I like this quote^

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From a comparative birds eye view, Mikyla felt her mouth widen into a grin as she on-looked onto the hustle below. What previously appeared to be mere bushes with unconventional decorations were roaming about, bustling alongside little shacks of all trades. All manners of textiles, tuck shops as well as gambling dens loitered within the vicinity with the three foot bushes humbly conversing whether they were doing business or leisure. It was marvelous to watch and if twelve foot giants made of an array of geological compositions hadn't roamed alongside the small bush folk, it would appear to be like any other market street back in the outskirts where Mikyla was raised.

"Hey!" The small bush directly underneath Sam and Mikyla kicked the stone statue that held the two Nobles. "Regi! Put them down, now."

On command, the twelve foot stone statue crumbled slightly, grains of sand loosening around its joints before it slowly but surely lowered Sam and Mikyla to the ground where the bush folk barely reached past their waists. The other bush folk didn't seem to mind the spectacle, brushing it off as a natural occurrence with the odd sideways glance before disappearing down the next alleyway or into the thriving crowd that snaked down the underground tunnels.

"Good Regi." The bush folk nodded and in a view of amazement, the two Nobles stood in awe as the stone figure squatted down to a tenth of its size, allowing the bush folk to pat its bald head. "But Regirock, I've told you about picking up living things before. Golems can be scary at the best of times and it's never a good idea to manhandle things that are smaller than you are."

After a good pat on the head, the golem elongated back to its original towering stature before the bush folk sharply turned to the two Nobles. "-And that applies to you two as well. Gawking is a form of harassment and we dwarves won't be held responsible if you get beat down to half our size."

Mikyla shivered at the dwarf's leer but Sam appeared more interest in the golem than the dwarves possible threats.

"Hey kid!" The dwarf stood on his tiptoes to pull Sam down by his collar. "Are you listening to me?"

Sam oblivious to the dwarves growing impatience merely had starry eyes for the golem and Mikyla gulped as she had a feeling that he was going to do something reckless.

"Do you want any gold for the golem?" Sam offered without a slight bit of hesitation.

The dwarf looked shocked before anger raged across his face. "Do we look like those fiendish leprechauns?"

"Oh uh, no sorry." Mikyla bowed her head and forced Sam to do so too. "I apologize for my friends ignora-"

"-Of course we'll take your gold!"

Sam and Mikyla blinked in confusion as they raised their heads to see a rather toothless grin.

"Hey." The dwarf shrugged. "We may not share many similarities with our shamrock cousins but we'd be fools to pass up an offer of Elvish gold. Even if you aren't the regular customer that drops in, if the offer still stands that is, I'd be glad to do business with ya!"

"But we-" Mikyla started as she looked towards Sam. She didn't have any gold and if Sam did, she had no idea where he was keeping it.

"So what do you need a golem for anyway? I can't exactly give you Regi as he hasn't fully crystallized yet but if you're looking for a diamond golem or a silver one, I can definitely hook you up."

"We want to get to the mountain." Sam stated bluntly.

The dwarf pointed behind him to where a dark tunnel lay. "Then why not take the free mine carts? I mean, they're right behind me. They'll take you straight to Excalibur Mountain."

"Oh, wow!" Mikyla sighed with relief. " Thanks so-"

Before Mikyla could finish, the dwarf let out a yelp and for a second Mikyla's instinctual fight or flight response was triggered. With her senses honed from the chimera, she quickly took in all of her surroundings but was almost blinded by the amount of glittering gold with a somewhat admonished Sam next to it.

"What?" Sam rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "The least I could do was give him a bit of gold for the trouble."

"A bit?" Mikyla tugged Sam by the ear. "How does transmutating a golem into gold count as a bit? There like a million tons right there!"

"Yeah. It's only a bit." Sam shrugged.

"Oh, no, no." The dwarf shook his head with affluent gratitude. "This is more than enough. Regi like this is worth more than its weight in gold. I know I probably came off rude earlier but my name is Khazâd Longbeard. Just give me a shout if you ever need help and I'll be sure to reimburse the favour."

Mikyla nodded. "We'll keep that in mind but for now we'll be off to Excalibur Mountain."

"But I want a golem." Sam protested.

"Do you even know how much magma golems consume?" Mikyla raised an eyebrow.

"No but-"

Mikyla turned her back on Sam and walked towards the mines. "I'm going. You can stay here and get a golem if you want but I'm going to the mountain. You know, the one that sounded a lot like a holy sword..."

"Coming!" Sam skipped up beside Mikyla before dragging her into a mine cart. "Now let's go find that holy sword."

"Wait! I never said there was a hoooo-" Mikyla's voice trailed off as the mine cart dipped into a ravine of the unknown.

