Enchantress 3 - The Last Elf

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Tam Foo Docks, Hunghung City, Agatea

The four ships of the pirate fleet slammed into the Tam Foo docks in the center of the warehouse district and disgorged their motley horde. A sword wielding rampage began throughout the industrial section of the city of Hunghung. They knew that there was gold in the streets, but all they could find was fish and baskets. "Keep moving men! The gold is here!" Soon, warehouses were burning and neighborhoods were being sacked.

Above them, the black dragon swooped and bellowed. It terrified everyone who didn't know that a black dragon was the equivalent of a flying Labrador Retriever. Horatio Tinsmith held on to the dragon as best as he could. The man who engineered the greatest kidnapping of all time was now leading the greatest pirate raid of all time. He swooped and soared over the melee; the only thing Horatio didn't count on was safety straps.

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Imperial Palace, Hunghung City, Agatea

"Emperor! Pirates on the river!" cried Lung Mist.

"Ignore him, I am the Prime Minister," shouted Ning. "Guard! Arrest them! Throw them in the dungeon!"

"I advise against that," Nick said as he continued to help Octavia through her contraction. "Applewhisp, come up here and keep Octavia company."

"What?" squeaked the fairy.

"Sing to her, tell her stories, and hold on tight." He had taken a sheet from Octavia's bag and wrapped it around the throne, tying Octavia to the throne. He intended on dragging her through L-Space like that.

"Guards! NOW!" Shrieked Ning. "ARREST THEM!"

"Prime Minister! They're burning the city!" The curtains opened up, and it was pandemonium on the other side of the curtain. Landowner and peasant united in the need for leadership were demanding action. "THEY HAVE A DRAGON, THEY'RE BURNING EVERYTHING!"

Ning was being overwhelmed with bad news from all sides, but she wanted Nick and Octavia to pay for bringing pirates into her land. "BURN THE LIBRARY" she shouted.

Flames started to spring from the stacks of books so Nick plunged his hands into the sack of coins that the exchequer made him sign for, and grabbed a huge handful and flung them to his left, which got the crowd and quite a few guards pulling in that direction. "We're leaving now Octavia," cried Nick. She gave a shriek of agony in reply, then looked up as a huge gold dragon squatted over the couch she laid on.

Nick bellowed a fountain of flame toward the now empty right side of the palace, turning the stick and paper construction of the palace into a blazing inferno. Grasping the throne tightly with all four claws, Nick gave a powerful thrust of his wings and they burst through the burning wall of paper and were out flying over the Forbidden City at rooftop level.

The huge Forbidden City was an array of palaces and luxury houses spaced far apart that Nick and Octavia never got to see having never stepped outside. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City have stood empty for centuries, waiting for despotism to come back into style. Nick flew over the Forbidden City at rooftop level and between the buildings if he thought they were being watched, he could feel his tail hit a tile roof occasionally, and guards were rare except at the palace now fading in the distance. In a flash, they passed over the wall that separates the forbidden city from the city of Hunghung, where nearly a million people lived.

Hunghung is like many other cities in the recovering Agatean empire, crowded and vibrant. The months of Nick and Octavia's direction have helped end the famines. People are up and moving around and a few even noticed a giant golden dragon clutching a couch pass right over their head.

"I wanted to see that, down there," Nick's words appeared in Octavia's mind. "I wanted to meet those people."

"See what?" she screeched as she clutched tight to Virga.

"The city, the people, I'm an Ankh-Morepork boy. I want to see it all."

"Why did you bring that up now?"

"Because we're flying over it."

"WHAT?" All Octavia could see was the glittering golden breast scales of the enormous dragon. The elbows of both fore claws were on either side of her so she couldn't see anything. It was like being in a comfortable golden coffin. Nick shared what he was seeing with Octavia and suddenly she saw rooftops rocket past them, people in crowded streets doing business flashed past in the blink of an eye. "STOP SHARING!" she shrieked as her lunch threatened to come up.

