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SHIFT

Mission 008: Cold Bargain

SHIFT Mission Briefing: We've lost contact with a previous team after they were sent to neutralize a manticore threat. All reports seem to indicate the mission was successful and the manticore relocated but the team never returned to base. Head out to the previous team's last known location and search for any signs of their whereabouts.

SHIFT Heroes Deployed on this Mission

Frinkel Sinopa

Tex

Cobalt

The group had been traveling for a few days looking for signs of the previous party. Though Tex had done most of the work here. He was still stuck in the form of a juvenile kirin making him the most capable of a long distance journey. The reptile-like equine may still have been young, six years old by human standards but he was still large enough to carry his three compatriots. This wasn't because he was exceptionally big. From head to tail he was only about two and a half feet. His companions just also weren't very big right now.

"Ugh we've been looking for days." Sinopa complained. The cream colored crane was currently the tallest among everyone there at just over three feet. However her avian body was built to be light weight and she could make herself surprisingly compact. She sat on Tex's back with her legs tucked underneath herself. "You'd think we would gotten some sight of 'em by now."

"Well I mean..." Frinkel was the next to speak up. He sat directly behind Sinopa hanging onto her to help balance himself. The carbuncle just barely made two feet when standing upright. Currently the garnet breastplate he wore likely weighed more than the rest of his body altogether. "We don't know which path they took home or what happened. It's a lot of ground to cover."

"Can't believe they did something stupid enough that we have to rescue them." Cobalt growled from where he was perched atop Tex's head. The foot tall eastern dragon sat with his tail curled around himself and his claws digging into Tex's mane for support. He also curled his long tail around the base of the kirin's horn for extra leverage.

"Grooooawrl!" Tex attempted to voice his own concern. It was difficult. It had been over a month since he had lost the ability to speak. Not being able to join in conversations left him with a lot of time to his own thoughts. A little quiet reflection was good every now and then... But he really missed being able to converse.

"Why don't we stop here for the night and set up camp?" Sinopa asked. "It's getting late and we're all irritable at this point. Not to mention none of us have exceptionally good night vision right now." Being on the road for so long was even draining on someone as spunky as Sinopa. There were murmurings at her suggestion but no one actually objected.

The road they were traveling was currently out in an open field. That meant they could set up camp fairly easily able to see what was coming from any direction. It also meant that their camp would be clearly visible to anyone passing by.

"Grooooawrl!" Tex did as much as he could setting up camp. In addition to his alchemical gear his saddle bag was currently packed with plenty of supplies for the trip including a tent. Setting the tent up with four hooves was a bit beyond his ability. He could bite down on and pull a rope alright. He could even stomp down on a stake with his hooves to hammer them to the ground. It was just anything that required finesse that made it difficult.

Cobalt and Sinopa assisted with the tent and setting up the rest of the camp. Frinkel meanwhile busied himself with his own nightly ritual. SHIFT's best tracker had been lost in the last mission. This made Frinkel the runner up choice for missions like these. He was not nearly as good a tracker as the ranger Alex, but he did have a way with nature. He gathered rocks from the side of the road and made a circle that he sat within. The carbuncle then sat down with his legs crossed in the circle and began to chant in a whisper. As he did he plucked a flower from the field, crushed it in his paw, then blew on it releasing the petals into the wind. About one minute later small birds began to land inside the stone circles. They were sparrows mostly, but they would serve for what Frinkel wanted.

Conversing with animals was a pretty basic trick all druids learned early on. It wasn't quite how most people would picture it though. Unlike say Tex, most animals were not intelligent. That tended to be reserved mostly for magical creatures or people currently under the effects of a curse that had transformed their entire body. The simple fact was, most animals had no concept of language or words. As a result conversing with animals was less about sharing words and more about sharing emotions and intents. You couldn't ask them a question and get a direct answer, but you could get a feel for what they had done or witnessed. Any experienced druid could then translate these emotions into actual events.

