"Where do we go, Ren? we have five hundred men and no kingdom!" Hypno asks, riding next to Ren, looking over to his king who is lost in thought.
Suddenly, Ren's head flies up, an idea appearing in his mind as he looks over to Hypno with a smile on his face, "Dogwarts wasn't the only castle we have, after the war i kept one other castle, the crastle, being held by a good friend of mine." He says quickly before riding forward in haste.
Hypno looks over to Python, who shrugs before following close behind, riding through blood-stained trees, unsure of where they are going.
"I see light!" Impulse shouts, holding his hand over his eyes, looking out through the sewer tunnel, which leads to the shore behind dogwarts.
"Really!" Keralis shouts, pushing past him, a smile on his face as the sun shines on him.
"Bubbles, we're here!" He shouts to Bdubs, who walks up behind the two of them.
"Finally." He says, sighing and walking past the two of them, climbing down onto the sand below him with a bright smile on his face.
"Yeah, we're here, but so are whoever that is." Impulse says, pointing out into the water, where more ships than anyone could count were sailing right in their direction.
Bdubs stands up slowly, walking to the edge of the water, trying to get an idea of who is sailing for them, but the banners are unrecognisable.
"There's at least a hundred of them." Keralis says, walking up next to Bdubs, fear in his eyes as the ships draw closer.
"And im assuming they aren't out friends, so let's get out of here." Impulse says quickly, dragging Bdubs and Keralis by the arms along the shore away from the walls.
Keeping their backs against the rocky cliffs to keep out of sight of guards watching from the walls, getting caught now would mean death, and the three of them know that.
"What are we even going to do once we escape? Where do we go?" Bdubs asks, slipping on a rock and nearly falling down the side of the cliff they are scaling.
Impulse grabs his shoulders, pulling him back against the cliff and keeping him steady, "The dwarvern keep, or we find Ren, anywhere that isn't these walls is fine with me." He says, patting Bdubs on the chest and continuing to walk forward.
Bdubs stands still, slightly shocked at how aggressive Impulse is, something he's not used to in the years of knowing him.
Keralis gets close to him, making sure to whisper in his ears so Impulse can't hear, "Remember, he lost his best friend in this war, to Cub." He says, placing his hand on Bdubs' waist and slowly pushing him forward.
Cub pushes the doors of the throne room open, the room dispensed of all bodies and wipes of the blood, yet the smell lingers all the same, looking around to the room that belongs to him now, the one goal hes known his entire life and now he has taken it.
Sure, he had questionable ways of gaining the crown he now has, but it is his destiny, his purpose, the reason he was shipped across the seas and is now the king of Dogwarts.
He walks around the council table with a large smirk on his face, taking in a deep breath as he reaches the throne. It feels like a fever dream. He started a war, caused the destruction of the dwarves and betrayed his best friend to sit where he is now, and to him, it was all worth it.
The door opens back up behind him, as Xisuma walks in with his helm down. False and Doc beside him, making their way to the chairs assigned to them as his new council, finding many seats empty.
"Im sorry, it seems we are missing some members of this council, Xisuma, send some men to escort Mumbo, Impulse, Bdubs, and Keralis to this table if you will." Cub asks with a smile on his face, a smile which drops when Xisuma doesn't move.
"Is there a problem?" He asks, noticing the smirk False is trying to hide on her face as Xisuma stands up.
"Cub, my king, there is a problem, Mumbo and nine of his men descended down the wall and escaped my men, currently no one knows where they are but i promise they will be found soon." He says with a scared look on his face," Not sure of how Cub will punish him for letting them escape.
"Not too surprising, see that he is found fast, and his men executed, and for the other three, where are they?" Cub asks slightly annoyed, knowing that they will have somehow found a way to escape him.
"That's also a problem, the men we sent for the dwarvern king were found dead, along with the men we sent for Keralis, one of the builders said the three of them escaped down the sewers, they are most likely down there right now." He sits down quickly as he sees Cub try to maintain a calm expression and nearly failing.
