"Colin? Where are you?"
"Hi, Satrox. I'm at Floras Town."
"FLORAS?! Mercy, Colin, get out, quick! It's a disaster out there! I heard there's a new Forester and he wiped out the whole town!"
"Yeah. I know. I'm the Forester."
Stunned silence.
"It wasn't exactly me, though. Lynn's here and really angry, Satrox. They betrayed the forest. They swung an axe at my head. She's really mad."
"They swung an {axe}…"
"It's all I can do to keep her from wiping out the entire Union."
Satrox paused. "You know, I think she already did."
"What?!"
"With Floras gone, the Union's already lost its power. The Protectorate and the Republic are becoming fast friends. I think we did it, Colin. You and I ended the civil war on the Lamico Continent! It's only a matter of time, now."
"That wasn't our plan."
"But it happened anyway." Satrox laughed ruefully. "Oh, Colin, how did we ever get ourselves into this sort of mess?"
"I don't know, but I wouldn't celebrate just yet. Something tells me it's not over."
"What do you mean?"
"I've got a hunch, Satrox, that 'this mess' is just getting started.