I decided to head to the kitchens. They were a couple of flights down the stairs. The kitchens were large and hearty, grey rock decorated the walls and wooden tables filled with all sorts of foods had knights sitting around them feasting. One table had this tall lanky knight with spiky grey hair. He waved me over, I approached him.

  “Well well look who it is,” he said looking me up and down.

  “The biggest piece of slime this side of the garden,” he sounded disgusted as he said it.

  “Look at that it’s the biggest slimebag on the other side of the garden,” I shot back at him.

  He stood up fast getting up close to me.

  “You wanna say that shit again?”

  “Did I stutter.” I stared right at him, my eyes burning with intensity.

  The whole air felt tense and everyone had gone quiet, were staring at us as we stood facing each other for what seemed ages and then he burst out laughing.

  “Fucking Finn how are you?”

  “Lophar I am rolling.” I flash him a grin and give him a huge hug.

  Loiphar turned and addressed the other knights.

  “All right listen up Yackers this my old Citadel mate Finnbarr. Finn these are the knights of the Q Team Radiant Suns.”

  A cute blonde haired pointy eared female in a red tunic gave me a curt nod while the large burly black haired Jaknight next to her waved at me with the giant leg of meat in his hand. I saw another, this purple haired girl but she was asleep, her head resting on the table and she was snoring. The last Jaknight who had long brown hair tied in a ponytail and was dressed in a brown and green tunic just raised an eyebrow.

  Q Teams are usually 10 Jaknights, I thought.

  “Is the team full up?” I asked Lophar.

  “For the most part they got two more Jaknights, a First Spear and the lieutenant out walking the garden,” he responds.

  “What about your Q Team where are the rest of the Silver Moon boys?” Lophar asked me.

  “Last I checked somewhere in the Nabian Universe with a few of the Witchstalkers.”

  “Why aren’t you with them?”

  I took a deep breath.

  “I had to deliver Hagar’s cloak to his daughters and wife.”

  “Hagar your master?” Lophar stared at me.

  I nodded. “Yeah he fell a few moons back.” I said it quick, I didn’t want to linger the words. I was still processing it, it still felt raw like a wound barely scabbed over.

  “How did he fall?” the blonde haired knight asked me as she looked at me curiously.

  “Ryda manners!!” the large knight next to her poked her ribs, admonishing her, shaking his head.

  “It’s fine,” I answered, I didn’t want them to think me sensitive.

  “He fell against The Nightmare of Dreams.”

  All of them gave each other a look.

  “One of The Hurdi,” Ryda said quietly.

  Just hearing her say the name of that Pantheon sends my mind to a place I don’t want to recall yet it plays like a moving scroll in my head, a montage of blood, flashes of steel, broken stars and shattered planets and my failure.

  “All death is certain,” Lophar’s words took me out of my head.

  “And all life is not,” I say back finishing the phrase.

  “Exactly,” Lophar nods at me.

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  “And what brings you and the rest here?”

  “We have been sent by the Marshall Eowyn to clear out a Cosmic, section discovered.”

  “You know which one?”

  Lophar shook his head.

  “No idea not that it matters we can handle it.”

  “I’m sure you can.”

  Lophar offers me a seat and I take it. Soon I’m scarfing down chunks of meat and dipping black crusted bread in alista seed stew.

  “Man she can sleep through a storm,” I said looking at the purple haired girl who was still snoring.

  “Ahahah,” Lophar burst out laughing again.

  “Oh yeah that’s Sotipha always in slumber when she gets a chance.”

  “Lucky her it takes me ages to fall asleep,” I say as I chew on a piece of bread.

  “So would I if I knew I was you,” Lophar said shooting me a wink.

  I give him a rude gesture with my finger.

  The quiet one gets up.

  “Leaving already?” I ask him.

  He turns and just gives a look of please shut up.

  “He’s a talker ain’t he?”

  “Zachriaz is a good Jaknight but he’s one of those Ombudo Vowers won’t talk till his blade has blood,” the burly Jaknight took a long sip of his cup.