Occasionally, an arrow was fired at them, but at their speed, there were no lucky shots. Nick saw a diversion that might work and he turned toward the river. Smoke was rising from almost every building thanks to the pirate attack and he flew toward it and into the smoke. To someone on the ground, all they could see was a dragon clutching a couch dart into the smoke cloud. Somewhere inside that cloud, another dragon lurked, and they avoided each other. Dragons can feel the presence of each other. One dragon felt a huge, menacing relic of the Bad Old Days when Dragons and Sourcerers ruled the world, the other dragon felt an annoying puppy with wings. The black dragon came out of the smoke above the melee, a bit sootier and dirtier.

Nick emerged over the river, and he dropped down as low as possible. He skimmed the surface of the river, keeping a line of buildings and warehouses between him and the guards that were watching for him. Nick's quick plan worked, fooling the guards at the forbidden city that were tracking them. They now believe that the dragon circling over the flames had to be Nick and Octavia. They never saw the other dragon fly upriver at wave top level, hiding behind the buildings, factories, and warehouses of the waterfront, flying to save his family.

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Imperial Palace, Hunghung City, Agatea

Lung Mist directed firefighting efforts in the palace, and they put the fires out so quickly that they saved the palace and the library. A little first aid was needed, mostly to fingers that were stepped on trying to grab the coins that Nick threw. Then the old eunuch turned to the general, who was wringing his hands, waiting for an order. Lung Mist took care of that and gave the general the order. "Recall the Hubward army to quell the riots, then recall the Rimward army to support. Reinforce all ports."

The Army general nodded and gave the orders. His armies could move quickly and decisively with all the bridge and road repair team-building exercises. "We won't have anyone available to find them the hublanders," the General advised Lung Mist. His last order was to kill the Hublanders Nick and Octavia, and "Hublander" is not a compliment.

"Sometimes these things happen. When your armies have the uprising under control, General, we need to talk about the constitution. Find young emperor Jia and ask him to join us."

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Tam Foo Docks, Hunghung City, Agatea

The battle for the waterfront was hard fought. The only thing to plunder in that area was fish, shaved ice, and dried squid. To make matters worse, the army arrived quickly and counterattacked the pirates. A handful of pirates got back aboard one of their stolen junks and hauled the anchor up. They got the sail up and were heading downstream before the fire arrows began impacting the dry wood of the ancient junk. It burned down to the waterline in minutes.

Sword fights in the streets were growing in number as more troops arrived. The Hubward army arrived first and held the pirates from gaining ground, and when the Rimward army arrived, they joined forces and forced the pirates back to the docks. Soon, the pirates were being disarmed and marched off to a life of slave labor in the gold mines where they would soon be knee deep in All That Gold.

Horatio Tinsmith didn't fare so well. The dragon he rode was happy to be free and overjoyed to be in the land of his ancestors and had great fun swooping and sailing. At some point Horatio said to himself, "I got this! I'm flying a dragon!"

Seated behind him on the dragon's back, a figure in shrouds reading a magazine said, "OVER CONFIDENCE IS A DANGEROUS THING IN A YOUNG DRAGON RIDER." That was when the dragon realized that the annoying person on his back lost his grip. Free from the annoying tugs on his horns, the young dragon flew off, looking for adventure. Meanwhile, Horatio Tinsmith picked himself up off the Hunghung sidewalk and brushed himself off and looked around. The battle raged on and he shrugged and said, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."

"BUT YOU'RE NOT WALKING ANYWHERE," said Death and he swung his scythe, severing the blue line between Horatio Tinsmith and his twisted and broken body. It is said that Horatio Tinsmith died doing what he did best - fail.

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Nit Noi Village, Agatea

"I really need to stop, please!" said Octavia in a tiny voice. They were soaring over marshland and it was hard to tell what below what was dry land and what was marshy tufts of swamp grass. Dragons are a marvel of navigation. They know where they are at all times, and they know where everything that is of importance to them is, too. All Nick had to do was convince the dragon that Lancre was a place of importance and the dragon could sort out many routes. Right now, the absolute fastest way would take a month or more. But, Nick noticed, a place called XXXX was much closer.

