The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 60: Forelhorse

Talhooves’s Book of Secrets had given us two new locations to search for Dragon Priests: Forelhorse and High Falls Ruins. Forelhorse would be our first destination. And, as luck would have it, it was very close to us.

After spending the night in Kvatch, we set out the next morning for Horizon, taking the Pale Pass. Thankfully there were no guards looking after the path on a day as crisp as this, so we had no problems returning to the land of the earth ponies. Once in Horizon, we stopped in Splitten where the townsponies pointed out that Forelhorse was only a short trot south of the town. We wouldn’t have to return to Faniar in Whitetrot right away after all.

Following the directions of Splitten’s residents, we easily found the ancient ruin. It was built into Horizon’s southern mountains, an extensive stone staircase covered with archways leading up the slopes to an ornate gateway. Like at Volsteed, eerie carvings of heads looked down from the insides of the arch. Once again, I felt magic pressing down on me, though it was different than it had been at the ruin in Hoofingar. I felt my will being stripped away, sworn to obedience of an unnamed entity I suspected was the Dragon Priest of this ruin.

I shook the feeling off as we advanced up the stairs and neared the gates. Even without knowing from Talhooves’s Book of Secrets, I could tell this was a Dragon Priest lair. No other place I’d visited had pressed down on me so hard with this strange magic. Everything fit, but even though we were certain there was a Dragon Priest here, we still had to accomplish the difficult task of reaching and defeating it.

I staggered into the gateway, feeling the effects of the ancient spell most heavily just before reaching the massive stone doors. Steadfast helped Mystic up into the gateway too. As a fellow unicorn, she too was feeling the spell more heavily than our earth pony and pegasus companions.

“I didn’t know it would be that bad,” she huffed as she sat down next to me.

She lit up her horn with magic, causing the glow to expand a bit before constricting and sealing itself around her horn.

“Much better,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief, “Now it’s your turn.”

“What are you doing?” I asked as she cast a similar spell on my horn, coating it in her magic.

Suddenly the pressure from the statues faded away. My head was clear again, and I was no longer overcome by the ancient magic.

“It’s a spell to resist the effects of magic,” Mystic explained, “I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you to go through Volsteed taking the effects of the spell the whole time.”

I tried not to think of it. I was sincerely thankful that Mystic was with us, otherwise I probably would have gone mad from the effects of the spells laying over the Dragon Priest lairs by the time we finished.

With all four of us working together, we were able to push open one of the giant stone entry doors. Inside was a massive hall with a set of pillars leading down the center. Statues of an earth pony mare in Dragon Priest robes lined the walls. In one hoof she clutched a long, curved sword, and in the other she held an ornate mask, her Element of Harmony.

At the end of the hall a few Draugr stood at attention, ready to defend the halls beyond. An arrow from Mephalda shot through the air, shooting completely through one’s head. As it fell to the ground, its fellow turned to see what the matter was. It was the last mistake it would ever make, for a blast of fire from my horn charred it to ashes seconds later.

There were two doorways leading out of the entry hall, and the Draugr we killed had both been guarding the same one. Two more waited just a short distance away from us, and they had seen us coming. Steadfast diverted to attack one, his warhammer blocked by its greatsword.

I headed for the other, Dawnbreaker drawn and practically singing with glee as it got the chance to attack undead. My sword met its own blade, energies beyond my comprehension skittering between the blades. I pulled back and swung for the Draugr’s forelegs, but it blocked that strike as well. I forced its sword around until it was forced to release it, and stabbed Dawnbreaker up through its chest, impaling the corpse.

No more Draugr guards remained in the entry hall, so we passed through one of the doorways, delving deeper into the ruin. Much like Volsteed, this was a fortress first and a tomb second. No Draugr rested in the walls as we passed through the hallways. We mostly kept to the main path, a hall whose walls were lined with murals depicting what were no doubt Forelhorse’s Dragon Priest and her accomplishments.

The hallway let out onto the top level of a large open room. A square opened up in the floor at the center bordered by stone banisters, allowing a fine look down. Below us were several other balconies, with a dining hall at the very bottom. Draugr in stately robes sat at the tables, though the throne at the head of the room was empty. Like in Volsteed, they seemed to have no idea of their deceased nature, and undead servants continued to bring them food.

