It was like his blood had awakened. It was the best way describe to himself what the power coursing through him felt like. His mind blossomed and his bones were filled with lighting. Chicken was now awash with internal power. His mind was drowning in it, tumbling about. Something else, maybe the mind of the power itself, was in his head with him.

　　This will do, the voice said, though it sounded disappointed.

　　It didn`t reverberate. It didn`t tremble the air. The words appeared fully formed in his head, involuntarily, and were gone as quickly.

　　The turmoil subsided and he examined the changes. He could flap the wings as easily as an arm or leg. In doing so, he stirred the air and knocked Amerigo over. He apologized and helped his friend back to his feet.

　　Taking Amerigo`s arm in his hand, the spectral claws sliced through the sleeves of the kelp robe and Amerigo pulled his arm back in pain. Blood pooled in neat little lines along his arm.

　　"I barely touched you," Chicken said as they both stared at his new wounds. He shook his hands in frustration.

　　"How do I turn it off?" he said with a growl.

　　Amerigo saw a pulse of blue light come from Chicken`s mouth. Getting to his feet and carefully taking his friend`s arm, he made a gesture, bringing his hand to his mouth and casting it straight away.

　　"You want me," Chicken said, puzzled, "to projectile vomit?"

　　Amerigo waved away the words as he shook his head. He tried again. With no pantomime, he took his friend by the shoulders and pointed Chicken away from himself.

　　Chicken shouted mightily at the darkness. The faintest blue pulse came out, but he noticed it this time.

　　"Oh! Fire! I can breathe fire?"

　　He cleared his throat and tried to breathe aggressively.

　　There was more flame this time. It spouted a foot from his face, much like in the imagination of every child discovering what freezing air does to their breath.

　　More like this, came the coldly condescending inner voice. Before Chicken could get the question out, the power inside him did something. It happened without even the use of his lungs, feeling most like an exhalation of the soul.

　　A hearty tongue of blue fire lit up the cavern with a sound like a waterfall of mercury, lasting for whole seconds before ending abruptly. A grin to spread on Amerigo`s face and his eyes began to sparkle.

　　With the jet of fire cut off and shadows having reclaimed lost territory, Chicken carefully turned to his friend. The front of the gnome was completely dry.

　　"What," he said calmly, though breathlessly and with exaggerated gestures, "is happening?"

　　Your greatest desire, came the reply. The power within him had spoken again.

　　"And who are you?" Chicken asked no one in particular.

　　Amerigo looked shocked.

　　"Not you, the voice."

　　Amerigo tapped his own head questioningly.

　　"Yeah, there`s a voice in my head that`s not me."

　　Amerigo nodded knowingly, case solved.

　　I can give you what you want, the voice said. Images of his home flashed before him.

　　I can save them for you. Images of his family. Images of Auntie.

　　"Ok," he said determinedly. "That`s what I want. Let`s do it!" This was looking like a pretty good deal.

　　The power coiled around Chicken`s mind.

　　Yes, it said in oiled silk, Let`s.

　　****

　　Sigildred was resting from his earlier surprise some distance from the forming pool. He was lazily weighing the benefits of having steady access to spring water on his property against the negatives of having a ticking timebomb of heat, water, and pressure. He was just thinking to himself, "I guess the ground actually do bleed," when he started hearing a voice. It was dampened, and just within hearing range, but it was getting louder.

　　As he listened, he found it was underscored by a repetitive thump noise, like a broad hammer hitting a boulder over and over. The voice itself had a cadence like one side of a conversation, and it was in a slave language he didn`t recognize. The words he didn`t recognize went as such.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

　　"-when we found this cavern. You gave me quite a fright with those scaley pictures on the walls,"

　　Thump. Thump.

　　 "-and the bright light and floating and whatnot, but you`re really helping us out of a tight spot."

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"Your name is Ashley?"

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"Sorry. Ashley, Queen of the Desert, Sapphire of the Mountains."

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"Can I call you Ashley for short?"

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"Oh."

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"You`re definitely making this climbing much easier, that`s for sure."

　　Thump. Thump.

　　"Hey, I know a story about a Queen of the Desert. Remind me to tell it to you some time."

　　Sigildred began wandering, searching for the source of the sound. Prisoner labor would be a big boon for his small farm. He didn`t like the idea of moving more tons of boulder by himself.

　　He triangulated the voice to a small hole. The voice said, "There`s an easier way out?"

　　The orc snuck a peek over the edge. The voice said, "Ok!" Sigildred began planning to catch whatever would come out. There was no chance it could be stronger than his orcish endurance. He`d tame it with nothing but his own two hands.

　　Before he could pull back, however, a kobold with blue wings carrying some kind of goblin on its back burst from the hole, knocking him to the ground.

　　Chicken was momentarily startled, but the joy of flight distracted him from his hit and run. He screamed with joy and delight. Amerigo struggled to hold on, fighting back terrible memories.

