The showers had to be shared with everyone. Thankfully, they were big enough for four people to share so the strike team could wash the sewer stench off all at once. As Orbak took his armor off, thus cancelling the enchantment and returning his legs to their paralyzed state, the three mystery Elves helped maneuver him into the large stall. \u201cVery kind of you,\u201d he thanked them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThink nothing of it,\u201d replied the plump Elf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou know, the other showers are full,\u201d remarked one of the other two Elves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t mind sharing with three women, do you?\u201d asked the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh, so you\u2019re women,\u201d mused Orbak. \u201cJust as long as there\u2019s no hanky-panky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat dedicated to your wife?\u201d asked the plump Elf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, no worries, we\u2019ll be too preoccupied on getting the sewer smell off of us to even consider hanky-panky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerfect.\u201d The Elves then started undoing their armor, helmets first. They finally revealed their faces and Orbak goggled. The plump Elf woman had short, curly, blonde hair. One of the other Elves had long, black hair with her bangs cut like a sugar bowl was used as a guide for the scissors. The other one had long, wavy, red hair. \u201cNo way!\u201d breathed Orbak. \u201cMoru?! Larima?! Curlandii?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s us,\u201d replied the black-haired Elf, Moru.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Three Maidens themselves joined in on this operation!\u201d chuckled Orbak. \u201cBut why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause that rat, Skain, was my cousin,\u201d explained the red-haired Elf, Larima. \u201cHe passed an edict saying that we NEEDED to make comedies about darker-skinned people \u2018learning their place\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can guess how well we took that,\u201d continued the blonde Elf, Curlandii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBesides, we make comedies where we fight the Trinnies,\u201d said Moru. \u201cWe took some training and figured \u2018what the heck, we\u2019ll fight them for real\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy\u2019d you hide your faces?\u201d asked Orbak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWould Arsha have taken us seriously if we went to her without our masks?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Fair point, she might have dismissed it out of hand. Well, your service was most welcome, ladies! If you still wish to fight, once Orbak settles things here, we\u2019re building the Mid to Under Realmgate and taking the fight straight to Dr. Borg!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour Majesty, we\u2019d be honored!\u201d cheered Curlandii. She \u2018carelessly\u2019 tossed the scrub brush at Moru. Moru yelped as it hit her. She grabbed Curlandii\u2019s shoulder and turned her around so she could face her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRemind me to kill you later!\u201d she growled, continuing the improv routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll make a note of it,\u201d said Curlandii. She then patted her pockets. \u201cI ain\u2019t got a pencil!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I changed my mind! I\u2019m gonna do it right now!\u201d Moru then grabbed Curlandii\u2019s nose and then bonked it with her other fist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, leave her alone!\u201d called Larima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you butting in for?!\u201d Moru extended her pointer and middle fingers and jabbed them at Larima\u2019s eyes, but Larima blocked the eye poke. Moru then grinned. \u201cWell, blocked me that time.\u201d She then slapped Larima\u2019s cheek. \u201cGet out, you!\u201d Curlandii then tapped Moru\u2019s shoulder. When Moru turned to her, Curlandii waved her hand in front of Moru\u2019s face, making her follow it. Curlandii then brought the hand up, then sharply dropped it, making Moru follow it. Larima laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou always fall for that!\u201d she giggled. Moru then struck their bellies, then their heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGO ON! GET STARTED ALREADY!\u201d Moru grabbed their ears and dragged them to a locker so they could put their clothes in them. Orbak laughed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEven in times of war, you still know how to bring the funny!\u201d he called. The Three Maidens then bowed comically, bonking their heads in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone in the castle finally finished their showers, reveling in being clean. Elgrad made his way to the office and looked over the reports concerning Largandra. He clicked his tongue in irritation. Skain left things in a fearful mess and Elgrad had to clean it up. He had to take down the wall, rebuild homes that were destroyed during the wall\u2019s construction, destroy the robots within the wall, restore supply lines, get the ships moving again, and rebuild the Mid to Over and Mid to Under Realmgates. Arsha came into the office. \u201cHey, Daddy, did you know that those Elves that helped us were actually the Three Maidens?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, Orbak told me about that when he was brought to a wheelchair by them,\u201d answered Elgrad. Arsha then saw the reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, Sweet Ones! Look at this mess!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy sentiments exactly. I\u2019ve got a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNeed any help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Now that you mention it, I think this would be a good chance for you to try out the throne. Do you think you can handle the Kartambo situation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give it a good try.\u201d Just then, the comms buzzed. Elgrad took the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo ahead,\u201d he directed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Lardeth, Your Majesty,\u201d introduced the caller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour lover\u2019s in the room with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, Princess!\u201d called Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood to hear you, Foxy,\u201d replied Lardeth. \u201cWe just got some great news. It turns out Markulak\u2019s defection to us inspired other robots to form the Robot Liberation Front. A good chunk of the robots at the wall are with us just outside Largandra\u2019s borders. However, a few are staying behind until you give the order for the wall to be destroyed. They wanted to give their lives for us instead of Dr. Borg.\u201d The two Royanas looked at each other in surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMarkulak\u2019s more effective than I thought!\u201d muttered Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell them to wait for Arsha\u2019s order,\u201d directed Elgrad. \u201cShe\u2019s got to get a handle on Kartambo right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour advisor? Don\u2019t tell me he didn\u2019t protest Skain\u2019s defiling of the throne!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt looks like he encouraged it for his own gains,\u201d answered Arsha. \u201cHe was gonna publicly embarrass Skain and then take the throne, then have Largandra pledge fealty to the Trinnies. Only then would the wall come down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, the Robot Liberation Front\u2019s more than happy to upend that scheme. We\u2019ve gotten everyone away from the wall, so the debris won\u2019t hurt any civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood,\u201d praised Elgrad. \u201cWe\u2019ll give the signal for the robots inside to detonate the wall. Elgrad out.\u201d He ended the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I just came up with an ultimatum for Kartambo,\u201d chuckled Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan\u2019t wait to see how you handle Mid-realm affairs!\u201d said Elgrad. He then hugged Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaddy!\u201d mumbled Arsha. She didn\u2019t resist it, though. She simply hugged back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The showers had to be shared with everyone. Thankfully, they were big enough for four people to share so the strike team could wash the sewer stench off all at once. As Orbak took his armor off, thus cancelling the enchantment and returning his legs to their paralyzed state, the three mystery Elves helped maneuver […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,238],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-5-the-final-fight","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5255,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5254\/revisions\/5255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}