At the far end of the room was a set of stairs leading downward. Unfortunately, a Draugr with a staff was guarding them. Around it was a ward projected from the staff, keeping us from taking it out at a distance. We tried to stay out of its sight, Mephalda and Mystic advancing one way, Steadfast and I another.

The Draugr caught sight of Mephalda and Mystic first, making for the stairs to warn the guards below. Steadfast suddenly galloped forward, closing the distance with the Draugr. His warhammer slammed into the shield, the Changeling weapon tearing apart the magical force field in an instant. His hammer continued on, striking the Draugr in the neck and crushing the life from it.

We headed down the stairs as fast as possible, not sure if guards below us had heard the ruckus. It turned out they hadn’t, but they sure heard us barreling down the stairs to get to them. I nearly lost a piece of my other ear as an arrow came whizzing up at us, striking the wall behind me.

I pulled back around the corner of the last flight of stairs while Mephalda flapped out and sent arrows flying into the crowd of armored Draugr. Mystic turned the corner a moment later, sending lightning into the horde while protecting herself with a ward. I stuck my head around the corner and shot a few ice spikes at the zombies as well.

Once things were thinned out enough, I jumped around the corner and slid down the banister. I jumped through the air as I reached the end, rolling as I landed behind the guards. I swung around with Dawnbreaker before they could set upon me, succeeding in killing one as my random swing cut through its chest armor.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>> I Shouted as I turned around toward the Draugr, freezing three of them in place with my breath.

With Dawnbreaker, I cut through the frozen guards, causing them to shatter into pieces that would never live again. My sword met a Draugr’s war axe as I tried to attack another of the undead warriors. I tried to twist it from its mouth, but it overpowered me, forcing Dawnbreaker down toward the ground. I fought back, until the Draugr’s blade suddenly shattered and my sword cut across its cheek. A moment later, the blade cut through its neck, killing it for good.

I shot a blast of lightning into a Draugr that ran toward me while swinging my sword around to meet the blade of one that was charging in from the side. I pushed back on the Draugr until its hindquarters touched the wall, but it still refused to surrender. It swung its sword around, knocking mine away, before swinging toward my head. The sword never reached me, for the Draugr stopped its swing and collapsed when Mephalda shot an arrow through its eye.

Now that the Draugr were dead, I was able to get a better look at them. These zombies at least were simply run-of-the-mill Draugr, not specially trained troops like Voldehorse had had. Did this Dragon Priest not have such Draugr, or was she simply holding them in reserve?

As we entered the banquet hall the servants noticed us first, dropping their serving trays and fleeing for the kitchens. The undead nobleponies called what I could only assume were Draconic obscenities at the servants before they realized why they were fleeing. They quickly jumped up from their tables and retreated to the area around the throne as we approached.

A few of the Draugr, wearing more stately robes and tarnished crowns, were pushed out in front. They looked nervous before they swallowed their fear and drew their swords. Beneath their robes I could see they were wearing armor untouched by age, no doubt enchanted with some dark magic.

“Fah Naghot!” the Draugr in the front said, and its two fellows echoed its call after a moment’s hesitation.

The three Draugr lords converged on us, and I swung Dawnbreaker around at the first to approach me. Our blades met, my Draconequus sword beginning to glow as it came close to the zombie. As an arrow struck it in its eye, the Draugr staggered back, though I wasn’t able to get a strike in with my sword before it brought its own blade back up.

It swung around toward my neck, and I managed to block before the Draugr could strike me. It aimed for the other side of me next, but I blocked its blade again. Reaching out its rotten foreleg, it tripped me, causing me to fall to the ground. It swung down at me, and I brought Dawnbreaker up to block, yet I wouldn’t be able to hold the Draugr off forever.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted, and the Draugr was thrown away from me, into the crowd of nobleponies.

Mystic finished up the Draugr that had attacked her, and was moving to help Steadfast when I charged toward my Draugr. It blocked as I swung at it, our two swords clashing. I forced its sword down until our blades slipped apart and Dawnbreaker sliced completely through its armor, cutting into its shoulder.

It brought its sword swiftly up at me, burying it in my chestplate. Luckily the Griffin armor, damaged as it was, held out. There was a bit of pressure put on my chest, but no harm done by the Draugr’s blade. With my armored forehoof, I knocked its blade out of my armor and its mouth, causing it to fall to the stone floor.

