(Adalberto's POV)
There's no respite beneath the waves.
The water has turned the color of blood.
No... no, no!
Clarion! Jonsuel! No!
No...
Not you too...
My dear... little... friends...
My throat tightens.
I'm losing my mind.
Everywhere I turn, someone dies.
I've never felt this powerless.
Narwhals have always been strong... but it's been thousands of years since we last fought!
How are we supposed to start fighting again like this?
Ellen! No! Ellen... you too!
"Freeze!"
...
"Stun!"
...
"Disarm!"
Damn it! Why isn't my magic working anymore? Just what I needed!
What do I do now?... I don't have a choice.
"I'll get help from the surface!"
I'm spent, but it doesn't matter.
With the last of my strength, I surge toward the surface.
Oh, no no no no no no!!!
A whirlpool!
(Aileen's POV)
Oh no... Adalberto!
He's caught in a whirlpool.
I look around frantically.
Isn't there anyone who can help him?
Clouds above... if he can't get out of there, he's going to die!
Adalberto... something's wrong... he's completely lost his bearings... even his snout has turned purple!
Please... Great Sage... please...
Help him!
Why...?
Why can't I do anything?
Why?!...
(Adalberto's POV)
Have to...
Get...
Out...
Looking for...
Something...
Anything I can hook my horn onto, but... I'm spinning too fast! I can't see! I can't even judge the distance!
The water...
How can it be suffocating me?
"Heeeelp!"
No one will hear me.
(Giant Crab Chief's POV)
"Keeping everyone focused on the same spot is just wasting time," I tell the Chief of the Sea Crocodiles. "The torpedo rays and the orcas are doing just fine without us."
"So what do you suggest?" he growls.
"We can breathe above the surface too. Let's move."
His watery eyes gleam. His tongue flicks across his jaws as though he's already tasting his next meal.
"I like that. Let's go."
One signal.
That's all it takes.
Each of us calls our own troops.
Then we head for the surface.
Every giant crab and every sea crocodile follows.
We'll be far more useful up there.
(Aileen's POV)
While Adalberto fights for his life beneath the sea...
The battle on land is brutal.
Savage.
Relentless.
Orcs, Trolls, and Mountain Gnomes aren't just unbelievably strong.
They're cruel.
Cunning.
Treacherous.
Dorcha is the only one who knows them well enough to predict their every move.
Even so...
The Trolls are giving him trouble.
They can't be controlled.
They don't follow a plan.
They throw themselves at our soldiers with ruthless instinct.
The Mountain Gnomes and the Orcs, though...
Could they be following the same strategy...?
Dorcha!
Look out!
(Grogher's POV)
"Behind you, Dorrrcha!" I roar.
But I'm too farrr away.
(Dorcha's POV)
"AAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!"
A hammer slams into my shoulder.
Hard.
Brutal.
The pain is deep.
Unbearable.
Lights burst across my vision.
My knees give out.
I stagger...
and hit the ground.
(Aileen's POV)
Dorcha!
Look out!
The Mountain Gnome is charging him again.
His hammer whirls through the air without mercy.
Grogher comes sprinting in from behind.
Please, Grogher...
Do something!
Help him!
"Out of my way!" he roars, grabbing the gnome.
Then he hurls him.
So far that the instant he hits the ground, he's dead.
Grogher!
Turn around!
A Troll is leaping straight at Dorcha.
He's going to crush him like a bug.
Grogher turns.
Sees him.
Breaks into a sprint—
and throws himself straight into the Troll.
The Troll crashes down, slams his head against the ground, and goes limp.
Grogher rushes over to Dorcha.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks."
He pushes himself back to his feet.
Are you really...?
You're so pale, Dorcha...
Even your smile looks strained...
(Dorcha's POV)
Grogher...
If it hadn't been for him...
For a brief second, our eyes meet.
He's worried.
My skin burns like fire, but I can't tell him.
Then suddenly—
inhuman screams echo from the mountains.
I turn.
What the—
"What are they doing?! That wasn't the plan!" I shout.
But it's too late to stop them now.
Why didn't Baelnes stick to the original plan?!
He's leading wave after wave of Rainbow Gnomes and Elves up the mountain trails.
It's suicide!
The Mountain Gnomes are battle-hardened.
Armed to the teeth.
And there are far more of them than Baelnes's forces.
They pour out of every crack and crevice like swarms of locusts, attacking without mercy.
Baelnes...
He's led them straight to their deaths...
His own included.
They're all dying.
All of them.
Aaahhh... ah... aaah!
What is this... pain?
It's un... unbearable...
My ears pound.
My head spins.
I can't take a single step.
The clash of steel grows louder and louder.
Cries of pain.
Cries of death.
A grotesque song.
A dreadful cacophony.
Enough...
I've had enough of war.
Enough of blood.
Enough.
I just want it all to end.
(Seahorse's POV)
I stop fleeing the moment I spot a whirlpool.
There's something inside...
Someone!
It's Adalberto—the Elven Narwhal!
I've got to help him.
But... how?
I dart up.
Down.
Left.
Right.
Aaaahhh! Think... think!
Maybe he'll know what to do.
"Hey! How do I help you? I'm... too small!" I shout, stopping just outside the whirlpool.
My voice is so tiny...
Did he even hear me?
"Hey! Can you hear me?!"
"Get... Varsos..."
His voice is barely there.
Varsos...
Right.
He has to be somewhere nearby.
Varsos...
Varsos...
Ah.
He's fighting three sharks and two orcas all by himself.
There's no way he can help us.
"Varsos can't come."
But...
"Wait! I know! I'll be right back!"
I race away and return moments later with a whole crowd of little mermaids and young tritons.
"Just like we practiced! Lock your tails and hands together!" I order.
Then I turn to Adalberto.
"Narwhal! Listen to me! Swim against the current! Can you do that?"
"And then?"
"Then we'll pull you out! Everyone, you remember the plan, right? Link together! You ten—anchor yourselves to that huge boulder! Everyone else becomes the rope! Got it?!"
"They'll never manage it!"
"Stop talking and swim, Narwhal! Come on, everyone! Grab onto his horn! Go, go, go!"
The little tritons and mermaids do exactly as they're told.
They're quick.
Capable.
It isn't easy.
The ones who enter the whirlpool have to fight with everything they've got just to keep from being swept away.
But...
Even so...
Little by little...
Yes!
We did it!
"I can't believe it! I'm out! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, kids! Thank you, Seahorse! Thank you!"
His snout is still purple, but he's bursting with joy.
What a relief.
He gives me a grateful flick of his tail, bows respectfully to the young seafolk, then speeds toward the shore.