It was early morning in Falgreth as Malnar’s ship, the Meteor, landed. Evoking the image of its namesake, the ship was painted in fiery colors. Elmar and Orthena were on either side of Arsha. The ramp lowered and Malnar, a brunette woman in a dress of red, orange, and yellow, came down. Her hairpiece on the back of her hair was floral and in the same red, orange, and yellow and her pink-tinted lips were in a smile. “It’s been too long, Foxy!” she called to Arsha.
“I’ve missed you, Bonfire!” cheered Arsha.
“You’re late,” remarked Elmar.
“Sorry,” replied Malnar.
“What’s the threshold of the M9 molecule?” asked Orthena.
“40 electron volts, Ms. Orthena,” answered Malnar.
“Third brightest star from Umbarin?” quizzed Elmar.
“View from where, Mr. Elmar?” asked Malnar.
“Over-realm,” replied Elmar.
“Arax, or Betora, if you prefer the original Seraphim name,” answered Malnar.
“…Not bad,” commented Elmar. “Now, would you mind a hug?”
“Wouldn’t mind at all!” said Malnar as she opened her arms for a hug. She was embraced by all three. “I didn’t expect a pop-quiz,” chuckled Malnar.
“Just making sure one of my best students,” rumbled Orthena, “didn’t forget she was a scientist while being a princess.”
“How could I forget?” asked Malnar. “I still have nightmares of your Magi-calculus final.”
“Much as I would like to play catch-up,” interjected Arsha, “we have a kidnapping to address.”
“Spare no details,” replied Malnar as everyone walked towards the Endeavor.
Enfanti and Delga sat in their cell. Delga’s chains were designed to keep a Frostik’s claws and hidden tail stinger from being utilized. Delga had forgotten his civilized demeanor as he thrashed about, trying to break the chains, cursing in the Frostik language all the while. Enfanti had never seen Delga so riled. It made her drop her cool façade, huddling in fear in a corner. After expending his energy, Delga dropped to the floor. Enfanti kept her distance for a bit before slowly crawling to him. When she was close enough, her hand went up to his shoulder. The instant she made contact, Delga drooped lower, feeling ashamed. “Master?” asked Enfanti.
“I’m robbed of use of my natural weapons,” sighed Delga, “and how do I respond? By acting like an animal? What kind of knight am I?” Enfanti took this as a que to get closer and hug him.
“We’ll get out of this,” she assured softly. As soon as she said it, the chains started dragging them to opposite walls. They kept resisting, but it was no good. They resigned themselves to being separated and sat down, which was unfortunate for Delga as when he sat down, he cried out in pain. “What’s the matter?!” Enfanti called from her spot.
“I don’t know!” gasped Delga. “I think I sat on something!” Enfanti then got an idea.
“Guard!” she called. “My master is in pain! I’m stuck on my side! Please! Help him!” The guard entered the room and headed over to Delga’s side.
“Let me see,” he grunted. Delga stood up and turned around. There was a large sliver of wood stuck in his right butt cheek.
“Get it out!” cried Delga. The pain was causing him to shake.
“Keep still so I can do something!” snapped the guard.
“Just yank on it!” growled Delga. There was a brief jingle, but the guard was too busy with his task.
“This is going to hurt,” he warned.
“It already hurts!” hissed Delga. “Just take it out!”
“If you say so,” sighed the guard. He gripped it and yanked it out hard and quick. Delga elicited one last gasp of pain. “Now,” said the guard as he tossed the splinter aside and turned to Enfanti, “keys!”
“What keys?” asked Enfanti innocently.
“Don’t play dumb,” growled the guard. “your intelligence and resourcefulness are renowned throughout the Realms. I heard the jingle of keys hitting each other. You used a levitation spell while I was distracted by your master’s pain to bring the keys to your side. You have them behind your back and are most likely trying to undo the locks on your chains. I’m not falling for it, so give them back!”
“The keys?” asked Enfanti in a cutesy voice.
“Yes, the keys!” roared the guard, losing his patience. “When I want the keys back, you give them to me!”