The Draugr, now unarmed, tried to tackle me. Dawnbreaker cut easily through the shining armor, completely ignoring it. My blade speared the Draugr all the way through, the tip protruding from its back. It coughed up ichor before slumping over on my blade, the light dying in its eyes.

The rest of the Draugr we let be. They seemed to mean us no harm, so long as we kept our distance. Of course, we had to walk past them to get to the doorway behind the throne, but they made no moves to attack us, keeping their distance so long as we kept our weapons out and ready.

Behind the banquet hall was a set of rooms spiraling downward. Eventually they met up with another, larger passage at a room with an ornate stone staircase. Apparently there was another way down here than the one we had taken. The hall led down a ways before it came to a large set of stone doors coated in gold that had long since begun to peel off. What interested me the most was what would lie behind those doors.

Together we worked to push one open enough to trot through. Once through I could see exactly what I had expected. The door opened onto a massive cavern filled with Draugr buildings, many of them stretching up to brush the ceiling itself. From the ceiling hung a giant chandelier glowing with purple fire. I could make out the tiny figures of Draugr scampering around on it tending to the flames.

The city below was alive as well, filled with undead townsponies going about their business. The city of Forelhorse was a bit larger than Volsteed, and was unlike anything I’d seen before. While Volsteed had resembled its neighbor Seclusion, Forelhorse didn’t look anything like Splitten. The buildings were all crowded together and seemed to be influenced by Minotauran architecture. Or maybe it was the other way around.

Across the town, built into the far wall of the cavern, was a massive temple. That was where we were headed, for that was where Forelhorse’s Dragon Priest was sure to dwell. We scampered down the huge set of stone stairs that led into the town until we were among the buildings.

I wanted to avoid the guards if possible, so we kept to the back alleys, Mephalda flying above the buildings where she could to watch for trouble. We were doing pretty well until we were forced to cross one of the main streets that cut through the town. There were far too many Draugr around to keep from being seen, but we had to cross.

We trotted across the street as quickly as we dared without arousing suspicion. Our plan worked; not one of the Draugr trotting around seemed to even notice we were there. I assumed we were home free when we entered the alleyway again, but I was wrong.

We let our guard down for just a moment and ran smack into the cart a Draugr was pulling down an alley that crossed the one we were following. It began to shout at us in Draconic before realizing that we weren’t dead like it was. Quickly detaching from its cart, it took off at a gallop down the alley, yelling for help.

We jumped the cart and ran as fast as we could down the alley, hoping to dodge any guards that came to the Draugr’s cries. Shouting began to come from all sides as Draugr townsponies, and then guards began to sight us charged between the weathered stone buildings.

We slid past the last building onto a street that ran along the steps to the temple, only to find an army of Draugr guards blocking our path. These Draugr were highly trained soldiers like we’d seen in Volsteed, standing in perfect formation, shields strapped to the forelegs of the front line. Their armor was perfectly preserved, reflecting the light of the chandelier above, and engraved with the symbol of their Dragon Priest.

A Draugr with even better armor, probably a commander, near the back began to shout out orders. The front line raised their shields while Draugr a few lines back drew staffs from their backs. We all drew our own weapons, preparing for the Draugr attack. With another shout from the Draugr captain, the zombies in front began to advance, while those with staffs shot bolts of fire, lightning, and ice at us.

Mystic raised a ward over us before the magical blasts were able to hit us, and they glanced harmlessly off the surface. Mephalda began to fire arrows through our shield at the Draugr wizards as they pounded us. I could see archers in the back of the Draugr army, but they appeared to be doing nothing for the moment, waiting until our ward collapsed to release their deadly darts.

I had no more chances to see what the others were doing as the first line of Draugr reached us. With Dawnbreaker I sliced at one of the zombies, and brought the Blade of Hoofingar down toward the other. The both blocked with their shields, and I pulled my swords away to attack again. Once more they blocked, so I focused both my weapons on one with the next strike. It was able to block my ebony sword as it came down toward the top of its head, but wasn’t able to spin its shield around in time to stop Dawnbreaker from slicing into its neck.

