Peregrin was beginning to lose it all with her. If there was anyone he would bite down on this matter, it was the Princess.
Peregrin looked at both of them. "Tell me that you have a plan?! Tell me that this isn't a joke and you're not gambling with our lives!" His voice rose above them.
Iliya had no idea what to say to him that would solve the problem, but she feared she might lose this help; she wouldn't be getting anymore.
Curl understood what the situation was and quickly cooked up something.
"Wait, I think I have a plan" he said, glancing at their faces.
Iliya let out a deep breath, as if she had just been saved from her own destruction.
Peregrin noticed how nervous he was, and how he were getting relaxed. "You don't have a plan, if you did, why are you so nervous?"
"Because I have a plan" he said with a shrug. "Although it's not a great plan—"
"Great!" Peregrin jumped in. Seemed like he lacked the patience they needed.
"If you just do all of us a favour and shut up! We will come up with something!" Curl scolded him.
His face beamed with surprise and he looked at Iliya who held back her smile. "Good. Now let's get into it" Curl said with a sigh.
"I would have invited you all inside but, hey, no place for Elves, haha" he said with a terrible smile.
"Come on, Curl. Pradai needs us, we better start wrapping our head over a good plan"
Curl chuckled. "Good plan? That's bullshit… we are facing the terror of the realm, not some ordinary soldiers…"
The Elf warriors looked at each other with taints of freight, but a look at their leader calmed them down.
The Elf warriors valued and respected their squad leaders, and they always counted on them.
"Yes, and that's why we need a good plan" Iliya retorted.
"You don't get it, do you? Good plan or not, They are the Lynx Lynchs" Said Curl, standing firmly on his word.
"I'm afraid the young Meiv is right…" Peregrin said with a sigh.
"Seriously??" Said Iliya, with an expression of disappointment. "What we need is to prepare for the possible worst, or better still, concentrate on getting the prisoner out" he added, confident enough that it was the best thing to do.
Curl smiled and nodded his head, he looked at Iliya "I like him" he said with a wink.
"Now, lady Elf and gentlemen Elves, sit down and stop being the statue of liberty for once…"
They glanced around but couldn't find anywhere to sit. Curl chuckled. "What are you all looking for? A pack of chairs in heaven, above a blue fountain and a white sky? —"
"Curl…" Iliya called him to order.
"Oh sorry, but this is where we sit…" he let his legs fall, and he sat on the ground. "See? You can take to the trees or stones…"
Curl, Iliya and Peregrin sat down around a drawing on the ground by their hands, pulling in heads for a plan that doesn't need to be a good one, while the dregs of time dragged along the axis of space.
Troubled as well, she had even her essence tongued to it. If there was anyone more hell-bent on getting Pradai back, it was her.
Everyone had forgotten about their own afflictions, including Iliya who failed to realize how bad her condition had become.
They had finished looking over the plan, more than five times and it didn't even seem to be a plan.
"This is suicide" Peregrin commented, looking at both of them. "I have every reason to retreat now…" he looked at Iliya. "But it's just for your sake"
"Tell this fruit head we have, more than once fought the Lynx lynchs before…"
"Which is why they will have more than before guarding the place"
"We go in, get her out and run…" that's a perfect plan.
"You can't run away from them." Peregrin said.
"You know, if we continue staying here, we would have one million reasons to not go, but if we make a move, there will be no turning back" Iliya said determinedly.
"Thus says the Princess—"
"Oh, where's little Ben?" Iliya asked, looking at Curl who couldn't talk for a while.
"Well, he left… if that's any consolation"
"Why did he leave?"
Curl shrugged. "We had a little violence session"
Iliya's face showed sadness. "And we need him as well"
"Well, we better get going, if we wait here till sundown, not going to be good for any of us"
Meanwhile, Peregrin and his ViNenar sà were all ready, waiting for the showtime.
"The last I checked, your leg was broken. You know you can't fight? Honestly, you're really taking it all well"
"Shh, they must not know!" Iliya cautioned him.
"Ra da savir cre dre zsah!" Iliya stood up with a chant and the rest of them chorused with her.
"What's that for?" Curl asked.
"Become an Elf, then you will know…" she said with a smile, leading them ahead.
"Not in a millennium, will I?" He muttered to himself and quickly joined the others.
****
Their was no place to hide, no other place but the trees and unfortunately, not all of them could marry the trees like the Elves, so they were going in for an open battle.
Having sighted three Lynx lynchs already in the front, fear gripped them wholly.
"So, isn't there any way else inside?" Peregrin asked.
"No, this temple has just one entrance… the forbidden temple" Curl said with his eyes wide open.
"The temple of the first Four Gods… this is where it all started, the conspiracy, the rebellion…"
"What are you talking about??" Curl asked, surprised that he knew about their temple.
"This temple is evil. We have to get your friend out of there now! It will feed her with a lot of lies, a lot of visions—" he took out his sword, and ran down the hill.
"Nooo wait!" Iliya ran after him.
"Damn it! …" Said Curl through clenched teeth. "This people!"
Before he could move, the ViNenar sà had already joined the fight.
"It's a good day to die!" He said running after them with no weapon, and surprisingly no intention of fighting, just watching from afar, or going to bring out Pradai.
"Ha!" The Lynx lynchs charged at them at once, swaying their demonic swords over and over. The Elves, fortunately, were intensively trained in combat, in various aspects, including defence, they had the strength of speed which gave them more advantage over the Lynx lynchs.
"Curl go! Save Pradai!" Iliya screamed, fighting with Meiv soldiers.
Curl rushed in and found Pradai in dire situations. He approached her slowly. "Hey? Hey, you gotta wake up. We are taking you home—"
"Oh no, you're not taking her anywhere!" The voice echoed from behind him.
It sounded familiar and Curl smiled. He had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
He turned around to meet Kar with a sword, a Lynx lynch's sword.
"If not the traitor…" Curl said through clenched teeth. "Didn't know you knew how to use a sword"
"What can I say? Adaptation is necessary in a dying world"
"Dying world? …" Curl got concerned, but careful enough so he doesn't get into his head. "What do you mean?"
Kar chuckled. "Of course you don't know what's going on, you think this is some kind of hide and seek? The time we join our guardians is fast approaching…"
"Lies… that's what this place does to you—"
"Lies!? The God of the strange is awakened! And he's coming for all of us!"
"Mm. I guess that's your business. After all, the Meivs are the bad guys—"
"You can't run away from this"
"Oh I can!" He charged at him and Kar hit him with the sword, sending him flying with a single sweep.
"Tell you what, let's make this a fair fight…" he threw a sword to him.
"Screw you…" he stood up with rage and his eyes clicked to a dark brown color. Kar was left speechless with his eyes wide open.
"You say we are in a dark age, does it mean we should all be dark then? I don't think so…" he growled.
"Do you know what happens when bears are shone a light in the dark? They take on a bright yellowish glow…" his eyes turned to a bright yellowish glow and four powerful brown fangs had made their way out from top to bottom.
"Pradai, Iliya, little Ben… they have shined a light on me".
"Looks like you're not the only one who adapted!" He went on all fours, rushed at Kar, swinging his ponytail, he dived at him and before he could strike with his sword, his face was slashed with Curl's claws.
Kar yelled in pain as he took his two hands to his face, staggering all over. It would be a permanent scar.
"That's for Pradai!" Curl yelled, rushed at him again, kicking him out of the temple.
A Lynx lynch came in. "You brought the Elf Princess?! Treason!"