Kip stared up at Zeke’s massive body holding up on of the bluff’s rocks. Kip’s eyes darted all around. He looked for the next move. His eyes quickly went to another, smaller hole. He would likely be stuck. In that moment, Kip’s brain realized that the only way out was through.

  “Burst.” Kip said as he leapt out of the hole. Kip jumped up, his foot reaching the bluff wall where he cried again, “Burst!” this caused him to sail even further. He was so high that he landed on top of the boulder that Zeke held. Kip let himself slide down off the rock until he was parallel to the ground. With his foot still on but still had one foot on the rock’s wall.

  “Burst.” Kip said again. He propelled himself at a high speed away from Zeke, rolling along the lake’s sand. That was it. His last Burst and he used them all one after another. But at least he was safe from tagging. He propped himself back up and began rushing toward his teammate. Swiff was holding his own against the pit fiend while the fiery beast was using the lion’s share of his strength to pull the broom in.

  “Swiff!” cried out Kip, The broom headed straight for him. Kip reached into his tool belt and grabbed his oil can. He unscrewed the top lit and threw the contents at the pit fiend’s feet., “Pull!”

  Swiff jetted parallel to the ground. The jolt was enough to force the pit fiend to step in the oil. His foot skirted away from him; his torso brought his center of gravity too far away and he fell on his face. Despite that, the pit fiend had kept their grip on the chain. Swiff kept flying along the beach, pulling the demon along the sand. The pit fiend was unable to get a good grip, he grabbed the sand to try to steel himself but it dissipated in his hand.

  “Drag him into the water, Swiff! He’s from the fire floor after all!” Swiff bent his handle in a nod. He pulled the pit fiend off the sand and into the water. The pit demon’s power was sapped as his head flame dampened.

  The pit demon attempted to retract his chain. Swiff was free.

  “Now, to me!” Kip yelled.

  Swiff changed directions and headed instantly toward Kip. Zeke dropped the boulder and barreled toward Kip, reaching out his arm. Kip stuck out his hand and closed it right as Swiff made contact. Kip zipped off, leaving Zeke to reach for nothing but air. Kip closed his eyes as he grabbed on for dear life while the broom swished away, back into the fierce forest.

  Zeke slammed the sand in rage as the pit demon’s chain grappled onto some railing from the wharf and pulled himself back in.

  “They’re moving fast.” Said the pit demon.

  “Follow behind me.” Said Zeke as he rested knuckles against the ground, flared his nostrils and let loose his charging spell.

  “Hut Hut Strike!” His muscles were charged with energy, his burst let a geyser of sand shoot out behind him. He chased after Kip at an unnatural speed for a creature of Zeke’s size.

  “It appears,” Keelie stared through her binoculars, “That this is some kind of contest. Whatever could be at stake?” She was perched on the high up branch of an old tree. She could scan most of the Fierce Forest from this spot but her interest lay on the beach of Lethal Lake. Locke grabbed the binoculars and stared through them. She watched the blur of red exit the beach side and hide in the forest. Then she watched Zeke soundlessly called out his spell and ran after him.

  Locke gave the binoculars back to Keelie. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a twine bound booklet, “There is very little known about the ‘Dark Charter.’ Most think it’s a myth and that the monsters couldn’t possibly have rule of law like humans. But if such a rulebook exists, there are likely steps to take if the Dark Lord has abdicated. The likely outcome is this has something to do with the ritual of leadership.”

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  “Oh, puh-lease!” Said Keelie, “You can’t tell me that the way the most evil empire on the planet dictates who gets to lead is by a game of tag. This is a children’s game. They might just be having fun.”

  Locke as she closed her book, “The Dark Lord was seen walking in his recorded human form across the Northern Ulmund Countryside. About fifty miles outside of Paist. This could be the result of expulsion.”

  “I can’t believe we’re even considering this. In all your analytical genius, your leading theory is that the Dark Lord made it so that if anyone beat him in a game of tag, they could be the ruler of his kingdom. THAT shrimp won. And now the Dark Lord just left on his own? Sounds a little implausible to say the least, Locke."

  “Theories are meant to be tested,” Locke said, “Everyone has their customs.”

