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Handil moaned softly and lightly smacked her muzzle when she swallowed the treated vampire blood. Valdys checked the progress of the spell through her body, and looked at Rachael with a reassuring smile. 'The spread of the curse has stopped. It might take a while longer before it has dissipated completely though.'

Rachael sagged in relief and laid her hand on her lover's chest. 'Thank you. Thank you so much.'

Valdys looked up at Ulric. 'Don't thank me yet. We still have to escape this place.'

'Yes.' he said, and looked around at the bodies on the floor. 'That noisy head guy and Celesta are gone.'

Valdys noticed it as well. 'We don't really have the time to search for them, but it doesn't matter. We're all together again.'

'Yeah.' he said with a little regret about missing out on revenge. 'Girls, we're leaving. We can't fight them all off on our own. Anyone see a way out of this mess __y place_ to begin with?'_

Conchim flew up higher to peer over the buildings surrounding the courtyard.'The front gate is pretty close to here. Might as well go through that since we're no longer sneaking around.'

'All right, let's go.' Ulric said, and carefully picked up Susi while Rachael picked up Handil.

Caylais looked around again for a sign of Tipper. 'Wait, I don't see Tipper anywhere.'

Iphigenia and Elzbieta glanced around while they cut down the vampires attacking them, and Elzbieta spotted the dwarf girl usingher small stature to slip through the brawling vampires.'I see her. Looks like she's heading in the right direction __towards the gate.'

Ulric and the girls hurried downthe stairs. 'Good. Catch up with her if you can. Conchi, guide us from above.'

Conchimwavedat Yingshiento catch her attention. 'We're leaving! Help me clear the way to the front gate over there!'

Yingshien spat out a large fireball at a couple of vampiresin high windows, who had found bows and arrows, and burned them along with their weapons. 'Coming!'

Together, they cleared most of the vampireson the way from above, while the others called out to Tipper when they caught up with her and fought the few stillremaining vampires on their way.

'What about the artefact?' asked Caylais. 'Do we return later to fetch it?'

Ulric grumbled at the thought. 'We don't have much choicebecause we still need it.'

Tipper chuckled. 'You don't need a choice.'

He looked at her. 'What do you mean?'

She pulled the artefact from herpocket and grinned. 'I snatched it from Malyssa while everyone was distracted.'

Ulric felt giddy from relief. 'Tipper, you beautiful dwarf! I could kiss you!'

She moved a step away from him and handed the artefact over to Valdys. 'No thank you! I don't want to be slobbered all over by you!'

Theycould afford a laugh and reached the gate when Celesta hurried out of a sidedoor. She gasped at the sight of the party, but Elzbieta's swiftsword at her throat prevented her from double backing through the door again. Iphigenia grabbed her roughly by the back of her hair. 'You betrayed usand endangered our family.' she hissed.

Celesta whimpered at the painful grip. 'I didn't mean for it to happen!I only wanted a better life for myself than growing old in the village.'

'At the cost of others, eh?' said Iphigeniaand looked back at the others. 'What do we do with her? Quick death?'

Celesta whimpered andtrembled in fear of dying.She only wanted to stay beautiful for her entire life.

'Let her grow old here as punishment.' grumbled Ulric. 'She won't be muchwelcome in the village after they find out she's on the vampire's side anyway.'

Iphigenia let go of her. 'Indeed.' she said, and they left while Celesta became aware she had lost all hope of a better future for herself, because she doubted Invato would still want her after this disaster.

Susi stirred in Ulric's arms and blinked. 'Daddy? Where is river cave? Susi fell asleep there.'

'Bad people must have put you to sleep to catch you all, honey, but they are defeated now, so you're safe.' Ulric said and noticed Rachael becoming tired from carrying Handil. He felt Susi's weight to see if she had her strength. 'Can you walk on your own now?'

'Susi can.' she said, and jumped lightly out of his arms.

'Okay.' he said, and put his paw on Rachael's shoulder. 'I'll carry her now.'

Rachael hesitated handing over her precious lover for a moment, but she knew she couldn't run for long with this burden. She stopped, and Ulric took Handil carefully in his arms, and resumed their run down the path to the bottom of the hilland into the forest.

***

Their packs and possessions were still where they left them, and a sense of joy mixed with a sense of regret for leaving the enslaved people behind. Ulric stared upstream at the direction of the country and grumbled. 'If only we had more strength or numbers, we might have been able to free those poor people.'

Elzbietatookhis paw in her hand. 'We would likely have died in the end if we kept fighting, darling. At least now, we can still look for a way to do something about those vampires, now that we know more about them.'

He looked at her. 'Yeah, you're right. It's just not a very uplifting thoughtright now.'

She gave him a kiss on his cheek. 'When it comes to war, there are plenty more disappointments we'llhave to face.'

