Alex looked skeptically at the horse that Pryvani had left them. It was a large animal, standing roughly as tall as he was, although obviously many times heavier. Its coat was a reddish brown, (the shade that’s often known as “bay”) with the occasional white patch along its flank and over its left eye. The horse’s other distinctive feature, besides its size, were the long hairy fringes over each fetlock. 

It was these that allowed even a born and bred city boy like Alex to identify the breed. 

“It’s a Budweiser horse!” He exclaimed. 

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say Alex was able to recognize the breed, rather than identify it. 

Sophia cocked a sardonic eyebrow at him. “I’m pretty sure they’re actually called ‘Clydesdales’ Alex.” 

“Well, whatever. The ones in all the beer commercials.” 

“Right. Are you going to get on, or what?” 

Alex snorted derisively. “Not a chance, sister. I’ve seen this in far too many movies to know better than to just hop on some random horse.” 

“Scaredy cat.” Sophia teased. 

Alex arched an eyebrow and nodded towards the horse. “You’re welcome to give it a shot. Just don’t come crying to me when that thing flings you back to the top of the mountain.”

“All right, so then give me a boost.”

Alex dropped to the ground and made a stirrup with his hands. Sophia placed a hand on his shoulder and raised her foot into his hand. 

“Ready? One, two thr-” He hadn’t finished counting when the horse, sensing an opportunity for freedom, took off at a brisk trot down the pathway. 

“-ee!” Alex pushed off just as the horse began moving, throwing both of them off balance. They lost their balance and ended up in a heap of tangled limbs on the ground. 

“Aww.” Pryvani’s voice muttered in their ears. “I liked that horse.” 

“Feel free to come and get it.” Alex groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and then helped Sophia to hers. “I don’t believe it. The creature doesn’t mind getting carried around by a giant, but don’t you dare try to ride it.”

“Well, it’s headed down the path to town.” Sophia rubbed the back of her neck. “We might as well follow it and see if we can catch it, since we need to go in that direction anyway.”

“Good idea.” Taron’s voice buzzed in their ears. “That road will lead you to the river, which you can follow straight to the city.”

The intrepid duo followed the dirt path in pursuit of their wayward horse. After a few miles walking they broke through the dense forest and into a stretch of flat plains. They could hear the river rushing nearby. 

They also saw the horse. 

The animal was placidly munching on a tangle of weeds that was growing on the side of the pathway, and as they neared they noticed a man standing on the opposite side of the animal, gently running his hand along the beast’s flank. 

The man looked to be in his late thirties, but with a tan and well weathered face. It was obvious that this was not a man who sat indoors working on a computer all day, leaving aside the fact that they didn’t have computers on Avalon in the first place. 

He was medium height, slightly shorter than Alex with a solid stocky build. His hair was a dark brown and cropped close to his head. As Alex and Sophia drew near, he looked up and threw them a welcoming smile. 

“Hello.” He called in the strange Avalonian accent. “Does this animal belong to you?” 

Alex and Sophia glanced at each other. “Sort of.” Alex finally answered. “He was a gift from a friend of ours, but he doesn’t seem to like us much.” 

The stranger chuckled. “Shame. He is a fine animal. He would make a good worker. I have never seen a breed such as this. What is it called?” 

Alex blinked. “Um, it’s a Budweiser horse.” Behind him, Sophia smacked her forehead. 

The older man nodded. “Budweiser. That is a strange name.” He patted the horse again. “I don’t suppose you would consider selling him to me?” 

Alex shrugged. “I suppose so.” He slapped his ear as if swatting a fly as Pryvani’s protests rang loudly in his ear. 

“Excellent.” The man bowed. “My name is Tehdwa. Why don’t you follow me back to my homestead and we can negotiate a fair price?”

Alex agreed and after he and Sophia introduced themselves, the group continued along the pathway towards the river, with Tehdwa effortlessly leading the horse as if he’d owned the animal for years and had trained it himself. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sophia muttered to Alex as the two of them hung back a bit to talk privately. 