Nick made a slight turn to the right, and the land started to rise up from the river. Soon the land they were passing over was covered with terraced rice paddies and little walled villages sprang up here and there. "Please, I need to stop," called Octavia in a small, terrified voice.

Nick landed on a hill where Virga could spot threats from all directions. Below the crest of the hill was a small village. He set down and immediately checked on Octavia. Her eyes were wide open, and she was clutching Virga as tightly as she could. "Oh, gods, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of any way to get you out of there."

She threw her arms around Nick and started crying. "What happened? I thought we were friends with Ning."

"I don't know. When I mentioned that she could fill in as Prime Minister, she must have let it go to her head."

Nick glanced over at Octavia's bulging shopping bag and the fairy box was still there. "Are you guys still with us?"

Sundrop peeked out and said, "How long have you been flying?"

"Almost a year."

"You need to practice."

"He did good," insisted Octavia, who rarely spoke to the fairies.

"How is Marlon doing?" asked Nick.

"He's ok, he's quiet now but I think he will be here soon."

"Let's get you on your feet," and with a smile, he helped her up.

"I'm so sorry to be a burden," she whimpered.

"It's our burden. We're a family and we help each other." And that was it, Octavia realized that he understood. She clung to Nick and started to weep again.

"Porter Strongback... I still remember how my heart leaped the day we met," and their lips met in a sweet, long kiss.

"Mine still leaps every time I see Façade Incognito smile at me."

"Mmmm, wait until you see what you get for Hogswatch... now don't watch while I pee! Just hold my hand so I don't fall."

When they returned to the throne, there were six men there and Sundrop was explaining to them how Nick and Octavia were escaping a tyrant. After a lot of chatter and investigating the couch, four of the men departed for the village but soon returned with wood, saws, and a hammer. Some brought large gourds, and another brought a basket. With a lot of chatter and laughter, the men built removable side rails out of some scraps of lumber. The gourds were hollowed out, dried and filled with water, and the basket they brought was full of rice balls and fruit.

Nick and Octavia bowed deeply and said thank you. "They know who you are," whispered Sundrop.

"How did they find out?" Nick was a bit worried that they would know him in a tiny village a day's walk from Hunghung.

"There's only two hublanders in Central Agatea. They also believe you're the Viimane Päkapikk."

"What is a Viimane Päkapikk?" demanded Nick.

"It's the elf that's not an elf, the last elf." To Nick's confused look, the fairy explained, "You are a human that practices elf magic."

By now several women, young and old, had arrived and were running their hands over Octavia's tummy, making jokes she couldn't understand. "What are they saying?" asked the expectant mother.

"Mostly they're saying that this is the first of many, but they want to know you keep your skin so soft."

"Soldiers approaching on horseback," said Virga and soon everyone started saying, "Go, go!"

"Sundrop, what should I give them? I want to thank them," said Nick.

"Don't give them anything. If the soldiers find it, they'll be killed."

"Let's go," said Nick, "everyone aboard." The fairies made a beeline to their box and Octavia lay down on the couch. The men put the wooden rails on each side so there's no way she could roll out, then they started packing in the basket and the gourds full of water around her and she was pretty snug. "Let's get out of this country," said Nick. He "shoo'd" everyone away, then standing at the end of Octavia's throne he smiled and blew her a kiss. "No worries mate!" and the familiar golden dragon was standing there. He crouched over the throne, got a solid grasp of all four corners and with a tremendous beat of the wings, they were off.

"You gained some weight, girl!" was the thought that came into her head.

"It's all this water. Are you able to hold me?"

"My talons all lock in place somehow, but I feel the weight change in my wings."

"Show me what you see," she asked.

"Ok just be careful you don't lose your grip on yourself." Suddenly, she could see what Nick was seeing... the Agatean Empire spread out before her for thousands of miles. She could see the grasslands stretching off to her right, as far as the eye could see. She saw the enormous beasts that roam the lands, the beefalos and the camelots. To her left were the mountains rising high above them. The mountain goats watched from miles away as they glided along. Looking straight ahead, far, far off in the distance, she could see the sea glittering and she knew that's where they were headed. Suddenly, she felt a sinking feeling in her belly, and it scared her. "What was that?"