I was suddenly hit from the side by the Draugr I’d ignored, its shield pushing me back. I swung my swords at it, one striking its shield, and the other striking the sword it had just drawn. Dawnbreaker began to glow brightly as I slammed it down again and again on the Draugr’s shield while holding off its sword with the Blade of Hoofingar. Eventually, I stabbed directly into the shield with Dawnbreaker, and the Draconequus blade gleefully cut through, slicing into the Draugr’s foreleg. Giving a squeal that made it drop its sword, it backed away. Before it could get too far, I sliced the Blade of Hoofingar through its throat.

Another Draugr stood in its place in an instant, this one with a warhammer. I blocked with both my weapons, trying to push the zombie back. I twisted out of the way as I let the warhammer swing toward the ground. I swung at the back of its neck, but the Draugr swiftly swung its warhammer up into my chest, and I found myself thrown backwards.

The Draugr were beginning to overwhelm us. There were just too many of them! I needed to clear some space somehow.

<YOL!>

Directly in front of me my fire breath incinerated the nearby Draugr. Farther back they simply burst into flame, but even disciplined Draugr are liable to panic when they suddenly catch fire. All in all, I’d been successful in my goal, opening up a wide gap in the Draugr line that expanded as the panicked zombies ran into each other.

The Draugr commander called for order, going so far as to snatch a staff of ice from where it had fallen and freeze the soldiers that were still on fire. By the time it’d managed to quell the panic, a sizeable chunk of its army was dead.

I was preparing to charge forward into the remaining undead when the ward around us suddenly collapsed. I looked over my shoulder to see that Mystic had been struck by the spear of a Draugr who’d come from behind us. In fact, a whole new army had showed up behind us, surrounding us. I wasn’t about to let that stand.

I shot ice spikes into the Draugr that had impaled Mystic before shooting fire at the other nearby Draugr who tried to close in on my injured friend. I ran to her aid, pulling the spear from her before casting a healing spell on her. Once she was strong enough to stand, she tried to put up a ward again, but her magic was too drained for a shield of that size anymore. Instead, she focused on shooting out blasts of her magic into the advancing zombies.

Now that her ward was down, arrows began to rain down from the Draugr archers at regular intervals, keeping us on our hooves. I tried to advance into the oncoming horde of Draugr, slashing away with Dawnbreaker, but there were just too many of them. I was forced to retreat, but with every Draugr I slew, the tiny star in Dawnbreaker’s hilt began to glow brighter.

As I stabbed my blade into a Draugr with a war axe who’d just cut through a chink in my shoulder armor, the star suddenly became too bright to see. Around us, the Draugr suddenly stopped, dropping their weapons and clutching their heads. Each one them exploded in a brilliant flash of light, leaving no remains. The light began to die down and Dawnbreaker returned to normal once all the Draugr standing around us were dead.

For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I had seen. Dawnbreaker had just killed the horde of Draugr that had surrounded us all on its own. I marveled at the power I held in my magic. This was certainly a superior replacement to Calcion’s Cleaver, and this blade wouldn’t mess with my mind.

No more Draugr were around to stop us, so we approached the temple. Up the stone stairs we went, passing by statues of ponies enduring terrible tortures. At the top of the stairs was the same statue of a Dragon Priest we’d seen earlier, but this time larger. Inscribed above her head were words in Draconic that shifted around until they were in Equine, just like in Volsteed.

She sounded every bit as lovely as Voldehorse had been. Inside, Naghot was waiting for us, an Element of Harmony about her neck. There was no point in waiting any longer, so we pushed open the temple’s doors and stepped inside.

Empty stone benches filed the large room, facing toward a pulpit at the far end, in front of which sat a gem-covered sarcophagus. Statues of Naghot, three on each side, lined the pews leading up to her tomb. We walked up the center aisle cautiously, our hoofsteps echoing around the room.

As we passed the first set of statues, they suddenly shifted. Seams opened up on the sculptures of Naghot and the statues opened up to reveal a Draugr in priests’ robes sitting inside each one. As one, the stood up and stepped down from their seats, drawing swords in the process.

Mephalda drilled one near us between the eyes with an arrow, yet it still strode toward us. A blast of ice from Mystic froze another, which Steadfast promptly smashed to bits with his warhammer. The remaining Draugr priests suddenly became much livelier, charging toward us with weapons drawn. The one Mephalda had been shooting came right at me, and I took its head off with a quick swipe of Dawnbreaker, killing the Draugr.