"Verywell, see to it that they are found. In the meantime, we have much to discuss, False i want you to make sure that our guests from across the seas are welcomed into the kingdom and treated kindly, they will be a valuable asset for the battles to come." Cub commands as his smirk grows, feeling the power he now has.
"And for you, Xisuma, i want your men guarding the walls, and most importantly, i want you guarding me at all times, alongside Wels, if that project is going according to plan." He looks over to Doc, who quickly stands to reply.
"Of course, yes, my king, it has been many years since i have done this, but i have perfected it in that time, the Wels you knew is no more, and soon the Wels you will know will be nothing but a sword for you to use as you please." Doc answers with a sense of excitement in him.
"Good, it seems everything is going according to plan, and remember False, betray me, and you'll end up like the rest of your men." Cub laughs before shooing them away.
False walks out of the room quickly, looking down to see heads mounted on spikes along the streets, the doing of the civilians who had risen up with Cub to take the throne, they are almost like animals, her mens heads rotting and being eaten by flies on those spikes.
Doc walks back to his area of work, the smell of death flooding over him as he looks over at Wels, who is sprawled across a large table, a sealed up cut in his neck while his lifeless eyes look up to the roof above.
"Hello friend, you'll be back soon enough, don't you worry." He says with a smile while pulling out a long and thin tube from a cupboard.
He picks up a small dagger, which is planted next to Wels' body and cuts a hole in his arm big enough to insert the tube into.
"There you go, see you soon." He says, picking up a bottle and shaking it before pouring its contents down the tube, watching a green liquid flow into the decaying body in front of him.
Gem looks down at the arena where she was forced to kill her friend, still seeing the bloodstains on the sand where she died. This war was for her and BigB, and now they are both dead.
"Do you think it's safe up here?" Tango asks, walking up beside her, seeing the tears in her eyes as she turns to look at him.
"I don't, because it isn't. This is the most dangerous place i could be, yet im here anyway, i need to warn my king of what happened here and who started this entire war." She says with a frown on her face as she tries to pass Tango, an arm blocking her.
"You can warn him with a raven. It's faster, and at least you won't die on the way there." He says, pulling his arm away as she looks at him frustrated.
"I'm not going to die in this city. I just escaped it." she says, causing him to laugh a little. "What's so funny?" she scoffs.
"Me and Etho, we were exiled from this city, yet we come back more often than not. This city has a sort of attraction like no other. In its time, armies have come here and died, and kings have come here and ruled like no other, and every single one of them have gone mad with power, yet we all come back, and we all die because of or for the man who sits on the throne here, its up to you if you leave and cause the death of many more or stay and fight for the people of this world. It's up to you." Tango says with a smile on his face, walking past her as she looks back at him.
"So, why did you abandon her." Jevin asks, leaning against a wall and throwing a ball at Etho, bored out of his mind as they wait for any news of where Bdubs is.
"I killed as many as my body could handle, and then i ran, if the king knew the children we're mine, the children would be dead, i wanted to stay and fight for her, but the children came first in my mind, i was an exile, a criminal, i was to be exiled on sight, i had to run for them." He catches the ball and throws it back, the two of them sitting in an abandoned house.
Jevin nods his head slowly before smiling at Etho, clearly finding a slight respect for him, "I wish she could've known that, she's lived her life hating you because of what you did, she thought you ran because you were scared to die, and so did i." He shrugs before dropping the ball, a crow with a red ribbon around its neck landing on the window next to them.
"Well, look who came exactly when we needed them, a little messenger." Etho smiles before picking up a handful of grains from the bowl on the windowsill and letting it eat out of his hands.
"Why's it a crow, aren't raven's the birds used for messages?" Jevin asks, looking at it, confused as he ever could be.
"You're right, it is, weird. Maybe whoever lived here couldn't afford a Raven, anyway it'll be just fine." Etho looks down happily as it eats, watching Gem walk in through the door behind them letter in hand.