Right now Frinkel was communicating the feeling of their missing heroes. That was something of a challenge. In this line of work people tended to not look the same for very long. He had once been a raccoon a long time ago! So it was hard to impact a meaningful description to animals that they might recognize. Still Frinkel did the best he could, trying to get the animals to picture their equipment, the cart they rode in, their various fur, scale or feather colors. None of the descriptions seemed to show any form of recognition from the birds though. This wasn't surprising, this was the same information he had gotten the last few nights. But this was only half the ritual. With this done Frinkel whispered one more chant and all of the birds flew off. They would return in the morning. If Frinkel was lucky, one of them may have seen something. Most likely, it would be like the last few nights.

"Anything?" Cobalt had helped finish setting up the camp and stood watching Frinkel from a distance. Cobalt was a Blue Mage by trade. He was used to working with monsters over animals, but he knew enough to recognize a spell when it was being cast and not to interrupt it.

"Nothing." Frinkel replied with a shrug. "We'll have to wait till morning and see if they've seen anything."

"Groooawrl!" Tex stamped a hoof at the floor at this attempting to volunteer. He wanted the chance to go through his ingredients anyway. He was trying to find some way to fire off his explosives with hooves. It was a work in progress. However his body language betrayed his eagerness. It was clear due to a combination of the cub's young age and having done the most work all day he was exhausted.

"You're the only one who's not taking a shift." Cobalt growled at the Kirin. "And don't try arguing with me. It's basic pragmatism. How far we can travel in a day is directly related to how much rest you get."

"He's got a point." Frinkel nodded. "We get places a lot faster riding you than on our own feet."

"Groooawrl." Tex sighed but he couldn't argue the point. He went back to where a large tent had been popped up. Carefully crouching how he was able to crawl inside to curl up.

"I need to take last watch." Frinkel spoke up after Tex had laid down. "I'll need to be up in the early hours anyway for when the birds return, so is just easier for me to take that shift since I'll be up anyway."

"Guess I'll take the first shift." Sinopa replied while standing up with a stretch. "I need to practice my form a bit anyway... Of course by the time I master it I'll probably be in a completely new form the way these things work."

"Whatever you say." Cobalt responded. It didn't make a huge difference for him. He'd fill whatever position was needed.

Frinkel and Cobalt retired to the tent while Sinopa remained by herself below the starry sky. She started with basic exercises. Her wings made punching a bit more difficult than normal and she had to rely on swift slicing motions for them to have impact. It wasn't exceptionally hard... And part of that was bothering her. Sinopa didn't consider herself a deep thinker. It didn't mean she was without thought as some of her companions likely thought... But she knew she wasn't the intellectual throughout the group. That didn't mean she didn't sometimes notice things the others hadn't. And there had been a very strange change within her body, and not the same type of species changes everyone was accustomed too.

Her fighting was more fluid now. She didn't want to say her technique was lacking, but it was previously based on raw willpower. Her fighting was overly focused on aggression. Her movements had suddenly become a lot more graceful since her transformation into a crane... Since her encounter with that monkey hermit. She wasn't the only one. She had seen similar things in Cobalt and Erakir. It was easy to see it as just part of the physical transformation. No doubt to the mages it almost appeared to be that. Sinopa though had dedicated most of her life to her physical training. This wasn't just a result of her body being different. That hermit... He had done something to each of them. Sinopa as the actual martial artists had reaped the most benefit from it. The change within her hadn't been physical in nature, but was as if a new layer of understanding had been unlocked in her mind. And that disturbed her. It disturbed her because it implied it was possible for someone to just grant these talents. It disturbed her because said someone had felt the need to do so. It was pretty clear by now the trials they were forced to endure was just an excuse to grant these understandings. So why? Was it because he thought they would need these skills? Or was it because he had his own plans for them in the future?

Well... Whichever it was Sinopa was going to be ready for it. And that was why she was now training harder than ever. She was using the knowledge she had gained with the skill she already developed. She was planning to develop a new fighting style, somewhere between the two that combined grace and strength. Then hopefully when whatever was going to happen happened, she'd be ready.

Sinopa was roused from her thoughts and practice as she noticed the temperature beginning to drop. It made the feathers along her back stand up slightly. The weather wasn't just cooling off because the sun had set. This was something else. Something she had felt exactly once before. She peered into the distance to see if there was anything coming. Slowly, a shining mist was sweeping across the grassy fields. She had seen this before.

