New Assignment

"Shortly after you two departed, a high-level creature known as a Drake surfaced in the Hollow Mountains. On first sighting, the Drake was bloody and limping, clearly having suffered a previous engagement. Because of its defeated appearance, a group of warriors from the Black Gates arrogantly thought they could hunt the Drake—" The Collector paused to take a breath, annoyance apparent in her tone,

"The group was easily wiped out, but they successfully managed to enrage the Drake. As a result, for three days the Drake roamed the caves of the Hollow Mountains and obliterated any human it came in contact with. The giant crater you see outside is thanks to Blaze who was able to drive the Drake away."

"Blaze did that?" Emile asked unconsciously.

"Yes—" Collector replied immediately, "I know you haven't met the rest of the Graves and I know you probably aren't going to like Blaze moving forward, but his destructive capabilities are unparalleled."

'He created the crater?'

'Not Blood?'

'Was he the one who saved us when we fought the Drake?'

'No, the timeline doesn't match'

"Anyway, I've already briefed all the other members. You two arrived at the perfect time. We're leaving with the rest of the migrants, so get ready." The Collector casually dropped a bombshell.

"We're leaving?" Emile repeated.

"Where?" Blood followed.

"Yes, we're leaving. Although Blaze successfully drove the Drake away, he overdid it and agitated two of the five volcanoes from the Hollow Mountains. They will be erupting sometime soon, probably less than six months."

"Idiot." Blood mumbled under his breath.

"Yes, it's truly unfortunate. I quite liked it here…. Oh right, how was the labyrinth? Any problems?"

"No—" Emile spoke for both of them, "no problems. The reward was an Enlightened Charm." Emile summoned the charm and slid it across the table, "It provides the wielder with an instant burst of speed."

The Collector picked up the charm and inspected it for a few seconds, "It's very pretty," was all she said before she handed it back.

"Where are we going?" Blood asked again.

"Fallen Sky—" The Collector replied, "the abandoned district specifically."

Emile's heart skipped a beat. He knew they would be going to Fallen Sky, there really wasn't any other choice, but hearing the Collector confirm it still sent a wave of euphoria through Emile's body.

'I can check on Emma'

'Maybe Roman too, he was nice'

'Oh and maybe even Warden May, she'll probably like Mercy's journal'

"Well actually—" The Collector interrupted Emile's thoughts, "you two will be going somewhere else."

And with just those words, Emile's heart sank and the splendid feeling of euphoria was instantly squashed.

'Sorry Em, gonna have to wait a while longer'

"Okay so where the hell are we going?!"

Blood yelled across the table, "I've asked like three times!"

"Cool it One-Arm." The Collector fired back, "I need you to go to Rising Tide. They're hosting a banquet between the three Kings, obviously to discuss the migration of the Black Gates and the potential effects of the volcano's eruption. Infiltrate it and report back. That's all." She smiled.

"That's all?!" Blood raised his voice even more this time, "The King of Rising Tide knows all of us! We killed his wife!"

"He doesn't know Spright." An even bigger smile spread across her face.

"No." Blood instantly retorted, "It's too dangerous. It's not worth the risk."

"It's already been decided."

"Why do we even care about the banquet?! The King's opinions have never mattered before!"

"It's not the King's opinions I'm interested in—" The Collector paused and looked at Blood, it was evident she had a lot running through her mind, "the monster's movements—" she paused again, "they're unnatural."

"Unnatural? How?" Blood asked.

"Monsters are very territorial creatures, this is something we all know. Creatures born underground stay underground. Creatures born in the mountains continue to roam the mountains. Very rarely do they change their birth environment, but recently they've been moving. And not just one or two, whole cave systems are evacuating, thousands of monsters are migrating to different environments and the King's probably know why."

Blood lowered his head and crossed his arms, clearly deep in thought from what Collector just said.

'Is it really that big of a deal?'

'Animals should migrate once a year, they don't do that here?'

'I guess there aren't any seasons without a sun'

"I still don't like it." Blood finally spoke again, "Sending a Chosen to a meeting between Kings. He should be Perfected at least."

"I don't disagree with you—" The Collector added, "but he's really our only option. The volcanoes, the banquet, it all happened in the past few days. If we had more time I'd consider finding someone else, but you have to leave now to even have a chance of making the banquet."

"Will Jumper accompany us?" Blood asked.

"We need him to enter Fallen Sky. All the migrants are going to be sent through the spire and organized by the kingdom, we can't get caught up in that."

Blood groaned and rubbed his face, "And we're leaving now?"

"Soon. Sometime today for sure."

"Okay." Blood sighed. He turned his head to Emile and shrugged, "I tried."

"I know. Thanks for that, but it's just a meeting. How bad can it be?"

"Great!" Collector burst into a radiant smile then stood up and left the meeting room.

"I'm gonna take a nap, I'll catch you later." Blood bid his farewell.

Finally left alone, Emile climbed the stairs to the top floor and entered his room. After a few weeks of traveling, he pulled Mercy's journal from his waist and tossed it onto his desk.

Before jumping into his bed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above his dresser. He knew his hair grew back, but the last time he saw himself was in this room before they left.

His light brown hair stopped just above his eyebrows and was extremely scruffy. A tinge of curls spread through his hair giving it a subtle volume that made it look almost good.

His white shirt was mostly brown but had a few blood stains around his sleeves and stomach. He unbuttoned his shirt and threw it across the room.

'Wow'

'That's me?'

Four abs poked through Emile's skin, his arms grew exceptionally vascular, and his shoulders widened quite a bit. Emile wasn't jacked like Blaze, but his body definitely changed for the better.

'Being in shape is pretty easy when you don't have to eat I guess'

For longer than was probably needed, Emile flexed his muscles in the mirror and admired his physique. He took ample time to strike every bodybuilder pose he could think of before toppling over onto his bed.

Emile wasn't tired, but the luxuriously soft bed was too good to pass up since he's been sleeping on the cold ground for the past month. And especially because they're leaving in a few hours, Emile didn't want to waste such a perfectly good mattress.

'I really hope there's another shirt in my dresser'