In the Skytop Village, days after Pollie's departure, the gang makes the necessary preparations to leave. As they climb down the newly constructed ladder system leading to the ground, Cam and Sylvia notice Twig's indifference to the whole situation. Cam taps her shoulder, remarking with a friendly grin "Hey, 'Tweety'. You okay?", but upon seeing her look down slightly at the mention of that nickname, he quickly corrects himself, saying "Oh, um... sorry. Too soon..", but is interrupted by Twig, happily saying "Oh come on, I'm not made of glass, you guys!". The whole group stand there, surprised at her sudden happiness.
As they arrive back on solid ground they stop to think of where the should go next. "Okay, the nearest Orb- Worshipping society is just under a day's distance away from here.", Winston says as he holds up one of his maps. They agree and set off for the next town, Cam's attention set on his grandfather, Edreus. As they trek across the land, Cam approaches Edreus, tapping him on the arm. "Oh, um...Yes, Cambrodia?", he replies. Cam takes a serious tone as he asks "Why was our home built on a floating chunk of land, like the Skylands?", but Edreus quickly diverts the topic by walking further ahead of everyone, saying "We must make haste!", leaving Cam with a slightly frustrated expression on his face.
As the sun sets, Twig and Sylvia drag their feet in exhaustion as Winston tiredly says "We're...almost..there..", staring at his map. As they run up one more hill to find a quaint, small village of dwarves. They make their way down the hill and Twig asks Cam "You okay?", but Cam feigns a smile and says "Yeah, of course!", before running to catch up with the others.
They arrive at the village's entrance, immediately taken in by the village's rustic feel. The Village leader walks out and greets them warmly, "Welcome, visitors. Feel free to make yourselves..", the village leader says before locking eyes with Winston. Winston, confused, starts frantically looking around him, nervously asking "Is..there something..on my face?", but the village leader screams "Magic Man! Everyone run!" before frantically running away into the village.
Winston asks "Did I do something to offend him?", to which Edreus says "I forgot, the Orb's followers choose to believe that only the Orb has magical power. That it is 'All Powerful'.". Twig says, as Winston steps behind the village entrance "It's probably best if you sit this one out, buddy.". Winston reluctantly agrees and offers to watch Leo and watches his friends enter the village without him.
As the others walk through the village, Twig points out a nearby restaurant, saying "It's been like a million years since I had real food.". Sylvia says "I know, right?", before running off into the restaurant.
Cam, finally seizing the momentary opportunity to talk to Edreus, asks him "What was Mom like? Before the...Orb.". Edreus, initially taken aback, settles down and answers "She was.. a genius. Truly a visionary.". Cam smiles lightly before saying "She must get it from you..". They share a wholesome moment, which is interrupted by the sight of a noble blacksmith's shop.
Cam points it out, saying "Hey! A blacksmith, maybe we can get our weapons fixed.", and they head in.
In the shop, they see an adult male Dwarf and his daughter. Cam greets them, only to be met with silence as the Dwarven daughter hides timidly. "Oh, sorry if we scared you..", Cam says to the girl to reassure her. The girl comes out of hiding and the adult Dwarf says "Sorry, my little Amber here is very timid around Non- Dwarven folk.". Cam waves at the little girl, saying "Hi, um..your name is Amber?". The little girl nods and the adult Dwarf says "Yes, and my name is Kyrios. I'm the local noble blacksmith 'round these parts.".
Edreus asks "Our weapons are in desperate of repair, will you assist us?", to which Kyrios excitedly says "Of course! No weapon is beyond repair with me!". Edreus hands him his mace, while Cam reluctantly hands over his old sword sheathe, along with the shards of his old sword. Kyrios, initially taken aback, inspects the sheathe, asking "This was imbued with with a blessing, was it not?". Cam, shocked, asks "You can see that?", to which Kyrios says "We blacksmiths imbue part of ourselves within a sword when we bestow a blessing.". Cam is overcome with a feeling of guilt, saying to himself "A..and I.. couldn't keep it from shattering..".
