Jenny gave a summarised version of how she had left Claire to look after Maurice and headed for Requbar.
When I got to Requbar, I knew you were close but every ti I went to where I thought youd be, there was nothing there.
I was probably already underground in a cell by that ti. Or escaping through tunnels.
How did you get to Requbar from Dargot so quickly? I asked her.
I stole a horse from a farm. She said it like it was obvious. The direction I needed to go was clear enough, so I just kept going until I saw the city. Then I t so soldiers and when I described what you looked like, they took to the palace.
And you t the Queen?
She screwed up her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. I t her, but that parts a bit foggy. She was like a doll, I think. Or she was wearing a mask. Yes, it was a painted mask. White, with dark holes that didnt show her eyes.
You never saw her real face?
Jenny shook her head. I dont think so.
Everyone so far had said the Queen was very beautiful, but it could be theyd never actually seen her? Whatever magic she used to disguise Marv or control Jenny, she could also use it to change her own appearance. Except the spell Marv was under hadnt worked on or Flossie. She would have to hide her face another way.
Are you sure she was a woman? I asked Jenny. Could she have been a man in a dress?
Jenny frowned. If she was in drag, she was pretty good.
Then what? How did you end up leading an army of eunuchs? And why eunuchs?
Jenny closed her eyes again. I dont know. It seed so straightforward. She wanted to lead her army to Fengarad. I thought it was a great idea, for so reason. I was going to et up with an army from Dargot, and then wed attack the spires together.
The spires? You werent sent to save the city?
Jenny shook her head. We were to take the city from the monsters and then hold it against the spires. It doesnt make sense to now, but it made total sense before you finally released .
She made it sound like I should have just dragged her behind a bush the mont I saw her. Its easy treating it as no big thing when you know its the right thing to do and that she would want to do it, but theres no way I could just assu that and go for it. I do have so morals. Not all of them, but so.
Do you rember how you were supposed to take on the spires? I asked her.
Once we took control of the city, the Queens would arrive and open the spires.
Queens? From Requbar and Dargot? I seed to recall Dargot also had a queen, although all my dealings had been with the Departnt of Road Planning and Maintenance.
Yes, said Jenny. They know how to get inside the spires. I think. Once he used the spires against Monsterland, he cant use them again for a while. Thats why he couldnt stop the city being taken.
And all the monsters, you were equipped to deal with them? You and your eunuchs? From what Id seen, the eunuch army was not particularly fearso. Theyd fallen apart pretty quickly in front of a few ogres. The lizardn were far more nurous and a lot smarter than ogres. And now they had all sorts of reinforcents from Monsterland, which made them even more formidable.
The eunuchs arent what they seem, said Jenny, rather cryptically.
Yes? In what way?
Once they get activated, nothing stops them.
Sounded ominous. And how do they get activated?
I dont know, exactly. One of the other won had a device. But Ive seen them in action once they get triggered. Theyre relentless.
Wait, so youre the one in charge, but soone else has the special device?
I know. It sounds wrong but it made perfect sense at the ti. I cant explain why.
Obviously the spell she was under had ssed with her ability to see the blindingly obvious. She was being used, but why bother making her the leader? If they just wanted her to be cannon fodder, they could make her a grunt. Putting her in charge seed to be an unnecessary risk, unless it had sothing to do with being a Visitor.
I got up and pulled my trousers up, like a gentleman. Cant be walking around, flapping about in the wind.
One minute, said Jenny, pulling back down. And I dont an literally one minute.
About a minute and a half later, we erged from the cave. Hey, I was out of practice. Dont judge. The Ogre Magi was sitting on her haunches outside the cave with rabbits hopping around her. I thought she was going to eat them, but she just watched them. Charming, in a monstrous way. It was only after the sll hit that I realised she was taking a dump. We waited for her to finish. She stood up, grabbed a handful of rabbitsthey didnt seem to mindand wiped her arse with them. The beauty of nature.
Once that was done, she tossed the rabbits away. They scampered off like it was all in a days work.
Thank you, I said. I wasnt going to shake hands. You were right.
Love, said the Magi. Then she made a circle with her finger and thumb and poked it again. I wasnt entirely sure what she was trying to say, but she obviously knew how to break the spell on Jenny. Could all of the Queens spells be broken with a shag, or did it only work if you were in love? Was that what she was trying to say?
Dudley, I said, miming a taller, fatter person around myself. Flossie. Smaller, bustier. Love. I made the circle and poked it.
Hmmm, she groaned. She got the ssage, I think.
