1.9 KMAS: Fall of Vermithrex (Act II: Part 2)

Liriel's grip on the child sitting on her lap tightened just a bit, and she instinctively held Esmeralda a little closer. The two women exchanged a knowing, sorrowful look.

"What happened to him?" Liriel asked softly.

"My mom told him not to go. She told him that he could just do his part while staying in the city."

"I am sorry, Esme," Liriel said.

Esmeralda turned around. "Why are you sorry, my lady?"

"I mean, your father..."

"Oh, he just lost a finger. A cultist bit it off."

"He is alive?"

"Of course. He just hangs out at the tavern all day playing cards and telling everyone he is a war hero. My mom yells at him to start working again. But he is just happy with his pension."

Liriel and Sera looked at each other and smiled.

"So, things are not going well at home?" Sera asked the child.

"No. Mom just threatens to divorce him. But she loves him too much. She just wishes he would help out with our flower stall."

On stage, Kyros was fighting in the frontlines, chasing cultists in the cities, protecting small towns, and facing the horrors of the necromancers head on. Even though he defeated many of Vermithrex's apprentices and minions, he did not come face to face with the Lich Lord. While Kyros was protecting innocents, Vermithrex was on a reign of terror in the border regions. He would occasionally show himself to spread fear and corruption among the people, and his unexpected arrivals always heralded a massacre or horrific necromantic ritual. The Lich Lord and his minions kept raising more and more undead from ancient graves. The Eastern border region of Stormhaven, once a center of an ancient empire, provided no shortage of human, dwarven, and dark elven mass graves and burial sites. Even the most recent victims of the horror were added to their unholy army, swelling its numbers.

"Thank the gods it's a holiday today," Sera said. "If not, I think Vermithrex's army might have been very tiny."

Liriel smiled. "I think they might be students of that girl Elsa from the panel. She is a teacher, if I am not mistaken."

After the lengthy but entertaining and high-budget (for the Appreciation Society) battle sequences, the scene shifted once more to something more intimate and personal.

Kyros was alone in his tent. He was going over the scouting report from the commander of the battalion he was camping with. Suddenly the purple communication crystal (a replica) on the table lit up. Kyros answered the message.

Queen Seraphina was on the other end, literally. The stage was divided into two. One part was the tent, and the other was the Queen's chambers in Meridian. Both the Great Mage and the Queen stared into their respective communication crystals to communicate while standing only a few meters away from each other.

"My Queen," Kyros bowed.

"It's good to see you, Kyros," the Queen said. "I...I missed you. Are you doing alright?"

"I...I am doing well, Your majesty," Kyros replied. "But the war is taking a toll on the men. I wish I could find this monster and end him, but he and his minions are slipperier than I imagined."

"I know, old friend. I receive daily reports from the cities and towns on the border, and the situation is dire. Their numbers swell with each passing day, while we lose our defenders. Morale runs low, and disease is taking its toll. If something is not done soon, I am afraid the cities around the region will start falling, and before long the entire region might be lost." The Queen sighed. She sounded exhausted. "And worse of all, Kyros, Vermithrex has declared himself an emperor and has announced his ancient empire restored. I received a formal summons to arrive before him and bend the knee. I am informed that the Dark Elves have received a similar summons. I...I am afraid Kyros. If the Lich Lord comes out on top, I cannot imagine the horrors we might soon face."

"Where are you supposed to go to kneel if he is in hiding?" asked an astute Esmeralda.

"It just said to come to an ancient burial mound in the Zargos mountains," the real Sera answered. "I don't know this for sure, but I think he might have been hiding in a pocket dimension. So, if we had gone, they might have teleported us from there. Or more likely, they might have just killed us."

Stage Kyros looked directly into the crystal, right at where the Queen's image should have been. "My Queen...Sera. I will not let that come to pass. I will not let our people suffer. I will not let you...down."

"Our people." The Queen slowly whispered these words again, and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, Kyros. I know that you won't let us down. I believe in you. I am counting on you. I will provide whatever help you need. Soon, I will send a team of Meridian Special Forces to assist you in hunting down Vermithrex.

