Unknown to Remian, one of his people was still on the East Side when it fell. Or rather, one of his Lynxmice.

Mikai was the fastest Lynxmouse in the Miik Clan. He knew it, and everyone knew it, even Tim. That was why, when Tim needed someone to send the magic crystal to the Fis.h.i.+ng House kitchen, it was Mikai who was immediately dispatched.

Mikai was a good Lynxmouse. He was not just fast, he was smart too. He buried his droppings and cleaned himself in a catlike manner every day like a good little Lynxmouse should.

So, why? Why was this happening to him?

There was a reason for it. He knew there was, and he tried very hard to think of it as all h.e.l.l broke loose and everyone near Mikai screamed in his ear as they dropped hundreds of feet straight down.

Okay, maybe there were good reasons. For instance, after leaving the crystal at the Fis.h.i.+ng House kitchen, Mikai did not run straight back to the western settlement. See, there was this pool filled with s.h.i.+nies in the East Side, and there were so many nice tunnels that just happened to run through that very area on the way home.

The deal with the s.h.i.+nies was that for every coin they brought him, Tim would give them a bit of cheese. Cleverly, Mikai decided to conveniently drop by the money pool and pick up a s.h.i.+ny or two…

Or three, or four…

Somewhere between ten and twenty (Mikai wasn't too good at counting), the entire floor fell away.

"Mikiikk!!" [I'm sorry!] Mikai screamed to the sky. Falling to his knees, he shut his eyes tight, clasped his hands together and shook them in a begging motion to heaven. [It was just a few coins!]

But there was no response from heaven, no winged Lynxmouse with a halo over her head coming to rescue Mikai from certain doom.

Or wait, was that angel Lynxmouse supposed to come before he died, or after…?

[I'm too young to die!!!] The cliff sped past, wind howling in his cat-ears as Mikai begged to high heaven for his life. [Please, please, please, please, please…!]

Something big, wet, and slimy bowled him over. Mikai went tumbling end over end sideways before he knew what was happening, and then…

SPLAs.h.!.+ Atop a very bewildered oversized river jellyfish, Mikai crashed into a churning wave.

With his eyes closed, the little brave Lynxmouse never saw it, but the waters of the river were particularly turbulent at the time. The poor jellyfish in question had been practically thrown about in the turbulent waves as larger, fiercer Wilds made their moves. The collision with Mikai was in no way the intention or fault of the Jellyfish. I rest my case, your honor!

Likewise, the high wave that they both crashed into following their head-on collision was stirred up by much larger creatures than themselves.

As for why there was such a turbulence, one had to remember that before this big piece of cliff came down, there had been a much smaller piece dropping off, crammed full of fresh meat like a Christmas present dropping from the sky. How could the crocodile-type Wilds of the river resist? Cracked Tooth himself churned many such waves in competing with his sons for a juicy bite.

The wave in question was roughly twenty feet high and had resulted directly from Cracked Tooth's thras.h.i.+ng; once immersed into it, the waters quite naturally rejoined the river, depositing the jellyfish and Mikai together in the middle of a river full of giant crocodiles.

"Mikiiiik!" [It's all over…!] Mikai wailed.

BOOM! The grandfather of all giant crocodiles rose to the surface right next to Mikai, jaws already open, each tooth thrice as large as the Tier 2 Lynxmouse covering his floppy ears with his paws.

But another miracle happened. The crocodile lay still, unmoving.

Dead.

[D-dead…?!] Mikai dared look up.

Yes, dead. You can see for yourself, little one.

Mikai gaped, then realized the truth. Cracked Tooth was floating in front of him lifelessly.

"Kiiii!!!" [I LIVE!!!] Mikai exclaimed. He jumped on top of the crocodile's dead body and danced a jig excitedly as if it was him who conquered the tyrant of the river. [Cracked Tooth is DEAD! And I live!!]

Cracked Tooth, in protest: A cliff fell from the sky right on top of me! You try surviving something like that, I dare you!

But Mikai had done enough death-defying feats for today, probably enough for his little lifetime.

Pretty soon, other things began to surface. Wreckage, other unfortunate crocodiles who were rudely interrupted in the middle of their feast, a few offended fish…

The land ma.s.s didn't rise up. That sank right to the bottom, taking the East Side ruins with it.

Mikai lowered his ears and head for a moment of condolence in memory of the dearly departed money pool which still had half its coin remaining in it as it sank to the bottom of the crocodile-famous river. [Farewell, East Side. We had fun.]

Then began the real adventures of the Fastest Lynxmouse Alive, and his brave journeys downriver through such lands and wonders as only the Lynxmice would know.

But alas, we are not Lynxmice.

Suffice to say that it took Mikai an entire four hours of painstaking sneaking and swimming to get out of the river. From there, it took him another four hours to make his way north, one Lynxmouse, alone, in a land filled with Tier 3 Wids all bigger than himself. While he trusted his speed, it was his stealth and the sheer complacency of the local Wilds that truly saw him safely back home, bruised, battered and soaking wet after all his adventures in and out of the river, but finally, finally home.

***

Also feeling perhaps too comfortably at home was Mandy.

She was safe. The children were safe, except for those three adventurers who stayed by Remian's side. Cruel Rose was no more, and the dangers their gang faced had all been left behind at the Frontier with all the monsters and the cruelties of the Wildlands.

Mandy woke up in a soft bed, half buried in a thick comforter while cool air stirred in a magical breeze around her. There was a dim murmur, the familiar voices of the children in the hall outside where they stayed together with Charlie's family.

She was weak. Her bones had been healed rapidly thanks to some professional medical mages - Charlie's parents must have paid a high price for such treatment – but she was as weak as a kitten. Hobbling to her feet, she shuffled about her daily clean-up routine at a slow, lazy pace, careful not to over-exert while she recovered from the wounds and the trauma.

Yes, trauma. Mandy had no shame admitting it; getting knocked off a building by a Tier 5 Wild and half-buried in rubble was no small matter. The pain and the shock were enough for her entire lifetime and then some. Mandy had no desire to face anything like that ever again.

Even now, the very thought of it haunted her dreams, kept her waking up sweating and s.h.i.+vering at the same time in the middle of the night. Even now, overly loud sounds made her jump, made her bones ache, and she itched for a weapon at hand, the more powerful the better…

The fear faded a little, day by day, with the sunlight and the happy voices of children playing. It faded with the kind smiles of Charlie's family, and the bobbing cheer of the servants. It eased with the warm delicious food and the cool magical breeze that comforted her at night. But every day, she would go out back and see the airs.h.i.+ps landing and taking off at the airport, and her hands would clench knowing that one day, she would have to go back there, and face such terrors again.

But not today. Please, G.o.d not today.

Each day, she gathered her courage to put on a brave new smile. Each day, she straightened her screaming back and faced the children with admonishments to be good, to be brave, to eat healthily and always take care of each other.

She taught them to help out around the house. To wash the dishes, and hang up the laundry, and dust the cupboards and sweep the floors. Upon her instructions, the servants took on their help as they went about their jobs, teaching the children and cleaning their messes when they slipped up.

Also, she taught them language, and math, and how to read and write.

Charlie's mother watched them with a gentle light in her eye. She did not stop them, did not scold them, or make any demands. She simply smiled, a warm, kind smile.

The days pa.s.sed just like that, and Mandy grew stronger.