  “Would you really expect the big bad to even be so honorable?”

  Locke breathed in and thought, “That’s not why we’re here. Let’s keep on with the mission.”

  Keelie rolled her eyes again, “So that’s a no.”

  Locke said, “We have a baseline, now we just need some questions answered. Show me the rook.”

  Keelie’s face turned bashful, her shoulders slumped and she looked out through the binoculars again as if to provide some cover.

  “What happened to the rook?”

  Keelie turned to look at Locke through the binoculars, “Uhhh, I sent him to the wrong place.”

  “What?! Where’d you send him?”

  “Wrong place. I got the knock wrong. I think the knock to the jail cell is like… ‘clack-clack-clack’ but when I sent him it was like, ‘clack-clack-clock.’”

  “So… where’d you send him then?” Asked Locke.

  Locke looked at Keelie through the binoculars.

  “Where? We were supposed to cause minimal damage. Little intrusion. A full abduction could be bad.”

  “I sent him to a desert in Kashu.”

  “Keelie.”

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s a different country.”

  “Yeah. The thing is, I didn’t close that door because of that really beautiful oasis we went to. Remember that? We got so much sun. Ugh, and that spring! I didn’t want to close it but I guess the sound I make when I open that door is a little too similar to the interrogation room. I already opened it up and had a look around. He’s not there.”

  Keelie burned hot as she felt Locke’s eyes stare down at her.

  “Woof.” Said Locke, “We’ll have to capture someone else. Someone low level that nobody will miss.”

  “Isn’t this confirmation?” Keelie asked, “A minotaur and a kobold?”

  “Even still, we need to verify that that kobold is actually the dark lord. Get us down from this tree, and please be careful.”

  Keelie knocked on the tree trunk. She knocked on the trunk, then she sunk her hands into the bark and twisted it as if there was a doorknob there. She opened the fabricated door. A blizzard from the other side poured snow out. Keelie closed it, “Whoops! Let me try one more time.”

  She knocked again and opened. This time, the bottom of the forest floor was visible. Keelie and Locke walked out. “Come on, let’s find somebody to interrogate.”

  Stormbristle floated limply to the ground, his blood releasing from his wounds as his body touched the forest floor. He had just been struck down by the gargoyle. Storm took deep breaths as his eyes followed the gargoyle’s trajectory. The stony, winged, brute jetted far away from the boar.

  “Zeke has got some bloody explaining to do,” The pig said to himself, “That gargoyle bloodied me and bruised me! These fiends are making mincemeat out of us!”

  Storm picked himself off the ground. He saw the gargoyle fly up to one of the elder trees and perch at the top. Storm shook his head. It would not be ideal for him to tag the gargoyle back. Storm’s way of flying would not be ideal for being up that high, he would get taken by the currents and lose balance. Meanwhile, The gargoyle could just drop down as soon as Storm got close. Things looked bleak for Storm retagging the gargoyle. He looked up at the scoreboard made of magic lights that hovered above the trees. Storm felt a little relieved. He saw that Jasssper was also tagged. At least he wasn’t alone in his failures.

  “I agree…” Jasssper whispered behind Stormbristle

  “Jasssper!” Screamed Stormbristle, “Mylord, you look taken to hell and back!”

  “As do you, pig.”

  “What is Zeke doing? Why is he playing so rough? Is he really that mad at Kip?”

  Jasssper shook his head, “They have resigned to play dirty. I feel no guilt about doing the same. We have a big problem to deal with.”

  “We’re both it.”

  “That’s correct. I was able to escape from the dire wolf by slipping in mud and coating myself in a deer carcass. His nose wasn’t able to detect me.”

  “You stink so bad Jasssper.”

  ‘I know.”

  “It suits you.”

  “Pig. I’m telling you, we need to think tactically. We can’t have thessse brutes take over as the Dark lord. Think of what would happen to usss.”

  “What do you suggest we do?”

  “Something I loathe to do, but we mussst collect ourselves for Kip, and for the sake of the Dark Lord’s Kingdom.”

  “I fear I already know where your mind is going.”

  “We mussst work together.”

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