Mouse sat in the tree house drinking tea with the old shadow. "It seems you have learnt a lot in this past month... I wonder how the others have been going?" Mouse smiled, nodding at the old shadow. "I think its time we head back... But before we do, we need to bring some plants with us." Mouse looked at the old shadow in confusion. "Yes... We need to bring them back, or how are you going to feed everyone who joins us in our war against the Supreme.
Mouse stood up and took a step back from the old shadow, signing. He frowned at the old shadow's angry face. "What do you mean? How can you five fight against the large group of the Supreme, and all his forces... Are you just going to replace him, with another?" Mouse shook his head. "Than you need to listen Mouse... As you know... This is our last chance, and this time we're going to need people around us to help, protect and to fight for Athlos... If we don't than we all die, and that's the end of it."
Mouse sat, nodding in thought. "Mouse... Why were you upset when I told you we need others to join us?" Mouse signed at him in thought. "People will die... That's going to happen... No choice about that, and that's something you'll have to get used to seeing... Not just you killing the enemy, but your friends and family also falling for the name of freedom, and the safety of Athlos... Do you understand? Many people have already died, many times over, for these things, and we can no longer fight... This is all we have left."
Mouse nodded and took a long sip from his mug of tea. "One day, you'll see all the people who'll come and fight for the freedom of Athlos... You'll have to train and protect them all in the future... Understand?" Mouse nodded and stared at the trees around him. "I know what you're thinking, and I agree with you... Forests don't have to deal with all this, but this also affects them too... If we fail... Everything dies... Including the trees and the animals... Are you going to let them all die, because of your fear of seeing people you know die around you?" Mouse shook his head.
"That's good to hear... Now, lets head back home to the firelands... I guess it'll look very different by the time we're finished with it." Mouse looked at him in confusion, signing. "I mean, after your training is finished, that place will become a paradise, a place for animal life, tree life, and people to live and survive, without others knowing where we are... The perfect base."
Mouse nodded, smiling. He stood near the old shadow and waited. "Apprentice... What are you doing?" Mouse looked at him frowning, signing in his direction. "Yes, we're going back, but I'm not doing it this time you are... Get to it apprentice... They'll be waiting for us." He frowned at the old shadow sitting back down, drinking his tea. "In all the years you've known me, have you ever seen me do something for you once I know you can do it?" Mouse shook his head. "See... Now I know you can do it, so hurry up and take us back... Time is of the essence."
Mouse turned and looked at the paradise around him, feeling their desire to go with him. He smiled and nodded, touching the trunk of a nearby tree. "We'll go together..."
"Lets go Mouse... I want to see what you can do after your training too." He smiled at Tofana and looked at the trunk. "I need to find them..."
"Silly Mouse... You already know where they are... You were with them in the firelands... Just take us back to where you were standing before." Mouse smiled and closed his eyes focusing on the complex of the firelands. He felt the tree shadows around him lengthen. "There... That's where we're going..." He pushed his energy into the shadow and felt all the trees move with him and the old shadow through the darkness. He looked around at everything around him in surprise. "Concentrate... Don't lose focus..." Mouse turned ahead and focused on the point of light at the end of the shadows.
"BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!"
He looked around in surprise, the blue sky, volcanoes, in the distance, and the ground with a flowing waterfall. "They've done well... Good job. We're back... It seems the others were expecting us." Mouse fell on to the ground with sweat covering his body. He watched as blurry figures came running up to him. "Don't worry, he just used up all his energy to move everything here through the tree shadows... He did well, and now we have abundant food for all of us."
"..."
Mouse opened his eyes, and looked out of a window. He looked down at the grassy cot he was in and saw Harnio, the brothers, and Stannir staring at him. "Ahh good... He's awake... The old shadow said you did something crazy, and just needed to rest... You should check out the bed... When we first put you in it, it was nothing special, and now its a tree with moss, fruit and flowers growing all over it... They really care for you it seems."
Mouse looked around and smiled at the tree taking a bite from a hanging apple. He turned, smiling at the others in the room, signing. "The priestess is still in training... The old shadow said she'll be back later... She's having some difficulties with her training it seems."
"Mouse... I really want to investigate and study your body." He stood up and took a step away from Harnio. "Not like that Mouse... I don't mean pulling things off or anything... I just want to see how you communicate with the trees, and how you were able to do what you did." Mouse shrugged his shoulders at him, signing. "Mouse, he means... Maybe its better if we show you ourselves... Even the others were surprised that you were able to do it."
