“Um, excuse me?” Lemmy waved her hands in front of the guards. “He’s the one responsible for slaying the Harpy Mother! Ya know, the job you guys failed at!”

  The guards went pale as they looked from Lemmy to Eliam multiple times. “Eh, what?”

  “You heard me!” Lemmy squeaked.

  The guards’ tone changed quickly as they glanced at Eliam. “Sorry, sir, usually humans aren’t allowed here… but it seems you’re an exception. Please, come in.”

  They bowed as they motioned for him to come inside. Lemmy giggled as she went right in, clearly expecting Eliam to do the same.

  He sighed as he walked inside, following right behind the little fairy. As he did so, he tried his best to ignore the looks he got from the surrounding citizens of Fantamaia. They were not accustomed to seeing humans, and it showed.

  From what he could see, they were fairies, dwarves, elves, and even these wood-looking people. Eliam assumed they were dryads, but that was strictly based on assumptions he had back from Earth.

  The city was made of similarly oddly colored bricks, although the architecture of the buildings was similar to that of medieval earth. Of course, the language was still not recognizable to Eliam.

  That’s something I really should pay more attention to. How am I able to understand all of these people and creatures when I can’t read the language? Hell, I don’t understand how the hell I even ended up here. The only clue I have is those two people I met in that cave once. The man had called himself Adrian. They were different.

  “Sorry for all the attention… It's quite unusual for a human to be allowed in Fantamaia. Usually, this place is kept secret from your kind. Humans tend to… try to claim what is not theirs.”

  Eliam sighed but nodded all the same. “Something must have happened in the past, huh?”

  “Yes, we did once allow humans to stay here. At first, they seemed very kind and humble. Such a facade soon faded as their true nature began to reveal itself. It’s no shock that they now only have Denovere to fall back on. They’ve destroyed everything else,” Lemmy explained.

  “And what of me? Aren’t I the same?” Eliam asked.

  Lemmy scoffed. “Of course. It’s just that we fairies know when to justly reward those who have done us a great deed. After such a boon is granted, you will be expected to leave.”

  Eliam couldn’t help but chuckle. He wasn’t exactly expecting such a straightforward answer, but he figured it was better than a lie.

  Lemmy pointed in the distance, toward a small palace. “That’s where our queen, Lemania Titus, resides.” Lemmy went serious for a moment, her eyes narrowed. “I’m sure this is a given, but she is to be treated with the utmost respect. You may have done us a great deed, but disrespecting our royalty will result in… punishment.”

  Eliam gulped. “Got it.”

  Lemmy’s face brightened, her usual tone returning. “Good! I’m glad we got that covered. Now, if you don’t mind me asking, why were you in the Ancient Woods in the first place?”

  The Ancient Woods? Was that the name of the forest he had been going through? Why hadn’t Nemina told him that?

  “I was trying to get to Denovere,” Eliam answered honestly.

  “Huh? Surely there must have been an easier way? The woods are quite large and take a rather nonlinear path to the human city.”

  “Really?” Eliam sighed.

  That explained why he had been wandering around and never found the exit. It wasn’t as simple as passing through as it would have been through Fortress Longuard.

  “Yes! I’m sure you could have found a better way… not that I’m mad you didn’t. You did manage to kill that blasted Harpy Mother, so that’s good, I guess,” Lemmy said.

  “Well, the only other way would have been through this fortress, and that would have involved me massacring the entire guard to get past. My only choice was to go along the wall they had created along the Denovere highlands, which only dropped off well into the Ancient Woods,” Eliam explained.

  Lemmy gave him an odd look. “I don’t remember any fortress or walls for that matter… oh well, time flies, I guess. It is a little odd that the Harpy Mother showed. There have always been harpies in the Ancient Woods, but very rarely did they ever cause problems.”

  Did Lemmy not know about Quarlak or the fiend invasion? Just how hidden away were they in this little world of theirs?

  “What do you know of the name Quarlak?” Eliam suddenly asked.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Lemmy froze. “Why speak such a name? The abomination has been banished since the heroes defeated him. We even sent one of our own to ensure the job was done.”

  They didn’t know what the upper world was facing. It seemed hidden was a massive understatement. They were completely in the dark about the impending doom. I have a feeling this is exactly what Quarlak wants.

  “He’s back,” Eliam whispered so as not to draw attention. They were still walking through the city streets after all.

  Lemmy’s eyes went wide as she stumbled through the air. “What? That simply isn’t possible. For the seal to weaken after so little time…. You must be lying!