"Some air just pushed us up higher. It happens all the time. Just relax, take a nap."

She watched some more; the scenes didn't change, but now and then something would grab her attention like a flash of light. "What is that?"

"I don't know, something a dragon would be interested in, like a potential adversary, or something. I will avoid them for now and maybe check it out some other day. Let's just go."

"Porter?"

Nick smiled; she hasn't called him that in a long time. "Yes, m'lady?"

"Take me home."

"Yes, m'lady."

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Throne Room, Lancre Castle, Lancre

"Your highness? You wanted to keep in touch with everything that happened on the Agatean mainland."

King Verance II, King of Lancre and Nick's Liege lord, opened one eye and saw that it was Lord Baltimore, his head of intelligence. The king had been listening to an instrumental performance of the Hog Cracker Suite. He was hoping to get some Hogswatch Day holiday spirit going in the old castle, but Ning's behavior has ruined the holiday spirit. "Excuse us, but could everyone please take a break? We need ten minutes." The decorating committee left for a hot cuppa while Queen Magrat approached the throne with trepidation.

Lord Baltimore seems to have agents everywhere and they can get information back to Lord Baltimore fast, very fast. When asked by the king how that was possible, Lord Baltimore gave an explanation that went like this. "In four weeks' time, we will receive information from distant shores that would be of vital importance now. We have wizards in my office that will simply take that information and send it back to themselves four weeks previously and give it to me. I'm relaying to you old news that we got next month."

Now his time dilating wizards are invaluable. "Sire, my agents report that war has broken out in the Agatean empire," began Lord Baltimore. "At approximately ten fifteen AM this morning, our time the government split with one faction demanding that the Shi Pha constitution be ratified and put in place. This faction is being led by Ning, who sees herself as the next Grand Vizir. The other faction claims that the Hau Chung constitution is still in place and must be obeyed, and this faction is being run by an eighty-year-old eunuch named Lung Mist and the seven-year heir to the throne, Jia."

"Oh, merciful lords," groaned Verance.

"It gets worse, m'lord."

"How?"

"At the same time the government was disintegrating, four boatloads of mercenaries landed in Hunghung, came ashore and began looting in the industrial sector of Hunghung."

Verance shook his head. Hunghung is in the middle of the continent. The pirates could sail that far inland without being caught? Don't they have a Navy or Coast Guard? Then again, one must mention the huge Oliphant that is in the room, "What about the Army? Who are they loyal to?"

Lord Baltimore flipped through his notes, "They claim to be loyal to the emperor his grace Pommeraie de la Montesquieu Worblehat-Stein and await his orders."

"And where are the Duke and Duchess of Wægn?"

"They seemed to have slipped out when the palace caught fire."

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Unknown Location

Nick was exhausted. They've been flying for 16 hours with only the occasional pee break to break the monotony of flying. Just after sunset they set down and as Octavia got up from the throne, the dragon flew off! She cried out in shock, but the fairies fluttered around her, telling her, "The dragon is hungry."

The dragon came back and Octavia got the distinct mental image of the dragon hunting down a wild horse, then slaking its thirst in a nearby river. The images overwhelmed and scared Octavia but the dragon's overwhelming desire was to return and protect her and soon they were back in the air.

It was dark, and it was getting cold, so they started flying lower. Nick was reassuring her as they flew gently, continually heading turn-wise, staying ahead of any pursuit. Octavia's contractions started coming regularly and the intensity of each one was getting stronger. "We have to stop," cried out Octavia as a tremendous contraction overwhelmed her. She almost doubled over, but her forehead hit the dragon's armored belly.

"I'm looking for a place to land," whispered Nick. Dragons have great night vision; their night vision is almost as good as human day vision, but they were flying over hundreds of square miles of thick bamboo forest with no openings.

Nick's artificial left eye works the same way when he's in his human body, which is great. It saves on candles. "This is the only place I can find."