“Honestly? No. But I don’t think this is likely to be any less dangerous than what we’ll encounter in the city. And if he’s legit, having a few extra coins on hand can only be to the good.” 

Sophia’s brow creased in worry. “Still…” 

Alex nodded. “I know. But sometimes you have to take a stupid risk every now and again or you won’t get anywhere. Besides…” He smirked at her wryly. “The gods are watching over us.” 

“Ooh.” Rixie’s voice purred in his ear. “I think I could get used to you calling me a god.”

Alex flushed but chose not to respond to the bait. 

The group followed the pathway up to the river, but rather than turning and following the river (which would have led them to the City.) they kept to the path and followed it deeper into the country. After what was likely several miles, they made it to flat grassland where brown lumps could be seen in the distance dotting the landscape. As they drew closer, the two newcomers began to realize that the brown shapes were actually large hairy grazing animals. 

As they drew nearer, the species of animals became clear. 

Alex’s eyes practically bugged out of their sockets when he beheld in real life a species of animal he’d only ever seen in picture books or in skeletal form in a museum. 

“That…” He whispered, awestruck. “That is a freaking mammoth.” 

He watched as the lumbering forms crossed the plains, looking like giant walking haystacks. Tehdwa turned and watched them with a quizzically arched eyebrow. “You two must be from the city. Act like you never seen a mammoth before. Didn’t you realize where the butcher’s wares came from?”

Alex blinked. “Oh uh, yeah. Of… of course I knew. I’ve just never seen one up close before.” 

Sophia smirked. “You’ll have to excuse my friend here; he doesn’t get many chances to leave the homestead.” 

Tehdwa grinned and nodded. “Of course. I understand.” He turned and nodded towards the modest building at the edge of the property. “There is my home ahead. We can negotiate for the horse, and then I hope you will be my guests until morning.”

“That sounds fantastic.” Sophia smiled. “Thank you.”

The rest of the journey passed in companionable silence, until eventually they made it to Tehdwa’s home. It was a sturdy building, but it looked just a tad bit careworn. They could tell just by looking at the place that it had likely sheltered entire generations of his family. As they drew closer, three young children darted out of the door way and met the older man on the path, shouting joyously and almost knocking him to the ground as they greeted him. 

At the door stood a young woman, who was maybe a few years older than Sophia. She was short with long dark hair and the same tan and weathered skin as her husband, (or at least they assumed she was Tehdwa’s wife.) but she had a rugged beauty to her none the less, which shown all the brighter when she smiled delightedly at her husband.

The two visitors were quickly introduced to the lady of the household, who welcomed them graciously and absconded with Sophia to draw a bath for her, which Sophia wasn’t entirely sure she needed.

Tehdwa turned towards Alex, to begin negotiation, only to find the taller man gazing, mouth agape, at another form of his livestock. 

The cause of Alex’s fascination was a squat little bird, with a comically rounded body covered in bluish-gray feathers. Its brown beak was elongated with a rounded top that tapered into a pointed tip. The bird had short stubby wings, indicating that it spent its time on the ground. Each leg was tipped with sharp black claws. 

Tehdwa looked at his mesmerized companion with an amused smirk on his weathered face. “Again? It’s like you’ve never left home before.” 

“It’s… it’s a dodo…” Alex whispered.

Tehdwa quirked his eyebrow, “Of course it is. Now, shall we discuss the payment for your fine horse?” 


*.*.*.*.*.*

“This was a bad idea. We never should have let them go out there by themselves.” Zara moaned as she stared at the computer monitor over Taron’s shoulder. “They’re going to get killed.” 

“Thank you for that ray of sunshine.” Rixie grumbled irritably. “I’m not a fan of this plan either, but sitting there wringing your hands over it isn’t going to make things any better.” 

Zara opened her mouth to make a reply, but it died in her throat when Pryvani entered the room in a cloud of expensive perfume. The heiress immediately made for the console they were all gathered around watching Alex and Sophia’s progress. 

“Have they made it to the city yet?” She asked as she perched herself on the desk just behind the one Taron was working at

“Nah it seems they’ve stopped at a farmhouse for the night. They sold your horse though.” Taron informed her with a grin. 