Mouse nodded and followed them out of the room, and to a balcony. He looked down and held his mouth as it dropped open. "See... That's amazing... You did all that, and with the help from Harnio, and Raven they have a permanent clean source of water." He looked at the others in surprise and jumped down landing on a thick branch. He touched it. "They wanted to come with you... You even told them to all come... They even brought the stone temple here too." He hugged Tofana. "I missed you..." He saw her face pouting.
"When you fell, I thought you were about to die... You made me worry... Don't do something like that again... Promise me...." He nodded as he kissed her forehead. "I promise..." He looked at all the trees, and felt their roots going deep into the ground. "You came... I'm happy you're all here."
"Mouse..." He turned and saw Drummen's father in law staring at the stone temple. "What's that doing here?" Mouse smiled, signing at him. "So that's where the mother tree now lives for this place?" He nodded. "Well. I'm glad I don't have to be stuck in there anymore... Let that tree look after it... I have all the gold anyway..." Mouse smiled. "But husband, you have no place to spend it yet do you?"
"What if we did trade with the Princess and the island chains?" He turned and saw Drummen looking at the group while drinking from the wine skin. "He has a point... We can make a lot of things, here, but we still need items brought in."
"What do we need to make this place self sustaining?" Mouse stood in thought as he saw the old shadow join the growing group. "We'll need people, animals for their pelts and leather... Anything to do with metal we can get from the volcanoes. We don't need batterys... We have the professor and Harnio..."
Mouse nodded, signing in thought. "He said, we're quite self sustained now, as we don't have really anything to trade from, and the pirates are busy with their own thing." Mouse looked up with a smile on his face. "What is it? Mouse has an idea."
Mouse signed at them. "He said, what if we got the Nebi fixed, and also made a special underground passage just for them to come to the complex?" He looked at Drummen's emotionless face. "I'm with Raven... I don't mind if we do that, but it'll give them a huge distraction from trying to look for us." Mouse nodded in agreement. "He has a good idea... How do we get in contact with the Nebi?"
"Brother and I met the Nebi through a drunk old sailor... He seems to around all the ports and docks... If we look for him, we'll be able to get in contact with the Nebi." Mouse looked at Harnio's frown. "Didn't we all talk about the Nebi being in dry docks, being repaired? Shouldn't that be easy to find?"
"No little brother... Its in a hidden location in the dry docks, we only heard of it last time, just before they moved her... We saw them in port, doing emergency repairs... Its not there anymore..." Mouse frowned. He turned, and looked up in the sky smiling. "It seems Mouse can sense another coming... It must be Star." He nodded and jumped into the tree tops. He watched as a cloud lowered onto the ground in front of the group as the priestess stepped off the cloud and looked at them all. "How did you know I was going to be here?"
"Mouse and the old tree shadow arrived a few days ago, and now are out looking at the work they've done, and you happened to arrive at the same time... Anyway we need your help with finding something." Mouse jumped down and smiled at the priestess. "What do you need to look for?"
"We need to find the dry dock for the Nebi... We want to get them to do our trading, and also be a distraction so the Supreme doesn't start looking for us."
"That's something I can do... We know it should be in the island chains somewhere, and also not far from the southern most free city, since that's where the brothers saw it last... I do have a question... What about the other two? Aren't we going after them anymore?" Mouse looked at the old tree shadow. "We are... We'll be splitting into three groups it seems... One group for the queen, another for Marcule and a third for the Nebi." Mouse nodded with the old shadow, watching as he turned looking at the fire warrior. "Since you're the one in charge, you need to split us into groups... Let us know when you've made your mind up... There'll be battles in all three locations, as I'm sure there will be some sort of attack by trolaiths in the southern city to destroy the Nebi."
"I'll be going to the Nebi... Since the professor and myself have to skills to fix it." Mouse nodded. He looked at the old shadow. "Mouse and myself, put us in the group for Marcule... We have some unfinished business with him... Especially Mouse." He nodded and squeezed his fists together.
He looked at the firewarrior. "Than we have part of those two groups full... Drummen... You and your family are staying here to keep this place safe, also to work on the underground tunnel for the Nebi... I'm sure you don't want to see the Nebi anytime soon." Mouse heard Drummen curse. "Husband... Don't worry, this is what we do... Our family's role is to protect, and keep things safe... Don't forget that." Mouse saw Drummen smile and nod.
"I'll be going to see Agnia... I'll help lead the others to find them, but Agnia is mine." Mouse watched as the firewarrior raised his hands at the others. "Fine... It seems, the groups are already formed without me saying anything."
"You still need to say it soldier... We're waiting..." Mouse looked at the old warrior walking with a black cane. He nodded. "See Stannir... Even the tree shadow agrees... We're all here waiting for your words, now speak them..."