"Guys!" Sinopa shouted to the tent. "We have a problem!" The crane rushed to the tent as the mist soon covered the entire area. As it hit the temperature dropped even lower. Suddenly, the entire world seemed to take on a nearly dream-like quality. Sinopa felt herself becoming calm and tranquil. She just wanted to lay down and take a nap...

Sinopa quickly slapped her face with own wing as hard as she could. The pain was enough to jostle her into alertness. Something in the mist was trying to make her fall asleep... And since none of her comrades had woken at her call she could assume it was trying to keep them away. She swooped into the air taking flight to cover the distance faster as she crashed into the tent. Pulling both legs up and out she performed a spinning kick, smacking each of the party members upside the head with just enough force to hurt.

"GROAWRL!?" Tex woke with a start.

"OWIES!" Frinkel sat up and covered his head.

"Oof, Sinopa! What are you-" Cobalt started to shout but paused as he noticed how cold it was.

"Sorry," Sinopa bowed sheepishly as she landed on the ground. "We're being attacked. Some kind of sleeping spell, was the fastest way I could think to wake you."

This was enough for everyone to mobilize immediately. Any disagreements they had about Sinopa's methods could be saved for after the fighting was over. Cobalt dragged a long back out of the tent and pulling it outside. Opening the box he retrieved a trident from it that had been forged to fit his diminutive size. Tex slid his horn beneath his pack of alchemical gear before tearing out of the tent. Frinkel grabbed his staff before moving out to join them. All four of them stood in a circle with their backs to each other as they looked for the signs of the enemy. Everything was silent for a moment as they waited.

"This mist isn't natural." Frinkel muttered.

"Can say that again... Something's out there..." Cobalt held his trident ready in both hands prepared to strike at the first thing that moved.

The first sign was a blue and white chain that flew out from the darkness. It turned and curved through the air trying to strike at Cobalt's neck. He brought his trident up just in time to block the block, the chain instead curling around the trident. Then... It went taut... As whatever held the chain tried to drag him into the mist.

"Oh no you don't!" Cobalt shouted. The small eastern dragon wished he still had his old body back. His current one lacked the mass to put up a proper fight of strength. Whatever was on the other end was strong, he was being dragged forward unable to fight back. At least not physically. But he had picked up a nifty ability on his last outing. He took a deep breath before exhaling a torrent of flames. As the fire erupted from his mouth it cleared the mist around it. It followed the length of the chain exposing and striking its target.

The attacker was humanoid and completely covered in blue and white armor. Despite having its body fully hidden by armor it still managed to look off. Its arms and legs were too thin and long. Its head was too small. Then its torso was wide, almost more like a caricature than an actual person.

The armored figure let out a hiss as it was struck by the flames. Suddenly its armor and chain began to melt. Water dripped off of the creature until it collapsed. There was no form beneath the armor. Just nothingness.

"It's made of ice?" Frinkel asked.

"Seems to be the case." Cobalt grinned. "Well, guess I owe the dragon that taught me that a thank you."

"GROOOAWRL!" Tex tried to give a shout.

"Hey Frinkel can you translate?" Cobalt asked.

"Not on the fly!" Frinkel whined.

"I think I know what he wants." Sinopa spoke up. "This mist... Tex and I encountered it back when we encountered a monster smuggling operation. After we turned in our report we later found out it was related to the winter faeries."

"So this is bad." Frinkel muttered.

"Very bad." Sinopa nodded. As she spoke a second chain of ice flew out of the mist from behind her. She moved to the side to avoid it only for a third chain to fly out and snag her leg. "Ugggh." A silver band formed along her right leg where it had struck her. She tried to fly into the air, hoping to carry the holder of the chain up with her, but suddenly fell down to the ground as she tried.