We went back to the lake where things were more or less as we had left them. The ogres stood on one side, scratching themselves. The eunuchs had got to their feet and looked terrified. They didnt do well on their own. Thats n without balls for you, I suppose. But then why had they been in the woods without a woman to lead them. Or had they.
Is everything okay? asked Claire nervously. She stared at Jenny, then ran to her and they embraced. They were quickly joined by Flossie.
We dont really have ti for this, was all I managed before there was a high pitched shriek and a dozen or so armoured won ca running out of the woods. Soone, it seed, had gone for reinforcents.
The lead woman was Guardian Telma and in her hands she had a spear, or sothing that looked like a spear with no tip. Instead, it had a spinning tal arrow, like a weather vane. She planted it in the ground where it stuck.
Eunuchs! Formation!
The eunuchs, who had been cowering a minute ago, suddenly stood up straight and ford lines. Their faces had lost all signs of fear, but also had taken a very strange wide-eyed quality. Did you spill my pint tis a million. Balls or no balls, you did not want to fuck with these guys.
The Ogre Magi roared again, but unlike last ti, the eunuchs didnt wilt under her wrath. They didnt react at all.
Telma raised her sword to send them into battle, but there was a battle cry from the other side of the clearing. Lizardn ca running out of the trees waving sticks and spears. Would have been a welco sight if they had been zzik, but these were regular lizardn. At least, thats what they looked like.
Die, human, die, yelled the lead lizard in a deep, resonating voice.
The won soldiers didnt seem daunted. The eunuchs didnt seem human. The Ogre Magi roared again, but it wasnt so much at the eunuchs, as over them. There was a rustling sound, like an army of ants on the move. And then the rabbits ca.
They were bunnicorns, hundreds of them, horns glistening with I dont want to know what. They charged out of the forest and straight at the won soldiers.
They didnt aim anywhere else. Caught by surprise from the reartrust , it was a very big surprisethey were impaled multiple tis in a few seconds. They fell, dead, horrified expressions frozen on their faces.
I ran forward and grabbed the spear, pulling it out of the ground. The eunuchs went back to being limp and unthreatening. That was one problem sorted. There were others. I turned to the lizardn.
Really? I said. Do you think this is an appropriate ti for pranks, Raviva?
How did you know it was ? said Raviva, losing the lizard disguise. The other lizardn also turned back into trolls, exchanging confused looks.
Clearly, youve gotten lazy with the shape-changing, stuck in your cave putting on shows for each other. Not even close to convincing. You need to sharpen up your act and cut out the theatrics.
The real reason Id figured it was him was because Id seen Keezy facepalming when the lizards arrived. He reacted the sa way whenever Raviva went ham.
What do we do with them? asked Maurice, pointing at the bewildered eunuchs.
I looked at the spear in my hand. It wasnt obvious how it worked but if I broke it, that might set the eunuchs free to live as they wished. Or
Take this. I gave the spear to Maurice. See if you can suss how it works. I could always use my own army of obedient followers. Would make a nice change.
You want to lead them to Fengarad? asked Keezy.
Not quite. We need to get these won undressed. Raviva, I hope youre better at doing won with swords than you are at lizards with sticks.
Of course, said Raviva, expansively spreading his arms. We are all experts in the female form.
Keezy rolled his eyes.
Youre planning on going back to Requbar, arent you? said Biadet. She had been hanging back and observing until now.
Yes, I said. Its as much in Uncle Peters interest as mine. That wasnt quite true, but it was the line Id decided to go with.
That wasnt the arrangent, said Biadet. I could tell she wasnt going to be easy to convince.
Look, I said. Biadets eyes rolled up into her head and she slumped to the ground. Behind her stood Laney with her sword hilt held like a dagger, a red smudge on the end.
Got you! she exclaid through a manic grin. Oh, yes. Laney victorious. Hahaha. She did a dance that wouldnt have looked out of place in the Packers end zone.
It solved the imdiate problem, but she would still resist going to Requbar when she ca round. Assuming she wasnt dead.
I looked around. The ogres were petting bunnies. The bunnies were eyeing in a way I didnt like. The trolls were stripping the dead girls of their armour and the eunuchs were standing around waiting to be told what to do.
And in the middle of all this was and my party. They were all huddled together around a naked Dudley. Usually, this would be the part where I moved us out of the maelstrom and away from all the crazy. But this was the first ti I had a large army to back up. The Queen of Requbar had a way of entering the spires and this was a rare chance to get the drop on Uncle Peter while his WMD was still recharging. It was a strange sensation, planning to head towards danger. It was even stranger doing it with an advantage.
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