels as well as you know a guard's routine. Who else?" Nicko said, beginning to pace again.

The two of them stood in silence for a minute before Nicko paused, mid step and turned back to Jack, ushering him over to the fire to stay warm.

"What if we bring in the Spark and the Wind Dragons? They've always been against the King and I know for certain he will bring in the Frost and Dust Dragons. They've been his agents for years now." She suggested, pacing around the fire this time. Her thoughts were racing, as was the wind in the tunnel, throwing up her hair and tussling it around on top of her head and in front of her eyes.

"Would they be willing to fight though? That's the real question here." Jack said, shaking his finger for emphasis on his point. Nicko stopped pacing and sat down by the fire, exhausted from her sparring match. Her mind was jumping from one thing to another and her breathing was barely under control. She lay down from her previous position against the stone wall, not even noticing the twin scabbards that dug into her back.

"If it for freedom then I think they will. I know the Spark Dragons will at the very least." She said finally, breaking the silence quite abruptly. Jack shifted in his spot on the floor so he could see Nicko's face better in the firelight. "The Spark dragons have been looking for an excuse to get even with the Frost dragons since the War of the Beasts." She continued.

"Wasn't that the one where the Unnatural Mountains were built?" Jack asked. Nicko rolled her eyes.

"Yes. And ever since then they have wanted to fight but because of the fact the Frost Dragons are under the protection from the King they can't. The Wind Dragons I'm not too sure about. We will need to present a case to them and everything." She finished, trailing off in thought.

Jack ran his hands through his hair, his nervous tick Nicko had noticed. Her fingers were once again fiddling with the black ring on her thumb as she considered how they would suggest this to the Wind Dragons. For the Wind Dragons were known for their arrogance and neutrality.

"We'll go to Naguhana first, the center of the Wind Dragon community and present ourselves to the chief. Faya can train with one of the dragons while we talk with the chief and the council." Nicko finally said, decision made.

"They have a council system too?" Jack asked out of ignorance.

Nicko rolled her eyes and stood up, not before ruffling her hand through Jack's hair, successfully annoying him.

"Come on, let's get Faya and we'll be on our way. From the sound of things in there she's nearly done the basics of wind handling." Nicko said, before throwing dirt on the fire and extinguishing it. Jack shrugged and got up with a grunt and the cracking of joints.

"I hope they have some decent food there." Was all Jack said as before following Nicko down the cold tunnel to the Old One's cavern.