"Deliver this, now." She says, planting it in Jevin's hand, not letting him question it before placing it in the crow's mouth.
"Go now, little one." Etho laughs as he lets it fly, watching it disappear into the distance towards Stratos.
"Where's Tango?" Jevin asks, noticing the absence of the flamed man in the room.
"Im not sure, i think he's gone to look for Bdubs alone, not the smartest thing he's ever done for sure." She says, shrugging before Etho pushes past her, racing down the stairs as he bursts onto the street in search of Tango.
"Welcome, the king has is waiting for you in the throne room. He is glad to have such a strong army behind him." False says watching ships dock and countless men climb out of them in single file.
"Well, it's our pleasure to serve under one of the kingdoms our books have told us about." The man says, shaking her hand before following her through the city.
He looks up at the walls, currently being manned by men all across, like they are on guard in case of an invasion, and the city has never been so busy, citizens laughing and children running through the streets.
"May i ask what happened to the last king, King Ren." He asks False, who gives him an upset look before placing a smile on her face.
"The king was dethroned after going a little mad. Our new king is much better." She says, nodding and starting to walk up the steps towards the main entrance to the castle where Xisuma is stood.
He pulls his helm off as a smile grows bright on his face, recognising the man walking behind Falss and walking down the steps to greet him.
"Xisuma, it's so good to see you!" He says, opening his arms as Xisuma quickly hugs him before withdrawing.
"Biffa, i thought I'd never see you again after i crossed the sea. When i heard you were coming, you should've seen my face." He says laughing with Biffa as Falss looks at them angrily.
"It seems you've become a great warrior yourself. My training has done you well." Biffa pats Xisuma on the back as they walk up together, False walking in front as the other two chat away.
Xisuma walks into the throne room with Biffa by his side, both of them laughing away as they catch up after years of being apart.
"Good to see you've become close now, Biffa. Tell me what you have brung to me." Cub asks with a genuine smile on his face, knowing if Biffa is so pleased he could take this city in minutes.
"Yes, your grace, with me i have brought fifteen thousand men to defend Dogwarts, myself included, the money you had sent us being generous enough for us to bring alot of our food stores aswell, we look forward to serving you." Biffa replies, stepping forward to him, his mask covering a good part of his face.
"Good to know, fifteen thousand is more than we could ever need, with that we can take the rest of the realm under our rule." The smirk growing back on Cub's face, the more power being given to him making him hungry for more.
Joel rides towards the gates of Stratos with Martyn by his side, their surviving men riding behind them as they reach the slowly opening gates before them.
They ride into the kingdom meeting Jimmy, who is there to greet them, with a worried look on his face.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Joel asks, climbing down from his horse and walking up to Jimmy, who looks at him in fear.
"This is best discussed with the council, with everyone you trust." He says before turning around as Martyn and Joel follow closely behind.
Walking through the streets of Stratos, where civilians look at them with a mix of worry and disgust, seeing the blood stained on their armour and swords.
The three of them begin the climb of the long winding stairs of the Stratos castle, the tallest castle in the realm, said to have been even taller hundreds of years ago.
They reach the top where a silence rolls over them, the table where his council sits almost empty and silent as everyone takes their seats, apart from Scott, who had died in the forrest of which they just came.
"What is it? Why is everyone so shocked." Joel asks as Jimmy clears his throat and stands up at the table.
"A raven came from Dogwarts a few hours ago. The King is asking for you to surrender to him immediately." Jimmy says letter in hand as a smile appears on Joel's face.
"Is Ren insane, we have more men than him, and i wouldn't surrender. Even if i didn't, write back to him and tell him he should be the one to surrender." He says laughing, still noticing the worry on everyone else's face as his smile drops.
"It's not from Ren. It's from Cub. He took the city while Ren was out fighting, and according to him, he had fifteen thousand men who had just arrived at his kingdom from across the seas." Jimmy looks down as the same fear that was on his face appears on Joel's.
