"They sound like us... the guards of Athlos..." Star pursed her lips together. "Could they be the real guards, and we're just the ones set by the Supreme?" She looked at Harnio in thought. "He could be right... Actually I agree with Harnio on this."
Star looked at the firewarrior in thought. "So, does that make them our enemy or friend?"
"That's the thing... Apparently, they don't know until I've done my trial... If I do wrong, they'll kill me, and if I do the right thing, I become a part of their family." She looked at Drummen in thought. "So we need to go to the wall, its a must... Than we'll know at least something or all about them."
"What if I fail the trial and we all die?"
"I have faith in your lady luck... I don't think she'll want you to die, since you've been around Athlos, and she's been stalking you, constantly talking to you." Star smiled. "I'm surprised that she hasn't cut your precious tool off, with all your talk about chasing women."
"Hey... That's between me and her... So, do you still want to do this dance thing?"
She looked at the firewarrior and nodded. "We need to know what happened here... Even if they're safe, we'll know all shortly." She turned and looked at the square. "Drummen... Here's the perfect place for the metallic disk I was talking about."
"Fine... Give me a moment to put it together for you."
Star watched as Drummen moved his hands around, and stared in amazement as liquid metal came to the surface, and formed into a solid surface. She looked at it with a smile on her face. "Thank you Drummen... Its perfect."
"Ahh... I'm sure you can thank me in other ways." She lowered her eyes at him and drew her bow. "I can only think of this way..." She saw him raise his hands at her. "No... That's not what I was thinking... I was thinking about you buying me a drink or something like that... Nothing bad I promise." She nodded and lowered her bow putting it back on her back. She stepped on the disk.
"Ding... Ding..."
"Perfect... Now all I need is the rain." She looked at Harnio who was writing in front of him. "Give me a moment... The rain will be here soon."
She turned and looked at the others in thought. "When I dance I need silence... If you make a sound, the dance will fail... All you can do is watch with your eyes open.... Understood?" She waved her finger at them.
"Yes... We get it priestess... Don't worry about us..." She frowned at them. "I think that I should send you all back to the Princess, and only leave Mouse here, since he can't talk anyway."
"Stannir... We'll keep quiet... Don't worry about us... Really." She rolled her eyes at the brothers and put her bow and armor on the ground. She looked up at the sky. "Harnio... Whenever your ready."
"Here it comes... Enjoy the rain... Don't get sick."
"I won't... Remember this whole city must be covered in the rain."
"Don't worry about that, it will be... See for yourself." She looked up at the dark clouds forming, and smiled when she smelt the rain in the air. She closed her eyes and waited for it to start falling around her.
"Ting... Ting... Ting, ting, ting, ting."
She opened her eyes and looked at the heavy rain. "Good job Harnio... Remember silence... I'll start now." She untied her long hair and started to move in time with the rain.
"Keep your eyes open."
She followed the dance she saw back on the mountain. "Iyana... Queen... Family..." She felt tears start to fall on her face and smiled as she saw the figures of rain dancers start to form around her. She followed their dancing and kept in time with them as the city filled with music of the rain. She saw figures of rain walking around and eating. She felt her heart rate increase... She started to dance slower as she watched the people in the city suddenly get up and start walking to the gate. She watched as a person stood at the gate beckoning them. She danced and followed the group with her eyes leaving the city gate, and strange beasts following behind covering their tracks.
She fell to the ground in tears as the figures around her faded into pools of water. She stood up and looked at the group in front of her. "They took them... Turned them all into drones, and used the trolaiths to cover their tracks... They weren't going to the city to fight... It seemed like they were going somewhere else to search or dig for something."
She heard Drummen curse. "Do you think they're going for the wall?"
"Did you see who turned them into drones? Was it the queen?" She shook her head. "No, this person opened a bottle, and all the people in the city followed them. Could this be the master?"
"No idea, but if there is another ally to the queen and the trolaith creator, we need to be careful, especially if they have these drones that are also searching for this thing as well."
"If its the wall, than we have a map and a head start... We can get there faster if they're travelling by foot..." She looked at Drummen. "They've been gone for at least a few days, they're the ones that are ahead... We need the Princess to move quickly if we have a chance to catch up to them and beat them there."
"She's right, also with all those drones they have, its possible that a few of them have already seen the wall or know of its location."
She looked at the firewarrior as she put her armor back on and her bow on her back. "What's the plan? Do we go after them on foot, or do we go by the Princess, and hope we get there before they do?"
"We go by Princess... I'm sure my unit and Harnio's help we can put the Princess ahead of them." She smiled and nodded at the captain. "With their help how long do you think it would take for us to arrive?"