An intense pain shot through her body. It was as if someone had injected ice water directly into her veins. Her feather slowly faded melted away as she started to grow in size. Her overall height didn't increase greatly, but her muscle mass did. Her bones cracked as they changed in structures and she let out a roar of pain. Her beak gave way to a muzzle as spotted fur covered her entire body. Her tail feathers merged together and grew out into one long fur covered tail. Wings and talons became paws as she fell down onto all fours.

"MROOOOOAWRL!" The now transformed snow leopard gave a shout. A silver band was closed around her hind back leg attached to a chain of ice. The chain went limp as the figure holding the other end walked in, another deformed suit of ice armor. It made a hissing noise as it studied its victim for a moment.

And that was all the time Sinopa needed to recover. She was on four legs now, that made things slightly more difficult but not impossible She leaped backwards, pulling the chain with her and the ice knight off balance. As he was pulled towards her she spun around, balancing herself on her front paws to kick back with hind paws. The momentum tore straight through his chest armor shattering the knight and sending pieces of ice in every direction. The chain fell apart... But the silver band on her leg remained.

"Grooooawrl!?" Tex asked.

"Mroooowl!" Sinopa replied as she tried to peer through the mist to see if there are more.

"So that's their trick." Cobalt glanced at the band on Sinopa's leg. "But we don't know why yet."

"Don't know, but I don't intend to find out..." Frinkel muttered as he stabbed his staff at the ground. A mess of vines rose in a circle around the party. There were eight of them in total. As Frinkel kept his staff planted in the ground they moved at his command. "I'll try to hold back on the chains, find a way to clear the mist."

"GROAWRL!" Tex had a plan. After his previous encounter with the faeries of the winter court he had started working on something. He quickly dropped his bag from his mouth onto the ground. He dipped into it with his horn. Each of his instruments now had a small ring attached to the side of it. It was perfectly sized for him to slide his horn through and move it around. It wasn't as good as having hands, but it was a start. Right now he was busy trying to get a brass cylinder with arcane runes assembled. He was furiously digging through his pack looking for something else he prepared.

"Yeah you work on that... I think I can slow them down quite a bit." Cobalt flapped his wings and took off into the air. As he did several more chains of ice erupted from the mist heading straight for the dragon. Frinkel focused his own powers through his staff as the vines twisted and turned to block the chains. The chains and vines became tangled together, but he prevented them from striking at Cobalt.

Then the vines started to sink back into the ground. They were strong enough to pull three more ice knights into where they were visible. It also bought Cobalt the time he needed. He floated above everyone's heads. With the vines lowered in the ground he had a clear shot. He inhaled again and spun in a circle exhaling his fire breath. The three visible knights and their chains melted in an instant. Meanwhile the mist cleared almost completely from the camp site. However there were limits to what Cobalt's flames could reach. The mist around the camp was gone but it was still covering the rest of the fields outside the camp were still covered.

Then slowly a shape began to form at the edge of the mist. The mist swirled as the ice crystals within it solidified. They joined together, taking shape and forming a new knight.

"Wait... Is the mist creating more knights!?" Frinkel gave a shout and waved his free arm. "I thought they were just hiding in it."

"If that's the case this could be trouble..." Cobalt muttered. "That means as long as any of the mist remains they can keep spawning."

"But it's gotta be covering miles of territory by now!" Frinkel whined.

"GROOOAWRL!" Tex gave a shout. His brass tube had been assembled with a stand. It looked like the launcher of fireworks as he pointed it at the sky. Now he was desperately digging through his pack trying to find various ingredients to toss into the tube.

"I think Tex has an idea." Cobalt smiled. "So we just gotta hold them back till then."

"Here's hoping the plan works."

"ROOOAWR!" Sinopa understood what needed to be done. She charged the lone night that was visible. It reached out as a chain erupted from its own wrist aiming for Sinopa's neck. She leaped from the ground, leaping straight through the gap in the chain before it could tighten and struck the knight with her right forepaw shattering its head.

"Sinopa don't get to close the edge of the mist!" Frinkel shouted. As he did several more chains erupted from around the mist. Sinopa leaped straight through them again not letting a single one touch her. "Whoa was she always that fast?" Frinkel then let out a yelp. While the mass of chains had come from their front a single chain had come from behind grabbing one of his ears. A silver band formed around the ear.