  “Ahh I see well Lophar my fellow knights it’s time I make my exit I wanna walk off the food.”

  I take the long way back to the courtyard. As I walk I enjoy the various things that filled the tower, great paintings, war trophies, observatories of far off constellations and biomes of wondrous worlds. I stop and admire one painting in particular, it’s one of a Jaknight he’s holding a sword and there is light coming from it as he points it towards the heavens and this horrific blue tentacled monster seemed to be fleeing the Jaknight. Another Jaknight came and stood next to me, she had on a beautiful white hooded cloak and a gambeson tunic of the deepest brown. Next to her was this boy no older than 13 or so, he had blue skin and messy tousled black hair and a red cloak.

  “Master is this the painting?”

  “Yes this was gifted to the order by the Artist Vihui when the Jaknight Soung saved his world from Omni’s agent, the first world ever rescued by a Jaknight,” the female Jaknight told her student.

  The boy looked at the painting with wonder, he reminded me of when I was young and a ward under my master when he took me to see the waterfalls of the Star Nymphs. I wonder if I had the same look as this one did now.

  “This painting is older than even the stars outside.”

  The boy looks at me in awe.

  “Really?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  I give him a little grin and slight nod to his master and I resume my walk back to the courtyard. It was empty now and the once pink waters now flowed a golden orange across the fountains.

  “Where is he?” I looked around but saw nothing.

  minutes passed

  I was about to leave when I caught a glimpse of someone shimmering or being invisible to the mind laying on the floor. I approached and tapped him with my foot. A large black great coat with layers upon layers appeared and under the layers was the mage dead asleep, he reeked of mead and fairy wine.

  “Hey wake up,” I give him a shove with my foot.

  He snores loudly and wraps the coats around himself more.

  “Mage wake up.” This time I give him a slight kick in the ass.

  “Hey hey whah going on?” the mage gets up babbling.

  “I said wake up I’m Finnbarr you’re supposed to go with me to deal with some cups.”

  The mage sits up and looks at me.

  “Who said this?”

  “The Magus Calyx.” I tried to say it calm but I was feeling annoyed with him.

  “Of course Calyx you…” he muttered something and had a scowl on his face as he looked up towards the direction of the Magus room. He got up.

  “Archk arfffhhh huagh.” The mage coughed up a loogie.

  “Do you need a glass of water?” I ask him slightly disgusted.

  “Water good idea yea good idea.”

  The mage creates a large ball of water between his hands. There’s a splash as he plunges his whole head into it, a moment later the bubble pops splashing water on the floor

  “Whoo,” he shakes his head, water flies everywhere off his long reddish hair and mustache.

  “Now where are the cups?” he squints at me.

  “In my home flower of Aprtimis.”

  “Aprtimis? Aprimitis? Have I heard of such a place?” he stares off for a moment.

  “Ehh no matter a flower is a flower am I right?”

  “Sure and this one is gonna take us a bit to get to so…”

  “Yes but no need to rush perhaps we can.”

  “Perhaps we can head out grab these cups and finish this mission.” I look at him and cross my arms.

  He groaned " Very well we go now Finnbarr.” He mutters something in a wizard’s tongue I can’t quite understand but I’m sure it’s not something sweet about me.

  The Mage began rifling through his pockets. He pulled out a wand, several books and bottles of spirits and potions as well some suns he had shrunk down to marbles.

  “Where did I leave it where oh here it is.” The mage pulled out a small silver ring that he threw to the ground, it grew larger and a large I mean really big red blue lipped fish came out and opened its mouth and out rolled its large pink tongue, it was so big I could walk through it.

  “I know you’re not thinking of using that to travel?” I shot him an are you serious look.

  “This is the best way to travel discreetly besides Monchep hardly gets to enjoy some work.”

  The mage begins to walk into the mouth, he turns.

  “Will you be coming Finnbarr?”

  “Not like there’s a choice.”

  I walk with him into the mouth, it’s large warm and damp with a smell of ocean and fish. I watch as it closes, the light of the outside gone replaced by a small glow, the fish slides into the water and begins to take us into the grey.