　　"Next stop home!" he declared.

　　****

　　Eleruse Skullcrusher took the stand with indignant grace. She stared out at the crowd, her face like a battle axe.

　　"That girl there is not my Penelope, and I have evidence. It all started-," she began. The judge cut her off.

　　"If you are to testify," the judge said, "then first you must swear."

　　Without a moment`s hesitation, she let loose a ghastly stream of vile curses. Too shocked to stop her, she did so for several seconds, slipping into gobbeldygook to keep it fresh. The judge finally waved her into silence, turning her words off like a tap, all at once.

　　"I mean you must swear to Ogg."

　　"I do, every day," she said diligently. "Not right of him to be up there, lording his position over us. I can`t stand it."

　　"Your countenance is vile, your demeanor is commendably prickly, and I envy your vocabulary," the judge said slowly, "but, please, just leave your mark on the words of Ogg so we can continue." There was a hint of respect in the judge`s tone.

　　Eleruse looked down at the stricken goblin prisoner below her. In its hands were a stack of engraved slates with a clean knife on top.

　　"Just say so next time," she said, though it was clear the flattery had gone to her head. She cut her hand and left a bloody handprint on the slabs.

　　Having quickly recovered from the verbal assault, the goblin disappeared behind the podium again.

　　"As I was saying," Eleruse continued, "my Penelope was kidnapped."

　　After the weight of the statement settled on the crowd.

　　"When she was naught but an unbloodied babe, she was taken from our home. It was like she had vanished in the night."

　　Anger bloomed on her face, but she forced it down in order to continue.

　　"She was always a good child, those years we had her. She had moved to solids quickly and was a right terror to the staff. I remember Justafar was downright impatient to take her on her first hunt."

　　A different emotion flickered across her face before she nestled back into anger. A soft look spurred by the memory was there for only a moment.

　　"Three years was all we got. Three years and then she was taken from us," she said in a cold, grudging tone.

　　"Justafar sent out hunting parties looking for her, seeking our first born, or vengeance in her absence."

　　She stared at Penelope with red rimmed eyes.

　　"This is what they found. A bucket on her head like a war mask and dancing - dancing! - around a fire with," here she spat, "goblins. Living, whole, unsubjugated goblins."

　　A small gasp issued from the crowd.

　　"I told myself that it was nothing. She hadn`t been bloodied yet. I was a fool for thinking my Penelope wouldn`t slaughter such easy fodder wholesale."

　　The smaller of the two jury members muttered between themselves. Dillard stood quietly, staring at nothing.

　　"We brought her back into our home. She no longer terrorized the staff. That should have been my first hint, but I ignored it."

　　She added indignantly, as though defending her honor to the crowd, "You weren`t there! I did what I thought best at the time! She was my first born!"

　　Penelope saw nods of agreement among those crowding around the arena.

　　Eleruse continued, "She started playing with the prisoners working in our home. One day, I heard her giggling. She was riding one of our lizardfolk. Not with a riding crop, and not with it on all fours," she said incredulously, "but on its shoulders!"

　　She made expansive motions, trying to describe with gestures how Penelope had been riding the lizardfolk.

　　"And questions! She came back to us full of questions! Questions about the sky, questions about lesser races. Questions like, where do they come from, and how do we know they`re lesser. Ridiculousness!"

　　Penelope sighed to herself and pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping to stave off embarrassment.

　　"She wouldn`t watch the prison fights any more. All interest was gone. She even bandaged one of our new kitchen goblins who had cut its finger like an idiot."

　　The murmuring from the crowd grew louder.

　　Salander whispered to her, "Is this all true?"

　　She didn`t risk nodding, and Salander continued, "I`m shocked, Penelope. I honestly thought you orcs were all the same."

　　"I finally came to my senses the night of her first blood hunt," Eleruse continued with a start.

　　Penelope stifled a groan. She remembered this clearly, and cursed her mother for digging it back up for everyone to see.

　　"I was not there, but it`s important. The morning of their return, Justafar returned with that thing and an idiotic tale." She chuckled once, mirthlessly.

　　"He said she refused to kill the quarry." The crowd died down. A pit opened in Penelope`s stomach.

　　"He told me," she said, a more manic chuckle coming from her, "he told me he tried again and again to get her to do it, and she - it - wouldn`t."

　　The murmuring didn`t start at this. Eleruse stretched the silence, hundreds of eyes watching her, half that many minds working.

　　"He had to grip her hand and the knife in his and do it for her." Some of the stares moved to Penelope, but she stared only at her mother.

　　"The queen of the faeries took our child," Eleruse said solemnly, "and sent us this poor imitation of an orc. This is why we had to banish her and deny her even an honorable death."

　　The podium held strong, and Penelope wished she had been truly swallowed by the wastes.