Frinkel began to change just as Sinopa before him. He shrunk slightly in size as his fur became a lot thicker. His garnet armor glowed for a moment then faded away as his hind paws became longer. His ears stayed the same length but became rounder at the edges. Whiskers sprouted from his face as the changes finished and he fell over onto all fours. He lost his grip on his staff and the vines meant to defend him immediately went limp.

"FRINKEL!" Cobalt gave a shout. Chains erupted from every direction around them. Cobalt exhaled a bust of flames but he couldn't cover every direction at once. Ice chains were coming from every directions. There were dozens of chains. Those that Cobalt's fire reached were melted, but many more made through. One chain wrapped itself directly around Cobalt's neck. Another wrapped itself around Tex's tail. Each one transformed into a silver band upon touching them.

Cobalt's changes weren't completely unwelcome. The crash to the ground on the other hand hurt a lot. As he landed he began to swell in size. He was getting tired of being so small. As his scales faded to thick fur he grew to over six feet in height. He had massive paws with sharp claws and a small tail. He had become a polar bear. Even with the loss of his voice that came with the transformation Cobalt might have almost been happy were it not for the silver band around his neck with the chain attached.

Tex's changes were dramatic as well. Like the others he was soon covered completely in thick winter coat of fur. His scales were gone and his horn shrunk away into nothing. His entire body became lankier and thinner. The roughest change were his hooves. As they began to change and he suddenly had toes again Tex stumbled. His entire balance had been thrown off. It wasn't helped that the chain around his tail was pulling him back towards the mist. The freshly transformed mink flailed his paws trying to grab the cylinder before he was dragged away from it.

Sinopa was the only one left unchained. The ice knights holding the chains slowly walked into the clearing where she could see them. There were easily twenty or more of them. Sinopa growled. She might be able to take them. The knights seemed like one trick ponies. All they did was attack with those chains. The problem was the fact they could keep creating new ones. There was only so much they could do before physical exhaustion became their main opposition.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAWR!" Cobalt let out a billowing roar. His new form gave him some of his old strength again, he grabbed the chain around his neck and began to pull on it. Two more knights tossed out their chains trying to grab at ankles and drag him down.

Sinopa pounced. She moved with flowing grace, dodging through a mess of chains as she landed upon the one holding Cobalt's by the neck. This only left him gripped by the two who had his ankles.

Cobalt grinned. The chain that had him by the neck even as he pulled on it had been distracting. Having the life choked out of you tended to be concerning. With that taken care of he could focus on something else. He fell down onto all fours as the chained dragged on his ankles giving him better balance. Then he decided it was time to try a new trick.

With the knights in the clear he had seen how the chains move. They weren't coming out of the knight's bodies. They were freezing water moisture in the air to form the chains. These would have extremely limited range in most situations... But the mist gave them plenty of moisture to work with. It also meant that Cobalt had plenty to work with. Now that he understood how the monster's did this trick it was his turn.

The base of the chains formed around his forepaws and Cobalt struck out with two chains at the same time. Just as they had for the knights, they lashed out from him, striking out directly at the two who had him by the ankles. The chained wrapped around the two knights heads. They didn't even seem to register that it happened. Then, the ice chains constricted, the knight's heads were shattered and their bodies and chains fell apart. Cobalt was completely free.

Frinkel and Tex were having more trouble. Both of them still had chains attached to their bands and neither one had the physical strength to resist being dragged towards the knights. It only took a few seconds before they had been captured. Frinkel was lifted in the air by his ears, and Tex by his tail.

Tex growled... Most of his available options were back with his back. There wasn't a lot he could do reduced to a common animal like this... Other than fight like an animal. Tex let out a vicious screech as he twirled his body around. He was quite flexible now and able to curl his body up and reach the wrist that was holding him. He bit into it. As he did he felt cold go through his entire body. He felt as if he might freeze to death on the spot. The knight meanwhile didn't even seem to notice. Still, Tex didn't give up as he bit down as hard as he could despite the pain. Soon the wrist started to crack. And then it broke! Tex fell to the ground, the chain dissolving.