Kyrios, noticing his expression, says "But there's a way to retain a Blacksmith's blessing, you know?". Cam, intrigued, asks "How?", to which Kyrios says "If you can head down to the Orcheyia Mines, near the outskirts of town, and get me a piece of soul amber. I'll repair it, along with its blessing.". Cam, determined says "I'll return with your soul amber, at any cost!", as he and Edreus leave the shop.
They head near the Orcheyia Mines where they find multiple teams of workers already digging. Cam rolls up his sleeves, saying "Well, let's get to work, Grandpa!", and enters the mine.
After hours of searching, Cam and Edreus emerge from the mines, covered in dirt. Cam proudly holding his Soul Amber in his hands says "We did it, I told you the twenty fourth time's the charm!". Edreus smiles noticing his beloved grandson's joy, and they return to the village.
On their way back, Winston calls out to them, pointing out a mysterious figure in the sky. As they ponder, the figure launches a fire ball at the Orcheyia Mines, causing the caves to collapse. "Whoa! What the heck was-", but is interrupted by a sharp pain in his left eye. "Cambrodia! What is wrong?", Edreus says as he checks on him.
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Winston notices as the figure is revealed to be a black scaled dragon, carrying along multiple carriages. From the carriages, emerges a troop of mysterious figures, who quickly surround the village. As the villagers panic, they are quickly gathered to one point. Sylvia swiftly slashes at some of the figures, while Twig, using her plant magic, tries to restrain the figures but they simply use magic to burn the vines. They meet up with the others, asking "What the hell is happening?!", to which Winston says "I don't know, there was a dragon, and..", but suddenly a magic crimson chain restrains him by his neck, dragging him towards the carriages. They shout "Winston!", and Edreus reaches for his mace, only to remember that he left it behind. "N..No..!", he says Cam rushes to the blacksmith's shop, evading capture on the way.
When he arrives at the shop, he finds it in shambles, with only with Kyrios and Amber hiding from the chaos. "I.. I need you to forge my weapon with this!", as he pulls out the Soul Amber. "You..actually found some..", Kyrios says before taking the Soul Amber and beginning his work on Cam's blade. "Take your grandfather's mace, and please keep Amber safe!", he shouts with tears in his eyes. Cam nods, taking Edreus' mace and declaring "I promise, I'll protect her with my life!", before leaving the shop. "I'll get you this sword, half elf child, I promise..", as he keeps pounding away at the steel.
Back outside, Cam sees the village outskirts surrounded by flames, preventing any escape. Cam hands Edreus his mace and he begins smashing away at the invaders. Twig worridly says "The sun is setting, my magic is getting weaker!". Cam grabs his dagger, saying "Just make sure the villagers are safe.", and he places Amber in her care, "Especially her, I'm trusting you.". Twig nods adamantly as she clutches Amber's hand tightly.
Cam, Edreus, Sylvia and Winston engage in a fierce battle for the village. Winston charging a massive ball of water over the invaders' heads. Sylvia and Cam steadily dealing damage to the individual enemies, while Edreus slams down multiple at a time. The fight goes on, Winston worridly saying "I..I can't extinguish these flames! I dunno why..". Just then, Cam receives another sharp pang in his left eye, right before instinctively shouting for Winston to move. As soon as Winston moves, a halberd flys right past his head. Before Cam could even move, a hooded figure among the invaders kicks him to a nearby rooftop. The figure zooms up to him, brandishing a gold tipped halberd.
As Cam recoil from the sudden blow, the figure reveals its red skin, pointed tail, and just as Cam connects the dots on what the figure actually is, the figure unhoods itself, revealing its sharp, pointed horns, its orange eyes and fang like teeth. "Y..you're.. a..", Cam stutters in shock, as an intense chill washes over him. The figure casts a spell on itself, enabling it to speak English. "You are under arrest for breaking the 1st Demon War Ammendment!". Cam stands there, confused, before asking "W..what? Demon War?", but the figure shouts "That wizard broke the treaty set hundreds of years ago! Humans, nor demi humans should ever use the Ancient Magic!". Cam, stepping back in fear, asks "W..Winston? I'm.. sure he didn't know..", but is stopped by the figure suddenly attacking him, nearly piercing him, but knocking him down.
