One Horn was the four-spike dalki who was the strongest of the enemy during the dalki war. The fact that he was on the planet and the fact that he was now a five-spike… it was major news.
Minx ran to the command post. Biff was sent out with a team to check out what was going on. Not long after they got on the scene, Earthborn ships arrived and a fight broke out. The humans against the dalki were so overpowered that the humans lost 80% of their forces to include General Sach being significantly wounded and the fate of Oscar was unknown.
The demon-tier sword Oscar always carried ended up in the hands of the human leader, Ruby. Also known as Minny's mother. It was because of her that the rest of the earthborn were permitted to leave the planet.
They had it all on video but was it even useful? What they were able to see before the military arrived was the dalki attacked beasts that were attacking the shelter. This meant that for whatever reason, these dalki were protecting those humans despite being at war with them.
Was this part of Arthur's deal? When he chose to join the dalki, was it on condition those he cared about were protected?
Minx quickly contacted the team, "do any of you see Minny?" She provided a quick description.
Biff responded, "I don't see any children that fit that description."
"She likes to run around on her own. Just keep an eye out for her."
Turning behind her, "Raven, I want shifts. 24-hour surveillance. I'm paying them with family funds, not faction funds. We need to know what their plans are. Keep me updated."
Raven nodded and went to set up a schedule. She set it up in the faction's quest system so people could register for the different shits.
Minx headed back to her house. She knew she couldn't take on a 5-spike. She was the strongest person in the shelter. Sitting on her couch she looked at her new items. She already decided the crystal sword was going to Midas. Perhaps having Alex look at it would be beneficial.
As for the other two items, Minx was more at a loss. The metal thing had a hole in the exact center. Minx realized the inside of the hole had teeth, like a gear. She thought about things for a while. Shalt helped her with the kittens so Griddlebone could rest, especially with what was happening.
She wondered if this went with the sword or if there was another missing piece. She pulled out her sword to see if there was anything with gear-like teeth and sure enough, she found something.
Just above the hilt, where it attached to the blade, there was a raised round piece that wrapped around the blade. She slid the bar down the blade and lined the teeth up. The bar was a 90-degree angle to the crossbar of the hilt. Minx turned the bar, so it was lined up with the hilt. She could feel some power coming off it.
Just then, Midas came in. He could feel the energy from the door. Minx pointed to the crystal sword, "that's yours. It was mom's as well."
Midas picked it up and could feel power out of it as well. "What is this? It's no beast weapon."
"I don't know. I think we need to see Alex. Shalt?"
He appeared in the doorway having been playing with the kids in her room.
"We need to go see Alex."
Shalt nodded, "I'm going with you. Let me go get Dawn to sit with the kittens."
Minx nodded and they waited a few minutes for them to return. While she sat there contemplating her sword and its implications, her tree spoke to her.
The question about Minny was sent to the other side. Minny was taken by those creatures you call dalki when those others arrived.
Minx's face went pale. Midas immediately asked her what was wrong. And she told him.
Thank you. She told the tree. Please pass on my thanks.
When Dawn walked in, the first thing she asked was, "who's Minny?"
"An adventurous child from the other shelter," was all Minx had the heart to say.
"The children should be tired soon. Return them to their mother in 30 minutes if I'm not back yet. I've been so busy lately."
Dawn smiled, "we know. Those books of yours are very helpful."
Minx smiled, "we'll be back soon," and they all left.
Minx and Midas could now fly which made them a little faster than Shalt. This meant they could move faster than if they had humans with them. So, they got to the ship and the forge pretty fast.
Alex was not there but one of her people had just finished work on a chest piece and was wiping his brow. He smiled as he saw two-winged beings enter feeling a bit proud his family leader could see his work.
"Minx! Good to see you. Alex was called out by Quinn and hasn't returned yet. What can I do for you? Do you like my breast plate?"
Minx looked at Midas who presented his sword to Betz who had a perplexed look on his face.
"Where do you keep digging up weapons from that are so special?"
Minx chuckled, "the Bree Family had a few things of our mother's and we have questions. Can you tell us anything at all about this sword and can you forge a sheath for it?"
"I've never seen this crystal before. Plus, when Midas touched the hilt, it glowed but it's not glowing for me."
Minx nodded, "it's coded to our DNA then."
Betz nodded, "that's very likely. How is your sword doing?"
Minx chuckled, "funny you should ask… The Bree had a couple other things. Watch this." She demonstrated the bar that acted like a key to the sword and how it worked.
"Um, that's a massive amount of energy coming off it."
Minx nodded, "is it possible to craft a hilt that will hide that energy level?"
"That's an Alex question."
One of Alex's helpers called out, "just get the dimensions of the crystal sword and Alex will take care of it when he gets back."
"If I'm in a battle, I can't take the time to use a key…though I will need to lock it for sparring. He needs to understand the energy level is high and the new scabbard needs to block out the energy reading."
Betz nodded, "I'll make sure he knows and crafts something for you both."
"I have one last question," she pulled out the trinket, "have any of you ever seen anything like this?" she handed Betz the trinket.
The other looked at it and shrugged, returning to their work.
"What is this thing?" Betz turned it over and over in his hand. "I feel the energy in it but is it supposed to be some sort of beast? There are some markings on the bottom."
"Arcane markings." Minx nodded. "I'll take that as a no, then. It was a long shot on that one, anyway."
He handed it back to Minx, "give me two days on those sheaths. I think I can do something with them. If not, I'll pass it to Alex."
Minx nodded, "we had dalki show up on our planet and I want to be ready for anything."
Betz looked alarmed.
"We are okay for now. They don't know we exist."
"Does Quinn know?"
"No, he's a bit busy right now. I also don't want reinforcements on my planet right now. We live a specific way, as you know and disruption could put us at risk."
Betz nodded and smiled, "in that case, see you in two days!"
The three left, "Next stop, Peter," Minx said.
"Peter?" Midas asked.