Frinkel meanwhile tried to focus his mind on a spell. It was always a lot harder to cast when you were a feral animal. Luckily, it was one thing that druids tended to have a bit more experience with. The problem was he couldn't reach the ground to pull vines from it. There was one force of nature that Frinkel still had access to. It was just one he was somewhat reluctant to use, especially this close to the enemy. It tended to be a bit less than precise.

Desperate times.

Frinkel couldn't so much as chant, but he did his best. Releasing a series of squeaks that he tried to equate to the proper words of the spell. As he did the sky above them grayed. And a single bolt of lightning struck down from the sky. The ice knight's body was shattered in an instant. Unfortunately, Frinkel didn't escape completely unscathed. The snow hare was sent flying, his hair standing on end as he landed in the grass a few feet away, alive but slightly sizzled.

"Chirrrrrrrrr..." Frinkel shook his head. That was why he never used that spell. Still... Since he had already summoned the cloud. It seemed a shame not to use it.

Lightning began to rain down around the battlefield. Frinkel tried to keep his aim to the edges away from where the majority of the group was. That made it easier to avoid accidentally hitting someone. It also had the welcome effect of setting some of the grass on fire creating a barrier making it harder for the rest of the knights to approach.

It seemed the battle might be turning around. Cobalt now had two monster skills he could rely on. He unleashed a roar throwing out his chains to parry the other incoming chains and used his fire breath to keep the knights from getting close.

Sinopa meanwhile continued to move among the knights. Striking out with her paws shattering pieces of them in an instant. The situation was under control now. But there was one odd thing they had each realized. The knights didn't even seem to notice when someone hit them. Even as they were shattered they continued on their mission to try to chain up and capture the four heroes. Again, with no way to stop eliminate the mist completely no matter how well they fought the battle was impossible to win. They would eventually fatigue themselves and be taken.

Luckily Tex had a plan. Among the fighting he had scampered back to the brass tube he had been sitting up. He didn't have his horn anymore making the rings mounted on his items useless. However he did have paws now. Paws may not have been a dexterous as hands but they were a lot more useful than hooves! And at this point he just needed to mix the chemicals together and shove them in the tube. He had most of the items mixed together in advanced. First gunpowder went into the tube, and then a clear sphere filled with metallic dust.

With the others keeping the knights busy Tex was able to work. Grabbing flint between his claws he knocked it against the ground to create a spark of flame. Then an explosion went off inside the tube as the ball of dust was launched into the air. As it flew higher and higher the ball itself caught fire and then exploded. The dust within the ball began to rain down along the entire area.

Any areas where the dust touched the mist immediately vanished. Any knights touched by the dust collapsed in an instant. Any knights that approached would also fall apart and their chains would melt the second they crossed the threshold. The metal dust had created a barrier that none of them could enter.

Tex smiled at his work. He was proud of this one. It was his Anti Fae Bomb. The ball had been filled with iron shavings that were now blowing throughout the entire area. Any faerie magic that encountered it simply ceased to function. This left the knights unable to approach the group at all. His new formula had worked!

After a few minutes knights stopped spawning. It seemed whatever summoned the mist became aware that it wasn't getting past the iron barrier. Eventually the mist disappeared completely and the temperature began to increase back to normal. However the spells that had transformed the party did not reverse, nor did the silver bands vanish from their bodies.

But the current crisis had passed.

It wasn't a restful night after that. A large part of it had been spent trying and failing to remove the bands. After that it was difficult to sleep knowing that something could happen again. The iron dust eventually faded from the atmosphere. Tex could a second one loaded and ready to fire off at anytime, but he only had two more.

Come morning, no second attack had come. However the bids Frinkel sent out to search did return. He sat in the stone of circles again to communicate with them. It was easier today. Perhaps being a feral animal himself made it easier. But his ears perked up as he listened to the feelings of the animals. They had sighted the cart the missing party had been traveling in!

Frinkel gathered everyone else in the circle so he could communicate. The spell still didn't allow them to use words, not even for sapient creatures. But it let them share their feelings.

Frinkel shared his excitement at finding out about the missing party. He shared his desire to go seek out the cart immediately and find out what happened.