Cam, stands up, with his dagger in hand, and says "I won't let you hurt innocent people over this!". The figure says "Well, I see you will be a nuisance after all.", before charging him, releasing a barrage of strikes, most of which he manages to evade, but one connects, cutting his knee. "Arrgh!!", Cam grunts before landing a slash on his stomach, but the figure slams him down through the roof. Cam wakes up, to a sharp pain in his left eye, and he instinctively dodges an incoming attack from above. He stands back up, but gets distracted by the sight of himself reflected from a nearby window, showing that his left eye glows with an Azure Colour. The figure quickly knocks Cam down, preparing to stab him, but he shatters the window, granting him an opening.
Cam runs to the blacksmith's shop, only to find it shambles, with everything in flames except for Kyrios, who is still refining Cam's blade. Cam runs up to him, only to be stopped by him, telling him " No! I will finish this blade! Even if my life depends on it!". Cam asks "Is it ready?", only for Kyrios to say "Just a little longer!". Just as the figure prepares a fatal attack, Sylvia steps in, and temporarily injures him. Sylvia notices him rapidly healing the wounds. "Beings of the Onyx..", Sylvia whispers to herself.
Winston is continuously pursued by more of the figures, trying to restrain him with more chains. "Winston uses a Fos spell circle and conjures a blinding light to try and lose them, but the figures cast a complex spell to cause a Shockwave that knocks him through a wall. He struggles to get up, as one of the figures uses a spell to interpret what he's saying "You violated the laws of the Demon realm! Hand yourself in, or would you rather let even more innocents die!?". Winston struggles on the floor, shouting "T..this isn't my fault! I didn't do anything!". But the figure continues, saying "The treaty set after the Demon War prohibited the use of ancient magic outside the Demon Realm!". Winston reflects on his actions, thinking to himself "This..is my fault..".
As the fight continues, the situation gets more dire as the Demon the Cam and Sylvia are fighting lands a devastating blow on Sylvia, slicing her back and throwing her into a crumbling house, causing her to be buried under debris. As Cam runs to help her, his eye starts hurting once again, but it is too late, he is stabbed through the stomach. Edreus notices, and just as he runs to his rescue, screaming "Cambrodia, Nooo!!", he is restrained and disarmed. Just as Cam coughs up blood as the wound gets deeper, Kyrios throws the completed sword towards Cam, just as he is crushed by the debris of his own shop. Cam, growing ever closer to death, catches the sword, and slices the demon in half.
Cam lays there, his grip locked on his new sword and blood leaking out of his gut. He covers the wound while looking out to the burning village. "Grandpa... Winston...Twig..Sylvia.. I failed..I couldn't do it after all..", Cam thinks to himself, tears streaming down his face as he thinks of Lydia "M..Mom.. ", as his vision grows darker and darker.
Just then, he regains consciousness, as a spell seemingly heals the stab wound and saves his life, along with Sylvia, Edreus and Sylvia. Cam runs up to the village entrance to see Winston standing there, in chains as he says "You said you'd heal my friends, in exchange for me turning myself in!". Cam, out of energy, trudges towards Winston, only to see all his friends being restrained by the crimson chains, as he is also restrained, his hands tied behind his back, he notices his sword seemingly disappear.
He, along with his friends are all herded into separate carriages, and he sees one of the demons holding Leo. "No! Don't hurt him!", the Demon says "I detect no magical power from this creature, so here.", as Leo is thrown into Cam's cage. All the carriages are locked and the black scaled dragon begins its ascent into the air, but as they rise into the sky, Cam and the Demon he fought lock eyes in a heated stare down. Tears stream down his face as he calls for his friends, slowly breaking down.
"Grandpa!! Twig!! Winston! Sylvia....
Anyone...please.."
A soul crushing end to this part of the adventure as our heroes are caged and are to face punishment at the hands of the Demons.
What will our heroes' future hold?