"It shouldn't take too long... Probably by the evening, we could arrive in the area... There's no port over there, just small islands and lots of sand bars... We'll have to drop you off nearby and go into hiding, so they don't find the Princess."
"Then that's the plan... Harnio... I think you can stop the rain now, and Drummen... I'm sure you want to take that with us, just in case we need it in the future." She smiled at the firewarrior, watched the rain stopped, and Drummen collecting the disk, putting it in his robe pocket. "I'll keep it safe for you, if we need to use it again."
She nodded. "I hope that's all you do with it."
"Don't worry, it's not like I eat metal or anything silly like that." She watched as he cleaned his ear with his finger. "Is she talking to you?"
"Yes... She says hurry. They're coming... It seems we'll have a fight when we arrive."
"Brother it seems that fighting is all we have been doing lately... I haven't had time to have a nice drink or anything..." She rolled her eyes at Cliffhopper. "Don't forget about the mountains of treasure and coin there... With your brother's ability, you'll leave as rich men, and be able to spoil your wife back in the Capital."
"... and your future son or daughter." She saw the firewarrior wink at her nodding.
"She has a point... Lets go and do this..." She watched as Cliffhopper started to run back to the Princess. "What are you all doing? Come on, we need to go and stop those drones, and master person from stealing what's ours in the first place... For Athlos!"
She frowned and shook her head. "Men."
"They both have coin on their mind, but I think its really just an excuse... They've both got heavy burdens on their shoulders. I can see it in their footprints." She looked at the firewarrior as he looked at their prints in the ground. "Yes... Their steps are heavy... One day we'll know what is going on in their lives."
"That we will. You don't need to force it out of them either, you just have to listen..."
"By the way priestess, your dance was very interesting. I was able to make a few notes, may I ask you some questions about it later?"
"Depends on what you mean by later?" She smiled at Harnio.
"When we're on the Princess and its flying through the islands." She frowned and looked at the captain. "Is it all shallow water around here?"
"It is... The Princess will be able to handle it, but if we're moving at high speed, we'll have to slow down if we're making turns around the sand bars." She smiled. "Can I pilot her?"
"You beat me last time, and piloted a better course. Your eyes are better than mine. So if you can get through the maze of islands and sand bars without us taking on water or tipping, than go for it... However, the moment you hurt the Princess... You'll be paying me coins for the repairs." She smiled and looked at Drummen. "Sure... Our monk here can pay if we cause any damages."
"Hahahaha... I'm sure he can."
"Hey... I wasn't asked to be the groups bank or anything like that, I fight, and that's what I'm good at."
"What do you mean monk? You're a walking gold finder... And you also have lady luck on your side, so a lack of coin or gold isn't going to be a problem is it?"
She heard Drummen curse and watched as he took a drink from his wine skin. "Drummen... Where did you get that skin from anyway? You look after it very well."
She saw his smile. "Someone gave it to me, after putting me through hell... She also gave me some very strong wine to fill it with, and the recipe to keep it always filled."
"If she gave you hell, why do you keep it?" She asked with a smile on her face.
"If I lost it, and saw her again, she'd start torturing me all over again... I don't want to experience that ever again."
"Hahaha... You and women... What will this lady luck do to you when you pass the trial?"
She walked onto the deck of the Princess and looked at the city. "Its a nice city... Pity that happened to the people who lived there."
"Don't worry, once word spreads of it being empty... People will come and fill it back up... Its in an important location, and will grow quickly again." She saw the captain smile and point to the wheel. "Its yours... Don't hurt the Princess... That's my only warning." She smiled and touched the wheel with her hands. She looked ahead at the mast as Harnio started to write on it.
"Weigh anchor, full sails lads, tie ropes... We're going to be moving double speed again..." She watched as the sailors ran around the deck tying things down, and tying rope around themselves. She looked to the side as the firewarrior walked back on deck.
"Captain my unit is ready to row... Just need the order to start."
She turned to Harnio. "Mast is ready, and the winds are waiting for the call to move."
"Captain, I'm ready to start whenever you give the call." She smiled at the captain as he stood at the bow of the Princess. "Lets move on out of here."
Star smiled and put her hands on the wheel piloting the Princess out of the dock and into the open sea. She smiled at Harnio and the firewarrior. "I'm ready... I have the path." She felt the rush of the wind flap through her hair and caused the sails to snap. The sound of rowing below. She held onto the wheel as she felt the Princess surge ahead in speed.
"We'll be there soon Drummen... You better be ready for your final trial, and not do anything stupid."
"Don't worry about me here... You should be looking out for sand bars, and not getting us caught behind."
She smiled. "Don't worry about me getting us stuck... I see the path, and I'm making my own shadow."