“That was my favorite horse.” Pryvani sighed. “Ah well. I suppose I can procure myself another.” She pushed off from the desk again. 

“I suppose they won’t be moving again until morning. In the meantime, I have an important phone call to make that I have been putting off. Now seems a perfect time.” 

As she strode back towards the exit of the room, Rixie watched her leave with a frown on her face. After a moment’s hesitation, the former soldier pulled herself to her feet and followed her employer into the corridor. 

“Pryvani! Wait a second.” 

The other woman stopped and turned to face Rixie as she drew near. Pryvani’s face was blank and inscrutable. 

“Yes, Rixie?” 

Rixie cocked an eyebrow. “Just what are you hoping to get out of this little mission you sent them on?”

“I need information. You know that.” 

“Yes, and that’s not what I meant. And you know that.” 

A moment of silence passed between the two titanesses, during which Pryvani’s expression remained passively neutral. 

“I want nothing more than the continued safety of the civilization that has been put into my charge. It was not a burden I asked for; nevertheless it’s one I take extremely seriously. And I will do whatever is necessary to ensure that result. Does that answer your question, Rixie?” Pryvani raised one eyebrow and allowed the barest twitch at the corner of her lips. 

Rixie nodded. “It does.” 

“Good. Now, if you’ll please excuse me,” Pryvani pivoted on her heel and resumed walking down the corridor. “I still have that call to make.”

Rixie smirked. “Of course.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

The next morning saw Alex and Sophia packed and ready to get back on the trail, minus one horse. 

“Take care of him, okay?” Sophia smiled at their hosts. 

Tehdwa nodded. “Naturally. He will sire a long line of strong horses that will assist our family for generations to come.” 

“May the road ahead stay smooth for you.” His wife added. 

Soon, Alex and Sophia had left the quaint little farmhouse and its extraordinary livestock behind. They had back-tracked to the river and were following its winding course to the one and only real city on all of Avalon. 

Atlantis. 

By mid-day they had sighted the city’s stone walls and thick wooden gates, which had been repaired since Trell had kicked them down. 

The last time Sophia had visited, she and Nick had seen a long line of people seeking entrance into the city. Whether for a day’s business or because they were seeking asylum from some outside threat, neither human had been sure. 

This time, that wasn’t the case at all. The yard outside the gates stood completely empty. Not even the city’s watch stood guard. The gates had been repaired, but had been thrown open. As if no one really cared who entered the city anymore. 

As they passed underneath the gate’s archway, the two of them discovered that the city streets as well were just as deserted. 

“Are you getting a creeped out feeling here?” Sophia asked, in hushed tones. 

The curtains on a window were pulled shut as they walked past.

“Yeah.” Alex replied, his voice just as soft. “I realize I’ve never been here before, not really, but I get the feeling something is going on around here. Nobody wants to be caught on the street.” 

As they made their way down the main street, they began to notice odd graffiti marks that would occasionally appear on the buildings. Three horizontal stripes here, a stylized blue and white bird there. A sword, or a red circle broken by a jagged black line. Sometimes they would see one mark rubbed out and overlaid with another. 

“This looks like gangs fighting over a turf” Alex remarked.

“Or a holy war.” Sophia replied. 

Alex started at a crashing sound behind him. He whirled around to see a stray dog digging through a trash pile. 

“Maybe we should make for the temple. That ought to be a safe place, right?” Sophia whispered, her eyes darting around nervously. 

“Seems like as good a plan as any.” Alex nodded, his hand drifting to the handle of the blade in his belt. 

The two of them continued down the deserted street towards the temple, which stood quite a bit taller than any other building. As they quickly made their way down the street, they both had the uneasy feeling that they being watched. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. A brief shadow down the side street, but it confirmed his suspicions that someone, or possibly several someones, were following them. 

Alex gripped Sophia by the elbow and pulled her in close. “Listen.” He muttered into her ear, still walking at the same pace to try and appear casual, “At the count of three, we both run full tilt towards the temple. Don’t stop for anything, you got it?” 