"Thank you, my...Sera. I will make sure that our kingdom is safe."

As soon as Kyros said 'My...Sera,' the crowd erupted in a tsunami of gasps and urgent whispering.

Just as Kyros was about to touch the crystal to close the link, the Queen said, "I see that you are wearing the necklace, Kyros." The necklace itself was hidden beneath his clothes, but the outline was visible. Kyros said nothing. The Queen smiled. "Thank you," she said, and closed the link.

Sera was really annoyed now. "I can't believe this. He is going to end up with Queen," she complained. "How does that make sense? Poor Lady Liriel is alone at home, and these two are flirting here."

"It's not over yet, Sera," a smiling Liriel said sagely. "We didn't see whose necklace it was. Just that he was wearing a necklace."

"Oh come on. You saw it, Liri. He was all like, 'My...Sera,'" the Queen said, mocking the dialogue from her stage counterpart. "It couldn't be more obvious. As soon as the war is over, Lady Liriel needs to divorce this man."

"Let's just keep watching. I am sure there is more to it," Liriel replied.

"Fine, fine. I just hope that the writer doesn't subscribe to that weird dwarf's theory of a threesome. If that happens, I am going to punch someone."

"Me too," added Esmeralda.

"Let's all be calm. There is no punching necessary. I am sure this is not that kind of play. It's not highbrow enough for that kind of perversion," said Liriel.

As soon as the call ended, one of the soldiers guarding the Great Mage's tent ran in and saluted him. "My lord," he said, "you have a visitor."

"I have no time for social calls, Sergeant. Whoever it is, tell them that I am busy."

"But, my lord, I...I can't tell them to just leave." The panic in the solider's voice made it clear that this was no ordinary visitor, but the Great Mage was in no mode to entertain anyone.

"Sergeant, unless the Queen herself is here, or unless this visitor has some vital information on the enemy, I do not care. Tell this person to leave and not bother me."

"Even if the visitor is your wife, my love?"

Kyros, who had remained stoic from the beginning, looked like he was struck by lightning. He watched with his mouth hanging open as his beautiful wife walked into the tent.

"Liriel...what...why...how?" Kyros seemed unable to form even a coherent sentence.

"You may leave us, Sergeant," she told the solider with a polite smile. The sergeant quickly bowed to Lady and Lord Magnus and ran out of the tent, earning peals of laughter from the crowd.

Once they were alone, Liriel gave her husband a sweet smile and quickly closed the distance between them. She embraced him and tightly wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I missed you so much," she said. "I would listen to all the reports and I would get so scared. Seeing you well and unhurt has put my mind at great ease, my love."

When this reunion was going on stage, Sera turned to the real Liriel to gauge her reaction and saw that her friend was tearing up.

"Liri, what happened?" Sera asked, her voice full of concern. "It's just a play. Don't take it too seriously," she said, gently patting Liriel on the back.

Liriel wiped her tears and smiled at her best friend. "I just remembered this meeting. He looked so tired and sad at the time. It broke my heart. As soon as he saw me, he came up to me and hugged me tightly. We just held each other for quite a while." Liriel chuckled. "I am just happy that this moment was included in the play, even though it's interpreted quite liberally."

Sera smiled and gave her friend a warm hug.

Esmeralda produced a handkerchief and gave it to Liriel. "Here you go, my lady. It's clean."

Liriel accepted the little girl's gift and patted her on the head, while Sera kept comforting Liriel with the hug.

While this sweet interaction was going on in the audience, the reality on stage was very different.

Kyros brought his arms up as if to embrace his wife but stopped halfway. "Why are you here, Liriel?" he asked, in the same cold tone he had spoken to her in the previous scenes.

Lady Liriel reeled away from him as if struck by a blow. "I...I was sending some essential supplies to the frontlines, Kyros. So I thought that I would come and see you. I wanted to know how you were."

"Don't you know that it's dangerous to be here?"

"But...my love..."

