“I know.” Karl furrowed his brows and tilted his head. “Ya know, even after I got rid of her, I’m not so sure this is where I want to be.”

  Surprised, Caryn cocked her head to stare at him. “What do you mean?”

  Turning, he refilled his wine glass. “I’m bored.”

  “I’m not surprised,” she chuckled. “Think about it. Is this what you want to be doing for the next 1000 years, running a kingdom, dealing with the same people day-in-day-out for the next 1000 years.”

  Karl gave her a curious stare. “Are you saying you’re ready to move on?”

  “I’ve been ready,” she replied. “I was ready the day we returned. I knew what was going to happen.”

  “You did?”

  “Of course. It was obvious that Raquel wasn’t going to be pleased that I had you all to myself. And then you add in the time factor of us being gone. She got used to being the head honcho and why would she want to give that up?”

  “Annabeth didn’t seem all that put out,” Karl said.

  “Annabeth wasn’t the queen,” Caryn pointed out. “But it doesn’t really matter. Let Raquel rule here. It’s what she wants.”

  “What about the others, our team?”

  “I guess this is where we say goodbye to the team,” Caryn said. “It was a trip while it lasted, but all good things come to an end.”

  Karl turned to gaze out the window at the street lights below flickering inside their glass globes. “I suppose you’re right. Still, it would be nice to have the added talents of a sorceress and berserker.”

  “And an assassin,” Caryn added.

  “Yes, definitely an assassin,” Karl readily agreed. “Ah well,” he sighed. “No sense putting off the inevitable.”

  “When do you want to leave?”

  “In a couple of days,” he replied. “I don’t see the sense of hanging around for the right moment. We’ll need time to collect supplies and things.”

  Annabeth was the first to learn of their plans when she came by for the evening’s fun. She noticed a change in their demeanor as soon as she walked in.

  “What’s with you two?”

  “We’ve got some news for you,” Caryn said with a smile.

  “You’re pregnant,” Annabeth said with a laugh.

  “Thank God, no,” Caryn chuckled. “We’re leaving.”

  “Leaving? Like in going away and not coming back?” Annabeth said, crestfallen.

  “That’s right,” Caryn answered.

  “I don’t see the sense in staying here,” Karl said. “To be honest, I’m bored. Conquering and uniting two kingdoms was a whole lot more fun than running it. Besides, Raquel seems to enjoy it more than I. And who knows when the powers that be will decide to yank us out again. Caryn and I are going to cross over to the next island.”

  Annabeth plopped down at the edge of the bed. “My God, you’re really going?”

  “Yes,” Caryn said. There was a long pause before she added, “You wanna come with us? You’re all Level 20s now. There’s nothing stopping you.”

  Annabeth blinked as she puzzled her choices. “I… I’m not sure. This is so sudden.”

  “Yeah,” Caryn commiserated, “I know.” She sat next to her and gently placed a hand on Annabeth’s cheek, turning her head to face her. “We could really use a powerful sorceress.”

  “I’d have thought you’d want him all to yourself,” Annabeth said.

  “I do, but if I have to share, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have than you.”

  “That was sweet,” Annabeth softly replied. She looked up at Karl. “Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Take all the time you need,” he answered. “We’re leaving in a couple of days.”

  “What? But… but…”

  “Do you really need more time than that?” Caryn questioned. “Think about what it was like when we all first came to the Misted Isle and all those folks were content to stay in Marbeck. What’s so different between then and now? The difference is that we left; we went on adventures. I’d bet a level or two that most of the folks who stayed in Marbeck are still there, too afraid to venture beyond the safety of what’s comfortable.”

  “What about the others?” Annabeth asked.

  “They have to make their own decisions,” Karl said.

  Karl was disappointed a day later when Dieter sought him out to explain that he and Elena were going to remain where in Avnoch.

  “It’s safe here, Boss. I don’t have to worry about her here.”

  “I understand, my friend,” Karl said, placing a hand on his arm. “I shall miss you.”