Sophia nodded wordlessly. Alex could feel her shoulders tensing. 

“One…” He tightened his grip on the hilt of the blade Rixie had given him. 

“Two…” He surreptitiously stepped away from Sophia and behind her a pace. 

“THREE!” They both started to take off running, only to stop short when half a dozen men stepped out of the shadows in front of them. 

Each of them wore plain brown tunics over gray pants, possibly as some sort of urban camouflage. They all looked a little rough around the edges, as if they hadn’t had a decent meal or bath in a few days. Each man had a pair of painted marks on either side of their mouth that made it look like they had blood dripping from their lips and down their chins and they all carried a pair of wicked looking blades, which they were now brandishing at the two outsiders. The look in their eyes said that they meant business. 

“Did you think we couldn’t hear your plan?” The tallest man snarled at them with a voice gone raspy. He stood in the center of the line, and his posture seemed to indicate that he was the leader of this little band. His ragged brown hair was swept up into a tangled bird’s nest on top of his head, and he had a slightly deranged look in his eyes. 

“Well, shit.” Alex muttered. He went to draw the blade from his tunic when he felt a slight sting at the small of his back. 

“Uh uh uh…” A voice, carried by foul smelling breath, whispered in his ear. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” 

Alex and Sophia glanced behind them to find that they were now surrounded by the full dozen. 

Sophia inched closer to Alex until they were almost standing back to back.

“Hey, uh, now would be a good time to reveal that in your former life you were a highly trained government assassin or something.” Sophia whispered with a nervous hitch in her voice. 

“Nope.” Alex responded. “I was a bartender.”

“Um… a ninja bartender?” She asked with her voice tinged with false hope.

“Not really, no.” Alex winced. 

The ring of armed men had grown tighter. The ruffians had remained silent, content to let their victims babble incoherently. 

“The Dark Lady demands blood.” The lead man whispered menacingly, a manic glint in his eyes. “She demands a sacrifice, lest she consume this entire city to sate her hunger and thirst.” 

“Oh no…” Sophia whispered fearfully. “I think they’re talking about Trell.” 

“She’s locked away.” Alex reminded her. 

“You dare to speak Blasphemy?!” The Trell worshipper pressed his blade to Alex’s throat. “There is no power that can keep She Who Lusts for Blood locked away.” 

“Alex!” Rixie’s voice was in his ear. “We’re coming to get you. Hold on.” She sounded desperate, as if she was aware that she could not reach them in time, but was refusing to acknowledge that fact. 

“No, don’t.” Alex spoke to Rixie, but the man with his blade pressed to Alex’s throat misinterpreted the comment. 

“There’s no help for you now.” The man was close enough now that Alex could practically see the loose screw in his brain. “I say we dispose of you right now. No need to keep the Lady waiting…” 

“You… you don’t want to mess with us man.” Alex desperately tried to think of some way out of this. “We’ve been sent here by the Goddess herself. You don’t want to bring down her- ulck!”

The knife at Alex’s throat dug in a little more, until he felt a trickle of blood run down his neck. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sophia struggling in the grip of two men who held her arms behind her back. 

“Your Goddess is dead, fool. There is only the Bringer of Destruction now.” The man with the knife growled as he looked straight into Alex’s eyes. “Now, be at peace. Soon you will be with-” 

There was a sound like the buzzing of an angry hornet, and the man’s grip on his knife went slack. His eyes darkened and he fell to the floor, a white fledged arrow sprouting out of his back, between his shoulder blades. 

“What?” It was all the man holding Sophia had time to say before he and his companion were also adorned with arrows. 

“The city watch!” One of the other Trell worshippers shouted. “Run!” The nine remaining brown-clad cultist scattered. Now that the wall of crazy men had dispersed, Alex and Sophia could see a line of mounted and armed soldiers riding towards them, already loosing their next volley of arrows. 

As the cultists scattered, members of the city watch peeled off from the formation and thundered after them on their horses. Meanwhile, the figure who’d been leading the charge cantered towards them. The one who was presumably the captain of this patrol wore a white hood and cloak that concealed their face, and brown leather armor, as well as a pair of greaves and black boots. A short blade hung from the horse’s saddle.

