Friedrich hit the ground and felt his ribs break. He was in agony, but he was alive. Trembling, he willed himself to change forms once again and morphed into his regular Mercian self. He wanted to turn into the minotaur, but he could not bring himself to do it, so weakened was he in so many ways.

  He glanced to his left and saw a spider looking around, trying to adjust to its eyes, and a goblin whose expression was a mixture of bewilderment and terror; Teleri and his father had survived the fall. He clenched his jaw and fists as he climbed to his feet before picking them both up and running down the hill and into the trees. It would not be long before the guards were upon him and he had to reach the far shore where backup was waiting for him.

  As much as Friedrich told himself he should be scared, he felt a wave of relief hitting him. Once he reached the boat, the hardest part was over. Should anyone desire to spring a prisoner from the Orion Tower in the future, no doubt they would find it impossible. But him? He had done it.

  “Are you two alright?” he asked his father and Teleri.

  Teleri was unable to speak, but wriggled her legs in an uncontrolled fashion to signal that she was. His father let out a small screech, too dazed to communicate further. He was still convinced that he was experiencing a grand delusion from within the confines of his crystal prison.

  Friedrich’s legs were burning as he hurried through the forest. Several times, he almost tripped on loose roots and stones, but he caught himself before landing on his face. One time, however, Teleri fell from his arms and rolled across the ground, eliciting a clicking wail from her that she did not know she could make.

  Once five minutes were up, the masks fell from the goblin and spider, leaving them a human and an elf once again. Not wanting them to wear his precious masks again, Friedrich snatched them from the grass and threw them around his neck, concealing them underneath his scarf. They were his. He hated sharing them, but he had no choice. The souls within the masks knew this; of course they did.

  “Lord Gaerfyrd,” said Teleri, helping Friedrich’s father to his feet. “I understand you are confused. We will explain everything once we are safely aboard our ship. We must keep going before the guards come for us.”

  “At least here they can only come from one direction,” remarked Friedrich, putting his arm around his father.

  The three moved through the forest as the sun started to rise, heralding the end of a very long night. There was still a ways to go, but Friedrich could see clearly without transforming and he was most grateful for that. He was not sure he had another transformation left in him. Had any of them the remaining desire to do so, the masks could take over his body entirely right now.

  Once the birds started chirping and the morning dew shone upon the grass, Friedrich felt another weight lift from him. The way ahead was clear with nothing giving chase. After losing almost fifty from their ranks, the guards must have decided that pursuing two infiltrators and one lone prisoner was not worth it.

  As the trees thinned and the shore came into view, there came a boom and an almighty flash. Teleri was the first to see what was happening and released Lord Gaerfyrd to draw her bow. Friedrich hurried along with his father and saw more flashes of lightning and the unmistakable howl of Pheston as he battled hard against an army of foes.

  Sitting in the ocean were nine ships, three of which were burning and slowly sinking. Half of the crew members had stormed the shore and were battling Marina and Pheston as the duo defended the Brass Stormer. Several mages stood on the decks of the Orion ships and unleashed magic spells of varying elements, aiming to render the escape vessel unseaworthy.

  Marina stood on the deck with her staff clutched tightly. With every wave of her arms, an immense bolt of electricity streamed from her crystal and overpowered the magic hurtling towards the brass ship. While she cleared the way in the water, Pheston was swinging Vigr with a terrifying snarl on his face. The mighty hammer reshaped metal armour and weapons with a single blow, rendering them ineffective and knocking their wearers and wielders to the sands. The demons, however, were keen enough to cast aside their metal weapons in place of conjured spectral weapons that, while not as effective against flesh, would not be bent or broken even by a hammer like Vigr.

  Although the duo was putting up a valiant fight, it was clear that they were tiring, especially Marina who looked haggard from her continuous use of high-energy magic to block and counter the opposing mages.

  “I have to help them before they’re overwhelmed,” said Friedrich to his father.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Go!” said Lord Gaerfyrd urgently.

  Friedrich nodded and sprinted past Teleri who was picking off Pheston’s aggressors while slowly walking forward. With his exhausted muscles burning, Friedrich knew that he could not reach the ships to help Marina, but he knew there was something he could do. He leapt a quarter of the way up the ladder and scurried up and onto the deck. Without the will to transform, he knew he had to rely on himself as a human to defend the Brass Stormer.

  He stood at the edge of the ship, blocking Marina from the mages, and raised his shield arm. He braced himself, knowing that this may be his last stand, but if he could give Marina the chance to thin the line of ships blocking the way to freedom, he had accomplished his mission.

  A huge fireball coursed through the air, arcing its way towards him. Friedrich’s face contorted as the spell struck his Shockwave Shield and rebounded into the water. He staggered backwards from the force, but kept himself upright and rushed back to the railings while Marina sent a stream of lightning towards the nearest intact ship.