He took a deep breath. 'Indeed. We'll just have to do our best to reach the end of this quest as quick as possible and help the good people where we can.'

***

'Nothing.' said Elyta when she returned to the central pillar, where the othershad already gathered.

Muni ate a bite while he sat back against the pillar. 'Either the information was false, or they took it away when they left this place.'He watched Gigacks sort through the things he had the apes bring to him. 'Doesn't look like there's been anything of value for him either.'

Tarrence went up to the table with assorted books, tools, jars, and other magic related titbits. 'Any luck?'

Gigacks opened a jar with a black liquid, examined it, then tossed it aside on the pile that was junk to him.The liquid seeped into the junk while dark purple smoke arose from it. 'Only a few minor ingredients and lower level mana stones.'

'We're done here then. At least you gained Ascultaer.'

'We should check that apevillage before we leave, on the off chance there's a clue or anything of value there.'

'All right.'

The party left the tower and its inhabitants not long after, and Coëllo turned around and looked up at the tall, black building one last time.Ithad become more home to her than she had noticed,now that she left it, and did feel a little sad about it. 'Goodbye, temporary home. You've been a good training ground.'

Muni moved up next to her and looked up as well. He was glad he hadn't lived there, but he understood the sentiment. 'There's always a possibility to visit the places that you left again, whether you liked the place or not.'

She looked at him. 'You have many places like that?'

'Not really. The only place I could say I barely liked was my parents' home.'

'What was that like?'

Muni shrugged. 'A mother, father, brother. Yaros was theambitious one like father, so they could do without me when I left to pursue my own goals, andI'm not exactly looking for a home right now.'

Coëllo recognised that part of Muni in herself.They turned away from the tower and followed the others to the place where they had crossed the crevice before.

The apes from the tribe were nowhere in sight, which made the crossing along the rope spanning the crevice less troublesome, and headed through the jungle in the general direction of the ape village.

It didn't take long before the first warning cry of an ape sounded. Tarrence halted at a small clearing. 'We'll wait for them to cometo us. Be ready to fight in case Gigacks can't control themlike it should, according to the book.'

Gigacks took a step forward and stood patiently with the staff in hand.

Loud rustling revealed many apes were rushing towards them. The first couple jumped out of the greenery, spotted the staff, and screeched in terror as they scrambled to run back.

Muni chuckled. 'I like that staff.'

A few more apes appeared and ran off at once, and the party continued onwards to the village when none came at them again.

By the time they reached it, they halted at the edge of theclearing in the middle, and watched apes dig up the hard and dry ground frantically. 'What are they doing?' said Elyta while spotting other apes hiding in their houses and in the bushes on the other side.

The leader of the apes screeched at the others while turning his attention often to Gigacks.

'Seems like they're responding to thesight of the staff with a task set up for them.' said Tarrence.

A metre intothe ground, thesurface of smooth, blackstone appeared. The same stone as the tower was made of.Tarrence and Gigacks stepped forward for a closer look while the apes dug even harder with their hands, even if they bled. The oblong shape became clear. 'Some kind of pedestal, or stone table?' said Tarrence.

Gigacks had a hunch. 'Altar.'

Tarrence nodded slowly. 'Indeed.'

The complete object became in view after the apes cleared away all the ground around it, and then backed away from it. The block was smooth stone all around, apart from a big ring chiselled into one of the long sides. Gigacks laid his hand against it, recognised the lock spell from the door in the top of the tower, and unlocked it quickly.

With a light push, two hinged sections turned inward. He reached inside, and pulled out anartefact. 'Now we're done here.'

***

Yaros stood in front of the wall mirror in his spacious bed chambers, and wondered for a moment what his older brother would say if he knew what he was going to do this evening. 'Muni, your brother is going to make history.' he said to himself. 'I guess it wouldn't have been the same if you hadn't left, or perhaps it would still have been similar.' He adjusted the dark red dress shirt matching his dark yellow fur with black spots and his green eyes, and left his chambers.

Everyone was present when he entered the meeting room adjacent to his official working space, and sat down at the head of the long table. The ones to help him grab the throne from his father weren't many, but they were at essential positions in the army and minister council, and had the same drive for power to help him pull it of. 'I assume nothing has changed in the position of the king or his policy.'

The others nodded while the second commander of the army spoke up. 'We're officially still on peaceful standing, but I've arranged some troop movements under the guise of training and adjustments in defence to benefit our plans.'

'Your father even mentioned today that he did not desire to grow the kingdom.' said one of the ministers.

Yaros hummed softly. 'Then we'll proceed as planned tonight. Tomorrow will be a new day.' he said, and stood up. 'I will meet up with the king now.'