"Fifteen thousand? That's insane. No one could have that many men, and there's no way he took the city. It's a lie. Surely, it's a lie. Surely, it's a lie." He says, shaking his head as he leans back on the throne.
"It's not a lie. More ravens came from people who live in Dogwarts, it's been taken, and Ren exiled." Lizzie says, looking up at Joel, his hands covering his face as he has no idea what to do.
"Well, you're my council, tell me what to do, what do we do, how are we meant to do anything, he's going to kill us all." Joel laughs at his impending doom, knowing his entire army is barely half of Cubs.
"In terms of men, we have seven thousand at Stratos, across the lands, we have another two in any forts and stationed at villages." Martyn says, drawing back all of the Stratos figures to Stratos on the table.
"So we have nine thousand men, and he has closer to twenty, what about the mushroom forrest." Joel shakes his head again, lost for anything to do.
"The Mushroom forrest, a thousand maybe two, i was told Gem saved the queens life, and they have always been anti-dogwarts, along with their new 'king' who was banished from dogwarts himself, we can rely on them." Jimmy shrugs, pulling the mushroom forrest figures back to Stratos.
"Eleven thousand, what about the remaining dwarves, will they fight?" Zedaph asks, looking at the one dwarvern figure on the table, as opposed to the four that were there before Martyn had attacked.
"I doubt it after what we did to them, but their king might be able to convince them if we can find him, even so, it's only another five hundred if even." They all look down at the table puzzled, desperately searching for any figure to join them.
"I have one suggestion, but you won't like it, Joel." Jimmy says, spotting another castle on the table.
"What is it, Jimmy?" He asks, looking as Jimmy draws in a breath before pulling out another few figures from under the table and placing them on the table.
"The crastle, a dogwarts controlled castle, but very much aligned to Ren, i almost guarantee you that's where he's headed next, They have three thousand men, plus the three hundred survivors from the forrest, we need them." Jimmy says, planting the figures on the crastle and looking as Joel shakes his head at him.
"Ren is our sworn enemy. We are at war with him, dont you remember? Don't you remember what he did to Bigb? what did they do to Scott? I'd be betraying them if i even tried to get him on our side!" Joel shouts, knocking the figures over as he looks over at Jimmy, anger in his eyes.
"What other choice do we have, Cub will destroy all of us if we don't at least try to stop him. We need those men, and they need us!" Jimmy shouts back, his wings spanning out wide as he looks back to the eyes of his best friend. From across the table, all he can see is death in those eyes.
"Everyone out, now, apart from you, Lizzie, you stay!" Joel shouts before turning around and placing himself on the throne, sighing as he does so.
"Joel, my love, i think what Jimmy has suggested is our best option. We need those men more than ever. Afterwards, you can get back to your war of revenge." She says calmly, walking up to him, placing her hand on his shoulder as he moves away from her touch.
"What kind of king am i if i make peace with the people that killed my friend, my friends!" He shouts, moving away from her, walking towards the window.
"The kind this realm needs! do you remember what i told you when you started this war, i told you it would kill us all, and it's already killed an entire kingdom, be the reason the realm comes to peace, be the king the people look up to instead of fear, you have to try make peace or you'll just be like the king you stabbed in the heart, sacrificing the lives of everyone in this city for yourself." She says, annoyed now, walking back up to him as he looks out the window, staring at his own reflection.
"I am not that man. I will never be that man. You need to understand that i am not that man!" He shouts again, worried he's becoming the man he killed with his own hands, the man he swore he'd never become.
"You're not yet, and you don't have to be, just do the right thing, the right thing for the realm." She wraps her hands around Joel, turning him around to face her, seeing the fear in his eyes before hugging him.
the door opens up from behind them, Jimmy walking in letter in hand, saying nothing and handing it to Lizzie before making his way to the opposite side of the room.
End of chapter 14: 3546 words
This was originally going to be much longer, but it would've been like 5000 words, so im splitting it in two :)
HOPE YOU ENJOYED