Four more remained, though they had a bit of ground to cover before they reached us. I shot ice spikes at one of the front two, but the ones that did hit just glanced off the armor beneath the zombie’s robes. I brought Dawnbreaker up to block as the zombie reached me, slamming its own sword down at me.

I tried to spin the Draugr’s sword away from it, but it turned the trick around on me, making it hard to keep ahold of Dawnbreaker. I stabbed in toward the Draugr’s chest, but as it did the same toward me I was forced to redirect my sword to deflect its weapon. The Draugr stepped closer to me, hatred burning in its eyes as it swung its sword down at me. With Dawnbreaker I blocked, but I was losing ground, and the Draugr continued to push down on me.

<<ZUN~JOT!!>> I Shouted, and the Draugr’s sword was torn from its mouth, sent sliding across the floor.

I stabbed Dawnbreaker into the Draugr’s chest, ripping through the armor and piercing its heart. I had barely thrown it off my blade when I was forced to pull my still-wet sword up to block the strike of another of the Draugr priests. My friends had succeeded in taking out the other Draugr in the first wave, so now there were only two left.

I shot lightning into the Draugr’s face as it tried to push me back, but it didn’t seem to be harming the zombie, so I changed tactics. I pulled out my Changeling war axe and floated it around until it was behind the Draugr. Then I slammed the blade into the gap between its shoulder armor and cuirass. The zombie pulled away from me, but took my war axe with it.

I ducked down as a swing from Steadfast suddenly went over my head, striking the other Draugr, which I had nearly backed into. The one I’d been fighting came back at me, recovering swiftly from its injury. An arrow from Mephalda struck it in the fetlock just before it reached me, tripping it up so I could get a strike in.

I swung around at the back of the Draugr’s exposed neck, but it somehow managed to twist around and block before it hit the floor. I placed a hoof on the Draugr to keep it in place, and swung Dawnbreaker down into the zombie’s side.

Ichor poured from the wound, but the Draugr refused to return to its eternal rest. It swung around toward the leg I was holding it down with, and I was forced to remove my hoof from it. Swiftly it rolled over and rose to its hooves.

<<KRII~LUN!!>>

The Draugr suddenly staggered and its armor began to deteriorate as my Shout took hold. I knocked its sword aside as it tried to block me, and stabbed Dawnbreaker up into its body. Throwing it off, I turned to look for the remaining Draugr, and saw it die as Mystic disintegrated it with pure magical energy.

No more disciples of Naghot seemed to be waiting to ambush us (there was nowhere they could hide anyway) so we made our way up to the pulpit and sarcophagus. We knew what waited inside that coffin, so we spaced ourselves around it and prepared for the worst. Dawnbreaker ready to stab the Dragon Priest the moment the lid was off, I pried the cover free with the Blade of Hoofingar.

As soon as the lid began to come free, an explosion of energy burst out from the casket, throwing the cover into the air and throwing us back in every direction. As the afterimage of the explosion faded, I watched a Draugr in long, flowing robes hovering over the empty sarcophagus. An amulet of a dragon around its neck glowed green, the same color of magic that coated the staff held to one side of it, and the curved sword on the other.

<YOL!> I Shouted, sending a blast of fire at the Dragon Priest while I rose to my hooves.

Naghot saw my blast coming and dodged to the side, though the trailing ends of her robes were singed and began to burn slowly. Ignoring us, she held the golden staff in the air and began to twist it around. Clouds suddenly came into being from nowhere and began to darken. Lightning began to shoot down from the storm above us, singeing the floor.

Steadfast charged the Dragon Priest while her back was turned, leaping from a pew. She spun around quickly while he was in the air and swung her sword at him. The blade struck his warhammer, sending him flying back.

Arrows began to sprout up in the Draugr’s neck, though not as many as there could have been. Mephalda, like all of us, was having a hard time dodging the lightning. I tried to get closer to Naghot, but a bolt of lightning struck my armor and sent me convulsing for a good minute. When I regained control, I knew one thing: this storm had to end.

<<<LOK~VAH~KOOR!!!>>> I Shouted, and the clouds fled from my Voice, returning to wherever they had been before.