At this time of the evening, he often drank with his father while exchanging politics and other daily talk, and occasionally, his father would tell a story from his past. He rather enjoyed them, and it was just about the only time they could relax from the humdrum of life as royalty. Just before he reached the private study from his father, he pulled out a small vial and drank the bitter liquid in it. 'Bah.' he said, but the taste was a small price to pay for countering the effects of alcohol. He stuck the empty vial into the ground of a nearby flower pot, then entered the study where he found his father pouring a cup of his favourite imported mead.

Mohlaban held up the jug. 'Same?'

Yaros sat down in one of the seats. 'Of course, father.'

The king poured another cup and handed it to his son. 'To another relatively peaceful day.'

Yaros clinked his cup with his father's. 'A peaceful day.' he said, and poured the sweet brew down his throat. The warming effect was still there, but he already sensed a change in his stomach.

As they talked, Yaros subtly kept filling his father's cup while only adding a sip to his own, and by the time the second childhood story began, he knew the time had come. Casually, he pulled his pocket knife, held it flat against a new jug as he fetched it, and held the jug out as if to pour into the cup his father held. He had anticipated the fast reaction when his father spotted the point of the blade behind the jug, but the heavy intoxication had done its job. With a fast jab, the knife pierced the king's throat and cut off his voice.

Mohlaban pulled his own knife in reflex and stabbed at his son, and inwardly cursed at his slowness as he missed. He stood and gazed at his son, recognising what the ambition he passed onto his child had fatally cost him, but found a glimpse of pride in the courage he displayed to take on his own father before blacking out and falling to the floor.

Yaros wondered if he would miss hearing his father's stories as he looked down on him, then dismissed the thought and left the chambers. He went over to the army commander's office, and found him sitting in his chair, staring at the ceiling and with his head snapped back. The second in command poured poisoned wine in a corner on the floor, and turned to Yaros. 'The army is under your control now, my liege.'

Yaros's heart rate increased just like it did in every successful fight against enemies. 'Good. Check up on the others, I'm going to fetch the queen and take her to Fotran.' he said, and left quickly to bring his personal guards along with him.

Queen Palesa sat in her private chambers in her black nightgown, reading one of her many books, with her maid doing the last cleaning of the day. They jolted at the sudden opening of the main doors and her son stepping briskly inside with two of his guards. 'Yaros!?' What is this!?'

He walked up to her and pulled her up from her seat by her arm. 'I'm taking my inheritance now.'

She pulled, but his grip on her arm was firm. 'What are you taking about!? Let go of me!' she said while she didn't like the cold expression in his eyes. Something was very wrong.

Her maid stepped forward but one of the guards moved in front of her, and she had to watch powerlessly how the prince dragged his mother out of the chambers.

'Your father will kill you!' she protested as she stumbled along with his quick pace.

Yaros kept his gaze straight ahead. 'Father is dead. The new king will be me.'

Palesa's heart stopped. She didn't want to believe it, but she understood what he said was true. This whole situation would not have happened when his father could have restrained him. They went into the chambers of the minister of interior, where Fotran finished the paperwork for the transition of power.

The minster looked up. 'It's ready, all we need are the signatures.'

Palesa didn't understand what they were talking about until she saw the official documents on the minister's desk. Her eyes went wide in shock. 'You planned on marrying me to steal the throne!?'

The guards closed the door and stood in front of it, and Yaros let her go. 'On the contrary. This is to make sure no one can complain that I didn't do it legally, since the throne is yours and only the queen's husband can lay claim on it to rule.'

She stood firm. 'I will not consent to this.'

Yaros took the pen from the ink bottle and held it in front of her. 'If you don't sign, I will begin executing the traitors and conspirators who killed the king in this heinous attempt to harm the kingdom, beginning with your beloved maid, who was one of the spies on the inside.'

Palesa stared back into the ice cold eyes of her son, whose willpower and drive to gain what he wanted she had witnessed often enough in all his years. He knew where he could hurt her, at her close and personal maid, and anyone she had deep bonds with. He would keep killing until there was no one left. She clenched her jaw, took the pen from his hand, and signed the documents. Even if she refused, he could kill her and still grab power, but maybe this way she could still do something about it.

Yaros signed next, the minster checked it, and signed the document himself as the witness. 'It's now official, my king.' he said, and bowed.

Yaros smiled lightly in triumph, and gestured at his guard. 'Make sure the queen is comfortable in her new, secure chambers, along with her maid. We want to keep her safe, so don't let anyone in or out without my explicit permission.'

One of the guards moved over to her to take her arm, but she pulled away. 'I am fully capable of walking on my own.' she said with a furious gaze at him, and walked to the door while the other guard opened it.

Yaros turned to Fotran. 'Assemble your staff and finalise my transition to the throne. I want to secure my control over the country by tomorrow. Take care of anyone standing in the way.'

Fotran gave him a nod. 'It will be done, my king.'

Yaros walked out, relishing in his new title and the sound of it to his ears.