The soldier pulled down the hood of their uniform, and a long mane of black hair cascaded out from underneath. Sophia and Alex were both rather shocked to behold a woman of rather striking beauty. 

She looked to be about Sophia’s age, with long dark hair and dusky skin. Her eyes were a rich brown, and she squinted slightly in the bright sunlight. Underneath her left eye was a mark, three horizontal stripes of alternating blue and green. 

“Are you all right?” Her voice was soft, confident. The kind of voice that was so used to being obeyed that there was never a need to shout. 

The two of them blinked her for a second, before Sophia was able to regain enough wit to answer. “Um… yeah. Yes we are. Thank you. Another second and we’d have been dead.” 

The lead soldier nodded, and then dismounted gracefully from her saddle, landing on the stone covered ground with barely a sound. She was a little taller than Sophia, but still shorter than Alex. “Those demon worshippers are becoming like vermin. Come, we will escort you to the temple. You will be safe there.” 

The soldier took her horse by the reins and began leading it away on foot. She didn’t glance back to see if they were following. They would either follow her, or they wouldn’t.

Alex and Sophia stared after the soldier as she walked confidently away, her horse obediently following behind. After a moment they shook themselves loose and glanced at each other, mouths agape. 

“Dibs!” They both said in unison.

“Dibs, Alex?” Rixie’s voice sounded amused, and also relieved that they were okay. “Okay fine, but you’re not having fun without me too.”

Alex thought it best not to respond. 

“What do you suppose that mark on her face means?” Sophia whispered, softly enough so their guide couldn’t hear her. 

“I think, um, that it means she’s one of my worshippers.” Zara seemed embarrassed by the idea. “Don’t worry; they tend to be friendly with those who still worship Pryvani. You should be okay.”

“If she meant to kill us, she would have just left us with those nut jobs.” Alex muttered, pressing a cloth to the small cut on his neck to stop the minor bleeding.

It didn’t take long to reach the temple with an entire squad of the city watch escorting them. As they neared the magnificent edifice, they saw a man in ocean blue robes standing at the top of the steps. He was a bit on the larger side, with a round face and a neatly trimmed beard. His hair was short with a slight curl and brown, even though his beard appeared to have some red in it. 

He gazed at the new comers with a welcoming smile that shone in his blue-grey eyes.

Their soldier escort saluted and nodded towards her two charges. “These folks were attacked by the demon worshippers. They’re in need of sanctuary and minor medical treatment.”

The priest bowed to the soldier and addressed her with a smile on his face. “Thank you Lysis. Your effort at ridding our streets of that scum is most appreciated. Please, if there is anything the temple can do for you or your men don’t hesitate to avail yourself of our hospitality.” 

With a salute to the Priest, as well as Sophia and Alex, Lysis strode off, the rest of her company falling in behind her.

The priest now turned to his new guests. “Welcome.” He spoke to them as they ascended the steps to the entrance of the temple. “I am Dahntnee, head priest of the Goddess’ temple. At least until a replacement for Tulak can be chosen.” 

He invited the pair inside the temple where they were given food and medical treatment. Alex’s wound was bandaged properly. 

After a decent meal, they were sitting in the sanctuary of the temple when suddenly a loud commotion could be heard coming from the streets outside. 

They were about to go investigate when Dahntnee came rushing into the room, breathing heavily, as if he’d just run at a full sprint. 

“Stay back. It’s not safe out there.” He panted. 

“What’s going on?” Alex wondered, trying to peek through the stained glass windows. 

“It’s the demon worshippers. Apparently they’ve decided there’s been enough skulking in the shadows; they’ve started a full scale riot in the streets. The city watch is trying to contain the violence but-”

There was a loud crash and the breaking glass rained down on the temple floor across from where they were. Alex looked up just in time to see a trio of flaming bottles smash through the window. 

“Look out!” He had time to push Sophia to the ground before the room erupted in flames.