The small group now sat around a table in Will and Ilicia's home. They were eating as Gix told them of the Shary'In.
"The Shary'In, or shadow stalker, share the same home as the Grenga," Gix said, taking a swig from a mug of ale. "They thrive there because their natural weakness is sunlight, and there is no sunlight in the realm we call home. They scale in strength with how dark their environs are, and they are a force to be reckoned with. I am quite frankly surprised that you have lasted."
This last comment he directed to Ilicia. Gix looked to Will. "However, if the rumors floating around about you are true, maybe I am not as surprised as I thought. Long story short, the Shary'In are monsters that, on this plane, mean one thing: someone has summoned them and sent them after you for some purpose."
Ilicia nodded as if this were par for the course. "Well, it would not be the first assassination attempt I had faced. Thank you for the information, for now, let us all eat, and then I will make sure you all are housed. Tomorrow the work begins in earnest."
A small cheer went up around the table, and the rest of the night went smoothly. After securing her room, Will had gone to his room to sleep, and instead, he had been joined by Ilicia, who now lay next to him with his arms around her. "Will, do you think this is because of ... him?"
"Probably, but I am not worried." Will shrugged, shifting them both on the bed. "It simply means I have another reason to hunt him down."
Illicia turned to face Will. "I know that you want this, and you have waited a long time and you have changed since I first met you."
She trailed off as she placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him gently. "I will support you in this hunt Will, but I will not lose you to this revenge."
Will locked eyes with her for a moment, part of him, the angry part, wanted to tell her that it did not matter what she wanted. Will found much more of himself agreeing with her. "I know, and you shouldn't worry, you won't lose me."
She opened her mouth to protest more, and found her tongue battling his. When he pulled back, he smiled. "I will kill the Shary'In and then I will go and track down Viltar."
"Very well. First the Shary'In, then Viltar." Illicia leaned in kissing him with more urgency. "Before that though..."
Will chuckled and began to pull her clothes from her body.
The next day was filled with busy work. The two newly arrived younger Grenga began working to strengthen their defenses. While they did that, Gix, Will, and the defense mage worked to come up with something that would prevent the Shary'In from entering the village.
"I don't know how you would do that?" Said the defense mage, who Will had come to learn was called Genduri.
"Just pour power into it until it produces enough light to trigger their aversion to it," Will said, looking at the rune circle that Gix had scratched into the dirt. Will looked up to see both Gix and Genduri staring at him with open mouths.
"What?" Will asked.
"That would kill me!" Genduri said angrily.
"The amount of power that would be needed for a rune circle encompassing the whole town. It... I... I did not come here to die."
Will flinched. "Genduri, I am sorry. I did not mean it like that. I am just used to my grandmother, who is, um, uniquely situated as far as magical power. Wait a minute, so am I. Could you take power from me and use it to power the spell."
Genduri snorted. "Will, I remember how powerful you were when we were younger in the collective. But I have surpassed that. I..."
Genduri faded off as Will simply grabbed his hand. A moment later, Genduri ripped his hand out of Will's. "But... But how! That much... I... No, I could not do it, no matter the amount of power. I am not a channler. But... I will think about it, Will. Please excuse me."
"What did you do to the poor lad?" Gix asked when Genduri was far enough away.
"Gix, what do you know of my grandmother?" Will asked, nodding when the older Grenga said she was an elf. "I trust you, so I will tell you, she is a Gilsheribrum. An arcane elf. I am one quarter Gilsheribrum. I simply let Genduri feel the raw power I have access to."
Gix stared at Will for a moment. "Well, I guess that explains a lot. One-quarter elf, one-quarter orc, and half-human. Son of the human hero if the rumors are to be believed."
When Will said nothing, Gix simply laughed. "Remind me never to piss you off."
"Fair enough," Will said, turning to Illicia, who was approaching. "Illicia, what can I help you with?"
"I am going to reach out to Father and wanted you to be there for the conversation." She said, smiling up at him.
"Very well, Gix, thank you for your help," Will said, turning to walk with Illicia.
A few moments later, Will, Illicia, Tarrani, the communications mage, and Paratha, the support mage, stood in the reception wing of the house Illicia and Will shared. The two mages nodded and began chanting over a broad, flat dish of water on the table. After the culmination of their chant, an image of the throne room in Kolt seemed to shimmer into existence.
"Ah, Illicia! Will, it is good to see you both. Give me a moment, please." The king said, turning to tell everyone else in the room to leave. "So what can I help you with, my daughter?"
Illicia ran through a brief summary of everything that had happened since her last letter. The king smiled at his daughter. "It seems I chose well to send you to lead this expedition."
The smile faded from his face, and then he turned to lock eyes with Will. "Regarding the Shary'In, there is something that has happened here that you should know about. We have received word on what it is that Viltar is trying to do. He is trying to get access to your father's homeworld, Will. You must be careful. To do this, he must sacrifice..."
As Will and Illicia waited to hear the rest of the words, Tarrani's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed to the ground, ending the spell. Illicia and Paratha rushed to the collapsed woman as a guard burst in. "Princess, they are back! We are under attack!"
Illicia nodded to Will and then left the unconscious Tarrani in the care of a maid. Will began issuing orders to the soldiers, and Illica began issuing orders to the household staff. When they had a moment alone about ten minutes later. Will turned to Illicia, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Me too." Illicia said, hugging Will for a moment, "But remember, you promised I would not lose you."
"I did promise, didn't I," Will said, smiling at Illicia as she left to take upon her post.
"I'll keep that promise," Will said to himself as he walked out the door to see what he needed to do.