  Eliam shook his head. “I thought you would have known. How do you think the Harpy Mother came to be? She was chock-full of Quarlak’s energy.”

  “That… That actually makes sense… How did we not think of this before?” Lemmy stuttered out loud.

  “Quiet,” Eliam hissed. “I’m sure he has fiends here spying. It is only advantageous that Fantamaia stays in the dark.”

  Lemmy gulped as she nodded, not saying another word. They had just reached the front gates of the palace. Upon seeing Lemmy, the guards nodded and let them through. They were dressed in shiny purple armor, which matched the whole color scheme of this place.

  They walked inside, and Lemmy wasted no time in leading Eliam to a room. She practically dropped him off there before flying off somewhere. She must have been more worried about Quarlak than she let on.

  It was a rather nice room, with a design based around the colors pink and purple. It seemed that Fantamaia had a rather interesting enjoyment with the colors.

  There was still so much Eliam didn’t know about this world. All of his information had come from Nemina and other context clues he had managed to gather himself. Perhaps, this queen Lemania would finally give him some much-needed answers.

  Eliam glanced at Frostlight, which he was clutching tightly in his hand. The sword churned with some sort of energy. He could tell that there was something more to the katana, but he needed to feed it more energy.

  Frostlight, along with the other weapon, must have a bigger connection to this whole mystery than I originally figured.

  A knock at the door warned him of Lemmy’s impending arrival. She pulled it open with a force that seemed a little too strong for a tiny fairy.

  “Queen Lemania would like to see you now! Remember what I said about behavior! And watch what you say around her!” Lemmy said.

  Eliam nodded as Lemmy grabbed his hand with her tiny ones and dragged him out of the room.

  He followed her through the twists and turns of the place until they arrived at two grand doors. Of course, they made sure to follow the whole purple-pink color scheme of the place.

  There were two more guards at the entrance, except these guys looked more beefed up than usual. It made sense as they were probably the last line of defense before the queen.

  Upon seeing Lemmy, they nodded and pushed open the doors. Lemmy gave Eliam a nod, and they walked inside.

  A grand room awaited them. Clearly much of the palace’s resources had been delegated to this very room. The architecture was immaculate, and the walls shone with a sparkle that was a bit too bright.

  At the end of the room sat a woman with bright pink hair and two wings protruding from her back. A regal presence could be felt from her, even from the opposite end of the room. It was the type of presence that could only be felt from someone who was incredibly confident in their abilities. She was a fairy, which was odd since she was taller than Eliam.

  Lemmy immediately fell to the floor in a bow, and Eliam stared at her blankly for a moment. At least until she glared at him. Eliam paled as he too fell to the floor in an awkward mess of limbs.

  Lemania frowned as she spoke, “You may rise.” Eliam noticed her eyes weren’t on him, but on the weapon he was holding.

  Lemmy shot up, eager for the awaiting conversation.

  “Lemmy has told me of some rather disturbing news, and what you hold in your hands seemingly confirms it.” Lemania sighed.

  What? How does my holding Frostlight confirm anything? For all she knows, I could have barged into the cathedral and stolen it.

  “Quarlak has returned,” Eliam muttered, almost without thinking.

  Lemania nodded and continued, “It makes sense that you were able to slay that foul harpy, and even more so, how she came to be. I recognize that weapon on your hip. It is one of the fabled ones… Although it seems much weaker than it once was.”

  Eliam nodded. “Frostlight… but I’m not sure what you mean by weaker. I can since it has the ability to grow, but to what extent I couldn’t tell you.”

  Lemania shook her head. “It is a shadow of what it once was.. And it will not be enough to save us.”

  “What?” Eliam asked, shock evident in his voice.

  “I am afraid that it is much too late. My kingdom has grown to be ignorant. Lax. We failed to properly watch the upperworld and became too ensnared in ourselves,” Lemania said sadly.

  “What are you saying?” Lemmy muttered.

  Quarlak’s strength has grown tremendously. He is about to break free,” Lemania said.

  “What?” Lemmy cried.

  “He comes for what you have,” Lemania pointed at Eliam.

  “Huh? Wait, do you mean Frostlight?” he asked.

  Lemania nodded. “It is one of the keys for the chains that keep him bound.”

  Wait… what did she mean by comes?

  A loud crash boomed, shaking the entire palace. A roar echoed through the entire city as the sounds of panic started.

  Why can’t I catch a fucking break!