The next morning, Kaelen and Lyria sat on a small ledge just outside Eldrath's walls, overlooking the landscape. The sun was rising over the distant mountains, casting a golden glow over the battlefield from the day before. It felt like a moment of peace.
For about five seconds.
"So," Kaelen began, his legs dangling over the edge. "We still don't have a plan, huh?"
Lyria sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "You know, when you say it like that, it sounds really bad."
"It is bad." Kaelen leaned back and squinted at the sky. "We have no idea what Malakar's up to, and the last time I checked, he's not going to let a goat incident stop him from trying to destroy us."
"Well, at least we've got that advantage," Lyria said, "he doesn't have a goat army to command."
Kaelen snorted. "I mean, I wouldn't put it past him to try."
The wind rustled around them as a group of villagers passed below, carrying baskets of food and supplies. They gave Kaelen and Lyria wide-eyed stares, clearly still adjusting to the fact that the two of them were, essentially, the only thing standing between them and complete destruction.
"Do you think they believe in us?" Lyria asked, her tone more serious now.
Kaelen considered it for a moment. "I mean, they're probably just hoping we're the least terrible option." He chuckled to himself. "Honestly, I'd probably bet on the goat at this point."
Lyria smirked. "You've got a thing for that goat, don't you?"
"I'm just saying, it's the only one with an undefeated record around here."
They both laughed, but the weight of the situation settled in as quickly as it had lifted. Malakar was still out there, somewhere, and they couldn't keep running forever.
Kaelen's mind went back to the few things they knew about their enemy: Malakar's power was based on shadows, something ancient and nearly impossible to control. But his arrogance was his weakness. He couldn't stand being outwitted. And Kaelen? Well, he wasn't the greatest strategist, but he was really good at improvising.
"That's it," Kaelen said, suddenly sitting up straight. "We don't need a perfect plan. We just need to get him to chase us."
Lyria blinked. "What?"
"Think about it," Kaelen said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "Malakar's been playing a long game, right? He's got his grand schemes, and he wants to crush us. But he's not the type to let anything get in his way. If we can make him think we've got something valuable—something he really wants—he'll come after us with everything he has."
Lyria crossed her arms. "And then what? We get him to run headfirst into some trap?"
Kaelen shrugged. "We'll figure that part out later."
Lyria sighed. "You're lucky you're charming, or I'd be throwing you off this ledge right now."
"Thanks. I'm also very humble." Kaelen flashed a grin, then stood up and clapped his hands together. "Okay. We're going to need a couple things. A decoy, a few distractions, and—"
A loud bang interrupted him.
Both of them turned to see a small group of villagers running in their direction, shouting.
"Kaelen! Lyria! It's happening! He's back!"
Kaelen's stomach dropped. "He couldn't have waited until after breakfast?"
Lyria grabbed his arm. "Doesn't sound like we've got time for pancakes, buddy. Let's go!"
Eldrath was already in chaos when they arrived back in the village square. The sky had darkened once more, the ominous clouds swirling like an ancient storm about to break. And sure enough, there, standing in the center of the square, was Malakar.
But this time, he was seriously not messing around.
His cloak was no longer covered in goat bites. In fact, his entire outfit had been reinforced with shimmering dark magic that practically screamed "I'm a villain who's had a really bad day."
He raised his arms, and shadowborn poured out from every crack and corner, flooding the streets.
Kaelen and Lyria slipped into the crowd, ducking behind a few crates.
"Okay," Kaelen whispered, pulling out a strange-looking device that looked suspiciously like an over-engineered potato launcher. "Here's the plan."
Lyria eyed the contraption with a mixture of confusion and doubt. "You built that in five minutes?"
"Technically, it's more like five seconds," Kaelen said. "But hey, when you've got nothing but time and bad decisions, this is what happens."
Lyria blinked at him. "And this is going to work?"
He grinned. "Trust me."
With a flick of his wrist, the launcher whizzed to life and shot a strange, glowing object straight into the air. It spun wildly before landing just behind Malakar.
Malakar turned around, his eyes narrowing. "What is this?!"
Kaelen tapped his foot impatiently. "Step two, Lyria."
Lyria darted into the square, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Hey, Malakar! We've got something you want!"
The warlord's head whipped toward her. "What?"
She pointed dramatically toward the glowing object. "That! It's a magical artifact that can destroy you! You better get it while it's still—"
Before she could finish, the glowing object exploded in a cloud of harmless glitter.
Malakar's face turned an alarming shade of red. "What."
Lyria grinned. "Gotcha."
Kaelen waved from behind the crates. "Sorry, not sorry! But you really should've seen that coming!"
As Malakar raged, his shadowborn scattered, confused and agitated. In the chaos, Kaelen and Lyria made their move, slipping through the shadows as the villain's attention was pulled in every direction.
Mission successful !! ...Sort of...