Cobalt expressed a lack of surprise. He seemed to feel the attack was a sign they were close. Obviously someone didn't want them investigating this.

Tex expressed cautious optimism. His new weapon worked, so they had a way to fight back against faerie magic. However he only had two uses of it left until they returned to base. He also wanted to search for the party but was concerned they may have to retreat to base if too many battles broke out.

Sinopa felt frustration. There was something going on that she was missing. She felt like she stuck playing a game that no one had bothered to explain the rules. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were in way over their head... And that only made her want to punch whoever was responsible for this more.

All of them were in agreement to press on. The cart was in a nearby forest not far from the grasslands. Even in their current states it would only take them a few hours to reach it.

But when they got there, the cart was not alone.

A women with white hair and silver eyes wore a silver dressed lines with snowflakes. She wore no shoes, letting her bare feet dangle just above the ground as she sat on the cart waiting as everyone arrived. She smiled and greeted them.

"ROOOOOOOOOOAWR!" Cobalt let out a roar. He didn't need much prodding to guess she was one of the faeries.

"How undignified." She sighed. "But I suppose looking like that you're not much of a conversationalist right now." With that she snapped her fingers and everyone changed. Their species were still the same... But each and every one of them found themselves bipedal again, having the use of hands and even their voices.

"Uh thanks?" Frinkel said as he stood up on his hind legs. Their proportions hadn't changed though. Frinkel and Tex were both quite small at less than two feet.

"Oh someone has manners, how delightful." The girl spoke. "It always makes these conversations easier."

"Just so you know..." Tex moved quickly upon gaining the use of hands. It only took him a few seconds to have his brass tube loaded and aimed at the faerie. "This is an iron dust bomb. I don't know what it will do to you if launched but I'm betting it won't be pleasant."

"Is there such a need to be so savage?" The girl asked. "I merely wish to talk to you."

"Somehow I doubt that," Sinopa growled. "You may look older but I recognize you. You were the one back at the coliseum. You didn't seem very civil then."

"Why I was only carrying out an obligation." The faerie gave a wicked smile. "That man had made a promise to me. One that he failed to deliver upon. If I were to forgive him there would be no order. There must be consequences when you break your contracts."

"Look I'm not saying he didn't deserve it," Sinopa huffed. "But technically he only lost your little trinket because we destroyed it."

"That is irrelevant." The faerie replied. "He promised to keep it safe and provide me with players. That was not your promise, it was his. The fact he was not strong enough to fulfill his agreement does not excuse him from the consequences. And so, I found another way for him to serve me. And I must say he certainly does bring some real value to my collection now."

"I really don't like the way you talk." Cobalt held his trident ready. It felt tiny in his bear paws. He was going to have to get his old one when he got back to base. "Who are you anyway?"

"Surely you know by now I won't answer that question." The faerie responded. "Not unless you were to give me something exceptionally valuable in exchange for that answer. But... I don't think you have that in you. Just know for now that I am Queen Winter and I require your aid."

"Well ain't that unfortunate?" Cobalt replied. "I'm not much in a helping mood."

"Really?" Queen Winter asked. "That's a shame. You did such a marvelous job passing my little trial last night too. I was quite impressed with your ingenuity. That little iron dust bomb. It has more potential than you even know."

"And just keep in mind we're willing to use it again should the need arise." Tex kept the brass tube leveled on her.

"Honestly, people accuse me of cruelty and you act like this." Queen Winter sighed. "I told you I merely wanted to talk."

"You did try to kill us last night." Frinkel pointed out.

"I did no such thing!" Queen Winter responded. "I merely wished to see how capable you were. Had you failed the trial you would have survived. I would have found you a place in my menagerie to live out the rest of your simple lives."

"You're not really endearing yourself to us." Frinkel muttered.

"I don't have to." Queen Winter replied dryly. "I have something you want. And if you want it you're going to help me."

"I fear I know the answer to this because I can think of only one thing that'd make us go along with this but I must ask anyway." Tex took a deep breath before continuing. "What do you have?"

