"The Empress is dead. I saw her body myself." Cafer knew that only definitive proof would work at this point, and yet he technically had none."Is that so?" An all-too-familiar voice said behind him. "Tell me what my body looked like, Chief Cafer?"The crowd cheered, "Glory to the Empress!"The Chief balled his fists and turned to look at the Empress. She looked so fierce, that he unconsciously took a step away from her. Her blue-flecked eyes exuded confidence. Cafer marveled at the transformation.A blur of movement caused him to notice the prince and princess disappear in the arms of their rescuers. "After them!" Cafer barked under his breath to the guard closest to him. The guard and three others ran after the children."I asked you a question, Chief Cafer." Aurora looked down on the gnome."And were you the Empress, I would answer." He addressed the crowd, "What cruel joke is this? You send me an imposter Empress, and now she has abducte

Looking around at his vast store of treasure, Cafer was still unhappy. He had had all the power of the world within his grasp, and it slipped through his fingers all because of one useless human. Worse than that: a little girl. He would have his revenge. It had been nearly a decade since the final battle with Her Majesty, Empress Aurora, and her Consort, Devrim, but the wound was still fresh in Cafer's mind. Gnomes had long memories, and his was longer than most. He rested against the large golden chair inside his lair below the earth, grumbling quietly.Cafer lifted the gilded mirror that sat on the table next to him. There was no message waiting for him in the glass. Prince Alaron had not sent him anything in several days. This was unusual. Perhaps the boy, now nearly sixteen, had found other interests to occupy his time. Cafer did not like thinking about that. He needed to keep his hooks in the young prince in order to exact his sweet revenge on the boy's mother and regain

Brinn continued calmly, "We initially believed that these sailors were just a low level operation trying to avoid taxes. Upon further observation, it turns out they are actually highly organized. They never stay anywhere more than a week or two. First they take the mayor of a small town and his family prisoner. Then they terrorize the townspeople and take anything that isn't nailed down. The people generally suffer through the invasion as they want to escape with their lives. After a week or two, about the time the army can arrive, they poof without a trace into the sea.""Impressive, if only they weren't so evil." Devrim stroked his chin.Brinn went on, "I also have reason to believe they are trafficking weapons to Her Majesty's enemies." She looked at Gandr."They were willing to sell me all sorts of stolen weapons for half price if I planned to use them against the Empress. I bought up all they had on hand to deplete their supply. Speaking of which, I will ne

Cafer was impatient to reach the palace and traveled mostly underground to reach his destination. With his ground-crimping magic, he was able to arrive at the palace in less than a week, but he was utterly exhausted and drained of his power. He decided to find an inn for the night and regroup.The gnome laid down in the fluffy bed and felt much of the angst leave his body. The other gnomes made fun of Cafer for his love of soft linen, but he had experienced perfection, and nothing else could compare. The others of his kind made their beds among the rocks. It was less than ideal.Cafer pulled the mirror from his belt and checked to see if it was glowing. It was just as well that it was not. The prince and he had already made arrangements to meet the following evening. For now he would rest; tomorrow he would find the entrance to the Storehouse.———————-"You have been under a lot of stress. Have dinner with me toni

Cafer and Alaron returned to the glowstone, and the entrance to the Storehouse disappeared."Do you know the way back to your mother's room?" Cafer asked."Yes, I can find it. What will you do?" Alaron was surprised to find the gnome would not make the return trip with him."I have some things to take care of. I will contact you with the mirror soon. It has been wonderful to see you in person after so long." Cafer patted Alaron on the shoulder."Good to see you too, Uncle Cafer. I wish you well."They parted ways. Cafer scurried quickly to check on the Royal couple. Having viewed the dinner preparations earlier in the evening, the gnome wanted to see if he could glean any new information by eavesdropping. Silently he approached the one-way window. From his vantage point, the couple seemed happy enough. The gnome fought the urge to open the wall and kill them both.But after his last murder attempt on the balcony, a visit from the Fates warne