  Dieter inhaled a deep breath and simply nodded before turning away and trudging home, ensuring Karl didn’t see the moistness in his eyes.

  However, Karl’s disappointment was somewhat assuaged when Sakura arrived unexpectedly and immediately joined him and Caryn.

  “Of course I’m coming with you,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to come back, hoping you’d want to move along. My skills are getting rusty here. Have you sent word to Ben and Noble?”

  Karl smiled. “When was the last time you saw them?”

  “A couple of weeks ago.”

  “Were they happy?”

  Instead of answering, Sakura nodded in understanding. “Touché.”

  “I figure I’d leave well enough alone,” he explained.

  Annabeth on the other hand was still undecided and Karl proceeded under the assumption that she too would stay.

  Raquel, whose joy at resuming her place as queen was more than apparent, now seemed to go out of her way to accommodate his requests for supplies. She even sought to make amends by once showing up at dinner time.

  Karl looked up when she entered and sat down. Without a word, he stood and left the room, his dinner unfinished.

  Raquel sat there making forced idle conversation, expecting him to return. After an awkward realization that he wasn’t coming back, her face hardened and she scooted her chair back and left.

  Watching her leave, Sakura commented, “What made her think that everything was OK? She stabs him in the back and it’s like no big deal?”

  “Is that why you didn’t hang around?” Caryn said.

  Sakura resumed eating. “Pretty much. In the beginning she was fine, made decisions in his name. But as time went on and you guys didn’t return, it became her orders, her commands. Then she had the throne and sword draped over so no one would remember he was ever here.” She paused as she chewed a morsel of roasted duck. “Then she tried giving me orders. I told her to take a hike and went off on my own. I’d come back on occasion and saw that she had grown rather comfortable and everyone was calling her ‘Queen Raquel.”

  “That had to be a shock,” Caryn chuckled, shaking her head.

  “Tell me about it,” Sakura sniffed. “So I asked her whatever happened to Karl and the prophecy of the one who wields the sword rules the land?”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said she had the sword and since you two were never coming back, she was the de facto ruler, the Queen of the land. I knew then I wasn’t going to stick around. Problem was that I didn’t want to head out on my own. I’d been thinking about moving on to the next island, but I didn’t want to do it by myself.”

  “So Dieter and Elena didn’t want to go?” Caryn said.

  “I dropped hints,” Sakura replied, “but when I saw that they seemed happy, I decided to let it drop.”

  “What about Ben and Noble?”

  Sakura smiled. “Those two are so funny. It’s like they were separated at birth. Noble likes to think of himself as a master thief, so Ben indulges him. It’s like a game within the game. Ben has a number of the families in the city and surrounding towns keep special pieces of treasure for Noble to find. If he’s able to steal it, he brings it back in triumph. If he’s caught, he’s tossed into jail,” she used her fingers to make quotations marks. “But it’s not bad because in addition to being fed quite well and provided for, he’s given clues and things to help him escape.”

  “Sounds like they’re having fun,” Caryn chuckled.

  “They are,” Sakura nodded, “and that’s why I never bothered to ask them about moving on.”

  “Looks like it’s just the three of us,” Karl said. “I’m mighty glad you’re coming along.

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” she said, reaching for her wine glass.

  A day before their departure, an unexpected visitor showed up, demanding to see the king. She was ushered into the dining room where everyone was enjoying a midday meal, Raquel noticeably absent.

  Karl frowned when he recognized her.

  “Good day to you, your Majesty,” the hunched over crone, dressed in black tattered clothes and a threadbare shawl, greeted him. She tapped a cane on the floor as she stepped into the room.

  “Good day to you, Elanda. What brings you to Avnoch?”

  She smiled knowingly at him, her teeth glistening white. “He thinks we’ve forgotten, he has. Thinks he can run away and not fulfill his obligations.”

  “And what obligations would that be?” He leaned back in his chair, giving Annabeth a subtle tick of his head, telling her to be on guard.