“All right, if you say so,” chuckled Enfanti. She then decked the guard in the eye with four of the keys between her fingers. The guard howled in pain at the loss of his eye and was scrambling around in his medical pouch for a regeneration potion. Enfanti took that time to free herself and undid all the locks to her chains. She then leapt over the guard and ran towards Delga, setting to work on undoing his locks. The guard then found the necessary potion and drank it, washing his eye socket out of any excess blood that might interfere with the regeneration process. When he got his depth perception back, the guard snarled and ran towards Enfanti and Delga. Delga’s tail was freed first, so he ejected the concealed stinger and stuck it into the guard’s neck. Knockout venom flooded the guard’s systems and he fell to the floor. Enfanti breathed a sigh of relief as she undid the rest of the locks. Soon, Delga was freed and started going towards the door, limping a bit. “Master, wait!” called Enfanti as she rummaged through the medical pouch. She pulled out a disc with green goo in it. Its function is to accelerate the healing process of any breaks in any skin. “Rub this over the wound,” instructed Enfanti as she handed it to Delga. Delga did so, bending over to get to the wound. His back was to Enfanti. A snort of amusement escaped her nose before she started laughing.
“This isn’t funny!” snapped Delga.
“Sorry…Master,” giggled Enfanti, “but…but it…!” she then returned to laughing. Delga then realized she was laughing at his mooning position towards her and joined in her laughter.
“You…you know…what’s…funny…funnier?” he said between laughs. “I don’t…I don’t think…this…this thing…works!”
“It’s…it’s elec…electrically stimu…” Enfanti got out before laughing again.
“Oh!” laughed Delga. “I forgot…forgot to…turn it on!” He pressed a button on the disc and returned to rubbing it over the wound. A cooling relief washed over the area and Delga sighed in relief. “Oh, that’s better!” he said softly.
“My sides!” gasped Enfanti as her laughter died down. She gave a sigh of joy as Delga finished with the regenerator goo and turned it off. “I know your detractors call you an ass,” giggled Enfanti, “but I doubt they use that context.”
“It DOES give a new meaning to that word,” chuckled Delga. “Is there a medical scanner in that pouch? I have no idea how long my venom takes on a Troll before wearing off.”
“Right here,” replied Enfanti as she pulled out a boxy device and waved it over the guard. She then checked the readings and confusion crossed her features. “Heartbeat’s twice as fast as a Troll,” she reported. “His blood pressure’s lower than a Troll. His dermal makeup is…Master, this isn’t a Troll, it’s a genetically modified Goblin!”
“A Goblin?!” yelped Delga. He then remembered the rumors. “The Diamond Consortium HAS been infiltrated!”
“We need to tell the Under-king,” declared Enfanti. “Let’s get out of here!”
“Right!” agreed Delga. Using a simple camouflage spell, they slipped towards the entrance to the building unseen. At least, unseen until they were caught by the light coming in through the door’s window.
“THERE’S A SHADOW BY THE DOOR!” warned a Consortium Member. “SOMEONE’S SNEAKING OUT!” The alarm was raised and the spell was cancelled. Delga used his strength to tear the door down and they ran into the streets. They got a good glimpse of the building they were in, what the building’s number was, and what street they were on. They managed to evade the guards, but something happened to Delga’s memory.
“Great!” he muttered. “An amnesia spell activated when we left the street! I can’t remember their address!”
“Don’t worry, I still remember it,” assured Enfanti. “My eye recorded everything. We were held at 2708 Stonetrap Lane, Falgreth, 478096.
“Enfanti, you are magnificent!” praised Delga. “Let’s raise the…!”
“Your Highnesses!” shouted a voice. “Over there! I see them!” Delga and Enfanti whirled around to see Orthena leading Elmar, Malnar, and Arsha towards them. They were embraced warmly and asked multiple times if they were alright.
“Your Highnesses, we’re fine,” assured Enfanti, “but not the Consortium. We have proof that it was infiltrated by Dwelga Goblins.” She then explained what happened.
“This is treason!” growled Malnar. “My father must be informed of this!”
“Let’s return to our ships then, and do so,” declared Arsha. “My father should be informed as well.”