  “What…are you…doing?” she panted. “You can’t…stand up to this…level of magic…”

  “I have to,” grunted Friedrich as sweat dripped from his head.

  A slew of rocks sped towards Friedrich and pelted his shield. Each one was like a mace striking his arm and he shook vigorously as he defended Marina who continued to retaliate against the other attacks that aimed to destroy the Brass Stormer. As further spells flew, Friedrich was struck with fire, ice, stone, lightning, and yet, he continued to hold on, determined that after everything that had happened, not a single one of his companions would die on this shore. Even if it took everything out of him, he would buy them enough of a window to escape.

  “Agh!” he screamed as an icicle pierced his shoulder and sent him spinning through the air. Marina moved towards him, but he held up a hand.

  “No!” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

  With a trepidatious look, Marina twirled her staff and shot another lightning bolt at the enemy ships.

  On the beach, Teleri and Pheston had finished killing the last of the guards. The pair hurried over to Lord Gaerfyrd who was leaning against a tree to support himself. With the coast clear, now was the time to make their way to the ship and flee.

  “Lord Gaerfyrd,” said Pheston, putting his arm around the man. “Name’s Pheston. A pleasure to meet you.”

  “Yes…likewise,” said Lord Gaerfyrd, his curiosity about his son’s adventures growing by the second.

  “Let’s get you on the boat, my friend.”

  Teleri watched the trees and ships, fearing that reinforcements would emerge from them and free up their current attackers who would turn their attention to them. They kept in line with the Brass Stormer to shield themselves as Pheston guided the lord to the boat. Teleri glided up the ladder with ease while Pheston helped Lord Gaerfyrd up.

  “Marina, we have to go!” said Pheston to the spent mage who was still facing five ships who were unwilling to give up.

  “Son!” cried Lord Gaerfyrd, hurrying over to the pale and profusely bleeding Friedrich.

  “I’m fine, father,” he said with a grimace.

  Teleri hurried over to him with a look of grave concern on her face. “You need to transform,” she said sternly.

  “Worry about that later and shoot the mages,” said Friedrich hurriedly. “Marina can’t take much more.”

  “You are right,” said Teleri, drawing an arrow and raising her bow. She pulled the string back and let her arrow fly, piercing the throat of one of the mage guards and felling him instantly. “I will handle these, Marina. Drink one of your potions and summon Shockwave.”

  “The way is not clear…the boat…” said Marina, unable to explain herself fully, but Teleri knew what she had meant to say.

  “The boat can endure. You cannot.”

  Marina reluctantly retrieved a vial from her belt, uncorked it, and quaffed it, leaving not a single drop behind. Her tiredness remained, but she felt her magical power reinvigorating enough to allow her to continue. She swung her staff and summoned Shockwave before ordering him to his pedestal where he could power the boat.

  “We’re stuck in the sand!” she wailed, daring to shoot another lightning bolt at a ship. It struck the side of the boat and broke hole in the lower hull, allowing the seawater to immediately flow in.

  “Say no more,” said Pheston, jumping off the boat and landing on the sand.

  He pressed himself up against the Brass Stormer and shoved with all of his might, digging his heels into the sand while his shoulders bore the brunt of the brass. Much to his annoyance, the retreating tide had left it more firmly wedged than he had expected and the ship remained in place.

  Friedrich climbed to his feet shakily and moved towards the ladder, but his father stood in his way. “You are too weak, son. Let me.”

  “We go together,” said Friedrich, hobbling to the ladder with his father.

  The pair climbed down and pushed along with Pheston, but their combined efforts was still not enough to make the Stormer budge.

  “Move!” roared Pheston, drawing deeply, but still the ship would not move.

  Friedrich drew back his shield arm and bashed it against the brass, activating his shield’s enchantment and emitting a strong force. He struck it repeatedly and in time with Pheston and Lord Gearfyrd’s pushing. Finally, the ship jolted an inch. Then it jolted another. After a few more strikes and pushes, it moved into the water. Pheston helped Lord Gaerfyrd onto the boat once more while Friedrich remained on the sand. He could go no longer and another transformation was too much for him.

  “What in the world are you doing sitting down, boy,” barked Pheston, picking the young man up and throwing him over his shoulder.

  He ascended onto the deck and set Friedrich carefully down. The ship shook vigorously as a heavy boulder struck its side, but it proved too strong to break and merely took a dent. Shockwave kept the ship moving as Pheston took the wheel, correcting course and heading straight out into the ocean.

  “How are we looking?” he asked Teleri.

  “It does not matter,” she said, releasing another arrow. “We go!”