  “You accepted a quest,” Elanda announced, “to free my son and return the Delf Stone to me.”

  “Actually,” Karl smoothly intoned, “you’re only partially correct. The Quest I accepted was to rescue your son and retrieve the Delf Stone. It said nothing about returning or giving the Delf Stone to you.”

  Elanda’s eyes flashed. “That was not the agreement,” she snapped. “You were to return the stone to me.”

  Karl confidently pulled up his screen and read the Quest: Rescue Elanda’s son and retrieve the Delf Stone. “Nope. It says here that all I had to do was retrieve the stone… and we did. The sorceress Annabeth now wears the stone. Do you wish to challenge her for possession of the stone?”

  Elanda glared at Annabeth who wiggled her fingers at her and smiled. With the Delf Stone in the sorceress’ possession, she knew the young beautiful sorceress could defeat her. She turned back to Karl.

  “I helped you get this kingdom and this is the reward you give me… betrayal?” she bristled.

  “You helped me?” Karl snorted a laugh. “Tell me witch. Where were you when I was fighting orcs? Where were you when I was imprisoned? Where were you when I was on the run? Where were you when we fought monsters? I don’t recall ever seeing you.”

  “He forgets the magical cloth that freed the wolf,” she countered.

  “And for that, you have your son returned to you. Do not press further lest that joy be taken away again.”

  Elanda stiffened and narrowed her stare at him. “So now he threatens me, he does.”

  Karl leaned forward, his gaze hard and intent. “I don’t make threats.”

  A thick silence settled as Elanda and Karl stared at each other.

  Dieter broke the tension when he stood up and towered over her. “You need to leave.”

  Elanda sized up the giant and was unimpressed, giving his a snide passing glance. Shifting her gaze to Karl, she curled a lip. “You owe me.” Turning, she shuffled out the door.

  “What’s that about a cloth and Uafas?” Annabeth asked.

  “It was when I first came to the island,” Karl said then explained about her son and the quest.

  “She’s not getting this back,” Annabeth said, clutching the stone at her chest.

  “I don’t intend on letting that happen,” Karl replied.

  “Another reason to come with us,” Caryn coyly added. “She can’t cross to the island. Think about it.”

  “I will,” Annabeth evasively replied. “Do you two have everything you need?”

  Caryn noted the ‘you two’ of the question, disappointed that Annabeth was not likely to join them.

  “Yeah,” Caryn answered. “We’ve picked up a number of potions and stuff. Sakura even found an invisibility potion.”

  “And we all have several healing potions,” Sakura quickly added, wishing Caryn hadn’t revealed her find.

  “So you’re really leaving tomorrow, Boss?” Dieter said, his voice heavy with sadness.

  “Yes. It’s for the best.”

  “I understand.”

  Silence shrouded the room until Caryn perked up and said, “Somebody die in here? We’re just going off to the next island. It’s not like we’ll never see you again.”

  “Sure,” Annabeth agreed, though knowing it did mean they’d never see each other again. After 1000 years, who knew where anyone would be?

  So it was, the next morning that Karl, Caryn and Sakura made their way to the city gates. Raquel chose to stay in the citadel, especially after the final confrontation with Karl in the throne chambers. An uncomfortable Annabeth stood next to Raquel, her waffling becoming a decision as she had continued to waver, torn between the two and her own indecision resulting in her staying with Raquel.

  “You can at least be civil,” Raquel had said to Karl, “especially after all we have shared and been through.”

  Karl stared at her, seated on the throne, her arms clasping the curled knobs of the arms rests. “You betrayed me,” he coldly stated. “Think about that for the next 1000 years.” Without waiting for a response, he spun around and strode away.

  Dieter and Elena walked with them to the gates and after parting hugs and good wishes had walked back through the gate, the hulking giant dominating the surrounding crowds.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Caryn said.

  Just as they turned to begin their travel, Annabeth came running up.

  “They’re gone,” she cried out.

  “Who’s gone?” Karl said, turning back around.