Naghot noticed what I had done, and spun around to shoot lightning at me from her staff. I desperately dodged the bolts as they smashed apart the pews they hit. It seemed that her staff was not the normal lightning staff, and I wasn’t going to take the chance that getting hit would take me out permanently.

A blast of magic from Mystic suddenly struck the staff, knocking it off course. A second blast hit it a second later, then a third and fourth until the staff went flying from the Dragon Priest’s grasp. She swooped down toward where it had fallen, but I was nearby and reached it first. Holding it up, I slammed Dawnbreaker into it. The Draconequus blade split the staff, sending lightning flying out in all directions. Both Naghot and I were thrown back by the blast as her staff was destroyed.

As soon as she recovered, she came for me immediately. I had both Dawnbreaker and the Blade of Hoofingar ready as she approached. Turns out, it had been wise to have both swords out, as I needed them both to deflect her attacks, even though she only had one blade.

Her blade flew so fast, I was hardly able to deflect them in time. The good thing was, she was now nearly stationary, opening herself up to attacks from my friends. Arrows came in a steady stream from Mephalda, slicing apart Naghot’s rotting neck and face. Ice began to coat one side of her as she focused her attacks on me, courtesy of Mystic.

She was forced to momentarily stop her attack on me as Steadfast jumped onto her back. She struggled to throw him off as he beat in the armor beneath her robes with his warhammer. Eventually he was forced to jump off as she swung her sword at his head. She began to bring the blade back around toward me before I could attack her. I had other plans.

<TIID!> I Shouted, and time slowed to a crawl.

I rushed under Naghot’s sword and stabbed my sword into her chest, missing her heart. I pulled it out, but had no time to thrust it back in as time began to return to normal. As I ran away, I reached out and grabbed the dragon head amulet around her neck, tearing it off.

Time snapped back to regular speed, and I slid across the floor with Naghot’s necklace. The glow around it cut off as it was separated from its master, as did the glow around the Dragon Priest’s sword, which clattered to the ground. She swiftly picked it up in a forehoof and spun it toward me.

Before she could, an arrow from Mephalda and a blast of magic from Mystic knocked it away from her. Steadfast charged back in, his warhammer crushing in the side of the Dragon Priest’s head. She swung at him with an armored hoof, a hidden blade protruding at the last minute and slicing open his chest.

As my earth pony companion staggered back, I rushed in toward Naghot, both swords held up to attack. I swung the Blade of Hoofingar at her, but she intercepted it with her hoof-blade and forced it to the ground. Dawnbreaker continued on unimpeded and sliced through her weakened neck. Her head separated from her body and rolled away, and the torso collapsed to the ground.

I dropped my swords and ran over to where Steadfast was lying. A nasty gash was opened in his chest, but it wasn’t life-threatening, at least not after a few healing potions and a spell for good measure. Steadfast would be just fine.

I trotted over to where I’d left my weapons and cleaned them before sheathing them. Next I searched Naghot’s body, finding a good amount of gold as well as gems. When her head had come off, the amulet still around her neck had fallen to the ground. I retrieved it, a simple amulet with a hexagonal gem that held a dull red light deep inside. After wiping off Naghot’s blood, I threw it over my own neck, letting it hang next to the Element of Honesty. I now had two of the fabled Elements, putting me that much closer to defeating Alduin.

Behind the sarcophagus and pulpit I noticed a wall covered in Draconic runes. I strode over to it and let my mind be filled with new knowledge. Well, it was very old knowledge about the wrath a storm could have and the intense damage it could wreak on the land, but it was new to me. When it was done, I understood wrath much better. In fact, I understood it exactly as the dragons did.

~BAH~

I suddenly found the memories of the dragon I’d killed back in Splitten resurfacing. I witnessed every moment of wrath that had been poured out on that dragon, and every moment it poured out that same wrath on others. In the end, I understood how to strengthen my call to the skies for inclement weather, making my attack much stronger.

<<STRUN~BAH!!>> I Shouted, though nothing happened because we were still inside. No doubt up above a storm suddenly brewed up out of nowhere, called by my voice.

“Did you get it?” Steadfast asked as he trotted up to me.

“Another Element,” I told him, pulling the amulet out so that he could see, “Two down, four to go.”

“So, what’s the plan now?” he asked.

“Now?” I said, “Now we go to High Falls Ruins. Let’s make it three.”