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Mikyla couldn't quite remember how she fell asleep but after the rollercoaster of a ride that sent Sam squealing with joy she must have eventually dozed off. Despite the mine carts rough interior, it was surprisingly comfy and if you ignored the blind void in which the ride took place as well as the occasional bat, the atmosphere was quite tranquil indeed. The pitter-patter as water slowly dripped from stalagtites was soothing and the cool underground air was only amplified as the minecart twist and turned around various loops on tracks which provided a humble rhythm. If anything, Mikyla would have wished it could have lasted longer yet rückkehrunruhe had already started to set in and with the blistering sun peeking over Mikyla's eyelids, there was nothing else but to exit the minecart.

Yawning, Mikyla quickly roused Sam from his slumber as well, the memories of Mr. Cuddles being a nightmare she wished she could forget. Sam groggily complied and once he was out, there was no going back. With the mine cart empty, its wheels whined a goodbye before it disappeared back down the track towards the underground dwarven den, a trap door swallowing it whole, leaving no sign of a minecart ever existing.

"So what now?" Sam sniffed as he rubbed his bleary eyes. "It's too hot out here. If I had a golem at least I could walk in its shade."

Mikyla folded her arms, a thick sheen of sweat already coating them. The sun was already sapping her energy and being reminded of the heat wasn't the best way to start the day.

"We've got to get to Excalibur Mountain and my best bet is that it's that one that one over there." Mikyla pointed to a mountain that reared its head in the shape of a sword.

Sam merely nodded. It seemed he too was being affected by the heat. For that Mikyla was grateful as it meant a small trek in peaceful silence but before the duo could walk a hundred meters, a cloaked figure ran up to them.

"Do you know who that is?" Mikyla nudged Sam to stop as the cloaked figure approached.

"No idea." Sam shook his head.

"Mikael Fëanor?" The cloaked elf inquired to which Mikyla nodded. "My name is Alphonse of the Lower Households. If you'll follow me, I will escort you to where the others eagerly anticipate your arrival."

"Our arrival?"

"Yes. As a high class Noble who has been said by the fairy named Har'dro to have arrived in this realm before any other, we are hoping that you may prove some insight."

"First huh? I thought Sam and I arrived at the same time..."

"I'm sorry but I've been instructed not to mingle with the tainted elf you just mentioned." Alphonse put up his hood to evade Mikyla's questioning look.

"But surely we couldn't have been the first." Mikyla continued, dismissing what Alphonse just said as some sort of Noble custom she wasn't aware of. "If we arrived first, how are all of you already at Excalibur Mountain?"

"Time flows differently in each realm. For you the Trials May have only begun a week or so ago but runour has it that even Francis Irimë has been wandering the realms for the past two years and it seems that as he was the last to leave the lightning realm, the portal transported him closer to this realms endpoint."

"Tw-two years!" Sam spluttered.

Ignoring Sam's outburst, Alphonse continued with his explanation. "It would appear that despite the time spent in these realms, we all end up at the same place at pretty much the same time. We fear that that is why there is supposedly 'no time limit' for these Trials and we may so happen to arrive back at school with no time passing at all. It is all rather complex but it also appears that the faster you are at completing a Trial, the harder the next one is. I assume that as you arrived so early, you probably had to walk for a long distance whereas those of us who only arrived an hour or so ago were teleported almost directly next to the portal."

"Just wait a second." Mikyla paused. "If you already found the portal, why haven't you gone through?"

"There's a giant boulder in the way." Alphonse simply stated. "For some reason there's also magical interference so we can't figure out the riddle either. We're at a divided opinion at the moment and with Francis, our impromptu leader, starting to feel the effects of heatstroke, we've been anxiously waiting for your help."

"What are the effects?"

Alphonse stopped as he turned the corner to where the mountain offered a patch of shade and a collection of Nobles watched Francis preach from on top of the boulder which for the most part blocked the gravitational pull that hinted a portal behind it.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Alphonse gave Mikyla a weak smile before disappearing within the crowd.

"Yup. He's far gone alright." Sam grinned. "Don't worry though- I'll handle this."

Mikyla blinked but before she could stop him, Sam was already pushing his way to the front of the crowd.

"-And physical art is true beauty." Francis boasted. "If I had my tools with me, I could carve this brute of a rock into a lavish geode."

"Shame that." Sam shrugged without a shred of remorse. "To enjoy the only beauty of music, all you need to do is listen. That is, after all, why you have two ears and one mouth and not the other way round."

Francis glared at the addition to his sermon and without hesitation hopped down from his makeshift podium.

Mikyla rolled her eyes at the childishness as the crowd started to make a circle around Francis and Sam. She'd never imagine Sam of all people to lecture people on listening but she'd hate to interrupt such a passionate scene. Back in the slums, a tense scene such as this one was a definitive sign of a fight. It seemed to ring true with the nobility as well, however, instead of a battle of fists it seemed to instead transform into a battle of wits.