  “Frank and Ross and Greg and Caillac,” she breathlessly said. “They’re all gone.”

  “How is that possible?” Caryn said, her face showing her doubt.

  “That witch who came here yesterday, Elanda. She did it.”

  “I thought you had a spell on the jail to prevent that,” Caryn said.

  “I did,” Annabeth replied, shaking her head. “I don’t know how she did it, but she broke the spell. She cast a sleep spell on the guards and unlocked the doors. And now they’re gone.”

  “OK,” Karl calmly said. “Thanks for letting us know.”

  “You’re going to leave?” Annabeth’s eyes popped wide in surprise.

  “Of course,” Karl answered. “Why not?”

  “But you have to stay and help us find them,” Annabeth pleaded.

  “No we don’t,” Sakura intervened. “You have plenty of talent here already. You even have the Delf Stone. You don’t need us. She’s already made that clear enough.”

  Annabeth turned her beseeching eyes on Karl.

  “She’s right,” Karl said with a noncommittal shrug. “What would you be doing if we weren’t here? Besides, if I remember right, Caillac’s only a level 15 and Frank is the highest PC at a level 13. You really don’t need our help.”

  “You’re really going?” Annabeth’s gaze focused on Karl then Caryn.

  “Yes,” Sakura answered for them.

  Annabeth’s shoulders sagged and she started to turn away when Caryn affectionately touched her arm.

  “You can still come with us,”

  Annabeth’s eyes misted and the corners of her mouth curled up in a half-smile. “She’s my friend.”

  “As we all are,” Caryn countered, “especially Karl and me.”

  Annabeth slowly nodded. “I know, but she’d be here all alone. Ben and Noble are too far away. She’d be the only PC here.”

  “Dieter is here,” Caryn pointed out.

  “Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

  “So?” Sakura folded her arms and stared at her. “Seems to me she’s quite happy here, especially now that we’re going. And if this whole prophecy thing is true, those folks who escaped shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Although,” Caryn mused, “if the man who wears the sword leaves, does the prophecy still hold?”

  Annabeth’s eyes blinked wide.

  “Maybe she should have thought of that when she decided she wanted to rule alone,” Sakura sourly stated.

  “Even more reason for me to stay. She needs me.”

  Caryn locked her eyes on the sorceress. “So do we.”

  Annabeth blinked again, surprised at the comment, especially coming from Caryn. “I… I…”

  “Go on then,” Caryn urged, her voice soft with understanding. “She’s waiting for you.”

  Annabeth closed her mouth and gave one last long look at them then turned and plodded back the way she came.

  “One of these days,” Sakura loudly exclaimed, “she’s going to have to make a choice for what’s in her own best interests.”

  Sakura couldn’t tell if Annabeth heard her for there was no reaction and the sorceress was soon lost among the crowds.

  Three days later, as they headed west out the gates of Statmyr, Caryn commented, “I’ve been studying the map of what’s ahead and noticed there’s a line representing a wall separating a section called Shadowood from Odryssa. Wonder why no one has ever mentioned it before.”

  “Guess we’ll find out,” Karl amiably replied.

  “And we still don’t know what the password is to cross the bridge,” Sakura reminded them.

  “Probably won’t know until we get closer to the bridge,” Karl opined.

  “You’re awfully cheerful,” Caryn teased.

  “Just feels good not to have to worry about anything for a change.” He inhaled a deep satisfying breath, noting the freshness of the air, momentarily wondering how they do that in a game. “Odryssa is settled and we don’t have to look over our shoulder for Kevin.”

  “I’m glad to be back,” Caryn agreed.

  “Was it really that bad?” Sakura asked.

  “Worse than you can imagine,” Caryn replied. “AI runs the world.”

  “What about the others who remained behind?”

  “Always worried about being discovered,” Caryn said. “Not how I want to live, and anyway this is much more fun.”

  “And we don’t have to grow our own food,” Karl added with a grin.

  “Let’s hope they never decide to make that a part of the game,” Sakura said, rolling her eyes.

 

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