When they stopped, Jovi took a moment to nurse a small burn on her arm, courtesy of a flying splinter from the explosion. That little stunt caused quite the stir between the two islands, one with unintended consequences.

Jovi scolded Lyra harshly for being so rash as cannons went off on both sides. Yes, her intentions may have been noble, but how many fire-kin would suffer now thanks to her? And how in the world were they going to cross now?

“Damnit,” said Lyra, kicking the cart. Of course the eager horn goblins would think the attack came from High Dawn. How could she be so stupid?

“What’s done is done,” said Jovi, peering through the trees. From their perspective, now hidden in the forest, they could see nearly every possible area geographically viable for crossing this side of the tower. And all of them happened to be filled with horn goblins. Because, of course they were. There was simply no way to cross, not on foot at least.

Lyra looked at the cart where the archon still lay. She could see his chest rising and falling slowly under the sheet. She had the sudden urge to find a sharp stick and—

The Archon gasped and sat up, then fell flat again, moaning. 

Lyra jumped back at this, her eyes going wide.

Jovi spun and ran to the Archon, pulling off the sheet. She held a finger to her lips then pressed it against his own, hushing him. Then she pulled aside her chest armor, plopped out her breast, and thrust her nipple into his mouth without any hesitation.

In his weakened condition, all the archon could do was, well, suck, let out the occasional “hmm, hmm” noise, and look completely shocked. His eyes darted back and forth between the aggressively nurturing Dryad and the murderous looking, fire-kin elf girl.

“There you go. Quiet now,” said Jovi. “Drink. I’m sure you’re terribly parched.”

He pulled his lips away with a popping sound and made out the words, “How … exactly … er, where are—” before a nearby cannon went off, and all three of them jumped.

“We could make a run for it,” said Lyra, stepping into the open. “Maybe we could—”

“Get back here, child” said Jovi. “Think it through. Look how you’re dressed. Even if you could break through their lines, how do you think the other side would see you? You’d be blasted into oblivion before you got three steps over the edge.”

“Then I’ll … I’ll take it all off and run naked. They’ll see me, Father will see me and—”

“Oh, gods,” grunted the Archon, pulling free again, water running down his face. “Please … don’t.”

Jovi huffed and slipped her nipple back into the archon's mouth despite his moaning struggle against it.

Lyra glared at Rolo, then stared up at her teacher. “Well, we can’t stay here,” she said. “Once they discover what we did in the banquet hall, these woods will be swarming with horn goblins.”

“I agree,” said Jovi. “So we must go south.”

“Go … no. No, we have to find a way … over. We have to …” she turned back to look at her home through the trees. It was so close, she could almost reach out and—”

“The centaurs have dominion over the southern part of this island,” said Jovi. “And they have excellent healing practices. The dryads have good relationships with them … on paper, at least, I may be able to—”

Rolo pulled free of Jovi once again. He seemed to have regained the use of his arms, this time physically pushing her off. He grunted as he sat up, using his good wing to prop himself. He twisted, dropping a leg off the table, then another. Streaks of dried blood were still present on his face and neck.

“I’m sorry,” he said, raising a finger. “Could … Could one of you please fill me in right quick? I seemed to have missed something rather important, and you, you can put that away now. I’m quite hydrated, thank—” he coughed, coughed again. “Oh, why does my head hurt so badly?”

Lyra rolled her eyes and turned her back to Rolo as Jovi tucked in her water bag. Jovi cleared her throat, then gave Rolo a brief overview of the morning’s dramatic events.

Afterward, Rolo looked at Lyra, mouth agape. “Well played, princess,” he said, giving her a slow clap and a half smile, a smile she once found extremely attractive, back when he would stop by to do odd jobs for her father. But that was a long, long time ago. Now all she saw in that smile was betrayal and disdain.

“But I do have to say,” said Rolo, wincing at the pain from his broken wing. He grabbed it and pulled it around his body to examine the wound. “Oh, that’s bad. Yeah. Sorry, I was saying that I agree, we should go south. I have business down there, something I was planning on attending to once I—” he winced again as he adjusted himself—“Once I … I got you two back home.” He winced again, then slid off the cart, landing wobbly on the grassy ground. The sheet slid off of him, exposing his naked body. He looked down, then back up at Lyra. “Uh, you wouldn’t happen to have my trousers and wrap, would you?”

Another cannon went off and Rolo ducked, covering his head. “Mother of Hyle,” said Rolo. “Can we go now?”

Lyra pulled her knife and stepped up to Rolo, pressing him against a tree, the knife to his throat. “I want to make one thing very, very clear,” she said through gritted teeth. “The only reason we didn’t leave you hanging on that wall to die is because you might … might be our only way back. And if I get even the smallest sense … anything tricky from you at all, I’ll slit your throat. Do you understand?”

Rolo held up his hands. “Perfectly,” he whispered as best he could, offering an annoyingly big smile.

“Lyra, my flame, put the knife away,” said Jovi, stepping towards them. Then she turned to Rolo. “What kind of business do you have with the centaurs?”

Lyra stepped back and sheathed the knife, but her eyes never wavered from the Archon. Rolo coughed a few times, rubbing his throat, then answered Jovi’s question.

“The Archon Academy has been in communication with one of their chieftains for a few weeks now,” said Rolo. “Apparently they have in their possession a human boy, a boy who recently developed a lump on his back.”

To Lyra’s surprise, Jovi gasped excitedly, covering her mouth. “A Precon?” said the Dryad.

Rolo raised an eyebrow, confused at Jovi’s reaction. “Yes? Although nothing has been confirmed. But if the claim is valid, I’ve been tasked with bringing him to the academy, preferably before he gives birth to his wings and—”

“So, what were we then?” said Lyra, “just some side job for you? A way to make a little extra coin before fulfilling your … duty?” Lyra used a dramatic tone to mock the archon in the word duty.

Rolo lifted a finger and opened his mouth, then paused. He turned to Jovi instead. “To be frank, I’m not sure how to answer that in a way that would make her hate me any less.”

Lyra threw up her hands and shook her head. Then another canon went off, this time from the other side. There was an explosion nearby, a little too close for comfort.

“Can you walk?” said Jovi.

“I, uh, I think I can manage,” said Rolo.

“Come then. We must be off,” said Jovi, motioning for them to follow her deeper into the woods. Being a Dryad of the Ancient Wood, Jovi had an innate sense of how to navigate just about any jungle, forest, or garden, Lyra knew.

Lyra turned to watch High Dawn through the trees slowly drifting away once again. She sighed, kicked a tree root, then followed Jovi. She slammed her shoulder pad into Rolo as she passed him, knocking him off balance.

“Um, right,” said Rolo. “I’ll just wrap myself in this sheet then, I suppose.” He stretched out his good wing, tucked it behind his back. Then winced as he folded his broken one over his shoulder. Finally, he picked up the sheet and headed after the determined women, barefoot.