We're near the mountains again. It's the residence of Toby and Edgie, completely opposite each other at the table. It's board game night for the duo, and tonight's game of choice? ### Chess. You should be trembling at that. No, really. These two friends, who are normally amicable and split their rent, become mortal enemies at the chess board. And today is no exception - the two minds are going head to head to decide one thing, and one thing only. Who - and by the knights, we gotta know - *who* is paying for tonight's takeout? Toby scoffs. "You're going down, Edgie. Your magic has nothing on the quick thinking of kinematic robots." Edgie doesn't even move a muscle. "Your dependence on your robotic half is almost cute. Almost." They flip a coin, a single Amog's worth. Edgie calls it. "It's swords." Toby reveals it. "Shields. I'm white, to play." "So it will be." Toby begins with pawn to d3. Edgie responds with pawn to e5. White bishop to e3. Black horse to h6. Toby moves his pawn on the h file up one. Black knight to f5. White knight to f3. "Heh. Just like they say in the books, right?" Edgie didn't say anything. Bishop to c5. Toby captures it with his own. "Check and mate, Edgie." "Neither of us has reached checkmate status, Toby." Edgie's e-file pawn advances forward. Again, it is captured by one of Toby's. "Sure about that?" "Maybe." The only knight out on Edgie's side hovers, and moves to d4. Another early capture, the bishop directly diagonal from it taking it. "You've forced my hand, then." The other one of Edgie's knights come out, to c6. The white bishop moves just one square down, as if to shake its hand. The knight retreats to a5. It does not like having its hand shaken. Toby's knight moves to d4. "Hey, shake their hand, buddy!" Edgie's to c4. "Maybe not theirs, but perhaps your own?" Toby's pawn on the b file advances one. "Hey, buddy, that's *my* knight!" Edgie's knight takes the place of the pawn. "And that's *my* seat." Toby uses his claw to precariously slide his queen over a file, towards the knight, a bouncer in the casino watching a guy, getting him to leave via sheer intimidation. Just then, a pawn on the other side of the board advances to h5. "What exactly are you playing here, Edgie?" "Chess. It's your move." Unceremoniously, the knight is forced out by the queen, its piece falling onto the floor. It floats back up and is placed on the side of the board. In response to the harrowing sight, the d-file black pawn is moved up a square. Toby retreats the bishop the pawn was attacking back a square. As if to mock the futility, the remaining black bishop comes out to play on e6. But, Toby is prepared-! His ever loyal knight captures the mocking bishop. "You're wavering, Edgie. You can always call it quits, if you'd like." "Never a chance, robot boy." Courteously, the black queen comes out of their shadow, meeting the knight. The knight counters by taking the pawn on the g-file - a Check. Edgie looks over the board. "Well played, Toby. Forcing my hand out of the ability to capture? I'm impressed. I concede - I will be paying for dinner tonight." "Serves you right! But... since you are paying, you can choose where we're going." "Hm. There is this noodle place that I have heard of once..." Just then, Edgie started vibrating. They reached inside their robe and pulled a strange contraption - It looked like what we know as a walkie-talkie, but with a strange, quartz-like crystal on top, and a small pipe coming out of the back. Edgie took the pipe and jammed it into their ear, listening intently. "I know you're helping me and all, but I think we need to discuss personal-" "Be quiet, if you will?" Edgie listened intently. "Mhm. Yes. I see. Oh. Okay. Love you too." "What's the news?" "It's from On High. There's something going on in their main courts." "What's the something, then?" "A student seems to have gone out and gone crazy with some of the spells they just learned. They want me to deal with it." "Why is that your problem?" "It's the agreement I have for being a fugitive. I help them occasionally, they allow me freedom from their ward. I'll be leaving within the day, would you like to accompany me?" Toby sighed. "Sure, fine. Just let me know when we're leaving." Some time passes. They both, individually, prepare themselves for the journey. Nothing eventful, nothing we haven't already seen. Eventually, it was time to head out, just before dusk. Toby grabbed his backpack and met up with the mage, who was outside, kneeling on the ground, their hands dug into the earth. "Uh, Edgie, you alright?" "Come closer, if you will." Toby took the steps he needed, holding a hand on a nearby pole, also unfamiliar. "What's going on?" "We're cutting our travel time down." The earth started to rumble. A line was drawn in a somewhat irregular circle around the mage, keeping Toby and the pole within its boundary. The earth beneath the trio rose up, and Toby immediately wrangled himself to grip the pole as tight as possible. "I hope you know what you're doing!" Edgie didn't respond. Without a hitch, the earth rose up, and blasted off towards The Neon Desert. Neither of them said a word when this happened - Edgie had to concentrate, and Toby knew this, but he was more worried about losing his grip on the pole. Over the two of them, the wind was crashing into their sails - no, not the wind, the air that was scrolling past the anomalously floating platform. Toby opened his eye for a brief moment, allowing him to see a lot - the trees, the mountains he lived near, The Human Residence was pretty far off in the distance, and the ground-! "Not opening my eyes again! Just tell me when we get there!" The wind stopped. a still silence. Toby opened his eyes to a quite familiar setting... the purple sands, the haze of the infinite twilight... He shuddered, but pressed on. "I forgot they kept the mages here..." "It is a lot of open space, in case something catastrophic happens. It is ill-advised for beginner magics to be practiced in the towns, especially something like The Residence." "Fair... oh, the knights..." Toby put hit hands on his legs, bending down, trying to keep something back. He swallowed... "I'm fine, just... keep going." "Good, because we're where they asked me to go." Toby looked around, clearing his registry. "Huh... just looks like a bunch of rocks in a circle." "You'd be forgiven for mistaking them for the common monoliths - normally, though." Edgie came to the center of the circle looking at each of them. They were all of varying height, but all were tall, round, and firmly dark grey. "You're right in asserting this looks atypical, though." They looked around and around, with no sight of any life - human, magical, robotic, or otherwise. "Toby, do you know of the Rain Dance?" "All too well. Why?" "The heights of the stones... They correspond with the notes of the song..." "So, what, we gotta sing?" "I do not sing. I will whistle, you will sing." "Fine..." Edgie, in their deep voice, started whistling a slow tune... something reminiscent of a sailor's or pirate's tune, or one you'd hum while toiling away at the mines. Toby didn't hesitate to start when he was cued in. *O' Knights! O' Knights! How dearly we wish to say... We're looking for the waterbed, So to you, we've come to pray.* *For our crops, our wheat, They have withered, 'gun to dry... So for the [[Peddler]]'s come to tell us, We ask of you - tell us why.* *O' Knights! O' Knights! We wish you the best of luck! But we still need to eat, you see, so we ask - a hand on the corn to shuck.* A digital chirp is heard. The rocks retreat into the earth, and soon, does the circle they once outlined begin to as well. Toby starts to panic. "Uh, Edgie, are you sure this is what's supposed to happen?" "I sense that it is, though, I do not think it was On High that summoned us."