"I know where your missing friends are," Queen Winter replied. "They've been taken by the forces of summer, forced to be my rival's knights. She tricked them into the position. Honestly, a bit childish if you ask me. I on the other hand will ask you to agree to the games of your own free will."

"What do you mean tricked them into this? What games?" Tex demanded.

"The forces of Summer and Winter are always at war," Queen Winter explained. "But a true battle would devastate the planet. Imagine a world with eternal summer or winter, the ecosystem would be destroyed. Nonetheless, we must do battle. It is in our nature. And our kind always obeys our nature."

"So you gather other people to fight on your behalf," Tex muttered. "I remember reading the report on this."

"Quite. And your friends were tricked into agreeing to a contract to fight for Summer. They are now prisoners in the primal world of the fae. You will not be able to reach without the assistance of a faerie."

"That's not a good reason for us to help you." Cobalt responded. "We'd just have to fight them! Killing them in battle isn't exactly conductive to a rescue."

"Who said you'd have to kill them?" Queen Winter asked. "One side wins when the other side is unable to continue. You need not actually kill them. Of course, I also can't say that Summer will just let them go should they lose."

"So what exactly do you expect us to do?" Sinopa interrupted. "You're done nothing but give us reasons not to help you."

"Come now. You're clever little mortals aren't you? That's something you'll have to figure out yourselves. How to save your friends from Queen Summer and escape. That's on you. That was your own mission. I will neither aid nor hinder you in it. I am simply offering you transport into the world of the fae in exchange for serving as my knights."

"What are your exact terms?" Tex asked sensing a trap.

"You will ensure that Summer's plans do not come to fruition in the Royale. I will allow you free entrance and exit from our realm so long as Summer is unable to claim victory."

"You're the type that cares more about seeing the other side lose than your own victory huh?" Sinopa asked.

"And what happens if we agree to help, but summer still wins?" Cobalt demanded.

"In that case you will have failed the terms of your contract." The queen lowered her voice. "And you should know I have very little tolerance for people who don't honor their bargains. Still, if you tried your best, perhaps there will be a spot in the menagerie for you. If you really disappoint me well... My other collection is the envy of the faerie world."

"I don't think I want to know what that means." Frinkel muttered.

"Look I don't have time to sit around all day." The queen responded. "If you don't take this deal then I need to find someone else. But let me make something clear. If you do not accept my offer your friends will die. That's not a threat. It's just a matter of fact. Summer will never release your friends from bondage. She will force them to compete again and again until they perish or expire naturally. If you find some way to enter our world without my blessing Summer will destroy you in an instant. Your choice right now is simple. Do you risk your existence to save your friends? Or do you let them perish to preserve your own lives?"

"You really don't make this a very appealing situation." Sinopa growled.

"I don't have too." Queen Winter replied. "I've given you my terms. Now then. Will you try to save your friends or will you save yourselves?"

"Uggggh." Sinopa groaned. "You know we don't have a choice yet. It's not in our nature to just walk away and leave someone to die. But you knew that, that's what you were counting on. Fine. I'll help."

"Well you're not going to go in alone." Frinkel replied. "It's a huge risk, but if we work together it's more likely to work right? Besides I couldn't live with myself if I walked away now."

"This is going to end poorly." Tex sighed. "But at the same time I also can't consciously choose to walk away from this."

"You're all idiots," Cobalt responded. "She's playing us right now. She knows she can appeal to our morality and force us to do her bidding. The only smart move would be to walk away right now."

"I can't fault you for walking away from this." Tex nodded.

"I never said that!" Cobalt screamed. "I just said it was stupid. I never said I was smart enough to walk away. This is all going to be a huge mistake. But I'm coming too."

"Wonderful." Queen Winter smiled. "Then the contract is sealed. Now before we go I should give you one last warning. Those silver bands on your body aren't just decorations my minions left you with. They let me know where you are and what you're doing at all times. So I give you this one warning. Do not attempt to cross me. I'll know in an instant. Now, let's be off to prepare for the coming battle. I have a good feeling about this year's games."

SHIFT

Mission 008: Cold Bargain

Mission Status Unknown