"As if you're one to talk." Francis jibed, mirroring Mikyla's thoughts as he poked a finger into Sam's chest. "You're all bark with no bite, forgive me if I heard the saying incorrectly. I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't though, you're ears are too clogged from all the clouds that you have your head stuck in."

"Well..." Sam smirked, not the least bit rifled. "The clouds in my ears seems to be a lot more useful than the filthy rumors in yours. I mean, mine at least helped me catch Nizzre''s riddle quite easily, allowing Mikael and I to escape first instead of last, however, I do try not to stick my nose in other elves businesses so forgive me if I heard the saying incorrectly."

With a curt bow, Sam turned his back on Francis and before Mikyla knew what was happening all the other Nobles seemed to be in an uproar in Sam's favour. From the outside it would be unclear of who was more stunned, Francis Irimë whose words got turned against him (or in slum terms 'got his ass handed to him) or Mikyla who for the first time felt a deep respect for Sam. Even with the innate hatred she bore for him for being a Noble, she would be lying if that wasn't one of the most epic things she had ever seen.

With all grins, Sam became an instantaneous celebrity, the stigma of his family's scandal abandoned for the moments being. Although in the midst of it, however, Mikyla couldn't help but proxy as an onlooker, the pangs of her chest born from the reminiscing of the fights in the slums. She hadn't realized how much she missed it till then but she couldn't go back now. She couldn't go back until she completed her objective. But that didn't mean she would miss out on everything.

Without even seeing it, Mikyla sensed the bloodlust before she heard Francis' rage filled warcry. With practiced technique, she latched onto his wrist without so much the flick of her eyes, halting his fist right before it collided with Sam's face. His arm lay shaking in midair but with a sideways glare of Mikyla, his muscles fell flaccid and he slowly started to back away.

As much as she hated to say it, Mikyla knew she had no other choice. Despite her complicated feelings towards Sam, she couldn't deny his advantages and if she wished to keep his company, Mikyla would have to make a point. "How shameful of you Francis Irimë. I didn't realize you would stoop so low as to use Dreg tactics. My, my. If the other households knew about this, I dare say it could cause a... scandal."

Francis gulped as Mikyla shot him a death glare. He words were sour in her mouth but she knew it had to be done. "If you've gotten this far, I'm sure you're aware of the importance of the riddles. Does 'stranded to writing' ring a bell? We're too reliant on the spells of our magic tomes - in order to pass this Trial we have to work together because unless you find another way through this mountain you're not going to get through."

"Fine." Francis spat in defeat. "We will."

"Great!" Mikyla sighed. "I'm glad you see-"

"We." Francis took the liberty to stare at each and every Nobles. "The Irimë household and every other that wishes to continue its standing within the conglomerate will find another way."

Francis' sudden veto decision held a lot more power than Mikyla expected and within seconds every Noble bar Sam and Mikyla were stricken with anxious expressions and worried hushes. The remaining Nobles were stuck in limbo. Some who still held awe of Sam's smack down remained relatively stoic yet the majority appeared swayed. Things could go either way but with no experience with Nobility, Mikyla could only hope her sincerity would overrule.

"It is understandable that there are those of you who wish to support our forefather household. Being the oldest and most prestigious household of them all, I too am a avid advocate of the Fëanor household. With that being said, it is apparent that the young Lord Fëanor has been blinded and I believe it is wise to remind you that those who assist the Irimë household will no doubt be rewarded."

The balance was shifted. With Francis' influential speech, all the other Nobles were in his favour and as they all trailed behind him, a Mikyla could do little but to purse her lips and hope that they would see reason.

"Oh, and Mikael." Francis was sure to look back one last time as his lackeys started to create a wall between the two divided groups. "If you ever want to join us, the invitation is always open."

Leaving no room for reply, the remaining Nobles flocked around Francis as he towed them to certain failure. Mikyla had no idea what had just happened. She was sure Sam has won the battle of wits but then why did it feel like they had lost the war instead?

Mikyla didn't have any time to ponder over the gnawing feeling for long before a dust cloud in the distance rapidly approached. It appeared to be a ludicrous tumbleweed on a rampage but as it got closer, the bush turned out to be yet another dwarf.

"Help!" The dwarf threw himself to Sam and Mikyla's feet. "Please. You have to help us!"

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Word Count for Chapter 24: 2907
Total Word Count: 41803

Authors Note:

Hope you liked the UNEDITED chapter 24! Don't forget to press on those magical stars to light up Mikyla's future path and leave a comment telling me what you like so far or what you don't like. Thanks for reading so far.

Happy reading 
~ Dracollavenore