YogLabs: Quest for the Golden Horseshoe

by Prisoner 24601

Chapter 9

"Archaenon," Silvertongue nervously said as he slowly entered his master's chambers.

"Yes, Silvertongue?" The brown Pegasus said, looking over the Changelings from his high view point, noting his toady's unnerved tone.

"I have some... bad news." Silvertongue stuttered.

Archaenon's head snapped from the army to his inferior, with a gleam of pure fury in his eyes. Inexplicably keeping his cool, he replied, "What is it, Silvertongue?"

Silvertongue, realizing now that he was beyond the point of no return, slowly murmured, "Well, sir... A-about the, uh... T-the Ar- The Army. About the army..."

"Our army? MY army?" Archaenon asked, slowly moving toward Silvertongue.

"N-no, sir. About the other army..." Silvertongue said, flinching away.

"What about them?" Archaenon asked in a deep voice, pressing his face against that of the squirming worm before him.

Silvertongue, closing his eyes and preparing for the worst, said, "Well, it'd seem... they've, uh... made it past the barrier."

The room was suddenly filled with a painful silence as Archaenon's eyes exploded with unbridled rage. "How many?" He asked, foreboding Silvertongue's almost certain imminent death.

"One, sir."

Suddenly, the rage was gone. All signs of discontent were completely wiped from Archaenon's face as he looked at his incompetent subordinate. "One?"

"Y-yes, sir, but more are sure to follow."

"Are you a fool, Silvertongue?"

"Well, sir, according to what they tell me, yes. But why, sir?"

"Have you even seen their camp? They are segregated. They only travel in pairs. One single of their kind crossing into our territory means nothing to me."

Silvertongue sighed in relief. "However, Archaenon continued, "Even one is indeed a threat, no matter how small. Deal with him. Yourself."

"Myself, sir?"

"Yes. You had the lack of foresight to inform me of a single human crossing our immense border, you have to deal with him. And kill him. Don't let him escape."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Do we have any leads on who it may be?"

"The scouts say it is a large, chubby, ginger man, with an unnatural strength and endurance. It can only be Simon lane or Jesse Cox."

"Does it matter?"

"N-no, sir, they are both overweight. Easy to slay."

"Even for you? A pasty, young, weak excuse for a stallion?"

"Well, uh..."

"Take a few enforcers with you. You're too valuable to the master to be beaten to death by a fat man." Archaenon chuckled.

"Y-yes sir."

"Where was he?"

"The scouts say he broke the border about 17 degrees southeast of the Altar of Benedictus."

"Benedictus?"

"That's what the scouts tell me, sir."

"You said this could be Simon, Silvertongue?"

"It's a possibility. Either him, or Jesse."

"Go now. Go fast. Strike quickly. Kill him. No mercy. Take enforcers with you. And Windwings. Simon cannot reach the Altar."

"Why not, sir?"

"I don't know much about the Master. But I know that he and Simon had quite the past. He knows things Simon would like to know. If he gets inside the Altar, it's all over for us. Kill him, Silvertongue. I cannot take this risk."

"Sir, there's a chance it could be Jesse Cox."

"I'M NOT WILLING TO TAKE THAT RISK, SIVLERTONGUE," Archaenon shouted, "AND YOU HAD BETTER KNOW THAT!" He paused momentarily, calming himself. "Now go. Take as many changelings as you need. You must kill him before he reaches the altar. It's his life on the line, or yours, Silvertongue. Go. Every moment you waste here is another moment he gets closer to The Master."

Silvertongue hesitated momentarily, bringing on a "NOW!!" from Archaenon. And like that, he was gone, on the hunt for Simon.

********

Jesse and Dodger looked over the army as they packed up and moved north to the outcropping they were so desperate to fill. Dodger, leaning on Jesse's right shoulder, still wounded but mostly healed, along with the rest of him, sighed. "I'm actually glad Sam stayed behind for this, Jesse. He wouldn't have wanted to see our people fight."

"'Our People'?" Jesse asked.

"God, you're stupid." Came a familiar voice from behind Jesse. His old Brit friend, John Bain, coming up to his left side. "Look at how they even walk! They're segregated. Two factions. Those who are your fans, and those you are fans of the Yogscast. This has nothing to do with the greater good. It has to do with supporting your favorite YouTube channel."

Jesse stood silent as revelation struck. "I guess you're right, TB. They're either here for me, or here for Simon. With Simon gone..."

"No. We're not starting that again." came another voice from behind them. They all turned to see two fairly bruised and beaten brits: Sjin and Duncan. Duncan continued to speak, "We've already settled that. Yes, Simon is gone, and yes, The Yognaughts won't be here for long now, unless we convince them of who we really are."

"Yes," Sjin piped in, "We've realized that without Lewis or Simon, we aren't the Yogscast anymore. Without our greatest achievers, who are we? Not the Yogscast. But we are all still family."

"Are we now?" Asked Dodger, turning her full attention to the apparently former yogscasters.

"Yes. We're not the Yogscast, but if you recall, we were all part of the WoW guild Ye Olde Goone Squade. That's where the word YOGS came from. It was an acronym. And we believe that while we may not be blood brothers, or related through YouTube directly, but me and Duncan believe we are all Goones at heart."

"What's your point, Sjin?" Jesse asked.

"Enough of these petty quarrels. It is clear to anyone with a working brain that we are segregated by fanbases." Jesse could swear he could hear a silent snort of "I told you so" from TB. Sjin continued, "And so, I propose we set aside that quarrel, and join forces as Goones at heart. What do you say, Jesse? Are you ready to put all these differences behind us?"

Jesse simply looked at Sjin, with Dodger to his left, TB to his right, and Duncan to Sjin's left, all looking intently at him, awaiting his answer.

Jesse slowly walked towards Sjin, looked him right in the eye, raised his hand high above his head, and brought it down right in front of Sjin's chest. It was stretched, all fingers in alignment, imploring Sjin to shake it. "Deal, friend." Jesse said.