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They arrived at the castle at the end of the second week.

It usually took three weeks of travel to reach the kings castle from Remeld, but the two Bounty Hunters had pushed themselves, only resting once every other day.

It was rough going, but they trudged along.

"Finally," Nyx said when they spotted the castle nestled in its spot on the lake. She sat down where she stood, massaging her ankles and the pads of her aching paws.

The Castle of Monarchs sat in the middle of Lake Vilus (named after the first king), on an island that boarded the two continents of Polt and Strake.

The castle itself was nothing special, at least not to Nyx. Old cobblestone slabs stacked atop one another, a stained glass window here and there to give it a bit of flare. Historians and architects would talk your ear off at how ingenious the castle was designed, given the time period that it was built, but Nyx couldn't care less.

What was more impressive, however, were the two large stone walls that surrounded the island and castle. One wall was built a few hundred feet into the lake, a hulking structure with two massive gates on either end for passage and watch towers that seemed to graze the sky. The second was built directly around the castle itself on the island. Not as thickly built, but still as intimidating.

Arc took a seat besides her spouse, and Nyx gave her a wry smile.

"No turning back now," Nyx said. "There's no way I'm walking all the way back home after coming this far."

Arc took her travel bag off, which contained her armor and necessities, and rolled her shoulders to loosen them. Lestit's light shimmered off the albinos fur, catching the purple tattoos she wore

"Just few more feet." Arc said.

Nyx looked towards the shoreline that the path led to, where a large harbor had been built. A variety of ships were docked, from big trading vessels to small row boats. That's where they'd find passage to the island.

Nyx stood up, much to the protest of her legs. "Might as well get this over with," she said, holding a hand out to Arc. "We can rest when we're at the castle."

Arc took Nyx's hand with a smile, and Nyx helped her to her feet.

"Look who's ready for fight." Arc said.

Nyx shrugged. "No use delaying the inevitable." She said, and continued on towards the harbor.

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They found a ferry with a couple other Bounty Hunters to carry them across the lake. The wall towered over them as they neared, and Nyx felt very small next to the stone behemoth.

The large wooden gates slowly creaked open as they neared, allowing them passage to the island.

When they passed the first wall, Nyx was able to see the island much easier. It was large enough that it could probably fit both the Dravern army and King Jared's forces comfortably, with plenty of space left.

The island had been smoothed of any trees, underbrush, and large boulders that had once inhabited it, and was replaced with lush grass.

A few flowering trees dotted the main cobblestone roads heading up to the castle, along with a few beds of flowers strategically placed near the trees for maximum aesthetic beauty.

Nyx wondered if the flowers would last.

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Arc and Nyx spent the next few days anxiously resting and waiting for the upcoming battle.

Every day brought more Bounty Hunters to the island, and each one that walked through the main castle gates brought with them a little more nervous energy to add to the mix.

The day before the supposed battle, the main generals of King Jared's army divided the Royal army and the Bounty Hunters into smaller groups to be debriefed on the battle plan.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat this." General Colt said, standing in the midst of Arc and Nyx's group. "Even if the last of the Bounty Hunters show up between today and tomorrow, we'll still be outnumbered by a solid two and a half thousand."

General Colt was a graying Doberman with a missing finger on his right hand. He had a slight hunch and a bad leg, so he wasn't able to stand straight, yet still found a way to carry himself with authority.

"The king's been getting too lax because we've been fairly at peace." One of the Bounty Hunters behind Nyx muttered to his friend. "King Vilus wouldn't have weakened like that."

"How the people of Dravern managed to amass an army so large is beyond me," General Colt continued. "And why they decided to attack us remains a mystery. But with the dark god Umbyr as my witness, we'll rip 'em a new one."

Cheers rang throughout the crowd, lessening the tension a little bit.

"We're gunna put you into groups," General Colt said. "Those of you good at using a bow or have ranged abilities, you're being placed on the walls. We're assuming they have a means of getting through the wall, so pick off any suspicious beastmen or boats you think may give 'em the chance to do so.

"The next group will be the naval troops. We're going to line the battleships along the shore, cannons forward. We'll need people on the cannons. Fire off as many rounds as you can, but if they get too close, light any remaining barrels of black powder and dump them into the lake. It'll keep the enemy from using our own cannons against us.

"Last group is ground troops. If the Dravern troops happen to get past the second wall and into the castle, then that's it. We'll have a few troops and the Royal Guard stationed in the castle protecting the king, but nothing more. Castle's as good as gone if too many get past the second wall. Ground troops, we'll be relying on you to hold 'em off to the best of your ability."

Murmuring spread throughout the crowd as the beastmen voiced their comments and concerns to each other. Most of them seemed to be worried about where they would be placed. Nyx didn't care where she was placed, as long as she was with Arc. She hoped they would be put as ground troops, since that was furthest from the fight they could be, but if Arc got assigned somewhere else, Nyx was going to be sure she went with her.

"We'll start dividing you all up." The general said. "May Iridescence shine on us all."