"By coming here you are putting not just yourself at risk; you are putting my men and our mission at risk. What if you are captured by the enemy? Do you expect me to waste precious time trying to save you?"

"No, no, Kyros, I would never. I just wanted to see you, that's all."

"What a Jerk?" Sera yelled from the audience. By now she had lost the last shred of respect she had for stage Kyros. "Why did you even come, Lady Liriel? Should have stayed home and found yourself a nice boy-toy to spend time with."

"What's a boy-toy?" asked a curious Esmeralda.

"Ahh...it's..." Sera froze up and couldn't come up with a quick excuse. She looked helplessly at her friend.

Liriel saved the day by saying, "It's a toy boys usually play with."

"Like a feetball?"

"Something like that."

"So, you often play with boy-toys, Lady Liriel?" the little girl asked innocently.

Without skipping a beat, Liriel answered, "Yes. When my husband is home."

Sera burst out laughing.

Stage Lady Liriel was almost in tears when Kyros stepped forward and gently placed his arms on her shoulder.

The audience gasped once again.

"Liriel, I don't want you to put yourself in danger. I...I don't deserve this loyalty. I know that I have not been the best husband to you."

"You don't say," Sara heckled from the crowd.

But stage Lady Liriel said, "Kyros, do not say that. No woman can ask for a better husband. You are a sweet, wonderful, and amazing man, and any woman would be lucky to be with you."

The real Liriel chuckled upon hearing her fictional self deliver so cheesy a line. "I sense a bit of self-insert from the playwright," she quipped.

"And half the population of the city," Sera cheekily added.

"That's true. Even my mom has a crush on him," Esmeralda said.

"And what about you, brat? Do you have a crush on him?"

"No. He is too old for me. And my mom is already crushing on him, so it would be a bit weird," the little girl replied.

Kyros went in for what seemed like a hug, but at the last moment he turned away with a painful look on his face.

Liriel gently took his hands in hers and said, "I will go back as you wish. But I need to oversee the distribution and storage of the supplies I brought. Will you stay with me until then, my love?"

"I...I will," said Kyros.

The scene inside the tent was followed by a lovely moment of Liriel and Kyros sitting on a rock, a little way from camp and enjoying the sunset. Liriel gently rested her head on Kyros' shoulder, and he let it stay there.

"Oh, wow! I didn't know someone saw us," the real Liriel exclaimed. "Now this is a bit embarrassing."

"This really happened?" asked Sera.

"Yes. With a lot more enthusiasm from Kyros, of course. But other than that, yeah, the sunset scene is pretty accurate."

"It's pretty cute," Sera said. "I don't think you have anything to be worried about."

"Still, it was supposed to be private. I guess we didn't go far enough."

After the sweet sunset moment, Lady Liriel and her entourage got ready to leave the camp. Kyros was standing nearby, witnessing Liriel make preparations for departure.

"I think we are ready, my love," she said. "Stay safe, Kyros, and if you find the time, please let me know how you are."

"I...I will."

Liriel walked to her cardboard carriage. She was about to climb in but stopped midway and turned around to look at Kyros once again. "I see that you are wearing a necklace," she said.

"Yes."

"I heard that the Queen gave you one as well."

Kyros looked away from his wife without saying anything.

A look of silent agony came upon Lady Liriel's face, but she managed to control her emotions and climbed in. Then the two men dressed as horses trotted away carrying Lady Magnus with them.

"I think one of her ears fell off," Sera observed.

"Yeah, I saw it too," Esmeralda said.

Perhaps even the director realized this, as the curtain was quickly pulled, ending the scene.

It was late at night. Kyros was still poring over the map when sounds of sudden commotion pierced the silence of the camp, followed by a bloodcurdling cry. The sergeant from before once again ran in, breathless and scared.

"My lord, my lord, we are being attacked."

"Attacked? By whom, Sergeant? My wards gave me no warnings."

"It's the necromancers, my lord, and he...he is here." The soldier was in full-blown panic.

"Quick, join the other men and form ranks," Kyros ordered. "Let me deal with the immediate threat."